A pair of northern skateboarders have just completed an impressive journey that saw themskate170 miles up to Britain’s highest pub.
Joe Hunt, from Leeds, and his friend Matthew O’Toole, from Linthorpe, skated all the way to Whitby from Walney as part of a four-day fundraising mission.
Taking on the challenge in order to raise money for Cancer Research UK, the pair wanted to give something back to help other sufferers after losing family members to cancer.
The pair have now more than doubled their original fundraising target, reports The Hoot.
As part of the ‘gruelling’ 170-mile coast-to-coast trip, the duo stopped off at 17th-century boozer the Tan Hill Inn – notorious for being the highest pub in Britain.
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At 1732 feet above sea level, it was no mean feat getting up there – at points, the terrain was so steep, the men said their boards starting rolling backwards.
However, after losing loved ones to cancer, they both wanted to do something to help others suffering from the disease and decided that, by breaking the trip down into four consecutive days, they could make it.
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Speaking to Gazette Live, Matthew said: “I lost my cousin to my cancer. My mam had cancer and my grandad had cancer. Luckily they battled it and we found out Joe’s mam had cancer back in December.
“She fought it though. It was a charity we thought would be worthy for us to take on the challenge really.
“It was really hard. We battled through every type of weather possible – wind, thunder and lightning, rain, blistering sun but really really fun. I have got blisters all over my feet but it was well worth it.
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“I went through a lot of emotions in in my mind. There were a lot of thoughts going on.
“It was partially part of the motivation that the pain we were going through was nothing compared to what other people are going for and it was very overwhelming coming from Tan to that final stretch into Whitby and seeing everybody.”
At the time of writing, Joe and Matthew have raised £1,004 of their original £500 target.
The skateboarder’s Just Giving page reads: “
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“This July 6th – July 9th Matthew O’Toole and Joe Hunt are skateboarding from Walney to Whitby a total of 179 miles, we are breaking this down in to 4 consecutive days, July 6th Walney – Oxenholme 43 miles, July 7th Oxenholme – Tan Hill 44 miles, July 8th Tan Hill – Appleton Wiske 47 miles and July 9th Appleton Wiske – Whitby 45 miles.
“This will be a very hard challenge for us all especially the skate up to Tan Hill Inn which is the highest pub in Britain ! a whopping 1732 feet above sea level!
“This challenge is all in need of Cancer Research UK to try help beat cancer.
“1 in 2 of us will get cancer in our lifetime. We can all play our part to support the research that will beat it. Help fund life-saving research by making a donation to my page. Cancer is happening right now, which is why we are fundraising right now for Cancer Research UK. There’s no time to lose!
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“Please help us by donating to our page today and help bring forward the day when all cancers are cured.”
Oasis finally confirm ‘private ballot’ ticket information for reunion tour
Daisy Jackson
Oasis have just announced more information about how tickets will be sold through a ‘private ballot’ for their extra reunion tour dates.
The group added two additional shows at Wembley Stadium after their initial 17 gigs across London, Manchester, Dublin, Edinburgh and Cardiff generated huge demand and sold out in a day.
Oasis and Ticketmaster came under fire though for the use of dynamic pricing, which saw ticket prices shoot up by hundreds of pounds by the time people made it through the online queues.
For these additional reunion tour dates at Wembley, ticket sales will look a little different.
They’ll be using a ‘private ballot’, which will give first dibs to those who missed out on the first ticket sale.
You’ll only be invited to register for the sale if you signed into your Ticketmaster account on Saturday 31 August, and joined a queue for a specific show.
And you’ll only receive an invitation if you DIDN’T manage to bag tickets the first time round.
THEN you’ll be able to register for the actual ballot, which still doesn’t guarantee you a ticket but does at least get you into a (hopefully less lengthy) queue.
“Invitations to enter the private ballot will be sent overnight tonight (Saturday) to eligible fans we have been able to identify.
“If you signed into your Ticketmaster UK account on Saturday, 31st August, and were able to join a queue for a specific show, but didn’t get a ticket-then you may be eligible to take part and will receive an email on how to register for the ballot.
“Keep an eye on the inbox associated with your Ticketmaster account, and don’t forget to check your junkmail.
“Once successfully registered, you will be entered into the ballot for a code for access to the final Wembley on sale.
“Due to the demand for the shows and to avoid last week’s long queues, codes will be strictly limited. Entry to the ballot does not guarantee you will receive a code.
“The ballot is only open to invited fans. You must register with the email to which your invitation was sent and which is registered with your Ticketmaster account.
“All other entries will be discounted. If you do not receive an email then unfortunately you will not be eligible for the ballot.
“You will be automatically discounted from the ballot, even if you go through the registration process.”
Featured image: Simon Emmett
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Manchester Airport named UK’s worst in annual Which? survey for third year running
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Airport has officially been declared the worst airport in the UK, according to a new survey by Which?… yet again.
The summer travel season may be drawing to a close now, with hundreds of flights having taken off and landed in our region over the last couple of months, but for any Greater Manchester holidaymakers who are still yet to jet off, an annual ranking by consumer choice group Which? has proved to be pretty grim reading.
That’s because several terminals at the UK’s third largest airport have found themselves at the bottom of the list in Which? latest findings.
Manchester Airport has hit back at the survey and defended itself, saying its own passenger surveys suggest people are “much more positive” about the airport, adding that it was “proud to give people in all parts of the North easy and affordable access to nearly 200 different destinations across the world”.
For its annual survey, Which? spoke to nearly 7,000 passengers to gather feedback about their experiences of flying from UK airports over the last 12 months, and asked them to score the airports across 11 categories.
Manchester Airport has been named the worst in the UK for the third year running / Credit: The Manc Group
Some of these categories including seating, staff, toilets, and of course, the queues we all dread at check in, bag drop, passport control, and security.
And just like in both 2022 and again in 2023, it was Manchester Airport Terminal 3 that ranked right at the bottom, receiving the lowest customer satisfaction score of 37%.
Manchester Terminal 1 ranked one place above that with a score of 40%, while Manchester Terminal 2 was a little further up the the list with a score of 51%, and just saw Luton Airport, London Stansted, and Belfast International Airport sandwiched in between it.
According to Which?, some of the complaints it received about Manchester Airport from passengers who responded to the survey this year was that older people struggled with long walks due to travelators being broken since 2021, difficulties with finding a seat, and “horrendous” queues with people apparently being “corralled like cattle”.
As mentioned though, Manchester Airport has slammed Which?’s findings in a formal statement.
The UK’s third largest airport has hit back at the survey results and defended itself / Credit:
Describing the survey as “disappointing to see”, Manchester Airport’s statement reads: “We understand not every experience is perfect and want all passengers to feel able to raise their concerns directly with us. That is why we speak to them on a daily basis, surveying hundreds of people a month to get in-the-moment feedback from a full range of perspectives.
“That is in stark contrast to Which?, which conducted a tiny and unrepresentative survey of its members six months ago, asking them to recollect airport experiences that could have been as far back in time as April 2023.
“Which? fully understands that its readers form a narrow group of passengers whose views cannot in any way be taken to represent those of the travelling public at large, but chooses to promote its survey findings as if they do.”
Manchester Airport says it’s disappointing see Which? “chase cheap headlines” with its “sensational and over-simplified characterisation of airports” and the different roles they play, adding: “To make matters worse, it has printed inaccurate statements about our facilities and security waiting times that paint a more negative picture than reality.