- Comical set of photos taken on Wind Street during Black Friday night out
- Last Friday before Christmas is always a popular time in UK pubs and clubs
Comical pictures of a Christmas night out in Swansea have gone viral today, following in the footsteps of a similar snap of Manchester nightlife back in 2015.
The photos show a number of people interacting with police officers on a busy Wind Street in the Welsh city on the last Friday night out before Christmas.
In one snap, a man is being held on the floor by police officers and placed under arrest outside Bambu Beach Bar. The officers are surrounded by a group of young people, three of whom can be seen animatedly speaking to the policemen, whilst two girls standing next to them pose for the camera.
The composition bears a startling resemblance to The Raft of Medusa, a 19th century painting by Théodore Géricault depicting the survivors of a shipwreck adrift and starving on a raft.
A second photo shows a similar scene from the other side of the road. In this shot, one of the men is now on the ground and taking a selfie in front of the officers, while another holds a policemen’s hat and a third poses for the camera in front of a large group of spectators.
The third photo displays a man and woman arguing with a police officer on the hectic street, whilst another woman lovingly hugs the pair of them.
The last Friday before Christmas Eve, also known as Black Friday, sees a number of partygoers and nightlife lovers take to the UK’s streets to drink and celebrate with their friends, meaning it is usually also a busy night for police forces up and down the country.
There were also images of the man being dragged away by police in handcuffs and of a woman vomiting in the street in Swansea.
Meanwhile in Newcastle there were fractious scenes on Black Eye Friday, with some men seen fighting each other at the end of the night and at least one person being led away by police in handcuffs.
Others were seen having a good time in the north east, with one reveller lying on the floor after drink appeared to get the better of him.
In Leeds other partygoers were seen in good spirits as they undertook the Otley run – a famous bar crawl that leads revellers into the city centre.
This chaotic set of images from Swansea have gone viral since they were posted online today, with one person commenting: ‘And they said The Last Supper was good, clearly haven’t seen this.’
The pictures are on par with the famous image of Well Street in Manchester on New Years Eve in 2015, which was jokingly compared to a modern day Michelangelo piece.
The image, dubbed the ‘Creation of Manchester’, showed Mike Deveney reaching dramatically across the concrete for a bottle of beer – set against a backdrop of girls eating takeaways outside a Greggs – whilst officers arrest a man on the floor next to him.
The photo entertained thousands, but the 47-year-old father doesn’t even remember it being taken.
His friend Hannah Kirby, who stands in the foreground wearing a red dress, said that far from ‘chilling in the road, having a beer’ Mr Deveney had just been knocked to the ground – but cleverly still managed to save his drink with his outstretched arm.
When asked about the picture being seen by millions of people across the world, he said: ‘I’m not really bothered about the photo, I just felt a bit daft. I heard about it about two days later.’
He added: ‘I remember nothing at all (about being on the floor). I remember getting up about 20 minutes later and going home with Hannah.
‘We had been at the Gluepot, the pub up in Newton Heath, and then we went to Mambo’s next to the Printworks.’
He says he kept a low profile on New Year’s Day and didn’t hear about the photograph until it had gone viral on Saturday.
Roland Hughes tweeted the picture with the caption: ‘So much going on this pic of New Year in Manchester by the Evening News. Like a beautiful painting.’
A group of youngsters gathers in the background on the chaotic Well Street, in front of a Superdry and Greggs, watching the turmoil while clutching takeaway boxes.
Meanwhile, an older man dressed all in blue, who has now been identified as Mr Deveney, is splayed in the middle of the road, reaching for a beer bottle with his outstretched hand while his T-shirt rides up over his exposed belly.
After the photograph’s composition was compared to a Renaissance painting, social media users soon turned it into a series of hilarious memes, with one internet wag inspired to photoshop the blue-shirted man into Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam.
Ms Kirby, who is also in the picture, earlier revealed that Mike had been knocked over during a scuffle involving police and another reveller.
Ms Kirby told the Manchester Evening News: ‘[On New Year’s Day] my dad rang and said I was in one of the photos. I went to look on the website and I couldn’t believe it. Hilarious!’
The morning after Black Eye Friday shops across Britain were rammed with people trying to get last minute Christmas presents for loved ones and stock up on supplies.
Desperate shoppers stripped shelves bare to make sure they are stocked up for the big day, leading to chaotic scenes in supermarkets with aisles rammed and trolleys running out on what is being dubbed ‘Super Saturday’.
As others dared to return to Britain’s supermarkets for forgotten supplies, thousands of Londoners descended on Oxford Street, Westfield shopping centre and Smithfield Market, where joints of meat were being sold at an annual auction.
Incredible pictures from the Christmas Meat Auction, the first time its been on since 2019, showed frantic shoppers leaning over each other and waving wads of cash at butchers walking through the crowds while parading huge cuts of meat.
Some parents even gave their children the cash and held them aloft on their shoulders in a bid to get the butchers’ attention.
It came as supermarket staff and shoppers have reported chaotic scenes at stores across the country.
At a Tesco in Newport, Gwent, one supermarket worker said: ‘People were that desperate they were literally offering others money.
‘Another customer also told me that he had an argument with another customer as they both wanted the same trolley. Queues were filling up the aisles as customers were waiting to pay for their shopping.’
The trolley scenes in Newport were echoed across the country as shoppers crammed in the late shopping trips.
The Tesco employee, who did not give their name, added: ‘People were turning up to the store at 5am to get their shopping done, it was pretty busy. It got to around 8am and the self scan guns were empty, customers were complaining as they wanted to use them.
‘Then around 10 am, customers were following other customers to their cars as there were no trolleys left. They were queuing by the entrance begging others to give them their trolleys.
‘A women I was serving on the checkouts was telling me how a man had promised to give her his trolley. Then another man came over and said to the man with the trolley: ‘I will literally give you a fiver for the trolley’.
‘People were that desperate they were literally offering others money.
‘Another customer also told me that he had an argument with another customer as they both wanted the same trolley. Queues were filling up the aisles as customers were waiting to pay for their shopping.’
The employee added: ‘I really feel that this weekend is going to be worse than ever after seeing what it was like today. Even getting out of the car park was a struggles as it was absolutely packed.’
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
