SLEUTH: New Pizza & Burger Bars, Michael Ball, Victoria Wood, Howard Jacobson

SleuthSleuth is a sideways glance at the city every week, it's the truth, but Sleuth's truth. He's several people all at once. We give £25 for every story/rumour and piece of absurdity you find for us to publish. Sleuth sometimes even gets serious. We ask for the money back if any legal action follows. Follow Sleuth on twitter @mcrsleuth

Concept 'New York' Pizza Parlour Pounces

Sleuth hears that Crazy Pedro’s Part-Time Pizza Parlour is soon to open on Motor Street in the Square With No Name. It will be ‘a New York style pizza joint selling the thin based classic Italian American style pizza’ plus ‘a selection of Tequila and Mezcal’. It comes from the team behind the Liars Club and Cane & Grain and will occupy the site above Liars that was formerly a Starbucks and, years before, George Best's Edwardia Boutique.

Liars Club head honcho Lyndon Higginson says ‘Crazy Pedro’s is a Part-Time Pizza Parlour because we originally planned to open the venue for just six months but the more we developed the concept we decided that it should be a permanent fixture rather than a pop-up.’

Sleuth hears it will open until 4am and no doubt conform to the Liars Club rule: if you’re in the place you should have gone home hours ago so what the hell, you might as well carry on. 

You will be late home

Sleuth’s Sweetest Clip Ever taken

George Best was the United player who climbed off the back pages to make front page headlines. His clothes boutique was part of that. Another sixties and seventies main man was Manchester writer Jack Rosenthal. This is a clip from his TV series The Lovers. It's utterly charming and starts off with the view from Manchester House.

Ex-Monsoon In King Street To Get A Burger Bar

Sleuth is massively excited. He's read about burgers, seen pictures, but because they are almost unknown in Manchester he's never ever eaten one. Or he can't remember if he has. So he's almost passing out with joy that the glorious ex-Monsoon unit on King Street, a lovely black and white 19th century building, is to be a burger bar. He's chasing up which one at present but that hardly matters, at last Sleuth will be able to enjoy a burger.

Monsoon when it was all blouses but soon it'll be burgers

Ball And Wood In The City

The editor tells Sleuth he took out Victoria Wood and Michael Ball for the documentary that will accompany the TV dramatisation of Wood’s Manchester International Festival 2011’s That Day We Sang (main pic above on Deansgate). Victoria Wood was a gracious, polite lady, fascinated to learn about the history and stories of the city. Michael Ball was gloriously silly. “I grew up in Rochdale,” said Schofield, “and Victoria in Bury. Where do you call home?” “I spent of a lot my young life on Dartmoor,” said Ball, before pausing and quipping, “It made visiting my dad easier.” Ewan McColl from Salford was mentioned on the tour. "He wrote the best love song ever written in my opinion, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," said Ball. "I sing it looking in the mirror," he added and started belting out the song to the astonishment of passersbys.

Filming on Bridge Street

Sleuth, Anthony Burgess, James Bond, Food

Sleuth was with these people on the Anthony Burgess and Literary Tour of Manchester on 11 October. They're in the Burgess Foundation archive room and one of the guests is holding up Burgess's own copy of Clockwork Orange, the cover of which Burgess defaced. Will Carr, manager of the Foundation, is far right. He had some funny stories. Apparently Burgess was asked to write a Bond screenplay for The Spy Who Loved Me. None of his script was used apart from giving the villain an undersea base. Carr said: "I think the main problem was Burgess replaced the traditional shoot-em-up scene at the climax of the movie with a food-eating contest between Bond and the evil Karl Stromberg. Weirdly he still got his writer's fee." 

Bond and books in the International Anthony Burgess Foundation

Sleuth's Howard Jacobson Memory-Slip Moment Of The Week

Sleuth was at the excellent, penultimate event of the Manchester Literature Festival on Sunday, with Man Booker prize-winner and Mancunian Howard Jacobson when he overheard this conversation. Matthew Frost, friend of Confidential was chit-chatting just before Howard was interviewed by John McAuliffe on stage at the Burgess Foundation.

Matthew Frost (MF) – We met about four years ago...

Howard Jacobson (HJ) – We did?

MF – Yes, I interviewed you.

HJ – Ah... What book was that?

MF – Err, oh God, I've forgotten. The one with the graphic novelist.

HJ – That was eight years ago!

MF – It was the paperback launch.

HJ – We'll compromise on seven years. Where was it?

MF – The Friends Meeting House?

HJ – The Quaker house behind Central Library? I've just walked past there and said to my wife, "I've always wanted to go and have a look inside."

MF – That was the first thing you said on stage in the interview at the Friends Meeting House, seven years ago.

Sleuth is pleased to report that Howard was exceptionally articulate during the interview about his new novel.

Bins Sneak Up On Man On Bench

Sleuth spotted this gent in Lincoln Square a few weeks ago. "They're behind you," warned Sleuth. "And underneath you."

If I sit on this bench I'll hide the bins

That City Centre Transport Policy In Full

Sleuth has finally obtained the full plan of how Manchester City Council envisage city centre transport circulation by 2016. This is it. 

Sleuth's Forgotton But Rediscovered Garden Of The Week

This is Marie Louise Garden in Didsbury created in commemoration of an only child who died young by her parents, the Silkenstadt family, originally from Bremen in Germany, who became Manchester textile barons. Go now as the leaves are changing colour: it's beautiful with almost a Japanese quality. It also has the largest population of squirrels Sleuth has ever seen, so guard your nuts.

Marie Louise Gardens

Marie Louise Gardens

Marie Louise Gardens