Christmas

Bongo’s Bingo Tropical Christmas party at Albert Hall Manchester will star Dene Michael from Black Lace

Aga-do-do-do!

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 26th November 2021

Bongo’s Bingo – the wild travelling promotion famed for turning sleepy gaming halls into floor-stomping parties – is returning to Manchester in December, and it’s bringing along a UK novelty icon. 

Dene Michael from Black Lace is headlining a series of special Christmas shows at the Albert Hall next month, as Bongo’s Bingo borrows the magnificent venue for a seven-night tropical winter shindig. 

Black Lace are the band behind the singalong pop tracks destined to soundtrack UK discos and weddings for eternity – with notable hits including Agadoo, Hokey Cokey, Do the Conga and I Am the Music Man. 

Group member Michael will be leading rowdy renditions of these karaoke classics, which will be followed by trance belters, chart-toppers and indie rock songs – from N Trance to S Club to Gerry Cinnamon.

Bongo’s Bingo

The special events are set to feature all the usual weird and wonderful antics you’d expect from a Bongo’s show including conga lines, dance-offs, prizes and, of course, a few good old-fashioned games of bingo. 

ADVERTISEMENT

A Very Tropical Christmas will take over the Albert Hall across seven dates next month: Sunday 19, Monday 20, Tuesday 21, Wednesday 22, Thursday 23, Tuesday 28 and Wednesday 29 December. 

Eponymous founder of the riotous gaming promotion Jonny Bongo said: “Christmas is my favourite time of the year and we are gearing up for a brilliant season of festive shows in Manchester. 

ADVERTISEMENT

“Having Dene Michael from Black Lace back for a run of dates is going to be class – he is amazing fun and always has the venue going wild. We can’t wait!” 

Rich Furness, Bongo’s Bingo’s Manchester host, added: “Christmas is always huge for us in Manchester. It’s my fifth year hosting Xmas shows in Manchester and I cannot wait to get stuck into this run of shows.

“A couple of years ago we had Dene Michael from Black Lace and it went off that much we had to get him back.

ADVERTISEMENT

“It’s been a weird and strange couple of years for us emotional and not having any Xmas shows last years felt really strange, so these Manchester shows feel a bit more special to me this year.

“The crowd here is always well up for it and I can’t wait to hear the Xmas Manchester roars and ear piercing singalongs.”

Bongo’s Bingo is an immersive night out that has dominated the party scene for years.

Blending bingo, dance-offs, rave intervals, bonkers prizes (like Henry Hoovers and giant pink unicorns) and loads of audience participation, it’s a phenomenon that now takes place in almost 50 locations worldwide.

Tickets for A Very Tropical Christmas are on sale now at: www.bongosbingo.co.uk 

ADVERTISEMENT

Follow @bongosbingo on Twitter and Instagram to stay up-to-date with the latest news and parties. 

You can also keep up with Bongo’s Bingo via the promotion’s Facebook channel. 

Christmas

Cosy pubs near the Manchester Christmas Markets where you can hide from the madness

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Victoria Tap is open in Manchester now

The Manchester Christmas Markets are in full flow for another year, and they are BUSY.

Once again, thousands of people are pouring into the city centre every weekend and evening to browse the massive range of food, drink and gifts being sold from the village of wooden huts that have appeared in town.

And there’s no denying that the markets do bring plenty of festive cheer to town, with Nutcracker mugs in every hand and people munching on sausages as they walk.

But when the hustle and bustle and the cold all gets a bit much – and if you’re anything like us, one or two drinks at the Christmas Markets is plenty – you’ll be looking for respite.

And by respite, we mean a pub.

So here are the best pubs that are very near the Manchester Christmas Markets without actually being in the thick of it.

North Westward Ho

Beers at North Westward Ho.
Beers at North Westward Ho. Credit: The Manc Group
North Westward Ho's traditional interior.
North Westward Ho’s traditional interior.

This stunning new pub has been created by Pomona Island, the much-loved local craft brewery, and it’s handily located within staggering distance of the Market Street, Piccadilly Gardens and King Street Christmas markets hubs.

Pomona Island has taken on a chunk of the former Chaophraya restaurant, turning the grand arch-windowed red-brick building serving their own craft beers – from the easy-drinking Factotum, to the excellent Phaedra pale ale.

