City news in 250 words: Monday 4 October

THE BEST PLACE TO BE THIS WEEKEND is the Manchester Food and Drink Festival hub in Albert Square. The place looked splendid on the opening weekend - a veritable horn of plenty – with cracking food and drink tents filled with great local booze, not so local booze and a vast brigade of locally renowned chefs toiling in marquee kitchens. The whole thing is repeated but on a grander scale from 7-10 October from morning until late.

CROSBY HOMES AFTER much pressure has finally finished the wrap of Potato Wharf flats. The Castlefield Local Businesses and Residents Forum (www.ourcastlefield.com) had been lobbying hard to have the much delayed wrap of the empty property, in a key heritage area, completed. One building is finished and occupied, the second has been stalled because of the economic situation. Castlefield Forum have been putting pressure on Crosby after early deadlines passed.

REDUCED SUMMER HOLIDAYS will be the order of the day in East Manchester Academy soon. The seven week holiday will be reduced to a four week holiday to prevent pupils forgetting their studies and getting out of the daily routine of school life. The three extra weeks have been added at Easter and elsewhere in the academic year.

MIXED FORTUNES IN THE PREMIERSHIP as Manchester City beat Newcastle 2-1 at home, while United found themselves in the filth as a sewage pipe burst in the away changing room at Sunderland. United then found themselves unflushed with success as they struggled to a 0-0 draw.

Out of the window weather forecast: The weather’s doing shifts. Today’s the sunny shift after yesterday’s wet shift. Tomorrow apparently we have a hurricane. Or a tornado. Let’s start a panic.