Halloween is done, the Manchester Christmas markets are just around the corner, and we’re very excited because one of its biggest bar operators is preparing to serve up some retro sweet cocktails.
In a nod to some of our childhood favourites, this year as part of the winter festivities drinkers will be able to get their hands on Drumstick and Parma Violet-inspired cocktails alongside the usual boozy hot chocolates, mulled wines and pints of German beer.
Both reto sweetie-inspired cocktails, which incorporate the flavours of the classic sweets, will be available at The Round House bar on Cathedral Gardens where shoppers can take a break, sip on nostalgia-inducing bevvies and soak up the festive atmosphere amidst the twinkling lights.
Image: Supplied
Image: Supplied
Meanwhile at Bar 3 on New Cathedral Street, revellers will find a number of theatrical smoking cocktails as well as a selection of craft lager,cider and boozy Bailey’s hot chocolates on the menu.
As for gin lovers, the Grumpy Moose on King Street is the place to be with over fifty different styles of gin and tonics on offer at the bar. Whether you’re into a London dry or an American wet gin, you’re sure to find it here.
Fans of Drumstick sweeties will be able to enjoy a drinkable version of the chewy favourite over on Piccadilly Deck at the Brooks Mill bar too, as well as a selection of hot whiskeys, mulled gins and Manchester Mules, liquor coffees and hot chocolates.
Image: Supplied
Image: Supplied
Whilst as the Melting Pot on Market Street, there will be warming gingerbread lattes and a choice of seasonal hot chocolates at hand to satisfy busy shoppers on the go.
Over at this year’s Winter Gardens hub on Piccadilly, meanwhile, The Windmill bar will be dishing out the likes of Krombacher German beer and Yon lager, alongside raspberry cider and Sheppy’s 200 cider.
The Windmill will also have an adjacent food stall this year in the form of The Dirty Chicken Co, selling a selection of spicy chicken burgers, chicken strips and loaded fries. There’s so much to look forward to.
Open daily from 10am to 9pm, seven days a week starting from Thursday 10 November when the markets open to the public, last drink orders will be at 8.45pm. Time to get planning your day out, the markets will be here before you know it.
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Hit theatre production set at a house party to visit Manchester on UK tour
Daisy Jackson
Alright then, 24 hour party people, we’ve found a theatre production you might like the sound of – it’s called The House Party, and it’s set in (you guessed it) a house party.
This smash hit production by pioneering theatre company Headlong is set to land at HOME in March as part of the arts venue’s 2025 theatre season.
It tells the tale of a wild 18th birthday party, where Christine is trying to pick up the pieces of her best friend, a newly-dumped Julie (who happens to be the birthday girl).
Themes of class, power and privilege are all explored with a raw intensity as the cast on stage plough through shots and dive head-first into a night that will change everything they know.
The House Party, which has received glowing reviews from previous showings, is filled with ‘privilege, desire and destruction’.
When it stops off in Manchester, its cast will include Bridgerton’s Sesley Hope as Christine, Synnøve Karlsen (Miss Austen, Last Night in Soho) as Julie, and Tom Lewis (Gentleman Jack, Patience) as Jon.
The ensemble of Frantic Assembly performers includes Ines Aresti, Oliver Baines, Cal Connor, Micah Corbin-Powell, Rachael Leonce, Jaheem Pinder and Jamie Randall.
The House Party is written by Laura Lomas and is a reimagining of August Strindberg’s Miss Julie for today’s generation.
It’s directed by Headlong’s artistic director Holly Race Roughan, who directed the Royal Shakespeare Company’s world premiere of David Edgar’s major new political play The New Real.
The House Party. Credit: Ikin YumThe production will be at HOME. Credit: Supplied
Movement direction will come from Frantic Assembly’s Scott Graham.
Prior to the UK tour of The House Party, Headlong celebrated its 50 year anniversary, including the hit production of A Raisin in the Sun which played nationwide.
The House Party will be at HOME in Manchester between 25 and 29 March, 2025 – you can get your tickets HERE.
Greater Manchester’s annual Repair Week is back to make you fall back in love with your stuff
Daisy Jackson
If you’re not a handy person, when something breaks, the temptation is often to abandon or bin it straight away.
But that’s just not how we’re gonna do it here in Greater Manchester any more, with the return of the annual Repair Week to help you learn valuable repair skills and save money at the same time.
Whether it’s tinkering with your bicycle, fixing up your small tech items, or having your furniture re-varnished and upcycled, there are so many places and people who are on a mission to help you fall back in love with your belongings.
There are even workshops to help you put flat-pack furniture together.
Taking place between 3 and 9 March, Repair Week will be the chance to learn skills, fix your stuff, gain repair confidence and find local fixers.
Events throughout the week (and beyond) will be hosted by community groups, businesses and plenty more.
You can sharpen knives, fix zips, and un-wobble chairs with a little hand from local repair heroes.
JillyGDesign Jewellery in Heaton Moor will fix up your sentimental and special jewellery items, while Rag Revival will help you turn unusable textiles into new creations with basic sewing skills.
There are repair cafes popping up all over Greater Manchester where you can take your belongings.
Greater Manchester’s annual Repair Week is back to make you fall back in love with your stuff. Credit: Supplied
Repair Week will highlight schemes like the Manchester Library of Things, where you can borrow the tools and equipment you need for those repair jobs at home.
During the week you’ll also be able to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the incredible Renew Hub, the UK’s biggest reuse hub, where donated items are brought back to life.
Similarly, you’ll be able to get inside the textile recycling centre run by homelessness charity Emmaus Bolton, where you can choose your own fabric from the scrap store and turn it into a very handy draught excluder to keep costs down and your heat in.
Recycle for Greater Manchester’s Repair Week will take place between 3 and 9 March, with workshops, events and resources to help you revive your belongings.
The Manc -
1st November 2022 
