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This Manchester cyclist is attempting to set a new world record and help ‘end modern slavery’

Gordon Miller set off from St Ann’s Square in the city centre on his #RideForFreedom2020 this morning.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 16th September 2020
Gordon Miller – #RideForFreedom2020 / Tim Clarke

A Manchester cyclist has embarked on a near-1,000-mile ride around England to raise awareness of modern day slavery.

Gordon Miller set off from St Ann’s Square in the city centre on his #RideForFreedom2020 this morning.

The ride – which is a verified Guinness World Records attempt to set the record for “the largest GPS drawing by bicycle (individual)” – will follow a pre-planned GPS mapped route with each stage spelling “end modern slavery”.

  • The word ‘End’ spans Manchester, Sheffield and Rotherham.
  • ‘Modern’ takes him from Ludlow to Peterborough via Birmingham.
  • ‘Slavery’ starts in Bristol and ends on 2nd October in central London.

The aim is for the formal Guinness World Records certificate presentation to take place on 18th October on International Anti-Slavery Day in Westminster, SW1P.

#RideForFreedom2020 builds on the success of Gordon’s 2019 efforts in which he organised, rode and visited 10 UK cities in 10 days from 7th-18th October 2019 to support the survivors of modern slavery via the work of charities Unseen and Hope for Justice.

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There are thought to be more than 40 million people worldwide enslaved and tens of thousands exploited in the UK.

Gordon has been joined on the first of his 13 daily rides by employees from the Manchester-based anti-slavery charity Hope for Justice.

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#RideForFreedom2020 will feature on Guinness World Records’ social media channels – that have a global reach of around 30 million people – and will also be the focus of an accompanying video that will draw attention to modern slavery in the UK by highlighting the record-breaking ride around England.

Gordon Miller – #RideForFreedom2020 / Tim Clarke

Speaking ahead of the route, Gordon Miller said: “I’m free to cycle but millions of people aren’t. They’re trapped in modern day slavery. It’s an under-reported crime that affects thousands in the UK and millions worldwide that needs a light shining on it.”

“The idea both to spell and cycle the words ‘end modern slavery’ came to me on one of my many training bike rides,” he added.

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“That was the easy part [but] actually mapping them took quite a few hours.”

You can follow along and keep up to date with Gordon Miller’s #RideForFreedom2020 here.

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Gary Neville ‘may or may not’ be actually joining The Reytons on tour

Danny Jones Danny Jones Gary Neville joining The Reytons on tour

In yet another absolutely random moment from the ever-ubiquitous Gary Neville, the former footballer turned businessman looks like he might be joining Yorkshire band The Reytons on their upcoming tour.

Believe it or not, we’re not having you on – not even a little bit.

Yes, as per an announcement from this week, Gary Neville looks set to be heading out on the road with Rotherham’s The Reytons as part of their ‘Right Back At It Tour’ next year.

As if the reveal was random and amusing enough as it is, the unsigned and unapologetic Northerners confirmed the news with a hilarious promotional video that we’ve now watched multiple times in disbelief that this actually looks like it happening.

Comments like that say it all: quality content and a genuinely funny way to unveil an already comical bit of music PR that goes on a long list of G Nev saying yes to pretty much anything. First Dragon’s Den and now a UK tour.

Although the full press release itself opens with the Manchester United legend, pundit and local entrepreneur declaring, “I’m in The Reytons”, it does also caveat this with the disclaimer: “*Gary Neville may or may not be actually joining The Reytons”.

We presume this means that the 49-year-old’s various media commitments and other projects mean there could see him pull out, but until they say otherwise, or the four-piece finds someone else to fill in for bassist Lee Holland and his broken arm, we’re taking this lineup change as read.

Oh yeah, this isn’t a random ‘DJ set’ or a quick repping-type gig to get the crowd warmed up act – by all accounts if this ends up happening he’ll be joining them on stage.

To be honest, we don’t know what to think; however, given that Neville has already played guitar live with The Charlatans and then went on to do a b2b set with Tim Burgess himself at Kendal Calling 2024, this really isn’t that surprising.

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Set to play a run of nine gigs including London’s O2 Academy in Brixton, Blackpool’s Tower Ballroom and Aviva Studios – the now permanent home of Factory International – in Manchester on Saturday, 8 March, The Reytons are sure to get a warm reception.

After forming back in 2017 and years at slogging away, record deal or no, the band made it to number one in the Official UK Album Charts with What’s Rock And Roll? last year and played a sold-out hometown date at Clifton Park to 20,000 fans. It’s some journey they’ve gone on.

That one might be sold out but if you want to be in the crowd when the ex-England international and Monday Night Football star walks out on stage with a bass strapped around his neck, you can get ready to grab your tickets for their Manc gig when they go live this Friday (20 September) HERE.

No backing, no label, all Reytons – with a little bit of Gary Neville now too, apparently…

Credit: Press Images (supplied)

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Featured Images — Press Images (supplied)

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New study reveals the UK’s top 10 ‘most stressful’ jobs

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

A top 10 list of the most stressful jobs in the UK has been compiled and shared following an interesting new study.

Every job role comes with its fair share of stresses, that we can all agree on.

You could ask pretty much any working person across the country to tell you what makes their job so stressful on a daily basis, and they’d probably be able to reel you off a couple without even having to think too hard about it – but which jobs ask more of their employees than others?

Some jobs certainly come with more than their fair share of challenges compared to others, but what roles and which industries are considered to be the UK’s most stressful? Well, in a bid to find out this answer out once and for all, personal injury injury experts, Claims.co.uk, analysed health and safety executive data from the UK Government.

Researchers looked at the prevalence and rates of self-reported stress, depression, or anxiety that were either caused, or made worse by, their current or most recent job.

And it’s police officers who take the top spot.

A new study has revealed the UK’s top 10 ‘most stressful’ jobs / Credit: gov.uk | GMP

With a rate of 6,500 per 100,000 current or former police officers reporting that their job had negatively impacted their mental health, this rate is alarmingly almost two and a half times (242%) higher than the national average.

Approximately 11,000 out of an estimated total of 169,231 police officers reported that their jobs had caused mental health issues or made them even worse, which works out to an estimated 6.5% of the total employees in this role.

Social workers rank second, with a rate of 6,100 per 100,000 social workers currently or formerly employed in social work roles reporting mental health issues caused by their jobs, while third place goes to welfare and housing associate professionals, who have a rate of 5,810 per 100,000 reporting mental health issues from their jobs.

Top 10 most stressful jobs in the UK

  1. Police officers (sergeant and below)
  2. Social workers
  3. Welfare and housing associate professionals
  4. Community nurses
  5. Other nursing professionals
  6. Higher education teaching professionals
  7. Primary education teaching professionals
  8. Secondary education teaching professionals
  9. Human resource managers and directors
  10. National government administrative occupations

Community nurses and other nursing professionals, higher and primary education teachers, and HR managers were just a few of the other stressful jobs making up the top 10.

“The findings bring to light job roles throughout the UK that detrimentally affect the mental health of employees,” a spokesperson for Claims.co.uk commented.

“Police officers, social workers, and welfare and housing associate professionals are notably associated with higher stress levels. Factors such as long hours, high responsibilities, and public-facing roles appear to contribute significantly to an employee’s mental health being negatively impacted.”

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The spokesperson added that employers should encourage regular breaks, offer mental health resources, and promote open communication to employees manage their mental health more effectively. 

Featured Image – Lyncconf Games (via Flickr)

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