Oldham grandfather becomes oldest man to row 3,000 miles solo across Atlantic
A 70-year-old grandfather from Oldham smashed a world record this weekend after rowing 3,000 miles unassisted across the Atlantic Ocean and raising hundreds of thousands in the process.
A grandfather from Oldham has smashed a world record after rowing 3,000 miles unassisted across the Atlantic Ocean and raising hundreds of thousands in the process.
Frank Rothwell, 70, set sail from the Canary Islands on December 12 and crossed the finish line 56 days later (achieving his target of making it to the Caribbean by Valentine’s Day).
His arrival in Antigua on Saturday was greeted by whoops and cheers from supporters – officially making Frank the oldest person to complete the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.
The feat has so far raised over £700,000 for Alzheimer’s Research UK; a cause close to Frank’s heart after his brother-in-law Roger – who suffered from the condition – passed away during the row.
The hope is to generate £1 million overall.
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Frank Rothwell made history by becoming the oldest person to row solo across the Atlantic ?♂️⁰ We’ll speak to Frank this morning on #BBCBreakfast ⏰
Frank Rothwell, a 70-year-old grandfather from Oldham, has become the oldest person to row unassisted across the Atlantic Ocean – raising more than £640,000 for charity.
Frank, who trained for 18 months for the challenge, told media after completing his journey he felt “quite emotional” at the finish line and admitted he was “relieved it was all over”.
He added: “The self-discipline, that’s the hardest thing. You can lay there and drift along with the wind and the current at 1 mile an hour, or you can get on the oars and go three miles an hour.
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“Obviously I’m an old man with an old body, so I’ve got a few adaptions to the boat to make it easier for myself – my seat is a racing car seat rather than a little pad that others sit on.”
Frank also thanked the five thousands supporters who’d donated to the cause so far and his wife who he described as his “rock”.
Hilary Evans, chief executive of Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “We’re incredibly moved by Frank’s determination to raise £1m for dementia research. By taking on such a monumental challenge at 70 years old, he has helped to spread awareness and inspired people of all ages to take on their own challenges.
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“To bring about life-changing treatments for dementia, fundraising efforts from ordinary people like Frank and his supporters provide a crucial lifeline to the progression of our research.”
Learn more about Frank’s Atlantic Challenge on his website.
News
Huge bakery chain Gail’s confirms move to Prestwich – but spells village’s name wrong in signs
Daisy Jackson
After months of swirling rumours, bakery group Gail’s has finally confirmed it’s moving to Prestwich – but locals have spotted a glaring error at the first hurdle.
The popular artisan bakery will be moving onto Bury New Road, right in the heart of the suburb and directly opposite the new Rudy’s pizzeria.
Prestwich locals have been hearing whispers of a Gail’s arriving for a few months, and finally the London-founded cafe has stuck up signs to confirm it’s on the way.
But the sign contains one crucial mistake – it’s spelled Prestwich wrong.
The red window displays now read ‘Hello Preswich. We’ll be baking here soon’.
One local messaged Gail’s to point out the error and to say it’s ‘not a great first impression for the locals…’.
Gail’s has since confirmed it’s in the process of fixing the signs.
The arrival of both Gail’s and Rudy’s has already caused a stir in Prestwich, which has always been fiercely independent and has only a handful of chains within it (Greggs and Costa are perched by the tram stop).
In fact, one local business-owner shared a moving statement about his concerns for the future of local businesses just a few weeks ago.
Gail’s has confirmed it’s opening a bakery in Prestwich. Credit: The Manc Group
First formed in the early 1990s as a wholesale-only operation, Gail’s opened its first cafe on Hampstead High Street in 2005.
Today the brand has more than 100 sites spread across London, Oxford, Brighton and further afield, and is known more as a customer-facing cafe and bakery.
It’s famed for its freshly-baked loaves, cinnamon buns, ham and cheese croissants and coffees, and is likely to go down a storm in Prestwich.
But the signs have been causing a bit of a stir in the wrong way this weekend – in a local Facebook group, one person commented: “Not locals who own it then.”
Another described it as an ‘epic fail’.
And one person said: “Oh the DRAMA of it all.”
Someone else joked: “I cannot wait for Gais to come to Preswich.”
Met Office issues snow warnings for large parts of northern England from this evening
Emily Sergeant
Greater Manchester could be waking up to a winter wonderland as weather warnings for snow and ice have been issued across northern England.
Expected to arrive anywhere from 6pm this evening (18 November) and last until around 10am tomorrow morning (19 November), the Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for snow and ice for large parts of northern England – indicating that “snow may bring disruption to a central swathe of the UK during Monday night and Tuesday morning”.
Weather forecasters say that although most snow is likely to accumulate on higher ground, with five-10 cm on ground over 200 metres, and possibly 15-20 cm over 300 metres, there is a chance that snow may settle at lower levels “within the warning area”.
The Met Office also said that this possible five-10 cm at lower levels is likely to be “more disruptive”, particularly if travelling and if the snow coincides with rush hour, but the likelihood for that is still “uncertain” at this stage.
Greater Manchester could see snow from this evening as the Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning / Credit: Geograph | Pexels
As the rain, sleet, and snow begin to clear on tomorrow morning, ice may form on surfaces that are untreated.
“We have issued yellow warnings for snow and ice as cold weather moves in from the north,” explained Andy Page, who is a Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office.
“This brings snow showers and some ice to parts of Scotland on Sunday night, and then the potential for a spell of snow to lead to disruption to some transport routes across a central swathe of the UK on Tuesday morning.”
⚠️ Yellow weather warning UPDATED ⚠️
Snow & ice across southern parts of Scotland, northern England, the Midlands and north Wales
In addition to the severe weather warnings, a Cold Health Alert has also been issued by the UKHSA, and it covers the north of England and the Midlands right through until Thursday.
The Manc -
8th February 2021 
