Manchester is home to some special people. And after yet another bumpy yearwhich has effectively amounted to one big lockdown, a small group of figures have inspired and led us through the tough times.
We’ve decided to kick-start a Manc of the Month series to give these people the plaudits they deserve.
Following on from our ‘The Mancs of the Year’ feature towards the end of 2020, we wanted to celebrate the individuals who have represented our region – and what better place to start than with the undisputed man of the moment, Marcus Rashford?
Unless you’ve been living under a rock since the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, you’ve properly heard the Wythenshawe-born Manchester United and England footballer’s name mentioned once or twice.
It’s been pretty hard to ignore what he’s achieved both on and off the pitch over the 17 months – and for very good reason.
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Unsurprisingly, after such remarkable achievements, the 23-year-old has received numerous awards and accolades to recognise his extraordinary acts of selflessness, including an MBE and an honorary doctorate from the University of Manchester – the youngest person to ever achieve this feat.
So let’s run through some of his shining moments then, shall we?
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Credit: BBC / Paul Cooper
Feeding Britain’s Children
Taking it right back to where it all started, in March 2020 – a day after it was announced that schools right across the UK would be closing doors due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic – Rashford published a now-viral Twitter thread that would prove to be the spark in making his name known just as much off the pitch as it is on it.
And from there, he never looked back.
On 19 March 2020, he partnered with FareShare UK – a food redistribution charity network made up of 18 independent organisations aimed at relieving food poverty and reducing food waste.
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“I want to understand the scale of the problem and how we can reach vulnerable children,” he said. “It’s not just schools. It’s community centres, breakfast clubs, etc that provide the only meal many kids get each day.
“No child should have to worry where their next meal is coming from.”
His ongoing mission to #EndChildFoodPoverty was deemed so inspiring by the nation that it became the subject of a dedicated BBC One documentary titled Marcus Rashford: Feeding Britain’s Children, released last December.
Guys, across the UK there are over 32,000 schools. Tomorrow all of these will close. Many of the children attending these schools rely on free meals, so I’ve spent the last few days talking to organisations to understand how this deficit is going to be filled. (1) pic.twitter.com/3Iusr6E9kM
Rashford’s partnership with FareShare was proving to have an undeniable impact on the lives of thousands of children across Greater Manchester and the UK, raising tens of millions of pounds in the process, but Rashford decided it just wasn’t enough.
If he really wanted to contribute to eradicating child food poverty, fundamental change had to come from higher up – the UK government.
— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) June 14, 2020
Asking the government to #maketheUturn, Rashford launched a campaign to get free school meals distributed to all eligible children throughout the summer holidays.
The footballer then proceeded to win a £170 million COVID winter grant scheme to support vulnerable families and an extension of holiday activities, and food programme to 2021.
He also won the support and admiration of the nation in the process.
Becoming a Published Author
Aside from his fight to provide free school meals, and “kill the stigma” around asking for help, Marcus Rashford also has a passion for promoting the power of reading for children of all backgrounds.
As part of the campaign, 50,000 books were donated to around 850 schools in the UK to help disadvantaged children get the chance to read more.
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“Books are, and always will be, for every child,” Rashford said.
Taking his mission one step further, he joined forces with The Athletic journalist Carl Anka and performance psychologist Katie Warriner to write a book of his own – titled You Are A Champion: Unlock Your Potential, Find Your Voice And Be The Best You Can Be.
Released in May 2021, the book featured chapters containing stories from Rashford’s life to encourage children to learn more about culture, education, positivity, and female role models.
He even hopped on a Zoom call with former President of the United States Barack Obama to discuss the book’s release.
“He’s already ahead of where I was when I was 23,” Obama admitted.
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Here it is!
‘YOU are a Champion’. A guide that I hope will inspire ALL children to dream big and help those who need it most.
