Is 2022 the year you’re planning to take on a new challenge?
For many of us, the start of a new year often brings with it some motivation to make a few resolutions or set about achieving some goals we’ve been meaning to for a while, or, for the more daring among us, to get stuck into a challenge you’ve never tried before – but for those of us who aren’t really the adventurous type, who’s to say we can’t have a hand in picking out a daredevil task for others to try instead?
Well, that’s exactly what one of Manchester’s most iconic charities, We Love MCR Charity, had in mind when they asked us to give them a helping hand in deciding on its official fundraising challenge for 2022.
This new and yet-to-be-decided fundraising experience will form part of the ongoing ‘We Love MCR Charity Challenge Event Series’, which sees the charity put daredevil Mancunians’ mettle to the test.
The people over at We Love MCR Charity got the ball rolling by picking out a selection of four challenge ideas, and it was then left down to you – our loyal audience of over 200,000 Mancs on our Instagram – to pick which one would be chosen as the first instalment of the series this year by casting your votes on three head-to-head polls shared to our Instagram stories earlier this week.
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The four challenge ideas battling it out were:
A Valentine’s Day dip in Debdale Park Reservoir
An abseil off a city centre high-rise tower
A skinny dip at dawn on the Autumn Equinox at Druridge Bay beach
A jump off a 10m diving board
.@TheMancUK are running a poll to help us choose our big mind-over-matter challenge in 2022! Check their Insta Story: https://t.co/mHwMwrHGkY to vote in the poll now!
It's currently between abseiling off a M'cr tower block, or a mass Skinny Dip in the sea.. Bucket list time?? 👀 pic.twitter.com/aUOlc11KHL
Round 1 of voting on Monday saw a Valentine’s Day dip in Debdale ReseRvoir go up against an abseil off a Manchester city centre tower block, with the abseil taking the win in a close call with 57% of the vote, all before round 2 got underway on Tuesday and saw a skinny dip at dawn on the Autumn Equinox at Druridge Bay beach clinch the win with 56% of the vote over a jump off a 10m diving board.
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It was then left to the winners of the first two rounds to go head-to-head with each other – and it was eventually revealed, after hundreds of Mancunians got their votes in, that an abseil off a Manchester city centre tower block was the pick of the bunch in another close call, grabbing 54% of the vote.
But will it actually be crowned the winner? That’s down to We Love MCR Charity to make the final call in an announcement that’s coming next week.
The 2022 challenge comes after the success of the charity’s first – and probably the last – sponsored ‘firewalk’ event, which made history as 50 “brave soles” raised over £18,000 and counting by walking over 700-degree hot coals in St Peter’s Square in the heart of Manchester city centre last October.
Against a backdrop of Manchester’s Central Library and with a massive crowd cheering them on, each of the participants conquered their fears and completed what they previously thought was impossible.
The We Love MCR Charity sponsored ‘firewalk’ in October 2021 / Credit: We Love MCR Charity
We Love MCR Charity said that fundraising events like this are vital for its ongoing mission of supporting the city.
All sponsorship money raised by those undertaking the soon-to-be-announced 2022 challenge, or indeed any sponsored event across the city-region throughout the year, will go directly to We Love MCR Charity’s two current grant programmes – the ‘Manchester’s Rising Stars Fund’, and the ‘Stronger Communities Fund’ – which both support local communities and ambitious young Mancunians to overcome the barriers in their way and recover from the problems created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you fancy taking on a more personal challenge this year though, then did you know that the charity is also providing The Manc’s readers and followers with an exclusive opportunity to get £25-worth of entry fees to any sponsored event refunded if they choose to commit to raising some worthy funds in its name?
But for now, all that’s left to do is wait and see which challenge idea comes out on top for 2022.
“Well The Manc’s supporters really have helped to shape our thinking,” said Ged Carter – Development Manager at We Love MCR Charity.
“A ‘win’ for a breathtaking abseil, but who knew a seaside skinny dip would make it such a close-run poll? We’re excited to announce our Challenge plans very shortly.”
Real Betis star says club needs ‘crowdfunding’ to keep controversial Manchester United loanee
Danny Jones
Real Betis fans, players, and staff alike have become quite taken with Manchester United loanee Antony following his move to the Spanish club back in January, so much so that first-team star Isco has called for a crowdfunder to keep him there permanently.
Since arriving at the start of the year, the Brazilian winger has gone on to score four and assist just as many in 12 games across all competitions, which is quite the return compared to just a dozen goals in nearly a century of appearances for Man United.
Whilst the former Real Madrid midfielder was only being half-serious, as hit stats since joining the Seville-based side speak for themselves, he couldn’t have been more sincere in his hopes of keeping Antony at the club for “at least another year.”
Speaking to DAZN following a huge win in the Seville derby – the club’s first victory against Sevilla in the league since 2018 – Isco made it abundantly clear that he and the rest of the team want and need his new attacking partner to stay.
The 32-year-old, who has linked up with Antony on a number of occasions already, told reporters: “We have to crowdfund so he can stay at least another year. We’ve noticed a change since he arrived – he brings us a lot.”
