Animal lovers brave long, wet night in sleepout for great cause
A group of animal lovers raised funds by getting their heads down.
Nicola Boyle, 30, Laura Ashton, 35, Dawn Wood, 35, and her 10-year-old daughter Charlie-Mai, took on a 12-hour sleepout for Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary in Edenfield.
By setting up camp outside Bury's Tesco store on Friday, May 23, they raised more than £1,100 for the charity.
Nicola, who has her own dog -walking business, Walkies with Nic, said: 'The idea came after seeing a number of animals brought into the sanctuary as strays.
"These animals have most likely come from a once-loving home and find themselves on the streets through no fault of their own, scared, vulnerable, cold, and wet.'
She said Bleakholt was the chosen charity because of the hard work it puts into rehabilitating animals and rehoming them.
She added: 'The staff and the public were very supportive.
"We had people making donations on the night, including a police officer. Everyone was amazing.'
So committed was the group, that they braved adverse conditions despite only having sleeping bags to protect them from the elements.
'Although it was warm, we were faced with some awful rain from about midnight right through to 6am,' said Nicola.
'Thankfully we had shelter, however not all animals that get dumped have that luxury and often find themselves abandoned with nothing.'
To make a donation to Nicola's fundraising, visit https://www.justgiving.com/page/wwn-bleakholtbusinessbattle?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL&utm_campaign=015
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wall Street Journal
an hour ago
- Wall Street Journal
Ian McShane Discovered His Dark Side by Watching Westerns and Thrillers as a Kid
Ian McShane, 82, is an English actor best known for his role in HBO's 'Deadwood' series and in the 'John Wick' film franchise. The latest 'Wick' installment, 'Ballerina,' is due June 6, and he stars in the Prime Video film 'Deep Cover,' out June 12. He spoke with Marc Myers. My dad, Harry, was my hero. For much of my childhood, he played professional football for England's Manchester United. As an only child, I had him all to myself.
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
Quietly Burning Out? What To Do When Your Leadership Starts Lacking
Post by Dr Katie Best, Visiting Fellow at the Department of Management at LSE, Head Tutor on MBA Essentials and Chief Examiner on Core Management Concepts. Dr Best is the author of upcoming book, The Ten Toughest Leadership Problems (and How to Solve Them) (August 2025), and Leadership Coach and Consultant at KatieBest Associates. Today's most committed leaders are often deeply helpful, hyper-responsible, and always ready to step ... More up. But that very strength can become a trap Most leaders don't realise they're burnt out—because they're still high-functioning. They're answering emails, running meetings, and hitting deadlines. But under the surface, their energy, creativity, and confidence are quietly eroding. I used to think burnout looked like someone who's at home, signed off work with stress. But I've realised more recently that burnout doesn't just live its life away from work, it lives its life at the office, sending one more email, making another tough decision, and keeping going, seemingly endlessly — surviving, but certainly not thriving. This might sound at odds with how we typically imagine burnout, but it's entirely in line with the go-to definition from the World Health Organization: a state of chronic workplace stress that hasn't been successfully managed, marked by exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced effectiveness. In my upcoming book The Ten Toughest Leadership Problems (and How to Solve Them), I talk about how overloaded leaders often try to fix burnout with better productivity tools — when the real solution lies in changing the way they lead. Whether that means delegating, narrowing focus, or letting go of unrealistic expectations, the shift has to be strategic, not reactive. Today's most committed leaders are often deeply helpful, hyper-responsible, and always ready to step up. But that very strength can become a trap—keeping them constantly on alert, always anticipating the next high-stakes decision or crisis, unable to switch off. The problem? When we're depleted, we often can't see it. We normalize the stress—tell ourselves this is just what leadership looks like. Or if we do notice we're struggling, we deny it. Surely a good night's sleep or a productivity hack will fix it? But when you're at this point, it's not just a time management issue. Rather, it's a role design issue, a personal standards issue, or others' expectations being unrealistic. And depending on which of those it is, you need a plan to help you fix it. When the workload inherent to the job is too great, it's time to look at what needs taking away. If you are doing work meant for two people, or in a job that assumes 60 hours a week from the outset, something needs to change. If the load is genuinely unmanageable, you should consider