Man City star reveals unknown second passion as he makes touching gesture for iconic city centre venue
Manchester City star Nathan Ake has gifted a piano to a legendary Manchester music venue. Ake, 30, a keen piano player himself, has donated a brand new digital piano to Band on the Wall in the Northern Quarter.
The Blues Dutch defender learnt to play during the first Covid lockdown and now 'testifies to its benefits' which he says include 'improved mental wellbeing, mental health and physical health.'
He says he 'feels passionately that all children should have access to the benefits of music education'.
READ MORE: Life in the 'boujee' South Manchester suburb that's one of the best places to live in the UK
READ MORE: The tiny south Manchester park with amazing blossom displays
And he was set up a project called 'Playing for Change' - which aims to give underprivileged kids the chance to learn and play.
They have so far donated a dozen pianos to disadvantage schools around the UK.
And to mark International Piano Day, he has donated another to Band on the Wall.
The venue, which has a charitable arm, hosts a range of community events, including its Saturday Music Club, a fun, inclusive learning programme where young people can discover music and develop their skills.
The brand-new professional range PX-S7000 Casio piano was delivered on time for kids to use it at Saturday's session.
In a special video message he recorded and sent to the venue, Ake said:'To celebrate International Piano Day, Playing For Change is very excited to be donating a piano to Band on the Wall.
"I hope you guys enjoy the piano as much as I do and keep learning and seeing the benefits of it - enjoy!'
It will also bed used to teach kids at Manchester College, with whom Band on the Wall have a long association.
Alice McIlwraith, Head of Learning and Participation at Band on the Wall added, 'We aim to provide high quality, inclusive and engaging music education to young people across Greater Manchester that is accessible, affordable and without barriers.
"We're very proud about the number of brilliant young musicians we get to work with each week in our education spaces, and to have this incredible donation and support from Casio and Nathan means that we are able to continue and grow our activities.
"We are hugely grateful for this donation and the impact it will have on our organisation!'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Restaurant charges $17 fee for customers who commit this common dining practice: ‘Going a bit far'
People are expressing 'reservations' about this new policy. A French restaurateur has been ripped online after announcing a new fine on dining parties whose number of members didn't match their original booking. Olivier Vincent, chef and manager at L'îlot in Amboise, had reportedly become fed up with parties that either exceeded or fell short of the number of patrons they had reserved for, local media reported. Advertisement The problem — which reportedly occurred on a 'weekly' basis, per the boss — was particularly damaging as his venue only has 20 seats. 4 L'îlot (pictured) currently boasts a respectable 4.7 stars on Google, where it's described as serving 'inventive gourmet plates prepared in a down-to-earth restaurant with an open kitchen.' The Island Restaurant / Facebook Vincent announced in a Facebook post, which has garnered 27,000 views in the first 24 hours, that diners who fail to arrive with the number of guests specified on their reservation 'will be charged 15 euros ($17.27) per missing or additional person.' Advertisement 'Thank you for your understanding,' the Frenchman wrote. 'We're here because we need to make people responsible.' L'îlot currently boasts a respectable 4.7 stars on Google, where it's described as serving 'inventive gourmet plates prepared in a down-to-earth restaurant with an open kitchen.' 4 'From now on, if you do not come with the number of guests for which you reserved, you will be charged 15 euros per missing or additional person,' Vincent announced in the Facebook post (pictured). The Island Restaurant / Facebook According to Vincent, the incorrect booking issue had been ongoing since COVID, but things came to a head last Sunday when one customer exchanged multiple messages trying to change the booking. Advertisement 'After about ten emails with one person, she told us there would be eight, then nine, and finally, they arrived at seven without warning, without apology,' he recalled. 4 The incorrect reservation issue had been piling up since the COVID-19 pandemic, per Vincent. Scott Griessel – Vincent said there's no excuse for this mistake in a day and age where 'everyone has their phone on them, 24/7, in their pocket.' 