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These high street retailers are offering freebies to those with birthdays during lockdown

It's never too late to celebrate your lockdown birthday and these chains want to make it up to you.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 3rd September 2020
PickPik

Were you forced to celebrate your birthday inside your four walls this year without the company of your family and friends?

There’s plenty of high street retailers and chains that want to make it up to you.

Most of us can pretty confidently say that the concept of a ‘lockdown birthday’ is not one that had ever really entered our heads before March this year, but it’s a reality that many have had to come to terms with over the past few months. Whether it was a socially-distanced celebration through Zoom, a household/social bubble party, or a quiet day to yourself, birthdays during lockdown have undoubtedly been different.

Now that an element of normality is beginning to resume though, there’s a number of high street retail chains and restaurants/bars that are offering belated freebies, treats and loyalty perks to those who marked their big day cooped up indoors.

It’s never too late to celebrate right?

Here’s everything you need to know and all the details on how to redeem your reward:

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Greggs

Free Sweet Treat

Greggs UK

It’s time to satisfy that sweet tooth craving.

If you sign up to Greggs Rewards via the bakery chain’s free app, then you’ll be sent a voucher on your birthday for a free sweet treat. Not only does this include a doughnut, cookie, or yum yum – costing up to £1 – you don’t even have to buy anything else to get this freebie either.

What’s more is that as Greggs closed its branches for the majority most lockdown, it has automatically extended the birthday treat vouchers until the end of 2020 too.

You just need to show the date of your voucher on your phone when you next pop into your nearest branch.

More information can be found via the Greggs Rewards website here.

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Build-A-Bear

‘Count Your Candles’ Discount Scheme

Build-A-Bear

A little something for the kids.

Build-A-Bear’s Count Your Candles scheme is free to join and lets all Bonus Club members buy a bear for the same price as the age of their child on their birthday, so for example, if your child turns two, you would only be pay £2 as opposed to the usual price of around £14.

For members whose children had a birthday during lockdown, you’ve now got until 30th September to redeem the offer (although the scheme could be later extended) and you can get your discounted bear from any store that has reopened by just letting a member of staff know you are redeeming the offer.

You can find more information via the Build-A-Bear website here.

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Pizza Express

Free Prosecco

Facebook / Pizza Express

What’s a birthday without some bubbly? Pizza Express knows this all too well, which is why the Italian chain restaurant is offering those who create an online account a free bottle of Prosecco on your birthday when you buy two meals.

Pizza Express has also confirmed that anyone with a birthday between March and August can still redeem the freebie retrospectively and members will be sent an email this month detailing how to do so, and the deadline it must be redeemed by.

The offer is subject to availability and you unfortunately cannot stack this offer with any other discounts.

More information is available here.

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Frankie & Benny’s

Two-for-One Meals

Frankie & Benny’s

There’s plenty of birthday perks for those who register with the Frankie & Benny’s Rewards scheme.

Diners can get two mains for the price of one on their birthday, or a bottle of Prosecco for the reduced price of £10 down from £16.49.

To redeem the offer, you just need to show the code emailed to you ten days prior to your birthday and you normally have 50 days to use the discount. You usually get the cheapest meal free when you eat in and the scheme is valid on any mains, although the discount only applies to two meals. The scheme is currently paused due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but Frankie & Benny’s has said will allow customers to redeem vouchers that expired during lockdown when it is back, although there is no date for this yet.

You can register with the Frankie & Benny’s Rewards scheme here.

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Brewer’s Fayre

Free Birthday Meal

Brewer’s Fayre / TripAdvisor

Are you a member of the Brewer’s free ‘Bonus Club’?

If not, you might want to consider signing up as members of the restaurant chain’s rewards scheme can redeem a free meal on their bithday.

This can be redeemed in-branch by either using a printed voucher that has been emailed to you prior, or by displaying a copy on your phone. Those who had a birthday during lockdown were previously given extra time until August 31 to redeem belated vouchers, so if you’ve missed this new deadline, you may have to wait till next year.

You can find out more information via the Brewer’s Fayre website here.

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H&M

25% Off Birthday Discount

Wikimedia Commons / Billie Ward

To make the most of this birthday benefit, all you’ll need to do is download the free H&M app and become a member to get 25% off one item on your big day.

As this voucher can be used both online and in store, the fashion chain hasn’t extended this particular extended as shoppers could still use the discount on its website during lockdown. The discount unfortunately cannot be used on designer collaborations, special collections or on gift cards, and you must also select standard delivery if ordering online.

You can find out more information about H&M Membership here.

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Paperchase

£5 ‘Treat Me’ Loyalty Card Discount

Paperchase

This one isn’t just exclusive to lockdown birthdays.

Ever-popular stationary retailer Paperchase lets shoppers pick up a free Treat Me loyalty card in stores and activate it online to get a range of perks, crucially including a free £5 voucher to use on their birthday.

The £5 off is applied to cards automatically on your birthday and can be used both in store and online for 28 days, but if you did turn a year older during lockdown, you now have until 30th September to use the discount (although some stores may extend this further).

There’s no minimum spend, but do be aware you won’t get the difference refunded if you purchase something for less than £5.

Find more information about the Treat Me loyalty card via the Paperchase website here.

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Krispy Kreme

Free Doughnuts

Krispy Kreme UK

Did you know Krispy Kreme UK is offering a free Original Glazed doughnut to everyone who celebrated a birthday during lockdown?

If it was your birthday during lockdown until 31st August, you’ll have been given 150 loyalty points – known as Smiles – which is enough to redeem a free doughnut of your choice as normally you’ll need 100 for the standard Original Glazed version. For those with birthdays from 1st September onwards however, you’ll be sent a voucher on the first day of the month you were born, which lasts until the end of the following month.

This offer is only available from Krispy Kreme stores and you can find out more information 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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