At the Imperial War Museum North, photographer Don McCullin currently has a major retrospective called Shaped by War. The 75-year-old, not to be confused with Manchester’s own Don McPhee, is best known for his war-time coverage – and in fact in 1968 his Nikon camera stopped a bullet intended for him. The exhibition’s free, and if you fancy doing some pre-visit research, check out the q&a, preview and video interview on CreativeTourist.com.

Then at Mosi, it’s the final weekend of Da Vinci – The Genius, which has been running since November last year. One of the major parts of this exhibition is Secrets of Mona Lisa, containing ‘25 startling revelations’ about his most famous work – and that’s just one of over 200 items on show. Admission here is £7.50 for adults and £5 for concessions, and unless the exhibition’s final weekend is over-run with visitors, you should be able to buy from the Mosi box office on the day.

If you’re after something a bit more… live, this month is also your last chance to see Manchester’s Library Theatre in its current form. Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest was the first ever production in the theatre way back in 1952 – and it’s also going to be the last. The library is closing for a major overhaul from July, with the Library Theatre Company relocating to Peter Street’s Theatre Royal in 2012. The Grade II listed building, which is Manchester’s oldest surviving theatre building, dating back to 1845, has previously been the Royal Cinema and Royal Bingo, and until recently was a particularly unregal nightclub. Glad to see it’s finally being restored to (hopefully) its former glory.

Photo: Auditorium of the Theatre Royal in 1980 while being used for bingo. Courtesy of Ted Bottle

The former is An Apathetical Reader, which is ‘a creative community site that hopes to give a voice to the vast numbers of unsupported, disillusioned young people in the city and question why individuals feel apathy towards their own work’. It’ll achieve this through local news, national political comment, features of Manchester, music journalism and artist’s profiles.

The latter is The Chapel on the edge of Platt Fields in Rusholme/Fallowfield. This building, which dates back to 1790, was used as a meeting place for Manchester Amateur Photographic Society (itself founded in 1885) and the Russell Leite Theatre School until it was purchased a couple of years back.

Now, however, it’s being run by the same ambitious group of ex-students who launched Platt Fields’ Mad Ferret festival last year and who took over the (now closed) Ram & Shackle pub. Their aims, according to a post on Indymedia.org.uk, are  to provide an autonomous space for performing arts, learning, access to the arts and local campaigners. I’m hearing lots of grand ideas coming out of this unusual building, so best of luck to them.

And the link between these two? AAR will be holding an open meeting at The Chapel this coming Wednesday from 7pm. If you fancy getting involved, email Alice or join the AAR Facebook group.

Quiffs, Riffs and Tiffs: The story of popular music in Salford from 1950 to today

This exhibition explores and celebrates the history of popular music in Salford over the past fifty years right up to the present day. A huge number of musicians hail from Salford or have connections with the city. This has not always been recognised and many famous bands, musicians and ’sounds’ have often been attributed to Manchester.

Now Salford musicians, bands, managers, producers, fans and music people recount their personal stories for this exhibition, and show the unique musical character of this city and its influence on the local, national and international music scene.

The exhibition, at the Salford Museum and Art and Gallery, Peel Park Crescent, Little Hulton, includes new research, plus unpublished audio and film footage to ‘follow the story to the Beat scene of the 60s, and the contrast between disco and punk bands in the 70s’. A Music Timeline comes right up to the present day with the likes of the Ting Tings and Sugababes (who played at St Philip’s Church last year).

Some other names to feature include John Cooper Clarke, Nico, the Fall, the Sex Pistols, the Hollies, Happy Mondays and Joy Division. They’ve even got one of Hooky’s basses on display to get the Factory fans salivating.

The exhibition also contains a 3D version of the Salford Music Map, a new fold-out map that the MEN wrote about last month. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on a free copy and taking a long bike ride to check out the main points of interest.

Quiffs, Riffs and Tiffs will launch with a guided tour by author, TV producer and Salford University lecturer David Nolan on Friday afternoon (3.30-4.30pm for the map; 5-6pm for interviews with the research team; 6-9pm for refreshments and live music, including from the Suzuki Method).

