Jason Baird has become somewhat of a local superhero since the pandemic first hit back in March of last year.
And we mean that both figuratively, and literally.
Alongside his friend Andrew Baldock, Jason has proudly become one half of the now-famous Stockport Spider-Men, and has been donning his spidey suit to weave a web of joy and lift the spirits of the community while out on his daily jogs for the past 11 months.
The dad-of-two and martial arts instructor has backflipped his way through three lockdowns, and has earned himself international recognition and tens of thousands of fans in the process.
Spotting spidey on his travels has become a popular activity for the people of Stockport, with children making special ‘stop here’ signs for their front windows, dressing up in masks and spider suits themselves to join in on the fun, and just generally looking forward to his arrival.
While putting smiles on faces at a time when it’s needed more than ever has ultimately been Jason’s goal over this past year, the character’s most-famous quote has remained firmly in his mind.
“With great power comes great responsibility”.
It was these important words that inspired Jason to not just make a positive change through his actions, but to create a lasting legacy with them.
A lasting legacy that has seen him raise over £75,000 and counting for charity.
The organisation most-significantly benefitting from Jason’s achievements is youth suicide prevention charity PAPYRUS – a cause that is very close to his heart, especially after admitting that he has struggled with his own mental health in recent months, and has sadly lost a friend to suicide during the first lockdown.
The charity says that suicide is the biggest killer of under 35’s in the UK, and it’s believed that around 200 school-aged children take their own lives each year.
Jason Baird
And it was in the name of PAPYRUS that Jason completed his most impressive feat yet this past weekend.
He set himself the challenge of running an ultramarathon – equivalent to 50 miles – by making his way across the entire Greater Manchester borough, and after taking 100,000 steps, burning 6000+ calories, being accompanied on different legs by other socially-distanced comic book characters, including Batman, Wonder Woman, Iron Man and more, and running for a total of 11 hours and 19 minutes, he completed that challenge last Saturday.
Jason raised well over £8,000 for PAPYRUS just from the run alone, but it was as he crossed the finish line of his astounding achievement over one of the town’s major motorway bridges, that he set his eyes on what would become his most important mission yet.
To transform that fateful bridge into a “bridge of hope”.
While the 40ft bridge over the M60 on B6167 Lancashire Hill currently goes not have a name, it has sadly become known to many in the town as the site where several people have both attempted to, and have taken their own lives in recent years.
“The bridge as a whole has seen far too many people take their own lives,” Jason told us.
“Running across it as I neared the finish line just brought home that something had to be done to try to prevent others doing the same.
“As I crossed [the bridge], the barriers felt so low [and] I knew I had to make some sort of plea to at least try to make them taller [and] at the same time, try to take away the stigma of ‘that bridge’ where people jump, which it has sadly got”.
And so, in an attempt to “make a difference for our future generations”, Jason contacted both Stockport Council and Highways England yesterday to discuss the possibility of not only making the railings higher, but also giving the bridge a makeover.
He wants to transform the bridge into “a cheerful place”.
“I want to make it a place of remembrance for those who have taken their own lives there and a place to celebrate those who have tried to and survived.” Jason continued.
“I [also] want to try to name the bridge, as I don’t think it has a name, and I personally would like to name it ‘The Bridge of Hope’, as my vision is to have superheroes holding a purple heart with the names of those who lost their lives [and] purple is the PAPYRUS youth suicide prevention colour”.
To help make his vision a reality, Jason enlisted the work of Stockport-based artist Neil Roche to create an impression image of what the bridge could look like if the plans are accepted.
The colourful design sports the words ‘Marvellous Stockport’ in large lettering below the superheroes.
Neil Roche
Jason’s vision was also further inspired after he was “blessed with company” and cheered-on by two young survivors of the 40ft fall from that bridge as he crossed the finish line.
Jason is keen to shine a light on the importance of Olivia and Luke’s stories within the wider community, and in a message posted to the Stockport Spider-Men Facebook group yesterday evening, he said: “I’m using our platform to get the word out further, but I’m taking a back seat to Olivia and Luke, as I believe they are both meant for this role to impact others.
“These two amazing human beings have bravely told me they are open, willing, and ready to share their stories to hopefully save others via our group [so] I will be posting what is going to be very emotional content from [them] in the coming days,
“Personally, I cannot thank them enough [and] it has deeply touched me more than anyone will know.
“It’s an honour and privilege to have even met [them], let alone be a person to share their darkest hours, [so] they both have my upmost love and respect.
“And it goes without saying that when we get the go-ahead to transform the bridge, both Olivia and Luke’s portraits will be featured”.
Jason is thrilled to see that his mission to create ‘The Bridge of Hope’ has already received massive encouragement from the Stockport Spider-Men group and the wider community.
He’s even revealed that he’s had two parliamentary cabinet members reach out to him in support as well.
Now, he’s currently in the process of trying to speak directly to a representative at Highways England that can “hear my plea and hopefully work with me on this”, and has admitted that the Stockport Spider-Men group will even work together and raise funds to have the works completed if needs be.
It’s clear to see that this transformation is something Jason is truly passionate about, and there’s no doubt the public are on his side every step of the way.
We’ll just have to cross our fingers, and wait and see.
___
If you’ve been inspired by Jason’s story and his outstanding achievements over this past 11 months, you can show your support for an extremely worthy cause by contributing to the goal of raising £100,000 for PAPYRUS via his JustGiving page.
You can also follow along with the Stockport Spider-Men adventures here.
And don’t forget to keep your eyes peeled and stay tuned for more Stockport Spider-Men missions coming in 2021 too.
