Healthy living fun at Live Life

Antony Cotton tries out the smoothie maker.

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Healthy living was top of the agenda on Monday (2 March), with more than 1,300 people of all ages from across the borough visiting Live Life. The annual healthy living exhibition proved another big hit with visitors, dishing out a host of ideas and free help to get everyone leading a healthier lifestyle.

Rochdale Council teamed up with NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale (HMR) for the day at the new Middleton Arena, to offer a huge range of free interactive demonstrations, giveways, activities and talks.

There was no shortage of things to do, with a wide range of demonstrations covering all aspects of healthy living. 

Visitors got a chance to see how healthy they really are with free health checks. There were ideas and tips for leading a healthier life, including quitting smoking advice and weight management.

Coronation Street star Antony Cotton was a late replacement for Bev Callard, who has taken time off from the ITV show. Antony, who plays barman and factory worker Sean Tully, popped in to chat to visitors and sign autographs for hundreds of fans.

The flamboyant star said preparations for his participation in the Manchester 10k run are going well and that it was great to be back at Live Life: “It’s a brilliant event, and good to see so many people here again. I’m running three times a week at the moment and it’s made me feel a lot healthier. I’m very impressed with the new arena, what an amazing place it is!”

During the evening professional football coaches from the Manchester United Foundation were sharing their ball control skills, and promoting football as a leisure activity.

Coronation Street star Samia Smith, better known as Maria, called in to Live Life during the evening after a busy day's filming. She enjoyed a guided tour of the venue and spent time signing autographs and posing for photos with visitors during her first ever appearance in Middleton.

She too is training for the Manchester 10k in May and was particularly impressed with the swimming pool at the arena: “It’s brilliant, and a really perfect place to bring the family. I think it’s important that families all keep fit, so this is great. There has been such a lot to see and do.”

A bicycle that makes smoothies was a popular attraction, and children took part in their very own teddy bears picnic. Antony judged the children’s competition before presenting the winner with their very own teddy.

Visitors snapped up most of the free three month adult gym memberships that were given away during the day. There were also 500 free passes for 8-15 year olds to use at the SHOKK gyms in the borough.

If you were unable to attend, but would still like a free three month membership, any remaining passes can be requested by phone from today (Wednesday 4 March) until 31 March on 01706 926231, subject to availability.

Rachel Snow-Miller from the NHS HMR said it was an amazing day: “Live Life has been bigger and better than ever and a huge success. We’ve seen hundreds of families attending, which is excellent. There were lots of ideas to improve the health and wellbeing of people in the borough, so hopefully we’ve made a small positive impact on lots of people’s lives today.”