‘I’ve missed you, too’: The eye-catching artwork series rejoicing in Manchester’s return
Aching for his city to return, Len Grant scribbled lockdown away in the confines of his loft. The images he made are now being hung proudly aloft across Manchester.
When the UK began to wake up in summer 2020, weary denizens gained a new lease of life; eagerly debating what they’d do, where they’d go, and who’d they’d see first when ‘this was all over’.
‘What have you missed most?’ seemed to be the question we were all most keen to ask and answer.
But then, just as we started to get all our favourite things back, they were taken away again. And this time, it was much, much tougher.
The onset of Lockdown Three was the bleakest possible way to begin 2021 – ushering the public back indoors for a long, gloomy winter.
During January and February, Manchester still looked like the city we knew and loved, but it felt like another world. It was the strangest thing. We were all at home, yet painfully homesick.
Permitted activities were mostly limited to freezing-cold strolls in the rain, and the notion of ‘what we’ve missed most’ wasn’t just a throwaway remark anymore. It had taken on a deeper, almost existential meaning.
Local photographer Len Grant found himself mulling this very question during Lockdown Three and was unable to find a single answer. He missed it all.
He looked back over the images he’d captured from the seat of a saddle during his teeth-chattering bike rides, and every picture made him realise just how much he was aching for his city to return to life.
Like the rest of us, Len had nowhere to go and nothing to do during one of the most miserable winters on record – so he retreated to his loft and started sketching artworks of his beloved city to pass the time.
This week, those images came to life.
Len’s 12 artworks have been proudly hung aloft as part of a spectacular outdoor artwork series celebrating the return of Manchester called I’ve Missed You, Too.
Appearing at Escape to Freight Island by Piccadilly and on Redhill Street in Ancoats, the images will also soon appear as ground floor window vinyls at the upcoming QBic Hotel (which will open on the corner of John Dalton Street and Deansgate in May).
“They were short days, dark evenings, awful weather,” Len says, remembering the early part of Lockdown Three.
“I found being stuck inside really difficult. So, I began reworking some of my old sketches – and bought a big drawing board to create them at A2 size.
“Starting the series kept me on an even keel and supported my mental health. But what I realised I was doing was creating sketches of these places I was missing so much. Not just the physical places, but the activities we do there – going to the pubs, museums, art galleries, cafes.
“We’ve missed the impact and benefit all these places have had on us. We took them for granted, really. When they were taken away we not only missed them, we realised how these things help us interact as people.”
A homage to Mancunia, the artworks have been created using a range of different techniques including analogue and digital – hand-drawn at A2, painted in watercolour, and then dotted with colours and textures in Photoshop.
Each of the images feature familiar streets and faces – carrying a warm, dreamlike quality and even a few recurring characters.
“Some of the people in these artworks are based on individuals who have been in the environments I’ve photographed before,” Len explains.
“One example is the woman walking past with a tote bag which says ‘2 metres’ – which is kind of appropriate to the era. Some of [the characters] come from my imagination. I draw figures in a notebook and sometimes, if I like those, they appear.
“I realised some people were appearing again and again. I quite liked that idea that you see somebody in one place and you might see them again somewhere else.
“For example, there’s a guy walking his dog in Cutting Room Square, and in the sketch of New Islington the dog appears again. There’s also a little boy chasing a pigeon in two different parts of Manchester.
“Hopefully as people look at them they’ll be able to see the little humorous things.”
‘I’ve Missed You Too’ at Escape to Freight Island, Mayfield‘I’ve Missed You Too’ on Redhill Street, Ancoats.‘I’ve Missed You Too’ on Redhill Street, Ancoats.‘I’ve Missed You Too’ on Redhill Street, Ancoats.
Introducing the artwork is a short love letter to the city containing some of Len’s favourite pastimes – from tucking into Rice & Three at This & That Cafe to cutting through Royal Exchange Theatre to duck away from Manchester drizzle.
It’s been a gruelling few months, but Len’s beloved city is back in action. And he wonders whether it’ll be different this time round.
“I’m intrigued to know how the cities will change,” Len muses.
