A 100-year-old Cheshire man who spends his free time reading to local schoolchildren has been awarded a prestigious honour.
After sadly losing his wife of 72 years, centenarian and World War II veteran Peter Offord Davies from Macclesfield said he felt like “a lost soul”, and so he decided to begin lending a hand down at Dean Valley Community Primary School in Bollington.
For the past six years, Mr Davies has been sharing his passion for reading with the children at the school, and encourages them to enjoy it as much as he does.
Originally from Coventry but now living in Macclesfield, Mr Davies – who served in the Army Air Corps as a glider pilot, and took part in the largest airborne operation ever – said his volunteering work at the school gives him a bit of “street cred” in his village, and he also loves getting to watch children’s confidence grow.
“The kids are great – they are like sponges,” Mr Davies told BBC North West.
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“I’m sure I get more out of it than the children do as it’s a lovely warm feeling [that] I belong.
“I’m not this old man who lives on his own, I’m part of the community, which is great. Plus my street cred is tremendous because I’ll be going anywhere in the village and a child will shout out ‘Hello Mr Davies’ and I feel 10 feet tall.”
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The school’s head teacher, Vicky McPherson, has described Mr Davies as “inspirational, generous, considerate and thoughtful”.
As a way of celebrating and honouring the incredible volunteering work he has doing, Mr Davies has now become the oldest recipient of an award on King Charles III‘s first-ever New Year’s Honours list back in 2022.
/ Credit: BBC News
He has been awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to volunteering.
Ms McPherson added: “He has gifted his time for so many children over the last six years to instil a love of reading that we will never be able to say thank you.”
Featured Image – BBC News
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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 -
19th January 2023 
