A travel YouTuber has come under fire from locals after claiming that two Greater Manchester towns were among “the worst places to live in England”.
The Learning Canteen – which has 2.2K subscribers, and usually amasses tens of thousands of views per video – describes itself as a channel that focuses on creating “interesting and informative videos on travel, education, business, and lifestyle” and is known for posting a wide range of and top 10 list-style videos and round-up videos.
And it was in one of those list-style videos that Oldham and Rochdale were named among the worst towns to live in the country.
In the video, which is titled ’10 Worst Places to Live in England’ and has been viewed nearly 60,000 times, Oldham came in ninth place, while Rochdale – which was described as “bleak” – ranked third.
Other northern towns on the list include Middlesbrough, Blackpool, and Bradford.
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In the description of the video in question – which has a voice over by who is believed to be a Canadian narrator – the channel claims that the list represents their personal opinion, which has been “formed out of careful research and inputs from friends and acquaintances.”
Of Rochdale – which they pronounce ‘Rockdale’ – the narrator says the town has received “negative reviews by most of those who had been there.”
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They quoted one Rochdale resident as saying: “leave fast, or stay forever.”
Oldham town centre / Credit: Jody Hartley
Then turning the spotlight onto Oldham, the narrator describes it as “another not-so-good town in the north”, before bizarrely complaining that there’s not a “single tower to boost the town’s image” and adding: “You certainly won’t have a hard time agreeing that this is one of the worst places, even in the UK.
“The Office of National Statistics once announced it as Britain’s most deprived town [and] according to one resident, Oldham looks as though the government has been performing nuclear testing in the area.”
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This wasn’t the end of the criticism for the two towns either, as a later but similar video posted to the channel – this time titled ’12 Worst Towns in the UK’ – also named Oldham and Rochdale on the list once again, in 11th place and a tragic 1st place, respectively.
As expected, given the towns’ harsh rankings on both videos, local residents have a few things to say – and understandably, they aren’t happy.
Over on Facebook, one clearly-offended person said: “So a guy from Canada decides that Oldham is the second worst place in the country based on that there isn’t a high rise tower in the area”, adding that “Oldham isn’t the best but is certainly not the worst, shouldn’t even be top ten.”
“I could name 20 places that are worse than Oldham,” they concluded.
The incorrect pronunciation of the towns also drew quite a bit of criticism too, with another Facebook user commenting: “The video would be more interesting if the guy talking could actually pronounce the areas that he’s slagging off correctly.”
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But one Oldham resident chose to remain a little more optimistic by claiming that: “It’s not the best place to live but it certainly isn’t the worse place.
“The people who live in Oldham are the most friendliest people that you will ever meet.”
Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons | Geograph
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A tribute festival in memory of Mani from The Stone have been announced
Danny Jones
After plenty of talk and rumours ever since his passing, a tribute festival in memory of Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield will honour the late great Stone Roses and Primal Scream bass player later this year.
Despite various organisations and regional residents having observed their own memorial services following his death on 20 November 2025, the city and Greater Manchester as a whole made it clear that they wanted to carry out a more dedicated form of remembrance.
And we couldn’t agree more.
Deciding to remember him in the past best way possible – by celebrating one of his greatest loves and legacies: music – ‘Manichester’ festival will be held this spring.
Hosted in partnership with Madchester.com and simply dubbed as “a tribute to a true Manc legend”, names both new, old and current will be joining the inaugural Manichester lineup.
Organised by the website and iconic Manchester streetwear brand GIOGOI, not to mention being “blessed by Mani’s family” directly, artists playing will range from those who were lucky enough to have played with him or, like us all, were simply left inspired by his unforgettable basslines.
As well as a ‘AAA headliner’ still yet to be confirmed, there are some serious legendary names on here, both local and beyond; at the minute, the roster of acts is looking like this:
Manichester 2026 lineup
Cast
Peter Hook (Joy Division, New Order)
The Kowloons
A “specially assembled core band” featuring Aziz Ibrahim (The Stone Roses), Rowetta, Simone Butler (formerly Primal Scream) and Mick Rossi (Slaughter and The Dogs)
Dave McCabe (The Zutons)
Baz Fratelli (The Fratellis)
Zak Starkey (Mantra of the Cosmos)
Steve White (ex-Oasis drummer)
Jon McClure (Reverend and the Makers)
However, as they have teased in the announcement, “that’s just the start”, and with more names incoming, many are already trying to guess who the headliner could be. Some have even suggested Ian Brown himself might get up on the stage…
As per an official statement, key artwork for the event comes from the one and only and equally influential Stone Roses guitarist, John Squire, whose new designs will feature on flyers, limited-edition physical tickets and other promotional materials.
Manichester will take place on Saturday May 30, doors open 2pm.
Most importantly, all the proceeds from the special one-off in memoriam show will go towards Mani’s and Imelda’s twin boys, Gene and George – and who knows? This could be the start of a brand-new annual festival spawned in the name of a very special Mancunian.
GIOGOI added: “Manchester is the best city in the world, and we do things differently here. This is Manchester showing up. This is Madchester showing love. This is ‘Manichester’.“
Taking place on Saturday, 30 May and held at Diecast on Ducie Street in Manchester city centre from 2pm, it’s sure to be a momentous ocassions with thoughts of Mani and his family looming large in everyone’s minds.
The Premier League is keeping its crucial cap on away game ticket prices – for now
Danny Jones
The Premier League has announced it is extending its crucial price cap for away games, as the general cost of match tickets continues to creep up all over the country.
Most season card holders, be they here in Greater Manchester or elsewhere, are likely looking at their annual spending going up simply, so steps like these are key in keeping first division football as affordable as possible.
And that’s just the ongoing cost of living, let alone the clubs that are continuing the trend of charging more each year and, unfortunately, even pricing some supporters out entirely.
With that in mind, the news of England’s top-flight sides voting unanimously to keep the £30 cap intact for at least another two years comes as relief to those who spend most of the year putting their hard-earned cash towards following their team home and away.
BREAKING: The Premier League extend £30 cap on away tickets for another two seasons 🚨 pic.twitter.com/L336aZwmn3
Now confirmed to remain in place until the end of the 2027/28 campaign, travelling fans obviously still spend plenty of money on transport and so on every year, but at least they don’t have to worry about rising general admissions.
At least not for the time being…
Writing in a statement, the Premier League said: “Away fans help create the incredible atmosphere Premier League matches are renowned for. Since the cap’s implementation in 2016, it has contributed to attendance at away games increasing from 82% to 91%.”
They also acknowledged the significant and regular funds that supporters still spend on these trips, with plenty of people online also praising the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA), which helped spearhead the campaign over a decade ago.
With so many other obstacles still getting in the way of fans making it to games either at their usual stadium or on an away day – not least of all the constant and increasingly frustrating rescheduling of fixtures – it’s good to see this isn’t an area the Prem are trying to target.
As always, the multi-billion-pound business can always seek out other, newer money spinners, and we’re absolutley certain they will. For instance, there’s at least one happening over in Spain that we’d happily see carried over here.
Following the news, this now means that fans will ultimately have enjoyed 12 back-to-back seasons of the benefit, and long may it continue.
Nevertheless, the biggest barrier for people to watch the beautiful game at its highest level in the UK remains the cost of standard tickets.
The likes of Manchester United, Arsenal, Leeds and more have already let matchgoers know that their season ticket prices will be going up, and the likes of Man City have already seen backlash for increasing rates amid the expansion of the Etihad Campus.
Emily Sergeant -
27th October 2021 
