A six-year-old from Lancashire has already raised nearly £30,000 for charity by setting himself the incredible challenge of climbing the equivalent of Mount Everest.
Didn’t realise heroes came this young.
Oscar Burrow from Lancaster loves climbing, hiking and walking of all kinds — not to mention a bit of “danger” from time to time, according to his dad Matt — so back in October 2022, the incredible little lad set himself the challenge of climbing the equivalent of Everest for a good cause.
As explained in the description of his fundraising page, after learning about the first men to climb Everest (Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay) Oscar decided he wanted to become the youngest person ever to summit the world’s highest point himself, but knew he needed some practice. Cue awesomeness.
With that in mind, the youngster set himself the challenge of climbing the next best thing: a dozen of the UK’s tallest mountains the total elevation of which would match Everest’s 8,849 metres — all in aid of the Derian House Children’s Hospice in Chorley. What a little legend.
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Starting with Inglebrough in the Yorkshire Dales, Oscar has now summited 10 out of the 12 peaks on his list and raised nearly £30k for the local Lancashire charity.
Completing the likes of Scafell Pike, Snowdon, The Old Man of Coniston and more, many of which were done in treacherous conditions, this primary school kid has done what many grown adults are too hesitant to take on.
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Citing the likes of Cairn Gorm and Glyder Fawr as some of his hardest simply due to the deep snow and low visibility, Oscar now has two peaks left to go before he reaches the magnificent milestone, having covered countless kilometres and raised enough to send 29 different families on holiday. Incredible.
He did summit amazing! 🚨
Fresh off the back of his chilly trek to the top of Cairngorm, we're very excited to announce that 6 y/o Oscar has reached his £2️⃣9️⃣,0️⃣3️⃣0️⃣ target after an interview with @AmandaHolden & @JamieTheakston on @thisisheart tipped his total over the edge 🙌 pic.twitter.com/F8n4GrKgtE
— Derian House Children's Hospice (@DerianHouse) April 17, 2023
Oscar said that aside from challenging himself, he has kept motivated by the goal of “raising money to help support children and their families when they are facing much harder challenges in their lives.”
Derian House cares for more than 400 babies, children and young people with life-threatening illnesses, along with their families, operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We couldn’t think of a better cause than that.
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As his dad told ITV, everyone is “speechless and couldn’t be prouder”, with the hospice themselves adding, “How many six-year-olds could say that they have climbed the height of Mount Everest? Oscar is an incredible little boy”.
Oscar and his dad are set to complete their remarkable journey on 29 May when they scale the might Ben Nevis on the 70th anniversary of the first successful ascent of Everest. You can donate to Oscar’s Everest Walk challenge for Derian House fundraiser HERE.
Featured Image — Oscar’s Everest Walk for Derian House Children’s Hospice (via Facebook)
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Major pop star crowns humble rice and three cafe as ‘Jewel of Manchester’ ahead of sold-out gig
Thomas Melia
A beloved city centre takeaway has been given the title of ‘Jewel of Manchester’ by chart-topping UK singer Sam Smith.
Known for hits like ‘Stay With Me’, ‘I’m Not The Only One’ and more recently ‘Unholy’, UK pop-ballad act Sam Smith also likes to drop a food review every once in a while.
Currently on the road with a run of shows in Manchester and London for their ‘To Be Free’ live shows, Sam Smith is stopping off at some of our city’s much-loved spots.
On their food-reviewing account titled ‘Sam Served’, where they adopt the aptly-fitting nickname ‘Ham Smith’, Sam has visited restaurants across the globe – and most recently turned their attention to Manchester’s own This & That.
Smith decided to pop in and grab a cheeky rice and three from long-standing backstreet food business This & That, and it certainly went down a treat.
After sampling their amazing selection of meat, vegetable and vegan curries, the musician crowned this family-run Indian takeaway a ‘Jewel of Manchester’.
The hitmaker described this Northern Quarter Indian eatery as ‘Everything food should be’ and definitely enjoyed all the curries on offer ‘leaving belly and heart full’.
This & That prides itself on affordable and comforting food with its ‘Rice and Three Curries’ starting from just £6 – not bad for a city centre foodie spot.
Sam has racked up an impressive 490k followers via their ‘Sam Served’ profile, with famous faces like Lily Allen, Denise Welch and CMAT all wanting to know the superstar’s foodie thoughts.
After enjoying a curry or three, Sam Smith also made sure to feed their soul to by venturing down to Afflecks and getting lost in the music at Mars Tapes.
Recognised as one of the UK’s only cassette and tape shops, Mars Tapes lets you flick through their crates of physical media and even preview tracks before you buy with its dedicated listening areas.
It’s safe to say that Smith has ‘Latched’ onto Manchester’s independent business scene and we’re here for it.
The London-born artist has just released their latest album Hazel Eyes and is currently amid a UK residency tour with two dates in Manchester’s Albert Hall and eight shows set for London Coliseum.
24-hour bus services are now running across all Greater Manchester boroughs
Emily Sergeant
24-hour bus services are now running across all boroughs in Greater Manchester.
You may remember that back in March, it was announced that every borough of Greater Manchester was set to get a night bus service in what is hoped to be a ‘boost’ to the night-time economy… and now it’s official, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has launched those 24-hour buses this month, along with a series of other measures.
Oldham, Stockport, Tameside, and Trafford now join the rest of Greater Manchester in having 24-hour bus services, meaning every part of the region will have a night bus operating Thursday through to Sunday.
It’s expected that these new services will help around 625,400 people working in the night-time economy across Greater Manchester, as well as those out enjoying the region’s nightlife, TfGM has said.
The routes which will run around the clock from Thursday until Sunday are:
50 (Salford – Manchester)
216 (Tameside – Manchester)
263 (Trafford – Manchester)
192 (Stockport – Manchester)
83 (Oldham – Manchester)
All Greater Manchester boroughs now have 24-hour bus services / Credit: TfGM
They launch alongside the most significant service changes to the Bee Network since the completion of bus franchising last year – including other new bus routes, and more frequent services across Greater Manchester.
“We want everyone to be able to enjoy everything Greater Manchester offers, without the worry of how to get there and get home,” commented Greater Manchester Mayor, Bev Craig.
“By growing the Bee Network, we’re making it easier than ever for people to use the bus, day and night.
“Our night buses are already providing a lifeline to some of the hundreds of thousands of people who are growing our night-time economy and working in essential public services.”
“Whether people are heading home from a night at the theatre or starting the early shift at a hospital, they can now get on board the night bus as a safe and affordable way to travel.”
Further improvements will delivered from January 2027, and a full breakdown by borough can be found on the Bee Network website here.
Danny Jones -
18th April 2023 
