The nation is being encouraged to sing Sweet Caroline for the Queen at street parties celebrating her Platinum Jubilee next week.
After Neil Diamond’s 1969 hit has become an anthem for sports in England, with the track notably belted loudly by football fans during last summer’s Euro 2020 tournament, it has now been chosen by listeners of Zoe Ball’s BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show as the song to sing at street parties over the extended Jubilee bank holiday weekend.
The song was said to have been chosen because it’s an “uplifting and happy” melody that everyone can sing along to.
It is hoped that 10 million people will join the nationwide singalong.
Announcing the campaign on her radio show yesterday morning, Zoe Ball described the 53-year-old hit as “a song of togetherness”, adding: “We’re hoping also that loads of grassroots music groups and choirs and school bands and brass bands will learn the song and perform it too.
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“We really want to encourage the country to all come together.”
You've chosen Sweet Caroline for your Jubilee singalong! 🙌
Sweet Caroline was officially released in the UK in 1971, and reached number eight in the charts, selling more than 1.2 million copies, before it went on to become a wedding disco staple and an unlikely sports anthem.
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The song has not only been adopted by fans of the England football team and gained popularity during Euro 2020, but also by the Boston Red Sox and other teams.
Sweet Caroline beat out other hits such as Paul McCartney’s We All Stand Together, and Queen’s We Are The Champions, which were also suggested by many Radio 2 listeners – although Ball said that Diamond’s song was the clear winner.
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She said it had emerged as a clear favourite from the “hundreds and hundreds” of suggestions.
Featured Image – Flickr
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Home Bargains has announced a special two-day closure of all UK stores
Emily Sergeant
Home Bargains has, once again, announced it’ll be closing all its UK stores on both Boxing Day and New Year’s Day this year.
And it’s to make sure staff get a ‘well deserved break’.
After what has been yet another busy year for the retail industry, many workers have been left feeling like they could do with a little extra time off, which is why Home Bargains is following on with what has become a now-annual tradition by shutting up shop on two bank holidays.
All of our stores will be closing for Boxing Day & New Years Day.
Announcing the move in a post on social media, the discount retailer confirmed: “All of our stores will be closing for Boxing Day and New Years Day. We would like to thank all our colleagues for how hard you have worked this past year, and want you to relax and enjoy the Christmas break with your loved ones.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time the retailer has kept its doors shut on bank holidays.
Many shoppers will recall it has made the same decision to give hardworking staff a break every year since 2019.
Explaining a little more about the decision taken to close all its stores, Home Bargains said: “As a family-run business, we know the importance of being together at Christmas with those we care about most, now more than ever.
“This is our way of saying thank you to our colleagues for their continued hard work and dedication.”
Featured Image – Geograph
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Two Greggs in Manchester will be serving their breakfast menu in the evening next week
Emily Sergeant
Who says breakfast has to end at 11am?
In news that’s set to be music to the ears of breakfast lovers in Manchester, Greggs is giving them exactly what they want.
We all know that brunch is a ‘thing’ by now, so now it’s time for brinner to make a name for itself instead, as Greggs has teamed up with Heinz to bring its much-loved breakfast menu back for tea time, kicking off from 4pm onwards.
The move comes as a new survey has found that the majority of Mancs (69%) admit to enjoying eating breakfast food in the evening, saying it’s ‘convenient and comforting’ – even ranking breakfast as a ‘more important’ meal than tea, as well (38% vs 36%).
Two Greggs in Manchester will be serving their breakfast menu in the evening next week / Credit: Greggs (Supplied)
Greggs says it has ‘lost count’ of the amount of customers that have tried to order breakfast items after the usual cut-off time, especially in Greater Manchester.
But luckily for those breakfast-loving Mancs, they can finally get their favourite breakfast and sauce pairing long after the morning rush is over next… but only at two Greggs branches, and only for a very limited time.
On Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 October, the Heinz x Greggs Brinner collab will be available at Greggs St Mary’s Gate and Greggs Oxford Road, from 4-7pm only.
“We’ve lost count of the number of customers who have tried their luck ordering breakfast after 11am, so when Heinz came to us with the idea of making Brinner a reality, it felt like the perfect excuse to give the people what they want,” explained Zoe Harris, who is the Customer Director at Greggs.
“And let’s be honest, a Greggs Bacon Roll just wouldn’t be the same without a squeeze of Heinz Tomato Ketchup.”
Emily Sergeant -
25th May 2022 
