We have two pairs of tickets to give away to Corrie, a new stage show based on the soap opera
FIND OUT MOREYour chance to win a fantastic three-piece 'skin perfector' set worth more than £120.
FIND OUT MOREChartered Accountants Lucas Reis are offering an hour's free business consultation.
FIND OUT MOREManchester city centre will boast yet another four-star hotel when the Park Inn Manchester, Victoria opens its doors in mid-June.
Operated by The Rezidor Hotel Group, the new Park Inn is located on Cheetham Hill Road, adjacent to the MEN Arena. It features 252 guest rooms, including six suites, and a host of business facilities. It also houses a restaurant serving gourmet burgers, light bites and a choice of signature dishes from the grill, while aperitifs and after-dinner drinks can be taken at the bar or on the large outdoor terrace overlooking the Green Quarter. Its extensive health and leisure facilities include a large swimming pool, a gym, a sauna and steam room, and two treatment rooms.
The new Manchester hotel is the 24th Park Inn to open in the company's UK portfolio. A second Manchester Park Inn is currently under development at Old Trafford and is expected to open soon. For more information visit www.parkinn.com.
A £39 million research centre has recently been opened in Manchester - making the city home to one of the largest biomedical complexes in Europe.
The AV Hill Building houses 300 scientists in 50 research groups, mainly focussing on neuroscience and immunology, from the University of Manchester. The 6,000 sq m facility connects the Core Technology Facility, Michael Smith and Stopford Buildings, thus creating a linked complex housing more than 300 research groups examining novel approaches for the treatment of human disease.
The building is named after Archibald Vivian Hill, who won a Nobel Prize for his work on the generation of heat by muscles while he held the chair in Physiology at the University of Manchester.
The hotly tipped Bye Bye Johnny (www.myspace.com/byebyejohnnylive and pictured above) has won Puma's search for Manchester's most promising alternative music act.
Formed in 2006, the five-piece outfit has already attracted critical acclaim for their rock and roll street band sound, which is influenced by a mixture of punk, rock, ska, dance, reggae and funk.
Puma is now on a mission to help their chosen band kick-start their career. The boys will receive a year's consultancy with music industry professional Ewan Grant, who managed Feeder and Joss Stone. They will also be whisked into a professional studio to record two tracks that will be released digitally and supported with a promotional campaign and six-date UK tour. Not to mention all the free Puma gear to make sure they look good for the cameras.
Disco Nasties (www.myspace.com/disconasties) were runners-up in the competition.
In another first for Manchester, the city is set to host the UK's first FabLab by the end of this year.
FabLabs (Fabrication Laboratories) are community workshops that give everyone, from small children to inventors and businesses, the capability to turn their ideas into reality. Whether you want to create your own skateboard, a robot, or even a house, these workshops can give you the tools you need to tap into your powers of invention and make new products.
First launched in Boston, USA, FabLabs have now spread across 35 locations worldwide, from Norway to India and Africa. The Manchester FabLab - a partnership between the Manufacturing Institute, MIT, Manchester City Council and New East Manchester - is hoped to be the first of many in the UK. Located in East Manchester, it is also hailed as a key part of the regeneration of the area for its power to inspire invention and innovation opportunities.
Five months after Mancunians voted against a bid for nearly £3 billion from the government's Transport Innovation Fund that came with a congestion charge attached, a new transport deal has been unveiled.
The 'no' vote back in December was seen as a crushing blow to a much-needed investment programme that would improve the region's public transport infrastructure. However, the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) has now announced a £1.5 billion transport bonanza to boost stalled projects and ensure the completion of the Metrolink expansion into Chorlton, East Didsbury, Manchester Airport, and Rochdale and Oldham town centres.
The funding, which will come without the condition of a congestion charge, will also pay for increased park-and-ride facilities across Greater Manchester; bypass schemes in Stockport and Mottram; and a cross-city bus package to improve routes through the city centre, among other developments. The overall programme will create an estimated 20,000 plus jobs.