Chin Up Duck

Chorlton vs. Homelessness

We’ve seen an increase in homelessness and street begging in Chorlton. Can we work together as a community to tackle the issues? We all agree that seeing people begging on our streets is distressing: it’s criminal that a modern society can seem to be leaving so many people behind. A recent study by housing charity, Shelter, found that one in […]

Mmmm 21: foodie Chorlton

Anyone who really knows Chorlton is well aware that behind all the Evening News’s mischief about hummus and quinoa, it’s actually the best place in the city to shop and eat well. I spoke to a few key foodie players to find out just what makes M21 so tasty.

Are we beach brain-ready?

The recent furore (can I say furore?) about a certain poster campaign has irritated me.  Not as much as the hostile ‘get-a-life’ Twitter response from the brand’s marketing manager, of course, but that’s another story. For anyone who may not have seen it – and I’m not going to name the brand – the poster […]

Save our toy shops!

Community Index, September 2014 So which was better: the anticipation or the reality? Going into the toyshop as a child with a bit of birthday money, able to choose whatever you wanted, was wonderful. Think back and you’re probably smiling. Local toyshops are special places and we all remember those we knew and loved. So […]

Time for a Hygge

Sometimes I think the human race is slowly hurling itself off a cliff.  We’re all engaged in one enormous, gradual push towards extinction. I read this morning about the World Health Organisation’s prediction that depression will be the biggest health problem in the western world by 2030 – even bigger than obesity, our second favourite […]

Kill Christmas. Kill it now.

Yes, I had a lovely Christmas thanks.  Yes, I know it seems like such a long time ago and we’re now all brought low by endless rain and media nonsense about the January Blues. I didn’t think I’d have to write this post: we’ve passed the point where people still feel obliged to wish each […]

Food Fight

Ever felt there’s a massive elephant in the room that someone else is flatly refusing to see? Our elephant in this story is the principle of basic human rights and our room is the Food Poverty Summit, presented by the Manchester Evening News (MEN) as part of the city’s Food and Drink Festival. And the […]