mightaswell.

2:00 Righto… I’m going to finish for today. PYC Sessions, who has been running an excellent live-blog for hours, seems to be still up, so follow him for updates: http://www.pycsessions.com/2011/08/riots-in-manchester

And the MEN Newsdesk are posting updates from Manchester and Salford.

I’ll close with my friend’s words, who was at Piccadilly Gardens when the looting started there: “I’ve seen the worst in people today. People in suits stealing stuff from Marks&Spencers. People stealing things off each other. Young kids carrying bottles of booze.”

I’m not angry. Just disappointed.

1:51 People mention that the city centre has been re-opened, nothing confirmed by the police yet (via @Vana1970)

1:50 Oh and I can hear a helicopter as well… can’t tell where it is heading.

1:43 Can hear sirens down here in Didsbury now, probably heading into town.

1:37 Shops are already being fixed (according to a friend, they started putting windows in on Portland Street hours ago) (via @mtattersallitv)

1:27 Image of smouldering bins on Langworthy Street, Salford (via @amyglendinning)

1:24 The Oldham Street webcam is working again – all quiet: http://oldhamstreetwebcam.chesha.com

1:07 Got a little scared for a while that people had broken into MadLab on Edge Street. All good though apparently.

1:00 Reports from Salford, burning cars at Langworthy estate and someone sneaking people into the shopping centre (via @stephennolan)

00:54 Police say city centre is getting quieter now! (via @gmpolice)

00:51 People on Twitter keep mentioning police and the smell of fire and smoke in Wythenshawe, nothing confirmed yet. Check Twitter updates: http://twitter.com/#!/search/wythenshawe

00:45 Greater Manchester Police Website seems down. Report anything you’ve seen here: http://bit.ly/oc2wHj Generally, updates now coming in less frequent, MEN Newsdesk seems to be getting a bit tired as well.

00:31 Just got a threatening comment on this post. Cheers.

00:29 Earlier reports of fire in Moss Side confirmed, gang tried to get into the powerhouse, see image below (via @amyglendinning)

00:25 Video of shops (M&S, Cow…) at Piccadilly Gardens after they’ve been trashed: Video of Piccadilly Gardens after the riots

00:22 Image of Pretty Green, Liam Gallagher’s store, smashed on King Street:

00:19 Video of the kids I’ve mentioned previously on Sky News. He’s well proud of himself… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ift78O95Bw&feature=player_embedded

00:05 Greater Manchester Police reports 47 arrests so far. “Looter just handed himself into a GMP station after seeing himself looting on Facebook. Officers continuing to make arrests.” (via @gmpolice)

23:56 Image from earlier this evening, people pouring into the Spar at Piccadilly Gardens (via @chriscrumble and http://www.pycsessions.com/2011/08/riots-in-manchester)

23:50 Thomas Street in the Northern Quarter has been busy for a while now. “Thomas Street Manchester, Police car just hit a boy then crashed into a lamp post. People have come out of flats to help.” (via @sarahunwin)

[actually making dinner... short break, blogging will be resumed in a few minutes!]

23:26 National Express coaches suspended from Manchester Chorlton Street Station (via @AssetRich)

23:20 Gangs around the Northern Quarter with axes, hockey sticks, shovels – MAKE SURE YOU STAY INSIDE PEOPLE!

23:11 Building set on fire on Trinity Way, fire brigade already there (via @pixel8foto)

23:02 BBC News are saying van has been set on fire in the city centre. Spar across the road from the BBC has been hit, too.

22:51 Picture of the people trying to smash in Jessops near the town hall on Sky News:

22:45 Reports that traffic is moving again at the Piccadilly end of Portland Street (via @tombrookspolloc)

22:41 Friend is back from the city centre. Reports that looters were stealing stuff off each other, person running out of a shop carrying a till got chased by other looters.

22:36 Sky News shows a small group of people trying to get into the Jessops next to the town hall using a fence. Tescos next door is apparently completely looted.

22:33 Police man to photographers during the fire earlier: “Get out of my way. I can’t believe you’re risking my life to get a good picture!”

22:33 Friend says loads of shops on Deansgate smashed in and looted.

22:18 Sky News reporter speaking to some kids (~15 years) live on TV, asking them why they are out tonight: “Just come out for money… the police can’t do nothing … you can do whatever you want today!”

22:14 More reports of organised looting, people shouting orders at younger kids, this: “A family rolled up to a shop, filled up their car with food an drove off.. What example are you setting your kids?!?” (via @jamesalao)

22:10 Friend on phone says buses still running further down Oxford Road (near BBC/Aquatics Centre), at least the Magic Bus services are.

