‘It really felt like I was in a fairytale': Mustafa Seven's best phone picture
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'There were tourist buses and people everywhere,' he says. 'Frankly, neither of us like taking landscape photos, but the fairytale surroundings pulled us along. When I realised every image I'd shot had someone in the frame, we decided to change our route and walk up the slips of the village instead.'
The cold weather and heavy snowfall made it hard going, but after half an hour the pair reached the edge of the village. They paused by a garden to rest a little, and it was there they found this docile, curious cat.
'I was trying to get closer to say hello and kept expecting it to get scared and run away, but it didn't.
'We all seemed to be there for the same reason: to soak up a rare moment of peace and enjoy the view of the village, church and lake below us. It really felt like I was in a fairytale, like a scene that was too fictional to be real.'
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Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Picturesque Norfolk town fighting back against county's crackdown on second home owners by refusing to double council tax and impose strict rules on new builds
It's a town that displayed its rebellious spirit nearly 500 years ago when modern-minded manor owner Robert Kett led a rebellion against King Henry VII over workers' rights. And the defiance of idyllic medieval Norfolk market town Wymondham lives on today – by welcoming second home owners and Airbnb investors who have faced a backlash elsewhere in the same county. Residents in a string of towns and villages in the East Anglian tourist hotspot have voted to introduce tough measures to stop 'outsiders' taking over properties they want for themselves. These include rules against newbuilds being snapped up by investors and imposing double council tax on those who already own investment homes. But Tory-run Wymondham's council continues to welcome them with open arms, stating it does not believe in 'tax for taxation's sake' and has no desire to punish people financially for aspiring to own a second home. Many business owners and residents support this bucking of the trend in Norfolk, arguing tourists bring extra footfall to shops, restaurants, bars and pubs as well as adding vibrancy to the community. Tom Boggan, 32, who runs the award-winning Farm Café, with partner Jessica Leeder, 33, said: 'As with any business, it's been a bit of a struggle [of late]. 'We've noticed recently that there are a lot of people visiting the area, whether to see family or on holiday. I'd say it's obviously of benefit… from a business point of view I don't want to discourage it.' Nicky O'Grady, who runs The Enchanted Willow florist, said: 'We have a lovely town and we certainly welcome people with second homes. They can afford to spend money and buy local produce. 'People do forget about us but there is so much to see and do here. We are thriving and the town is beautiful. Like anywhere else, the town just needs a little love. 'We get a lot of visitors who come to see the Abbey, the Mid Norfolk steam railway and our shops and art gallery. 'I am lucky because my business is supported by locals. But if people have the money for a second home, then good for them. They could do a lot worse than coming here.' Kyrena O'Brien, a sales negotiator at TW Gaze estate agents, said Wymondham's charm and its median house price of around £300,000 - just above the national average - made it an attractive option. She added: 'We get quite a few second home buyers. They often want to buy a place to rent out or use as an Airbnb. 'Wymondham is attractive to them because it is a beautiful old town with a lot of history to it. It has a rural feel but we are only 15 minutes' drive from Norwich. 'You can also get to the coast in half an hour or so. I am sure that the small businesses here do not care where people come from. 'Second home buyers are certainly getting a better deal here by only having to pay half the council tax that they would pay in other parts of the county. 'The town is becoming more and more popular. It is an attractive place for short-term lets, as well as full time rentals. And there is no shortage of demand.' Aideen Summers, who runs The Lemon Tree Café, said: 'North Norfolk is full of second homes compared to round here. 'But this is a wonderful town and is a lovely place to visit. We benefit from visitors who stay here and pop in for a bite to eat.' Wymondham is 30 miles from the sea and is less flashy than many coastal villages in North Norfolk, where property prices have surged due to an influx of well-heeled Londoners. But the town has a series of charming medieval streets, an array of timber-framed buildings, independent shops, a historic Abbey and a cobbled Market Cross which hosts a weekly farmer's market, making it an attractive bolthole for city dwellers. Also tempting to outsiders is the decision not to implement new Government rules that allowed local councils to charge a 100 per cent premium on second homes from April 1 this year. An estimated 230 councils across the UK have introduced the levy, even though some, such as Sandwell Borough Council in the West Midlands, have as few as six second homes. Kyrena O'Brien, a sales negotiator at TW Gaze estate agents, said Wymondham's charm and its median house price of around £300,000 - just above the national average - made it an attractive option. There are 667 second homes in the South Norfolk district, which is dwarfed in comparison to the 5,973 in North Norfolk. South Norfolk Council's decision to avoid the levy means a second-home owner in Wymondham is paying £2,258 for a Band D property in council tax. Across the border in Great Yarmouth, or North Norfolk, the same second home would attract a bill of more than £4,000. South Norfolk Council leader Daniel Elmer said: 'We decided not to introduce the council tax premium this year because we don't believe in tax for taxation's sake. 