A red-faced mum went viral this week with an apology she was forced to make after her “mischievous” cat brazenly stole someone’s cooked beef joint.
Meanwhile, her neighbour had also taken to social media to report that his tea had gone missing.
Can you tell where this is going?
Haydn Lawson – 20, from Colne in Lancashire – captured the attention of the community when she shared an apology to anyone who had “just had their tea pinched” in a local Facebook group earlier this week, and it didn’t take long before other eagle-eyed social media users spotted another Colne resident, Ryan, share a post claiming his beef dinner had gone missing after leaving his window open and questioned who would steal it.
Haydn had spotted her five-year-old cat Eclipse with what at first appeared to be a dead animal, but upon taking a closer look, found it was actually a “nicely cooked piece of brisket”.
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The embarrassed full-time mum said she’s “never known” anything like her cat’s greed and suspects Eclipse had a whiff of a neighbour’s dinner and seized the opportunity to take it home, leaving Haydn to track down the stolen dinner’s rightful owner.
She said she’d even buy them a new joint if she’s successful in finding the hungry victim.
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“I came into my bedroom where I was greeted by Eclipse just sitting there on my bed eating this hunk of meat.” Haydn said.
“I just laughed at first and was in shock. I thought ‘what animal am I looking at here?’, [as] she brings home rats, pigeons, crows, mice [and] she’ll bring home bits of rubbish that she’s found, [so] my first thing was to shout at her and say ‘Eclipse, what are you doing?’ just to get her away from whatever it was.”
Kennedy News & Media
Haydn still has her doubts about who the beef joint belonged to though.
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She continued: “[Ryan] lives at the other side of town. He told me where his street was and there was no chance my cat got there and back with meat in her mouth, and also, she wouldn’t have been able to get there without getting lost on the way back as it’s easily a mile or so away.
“He told me his street name and straight away I knew there was no way on this earth that my cat would have walked so far there, grabbed the meat and then walked so far back with the meat in her mouth.
“There’s so many busy roads and stuff, there wasn’t a chance”.
Despite the questioning over who’s tea had actually been stolen, the hilarious incident has still gone on to cheer up plenty of people across the region and beyond, with a picture showing the two posts side by side receiving thousands of interactions on social media, including more than 4,000 on one Instagram page.
“Looking at the comments, I thought it was absolutely hilarious,” Haydn continued.
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“I was just sat giggling at the pure thought of her sneaking into someone’s house and grabbing this meat. I had so many comments on it saying ‘thank you so much for sharing this – you’ve brightened my day’.
“I put a comment on the post and said ‘right, am I going to have to invest in a cat collar camera?’
“I don’t know whose beef joint it was – all I know is that she was on my bed eating it. I was well embarrassed. If I was to really truly find the person, I’ll buy them a new joint of beef.
“This cat, honestly – she’ll be the death of me.”
Although Haydn has been unable to actually track down the owner of the beef joint, she explained that there was a comment saying ‘God knows why you would have left your meat outside anyway to cool’, with a reply to it saying ‘I only turned my back for two minutes to plate up the roasties and it was gone’.
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“Now that to me sounds a hell of a lot more likely that this is their meat than [Ryan’s].” Haydn concluded.
This really is some proper internet beef.
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Costa unveils 2025 Christmas menu – with NEW festive lattes, sweet treats, and much more
Emily Sergeant
Costa has unveiled its festive food and drink menu for 2025.
Can you believe it’s that time of year yet again? We’ve been noticing the Christmas spirit creeping in for a few weeks now, but it definitely feels like it’s here now.
The popular coffee shop chain is known and loved for its limited-edition seasonal menus each year, and now, with the countdown to the big day officially on, Costa has given fans what they’ve been waiting for as it’s unveiled its festive food and drink offering for 2025 – with a whole host of brand-new treats, as well as some returning fan favourites on the lineup.
It’s absolutely packed full of hearty soul foods and indulgent goodies to get you properly get you in a festive mood.
