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Robert Powell fears e-bikes will give him a heart attack

Robert Powell fears e-bikes will give him a heart attack

Times8 hours ago
Robert Powell, the Bafta-nominated actor who starred in Jesus of Nazareth, has said that he fears suffering a heart attack after being plagued by rental e-bikes being left outside his north London home for the past four years.
Powell, 81, has spoken out about his ordeal and the 'couple of hundred emails' he has sent to Camden Council over a parking bay for the rental bike operator Lime outside his Highgate home.
• Lime calls in bankers to explore $500m listing
Along with his wife, Barbara Lord, the actor who also appeared in Holby City and The Thirty Nine Steps, has complained of e-bikes crowding their home.
Powell objected to the untidy parking of Lime bikes — seen here in central London — outside his home
ALAMY
He told the Camden New Journal they had sent '570 photographs'.
He said: 'You've got two octogenarians here who are in danger of being killed. I have probably sent a couple of hundred emails about the bike bay. We had 100 bikes outside the front door once. The entire pave­ment has been blocked by bikes.'
• Edward Lucas: there are ways to tame the e-bike menace
Fearing a 'heart attack' as he was forced to move between 10 and 12 heavy e-bikes each day, Powell said his GP had written a letter to the council ­describing the potential health effects.
'I've had moments myself feeling wobbly moving the bikes out of the path. They are awfully heavy,' he said.
Camden council has said it was moving the parking spot elsewhere. It said: 'We've been in touch with Mr Powell and Mrs Lord and assured them that we're using our powers to relocate this bay.
'While we're committed to promoting active travel options like cycling, we also understand how inappropriate parking of electric bikes can block ­access for residents.'
But Powell said interactions with the council had been a 'literal nightmare' and he felt insulted by the experience.
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Bride breaks down in tears after wedding dress rips just moments before she walks down the aisle
Bride breaks down in tears after wedding dress rips just moments before she walks down the aisle

Daily Mail​

time32 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Bride breaks down in tears after wedding dress rips just moments before she walks down the aisle

