One of the oldest supermarket workers in the UK has just celebrated his 90th birthday, and he’s not letting his age stop him.
Ron Ellis, who works as a Customer Service Host at Asda Trafford Park here in Manchester, is not only Asda’s oldest colleague, but at the grand old age of 90, he is now considered to be one of the oldest, if not the oldest, supermarket worker in the whole of the UK.
After working as an estimator for a steelworks company for many years, Ron started out his Asda journey as a store ‘Greeter’, before moving onto the checkouts and self scan areas.
And now, despite his age, he’s loves working as a Customer Service Host four days a week, and has “no plans to retire”.
Ron – who is a widower, and has two sons and two grandchildren – has just celebrated his big birthday (24 April), and to mark the very special occasion, he was surprised by his fellow colleagues who showered him with presents, chocolates, and a card, and also made sure to decorate the checkouts area with balloons.
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Of course, no big birthday celebration is complete without a rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’, and Ron’s chorus was sung by both his colleagues and many of the store’s customers – who, according to Asda, “just love him”.
“I love my job and I’ve no plans to retire,” Ron commented.
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“I’m still going strong and I love coming to work. My colleagues here are brilliant, and we get on so well. When it was my birthday, they were so kind. A lot of people don’t know how old I am, so it came as a surprise, and that day will remain firmly in my memory for the rest of my days.”
Ron also admitted that one of his favourite parts about coming to work is “having a chat with the customers”.
The UK’s oldest supermarket worker from Manchester has just celebrated his 90th birthday / Credit: ASDA
He continued: “We talk about all sorts, including football. I’m a big Man City fan, while many of the customers and colleagues here support United, but it’s all good humoured though as we’re a very friendly store”.
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Catharine Arnold, who works as one of Asda Trafford Park’s Community Champions, called working with Ron a “real privilege”.
“He’s amazing and always has a smile on his face,” she added.
“I hope I’m like that when I’m that age. He’s so very well known by customers and colleagues, they all love him.”
Featured Image – ASDA
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Channel 4 is looking for Mancs who think they can survive the apocalypse for a new TV series
Lydia Mastrolonardo
Have you always wanted to see how long you’d last in an apocalypse?
Well now’s your chance, as Apocalypse is potentially coming back to Channel 4 for a second series, with producers having put out a nationwide casting call for contestants willing to take part.
The casting call simply reads: “Do you think you have what it takes to survive the end of the world?”
Described as a dystopian series designed to test the creativity, resourcefulness, and resilience of our nation, Apocalypse sees players are pushed out of their comfort zones and put to the ultimate test.
In the series, ordinary people are tasked with surviving for 28 days in an abandoned city – used previously only for the military to practice urban warfare – with no food, running water, electricity or heat.
Produced by The Garden – which is part of ITV Studios – for Channel 4, the show’s creators are now calling on Mancs and people up and down the country with the ‘courage and ingenuity’ to compete, to get in touch and apply for the potential second series.
Does your mate always bang on after watching a post-apocalyptic film that they would’ve done things differently? Or is the news at the moment freaking you out and you want to give the end of the world a bit of a practice run? Either way, sign up, test that plan you’ve built in your head, and see if you’ve really got what it takes.
Applications are now open, and all you need to do is fill in a short application form and one of the production team will get back to you if they would like to proceed. Come on, let’s prove what Mancs are made of.
Hundreds of katsu curries are being given out for FREE in Manchester this week
Emily Sergeant
Hundreds of katsu curries are being dished up and given out for free in Manchester this week, but only for certain people.
And those lucky people will be students.
That’s right… a new semester is upon us, and thousands of freshers and returning students are descending on the city and Manchester‘s many universities for another year. But the life of a student isn’t exactly the cheapest sometimes, especially for those who haven’t had to live on a budget before moving out or into halls.
But to make things a little easier, Tampopo has announced it’ll be serving hundreds of one of its most popular dishes for free this week.
Tampopo is celebrating National Katsu Curry Day in the most delicious way possible, by giving away 700 Katsu Curries with rice for free, exclusively to freshers and students this Sunday (27 September).
Whether you’re brand new to the city, settling back into uni life, or you’re simply in need of a katsu fix, students can head to their nearest participating Tampopo and tuck into a hearty meal without needing to spend a penny.
100 katsu curries will be available each from 12-2pm at both Tampopo restaurants in Manchester city centre – which are on Albert Square, and in the Corn Exchange – or if you head over to the Trafford Centre, both the Tampopo there and the East Street sites are taking part.
“[Our] Katsu Curry has long been one of our most-loved dishes, so National Katsu Curry Day felt like the perfect excuse to give students a proper welcome to the new academic year,” Tampopo said in a statement.
So, are you feeling hungry then? The offer is exclusively available for takeaway only to freshers and students with a valid student ID, which they must present on collection.
100 portions are available at each participating location, and just one free katsu curry with rice will be available per person.
Emily Sergeant -
14th May 2024 
