Manchester Duck Race

Good Friday saw the Manchester Duck Race down the river Irwell at Spinningfields. The entire area of Spinningfields was heaving with people especially young families all keen to enter the race which was held in aid of the Brainwave Charity which aims to "help children, between the ages of 6 months to 12 years, who have a brain injury, genetic condition or Developmental Delay.".
Starting from the bridge just near the Mark Addy pub, with the kick off due at 2pm, I arrived about 20 minutes early and squeezed my way through the throngs of people to the bridge over New Quay Street, where I managed to secure a position directly above the finishing line. The race started with the corporate ducks about 15 minutes late, where I was stood although you could tell someone was speaking into the sound system, you couldn't actually hear what was being said, so you had to guess.

But the corporate ducks were released and went on their way - very slowly. There were radio controlled speed boats that were used to keep the water flowing and pushing the ducks in the right direction. Like a lot of people I was surprised how small they were, we expected pretty hefty ducks, although by how long they took it was probably for the best that they weren't too huge!

The corporate ducks could decorate theirs as they wished, and there were some pretty sweet costumes, from pirates to artists with a palette and all manner of feathers and head dresses!
Once the corporate race had finished, the clouds had started to gather over a previously sunny Manchester, and before you had time to blink - the general public mini ducks were released by their hundreds from Bridge Street.

Unlike the larger ducks, these took no time in sweeping down the Irwell, keeping tightly packed almost the entire journey. A lot of people were wondering how they would choose a winner when the ducks were at one point travelling in a straight line,meaning about 30 would pass the line together.

Needless to say, in true Manchester fashion, within seconds of a winner passing the finishing line, the heavens opened and people left in droves to find shelter from the rain or simply go home.
I left via Carluccio's for another of Manchester's Best Coffees.

La Gayola

Today we visited Spinningfields to go to La Gayola Spiegeltent - part of the Queer Up North Festival, the tent was situated on large grassy area next door to the new justice building. We parked across from the Courts for £2 all day parking on a Sunday - bargain, but get there early, when we left at 1pm it was full!
We arrived quite early so to pass the time decided to explore Spinningfields, which is home to lots of cafés/restaurants including Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Café Rouge and Zizzi - although I suspect we must have missed a fairly large chunk of the development as we didn't see Wagamama's, Pret or Nando's that are apparently there. We did however discover Giraffe which had a really tasty looking breakfast menu which we fully intend to try out in the near future. There's also a Carluccio's which has apparently been voted best cup of take-away coffee by some Manchester Review type site (that I can't recall the name of right now) - so I decided to see for myself. Easily the best coffee I've had in years, I opted for the smooth roast and was not disappointed - I normally find I need sugar in 'proper' coffee but this needed no additives, it was also served at the optimum drinking temperature, so I didn't need to take the lid off for 10 minutes whilst waiting for it to cool. At £1 a cup for take away it ticks every box for the perfect coffee - will definitely be visiting again soon. We actually went back later on to sample many delights including a raspberry and mascarpone tart, limoncello, mushroom pasta and ice cream!

The Spiegeltent opened shortly before 11am, and we chose a booth towards the left of the stage, breakfast was catered by Café Rouge - with a selection of pastries including croissants and pain au chocolat with a choice of tea or coffee.

The pain au chocolat was to die for, with the chocolate just melting in your mouth, of course the rest of it was lovely too. We'd actually finished eating by about 11.15 and patiently waited for the acts to start - 3 were listed on the website when we booked. At 12 there was still no sign of the entertainment, which was beginning to confuse us as the event was supposed to finish at 12.30, however about five past 12, the first act came on stage who I assume was Our Lady J, who sang 2 very amusing songs, quickly followed by Scottee

who also sang 2 songs and in his own words wasn't funny, but entertaining non the less - no idea what happened to the 3rd act, as once Scottee left the stage it was apparent that it was over, and most people started leaving (well not including the ones who had left before the acts even came on stage). All in all a fun event, but maybe not quite billed/advertised right, as like a few people sat near us, we thought that breakfast would be served and eaten whilst watching the acts, not waited around for almost an hour.
The tent itself was beautiful and worth a visit, it reminded me of an old fashioned circus crossed with a wild west saloon, the centre roof of the tent was draped yellow and red velvet, along with lots of stained glass, mirrors and dark wood.

More photos of the Spiegeltent can be found here