Whilst for some January means resolutions, diets, and a fresh opportunity to bring vision boards to life, for others it heralds the arrival ofnew dining deals, restaurant discounts and free food.
As often happens at the start of the year Manchester’s restaurants are dishing out discounts, with a range of set menus, 50% off and 2-4-1 deals all suddenly in abundance.
But one Northern Quarter spot is going even further, by handing out £2 pints, free chicken wings, and desserts to its customers in the know throughout January.
Known for its towering dirty burgers and fried chicken plates, served under tongue-in-cheek names like The Dirty Bird and The Massive C*ck, buttermilk fried chicken thighs are very much the order of the day at Yard and Coop.
The restaurant has been a staple on Edge Street for as long as we can remember, and now we have one more reason to visit: as it has just released its very own ‘Yard card’ for 2023, with special offers running every week.
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
After kicking off the new year with £2 glasses of prosecco, this week Yard and Coop will be slashing the prices of its pints to £2 each for cardholders.
This month, staff will also be handing out free baskets of Yard and Coop’s signature wings – fried until golden in a secret house crumb, then smothered in homemade sauces like hot honey, Stateside BBQ, buffalo and ranch – as well as giving away some complimentary desserts this month.
Each week of January sees a different offer available at the fried chicken diner, with the £2 pints deal running from 9-14 January. After that, cardholders can enjoy free wings between 16-22 January, and free puddings from 21-31 January.
As well as the introduction of its new black Yard Card this month, Yard and Coop have also rolled out a small but mighty vegan menu for diners of the plant-powered persuasion.
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Created in collaboration with the team at Temple of Seitan, it consists of three vegan burger meals and a plate of pickled ‘cheese’ fries topped with salty baconnaise, melted vegan cheese, pickles and crispy and chopped onions.
Burger choices include a fully vegan reimagining of its popular Dirty Birdie BBBQ burger, made with pulled seitan chicken, tangy BBQ sauce, melted vegan cheese, crispy onion rings, seitan fried chicken and jalapeno mayo, as well as the sriracha mayo-slathered Viet’Nom burger with sweet and spicy rice noodles and a crunchy Asian slaw.
Elsewhere, you’ll also find The Bechamelt – described as ‘all kinds of extra’ by the team. Think crispy seitan fried chicken with melted vegan cheese, lettuce and onion, slathered in baconnaise and drenched in Yard and Coop’s secret recipe bechamel cheese sauce, followed by a layer of sweet scotch bonnet chili jam and a crispy onion ring.
Available all month long, to find out more, view the full menu and get your Yard Card for those cheeky freebies and savings, head over to the Yard and Coop website here.
Feature image – The Manc Eats
News
All military personnel can travel for FREE on Manchester’s public transport this weekend
Emily Sergeant
All military personnel will be allowed to travel for free across Greater Manchester’s public transport system this weekend.
In case you hadn’t heard, this Saturday 28 June is Armed Forces Day.
Armed Forces Day sees Brits celebrate those who are currently serving troops, their families, serving reservists, veterans, and cadets, and Manchester will also be paying tribute to the hundreds who have ‘fearlessly served’ with day of commemorations in the city centre on Saturday.
Mancunians are expected to line the streets as a parade made up of armed forces personnel, veterans, and cadets will begin a procession that will proudly march through the centre of Manchester, starting in St Peter’s Square at 11:30am.
Manchester will be marking Armed Forces Day 2025 this weekend with a 'poignant' military parade through the city centre. 🎖🥁
You can also expect an afternoon of live performances by the lively Lancashire Army Artillery Band, alongside music hosted by BBC Radio DJ, Michelle Dignan, up until 4pm.
Historic military displays, and stalls from organisations including the NHS, Royal British Legion, and Manchester City Council’s own Armed Forces Covenant, will also be in attendance, as well giving visitors the chance to explore an engaging display of military vehicles, uniforms, artefacts, and personal stories that span the rich legacy of the British armed forces inside a pop-up Military Museum tent.
This year’s Armed Forces Day is also particularly-special because it marks the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE Day) which happened on 8 May, and the upcoming Victory over Japan (VJ Day) on 15 August.
