Jason Baird has become somewhat of a local superhero since the pandemic first hit back in March of last year.
And we mean that both figuratively, and literally.
Alongside his friend Andrew Baldock, Jason has proudly become one half of the now-famous Stockport Spider-Men, and has been donning his spidey suit to weave a web of joy and lift the spirits of the community while out on his daily jogs for the past 11 months.
The dad-of-two and martial arts instructor has backflipped his way through three lockdowns, and has earned himself international recognition and tens of thousands of fans in the process.
Spotting spidey on his travels has become a popular activity for the people of Stockport, with children making special ‘stop here’ signs for their front windows, dressing up in masks and spider suits themselves to join in on the fun, and just generally looking forward to his arrival.
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While putting smiles on faces at a time when it’s needed more than ever has ultimately been Jason’s goal over this past year, the character’s most-famous quote has remained firmly in his mind.
“With great power comes great responsibility”.
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It was these important words that inspired Jason to not just make a positive change through his actions, but to create a lasting legacy with them.
A lasting legacy that has seen him raise over £75,000 and counting for charity.
The organisation most-significantly benefitting from Jason’s achievements is youth suicide prevention charity PAPYRUS – a cause that is very close to his heart, especially after admitting that he has struggled with his own mental health in recent months, and has sadly lost a friend to suicide during the first lockdown.
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The charity says that suicide is the biggest killer of under 35’s in the UK, and it’s believed that around 200 school-aged children take their own lives each year.
Jason Baird
And it was in the name of PAPYRUS that Jason completed his most impressive feat yet this past weekend.
He set himself the challenge of running an ultramarathon – equivalent to 50 miles – by making his way across the entire Greater Manchester borough, and after taking 100,000 steps, burning 6000+ calories, being accompanied on different legs by other socially-distanced comic book characters, including Batman, Wonder Woman, Iron Man and more, and running for a total of 11 hours and 19 minutes, he completed that challenge last Saturday.
Jason raised well over £8,000 for PAPYRUS just from the run alone, but it was as he crossed the finish line of his astounding achievement over one of the town’s major motorway bridges, that he set his eyes on what would become his most important mission yet.
To transform that fateful bridge into a “bridge of hope”.
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While the 40ft bridge over the M60 on B6167 Lancashire Hill currently goes not have a name, it has sadly become known to many in the town as the site where several people have both attempted to, and have taken their own lives in recent years.
“The bridge as a whole has seen far too many people take their own lives,” Jason told us.
“Running across it as I neared the finish line just brought home that something had to be done to try to prevent others doing the same.
“As I crossed [the bridge], the barriers felt so low [and] I knew I had to make some sort of plea to at least try to make them taller [and] at the same time, try to take away the stigma of ‘that bridge’ where people jump, which it has sadly got”.
And so, in an attempt to “make a difference for our future generations”, Jason contacted both Stockport Council and Highways England yesterday to discuss the possibility of not only making the railings higher, but also giving the bridge a makeover.
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He wants to transform the bridge into “a cheerful place”.
“I want to make it a place of remembrance for those who have taken their own lives there and a place to celebrate those who have tried to and survived.” Jason continued.
“I [also] want to try to name the bridge, as I don’t think it has a name, and I personally would like to name it ‘The Bridge of Hope’, as my vision is to have superheroes holding a purple heart with the names of those who lost their lives [and] purple is the PAPYRUS youth suicide prevention colour”.
To help make his vision a reality, Jason enlisted the work of Stockport-based artist Neil Roche to create an impression image of what the bridge could look like if the plans are accepted.
The colourful design sports the words ‘Marvellous Stockport’ in large lettering below the superheroes.
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Neil Roche
Jason’s vision was also further inspired after he was “blessed with company” and cheered-on by two young survivors of the 40ft fall from that bridge as he crossed the finish line.
Jason is keen to shine a light on the importance of Olivia and Luke’s stories within the wider community, and in a message posted to the Stockport Spider-Men Facebook group yesterday evening, he said: “I’m using our platform to get the word out further, but I’m taking a back seat to Olivia and Luke, as I believe they are both meant for this role to impact others.
