There’s a huge sushi festival coming to Manchester this spring, and it sounds far too good to miss.
Bringing together a whole host of the city’s best sushi parlors, the Manchester sushi festival will land in the city on Thursday 21 April – showcasing the very best vinegared rice dishes (yes we said rice, not fish) that Manchester has to offer across three days.
For those who think that sushi is all about raw fish and have already decided they don’t like that, we’ve got good news: It’s not. You can make sushi with anything – and avocado, cucumber, carrot and ginger are all popular choices for those who don’t like raw fish.
Of course, there’ll be plenty of fishy sushi to go around too – and the festival will have a lot to offer those who are into the more adventurous side of things.
A mixed sushi platter served in a wooden boat at Kyotoya, Withington./ Image: Bidds Bites
Where better, then, to discover the full variety of this amazing Japanese dish than at an all-day event dedicated to the stuff?
ADVERTISEMENT
California rolls, maki, nigiri, temaki and more are all set to be on show, alongside other Japanese dishes like ramen, as the festival promises to ‘show you the greatest variety of sushi and Japanese cuisine’ that Manchester has to offer.
There’ll even be a live workshop hosted by Manchester cookery school Food Sorcery teaching you how to handroll your own sushi at home.
ADVERTISEMENT
That said, it won’t all be about sushi. There’ll be a live sake talk and tasting session, live performances from a Japanese taiko drumming ensemble, pop-up bars selling Japanese beer and more, plus Japanese-inspired art classes, fashion pop-ups, live music and DJ performances.
Of course, we’re very lucky in Manchester with a whole range of eateries offering sushi all year round – from Yuzu and Samsi to Kyotoya, Unagi, and the members-only Umezushi Omakase. Still, an all-day festival dedicated to Japanese cuisine is not to be passed up.
ADVERTISEMENT
Whilst the festival promises to feature some of Manchester’s best sushi restaurants, the line-up of traders is still to be confirmed.
Tickets are priced at £20 per person and include entry to the Sushi Festival, access to the theatre with live cooking demonstrations, and a portion of sushi or delicious Japanese dish from one of the festival’s hand-picked vendors.
Tickets for the live sushi-rolling workshop hosted by Food Sorcery need to be purchased separately here.
Taking place at Audacious Church on Trinity Way, Manchester, Salford, M3 7BD, the Manchester Sushi Festival will run from Thursday 21 April to Saturday 23 April 2022. Sessions will last three hours, starting at either 3pm or 7pm.
Salford Red Devils granted another adjournment over unpaid debts
Danny Jones
Salford Red Devils have been given one more adjournment and yet another stay of execution, being given another two weeks to find the money to cover their unpaid debts.
The local rugby league side, which has been wrapped in all manner of struggles both on and off-pitch over the past year or so, reportedly needs to pay around £700,000 to HMRC alone and still owes roughly £5 million in total to various creditors.
To no surprise, regular matchgoers, neutrals and even rivals alike have expressed their continued disappointment with the club, mainly at the lack of transparency and clarity from the organisation throughout this long, drawn-out process.
This is coming from a wire fan but no club deserves to be left in the dark even longer than they already have done it’s nothing but a disgrace to the sport of rugby those owners and the court should be ashamed of themselves.
Updating fans on social media, this is all the information they have communicated at this time: “Salford Red Devils can confirm that HMRC have granted the club a two-week adjournment, providing additional time in which to secure the necessary funds.
“We would like to reassure supporters that we are working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure a positive resolution. Further updates will be shared as soon as possible.”
It’s worth noting that the current owners have reiterated that they inheited around £3m in existing debt before they took over the club, but assurances over their own investments have still come to nothing; meanwhile, with many still waiting on wages, players and staff alike have now left.
Having been propped up by loan players and emergency loans, the team is now closer to a skeleton crew than it is an outfit capable of competing in the premier division.
Either way, the outrage remains and is only growing stronger. One user wrote on X: “A good approach by them if they was legit would be to engage and bring in The 1873 to bridge the communication black hole (they created).
“The problem with that is if they did it would expose them for what they are… Extortionists using the club as a vehicle.”
More alarm bells were raised recently when assistant coach and Krisnan Inu – who was also director of the company set up to take over the business – withdrew himself from a key position behind the scenes.
Speaking of The 1873, the outspoken supporters trust took no time at all in issuing a response of their own, adding: “The judge presiding over today’s case has adjourned by 14 days. This adjournment has dragged the uncertainty on even longer.
“Every delay makes planning for 2026 harder and keeps the club stuck in limbo when it desperately needs clarity and direction.
“The fans, the players and the future all deserve better — The 1873.”
You can see the rest of their statement in full down below, but for now, what do you make of this seemingly neverending saga, Salfordians?
‘Christmas chaos’ on the cards as Manchester tram drivers vote on staging strike action next month
Emily Sergeant
There could be major disruption to festive travel in Greater Manchester next month, as hundreds of tram drivers are currently voting on whether to strike.
Almost 320 tram drivers are being balloted over working conditions and fears around fatigue.
The drivers – who are members of the union, Unite – all work for KeolisAmey Metrolink Limited at the Warwick Road South and Queens Road depots in Manchester – and they operate trams on all routes in Greater Manchester.
As it stands, the drivers’ shift patterns currently mean they have to work 450 hours over a 12-week period, which results in some having to work 50 hours on, followed by just two days off, then back into another 50-hour work pattern.
Drivers also have fewer rest days compared to all other operational departments, and this is said to be causing safety concerns around fatigue.
‘Christmas chaos’ is on the cards as Manchester tram drivers are currently voting on staging strike action next month / Credit: TfGM
Drivers say they concerned about operating heavy vehicles while exhausted and unable to have proper breaks, but after raising the issue with management, Unite has been told there is ‘no funding available’ to support any ‘meaningful’ improvements to working patterns.
Instead, management has asked drivers to start work earlier – which Unite says is only ‘adding insult to injury’.
The ballot is set to close on 11 November, and if drivers vote in favour of industrial action, strikes could then begin in late November, causing widespread cancellations and delays throughout the region during the busy festive shopping period – particularly coinciding with Manchester’s world-famous Christmas Markets, known for attracting millions of visitors to the city each year.
“Any strike action will cause a great deal of disruption but it is entirely the fault of Metrolink, which is not taking the issue of driver fatigue seriously,” commented Unite Regional Officer, Colin Hayden.
Georgina Pellant -
11th January 2022 
