Loneliness is something that many people struggle with, even in the midst of a city as bustling and friendly as Manchester.
Whilst the likes of speed mate dating events do exist, for some there’s no better way to meet like-minded folk than over a steaming cup of coffee and a good book, which is where The House of Books & Friends comes in.
Set up by local law firm Gunnercooke, this new not-for-profit cafe and independent bookshop has been specifically designed with the intention of helping to combat loneliness in the community.
Due to open in The Manchester Club on King Street later this year, it will sit inside a striking Grade II-listed building owned by developers Bruntwood and will neighbour the first-floor Grand Pacific bar and restaurant, which sits in the former home of Manchester’s Reform Club.
When it opens its doors this Autumn, the cafe and bookshop will offer initiatives for customers and businesses through pay-it-forward schemes, as well as opportunities for visitors to make new connections with others.
ADVERTISEMENT
Stocking a range of books for adults and children, the cafe will run a number of projects using the profits from its book sales to engage with those around the shop – working alongside local charities to connect groups including the elderly, new parents and local schools in its mission to combat social isolation.
Speaking on the new project, Darryl Cooke, founder of gunnercooke, said: “Loneliness is a widespread and growing issue in our society. It can affect anyone of any age and can come about from many different causes at any time.
“We believe that bookshops can provide a powerful tool. Reading can connect us physically, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually.
“When we read we are not alone. Our focus will be to connect all the charities we work with and, at the heart, to develop a culture of connection.
“We have appointed a talented Bookshop Manager from Waterstones, Naomi Self, and are currently recruiting a team whao can bring passion and work alongside us and our charity partners to bring our dream to fruition.”
Feature image – Google maps
News
Luxury Manchester gym Blok confirms permanent closure after weeks of uncertainty
Daisy Jackson
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure, weeks after the doors to the premium fitness facility mysteriously closed.
Around a fortnight ago, members began to arrive to their classes to find the gym on Ducie Street locked up and a forfeiture notice on the door – but at the time, Blok said that it was fighting to reopen.
Sadly, in an email sent to members today, its founder has confirmed that the studio is now permanently closed.
Blok – which has several very successful sites down in London – said that its relationship with its landlord has ‘broken down to a point where trust has been lost’.
The gym wrote that it’s been left with ‘no workable way forward’.
They said: “BLOK Manchester was a space built by our loyal and dedicated community. Whether you joined us for one class or one hundred, we are deeply grateful. You helped create something genuinely special in an incredible city.”
In the immediate future, they said they’ll be supporting the team of fantastic trainers who worked here, as well as looking after members.
Members will be contacted within a few hours with options and refunds owed.
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure. Credit: The Manc Group
CEO and founder Ed Stanbury said: “While this marks the end of a chapter, we don’t see it as the end of our story in Manchester. We’re already speaking with developers about potential future sites and remain committed to returning to the city when the time is right.
“Thank you for being part of our story so far. Let’s shape the future of wellness. The mission continues.”
Commenting on Blok’s Instagram post – its first in almost a fortnight – people have been sharing their sadness at the closure of its Manchester site.
One person wrote: “beautiful space, beautiful staff and beautiful community.”
Another said: “Sending love to all the instructors !! :(((( gutted”
Someone else commented: “THE BEST CLASSES. I’m gutted.”
‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Georgina Pellant -
25th July 2022 