All military personnel can travel for free on Manchester’s public transport this weekend / Credit: GMP | Bee Network
And so, in order to honour what an important weekend it is for hundreds in our region, the Bee Network has announced that all military personnel will be allowed to travel for free.
Free travel will be permitted on all Bee Network bus and tram services on both Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 June for any members of the Regular and Reserve Services carrying their MOD90 card, veterans who carry their Veterans’ badge or Veterans’ rail card, and cadets travelling in uniform.
To mark Armed Forces Day, we're offering free travel this weekend (28-29 June) for military personnel and veterans across bus and tram services in Greater Manchester.
“The Armed Forces community makes an invaluable contribution to our society, and we’re showing our appreciation with free travel on Bee Network buses and trams across Greater Manchester this weekend,” commented Danny Vaughan, who is the Chief Network Officer at Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM).
The free travel is part of TfGM’s commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant – a promise from the nation that those who serve or have served, and their families, are treated fairly.
“It’s a special weekend and one we’re proud to get behind,” Danny concluded.
Featured Image – Janus Boye
News
Stockport paedophile jailed after ‘grooming, exploiting, and coercing’ teenage girls in early 2000s
Emily Sergeant
A prolific paedophile has been sentenced after admitting to ‘grooming, exploiting, and coercing’ teenage girls in the early 2000s.
Christopher Oates, from Stockport, has been brought to justice this week after he subjected vulnerable girls to what Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has referred to as a ‘campaign’ of violence and sexual abuse 20 years ago.
The court heard how the 45-year-old groomed one of the survivors from when she was just 14 years old, by providing her with a false sense of security, paying her compliments, and pretending to be her boyfriend, all before he proceeded to ply her with drugs, gifts, and affection, and using the trust and control he gained to persuade her to start sex work on the streets of Manchester.
When the teenage victim began to doubt his intentions and asked to go home, Oates dragged her down an alleyway, violently attacked her, and threatened her with a gun, stating: ‘You do as I say, you’re mine now,’ commanding her to go to her ‘spot’.
It was this incident that prompted the teenager to confide in her mother and support services, and from here, found the strength to move forward with her life, while still courageously supporting the police investigation.
#JAILED | Paedophile sentenced to 13 years for abusing teenage girls and committing a catalogue of crimes uncovered by detectives pic.twitter.com/yFKNtFmy6Z
— Greater Manchester Police (@gmpolice) June 26, 2025
From this investigation, detectives were then able to identify a second teenage victim, a 17-year-old, who Oates also coerced into sex work.
The two victims recall Oates taking them to a designated spot in central Manchester at least once a week to carry out sex acts in cars for money.
Oates would supply both victims with cocaine and alcohol, and even pressured them to take crack cocaine and heroin, aiming to build an addiction and increase their dependency on him.
In April 2024, Oates pleaded guilty to two counts of making indecent images of children, taking indecent images of children, and attempting to engage a child in sexual communication, as well as pleading to the production of cannabis and two counts of possessing an identity document with improper intent.
After being remanded into custody, on 5 September 2024, Oates was postal charged with possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, three counts of engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged 13-15 years old, and two counts causing / inciting a child aged 13-17 years to prostitution.
A paedophile from Stockport has been jailed after ‘grooming, exploiting, and coercing’ teenage girls in the early 2000s / Credit: GMP
In March earlier this year on the fourth day of his trial, Oates admitted to the offences, and this week (25 June 2025), he was sentenced to 13 years in prison for all his crimes.
“I would like to commend the two women at the centre of this case for the strength they demonstrated throughout our investigation and subsequent legal proceedings,” commented Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Inspector Eleanor Humphreys, from GMP’s CSE Major Investigations Team, as Oates was sentenced this week.
“It has been an arduous process for them to relieve the horrific abuse, and I am so grateful they placed their trust and confidence in our team to pursue justice.
“Their resilience and determination were the driving force behind reaching today’s outcome, where a dangerous man begins serving a lengthy sentence behind bars, far away from causing any more harm or misery.
Georgina Pellant -
10th January 2023 
