I lived on top of the Arndale Bus Station for over a decade (1990-2001) in flats run by Northern Counties Housing Association. My second home at the time was the magnificent “Hare and Hounds” on Shudehill. Lock-ins every night, no mither, betting slips all over the place (the Landlord’s daughter was dating Stan Bowles’ brother Mark, which may have upped the bookmaking interest) and it was also home to the MCFC City centre Supporters’ Branch, where we had many a great guest (and Alex Stepney). To this day, one of the strangest football-related nights was seeing Nicky Weaver rock up in his black Merc, stare in through the stain-glassed window, before tip-toeing in to nearly one hundred blues smashed out their heads singing and pleading with him to ensure we got promoted against Blackburn TWO DAYS LATER!! He’d agreed to a QandA session less than 72hrs before that vital match. Maybe YaYa can reciprocate the agreement if we get to Milan this year and have us all join him for pints in Wilmslow?
Great nights spent watching boxing there too. It was a pub where sport was always being discussed. Not been in there for a while but I recall it was one of Manchester’s oldest pubs- they used to have a list inside of the top ten oldest. Not sure so many are left now.
