Bournemouth family who bought Bulgarian farmhouse have no regrets
The property in Haskovo Province included a two-acre (0.8 hectare) plot of land, a barn and a house but it had been abandoned for 20 years and, when the family arrived, it was uninhabitable, leaving them no choice but to live in their caravan."We've been working hard," said Mr Vye."It's in a better state now."It's been tough - I don't come from a building background and we had no choice but to renovate this property. That in itself has been stressful."The pair have been documenting their progress on social media, watched by hundreds of thousands of followers.Ms Vye said: "It's great for us because we get to look back and see how bad it was and how far we've come."I'm not going to lie and say there are things we don't miss [about England] but I'm definitely closer to the life I want."
The couple say they were inspired after "binge watching" Ben Fogle's TV series, New Lives in the Wild, about people starting new lives in remote places.Life went full circle when, earlier this year, they appeared on their own episode of the Channel 5 show."Oh man, what a dream come true," said Mr Vye."We wouldn't be here without watching that because it gave us the courage to get up and go for it ourselves."We've lived the majority of our lives in Bournemouth - it's not that we've got a bad thing to say about it - but it was time for us to go on a different adventure."
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The Independent
17 minutes ago
- The Independent
Milan's historic La Scala cracks down on tourist dress code
A historic opera house in Milan has cracked down on patrons and tourists entering the prestigious venue wearing summer attire such as shorts, tank tops and flip flops, warning they will be turned away if not dressed appropriately. The opera was seen as a symbol of wealth and exclusivity in 19th-century high society, and the bourgeois elite of this time period would have been expected to turn up in tailcoats, cravats and long evening dresses. While this opulent attire is not expected of patrons nowadays, Milan 's Teatro alla Scala opera house, commonly known as La Scala, has recently reinforced its smart dress code in the wake of opera-goers turning up in casual summer fashion. 'The public is kindly requested to dress in keeping with the decorum of the theatre, out of respect for the theatre and for other viewers,' La Scala 's policy warns. 'People wearing shorts or sleeveless T-shirts will not be allowed inside the auditorium; in this case, tickets will not be reimbursed.' The venue also has signs around the foyer and on tickets stating the same message, warning patrons that they will not get a refund if they turn up wearing clothes not in keeping with the 'decorum'. The rules over informal clothing were first introduced in 2015 when the summer season coincided with the World Expo in Milan, as a way to deter the influx of tourists turning up in summer wear. 'There are no special dress code requirements at La Scala,' a spokesperson at the theatre told The Independent. 'We are delighted that some of our audience members consider an evening at La Scala to be a special occasion and dress accordingly, but our priority is to welcome everyone and make sure they feel comfortable. 'This is precisely why, in 2015, we introduced restrictions on clothing that could cause discomfort to other audience members who have to share the often limited space of an 18th-century theatre. 'With the return of summer (an especially hot one), we reminded the audience of these rules, which have remained unchanged for ten years. 'It would not be right to tell spectators how to dress, but it is necessary that they do dress, as not to cause discomfort to other people,' the spokesperson added. Until now, dress codes at La Scala have not been strictly enforced, partly due to its former French director Dominique Meyer, who said he would rather have less smartly dressed operagoers than a theatre full of empty seats. Opera houses across the world have been creating initiatives to try to get younger people invested in this historic performance art, as well as making operas feel more welcoming and accessible to all, not just the upper classes. However, the venue has not pointed towards younger people for being the cause of the dress downgrade; instead, it is the increase of tourists in Milan. La Scala's spokesman added that there had been a 'change in behaviour led by visitors who do not follow opera but see La Scala as a landmark'. A recent article in La Scala's in-house magazine says that 'adapting one's attire to the occasion should be a conditioned reflex' and that 'common sense' should prevail in how to dress and behave in the theatre. 'And so it seems obvious to dress a little more elegantly for premieres than for repeat performances, and for evening performances than for afternoon ones', the La Scala 'Survival Manual' article added. 'Putting on a jacket and tying a tie, after all, aren't particularly demanding, or even painful, tasks.'
