CHERYL GIBBS: Spectacular concert was exactly what we needed

Being a columnist for The News has given me the tiniest taste of what it must be like for people like Katie Hopkins and Piers Morgan, who are also newspaper columnists but for big national titles.
Ariana Grande    Picture: Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/PA WireAriana Grande    Picture: Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/PA Wire
Ariana Grande Picture: Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/PA Wire

Both are like Marmite – you either love or hate them.

I admit I’ve disagreed with a lot of what Piers has said – but he wrote a very honest and touching column about how he misjudged Ariana Grande.

He had tweeted that he felt Ariana was wrong to fly back to America following the Manchester Arena terror attacks.

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He’s entitled to his opinion, but what he didn’t do was sit back and think about how the tragedy must have affected her before he wrote his column.

Yes, she’s a huge pop star, but she’s also a young woman who, like everyone else on that day, just wanted to go home to her loved ones.

He forgot about that fact and that was a mistake.

Following on from the absolutely incredible benefit concert that Ariana helped to organise (which has raised £10m), Piers had to eat his words and I admire him for doing so.

To be honest he couldn’t not do really. What Ariana did was nothing short of spectacular and it brought this country together and unified us in a time of complete chaos.

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It makes my blood boil how some have tried to claim the event was self-indulgent and used for promotional purposes by the artists who took to the stage in Manchester.

This is apparently because all of the stars played for free and there were suggestions they were doing it purely for the worldwide coverage they were going to get.

I don’t believe that, but who cares anyway?

It was an amazing concert and exactly what we needed.

I applaud Ariana, who is just 23 years old.

She ensured that, despite the horror that happened after her concert at Manchester Arena on May 22, some positives came out of it.

In the words of Piers Morgan: ‘Ariana, you’re one helluva gutsy young lady.’

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I RECKON I’D GIVE IT A GO - BUT DEFINITELY NOT IN 5IN HEELS!

I’m all for multi-tasking. In fact I welcome it and us ladies are pretty darn good at it.

I’m not saying that men can’t multi-task, but let’s be fair, women are just far more superior at thinking about and doing several things at once.

Anyway, without getting into a gender row I was rather amazed at a new trend that apparently is taking the business world by storm – walking on a treadmill whilst working at a computer.

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Yep, celebs such as Victoria Beckham have posted pics on social media of them walking and typing.

There are also pix of a woman in what must be at least 5in heels working away at her treadmill desk.

Ludicrous. I reckon I’d give it a go – but definitely without the heels.

SIGN UP FOR SPINNAKER TOWER ABSEIL AND HELP ICKLE PICKLES

One of the most inspirational people I know is a friend who I went to school with – Lorraine Blackburn.

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She helps head up premature baby charity Ickle Pickles. Her son tragically passed away when he was just a few weeks old and since then Lorraine and her team have been helping to raise awareness and funds for premature babies.

She needs your help. The charity has planned two abseils down the Spinnaker Tower on August 5 and September 10 and it needs people to take part.

Lorraine is super keen to hear from anyone who would like to be involved in either event.

If interested, please email Lorraine on [email protected] or call her on 07947 467250.