Construction Finshed!

It's a totally new design and it's hot! Two new hips, two new hubbas, a round rail, two new quarters, and one and a half new flat banks - you'll see what I mean when you get here.

Pump Cage update 3 - nearly there!

The Cage will be open at on Saturday. Fearless have been working down there over the last couple of weeks, and have done a fantastic job. It's almost exactly the same as our initial design (Hiu's design) other than a slight angle adjustment on the larger hip.

We also decided NOT to include the Pier 7 Manny Pad. I know...I'm sorry. A lot of you like it, but we were losing too much space by including it. So it's gone. WE think we're still gaining far more with this design. Loads of new lines - very exciting! See you on Saturday.

Pump Cage update part 2 - more photos

There's still more to come...

Pump Cage update part 1 - Photos of construction

Skatepark reopening soon!

A lot of you may well be wondering what on earth happened to the Pump Cage this summer. And with just cause, too! I think it's safe to say that we've had a little more than our share of disruption over the last two months.

Just to bring you up to speed, back in July, a week before the schools ejected all their pupils for six weeks, someone decided it would be fun to try and burn down our skatepark. We don't know why. Anyway, it was a pretty weak attempt considering the amount of available fuel - it is a wooden skatepark, after all.

After failing miserably to get anywhere with ancient man's favourite combustible, they decided plastic might support their cause better. And it did! The bin bags went up first, then the portaloo. That was when the fire really got going. It reached such a high temperature that some of the concrete on the pier supporting the Mancunian Way cracked off in large chunks, leaving what looked liked a kind of baghdad-style, bombshell crater on the pier.

Understandably, the Bridges Department were quite upset. They asked us to move the skatepark two metres away from their piers, to allow them better access and perhaps also to reduce the chances of more pier damage in future. This isn't a cheap request, though. Our park doesn't slide along on runners, unfortunately. We needed to redesign half of the skatepark (see poorly drawn picture above).

By the end of the summer holidays, Manchester City Council had kindly agreed to pay for the necessary changes that would allow the Cage to reopen. These are now underway. Fearless began work last Tuesday and are well on their way to completing the new design and it looks amazing! I can't wait to skate it. The estimated opening date is Monday 29th September. See you there!

Lights in....but beard's still here!

 No more dark winters, no more early closures, no more wandering the streets in hope of finding a lit car park to session at 6 o'clock in the afternoon. Projekts Skatepark has floodlights! 

On 18th August the final five lamps were set in place beside their five counterparts, creating a long awaited symmetry above the fence line of the skatepark. Or, more importantly, the ability to light our way through wintertime.

To celebrate this grand achievement, we have decided to hold a launch party on 26 October at the park, called Let There Be Light, aptly enough. Some details are below:

• Team skate comp - 3 people per team (sign in on the day)
  
• 12pm - 11pm
• Fancy dress - come as a famous bearded character
  
• Best trick
  
• Girls' comp
  
• Big screen skate archive (wait and see)
  
• Live music and burger van. 
  
• FREE ENTRY! 
  

And I almost forgot to mention, my beard will be getting shaved off in the skatepark - cut throat style! 

151 Days Later

The worst is over. Although my beard continues to grow at the same rate as it always has, its proportional growth has reached a point as to make any change almost imperceptible over short periods. This means I don't have to deal with the daily stress of watching my face disappear under a dark brown jungle of wiry whiskers. Perhaps I reached that point some time ago but I've only just started to feel comfortable with it. I must admit, though, that I do feel a little uncomfortable when I go swimming. It's okay when I'm in the water but when I'm walking along poolside in nothing but my trunks, the beard gives me a strange feeling of top-heaviness, a little bit like one might feel if they left their house having neglected to but on any trousers. Needless to say, it's an uncomfortable situation.

So when will the lights arrive? Well, I was told that "realistically we are looking at the end of May". With no signs whatsoever of any work taking place, I'd have to say that, realistically, we might be waiting a few more weeks.

How to grow a beard

106 days! That's how old my beard is. And it's no mean feet, I can assure you. It takes some real determination to allow facial hair to get this long. But there are some simple instructions that anyone can follow to generate a similar growth on their own face:

1) Don't pick up a razor - this might sound obvious and it is;

2) Don't shave the hair on you face - if you fail to keep instruction number one you may use instruction number two to help avoid any permanent loss of achievement;

3) Don't let anyone else shave you - it's okay to let them shave themselves. That won't be a problem for you. Just don't let them bring the razor anywhere near you.

Now you should be fully equipped to grow your very own beard.

Beard Blog - Day 62

Day 60

You might be wondering why I've not posted anything for a while. Well I haven't given up (as you can see), I've just been waiting for things to happen. There seems little point in dribbling on and on each day if there's no news to talk about and although I do have plenty of other interests besides the skatepark, it would hardly deserve a platform on my Beard Blog.

So does this post mean something has happened? Yes it does. This morning I had a call from United Utilities' contractors saying they expect the installation of mains electricity to be completed by next week! They're at the park as I'm writing this, searching for our junction box, the place that connects the mains electricity to our skatepark. This does not affect the beard, however. The beard will remain, in full, until the lights are operational.

That's not the only good news, although it's the most exciting - I wasn't expecting anything so definite so soon. Perhaps I'm overexposed to disappointment. The other news is that the floodlights have been ordered from Amey. We haven't been given an installation date and I'm not in a position to speculate, unfortunately. As soon as I hear anything, I'll let you know.

If you'd like to see the full beard growth process, please click here