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In my 20s I lived in Manchester, on the sixth floor of a block of council flats just off the A57, or Mancunian (Mancy) Way.[qh]
在我20多岁的时候，我住在曼彻斯特，在A57公路旁的一栋公寓楼的六楼，或者叫曼彻斯特（曼西）路。[qh]
A short walk from Manchester Piccadilly station and the city centre, it was grey, noisy and built up.[qh]
从曼彻斯特皮卡迪利车站和市中心步行一小段路，这里是灰色的、嘈杂的和高楼林立的。[qh]
I loved every piece of it – my first stab at adulthood, at living on my own.[qh]
我热爱其中的每一个片段——这是我第一次尝试成年生活，尝试独立生活。[qh]
I painted my bedroom silver and slept on a mattress on the floor, and I grew sweetcorn, tomatoes and courgettes in pots on the balcony.[qh]
我把卧室漆成银色，睡在地板上的床垫上，还在阳台上的花盆里种了甜玉米、西红柿和西葫芦。[qh]
(I was 24 – of course I grew sweetcorn on the balcony.)[qh]
（我24岁的时候——当然，我在阳台上种了甜玉米。）[qh]
I worked and played in the bars and clubs of Manchester's gay village, and I would walk home in the early hours, keys poking through my clenched fist to protect me from would-be attackers, and I would see hedgehogs.[qh]
我在曼彻斯特同性恋村的酒吧和俱乐部工作和玩耍，凌晨时分我会步行回家，钥匙从紧握的拳头中伸出，以防可能的袭击者，我可能会看到刺猬。[qh]
It never occurred to me that the hedgehogs might be in trouble, that they might not have the best time foraging beneath the ring road, beneath the noise and stench of the city.[qh]
我从未想过刺猬可能会遇到麻烦，它们可能在环形公路下、在城市的噪音和恶臭下觅食时并不开心。[qh]
It occurred to me only that their presence was magical, and that seeing them on the grassy wastelands around my council estate, as I stumbled home from parties and nightclubs, was everything I loved about being alive.[qh]
我只觉得它们的存在是神奇的，当我从派对和夜总会跌跌撞撞地回家时，看到它们在我议会大厦周围的草地上，这就是我热爱生活的一切。[qh]
Where the wild things are: the untapped potential of our gardens, parks and balconies – podcast Read more Their home and mine was urban and gritty, but there were trees, areas of long grass, council houses with messy gardens.[qh]
野生生物在哪里：我们的花园、公园和阳台尚未开发的潜力——播客 阅读更多 他们的家和我的家都在城市里，环境脏乱，但有树木、长草区和花园杂乱的议会大厦。[qh]
There was a little park with cherry trees.[qh]
有一个小公园，里面有樱桃树。[qh]
Not much, but enough.[qh]
不多，但足够了。[qh]
The area was unloved, had an air of urban neglect, but I soon learned that it was a ripe habitat for hedgehogs, along with the birds, bees and butterflies that would visit my balcony, too.[qh]
这个地区不受欢迎，有一种被城市忽视的氛围，但我很快了解到，这里是刺猬的成熟栖息地，还有鸟儿、蜜蜂和蝴蝶也会光顾我的阳台。[qh]
Years later I was living in Brighton and took a trip to Manchester for work.[qh]
多年后，我住在布莱顿，并前往曼彻斯特出差。[qh]
In the morning, before my train left to take me back down south, I went for a walk, to the gay village, to the bars and the clubs, and finally to the estate where I used to live.[qh]
早上，在我坐火车南下回家之前，我去散步了，去了同性恋村，去了酒吧和俱乐部，最后去了我曾经住过的小区。[qh]
The flats had had a makeover – the balconies were now sealed with airtight windows that presumably made the flats warmer and more soundproof, but which further separated the residents from the natural world.[qh]
这些公寓进行了翻新——阳台现在被密封起来，装上了气密窗户，想必这会让公寓更暖和、更隔音，但也进一步将居民与自然世界隔离开来。[qh]
The gardens of the houses had been paved over and there seemed to be more space for parking.[qh]
这些房屋的花园已经被铺平了，似乎有更多的空间用于停车。[qh]
It wasn't just the people who would be suffering from the loss of green space; I wondered how the hedgehogs were getting on.[qh]
这不仅仅是人们会因失去绿地而遭受痛苦；我想知道刺猬们过得怎么样。[qh]
