The moving tribute says: “Our beautiful Sharon sadly passed away on Wednesday 12th April 2023. She passed away peacefully surrounded by her family and friends.
“Sharon brought joy and laughter to every single person she met in her life. Her kindness and friendship will be missed by so many people. She lived life to it’s fullest, without any prejudice and always with love.
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“She was a devoted daughter to her Mum, Norah. A fantastic role model to her brother Ash. And the most loyal friend to everyone that had the pleasure of meeting her.
“Her loss will leave such a hole in so many lives.
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“We have set up this GoFundMe to raise money for Sharon’s funeral costs, we would love to give Sharon the beautiful service that she so deserves.
“Any contribution big or small is very much appreciated.”
Sharing the sad news today, EatMCR wrote: “A young woman called Sharon, who some of you will know, passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday.
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“You might have seen her around town or had one of her bakes. She worked at both @longboisbakes in Levenshulme and @trove_foods. From the few times I met her, she immediately stood out to me as someone who radiated positivity and had a heart of gold. I really do mean that.
“A Go Fund Me has been set up to raise money for her funeral costs. The donation link is in our bio.
“I know there’s many of you reading this who might not have met her and this is quite a personal post for us to share. Sharon was a well loved member of the Manchester hospitality community, it felt only right we help as much as we can now.
Sharon Nagadya-Tendo. Credit: GoFundMeCredit: Long Bois BakehouseSharon with the Long Bois Bakehouse team at the MFDF Awards. Credit: Carl Sukonik
“If you are able to donate to help her family with the funeral costs, that would mean a lot to her loved ones. Sending love to all her family and friends.”
Local hospitality businesses have all been sharing their fond memories of Sharon this afternoon – all centring about her positivity and smile.
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Tiny coffee and cocktail bar Kiosk on Lapwing posted: “Sharon probably baked many of the things you popped in your mouth here at Kiosk and anyone who was lucky enough to cross her path knew about it because she will have BLASTED you with positivity and joy.”
Local supper club Seasons Eats wrote: “Such sad news. She was always smiling and full of joy. She will be missed.”
The Palms Bakery posted: “You couldn’t go anywhere with Sharon without her knowing at least one person at every stop. She’s had such an impact on so many people and she’ll be remembered and loved forever.”
Levenshulme locals have also been sharing their memories of Sharon. One person wrote: “This is so shocking. She was a pandemic staple for me when I would visit Long Bois and she would always stop to pet my dog who she fondly called Meatball. She was always so positive, smiley and really could spin any day into a positive. She will be missed.”
Another person remembered how they would always leave the bakery ‘so happy and smiling’ after spending any time in her presence.
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Her loved ones hope to raise £15,000 in her memory to pay for her funeral costs – and after just hours, it’s already sailed past £10,000.
ITV to be bought out by Sky in transformational British broadcasting deal worth £1.6 billion
Danny Jones
In a watershed moment for British broadcasting, Sky has reached a transformational agreement worth more than £1.6 billion to buy out ITV in a landmark takeover deal.
With Sky already owned by US telecommunications corporation Comcast, this is set to be one of the biggest shakeups in TV and streaming for some time.
Talks actually started last November, but the process to complete a buyout like this has obviously taken a significant amount of time and money already.
It’s also worth noting that the deal is still pending full approval from the relevant regulators; nevertheless, it’s fair to say that it could change the face of the British media giants – who are based here in Greater Manchester over at MediaCity – but might signal a significant overhaul of our media landscape.
The Sky Group have assured there will be no immediate change to popular shows and will not be put behind a paywall at present (for now, anyway), with ITV still under a free-to-air service until 2034 as part of its public licensing contract.
Aquisitons/mergers of this size like this don’t come around very often, at least not across this side of the pond, with the growing Disney’s growing multinational monopolisation being one of the biggest examples of conglomerates mopping up major networks and huge brands over the past decade.
Writing in a statement, Sky said: “The UK media market is undergoing a profound and rapid transformation, and as competition for audiences intensifies, scale matters more than ever in order to compete with global streaming giants and YouTube in the UK.
“Viewers will continue to enjoy the shows they know and love, such as Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Love Island, I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, This Morning, Loose Women, Lorraine and News at Ten – alongside major live sporting events.”
That lattermost example feels particularly poignant at the moment, as this also means that the likes of ITV’s impressive World Cup coverage will come under the Sky umbrella in the near future.
ITV agrees sale of media and entertainment business to Sky for up to £1.6bnhttps://t.co/UtgO9REejy
It’s being seen as an ambitious attempt to shake up traditional terrestrial telly and digital platforms, with the ‘old guard’, as it were, having to move forward and fast to keep up with the mercurial market becoming evermore dominated by streaming services.
Of course, there are plenty raising questions and concerns over yet another domestic institution becoming deeper and deeper entwined with big American business; on the other hand, former ITV chairman Sir Peter Bazalgette, who still owns shares, says the deal was “essential” for its survival.
ITV will also receive £1.2bn in cash and Sky’s Love Productions business in return for ownership of their media and entertainment arm, whose shows include the Great British Bake Off.
Moving forward, ITV will also get a further £200m in 2028 if they meet revenue targets when it comes to advertising, with Sky promising to spend over £2.1bn on content from ITV Studios over a five-year period. You can read the full update from ITV right HERE.
Featured Images — James West (via Flickr)/Publicity picture
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Wayne Rooney ‘agrees’ to bizarre bet ahead of 2026 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals
Danny Jones
England and Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has seemingly roped himself into a bizarre bet of his own making after yet more teams booked their place in the quarter-final stages of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
It’s not quite Gary Lineker doing Match of the Day in his underpants after Leicester won the league, level, but we’d still pay to see it.
However, after the bedlam following England booking their spot in the quarter-finals this morning (feels odd to say and we’re still not quite sure what day it is), you might be surprised to learn it has nothing to do with the Three Lions’ historic victory.
It does have to do with who they’ll be facing in their next game, though: Norway, as Rooney seemed confident enough in his prediction that the Scandinavian side wouldn’t make it into the final eight that he wagered he’d row down the River Mersey. Well, they did…
Yes, in case you missed it, the Norwegians did make it past Brazil with a 2-1 win – and, of course, more goals for Erling Haaland – before Thomas Tuchel’s side had barely even woken up for their very long day at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico.
While no one was quite sure why ‘Wazza’ was quite so confident that the ‘Seleção’ were going to go through, especially since Norway had shown just as much star power in spells in the opening four rounds, he still decided to throw down the gauntlet on himself.
As you can see in the clip above, he says he’s a “man of [his] word” and looks to have even roped in the likes of fellow former pros turned punditry colleagues on the night, Micah Richards and Joe Hart.
That being said, he did make the caveat that perhaps it would be better if the BBC could somehow sort them to sail down the Hudson River in New York instead, simply for the sake of ‘time’.
We’re not sure exactly how easy it is for the British broadcasters to simply secure permission to take a rowboat down one of the busiest and most famous waterways in the world, but you never know.
Here’s hoping they at least try to make something happen, anyway.
There’s been plenty of curious and comedic moments already this tournament, but for anyone who hasn’t yet watched Harry Kane’s post-match following the tense 3-2 thriller against Mexico, you really need to.
He was given the chance to chat to the media once again after his voice recovered, but let’s just say the memes that have already come from THAT interview are almost as memorable as the match itself.
Daisy Jackson -
14th April 2023 
