Against all odds, the dying man's friends have raised more than £18,000 to fly him via helicopter to the iconic music festival.
Nigel Stonehouse aged 58, a former bricklayer from Hartlepool, was tragically diagnosed with kidney cancer mid-may.
Having bought a general admission ticket to the festival in 2019, he expected to be able to attend in full health. Unfortunately this wasn't the case, and he was told that he was too unwell to travel to the Somerset festival which starts this Thursday, 23 June.
But thanks to his friends and their monumental fundraiser, he will now be travelling to the festival via helicopter with a medical team by his side.
Having heard of Nigel's love for the festival which he has been attending for over 40 years, the care team at North Tees Hospital encouraged Mr Stonehouse's friends to hire a helicopter for the trip as he will be unable to enter via general admission.
Image: Maria Beggs
The friends were quoted £12,000 and so set up a GoFundMe named 'Get Nige to Glasto', in an attempt to raise the money and get Nigel to his beloved festival, even if it were for just a few hours.
Just 48 hours later the money was raised and the transport arranged. Support was received by Glastonbury veteran and DJ, Fatboy Slim, who urged others to help out.
"Folks. I’ve been contacted by the friend of a terminally ill man who wants to go to Glasto 1 last time. He’s so poorly with cancer they’re going to have to fly him in by air ambulance. If you’d join me in helping Nige’s dying wish then pls donate here", the DJ tweeted.
Image: Glastonbury Festival
The total raised currently stands at more than £18,000 with over 800 people donating to the worthy cause.
Lizzie Begs, close friend of Nigel has said "The last 48 hours have been an absolute whirlwind, we are all completely overwhelmed by the kindness we have been shown, in true Glastonbury spirit!"
"Nige has been utterly overwhelmed by the outpouring of love for him, it has given him such a boost and he cannot wait to be on site and hopefully thank some of you personally. He hopes to shake the hand of the absolute legend Fatboy Slim himself for shining a light on this campaign. It means the world."
Image: Glastonbury Festival
The generosity and kindness that the Glastonbury community have shown toward Nigel perfectly represents what the festival is all about. It has been confirmed that if Mr Stonehouse is unfortunately too unwell to attend, then the money will be donated to the Glastonbury charities in his name.
New research has revealed a global ranking of cities with the best customer service, with Leeds taking one of the top spots.
If you've been wondering which cities across the world are the friendliest of them all, then look no further because MoneySuperMarket have done the work for us in a new study.
In a world where social media culture plays a huge part in people's lives, online customer reviews are pretty important to local businesses.
To uncover the global locations that are home to the best customer service, the businesses insurance experts analysed over 100,000 reviews of leisure and hospitality businesses in 107 cities worldwide.
They looked at the language in the reviews to see how often friendly workers and staff were mentioned, building a global ranking of the cities where customer service truly stands out.
Out of a whopping 107, Leeds came in at a very respectable number 12. Now we think that's pretty good going.
Outside of the UK, Hanoi, Paris, Montreal and Abu Dhabi were highlighted for their friendly customer service whilst Edinburgh tops the global ranking, with Liverpool, Birmingham and Bristol also making the world’s top 10.
The top 10 cities in the UK with the best customer service are as follows:
Edinburgh
Liverpool
Birmingham
Bristol
Belfast
Leeds
Glasgow
Cardiff
Manchester
London
Alicia Hempsted spoke on the study: “As businesses grow and engage with more customers, it’s important to make sure they’re protected. Public liability insurance is an important safeguard for those working with the public, helping to cover costs if something goes wrong, while also showing customers that their experience is taken seriously - from the moment they walk through the door to long after they’ve left.”
Prime Minister expected to announce extra bank holiday if England win the 2026 World Cup
Danny Jones
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is reportedly set to announce an extra bank holiday if England win the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
What a way to sign off from the highest office in Great Britain, eh?
According to Sky News journalist Beth Rigby, the outgoing PM is expected to reveal an extended period of celebration across the country if/should/WHEN (you’ve got to believe) the Three Lions reach this year’s World Cup final and lift the biggest prize in global sport.
Starmer may be gearing up to leave No. 10 Downing Street soon, but he can certainly earn himself a few more points in the pros column should this familiar rumour come to fruition.
As Rigby states in her post on X, this decision would fall just before the transition in leadership, with Greater Manchester’s own Mayor Andy Burnham all but confirmed at the head of the table already within the Labour Party cabinet.
The incumbent announced he would resign last month, with Burnham declaring himself in the running not long after, winning the Makerfield seat and marking his return as an MP after nearly a decade away from Parliament.
Regarding the still only potential bank holiday – Thomas Tuchel’s side still need to make it through the quarter-final and the semis, remember – the Sky reporter states that the following Friday, 24 July, is the most likely date.
Understandably, plenty on social media are already rejoicing over the prospect, but some aren’t content with waiting a week to carry on the post-trophy lift party, with many arguing that it should be the Monday morning immediately after the final next Sunday (19/2/2026).
Let’s be honest, there’ll be lots of people pulling sickies regardless of whether or not their bosses are left to grant a day off.
Many have already rightly argued that such decisions should have been made in the past after the Lionesses won not just one but two back-to-back European Championships; we’re willing to forgive and move on if the powers that be make it happen this time.
Starmer recently said that despite always believing England will “go all the way”, he didn’t want to jinx anything, simply telling the BBC’s Chris Mason: “Ask me again if we make the final.”
Either way, the general jubilation should England end 60 ‘years of hurt’ will be nothing short of colossal, and it would only feel right given the sheer gravity of the would-be achievement.
We’re even getting excited merely by the idea of some additional and, at present, strictly hypothetical pre- and post-match entertainment…
Clementine Hall -
21st June 2022 
