The job offer that turned a jailed prison officer into a viral star
Jack Twigg was a prison guard who found himself on the wrong side of the bars after causing a car crash. A year since his release from jail, he’s now running his own Salford shop.
Jack Twigg made the papers three times before he was 29-years-old. The day he scored nine goals for his youth football team. The day he went to jail. And the day he told the world he had a new job.
Last week, Jack announced on Twitter that he’d be leaving his role as a Timpson store assistant in Stretford and taking charge of his own branch in Irlam.
“6 months ago I was struggling to find work with a criminal record,” he wrote on March 31.
“Timpson offered me a trainee role which changed my life. Today I’ve been told from April 12th I’m officially a branch manager with my own shop!! I can’t wait to get started and kick on as a manager!”
For anyone else, getting such a promotion would be a big moment. But for Jack, it was life-changing.
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As soon as he tapped the send button on that tweet, his world flipped upside-down.
Within minutes of floating out into the Twittersphere, the post took on a life of its own – transforming Jack from an Oldham ex-con into a viral star.
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Thousands of well-wishers flooded to congratulate him, whilst press outlets jostled with one another to grab Jack for an interview and share his story.
The likes and shares on the Tweet are still accumulating by the hour.
“Honestly, it’s gone crazy. It’s been non-stop for days,” Jack chuckles.
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“It’s all been lovely.”
Jack’s fast-track trajectory from ex-con to store leader is the kind of classic, heartwarming rags-to-riches tale that strikes a chord; proving that human beings can clamber their way out of the darkest places and achieve incredible things.
But that’s only part of the story.
What makes Jack’s tale quite so unique is that once upon a time he was working as a prison guard. Never did he believe for one moment that’d he end up on the wrong side of the bars.
In his early twenties, Jack signed up to an HMP training programme in the Midlands – a course focused on helping staff make the next step up as prison officers.
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He hated it.
The programme focused on military-based, routine-focused, regimented training which “didn’t sit well” with Jack, and it wasn’t long before he found himself slipping into a dark place.
Unhappy and homesick, Jack would slink off into the nearby town and pick up cans of lager, spending the rest of his evenings sitting in a bar before taking more beers to his room at bedtime.
“I was sat in tears on my bed drinking a can,” he remembers.
“I didn’t want to quit because I didn’t want to let everyone down. Even though quitting was exactly what I wanted to do.
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“But if I walked away, I wouldn’t have a job, either. I’d just bought a house.
“It all really overwhelmed me.”
Then, one afternoon, Jack’s mental health tipped over the edge.
“I had a bad panic attack in a bar in a toilet cubicle… with really negative, dark thoughts,” he explains.
“I got in my car. Put my foot down. And I wasn’t feeling myself.”
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The impact of the crash was so intense that Jack suffered serious head injuries – and his memories of the incident are fuzzy at best.
He’s still not sure whether he got behind the wheel with the intent to end his life.
“Did I want to die? I don’t know. Was I trying to kill myself? I don’t know.”
What Jack does believe, however, is that he “did something wrong and rightly went to prison for it”.
He’d come off badly in the incident, but so did another victim – and a judge determined jail was necessary.
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Jack was sentenced to 28 months incarceration with a minimum of 10 months and three weeks.
At the time, it all seemed like an instant nightmare. But looking back, Jack believes the long-term warning signs had been there.
The preamble to the crash had been, as he puts it, an “accumulation of years of anxiety.”
In his younger days, Jack would be out with his friends in a busy bar or nightclub and quietly vanish to go for a pint in a quiet backstreet boozer alone for an hour.
His friends would text to ask him where he was, and he’d lie – claiming he was still in the club.
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“I should have addressed that then but I never did,” Jack states.
“It just progressed over the next three or four years to bad panic attacks and really low self-esteem. Throw in the quite harsh life of working for the prison service… that just finished me off.”
Prison is a dangerous place at any time. But particularly for an ex-prison officer.
Due to his former role with HMP, Jack was offered a spot on the protected wing – a part of the prison allocated for inmates who may be targeted by others.
It’s the part of a jail where you’ll find police and prison officers who’ve committed crimes. But also inmates who are sex offenders and child abusers.
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“It’s a weird atmosphere [in the protected wing],” Jack says.
“They’re really well behaved and they don’t talk to each other about the crimes. It’s really hush-hush.
“I could have gone there, and they probably wouldn’t have said ‘boo’ to me. Nobody speaks on that wing.”
But Jack decided against it. He’d take his chances in general population.
Officers understood, reminding Jack he could be in danger if people discovered his past life as HMP staff. If trouble brewed, they promised to whip Jack out of his cell in the middle of the night and move him to the protected part of the prison.
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Jack’s next few months behind bars were devastating, challenging and even inspiring – and he is currently chronicling the big moments in his fascinating online blog ‘Life on both sides of the cell door’.
