Art & Culture

Corn Exchange has a cute new vending machine strictly for pre-loved books

Handing them into a charity shops is great and all but this is fun.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 19th March 2023

Every now and again we stumble across a clever little idea and we think ‘why hasn’t someone thought of this idea before?’ That was definitely the case when heard about Corn Exchange’s new vending machine for books.

Having appeared in the popular city centre food hall and trader spot only earlier this week, most people might be unaware of the Corn Exchange‘s fun new initiative and some people might have walked straight past it without noticing what’s actually in it — yet another reason we love stuff like this.

The concept is called ‘Read. Swap. Repeat.’ and the idea is to not only keep people reading when they come into the city or are perhaps staying here in the likes of the Corn Exchange, but also to provide a home for pre-loved books with an added incentive.

See for yourself.

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It’s a great little idea, isn’t it? You even get a free bookmark for your trouble.

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As you can see, all you need to use the vending machine is to bring a book with you, ask a member of staff for a token and then select which generously donated second-hand read you want to select for yourself.

Beyond just being a cool and interesting way to entertain local book lovers and hopefully get more people reading again, it’s also good for the environment as it provides yet another outlet for people to donate their old texts without any waste.

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So, if you’re looking for a new read or looking to share one of your favourite old books with someone else, why not give it a try?

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Image — Corn Exchange/The Manc Group

Art & Culture

‘This isn’t just like home, this IS home’: Saffa Soul is feeding communities straight from the heart

Danny Jones Danny Jones Saffa Soul South African food Manchester city centre

That quote isn’t one of ours, nor is it from the owners themselves: that’s what a South African native had to say as they literally welled up eating the food being served by Saffa Soul, who have officially been named among the Best Street Food in Britain.

And now they’ve taken up a new residency right here in Greater Manchester – Circle Square in the city centre, to be specific.

Keshal Devchand, a.k.a. ‘Huggy’, is the man behind the brand, bringing those tears to people’s eyes not just here in town but up and down the UK, as they found out not so long ago during the annual British Street Food Awards (BSFA) last year.

Winning the 2025 title, the reigning champions are simply meeting demand by posting up with their latest semi-permanent space, as an incredible rise in popularity has only ramped up since taking the crown. How they’ll fare remains to be seen, but as always, “the food speaks for itself.”

To be honest, we have every faith they’re going to be just as big a hit as the new resident kitchen inside The Taphouse as they were on Temperance Street and as their various street food stalls up and down the nation since this incredible journey started just 19 months ago.

Yep, this unbelievably hearty, authentic and award-winning foodie phenomenon isn’t even two years old yet, but the Johannesburg-born concept is already on course to write itself into cultural and culinary annals if they carry on the way they’re going.

Not only is everything from the braai (barbeque) meats, to the rich and smoky curries, that famous bunny chow, homemade sauces and everything in between unbelievably flavourful, this stuff is steeped in not just tradition but pure hard work.

‘Huggy’ and co. refuse to do anything that isn’t the real ‘saffa’ way, and it’s these simple but faithfully sustained principles that have seen this food connect with literally tens of thousands all over.

And that’s not just in this country: these guys have already journeyed through the likes of city-centric face-offs, and regional BSFA showdowns, to heading to Germany for the continental equivalent, where they also notched ‘Future Food Legend’.

It’s not hard to see why they’re officially the ‘People’s Choice’ and already mean so much to so many.

From importing wood from his homeland and stoking the fires by hand with a bellow, to keeping his mum’s yellow lentil recipe alive and sharing those same childhood memories with Manc, Brits and, indeed, the rest of the world, Huggy is doing proper boots on the ground community work.

Our favourite story from our recent visit was Huggy telling us about how their appearance at the 2025 European Street Awards turned into so much of a big deal that the entire South African consulate in Munich shut down early so they could eat his food for lunch. Just WOW.

And that’s not just for those who hail from South Africa and have since emigrated; as seen by his various pop-ups since starting out, Saffa Soul is a real come-one, come-all affair.

This is proven even more to be the case by his upcoming plans, too, as not only is the team looking to start their own regular Sunday roast club with inspiration from Supper, but they’re even going to be doing ‘beer cooler’ events in the summer.

huggy saffa soul
best sandwich british street food awards 2026
south african food the taphouse manchester
saffa soul menu mcr
Credit: The Manc Eats

Picture South African tradition, part US cook-out, with a sprinkling of Aussie and classic British BBQ parties – it’s one of the things we’re most excited about this year.

We’ve also had a little glimpse at other menu items soon set to be introduced into the rotation, and all we can say is that we’re already salivating.

Honestly, we implore you to go and show Huggy’s gang some love, and we promise you won’t leave a single scrap on your table.

Oh, and speaking of awards dos…

The best restaurants and bars in Manchester have been named at the MFDF Awards 2025
We’re sure you’ll find Saffa Soul on even more shortlists in 2026 too.

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For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — The Manc Group

Art & Culture

Manchester’s legendary Dragon Parade returns next month to celebrate Chinese New Year 2026

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Manchester’s legendary Dragon Parade will make its way through the city centre once again next month.

As Manchester gets ready to celebrate Chinese New Year 2026 – which officially begins on Tuesday 17 February and runs through to Tuesday 3 March – and mark the ‘Year of the Horse’, the iconic Dragon Parade will be making its grand return to the streets of our city centre, and bringing a spectacular show of colour and light along with it.

In case you’re unfamiliar with what the Dragon Parade is all about, it’s the focal point of the city’s annual Lunar New Year celebrations – and it’s a real spectacle, to say the least.

The parade is known for attracting thousands of visitors from all across the region each year.

Manchester’s legendary Dragon Parade returns next month to celebrate Chinese New Year 2026 / Credit: Chinese NY Manchester (via X)

Celebrations officially kick off on Saturday 14 February this year, and as the headline of the festivities, the popular parade is set to take place the day after (Sunday 15 February).

Once again, organisers are expecting visitors in their thousands to turn out and watch as the famous 175ft Chinese dragon weaves its way through the city’s main shopping streets.

Official timings and plans for the parade are yet to be announced by the Council, but if previous years are anything to go by, it’ll likely kick off from around midday, starting on the junction of Oxford Street and George Street, and then make its way along Portland Street before concluding in Chinatown for a final performance on Princess Street.

Chinese New Year festivities will take place over a full weekend / Credit: Chinese NY Manchester (via X)

There’ll also be even more cultural celebrations and activities to get involved with throughout Lunar New Year over in Manchester’s popular Chinatown – with live stage performances, traditional lion and dragon dances, and loads of stalls serving up tasty and authentic street food.

And to top it all off, we’ll also soon see the return of Manchester’s famous traditional red lanterns dotted up above all around town too, adding colour to dark winter days.

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As always, this year’s celebrations have been organised by the Federation of Chinese Associations of Manchester (FCAM), in partnership with Manchester Business Improvement District (BID) and Manchester City Council.

Featured Image – Chinese NY Manchester (via X) / CityCo

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