For those who’ve been watching I’m A Celebrity on ITV, it’s fair to say this season has already had some serious ups and downs – not least the controversial decision of producers to book former Health Secretary Matt Hancock (and for the princely sum of £400k, no less).
One group particularly affected by the start of the show included the Covid Bereaved Families For Justice, who have gone to great lengths to make their disapproval known in recent weeks; including flying a banner over the camp reading: “Covid bereaved say Get Out of Here!”
But amongst the criticism and controversy, there have been some light-hearted moments too – as we saw on Sunday night when campmate and Lionness legend Jill Scott’s Wythenshawe cafe got a namecheck during the ‘Partners in Grime’ trial.
As campmates were quizzed on details of others in the group, Jill was up first. Showered in a swarm of bugs that dropped onto her head, Ant and Dec then asked her how many haircuts Hollyoaks actor Owen Warner had a week.
Image: Boxx2Boxx
Image: Boxx2Boxx
Up next, Jill was asked to place her headphones over her ears whilst Owen was asked the name of her coffee shop, to which he correctly replied “Boxx2Boxx”.
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It’s not the first time that the cafe’s name has come up on the show, with Jill previously apologising for making everyone hungry after revealing to campmates that she had opened a coffee shop with her fiancee Shelly Unitt during the lockdown.
Read more:The highest-paid I’m A Celebrity contestants, in order – and it’s not who you’re expecting
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She told her ITV co-stars that she sells bacon sandwiches, paninis and cakes at her Greater Manchester coffee shop, alongside other items.
In a confessional, Owen Warner later told viewers to imagine going to a coffee shop and seeing the Lionness serving you a coffee – leading viewers eager to pay the shop a visit.
A quick look at the coffee shop’s Instagram shows that the customers are very much behind Jill’s jungle expedition, with posts encouraging fans to vote for her amassing tens of thousands of likes.
Scroll down further, though, and you’ll spy wholesome-looking pictures of cake, pumpkin spice lattes, smores cookies, bacon muffins, Biscoff and gold bar pies and plenty more.
Based at 375 Palatine Road, Northenden, Wythenshawe, the store takes its name in reference to Jill’s position as a box-to-box midfielder and receives regular visits from footballers.
Writing on the Boxx2Boxx website, Jill explained: “I’ve always loved coffee, travelling around with football, and it started to get to the point where if I had a bad coffee to start the day I would have a bad day so coffee has become very important in my life.”
She added: “It just all happened so quickly. Even now, I have to pinch myself, like as if we have our own coffee shop! I called it Boxx 2 Boxx because of the box-to-box midfield, I thought we could entice some of the players down.”
This summer the Lioness also hosted a Coffee Club podcast on BBC Radio 5 Live, offering an intimate glimpse into women’s football with all chats held over a good cup of coffee.
Feature image – The Manc Group
Food & Drink
Huge bakery chain Gail’s confirms move to Prestwich – but spells village’s name wrong in signs
Daisy Jackson
After months of swirling rumours, bakery group Gail’s has finally confirmed it’s moving to Prestwich – but locals have spotted a glaring error at the first hurdle.
The popular artisan bakery will be moving onto Bury New Road, right in the heart of the suburb and directly opposite the new Rudy’s pizzeria.
Prestwich locals have been hearing whispers of a Gail’s arriving for a few months, and finally the London-founded cafe has stuck up signs to confirm it’s on the way.
But the sign contains one crucial mistake – it’s spelled Prestwich wrong.
The red window displays now read ‘Hello Preswich. We’ll be baking here soon’.
One local messaged Gail’s to point out the error and to say it’s ‘not a great first impression for the locals…’.
Gail’s has since confirmed it’s in the process of fixing the signs.
The arrival of both Gail’s and Rudy’s has already caused a stir in Prestwich, which has always been fiercely independent and has only a handful of chains within it (Greggs and Costa are perched by the tram stop).
In fact, one local business-owner shared a moving statement about his concerns for the future of local businesses just a few weeks ago.
Gail’s has confirmed it’s opening a bakery in Prestwich. Credit: The Manc Group
First formed in the early 1990s as a wholesale-only operation, Gail’s opened its first cafe on Hampstead High Street in 2005.
Today the brand has more than 100 sites spread across London, Oxford, Brighton and further afield, and is known more as a customer-facing cafe and bakery.
It’s famed for its freshly-baked loaves, cinnamon buns, ham and cheese croissants and coffees, and is likely to go down a storm in Prestwich.
But the signs have been causing a bit of a stir in the wrong way this weekend – in a local Facebook group, one person commented: “Not locals who own it then.”
Another described it as an ‘epic fail’.
And one person said: “Oh the DRAMA of it all.”
Someone else joked: “I cannot wait for Gais to come to Preswich.”
Hot Blobs – Retro drink makes return to Manchester Christmas Markets, but what is it?
Daisy Jackson
It’s funny how we all turn a blind eye to the temperature outside when it comes to the Christmas Markets.
At a time of year where should probably all be hibernating inside, droves of us instead head out to brave the elements all in the name of the festivities.
Of course, the Manchester Christmas Markets sell all sorts of wares to take the edge off, and we’re not just talking about the stalls selling woollen mittens everywhere.
Our favourite winter warmers tend to take the form of a tray of piping hot garlic potatoes, or a mug of hot chocolate, or another boozy beverage that’s massively underrated.
The drink in question is a Hot Blob, which is listed on the menu at the Piccadilly Gardens markets as ‘legendary’.
A bold claim, but a lot of long-time Manc residents will understand why.
The Hot Blob is a jaw-clenchingly sweet concoction served piping hot at the Manchester Christmas Market, similar to a hot toddy.
It’s made with Australian fortified white wine, lemon, sugar, and boiling water.
Hot Blobs – Retro drink makes return to Manchester Christmas Markets, but what is it? Credit: The Manc Group
The drink was first invented by Yates, that well-known pub chain, which started life as Yates’s Wine Lodge up the road in Oldham.
According to Pubs of Manchester, the Hot Blob has a tendency to ‘speed up drunkenness to a young drinker’.
These days, it’s pretty rare to come across one on a menu, but back in 1990s it was a staple in a few pubs around town.
There even used to be a ‘Blob Shop’ on High Street, run by local legend Ged Ford (now in charge of the equally legendary Millstone pub), which found itself in a state of utter carnage when the IRA bomb went off.
The long-lost institution specialised in ‘cheap wine, cheap beer, and plenty of blobs’.
The old Yates Blob Shop on High Street, Manchester. Credit: deltrems@flickr
Ged sold 6,000 a week.
And while the drink may have fallen out of favour since then, there are still healthy numbers being sold at this time of year, even if they are a damn sight more expensive than they were in the 1990s (£6 a pop, plus a glass deposit).
Anyway. If you’re sick to the back teeth of the endless gluhwein being peddled across the markets, make a beeline for Manchester Winter Ale House at Piccadilly Gardens, where you can find Hot Blobs as well as boozy Vimto and cask ales.
The Manchester Christmas Markets officially end on 22 December.
The Manc -
22nd November 2022 
