024: Good News for Stoke & Staffordshire

Timmy Mallett cycles the River Trent, trio of Staffs Uni professors ranked in top 0.5% globally, open day for Bethesda Chapel plus local brands win at Great Taste Awards

Good News 🎉

• Timmy Mallett Adored Cycling Along The River Trent TV presenter Timmy Mallett, who found fame with kids shows including ‘Wide Awake Club’ in the 80s, recently followed the River Trent on his bike with two friends who grew up in the county and described Staffordshire as “stunning”. The trio pedalled along old railway line The Isabel Way and popped into Stafford Rangers Football Club to admire the mural tracking its historic runs to Wembley. The TV star with a penchant for loud shirts and outlandish glasses then posed for a fun pic outside Timmys restaurant in Stafford before splashing in the river at Shugborough Hall. He told The Knot, “Staffordshire is a secret county that’s often overlooked and I found it delightful – full of surprises and a very warm welcome. I’ll be back!”

  

  Photo credit: Timmy Mallett / Instagram

• Staffs Uni Professors Named Among World’s Top Scholars. It seems we’re a clever bunch in Stoke, as three Staffs Uni professors have been ranked in the top 0.5% of all academics worldwide by ScholarGPS. This includes Staffs Uni’s Vice Chancellor, Martin Jones (pictured below), who is originally from Staffordshire and an expert on economic and political geography. Jones ranks #268 in the field of Social environment and #293 for Governance globally.
  
  In the world of tech, Professor Elhadj Benkhelifa, who leads Staffs Uni’s Centre for Smart Systems, AI and Cybersecurity (SSAICS) is ranked #119 in Cloud computing globally. ScholarGPS also named Professor Wilfred McSherry, founding and executive member of the International Network for the Study of Spirituality, as the #6 ranked scholar specialising in Spirituality.

Photo credit: Staffs Uni

• The Future of Bethesda Chapel: Have Your Say. Known as ‘the Cathedral of the Potteries’, Hanley’s Bethesda Methodist Chapel is one of the largest surviving chapels outside London, with room for 2,000 people over two stories. Plans are afoot to redevelop the Grade II*-listed building – and you can have your say on the future of this Stoke-on-Trent landmark at a community engagement event on 21/08 (11am-3pm). Led by Middleport Pottery owner Re-Form Heritage, which oversees the city’s Heritage Development Trust, attendees can share their views on the building’s best uses and listen to organ recitals. There are also talks by the Friends of Bethesda Chapel and Re-Form Heritage chief executive Dr Alasdair Brooks. Watch out for Heritage Open Days from 12-3pm on 06/09 and 15/09 too.

  

  Photo credit: Potteries.org

• Staffs Wins Big at Great Taste Awards Beyond the shelves of the region’s supermarkets and corner shops lies a host of local artisan F&B brands waiting to be discovered, some of which were recently recognised at nationwide competition the Great Taste Awards 2024. Leek’s Cottage Delight, whose products are available at John Lewis and Amazon, scooped an impressive 12 awards, while Barton-in-Underwood’s Packington Free Range took nine awards for produce including chicken, pork and eggs.
  
  Nose to tail butcher Perry’s of Eccleshall received five awards for products including its matured rib eye steak and game pie, while another Eccleshall brand, Flour & Co Bakehouse, scooped one. There were two winners from Stafford: Sunnyside Drinks, which makes alcoholic ginger beer, and gourmet sea salt brand Asilia Salt, got one and two awards respectively, while Rugeley-based pork scratching company Mr Trotter’s scooped two awards and Suncream Dairies in Wilnecote secured one award. Congrats to all – we can’t wait to try!

  

  Photo credit: Cottage Delight

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