Manchester rapper Bugzy Malone has helped to make Christmas a little more special for some of the city’s most “underprivileged children” this week.
With the big day fast approaching, the popular rapper and actor – real name Aaron Davis – has bought and delivered sacks filled with personalised gifts for 50 children across Manchester to help them have the Christmas “they want and deserve”.
Malone worked closely with his accounts, social workers, and his team at his fashion brand B.Malone to ensure he was able to really “make a difference to the families that are going to receive them”.
After having spoken publicly in the past – both in his music and interviews – about the struggles he faced growing up in a poverty-stricken household in the Manchester suburb of Crumpsall, Malone also told of why he felt it so important to contribute and give back this festive season.
He also offered words of encouragement to younger fans who may be in a similar postition.
Taking to his social media platforms yesterday to share the reason and motivation behind the donations, Malone said: “Me and my team at [B.Malone] have bought 50 underprivileged children a sack full of presents each.
“The 0161 made a man out of me and Christmas was never a good time for me or my family so hopefully these presents make a difference to the families that are going to receive them.”
Me and my team at B.Malone have bought 50 underprivileged children a sack full of presents each. The 0161 made a man out of me and Christmas was never a good time for me or my family so hopefully these presents make a difference to the families that are going to receive them.
We have worked closely along side my accountant @PaulCKSedulo and social workers to make sure we knew as much about each individual kid as possible to get them the presents they want and deserve.
He continued: “We have worked closely along side my accountant [Paul Cheetham-Karcz at Sedulo] and social workers to make sure we knew as much about each individual kid as possible to get them the presents they want and deserve.”
“To the children that I have bought these gifts for, if you ever see this, enjoy Christmas day as much as possible and just know things always get better in life.
“Remember it doesn’t matter where you start it’s where you end up.”
His actions have earned him widespread praise on social media.
The post went on to amass hundreds of thousands of interactions and comments across all social platforms, with many commending Malone for his generosity towards the some of the region’s most vulnerable children at a time when they need it more than ever.
Malone’s donations are believed to be part of corporate accountancy firm Sedulo’s Christmas Toy Appeal 2020.
Speaking on the importance of the appeal, Paul Cheetham-Karcz – Managing Partner at Sedulo – said: “We have been doing our Toy Appeal for almost 10 years now and each year it gets bigger than the last. In almost all cases of the children we support, they wouldn’t be getting a single present on Christmas day if it wasn’t for this appeal [and] that thought is heart-breaking.
“It’s an initiative I am very proud of [but] organising and distributing around 3,000 bespoke presents isn’t an easy task, [so] I would just like to thank all the clients and the team here at Sedulo for coming together to do something good in the community.
“In my opinion, all businesses should seek ways in which they can contribute to the communities they exist in, and this is just one of how we take our social responsibility seriously.”
You can find out more about The Sedulo Christmas Toy Appeal 2020here.
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Greater Manchester has been named only the THIRD funniest region in the UK
Emily Sergeant
Greater Manchester has been named one of the UK’s funniest regions.
You’re probably thinking that all sounds well and good, but then you find out that not only are we not the funniest region, we have only claimed third place in the top 10, meaning there are two other regions who are funnier that us Mancs… apparently.
It’s all according to a new nationwide study by digital marketing agency Dark Horse, which set out to identify the UK’s funniest regions by compiling a dataset of 541 comedians born in the UK after 1900, using publicly-available lists from IMDb and Wikipedia.
The analysis mapped comedians by birthplace and adjusted for regional population to reveal what the company called a ‘clear front-runner’ in the national battle of banter.
According to the analysis, Manchester has 12.6 comedians per million people.
Manchester has only been named the third funniest region in the UK / Credit: Manchester City Council | Nick Harrison (via Wikimedia Commons)
Manchester has a long-standing reputation for its distinctive style of honest, deadpan, and self-aware humour, and the city supports a strong comedy scene, with numerous clubs and regular national tours that continue to contribute significantly to the UK’s comedic landscape.
Not to mention the region has produced some serious comedy giants like Peter Kay, Steve Coogan, and Jason Manford over the years.
So why have we only claimed third place? Who the heck has is meant to be funnier than us? Well, apparently, it’s the scousers.
The UK’s top 10 funniest areas
Merseyside
London
Greater Manchester
West of England
East Yorkshire & Northern Lincolnshire
Gloucestershire & Wiltshire
Surrey, East & West Sussex
West Midlands
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire
North Yorkshire
Merseyside has been officially crowned the UK’s funniest place, according to the new nationwide study, as the area boasts an impressive 19.6 comedians per million people, which is the highest per capita concentration in the country, and in second place is London with 19.2 comedians per million people and leading the UK by producing 172 comedians across its 33 boroughs.
On the other end of the spectrum, it was North Yorkshire that rounded out the top 10 securing tenth place, and other regions like Cumbria and Cornwall didn’t even make the cut at all.
“Comedy is more than just entertainment – it’s culture, identity, and one of Britain’s best coping mechanisms,” commented Libby Mayfield, who is the Head of Marketing at Dark Horse.
“We wanted to celebrate the regions bringing laughter into everyday life, whether it’s in pubs, clubs, or living rooms.”
Featured Image – BBC
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The UK has a new cheapest supermarket for the first time in nearly two years
Emily Sergeant
Aldi has officially been dethroned, as the UK has a new cheapest supermarket for the first time in nearly two years.
We know that two years doesn’t sound like that long of a timeframe, but when you consider the fact that consumer choice company Which? names the UK’s cheapest supermarket every month based on its latest data, you begin to realise that it’s a slightly more impressive feat than it initially sounds.
For the past 21 months, Aldi has reigned supreme in the Which? rankings – claiming the title of the UK’s cheapest on a consecutive basis.
As it does every month, Which? checked the prices of 76 popular branded and own-brand groceries at eight of the UK’s biggest supermarkets throughout July to see how they compared, with items including things like Hovis sliced bread, milk, and cheese.
For each supermarket, the company works out the average price of each item across the month, then adds those up to get each one’s average total price.
The average price for a shop of all the 76 items in July would’ve set Lidl shoppers back £128.40, compared to £129.25 at Aldi.
Lidl has been named the UK’s cheapest supermarket / Credit: Lidl GB
The next cheapest after Lidl and Aldi was Asda, which doesn’t offer loyalty prices in the same way its competitors, but even then, the price was 9% more than at Lidl for our shopping list.
Meanwhile, the latest data found that shopping at Tesco without a loyalty card was still cheaper than shopping at Morrisons with one.
Sainsbury’s was running Nectar price promotions on 15 items on our list, while Tesco had Clubcard prices on 16, Lidl had three items with a loyalty discount, and Morrisons had More Card scheme discounts on only two items in the basket.
Aldi has been dethroned for the first time since October 2023 / Credit: Aldi UK
On the other end of the spectrum, as you might expect, was Waitrose – with the price for the 76 items here setting shoppers back £170.91 in total, which is more than £42, or 33%, more than Lidl.
Waitrose also offers some loyalty prices to members, but there were none for items on the Which? shopping list this month.
When it comes to annual grocery price inflation, this figure was found to have jumped to 5.2% in the four weeks leading up to 13 July, according to market analysis from Worldpanel by Numerator, which is the highest level since January 2024.
Prices are rising faster for items such as chocolate, butters and spreads, and fresh meat, and they are falling fastest for dog food, sugar, confectionery, and laundry.