Surviving Manchester’s frozen streets

The temperature has dropped below zero. Everyone else is hurrying home — you have to make it through the night. How?

Dear readers — last night, the luxury fashion brand Chanel held its Metiers D’Art show in the Northern Quarter. The guest list to the exclusive event included names like David Beckham, Julia Roberts and Tilda Swinton. Thomas Street was blocked off and canopied to shield guests from the heavy rain, and the surrounding streets were crowded with the uninvited.

We’ll be bringing you more on that over the weekend. But today, we’ll be looking at something entirely different — a tragic story. Namely, the case of a man who died over the weekend in a doorway in the Gay Village. He was presumed homeless, but wasn’t. Even still, his death highlighted just how dangerous it is for people sleeping on the streets when temperatures drop below zero. Jack has been looking into what council’s and local charities are doing to get rough sleepers indoors, and what those left outside are doing to survive. That’s below.

🎁 Want to give the gift of journalism this Christmas? We’re now offering heavily discounted Mill subscriptions, available for a limited time only. It’s roughly 25% off the cost of an annual subscription, requires no plastic wrapping and no trips to the Arndale or the Trafford Centre. You can schedule the subscription to arrive by email on Christmas day, meaning there’s no spoilers for your loved ones. Hit that button below before the sale runs out.

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Your Mill briefing

🎗The actor Maxine Peake is now the face of a new clothing poverty campaign launched to align with the Chanel show by the homeless charity Lifeshare, who are featured in today’s main story. Lifeshare’s operations manager Judith Vickers said: “The eyes of the world are on Manchester as Chanel comes to town, so what better time to showcase the generosity, resilience and fashion that the people of this city have to offer?”

⚽ The MEN has been banned from attending Manchester United’s press conferences after the club accused the newspaper of publishing stories “without contacting us first to give us the opportunity to comment, challenge or contextualise.” In an opinion piece, the MEN’s editor Sarah Lester argued “to be shut out for reporting a story we know to be accurate is wrong” and suggested that the club “looks closer to home for the sources of the disquiet — rather than shooting the messenger.” Know more about this story? Please get in touch.

🏛️ The murder trial of Brianna Ghey continues at Manchester Crown Court. Two teenagers known as Boy Y and Girl X deny murder. This week, jurors were shown footage of Boy Y’s police interview, where he said that he went behind a tree to urinate when he saw Girl X stabbing Ghey with a hunting knife. "I never tried to murder anyone. It goes against everything I already know and believe, everything,” he said. "It stops anything I want to do in the future. I just never tried to do anything like what's happened." Yesterday, the jury heard that Brianna’s blood was found on Boy Y’s clothing, but not on Girl X’s.

🥗 Michelin has announced that the next awards ceremony for the finest restaurants and chefs in the UK will be held in Manchester. Of course, this has sparked rumours about where in the city might next get a Michelin star. The ceremony will be held at the Midland on 5 February 2024.

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Our weekend to do list

Friday

📸 Didn’t get an invite to Chanel’s exclusive afterparty at Victoria Baths? Well, this weekend, you can step into the aftermath of the party and instead of finding champagne bottles strewn across the floor, you’ll find a new exhibition that celebrates Manchester’s history and creativity, featuring Lemn Sissay, Peter Saville, John Cooper Clarke and many more. It’s free to attend, just reserve a place here.

🎧 aNNA, a Partisan dancefloor favourite, is playing a rare gig at Islington Mill from 10pm until 3am. Tickets here.

Saturday

🎞 This free night at YES features DJs playing Afrotech, film and bespoke projections designed to honour Caribbean culture. Find out more here.

🎻 Manchester Baroque and Manchester Cathedral Choir are performing Handel’s stirring oratorio Messiah on beautiful historical instruments at Manchester Cathedral. Tickets here.

Sunday

🍷 If you’d like to become more knowledgeable about local wine and enjoy some festive treats, Manchester Wine Tours is hosting a special festive edition of their very popular tasting sessions this Sunday. Book a place here.

🧑‍🎄 Manchester Camerata are performing a special Christmas carol concert with a gospel twist in the lovely Albert Hall. Tickets start at just £3.

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Surviving Manchester’s frozen streets

By Jack Dulhanty

On Sunday night, the Manchester Evening News reported that a man had died in a doorway on Bloom Street in the Gay Village. Soon, it was national news. “Second homeless person is found dead on the freezing streets of Britain,” MailOnline wrote.

On Tuesday lunchtime, a woman in a black bubble coat is on her break from work, laying flowers on the steps where he died. There are two other bouquets, sellotaped to the wall to stop them falling, with a piece of lined paper attached asking that they not be moved. One of the written messages slotted amongst the flowers opens with: “You big beautiful bastard, I can’t believe you’ve done this.” The man was her cousin, she tells me. His name was Marc. When she got into bed on Sunday night, she remembered seeing the original MEN report. Then she got a phone call.