THING OF THE WEEK
MORE POLITICS… The list of candidates for the election that nobody ever really wanted has been released this week. May’s European Elections are rapidly approaching with voting kicking off on 23 May. In the North West, we’ve got an eclectic mix of candidates to choose from, including a mix of first-timers, established political players, and some rather left-field choices. Names on the list you might already be familiar with are the Lib Dem’s candidate for Manchester mayor and Trafford councillor Jane Brophy; Geraldine Coggins and Dan Jerrome, both Green Party councillors for Altrincham; and current MEP Theresa Griffin, who is standing again for Labour. The new kids on the block, Change UK and the Brexit Party, have also put forward a mix of candidates including former Communist Claire Fox for the latter, while the former has plumped for well-known MMU figure Michael Taylor. The award for ‘best name’ probably goes for UKIP candidate Adam Fox McCloud Richardson: will being named after an N64 game character be a route to success? We’ll find out in a few weeks’ time.
AVENGERS ASSEMBLE… Time for THING to dig out our fabled Batman onesie: it’s free entry at Madame Tussauds in Blackpool this weekend for anyone wearing superhero fancy dress. Although we might be largely dumbfounded by the attraction of waxworks, getting in for free when it usually costs just shy of £17 isn’t too bad, and you can always nip to the cinema afterwards to see the new Avengers film. Just depends which outfit you’ve got handy: THING can think of a few people in the property scene who might make a decent Incredible Hulk.
Last year’s dig in Grosvenor Park
DIG FOR VICTORY… Amateur archaeologists take note: Cheshire West & Chester and the city’s university are holding their annual training dig in Grosvenor Park next weekend, with the dig to open to public viewing throughout May. The annual dig has uncovered some gems in the past, including a Roman road, and a building destroyed during the English Civil War. This year’s dig will look to discover more about the latter and will also include a hunt for some of the city’s Saxon past. Who knows, they might even dig up the first iteration of plans for Chester Northgate, first put forward in 50BC the 1990s by pension fund Scottish Widows.
GREEN FINGERS… Less than 40% of properties for sale across Salford have a garden, ranking the borough as one of the least green-fingered in the country, according to research released this week. Estate agent Housesimple has analysed the number of homes on the market and how many have a significant outside space, and Salford fares the worst: of the 383 properties for sale, only 39% have a garden. Similarly, Manchester and Liverpool don’t do much better; for the former 53% of the 1,658 properties for sale have one, while 54% of the latter’s 2,936 homes have a garden. If you’re a budding Alan Titchmarsh, it looks like Grimsby is the place to be, with 91% of properties on the market giving you the opportunity to flex your green fingers. Admittedly the North West’s biggest cities have never been the best at looking after green space, but THING thought we might do a little better than this…
