Dame Deborah James’ potentially lifesaving last words are being shared far and wide after it was announced that she has sadly died at age 40.
Tributes have been pouring celebrating the life of influential journalist, podcast host, and campaigner, Dame Deborah James – better known as the Bowel Babe – ever since the heartbreaking news broke that she had passed away on Wednesday following diagnosed with incurable bowel cancer back in 2016.
Dame Deborah announced back in early May this year that her cancer was terminal, and was to begin hospice-at-home palliative care.
Dame Deborah passed away “peacefully” surrounded by her family.
A statement confirming her passing shared by her loved ones on Instagram read: “Deborah, who many of you will know as Bowelbabe, was an inspiration and we are incredibly proud of her and her work and commitment to charitable campaigning, fundraising and her endless efforts to raise awareness of cancer that touched so many lives.
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“Deborah shared her experience with the world to raise awareness, break down barriers, challenge taboos and change the conversation around cancer. Even in her most challenging moments, her determination to raise money and awareness was inspiring.
“We thank you for giving us time in private as a family, and we look forward to continuing Deborah’s legacy long into the future through the BowelBabe Fund.
“Thank you for playing your part in her journey, you are all incredible.”
Since receiving the tragic news that her cancer was terminal, and setting up the BowelBabe Fund, Dame Deborah went on gone on to raise a whopping £6.9 million and counting for Cancer Research UK to raise awareness of bowel cancer and “fund clinical trials and research into personalised medicine for cancer patients”.
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In her final days, she also inspired leading toilet roll manufacturer Andrex, and retail giant M&S to partner with charity Bowel Cancer UK as part of the #GetOnARoll campaign and commit to adding the symptoms of bowel cancer and lifesaving information to millions of toilet roll packages stocked on shelves across the UK.
At the end of the statement confirming her passing, Dame Deborah’s last words were shared by her family in a short message – and they could potentially save millions of lives.
Dame Deborah said: “Find a life worth enjoying, take risks, love deeply, have no regrets, and always, always have rebellious hope.
“And finally, check your poo – it could just save your life.”
Bowel Cancer UK says almost half of adults in the UK can’t name a single symptom of bowel cancer, despite it being the fourth most common cancer, and it says that knowing the symptoms, and acting on them, means that bowel cancer can be diagnosed earlier when it is more treatable and curable.
Fewer than 40% of people are diagnosed with bowel cancer at the earliest stages, and the charity says “we can change this and ultimately save more lives”.
We’re deeply saddened that our patron, @bowelbabe, has died, and our hearts go out to her family and everyone who knew and loved her. Deborah’s star shone bright; she was a true inspiration to so many. pic.twitter.com/Hf2aDATftZ
Bowel cancer is very treatable, but the earlier it’s diagnosed, the easier it is to treat, and people whose cancer is diagnosed at an early stage have a much higher chance of successful treatment than those whose cancer has become more widespread.
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If you have any symptoms, Bowel Cancer UK is encouraging people not to be embarrassed and not to ignore them, as “doctors are used to seeing lots of people with bowel problems”.
Symptoms can include:
Bleeding from your bottom and/or blood in your poo
A persistent and unexplained change in bowel habit
Unexplained weight loss
Extreme tiredness for no obvious reason
A pain or lump in your tummy
Most people with these symptoms don’t have bowel cancer, and other health problems can cause similar symptoms – but if you have any of these, or if things just don’t feel right, you are advised to go to see your GP.
You may need to visit your doctor more than once if your symptoms don’t get better.
Find out more information on the Bowel Cancer UK website here.
Luxury Manchester gym Blok confirms permanent closure after weeks of uncertainty
Daisy Jackson
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure, weeks after the doors to the premium fitness facility mysteriously closed.
Around a fortnight ago, members began to arrive to their classes to find the gym on Ducie Street locked up and a forfeiture notice on the door – but at the time, Blok said that it was fighting to reopen.
Sadly, in an email sent to members today, its founder has confirmed that the studio is now permanently closed.
Blok – which has several very successful sites down in London – said that its relationship with its landlord has ‘broken down to a point where trust has been lost’.
The gym wrote that it’s been left with ‘no workable way forward’.
They said: “BLOK Manchester was a space built by our loyal and dedicated community. Whether you joined us for one class or one hundred, we are deeply grateful. You helped create something genuinely special in an incredible city.”
In the immediate future, they said they’ll be supporting the team of fantastic trainers who worked here, as well as looking after members.
Members will be contacted within a few hours with options and refunds owed.
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure. Credit: The Manc Group
CEO and founder Ed Stanbury said: “While this marks the end of a chapter, we don’t see it as the end of our story in Manchester. We’re already speaking with developers about potential future sites and remain committed to returning to the city when the time is right.
“Thank you for being part of our story so far. Let’s shape the future of wellness. The mission continues.”
Commenting on Blok’s Instagram post – its first in almost a fortnight – people have been sharing their sadness at the closure of its Manchester site.
One person wrote: “beautiful space, beautiful staff and beautiful community.”
Another said: “Sending love to all the instructors !! :(((( gutted”
Someone else commented: “THE BEST CLASSES. I’m gutted.”
‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Emily Sergeant -
29th June 2022 
