One of Manchester’s most beloved micropubs has announced its permanent closure, with a heartbreaking farewell letter plastered to its shutters.
The Ancoats Lad said that it had been ‘a tough two years with that clown in No 10’, which made the decision to ‘say goodbye to Oldham Street’ easier.
A lengthy laminated note taped to its frontage shared the gut-wrenching reasons behind its decisions to close for good.
Signed by landlord Phil Bell as well as Jackie, Anne, Nicola, Michelle and Diane, the note says that their relationships with their customers have given them the ‘greatest joy and our greatest pain’, paying tribute to some close friends who have sadly died in recent years.
A heartbreaking farewell for the pub. Credit: The Manc Group
They wrote: “We have lost some exceptional people in the last few years, my close pal Stevie Poyning being just one of them and then our beautiful vivacious Anne (Jackies partner in crime) died last week.
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“When this happens you really do rethink your life.”
The note also said: “We are getting closer to ‘Gods waiting room’ and we need to spend a few years doing our own thing.”
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The Ancoats Lad, which is nestled in a tiny unit next to Gulliver’s pub, added that it was proud to have ‘encouraged awkwardness’.
They wrote: “It was never a PC Bar it never went ‘woke’, we encouraged awkwardness, our customers were old school.
Although the pub has only been open since 2016 – nearly two of which were spent in Covid restrictions – Phil’s family has owned businesses in the city since the 19th century, including pubs, pet shops and hairdressers.
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“We were and are Ancoats through and through,” he wrote.
“Ancoats will be forever, the new people are the same as us older ones, they just have different values, oh and shiny new buildings and posh bars and restaurants ‘we didnt’.”
The full heartbreaking note posted at The Ancoats Lad pub. Credit: The Manc Group
Its final paragraph reads: “To all our friends who enjoyed the Lad we will leave you with this.
“Sometimes saying goodbye means quitting something you’re good at. Saying goodbye sometimes can be so difficult especially with all that we’ve been through along with everything we felt about you….
“The memories that we made, all the fun we found, looking back on those years will always make us both sad and glad, in equal measures. The past is where we met, and where we rekindled old friendships, we went back into that wonderful world that we grew up in and lived and loved in.
“The future is where we are all going, who truthfully knows what tomorrow may hold. But please always remember you were part of our lives and we will miss you ‘Moving on is a simple thing, what it leaves behind is really hard’.
Passengers warned of ‘disruption’ ahead of more Bee Network bus strikes this weekend
Emily Sergeant
Bus services across Greater Manchester will be disrupted later this weekend as drivers from two companies stage strike action.
In what is the latest chapter in a long-running dispute, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) says it has had confirmation that staff from two operators, Stagecoach and Metroline, will go ahead with further planned strikes this weekend.
If this is the first you’re hearing of the upcoming industrial action, 2,000 workers who were employed by Stagecoach, Metroline Manchester, and First Bus Rochdale – each of which are firms among those that make up the bus part of the Bee Network – walked out in a number of co-ordinated strikes earlier this month amid an ongoing pay dispute.
Unite the Union said each of the firms are ‘highly profitable’ and it’s therefore ‘disappointing’ that workers are being denied a fair wage.
In this case, Unite has confirmed that drivers at First have called off further action after voting to accept a revised pay offer.
Passengers are being warned of ‘disruption’ ahead of more Bee Network bus strikes this weekend / Credit: TfGM
However, both Stagecoach and Metroline staff have opted to proceed with strike action onFriday 10 October, Saturday 11 October, and Monday 13 October.
This means that around 190 services, including some dedicated school buses, will not run on strike days, and TfGM is therefore advising everyone to ‘check before they travel’ and allow extra time to make their journey.
Bus services in Tameside, Trafford, and Stockport are not expected to run, and some services in South Manchester, parts of the city centre, and Rochdale will also be impacted.
Many bus services will continue to run ‘as usual’, however, and this includes services such as the Free Bus in Manchester city centre, as well as the majority of buses in Bolton, Bury, Salford, and Wigan.
The strikes are the latest in an ongoing dispute over pay / Credit: TfGM
“While we are pleased that planned industrial action by First staff has been called off, we encourage Stagecoach, Metroline, and Unite to continue discussions to avert further strike action,” commented Danny Vaughan, who is the Chief Network Officer at TfGM.
“We’ll continue to keep passengers informed and support them to make journeys wherever possible. We encourage everyone to check the latest status of their service before they travel, leave plenty of time for their journey and to get in touch if they have any questions.”
Unite has indicated that further industrial action will also happen on Saturday 18, Thursday 23 and Friday 24 October.
This action could still take place, if pay negotiations are not concluded.
Featured Image – TfGM
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First vendors confirmed Glossop Market Hall, including two indie Manc traders
Danny Jones
The first vendors for the upcoming Glossop Market Hall have been announced, and the lineup includes two beloved Greater Manchester independent businesses.
Better still, the third is another noteworthy name from the North West.
Glossop Market Hall is scheduled to launch later this year, setting up shop in the historic town hall complex, where the High Peak Borough Council, a retail shopping arcade and various other municipal buildings have stood in various different iterations for nearly well over a century.
With the Derbyshire town set to celebrate the opening of the newly revamped market hall, those behind the new Glossop attraction have now revealed the first three names set to take up residence there.
As you can see, the biggest names already signed on to cook from one of the six kitchens is a Manchester favourite food hall in its own right: Hello Oriental.
The Pan-Asian paradise not only has a subterranean space below Circle Square, but also at The Trafford Centre, as well as a dessert spin-off in Freight Island.
Indie trader number two comes in the form of B&V Trading, who are based at Stanley Square in Sale and specialise in eco-friendly, UK-made treats, toys and essentials for four-legged friends.
After proving a hit with the locals, their small stall at nearby Altrincham Market has grown to see them open up not just a second site in the leafy Cheshire suburbs of Knutsford back in 2022, but now boast a third location in neighbouring Macclesfield.
Speaking of Macc, local gin and whisky makers, Forest Distillery – based up at the famous Cat and Fiddle Inn pub towards the Peaks – they round out the first wave of regional businesses set to pop up in Glossop Market Hall (GMH) when it finally arrives this winter.
And once again, as the update on social media reads: “This is just the beginning”.
Natives, day-trippers and tourists from all over are bound to visit this place when it opens sometime in November (exact date still TBC), and with space not only for a dedicated bar, dining space and a coffee shop, but a total of 17 retail spaces, we can’t wait to see what comes next.
GMH becomes just the latest among a growing trend of food and drink halls popping up all over our part of the country, with virtually every Greater Manchester borough now boasting at least one of their own – or, in the city centre’s case, what feels like a dozen now.
Exhibit number… not sure, we’ve lost track at this point.
Daisy Jackson -
2nd February 2022 
