028: Good News for Stoke & Staffordshire
028: Good News for Stoke & Staffordshire
Newcastle gets Queen Elizabeth II statue, Spode Works gets a revamp, Hanley welcomes new Mexican resto and our beauty spots receive investment boost
Today, The Knot is brought to you by The Wandering Bee. Kick-ass candles handcrafted from beer bottles here in Staffordshire.
Good News 🎉
Newcastle Scoops Statue of Queen Elizabeth II. The first reigning monarch to visit Stoke in 30 years in 1955 – she tried moulding a dish at Wedgwood – Queen Elizabeth II would visit us many more times after that. A new statue commemorating the former Queen will be unveiled in Newcastle this autumn in, naturally, Queens Gardens. Created by internationally renowned Staffordshire sculptor Andy Edwards as part of the Borough’s 850th anniversary celebrations last year, the design is based on photos of the Queen taken during a visit to Newcastle in 1973 to celebrate the borough’s then 800th anniversary.
Cast in bronze, the statue will be one-and-a-quarter times life size and will stand at ground level rather than on a plinth. JCB owner Sir Anthony Bamford and Capital&Centric, the developers involved in the multimillion regeneration of Newcastle town centre, are each stumping up half the cost.
Queen Elizabeth II in Newcastle with then-Mayor Reg Lane, in 1973
New Meeting Facilities for Spode Works. Now there are new places to meet, eat, drink and celebrate that celebrate our rich heritage with the recent completion of the Spode Works conference rooms. The museum worked with property firm Dog and Bone to create new events spaces and revitalise existing ones, where it plans to host everything from museum-related seminars and podcasts to meetings and weddings.
Brides and grooms to be can consider getting married in the revamped Blue Room, which houses the Museum’s extensive collection of Blue Italian ware and can host up to 60 guests. If you’re tying the knot soon, then The Quarter at Potbank is hosting a wedding fair on 22/09. There’s also a new a new video conference and meeting room that can host 20 people, plus a bigger workshop space for community activities. Get booking!
A sponsored post by The Wandering Bee
From Dusk till Dawn. This scent fuelled the first 20 editions of The Knot. Most mornings The Knot would be written among the warming scents of this locally sourced candle, sitting pretty in a re-purposed beer bottle. Notes of leather, sweet golden honey and the gentle waft of pipe tobacco all infusing each issue of good news and things to do across Stoke and Staffordshire.
This week our readers can get 20% off The Wandering Bee candles in-store and online using the discount code: THEKNOT.
New Mexican Resto for Hanley. Now there’s even more reason to hit Piccadilly, as Mexican and Spanish-inspired restaurant/bar Fiesta has opened on Hanley’s buzziest street. Get ready to sample dishes including tacos, padron peppers, chicken pintxo skewers and pan con tomate (menu here) and pair it with a Tequila Sunrise. Inside the restaurant, it’s a riot of colour, with Day of the Dead-style murals, rows of sombreros, orange booths and bright blue tables. Fiesta made its debut last Friday and this ace new space is now open Thur-Sun (no reservation required). There’s untapped food and drink for £35 (12-5pm) on Sat & Sun. Olé!
Championing Staffs Beauty Spots. One of the advantages for many of us during covid was discovering just how much gorgeous countryside we have in our fine region. To maintain these natural beauty spots, Staffordshire County Council has earmarked £18 million to upgrade the country parks at Cannock Chase and Chasewater and the Staffordshire Way, which runs 92 miles between Mow Cop and Kinver. Long term plans include redeveloping visitor facilities at Marquis Drive to reflect the Chase’s status as a National Landscape and internationally important habitat for plants and wildlife while keeping facilities away from the Special Area of Conservation (SAC). Check out Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet member for Communities and Culture, Victoria Wilson, talking about the reasons for the investment. We can’t wait to see it all unfold.
Weekly Weather (Stoke-on-Trent):
Mon ☀️ 18°(7°) Tue ☀️ 19°(9°) Wed ⛅️ 19° (12°) Thu ⛅️ 19° (12°) Fri 🌥️ 18°(11°)
Sat ⛅️18°(9°) Sun ☁️ 18°(11°).
Sunrise 15/09 ☀️ 06:44. Sunset 15/09 🌅 19:23
