One of Greater Manchester’s weirdest landmarks, a huge military tank parked on a residential street, is no more.
The tank – which is technically an armoured personnel vehicle, but ‘tank’ is catchier – has been standing in West Didsbury for decades, in various locations.
The massive vehicle has been on Old Lansdowne Road since 2018, where it has remained, despite an initial flurry of complaints from local residents.
It’s become the stuff of local legend, where most Mancs don’t even question its presence any more.
It’s understood that the Didsbury tank’s owner is a military vehicle collector, but he’s never been particularly forthcoming with why he has the beast parked on the corner of the street and how he came to own it.
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The owner reportedly has a couple of other military vehicles parked up at his home too.
It’s been the source of plenty of jokes and memes over the years, with one person writing on X: “My favourite thing about West didsbury is that people call it posh but there’s just some dude with a f*ckin tank.”
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There have been plenty of calls of: “Can’t park there mate!” too.
But now the legendary vehicle, and ‘piece of South Manchester history’, has reportedly departed Didsbury for a brand new home.
Photos of the tank on the back of a truck have been shared by Midland Military Vehicles, a company that specialises in the restoration and sale of Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) vehicles.
The company shared on Facebook: “The Didsbury FV432 has arrived. This vehicle is very well known as it was sat on a road in Manchester for years!”
Since their post made it to Reddit, Mancs have been lamenting the loss of the unusual landmark.
One person shared: “Used to live on that road, that tank kept me safe on my walk to Tesco Express, sad times.”
Another wrote: “No way! That’s a piece of South Manchester history. The first day I arrived in Didsbury, I got my girlfriend to take a picture of me with the tank.”
Someone else posted: “Goodbye tanky mctankerton, enjoy your new home. :sheds a lil tear:”
The UK’s top 10 biggest Christmas ‘icks’ have been revealed
Emily Sergeant
The UK’s top 10 biggest Christmas ‘icks’ have been revealed, according to the results from a hilarious new survey.
Christmas may be the most wonderful time of the year, but it can also have its fair share of icks.
From tinsel on the tree, to cheesy Christmas jumpers, and everything in between, there are plenty of Christmas traditions that we simply love, and some we love to hate – and now, new research conducted by online retailer Haypp ahead of the festive season has revealed exactly what it is that Brits find the ickiest.
The research reveals that the number one ick is a controversial one – putting ketchup on a Christmas dinner, as nearly a third of respondents (32%) claim it makes them feel grim and that they’d judge someone for it.
Wearing Christmas jumpers is one of the UK’s biggest Christmas ‘icks’ Credit: Julia Larson (via Pexels)
It may cause controversy in a few households nationwide, the second biggest ‘ick’ is adults in matching festive pyjamas, with just under a third of Brits cringing, while some of the other similar traditions to this on the list being family photo Christmas cards, and wearing Christmas jumpers in public.
Elsewhere on the list, it was revealed that 27% of Brits find it unbearable to talk about politics over dinner, and lots of us don’t like it when others watch us open presents.
Around 18% also can’t stand it when people argue over festive games.
The UK’s top 10 Christmas ‘icks’
Having tomato ketchup on your Christmas dinner – 32%
Adults in matching pyjamas – 29.2%
Talking politics during dinner – 27.9%
Undoing your trousers at the dinner table – 24.4%
Leaving the dinner table to smoke – 23.2%
Everyone watching you open your presents – 20.4%
Being hungover on Christmas Day – 19.5%
Arguing over a game – 18.1%
Family photo Christmas cards – 15.2%
Wearing Christmas jumpers – 13.2%
Bad habits at the dinner table also feature heavily on the list, as a quarter of Brits hate it when people undo their trousers after the Christmas meal, and just over a fifth find it rude when someone leaves the table to go and smoke.
What’s your take then? How many of these ‘icks’ do you agree with? Are there any others you feel need adding to the list?
Featured Image – Karolina Grabowska (via Pexels)
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Lola Young shares first public statement since cancellations and stepping away from the spotlight
Danny Jones
UK pop star Lola Young has shared her first public statement since cancelling the remainder of her tour and stepping away from the spotlight.
Lola Young, 24, took a break from her still-burgeoning career after numerous concerning incidents on stage, including throwing up and even passing out in the middle of a performance.
The BRIT School graduate announced the unfortunate cancellation of her upcoming shows “for the foreseeable future”, including a gig here in Manchester, at the end of September.
Breaking her silence after the best part of three months, the London-born singer-songwriter took to social media in a fairly brief but heartwarming statement.
As you can see, the time away from the public eye certainly seems to have been beneficial, telling her followers that “it has helped more than you will ever know”.
In addition to embracing ADHD – even labelling her hit song ‘Messy’ as an “ADHD anthem” in multiple anthems – she was also diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder at just 17.
The latter can include symptoms such as psychosis, hallucinations, intense mood swings, bipolar mania, depression and more.
All that being said, we’re glad to hear that she’s on the mend; we saw her back in March, and you could tell from the crowd that she’s already got a very passionate cult following.
Both conditions and their associated obstacles have obviously affected her, but have equally helped influence her music and lyrical material, certainly, too.
Responding in the comments, fellow artist SZA wrote: “Love you, starfire angel. Your music is FULL of longevity and substance! We’re so grateful for you”.
Joining in support, ‘dark pop’ musician Carter James added, “Your wellbeing comes before anything. So excited for your next chapter whenever it arrives!”
We hope she’ll be doing better enough soon to get back on stage when she’s ready.
Daisy Jackson -
6th December 2023 
