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Skyliner

@skylinermcr

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Critical thinking walks. Northern Quarter archivist. Advisor for ethical art & places. Contextual researcher for culture. Historian. BOOK COMING SOON

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ASHTON-IN-MAKERFIELD: The New Town That Wasn’t

by Hayley Flynn [@skylinermcr]

When your small home town becomes the latest political battlefield, it reveals itself in stereotypical ways.

“I’ve come to hold my Wigan identity dear but it’s still a confusing part of a whole. Many of us, the children of not-quite-New Town families don’t feel Mancunian, or Liverpudlian, we’re not confidently sure of our status as Wiganers, and now we’re even tentative over how Makerfield we are.”

full article at statmagazine.org
link int’ bio x

LET’S BUILD A NEW CULTURE

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In my capacity as @skylinermcr I worked on this amazing programme with @guardian @gmwalks

Other walk leaders were:
💜 @decolonialdogs
💜 @elmisaurus
💜 @anisasaleh73 and Sajida Ismail

And the project was managed by the absolutely awe inspiring Keisha Thompson.

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This wasn’t one of my walking tours.

This was one I went on myself, yesterday, led by Hayley Flynn of @skylinermcr, as part of the Guardian’s Legacies of Enslavement programme, in partnership with GM Moving.

And honestly, I love going on other people’s walking tours.

Even in the same city. Even when they pass places I talk about on my own tours. There is always something new to learn… or a different way of looking at a place you thought you already knew.

That’s the thing about Manchester. No one tour, no one guide, and no one perspective can ever cover it all.

This walk explored Manchester’s links to transatlantic slavery, cotton, public art, monuments, memory, and how the past is still present in the city around us.

What I particularly like about Hayley’s work is her way of reading the city - critically, carefully, and with real honesty about how stories sit in public space. She had even made a dress for the tour, stitched with repeated words from an inscription in Lincoln Square.

I often hear people who live or work in Manchester say they don’t need to go on a walking tour because they already know the city.

But I’m not sure any of us ever really “know” Manchester.

There are always more layers, more stories, more connections, and different people will help you see different things.

Walking tours are all different. The places matter, of course. But so does the person telling the story: the angle they bring, the things they notice, and the way they help you see familiar streets differently.

A really thoughtful and important walk. Thank you Hayley!

Thanks also to The Guardian’s Legacies of Enslavement programme, GM Moving (@gmwalks), and everyone involved in bringing these fantastic routes together.

#ManchesterWalkingTours #UrbanHistory #Skyliner #GMmoving #LegaciesOfEnslavement

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The Man Who Built (And Crashed) An Aeroplane

words by Hayley Flynn [@skylinermcr]

Pilfering machinery from Parkside colliery, Ashton-in-Makerfield’s Geoff Martlew built a plane, crashed another, and won a Queen’s Commendation.

‘Geoff crashed a plane onto the M62 sometime in the 80s and traumatically amputated a driver in the process, commenting that: “he cut a lads leg off with one of the propellers. Everybody thought he would get prosecuted but he ended up getting a Queens Commendation.”’

read full story at statmagazine.org
also in print - STAT16/17

links int’ bio x

—
image sources:

“Mr Martlew and Lorna”
Newton and Earlestown Guardian, 3rd March 1972

“The remains of the shattered Citroen stand in the slow lane”
Liverpool Echo, 8th June 1988

“Jim Anderton presents the awards to Mr Martlew (right) and Mr Blount (left)”
Manchester Evening News, 22nd February 1989

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Last day of @sketchbookcircle residential at the fantastic @phmmcr Thinking through a critical lens about Manchester’s ‘busy bees’ with @skylinermcr walking tours🐝

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Come hear brilliant Hayley Flynn @skylinermcr speak about William Mitchell’s statue in Eastford Square, Collyhurst - a totem of resilience standing amid demolition 💙

What bug led Hayley on a trail to discovering this artwork? How did its history capture her interest? This short film explores Mitchell’s defiant sculpture as regeneration transforms the neighbourhood around it.

This film plays alongside voices exploring river protection and urban change: Prof. Jamie Woodward on microplastics, Dr Cecilia Skordilis on environmental science, Jo Fraser on Manchester’s geological layers, and more.

As riverside properties develop along the River Irk, human and more-than-human are in dialogue - some of Manchester’s most important voices on rivers and regeneration, gathered in one place.

Part of River Stories exhibition, a collaboration between me, Many Hands Craft Collective, @lizwewiora & @manchesterhistories on until 21st March in Manchester Central Library 🌊

Come listen 🩵

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STAT16/17
DOUBLE ISSUE

JANUARY 2025

“IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED?!”

Our gluttonous society is always asking for more. Why don’t you cover this? Why don’t you cover that? To capitulate and enfuriate, we present to you the next logical step in MORE MORE MORE – something mental, something silly: a beautiful, buldging bumper issue. So full of culture were we, that it all could simply not be contained in a regular printed offering. No, we had to release two issues at once.

