Mancunian Matters • 16th June 2022

Stoke-on-Trent's Potters 'Arf returns

Stoke-on-Trent’s Potters ‘Arf marathon returned on Sunday and saw around 1,500 people take part including a ‘bunny’, numerous soldiers and even a barefoot runner. Most of those participating select a local charity to run in aid of, meaning thousands was raised for great causes. More than £1million has been raised by the Potters ‘Arf in the past 30 years, estimates Stoke-on-Trent City Council, all of which goes towards helping the local community. Most run in classic professional gear, but thi

Mancunian Matters • 29th June 2022

Stoke-on-Trent charity undergoes garden makeover

In the heart of Stoke-on-Trent there is a new garden where families facing relationship abuse can go to get away from their problems. The charity Glow supports these families by providing personal support to help those experiencing abuse to increase their immediate safety, freedom and wellbeing. As part of this they have numerous refuges spread across the city and their garden makeover in the Burslem refuge has come about thanks to some BBC Children in Need funding. Ruth Mason-Tooth, who

Mancunian Matters • 29th June 2022

Northern Trains cancels nearly 2,000 services in April

This week’s strikes left thousands of commuters wondering how to get to work – but this is a common occurrence for commuters using Northern Rail services. Data revealed there were more than 2,000 cancellations on Northern Trains in April – around one in 30 of scheduled services. Of these, 1,472 were part cancellations, meaning some but not all of the journey was completed. There were also 639 full cancellations, meaning that the service completed none of its journey, according to details obta

Mancunian Matters • 12th July 2022

Stoke-on-Trent shed reaches final of national competition with homemade pub

A father-and-son duo have reached the finals of the 2022 Shed of the Year competition after spending six years creating a homemade pub. Andrew and James Tittensor of Westbury Park, Stoke-on-Trent, slowly built their “pride and joy” garden pub and named it The Winchester Tavern after one of their favourite movies, Brit-comedy Shaun of the Dead. James said: “We wanted somewhere to sit down, have a nice cold pint and wait for it all to blow over, and we’re Shaun of the Dead fans so what better na

Mancunian Matters • 14th July 2022

How small businesses are being affected by the cost of living crisis

As the cost of living continues to rise, more and more small business owners are being forced to make drastic changes to keep their business afloat. Individuals and families are cutting back on shopping, postponing summer holidays and cancelling their Netflix subscriptions – but such changes are not as simple for business owners. Financial advisor Ian Dempsey said: “Businesses are being squeezed just as much as individuals with the potential impact being much bigger.” According to Mr Dempsey,

Mancunian Matters • 14th July 2022

Railway rebuilds its heritage after £25k of damage in vandalism attacks

A volunteer-run railway is rebuilding its heritage after it suffered three acts of vandalism within a week. Last month, Foxfield Railway in Stoke-on-Trent was targeted by vandals who caused around £25,000 worth of damage to train units and a signal box. The signal box was broken into and its windows smashed, while 24 panes of glass were smashed in the Class 142 pacer. Foxfield Railway set up a JustGiving page to fund the repairs to the unit and so far £3,425 has been raised. Around £2,000-wor

Mancunian Matters • 14th July 2022

TV personality mourns the loss of the 'real' Pride

A TV personality has mourned the loss of Pride’s true meaning as it becomes increasingly commercialised. Jay Kamiraz, who was a judge on BBC One’s reality show All Together Now, said the celebration has become too commercialised as corporate giants “tap into the Pink pound”. June is known as Pride month and there are celebrations all over the country, with one of the biggest taking place in Manchester on August 26-29. Pride of Britain award-winner Jay, also known as Mr Fabulous, said: “Pride

The Indiependent • 16th March 2022

Announced: The 2022 Women's Prize For Fiction Longlist

The longlist for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2022 has been announced this week – and it contains five debut authors. The Women’s Prize for Fiction is one of the UK’s most prestigious literary prizes. Each year it is awarded to a female author of any nationality for the best full-length novel written in English and published in the preceding year. It was established in 1996 after the Booker Prize failed to nominate any women writers for five years. This year the judging panel whittled 175 sub

The Indiependent • 29th March 2022

Texas Superintendent Calls for Diverse Books to be Removed from Schools

A Texas superintendent ordered books on sexuality and gender identity to be removed from school libraries, a report published last Wednesday has revealed. Jeremy Glenn, the superintendent of the Granbury Independent School District in North Texas, reportedly told a group of librarians that books about sexuality and transgender people should be removed from school libraries. He was concerned about the effect that this would have on young children, believing that such books would “expose young s

