[Charlosparky]

I may be missing something basic here or maybe i'm just dumb, but why is it that whenever i walk into the bedding department in the stores in NZ I see "Manchester" written everywhere? If i was to link anything with manchester (the city) it would be football fans, chip butties, and orange buses- not bedding :confused: :confused:

please feel free to point out something obvious and have a laugh at my expense :D

[dawn]

It's the name of the firm that makes the linen.

[Charlosparky]

Awwww it that all? No- "not many people know this but..." type of storey? Oh well thanks anyway :nice1

[Smiler]

Awwww it that all? No- "not many people know this but..." type of storey? Oh well thanks anyway :nice1

I didn't know that :D. I thought it was just another word for bed linen:confused:

[dawn]

It's a boring answer from me isn't it, but it's true, it's just the brand of linen. I'm sure I can make something up that will be much more exciting!

[jubjub]

I thought it was a reference to the fact that Manchester had a lot of cotton mills, therefore made a lot of bedding...

[Diny]

Hhhhm ... interesting. I too thought it was all connected with the Manchester cotton mills etc.

I wouldn't have thought it was a brand name (like Watties or Whittakers etc), because alot of the department stores and places like Warehouse have 'Manchester' depts, but you don't see Watties departments.

Interesting subject.

Diny

[jo-and-jeff]

I too thought it was all connected with the Manchester cotton mills etc.
That is also my understanding. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester) Being from the U.S., I was mystified by the nomenclature when we arrived here, and did some research into how linens acquired that name.

Interestingly, when Derryfield, NH became a textiles center, it was renamed to Manchester (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester%2C_NH) because it reminded New Englanders of the city in the U.K.

[StevieD]

I could have answered with some witty repartee about it being a bit of a dive, but thought better of it!! Ready to duck now.... :laugh

[Carol]

I'm pretty sure it just refers to "bed linen" in general .........


I know of stcks of manufacturers names - none of them being Manchester as such.
And yes - it probably does stem from the olden days of the dark satanic mills....

[sarahw]

Yep, you guys are right - its to do with cotton mills & covers all bedding - that's why dept stores have 'Manchester Dept' & why shops have 'Manchester' sales regardless of what brands they sell.

Taken from Wordweb: "Noun: manchester
Usage: Austral, NZ (=household linen)

Drygoods for household use that are typically made of white cloth
- white goods, household linen"

(website: http://www.wordwebonline.com/en/MANCHESTER)

Taken from Aussie slang dictionary by Dunway Enterprises "Manchester - Household linen such as sheets & pillow cases"

(website: http://www.dunway.com/html/aussie_slang.html)

[Andy-Dee]

No one who supports Manchester United lives in Manchester - so it seems entirely plausible that no one in Manchester ever refers to bed linen as Manchester - only those who live thousands of miles away.
Another lovely Northern phrase:
We live south of Manchester in Warrington where they used to make wire on enormous bobbins - hence the word for rubbish here is 'bobbins' (the bit they threw away).
D

[NZ Hopeful]

No one who supports Manchester United lives in Manchester - so it seems entirely plausible that no one in Manchester ever refers to bed linen as Manchester - only those who live thousands of miles away.
Another lovely Northern phrase:
We live south of Manchester in Warrington where they used to make wire on enormous bobbins - hence the word for rubbish here is 'bobbins' (the bit they threw away).
D

My boss (in Warrington) says bobbins all the time - (thankfully he's not referring to my standard of work :laugh) and I'd never heard it before and I did wonder for a while what on earth he was talking about :roll so thanks for that!

[Joanne100]

No one who supports Manchester United lives in Manchester D

Sorry have to disagree with that Andy!!

Being from Manchester (and supporters of Man U) i was very confused everytime i walked into the linen dept and saw a sign reminding me how lucky i was to escape! i asked all the girls i worked with why they called it that and no one knew, thanks so much...after 2 and a half years finally getting an answer :clap