So I’ve been back in Manchester properly for the first time since I went to London. 8 months is a long time in this ever changing city, and it has gone crazy.

What’s Changed

1. Ticket barriers at Picadilly. Not yet operational but soon. I’m OK with this.
2. Crazy amount of new builds at the top of Regents Road… they had started before I left but now they are huge! The poor tiny Campinille hotel is totally dwarfed.
3. More new builds on Ordsall Lane…. and more joggers running my old route.
4. Even more new builds on the (prevoiusly) abandoned Quay next to Ordsall Lane. Just the ground works now but definitely going to be an impressive place to live with the canal on either side.
5. Contactless card technology on the tram stops (to be fair this might have been in before I left, I hadn’t been on a tram for a while!)
6. It looked as though the Sam Platts pub on Trafford Park had shut down permanently…
7. They finally fixed the hole on the Mancunian way!

What Hasn’t Changed

1. The short stay car park at Picadilly is still a nightmare to get out of
2. The old fire station apparently still hasn’t been redeveloped
3. There will always be one angry Mancunian having a go (ours was a taxi driver we had dared to inconvenience by parking correctly in a legitimate stop next to him)
4. This city is awesome
5. My friends are great