It’s been confirmed that the ‘Floating Earth’ art installation will remain closed temporarily at Salford Quays.
The art installation first arrived in Salford last Thursday evening following its stint at Pennington Flash Nature Reserve in Wigan and quickly began to drawn in visitors from far and wide – but shortly after its arrival, and after the classic Manchester bad weather took a turn for worse, eyewitnesses and festival-goers noticed that it started to deflate and sink into the canal.
Plenty of people took to Twitter to share pictures of the unfortunate event, and then Quays Culture – the organisers of the annual Lightwaves Festival – announced that the installation would be closed temporarily.
“Due to unexpected weather conditions here at The Quays, we’ve had to remove power to Floating Earth and close it temporarily,” Quays Culture said on Twitter at the time.
“We’re really sorry for any disappointment.”
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A follow-up statement from the arts organisation later in the day on Saturday then revealed the decision to temporarily close the entire Lightwaves festival to the public, adding that: “The safety of our staff and visitors is paramount.
“We want you to have the best experience when you visit.”
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Lightwaves 2021 eventually reopened yesterday, but Quays Culture confirmed that ‘Floating Earth’ would remain closed for the time being.
“Due to strong winds forecast in the coming days, we have no choice but to keep Floating Earth temporarily closed but we hope to reopen it later this week [so] check back for updates [and in the] meantime, come and enjoy all the other artworks.”
The floating earth is sinking! 😲🌍
A rescue mission is underway to save Luke Jerram's ‘floating earth’ which took a battering in this weekend's windy weather pic.twitter.com/Kni4c9NifY
The temporary closure of ‘Floating Earth’ at Salford Quays comes after its stay at Pennington Flash was also cut short for the same reason. It was due to remain on the lake for 10 days, but Wigan Council confirmed that it has unfortunately been deflated three days early due to forecasted stormy weather.
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If you’re not sure what ‘Floating Earth’ is, the captivating installation is the work of internationally-acclaimed artist Luke Jerram.
Measuring a whopping 10-metres in diameter and featuring high-tech NASA imagery, as well as a surround-sound musical track by BAFTA award-winning composer Dan Jones, Floating Earth’s appearance at Lightwaves 2021 is designed to “question our relationship with our planet”.
Jerram says he has created this brand-new work to give visitors a “profound understanding of the interconnection of all life”, and a “renewed sense of responsibility” for taking care of the environment.
Lightwaves 2021 is featuring the event’s “most ambitious line-up to date”
Alongside ‘Floating Earth’, 11 other light installations will also be making appearances, including Cygnus by Loomaland – a mesmerising water ballet featuring 12 perfectly synchronised, glowing robot swans – and Sirens by Davy and Kristin McGuire – an installation that uses holographic projections to transform public waterways into mythical underwater worlds inhabited by supernatural sea creatures and mysterious mermaids.
Featured Image – The Manc Group
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Luxury Manchester gym and pilates studio mysteriously closes
Daisy Jackson
One of Manchester’s most premium fitness facilities appears to have closed down, leaving members and instructors in the dark.
A forfeiture notice has appeared at the entrance of Blok, a boutique gym and pilates studio in the city centre.
Members have been arriving for classes this week to find the luxury facility at Ducie Street Warehouse closed up.
Native Places, which owns the beautifully restored mill building near Manchester Piccadilly and operates the upper floors as an aparthotel, has confirmed that it’s taken ‘formal possession of the ground floor gym’.
Blok have yet to release any information to members or staff regarding the closure of their Manchester location, but members have noticed that they are able to book classes from Thursday – despite the gym being shut.
With three different studios, Blok opened in 2019 offering classes ranging from dumbbell-based weight training to barre and pilates, as well as boxing, calisthenics and HIIT workouts.
Last year, the gym introduced reformer pilates to its premium offering.
And just last week, Blok had been running a Crowdcube campaign selling shares in the business in exchange for exclusive investor rewards.
Blok Manchester is inside Ducie Street Warehouse, owned by Native Places
Their investment campaign cited 175% growth in membership over the last 12 months, and promised four new flagship sites forecast to generate £1.5m in profit annually.
Alas, it appears Blok Manchester is now closed. Members have been leaving comments on their Instagram posts asking for updates, and several people are posting TikToks saying they were unable to attend their class.
One person wrote: “Hello I’ve lost my personality as Blok is closed *cry*.”
She added: “You can still book but it’s all locked up, no one can enter the premises … I got one email that they’re having ‘trouble accessing the building’, confused why they’re still allowing people to book??”
Hello I’ve lost my personality as Blok is closed *cry* Good Pilates/Mat/Barre/ reformer studios in Manchester. Also please no say a place that costs the same as my kidney, because that’s not cool 🙂 #BLOK#manchesterpilates#MCR#FYP
A statement from Native Places said: “Native Places has taken formal possession of the ground floor gym following the sustained non-payment of rent by the tenant.
“This action marks the end of a six-year relationship during which Native has consistently supported the tenant in their occupation of the space.
“Unfortunately, due to continued non-payment, we have had no option but to follow the appropriate legal process. The premises have now been secured, and access is restricted.”
Family pays tribute to ‘gentle young man’ who died after a ‘targeted’ car attack in Bury
Emily Sergeant
The family of a young man who was involved in a collision with a car in Bury earlier this week have now paid tribute to him.
The man has been named as 19-year-old Brandon Porter Kershaw.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) was called to reports of a road traffic collision between a vehicle and a pedestrian on Porritt Street, in Bury, at around 8:10pm on Monday (19 May), and when officers attended the scene, they found a man lying with ‘serious injuries’ in the road.
Despite the best efforts of all emergency services involved, the teenager sadly passed away as a result of his injuries.
Police went on to inform the Greater Manchester community that they believe this was a ‘targeted attack’, with no wider threat to others in the area.
Following this admission, a 38-year-old man was subsequently arrested on suspicion of murder yesterday (Tuesday 20 May) and was taken to custody ahead of being questioned by detectives from GMP’s Major Incident Team.
With a murder investigation now underway, Brandon’s family have paid a touching tribute to the ‘devoted dad’ via police.
“We are all truly shocked and heartbroken by the sudden loss of Brandon,” their tribute begins.
“He was a gentle, kind-hearted young man whose warmth and social nature touched everyone around him. Brandon was a devoted dad to his young daughter, who he loved deeply. His family meant everything to him, and the bond he shared with his mum was incredibly special, they were best friends.
“Brandon was taken far too soon, and his passing has left a deep void in all our lives. As we come to terms with this devastating news, we kindly ask for privacy as we grieve and support one another through this difficult time.”
Porritt Street in Bury, where the ‘targeted attack’ occurred / Credit: Google Maps
At this time, police confirmed the driver of the vehicle is still yet to be located, and they are now appealing to the public for information.
“We still have people of interest we are keen to speak to,” explained Detective Chief Inspector David Moores, of GMP’s Major Incident Team. “The driver of the vehicle remains outstanding and relentless efforts are currently being conducted by specialist units to locate him.
“I ask anyone who may have seen something suspicious in the area that evening to come forward and know that information will be treated with the strictest confidence. It only takes one crucial piece of information that may be key to achieving answers for Brandon’s family and friends.”
Anyone with any potential information is asked to either call police on 101 quoting incident number 3460 of 19/5/25, report it via the LiveChat function on gmp.police.uk, or submit it through the Major Incident Public Portal here.
Emily Sergeant -
6th December 2021 
