Thousands of Manchester runners gathered together this week to raise money for Greater Manchester’s homeless community and, holding aloft a defiant protest banner, sent a message to Suella Braverman following her recent misguided and insensitive comments.
On Wednesday, 15 November, The 2023 Manchester 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness got underway, finishing up at noon this Thursday, and countless runners turned up to put in the hard yards for the beloved and important charity event.
With members of running clubs, local businesses and countless individuals who just fancied doing their bit gathering from all over the region to complete laps of the city centre circuit, waves of runners turned up not only for a jog but to help raise vital funds to combat rough sleeping.
However, they didn’t just settle for running their socks off for 24 hours, from 7pm onwards before each wave, the hordes of runners also held up a custom-made banner referencing the now former home secretary’s comments about the UK’s homeless population.
For anyone who somehow didn’t see what Braverman had to say on the ongoing homelessness crisis, the Conservative MP described rough sleeping as a “lifestyle choice”, which was naturally met with nationwide backlash and huge calls for her to be booted from the cabinet.
ADVERTISEMENT
The 42-year-old was ultimately sacked and despite digging out Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in her resignation letter, her callous words about homelessness have been seen by some as symptomatic not only of her own attitudes but how the Tories have failed in their promises regarding the community.
Speaking to The Manchester 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness co-founder Tom Lewis, he said: “After seeing former Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s comments that homelessness was a ‘lifestyle choice’, we felt the need to create the banner and show how the people of Manchester disagree with such an out of touch statement.” In fact, even some of her party colleagues were left equally stunned.
ADVERTISEMENT
He went on to tell The Manc that “the event shows how incredible Greater Manchester‘s running community is and when they come together they can achieve something truly remarkable. We believe no one should have to sleep rough on the streets of Manchester or anywhere for that matter.”
Having smashed their fifth year since the event started, not only did they make a big splash with their Suella Braverman protest banner but The Manchester 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness also marked yet another incredible edition with the largest amount raised they’ve managed yet.
Notching a total of 40 relay laps over the course of the day and more than 9,200 kilometres, there were upwards of 1,600 runs completed by participants, with dozens of them doing a frankly ridiculous number of laps throughout.
ADVERTISEMENT
All told with individual and company donations, event t-shirt sales and Gift Aid contributions, they raised a whopping £19,572 for the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity, with the money going straight to their crucial ‘A Bed Every Night‘ scheme. You’re all absolutely amazing.
We couldn’t agree more with the message these guys sent out this year and if their incredible work has inspired you to take part, you can still donate HERE and find out all about how it works down below:
Featured Images — The Manchester 24 Hour Homeless Run/Brandon Hattiloney (via Flickr)
News
Rio Ferdinand is stepping away from TNT Sports after more than a decade
Danny Jones
Manchester United legend and ex-England international Rio Ferdinand has announced he will be stepping away from TNT Sports, leaving more than a decade with the broadcaster.
Ferdinand has spent the best part of the last 10 years serving as a leading pundit and analyst, as well as hosting his own ‘Rio Meets’ online series – the interview format of which has been replicated on his YouTube channel.
However, after having been one of their main anchors both under the BT Sport and even more so since the inception of the rebranded TNT Sports Football umbrella, the 46-year-old has confirmed he has now quit their regular coverage following the Champions League final this weekend.
In a lengthy statement on social media, the ex-Man United defender, who also played for Leeds, West Ham, Bournemouth and QPR, described it as a “difficult decision.”
Taking time to thank the network for their “tremendous support” over the years, especially those “behind the scenes, whose work often goes unseen but has been essential to our success.”
The talented centre-back retired in May 2015 after more than 500 appearances and 81 national team caps, making an almost immediate switch into punditry and remaining a household name.
Rio has also remained a popular figure at Old Trafford and, indeed, across various parts of Manchester since leaving United in 2014.
For instance, his self-titled Foundation has carried out some truly transformational local outreach across various boroughs, as it has back in his home city of London.
Responding to the news, TNT Sports said nothing more than “Thanks for everything, Rio”; meanwhile, fellow former Red, Danny Simpson (who retired last year and also works as a pundit/presenter for MUTV) added: “You’re going to be missed, bro. Every time you’re on, you give us all the mad insight.”
However, he has promised he will remain in the media industry, continuing to work under the Rio Ferdinand Presents digital brand and pursuing “other business interests”.
With his ‘Rio Reacts’ and ‘Vibe with FIVE’ series regularly raking in millions of views, he might not be on the box during European nights but you’ll still be seeing plenty of him.
Rare bat-eared foxes have arrived at Chester Zoo for the first time in more than 30 years
Emily Sergeant
It’s time to say a big hello, as rare bat-eared foxes have now arrived at Chester Zoo.
The two sisters, named Maasai and Malindi, have been welcomed by conservationists after travelling more than 500 miles from a zoo in Paris, and they are the first mammals of their kind to come to Chester Zoo in more than 30 years.
First images show the pair exploring their home in the zoo’s new Heart of Africa habitat – which officially opened to the public back in March, and is the largest zoo development ever undertaken in the UK, spanning more than 22.5 acres in size.
The adorable – but rather unique-looking – bat-eared fox is named after its distinctive oversized ears and is native to the open savannahs and arid grasslands of eastern and southern Africa.
They live for around 13 years on average, and their characteristically large ears help regulate their body temperature and enhance their incredible hearing, allowing them to prey like detect insects moving underground.
The species faces increasing threats in the wild, largely due to the loss of their habitat caused by agriculture, human encroachment, and hunting.
This is why Chester Zoo has long been at the forefront of protecting African wildlife.
Its teams’ have been supporting everything from the safe translocation of northern giraffes to protected national parks in Uganda, to developing cutting-edge AI trail cameras to protect giant pangolins from illegal trafficking in recent years.
Bat-eared foxes have arrived at Chester Zoo for the first time in 30 years / Credit: Chester Zoo
“It’s incredibly exciting to welcome bat-eared foxes back to Chester Zoo after a 30-year hiatus,” commented David White, who is the Twilight Team Manager at Chester Zoo.
“Both Maasai and Malindi are settling in well so far, spending much of their time exploring their expansive home and getting to know their new housemates – a family of twelve Cape porcupines. These two species would often come across one another in the wild, so we’ve recreated this right here at Chester.
“In time, we hope to introduce one of the two sisters to a male fox, with the hope that we can contribute to the European conservation breeding programme, helping to ensure there’s a healthy, genetically diverse back-up population in human care.
Danny Jones -
16th November 2023 