'If we are able to reserve, we are able to call to say if we will be less, or more, or that we are not coming,' he declared. Advertisement 'If we are here, it is to work. It is not to have tables, not to have customers,' Vincent vented. 'We organize ourselves so that everything is serene. We have staff. We work with fresh products. We do not pay employees and suppliers with Monopoly tickets. My restaurant is a business.' 4 The issue was particularly damaging as the venue (pictured) only has 20 seats. The Island Restaurant / Facebook However, the policy received mixed reviews with some critics claiming that it was unfair to diners who had to cancel last-minute due to unforeseen circumstances. 'A bit of a limiting business practice if there are only one or two people missing from a large table,' said one. 'Emergencies exist. You're not going to get great publicity for yourself.' They added, 'Even if abuses exist, you are going a bit far. Imagine an on-call doctor who can't join their family for dinner, or someone who has a family emergency.' 'A last-minute unforeseen event,' said another. 'Getting left outside the restaurant (it's happened to me before)… Well, I might as well go somewhere else then. It seems pretty counterproductive to me.' However, many were on board with the issue, which they felt was the perfect antidote to an epidemic of inconsiderate diners. Advertisement 'I think it's completely normal, people just have to give enough notice, it's a lack of good manners, that's what reservations are for,' said one defender. 'You have guests, you count 8 people, two don't come without warning, you've done the shopping and the cooking accordingly.' They added, 'Personally, the next time I don't invite them. This is his livelihood, he loses two places, so I completely understand his approach.' Meanwhile, a fellow restaurateur claimed that 'this kind of situation has unfortunately become commonplace.' 'Between phantom reservations, last-minute cancellations, and customers arriving very late hoping to be served anyway, it's become a real headache,' they wrote. 'For a small establishment, every table counts. Service isn't just about dishes coming out, it's about meticulous organization, a kitchen team, precise timing—and when things go off the rails because of careless behavior, the loss of revenue is very real.'
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Mandy Patinkin, Kathryn Grody reveal secret to marriage: 'Not easy'
These two Hollywood legends are seasoned. Mandy Patinkin and his wife, Kathryn Grody, put their relationship onscreen while playing versions of themselves in their new TV series, 'Seasoned.' The idea for the show originated when 'The Princess Bride' star, 72, and Grody, 78, became unlikely Tiktok stars during the 2020 COVID pandemic. 'During the pandemic when everybody was terrified, including us, it surprised us that what was being captured could offer any kind of comfort to people,' Grody said, referring to how their videos went viral. The couple currently has over 2 million TikTok followers. 8 Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody attending the Tony Awards party at the Hilton Hotel in New York, June 8th 1980. Getty Images 8 Mandy Patinkin with his wife Kathryn Grody at their Video interview with the New York Post on June 11, 2025. Brian Zak/Page Six 8 Mandy Patinkin in 'The Princess Bride' in 1987. Everett Collection ( 'So that felt like a service that was helping other people and helping us get through it. And we found a lot of joy and pleasure in it, and led to working in the 2020 election, which felt even more significant,' Grody, a writer and Broadway star, added. 'The pleasure of working together did make us say 'yes' to anything.' Co-created by Ewen Wright and their real-life son, Gideon Grody-Patinkin, 'Seasoned' premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 11, and is currently looking for a buyer (it was originally set to air on Showtime, then got dropped amid reshuffling). The show follows Patinkin and Grody playing exaggerated versions of themselves (a la 'Curb Your Enthusiasm') as they have various comedic misadventures – such as not being able to get a table in a New York City restaurant, even when Patinkin name drops his past roles to the oblivious hostess. 8 Mandy Patinkin (center), Kathryn Grody and their son during 'Snow White' Anniversary Premiere at Radio City Music Hall in New York City in 1987. Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images 8 Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody in 'Seasoned.' Showtime The 'Homeland' star and Grody have been married for over four decades, since 1980. They met doing a play called 'Split' at the Ensemble Studio Theater in NYC in 1978. 