IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Wilmslow Road, MANCHESTER, M20 2DP

West Side Gail's Bakery occupies a building which used to be a bank: HSBC (not sure what it was before that). Like most banks the building is well designed and built. On the other side of the Whitechapel Street, opposite, there used to be another bank RBS, now also departed occupied by a Turkish Sweet Centre. As noted earlier the digital age is removing access to face to face banking.

West Side More planted flower containers, one sponsored by Little Pigs, The Didsbury Butchers and the other by Gail's (bakery). The top section appears to house a small sedum and a variegated ivy. Petunias, geraniums, eyc in the larger, lower sections.

West Side The bigger picture next to the planted containers shows a litter bin with separate sections for different types of waste. It must be a collection day as cardboard and paper, etc, some in bags, has been put out. The process of sorting and recycling rubbish and waste was driven first by the sheer quantity of waste a modern society creates and the lack of space in which to "dump" it, as quarries, etc, were filled. A major factor was the cost of waste collection and processing (filling holes was the cheapest, but created toxic products, "leachate" and gases which had to be monitored for decades). Incinerators were the most expensive form of waste processing. In recent decades the principles of environmental responsibility have been drivers and latterly the growing threat of climate change necessitating a reduction in the products of fossil fuel.

West Side Hays Travel's premises are unoccupied and are no doubt a casualty of direct booking. The yellow brick office type building in which it lies and the next similarly designed red brick building are unimaginative architectural additions. The premises next door to Hays Travel may be unoccupied, too? It is/was a cafe bar and restaurant. Gusto is plainly fully operational and contributing flower troughs outside, as are the Co-op and Gail's, though without the flowers.

Pub at the corner of Wilmslow Road and Old Oak Street.

The shopping area of Didsbury along Wilmslow Road

Seen from Whitechapel Street.

The centre of Didsbury from the top deck of a bus on Wilmslow Road.

When the Streetview google-car passed here in 2012 both these shops on Wilmslow Road were empty. The premises to the left of the K6 phone kiosk is now occupied by Julian Wadden & Co, estate agents and letting agents. The premises behind the tree are now home to health food shop Holland & Barrett.

Would be worth photographing early or late on a sunny morning.