An award-winning street photographer has captured images of the ‘new normal’ as the streets of Manchester reopened for the first time in over three months on Saturday.
These images illustrate a rather stark contrast to previous years too.
Each year, one of the UK’s best-known street photographers – Mark Waugh – was joined by hundreds of amateur photographers between 2017-2019 in a unique social experiment to capture the spirit of some of the country’s biggest cities in just 24 hours.
The A Day In The Life experiment compiled thousands of images of the people and places that made those bustling cities tick.
From buskers to office workers, students, skateboarders, OAPs, tourists, and many more, the experiment went on to build one of the most distinctive visual libraries showing what a number of prominent UK cities, including Manchester, looked like on that day in history.
As we entered 2020 though, life as we knew it was about to change.
As the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic swept across the world and the UK officially entered lockdown back on 23rd March 23rd, millions of people were now working from home, furloughed from jobs or made redundant; non-essential businesses were forced to close their doors to customers, and public travel was limited.
Our cities and streets had become ghost towns.
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This posed the question of what type of ‘new normal’ awaited us as lockdown measures were relaxed on Saturday 4th July?
So, Mark once again took to the streets of Manchester, on what was dubbed as ‘Super Saturday’, to capture the people of the city enjoying the reopening of their favourite venues as restrictions were eased nationwide, and in contrast with the eerie photographs taken during the peak of lockdown, these images show the lively scenes of pubs, restaurants and hairdressers welcoming customers again.
The photographs were collected as part of Cartridge Save’s A Day In The Life 2020 experiment, to show how the city has adjusted in line with lockdown restrictions being lifted.
Event organiser, Ian Cowley of Cartridge Save, said: “The images from Saturday highlight the stark contrast between Manchester before and after lockdown. We worked closely with Mark to ensure we captured a moment of history as pubs, bars and hairdressers reopened for the first time in more than three months.”
“These images captured by Mark are a perfect example of Manchester adapting to a new way of living after months of solitude.”
The Manc is helping local businesses and venues get back on their feet after lockdown with our #BuzzingToBeBack campaign – offering as much support and exposure for Manchester hospitality as possible.
Read more about what we’re doing for the industry here.
Feature
Review | PinkPantheress turns Victoria Warehouse into one huge party on first night in Manchester
Emily Johnson
There was a point during Pinkpantheress’ set at O2’s Victoria Warehouse where you almost forgot you were watching someone perform an album that barely stretches past the 20-minute mark.
Instead, night one of two Manchester shows felt like one huge club night curated by one of the most exciting British artists around right now.
From the second you walked into the venue, greeted by an army of plaid, the world of PinkPantheress (real name Victoria Beverley Walker, for those who didn’t know) completely took over.
The stage itself mirrored that energy too, with a two-tier setup that allowed her to constantly move around the space, appearing and disappearing throughout the night alongside outfit changes, dramatic lighting and eventually, a pair of angel wings.
Backed by her dancers and DJ Joe, the entire show felt slick, immersive and miles away from the early days of PinkPantheress nervously clutching onto her handbag on stage like a comfort blanket. Ironically, the handbag did make a brief appearance during the evening.
It’s a reminder of just how much her performances have evolved – and evolve they have.
What could have easily been a short and simple set instead became a fully realised live show, complete with extended dance sections, rave-inspired moments, drum solos and seamless transitions that made the whole thing feel bigger than the music alone.
There’s also something undeniably British about a PinkPantheress show: the UK garage influences, the fashion, the awkward humour, and the understated confidence all combined into something that felt distinctly hers.
At one point, she paused to laugh: “It’s hot in this venue, f*** me,” which summed up the sweaty chaos of the night perfectly.
At one point, she joked that the last time she was in Manchester, she made it all the way to the final stage of Pointless, before being told she was now “too famous” to go on the show – a perfectly PinkPantheress anecdote that had the crowd laughing immediately.
By the end of the set, Victoria Warehouse felt less like a gig venue and more like the best house party you’ve ever accidentally ended up at.
And with another Manchester show still to come, it’s safe to say the party isn’t over just yet.
Starting off life as a little coffee trike back in 2021, and now based inside a bright-yellow shipping container in Levenshulme‘s Cringle Park, Grounded MCR CIC is a social enterprise that does more than just make you a brew.
Set up with the idea of creating a welcoming space for the whole community to gather, with a key focus on sustainability, Grounded serves up specialty coffee, lots of other hot and cold drinks, and yummy homemade food – much of which is grown by hand, on and around the container.
This is Grounded MCR / Credit: The Manc Group
Coffee beans sourced from a local roaster that pays farmers properly, tasty bakes on offer from a handful of local makers – including bread from the incredible Stockport-based charity, Pure Innovations – and dozens of free community events organised throughout the year are just a few of the reasons why Grounded goes above and beyond your typical cafe.
Sustainability – and affordability, especially amid the ongoing cost of living crisis – are two huge driving factors for Grounded, especially through their partnership with FareShare Greater Manchester and utilising the ‘Too Good To Go’ scheme.
By delivering and using surplus food that would’ve otherwise gone to waste, Grounded is able to keep their prices low whilst still creating some delicious scran.
The Levenshulme community cafe crafting coffee for a great cause / Credit: The Manc Group
Their ‘FareShare Fridays’ are hosted each week, where that morning’s delivery is dedicated to one specific dish and served up for just £1.
To top it all off, Grounded also works with vulnerable adults in honing their barista and hospitality skills, and is also in partnership with ‘Women in Probation’ too to ensure their impact goes further than just what comes in a cup or on a plate.
”We’ve worked hard to create a space that feels safe and welcoming for all,” Grounded declares in a statement on it’s website – and we think they’ve succeeded.
Emily Sergeant -
7th July 2020 
