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The streets of Manchester city centre will be filled with flower sculptures this summer

Manchester Flower Show is aiming to "bring a buzz back to the city centre" as lockdown lifts.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 19th March 2021

As lockdown restrictions begin to lift, the streets of Manchester will, quite literally, bloom back into life.

The Manchester Flower Show is returning to the city centre once again.

It’s been confirmed this week by CityCo and Manchester Business Improvement District (Manchester BID) that the colourful spectacle – which last took place in 2019 and saw the streets filled with floral installations, including pop-up gardens and vintage cars overflowing with blooms – is back for 2021, after what has been an undoubtedly challenging year.

Organisers have said they hope the event will “help to green the streets” and support businesses as everyone gets back on their feet.

“We aim to bring a buzz back to the city centre.” CityCo and Manchester BID said.

“We want to encourage people to rediscover the city centre in a COVID-safe way and welcome residents, workers, customers, clients, shoppers, eaters, drinkers and culture lovers with a smile”.

The revival of this historic spectacle – which first started life as the ‘Manchester Flower and Produce Show’ in the 1950s in Platt Fields Park, before returning in 2018 – is set to be a celebration of the city.

So, what’s on the cards for this summer’s event then?

Think colourful displays, outdoor dining areas, floral statues, flower fountains, foliage-covered lampposts / railings and more.

Some areas of the city centre set to see floral installations line the streets include Spinningfields, Manchester Cathedral, Stevenson Square in the Northern Quarter, Cutting Room Square in Ancoats, First Street, Oxford Road, Great Northern Warehouse, the Corn Exchange, the Arndale, King Street and beyond.

Twitter – @MCRFlowerShow
Twitter – @MCRFlowerShow

CityCo and Manchester BID are also keen to roll out the event right across Manchester this year, and are encouraging local businesses to get involved where they can.

“It’s all about a collective effort,

“Big things, small things, all coming together to cover as many areas of the city with greenery and colour.

“The more people get involved, the bigger the impact”.

The Manchester Flower Show will take place from Saturday 29th May – Sunday 6th June 2021.

Applications to participate in this year’s event are open until 1st April, and any local businesses keen to take part can find out more via the CityCo / Manchester BID website here.

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The man saving Manchester’s city pigeons from ‘stringfoot’

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson The man saving Manchester's city pigeons from 'stringfoot'

A man has been patrolling the streets of Manchester to save our city’s pigeons from a condition known as ‘stringfoot’.

We all walk past hundreds of the birds every day in the city centre and they often get a bad rap – but one now-viral TikTok account is hoping to change all that.

In a series of heartwarming videos, one man has been heading out in his free time to treat pigeons afflicted with the dreaded ‘stringfoot’.

It’s a common sight now to see pigeons missing toes or walking around Manchester on deformed feet, which is often caused when the poor birds become tangled up in foreign matter.

Sometimes this is bits of string, plastic, thread, hair or a number of other things usually dropped by humans.

But with quick intervention from Tom, he can save these pigeons from a life of limping around town.

He’s been heading out armed with bags of seed to lure groups of pigeons close to him, before carefully catching the afflicted animal and carefully cutting away the material around its foot.

He uses things like stitch pickers to remove the thread, before cleaning up the pigeon’s foot with saline spray and antiseptic and gently releasing them again.

Tom said he started helping pigeons ‘sort of by accident’ when a bird with stringfoot came up to his flat.

In one month alone, he was able to catch and treat 15 pigeons, saving them from infection and injury.

And the account is getting lots of love and driving awareness for stringfoot and changing people’s perception of pigeons.

One person wrote on one of Tom’s videos: “We did pigeons so wrong as a society. Thanks for helping!”

Another said: “Pigeons Are NOT TRASH, they are a birds, who need help like cats, dogs and every living animals.”

And someone else commented: “These sort of videos make me cry because we’re so mean to pigeons, this might be the first time someone’s done something kind to them.”

You can find out more on how to help pigeons in your area HERE.

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Featured image: TikTok, @heyitstommm

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Benjamin Šeško quote resurfaces as Manchester United switch sole focus to pursuit of Slovenia star

Danny Jones Danny Jones Benjamin Sesko better than Haaland trainer quote

Slovenia striker Benjamin Šeško is now considered the primary transfer target for Manchester United for this summer window, as per multiple reports, and with the links only growing stronger as a quote relating to him and former RB Salzburg forward Erling Haaland has cropped back up.

Now on the books at the franchise club’s German counterpart in Leipzig, Šeško is one of the most highly sought-after talents in Europe at present, showing not only huge potential and a unique profile but already some impressive returns when it comes to goal contributions.

Although Haaland is ahead in terms of numbers, they do bear some resemblance in terms of height, physicality and speed for their size, and while they barely came across each other in the Red Bull setup – Šeško being loaned out to fellow Austrian side Liefering – they have drawn plenty of comparisons.

In fact, according to the 22-year-old himself, some feel he might just be “better” than the Norwegian phenomenon. At least that’s what some teammates and former colleagues are claimed to have said.

The pair may never have got to play together, but according to an old trainer who worked with both of them, each showed plenty of early promise.

Speaking to Sportsmail, ex-Salzburg coach Rene Aufhauser said, “Benjamin is maybe the better football player, better to play with the team, technically maybe better at the same age”.

The retired defensive midfielder elaborated that Šeško was arguably the more natural all-round athlete, detailing that he has always been “smooth with the ball, very good technique, good finishing, and he jumps so high; very, very good with the head – it’s unbelievable.”

Aufhauser went on to add, however: “Erling was mentally a monster and better at the same age. This is the last five, 10 per cent that Benji has to get.”

Šeško has said previously that he watched lots of clips of Haaland’s movements, specifically, when he first joined the RB football group.

It was also noted that while the emerging prospect may have just edged out the now fully-fledged Manchester City superstar in some departments at an early age, the big number nine always managed to find the back of the net more often.

He’s certainly kept that up in the years since then…

A 2022 quote from Šeško is all well and good, but Haaland has proved plenty of paper in just a few short years at the Etihad.

It’s also worth noting that the two attackers are not just pretty equally quick in a straight line, but both as tall as each other, clocking in at exactly 6ft 4in, with the Man City man barely three years his senior.

On the other hand, Šeško is known for keeping up multiple sports besides just football (basketball, in particular),

Besides their position, he told Amazon Prime Video Sport that he believes there is a lot of value not just in being sized up against the likes of Haaland but in trying to take cues from other pros in training, having also named a previous Red Devil himself as a key role model: one Zlatan Ibrahimović.

Most of this talk probably sounds all well and good to most United fans, but another key stumbling block in terms of a move for the budding young goalscorer is RB Leipzig’s supposed asking price, as the Bundesliga outfit is said to value him in the region of £70m.

Nevertheless, The Athletic now writes that INEOS and head coach Ruben Amorim are now solely focused on trying to sign Šeško, having previously narrowed it down to him and Premier League-proven Ollie Watkins.

Even if they get it done, the question is, will the confident forward suit English football as much as Watkins or dare we say Haaland – and furthermore, if they do, what might this mean for Manchester United’s current centre forwards?

Ruben Amorim and Rasmus Højlund both make stances clear on forward’s future at Man United
More MUFC arrivals are still said to be largely dependent on player sales.

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Featured Images — Werner100359/Roland Osbeck (via Wikimedia Commons)

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