News

Christmas rules ‘unlikely to change’ after first round of talks

UK ministers will apparently follow up on their intention to relax rules around indoor mixing and travel over the Christmas period, reports have suggested.

The Manc The Manc - 16th December 2020

UK ministers will apparently follow up on their intentions to relax rules around indoor mixing over the Christmas period, initial reports have suggested.

Minister for the Cabinet Officer Michael Gove met with members of the devolved nations on Tuesday to discuss the prospect of tightening rules up over the festive period.

England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland had all previously agreed to ease some measures from 23-27 December – allowing people to form ‘Christmas bubbles’ in which three households could mix indoors.

But after a rise in recent cases – particularly in the south – medical experts and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan asked the government to rethink the Christmas rules and consider taking a stricter approach.

Members of the devolved nations will talk again today, but according to sources cited by the BBC, regulations are “unlikely to change”.

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Instead, from this week, “sterner warnings about the dangers of mixing over Christmas” are expected.

People will be urged to stay local wherever possible and give serious consideration to their bubble in order to protect the vulnerable.

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According to the BBC, an information campaign is also expected in the run-up to Christmas.

The government is set to review tiers in the UK later today – with Greater Manchester leaders hoping to be moved to Tier 2.

News

NASA reveals exact time you can see ‘Santa’s sleigh’ fly over Greater Manchester

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia

Not long left till Santa and his reindeer crew fly over the skies of Manchester to drop off some of the most amazing presents of the year.

Manchester must have been extra nice this year, as Santa is treating us to lots of chances to catch a glimpse of him on his mission to deliver millions of gifts in time for Christmas.

Just like every year, Santa is dusting off his sleigh and polishing his boots to prepare for his biggest night visiting lots of kids and families. The sleigh is being filled with lots of goodies and surprises as we speak, it’s almost like he can smell the cookies and milk from here.

NASA, one of the world’s leading space companies, has been working meticulously to find out Santa’s route for 2024.

The world-renowned space agency has given us an exact time to look up at the stars to spot the main man himself and catch the glimmer of lights from his sleigh.

NASA has reveals the exact time you can see ‘Santa’s sleigh’ flying over Greater Manchester this Christmas / Credit: Tim Mossholder (via Unsplash)

As a man who has lots of experience globe trotting, it’s safe to say the big man knows how to efficiently cover as many houses as possible all in one night.

Santa’s sleigh will be present at the same time as the International Space Station (ISS), however anyone looking to see this festive vehicle can notice the lights won’t change direction and will not flash.

This time round, Santa is swooshing round Greater Manchester on Christmas Day a whole hour earlier than last year, meaning that nice list must be the longest it’s ever been.

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Tuesday 24 December

5:21am

Santa’s sleigh lights will be visible for two minutes travelling South East to East, as the man of Christmas weighs up his North West delivery route.

6:54am

Theres a six minute opportunity to catch those bright lights of Santa’s sleigh in the Manchester sky as he travels from West to South East, finalising his map before the big night ahead.

Wednesday 25 December

4:35am

It will be visible for less than a minute, no movement, in a static position. Santa will be doing a headcount of all the houses to make sure he’s not missed a single chimney.

6:08am

The sleigh will be seen for four minutes, moving from South West to South East, by now Santa will have finished his Manchester delivery drop and will be heading on over the hill to our friends in Leeds.

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Featured Image – Pixabay

News

University of Bolton announces ‘historic’ name change despite opposition

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

The University of Bolton has officially changed its name.

That’s right… after more than a year of deliberation, including opposition from other higher education institutions across the region, claiming it would be a cause of confusion for prospective students, Bolton‘s university has now successfully become the University of Greater Manchester in what has been described as a “historic” move.

The institution was given the go-ahead by the regulator, the Office for Students (OfS), to adopt the new name with immediate effect after submitting the change 17 months ago.

Current and past Students’ Union Presidents of the university, alongside its governors, unanimously supported the name change.

The name change was approved after an independent economic impact assessment report – which was commissioned by the university earlier this year – revealed that the benefit to the local economy would be millions of pounds per year.

With the name change coming ahead of the university’s 200th anniversary next year, this means that, as of 2025, all graduating students will receive degree certificates from the University of Greater Manchester instead.

On top of this, any former graduate dating back to when the institution achieved university status in 2005 can be issued with a replacement certificate featuring the new name, if they request one.

Announcing the name change last week, Professor George E Holmes, who is the President and Vice Chancellor called it a “historic moment” for the university.

“Bolton is an amazing town and it is our base, and it is our home where we intend to stay, it is the home of the University of Greater Manchester, now in Bolton.

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“This is an institution that students and staff can be remarkably proud of. The name change is very good news for our students, very good news for the institution, very good news for the town and amazing news for jobs.”

Featured Image – University of Greater Manchester

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