Some of the biggest names in fitness came together for an inspiring International Women’s Day event at Hero Training Clubs in Manchester this month.
Lucy Davis, a former GB swimmer and fitness influencer with a massive 587k followers on Instagram alone, hosted the event at the boutique gym in the city centre.
The Someday is Today event featured fitness classes, panel talks, networking and food and drink, all geared towards celebrating and empowering strong women.
Lucy brought together women from across the fitness industry to showcase that women can build strong bodies without ever feeling intimidated in the gym.
Speakers at the panel talks included TikTok fitness sensation Natalee B Fitness (whose videos show why no one should feel self-conscious in the gym), Gymshark athlete and Shreddy trainer Oyinda Okunowo, and nutritionist Dr Emilia Thompson.
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They were also joined by Farah Fonseca, who’s been named England’s Strongest Woman three times, best-selling food author Lucy Lord, and disabled bodybuilder Taylor Crisp.
Then those who attended took part in two of Hero’s industry-leading fitness classes, either spin and conditioning, or boxing and yoga, taught by some of Manchester’s best female instructors, encouraging people to step out of their comfort zone.
Goody bags stuffed with items from Gymshark and Myprotein were handed out at the end of the day, with Myprotein also handing out snacks and protein to fuel the day.
A spokesperson for Hero said: “We are so proud to have hosted such an empowering event for Women run by an amazing athlete herself – Lucy Davis.
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“We are looking forward to hosting more events like this in the future as it shows exactly what our gym is about working on yourself but in a positive and motivating community.”
Popular Manchester Italian restaurant launches great-value express menu and mouth-watering new dishes
Daisy Jackson
One of Manchester’s best Italian restaurants is ready to launch a brand new menu – with a top-value express deal too.
Italiana Fifty-Five, formerly known as the foodie favourite Cibo, is expanding its offering with even more authentic pastas, pizzas, salads and seafood dishes.
The restaurant has sites across Greater Manchester, including in the Great Northern, on Liverpool Road, and in Didsbury, all serving up authentic Italian food.
And now the family-friendly eatery is ready for a new season, with a whole host of new dishes to sink your teeth in to.
Italiana Fifty-Five’s new menu features a brand new Rigatoni Italiana, a spicy and rich pasta dish that’s baked so that it becomes a bubbling bowl of molten cheese and creamy tomato sauce.
Meatballs at Italiana Fifty-Five. Credit: The Manc GroupBurrata bruschetta and tiger prawns from Italiana Fifty-Five. Credit: The Manc GroupRisotto Zafferano with king prawns
They also have a new Risotto Zafferano, a risotto cooked in saffron and pecorino cheese so that it arrives glowing a healthy yellow, with the option to add king prawns on top.
For starters, there are new dishes like a mozzarella, avocado and tomato salad, meatballs swimming in a hearty tomato sauce, and a seafood stew with gigantic prawns and mussels.
You can also order huge tiger prawns cooked in garlic and chilli, their tender meat served still in their shells, or a roasted tomato bruschetta topped with fresh burrata.
All these new menu items (and more) are available at Italiana Fifty-Five now, along with a brand new Italian Express set menu.
Dishes on Italiana Fifty Five’s express menu. Credit: The Manc GroupSalami pizza at Italiana Fifty FiveDishes on Italiana Fifty Five’s express menu. Credit: The Manc Group
If you dine from the Express menu, you can get a delicious Italian dish served with a tea, coffee or soft drink, for only £14.75.
Choose from a creamy mushroom risotto funghi, the aforementioned Rigatoni Italiana, a classic chicken Caesar salad, pan-fried seabass with parsley, lemon and spinach, or a fiery Diavola pizza covered in spicy salami and red onion.
To find out more about Italiana Fifty-Five and to book your table, click here.
First-ever RHS Urban Show to take place in Manchester this month
Daisy Jackson
A plant paradise will be created at Depot Mayfield in Manchester this month when the inaugural RHS Urban Show takes over.
The huge event – the charity’s first large-scale indoor show – has been created to celebrate the growing urban gardening movement.
Whether you’re cramming a tropical jungle onto your balcony or trying to bring a little plant life into your home, the RHS Urban Show will have exhibits that will educate and inspire you.
You can learn the secrets to growing happy houseplants, see vertical structures for awkward urban spaces, and explore a seven-garden vision for a greener city.
