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This time last week, I was sunbathing in Florida spending my birthday with Mickey Mouse. I am now writing this from my Trafford flat as I look out over the hail-dappled balcony. Oh how the mighty have fallen.

During my time in the ‘Sunshine State’ I spoke to a number of Americans who initially had a bit of a hard time figuring out what part of the UK I was from. As I mentioned earlier, I’m from Burnage, but I don’t possess the same thick southern ‘Manchestoh’ accent that the Gallagher brothers have and that many people around the world now recognise.

Whether that’s a blessing or a curse, I’ll let you decide for yourselves.

The general consensus was that not many people knew much about Manchester other than the obvious. One taxi driver asked me if Manchester was in Birmingham, as that’s where he said his sister now lives, while another local asked me the best time of year to visit Buckingham Palace to meet the King.

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Many people, however, knew about the football clubs. There were people eager to talk about United’s Marcus Rashford or former player Cristiano Ronaldo, but as someone with very limited knowledge of football, those conversations dried up pretty quickly.

It made me realize that even though Manchester often feels like the beginning and the end to me, it’s not THAT big in the bigger scheme of things. But that’s actually kind of exciting.

I tried to tell people about some of the great food we offer; the great actors and people who live in Manchester; and the great vibe that the city has, and the region in general. After all, three areas in Greater Manchester were recently named some of the best places to live in the UK.

Whether they were just trying to get rid of me at this point, which is a distinct possibility, I’d like to think I made a lasting impression, giving them a taste of what Manchester has to offer. Maybe, just maybe, my impact on America will be felt long after I’m gone.

Perhaps more people now know that Manchester isn’t just about football, it’s also known for its rain, its abundance of Greggs shops and the fact that it’s also where Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh once studied.

I am going to bill the Manchester tourist board for my services. You are welcome.

Anyway, here are three stories to start your Saturday…

‘Just a Little Kindness’

Street Treats is one of Manchester’s vital services helping to provide those forced to sleep rough on the streets with a healthy, hot meal every Thursday night.

Organizers have now been told they will have to move out of their eight-year-old base in Piccadilly Gardens after Manchester City Council said the space was deemed “unsuitable” to continue the operation due to parking restrictions.

In addition to serving hundreds of hot meals, the volunteers will also be handing out toiletries and clothing, and the organization’s co-founder, Daryl Pollitt, insists this shows just how great demand is for what they do.

“It’s just a little bit of niceness,” Daryl told Tom George. “We’re not doing any harm.

“We’re just bringing a little food for people. The problem is they don’t want us to park here, but how do we do it without the vehicles? We have so many things.”

“When the Christmas markets are there, they are allowed to park all day and bring their produce. They get income from that, they don’t get any money from us.”

She added: “I think you would have a riot (if we moved). You would have a lot of complaints. A lot of people are up in arms about it.”

A man who uses the service regularly explained how he had ‘hopped’ the tram from Rochdale, where he had been sleeping rough, to get to the Thursday night operation.

“I’ve been a few times,” he said. “I come here because you have more options and information to help you. Places like this are extremely important to me. These people give us sleeping bags and blankets, which is good.”

Manchester City Council said it was “not in a position to make exceptions to parking rules, however well-intentioned”, and wanted to help Street Treats find “suitable alternative arrangements”.

You can read Tom’s story here.

Getting sticky with it

When American pop star Lizzo visited Manchester as part of her big UK arena tour earlier this month, she had already discovered that Gooey in the Northern Quarter is one of our top Instagram-worthy foodie spots. .

Having appeared on the ‘lockdown baking sensation turned cafe’, the Detroit-born singer couldn’t help but rave about her ‘well well’ visit. As a vegan, she had the satay sando crispy tofu, with peanut satay sauce, pickled cucumber and vegan mayonnaise along with black pepper tofu on vegan turmeric bread.

Not content with that, the Grammy Award-winning singer also took the opportunity to crush a hash brown on the inside, as she says UK hash browns are “top tier.”

MEN’s What’s On Editor Jenna Campbell hit Gooey this week to try Lizzo’s new favorite mange (no fries, sadly), along with some of her other treats, like French toast, egg sandwiches and, of course, the Reuben, which takes its inspiration from the same sandwich served at Katz’s Delicatessen, New York’s oldest deli.

Jenna writes of the famous Reuben: “Something very special happens when tender slices of pastrami are layered on top of oozing Swiss cheese, a ball of tangy sauerkraut, crisp pickles, and a generous dollop of Russian dressing and French mustard. Even though I conceded halfway through, it’s exactly what a butty should be.”

Now I’m hungry. You can read more about Jenna’s journey to Gooey here.

‘Outbid’

“If you’re thinking of moving to Manchester city centre, this is your cue not to move,” TV host and influencer Saskia Marriott told her 40,000 TikTok followers as she recounted her search for a one-bedroom flat in the city after of his current Salford. floor increased 50% in just two years.

Saskia, 26, reminded Nicole Wootton-Cane how she had booked 25 viewings since February, but only got to two as all the others had sold out before she could see them. She described the housing situation in the city center as “ridiculous”.

“I had listings online, and my friend was very transparent with me: She said that when listings go online, most of the time they’re already gone, and they only advertise it because they legally have to,” she said. . “Or they’ll get 50 applications right away and you’ll get a tour for next week knowing you won’t be able to come because the floor is gone.”

Speaking to Nicole, Anthony Stankard, managing director of Reside Manchester, warned apartment seekers that demand for city center property is far outstripping supply.

Anthony said he sees people coming into his office “daily” in an attempt to find newly listed properties before they go online. “This situation is unique to Manchester,” he explained. “I travel to other cities and talk to experts there, and it’s clearly worse in Manchester than Leeds, Birmingham and Liverpool. They don’t have the feeding frenzy that we have.”

Manchester City Council says it recognizes that “Manchester has insufficient supply for all types of housing”, also citing “lack of supply” as one of the main reasons for rising rents. They said 22,700 new homes (including 14,300 in the city center) have been built since 2015, with more than 11,000 homes currently under construction.

You can read the full story here.

Thanks for reading, have a great weekend.

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