A total of 220 miles separates Scotland’s largest city Glasgow from the south Manchester suburb of Wythenshawe and Wesley Hamnett is planning to cycle that full distance to raise money for a number of very worthy causes.
After the devastating loss of his Grandad to a second fight with cancer last year, Wesley knew he wanted to do something to pay a worthy tribute to him and his three other grandparents who are also all at peace, and it was from this that the challenge was born.
It wasn’t always the Manchester-native’s plan of action though.
While the challenge of cycling from Manchester to Glasgow is certainly no easy feat, he had actually embarked upon the much greater task of cycling all the way to Russia instead and this was originally due to place in a few weeks time, but just as the majority of planned events this year have had to be put on hold due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the veteran cyclist regrettably had to postpone the ride until Spring 2021.
This is when he decided to set his sights on something a little more local and has chose to ride from his house in Wythenshawe to the centre of Glasgow.
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From his Grandparents’ passings, teamed with a number of other situations he has previously experienced and had to overcome in life, Wesley also identified four charities he is keen to give back to with the funds raised from the ride. The four chosen charities set to benefit are Macmillan Cancer Support, the Christie Charitable Fund, the British Heart Foundation, and the MFT Charity at Wythenshawe Hospital.
He has described each of the charities as being of particular relevance to him and “very much deserving of all the help they can get”.
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Wesley Hamnett
That’s not all though.
It may be no ‘Manchester to Russia’, but with a little help from the people of Greater Manchester and beyond, we have the chance to make this a ride Wesley truly won’t forget.
Within the next 24 hours or so – before midnight on Tuesday 15th September to be exact – if Wesley manages to amass a total of 10,000 retweets on his tweet and can uplift the donations on his GoFundMe page by an additional £1,000, then he will cycle the full 220 miles from Manchester to Glasgow on his daughter’s little pink bicycle, no matter how long it takes.
How brilliant is this?
Glasgow2Manchester on a small pink bike if this post gets 10,000 retweets and raises £1000 within the next 48hrs (by midnight on Tues 15th Sept). More info on pictures……
Wesley has said that he is “unsure how long the poor little pink bike will last as it isn’t built for an adult”, so if it does break en route, then he will have to walk the rest of the way instead, and he has also said that any major uphill climbs he encounters along the way will also likely have to be walked as well.
We think we can let him off though, right?
If the two targets unfortunately aren’t able to be met by the time set, then not to worry, because he has still pledged to complete the full ride on a road bike instead.
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Although we know which outcome we’d much prefer to see, the ride is for a great cause either way, so if you are able to spare a few pounds, then you can find more information and donate to Wesley Hamnett’s fundraiser on his GoFundMe page here.
Don’t forget to retweet his tweet to help him hit that 10,000 retweets target too, and be sure to follow his social media accounts to be kept up to date with the ride as it happens.
From us all here at The Manc – good luck, Wez.
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People label Beyonce the ‘Peter Kay of pop’ as pre-sale sites crash in scramble for tickets
Daisy Jackson
It’s happened again, guys – fans have managed to crash the O2 Priority website in their scramble to buy tickets, and this time it’s Beyonce who’s thrown a spanner in the works.
The star, who announced her Renaissance tour yesterday, has lured hundreds of thousands of music-lovers into the online pre-sale queues.
And the O2 Priority website hasn’t coped well at all, leading to ‘Peter Kay‘ suddenly trending on Twitter again.
The Bolton comic also managed to crash the pre-sale site with his massive return to the stage last year.
Beyonce has now been labelled the ‘Peter Kay of pop’, which is a title that would probably go way over her head.
O2 Priority has apologised for all the issues fans are experiencing, saying they’re ‘doing everything they can behind the scenes’ to cope with the phenomenal demand.
It looks like standing tickets will cost £106.80, while seated tickets are priced between £56.25 and £199.
Then the VIP packages are WILDLY expensive, priced all the way up to £2400.
