100 ways to slightly improve your life without really trying: (Part 5: 20-1)
We’re singing, stretching and going to the library today as our week-long feature concludes with 20 activities that received a 10/10 rating from our writers
Friday 26 January 2024
NEXT HOME GAME: Harrogate – Saturday 3 February, 3pm
NEXT AWAY GAME: Doncaster – Saturday 27 January, 3pm
If you’d like to write an article for The Scarf My Father Wore, share a few snippets or photos, or advertise your business, please email thescarfmyfatherwore@substack.com.
Dear County fans, Stopfordians, and anyone else joining us today, a very warm welcome to the final part of IMPROVEMENT WEEK on The Scarf My Father Wore!
On New Year’s Day 2022, The Guardian published the following article: 100 ways to slightly improve your life without really trying.
I care about all of my readers and subscribers, so having stumbled across the article recently, I thought I’d share it with you, to see if I can help improve your life in a small way. But the feature by The Guardian simply listed the 100 recommendations. There was no meat on the bones. How do we even know those 100 things will make any improvement to your life whatsoever?
There was only one thing for it. I’ve analysed the list myself, and with the kind help of fellow County fans, other football supporters, and writers, bloggers and podcasters from across the country, we’ve collectively produced the definitive guide to (slightly) improving your life this year, without really trying. If you try any of these suggestions yourself, please let me know how you get on!
Today’s edition is sponsored by Menzies Develop & Build. A big thank you to Neil.
Finally, I’m currently walking every street in Stockport to raise money for mental health charity Mentell. If you’d like to make a donation to help me reach my target, please click here.
Total distance so far: 46.68 miles
Total steps so far: 83,302
Total raised so far: £1,037
Total completed streets so far: 24 (Click here for the full list, which includes reports and photos from every day of the walk.)
Further information on the walk can be found by clicking here.
Des Junior
20: Exercise on a Monday night (nothing fun happens on a Monday night)
Christine Shepherd, a 72-year-old female who teaches martial arts in Marple
I like to exercise on a Monday. How? I get together a group of large men and I throw them around. To be fair it isn’t only men and they aren’t all large. I teach and practise Aikido – a martial art that relies on redirecting the energy and force that is directed at you. This means that it doesn’t require any special strength, you don’t have to be young, men and women can practise equally and together, and age is actually just a number. Aikido is not one of the better known martial arts, but one which suits me. It can be gentle or dynamic; there are only nine techniques but the variations are endless. So for me Monday night means putting on special clothes and meeting special people - then bending, twisting, folding and throwing them. If I can do this as a 5ft, 72-year-old female, then there must be something special in this art!
Rating: 10/10.
19: Start a Saturday morning with some classical music – it sets the tone for a calm weekend
Ross, Walsall fan and creator of WFC Vlogs
The best day of the week has finally arrived: Saturday! Getting up out of bed knowing it’s matchday why not listen to the music you love the most to get you going for the day. That’s what it’s all about. After doing this for a while it’s made a huge improvement and impact on my life and I’ve never looked back since.
Rating: 10/10.
18: Sing!
Andy Powell, Stockport-based singer and compere
Packing in my day job at 30 to become a singer was the best decision I ever made. Having the privilege of bringing joy to people through live performance is one I never take for granted. The gamble worked out OK and as my grandad (a yodelling chimney sweep) once said: “We only get one life, make the most of it!”
Rating: 10/10. No disrespect to printers out there, but I think I’d be seriously depressed if I was still running a printing press at 53 wondering what might have been if I’d just took a chance.
17: Think about your posture: don’t slouch, and don’t cross your legs
Robbie George, Director of Development and Participation for Welsh Cycling
As a young man travelling in Australia in 2008 I stayed in a lot of places we could go surfing, and every time I went to do the snap (which is going from lying to standing) my back really hurt. It got so bad sometimes, I’d just be lying on a surfboard in the middle of the ocean in pain. I went to see somebody about it and they said it was because I was crossing my leg when I slept. My left side was really tight from being crossed over so my body was totally inbalanced. So don’t cross the legs.
