Under the Bridge

Construction Finshed!

2009-10-03T23:48:00.003+01:00

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!

2009-09-30T19:18:00.000+01:00

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

2009-09-30T18:42:00.002+01:00

There's still more to come...

Pump Cage update part 1 - Photos of construction

2009-09-30T18:19:00.002+01:00

Skatepark reopening soon!

2009-09-21T22:27:00.003+01:00

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!

2008-09-08T11:51:00.005+01:00

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

2008-05-30T10:02:00.004+01:00

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

2008-04-15T15:29:00.005+01:00

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

2008-03-04T09:16:00.003Z

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

Girls Only Skate Comp

2008-02-13T18:51:00.006Z

Projekts is hosting Manchester's first ever Girls Only skateboarding event on 8th March. To find out more, have a look at the poster!

And check out these links, too:

http://www.projektsmcr.com/park.php
http://kingpinskateboarding.com/news/girls-only-skate-competition.html

Beard Blog - Day 33

2008-02-07T10:06:00.001Z

Day 33

I haven't given up, despite the overwhelming desire to. My beard is a proper beard now. If I had to categorise it I'd say it was Lord of the Rings but it will probably be Biblical by the time the lights are installed. I was hoping it might get softer as it grew longer but it hasn't. Each hair is thick and wiry and when the beard is pressed or touched the hairs turn and spike my face. It's like a living coat of armour covering the lower part of my face. The plus side is that it keeps my face warm when I ride my bike!

After writing a letter to the Deputy Chief Executive of the Council, Steve Mycio, I have received a more realistic assessment of our situation from the various Council departments involved. I have now learned that we definitely do not have planning permission to put the floodlights in. The plus side is that because Steve Mycio is pressing them, the Planning Department are moving faster than normal. I've been told to expect planning to be completed in 5 weeks rather than the usual 8 weeks.

During that time the traffic notice that United Utilities have issued will be over and the process of cable laying should be in full swing. I'm hoping for a seamless transfer from UU to Amey, so when UU finish their task Amey take the end of UU's cable and connect it to their floodlights. And then we can all breath a sigh of relief and have a big party!

For the full beard experience click here

Beard Blog - Days 18, 19, 20, 21

2008-01-28T19:00:00.001Z

Today's beard

There's no real news about lights or electricity. My beard has got longer, though. Perhaps tomorrow will hold something a little more interesting.

http://picasaweb.google.com/johnnyhaines/MyBeardProtest

Beard Blog - Days 16 & 17

2008-01-24T09:56:00.000Z

Today's beard

In 1969, during the Vietnam war, John Lennon and Yoko Ono embarked on a new type of anti-war protest - they laid in bed and grew their hair. Now I'm growing my beard but it's not for peace, it's for floodlights, which I think is a much more realistic target! Is it working? Probably not. Well it doesn't speed up the process but it does let people know that I care and that I'm thinking about it all the time and that I'm trying to push the process on.

Today I'm going to find out if the Council have written the cheque to United Utilities. I'll let you know how it goes.

http://picasaweb.google.com/johnnyhaines/MyBeardProtest

Beard Blog - Day 15

2008-01-22T10:22:00.000Z

Today's Beard

I discovered yesterday that I'm gonna be growing this beard for at least another month! I spoke to a lovely woman at United Utilities who told me a little of what I already knew and a little new stuff.

I explained before, that City Works had no idea that UU had changed their order process from payment on completion of works, to payment in advance. Well, UU told me that a letter was sent to MCC as soon as their new system was introduced. As City Works make all the works orders on behalf of MCC you'd imagine this important change in policy by UU would have been passed onto them but it seems it wasn't. If this information had been passed to City Works we would be well on the way to a beautifully lit skatepark.

We have around 1,400 members a Projekts Skatepark. They skate if it's raining, cold, sunny, cloudy, or snowing. They can't skate if it's dark! Every delay in this convoluted process affects each one of our members. That's why I'm writing this and that's why I get angry and that's why I grow my beard. It's our members and our staff who suffer daily each time a mistake like this is made. Every time a simple phone call isn't made or an email not sent, we are left cold and in the dark for another day.

The other news is that UU need to give a 28 day traffic notice before works can begin. So even if MCC got the cheque to UU today, we still won't get lights for at least another month. And the beard keeps growing.......

http://picasaweb.google.com/johnnyhaines/MyBeardProtest

Beard Blog - Day 12,13 and 14

2008-01-19T16:04:00.000Z

Today's Beard

The beard's really getting somewhere now, which is a shame because it means we still don't have lights. I'm starting to look like some ancient king from Lord of the Rings, except with shorter hair and cheaper clothes. Yesterday I got out of the shower and thought I looked a bit like Stephen Baldwin in Usual Suspects but it's not really happening today.

