The lad hosting a ‘bartenders Christmas’ for hospitality staff with nowhere to go
For the past few years, Dominic Gold has put on free food and booze at Christmas for bartenders who can't get home - earning himself the nickname of the Northern Quarter’s part time Santa
A lad in Manchester is hosting a ‘bartenders Christmas’ this year so that fellow hospitality workers with nowhere to go don’t have to be alone on Christmas Day.
Dominic Gold, who has worked in bars in the UK and across Europe since he was 18, has been throwing an annual ‘bartenders Christmas’ with free food and booze in Manchester for a couple of years now.
With over ten years of experience working in hospitality over Christmas, he knows better than most that, whilst for many the festive period is a joyful one, many hospitality staff actually dread it.
Dominic plates up some late-night leftover burgers after the Christmas Day meal / Image: Dominic Gold
For those who have family far away, it’s often difficult to travel back with their limited amount of time off, especially considering the minimal public transport services that run over the Christmas bank holiday period.
So, rather than spend the day alone, for the past few years he’s been getting in the kitchen and cooking up a feast for other lonely bartenders to bring some cheer to what might otherwise become a sad day – earning himself the nickname of the Northern Quarter’s part time Santa.
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“We work hard and endless hours for the two months approaching Christmas then a lot of us only get one day off which makes it hard to travel back to family,” he told The Manc.
“I personally don’t often see family for the day and decided at first to see which friends would want to gather for the day to try and bring some fun and happiness to an otherwise saddening day.”
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The first year, he tells us, there were about fifteen people all in all. He paid for all the food, did all the cooking, and asked everyone to bring their own drink – a tradition that continued for the first two years.
“Originally, the day was about me giving back to the community that supports me […] the best thing about it was a lot of the bartenders wanted to help and joined me in the kitchen in the days approaching,” he added.
Last year, of course, things were a little different due to Covid – but now, with the bars back open again and no sign of any forced closures on the horizon, rotas are well and truly in place and so another bartender’s Christmas is on the horizon for 2021.
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“This year I wanted to go bigger and better, so I opened it up to donations from brands to equally support the industry that fuels them,” he tells us
Part-time Santa Dominic (right) and Lochlan (left), a volunteer and the general manager of Tariff and Dale / Image: Dominic Gold
“Currently, we have had a fair amount of donations, from whiskey, alcohol-free drinks, craft beer, and even a donation from the Northern Quarter butchers.
“But we still could do with more and more, if there is ever a point that there’s too much, it will be raffled off and the money donated to a charity which supports the industry in terms of supporting the on the ground staff.”
This year, the Christmas Day frivolities start at 1pm at Black Dog Ballroom in the Northern Quarter, which has been donated to use on Christmas Day for free – and any bar staff finding themselves alone in Manchester are very welcome.
Kitchens, meanwhile, are being supplied by Danny Smith of Lazy Tony’s Lasagneria and Chloe Pu of Salt and Pepper, so there’s sure to be quite a spread laid on.
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Image: Dominic Gold
As for practical donations, all sorts of contributions are very welcome: from small presents so that people have something to open on the day, to produce to cook and serve, drink for drinking, table settings, crackers – “literally anything to make the day bigger and brighter,” says Dom.
Dom tells us that numbers for this year are “growing and growing” so there “will eventually be a cap”, however, he says thanks to the generosity of Black Dog he has a lot of room this year and really wants to fill it.
“Everyone may not believe in Christmas or think of it fondly from past experience. But I am determined as a person and as a ten-year bartender to change the minds of at least a few and hopefully many.”
If anyone wants to come along they can contact Dom at [email protected] or simply bring items down to Black Dog Ballroom in the Northern Quarter and tell whoever receives it “it’s for the Christmas do.”
Feature image – Dominic Gold
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What people are wearing at Parklife 2026 – ruffles, cowboy boots, football shirts and bandanas
Clementine Hall
Parklife weekend is here, which means festival fashion is back, and Manchester has absolutely delivered on its outfit trends once again.
