Whenever anyone thinks of the Suffragette movement, particularly in Manchester, one of the first names to come to mind is Emmeline Pankhurst.
Her story is well known – a girl from Moss Side, born into a politically active family, was introduced to the suffrage movement aged just 14 and ultimately helped British women to win the vote and create historic change.
The Pankhurst’s name today is synonymous with women’s suffrage, as are the Kenneys of Saddleworth.
But in the early years of the suffragette movement, before it had a name and was just a few pesky women making some political noise, there was another figure – oft-forgotten – who inspired the women around her to make history.
Her name was Lydia Becker and she hailed from Accrington.
Born in 1827 to a large middle-class family, as a young girl Becker was home-schooled alongside her siblings and took a big interest in nature and botany.
She often wrote to Charles Darwin with questions and the two developed a friendly correspondence, with Lydia sometimes sending him samples of plants from around Manchester to study.
But as well as growing into a noted botanist, as a young woman she was fascinated by politics and got involved in the suffrage movement at a very early stage.
Having studied in great detail the reproductive science of plants, in particular the bisexual and hermaphrodite species, she soon turned her mind to the gender politics of society.
Inspired by a fellow sister scientist, Barbara Bodichon, who had published a paper entitled The Enfranchisement of Women in 1866, Lydia moved to found the Manchester Women’s Suffrage Committee – the first of its kind in the country.
Not much time after founding her committee, Lydia heard about a local woman – a widow – whose name had appeared by accident on an electoral roll. Sensing an opportunity, she and Lily Maxwell went to the polling station together and demanded she be allowed to cast a ballot. She was, and it caused a ruckus.
Spurred on, soon enough Lydia was encouraging all female heads of household to do the same – and was ultimately instrumental in bringing their petitions to court.
The following year, she was one of the central organisers and speakers at the first-ever meeting of the National Society for Women’s Suffrage and soon found herself undertaking speaking tours across the country.
This was years before the Pankhursts and at a time when it was completely unheard of for women to get involved in politics in any way. To even suggest that a woman should vote in elections was to completely put yourself out on a limb.
Simply put, politics was for men – it was not considered ‘ladylike’ for a woman to stand up in a public place and spout her opinions. Lydia didn’t let this put her off, though.
She simply ignored the naysayers (and there were a lot of them) and kept on going on her tours up and down the country after forming the Women’s Suffrage Journal in 1870, alongside Jessie Boucherett.
At one of these meetings in 1874, there was a young girl sitting in the audience. A fifteen-year-old Emmeline Pankhurst, who from that day forward would be completely committed to the cause after hearing Lydia speak.
As the movement began to gather pace, one thing that set Lydia apart from her counterparts was her ardent support for the vote of single and unmarried women. These women, she argued, were more in need of the vote than their married counterparts (who ultimately secured the vote first in 1918).
It was a point on which she and Emmeline Pankhurst were to disagree, but just as with everything else, Lydia stuck to her guns on her opinions – no matter what ridicule she faced. And there was a lot.
Just as women today who speak or act out against the status quo are often maligned (Jameela Jamil springs to mind, but there are many more), Lydia was subject to merciless teasing – particularly from politicians and the press.
She wore wire-framed glasses and was made into somewhat of a caricature by cartoonists, who ridiculed her “extreme” views and looks. One cartoon cruelly depicted her being thrown out of parliament wrapped in the Women’s Suffrage Bill.
She also used her position as an educationist to champion the idea that there was no difference in the intelligence levels of men and women, a position that was considered truly revolutionary at the time.
She passed away aged 63 at Aix-les-Bains in 1890, and her name can be found today on a family headstone in St James, Altham. Quite rightly, it can also be found on the Reformers’ Memorial in Kensal Green Cemetery, London, alongside other great reformers and innovators.
Although Lydia died several decades before women would win the right to vote, if it wasn’t for her then we might still be the second-class citizens we were in the 1800s.
Roger Fulford best sums it up In VotesforWomen: TheStoryofaStruggle, when he writes: “The history of the decades from 1860 to 1890 – so far as women’s suffrage is concerned – is the story of Miss Becker.”
A true pioneer and an inspiration for many women, her name deserves to be remembered.
Lupo Caffe Italiano – a taste of sunny Rome on a Prestwich industrial estate
Daisy Jackson
The sun is beating down on you, there’s a couple of luminous orange Aperol Spritzes on the checked tablecloth, Italian pop music is trickling out over the speakers and you’ve got two heaping bowls of pasta on the way.
The setting could easily be a cobbled street in front of the Colosseum in Rome. But it’s not. It’s an industrial estate in Prestwich.
Lupo must be one of Greater Manchester’s most hidden gems in a very literal sense.
To get here, you have to drive or walk a strange looping circuit around industrial warehouses peddling everything from splashbacks to burglar alarms to grow tents.
One of these warehouses, located in the very furthest yard, looks a little different to the others, festooned with bunches of garlic and dried herbs strung up from the ceiling.
There are shelves full of pasta, sauces and even crisps, a fridge packed with delicious Italian wines and beers, and retro football shirt-inspired merch hanging from the walls.
