Gimli, the Cheshire Oaks-obsessed cat with her very own Facebook page
From curling up in a hidey hole at All Saints to making herself part of L'Occitane's window display, one thing about Gimli is clear. The cat's got excellent taste.
If you’ve ever spotted a furry tail whipping around corners or burrowing into blankets whilst on a shopping trip at Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet, well, then this cat will likely need no introduction.
Gimli, or as she’s more commonly known, Gimli Queen of the Oaks, is the Cheshire Oaks-obsessed cat who loves to tunnel into blanket piles in homeware sections and carry out regular health and safety inspections in the designer outlet’s back-of-house.
An unofficial mascot for the designer outlet, she’s so often spotted playing mannequin in the store windows or curled up on shelves that she’s even got her own Facebook page detailing her luxury outlet adventures.
Image: Facebook
Run by her loving owner, 5-year-old Gimli’s page has over 4,300 followers – drawing in shoppers and staff from the Oaks alike, all keen to be kept informed of her latest escapades.
The pair live right behind the designer outlet, just a two minute walk away – making it easy for Gimli to pop over for some fuss, then back home for her breakfast and a snooze whenever it pleases her.
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Her owner has had her since she was a kitten, and says that from the moment she first spotted her she was immediately ‘drawn to the kitten that was trying to escape the box/bed she was in with her litter mates’.
Evidently, Gimli’s always been somewhat of an adventurer.
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Photos posted on her page are often sent in by visitors to the shopping outlet who manage to clock her, often depicting her strutting her stuff down aisles and looking sassily into the camera as if to say ‘how did you find me here?’
Others come from staff, amused at finding her once again roaming their stores.
From Visitor Information Officer, to Health and Safety and Public Protection Officer, it appears Gimli has many roles to play at the Oaks – and wherever she goes, she finds new fans.
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Image: Facebook
One recent post, showing her curled up under a trio of mannequins wearing the new collection ospring/summer dresses at Polo Ralph Lauren, reads: “After spending most of the day napping on my bed her majesty decided it was time to go out… For another nap at Ralph Lauren.
“I wish I had time for as many naps as my cat.”
Another, shared in March, styles her as somewhat of a guardian angel: “This one made me smile… ‘Hi! Just thought you’d want to know I sometimes finish work late and Gimli will emerge from the bushes nearby and come for a pet! She sits on my lap for some cuddles until I get picked up haha.’
Image: Facebook
“So it seems we can add personal protection officer to Gimli’s list talents! There was a little video that came along too but technology is letting me down and won’t let me save it.”
Speaking about the elusive Gimli, her owner told The Manc: “Personality-wise she’s a stereotypical cat really, quite aloof mostly but also has moments of being incredibly sweet and enjoys a fuss on her terms, but when she’s had enough if you don’t spot the warning tail twitch she’ll definitely let you know”
As to why she thinks Gimli is so enamoured with the Oaks, she confessed that she’s not entirely sure.
“I have zero idea if I”m honest, [my] best guess is she found a whole heap of people that she could convince she hadn’t been fed for days with her cries (lies of course) combined with warm comfy spots under shop heaters for a snooze.”
From curling up in a hidey hole at All Saints to making herself part of L’Occitane’s window display, whilst her motivation for constantly visiting isn’t neccessarily apparent, one thing about Gimli is clear.
The cat’s got excellent taste.
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To follow more of her adventures at Cheshire Oaks, check out her Facebook page here.
Feature image – Facebook
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We’ve found some of the best Chinese food in town – being served out of a snooker hall
Danny Jones
Yes, you heard us right: we’ve stumbled across one of our favourite new places for Chinese food just on the outskirts of Manchester city centre – it just so happens to be served out of a best-in-class snooker hall.
And that really is just the tip of the iceberg here.
Some of you may have heard about and/or seen it already, but we’ll admit we were a little late to the party when it comes to Club 200, a.k.a. the pool, snooker, darts, mahjong club and more, which has so many different things rolled into that it’s really more a Russian doll than a Chinese restaurant or sports venue.
