‘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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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“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.
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“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.”
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.
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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.”
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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.”
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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
Football fans are debating whether Manchester City made a mistake selling Cole Palmer
Danny Jones
Football clubs are always going to have to roll the dice on players as we all know promising players who went on to become stars: Kevin de Bruyne, Gerard Pique, Mo Salah and so on just to name a few from the Premier League – but is that what Manchester City have done with Cole Palmer?
The 21-year-old from Wythenshawe was sold to Chelsea back in September 2023, having only managed to make a few scattered but impressive appearances for Man City, scoring crucial goals in the Community Shield and the UEFA Super Cup, but was still ultimately deemed surplus to requirements.
Shown the exit through nothing other than the sheer quality of Pep Guardiola‘s starting XI, not to mention plenty of strength in depth and quality off the bench already, the West London club paid what looked to be a handsome £42.5 million for the still relatively unproven youngster at the time.
However, with another hattrick to his name – a perfect one scored all inside half an hour, no less – and a fourth for good measure thanks to a penalty against Everton, he’s quickly become by far and away Chelsea‘s star man.
In the same breath, many are now naturally wondering why he was sold in the first place. It’s no secret that City are spoilt for choice when it comes to talent amongst their ranks and certainly didn’t need the money from his sale; it was simply a case that Palmer wanted more minutes that Pep couldn’t promise.
Shouldering the responsibility for the decision at the time, Guardiola said he completely understood the Manchester-born and bred star’s drive and ambition, admitting that “[With] young players, we always want them to stay but this is normal.
“After one season it is nice, and the second season, but the third season it is, ‘Oh guys, I want to play, I don’t want to sit on the bench’. It’s normal. We understand as a club. We got an offer from an incredible top club like Chelsea and I’m really happy for him. In all clubs these types of things happen.”
However, we dare say that if you were to tell the Catalan coach that same hungry prospect would end up being joint top-scorer with his Erling Haaland the following season and being, we think it’s fair to say he might at least hesitate before green-lighting his departure – and there are plenty more stats to boot.
Now, it’s impossible to know whether or not having the knowledge he has now would have made Pep second-guess his decision and take a chance on integrating Cole Palmer into City’s first team more regularly but put it this way, 25 goals and 13 assists in all competitions is hard to ignore.
That’s all inside what is for all intents and purposes his full debut season as a first-team starter (which isn’t even over yet), let’s not forget, and while they’ve had similar situations play out with the likes of Jadon Sancho in the past, it must be a little frustrating to see him playing this well in the same only league only in a darker shade of blue.
On the other hand, it’s still early days Palmer could also follow that same narrative even further and see that huge momentum trickle out depending on how his sophomore season goes. He’s also a boyhood Man United fan and not that we’re saying we can see him make that move down the line, but we all know how that switch sadly ended up for Sancho.
For many fans, City or otherwise, the logic seems to be that letting him go was the right decision for everyone, as it’s allowed him to get that crucial playing time and shine like he has this season, which may not have happened while waiting to grab his opportunity off the bench at the Etihad.
Moreover, it’s not like the treble-winners aren’t still looking like they could defend all three of their trophies this year – although it would be interesting to see what impact Palmer has when he comes up against his former club in the FA Cup semi-final this weekend.
What do you think, were City right to sell Cole Palmer or should they have held on to him and given him the minutes he was clearly more than ready for?
Remember when the Manchester Marathon used to be too short?
Danny Jones
One of the most popular runs in the UK returns this weekend as the 2024 Adidas Manchester Marathon gets underway on Sunday morning, but did you know the famous race was once too short to count as the full shebang?
Yes, it may very be one of the flattest and most accessible races anywhere in Europe but once upon a time the Manchester Marathon was technically a marathon, as those in charge of measuring the thing up didn’t quite nail it.
One job, guys. You had one job…
Here’s the story of for three whole years, tens of thousands of runners sadly didn’t technically complete the Manchester Marathon.
Manchester Marathon: The ‘ish’ years
As was widely publicised at the time, in 2016 it was found that roughly the three previous years of the race course that runs throughout Manchester city centre, into the likes of Trafford, Chorlton, Altrincham and beyond didn’t actually fulfil the complete distance needed to qualify as a marathon.
While the race route has to stretch for 26.2 miles, or approximately 42.195 kilometres if you prefer metric (always one that splits the crowd) to count as an official marathon, it turned out that in 2013, ’14 and ’15, Manchester’s biggest running event fell just short of that mark.
Due to a measuring error – for which blame was placed on the Association of UK Course Measurers (AUKCM), who said an accredited measurer had ridden the course in 2013 but fell foul to an error in the calibration of the bicycle wheel – those three years ended up being 380m too short.
As a result, roughly 24,000 runners who ran the Manchester Marathon during this three-year period essentially had their races voided, including plenty of elite athletes, as the official UK Athletics governing body simply could not recognise their times. How fuming would you be?
Speaking in an official statement at the time, AUKCM said they regretted the mistake, confessing: “Significant errors in measurement are rare – our procedures are designed to find them at the reporting or checking stages”.
Xtra Mile Events, who were still the organisers of the event at the time, went on to add: “We all understand the anguish and huge disappointment this creates and want to assure our runners that we share the upset and emotion from the AUKCM news regarding the race distance.”
Thankfully, such mistakes haven’t been suffered since and now under the umbrella of sporting giants Adidas, you won’t catch them making the same slips-ups.
Best of luck to all of you racing this Sunday and rest easy in the knowledge that while you might be absolutely dying by those last few miles, at least you can be sure those every one of those final yards is going to count. Now go and smash it!