Peter Kay was pictured enjoying a day out at Blackpool Pleasure Beach last week, and fans cannot get enough.
The Bolton-born comic, who recently made a return to the stage after nearly four years out of the spotlight, posed next the Wallace & Gromit ride in a checkered shirt and hat, similar attire to his previous visits to the park over the years.
Blackpool Pleasure Beach shared the snap on their Facebook page alongside two other photos of the comedian’s visits to the park in 2015 and 2016, writing: “It was great to have Peter Kay join us yesterday and true to style he wore one of his Blackpool Pleasure Beach shirts! Here’s Peter from 2015, 2016 and 2021!”
The post was quick to go viral, with thousands of social media users commenting and sharing their own experiences of Peter at the popular theme park.
One person wrote: “I worked on/operated Wallace and Gromit in 2016 and Peter and family were so polite. He came across as very quiet (definitely not like his stage persona) but I remember he told us his funfair dismissal joke.
“His kids were really nice as well. He loves BPB.”
And this isn’t the first time the comedian has been seen out and about in Costa Del Blackpool; a couple of years ago, he was also spotted enjoying a ride on the historic Heritage Tram Tours, with the Blackpool Heritage Tram Tours’ social media page posting a photo and writing: “We do love a celebrity passenger on our tours, when we can’t get one @PeterKay_co_uk will do instead! He kindly allowed a a photo with the driver and conductor on Boat 600 this afternoon.”
BplHeritageTram
His Blackpool trip comes just weeks after he performed two sold-out shows here in Manchester to raise money for twenty-one year old Laura Nuttall, who is battling Glioblastoma, a grade four brain cancer.
Detailing his selflessness on ITV’s This Morning last month, Laura said: “So he [Peter] knew my father back when he used to work with him at Granada and he has been out for a couple of meals with us over the years. And once he saw the news item that we did, he recognised my dad in it and went, ‘What can I do to help?'”
Laura explained that her family had been ‘slogging away’ at fundraising for her treatment – immunisation in Germany – but it is ‘phenomenally expensive.’
She added: “So having this from Peter just takes the pressure off so much.”
The Sunday Times has named three Manchester neighbourhoods in its annual list of the best places to live in the UK 2023 — but it fails to name the best parts about them.
This year, Ancoats, Sale and Stockport have made it onto the prestigious list encompassing quiet market towns and up and coming neighbourhoods, deemed by The Sunday Times as the best places to make your home in the UK.
Once an industrial powerhouse, Ancoats has been regenerated into a hip and trendy neighbourhood filled with urbanites, that often lands itself on ‘coolest places to live’ lists — and rightly so!
The area is nearby the arty Northern Quarter and nestled in next to to the eye-pleasing Islington Marina. It has also been an incubator for Manchester’s best independents and its monthly pop-up markets in Cutting Room Square are a lively sun trap during the warmer months.
@ec_ancoats / Instagram
Ancoats’ numerous bars make it a must-visit late night destination too. Vietnamese restaurant NAM is just one of the places hosting the city’s most popular selectors in its boombox of a basement bar every weekend.
But oddly, The Sunday Times talks about Deansgate and Castlefield — situated at the opposite end of the city — when suggesting Ancoats as the place to buy. It talks about other great parts of Manchester city centre rather than Ancoats itself.
“No.1 Deansgate carries a cachet and a hefty price tag of about £1.2 million for a three-bedroom penthouse,” the article says, “Castlefield, at the other end of Deansgate, has a cool reputation and is home to the Manchester institution Dukes 92, a buzzing bar and restaurant.”
There is little mention of Ancoats’ many former mills turned trendy apartments, nor do many of its restaurants and bars get a look in. Though the article does mention the ALDI at Urban Exchange, and Michelin star restaurant Mana.
David Dixon / Geograph
It fails to make any mention of all the places that make Ancoats a great place to live and hang out. Places such as: Erst, Elnecot, Flawd, The Jane Eyre, Sud, Hip Hop Chip Shop, Pollen, The Flat Baker, Rad’s, Blossom Street Social, Rudy’s — or just about any of the other fantastic eating and drinking spots that have people outbidding one another to live there.
The article then goes on to talk about the desirable suburb of Sale, in Trafford. Wedged between Urmston and Altrincham, it often gets overlooked by these two also sought after areas by prospective homebuyers.
Swathes of new businesses have opened up shop here including a second site for Simon Rimmer’s vegetarian restaurant, Greens, Ancoats OG Rudy’s, and Alty favourites Blanchflower and Sud (formerly Sugo).
The Times mentions Sale’s ‘surrounding acres of green space, woodland and waterways giving the town formidable lungfuls of fresh air’ — they’re not wrong about that. It continues: “This Trafford town has top-class schools, a buzzing café scene and is so well connected that you can live here car-free.”
David McKelvey / Flickr
But then it rather strangely mentions Sale Foodhall as a venue to visit, failing to acknowledge its recent closure. Announced earlier this week, the food hall shut its doors due to insurmountable rising costs, something felt deeply across many hospitality businesses operating in today’s climate.
Despite this sad loss to the town, Sale has rightfully earned its space on the list. Manchester is becoming an increasingly desirable place to live in with housing prices still lower than many other parts of the city — especially when compared to down south. Sale’s eclectic cafes, restaurants and independent retail spaces ensure its residents aren’t missing out on too much of the buzz of the city if they choose to stay local.
Many will agree that Stockport earned its place on the list. With plenty of independents and being surrounding by vast beautiful green spaces, it’s no wonder young families choose Stockport to put down roots.
