Episode 4 Christmas City

It's that magical time of year.

It's Christmas.

Up and down the UK, in towns and cities,

families are gearing up for that big special day.

They are buying presents, eating and drinking,

and generally making merry.

But, as we know, Christmas is a major undertaking

that takes planning, organisation, and a lot of hard work,

but, for some people, it can be a pretty challenging

time of the year too.

Hold it, hold it. Now.

I hate it when things like this happen,

because you want it to run smoothly.

We are 7,000 covers short of our target.

Sorry, I knew that would happen.

So we are in the heart of Britain's biggest Christmas market

in Manchester to show you just what it takes

to get that festive season on track.

Just get this lady going, yeah.

We've got a guy just on the right-hand side here, guys.

Do you just want to check he's all right?

If we didn't do our jobs, the city would come to a standstill.

We will be meeting stallholders, police officers and organisers

who all work tirelessly behind the scenes

to make this special time of year safe and joyful for us all.

-We're almost ready.

-I feel a little bit like Father Christmas.

BOTH: Welcome to Christmas City.

Christmas has arrived.

On today's show, I'll be finding out what it takes

to keep ahead of the competition in the competitive world

of Christmas catering.

Two corned beef hash cake, one smoked salmon,

one black pudding, no egg.

And will be joining the pupils of Trinity High School

as they prepare for their carol service,

where they are blessing

the Christmas crib at St Ann's Church.

We have got our wonderful Christmas crib.

Isn't that amazing?

And I'll be out with the police as they patrol the busy streets

and the Christmas shopping areas.

Christmas is a time when most people get out and enjoy themselves,

tucking into the mulled wine and sugary treats,

hitting the shops for those festive family gifts,

enjoying a meal out with friends.

But for 30 million Christians in this country,

this is also the most important religious event of the year.

St Ann's Church has been at the heart of religion in Manchester

for over 300 years.

It's at the very centre of the town, and when it first opened its doors,

Manchester was becoming the world's first industrial city.

This is St Ann's, and this was built in a field in 1712,

and the whole city really grew up around St Ann's Church.

Rector Nigel Ashworth has been at the helm for the past eight years.

The coming of Jesus Christ tells us

that the kingdom is about sacrificial love.

Now, his countdown to Christmas has begun.

Everybody, I want you to really celebrate today.

I'm looking for big smiles on your faces and joyful hearts, is that OK?

And for Nigel, one of the main events is the arrival of the crib,

or nativity scene, which sits outside of the church.

We are looking at having it just here.

Lots of people will be able to see it,

and when we gather round it and sing carols and things,

which happens a few times,

then there's going to be a bit of space.

But what we do, we fill the whole street,

and if there is any traffic...

it's just got to wait.

Being surrounded by the market

brings one particular headache for Nigel.

It's a singing Christmas tree.

This is where the singing tree goes.

And the singing tree is not a real tree.

Real trees don't sing.

It's a tree you can put money in, it sings schmaltzy songs.

I'm sorry to say, there have been several times

I've said to my congregation,

"If anyone wants to go out with an axe and chop the tree down,

"I won't mind."

Hearing those same four carols for six weeks,

you just want to knock the tree down.

One year, the tree got blown over.

And we weren't sorry.

But something which is music to his ears

is the choir from a local school

who perform at St Ann's Advent Service.

Every year at the beginning of December,

we have a carol service with

Trinity Church of England High School.

And it's just fantastic, because we get people in,

maybe people just passing by, come and join in

and they experience something they'd not experienced,

and it's lovely.

And over at Trinity High School, rehearsals are getting underway.

Heather Brown is head of music.

OK, can we have some focus now, please, everybody?

They have a close relationship with St Ann's

and the Advent service is an opportunity for the school choir

to take centre stage.

It's just three weeks now until our service at St Ann's,

so we've got a lot of work to do today.

We meet once a week in here

and there will be about 36 children arriving

to sing some of our Christmas music.

We are going to perform three pieces, rehearse three pieces today.

The first piece we're going to do is called Lift Up Your Voice, Alleluia.

Can you find that piece in your folder, please?

This is a really nice piece of music.

