Manchester City Council has recruited the help of an uncanny Game of Thrones character lookalike to encourage residents to get their jabs ready for winter.
It’s not something you see everyday, or even at all – but a lookalike of one of the characters from the iconic and much-loved HBO fantasy drama series Game of Thrones stopped by the city last week to reminded locals that “Manchester’s Winter is coming”.
Have you guessed who it was? That’s right, Jon Snow was in town.
The lookalike legend was there to lend a hand to Manchester City Council with a campaign to boost local knowledge on COVID vaccines, boosters, and the flu jab, and all while encouraging residents to keep up with relevant testing.
The ‘King in the North’ was also keen to point out where they get help with all of this.
But, while ‘Jon’ was in the city, he was also sure to make the most of the walk-in vaccination site at Manchester Town Hall, so that he too could have his COVID vaccination.
🐺❄️ Manchester’s Winter is Coming ❄️🐺
Protect yourself by getting vaccinated against Covid and flu and taking regular Covid tests.
James Martin – the actor who played the Jon Snow lookalike – explained: “I wanted to have the vaccine, so this was the perfect time and a case of life imitating art.
“It was quick and easy, and absolutely nothing to worry about.”
“This call-out to the city is so vital,” added Dr Manisha Kumar – Medical Director at Manchester Health and Care Commissioning.
“Please don’t put off having your vaccinations [as] early evidence suggests that people who get COVID and flu at the same time can be twice as likely to die [and] this can be prevented [so] we have to do everything we can so that people don’t face the prospect of serious illness, or even death.”
David Regan – Director of Public Health in Manchester – continued: “In our view, everyone is a hero who has the vaccine to look after themselves and others [as] there’s no doubt that this winter is going to be tough, with all the extra cold and respiratory viruses, flu and of course, COVID, as people are out of lockdown.”
While ‘Jon’ was in the city, he also made the most of the walk-in vaccination site at Manchester Town Hall / Credit: Manchester City Council
“I thank everyone in advance for keeping on with all those key things that can keep the the whole city safe,” he concluded.
Councillor Joanna Midgley – Executive Member for Health and Care at Manchester City Council – was also quick to point out how appropriate it was that ‘Jon Snow’ stopped by to help with the campaign, as “in terms of medicine, there is another John Snow – who was a London physician, famous for his work on anaesthesia and finding the source of a cholera outbreak in the 1800s.”
What are the chances? It was meant to be.
For more information about the vaccines on offer this winter, check out the Manchester City Council website here.
‘Dazzling’ Victorian silver sculpture goes on public display in Greater Manchester after fears it was lost
Emily Sergeant
A long-lost masterpiece of Victorian silverwork has been saved and is now on display to the public in Greater Manchester.
Anyone taking a trip over to the National Trust’s historic Dunham Massey property, on the border of Greater Manchester into Cheshire, this summer will get to see the ‘dazzling’ sculpture called Stags in Bradgate Park – which was commissioned by a former owner in a defiant gesture to the society that shunned him.
The dramatic sculpture of two rutting Red Deer stags, commissioned in 1855 by George Harry Grey, 7th Earl of Stamford, was said to be an ‘act of love and rebellion’.
It also serves as a symbol of ‘locking horns’ with the society that ostracised him over his marriage to a woman considered ‘beneath him’.
“This isn’t just silver – it’s a story,” says James Rothwell, who is the National Trust‘s curator for decorative arts.
“A story of a man who fell in love with a woman that society deemed unworthy. When the Earl married Catherine Cox, whose colourful past was said to have included performing in a circus, Victorian high society was scandalised. Even Queen Victoria shunned the couple at the opera and local gentry at the horse races in Cheshire turned their backs on them.”
Modelled by Alfred Brown and crafted by royal goldsmiths Hunt & Roskell, Stags in Bradgate Park is a meticulously-detailed depiction of nature, and was considered a ‘sensation’ in its day.
Showing the rutting deer positioned on a rocky outcrop with gnarled hollow oaks, it graced the pages of the Illustrated London News, was exhibited at the London International Exhibition of 1862, and at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1867 – both of which were events that drew millions of visitors.
A ‘dazzling’ Victorian silver sculpture has gone on public display in Greater Manchester / Credit: Joe Wainwright | James Dobson (via Supplied)
The silver centrepiece was the celebrity art of its time, paraded through streets and admired by the public like no other.
Gradually over the years, some of the Earl of Stamford’s silver collection has been re-acquired for Dunham Massey, and this particular world-renowned sculpture, thought to be lost for decades and feared to have been melted down, has miraculously survived with its ‘dramatic’ central component being all that is left.
“The sculpture is not only a technical marvel, with its lifelike depiction of Bradgate Park’s rugged landscape and wildlife, but also a dramatic human story key to the history of Dunham Massey,” added Emma Campagnaro, who is the Property Curator at Dunham Massey.
“It speaks of nature, of craftsmanship, and of a couple who chose each other over status and what others thought of them.”
The sculpture has now gone on display at Dunham Massey from Thursday 26 June.
Featured Image – James Dobson (via Supplied)
News
Lewis Capaldi announces MASSIVE comeback gig in Manchester this year
Thomas Melia
Everyone’s favourite Scottish ballad-maker, Lewis Capaldi, is heading out on tour across the UK, including a massive Manchester date.
Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi is ready to tug at our heartstrings again right in front of our eyes as he announces a new UK arena tour.
This huge announcement comes right after his surprise set at the UK’s biggest music event of the year, Glastonbury, where he made a heroic return to the Pyramid Stage just two years after being forced to pull out.
Capaldi is known for writing some of the most notable and emotive hits of the late 2010s and early 2020s, including a long list of anthems such as ‘Someone You Loved’, ‘Bruises’ and ‘Before You Go’.
His monster of a hit ‘Someone You Loved’ has surpassed 3.9 billion views and is the UK’s most-streamed song of all time, so it is safe to say that his presence has been well and truly missed.
To many fans’ delight, the singer has stepped back into the spotlight and is ready to sing his heart out live at a variety of arenas across the UK, including Co-op Live right here in Manchester.
Now, in a post on his official Instagram account announcing this upcoming UK and Ireland arena tour, it’s good to see the Scottish powerhouse hasn’t lost his wit and charm as he jokes, “About time I got back to work.”
These shows are set to be in high demand as the singer has also revealed these upcoming dates, “Will be my only shows in the UK, Ireland or Europe this year! Would love to see ya there.”
On the back of his glorious Glasto return, Capaldi has dropped a huge heart-wrencher titled ‘Survive’ which offers more insight into the struggles and challenges the singer has been facing.
There is no confirmation of whether this new single marks the launch of a bigger project or not, but we can’t wait to scream his hits at the top of our lungs, regardless of when he pays Manchester a visit later this year.
Emily Sergeant -
25th October 2021 