I wonder who I'll be tomorrow...

http://picasaweb.google.com/johnnyhaines/MyBeardProtest

Beard Blog - Day 11

2008-01-18T09:11:00.001Z

On 8 March, Projekts MCR will be hosting its first Girls-Only skate jam for International Women's Day. The competition is for female skaters only and will be held at Projekts skatepark under the Mancunian Way. Categories include U16, 16+ and sponsored, with a cash prize available for the best sponsored skater. Projekts will also run Girls-Only coaching sessions at certain points in the day.

Initially we planned to have our floodlight opening event on 1 March but this is now canceled until further notice (see earlier blogs to find out why). As soon as I hear anything I'll let you know.

Beard Blog - Day 10

2008-01-17T11:03:00.000Z

Today's beard

When Projekts MCR began running the skatepark, back in August 2004, we were told by the Council that they would soon be providing floodlights, mains electricity, an office for us to work in and, at some point, a park extension. This was all great news because sitting outside in the freezing cold, even after the first week, was starting to become a little depressing. Around 8 months later we finally received our office; a black, steel shipping container, 2 meters wide, 3 meters long and 2 meters high. Although it wasn't much warmer than being outside, it kept the wind off and it gave us a secure place to keep our generator until the floodlights arrived. We had no idea that we'd be waiting over 3 years to get them.

We used a generator to power temporary floodlights during the first winter. This allowed the skaters to continue into the night, which was great for them but not so fun for whoever was working because they were forced to sit outside for 5 hours each evening in freezing temperatures.

Our first generator was stolen on 12 December 2004, when the park was closed. It was worth about £5,000, I think. The Council gave us another generator shortly after. This was stolen less than a month later, between Christmas Day and New Year. It was stolen whilst Projekts staff were working inside the park but no one saw or heard anything. The generator had been left sitting on the trailer it had arrived on. We think the thieves must have simply attached it to their van a driven off with it. This generator was also very expensive, similar to the first one.

The following year, we had our final generators stolen. We were storing two generators in our office at the time. The thieves clipped the locks on the gate, then tried to pull the container door open but gave up trying that after they accidently managed to rip the solid metal handle off. They then turned their attention to our metal shutters that protected the windows on the front and side of the office. They peeled the front shutter open using a long metal rod, smashed the window, climbed in and opened the door from the inside, then proceeded to steal everything inside which included two generators (one for lights the other for a small electric heater), our entire tuck shop stock (this was apparently sold to the local pub, according to some young boys from the area who claimed to have witnessed the transaction), some skateboards and my guitar (this made me particularly sad as I’d owned it for a very long time). There would be no more generators from now on.

The total cost of these thefts comes to around £10,000 which, coincidently, is the price we're paying for permanent floodlights.

To see how the beard's coming on click on this: http://picasaweb.google.com/johnnyhaines/MyBeardProtest

Beard Blog - Day 9

2008-01-16T09:09:00.000Z

Today's beard

Electricity update

If you remember, City Works (they're the guys who make the orders for MCC) needed a cheque from the MCC finance department to give to UU so that they could process our order for mains electricity. However, to get a cheque from the finance department, UU must first provide them with an invoice for the amount required. As you can see, it's a laborious process.

UU appear to have a monopoly on laying electricity cables in Manchester. It's very frustrating and I struggle to see how it's legal. We tried to use a different company at one point, in order to reduce our costs; as with all monopolies (and I'm not saying UU definitely are), they can set their own prices and not have to worry about being undercut.

So our valiant effort began by calling UU to find the position of the mains electricity junction. We needed the grid reference so we could pass it on to another company, allowing them to know where to start digging. (At this point I feel I should explain why anything needs digging in order to give our skatepark electricity. We have been told (by UU, in fact) that the nearest electricity junction box to our park is about 100m up the road. Therefore, in order to bring it to our little skatepark someone needs to dig a big hole from the junction box to the park, get a 100m long cable, lay it in the hole, attach one end to the electricity, attach the other to our junction box next to the park, then bury the cable. Quite simple, really.)

UU refused to give us the grid reference. Their reason for not passing on this essential information was this: that if they give us the grid reference, we would be able to find another company to do the work instead of them. If that's not unfair practise, I don't know what is.

