A new charity dedicated to the memory of the late Bobby Ball has been set up to raise money for causes close to his heart.
The Oldham-born comedian and actor – whose real name was Robert Harper – sadly died at the age of 76 in October of last year after contracting coronavirus (COVID-19).
He was best-known for being one half of comedy double act Cannon and Ball – who rose from playing working men’s clubs, to hosting their own Saturday night ITV show in the 1980s – before dropping out of the spotlight in the 1990s and then finding new fame as the father of fellow Northern comic Lee Mack’s character in the BBC sitcom Not Going Out.
He also had roles in Last of the Summer Wine and Heartbeat, as well as being known for twanging his braces on stage, while saying: “Rock on, Tommy.”
Bobby and his wife Yvonne moved to the popular Lancashire seaside town of Lytham more than 25 years ago after falling in love with the place while working in nearby Blackpool in the 1980s, and he was known to have thrown himself into being part of the community, and getting involved to help out where he could.
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And now, because of his love for the town, his widow Yvonne has launched The Bobby Ball Foundation to raise money for the organisations along the Fylde Coast that Bobby was so passionate about.
The first two events in The Bobby Ball Foundation name have already been organised and will be held at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens this November, with all money raised going to Lytham’s Lowther Pavilion and Blue Skies Hospitals Fund, which are two organisations that Bobby was an active patron and supporter of.
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Two star-studded events will be held at @WGBpl this November – major stars of stage and screen will entertain with a Variety performance in the splendid Opera House on Fri 12 Nov, plus a spectacular “Bobby Ball” to take place in the stunning Empress Ballroom on Sat 13 Nov pic.twitter.com/D6wp7mNPOg
On top of that, money from the foundation will also be donated towards the cost of a Bobby Ball statue in Lytham’s Lowther Gardens.
Bobby was often known to joke during his lifetime about having a statue in his favourite seaside resort, and in December 2020, his wish was finally granted, with the green light for the go-ahead and planning being given by Fylde Borough Council and more than £20,000 already raised towards its cost.
Speaking about the formation of The Bobby Ball Foundation, Yvonne said: “Bob was born to entertain and whether he was on stage or spending time with friends, it was always his mission to make people laugh.
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“We are all devastated he has gone but we are lucky to have years of many happy and very funny memories.
“Bob was a huge personality and while he loved to perform he was also passionate about helping others. He would be absolutely honoured to know we have set up a charity foundation in his name and that we are planning two big fundraising events.
“Like Bob, these events are going to be filled with big personalities and we look forward to revealing more as final plans are put in place.”
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Pep Guardiola delivers gutting news as Man City are hit with Erling Haaland injury blow
Danny Jones
Pep Guardiola has passed on some gutting fitness news for Manchester City fans as star striker Erling Haaland is confirmed to be injured for several weeks and could even miss the rest of the Premier League season.
The title might be out of reach this year, and the Champions League knockout against Real Madrid was definitely hard for Blues to take, but with Man City into the semi-finals of the FA Cup, there’s still a very strong chance they could end 2024/25 with a piece of silverware.
However, they’ll have to make it through another two massive rounds at Wembley and seemingly the remainder of the season without Haaland and his goals, as the Catalan coach revealed that the club expects him to be out injured for “six to seven weeks.”
Not exactly how City fans would have wanted to see the rest of an already frustrating season play out.
🗣️ "We don't have another player with his skills."
Relaying diagnosis from the medical team, Pep said the hope is that the big Norwegian number nine could be back for the very tail end of the campaign, but at the very least, he “will be ready for the [FIFA Club] World Cup.”
He went on to add that “these kinds of things happen” and that he feels “sorry” for all of the other injuries that have befell his squad up till now, adding that they can only hope for a speedy recovery and for him to return as soon as possible.
The 24-year-old hasn’t had too many big injury problems in his career thus far, although his longest spell on the sidelines did come at the end of 2023 when a stress fracture kept him out until the new year.
This time around, Haaland suffered an injury to his ankle during the City’s FA Cup win over Bournemouth on Sunday following a challenge from defensive midfielder Lewis Cook.
He was forced in the second half and was seen leaving the Vitality Stadium on crutches after the game.
Erling Haaland seen leaving Bournemouth in a protective boot and crutches. 🤕
Having led the golden boot race for a good chunk of the season – as he’s become accustomed too since he arrived in England – City‘s sub-optimal season has seen him slink into second behind high-flying Mo Salah on 27, but he still has a couple dozen goals and a trio of assists to show for it.
Speaking of Salah, the soon-to-leave ‘Egyptian King’ has been the talisman for Liverpool this season, and his contributions could see them lift the trophy in Arne Slot’s first season as early as 13 April, depending on how fellow title rivals Arsenal fare in their next two matches.
As for how City round out their domestic campaign, reclaiming the FA Cup after last year’s derby disappointment looks like the main goal.
You can watch Pep Guardiola’s press conference ahead of the game against Leicester City at 19:45pm tomorrow (Wednesday, 2 April) in full HERE.
Hilarious study names Manchester as one of the UK’s most hungover cities
Emily Sergeant
Manchester has been named one of the UK’s most hungover cities, according to a hilarious new study.
Let’s be honest, we’ve all had one of those mornings – or a lot more than one, for many of us.
The kind where you wake up regretting ordering that last pint, or your decision to mix your drinks, questioning every life choice while desperately Googling ‘hangover cures that actually work’… but it turns out that some UK cities are way more prone to struggling with hangovers than others, and Manchester is one of them.
In a bid to uncover where in the country people are searching for hangover cures the most, alcohol-free beer brand Mash Gang has crunched the numbers and analysed more than 5.5 million Google searches across every city.
Manchester has been named one of the UK’s most hungover cities / Credit: Kraken Images (via Unsplash)
We always knew Manchester would be close to the top, but in this instance, we’ve actually just missed out on the number one spot, as our city has officially been ranked the second most hungover in the UK, just behind the ‘undisputed hungover capital’ itself, which is Birmingham.
According to the study, whether it’s the legendary Northern Quater or the city’s famous Gay Village, us Mancs are waking up with sore heads a lot more than anywhere else in the North.
While the North can often be underrepresented in top 10 lists, this doesn’t seem to be the case here, as other major cities such as Liverpool, Leeds, and Sheffield have all earned their place.
UK’s top 10 most hungover cities
Birmingham
Manchester
Liverpool
Bristol
Leeds
Newcastle
Sheffield
Plymouth
Coventry
Wolverhampton
It’s all according to a new survey finding the city with the most sore heads in the country / Credit: Mylo Kaye (via Unsplash)
On the other end of the scale, Ripon has emerged as the UK’s least hungover city, closely followed by Carlisle, which means that if you’re looking for a place to escape temptation, or to just find people who actually get up early on weekends, then you know where to head to.
As well as the top 10 list, Mash Gang’s analysis data also showed just how much people are looking for hangover solutions, as in just the past month alone, there have been 178,000 searches for “hair of the dog,” and the search term “hangover food” has been looked up 72,000 times in the same period.
On top of this, searches for ‘zebra striping’ – which is a method where people alternate alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks to lessen the impact of drinking – have also increased by 424% in the past quarter.
Emily Sergeant -
11th March 2021 
