Stone Roses bassist Mani and his wife Imelda have raised over £100,000 for two cancer charities close to their hearts.
After Imelda Mounfield – who is the wife of Stone Roses bassist Gary ‘Mani’ – was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer back in November 2020, the couple not only set out to raise awareness of the devastating disease, but also raise as much money as possible for local cancer charities through an online auction featuring some impressive prizes.
The auction was launched at a fundraising event held at Kimpton Clocktower Ballroom on Friday 18 November, and saw the couples’ friends from the world of music, sport, and entertainment donate an incredible array of exclusive items.
Some auction highlights included Noel Gallagher’s framed and signed set of six platinum discs for the album (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, which went for an impressive £8,000, while guitars donated by Damon Albarn, Arctic Monkeys, Primal Scream, Foo Fighters, Peter Hook, and The Who were also all up for sale.
The highest bid went to John Squire’s Jackson Pollock-inspired painted and signed Hofner guitar 3/3 for a whopping £16,800.
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Stone Roses bassist Mani raises over £100k for The Christie and local NHS charities / Credit: Imelda & Mani Fund
Liam Gallagher’s 2022 NME award for ‘Music Moment of the Year’ sold for £4,100, and David Beckham’s signed boots he wore for the last match of his career on 18 May 2013 were sold for £6,800.
All together, over £80,000 was raised from the auction, as well as £24,000 raised on the night of the fundraising event itself – which means that just over £100,000 has now been donated to The Christie Charity andStockport NHS Charity.
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Imelda explained that funds were donated to these two charities as they “supported me through my journey.
“Cancer affects not just the person who has it, but everyone around them,” she explained, “I hope that by investing in some more research, we can help alleviate some of the devastation caused to families by cancer.”
Both charities say they are “really touched” and “hugely grateful” for the contributions.
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Imelda & Mani would like to thank everyone who attended the fundraiser on Friday night.
We're delighted to have donated £10k each to both of our charities @christiecharity & @stockportnhscharity
“We’re really touched that Imelda’s experiences as a patient have spurred her and Mani into action for our charity,” said Louise Stimson – Head of Fundraising at The Christie Charity.
While Karen James OBE – Chief Executive for Stockport NHS Foundation Trust – added: “We’re hugely grateful to Imelda and Mani’s efforts in organising the fundraising event and auction [and] we’re proud of the care Imelda and many others with cancer have received at Stepping Hill Hospital.
“This fundraiser for our charity is a really touching display of her thanks, which will help us go on to support more patients in the future.”
Sadly, Imelda’s cancer has spread to her liver and a small nodule in her lung, so she underwent emergency life-saving bowel surgery as it perforated, and after months of treatments, she had the right side of her liver removed.
Imelda is now currently waiting for the next stage of treatment.
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 -
5th December 2022 