Lighting update

Amey have nearly completed the new lighting design. On completion it will be sent to MEDC to be checked. MEDC will then send a purchase order to Amey who will start the works as soon as possible.

Check out the beard growth process: http://picasaweb.google.com/johnnyhaines/MyBeardProtest

The Beard Blog - Day 8

2008-01-15T11:03:00.000Z

Todays beard

Just over a week ago I decided to grow a beard. Not because I fancied a change or because I thought I'd look particularly good with one but because I'm sick and tired of being let down by the companies and organisations surrounding the installation of floodlights and mains electricity to Projekts Skate park, under the Mancunian Way, where I work.

Although we were told three years ago that floodlights would arrive soon, it wasn't until recently that I decided nothing was happening and that the only way to get anywhere was to try to get the funding myself and deal directly with the lighting and utilities companies. This worked quite well. We made a successful proposal to the Youth Capital Fund for £25,000. Manchester Leisure had already agreed by this time to give us half of the total project cost if we could find the rest. At that time the project cost was £27,000, so Manchester Leisure will provide £13,500.

So we've got the money but where are the lights and mains supply? In December I was assured the lights and electricity would be installed in January. It's January and I still haven't been given any official dates. So what's going on?

There are about 7 companies or organisations holding an essential piece of this peculiar skatepark jigsaw game. These are: Amey (lighting), United Utilities (electricity), Manchester Leisure (funding the park), City Works (ordering lights and electricity), MCC Planning Dept (consenting permision for lights and electricity, Manchester Engineering Design Consultancy or MEDC (designing lighting), Manchester Youth Service (dealing with Youth Capital Fund) and us, Projekts MCR. The aim of the game is to fit all the pieces together in the right order. If any of these companies decides not to play their piece the whole project goes on hold. Not only that but in certain situations if one group holds back their piece the overall cost of the project goes up. In essence every player effects every other but some more than others.

So what's gone wrong? So far only two things but there's always room for more. Problem number one is this: apparently, when MEDC designed the floodlight setup over a year ago, the design they produced was inappropriate for a skatepark. Their design would result in intense spotlights and large areas of shadow across the park. Coinsidently, about two months ago, Amey were working on the design for lighting for Phase 2, the park extension, and noticed the problem with MEDC's design for Phase 1 (the current area). Amey are now redesigning the lighting for Phase 1 to produce an even spread of light over the park. Although it was Amey that noticed the mistake made by MEDC, ironically Amey must have their new design checked by MEDC before it can be installed.

Problem Two seems to be due to an administration change by United Utilities. According to City Works, the company that makes the orders for works on behalf of MCC, UU used to accept orders without advanced payment but now they won't. Because our order for mains electricity was made without an attached cheque for the full amount, the order has not been processed. Now City Works need to get a cheque from the MCC treasurer so they can send it to UU who will process the order and give us a date for installation.

These problems could have been avoided. MEDC could have taken examples from other floodlit skateparks and UU could have called City Works to let them know about the changes. So I'm growing a beard until the lights and electricity are fully installed and working. I'll also be giving day by day progress updates to keep everyone informed on the length of my beard and what's been going on in the companies surrounding this debacle project. I've been growing this beard for about 10 days but I only have photos from Day 2 - sorry.

There are some rules but they're pretty straightforward. I can't cut or trim the beard at all until lights are fully installed and operational. Simple as that. Click on this link to see the beard so far: http://picasaweb.google.com/johnnyhaines/MyBeardProtest

Chris Barrett - Superman or not?

2007-03-02T09:41:00.000Z

We discuss some challenging topics on this blog from time to time but none so tough as whether Chris Barrett is, in fact, Superman. My personal view is, of course he's Superman. Why not? I'll let you judge for yourselves from some of these pictures.

OK, the photos are a bit sketchy but you try taking shots of a speeding bullet. It's hard, I can tell you. Especially when your camera is a 2 year old mobile phone. We're not exactly talking 'cutting edge' camera technology. The skating is great, though!

But back to Chris. He's very good, isn't he? I was going to title this blog 'Chris Barrett - He's not a murderer or is he?' but I thought the connection between Murder Flips and actually killing people was fairly loose. You can take it quite far. His weapon of choice is a 9 inch, old school, fish board, etc. People might have got the wrong idea after reading the title then all their fears confirmed when they saw his photos. I mean, who knows what he keeps in those blue plastic bags that he trails around with? I'm sure it's perfectly innocent.