Stand up regularly, especially if working from home. An ironing board with a box or a few books on makes a great standing desk.
Rating: Well my back pain disappeared and I could surf pain free so it’s 10/10 from me.
16: Plant spring bulbs, even if they’re just in a pot
Barney, editor of Manchester United fanzine Red News
Like many, I found Covid lockdowns tough. To the extent that a lot of that period, thankfully, is a blur. For those that know how important the social side of football can be to routine, and routine enjoyment, to have that taken away was a shocker. Forgetting the macro bull going on about scotch eggs and tables of sixes, I just wanted, and needed, to be back in a football stadium.
So in dark times, I found a bit of light. Thankfully, we had an unusually nice bit of weather to start that dire March and April period off, and I headed out to the garden. It’s not ever been for me. My 20-year-old self would take the piss out of me now, plodding along with compost and seeds, but it’s safe to say Monty Don saved me a little bit. Or quite a bit. Or whatever.
I found peace and salvation in being a pretty shitty gardener. And it was very soothing, and calming, and enjoyable. And for every thing I botched up, surprisingly, make that amazingly, some things actually grew. A seed I had planted, grew. Still staggered at that.
Last year I got a bit bolder, and braver, and thought my seasons of planting April to say September would step up a notch and I’d try this spring bulb malarky. It always looks easy on TV. Because it probably is. But here goes. Rough estimate of good spots, period in winter, and away we go… wait to see the success rates! Except… there is usually a but… we get foxes, and squirrels, and over the course of time when I hoped to find shoots and signs of tulips and wonder, I found dug up chewed bulbs, a lot of fox poo, and damage. 0% success rate. But you know what, it was almost fun. So I’ve tried again. We’re back at football, thank God, but some of those daft things we took up during dark days, stuck. And spring bulbs remain a bigger sign of wider hope. Fox poo or no fox poo.
Rating: 10/10.
15: Set aside 10 minutes a day to do something you really enjoy
Bob Carey, Stockport County fan exiled in Essex
10 minutes? Pah! I invest more time than that to boost my daily happiness. I just love being annoying and make sure I spend time doing so each and every day. Having been married for 27 years I have finessed the subtle art of annoyance as a crap husband.
“Where are you going?” or “What are you doing?” is a great way to start when your other half simply gets off the sofa. How about calling “Where are you?” when a) you know where she is and b) you don't care where she is anyway.
Why not sit nearby and wave? Particularly if she’s watching TV.
My wife hates whistling. It is now my hobby.
Keep calling your new workmate Alan instead of Adam. Tell the same ‘joke’ daily. Pretend you are invisible. Deliberately get names wrong (Ron Weasels from Harry Potter works well). The list is endless.
Honestly, being annoying for at least 10 minutes an hour (not a day) is brilliant.
We each have something we love to do but never make the time to do so. Follow my example of dedicated joyfulness and you will make yourself, and those around you, happy/relentlessly annoyed this year.
Rating: 10/10. It makes me feel very ‘special’.
14: Join your local library – and use it
Jane Stuart, editor of Blackpool fanzine Now That’s What I Call Progress
I joined the library last year. The main reason was to save money, as I was spending maybe £30 a month on books and ebooks – and of course books are free from the library. You don’t even get fined for overdue loans any more!
I had hundreds of ‘sample’ books in my Kindle library, dating back years. These were books that came recommended or I’d seen referenced in other books or I saw advertised somewhere. The list kept growing faster than I could ever read them. Now I’ve joined the library, I’ve added these to my reserved list and am voraciously working my way through them. Now they’re physical books on my shelf, I’m more inclined to read them. I read over 100 books last year.
When a new book is released by a favourite author (which Amazon kindly alerts me to), I simply reserve it at the library and I am notified as soon as it becomes available. These books are the most expensive so this can save me £20 per book.
The librarians are great, too. I’m always having book chat when I go in to collect my latest books. Yes, you’re even allowed to talk (not whisper) in libraries now!
So, not only am I saving money, but I’m also reading more and learning lots in the process. Libraries are a great free resource that need your support. Use them or lose them.
Rating: 10/10 definitely.
