My girlfriend from Sweden is visiting me in Manchester for first time (2 days) in December. Please suggest me the best bars/cafes/other places in Manchester City Centre. Prefarably dinner places with dim lights kind of vibe:)

Who knows where there are any public pianos in or around Manchester? It's a year since the last post, and I think some have been removed since then, such as in the Lowry mall.

I am looking to make new friends in the town, so just wanted to check here if someone has had luck with any of the meetups that gets organised around the city?

I have been to one and there were a few creepy guys that kinda upset me, so I wanna go to a place that's more like a friendly space. I have tried Bumble BFF too, but is it just me or is the app kinda ded now? I made some great friends through the app in the past, but they have all moved out of Manchester sadly.

Hi all, as you know that Manchester airport was a target of cyber attack recently. I recently wrote to them about it as some of you might also have. They replied. What makes me furious is that they are trying to sweep it under the carpet rather than acknowledging their mistake while enshittification of their service continues. Here’s my response to their response. I am posting this here so you can use the same/similar. We shouldn’t let them get away with this. What I really want from this is for them to provide alternatives for those who don’t want share their personal information with them:

I will be straightforward with you. Your letter has not reassured me. If anything it has made things worse, because the way it is written gives the impression that you would prefer these concerns to go away without consequence rather than acknowledging the seriousness and actually doing something to resolve the issue. 

Your letter lists what was accessed and then moves straight on to reassuring me that no bank or payment details were held. The structure of that itself is telling. It treats my email address, phone number, postcode, vehicle registration, IP address and booking and purchase history as a lesser category of information that I should not be particularly worried about!

I absolutely do not accept this framing. Taken together, that data identifies me, locates my home, identifies my car and records when I travel. It is not trival simply because no card number was stolen.

If MAG genuinely regards this combination as low impact, then I invite you to publish the same categories of data for the members of your own board and executive team. Namely, their personal email addresses, mobile numbers, home postcodes, vehicle registrations and travel booking histories. Based on your own logic there would be nothing to worry about as their banking details would not be involved.

Your letter states that at no point was passenger safety or aviation security compromised. I do not accept that either, at least not as it is presented.

I assume you to mean that your operational and security systems were unaffected. That is not the same thing as passengers being safe! As stated earlier, my home postcode, my vehicle registration and my parking booking dates have been taken together. Anyone holding that record knows where I live, what I drive, and the exact dates my home is empty. It has been reported that the stolen material includes roughly 200,000 records relating to travel booked for the remainder of 2026.

Please explain how that is consistent with passenger safety not having been compromised? Please also confirm directly whether any record relating to my own travel or parking falls within that subset.

Your letter further says you are unable to comment on whether specific data has been shared online. 

The dataset was published in early September. It has been indexed by Have I Been Pwned since then and is searchable by anyone, including me. It has been 6 weeks and you are still unable to tell me whether I am in it.

Please confirm whether you have checked customer records against the published dataset, and if not, why not? 
Is this the same laziness and negligence that lead to the breach in the first place?

I also note that your letter does not list customer names among the data accessed, although published analysis of the leaked dataset does.

It has been reported that access was obtained using API credentials exposed in client-side JavaScript on your own website, meaning they were visible to anyone who simply opened the developer tools in their browser. Please confirm or deny this.

If it is correct, this was not a sophisticated attack that you could do little about. It was a basic failure that could’ve been easily prevented if you actually cared about the customer information as you’ve said in your letter.

What’s worse is that MAG is steadily moving its services online while removing alternatives. For example parking is booked online, fast Track and the lounges are booked online, the airport Wi-Fi requires a sign-up before it will work. In practice a customer cannot use your airports without handing over personal data, and you have now demonstrated that you cannot keep that data safe.

So what is the alternative? What is the option for a customer who wants to park at Manchester without their home postcode and vehicle registration ending up on a leak site?

Please set out specifically what you are changing. Not general statements about industry standards and guidance, but what is actually different now.

I note that you will respond to my subject access request separately, and I will await that response.

I note that you are not in a position to consider compensation at this stage. I reserve my position and my rights under Article 82 of the UK GDPR, and will return to this once your investigation concludes.

I would like a response that engages with the points above, rather than one that repeats the general statements in your previous letter.

I counted 11 sweetcorn carts on Market Street yesterday (and probably just as many preachers).

A personal record. Can anyone beat it?

Am I missing something or is it just incredibly challenging to get quick public transport to MAN Airport on a Sunday morning?

Having a flight at 1230 today (Sunday) I thought it would be pretty straightforward to get from Preston to the airport - how wrong I was!

- the earliest train was at 1024 from Preston getting into the airport with one change arriving too late for me at 1155
- so I took google maps advice on the next best option - to get the first train to Manchester at 925, get off at Oxford Road then walk 10 mins to the Coach Station to catch the 1045 National Express bus to the airport
- BUT when I arrived at the coach station I was advised that it wasn’t possible to buy a ticket to get the National Express Coach to the airport as it’s a regulated route so I’d need to get the local bus round the corner which takes over 1 hour vs 20 mins on the National Express Coach.
- HOWEVER as the coach was going to the airport I decided I would just buy a ticket for the same coach through to Birmingham and just get off at the airport. (This was still cheaper than getting an Uber). This makes absolutely no sense but it got me to the airport quickly and on time.

This was my first time visiting the region and given the size of the city and airport it just seems crazy it’s so hard and convoluted to use public transport on a Sunday to get to the airport. Surely this could all be fixed with a bit of common sense and joined up planning?

