During Christmas, there’s anticipation in the air as little (and not so little) ones up and down the country excitedly await Santa’s arrival.
Cookies are laid out, alongside glasses of port and mince pies, as well as a carrot for his trusty reindeer. Then it’s a waiting game, as we all try to sleep and battle off intrusive thoughts like ‘has he come?’ until the morning.
Only this year, there’s an extra thing to get excited about.
NASA has revealed that early birds will be able to get a faint glimpse of ‘Santa’s sleigh’ in the night sky as he passes over Greater Manchester after completing his rounds on Christmas morning.
The world-renowned space agency has given us an exact time to look up at the stars to spot the main man himself and catch the glimmer of lights from his sleigh.
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NASA has reveals the exact time you can see ‘Santa’s sleigh’ flying over Greater Manchester this Christmas / Credit: Tim Mossholder (via Unsplash)
“It’s the third brightest object in the sky and easy to spot if you know when to look up,” NASA explains.
“It’s visible to the naked eye, it looks like a fast-moving plane only much higher and travelling thousands of miles an hour faster.”
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The lights from his sleigh will, coincidentally, appear at the same time as the International Space Station, which has recently become visible in the sky, but NASA says you can tell it’s his ‘sleigh’ and not a plane by because it will not change direction and will not have flashing lights.
It will visible to the naked eye at specific times over the coming days, so if you’ve got some early risers in your house why not get together and see if you can spot Santa for yourself?
Here’s when to keep your eyes peeled.
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Friday 22 December
5:08am
It will be visible for two minutes moving from the South East to the East, and then again at 6:41am for six minutes moving from the West South West to the East.
Saturday 23 December
5:55am
It will be visible for four minutes appearing from the South and moving to the East, and then again at 7:29am appearing in the West and disappearing in the East.
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Sunday 24 December
5:09am
It will be visible for two minutes, moving from East South East to East, and then again at 6:42am appearing from West South West and disappearing in the East.
Monday 25 December
5:56am
It will be visible for three minutes moving above the East from the South, and then again at 7:29am for seven minutes travelling from West to East South East.
To help you spot the Space Station – or, should we say, ‘Santa’s sleigh’ -you can download the ISS tracking app on the App Store, or you can also visit NASA’s website.
Featured Image – Pixabay
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Home Bargains has announced a special two-day closure of all UK stores
Emily Sergeant
Home Bargains has, once again, announced it’ll be closing all its UK stores on both Boxing Day and New Year’s Day this year.
And it’s to make sure staff get a ‘well deserved break’.
After what has been yet another busy year for the retail industry, many workers have been left feeling like they could do with a little extra time off, which is why Home Bargains is following on with what has become a now-annual tradition by shutting up shop on two bank holidays.
All of our stores will be closing for Boxing Day & New Years Day.
Announcing the move in a post on social media, the discount retailer confirmed: “All of our stores will be closing for Boxing Day and New Years Day. We would like to thank all our colleagues for how hard you have worked this past year, and want you to relax and enjoy the Christmas break with your loved ones.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time the retailer has kept its doors shut on bank holidays.
Many shoppers will recall it has made the same decision to give hardworking staff a break every year since 2019.
Explaining a little more about the decision taken to close all its stores, Home Bargains said: “As a family-run business, we know the importance of being together at Christmas with those we care about most, now more than ever.
“This is our way of saying thank you to our colleagues for their continued hard work and dedication.”
Featured Image – Geograph
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Two Greggs in Manchester will be serving their breakfast menu in the evening next week
Emily Sergeant
Who says breakfast has to end at 11am?
In news that’s set to be music to the ears of breakfast lovers in Manchester, Greggs is giving them exactly what they want.
We all know that brunch is a ‘thing’ by now, so now it’s time for brinner to make a name for itself instead, as Greggs has teamed up with Heinz to bring its much-loved breakfast menu back for tea time, kicking off from 4pm onwards.
The move comes as a new survey has found that the majority of Mancs (69%) admit to enjoying eating breakfast food in the evening, saying it’s ‘convenient and comforting’ – even ranking breakfast as a ‘more important’ meal than tea, as well (38% vs 36%).
Two Greggs in Manchester will be serving their breakfast menu in the evening next week / Credit: Greggs (Supplied)
Greggs says it has ‘lost count’ of the amount of customers that have tried to order breakfast items after the usual cut-off time, especially in Greater Manchester.
But luckily for those breakfast-loving Mancs, they can finally get their favourite breakfast and sauce pairing long after the morning rush is over next… but only at two Greggs branches, and only for a very limited time.
On Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 October, the Heinz x Greggs Brinner collab will be available at Greggs St Mary’s Gate and Greggs Oxford Road, from 4-7pm only.
“We’ve lost count of the number of customers who have tried their luck ordering breakfast after 11am, so when Heinz came to us with the idea of making Brinner a reality, it felt like the perfect excuse to give the people what they want,” explained Zoe Harris, who is the Customer Director at Greggs.
“And let’s be honest, a Greggs Bacon Roll just wouldn’t be the same without a squeeze of Heinz Tomato Ketchup.”
The Manc -
21st December 2023 
