Manchester

Matalan release special Alder Hey Christmas pyjamas

The campaign this year, Together for Alder Hey, is raising money for the Surgical Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

The Manc The Manc - 29th September 2021

Exciting news, this year’s Matalan charity campaign with Alder Hey Children’s Hospital Charity is here and it’s for an amazing cause…

The campaign this year, Together for Alder Hey, is raising money for the Surgical Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Alder Hey Children’s Hospital have designed an innovative facility, packed with technology and thoughtful enhancements to give neonatal babies and their families the best environment to thrive.

The building will be equipped with private, comfortable rooms where families can stay with their babies while receiving expert care from clinicians.

This will be the first unit of its kind in the UK, and charitable support will help provide enhancements and equipment for both the clinical space and family areas, elevating it to a truly world class facility that helps families with the most vulnerable babies.

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Neonatal babies undergoing emergency surgery need the love and care of their family more than ever, and along with Matalan’s awesome new pyjama range, there are loads of different ways you can help.

Your help makes a huge difference. Text ALDERHEY to 70085 to donate £5. Texts cost £5 plus one standard rate message.

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You can also help the cause by shopping the collection on Matalan’s website here.

Show your support and tag Matalan in your family PJ snaps using the hashtag #TogetherForAlderHey.

Manchester

Meet the couple who quit their jobs to sell sandwiches from their Northern Quarter flat

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

If you’re a fan of things in bread (and honestly, who isn’t) then there’s a new Italian sandwich dealer in town that you absolutely need to get down your neck.

Serving up some of the best butties we’ve had in a long time, it’s called Ad Maiora and is being run by a couple who are making absolutely everything out of a kitchen in their little Manchester flat.

Collected from a nondescript door on a Norther Quarter back street, we’re talking giant focaccia-style loaves generously stuffed with premium ingredients like ‘nduja, spicy Tuscan sausage, smoked scamorza, mortadella, burrata and red pesto.

The brainchild of Sardinian couple Daniela Steri and Enrico Pinna, all of their sandwiches are made using only top quality Italian ingredients with a total of nine different options to choose from.

From the vegan-friendly La Nonna (Italian hummus, roasted aubergine, olives, sundried tomatoes and rocket) to a huge array of different cheesy and meaty delights, fillings include parma ham, gorgonzola DOP, truffled brie, Milano salami and crumbled pistachios.

Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats

Their bread is baked freshly by hand each morning using a tiny domestic oven, and they’re already baking up to 60 loaves of schiacciata (a traditional Tuscan flatbread) a day to keep up with the demand – putting just four in the oven at a time, over and over again.

Read more: This Manchester pub is hosting an all-you-can-eat Valentine’s cheese night

On our visit, the pair tell us that they moved over from Sardinia to the UK six years ago and first tried living in London for a year (they say they hated it) before making the move up to Manchester.

In that time, they say they’ve fallen in love with the city of Manchester and with the Northern Quarter in particular.

Inspired by the brilliant food scene in their area, two months ago they both decided to pack in their jobs and pursue their own business instead – and haven’t looked back since.

Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats

Previously, Daniela tells us she’d worked at hotel Dakota in housekeeping for three years whilst her partner, Enrico, had been employed at Ezra and Gil. Despite their hospitality experience, though, neither of them had made bread before.

That doesn’t seem to be holding them back, though, and demand for their sandwiches is rocketing as word spreads about the new homemade Italian butties for sale on a Manchester backstreet.

Read more: Northern Belle in Manchester – one of the world’s most luxurious trains with £440 tickets and seven-course dinners on board

Available to order via Deliveroo for collection or delivery, use the code ADMAIORA5 to get a cheeky five pounds off your order courtesy of The Manc.

Feature image – The Manc Eats

Manchester

Northern Belle in Manchester – one of the world’s most luxurious trains with £440 tickets and seven-course dinners on board

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson

A luxury train journey costing £440 per ticket, where passengers walk a red carpet to board, will depart from Manchester this year.

A ride on board the Northern Belle often includes a seven-course dinner, champagne, and on-board entertainment.

The prestigious train, rated by Conde Nast as one of the top 10 in the world, has seven Pullman carriages, each one decorated by master craftsmen in a 1930s-style.

It’s a seriously luxurious experience, with tickets costing anywhere between £295 and £695 per person – which, to be fair, isn’t even that much more than a last-minute ticket on an Avanti train to London…

Trips promise to take in some of the most scenic stretches of Britain’s railways.

The Spirit of Travel lunch departs from Manchester Victoria and snakes its way past Rochdale, Hebden Bridge and Brighouse.

On board, passengers sink into plush armchairs with crisp white tablecloths on the tables between them.

On board the Northern Belle. Credit: Facebook, Northern Belle

Within minutes, liveried stewards crack open the champagne and guests get a chance to browse the menu created by celebrated chef Matthew Green.

As passengers are whisked through the British countryside, seven fine dining courses are served to their tables, alongside complementary fine wine chosen by Northern Belle’s own sommelier.

Condé Nast Traveller magazine named it in the top 10 train journeys in the world, beating the iconic Flying Scotsman.

They wrote: “It’s all about the food – and the scenery, but mostly about the food – on this lovingly-restored train which zig-zags its way across the countryside.

“The meal services are exquisite, offering fine dining crafted mostly from UK suppliers so you can enjoy classic British fare as the heaths, meadows and dales roll on by.”

Read more

There are two different journeys on the Northern Belle that will depart from Manchester Victoria in the coming months.

One is the aforementioned The Spirit of Travel Lunch on Friday 21 April, priced at £375 per passenger.

Then on the same day is the Laurent-Perrier Champagne Lunch, with a menu from Matthew Green again but with Laurent Perrier champagne served to couples on board.

Northern Belle’s website says: “So relax in your elegant surroundings and gaze out the picture window, watching the passing scenery unfold and contemplating the gastronomic journey ahead.”

Viral train enthusiast Francis Bourgeois recently rode on board the Northern Belle, sharing his experience to his massive social media audience.

He showed off the full menu as well as all the treats passengers are given in the goody bag included in the price.

You can browse Northern Belle’s upcoming journeys and book your tickets here.

Featured image: Northern Belle

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