A local lad has embarked on a mammoth fitness challenge this month to raise money for a worthy cause following a number of personal tragedies.
Although it sounds hard to believe, Martin Kavanagh admittedly “didn’t really run” that much before setting himself the task of clocking up an accumulative 168.78km – the equivalent of four marathons – around his local area over the course of the month of January.
But it’s his near-novice abilities that make his achievements all the more impressive.
The 34-year-old – who is originally from Tullamore, County Offaly in Ireland, but now lives with his family in Manchester – was keen to undertake a challenge that he could really be proud of after sadly losing several relatives and friends to mental health battles in recent months.
And it was these devastating loses that provided the catalyst for his efforts to raise awareness and achieve his fundraising goals.
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With every kilometre he runs, Martin is raising money “in aid of healthier minds” for Manchester Mind – an independent, self-financed charity that has been supporting young people and adults with mental health issues in Greater Manchester for over 30 years.
Manchester Mind aims to promote positive attitudes to mental health to challenge the stigma, increase awareness, and work for better mental health for all.
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“This charity is close to my heart,” Martin said.
“We all know someone who has suffered or is suffering from mental health and some who [has] unfortunately lost their battle.
“There needs to be more money put into the mental health services and I would like to do a little to help.
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“[Manchester Mind] values the commitment of their staff and volunteers, who work hard to ensure services are delivered in a way that enables people to feel heard and involved.”
He concluded: “Everyone deserves to be supported in their mental health needs and we have a part to play in that.”
Whilst this has mostly been a solo challenge, Martin did tell us that he manages to recruit members of his family to join him in his efforts from time to time.
He also likes to keep those who are keenly supporting him updated by posting route maps of his daily runs around the community on social media, as well as his dedicated fundraising page, which often earn him worthy comments of praise that inspire him to keep going.
Martin’s friend Maya spoke for everyone when she told us that his achievements are really “pretty amazing”, as he gears up to complete his last run of the challenge in the coming days.
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With over 148km complete, and not long to go before the challenge is complete, Martin has set himself the target of raising £1,000 for Manchester Mind, having already achieved over £321 and counting, and assuring that “every donation will help”.
Gary Neville ‘may or may not’ be actually joining The Reytons on tour
Danny Jones
In yet another absolutely random moment from the ever-ubiquitous Gary Neville, the former footballer turned businessman looks like he might be joining Yorkshire band The Reytons on their upcoming tour.
Believe it or not, we’re not having you on – not even a little bit.
Yes, as per an announcement from this week, Gary Neville looks set to be heading out on the road with Rotherham’s The Reytons as part of their ‘Right Back At It Tour’ next year.
As if the reveal was random and amusing enough as it is, the unsigned and unapologetic Northerners confirmed the news with a hilarious promotional video that we’ve now watched multiple times in disbelief that this actually looks like it happening.
Comments like that say it all: quality content and a genuinely funny way to unveil an already comical bit of music PR that goes on a long list of G Nev saying yes to pretty much anything. First Dragon’s Den and now a UK tour.
Although the full press release itself opens with the Manchester United legend, pundit and local entrepreneur declaring, “I’m in The Reytons”, it does also caveat this with the disclaimer: “*Gary Neville may or may not be actually joining The Reytons”.
We presume this means that the 49-year-old’s various media commitments and other projects mean there could see him pull out, but until they say otherwise, or the four-piece finds someone else to fill in for bassist Lee Holland and his broken arm, we’re taking this lineup change as read.
Oh yeah, this isn’t a random ‘DJ set’ or a quick repping-type gig to get the crowd warmed up act – by all accounts if this ends up happening he’ll be joining them on stage.
To be honest, we don’t know what to think; however, given that Neville has already played guitar live with The Charlatans and then went on to do a b2b set with Tim Burgess himself at Kendal Calling 2024, this really isn’t that surprising.
Set to play a run of nine gigs including London’s O2 Academy in Brixton, Blackpool’s Tower Ballroom and Aviva Studios – the now permanent home of Factory International – in Manchester on Saturday, 8 March, The Reytons are sure to get a warm reception.
After forming back in 2017 and years at slogging away, record deal or no, the band made it to number one in the Official UK Album Charts with What’s Rock And Roll? last year and played a sold-out hometown date at Clifton Park to 20,000 fans. It’s some journey they’ve gone on.
That one might be sold out but if you want to be in the crowd when the ex-England international and Monday Night Football star walks out on stage with a bass strapped around his neck, you can get ready to grab your tickets for their Manc gig when they go live this Friday (20 September) HERE.
No backing, no label, all Reytons – with a little bit of Gary Neville now too, apparently…
New study reveals the UK’s top 10 ‘most stressful’ jobs
Emily Sergeant
A top 10 list of the most stressful jobs in the UK has been compiled and shared following an interesting new study.
Every job role comes with its fair share of stresses, that we can all agree on.
You could ask pretty much any working person across the country to tell you what makes their job so stressful on a daily basis, and they’d probably be able to reel you off a couple without even having to think too hard about it – but which jobs ask more of their employees than others?
Some jobs certainly come with more than their fair share of challenges compared to others, but what roles and which industries are considered to be the UK’s most stressful? Well, in a bid to find out this answer out once and for all, personal injury injury experts, Claims.co.uk, analysed health and safety executive data from the UK Government.
Researchers looked at the prevalence and rates of self-reported stress, depression, or anxiety that were either caused, or made worse by, their current or most recent job.
And it’s police officers who take the top spot.
A new study has revealed the UK’s top 10 ‘most stressful’ jobs / Credit: gov.uk | GMP
With a rate of 6,500 per 100,000 current or former police officers reporting that their job had negatively impacted their mental health, this rate is alarmingly almost two and a half times (242%) higher than the national average.
Approximately 11,000 out of an estimated total of 169,231 police officers reported that their jobs had caused mental health issues or made them even worse, which works out to an estimated 6.5% of the total employees in this role.
Social workers rank second, with a rate of 6,100 per 100,000 social workers currently or formerly employed in social work roles reporting mental health issues caused by their jobs, while third place goes to welfare and housing associate professionals, who have a rate of 5,810 per 100,000 reporting mental health issues from their jobs.
Top 10 most stressful jobs in the UK
Police officers (sergeant and below)
Social workers
Welfare and housing associate professionals
Community nurses
Other nursing professionals
Higher education teaching professionals
Primary education teaching professionals
Secondary education teaching professionals
Human resource managers and directors
National government administrative occupations
Community nurses and other nursing professionals, higher and primary education teachers, and HR managers were just a few of the other stressful jobs making up the top 10.
“The findings bring to light job roles throughout the UK that detrimentally affect the mental health of employees,” a spokesperson for Claims.co.uk commented.
“Police officers, social workers, and welfare and housing associate professionals are notably associated with higher stress levels. Factors such as long hours, high responsibilities, and public-facing roles appear to contribute significantly to an employee’s mental health being negatively impacted.”
The spokesperson added that employers should encourage regular breaks, offer mental health resources, and promote open communication to employees manage their mental health more effectively.
Emily Sergeant -
26th January 2021 