“These two amazing human beings have bravely told me they are open, willing, and ready to share their stories to hopefully save others via our group [so] I will be posting what is going to be very emotional content from [them] in the coming days,
“Personally, I cannot thank them enough [and] it has deeply touched me more than anyone will know.
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“It’s an honour and privilege to have even met [them], let alone be a person to share their darkest hours, [so] they both have my upmost love and respect.
“And it goes without saying that when we get the go-ahead to transform the bridge, both Olivia and Luke’s portraits will be featured”.
Jason is thrilled to see that his mission to create ‘The Bridge of Hope’ has already received massive encouragement from the Stockport Spider-Men group and the wider community.
He’s even revealed that he’s had two parliamentary cabinet members reach out to him in support as well.
Now, he’s currently in the process of trying to speak directly to a representative at Highways England that can “hear my plea and hopefully work with me on this”, and has admitted that the Stockport Spider-Men group will even work together and raise funds to have the works completed if needs be.
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It’s clear to see that this transformation is something Jason is truly passionate about, and there’s no doubt the public are on his side every step of the way.
We’ll just have to cross our fingers, and wait and see.
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If you’ve been inspired by Jason’s story and his outstanding achievements over this past 11 months, you can show your support for an extremely worthy cause by contributing to the goal of raising £100,000 for PAPYRUS via his JustGiving page.
You can also follow along with the Stockport Spider-Men adventures here.
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And don’t forget to keep your eyes peeled and stay tuned for more Stockport Spider-Men missions coming in 2021 too.
Hardcastle Crags – the prettiest autumn walk in the North West with a great restaurant at the end
Daisy Jackson
This is the time of year where it’s particularly difficult to drag yourself off the sofa and into the great outdoors.
The weather isn’t quite crisp enough to feel festive and most of us (even the pumpkin spice latte, cardigan-clad crew) are missing the more reliable warmth of the summer months.
But autumn is here, like it or not, and it definitely has its perks.
One of which is the undeniable beauty the season brings.
It’s not just the blazing red, orange, yellow and brown leaves that suddenly take over the green spaces around the UK.
It’s also in the sunsets and sunrises that become so much easier to catch while the days are shorter (you have to admit, the commutes are prettier when they coincide with sunrise).
The riverside walk at Hardcastle Crags. Credit: Unsplash
And there aren’t many places better to soak in all the autumn beauty than Hardcastle Crags, just across the border in West Yorkshire.
The National Trust site sits between Leeds and Manchester and is a popular day trip destination for Mancs, given the trains that run regularly to Hebden Bridge.
A walking route around Hardcastle Crags at this time of year will take you through a landscape of blazing orange trees, babbling streams, and dappled sunlight.
When you catch a golden autumnal day the leaves will crunch underfoot, but even on a soggy day the leaf mulch has its own special kind of beauty here.
There are two walking routes between the main car park and Gibson Mill, a former 19th century cotton mill which is now home to a lovely cafe.
One will take you down to the river, where wooden boardwalks weave right along the water’s edge.
There are even stepping stones you can use to scamper across the river – a great Instagram pic, or just a way to keep the kids entertained for a few minutes.
A walk around Hardcastle Crags in Autumn. Credit: The Manc Group
The other route goes up through the upper woodland, where pine trees loom and you get a great view of the valley below.
For an easy loop, you can do both – a stroll through the trees, a stop for coffee and cake, then return along the river (or vice versa).
But with 15 miles of footpaths, you can explore way beyond that.
The National Trust’s list of walks includes everything from a wheelchair and pram-accessible estate track to peaceful woodland loops, to rocky scrambles and former railway lines.
And when you’re done with Hardcastle Crags itself, there’s a world-class restaurant in the gorgeous town centre itself.
Coin sits in the shell of the former Lloyd’s bank, with exposed brick and massive period windows, and specialises in natural wine and small plates.
When The Manc Eats visited, we found plates of freshly-cut meat and cheese served alongside ice-cold batched classic cocktails, where ‘quality is key, and it shines through on the plate’.
Our reviewer said: “With its higgledy-piggledy stone mill houses, surrounding woodland, hidden waterfalls and treasure-trove charity shops, Hebden Bridge is a popular attraction all of its own for those wanting to venture beyond the city. Coin is simply the cherry on top.”
