Took a train to Manchester this week to resit the practical half of the Accredited Clinical Coder exam, a year and a half after I passed the theory test. It was the first time in Manchester since going to see Soundgarden at the Apollo in 1992, and only the third time I've ever been (the first was Pink Floyd at Maine Road in 1988); it was also the first time I've ever had chance to have a look around. My hotel room overlooked Piccadilly Gardens and had the Northern Quarter behind. Managed to find the exact location of Kevin Cummins' beautiful photograph of Natalie Curtis, by the Town Hall and the Library (see entry for October 2015). The examination hall was on the top floor of the colossal Sackville Street Building, beyond the canal and the gay village. In Sackville Gardens sits master codebreaker Alan Turing; an auspicious find on my way to crack the codes.
