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An event designed to make dating ‘less sh*t’ is coming to Manchester

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Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 21st May 2025

A dating event with a difference is heading to Manchester this week, designed to bring all the fun of dating without the endless swiping to our city.

Haystack Dating promises to blend good old-fashioned meeting-people-in-real-life with all the fancy technology that helps to match-make people online.

At each event, you’ll be placed in a group of up to 12 people who all have similar interests to you, based off a short survey you fill out before you attend.

You can grab a drink, have a natter, get stuck into some friendly competition (the event is hosted at Sixes Social Cricket Bar) and get to know each other – and potentially meet the love of your life.

Worst case scenario, you come away with some new mates and have a decent night in one of the city’s top venues.

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Haystack Dating are on a mission to make ‘dating more fun and less s**t’, promising that you might meet your soulmate over a Baby Guinness and a few round of virtual cricket.

They also want to make dating more inclusive and take a good step away from toxic dating apps and awkward dating events.

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Haystack Dating is coming to Manchester
Haystack Dating is coming to Manchester
Previous Haystack Dating events. Credit: Supplied

The company launched earlier this year in London with more than 2000 people passing through its events looking for love and a laugh – and now it’s Manchester’s turn.

This is the only dating company that uses a matching algorithm on the evening – so it’s basically the best bits of online dating, but in real life.

While this particular event is taking place at Sixes Social Cricket, previous activities have included live music, arcades, and even bucking broncos (that’s not a euphemism).

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Every venue Haystack Dating uses is also fully accessible.

There’ll be a team of reps on hand on the evening to oversee, make intros and remove any awkward vibes.

And Haystack Dating has a solid success rate – around one in five people go on a date after the event.

Haystack Dating was found by Lucy Rout, an entrepreneur who gained a 50k following on Instagram after surviving cancer, documenting her dating life and then finding the love of her life.

Haystack Dating will be in Manchester on Friday 23 May – you can find out more and book your tickets HERE.

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You can also follow them on Instagram HERE and Tiktok HERE.

Featured image: Supplied

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Lovely last-minute Mother’s Day ideas from Selfridges in Manchester

The Manc The Manc You can pick up Royal Exchange Flowers for Mother's Day in Selfridges in Manchester

Mother’s Day is this Sunday – and if those words have just sent you into a blind panic, just take a breath and head straight across to Selfridges. 

The huge department store has come up with all sorts of things that make for perfect last-minute gifts and experiences. 

That includes a carefully curated selection of gifts available in-store, plus a very special Morning With Mum beauty workshop so you can spend some quality time together on Mother’s Day. 

Selfridges can be your one-stop shop for the big day. 

In both Exchange Square and Trafford Centre stores, you can pick up lovely gifts like feast-filled hampers, fabulous accessories, luxury chocolates, candles, and even cards. 

As always, there are gifts you can have personalised in-store for a sentimental present for the mother figure in your life. 

If you’re really stuck, you can pop along to the Beauty Concierge and book her an experience.

And over in Selfridges Exchange Square, you can pick up a beautiful fresh bouquet from The Royal Exchange Florists. 

Selfridges has loads of last-minute Mother's Day ideas
Selfridges has loads of last-minute Mother’s Day ideas

There’s rarely a gift more precious than quality time together, which is why Selfridges will be hosting a special Mother’s Day floor-wide beauty event on Saturday 14 March.

Ticket-holders will receive expert beauty advice from your favourite brands, while enjoying complimentary drinks and sweet treats.

There’ll also be plus exclusive gifts with purchase available, and giveaways on the day, and you can redeem the £20 ticket price against products purchased on the day.

You can even grab an artist print for mum at the vending machine. 

Tickets for the Morning With Mum beauty workshop are on sale HERE. 

You could also share a moment over a glass of champagne at San Carlo in both locations, or grab a sweet treat from the bakery in the Trafford Centre store. 

Read more: The best Mother’s Day deals in and around Manchester this year

Featured image: The Manc Group

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First look at enormous The Mystery of Banksy exhibition as it opens in Manchester

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson A reimagining of the Barely Legal room in LA

Europe’s most popular Banksy exhibition has officially landed in Manchester, displaying hundreds of reimagined works inspired by one of the world’s most prolific artists. 

