Manchester Rum Festival is returning to the city this summer and bringing fifteen brand new rum brands with it for their festival debut.
In what is set to be the biggest festival to date, organisers will bring together a mix of local Greater Manchester brands and those from further afield for an afternoon full of cocktails, tasting sessions and samples.
Taking place in Manchester city centre this June, local rum distilleries Tameside and Decorrum will make their festival debuts alongside Tanduay – an exciting rum brand from the Philippines.
Other new brands set to take part this year include Beach House and Arcane, both from the sunny climes of Mauritius, Ron Aguere from the Canaries, Ron Colon from El Salvador and Santiago de Cuba.
They’ll be joined by festival stalwarts Salford Rum and Diablesse, both returning for 2022 with new expressions including Salford Honey Rum and Diablesse Coconut and Hibiscus Rum.
The 2022 festival will also feature an appearance from the Spirit of Manchester distillery and its One-Eyed Rebel rum brand, crafted right here in the city centre.
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Elsewhere, city centre tiki bar The Liars Club will be on hand mixing up some signature cocktails, with street food provided by British Virgin Island pop-up Nyammin’.
In total, the festival will welcome a whopping 40 different rum brands from around the globe.
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Read more:Where to find the best Easter foodie specials in Manchester 2022
Image: Manchester Rum Festival
S[eaking on the upcoming event, Manchester Rum Festival’s founder, Dave Marsland, said: “This year’s festival is set to be more fantastic and fun than ever, with a host of new brands from far reaching corners of the earth which will be tasted alongside brands from local distilleries. It really is a one-of-a-kind event.
“This year, guests will be able to taste rums from over 40 producers overall, sample amazing cocktails by Liar’s Club, enjoy traditional music and entertainment by festival stalwart, DJ Dom and food by British Virgin Island cuisine legends Nyammin’, who will be cooking up a flavoursome storm from their pop-up stand.
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Manchester Rum Festival’s founder, Dave Marsland. / Image: Manchester Rum Festival
“The festival will feature expressions from single and multi-distillery producers to flavour-enhanced bottlings and will bring together rum producers, bartenders, enthusiasts and rum fans from all over the region and further afield. It’s set to be a real summer treat for the city and tickets are selling fast.”
Manchester Rum Festival will run from 12pm to 7pm on Saturday 18 June, 2022. Tickets for the day are for over 21’s only, priced at £25 and involves all available samples from the rum brands.
Drinks from the Liar’s Club cocktail bar and any street food are not included in the ticket price.
To find out more and book tickets, visit the Manchester Rum Festival website here.
Feature image – Manchester Rum Festival
News
New £60m fund launched to fill potholes across Greater Manchester
Emily Sergeant
A new £60 million Pothole Fund has been created to repair more of the city region’s roads and pavements.
The fund – which has been set up by new Mayor Bev Craig, and is to be spent across every borough in Greater Manchester – is set to be a ‘major boost’ to efforts to tackle the pothole problem, as it will be enough to repair and maintain over a million square metres, or around 125 kilometres, of road across the wider region.
Around 2.5 billion trips are made on Greater Manchester‘s roads every year – not only by motorists, but also by buses, trams, cyclists, and pedestrians. So the fund will be used to help keep the highways network ‘safe and reliable’.
The fund will enable transport teams to repair hotspots where surfaces are in poor condition, as well as resurface roads and pavements to prevent them from deteriorating in the first place.
A new £60m fund has been launched to fill potholes across Greater Manchester / Credit: TfGM
Cold and wet winters, more traffic, and heavier vehicles using the roads are just some of the contributing factors to the pothole problem, which is why the fund is being introduced before autumn and winter properly arrives.
The amount each of the 10 boroughs will receive is based on an agreed funding formula, with the allocations being:
Bolton: £6,552,000
Bury: £4,374,000
Manchester: £8,155,000
Oldham: £5,258,000
Rochdale: £5,243,000
Salford: £5,388,000
Stockport: £6,820,000
Tameside: £4,980,000
Trafford: £4,992,000
Wigan: £8,241,000
The extra cash comes from the region’s transport budget, with leaders agreeing to reallocate funding towards highways maintenance, and it fulfils a commitment Bev made in her Mayoral Manifesto to repair more roads and make sure pavements are safe.
“Keeping our roads and pavements safe and well maintained is essential for a growing city region like Greater Manchester,” explained Mayor Bev Craig.
“That’s why I promised to create this new Pothole Fund that will benefit drivers and everyone who uses our roads to get around. Properly maintaining our roads will save motorists money on costly repairs, and by preventing potholes forming in the first place, councils won’t have to spend as much money on emergency road repairs.
“This issue came up repeatedly on the doorstep during my election campaign so I’m pleased that I can do something about it so quickly, building on the significant work already planned by councils across Greater Manchester.”
Featured Image – TfGM
News
Six GMP officers dismissed following racial discrimination allegations
Emily Sergeant
A number of police officers have been dismissed following an internal investigation, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has confirmed.
Following the internal investigation into alleged racial discrimination against an officer on the Bury district – which was launched by GMP‘s Professional Standards Directorate in July 2024 – six officers and two former officers were found to have committed gross misconduct, and a ninth officer was found to have committed misconduct.
The investigation came after a report was made that an officer had been subjected to ‘racist behaviour’ by colleagues in December 2023.
The panel heard how PC Y – who has African heritage and has been granted anonymity – made a complaint after her accent was mimicked by a group of officers. She was also compared to a suspect with similar skin colour, and one of the dismissed PCs made a derogatory comment about her hair.
PC Y was supported and kept updated throughout the investigation, GMP assured, as well as providing evidence at the hearing.
The misconduct hearing lasted just over two weeks, with the panel concluding that the officers breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour relating to Equality and Diversity, Authority, Respect, and Courtesy.
The six officers who have been dismissed are PC Demi Green, PC Heena Rani, PC Lucy Granby, PC Matthew Barlow, PC Matthew Hill, and PC Mohammed Abid, while the former officers who were found to have committed gross misconduct are PC Jake Holt, and former Officer A – who has been granted anonymity.
The panel also found that Sergeant Adrian Bick’s actions amounted to misconduct, as there was no breach of the standard of equality and diversity.
As a result, the six serving officers have been sacked without notice, while the two former officers would have been dismissed had they not already left the force, and Sergeant Bick was issued a written warning.
“No officer or member of staff should have to come to work and experience discriminatory behaviour from the people they serve alongside,” declared Deputy Chief Constable, Terry Woods.
“Everyone has the right to feel respected, valued and part of the same team with a shared commitment to serving our communities and keeping people safe.”
Georgina Pellant -
14th April 2022 