“There’s already talk about big companies not using much office space or inviting people to work from home more often. I wonder whether that’s sustainable… and if over a period of time people will want to start working with others.
“I think we’ll get back to where we were. We’re all kind of Zoom-ed out, now. When I get a face-to-face meeting these days, I’m so excited. It’s novel at the moment.
“I think any nervousness of going back will be short-lived.”
Len has left his mark on the city with many major photography projects over the years – including the magnificent ‘Regeneration Manchester’ – which shows Manchester transforming over three decades.
But according to Len, there’s nothing quite like having your work exhibited outdoors.
“I absolutely love getting my work outside, people just stumble across it,” he says.
“You just get so many more people seeing it who wouldn’t ordinarily do so. I love that idea.
“I’m super excited by it, to be quite honest.”
As beaming families wander down Redhill Street and point at the artworks sizzling in the sunshine, it’s evident that Len isn’t the only one feeling this way.
Manchester is coming back.
You can catch the new series ‘I’ve Missed You, Too’ at Escape To Freight Island at Mayfield Depot.
The artwork is also proudly displayed on the fence of Urban Splash development Waulk Mill on Redhill Street in Ancoats.
All 12 images will be showcased at the QBic Hotel from May.
You can purchase the exhibition catalogue online here.
Feature
Five Manchester artists we’ve been listening to this month | June 2025
Danny Jones
Hello there. That greeting may be giving Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars vibes, and we can’t lie, we have listened to some cantina music while working this month… but not as much as we’ve been immersing ourselves in more new Manchester artists.
You should know the drill by now, and it is very much a what-it-says-on-the-tin scenario, but every few weeks, we round up some of the music – all crucially hailing from the Greater Manchester area – that we’ve been listening to of late.
We don’t discriminate when it comes to genre either. There’s only one simple rule: if it’s good, then we listen to it and then, hopefully, so do you.
Get your playlists at the ready.
Five Manc music artists we’ve been listening to recently
1. Arkayla
First up for June are relative newcomers Arkayla, whose name is inspired by “a terrible Oasis demo” from 1991 (their words, not ours – thought it is…) of the same name, a.k.a. ‘I Will Show You’, in which describe Liam Gallagher’s now legendary as once sounding “like a dodgy Ian Brown impressionist.”
However, there’s nothing dodgy about these lot and, thankfully, they’re in an era when you don’t have to hand out tapes recorded in the Boardwalk basement on the street to be heard. The Manchester band, which only formed in 2020, may be Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, but they’ve already got a sound.
There’s an unmistakable British indie element to them and hints at everything from The Kooks to The Lathums, but most notably, there are ’60s guitar notes and some real maturity already. Standouts include ‘Ella Malone’, the acoustic version of ‘Lost In a Valentine’, where the lead singer, Cal Blakebrough, really shines, and ‘Rita’ is such an addictive track.
They don’t get more unknown, undiscovered, but sure to be up-and-coming than iNNAFIELD, who are a female-fronted psychedelia-forward five-piece with roots in Brighton but building a career in 0161. Having recently shone at The Deaf Institute playing a support slot at Academy 1, they have our interest.
If a glimpse of lead singer Jessie Amy Leask’s curly hair, 70s belts and long, flowing skirts plants Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac in your mind, you’d be right in thinking so; a listen to their other live tracks scattered across their socials confirms there’s plenty of other influences going on too, though.
Now, they’ve only got one proper recording out on Spotify called ‘Tell Me What’s On Your Mind’, but we’ve had it popping up on our algorithms everywhere, and we can see why: there’s soft, twinkly strumming, soft almost sleepy vocals before a nice big breakout at the end. Glorious stuff.
No, not that one, the Princess of Monaco isn’t back from the dead, but ‘r Grace Kelly, who is based right here in Greater Manchester, is playing her part in the ongoing country revival taking place across the music world, offering her soulful voice and faux American-folk vibes to our ears.
She may not be a Mancunian by birth, having moved from New Zealand to our shores back in 2022, and although the weather change might have been a big sea change for her, there’s no culture shock to be found in her style; from the audio to the aesthetic, it still somehow feels pretty authentic.
