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Paddington Bear will be the special festive guest at Trafford Centre’s grotto this Christmas

The 'Christmas with Paddington' grotto is gearing up to be "a memorable festive experience".

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 26th October 2022

The Trafford Centre has announced that a very special guest will be making an appearance for its Christmas celebrations this year.

With not long to go until the festive season is here, and Greater Manchester already starting to get into the spirit, the Stretford-based shopping centre has revealed that its much-loved Christmas Grotto is back by popular demand for 2022 as part of its annual Tinseltown celebrations – and this year is set to be extra-special as Santa will be joined by a famous guest.

Paddington is digging out his Christmas hat and heading to the Trafford Centre next month.

The shopping centre’s grotto is always a highlight of the festive season each year, but it’s expected to be bigger and better than ever before with Paddington’s arrival.

Gearing up to be some proper festive fun for all the family, the Christmas with Paddington grotto experience – which is curated by award-winning experiential events company Bakehouse Factory – will include fun photo opportunities for all ages, the chance to travel through snowy festive trees and scenic street scenes, and so much more.

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There’ll also a mesmerising interactive doll’s house that features Paddington’s famous attic window, and kids will be invited to tiptoe across the Christmas night time rooftops of the beautiful Windsor Gardens, before being transported to the hallway of the Browns’ house to finally meet Paddington.

After snapping a photo with the world-famous bear, families will then be guided in groups to meet the big man Santa himself.

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A Paddington book as a special gift from Santa and families can enjoy browsing a 

Not only will families be able to take a look round a pop-up Paddington shop for quality memorabilia and gifts to take home with them, but Santa will also give each child a Paddington book as a special gift to remember from the magical experience.

Paddington Bear will be the special festive guest at Trafford Centre’s grotto this Christmas / Credit: Adrien Welch

And, on weekdays throughout November, the Christmas with Paddington experience will also be open for interactive storytelling sessions that are specifically-designed for pre-school children, schools, and nurseries.

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Each storytelling session also includes the chance to meet Paddington.

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The Christmas with Paddington grotto at the Trafford Centre will be open every weekend from 16 November – 24 December 2022 for families of all ages to enjoy what’s already being described as “a memorable festive experience”.

Find out more and grab tickets here.

Featured Image – Trafford Centre

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Chester Zoo named best zoo in the UK thanks to more than 11,000 ‘excellent’ ratings

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

It’s official… Chester Zoo has been named to best zoo in the UK for 2024.

Everyone in and around Greater Manchester and the North West is familiar with just how brilliant the UK’s biggest charity zoo is and all the work it contributes towards conservation and protecting endangered species all across the world – but now, it’s got itself a respectable new title to prove it, and it’s all thanks to tens of thousands of positive TripAdvisor reviews.

The world’s biggest travel guidance platform has named Chester Zoo as the best-rated zoo to visit in the UK this year, with more than 11,000 ‘Excellent’ ratings.

Based on millions of online reviews, the new ranking puts the beloved Cheshire-based attraction ahead of the country’s other zoos after earning consistently good feedback from its visitors.

Chester Zoo has been named the best zoo in the UK for 2024 / Credit: Chester Zoo

According to Chester Zoo, the “wonderful news” means that, as a conservation charity, it can continue its work with countries across the world to “help all animals survive and thrive”, as well as provide expert care to the 37,000 animals who currently call the zoo their home.

The zoo has also thanked its visitors for all their continued support each year, as this allows to “keep making a difference”.

“With every admission ticket, membership, animal adoption, or experience purchased, you are contributing to our mission of preventing extinction,” Chester Zoo said in a statement.

Speaking on the coveted new TripAdvisor title, Jamie Chirston, who is the CEO at Chester Zoo, says he’s “over the moon to be named the best zoo in the UK”, adding in a statement that: “It’s an incredible achievement and especially pleasing given it’s based on thousands upon thousands of genuine reviews and opinions.

“It’s a real seal of approval from our visitors, and testament to every single one of our dedicated, hardworking, and talented staff that make our conservation zoo the wonderful place it is.

“Every time someone walks through our gates, not only do they enjoy all kinds of wildlife experiences and a have great day out, but they’re also contributing to the vital conservation work we carry out here and around the world, and that’s why, as a not-for-profit conservation zoo, this top TripAdvisor ranking means such an awful lot to us.

It’s all thanks to more than 11,000 ‘Excellent’ ratings by visitors on TripAdvisor / Credit: Chester Zoo

“It’s confirmation that we’re getting things right for our visitors, [which is] especially important as, together, we’re preventing extinction and making a real difference for wildlife.”

The UK’s best zoo isn’t the only title Chester Zoo has claimed this month either, as TripAdvisor has also listed it as the eighth-best zoo or aquarium to visit in the whole of Europe too.

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So it double congratulations are in order – and they couldn’t be more well-deserved, right?

Featured Image – Chester Zoo

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Peter Kay’s gigs at Co-op Live have been postponed as the arena admits it’s not ready for opening act

Danny Jones Danny Jones Peter Kay Co-op Live gigs cancelled

Just a day before the venue was set to welcome its very first act, Co-op Live has announced that arena opener Peter Kay’s gigs have unfortunately been cancelled and postponed until later this month.

Both of Peter Kay‘s highly-anticipated shows have ultimately had to be called off after Co-op Live revealed that the brand-new entertainment venue is simply not ready to welcome guests just yet, with work still to be completed on key areas of the building, namely power supply issues.

Issuing a regretful statement on social media, the arena has confirmed that the shows will now be rescheduled to Monday and Tuesday, 29-30 April.

This comes barely a day after its official opening event this past weekend which also saw thousands have their tickets cancelled for the accompanying ‘test gig’.

Co-op Live confirms Peter Kay’s pair of opening shows have been cancelled and rescheduled.

Addressing the situation online, Co-op Live said: “Following our first test event on Saturday, regretfully we have made the difficult decision to reschedule our two opening performances by Peter Kay…

“It is critical to ensure we have a consistent total power supply to our fully electric sustainable venue, the completion of which is a few days behind. Rescheduling gives us the extra time we need to continue testing thoroughly.

“This is vital to satisfy the rigorous set of guidelines and protocols that are necessary for a venue of this size. Peter Kay has very graciously agreed to perform his record-breaking comedy at Co-op Live on 29 (rescheduled from 23) and 30 (rescheduled from 24) April 2024.

“All tickets remain valid and ticket holders will be contacted by their point of purchase. Refunds will be available for those who can no longer attend. We are very sorry for the inconvenience that this change will undoubtedly cause for some.” Safe to say many of those looking forward to the show have been left frustrated.

Speaking to The Manc, a Stockport gig-goer who had tickets said they had to find out via social media and that her group had still received no email notifying them about the cancellation, adding, “We just logged into the app to find the date on our tickets had been changed to next Monday”.

As for the beloved Bolton-born stand-up and British comedy legend himself, Kay added: “I’m truly gutted as I know how disappointing this will be for everyone with tickets, but obviously it’s a brand-new venue and it’s important that everything is finished and safe for full capacity audiences.

“Fortunately, we’ve been able to reschedule the shows to next week, (I’ll have to miss my Bums & Tums class) but hopefully I’ll see you then.”

The venue also went on to assure that they will still be hosting The Black Keys on 27 April in the lower bowl with 10k fans as planned and will continue to test the resilience of the venue and its operations for the time being.

They also reminded fans who previously missed out on tickets that due to dates being moved, tickets may now become available.

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Featured Images — The Manc Audio/Press Images

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