Another month is drawing to a close and we’re already getting to that point where we start looking back over the year at the big moments and what people have contributed to society in 2022.
In a year when many areas of the nation are still feeling the lasting impact of the pandemic and millions still face personal and professional obstacles as the nation and the economy try to recover, recognising figures that continue to motivate and inspire others seems more important than ever.
Moreover, given that October is Black History Month, we couldn’t think of a more influential and deserving figure to select for our Manc of the Month than the legend that is Sharon Amesu.
From the courtroom to coaching
Despite being Northwich-based, Sharon Amesu’s influence on Black-run businesses and professional women, not to mention diversity, inclusivity and leadership culture throughout the North West means she has done more than enough to earn the Manc of the Month accolade.
The leadership coach and entrepreneur began her career in law, enjoying a successful 16-year stint as a criminal barrister during which her practice helped countless families and women, specifically, with a strong focus on domestic violence cases in particular.
ADVERTISEMENT
However, as she told Merrick Solicitors back in 2019, she felt that she had spent more than enough time in the legal world and having picked up a wealth of transferrable skills, she decided to step away from the Bar and pursue professional development not only for herself but for others too.
Since her days bolstering benches across the North West, Amesu has gone on to play an integral part in a number of significant organisations such as her SA leadership development and consultancy business and the Society of Leadership Fellows, based out of St George’s House in Windsor Castle.
ADVERTISEMENT
A founding member of both institutions, the idea of their work is to bring prominent industry figures together and share wisdom through building a wider leadership network, as well as going out to businesses around the UK to show how they can put that knowledge into practice.
Even before she was a part of initiatives like these, Sharon quickly began establishing herself as a powerful and inspiring speaker, visiting all manner of companies to educate them on the importance of women and inclusivity in leadership.
She joined the Professional Speaking Association not long after she left the world of law and built up a strong following both personally and throughout the world of Greater Manchester businesses, helping people have the difficult conversations no one else will and resolving issues surrounding work culture.
ADVERTISEMENT
She soon began speaking all over the country and even went on to give her own TEDx Talk back in June 2021, discussing the subject of legacy and how the decisions we make in the present can massively affect the generations to come back in June 2021.
Already a multi-award-winning executive coach and motivational speaker – not to mention a “leadership and inclusion strategist” as described on her website – it won’t surprise you to know that Amesu was also made an Honorary Industry Fellow of the University of Salford Business School.
Backing Black businesses, women and diversity in Greater Manchester
On the subject of legacy, perhaps her biggest achievement comes in the form of She Leads for Legacy, a social enterprise set up with her daughter Afiya back in January 2021, which aims to reduce the barriers Black women face in the working world and accelerate their career progression.
For instance, just this weekend, Amesu stood alongside women’s charity Pregnant Then Screwed on a march to demand better policies for working mothers such as childcare and more flexible maternity leave.
The hope is that those guided by the initiative will reach senior leadership and Board level positions within the workplace and, in turn, help better represent, inspire and serve their local communities. Her role as a Community Champion for the Sickle Cell Care Manchester charity is one of many examples.
ADVERTISEMENT
Moreover, having seen the lack of diversity when it comes to decision-making firsthand, Sharon and her daughter know all too well the challenges women and people of colour face in private and corporate business settings, especially.
In fact, her contributions have been noted and felt by so many that in 2021 she was named among five key Black figures improving lives in Greater Manchester by Google Arts and the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce.
But, crucially, her achievements are always shared.
Keeping it in the family
As she explained on The Mindset Mentor Meets… podcast, she herself felt a lot of guilt and imposter syndrome as a working mother of three juggling multiple roles, but the success of this mother-daughter team has proved so much of personal progression is about self-belief.
ADVERTISEMENT
The pair recently held the Empowered to Lead Conference at Bruntwood’s Bloc in Manchester city centre and set for a number of events before the end of 2022, including a Black Women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). It’s all over Zoom so there’s no excuse for you to miss it.
As well as Afiya, her husband Sefa is also an accomplished development consultant; her eldest son Sefa Jr. is a promising Accounting and Finance student at Manchester Metropolitan University, and her youngest Edem is a champion ballroom dancer and model. They’re a powerhouse this lot.
Sharon and daughter turned partner in crime, AfiyaEdem, Afiya and Sefa Jr.Sharon and husband Sefa AmesuThe Amesu family
Sharon Amesu is a credit to black Mancunians and working women all over the UK. Furthermore, given how much local communities and North West businesses have already benefitted from her speaking, coaching and consultancy — and will continue to do so — this Manc of the Month is long overdue.
We couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate Black History Month than by bigging up one of the most important figures in Greater Manchester and the modern Black British community.
Manc architects submit plans to demolish 1970s office block and make way for new residential area
Danny Jones
A Manchester-based architects has submitted promising proposals to demolish an old 1970s-era office block and make way for a brand new residential community in Stockport.
The vision seems fairly ambitious and lofty – pun intended – but the potential outcome could be stunning.
Ollier Smurthwaite (OS) Architects are the local practice behind the new housing plans, which will not only provide nearly 300 new homes but also bring part of the Stopfordian skyline down; it’s not often you hear of things getting lower when so much of Greater Manchester just keeps building up.
Sharing the first proper glimpse at what they hope the redeveloped corner of the busy A6 main road will look like, many have been pleased to see familiar red brick and a traditional feel as opposed to more glass towers.
