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Manchester physicists clinch major award, celebrations as the Trafford Centre turns ten and hotel launches the region's first rooftop professional kitchen garden.
The Rad's little secret
The 5-star Radisson Edwardian in Manchester city centre has taken urban gardening to a whole new level, with the launch of the region's first rooftop professional kitchen garden.
The Secret Garden is used to grow herbs like basil, oregano and sage; vegetables, including tomatoes, yellow beans and courgettes; and a range of decorative plants and flowers.
The new Opus One menu is already making use of the hotel-grown produce. Lavender is being used for a refreshing Lavender Ice-Cream, rosemary and thyme add the aromas and flavours to the Braised Lamb Rump in Rosemary Wine Gravy, and basil is a key ingredient in the Clam Chowder with Basil.
Access all areas
Bury-based sports fashion retailer JD Sports and global athletic brand Puma have joined forces to create an exclusive new music community for the North West.
Launching this month, JD-Live! will offer members inside information on the hottest new acts, early access to gig tickets, VIP upgrades, backstage passes and the chance to win tickets to sold out gigs through weekly competitions.
Bands working with JD-Live! include The Filthy Dukes, Kid British and The Troubadours.
The project will be trialled in selected JD Sports stores in the North West from October to December 2008. It is free to join and you can register at www.jd-live.co.uk.
Manchester physicists scoop major international award
The two physicists from The University of Manchester who discovered the world's thinnest material have been awarded the prestigious Europhysics Prize for their work.
Professor Andre Geim and Dr Kostya Noveselov gave the world graphene, a one-atom thick gauze of carbon atoms resembling chicken wire, in 2004.
Since then, the two physicists have published numerous research papers in prestigious journals, demonstrating the remarkable electronic properties of the material and its potential in new applications, from transistors just one atom thick to sensors that can detect just a single molecule of a toxic gas.
Graphene has rapidly become one of the hottest topics in materials science and solid-state physics.
The Trafford Centre turns ten
Time flies when you're having retail fun. The Trafford Centre celebrated its tenth birthday last month, with a week-long feast of music, fashion, food and fun.
Opened in September 1998, the colossal shopping and leisure centre has recently expanded to include the Great Hall dining development and the Barton Square homeware quarter, cementing its status as a major tourist destination in its own right. It now has 230 stores, 60 restaurants and cafes, and more than 30 million visitors per year.
First Taste opens on Cross Street
If you are bored of bland butties for lunch, First Taste claims it can provide the cure in the form of its newly launched city centre deli.
The centrepiece of the new First Taste is a traditional real flame stonebake oven, where fresh batches of a special recipe flatbread are baked every 15 minutes throughout the morning and lunchtime.
These flatbreads are the trademark of the Cross Street deli, which boasts scrumptious, freshly made sandwiches. Also on the menu are made-from-scratch soups, freshly tossed salads, coffees and desserts.
Local designers revamp Harvey Nichs
Manchester-based interior design company NoChintz has gone back to its origins with the redesign of Harvey Nichols' luxury fitting rooms.
Led by creative director and founder Natalie Gray, who began her career working as interior display manager at Harvey Nichols, NoChintz have added their creative touch to the upmarket store. New features include a furniture scheme that is adaptable for each season and digital printed wallpaper.
A star is born
After three days of auditions, The Lowry has selected the lucky lady who will play Dorothy in its 2008 Christmas musical, The Wizard of Oz.
Sixteen-year-old Katie Schofield, from Bury, beat 160 other hopefuls from as far away as Paris and Glasgow to slip into Dorothy's famous ruby shoes. She will be making her professional debut at The Lowry at the end of next month, alongside international star Lorna Luft - Judy Garland's daughter.
Tickets for The Wizard of Oz (Nov 29, 2008 - Jan 4, 2009) are available on 0870 787 5793.
