OCCUPIED COUNTRY

Yesterday

Up early and off to Castle Hawk Golf Club for the annual 'Friends' golf day. A full english starts the day, followed by a nine hole team Stableford. A dinner of soup, sandwiches and chips before once more into the breach for an individual Stableford in the afternoon. All in all an enjoyable day. I must admit though, I couldn't join a club and play week in week out. A few times a year is fine but any more than that and it becomes *a good walk spoiled*.

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Later Dearest and I, along with Eldest's lonely girlfriend adjourned to the Saffron, a recently opened Indian restaraunt near to our home. Its about the 3rd or 4th time we've been and, I must say, it really is excellent. A couple of bottles of wine, 3 pints of Bengal lager and 3 free sambuccas later we staggered walked a few yards down the road to what must be the only pub in Britain with a (lapsed) Muslim landord. We've known Abdul for years. He was married to Margaret - who was a great friend of Dearest. Margaret was a (literally) larger than life character. 20+ stone of Irish confrontation. Sadly Margaret died a couple of years ago, but Abdul is slowly returning to his old self. Time is a great healer. Anyway a few more *for the road* before a taxi was produced to whisk us the short ride home.

Thus ended Shaun Goater Day 2003. (That was the only link I could find on t'internet).

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Speaking of homes, I was surprised to read that the North West has the highest percentage of empty properties in the UK. This has resulted in an ambitious plan to *redesign the heart of Greater Manchester*. Hopefully this attempt at Urban renewal will not turn out like the grandiose modernisation programmes of the 60s and 70s, which left many of our cities concrete horrors.

The other danger is that people lower down the income scale will be priced out of the areas they were born and bred in. *Cappuccino Ghettoes* they call them round here. Areas of Manchester City centre full of refurbished factories, offices and mills full to the brim with executive apartments and the young and successful. Believe me, you do have to be successful to be able to afford them. Let's just pray that the redesign takes account of this and provides some affordable housing - public or private.

When its done correctly, rebuilding on such a large scale can revitalise whole areas. The example of the rebirth of Manchester after the IRA bomb is, I think, a case in point. The work done around the old Corn Exchange has resulted in a *domino effect* that has filterd out to the surrounding areas. When people become aware of what can be achieved with a little bit of the vision-thing, they are more prepared to tackle other challenges.

On the other hand, planners and politicians can still cock up monumentally, as the redevelopment of Manchester's Piccadilly Gardens has shown.