The owner of an Irish cafe in South Manchester has begun handing out free porridge to schoolchildren to help families struggling over the winter.

Bia Cafe Bar, which is situated on Stockport Road in Levenshulme, opened last year in the former Aunty J’s spot and has become known in a short space of time for its irish fry-ups and its homemade soda bread.

At the weekend, owner Maeve Fox announced that she would begin serving up free porridge breakfasts for schoolchildren throughout the week, as well as free cups of tea for older people, to help during the cost of living crisis.

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The breakfast scheme will run from 8am on weekdays, except for Wednesdays when the café is closed, and will see children receive a pot of freshly-made oats with jam, fruit or honey. All they need to do is bring in their own takeaway pot and a spoon.

“Quite a lot of people are currently having to choose between heating their homes or feeding their families,” Maeve tells the Manchester Evening News. “So, it was just a case of trying to ease some of the pressure on them.

It’s something that a café in Dublin where I used to live in has been doing for a while so I wanted to try it here. We will see how it goes.”

Maeve, who has lived near Levenshulme for five years now, says she feels she has been welcomed into the area’s local community since opening the café bar last July. Alongside fry-ups and bread, the café also serves soups, cakes and other treats - including coffee from Manchester roastery Heart & Graft.

The café bar also has a co-working space and regularly hosts events, including book clubs and live music, throughout the week. “There’s been such a good reaction since we opened a year ago,” Maeve says. “It’s a lovely area and it certainly helps us that there’s quite a lot of Irish people around too.”

Maeve has also begun serving cups of tea and slices of homemade soda bread to older people too. All they need to do is just pop up when open. “I just wish we could do more but we’ve only been in business for a year, so this is about the biggest stretch I can do really right now,” she explains.

“The tea and a slice of soda bread for pensioners is to give them an opportunity to come in, keep warm and have a conversation. I have the heating on in here throughout the day anyway and I know that a lot of OAPs aren’t heating their homes.”

Despite an influx of positive comments from people on social media since announcing the two schemes - with a majority of people describing it as ‘such a kind gesture’ and ‘amazing work’ - there have been some people who have responded negatively to the offers.

“There have been some negative comments from people asking us ‘when do parents not feed their kids’? Loads of people struggle to feed their kids unfortunately and I know many parents, even nurses, who have to use food banks because they can’t feed their kids.

“But there has been an overwhelming positive reaction to it all. Lots of people have offered to pay for some cups of tea or help us with supplies. We are going to try and run it through the winter and see how it goes.”

Bia Café Bar is on 987 Stockport Road, Levenshulme, M19 2SY.

Many of us growing up in Manchester will remember witnessing some spectacular bonfire night displays. Sadly, October brought the news that the public fireworks displays traditionally organised by Manchester Council had been cancelled for another year, meaning there will be no crowds cheering the bangs at the likes of Heaton Park and Platt Fields this year.

There are many reasons people growing up in Greater Manchester will have fond childhood memories of Guy Fawkes' night. Be it the dazzling fireworks displays, cosying up around a massive bonfire on the street, or the delightful foods - jacket potatoes cooked in bonfire embers and treacle toffee standing out as Bonfire Night classics.

Yet some seasonal traditions have dwindled over the years; the age-old "penny for the Guy" appeal by children seems to no longer as common as it once was. Despite this, certain traditions persist, like hosting your own backyard bonfire gathering and enjoying a personal fireworks spectacle.

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In celebration of these times gone by, we thought it would be good to take a nostalgic journey through some cherished Bonfire Night recollections from our younger days. Of course, if you're still stuck for somewhere to see fireworks, there are still other displays being held at venues across Greater Manchester.

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Asking for a "penny for the Guy" might stir up sentimental feelings for people who, during childhood, would approach passers-by hoping to collect some spare change. Many generations cherish the experience of creating a 'Guy' for Bonfire Night, usually by filling old garments with newspaper or rags, maybe even finishing the figure with a hat or a repurposed Halloween mask.

The Guy would traditionally be paraded around in an old pushchair to busy areas, such as outside shops or even better, pubs. Following this, the Guy would typically be thrown onto the bonfire to be consumed by the flames, the Manchester Evening News previously reported. Regrettably, the tradition of 'Penny for the Guy' has become less popular in recent years. .

There was a time when it wasn't unusual for a child to leave a shop with an armful of fireworks. These were different times, but similar to buying cigarettes, the government has tightened regulations on the sale of such items to minors in more recent years.

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Much of the excitement surrounding Bonfire Night came from the build-up to the day itself. Specifically, collecting firewood to build the bonfires, a practice some refer to as 'loggin' for wood'.