Costa has unveiled its 2025 Christmas menu / Credit: Costa
The star of this year’s festive drinks is the all-new Butter Pecan Cookie Latte – which is described as being ‘a delicious seasonal twist’ on a normal latte, topped with light whip and butter pecan cookie pieces to transform every coffee break into a little celebration.
Other festive drinks on the menu this year include the comebacks of three absolute Costa Christmas classics – the Gingerbread & Cream Latte, the Terry’s Chocolate Orange Hot Chocolate, and the Black Forest Hot Chocolate.
Also returning is last year’s newest addition – the Caramel Nutcracker drinks range, available as a Hot Chocolate, Latte, and Iced Latte.
Loads of new and returning festive drinks are on the lineup / Credit: Costa
If you fancy tucking into a festive feast to go along with your limited-edition drinks, then this year’s food lineup is packed with hearty toasties and irresistible sweet treats.
For lunchtime bits, plenty of festive favourites are returning for 2025, such as the much-loved Turkey & Trimmings Toastie, Pigs & Blankets Toastie, Brie & Cranberry Toastie, Turkey Feast Sandwich, and the Brie, Bacon & Cranberry Panini.
For those with a sweet tooth, there’s some new indulgent cakes and biscuits too.
For those with a sweet tooth, some real fan-favourite treats are also back this year / Credit: Costa
These include the new Dubai Style Pistachio, the new Caramel Nutcracker Cookie Sandwich, and new Festive Spice Muffin, alongside classics like the Iced Penguin Gingerbread Biscuits, Berry Red Velvet Mini Loaf, Chocolate & Caramel Nutcracker Cake, Gingernut Loaf Cake, and the Festive Bakewell Tart.
Oh, and don’t forget both the All Butter Mince Pie and the Gluten-Free Vegan Mince Tarts are already back for another year too, as is the Terry’s Chocolate Orange Muffin.
The 2025 Christmas menu will be available at all Costa branches and Costa self-serve machines nationwide, and will begin its roll-out from this Friday 24th October 2025 – with some items launching in early November.
Featured Image – Costa
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Manchester’s libraries to become ‘warm spaces’ with free hot drinks and WiFi this winter
Emily Sergeant
Manchester’s libraries are set to become ‘warm welcome spaces’ offering free hot drinks and internet access to those in need again this winter.
After millions of local residents visited the ‘stigma-free safe spaces’ to escape and take refuge from the cold each year since they were first introduced in 2022, Manchester City Council has decided to reintroduce its popular ‘Warm Welcome Spaces’ scheme again this year during the chillier months.
All 22 of Manchester‘s public libraries are, once again, taking part in the scheme this time around.
Designed to ‘provide support to people who need it’ over some of the most challenging months of the year when temperatures drop, the Council’s scheme is offering a range of different services – and they’re all for free of charge.
Free hot drinks, WiFi and internet access, data SIM cards, and newspapers are just some of the things people can make the most of inside these ‘warm spaces’, as well as get access to information, advice, and extra signposting to other support services they made need in the city.
Manchester’s libraries will become ‘warm spaces’ with free hot drinks and WiFi again this winter / Credit: Haydon Waldeck | koolshooters (Pexels)
There will be age-friendly spaces to connect with others, story times once a week at 11am for children under five, and even weekly digital drop-ins too.
Manchester Central Library, Miles Platting Community Library, Hulme High Street Library, Beswick Library, Longsight Library, and Abraham Moss Library are just some of the libraries taking part this winter.
All 22 libraries will be free to enter, and the Council says people can stay in them ‘for as long as you like’.
“For many years, the Council has been a proud supporter of the Warm Welcome Spaces initiative,” explained Councillor Thomas Robinson, who is the Executive Member for Healthy Manchester and Adult Social Care at Manchester City Council.
“In Manchester we have been all too aware of the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and the hardships people have suffered as a result.
“It’s not an exaggeration to say this work has the potential to be lifesaving. The simple act of offering a person a safe place where they can interact with other Mancunians, to not feel alone or get the help they need, can have a lasting and meaningful impact.”
Find your local free ‘Warm Welcome Space’ in Manchester here.