Restaurant manager surprises homeless outreach group with huge stack of free pizzas
Don't Walk Past are out five nights a week helping homeless people in Manchester, but this kind gesture from a stranger really touched the volunteers' hearts,
A local homeless outreach groupwas surprised with a generous donation on Tuesday when a local restaurant manager handed them a huge stack of free pizzas.
The team was out on the streets of Manchester city centre doing their outreach work with the homeless community when Oxford Road’s Pizza Express manager Jamie clocked them through the restaurant’s windows.
After taking the time to come over and speak to the Don’t Walk Past team and find out a little bit about what they do to help people in need, he then went back to the restaurant – only to emerge once again with a stack of fifteen freshly-baked pizzas for them to hand out on the streets.
The incredibly kind gesture from a stranger made an impression on the group’s volunteers, who praised Jamie’s ‘kindness and generosity’ and added that it was ‘very much appreciated.’
The group revealed that Jamie also offered to do the same every week from now on.
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Volunteer Lisa Hamilton has a cafe where she accepts homeless donations. She is pictured alongside restaurant manager Jamie with the stack of pizzas. / Image: Kelly Butler / Don’t Walk Past Facebook Group
Image: Don’t Walk Past Facebook Group
Volunteer Kelly Butler later took to Facebook to praise his kind actions, writing: “Thank you so much to this lovely gent at Pizza Express on Oxford Road who so kindly made up these pizzas for us last night to be handed out, your kindness and generosity was very much appreciated.”
The charitable group, headed up by organiser Ronny English, is entirely self-funded and can regularly be seen parked up on the streets of Manchester and Salford helping the homeless in any way they can.
Relying entirely on donations and the kindness of strangers, the team of volunteers is out every night from Monday to Friday in their pink hi-vis handing out food, warm clothes, toiletries and other necessities to people who find themselves hard up and with nowhere to go.
The group also has an Amazon Wish List where those who want to support it can purchase items for local homeless people in need, such as hand and foot warmers, tubs of hot chocolate, beanies, underwear, antibacterial wipes, sleeping bags, instant coffee and more.
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Speaking to The Manc on the work that Don’t Walk Past do, Ronny English said: “Since the cost of living hit everyone our outreach nights are all about food n drink.
“Our scenario is we have two ladies per night cooking 50 hot dinners plus we have end of day donations from KFC & GREGGs. And still people are coming to us and being sent away hungry, there’s not enough food it’s terrible.”
Read more:Manchester bar launches £2.99 cost of living menu to ‘put two fingers up’
Acclaimed Manchester cocktail bar named one of UK’s best quietly closes its doors
Emily Sergeant
An acclaimed Manchester cocktail bar that was formerly named one of the best in the UK has quietly closed its doors for good.
Tucked away beneath the former set of Coronation Street in the Old Granada Studios complex, and hidden in the basement of Manchester‘s historic 1800s Bonded Warehouse at St. John’s, Project Halcyon Distillery officially opened its doors in 2022 due to COVID-19 pandemic delays – with the intimate venue going on to become a city favourite.
The acclaimed, Speakeasy-style bar drew inspiration from Prohibition-era Chicago, focusing on ‘halcyon days’ of calm and luxury.
It included an on-site distillery used to create bespoke ingredients for its seasonal menu, and beyond cocktails, even featured a so-called ‘Stillroom’ for masterclasses and had private, curtained room dedicated to absinthe, with traditional fountains, called ‘Salon Vert’.
Project Halcyon has quietly closed its doors for good / Credit: Project Halcyon | The Manc Group
But despite its success over the years, and even earning a place in the coveted Top 50 Cocktail Bars in the UK list on several occasions, Project Halcyon has officially – but somewhat quietly – now closed its doors for good.
“It was with sincere regret that due to unexpected challenges at the ownership level we must close our doors for the foreseeable. Though we say goodbye, the memories live on.
“Thank you to everyone who shared in our craft, our community, and our story.”
After the news broke on social media, Project Halcyon’s Instagram post was flooded with dozens of comments showing support for staff members, and remembering the venue as one of their favourite cocktail bars in the city centre.
The nature of some of the comments also prompted Project Halcyon to issue a follow-up statement below addressing concerns over money owed to workers and other partners, adding: “We sincerely hope that anyone who may be owed by the owners of Project Halcyon – past and present team included – receives what they are owed.
“We are not deleting comments and have no interest in doing so. We also cannot control how Instagram manages comment threads. This page is run by the team, not the owners.”
Featured Image – The Manc Group
City Centre
11 men arrested following ‘busy’ day of protests and marches in Manchester city centre
Emily Sergeant
11 men have been arrested following a ‘busy’ day of protests and marches in Manchester city centre over the weekend.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said several demonstrations – the most noteworthy being that of the widely-reported Britain First march – took place ‘peacefully’ across central Manchester at the weekend, particularly on Saturday (21 February), with officers working closely with organisers to ensure people could protest ‘safely’.
Police were also on-hand to ensure that wider disruption to the general public around the city centre was ‘kept to a minimum’ as best as possible.
A ‘significant’ policing operation was said to be in place throughout Saturday – with additional resources deployed and pre-prepared plans activated by GMP, alongside partner agencies, to help the day run smoothly.
While the demonstrations on the day were described by authorities as ‘peaceful’, 11 people were arrested on suspicion on a range of offences.
These included two men on suspicion of prevention of a breach of the peace, four men on suspicion of public order offences, and one man on suspicion of assault, just to name a few.
Two of the 11 were de-arrested, while the nine others were taken to police custody, and a section 34 dispersal order was subsequently put in place until 8pm that evening (21 February), allowing police to direct people to leave the area.
11 people have been arrested following a ‘busy’ day of protests in Manchester / Credit: GMP
Speaking following the demonstrations and arrests made over the weekend, Assistant Chief Constable Rick Jackson, who was the gold commander for policing operation, commented: “Manchester was expected to be extremely busy today, with multiple planned protests in the city centre as well as several football matches.
“We put extra officers on duty to support people’s right to protest peacefully, while reducing the impact on the wider public.
“Thanks to the efforts of our officers on the ground and the planning done with our partners, hundreds of people from a range of groups were able to come together safely, with no significant issues reported.
“Greater Manchester is a place where people can confidently and lawfully express their views, while ensuring that residents, workers, and visitors can go about their day feeling safe.”
Georgina Pellant -
29th June 2023 
