An Alternative Christmas Treat

 

If you’re looking for something a little different for the festive season head down to NOMA for an alternative Christmas treat. Winterlast, a rustic hideaway, has arrived in Sadler’s Yard to provide a warm cosy venue to get away from the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping and the busy streets.

Winterlast has been designed and built by Open Design Studio PLANT NOMA and will be operated in collaboration with the team at The Pilcrow pub, Manchester. The wooden grotto will offer a changing seasonal food menu and esoteric Christmas drinks in a relaxed, warm and festive atmosphere.

If you love films, then you’re in for a treat! Every day between 1st – 23rd December PLANT NOMA’S brand new 40-seater HD cinema will be showing a great Christmas classic – for free! Daily film screenings start at 7pm, with family friendly screenings at 10am on Saturdays. Just turn up and enjoy! There will also be fun festive activities, competitions and special events for everyone to enjoy.

Winterlast is Manchester’s hidden gem, where things are done a little bit differently. So, if you want something a little less traditional this Christmas take a trip down there, you won’t be disappointed.

Winterlast will be open from 4pm between 1st-23rd December and is located on Sadler’s Yard, NOMA, Manchester.

Manchester Markets

 

Greater Manchester has once again opened its doors to one of the biggest Christmas markets in the UK. Now in its 18th year Manchester’s famous Christmas market is a hugely popular destination, with over 300 stalls and chalets at 10 locations across the city.

Attracting visitors from all over the world, Manchester’s award-winning Christmas market offers an array of local, European and international arts and craft stalls, selling everything from homemade jams and chutneys, jewellery, clothing and unusual hand-crafted gifts.

Manchester’s Christmas market is a great day out, and with its bustling atmosphere and festive vibes it’s the perfect place to meet friends and family. You can experience some mouth-watering Hungarian cuisine, old-fashioned hog roast or traditional German Bratwurst. Have a skate on the ice rink, and warm up with a hot chocolate, or try a Spanish beer or some French wine.

To fully experience one of Manchester’s biggest events you can follow the market trail to each of the 10 different locations, each one is themed with its own unique character and atmosphere.

Manchester’s Christmas market is open 10am – 8pm Monday to Sunday until 20 December 2017. Entry is free.

Manchester’s Christmas market is a truly international event with a distinctly Mancunian style!

Manchester Souvenirs will have a market stall at the Piccadilly Gardens Christmas market every Sunday until Christmas, so come along and say hello and pick up a few Christmas gifts, or maybe a treat for yourself!

Manchester Arena will reopen on Saturday 9 September with a massive benefit concert to raise money for the Manchester Memorial Fund, honouring those affected by the 22 May terror attack and welcoming live local talent back to the Arena.

We Are Manchester will feature a massive line-up of some of Manchester’s best-loved talent and world class musicians, ready to provide an unforgettable and a very emotional evening.

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds are set to headline the gig with other northern talent lined up includes The Courteeners, Blossoms, Rick Astley, Bugzy Malone and a DJ set from the Inspiral Carpets’ Clint Boon.

The First Street of Manchester

 

Beyond the Railway viaduct that runs parallel to Whitworth Street West, is an area beside Medlock Street that was once home to the Gaythorn Gas Works. And now a fantastic new social and business space.

Over the years the site moved away from gas production to gas distribution. When it finally closed, the buildings were demolished leaving a brownfield site that waited decades for development. If you approach the viaduct today, you will see a sign announcing the area as First Street and you will find it hard to miss the red ceramic clad hotel (Inn Side) rising beyond the railway line.

The site is now full with the lovely artistic space called HOME with The Gasworks a real ale bar & eatery, The Liquour Store and Laundrette two fantastic independent bars and the highly anticipated restaurant due to open soon by Master Chef winner Simon Wood.

You also have Indian Tiffin Room and Pizza express with Sainsbury’s across the road. Newly opened Kettlebell completes the area and First Street has something for everybody and defiantly a space every Mancunian should visit.

The Metrolink

 

Manchester Metrolink is a tram system in Greater Manchester.

