A three-year-old girl is putting a smile on the faces of care home residents across Greater Manchester with her adorable Queen Elizabeth outfit for the upcoming Platinum Jubilee.
Young Isla Bates, from Wigan, is taking her love for the royal family across the county by dressing up as her Majesty and paying care home residents a very regal visit.
Her mum Alex, who works as a recruitment lead at care home operator New Care Homes, knew that her daughter loved nothing more than dressing up, so made her daughter a Queen outfit from the likes of Childrensalon, Monsoon and River Island.
And with Isla having visited care homes quite frequently in the past, Alex knew combining the two would make the perfect Jubilee surprise.
New Care Homes / Facebook
She told the Manchester Evening News: “Isla has come into work with me a few times as she’s grown up, and loves meeting the residents and everyone on the care team.
“We thought a mini royal visit would be a great way to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee. I think the celebrations represent a great opportunity where people, both young and old, can come together and engage in some wonderful activities.”
Isla kick-started her royal tour with a visit to Bridgewater Manor in Worsley, Salford to greet residents, where she made a very royal entrance along to the National Anthem.
The youngster also unveiled a Mountain Ash tree which was planted specifically as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy campaign, an initiative set up to encourage tree planting across the UK.
Alex said on the success of Isla’s visit: “Isla has thoroughly enjoyed her visits and we feel very privileged to be able to contribute in some way. I think it has truly been a really great experience all around.”
New Care Homes / Facebook
And Isla said on her experience: “I really like to wave like the Queen does. She has a very special way of waving. It makes people laugh and smile when I do it, which is really nice.”
Dawn Collett, Commissioning Director at New Care Homes, said the visits had gone ‘down an absolute storm’ with both residents and care home staff alike, adding: “We’re delighted that Isla and her mum are taking time to visit our care homes.
“They’ve played an incredible role in bringing the Jubilee celebrations to life for our residents and staff. Seeing the smiles on the faces of everyone is amazing – there have been some really special moments to remember such an amazing event.”
Isla and Alex are now planning on visiting more care homes across the region, including Ashlands Manor in Sale and Cheadle Manor in Stockport.
They may have passed their tests a while ago, but some drivers are only just realising they have been using roundabouts wrong.
When it comes to roundabouts, most drivers will probably feel very confident they know what they are doing and think they how to use them correctly.
So, you know to give way to the right, but which way should you be indicating and which lane should you select for the turn-off you want?
We all remember being a nervous learner driver and the sheer panic that would overcome you when approaching a roundabout.
But after plenty of practice they soon become a doddle – until you’ve been driving while and have picked up some bad habits.
Roundabouts are some of the most common places where you hear angry drivers beeping their horns because someone has pulled out or driven into the wrong lane, and all sorts of silly reasons.
Many motorists will already know that if you’re taking the first exit off the roundabout, you select the left-hand lane and use your indicator to signal left – unless some signs or markings indicate otherwise – as per the Highway Code.
And when you’re turning right, you should select the right-hand lane with your indicator signalling right – and keep to the right before you need to change lanes.
However, if you’re driving straight over the roundabout, this is where many drivers get a little confused and make common mistakes.
According to the Highway Code, if your ‘intermediate exit’ is positioned at 12 ’o’ clock, you need to be in the left-hand lane – not the right-hand lane as many drivers seem to think.
It sates that you should ‘select the appropriate lane on approach to the roundabout, you should not normally need to signal on approach, you should stay in this lane until you need to alter course to exit the roundabout, and you should signal left after you have passed the exit before the one you want’.
It says that when there are more than three lanes at the entrance to a roundabout, you should use the most appropriate lane on approach and while you’re driving through it – which basically means you should use your common sense based on the rules of the roundabout.
The Highway Code also says: “When reaching the roundabout you should give priority to traffic approaching from your right, unless directed otherwise by signs, road markings or traffic lights, check whether road markings allow you to enter the roundabout without giving way.
