We’re sharing some of our favourite good news stories from life on lockdown that can’t be missed.
We turned the city blue
Coinciding with Thursday’s weekly clap for NHS carers, famous Manchester landmarks and establishments are lighting up blue across the city in support of the NHS. One of the best we’ve seen is at Old Trafford, which was lit up blue by Manchester United - who even used the club’s sign to spell out ‘NHS United’ as part of the club’s continued efforts to support those affected by the coronavirus pandemic. We also think this could have inspired these roadworkers to paint messages of support on Manchester’s roads and we can’t wait to see what’s next.
We’re supporting the NHS in other ways too
Communities from all over the city are coming together to support the NHS and our fight against the coronavirus, from Manchester’s Chinese community donating thousands of protective face masks, gloves and aprons to social care workers to hotels offering free city centre accommodation to critical front line workers. Our student community is also doing some amazing things, with an army of student volunteers helping our front line heroes and students putting their skills to good use, like MEng student Olivia-Faye Dickinson who is sewing scrubs for the NHS.
Things are getting quizzical
Another bit of news we’ve been loving is this headline from the BBC, where at least 300,000 people are thought to have taken part in a virtual pub quiz broadcast online by a Manchester landlord after he mistakenly set the event to public. And it seems the lockdown has got everyone in the quiz mood, as Manchester brewery Joseph Holt launched an online pub quiz hosted every weekday for a bit of light-hearted fun during those long lockdown days.
We’re raising money
A lot of people know Manchester for its music, so it’s good to see that United We Stream have been streaming live bands, DJ’s, singers and performers every night in exchange for a donation to the NHS. As well as this, promoters of Manchester and Salford have launched a campaign to raise funds for local venues and those affected by job losses. And while our city is usually divided by red and blue, Manchester United and Manchester City football clubs came together to donate £100,000 to Manchester food banks.
We’re keeping ourselves entertained
The city isn’t short of fun things to do either, as XS Malarkey’s award-winning comedy show has been going live on Twitch every Tuesday, and a long-standing italian restaurant in Manchester has been hosting live cooking lessons for kids too. The Manchester Food and Drink Festival has also gone virtualwith everything from online cooking shows to wine tasting nights, and someone’s even created their very own Manchester lockdown monopoly which you can download for free!
And here’s some more awesome things we couldn’t not mention...
- Lockdown is driving the people of Manchester to give themselves some pretty questionable haircuts and sharing the results on social media
- Two men who have been dressing as Spider-Man on their daily run have proved popular among local families in lockdown
- Manchester charity Open Kitchen have been turning food waste from cancelled events into meals for those in need
- Every Month, a Manchester based charity providing women in need with free access to menstrual products, have been fighting period poverty during the pandemic
- Street Cars, a Manchester taxi company, have been offeringfree deliveries of shopping for anyone over the age of 65 and are struggling to get out.
- At the University there is no shortage of staff, students and alumni making a difference in the local and global community, and on 7 May we’re celebrating these achievements and we invite you to be a part of this online celebration.