Mancunian Matters • 3rd May 2022

Young mum raises over £11K for her own funeral

A young mum has raised more than £11,000 for her own funeral after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. Viki Holdcroft, a mum of two from Staffordshire, raised the money within a month of setting up a GoFundMe page because she was worried about how her family would pay for her funeral. The 38-year-old – who has a daughter, 15, and a five-year-old son – said: “The doctors told me as long as the treatment is working there’s no reason I can’t see five years, but I’ll be honest: the way I feel at

The Indiependent • 9th June 2021

'The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It': Review

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is the latest in the fast growing Conjuring franchise. The Conjuring (2013) followed a paranormal case in Rhode Island and introduced the Annabelle doll character who gained her own film in 2014. In 2016’s The Conjuring 2 we met The Nun, who also gained her own film in 2018. In the third instalment of this franchise another paranormal case is recorded and documented by Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farminga) Warren in the 1980s, but instead of exp

The Uni Bubble • 11th May 2021

Elitism and cultural capital at Russell Group universities

If you’re planning on attending a Russell Group university, this is what your packing list should probably look like, and cultural capital is the most important thing of all. True, it’s not needed for your UCAS application, but if you’re going to fit in at an elite university, you’re going to need it. I have been a student at Durham University for the past three years, studying for a bachelor’s degree in Education with English Studies. Don’t get me wrong, it has been a great experience and I kn

Navigating Twenties • 1st April 2021

Are we actually losing our ‘best years?

The following post, I am delighted to say, has been written by the exceptionally talented Sarah Garner. One of the best people I’ve met during my time at Durham University!! Like myself Sarah is currently a final year student at Durham University studying for a degree in English Literature and Education Studies. After reading this post, evaluating the last year of life during a pandemic, you will see why Sarah is such a positive influence in my life. Sarah constantly finds the good, the success

Cygnet • 17th March 2021

The Second Pandemic: Toxic Productivity

Toxic productivity and ‘hustle culture’ have been incredibly present in the media this year and there has been an influx of studies into how much work we are all doing from home. As a result of remote learning and working, we face even more pressure to be productive all of the time – what else can we be doing? For a lot of people, tracking the number of hours they are working and striving to do as much as possible is a form of control which is understandable considering that we haven’t had cont

Cygnet • 15th March 2021

In Memory of Sarah Everard

Tonight, over 150 people gathered on Palace Green to honour the memory of Durham Alumni, Sarah Everard. It was a truly beautiful commemoration; the Cathedral was lit up, birds were singing in the distance, and the online vigil organised by the Durham Women’s Association was played on speakers for mourners to listen to as we paid our respects. Tonight, I am proud to be a Durham student. College rivalries were put aside, social gathering guidelines were respected, and we came together as a communi

Cygnet • 17th February 2021

Impossibrew - The Non-Alcoholic Revolution

That's so amazing! Has this been a long process? Yeah, I started in 2018. I was trying the formula on myself the entire time, I thought the perfect guinea pig would be myself! I just wanted to make something that I really liked and that I could drink at parties, I could drink around friends and that wouldn't give me hangovers. I'd be enjoying myself, no more social anxiety, none of that stuff anymore, but none of the morning after's as well, so yeah it was a long process. Also when I was on yo

Cygnet • 26th December 2020

Driving Home for Christmas: Stoke

Nonetheless, Christmas is still Christmas and Covid or no Covid; there are still Treeslets in the shops and rubbish films on the telly. For me, not much has changed in terms of Covid restrictions, as Staffordshire is also in Tier 3 so it’s very similar to being in Durham except it’s a tiny bit warmer and there is actually a McDonalds here. Yet, unlike Durham, I’m not surrounded by picturesque views (unless a patch of grass filled with dog poo is picturesque) and I’m not up the road from a busy t

Cygnet • 4th December 2020

A Charity in the Spotlight - DASH

Everybody knows the devastating impact that COVID-19 has had on businesses, but I feel that not enough attention or support is being provided for charities throughout this time. You can support your favourite pub by ordering a takeaway roast dinner and you can support local small businesses by placing orders with them rather than shopping with large companies (sorry Jeff Bezos). But how can you support the amazing charities which do life changing work in the North-East? This is why I’ve started