Manchester’s five-star hotel The Lowry is hosting a bottomless afternoon tea this Mother’s Day – complete with unlimited cakes, sandwiches, desserts, scones and live entertainment.
Its decadent afternoon tea served in the River Restaurant will get a Mother’s Day upgrade, moving into The Grand Ballroom for the day where guests will find tables stacked high with sweet treats and savoury delicacies.
Live music will be performed by local artists Jack Buckley Duo, providing upbeat acoustics throughout the day, whilst for children there will be live entertainment in the form of a magician who’ll be on hand to wow them with his various tricks.
Mothers, mother figures, families and children are all welcome. / Image: Supplied
The bottomless afternoon tea will be available in two-hour slots, with a huge range of sweet and sacoury delicacies on offer. Guests will be able to help themselves as they please during that time.
From the sweet treats menu, think lemon tart topped with Italian meringue, strawberry Fraisiergateaux, Malteser cheesecake served with bailey crème Chantilly, and pistachio financier grue nougatine paired with sour cherry mousse.
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As for the savoury selection, there’ll be heaps of mushroom duxelles tartlets with chervil mayo alongside a variety of delicate tea sandwiches, such as fresh Gravadlax salmon with zesty lemon cream cheese and chives, roasted beef served with onion chutney and horseradish, and hummus and roasted Mediterranean vegetable wraps.
Scones will also be piled high, with both fruit and plain choices available, all served with endless Cornish clotted creme and fine strawberry preserve.
For the little ones, the hotel’s Mother’s Day afternoon tea includes ham, cheese, tuna and egg sandwiches, followed by double chocolate brownies, jam doughnuts, strawberry marshmallow skewers served with chocolate dipping sauce and homemade candy floss.
As for drinks, there will be as many cups of freshly brewed hot tea as you can muster.
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Image: The Lowry Hotel
The bottomless Mother’s Day afternoon tea is priced at £39.95 each for adults and £15 for children, sittings are available between 12 – 4pm on Sunday 27 March. Each table will be given a two-hour period in which to enjoy the bottomless afternoon tea.
Marketing Manager, Rhea Leach at The Lowry Hotel said: “It’s a joy to watch families and friends come together, to celebrate a special occasion with us at The Lowry Hotel, as we raise a glass to all the great mums and mother figures out there.
“Our unlimited Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea is a much-loved event that provides the perfect backdrop for families to spend quality time together, whilst enjoying unlimited treats, tea and live music.”
To book The Lowry Hotel’s Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea, please visit the website here.
Feature image – Supplied
Manchester
Flashbacks: The timelapse of the Trafford Centre construction that’s gone viral
Danny Jones
The Trafford Centre might look like some decadent Roman emperor’s palace or as if it was plucked from the heart of Ancient Grecian city, but as anyone old enough to remember it’s opening and/or construction will tell you, it seems strange to think its not even been around for three decades yet.
As Greater Manchester’s and one of the North West’s most famous shopping centres full stop, the iconic attraction first began being built back in 1996, when John Major was Prime Minister, Manchester United were still Premier League champions, Britpop was at its peak and George Michael was number one.
It’s fair to say that a lot has changed since then and although Oasis might be back come 2025, The Trafford Centre and surrounding area are pretty unrecgonisable compared to nearly 30 years ago.
All told, it took approximately 27 months to erect the neo-classical epicentre of all things shopping, leisure, food and fanciness – and here’s what the process looked like:
With the initial 14 million sq ft shopping centre being completed in September 1998 following approximately 810 days of work, The Trafford Centre debuted to the Manc public and beyond.
It took more than 3,000 builders to bring the 60 hectare site to life at the peak of construction and since then the plot has only grown bigger, bolder and more ambitious over time.
Present day, it has everything from cinema screens and a mini Legoland to a Sea Life location, multiple bowling alleys and countless other forms of entertainment beyond just rows of shops and restaurants – hence why it remains busy pretty much year-round.
Back then, British celebrities, popular local names of note, politicians, dignitaries and prominent figures from the retail industry got to visit as part of exclusive preview events in the days before its launch date.
You can see the spectacle and fascination surrounding the official opening event here:
Seems surreal watching this today but the construction of the Trafford Centre was a huge moment not just for 0161 but all of the North.
But of course, the entire complex itself has seen multiple extensions over the years, including massive developments such as Barton Square and The Great Hall.
At the outset, it cost more than £600 million to build The Trafford Centre; the major renovations mentioned above which took place in 2008 cost another £100m and the Trafford Palazzo revamp around a decade later came in at around £75m.
There has and always will be lots of money put behind this intruguing monument to modern consumerism, and big brands will continue to flock to open units within the huge expanse whenever they can: some of the most recent being Archie’s, Flying Tiger, Sephora, Tiffany, Gymshark and more.
We’ll admit the aesthetic still makes us double-take from time to time (though not as much as confused Londoners visiting for the first time), but it’s not like this part of the world hasn’t boasted plenty of other curiosities in the past…
Featured Images — Charles Bowring (via Wikimedia Commons)/The Manc Group
Manchester
Biig Piig brings home the bacon at Manchester’s New Century Hall
Clementine Hall
After releasing her long-awaited debut album, Biig Piig delivered an electric performance at one of the city’s coolest venues.
Oversized satin bomber jacket slipping off her shoulders, Biig Piig aka Jessica Smyth, wasted no time jumping around the stage to an audience equally as energetic.
The Irish artist’s headline tour is in celebration of her debut album 11:11, but the night was scattered with tracks from her prolific seven-year discography.
Biig Piig has two methods to her madness which she effortlessly switches between. Her chilled-out atmospheric songs inspired by R&B and jazz alongside her club dance tracks with heavy drops and mesmerising synth.
Throughout the night we were treated to both, receiving a masterclass in finding the balance between the two.
“You guys have filled out this room. I love Manchester there is so much energy”, she says just moments after opening with track ‘4am’.
“I’m out and I’m back and I’ve missed you”, she pleads to the crowd whilst parading up and down the stage adorned with hot pink strobe lights.
Her band, which features a bassist/saxophonist and drummer, adds nice bits of detail to her songs, specifically ‘Roses and Gold’ which won itself a groovy sax solo which was met with rapturous applause.
Moments later she picks up the pace with a few welcomed dance party throwbacks, ‘Sunny’ had everyone two-stepping along with her whilst flirty ‘Favourite Girl’ transformed the venue into an underground dance party.
Ending the night with a bang was ‘Kerosene’ for which she got the crowd to get low on the ground and bounce together as one, a request which can often prove risky but one which was pulled off without hesitation.
It was clear to see the fun that Jessica, her band, and the crowd were having throughout the hour-long show.
But what’s even clearer is Biig Piig’s path to the top of dance music stardom.
Georgina Pellant -
1st March 2023 