“If so, proceed, but still look to the right before joining, watch out for all other road users already on the roundabout; be aware they may not be signalling correctly or at all and look forward before moving off to make sure traffic in front has moved off.”
And when it comes to looking out for cyclists, it adds: “You should give priority to cyclists on the roundabout. They will be travelling more slowly than motorised traffic. Give them plenty of room and do not attempt to overtake them within their lane. Allow them to move across your path as they travel around the roundabout.”
A surprising number of Americans believe that chocolate milk comes from brown cows, a survey has revealed.
Around 7% of US adults think the sweet flavoured milk is brown due to the colour of cow it comes from, a survey commissioned by the Innovation Centre of US Dairyside has revealed.
The research was conducted on 1,000 people over the age of 18.
That 7% equates to around 16.4 million Americans – which doesn’t seem such a small number when you put it like that.
That’s the equivalent of the population of Pennsylvania who are misinformed chocolate milk drinkers, and do not know that the basic ingredients of chocolate milk consist of milk, cocoa and sugar.
While 7% thought chocolate milk came from brown cows, around 48% of Americans said they didn’t know where chocolate milk came from – we’re not sure which is worse.
Speaking to The Washington Post, Cecily Upton, co-founder of the nonprofit FoodCorps, which brings agricultural and nutrition education into elementary schools, said: “At the end of the day, it’s an exposure issue.
“Right now, we’re conditioned to think that if you need food, you go to the store.
“Nothing in our educational framework teaches kids where food comes from before that point.”
Thankfully, the survey isn’t verified and hasn’t been released either, so perhaps the state of the agricultural knowledge of Americans isn’t as bad as it seems.
A previous study – conducted in the 1990s – also showed that one in five adults did not know that hamburgers are made of beef, and many lacked knowledge of basic farming facts.
But it seems many children and adults don’t seem too interested in trying to find things out for themselves either.
Upton added: “We still get kids who are surprised that a French fry comes from a potato, or that a pickle is a cucumber.
“Knowledge is power. Without it, we can’t make informed decisions.”
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Viral trainspotting enthusiast Francis Bourgeois was spotted driving a tram, before attending the Niall Horan gig at the AO Arena last week.
The social media sensation was seen on the Metrolink stand of Victoria station, in Manchester, on Thursday (March 7th) as fans captured sneaky shots of him.
After a day out exploring Manchester and driving trams at the depot with Transport for Greater Manchester, Bourgeois was later seen pulling into Victoria Station on a Bee Network tram for the sold out concert at the AO Arena.
The geeky, fun-loving trainspotter has taken to his instagram to tell fellow enthusiasts what he got up to across the Bee Network.
Alongside a video of the fun day out he had in the city, he posted: “My first time ever driving a tram and having a cab ride to Victoria Station, home of the AO Arena!
“Thank you so much @aoarena and Manchester Metrolink for making this possible!”
In the video, Bourgeois is seen donning a tram driver’s uniform and high-vis vest before he pulls a point using all his strength.
With the points in place, and wearing a small video camera on his head, he then took to the driving seat in the tram and made his way along the tracks, pulling into Victoria station.
The social media star can then be seen laughing excitedly as he says he ‘really could not believe what I was doing’, and adds: “Oh, wow!” as another tram beeps and waves at him.
After he ‘wiggled’ his way into the station, the Bourgeois made his way to the AO Arena where he got to enjoy the much anticipated show.
TFGM and the AO Arena have partnered to highlight their commitment to bringing accessible entertainment to the people of Manchester.
Their location within Victoria Station means visitors from Manchester and further afield can easily get to the city to see their favourite performers without having to worry about how they are going to get home, or finding affordable and nearby parking.
The AO Arena is passionate about its home in the city of Manchester and is constantly finding ways to improve, most recently with the opening of new spaces including their brand new luxury restaurant The Mezz. They have also undertaken a back of house refurbishment ensuring guests feel comfortable in Manchester as a home away from home.