The symbol of Manchester (Explore 18/03/17 #46)

            Manchester Town Hall

I try to find an image that depicts the content of each of my albums on Flickr and process them as a square image purely for presentational purposes. My current offering is a misty Beetham tower shot that doesn't really sum up Manchester. I've been aware of the bee symbol for many years and always thought that's the one for me but never seemed to get around to finding a good example so last Saturday I went out of my way to find it. 

Just to fill you in on why I've picked this image for my album cover - the worker bee was adopted as a motif for Manchester during the Industrial Revolution, at a time when Manchester was taking a leading role in new forms of mass production. Seven bees are included in the crest of the city's arms which were granted to the Borough of Manchester in 1842. The bee denotes Mancunians' hard work during this era and Manchester being a hive of activity in the 19th century.

If you look hard enough you will see it in many forms around the city, most noticeable on the city bins. Alas, I didn't find an example that floated my boat but I did know of a mosaic version in the Town Hall so off I wandered in the hope of rescuing a disappointing, unmotivated photo shoot.

In the main foyer of the town hall is a beautiful mosaic floor but not one single bee symbol was to be found. At one end of the foyer was an information desk manned by several staff and a security guard. The staff were dealing with a queue of people so I asked the guard if he knew the whereabouts of a mosaic bee. They're on the upper floor leading into the great hall but that floor is closed today for a private function he said.
"Is it open any other time?" I enquired. "Yes, but why do you want to see a bee?" So I explained I'd been all over town looking for a symbol for my Flickr album but not to worry I could come back another day.
I was just about to turn around and head out when he said "just wait a minute, let these function photographers pass - just nip up these stairs, turn right and they're in the middle".

It won't mean anything to anyone who just peruses my stream, especially without reading this, but I'm made up with this. Not because it's a great image, but because someone went out of their way to make it happen for me and I left feeling upbeat and happy about my morning's shoot and photography in general, which I've not done for several months. So thank you to the gentleman on security for not being a "jobsworth" and taking an interest in my request. A simple gesture goes a very long way.

Taken on: March 11, 2017

Tags:

Manchester

Town Hall

floor

bee

symbol

Industrial Revolution

hard

work

image

album

square

happy

faith

humanity

Andy Rouse

Canon

EOS

MkIII « less

Sets appears in: • Manchester • All Things Square... more » • Explored « less

Groups appears in: • Manchester, UK • FlickrToday (only 1 pic per day) more » • History is All Around Us • Manchester through my eyes • in explore • 6,000 Views Unlimited 6000 « less

Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark III, f/5.6, 1/25 sec, 67mm, ISO 800 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Lens:	EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM
Aperture:	f/5.6
Exposure Time:	0.04 sec (1/25)
Focal Length:	67mm
ISO:	800
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Elements 12.0 Windows
Show full info

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