There’s so much to shout about here, and The Times makes that clear, giving kudos to the likes of Rare Mags, Yellowhammer, Hillgate Cakery and Still Life Story Homewares.
Nev1 / Wikimedia
It says: “Stockport has engineered a remarkable reinvention in recent years, turning itself from a standard former mill town into a funky, family-friendly alternative to Manchester’s Northern Quarter, a ten-minute train ride away.
“This is where the avocado-brunching millennials move when they have a Lejoux pushchair and are faced with the school run, but still want to live a fashionable life.”
Capital and Centric, the social impact developers who are currently working on transforming Stockport’s Weir Mill into neighbourhood apartments commented on The Times article: “Stockport is finally starting to get its flowers after years of bubbling under the surface, and for good reason.
“There’s so much going on here, whether it’s the rapidly changing skyline thanks to new town centre districts or the indie businesses flourishing despite the challenging economic climate nationally.”
Once a forgotten area of the North West with a small town mentality, Stockport has built a tight knit community of indies.
Stockport Council
It offers everything from handmade sustainable fashion at Emiko Studios to sustainable homewares and tropical plants from Emma Nosurak, owner of Stockport’s The Plant Shop and Rare Finds. Even its traditional boozers have benefitted from recent makeovers, as often celebrated over on the Stockport Pints Instagram page, which has a loyal following of almost 10,000 fans.
Now in its 11th year, The Sunday Times’ guide includes 69 other destinations across the UK, with Wadhurst in East Sussex coming out on top this year.
Each place is judged on factors including school, transport, broadband speeds, culture, green spaces and its high streets by a panel who head to each destination on the list – they must’ve missed their train to Ancoats this year, though.
In 2022, Prestwich and Altrincham both made the list, but neither appeared this year. Other North West towns mentioned this year include Rawtenstall in Lancashire, Penrith in Cumbria and Tarporley in Cheshire, which was celebrated for its ‘elegant Georgian high street dotted with ancient coaching inns and cute shops.’
A driver was caught doing 104 mph through a 30 mph zone in a vintage sports car.
The speed camera flashed the white Ford Sierra Cosworth on Albert Royds Street, Rochdale, on Sunday afternoon, March 19th. GMP Traffic posted a picture on their Twitter page with the caption: “Words Fail!”
Responding to the GMP tweet, Councillor Daniel Meredith replied: “Hopefully gets the book thrown at them! Words fail! This is a residential area with children playing. Not Silverstone!”
The driver could now face a hefty fine and lengthy ban. Motorists caught doing high speeds can be hit with a ‘Band C’ offence — the most serious category of driving offence which can lead to driving bans of up to 120 days. Police also have the power to seize the vintage motor.
But the owner will be desperately hoping that doesn’t happen, as last month a rare Sierra Cosworth sold for almost £600,000 at auction.
Below the GMP post, tweeters filled the comments, with one saying: “Regular occurrence on that road. It’s a race track.” And a second typing: “Horrendous. Let’s hope courts back you up and get this clown off the road for a long scratch.”
Though some commenters, with knowledge of the car, jumped in with something less serious to say, as one put: “Probably trying to time travel back to the 1980s.” Another chimed in: “No wonder police couldn’t keep up with these years ago!”
McDonald’s is launching a new promotional game this month with millions of prizes up for grabs — including cash prizes and the iconic Coke glasses.
The brand new fun promotion is called Winning Sips — where customers can peel back stickers on their McDonald’s packaging and be in with a chance to win prizes including £10,000 in cash, menu favourites, bucket hats, towels, and plenty more.
Launching on March 29th Maccies fans will be familiar with the peel-to-win format. But, as the name suggests, you can only play by purchasing medium or large soft drinks and milkshakes. All you have to do is peel back the sticker to reveal an Instant Win prize, or App Play game piece.
With the App Play game piece, customers will need to use the McDonald’s App — which is free to download from the Google Android or iPhone app stores — to scan the code to be in with a chance of winning.
These will be up for grabs as part of our Winning Sips promotion, starting next Wednesday 😎
Play your game piece code via the McDonald’s App to see if you’re a proud owner of the most iconic glasses around 👀
Those who do this will be automatically entered into a prize draw for the opportunity to receive one of 10 cash prizes of a whopping £10,000. Fans are incredibly excited, especially about potentially winning themselves a new set of Coca-Cola glassware.
One said: “Omg wow remember these.” A second put: “Nostalgia. Reminds me of the ones from when we were younger.” A third joined in saying: “The glasses are back. Brings back memories, this.” While another wrote: “We’re going just to get these. So nostalgic.”
Of course it’s not exactly the same as Monopoly. You won’t be collecting game pieces the same way, and you won’t find any stickers on food items. The competition will be running from 5am on March 29th until 11.59pm on April 25th.
To enter, simply purchase any medium or large soft drink. These include:
Coca-Cola Zero Sugar
Diet Coke
Sprite Zero
Coca-Cola Classic
Fanta Orange
Oasis
Chocolate milkshake
Strawberry milkshake
Banana milkshake
Vanilla milkshake
There’s a limit of eight-game entries into the McDonald’s app, so don’t waste your money by trying more than that. You also have to be aged 18 or above to play. Customers have until May 9th, 2023 to claim their free prizes.
Maccies fans worried this is replacing the popular Monopoly promotion don’t need to worry, as it’s still coming ‘later in the year’, although a date has not yet been confirmed.