‘Scripts, Skeletons & Scriptures: Writing About Writing in Yorkshire.

[Human]

Having entered the hallowed John Rylands Library, there were two items that I particularly wanted to see.



First, this Gutenburg Bible from the 1450s, soon after the invention of the printing press. This is one of the most significant books to ever be published and I was overjoyed that I had the opportunity to actually set eyes on this amazing and rare publication.




Second, P52. The “P” stands for “Papyrus” (I think). This is from the second century AD, probably very early in the century, and it is the oldest known fragment of the New Testament. It contains part of John’s Gospel. I’ve been reading about this in books for decades. I never in my wildest dreams thought I’d ever get to see it in front of me. Just, wow.



But then I had a look at the rest of the permanent displays, and I was blown away by what I saw.

An original copy of Newton’s Laws of Motion…



Notes and calculations by Alan Turing of Bletchley Park fame…



An actual, first edition, Shakespeare’s First Folio!... This really did blow me away.



A document containing the autograph of Queen Elizabeth I…



But believe it or not, what I saw next was both unexpected and exciting: a drawing and an actual score by Delia Derbyshire. Derbyshire headed up the BBC Radiophonic Workshop in the 1960s, and was largely responsible (along with nominal composer Ron Grainer) for the Doctor Who theme of 1963: one of the most influential, important and (given the technology at the time) astounding pieces of electronic music ever. Over the past decade or so she’s been getting the recognition she deserves, and a part of that recognition is being displayed in the Permanent Exhibitions at John Rylands Library. Hear, Hear!

 

[Human]

More scenes from Rylands Library...

A 200-year-old printing press that is still in use today.


The old Library building. Ironically, the Mr Cussons who was responsible for the Library "Cleaning" was the same Mr Cussons of Cussons Soap fame!





We then stepped into the Reading Room...










Mr Rylands himself...




The only not-very-impressive thing about the Library is that it has not, in my opinion, got the balance right between preservation and access. In its Special Collections it has a 1517 copy of Martin Luther's 95 Theses: one of the most significant documents (if not the most significant) of the last 1500 years. Weeks ago, I filled in all the forms and jumped through all the hoops, including using my ".edu.au" email address, asking to see it. Just to see it. I didn't even want to touch it. I provided a good educational reason for my request, related to what I teach at my school.

They refused. Apparently I'm not important enough.

Overall, though, what I did see at the Library blew me away. Oh, and given that it cost a ridiculously cheap GBP 15, I just had to buy this large, full-colour, beautifully-produced Library guide. Weight be damned -- it was an absolute bargain!

 

[Human]

After that, Steve showed me some of the sights and sounds of Manchester as we ambled to my hotel. Though he did seem to need to stop for a drink quite often... Having said that, there's nothing quite like being shown around like a local. It was a real treat!

Mr Thomas's Chop House, although we didn't sit down here as they didn't have "Corned Beef Hash" on the menu, whatever that is.



We did stop here at Sam's Chop House.




This establishment did indeed have Corned Beef Hash, but Steve had forgotten he wanted it by then so we each enjoyed a pint, in the presence of Lowry himself.

I put my foot down and insisted on having a drink that was colder than room temperature. So I had a cider.


We then walked through the city centre which was throbbing. It was a glorious Saturday evening with warm weather and a lack of rain, and there was a happy, friendly, celebratory air to the city. I was really impressed -- it reminded me of George St or The Rocks in Sydney on a Saturday evening, but friendlier and better behaved. It left me believing that Manchester doesn't deserve the bad rap it gets.




Our third pub stop of the late afternoon. Steve had another pint. I insisted on a half.



These pieces of wood are apparently from the eleventh century.


Finally I got to my hotel just before 6pm. I'm staying at Aparthotel Roomzzz Manchester Piccadilly which I booked for $258, of which $200 was this year's AmEx Platinum Edge travel credit. The room is nice enough, and in quite a good location.


I was too tired to venture out far.



And I came back to my room with this, my final dinner in England. Seems fitting. This is the British version of the Doner Kebab.


One other comment. My wife and I spent two weeks in Scotland in 2022, and I think we saw two Union Jacks (and about 500 Scottish St Andrew flags) in two weeks. Here, the Union Jack is everywhere. England and Scotland really are very different countries!

 

[RooFlyer]

I visited the Rylands many (many) years ago, before I truely appreciated its contents. Must try to go again.