13: Learn how to breathe deeply: in through the nose, out through the mouth, making the exhale longer than the inhale
Bernie Baldwin, Leeds United and AFC Wimbledon fan
I came to this technique when I found myself hospitalised with high blood pressure in early 2023. As the doctors tried to help lower the BP, I was having regular tests. To get constant conditions for comparison purposes, one of the nurses advised this breathing technique just before a BP test. It not only helped in keeping to a standard condition, it also helped in actually lowering the BP.
Any time I feel a little tense, I now remember to breathe carefully using this pattern. So do think about doing it if you need to feel a little bit more in control. It costs nothing, but definitely helps.
PS) It would be remiss of me not to offer another bit of advice. After 26 years of not needing to visit the doctor and rarely feeling bad, the BP event was a huge surprise. After a range of tests since then, I was discharged from the hospital back to the care of the GP, but “on condition” that I evangelised on the benefit of getting your BP tested reasonably regularly, especially if you’re over 40. Ask your GP about calling in for a test and the suggested regularity of doing so.
Rating: 10/10.
12: Stretch in the morning. And maybe in the evening
Des Junior, The Scarf My Father Wore editor
I’ve played football most of my life. You’re always told to warm up properly before a game, ensuring you do your stretches to avoid injury. Like most (amateur) footballers, I always ignored that advice. My pre-match routine (and I know I’m not the only one) simply consisted of whacking balls at our goalkeeper for half an hour whilst waiting for the referee to turn up.
When you’re younger, you get away with not stretching. As you get older, not so much. I went to Nottingham for a weekend football tournament a while back. Didn’t stretch, played the first game, and pulled my hamstring inside the first 30 seconds. Very, very painful. Ruled out for the weekend, and had to hobble round Nottingham with the rest of the lads like an old man.
Rating: 10/10. IMPERATIVE!
11: Rent rather than buy a suit/dress for that forthcoming wedding
Des Junior, The Scarf My Father Wore editor
Ah, any excuse to give one of my favourite photos an airing. For Cashy the groundman’s wedding in 2018 we all had a fun evening getting fitted for our matching suits together, before an absolutely fantastic day and night for the main event a few weeks later.
Rating: 10/10.
10: If in doubt, add cheese
John Pearman, editor of Liverpool fanzine Red All Over The Land
I’ve been around this world now since the mid 1940s and many things have happened that changed my life. None more than cheese.
I was a mere five-year-old. Or maybe I was six when I wandered into a neighbour’s house which you could do back then without it being seen as an intrusion or a break-in. I spotted some cheese on the table and helped myself to which the neighbour didn’t object. It must have happened again and again because I wasn’t suddenly deemed a mouse.
As my life moved on, cheese was my staple diet. Gradually I progressed from ordinary everyday cheese to those smelly things that looked like they had something crawling around in them. I had cheese with everything. My packing up when I went to work only consisted of cheese sandwiches. My mother would make Sunday lunch and I had to have a couple of slices of cheese with it before I would eat it. Even beans on toast was accompanied by cheese. Not knowing too much about fine dining, if we ever went to a café, I had a cheese salad. I was told man can’t live on bread alone, but I said stick a slab of cheese on it and he can.
On one occasion when I was at home, I was craving cheese and asked my mother if we had any. “There’s a pound in the pantry, bought it the other day.” To which I replied, “I’ve eaten that.” My lust for cheese sometimes gave me away. I visited my eldest brother, but his son told me he wasn’t at home. I went in and said I’d make myself a sarnie before going on my way. By now you can guess the ingredients. Later that night I got a phone call; it was my brother who asked if I’d been to his house. “Yes,” I said, “how did you know?” “The cheese was gone.” That’s why I could have never been a burglar – forget fingerprints and DNA, cheese would have given me away.
Life carried on. When I lived alone, I would often have a baked potato and stick the biggest slab of cheese in it that was possible. Same with cheese on toast, it had to be more cheese than toast.
Then in the spring of 2007 I was strolling through Prague, as you do. Suddenly I felt a bit odd. I didn’t know at the time, but I was having heart problems that would lead to a triple bypass. I was told I’d got blocked arteries and when I asked what could have caused it, they said cheese. Well, not just cheese, but mainly cheese.
