One of the 'leg-pulls' I have with the good lady wife, Iris, is when I say to her "You know Every Street in Manchester!" She comes from Manchester anyway and would be familiar with the place. Of course the joke is that there is an 'Every Street' in Manchester, it's in Ancoats! She kept threatening to take me into Manchester to see the John Rylands Library, and today we did just that. It is quite surprising though how little I know about Manchester. Of course I know it is an historic city, bathing in the glory of its one time prosperity. These days, once beautiful ornate buildings are looking decidedly shoddy, with rotting window frames and doors where the paint has long since peeled off even to the bare wood. The John Rylands did not disappoint though, with its vast collection of books, some so rare that they cannot be read perhaps. Then there was Lincoln Square, where there is a statue of Abraham Lincoln. The American Civil War caused great hardship to our local towns because of the cotton famine. The blockade of cotton from the southern states meant much unemployment and suffering. But at the time, friendships were formed with Lincoln and his government because of it. Lincoln corresponded with local people and great links were forged with the American nation. These are things you discover when you visit a place and it shows you how little you know. Finding out is great.