The Hardy’s Well poem was designed to be a tongue-twister for inebriated customers of the pub itself, with every word starting with the letter W.
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The pub attracted its fair share of student drinkers, as well as hordes of Manchester City fans thanks to its proximity to the club’s old ground, Maine Road.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Lemn said: “When that poem was put up poets weren’t doing that. They weren’t putting their poems on the side of buildings.
It happened at the start of bank holiday weekend otherwise Manchester's National Poetry Library or the folks from Manchester's UNESCO city of Literature would have spoken up. Yawn. Etc. pic.twitter.com/Vb3kZqkuvf
“It became a landmark, and that’s not something you can make happen, people make landmarks. People still contact me from all around the world saying the poem reminds them of their time at university or in Manchester, that it reminds them of a brilliant time in their life.
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“I’m extremely proud of that. The poem has done me a lot of good, it’s really helped me and my career, but I don’t think it’s a sad moment.
“I would have loved it if it could have been put somewhere else, but life moves on, things change, Manchester changes. I don’t have a problem with it going now.”
Dozens of locals are now sharing their fond memories of the Hardy’s Well – whether it was as a punter or a passer-by.
— Zebra Carol Ann 🌟#HistoryBuff 📚QueenMaker 👑 (@Zebra_carol) May 27, 2023
One person wrote: “Half of my life time passing it on the way to school, town or raving! Thanks for the moments inspired by reading in every passing Lemm.”
Another said: “Gutting. One of my first memories of Manchester – used to love going past it on the bus twice a day.”
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Someone else said on Twitter: “Noooooooo! Worked behind the bar there for about 4yrs. Loved that place. Always loved the pre match crowd when City still played at Maine Road.”
And another wrote: “Used to live round the back of here during my student days! Very sad. Lots of Mancunian culture being lost.”
Lemn Sissay’s Hardy’s Well poem
Wait waterless wanderer. Whoever walks to the well will wade into a wonderous world. A world which will waken the wilting wallpaper of work and worry. Well? Worry will wait while wells wand whirls a warm- hearted wackiness into a weary week. Whereafter waves and waterfalls of wonderment will wash all weakness. A way? Well? A world wide web of wholehearted wholesome wisdom and wit waits wipe away worries. Wells work wonders for wrinkles. Why wait. Why wonder. Why worry. Why wain. Why whittle. Why wither. Walk in. Well. What we waiting for. It’ll double you. At Hardy’s Well.
Featured image: Google Maps
Eats
A new ’boutique’ chicken spot has opened in Manchester’s Northern Quarter
Danny Jones
A brand-new chicken spot called ‘Le Coq Boutique’ has just opened in Manchester city centre, serving out of a popular Northern Quarter bar.
Is this the best name we’ve ever heard in our time writing about food and drink? It just might be…
Opening from inside The Social NQ on Thomas Street (formerly known as Smithfield Social), their new resident and poultry-centric kitchen is a bit of a pun on the classic French sportswear label, but having now been versed in the word about the bird for ourselves, we can confirm it’s much more than that.
For starters, the only thing more decadent than the roasted meats are the sides and cocktail menu, which features everything from chunky hash browns and some of the richest sauces you could ask for.
As you can see, the most chicken is well and truly the star of the show here, but what they have done is find unique ways of innovating and experimenting with it.
For instance, if you’ve never had a cocktail with chicken fat in it, here’s a place you can try one.
Honestly, this isn’t our first rodeo with this very particular kind of drink – but for those of you that haven’t, we promise, it really is quite good.
Aside from surprisingly saline kicks beside the salty marg rims we’ve become more accustomed to over the years, there are some very nice drinks on the menu.
But we’ll be honest, if you’re a sucker for the famous ‘chicken wine’ – a.k.a. La Vieille Ferme, if you want to be all formal – we imagine you’ll be sticking to plenty of this.
Having already spent many a weekend, be that afternoon or night, at the old Smithfield over the years, now that it has this fine new in-house food offering tacked on, we suspect we’ll be going back a lot more.
Whether you want lots of crispy chicken skin or prefer it smothered in gravy and various other kinds of savoury jus, if you’re an unadulterated mothercluckin’ chicken lover, then you’ll have a great time here.
As the team has joked in the comments under their first few social media posts, while it isn’t technically mandatory to wear the vintage 80s brand upon visiting, it is “expected”, with “bonus marks and shots” and promised for your efforts.
It’s also worth noting that they have an exclusive launch offer for those who sort a booking early, so we wouldn’t wait around if we were you.
Let us know what you think if you visit anytime soon.
Bunny Jackson’s offer Foo Fighters and Mancs incredible deal if they play their stage after Ritz gig
Danny Jones
Beloved dive bar Bunny Jackson’s has offered the Foo Fighters and Mancunians alike an incredible deal, provided the legendary band if they play on their stage after their gig at the O2 Ritz.
As well as Manchester ramping up the 2026 BRITs Week buzz ahead of the awards at Co-op Live this weekend, a little-known American rock group called the Foo Fighters decided to announce a surprise gig here in town.
But the bigger story now, we’d argue, is that the city centre boozer – which serves as a regular go-to both before and after gigs – is offering free drinks if Dave Grohl and co. pop up to perform on their usual bandaoke platform. As in for EVERYONE.
As explained by the Bunny’s boss, if the Foos make what is quite literally a minute trip down the road to OG Jackson’s wing joint and late-night watering hole after their Ritz gig is over, they’re promising to hand out free booze to all inside the venue.
Joking that they can quite literally “do anything” and may not even fit on their even smaller stage – with this being one of the tiniest of Manchester’s small-cap venues – it’s worth reminding that they wouldn’t be the first big name to surprise punters.
It was only a couple of years ago that both The 1975 and Olivia Rodrigo showed their faces, with the former getting behind the bar and pouring drinks themselves, and the latter even hopping on the mic herself – yes, really.
Just last March, members of Bilmuri also hopped behind the decks for a DJ set, and saxophone player Gabi Rose couldn’t resist hitting some horns live for the crowd, too.
You might want to be at Bunny’s even if you’re not going to the gig anyway. (Credit: Bunny Jackson’s)
So what we’re telling you is that this isn’t entirely beyond the realms of possibility. Keep absolutely everything crossed.
BJ’s was already hosting a pre- and post-curfew party for the big Manchester gig, as they often do, but just think how incredible it would be if the rock icons actually turned up in person. You can find out what else they’ve got planned on the night HERE.
Not only would it mean free-flowing beer for everyone in the gaff, but this would go down as one of the greatest stories in Greater Manchester music history.
If you want to up the chances of this happening, make sure you share it far and wide, getting @ing and pestering them, and hopefully we’ll see you at Bunny Jackson’s with the boys from Foo Fighters!
Oh, and lads, if you’re wondering why we all love it here, look no further:
Daisy Jackson -
29th May 2023 
