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.
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.
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.”
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.
“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,
“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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A deal has reportedly been agreed for Antony to leave Manchester United
Danny Jones
Currently exiled winger Antony looks like he’s finally set to leave Manchester United, as the Red Devils have reportedly agreed a deal with a Spanish team, Real Betis, to seal his return.
The 25-year-old winger, who joined Man United from Ajax in 2022 at the behest of former manager Erik ten Hag for nearly £90 million all told, has made 96 appearances for the club, but has only played a handful of games under Ruben Amorim.
Most notably, he also doesn’t look to be part of Amorim’s plans, and it looks like the Sevillan side may not have to turn to far-fetched measures after all.
Sharing the update on social media, Daily Telegraph journalist Mike McGrath wrote: “Agreement in principle for Antony to return to Real Betis, according to Spanish sources.
“Talks have been over a deal where the 25yo Brazil forward to eventually move permanently after [an] initial loan.”
As you can see, since these reports, the latest from other sources is that an official bid has now been received, though nothing has been signed just yet.
It goes without saying that Antony, who scored nine goals and five assists in 26 appearances for Los Béticos – many of which came in crucial games – would be keen on the switch.
Once again, it is only believed to be an agreement in principle at this point, but there is understandably a keenness on all sides.
You can see why he was an instant hit with their supporters down below.
Antony quickly looked much more at home in the Betis starting XI than he did in Manchester.
Although it is said that United have not yet accepted the bid, freelance transfer specialist Sam Alex claims that the Premier League club would prefer not to loan him out for a second time.
That being said, as McGrath states, it’s thought that the hope is that they can agree on another short-term spell in the immediate, with a look to sign him full-time at a later date.
Betis have reiterated that they still have a modest budget when it comes to recruitment, and it is unclear whether they’d be able to raise enough money via player sales by January to make it a permanent deal.
United have ended up spending more than £200m this window and are rumoured to be spending further as Jim Ratcliffe and the INEOS Sports Group look to try and get the global sporting brand back to ‘the good days’, which the Portuguese coach insists are coming.
Nevertheless, the ex-Sporting boss has now played more Premier League games (29) than he has won points, of which he has amassed just 28 thus far. Those new signings have to start clicking soon.
Featured Images — Ardfern (via Wikimedia Commons)/La Liga (screenshot via YouTube)
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BBC needs outspoken Mancs to share their hottest TV takes in brand-new show
Emily Sergeant
Outspoken Mancs are being urged to apply to take part in a new BBC show where they share their hottest TV takes.
We all have opinions when it comes to television, right? Whether it be which show had the best and worst ending, which characters deserved better arcs, or which shows are the most underrated – you name it, someone will have an opinion on it.
Some people, however, like to broadcast or shout about their options a little louder than others do… and it’s these people the BBC is looking to speak to.
The broadcaster is currently in the process of casting for a new digital pilot called People Watching that will give people from across the UK a chance to share their hottest TV takes, straight from the comfort of their own sofa, and is looking for outspoken people from across Greater Manchester to talk the talk and take part.
The BBC needs outspoken Mancs to share their hottest TV takes in a brand-new show / Credit: CoWomen (via Pexels)
A casting call for the new show on the BBC website reads: “Subtitles on or off? What would your winning strategy be on The Traitors? And what is the most overrated show ever made?
“If you have a big personality, an interesting living room, or are part of a household group who love a binge watch – we want to hear from you.”
People Watching is being produced for the BBC by BBC Socials, which likely means it’ll be a show primarily made for online audiences.
To apply to feature on the show, you’ll need to be 18 years old or over, and you must be willing to allow the BBC to film in your home.
Applicants will need to send casting directors a short ‘expression of interest’ in the form of a paragraph or video link, telling them a bit about yourself, your favourite BBC show, and most importantly, your most controversial TV opinion.
The closing date for applications is 1 October 2025, and you can apply by sending an email to [email protected]
Emily Sergeant -
19th November 2020 
