Punters basking in the sunshine outside a popular Manchester city centre pub yesterday spotted bees swarming and settling on a lamppost.
It’s no secret that bee swarms are a common sight across Greater Manchester, with several stories of city centre shoppers being shocked to see the buzzing insects collectively gathering and covering street signs, traffic lights, cars, and more, grabbing headlines over the past couple of years – and it seems 2023 is no different.
This time, it looks like they took a particular liking to a lamppost outside a busy beer garden.
As temperatures soared and the sun shone down on the city, shoppers walking passed The Mitre Hotel spotted thousands of bees congregating and covering a lamppost.
Harry Slater (@harryjslater85) was just one city centre shopper who happened to notice the bee swarm as he passed The Mitre yesterday, and made sure to grab a quick video and send it to The Manc on Instagram.
A walk past The Mitre this morning, however, has confirmed that the bees are no longer there, although it’s unsure whether they vacated themselves or if specialist help from a beekeeper was required to remove them from the lamppost.
As we all know, Manchester and bees go hand in hand – and considering the swarm was spotted yesterday on 22 May just steps way from the AO Arena, it could have been seen as a rather fitting and touching tribute to the 22 people who tragically lost their lives, and the thousands more injured and impacted, on the sixth anniversary of the Manchester Arena Attack.
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The worker bee has not only been an emblem for our city for over 150 years now, but after the Manchester Arena attack back on 22 May 2017, bees have gone on to become an even more prevalent symbol, and one that’s synonymous with remembrance and resilience.
The Mitre Hotel in Manchester city centre / Credit: The Mitre (via Facebook)
The city claimed the crown thanks to a study analysing UK cities based on a number of metrics – including pollution, green space, the number of flower gardens, allotment sites, individual allotment plots, and the number of parks.
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But why have there been so many bees swarming in Manchester city centre in recent years? And what does it mean?
Well, according to the British Beekeepers Association, a honeybee colony may swarm for a number of reasons but can often be seen swarming on warm and sunny days between May and July, and usually after a spell of poor weather.
It’s a completely natural process, and they will most likely swarm to reproduce after the old queen leaves a colony with some of the other bees.
The worker bee has been a symbol of Manchester for over 150 years / Credit: Pinterest | Damien Tupinier (via Unsplash)
Once the queen has left, scout bees will then head off in search of suitable places to construct the swarm’s home, and the successful scouts will eventually report back on the location of suitable nesting sites to the other bees – but in the meantime, the other bees will leave the hive and find a spot to wait until the scout decides on the new home for the colony.
The latter is most likely to answer for the swarm we saw yesterday.
With the warm weather set to continue, it remains to be seen whether this will be the last swarm we’ll see this week, but the city will no doubt be ready and waiting if it happens again.
Featured Image – Harry Slater (via Instagram – @harryjslater85)
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Sir Ian McKellen pays emotional tribute to long-time friend and fellow northern actor Sir Patrick Stewart
Emily Sergeant
Sir Ian McKellen has paid an emotional tribute to his long-time friend and fellow northern actor, Sir Patrick Stewart, following his death.
Sir Patrick Stewart – who was born and bred in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, and is best-known for his theatre work alongside an illustrious 60-year screen career, taking on prominent roles in franchises such as Star Trek and X-Men – sadly passed away at the age of 86, with his death being announced publicly yesterday evening (29 October).
And now, his long-time friend and fellow northern actor, Sir Ian McKellen, has paid tribute.
Sir Patrick and Sir Ian shared the stage together countless times over their decades-long careers, but also famously starred alongside each other in the X-Men franchise, and subsequent Marvel movies, as Charles Xavier/Professor X and Magneto.
The tribute, shared across Sir Ian’s social media platforms, reads: “Before everything else, Patrick was defined by being born and bred in Yorkshire, the proud county in the north of England which he loved to the end. You could hear it in his accented voice and in the stern honesty with which he told you what he thought and felt. Yorkshiremen have no truck with half-truths or avoidance of big issues. He wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love.
“We first met as ambitious young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company half a century ago but we weren’t in the same productions.
“My first strong memory was a few years later, meeting him in the street in central London when he told me about an offer to take over a leading part in ‘Star Trek’. “But Patrick think of your stage career in the UK. Do you really want to risk getting lost in Hollywood for years and years?”
“Well, he took the risk and thank goodness for us all that he did, for not just his devoted Trekkies, but film and theatre audiences who marvelled at his using international celebrity to star in a string of cinema successes (‘X-Men’ of course) and in great classical plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Peter Shaffer, Pinter and Beckett at Stratford-upon-Avon, in London’s West End and on Broadway.
“America was his adopted home, where he met his adored Sunny who has cared for him through sickness and health, through thick and thin.
“But he never forsook his origins: and the proudest achievement of the most respected and beloved actor of his generation on either side of the Atlantic, was his appointment as Chancellor of Huddersfield University in Yorkshire.”
Sir Patrick Stewart’s farewell performance will be in Avengers: Doomsday, which is being released in UK cinemas on 18 December 2026
Featured Image – Gage Skidmore (via Flickr)
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Classic FM will be back playing calming music for anxious pets this Bonfire Night
Emily Sergeant
Classic FM will be back playing calming music for anxious pets during this year’s fireworks season.
Bonfire Night may be loved by us humans for the spectacular firework displays and all the festive-themed activities that come along with it… but sadly, the November holiday isn’t quite so fun for our four-legged friends.
Loud bangs, flashing lights, and unpleasant strong smell of spent explosives are just some of the reasons why fireworks are frightening to pets.
Not only that, but with multiple bangs occurring from numerous displays across this time of year, pets are rarely able to pinpoint when and where the booming explosions are coming from, therefore creating even more anxiety around this time of year.
Classic FM will play calming music for anxious pets during this year’s fireworks / Credit: DESIGNECOLOGIST (via Unsplash)
Which is why, for the ninth year running now, Classic FM is once again teaming up with the RSPCA for two Pet Classics programmes packed with ‘the most soothing and comforting classical music’.
The music has been handpicked to help calm and settle any anxious pets.
A survey by the RSPCA revealed that almost two-thirds (63%) of animal owners reported their pet was distressed during fireworks season, and that playing relaxing music was the most common way (36%) to help calm or prepare their animal.
Presenters Dan Walker, Aled Jones, and Dawn O’Porter will each host a night of the specially created programme to help keep the nation’s pets calm through the whizzes and bangs.
Dan will present the first programme on Bonfire Night itself (Thursday 5 November), and then as celebrations continue throughout the weekend, Aled will be on hand to bring some peace to Friday 6 November, and Dawn picks up the baton on Saturday 7 November.
Emily Sergeant -
23rd May 2023 
