A ‘world’s first’ fish and chips-themed hotel is testing out the waters for an opening in Blackpool this summer, and it looks a bit, erm, grim.
Called The Jolly Good Fish and Chip Hotel, the prototype will be popping up on the coastal town this weekend for two nights only across 8 and 9 July – giving visitors a chance to see what a hotel inspired by the seaside classic might look like in the flesh.
Images released by Gala Bingo, which is behind the project, show the frontage of the hotel and – to us, at least – it looks part chip shop canteen, and part estate agents.
Possibly it’s the font, or it might be the bright yellow Gala Bingo sign above its door. There’s definitely some estate agent energy going on outside here, though.
Inside, it’s more like a canteen with a Gala-branded fish and chips counter and rows of tables with yellow and white gingham tablecloths.
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That said, there are some freebies in it for those who want to go down and see it for themselves.
Across the weekend, the pop-up hotel will be welcoming visitors to enjoy a portion of fish, chips and peas on the house – a dish inspired not just by British tradition, but also the bingo call 33.
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Guests will be invited to dig into their chippy teas as they play some games of bingo, also for free courtesy of Gala.
Image: Supplied
When it opens this weekend for its two-night run, The Jolly Good Fish and Chip Hotel pop-up will be ‘five in a row’ themed.
From midday until 8pm on both Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 July, visitors to the hotel will be invited to indulge in a free portion of the British staple, inspired by the iconic bingo call 33, fish, chips and peas.
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Guests will be able to enjoy their fish and chips at the hotel’s dining room and join in on games of bingo held throughout the day, or take them away to enjoy in the sun at the Blackpool Pier or Pleasure Beach nearby.
The Jolly Good Fish & Chip Hotel room will also be open for visitors to snoop around.
The Gala Bingo concierge will be there to meet and greet guests and welcome them into the ‘five in a row’ themed suite.
They can test out the hotel bed, and experience what it would be like to spend a night in the world’s first Fish & Chip Hotel room.
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When in Blackpool, eh. We just hope that the seafront’s resident scarecrow is in attendance to shoo away the birds.
Featured image – Supplied
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The Manchester restaurant that serves pizza with scissors is now giving FREE haircuts
Emily Sergeant
Manchester’s newest scissor-themed pizzeria will be giving out free haircuts this Father’s Day… genuinely.
We know it sounds a little strange, especially as we unusually described the restaurant as ‘scissor-themed’, but stay with us on this one.
One of Manchester‘s most exciting new openings so far this year, Forbici, has aptly announced that it’ll be treating dads who dine with them to free haircuts on Father’s Day this Sunday.
Forbici – which literally translates to ‘scissors’ in Italian… get it now? – opened its doors in the heart of the city centre last month, and is already making waves in Manchester’s foodie scene thanks to the fact it serves up every pizza with a pair of scissors.
Forbici is giving out free haircuts to dads who dine there on Father’s Day / Credit: The Manc Group
The restaurant specialises in authentic Neapolitan pizza made by master bakers and fermentors, using ingredients straight from Naples, but what makes this place a little different to the norm is that, staying true to tradition, each pizza is served in quarters and snipped with pizza scissors right at the table.
Given that scissors are such an integral part of Forbici, now it provides you with a bit more context as to why its latest Father’s Day collaboration is so clever.
Forbici has teamed up with respected Manchester-based barbershop, Urban Gent, to give any dad who dines in at on Father’s Day the chance to walk away with more than just a full belly, as they’ll also receive a voucher for a free professional haircut.
After enjoying a signature Neapolitan-inspired pizza from Forbici’s curated menu this Sunday, dads will be able to redeem their stylish surprise when settling the bill.
The voucher – covering the cost of a standard ‘haircut’ service – will be valid for a full month between 15 June to 15 July 2025, giving dads plenty of time to book a trim.
Fancy giving your dad the gift of a perfectly baked pizza and a sharp new look all under one roof? Book your table at Forbici this Father’s Day here.
Featured Image – The Manc Group
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Manchester City confirm fourth signing of the summer as spending spree continues
Danny Jones
Manchester City have officially revealed their fourth signing of the summer window after confirming the transfer of top target Tijjani Reijnders.
The highly sought-after Serie A midfielder joins the club from AC Milan on a five-year contract for an initial fee of approximately £46.5 million, after having been tracked by a number of clubs across Europe over the past season or so.
Reijnders, 26, registered 15 goals and five assists from central midfielder last season (more than any other player in the league) with Italian football journalist Mina Rzouki stating that he models his game on Kevin De Bruyne, making him the perfect replacement for the Belgian – on paper, at least.
Finally unveiled on Wednesday, 11 June, he is arguably the statement signing of what looks to be a continued spending spree which began back in January.
With Man City splashing roughly £200m to kick off the 2025 calendar year as they brought the likes of Omar Marmoush and a trio of defensively geared players in Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and CDM Nico Gonzalez, it seems like they started as they mean to go on.
Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak assured fans that the club would be picking up “several players” in a recent interview after he argued they hadn’t been aggressive enough last summer, and given that the current main window hasn’t even been open for a fortnight yet, we’d say he’s sticking to that promise.
This year actually marks a rare instance of the transfer window being broken up into two parts due to the FIFA Club World Cup (which City are among the favourites to win) and will then re-open on 16 June.
Nevertheless, the Blues look to have got plenty of their business done already, not only with the arrival of Reijnders but the acquisition of left-back Rayan Aït-Nouri earlier this week, plus another attack-minded midfielder, Rayan Cherki.
The second player of Algerian descent and the second signing of the summer window was quickly announced by the Man City social media team just before the Dutchman.
Along with the signing of a new shotstopper, Marcus Betinelli from Chelsea – set to replace former reserve goalkeeper Scott Carson, who left the club after six seasons on Monday – that makes it four new incoming already.
Once again, not only do these latest additions to Pep Guardiola’s squad take their transfer total to over £300m on new talent in 2025, but there is still plenty of time for City to sign even more players with the summer window not closing until 7pm BST on 1 September.
Although the club have now acquired all of the players they have been most publicly linked with so far, it’s unclear whether their spending will continue or if the focus now turns to the Club World Cup getting underway this month and preparing the current squad for next season.
What do you make of Man City‘s latest recruits? Don’t forget, there have been some new arrivals in the backroom as well.
Georgina Pellant -
5th July 2023 
