171: Spesh in my pocket, plastic bags in my shoes

Round the corner from the flat earlier this evening, the road was blocked by police cars and vans with tape blocking off the whole street and two fire engines in the centre of it.  We drove down towards it on the way home and had to turn around and go back.  I strained my neck trying to catch a glimpse of what was going on.  I saw someone stood in the street wrapped in a blanket, and thought I saw someone being carried or wheeled out on a gurney, but I only snatched the briefest view and it was further obscured by the flashing lights causing glare on the window.  We drove the long way around in order to see the scene from the other side on the way home.  We saw nothing except a jumble of police vans and a few gawkers.  I stopped short of joining them (mainly because of the freezing wind) and now the curiosity is eating me up.

I can’t seem to find anything online about what might have happened.  Searching for news relating to Old Moat Lane, Manchester brings up a load of random unconnected nonsense and a community update page on the Greater Manchester Police website.  Apparently there is a problem with underage drinking.  Might be a bit of money to be made getting down there and offering to go to the off-license and buy bottles of White Lightning and vodka, for a small fee.  There’s also a priority problem with begging and vagrancy on Old Moat Lane.  I’m fed up with being moved on from there.  A man has got to make a living.  You might make yours from working in an office whilst wearing a business suit, but I make mine leaning semiconscious against a wall outside the corner shop, wearing a brown coat with a can of spesh in the pocket and plastic bags in my shoes.  There’s also a problem with youth related anti-social behaviour on Butron Road (presumably a misspelt Burton Road), but that’s got nowt to do with me.

Whatever caused the collection of emergency vehicles on Old Moat Lane will probably pop up in the local free paper, so I’ll let you all know what happened when I find out.  Join me in hoping no one was harmed.  Thank you, kind people.  Might be more interesting if someone got hurt though.  Or maybe a fire has begun that will sweep across Manchester, like London 1666, leaving very few deaths (recorded ones at least; who cares how many poor people’s deaths went unreported) but a hell of a good story.  We can only hope.  Good night.