The system is owned by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and operated and maintained under contract by RATP GROUP.

In 2015–16, 34.3 million passenger journeys were made on the system.

The network consists of seven lines which radiate from Manchester City Centre to terminate at Altrincham ,Ashton Under Lyne ,Bury, East Didsbury ,Eccles , Manchester Airport and Rochdale .

Metrolink has 93 stops along 57 miles (92 km).

Making it the largest light rail system in the UK.

Manchester Central Convention Complex

 

Manchester Central Convention Complex (commonly known as Manchester Central) is an exhibition and conference centre converted from the former Manchester Central railway station in Manchester , England.

Designed by Sir John Fowler, the station, the northern terminus for services to London St Pancras , was opened in July 1880 by the Cheshire lines committee.

The structure has a distinctive arched roof with a 64-metre span – the second-largest railway station roof span in the United Kingdom and was granted Grade II listed building status in 1963.

After 89 years as a railway terminus, it closed to passengers in May 1969 and became an abandoned railway station .

It was renovated as an exhibition centre formerly known as the G-MEX Centre in 1982.

From 1986 to 1995 it was Manchester’s primary music concert venue until the construction of the Manchester Arena.

The venue was refitted in 2008 to host conferences, exhibitions and is Manchester’s secondary large concert venue.

Manchester’s First Skyscraper

 

Manchester’s first true skyscraper dwarfs all other structures in Manchester and, with larger developments planned for the city, hints at a vision of the future.

But is it a good thing?

Many people view it as a bold architectural statement, a visible sign of Manchester’s growth and prosperity. Others, however, see it as an eyesore, and a symptom of a new disease threatening to erupt across the UK – Tall Building Syndrome.

We present the facts about the Beetham Tower, and leave you to be the judge on Manchester’s tall storey.

Beetham facts

The Beetham Tower is 168.87 metres (554ft) tall. It is the tallest building outside London and is the highest living space in the UK.

It stands 47 storeys above the city centre. The tower was originally planned to stand at 171m (561ft) tall, but had to be changed because of local wind conditions.

To compare, Blackpool Tower is 153m tall. The CIS Tower is 118m tall. The UK’s tallest tower is Canada Tower in London’s Canary Wharf, at 778ft (237m) tall.

Built at a cost of £155m, the Beetham Tower is visible from ten counties. The topping out ceremony, marking the construction of the highest point, was held on 26 April 2006 with a display of fireworks.

The five star Hilton Hotel occupies the first 23 floors of the building, with 280 rooms available. The hotel officially opened its doors on 9 Oct 2006.

Cloud 23 bar is on the 23rd floor and offers views looking out across the city. It also features an area of glass in the floor looking down to the pavement below! The bar features Manchester-themed drinks such as the champagne cocktail Ena Sparkles.

At floor 24, the building juts out 4m from the floors below with a cantilever.

The floors above feature 219 luxury apartments – which have all been sold. Residents are said to include Manchester United and England footballer Gary Neville and X Factor winner Shayne Ward.

Contrary to common media reports, the Beetham Tower is not the tallest residential tower in the UK or Europe, not least because it is half hotel and Turning Torso in Malmo is entirely residential and taller.

It does however include the highest home in the UK. And, viewed from the side, is one of the thinnest skyscrapers in the world.

The site was formerly home to an old section of railway viaduct, which used to be the home of Bauer Millett, a luxury car dealership.

The Manchester Derby

 

The Manchester derby refers to football matches between local rivals Manchester City and Manchester United , first contested in 1881.

Manchester City play at the Etihad Stadium, while Manchester United play at Old Trafford.

As of 26 October 2016, there have been 173 competitive meetings between the teams. United have won 72, City 50 and the remaining 51 games finished as draws.

The biggest victories have been to City who have won 6–1 on two occasions in the official league (both times in the away fixture at Old Trafford) on 23 January 1926 and 23 October 2011.

But on 14 April 1941 during a war league derby match at Maine Road, United beat City 7–1, which remains the biggest victory between the two sides overall, this result has been omitted as the official league was suspended but the derby still continued.

