With its origins dating back hundreds of years, traceable to Italy, bingo has been enjoyed in halls and community centres throughout Manchester for generations.
The entertainment and leisure culture of Manchester is made of a rich and ever-changing tapestry that accommodates all tastes and ages. Some fads come and go, while others stick around and become part of the city’s fabric.
One of the city’s first loves is football – you’re either red or blue – while Manchester continues to produce some of the world’s finest musicians, with each leaving their own indelible mark on the city.
In this article, we will focus on another evergreen part of Manchester’s leisure culture and explore how it has evolved to stay relevant in a changing marketplace. Though it doesn’t have the same glamour traditionally attached to it, the game of bingo remains a major part of our city.
A changing game
With its origins dating back hundreds of years, traceable to Italy, bingo has been enjoyed in halls and community centres throughout Manchester for generations. But although the basic rules of the game remain largely untouched, new versions of it have emerged to help keep it relevant in a digital world.
The game has effortlessly made the leap online, which has helped connect the game to a younger audience, including the city’s student population. New versions of the game, like bingo slots, offer something fresh and exciting, while quick-fire versions of the classic rules, where sessions last no more than a couple of minutes, are a better fit for many modern players.
But bingo’s move online has not been at the expense of the classic bingo halls, which you will find throughout the city and Greater Manchester. The classic bingo hall is a true hub for communities, helping friends socialise and providing laughter and companionship for thousands.
The facilities play important roles in the lives of many and, although many younger players are more engaged with the digital offering, traditional bingo hall games continue to boast a charm all of their own.
Another way that bingo has remained relevant and trendy in modern Manchester is through the innovation of Bongo’s Bingo. Originating a few short miles away in Liverpool, Bongo’s Bingo features live entertainment, including live music and dancing.
The concept has taken the UK by storm and events have been held frequently in our city in recent years. In many ways, the events would be alien to traditional bingo players, but at the heart of everything remains the classic game beloved by so many.
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The future
In such a competitive entertainment marketplace, staying relevant and appealing to an ever-changing audience can be incredibly difficult. And in a city like Manchester, where there’s just so much to do, it’s perhaps doubly difficult.
But the simplicity of bingo’s rules, its adaptability and its accessibility to people of all backgrounds will likely ensure that it retains some kind of presence in the consciousness of local people. Whether that’s through digital media, Bongo’s Bingo or the bingo halls of old, we feel confident that Bingo will remain a part of our city’s culture for generations yet to come.
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New survey reveals one in six Brits would rather have a curry than a Christmas dinner
Emily Sergeant
One in six Brits would apparently rather have a curry on Christmas Day in place of a traditional roast dinner, a new survey has revealed.
With December just a few days away now, it won’t be long before we all sit down to tuck into what is always one of the biggest and heartiest meals of the whole year – but, if the results of a new survey is anything to go by, for a good chunk of Brits, this year’s Christmas feast won’t be the typical roast turkey that tradition’s always called for.
Instead, one in six would rather stray off the beaten track and opt for an Indian instead.
After a shocking survey by Next revealed last year that more than 12 million Brits think Yorkshire puddings belong with your Christmas dinner, around 1,000 UK adults have been polled by instatprint this time around to discover what’s making it on the festive feasting plate in just a few weeks time.
And, as to be expected, some weird and wonderful food combinations feature on the list, with over a third of Brits apparently planning on having sausages instead of the usual Christmas meats, and chips and beans also seem to be on the menu for the fussier eaters among us too.
One in six Brits would apparently rather have a curry than a Christmas dinner / Credit: Supplied
Chicken nuggets, eggs, caviar, goat’s cheese, haggis, and chimichurri were some of the other rogue choices given by some of the survey respondents.
Then, when it comes to the accompanying sides to the main event, 11% even revealed they plan on tucking into some macaroni cheese with their Christmas dinner this year, with another 11% sharing that mushy peas are a must on their plate too.
17% of Brits will be enjoying mustard, 13% will be squirting ketchup on their roast, and 7% will apparently be enjoying a dollop of mayonnaise too.
It’s all according to a new survey to discover Christmas feasting preferences / Credit: Supplied
But while some clearly like to freestyle their Christmas dinner and pop whatever they fancy on the plate, others are apparently ditching the norm all together, as the survey has revealed that only half of Brits are set on having their traditional Christmas dinner this year.
As mentioned, almost one in six would much rather tuck into an Indian curry, but not only that, 6% of us would rather have a Chinese, 5% would enjoy Mexican, and another 5% would opt for tapas if it was an option too.
Alejandro Garnacho gives the same boots he scored his overhead kick with to a young Man United fan
Danny Jones
As if Manchester United supporters weren’t already ridiculously enamoured with their exciting young starlet, Alejandro Garnacho made an incredible gesture to a young fan after gifting him a pair of the very same boots he scored his incredible overhead kick with this past weekend.
In case you somehow missed it on Sunday, Garnacho scored one of the great Premier League, perhaps one of the best we’ve ever seen full stop, after burying an unbelievably beautiful bicycle kick into the far corner during Man United’s 3-0 win over Everton.
The 19-year-old is already a firm favourite amongst United fans and is tipped to do big things in his career after impressing in the first couple of years of his senior career, but interactions with wide-eyed little fans like this prove exactly why he has become so loved so quickly.
Surprising the die-hard young fans, the Standley boys — simply known as Harry and George to thousands of followers across multiple social media channels run by their parents — Garnacho doesn’t just stop to say hello to the loyal little Reds, he gives George a pair of the exact Nike Mercurial boots he wore when he screamed home that unforgettable finish. As you can expect, it blows his tiny mind.
After telling the Argentine winger that his overhead kick was “the best goal [he’d] ever seen“, Garnacho then hands his smiley superfan an orange Nike box containing the boots through the window, to which he immediately replies that he “asked for these” for Christmas this year.
We were very much the same at your age, George — Christmas and birthdays were all about getting all the gear to convince our mates we were the next Rooney.
Revealing not only that they were the very same boots he was wearing when he leapt like a salmon for that now iconic overhead kick but that he had already signed his autograph on them, along with a personal message on the box it didn’t take long for the seven-year-old to start crying tears of joy at his out of the blue birthday present.
As mum continues to capture his reaction, George simply says, “I’m so happy”, before telling his footballing hero how much he loves him and calling him “the best in the world”. It is by no means the first time we’ve stumbled across the two very cute little kids.
This is also isn’t George and Garnacho’s first meeting either; far from it, as both he and his older brother Harry regularly wait outside Carrington and Old Trafford to meet their Man United idols — with the exciting youngster having been at the top of the list since he burst onto the scene.
Whilst the pair are also self-proclaimed Lisandro Martinez and Jadon Sancho superfans, over the past season or so in particular, Garnacho and George have developed a real bond and he has had the opportunity to meet the no.17 on a number of occasions.
We will never, EVER get tired of seeing little kids meeting their heroes — fair play to the young man for taking the time to make the little lad a day he’ll never forget. Happy birthday, George!
You can watch the highlights from the Red Devils’ away win against Everton down below. Any excuse to watch back that goal, to be honest.
The Manc -
26th November 2020 