It's our anthem, it opens the service.

We need to fill St Ann's Church with glorious sound for this piece.

The school is very busy.

We sort of bounce along from activity to activity,

lesson to lesson.

And the opportunity to go to St Ann's,

which is such a calm, peaceful place,

right in the heart of the city,

despite all of the hubbub of what's going on outside,

it just gives us a really nice opportunity

to go and be together as a choir.

Now start to sing. After four. Breathe now.

One, two, three, four.

# Lift up your voice, alleluia

# Raise your song to the glorious sky... #

Three weeks until the performance to go,

so three more full rehearsals,

and some opportunities to work on sections in the students' lunchtime.

They come quite freely to work on their parts.

# Sing, alleluia

# Raise your song to the glorious sky... #

And the choir, along with trumpet player Charlotte,

are hoping this hard work will really pay off

by the time of the St Ann's performance in December.

What moves me about the Trinity service is that, you know,

the students have put a lot of time and effort and love, really,

into getting the music and the readings right.

And doing it outside of their usual, in-the-school kind of context,

that means something.

And parents can come and share in it,

and it's not in the school.

It's in a big, kind of, what people think of as a grand public place

and it's just exciting.

We'll be spending around £24 billion

in the shops over this festive period,

and whilst we will be concentrating on our Christmas lists,

criminals will be concentrating on our bags and wallets.

Here in Manchester,

Inspector Phil Spurgeon and PC Andrew Costello

are out and about, on the lookout for villains hoping to cash in

on the Christmas spending surge,

but also offering members of the public a few simple tips

on how to keep their possessions safe over the festive season.

Can I give you one of these?

It's a dead simple stop.

I joined them on patrol.

As a former officer myself,

it's great to see the police in action.

Lots of people will drive to Manchester.

They'll be walking round with shopping bags,

some from quite expensive stores,

and we know that our thieves will be looking out for people

taking those bags back to their cars,

leaving them in their cars and then perhaps going for something to eat.

Phil's just having a look in the parked vehicles

to see if anyone's left anything obvious on display

that could be of interest to any criminals.

So, this is exactly what you're talking about,

that there's a number of parcels that's left here.

You don't know what they are, I don't know what they are,

a criminal probably wouldn't know what they are,

but they would look very tempting.

If I was a thief, this is the one I'm going to try,

because it's clearly got something that's got some value.

Unfortunately, we can't have a discussion with the owner,

so we'll leave them one of our leaflets

with some basic crime prevention advice.

It's a big car, it's got a huge boot,

surely you could put those boxes away,

out of sight, out of mind,

but this is the sort of thing that criminals are very tempted by.

Next, eagle-eyed Inspector Spurgeon spots a driver

potentially about to leave his valuables in his car.

As he parks up, see what he does with his satnav.

Does it go in the glove box,

or is he going to be good and take it with him?

OK, so that's gone straight in the central console.

Let's have a quick chat with him when he jumps out.

-Have you got a second?

-Yeah, of course I have, yeah.

-We're doing some work today on crime prevention.

-Oh, right, OK.

And I was just waiting to see what you did with your satnav.

-Ah, right.

-Am I right, you've put it in your central console?

-Yeah.

And you've left a big round sticker...

In fact, you've left the holder on your window, haven't you?

-Telling everyone where it is.

-That's a big advert.

-Listen, do me a favour, take one of these.

-Yeah.

-Just get in the habit of taking your valuable stuff from your car.

-Yeah.

All right, you take care.

Our thieves are out, constantly scanning,

looking for little opportunities like that.

So our advice is, let's not make it easy for them.

Last year in Manchester, there were 671 house burglaries

in the city centre.

With more people living there than ever,

there are more opportunities for criminals.

We just walk through this estate, make sure that the gates are closed,

if people have got open windows,

that they're in and that people can't reach through.

It's just checking that all the measures

that have been put into place are still effective.

So when the gates are here, you want to see the gates shut,

you don't want to see them wide open,

because there's no point having them.

So, this is what you do want to see, this sort of thing.

And we think if the residents see us doing that checking,

it's just a little nudge for them to do it when we're not here.

Again, this has been jammed open.

