By the time you’re reading this, several 20-somethings are sound asleep on my sofa after a big night out.
They do have homes to go to, but they’ve converged on Manchester for a birthday weekend - one has braved rail strikes to come via coach from Scotland, another has driven from North Wales, and another couple arrived on the train from Yorkshire. My flat will be serving as a makeshift Travelodge this weekend.
So, when they live so far away, why have my pals decided on Manchester for a night out? Leeds is just as accessible, Newcastle is wonderful, and Liverpool can certainly show you a good time.
Obviously, the lure of free accommodation has likely helped. But these four souls think Manchester is a great night out.
And I can’t stop trying to work out if it is or not. So let’s go through the pros and cons.
We’ll start with the downsides. It’s expensive.
A pint in town is now regularly £5 or more, and the best events charge tens of pounds for entry. Taxis can be costly too, as can a gluttonous gluten feast of takeaway food.
Another negative is how early the tram service ends, which feels like the most reliable end-of-a-night option. Another thing the city lacks is a viable late-night sober spot, a la Bar Italia in Soho, which stays open as a café until 5am.
Coming into bat for Mancunia is variety, though. I think you’d be hard-pressed to find such a wide range of entertainment within walking distance. Last week, I hopped from a pizza joint playing pounding techno to a free-to-enter DJ set in a music bar. They were four minutes walk from one another.
And that variety also drives up quality, I think. If you want to head to a warehouse rave, some of the biggest DJs on the planet regularly play here. Manchester’s drag scene is one the best in the UK, and for those after a gastronomic adventure, we’ve got a Michelin-starred restaurant, and plenty of brilliant alternatives.
So, is Manchester a good night out? I think the better question is: Can you get what you want from your night in Manchester? For most, the answer will be yes - but there’s work to do, as I alluded to 225 words ago.
However you spend this weekend - from jigging away until the wee hours or getting up at the crack of dawn to go for a hike - enjoy it. And choose what you want to do.
We’d love it if you started your weekend by choosing to read some of the excellent stories and reports from across the M.E.N., so we’ve picked out three fabulous reads.
Grab a brew to settle down (or nurse a hangover), and enjoy your Saturday.
Our celebrity-owned bars
The staple of last night for my pals was more than likely a blaring bar where people do daft dances, sing silly songs, and fixate on flirtatious back-and-forths. The type of antics revellers get up to at one of the area’s celebrity owned bars, as Dianne Bourne reports.
Dianne’s compiled a list of the eateries and watering holes with famous proprietors in Greater Manchester and Cheshire. It’s a real who’s who — we’ve got rock ‘n’ roll stars, football icons, and Real Housewives of Cheshire.
If you’re planning something a bit fancy, then it serves as a good guide for a Saturday night. Dianne’s got something for everyone.
“I was one of the lucky ones”
As the aforementioned delicate beings on my floor are luddites, they may have shunned a celeb bar — but there’s a 90 percent chance they will have been to McDonald’s on their way home from their evening of good, clean fun.
Chances are, they will have stopped at one of the four branches in town that are owned by Roger Khoryati. The Lebanese businessman, who has 10 Maccies in total, has been speaking with Bethan Shufflebotham on his rise to fast-food-fame, being on the frontline of homelessness, and clawing his way through Covid.
Roger considers his 10 McDonald’s chains a ‘family business’, Bethan writes. Last year, he took 21 people, including members of staff and their families, to Orlando, hiring out villas to go and visit a worldwide convention for the brand.
“Running a multi million pound business is not an easy job, and neither is dealing with so many different customers on a daily basis,” he explained. “I appreciate my staff because they dedicate a lot of their time to make sure our customers are being looked after.”
So, the next time you’re after a filet-o-fish in Fallowfield, Oxford Street, Chorlton, Princess Parkway, Baguley, St Ann's Square, the Arndale, Oxford Road, Hulme Asda, or Piccadilly Gardens, see if you can spot Roger. You can read Bethan’s story to get a good idea of the man behind the arches.
“Turns out, I'm actually not that bad at driving a bus”
As we’ve mentioned, the trams finishing before most revellers call it a night is something of a downside of a Mancunian night out.
Fortunately, we have buses to rely on. You’ll know this if you’ve ever been on Oxford Road at roughly 3:40am, seeing hundreds of students climb on to a double-decker Magic Bus after an essential Tuesday night out at Factory.
So, have you ever wondered what it would be like to get behind the wheel of one? Well, wonder no more, because Nicole Wootton-Cane has done just that.
“Fewer than one in ten of Go North West's drivers are currently women - something managing director Nigel Featham tells me they are keen to change. He says shift work and perceptions around manoeuvring such a large vehicle are common barriers for women, but that bus driving is a career for 'anyone',” writes Nicole.
“I stare at the colossal vehicle in front of me and wonder whether any learner has managed to destroy a bus before…”
Thankfully, it all ended well for Nicole and the MEN’s insurers: “Turns out, I'm actually not that bad at driving a bus. I even manage to reverse it into the makeshift cone garage the instructors set up for me.
“I feel chuffed and slightly vindicated, because if I can do it, anybody can.”
You can read the full piece here.
One more thing…
It’s nice it’s finally light, isn’t it? The city seems to be blossoming again — Castlefield Viaduct reopens after a winter shut-down today — and warmer days are ahead.
We want you to know that we’re through the worst of winter. Well done, everyone. Seriously — you’ve earned a break from perma-crisis. Grab a brew, and enjoy your weekend.
Read more of today's top stories here.
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