Manchester’s a brilliant city, but it can sometimes be a little on the, er, *eccentric* side.
From the infamous characters we all recognise a mile off when you see them walking (or indeed cycling) around town to the moments you catch out of the corner of your eye that no one believes really happened, there’s never a dull moment here.
Or the guy who flew a helicopter from Salford to Preston to pick up a beef sandwich?
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Most recently, when we shared a video of a new Magnum billboard in Piccadilly Gardens, loads of you started telling us some of the strange sights you’ve seen in this notorious part of town.
So we asked The Manc readers what the weirdest things they’ve seen elsewhere in Greater Manchester are – and thousands responded.
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Here are some of our favourites.
One person managed to get stuck on top of this giant bike sculpture near Deansgate Locks. Credit: Google Maps
James told us he saw: “Pissed up people climbing that cycle statue at the end of Deansgate Locks. One of em made it and sat on it. Hadn’t a clue how.to get back down without falling, which he inevitably did …..poor sod”
Not sure how this one works – Keith said: “Was working in Gorton many years ago, went to a corner shop for a sandwich and was told there’s no bread so you will have to have toast. A true story.”
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Jennifer gave us another animal tale, saying: “A man walking down brooklands road in brooklands carrying a falcon on his hand whilst whistling sweet nothings to it”
Diane said: “Saw a rat the size of a small cat running down canal street with half a burger in its mouth. We cheered on the little fellow lol.”
Le Anne had an even weirder animal sighting, writing: “A couple of lads walking down by the canal side in Castlefield, with a lobster on a skateboard – like it was completely normal. Proof attached”
Credit: Facebook, The Manc Group via Le Ann
There are a lot of stories involving the weather, naturally.
Melissa wrote: “I was having a smoke outside where I worked one morning, absolutely pissing down rain and a woman rode past on a bike in a bikini top, ear muffs and no knickers on. I saw a lot working there but that was one of the most bizarre!”
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Amy posted: “This guy riding a scooter in the pissing down rain the other week… with two tesco bags over his feet to keep them dry.”
Far and away the most common weird sightings in Manchester relate to drunk people. There’s a surprise.
Helen recalled: “Me and my then boyfriend were coming home in the wee hours when we saw a chap, very drunk I’m presuming, sat in one of those pebble dashed bins they used to have back in the day. His backside was right inside it with him bent double and his arms and legs dangling down the side. I think he was drunk anyway…”
Someone witnessed a guy get a pint of beer stuck inside one of these horse heads. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Nathan wrote: “Saw a guy at the cricket wearing one of those rubber horse masks. He had a pint but he was finding it really difficult to drink, with the horse mask and all. Eventually he managed to put the entire glass in the snout of the mask, and angle it enough that he could have a sip of it. But then he was stuck and he couldn’t get the glass back out because it was one of those useless flimsy plastic glasses, so his only option was to down his drink, which he did with the support of a roaring crowd around him.(A lot of it went down his shirt but let’s not let that take away from the magic of the moment)”
Laura found someone who probably had some deep regrets the next morning, telling us: “A man ‘swimming’ in a humongous pile of garbage at 3 in the morning in Deansgate. Actual front stroke and everything!”
Paul witnessed a real Mr Bean-style crime in a pub once, writing: “I was once drinking in a pub, the landlord was away and the barmaid was in charge..two guys walked in wearing white coats and said they had come to collect the tv which the landlord had booked in for repair. They took the tv.. The landlord knew nothing about it..”
And then here are a couple more just completely mad moments from our brilliant city.
Gaynor said: “I once saw a man trying to park a car on deansgate in a very small space, It was a Nissan micra. In the end the doors opened 4 stocky men got out, picked the car up and plonked it into the space job done”
And finally, this, from Jen: “A group of foreign students were sat in St Peters Square with a guitar, when an angry man with one leg, hobbled over and without saying a word, hit the one playing the guitar with his crutch. All whilst an unconnected gentleman was sat playing ‘two become one’ on a recorder.”
Adventurous cat caught taking a train from Yorkshire to Manchester Airport
Daisy Jackson
Train conductors have reunited an adventurous senior cat with her owners after she was caught taking a train all the way to Manchester Airport.
