It’s true that no one loves a pie quite like us Northerners, but it seems there’s a Southerner giving us a run for our money.
Reckon you’ve got an appetite for pies?
Well, whatever you think about the size of your stomach when it comes to pastry chomping, the likelihood is that it isn’t as large as that of Max Stanford.
Amateur competitive eater Max – who is known as Max vs Food online and is currently ranked number two in the British Eating League – recently took on a pie and mash challenge and scoffed down 18 pies, as well as seven large helpings of mash and liquor, all in less than 45 minutes.
Yes, as mad as it sounds, he managed to defeat this 8,000 calorie beast in under an hour.
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Max Stanford
The London-native completed the challenge at well-known traditional pie and mash eatery Manzes in Peckham and successfully consumed a five kilogram plate that was said to be “the size of a toddler” in just three quarters of an hour.
Speaking to LADbible about tackling the challenge, Max said: “I ate 18 traditional beef pies and seven portions of mash and liquor weighting a total of 5kg/11lb from Manze’s Pie and Mash shop in Peckham, which I finished in 43 minutes.
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“It was definitely one of the hardest and biggest food challenges I have ever done.”
He’s managed to complete a wide range of challenges in the past, but nothing compares to this one.
He continued: “I could think of nothing better than pie, mash and liquor. I’ve always gone to the Manzes pie and mash shop throughout my childhood with my Dad.”
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Taking to social media to congratulate “incredibly nice guy” Max on successfully completing the challenge, Manzes Pie and Mash said: “We welcomed Max into our Peckham shop. [He] has grown up eating pie and mash and he wanted to challenge himself – well boy did he do that,
“18 pies, [seven] mash and a load of liquor in under 45 minutes – he awaits a challenger.”
They also wished him “good luck” with the competitive eating and admitted that he is “smashing it”.
You can watch Max conquer the 8,000 calories on YouTube here:
We’re full from just watching that.
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After successfully managing to pull off this monster of a challenge, we think Max deserves an honorary Northerner title for this one, right? He could relocate to Wigan anytime.
Nice one, mate.
You can keep up to date with Max Stanford’s latest eating challenges on Instagram and YouTube.
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Manchester’s popular board game festival returns this month with hundreds of games to play
Emily Sergeant
Manchester’s popular board came festival is set to return later this month, with hundreds of games free to play.
Manchester Board Game Festival is set to kick off 2026 in style, returning for the first festival of the year with a full weekend of board games, role-playing games, indie traders, and community-led fun in the heart of the city.
The festival features a huge board game library, giving fans access to hundreds of games to try out across the weekend – with ‘Library Bees’ on-hand to help people find games, learn the rules, or jump into sessions with other players.
There’ll also be bookable sessions, like RPGs and Blood on The Clocktower, and seminars to take part in over the three-day event.
Manchester’s popular board game festival returns this month with hundreds of games to play / Credit: MBGF (via Facebook)
As well as gaming, visitors can browse the festival’s popular Geek Fayre too, open on the Saturday and Sunday of the event, which showcases indie traders, artists, and tabletop creators from across the UK. From games and accessories, to artwork and geeky gifts, it’s a chance to support small businesses all while discovering something new.
Running from Friday 27 February through to Sunday 1 March, this opening weekend festival marks the start of five events planned throughout 2026.
Events are designed to bring together players of all experience levels for three days of tabletop gaming and social play.
“There’s something really special about the first festival of the year,” commented festival organiser, James Oxley.
“People are excited, they’re ready to play, and there’s a real buzz in the room. Manchester Board Game Festival has always been about bringing people together through games, and we can’t wait to see everyone back in the halls enjoying themselves.
“Whether attendees come for a single afternoon or the full weekend, the focus is on playing at your own pace, meeting new people, and enjoying games in a relaxed and friendly setting.”
Further festivals will follow throughout 2026, including themed Halloween and Christmas editions later in the year, so keep your eyes peeled, but until then, February’s event marks the first chance for players to roll some dice, discover new favourites, and start the year with a table full of games.
Manchester Board Game Festival takes place from Friday 27 February through to Sunday 1 March at Sachas Hotel in the Northern Quarter, with tickets starting from just £13.
Trailer released for new romcom Finding Emily set and filmed all across Manchester
Emily Sergeant
The first trailer for a new romcom that’s set and filmed all across Manchester has been released.
The film, titled Finding Emily, tells the story of a lovesick musician, played by Spike Fearn, who meets his dream girl on a night out, but ends up with the wrong phone number, and so teams up with a driven psychology student, played by Angourie Rice, in a bid to find her.
Together, the unlikely duo spark a hilarious campus-wide frenzy that tests their own hearts and ambitions along the way.
The film – which is directed by Alicia MacDonald, and based on a screenplay written by Rachel Hirons – is produced by Working Title Films, is set in the fictional Manchester City University, and is due to be distributed by Focus Features and Universal Pictures across the UK and internationally this spring.
The talented ensemble cast groups together big names like Minnie Driver with rising stars like Ella Maisy Purvis, Yali Topal Margalith, and Kat Ronney, as well as other established actors including Timothy Innes and Nadia Parkes.
Filming took place in Manchester between August and September 2024.
The two and a half-minute trailer has been shared with the world today, and when we say it’s a Manc film, we mean it… we quite literally lost count of how many of our city’s famous locations can be spotted in just the trailer alone.
The trailer has been released for new romcom Finding Emily set and filmed in Manchester / Credit: Universal Pictures & Focus Features (via YouTube)
There’s everything from Manchester Central Library and Piccadilly Records, to Canal Street and the Gay Village, the Northern Quarter, the Crown & Kettle pub in Ancoats, and even the Emmeline Pankhurst statue in St Peter’s Square featured for all to see, alongside what’ll, presumably, be dozens of other famous locations.
Oh, and not to mention, if you keep your eyes peeled when watching the trailer, you can even see a small clip of Stockport band Blossoms playing a gig in there too.
Emily Sergeant -
24th September 2020 
