UPDATE: |The Mancunian Way: ‘Giving bare dirtys’ News

How times have changed PLUS Airport delays average 20 mins AND A fallow year

Hello,

“This woman is giving bare dirtys saying s**t to me.”

That’s the message a teenager sent to her dad when an ‘old woman’ asked her to take her feet off the seat in front of her on the 610 bus from Leigh to Golborne.

But far from siding with her, the youngster’s dad decided to shame his girl’s behaviour on social media, as Emma Gill reports.

You can read her message above.

Sharing the details on social media, the dad said his daughter is ‘part of an elite generation of children who thinks the world owes them a favour and they can behave how they want’.

“She sent me these and I think, somehow expected me to side with her. I’m not a deluded parent who thinks the sun shines out of her,” he wrote.

It’s sparked quite the debate with some praising the dad for his parenting and others questioning why he would put the details on social media.

This teenager can’t be the first person to be asked to take her shoes off the seat, and she won’t be the last. In fact I’ve been on both sides myself – both as a stroppy teenager and as a cantankerous adult bemoaning bad manners.

But as Parents Editor Emma says, times have changed. “I think people were once more respectful towards adults and if they were told to do something they would do it, as grown ups were seen as a figure of authority,” she says.

“Now many kids don’t think twice about answering back because there are no consequences to their behaviour.”

Leaving on a jet plane

We’ve all been there. You wake up early, rush out of the door and lock it, rush back in because you’ve forgotten your passport, race to the airport and find…your flight is delayed.

It’s a common irritation of the modern day traveller.

And flights from Manchester Airport were an average of 20 minutes behind schedule in 2024. That’s according to analysis of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data by the PA news agency.

Gatwick has retained its position as the UK’s worst airport for flight delays as it continues to suffer from air traffic control (ATC) disruption. Departures from the West Sussex airport were an average of more than 23 minutes delayed.

But Manchester had the third poorest punctuality record last year, just behind Birmingham where delays were 21 minutes on average.

Flight delays are often caused by issues outside the control of airports. But expert Julia Lo Bue-Said says flight disruption can cause an “emotional toll” as people feel “their time and investment aren’t being respected”.

“Passengers expect and deserve not to spend hours stuck in terminals with little information or support,” the chief executive of Advantage Travel Partnership said.

The analysis took into account scheduled and chartered departures from the 22 commercial UK airports with at least 1,000 outbound flights last year. Cancellations were not included.

A Manchester airport spokesperson said it is “committed to doing everything in our power to support all our carriers to achieve the best possible on-time departure rates.”

‘I’ve fought each and every one of them’

If you’ve ever been stung by a ticket from a private parking company, you’ll be interested in Kit Roberts piece that looks into the machinations behind what some have described as ‘a racket’.

As they write, private parking firms can often use aggressive language in their correspondence with people they are pursuing. And threats of county court action to those who don’t pay up can be intimidating. And it can affect credit scores.

But motorist Ian Pedley refused to roll over and pay when he was slapped with several fines. He says he’s been sent threatening letters, only for the case to be dropped at the last minute.

“It’s a racket,” he said. “I’ve had several, and I’ve fought each and every one of them. If people just pay up it emboldens them.”

You can read all about it here.

A wheelie big change

As we seem to be discussing a range of topics that get the blood boiling, let’s throw in another one – bins.

Residents in Trafford will be charged for the collection of garden waste from June 1.

Households will pay £45 for a year if paying online, or £50 by phone, for the waste to be collected on a weekly basis.

There will be no charge for the collection of other refuse, including food waste.

Town hall bosses say the change was in the budget and will allow them to maintain essential services for vulnerable adults, children and families.

Nick Jackson has all the details here.

A fallow year

In news that will devastate politics nerds, there are no local elections taking place in Manchester this year.

That’s because MPs are elected on terms of no more than five years, and the government has not called an early election after less than a year in office.

Andy Burnham is not due for re-election until May 2028. And none of the city’s six MPs have died, resigned, had a criminal conviction, been bankrupt or had a recall petition – all of which would trigger a by-election.

Meanwhile, Manchester Council is in a ‘fallow year’ with no elections taking place for local wards either. Sorry to disappoint you

Read the details here.

Weather

Thursday: Sunny intervals changing to partly cloudy by night-time. 16C.

Roads: A572 St Helens Road southbound, Leigh, closed due to roadworks from A578 Twist Lane to Bonnywell Road until June 30.

Headlines

Best: The Royal Bolton Hospital has been named number one in the country for accuracy in breast screening tests. More here.

Constant: Residents have slammed ‘constant’ fireworks blighting areas across Oldham. Fireworks being let off after midnight and into the early hours of the morning is something those living locally claim has ‘gone on for years’. Details here.

Marathon: On Sunday (April 27), Manchester will see thousands hit the city’s streets as they take part in this year’s marathon. For the event, Manchester’s streets will be hit with a stream of colour as a total of 36,000 racegoers in different coloured bibs pound the pavement. All the details are here.

Worth a read

“It’s rammed every Wednesday. We teach around 40 kids a night and there’s another 72 on the waiting list, but we can’t squeeze them in because we just don’t have the time.”

Arran Mattinson once coached darts champion Luke Littler and now teaches children as young as eight at Swan Darts Academy.

Reporter Rami Mwamba visited Walkden Legion Club to find out about the ‘Littler effect’ and hear how the ‘old man sport’ has been transformed.

You can read his feature here.