There’s a Christmas dinner taking place under one of the last remaining Concorde jets in the country in Manchester next month.
Hosted at Manchester Airport’s Runway Visitor Park, there’ll be roasted turkey and all the festive trimmings – from crisp, fluffy roast potatoes to other seeasonal veg and lashings of flavoursome gravy.
Dinner will be served banquet-style right underneath the iconic Concorde Alpha Charlie, which is one of the last remaining Concorde aircrafts. A must for any aviation fans, Alpha Charlie is considered to be the flagship of the now-retired aircraft fleet.
As well as a full festive dinner, there’ll also be musical entertainment throughout the day with Christmas music performed by a range of different singers.
The Sale Salvation Army will be playing Christmas Carols on the afternoon, and soprano Gemma Ashley is also due to appear on the evening for a live performance.
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Also scheduled to perform at the festive dinner is the Voices choir from Wilmslow High School, who will sing a selection of Christmas music and other festive feel-good tunes.
Taking place on Sunday, 5 December, doors will open from 12 pm with a welcome drink offered to guests on arrival. Choices include prosecco, beer, or soft drink, with dinner then served buffet style – with a seleection of vegan and veggie options available alongside the traditional turkey roast.
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Tickets are priced at £50 each and include your meal, a welcome drink, a tour of the iconic concorde and an exclusive opportunity to see the lowering of its nose.
Speaking on the upcoming dinner, Manager of the Runway Visitor Park Robert Hassard said:
“After a difficult couple of years for the airport and our neighbouring communities, we are delighted to be able to bring people together once more to celebrate the festive season at the RVP
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“This will be a truly memorable occasion for diners, with fantastic performances and a unique setting to get them well and truly into the festive spirit.
“We expect this event to prove incredibly popular, so we encourage anyone who is interested to book now to avoid disappointment.”
The amazing new doughnut shop that’s opened in a churchyard in Wigan
Daisy Jackson
A brand-new doughnut hatch has landed in Wigan, serving fresh bakes and speciality coffee from inside a beautiful local churchyard.
This is Holy Grounds, the latest independent spot bringing together freshly made doughnuts, excellent coffee and a spectacular setting, right beside the Wigan Parish Church.
The Lancashire-born business expanded to Wigan just three weeks ago, and it’s already proving hugely popular with the locals.
As we’re seeing all over Wigan these days, Holy Grounds have taken on a beautiful characterful space and turned it into a great new independent hangout.
The doughnut hatch is connected to the church itself, with the room believed to have once been an old school space. Today, it’s been given a very different purpose, with the smell of freshly baked doughnuts and coffee filling the building.
And you can still get a very real reminder that you’re sitting inside a church – the bells ring twice a day.
Holy Grounds was set up by Sam, who was previously a vicar, alongside his partner Hannah.
They and their team are making doughnuts fresh every day, using a 48-hour proving process, before transforming them into a monthly-rotating selection of flavours.
This month’s specials at Holy GroundsThe selection of Holy Grounds doughnuts in WiganA peach and almond doughnut, and an OGHoly Grounds stands in the churchyard of Wigan Parish ChurchFreshly-made doughnuts and coffee in Wigan
This month’s flavours include The OG, peach and almond, chocolate cornflakes, and blackberry and white chocolate.
Holy Grounds serves speciality coffee from Clifton Coffee Roasters in Bristol, making the doughnut-and-coffee combination feel less like a quick sugar hit and more like a proper little ritual.
A beautiful old building, fresh doughnuts, excellent coffee and church bells ringing overhead?
We’re not saying we’ve found heaven, but we’re definitely getting closer.
Huge Manchester street food event postponed amid severe weather
Daisy Jackson
A big food festival that was set to take place in Manchester this weekend has been postponed due to the severe storm warning.
GRUB at The Club, which is set to celebrate 11 years of the street food heavyweights, was meant to be taking place at Fairfield Social club this weekend.
The brilliant GRUB team had planned two nights of great food and DJs to celebrate their birthday, with free birthday cake for the first 50 people through the door on Friday night.
But as Manchester is battered by basically more rain than we’ve seen all summer, organisers have made the decision to postpone the event for now.
Remember when it felt like Manchester would always be sunny, dry and warm? Those days are over, my friend.
There’s a yellow weather warning for thunderstorms today, then a forecast that features a bit more rain than we’d like for a bank holiday.
GRUB have said that this severe storm forecast has made it ‘impossible’ for the event to go ahead as planned, as they prioritise the safety and enjoyment of everyone on site.
They’ve said that the event will be rearranged to take place in September, with the exact date announced very soon.
GRUB posted: “Due to the severe storm forecast this week we’ve made the difficult decision to postpone the event. The safety and enjoyment of our guests, traders and team always comes first and this weekend’s weather makes it impossible for us to go ahead as planned.
“We’re gutted. This one meant a lot to us and we know it did to you too. But GRUB At The Club is not cancelled! It’s coming back in September and we cannot wait to do this properly. Keep your eyes peeled for the new date announcement coming very soon
“The launch of FSC’s brand new pizza menu is also being pushed back. But not for long! That one’s coming very soon and trust us, it’ll be worth the wait.
“Thank you for your understanding and sorry for any inconvenience caused. We’ll see you soon.”
Keep an eye on GRUB’s Instagram for the rescheduled dates.
Georgina Pellant -
5th November 2021 
