News

Police to review £10k fine given to NHS pay protestor

Local Mayor Andy Burnham has asked the force to perform an "additional review process" of the Fixed Penalty Notices - which was issued to Karen Reissmann for organising a 40-person protest on St Peter's Square on Sunday (March 7).

The Manc The Manc - 11th March 2021
A £10,000 fine was issued by police to 61-year-old Karen Reissmann for her role in organising a protest against NHS pay

The £10,000 fine handed to a 61-year-old health worker for protesting NHS pay rates is being reviewed, Greater Manchester Police have confirmed.

Local Mayor Andy Burnham has asked the force to perform an “additional review process” of the five-figure Fixed Penalty Notice issued to Karen Reissmann for organising a 40-person protest in St Peter’s Square on Sunday (March 7).

Reissmann had helped arrange the mass gathering to campaign against the government’s proposed 1% pay rise for nurses – which she called “insulting“.

Under current coronavirus legislation, maximum penalties of £10,000 can be issued to anyone who organises gatherings of over 30 people.

Reissmann was accused of showing “a degree of non-compliance” when officers aimed to disperse her protest group, with police claiming it “necessary” to issue her with a fine.

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The decision is now currently being reviewed.

A GMP spokesperson stated: “The FPN given last weekend is currently undergoing an additional review process following a request from the Mayor to do so.

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“All of our £10k FPNs are reviewed before processing so as well as this initial review we will review both the command decisions to ensure they were proportionate and commensurate with our strategy and previous operations, in addition we have asked for this to be reviewed by our legal department and provide a response back to the Mayor as to whether this was an appropriate course of action by GMP.”

A GoFundMe page has also been set up to help Reissmann pay her fine – with over £17,000 donated so far.

The fundraiser page, supported by actress Maxine Peake and over 900 others, said that extra donations would be passed on to a mental health charity.

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Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended the pay increase this week, claiming the government was giving “as much as we can” during the tough conditions of the pandemic.

But The Royal College of Nursing (RCB) has repeatedly called on the government to reverse their decision and “give nursing what it deserves”.

The organisation has claimed a 1% pay rise would only amount to an extra £3.50 a week in take home pay, and a petition has been posted online calling for a much higher boost of 12.5%.

In an open letter to the Prime Minister, the RCN said that nursing staff’s wages does “not reflect the essential work they do” in “highly skilled, complex, responsible roles”.

“Many are now worse off than they were 10 years ago and are considering leaving the profession,” reads the statement.

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“Fair pay for nursing is about making sure that a safety-critical profession can reach safe staffing levels, to provide safe and effective care for all people of the United Kingdom.”

UK union UNISON is one of several groups campaigning for a show of solidarity for health workers tonight – with people urged to head to their doors and balconies for a ‘slow hand clap‘ on Thursday 11 March.

The display aims to put a sardonic spin on the ‘clap for carers’ campaign – which saw Brits applaud essential staff for their work during the pandemic.

There is also a plan for the slow handclap to be repeated on April 1 – the date NHS staff were due for a wage increase.

UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “Times may be tough but this deal is below-inflation and derisory.

“It’s like the worst of austerity is back.”

News

This Manchester restaurant serves an all-vegan roast with ‘meat’ and all the trimmings

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

A Manchester vegan restaurant is serving an all-vegan roast with mock ‘meat’ and all the trimmings, putting an ethical twist on the British Sunday classic. Keen to see if it’s worth the hype, I took a trip down to try it out for myself – and left feeling pretty impressed.

Not being a vegan personally, I enlisted the help of two friends of the plant-powered persuasion to accompany me to get a real feel for every option.

Suffice it to say, it was a success and, whilst I won’t be converting to veganism any time soon, it’s nice to know that there are options out there for when I feel like being ‘good’.

With three different roast choices on offer, Wholesome Junkies is the first restaurant in the city centre to venture past the usual vegan choices of mushroom Wellington and roasted squash and go all-out with a variety of mock meat options.

Meats have been created in partnership with Liverpool vegan brand CB Sushi, using their mock beef and turkey joints to give vegans the feeling of a ‘proper’ roast.

Glazed ‘turkey’ roast at Wholesome Junkies with Mabel’s vegan Yorkshire puddings and all the trimmings. / Image: The Manc Eats
‘Beef’ roast at Wholesome Junkies with onion gravy, Mabel’s vegan Yorkshire puddings and all the good bits. / Image: The Manc Eats

Think glazed ‘turkey’ filled with stuffing, medallions of ‘beef’ and crispy deep-fried oyster mushrooms, all served with lashings of onion gravy, ‘buttered’ seasonal greens, glazed carrots and parsnips, deep-fried stuffing balls, crispy roasties and fluffy Yorkshire puddings created by Mabel’s.

