Owners of a popular Manchester restaurant in the heart of the city’s Gay Village have made the difficult decision to call it a day and will be shutting up their longstanding Canal Street venue for good.
Owners of No. 1 Canal Street Lisa Kettle and Danielle Condron, who also run a pub called The Bridge in Sale, revealed they would be closing both venues in a heartfelt message shared on social media on Tuesday night (10 January).
No. 1 Canal Street first opened as a bar and restaurant in Manchester in 2017 and, two years later, was named Manchester’s best restaurant at the 2019 British Restaurant Awards.
The pair said it was a ‘very hard decision’ and implied that it was ‘difficult times’ that had spurred them to make the call to close both businesses.
image: No. 1 Canal Street
image: No. 1 Canal Street
The full post, which has been shared on No. 1 Canal Street’s Facebook page, said: “It is with great sadness we have had to close both No 1 & The Bridge today. We would like to thank you all for your amazing support over the last 6 years. This has been a very hard decision during these difficult times.
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“We’d like to express our heartfelt thanks to our amazing customers, and the team that has made everything possible. Lots of love, Danni and Lisa xx”
A similar statement was also posted on The Bridge’s social media page the same evening, reading: “It is with great sadness we have had to close both The Bridge & No 1 today. We would like to thank you all for your amazing support over the last 6 years.
“This has been a very hard decision during these difficult times. We’d like to express our heartfelt thanks to our amazing customers, and the team that has made everything possible.”
Bookings are now closed on the No. 1 Canal Street restaurant website.
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The posts have been flooded with comments of love and support since going up, with one person writing: “This place has been our No 1 for years, Food and Staff were Perfect every time. We’ve been there twice in the past few weeks.
“On our last visit without getting too political the Manager did say the rail strikes had had a massive effect on footfall and turnover, with increasing costs too it’s so hard for smaller businesses. It must of been so difficult to make this call. Thank you for being such a great venue xx”
Another person wrote: “Terrible news. No1 was a welcome addition to the village and have enjoyed many meals and drinks there over the years. Best wishes for the future, but the venue will be missed.”
A third said: “Seeing all the people saying how sad it is.. and it is. SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL VENUES AND NOT WETHERSPOONS”
A fourth added: “Our favourite restaurant in town. Really sorry to read this; wishing you all the best for whatever comes next. Thanks for some great, relaxed times – and tasty grub served by friendly, kind people.”
Feature image – No. 1 Canal Street
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Met Office predicts UK is set for ‘hotter than average’ summer
The Met Office is predicting that the UK is set for a ‘hotter than average’ summer this year.
Fresh off-the-back of the news that 2025 is already the hottest spring on record, with a recorded 630 hours of sunshine from 1 March until 27 May, beating out the previous sunniest spring in 2020 by just four hours, the Met Office is now predicting that the UK is on the verge of a summer that’s ‘hotter than usual’.
According to its three-month outlook, the Met Office has predicted that it’s 2.3 times more-likely than ‘normal’ that it will be hot in the UK between 1 June and 31 August.
The average temperatures during those months are set to range from 10-17°C.
As we head towards June and the start of meteorological summer, will we see some warm weather? 🌡️
After it was revealed that this has also been the UK’s driest spring in more than a century, meteorologists are warning Brits that there could heatwave conditions could be reached at various times throughout the summer.
The release of the long-range forecast – which gives an indication of possible temperatures, rainfall, and wind speed over a period as a whole – comes after temperatures soared to 8°C (46F) above the average for this time of year this Saturday just gone (31 May).
It is important to note, however, that the Met Office thinks these predicted temperatures are similar to those in recent years, and it does not guarantee ‘prolonged’ hot weather.
The Met Office is predicting that the UK is set for ‘hotter than average’ summer this year / Credit: Mylo Kaye (via Unsplash)
The Met Office said in a statement: “While the current three-month outlook shows an increased chance of a hot summer, the temperature signals for this summer are similar to those for recent years and consistent with our warming climate.
“The increased chance of hotter than average temperatures is not a guarantee of prolonged hot weather or heatwaves, but it does mean that heatwave conditions could be reached at times.
“However, it’s important to bear in mind that an increased chance of hot conditions could also reflect a mix of hot and cool days, warm nights, or less extreme levels of warmth rather than continual heatwave conditions specifically.”
Featured Image – Garry Knight (via Flickr)
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NHS becomes first in the world to roll out ‘revolutionary’ blood test to help treat cancer patients
The NHS has become the first in the world to roll out ‘revolutionary’ blood tests to help treat cancer patients.
Tens of thousands of patients with lung and breast cancer in England are set to benefit from the new ‘liquid biopsy’ test that can speed up access to targeted therapy by up to two weeks earlier, all while helping some patients avoid further tests and treatments – including chemotherapy.
The test is to be used before traditional tissue biopsies to help diagnose certain types of cancer.
A ‘liquid biopsy’ works by detecting tiny fragments of circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) and looks for specific genetic variations of cancer, allowing patients to access targeted therapies which are tailored to the genetic profile of their cancer.
The blood test is being rolled out nationwide following a successful pilot, and NHS England expects that around 15,000 patients with suspected lung cancer could now benefit from the test each year.
Thousands of patients with cancer will benefit from a new blood test which can speed up access to targeted therapy.
Pilot data in lung cancer showed that in some cases, patients received the results of ctDNA testing needed to make treatment decisions 16 days earlier with liquid biopsies compared with the standard cancer tissue biopsy approach.
An independent health economic assessment of the pilot estimated the test could save the NHS up to £11 million per year in lung cancer care.
Because of this, the NHS says it’s now looking at using the test in a range of other cancers too – including pancreatic and gallbladder cancer.
“Liquid biopsies are leading us into a new era of personalised cancer care,” commented Professor Peter Johnson, who is the NHS’s national clinical director for cancer, “and it’s fantastic that we are now able to expand the use of this revolutionary test on the NHS to help tailor treatment for thousands of patients across the country.
The NHS has become the first in the world to roll out a ‘revolutionary’ blood test to help treat cancer patients / Credit: Wikimedia Commons | Pexels
“Cutting-edge genomic testing is helping us deliver more targeted and kinder care for patients, enabling some to avoid more intensive treatments such as further chemotherapy, which can have a huge impact.
“We are already seeing the difference this test can make in lung and breast cancer, and we hope to roll it out for patients with other forms of cancer in the near future.
“As research progresses, it’s exciting that this approach has the potential to help us ‘scan’ the body in a single blood test to see where and how cancer may be developing and target it with speed and precision to help save more lives.”
More than 1,600 patients with suspected lung cancer and around 600 advanced breast cancer patients have had liquid biopsy tests done since April, but the test is now available for all eligible lung and breast cancer patients in NHS hospitals across England.
Georgina Pellant -
11th January 2023 
xx” 
