A beloved Prestwich chip shop has been named amongst the UK’s best for the second year running – and its owners are absolutely overjoyed.
Prestwich chippy Chips @ No.8 was named amongst the very best in the country by 2022 Fry Magazine Awards, alongside two other Greater Manchester chippies – The Little Chippy in Tyldesley and Wigan’s The Fish at Goose Green.
And with this year’s pass mark set high at 96%, Chips @ No.8 scored an impressive 98% – with the mystery diner particularly praising the high quality, freshly cooked to order food, the friendly and professional staff and eco-friendly packaging.
In a series of ebullient social media posts, Chips @ No.8’s owner Dan Edwards shared his amazement that, out of over 10,500 chippies, his had made it into the Top 50 for two years now.
Image: Chips @ No.8
He wrote: “Wow! What a day! We’ve just found out that out of over 10,500 fish and chip shops, our little chippy down a side street in P-Town has made @frymagazine Top 50 fish and chip takeaways in the country for the 2nd year running!!!”
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Continuing in another post, he revealed that when he opened the shop four years ago he didn’t even like fish and chips, and had only fried three fish in his life.
Having sunk ‘almost everything’ he had into doing the shop up and spending the rest down the road at All The Shapes manchester on ‘breaks’, six months later he opened his doors for a moment of truth.
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How the shop looked before Dan renovated it. / Image: Chips @ No.8
How the chip shop looks now, four years and two awards later. / Image: Chips @ No.8
He called the move “a moment of madness”, and said that he had “just wanted to be my own boss” – adding “I either sank or swam… fortunately, I discovered I was incredibly bouyant.”
He’s not wrong. Locals absolutely rave about his little chip shop down a side street. And now it’s been awarded with a national gong, too.
“Two and a half years later we were listed in the UK’s best 50 chippies out of over 10,000 shops, and we have no plans to rest on our laurels,” he finished.
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In an additional comment, he told The Manc: “To have made the list two years running is an incredible achievement and the whole team can be very proud of themselves.
“We try to provide all our customers with a great all round experience every time they visit and that means we have to be continually on top of our game.
“We use only the finest, locally sourced ingredients, we fry in beef dripping and our fish is delivered fresh every day, caught in UK waters by UK fisheries. You can taste the freshness and it really makes a difference”
Image: The Little Chippy, Tyldesley
To choose the winners for this year’s Fry Magazine Awards, mystery diners sampled thousands of portions of fish and chips from shops up and down the country.
Alongside Chips @ No.8, Tyldesley’s The Little Chippy and The Fish at Goose Green in Wigan also made it into this year’s top 50 – with The Fish at Goose Green taking home the gong for the third year running.
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All takeaways and restaurants that entered will receive their mystery dining report, a winner’s poster and plaque to proudly display in their shop.
Reece Head, competition organiser, commented: “We’re so pleased to announce this year’s winners. The awards recognise and celebrate the hard work, passion and dedication that these operators put into running their businesses.
“It’s been a tough couple of years for the industry, in particular for restaurants that have had to deal with closures, but operators continued to adapt, motivate their workforce and invest in new equipment and systems that have seen them come out the other side stronger and in a better position.
“Our 50 Best Takeaway and 10 Best Restaurant winners really do represent the best in the business and they continue to showcase fish and chips as a high quality, value for money meal.”
Feature image – Chips @ No. 8
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Pep Guardiola delivers important reminder about multiculturalism after Jim Ratcliffe controversy
Danny Jones
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has delivered an important message about the power of multiculturalism in his most recent press conference.
Guardiola’s comments come after the high-profile controversy surrounding his rival club across the city, Man United, whose co-owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, saw some of his recent remarks fall under major scrutiny.
In case you somehow missed it, the Failsworth-born British billionaire was heavily criticised after claiming he believes the UK has been “colonised by immigrants”.
Fast forward a couple of days, and while the club and the fan base are still dealing with the fallout of the story, Pep acknowledged the debate by reminding people that “embracing other cultures” makes for a “better society”.
Well put, Pep – in fact, we couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
Although he didn’t reference the 74-year-old directly after being probed on the subject by journalists, the Man City boss reiterated that his time spent living and working across the world has only broadened his mind and enriched his life.