Making its UK debut, The Mystery of Banksy – A Genius Mind documents the street artist’s illustrious global career and showcases his most famous artwork. 

An enormous purpose-built exhibition space has taken shape at Depot Mayfield in the city centre, where visitors weave their way through a maze of documentary footage, sculptures, prints, graffiti, photographs and paintings.

The exhibition has already stunned millions of visitors across 36 cities, from Berlin to Stockholm, and now it’s Manchester’s turn to step inside the mind of Banksy. 

Huge pieces have been spraypainted on site to suit and fit the mammoth space that is Depot Mayfield. 

95% of the art pieces are recreations of lost Banksy artwork – whether those originals have been sold, covered, or destroyed, removing them from public view. 

The fascination collection highlights artworks which have often been placed in locations that raise awareness for political and social issues, whether it’s the steelworks in Port Talbot, or the rubble of war-torn cities. 

Installations include Palestine Wall, a remodelling of the walls in Gaza and the West Bank, where Banksy has sprayed a range of murals since 2003. 

One gallery showcases Banksy's work in war-torn Ukraine
One gallery showcases Banksy’s work in war-torn Ukraine
There are photo opportunities throughout the exhibition
There are photo opportunities throughout the exhibition
Recreations of Banksy's most famous artworks are on display
Recreations of Banksy’s most famous artworks are on display

You can also step inside a set inspired by The Walled Off Hotel, Banksy’s boutique hotel in Bethlehem which overlooks the concrete separation wall.

While you can no longer safely visit many of these artworks in real life, The Mystery Of Banksy is doing its best to bring them to life here in Manchester. 

His political works are displayed in every room, including reimaginings of his pieces created on ruined buildings in war-torn Ukraine. 

There are also famous sculptures like Death of a Phone Booth, Angel Bust, and Suicide Bomber. 

And visitors can walk through a recreated London Underground carriage that was turned into an immersive Banksy artwork in 2020, called If You Don’t Mask, You Don’t Get.

Recreations of Banksy's most famous artworks are on display
Recreations of Banksy’s most famous artworks are on display
There are sculptures, documentary footage, and loads more
There are sculptures, documentary footage, and loads more
Paintings by patients of The Christie are also on display
Paintings by patients of The Christie are also on display

You’ll be able to explore a timeline of milestones in Banksy’s career, from his graffiti work in Bristol in the early 90s all the way through iconic cultural moments like his Dismaland theme park and his documentary film Exit Through the Gift Shop.

The exhibition also explains why Banksy began using stencils – something he is best-known for – and shows his early and most famous stencil work, like Mild Mild West and Kissing Coppers. 

As you weave through the custom-built exhibition space, you’ll pass sets like the Barely Legal Room, which gives a glimpse inside his three-day warehouse installation in LA, dominated by a gigantic red elephant sculpture (the real exhibition used a live elephant). 

There are photo opportunities along the way too, where you can pose with work like Girl with Balloon. 

And take time in the last room of the exhibition, where Banksy work shares the space with pieces created by patients from The Christie. 

The Christie is the official partner for The Mystery of Banksy, which will raise money towards a new Total Body PET-CT scanner through ‘tap to donate’ spots around the exhibition, alongside a dedicated charity event takeover and an exclusively commissioned artwork which will be donated for auction.

John Carrigan, Director of Cartel Events Limited, says “We’re excited to launch the ‘Mystery of Banksy – A Genius Mind’ in Manchester, the UK’s hub of modern culture. In partnership with Europe’s leading entertainment promoter, COFO Exhibitions, who holds 50 years of experience in revolutionary international exhibitions, visitors can expect a spectacle of reenvisioned accessible artworks for all.’’

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Louise Hadley, Chief Executive of The Christie Charity, says: “We are absolutely thrilled to be the chosen charity for The Mystery of Banksy, A Genius Mind exhibition. It is an incredibly exciting opportunity for us and one that will ultimately benefit cancer patients both now and in the future.”

Open to all, standard adult tickets start at £22. Tickets are free for curious minds under the age of six, with concession tickets also available for seven-16 year olds, seniors and all NHS workers. 

Find out more and book tickets HERE.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

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