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Sir Mo Farah to make guest Metrolink announcements ahead of Great Manchester Run

The AJ Bell Great Manchester Run 2023 is taking place on Sunday 21 May.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 17th May 2023

Sir Mo Farah is one of the familiar voices Metrolink passengers should keep an ear out for on Greater Manchester trams this week.

With only a few days to go until the AJ Bell Great Manchester Run takes over the streets of Manchester city centre and beyond on Sunday 21 May, passengers riding on the Metrolink network this week can expect to hear some familiar voices making guest announcements in the lead-up to the big event.

Four-time Olympic champion Sir Mo Farah will be taking over the Metrolink airwaves alongside Commonwealth Games champion Eilish McColgan to share some important advice ahead of the event’s 20th anniversary.

With Sunday set to be a busy day on the transport network, the decorated duo will be encouraging passengers to “get on your marks, get set, Mo” and plan their journeys ahead of time.

Around 25,000 runners – including Sir Mo Farah himself – are expected to take part in the event this year, with thousands more expected to line streets in support.

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Along with the incredible local support in Manchester, Trafford, and Salford, the city centre’s streets will also welcome lots of live music, charity cheering squads, and entertainment zones on hand to help runners get over the line.

With the Metrolink having several stops that are close to the start and finish lines for both the 10k and Half Marathon races, tram travel is set to be one of the most convenient ways for spectators to travel around the region – which is why Sir Mo and Eilish will also remind passengers to “touch-in and touch-out” if paying by contactless on the day of the event.

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TfGM is encouraging Metrolink passengers to “plan ahead” for travel on the day of the 2023 Great Manchester Run / Credit: TfGM

The athletic pair are the latest in a long line of famous voices to be heard across the UK’s largest tram network – with Tony the Tiger, Professor Brian Cox, Shaun Ryder, Sir Kenneth Branagh, and many others having also made guest announcements.

“We’re really excited to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Great Manchester Run, and we can’t wait to welcome people onto the network this weekend,” said Danny Vaughan, Head of Metrolink at Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM).

“We’re also delighted to have Sir Mo Farah and Eilish McColgan making announcements on Metrolink, and I’m sure our passengers will enjoy hearing their voices in the lead-up to what is a brilliant event.”

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TfGM has also confirmed that significant road closures will be in place to accommodate the Half Marathon and 10k races this Sunday, and dedicated travel advice for competitors, spectators, and the wider travelling public has already been released.

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Passengers are strongly urged to plan any journeys on Sunday in advance, with the information and advice on the TfGM website here.

Featured Image – TfGM

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Oldham mansion that starred in an iconic pop music video is up for sale

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia

A Greater Manchester mansion that’s featured in one of the most famous music videos of the past decade is now up for sale.

Situated in the picturesque village of Uppermill, Oldham, Ashcroft House is currently listed at £2,350,000 accepting offers in the region of this figure.

The property has six bedrooms, six baths and five reception rooms – this mansion is a party host’s dream.

Ashcroft House has four storeys with the lower ground floor currently set up as a gym space and the ground floor boasting an eye-catching grand entrance hall.

This isn’t everything the lower ground floor has to offer. There are a number of breakout rooms such as a wine store, cinema room and your own personal steam room.

When going up another flight of stairs, the first floor’s main selling point besides the very large balcony is the matched walk in wardrobes paired with each of the six sleeping quarters, yes please!

The girls styling themselves in one of the many walk in wardrobes at Ashcroft House.
The bold statement front door in the Oldham mansion.
Credit: Youtube (@littlemix)

Finally, if that wasn’t enough to draw you in, there is another flight of stairs leading to the second floor which is currently acting as the house’s ever-impressive storage area.

With the rolling hills of Saddleworth nearby and a local pub a ten minute walk away, how could life possibly get any better?

Oh wait it does! In 2016 one of the UK’s best selling girl groups of all time shot a music video for their worldwide hit right here in these very four walls.

X Factor prodigies and three time BRIT award winning girl group Little Mix perched up with their film crew to spend 21 hours recording the video for their groundbreaking single ‘Hair’.

