Northern Soul

2 weeks ago | northernsoul.me.uk | Chris Wallis

I know nothing about football. Actually, that’s not true. I have two sons who grew up in Manchester, one a City fan, the other, well, the other, and I’ve lived here for 30 years, so it would be impossible not to know something about it. But what I do know could be written on the back of the proverbial stamp, and to be frank, I couldn’t care less. And yet, at the end of the penalty set piece that closes act one of James Graham’s Dear England, there was water in my eye.

2 weeks ago | northernsoul.me.uk | Fran Yeoman

In the end, the biggest act of the weekend wasn’t even on the bill. It just after noon on Saturday, as early arrivals milled around Liverpool’s Sefton Park or foot-tapped appreciatively to upcoming singer songwriter Liang Lawrence over on the BBC Introducing stage, when news emerged that the 1.15pm ‘special guest’ set would be coming courtesy of a certain Ed Sheeran.

3 weeks ago | northernsoul.me.uk | Fran Yeoman

There was chanting on Mersey waterfront. Chanting and stomping of feet. “Let’s go Thunder, let’s go!” (stomp, stomp). Whisper it though: Thunder are from Manchester. Nevertheless, their Netball Super League clash against Birmingham Panthers at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena (as nobody calls it, notwithstanding a presumably considerable sponsorship outlay) was billed as a home fixture.

1 month ago | northernsoul.me.uk | Helen Nugent

I moved house earlier this year. While my new place is what estate agents euphemistically refer to as ‘a fixer-upper’, in reality it’s a bungalow built in 1988 which has remained largely the same since its inception. While the untouched decor should scream 80s primary colours and funky furniture, what I actually have feels like a 70s throwback. When I saw the pull-down ceiling light in the dining room, I realised I was living in Abigail’s Party.

1 month ago | northernsoul.me.uk | Helen Nugent

When you move house, especially during winter, the garden is full of surprises. What is lurking beneath the soil? What will poke its head out in spring? Will there be summer colour? I’ll be honest, I wasn’t optimistic about my new northern plot. Much of it consists of lawn, trimmed with narrow borders that, back in February, looked lacklustre and unlikely to put on a show once summer came around. Months later, my initial synopsis has proved broadly accurate, but there have been a few revelations.