Maybe that's a shortcut,

maybe that's someone who wants to come back later.

So we'll take that out, make sure it's closed for the residents.

I think, even now, you can begin to see which ones

have got people in and which ones haven't.

So little things like lights on, lights on timer switches,

can make a big difference to whether someone targets your house

or somebody else's.

And at this particular address, there's a glaringly obvious problem.

The owner has left a note on their door,

advertising the fact to potential burglars that they're out.

Just leave them one of our burglary leaflets,

telling them we've been.

-Is this yours?

-Yeah.

The only thing I'm going to say...

You leave a note on that says, "Be back whatever-o-clock..."

I know, it's the first time I've ever done it.

Someone who comes to your door would see it...

-Yeah, you're right.

-Someone walking past, who's up to no good...

-Yeah.

-It just singles out yours.

Well, I won't be doing it again.

All right.

If you've saved all year for presents

and they're under your tree and someone breaks in,

that has a devastating impact.

And later, I'm going to be joining up with Phil and Andrew again

to check out their surprising strategy

to keep shoppers' valuables safe.

Christmas is a time for traditions,

and one of the oldest is gathering the family together

for a festive feast.

Nearly three-quarters of us will head out to a bar or restaurant

in the run-up to the big day,

so it's a make-or-break time of the year

for many in the catering trade.

In Manchester, one chain of restaurants

has been feeding Mancunians for the last 150 years,

and this year is no exception.

The events manager of the Chop House restaurants, Lawrence Hallows,

is bracing himself for the festive rush.

Christmas is the busiest month of the year.

It's absolutely chocka.

With my job, it's...have I maximised it?

Have I got 100 bums on seats, six times a day?

Chop houses are a great British tradition

that date back hundreds of years.

Originally, they were men-only establishments,

where businessmen gathered to hatch deals over meals.

Mr Thomas's first opened in 1870 and Sam's in 1872.

The most recent addition to the chain

is the Albert Square Chop House, located in the heart of the city.

But for it to survive as long as the others,

it needs to have a bumper Christmas this year.

Your Christmas calendars on your computer,

you don't stop looking at it.

You're checking new bookings, restaurant bookings, enquiries.

That's fine, and if I send you the menu over,

are you able to get dietary requirements

and special dietary requests to me ten days before?

'You've got to imagine a company are sending a Christmas enquiry out

'and they're sending it to 5, 10, 15 restaurants in Manchester.'

So if we wait a day to respond to that enquiry,

then nine other restaurants have got in there before us.

Take care, bye now, bye.

After a challenging time on the high street,

the restaurants are hoping to end the year on a high.

In the six weeks leading up to Christmas,

the chain aims to serve four times as many people

as they would at any other time of the year.

Last year over the Christmas period, we hit 23,500 covers.

This year, over the six-week period, we're aiming for 27,000.

And the way it stands right now...

..nowhere near 27,000.

We are 7,000 covers short of our target for Christmas.

You're always trying to beat last year,

so you've got last year's figures

and you've got the year-before figures,

and you're only as good as your last Christmas.

So this year, if we don't beat last year, then...

You've not failed, but you've...

It's not very good, is it?

Lawrence needs to get a lot of bums on seats,

but he's got a secret weapon - new chef Carl Fraenkl-Rietti.

The menu's simple, but I think the ethos here is quite simple.

I'm new here, only here for two weeks,

but good wholesome British food

is more deliverable to the public, I think.

And what a time to start, because literally, in a couple of weeks,

you're going to see Albert's at its busiest ever time.

It's hitting the ground running, it definitely is.

It's not an easy task, but it's one I think we can achieve.

It is pressure, it's always pressure,

but it's a good kind of pressure.

But it seems that Carl isn't a man to run away from pressure.

He's already planning a major overhaul of the Christmas menu,

with one signature dish which strays a long way

from the traditional festive flavours.

-I think the curried mutton's going to be a really good seller.

-Yeah.

Because everyone gets bored of turkey over Christmas.

I do, anyway, you know,

so that's going to be something a little bit quirky,

a little bit different for them.

Carl's not a man to follow the herd,

but with just eight days until the launch of the Christmas menu,

let's hope he doesn't end up eating his words!