And boy is it cosy – North Westward Ho feels like a proper Manchester pub that has been styled with dark wooden details, ornate tiling, wall sconces, oil paintings, dark green ceramic brick times, and loads of cosy corners.

Read more about it here.

19 Chapel Walks, M2 1HN

Victoria Tap

The Victoria Tap is a micro pub a stone's throw from the Manchester Christmas Markets
It's opened in a former bin store at Victoria Station
It’s opened in a former bin store at Victoria Station

The Victoria Tap is a new beer bar that’s completely transformed a corner of the station that was previously home to a bin store, and it’s a perfect place to pause between the Cathedral Gardens Christmas Markets and your train home.

You won’t miss your train either – on the wall inside the pub is a departures board that advises how many pints you can fit in before your train leaves.

Northern breweries on the taps at Victoria Tap include Brew York, Blackjack and Runaway, plus a good selection of European beers from the likes of kostritzer, Bitburger and Schremser.

Inside there are traditional parquet floors underfoot and a dark green bar running almost the whole length of the micropub.

Find out more here.

Victoria Station, M3 1WY

Cafe Beermoth

This bar is at complete odds with its location – the sight of its cosy, calm interior at great odds to the madness of Market Street it sits behind.

Like an oasis in the dessert, Cafe Beermoth provides serious salvation when you need it most.

The Belgian-style beer cafe champions drinks from across the UK as well as further afield into Europe and America, though it has a strong bond with Manchester’s own Runaway Brewery.

ADVERTISEMENT

It’s one of those places you can visit solo or with a massive group and still be welcomed with the same open arms.

Brown Street, M2 1DA

Micro Bar

You wouldn’t think that the place to escape the madness of the Manchester Christmas Markets would be the Manchester Arndale, aka the biggest shopping mall in town and one that is RAMMED with shoppers in December.

But wedged into a corner of the Arndale Market is Micro Bar, a teeny tiny pub with a good selection of German and Belgian beers on keg plus hundreds of bottles and cans in the fridges.

If you’re quick and lucky, you can get a seat overlooking High Street and feel extra smug that you’re on the quiet side of the glass.

ADVERTISEMENT

Arndale Food Market, M4 3AH

The Sadler’s Cat

Sadler's Cat is a craft beer pub near the Manchester Christmas Markets
Sadler's Cat is a craft beer pub near the Manchester Christmas Markets
Sadler’s Cat is a craft beer pub near the Manchester Christmas Markets

Formerly known as The Pilcrow, this shed-like pub on Sadler’s Yard is now in the very trustworthy hands of Cloudwater Brewery.

The space itself was built by local people through a series of workshops, with members of the public creating everything from the tabletops to the lampshades.

There is, of course, Cloudwater beers, but also plenty of others to choose from, a menu of natural wines, and both alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails.

It’s also stumbling distance from Cathedral Gardens – you can practically skate here from the ice rink.

ADVERTISEMENT

Hanover St, M60 0AB

Corbieres

Disappear from St Ann’s Square – where you can barely move for gluhwein and tinsel – and down into the cave-like wine bar that is Corbieres.

Something of a Manchester institution, this brilliant bar has a jukebox loaded with great music, and a decent range of wines and beers.

It also does free pizza with any drink purchased, Tuesday to Friday 4.30pm to 7.30pm.

AND, as they’re advertising themselves as an escape from the markets, they’re even happy for you to bring the food you buy at the markets into the bar.

ADVERTISEMENT

2 Half Moon St, M2 7PB

Mr Thomas’s Chop House

@the.manc

Manchester pubs are full of history 😍 #manchester #themanc #chophouse #fyp

♬ Lo fi hip hop 💛 (Podcast, Vlog, Advertising, Food, Travel) – Flashinmusic

Any of the Chop Houses are guaranteed to be maximum cosy, with their Victorian interiors still largely in tact and menus full of massive stodgy food.

There are two that are both right near the King Street batch of Christmas Markets – Sam’s is beneath the previously mentioned North Westward Ho, while Albert’s is within that iconic tall skinny building on Cross Street.

At this time of year they’re extra festive thanks to soft white fairy lights and candles.

