A group of volunteers on the East Lancashire Railway have been celebrated this week after clocking up a whopping 2000 years-worth of service between them.
The heritage railway is a popular tourist attraction on the Greater Manchester and Lancashire border, bringing around 200,000 visitors annually.
It has now awarded its most dedicated volunteers – which its chairman says are the railway’s ‘lifeblood’ – with Long Service Awards.
He added that they had helped the attraction to ‘bounce back’ from an ‘incredibly challenging’ 18 months caused by the pandemic.
Some of the volunteers who were honoured in the Long Service Awards. Credit: Supplied
But not all their volunteers have returned post-pandemic, and the ELR is calling out for people to maintain the railway, run the heritage trains and host events and experiences – basically, to be the ‘cogs that keep the railway running’.
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58 staff and volunteers were recently given plaques for their dedication to the ELR over the last 50 years.
They’ve collectively spent more than 2,000 years working for the heritage attraction, with its longest-serving volunteers working there for more than 50 years.
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Lois Veevers Hatton and Peter Lord have both been with the ELR for 52 years, while Richard Law and Phil Bailey have spent 51 years volunteering.
Some volunteers have worked on the ELR for more than 50 years. Credit: Supplied.
These people are credited with ‘rescuing the railway from disappearing’ back in the late 60’s, preserving it for future generations.
Ten further volunteers were given silver awards for more than four decades of service, with the remaining honoured with bronze awards.
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East Lancashire Railway chairman Mike Kelly, a fellow volunteer himself, said: “Our volunteers have and continue to be the absolute lifeblood of the heritage railway.
“Put simply, without them, we could not function, so it’s only right that we step out to salute their incredible selfless and unwavering service.
“Our Long Service Awards provided the perfect opportunity to celebrate their contribution and to thank them for their dedication that stretches back decades.
“This was more important than ever after the last 18 months which have been incredibly challenging for the railway due to the coronavirus pandemic, which put our future in jeopardy.
“With the help of our super staff and volunteers, the railway has been able to bounce back and continues providing magical moments for everyone who visits.
“But not everyone has returned from our pre-pandemic teams and we aren’t quite up to full strength. We desperately need more people to join our fantastic teams.”
Perks for volunteers include free trips on the line, a free family trip per year, and discount rates on all other journeys – as well as getting to go behind the scenes of this popular attraction.
Featured image: Facebook – East Lancashire Railway
Kids & Family
Manchester favourites hosting a heartwarming festive social for those alone this Christmas
Danny Jones
Beloved Manchester bar and cafe, Haunt, have announced that they will be hosting a special social to spread some much-needed seasonal cheer to those who are spending Christmas apart from their families and/or friends this year.
Wholesome stuff from a wholesome bunch.
That’s right, friendly neighbourhood ghosts Haunt will be putting on a little free shindig for the 2025 festive period in an effort not only to share the typical kindness with locals based in and around the city centre but to help create “a sense of community, no matter what your situation”.
Announcing the completely open-to-the-public Christmas Eve party over the weekend, the team are looking to provide those who might otherwise be lonely or struggle during the holidays with a warm, arms-wide welcome, plus plenty more.
Writing on their social media account this past Sunday, bar manager JJ said: “People, it’s time to connect this Christmas! We will be providing free coffee and sweet treats from 12-5pm on Christmas Eve, as well as some games and workshops.
“We’ve put a lot of work into this, so it would be amazing to see as many of you there as possible! Also need this to reach the people that need an event like this most, so please share and repost.
“As always, look out for your people, I wouldn’t be anywhere without mine – JJ xoxo”
Come on, who doesn’t love seeing heartwarming stuff like this on their feed, especially when it comes to a time of year where so many suffer quietly amid the majority having a good time?
This isn’t the first time they’ve held a pop-up that’s caught our attention in 2025, either; it was only last month that we were surprised to stumble on a mini padel court in the middle of the room.
Once again, there’ll be brews and fresh bakes, as well as plenty of other activities to keep people entertained on the night.
As described in their post, Christmas can be tough for a lot of people, and if they can make even just one person looking for some kindness and companionship feel better for a few hours this year, then they’ll have done above and beyond their job.
It goes without saying that we love seeing local businesses taking the social and community side of their work like this to heart and putting in serious effort to make a difference.
Well done to JJ, the Chosen Family support group, and everyone at Haunt for setting this up; if you know anyone who might be interested in coming along, please do pass on the information.
You can grab your free tickets via Eventbrite right HERE, and maybe we’ll see some of you there.
Featured Images — The Manc Group/Haunt (via Instagram)
Kids & Family
The full lineup for the Strictly Live tour has been revealed
Danny Jones
Yes, ballroom lovers, it’s here: the full lineup of dancers for the ‘Strictly Come Dancing Live’ tour has finally and officially been revealed.
It feels like fans have been waiting ages to find out the entire roster for the Strictly Live tour next year, with only limited waves having been released thus far.
However, the patience has paid off, and we now know who’ll be starring both on the stage and on down on the floors of some of Britain’s most beloved venues, including our very own AO Arena.
You can see the latest raft of additions down below.
As you can see, the final four couples who complete the next Strictly Live tour lineup for 2026 are social media personality George Clarke, Emmerdale face Lewis Cope, former footballer Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, and another actor in Layton Williams.
This quality quartet will be paired up with Alexis Warr, Katya Jones, Lauren Oakley and Nikita Kuzmin, respectively; it has already been confirmed that much-loved trio Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke and Craig Revel Horwood will be returning as judges, with Janette Manrara remaining as host.
Strictly‘s still ongoing season – the 23rd in the show’s history – is due to conclude this weekend, following the final on Saturday night (20 December), and it remains to be seen which of the current cast will be crowned champion, with several of those above and below now signed up for the live tour.
The rest of the Strictly Live dancers for 2026 here:
Harry Aikines-Aryeetey aka ‘Nitro’
Alex Kingston
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
Balvinder Sopal
George Clarke
La Voix
Chris Robshaw
Ellie Goldstein
Thomas Skinner
Vicky Pattison
Stefan Dennis
Ross King
Karen Carney
Lewis Cope
Amber Davies
It isn’t guaranteed that each of these contestants will be taking part in EVERY single one of the tour dates, but either way, you’ve still got ‘The Professionals’ to come next spring, too.
The annual Strictly Come Dancing UK tour has become a firm fan favourite, not only among die-hard viewers of the BBC show but lovers of live entertainment in general.
Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and others confirmed the dates for their live shows earlier this year, with the AO set to host the two days’ worth of moves across Saturday, 31 January and Sunday, 1 February.
Hosting both normal evening shows as well as matinee slots, it’s simply up to you at what time of day you fancy panto-booing Craig…
If you’re interested in securing tickets for the typically fabulous festivals, you can grab yours HERE.
Daisy Jackson -
15th November 2021 