BIG DAY AT THE PARK

2007-01-22T15:13:00.000Z

It was summer when I last blogged. Now it's winter and there's snow on the ground.

I feel that I should have some explanation as to why I haven't posted anything for six months. Unfortunately, I don't have any clear reasons for not blogging. It just happened. I know that's a pretty disappointing analysis of the situation but any further exploration might result in pages of boring nonsense. So I'll leave it at that.

Summer was amazing! And very,very busy. We had nearly a thousand people every month passing through our gates. Projekts ran a Summer Skate School for beginner skaters from the local area. Sean Lomax and Jake Winstanley were the resident coaches. Click here to see the video.

In September, Projekts organised a Weekend in the City, possibly the most successful competition we've ever run. The idea, based on the famous Snickers Day in the City competition, involves teams of no more than five skaters (including cameraman) filming a skate video in a Bank Holiday weekend then editing the video in the following week. The films were judged on originality, style and production.

The quality of the films was so high that Projekts decided to add it to their, soon to be released (we hope), team video. The winning team included Sean Lomax (filming), Jake Winstanley, Mark Kendrick, Nick Stansfield and Chris Barrett. And if you'd like to see this superb short film click on the blue bits.

There's a BIG DAY AT THE PARK, skate event coming up on 10th February at 12pm. As some of you will know, Projekts is trying desperately to get an extension to the Pump Cage. The extension will cost in the region of £200,000 and we have a limited number of sources to apply to for that amount of money. The Youth Capital Fund is one of those sources. We currently have a team of young people in the process of making a video to show the Youth Capital Fund exactly how much we need the park extension. If we can show them that the Pump Cage is far too small to accommodate all, or even a reasonable proportion, of Manchester's skate scene then they are much more likely to give us the funding we need.

This is where you come in. We need every skater in Manchester to meet up under the Mancunian Way at the same time on 10th February at 12pm so we can all be filmed in one place. So come down and don't forget to bring your skateboard! Also, TELL EVERY SKATER YOU KNOW!!!!!

Rob Smith

2006-06-05T11:06:00.000+01:00

If you don't know Rob Smith hopefully after reading this you'll have a glimpse, perhaps, of the character, humour and style that make him so much fun to watch.

I wouldn't claim to know Rob at all but we share a passing comment from time to time before he returns again to his preferred position which is normally about seven or eight feet above the ground. Rob won the Lord of the Park III comp in April by producing some of the finest skating we've seen at the Pump Cage - I think I'll start using that title cause the one the council gave us (City Centre Skatepark) has as much pizazz as a dead fish - and he continues to astound us with his imaginative and sometimes exremely dangerous tricks.

I remember the Troll Jam comp in November last year when Rob, with the help of a friend, climbed on top of the fence that surrounds the park, gets into the nose blunt position then indies into the quarter. I honestly thought he was dead when he hit the ground at the bottom of the quarter. It's a long way to fall, after all. He landed horizontally after managing, only just, to get his board in contact with the ramp at its lowest point. His head seemed to flick over his right shoulder, hit the ground, and bounce back off again with a millisecond. He didn't move for a while, which seemed to confirm my suspicion that he was, in fact, dead. I then thought I was going to die and then he stood up as if nothing had happened and carried on skating.

Rob Smith - what a hero!

Where have all the skaters gone?

2006-05-22T18:03:00.000+01:00

Is it me or has it been very quiet recently? We're getting the usual locals down but I'm sure it's normally busier than this. I've heard numerous conspiracy theories which all fall short of the mark. My personal theory is aliens. Aliens have taken the skaters and won't give them back unless we teach them how to drop in. I'm sure a lot of you are hoping that aliens will take you away because it's a whole lot more interesting than revision. I heard about a guy once that revised so much his head fell off, so BE CAREFUL. There's nowt worse than decapitation except maybe that thing where your board spins up and slaps you between your legs. Yeah, that's pretty painfull, too. And there's the times when you oly down or over something and the board hovers in an upright position just long enough for you land on top of it. It reminds me of a story I read about Tom Penny building a massive kicker with his mate and doing melon grabs out of it. They kept making the kicker bigger and bigger until it got to about six feet high and they were getting about the same amount of air out the top. Anyway, Penny pulls a massive Melon, messes it up and lands with the board, nose up, between his legs. The board sliced a hole, two inches deep into his under carriage. Nasty!

I've added a picture of a card tower that Sean Lomax made whilst working at the park. I hope this provides some inspiration for ideas to relieve your boredom.

