The heartwarming moment Phil Foden invited an elderly Manchester City fan to watch a game inside his box at the weekend has been racking up thousands of views online.
Charlie Gibson’s 84-year-old grandad Barry is a massive fan of the The Sky Blues and has been watching the team in action for much of his life – but since his ‘gramps’ was diagnosed with dementia and his condition has been steadily deteriorating, Charlie has been taking him to see his heroes play at the Etihad Stadium pretty regularly instead.
Barry already captured the hearts of football fans after a video Charlie shared of taking him to watch City’s final game of the 2021/22 Premier League season – which saw them clinch the title in a against Aston Villa – has been viewed nearly eight million times on TikTok.
The adorable video of Barry celebrating the title win also caught the attention of many at the club.
And one of those who was moved by the viral video was City’s very-own star player Phil Foden, who has since gone “above and beyond” to welcome Barry into the football family.
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The 22-year-old was first captured coming over to greet Barry at the side of the pitch at one of the team’s Community Shield earlier this season, in a video that now has over 3.9 million views – but its the Stockport-born midfielder’s latest gesture that has really been praised for.
Foden invited Barry, Charlie and Charlie’s mum to watch City’s 6-0 thrashing of Nottingham Forest on Wednesday from his box with the rest of his family.
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During the video of the matchday experience that Charlie once again shared to TikTok, the England star is seen greeting and hugging Barry before the match as the players walked into the stadium, and then taking the time to come into the box after the game to speak with him, take some pictures, and give him a very-special signed shirt.
The latest video has been watched by over 1.3 million people and counting in less than 24-hours.
Charlie says he shares his match day videos with his grandad to social media to raise awareness of dementia and Alzheimer’s’ charities, and to show that there can be many positive moments among the lows of living with a family member with the disease.
“I’m trying to show that despite living with dementia, that person’s still there,” Charlie explained.
He told the MEN: “Gramps has been having such a great time, it’s what football is all about.
“People can only see parts of the experience on the TikToks and what I am trying to do. It’s all about trying to have that connection with him that you can’t always have with someone living with dementia.”
One in 10 Brits are fired or disciplined after their work’s Christmas party, new survey finds
Emily Sergeant
We’re in peak office Christmas party season right about now.
With just under two weeks to go until the big day itself is here, many businesses across the UK are treating their staff to night out to celebrate both the festive season and all of the hard work they have been putting in throughout the year… and as you can expect, these are usually quite eventful gatherings, shall we say.
But now, a survey by has shed light on just how ‘eventful’ they actually are, as a new survey has revealed that, apparently, one in ten Brits face some sort of disciplinary action or dismissal due to their behaviour at Christmas parties.
The study was conducted by After Drink, and included more than 2,000 participants.
During the research, it was highlighted that 89% of employees admitted to drinking alcohol at these events, Lad Bible reports – with 65% of these confessing that they drank “excessively”.
One in 10 Brits get fired or disciplined after their work’s Christmas party / Credit: Kraken Images | Mimi Thian (via Unsplash)
There are a multitude of incidents which could lead to disciplinary action in the workplace nowadays, but according to the survey, some of the common reasons following festive celebrations with colleagues included inappropriate comments (23%) and even getting into fights (21%).
16% of these incidents were because of drug use during the event, while inappropriate interactions with colleagues accounted for 14%.
Some of the legal reasons you can be fired from your place of work after a Christmas party include gross misconduct, drunken behaviour, and fighting of any kind.
Despite all these risks, however, Christmas parties still remain as popular as always, and a whopping 79% of respondents said they are planning to attend theirs this year.
Clearly, the moral of the story here is , enjoy yourself… but just not too much.
Featured Image – The OurWhiskey Company (via Pexels)
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Half of Mancs don’t know how to cook Christmas dinner, new survey reveals
Emily Sergeant
Christmas dinner is one of the key parts of any festive celebration.
No matter whether you choose to tuck into a traditional roast with all the trimmings and lashings of gravy, or you prefer to go for something a little different like a curry or a Chinese instead, your Christmas dinner is a chance to gather round with your loved ones and enjoy one of the heartiest meals you’ll likely have all year.
However, some shocking new figures have revealed that half of Manchester residents have no clue how to even cook a Christmas dinner.
Through a major study by the UK’s leading electrical retailer, AO.com, it was revealed that the majority of our city’s residents are “losing confidence” in preparing even the simplest of British dishes – with a traditional roast or Christmas dinner being one of them.
A new survey has revealed that half of Mancs don’t know how to cook Christmas dinner / Credit: Freepik | GoodFon
As part of its new campaign to get Brits back into the kitchen, AO found that just 57% of respondents reckon they would be able to make a roast dinner, 52% could whip up a classic shepherd’s pie, 58% could cook bangers and mash, merely 61% could prepare a full English breakfast, and again, only 57% could tackle fish and chips.
Classic desserts are clearly a struggle for us Mancs too, according to the survey, as only 19% of respondents said they’d feel confident cooking a Christmas pudding.
The survey also found that nationwide, it was Gen Z – those between the age of 16 and 27 – that are the least confident in their ability to cook great British classics, while on the other end of the spectrum, Baby Boomers are the most capable, proving that culinary confidence increases with age.
Our region’s residents are apparently ‘losing confidence’ at cooking simple British classics / Credit: Freepik
Commenting on the results, Jay Lockton, oven expert at AO.com, said: “Kitchens should be a place of creativity and joy, but our data shows that a lot of people in Manchester are losing confidence in preparing even the simplest of British dishes.
“Based on our findings, many younger people may be opting for convenience foods or takeaways due to their busy schedules and the perception that cooking from scratch is time-consuming or difficult.
Emily Sergeant -
2nd September 2022 