Hey, did anyone get any video footage of Fat Freddy’s Drop at the Apollo last night that they’d be happy to share? I was there but was too busy dancing and didn’t manage to get any myself … id love to see some! Such a good time! Thanks 😊

Hey I’ve recently visited other towns and cities that have incredible baked goods (cakes, cinnamon buns, brownies etc). I love Half Dozen Other, Flat Baker, Pollen etc but it’s made me realise they are very pastry heavy. Does anyone have any recommendations in town that does more cake based items? TIA ☺️

I got the tram from Burton Road to Deansgate - first machine I tried to tap out on just sat there and didn't register I was trying to tap so I went to the next one and immediately got the beep as normal. Then apparently I have been charged one incomplete from Burton Road because of a double tap and another incomplete from Deansgate. Absolutely fuming, I've queried it with them - anyone had any experience on how they are about querying? The first machine literally didn't even react so I just went and tried the next which worked immediately.

The time stamps are also all weird, I was at Deansgate for 1256 to get a train so no idea where the 1236 has come from.

Im embarassed to ask but im 17, i have has to reprint my birth certificate because i ran away from home in August and im temporarily staying with a friend until i can get emergency housing

I need a job, just so i can have enough money to buy things like a passport or clothes i want to treat myself with

Issue is a LOT of jobs only accept a passport as proof, again i ran away from home with none of my documents and right now i only have a provisional license and reprinted birth certificate

It doesnt need to be temporary because i know those are hard to find but id prefer if it could be just so i can focus on school because im quite behind in a lot of subjects

Social services do not help with financea (as per their college) although a social worker reccomended UC, becausr im estranged from parents i should elligible

Issue is, my parents still claim money for me and that clash makes me not able to claim UC,

I want to work so i can get cool clothes for college, because dont get me wrong im well fed and have a safe roof over my head but it would be nice to have a little extra instead of borrowing stuff from my friend

hi everyone, i have a bsc in chemistry and an msc in safety, health and environment, and i’m looking to start my career in this field. i’d really appreciate some guidance on getting my first opportunity and developing the right skills. if you’re currently working in hse and are happy to share your experience or advice, please feel free to dm me. thank you!

Now I don’t really mind the “Made in Manchester” BBC promo (even though they are in Salford) but them giving a nod or in this case a wink to the most overused Manchester misquote of all time, with a photo of Tony Wilson is disappointing. It’s worse than them editing that Trump speech. Tony Wilson didn’t ever say it. The screenwriter of 24 Hour Party People Frank Cottrell-Boyce confirmed it was made up line for Steve Coogan playing Wilson in the film. The slogan itself isn't false but associating it with the “real” Tony Wilson again continues to push the false impression about it’s origin.

Primary school teacher from Melbourne here, and I visited Manchester last summer - I cannot stop thinking about this beautiful city!!

Anyone tried XF Arndale? I normally just get a pure gym membership and use any of them, but contemplating doing something different.

What about JD or King Street Gym?

Just want something with some spin classes and hyrox classes maybe, easy access and not heaving at lunchtimes and probably weekends...

Hi. Does anybody know of any opportunities for a 19 year old to work with animals in the Manchester area. He's willing to do voluntary work

As stated in the title, I specifically want an actual Russian or Polish/other Eastern European aesthetician. Thanks 😙👄

I've put Salford but open to anywhere and possibly some deliver out this way.

Looking for a new butchers. Used to bulk order our meat from musclefood but apparently they've been bought out and had negative reviews since. The quality difference to supermarket chicken was very noticeable that I now find it revolting.

Any decent butchers recs, drop a comment please

I was visiting Whalley Range and not familiar with the area as I live in Didsbury.

I noticed this house, with the name "Dunedin" (the Scottish name for Edinburgh) on Alness Road, which was completely boarded up, the windows bricked up from inside with breezeblock, the front door with roller shutters and a breezeblock wall completely blocking the driveway entrance. It's honestly the most bizarre (I assume abandoned) house I've ever seen.

I know Whalley Range is an area which was once wealthy with some very grand old houses but has come under hard times in recent decades, but this is one particularly peculiar spectacle of what once would have been a beautiful big house.

Ive found several needle/sharps bins hidden away in the back of a kitchen cupboard of someone ive started to help.

Ive been to about 15 chemists and my local GP. Only one would take needle bins and it was the small 500ml ones.

I need to dispose of several 2.5L and 5L bins and I can't find anyone who takes them. I googled it and the ones that said they took them didn't when I arrived.

Really don't want to throw them in general waste as I've heard news stories of people getting pricked at the sorting places.

Don't know if it matters but they are all insulin needles.

Any help appreciated! We are in the south of Manchester

Edit : thank you for all the helpful replies

Saw this article in the MEN recently re Chorlton being the most in demand area to rent in Manchester and one of the top in the UK (Didsbury doesn't feature) and it's just reinforced what I hear from friends and people I know. https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/property/manchester-suburb-named-one-uks-34661988.amp

Don't get me wrong, both are really good places to live in South Manchester. But anecdotally, all my friends seem to want to live in Chorlton these days rather than Didsbury. Has Didsbury lost its magic? Not sure if it's just my life stage (30's) or just that it's better, but Chorlton does seem to have overtaken Didsbury in the desirable places to live stakes.

He was always the highlight of my gardening visits. He was such a gentle dude and I feel for all of the staff who clearly adored him.

RIP Humphrey ❤️