Writing a lengthy caption alongside the social media post, the OS state, “We are preparing a planning application for the St Christopher’s site in Stockport.
“Located at the prominent junction of Wellington Road South and Longshut Lane, the proposal aims to transform the prominent corner by demolishing the existing 10-storey 1970s office block to make way for a new residential community.
“The proposals are for a modern ‘mansion’ block with taller ceilings, more windows, better communal areas and private gardens.”
It remains to be seen at what price point these apartments will be available for.
Promising a total of 278 ‘new dwellings’, the scheme will crucially see the height of the existing plot lowered to fall in line with other neighbouring properties, as St Christopher’s House currently sits well above the nearby terraces and its metropolitan style does stand out against the surrounding brickwork.
The early reception to the proposed plans looks to be largely positive, too, with one user commenting online, “A very nice looking building with character. More of these please”; another went so far as to add, “These are the sort of modern buildings that will become grade listed.”
It’s also worth showcasing what exactly these blueprints look like when they’re brought to life, such as another development over in Longsight:
Render vs Reality. We recently completed our Daisy Bank scheme in Longsight Manchester for 72 new homes. The scheme takes contextual references from Dalton Ellis Hall & Victoria Park Christian Fellowship in the adjacent conservation area.@createstreets@archi_tradition… pic.twitter.com/DasRUtaylh
Safe to say that seeing what businesses trying to regenerate boroughs actually deliver compared to their initial mock-ups is always useful.
The award-winning firm goes on to add that “the building will be deliberately stepped back from the pavement to create a planted tree-lined avenue”, which will also revolve around a central courtyard and residents’ gardens, with ground-floor flats benefitting from private patios.
CGIs of shared communal roof terraces also give the designs that added modern look, with few other places in the vicinity offering this kind of space. It could be a welcome addition to the region that is already going through plenty of change at the minute.
Another big construction scheme is the one being carried out by Capital and Centric over the new Weir Mill district, which could be transformational for the town centre.
Internet signals reportedly ‘100x faster on the moon’ than on some UK trains
Danny Jones
Yes, you read that right: according to a recent study, internet signals on some UK trains are currently estimated to be 100x slower than they would be on… wait for it: the actual MOON.
Give us strength – and by that we mean signal strength.
As per new analysis carried out by Good Business Travel (GBT), research into some of the worst-connected train routes across Great Britain has delivered a rather depressing evaluation of our telecommunications systems and railways.
While some may certainly be better than others, it’s fair to say that we’ve all been there; you’re trying to have a call or use even a crumb of your data on a train before you ultimately give up and start arbitrarily looking through your photo library.
Put a man on the moon ✅ Cure diseases ✅
Get wifi on a fucking train. ABSOLUTELY NOT. NOOOO WAYYYYYY.
As damning and hyperbolic a claim as it might sound, GBT have indeed found that when compared against Ofcom’s benchmark for reliable internet performance (5Mbit/s), not a single train journey consistently meets the regulator’s standard.
Anyone who’s ever done Manchester to London and vice versa will know all too well how frustrating it can be to get a steady signal during your journey.
Never mind, eh? You know, they’re only two of the most modern and digitally-driven cities in the entire country – foolish of us to expect the key North-South link would carry over to internet connection.
Regarding train WiFi, hit and miss is putting it mildly, and even if you’re lucky enough to be on one that actually has a decent signal, it’s only a matter of time before the carriages fill up and throttle everyone’s connection, and it becomes patchy at best.
In what might be one of the slightest consolations ever, you’ll be glad to hear the LDN-MCR speeds are only the seventh worst in the nation, managing just 16% when it came to the average mobile network ‘Good Performance’ by Ofcom standards. You can see the unwanted top 10 leaderboard in full below.
The worst UK train journeys for mobile connectivity
Rank
Route
Average mobile network Good Performance (Ofcom)
1
Basingstoke to Coventry
6%
2
Sheffield to Doncaster
12%
3
Taunton to Leeds
13%
4
London to Edinburgh
14%
5
London to East Midlands Parkway
14%
6
Bedford to London St Pancras Peak
15%
7
London to Manchester
16%
8
London to Glasgow
18%
9
London to Plymouth
24%
10
London to Bournemouth
25%
Put simply, a staggering number of domestic train journeys fail the litmus test for what would be considered even a decent connection.
It’s got to the point now that there are even people starting nationwide campaigns to help generate awareness around upgrading telecoms infrastructure across the UK, with trains being one of the biggest challenges in this country.
Speaking on the report, Good Business Travel’s Client Experience Director, Natasha Inglis, said in a statement: “Millions of people travel by train every week expecting to work, stream, message friends or simply stay connected.
“Instead, they’re met with frozen video calls, emails that won’t send and endless buffering. While improvements to Britain’s rail connectivity have been promised by the government, passengers still have to deal with unreliable coverage every day. There are a few tricks that can help in the meantime.
“Many people don’t realise that sitting on the side of the train facing nearby towns or major roads can improve your signal because you’re closer to mobile masts. It’s also worth switching your phone to 4G instead of allowing it to constantly search for weak 5G signals, which often makes connectivity even less reliable on moving trains.”
But hey, things are slowly getting better if reports are to be believed, with satellite-enabled mobile services gradually being rolled out, meaning traditional ‘deadzones’/signal blackspots may not be as big of a problem as they once were. Touch wood.
For now, we’re just going to keep making sure we’ve got a decent book with us and enjoy taking a break from endless screentime.
Danny Jones -
29th October 2022 
