The vital volunteers protecting and feeding Oldham during the pandemic
Oldham Helping Hands deliver food parcels and essential items - for free - to anyone who needs them. They've been a shining light during a very dark time.
And right now, its residents are under a relentless siege from coronavirus.
The region’s alarming infection rate has seen Oldham receive more national press coverage than it has since 2001 riots – with talk of the town being cut off from the rest of the UK as part of a local lockdown.
Still as troubled as it may be, but Oldham isn’t a lost cause. People like Nadeem Iqbal have proven that.
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For the past four years, this guy has been delivering food parcels and essential items – for free – to anyone who needs them via his charity group Oldham Helping Hands.
Every week, Nadeem – who runs a 24/7 breakdown recovery company – and his volunteers surrender their precious spare time to support those in need.
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Their actions aren’t just keeping spirits up; they’re saving lives.
The organisation has been a crucial ray of light during a dark time – with their assistance proving invaluable throughout the pandemic.
“A while back, a friend of mine asked me if I wanted to go to a charity event in Bradford,” Nadeem tells The Manc.
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“I started doing it every Sunday, and then I decided to set my own up back here in Greater Manchester.
“We began by going out to Piccadilly Gardens to feed the homeless, and it gradually built up from there.”
During the winter seasons, Nadeem has even been known to use his ‘big monster truck’ to take people to work when they couldn’t drive themselves in heavy snow; offering his assistance wherever he could to those who needed it most.
As coronavirus crept into the town, Helping Hands swiftly evolved into a delivery service – dropping parcels on the doorsteps of vulnerable residents.
Ultimately it’s meant that, despite suffering a particularly nasty dose of the virus, Oldham has remained well-fed.
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“At the beginning of lockdown, I was going home to home between the elderly and vulnerable people,” Nadeem explains.
“I put messages on my pages, too, so people could contact me.
“It got to a point where I was loading a whole van up and knocking on doors in the town and just asking people if they needed anything. Not a problem.”
Nadeem himself has seen real defiance in the town – which has been teetering on the brink of quarantine for several weeks.
“Everyone’s stuck together – which is a good thing,” he says.
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“At times like this we all need to stick together.”
Of course, Helping Hands are indebted to the kindness of the community.
They’re always on the lookout for food and toiletries, and Nadeem wants people to know that they can get in touch with him at any time.
“Anybody that’s suffering in silence – speak up and message me through Oldham Helping Hands,” he says calmly.
“It doesn’t have to be public, you can just send me a private message – I’ll be glad to help.
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“I know there’s people out there struggling who don’t want to be named; and I know where they’re coming from.
“But there’s no shame – everyone is going through a bad patch right now. Anyone can contact me for help; no one else has to know.”
With groups like Helping Hands in the town, Oldham just might get through this after all.
You can donate by visiting the Oldham Helping Hands page here.
This Manchester hotel has a Bonfire Night ‘escape’ package for pets to help keep them calm
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s most luxurious hotels is transforming into the ultimate pet refuge again over the firework season.
Bonfire Night is loved across the UK for the spectacular firework displays and all the festive-themed activities that go along with it, but the November annual event isn’t so fun for our four-legged friends, as fireworks can be frightening to pets due to loud bangs, flashing lights, and the unpleasant strong smell of spent explosives.
With multiple bangs occurring from numerous displays too, pets are rarely able to pinpoint where the booming explosions are coming from, only making it more terrifying for them.
This is why, after becoming a huge success following its launch last year, Kimpton Clocktower Hotel in the heart of the city centre has brought back its special ‘Bonfire Night Escape’ escape package, turning the already pet-friendly hotel into a firework-free sanctuary.
The hotel‘s year-round ‘PAWfect Stay’ package includes any dog staying at no extra cost, plus a pet tuckbox, a guide to the best dog-friendly places in the city, and a toy waiting for them in the room, but this fireworks season, pet owners will also get a luxury hamper including Pet Remedy’s ‘Party Season Survival Kit’
The kit comes together with a range of fast-acting products to help immediately in stressful situations such as fireworks, and includes calming spray, a plug diffuser, and some calming wipes too.
On top of that, dog owners can also take advantage of the hotel’s Music Concierge service, which allows guests to request a record player and vinyls to be placed in the room ahead of check in – with lots of classical and relaxing music records available to distract anxious pets from the noise of Bonfire Night celebrations.
The award-winning The Refuge Bar and Restaurant inside the hotel also offers a menu of carefully-curated dog treats throughout the week, as well as doggy Sunday roasts all Sunday.
David Lockhart, who is the General Manager at Kimpton Clocktower Hotel, said he likes to think of the hotel as a “home-away-from-home for our guests”.
“Our top priority is making sure everyone is feeling safe and comfortable,” he added. “We can’t wait to welcome our November guests and help them care for their four-legged family members, giving them everything they need.”
The Bonfire Night Escape package at Kimpton Clocktower Hotel is available to book from Friday 1 November, subject to availability, and you can request the package via the hotel concierge or by emailing [email protected] to book.
Scissor Sisters confirm reunion after more than a decade ahead of massive Manchester gig
Danny Jones
Still a firm cult favourite from the 2000s, Scissor Sisters are officially back and are bringing a special reunion tour to Manchester and the UK and Ireland at large.
The American outfit were one of the biggest and most well-known pop groups on this side of the Atlantic during their heyday, notching three BRIT Awards and two number-one albums.
Starting out in New York, like many bands in an oversaturated music market, they ended up proving to be much more popular here in Britain than they ever did in the US, not to mention becoming real icons among the LGBTQ+ community.
And now, over a decade later, the Scissor Sisters are set to repay the likes of Manchester, Leeds, London and more with a series of comeback shows, including one at Co-op Live arena – a gig which the venue has already teased earlier this week.
Confirming the reunion on social media on Thursday, 10 October, the band said: “Exciting news, for the first time in over a decade, we will come together again, live next May across the UK and Ireland.
“And for the first time ever, our debut album Scissor Sisters will be performed in full in celebration of its 20th anniversary – alongside all the other Scissor hits from along the way… See you very soon. Jake, Babydaddy, Del.”
Long-time fans were quick to notice that there was no mention of fellow founding member Ana Matronic nor former drummer Randy Real; the band themselves told BBC that the current lineup following their indefinite hiatus is by no means a way of replacing anyone but does give them a chance “to get some people on stage and ask some friends to do fun things.”
Frontman Shears’ 2023 Cabaret co-star, Rebecca Lucy Taylor, was also teased with a possible appearance on the Scissor Sisters reunion tour. Either way, they’ve promised a “little bit of chaos, anarchy” and an “‘anything can happen’ energy again.”
It’s been 12 whole years since we last saw them out on the road, so it’s only fitting that they give us a dozen UK/IE dates, starting at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena before bringing the comeback party down the home stretch in Dublin.
Scissor Sisters are set to stun the Manchester crowd with their Co-op Live debut on Wednesday, 21 May 2025, with special guest support from Alison Goldfrapp of the iconic electronic music duo, and we truly really can’t wait to roll back the years with them.
Pre-sale goes live on Wednesday, 6 November at 10am which you can access via their website and general admission tickets will be available from the same time the following Friday, 8 November.
We can’t wait to hear all the favourites – ‘Filthy/Gorgeous’, ‘I Don’t Feel Like Dancin”, ‘Take Your Mama’ and more – but, until then, the announcements coming out of Manchester’s biggest new music venue just don’t stop…