There’s no denying that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has flipped life on its head.
The first national lockdown introduced towards the end of March 2020 saw the world grind to a halt, with several industries ordered to temporarily close their doors, numerous events cancelled, all non-essential workers told to work from home, necessary social distancing measures put in place, and the public encouraged to do everything they can to “protect the NHS [and] save lives”.
But for some of us, working from home looked a little different to the rest.
For Dylan Rixon – a 24-year-old carer from Flintshire in Wales – working from home meant calling a new place home instead, as he left his hometown and country to cross the border and move into the Cheshire care facility where he works full-time.
Dylan works for the Deafness Support Network, which runs four homes caring for deaf people and those with learning disabilities 24 hours a day, and moved into Stepping Stones in Northwich, Cheshire, in March last year when coronavirus began to take hold of the UK.
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The move has meant that Dylan has spent all but three weeks living in the care home since the pandemic began and admittedly spent his 24th birthday “just staring at four walls”, but he said his sacrifice has been the best way to keep himself and the vulnerable tenants safe.
He also said he had better insight into the lives of the home’s 22 residents as a result.
The idea to move into the care facility full-time was suggested to him by his father, as Dylan has a weak immune system as a result of contracting meningitis as a toddler, and also had a mild heart attack two years ago too.
As well as as being in the name of safety, moving into the home also had its conveniences too, as it meant Dylan could avoid the 30-mile commute on public transport each day.
Dylan said: “I remember my dad saying ‘you need to be a bit wiser about your decisions, because further down the line its going to affect everyone and be much worse than you think’
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“And he was right.
“So we made the decision it was best for me, best for the family and work as well because I was reliable and always here.
“I used to get up around five-ish, get on the train for six o’clock and get here for half-past eight. Then I’d finish at nine at night and get home at one in the morning, get a few hours sleep and then come back again, so it has been a bit of a change from doing that, to now sleeping here”.
He continued: “When everyone’s going at seven at night I’m still here,
“I find myself in the kitchen cleaning or doing a bit of laundry and thinking ‘I wish I was going’, but I’m not [so] I usually watch movies or have game of Jenga”.
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But despite the monotony that may go along with his adjusted lifestyle, Dylan believes he has gained a better insight into the lives of those he cares for now that he’s living under the same roof as them, adding: “I was seeing the tenants three [days’] on/three off, and now I see them every day and I’ve got to know the way they approach life, how they go about things”.
And he has no plans to leave any time soon either.
He often even finds himself joking about staying on and paying rent in rent at the home, but admits that he does miss home and hopes that it won’t be too long before he is able to see his loved ones again.
“I miss my family and friends but I’ve just been getting on with work,” said Dylan.
“I keep in contact with everyone from home and I’m sure they’re missing me like I’m missing them.
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“I’ve still got Christmas presents to open and they’ve got presents coming their way when I see them again [so it’d be nice to get back to Wales one day.
“I do miss home.”
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Oldham mansion that starred in an iconic pop music video is up for sale
Thomas Melia
A Greater Manchester mansion that’s featured in one of the most famous music videos of the past decade is now up for sale.
Situated in the picturesque village of Uppermill, Oldham, Ashcroft House is currently listed at £2,350,000 accepting offers in the region of this figure.
The property has six bedrooms, six baths and five reception rooms – this mansion is a party host’s dream.
Ashcroft House has four storeys with the lower ground floor currently set up as a gym space and the ground floor boasting an eye-catching grand entrance hall.
This isn’t everything the lower ground floor has to offer. There are a number of breakout rooms such as a wine store, cinema room and your own personal steam room.
When going up another flight of stairs, the first floor’s main selling point besides the very large balcony is the matched walk in wardrobes paired with each of the six sleeping quarters, yes please!
The girls styling themselves in one of the many walk in wardrobes at Ashcroft House.The bold statement front door in the Oldham mansion.Credit: Youtube (@littlemix)
Finally, if that wasn’t enough to draw you in, there is another flight of stairs leading to the second floor which is currently acting as the house’s ever-impressive storage area.
With the rolling hills of Saddleworth nearby and a local pub a ten minute walk away, how could life possibly get any better?