4.3 million crimes were committed last year in the UK.

For the first time in a decade, the national crime rate is rising,

and Christmas shoppers are prime targets

for city centre criminals across the country.

Inspector Phil Spurgeon and PC Andrew Costello

of the Greater Manchester Police

are on a mission to stop the pickpockets on their patch.

What are the main issues you find at Christmas,

when policing in this area?

Well, when the city's so busy,

we find that we have problems with opportunistic thieves.

They're looking to take people's phones, or purses,

or handbags, and we need to work very hard to stop that.

So officers hit the streets to tell shoppers

how to keep their valuables safe over the festive period.

Andy and Phil are going to try a little crime prevention tip now.

They're going to put one of their leaflets into someone's bag

without them knowing,

because they say if they can put one of these in someone's bag,

a thief could quite easily take something out.

We're just doing a bit of crime prevention work

-in the run-up to Christmas.

-Right...

Today is about people not having stuff nicked out of their bags.

If I could get something into your bag,

-do you think I could get something out?

-Yeah.

So, just have a quick look in bag for me.

So as I say, it's not to embarrass you,

but it's just to show you how easy it is.

Have a quick look for me.

This is just about making it really difficult for thieves.

I know already you've got some headphones in there

and a purse, I saw that, sneaking up behind you,

and I'm 6' 1" in a bright yellow jacket.

-Yeah.

-We get a couple every day,

but that's a couple of people who've had their trip to Manchester spoilt

-and I don't want it to be you.

-OK.

You have got a massive, long zip on the bag.

-I know.

-My advice for you, keep it done up, all right?

-Yeah.

-How do you feel about having that in your bag,

that you didn't know about?

Quite terrifying, at this time of year, anyway.

Now that you've found that in your bag,

that a big burly cop in a bright yellow jacket's put in

and you didn't even realise,

are you going to be a little bit more wary?

Yeah, probably a bit more tighter,

and probably won't be in and out of town like I am, so...

How do you feel, that you've just had something put in your bag by a stranger?

I get told off by my mum every single day for it,

so I'm not surprised - if she sees this,

she'll probably say the same thing.

Is there a way you can keep that bag more secure?

Yeah, it just clips over.

So it's that easy, why haven't you done it?

I know, I just never thought!

If you have a traditional crime prevention conversation with them

while they're shopping or looking for something to eat,

it probably goes in one ear and out the other.

We try and, without embarrassing them,

show them how easy it would be to get a hand in your pocket.

At this time of year amongst the Christmas shopping crowds,

it's not just light fingers you have to be wary of -

it's prying eyes,

particularly when you're accessing the cash in your bank account

with a four-digit pin code.

The guys are now looking at ATMs.

This is a big problem because people aren't shielding their PIN numbers

or aware of who's behind them when they're taking out their cash.

We're just doing some crime prevention work

in the run-up to Christmas.

One thing we're doing is around people being switched on

when they're taking money out.

Can I have a guess at your PIN number?

I'll whisper it, don't worry. I think it's something like...

-Yeah.

-Is that pretty close?

Now if I'm stood behind you in a yellow jacket,

and I'm 6' 1" and I've got a film crew,

how easy is it going to be for a thief to get your PIN number?

Then they'll try and get hold of your card

and then they'll absolutely spank your account.

Take one of our crime prevention leaflets.

-Thank you.

-Just be a little bit discreet.

-Pretty easy for you.

-Yeah, and this is daytime.

We'll find, you know, of an evening, people have had one or two drinks,

they're probably even less aware of what's going on around them.

So our advice is, let's make it really difficult,

shield that PIN number, and let's not make it easy.

What I've taken away from all this is it's all pretty simple stuff

that you're telling people to do,

to just stop making themselves an easy target, really.

You're right, none of this is rocket science.

And all those people could have

thought of those things for themselves.

What we're saying is think now about what you can do

to stop yourself becoming a victim rather than after it happens.

Christmas has come to St Ann's Church.

The markets bring people in, that's the main thing,

and, despite sometimes gloomy weather,

smiling and enjoying themselves.