There’ll even be a horticultural exhibit celebrating the heyday of Manchester’s Hacienda days.
The RHS Urban Show wants to answer the question of ‘what is urban gardening’ through this huge event, which will run between Thursday 18 and Sunday 21 April.
Major exhibits will be filling the gigantic industrial space at Depot Mayfield, like the RHS City Spaces: Cloudscape, by Manchester’s Cloud Gardener Jason Williams, which will challenge local authorities and developers to think and envision greener towns and cities.
The inaugural RHS Urban Show in Manchester will be a plant-lover’s paradise
It will bring together four balconies, each facing north, south, east and west, plus a north-facing shaded patio, an urban farm, and a communal garden.
Created in collaboration with Manchester Metropolitan University’s Rise programme and Notcutts Garden Centre, RHS City Spaces: Cloudscape will showcase how to bring plants into your space, regardless of needs, microclimate, or budget.
Williams said: “The concept as a whole is an ambitious blueprint of how we can bring a city together. These are not show gardens, they are learning exhibits designed to teach residents, local authorities, retail and developers how we can all improve to make our towns and cities greener.”
Four-time RHS Chelsea Flower Show medal-winners GrowTropicals will be explaining which houseplants – including rare and exotic ones – are best suited to which home environment.
Visitors to the RHS Urban Show will be able to learn the secrets to growing happy houseplantsThere’ll be exhibitions, talks, shopping opportunities and more at the RHS Urban Show in Manchester
They’ll group dozens of plants together, from shade-loving plants who’ll be happy in north-facing rooms, to those who love a bit of humidity, to the sun-worshippers begging for a sunny windowsill.
Midlands-based designer Amanda Grimes’ exhibit Pop Culture Planting: Punk Rockery, the New Wave and 24-Hour Party Planting, will be a two-part installation set over three years, showing a design at the time of planting, one year on and two years on.
Her aim is to give new and inexperienced gardeners the confidence and inspiration to ‘just go for it’ by showing visitors what they can expect as a garden develops naturally over time, even with poor soil or rubble.
She said: “Punk Rockery hits Manchester in the same way the Sex Pistols did in June 1976, though possibly with less swearing and a bigger audience.
“That now-legendary gig was the spark that lit the touch paper of the whole Manchester New Wave music scene which included the Buzzcocks, Joy Division/New Order, The Fall, Magazine, The Smiths and Factory Records, and went on to inspire so many more.
“The installation is named in honour of all that creativity which was, and still is, uniquely Mancunian.
“24-Hour Party Planting is a celebration of Manchester’s thriving nightlife, restaurant and entertainment scene.
Garden designer Tom Wilkes-Rios dusts between leaves of succulents on his balcony garden ‘The Blue Garden’. Credit: RHS / Luke MacGregor
“It references the Happy Mondays’ track of the same name, and with it the hedonistic days of the Hacienda. It traces that legacy through to 2024 and the incredibly diverse, vibrant and endlessly creative energy of the Gay Village, Northern Quarter, Salford and beyond.”
The RHS Urban Show, sponsored by Mad About Land, also debuts ‘content cubes’ for gardeners with small spaces.
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That includes RHS Flower Show Tatton Park 2023’s People’s Choice and gold medal-winner Conal McGuire’s Urban Shade, which utilises modular ‘grow frames’ offering a flexible solution for growing in awkward urban spaces.
As well as all the exhibits to explore, there’ll be a programme of talks that will run through everything from cut flowers to juggling plant life with work and family life.
RHS-run workshops where you can make your own terrarium will be taking place, and you can join a free guided tour of the neighbouring Mayfield Park.
And you can browse through a variety of indoor and outdoor plants that you can take home with you, with pots, macrame, and even a new clothing range by Mad About Land for sale too.
Lex Falleyn, show manager for the RHS Urban Show, said: “Urban Gardening is diverse and dynamic and the inaugural RHS Urban Show is an exciting opportunity to explore the important role gardening plays in greening up cities.
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“We’ve chosen to work with a wide range of gardeners, from award-winning designers to community groups to enthusiasts who juggle gardening with day-to-day life. We hope this will bring a balance of relevant yet realistic advice to get people growing.”
The RHS Urban Show will take place at Depot Mayfield between Thursday 18 and Sunday 21 April. You can buy tickets here.
Daisy Jackson -
29th March 2023 
