A young girl from Oldham has successfully completed a five-mile scooter ride this week to raise money for Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.
Freya McKechnie wanted to do something to thank “the place that took Millie’s tubes away”.
After her “special new friend” Millie was transferred to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool shortly after being born to receive life-saving treatment, the five-year-old from Delph in Saddleworth decided she wanted to say thank you in her own special way.
So she set out on a mission to ride her scooter for five miles – one mile for every year of her age.
With a little help from her mum Jenny – who is the best friend of Millie’s mum – Freya first put out an appeal for donations to her charity scooter ride on social media, with a beautifully hand-written poster reading: “I am raising money for Alder Hey who looked after my friend Millie. I’m going to ride my scooter for five miles on 22nd December.
“Miracle baby” Millie – who was born at North Manchester Hospital – is now nine weeks old and is spending Christmas at home with her family in Middleton.
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Her mother Jenni Burrows-Maynard relived the unfolding drama after her baby’s birth, explaining: “Millie was struggling to breathe. I then haemorrhaged and lost over a litre of blood [so] she was taken to ICU and was intubated, but despite [staff] doing all they could, they didn’t have the facilities to help Millie and she had had limited oxygen for a prolonged period, which could impact on her neurological functionality.
“Her only option was ECMO – extracorpóreal membrane oxygenation – also known as extracorporeal life support (ECLS).
“It is an extracorporeal technique of providing prolonged cardiac and respiratory support to persons whose heart and lungs are unable to provide an adequate amount of gas exchange or perfusion to sustain life.
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“Eight hours hours after Millie was born she was transported to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool and was on ECMO for six days. Once she was weaned off ECMO and stable she was then transferred Royal Oldham Hospital where she spent three weeks in their neonatal intensive care unit and then their nursery.
“She was discharged initially with a feeding tube, but now she is a healthy and chatty baby.”
Freya’s mum Jenny McKechnie added: “Freya’s not daft, she knew something was wrong and she’s followed all my texts and calls with Millie’s mum.
“When she found out people had been raising money on Millie behalf, she wanted to do the same.”
After being inspired to help, Freya admitted she’d “quite like to raise one hundred million pennies” for hospital staff, but her mum said they would be “eternally grateful” to anyone who is able to donate “a couple of quid”.
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Jenny set up a PayPal account to securely accept donations, as well as taking personal contributions from people they knew.
Her friends and family also chipped in by holding raffles and fundraisers.
And so this past Tuesday, Freya set off on her scooter from her home in Delph to Uppermill, riding past her school and then back home again – a distance of around five miles – and has managed to raise a whopping £800 and counting for the worthy cause.
Millie’s mother said: “Freya is an amazing little girl and a wonderful friend to Millie already – what she is doing is wonderful.”
This is just brilliant.
If you would like to donate to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital via Freya’s fundraiser, you can do so here.
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Stockport County’s Christmas dinner in a cup returns for 2025 as part of new festive food range
Danny Jones
We can’t believe it’s rolled around again already, but with the festive period well underway and the big day just a few weeks away, Stockport County have brought back their viral ‘Xmas dinner in a cup’for 2025.
Better still, the County Courtyard has seen some new Christmas specials added to its food menu, too.
The local football club are absolutely flying in League One at the moment, having spent plenty of time at the top of the table already and still well and truly contesting those promotion/play-off spots.
If you’re a Stopfordian, that’s plenty of cause for celebration right there, but with the Christmas dinner in a cup also up for grabs once more, the holiday season literally couldn’t taste any better right now.
For those who’ve never seen it before, it’s exactly what it says on the tin – well, cup: a little Sunday dinner in a County-branded takeaway coffee cup, complete with a healthy pour of gravy and pretty much all the trimmings you could hope for.
Yes, including sprouts, because all of you who still don’t touch them need to grow up already.
Currently priced at just £4.50, not only does it contain virtually all the major food groups (barring the customary matchday pints, of course), it might just be one of the healthiest and best value-for-money bits of footy scran around – certainly in Greater Manchester, anyway.
But, as mentioned, that’s not all this year; Stockport are also serving up the new festive hot dog and even a ‘leftover Christmas curry’ in a bowl, which might even be more warming on a cold night at Edgeley Park than the Xmas dinner in a cup or clinging onto a flask of Bovril.
Anyone else craving that curry with a cheeky bit of bubble and squeak now?
It’s also worth noting that you’ll only be able to get one of those on Boxing Day, by the way, when the Hatters host Lincoln City in the league.
As for the rest of it, County fans can get their hands on this seasonal scran for the first time this year at the weekend when Dave Challinor’s side take on Barnsley at 12:30pm, and two of the three specials will then be served at home every game over the holiday period.
Speaking of random Christmas food creations, there’s another limited-time-only and potentially divisive example that we’ll also be sampling this December…
Aldi has launched the world’s first lickable pigs in blankets wrapping paper… for some reason
Emily Sergeant
Aldi has launched its latest Christmas creation, and this one’s arguably wackier than anything else it’s brought out before.
There’s absolutely no denying that pigs in blankets are a staple of festive feasting, with millions of the little delicacies consumed throughout the UK each Christmas, but have you ever wished you could turn the taste of those pigs in blankets into a lickable wrapping paper to wrap all this year’s gifts in? Yeah probably not… Aldi‘s made it though.
It’s anticipated that more than 561 million pigs in blankets are going to be eaten over the festive period, new research has found, which is an average of 10 per person.
But if you just can’t bare to leave the taste of pigs in blankets behind, Aldi’s new wrapping paper is set to give shoppers a fun and tasty twist when it comes to gift-giving.
The limited-edition wrapping paper is inspired by Aldi’s very-own range of pigs in blankets, and is described as capturing the smoky, savoury flavour and smell of the festive treat, with stickers that peel back to reveal a truly unique ‘lickable’ experience.
Aldi has launched the world’s first lickable pigs in blankets wrapping paper / Credit: Simon Jacobs/PA Wire (via Aldi UK)
Not only does the novelty wrapping paper taste and smells like pigs in blankets, it also looks the part on presents too with its pastel pink design, festive holly, and snowflake patterns.
“Pigs in Blankets are a highlight of the festive season… so we wanted to create something special to celebrate the Christmas classic,” commented Julie Ashfield, who is the Chief Commercial Officer at Aldi UK, as the new creation launches.
“This unique, lickable wrapping paper is the perfect way to spread extra joy on Christmas Day.”
Want to get your hands on it then? Unfortunately, it won’t be as simple as popping to your nearest Aldi store and picking up a roll, as with a creation as unique as this, there’s only going to be limited stock and a special shopper competition to win it.
To be in with a chance of winning, you simply need to email [email protected] with your full name before the deadline at 11:59pm on 1 December.
Emily Sergeant -
23rd December 2020 
