Lunar New Year parade, more nooks and crannies, gargoyles!

Slightly early but happy Year of the Horse, everyone! To mark the occasion, there was a parade through the town centre today, with a vibrant performance by Conundrum, this big, zesty dragon and various zodiac animal floats. We finally got some proper sunshine as well - it's been my favourite kind of day, bright but cold, top job all 'round.

There was a big energetic horse float accompanying this banner, but it was partly obscured and I couldn't get a decent picture of it.

This snake though, just so precious.

Loving the appropriately elegant fabric to support this majestic tiger.

After the parade had gone by, I decided to wander 'round town and soak up the atmosphere for a bit; there was a bloke playing some tunes on a steel drum, which was very pleasant, but the lure of the back streets was strong, so I went round there for a bit, to have a bit more of a play around with Icaras, my new camera. By 'new', I mean a vibrant pink Fujifilm JV-100 from 2010, that I bought from a charity shop a few days ago - it's a treasure. I've been after a compact camera for a while, because Feisar is very much a 'plan ahead' kind of thing; it's a stocky bit of kit and taking it out and about isn't always convenient, whereas with this little one, I can just keep it handy for any time something catches my eye.

Past this bar that used to be a Mexican restaurant. There are some pictures from up on the roof of this place, circa 2010, knocking about somewhere. As of 2026, you can't get up on the roof of this building anymore (alas.)

We do have the promise of a Big Gay Disco, though!

Coming up into the town square, there's this old cross that I'm pretty sure was located more centrally at one point; I vaguely remember it being slap-bang in the middle of the square in the early '90s. There's an inscription on the other side that says "MWW 1798". This page gives us some more context on the matter:

The market cross, has had a chequered career. It stood originally outside the Angel Inn, now the site of the NatWest Bank in the Market Place.  In the late 17th century a waterhouse was built there to supply four houses on the corners of the old market place with a proposal in 1693 to upgrade to a cistern. This became the property of Macclesfield Water Works and it is possible that the inscription on the cross "MWW 1798" relates to this.  The cross was moved from the Market Place in 1795 and bought by a farmer. In 1858 it was recovered and put in West Park and in the early 20th century returned to the Market Place. A stone mason made the lettering more legible in 1968, and the story developed that the date related to the farmer.  However, it is possible that the date could have read 1693 not 1798.

 

Today, the ginnel leading to the Unitarian Chapel was open... not to be confused with Unitologists. Fucking hell, 2026 has damn near done me in already and we're only on bloody February - the last thing I need right now is soddin' necromorphs kickin' off 'n' all! ... Also, in keeping with my mission to find out more about old buildings in the area, Wikipedia has an article on this one.

Heading in, we have that interesting thing where life is going on as normal just a short distance away but in this little courtyard, it's really peaceful and secluded. There are also lots of little nooks and niches here, which I am always fascinated by.

This curious little cupboard here housed some electrical gubbins.

This, just underneath, however, is more reminiscent of summat out of The Evil Within. If you listen carefully, you can hear Count Boxface stompin' and clangin' about.

From this side of the courtyard, you get more of that particular ramshackle feeling that you find throughout the town centre, with buildings from various different points in history jostling for space with each other, and sometimes there are surviving leftovers of earlier structures just chillin' without context. (Not pictured here but there's a wall 'round the back of a building society that is just a chaotic mash of different materials, design eras and construction methods, it's an absolute delight.)

Onto Hadfields now, as previously highlighted in this post from last year. This little maneki-neko was waving at passers-by.

Of course, it would've been rude not to stop by and have a look at the gargoyles!

The serene lions and the grumpy gargoyle are still there, along with Buddha, an otter and an owl.

Also these delightful mischief-makers and that grouchy rock in the bottom right corner! Didn't notice that until I was editing these photos but man alive, that is brilliant. I kinda want that for whenever someone knocks on the door, mithering about broadband or energy suppliers or whatever. In the early 2000s, we had talk to the hand. In 2026, talk to the fuckin' angry rock!

Also this legend 'ere, he is fantastic and I love him.

And this chap 'ere - 10/10, no notes.

Onto the salubriously named Stanley Mews now; I've walked past this area countless times over the years and never once thought to investigate. Turns out there's this rather flash porch here, 'round the back of a bar on Chestergate. And there's a ghost door above it! Perfection!

Up this shite rusty staircase is a door promising 'Narnia'. Make of that what you will. I like to imagine it's some proper catty, gin-soaked sarcasm kind of vibe.

Tiles, including one with quite an appealing Mediterranean design.

Meanwhile this archway under the shite stairs was giving off a bit of a Session 9 vibe (there didn't appear to be anyone loose with an orbitoclast, though, probably just as well.)

Pigeons!

Another perspective of the ghost door above the porch, looking towards the car park by the indoor market. This area is absolutely one of those things where you have a load of gorgeous historic buildings one minute, then the moment you take a squirrelly little turn into a non-public-facing area, that's where all the disused architectural/industrial shit is. Not pictured here because I'm trying to keep this post reasonably curated (and there have been loads of photos already, maybe I'll gather them in a separate post) but around the steps, there was just loads of detritus. It's that vibe that's so grim that it almost comes out the other side and is kind of charming, but not quite. I find these kinds of areas weirdly fascinating.

In closing, here's a very charming and satisfyingly textured Cheshire cat, part of a mural on one of those little power station efforts. Loving the brushstrokes on this one, and the way the underlying texture of the wall gives it a weathered look.