A 10-year-old schoolboy from Denton has hit his target of raising over £2,000 for a local foodbank after completing a fitness endurance challenge.
After being inspired to take on the challenge thanks to seeing social media star and TV fitness guru, Joe Wicks, complete a 24-hour PE marathon last November, Theo Dunphy hatched a plan to “raise vital money” for the St Mary’s Haughton Green Foodbank in Denton.
“This is something we try to support regularly as a family.”
So, in order to raise “as much money as possible”, the 10-year-old Denton West End Primary School pupil decided to do 12 Joe Wicks’ HIIT fitness sessions back-to-back in a day, which would total almost four hours of exercise.
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And on Saturday, he achieved just that.
Ahead of undertaking the fitness challenge, Theo said he trained for 10 weeks to prepare for the big day and admits there were a few nerves as the preparation was “quite hard”, but halfway through his challenge, he was given a boost by a video message from his hero after his dad reached out on Twitter.
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Theo you are a legend mate. What a kind and inspiring young man you are. Let’s all get behind him today on his challenge to do 12 body coach HIIT sessions in a day ❤️😀 pic.twitter.com/QNfug8B5ju
As well as completing the 12 fitness sessions, and receiving the motivational message from Joe Wicks himself, Theo has also smashed his fundraising target by almost 10 times the £250 he was first looking to raise.
His JustGiving fundraiser now clocks in at over £2,440 and counting.
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That’s not all either, as if a shoutout by Joe Wicks wasn’t brilliant enough as it is, he was also cheered on by Wythenshawe-born Manchester United and England star, Marcus Rashford – who’s own mission to end child food poverty has helped thousands of children throughout the UK over the last year, and won him widespread praise in the process.
Even though the 10-year-old admits his loyalties actually lie with the blue side of the city – being both a Manchester City and Everton supporter – having an iconic local footballer name him a “superstar” is still an amazing achievement.
Theo was said to be “overjoyed” by Rashford’s message of support.
Theo’s parents, James and Kathryn Dunphy, said the youngster’s achievements have “brought a bit of positivity to the world at a time we all need it”.
Well done, Theo.
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You can donate to Theo’s mission of raising “as much money as possible” for St Mary’s Haughton Green Foodbank via his JustGiving page here.
Manchester has been named one of the ‘friendliest’ cities in the UK
Emily Sergeant
A new study has crowned Manchester as one of the ‘friendliest’ cities in the UK.
With reviews playing a huge part in the success of small businesses – especially in the hospitality and tourism sector – business insurance expert MoneySuperMarket has analysed more than 100,000 reviews of customer-facing businesses in over 100 cities worldwide to discover where the UK’s ‘friendliest’ places are.
Their new research reveals which cities nationwide attract the highest number of reviews that particularly highlight friendly staff and excellent customer service in their venues and attractions.
For each city, the reviews were analysed for mentions of friendly staff and excellent service.
Cities were then ranked by the percentage of reviews containing these markers – with the highest percentage earning the top spot for friendly customer service.
Manchester came in at a very respectable ninth place in the whole of the UK, with just over 50% of reviews mentioning friendly staff and service.
Other northern cities in the top 10 include Leeds at number six and Liverpool at number two, while looking at the global rankings, the UK dominates for friendliness – with four cities making the top 10, more than any other country in the world.
According to MoneySupermarket, the even spread of cities across the UK suggests that excelling in customer service is a national trait, rather than a local one.
European cities make up seven of the top 10 spots, suggesting that hospitality and friendly service are deeply embedded in the continent’s culture.
Featured Image – Manchester City Council
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Bolton man sets Guinness World Record for most fish fingers eaten in a minute
Emily Sergeant
A man from Bolton has set a very unique world record.
Nathan Davies, from Westhoughton in Bolton, is on a roll – first he won £98,000 on ITV‘s hit gameshow The 1% Club, and now he’s a world record holder.
After telling the show’s host, Lee Mack, that he wanted to break a world record, the 32-year-old has followed through on the promise he made on national television by claiming the title for the most fish fingers eaten in one minute.
The dad-of-two managed to scoff down 15 fish fingers in 60 seconds.
A man from Bolton man has set the Guinness World Record for the most fish fingers eaten in a minute / Credit: Guinness World Record
Nathan chose fish fingers as they’re a staple in his household thanks to his two young boys, and after first testing how quickly he could eat four of them, he decided to go for the official Guinness World Record attempt.
“I decided fish fingers was achievable given that I’ve got a few less formal eating records, so it’s up my street,” Nathan explained of his world record attempt.
Despite his impressive effort though, Nathan admits he was still a little gutted about how many he managed to chow down in the allotted time, adding: “I think I could have done more if I had let them cool down longer, but just happy to have the record.”
Nathan says it’s a ‘bit strange’ to have an official Guinness World Record for eating fish fingers, of all things, but he is ‘very proud’ of it all the same.
Emily Sergeant -
29th March 2021 