52 Cross St, M2 7AR

Read more

Featured image: The Manc Group

Christmas

Manchester’s ‘sky park’ Castlefield Viaduct to become sparkling grotto as night falls

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Castlefield Viaduct has a series of night time events including a Lantern Lates light trail

Castlefield Viaduct in Manchester, the lush National Trust site built up on a disused railway viaduct, has announced plans of night time activity this winter.

The beautiful park in the sky will be inviting visitors to see the urban green space by nightfall.

There’ll be a free Lantern Lates series where the park will transform into a ‘magical, sparkling grotto’.

Visitors can climb up to Castlefield Viaduct, the huge industrial landmark that has views right across Manchester city centre, and savour the winter wonderland created for the coming season.

It’s before the National Trust project closes for a few weeks in the new year for work to refresh the gardens for spring and summer.

The viaduct itself has been abandoned since 1969, until the charity revealed plans to turn it into a sky park similar to New York’s High Line.

The temporary urban garden has attracted thousands of visitors and the National Trust is now fundraising to secure a permanent future for the project, which is currently closing in September 2024.

Along with the Lantern Lates series, Castlefield Viaduct’s other night time events will include a Winter Garden Tour, where guides will explain the stories behind winter plants like holly, ivy and mistletoe.

Castlefield Viaduct has a series of night time events including a Lantern Lates light trail. Credit: David Bewick/National Trust.
Castlefield Viaduct has a series of night time events including a Lantern Lates light trail. Credit: David Bewick/National Trust.

And at the end of it all there’ll be a Cosy Corner, a relaxing spot with books, boardgames and crafts.

The Cosy Corner will be built at the far end of the Castlefield Viaduct park, where huge windows look across the overgrown and untouched section of the old railway bridge.

Castlefield Viaduct is the ideal spot to escape all the madness of the silly season and non-stop parties going on in the city below.

It’s open all the way through winter until Saturday 2 January (except Christmas Day and Boxing Day), with free entry. You can book morning tours on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, or take a wander after 12.30pm on those days or any time on Wednesdays, weekends and bank holidays.

Lantern Lates at Castlefield Viaduct

17 November 2023 – 1 January 2024, 3.30pm – 5pm | Free – Drop-in 

As the nights draw in Castlefield Viaduct transforms into a magical, sparkling grotto. 

From 3.30pm to 5pm every day, drop in to wander along the light trail and visit the garden in  the sky in a different way. It’s the perfect time for a moment of rest above the busy city, take  in Greater Manchester’s 21st century skyline and maybe even spot a bat or two. 

The Winter Garden Tour 

Wednesday 13 Dec, Friday 15 Dec, Thursday 28 Dec, Friday 29 Dec – 2pm | Free – booking essential 

Get out of the busy city streets and join Castlefield Viaduct for a tour around some festive flora.  

Nature has long associations with this time of the year from holly and ivy to mistletoe and  chestnuts. Your guide will tell you the stories behind some of the winter plants on the viaduct  and introduce the beauty of winter in the garden. 

Book a spot at the website and take a festive look at nature on the viaduct and beyond.

Cosy Corner 

11 December 2023 – 1 January 2024, daily | Free – Drop-in 

Warm up and chill out… After a walk through the winter garden take some time out in the  Castlefield Viaduct Cosy Corner. 

This December the visitor building will be transformed into a relaxing spot with books, board  games and easy crafts plus the spectacular views of the wild viaduct and Castlefield below.  Take a break from the rush, settle in with a good read or simply watch nature go by.

The viaduct is a temporary project from the National Trust and due to permanently close after summer 2024. To help secure a future for the project and help the garden grow, you can make a donation or give one as a gift? Click here to give direct to Castlefield Viaduct. 

Featured image: David Bewick/National Trust

More Christmas

Sprout butty Christmas sandwich Deliveroo

Christmas

You can get a festive lunch for just 99p from Deliveroo this week… but it involves sprouts

Warm Hub evenings Old Trafford Manchester United

Christmas

Manchester United are once again opening up Old Trafford and Red Café for ‘Warm Hub’ evenings

Land of Lights Gulliver's World

Art & Culture

The incredible new lantern trail around a northern theme park with Yorkshire pudding wraps, boozy hot chocolates, and more

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches