News

The Manchester Christmas Markets 2023 return date has officially been confirmed

Festive cheer will soon be lining the city centre streets once again.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 15th September 2023

It’s that time of year again – the date that Manchester Christmas Markets are set to return in 2023 has officially been confirmed.

While we may be in the middle of some unseasonably warm weather right now, things are about to get pretty festive in Manchester, as the return date for the city’s legendary Christmas Markets this year has just been announced to spread some cheer right across the city centre.

Manchester City Council has confirmed the date for the annual event’s return – which draws in thousands of visitors from all across the globe each year.

And there’s not long left to wait.

It has been announced that Manchester Christmas Markets will make their grand return for 2023 on Friday 10 November.

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The Manchester Christmas Markets 2023 return date has officially been confirmed / Credit: Flickr

This means that the city centre’s main hubs and streets, including Exchange Square, St Ann’s Square, King Street, and Market Street, will soon be lined with wooden huts right selling festive food, handmade gifts, and so much more before we know it.

Cathedral Gardens will, once again, also play host to the iconic Ice Rink, with a range of food and drink stalls alongside it, and will be opening in time for the October half term right from Thursday 26 October right through to Sunday 31 December.

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Confirming the Christmas Markets’ return, Councillor Pat Karney, who is Manchester City Council’s Christmas spokesperson, told the MEN: “With the last rays of summer sun now fading fast, it’s time to track down the tinsel and get ready for Manchester’s favourite time of the year.

“And with only 8 weeks to go until the opening of Manchester’s world-famous Christmas markets it will be glühwein and bratwurst time before we know it.

“Mark it on your calendars with 10 November – Christmas starts here.”

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2022 Manchester Christmas Markets Guide
Festive cheer will soon be lining the city centre streets once again / Credit: Manchester City Council

Cllr Karney had already previously confirmed that the Christmas Parade will also be back this year after it proved to be such a smash-hit success during its inaugural year in 2022, so you can expect to see runaway Christmas presents, Jack Frost, Snow Queens, and of course, Santa, make their way through the city centre’s streets once again.

Dates for this free family-friendly event are yet to be confirmed, with the Council telling residents to keep their eyes peeled for more announcements in the coming weeks.

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Manchester Christmas Markets will be open from 10am-9pm every day right through to Thursday 21 December 2023.

Featured Image – Manchester City Council

News

Oldham Council is asking local kids to name its six new gritters

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Oldham Council has announced the news that a handful of its hardest-working salt spreaders are retiring this year.

After gritting more than a million miles between them over several years of “super service”, it’s now the end of the icy road for six of Oldham‘s famously-named gritting fleet, and a new wintery journey is gearing up to begin for the town’s replacements machines.

But, you know that that means – the the popular ‘name a gritter’ competition is back once again.

With the nights drawing in, and the weather getting colder and colder by the day, it won’t be long before local residents will be able to see the big yellow machines traveling around the borough spreading grit and salt.

Fan-favourites Winston Chur-chill and Nicole Saltslinger will be making welcome returns this year, but they’ll also be joined by six newbies, and it’s our job to name them equally-iconic names.

Oldham Council‘s ‘name a gritter’ competition is now open, and it’s hoped that primary and junior-age children in the town will, once again, come through with “an avalanche of entries” like they have done in the past.

Brad Grit, Gritiana Grande, Snowbee One Kenobi, Nick Gritshaw, Leonardo de-ice-io, and Basil Salty are just some of the names of the gritters who’ve spread Oldham’s salt in previous years, so they should be able to serve as inspiration for what the Council’s looking for.

The winning names from this year’s competition will be added to the front of the six new cabs.

“Oldham Council was one of the first local authorities in the country to name its gritting fleet, and since then many others have followed our lead,” Councillor Chris Goodwin, who is Oldham Council’s Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said as the competition opens.

“In the past, we’ve always run the competition as a bit of fun and it’s really captured the imagination of our young people, so please urge your children to get their thinking caps on and send in some names.”

/ Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Unfortunately, Cllr Goodwin did stress that this year’s competition is only open to all children aged four to 11 who live in Oldham or attend one of the boroughs primary or junior schools, and that any “40-odd-year-old ‘comic’s who are thinking of sending in unfunny names” should thinking again, because they’ve “heard it all before”.

As social media suggestions “will not be accepted”, parents, guardians, and carers will need to help their little Oldhamers get their entries in on the Oldham Council website here, and you’ll need to make sure the child’s details are included, plus how the Council can contact you.

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The closing date for entries is 11:59pm on Friday 3 November.

All naming suggestions will then be put to a panel of councillors and council officers to have the final say, and the lucky winners will be invited down to the town’s Moorhey Street depot to have their photo taken with the gritter they’ve named.

Featured Image – Oldham Council

News

Four jailed for over 70 years for ‘daylight murder’ of Withington teen Kyle Hackland

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Four teenagers have been collectively sentenced to more than 70 years for the murder of another teenager in Withington last year.

Kyle Hackland, who was just 17 at the time, was brutally stabbed in broad daylight in Withington at around midday back on Tuesday 22 November 2022, and went on to sadly pass away in hospital as a result of his injuries – which were described as “catastrophic”.

He was described as “kind and well-mannered young boy who never failed to say “love you” as he walked out the door” in a tribute paid by his loving family at the time.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) launched a murder investigation shortly after.

Detective Superintendent Neil Jones, of GMP South Manchester Division, said at the time that the force understood the incident would “cause distress and concern to the community and across Manchester”, but assured the public it was an isolated incident and there was no wider threat.

Several men were subsequently charged in connection with the incident nearly two weeks later on 7 December, and were remanded in custody while awaiting trial.

And now, after the trial at Manchester and Salford Magistrates Court has finally concluded yesterday (Tuesday 3 October), and accumulative sentences of more than 70 years were handed out, all four men have been publicly named.

They have been named as Yousef Sesay (24/11/2004), Lewis Ludford (05/12/2004), Tafari Kosey-Smith (26/06/2006), and Alfie Benson (30/03/2006).

Sesay was sentenced to 22 years, Ludford for 21 years (with two years concurrent for a bladed article), and Kosey-Smith for 19 years (with two years concurrent for a bladed article), after all were found guilty of murder.

Benson has been jailed for 12 years (with two years concurrent for burglary offences) after being found guilty of manslaughter.

Kyle lost his life in what the court heard this week was “a pre-mediated revenge attack”, and was “brutally attacked with knives” by the four teenagers during the “violent assault” in broad daylight.

Yousef Sesay
Lewis Ludford
Alfie Benson
Tafari Kosey-Smith
Four jailed for over 70 years for ‘daylight murder’ of Withington teen Kyle Hackland / Credit: GMP

“This is another heartbreaking example of how carrying a knife can have devastating consequences in a matter of seconds,” said Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Inspector David Moores, after the trial concluded yesterday.

“Our thoughts as a force are once again with Kyle’s loved ones, who will have to continue to live with the pain, but hopefully this can be eased in some way with the conviction of his killers.

“Officers in our Major Incident Team have worked tirelessly to bring justice, and, in our role, we are reminding any young person willing to carry a knife to put it down and think twice before doing so.

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“It is not worth it and can ultimately cost yours and other people’s lives.”

Featured Image – GMP

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