THING OF THE WEEK
DEFEAT… England went out of the World Cup with a whimper on Wednesday to a feisty Argentina side who, armed with the greatest player of all time and the power of deep-seated resentment, ensured the Three Lions resembled little more than a trio of meek tabby cats backing deeper and deeper into their litter trays.
The defeat was not only a blow for football supporters but also for Andy Burnham, who, by Monday afternoon, will be Prime Minister. In a world where first impressions are crucial, it would have been some start for Burnham to be able to stand at the dispatch box for the first time as PM and announce a bank holiday to honour our brave boys.
Instead, it is England manager Thomas Tuchal who will benefit from Burnham beginning the country’s second-hardest job; the Prime Minister’s cabinet announcements and policy platform might distract slightly from England’s inevitable drubbing at the hands of France in the third-place play-off.
The gym will cost members £80 a month. Credit: via We Are Indigo
URBANITE… A new gym branded the Playground has opened at Manchester’s Treehouse hotel. The gym is the latest addition to the hotel’s roster of wellbeing-focused amenities, which includes saunas and cold plunges as well as padel courts.
The gym will set you back £80 a month, which seems steep until you consider that it will “seamlessly connect local urbanites with Manchester’s world-renowned sporting pulse”. In that case, take my money. Members will also get access to the various events Treehouse puts on including Steamin’ Fridays, which combines the delights of a bar, dancefloor, and sauna – sounds like a recipe for dehydration.
Cheshire East Council’s planning committee has another tough call to make next week. Credit: Google Earth
LESSONS… When will they learn? Cheshire East Council has another appeal to a developer seeking to build homes in the borough. Committee members voted against the recommendation of officers to reject Bloor Homes’ plans for 325 dwellings in Sandbach, opting to take their chances at the inevitable appeal. Like switching to a back five when 1-0 up in a World Cup semi-final, it was a risk that did not pay off.
Next week another Green Belt housing scheme goes before the committee with a recommendation to approve – let’s hope it gets the go-ahead, because the planning team has an insufficient supply of hair left to pull out.
- Credit: via Peppermint Soda
- Credit: via Peppermint Soda
- Credit: via Peppermint Soda
NEW HAUNTS… Liverpool-based developer Integritas Property Group has launched 6,500 sq ft of ground floor commercial space at its Central Point resi scheme for sale. The units might not exist yet but that has not stopped Integritas selling the dream to potential investors with a little help from AI.
One image of what the space could one day look like depicts a sophisticated cafe with delicious-looking croissants and sourdough loaves the size of beach balls. Two other visuals of a liminal-looking restaurant and a hairdresser’s straight out of Black Mirror are altogether more eerie and feature the hallmark of AI generated imagery: haunted, incomplete faces.
Oldham has not had a Leader since the May elections. Credit: PNW
GETTING OLD… Pardon us for yawning, but it has taken absolutely ages for Oldham Council to agree a Leader and we’re rather tired of it all. The local authority met this week for the fourth time to appoint the senior political figure and once again could not come to a consensus. Reform blames Labour. Labour blames Reform. The other parties have been unable to form a viable coalition. It’s all rather embarrassing and it’s clear the council’s own officers agree – with council monitoring officer Alex Bougetaf having told councillors he would commence a Section 5 report, which is done with a legal officer believes a local authority is behaving unlawfully, if a Leader was not named at Wednesday’s meeting.
Hate the AI imaginings of the commercial space. What happened to photoshop, or just using your imagination
By Ella
“England’s inevitable drubbing at the hands of France in the third-place play-off”
Don’t give up the day job!
By Nostradamus