Artistic Convictions - a new book is out now. Chris Wallis reflects on the work of an artist he first met 60 years ago.

She promptly conjured up the era-defining songs Doin’ the Do and Where Are You Baby? – still thrilling blasts of pure fizzy ...

It is often said that La Bohéme is the perfect ‘first opera’ to see. The Lowry’s website recommends it to seasoned ...

There’s a new kid on the block. The meteoric rise of Skof has been a phenomenon in itself. Opened in May 2024, Tom Barnes’ new Manchester gaff has already won a slew of awards. It received a Michelin ...

Grace Darling was the lighthouse keeper’s daughter on Longstone, one of the Farne Islands off the stunning Northumberland coast. One September morning in 1838, she and her father rowed out to rescue ...

It smells the same, but looks different. The famous Power Hall at Manchester’s Science & Industry Museum – that warehouse of steam-powered engines, heaving hydraulics and giant trains – has reopened, ...

In early 1998, musician and songwriter Mark Tranmer built a makeshift set-up for recording his song ideas at home. Once completed, though, the song was officially titled Between Two Points. The ...

For the British Textile Biennial 2025, artists and makers filled spaces – which previously, directly or indirectly, powered Lancashire’s cotton industry – with stories of innovation in textile ...

Sakaya Murata sits perfectly upright out of her chair, with a gently curling bob and a neat smile that twitches at the corners of her mouth in time to the translations of her answers. When she’s ...

Whether it’s the celebratory verses lit in honour of the late dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah, or a determination to counter the darkness cast by the flags flown like threats from too many of our ...

Culture defines the architecture of our inner landscape. Constructed on commonality, tapering from its base to its apex, its foundations are laid in what we were, while its heights are suggested by ...

Old age takes people differently. Some take it in their stride and carry on, others not so much. Ian looked after his wife at home till she died, and has since become a recluse. He doesn’t even do his ...