One of Manchester’s leading dog rescue centres has been awarded a decommissioned yellow school bus from TfGM to transform into something of their own.
Back in May, the transport group encouraged individuals, schools, societies, sports teams, and volunteer organisations from across Greater Manchester to submit their ideas for a chance to win an old yellow school bus and create something new.
All entries were to be judged on several criteria – including originality, creativity and benefit to the community.
And one of those lucky winners in 2021 is Dogs 4 Rescue.
A semi-rural independent dog sanctuary based on Barton Moss Road, Dogs 4 Rescue is known for its unique “cage free” approach to animal welfare, carrying out vital work across the region to ensure all rescued dogs socialise in a healthy, relaxed and happy foster home environment while waiting for their forever families.
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The centre has completely changed the lives of countless canines over the years, with plenty of success stories to its name – and the addition of the old school bus is only set to create more.
Dogs 4 Rescue posted a video of their school bus being delivered on social media today (July 29).
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Sharing news of the win, in a post that has racked up thousands of interactions and comments in just a few short hours on Facebook, Dogs 4 Rescue said: “We’ve won a bus – a big yellow school bus.
“Huge thanks to Transport for Greater Manchester for choosing our little rescue, and to Antony from Broadheath Recovery Services Ltd for his amazing bus manoeuvring skills.”
While Dogs 4 Rescue’s owner Emma Billington has dropped teasers about the bus transformation, the rescue centre is yet to reveal its overall plan in full, adding: “Watch this space for when the dogs get on board.”
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“[It’s] all part of our plan for rescue dogs rescuing people,” they added.
Dogs 4 Rescue is known for its unique “cage free” approach to animal welfare / Credit: Rhi Scotchbrook
Yellow School Buses are a service provided by TfGM for secondary school children in Greater Manchester, and are said to be “easy to spot” as a way of alerting road users that children will be getting on and off.
The scheme of passing along decommissioned buses proved a success in both 2018 and 2019, and Dogs 4 Rescue was awarded a vehicle this time around – the second significant win for the charity in 2021 after it secured a new 46-acre farm back in March.
With the numbers of unwanted dogs rising alarmingly – particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic – the charity launched a fundraiser for the much-needed second site.
It’s expected the bus will be transformed for similar future endeavours.
Featured Image – TfGM | Rhi Scotchbrook
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The shop where people queue OVERNIGHT for viral toys is coming to Trafford Centre
Thomas Melia
There’s a viral shop in Manchester where people queue for hours to get their hands on viral toys, and it’s now making its way to the Trafford Centre.
After already taking Manchester by storm when it initially opened back in March this year, viral toy shop Pop Mart now has its sights set on another new spot in one of the North West’s most iconic and popular shopping malls.
Known for stocking all the latest viral collectable crazes, Pop Mart is set to open its second Manchester site at none other than the Trafford Centre (TC) and will definitely bring in the same queues as its Market Street predecessor.
The Chinese toy and collectable shop has become in high demand for stocking just one certain toy character: Labubu
This cheeky toy character is quite a marmite topic for some, with many finding the plush toys to be cute and cuddly, while others deem Labubu ‘monsters’ to be a bit creepy and off-putting.
Are we pulling from an internal office debate? Maybe…
Regardless, Labubu are widely recognisable around the world, famed for their bunny-like ears and big, wide eyes; soft, shiny fur and, most notably, a large smile with their teeth on display.
It seems everyone is after one of these Labubu character toys, with Mancs making their commute to work through the city centre, startled by the sheer length of the queues at Pop Mart.
There’s a huge amount of Labubu characters to collect.Labubu has blown up online and will now be stocked across two Pop Mart locations across Greater Manchester.Credit: Pop Mart
One social media user even commented, “I went past on the tram at 7.30 this morning and there were half a dozen people in the queue already!”
Trends may come and go, but it seems this latest viral craze is here to stay as it’s now having a second resurgence thanks to lots of celebrity endorsements, including Love Island star Olivia Attwood.
We’re sure the Trafford Centre venue will be just as healthily stocked.
At present, there’s no official opening date for Pop Mart’s Trafford Centre store besides the ‘Coming Soon’ signage outside the shop front, but we’re sure it won’t be too long before you can get your next Labubu fix – we wouldn’t be surprised to see even more Greater Manchester locations follow.
Manchester United to wear special one-off shirt for important awareness campaign
Danny Jones
Just to pre-empt any Manchester United fans fearing they’re still in total delirium the next time they see that iconic red shirt, we can confirm it isn’t just your rose-tinted glasses deceiving you – the club will be wearing a special one-off shirt with a notable difference very soon.
All eyes may now be on Wednesday, 21 May but this limited edition kit has already caught the eye of many supporters for one very obvious reason.
In case you haven’t seen it for yourselves already, Man United have confirmed that both the men’s and women’s squads will be will be wearing a slight variation on their home shirt for their next two matches as part of a special campaign for an important charitable cause.
Joining forces with their usual primary shirt sponsors Snapdragon and global health campaigners Product RED, this one-off alternative strip will be unveiled on the pitch this week.
Product Red, or simply (RED) as it will read on the jersey itself, is a worldwide charity that’s been working to fight global health crises since 2006.
(RED)’s key aim is to end the AIDS epidemic and related injustices by raising money for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.
The organisation officially partnered with the club and Snapdragon back in January in an effort to help drive awareness and generate further backing for their work – it just so happens that teaming up with one the planet’s biggest brands and one synomyous with that colour made for the perfect collaboration.
With that in mind, putting together a one-off Man United kit with (RED) slap bang in the middle as is close to a commercial/charitable tap-in as you’re probably ever going to get.
Set to be debuted by Manchester United Women in their WSL fixutre against Arsenal this Saturday, 10 May and then again by Ruben Amorim’s side in the Premier League the following day (Sun, 11 May); plus, a select few limited edition replicas shirts will be made available for fans to purchase.
Be first in the know, Reds 👀
Get notified when our limited-edition @RED collection drops ⤵️#MUFC || @Snapdragon
It goes without saying that given the nature of the front-of-shirt sponsor swap, these will no doubt become somewhat of a special item among kit collectors from the off.
More importantly, however, the funds raised through selling these one-off Man United shirts will provide much-needed income for the non-profit and their crucial efforts.
The unveiling of the comes not long after the bedlam that ensued inside Old Trafford during the second leg against Athletic Club, in which United booked their return trip back to Bilbao for the Europa League final, leaving plenty of fans of seeing nothing but the colour red ever since.
MUWFC also sealed their spot in the Women’s Champions League next season to with an important point in the Manchester Derby this past weekend, confirming a finish above Man City this year.
Safe to say it’s been a good few days to be a (RED).
Emily Sergeant -
29th July 2021 
