Help find Adam Pickup

Adam Pickup has been missing since Saturday

Adam Pickup, an Aquinas student, is currently missing after being separated from a group of friends at around 3:20AM this Saturday 28th. He was last seen by the group leaving Fab Cafe on Manchester's Portland Street in the early hours of Saturday morning. He was then seen on CCTV at 3.30AM, walking along Oxford Street towards Whitworth Street, speaking with a man and a woman.
Police are looking for this couple as they are they last known people to have seen Adam on Saturday.
Adams family and friends have taken to Twitter since he disappeared, sharing pictures of him in the hope that someone who sees it may have seen which direction Adam was walking when he was last seen. Between 80 and 100 students, family and friends of Adam's gathered outside the old BBC building on Oxford Road today to start a search at midday today.
We're overwhelmingly thankful to those who have helped try to find Adam, whether by sharing his photograph on Twitter or asking members of the public in Manchester today.
Our chaplain, Duncan, has asked that we all pray for Adam's safe return, tweeting at @AQChaplain.
We are thankful to those who have helped so far, and those who continue to help spread to word. Our thoughts are with Adam's friends and family, and we pray that those looking for him are able to find him safe, wherever he is.

We will be updating this as any more information becomes available to us, and will be tweeting updates from @AQStudents with the hashtag #FindAdamPickup

UPDATE #1 (29/12/13 16:59): Police have just released CCTV footage of Adam Pickup on Oxford Street:

 
UPDATE #2 (29/12/13 17:55): Reports coming in that police have arrested two men in connection with the disappearance of Adam Pickup, a GMP spokeswoman has said; 

"Police have arrested two men as part of their inquiries to locate the missing man Adam Pickup. They are currently in police custody for questioning. Inquiries are ongoing to find Adam and police continue to appeal to anyone who may have seen him or knows of his whereabouts."

More to come as soon as we know. 

UPDATE #3 (29/12/13 18:59): Chief Superintendent Chris Sykes has said;

"As part of our enquiries to locate Adam Pickup we have made two arrests. At this stage, it is not clear what involvement, if any, they may or may not have had in relation to Adam so we would ask the public not to speculate.
Having said that, these two men will be interviewed so we can find out if they know anything about Adam's movements on Friday night into Saturday"

Police are still urging anyone with information about Adams whereabouts to contact them, and are stressing that they are still pursuing a missing persons investigation.

Leavers' Ball update update!

This week, Rachel, Ciara, Sally and I have been scouting round possible venues for your Leavers' Ball next May, and, while I can't reveal anything until the vote on Tuesday, I can let you know where we've been looking:

The Midland

The front facade of the Midland Hotel

This is where we had the Leavers' Ball last year; an amazing Grade II* building, The Midland is a 4-Star hotel, and can accommodate around 450 guests in its spacious Alexandra Suite. As we enter from Peter Street, we will receive a full red carpet experience in the enormous entrance hall, and will be taken to our exclusive bar, where we will have the opportunity to take photos, socialise, and enjoy a free welcome drink. We will then be shown into the Alexandra Suite itself, where we will have exclusive access to the room, as well as the large dancefloor and another fully-stocked bar just off to the side.
There will then be a sweep dinner service, lasting around 1 1/2 hours, after which, the bar will reopen, and we will have exclusive access to both until 1 o'clock.
We visited The Midland on Friday this week, taking pictures as we went, some of these will be posted on here, and some will be available later on, and all should be posted on the Facebook page later this week.

The Palace

The Grand Room can accommodate 500 guests easily

Described as "one of the most prestigious and expensive buildings in Manchester," the Palace Hotel is another Grade II* building, and can accommodate up to 500 guests in its Grand Room. As we enter the building from Oxford Road, we will be treated to a full 'Red Carpet Experience' complete with paparazzo, and will be taken down into the huge Grand Room, which we will have exclusive access to, along with its fully stocked bar (make sure you bring ID!) We will then be given time to take in the room, find our seats, and take photos, before the three-course dinner service, which usually lasts 1 1/2 hours.

After dinner, we'll be able to enjoy the large dancefloor and resident DJ until 12, when we will be served a 'Midnight Snack' consisting of a bacon roll, pizza, or anything else we choose, and will then have the room until 2, when we can then go out into Central Manchester, or head back up to the Tempus Bar,which stays open for another 2 hours, and we may be sharing it with other guests.

We visited the Palace on Thursday this week, taking lots of notes and pictures as we went, some of these will be posted on here, and some will be available later on.

The Hilton

We have not yet been able to view the Hilton, and so we cannot give any details about the room, service, or extras. We will hopefully be able to get a chance to look around before the end of the month, and as soon as we do the details will be posted up on here.

Edit - We are visiting the Hilton Hotel tonight (Monday 23rd) and will post our impressions here sometime tomorrow

Keep checking here for more updates as they become available, and be sure to vote for your favourite venue on the right!

Red Or Black starts in a week!

The Events

Red Or Black is based on the TV show of the same name; in the Aquinas version, you will bet on either Red or Black each week, both of which will correspond to one side of a contest occurring each Thursday, in the first week, a simple coin toss, to get you used to how the event will work. In the second week, you may be approached on the corridor to pick either a red or black counter out of a bag, but choose wisely, as whichever is picked the most will be that weeks winner!

In the third week, our event is much more exiting, we have a live relay between two departments in the college, which will be happening in the Sports Hall on Thursday. Each department will be representing either Red or Black, and if you're lucky enough to be still in by this stage, you will be able to bet on who you think will win, and if you're not in after the first two rounds, you can still come down to cheer on your favourite department!

Details about the fourth event are still being finalised, but you can be sure it will beat it's three predecessors in every way, details will be posted here and the Twitter feed as soon as they are available, so keep your eyes peeled!

The Live Event

Red Or Black Live will be hosted by Andy Bailey in the Lecture Theatre on the 15th October, tickets will be available on the door and at the ASC Point for £2.50. In this special live event, the few finalists will be whittled down to the last one, and this lucky player will win the entire jackpot of £300, awarded live on the night! The night will also feature audience voting, so even if you didn't get through to the final, you can still get involved with the outcome of the event!

More details will be posted here as and when they become available, so make sure you subscribe using the link on the right!