Presented by John Robb, the downloadable and streamable guides are entitled inspired, green, en-route, underground, unsung (which I found most interesting), radical, poetic, human, proud and industrial. Each part includes interviews with local experts – ‘ranging from city councillors to body-poppers, psychogeographers to popstars’ – and has a PDF transcript and an associated map, highlighting some of the main points of interest.

The individual guides have a physical trailmarker (such as the one pictured and this one) to encourage people to website, and the project is being promoted as part of next week’s Manchester Science Festival. The guide, produced by Northern Quarter digital agency StarDotStar, has also been shortlisted for a BIMA Award.

It exists ‘to store memories and photographs of the past and present from Salford and the surrounding areas’ (Eccles, Worseley, Pendlebury, Swinton and Bolton) – including the one above, of Broughton Suspension Bridge, which was built in 1888 and lasted until 1914.

There are dozens of photos and captions already on the site but there’s also an appeal for more, and in particular those on the ‘most wanted’ list:

• Harry Ramsdens, off Regent Road – Now demolished
• Old NatWest Bank, Broad Street – Now Security Office
• Old Salford Crescent Police Station – Before boarding up
• Old Swinton Police Station – Now demolished
• Old Salford Market / Precinct
• Langworthy Road – before current upgrading
• Yates’s Swinton Precinct – before its closure

Contact them or post on their forum if you’ve got something to share or are looking for specific images.

From the team behind the excellent Manchester Food and Drink Festival, this two-day event promises ‘food. music. drink’ – and looks far superior to the Feast! event that took place at Platt Fields Park a couple of weeks ago. Whereas that event was free, Summer in the Park costs £9.50 (one day) or £17 (weekend pass)… but you get plenty for your money:

• Dine in the Park – Try and buy from some of Manchester’s best restaurants
• Drink in the Park – A chance to sample and purchase a stunning selection of wines, champagnes continental beers and Greater Manchester ales
• Producers in the Park – Meet some of the regions best producers and sample the delights of local produce
• Play in the Park – Something for the kids… Play in the Park will create a haven for the little ones. From a baby disco to fruit kebab making, Play in the Park has it covered. Plus kids under 11 come for FREE
• Learn in the Park – Pick up some useful cooking tips from some of the best chefs as they let you into their culinary secrets
• Tea in the Park – A dedicated home for the finest and most diverse, teas, coffees, juices, smoothies, cakes and biscuits that Manchester has to offer
• Music in the Park – What better accompaniment could there be for a festival of food and drink than festival of live music on the main stage, compiling some of Manchester’s favourite artists
• Feast in the Park – As evening draws in, the inimitable Robert Owen Brown will be hosting a traditional feast in the park, featuring a huge ox-roast and seasonal vegetables. The communal banquet will kick off at tea time for those who haven’t already filled up during the day, rounding off a perfect day in the park..

Making a change for events of this type, the musical lineup is actually pretty good, with I am Kloot, the Earlies, the Travelling Band, It’s a Buffalo, Bone-Box, the Bottomfeeders, Mr Scruff, Magic Arm and Cranebuilders among the bands I’d happily pay to see.

I’m also looking forward to trying samples from the following Manchester restaurants, budget permitting: Chaophraya, The Market Restaurant, Carluccio’s, Malmaison Brasserie, Ning, Northern Quarter Restaurant, Brasserie Chez Gerard, Grado, Marmalade and Evuna.

And, drinks-wise, Odd Bar is supplying 30 wines from around the world while 20 local brewers – including Banktop, Marble, Prospect, Allgates, Hornbeam, Leyden, Fallens, Owl, Phoenix and Millstone – will be keeping me content.

All in all, it sounds like a great weekend out. Now if only the weather is obliging…

I’ve touched on psychogeography here a few times before and, what with it getting mainstream coverage of late, it’s convenient that Manchester is currently hosting not one but two psychogeography festivals.

Territories Reimagined: International Perspectives, or TRIP for short, runs from Thursday 19 June until Saturday (and beyond) and takes advantage of some of the city’s most recognisable locations, both indoors and out, including…

Thursday, 2pm, the MMU John Dalton Building lobby: Identikit Manchester – Mark Rainey leads a walk themed around corporate chain stores.

Friday, 2pm, outside JD’s Refectory at the MMU John Dalton Building: Bury That Dog – A walk around haunted Manchester with Peter Portland.