But rector Nigel Ashworth's nightmare neighbour has arrived.

Oh, goodness, I've made it work!

That's awful!

Ghastly.

It belongs to a German bar.

What can you say?

And in the past, their own live music,

as well as the singing tree,

has even drowned out the church choir.

Owner Anja and Nigel have had their moments in the past.

It did go wrong one year when we had a carol service

and she had a rock band playing at the same time.

I went out with the choir at the end of that service,

the choir wearing robes, and I said, "This isn't on."

They were very suitably mortified.

So today, Nigel is off to compare diaries with Anja

to make sure there are no repeat performances

when the Trinity High School Choir arrive.

Hello, gorgeous one.

Hello, Nigel, pleasure seeing you.

Well, this just sets it all out for you.

That's basically a list.

I spoke to some of your jazz musicians as well

because they told me at what times they were playing.

And they were playing yesterday

and they will be playing next Saturday again.

Yeah, they're not jazz, they're major classical musicians.

I just thought they were the jazz people.

It's Handel's Messiah.

That is not jazz.

We will take care as good as we can that the tree is not singing

too loud during your things.

That would be lovely.

The Advent service is now only days away,

and, with Anja on board, Nigel is off to inspect the crib.

So you've got the wooden house it's in,

which is representing of the stable.

It's now in prime position outside of St Ann's

in readiness for the blessing,

which is a central part of the Advent service.

You've got all the straw and, of course, the figures themselves.

There's Mary, the Christ Child.

You've got the shepherds and kings and Joseph with his lantern.

It's kind of wonderful, isn't it?

It's innocent.

It's a pure and innocent thing.

On Friday, we've got Trinity Church of England High School,

carols in the church.

The school will come and they're going to bring instrumentalists

and we'll have lots of carols and all the rest.

And then we're going to gather all around here

and then we're going to have the dedication of this crib,

and we do this every year.

And everyone loves it.

With expectations running high for their performance,

Trinity High School Choir is back in the rehearsal room.

It's their last chance to get themselves pitch perfect

for their big day.

Keep the volume going right the way through the word, OK?

Head of music Heather Brown is hoping they'll hit

all the right notes.

It's the final week of our rehearsals this week

in preparation for the service,

so there's lots of anticipation for the rehearsal,

but hopefully the students will all be ready

and remember what we have taught them over the last few weeks.

# Mary, did you know

# That your baby boy...? #

There's definitely more energy as we get towards the performance.

The students will be wanting to see how I respond to them as well

and see if I'm going to put a little bit more pressure on them,

which, inevitably, I do put more pressure on them

as we get closer to the performance.

It's just making sure everybody is prepared.

# With me. #

The Christmas markets can attract around 100,000 visitors

and sightseers per day, and while the hotels are booked to capacity

and the streets are heaving with shoppers,

it also means lots of people trying to find their way around,

and getting ready to greet them today

are a crack team of six Mancunian masterminds.

The markets are in full swing when they're fully open.

Please make sure we have plenty of these with us.

They're going out very fast.

Funded by Manchester businesses,

the city centre hosts aid, advise and assist the visitors.

Lots of people are asking where the ice rinks are,

but today, the big one is Santa's grotto.

Have they got one at House Of Fraser?

We've not been told they have, but, again,

we can probably try and check that out.

That's it for this morning.

Let's get ourselves out there and just concentrate on helping people.

Wigan lad Jason Cummings has been sharing his knowledge of the city

professionally for the last two years.

Just turn right here.

Walk down to where the Corn Exchange is

and all the restaurants.

You'll see all the markets there. Just up there.

I have got a massive hat collection at home,

so I kind of like wearing hats.

Wrap up warm, drink loads of coffee and smile,

that's how I do it.

Every day is different.

Straight down to the bottom, turn left onto Deansgate.

Over the years, he's seen it all.

I had one guy and he came walking down to me

while I was up near the Arndale,

and he asked me if I could direct him to Milton Keynes.

I says, "Milton Keynes? I think you've got off in the wrong city.

"It's miles away, like. And I like to walk,

"but you have no chance of walking to Milton Keynes from here."

You'll see it on the right-hand side.

