A popular independent brewery bar in Bolton has introduced a ‘no mask, no entry’ policy after encountering problems with numerous punters attempting to gain entry saying they are exempt over the Bank Holiday weekend.
As the sun shone and the temperatures soared, people right across Greater Manchester headed to their locals to make the most of it, but Blackedge Brewing Company – which was founded 12 years ago by Managing Director Wayne Roper, and operates the Blackedge Brewery Bar in the Horwich area of Bolton – was forced to issue a statement on social media yesterday regarding its mask policy.
The bar said the policy was needed to “keep staff and customers safe”.
The statement read: “It is with regret we have to make this announcement however but with immediate effect we will be operating a no mask, no entry policy.
“If you are exempt, then please download the card and simply show us on entry.
ADVERTISEMENT
“We apologise to the genuinely medically exempt for the inconvenience but we must keep staff and customers safe.”
Providing more clarity as to why the decision has been taken to implement the policy, the Blackedge Brewing Company added: “The reason we must operate this policy is the sheer number of groups of people that have visited late during the weekend who were all ‘exempt’ from wearing a mask.
ADVERTISEMENT
“COVID is exploding in Bolton so the risk level is high.
“We will be fined £5,000 if checked and found to be breaking the law… People who try to enter the premises and don’t follow the rules set out by actual law will not be served and asked to leave.”
The company also said it will have a “zero tolerance policy” on abuse towards staff – which it said “sadly has happened” – and all incidents as such will be reported to the local pubwatch scheme so that people who become abusive “could face bans from all the local member pubs and bars”.
ADVERTISEMENT
“This is not difficult folks, wear a mask, sit down at all times when drinking and be nice to all the people you encounter in your day / night out.” the statement continued.
“We don’t wish to cause embarrassment to anyone with a genuine exemption.
“To those that just couldn’t care less, it would be good that they know in advance they are not welcome to visit us at this time.”
The award-winning Horwich town centre bar has already made headlines this year, announcing in April that it would be stopping taking bookings for its outdoor drinking terrace after a significant amount of no-shows since reopening.
Featured Image – Blackedge Brewing Company Ltd
UK News
NASA reveals exact time you can see ‘Santa’s sleigh’ fly over Greater Manchester
Thomas Melia
Not long left till Santa and his reindeer crew fly over the skies of Manchester to drop off some of the most amazing presents of the year.
Manchester must have been extra nice this year, as Santa is treating us to lots of chances to catch a glimpse of him on his mission to deliver millions of gifts in time for Christmas.
Just like every year, Santa is dusting off his sleigh and polishing his boots to prepare for his biggest night visiting lots of kids and families. The sleigh is being filled with lots of goodies and surprises as we speak, it’s almost like he can smell the cookies and milk from here.
NASA, one of the world’s leading space companies, has been working meticulously to find out Santa’s route for 2024.
The world-renowned space agency has given us an exact time to look up at the stars to spot the main man himself and catch the glimmer of lights from his sleigh.
As a man who has lots of experience globe trotting, it’s safe to say the big man knows how to efficiently cover as many houses as possible all in one night.
Santa’s sleigh will be present at the same time as the International Space Station (ISS), however anyone looking to see this festive vehicle can notice the lights won’t change direction and will not flash.
This time round, Santa is swooshing round Greater Manchester on Christmas Day a whole hour earlier than last year, meaning that nice list must be the longest it’s ever been.
___
Tuesday 24 December
5:21am
Santa’s sleigh lights will be visible for two minutes travelling South East to East, as the man of Christmas weighs up his North West delivery route.
6:54am
Theres a six minute opportunity to catch those bright lights of Santa’s sleigh in the Manchester sky as he travels from West to South East, finalising his map before the big night ahead.
Wednesday 25 December
4:35am
It will be visible for less than a minute, no movement, in a static position. Santa will be doing a headcount of all the houses to make sure he’s not missed a single chimney.
6:08am
The sleigh will be seen for four minutes, moving from South West to South East, by now Santa will have finished his Manchester delivery drop and will be heading on over the hill to our friends in Leeds.
Christmas bin collection dates 2024 for every Greater Manchester borough
Thomas Melia
IT’S CHRISTMAAAS! Well, nearly, and among the endless lists of tasks we have to get through this festive period, bins can be one we completely forget about, that’s why we’re here to save the day.
With 10 boroughs to get through, let’s cut to the chase and find out those utmost important dates for when you need to put your bins out over the holiday period.
Whether you’re busy wrapping presents or you’re a self-proclaimed ‘Christmas Dad’ waiting to gather up all those paper scraps, here are all the bin collection dates you need to be aware of across Greater Manchester.
Manchester Central
🗓️ Some important dates for your advent calendar… 🎅
Anyone living in Manchester city centre will be glad to know there are only a handful of changes with a few bin dates remaining the same.
There are no changes to collections on Monday 23 December and 30 December, Tuesday 24 December and Tuesday 31 December.
Later in the week, Wednesday collections will move to Friday 27 December and Thursday 2 January, with Thursday collections moving to Saturday 28 December and Friday 3 January.
Friday collections will be moving to the weekend falling on two dates, Sunday 29 December and Saturday 4 January respectively.
