A Bolton grandma whose home-cooked full English takeaway breakfasts went viral on Youtube during lockdown has opened her very own cafe.
Appearing in what was then described as the ‘most Northern video in history’, grandma and self-taught chef Marion Love was catapulted to fame last year in a somewhat unlikely fashion.
The 50-year-old quickly gained notoriety online after a Leeds Youtuber shared a hilarious video of himself eating a full English breakfast, during the height of lockdown, at a put-up table on the pavement outside her Bolton gaff.
As a result of the video, which was viewed over a million times in the space of a few weeks, people started travelling from far and wide to sample her food – leading her little DIY cheffing operation to become a full-blown business within a matter of weeks.
Now, she’s just opened her first cafe – the aptly named Grandma’s Kitchen – over in Farnworth.
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Serving up her famous full English breakfast, the bistro-style cafe also offers a range of other popular breakfast favourites like eggs benedict and breakfast burritos, as well as lunches like Italian sandwiches and a Korean chicken brioche bun, reports The Hoot.
The 50-year-old had first started cooking her dishes from home for takeaway-only during lockdown, inspired after seeing some success on her Instagram food blog – which first started in 2017.
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Having begun by sharing recipes for meals, it was during the height of the pandemic -when many restaurants and bars were either closed or forced to offer takeaway only – that she decided to start selling her food from home.
Making the trip over from Leeds, Malin set up his now-infamous portable table outside Love’s front door to ensure his fry-up was as hot as can be.
After giving her full English breakfast a rave review, he then proceeded to polish off some of her homemade cookies for dessert on camera. The rest, as they say, is history.
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As a result of the video, Marion said that she received thousands of messages of support as well as gaining loads of new followers and customers.
Her cafe in Farnworth has been in the works since 2019, but its construction was delayed due to the pandemic. Now, it is open at last – with a little extra fanfare thanks to that viral video.
2024 Manchester Marathon raises £29 million for local economy and over £3.7m for charity
Danny Jones
Just under a fortnight on from the 2024 Manchester Marathon and the numbers are finally, with the annual race generating nearly £30 million for the local economy and raising over £3.7m for charity.
This year’s Adidas Manchester Marathon saw record numbers of runners and spectators as over 30,000 took part in the popular race, up by roughly 6,000 from 2023, and more than 125k turned up to line the streets of Greater Manchester.
As a result, these huge crowds spent upwards of £29.2 million at business around the city centre and around the 10 boroughs last weekend, serving as one of the most significant contributions to the local economy on the annual calendar.
Not only was this an approximately £8m increase on last year’s tally but, most importantly, a sizeable chunk of that went straight into both regional and national charities.
Beyond the boost to local vendors, the hospitality sector and retail businesses, over £3.7 million were allocated to charities such as Alzheimer’s Charity, Cancer Research UK, British Heart Foundation and The Christie.
Over £32,000 was also raised for the Trafford Active Fund, with £1 from every paid entry to the Adidas Manchester Marathon and Manchester Half donated directly to the initiative that benefits local sports clubs and organisations through Trafford Council.
Better still, with City of Trees selected as the chosen ‘Green Runner’ charity, the eco-friendly drive saw roughly 7% of participants opt out of receiving either a finisher t-shirt, medal or both.
The money saved in production goes towards maintaining woodlands and wildlife across Greater Manchester.
This year’s Manchester Marathon also helped produce some of the highest number of passengers on public transport in the city’s history, with a over 175,000 journeys made on Metrolink alone – the highest number of journeys ever recorded on a single day.
This was a 20% increaseon 2023’s race day (145k), spotlighting how the event continues to be more environmentally conscious as years go by.
With the 2025 adidas Manchester Marathon confirmed to be taking place on Sunday, 27 April next year – and over 12,000 places already sold – the city can already look forward to reaping the economic and social benefits of hosting one of Europe’s largest, flattest, friendliest and most-loved marathons.
Featured Images — Adidas Manchester Marathon/The Manc Group
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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…
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.