What will you miss most about Manchester?

The end of the year is looming  scarily close already and it’s got us all reminiscing about the things we are going to miss once we leave Manchester.

Whether it’s Squirrels or Antwerp, Paz or the Magicbus ticket man, we all have that one thing that we are going to miss more than anything else. Heres our selection of the best of the best:

Squirrels Bar

We all go shamelessly often and it’s definitely not just for first years. Cheap pints, cheap laughs and classy decor. Don’t ever change.

The Fallowfield ‘no one gives a shit what they look like’ fashion

You mean people don’t dress like this in the real world? We have all become far too complacent with our unwashed hair, second hand clothes and un-made up faces, and I love it. There is no judgement in Manchester, you could accidentally rock up to a lecture in your pyjamas and nobody would even bat an eyelid. Now we have to move back home to a place where our mothers will make us “go back upstairs and change” and “put on something presentable”. I am just not ready for this.

Everyone lives within ten minutes of each other

I come from a tiny village that is basically a road between two other villages. My nearest friend is a 20 minute walk away which takes the piss if you don’t drive. In Fallowfield everyone is 10 minutes (max) away from you and that is beautiful.

Sometimes I’m hungover and I just need a hug and a pot noodle snuggling in bed with a pal and that dream can be made reality in Fallowfield. I feel so close to everyone (which could be good or bad) and that’s gonna change if I move home. FOMO to the greatest extent.

Paz (the almighty)

Never again will I hear “Anyone else waiting to order? What you having gorgeous?”. The thought brings a tear to my eye, Paz you have lighted up my life and I hope you realise how fabulous you are.

How quickly the magicbuses arrive

These buses have saved hours of your life that would have been wasted had you lived anywhere else. And it not only saves you time but it saves you money. Who needs a taxi when you have the magic bus?

You can rely on them more than your own mum to pick you up and when you leave you will wish you had never taken it for granted in the first place. Especially on those journeys to the club when the bus just turns into an extension of pre-drinks. You truly are magical magicbus!

Pangaea

You don’t know how many times I’ve tried to explain Pangaea to my friends from other unis. “Oh, it’s just a fancy dress night at your SU then?” NO. NO IT IS NOT. It’s the one night three times a year where you can awkwardly bump into all those coursemates you never speak to whilst dressed as a giant pacman and declare your love for them under the influence, then have to avoid eye contact with them for the rest of the year (or until the next Pangaea).

It’s maybe the only time you’ll ever understand the layout of the SU, and the acts are always completely unpredictable. The only event that could ever put Sister Sledge top of the bill one night and Wiley the next. Amazing.

New Zealand Wines

It’s 4am. You’re swaying through Fallowfield, running your hands through your friend’s hair, telling her how beautiful she is. You’re buzzing. Sleep is not on the agenda. And that’s fine. You’ll just pop in to New Zealand Wine and get some bevs for the after-party.

Except you won’t, because you’re no longer in Manchester and the newsagents shut four hours ago and doesn’t open for another three. You go back to your house alone and sit gurning at a text-only early-hours TV replacement service until sunrise. This is the future. We’ll miss you New Zealand Wines.

How easy the nights out are

At home, nights out inevitably end with me losing my friends and standing outside in the rain, desperately trying to remember a taxi number that hasn’t banned me, until I find one and get told there’s at least an hours wait. Where is the Magic bus to come and sweep me like Aladdin’s carpet to my duvet? Where is my two minute, relatively cheap Uber? Where is Koh Tao and the house party you can just nip in and out of like it’s your own room? Where is Manchester?

The Curry Mile

You might complain at the time when it makes you 20 minutes late for your lecture, but you know you love having an excuse (that isn’t you fault) to miss Clive rambling on about 18th century socioeconomics. I challenge you to walk down it and not get pangs of hunger when the smell of curry wafts past your nose. We have a WHOLE MILE (is it really though?) dedicated to one of the greatest cuisines in the world at our doorstep, just don’t make the mistake of getting your haircut here.

WHP

Warehouse MOTHERFUCKING Project !
Pre-Uni this was the night you could only dream of . One of the best nights out in the country . Every single night packed with stories ; “first bomb didn’t work so i accidentally double dropped” to seeing your new favorite DJ. This night is incomparable to anywhere else.

From the ritual of a strong pregame (and other prep) and the last minute rush to find tickets. All the way to the fabled afterjam and Dominoes the next day . We will miss you and always hold close to our hearts those times we all got a little too wavy.

Everyone is a DJ

We might take the piss and moan about them, but they’re actually pretty useful to have around. You never have to pay someone to DJ at your house party (as long as you sort them out a few beers of a spliff throughout the night) and your pre-game is inevitably a lot stronger than your friends at Newcastle or Durham. I will miss being lulled to sleep by the sweet sound of tech-house every evening.

Getting outrageously fucked up every week/day/end

Now this definitely isn’t acceptable at home. Yes, you can go out and get drunk with your friends in an average club and have a good time. But you don’t stumble home at 10am the next morning, with no recollection of where you’ve been or how you got there, to be welcomed into your house by your equally fucked up friends. You spend the whole next day watching weird cartoons and ordering pizza, surrounded by used nos canisters and smoke. This is the life we’re going to miss.