Now several years later I appear to have made a full recovery but the lust for cheese goes on. About thrice a year I treat myself to a few slabs, but it lasts longer. So, cheese not only fed me for the first 60 years or so, it derailed me but maybe saved me. Now it’s taken in moderation, but one of my three granddaughters can devour a piece of cheese and she’s only four.
When we dine out, I don’t go for the desserts but the cheese board. When I feel peckish and I fancy a sarnie, I still want cheese but like with drinking I know my limits. However, if someone asks me how to improve their life I simply say, “If in doubt, add cheese”.
Rating: 10/10. Everywhere I go, every country I visit, cheeses will be tasted.
9: Switch your phone off on holiday (or at least delete your work email app)
Hannah Brown, Stockport County fan and co-host of The Lower League Look
I have an atrocious work/life balance. I had a BlackBerry in 2005 so I am nearly 20 years into my work email addiction. I had a first generation iPhone, and it’s been downhill since. Holidays have always been a challenge. I’d rather deal with small things as they happen (and as a control freak, know what’s going on) than come back to an inbox full of things. It’s especially hard to ignore emails when they’re flashing away in your notifications on the phone you’re using for so many things. The best answer is a second work phone. The next best answer is turn off all notifications. You can go and check your emails when you choose to and when it suits you, not because you’ve seen an alert.
So… 27 December 2023. Fly to Chicago. Put the phone on airplane mode. It stays like that until 10pm on 1 January and that was only so I could clear my inbox before everyone in the UK office came online at 3am Chicago time on the 2nd. Slightly cheating because no one was working, but here’s my other hack… on my out of office (for internal replies only) I include my personal phone number “for emergencies” (after I’ve included the contact details of everyone else in the team!). That means that they have a way to contact me if needed, but I don’t have to keep checking my work phone. I also ask my team to check in a couple of times a week.
Holidays when the office is open are more of a challenge, but again, the second phone helps, as does going on cruises where WiFi and roaming are prohibitively expensive. If it’s an emergency they’ll text…
Rating: 10/10. Having a total break is important, and I didn’t realise how much until I actually did it. That said, it’s now 20 January as I write this, and it’s like that holiday never happened. Roll on 9 February. Just call me Judith…
8: Eat meat once a week, max. Ideally less
Brian Ross, Stockport County fan living in France
Immediate disclosure: I am vegan. But how did a 70-year-old man become a vegan?
My parents were a police officer and a shop worker. Very much a meat and two veg family. But from a very early age I remember I did not like meat, especially the fatty bits which I would meticulously cut away and leave around the edge of my plate. I would try to eat the lean meat, and usually I did, but reluctantly. I did not like the taste or the texture.
Fast forward to the age of 24 when I was living with my girlfriend, who would become my first wife, in London. We held a birthday party and as my wife’s sister was a vegetarian we prepared all vegetarian food. That night I decided I would become a vegetarian. It seemed so obvious in retrospect, but it just needed that trigger event to make the switch. But I wasn’t perfect as I would sometimes eat fish. Only rarely, and not often enough to call myself pescatarian, even if I knew that word then!
Life went on. Two children who loved to tease me as they ate sausages. Later a divorce and some time after I met my new (and current!) wife who was also vegetarian. But she also had a passion for animals and she opened my eyes to other reasons to give up meat. Principally the suffering caused by humans to animals. There is a good reason why there are no school trips to abattoirs and the industry fights tooth and nail not to have cameras installed in slaughterhouses.
Developing that knowledge meant I learned some truths about the dairy industry and the slaughter soon after birth of worthless male calves. All calves being taken away from their mothers so humans can have the mothers’ milk.
Then there is the egg/chicken industry where newborn male chicks are literally shredded (macerated) in machines after birth as they have no economic value. Where chickens in the meat industry have been bred to put on unnatural amounts of weight quickly, in crowded, dirty conditions, so they can be slaughtered at six weeks (typical in the EU).
