Tom Parker’s widow Kelsey has said she still talks to her husband as he ‘sends signs’ to show he is still with her.
Speaking on ITV’s Loose Women on Friday (May 6th), the grieving mother-of-two said that before Tom died from brain cancer, he had promised to send her signs to show he is still with her.
Explaining how he has stayed true to his word, Kelsey said: “He has given me so many signs… car alarms go off at four in the morning, I tell him ‘not at four in the morning Tom!'”
She also recalled another ‘sign’, saying: “I was sitting there on this bench, crying, when I looked up and this feather fell down from the sky.
Kelsey Parker is so strong. I know that forced smile all too well, just becomes a routine. Truly awful for her and Tom Parker’s family 😔 lovely to hear her talking about him though #LooseWomen#TomParkerpic.twitter.com/lasOjn3ML6
“I was leaving to go to the hospice and I just said to her, ‘I’ve got to go to make sure the angels take daddy, the angels are coming to collect him’, which is a really horrible conversation.
“The next day I had to tell her her dad’s dead. This is the advice I got – to be honest.”
Kelsey added that it is her children that gets her through each day, saying she knows she needs to stay strong for them.
“I feel strong, I’m just getting through each day.
“I have the kids. I have to wake up each day, I have to get on with it, just trying to be as strong as possible in a really difficult situation and time for us all.”
“I have to wake up each day and think ‘Right, come on, you can do it’. What would he want me to do? He wouldn’t want me to sit around crying. He’d want me to get on with it.”
She added: “And the kids obviously, they’re not sad. They wake up and they’re happy. ‘What are we doing today?’. We’re going to the park.”
The Wanted singer tragically died on March 31st, eighteen months after he was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour, leaving behind Kelsey and their two young children.
In the wake of his death, Kelsey created a fundraising page to ‘keep Tom’s memory alive forever’ via donations to charitable causes, as opposed to sending flowers and cards.
You can read more about the fundraiser and donate yourselfhere.
M&S shoppers are raving over a festive cocktail that is a Christmas twist on a delicious summer classic, and it’s already on shelves.
Shoppers are going mad for the new festive ‘must have’ with one bargain hunter spotting it already stocked in her local Marks’, which she posted to social media.
The savvy shopper shared a snap of the luxurious gold and red bottle with an Art Deco logo, which quickly went viral with the post racking up over 1,000 likes.
Snack News & Reviews / Facebook
The photo also shows the M&S Christmas Colada is on sale for £5.50 a bottle.
A festive twist on the classic piña colada, it’s flavoured with ‘pineapple juice, coconut milk, and warming spices with two measures of white rum’, and is sure to go down a treat this winter season.
The Christmas bargain was shared to the Snack News & Reviews Facebook page where users rushed to social media to share their excitement for the product, calling it a ‘must have’ as they also praised the price.
Peter McDermott / Geograph
A great gift to bring along to Christmas dinner parties, shoppers say it is perfect for something to sip on throughout the season’s festivities.
One person wrote: “Defo getting this wee number for Christmas Day!” Another said: “Wow, two measures. I’ll have three bottles. What is everyone else drinking?”
While a third put: “Ooohhh yes. I can feel a few pre-Xmas party drinks at mine coming on.” And a fourth typed: “M&S pulling it out the bag again with their Christmas drinks!!”
Robert Wade (Wadey) / Flickr
Other users wondered whether M&S’ popular drinks ‘Let it Sloe’ and ‘Slow Fizz’ are back in stock again for the upcoming Christmas season.
It comes after one shopper urged people to head to their nearest M&S immediately as she was able to bag around £100 worth of shopping for just £16.
Victoria Evangeline posted a video on her TikTok saying: “M&S prices are a joke. They are ridiculous at the moment, you’ve got to see this.”
She went on to say M&S are getting rid of all their summer stock to make way for its Christmas range and that’s why some of its prices are so low – so best get down there asap!
A pink pigeon has been spotted in a town centre in Bury leaving residents speculating as to how it got its colour.
The fuchsia feathered creature has been seen around Prestwich, standing out from the rest of the grey pigeons, while eating food being given to it by locals.
Greater Manchester Police in Bury North tweeted that their officers on foot patrol around the centre also ‘came across a rare pink pigeon in the town centre’.
@GMPBury North / Twitter
But people have been wondering how the bird came to be the hot pink hue, with many believing it may be via artificial means.
One resident asked in a post on Twitter: “Has anyone else seen this pink pigeon in Bury and does anyone know why it is pink?!”
In response, one commenter said: “I saw it on Monday. Apparently they release them at weddings.” Another put: “Yeah I saw it last week on the rock.”
A third person wrote: “Believe it was used in a gender reveal hence the hot pink. Seen several times.” And a fourth added: “When I worked in Miles Platting there were bright blue ones that had become dyed by the nearby paint factory.”
A spokesperson for the RSPCA told the Manchester Evening News: “We can’t be sure whether these birds have been deliberately covered in a pink substance, or whether they have fallen in something.
“If someone has intentionally painted the pigeon’s feathers this is very worrying as it could cause health problems, impair their ability to fly and make them more vulnerable to predators.
Officers are out on foot patrol this afternoon as part of #OpHeartbeat
Officers quickly came across a rare pink pigeon in the town centre.
Have you seen Burys Pink Pigeon yet? Let us know & come and say hi when you spot us ❤️ pic.twitter.com/6mCQqsKsoq
“Dye and paints can be toxic to birds and animals, and they would be likely to try to clean any such substance from their coat or feathers which could result in them swallowing it.”
Earlier this year, a pigeon was dyed pink for a gender reveal party in New York City before being discovered by animal rescuers.
Due to complications from the harmful and toxic chemicals in the dye, the bird – a white king pigeon – unfortunately died a week later.
Met Office forecasters suggest the Northern Lights could be visible across Greater Manchester and parts of the UK tonight, and potentially again on Saturday.
The visually stunning phenomenon, known as the aurora borealis, could be visible to the naked eye along the northern horizon.
And stargazers across the North of England and Northern Ireland are in with a chance of being able to witness this spectacular display.
A minor enhancement to the aurora oval – which determines the range of polar lights – means the swirling colourful display of green, pink and purple hues may also be visible further south.
The Northern Lights are usually only visible over countries such as Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland, but can sometimes be seen from the UK.
Reports of sightings of the dazzling display have been coming in since Wednesday, from areas including Greater Manchester, Northumberland, the Lake District and even as far south as Cornwall.
They are set to be visible across skies tonight until Saturday.
The Met Office reports fast solar winds are expected and the Northern Lights could appear ‘most notably’ on Friday evening.
PxHere / stock photo
“With the associated increased geomagnetic activity the auroral oval is likely to extend south to become visible to the naked eye along the northern horizon from Scotland (where skies are clear) and perhaps briefly Northern Ireland and Northern England,” it continued.
On Saturday, skygazers in Scotland and Northern England could have another chance to glimpse the auroras thanks to another burst of plasma on the sun.
The Met Office added: “An expected Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) on September 16th will bring further enhancement, with the auroral oval likely to extend south across northern Scotland, and be visible to the naked eye across northern horizons of Northern Ireland and perhaps Northern England.
Malaika Ubuntu / PxHere
“Any auroral enhancements expected to ease from September 17th.”
The lights are best seen in darkness, away from any light pollution, so those in the countryside and away from city lights have the best chance of seeing them.
According to the Royal Observatory Greenwich, different gases determine what colours light up in the sky.
Nitrogen and oxygen are the primary gases in Earth’s atmosphere. Oxygen causes the green in the aurora, while purple, blue or pink hues are caused by nitrogen.