solutions such as redistributing tasks, hiring support, or renegotiating deliverables. Share the problem with others, such as HR, your seniors and peers, so that work can be started on what must be done. If you're setting your own standards too high, it's time to choose what you can afford to drop. I call this 'strategic failure'. By that, I mean that high-functioning leaders are clear on what they're willing to fail at or let slide in order to protect what matters most. Make peace with strategic failure with the unimportant things to protect success in the critical ones. Also: work isn't everything. People who reach the end of their lives and are asked their regrets don't typically (if ever) say, 'well, I just wish I'd worked harder. I didn't achieve inbox zero enough of the time.' When others expect too much, it's time to reset the narrative. That might mean clearer boundaries, more transparent capacity-setting, or simply letting others see that you're human—not a machine. The strongest leaders don't absorb every ask—they model sustainable performance for their teams. Resetting your leadership energy starts with recognising that you're not lazy, disorganised, or underperforming — you're overloaded. And the solution isn't to 'power through.' It's to make strategic choices about what gets your time, your energy, and your attention. The ultimate consequences of burnout can be serious – if a leader fails to spot a critical error, loses a key client, or makes a bad financial decision, burnout starts to have significant and far-reaching consequences. And this is without considering the serious health risks which burnout, left untreated, can bring. The strongest leaders aren't the ones who absorb it all. They're the ones who lead differently — who model focus, clarity, and enough space to think. Not just for themselves, but for the people who are watching. Follow Dr Katie Best on LinkedIn. Follow LSE's Department of Management on LinkedIn. Check out our website.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher joins Brentford
Caoimhin Kelleher has joined Brentford from Liverpool in a deal that could be worth £18million ($24.3m). The Athletic reported at the beginning of June Liverpool had accepted an offer from Brentford for the goalkeeper. The initial fee is £12.5m rising to £18m with add ons. The 26-year-old's Liverpool contract was set to expire in the summer of 2026 and the club valued him at £20m going into the summer window. Advertisement Kelleher joined Liverpool's academy from Irish side Ringmahon Rangers in 2015 and made his senior debut in 2019. While Alisson has been the club's undisputed first-choice goalkeeper, Kelleher has still played a significant role since breaking into the first team, and made 20 appearances in all competitions last season as Liverpool won the Premier League. He has made 67 appearances for the club and started the Carabao Cup final in 2024 and 2025. However, the Republic of Ireland international has frequently spoken of his intention to pursue a new challenge and his ambitions to be a No. 1 goalkeeper elsewhere. Liverpool also have an agreement in place to sign Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili this summer after a £29m move was agreed last August. Brentford's move for Kelleher comes with the club agreeing a €10m (£8.4m) deal to sell goalkeeper Mark Flekken to Bayer Leverkusen. The club have a strong working relationship with Liverpool, having also signed Sepp van den Berg and Fabio Carvalho from last summer. A Kelleher departure has been the direction of travel for a number of seasons with the Republic of Ireland international never shying away from making clear his intentions were to become a No.1 goalkeeper. Unfortunately for him, he has been backing up one of the best goalkeepers in the world Alisson Becker. That hierarchy has been clear, and head coach Arne Slot reaffirmed it this season when making clear that when the Brazilian is fit, he is the No. 1 regardless of Kelleher's form. It is one of the key reasons he needed to move on if he wanted regular game time. When Liverpool recruited Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili last summer, the writing seemed to be on the wall even more. Additionally, with only one year remaining on his contract, the club had to act decisively to ensure they did not lose him for free next summer. Advertisement Those factors contributed to a deal worth up to £18million being struck with Brentford. Liverpool were thought to value the 26-year-old north of £20million, but with his replacement signed, contract length short, and his desire to move clear, they were not in a strong position to negotiate. Supporters will be disappointed to see Kelleher leave as he proved himself to be one of, if not the best, second choice goalkeeper in Europe. Whenever he was required to step in for Alisson due to rotation or injury, he excelled and has contributed to multiple trophy successes during his time at the club. The test for him now will be dealing with the pressure of producing consistently over a 38-game season — an opportunity he has earned. ()