-Thank you very much.

-You're welcome, mate.

You'll get people asking for places like Ann Summers.

Then they'll go into more detail about what they're looking for.

I think sometimes they do it to try to embarrass you.

Them markets will lead you right up to the town hall

where the big Santa is and all that.

You just smile and tell them where the shop is, like.

Civic pride comes with the territory when you're a city centre host.

And if there's a bin bag out of place,

Jason is not happy about it.

We're keeping an eye on how much rubbish is there,

when it's getting removed and stuff like that.

I'll take a few pictures of it now, send it to the other guys,

and then we'll just keep an eye on it,

so if it's still like this later on today,

then it will need reporting

because, really, it should be cleaned up

at some point in the afternoon.

And to fight the cold on his city walks,

Jason has his very own winter warmer.

I just sing a few songs in my head. A bit of Motorhead, a bit of Oasis.

A bit of Guns N Roses, I just sing them in me head.

I don't sing out loud because I don't want people hearing me.

They'll lead you up to the main Albert Square

where the big Santa is and all that.

It does get you through some of the bad days, like.

That's just my way of dealing with it.

Jason makes one last check on the litter he spotted earlier...

It has been cleared up.

..before heading home to put his feet up.

That's end of my day now.

It's been a nice, busy day.

Lots of nice people buzzing about even though there's a spot of rain.

Time for me to go.

A drop of Jack Daniel's, a quick beer, and I'm off.

See you laters.

In towns and cities across the UK,

excitement is building ahead of the big Christmas lights switch-on.

It's a time when local authorities have traditionally spent big,

forking out thousands on reality TV stars

and chart-topping groups in a bid to draw the crowds.

But here in the Greater Manchester borough of Tameside,

as in many other parts of the country,

shrinking budgets are forcing the council

to adopt a more creative approach to kicking off the festive season.

And when it comes to throwing a party, Ben Irwin...

Thank you very much.

..is the council's man.

This is the final workshop of 36 public workshops

and group workshops that we've had,

and it is all for We Shine Bright Together.

It's a lantern parade, which are very popular, currently.

It's about bringing the community together.

Today, Ben has enlisted the help of this local Scout troop.

Then just put a piece of tape around it so we've got a handle.

The children are making paper lanterns,

which they, alongside hundreds of others, will carry in the parade.

We'll get you three big pieces.

Has everyone got...? Can you help William with that?

On a gloomy winter evening,

the lanterns are already brightening spirits.

I think the lantern parade kind of feels like the start of Christmas

because it's a festive celebration.

It's the eve of the parade

and Ben is giving some of his fellow council employees a final briefing.

I know that everyone is incredibly busy,

so I really appreciate you giving up the time this afternoon.

This section of Katherine Street will be open.

A big crowd is expected,

and it's not just the Manchester weather

that could dampen their enthusiasm.

What we are very aware of is what tends to happen

is we'll get immediate bottleneck at this point.

We need to ensure that we're filtering it in,

section by section.

With budgets so tight, the success of the parade hinges

on the goodwill of these council volunteers.

We haven't got the money that the council once had,

but that doesn't mean that Christmas doesn't go ahead.

It still has to go ahead, we still want to have fun,

we still want to celebrate.

Thank very much for your time and be careful out there.

LAUGHTER

It's nice to see that we've got all this community feel,

all this spirit going on and everybody coming together, really.

The night of the lantern parade has finally arrived...

Go!

..and all Ben's hard work looks like it is paying off.

It's going good. We've got a few things haven't worked quite

how we 'd hoped they would,

but we're looking at resolving that immediately.

Despite the odd teething problem,

everyone seems to be getting into the festive spirit.

I think there were a lot more people than we thought there would be

and a lot of good lanterns.

It really does feel like the start of Christmas,

because everyone's getting together and having a good time.

The weather has been kind,

and even though they are short of cash,

the council have still managed to entice one festive celebrity along.

The biggest of them all - Father Christmas.

-ALL:

-Five, four, three,

two, one, go!

I think it's gone well, yeah, it's gone very well.

Everyone I've spoken to seems to have enjoyed themselves,

and everyone in the parade seemed to love it.

