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The Royal Mint and Disney team up on limited edition Winnie the Pooh 50p coins

The series will feature nine coins, which celebrate the inhabitants of the Hundred Acre Wood.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 23rd September 2020
The Royal Mint

A brand new set of limited edition coins courtesy of The Royal Mint and Disney sees classic Winnie the Pooh characters brought to life on 50p pieces.

This collection of 50p coins – which is a nostalgic reminder for fans of the ‘silly old bear’ and his friends – is inspired by the classic stories of A. A. Milne and features the original illustrations of E. H. Shepard. It’s the first time the world of Winnie the Pooh has been celebrated on coins struck by The Royal Mint, and these official UK coins have been approved by Buckingham Palace.

The series will feature nine coins, which “celebrate the inhabitants of the Hundred Acre Wood”.

The first three – which have been released live on The Royal Mint website today – feature Winnie the Pooh, Christopher Robin and Piglet, and six more coins will follow two years.

The limited edition commemorative coin is available in a range of finishes.

It includes base metal – also known as ‘Brilliant Uncirculated’ – Silver and Gold and offers those interested in buying one the option to purchase coins that have been digitally printed with the latest innovative technology, which the Royal Mint say brings Shepard’s iconic illustrations alive in vivid detail and colour.

Daniel Thorne – Product Designer at The Royal Mint – said: “Working with original illustrations from E.H. Shepard, supplied to us by Disney, my biggest priority with the coin’s design was to ensure we do these wonderful images justice.

“As the original maker of coins, The Royal Mint has a long history of exquisite craftsmanship and this coin is no exception. Bringing the illustrations of E.H. Shepard to life took a lot of craft and care.

“From the honey bee motif that runs throughout the series, to the grassy mound Pooh is sitting on, we tried many different techniques to create the flawless effect of watercolour on the coin, eventually settling on the one you’ll see on the final version.

“I’m honoured to have been able to work on this exciting coin.

“Winnie-the-Pooh was a huge part of my childhood and forms some of my fondest memories, so I wanted to make sure this series of coins truly encapsulated the spirit of Pooh Bear and all his friends.

“Creating these coins was a labour of love and I hope that collectors can appreciate the beauty in each and every design in the range.”

The Royal Mint

Clare Maclennan – Divisional Director of Commemorative Coin and The Royal Mint Experience at The Royal Mint – added: “Over our 1,100-year history we’ve minted coins to commemorate key moments and figures in Britain’s history, including literary icons, like Shakespeare and Wordsworth through to Beatrix Potter’s mischievous Peter Rabbit, and we’re delighted to now add A.A. Milne’s loveable Winnie-the-Pooh to the list.

“Our childhood character coins are encouraging a new generation of coin collectors and we’re delighted to add this iconic character and his friends, to our range. We’ve all grown up with Winnie-the-Pooh and he remains a cherished character, not only in Britain but across the world.”

You can find more information and purchase these limited edition Winnie the Pooh coins via The Royal Mint website here.

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The man saving Manchester’s city pigeons from ‘stringfoot’

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson The man saving Manchester's city pigeons from 'stringfoot'

A man has been patrolling the streets of Manchester to save our city’s pigeons from a condition known as ‘stringfoot’.

We all walk past hundreds of the birds every day in the city centre and they often get a bad rap – but one now-viral TikTok account is hoping to change all that.

In a series of heartwarming videos, one man has been heading out in his free time to treat pigeons afflicted with the dreaded ‘stringfoot’.

It’s a common sight now to see pigeons missing toes or walking around Manchester on deformed feet, which is often caused when the poor birds become tangled up in foreign matter.

Sometimes this is bits of string, plastic, thread, hair or a number of other things usually dropped by humans.

But with quick intervention from Tom, he can save these pigeons from a life of limping around town.

He’s been heading out armed with bags of seed to lure groups of pigeons close to him, before carefully catching the afflicted animal and carefully cutting away the material around its foot.

He uses things like stitch pickers to remove the thread, before cleaning up the pigeon’s foot with saline spray and antiseptic and gently releasing them again.

