After the Buffet Bar.

The inside of the Marble Arch.

Part of the tiling. The names of various alcoholic drinks are emblazoned around the wall.

Bar Fringe.

The unrestored section of the ceiling at ex convent now pub the Crown and Kettle.

Presumably they know something we do not.

After the trip to the Stalybridge Buffet Bar (see posts passim), the train whisked us back to Manchester, covering the seven or eight miles in only half an hour or so, due to the wonders of modern travel. We walked from Manchester Victoria Station to the Marble Arch in Ancoats which makes it's own organic ales, including a superb Ginger Beer which brought on a fit of food ordering, culminating in organic burgers, which, as is the way of organic foods, tasted just like non organic burgers. I always add grated onion to mine, which gives an authentically greasy take away texture. There were people playing Irish instruments, for reasons better known to themselves, but none the worse for that. The Marble Arch is lined in beautiful Victorian tiling, only still there because it was for years covered with plasterboard until it was relatively recently uncovered. Well worth seeing if you are in the area. The brewery supplies barrels of beer to our Church parties from time to time and we shall be having some more excellent St Hildas Ale later in the year when I have my Summer Garden Party.

After the Marble came a visit to Bar Fringe around the corner, haunt of bikers and people who like loud music and plastic gothicky things so we then went on to the Crown and Kettle, which used to be a convent. The ornate ceiling has been restored but in one of the rooms has been left as it was found, photographed for you above. The night finished by walking down Oldham Road past a surprising shop (again pictured above) to the tram stop for the tram ride home. I thought you might like to know all this, being the inquisitive sort.