A bar in the centre of Manchester is giving away free pies and pints this Friday to celebrate the start of the Easter long weekend.
Turning Good Friday into ‘Good Pie-Day’, accessible archway theatre bar 53Two has teamed up with award-winning Bolton pie makers H.M. Pasties and Manchester-made Brightside beer to kick start the Bank Holiday in style.
From 5.30pm this Friday, the team will be giving away free food and drink to the first 50 people through 53Two’s doors.
There’ll be something for everybody, with vegan-friendly bottles and cans provided by Manchester brewery Brightside and a choice of different pie fillings courtesy of H.M Pasties – who ust won the overall vegan category for their chickpea curry pasty at the British Pie Awards last month.
If you’ve not yet made it down to this quirky little indie theatre bar with its baby grand piano, upcycled furniture and cosy book-lined nooks, well, we think a free pie and pint offers the perfect excuse.
A relative newcomer to Manchester’s bar scene, arts charity 53Two opened its doors under the city’s railway arches last summer and has made waves in improving Manchester‘s reputation for accessibility by training all of its staff in basic sign language skills.
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The team here can take orders and explain the menu to hearing-impaired guests, whilst tactile card reader pads have been installed for partially sighted customers, and all of the bar tables are designed at a level that allows wheelchairs to fit underneath comfortably
There’s also a lowered bar space and till for wheelchair access, making the new bar and arts hub one of the most accessible venue in Manchester by a mile.
And as well as operating as a theatre bar, 53Two also runs an ‘artists members club’ – meaning that, after 11pm, those working in the cultural sector are able to enter via a secret ‘members entrance’ for a late night post-work drink.
It also hosts a range of events in its second archway and, as a charity, supports diversity and gender equality in the arts, so know that when you spend your money here it’s going to a good place.
To find out more about 53Two and its various comedy, theatre and music nights, live podcasts and quizzes, visit its website here.
Feature image – 53Two
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Police are trying to track down the family of a man who died after being found unresponsive outside the Palace Theatre in Manchester.
The man, who has now been named as Jonathan Bernard Carroll, was seen outside the city centre theatre at around 6.30am on Tuesday 12 November.
Emergency services rushed to the scene and Mr Carroll was taken to hospital.
Tragically, the 47-year-old passed away a short time later.
A large cordon was in place on Whitworth Street and Oxford Road while police and security attended the incident.
Greater Manchester Police are now appealing to find his next of kin.
It’s believed that he resided in the Salford area of Greater Manchester.
Anyone with any information should contact the Coroner’s Office on 0161 856 1376.
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Locals are being urged to help get hundreds of people “off the streets and back on their feet” this festive season.
As the temperatures told colder by the day, and Christmas creeps closer and closer, Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity is bringing back ‘1000 Beds for Christmas’, and the massively-important initiative is aiming to provide 1,000 nights of accommodation to people at risk of homelessness before the big day arrives.
Forming part of the ongoing ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme, this festive fundraising mission is designed to provide food, shelter, warmth, and dedicated vital wrap-around support for those who need it most.
The charity says it wants to build on the “incredible success of 2023”, which raised more than £55,000 and provided 1,800 nights of accommodation.
Stockport-based property finance specialists, Together – which has supported the campaign for the last two years – has, once again, generously pledged to match every public donation for the first £20,000 raised.
Unfamiliar with the ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme? Since 2017, when rough sleeping peaked, the initiative has helped ensure a significantly-higher rate of reduction in the numbers of people facing a night on streets in Greater Manchester than seen nationally.
The landmark scheme has given people the chance to rebuild their lives, while also giving them access to key services and opportunities that allows them to stay off the streets for good.
Despite the scheme’s recent success, organisations across Greater Manchester are under “a huge amount of pressure” to meet the demand for their services this winter, and given the current economic outlook, household budgets will continue to be squeezed – leaving people on the sharp end of inequality and poverty.