A woman has called the anonymous return of her cochlear implant a “miracle” after she misplaced it on a shopping trip last month.
Urmston resident Jessica Mortimer was devastated to have lost her electronic hearing assistance device – which she said was “literally [her] lifeline” and is unable to hear without it – whilst out shopping in Barton Square at the Trafford Centre only a couple of days before Christmas.
The cochlear implant was sadly nowhere to be found, and had not been handed in to staff at the shopping centre or left inside the Uber vehicle she rode home in either.
Hoping a member of the public may have come across the device, Jessica took to Facebook – and also to the over 32K members of the popular Urmston M41’ers group – to ask people to keep an eye out for it and contact her should they have any information as to its potential whereabouts.
Accompanied by a picture of the implant for reference, Jessica said: “Lost this implant on the 23rd of December. Was in Primark at the Trafford Centre, got an Uber there and back from the side of Barton Square. Unfortunately, nothing has been handed in to either Trafford Centre or Primark [and] I went to look outside Barton Square yesterday [and] couldn’t see it anywhere.
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Been in touch with Uber [and] nothing’s been reported [either].
“I cannot hear without this, it’s literally my lifeline. I’m devastated and just want to find it. It’s an awful feeling not being able to hear anything [and] I’m hoping I’ll get a miracle and it’s found.”
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The post was shared hundreds of times by people all across the country, but this was unfortunately not enough to help locate the device before Jessica had arranged for a replacement, which was due to be fitted this morning.
Luckily though, in what was some “good news to end a rubbish year”, she managed to arrange to only pay £80 for the replacement – when such devices can often set an individual back close to £6,000 – and admitted she would be looking into insuring the implant should it ever be misplaced again in the future.
But this was all up until yesterday evening when Jessica was re-united with the device after an anonymous source posted it through her letterbox.
Astonished at the gesture, Jessica took to the Urmston M41’ers group once again to share the news saying: “Just come home and found this in my letterbox. No note left [but] oh my god [I’m] totally in shock. Wish I knew who left it [but] whoever it was, thank you so much, I’m in tears with happiness [and] my faith has been totally restored in human kindness.”
How brilliant is this?
“[I] feel like it’s a late Christmas miracle,” Jessica told The Manc.
“[I] was so sure I wasn’t going to find it. Hundreds of people shared my post, but we heard nothing [so it] was a huge shock when myself and my mother came home yesterday from shopping and saw [my cochlear implant] in a money bag.
“Just wish I could thank the person who left it.”
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Although Jessica is yet to find out which kind stranger is to thank for reuniting her with her “lifeline”, in an equally as impressive gesture, she revealed that the £80 she would have spent on the replacement device today has instead been donated to “an amazing local charity”.
“I’ve donated to Jonny Spangles Community Charity, ” Jessica said.
You can find more information about DJ Jonny Spangles and the Jonny Spangles Community Charity via its website here.
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Sir Ian McKellen pays emotional tribute to long-time friend and fellow northern actor Sir Patrick Stewart
Emily Sergeant
Sir Ian McKellen has paid an emotional tribute to his long-time friend and fellow northern actor, Sir Patrick Stewart, following his death.
Sir Patrick Stewart – who was born and bred in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, and is best-known for his theatre work alongside an illustrious 60-year screen career, taking on prominent roles in franchises such as Star Trek and X-Men – sadly passed away at the age of 86, with his death being announced publicly yesterday evening (29 October).
And now, his long-time friend and fellow northern actor, Sir Ian McKellen, has paid tribute.
Sir Patrick and Sir Ian shared the stage together countless times over their decades-long careers, but also famously starred alongside each other in the X-Men franchise, and subsequent Marvel movies, as Charles Xavier/Professor X and Magneto.
The tribute, shared across Sir Ian’s social media platforms, reads: “Before everything else, Patrick was defined by being born and bred in Yorkshire, the proud county in the north of England which he loved to the end. You could hear it in his accented voice and in the stern honesty with which he told you what he thought and felt. Yorkshiremen have no truck with half-truths or avoidance of big issues. He wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love.
“We first met as ambitious young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company half a century ago but we weren’t in the same productions.
“My first strong memory was a few years later, meeting him in the street in central London when he told me about an offer to take over a leading part in ‘Star Trek’. “But Patrick think of your stage career in the UK. Do you really want to risk getting lost in Hollywood for years and years?”
“Well, he took the risk and thank goodness for us all that he did, for not just his devoted Trekkies, but film and theatre audiences who marvelled at his using international celebrity to star in a string of cinema successes (‘X-Men’ of course) and in great classical plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Peter Shaffer, Pinter and Beckett at Stratford-upon-Avon, in London’s West End and on Broadway.
“America was his adopted home, where he met his adored Sunny who has cared for him through sickness and health, through thick and thin.
“But he never forsook his origins: and the proudest achievement of the most respected and beloved actor of his generation on either side of the Atlantic, was his appointment as Chancellor of Huddersfield University in Yorkshire.”
Sir Patrick Stewart’s farewell performance will be in Avengers: Doomsday, which is being released in UK cinemas on 18 December 2026
Featured Image – Gage Skidmore (via Flickr)
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Classic FM will be back playing calming music for anxious pets this Bonfire Night
Emily Sergeant
Classic FM will be back playing calming music for anxious pets during this year’s fireworks season.
Bonfire Night may be loved by us humans for the spectacular firework displays and all the festive-themed activities that come along with it… but sadly, the November holiday isn’t quite so fun for our four-legged friends.
Loud bangs, flashing lights, and unpleasant strong smell of spent explosives are just some of the reasons why fireworks are frightening to pets.
Not only that, but with multiple bangs occurring from numerous displays across this time of year, pets are rarely able to pinpoint when and where the booming explosions are coming from, therefore creating even more anxiety around this time of year.
Classic FM will play calming music for anxious pets during this year’s fireworks / Credit: DESIGNECOLOGIST (via Unsplash)
Which is why, for the ninth year running now, Classic FM is once again teaming up with the RSPCA for two Pet Classics programmes packed with ‘the most soothing and comforting classical music’.
The music has been handpicked to help calm and settle any anxious pets.
A survey by the RSPCA revealed that almost two-thirds (63%) of animal owners reported their pet was distressed during fireworks season, and that playing relaxing music was the most common way (36%) to help calm or prepare their animal.
Presenters Dan Walker, Aled Jones, and Dawn O’Porter will each host a night of the specially created programme to help keep the nation’s pets calm through the whizzes and bangs.
Dan will present the first programme on Bonfire Night itself (Thursday 5 November), and then as celebrations continue throughout the weekend, Aled will be on hand to bring some peace to Friday 6 November, and Dawn picks up the baton on Saturday 7 November.
Emily Sergeant -
4th January 2021 
