Roman Manchester
In response to a
question about what the Romans ever did for us, I said Manchester, or Mamucium/Mancunium as it was
known then, when what has become my thriving city was a Roman garrison.
Mancunian is the demonym for someone from Manchester.
It might not be lost
on anyone that any town or city in England bearing the suffix -caster, -ester
or -[c/x]eter was once a Roman garrison. These endings derive from the word
castrum, meaning camp or fortification, and are indicative of a history stretching
back almost two millennia. [Wikipedia:
"Chester (placename element)"]
In the Castlefield
area of Manchester, a reconstruction of the Roman gatehouse, walls and other
features offers a historical education about the city. Signboards are dotted
around the area, explaining the significance of the structures, the setting,
the people and the times.
Manchester to
Westminster
Today, however,
another message comes from Manchester. The erstwhile Mayor of Greater
Manchester, in post since 2017, has become the Leader of the Labour Party, and
will be kissing hands on Monday to become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
I have met Andy Burnham on a few
occasions, when I was a steward at Manchester Cathedral, and he attended civic
or funeral services pertaining to our city. As I handed him the service
pamphlet, he smiled, greeted me and thanked me: a man without airs and totally
unassuming. If you were not told, you would never realise he held one of the
more prominent political offices in the country.
Though I have not
always agreed with some of his policies, the net benefit of his leadership of
Manchester is commendable enough to make me feel excited about what he might do
for the country as a whole. How Manchesterism would work
for the UK, we do not yet know.
Against the Odds
The deputy leader of
the Labour Party is my MP, Lucy
Powell, representing Central Manchester. Until September 2025, she was
Leader of the House of Commons, when she was sacked without reason. She then
acquitted herself well in winning the deputy leadership election, despite the
fact that her opponent was supported by the government.
Against the odds, we
have people from Manchester and its environs proving that they carry a message
which not only resonates but offers a different perspective on things. The
status quo is over, and the advent of something new beckons.
This is neither to eulogise nor to lend hagiography to the named personalities, as they all have their work cut out. However, you cannot miss one essential detail: here comes Manchester, to the country and indeed to the world.
I wish them the very best in
the arduous endeavour of realising the dreams they have for our country, and in
how they hope we might dream along with them, to begin living the reality of
those dreams and, better still, to see them come true.
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