A bride has shared the the horrendous moment her dress ripped just minutes before she was due to walk down the aisle. Bianca Ross, 29, from Greater Manchester, was getting ready to tie the knot earlier this month when two of her bridesmaids helped her do up her corseted dress. As the trio were struggling to get into the dress, they heard a sudden rip, with the back of the dress opening. The trio, jaws dropped, stood in shocked silence for a moment while the bride started crying. However, the crisis was quickly averted when one of her friends revealed that she had brought her sewing kit and was able to mend the tear. In a video posted to TikTok, Bianca was all laughs and smiles as she was being helped into her fitted embellished gown by her bridesmaids. She was tossing up whether to use the detachable straps or not as her friends were tugging and pulling at the top of the dress, trying to do up the clasps. 'I look like a princess,' Bianca said. One of the bridesmaids then pulled slightly too hard on the back of the dress which let out a big ripping sound. Bride Bianca was brought to tears when her dress ripped just moments before she was due to walk down the aisle The women gasped before Bianca burst into tears. 'Oh my god, it's f***ing broke,' one panicked bridesmaid said. 'How many times have we squeezed into this f***ing dress? How many times have we fought with this dress?' Viewers were unable to see the damage but the bridesmaid who caused the rip was quick on the case. 'I brought it for a reason! I've got my sewing kit,' she shouted as she ran out of the room. One viewer said the tear was 'every bride's nightmare and asked if Bianca went on to get married which she confirmed she did - not letting the mishap stop her from enjoying her and her new husband's big day. The internet is never short of a wedding drama and, previously, a groom raised eyebrows after he said he wanted to divorce his new wife just days after saying 'I do'. The married man, who is 44 years old, took to Reddit to complain about his 42-year-old wife shortly after their wedding and explained the big day had been riddled with issues - including one incident that completely broke his trust. On the thread, the new husband said a black cloud hung over his wedding day thanks to his wife's egregious actions. He lamented he now feels like he 'married someone else' after his wife changed her hair colour two days before the big day. He complained that she had abandoned her 'regular girl next door style' and along with her new hair colour she had also worn a 'revealing' dress that left him stunned. But it was a request she made of her guests behind the groom's back that really left him reeling. The Reddit-poster complained that his bride's dress showed off her legs and cleavage and was too sexy to be walking down the aisle in. He even thought that some of the male guests avoided her all night out of embarrassment. He wrote: 'On the wedding day, she showed up wearing a sheer lace dress that was too revealing and no flesh coloured lining. 'I could see her whole legs and her undies (they were lace and not sheer). I would have preferred that she didn't wear her cleavage bursting out. It wasn't necessary. 'I thought sexiness was reserved for the wedding night, not for our guests to see. I would have been okay with it had I been used to this being her style, but I don't know what happened. 'Our friends and families (males) kept a bit distant trying to avoid her and I think it's because they were trying to be respectful. The top of the dress wasn't sheer, but her breasts were almost popping out and she couldn't dance as happily and carefree as she always does because of it. The groom explained that he knew it was a minor detail and just an 'aesthetic dispute' that he would forget about eventually but he said it went against their traditional family's values. While the dress and hair colour were a shock, the new husband revealed what really upset him was the discovery that his wife had been asking for money from guests without his knowledge. The Reddit poster explained that they had previously agreed not to ask their guests for money - although he clarified they did get 'cash gifts and physical presents' - but was shocked to find out his wife had tired to establish a minimum fee. He revealed he only discovered the betrayal after her best friend dropped out of the wedding due to pressure to give extra cash. The groom confessed he had been left disappointed because 'the church was missing a chunk of guests' and he felt a 'black cloud' hanging over them all day. He went on to say that the trust between him and his new wife is completely broken because he lost friends and people he cared about. He added: 'I don't see how therapy can fix this. It's not just about my trust, but about how this person is a whole human being apart from the woman that I thought I knew.' On the Reddit thread, the recently married man asked whether it was reasonable to ask for a divorce even though he knew it would 'destroy her' and said he wanted to at least file for a legal separation. He added he felt he could no longer go on 'sleeping next to someone who was willing to take from others' and said he felt too betrayed. And other Reddit users rushed to his defence with one writing: 'I would run if I realised my fiancé's idea about a wedding was about filing up her bank account. A wedding should be a celebration of love. I don't have an opinion about her dress.' Another said: 'Divorce or annulment. If she does things like this behind your back before marriage, think of the things she will do behind your back now that she has you locked in. 'A good foundation for any relationship is built on trust, respect and clear communication at the bare minimum and she violated all three. Run for the hills.' And one commented: 'The clothing thing is not important, but lying and pressuring loved ones for money behind your back is an early indicator of how your life will be going. Is this someone you can spend the rest of your life with? I think the answer is no.' But others were on the wife's side and criticised the groom for slating his new bride's wedding dress, encouraging her to run for the hills. One person said: 'The money hustling is tacky and worth divorcing over. Hating her hair/dress is tacky and worth her divorcing you over. 'So maybe you two flawed people should talk about all this, apologize to each other, and do better moving forward.' Another user wrote: 'This poor woman has married a complete monster.'

Danny Dyer: Why I would turn down a knighthood
Danny Dyer: Why I would turn down a knighthood

