After climbing into the backseat of a taxi, the type of driver you’ve drawn becomes clear very quickly.
Seconds after the car pulls away, you’ll realise whether the person behind the wheel will dictate the entire journey and choose the roads themselves, or ask you which route you’d prefer to take to your destination.
But one particularly unlucky passenger in a Manchester Uber this weekend found themselves in the company of a very different driver: One that favoured shortcuts over road signs.
Ignoring a closed road warning, this taxi driver proceeded to plough onwards down a Manchester road only to find the sign had been put up for a very good reason.
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Driving below an underpass, the car was soon submerged up to its headlights in floodwater.
Ultimately, the taxi driver was forced to abandon the journey and the vehicle – as everyone inside was forced to climb out through the windows.
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An image of the vehicle bobbing along in murky water was posted to Reddit on Saturday (August 7) and was greeted with bewilderment and hilarity in equal measure.
“Are you going to give him a tip?” one user joked.
“Yeah,” came the reply.
“Don’t drive through floods.”
Manchester
Manchester’s epic club night La Discothèque to take over AO Arena with huge lineup this summer
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s most epic club nights is taking things up a notch and heading to the AO Arena this summer.
The global super glam party legends have announced a fully-flamboyant, flamingo-esque festival of disco starring a truly show-stopping lineup.
Famed for throwing immersive disco and house parties, and normally a resident over at the equally iconic – but much smaller and more intimate – Albert Hall, you can expect La Discothèque to be just as heavy on the confetti, feathers, and sequins as it usually is when it takes over Manchester‘s massive AO Arena in June.
If the hugely-popular club night wasn’t already known for its unrivalled production as it is, The Disco Arena will be even bigger and better than ever before.
The legendary La Discothèque 22-piece orchestra will perform at the AO Arena live for the first time, featuring Barbara Tucker and Anita Ward, alongside other major acts such as the former ladies of The Supremes and Norman Jay’s Good Times Band.
Manchester’s epic club night La Discothèque is taking over AO Arena this summer / Credit: Supplied
You can also expect to catch the House Gospel Choir, and Disco Voix featuring Jenna G, as well as a tribute to legend Donna Summer by The Feel Good Choir.
A very special guest is also soon to be announced, so make sure to keep your eyes peeled.
La Discothèque is taking to the AO Arena stage on Friday 6 June 2025, and tickets are ready to go on sale from this week.
The mega lineup includes some huge names / Credit: Supplied
There’ll first be two separate pre-sales, a Three pre-sale on Thursday 20 March from 10am, followed by the AO Arena’s own venue pre-sale this Friday (21 March) also from 10am, before general sale tickets go live next Monday 24 March, again from 10am.
New Almost Famous owners praised for ‘honest’ statement about burger joint
Daisy Jackson
The new owners of Almost Famous have released a lengthy statement addressing the legendary burger joint’s shock closure and sudden reopening.
The statement touches on everything from hiring back old teams to reopening those remaining venues that didn’t survive the takeover.
And this ‘transparent and honest communication’ has earned them a wave of praise from fans, who say it’s a ‘breath of fresh air’.
In their statement shared a week after reopening Almost Famous, D2 – the company behind PINS Social Club bowling bar in Liverpool – addressed plenty of the rumours and noise surrounding the high-profile closure.
“No, it wasn’t a publicity stunt,” they stressed, adding: “It wasn’t a pre-planned takeover – we saw the news at the same time everyone else and acted quickly.”
Addressing the staff who were made redundant when former Almost Famous operator Beautiful Drinks shut the brand down, D2 assured followers that they have ‘hired as many of the old team as we could’.
And as for their outstanding wages, they added: “We moved heaven and earth to get them a pay check in February as we knew they hadn’t been paid since December.
Food at Almost Famous since D2’s takeover of the legendary burger brand. Credit: The Manc Group
“It was really important to be able to reopen the venues quickly – we wanted to get staff back into their jobs and keep the existing suppliers -otherwise it wouldn’t have been the same brand we all loved, would it?
“If we hadn’t been able to reopen at the speed that we did – then the existing teams would have had to look at new jobs and we’d have risked losing brilliant people. If you don’t believe us ask them.”
When D2 took over Almost Famous, they had initially toyed with the idea of having it as the food operator in its PINS Social Club, but instead swiftly reopened the restaurants in the Northern Quarter and in Liverpool – though its Leeds and Great Northern sites never got back to slinging burgers.
On that, they said: “Leeds – we’ve not forgotten you. Ideally we’d have all four sites reopen now but the lease agreements were more complicated for Leeds and Great Northern. We had to prioritise the sites we knew we’d be able to save and we’re hoping that we’ll be able to look for new sites soon.”
Since sharing their statement on Instagram, Almost Famous has been flooded with praise from customers for their honest take.
One person wrote: “Great to read such an open and transparent statement about everything, especially regarding the old staff, and their pay, the staff at the NQ have always been one of the reasons I’ve kept visiting anytime I’m up in Manchester.
“I’m looking forward to making a visit at the end of the month when I’m up in the city for an overnight stay.”
Another commented: “This is awesome! I love how upfront and honest you have been with all of this. Taking the OG team back too – more businesses need to take this lead! Good luck with your amazing future, I’ll be bobbing in to get my AF fix ASAP.”
And someone else said: “This is honestly such a positive sign. The fact you’re being completely transparent is a breath of fresh air – I had no idea the previous owners hadn’t paid their staff. I really hope the Leeds branch opens again.”
The Manc -
9th August 2021 