There is the pork industry where sows live most of their lives in birthing stalls with no room to turn around. Over a billion pigs a year are slaughtered. An animal generally considered at least as intelligent as a dog but eating dogs would be wrong, wouldn’t it?
There are the economic costs of growing crops for animal feed. For example 27% of the food grown in the US is for humans. Some is used for biofuels. And 67% is for animal feed. That is inefficient as it takes 100 calories of grain to produce 3 calories of beef or 12 calories of chicken meat. It is estimated in the same article that if all the food produced for animal feed was fed to humans it would feed 4 billion people!
Vegans seem to attract incredibly uneducated comments from people who suddenly become nutrition experts when addressing a vegan (online of course!). For example we are often accused of being responsible for the loss of Amazonian rainforest to produce soya beans (we do hear a lot of rubbish). In fact just 7% of the world’s soya bean production is eaten directly by humans. The rest goes to animal feed.
I could go on, and on and on… And I probably will as a vegan diet has been shown to be linked to better health.
I conclude that The Guardian tip is a very good one – albeit it does not go far enough. Because the one major thing I have not mentioned is the conclusion of a study published in “Nature Food” in July 2023. The study compared the environmental impacts of a vegan diet with one where 100g of meat was consumed daily. The vegans contributed 25.1% of the greenhouse gas emissions of the meat eaters; 25.1% of the land use; 46.4% of the water use; 27.0% of eutrophication (the accumulation of nutrients in lakes and standing water leading to algal blooms); and 34.3% of the negative impacts on biodiversity.
So, for the animals, for the planet, for your children and your own health, I urge you to eat less or, better still, no meat or dairy products. Oh, and if you are tempted but don’t like cooking from fresh ingredients, don’t even think about retiring to la belle France, where we live, as you might just starve!
Rating: Going vegetarian was 7/10. Going vegan takes it up to 10/10.
7: Volunteer
Ian Brown, Stockport County fan and editor of All Things Stockport County
I’ve been volunteering for Help the Hatters for many years. It’s a very simple process and there is much satisfaction to be had along the way – I recommend it to you! Simply look for the post on Facebook, and then turn up at the stated start time, entering the ground via the Pop Side gates.
Sessions usually follow home games (often on a Monday) and last from 9.30am until around 11.30am when we break for a brew. If all work is done the volunteers can head for home after a brew and a convivial chat.
Litter picks are the priority at the moment, but we hold ourselves ready should any other task need sorting like painting etc in the close season. Our volunteer work is valuable, saving the club a large amount of money each season.
The group, from the onset, has always taken its duty to County and the community the club exists in extremely seriously. This approach helped us achieve our first major project, converting a dilapidated former farm premises into a training facility fit for the purposes of the team which was managed by Jim Gannon at the time. The rapport twixt Jim and the group was, and is, immense, and over the years the club has benefited greatly from this.
The training facility, rebuilt by the efforts and expertise donated gratis and willingly by the group, was eventually used to good effect. It is now long gone, but back then the combined actions of Help the Hatters, inspired by Fitzy and Jim, were a vital contribution towards keeping the club alive in hard times.
Since then, we have involved ourselves in many projects, such as a refurbishment of the Cheadle & Gatley JFC clubhouse, and a large scale refurbishment at Swanbourne Gardens – a purpose built, fully adapted respite facility for vulnerable children. Activities like these, apart from making the volunteer feel good, have also made valuable contributions to the community in which County resides.
All the above and events like the Programme Fairs have raised thousands for local charities, culminating in the group being awarded the coveted Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service a couple of years ago.
There’s frustrations too of course, this being the real world, but that’s another story!
Rating: 10/10.
6: Instead of buying a morning coffee, set up a daily transfer of £2 from a current into a savings account and forget about it. Use it to treat yourself to something different later
Des Junior, The Scarf My Father Wore editor
At only £2 a day, I’m sure The Guardian had this in mind for a month, so you could treat yourself to a new pair of trainers, or even a year, so you could take yourself off to Spain for a week or two. I don’t drink tea or coffee, and I haven’t set up a savings account, but I have put a couple of quid aside since the start of the week when part one of this feature was published. That’s only a tenner. Tomorrow it’ll be twelve quid. And that’s when I’m stopping this little challenge, because twelve quid is the exact price of a year-long Stockport County Supporters Co-operative membership. I’ve procrastinated over a lot of things in my life, but 2024 is a year of making things happen. I’ll be signing up tomorrow, and every County fan should really do the same. It’s completely democratic, and as a fanbase, we’re much stronger together.
