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You can now buy a Manchester-inspired scented candle

So you can take the smell of home wherever you go

Daisy Jackson - 13th October 2023

It’s pretty easy to sum up Manchester in a few words – but we’ve managed to capture the charm of our city through smell now too.

The Manc has teamed up with The Naked Candle Co, a small family run business who create magical room-filling scents with soy wax candles, to come up with The Manc scented candles.

So what does Manchester actually smell like?

We’ve started with tobacco (no, not because of Piccadilly Gardens).

Tobacco is a really popular scent to use in candles, thanks to its autumnal, woody, comforting aroma.

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And it has a lot of heritage here in Manchester too, harking back to the days when our streets were filled with historical, industrial mills.

We’ve also added honey into The Manc x The Naked Candle Co candles, to pay homage to the worker bee that’s become our city’s emblem.

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The end result is something earthy and welcoming, perfect as the nights draw in.

They’ll look nice in your house too, with labels created by brilliant local doodle artist Dave Draws.

With Christmas creeping closer it’s some decent gift inspiration for your loved ones.

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A portion of every sale will go towards supporting Lifeshare to support the homeless, and to Mermaids, supporting queer youths.

The chosen charities will change monthly to spread the love as far and wide as possible.

The candles are available to shop now with The Naked Candle Co here.

Featured image: The Manc Group

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Wigan Warriors finally reveal next season’s kits following update on delayed release

Wigan Warriors have now officially revealed their new shirts for next season, following a much-anticipated update regarding the 2026 kits, the release of which had been delayed.

The Greater Manchester club lost this year’s Grand Final but still had a strong season, and with another local outfit having been relegated from the division, they are one of just two teams from the region competing for the title in the upcoming campaign.

However, supporters were fretting that they might not be able to get their new threads until after Christmas due to the launch of the latest merchandise being postponed.

Thankfully, this week, the club not only informed fans that things are getting back on schedule but also officially revealed the Wigan Warriors home and away shirt strips for the 30th anniversary edition of the Super League on Tuesday afternoon.

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A post shared by Wigan Warriors 🍒⚪ (@wiganwarriorsrl)

As you can see, the nearby rugby outfit is staying with Kappa as their manufacturer and, as ever, is sticking with the deep red, white and black colour combos across both jerseys.

Branding the home shirt as the ‘Loyal’ fit and the away one as their ‘Rebel’ version, the kits both feature horizontal stripes and other geometrical variations.

Most notably, Warriors now have a positive update on the status of the kits’ full launch, even if they don’t have an exact timeline just yet.

Writing to fans in an official statement, the club said: “Wigan Warriors are happy to report that [we are] expecting delivery of the 2026 home and away kits imminently.”

They go on to explain that they have been “experiencing significant delays” regarding the supply pipeline, which they say “were beyond the control of the Club.”

Nevertheless, the cogs are moving once again; you can see a closer look at some of the details below.

wigan warriors loyal shirt — The home shirt…

wigan warriors loyal kit — The home shirt…

wigan warriors rebel away shirt — And the away jersey…

wigan warriors new away kit 2026 — And the away jersey…

Warriors Chief Executive, Kris Radlinski, continued: “We want to thank everyone for their patience and continued support. Due to issues outside of our control, delivery timelines have unfortunately been impacted.

“We understand how frustrating this has been for supporters, particularly so close to Christmas, and we genuinely share that frustration. Please be assured that our team has been working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure delivery as quickly as possible.

“We apologise that we have not been able to provide an earlier update while matters were ongoing. We are pleased to confirm that the delivery has now cleared customs and will be arriving at the Club imminently.”

Although personalisation will not yet be made available due to a focus on processing “as many orders as possible in the shortest time frame”, pre-orders for both shirts are now live, and those interested are being urged to opt for click and collect/visit in store where possible to avoid any further waiting.

How do you rate the 2026 look, Wigan fans?

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Featured Images — Wigan Warriors (via online store)

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Erling Haaland dresses up as Santa and hands out Christmas presents in Greater Manchester

Danny Jones Erling Haaland dresses up as Santa and gives out presents in Manchester

Erling Haaland dresses up as Santa and gives out presents in Manchester

Manchester City star Erling Haaland has doubled as Father Christmas in his latest YouTube stunt, dressing up as Santa and handing out presents to local kids in the new episode.

We’re starting to think he might be one of the most likeable footballers on the planet right now.

The Norwegian footballer recently surpassed Alan Shearer’s ‘fastest to 100 goals record’ in the Premier League and has been well and truly back to his best as Man City continue to rediscover their form, but the big blonde number nine has been delighting both on and off the pitch of late.

For starters, even before any of the season’s givings began, we got the giggle just from our first glimpse of the thumbnail.

Another Haaland side quest dropped pic.twitter.com/KucGlHrnF9
— ¹⁰ (@SxrgioSZN) December 16, 2025

It’s becoming a recurring theme, in fact.

Yes, Haaland definitely has a habit of leaning into the humorous side of his celebrity status, having already dressed up as the Joker for Halloween in one of the first episodes published on his still relatively new YouTube channel.

However, the 25-year-old got up to some more heartwarming activities this time around, swapping the face paint, green wig and stripey suit for a red coat, hat, some little glasses and a big white beard.

With the video itself showing him getting into character and loading his car with a sack full of presents, he then goes on to visit multiple houses to dish out the surprise gifts.

While the title and description state that he drove around the streets of 0161, it’s hard to tell where exactly he went, but we’d guess it was more around Alderley Edge and/or the Cheshire side of the Greater Manchester borders.

One particular interaction between the disguised Blue and a young Red certainly produced a harmless little bit of comedy…

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A post shared by City HQ (@city.hq)

Either way, on the whole, this particular instalment was more wholesome than it was funny, and it’s always nice to see sports personalities and famous people spreading kindness.

Obviously, not everyone can afford to be as generous as a Premier League and world-famous international athlete, but it’s nevertheless a nice touch.

For now, you can read all the other reasons we can’t get enough of Haaland’s YouTube channel – and trust us, there are plenty…

And even if not, you can always just stick on the latest episode and see for yourselves.

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Featured Images — Erling Haaland (screenshots via YouTube)