Iceland is giving away free roast dinners all week to help people in need as Random Acts of Kindness Day approaches on Friday.
The budget supermarket chain has partnered with The Food Warehouse and Aunt Bessie’s to give away free roast dinners to customers, both in-store and online, from Monday 13 to Friday 17 February – and kicked off its week of generosity right here in Manchester.
Lucky customers at an Iceland store in Prestwich, Greater Manchester were some of the first to be randomly selected to win the bundle.
Chelsea Burgess, 30 years old, said: “It’s nice to know that people were looking out for us today. It was totally unexpected, we only popped out for a few bits!”.
June Burrows, 52 years old, said: “It was such a nice surprise! This’ll make a lovely meal for me and the kids – I can’t wait!”.
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Jamilah Choudhary, 57 years old, said: “This’ll put a smile on all my family’s faces today – thank you, Iceland!”
Jack Ford, 29 years old, said: “I just popped out for my lunch, so this has been such an amazing surprise. It’s brought a smile to my face today.”
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Kevin and Cara Crowther, 39 years old, said: “We’re absolutely made up that we were selected for such a lovely prize. Thank you, Iceland!”
Customers who go to purchase the £12.00 Aunt Bessie’s roast bundle at either the tills or online checkout could be randomly selected to get it for free.
Stores all over the country have been given permission to give away roasts at random to local customers, with staff using their knowledge of people coming into the store to decide who needs it most.
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All customers need to do is head to the checkout with the Aunt Bessie’s deal bundle, which includes one tender meat joint and three sides or desserts, to be in with the chance of getting it for free.
Customers who purchase the Aunt Bessie’s deal online this week are also in with a chance of a freebie, and will find out on Random Acts of Kindness Day if they are receiving the money back as a refund.
An Iceland Spokesperson said: “Random Acts of Kindness Day is such a great way to celebrate our communities, but we want to extend our ‘random roasts of kindness’ for a little longer than one day.
“We are proud of the fantastic store staff who really know our customers best; it makes sense to leave the giveaways to them. We hope this puts a smile across a lot of faces.”
The initiative has been put in place after research revealed that over half (53%) of Brits plan on either reducing the number of hot dinners they eat or cutting them out completely due to the cost of living.
TV nutritionist, Dale Pinnock, recently partnered with Iceland as part of the supermarket’s mission to Save Hot Dinners, revealing the science behind eating a hot meal and the importance they have to everyday lives.
Research has revealed that over 46% of Brits said they were planning on cutting out one to three hot meals for a week.
Dale said: “Hot dinners are fundamental to a healthier life for a number of key reasons. For example, many nutrients become much more available to the body once cooked, whereas cold food slows digestion down which can cause gut-related problems and can have a negative impact on your immune system during colder months.
“Very cold foods can send shock waves throughout the nervous system so during colder months our bodies prefer the food we eat to be warm, which is a great way to elevate core body temperature and keep warm.”
Wigan Warriors legend Billy Boston has become rugby league’s first knight
Danny Jones
The beloved Billy Boston, the definition of a Wigan Warriors legend, has been given the first knighthood in rugby league history.
A Welsh hero as well, the former professional was a pioneering force for black players in the UK during the mid-20th century, representing both Wigan and Great Britain, with over 500 competitive appearances, primarily as a winger.
Having scored an unprecedented total of 478 tries in 487 games for the Warriors (571 in his entire career), he remains not just one of their greatest icons but one of the most influential rugby league players of all time.
With that in mind, while it may have been long overdue, Boston was made a knight prior to the King’s birthday and before the honours list was even officially announced.
🎖️🏉 Today at Buckingham Palace, Sir Billy Boston became the first sportsman to receive a knighthood for services to Rugby League.
The King presented Sir Billy – who is considered one of the best Rugby League players of all time, scoring a British record of 571 tries and 488… pic.twitter.com/QD8jTR7jPS
Now 90 years old, an exception was made for the Cardiff-born ex-pro due to growing concerns over his health; moreover, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer dubbed it a “historic wrong that a sport which is the backbone of so many communities has waited so long to receive this honour.”
Since it’s taken a total of 130 years for someone from the discipline, we tend to agree.