Telegraph

timean hour ago

  • Telegraph

Danny Dyer: Why I would turn down a knighthood

has said he would turn down a knighthood, because the title 'isn't for me'. The former EastEnders actor, 47, explained that he was too 'anti-establishment' for the accolade, bestowed upon individuals by the monarch for a significant contribution to society at large. Speaking to Radio Times, Dyer said he would follow the example of his 'hero' Harold Pinter, the Nobel-winning playwright, who turned down a knighthood in 1996. The actor also joked that he was the 'cheaper version' of Sir Gary Oldman, the Slow Horses star who was knighted in King Charles II's Birthday Honours this year. Asked if he had ever been approached about appearing on the New Year's Honours list, Dyer said: 'Harold was my hero and turned down a knighthood. He was anti-establishment as well, so I don't think it's for me.' Dyer first starred in Pinter's play Celebration at 22 years old before going on to appear in the writer's productions of No Man's Land and The Homecoming. Pinter declined the honour of a knighthood – offered to him on behalf of the late Queen Elizabeth II when John Major was prime minister – but accepted the award of Companion of Honour in 2002. He was then presented with the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2005 as well as the French Légion d'honneur in 2007. Dyer's knighthood comments come after the long-running 'arise, Sir Danny Dyer' quip, which began in 2017 when Michael McIntryre, the comedian, sent a spoof offer of the honour to Dyer's friends and family during a TV show. As part of the skit, which aired on Michael McIntyre's Big Show, friends, co-stars and family responded to the message with a mixture of congratulations and disbelief. The actor also discovered he was descended from royalty during his 2016 appearance on Who Do You Think You Are? which showed he was a relative of King Edward III. 'A cheaper version' Dyer became a household name in EastEnders, the popular BBC soap, from 2013 to 2022. He has since appeared in Disney's hit Rivals, the comedy series Mr Bigstuff, and Three Quick Breaths, the upcoming Irish film. Discussing his starring role in the latter, the actor quipped that he had been chosen as the 'cheaper' version of Sir Gary, who he joked was approached for the part first but requested £2 million 'just to read it'. 'But I was next in line, which I'm chuffed with,' he said, adding: 'If you go Gary Oldman and I'm next, it's because I'm obviously cheaper. I'm happy to be a cheaper version of Gary Oldman.' In the thriller, Dyer plays the sole character, an old-school football agent who desperately tries to get his star player one final payday before his own life and his player's reputation implodes. Speaking about the second season of Rivals, for which filming is underway, the actor said he couldn't reveal much but teased that 'we've got no issues with the old second-album syndrome'. 'I've been blessed with a lovely character. He's not the lead and he doesn't need to be the lead,' he added.

Ghosted review – dating-scene romcom is Bridget Jones tribute act
Ghosted review – dating-scene romcom is Bridget Jones tribute act

The Guardian

timean hour ago

  • The Guardian

Ghosted review – dating-scene romcom is Bridget Jones tribute act

It is a truth universally acknowledged that there was some drop-off in quality between the first incomparable Bridget Jones film and its sequels, but this cheap would-be spiritual successor will have you crawling after even the worst Bridget film begging for forgiveness. Ghosted hews close to the template, to the point of feeling like a tribute act – but unfortunately not the kind of tribute act that sells out arenas but the kind that plays down the Dog & Duck of a Saturday night. Mercy (Jade Asha) is unhappily single, on the hunt for Mr Right, and hoping to improve her career (ideally from waitress to international acting superstar). Part of the film's problem is that Bridget Jones' Diary is of its time, and to hear a 30-year-old supposedly modern and progressive heroine in 2025 complain that she is a decade older than the majority of singles definitely feels dated. Thirty in 2025 is not the same as 30 in the 1990s, and it's peculiar to watch someone today bemoan it as the end of their youth. It also doesn't help that the Ghosted's narration borrows so overtly from Bridget-speak, including the dropping of personal pronouns and definite articles as in the original – but without a diary as the prop, the point of these pleasing abbreviations vanishes completely. Meanwhile the attempts to wring the same humour from pratfalls and workplace calamities fails utterly. Perhaps worst of all, Mercy is still drawn to a cad long after he reveals himself to be dodgy. It's as if Bridget had responded to Daniel Cleaver's cheating not with vodka and Chaka Khan but by inventing terrible excuses for why it was OK and by letting herself be treated like a doormat. It may be true to how people behave in real life, but if you're trying to create a fun romantic comedy, you need a perfectly imperfect heroine you can cheer on. Ghosted is on digital platforms from 21 July.

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