Cultural Fix

I was going to take sister S to Martin Mere today, but the forecast (which proved to be correct) was for rain all day. So I took her to Manchester for a cultural trip down the Oxford Road instead, a first for her and a first for me post-pandemic.

First stop the RNCM for a coffee. It’s a venue I’ve always loved. Every other student carrying a musical instrument.

Second stop The Whitworth Art Gallery for an excellent lunch. Three excellent exhibitions - Traces of Displacement, Albrecht Durer’s material world, and Material Power, all about Palestinian embroidery from the 19th century to the present. The last had been planned for 2020 but Covid prevented it happening, so it opened last November - the Gallery had to decide whether to continue with it following last October’s horrific events, and I think made the right decision. It was fascinating - the image is of S watching a video. Inevitably it’s political in the light of current events.

Third stop, the Manchester Museum, celebrating its first year of reopening since major refurbishment and reorganisation. We focussed on the China and South Asia galleries, excellent.