UK News

Part of Greater Manchester named as one of the happiest places to live

Altrincham has been ranked in the top 20 places to live in the UK.

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant - 2nd December 2022

A new study has named a part of Greater Manchester as one of the happiest places to live in the North West of England.

This year’s Happy at Home study by Rightmove, now in its 11th year, asked over 21,000 people how they feel about their hometowns.

The results showed having a sense of belonging to your local area to be the most important contributor towards happiness, alongside a strong sense of community, and polite and friendly neighbours.

Overall, the coastal town of St Ives in Cornwall was named this year’s happiest place to live in Great Britain by its residents, with Galashiels in the Scottish Borders in second place and the market town of Woodbridge in Suffolk in third.

However, in the regional ranking for the North West Greater Manchester came out on top – with the Trafford market town of Altrincham ranking at number 17 in the whole of the UK and in second place out of 25 regional locations.

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Coming in just behind Northwich in Cheshire, it wasn’t the only town in Greater Manchester to make the regional list.

Wth Stockport ranking at number 9, Bury at number 11, followed by Oldham (12), Salford (13) Manchester (14), Rochdale (17), Wigan (23) and Bolton (25), it definitely seems that residents have confirmed what we already know – that Greater Manchester is a great place to live.

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You can see the full local ranking of all the regions in the North West below. To see how the rest of the country fared, click here to visit the Rightmove Happy At Home website page.

North West

PlaceRegional rankNational Rank
Northwich116
Altrincham217
Macclesfield318
Chester421
Kendal522
Carlisle659
Southport762
Wirral874
Stockport985
Crewe1090
Bury11101
Oldham12119
Salford13133
Manchester14144
Lancaster15148
Preston16153
Rochdale17158
Blackburn18159
Chorley19161
Burnley20169
Blackpool21171
Warrington22181
Wigan23192
Liverpool24194
Bolton25198

Feature image – Geograph

UK News

Northern Rail confess that they still use fax machines to contact train crews

Danny Jones Danny Jones Northern Rail still uses fax machines

In a quite staggering moment for the public transport sector, Northern Rail has confessed that it still uses fax machines to communicate with train crews across the network.

Nope, not an April Fool’s but, rather fittingly, it is Halloween and this is pretty scary stuff to hear in 2024.

Yes, as unbelievable as it might sound, part of the reason that Northern trains have been so poorly run in recent years, leading Greater Manchester’s Mayor Andy Burnham to call an emergency meeting this past Wednesday, is because they still rely on faxes to communicate between train crews.

The alarming revelation was made public after the transcript from Burnham’s and the Northern mayors’ meeting with the Rail North Committee was shared online, in which one official said that many problems arise “because the tools we use to get information and messages to our crew rely on faxes, amazingly.”

A simply flabbergasting statement of admission from the rail network which had come under even more fire than ever of late following swathes of trains being cancelled across the region.

Burnham had already called out the company for delivering an “embarrassing” and “part-time service” but things have only got worse since he called the meeting itself.

On Thursday night, yet more trains were cancelled – some even mid-journey between the likes of Manchester and Sheffield, with passengers finding out before conductors in some instances (members of The Hoot and The Sheff team can vouch for that) – causing even more bedlam at the station boards.

Another local based in Gatley, Stockport who spoke to us following last night’s “laughable” service told us how they had to make alternative arrangements to get home after their next 10 trains were cancelled.

Naturally, the Bee Network pioneer wasted no time in calling for Chancellor Rachel Reeves and the Department for Transport to intervene as, at present, the state of trains in the North as a whole is simply untenable.

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It very much feels like an ‘if you don’t laugh you’ll cry situation’ but commuters have been stuck with these simply unnaceptbale conditions for far too long.

Other details from the meeting included that not only do Northern employees still train crew members to communicate over their rotas or to book time off via fax machines, but that despite assuring they want to get rid of them they state it can’t be simply replaced due to current reliance and union rules.

It’s claimed that the rail firm has so far been unable to successfully update the network-wide communication system because of the legacy agreements that remain between Northern train drivers and their union ASLEF (Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen).

Elsewhere, with the Labour Party having announced a number of cuts, tax increases and other financial changes as part of their first budget in 14 years, Burnham has at least managed to secure Greater Manchester’s locally-controlled £2 bus fare while most of the country are set to lose it.

Greater Manchester to survive key public transport cut as government prepares to scrap bus fare cap
Northern Rail might be stuck with fax machines but the Bee Network is thriving.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — El Pollock (via Geograph)/Jon David Houghton/Tumi-1983/(via WikiCommons)

UK News

Scissor Sisters confirm reunion after more than a decade ahead of massive Manchester gig

Danny Jones Danny Jones Scissor Sisters are back UK reunion shows Manchester tickets

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.”

Read more:

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.

You can get ready to grab yours HERE.

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…

Pet Shop Boys named amongst latest wave of unreal acts set to play MTV EMAs at Co-op Live

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Press Image (supplied)

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