The video itself has amassed nearly 500 million views on social media platform Youtube since being released eight years ago.

The grand staircase that greets you as you enter this Greater Manchester property.
The Little Mix girls having a bite to eat in Ashcroft House.
Credit: Youtube (@littlemix)

This isn’t the first time Manchester and its surrounding areas have been seen on the big screen as it seems lots of famous faces are keen to film the visual accompaniment to their songs here.

The previous owner of the house even revealed that once the music video shoot wrapped up, the girls stayed with the family to share a slice of pizza or two.

If you’re interested in owning a piece of pop culture history or just as nosey as we are you can take a virtual tour of this mansion in Oldham here.

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Featured Image: Ryder & Dutton via Rightmove

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People are finally discovering this super easy money-saving food hack

Danny Jones Danny Jones itsu half price offer Manchester

These days, pinching the pennies and protecting the pounds wherever you can is more important than ever, so we have no intention of gatekeeping this game-changing itsu food hack.

For the longest time, we’ll admit that we thought itsu was just another good place to grab some fresh sushi, Asian-inspired meals and groceries, but after learning of this clever little loophole, it’s probably up there with one of our very favourite chains.

Starting out in London back in the late 90s, itsu has gone on to become a huge franchise with nearly 80 locations nationwide and, naturally, the risk that comes with a food brand getting this big is the almost unavoidable problem of waste.

However, what was once just a conveyor belt in Chelsea has turned into a super-efficient restaurant and fully established food brand that has also come up with a great way to not only help stop food from going to waste but save you money in the process too.

itsu Manchester on 1 Hardman Blvd, Spinningfields.
itsu prices aren’t pretty decent to start with given the quality.
We’re all about food hacks and cutting back the budget wherever we can. (Credit: The Manc Group)

Put quite simply, because itsu would quite rightly rather see food go in your gob than in the bin, they have a discount policy on their products that are about to go out of date.

Think Too Good To Go only more specific and with even more money off guaranteed.

Once the clock hits a certain time towards the end of trading hours, sushi, salad boxes and other cold food items can be purchased at 50% off their usual price to help save money and on food spoiling.

No, we’re not having you on: each and EVERY single day you can get highly-quality itsu sushi selection platters, rice and salad boxes, poke bowls and more at literally half-price. You can see the full details in their FAQs.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a random work night or a peckish walk home from the pub on the weekend, provided you go after 8:30pm and get there before they shut, you can grab some of your favourites at essentially a two-for-one rate. Sensational stuff.

You don’t even have to download an app, go up to the counter and have any kind of awkward conversation or anything like that: the digital pay screens will automatically update once the click strikes cha-ching and you can saunter out of the gaff with your scran.

Half price itsu? Don’t mind if we do.
50% off itsu every night.
Always leave looking this happy.
Get your hands on half-price itsu whenever you can with this simple hack. (Credit: The Manc Group)

We’ll be honest, we often end up getting double the amount we came for but who can blame us with a value-for-money offer like that? There’s also a 15% discount for students and NHS workers, by the way.

We know that might sound counter-intuitive when we’ve pitched this as a money-saving life hack, but it’s actually come in handy when grabbing not just a last-minute tea for ourselves but hungry flatmates too; plus we go home knowing we’ve done our little bit to help reduce waste.

Eating out can get super expensive, especially in Manchester city centre during a cost of living crisis, but let’s face it, we all fancy a treat sometimes and the thought of cooking is too tiring to even think about – that’s what makes stumbling upon little happy discoveries like these makes so great.

Now, we’re not going to pretend you’re the first people to know about this: the ‘secret’ is out and is gradually getting more and more popular, so you’ll almost certainly find a fair few people queuing up with the same idea come 8:30pm, but that’s kind of the idea. The more we spread the news, the less waste.

itsu Spinningfields is currently the only branch in Manchester (the first-ever Northern site to be opened by the brand back in 2016) but if you need some discounted food whilst you’re travelling around, you can find your nearest location HERE. Enjoy!

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Featured Images — The Manc Group

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