In celebration of Momo Shop: a Chorlton favourite that has flourished since its rebrand
Danny Jones
It’s not often we go out of our way to hammer home just how staggering we found a restaurant, but after now losing track of the number of times that a member of our team has eaten at Momo Shop in Chorlton and come back near speechless, it deserves more than a review.
We regularly hold ourselves back and resist the urge to talk in superlatives wherever possible, especially because we worry we might be falling into the recency bias trap, but in this instance, we’re going to go out on a limb and fall on our hospitality sword. Well, this particular writer is…
It’s official: Momo Shop Nepali Street Food – for our money, anyway – is up there with one of THE best restaurants in Manchester right now.
And there are plenty of reasons why, not least of all because of the years of practice they have feeding increasingly discerning Manc diners under a different moniker.
Simple but charming – all the focus is on the foodAnd the food speaks for itselfSome of the most flavourful fillings you’ll find in ManchesterBusy any given night of the weekNo review (Credit: The Manc Eats/Momo Shop via Instagram)
If you don’t live in/frequent Chorlton, you’ll be forgiven for thinking that this gaff was a somewhat new addition to Chorlton, but in actual fact it’s been gradually growing a loyal and passionate following for more than seven years.
This is because before the miniamlist rebrand that saw the walls stripped back, the exterior painted blue and cutesy little bits of artwork hung amidst that familiar and atmospheric festoon lighting, Momo Shop was once The Little Yeti.
Its former iteration boasted hundreds of glowing reviews in its own right, which already plated up plenty of stunning Nepalese food, but since switching primarily towards serving a menu primarily made up of momos (Tibetan-style fried dumplings hand-folded into various shapes) they’ve well and truly shone.
Now approaching a full 12 months under the new name, the Nepali street food spot isn’t just one of a relatviely small handful considering how much great South Asian food there is across Greater Manchester, we’d wager it could be the very best representing that Alpine-Himalayan belt in our region.
Our latest visit was genuinely just as good as our first, second, third and so on – take your pick.
From the simply incredible deep fried pork dumplings and the deeply moorish butter sauce that goes with literally any momo filling, to the super traditional buffalo ones that are not only authentic but, come on, where else can you find such a unique meat in these parts? It’s some of the best food we’ve eaten.
And we don’t just mean of late; Momo Shop might genuinely among of the nicest scran we’ve had in ages and it’s no exagerration to say that the first taste we enjoyed from many of these flavours have formed some of the strongest culinary memories we’ve created in quite a while.
It’s also worth nothing that it isn’t just one main snack-sized dish. The chow mein, keema noodles and cheesy chops are showstoppers themselves, and we’ve already booked in again for a 30th birthday celebration purely so we can try those lambs ribs and their take on a shashlick.
Nevertheless, we love the idea of the numerous configurations and concotions by pairing different dumplings and owner Niti Karki gave us some pro-tips of the best duos and even let us in on the trade secret of her go-to combo when she’s hungover. Legend.
Once again, at the risk of sounding too hyperbolic, odd moments have felt like core foodie memories on a par with our favourite all-time meals.
Personally, I’m glad to report that this isn’t just a review: consider this a declaration that Momo Shop has quickly become my favourite restaurant not just in Chorlton but in all of central Manchester, something I haven’t had since the heartbreaking closure of Cocktail Beer Ramen + Bun in 2023.
Plenty of varietyDamn straightNiti = absolute iconWe’ll keep your condiment secret forever, Niti…
There might be an element of the almost HakkaPo-esque style drawings, the colour palette and the carefully curated pop-punk, old school emo and post-hardcore playlist that’s over half a decade in the making that makes particualrly partial to this place
But before we wrap up this glorified love letter parading as a ‘review’, we also want to give a special nod to the charming staff and Niti’s mum, specficially, who was too modest to even let us share her picture, but whose wealth of wisdom, influence and experience has clearly inspired Momo Shop’s success.
Don’t be shy, Sue – the only thing more stylish than the food was you, girl. Pop off.
Put simply, we’ll be going back here as regularly as possible until we try every different momo + sauce variation there is, and there’s nothing you can do to stop us.
If you are in the mood for more dumpling excellence, by the way, you might want to check out the unassuming Northern Quarter gem that is Chef Diao.
Emily Sergeant -
9th February 2021 
