A local community in Rochdale has come together to donate hundreds of gift boxes to residents in the borough’s care homes ahead of the festive period.
The project is the brainchild of Heywood resident Richenda Mather and her 14-year-old son Ady.
Richenda – who works with her daughter as a hairdresser and was forced to temporarily close her business due to the second national lockdown – launched the heartfelt idea with a social media post earlier this month, and it has since resulted in thousands of pounds being raised, as well as almost 200 festive gift bags being distributed to care home residents, many of whom haven’t seen their families in months.
The pair said the festive gifts would simply cheer the care home residents up, and it doesn’t have to cost much to “make someone very happy”.
In true Greater Manchester spirit, the local community quickly rallied around the idea, and people were soon dropping gifts off at Richenda’s house, sending her money toward putting gift bags together, and one of her friends – who works as a train driver for Northern Rail – even managed to raise an impressive £1,000 in just 24 hours for the initiative.
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Each bag contained a variety of pick-me-ups including chocolates, sweets, scarves, blankets and perfumes.
Richenda also asked a group of childminders if they would consider asking children to make homemade Christmas cards too and in total, the mother and son duo managed to pack around 180 gift bags, which they successfully delivered to four local care homes last week.
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How brilliant is this?
Richenda Mather
Speaking to the MEN on the initiative, Richenda said: “We saw something on telly where there was a nursing home and nobody had seen their family since March [and] my son said, ‘why don’t we do some Christmas gift boxes for these people?’
“So we went and made one and I asked on Facebook whether anyone else wanted to get involved and it just went absolutely mad.”
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Care homes to benefit from Richenda and Ady’s festive gifting project include Springfield Park Nursing Home, Springbank Nursing Home, Beech House, and Tudor Court, with staff sending their thanks for brightening the residents’ days and saying the community coming together in such a way to provide the donations “brought a tear to the eye”.
If that wasn’t incredible enough as it is, the pair even borrowed elf and penguin outfits to dress up in when dropping the gifts off, waving at residents through the window.
“I got a message from the nursing home and they said they are going to go out and buy an elf outfit for the residents as they loved it so much,” Richenda added.
Richenda Mather
Expressing his gratitude to the community for supporting residents, Michael Jones – Manager at Springfield Park Nursing Home – said: “I wanted to say thank you so much to her and her friends and colleagues who have donated to our residents at such a difficult time.
“They are missing out on family and friends visiting and this will be such a great boost for them. It was a massive surprise [and] we weren’t expecting it at all.
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“It has put a smile on their faces.
“There are handmade cards from children in the local area too – they are so heartwarming [and] it brings a tear to the eye. It’s amazing to know that they are not forgotten and that people are thinking about them at this time.”
Richenda Mather
It wasn’t just festive gift bags and boxes donated though.
Enough money was even raised to be able to buy a tablet device for one home, so that residents could stay connected with their families, and staff at the homes also had a surprise too as Richenda said: “At the end of it all, I think we had about £50 left, so we got the staff a bottle of vodka each and some chocolate and thank you cards, as we thought we can’t leave them out,”
After all their hard work, Richenda and Ady have said they would like to send their thanks to anyone who has donated to the successful initiative. She said: “It wasn’t just me who’s been doing this – everyone in Heywood has been contributing,
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“One woman dropped six gift bags off – it really has been madness.”
“It was so worth doing – it was a stressful week but we managed to do it all… I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone [as] I couldn’t have done it without everyone else.”
She continued: “Usually this is my biggest time of the year, so I don’t know if I’d have been able to do it otherwise, but I am thinking about trying it again next year as I have really enjoyed it,
“But with a bit more help dropping them off.”
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From everyone here at The Manc, to Richenda, Ady and the local Heywood community who played a crucial part in contributing at a time when it is truly needed most, we take our hats off to you.
Thank you for helping to keep Greater Manchester great.
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The 2027 World Climbing Series is coming to Manchester
Danny Jones
In yet more huge sporting news for Greater Manchester, the 2027 World Climbing Series is coming to 0161 later this year.
We’ve had plenty of big peaks of late, but things seem to just keep going up and up.
