A picturesque village on the outskirts of Manchester is bringing its high street to life in a magical way this Christmas with a festive window trail.
The seasonal trail is shining a light on “the art of storytelling”.
With the festive season officially here, Glossop – which is a bustling market town nestled in the rugged hills on the edge of the Peak District – has launched its very-own Winter Story Trail dedicated to the late Dame Hilary Mantel, who lived in the area as a young woman.
Dame Hilary was a celebrated and award-winning novelist most famous for the Wolf Hall trilogy, but she sadly passed away aged 70 back in September.
The work of community creative group Glossop Creates, and showcasing the talents of local writers, authors, performers, and poets, and utilising the high street windows of shops and venues in the town centre, the Winter Story Trail takes you on a literary journey around Glossop.
24 local writers have been paired-up with a local shop, and have each created a 150-word winter tale based on that business.
Dark Peak Books, George Street Community Bookshop, Decor8, The Bureau, and Pepino are some of the businesses taking part in the trail, while a few of the writers who have penned stories include Mark Henderson, Michelle Collier, and Keli Tomlin.
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Local actors Julie Hesmondhalgh – famous for having played Hayley in Coronation Street for many years – and Isobel Middleton from Harry Potter are also taking part in the campaign.
Families can collect a map for the Winter Story Trail from local venues around the town, and then head out and find all the windows while filling in a word from each to spell out a specially-commissioned 24 word poem.
You can go on a winter story trail round this picturesque village near Manchester this Christmas / Credit: Glossop Creates
“Glossop boasts huge talent in the literary space, with writers, storytellers, authors, script writers and poets all living in our town,” explained Claire Tymon from Local – the placemaking arts organisation that runs Glossop Creates.
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“This year, we all mourned the loss of Dame Hilary Mantel, so it seems fitting to dedicate this year’s festive creative activity to her literary genius.
The Winter Story Trail takes you on a literary journey around Glossop / Credit: Glossop Creates
“It’s wonderful to see the high street brought to life at Christmas through storytelling and imagination, and the trail will also help to further showcase Glossop as an amazing and innovative destination for cultural activities, art and creativity at the gateway to the Peaks.”
The Winter Story Trail is running throughout the festive season until 6 January 2023, and you can find out more here.
Featured Image – Glossop Creates
What's On
Manchester’s smash-hit Pitbull 5km run is back in town this week
Daisy Jackson
A 5km running event where participants dress up as Pitbull is returning to Manchester this week.
Runners will be donning bald caps, drawing on goatees, and shrugging on their suit jackets as they hit the streets for a very silly run.
The Pitbull Party Run has been organised again this year by Slow Run Club, and Run the Street MCR, who’ll be spurring runners on with plenty of daftness inspired by the man himself.
It’s part of a series of shakeout events taking place all week before the 24-Hour Run Against Homelessness.
The 5km shake-out run will be soundtracked by non-stop Pitbull party anthems from warm-up all the way through the run to the cool-down.
Last year’s event proved to be a massive hit and had dozens of Pitbull look-a-likes running through the streets – so now they’re hoping to make it even bigger for this year.
Runners will meet outside The Tap House in Circle Square from 6.30pm for a warm-up, ready to run from 7pm.
And all participants will get a free Lucky Saint beer to celebrate finishing the race.
24-Hour Run founder Thomas Lewis said: “We’ve got a great programme of events lined up across Greater Manchester.
“These shakeout events are all about bringing local running communities together while spreading the word about the 24-Hour Run Against Homelessness in November.
“The Pitbull party run got a great reception last year, and we’re delighted to be teaming up with Run The Streets MCR and Slow Run Club to put on this event again.”
The Manchester 24-Hour Run Against Homelessness is a charity relay challenge that invites runners of all abilities to take part in a continuous 24-hour relay made up of a 5km loop repeated throughout the 24 hours.
Runners can join for as little or as much as they like, whether it’s one lap or 20. The event takes place from midday on Wednesday 11 November to midday Thursday 12 November.
The 24-Hour Run supports the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity’s A Bed Every Night scheme, and last year saw cumulative distance of over 16,000 km covered and raised over £70,000 for the charity.
Tickets for the Pitbull Party Run are £3, which all goes to the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity to support The Manchester 24 Hour Run’s goal of £100,000.
Tickets officially go on sale for rare 70mm IMAX screenings of Dune: Part Three in Manchester
Emily Sergeant
Tickets have now officially gone on sale for rare 70mm IMAX screenings of Dune: Part Three in Manchester.
Arriving on screens from 18 December and gearing up to be one of the most anticipated films of the year, Dune: Part Three – which is the third and final instalment in director Denis Villeneuve’s Dune franchise – will be screening in IMAX 70mm at Vue Manchester Printworks, one of only three venues to show it in this format nationwide.
There are only 40 other venues across the globe showing the film in IMAX 70mm, and Manchester is the only city outside of London to screen the blockbuster this way too.
Based on the novels of Frank Herbert and set nearly two decades after the previous film, Dune: Part Three features an ensemble cast of all-star names led by Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya.
Alongside them will be Jason Momoa, Florence Pugh, Anya Taylor-Joy, Rebecca Ferguson, Robert Pattinson, Charlotte Rampling, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin.
After seats for a special early screening of the film in IMAX sold out in less than 30 minutes last month, the IMAX 70mm showings – which officially went live today (20 October) – are expected to be snapped up fast by film fans in Manchester.
“A decade in the making, Denis Villeneuve’s epic Dune trilogy is reaching its dramatic conclusion this December,” explained Dean Cross, who is the Senior Screen Content Manager at Vue.
“As the only venue outside of London to be screening Dune: Part Three in IMAX 70mm, it’s a privilege for us to offer this unique way to experience the film.”
Emily Sergeant -
8th December 2022 