The people watching the parade seem to have had a really good time.

Today, the Albert Square restaurant in the city centre

is launching its Christmas menu.

For events manager Lawrence,

this is the beginning of the most crucial time of the year.

The pressure is on him to improve on last year's figures

and get even more bums on seats.

Tonight, really, is the start of Christmas.

We are launching our Christmas menu.

It's the big day.

Not only is this the first outing

for the new menu in the bar and restaurant,

there's also a big Christmas booking in the function room upstairs.

We've got a table of 11 in.

-Perfect.

-They're coming in first, we put out 13.

Got a nine and six and a four booked.

In fact, we've got a nine, 11 and a 13 in the space of half an hour,

so that half an hour tonight, it will be busy.

The stress will come from the kitchen, really,

so when they are serving a 15 downstairs in the restaurant

and the main courses going at the same time

as the main courses are going upstairs,

that's where the stresses will come.

I'll breathe a sigh of relief of tonight when the night's over.

So things are really hotting up in the kitchen

for chef Carl Fraenkl-Rietti,

who has only worked here for a matter of weeks.

I've not been here very long. They've had to build a new team.

It's been difficult. But we're starting to get our team now,

we're starting to gel together, working together,

helping each other out.

That's what's going to happen now.

It's imperative that it goes well.

We can't fail, we have to get it done.

The customers are coming in now and we have to deliver.

But there is extra pressure on Carl tonight.

He's come up with a new Christmas menu with a few seasonal surprises,

including the not obviously festive mutton curry

and a tasty-looking cold meat selection on wooden boards.

Just waiting now for the go, the kick-off.

There is no turkey on tonight, unfortunately.

We're pushing our famous curry. That's what we're pitching.

One of the most popular dishes in England is curry,

so that's what we're doing, something different.

The first night of the big Christmas parties.

So far, 43 diners have booked a table for dinner,

but that number could potentially double from passing trade.

It could be a busy night.

Two corned beef hash cake, one smoked salmon,

one black pudding, no egg.

We could do 150 tonight.

We could do 60. We don't know.

We just have to make sure we have enough food

for doing twice as many bookings

or three times as many bookings as we have.

And with so much on Carl's plate,

the service for the Christmas party in the function room

has hit a roadblock.

The specially plated cold meat starters aren't ready yet.

Another board, Chef, please.

Can we have the boards?

The boards now, yeah.

But some quick work in the kitchen...

Pass me my wooden board, please.

Have you got any pickled shallot?

..and the crisis is over.

Give me a shout when you're clearing them

and we'll start plating mains, OK?

Let's go.

And in the nick of time,

the first course of Carl's new-look menu

is laid out for the Christmas party.

Downstairs, passing trade from the nearby market

has got the main restaurant packed to the gills.

One stuffed mushroom, two stovies,

two fish and chips, one Barnsley, one ribeye rare.

All those customers are keeping Lawrence happy,

but Carl is under the cosh in the kitchen.

One Barnsley, two S and Ks, one fish, one sausages.

They're running late upstairs and they started later,

so we've just come down to tell the kitchen to hold off

plating the dishes.

One greens, one mash, one cauliflower cheese.

One broccoli.

So Manchester's punters are flocking to the restaurant,

but how is the curried mutton,

Carl's controversial new Christmas special, going down?

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine curry.

First Christmas party, nine curries and there's only 14 people eating.

Just shows you what your demographic wants to eat.

The Christmas menu seems to be going down a treat.

-How was everything?

-Lovely, very good.

Thanks very much.

-How was everything?

-Yeah, delicious.

Lovely. How was everything?

-Really good, thank you.

-Thank you.

I think it's been accepted very well by the customers.

It's not too far away from what they're used to, so, you know,

we're not turning off any of our regular guests.

So we've hit both ends of the market there, I think.

I think I was a bit apprehensive.

It is a new menu, we've got new people in the kitchen,

new people on the floor,

so you never really know until those first few days.

But we're on a Wednesday evening and the restaurant's 80% full,

so if you're doing that on a Wednesday,

then Thursday, Friday, Saturday, it will be chocka.

