We love coming across old photos and videos of Manchester, it’s so interesting to get a glimpse into what our city was like back in the day, but it’s not very often we see it from the student perspective.
After digging out some old archive clips and using some cutting-edge machine-learning technology, the YouTuber has brought more than a minute and a half of footage showing Manc students on ‘rag week‘ in 1931 back to life.
As well as achieving a crisp level of detail through artificial intelligence, the original backing track has also seemingly been reinserted only with much greater audio quality, but whilst still keeping that old-timey feel. This really is a trip into the past.
Quite different from the scenes along Oxford Road and around Fallowfield we see these days.
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For anyone unfamiliar with the term, rag week is not entirely dissimilar to Freshers: a week of festivities, shenanigans and often raucous behaviour, where university societies would gather together to do lots of daft stuff to raise money for worthy causes like local hospitals.
‘Rag’ is short for ‘raise and give’ and with donation boxes displayed in cities across the country during this week every year, it’s basically one big social for charity and still happens in many unis to this day, including UoM and MMU.
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In this instance, the event was captured by Topical Budget — an old newsreel from the silent era which ran between 1911 and 1931 — with the cameraman showcasing the playful and mischievous students as they take over the town.
There was often an element of rebellion against authority too, as you can see by the ‘Tyranical-saurus’ puppet parading through the street and the admittedly more light-hearted ‘ring-a-ring o’ roses’ around a police officer.
92 years on and Manchester might look a lot different, but it’s thriving student community is stronger than ever and societies still do plenty for both local and national charities year in, year out.
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We’ve had a lot of fun watching this channel’s various videos, some of which go as far back as the late 19th century. They’re incredible pieces of cultural heritage lovingly preserved and impressively upscaled.
The archivist has even dug up more footage of what rag week parades looked like in the 1960s and it’s just as fascinating. The streets are a little bit more recognisable and there’s over five minutes of it:
Featured Image — Living History AI Enhanced (via YouTube)
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Major pop star crowns humble rice and three cafe as ‘Jewel of Manchester’ ahead of sold-out gig
Thomas Melia
A beloved city centre takeaway has been given the title of ‘Jewel of Manchester’ by chart-topping UK singer Sam Smith.
Known for hits like ‘Stay With Me’, ‘I’m Not The Only One’ and more recently ‘Unholy’, UK pop-ballad act Sam Smith also likes to drop a food review every once in a while.
Currently on the road with a run of shows in Manchester and London for their ‘To Be Free’ live shows, Sam Smith is stopping off at some of our city’s much-loved spots.
On their food-reviewing account titled ‘Sam Served’, where they adopt the aptly-fitting nickname ‘Ham Smith’, Sam has visited restaurants across the globe – and most recently turned their attention to Manchester’s own This & That.
Smith decided to pop in and grab a cheeky rice and three from long-standing backstreet food business This & That, and it certainly went down a treat.
After sampling their amazing selection of meat, vegetable and vegan curries, the musician crowned this family-run Indian takeaway a ‘Jewel of Manchester’.
The hitmaker described this Northern Quarter Indian eatery as ‘Everything food should be’ and definitely enjoyed all the curries on offer ‘leaving belly and heart full’.
This & That prides itself on affordable and comforting food with its ‘Rice and Three Curries’ starting from just £6 – not bad for a city centre foodie spot.
Sam has racked up an impressive 490k followers via their ‘Sam Served’ profile, with famous faces like Lily Allen, Denise Welch and CMAT all wanting to know the superstar’s foodie thoughts.
After enjoying a curry or three, Sam Smith also made sure to feed their soul to by venturing down to Afflecks and getting lost in the music at Mars Tapes.
Recognised as one of the UK’s only cassette and tape shops, Mars Tapes lets you flick through their crates of physical media and even preview tracks before you buy with its dedicated listening areas.
It’s safe to say that Smith has ‘Latched’ onto Manchester’s independent business scene and we’re here for it.
The London-born artist has just released their latest album Hazel Eyes and is currently amid a UK residency tour with two dates in Manchester’s Albert Hall and eight shows set for London Coliseum.
You can now have a private sleepover amongst all the history inside Manchester Museum
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Museum is now offering one lucky family the chance to have a sleepover with Stan the Tyrannosaurus rex.
For the first time in Manchester Museum’s history, one lucky family will be given the chance to experience an incredible night at the museum.
This unique opportunity is being offered as part of a prize draw, allowing visitors to find out what happens once the sun goes down inside the Fossils and Dinosaurs gallery – in the company of Stan, the famous Tyrannosaurus rex, of course.
The Fossils and Dinosaurs gallery is one of the most iconic spaces within Manchester Museum.
Having opened to the public all the way back in 1888, it’s part of the museum’s original building designed by celebrated Alfred Waterhouse, who also designed Manchester Town Hall and London’s Natural History Museum.
Not only will the lucky winning family enjoy an overnight stay in the gallery, but they’ll also be treated to a guided torchlight tour of the galleries after the Museum has closed, as well as other fun activities and a film screening too before bed.
You can now have a private sleepover inside Manchester Museum / Credit: The Manc Group
“We can’t be completely sure what happens when the sun goes down in our Fossils and Dinosaurs gallery, because nobody has ever spent the night in there before, but we can only imagine the kind of fun that can be had with Stan the T. rex and his friends,” said Dean Whiteside, Head of Commercial and Operations at Manchester Museum.
“This is a chance to be a part of museum history and enjoy the kind of once-in-a-lifetime experience you can’t usually buy.
“At the same time, Manchester Museum is a charity so, by getting behind this initiative, you’ll be helping to support vital work that impacts the lives of people across Greater Manchester and beyond.”
Fancy it then? You can enter the prize draw by buying a ticket for £5 from the Manchester Museum Shop, with each ticket counting as one entry and the winner set to be chosen at random from all valid entries.
The prize draw is now open and closes on Monday 28 September 2026.
Danny Jones -
7th April 2023 
