A woman is raffling off her house and car after being diagnosed with an incurable heart disease and is currently recovering from a bout of coronavirus (COVID-19).
Mum-of-two Jennifer Matthews and her husband David decided to raffle off their five-bed detached house – named Bramble Lodge, near Adlington in Lancashire – after the 48-year-old, who runs an electrical engineering company, was diagnosed with ventricular tachycardia in 2016 and, after collapsing twice in 2018 and 2019, has not been able to work as much.
Jennifer’s condition devastatingly cannot be treated, which means she has a fast and abnormal heart rate.
And although Jennifer said she feels “lucky to be alive” – having had heart surgery in mid-2019 in an unsuccessful attempt to try to boost her electrolytes to a normal level – the couple have been forced to make the difficult decision to sell their home and downscale.
The Matthews’ are selling their £600,000 home after building their house from the ground up eight years ago.
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The stunning luxury home has five double bedrooms, a massive garden, a £7,000 Aga cooker, and on top of that, also comes with a 2004 Ferrari 360 Spider – which is “thrilling” to drive, according to the couple.
And you could be in with a chance of winning it for just £2.
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Raffall.com / Jennifer Matthews
Jennifer said she was saddened to sell her “dream house”, but felt this was an opportunity for another family to get the deal of a lifetime for just £2.
She told LancsLive: “I’ve got a fatal heart condition which can’t be treated [and] it’s nearly taken my life a few times. We’re going through the process of selling the house because of it. I come from nothing and I thought I’d love someone to have a house like this and have a Ferrari.
“Ryan Giggs used to live across the street, it’s a lovely area [and] someone could get a dream house for just £2.”
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She continued: “I think it’s a dream house because everyone has always told us that if they’d won the lottery, they’d buy my house, and it’s marvellous and thrilling driving a Ferrari – it’s not every day you get to ride in one.”
The Matthews’ had previously tried to sell the home the “conventional way”, but the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic initially made it a struggle, and then when the first national lockdown ended, they were bombarded with viewings and Jennifer said she struggled to deal with them as she was exhausted and worried about her health.
Jennifer continued: “We bought the land in 2012 and moved in August 2012, built it all in seven months,
“We worked so hard [and] poured our heart and soul into the house.
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“When the restrictions ended we were inundated with viewings and a few offers, but it made matters worse because I couldn’t manage all the viewings, running my business, with my children, my dogs, five six viewings a day – I was shattered.
“I saw this other house come up for a raffle and wondered if it was real.”
After finding out that it very much was real – and having seen the modern method of raffling becoming increasingly popular to sell property during difficult times – the Matthews’ jumped at the opportunity to list their home on the site and see what happens.
“I come from nothing and I thought I’d love someone to have a house like this and have a Ferrari.” said Jennifer.
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Tickets to enter the raffle cost just £2, with the closing date being Sunday 14th February 2021 at 11:45pm (or when the last ticket is sold, whichever sooner).
Manchester City Council green-light new venue at Medlock Square, with Mamma Mia! The Party to open the immersive space
Danny Jones
The smash-hit ‘Mamma Mia: The Party’ is set to land in Manchester next year as the maiden event of another brand-new space set to open as part of the upcoming Medlock Square development.
Etihad Campus has seen a lot of moving pieces over the past few years, be it the building of Co-op Live, the ongoing expansion of Man City’s home ground, the soon-to-launch hotel attached to the stadium and now Medlock.
But those in control of the land are content with stopping there; this looks to be just the start of a whole new evolution for the East Manchester area, with an as yet untitled new immersive arts, experience and events venue also set to join the new slate of projects.
You see another glimpse of the purpose-built mini arena, of sorts, down below.
With plans having now been approved by the City Council, the ‘immersive’ space will be situated between the Etihad, Co-op Live and Medlock Square itself, holding up to 600 guests per performance.
Currently set to open in late 2027, following the rest of the square’s launch window being fully rolled out, we still don’t know the name of this next addition, but the structure itself will dovetail with the surrounding buildings and areas as part of seasonal activations, live shows and sports screenings, as well as pop-ups, brand collaborations and more.
