Manchester’s favourite ‘queer party for all’ Homobloc has this afternoon revealed the line-up for its hotly-anticipated 2022 day festival.
Returning to Depot Mayfield to ‘reunite the clans once again’, the all-day, all-night block party will take place this Autumn on Saturday 5 November – bringing some of its longstanding DJ favourites back to the decks once again, alongside a selection of exciting newcomers from 2pm to 4am.
Characterised by its eclectic mix of artists and performers, the by-now legendary Manchester party is gearing up to present what organisers have described as “one of the greatest coalitions of the LGBTQ+ community.”
Image: Jody Hartley
Image: Jody Hartley
Image: Jody Hartley
With a special Bollox presents Homosquat takeover at iconic Manchester music venue the Star & Garter, plus next level production and performances across Mayfield stagess Depot, Concourse and Archive, there’s no question this will be a sell-out event.
With headline sets from Róisín Murphy, Honey Dijon, The Blessed Madonna and Self Esteem, plus more from HAAi, Job Jobse, Horse Meat Disco, Saoirse, it’s set to be a packed-out party stretching across 14 hedonistic hours.
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Further sets will come from the likes of I.Jordan, Meme Gold, Little Gay Brother, Roi Perez, Tama Sumo, Absolute, Lakuti, DJ Holographic, Kiwi, Luke Solomon and Hannah Holland, not to mention the likes of Homoelectric resident favourites Gina Breeze, DJ Paulette, Jamie Bull and more.
Homobloc will also continue supporting its many charity partners and the work that they do to make the world a better place for the community, including the LGBT FOundation, The Proud Trust, George House Trust and Greater Manchester LGBTQ+ Community Fund.
Between them, these charities offer advice, support and information to the wider community, help to support people through youth groups, peer support and mentor programs, inspire people living with HIV to live healthy, confident lives and distribute small grants to LGBTQ+ and HIV grassroots good causes.
Carl Austin-Behan, former Lord Mayor of Manchester, and LGBTQ+ Advisor to the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “Homobloc is such an important date for many people as it brings the community together all under one roof – from dancing and performing, to fundraising.
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Image: Jody Hartley
“It is amazing to see the team get behind these charity partners and continue to support their vital works for the LGBTQ+ community in Greater Manchester and beyond.”
Rod Connolly from Homobloc, added: “We are excited to announce a powerful Homobloc festival programme that unites the biggest International and homegrown LGBTQ+ artists, with a clear spotlight on the wonderfully diverse nightlife community that Manchester is World famous for.
“Following a challenging year for LGBTQ+ rights, the time is now for everyone to come together, step into the light and recharge the city’s vibrant queer energy once more.”
Tickets will go live for pre-sale this week on Thursday 21 July at 10am, with general sale available from Friday 22 July at the same time via the Homobloc website.
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The full line up, as it has been announced so far, can be seen below with more artists still to be revealed over the coming months.
Image: Jody Hartley
The full 2022 Homobloc line up:
Róisín Murphy | Honey Dijon | The Blessed Madonna | Self Esteem
HAAi | Job Jobse | Horse Meat Disco | Saoirse
Jennifer Cardini b2b Krystal Klear | Moxie b2b Shanti Celeste
I.Jordan | Little Gay Brother | Roi Perez | Tama Sumo
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Absolute | Lakuti | DJ Holographic | Kiwi | Luke Solomon
Amy Douglas presents Hard Feelings | Hannah Holland
Grace Sands | DJ Paulette | Joshua James | Jamie Bull
Mix-Stress | Black Betty | Kim Lana | Guy Williams | Lukas
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Bollox presents Homosquat: Queer House Party | Grove
Kath McDermott | Supernature | Club Zindigi
DJ Claud Cunningham (Black Angel) | The Niallist | Queer Latifah
Gut Level | What She Said | Philippa Jarman | Tokky Horror | Fat Camp
Eat Me | Fatty Acid | What Do I Tell My Friends | Limp
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Allsorts | Alexa Allana | Anna Phylactic | Ashraf | Banksie | Brandy X Mandella | Cece Sinclair Cheddar Gorgeous | Cleo Panther | Club Clam | Creature’s of Catharsis Archive Takeover
Cute Cartel | Cretina | Danni Spooner | Dak Attack | Dave Tester | Donna The Domme
Finn Love | Fuck Pigs | Ghetto Fabulous ft DJ KL | Hotline | House Of Apex | House of Blaque House of Kendoll | Jordan Roberts | Joshua Hubbard & Friends | Liv Wynter | Lucinda B.Hind
Meme Gold | Miss Chief | Miss Daubs | Mister Molly | Mx Romeo De La Cruz | Nadiva
Natasha Moonshine | Night People | NoirGayze | Prinx Silver | Sinz Dynasty | Soft Yoni
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Strutty Bitch | Sue Veneers | Taboo | The Cavalcade | YDSA | Yung Reenie
Feature image – Supplied
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Two Trafford towns are set to see dozens of new EV charging points installed imminently
Danny Jones
Two big towns on the border of Greater Manchester and Cheshire are set to see a fresh batch of electric vehicle (EV) charging points installed throughout their streets by Trafford Council very soon.
