A couple from Droylsden have raised thousands of pounds for charity after turning their home and garden into a Christmas wonderland.
Sue Farkas and her partner John Charlesworth originally decided to transform their back garden into a grotto simply for their grandchildren, but after putting so much hard work and love into creating the festive experience, they thought they would extend the invitation to children right across the local community.
And after a helping hand from family, friends and members of the public, the community heroes managed to welcome over 450 children to the event.
Each child lucky enough to visit the event was warmly welcomed by Mrs Claus, before being taken to the grotto to hear a stories from Father Christmas himself, getting the chance chat about the year that they’ve had, and finally receiving a small gift to take away with them.
The entire makeover – which took the couple three weeks to complete – saw lights, trees and characters all transform the exterior of their home and back garden into the winter wonderland.
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Speaking to the Tameside Reporter ahead of the grotto opening earlier this month, Sue said: “We’ve put up lights around the trees, put up Christmas trees, reindeer and snowmen, everything really.
“It was just an empty garden before we started.
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“There are [hundreds of] children booked in total [and] I’m just hoping they’re gobsmacked – we just wanted to make them smile.
“They’ve had a rough year and it’s been hard, so we just want to bring a bit of cheer.”
Sue Farkas
What’s more is that on top of spreading some much-needed seasonal cheer, Sue and John also decided that all of the money raised from the event would be donated to a charity of importance to them – children’s cancer research charity Kidscan – with the public also welcome to make additional contributions.
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The pair chose to set up a GoFundMe page to accompany the funds raised throughout the event.
“It is close to our family because we’ve lost quite a few members of our family to cancer. It is a good cause and they really need all the money they can get this year,” Sue explained.
“They’ve lost so much money due to the pandemic over the last couple of months and it’s a good cause.”
Alison England – Community Fundraising Manager at Kidscan – has commended the couple for their fundraising efforts at such a crucial time, adding: “I saw a post on the Droylsden Facebook group as I live in Droylsden myself, and saw that John and Sue were going to do a Santa’s grotto all in aid of charity.
“I contacted them to ask whether they would consider raising money for Kidscan Children’s Cancer Research and they agreed. Having had family experiences of cancer they jumped at the chance to support our charity.
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“I went along and had a chat with them about their plans and they explained that they will be giving each child a selection box and offering parents mince pies and mulled wine.”
“[so] I set about contacting local businesses for donations of these items.”
Sue Farkas
Alison continued: “Iceland, Quality Save, Spar, Tesco amongst others, all gave generously. Local people have also donated trees, decorations and lights.
“Sue and John have gone to great expense to decorate their entire house – front and back and turn it into something truly magical.
“They have ensured they are following all government guidelines and ensuring social distancing at all times.”
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As a result of all the hard work gone into the event, Sue and John have managed to raise a whopping £2,612.54 and counting, with Alison adding that the money raised will go towards vital research into finding new and improved treatments for children with cancer.
Currently, children are receiving a watered-down version of adult chemotherapy, and even though 60% of children diagnosed with cancer survive, sadly 60-70% of those children go on to have life limiting, life-altering side effects including learning difficulties, mobility issues and infertility.
“We want to change this and with the help of people like John and Sue, we can do just that,” Alison concluded.
How brilliant is this?
If you would like to support Sue, John and Kidscan, you can donate via the GoFundMe page here.
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Erling Haaland dresses up as Santa and hands out Christmas presents in Greater Manchester
Danny Jones
Manchester City star Erling Haaland has doubled as Father Christmas in his latest YouTube stunt, dressing up as Santa and handing out presents to local kids in the new episode.
We’re starting to think he might be one of the most likeable footballers on the planet right now.
The Norwegian footballer recently surpassed Alan Shearer’s ‘fastest to 100 goals record’ in the Premier League and has been well and truly back to his best as Man City continue to rediscover their form, but the big blonde number nine has been delighting both on and off the pitch of late.
For starters, even before any of the season’s givings began, we got the giggle just from our first glimpse of the thumbnail.