Uplifting acoustic guitars, drum brush strokes, solos, Southern-twang harmonies – you name it, all the ingredients are there. The thing is, if you spend enough time immersing yourself in a genre, you can still pull off tracks like ‘Carry On’, ‘San Jose’ and the intimate ‘For Us To Change’.
We’re really lane switching when it comes to genre this month; maybe it’s because festival season is in full swing and we’re just being exposed to so much different stuff in a short space of time, all we know is we’re not complaining about it.
And neither should you, especially when you’ve got names like hip-hop, grime, soul and flag-flying Afrobeats rising star, Prido, being platformed. Blending all the above with R’n’B and a sprinkling of not just Northern but easily detectable Manc slant, it makes his music stand out in the ever-thriving space.
‘Free Ur Mind’ was the first track we ever heard, so we’ve struggled to shake that as our favourite, but ‘DND’ is a supremely dancey but chill example of laid-back of the genre that you need in your mixes this summer, and we also have a soft spot for his verse on the sensual ‘Lifeboat’ by Prima.
Last but not least on our list of new Manchester artists for this June, we’ve got local DJ Josh Baker, whose name you might recognise from the headlines surrounding Parklife 2025, as his set was unfortunately cancelled due to problems out of his control.
Festival-goers flocked to The Matinee Stage for a highly anticipated back-to-back bill of Baker followed by Dutch counterpart Chris Stussy, both of whom have thrilled some of the biggest club crowds in the country – sadly, he didn’t get to do so this time. That being said, we thought we’d give him a shout-out.
We’ll confess to only having got around to his discography following this news, but ‘Back It Up’, ‘Something To Me’, and ‘You Don’t Own Me’ with Prospa and RAHH are all bangers. We’re looking forward to listening to more.
And that should just about do you; there are five artists and, at the very least, 15 new tracks for you to give a go – there should be at least of few of them you like.
But, let’s be honest: be it unheard, new, current, old or anything in between, Manchester music very rarely ends up being filed in the skippable category.
Then again, you can always check out last month’s list of Manc artists from last month and see if you get a better hit ratio.
Featured Images — Prido (via Facebook)/Arkayla (via X)/Grace Kelly (via Facebook)
Feature
You can sleep in a luxury train carriage at an old railway station in Greater Manchester
Thomas Melia
There’s an Airbnb listing in Delph where you can stay in a classic converted train carriage, and it’s even situated in an old train station, so someone buy my ticket ASAP.
Get ready to have the best train experience of your life, as the only cancellation you have to worry about is booking the day off work.
The Carriage at The Old Station is a two-person character property in Delph, Saddleworth that offers you the chance to live out your vintage fantasy by stepping back in time on a luxury static train coach.
It may be situated at an old station, but the interior is refreshing and light with mint blue beams, fuchsia cushions and a royal red carpet and curtains.
As well as a majestic interior, this carriage has an equally impressive amount of amenities, including a Bluetooth sound system, board games and its own indoor fireplace.
This Airbnb is fairly new too, with only 44 reviews to its name – the first only dating back to September of last year; don’t say we don’t find you some absolute gems.
Inside the Airbnb that’s an old converted train carriage.The interior of this Airbnb listing is bold and impressive.
One user even stated, “We regularly stay in five-star locations and this surpassed five-star easily! We highly recommend a stay here.”
While another opened her review with three simple adjectives that we also feel perfectly sum up this train carriage property perfectly: “Opulent, indulgent, extravagant”.
It should come as no surprise that this place is beautiful inside and out, as in the description, host of the property Nigel states he’s a retired designer.
The train carriage stay is also close to a proper country pub, The Old Bell Inn, as well as the Diggle canal walk if you fancy a stroll and a pint before tucking into bed in your old train carriage for the night.
Even the bathroom has pops of colour throughout.You could stay in this train carriage at an old train station.
If you’re after boarding The Carriage at The Old Station and having a fabulous overnight stay or mini holiday of your own, you can find the Airbnb listing and everything you need to know HERE.
The Manc -
16th April 2021 
