Do you have fond memories of your school dinners, or did they scar you for life so much that you’ve tried to erase them from your memory ever since?
We have to admit that they make us nostalgic whatever way though.
In the week that Bernard Matthews officially announced the #ComebackOfTheCentury in the return of cult-classic school dinner food – the Turkey Twizzler – we thought there is no better time to take a trip down memory lane and have a look back at what was put on our multi-coloured plastic divider trays at lunch time as kids.
Both the retro and the slightly more modern options – we’ll always remember our school dinners.
This list of course isn’t definitive of every school dinner at every primary and secondary school across Greater Manchester spanning multiple decades, so don’t get too enraged if we’ve missed off your favourite food from back in the day.
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These are some of the classics though.
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Turkey Twizzlers
Bernard Matthews
Could we really start this list with anything else?
Before they were ripped from the menu for being too unhealthy for kids by chef Jamie Oliver in 2005, and then manufacturing ceased all together a few years later, Turkey Twizzlers pretty much summed up school dinners.
Why is it that all school dinners, especially primary school dinners, came drenched in beans?
And when we say drenched, we don’t just mean on the side of your plate where you expect them to be, we mean drenched. Baked beans are a classic accompaniment to any meal here in the UK, but perhaps none more so than at school.
We’re not complaining though.
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Cheese Whirls
That soggy cheesy/potato pastry combination will forever be ingrained in our minds.
If it wasn’t a cheese whirl served up at your school, then it was a slice of cheese pie, or perhaps some sort of cheese flan instead.
Whatever way, it was definitely soggy.
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Pasta King
Pasta King
One for the 00s-10s secondary school/college students out there – Pasta King.
Despite the fact it was about 75% water at the bottom and it always left you questioning why it couldn’t have just been drained out first, Pasta King was still a top-tier edition to the lunch time menu.
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Turkey Dinosaurs
If it wasn’t Turkey Twizzlers, then it was Turkey Dinosaurs.
They’re still made by manufacturers Bernard Matthews to this day, but probably don’t make their way onto school dinner plates quite as often. They never got quite as bad of a rep as Turkey Twizzlers, but maybe that’s because Jamie Oliver just didn’t want to force the turkey kind of dinosaurs into extinction after the real ones already had.
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Shout out to the other classic school dinner foods of potato smiley faces, spaghetti hoops and chips in the picture too.
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Crinkle-Cut Carrots
The carrots were always cut like this.
Why? Was it to make them look a little more exciting and appealing to kids? We’ve no idea.
The only thing we can guess at is that they’re probably bought cut like that in the packet, because we’ve never seen a carrot grow in that shape.
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School Dinner Sponge
Need we say more?
There’s perhaps no other school dinner dessert that was so well-loved by all than the classic ‘School Dinner Sponge Cake’ with the icing and multi-coloured sprinkles, and even to this day, people all across the UK are trying their hands at recreating the recipe at home.
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Angel Delight
AKA pink custard
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It was commonly known by kids as the ‘pink custard’, but is that really what it was? According to the Angel Delight packaging, it’s just described as a “dessert”, which really doesn’t give much away at all.
Not that it matters though – Angel Delight was a welcomed addition to any school dinner menu.
There are also multiple other flavours in the Angel Delight range, including chocolate, banana and butterscotch, but strawberry seemed to be the winner with lunch staff in schools and for that reason, it will always be known as ‘pink custard’.
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Arctic Roll
Arctic Roll / Birds Eye
You knew it was a good day when Arctic Roll was on the menu.
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We’re not really sure why it was such a taste combination revelation because in theory, it really shouldn’t work should it? And yes, nine times out of ten the cake was really dry, but we loved it anyway.
If ice cream and cake is an acceptable choice, then why not just stick the ice cream in the cake?
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Choc Ices
Choc Ices – who can forget that paper-thin blue and white striped packet?
In contradiction to the excitement you felt when Arctic Roll was on the menu, Choc Ices always just seemed to be a bit of a let down, didn’t they? Like a cop-out dessert chosen at the last minute, but looking back now though, we probably gave them a bit of a hard time.
A Choc Ice would go down quite well right about now.
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Public vote opens for ‘most memorable’ TV moment of the year at 2026 BAFTAs
Emily Sergeant
What was the most memorable TV moment of this past year? It’s time to have your say.
The BAFTA TV Awards for 2026 are merely months away, with the ceremony set to take place on Sunday 10 May, and now, the shortlist for the Memorable Moment Award have been announced and the public is being called on to vote for their favourite.
Each year, the Memorable Moment Award – which is currently sponsored by P&O Cruises – honours the impact of television in the UK and its power to ‘entertain, inform, and bring the nation together’.
The nominations were compiled by an ‘esteemed’ independent jury of influential TV critics, as well as TV presenter, Josie Gibson, showcasing key moments from 2025 that reflect the power of TV.
