A mum has described her 'living nightmare' as her teenage daughter remains missing from home.
19.03.2023 - 23:49 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk
As a young single mum living in a tiny Cheetham Hill flat, Bridget Lea only ever wanted what was best for her two daughters.
So when she landed a graduate training scheme at M&S, she knew she was on the path to success – telling her children when she got the acceptance letter: “We’re going out for dinner tonight, mummy's rich.”
Yet the programme was just the start of Bridget’s career. The mum, from Prestwich, would climb the ranks and eventually become the managing director of commercial for BT, EE and Plusnet.
Bridget’s journey started when she became a young parent. Giving birth to her daughters when she was just 17 and 21, she wondered how she could give them an “amazing future”.
READ MORE: 'I left school in Salford at 16 - now I'm a millionaire with a Lamborghini and a Cheshire mansion'
That’s when she applied to work at the Co-op head office in Manchester city centre as a filing clerk. For the first time, Bridget was earning her own money and loved the responsibilities that came with the role.
Seeing how well she was doing, Bridget was given the additional task of helping new graduate trainees settle into the business.
After spending time with the graduates, Bridget noticed they were of a similar age and had the same abilities but were paid more.
Wanting to create those opportunities for herself, Bridget applied to Manchester Metropolitan University to study IT. “I was there on a mission,” she added. “I wasn’t going out every night; I was there to get the degree”.
Bridget, who now lives in Whitefield, graduated with a 2.1 and applied for a graduate training scheme at M&S. Once accepted, she began receiving a yearly salary of £15k - money Bridget saw as “enormous” at the time.
“I was lucky to get that role,
A mum has described her 'living nightmare' as her teenage daughter remains missing from home.
Manchester United are among several clubs eyeing Napoli defender Kim Min-jae amid news of the centre-back's £39million release clause, according to reports.
Millie Radford has accused her parents of 'making money' out of their grandkids in a bitter dispute.
Two men were chased through a Tameside town centre by a gang of five before having cash and a Stone Island jacket stolen. Three teenage boys have been arrested after two men were targeted by robbers in the early hours.
A man has been arrested after a stabbing in Piccadilly Gardens. A cordon was put in place outside the McDonald's, Boots and Wing Stop at around 8pm on Monday night after emergency services rushed to the scene.
A man was caught trying to get into Albert Hall at 4am armed with a ‘small knife’ before going on the run for over FOUR years.
A second man has appeared in court accused of the murder of Zikel Bobmanuel in east Manchester.
The opening of the first San Carlo in Alderley Edge at the former Gino D'Acampo Luciano restaurant has been delayed - as bosses have decided to create an entirely new design for the huge site. The family-run Italian restaurant group took the keys for the site off celebrity chef Gino on February 15.
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A Certain Ratio have shared their fourth single ‘Holy Smoke’ from their upcoming 11th album, ‘1982’.The new album is set for release on March 31 via Mute, with the Manchester indie legends sharing a final taste of what to expect with the old-school funk of ‘Holy Smoke’. The new single finds the band paying tribute to the genre’s forefathers, from James Brown to Chaka Khan and Prince.‘Holy Smoke’ follows their previous singles ‘SAMO’, ‘Afro Dizzy’ and ‘Waiting on a Train’ – the latter three all featuring neo-soul musician Ellen Beth Abdi.Guitarist Martin Moscrop shared that the album title is “called ‘1982’ but I wouldn’t say this album sounds anything like ‘Sextet’,” referring to their third album that was released that year.Drummer Donald Jonson added: “The title is just playful.
Jurors in the trial of Thomas Cashman have been told they will bear a 'heavy responsibility' when they are sent to deliberate on the murder charge tomorrow.
Nearly a third of people living in Manchester can’t name a single symptom of a potentially fatal illness, new analysis has found.
Unaware Manchester City loanee Joao Cancelo was left shocked by a reporter who broke the news that he had a new Bayern Munich boss following Portugal’s 4-0 Euro 2024 qualifying win over Liechtenstein on Thursday evening.
