Fragments of Manchester

"One particularly weak point in the barrier between dream and reality existed in the psychic air that surrounded Manchester.." - Pollen, by Jeff Noon.

The last time I visited Manchester, I felt a sense of anticipation, as if something out of the ordinary was happening around every street corner. This time, as the mini-bus reached Manchester, I noticed the "Manchester in Bloom" sign, warning me of flowers, as if I hadn't already noticed the dandelions and cow-parsley, and the seeds flying by, wildly. I sneezed and that amused me, since the evening I arrived in Manchester was May 2nd, the day after Persephone arrived in Pollen, and the pollen was dancing.

A giant yellow pencil adorned a pavement and outside a shop, a gravestone was propped up, saying "In God's Keeping - Alice."