A trio of Leeds lads have gone viral this past weekend after an Italian restaurant praised their “mature attitude” during a meal out.
Pals Will, 12, and Leo and Charlie, both 13, usually meet up every weekend to play together, the Yorkshire Evening Post reported, however this past weekend, the classic Northern rainy weather had put a bit of a dampener on their plans, so they decided to head to the popular restaurant Salute at The White Swan in Rothwell for some food instead, as it’s a restaurant that Leo usually goes to with his grandma.
When the trio arrived at the restaurant, they sat down and told staff that they only had £9 between them and asked politely if that would be “enough” for a pizza and water to share between them.
As management at the restaurant recognised Leo from his regular visits, they decided to treat the lads to an extra pizza and some fries for their “mature attitude”.
The restaurant took to social media to share the heartwarming story of the lads’ visit.
ADVERTISEMENT
Explaining in a now-viral Facebook post, Salute at The White Swan said: “They came to Salute asking for a table of three, and they said they had £9 and asked if that would be ‘enough’ for a pizza and water to share.
“In exchange for their mature attitude to dining out, Salute decided to treated them to extra fries and extra pizza.”
ADVERTISEMENT
The restaurant even revealed that Will even took some of the leftover pizza and breadsticks home to share with his baby sister too.
Staff said that the lads’ parents should be “so proud” of them.
The photo showing the lads smiling at their table shared to the restaurant’s Facebook page on Sunday has since gone viral globally, amassing over 44,000 interactions, thousands of shares, and hundreds of comments from people both praising the lads for their attitudes, and the restaurant for “always looking for the good” in people.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Smashing lads well done, and thanks to those at The Swan who have praised them – we have some awesome young people,” one person commented.
Another added: “That’s warmed my heart to read. Loads of young people out there that parents can be proud of, and the lads are an example of that. Keep going the way you are and be proud of yourselves.”
“Lads, that is awesome. You’re clearly a credit to your families, school and wider society, so great to read, and good on the staff for your care and generosity,” a third said.
The restaurant said they hoped the lads’ parents would see the post, and their wish ended up coming true as Leo’s mum, Lucy-Rae Prince, commented underneath the picture saying: “Thanks so much for your call letting us know how polite our boys were today and for looking after them like you did – above and beyond.”
“Thank you for sharing this,” she also added.
ADVERTISEMENT
Lucy also told the Yorkshire Evening Post that she is “so proud” of Leo and his friends for being “so polite and well mannered”, and said that for them to be recognised in such “a lovely way” by Salute was “just amazing for all of us.”
Staff at Salute at The White Swan also told the YEP that they had been “blown away” with the response to the post.
Co-op Live has been named the number one arena in Europe following its debut year
Danny Jones
Despite a rocky opening month or so, Manchester’s Co-op Live made the ultimate instant recovery and has now been named the number one arena not just in the UK but all of Europe.
Manc music venues being best in class? Sounds about right.
Yes, even despite some obstacles, delays and early hiccups, Co-op Live‘s debut year as a live music and indoor entertainment venue has seen it beat out the likes of the long-established and iconic O2 in London to take the top spot.
The inaugural 12 months of the arena have not only seen it welcome all manner of music legends, as well as live sporting events such as the UFC and WWE, but the arena welcomed more visitors than any other venue across the continent during that time.
Names to have graced the industry-leading stage so far include Liam Gallagher, Stevie Nicks and Take That; Peter Kay, Elbow, Sabrina Carpenter, Paul McCartney, and so many more.
Commenting on the successful start, Tim Leiweke (CEO and chairman of the Oak View Groupbehind the venue) said: “Our ambition was to bring the world’s best music arena to one of the world’s greatest music cities and we are thrilled with the reaction from fans and artists alike over this past year.
“Co-op Live’s revolutionary acoustics investment has already attracted some of the world’s biggest artists and events to Manchester, with many more to come. And our sustainability commitment will ensure we remain responsible contributors to Manchester and the planet for years to come.
“We believe that amazing venues can transform cities for the better, and Co-op Live has done just that.”
It’s fair to say we’ve had some truly unforgettable nights in there already – and that’s just in the last month alone. Case and point:
With a continued commitment to achieving ‘Net Zero’ status too, the venue’s carbon reduction technologies, solar panels, heat pumps and rainwater harvesting, not to mention the recently refreshed CityLink walking in partnership with the Climate Pledge, are all things we can be proud of.
Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council, went on to add: “We are delighted with the success of Co-op Live’s first year, and to see it taking the top spot off London.
“It shows Manchester is the home of live music in the UK, with Co-op Live bringing so many exclusives from artists like Bruce Springsteen to the city and Oasis playing massive hometown shows this summer – 2025 is going to be one of the biggest ever for our city’s music scene.”
Meanwhile, things are feeling less fortunate at the grassroots end of the spectrum, as the Music Venue Trust is imploring people to get behind a vulnerable Manc music institution.
25,000 free footballs are being given away across the UK
Danny Jones
A total of 25,000 free footballs are up for grabs this month as part of a new scheme from Barclays, who are giving them away to mark a special anniversary.
The British multinational universal bank, which boasts over 850 branches and more than 48 million customers worldwide, has been supporting the beautiful game for a quarter of a century now and has been the primary Premier League sponsor since the 2001/02 season.
Approaching 25 years helping fund and promote English football, they’ve come up with a new initiative to celebrate, simply called the ‘Lost Ball Project‘.
We’ve all seen scenes like these before.
Credit: Barclays (supplied)
Tapping into the national and generational memory of losing a ball to a pond, up a tree, over a fence or on a roof and so on, Barclays are making up for those heartbreaking little losses – one ball at a time.
Lost Ball will see the bank give away 25k footballs across the UK, with Barclays customers able to claim a free ball for themselves or someone else who has lost theirs.
Already up and running, the scheme is off to a flyer and free footies will be available until Thursday, 22 May, so we wouldn’t wait around.
The bank has played an integral role throughout the British football pyramid for decades now, sponsoring to only the Premier League but also the WSL, Barclays Women’s Championship; the Northern Irish Women’s Football Association, Scottish Women’s Championship and the Scottish Women’s League One
They’ve even put together this emotive, albeit a bit tongue-in-cheek video:
As they put it, the mission of the Lost Ball Project is simple: “Let’s keep the nation playing the beautiful game. Because there’s no football without grassroots football.”
In addition to backing established leagues, they have continued to support the country’s footballing community at large, especially in terms of the women’s game.
For instance, the Barclays Girls’ Football School partnership with The FA has seen the number of participating schools rise from 3,000 in 2019 to 20,000 in 2024, helping more than 2.5 million schoolgirls access football.
Important work done from the ground up.
Credit: Supplied
Barclays’ Group Head of Sponsorship, Tom Corbett, said in a statement: “We are immensely proud of our pioneering work and funding to grassroots football over the past 25 years.
Giving away 25,000 balls to replace our customers’ ‘Lost Balls’ means they will never be without the one thing you need to be able to play the game we’ve supported at Barclays for all these years.”
If you bank with the group, you can find out how to claim your free football HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
8th February 2022 
