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100-year-old Wythenshawe man one of the last to receive birthday card from Queen Elizabeth II

"I thought so much of the Queen - it's the best card I've ever had."

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 13th September 2022

A 100-year-old man from Wythenshawe was one of the last people to receive a birthday card from HM Queen Elizabeth II before she died.

Reaching the grand-old age of 100 is not a milestone that many people reach in their lifetimes.

Because this is such a momentous occasion, it has been a long-established Royal tradition that the reigning monarch sends the centenarian a birthday message to congratulate them and wish them well on their special day.

The tradition dates back to 1917, with King George V the first sent out a congratulatory message, and most monarch’s – including Queen Elizabeth II – following suit.

When the Post Office introduced the ‘Special Greetings Telegram’ in the 1940s, Queen Elizabeth II agreed that birthday telegrams should be sent out in this format to add to the sense of occasion, and then, in 1999, Buckingham Palace decided to make them greetings card-style telegrams instead – which feature a personalised message and offer a more warm and personal greeting to the recipient.

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Read more: 10-day period of national mourning begins following the death of HM Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II sent thousands of celebration telegrams during her 70-year reign, and it’s likely the tradition will continue under King Charles III.

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Neville Tonkin was one of those people to receive a greeting card from Her Majesty.

The Wythenshawe man reached the 100-year milestone on Monday 12 September, which automatically-qualified him to receive a card from the late Queen.

After Queen Elizabeth II passed away on 8 September, Neville’s family were not sure if the card was going to be from the Queen or King Charles III, but after they opened it, they realised it had been signed by the monarch before she passed.

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Speaking to ITV Granada about his reaction when his family presented him with the birthday special message, Neville said it’s “the best card [he’s] ever had.”

Read more: The royal beekeeper has told Queen Elizabeth II’s bees that she has died

He explained: “They said ‘you’ve got a picture of the Queen’. I said what for? They said, ‘you’re a hundred years old!’ Who’s a hundred these days? I feel a bit special about it, I feel as though I’m the leader of the pack. I don’t feel like an old man, I want to get out and play cricket or football.

“I thought so much of the Queen – it’s the best card I’ve ever had.”

HM Queen Elizabeth II died aged 96 on 8 September 2022.

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During her reign, Elizabeth II served as Queen of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth – undertaking an important symbolic and unifying role as a head of state, spanning numerous geographical regions, cultures, and religions. 

She was not just the longest-reigning British monarch in history, but she was also the first-ever monarch to reign in the UK for 70 years.

She was beloved by many for her sense of duty and devotion to her role.

Featured Image – ITV Granada

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Heinz teams up with Absolut Vodka to create new ‘pasta alla vodka’ sauce

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

After hiking the price of its cream of tomato soup by 79% at the start of the year, Heinz was firmly in our bad books – but a new collaboration with Absolut Vodka might just be about to turn all of that around.

In a partnership we didn’t even know we needed, the two brands have come together to create the ultimate jar of Pasta alla Vodka sauce.

Spicy vodka pasta has long been a favourite with Italian food lovers, but the dish has been experiencing something of a moment in the spotlight ever since supermodel Gigi Hadid shared her own viral recipe on social media.

The dish has since become one of the trendiest recipes on TikTok and Instagram, leading Heinz to pull themselves into gear and create their own version of the popular sauce.

Despite its over 150-year history of creating world-renowned tomato-based products, Heinz has admitted to being ‘ridiculously late’ to the tomato-based pasta sauce game.

Now, though, that is all set to change as the brand releases its own version of the much-loved recipe to the masses, in jar-form, through the creation of Heinz x Absolut Tomato Vodka Pasta Sauce.

Calling it ‘a match made in pasta heaven,’ according to a press release the vodka in the sauce ‘unlocks the flavours and intensifies the aroma’ of the rich and creamy tomato, basil and cheese concoction. 

During the cooking process, most of the alcohol from the vodka is reduced, boosting the volatile flavour compounds already present in the tomatoes and creating a rich texture that perfectly balances the creamy, cheese notes with the rich tomato and fragrant basil.

Speaking on the new release, Caio Fontenele, Heinz New Ventures Director, said: “While it may have taken over 150 years of tomato expertise to launch our first Heinz pasta sauce, we’re determined to continue innovating and delighting consumers with delicious flavours, at the speed of social media trends.

“We are thrilled with the partnership between these two centenary brands, bringing the first tomato vodka pasta sauce to major UK supermarkets. The iconic combination of Heinz’s high-quality tomato sauces and Absolut’s premium vodka is set to offer fans the ultimate pasta alla vodka experience. And the result is absolutely delicious!”