Boston was sadly diagnosed with vascular dementia back in 2016 at the age of 82 – a disease that is being increasingly studied across rugby, given the contact sport’s strong connection to conditions like CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy).
Head coach and fellow record-breaker, Matt Peet, wrote in a statement via the club: “Not just for Billy or Wigan, but for rugby league to get its first knighthood is great news. He’s an iconic figure and name in our Club, and he’s certainly part of the team at Wigan.
“He has a huge presence, and he’s just a really warm character. I’d just describe him as a gentleman, very humble, always up for a laugh, and he’s been very supportive since we’ve been in position.”
130 years of discrimination is over as Billy Boston becomes the first rugby league player to be knighted.
A Black Welshman who became a legend in Wigan, Billy is a pioneer as well as one of the greatest players of all time.
— Mike Meehall Wood (@MikeMeehallWood) June 9, 2025
Echoing his sentiment, Wigan Warriors‘ chairman, Chris Brookes, said, “I am absolutely delighted and so happy that Billy – and rugby league – has finally received the ultimate recognition his stellar career deserves”, with club CEO Kris Radlinski going on to to add: “He’s a cultural icon in rugby league.”
Unsurprisingly, WRL (the nation’s official governing body) joined the flood of individuals and organisations in celebrating the groundbreaking sporting great, writing: “The boy from Tiger Bay who became a Knight. A very proud day for Billy, his family and Wales Rugby League.”
Congratulations to a local legend who paved the way for generations of future rugby stars.
It’s been a special few days for the Greater Manchester side as their women’s team also made some history of their own this past weekend.
Featured Images — Royal Family/Sionk (via Wikimedia Commons)
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Thunderstorms and ‘intense downpours’ forecast to hit the UK from this evening
Emily Sergeant
The UK could be set for thunderstorms and heavy rain this week.
It’s been far from settled conditions across UK in recent days, with Greater Manchester and the North West receiving its fair share of heavy rain showers, but now the Met Office is predicting that warm air from the continent will drive temperatures up later this week, and with that comes the chance of thunderstorms.
A plume of warm air moving in from the south is set to drive a change to the weather later this week, weather forecasters predict.
While rain and showers across the northern half of the UK eased on on Monday night, leaving us with a drier day and spells of sunshine in the afternoon yesterday, things could be about to take a turn for the worst once this evening rolls around.
Heard there's a possibility of thunderstorms this week? ⛈️
These could begin arriving from Wednesday night into Thursday as a plume pushes in from the south
The Met Office does admit that today will be a ‘largely fine and dry day’ for much of the UK, with only certain parts appearing cloudy, the North West not included that, but as the evening begins to set in, so does the potential heavy and thundery showers, predicted to move in through the evening and overnight from the south west.
Alarmingly, some western areas could see 20-40mm of rain fall in just a few hours as these intense downpours move through to the North East.
There could ‘frequent lightning’ for some areas too.
Thunderstorms and ‘intense downpours’ are forecast to hit the UK from this evening / Credit: The Manc Group
While there are no severe weather warnings issued at the moment, it is possible thunderstorm warnings may be issued this week, the Met Office has hinted, so you may want to keep your eyes peeled.
“After largely benign weather early in the week, some intense, thundery showers will move in on Wednesday evening,” commented the Met Office’s Deputy Chief Meteorologist, Mike Silverstone.
“These thunderstorms are being triggered by some warm, humid air that is moving into the UK from the South, and intense rainfall could see 20-40mm accumulating over just a few hours, which could cause some disruption too.”
This week the temperatures are rising and the humidity is building and from Wednesday we are going to see some thundery storms developing.
Find out all the details on this week's weather in our Week Ahead forecast with Alex Deakin 👇 pic.twitter.com/7P1bnQztFN
Think that’s the end of the thunderstorms for the week? Think again.
Once that batch moves North through Thursday, leaving more settled weather for a time through Friday for most, another band of thunderstorms moves in again later on Friday evening, apparently bringing ‘further intense rainfall’ into the early hours of Saturday.
By the end of the weekend though, it’s predicted that the ‘humid and thundery airmass’ will be displaced by ‘fresher’ and ‘generally more settled conditions’ spreading east across the UK.
Georgina Pellant -
14th February 2023 