Review | Snow Patrol roll back the years at Co-op Live for a mini-Manc’s first gig
Danny Jones
This weekend we enjoyed a new kind of live music experience: rediscovering the joy of listening to a childhood favourite by watching it through the eyes of the next generation – that was how we witnessed a fully-fledged arena return to Manchester for Snow Patrol at Co-op Live.
And it was special for lots of reasons.
Taking a little one to their first gig is something you’ll never forget and sharing a new-found connection with a band that you loved when you were their age is one of those magical things about music that we’re eternally grateful for.
You might assume the Snow Patrol crowd one skews a little older for the most part but we were pleased to see there were more than a few kids and teenagers donning tour tees, looking wide-eyed at the sheer size of the Co-op Live arena, and singing the words back better than Gary Lightbody at times.
Sees the sign: ‘Race you there!’ (Credit: Audio North)
Yes, the Belfast-born frontman made a few mistakes on the night, but it did add a rather laid-back quality to what many acts might have found a daunting performance: playing a sell-out night to around 23,500 fans inside the enormous state-of-the-art venue.
But, obviously, there wasn’t even a whiff of nerves from these lads.
You don’t get to have been around for this long and become as successful as they are without being able to relax on stage and lean into those idiosyncratic perfections that feel more like private moments shared between the artist and the crowd.
The young lad sat watching it with us certainly got a kick out of it and though we might not have been able to cover his ears in time to censor some light but ever-charming swear words (it always sounds better in Irish, don’t you think?), it made for some nice banter between him and the crowd.
Big props must go to Johnny McDaid on the keys too, who besides having written for the likes of Ed Sheeran, Robbie Williams, Alicia Keys, Biffy Clyro and countless others over the years, also managed to impress by playing the majority of this entire tour after having trapped his hand in a train door. OUCH.
Credit: The Manc Group
Not only was that little interlude up there with one of the most applause-worthy parts of the entire show, but we were always pretty blown away by what we saw, as we all as what we heard.
Be it watching a digital tree come to life, shed its leaves and then fall as petal confetti, two sheer semi-opaque paper-thin screens swirl to create the album cover art for their latest album, or kicking the gig off with ‘Take Back The City’ as a multicoloured skyline appeared behind them, it was all pretty incredible.
We even got to hear a personal favourite of ours, ‘Set Fire To The Third Bar’, complete with a virtual performance from the voice that truly makes the song: Martha Wainwright.
It was in moments like this when we turned to see a 10-year-old’s face not quite sure of what it was seeing but an open-mouthed expression confirming they were finding it as stunning as we were.
We thoroughly enjoyed going through the back catalogue and working our way right up to plenty of the songs from The Forest Is The Path – which Gary himself firmly believes is their best work yet when we interviewed him – but it was as visually stunning as it was to the gorgeous sonically.
Both proved to be a brilliant way to see the contemporary rock, indie and alternative veterans, but there’s something about giving them a stage as big as this that reminds you of just how much they deserve it.
Up there with one of the prettiest gig snapshots in our memory.Not quite a hologram but very cool nonetheless.The production levels are always top-tier at Co-op Live but the Snow Patrol set was much more impressive than we expected.
Last but not least, thanks to Co-op Live not just for having but for creating a little boy’s memory that he’ll never forget.
Flashbacks: The timelapse of the Trafford Centre construction that’s gone viral
Danny Jones
The Trafford Centre might look like some decadent Roman emperor’s palace or as if it was plucked from the heart of Ancient Grecian city, but as anyone old enough to remember it’s opening and/or construction will tell you, it seems strange to think its not even been around for three decades yet.
As Greater Manchester’s and one of the North West’s most famous shopping centres full stop, the iconic attraction first began being built back in 1996, when John Major was Prime Minister, Manchester United were still Premier League champions, Britpop was at its peak and George Michael was number one.
It’s fair to say that a lot has changed since then and although Oasis might be back come 2025, The Trafford Centre and surrounding area are pretty unrecgonisable compared to nearly 30 years ago.
All told, it took approximately 27 months to erect the neo-classical epicentre of all things shopping, leisure, food and fanciness – and here’s what the process looked like:
With the initial 14 million sq ft shopping centre being completed in September 1998 following approximately 810 days of work, The Trafford Centre debuted to the Manc public and beyond.
It took more than 3,000 builders to bring the 60 hectare site to life at the peak of construction and since then the plot has only grown bigger, bolder and more ambitious over time.
Present day, it has everything from cinema screens and a mini Legoland to a Sea Life location, multiple bowling alleys and countless other forms of entertainment beyond just rows of shops and restaurants – hence why it remains busy pretty much year-round.
Back then, British celebrities, popular local names of note, politicians, dignitaries and prominent figures from the retail industry got to visit as part of exclusive preview events in the days before its launch date.
You can see the spectacle and fascination surrounding the official opening event here:
Seems surreal watching this today but the construction of the Trafford Centre was a huge moment not just for 0161 but all of the North.
But of course, the entire complex itself has seen multiple extensions over the years, including massive developments such as Barton Square and The Great Hall.
At the outset, it cost more than £600 million to build The Trafford Centre; the major renovations mentioned above which took place in 2008 cost another £100m and the Trafford Palazzo revamp around a decade later came in at around £75m.
There has and always will be lots of money put behind this intruguing monument to modern consumerism, and big brands will continue to flock to open units within the huge expanse whenever they can: some of the most recent being Archie’s, Flying Tiger, Sephora, Tiffany, Gymshark and more.
We’ll admit the aesthetic still makes us double-take from time to time (though not as much as confused Londoners visiting for the first time), but it’s not like this part of the world hasn’t boasted plenty of other curiosities in the past…
Emily Sergeant -
9th February 2021 
