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As I walked down Market Street on Tuesday afternoon, I endured the daily routine. Battling my way through the army of ‘charity workers’ (I use the term loosely) still insisting they’re “not after your money” (when they are clearly after your money), slipping past the evangelist’s frantically thrusting leaflets as well as their ideals into your passing face, skilfully dodge the big issue seller’s, followed by the homeless folk festering conveniently, I might add, next to the cash machine I really need to use. Then it’s the “have you been involved in an accident or injury” pest’s, and let’s not forget; lurking in the distance, ‘the street performance artists’ (again I shall use the term loosely) where their only ‘talent’ involves being painted white and standing still; totally still. Of course I didn’t feel compelled to rush over and empty the contents of my purse.
As I weaved in and out, desperate to find a sheltered environment free of public nuisance’s, it struck me just how hardened I had become to this behaviour; behaviour that to a person unaccustomed to city life would seem truly bizarre, like stumbling into an alternate universe filled with rejects from ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ Simon Cowell had so callously chewed up, spat out and banished to the centre of Manchester.
And it seemed it wasn’t just me who had become blasé about this weird social behaviour. Take for instance the lovely chap; I feel I must pay tribute to him, who parades around the city streets wearing nothing more than a loincloth to save our blushes. You would think such an act would do more than raise a few eyebrows, yet among the locals it warrants nothing more than a side glance and a dismissive grunt. But maybe it is that those of us who live and work in Manchester have simply become immune to the effects of such strange public exhibitions.
Yet despite my derisive remarks, I must say that without the quirky eccentrics that dwell among our city streets, maybe we would as a city lack character. Character that has helped to define Manchester as one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Europe; a city which set’s trends and produces huge talent across the spectrum. Perhaps without the wealth of curious eccentrics that inhabit our city, previous generations would have lacked the freedom to push the boundaries of dress; through fear of standing out too much or fear of being ridiculed. These eccentrics have paved the way for those who want to dress outrageously or use the high street as a platform to showcase their talents. They have inadvertently challenged social attitudes with regards to dress, behaviour and conduct.
So next time you make the perilous journey across Market Street, you might refrain from rolling up the M.E.N in a bid to swat away a city centre loiterer, and instead acknowledge their small roll in contributing to our city’s inimitable charm.
