Manchester dive bar Bunny Jackson’s is bringing all the chicken goodness to First Street this summer with its new 40ft long Winnebago ‘chicken bus’.
The site is already fabled amongst fried chicken fans for its 20p wings, which can be ordered dry or slathered in a range of mouthwatering sauces.
Not content with that, it’s now upping the ante for the summer season, taking its chicken on the road – or at least, out onto the First Street estate – with a giant new Winnebago set up, complete with deck chairs, loungers, and baskets full of those famous wings.
Offering plenty of outdoor seating as well as a big screen showing sports fixtures ‘til late, the new Bunny’s wing wagon is set to stay put all summer.
Inside Bunny Jackson’s new wing wagon, which is parked up for the summer on First Street. / mage: Bunny Jackson’s
Open until 10pm, if you head to the bar first you can grab a flyer to get some money off your first round – and they might even give you a cheeky free shot.
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Inside, the wing wagon’s bar is painted in white capitals spelling out ‘bad decision centre’ with a second message underneath reading ‘you really should know better’.
You’ll find the new ‘chicken bus’ parked up just a stone’s throw from the popular dive bar, which made headlines this week following a surprise late-night performance by Olivia Rodrigo.
This week, the First Street dive bar will also be the first bar in the UK to serve BuzzBallz’ ball-shaped cocktail cans, which come in six different flavours – Choc Tease, Tequila ‘Rita, Strawberry ‘Rita, Lotta Colada, Chili Mango and Espresso Martini.
Timed to coincide with the Wimbledon semi-final screening this Friday, the bar will be serving up the single-serve premixed cocktails alongside big screens showing all the sporting action.
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Image: Bunny Jackson’s
Earlier this week, the American singer hopped on stage at the bar with Bunny Jackson’s house band to deliver a rendition of Natalie Imbruglia’s 90s hit Torn, after her sold-out show at O2 Apollo.
The bar shared a video earlier this week showing the Driver’s License singer belting out Torn, much to the delight of those in the bar having a Sunday night drink.
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‘Unsettled week’ of wind, rain, and snow could greet Mancs into the new year
Thomas Melia
A mix of weather conditions could be expected to hit the north across the new year weekend – including wind, rain, and snow.
As Greater Manchester prepares to enter 2025, it looks like we’ll be bringing our usual moody weather along with us too, as starting today and running right through until the end of this week, Mancs can expect some not-so-pleasant conditions to accompany this party season.
The Met Office has described this period as ‘an unsettled week’.
While forecasters are encouraging people to keep checking for further weather updates where possible, thankfully, this turbulent spell of weather is only predicted to stick around until Thursday (2 January) – with no warnings issued for this Friday (3 January) or the weekend so far.
As we move from 2024 to 2025 the week ahead will involve plenty of rain, wind and some snow
If you have any plans over the New Year/Hogmanay period then check out all the important weather details below ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/qllOnV0cDX
In a video shared to the Met Office’s X account, the visual shows that the most severe cases of wet and windy conditions look like on New Year’s Day itself (Wednesday 1 January), where there is even some snow forecasted for certain areas.
“Almost the entire UK is covered by at least one weather warning during the coming week,” warned Andy Page, who is the Chief Forecaster at the Met Office.
He continued: “With lots of celebrations and people on the move over the coming days, we are urging everyone to keep checking the forecast so they can update their plans.”
Picturesque Greater Manchester railway granted £1.3m to restore historic viaduct
Emily Sergeant
One of Greater Manchester’s most picturesque railways has been given substantial funding to restore a historic viaduct along the line.
As part of the Government‘s wider Plan for Change, the Bury-based heritage railway, East Lancashire Railway (ELR), has been awarded more than £1.3 million in grants to carry out urgent repair work to the Higher Woodhill Viaduct – which is on the edge of Burrs Country Park, in the heart of the stunning Irwell Valley.
Repairs to the historic viaduct, which goes past the site of the former Higher Woodhill Mill, were last carried out all the way back in 1932.
But now, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has granted the funding for restoration through its ‘Community Ownership Fund’, alongside three local authorities from Bury, Rochdale, and the nearby Rossendale in Lancashire, all putting in a further £276,000 in match funding.
We’re supporting local treasures across the UK with vital funding
— Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Gov (@mhclg) December 23, 2024
Important supporters of the railway, such as members of the public and local businesses, have also added a few thousand pounds more to the project.
While inspections to the structure and safety of the viaduct are carried out on a regular basis, ELR assures, it was flagged earlier in 2024 that long-term repairs would be required to allow for the “continued level of use” of steam and heritage diesel trains along the line.
Speaking on the funding being granted, Mike Kelly, who is the Chairman of East Lancashire Railway, commented: “This is a major investment for the future and a massive vote of confidence for our dedicated volunteers and staff to help secure the railway’s infrastructure for years to come.
“Now with this fantastic news, we are able to continue running our award-winning events and services without disruption for future generations to enjoy, thanks to the generosity and support of the East Lancashire Railway Trust, our local community partners and supporters, as well as local and national politicians.”
Essential maintenance works are due to start next year in the spring.
Georgina Pellant -
7th July 2022 
