News
Young couple sell everything to buy van and travel around Europe with their daughter
This is amazing!
Family of three sold their house and all their furniture to go travel around Europe!
Meg and Josh sold all of their possession to buy a van and travel around Europe with their four-year-old daughter, Marlowe.
It was just months ago when she and her partner Josh sold their house and furniture. We are essentially living in a bathroom” says Meg Ward.
They packed up ‘13 years of family life’ into storage and headed off to tick off a bucket list dream.
Attracted to the sense of freedom that van life provides – Meg says it was also an opportunity to give daughter Marlowe new experiences.
“It’s quite daunting, selling all your things. But it’s exhilarating, the sense of freedom you get from it, it’s brilliant.”
Already huge in the USA and Australia, the trend has become increasingly popular in the UK, the pandemic possibly provided a boost!
According to Auto Trader the demand for commercial vehicles is up 57% year on year. In its recent survey, the advertising website found more than half of new van buyers said they wanted a van for personal use such as hobbies, traveling and converting.
The hashtag #vanlife on Instagram brings up more than 8 million posts, showcasing some of the trendiest, luxurious converted vans parked up in some breath-taking locations.
“There are two main customer bases,” says Emily Cotgrove, who runs Vanlife Conversions in Essex with her partner Oli, an Army veteran.
Present the couple with a commercial van and they will convert it for you for upwards of £28,000.
“One [market] is like the 25 to 35s, maybe they work remotely and want to travel while they work. They might see they can now work from anywhere. And the other target market are the older generation who
would have looked at motorhomes in the past.”
Emily believes that coronavirus has had a huge impact on the demand for recent van conversions as staycations and remote working boom. She says “Before Covid we had a 6-8 month waiting list, now we are fully booked up for 18 months.”
For many people paying for a conversion is simply unaffordable. Loads of people are choosing taking up the project themselves and convert them on a low budget.
As the UK prepares to face a winter of being cooped up indoors amid lockdown restrictions, the thought of spending any time in a even smaller space might not sound too attractive.
But on the flip side, perhaps van life chimes well with that shift to simpler living that many saw during the national lockdown? “It’s a nice exercise to live in a van and live with less,” says Meg. “I would definitely recommend it.”
News
Oasis announce huge reunion tour as Liam and Noel Gallagher ‘make peace’
The news we’ve all been waiting for!
After years of will-they-won’t-they speculation, Oasis are officially BACK together for a reunion tour.
The Gallagher brothers have put aside their differences in the name of music, making thousands of fans extremely happy in the process.
The band teased the news on their socials over the weekend, posting a video on Sunday morning with today’s date (Tuesday, August 27th) and the time 8am.
And now shows have been announced for multiple dates in the UK and Ireland, with tickets going live this Saturday, August 31st.
The legendary Mancunian rockers will take to the stage next summer, with gigs in Cardiff, London, Edinburgh, Dublin and, of course, Manchester.
15 years after splitting, the band confirmed they would be back for 14 shows, saying: “The guns have fallen silent. The stars have aligned. The great wait is over. Come see. It will not be televised”.
The gigs will be Oasis’s ‘only shows in Europe next year’, with tickets on sale this Saturday at 8am in Ireland and 9am in the UK.
The Oasis 2025 tour dates in full:
July
4th – Cardiff, Principality Stadium
5th – Cardiff, Principality Stadium
11th – Manchester, Heaton Park
12th – Manchester, Heaton Park
19th – Manchester, Heaton Park
20th – Manchester, Heaton Park
25th – London, Wembley Stadium
26th – London, Wembley Stadium
August
2nd – London, Wembley Stadium
3rd – London, Wembley Stadium
8th – Edinburgh, Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium
9th – Edinburgh, Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium
16th – Dublin, Croke Park
17th – Dublin, Croke Park
You can grab your tickets HERE.
News
Stagecoach hiring over 100 new bus drivers for Bee Network with £31k salaries
Fancy a career change?
Stagecoach Manchester is hiring over 100 new bus drivers to work from its Oldham depot, following the second phase of the Bee Network launch in March.
You can apply for a range of roles, from positions with no experience required to fully qualified bus drivers.
Successful applicants will receive full training as part of the job, and trainees will get paid to train. Then after only 12 months’ service at Stagecoach, drivers can expect to earn up to £16 per hour, which equates to £31.6K per year, before overtime.
As well as that, drivers that already hold a PCV licence may be eligible to receive a £1,200 joining bonus.
Stagecoach
There’s also a host of other benefits available to all Stagecoach employees, like 28 days paid holiday, generous pension and free Stagecoach bus travel for successful applicants and a companion.
Rob Jones, Managing Director at Stagecoach Manchester said: “Expanding our offering in Oldham means we’ll be investing more in the economy and supporting our local community, as well as strengthening our workforce.
“Whether you’re looking for a career change or you’re a fully qualified, experienced bus driver, there’s a role for everyone here in Oldham.
“We’re looking for personable and dedicated drivers who are ready to help us build on the success of the Bee Network and connect the people of Oldham and Greater Manchester with the places and people that are important to them.”
Stagecoach
Phil Cornwall, bus driver at Stagecoach Manchester, said: “I’ve been a driver at Stagecoach for 25 years and I couldn’t recommend it more.
“From the perks to the people to the passengers, it really is a great place to work.”
To apply, head to the Stagecoach website HERE.
Two men have now been charged with murder, following the discovery of a human torso in Kersal Dale.
As well as that, more suspected human remains were also discovered this morning, Monday April 29th, in an alleyway close to the railway lines off Worsley Road, Eccles.
This follows earlier discoveries of human remains over the past three weeks, at Kersal Dale, Blackleach Reservoir and Colliery Wood, all in Salford.
Greater Manchester Police
Michal Jaroslaw Polchowski (25/04/1956) and Marcin Majerkiewicz (10/04/1982) both of Worsley Road, Eccles, have been charged with murder.
They are set to appear at Tameside Magistrates Court this afternoon.
While formal identification is still ongoing, the remains found at Kersal Dale are believed to be of a local man in his 60s. The remains found at the other three locations are still to be tested, but police are confident they belong to the same victim.
ACC Sarah Jackson said: “We have had large numbers of officers, staff and specialists working diligently on this investigation over the last three weeks. It has been very much a large, collective effort, with the victim and family at the heart of it from the outset.
“We have specially trained officers deployed to support the family as they come to terms with this tragic news. They are aware of this morning’s further discovery and will continue to be kept up to date with how we are progressing.
“Despite the charges brought today, our work is far from over.
“The scenes we already have established in Bury and Salford will remain in place for much of this week whilst our searches and enquiries continue. Local officers will continue to patrol the impacted areas to provide reassurance.
“We will continue following every line of enquiry to recover and reunite the victim with his family, bringing a dignified end to this terrible scenario.
“I’d like to thank the communities of Salford and beyond for their cooperation throughout this investigation. I know this incident has come as a shock, and the support we’ve had from those in the area is very much appreciated.”
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