Yes, Haaland definitely has a habit of leaning into the humorous side of his celebrity status, having already dressed up as the Joker for Halloween in one of the first episodes published on his still relatively new YouTube channel.
However, the 25-year-old got up to some more heartwarming activities this time around, swapping the face paint, green wig and stripey suit for a red coat, hat, some little glasses and a big white beard.
With the video itself showing him getting into character and loading his car with a sack full of presents, he then goes on to visit multiple houses to dish out the surprise gifts.
While the title and description state that he drove around the streets of 0161, it’s hard to tell where exactly he went, but we’d guess it was more around Alderley Edge and/or the Cheshire side of the Greater Manchester borders.
One particular interaction between the disguised Blue and a young Red certainly produced a harmless little bit of comedy…
Either way, on the whole, this particular instalment was more wholesome than it was funny, and it’s always nice to see sports personalities and famous people spreading kindness.
Obviously, not everyone can afford to be as generous as a Premier League and world-famous international athlete, but it’s nevertheless a nice touch.
Featured Images — Erling Haaland (screenshots via YouTube)
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Kobbie Mainoo’s brother sends three-word message to Man United after Old Trafford stunt
Danny Jones
Kobbie Mainoo’s brother, Jordan Kwadwo Osei Mainoo-Hames, has caused quite a stir online after sending a simple but definitive three-word message to Manchester United and head coach Ruben Amorim, in the form of a publicity stunt.
In case you missed the blockbuster eight-goal thriller at Old Trafford on Monday night, the scoreline wasn’t the only headline on the night.
Man United managed to give up their one-nil lead right on two separate occasions, and despite clawing their way back to 4-3 with just over 10 minutes of regulation time left on the clock, ultimately went on to concede an equaliser in the 84th minute.
Despite Kobbie Mainoo’s receiving a rapturous round of cheers and applause when he was subbed on in the second half, not to mention adding some real dynamism in the middle of the park, any notion of his contribution has now been overshadowed by his sibling.
As you can see, Jordan Mainoo-Hames – who found fame after appearing on series five of reality TV show Love Island (2019) – took the opportunity to capitalise on the ongoing narrative regarding Kobbie and his relationship with the current United boss.
For months now, there has been much speculation around whether the Stockport-born youth product will stay at his boyhood club or leave in the next couple of transfer windows, given that he’s only been afforded limited minutes under the Portuguese manager.
Amorim, who has collected just 24 Premier League points since arriving last November, maintains that he recognises Mainoo’s but, crucially, sees him as competing for the same position as Bruno Fernandes.
Now a model for a number of big brands, he’s no stranger to posing in clothes, but in this case, it all centred around a simple black t-shirt simply reading ‘Free Kobbie Mainoo’ in plain white text, seemingly imitating Nike’s ‘Just Do It’ font.
Safe to say that despite catching the eye of plenty in and around the stadium, as well as countless more online, it hasn’t gone down particularly well with a good chunk of the supporters.
Even neutrals have hopped on social media to label the stunt everything from “embarrassing” and causing an “unnecessary” distraction to urging the 20-year-old to distance himself from the stunt and/or his half-brother.
Utter nonsense. His brother turning up at Old Trafford in a ‘Free Kobbie Mainoo’ tee is pure embarrassment. Clout-chasing disguised as support, when the player’s interests should be the priority. We’ve seen this playbook from families before… https://t.co/9p5uognVsX
For many fans, the incident was reminiscent of the Alejandro Garnacho situation: another promising youngster whose family’s outspoken nature on social media, along with his own, ultimately soured his relationship with Amorim to the point of leaving the club this past summer.
Rather notably, Garnacho ruffled even more feathers earlier this month after responding to a question about any potential regrets over how his time at the club ended…
As for his former fellow academy graduate, it is looking increasingly likely that he may at least leave on loan this January in search of more regular football, especially with the 2026 World Cup looming.
Whether you’re a Red or not, we’re interested to hear what you make of the whole mess. Let us know down in the comments.
You can see the highlights from the frankly bonkers game against Bournemouth down below.
Emily Sergeant -
21st December 2020 
