Take me through the streets of Manchester..........

I have to say this; living in close vicinity to our 'Second City', Birmingham hold your head in shame!:( Manchester City is the cleanest of cities I have ever seen! No crap all over the pavements, no black and worn out civic halls, smashed windows - before any Mancs jump in - I am not stupid enough to know that these areas don't exist - I am talking strictly city centre in both Manc and Brumland. Got off the train at New St Station and thought, God what a smelly, dirty dump (not for the first time admit), but it knocks the socks off Brum - and London come to that, and Brighton, and Chester, and York, and Exeter, Salisbury, Cheltenham, L'pool,..there may be more.....but err, I think that's all so far in the Uk at least.

The Pogues - Dirty Old Town - it was written after an overnight stay in Brum. True! Honest!

We've got the IRA to thank for that.

they blew half of it up 10 years ago so it's nice and new

oh, and the Commonwealth games helped.

Abso-fucking-lutely! Instead of the icky toilet tiled Arndale,we've got glass palaces all over.

It's reckoned those pricks are responsilbe for most of the best modern buildings in the country.

Barney Army wrote: We've got the IRA to thank for that.

they blew half of it up 10 years ago so it's nice and new

Yeah, I was there on that day, minding my own business, doing a bit of shopping...

Birmingham.Every time i go there no sooner have i got off the train i find myself having to negotiate that ramp by Macdonalds with that bloody recorded message going "KEEP TO THE LEFT .KEEP TO THE LEFT.KEEP TO.."

And then there's that new Bullring.2 minutes in that place always reminds me that i simply DO.NOT.DO.SHOPPING.. where's the pub?

Manchester's great though.Especially at 5 am wandering around some serious Bank looking district still pissed after a night at the Hacienda.We're talking May 1990 here of course.The last few times we've rather sensibly driven straight home.