That goes for both his professional and personal spheres, by the way, as the Catalan coach has often spoken of his love for English culture and the Manc people, specifically.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s FA Cup game against local side Salford City, Pep described the attitudes towards immigrants around the world as a “big problem” despite most people simply leaving their country in search of “a better life”.
He also drew attention to the fact that he, like so many others in football – a sporting industry loved the world round by people from all walks of life and that the likes of Ratcliffe directly benefit from – is an immigrant working and contributing to not just the game but the British economy by being here.
Meanwhile, Manchester United have since shared a public statement on their club website and across social media, reiterating to fans and supporters the world over that they are an “inclusive club”.
‘We will continue to represent our people, our city and our fans with purpose and pride.’
The INEOS chairman, CEO and minority stakeholder in Manchester United Football Club, has since apologised (at least in part) for his “choice of language” following the divisive interview with Sky News.
In a world where plenty of people are quick to pessimism, negativity and turn to division almost by default, Pep’s message is one echoed by so many and is one that we should all keep in mind.
And for anyone who needs a more light-hearted bit of content on their timeline this week, here’s what else Pep said in his pre-match presser…
Pep Guardiola responding to a really intelligent question from a reporter:
‘Do you want to be my assistant coach, fucking hell, you are brilliant…’
Featured Images — Hayters TV (screenshot via YouTube)
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Chester Zoo becomes first UK zoo to gain important international status
Danny Jones
The North West’s beloved Chester Zoo has been awarded a highly coveted global status, being named as the first international botanical garden in the entire UK.
With so many well-deserved awards, accolades and plaudits from within the world of wildlife preservation over the year, it’s no surprise.
A gem in Cheshire and the wider region’s crown, which continues to express its extreme commitment to ecological and environmental causes year in and year out, Chester Zoo is regularly ranked the best in the country and one of the top facilities in all of Europe, and now its worldwide reputation is growing too.
Taking its already sterling CV one further this year, 2026 marks the inaugural year of not only Chester Zoo existing as a recognised international botanical garden, but a big moment for Great Britain’s conservation status in general, as it’s been over 150 years since it last held the status.
Writing on social media in response to the huge honour, they wrote: “We’re officially the FIRST UK zoo recognised as a globally important botanic garden!
“We care for hundreds of rare plants, protect species at risk of extinction, and create beautiful gardens that encourage visitors to slow down and connect with nature.
“Global plant conservation organisation [Botanic Gardens Conservation International] assessed us against 22 criteria before awarding us Conservation Practitioner status – a recognition that now lets us do even more to protect native wildlife alongside our incredible conservation partners!”
Incredible stuff.
They signed off by adding that their efforts are “all made possible by YOU”, with 2025 marking an all-around groundbreaking year for the venue, as a total of 2,136,224 visitors came through the gates to surpass their previous record tally back in 2019 (2,086,785).
BGCI’s awarding of Conservation Practitioner is yet more proof of just how much work Chester Zoo does throughout the annual calendar, not least of all the incredible fundraising they do via various activations like their hugely successful charity run.
They signed off by adding that their efforts are “all made possible by YOU”, with 2025 marking an all-around groundbreaking year for the venue, as a total of 2,136,224 individuals came through the gates to surpass their previous record tally back in 2019 (2,086,785).
Speaking directly on the watershed moment, the zoo’s head of plants, Philip Esseen, said in an official press release: “This recognition shows that our plant work has real conservation value.
“We’re caring for species that are threatened with extinction in the wild, and that carries a responsibility to protect them, propagate them and share our expertise with others.
“The accreditation will help us work more closely with other horticultural and conservation organisations and increase the amount of conservation work we can do, particularly to support native species.”
Congratulations once again to Chester Zoo on such a significant achievement, and with around 10k people visiting each day – be that staff, field-expert guests or visitors – the proof is in the pudding: it really is the best in Britain doing some of the most vital work possible.
The UK has lost half of it's hedgehogs in the last 20 years, so here's 3 simple things you can do to make your garden a hedgehog haven 👇
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Georgina Pellant -
10th March 2022 
