F is for.......

Fountain.

Have blipped a couple of Manchester fountains before but this is a special one even if it is quite new. (1996)
I usually don't like much new stuff (because I am old)

Looks like a tulip doesn't it?
Well it is not a tulip it is a cotton bud!! (not the type you don't stick in your ears)

The sculptor won a competition for the honour of designing this.
His name is irrelevent to this blip ;-) but the light red granite used for the bud was suppossed to compliment the red sandstone of St Ann's church.
Oh! I forgot to say it is in St Ann's square and the church is behind it in this pic.
You can't tell because St Ann's is covered in scaffolding right now.

The emerging cotton boll (oohh get me!) is a reference to Manchester's cotton industry in the 19th century.

Cotton brought great wealth to Manchester.
This wealth was built on the explotation of the local working class who lived and worked in often wretched conditions. Also from the trade in slaves forced to work on cotton plantations in the Americas.

Well.......... that puts my working week into perspective.

Nice fountain though.

more a to z