The hook speaks for itself: a place where people spend just as much time practising with chopsticks as they do their cues, as it really isn’t a gimmick, as some pessimistic folk would have you think – the food is banging and so are the vibes in general.
Not only is this quite literally the best snooker club in Manchester – complete with everything from classic American billiards and Chinese 8-ball to king-size snooker tables that the Ronnie O’Sullivan has played and won on, to a special AI system you won’t find anywhere else – it is SO much more than that.
Whilst the backroom was packed with everyone from casuals to those looking to get their pro certification via the official Q Tour, and lads in the front were practising their arrows, as co-owner Simon admitted they get almost just as many darts regulars these days, a storm was cooking up in the kitchen.
It would be unfair to say this place doubles as a bar and restaurant, because we really couldn’t get over how well put together this menu was.
‘Café 200’s food offerings involve classics like fried rice and chow mein dishes, to the kind of sides you could expect from your local Chinese chippy, but it’s even more authentic exports that really impress.
For instance, the beef ho fun seemed to be a big hit with everyone; we loved the salty seafood udon as well (a great chew on those noodles), and we know plenty of people still searching for proper Hong Kong-style French toast – they might just find it here.
Speaking of the special administrative region, which has a twisting and turning but nevertheless rich culinary culture all of its own, that last dish had us hopping with joy.
You’re looking at baked Portuguese rice: a Macau speciality rooted in the region’s colonial history.
We’ve never quite had anything like it before, even in all of our years eating this kind of cuisine around the 10 boroughs, but we haven’t stopped thinking about it since.
And then there’s everything else they do, from karaoke and bingo nights to catering for birthdays and other functions, or even just serving as a cool, somewhat tucked-away spot to watch the footy and other live sport come the weekend.
You can tell this place has built up a real community over the last 18 months or so, and while the food speaks for itself, it’s the sheer abundance and variety going on that makes it especially charming to so many.
Speaking of jack-of-all-trade venues, we stumbled across a similar multi-talented one over in Salford not so long ago, too…
‘Manc the Biff’: the Co-op Live crowd made the Clyro boys welcome on debut
Danny Jones
It feels like we’ve been waiting a long time to welcome Biffy Clyro back to Manchester, and they really didn’t disappoint on their Co-op Live debut.
Here’s our review of what was a proper rock show.
After a strong lineup of support acts with The Armed and Soft Play (formerly Slaves) injecting plenty of early energy into the crowds, already knew two things: the Scots wouldn’t disappoint, and a Manc crowd NEVER lets you down.
We knew everyone was on top form from the moment the Kilmarnock icons stepped out on stage under a swathe of blankets to the opener from their latest album, Futique.
Once the curtain was eventually lifted during ‘A Little Love’, which has quickly become one of the most popular singles for some time, you could see the sea of fans below start bouncing.
Rolling into the likes of ‘Hunting Season’ and Only Revolutions classic, ‘The Captain’, those bounces quite quickly turned into a healthy-sized pit, and those up in the stands with us finally got on their feet.
That was maybe our only complaint: we love seeing a seated section pretending they’re in standing from their start, but we get it and each to their own, of course.
In fact, the same goes for the rest of the session players joining them on the road this year.
One thing we weren’t expecting was quite how cool the production levels were going to be. We’ve never been Biffy fans for their creativity when it comes to toying with stage design or lighting rigs, but they threw in some fun effects regardless.
Highlights from the night included ‘Tiny Indoor Fireworks’, ‘Bubbles’, and ‘Black Chandelier’, though we were sad not to hear ‘Victory Over The Sun’, and it was especially gutting that one of our favourite tracks from the new record, ‘True Believer’, didn’t end up on the setlist.
Again, you can’t have anything – we’re just glad we got to be there and see a truly great British rock band proving that they are well and truly an arena-level band.
Lastly, even after all the years and an X-Factor cover trying its hardest to take the credit away from them, ‘Many of Horror’ is still an unbelievable rock ballad, and d’ya know who is an unbelievable rock band? “Biffy. F***ing. Clyroooooo.”
Georgina Pellant -
6th April 2022 
