If you've been around and about the streets of Wythenshawe, chances are you'll have seen either pink or green bags tied to bridges and posts on popular routes as well as next to bins ready to be collected. Those bags

I was delighted to be joined by Barny Beswick, a volunteer

If you do want more information on the Waste Warriors and to find out more about volunteering, check out their facebook page, Wythenshawe Waste Warriors to get involved!

We were extremely honoured recently to be invited to collaborate with an exciting Football Festival that took place right here in Wythenshawe in mid-July - Ball Together Now.

Organisations and incentives from across the UK and Ireland came together for one big celebration of inclusiveness and togetherness to promote opportunities for Women, Trans and Marginalised Genders to have a safe space to play a sport they all love without any prejudice or stigmas attached.

To find out more about the festival, you can follow them on Instagram (@BallTogetherNow_Festival) or X/Twitter (@BallTogetherNow), plus check out their website www,balltogethernow.com

Thanks to the participants and incentives featured in this special show, which were: Ball Together Now (@BallTogetherNow_Festival), Happy Somedays (@Happy_Somedays), Pride Sports (@PrideSportsUK), Football For Foodbanks CIC (@FootballForFoodbanks), Rainbow Devils (@RainbowDevils), Diversity Role Models (@Diversityrm), and Manchester Laces (@ManchesterLaces)

Thanks to all the teams who turned up across the weekend to the festival. Thanks as well to everyone who stopped but simply couldn't chat to me as they were too busy playing or having to attend to other duties. Disclaimer: This includes Manchester City and City In The Community. I asked them, but they were not allowed due to media rights.

Welcome to Episode 21 of the Happy Somedays podcast where this time we are talking to comedian and all round 'Local Legend' Lewis 'BigLou' Jones!

Having started his comedy career right here in Wythenshawe via a course held at the Forum in 2009, Lewis has gone on to perform every kind of stand-up gig imaginable across the last 15 years and has built up an incredible repertoire of material to call upon dependant on the type of gig or audience available to him. However, he has never put pen to paper to perform a full solo show... until now!

After watching another comedian perform in the Lowry Theatre's 140-capacity Studio, Big Lou looked around and thought to himself "I reckon I could do this" and set about asking the questions to the staff. A few weeks later, his debut show 'Name Dropper' went on sale, and sold out within 36 hours! Luckily, as Big Lou will explain, The Lowry approached him and asked if he'd like to move the show into the much bigger Quays Theatre, and so on Sunday 23rd June 2024, 'Big Lou: Name Dropper' will be treading the boards of where so many comedy legends have performed before.

'Name Dropper' comes from the fact that Lewis always thought that he would be famous. He was a nobody who always thought he would be a somebody. After 15 years working in hotel catering, he ended up with a job working for a private aviation company at Manchester Airport, where he met an incredible amount of famous faces - a real who's who of music, sport, entertainment and more!

The show tells the story of how a nobody who thought he'd be a somebody ended up meeting almost everybody!

In this podcast, Big Lou will explain the origins of the show further, go into some encounters that didn't make the final cut, explain his comedy beginnings and why he is so thankful for finding the course and having it change his life and what he hopes to achieve and do next with the show once the performance at the Lowry is done.

Big thanks to Lewis for coming on to plug it. If you'd like to see the show yourself, last minute tickets are available here: https://thelowry.com/whats-on/big-lou-name-dropper-quays/

You can also keep up with where Lewis is performing next by following his social media page: https://www.facebook.com/BigLouComedy

In February of this year, Happy Someday's turned 4 years old - Can you believe that?!

In the space of 4 years, this incentive has grown and grown to become a much needed safe space for people in the local community to come and express themselves through sport and socialisation without any stigma or judgement attached. We have always said that anyone is welcome no matter your age, gender, ability, skill or fitness level. It is something we pride ourselves on and have stuck to throughout our journey from humble beginnings with a tiny session on an 8-a-side pitch right through to now with our various different sessions, on which we will explore and explain within this episode.

Joe Farrar, co-founder of Happy Somedays, joins me as we take a bit of a look back, with a focus in particular on the last year, as 2023 was our biggest yet! Hear how we have offered more sessions than ever across different sports and fitness facilities, as well as offering walks, social events, fundraisers and opportunities to get involved with the local community.

We are now 4 years down, but we hope to have many, many more to go! Here's to Happy Somedays!

In Episode 19 Of the Happy Someday's Podcast, we once again look within our very own network of unique participants to chat to Daniel Timmins.

Daniel has been involved with Happy Somedays for only a few months, but has immersed himself into the ethos and has ensured it has felt like he's always been around! He was introduced to us by our very own Hayden (Who you can hear from in Episode 3) and after initially feeling a bit anxious and worried about how he would be accepted, he is now very much enjoying coming along to all aspects of our incentive.

Daniel had other reasons to be anxious, as he also has Autism and Asperger's which can make socialising and speaking to others difficult. Here, he explains how he has navigated through life with the condition both pre and post diagnosis at the age of 19.

Daniel asked us to do this to raise awareness of the condition, much like Daniel Laing did way back in Episode 4. It's so rewarding to be able to give our participants a platform for them to share their real life, lived experiences.

Welcome to Episode 18 and Part II of our chat with usual host Josh Deegan. As a reminder, in this edition, the tables have turned and he tells his story in the second part of this double header.

The Happy Somedays Podcast has always been about letting people with real stories have a platform and a voice they otherwise wouldn't have to raise awareness of issues and causes close to their hearts. In this episode, our next guest, Kelly Jones, reached out herself a asking if she could do just that.

Kelly unfortunately has lived experience of baby loss - Not just once, but twice - and she requested some time to sit with us and discuss how it has affected her, as well as highlighting some of the amazing people and organisations that helped her at her lowest point.

A big thank you to Kelly for showing incredible strength throughout this episode and in general for wanting to break down barriers and talk about her experiences.

If you'd like to be part of Happy Somedays in any way or if you'd like to know more about the sort of sessions we hold - including Men's and Women's football sessions, fitness classes, running, hiking or you just want to make new connections and lasting friendships, let us know and get in touch! Feel free to send us a message on Facebook (www.facebook.com/HappySomedays). Follow us on Twitter and Instagram (@Happy_Somedays) or email us at [email protected]. You can also check out our new website - www.happysomedays.co.uk for information on all sessions, and to book on. You will also find previous podcast episodes listed here, too. We'd also love it if you'd leave us a rating and a review wherever you listen to your Podcasts and give us like and subscribe so the latest episodes reach you as soon as they're available. The Happy Somedays Podcast is also proudly sponsored by Reliable Electrical Supplies. Check out their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/reliableelectricalsupplies/?locale=en_GB