Set to host the global event for the first time in our history, Manchester will welcome the World Climbing Series (WCS), which is set to include both Olympic and Paralympic disciplines ahead of the next Summer Games in 2028.
2027 will mark the 38th edition of the series, which will also be one of only a handful to be held in the North – it’s just down to our city to make it the best.
Officially announced on Friday, 16 January, the British Mountaineering Council (BMC) confirmed the return to the UK.
Founded back in 1989, the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) is coming up on four decades since the competition first began – Leeds being chosen as the inaugural hosts – the event has come a long way since then.
The IFSC’s rebranding of the annual bouldering, lead and speed trials to the modern WSC, which began last year, was initially revealed back in 2023.
Welcoming continental talent right down to the youth level, the upcoming 2026 World Climbing Series is taking place in the summer and will be hosted by the city of Innsbruck in Austria.
As for the WSC’s Manchester debut, which is being organised in collaboration with the City Council, Manchester Accommodation BID, MCR Active and the National Lottery via UK Sport investment.
It’s not the only big sporting celebration that the Council will be supporting in 2027.
Paul Ratcliffe, CEO of the British Mountaineering Council, said in an official statement: “It’s exciting to be able to confirm that a World Series climbing event will return to the UK in 2027 as part of the BMC’s major event programme.
“Hosting a competition of this scale in Manchester is a strong statement about the UK’s place on the international climbing stage and a great opportunity for our athletes, fans, the climbing community and the wider public to experience the sport at the very highest level.
“Our ‘Route to Adventure’ strategy sets out how we will build on moments like this to support people into climbing and help them progress, whatever their starting point. Using major events to inspire participation, strengthen pathways and reinforce our commitment to inclusion is central to our long-term approach.”
Scheduled to take place in June, you can find out more information about the 2027 World Climbing Series in Manchester by signing up for the official event mailing list HERE.
Inside Greater Manchester’s most EXPENSIVE house on the market with an indoor pool and supercar garage
Emily Sergeant
A new house has recently come up for sale, and it just so happens to be the most expensive house currently on the market in Greater Manchester.
So naturally, we thought we’d let you have a little look inside.
Now, before we all get carried away, it goes without saying that the vast majority of us don’t have the money to buy this house just sitting in our bank accounts right now, but if like us, you’ve got no shame in admitting you love looking at houses you can’t afford in places you’ll probably never live, then allow us to introduce you to this absolute beauty.
This is a house that’s quite literally so exclusive, the estate agents haven’t even listed where abouts it is on Rightmove.
All we know is that it’s a house in Alderley Edge – which is by far and away one of the most affluent areas in Cheshire, bordering Greater Manchester – which is currently listed for sale at an eye-watering £10.95 million, only £50,000 shy of £11 million.
Boasting nearly 13,000 sq ft of internal space, all designed bespoke by Hill House Interiors, this six-bedroom detached super luxe villa is set amongst five acres of expertly manicured private gardens that hold an orchard, pond, paddocks, stable, and even a 4G sports pitch.
Some of the stand-out features inside have to be the substantial kitchen, dining, and living room with balcony, a separate chef’s kitchen, ‘his and hers’ dressing rooms, a three-storey glazed entrance hall with floor-to-ceiling windows, and the fact that five of the bedrooms have deluxe ensuites.
If that wasn’t enough, there’s also the small matter of a cinema room, a garden room, a full ‘leisure’ suite with a stunning indoor pool, and even a luxury eight-car garage with its own bar.
This is the most expensive house currently on the market in Greater Manchester / Credit: Jackson-Stops
And to top it off, there’s a one-bedroom detached gate house on the land and planning permission exists for an additional outbuilding.
Of course, with a house this swanky, the property is set behind a secure gated entrance down a large driveway – with a sophisticated security system installed, including zoned alarm system and monitored CCTV.
This property is currently on the market with the Alderley Edge branch of national estate agents Jackson-Stops for, as mentioned, a Guide Price of a whopping £10,950,000, and if you fancy taking a closer look, then you can contact the agents to arrange a viewing.
Or you could just take the cheaper route instead and have a nosy at the Rightmove link here.
Emily Sergeant -
19th November 2020 
