A bar manager who calls himself the Cloud Gardener has turned the balcony of his 18th floor Deansgate apartment into a horticultural haven.
Jason Williams, who is originally from London, started his ‘Cloud Garden’ in lockdown last year with just one or two plants but by the summer his garden had blossomed into a bounty of vegetables and even has its own pond.
Tending such a garden has kept Jason busy, but finding his green fingers has also helped him tackle his mental health issues.
“I deal with anxiety and depression and gardening really helps me to create a routine,” he told The Manc.
“I just found that being with nature really balances me.”
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The Cloud Garden has everything from cauliflower and kale to strawberries
Laying the groundwork wasn’t easy, however. ‘Cloud Gardening’ is an entirely different ball game to gardening at ground level.
At 18 storeys high, the Cloud Garden has its own climate, with temperatures around 15 degrees higher than on ground level. This means the cloud garden has its own seasons so traditional rules on when to plant seedlings do not apply.
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Not only does the Cloud Garden have a different climate, there aren’t any insects up there, either – so Jason has had to create his own ecosystem by introducing lace-wing larvae to pollinate his plants.
When Jason first started he struggled to find any advice on balcony gardening, which he learned has completely different rules to traditional horticulture.
He said: “I had to come to terms with the fact that my growing space is completely different and so it requires a completely different mindset.”
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In 2021, Jason learned as he went and decided to share his newfound wisdom by setting up a Cloud Gardener YouTube channel.
Not only does Cloud Gardener UK share gardening tips, it also posts vlogs with open, honest conversations about mental health in the hope of normalising these discussions.
“Living in Deansgate I have such an amazing view and I see so many balconies that are just not used,” he stated.
Local gardeners at the Sale Slug and Lettuce plant swap
Jason’s Cloud Garden has attracted attention from all over the world. And it’s proved to be an inspiration.
One American couple had given up on gardening because their plants kept getting attacked by pests, but decided to give landscaping at high levels a go after discovering Jason’s channel.
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They said it ‘brought joy back into their lives’.
More content is appearing on the channel all the time.
Not only does Jason promote the benefits of gardening for improving mental health, he is also invested in the local community – creating a garden in the bar he manages, the Sale Slug and Lettuce.
Local residents donate plants to the garden and on every third Sunday of the month Jason organises a plant and seed swap at the bar, where gardeners can meet up and share their expertise.
The event has been a roaring success and for the next event Jason has booked out half of his beer garden to accommodate all of the guests.
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“I started my YouTube channel this year just to show people what can be achieved in such a small urban environment,” he stated.
“It’s my dream that through Cloud Gardener UK I can help others to not suffer in silence and give them the strength to open up.”
‘Big John’ is bringing his ‘BOSH’ bingo to Manchester
Danny Jones
Attention, all you ‘Big John’ lovers, the man himself is coming to Manchester this year for his very own ‘BOSH Bingo’ show.
Excessively large takeaway order not included*
That’s right, ‘Big John’ Fisher has gone from being a viral sensation famous for eating shedloads of Chinese and saying that one catchphrase to hosting his very own live bingo tour.
Even by his standards, his announcement video was an eye-catching one, to say the least – and we expect the event itself to be equally hilarious.
— big john the boshfather (@Johnfis08605918) January 7, 2026
For anyone somehow unfamiliar with ‘The Boshfather’, there isn’t a single sentence that isn’t completely accurate, and that doesn’t sum up pretty much everything you need to know about the man, the myth, the legend.
Besides his son, Johnny Fisher Jr., being an aspiring boxer and fellow influencer on the side, as well as having appeared on Newsnight to talk about the UK’s multiculturalism being what makes this ‘Great Britain’ (legend), his legacy will very much be written online and on the back of a take-out menu.
Or will it?…
Riding the back of his growing popularity and being quite literally the physical representation of a British bulldog, he’s now preparing to do live shows all over the country.
Set up at the start of the New Year, the 51-year-old will be heading to Manchester city centre and more throughout 2026 for his debut BOSH Bingo tour.
Visiting 12 locations in total, he is promising “rave intervals, on stage competitions, ‘bosh’ prizes and, of course, a sprinkle of chicken balls for good measure.”
Put simply, not only the chaos of everyone’s favourite Bongo’s, “This is not your average bingo night, it’s BOSH BINGO!”
Sounds ridiculous… We’re SO there.
Coming to The Grosvenor on Oxford Road on 21 February, before heading to the likes of Leeds, Liverpool and Sheffield, just to name a few, you can grab your tickets right HERE.
Let’s just say there’s some very silly but nevertheless fun and fantastic stuff happening in town this year.
Featured Images — Publicity picture (via Bosh Bingo Events)/The Manc Group
City Centre
Doux Chaton debuts in Manchester: Vietnamese and French cuisine meets the North West
Danny Jones
Regardless of our rivalry, the Scousers have given us a lot: The Beatles, two Premier League football clubs for us to get regularly riled up against, even the Bold Street brand – and now it’s the turn of Doux Chaton, who just landed in Manchester.
Vietnamese food right in the heart of town, but like you’ve never had it before, Doux Chaton is the Southeast Asian spot with a European twist that’s already turning heads.
In fact, despite quietly opening on the main Deansgate strip over the festive period, there was already plenty of passion for this place down the Mersey, as this Liverpool-founded business has developed a foodie favourite following here in the North West.
Run by owners Jimmy and Jennifer Ly, whose parents Ko and Linda moved to the UK back in the 70s, this place might be regionally born and bred, but it’s still deeply rooted in the rich heritage of two ex-pats helping bring some seriously incredible flavours to our shores.
Walking past the old unit on the ground floor of Great Northern Warehouse – during a real ghost town period for the city centre this past Christmas – we saw a team hard at work putting together their first Manc venue.
This was at around 10/11pm from memory, as we saw a man on ladders finishing the hand-lettered sign by lamplight; this is all relevant because, before anything, it’s worth noting that this place from 9am until 9pm all week round.
Yes, as in every single day.
Since they’re still relative newcomers, we’re not entirely sure when they take any time (if, indeed, they do at all), but one thing we can already vouch for is that hard work can well and truly be tasted in the food and drink they put out.
Expanding their traditional Vietnamese menu in Merseyside, Doux Chaton Deansgate has seen them create a whole new selection of sweet treats, doubling not only as a neo-French patisserie but as a platform to showcase both traditional and modern bakes from their home country.
There is a long history of their national cuisine being deeply influenced by the classical culinary culture in France, but when we tell you their bahn mi sandwiches and clever take on a sausage ‘pho’roll were even tastier than their decadent croque monsieur croissant, you know you’re on to something special.
And then there are the bowls of broth and noodles themselves; we tried plenty of pho in and around Greater Manchester, with plenty purporting to be ‘authentic’ – and many of them are – but there can be a question about this first and second generation team.
Taking ‘Mama Hong’s treasured recipes from the streets of Hanoi and elevating them ever so slightly in certain spots, whilst still letting the flavours, textures and smells speak for themselves, it’s comfortably some of the best Viet scran we’ve had in these parts.
The cute little cat in a bowl logo almost feels like the most warm and fitting welcome you could hope for.
Service with a smile, simply fantastic food, a bloody GREAT cup of stylish drip coffee and a big chalkboard where you can even leave your own message, not to mention unrelenting opening hours – this could be our new go-to at any given time of day.
Olivia Stringer -
29th April 2021 