Empire State Bastard have released their debut single ‘Harvest’ – you can listen to it below.The group, which is the side-project of Biffy Clyro frontman Simon Neil and Mike Vennart (Biffy live guitarist, solo artist, and ex-Oceansize singer), teased the track earlier this month after announcing a brief UK tour.“Empires fall, States rise, B*stards sing…it’s Harvest time mother*ckers!” the group said in a statement upon the brutal noise/metal song arriving today (March 24) via Roadrunner Records.Dave Lombardo (Slayer, Testament, Fantomas) played drums on the single, and will perform in ESB’s live band alongside Naomi Macleod (Bitch Falcon) on bass.Per a press release, ‘Harvest’ “emerged from the dark recesses of the duo’s mind, inspired by spending downtime during Biffy Clyro tours by sharing the heaviest, most avant-garde or the most sickeningly confrontational music they could find”.In turn, Empire State Bastard ended up with a collection of tunes that “adventurously probes almost every dark crevice imaginable from the myriad sounds of metal and genre-adjacent extremity”.This month will see the band play a trio of intimate sold-out gigs in Glasgow (March 26), Manchester (27) and London (28).
New Order have backed the #LetTheMusicMove campaign against proposed changes to US visa rules that would impact touring artists.Last month saw the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announce that it was planning to raise touring visa fees for foreign acts by more than 250 per cent.The DHS said in its proposal that applications for a P visa, which is for acts arriving in the states to perform temporarily, would increase from the current rate of $460 (£375.23) to $1,615 (£1,317). Meanwhile, the longer-term O work visa would jump from $460 (£375.23) to $1,655 (£1,349).Numerous musicians have since spoken out against the plans, saying that it would be “a huge hardship to pay such high visa fees”.
Empire State Bastard have teased their debut single ‘Harvest’ – listen to a clip below.The band, which is the side project of Biffy Clyro singer and guitarist Simon Neil and Mike Vennart (Biffy Clyro live guitarist, solo artist, and ex-Oceansize frontman), shared the teaser on Instagram today (March 16).In the accompanying caption, they shared that the single would officially be released on March 24, featuring Dave Lombardo (Slayer, Testament, Fantomas) on drums.The band previously shared a first teaser of music in February, before going on to announce a spring tour.Empire State Bastard kick the shows off in Glasgow on March 26 at Cathouse before heading to Manchester’s Rebellion on March 27 and London’s The Underworld on March 28. Tickets for shows are available here.A post shared by Empire State Bastard (@esb666_)Elsewhere, the band have announced that they are set to appear at French metal festival Hellfest alongside Kiss, Mötley Crüe, Iron Maiden and Slipknot in Clisson from June 15-18.
Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris, and Gillian Gilbert of New Order spoke today (March 15) at this year’s SXSW and discussed becoming musicians, the evolution of their sound and growing up in Manchester.The trio were keynote speakers at the annual tech and marketing festival, in conversation with Will Hodgkinson, rock and pop critic of The Times. Andy Burnham, Mayor of Manchester, introduced the keynote, calling New Order “the ultimate Manchester band” before adding that it was “a big statement”.The band kicked off their chat by discussing how they weren’t necessarily “anti-musicians” but they were “anti-success”, with Sumner pointing to growing up working class before “punk came along” giving him the chance to express himself, without being a virtuoso. “I didn’t want to be famous, I didn’t care about that at all.
They Might Be Giants have announced a new string of UK tour dates – playing their fan favourite ‘Flood’ in full. Check out full dates and ticket details below.The UK shows come as a newly-added extension to the band’s ongoing Evening With tour, which is currently taking place across the United States.
Eloise has shared a new single ‘Therapist’ and announced a UK and European tour for June – see details below and buy tickets here.The London-based singer-songwriter is set to unveil her long-awaited debut album ‘Drunk On A Flight’ on April 14 via AWAL, and is previewing it with an upbeat soul-pop track.“Ending a long-term relationship at 23, you feel such a loss of time and adolescence and that can make you so frustrated,” she explained of inspiration behind the track. “What have I learned from all of this? And what am I stuck with at the end of all of this? My songwriting has always been honest, but this feels raw – like I’m exploring all the shades of emotion.”Watch the video for ‘Therapist’ and see Eloise’s 2023 tour dates below.