A local ASDA employee has been hailed a “hero” in a viral post after helping to save the sight of an elderly shopper following a routine eye test.
Michael Stokes – who has worked as an Ophthalmologist the ASDA Eastlands superstore for 18 years – has received a Customer Service Award after immediately referring 75-year-old Eileen Mansell for further examination after he picked up warning signs that he wasn’t happy about when she attended a routine eye appointment.
Michael referred Eileen to Arrowsmiths Opticians in Manchester for a second opinion.
A scan later revealed that a blockage to a cataract in her right eye had caused the pressure to build up to a potentially serious level, and Eileen was then sent to the Royal Eye Hospital, where she underwent an emergency operation.
Explaining the sight-saving situation, Michael said: “I saw her for a routine eye test as there was a history of glaucoma in the family.
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“She didn’t have have classic symptoms or pain or anything and wasn’t complaining of any issues, but I noticed a few things that had started to change since her last eye test. The pressure in one eye had gone up quite a lot and this made me want to delve into it a bit deeper.
“I really thought this needed to be looked into further.
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“Eileen came in afterwards to see me and said the hospital had told her that if it had been left any longer then she could have lost her sight.”
Chadderton resident and great-grandmother Eileen – who has been one of Michael’s customers for the past eight years – said: “I’m so grateful to Michael.
“I really can’t thank him enough [and] he is such a treasure for ASDA to have.
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“I just went in for a routine eye test as I had no symptoms at all [but] thankfully, Michael spotted what he did otherwise I could have lost the sight in my eye – and having your sight is such a precious thing.”
A post sharing Michael’s success on ASDA’s official social media platforms this past weekend has since seen him go viral after it amassed over 13K interactions, shares and positive comments from members of the East Manchester community and beyond.
Lisa Casey – Customer Trading Manager at ASDA Eastlands, who nominated Michael for the Customer Service Award – said: “Afterwards, Eileen came in and she was so over the moon. She was just so happy with the service from Michael [and] through his due diligence, he potentially saved her from losing her sight.
“We are all dead proud of Michael.
“He is a really nice, approachable, friendly guy, and a valued member of the team.”
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Tesco shoppers urged to use up £16.5m-worth of Clubcard vouchers before they expire this month
Emily Sergeant
Tesco is urging Clubcard members to check if they have any vouchers that need to be used up, as millions are set to expire at the end of this month.
Clubcard Vouchers, which are always valid for two years from issue, need to be exchanged before the clock strikes midnight on the last day of this month (30 November), and can go towards everything from the cost of the weekly shop, to pay for fuel, or to pick up a new Tesco Mobile deal.
What’s more is that shoppers can also exchange the remaining vouchers for double their value too -with more than 100 Clubcard reward partners.
You can even take advantage of some all-new reward partner deals as well.
These include the new ‘Tesco Tuesdays’ offer with Cineworld, giving Clubcard members the chance to get cinema tickets for Tuesday showings for just £5 (£2.50 in Clubcard Vouchers), and the amazing new triple value voucher offer with PizzaExpress, meaning £10 of Tesco Clubcard vouchers can be redeemed for a code for £30-off food at the popular pizza chain.
According to Tesco’s stats, if the soon-to-be expired vouchers were all used for ‘Tesco Tuesdays’, it would be enough to get 6.6 million cinema tickets at Cineworld, and if they were exchanged at PizzaExpress, they could secure a whopping £49.5 million of reward codes.
Clubcard members can earn Clubcard points in a variety of ways, including using their Clubcard when they shop or purchase fuel at Tesco, or when they charge electric vehicles at Pod charging facilities at Tesco stores.
Today, it’s believed that more than 24 million UK households have a Tesco Clubcard.
“We don’t want anyone to miss out on making the most of their Tesco Clubcard Vouchers, and with some great new offers with Clubcard Rewards this really is a great time to use those vouchers up,” commented Shama Wilson, who is the Tesco Group Membership and Loyalty Director.
“So it really is worth checking in the Tesco app to see if you have any vouchers expiring.”
Featured Image – Tesco
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Bongo’s Bingo is hosting a series of special ‘Christmas Cracker’ and New Year’s shows
Danny Jones
Britain’s beloved Bongo’s Bingo is hosting a series of massive end-of-season specials to ring in the new year, announcing a number of their famous ‘Christmas Cracker’ and festive parties.
They’re also holding a ‘Big Fat Bingo of the Year’ (we don’t see any trademark issues whatsoever…), including one for NYE.
As one of the best nights out, not just in the North but in the country, they’re hoping to send you into 2026 singing, dancing, laughing, and hopefully with some lasting memories and maybe a prize or two.
Confirming the latest raft of shows starting this month, you can expect all the usual Bongo’s madness and more, plus all the bells and whistles, as well as plenty of tinsel and holiday cheer.
We’d love a new hoover for Christmas, to be fair. (Credit: Press shot)
Returning to Albert Hall as it regularly does throughout the rest of the calendar, Bongo’s Bingo is promising to give Manchester a Christmas and New Year’s period they’ll never forget.
As they put it, the hosts will be “transporting everyone back to the time when coloured tree lights and flammable tinsel ruled supreme, because the halcyon days of turkey with all the trimmings, mini bottles of Babycham and not a naughty elf in sight are BACK big time at Bongo’s Bingo.”
Bloomin’ ‘eck, they don’t half know how to get a crowd fired up even before they’re in the room, do they?
Set to deliver all the best festive tunes, “dodgy Santa Clauses” – their words, not ours – as well as plenty of foil hats fresh from the Christmas cracker, they’ll be partying with us Mancs multiple times throughout December, not to mention a bonus show at the end of November as we fully swap autumn for winter.
As for the ‘Twixmas’/’Christmas gooch’ period (again, not our words…), the format will then switch to the Big Fat Bingo of the Year, with quiz elements featuring all the biggest memes, tunes and cultural moments of 2025.
You can see the full list of Bongo’s Bingo festive dates for 2025 down below:
Bongo’s Bingo Christmas Cracker and Big Fat Bingo of the Year dates
Christmas Cracker
November – Fri, 28
December – Sat 6 Dec (day and night), Sat 20 Dec, Sun 21 (day), Mon 22 and Tues 23
Big Fat Bingo Of The Year
Sat, 27 Dec (day and night), Sun 28 (day) and NYE 2025
If you’re interested in booking onto Bongo’s Bingo this Christmas and/or New Year’s, you can find out more information and grab your tickets right HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
1st March 2021 
