Yahoo News The Mancunian Way: 'Every day we stay here is a win'
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"We are all here for something bigger than ourselves. Every day we’re here, that we’ve not been shut down, is a win.” Those are the words of Umer, one of the occupants of the Gaza protest camp at the University of Manchester.
Inspired by protests across the US, students began erecting tents at Brunswick Park, on the university's Oxford Road campus, on Thursday, May 2. Since then their numbers are said to have swelled from a few dozen into the hundreds, with the reporter Chris Slater counting 80 tents during a visit after the first week.
University bosses have said they 'fully recognise the right of staff and students to protest within the law’. But they have said the camp 'raises potential health and safety concerns, risks disruption to staff, students and our wider community' and is 'ultimately an 'unauthorised and unlawful use' of the University's campus.' Some Jewish students have also said it has left them feeling 'intimidated’.
Umer, 20, who didn't want to give his surname but who has been at the Manchester camp since tube beginning, said it was vital students were allowed to protest. "If we live in a society where free speech is a thing, then no one should be punished for free speech, he said.
“The only reason more people aren't joining is they are too afraid to speak, they think their degrees could be at risk, and their jobs could be at risk. The fact of the matter is human lives are being taken and speaking about that shouldn't get punished, labelled or misconstrued."
You can read Chris’s piece here
The ‘big shock’ some saw coming
The war in Gaza has also had a big impact on local politics in Greater Manchester in recent months. First came George Galloway’s victory in the Rochdale by-election, then Oldham council went into no overall control as voters in some areas turned their back on Labour, angered, in part it seems, by the party’s stance on the war in the Middle East.
And there was also a shock result in south Manchester as the council’s deputy leader Luthfur Rahman lost his Longsight seat to the Workers Party of Britain candidate Shahbaz Sarwar by just 185 votes.
Now the dust has settled, politics writer Joseph Timan and local democracy reporter Ethan Davies try to understand what caused the upset. Amid disputed claims of voter intimidation and racism, they’ve been speaking to candidates, party insiders and the voters who saw it coming as they run the rule over an ill-tempered contest.
Turn to the soil
"In times of trouble, we turn to the soil,” gardener and author Michael Leapman wrote. And in the wake of the pandemic and with the cost-of-living, energy and climate crises raging, that’s what we’re doing right now.
Late last year research by Greenpeace found almost 160,000 people were on allotment waiting lists at councils across England. In Manchester, for instance, there are 2,500 people on the waiting list, and the council's website warns plots 'don't become free very often'.
In Rochdale there's a nine year wait. But in December the council opened its first new allotment in 50 years as part of a bid to double the number of plots in the borough.
Retired school nurse Christine McHugh, 77, has had a plot at Moss Row Allotments in Norden for around 17 years. And she says it's long been an escape from the stresses and strains of everyday life.
"I just love being down here - it's like a little oasis," she said. "We had our wedding anniversary, we've been married 56 years - I spent the morning down here.
"Last winter I was so depressed, then I came here one morning and it just went. Everything's going on out there, but it's not in here. It's so good for your mental health. It's peaceful, it's productive, it's calming.
"Watching things grow and flower is so satisfying. It's like a little haven, an escape."
‘It wasn’t me’
It’s the graffiti tag which has been the talk of the town in recent weeks, with the name Howard emblazoned across walls, road signs and windows. And with Manchester's most famous Howard returning to home turf this week for Take That's record-breaking run of shows at the AO Arena, the tags have clearly caught his attention too.
On Saturday Howard Donald shared a number of images on his social media of the ‘Howard graffiti. And just in case you were wondering, the 56-year-old, from Higher Openshaw, also confirmed he isn’t the mystery Howard in question.
"It wasn't me," he wrote, and "nope not me," and then finally for good measure: "definitely not me".
Lucky man
Ahead of his big homecoming gigs in Wigan this summer, lifestyle editor Dianne Bourne sat down for a chat with Richard Ashcroft. And the former Verve frontman was in cracking form as he chatted about his childhood, ambition, social mobility and fame.
But when she asked about his favourite pies, things took a surreal and amusing turn.
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Weather etc
Tuesday: Heavy rain changing to cloudy in the afternoon, 18C.
Roadworks: Cavendish Street in Ashton is closed in both directions due to gas main work from Katherine Street to Burlington Street until May 20.
Manchester headlines
House fire: A huge emergency response was sparked after a fire ripped through a home in Stockport in the early hours of this morning. The blaze broke out at a house on Lawton Road just before 1.30am, the fire service said. Pictures showed huge flames and smoke billowing from the roof. Read more
Flooded: A gig at Victoria Warehouse was cancelled at short notice last night due to the heavy rain causing a leak at the venue. Almost an hour after doors had originally been set to open for the show from American pop rock act PVRIS on Sunday night (May 12), bosses at the music venue in Old Trafford were forced to postpone the gig due to torrential storms causing a leak in the roof.
CCTV appeal: Police have issued a CCTV image of a woman they want to speak to after a phone was reportedly stolen from inside McDonald's in Piccadilly Gardens. The theft was reported to officers on Thursday, April 18. Police said a phone was snatched from a table inside the fast-food restaurant in the city centre. More here
Worth a read
Mum-of-three Gemma has been skipping meals so her youngest son can keep going to football training every week. It costs £5. Despite her sacrifices, she says the price of food, council tax and bills continuing to rise means she's continuing to struggle.
"I have sacrificed myself from eating for my kids," she said. I don't want to hold them back from doing what they want to do. "But with food and bills... even taking a bus, you really have to watch every little thing. It's a real struggle."
Gemma is one of scores of people constantly living in the red across Greater Manchester - having to make impossible decisions as the cost of living crisis deepens. Thousands are spending more on basics than what they have coming in. Charlotte Hall has more here...