Groups of children could be seen scavenging for anything that would burn to add to the massive pile of wood accumulating in the street, or croft, behind the houses. No gate, fence, or piece of wood lying around would be safe if it was not securely nailed down in the run up to Guy Fawkes' Night.

Local bonfires, once a common tradition, have become increasingly rare. Many will recall the vivid memories of entire streets congregating around a roaring bonfire on a chilly November evening.

The thrill of igniting the wood and observing the faces of both young and old illuminated by the fiery glow was palpable. Typically, it would be the dads who would unite to set off the fireworks while the children watched in wonder.

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For some, attending a funfair on Bonfire Night is another cherished but distant memory from their childhoods. The scent of the chip van and fireworks as twilight descended over the amusements is unforgettable for many.

The unique spectacle of a successfully lit Catherine Wheel is another enduring memory. This was usually achieved after watching your dad's many failed attempts to hammer the 'b*****d' firework to a piece of wood in the back garden on a cold and rainy November 5th.

In the weeks leading up to the big night, firework safety public information films were a regular feature on television. Whether highlighting the dangers of handling a hot sparkler, or returning to an unlit firework, these films were sufficiently ominous to make you think twice.

What could be better than stepping in from the chill to enjoy some traditional Bonfire Night fare? For many, this might mean hot baked potatoes, ideally wrapped in foil and cooked directly in the bonfire's embers. In certain areas of Greater Manchester, the evening is all about a pot of parched (or black) peas.

But let's not forget the sweet treats. Homemade treacle toffee is often enjoyed on Bonfire Night, as are toffee apples.

Writing in the air with a sparkler is a classic childhood Bonfire Night memory for many. Scribbling patterns and words in the air with your sparkler like the duffel coat and mittens wearing wizard you were.

I don't know about you, but didn't November 5ths of yesteryear seem much colder than they do now? Those Bonfire Nights were real occasions to get wrapped up with scarves and gloves, as well as bringing out the big coats.

Does Bonfire Night awaken any memories for you? Let us know in the comments section below.

As Manchester prepares to host the MTV EMAs live for the first time at the Co-Op arena on Sunday 10th November, Transport for Greater Manchester has announced that Rita Ora will be the voice of the tram network leading up to the event.

Rita Ora, the host of this year’s MTV EMAs, has debuted as an announcer at tram stops across Metrolink, offering travel information and journey tips over the tannoys, much to the surprise of regular passengers.

As Manchester builds up to host the event on Sunday night, MTV has taken over the city hosting a music week, which not only encourages young talent to perform and share their own musical creations and songs, but also to highlight pop culture and Manchester’s best known music venues.

You can listen to one of the announcements below

The head offices at Transport for Manchester have also received a MTV look, while the tram stop at St Peter’s Square has been modified to incorporate a MTV EMA style look, which includes temporary erected awards posters where passengers can photograph themselves receiving fictitious awards for ‘Best Tram Passenger’, ‘Longest Commute’, ‘Best Tram Outfit’ and ‘Seat Offering Hero’.

Broadcast live to over 150 counties across the globe. The MTV EMAs celebrate pop music, with this awards ceremony being the highlight of the year.

“For a long time we’ve been saying that Manchester is the UK’s capital of music, with a rich musical heritage stretching back decades that has helped build a vibrant, diverse music scene that continues to flourish today.“

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester

As Manchester prepares to host the MTV EMAs live for the first time at the Co-Op arena on Sunday 10th November, Transport for Greater Manchester has announced that Rita Ora will be the voice of the tram network leading up to the event.

Rita Ora, the host of this year’s MTV EMAs, has debuted as an announcer at tram stops across Metrolink, offering travel information and journey tips over the tannoys, much to the surprise of regular passengers.

As Manchester builds up to host the event on Sunday night, MTV has taken over the city hosting a music week, which not only encourages young talent to perform and share their own musical creations and songs, but also to highlight pop culture and Manchester’s best known music venues.

You can listen to one of the announcements below

The head offices at Transport for Manchester have also received a MTV look, while the tram stop at St Peter’s Square has been modified to incorporate a MTV EMA style look, which includes temporary erected awards posters where passengers can photograph themselves receiving fictitious awards for ‘Best Tram Passenger’, ‘Longest Commute’, ‘Best Tram Outfit’ and ‘Seat Offering Hero’.

Broadcast live to over 150 counties across the globe. The MTV EMAs celebrate pop music, with this awards ceremony being the highlight of the year.

