Gloucestershire in pictures: Stunning skies and lavender fields
Golden hour: What a beautiful start to any day! This photo was taken at the start of the day this week at Berkeley by our weather watcher, SantaSusie. Nothing beats a sunny Gloucestershire morning, does it?
Among the wildflowers: What a stunning view at Cotswold Lavender. It is now peak season for them as visitors from all over the world come flooding in. They opened up early this year because of the heat. It meant that the lavender came out early so they had to get the gates open slightly earlier than normal.
One foot in front of the other: GWR colleagues have been walking up and down Gloucester train station's platform through the night in pairs to raise funds for Prostate Cancer UK and support colleagues living with the disease.
Clever work: This picture — taken by photographer Still Photo Malone — is essentially lots of photos stacked on top of each other, 217 photos to be exact, with a 30-second exposure on each.The photos were taken over a two hour period between midnight and 0200 BST at the Old Severn Railway Bridge.
Up in the clouds: This is how the Missing Link project is looking on the A417 - taken from a 1940s Boeing Stearman biplane by Martyn Carrington.The £460m scheme will end up being a three-mile dual carriageway between Gloucester and Cirencester.
Never enough: We are loving the sunrise photos this week. Look at this sky in Colesbourne earlier this week.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Two more killed amid raging wildfires in Cyprus and Turkey
Two people have been killed in a huge blaze in Cyprus, bringing the death toll from a series of wildfires on the eastern Mediterranean island and in neighbouring Turkey to 12 amid a brutal heatwave that has pushed temperatures to more than 44C. Police said two charred bodies were found on Thursday in a burnt-out car caught up in the Cyprus blaze, which erupted outside Limassol on Wednesday and, fanned by strong winds, rapidly engulfed a string of mountain villages north of the city. The fires, described as the worst on the island in more than half a century, devastated large tracts of southern Cyprus, injuring dozens of people and displacing hundreds. An estimated 250 firefighters battled to contain blazes raging on multiple fronts. The government spokesperson, Konstantinos Letymbiotis, said the state 'expresses its deep sorrow … over the unjust loss of two of our fellow citizens', adding that what was happening on the island was unprecedented. After appeals for help from the Nicosia government, Greece, Egypt, Israel and the UK, which has an RAF base on the island, said on Thursday they would be weighing in with air support and firefighters, while the EU was sending in water-bombing planes. By midday, nearly 24 hours after it broke out, the infernos had consumed more than 40 square miles of territory, decimating prime agricultural land and dozens of homes in village communities outside Limassol on the Troodos range. Charalambos Theopemptou, the Green MP who chairs the Cypriot parliament's environmental committee, spoke of a 'tragic situation' with blazes fuelled by extreme high temperatures, gale-force winds and a severe drought. Temperatures nudging 44C were forecast to rise further on Friday as a week-long heatwave intensified across southern Europe. 'We haven't seen such devastating fires since the Turkish invasion in 1974,' Theopemptou told the Guardian. 'It's tragic, people have died, 72 houses and 91 cars have been burned, it's absolute chaos.' He said part of the reason for the destruction was that preventive measures had not been taken, including the implementation of a public warning system that an EU directive voted into law in 2022. 'Illegal waste dumps haven't been cleared, [inflammable] vegetation hasn't been removed, basic infrastructure like big cement water tanks and hose pipe points aren't in place, all of which has helped the fires spread,' he added. At least six separate wildfires were burning across Turkey, the Turkish agriculture and forestry minister, İbrahim Yumakli, said on Thursday, warning that strong winds and scorching heat were creating 'extremely dangerous' conditions across the country. Ten firefighters were killed on Wednesday battling a fire in the western Eskişehir province, with 14 others injured. The fire subsequently spread to Afyonkarahisar, another central province, where several towns and villages were evacuated. The victims were caught when the flames suddenly changed direction, causing them to be 'burned alive', a local MP said. Turkey has been sweltering since Sunday in temperatures ranging between 6C and 12C above the seasonal norms. In the northwestern province of Bilecik, fires raged for a fourth consecutive day, as firefighters struggled to contain them. 'They couldn't intervene. There is no decent road, forests are thick and it's rocky,' Cemil Karadag, a local resident, said. Karadag told Reuters the fire had 'engulfed our village from two or three sides … The firefighters couldn't intervene … It spread very quickly with the effect of the wind, but, thank God, the centre of our village wasn't damaged that much'. A wildfire erupted in the Black Sea province of Sakarya, forcing the closure of a key motorway and the evacuation of several villages and small towns, and others in Karabuk, home of the Unesco World Heritage City of Safranbolu, and Manisa. Scientists have long warned that burning fossil fuels is making extreme weather events such as heatwaves more likely and more intense.
BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
Cumberland Council approves expansion of local bus services
A major expansion of bus services has been approved, aimed at targeting areas where routes are currently limited or commercially Council said the move follows talks with residents and stakeholders to understand local travel by £3.5m in government funding through the Bus Services Improvement Plan (BSIP), the delivery of the proposed new services are subject to operators submitting a tender to run them, the local authority plans were backed by councillors at a Highways and Transport Strategic Board earlier. Labour councillor Denise Rollo said: "This is the next step in building a better future for public transport in Cumberland, one that directly reflects what our communities have told us they want."While not all services may attract tenders, given market constraints such as vehicle and driver availability, Cumberland Council is committed to securing the best possible outcomes for residents within the available funding." The proposed new or expanded services include:Carlisle to Anthorn - Addition of peak journeys and a new Sunday serviceKirkbride to Carlisle - The reinstatement of a previous service including enhanced links for Cargo, Houghton Rockcliffe and Currock Community CentreWhitehaven to Ravenglass - New serviceCarlisle to Cockermouth - Upgrade to hourly serviceCockermouth-Lillyhall-Distington - West Cumberland Hospital- New serviceCarlisle to Hadrian's Wall - New serviceCockermouth Town Buses - Return of the local town serviceBootle to Millom via Ravenglass - New serviceCockermouth to Mayport - Service enhancements that include peak journeys and a new Maryport and Dearham town serviceWhitehaven Town Loop - New north eastern loopCarlisle-Longtown-Penton - Expanded rural covergeCarlisle to Durranhill/Carleton - New route service Locke Road Surgery and GarlandsWetheral-Carlisle-Dalston - Greater frequencyFrizington to Cockermouth/Workington - Return of previous serviceThe plans also include the continuation of services introduced in November 2024, including:Silloth to MaryportMaryport-Egremont-ThornhillMaryport-Cleator Moor-FrizingtonWorkington to Carlisle Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
How the ABC bungled a $4billion payday - as Aussie show among the biggest in the world makes major move
The ABC has been left red-faced after the UK channel that airs Bluey announced it is set to make even more money off one of Australia's most successful cultural exports. This week, the BBC revealed plans to transform Bluey into a full-fledged lifestyle brand, marking another major commercial leap for the animated juggernaut. Alongside the expansion of its already booming merchandise empire, a Bluey feature film is now in the works, set to be released in 2027 and distributed globally by Disney. In just 2024 alone, Bluey was the driving force behind a bumper $4billion in commercial profits for BBC Studios through global licensing, product deals, and themed experiences. That staggering haul is more than four times the annual budget of the ABC, which is funded by the federal government and Australian taxpayers. The ABC was among the original co-commissioners of Bluey, which first aired in 2018, but failed to secure any significant merchandising deals. Despite being developed and produced in Brisbane by Ludo Studio, most of the benefits of show's commercial success has flowed offshore. Since its debut, Bluey has become a global sensation, celebrated for its heartwarming storytelling, gentle humour, and uniquely Australian character. Bluey-branded merchandise ranges from plush toys and puzzles to camping gear, clothing, and even nappies. In 2024, a large-scale Bluey-themed attraction, Bluey's World, opened in Brisbane, and was recently named one of Time Magazine's 'World's Greatest Places' for 2025. In the same year, Bluey was the number one most viewed show in the United States, recording more than 55billion minutes of viewing time on Disney+. 'From a retail sales standpoint, we are generating about £2.7bn in global retail sales across our entire portfolio and Bluey is a really, really big chunk of that,' Suzy Raia, who heads global consumer products at BBC Studios, told The Guardian. Yet despite its deep Australian roots, the ABC has reaped little financial reward from Bluey's explosive global success. As reported by The Courier-Mail in February, the ABC made no attempt to secure merchandising rights during the show's early development. Then-managing director David Anderson was present at the meeting where Bluey was first pitched to the network. 'We don't make money out of Bluey,' Anderson told the ABC in 2023. 'What Bluey does is provide joy to children and families all over the country and now all over the world. And that would be priceless.' In 2024, ABC Chair Kim Williams addressed the Australian Press Club, warning of declining public funding for the broadcaster and calling for greater government support. Just a few months later in June, the ABC slashed at least 50 jobs in a round of budget cuts, under the new leadership of Managing Director Hugh Marks. Among the casualties was the long-running current affairs program Q&A, once a flagship forum for national political and cultural debate. In an email sent to ABC staff, Marks justified the changes were part of the ABC stepping back from 'areas that no longer align with our priorities'.
