Greater Manchester and much of the UK is set to bask in glorious spring sunshine this week, with temperatures hitting up to 18°C.
After what had been a dry and sunny couple of days at the end of last week and over the weekend, the warmest day of the year so far was recorded in Kinlochewe in Highlands of Scotland on Saturday, when temperatures hit 20.2°C and beat the previous highest temperature of the year, 17.5°C, which was recorded in the village of Wiggonholt in West Sussex on Friday.
Now, forecasters at the Met Office have said there will be “plenty of sunny spells to come and temperatures will rise a little bit” in the week ahead.
Highs of 18°C are expected in Greater Manchester on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Here's a forecast for the weather for the week ahead: dry and bright by day, cold and frosty by night pic.twitter.com/vVZsv15vLR
Most of England is then predicted to stay at around 17°C or 18°C throughout the rest of the week and into the weekend – which will be warmer than the average for the end of March – but according to forecasters, the north of the UK is more realistically predicted to see highs of between 9°C and 12°C.
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Temperatures are expected to remain above average into next weekend, but will then drop slightly during the final few days of March.
But why are we getting this uncharacteristic warm weather? What is the reason for it?
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Well, according to Met Office meteorologist Greg Dewhurst, the warm conditions are due to the jet stream tracking to the north of the UK, which is letting high pressure dominate from the east.
Greater Manchester and much of the UK is set to bask in spring sunshine this week / Credit: Flickr
He said: “This week is going to be very similar. We’re going to keep high pressure just to the east of the UK and that means it will be largely dry and settled with plenty of sunny spells.
“There is the odd exception, there could just be an isolated shower across the Midlands on Monday, perhaps northern England on Tuesday, but they’re going to be very isolated and most places will be dry and sunny.”
Home Bargains has announced a special two-day closure of all UK stores
Emily Sergeant
Home Bargains has, once again, announced it’ll be closing all its UK stores on both Boxing Day and New Year’s Day this year.
And it’s to make sure staff get a ‘well deserved break’.
After what has been yet another busy year for the retail industry, many workers have been left feeling like they could do with a little extra time off, which is why Home Bargains is following on with what has become a now-annual tradition by shutting up shop on two bank holidays.
All of our stores will be closing for Boxing Day & New Years Day.
Announcing the move in a post on social media, the discount retailer confirmed: “All of our stores will be closing for Boxing Day and New Years Day. We would like to thank all our colleagues for how hard you have worked this past year, and want you to relax and enjoy the Christmas break with your loved ones.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time the retailer has kept its doors shut on bank holidays.
Many shoppers will recall it has made the same decision to give hardworking staff a break every year since 2019.
Explaining a little more about the decision taken to close all its stores, Home Bargains said: “As a family-run business, we know the importance of being together at Christmas with those we care about most, now more than ever.
“This is our way of saying thank you to our colleagues for their continued hard work and dedication.”
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Two Greggs in Manchester will be serving their breakfast menu in the evening next week
Emily Sergeant
Who says breakfast has to end at 11am?
In news that’s set to be music to the ears of breakfast lovers in Manchester, Greggs is giving them exactly what they want.
We all know that brunch is a ‘thing’ by now, so now it’s time for brinner to make a name for itself instead, as Greggs has teamed up with Heinz to bring its much-loved breakfast menu back for tea time, kicking off from 4pm onwards.
The move comes as a new survey has found that the majority of Mancs (69%) admit to enjoying eating breakfast food in the evening, saying it’s ‘convenient and comforting’ – even ranking breakfast as a ‘more important’ meal than tea, as well (38% vs 36%).
Two Greggs in Manchester will be serving their breakfast menu in the evening next week / Credit: Greggs (Supplied)
Greggs says it has ‘lost count’ of the amount of customers that have tried to order breakfast items after the usual cut-off time, especially in Greater Manchester.
But luckily for those breakfast-loving Mancs, they can finally get their favourite breakfast and sauce pairing long after the morning rush is over next… but only at two Greggs branches, and only for a very limited time.
On Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 October, the Heinz x Greggs Brinner collab will be available at Greggs St Mary’s Gate and Greggs Oxford Road, from 4-7pm only.
“We’ve lost count of the number of customers who have tried their luck ordering breakfast after 11am, so when Heinz came to us with the idea of making Brinner a reality, it felt like the perfect excuse to give the people what they want,” explained Zoe Harris, who is the Customer Director at Greggs.
“And let’s be honest, a Greggs Bacon Roll just wouldn’t be the same without a squeeze of Heinz Tomato Ketchup.”
Emily Sergeant -
21st March 2022 
