So much to answer for

Today I went to Manchester for work, and ended up in Vinyl Exchange on Oldham Street. I love this place deeply, and have spent many happy hours leafing through the cds upstairs, and the wildly expensive vinyl in the basement (there was a Shop Assistants 12" in there today for £25. £25!), which could quite easily bankrupt a boy.

One of the first things I learned when I started going to Vinyl Exchange is that there is a certain way of looking through the cd section. None of them are stored in cases - all are in little plastic wallets. So, if you want to look through them all before you die, the best thing to do is take a handful off the racks and flick through them. It took me a good three of four visits to work out why people did this. But I learnt. And record shop etiquette remains vital, of course, if you are to get ahead in the world.

I love Manchester completely. It's architecture is handsome (despite latter-day attempts to turn the city centre into a metallic-clad mini-London); its people are friendly; it proper pubs are the best I've been to the UK; and its music scene is always vibrant, of course. I'd only live in one city in the UK other than Nottingham, and that's Manchester.

However, platform 13 at Piccadilly could do with being less depressing and remote. But that's a minor gripe, our kid.