You might be interested in



Mostly the story of Gabriel Wells, an American antiquarian bookseller who in the 1920s broke up a Gutenberg Bible and sold off the individual leaves, and also some of the tales of the subsequent ownership of them.

Then there is



In part describes how Gutenberg put the scribes out of business, also the libraries that contained the handwritten books.

 

[Coathanger]

Then there is

View attachment 468179

In part describes how Gutenberg put the scribes out of business, also the libraries that contained the handwritten books.

A fascinating read, recommended by the docent giving a tour of the New York Public Library. Made a point of seeking out the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan as a result of reading the book.




Must add the Rylands to my list.

 

[FlyingFiona]

Is it bad that the teenager in me laughed at the extent of the tyre deflating lark? Glad it brought out the kinder side of people in life though.

That library is incredible. Wish I could have spent my research years in their reading room (sans visitors). I'm so much more productive when the asthetics are right.

You're right about the P (usually seen as a "𝔓") on the mauscript piece from St John's gospel. Probably the most common place to see them referred to are in biblical commentaries.

 

[Human]

Is it bad that the teenager in me laughed at the extent of the tyre deflating lark? Glad it brought out the kinder side of people in life though

Well, no, it's not bad, and I'm sure we'll laugh about it one day too.

The problem was that it wasn't merely a "tyre deflating lark" which simply required the tyres to be inflated. The tyres had been actually destroyed. One of the people I was with had to pay GBP 390 for 4 replacement tyres; Steve, who I was with, had to pay GBP 550 -- and that was with the nice man fitting them for free! Apparently if they'd been done in Manchester it would have cost almost twice as much.

 

[Human]

Chapter 6: My unfortunate Duty…

Cathay Pacific CX216 MAN-HKG and CX163 HKG-MEL Business Class
Booked with 115,000 Asia Miles plus A$830

I made up this Chapter heading as a punny description of the fact that (a) it’s unfortunate that I have to leave, (b) it’s unfortunate that I have to leave through MAN, and (c) it’s unfortunate that I have to pay the extortionate Air Passenger Duty which adds hundreds and hundreds of dollars to the carrier charges.

I did seriously consider trying to book a trip home via Amsterdam, which would have reduced the APD and carrier charges by hundreds of dollars. But that would have meant travelling yesterday, and in the end the lure of the Rylands Library was too strong. I don’t regret my choice, but I’m still annoyed about the APD.

Time to head to MAN for my trip home. Based on my experience of transiting through this airport in January, I was not looking forward to this.

I caught an Uber into the airport and upon entering, things did not look good…



The Cathay Pacific check-in counters were at the opposite end of the terminal where I’d been dropped off, but it didn’t take long to get there and it was only a 2-minute wait at the Business Class check-in queue.


I was able to use Fast Track security. As previously flagged by other AFFers, the security screening at MAN was particularly thorough…


And there was no Passport Control! I simply walked into the airside part of the terminal. I asked a staff member about this and she told me that they check passports when we board the plane…?

Cathay Pacific uses the 1903 Lounge. I had access to this lounge before my Singapore Airlines flight in January. Back then, when I entered, it was standing room only so I used the (unpleasant) toilets and left. I don’t think I’ve ever entered and exited a lounge so quickly in my life. I gave it an F. So I was not looking forward to seeing what this lounge had in store for me today.

Once again, there was a queue to enter. Many of the people in front of me were trying to use Priority Pass and were turned away.


This time around, the lounge was still very crowded – too crowded, but at least I found somewhere to sit. As usual, my preference is for somewhere with tarmac views.


Coffee was out of a machine, but there was plenty of booze available and, at 8:30am, I could see that it was in very high demand. Some pictures of the buffet:




Breakfast. First course:


Second course. Please don’t judge me.


I used the toilet again. The lounge currently must have well over 200 people in it, and there are three toilets. The cubicle I used was a tiny bit cleaner than I remembered it from January. So far so good. But there was no toilet paper.

To their credit, though, there are plenty of staff here and dirty plates and glasses are cleared very quickly.

As I write this I’m still in the Lounge, enjoying the nice view of the tarmac.


But it’s the only thing about the Lounge I’m enjoying. In January I gave this lounge an F. Today I was preparing to give it a D plus but given the lack of toilet paper I’m downgrading that to a D minus.

