The mural was subsequently restored by the original artist the following day – but the messages kept on coming.
While the glorious sunshine over the last week or so has meant that the messages have remained mostly unharmed since the original incident, Manchester City Council has now confirmed that it will begin the process of carefully removing them this Friday ahead of a forecasted change in the weather at the weekend.
There are fears that the messages will disintegrate and be lost forever if they aren’t removed in advance of the prolonged spells of rain expected in the area from Saturday.
— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) July 13, 2021
To ensure this doesn’t happen, every message and tribute that has been left at the mural will be collected before the rain comes by a team of professional staff from Manchester Art Gallery and Central Library Archives+.
MA students from the Institute of Cultural Practices at the University of Manchester are also standing by, ready to help with collecting the messages and documenting the process.
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Wherever possible, messages will be removed individually, but due to the amount of adhesive tape that has been used to fix tributes to the mural, it is more likely that whole sections will have to be lifted and packed on site, and then carefully separated later.
After their removal, all the messages will transported to Central Library’s archives department for safe-keeping.
All partners involved will then decide how best to make them more widely available.
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Manchester Art Gallery, Central Library’s Archives department, the People’s History Museum, the National Football Museum, the University of Manchester, and the Withington Walls project- who first commissioned the mural – have all been involved in discussions on how best to preserve the tributes.
The messages will be carefully removed ahead of a forecasted change in the weather. / Credit: Twitter (@MarcusRashford)
Once at the library, a team of professionals will set about the delicate process of separating each of the messages, recording, and photographing them – and while no decisions have yet been made on where the messages will eventually be kept, the current priority is preserving and protecting them from the weather.
It is hoped that by preserving the messages, they can be made available for education and public display in the future as an important and permanent reminder of just what a significant moment in the city and country’s cultural history this has been.
Marcus Rashford himself is also to be asked what he would like to happen to the messages, and how he would like them to be used.
“The support and respect shown for Marcus and his teammates over the last week through the thousands of tributes left at his mural has been amazing and wonderful to see,” said Councillor Luthfur Rahman OBE – Deputy Leader at Manchester City Council.
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“The actions of all those who have turned up in solidarity to see his mural and leave their own messages of love and support for him has ‘Manchester’ stamped all the way through it.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CRQ1DceoBVC/
He continued: “We think it’s important this shared moment of solidarity – that started with the placing of just one small message of love on the mural after it was defaced – an action that spoke to the whole country and not just Manchester, is remembered and preserved for future generations.
“We’re reaching out to Marcus with some thoughts on how this could be achieved and to ask what he would like to happen to the tributes to help create a lasting legacy of tolerance, love, and solidarity for future generations to learn from.”
Castlefield is being transformed into Gotham amidst more Hollywood filming in Greater Manchester
Danny Jones
Castlefield, with its iconic viaduct and cobbled streets, is once again being used for big-budget filming as the latest Batman/DC Universe title, Clayface, looks to be setting up in the eye-catching Manc corner.
Whether it’s football kit reveals and brand shoots, BBC dramas or the next upcoming Netflix series, production crews can’t get enough of Castlefield, it would seem.
For those who hadn’t heard, work on the new Clayface movie revolving around the cult favourite Batman villain is well underway, and the North West has been used as the backdrop on multiple ocassions this month already.
You can see early glimpses of the set being put together down below.
Come on, how cool is it that we get to stumble on stuff like this right on our doorstep so often?
Speaking to The Manc, a source detailed that the set is being assembled today (Tuesday, 16 September) ahead of a single day of principal photography on what we can only assume is more Clayface filming sometime tomorrow.
While she could not confirm with us directly, she said, “If you’re a comic book nerd and look at the posters, you’ll be able to figure it out.” We’ve certainly been studying all the easter eggs already.
It might not quite be as dark and gritty as Gotham City, but this particular part of Manchester has been used in TV and film – especially period dramas – many times for good reason.
The Victorian-era steel structure, dark red brick and overall industrial aesthetic work so well when it comes to creating a believable and cinematic world.
Besides perhaps the most famous instance of Peaky Blinders shooting in these parts, you can add multiple music videos, several Manchester United and Man City shirt launches, and so many more that we’re starting to lose track.
As for Clayface, this isn’t even the first time the upcoming DC ‘body-horror’ flick has popped up in Greater Manchester.
Last week saw the equally striking Art Deco facade of the old The Plaza Super Cinema in Stockport turned into a fictional movie premiere to stunning effect:
Speaking of, another childhood favourite is filming here in Manchester right now, too.
Besides perhaps the most famous instance of Peaky Blinders shooting in these parts, the new Narnia adaptation by Greta Gerwig may just be one of the biggest projects that has ever landed underneath the familiar ‘birdcage’.
ln fact, it just so happens that there are actually multiple noteworthy small and silver screen works fighting over the Castlefield shooting schedule at the moment…
Manchester City staff member sacked after wearing Man United shirt to shift
Danny Jones
Man City have divided a fair few supporters after they sacked a barman for wearing a United shirt to their shift during the Manchester derby.
Although it’s not exactly surprising, the decision has ruffled plenty of feathers on both sides, as well as among neutral fans.
The Blues emerged victorious in the 197th clash between the two local rivals, winning 3-0 on an evening that paid tribute to the late, great Ricky Hatton, but another backstory looming over the fixture that caught the attention of football fans online was the City staff member who lost his job.
Working on concessions inside the Etihad Stadium before the game, the barman was made known to the official MCFC Matchday Support channel on X, who quickly confirmed he had been let go before the game even began.
In the since-deleted post, the home fan who reported the worker wrote: “Absolute joke – letting one of the bar staff in block 315 wear a United shirt on Derby Day.”
Although many City fans applauded the fast action by the club on the day, it’s fair to say that sacking him so soon that he didn’t even last until kick-off has rubbed many others the wrong way.
One Liverpool fan commented: “I hate United way more than City, but to sack him from a job because of an item of clothing is crazy. So, so poor from Manchester City, this. It’s just football lads, he’s not wearing a political or derogatory symbol. It’s literally a football team…”
Another neutral added: “Getting a minimum wage worker sacked for having a bit of fun instead of just winding him up is the absolute sad state this country is in.”
Even the ‘Out Of Context Football Manager‘ parody account chipped in, writing: “The guy’s been sacked for this. All he needed was a formal warning. I get he’s taking the p*ss – but losing a salary he might really need over this?!
While many have been even more outspoken in their response, as you can see, many supporters – be they Red or otherwise – have come up with arguably the perfect solution:
Manchester City are yet to comment on the backlash, apart from the initial confirmation that the still-anonymous staff member has been released from his position, but as for Man United, simply sticking him on the kiosks in the Stretford End could prove to be a very easy bit of positive PR.
Besides the growing frustration around the fanbase, as Ruben Amorim has yet to turn things around at Old Trafford (pressure was growing even before the derby day defeat), the Red Devils could no doubt do with some positive press for a change.
In fact, it was only earlier this year that co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, CEO Omar Berrada and the wider INEOS Sports administration sanctioned a second round of redundancies at United, with approximately 450 individuals losing their jobs.
That being said, although some have labelled the sacking of the now ex-City barman as “absolutely horrendous behaviour” for Man City, many jumped to quip back that “[United are] more likely to sack more bar staff, not hire them”, as well as simultaneously taking aim at their significant transfer spending.
The Manc -
21st July 2021 
