Liverpool fundraising legend ‘Speedo Mick’ has officially completed his final charity challenge by walking all the way from John O’Groat’s in Scotland to Land’s End in Cornwall.
The famous fundraiser, who became a household name for swimming the English Channel in 2014 and numerous other impressive feats over the last decade, finished his 1,000-mile walk on Saturday, 29 April, summiting the likes of Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis in all manner of conditions on his way.
Real name Michael Cullen, Speedo Mick gained the amusingly modest moniker for carrying out all of his charity efforts in nothing but a tight pair of swimming trunks, but make no mistake, there is nothing modest about the things this man has achieved.
Arriving in Land’s End this weekend following his epic four-month trek to walk the length of the UK, the proud Scouser and lifelong Everton fan (hence the choice of shorts) shared a resouding message of relief and gratitude on social media, confirming his journey had finally come to an end.
I can't believe the journey is over but I am mighty relieved that it is. I have been running on fumes adrenaline beeps and pasties for 3 weeks.
As if this individual feast wasn’t enough, when totting up all of his other fundraising efforts throughout the past 10 years, Speedo Mick has raised more than £1 million for charity, including over £220,000 for mental health organisations not just around the North West but the UK and Ireland at large.
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Mick began his remarkable voyage after he began struggling with his own mental health some time ago, with his last walk seeing him cover more than 2,500 miles and raising £200k in one go. Utterly immense.
As explained in the description on his fundraising page, the 58-year-old has raised a ridiculous amount for various important causes, including mental health, food drives, disadvantaged young people and homelessness — all of which factored into The SpeedoMike Foundation, which he set up in June 2020.
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Speaking to BBC Breakfast on the day he reached Land’s End, the mighty Speedo Mick explained how motivation came from nothing else other than wanting to give back, explaining how he “needed that support myself a long time ago and [has] never looked back since.”
For nine years, Speedo Mick has crossed the length and breadth of the UK wearing little more than a pair of blue swimming trunks to raise £1m.
Speedo Mick has put in some serious graft over the past seven years, in particular, raising truly life-saving sums to combat mental health and suicide prevention, but as he explained when he began this walk (in freezing cold December, no less), he will now “be hanging up my Blue knickers for ever more.”
Joking that he’s “no spring chicken”, his first words after reaching his final destination were: “I’m freezing cold, but I’m excited to see all of my family. I just want to see my own bed and to have some beans on toast.” We’d say he’s earned it, wouldn’t you?
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You can donate to his GoFundMe HERE and help him take his amazing tally even further.
You’re an absolute inspiration, Mick, now have a good old rest and enjoy that beans on toast.
Greater Manchester restaurant speaks out after being paid a visit by Nigel Farage
Daisy Jackson
A restaurant in Greater Manchester has issued a lengthy statement after it was paid a visit by Nigel Farage on his campaign trail.
Vault 2, a family-run business in Denton, has said that it’s been bombarded with negative messages since the Reform party leader was photographed inside the restaurant.
Farage had made appearances at a number of local businesses in Tameside, alongside the party’s candidate, Matt Goodwin.
Vault 2 stressed in its statement about Nigel Farage that it is ‘a restaurant, not a political platform’, adding: “We hold no prejudice toward anyone – regardless of political views, race, background, creed, or beliefs. Everyone is welcome through our doors, and anyone may privately hire our venue. That has always been the case and will remain so.”
The restaurant also clarified that it was not a hosted event that Farage attended, nor were they endorsing or supporting him by allowing him to ‘call in’.
Vault 2 added: “It is genuinely upsetting, after everything we have done – and continue to do – for this town, to receive accusations of favouritism or messages saying you’ll never visit us again based on this.”
The restaurant then said that it takes ‘no political stance, shows no favour, and aligns with no party’ – though critics have pointed out that its Facebook page had shared a Reform post just before making this statement.
Inside Vault 2 last yearFood at Vault 2Vault 2 has issued a statement about the Nigel Farage visit. Credit: The Manc
Vault 2 signed off its statement by saying: “Whether you vote left, right, centre, or not at all — you are welcome here. Food first. Hospitality always. Thank you x.”
One person commented on the post: “If your doors are open to fascists, then your doors are closed to their targets. I sincerely hope your business suffers for it.”
Another said: “How can you ‘create a welcoming space’ if you welcome people whose aim to create the exact opposite.”
And someone else said: “This would be more believable if you weren’t liking Reform posts on Facebook. If you take no political stance and align with no party, maybe don’t like posts about Goodwin from your business account. We see you.”
But several people showed support for Vault 2, with one writing: “Well said – shame on those sending negativity – the keyboard warriors need to take a break and disappear!”
Vault 2’s statement in full addressing the visit from Nigel Farage. Credit: Instagram @vault2_barandbistro
Ticket requests are now officially open for Harry Styles’ one-night-only Manchester gig
Emily Sergeant
The time has come – the ticket request system for Harry Styles’ one-night-only gig in Manchester is now live.
In case you hadn’t heard, it was announced on Wednesday evening after much speculation that Harry Styles would be making a return home to Manchester for a one-night-only ‘intimate’ gig at Co-op Live to celebrate the release of his fourth studio album next month.
Styles is set to share Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally with the world on Friday 6 March – and it’s that very same night he’ll be taking to the stage in Manchester.
Although little is known about what to expect at the gig, the poster for the event does state that there’ll be a ‘special performance of the album’, so it seems fair to say that Manchester will be the first to hear the new set of songs in full live.
And if all of that wasn’t exciting enough as it is, the tickets are only £20 per person.
But, of course, there is a bit of a catch, as this isn’t your regular online queuing up for tickets scenario, this is a ‘ticket request’ system instead.
So, like us – and literally every other fan in the vicinity of Greater Manchester and beyond this week – you’re probably wondering what a ‘ticket request’ system is… what does it look like? How does it work? Basically, what the heck is it? Well, we’ve done a bit of digging around to get to the bottom of it so you’re not left too much in the dark.
According to Ticketmaster’s website, if an artist is running a ticket request, they’ll invite fans to request tickets so you don’t have to compete in a first-come, first-served sale.
This means you can take your time to review the available options and request the right tickets for you.
All you need to do is tell Ticketmaster which shows you’re interested in, the type of ticket you want, and your payment details. Then, if the tickets you request can be fulfilled, your card will be charged and you’ll get emailed instructions to access them in the Ticketmaster App.
Unfortunately, as much as we’d love it to be the case for everyone, submitting a request doesn’t guarantee you tickets – it really is just luck of the draw.
To request tickets, you’ll need to follow these three simple steps:
Select which shows you’re interested in and the type of ticket you want
Add your payment details
Harry Styles ticket requests are now live / Credit: Johnny Dufort (Publicity Picture)
Ticketmaster will then send you a summary email that details the tickets you’ve requested. Your card won’t be charged at this time, but they may charge a temporary £1 authorisation to your card to validate your request.
A maximum of two tickets per person can be requested, which has been set to allow for as many fans as possible to get tickets.
Now, here’s the crucial part – you will need to submit your request for tickets while the window is open until Sunday 8 February at 11pm GMT. After the request window closes, you’ll get a second email by 11:59pm GMT on Tuesday 10 February confirming whether or not your request has been fulfilled.
Danny Jones -
1st May 2023 
