A special fundraising event to celebrate the life and legacy of Sarah Harding is being held in her hometown of Stockport next month.
The late singer – who was one fifth of one of the UK’s most successful girlbands, Girls Aloud, before she sadly lost her life to breast cancer at just 39-years-oldback in September 2021 – grew up in the Greater Manchester borough of Stockport, and attended high school and college there, as well as working several jobs, all before she auditioned for Pop Stars: The Rivals in 2002.
Greater Manchester was already a big part of Sarah’s life, but following her breast cancer diagnosis in 2020, it became even more important, as she was treated at The Christie hospital in Manchester.
Her final wish before she sadly passed was to find new ways of detecting breast cancer early when it is more treatable.
The BCAN-RAY (Breast Cancer Risk Assessment in Younger Women) study was then launched in her legacy, and is supported by Sarah’s family, friends, and Girls Aloud bandmates, as well as Dr Sacha Howell – who was Sarah’s consultant at The Christie.
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A Sarah Harding commemorative plaque is being unveiled at special fundraising event in Stockport next month / Credit: The Christie (via Supplied)
But now, to go one step further in honouring Sarah’s life and music legacy, a special plaque will be unveiled on High Street, close to the Little Underbank in Stockport, next month, and the grand unveiling will be part of the new ‘Stockport Music Map Tour’, created and hosted by John Barratt, who is renowned for his work promoting Stockport’s rich musical heritage.
The tour will start at midday outside Thread Bar on Market Street, with an introduction by John, who’ll walk everyone to the site of the plaque – which will be located next to the Sarah Harding mural, created earlier this year by street artist Degsy on the side of the former Royal Oak on 11 High Street.
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Then, following the plaque unveiling, John will conduct a Stockport Music Map walking tour around the sites of other commemorative plaques and significant locations that have played a pivotal role in Stockport’s vibrant music history.
Those on the tour will get to remember Sarah’s formative years in Stockport, before she went on to achieve global success with Girls Aloud.
Funds will be donated to both The Christie Charity and the Sarah Harding Breast Cancer Appeal / Credit: The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
A Girls Aloud-themed party will then take place after the tour at Thread Bar, as well as showing screenings of the band’s performances, and 20% of the bar’s takings on the day are to be donated to both The Christie Charity and the Sarah Harding Breast Cancer Appeal.
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“Sarah was such a huge part of Stockport’s story, and her journey from here to the global stage is truly inspiring,” event organiser, John Barrett, commented.
“We’re honoured to celebrate her legacy while supporting The Christie Charity, and the Sarah Harding Breast Cancer Appeal. This event is all about fundraising for The Christie Charity, keeping Sarah Harding’s memory alive here in Stockport, and continuing her mission to promote early detection of breast cancer in young women.”
John is hoping that the event can be made into an annual occasion, if it proves to be successful this year.
The Sarah Harding Plaque Unveiling and Walking Tour will take place in Stockport on Sunday 6 October.
Tickets for the event are £15 each, which includes a Christie wristband and pin badge, the plaque unveiling, guided music tour, and entry to Thread for the party, and you can grab yourself some here.
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Any further donations to The Sarah Harding Breast Cancer Appeal can be made here.
Featured Image – The Christie (via Supplied)
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Pep Guardiola confirms Kyle Walker has asked to leave Manchester City
Danny Jones
Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Kyle Walker has officially asked to leave Manchester City after seven years at the club.
Walker was left out of the squad for City’s FA Cup tie against fellow Greater Manchester outfit, Salford City, which ended up being an 8-0 demolition featuring a number of youngsters.
Naturally, with the January transfer window open and the England international playing increasingly less of a key role in Guardiola’s current team, his absence was one of the first questions put to Pep in his post-match press conference.
He didn’t dance around the subject either, stating simply: “It isn’t for me to say because [it should come from him] but two days ago Kyle asked to explore the options to play aboard [for] the end of his career”.
Going on to reiterate that Walker actually put in a transfer request a couple of seasons ago, which the former Spurs man himself has been open about previously despite the offer(s) ultimately falling short of satisfaction for both parties, Pep intimated that the wheels are pretty much already in motion.
His pace, power and positional sense might be on a gradual decline – it happens to virtually every player eventually – but his experience and exposure to winning every club trophy there is to win is invaluable and will likely see plenty of suitors who’ll look to capitalise on this, as well as his seniority and leadership.
