A six-year-old girl from Salford has battled a rare type a cancer to realise her biggest dream of becoming a YouTuber.
Local Worsley resident Isla underwent a gruelling eight-hour operation after she was diagnosed with a Wilms’ Tumour / Nephroblastoma – a form of kidney cancer which affects around 70 British children every year – and after having successfully come through the surgery and four weeks of chemotherapy, she decided to set her sights on her dream of becoming a YouTuber.
Her dream came true when she was given the opportunity by The Make-A-Wish Foundation to star in a video with viral singing sensation and YouTuber Rosie McClelland, who has nearly one million subscribers.
“It was way more than Isla ever expected,” Isla’s mum Jill admitted.
“We went to the Apple store in Manchester and picked up a laptop for her. Isla said, ‘is this mine, can I keep it?’, she couldn’t believe it. She was also given a vlogging camera, and then we drove down to meet YouTuber Rosie McClelland at her home in Hertfordshire.
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“Obviously, I’d heard of Make-A-Wish and I knew exactly what the charity did but in that intense time [in hospital], I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.
“You’re just bombarded with information, and living in the moment, so we just put it to one side, but for Isla, it was looking forward to her wish and ringing the bell at the end of treatment that got her through”.
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“It changed the way she talked about what was going on from ‘Am I going to get better?’ to ‘When I get better’.”
Make-A-Wish
The touching story of Isla’s wish being granted comes as new research from the world-renowned charity shows that the number of children eligible for a wish has doubled in the last 15 years, and that there are currently 63,296 young people in the UK who have been diagnosed with a life-threatening or life-limiting condition.
The study also found that children in the north are more likely to be diagnosed with one of the aforementioned conditions, as are children aged between three and seven, those in Pakistani communities, and in areas of high social deprivation.
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According to researchers at the University of York, neurological and respiratory conditions are the most prevalent.
You can find more information via The Make-A-Wish Foundation website here.
Featured Image – Make-A-Wish
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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 -
4th May 2021 