Betis might not be the biggest or wealthiest club in Spain, but remaining within the European places (currently sixth) could prove crucial to their spending this summer, with making Antony’s loan permanent or at least extending further undoubtedly top of the list given the impact he’s had since arriving.
Nevertheless, the biggest problem when it comes to potentially buying the 25-year-old is his salary, as the £86 million signing from Ajax brought to Old Trafford by Erik ten Hag is said to be earning in excess of £100,000 a week.
At present, Real Betis are said to be covering 84% of his wages, and while he’s definitely been worth the financial outlay so far, securing his services full-time could prove fairly tricky and/or costly.
His time at United hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing, as not only were there big questions marks around his price tag from the off, but he’s been a divisive member of the squad, to say the least.
Not only has he struggled to make a regular impact in the Premier League goal with just one goal and three assists since his arrival back in September 2022, but he’s also been ridiculed for some of his ‘unnecessary’ antics. Meanwhile, he’s looked like a player reborn at Betis:
Fellow first-team talisman Isco went on to add, “I’m happy to have Antony here. He’s surprised us all with his humility and desire to help.”
Both he and Betis are said to have made it expressly clear that they’d like for his future to remain at the Villamarin Stadium, and it’s fair to say that plenty of United fans wouldn’t mind cashing in on him if possible – some probably more keen than others.
It’s also worth noting that Antony was embroiled in another controversy after being accused of domestic assault, though the charges were ultimately dropped back in August 2024.
Regardless, what supporters make of him is largely irrelevant at this point, as head coach Ruben Amorim will be looking to rebuild the squad with players of his choosing as much as possible come the summer.
That being said, the club has warned that incomings during the transfer window are dependent on sales, meaning letting Antony could make sense for all parties involved, as United are likely looking to better balance their books following Jim Ratcliffe’s revelations regarding the state of their finances.
What do you think, Reds? Would you sell him, or are you hoping he brings that form back to Manchester?
Unfortunately, Betis fans, we’re not sure where a crowdfunder would fit in with FFP and PSR rules, so you might just have to hope United and Antony are willing to play ball.
Isco and Antony were two of Real Betis’ biggest threats against Sevilla.
Featured Images — DAZN (screenshot)/Ardfern (via Wikimedia Commons)
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You can now get a Pot Noodle as part of your Tesco meal deal
Danny Jones
If you ask us, a big key to a happy life is all about celebrating the little wins as much as possible and in this case, when we heard that you can now get a Pot Noodle as part of your Tesco meal deal, we nearly did a cartwheel.
Are we exaggerating? Only a little bit, to be fair. Is this still kind of a big deal (pardon the pun) for the millions of Brits whose lunchtime meal regularly consists of a Tesco butty, beverage and perhaps some crisps? We think so.
We only heard the joyous news through word of mouth, but it looks as though the rumours are true after being not-so-quietly confirmed via the official Pot Noodle social media channels last week, revealing that you can indeed get your flavour of choice as part of your meal deal.
That really is the headline here, let’s be honest; the fact that you can now get a Pot Noodle – something many people have for their tea or a more than satisfying late-night snack – as the bonus side along with your main item at Tesco it an absolute result.
With meal deal prices having steadily crept up across the nation over recent years, no matter which supermarket, Tesco Extra, Asda Express, Sainsbury’s Local, convenience store and so on you seem to look in, getting an extra bit of value for money like is a big win for those on a quick dinner dash.
This is just like when we figured out you could get a proper Ginsters sausage roll, Cornish pasty or steak/chicken slice as your snack too. Just as buzzing then as we are now.
The brand also recently revealed what the UK’s most popular meal choices were last year, and some of the selections might surprise you.
Once again, it’s all about enjoying the little things, and put it this way, if we’re overreacting, then so are plenty of others.
Now accepting donations so One Drunk Redneck can get to the #UK and experience a #Tesco meal deal. I only need to raise enough for a one way ticket. I'm not too worried about how I'd get back home.
Oh, I probably should take my spouse. Ok, enough for two, one way tickets.
The only slight downside is that right now, as you might have spotted in the Instagram post above, this offer has only been rolled out at select Tescos.
As for those in Greater Manchester, there are just two local shops: the Tesco Extra in Walkden in Salford, as well as the Extra on Huddersfield Road in Bolton; the next closest after that is Warrington.
Nevertheless, you would expect that if the popularity of this new deal takes off – Tesco’s lunchtime package being one of the most popular in Britain – it’s likely that they will expand their plans up and down the country at large.
Speaking on the launch in an official press release, Pot Noodle’s senior brand Madeleine Boulton said: “We know our fans are always looking to get the most bang for their buck, so our move into the Tesco Meal Deal as a side is our way of giving customers the ultimate ‘snackisfaction’ and for some, the perfect hack that will ensure their meal deal sees them through the day.”
Can’t lie, we do rather fancy a Bombay Bad Boy now.
Emily Sergeant -
13th January 2022 