Guardiola was full of nothing but admiration for the footballing veteran in his response either, reiterating that the club told him “how important he was” when the German giants first approached him, adding that “we cannot understand the success [City] have had these years without Kyle. It’s impossible.”
Nevertheless, with the intention of leaving now firmly in his mind, the Catalan coach insisted that he prefers to “play other players whose mind is here [with the club]” – hence why Walker was one of those omitted from the matchday squad.
Walker, now 34 and entering what many call the ‘twilight years’ of his career, will no doubt receive plenty of interest from around Europe and beyond. The Sheffield-born full-back made it known he was close to joining Bayern Munich after the Treble but whether or not they’d go back in for him is still unclear.
The Catalan coach went on to explain that his go-to right-sided defender has already contacted Man City’s Director of Football, Txiki Begiristain (who is also set to leave at the end of the current campaign) about leaving and fans can only assume he’ll be exiting before this month.
Bayern have already recruited two former players from that talented Tottenham team under Mauricio Pochettino, with Harry Kane and Eric Dier now well accustomed to the Bundesliga, it remains to be seen whether reuniting all three is in their minds.
Alternatively, other clubs and countries thought to be keen on Kyle Walker include AC Milan – who are also said to be courting Marcus Rashford – and several Saudi sides. The MLS is also thought to be a likely destination for the seasoned pro.
No matter where he goes, with six Premier League titles, a Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, Club World Cup; two FA Cups, four EFL Cups and a couple of Community Shields to his name, he’ll leave the Etihad knowing he’s achieved everything there is to achieve.
Featured Images — Sky Sports/Pantkiewicz (via Flickr)/Steffen Prößdorf (via WikiCommons)
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Century-old Didsbury Sports Ground left devastated after Greater Manchester flooding
Danny Jones
As residents and local businesses in various parts of the region continue to pick up the pieces after recent flooding, one of the venues worst affected is Didsbury Sports Ground, which sadly suffered “catastrophic” levels of damage.
Having stood in South Manchester for over 100 years, Didsbury Sports Ground (DSG) has been a key community institution for generations, home to rugby, cricket and football clubs, as well as the weekly parkrun, just to name a few of its regular leisure activities.
Unfortunately, following the recent floods which hit several of the 10 boroughs hard, as well as many parts of Cheshire from New Year’s Eve onwards, the pitches, car park, clubhouse, storage and changing rooms have all rendered unusable or completely ruined following the major incident.
And when we say unusable, we mean a lot of it is still underwater.
Credit: Didsbury Sports Ground (supplied)
After banks burst up and down the River Mersey and the North West downpour continued, not only were the various playing fields left heavily waterlogged, but the club’s central building also suffered significant structural damage.
In addition to a large hole being knocked through the main clubhouse wall, with collapsed fencing and tree limbs littering the perimeter, the constant flow of water has seeped right down to the foundations.
Speaking on the damage,DSG‘s director Ian Bailey said: “The devastation caused by the flooding is nothing short of heart-wrenching. The Grounds have been a landmark and local hub within the village for over a century. The damage is catastrophic and the impact on the community is immense.
“Our Ground is far more than just a sports facility, it is a place where people connect, grow, and thrive, and embrace the community spirit. To lose such an iconic and central community resource would be unthinkable and such a travesty, which is why we’re calling on local and central government support.”
“Every week, DSG brings together over 800 people from the local area for Manchester sports, fitness, social activities, recreation and community events, creating a place for well-being, a fantastic social circle and helping to build an all-round happier and healthier community.”
As a result of the damage and loss to the community, the team behind DSG are now frantically trying to raise enough funds to carry out a raft of remedial repairs and some serious groundwork.
Setting themselves a total target of £50,000 for the entire clean-up operation, every penny of which will go towards getting the sports ground back in a usable state.
Thus far, thanks to nearly 500 donations by loving locals and kindhearted Mancunians who know the value of leisure centres and clubs like this, they have already more than 30% of the amount needed in just over a week (just over £17k). Legends, every single one of them.
Bailey went on to add: “We are so grateful for the immediate help of our volunteers and the fantastic people at this club […] We will, however, need more than time, we will require the funds to bring the Grounds and Clubhouse back into full use and to safeguard from future flooding, which is why we have launched our ‘Repair & Rescue’ Fund.
As Ian reiterated, “Every contribution will make a huge difference”; you can see more proof of just how much work needs to be done and donate if you wish HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
18th September 2024 