Rating: 10/10.
5: Get a pet
Oli, co-host of Sheff United Way
A pet is a big commitment – and they’re not for everyone. You need to have the time and the room in your life for a new member of the family. But when they arrive? You’ll never be able to picture life without them! Whether a smaller animal like a hamster or a gerbil suits your lifestyle, or whether you’ve got the time and love for a big ball of fluff like a dog or a cat, a pet can bring all kinds of joy and love into your life.
That’s my dog Faith above. She’s greater than she used to be. She lost her eye earlier this year due to infection, but every single day she makes me smile and makes me happier. If I’m a bit down, seeing that massive head come waddling across the room for a cuddle or some fuss always cheers me right up. When I get home from a bad day at work, there she is all excited to see me.
A pet will always give you that boost you need – but you can only really benefit from this one if you’ve got the love and commitment to give back.
Rating: 10/10.
4: Call an old friend out of the blue
Lewis, Stevenage fan who runs The Broadhall Way online shop
We should all be checking in on our mates. In a world where we speak more and more around mental health, supporting and calling on old friends you haven’t seen in a while can make a positive impact.
We recently called in on two friends who also have other interests outside of football, so we don’t get to see them as much any more due to their life commitments and superb musical talents, but it’s always a pleasure to see them shine and catch up wherever they’re performing.
Rating: Always a 10/10. Smiles and joy all round, and a positive impact for everyone.
3: Do that one thing you’ve been putting off
Erin-Beau, a 16-year-old content creator who covers Altrincham through her golfroadgoals page
I had inspiration from a friend to start producing Altrincham coverage online. I installed a few editing apps and tried to teach myself. I made my first edits in 2020, just before the National League North play-offs during lockdown. I received positive and negative feedback. I kept on covering the men's team and expanded to start featuring the women's team in 2021 by continuing to teach myself how to edit and not letting the negative comments get to me. Soon after I won my first award, which was for best young content creator from Non League Bible. I’ve won numerous awards since then and been nominated for many more. All because I tried something outside my comfort zone. It led to many opportunities, such as becoming a member of the Altrincham FC media team and becoming the social media runner for the women’s team.
If you’re ever thinking of doing something outside your comfort zone, go for it. You'll never know what it leads to unless you try!
Rating: 10/10.
2: Respect your youngers
Des Junior, The Scarf My Father Wore editor
My little nephew has farted on me, ignored me, and occasionally cried his eyes out the minute he’s been passed to me. But he was completely engrossed in the football on the telly earlier this month, and seemed to thoroughly enjoy Newcastle’s two goals in two minutes against Citeh. He’s got my respect already!
Rating: 10/10.
1: Keep your children’s drawings and paintings. Put the best ones in frames
Dave Thompson, Stockport County fan and fundraising powerhouse for Mentell
Kids drawings, eh. You keep some and throw others away, but one day you may wish you’d kept them all. They’re never that important until they are.
Keep everything. Keep Mother’s Day cards. Father’s Day cards. Birthday cards with their child scribbles on, or when they’re first learning to write their name.
Christmas notes and letters to Santa. Keep Easter egg drawings. Keep Christmas decorations that they make. Put them on the tree, even when they’re teenagers.
It all forms a part of your family history that you can never ever get back. Treasure it. Keep them in an old suitcase or somewhere dry. One day you’ll look back at them and laugh. Believe me, you’ll cry too.
Never under value the time you have with your children. No matter what age. It’s the most beautiful gift you will ever have the pleasure of being given.
Rating: 10/10.
So there we have it! A huge thank you to everyone who’s contributed this week. I hope our readers and subscribers have enjoyed something a little bit different on the website before we turn our attention back to County tomorrow morning. Hopefully some of these 100 things will make a slight improvement to your own life over the coming weeks or months!
