Cristiano Ronaldo was “papped” presumably by a fan in Manchester yesterday.
Seeing a famous footballer on the streets in the city he plays for is nothing special – but for those in Manchester, it did pique their interest.
Just south of Manchester is the county of Cheshire – it’s a beautiful area just to the west of the Pennines and Yorkshire.
It’s in that area where the footballers playing for Manchester clubs typically live – seldom do footballers live in the city centre unless they have a flat they can stay part-time.
Sometimes players will come up to the city and mingle in the bars of Deansgate and Spinningfields – new districts within the city stuffed with fancy bars and high-end shops.
Where Ronaldo was spotted is a place called Hulme. The area is right under the city centre, just below Deansgate, but it’s distinct from the rest of the city in that it seldom has any high-rises, and is mostly residential housing.
Its high street is Stretford Road and features nothing but a pharmacy, a small newsagent, a Jamaican restaurant called Buzzrocks (delicious, by the way), and a Post Office that has inside it a Subway. (I know, right?)
I lived around the corner, on Clayburn Street, some 30 seconds around from the tiny town hub. Sadly that area you would often see homeless asking for change. I often saw people selling what looked like heroin as I went to get my milk from the corner store.
Hulme sits above the infamous Moss Side; in fact, its gym is called Moss Side Gym, despite being situated in the area.
Similar to Moss Side, Hulme was once considered one of the worst areas in the city, full of gun crime and drugs. The entire area used to be huge tower blocks (see pictures below.)
Manchester City Council has done wonders in generating Hulme. There is less crime, a garden centre (Hulme Garden Centre) that does tons of charity work – and a developed park where young people and students hang out.
There’s still, sadly, a lot of addiction problems, but its overall feel has changed tremendously.
So thank you to Mr Ronaldo for being spot there yesterday, and providing me with the opportunity to give the place and its shops a shout out.
Featured image credit: Getty
