CityLife

Via boss is in the Pink

IT'S only the second week in January but Tony Cooper from Via Fossa is in a buoyant mood.

So buoyant in fact that he's got in contact with CityLife - it's that easy - to tell us the good news. His bar has just been given the accolade of Best Gay Bar in the North West by the readers of Pink Paper.

And more than that - and possibly better depending on your view - Via Fossa's also been made runner-up for Best Gay Bar in the whole country.

"It's not bad going after 11 years in the business is it?" he says playfully.

"We have a slightly older clientele than many of the bars in town and a lot of those people read Pink Paper so it's great to be thought of so highly."

With a wealth of experience in both the licensing scene and Manchester's gay culture Tony is a fount of information and opinion about Manchester's role as a champion of gay and lesbian culture.

Alicante

Following on from last week's piece in CityLife about theVillage he has his own comments to make. "I was over in Alicante this Christmas with my partner, looking for a gay bar to visit, and was very unimpressed with the scene compared to Manchester," he says.

"The same with Berlin, which admittedly has a much more underground scene going on in places.

"Nevertheless, the point is that Manchester has this marvellous area that you can't fail to find, if you ask anyone. Travelling abroad has made me realise what a complete experience the Gay Village is. To be honest I don't think it's criticism from within that is the problem, it's the fact that we all take what we have for granted.

"For example without Peter Dalton and Manto there would be no Village as it is," he continues.

"I remember the village before all this development. It was a dark part of town where all the gay bars were behind locked doors. There was not the same openness we have today with rainbow flags flying on Canal Street. It's very easy to knock things but imagine Manchester without it. It just wouldn't be the same."

Tony's absolutely right. Village life is as much about culture and celebration as it is about hedonism and its power cannot be denied.

As Tony says the city would be a poorer place without it on many levels.