If you’re excited by the Edgeley Park redevelopment plans, why not have your own extension built at home!
A brand new Railway End. A double-decker Pop Side. The plans for the building work at Edgeley Park are a tad exciting, aren’t they? Now, I’m guessing you probably don’t have room to build a 20,000 capacity football stadium in your back garden. But you could enjoy a little more space at home with an extension, or even a loft conversion.
Put your own building plans in the very capable hands of Menzies Develop & Build, a local and reliable building company who are fully insured and offer free quotations on a variety of home improvements.
For further details give Neil a call on 07772 657390 or email neil@menzies-db.co.uk.
Photo of the day
Round the Corner, Liverpool
Had my first ever panic attack in 2009. Diagnosed with depression in 2010. Struggled and battled and fought with it all (along with general anxiety) for 15 years.
Always dreamed of doing stand-up comedy. Finally plucked up the courage to do it at the Frog & Bucket in 2020 and ran off the stage in front of 200 people after 10 seconds with a huge panic attack. Not been on stage since.
I’ve been determined to finally try and get past it and have thrown myself into exercise, therapy, medication, diet, absolutely everything last couple of months.
Last night, for the first time, I stepped back on that stage. Anyone fighting their own battles at the moment, please hang in there and keep going. The darkest hour comes just before the dawn…
Today in SK
💿 DJs
Bask (SK1) have recently been granted an extended license, which means you can now party until 3am on a Friday night! Last entry 1.30am.
The Nelson Tavern (SK1) have their resident DJ playing on a Friday night, with Dicko (Ian Dickinson) on from 8pm till 1am.
🍟 Food and drink
10% off all drinks at Enigma (SK1). 12pm - 12am.
Ignore the “beer police” and support your local pub in January. If you’re in Stockport today, pop into The Petersgate Tap (SK1) for a pint or two. Open till 11pm.
Lite bite meal deal at The Friary (SK3). Cod or haddock, served with chips, and a side of peas, curry or gravy. Plus tea or coffee. £9.95. Open till 8pm.
Fish Friday at Platform 5 (SK8). Joseph Holt’s beer battered fish with chips, salt and vinegar scraps, tartare sauce and your choice of Manchester caviar and peas. Served with a drink. Served till 8pm. £14.95 per person.
🎤 Karaoke
Alexandra (SK3) with DJ Big Ace. 8pm.
🎶 Live music
Breakout at The Crown Inn (SK6). 9pm.
Random County fan of the day #26 – Tim Brown!
One final thing before you go… if you’re looking to learn to drive in January, or lose a few pounds after Christmas, or even get some work done at home, please contact our fantastic advertisers!
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🍸 Gin: Hatters Gin
🛁 Grout Refresh & Recolour: GroutGleam Stockport
💇♀️ Hairdressing: C West Hairstylist
🛠 Home Improvements: Menzies Develop & Build
💻 IT Services: Bridge Computer Services
🪚 Joinery: SAW Contracts Ltd
👨🍳 Kitchen Appliances: SW Appliances
🔑 Locksmith: APL Locksmiths Ltd
🚐 Minibus Hire: Westfield Minibuses
🧤 Oven Cleaning: That Oven Girl
🖌 Painter & Decorator: BGM Decorators
🧱 Plasterer: Tate Plastering Services
🚰 Plumber: GTG Gary the Gasman
📕 Publishing: Victor Publishing
🛖 Roofing: ADM Roofing Services Ltd
☀️ Solar Panels: Malbern Solar Ltd
⚽️ Sports Coaching: UK Sports Coaching Ltd
🖊 Tattooist: Heatons Tattoo Club
🪵 Timber Supplies: Portwood Timber Division of Illingworth Ingham (Manchester) Ltd
👨💻 Web Design: SITEZO
⚖️ Weight Loss: Slimming World Reddish & Bredbury with Shlean
🪟 Window Cleaner: R ‘N’ B Window Cleaning
🏋️♀️ Women’s Fitness: Sophie Pavey Fitness
🧘♀️ Yoga: Greenshoots Yoga