A place called Friendly

There's a bit of a theme emerging in recent weeks... people with Levenshulme connections, while not exactly pining for their old stamping grounds, certainly googling for old times' sake. Take this email for Chris:

Just a quick note to say hello. I lived in Levenshulme for 6 years when I moved to Manchester in my mid 20's. This site brought back some happy memories - I loved my time in Manchester's most underrated southern suburb and would never had left had it not been for the woman I'm about to marry.

Please keep up the good work (but don't shout too loudly about That Cafe - we wouldn't want the Didsburyites finding out about it and claiming it for their own, would we?).

Chris
(Now in a place called Friendly just over the border in Yorkshire. Sorry.)

Now, Chris, there's no need to apologise about having moved to the People's Republic. And even if there were, it'd all be water under the bridge once the place name "Friendly" was revealed. Surely there's an independent road movie just yearning to be made with a title along the lines of Postcards from a Place Called Friendly.

And on a That Café note, I have to disagree (ever so politely): I want to shout from the rooftops about just how fantastic the food is! I'd rather the place be packed every night with the world and his aunt than keep it all hushed and under wraps.

Levenshulme Literati

Here's an email I got from an author with Levenshulme connections:

Hi

When I 'googled' Levenshulme recently I wasn't quite sure what I'd find (if anything). I certainly never expected anything like lovelevenshulme.com. What a wonderful, feelgood site for the 21st century. Well done to whoever created it.

I thought you might like to know about a book I've written. It's called 'The Angels of Mona Terrace' and it's set partly in Levenshulme. To quote the blurb on the back cover: "Set in the era of black and white TVs and the Blue Peter time capsule, this book thrusts us back into the grittiness of 1970s childhood in the backstreets of Manchester." You can find out more at www.stevewoodbooks.co.uk where you can also see my mini tribute to good old Levenshulme. I've also linked to lovelevenshulme.com - hope that's okay.

Bye for now. Steve Wood

So, what do you love about Levenshulme? (Episode 1)

In between spending time at the outdoor art thing at Highfield Country Park and the Spring Fair at the Tonbridge Road Community Allotment on Sunday afternoon, I got asking people about what they love about Levenshulme, and thought I might stitch a few of the video clips together every now and then. So here's a very brief Episode 1, just to check it works OK...