'Manchester at 5.15pm is like Greece in September - tired, but with so much more to give'

Earlier this week, I was strolling through Piccadilly Gardens, at roughly 5:15pm, with wonderful MEN photographer Sean Hansford.

"Manchester at this time of day is like Greece in September," he said, admiring the newly-laid turf and array of colours in clouds painted by the setting sun. "Sean," I replied, "what on Earth do you mean?"

"It's tired, but it's just got so much more to give," he said back, expecting my follow-up. And the more I think about it, Sean's dead right.

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Manchester is many things, but it's not a 24-hour-city in the way New York, or even London, is. It has an ebb and flow throughout the day.

If you've ever been in St Peter's Square at 6am, there's a quiet hum of road sweeper, first trams, and the early-birds starting their days. By the time it gets to 10am, New Cathedral Street gets its first influx of shoppers.

St Ann's Square at lunchtime can feel like the centre of the universe, with a mish-mash of office workers, construction teams, and day-trippers sitting on the concrete benches to get some lunch. Deansgate at 4pm is when things really hot up - commutes home from work begin, but so do boozy after-hours socials.

So, come 5.15pm, in early spring, Piccadilly Gardens is tired, as is most of town. But Sean is dead right - there's oh-so-much-more to come.

Seven o'clock on Stevenson Square, especially in summer, feels like a festival. There's chatter in the air, pints in plastic cups, perched on various pieces of electrical wiring infrastructure.

Get yourself down to Chinatown for 10pm and you'll have a sensory treat. The smells from kitchens, warbles from karaoke bars, and a thousand glistening neon