“For a long time we’ve been saying that Manchester is the UK’s capital of music, with a rich musical heritage stretching back decades that has helped build a vibrant, diverse music scene that continues to flourish today.“

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester

As Manchester prepares to host the MTV EMAs live for the first time at the Co-Op arena on Sunday 10th November, Transport for Greater Manchester has announced that Rita Ora will be the voice of the tram network leading up to the event.

Rita Ora, the host of this year’s MTV EMAs, has debuted as an announcer at tram stops across Metrolink, offering travel information and journey tips over the tannoys, much to the surprise of regular passengers.

As Manchester builds up to host the event on Sunday night, MTV has taken over the city hosting a music week, which not only encourages young talent to perform and share their own musical creations and songs, but also to highlight pop culture and Manchester’s best known music venues.

You can listen to one of the announcements below

The head offices at Transport for Manchester have also received a MTV look, while the tram stop at St Peter’s Square has been modified to incorporate a MTV EMA style look, which includes temporary erected awards posters where passengers can photograph themselves receiving fictitious awards for ‘Best Tram Passenger’, ‘Longest Commute’, ‘Best Tram Outfit’ and ‘Seat Offering Hero’.

Broadcast live to over 150 counties across the globe. The MTV EMAs celebrate pop music, with this awards ceremony being the highlight of the year.

“For a long time we’ve been saying that Manchester is the UK’s capital of music, with a rich musical heritage stretching back decades that has helped build a vibrant, diverse music scene that continues to flourish today.“

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester

As Manchester prepares to host the MTV EMAs live for the first time at the Co-Op arena on Sunday 10th November, Transport for Greater Manchester has announced that Rita Ora will be the voice of the tram network leading up to the event.

Rita Ora, the host of this year’s MTV EMAs, has debuted as an announcer at tram stops across Metrolink, offering travel information and journey tips over the tannoys, much to the surprise of regular passengers.

As Manchester builds up to host the event on Sunday night, MTV has taken over the city hosting a music week, which not only encourages young talent to perform and share their own musical creations and songs, but also to highlight pop culture and Manchester’s best known music venues.

You can listen to one of the announcements below

The head offices at Transport for Manchester have also received a MTV look, while the tram stop at St Peter’s Square has been modified to incorporate a MTV EMA style look, which includes temporary erected awards posters where passengers can photograph themselves receiving fictitious awards for ‘Best Tram Passenger’, ‘Longest Commute’, ‘Best Tram Outfit’ and ‘Seat Offering Hero’.

Broadcast live to over 150 counties across the globe. The MTV EMAs celebrate pop music, with this awards ceremony being the highlight of the year.

“For a long time we’ve been saying that Manchester is the UK’s capital of music, with a rich musical heritage stretching back decades that has helped build a vibrant, diverse music scene that continues to flourish today.“

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester

As Manchester prepares to host the MTV EMAs live for the first time at the Co-Op arena on Sunday 10th November, Transport for Greater Manchester has announced that Rita Ora will be the voice of the tram network leading up to the event.

Rita Ora, the host of this year’s MTV EMAs, has debuted as an announcer at tram stops across Metrolink, offering travel information and journey tips over the tannoys, much to the surprise of regular passengers.

As Manchester builds up to host the event on Sunday night, MTV has taken over the city hosting a music week, which not only encourages young talent to perform and share their own musical creations and songs, but also to highlight pop culture and Manchester’s best known music venues.

You can listen to one of the announcements below

The head offices at Transport for Manchester have also received a MTV look, while the tram stop at St Peter’s Square has been modified to incorporate a MTV EMA style look, which includes temporary erected awards posters where passengers can photograph themselves receiving fictitious awards for ‘Best Tram Passenger’, ‘Longest Commute’, ‘Best Tram Outfit’ and ‘Seat Offering Hero’.

Broadcast live to over 150 counties across the globe. The MTV EMAs celebrate pop music, with this awards ceremony being the highlight of the year.

“For a long time we’ve been saying that Manchester is the UK’s capital of music, with a rich musical heritage stretching back decades that has helped build a vibrant, diverse music scene that continues to flourish today.“

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester

Art & Culture

She'll be showcasing some exclusive works never seen before.

One of the world’s greatest music photographers is set to make her debut appearance at this year’s Manchester Art Fair.

Having grown up in the music industry alongside her father, Led Zeppelin guitarist, Jimmy Page, legendary photographer Scarlet Page is definitely no stranger to life on the road, and has travelled across the US with bands such as Smashing Pumpkins, The Beastie Boys, and more throughout her illustrious career.

Her photography has also featured in album artwork for iconic Manchester band The Verve, and she’s also had the pleasure of shooting some of the biggest music names in recent times like The Rolling Stones, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Lady Gaga, and Foo Fighters.

