The Mancunian Way: One too many
25.11.2023 - 11:30
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
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Today is Black Friday: a chance for people to queue up in the early hours and be feral with each other in order to secure a TV that’s 20% off - or, at least, it was back in 2014.
The sale offering - which originates from the big sales held after Thanksgiving in America - took a dark turn across the country nine years ago, with stores in Greater Manchester forced to call in police following a number of reported incidents.
Supermarkets in Stretford, Burnage, Middleton and Irlam were all involved in the “chaos”, with one person at the time saying the scenes were something they would never like to experience again.
One person said: "It was getting more heated by the minute and the next thing, at about ten to midnight, voices got raised. The shouting went through the roof, then all hell broke loose.
"They were ripping the plastic off the palettes and people started fighting. One girl, who can't have been more than 16, picked up some advent calendars and flung them across the shop."
Thankfully, the phenomenon surrounding Black Friday here in Manchester has, for the large part, settled down these days. It’s still a busy time of the year for the high streets and shopping centres, but most of us are fully aware that the sales aren’t worth the hassle - especially if you're not even after a TV in the first place.
Anyway, let’s get back into the present with a look at some of today’s news stories.
"What's going on? Is it your works' Christmas Dinner?", one elderly lady asks as streams of uniformed cops make their way out of Stockport