Although taking a stand against racism in the world of football is by no means a new talking point for Rashford, the abhorrent abuse aimed at himself and his two England teammates Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka following the Three Lions’ defeat to Italy in the Euro 2020 final earlier this month left him no other choice but to speak out.
“I will never apologise for who I am or where I came from,” he stated.
— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) July 12, 2021
After the Akse-created Rashford mural in the South Manchester suburb Withington was daubed with graffiti hours following the England team’s loss, the community rallied around the local lad, covering the wall with thousands of heartwarming handwritten notes and messages of support.
All the messages left on the mural were carefully removed and preserved by Manchester City Council last week, with plans to make them available for education and public display in the future as an important and permanent reminder of just what a significant moment in the city and country’s cultural history this has been.
Because it’s almost impossible to include everything in that roundup, let’s not forget Rashford was also chosen as the cover star of British Vogue‘s annual activism issue, received Special Recognition at the Pride of Britain Awards and the 2020 Expert Panel Award at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year and topped The Sunday Times Giving List 2021.
What else is there left to say?
The youngster has turned into one of the biggest role models of modern times and it’s really not hard to see why we’ve chosen him as our inaugural Manc of the Month.
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Never has Manchester been so proud of one of our own.
Featured Image – Twitter (@MarcusRashford)
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Yorkshire Tea is Manchester’s ‘favourite’ brand of teabags, according to new data
Danny Jones
The Great British debate of which teabag is best is one that will rage on for millennia, that’s just the way it is, but according to new data, it sounds like we might at least have an answer to which brand makes for Manchester’s favourite brew.
It won’t be a surprise to many of you and we can certainly confirm it on our end but the one and only Yorkshire Tea looks to have taken the cuppa crown when it comes not only to Manchester’s preferred teabag but seemingly the best-loved in Britain as a whole.
This is according to numbers pulled by local firm, TonerGiant. The Atherton-based ink and toner suppliers decided a poll around the office wasn’t enough and instead chose to turn their knowledge of the market and consumer trends into a bit of online research.
At the end of the day, tea has got to be the most important of all office supplies, surely?
According to the stats, Yorkshire Tea is Manchester’s favourite brand of tea bags. (Credit: Yorkshire Tea)
Using data from trusted online source Statista, which nailed down the top 25 teabag brands in the UK, each make was then ranked in relation to its average monthly searches via Google Keyword Planner to reveal that Yorkshire Tea was clearly the top dog.
With roughly 390 searches per month in Manchester alone, compared to PG Tips as the next best (260), it seems us Mancs have to concede at least one thing to our fellow Northern county: Yorkshire makes a bloody good brew.
The Roses rivalry raged for centuries but if there’s one thing that brings us together, it’s a good cuppa.
In terms of other tea brands that came in high on the leaderboard, Pukka Tea (170), Twinings (140)and Teapigs (90) made up the rest of the top five most-searched tea brands in Greater Manchester. It’s also interesting to see how those figures looked when extrapolated nationwide. Here’s the full ranking:
Rank
Tea
Average UK monthly searches
1
Yorkshire Tea
27,100
2
PG Tips
18,100
3
Pukka Tea
14,800
4
Twinings
12,100
5
Teapigs
8,100
6
Whittards Tea
6,600
7
Tetley
4,400
8
Clipper Tea
4,400
9
Lipton Tea
3,600
10
Barrys Tea
3,600
11
Thompsons Tea
1,300
12
Typhoo
1,300
13
Taylors Tea
1,300
14
M&S Tea
1,300
15
Tesco Tea
1,000
16
Tick Tock Tea
880
17
Sainsbury’s Tea
720
18
Lyons Tea
720
19
Asda Tea
590
20
Aldi Tea
590
21
Waitrose Tea
590
22
Lidl Tea
480
23
Morrisons Tea
320
24
Bewleys Tea
90
25
Cafedirect Tea
40
Few of these on here we’ve never heard of. Taste test, anyone?