Having tried all three, I have to say that my favourite was the turkey. It’s actually my least favourite meat to eat, so it was something of a surprise to find I enjoyed the vegan version much more than the real thing.

The texture was spot on, and there was none of the dryness you typically associate with the bird. Washed down with a pint of locally-brewed Cloudwater Fuzzy Hazy Pale Ale, it absolutely hit the spot.

The deep-fried oyster mushroom roast at Wholesome Junkies. / Image: The Manc Eats
Cloudwater’s Fuzzy Hazy Pale Ale. / Image: The Manc Eats

Coming in a close second was the deep-fried oyster mushroom roast, which was so packed with flavour that it almost felt like I was eating fried chicken with my Sunday dinner.

As for the beef, it didn’t really do it for me – tasting more of herbs than red meat, but then, I don’t suppose there are many vegans queueing up the block for a bloody meat substitute.

Wholesome Junkies has long been a favourite with Manchester vegans. First shooting to fame in 2018 with an appearance on BBC2’s Million Pound Menu, owner Chelsea appeared on the show to ask for 95,000 to open her own vegan junk food restaurant.

Prior to that, she’d been running her Wholesome Junkies concept as a street food pop-up at sites like Grub and Ancoats General Store.

Whilst her bid to impress the BBC judges was not successful at the time, the TV appearance put her on the map and within a year she had her own Arndale market stall.

Read more: This hidden Manchester pasta and dumplings restaurant has just made the Michelin Guide

Fast forward a few more, and in 2022 she opened her first bricks and mortar restaurant – taking over the former Umezushi site at 4 Mirabel Street.

Since moving in, she’s completely transformed it: decking it out in bright colours and filling every corner with quirky little ornaments and decorations.

Strings of fairy lights, hanging mushrooms and frames filled with pictures from local artists all make the small space feel incredibly warm and welcoming – and our visit the restaurant was absolutely packed.

Read more: Tim Martin is blaming ‘people drinking at home’ for UK Wetherspoons closures

At a time when so many vegan restaurants seem to be closing, it was an absolute joy to see so many bums on seats during our visit.

Veganuary might almost be over, but if you’re a vegan – or simply just trying to cut down on your meat consumption – it’s definitely worth giving this one a go.

Feature image – The Manc Eats

News

Meet the couple who quit their jobs to sell sandwiches from their Northern Quarter flat

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

If you’re a fan of things in bread (and honestly, who isn’t) then there’s a new Italian sandwich dealer in town that you absolutely need to get down your neck.

Serving up some of the best butties we’ve had in a long time, it’s called Ad Maiora and is being run by a couple who are making absolutely everything out of a kitchen in their little Manchester flat.

Collected from a nondescript door on a Norther Quarter back street, we’re talking giant focaccia-style loaves generously stuffed with premium ingredients like ‘nduja, spicy Tuscan sausage, smoked scamorza, mortadella, burrata and red pesto.

The brainchild of Sardinian couple Daniela Steri and Enrico Pinna, all of their sandwiches are made using only top quality Italian ingredients with a total of nine different options to choose from.

From the vegan-friendly La Nonna (Italian hummus, roasted aubergine, olives, sundried tomatoes and rocket) to a huge array of different cheesy and meaty delights, fillings include parma ham, gorgonzola DOP, truffled brie, Milano salami and crumbled pistachios.

Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats

Their bread is baked freshly by hand each morning using a tiny domestic oven, and they’re already baking up to 60 loaves of schiacciata (a traditional Tuscan flatbread) a day to keep up with the demand – putting just four in the oven at a time, over and over again.

Read more: This Manchester pub is hosting an all-you-can-eat Valentine’s cheese night

On our visit, the pair tell us that they moved over from Sardinia to the UK six years ago and first tried living in London for a year (they say they hated it) before making the move up to Manchester.

In that time, they say they’ve fallen in love with the city of Manchester and with the Northern Quarter in particular.

Inspired by the brilliant food scene in their area, two months ago they both decided to pack in their jobs and pursue their own business instead – and haven’t looked back since.

Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats

Previously, Daniela tells us she’d worked at hotel Dakota in housekeeping for three years whilst her partner, Enrico, had been employed at Ezra and Gil. Despite their hospitality experience, though, neither of them had made bread before.

That doesn’t seem to be holding them back, though, and demand for their sandwiches is rocketing as word spreads about the new homemade Italian butties for sale on a Manchester backstreet.

Read more: Northern Belle in Manchester – one of the world’s most luxurious trains with £440 tickets and seven-course dinners on board

Available to order via Deliveroo for collection or delivery, use the code ADMAIORA5 to get a cheeky five pounds off your order courtesy of The Manc.

Feature image – The Manc Eats

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