Once his time was complete, Jack came out of prison understanding more about himself – but also more about what the justice system doesn’t do so well.
“The rehabilitation side of it is very weak for all kinds of reasons,” Jack explains.
“A lot of lads are trapped in a repeat cycle.
“I got talking to these lads. They don’t want to be there.”
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“As a prison officer, you look at a file and it says: ‘Repeated burglary’. You don’t know why [the inmate did it].
“They’d never tell you the backstory when you’re in your uniform. But when you’re one of them, sat in the cell with them having a coffee – the amount I got told… it was sad.”
“There’s something in [the prisoners] if you let them get it out. 75% of lads in there would snap your hand off if you gave them a chance.”
Second chances are exactly what Timpson – Jack’s employer – has become famous for. According to the company’s chief exec, James: If you offer something to someone who’s never had anything, they’re so grateful for the opportunity they’ll give you their best work. It was a message that really hit home for Jack – a philosophy that tempted him to reach out in the first place.
After being released from prison himself and struggling to find work, Jack began his blog as a form of therapy – and in the subsequent months it become a self-help website, motivational tool, and even a survival guide.
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It’s already been helping other people. But its first major achievement was securing Jack a job.
After months’ of failed applications, Jack attached the blog entries in an email to Mr Timpson himself – and he was invited in for an interview.
Ever since then, he’s been thriving in a role he loves.
“It’s been brilliant,” Jack explains.
“When I came out of prison, I was in a strong position to find work – I’m educated with a good CV – but I couldn’t find anything.”
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“I dread to think how hard it must be for others.”
A mere six months after signing on the dotted line to join Timpson, Jack is now being handed the keys to his own store.
It’s been quite the journey.
“They want to give the shop a new lease of life and get it firing on all cylinders.” Jack says.
“It’s a challenge which I accept. Who knows what the next step is.
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“But for now, I can’t wait to get going with it.”
Read Jack’s blog – ‘Life on both sides of the cell door’ – online here.
Feature
You can ‘run and rave’ as part of this new charity-driven social in Manchester city centre
Danny Jones
If you’re looking for a fun new way to spend a night out or thinking about getting into running but maybe haven’t quite found the right way in for you just yet, this new Manchester run socialthat starts and ends with a good old-fashioned party might be right up your street.
Run The Streets MCR is a community-led and charity-driven fitness and social event that recently launched in Manchester and has already developed a bit of a cult following in the space of only a couple of months.
The concept is simple: it’s a running social where you can meet new people whilst getting your yards in, just not quite as you know it. Instead of people turning up for a 5k and then heading home, the fun carries on at a host venue where people can keep chatting and mingling whilst having a boogie.
And the best part is that not only is it more of a causally paced, low-pressure jog and crucially social-first, but it’s all for a good cause too.
Started out by East Manchester locals and lifelong mates, Liam Parker-Worsley and Sarah Edwards, (‘Sezzle’ to those who know her among the Manc running circles), Run The Streets started out as a running social concept at its very core but has now become truly bigger than the sum of its parts.
While the ‘run and rave’ idea has been done before, this particular event is the first of its kind in Greater Manchester and after facing some serious obstacles to get it off the ground and plenty of adversity at the very first hurdle – for lack of a less punny phrase – they’ve managed to turn it into a force for good.
After pivoting the model at the start of 2024 to be completely non-profit, the monthly event is now helping bring people together for a good time, from the tarmac to the tiles, all whilst raising money for the likes of The Running Charity (TRC).
Not only do all the proceeds from the super affordable tickets – we’re talking the same price you’d pay for a decent pint in town these days – go straight back into running the next social, but they also help fund the chosen charity for that month.
Be it national causes like TRC, which recently received huge support from the incredible ‘Hardest Geezer‘s run across Africa, or charities strictly local to Manchester, everyone involved is striding towards a goal – quite literally.
Offering a different kind of night out
Speaking to The Manc, co-creator Sezzle says the mission statement is simple: “Everyone’s welcome and you can meet new people whilst running but at the same time we’re giving back to the community.
“We’re supporting local charities, artists and DJs, as well as local running clubs who want to get involved. Essentially, it’s just about bringing people together, which is what run clubs do, but we’re also in a big city and not everyone wants to go out and just drink at a bar all night.
“You want to keep fit, it’s good for your mental health, but you also still want to be social and enjoy yourself. Run The Streets is that Mancunian through and through but everyone’s invited.”
Sober for five months now, she acknowledged that outlets like this are crucial, insisting: “I don’t want to stop going out and having a good time or meeting new people, so this is a way that you can still go out on a Friday night and enjoy a party atmosphere with no pressure to drink”.