Issue 16/17 has got a bit of everything. Blowjobs in Berghain. Black pudding throwing competitions. Rebellions. An aeroplane made in a garden. A man living in a loft. Corporate espionage and karaoke. Stone skimming societies and foul-mouthed market stalls. Plus, reviews on music, literature, and even a flipping videogame, if you can believe it.

So, lo and behold! This orange dossier of North West culture. Goodbye 2025, you’ve really been rotten.

Contents include: The Man Who Built an Aeroplane; Lem; Blood, Sweat & Black Pudding; The Life and Times of a Bickershaw Park Ranger; Blow Jobs, Bust-ups & Berghain; Who Were The Economic League?; The Scouse Stone Skimmers of Sefton Park; The Indigent; An Assessment of the Arts Fair; A Stopfordian Sing-Song; The Foul-Mouthed Clickbait of Clitheroe Fucking Market. PLUS reviews of music, film, literature and video games.

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Featuring work by: Edie Barnabas, Olivia Bernstein, Tom Branfoot, Davey Brett, Becky Brookfield, Joseph Conway, Mark Cunliffe, Rhys Delany, Sue Denim, Sam Fairbrother, Hayley Flynn, Cath Garvey, Dex Chait Grodner, Ted Richards, Hayley Scott, Connor Seed, Georgina Tyson, Phoebe Verity, Kayla Victoria.

128 pages, 100gsm eco-grey innards, 160gsm orange binding card with black elastic band. Printed in Leigh, limited to 200 copies.

***

Grab one at the link int’ bio. Or subscribe via Patreon.

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Limited edition screenprints by Mancsy @realmancsy ‘MAKE MCR BEAUTIFUL’, 6th April 2019. Printed on various found items.

“Back in 2019 I made screenprints of a couple of your Pre-Raphaelite paintings, Hunt's ‘Hireling Shepherd’ and Rossetti's ‘Bower Meadow’. Years ago, I made a poster to ‘Keep MCR Tidy’ with little impact. The time has come for a different approach. I have joined in the litter pick myself, recycling what I cannot print onto with a Pre-Raphaelite image from Manchester Art Gallery. 40 were given away as part of Skyliners Free Street Art Tour and Litter Pick in Manchester.”

@mcrartgallery @MAG_Inspired @Mindful_Museums #MagCollection #mag_inspired #ManchesterCityCouncil #OnlineArtGallery #ArtGallery #ManchesterArt #inspired #ArtOfTheDay #MagVolunteers #ArtAndWellbeing #EveryoneIsAnArtist #FindersKeepers The photograph features a single feather that has been transformed into a piece of artwork. Here's a detailed description:
The feather is primarily yellow and black.
A detailed image of a person's face and upper body is rendered in black on the feather, likely through painting or printing.
The top part of the feather has been cut into geometric shapes, enhancing its visual and artistic appeal.
The contrast between the natural texture of the feather and the sharp, deliberate lines of the artwork creates a striking and unique effect.
It's a beautiful example of how natural materials can be used as a canvas for human creativity.

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🏙️ RIGHT TO THE CITY at TWT25

This year, we’re hosting something big. The largest gathering of tenants unions in British political history.

Arguing for a right to housing, tenants unions from London to Los Angeles, and Morecambe to Madrid, are assembling in Manchester to debate and strategise.

Here’s who’ll be there and what’s on…

🗒️ View the FULL PROGRAMME and
🎟️ GET TICKETS
link in bio 🔗

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UNCOVER THE NORTHERN QUARTER’S UNUSUAL HISTORY AND HIDDEN DETAILS IN THESE WALKING TOURS

What Hayley Flynn - aka @skylinermcr - doesn’t know about the Northern Quarter isn’t worth knowing. The writer and tour guide is an expert on the area, and all the interesting little details you might not have spotted, even if you walk through it every day.

Looking at everything from public art to car parks, linking together everything from street furniture to true crime, this is a tour for Mancs who are nerdily enthusiastic about the city, and all its possibilities.

They meet at Shudehill, they’re family friendly, and dogs are welcome too. We couldn’t think of a better way to spend a few hours on the weekend.

LINK IN BIO to book onto a Skyliner tour.

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⏰Next tour: Saturday 6 September
📍Northern Quarter
💰General admission £15

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I did @skylinermcr’s tour of Manchester’s Northern Quarter this morning. Critical, informative and providing a whole new perspective. Highly recommend Hayley’s tours if you get chance to do one. #manchester #northenquartermanchester #publicart #publicspeace #tourguide

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Can we please all just take a moment to appreciate the BEAUTY of this artfully constructed GAS EMISSION from Les’s behind? Is it FUZZ, is it FLUFF? Who cares, it’s MAGNIFICENT and it’s by 9 year old Malin who made this incredible Book in a Box for World Book Day… and WON!!!

A huge round of applause for the talented Malin please 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

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