Looping back, the interactive, multimedia extravaganza that is ‘Mamma Mia! The Party’ will finally be making its Manc debut as part of the 10th anniversary of the all-singing, all-dancing and even all-dining in-demand production.
As per an official press release from the Medlock Square media team, the show will combine “live music, theatre, food and storytelling” and “offer visitors an unforgettable night out.”
The original UK production at The O2 in London has now surpassed more than 1,500 performances, with a total of 700k guests attending these shows in 110 countries across the globe. Safe to say it’s rather popular.
As for Medlock Square and the surrounding Etihad Campus, Manchester City supporters have also been given another look at the soon-to-open, immersive hotel tie-in experience.
With a skywalk, rooftop bar, a new MCFC shop and various other bits set to spill out onto Medlock Square, it all feels like a period of wholesale changes over in the blue half of the city – especially with the football club bidding farewell to their manager Pep Guardiola after more than a decade.
Following the new and improved North Stand being named after him in the first of many tributes, the City Football Group (CFG) are also set to commission a statue in his honour over the coming months.
Meanwhile, Medlock Square is also due to open later this year, although an official completion date has not been confirmed.
You can stay up to date with all the latest on Mamma Mia! The Part’s Manchester shows right HERE.
Not forgetting a brand-new women’s football facility, too, there is so much stuff going on over at the Etihad that it can be hard to keep track, but here’s the latest look at some of the rooms set to feature in the hotel of the same name.
Featured Images — Publicity pictures (CGIs via Medlock Square)
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Manchester City sign Beth Mead as European champion Lioness completes major transfer move to WSL title rivals
Danny Jones
In a major move for recently crowned champions Manchester City, two-time Euros winner Beth Mead has completed a switch from title Women’s Super League (WSL) rivals Arsenal.
This one is sure to cause quite the stir, especially given the players that have been transferred between them in the past.
Announcing the signing on Friday, 12 June, Man City Women confirmed the done deal in a social media post that also revealed she will don the number seven shirt.
With City having finally won the first title in over a decade earlier this year – only their second in the modern era – the England Women’s star and WSL heavyweight didn’t mince her words on arrival, telling the club and its fans: “I’m here to win.”
The 31-year-old from Whitby spent the best part of nine years at Arsenal, during which time she has also gone on to become one of the most prolific Lionesses under Sarina Wiegman.
Boasting not only 81 national team caps to her name, but also having scored 40 times in his career thus far (her assists included, guaranteeing at least a goal contribution every other game, on average), she’s been one of the most dangerous female forwards in Europe for some time now.
Speaking in a club statement, she said: “City have always played beautiful football, but I think this season they’ve been very cutthroat in front of goal, [found] different ways of scoring, different ways of creating goalscoring opportunities.
“I think that’s been the difference: they’ve found ways to score and win games when it’s been cagey, or whether it’s felt easy and you become complacent. I think that’s been the difference this season for City winning.”
Having already linked up with fellow England star Alex Greenwood upon making her first appearance at Man City’s brand new women’s football facility, she went on to add: “I’ve played with a lot of the players in the team, I’ve watched a lot of players in the team over the years and in the season gone [by], and I think that’s what created a lot of excitement.
They’ve aimed to set a new industry standard for the women’s game.
Penning a first MCWFC contract this week, she has signed a deal until the summer of 2029; both she and City supporters will no doubt be hoping she can add at least one more piece of silverware by the end of the 2026/27 campaign.
With head coach Andrée Jeglertz now looking to mount a title defence over at the Etihad Campus, and the Women’s World Cup in Brazil getting underway this time next year, Mead will obviously be looking to hit the ground running ahead of her first season in sky blue.
There is undoubtedly an element of curiosity to see who will have the better overall performance this upcoming term between her and national teammate Chloe Kelly, with the latter ex-City player having left the club for the red side of north London instead.
Speaking of cities split into two halves, football-wise, elsewhere in transfer news, Manchester United have also been linked to a new attacker of their own – it remains to be seen how strong the interest is going both ways…
Emily Sergeant -
18th January 2021 
