O’Grady was known and loved by British audiences as a comedian, presenter, broadcaster, actor, writer, and the former drag queen Lily Savage.
He was also one of the nation’s most-famous dog lovers and animal rights advocates.
Since O’Grady has passed, more than £300,000 has been raised for Battersea Dogs & Cats Home – which he had been a “devoted” ambassador for and long-time supporter of throughout his life – in his honour, and over 200,000 people signed an online petition for a statue of O’Grady to be permanently erected in his hometown.
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Council to vote on awarding Paul O’Grady Freedom of Wirral as a tribute to his legacy / Credit: ITV
But now, coming up to two months following his passing, the Council responsible for O’Grady’s native Birkenhead has revealed the ways in which it is plans to permanently and sufficiently honour his legacy.
Wirral Council is debating whether to posthumously award O’Grady the Freedom of the Borough.
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Revealing its plans in a statement today, Wirral Council explained: “Since the sad passing of Birkenhead’s legendary entertainer Paul O’Grady in March, we’ve heard the many asks for us to celebrate his legacy and we agree.
Since the sad passing of Birkenhead's legendary entertainer Paul O'Grady in March, we've heard the many asks for us to celebrate his legacy and we agree.
The first step in doing so will see councillors consider a recommendation to bestow the star – who first found fame as the… pic.twitter.com/Q7Ij2MwfZq
“The first step in doing so will see Councillors consider a recommendation to bestow the star… with the honour of Freedom of the Borough [as] this would recognise his years entertaining the nation, along with his dedicated activism and charity work.
“We are also looking at other ways to pay tribute to the legacy of both Paul and Lily [and] more details will be shared as soon as we have them.”
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The Freedom of the Borough is known as the highest award a Council can bestow, and O’Grady’s consideration for this is to be officially discussed at Wirral Council’s Regulatory and General Purposes Committee next week on Wednesday 7 June from 6pm.
Members of the public keen to see the outcome of the debate can watch on the livestream here.
Featured Image – BBC
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Home Bargains has announced a special two-day closure of all UK stores
Emily Sergeant
Home Bargains has, once again, announced it’ll be closing all its UK stores on both Boxing Day and New Year’s Day this year.
And it’s to make sure staff get a ‘well deserved break’.
After what has been yet another busy year for the retail industry, many workers have been left feeling like they could do with a little extra time off, which is why Home Bargains is following on with what has become a now-annual tradition by shutting up shop on two bank holidays.
All of our stores will be closing for Boxing Day & New Years Day.
Announcing the move in a post on social media, the discount retailer confirmed: “All of our stores will be closing for Boxing Day and New Years Day. We would like to thank all our colleagues for how hard you have worked this past year, and want you to relax and enjoy the Christmas break with your loved ones.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time the retailer has kept its doors shut on bank holidays.
Many shoppers will recall it has made the same decision to give hardworking staff a break every year since 2019.
Explaining a little more about the decision taken to close all its stores, Home Bargains said: “As a family-run business, we know the importance of being together at Christmas with those we care about most, now more than ever.
“This is our way of saying thank you to our colleagues for their continued hard work and dedication.”
Featured Image – Geograph
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Two Greggs in Manchester will be serving their breakfast menu in the evening next week
Emily Sergeant
Who says breakfast has to end at 11am?
In news that’s set to be music to the ears of breakfast lovers in Manchester, Greggs is giving them exactly what they want.
We all know that brunch is a ‘thing’ by now, so now it’s time for brinner to make a name for itself instead, as Greggs has teamed up with Heinz to bring its much-loved breakfast menu back for tea time, kicking off from 4pm onwards.
The move comes as a new survey has found that the majority of Mancs (69%) admit to enjoying eating breakfast food in the evening, saying it’s ‘convenient and comforting’ – even ranking breakfast as a ‘more important’ meal than tea, as well (38% vs 36%).
Two Greggs in Manchester will be serving their breakfast menu in the evening next week / Credit: Greggs (Supplied)
Greggs says it has ‘lost count’ of the amount of customers that have tried to order breakfast items after the usual cut-off time, especially in Greater Manchester.
But luckily for those breakfast-loving Mancs, they can finally get their favourite breakfast and sauce pairing long after the morning rush is over next… but only at two Greggs branches, and only for a very limited time.
On Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 October, the Heinz x Greggs Brinner collab will be available at Greggs St Mary’s Gate and Greggs Oxford Road, from 4-7pm only.
“We’ve lost count of the number of customers who have tried their luck ordering breakfast after 11am, so when Heinz came to us with the idea of making Brinner a reality, it felt like the perfect excuse to give the people what they want,” explained Zoe Harris, who is the Customer Director at Greggs.
“And let’s be honest, a Greggs Bacon Roll just wouldn’t be the same without a squeeze of Heinz Tomato Ketchup.”
Emily Sergeant -
31st May 2023 
