Looking at Greater Manchester
This is the view from the 12th floor of my new office. It overlooks Ancoats towards the north east of Manchester. Frankly, there is not much to see. With Manchester’s signature red-brick and the crumbling remains of the industrial hey-days, Ancoats can be pretty much an eyesore.
But I believe regeneration is coming to this part of the city. Every morning as I walk to work I find a piece of its past; glorious, majestic and worthy. The big bold doors that guard the Co-Operative on Balloon Street, the gold traders of days past, the tram wires above my head, now used as film sets for 1920’s New York.
There are always two sides to a city you live in – one that has been glamourised in films and popular culture, exported abroad as a commodity. The other belongs to you, because you live your life in it, know it and own it.
Wan Phing Lim 