Merlin Entertainments is donating 30,000 tickets globally to emergency services and frontline essential support personnel who have worked throughout the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
This is part of a newly-launched initiative called ‘The Big Merlin Thank You’.
NHS staff, emergency workers and frontline responders are being given the chance to take their families out for the day, spend quality time together and have some well-deserved fun at Alton Towers and other Merlin resorts.
10,000 tickets are set to be distributed across the UK and will be made available via the free platform Blue Light Tickets – a new initiative where UK frontline workers can register to secure free tickets for venues and events, with tickets donated by Merlin and other venues, stadiums, clubs, promoters and event industry experts.
These Blue Light Tickets have been donated via Merlin’s dedicated charity Merlin’s Magic Wand.
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The charity was established by Merlin to offer support and days out for children and families facing challenges of serious illness, disability or adversity around the world.
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The fun doesn’t just stop at Alton Towers though.
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Free days out will also be offered at other UK attractions including Chessington World of Adventures, LEGOLAND Windsor, Thorpe Park, The Bear Grylls Adventure, and even some Madame Tussauds and SEA LIFE Centres too.
Will Campbell-Lamerton, Partnerships and Operations Manager at Blue Light Tickets, said: “In these difficult times, we have been blown away by Merlin’s generosity.”
“We know that free tickets to leisure days out will spread the message of ‘thank you’ to NHS, healthcare and emergency service workers, who’ve shown superhero strength and dedication in recent months.”
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“For those who haven’t been able to spend much time with their families during the COVID-19 lockdown, either as a result of long working hours or social distancing, we hope that a free day out at a Merlin resort/attraction will give some respite to those who need it most.”
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Sandra Hazel, Charity Head at Merlin’s Magic Wand, added: “We would like to say a Big Merlin Thank You to the emergency and essential frontline workers who have played a vital role in the UK’s response to the pandemic.”
“Their dedication and tireless effort is hugely appreciated by the whole nation, and we are delighted to be able to offer them a fun day out through the Blue Light Card scheme.”
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A total of 3,000 tickets will be divided equally across 30 different companies in the UK, whose employees have continued to work throughout the pandemic.
These include:
Teachers via the ASCL.
Royal Mail postal staff.
Compass Group UK & Ireland – the UK’s largest food and support services company (who have been working in healthcare, education and defence as well as supporting key workers within business and industry sectors).
WHSmith – for their post office colleagues, who provided vital postal and banking services on the high street, and for their store colleagues across over 100 hospitals who served frontline NHS staff.
Council workers across the UK – including refuse collectors.
A number of major high street supermarkets.
Food takeaway delivery companies.
For more information, visit the Merlin Entertainments website here.
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The cheapest Christmas Markets in the world for mulled wine have been revealed
Daisy Jackson
The most affordable Christmas Markets for drinking mulled wine have been revealed – and Manchester is nowhere in sight.
With Christmas markets across Europe preparing to welcome millions of visitors, festive fans looking to enjoy a warming cup of glühwein without breaking the bank might want to take note of the latest findings.
Festive experts at Christmas Tree World have analysed mulled wine prices at Christmas markets around the world to discover where visitors can enjoy the seasonal favourite for less.
Topping the rankings is Brussels’ Winter Wonders, where mulled wine is available for as little as £2.14 – about a third of the price of a mulled wine at the Manchester Christmas Markets.
Cologne Cathedral Christmas Markets and Strasbourg’s Christkindelsmärik share second place, with starting prices of just £2.56.
Other European favourites also feature prominently in the rankings. Budapest’s Christmas Market at the Basilica takes fourth place, with mulled wine costing £3.19, while Prague’s Old Town Square Christmas Market comes in sixth at £3.55.
Germany makes another strong appearance, with Dresden’s Striezelmarkt and Nuremberg’s Christkindlesmarkt (which handily just launched new direct flights from Manchester) both offering mulled wine for £3.85.
Meanwhile, Vienna’s Christmas World rounds off the European entries in ninth place, with prices starting at £4.28.
For those planning a festive adventure further afield, Tokyo’s Christmas Market also makes the top five, with mulled wine costing £3.22.
However, not every destination offers such a bargain. Across the Atlantic, New York City’s Winter Village takes the title of the most expensive market in the study, with mulled wine costing a rather less festive £11.74. Chicago’s Christkindlmarket isn’t far behind, charging £8.80.
Manchester Christmas Markets start on Friday 6 November – we’ll see how our prices stack up then.
Sir Ian McKellen pays emotional tribute to long-time friend and fellow northern actor Sir Patrick Stewart
Emily Sergeant
Sir Ian McKellen has paid an emotional tribute to his long-time friend and fellow northern actor, Sir Patrick Stewart, following his death.
Sir Patrick Stewart – who was born and bred in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, and is best-known for his theatre work alongside an illustrious 60-year screen career, taking on prominent roles in franchises such as Star Trek and X-Men – sadly passed away at the age of 86, with his death being announced publicly yesterday evening (29 October).
And now, his long-time friend and fellow northern actor, Sir Ian McKellen, has paid tribute.
Sir Patrick and Sir Ian shared the stage together countless times over their decades-long careers, but also famously starred alongside each other in the X-Men franchise, and subsequent Marvel movies, as Charles Xavier/Professor X and Magneto.
The tribute, shared across Sir Ian’s social media platforms, reads: “Before everything else, Patrick was defined by being born and bred in Yorkshire, the proud county in the north of England which he loved to the end. You could hear it in his accented voice and in the stern honesty with which he told you what he thought and felt. Yorkshiremen have no truck with half-truths or avoidance of big issues. He wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love.
“We first met as ambitious young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company half a century ago but we weren’t in the same productions.
“My first strong memory was a few years later, meeting him in the street in central London when he told me about an offer to take over a leading part in ‘Star Trek’. “But Patrick think of your stage career in the UK. Do you really want to risk getting lost in Hollywood for years and years?”
“Well, he took the risk and thank goodness for us all that he did, for not just his devoted Trekkies, but film and theatre audiences who marvelled at his using international celebrity to star in a string of cinema successes (‘X-Men’ of course) and in great classical plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Peter Shaffer, Pinter and Beckett at Stratford-upon-Avon, in London’s West End and on Broadway.
“America was his adopted home, where he met his adored Sunny who has cared for him through sickness and health, through thick and thin.
“But he never forsook his origins: and the proudest achievement of the most respected and beloved actor of his generation on either side of the Atlantic, was his appointment as Chancellor of Huddersfield University in Yorkshire.”
Emily Sergeant -
8th July 2020 