15-year-old Angel was discovered on board an hour-long TransPennine Express service from West Yorkshire to the airport.
The black-and-white moggy had been strolling along the train making friends with passengers on board, following conductor Will Saunders through the carriages.
It turns out Angel is something of a local legend in Brighouse, and has been caught riding rail replacement buses in the past too, as well as making herself at home in the local pub.
On this occasion, she fancied herself a little holiday and hopped on board the 3.55am service from Brighouse to Manchester Airport.
Will kept a close eye on the gorgeous cat all the way to Manchester Airport, where they settled her into a cardboard box at the station.
Will then took Angel home to Stockport for the night to keep her safe, later discovering a phone number on Angel’s collar.
He and his partner then drove Angel all the way back home to Brighouse.
Will Saunders, conductor at TPE, said: “As a cat lover myself, I couldn’t leave her to fend for herself. She was so calm and confident on the train – it was like she’d done it before!
“I’m just glad we could keep her safe and get her back home. She’s clearly a much-loved cat.”
Andrew McClements, Customer Experience & Transformation Director at TPE, added: “Our teams are used to helping customers reach their destinations, but this was definitely one of our more unusual passengers.
“We’re just glad we could make sure this adventurous feline made it home safely.”
Now back where she belongs, Angel’s tale shows that even the most curious traveller can count on TPE to help them land on their paws.
Mulligans are making butties with the team behind some of the best sandwiches in Manchester
Danny Jones
We feel like we say this almost every time they set up one of these crossovers, but Bada Bing might have just hit it out of the park with their latest collaboration, as they’re teaming up with beloved Irish bar Mulligans to create what could be the sandwich of the century.
In case you’re wondering where we’ll be when this butty becomes available, we’ll be in the legendary Manchester pub, clutching at least three of these while asking the live band to play The Sopranos theme tune in full Celtic reel fashion.
Yes, two of our very favourite places in the city centre are teaming up not just for a one-off special, the Deansgate boozer – widely considered one of the best Irish bars (if not THE best) in Manchester – is actually going to be supplying the crucial ingredient in their limited-time menu item.
Teasing the collab earlier this week, the Bada Bing boys roped in Mulligans owner, Pádraig Brady, to play his role in the announcement that quickly went viral.
Now, in case you weren’t already salivating at the mere thought of it, wait until you hear what concoction they have come up with.
Simply titled ‘Split the B’ (nice), the Bada Bing x Mulligans special edition sandwich features Mulligans’ Guinness-braised short rib, crispy spuds, greens, pickled cabbage and crispy onions. Oh. My. Word…
With punters’ favourite ‘Mullies’ pouring in more than 13,000 pints of the black stuff every single week, it won’t surprise you to learn that those lines have to be cleaned and maintained almost constantly.
It also goes without saying that wasting even a single drop of that liquid gold is a tragedy, so they had the ingenious of using that surplus stout to create a limited supply of slow-roasted, Guinness-flavoured beef fit to grace any authentic Irish stew.
Slap that meat between bread, and what do you get? Perhaps one of the greatest culinary creations we Manchester foodies have ever seen.
Speaking on the collab, Pádraig said: “At Mulligans, we take pride in every pint of Guinness we pour, so when the chance came up to team up with Bada Bing and create something special for Mancs to enjoy beyond the pub, it just made sense. Quality recognises quality.”
“We’ve always admired Mulligans for how they do things – with no shortcuts”, says Sam Gormally, co-founder of Bada Bing.”
He went on to add: “This collab celebrates everything we both love about Manchester hospitality – craft, quality and a bit of heart. It’s a proper Manc sandwich, made with a proper pint.”
In case it wasn’t already blatantly obvious, we cannot wait to try this thing, and since it’s only being served for a few days, we intend to eat as many as possible.
The ‘Split the B’ Mulligans x Bada Bing Guinness Sandwich will be available exclusively at Bada Bing, 125 Oldham St in the Northern Quarter from Thursday, 6 November – and once they’re gone, they’re GONE.
Daisy Jackson -
22nd April 2022 
