Warburtons and Morrisons have teamed up to give away thousands of free crumpets to anyone who ‘asks for Ellen’ this Easter holidays.
After first introducing the initiative to huge success back in July of last year during the school summer holidays, Bolton-born bakery Warburtons has decided to join forces with supermarket chain Morrisons once again to relaunch the ‘Ask for Ellen’ initiative this Easter, and serve up a whopping 100,000 crumpets for free.
It means that anyone and everyone who ‘asks for Ellen’ at one of the 395 Morrisons Cafes across the UK will be given toasted crumpets with butter and jam, completely for free with “no questions asked”.
The offer will be available all day every day of the Easter holidays, while stock lasts.
Warburtons and Morrisons are giving 100,000 free crumpets across the UK this Easter (Credit: Morrisons)
With 300,000 portions of free crumpets having already been provided as part of the much-needed scheme, and even more set to be given away over these next couple of weeks too, the ‘Ask for Ellen’ initiative aims to help “alleviate holiday hunger“.
This comes after research revealed that over six million families notice an increase in their weekly shopping bill during school holidays.
This is the kind of retail and high-street news we like to hear.
It also works to ease the additional financial strain often put on parents, carers, and guardians when children are not at school.
This latest ‘Ask for Ellen’ giveaway, which is running UK-wide from Monday, 25 March to Sunday, 14 April, comes as stark new research was commissioned by The Warburtons Foundation, and polled 2,000 parents of school-aged children.
The study detailed that over six million British families notice an increase in their weekly shopping bill during school holidays, with an overwhelming 82% of parents stating they have to spend more on snacks to “keep up with the demand” from their children too.
Research also highlighted that, on average, children ask their parents for a snack three times a day during the school holidays and because of this, more than a third (35%) have to go shopping more often to keep their children satisfied.
When taking into account the ongoing cost of living crisis as well, initiatives like this are so crucial.
Anyone and everyone who ‘asks for Ellen’ will get free toasted crumpets with butter and jam. (Credit: Warburtons)
“With families continuing to feel the financial pinch as we head into the Easter break, we’re looking forward to providing a little support for those who might need it,” commented Jonathan Warburton, who is the Chairman of Warburtons,as the ‘Ask for Ellen’ initiative relaunches from Monday.
“We are expecting to serve a further 100,000 free portions of crumpets to families up and down the country as part of the scheme this Easter holiday too.”
As well as running the ‘Ask for Ellen’ initiative, Morrisons is also continuing to provide its ‘Kids Eat Free’ promotion all day, every day, throughout the Easter holidays too, meaning families can get a free kids meal when purchasing an adult meal that costs £4.50 or more.
To get your free Warburtons crumpets this Easter, all you’ll need to do is head down to your nearest Morrisons Cafe and ‘ask for Ellen’.
Featured Images — Warburtons
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Darts returns to Manchester as Premier League dates are confirmed for 2026
Danny Jones
The schedule for the 2026 Premier League Darts tour has been officially announced, with the PDC’s annual championship returning to Manchester once again.
PDC Premier League fixtures continue to grow in popularity both in TV figures and live match attendance, with a whole new generation of fans getting into ‘the arrows’.
Just as it has for decades now, league darts is coming back to Manchester city centre and the legendary AO Arena once again, with our date landing right in the middle of the season.
Booking a big night right in the middle of a crucial period in the competition? It sounds like 0161 is set to welcome another blockbuster night up at the oche.
Confirmed on Thursday, 11 September, next year’s PDC Premier League Darts campaign will get underway in February, spanning the course of four months and eight countries.
Of the European cities on the circuit, the tournament will be heading to Belgium for the very first time, as the AFAS Dome in Antwerp replaces Exeter.
Elsewhere on the continent, there are two other mainland evenings in Germany and the Netherlands, along with multiple Northern dates here in the UK, such as Liverpool, Leeds and Sheffield.
As for Manchester, we’ve been selected for round nine of 17 (including the finals), with the AO Arena set to welcome multiple favoured competitors from the North West, including 18-year-old phenomenon Luke Little from down the road in Warrington, as well as Stockport’s very own Nathan Aspinall.
It was an unforgettable experience for Aspinall last time around in his local event, as he finally managed to win a PDC Premier League night on home turf for the first time in his career.
Those hoping to enjoy a night of darts in front of a Manchester crowd on April 26, 2026, still have to be patient for now, as general admission is still a little way off.
However, if you are interested, you can sign up for the AO’s newsletter to find out more information and get yourself on the waiting list early.
Better, if you go straight through the PDC, you can throw your hat in the ring for the presale window right now and be first in line to grab tickets when they go live.
You can do so HERE and, until then, get your signs and fancy dress at the ready because we’ll be heading back to the ‘boring, boring tables’ soon enough.
See the 2026 PDC Premier League Darts schedule in full down below:
Manchester City said no to a pretty significant player swap with Liverpool last year
Danny Jones
Manchester City reportedly rejected a transfer proposal involving swapping one of their youngest and most exciting stars with close rivals Liverpool in 2024
This could have proved to be an interesting one…
Man City aren’t exactly short on forwards at the moment and have brought in plenty of attacking options over the past year, and with Erling Haaland breaking all manner of records up front for them, they didn’t find it too hard to sell on another promising young striker in Julián Álvarez for a club record sale.
However, as per recent claims made by a Telegraph Sport journalist, there was a possibility of Álvarez swapping the blue of City for the red of Liverpool.
🚨🚨| In summer 2024, when Liverpool realised Luis Díaz wanted to join Man City, their recruitment team proposed the Colombian to the Etihad Stadium in exchange for Julián Alvarez. Man City said: “We don’t sell to rivals." Liverpool said: “Neither do we then."
That’s according to football writer Chris Bascombe, anyway, who recently wrote that the two Premier League sides could have engaged in a player swap deal were the division’s then Treble-winners willing to negotiate with the only other team that has really contested the title with them in recent years.
As you can see, Bascombe states that Luis Díaz wanted a switch to the Etihad Stadium even before the current English champions shuffled their front three.
This has been backed up by The Times’ Paul Joyce as well, who says that the Colombian winger was ultimately “unsettled” by interest from City and others
Díaz (who recently signed for Bayern Munich) made it clear he wanted to play under Pep Guardiola, and it seems there was at least some willingness from the Merseyside outfit.
Provided they get an increasingly wantaway Julián Álvarez in return.
With Haaland having been brought in and making himself comfortably the go-to number nine for what could very well be the next decade, they clearly saw an opportunity to offer him an alternative, but Man City simply said, “We don’t sell to rivals.”
Ultimately, the now 25-year-old World Cup winner went to Europe, joining Atletico Madrid for a whopping £81.5m.
Regardless, it seems hard to imagine not only two top-flight English teams doing a deal like this but to picture what it would have been like to see Álvarez, who was still very highly thought of among a large section of supporters, being cheered on by the fans inside Anfield.
The Argentinian striker – though he has been utilised in a variety of positions at the top end of the pitch – has well and truly shone in La Liga, and now looks like he could be set to swap Madrid for Barcelona.
Álvarez has apparently made it clear to those closest to him that he wants Barca, and despite the summer window closing, the Catalan giants could pursue a deal to sign him next year when his contract expires, or indeed, even go after him this January.
Meanwhile, after bringing in plenty of new talent over the past few months, with Manchester City now effectively being given the green light to proceed with a major commercial sponsorship deal, you could very well see yet more big money being spent in seasons to come.
Emily Sergeant -
21st March 2024 
