A woman is raffling off her house and car after being diagnosed with an incurable heart disease and is currently recovering from a bout of coronavirus (COVID-19).
Mum-of-two Jennifer Matthews and her husband David decided to raffle off their five-bed detached house – named Bramble Lodge, near Adlington in Lancashire – after the 48-year-old, who runs an electrical engineering company, was diagnosed with ventricular tachycardia in 2016 and, after collapsing twice in 2018 and 2019, has not been able to work as much.
Jennifer’s condition devastatingly cannot be treated, which means she has a fast and abnormal heart rate.
And although Jennifer said she feels “lucky to be alive” – having had heart surgery in mid-2019 in an unsuccessful attempt to try to boost her electrolytes to a normal level – the couple have been forced to make the difficult decision to sell their home and downscale.
The Matthews’ are selling their £600,000 home after building their house from the ground up eight years ago.
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The stunning luxury home has five double bedrooms, a massive garden, a £7,000 Aga cooker, and on top of that, also comes with a 2004 Ferrari 360 Spider – which is “thrilling” to drive, according to the couple.
And you could be in with a chance of winning it for just £2.
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Jennifer said she was saddened to sell her “dream house”, but felt this was an opportunity for another family to get the deal of a lifetime for just £2.
She told LancsLive: “I’ve got a fatal heart condition which can’t be treated [and] it’s nearly taken my life a few times. We’re going through the process of selling the house because of it. I come from nothing and I thought I’d love someone to have a house like this and have a Ferrari.
“Ryan Giggs used to live across the street, it’s a lovely area [and] someone could get a dream house for just £2.”
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She continued: “I think it’s a dream house because everyone has always told us that if they’d won the lottery, they’d buy my house, and it’s marvellous and thrilling driving a Ferrari – it’s not every day you get to ride in one.”
The Matthews’ had previously tried to sell the home the “conventional way”, but the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic initially made it a struggle, and then when the first national lockdown ended, they were bombarded with viewings and Jennifer said she struggled to deal with them as she was exhausted and worried about her health.
Jennifer continued: “We bought the land in 2012 and moved in August 2012, built it all in seven months,
“We worked so hard [and] poured our heart and soul into the house.
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“When the restrictions ended we were inundated with viewings and a few offers, but it made matters worse because I couldn’t manage all the viewings, running my business, with my children, my dogs, five six viewings a day – I was shattered.
“I saw this other house come up for a raffle and wondered if it was real.”
After finding out that it very much was real – and having seen the modern method of raffling becoming increasingly popular to sell property during difficult times – the Matthews’ jumped at the opportunity to list their home on the site and see what happens.
“I come from nothing and I thought I’d love someone to have a house like this and have a Ferrari.” said Jennifer.
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Tickets to enter the raffle cost just £2, with the closing date being Sunday 14th February 2021 at 11:45pm (or when the last ticket is sold, whichever sooner).
Manchester firefighter surprises partner with proposal during new recruits parade
Danny Jones
We’re a sucker for a wholesome little video as we know you are, which is exactly why we thought of you lot when we came across this video of a newly graduated Manchester firefighter surprising his partner with a heartwarming proposal.
Just the kind of heartwarming that usually sets us off after a long week at work.
The clip shared by Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) on Thursday, 25 April, shows Manc fireman James popping the question to his girlfriend sat unassumingly in the audience at a recent passing out ceremony.
Pass out ceremonies are when trainees go from recruits to fully qualified firefighters after completing their intensive operational training. It’s a long-standing tradition in the emergency services where friends and family gather to celebrate their achievements – it’s almost like it’s the perfect opportunity…
Watch as a Manc firefighter turns his passing out ceremony into a surprise proposal.
As you can see, since the graduates are usually the centre of attention, James couldn’t help but size his moment and instead of walking and lining up normally like everyone else, he decided to head straight over to his wife-to-be and get down on one knee.
You already know the rest.
Welling up immediately and barely able to remove her hands from her face, Melissa nods and says yes as the crowd cheers and the pair share a smooch.
Writing on social media, the GMFRS said: “We managed to capture a VERY special moment at our new recruits pass out parade today… Congratulations to James and Melissa!”, adding, “Certainly one way to start your new career”.
If we don’t see all the groomsmen dressed as firefighters on a random viral video sometime soon we’re going to be gutted.
All the best to the happy couple and if you’ve got any more lovely clips like this to send in so we can make ourselves cry (in a good way), you know what to do.
Featured Images — Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service
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The Chestergate pub in Stockport is at it again with some of the most wonderfully Manc scenes you’ll ever see
Danny Jones
The legendary Chestergate pub in Stockport is back with another belter of a video, following on from their viral belly-flashing clip of 2022.
The Mersey Square boozer has painted yet another quintessentially Northern depiction of UK pub culture with the latest Manc scenes they’ve captured around the karaoke machine.
If you’ve never had the pleasure of stumbling into The Chestergate in Stockport town centre, the long-standing boozer currently operated by publican chain Blind Tiger Inns, you’re seriously missing out.
While it might not be the flashiest of pubs, when it comes to entertainment, it always delivers.
Whether it’s stunts like renaming themselves ‘The Southgate’ whenever the Euros or World Cup rolls around, or the locals just genuinely having a whale of a time no matter what day of the week it is, it really sums up the best of pub culture.
The Chestergate went viral for some of the most British footage ever caught on film back in 2022 and the videos saw a huge wave of love and support flooding in for the pub, as well as a healthy amount of chuckles. Safe to say we were chuffed to see them pop back up on our feed again recently.
Karaoke night at The Chestergate literally never disappoints.
Forget ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ or ‘Champagne Supernova’ for karaoke songs – we’ll take a cacophony of inaudible throwback pop music, whilst another bloke and his hype man try and MC over a totally ill-fitting beat any day of the week.
And that’s handy because you’ll find those kinds of shenanigans happening at this place all the time.
It’s simultaneously one of the most no-nonsense and somehow a non-stop shenanigan-filled paradise. They also look after their own and consider their regulars part of the family. Case and point: they threw their very own ‘Dancing Queen’ Molly a big bash for her 86th birthday and it’s such wholesome viewing.
At this point, it’s worth flagging that we have nothing but envy for these folks and anyone who’s just out there having the time of their lives on any random weeknight.
Yes, it produced plenty of laughs for those watching online in recent times but this lot won’t mind one bit – not only is the pub seeing more and more new faces through the door but that’s the whole point of a pub, isn’t it? Going for a pint with your nearest and dearest and having a laugh.
Not only is it very Manchester but it’s Britain at its very best.
We hope to see you at The Chestergate pub in Stockport for a pint or two sometime soon and we’re making a bit of a prat of ourselves, don’t worry, we’re sure they’ll have the cameras ready for you.