KOSHER FIELD TRIP TO MANCHESTER

The recent outing to the Jewish Centre of Manchester proved to be an interesting, eventful and successful day out for may of our members and friends of Ne've Shalom. We have received brief travelogues from two of the travellers and these are reproduced here. The first one is from Audrey Sugarman and the second one is from Sarah James. Enjoy.

The Jewish experience was a nostalgic journey for me, as it brought back memories of Hull's Jewish shopping centre. I can recall fresh challahs and bagel being sold by Freedman the baker, the two deli/grocers, Dyche and Raphael, selling everything Kosher, the two fish and chip shops, Barnett's and Levine's, two fishmongers, four butchers, two barbers and David Gordon the watchmaker. 

We set off from Shul at 9.30am, 9.40am Jewish time and our first stop was the Tesco in Prestwich for a coffee and a stretch of the legs. I ran to the Kosher section and found a huge range of food and groceries. I only bought a couple of items as I was saving myself for later.

Arriving at the Leicester Road shopping centre was eye-opening. It was almost like a scene out of "Yentil", as the locals went about their Sunday morning shopping and way of life. We all embarked and went to Brackman's Bakery which was unbelievable and full of the regulars pushing and shoving. It was so hard to choose between the wonderful bagels, cheesecakes and pasteries, but we managed and almost all went away with full carrier bags. Some with more bags then others.

I returned to the bus and was able to answer some of Graham's questions who was driving our bus. He asked aout the attire and the way of life in the area. He was fascinated by what he was seeing and so was I.

Our next stop was the JS Restaurant which had been eagerly awaited and certainly did not disappoint. I have never eaten such a large beef burger, but with a little help from the others, I did manage to finish it. Tasting each other's food is all part of the Jewish experience and any left over chips were quickly eaten.

I was far too full to visit the Judaica shop, but managed to make my way to the deli/supermarket. This was also an eye-opener, even though I had once owned a Kosher Butchers. It was a revelation to open glass cabinets to choose trays of meat, chicken, sausages and other desirable food. For me this was the icing on the cake.

We all returned to the bus and set off for our journey home having filled our carriers, cooler boxes and stomachs and emptied our purses and wallets.

The success of our trip was due to the expertise of our driver, Graham and thanks must go to Helen and Andy for organising such a special day.

Last Sunday (18th August), thanks to the fabulous organisation of Team Andy and Helen, our first kosher field trip to Manchester took place. Sadly one or two weren't able to make it, but hopefully they'll join us next time with many more besides.

The mini-bus was very comfortable and expertly driven by Graham, but as the whole trip went without incident, the extensive supply of First Aid equipment and life support machines remained unused.

Our first kosher pit-stop was to a branch of Thomas Edward Stockwell and Jack Cohen's – aka Tesco – followed by much purchasing in Brackman's Bakery… It may be an idea to go in disguise next time… I understand that following our visit, Brackman's had to totally restock their bagels and cheesecakes. We could have stayed longer but we were encouraged to move on.

We then enjoyed some kosher browsing in Judaica World, before crossing the road for an amazing lunch together at JS Restaurant. It might be an idea to repeat our meal there just before Yom Kippur, as it's unlikely any of us needed to eat for at least 25 hours. Luckily, the service was quite quick and the meat was well cooked. Again, we would have stayed longer, but we were encouraged to move on.

Overall, a truly lovely day out – excellent company, food and shopping.  And wait 'til you see Neil's new T-shirts…! HUGE thanks again to all those involved in organising it: it is very much appreciated and we were able to get to wherever we were going to in time, on our return to the Shul.

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