The Stockport Spider-Man has raised a whopping £14,000 and counting for suicide prevention charities after tackling three marathons in 24 hours this past weekend.
We mean it both figuratively and literally when we say that that Jason Baird has become somewhat of a local superhero since the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic first hit back in March of last year, as alongside his friend Andrew Baldock, he has proudly become one half of the now-famous Stockport Spider-Men and has been donning his spidey suit to weave a web of joy throughout the community while out on his daily jogs for the past 12 months.
The dad-of-two and martial arts instructor has backflipped his way through three lockdowns, and has earned himself international recognition and tens of thousands of fans in the process.
Spotting spidey on his travels has become a popular activity for the people of Stockport, with children making special ‘stop here’ signs for their front windows, dressing up in masks and spider suits themselves to join in on the fun, and just generally looking forward to his arrival.
While putting smiles on faces at a time when it’s needed more than ever has ultimately been Jason’s goal over this past year, the character’s most-famous quote has remained firmly in his mind.
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“With great power comes great responsibility”.
It was these important words that inspired Jason to not just make a positive change through his actions, but to create a lasting legacy with them.
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A lasting legacy that first saw him complete an ultramarathon – equivalent to 50 miles – by making his way across the entire Greater Manchester borough and raising over £8,000 in the process last month, before tackling his greatest mission yet over the weekend and attempting to complete four marathons / 105 miles in 24 hours.
And with a lot of training, a little help from his superhero friends along the way, and the support of the entire Stockport community behind him, Jason achieved what he set out to do.
While he ultimately made the decision to stop at just three marathons in the name of health and safety – after experiencing symptoms of exhaustion and dehydration – as well as adverse weather conditions, Jason still managed to complete an impressive 78 miles in the allotted time, and most-importantly, raise thousands of pounds for an extremely worthy cause.
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This is all despite it admittedly being “the hardest thing [he’s] ever done”.
The organisation most-significantly benefitting from Jason’s achievements this past weekend is youth suicide prevention charity PAPYRUS – a cause that is very close to his heart, especially after admitting that he has struggled with his own mental health in recent months, and has sadly lost a friend to suicide during the first lockdown.
The charity says that suicide is the biggest killer of under 35’s in the UK, and it’s believed that around 200 school-aged children take their own lives each year.
Jason’s latest challenge has now seen his JustGiving fundraising page clock in at over £14,690 for PAPYRUS, and that’s on top of the £75,000+ he’s already raised for a collection of charities within the last 12 months alone.
The ultimate goal is to raise £100,000 for PAPYRUS – and Greater Manchester’s with him every step of the way.
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If you’ve been inspired by Jason’s story and his outstanding achievements over this past year, you can show your support for an extremely worthy cause by contributing to the goal of raising £100,000 for PAPYRUS via his JustGiving page.
You can also follow along with the Stockport Spider-Men adventures here.
And don’t forget to keep your eyes peeled and stay tuned for more Stockport Spider-Men missions coming in 2021 too.
The Chestergate pub in Stockport is at it again with some of the most wonderfully Manc scenes you’ll ever see
Danny Jones
The legendary Chestergate pub in Stockport is back with another belter of a video, following on from their viral belly-flashing clip of 2022.
The Mersey Square boozer has painted yet another quintessentially Northern depiction of UK pub culture with the latest Manc scenes they’ve captured around the karaoke machine.
If you’ve never had the pleasure of stumbling into The Chestergate in Stockport town centre, the long-standing boozer currently operated by publican chain Blind Tiger Inns, you’re seriously missing out.
While it might not be the flashiest of pubs, when it comes to entertainment, it always delivers.
Whether it’s stunts like renaming themselves ‘The Southgate’ whenever the Euros or World Cup rolls around, or the locals just genuinely having a whale of a time no matter what day of the week it is, it really sums up the best of pub culture.
