A scaffolder who was inspired by Marcus Rashford’s campaign for free school meal vouchers during holidays has achieved his own amazing feat.
Jordan Mattinson – 27, from Whitehaven in Cumbria – has managed to secure a whopping £11,000 worth of food to feed children over the Christmas holidays, and has even taken in a delivery of 20 tons, which will feed around 2,000 families in his community.
The amazing haul of 4,000 carrier bags full of food was so big it needed its own articulated lorry to be delivered to a social club, where it was stored ahead of being distributed.
Jordan and a group of pals launched the Copeland Christmas Food Project after the government rejected pleas to extend free meals for kids over the festive break, and even though the government eventually made a U-turn on the decision, the group decided to continue with the project.
They’ll now be able to help feed thousands of children from more than 50 different schools in the region.
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Speaking on the incredible achievement, Jordan said: “When Marcus Rashford asked the government to extend free school meals into the Christmas holidays and they said no, I set up the fundraising campaign. We were just going to donate food to a couple of schools whose children needed it, but it grew arms and legs.
“I put a crowdfunder online and set a target of £500, but we’ve had more than £11,000.
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“It’s absolutely amazing,
“I was blown away by the support and generosity of people [and] we’ll be able to feed 2,000 families. We got in touch with so many schools who were so grateful for it and said they had children who needed the help.
“We don’t get involved with the families directly as it’s a very sensitive thing for them and some of them find it embarrassing, but we ask the schools how many children they have on free school meals and donate it to the schools who distribute it to the families who need it.”
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Jordan Mattinson / SWNS
Jordan and his fellow organisers of the Copeland Christmas Food Project – Danny Dougherty, Josh and Rikki Tweedie and Beth McGregor – bought 26,000 individual items from Aldi’s Whitehaven store, which made up 4,000 carrier bags.
This means that each family is set to receive two bags of food.
On advice from the local food bank, the group prioritised long-lasting foods such as pasta, rice and soup, which would last for the entire two-week holiday period.
Jordan added: “It came on 32 pallets, it took a lot of effort to pack, there was around 50 volunteers. It’s been really nice to see people coming together and helping each other out.
“I have never been more proud or happy with anything I’ve ever been involved in.”
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He continued: “The response was overwhelming. It was just an unbelievable response from the community, all the volunteers and businesses who have helped us.
“It’s been eye-opening, the more we did this, the more we saw how many people actually need help [and] you don’t realise it’s so rife, people are really struggling and it is hard for them. People are finding this year harder than other years with the pandemic and people losing their jobs, so even more children are on free school meals than ever before.
Jordan Mattinson / SWNS
“The response from people in need has been overwhelming [too],
“[And] schools were so grateful for the help, and we’ve had messages from people who have needed help.
“As our food will be none perishable items, they will keep and hopefully help families at a later date if needed and make for a more comfortable Christmas.”
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A spokesman for The Whitehaven Academy – one of the local secondary schools set to receive donations of the food – said: “We would like to say a huge thank you to the Copeland Christmas Food Project who have provided us with food parcels for our families.
“[It’s a] fantastic effort by the team and wider community, [and] together, no child will go hungry in Copeland this Christmas.”
The story behind Sâlo: the rising Georgian-born Salford artist set be one of the region’s next stars
Danny Jones
We always love stories of people moving to Manchester to be more creatively engaged, but tales of entire families relocating here for a better life and art being born out of it is something truly special – and besides her obvious talent, that’s what has attracted us and plenty others to Sâlo.
This up-and-coming Salfordian artist may have been born around the border between Eastern Europe and Western Asia during a particular fraught time for her country, but she’s been raised and moulded like so many of us by this city’s rich music culture and wider artistic heritage.
She came to the UK with her family as a baby, with her parents fleeing poverty and lingering friction in Georgia following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 90s, and their journey as asylum seekers eventually brought them here to the North West.
It was clear from a young age that Sâlo (short for Salome) had a gift for the piano, but it was when her family moved to the Greater Manchester area that her own interest in genres and styles began to develop. Here’s a little snippet of her recent performance at the stunning Stoller Hall.
This short video was taken from her feature in a recent episode of Manchester: Unplugged, the web series by StreamGM that launched just last year and spotlights local songwriters.
