Wednesday, 24 January 2018

Living in Weatherfield

My new home - MediaCityUK in Salford
In September I headed off to university in Manchester; a brand new life on the other side of the country. The thought of living away from home was daunting for me - hailing from quiet little County Durham in the North East where really nothing much happens, everyone talks to one another and life is just generally canny, I just didn't know if I'd fit in. I was wrong.

Luckily for me, half of my friends from sixth form college also moved down with me to the exact same uni. What are the chances? Secondly, a good proportion of people I've met at uni are also from the North East, meaning that Manchester really is home from home. Although there is a general lack of Greggs stores and a whole lot of Southerners who think they're "in the North" (anywhere below Middlesbrough is the South), it's pretty much fantastic.

I can't believe I've reached the third paragraph without mentioning the most important thing about moving to the North West. I am now on Coronation Street's doorstep! I live in Salford, the city where "Weatherfield" is, and my uni campus is at MediaCity, meaning I see those famous chimney tops and the façade of Victoria Court across the quays on a daily basis.

I've met Pat Phel...Connor McIntyre, not once, but twice. And he's a legend.
Out and about in town, I can see why articles like this one are very true, because despite the tram crashes, yearly arson attacks, murders, rapes, car crashes and robberies, Weatherfield has nothing on Salford's crime rate. The shopping centre is rife on a nighttime, and sometimes quite frightening, and you see some eye-opening sights.

There's the dodgy types like Callum and his gang hanging around in the dark alleyways behind the derelict working mens clubs, the brassy Carla Connor types stocking up on wine then driving off in their posh cars back to the swanky quayside, and even a woman who is a double of Beth Tinker working in Savers. She is an icon.


Across my morning commute I pass the ACTUAL Coronation Street, home of Salford Lads Club and
the location of this legendary LP cover (though sadly the terraced street in the background behind wor Rita is no longer). Everything is just far too exciting for this Corrie fan, and I'm loving it.

You can follow me on Twitter if you want, I'm @MichaelAdamsUk


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4 comments:

  1. Anonymous24 January 2018 at 10:44

    C in Canada:
    Where I come from, ‘living on the other side of the country’ means quite a lot further! lol

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous24 January 2018 at 14:11

    This is such a cute article. Really put a smile on my face.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Where's Emily??24 January 2018 at 16:34

    I know what you mean about people thinking that they live in the north when in fact, it's anything but. North in Canada is an hour from Toronto, whereas, north to me, means south of James Bay...the Boreal forest.

    Great guest post by the way, glad you're enjoying University, good luck!!

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  4. Catsmom24 January 2018 at 17:15

    Holy molies, but that picture of the "real" Coronation Street looks horribly depressing! Dark and dismal. If I had to live there, I'd want to paint my house a bright color and plant the lightest, prettiest colors of flowers I could find. How depressing!

    ReplyDelete