'Lots of people dream about having a place in the countryside and we want to support them having that aspiration and not punish them. 'Of course, places in North Norfolk close to the sea are very popular with second home owners – but we can offer something slightly different. 'South Norfolk can offer bustling marking towns like Wymondham. People come here to became engaged members of the community and enjoy a bit of a busier lifestyle while having fantastic country walks nearly on their doorstep. 'Places like Wymondham and Harleston are still vibrant town centres but they are just a bit hidden away.' Mr Elmer admitted that his council was under pressure to introduce a council tax premium for second home owners next year due to 'reduced support from central government and the current financial situation'. But he insisted that it was only an option that the council had been forced to declare in advance and no final decision had yet been made. He added: 'If we did bring it in, it would only be to freeze council tax for our residents and not to punish second home owners.' Council chiefs in other parts of Norfolk have not been so charitable towards second home owners who have often faced anger from local people. Some have accused them of profiteering by renting out their homes, putting pressure on local services and helping to turn villages into 'ghost towns' during winter months when homes are often left empty. Much of the bad feeling is centred around the village of Burnham Market, known as Chelsea-on-Sea, where around one in four properties is a second home and the high street is packed with up-market restaurants and shops to cater for wealthy incomers. Gary Wootton, co-owner of the Elementals alternative gift shop in Wymondham said: 'Our customers are predominantly local but we promote ourselves a lot on social media to attract outsiders. 'We treat everyone the same when they step through the door. I don't have a negative opinion about second home owners because I wouldn't be able to recognise them.' Audio visual engineer Stephen French who regularly works in Wymondham, said: 'Anything that encourages more people to move here is going to be good for the local businesses. 'But whoever buys new homes here, it is important that there is enough infrastructure to go with it.' Dominic Newman-Sanders, the sales manager at Warners estate agents, said: 'There is absolutely no animosity to second home owners here. 'Some people do buy second homes in South Norfolk and buyers like Wymondham because it is commutable with good road and rail links. 'The fact that there is no premium on council tax is not really the main issue for them. What is having far more impact is the new rule where they have to pay extra 5 per cent stamp duty surcharge for a second home which went up from 3 per cent in the Autumn budget last year. 'It means that less people are buying properties to them let out which is having a massive affect on the availability of rentals.' Some locals do object to investors coming to the area, however. Tricia Hinton, owner of the Ebony lifestyle shop which sells clothing, homeware and jewellery, said: 'When I came in 1979 homes were affordable but that is not the case now. More should be done to help people who live and work here all the time. 'In the street where I live, there must be four holiday lets and three or four houses that people have bought, yet they sit empty for maybe ten months a year. 'A lot of people have come here post-Covid from places like Hertfordshire and Oxfordshire. It means they can buy somewhere cheaper here and afford to retire.' Retired automotive engineer Takawira Masendu, 76, of nearby Hethersett, added: 'Second home owners need to be discouraged. 'My opinion is that it is more important for local people to be able to afford homes.' Robert Kett led the men of Wymondham in an uprising that began in July 1549 over the rights of poor workers, triggered by the enclosures of common lands. He refused a Royal amnesty and his band of rebels, said to have numbered 16,000, took possession of Norwich, only to be defeated in battle after a fierce battle. He was executed for treason in December the same year.
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Mum who translated for stars on 'Welcome to Wrexham' tells of cancer battle
Welsh mum, Maxine Hughes, who translated for Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney has just finished chemotherapy and now facing a double mastectomy A Welsh mum who appeared on Disney's 'Welcome to Wrexham' as a translator for Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, has opened up about her secret cancer ordeal. Journalist Maxine Hughes, 45, who delighted fans by teasing both the A-list stars as they struggled with the Welsh language, has just finished her 20th gruelling round of chemotherapy. The mum who is married to Sally Ayhan, 42 and who has two young boys, Iori, 12 and Manu, 7, told how she kept news of her diagnosis of triple negative cancer within her close family and friends. But her few trusted confidants including Rob's family, particularly his step-mum Jill, who have made it a 'million times' easier during a traumatic and 'dark' six months. TV and radio Journalist Maxine told after hearing the devastating diagnosis she was left fearing she would not see her children grow up. She is now facing a double mastectomy which she has agreed to have filmed for a documentary, giving an uncensored account of her cancer journey. They will be using Maxine's story as a lens, looking at the challenges the NHS in England and the waiting times in Wales, are facing rising levels of cancer. Maxine, originally from Conwy but now lives and works in Washington DC, spoke to The Mirror during her last chemo session in Virginia on Thursday. 'It's called red devil,' she explains about the strong chemo pumping into her veins. Opening up about her cancer diagnosis, she said: 'Until recently the word cancer was almost like a death sentence. You hear it and you go, 'oh my god, am I gonna die?' You suddenly go to the worst place and you start thinking 'can I stay alive for five years? Can I get my kids to school?' 