Bolton
The changes in Bolton are quite simple, dates are very close by to the usual bin collecting service, giving you a Christmas that hopefully runs smoothly.
Both Monday 23 December and Tuesday 24 December dates remain the same with no changes whatsoever.
Wednesday 23 December sees burgundy bins collected two days earlier on Monday 23 December, grey bins pushed back to Friday 27 December and beige bins on Tuesday 31 December.
On Thursday 26 December, burgundy bins will be collected on Tuesday, 24 December, grey bins on Monday 30 December and beige bins moving to Tuesday 31 December.
Bury
In terms of Bury, most of the bins days are very easy to remember, especially since they’re all either a day later or the day before.
Collections due on Tuesday 24 December have been rescheduled to Monday 23 December with services on Wednesday 25 December taking place on Tuesday 24 December.
Any bin dates due after Wednesday 25 December are planned for one day later than usual, except for collections due on Tuesday 31 January and beyond which remain the same.
Rochdale
Anyone in Rochdale may have to be eager eyed as this Greater Manchester borough’s schedule is a little trickier as the dates aren’t falling the day before or after.
Services due on Wednesday 25 December have been altered to Saturday 28 December.
The following collection on Thursday 26 December is moving to Monday 30 December.
Then the Wednesday 1 January pick up will be happening on Saturday 4 January.
With it being the festive season, those pesky blue bins can never quite fit everything in, you can leave out a small amount of flat packed cardboard boxes as long as they’re dry.
Oldham
For Oldham residents, the bin collection dates and recycling rounds have been announced too giving everyone a chance to prepare for any unusual swaps.
ADVERTISEMENT
Bins due on Wednesday 25 December will be collected three days later on Saturday 28 December,which also includes green bins and food caddies.
Collections scheduled for Thursday 26 December will take place five days earlier on Saturday 21 December but green bins and food caddies won’t be emptied.
Collections on Wednesday 1 January will be on Saturday 4 January minus green bins and food caddies which will be collected as normal on Wednesday 8 January.
Real Christmas trees can be chopped up and recycled in green bins minus the base with Arkwright Street Household Waste and Recycling accepting trees and Christmas rubbish too.
Stockport
For Stockport, information surrounding bins and collections is quite limited with residents having to enter their own postcode to find out anything necessary.
ADVERTISEMENT
There will be no collections on Wednesday 25 December, Thursday 26 December or Wednesday 1 January.
Information differs depending on location so you can access recycling and collection details HERE.
Tameside
Tameside bin crews will be working as hard as ever over Christmas and New Year but some households will see changes to their collections.
Now onto Tameside where one bin in particular is missing out on all the fun, finding its collections delayed by just over a week.
Brown-bin collections will cease across the borough on Wednesday 25 December and restart on Wednesday 8 January.
On Wednesday 25 December, the green bin will be collected on Friday 27 December with black and blue bins collected on Tuesday, 31 December.
ADVERTISEMENT
This Thursday, 26 December sees a green bin collection on Monday 30 December while black and blue bin collection on Thursday 2 January.
From Friday 27 December to Tuesday 31 December services will run as normal with disruption on Wednesday 1 January, except for brown bins.
This year on Wednesday 1 January if you are due a green bin collection, it will be collected on Friday 3 January and both black and blue bins collected on Monday 6 January.
Then from Thursday 2 January to Tuesday 7 January all bin collections will stay the same except for brown bins which are being collected the following day, Wednesday 8 January.
Real Christmas trees can be recycled on behalf of Willow Wood Hospice, Ashton, between 6 and 10 January. Register for collection HERE. Alternatively, chop it up and put it in your brown bin.
ADVERTISEMENT
Trafford
It’s Trafford’s turn next and you’ll be happy to know that four dates see no changes to your usual bin collection dates.
On Monday 23 December and Tuesday 24 December there will be no change to any of the original bin services.
Wednesday 25 December and Thursday 26 December on the other hand will both get collected on Friday 27 December.
Same again with Monday 30 Decemebr and Tuesday 31 December, there is no scheduled changes for the bin collection day.
In terms of 1-3 January, all services will be the day after (1 Jan moves to 2 Jan etc.).
ADVERTISEMENT
Salford
Next up in Salford, there are very minimal changes to your usual bin collection dates with only a few minor replacements.
Only three collection dates will be affected with every other service remaining the same as it was prior to the Christmas period.
The collection for Wednesday 25, December will take place on Saturday, 21 December; Thursday, 26 December now on Saturday 28 December and Wednesday 1 January swapping to Saturday 4 January.
Wigan
Tuesday 24 December is moved to Monday 23 December while Wednesday 25 December is shifted to a new date of Tuesday 24 December, both one day prior.
Any collections on Thursday 26 December are changing to Friday 27 December while the Friday 27 December is moving to Saturday 28 December, one day later.
ADVERTISEMENT
From Wednesday 1 January to Friday 3 January every collection changes to a day later, after this, normal service starts again.
An additional point to take note of is that green bin collections will be suspended from 29 December until 10 January. These services resume on the week starting 13 January or 20 January, depending where you live.
To check bin collection days over the festive period, residents can refer to their bin collection calendar which does feature key Christmas dates like the rest of Greater Manchester or visit HERE.