It goes without saying that 2020 has been an absolute horror show of a year.
The coronavirus pandemic has battered both the bodies and minds of millions of people across the country and stop-start lockdowns have driven thousands of businesses into the ground.
In Manchester this is no different.
Some of our most beloved bars and restaurants closed their doors for the last time during the first lockdown, and many others decided that they just couldn’t continue when restrictions eventually loosened. Then, when the government imposed a 10pm curfew on hospitality, the camel’s back was well and truly broken.
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Stevenson Square
One thing, however, about Greater Manchester’s small business industry, is that it’s filled with individuals who will put up a fight no matter the opponent – and over the last six months the city has proven time and time again that it is one durable bastard.
So when Lockdown 2.0 began on Thursday 5 November, following a second wave of coronavirus infections and rising hospital admissions across the country, the city’s hospitality industry was prepared for another round of boxing clever.
And this time, Deliveroo was there early to provide bars and restaurants with more visibility than ever – bringing more Manchester vendors than ever to the platform and providing plenty of deals to tempt hungry punters into ordering from their favourite haunts.
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So in order to amplify that visibility for our city’s businesses who have had to once again fall back on a delivery service, we’ve decided to partner with the online food delivery company.
Working alongside Deliveroo, The Manc will ensure all restaurants on the service will get the amplification they need across our social platforms. We’ll update our 1-million strong audience on your latest updates and deals and we’ll create conversations with the masses about our favourite scran from your menus. Basically, we will champion you, and we will go above and beyond to do it.
For the remainder of the lockdown, and slightly beyond, we will pedal your establishments as much as physically possible. We’ll write content, we’ll post stories, we’ll create grid carousels, we’ll retweet you, and more importantly, we’ll be available for a chat whenever you need one (our DMs and emails are always open).
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And to those who aren’t on Deliveroo, don’t worry. Use the #StillServingMCR hashtag on your socials so ourselves, and our audience, can find you.
Let’s get through this second, and hopefully last, lockdown one step at a time. 2020 is almost behind us, and we can’t wait to see you all in the summer.
News
Manchester music store Forsyth is giving away free music lessons
The Manc
Manchester music store Forsyth is giving away a host of free music lessons next month in a bid to inspire people to learn a new instrument, or pick up an old one.
The store is giving new and returning musicians a chance to receive a 10–15-minute free music taster session as part of its Music for All Learn to Play ’22 event.
Taking place across 8 and 9 October between 10am-5pm (8 October) and 1130am-30pm (9 October),short taster music lessons will allow all ages and abilities to have a musical experience that could turn into a lifetime of enjoyment, or even a new career.
Speaking on the free music lesson initiative, Emma from Forsyths said: “The past two years have shown how important music is to all our lives and how it can bring people together even in the most difficult of circumstances.
“We aim to help as many people as possible understand the unique joys and benefits of learning an instrument (or taking part in a choir).
“Anyone interested in learning to play an instrument or looking to pick it up again, should come and join us for this two-day celebration of music making.
“We’re delighted to be part of Music for All’s Learn to Play ’22 event, and we can’t wait to get started.”
OBE Jools Holland, Patron of Music for All, said: “Making music is very important to me. It’s my work, my pleasure, my friend, companion and therapist.
The charity Music for All believes passionately in the unique power of music to change lives and that is why it runs Learn to Play.
Music for All believes everyone should have equal access to music making.
The charity supports disadvantaged music makers by providing cash grants for tuition and instruments and by donating instruments directly.
The Learn to Play ’22 event is generously supported by the NAMM Foundation and other partners include Music Industries Association, Musicians Union, Making Music, Music Mark and Black Lives in Music.
Those interested in joining Forsyths for a free music lesson simply need to email [email protected] or pop into the Sheet Music department on the ground floor to register interest.
Celebrated author Dame Hilary Mantel has died ‘suddenly yet peacefully’ aged 70
Emily Sergeant
Dame Hilary Mantel has died aged 70.
The unexpected passing of the critically-acclaimed author whose celebrated career spans nearly five decades has just been announced by her agents 4th Estate Books and her publishing team at HarperCollins in two separate statements released this morning – who confirmed that she died “suddenly yet peacefully”.
The Glossop-born writer was famed for historical fiction work, and was most-known for being the author of the beloved Wolf Hall trilogy.
The statement by her agents confirming her passing reads: “We are heartbroken at the death of our beloved author, Dame Hilary Mantel, and our thoughts are with her friends and family, especially her husband, Gerald.
“This is a devastating loss and we can only be grateful she left us with such a magnificent body of work.”
We are heartbroken at the death of our beloved author, Dame Hilary Mantel, and our thoughts are with her friends and family, especially her husband, Gerald. This is a devastating loss and we can only be grateful she left us with such a magnificent body of work. pic.twitter.com/d8bzkBBXuH
Mantel’s publishers HarperCollins called her “one of the greatest English novelists of this century”.
The company’s statement reads: “It is with great sadness that AM Heath and HarperCollins announce that bestselling author Dame Hilary Mantel DBE died suddenly yet peacefully yesterday, surrounded by close family and friends, aged 70.
“Hilary Mantel was one of the greatest English novelists of this century and her beloved works are considered modern classics.
Mantel has twice been awarded the Booker Prize, the first time for the 2009 novel Wolf Hall, a fictional account of Thomas Cromwell’s rise to power in the court of Henry VIII, and secondly for the 2012 novel Bring Up the Bodies, the second instalment of the Cromwell trilogy.
She was the first woman, and fourth person, to receive the award twice.
The Manc -
10th November 2020 