Oh wait it does! In 2016 one of the UK’s best selling girl groups of all time shot a music video for their worldwide hit right here in these very four walls.
X Factor prodigies and three time BRIT award winning girl group Little Mix perched up with their film crew to spend 21 hours recording the video for their groundbreaking single ‘Hair’.
The video itself has amassed nearly 500 million views on social media platform Youtube since being released eight years ago.
The grand staircase that greets you as you enter this Greater Manchester property.The Little Mix girls having a bite to eat in Ashcroft House.Credit: Youtube (@littlemix)
The previous owner of the house even revealed that once the music video shoot wrapped up, the girls stayed with the family to share a slice of pizza or two.
If you’re interested in owning a piece of pop culture history or just as nosey as we are you can take a virtual tour of this mansion in Oldham here.
People are finally discovering this super easy money-saving food hack
Danny Jones
These days, pinching the pennies and protecting the pounds wherever you can is more important than ever, so we have no intention of gatekeeping this game-changing itsu food hack.
For the longest time, we’ll admit that we thought itsu was just another good place to grab some fresh sushi, Asian-inspired meals and groceries, but after learning of this clever little loophole, it’s probably up there with one of our very favourite chains.
Starting out in London back in the late 90s, itsu has gone on to become a huge franchise with nearly 80 locations nationwide and, naturally, the risk that comes with a food brand getting this big is the almost unavoidable problem of waste.
However, what was once just a conveyor belt in Chelsea has turned into a super-efficient restaurant and fully established food brand that has also come up with a great way to not only help stop food from going to waste but save you money in the process too.
itsu Manchester on 1 Hardman Blvd, Spinningfields.itsu prices aren’t pretty decent to start with given the quality.We’re all about food hacks and cutting back the budget wherever we can. (Credit: The Manc Group)
Put quite simply, because itsu would quite rightly rather see food go in your gob than in the bin, they have a discount policy on their products that are about to go out of date.
Think Too Good To Go only more specific and with even more money off guaranteed.
Once the clock hits a certain time towards the end of trading hours, sushi, salad boxes and other cold food items can be purchased at 50% off their usual price to help save money and on food spoiling.
No, we’re not having you on: each and EVERY single day you can get highly-quality itsu sushi selection platters, rice and salad boxes, poke bowls and more at literally half-price. You can see the full details in their FAQs.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a random work night or a peckish walk home from the pub on the weekend, provided you go after 8:30pm and get there before they shut, you can grab some of your favourites at essentially a two-for-one rate. Sensational stuff.
You don’t even have to download an app, go up to the counter and have any kind of awkward conversation or anything like that: the digital pay screens will automatically update once the click strikes cha-ching and you can saunter out of the gaff with your scran.
Half price itsu? Don’t mind if we do.50% off itsu every night.Always leave looking this happy.Get your hands on half-price itsu whenever you can with this simple hack. (Credit: The Manc Group)
We’ll be honest, we often end up getting double the amount we came for but who can blame us with a value-for-money offer like that? There’s also a 15% discount for students and NHS workers, by the way.
We know that might sound counter-intuitive when we’ve pitched this as a money-saving life hack, but it’s actually come in handy when grabbing not just a last-minute tea for ourselves but hungry flatmates too; plus we go home knowing we’ve done our little bit to help reduce waste.
Eating out can get super expensive, especially in Manchester city centre during a cost of living crisis, but let’s face it, we all fancy a treat sometimes and the thought of cooking is too tiring to even think about – that’s what makes stumbling upon little happy discoveries like these makes so great.
Now, we’re not going to pretend you’re the first people to know about this: the ‘secret’ is out and is gradually getting more and more popular, so you’ll almost certainly find a fair few people queuing up with the same idea come 8:30pm, but that’s kind of the idea. The more we spread the news, the less waste.
itsu Spinningfields is currently the only branch in Manchester (the first-ever Northern site to be opened by the brand back in 2016) but if you need some discounted food whilst you’re travelling around, you can find your nearest location HERE. Enjoy!
Emily Sergeant -
8th February 2021 
