Provence, Spinningfields’ new all-day wine bar and coffee house has revealed its new one-of-a-kind festive tipple, spiced mulled orange wine, guaranteed to be the hottest trend (and drink on the menu) this winter.
The summer go to, has been reimagined and is now served piping hot, with an infusion of classic festive flavours like star anise, clove, cinnamon and orange zest, for £6 per glass.
Accompanying the new tipple is the launch of a brand-new bottomless festive wine brunch priced at £35 per person, available to book from 12pm – 3pm every Saturday throughout December and January.
With 90 minutes of unlimited wine (bonus: there’s a selection of up to eight wines to choose from), prosecco, beer and orange mulled wine, in addition to sharing charcuterie boards complete with a variety of cheese, meats and vegetarian options – as well as mince pies from local artisan bakery, The Flat Baker.
Image: Supplied
Image: Supplied
If you fancy singing whilst sipping, the new wine bar, which launched with a fun approach to wine, is also offering private festive bottomless ‘wine-oke’ experiences for 6 to 11 people in the bar’s secret downstairs space, ‘The Cellar’, with the unlimited bottomless drinks offering and grazing boards for 90 minutes and you guessed it – karaoke for £35 per person.
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And for those who fancy a night in, from Wednesday 14 December, Provence, is launching ‘wine on wheels’ via Deliveroo, where you can select from 80 bottled wines and ‘store items’ including cocktails, beers, olives, crisps, chocolate and Northern Cure charcuterie, as well as festive wine hampers delivered straight to your door.
Equally, if Christmas gifting is on your mind, ‘top-up’ cards for Provence’s in-house ‘wine jukebox’ are available to purchase in-store, where you can gift loved ones the opportunity to sample eight rotational premium wines by the glass (normally available only by the bottle), in addition to digital vouchers which can be purchased online to spend on all Provence experiences.
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Image: Supplied
Image: Supplied
Anthony Ellis, founder of Provence said:“We have a slightly different approach to wine at Provence, we like to bring fun to what we do, through our no-nonsense style.
“Which is why we’ve created our one-of-a-kind orange mulled wine and taken a festive fun approach to reinvent Christmas classics.
“Our wine-oke experience which launch in October, has been extremely popular, and what’s not to love than wine and karaoke with good friends this Christmas.”
Heaton Park announces death of its two donkeys following ‘complex’ health and age-related issues
Emily Sergeant
Heaton Park has made the devastating announcement that two more of its beloved donkeys have sadly passed away.
“It is with great sadness that today we announce the passing of Bonnie and Josh, our beloved donkeys, following advice of a vet and The Donkey Sanctuary who visited our Animal Centre,” Heaton Park & Hall announced on its official social platforms at the end of last week.
The death of Bonnie and Josh comes after two of the park’s other donkeys, Ralph and Lenny, also sadly passed away in June and October of last year, respectively.
Both donkeys were born at Heaton Park, and had been steady companions for each other over the last three decades.
Heaton Park announces death of its two donkeys following ‘complex’ health and age-related issues / Credit: Heaton Park & Hall
Josh managed to reach 29, and Bonnie an incredible 33 years of age before passing, and considering that The Donkey Sanctuary says the average life expectancy for a donkey is just over 30, reaching this age was said to be a ‘significant achievement’ for all who cared for Bonnie and Josh.
However in their later years though, both Bonnie and Josh were living with ‘complex’ health and age-related issues.
Ultimately, these complications were what led to them passing away last week.
“They were such kind and gentle souls, and this loss will be felt deeply by all staff, past and present, alongside our visitors,” Heaton Park’s statement continued.
Heaton Park staff closed out their statement thanking everyone who has ever visited the donkeys over the past couple of decades, and particularly the Donkey Welfare Advisers at The Donkey Sanctuary who have supported them and their donkey herd, especially in recent years.
Northern Quarter institution announces store closure after almost 20 years
Daisy Jackson
Thunder Egg, a Northern Quarter institution, has announced its sad closure after almost two decades in the neighbourhood.
The boutique gift shop and fashion retailer is known for its colourful, kitsch and quirky products, whether you’re after some bold knitwear or some statement costume jewellery.
Brands stocked here include loads of different British brands, like Daisy Street clothing, Ohh Deer art prints, and Little Moose jewellery.
As the Northern Quarter has changed rapidly on all sides, Thunder Egg has been a constant ever since its launch onto Oldham Street in 2018.
When it opened, its neighbours included Dry Bar, Magma, and a lot of adult-only sex shops – all of which have now closed for good.
And now Thunder Egg will also be bidding farewell to its flagship store in the Northern Quarter (though you’ll still be able to shop their collections inside Afflecks and online).
In a statement shared online, Thunder Egg said that the ‘considerable rise in interest’ from large retail names moving into the Northern Quarter would drive rents so high that the increase would be ‘too big to swallow’.
Thunder Egg will be closing its Northern Quarter flagship store
They also cited ‘rocketing’ business rates, plus ‘relentless’ theft, and increasing online competition from cheap retailers.
Thunder Egg said that with their lease coming to an end this year, the time is right to depart.
They wrote: “We would like to take this opportunity to thank every single person, from customers to past & present staff, for making the last 2 decades in this location so magical!
“We are devastated to be leaving this space, but you can read more about why we’ve made the decision to on the 2nd image. We have nothing but fond memories here.”
Explaining the closure of their flagship store, they added: “It is with great sadness that we are announcing that our current flagship branch of Thunder Egg on Oldham Street will be closing after 20 years.
“Our current lease was coming to an end this year and surviving as a small independent business in the UK is HARD right now.
You can still shop Thunder Egg in Afflecks
“There has been a considerable rise in interest from large national & international retail names for shop spaces in the Northern Quarter in recent years. The proposed rent increase that would come with renewing our lease here was just too big to swallow this time.
“Business rates are rocketing, theft is relentless, competition from cheap online retailers is growing… all of the above combined together to push us into our decision to depart.”
Thunder Egg is set to remain open for at least the next couple of months, with no official closing date announced just yet – so get down to Oldham Street and show them some love.
Georgina Pellant -
12th December 2022 
