Kelly Gilmour-Grassam

Are you an adopted Mancunian or born and bred?

Adopted and proud! I moved here for my business at the start of 2015. Having moved back to my parent’s farm in Yorkshire after university, and choosing to go freelance instead of getting a grad job, I had the freedom to move anywhere I wanted. Most of my friends were in London, but I was intrigued by Manchester so decided to give it a whirl…

What is your earliest memory of Manchester City Centre?

I visited a friend at university a few years before I moved here. It was bang in the middle of summer and she took me to Oast House for drinks. Within a few hours we’d formed a group of people and I remember thinking it felt like one big community… I wanted to come back!

What do you like most about attending Freshwalks City events?

It’s a perfect format for networking that doesn’t take too much time out of your day. The lunch events are a refreshing change of scene from the office, while the evening events don’t go on too late – unless you want them to!

When I can’t make it along, I try to send someone from the team as I believe it’s a really good chance to press the reset button and meet new people.

Have you learnt anything interesting about Manchester with Freshwalks City?

I love finding out about all the firsts that Manchester has to its name. The first railway, the first canal, the place where graphene was discovered… Every time I go on a Freshwalks City I come back with a few really interesting facts as well as new contacts.

What’s your favourite building in Manchester – and why?

The John Rylands Library is just beautiful. The fact that it’s on the cusp of Spinningfields, an equally beautiful but extremely modern area of town, just sums up the great contrasts that make Manchester so special.

What’s your favourite lunch venue for a business meeting?

Ezra and Gil! It’s halfway between my office and Piccadilly Station, so I regularly meet clients there. It’s relaxed, spacious and has a great brunch menu…

Have you any ideas for themes or places where we could run a future walk?

Nightlife… I’m fascinated by Manchester’s links to early club culture and, as a lot of this came before my time, it would be great to learn more about the Haçienda era.

Manchester: summarise it in three words.

Dynamic, hard-working… real!

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