Of the launch, Leanne Banks, Marketing Director, Pernod Ricard UK, added: “It’s only natural that we’d partner with Heinz on this ultimate collaboration between two iconic brands, with two iconic bottles.

“As the UK’s no.1 premium vodka, Absolut was Born to Mix, whether that’s in delicious drinks or fun food combinations and Heinz x Absolut Tomato Vodka Pasta Sauce is a match made in heaven. Now fans of our brand can enjoy Absolut in an entirely new and innovative way, Pasta alla Vodka style.”

A limited number of the Heinz x Absolut Tomato Vodka Pasta sauce jars will be available at Waitrose from mid-April for £2.50 for a 350g jar. 

However, if you don’t want to miss out, you can pre-order one of a limited run of the special sauce from Heinz’s direct-to-consumer website, www.heinztohome.co.uk, to get your hands on a jar ahead of its official supermarket launch.  

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Qatar and Sir Jim Ratcliffe set to submit ‘world record’ offers to buy Manchester United as other bidders are expected to join the race

Danny Jones Danny Jones Qatar Jim Ratcliffe world record bit to buy Manchester United

The deadline for the second round of bidders in the race to takeover Manchester United football club has officially passed, with multiple world record offers reportedly on the verge of being submitted.

Following the first round of bids, which saw a Qatar investment group headed up by Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, and British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe both put in their initial offers, Manchester United set a second deadline of 9pm on 22 March for them to increase their offers and welcome other offers.

While the opening bids matched each other at £4.5 billion, working with financial advisors Raine Group who are brokering in the deal from the US, neither reached the Glazer family ownership’s estimations, who value the club closer to £6bn.

As a result, both went on to carry out further negotiations — each visiting Old Trafford last Friday and staying for upwards of six hours (more than 10 in the case of the Qataris) — but it is now thought they may no longer be the only parties involved in the bidding war. Whether it will be in time is the issue.

Kaveh Solhekol trying to clear up the confusion over Qatar and Jim Ratcliffe’s United bids.

Despite earlier reports that Sheikh Jassim and his associates had submitted a “world record offer” before the Glazers and Raine Group’s 9pm deadline (5pm New York time), Sky Sports‘ Kaveh Solhekol has now clarified that the bid was not submitted in time and that they have asked for an extension.

Man United are said to have agreed to the extension and Sheikh Jassim still remains confident that they have the “best bid” of the bunch.

Moreover, as per the likes of Mike Keegan, Jim Ratcliffe was also set to enter his second bid, with both offers said to have increased to around the £5bn mark. However, the INEOS chief exec is also said to have failed to meet the deadline and been granted an extension, according to a senior source.

Kaveh also went on to detail that multiple other offers have in fact been submitted, with the numbers said to be “approaching eight” different bidders.

Any bid of more than £3.75bn would break the world record fee for a sports club set when the Denver Broncos were sold last summer.

As for the frontrunners, both offers are still around a billion short of the Glazer’s asking price and not only have Sheikh Jassim and co. already warned they will ‘walk away’ if the price is too high, but it’s unclear how far Ratcliffe’s wealth can stretch if he is to continue pursuing a deal.

The key difference between the two bids is that Qatar’s bid will apparently make the club debt-free given the sheer mass of state wealth behind them, whereas the Failsworth-born businessman’s financing may be more complex to put together.

Trying to clear up the confusion, The Times‘ Matt Lawton said on Twitter that “both Qatari and INEOS representatives said their bids were in, United sources [are] saying they haven’t yet bid and have asked for an extension”, with offers now set to be made by tomorrow.

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As reported by Sky Sports earlier this week, it was thought that “at least five other bidders” and as many as eight in question could join the race along with Ratcliffe and Qatar, who were the only two parties to have submitted an official offer for United during the first round of bidding.

However, a detailed list of the other candidates and precisely how many are still yet to be confirmed; Kaveh did go on to suggest that some could simply be a form of “hot air” designed to hopefully urge the ‘serious bidders’ to edge their offers up even higher.

As for next steps, neither of the parties in the supposed two-horse race expect an immediate decision from the board, especially after the unexpected delay, and those who submitted new offers in the second round of bidding will have to wait at least seven days to hear back from the club and brokers Raine Group regarding their progress.

However, it is worth noting that these subsequent bids may not necessarily be attempts to buy the club outright and not only is there a feeling that a third round of negotiations could take place, but there is also a growing sense that the Glazers could still pull out of a potential buyout altogether.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Image — pxfuel

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