A SADDLEWORTH pub is pushing on its charity fundraising in the name of motor neurone disease.
This time, though, the connection for Grasscroft’s Farrars Arms is more personal after a some-time customer turned friend was diagnosed with the condition.
Former Premier League striker Marcus Stewart is living with MND after being given the news he had it in 2022.
Now Farrar’s Arms owner Rob Norbury is launching a supper club, which £1 from each of four dishes available for £10 sold on Wednesdays and Thursdays donated to the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation.
After raising £2,000 for the MND Association with his 7 for £7 offer, based on rugby league legend Rob Burrow, who is also living with MND, and the fact Kevin Sinfield started his very first physical challenge from there, this is a continuation of that work.
But why Marcus Stewart, who hails from Bristol and is famed for playing football for Ipswich and Sunderland?
Well, the connection is closer than many may think.
The former Huddersfield Town player has two sons who live in Saddleworth and is a regular visitor to the area.
One day, a visit to the Farrars Arms saw him meeting an inquisitive owner Rob, who at the time could hardly believe a football star was in his pub.
That has led to a friendship and commitment to the cause – named after fellow former player Stephen Darby, who is also living with MND.
Rob said: “Marcus comes in the pub and Kev started the runs from here. When we did the idea of the 7 for £7, it was on the back of that.
“Then Marcus – who’s become a close friend – told us he’d got MND.
“With his footballing background, he was put in touch with Stephen Darby, who’d already set up his foundation. He’ s got in with that.
“We said, ‘It’s still a link to motor neurone disease bit it’s a little bit more personal as its someone we’re close to. It would be really good to try and do something.’
“We want to do as much as we can for them.
“The price is now £10 but the idea is we can try things out. With the cost of living crisis and the cost of materials, it just wasn’t feasible to keep it at £7.
“But we said, ‘Why don’t we do it on Wednesday and Thursday from 4pm. Four dishes for £10 and they’ll be rotated regularly, every six weeks or so?’
“It gives people a chance to come in and try something different.”
Rob and the Farrars will also be joining Marcus and the Darby Rimmer Foundation on its March of the Day, a trek from Stephen’s most familiar club, Bradford City, to his first, Liverpool, which takes place from March 22-24.
And the supper club at the pub, on Oldham Road, is a continuation of charity work it has done.
As well as the 7 for £7, it has recently cooked 300 half-term lunches for Mahdlo Youth Zone, who it supports on its Christmas Day initiative to provide lunches for under privileged families in the area.
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