Honing in on one of her newest releases, ‘Set Me Free’, which taps into that pure love for the keys.
While this clip shows a stripped-back version of the fully-fledged electronic studio version, with production playing a key role in defining her sound, she blends everything from classical music and jazz to neo-soul as well as drum and bass.
You hear the phrase ‘genre-bending’ thrown around a lot these days, but if this mid-20s star in the making isn’t the epitome of that term, then we don’t know who is.
Speaking more about her background in the short documentary film, which aired on YouTube this week, she talks about her first memory of visiting Forsyth Music Shop in Manchester city centre, and the inspiration behind the track in question.
You watch the Sâlo episode of Manchester: Unplugged in full here.
Detailed in the description of the newest edition of the online show, “Classically trained from the age of four, Sâlo’s journey runs through some of Manchester’s most important music spaces”, including time spent at the RNCM and Chetham’s School of Music and more.
As for the tune itself, not only do the lyrics revolve around a difficult patch in a personal relationship – this being one of the first times she felt like she’s fully opened up and not held back on letting people know what she’s speaking about – but it’s also the first track she’s produced and mixed entirely on her own.
Painstakingly mastered from a small studio at home, she almost “fell out of love” with the song altogether, but getting back to that simple joy of playing piano helped revive her passion for it.
With a stunning voice, natural musical talent when it comes to her instrument, and a great blend of different analogue and digital influences, Sâlo is definitely one to watch moving forward.
Tracey Neville appointed as Managing Director of brand new Stockport County Women’s team
Danny Jones
Stockport County FC have finally and officially launched their new women’s team in what they are hailing as a “new era” for the female football in the area.
Moreover, they’ve hired an experienced international coach to head up the department, with Tracey Neville MBE selected as the Managing Director of the new outfit.
Sister to footballing brothers Phil and Gary Neville, but with an oft-overlooked impressive reputation of her own – having not only won bronze at both the 1998 Commonwealth Games and World Netball Championship in ’99 before going on to coach her national team – she arrives with plenty of pedigree.
Now swapping her discipline for a different set of nets, Tracey Neville will lead the pre-existing Stockport County Ladies setup into their next modern chapter as the SCFC Women.
The club is delighted to announce the launch of Stockport County Women, marking an exciting new era for women’s football in our town.
Writing in a short announcement on social media, the Hatters said: “The club is delighted to announce the launch of Stockport County Women, marking an exciting new era for women’s football in our town.
“Founded in 1989 as Stockport County Ladies, the team has spent 37 years as a volunteer-led community club, providing opportunities for women and girls across the borough.
“From the 2026–27 season, the team will compete as Stockport County Women, reflecting the growth of the women’s game and the club’s commitment to equality and opportunity.”
Also confirming the appointment of an experienced women’s and international sports personality, Tracey Neville, as the new MD, they’ve issued a clear mission statement.
Put simply, she and the rest of her staff are going to be tasked with creating “a clear pathway from grassroots to elite women’s football for Stopfordians.”
Commenting on her new role in a lengthier club statement, Neville said: “I am incredibly proud to be joining Stockport County at such a pivotal moment for the club and for the women’s game.
“My career in elite sport has shown me what is possible when there is a clear vision, strong leadership and a genuine commitment to developing talent from the ground up. Women’s football is at a defining point, and Stockport has the opportunity to do something special.
She goes on to add: “This is a community club with deep roots, and my focus will be on creating a clear, credible pathway for girls and women to progress, while building the standards, culture and infrastructure needed to compete at the highest level.”
“We want young girls in Stockport to believe that they can reach the top of the game without leaving their community. That’s how you build something powerful, sustainable and truly representative of the people it serves.”
This comes following another major announcement with the news of the next phase of the infrastructural development, with the wider football club set to take control of Stockport Sports Village (SSV) and turn it into the home not only of the youth academy, but County Women and grassroots club Stockport Town.
As for Stockport County Women, it was only last year that they were playing against Liverpool’s female senior first team at Edgeley Park, and with all the investment happening in and around the organisation, you can expect more dates like these in the near future.
Stockport County Ladies become Women from next season onwards.
Emily Sergeant -
22nd December 2020 
