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Winter 2021Editor's welcome

A warm welcome to Real Rochdale

Hello and welcome back to the latest edition of Real Rochdale.

Our stunning cover image this month is the Wine Press at a snow-covered Hollingworth Lake, a winter wonderland familiar to many of us!

This winter edition is packed with things to do over the festive period; from Christmas shopping to new exhibits in town, we’ve got it covered.

If you haven’t made a start on Christmas shopping yet (hands up, I’m definitely not alone!), make a start using our definitive guide to shopping locally in Rochdale centre. And if you want something that will make an extra difference, the Fair for All Fairtrade shop on The Walk is perfect.

If you’ve already bought and wrapped your presents, the next few months are yours to relax and be merry. Touchstones has a range of new exhibitions whilst Gaia, a giant replica of planet Earth, is in Rochdale town centre until Christmas Eve. There’s even a weekly midday music concert at St Mary in the Baum for everyone to enjoy on their lunch hour. Or pop into the award-winning Busy Beans Coffee in Littleborough for a well-deserved cuppa and cake!

Alternatively, if you’re thinking of volunteering over the holidays, consider lending your time to Cycling Without Age, a fantastic new way of helping older residents reconnect with their community whilst feeling the wind in their hair.

Speaking of volunteers, the wonderful GEM Appeal charity has raised a staggering amount of money for a machine to help children with rare genetic disorders and a local personal trainer has raised thousands for Sarcoma UK by running marathons and set a new Guinness World Record.

As always, thank you to our advertisers and contributors – and we hope you enjoy this issue.

CLAIRE FLETT
Editor

122 Yorkshire Street
Rochdale
OL16 1LA

01706 523583