So I think, on the basis of this, it'll be a good Christmas.

It's the biggest day in the Christmas calendar

for Trinity High School Choir and head of music Heather Brown.

They're performing at the Advent service at St Ann's Church

and, after weeks of rehearsals, it's their moment to shine.

Ready for the day? Very exciting.

There is a little bit of a buzz in the air this morning,

so hopefully when they've had their rehearsal and had a bit of free time

to have a rest before the service, then they'll be ready to do it.

Rector Nigel Ashworth will be leading the service.

My role today is to form a rapport with everyone in the church

so that we can make sure that there's a great event

inside and outside at the crib.

If the singing tree fires off, we simply rise above it.

When we have worked out where we're going to stand,

I will give you your folders.

We'll do all four choir pieces.

Probably, we'll start actually in the choir stalls with the organist.

Mr Cantrell will arrive very soon...

Somebody who's trying to rise above her nerves

is 14-year-old Charlotte,

who's due to perform her first trumpet solo at St Ann's.

I'm feeling excited, nervous, a mix of stuff.

But kind of more anxious to get it done with.

Fingers crossed it goes well!

Hopefully everybody will sing as well as they have done in rehearsal

and hopefully everything will go according to plan.

Performing at school is one thing,

but singing in front of the public

in the formal setting of a church is another.

When we get to that point at 36,

we're going to pull it back a little bit and we're going to bring it down

and then when we get into bar 39, we're going to go back up again.

There's just time for one last rehearsal before the doors open.

# Lift up your voice, alleluia

# Raise your song to the glorious sky

# Lift up your voice, alleluia

# Praise to the heav'ns on high... #

They did really well, so hopefully we didn't tire them out

and they're ready now.

Ready to get on with the service.

Family and friends flock into the church

to enjoy the Christmas celebration,

while Charlotte waits anxiously for her moment in the spotlight.

How fantastic to welcome everybody

from Trinity Church of England High School here into St Ann's

for this Advent Carol Service.

Months in the planning and weeks of rehearsals

have brought the choir to this moment.

It's time to take centre stage.

# Lift up your voice, alleluia

# Raise your song to the glorious sky

# Lift up your voice, alleluia

# Praise to the heav'ns on high

# Sing, alleluia

# Raise your song to the glorious sky

# Sing, alleluia

# Praise to the heav'ns on high... #

I'm really pleased. It went so well. The children sang really well.

I'm just really proud of them.

It was lovely to have so many of their friends and family here

to be with them and to start our Christmas celebration together.

It actually went really well.

I did one of the little bits a tiny bit wrong.

But the end note, I hit it, so we're good.

I'm feeling really happy.

Honestly, I just want to do it again,

because it was just really fun.

So, we're going outside...in an orderly way, I'm sure,

but as long as we get there, we're going outside.

The carol concert has been a success,

but it's now time for Nigel to bless the crib.

Hello, everybody.

Here we are again, it's fantastic.

And we have got our wonderful Christmas crib,

belonging to Manchester City Council.

Isn't that amazing? I'm so glad that in all the local authority cuts,

the crib has not been cut.

Let's give the crib a big cheer, yes.

CHEERING

And any worries of unwelcome musical interruptions have been averted.

The singing tree seems to have been switched off, which was,

I think, an act of international diplomacy.

# O little town of Bethlehem

# How still we see thee lie

# Above thy deep and dreamless sleep

# The silent stars go by... #

It's a great tradition to see the crib outside the church.

And seeing the children singing as well really made it.

Really good fun.

I think it's really good for the church

to have a visible sign out in public.

# Are met in thee tonight

# Our Lord Emmanuel. #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Well, what a great show. What was it like being out with the police?

It was great to be back out with them,

and to know that they're the eyes and ears

keeping us safe in a busy place like this was brilliant.

You did a good job. Well, tomorrow, I'll be meeting with a lady

who's facing a tough first Christmas alone

since the loss of her husband of more than 40 years.

And we'll be following the fortunes of a first-time stall owner

here at Manchester Market,

who has gambled his life savings on a new business selling blankets.

We could do with them now.

-Freezing.

-It's freezing.

-BOTH:

-See you then.