Saturday, 3pm, at Whitworth Park: Frank Kickball Jesus presents a psychogeographical ball game – US v UK psychogeographers.

Saturday, 8pm, upstairs at the Britons Protection: A Psychogeographic Cabaret – featuring performance poetry with soundscape and field recordings, plus short films, surprise guests and random acts of subversive joy.

Sunday, 2pm, Café Pop on Oldham Street: Postcards from Nowhere – a wander addressing issues of surveillance and CCTV; all participants will receive a unique piece of GPS art by Max Livesey.

There are also art exhibitions at the Royal Exchange, Nexus Cafe and the Zion Centre, and this is just a small selection of the festival events. Here’s the PDF flyer and visit their homepage for late additions – or read the MEN and Metro previews for their recommendations.

TRIP is also running alongside Manchester’s own psychogeography festival, Get Lost, which is organised by the Loiterers Resistance Movement – visit their site for more information on that.

As an aside, it’s good to see the festival using WordPress.com blogging platform for its homepage. Looks much better than your standard Blogger.com site, doesn’t it?

• The Guardian Exchange tunnels continue to generate interest and speculative comments galore
• Urbis now runs a ‘60s Magical Music Tour‘ (wrong city, surely?) on alternate Saturdays, hosted by Brian Allen and finishing up at Twisted Wheel on Whitworth Street. It’s booked up til mid-May, so they must be doing something right
• Manchester has a new record label, Concrete Moniker – and its launch party is on Tuesday 4 March at Common bar on Edge Street. Any label with the Splice Girls on its roster is worth investigating, if you ask me…
• And, finally, one via email: ‘The first issue of if p then q magazine is out in March and the first book, in the if p then q classics series by Tom Jenks, in April. Also keep your eyes peeled for readings and happenings in Manchester. if p then q is keen to talk. We welcome all sorts of experimental submissions of poetry: see the guidelines on the website for more.’

Normal service will be resumed when I’m working less than 50 hours per week again.

A few interesting things are building up again so here’s a quick link dump…

One for you literary types first: Ar’ Back Yard is a triology of books by Anwar Dharma, giving a fictional account of 1980s Manchester. Or at least it will be when it’s published in the next few months. For now, however, you can read extracts – uploaded monthly – on the book’s very stylish website.

And here’s one for you history buffs: Ciara Leeming wrote an article for the MEN about this book by Keith Warrender. It’s fascinating stuff – a theme I’ve touched on before here, here and here – and the book already has plenty of fans here. Definitely one for the Amazon wishlist…

Finally, The Rehearsal, which I saw and actively participated in at the Temple of Convenience during Manchester International Festival, is showing at the Library Theatre tomorrow, Wedneday, at 7pm. Highly recommended if you’re looking for something to do.

In the meantime, and thanks to a rare moment online, I thought I’d put together one last Manchester round-up this year:

Manchizzle and I were so pleased with our Manchester Literature Festival appearance in October that we’ve decided to do another blogging workshop at 1-3pm on Saturday 19 January. Like last time, it’ll be a very practical session. I’ll probably be talking techy stuff while Kate walks us through the cooler side (style, content, readership) of blogging.

Again, it’s hosted by the Manchester Digital Development Agency (they’re a lovely bunch) on Portland Street – and this time it’s completely free. Book by calling the MLF office on 0161 236 5725 or by emailing admin@manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk.

Elsewhere, after it helped me out on a recent trip to Spain, I’ve returned to the Guardian’s great Been There travel website. This time I’ve decided to get involved myself, updating some of the 160-odd tips for Manchester (‘Suburb cafe is now closed’ etc) and even adding some of my own.

While Googling as Been There research I also stumbled across the Cube gallery’s architectural guide to the Oxford Road corridor, which seems pretty informative. It’s definitely one for a quiet Sunday afternoon, or a particularly energetic lunchtime.

BBC Manchester’s latest gallery, meanwhile, contains some decent shots at the moment: sadly I missed the sight of 500 santas jogging through Salford for charity earlier this month; sadder still, I did see the European Market’s new santa in Albert Square. How many years will we be stuck with this year’s model?

And finally, for anyone who missed it, here’s my favourite Manchester news story of 2007: Cool Cash card confusion, published in the MEN last month. Congratulations to Ciara Leeming for the ’scoop’ of the year!