Lord of the Park III - Return of the King

2006-05-02T13:08:00.000+01:00

The King returned but due to a knee injury (you all know who I'm talking about, right? He's on the poster) he didn't enter Lord of the Park III, he simply returned and watched and cheered the proceedings on in a majestic kind of way. We now have a new King (or lord), Rob Smith! Yeah! (Applause). Rob Smith (Death Skateboards) dominated the park with an outstanding display, using every surface to his advantage. Foot-plants on the fence from the quater to fakie, his famous drop-in on the 12ft vert wall from an edge only just wide enough to get the tail of your board on, and massive air transfers from the quarter to flat bank. The list goes on and on. Close contenders for his majesty's position were Eddie Belvadere and Dan Wileman. The judges tell me that it was a very difficult contest to adjudicate because all the skaters were so good.

Fearless brought a great, big, red midi-ramp which seemed to attract a large crowd of southerners including Greg Nowick and Marc Churchill whose presence on the ramp caused a number our northern favourites to pull out of the comp! I always thought it was the taking part that counts...apparently not in a mini-ramp comp. Woody alone took away a prize for the Mancs and achieved a sweat-pain-guts and glory-filled third place. Churchill grabbed second place. But Greg Nowick proved himself ruler of all things transitioned with a no-holds-barred display of skating, the likes of which have never been seen under that bridge. The air space used by Greg is still recovering from the abuse. Greg also won almost all of the raffle prizes.

Best trick was phenomenal! Dan Wileman took it with ease and I think his winning trick was a frontside 270 tail slide but he did so many it's hard to remember. Rob Smith stole 2nd place from Woody with a (and I'm not certain about this one) footplant indy hand flip to fakie into the large quater, however it might have been his Indy Shuvit transfer from quarter to flatbank. Woody took third place with a wallride backside 180 to bank.

Nev (Matthew Nevitt) won first place in the under 16 park competition, Paul Hill won first place in the 16 and over comp and Paul Edmonson won the unsponsored mini-ramp contest.

Projekts would like to thank everyone that helped out on the day including Dunc, Ste and Dan and Bees for judging, Lucy Adams and Ben Gibbs for sitting at the entrance desk all day long, Ben Perry for holding the comp together with his brilliant MC and DJ skills, the Duds for a sterling performance, French Greg and Mukka for constantly finding work to do, Sean Lomax for filming the whole thing from 9:00AM to 8:00PM and Olly Whitehead for shooting the whole day. We would also like to thank all of our sponsors Shiner, A4 distribution, Kingpin Magazine, Distance, Manchester Leisure and Positive Futures (a department of Manchester City Council), Fos at Landscape, Nic at Power and Emma at Globe. A special thanks has to be given to Nic Powley for producing the amazing poster design for the event. I'm still getting comments about it.

Jacob Winstanley

2006-04-14T18:09:00.000+01:00

A very long time ago, 793AD in fact, the Vikings invaded Britain leaving a trail of devastation and destruction throughout the lands. They would stop at nothing to achieve their goal of overwhelming their enemy and subduing their newly found land.

Fortunately for us, in 878AD Alfred The Great mustered a large army who defeated the Danes, and rightly so. Despite this defeat the Danes live on. Jake is living proof; long blond hair, leaves a trail of destruction in his wake and can only be stopped by a large army or a bruised heel and even then he puts up a good fight.....

The Viking's classic frontside attack

The backside feebs is a less reliable offensive but, if used correctly, a guaranteed killer

Ah, the old coup de grâce. Victory is his!

Bruce

2006-04-04T20:49:00.000+01:00

Continuing on the 'Locals' theme I bring you (drum roll).... Bruce Pouncey! Today is Bruce's birthday. He is 17 years old. Yeah, Bruce.

Here's a bit of background info on Bruce. Everything he says starts with 'Yeah'. For example, 'Yeah Bees', 'Yeah Lee', 'Yeah Damo'. Although some times , for variety, he'll say 'John, Man' but that only happens when I ask him to do something and it is whined rather than spoken but that's Bruce, a guy full of love and meaningful remarks.

When it comes to skating, Bruce kicks ass. The photos show him doing this; backside 50:50 down the square coping ledge, very tweeked b/s 180 over a yellow cone, and b/s tailslide on the rail.
Bruce, like a lot of young skaters, will try and try and try until he lands his trick but he also tries and tries and tries to get you to land your trick, too. A true local hero.

Thanks for the photos, Bruce.

