IFE must be hard in the Pacific islands which make up Fiji, with all that sun, sea, sand and surf. But after a hard day’s toil in the sunny paradise at least the inhabitants can return home, switch on their computer and admire pictures of rain-swept Manchester. That should bring them right back down to earth. This unlikely scenario actually takes place thanks to that modern marvel, the Internet. Apparently ex-patriate Mancunian Howard Pheby did a bit of his surfing on the 'Net. He came across a web site called Eyewitness in Manchester, which contains a weekly round up of the city’s news, complete with a deluge of pictures of the rainy city.

   He was so pleased with his discovery that he e-mailed the web sit’s creator Aidan O'Rourke to say thanks.

   "It is great to see what is happening in Manchester, which will always be home," says Howard"

   "You may not know it but you have a silent but enthusiastic following in the Pacific Islands. I know people in Fiji, the Papua New Guinea highlands and the beaches of Vanuatu who have "Aidan's Photos" of their favourite or local haunts from home as their screensavers I personally have my local pub The Wilton on Bury New Road, in Prestwich, as mine."

   Aidan is the man who is taking Manchester multimedia, and bringing events in the city to the attention of the eyes of the world, or at least that part of the world which is computer literate.

   And Fiji is just one place where he has fans. The 40-year-old former teacher also has a following in the United States, throughout Europe and other far-flung parts of the world.

   The virtual newsletter contains Aidan's personal view of the week's news in Manchester, which he culls from the Manchester Evening News.

   "The style is like a newspaper, but it's also like a letter because I throw in little bits of opinion to make it a bit more personal," says Aidan, of Victoria Park.

   "And with the pictures the idea is I am out and about like other people and take photos of what I see. I really like the city, and there is a never-ending scope for pictures."

   It's the personal touch which many of his readers appreciate. And as a former ex-pat himself, having spent five years teaching languages in the Middle East, the Stockport-born man knows the kind of things people want to read about and the pictures they want to see.

   "It all depends where they are," he says. "If you are in a country in the Middle East, or to a certain extent the United States and Australia it's the old things you miss pubs, old buildings, National Trust properties, castles and that sort of thing. You miss living in an environment where there is history to it."

   Aidan launched the web site early last year because it allowed him to combine two of his main interests, computers and photography, both subjects in which he is self-taught and also because he wanted to move away from teaching.

   "I had been wanting to give it up for a long time," says Aidan.

   "I found it very a frustrating profession and wanted to do something more creative. In my advanced German classes I always used a lot of newspaper material and that got me interested in journalism and I have always been a bit of a newsaholic. I like to know what's going on."

   The web site also includes a page of news from 50 years ago, a Who's Who of Manchester and his pride and joy a massive photo archive, entitled the Image Collection.

   "When I take a photo and then get a message from someone in the US saying I really liked your picture of Daisy Nook Country Park, or wherever it was that's just great," he says.

   When he first started Eyewitness it was love rather than money which kept him going. With no income from the project Aidan was living on his savings and his wife Ann's earnings.

   But since September Eyewitness in Manchester has been backed by Manchester Online, the Manchester Evening News' web site.

   Aidan has also started to produce web pages commercially and sold a few of his beloved pictures of Manchester to clients in the US and Germany, including an American magazine, which used them to illustrate a story about the drug problems and club scene in the city.

   The Eyewitness newsletter and Aidan's other services can be accessed on the web through Manchester Online at: www.manchesteronline.co.uk

Here's what some of the many expatriate Mancunians and other who view the websites have to say:
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"I was so pleased to find your web site and be able to see pictures from home. It has been comforting for me to have a read of the MEN on screen and keep up with what's happening on my travels,"
-Hannah, Pasadena, USA.
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"Let me say thanks a million for keeping all of us far-flung Mancunians up to date and in the picture,"
-Jimmy, Sweden.
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"I live in the Washington DC area, not far from the Clintons. I left Manchester in 1958. I was born in an air raid shelter in Miles Platting. Our house got bombed out soon after I was born. Then we moved to Auburn Street, Miles Platting. I know the house no longer exists it was right across the street from St Luke's Church. You have a big following here. We e-mail back and forth about what pictures O'Rourke has this week, and do you remember this or that we love it,"
- Mavis, Washington DC.
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"I am an American attending university in Oregon. I read Eyewitness and Manchester Online every day. Why? Because I have been to Manchester three times. I have a friend who lives in West Didsbury and works at the MEN property section. Anyway I like your column a lot it helps me keep in touch with a city I have grown to love,"
- Geordie, Oregon, USA.
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"As a Middleton lad living in San Diego, California, I found Eyewitness brought back many memories. The sight of that dismal, dirty city as compared to the view out of my office window of beautiful San Diego Bay confirmed my reasons for leaving Manchester in the first place,"
- David, San Diego, USA.
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"Thank you very much for the pictures you took of Daisy Nook. I grew up in Littlemoss just about a mile from the country park and worked at Daisy Nook Garden Centre for a few years prior to moving to Whitehouse, USA, 11 years ago.
"My wife and I look forward to your weekly reports as it keeps us updated with information that we wouldn't normally get. Keep up the great work,"
- James, Ohio, USA.
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"Hi Aidan, once again thank you for all the great photos. My wife and I are originally from Cheetham Hill and Higher Blackley. We wouldn't mind a few photos of these areas when you are passing if not it will not stop us enjoying your work as always,"
- Tony and Sylvia, Sydney, Australia.
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"Hello, there. My wife and I visited Manchester this July. Great city, nice city and most of all a friendly city. We stayed at the Britannia Hotel, on Portland Street, because our daughter was working there. She is living in West Didsbury and working in Manchester and likes it very much. We are looking forward to visiting the city again,"
Henning, Norway.

Andy's net gain
IF it had not been for Aidan O'Rourke's Eyewitness in Manchester web site American student Andrew McGuinn could have ended up in Leicester for a year so he has a lot of thank Aidan for. Andrew, who attends East Carolina University in the United States, was preparing to take part in a student exchange but couldn't decide between universities Leicester and Manchester. So he had a look on the 'Net to see what he could find out about our fair city. "After browsing around on the Internet Manchester seemed the better choice," says the 25-year-old history student, who is studying for a year at Manchester Metropolitan University. "Aidan's pictures were the first I had seen of Manchester and definitely affected my vision of what it would be like to come here. "I thought he had really done a good job compiling the web site. I still walk around Manchester and say "I've seen that in one of Aidan's pictures," because he has so many photographs on the Internet."