The week in Manchester: Drugs education crime tree dwellers
Sat ,01/02/1997
Shoppers pass the Royal Exchange and Arndale Centre, undergoing major
reconstruction after the bomb last year
“Taking drugs is as normal as having a cup of tea” said millionaire songwriter and Oasis member Noel Gallagher this week, adding more fuel to the controversy started by E17 star Brian Harvey’s recent drug-condoning remarks.
Education education drugs
Noel Gallagher’s statement was not meant to express approval of drug-taking, but to point out what he considers to be the hypocrisy of many MP’s who, he alleges, take drugs but at the same time condemn the practice as criminal.
Despite cries of outrage, he defiantly said he was glad if the remarks provoked an honest debate on the subject.
A 10 year old pupil was caught at a local school in possession of cannabis. The boy was in possession of only a very small amount, but many people will be wonder what’s happening to young people today.
In the words of Tony Blair, “Education, education education” is a burning issue at the moment, with arguments over class sizes, and schools opting out of local authority control. Two schools in the Greater Manchester borough of Trafford decided this week against opting out of local council control. Meanwhile in the City of Manchester 23 schools face closure due to falling pupil numbers.
Like teachers, the police also have an often challenging job in big cities, especially when they have to deal with crimes as horrific as two that were committed this week. On Tuesday an elderley woman in Manchester was assaulted and robbed. Then the thieves reversed their car over her, causing serious injuries. And on Thursday night, a woman who was out with her 10 month old child in Little Hulton, Salford, was violently attacked and raped.
In the opinion of EOM, the reporting of crimes such as these projects a distorted picture of our city. People working, travelling, and generally going about their daily lives, as they do every day here, just isn’t newsworthy. And yet surely, in comparison to less peaceful places on the globe, being able to do just this is a blessing that ought to be celebrated.
Environmental protesters and police set for confrontation at Manchester Airport
There is likely to be confrontation around the southern perimeters of the Airport, where many police cars are can be seen at the moment. Tree-dwelling anti-runway protesters are the target of this operation, the intention being to try and stop them from ‘digging in’.
Many environmental protesters will agree with the sentiments expressed in this piece of graffiti which appeared recently on Oxford Street, on the site of the old Gaumont cinema, seen by thousands of commuters every day.
Whether you agree with it or not, at least it succeeds, like Noel Gallagher’s remarks, in raising awareness of the issue, and stimulating debate, which can’t be a bad thing.
Tree-dwellers and underground burrowers might have found the weather this week a bit on the chilly side, with temperatures only a few degrees above freezing, cold white overcast skies and some drizzle. It’s been one of the driest January’s for years. By the end of the week, the skies were brighter, but rain is forecast for the latter part of the weekend.
Text and photos by Aidan O’Rourke 1 February 1997