THING OF THE WEEK
PICTURE PERFECT… Mayor Joe Anderson paid a visit to Ten Streets Market in Liverpool this week, ahead of its opening later this month. A former industrial warehouse on Cotton Street is being converted into a market featuring 25 stalls of arts, crafts, furniture and fashion, and has been spruced up with two new works of art, one of which Joe can be seen enjoying here; these have been delivered by Formby artist Calum Medforth. The market will also be open to host events, film screenings, and community projects, and is set to open by the end of the year.
GREASY SURFACE… A dubious honour this week for two towns in the North West, with Blackpool and Bolton named among the UK’s top 10 unhealthiest high streets by the Royal Society of Public Health. The rankings, based on the prevalence of different types of businesses in each of the towns’ main retail cores, have Blackpool in third place, and Bolton in seventh – Blackpool’s no doubt not helped by the ubiquitous fish-and-chips and candyfloss combo. Grimsby takes the crown with Walsall in second place, while Sunderland, Huddersfield, and Bradford also make the top 10. Looking at the above map, it appears Trafford does well – no surprises there – but the swathe of red stretches all the way from Lancashire to the Wirral. The RSPH also ranked the top 10 healthiest streets, but sadly the North West didn’t make the cut with Edinburgh taking the crown. Let’s be honest though: we all prefer meat pies to haggis anyway.
GOODY BAGS… The great, the good, and the pinstriped of the office agency world were out in force to welcome Amazon to Hanover House at the Manchester building’s launch last night, with guests enjoying great views of Victoria Station and a healthy array of cocktails and canapes to match, although do spare a thought for the poor waitress who managed to spill a tray of Peroni all over the brand-new carpet. As is traditional with launches, attendees were treated to a goody bag featuring a particularly stylish scarf, which your author will be hanging on to, although expect a few to show up on eBay at some point. Or should that be on Amazon Marketplace?
MERRY HALLOWEEN-MAS: Confused about what time of the year it is? So are we. No sooner had an array of tentacles, pumpkins, and giant eyeballs graced shopping spots across Manchester, they were gone and replaced with hell on earth the Christmas Markets, which are opening earlier than ever this year. We’ve barely had time to digest the pumpkin-spiced lattes before we move onto mulled wine, and if you’re not feeling Christmassy yet, the arrival of Manchester’s giant Santa, being assembled on Albert Square, might get you in the spirit.
BEST IN CLASS… Attendees of Burnley: Building 10 years of growth on Tuesday were pleased to discover that the many bottles of clear liquid on the conference tables were in fact not the obligatory still or sparkling, but locally brewed Batch gin. An extra special treat, the gin is an international award winner, and the signature batch given away on Tuesday is instilled with frankincense and myrhh, for those who may appreciate help to get them into the (increasingly early) festive mood.