The Guardian
20 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Kenneth Colley obituary
Kenneth Colley, who has died aged 87, after suffering from Covid and pneumonia, was a character actor widely admired by both the press and public for his screen roles over 60 years, from the Imperial officer Admiral Piett in two of the original Star Wars films and Jesus in Monty Python's Life of Brian to historical figures such as Nelson and Napoleon, and two Adolfs, Hitler and Eichmann. He described his parts as 'mad and bad', while critics variously commented that the sad-eyed actor had 'a defeated look if ever there was one' and he could 'make your spine tingle with pleasure'. He is embedded in the minds of sci-fi film fans as Firmus Piett, a role he landed after Irvin Kershner, director of The Empire Strikes Back (1980), the second in the first Star Wars trilogy, said he was 'looking for someone that would frighten Hitler'. Piett was the commander of Executor, Darth Vader's flagship super star destroyer employed in the Empire's quest for galactic control. George Lucas, the Star Wars creator and producer, had not intended to feature an Imperial officer twice in the first trilogy, but Colley made the character of Piett human – 'You can't just play a uniform,' he said – and Star Wars fans wrote in demanding to see him again. So Lucas brought him back for Return of the Jedi (1983), adding scenes to the original script. But Colley's run ended there, with Piett commanding the entire Imperial fleet at the Battle of Endor and perishing when a Rebel starfighter destroys the Executor's command bridge. He remained a firm fan favourite at Star Wars conventions over the following decades. Colley also gained cult status as Jesus delivering the Sermon on the Mount in the 1979 film Monty Python's Life of Brian. He had previously appeared with individual members of the Monty Python team in the movie Jabberwocky and on TV in Ripping Yarns (both in 1977). He was also much admired by Ken Russell and was part of the flamboyant director's unofficial repertory company for 22 years. Colley started as Hitler in Dance of the Seven Veils (1970), a BBC musical biopic that outraged Richard Strauss's family with its sex scenes and depiction of the composer as a Nazi sympathiser. Then came film parts as Modest, Tchaikovsky's younger brother, in The Music Lovers; Legrand in The Devils, brilliantly cinematic, but controversial – and censored – for its tale of a philandering 17th-century French Catholic priest, witchcraft, nudity and sexually repressed nuns; and a bearded king for a fantasy sequence in The Boy Friend (all 1971). In further Russell musical biopics, Colley was Krenek, a journalist posing challenging questions, in Mahler (1974) and Frédéric Chopin in Lisztomania (1975). He played the dour teacher Mr Brunt in Russell's film version of The Rainbow (1989) before returning to TV as Alfred Dreyfus, a wrongly jailed 19th-century French officer, in Prisoner of Honor (1991) and the composer John Ireland in The Secret Life of Arnold Bax (1992). Colley was born in Manchester, to Jessie (nee Hughes) and Ernest Colley, a labourer. When he was 14, a teacher at South Hulme secondary modern school asked him about his career ambitions, and he said he wanted to act. On leaving school, he went through jobs as a commercial art assistant, bus conductor and warehouse operative, but his dream never faded. 'One day, I told myself that I was 23 and I had to stop wasting my time,' Colley recalled. In 1961, he headed for London and knocked on theatrical agents' doors, but failed to impress. Nevertheless, he landed his first theatre job as an assistant stage manager with Bromley repertory company, where he started acting. He also made his screen debut, as a corpse, in the BBC sci-fi series A for Andromeda (1961) in the middle of an actors' strike that meant most Equity members were not available for work. Moving on, he joined the newly formed Living Theatre company in an old school building in Leicester (1961-63), alongside actors such as Jill Gascoine. His performance as Jimmy Porter in John Osborne's anti-establishment play Look Back in Anger led one critic to write: 'Kenneth Colley burns with sardonic rage.' While television quickly recognised his talents as a character actor, with appearances in dramas such as The Avengers (1963), as well as the role of a fellow steel worker playing pranks on Dennis Tanner in Coronation Street (1964), Colley continued on stage with the company at the Unity, a London East End venue with roots in the workers' theatre movement. He played Wick there in another 'angry young man' play, Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs (1965), written by David Halliwell and directed by Mike Leigh. He reprised the role at that year's Dublin theatre festival and in the West End of London the following year at the Garrick, before taking small parts with the National Theatre company at the Old Vic in 1968. Later stage roles included Cleet in Cromwell (Royal Court, 1973) and Benedick on tour with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Much Ado About Nothing (1979). In films, he played Michael Crawford's chauffeur in The Jokers (1967) and a Soviet colonel in Firefox (1982), alongside Clint Eastwood. He first played Hitler on television in Jean Benedetti's BBC play These Men Are Dangerous (1969). His other small-screen parts included Charles I in Revolution: Cromwell (1970), the 'accordion man' in Pennies from Heaven (1978), an SS officer in the 1983 TV movie The Scarlet and the Black, starring Gregory Peck, Eichmann in Wallenberg: A Hero's Story (1985), and the title roles in I Remember Nelson (1982) and Napoleon's Last Battle (1990). Colley also gave a standout performance as the manipulating Duke of Vienna in the 1979 BBC Shakespeare production Measure for Measure and enjoyed a starring role as Ken Uttley, owner of a removals firm, in the comedy-drama Moving Story (1994-95). In 2016, he played the doomed mob boss Vicente Changretta in Peaky Blinders. In 1962, Colley married Mary Dunne; she died in 2018. Kenneth Colley, actor, born 7 December 1937; died 30 June 2025
BBC News
41 minutes ago
- BBC News
In pictures: Euro 2025 fans take over Switzerland
Hundreds of thousands of fans from all over Europe have been gathering in Switzerland to cheer on their the tournament reaches the end of the group stages, some supporters will be packing up to go home. But before they go, here's a roundup of some of the most memorable fan pictures so far. PROFILE: Lucy Bronze - the making of England's most decorated playerQUIZ: Ready for crunch time at Euro 2025? Take our quizWHAT'S NEXT: Who could England face in the next round?
