Greater Manchester’s leading dog rescue centre has shared a heartwarming success story of two of its former residents.
Dogs 4 Rescue – a semi-rural independent dog sanctuary based on Barton Moss Road – is known for its unique “cage free” approach to animal welfare, and carries out vital work across Greater Manchester to ensure all rescued dogs are socialised in a healthy, relaxed and happy foster home environment, while waiting for their forever families.
The centre has completely changed the lives of countless canines over the years, and has plenty of success stories.
It’s not just the lives of local dogs that Dogs 4 Rescue plays a part in, though. Owner Emma Billington is passionate about animal welfare right across the continent – and has also rescued many pups from other European countries over the years.
Many street dogs from Europe have had their lives transformed under Dogs 4 Rescue’s care – but there’s been no case quite as heartwarming as the story of two former residents’ recent role in their new owner’s wedding day.
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Taking to Facebook to share the story, Dogs4Rescue said: “Many of you will remember the photo of [rescue dog] Lara in the pound in Spain.
“She’d been waiting for her chance for five whole years.
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“Her transport to us was paid for by a legacy donation, so it is even more poignant to share these happy photos today. After adopting Lara a while back, and six re-arranged weddings later, Ashley and Johnny got to have their big day with Lara as flower girl and Dom as their page boy.
“Lara is loved beyond belief now and the look of love in these photos says it all.
“Page boy handsome Dom is also a D4R rescue.”
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Dogs 4 Rescue then went on to congratulate the newlyweds and thank them once again “for making Lara feel safe and happy”.
“We get criticised a lot for rescuing from abroad but this is the reality of the alternative – a life of misery in a concrete cell.
“And that is why for us, love has no borders.”
How brilliant is this? We honestly cannot think of a more uplifting local story.
News of Lara and Dom’s roles in their owners’ wedding has understandably touched the hearts of thousands of people across Greater Manchester on Facebook.
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The update comes after Dogs 4 Rescue successfully bought Clough Bottom Farm near Accrington; turning the land into a state-of-the-art rehabilitation facility for street dogs following several months of fundraising towards the latter end of 2020.
The not-for-profit company said the current Manchester site will continue to be used as a re-homing centre, while the new Accrington farm will be used to house dogs during rehabilitation in preparation for adoption.
Dogs 4 Rescue is known for its unique “cage free” approach to animal welfare / Image: Rhi Scotchbrook
Are you keen to help Dogs 4 Rescue continue its essential work across Greater Manchester? Please consider donating whatever you can via the website, and for large donations or offers of corporate support, you email Emma Billington at [email protected] or ring 07412361769.
Sankeys nightclub is returning to Manchester
Danny Jones
It’s officially happening: iconic local club Sankeys is coming back to Manchester city centre almost a decade on from its gutting closure.
The iconic ‘Sankey’s Soap’ nightlife space – which started out over in Ancoats during the mid-’90s – enjoyed numerous stints during its time in the clubbing world, as well as opening multiple partnered venues in the country and even overseas.
Now, approaching nine years after the shutdown, Sankeys is returning to Manchester in the new year, and Mancs are currently losing their minds.
Whether you are one of those who ‘remember it when’, or someone who sadly missed out on the halcyon days in the old Beehive Mill, we assure you that everyone is in agreement that this is nothing short of massive news…
First teasing the comeback back in July, as our city and the world at large were gripped by ‘Britpop Mania’ 2.0, the largely dormant Instagram account posted: “This week Manchester, and the UK, has been blessed with a homecoming of our very own, Oasis.
“We think Manchester deserves another homecoming… Definitely, maybe?”
The North West corners of the internet and veteran revellers alike were understandably quick to get excited by the potential revival, but nothing else had been said for months – until now.
Confirmed on Tuesday, 25 November, the infamous and storied nightclub’s social media team began by writing, simply: “The Legend Returns” and beckoning “a new era for Sankeys”.
It is still unclear as to where exactly the new and improved club(s) will be, but we do know that the events will be in the city centre. However, we do know we’ll be getting a familiar matrix grid installation as part of the design once again.
They will also be enforcing a strict new no-phones policy, which has become increasingly popular across the scene, thanks to the likes of Amber’s right here in Manchester.
Sankeys first opened in Manchester as "Sankeys Soap" in June 1994.[3] It was so called due to its residence inside Beehive Mill, Ancoats, which once was used to manufacture soap. The basement of the mill was transformed into a club and live music venue#pub#historypic.twitter.com/cnM6Nt23uZ
Sankeys may have remained an active promoter in the days since the building on the corner of Radium and Jersey Street (M4 6JG) closed – going on to become an unsuspecting office development – this will be the first event of the aforementioned next chapter in a flagship venue.
Promising a limited capacity of no more than 500 people, Sankeys is set to make its landmark return on
“We will only be open one night a week on Saturday. There will be no VIP or phones allowed on the dancefloor — everyone is a VIP. People need to stop taking pictures and start dancing to the beat.”
Hordes of clubbers, ravers, students and more are already signing up for early access and general admission tickets for the first two nights on Friday and Saturday, 30-31 January 2026 go on sale at 9am this Friday (28 Nov).
Get ready to grab yours HERE and party like it’s, well, 1994, 2017 – take your pick.
Liam Gallagher thanks Oasis fans with typically unserious and X-rated post on social media
Danny Jones
Liam Gallagher has taken to X to appreciate Oasis fans for what we can all agree was one of the best years of our gigging careers, as the Live ’25 world tour officially ended this month.
The Oasis reunion kicked off back in July and, just like the greatest hits compilation, Time Flies… Their globetrotting series made it possibly the greatest summer of live music in decades, and even after the hometown shows in Manchester were long gone, they took us right through to the winter.
Heaton Park was truly magical, but even those who didn’t manage to get tickets for any of the UK dates got to watch it through the lens of countless fans worldwide, and believe us, the crowds and mania online were a big part of what will see this particular tour go down in history.
It’s clear that fact was not lost on Liam either, as not long after the final show at the Estádio do Morumbi in São Paulo, Brazil, the younger Gallagher brother shared a typically nonsensical, expletive-filled, but nevertheless heartfelt message of gratitude to the legions of Oasis fans who made it happen.
Even after all is said and done, he’s another year older, and Oasis are once again the biggest band on the planet; he’s still as irreverent and unapologetically himself as ever.
We’ll be honest, we’re not entirely confident we know what “absolutely licked it up to ras” even means, but we’re pretty sure it’s a good thing.
In fairness, he isn’t entirely unserious in the post – he still thanked everyone from the bottom of his heart and said he will be “forever grateful for your energy”.
As he sums up everything perfectly in that final line: “without you were just a good band, with you were the BEST BAND ON THE ***ING PLANET”.
He signed off with the trademark “LG x”, but the fanbase now feels bigger than ever and won’t be going anywhere. Personally, we intend to watch every one of those clips from across South America, as those audiences have always ‘got it’ just as much as we did here in Manchester.
Although Noel has yet to share any kind of post following the end of Live ’25, he was one of the very first members of the tour to talk about how the reunion was going.
After taking a scheduled break to look after his health, Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs has also been pretty active on socials over the months, simply replying with a trio of love hearts underneath lead singer Liam’s humorous response to the outpouring of love following the final gig.
We can only hope and pray that we get to do this all over again in 2026, and whether there ends up being new Oasis songs on the setlist or not, we’ll just be happy to be back jumping up and down and crying our hearts out – no matter how many times they tell us to stop.
Emily Sergeant -
18th June 2021 