Boarding is in less than an hour. We’ll see if anyone checks my passport before then!

 

[FlyingFiona]

BA lounge not an option?

 

[Human]

BA lounge not an option?

Believe it or not, there isn't one.

Mancunians would say -- and they'd probably be right -- that this is yet another example of people in the North of England being treated as second-class citizens by Londoners.

I believe that BA uses this 1903 Lounge and the Escape Lounge, which is worse.

Edit: upon further Googling, it looks like BA uses Terminal 3 and I'm in Terminal 2.

The brand new BA “lounge” at Manchester Airport

There's a brand new lounge for BA passengers at Manchester Terminal Three. Here's why you shouldn't get excited about it.

pointszilla.com

 

[Human]

There has just been an announcement: “Would all passengers flying on CX216 to Hong Kong please see your representative in the Lounge”.

I walked over to find a Cathay Pacific representative who was telling passengers that the flight “may be delayed” and we are to stay in the lounge for now. I asked him for the reasons for the delay and he said that he was not sure at this stage, it’s either an “aircraft issue” or a “typhoon issue”. Apparently there’s a typhoon in Hong Kong which is causing a lot of problems.

What can I say? That’s pretty good customer service. I’ll do some investigating myself and see what I can find out. As we know, a “typhoon issue” would be classified as an “extraordinary circumstance” and would mean that I do not qualify for EC261.

In the meantime, quite a few Virgin Atlantic flights to various exotic leisure destinations have just been called and the Lounge has emptied out a bit, enabling me to take these photos.







It's still a D-minus, though.

And I'm annoyed that every minute here gives me one minute less in the Cathay HKG lounges!

 

[kookaburra75]

After that, Steve showed me some of the sights and sounds of Manchester as we ambled to my hotel. Though he did seem to need to stop for a drink quite often... Having said that, there's nothing quite like being shown around like a local. It was a real treat!

I put my foot down and insisted on having a drink that was colder than room temperature. So I had a cider.
View attachment 468145

Thank goodness you didn't weaken and have a Fosters

Thank you again for letting us come along on your trip, and safe travels home.

 

[VPS]

After that, Steve showed me some of the sights and sounds of Manchester as we ambled to my hotel. Though he did seem to need to stop for a drink quite often... Having said that, there's nothing quite like being shown around like a local. It was a real treat!

Mr Thomas's Chop House, although we didn't sit down here as they didn't have "Corned Beef Hash" on the menu, whatever that is.
View attachment 468136
View attachment 468137

We did stop here at Sam's Chop House.
View attachment 468138
View attachment 468139
View attachment 468140

This establishment did indeed have Corned Beef Hash, but Steve had forgotten he wanted it by then so we each enjoyed a pint, in the presence of Lowry himself.
View attachment 468141

View attachment 468143
View attachment 468144

I put my foot down and insisted on having a drink that was colder than room temperature. So I had a cider.
View attachment 468145

We then walked through the city centre which was throbbing. It was a glorious Saturday evening with warm weather and a lack of rain, and there was a happy, friendly, celebratory air to the city. I was really impressed -- it reminded me of George St or The Rocks in Sydney on a Saturday evening, but friendlier and better behaved. It left me believing that Manchester doesn't deserve the bad rap it gets.
View attachment 468146
View attachment 468147
View attachment 468151

Our third pub stop of the late afternoon. Steve had another pint. I insisted on a half.
View attachment 468150
View attachment 468148

These pieces of wood are apparently from the eleventh century.
View attachment 468149

Finally I got to my hotel just before 6pm. I'm staying at Aparthotel Roomzzz Manchester Piccadilly which I booked for $258, of which $200 was this year's AmEx Platinum Edge travel credit. The room is nice enough, and in quite a good location.
View attachment 468152

I was too tired to venture out far.
View attachment 468153


And I came back to my room with this, my final dinner in England. Seems fitting. This is the British version of the Doner Kebab.
View attachment 468155

One other comment. My wife and I spent two weeks in Scotland in 2022, and I think we saw two Union Jacks (and about 500 Scottish St Andrew flags) in two weeks. Here, the Union Jack is everywhere. England and Scotland really are very different countries!
View attachment 468156

Rylands is amazing and I did enjoy my time in Manchester

And this is the Corned Beef Hash from Mr Thomas's Chop house

You didn't miss much