A newsagent from Tyldsley has raised a whopping £10,000 for St Ann’s Hospice after falling seriously ill and recovering from coronavirus (COVID-19).
Stan Taylor admits he is “lucky to be alive” after testing positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) earlier this year shortly after the country was placed into lockdown and his family feared that he would not reach his 60th birthday in June.
Stan – who runs Little Hulton News and Booze with his brother-in-law Mike Fisher – was put into an induced coma and spent a week on a ventilator. At one point, his loved ones were warned that he may not make it, but thankfully he pulled through and he is now back at work part-time.
Reflecting back on the past few months, Stan said: “I was very poorly and my wife Jane and our family were warned that I might not make it. There was obviously a lot of love out there for me… apparently, there were 38,000 likes for me on social media and the goodwill messages included one from Manchester United.
“Fortunately, I managed to pull through.
“I still struggle to breathe and have fluid on my left lung but I’m much better.
“My birthday bucket list was meant to include a visit to New York, but I’m just glad to be here and the illness has changed my perception on life.
What a great achievement, £10,000 in donations all thanks to our customers?
Following his miraculous recovery, Stan and Mike were delighted to receive a letter from St Ann’s Hospice informing them that the shop – known locally as Stan’s – has raised an a total £10,000 for the charity. The donations accumulated over several years and came from loyal customers who have been putting loose change into a collection box in the shop.
The newsagents on Hulton Avenue is round the corner from the St Ann’s Hospice site in Little Hulton and has been run by Mike and Stan for the last 20 years.
Mike, who is married to Stan’s sister Janet, added: “We both grew up around here so know what St Ann’s means to the community. We’ve thanked our customers for their generous donations on our Facebook page and to be honest, most of the money has come from schoolchildren who’ve been putting the odd bit of change in the box.”
Eamonn O’Neill – Chief Executive of St Ann’s Hospice – said: “We can’t thank Stan, Mike and all of their amazing customers enough for their support – what a phenomenal amount raised for our patients.
“We’re so pleased that Stan is starting to feel better and grateful that despite his own health and what he’s been through, that he still thinks about others in the local community like this is incredible. Collection tins like the one in Little Hulton News and Booze make such a difference and the funds raised – however big or small – really do help us to continue providing care to the thousands of people we support every year.
“We’d love to hear from anyone who has an organisation or business where they think they could have a tin too, as we’re on the look-out for new locations for them, especially as many of our fundraising events and other activities have had to be postponed or cancelled due to the pandemic.”
To contact St Ann’s Hospice about raising money, or having your own collection tin to support local patients, please call 0161 498 3631 or email [email protected].
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Nearly a quarter of Brits are making cups of tea ‘all wrong’, new survey reveals
Emily Sergeant
A new survey has found that a staggering 127 million cups of tea are drunk in Britain each year, but apparently, a quarter of us are making them ‘all wrong’.
Nothing is arguably more British than a brew, right?
Whether you take it builder’s, milky, with sugar or sweetener, decaf, green, or even herbal, popping the kettle on and making a brew can be a sacred daily ritual for us tea-loving Brits, with everyone having their own personal tastes and preferences on how to make it the perfect cup.
But what is the correct way to make a cup of tea? Now that’s up for debate, but after finding out that nearly three quarters (72%) of Brits drink an average of four cups a day, Aldi has commissioned some new research to try and get to the bottom of it once and for all, and has polled the nation to discover what really does make the perfect cuppa.
Apparently, 78% of the population is so passionate about a good brew that they have to give exact instructions to someone if they offer to make them a cup.
A new survey has revealed that nearly a quarter of Brits are making cups of tea ‘all wrong’ / Credit: PickPik
English Breakfast tea was found to be the go-to choice of tea, with 67% of survey respondents calling it their favourite, but there does appear to be a bit of discrepancy when it comes to how to make it though – as 78% say they like to add the water first before letting the bag stew for two minutes to achieve the ultimate ‘toffee brown’ shade.
Almost half (49%) agreed that a splash of semi-skimmed milk should then be added to help bring the temperature down, and two in five (38%) prefer no sugar in their liquid gold… but that’s where the similarities seem to end.
According to Aldi’s research, almost a quarter (22%) of people are making their tea ‘wrong’ by putting the milk in first.
“It’s clear that tea remains a very important part of our lives, with the average Brit consuming a staggering 1,460 cups a year,” commented etiquette consultant, Jo Bryant.
“I’m with the majority, as I love a cup of English Breakfast tea, freshly-brewed for around two minutes, with a moderate amount of milk, and it’s always tea first, milk last – it is good manners when making someone else a cup of tea to check how they like it.
“Most people simply ask about milk and sugar, but it is better tea-making etiquette to also enquire about strength and any other preferences.
“Try to take the time to make perfect brews for friends, colleagues and family, and make sure you remember just how they like it for next time.”
Featured Image – Flickr
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Levi’s are the latest fashion brand to launch an Oasis collection
Danny Jones
In case you missed it amid the tidal wave of merch currently flooding our feeds and shops everywhere, global fashion brand Levi’s has become the latest label to launch an Oasis collection.
With the Live ’25 world tour now officially underway, it feels like not only are Oasis back on top, but that there’s a large-scale Britpop revival happening here in the UK and overseas.
In terms of fashion, the 1990s and early 2000s style has been steadily making its way into contemporary culture once again in recent years, but with seemingly every big name trying to hop on the marketing machine that is the Oasis reunion bandwagon, you can’t move for crossover.
Be they official collaborations like the one with Manchester City, adidas Originals; American fashion brand Abercrombie & Fitch bashing out merch, or a local t-shirt maker on Bury Market, that famous logo is absolutely everywhere – cue Levi’s latest launch:
Releasing just five or five main pieces (not including individual item variations), Levi’s Oasis gear has been kept pretty straightforward, simply relying on a less is more philosophy and the quality that the denim specialists are renowned for.
Nevertheless, there is an undeniably 90s feel to the approach.
As well as the standard Oasis band tee design, available in the brand’s main red, white and blue colour, as well as black, white and light blue – the Manchester City influences never stray too far, after all – there are a couple of other types of tee.
However, while we’re sure plenty of people might have a penchant for the parka, the undeniable star of the show for us is the Type II Trucker Jacket with the group’s name and ‘Live Forever’ stitched on the breast pocket.
Still, at £170, these sure-to-be collectors’ items don’t come cheap, and that’s not even the most expensive in the Levi’s x Oasis collection. Regardless, if you fancy treating yourself, you can find them here in Manchester and at the likes of The Trafford Centre.
Any of it pique your interest?
Don’t worry if not because, as mentioned, there is absolutely tonnes of Oasis clobber at various different price points all over the place at the minute.