Local authorities have teamed up with engineering and infrastructure company Amey to roll out a series of new EV charging stations across Trafford, starting with Altrincham and Hale.
Dating all the way back to 2020, the collaboration with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), the brand was tasked with helping improve sustainable travel across the area as the government body’s electric vehicle charging suppliers.
Steady improvements have been made across the 10 boroughs, but this particular update marks one of the biggest network upgrades that the likes of Alty and Hale have seen for some time.
Good news – we are thrilled to announce the installation of our first public EV charge points in collaboration with @TraffordCouncil.
Issuing a statement on Wednesday, 17 September, the firm – which specialises in managing, designing and maintaining complex facilities and transport infrastructure across the country – announced that they will “start the installation of EV charging points in Trafford in the coming weeks.”
It is expected that “up to 100 new public charges” will be integrated throughout the respective town centres and residential streets as the suburbs continues to push towards its sustainability goals.
As per Altrincham Today, Amey account director Anna Gornall said: “We’re excited to launch our first EV charge points in Trafford, working in partnership with Trafford Council (TC) to make electric vehicle charging more accessible to local communities.
“As the UK’s leading provider of energy transition and decarbonisation solutions, we’re well placed to use our existing expertise and resources to support TC in delivering a holistic public EV charging network for local communities.
“We’re helping residents make the switch, so everyone can plug in and power a greener Trafford.”
The country at large has various carbon-free initiatives, including the aspiration of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050; the electoral ward of Trafford itself continues to thrive in this field, having recently won environmental accolades, including 12 ‘Green Flag Awards’ this past July.
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Peter Anderson, Managing Director of Transport Infrastructure at Amey, commented: “This is a pivotal moment in Amey’s energy transition strategy. By leveraging our extensive experience in whole lifecycle asset management, strong partnerships, and innovative solutions, we can deliver value for both our clients and members of the public who will use Amey’s electric vehicle charge points.
“Working with Trafford Council, we are making electric vehicle charging more accessible to local communities and helping residents make the switch to EVs.
“Amey is well-positioned to support emerging opportunities within this landscape, and we are delighted to be working with Trafford and other local authorities to provide the public EV infrastructure needed to achieve the government’s transition to net zero.”
As for Trafford Council, Corporate Director of Place, Richard Roe, went on to add: “We are delighted to be working with Amey on this project to bring more and better charging options to the people of Trafford.
“This is an extension to the current EV charging options in the borough and is great news for committed EV owners and those who are thinking about going electric.”
Featured Images — Publicity pictures (via Amey Ltd)
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Further disruption expected as more bus strikes announced across Greater Manchester
Emily Sergeant
Further disruption is expected as even more bus strikes have been announced across Greater Manchester this autumn.
It comes after the strikes set to place this month from 19 to 22 September were announced a couple of weeks back, and now a second round will take place towards the end of this month and going into early October.
In case this is the first you’re hearing of the upcoming industrial action, 2,000 workers who are employed by Stagecoach, Metroline Manchester, and First Bus Rochdale – all of which are firms among those that make up the bus part of the Bee Network – are due to walk out in a co-ordinated strike amid an ongoing pay dispute.
Unite the Union says all the firms are ‘highly profitable’ and it’s therefore ‘disappointing’ that workers are being denied a fair wage.
More strikes have been announced on the Bee Network this month / Credit: TfGM
At Stagecoach, around 1,000 drivers based across the Oldham, Stockport, and Middleton depots have rejected a pay offer of 3.5%, and 1,000 Metroline Manchester members will also do the same after turning down an ‘unsatisfactory’ below-inflation pay offer.
Workers at both Metroline and Stagecoach believe the offer doesn’t address years of low pay they’ve recieved, especially given the ongoing cost of living crisis.
Then, over at First Bus Rochdale, 110 members have rejected this year’s pay offer of 6%, as they feel this does not go far enough to address the fact they’ve had years of being paid less than their counterparts at other companies, and are still the lowest paid in the region.
Stagecoach, Metroline, and First Bus Rochdale, part of First Group PLC, are all firms which have seen a rise in profits in recent years.
2,000 drivers are set to stage strike action over two different periods / Credit: TfGM
The second round of strikes will now take place from from 30 September to 2 October.
Speaking ahead of both sets of upcoming strikes, Unite General Secretary, Sharon Graham, said: “These companies are very profitable but are putting greed over their hardworking members of staff.
“Further strike action will be extremely disruptive, however this is a dispute entirely of the bus companies’ making and they could solve it easily by coming back with a better deal.
“Our members involved in the dispute have Unite’s complete support.”
Unite Regional Officer, Colin Hayden, added: “The strikes this week as well as the further action we have called will cause travel chaos in Greater Manchester. However, it is entirely the fault of the employers involved, who have failed to address the issue of low pay and reward their staff accordingly.
Georgina Pellant -
20th July 2022 
