What's On

Victoria Baths will reopen as a swimming pool for the first time in three years

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 4th July 2022

Manchester landmark Victoria Baths is set to open as a swimming pool again this year.

The beautiful building hasn’t hosted a swimming session in three years but is planning a bumper event to make up for lost time.

The Big Splash will take place in September, complete with supper clubs, fancy dress and giant inflatables.

The Gala Pool at Victoria Baths dates back to 1906 but closed as a swimming baths in 1993.

ADVERTISEMENT
Victoria Baths will reopen for a swimming event this September. Credit: Steve Allen

To refill and heat the pool now takes 96 hours, or four days, requiring the equivalent of 1500 baths-worth of water.

Surrounding the Grade II-listed pool itself are 45 individual changing cubicles.

The Big Splash is the heritage venue’s biggest fundraising event of the year and all money raised from the swim tickets goes to protecting the building’s future.

ADVERTISEMENT
  • Inside Victoria Baths
  • Former swimming pool Victoria Baths
Credit: Steve Allen

For three days only, visitors will have a chance to see the space as it once was, thanks to United Utilities and a team of volunteers.

On the Friday night, there’ll be the chance to have a swim, then join in with a three-course supper club in one of the other former pools, hosted by The Sri Lankan Experience.

Tickets for the swim and supper club event cost £45.

ADVERTISEMENT

On the Saturday and Sunday, there will be lane swimming between 8am and 9am (£16 a session), with hot drinks and pastries served in the Tea Room.

Read more: Manchester archaeologists carry out dig at 5,000-year-old tomb linked to King Arthur

Then the pool floats, including the Victoria Baths pink flamingos, will be back out from 9.30am until 4.15pm.

Elsewhere in the building there’ll be guided tours, exhibitions, access to the viewing gallery, choir performances, a kids’ art trail, a ‘Make, Do and Disco’ event, and talks.

Hip Hop Chip Shop will rock up with their food truck too.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Big Splash will take place on 9, 10 and 11 September. Tickets go on sale at 11am on Tuesday 5 July. Visit www.victoriabaths.org.uk for more information.

Featured image: Steve Allen

What's On

Mani from The Stone Roses is throwing a fundraising party with his wife following cancer diagnosis

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson

Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield and his wife Imelda are throwing a massive fundraising night to raise money for The Christie and The Stockport Charitable Trust.

The wife of the Stone Roses legend was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer in November 2020, and has been undergoing gruelling treatment and surgeries ever since.

The pair, who have nine-year-old twins together, will curate an evening of first-class entertainment at The Kimpton Clocktower Hotel’s ballroom in Manchester city centre.

This is The One: Let’s Kick Cancer’s Arse will be taking place during Mani’s birthday week, with raffle and auction prizes donated by bands, footballers, actors, venues and promoters.

Imelda and Mani will throw the fundraising party together. Credit: Supplied

Imelda is an events agent who says: “Both charities have supported me through my journey. Cancer affects not just the person who has it, but everyone around them, and I hope that by investing in some more research, we can help alleviate some of the devastation caused to families.”

Mani added: “When life deals you a pair of twos, you must get your game face on! The past two years since my wife’s diagnosis have been brutal in so many ways, but it’s also opened our eyes to so many things.

“This disease needs to be eradicated – we feel duty bound to do our bit to achieve this. So everybody, get on board, dig deep, help out, we will win!”

Credit: Twitter, Imelda Mounfield

By the time Imelda was diagnosed with bowel cancer, it had already spread to her liver and a small nodule in her lung, she wrote on her own JustGiving page.

She said: “I underwent emergency life-saving bowel surgery at it perforated. I had Covid and appendicitis for my first 3 chemo sessions, which were missed.

“I thought I was going down to the theatre to confirm appendicitis. Nobody heard anything for 9 hrs. Hence I woke with no small colon and an ileostomy stoma instead.

“Fast forward 6 months of treatments and breaks while they considered surgery, I had the right side of my liver removed.

Read more: Blackpool Council rejects licenses for two lap dancing clubs to make town more ‘family friendly’

“We were just on the mop-up stage of chemo when a scan revealed another tumour in the liver and several nodules on my lungs.

“I’m looking at other treatment centres and treatments privately as I’m nowhere near giving up this fight.

“Think positive thoughts into the universe for me to beat this. I’ve got twin boys aged 9 who I’m fighting for to be their mummy to be there for many years to come.”

This is The One: Let’s Kick Cancer’s Arse will take place at The Kimpton Clocktower’s ballroom on Friday 18 November.

Featured image: Paul Husband

What's On

A live orchestra is performing Kanye West’s ‘best’ album in Manchester next month

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

One of Kanye West’s most-critically acclaimed albums is set to be performed by a live orchestra right here in Manchester next month.

And tickets are going on sale very soon.

There aren’t many artists in recent times who could be considered quite as polarising or who divide opinion like Kayne West, but despite how controversial his public persona has been over the last decade, and most-recently within the last few years, he is still widely considered to be one of the most influential hip hop musicians of all time, as well as often being voted as one of the greatest musicians of his generation.

But in typical Kanye fashion, his music often divides opinion just as much as his public persona – especially aomng fans, who will usually debate his best songs and albums, but rarely come to an agreement as to what they are.

One of the albums generally-considered by critics to be the best of West’s discography though is his 2010 album ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’.

One of Kanye West’s most-critically acclaimed albums is set to be performed by a live orchestra / Credit: The Blues Kitchen Manchester

And if that’s the album you were expecting it to be, then you might want to add the date Friday 2 December to your diary, as that is when a live orchestra will be setting up at The Blues Kitchen to perform a “reimagining” of the LP in full.

Smash-hits like ‘Power’, ‘Runaway’, and ‘Monster’ are just some of the tracks from the album set to be performed during the set.

Read more: The best gigs and club nights to get tickets for in Manchester this August

In a description for the upcoming event, The Blues Kitchen Manchester said: “Kanye’s career-defining record, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, is widely seen as one of the last decade’s greatest albums [so] we’re incredibly excited to re-interpret this cult classic with a 13-piece orchestra formed of the UK’s finest classically trained musicians, using a unique musical score.”

‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ will be performed in full right here in Manchester / Credit: The Blues Kitchen Manchester

On top of the influential album being performed in full, fans can also expect to hear “some extra Kanye classics to finish off the night” too.

Re:imagine My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy will be live at The Blues Kitchen Manchester on Friday 2 December, and tickets are set to go on sale at 10am next week on Tuesday 16 August.

You can sign up for early ticket access here.

Featured Image – Re:imagine (via Facebook)

More What's On

News

A massive Boeing 747 plane is cruising up the M6 near Manchester today

Kids & Family

Adventure golf, escape rooms, 2-for-1 cinema tickets, and more at Printworks this summer holidays

Art & Culture

Sneak peak at Vue cinema’s fancy upgrade at Printworks, including reclining seats in every screen

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches