Manchester Food & Drink Offers during the World Cup

I am fairly certain there is a football tournament currently in progress, having painstakingly gathered the following evidence:

- my husband is wearing an England shirt.

- the house across the road from ours suddenly and mysteriously disappeared from view while I was at work yesterday, apparently replaced entirely by a selection of flags and bunting. All of which are now flapping in a most irritating manner.

- I have just attempted to get something to eat from the fridge, but was stymied by the ARMY of bottles of lager patiently stacked along the entirety of each shelf; I believe there may be some cheese hidden behind one of the rows, but lack the confidence to confirm this hunch.

All of this points to just one thing: a couple of weeks of frenzied patriotism and sun-burned young men leaning out of moving cars and hollering "Engerland" at innocent girls simply trying to go about their daily business; in short, it's World Cup time. Yet there is hope on the horizon for those wishing to continue with reality, as restaurants and bars attempt to outdo each other with tempting offers over the next few weeks.

I have already sampled and given my approval to one of these: every day that England are playing, The Fat Loaf in Didsbury is offering fish, chips, mushy peas and homemade tartare sauce along with a pint of Amstel for a miserly £8.95. We called in there today on our way back from the Didsbury Festival, and as it's frankly very tiring work getting caught up in the drama of which canine will win the coveted title of Dog With the Waggiest Tail, we were glad to stop off for sustenance. We sat outside in the sunshine, watching the long line of cars crawling into the village, and everything was really very pleasant; the batter on the fish was light and crisp, the chips were properly fat with crunchy edges, and the service was cheery. My husband refused to give me his mushy peas, but to be honest that's his fault rather than The Fat Loaf's.

Other offers worth investigating include those at Felicini and Grinch, with a 20% discount on food throughout June, even at weekends. You need a voucher for this one, easily procured by signing up at www.felicini.co.uk. If, like me, you are prone to going out for the evening and then realising that the required voucher is in a different handbag, you can still take advantage of their Happy Hour, offering any cocktail for £3.95 between 5 and 7pm for the rest of the month. I hope to file a special report next week, establishing just how many cocktails it is possible to drink in a two-hour period; stay tuned.

- The Fat Loaf:
844-846 Wilmslow Rd, Didsbury M20 2RN
- Felicini:
747-751 Wilmslow Rd, Didsbury M20 6RN
60 Oxford Street, Manchester M1 5EE