A young woodworker has gone viral after his dad issued a plea for people to follow his Instagram account.
Richard Clark, a director and screenwriter based in Cumbria, said that his 12-year-old son had been being teased at school for having a relatively small following on his woodworking Instagram page.
He said that Gabriel spends hours making beautiful wooden bowls and chopping boards but had been left ‘heartbroken’ by his peers ‘taking the p*ss out of him’.
The youngster has self-taught himself the craft so that he can sell his items and save up to buy his own mountain bike.
Gabriel thanking his new followers for their support. Credit: Instagram, @clarkie_woodwork
Within days of his dad’s heartfelt message, Gabriel has racked up a whopping quarter of a million followers – and counting.
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And the young lad’s response is pretty touching too.
He’s chosen to take his new-found Instagram fame and use it to raise money for the humanitarian effort in Ukraine.
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Gabriel has crafted a beautiful wooden bowl, etched with a blue and yellow ring (the colours of the Ukraine flag), which he’ll auction off to the highest bidder – and all the money will go to charity.
Gabriel’s Ukraine bowl
Young woodworker Gabriel’s talent has gone viral. Credit: Instagram, @clarkie_woodwork
He posted a thank you video on his Clarkie_woodwork account, saying the surge in support ‘really means a lot to me’.
He also stressed that he was going to struggle to keep up with demand, because he also has ‘school and homework’ to contend with.
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Richard’s original post said: “Lovely twitter people – I don’t know how many of you are also #instagram users but I’m looking for a wee favour. I’ve a 12yr old who loves woodwork. He spends hours on his lathe making bowls and creating chopping boards which he’s sells to save up for a mountain bike.
“He’s created himself an instagram page to proudly show what he can do. Only the little ***** at his school have found out he’s only got a handful of follows and are now taking the piss out of him and ridiculing the thing he most loves. He’s heartbroken.
“So I was wondering if any of you fancied giving him a boost and following him on instagram at clarkie_woodwork it would make his day. Thanks in advance and feel free to retweet!”
He later wrote: “Well twitter ‘you were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off’. I was hoping for 60 followers not 40k! You’re all lovely crazy soppy fools. Serious karma & social media at its best.”
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What a lovely tale and what a talented young man.
Featured image:Twitter, @rclarkie
News
Police appeal to find next of kin after man found outside Palace Theatre
Daisy Jackson
Police are trying to track down the family of a man who died after being found unresponsive outside the Palace Theatre in Manchester.
The man, who has now been named as Jonathan Bernard Carroll, was seen outside the city centre theatre at around 6.30am on Tuesday 12 November.
Emergency services rushed to the scene and Mr Carroll was taken to hospital.
Tragically, the 47-year-old passed away a short time later.
A large cordon was in place on Whitworth Street and Oxford Road while police and security attended the incident.
Greater Manchester Police are now appealing to find his next of kin.
It’s believed that he resided in the Salford area of Greater Manchester.
Anyone with any information should contact the Coroner’s Office on 0161 856 1376.
Greater Manchester public urged to help get people ‘off the streets and on their feet’ before Christmas
Emily Sergeant
Locals are being urged to help get hundreds of people “off the streets and back on their feet” this festive season.
As the temperatures told colder by the day, and Christmas creeps closer and closer, Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity is bringing back ‘1000 Beds for Christmas’, and the massively-important initiative is aiming to provide 1,000 nights of accommodation to people at risk of homelessness before the big day arrives.
Forming part of the ongoing ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme, this festive fundraising mission is designed to provide food, shelter, warmth, and dedicated vital wrap-around support for those who need it most.
The charity says it wants to build on the “incredible success of 2023”, which raised more than £55,000 and provided 1,800 nights of accommodation.
Stockport-based property finance specialists, Together – which has supported the campaign for the last two years – has, once again, generously pledged to match every public donation for the first £20,000 raised.
Unfamiliar with the ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme? Since 2017, when rough sleeping peaked, the initiative has helped ensure a significantly-higher rate of reduction in the numbers of people facing a night on streets in Greater Manchester than seen nationally.
The landmark scheme has given people the chance to rebuild their lives, while also giving them access to key services and opportunities that allows them to stay off the streets for good.
Despite the scheme’s recent success, organisations across Greater Manchester are under “a huge amount of pressure” to meet the demand for their services this winter, and given the current economic outlook, household budgets will continue to be squeezed – leaving people on the sharp end of inequality and poverty.
Daisy Jackson -
29th March 2022 