But now, in a first for the North of England, Page’s work – which has featured in Kerrang!, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, Mojo, The Times, and many more publications – will be available to see exclusively at Manchester Art Fair next weekend.

Set to be presented by The Art Hound Gallery, Page will unveil a number of exclusive fine art photographs for sale.

Expect to see her iconic stills of people like Amy Winehouse, David Bowie, and Keith Richards, alongside a selection of carefully-curated and completely-unseen new releases, including Courtney Love, Public Enemy, and more.

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If all of that wasn’t brilliant enough as it is, Page will also be leading an artist talk at the Fair on Saturday 16 November from 1pm.

“I am deeply honoured to showcase my work, hosted by The Art Hound Gallery, alongside such extraordinary artists at Manchester Art Fair,” Scarlet Page said ahead of this year’s event.

“Celebrating 30 years as a photographer, it’s a privilege to reflect on the intimate moments I’ve captured of some of the world’s greatest musicians.”

Sophie Helm, who is the Director of Manchester Art Fair, added: “Scarlet is widely-recognised as one of the greatest music photographers of all time, and we are immensely proud to have her join us at this year’s Manchester Art Fair to provide art and music enthusiasts with the opportunity to hear from Scarlet on some of her most memorable photoshoots and collaborations of the last three decades.”

Manchester Art Fair 2024 will take over Manchester Central on Friday 15 November from 5pm until Sunday 17 November.

Read more:

You can get yourself some tickets online here.

Featured Image – Supplied

Patients could be "at risk" at a Stockport hospital where the repair bill has climbed to more than £130 million, an MP has claimed.

Cheadle MP Tom Morrison said the growing number of problems at Stepping Hill Hospital are leading to worse services and hurting staff morale. The former Lib Dem councillor has urged the government to rethink its decision to rule out providing funds for the site, after research revealed thousands of patients at the hospital are facing waits of longer than 12 hours.

According to data from the House of Commons Library, 9,535 people waited for more than 12 hours for treatment at Stepping Hill between January and September this year, which Mr Morrison said shows the "urgent" need to tackle the problems at the hospital.

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"There is no doubt that the issues at Stepping Hill are actively leading to greater wasting lists, whilst also lowering staff morale and putting patients at risk," he added. "The government must urgently rethink its decision to not fund Stepping Hill repairs. The state of Stepping Hill hospital is the biggest issue that comes up on the doorstep, with residents across Stockport crying out for action.

"Large parts of Stepping Hill are older than the NHS itself, and it’s time the government finally funded the hospital, and give Stockport residents the world class health facility it deserves."

The hospital, which dates back to 1905, has faced a number of major issues in the past year, with its Outpatients B department having to be demolished, and reports of flooded corridors and collapsing ceilings in some buildings.

Repair costs were thought to be around £90m in 2021, but this has since spiralled and is expected to continue to get worse.

Stockport council leader Mark Hunter has also sounded the alarm over the state of the hospital facilities, calling for urgent action from the government.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): "Whilst we understand the financial and public service mess Labour have inherited from the recent Tory governments, it cannot be right that our hardworking NHS nurses and doctors have to try to treat sick and vulnerable patients in buildings that are literally falling down.

"The management of the [Stockport NHS] Foundation Trust have a plan of what needs to be done. They just need the funding.

"I join with my Lib Dem colleagues, local MPs Lisa Smart and Tom Morrison, in calling for the government to think again and urgently to find the money needed to repair our hospital and keep these vital services open."

Bosses at Stockport NHS Foundation Trust said problems with the estate are "increasing," warning that it has impacted services and will continue to do so without investment.

The Trust told the LDRS that the estate is "ageing," with many of the buildings at the site now over 50 years old.

A spokesperson added: "This is now resulting in an increasing number of estates problems, which have impacted on our services, and are likely to continue to do so.

"Our ambition remains to obtain funding to replace some of our old building stock, which would enable us to provide our services, and the care our local population needs from a modern setting which is fit for the future."

The issues at the hospital affect residents across Stockport and beyond, with around half a million people being seen at the hospital each year, and the Trust employing more than 6,000 members of staff in total.

The LDRS asked the department for Health and Social Care whether Stepping Hill would get the funding it needs.

A government spokesperson said: "We have inherited a broken NHS, with many hospitals in a state of disrepair, meaning patients have not been able to access the care they so desperately need.

"Repairing and rebuilding our crumbling hospital estate is a vital part of our ambition to create an NHS that is fit for the future through our 10-Year Health Plan.

"We recognise the importance of strategic, value-for-money capital investments to get the NHS back on its feet.

"As well as vital reform, we will ensure the NHS has the funding it needs as we build a health service fit for the future."