A mural of Joy Division legend Ian Curtis has been unveiled in Macclesfield.
His former bandmate Peter Hook has said that he’s waited ‘a long time’ to see a tribute to his late friend in his hometown.
The mural has been created by street art legend Akse-P19, who was also behind the Marcus Rashford mural in Withington and Sir Captain Tom Moore in the Northern Quarter.
The hyper-realistic black and white art piece has been painstakingly painted onto the side of a building on Mill Street in the town centre.
It’s been fully funded by Cheshire East Council, who say it’s been ‘worth the wait’.
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Great to visit this wonderful new mural of Ian today by @Akse_P19, now almost finished on Mill St in Macclesfield.
I’ve been waiting for a long time to see a tribute to Ian in his hometown.
Councillor Nick Mannion, chair of Cheshire East Council’s economy and growth committee, said: “Before today, I spoke about how perhaps this beautiful mural has been somewhat overdue but now that I’m here seeing it for myself for the first time, I can say without any doubt that it has truly been worth the wait.
“As I’ve said previously, I am a huge fan of Joy Division – the cultural significance of the band and Ian stretches well beyond my home town of Macclesfield. This is such a proud moment, I’m feeling very emotional about it right now.”
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Akse-P19 working on the mural of Ian Curtis in Macclesfield. Credit: Cheshire East Council
Ian Curtis was the frontman of Joy Division, who were behind the huge song Love Will Tear Us Apart.
The Macclesfield-raised musician tragically took his own life at just 23 years of age.
There’s another mural of him in Manchester, on Port Street, which promotes the mental health charity Shout.
On completion of his latest project, Akse said: “Although I’ve been working on murals most of my life, it’s still always an incredible feeling to get to the end of the journey – well the end of my journey at least. Now it’s time for the people of Macclesfield to enjoy the mural, as I know how much Ian meant to so many of them.”
Peter Hook wrote on Twitter: “Great to visit this wonderful new mural of Ian today by @Akse_P19, now almost finished on Mill St in Macclesfield.
“I’ve been waiting for a long time to see a tribute to Ian in his hometown.”
Featured image: Cheshire East Council
Cheshire
There’s a big 3D animal egg hunt happening at Chester Zoo this Easter
Emily Sergeant
Chester Zoo is gearing up to launch a new Easter egg hunt when schools are out next month – but there’s a bit of a twist.
With Easter right around the corner, and schools soon to be out across Greater Manchester, if you’re looking for something a little different to do with the kids that keeps them both entertained and educated at the same time, then Chester Zoo has got you covered.
The UK’s largest charity and conservation zoo is launching the ‘Really Wild Egg Trail’ at the start of April.
There’s a big 3D animal egg hunt happening at Chester Zoo this Easter / Credit: Chester Zoo
All set to be a proper “educational adventure”, the trail will see giant 3D eggs hidden around the zoo’s 128-acre site – but the catch is, each of the hidden eggs belong to animals that you might not expect to hatch from eggs.
With an interactive map specially designed by National Geographic, there’ll be a total of six hidden eggs to seek out.
Once little explorers have found all six eggs hidden around the zoo, they can then make their way over to the on-site gift shop to pick up a Nat Geo Kids magazine that’s usually worth £4.99 for free.
There’ll be a total of six hidden eggs to seek out around the zoo / Credit: Chester Zoo
“This Easter you can expect something a little different at Chester Zoo,” Customer Development Manager Elinor Trigg said ahead of the start of the trail next month.
“From the largest lizard in the world to tiny invertebrates, this educational adventure will help to shine a spotlight on our world-leading breeding programmes that are helping to save some of the most endangered animals on the planet, while connecting children to the natural world.”
“We’re home to more than 27,000 animals here at our charity zoo,” she continued.
“The trail is a wonderful way to learn more about some incredible, endangered species and, at the same time, take part some Easter-egg fun.”
Council in Cheshire becomes first in North West to ban pets as prizes
Emily Sergeant
A major council in Cheshire has become the first local authority in the North West to ban pets being handed out as prizes.
As animal welfare organisation The RSPCA continues to call on both the UK and Welsh governments to ban pets being given away as prizes under any circumstance, and for national legislation in both countries to be a requirement as part of its ongoing #NoFunAtTheFair campaign, Cheshire West and Chester has announced that it will become the first in the North West to do so.
The North West local authority joins 30 others in England and 12 in Wales in implementing the ban – which has been backed by more than 8,000 supporters nationwide.
The ban by Cheshire West and Chester, as well as the other participating councils and local authorities, currently only relates to land owned by them, which does therefore mean that pets could still be handed out on private land.
But the move is still being referred to as an “important step for animal welfare”.
“We are delighted to see Cheshire West and Chester take this important step for animal welfare in their community,” said Lee Gingell from the RSPCA.
“It really does prove there is a strength of feeling about this issue and it is great to see local authorities doing their bit to raise awareness and prevent this practice from happening on their land.”
Councillor Karen Shore, Deputy Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council, says that the local authority is “pleased” to have implemented the ban, and explained that the move has been taken following several complaints it had received about events organised by third parties on council land.
“Some of our councillors also received comments from residents asking for a ban on this practice,” she added.
As many will know, the most common pet to be given out as a prize is a goldfish.
Council in Cheshire becomes first in North West to ban pets as prizes / Credit: Andy Watkins (via Unsplash)
But the RSPCA says they “shouldn’t be acquired via a spur-of-the-moment game”, despite what great companions they make – with Lee Gingell adding: “Goldfish are easily stressed and very often fish that are won as prizes suffer miserably from shock, oxygen starvation or die from changes in water temperature, and many may die before their new owners can get them home.
“They can make great companions – but can actually be challenging to look after and new owners must do their research before they acquire the fish, not afterwards.”
Daisy Jackson -
25th March 2022 