Both teams have won 5–0 once (City in 1955, United in 1994).

The largest attendance for a Manchester derby was 78,000 on 20 September 1947, a time when both clubs were playing at Maine Road, as Old Trafford was being repaired following damage sustained in the Second World War.

A large number of non-competitive Manchester derbies have taken place. The majority of these occurred during the Second World War, when a total of 44 matches were played between the teams.

In recent years, non-competitive matches between the teams have generally been testimonials, such as those for Paul Lake and Denis Irwin.

In 1978, for Colin Bell’s testimonial, players from City and United lined up side by side against a combined Liverpool and Everton team in a Manchester v Merseyside fixture.

Matches between non-first team sides representing the Manchester clubs also have an element of rivalry, with occasions when the reserve teams meet sometimes referred to as “mini-derbies”.

This term is also used in reference to when supporters’ offshoot clubs (Maine Road F.C. and F.C. United of Manchester) meet.

The two clubs have met twice, in the 2006–07 season, with FC United winning the inaugural match 2–1 away at Bower Fold, Stalybridge, in front of 3,181 spectators.

United also won the second game 3–0 at Gigg Lane, Bury in a game watched by 3,605. A friendly in 2009 saw Maine Road win 2–1.

F.C. United’s games against Salford City have also been referred to as a “mini Manchester derby”, especially since Salford’s takeover by the Class of ’92.

Heaton Park

 

Between the mid 17th and the beginning of the 20th century just two families owned the Heaton estate.

It passed down through the Holland family until Elizabeth Holland, the last member of the family line, married Sir John Egerton in 1684.

In 1772 Sir Thomas Egerton built Heaton Hall as a new home for himself designed by James Wyatt. Wyatt also designed some of the other buildings around the park.

Sir Thomas also employed William Eames, to create a landscape to show off his new mansion. This was reworked in the early 19th century by John Webb.

Heaton Park remained in the Egerton family until 1902 when the 5th Earl of Wilton sold it to the Manchester Corporation for £230,000. The Corporation provided many public facilities and it quickly became a popular park.

At the end of the 20th century the park was restored in partnership with the Heritage Lottery Fund who were able to recreate the Eames and Webb landscape around the Hall and to restore four of the Wyatt designed listed buildings.

Heaton Park is listed Grade two on the English Heritage Register of Parks and there are nine listed structures in the park.

Britain’s Leading Women’s Right’s Activist

 

Pankhurst was a leading British women’s rights activist, who led the movement to win the right for women to vote.

Emmeline Goulden was born on 14 July 1858 in Manchester into a family with a tradition of radical politics. In 1879, she married Richard Pankhurst, a lawyer and supporter of the women’s suffrage movement. He was the author of the Married Women’s Property Acts of 1870 and 1882, which allowed women to keep earnings or property acquired before and after marriage. His death in 1898 was a great shock to Emmeline.

In 1889, Emmeline founded the Women’s Franchise League, which fought to allow married women to vote in local elections. In October 1903, she helped found the more militant Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) – an organisation that gained much notoriety for its activities and whose members were the first to be christened ‘suffragettes’. Emmeline’s daughters Christabel and Sylvia were both active in the cause. British politicians, press and public were astonished by the demonstrations, window smashing, arson and hunger strikes of the suffragettes. In 1913, WSPU member Emily Davison was killed when she threw herself under the king’s horse at the Derby as a protest at the government’s continued failure to grant women the right to vote.

Like many suffragettes, Emmeline was arrested on numerous occasions over the next few years and went on hunger strike herself, resulting in violent force-feeding. In 1913, in response to the wave of hunger strikes, the government passed what became known as the ‘Cat and Mouse’ Act. Hunger striking prisoners were released until they grew strong again, and then re-arrested.

This period of militancy was ended abruptly on the outbreak of war in 1914, when Emmeline turned her energies to supporting the war effort. In 1918, the Representation of the People Act gave voting rights to women over 30. Emmeline died on 14 June 1928, shortly after women were granted equal voting rights with men (at 21).