The Chestergate went viral for some of the most British footage ever caught on film back in 2022 and the videos saw a huge wave of love and support flooding in for the pub, as well as a healthy amount of chuckles. Safe to say we were chuffed to see them pop back up on our feed again recently.
Karaoke night at The Chestergate literally never disappoints.
Forget ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ or ‘Champagne Supernova’ for karaoke songs – we’ll take a cacophony of inaudible throwback pop music, whilst another bloke and his hype man try and MC over a totally ill-fitting beat any day of the week.
And that’s handy because you’ll find those kinds of shenanigans happening at this place all the time.
It’s simultaneously one of the most no-nonsense and somehow a non-stop shenanigan-filled paradise. They also look after their own and consider their regulars part of the family. Case and point: they threw their very own ‘Dancing Queen’ Molly a big bash for her 86th birthday and it’s such wholesome viewing.
At this point, it’s worth flagging that we have nothing but envy for these folks and anyone who’s just out there having the time of their lives on any random weeknight.
Yes, it produced plenty of laughs for those watching online in recent times but this lot won’t mind one bit – not only is the pub seeing more and more new faces through the door but that’s the whole point of a pub, isn’t it? Going for a pint with your nearest and dearest and having a laugh.
Not only is it very Manchester but it’s Britain at its very best.
We hope to see you at The Chestergate pub in Stockport for a pint or two sometime soon and we’re making a bit of a prat of ourselves, don’t worry, we’re sure they’ll have the cameras ready for you.
Tailgaters and middle lane hoggers warned to change their ‘dangerous’ driving style
Emily Sergeant
A warning has been issued to tailgaters and motorway middle lane hoggers urging them to change their ‘dangerous’ driving style.
Do you find yourself guilty of two of the biggest driving sins from time to time?
Well, according to the latest figures released by National Highways, one in three motorists have admitted to middle lane hogging in their lives, while one in four have committed acts of tailgating on some of the UK’s fastest roads.
These shocking survey findings – which were released back in early March as the Government-owned road management company launched a new campaign – showed that lane hogging was among the behaviours that are most likely to cause motorists and passengers to feel ‘frustrated’, and tailgating was most likely to cause feelings of unease, stress, and anxiety.
Nearly a third (32%) of drivers admitted to lane hogging ‘at least occasionally’ while driving on England’s motorways and major A roads, according to the survey – which polled 2,500 adults between the ages of 16-75.
On top of this, almost seven in ten adults in England (67%) said close following or tailgating is a ‘serious problem’ on these types of roads, but nearly a quarter (23%) admitted to doing it from time to time.
Tut-tut.
Tailgaters and middle lane hoggers have been warned to change their ‘dangerous’ driving style (Credit: IPTC/Ronald Hudson)
It’s these very statistics which have led National Highways to issue an urgent warning that calls on these motorists to “carefully consider” their driving habits, as “little changes can change everything”.
Lane hogging and tailgating both fall under the offence of ‘careless driving’ in England, with the country’s police forces having the power to hand out on-the-spot fines of £100 and three penalty points to those who commit such offences.
“Middle lane hogging and tailgating are far more than mere annoyances for drivers,” warned RAC road safety spokesperson, Rod Dennis, adding that these actions “put everyone on the roads at risk.”
If you’re too close to the vehicle in front, you’re tailgating. This is very dangerous and could lead to a collision. Always leave at least a two-second gap and make sure you follow the advice from The Highway Code.
He continued in his reaction to the release of the latest National Highways figures: “Closely following another motorist could easily result in a serious collision should the driver ahead need to brake sharply for any reason, so the fact nearly one in four drivers admitted to doing so on some of England’s fastest and busiest roads is frightening”.
Mr Dennis said he understands that offenders “might find these habits hard to kick”, but that’s why the urgent calls for motorists to make changes are “so important”.
“By understanding that how we choose to drive affects others, we can each make a real difference to the safety of our roads,” he concluded.