Tom said he started helping pigeons ‘sort of by accident’ when a bird with stringfoot came up to his flat.

In one month alone, he was able to catch and treat 15 pigeons, saving them from infection and injury.

And the account is getting lots of love and driving awareness for stringfoot and changing people’s perception of pigeons.

One person wrote on one of Tom’s videos: “We did pigeons so wrong as a society. Thanks for helping!”

Another said: “Pigeons Are NOT TRASH, they are a birds, who need help like cats, dogs and every living animals.”

And someone else commented: “These sort of videos make me cry because we’re so mean to pigeons, this might be the first time someone’s done something kind to them.”

You can find out more on how to help pigeons in your area HERE.

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Featured image: TikTok, @heyitstommm

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Benjamin Šeško quote resurfaces as Manchester United switch sole focus to pursuit of Slovenia star

Danny Jones Danny Jones Benjamin Sesko better than Haaland trainer quote

Slovenia striker Benjamin Šeško is now considered the primary transfer target for Manchester United for this summer window, as per multiple reports, and with the links only growing stronger as a quote relating to him and former RB Salzburg forward Erling Haaland has cropped back up.

Now on the books at the franchise club’s German counterpart in Leipzig, Šeško is one of the most highly sought-after talents in Europe at present, showing not only huge potential and a unique profile but already some impressive returns when it comes to goal contributions.

Although Haaland is ahead in terms of numbers, they do bear some resemblance in terms of height, physicality and speed for their size, and while they barely came across each other in the Red Bull setup – Šeško being loaned out to fellow Austrian side Liefering – they have drawn plenty of comparisons.

In fact, according to the 22-year-old himself, some feel he might just be “better” than the Norwegian phenomenon. At least that’s what some teammates and former colleagues are claimed to have said.

The pair may never have got to play together, but according to an old trainer who worked with both of them, each showed plenty of early promise.

Speaking to Sportsmail, ex-Salzburg coach Rene Aufhauser said, “Benjamin is maybe the better football player, better to play with the team, technically maybe better at the same age”.

The retired defensive midfielder elaborated that Šeško was arguably the more natural all-round athlete, detailing that he has always been “smooth with the ball, very good technique, good finishing, and he jumps so high; very, very good with the head – it’s unbelievable.”

Aufhauser went on to add, however: “Erling was mentally a monster and better at the same age. This is the last five, 10 per cent that Benji has to get.”

Šeško has said previously that he watched lots of clips of Haaland’s movements, specifically, when he first joined the RB football group.

It was also noted that while the emerging prospect may have just edged out the now fully-fledged Manchester City superstar in some departments at an early age, the big number nine always managed to find the back of the net more often.

He’s certainly kept that up in the years since then…

A 2022 quote from Šeško is all well and good, but Haaland has proved plenty of paper in just a few short years at the Etihad.

It’s also worth noting that the two attackers are not just pretty equally quick in a straight line, but both as tall as each other, clocking in at exactly 6ft 4in, with the Man City man barely three years his senior.

On the other hand, Šeško is known for keeping up multiple sports besides just football (basketball, in particular),

Besides their position, he told Amazon Prime Video Sport that he believes there is a lot of value not just in being sized up against the likes of Haaland but in trying to take cues from other pros in training, having also named a previous Red Devil himself as a key role model: one Zlatan Ibrahimović.

Most of this talk probably sounds all well and good to most United fans, but another key stumbling block in terms of a move for the budding young goalscorer is RB Leipzig’s supposed asking price, as the Bundesliga outfit is said to value him in the region of £70m.

Nevertheless, The Athletic now writes that INEOS and head coach Ruben Amorim are now solely focused on trying to sign Šeško, having previously narrowed it down to him and Premier League-proven Ollie Watkins.

Even if they get it done, the question is, will the confident forward suit English football as much as Watkins or dare we say Haaland – and furthermore, if they do, what might this mean for Manchester United’s current centre forwards?

Ruben Amorim and Rasmus Højlund both make stances clear on forward’s future at Man United
More MUFC arrivals are still said to be largely dependent on player sales.

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Featured Images — Werner100359/Roland Osbeck (via Wikimedia Commons)

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