Its awkward location does nothing to hold back its loyal customers, who repeatedly return for the authentic taste of Rome on offer here.
Lupo is operated by Nico Pasquali, who first ran it as a tiny Italian cafe on Chapel Street in Salford (before all the high-rises appeared), then shifted it over to the odd shiny-commercial-office-land that is Exchange Quay, then took it almost entirely remote to trudge through the pandemic.
Lupo’s charming interiorsNico has added outside seating to LupoThe pasticceria selection at Lupo
At one point, Caffè Lupo existed mostly on WhatsApp, with customers texting in their orders ready for a doorstep drop on a Friday night.
But now the large-ish commercial unit is its main business, and it’s a special one.
You are greeted, always, with a friendly wave, then given the sort of service where you’re very gently guided to order all the best things on the menu that day, feeling like you’ll personally offend Nico if you order differently and stray from his recommendations. Thankfully it’s pretty easy to trust this man.
It’s extremely hard for me to see amatriciana on a menu and not order it – so I don’t try. One bowl of rigatoni amatriciana for me, and make it cheesy.
This is a textbook example of the deceptively simple pasta dish. Fatty guanciale cooked right down so that all that delicious pork fat melts into the tomatoes, then it’s seasoned with, I presume, several generations of secrets and love from Italian nonnas.
Rigatoni amatriciana, and fennel sausage orecchietteA spread of Lupo’s Italian foodPepernata – Nico’s mum’s recipeThe Pizza Lupo
The sweet, salty, meaty sauce is available on a pizza too, which will be top of my list next time I visit.
Across the table it’s a special (but it’s been on the menu for a while now) of orecchiette with fennel sausage and romanesco broccoli.
Nico tells us a customer once refused to pay for this dish because it wasn’t ‘saucy’ enough. Heathen.
That’s the running theme with Lupo – don’t come here expecting Neapolitan pizzas, or flat whites, or hot honey dips for your pizza crusts. It isn’t the Roman way, and Nico isn’t about to veer away from his proud roots to mould into any passing fads or trends.
If you’re after authenticity and tradition though, this is comfortably the top Italian in Greater Manchester.
If you can come to Lupo and walk away without ordering something sweet from the counter, you’re a stronger person than me.
PasticceriaOwner NicoLupo’s famous millefoglie
They’re famed for their doughnuts (rightly), with bouncy dough filled with flavours including pistachio cream, lemon, and homemade jams.
Also displayed in neat rows are fruit tarts with a glossy glaze, towering cream cakes in neat layers, and puff pastry cannoncini.
But Nico is adamant, absolutely adamant, that we order a slice of his millefoglie. It’s a sell-out, he says. We’re lucky he even has some in stock, he tells us. Who are we to argue?
And if you’ve made it this far, just stop reading right now, get in the damn car and go get yourself a slice before it sells out again.
Layers of lighter-than-air homemade pastry are sandwiched together with delicately sweet cream, hints of almond throughout, and it’s good enough to bring a tear to your eye.
We leave with a doughnut in a box too, so that we at least have a snack if we get completely lost finding our way back out of the industrial estate.
You can stay in an aircraft, old school bus, or even a helicopter at this glamping pod near Manchester
Thomas Melia
There’s a glamping retreat near Manchester offering extraordinary stays in an aircraft, helicopter, old school bus and more.
Over in Blackpool at Manor House Glamping, there is a range of static vehicles that you can have an overnight stay or two in, and according to the pictures on its website, there’s even a resident emu.
You can stay in various modes of transport, such as an aircraft, an iconic yellow school bus, a campervan or a military green truck.
Each has its own perks ranging from a hot tub, outdoor bath, fire pit, sandpit and more. Whatever type of getaway or retreat you’re looking for, you’ll find everything you need right here.
The most eye-catching of the company’s stays is certainly the aircraft, which has kept its original cockpit features, although it’s safe to say the interior has definitely had a makeover.
There’s no such thing as a bad in-flight experience with this guest house, as you can get cocktails delivered to the cockpit after taking a dip in your own personal hot tub – not too shabby, eh?
With the bright and unmissable yellow school bus, there are plenty of decorations that help continue this theme in the form of various American road signs, one of which acts as your headboard for the night.
If you’re after a more toned-down chance to unwind, you can step into a pale-white camper van with cosy cushions and a snug haystack-turned-sofa adorned with some gorgeous blankets.
And if you’re looking at going all out, then your Manor House Glamping accommodation of choice has to be the chopper, which was once used by the Royal Navy.
Worried this option might be a tad nippy? Fear not, because this helicopter is fully kitted out to suit your glamping needs with two fluffy-lined cushions on each seat of this vintage heli.
Anyone who experiences cabin fever, fear not, because all the aircraft and vehicles are static and aren’t planning on making a long-haul journey anytime soon, you’ll still be able to keep your feet firmly on the ground.
Manor House Glamping has a variety of vehicle-themed guest houses, both old and new, for you to stay in overnight and if you’re interested or after any further information.
If you fancy staying within the boundaries of Greater Manchester but still fancy getting the feel for a cockpit, though, there’s a very fun day out over at Barton’s City Airport.
Georgina Pellant -
7th March 2023 