One person tweeted: “what an absolute joke yet again from O2 #priority same with Peter Kay and now @Beyonce tickets – App has issues and the website sends you a code only to tell you its invalid. You knew this was coming and you failed again. A nightmare.”
Credit: Instagram, @beyoncePeter Kay. Credit: BBC
Another said about the pre-sale: “The only other person that’s crashed o2 priority is peter kay would’ve never called beyonce ‘the female peter kay’ but here we are x.”
Presented Andy Goulding posted, alongside a screenshot of an error message: “What do Beyoncé, Peter Kay and a free Greggs sausage roll on a Friday, all have in common?”
Someone else said to O2: “App not working. You would think you would learn after the Peter Kay fiasco.”
It’s also caused another weird issue, because the O2 Priority app also has a promotion on for a free Greggs mocha – one person tweeted: “You lot fully crashed the O2 priority app, I can’t even get my free greggs mocha!! Get off the damn app!! Beyoncé can wait, I need my mocha now!!”
A statement from O2 Priority said: “We apologise to anyone experiencing difficulties trying to get Beyoncé tickets through Priority. Tickets are selling and we’re seeing huge demand. We’re doing everything we can behind the scenes to help keep the app running smoothly.”
Fans were also fuming yesterday when Beyonce announced her UK tour dates – and shunned Manchester.
The 41-year-old megastar is instead going to performing three nights in London at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, plus shows in Cardiff, Edinburgh, and Sunderland.
Featured image: BBC / Instagram, @beyonce
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Greggs announces return of fan-favourite pasty – but vegans are ‘gutted’ about it
Emily Sergeant
Greggs has announced that one of its fan-favourite vegan pasties has returned for a limited time only, but vegans aren’t too happy about it.
In fact, some would go as far as to saying they are pretty “gutted”.
After teasing its comeback for the past couple of days now, with fans of the beloved bakery chain doing some hardcore sleuthing work to try and figure out what it was, Greggs finally took to social media this morning to announce that the Vegan Sausage, Bean and CheeZe Melt is back on the menu at stores nationwide.
The chain explained that after a three month hiatus from the menu to make way for the Vegan Festive Bake in November, the Vegan Sausage, Bean and CheeZe Melt is making a comeback, and is now available to tuck into from just £1.90.
In case you’re unfamiliar with the bake, the vegan-friendly version is designed to mirror the original and much-loved Sausage, Bean and Cheese Melt, and is also wrapped in layers of golden puff pastry – but instead of the classic filling, it’s loaded with pieces of vegan sausage, grated original and mozzarella flavour vegan cheeZe, and, of course, baked beans.
Greggs says the pasty’s return follows “pleas from fans”, who’ve been encouraging it to reintroduce the item back to the menu.
But if social media’s been anything to go by this morning, it looks like those pleas have been somewhat drowned out by disappointed vegans and non-meat eaters who were hoping it would be the popular Vegan Steak Bake returning instead.
Greggs announces return of fan-favourite pasty – but vegans are ‘gutted’ about it / Credit: Greggs
“What has happened to the vegan steak bake? I know I keep banging on about it, but they don’t even stock them in my local Icelands anymore. Miffed,” another fan wrote, while a third added: “The vegan steak bake is so much better than the vegan sausage, beans and cheese.”
Another fan wrote: “Gutted – was hoping for the vegan steak bake.”
While some fans seemed to be happy about it, the general consensus seems to be that the announcement was “pretty disappointing” after they were left waiting all week to find out would be returning.
For those disappointed fans though, Greggs has already launched a new selection of new meat-free menu items this month – with the introduction of the Vegan Southern Fried Chicken-Free Baguette, Vegan Chicken-Free Goujons, Vegan Chicken-Free Cajun Roll, and Warm Winter Vegetable Soup.
The Vegan Sausage, Bean and CheeZe Melt is now available in all Greggs shops across the UK.