Now that it’s been confirmed Greater Manchester will enter Tier 3 restrictions once lockdown ends on 2nd December, we’d be willing to bet one of your plans is watching a festive flick or two.
Most of us rush to pop on Christmas film as soon as we start to feel festive anyway and try to cram as many of the classics into December as is possible, right? And during a year like 2020, when we’ve become more accustomed to the ‘stay home’ culture than ever before thanks to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it stands to reason that Christmas films will be our best friends next month.
So, how you would like to get paid to do something you were already planning on doing anyway then?
We know it sounds a bit too good to be true, but online review website reviews.org is currently recruiting a ‘Chief Holiday Cheermeister’ to join its team, and all successful applicants will have to do is watch 25 Christmas movies in a month and fill out a questionnaire on each providing feedback.
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You’ll then be asked to rank each film you have watched in order, picking the ones you think are the best, and you’ll then be paid a total of £1,800 for your time.
That’s an impressive £72 a movie.
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If that wasn’t enough, the chosen movie lover will also get a subscriptions to Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, HBO Max, and Apple TV+ for free, so they can binge every movie on the list, and even after they’ve finished up the job, the subscriptions will still be valid for a full year.
Studio Canal
Films the lucky applicant will be expected to watch over the next month include Elf, Home Alone, Polar Express and It’s A Wonderful Life.
The job description for the ‘Chief Holiday Cheermeister’ reads: “Does the sound of jingle bells warm your heart? Have you always wanted a ticket to the Polar Express? Did you start celebrating Christmas on November 1 (or, let’s be real, probably before that)?
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“If you’re the type of person who watches holiday movies year-round, we want to hire you,
“As our Chief Holiday Cheermeister (put this prestigious title on your resume), you’re going to get £1,800 of cold hard cash (well… probably a direct deposit). And that’s not all, we’ll [also] give you gift cards to cover a one-year subscription to the streaming services.
“And you get unlimited hot cocoa breaks and a fast-tracked application to the “nice” list.”
If reading this sounds like you might have found your calling this Christmas, you can apply for the Chief Holiday Cheermeister role via the reviews.org website here.
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Sir Ian McKellen pays emotional tribute to long-time friend and fellow northern actor Sir Patrick Stewart
Emily Sergeant
Sir Ian McKellen has paid an emotional tribute to his long-time friend and fellow northern actor, Sir Patrick Stewart, following his death.
Sir Patrick Stewart – who was born and bred in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, and is best-known for his theatre work alongside an illustrious 60-year screen career, taking on prominent roles in franchises such as Star Trek and X-Men – sadly passed away at the age of 86, with his death being announced publicly yesterday evening (29 October).
And now, his long-time friend and fellow northern actor, Sir Ian McKellen, has paid tribute.
Sir Patrick and Sir Ian shared the stage together countless times over their decades-long careers, but also famously starred alongside each other in the X-Men franchise, and subsequent Marvel movies, as Charles Xavier/Professor X and Magneto.
The tribute, shared across Sir Ian’s social media platforms, reads: “Before everything else, Patrick was defined by being born and bred in Yorkshire, the proud county in the north of England which he loved to the end. You could hear it in his accented voice and in the stern honesty with which he told you what he thought and felt. Yorkshiremen have no truck with half-truths or avoidance of big issues. He wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love.
“We first met as ambitious young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company half a century ago but we weren’t in the same productions.
“My first strong memory was a few years later, meeting him in the street in central London when he told me about an offer to take over a leading part in ‘Star Trek’. “But Patrick think of your stage career in the UK. Do you really want to risk getting lost in Hollywood for years and years?”
“Well, he took the risk and thank goodness for us all that he did, for not just his devoted Trekkies, but film and theatre audiences who marvelled at his using international celebrity to star in a string of cinema successes (‘X-Men’ of course) and in great classical plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Peter Shaffer, Pinter and Beckett at Stratford-upon-Avon, in London’s West End and on Broadway.
“America was his adopted home, where he met his adored Sunny who has cared for him through sickness and health, through thick and thin.
“But he never forsook his origins: and the proudest achievement of the most respected and beloved actor of his generation on either side of the Atlantic, was his appointment as Chancellor of Huddersfield University in Yorkshire.”
Sir Patrick Stewart’s farewell performance will be in Avengers: Doomsday, which is being released in UK cinemas on 18 December 2026
Featured Image – Gage Skidmore (via Flickr)
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Classic FM will be back playing calming music for anxious pets this Bonfire Night
Emily Sergeant
Classic FM will be back playing calming music for anxious pets during this year’s fireworks season.
Bonfire Night may be loved by us humans for the spectacular firework displays and all the festive-themed activities that come along with it… but sadly, the November holiday isn’t quite so fun for our four-legged friends.
Loud bangs, flashing lights, and unpleasant strong smell of spent explosives are just some of the reasons why fireworks are frightening to pets.
Not only that, but with multiple bangs occurring from numerous displays across this time of year, pets are rarely able to pinpoint when and where the booming explosions are coming from, therefore creating even more anxiety around this time of year.
Classic FM will play calming music for anxious pets during this year’s fireworks / Credit: DESIGNECOLOGIST (via Unsplash)
Which is why, for the ninth year running now, Classic FM is once again teaming up with the RSPCA for two Pet Classics programmes packed with ‘the most soothing and comforting classical music’.
The music has been handpicked to help calm and settle any anxious pets.
A survey by the RSPCA revealed that almost two-thirds (63%) of animal owners reported their pet was distressed during fireworks season, and that playing relaxing music was the most common way (36%) to help calm or prepare their animal.
Presenters Dan Walker, Aled Jones, and Dawn O’Porter will each host a night of the specially created programme to help keep the nation’s pets calm through the whizzes and bangs.
Dan will present the first programme on Bonfire Night itself (Thursday 5 November), and then as celebrations continue throughout the weekend, Aled will be on hand to bring some peace to Friday 6 November, and Dawn picks up the baton on Saturday 7 November.
Emily Sergeant -
27th November 2020 
