She’s as much of a landmark in Manchester as the Central Library, or Beetham Tower, or the Royal Exchange Theatre – but now Tram Taylor’s days are numbered. Thankfully, we’ve got our hands on her, and she could soon be yours.
The cardboard cut-out of Taylor Swift has been watching over commuters in Castlefield for years, bringing a little bit of joy (and bemusement) to tram journeys around the city.
Now it’s time for her owners to pack up and move out of Manchester for a new chapter in Sheffield, leaving Tram Taylor behind – and she’s come to live with us lot here at The Manc for a bit.
We’re going to be auctioning this legendary figure off for charity, raising money in aid of Mermaids, a phenomenal charity that supports transgender, nonbinary and gender-diverse children, young people, and their families.
It’s a cause we’re proud to throw our full weight behind, while finding a deserving new home for Tram Taylor in the process, and 100% of the money raised through the auction with Adam Partridge Auctioneers will go to Mermaids.
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Tram Taylor’s big day out with The Manc before she’s auctioned in aid of Mermaids. Credit: The Manc Group
And anyone who’s worried about how this will change their daily trip to work, you can relax – comedian Red Redmond, who has owned the cut-out since 2017, has already replaced her with a look-a-like.
Red told us: “It’s not every day you find out you have a piece of cultural heritage in your window. In 2017 she was just a leftover cardboard cutout at a club night I worked at. Now in 2023 Tram Taylor is a citywide icon.
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“I’m very sad to part ways with something that means so much to so many people. Hopefully her replacement will be accepted by her fans.
“We are so grateful for the love and support we have received on social media. It felt only fair that we would continue the good will by auctioning off the original Tram Taylor to a worthy cause.
Tram Taylor in the pub with The Manc. Credit: The Manc GroupTram Taylor in her temporary home at The Manc. Credit: The Manc Group
“Mermaids is an amazing charity who do fantastic work for trans children and their families. Following the recent tragic murder of Brianna Ghey, I think it’s more important than ever to support the transgender community and show that love is always stronger than hate.”
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A spokesperson for Mermaids said: “Mermaids is extremely thankful for Red Redmond’s decision to choose us as the recipient of the proceeds of the Trams Taylor auction. As a youth organisation specialising in providing invaluable support to trans, non-binary, and gender-diverse young people and their families, in what is a particularly toxic time for our community, the funds will go towards expanding our services and reach, to ensure we are there for everyone who needs us.
“We’re glad Red Redmond and Adam Partridge Auctioneers share our passion to protect trans kids’ futures, and we hope Tram Taylor finds a wonderful home!”
The Tram Taylor auction is now live with Adam Partridge, with 100% of proceeds being donated to Mermaids. Stay tuned for updates and how to bid for this piece of modern history.
A fancy new pizzeria has opened in Manchester serving posh pizzas and seasonal sharing plates
Clementine Hall
If you’ve ever wanted a pizza with smoked eel on, then you’re in luck.
Introducing Proloco, the brand spanking new restaurant from chef Richard Carver, founder of Honest Crust Sourdough Pizza, and Dan Hope, co-founder of Manchester club Rainy Heart.
Located in One Port Street over in Ancoats, this isn’t your bog standard pizzeria – this is lavish.
Here you’ll find a weekly rotating selection of 18-inch pizzas and sharing plates all made with the very best local produce imaginable.
Forget your bog standard pepperoni slice, on the menu here you’ll find a porchetta pizza with shishito peppers and Cornish kern, a charred greens pizza with sugar snap peas and anchovies, and our personal favourite – a smoked eel pie with lemon basil and pine nuts.
There’s also a tomato butter pie, which features slithers of butter in place of your usual mozzarella.
And if you just can’t decide, you can have your pizza as a half-and-half of flavours.
Sharing plates include tomatoes with lardo, roasted beetroot and a crispy egg with mortadella and fennel.
A half-and-half pizzaBeautiful interiors of ProlocoThe butter pie pizzaSmall plates, wine, and £7 negroniProloco opens on Great Ancoats Street in AugustScoops of homemade gelatoProloco’s open kitchenThe eel pizza at Proloco
A real selling point, though, is the £7 negroni alongside a selection of honest wine and carefully chosen beer from local suppliers as well as an aperitivo list.
The interior is simple, but beautiful – a colour palette of butter yellow, blue, and huge burgundy speakers to match the chairs that invite you to sit at long banquet-worthy tables or in front of the many windows.
Richard will be calling on his longstanding relationships with producers across the North West (and beyond) for his ingredients, from flour grown and milled in the Lake District, vegetables from Cinderwood Market Garden and Organic North, artisanal charcuterie and cheeses from Somerset, and the best tomatoes and oil from Italy.
He said: “Proloco is about cooking food I genuinely love with the best people and produce around me.
“I want it to feel effortless – warm, a little bit fun, and always worth coming back to.”
Proloco will officially open its doors on Great Ancoats Street on Wednesday 26 August.
Team behind award-winning cocktail bar Stray to open second Manchester bar
Daisy Jackson
The team behind Manchester’s award-winning cocktail bar Stray have announced a second bar is on the way.
Bar Dos will be an all-new neighbourhood bar, promising to be the ‘tearaway younger sibling’ of Stray.
You can expect everything from pints of Stella to refined cocktails, plus DJs all weekend long.
Set to open very soon, with a September launch pencilled into our diaries already, Bar Dos will be joining a couple of other big names in a new building on Great Ancoats Street.
They’ll count Proloco and Osma as neighbours once all three ventures are up and running this year.
Stray first opened at Mackie Mayor back in 2023, and shot into the UK’s Top 50 Cocktail Bars just over a year later.
Bar Dos will open in Manchester in SeptemberBar Dos is the second site for Stray
There, it occupies a beautiful corner unit with huge windows, and an outside terrace, perfect for sipping on their best-selling cocktails like their tomato vine margarita and their Fanta Limon (a boozy version of everyone’s favourite balcony tipple).
Now ready to launch a second site, the team will soon open Bar Dos, which will be a late-night, music-focused neighbourhood bar.
DJs already announced, along with renowned artists who have curated playlists, include Space Afrika, Chunky, Private Joy, Konnie Kon of Children of Zeus, and Stray residents Rhod Parry and Stu Richards.
Bar Dos will open on Great Ancoats Street this September.
Daisy Jackson -
1st April 2023 