'I wouldn't ask her out until the play was over, because I got burned once, with somebody I was working with. When the play was over, we went out for the first brunch on Sunday at the Black Sheep Tavern at Greenwich and Washington Street on the corner,' Patinkin recalled to The Post. The 'Yentl' star walked in carrying flowers that he'd bought on his way over. 8 Mandy Patinkin with his wife Kathryn Grody and 'Seaoned' co-creators Ewen Wright and Gideon Grody-Patinkin. Brian Zak/Page Six 'I handed them to her and I said, 'I'm going to marry you.' And she said, 'You don't know what you're talking about. You're an actor, and a baby and you're gonna get hurt.'' Their son Gideon told The Post that he attributes their relationship success to 'having time apart' and having interests and work that give them 'space from each other.' Grody agreed that it helped that the couple was in 'different realms.' 'I did not have any interest particularly in television or movies,' she said. 'I think it helped that we really weren't at all competitive. I was very lucky, because I had a husband who enabled me to do an Off-Broadway play and be with my kids.' 8 Mandy Patinkin (L) and Kathryn Grody attend the 66th Annual Tony Awards at the Beacon Theatre on June 10, 2012 in New York City. FilmMagic 8 Mandy Patinkin as Saul Berenson and Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison in a 2014 episode of 'Homeland.' David Bloomer/SHOWTIME Patinkin revealed what he thinks is the secret to their relationship's longevity, too. 'I believe that when you meet someone, however old you are, whoever it is that you meet, look for that feeling that you can't explain, that you have no words for. Because the s–t will hit the fan down the road. And you will never forget that feeling when you're alone, quiet, and calming down from your fury. And that feeling will be the glue of your foreverness.' The Emmy-winning actor added about his wife, 'That's what we have. I'd never met anyone like her. And I knew it. And we've made it through a lot, and we're going to have a lot more to make it through. It's thrilling to me – that I have her to get through it with. Because it's not easy sometimes.'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
'The View''s Whoopi Goldberg offers blunt advice against 'coddling children' through life: 'Sometimes you get beat up'
Whoopi Goldberg doesn't want to raise a generation of wimps, thank you very much. The View moderator and Oscar-winning actress pushed back against growing sentiments about parental involvement in their adult children's lives, after introducing a Hot Topics discussion about recent reports that college students were "sending no-contact orders to deal with disagreements with roommates" to avoid interpersonal conflicts. Cohost Sara Haines put it bluntly when she urged people in similar situations to "figure it out," and posed a scenario in which she speculated how her own mother might react if she attempted to bring her parents in on a minor point of tension in her adult years. "If I had called my mom and said, 'Someone's being mean,' [she'd say], 'Ae you okay? Do you have food? Good. Bye," Haines speculated as the audience laughed. Conservative panelist Alyssa Farah Griffin stressed that learning conflict resolution "is a key part of life," while legal expert Sunny Hostin brought up several instances where adult children are "bullied" and might have difficulties in resolving conflict because "people are really cruel in this world." She later advocated for kids to have their parents step in if needed — an assertion Goldberg balked at. "When you had an issue [in the past], your mother said, 'Listen, go down there and tell them you are not doing that,'" the Ghost star said, while Hostin admitted, "My mother came with me" to resolve such issues. "Coddling children? It's not a good thing, because when they get into these conflicts, it's the things you've been talking about. 'We had our kids because we had COVID, the kids didn't get out, they didn't learn how to do this or that,' so, you had to hep them get through all those phases that they missed," Goldberg observed. "It doesn't mean you do it for them. Remember y'all used to say, why does every kid have to win every day? People lose." She continued, "And sometimes, and I know it's terrible, sometimes you get beat up. Sometimes you have to make a decision. You have to say, listen, I didn't like that. And then you gotta grow, you know?"Goldberg often scolds those from younger generations from her post on The View, including in a November 2023 segment that saw her take issue with young people who don't want to work. "You know what, people pick it up, and they do what they do and they raise themselves," Goldberg said. "This is what you've got to do. It's called being a good citizen." The View airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. PT on ABC. Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