This is what the start of a night in trainers, hi-vis and glow sticks looks like. (Credit: Supplied)
The ‘by Manchester for Manchester’ ethos
Her partner in crime Liam echoed that party-run description, reiterating that whilst people can still get a bit boozy if they like, it’s all about “providing an alternative for anyone who doesn’t want to drink and want to be included but might have felt a little alienated otherwise”.
A fellow Tameside native, he explained how Run The Streets has already partnered with zero-alcohol brands like Clean Break for their inaugural event back in March and now alcohol-free favourite Lucky Saint for their sophomore social this month.
“It’s not about the financial aspect for us”, says Liam, “we only charge for tickets to sustain the event and pay for the talent, hiring spaces and so on… It might be different venues, different charities etc., but as long as we focus on core issues to Manchester with a cultural element that’s important to us, we’re happy with that”.
Sez couldn’t agree more, adding: “At the end of the day, we’re Mancs, we’ve watched the city grow into what it is today. When it comes down to it everyone knows about the Manchester spirit, it’s a hard-working area and there’s such a community to this place – we want to make sure everyone feels welcome.
“We look out for each other. That’s how it’s always been.”
Their recent running event with Matchroom ahead of the Gill vs Barrett fight at AO Arena. (Credit: Run The Streets MCR)
Roots in the running and wider Greater Manchester community
Chatting with Tom Lewis, founder of Manchester’s annual 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness and Chairman for the Run The Street’s official host club, Manchester Road Runners, he said that they became interested because they “really liked the idea of sponsoring different charities every month”.
Confessing that it felt like “a natural crossover” given MRR’s size and ethos, as well as their own non-profit work with the British Heart Foundation and Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity, he said the “overall response from the first event was incredible – everyone just loved it”.
“There were people dancing on the streets as they saw us come past and there were so many videos on social media. That sort of stuff can really help get people into running who wouldn’t necessarily consider it in the first place.”
“I think it’s going to grow really quickly; the first event sold out and I think the next ones will too, definitely. It’s great to see what just a random group of friends can accomplish when we come together.”
Manchester Road Runners is helping bring huge numbers to the event already.
Liam himself couldn’t speak highly enough of the Castlefield-based group, insisting that “me and Sez find a lot of happiness and solace” at MRR.
While they are affiliated with others like KOKO (Keep On Keeping On’s Manchester arm) and Stretford Run Club that they want to help promote, the hope is that events like this might help people who run but don’t attend a club might give them a try in the future.
Regular ambassador and volunteer at both organisations, Natasha Barclay – who herself is over a year into her own sobriety journey – described the flagship event as “such good fun, really welcoming” and filled with plenty of people who had never even run before.
Nat also urged people not to be scared if they’re first-timers to run socials or running full stop, reassuring that “no one gets left behind; even if you can’t really run, you’ll always make it back, have a good time and meet others in the same boat”.
She went on to add: “Run The Streets MCR is all about giving back to the running community which I think can often get overshadowed by social media and certain brands. The spirit can sometimes get taken out of it but this run social puts its straight back in whilst helping Manchester business and DJs.”
When we asked the guys to sum this whole experience up in three words or less that weren’t ‘rave and run’, they came up with some pretty telling answers too. “Community, soul and fun”, “alternative Friday fun” and our personal favourite: “Simply for Manchester”.
It’s also worth reiterating that these guys have done it completely off their own backs and are doing so on an entirely voluntary basis on top of their full-time jobs, sometimes juggling two or three different roles. It’s been built over countless late nights and dinner hours, all for the love of running and the city.
The second ever Run The Streets MCR running social and party kicks off this Friday, 26 April from 7pm at Joshua Brooks, with a light 5k around our lovely city centre starting at 7:30pm before heading back to the venue for more tunes, dancing, glowsticks and general good vibes from 8pm onwards.
You can grab the last few remaining tickets HERE and we hope to see a few of you there on the night.
Come rain or shine, there’s always tunes to keep you going.The turnout at the last Run The Streets Manchester social at The Deaf Institute.Credit: Supplied/The Manc Group
Featured Images — The Manc Group/Run The Streets MCR
Feature
What to expect from Soho House when it finally opens in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
Soho House Manchester is surely one of the city’s most hotly-anticipated (and long-awaited) new openings.
The luxury members’ club has been slowly transforming the Old Granada Studios in the city centre into a multi-storey hub that will include restaurants, bars, bedrooms, event spaces, a gym, and – notably – a rooftop pool.
At one point, its grand opening was locked in for 2022 – but now we’re in 2024 and still no official opening date has been announced.
But there’s good reason for that – you cannot rush perfection. And you can expect perfection when annual membership costs close to £3,000.
We may still be looking at the same set of artist impressions for Soho House Manchester, but after a whistle-stop tour of several other of their UK locations, we finally have an idea of what to expect from their first venture north.
One thing you’re guaranteed to find is attention to detail.
Not one inch of Soho House is overlooked when it comes to their design – every corner, nook and cranny has been considered and made beautiful.
