Greene King is about to stage their biggest giveaway yet across the next week, with the pub group and brewery set to hand out 100,000 free pints across the nation, but only on one condition involving Manchester and the weather.
We know how that sentence doesn’t usually fill people with confidence but, honestly, we’ve never felt more confident in our lives.
The weather might be looking up now spring has sprung but it’s still Manchester we’re talking about and we could help Brits get their hands on a total of 100k free pints if it rains in the city centre next Monday, 25 March and they’ll be having Peter Crouch and giant pint glass along to help adjudicate.
Rain and Manchester go hand in hand — the pints are on us, don’t you worry.
Keep an eye on the skies from Monday and once the first drop of rain hits our rain drop detector in Manchester we’ll be giving away 100,000 free pints #ItRainsWePour ☔️🍻 https://t.co/ws7FG2rBUm
Yes, in their latest marketing stunt, Greene King will be placing a massive glass in the city centre and if, by some stroke of other-worldly misfortune, no rain is left in it by the end of the day then people all over the country can enjoy a complimentary bev from one of their 2,700 locations across the UK.
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If this is this ends up being the one day we don’t get rain after being bullied by it most of the year, we’re going to be absolutely fuming.
Setting the big pint pot up in Great Northern Warehouse on the corner of Deansgate and Peter Street (picture as big as Crouchy himself), the chain of boozers are sticking to one rule: ‘When it rains, we pour’.
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The glass itself will serve as the official ‘Rain Drop Detector’ and since March 2023 was the rainiest in 40 years, as well as Manchester being considered Britain’s wettest city according to a survey of the general public — with one in five understandably dubbing us ‘Rainchester’ — this should be a walk in the park.
You can see the full terms and conditions of the giveaway HERE but the rules are pretty simple: once the trigger point on Rain Drop Detector lights up and a sufficient amount of rainfall is deemed to have landed on Manchester, Greene King will give away free pints for the following 24 hours.
These pints can obviously only be claimed within the pubs’ usual trading times and customers must say the magic phrase, ‘It rains, we pour’, to get their hands on one, but other than that it’s pretty simple. There’s even going to be a livestream and regular updates on socials for everyone to tune into.
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Once the drinking window is open, it isn’t just in Manchester that the river of free drinks will flow: people all over the nation will be able to walk into a GK pub and enjoy any one of the following pints at no charge — or a soft drink alternative, of course:
Hazy Day Hazy IPA
Level Head Session IPA
Flint Eye Hopped Lager
Icebreaker Pale Ale
Abbot Ale
Greene King IPA
Ruddles Best
Old Speckled Hen & Old Golden Hen
Don’t worry, Brits — rain is just what we do. We won’t let you down (crosses everything).
Featured Images — Greene King/Great Northern/The Manc Eats
Food & Drink
More than 12 million Brits think Yorkshire puddings belong with your Christmas dinner
Emily Sergeant
More than 12 million Brits would argue that your Christmas dinner needs a side of Yorkshire puddings, a shocking survey has revealed.
The survey in question carried out by retailer Next – which polled a total of 2,000 Brits about their Christmas dining and tableware habits – has uncovered that millions of people stray off the beaten track when it comes to, what we can all agree is, one of the biggest and heartiest meals of the year.
It turns out, Brits like a lot of unusual items on our Christmas dinner plate.
Some of the most obscure finds the survey is that two million people admitted to eating onion rings alongside their turkey and sprouts, and a further 5% (3.4 million) Brits like tucking into a bit of seafood on Christmas Day.
A surprising 4% (2.7 million) of people admitted that they like to add ketchup to their Christmas dinner plate – with mac and cheese, chips, and sweetcorn also making the top 10 list.
More than 12 million Brits think Yorkshire puddings belong with your Christmas dinner / Credit: Rumman Amin (via Unsplash)
If all of that wasn’t mad enough as it is, one of the most shocking stats from the survey is probably the fact that a whopping 1.4 million respondents even said that they wouldn’t consider it a Christmas dinner without the addition of baked beans.
But when it comes to Christmas dinner, there’s probably one debate that’s bigger than them all, and is still yet to be decided – do Yorkshire puddings belong on your Christmas dinner plate or not?
Well, 12.7 million Brits believe that they do, and we reckon a good chunk of that number is us northerners.
The UK’s top 10 non-traditional Christmas food items
Yorkshire Puddings (19% – 12.7 million)
Bread sauce (5% – 3.4 million)
Seafood (5% – 3.4 million)
Ketchup (4% – 2.7 million)
Mac and cheese (3% – 2 million)
Onion rings (3% – 2 million)
Chips (2% – 1.2 million)
Bread (2% – 1.2 million)
Sweetcorn (2% – 1.2 million)
Beans (2% – 1.2 million)
A new survey has revealed has uncovered that millions of people stray off the beaten track for Christmas dinner / Credit: Lisa Baker (via Unsplash)
While previous research has shown that the most common items on a British Christmas dinner are roast potatoes and gravy, these latest stats reveal there are some people out there who just like to do things a little differently.
But no matter how you like to eat it, a delicious Christmas dinner is always going to be something to celebrate, right?
Popular bar chain The Alchemist to rewind back to 2010 with cocktails and dishes for £6 next month
Emily Sergeant
One of the UK’s most popular bar chains is celebrating its sweet 16th birthday next month by winding back to 2010.
Money is always tight in January, right?
Once Christmas is over with, and so is the festive feasting and drinking, many like to use the first month of the new year to lay low and save some money back up – which is why The Alchemist is launching a limited-edition ‘2010 Revival Menu’, bringing back some of its most iconic early cocktails and dishes – all at their original prices from 16 years ago.
For the whole month, you can enjoy the curated throwback selection starting from £6, which i perfectly timed for a month of saving without sacrificing going out.
The Alchemist is rewinding back to 2010 with cocktails and dishes for £6 / Credit: The Manc Group
The 2010 Revival Menu includes the return of the fan-favourite White Chocolate Raspberry Martini for £6 on the cocktail menu, which was an early Alchemist staple, alongside other fan-favourites like the Colour Changing One and Virgin Pornstar, both for £6 again.
When it comes to food dishes for £6, you can tuck into a selection of different refreshing salads, while stretching your budget up to £10 will get you things like Chicken in a Basket, a Cheeseburger, and Fish and Chips.
Other iconic Alchemist cocktails returning for a fraction of the price next month include the popular Smoky Old Fashioned, and Dead Read Zombie – both for £8.
The Alchemist opened its original bar in Manchester‘s swanky Spinningfields district all the way back in 2010, and quickly became a popular and stylish destination with its high ceilings and industrial features, and has since developed into a much larger chain – with not only more Manchester destinations, but others across the UK too.
Danny Jones -
21st March 2024 