Every year in the fields of Heaton Park, thousands of ravers flock to Parklife festival for the biggest party of the year.
And of course, you can’t attend a festival without wearing a fire fit and boy oh boy have we seen some.
Gone are the days when you’d throw on a t shirt and jeans to a festival, and although you may see a few tracksuits and flimsy rain ponchos (we are in Manchester after all), the people of Parklife are dressing to impress this year.
Images: The Manc Group
The main theme of the weekend is…ruffles.
We’re talking ruffled shorts, ruffled boots, ruffled skirts – if you can ruffle it, the Parklife people are buying it. We’d say the vast majority of girls are wearing ruffled hot pants, and we are absolutely here for it.
Another trend is not practical in the slightest but of course looks absolutely fab, and that is cowboy boots.
Images: The Manc Group
We dread to think of the blisters that are going to crop up after the weekend, but as the old saying goes…beauty is well and truly pain.
You may mistake yourself for being at Coachella due to the amount of girls absolutely rocking a bandana this year, a trend which is both stylish and practical with the sun blaring down on Heaton Park this weekend.
And last but not least, maybe it’s the World Cup fever but we’ve spotted both boys and girls sporting football shirts and looking class whilst doing so.
Images: The Manc Group
All in all, Parklife weekend is flooded with fashionistas this year but are we surprised when Manchester is a hive for the coolest cats in the game? We think not.
There’s also a couple of pop-ups onsite this year for if you’re looking to level up your fit, including Suzy Loves Milo selling vintage garms and The Mothership providing all the perfect accessories.
Take That at the Etihad Stadium – the Manchester boys are ‘back for good’ | Review
Clementine Hall
We’re not saying this was the ‘Greatest Day’ of our lives…but it was certainly up there.
Take That have been taking us all on a trip down memory lane over the past few weeks, bringing The Circus Live back to stadiums across the UK and recreating their record-breaking 2009 tour.
Last night they kicked off their four night run at the Etihad Stadium, and it’s safe to say the much-loved pop trio have absolutely still got it.
In fact, I’d go as far to say that this is the best Gary, Mark and Howard have ever looked, sang, and above all else, danced.
Maybe it’s because this is their first hometown gig in two years, or maybe it’s because I’m extremely biased having grown up listening to Take That in my mum’s car on the way to school.
Either way, I said what I said.
Now as the name suggests, The Circus Live isn’t your average show. There’s a gigantic hot air balloon, a huge mechanical elephant, clown face paint, acrobats, unicycles, fireworks, sparkly costumes, you name it – they’ve got it.
It’s an aggressive assault to the senses, a fantastic fever dream, overstimulation of the highest degree, and I lapped up every single moment.
It’s what I imagine taking a tab of acid feels like before a gig, and if that’s the case then I would recommend doing so.
Of course the boys open the show with ‘Greatest Day’, and from the get go Gary Barlow’s vocals are just as smooth as ever.
After a brief Barry Manilow cover they then showcase their exceptional synchronised choreography during the dance break of ‘Pray’, to which I could almost hear the audible gasps from hundreds of mums in the audience.
All of which, I assume, were transported in that moment back to 1993 when Take That debuted the moves on Top of the Pops.
After a brief pause, Mark Owen leads the lads in ‘Shine’ as they make their way to the second stage in the centre of the stadium. Top hat in hand, Gary on the keys, Howard there purely for vibes – it’s no wonder Morrison’s chose this banger for their advert.
From then on it is simply banger after banger, and it’s clear that they feel very grateful to still be filling out stadiums as Howard particularly gets teary eyed after ‘Never Forget’ is met with roars of applause.
Take That have three more shows left at the Etihad Stadium, and you can still grab some last minute tickets here.
However, if you fancy not moving from your sofa but still want to be a part of the fun – Saturday’s show will be livestreamed across the globe via Amazon Music, so no matter where you are in the world, you can still visit The Circus. Find out more here.
Georgina Pellant -
10th December 2021 
