“Asda Baby” Gemma Mape was invited into our Wythenshawe store for a special 10th birthday treat – a decade after winning a competition to mark the store’s opening.
She’s pictured here with the store’s community champion Rebekah Hinchcliffe who arranged for Gemma to come in and make pizzas on the pizza counter.
Back in 2007 a local newspaper ran a competition to find the baby born closest to the new Asda store’s opening time.
Gemma was born within half an hour – and won a teddy and a hamper of baby clothes and products.
Gemma’s mum Lesley, her dad Greg and her 12-year-old sister Abi have been regular shoppers in the store for the last ten years, and Lesley wrote a letter to Rebekah with a copy of the Wythenshawe World press cutting from the store opening.
Rebekah said: "I thought it would be really nice to invite Gemma in to make pizza – because most ten-year-olds love pizza!
“Her mum, dad and sister came in too. Gemma absolutely loved it – she didn’t stop smiling. She was asking loads of questions about the store and the pizzas.”
Lesley said: "Gemma arrived five days early weighing seven pounds – 35 minutes after the new store opened – so she was the Asda baby! It was fabulous. The store sent us Milly the teddy – which Gemma still has – some baby clothes and a big box of baby products.
“It was a lovely surprise for us all to be invited in and for Gemma to get involved in making two 14-inch pizzas. She put the hair net and apron on too. Rebekah was great with Gemma – she loved it. We’ve continued to shop in the store over the last ten years so this was a really nice surprise.”
