Paul Scholes has opened a state-of-the-art gym in Oldham in partnership with his own children.
The Manchester United legend, along with his son Arron and daughter Alicia, has launched Scholes Gym on Lees Road.
The £500k building spans 10,000 sq ft and is spread over two floors.
Inside, there’s a huge range of equipment, including some machines rarely seen outside a professional athlete training facility.
Scholes, who now co-owns Salford City Football Club, said it was ‘really important’ to him to open Scholes Gym in the town where he grew up.
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Paul Scholes with his children Arron and Alicia in Scholes Gym, Oldham. Credit; Supplied
The Scholes relatives, along with designer Mark Mason, have designed the space to be as warm and welcoming as possible.
Gym-goers are greeted by a lounge and reception serving protein shakes, before heading through to the fitness studio itself.
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Equipment includes personalised steel dumbbells ranging from one to 50kg, pin and plate loaded elite bodybuilding machines; a bespoke Astroturf; and top-of-the-range kit such as the plate loaded fly, which is designed to hit all chest muscle fibres.
Scholes Gym also has a Batak reaction machine, which is commonly used by elite sportspeople to improve hand eye coordination.
On top of that, there’s cardio equipment like treadmills, assault bikes, rowers, ski ergs and more.
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The enclosed studio space at Scholes Gym will host a selection of cardio, strength and conditioning classes.
The Lees Road venue will be run by siblings Arron, 22, a Level 3 qualified personal trainer, and Alicia, 20, a part-time professional athlete playing netball for London Pulse and Level 3 qualified personal trainer.
Speaking on the launch, Arron said: ”After six months of hard work it’s amazing to open the doors and welcome guests to Scholes Gym.
It’s something Alicia and I have long talked of, and so to make it a reality is fantastic. We’re looking forward to welcoming guests and, along with our brilliant team, sharing our sports expertise. To have the opportunity to play a part in our members’ fitness journey and improving their mental and physical health is a privilege.”
Sibling Alicia added: “Gyms can often feel quite cold and functional spaces, we wanted to challenge that head on and create the type of warm and welcoming environment in which we as a family like to train; we’ve all contributed to the design. It’s early days but we’re really pleased by the response to date.”
Speaking on the importance of investing in the local community, Paul said: “Oldham is where I grew up and got a first taste of sport. To open Scholes Gym here is really important to me; it’s the sort of venue I dreamed of having access to back then and, along with Arron and Alicia, I’m pleased to be able to create it for others.”
Memberships start from £40pm for unlimited gym use and £50pm including classes, with the gym open seven days a week. A day pass is available for £12.
Featured image: Supplied
Oldham
Bury FC legend Nicky Adams confirms retirement after more than two decades
Danny Jones
Bury FC is saying goodbye to a veteran of Greater Manchester football as local legend Nicky Adams has announced he will be retiring at the end of the season.
The Bolton-born midfielder has enjoyed a 22-year career, playing for 10 different clubs in that time, most notably Bury, where he began as an academy product and earned his first senior minutes back in 2005.
Having been with the club across four different stints and by far the largest chunk of his playing days, making more than 200 appearances for the North West Counties side, he’s practically part of the furniture at this point.
But the time has finally come, as Adams revealed he will be retiring from professional football at the age of 38 – his longevity being an incredible achievement in itself.
⚪🔵 Nicky Adams has announced his retirement from football.
Adams has had a 22-year football career and will hang up his boots at the end of the season to take up a full-time coaching role.
Confirmed via a club statement on Tuesday, 15 April, the Shakers informed fans that Adams, who returned to his home club back in December, will be able to toast hanging up his boots with a promotion party if they avoid defeat against Burscough.
Adams has represented several other Greater Manchester teams in the past too, playing 85 games for Rochdale and 59 for Oldham Athletic, as well as 88 for Radcliffe FC.
Having scored 14 goals during his time with Bury, as well as serving as club captain, he told the club: “I think it’s perfect timing for me, I’m learning the coaching side of it. I’ve been doing that for the last few years, and I’ve got a big opportunity to go and do that full-time now.
“I came here at 16 years old; I’ve come back a few times now, I’ve played over 200 games for the football club, I don’t need to tell anyone what it means to me.
“I’ve had some unbelievable times here, and I’ll be forever grateful to this football club, which gave me the opportunity to go and be a professional footballer and go on the journey that I’ve been on. I’m forever grateful for that.”
Speaking on his return late last year, it’s plain to see how big an impression Gigg Lane has left on him.
He may be calling time on his playing days, but he’s not going anywhere.
Manager Dave McNabb went on to say: “I’m not really sure how to put into words the impact that Nicky has had on me and this group since he walked back through the door in December.
“His legendary status at this football club is well-known and documented. I had heard a lot of good things about his character and his personality through mutual friends and people within the game, so I knew he was going to be a good lad and have a positive impact in the dressing room.
Even with this knowledge, never did I expect to meet such an honest and caring man with enormous levels of integrity and with such high standards and principles. He’s a leader amongst men. When he talks, people listen. He gets the best out of others.
He is trusted and respected by everyone. He drives positive relationships within the group. He is the glue that holds things together. I’m proud to have brought him back to HIS football club, I’m proud to have played a very small part in his illustrious career but most of all, I’m proud to be able to call him a friend.
Signing off with a sentiment, McNabb added: “Good luck Nicky, you’re a legend.”
Onlookers ‘in tears’ after tiny duckling rescued from storm drain in beauty spot
Daisy Jackson
The RSPCA has shared a heartwarming video of a reunion between a tiny duckling and his mum, after the baby bird fell into a storm drain.
The charity, with the help of staff in the nearby Grandpa Greene’s Luxury Ice Cream Parlour, managed to fish the tiny bird out of the storm drain in a painstaking two-hour-long operation.
Miraculously, the duckling was unharmed, and his mum was waiting nearby on the canal in Saddleworth ready to be reunited with her baby.
The RSPCA has now thanked the staff member who helped rescue the duckling, and issued a warning to the public to keep dogs on a lead when near wildlife, believing the poor bird was chased by a dog before falling down the five-feet-high grid.
The rescue operation too place in Diggle last Wednesday 9 April, with Animal Rescue Officer Lee Ferrans taking on the ‘long and painstaking’ process of tempting the duckling into a net.
Lee said: “I wasn’t able to lift the grid so the only thing I could do was push an extendable pole straight down and try to catch the duckling in a net. There wasn’t a lot of room for manoeuvre and the net kept catching on all the debris.
“Just when I thought I’d been successful, the duckling kept disappearing into a drain on one side and then popping out again. A member of staff from Grandpa Greene’s had just finished her shift and came across to the other side of the canal to help me. I unscrewed the top of the pole with the net and held it down on one side of the drain while she used another section to gently encourage the bird to go into the net.
“It was quite a long and painstaking rescue but we eventually managed to bring the little one back up safely after more than two hours.”
The pair then placed the duckling into a cardboard box before heading further up the canal to reunite them with their mother and six sibling ducklings.
The adult duck ‘instantly recognised’ the chirping and swam straight towards it.
Lee added: “A little crowd had gathered and as the family were reunited people were shedding tears. It was a really lovely moment to see them all back together.
“I’d especially like to thank the member of staff from Grandpa Greene’s who offered an extra pair of hands – I couldn’t have done it without her – and to all the people in the area who stopped and were concerned.
“Storm drains can be a bit of a menace for ducklings, especially at this time of the year when there are babies around, and this brood was only a few days old.”
Daisy Jackson -
29th April 2022 
