The breakdancers, buskers and bargain hunters of Market Street PLUS Miss World’s moving Manchester link
Hello,
When a rainbow of tweed-clad Chanel models strutted down Thomas Street in December 2023, it really was a sight to behold.
The fashion house’s Metiers D’Art show – which of course took place in driving rain – brought glamorous supermodels, celebrities and millions of pounds to Manchester.
But reporter James Holt claims there’s another great catwalk in town – Market Street.
As part of our series about the highs and lows of Manchester city centre, James headed down to the busiest spot on the city centre to chat to those populating the space.
Market Street(Image: Manchester Evening News)
There he found breakdancing teenagers, buskers, commuters and delivery cyclists weaving between them all.
“This is Market Street on an ordinary Wednesday afternoon – not just a shopping destination, but a cobbled catwalk showcasing all walks of Mancunian life,” he writes.
James says Market Street confounded his expectations of the area as an ‘overcrowded and somewhat grubby’ space.
While people-watching he found something rather special.
“Everybody is out. People are spending time enjoying some retail therapy,” he writes. “Children are gripping onto their mother’s hand while they push a pram in the other. Others are rushing to work in business suits or trying to get to appointments.
“Friends are meeting up with one another, laughing and joking, their suitcases bouncing along the cobbles behind them. Maybe it’s not so bad after all.”
Ebony Lewis(Image: Manchester Evening News)
Among those populating the street was Ebony Lewis, who was manning the counter of her family’s donut and waffle van.
“My dad’s got some stories from over the years,” she told James. “On a quiet day, he used to stick a £2 coin to the floor and just watch as people were trying to pick it up.
“We get regulars, and it’s a great place to be because Market Street is always really busy. It’s the main spot. The Christmas Markets are brilliant for us too because there are so many people and we are cheaper than a lot of the stalls.”
You can read James’ lovely feature in full here.
Tortoise like
“He’ll be pulling a bus so he won’t be able to get away quickly,” said local democracy reporter Ethan Davies, when asked by our editor what he planned to speak to Andy Burnham about this week.
The Labour politician was indeed hauling a single decker Bee Network bus as part of an annual event to raise money for the mayor’s charity.
Andy Burnham and Fran Darlington-Pollock pulling the bus. With the help of three more volunteers, they dragged it 30 metres in just over 30 seconds(Image: Greater Manchester Mayors Charity)
And it gave him time to talk to Ethan about why the worker bee is on the side of the region’s buses; a court case against his office and the footage showing the lead-up to the arrest of two men at Manchester Airport.
Investigation into ‘antisemitic’ videos
Pranksters spray Orthodox Jewish children with water pistol in Manchester
Orthodox Jewish children in Greater Manchester were sprayed with water pistols in a social media video police are now investigating.
The footage, which has been reposted extensively, has traditional Jewish music in the background and shows two men sitting in a vehicle spraying visibly Orthodox Jewish people – including children – with water pistols.
Jewish security charity CST described the videos circulating on social media as ‘appalling’ and ‘antisemitic’.
The path to a good job
While all of her friends were picking their A Levels, Veronika Torres Rondon decided to take a different path.
She’d heard about a new type of qualification – one that involves work experience rather than solely spending time in the classroom.
Veronika Torres Rondon(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
After completing the two-year course Veronika received several job offers. Now, at the age of 19, she’s doing a degree apprenticeship at the Bank of New York in Manchester.
She is part of a drive by mayor Andy Burnham to popularise the Manchester Baccalaureate, or MBacc, launched last year in a bid to give the two-thirds of teenagers in the region who don’t go to university a ‘clear line of sight to high-quality jobs’.
Politics Writer Jo Timan has the details here.
On Gallagher Hill
Fans gather at ‘Gallagher Hill’ (Image: Ryan Jenkinson | Manchester Evening News)
I know we’ve been wanging on about it a lot recently, but the Oasis gigs really were a big deal for Manchester.
Perhaps the most glorious example of fans going mad fer it, were those who visited a little knoll dubbed Gallagher Hill each night, so they could listen to the show from afar.
For five nights it became a place of pilgrimage. Thousands of ticketless Oasis fans, desperate to catch a glimpse of the Gallagher brothers during their huge homecoming gigs, flocked to the cow field at Heaton Park.
Special t-shirts were printed and fans gathered there even got a shout-out onstage from Liam Gallagher.
But as Damon Wilkinson explains, Gallagher Hill already has a name.
For more than a century it’s been known as Hill 60 in honour of the tens of thousands of Manchester men who were killed and injured during the First World War.
How things were
Stills from video footage taken by the BBC of the Caribbean community in Moss Side and Hulme in Manchester. December 21, 1973.(Image: BBC | Getty)
A fascinating video of life in Moss Side and Hulme during the 1970s has been unearthed in the Getty archives.
The footage shows everyday life for the Caribbean communities living in those areas and was filmed as part of a BBC programme about the ‘Windrush’ generation – a vital part of Britain’s makeup.
Areas of south Manchester became popular with Caribbean settlers – but many faced poverty and racism under the grey skies of British cities.
You can see the full video here.
Headlines
Saved: Salford Lads and Girls Club has been awarded a grant of £438,000 – nine months after it faced closure. The money will be used for essential repairs to the Grade II-listed building in Ordsall. In just six weeks, £273,000 has been raised including a £50,000 donation from Morrissey. More here.
Homes: The final version of the controversial scheme that could see more than 2,000 homes built on Godley Green will be revealed this month. More here.
Plans: The first phase of a 10-year plan to improve Davyhulme wastewater treatment works – with an initial investment of £350m – has been unveiled. Details here.
Licence: Alleged sex acts in the beer garden, fighting and excessive noise could see a pub in Droylsden lose its booze licence. Story here.
Weather
Friday: Sunny intervals. 22C.
Roads: A640 Elizabethan Way, Milnrow, closed in both directions for gas works from Bridge St to Buckley Hill Lane until August 25.
A5067 Chester Rd westbound, Old Trafford, closed for roadworks between Talbot Rd and Bridgewater Way between 9.30am and 3.30pm until October 31.
A577 Mosley Common Rd closed for roadworks between Bridgewater Rd and Chaddock Lane until Nov 3.
A6 Chapel St westbound, Salford, closed for long-term roadworks between Blackfriars Rd and New Bailey St until January 19.
Manc trivia: How many books were in the core of the John Rylands Library collection by the time it was inaugurated in 1899? 40,000, 50,000 or 60,000?
Worth a read
Opal Suchata Chuangsri(Image: Christie/Handout)
Opal Suchata Chuangsri made history this year as the first Thai woman to be crowned Miss World.
The 21-year-old has decided to use her platform to spread awareness of a dangerous illness, following her own experience as a teenager.
She was 16 when she had two benign 10-centimetre tumours removed from her breasts and decided to dedicate her life to raising awareness of breast cancer.
After winning Miss World 2025, she visited The Christie, where she met Dr Sacha Howell, who leads the risk assessment study created in memory of Girls Aloud singer Sarah Harding.
Trivia answer: 40,000