City news in 250 words

GIGGS HAS BEEN AWARDED THE FREEDOM OF SALFORD after living in Worsley since signing for Manchester United as a schoolboy. Joining the likes of Nelson Mandela, artist LS Lowry and David Lloyd George, the midfielder said he felt "hugely proud and privileged" to receive the accolade at a ceremony at The Lowry arts centre. Giggs said of the award, “It has to rank amongst the greatest honours I have ever received.”

MINUS SEVENTEEN TEMPERATURES SET A NEW RECORD causing more chaos for travellers. The -17.6 reading was taken at the weather station in Woodford, near Stockport. Frozen points on the railway caused problems for Northern Rail passengers, while Metrolink trams were also affected by the cold weather. Black ice caused collisions on the motorways, with crashes on junction 24 of the M60 and M66 southbound at junction three. The mercury in Manchester is set to dip to -13 today, making the city the coldest place in England.

ALBERT SCANLON’S FUNERAL PLANS HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED, with a farewell planned at Old Trafford. At 11.15am next Wednesday his funeral cortege will pause underneath the Munich memorial at the ground, where it will be met by a club official and will pause for a moment, before heading to All Souls church in Weaste, Salford.

MANCHESTER WAS ROCKED BY AN EARTHQUAKE that, um, nobody noticed. A quake measuring 1.5 on the Richter scale hit Cheetham Hill just after 11:02am on December 27 with experts saying the epicentre was two miles below the earth’s surface.

Samuel Johnson wisdom week: Almost all absurdity of conduct arises from the imitation of those whom we cannot resemble.