Every site is different from the last, lifting inspiration from the building it takes over and the history of the local area.
Bedrooms at White City House in LondonA lounge area at Soho House’s White City HouseWhite City House’s barPen Yen, a Japanese restaurant in Soho HouseAnother Soho House lounge spaceThe rooftop pool at White City HouseClick or swipe through the gallery above to see inside Soho House’s White City House
For example, White City House, constructed within the iconic, circular former BBC HQ, has collages of nostalgic programmes, analog TVs stuck to the walls, and mid-century modern furniture that tastefully nods back to the building’s most significant era.
But then you head to the very first Soho House location, tucked in a tall townhouse in the heart of bustling Soho, and it’s all about elaborately patterned wallpapers, plump colourful cushions, chintzy curtains.
With Soho House Manchester taking shape inside Old Granada Studios, we can expect a nod to our city’s broadcasting heritage, probably some 1960s-inspired interiors (this building held the Beatles’ first television performance in 1962), and hopefully not a Hacienda stripe in sight…
You want another example of attention to detail? Every Soho House even has its own stripe, used on its towels and stationery and other items dotted around the spaces. For Manchester, it’s going to be a navy and ochre wave pattern.
So while there are similarities between every location, this is far from being a copy-and-paste brand.
The same applies to the customer service. It’s quite remarkable to sit and watch how staff at each House will greet members by name at just a glance, very much like that scene in The Devil Wears Prada but I can’t see a panicked Emily Blunt whispering in anyone’s ear here.
Another recurring feature at Soho House will be total privacy. There’s a strict no-photos policy that means even the most A-list of guests (yes, including Harry Styles) can relax and enjoy the space without the fear of having their picture sold to a tabloid.
The pool at Soho FarmhouseSoho Farmhouse bedroomsPrivate dining space at Soho FarmhouseThe ‘Lazy Lake’ hot tubs at Soho FarmhouseAnother Soho House restaurantA look around Soho Farmhouse before Soho House opens in Manchester
If you whip out a phone, you’ll be told politely but firmly not to take photos or videos… not that many people even try. The application process to become a Soho House member is rigorous, so once you’re in, almost everyone plays by the rules.
And it really is private. One does not simply walk into Soho House, even if you do have cash to spend. In fact, the only way you can set foot into these hallowed halls without being a member is to be invited as a guest of an existing member.
Memberships are generally offered to those working in the creative industries, so you’re never more than a few metres from artists, music industry bigwigs, actors, dancers, writers, designers and more.
Inside any one house, you probably will spot a famous face or two (on our trip to Soho Farmhouse I clocked a legitimate Hollywood A-lister), but you might not notice – they’ll be treated the same as every other guest, and will be relaxing safe in the knowledge that they’re not about to be pestered for a selfie.
Restaurants for Soho House Manchester haven’t been confirmed yet, but our tour of existing locations included several signature restaurants that would be very welcomed in our city.
We could get Pen Yen, a vibrant Japanese restaurant; or Little Berenjak, a sister site for the Persian restaurant in London that is so popular, it’s nigh-on impossible to get a table.
Picante, Soho House’s signature cocktailAttention to detail even includes complimentary condoms in the bedroomsAn event space in the original Soho HouseBikes at Farmhouse
One thing we’re sadly not likely to experience here in Manchester is the peace and tranquility enjoyed at Soho Farmhouse, where features include a heated outdoor pool and hot tubs sunk into the lake, pretty green bikes you can cycle around on, and cosy rooms built into wooden cabins or ‘piglet’ style huts.
But if you sign up for the ‘Every House’ membership, you can at least pay it a visit.
But what is on the cards for us is a rooftop pool with sunbeds and a bar; an enormous gym space (Soho House has said this is a priority, and after seeing how busy the gym at White City House is, I can see why), fitness studios; a steam room and sauna; a ninth-floor late-night bar and live music space; casual lounge areas serving food and drink; a formal restaurant; an events space with a bar and DJ booth; 23 bedrooms of varying sizes; and an 80sq metre two-bedroom private apartment. Phew.
Set to be the first Soho House site in the north, it will join other UK sites across London, in Oxfordshire, in Somerset, in Windsor and in Brighton.
An exact opening date for Soho House Manchester is expected to be confirmed soon.
Soho House Manchester – memberships and application process
The full membership gains you access to all 41 Soho Houses globally, and costs £2,950.
But if you want to just use Soho House Manchester, that will cost £1,925.
There are cheaper memberships available for under-27s.
As part of the application process, you’ll need to supply a headshot, information about your work and industry, links to your online profiles, and several other titbits about yourself.
It helps if you already know a couple of existing Soho House members who can refer you, too.
And you must confirm that you’ll abide by the house rules, which you can see here.
Soho House Manchester memberships are open now and you can apply here.