Non, non, non! Je n'aime pas le re-vamp au le union des students dans Manchester. C'est tacky et tres tres unnecessary.
What's that, you're not fluent in French like my excellent self? Well, fine, en Anglais; the Union Bar's re-vamp sucks. I hate it.
I'm not one of those curmudgeonly old tarts who hate change and shun energy-saving lightbulbs. I like change. Progress is good. Tearing out a perfectly decent Union Bar and replacing it with some sort of lap-dancing club decor, however; not good.
If you're young enough to never have seen the old Union Bar, I pity you. It was entirely pine. Pine tables, pine chairs, probably pine flooring though it was always so dirty the jury is out, pine pine pine. It was cheap. It was ugly. There was loads of seating and everyone knew they'd get a chair and a table. Now, it's a mess of chain curtains, 'intimate' booths and awkward low couches and tables. As if they know they've made a mistake, the area to the right of the entrance is reminiscent of pine times, except with plastic chairs.
To my mind, if it ain't broke, then please don't try to fix it. This re-vamp is an obvious desperate ploy by the Uni to impress open-day attendees. Unfortunately, the knock-on effect of this Changing-Rooms-esque fiasco is that drinks prices at the (new, much smaller) bar are much higher than they used to be. Boooo!
The Union Bar used to be a cheap and dirty place to have a £1.30 pint before heading out. Now you'll easily pay £3 for a drink, and you'll do so in an environment that's more like Hollyoaks' SU than a real union.
Students' unions aren't supposed to be shiny and wow-y, they're supposed to be a bit shit, but cheap. This re-vamp hit way, way wide of the mark. read more