Welcome to Unmissable our weekly digest of stories we think you might have missed.
“My dad’s got some stories from over the years. On a quiet day, he used to stick a £2 coin to the floor and just watch as people were trying to pick it up.”
Ebony Lewis is standing behind the counter of her family’s donut and waffle van. Next door is ‘What a potato’, another pop-up kiosk that has been a staple on Market Street for decades.
All run by generations in the same family, it’s one part of the area that, despite radical change, has remained a constant for over 30 years.
“We see a fair few arguments between people and the [officers] that fine you for dropping cigarettes”, Ebony says.
“There is a lot of security outside the shops because of shoplifting, but that’s the same as any other city. It’s a street everyone uses and passes by, whether they are finishing school, getting home from work, starting work. You see it all.”
Welcome to Unmissable, our weekly digest of the stories we think you might have missed.
Market Street is the main artery of the city centre, James Holt spent an afternoon there taking in the hustle and bustle and watching teenagers film for TikTok, dodging Deliveroo cyclists and listening to a busker’s rendition of Coldplay classics.
The piece is a glorious paean to Manchester’s much-maligned central thoroughfare. As James puts it, Market Street is “not just a shopping destination, but a cobbled catwalk showcasing all walks of Mancunian life.”
Also this weekend we published a long-read into the death of Dylan Scanlon. When Dylan’s mother Claire was jailed for his murder, uncomfortable questions were raised about what authorities knew in the months prior and what action was taken.
Amid scattered details from the trial about the involvement of social services, the council said it could not comment pending the publication of a full child safeguarding practice review. The report detailing the findings of that review has now been made public.
Also worth a look was Jo Timan’s excellent piece on the Manchester Baccalaureate, or MBacc and the changing attitudes of school leavers to education and training.
Elsewhere, George Lythgoe wrote a fantastic article about his visit to Dukinfield wastewater treatment works, Damon Wilkinson explained the sombre history behind Gallagher Hill and Dianne Bourne forensically examined the cost of a trip to the Trafford Centre’s funfair as only she can.
An afternoon on Market Street – the great catwalk of Manchester
It’s the wonderful, chaotic, bustling main artery of Manchester in the very heart of the city. James Holt spent an afternoon people watching on Market Street and found something special. Read it HERE.
Dylan Scanlon: A little boy failed
When Dylan Scanlon’s mother Claire was jailed for his murder, uncomfortable questions were raised about what authorities knew in the months prior and what action was taken. Amid scattered details from the trial about the involvement of social services, the council said it could not comment pending the publication of a full child safeguarding practice review. The report detailing the findings of that review has now been made public. Amy Walker reports.
‘All my friends did A Levels, now they wish they did what I’ve done’
She may not realise it, but she is part of a ‘revolution’. Read it HERE.
‘We found someone’s false teeth in sewage – they picked them up and used them again’
‘We’ve seen everything from dead animals to shopping trolleys and fire extinguishers’. Read it HERE.
Gallagher Hill’s real name and the poignant reason behind it following Oasis pilgrimage
Despite its new moniker, Gallagher Hill already has a name. Read it HERE.
‘I took my kids to Trafford Centre’s £3.50 funfair and splash park – this is what we actually spent’
It’s the big family attraction at the Trafford Centre with £3.50 entry – but the costs can soon stack up, as our writer found. Read it HERE.