The perfect companion for a stroll in the park, Awaken celebrates our ties to the natural world. Greatly inspired by one of Manchester’s many green spaces, Fletcher Moss Park in Didsbury, the album explores themes such as humanity, our relationship with the natural world, and how this can impact upon our mental well being. Awaken […]
Henge: Attention Earth! album review
Fresh on the heels of a full summer of festival appearances, local Manchester band Henge release their first album, Attention Earth! How does their frenetic and psychedelic cosmic dross fare when transported from sweaty, heaving festival tents to more placid domestic situations? I sat down with a cup of Valerian Tea to find out… Touchdown The […]
Big Oil stains greenwashed away with science festival funding
The Manchester Science Festival 2018 began yesterday with the ‘Electricity: The spark of life’ exhibition at the Museum of Science and Industry (MSI), and met with a growing current of fury and opposition to the oil industry funding behind it. Amidst the admirable educational aims of the exhibition, which focuses on the ‘powerful force’ of […]
Play shares a message of HIV positivity
A new play tours Greater Manchester this month, spreading a message of HIV positivity and helping to break down the stigma surrounding the now controllable virus. ‘I Am Because We Are‘ will bring theatre out into the community, using churches, community centres and drop-in centres for refugees and asylum seekers. Seven of the ten boroughs […]
At least 449 people died while homeless in the UK, over the last twelve months
As homelessness and the misery it entails increases across the United Kingdom, a collaboration by local journalists, charities and outreach groups has for the first time recorded the numbers of homeless deaths over a year. A figure which national and local authorities scandalously fail to calculate, collate and publish, despite the growing homelessness crisis. The […]
Bez joins the party at Altrincham’s Alt.Harfest
In 2010, Altrincham’s shop vacancy rate was at a national high of 30%, branding it the ghost town of the UK. Fast forward eight years and the town is bustling with activity every day of the week thanks to the jewel in its crown – the award-winning Altrincham Markets. With the vibrancy Altrincham is now […]
What’s on in Manchester and the North West
As autumn takes a proper hold, the Manchester events calendar always seems to get busier and busier. Here are some highlights for the rest of this weekend and beyond: YES Opening Parties – Fri 21 – Sun 23 September Charles Street, Manchester YES celebrate their opening with free parties all weekend. Saturday’s bands and DJs include London […]
Hulme Community Garden Centre points to brighter future for people and planet
Autumn is for harvesting, and there’s a bountiful crop of events on offer this month for Hulme Community Garden Centre’s Super September – a programme of wellbeing and nature connection events. So far there’s been Radical Herbalism, a day of “digging deep into our elders’ wisdom, interactive sessions exploring spiritual biology and talks exploring mental […]
How austerity is killing legal aid and restricting access to justice
We often see law as the means of pursing justice in cases of criminal action, the violence of an assault or the calculated theft of property. But it also concerns what we consider daily issues, our right to welfare while unemployed, to have a safe roof over our head and the right to live in […]
The legacy of Black Power in Moss Side: activist Coca Clarke tells her story
Coca Clarke is an 85-year-old Black Power activist and she is still an active member of the vibrant Moss Side community, a community that – despite its many laudable efforts – struggles to shake off the lazy stereotypes and assumptions placed on an entire community by the media since the ‘gang wars’ of the ‘80s […]