22:08 Smashed car near the King’s Arms pub in Salford:

22:02 Cars being set on fire at Canal Steet car park (via @Redswish)

21:58 Reports that fire has broken out on Great Ducie Street behind Strangeways prison (via @williamhanson)

21:54 BBC News report police have been authorised to use plastic bullets against rioters.

21:46 Friend on phone: police only just got Piccadilly Gardens under control, back streets between there and St Anns are still ‘lawless’ though. Saw kids no older then 10 running out of shops with bottles of booze.

21:37 Video of rioters on Oldham Street earlier: Youths trying to get into a shop on Oldham Street

21:30 Reports that people have been beaten and robbed (via @MRichardsonMEN)

21:28 Recurring reports that Affleck’s Palace has been looted (via @PamelaWelsh)

21:25 Video of car fires in Salford earlier tonight: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14468693

21:15 Picture of the news agents on Portland Street:

21:14 Txt from friend: “Piccadilly gardens is a shopping free for all. All the shops looted…”

21:11 Doors smashed in at Natwest on Portland Street (via @pbainbridgeMEN)

21:07 Picture of people running down Piccadilly Gardens earlier.

21:04 Sky News reports “sporadic outbreaks of violence”, shows footage of the damaged Diesel store on Deansgate.

20:56 Video of Church Street (Northern Quarter) earlier this evening: Church Street

20:47 Asda Hulme & shops in Fallowfield (including Sainsbury’s) shut now (via @amyglendinning)

20:46 Mohammed Shafiq on BBC News: Kro Bar at Piccadilly Gardens ransacked.

20:42 ITV News released footage of the guy who set the fire at Miss Selfridge: http://www.itv.com/granada/miss-selfridges-on-fire44970

20:37 Market Street now closed by police, people gathering on Oldham Street (via @adlynch)

20:34 Sainsbury’s in the city centre barricaded

20:32 ITV News team apparently attacked as well, pulling out of Manchester (via @realnorthwest)

Greater Manchester Police tweet occasionally as well: @gmpolice

Manchester Evening News are doing a liveblog: http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1455173_live-blog—disturbances-in-manchester-and-salford

20:21 Swarovski shop trashed:

20:20 Txt from friend: “They’re in Oxfam” (the Oldham Street one)

20:19 MENNewsDesk reports: On Metrolink, Altrincham, Eccles/MediaCityUK and the South Manchester Line trams will terminate at Deansgate/Castlefield. All vehicles on the Bury line will terminate at Victoria.

20:13 Many stores on Market Street smashed and looted:

I didn’t think it would happen in Manchester. I thought a couple of smashed windows, a burning bin somewhere, and people would go back home. It’s 20:13 now and it seems that the looting in the city centre has only just started.

As you might have suspected, after five days of eating nothing but mini food portions suitable for a toddler, I caved in. Hard. There were pints of beer (which I just spelled as bear… mmhh, a lovely pint of bear!), an unusually large cheese and onion pie served on a plate as big as a wagon wheel (which I just spelled as whagon weel… wat’s whrong with me today?), and a giant chunk of bread and butter pudding, drowning in a olympic pool of custard. I felt guilty, but extremely happy.

But I can explain it, honestly. There’s a reason for my defeat. It was triggered by this:

Office lunch from hell. A ‘microwaveable snack pizza’ (2 for a pound from the poundshop… and we all know that buying any food – except biscuits perhaps – from the poundshop is tantamount to self-torture), mini jammie dodgers, and, sticking with the ‘hell theme’, Lucifer’s very own fluorescent pee*, lovingly bottled by the magnificent people of Scotland. Of course I’m talking about Irn Bru. A mini bottle of Irn Bru to be precise, which only meant that the horrible experience of drinking it lasted not quite as long as usual, but Irn Bru nonetheless. And with this, I ended my excursion into the wonderful world of tiny food.

What did I learn from Project Minimize Me? Buying mini food is stupidly expensive. Some mini foods are better than the big ones (Digestive biscuits! Mini cheddars!). Sometimes it’s even nicer to have just a mini portion of something that’s quite intense – like a small can of coke, or a tiny cupcake. With mini foods you can have loads of different things in a single meal. Quorn sausage rolls are vile. Drinking coffee from a tiny cup means I can even have TWO cups and still sleep at night.

Mission: completed.

* I didn’t want to write ‘piss’ in the main body of the post, but you all know it would sound much better than ‘pee’.