The six nominees for this year’s P&O Cruises Memorable Moment Award are…
✨ Adolescence – Jamie snaps at the psychologist ✨ Big Boys – “I didn’t make it, did I?” ✨ Blue Lights – The police are warned of an ambush plot to silence a key witness ✨ Last One Laughing – Bob… pic.twitter.com/Mes4cCjwgH
So, what are the nominees for this year then? Which TV moments does the UK public get to pick from as the winner of the coveted award?
Nominations include moments from smash-hit TV shows like Netflix’s one-shot miniseries Adolescence, BBC’s iconic reality competition show Celebrity Traitors, and Prime Video’s side-splitting comedy show Last One Laughing.
The nominations are:
Adolescence (Netflix) – Jamie snaps at the psychologist
Big Boys (Channel 4) – “I didn’t make it, did I?”
Blue Lights (BBC) – The police are warned of an ambush plot to silence a key witness
The Celebrity Traitors (BBC) – Alan Carr wins The Celebrity Traitors
Last One Laughing (Prime Video) – Bob Mortimer and Richard Ayoade’s speed date
What It Feels Like For A Girl (BBC) – Byron leaves for Brighton to start uni, where she introduces herself as Paris.
The moment chosen to represent Adolescence is where main character Jamie becomes frustrated and then flies into a rage during his assessment by child psychologist Briony, while comedians Bob Mortimer and Richard Ayoade’s ‘speed date’ has been chosen to represent Last One Laughing, and of course, the moment where Alan Carr was revealed as the winner has been selected for Celebrity Traitors.
“It’s been a huge pleasure to chair this year’s jury and share in the thoughtful, passionate conversations about the standout television moments of 2025,” commented Hilary Rosen, chair of BAFTA’s Television Committee, as the shortlist was unveiled.
“From powerful drama to unmissable entertainment and brilliantly sharp comedy, the nominees reflect the creative breadth and cultural impact of best-in-class television.
Read more:
“I look forward to seeing which memorable moments resonate with the public, and the conversations they’ll spark well beyond the final vote.”
Voting is open until 9pm on Wednesday 22 April, and you can cast your vote on the BAFTA website online here.
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Review | What we made of Country 2 Country 2026, and why Manchester should be very excited
Danny Jones
Excuse me, but it looks like we might have a new favourite festival on the cards: Country 2 Country – and it’s very rare we gig in London and enjoy ourselves anyway near as much as we do up North, but now we’re already dreaming of just how good C2C Manchester could be.
In fact, scratch that, we know it is.
Billed as Europe’s biggest country music festival, there really isn’t anything quite like it here. Yes, there’s Buckle & Boots Festival closer to home, but there’s nothing in the folk and country world on this kind of massive scale, unless you go all the way to see the actual CMA Fest over in the US.
London’s also been lucky enough to host some very big names at BST Hyde Park too, but this fully-fledged arena weekender, complete with an outdoor festival hub, town square, trading post, a barn full of line-dancers, and SO much more, celebrates every single part of that culture.
By day, the aim is to make a little country town, complete with shops, food, drink and music aplenty. (Credit: Audio North)
But… We think the North can do it better.
So too did some of the acts and punters as well, by the way; we spoke to several people on-site who’d made the trip from all over because it was closer than Glasgow, Belfast or Berlin.
Up-and-coming British country rock artist, Bronnie – who was literally hours away from a move across the pond to pursue her dreams of living the cowgirl turned music artist experience down in the Southern states – said simply: “There’s always this feeling like there’s more fun to be had up North”
Moreover, the friends she’s already made over in America’s ‘Music City’, she says, have claimed that “the vibes are just better”, apparently. Not to sound too biased, but we obviously couldn’t agree more.
However, with the news that C2C is coming to Manchester city centre and Northern England for the very first time, people are already hopping mad at the idea of a Manc debut.
That’s to say that what The O2 in London isn’t special and will always be to most punters, we just know full well that our particular region is going to take to this new annual event like a duck to water.
A lot of the people we spoke to kept repeating the same: that working class connection, simple but relatable imagery, the pure poetry you’ll find not only in Nashville but creative cousins like Manchester.
The Broadway strip in Austin may be the spiritual home of this kind of music, but we Greater Mancunians lay claim to plenty of genres and some of the biggest artistic traditions ourselves.
With that in mind, we are convinced we’re going to leave a lasting impression when our inaugural Country 2 Country Festival comes to the AO Arena next year.
Our line dancing might leave a little to be desired, but we’ve got a whole year to work on it, not to mention plenty of time to dive even further into the UK’s growing country music obsession.
You can see more pictures from our 2026 C2C gallery down below.
Country fashion was everywhereThe official CMA Spotlight Stage was one of the bestNo one shyed away from a partyKruse Brothers were one of our favourite from the weekendAlana Springsteen was incredibleAnd by the evening, it’s a proper hedonist hoedown… (Credit: The Manc)
Emily Sergeant -
18th August 2020 