The Killer Bees

2006-03-25T19:17:00.000Z

This is the first in a series of articles I'm doing on 'the Locals' at Mancy Way skatepark and who better to lead us in to this exciting adventure of modern Mancunian skaters but Alistair Mezbourian, AKA Bees. Renowned for his distinctive style, Bees has a clear passion for skating, an unquenchable thirst for the unusual and, I think, a perspective on skating that makes him one of the most inspiring skaters I've seen.

Bees, I believe, was the first person to wall ride the fence above the large quarter. Some think that his ability to ride fences derives from a mystical force that only he possess.... others don't. But, whatever your view, you must admit that it looks pretty cool.

Bees has been coming to the Mancy Way park since we first opened in August 2004. He's part of a community of skaters who bring an atmoshere of fun and excitement wherever they go. Thanks for making my job a lot more enjoyable.

Cheers Bees and thanks for letting me use these photos.

Skating a Snow Storm

2006-03-03T20:57:00.000Z

Today it snowed. The snow made me happy. I feel like I've got something to show for the freezing temperatures I sit through each week. Snow's clean and it reminds me of being young and running around making snowballs.

The picture below shows the black steel cabin that I sit in throughout the day, at least when I'm not skating. I need to get power to that little hut. I can then do all sorts of things like use a computer, listen to music, use a light, but most importantly I can turn on our heater!

We had a film crew at the park today, too. They are making a film about life in Manchester called 'The Manchester Way' or 'Life'. It's basically made up of different peoples stories about Manchester. Each story starts and finishes with a different person getting on and off a Stagecoach bus. The final story is about a guy from Hulme (completely fictional, of course) who grew up on an estate, got into skating and changed his life around. That's why they needed the park. All but one of the skaters are on the Projekts skate team; Jake, Lewis, Mark and Chris. The other skater is Nick Stansfield.

I was talking to a member of the film crew who told me that the film was funded by Manchester City Council Partnership. He also told me something very interesting, that the art work that this company had done for the film was too good and needed changing in case the public accused MCC of spending tax payers money on unneccesary promotional material. By making it look cheap, the council avoid any unwanted publicity, yet the price of the design probably increases by making it look cheap because they have to pay both companies for their design efforts. Ridiculous! This crew member also told me that the council tried to get them to make one of the stories include a family with a white mum and asian dad with a one black kid and one chinese kid. They refused, of course. People would have been watching the film trying to figure out what the heck had been going on with that family rather than enjoying the film.

The other thing about the film is that it's promotional film about Manchester's progresion; the way it's changing and opening up new facilities for the people living there. Ironically, our skatepark is not progressing and is in dire need of growth. We have been left for well over a year with no power, no lights, and not enough room for the skaters who need to use it. If, instead of spending thousands of pounds on promotional videos, the city council actually used the money to improve the facilities of places like ours, then the generqtion of the future might not be so disolusioned and may in fact feel like the authorities are there to help. I dought that will ever happen.

Lord of the Park III

2006-03-01T21:43:00.000Z

This is me doing a wall ride. Good fun.

The park is soon to get a face lift. We are holding a competition on 23rd April called Lord of the Park. It will be part of the Challenge Manchester: 100 Days campaign. The money raised from the comp will go towards a mini-ramp for the park. A long awaited change. From 10:00-12:00 we will have coaching sessions on a 35ft long temporary mini-ramp, then from 12:00 onwards the competition will run. Sponsors include Emerica, Es, Flip, Independent, Death, Landscape and Snickers, Manchester Leisure (a department of Manchester City Council) and Positive Futures.

More interestingly, the weather has got even colder. We thought it was improving but, alas, no. Snow is on its way. And I'm off snowboarding in Andora. If it's going to be cold I may as well enjoy it. It seems rather pointless having freezing weather but no snow to show for it, I think.

Keeping Warm

2006-02-22T19:49:00.000Z

Today was freezing. Everyone at the park was freezing. Hiu and I were freezing.

This is Hiu Kwong Li holding up his candle with an allen key which he skillfully inserted by heating it and pushing hard into the wax. Hiu was clearly bored. He was therefore applying any means necessary to distract himself from the harsh working conditions.

This is Alistair, a regular at the park, desperately trying to retrieve some warmth from the solitary flame.

Half-Term Mayhem

2006-02-21T19:51:00.000Z

It was freezing under the bridge today and I've only just started to warm up - 2 hours later! The skaters didn't seem to notice though, they hardly ever do.
This rabble invaded the park after Manchester was covered in a torrent of freezing rain. Amazingly, half the park remained dry, making for an excellent death wall and flat bank sesh.