While Yorkshire Tea was found to be Manchester’s and the nation’s favourite, Belfast was the only UK city where Yorkshire Tea didn’t take the top spot. Instead, it was Irish-owned Barry’s Tea that came out as their favourite – we definitely need to hold a ‘brew-off’ between the two. The Hoot, you up for it?
As for supermarket’s own-brand offerings, out of the eight options on the list, Marks and Spencer’s teabags were found to be the most popular, closely followed by Tesco and then Sainsbury’s.
Commenting on the findings, TonerGiant’s Stuart Deavall said: “With so many office workers opting for tea to get through the day, it’s no surprise that the UK has a day dedicated to the drink.
“In light of National Tea Day on Sunday, 21 April, our new data shows that Yorkshire Tea is the nation’s favourite, with over 27,000 Brits searching every month… We can expect many Brits to be celebrating in style this Sunday, no doubt with a mug of Yorkshire tea in hand”. Speaking of, anyone fancy a brew?…
Featured Images — Yorkshire Tea/Rumman Amin (via Unsplash)
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Manchester palaeontologist unearths bones of what may be the largest known marine reptile
Emily Sergeant
A Manchester-based palaeontologist has unearthed the bones of what may be the largest known marine reptile.
This new identification is a crucial part of a fascinating eight-year long discovery journey.
It all started when a seasoned fossil collector named Paul de la Salle found a giant jawbone on Lilstock Beach, near Bridgewater in Somerset, back in May 2016, and then father and daughter, Justin and Ruby Reynolds from Devon, found the first pieces of a second jawbone and another giant bone while searching for fossils on the beach at Blue Anchor, also in Somerset, in May 2020.
And now, a palaeontologist at the University of Manchester (UoM) Dr Dean Lomax, has identified the fossilised remains of the second gigantic jawbone that measures more than two metres long.
Experts have identified these bones as belonging to the jaws of a new species of enormous ichthyosaur – which is a type of prehistoric marine reptile – and astonishing estimations suggest the oceanic titan would have been more than 25-metres long.
Dr Lomax has been working together with Justin and Ruby Reynolds, along with Paul de la Salle and several family members, since the father-daughter duo first contacted them about their groundbreaking discovery in 2020.
A Manchester palaeontologist has unearthed bones of what may be the largest known marine reptile / Credit: UoM
“I was amazed by Justin and Ruby’s find,” Dr Lomax commented.
“In 2018, my team and Paul de la Salle studied and described Paul’s giant jawbone, and we had hoped that one day another would come to light.”
He explained that Justin and Ruby’s new specimen was “more complete and better preserved” than the first find, and that he “became very excited” at the chance to learn more following their discovery.
As mentioned, the Manchester-based research team, led by Dr Lomax, revealed that the jaw bones belong to a new species of giant ichthyosaur that would’ve been about the size of a blue whale, and they have called the new genus and species Ichthyotitan severnensis – which means ‘giant fish lizard of the Severn’.
The bones – which represent the very last of their kind – are around 202 million years old, and date back to the end of the Triassic Period in a time known as the Rhaetian.
During this time, the gigantic ichthyosaurs swam the seas while the dinosaurs walked on land.
The University of Manchester, where Dr Dean Lomax works as a palaeontologist / Credit: UoM
Ichthyotitan is not the world’s first giant ichthyosaur, but the discoveries by Paul, and Justin and Ruby, are said to be “unique among those known to science”, as they appear roughly 13 million years after their latest geologic relatives – including Shonisaurus sikanniensis from British Columbia in Canada, and Himalayasaurus tibetensis from Tibet in China.
Speaking on the confirmation of the bones’ identification this week, Dr Lomax said: “This research has been ongoing for almost eight years.
“It is quite remarkable to think that gigantic, blue whale-sized ichthyosaurs were swimming in the oceans around what was the UK during the Triassic Period.
Emily Sergeant -
30th July 2021 
