A new campaign has been launched to give Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield knighthoods following the emotional scenes at the inaugural Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon in May.
After raising £8 million and inspiring the entire nation with their friendship, people are now calling for the Rugby League legends to receive an honour from the King for their charity work.
Since Rob Burrows went public with his diagnosis in 2019, the pair have gone on to inspire thousands and bring hope to many through their fundraising efforts for Moto Neuron Diseas (MND).
Now, the national newspaper The Express is calling for the pair to be knighted as part of a campaign that has the backing of Leeds Rhinos Chief Executive Gary Hetherington and the MND Association, as well as of Rob's wife Lindsay.
The image of Kevin Sinfield carrying his former Leeds Rhinos teammate over the finish line at the event struck the hearts of many as a poignant reminder of the important role of friendship during the toughest of times.
After pushing Rob, who suffers from MND, for 26 miles in a specially-made wheelchair the current England Rugby Union defence coach finished by lifting his friend from his wheelchair in a moment that will undoubtedly go down in history.
Now, many in the UK are putting forward the case for the pair to be knighted - including calls from Lindsay, Rob's childhood sweetheart, wife of 17 years, and full-time carer.
Lindsey has previously said she thought that Kevin Sinfield should be knighted for his publicity-raising efforts at the event, and now The Express has backed her calls by launching a campaign to honour both men.
The petition, entitled 'Support Express campaign to bestow knighthoods on Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield', the description reads: "Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield deserve one of this country's highest honours in recognition of their inspiring fundraising and awareness-raising efforts.
Speaking to The Express, Leeds Rhinos Chief Executive Gary Hetherington said: "What they have both done is to significantly raise money and made both the profile of the MND Foundation, the movement and its striving to find a cure not only locally significant, but nationally and internationally.
"There is now recognition all over the world for what they've done. The Leeds Marathon had international publicity and recognition. The message about supporting the MND movement and striving to find an MND cure drew acclaim from across the world.
"Efforts led by Kevin and Rob generated this international profile."
If you would like to sign the petition, click here.
The Wombats aren’t just still going strong - they’re getting better. And honestly? Long may they reign.
The Wombats absolutely tore the roof off the First Direct Arena in Leeds last night, Wednesday 26 March and what a night it was.
From the second they hit the stage it wasn’t just a gig, it was a full-blown indie-pop spectacle, packed with infectious energy, nostalgia, and a whole lot of dancing.
They kicked things off with “Moving to New York,” and honestly? The crowd was in from the first note.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Matthew Murphy’s unmistakable vocals rang through the arena and suddenly, thousands of people were screaming every lyric like it was 2007 all over again. It was one of those moments where you could just feel how much this band still means to people.
Despite the massive venue, The Wombats somehow made it feel intimate. The lights? Pure chaos in the best way - vibrant, colourful, and totally in sync with the band’s wild, bouncy sound.
Murphy’s cheeky banter between songs made it feel less like a polished arena show and more like a jam session with a few thousand of your closest mates.
Setlist-wise, they nailed it. “Let’s Dance to Joy Division” and “Greek Tragedy” had the whole place losing it, while the stripped-down version of “Techno Fan” gave everyone a minute to breathe (and maybe get a little emotional).
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Those quieter moments just made the high-energy choruses hit even harder. It was a rollercoaster - in the best way possible.
Then came the encore. If you thought the crowd was loud before, “Kill the Director” took things to another level. Pure, chaotic indie bliss. The kind of moment you don’t want to end.
Here’s the thing about The Wombats: some might say their older songs hit harder than their newer stuff, but is that just nostalgia talking? Or maybe it’s a generational thing?
Either way, they proved they’re still one of the most exciting live bands out there. They’ve still got the hooks, the humour, and the ability to turn a massive arena into a sweaty, euphoric singalong.
Get Baked’s viral ‘Bertha’ cake has a sister on the way – and she sounds just as cheeky
Danny Jones
She's big, she's green and she's ready to ruin your figure.
A lot of you will have seen the viral ‘Bertha’ cake by Leeds born beloved sweet treat specialists Get Baked.
They recently opened another site in Manchester's Northern Quarter, where queues literally formed round the block of hungry punters wanting to get their hands on the infamous sugary treats.
And now it's going to happen all over again, as they've recently unveiled their newest flavour which is sure to go down a storm.
We’ll give you a hint: it’s a current food and drink trend that’s about as big as Bertha herself – it’s not matcha, it’s not hot honey (duh), and it’s not Guinness…
Images: Get Baked
Yes—scratch that; HELL YES!Get Baked is set to welcome Bertha’s equally beautiful twin sister, and she’s officially a pistachio girlie.
Having started out life simply as ‘Bruce’, after taking inspiration from the iconic scene from Matilda, this thing has become a phenomenon in its own right, and who doesn’t like more flavours of a good thing?
Probably one of the biggest foodie crazes going at the minute, thanks to the popularity of pistachio cream, cookies, lattes and the similar social media sensation that is the ‘Dubai Pistachio Bar' people are rather fittingly going nuts for this particular flavour of almost absolutely anything.
With that in mind, the Leeds-born bakery and dessert shop – founded by Rich Myers over in Headingley back in 2011 – have shown no hesitation in hopping on the bandwagon and creating a new twist on their own viral menu item.
Teasing the full details in a post on their Instagram this week, they wrote: “What’s big, green, and is going to destroy your life in a couple of weeks’ time? Pistachio Bertha. Strictly limited to 5,000 slices. Coming oh so soon. GB.”
In case you were wondering just how mad those with a sweet tooth could possibly go for a slice of cake, just look at the recent queues when they finally launched in Manchester city centre:
Speaking on the grand opening here on our turf and his partner Amy’s hometown, Myers said simply: “Manchester, what a launch. Thanks for much for the warm welcome. Stay baked.”
Georgina Pellant -
7th June 2023 
