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2023

 

It’s the end of our time at MIF 23

Wonderful fun, and so much to see

Music and balloons, theatre and dancing

Art and football, all life enhancing

 

In our temporary hub near the Crystal Maze

Diva Wonder-Woman Esther continued to amaze

With Tofu Ted and the ever-lovely Candice

And our leader Lee, back with us from Leeds

 

Mondays were ‘lighter’ to give us some care

And it’s not Fezzie anything, it’s Festival Square

But the Factory’s now known as the studios of Aviva

With each one of us now, an Aviva believer

 

With mustard yellow seats, we tested fire drills

John McGrath on the stage with first performer thrills

And a salmon pink colour, in hair, shirts and diggers

Caused over excitement and many wild triggers

 

The Square could be windy down by the river

Where David the mink made us all of a quiver

We spotted him once but it wasn’t enough

He’s moved over to Salford, in a bit of a huff

 

Street food, family friendly and spoken word acts

Visitors and volunteers converging in packs

With Hip Hop Chip Shop and Super Serve Middle East

Ginger’s Comfort ice cream, an icy cold feast

 

A Certain Ratio, Dutch Uncles, and Manchester’s foundations

And many artists played, from the next generation 

David Haslem, The Joy and Club nights were provided

Radio stations, collectives and classics collided 

 

We were calm and relaxed at Each Tiny Drop

Flowers full of bees and water in brown pots 

A background of singing in an hour full of zen 

Completely absorbing. Can we do it all again

 

The weather was varied throughout the two weeks

Wind, sun and drizzle in troughs and in peaks

Placing coins in the rain, through showers we ran

But flooding at Kagami wasn’t part of the plan

 

Directions were difficult and people got lost

But by the end of the festival we all had it sussed

Just walk on down Quay Street, there’ll be a blue shirt

But big bollards and no pavement might get you hurt

 

Our steps were abundant with shifts on our feet

Don’t sit on the sofas they’re not really seats 

Some days incognito but others in blue

With polka dot socks, there was plenty to do

 

Every day we collected some quizzical looks

While placing our coins in crannies and nooks 

The ninjas were hiding them there in plain sight

With the dragons coming out to steal them at night

 

Discovering new places we’ve not seen before

With cracks in the walls, in railings and doors

Buildings of Manchester in all of their glory

Every inch of the city telling its story

 

Augmented Reality with music and goggles

Riyuchi Sakamoto made the mind boggle

Not there in the room but it felt like he was

It caused a few tears at such a great loss

 

Immersive club dancing with R.O.S.E

Find Your Eyes with futuristic imagery 

Anna Meredith and RNCM were loud and intense

Sanam Marvi singing sufi. Now everything makes sense

 

One Night in Trans Vegas with Justin Vivian Bond

They, with Maxine Peake, dystopia and beyond

John Grant and Richard Hawley with the songs of Patsy Cline 

Alison Goldfrapp and AfroDeutsche, but I haven’t got time

 

There were asterisks aplenty in the untitled play

When all bloody stories seem to end the same way

Asian stereotypes exploded and narrative controlled

You aren’t who you are, you’re not what you’re told

 

The tendrilled landscapes and polka dot spears

The culmination for Yayoi Kusama of so many years

Watashi wa ishi ni naru she repeatedly said

Becoming a stone was inside her head

 

Inflated balloons in pinks, yellows and reds 

Big bags of air surrounding our heads

Lying down in the room for a bit of a rest

With the odd busted cloud, causing distress

 

We counted the dots above us in heaven

There were ten thousand four hundred and twenty-seven

But with all those mirrors, there might have been more

Infinity and beyond. Who’s keeping the score? 

 

Team leaders led but some shifts disappeared

But the smiles were aplenty, with the odd little tear

Volunteers do so much, like positioning seats

And drawing illustrations while watching athletes

 

This Entry was peaceful. What’s not to like?

A violin and dancing, and someone on a bike

Discussing ‘66 with a German, left me perplexed

And Keeper Puppies appeared in predictive text

 

Balmy Army revealed many problems in life

But writing on walls relieved some of the strife

If the outside world seems to be dark

You’ve got this. Don’t let anyone dull your spark 

 

Did Adam volunteer on every single shift

His travel between venues was amazingly swift

Spotting him in each photo gave us no trouble

But was it really him? Or does he have a double

 

But what do we do now that all of it’s finished

Sit meekly at home? Our existence diminished?

No, we’ll spend two years enjoying our lives

And we’ll be back here again in 2025

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