'It's definitely a really dark place, but then you start the treatment and you have to just get on with it. Having two very energetic boys has forced me to stay active, to keep getting up for early morning sports practice. I've had very little time to stop and get depressed.' Maxine was in Australia for Christmas, visiting her wife's family, when she discovered a lump, a few days after the heartbreaking news her dad John, had died aged 80. 'When I was there my dad, who was suffering from dementia, got very sick and died. It was a terrible time. My wife had taken the kids out on a day trip to give me some space and some quiet because I was in shock and I was upset. I was sitting there and I put my hand on my chest and thought, 'oh my God, there's a lump and it's quite a big one'. ' Maxine said 'it was hard to believe' because she'd only had a clear mammogram in October and 'checked all the time'. When she got home, broadcaster Maxine was sent to LA to cover the wildfires. 'I was running around in the thick of it with a mask on my face protecting me from the smoke, but all the while, little did I know, I had a very, very aggressive tumor and cancer growing. Maxine booked in to get a mammogram as soon as she got back and the radiologist told her straight away: 'I can see that it's cancer'. 'As a journalist I've covered so many stories about cancer, whether it's about waiting times or a new treatment. So it was such a weird, surreal experience becoming my own story. I remember the moment very clearly, I almost fainted. I was in such shock.' Maxine was further left shattered when she was told after a biopsy her cancer was Triple Negative. 'It was almost a bigger shock than finding out I had cancer. It's such an aggressive type of cancer it's really scary, they started chemotherapy straight away.' In the documentary she wants to be 'candid' about what she has been through, including a lot of 'weird stuff' she experienced during chemo. 'The hair loss was traumatic and the worst part for me. But no one really told me about things like; nails falling off, stuff getting in my eyes all the time due to lack of eyelashes, terrible, consistent bloating, swelling and water retention.' She is responding well to treatment and next month will have a double mastectomy which she has agreed to film to help other women followed by minimal reconstruction surgery. 'It is an incredibly invasive surgery that will drastically change you physically as a woman. And I think that personally I haven't found enough out there. It's like you've got to save your breasts. There's quite a pressure on women, like it's part of your femininity. 'But I don't want the tissue. That's the conversation I want out there, it's okay if you don't want to do anything and not have any reconstruction. I didn't want to save them. I want to cut them off. ' Surgeons have put her mastectomy on hold for a week so she can return home to Wales to receive a top Welsh honour at this year's National Eisteddfod in Wrexham. 'When I return I am going to be thinking of my dad every step of the way. His family are from Wrexham. It really is an amazing end to a traumatic few months.' The mum says she will forever be grateful to Rob and Ryan, explaining: 'It's been so much more than just a bit of television for a documentary series. Maxine says the series has helped her reconnect with her Wrexham roots. She says she got the job after answering an ad, and explains: 'I mean everybody in the US who speaks Welsh knows each other. So they sent me the casting call notices. 'I was like, 'oh, it's a joke, it's not real'. So I called them and I just said, is this real? And they said, 'it is real and every Welsh speaker in America's been calling us'.' She soon became a viewers favourite when she appeared first in the promo for the series, standing slightly apart from the stars, to translate for them. In the hilarious scene she sighs and looks disgruntled as she 'secretly' tells viewers in Welsh: 'The tall skinny one does movies. The muscular one sells cream cheese from Philadelphia or something…there is no way these two can manage a football club.' Maxine said: 'Actually, when we shot the promo it was the first time they'd met each other in person but it was as if they'd known each other for years. 'We had a script but usually with Rob and Ryan, they ad-lib so much, they sort of bounce off each other. At first I think people thought it was a joke, they thought it was satire. But I was really aware of the fact that it needed to be me making fun of them and not making fun of Welsh.' She said Rob's Welsh is the best of the two and his dad is 'pretty good, too'. 'I think Rob's probably tried a little bit more to learn more. But they're both really respectful about the need to incorporate the language into everything they do and it's a very difficult language for an American to learn. ' About the show she said: 'Wrexham has played such a positive role in my life for the last few years. 'For me it's been a reconnection with Wrexham and also for my children to be able to form that connection. 'And it's also introduced me to so many people that I would never have otherwise met and people who've become really important to us as a family. 'I think you see with Rob and Ryan it's always been more than just about buying a football team or making TV. It's been about investing in a part of the UK, part of Wales that needed a bit of attention. 'They've respected the community, they've respected the team and the football club and what it means to the area. And the Welsh language too. Rob's family are an extension of that warmth and kindness and positivity and I feel so lucky to have been introduced to them. 'Wrexham is such a strong community of people, and it's them that have made the success. 'Of course, they've had help from two people from Hollywood but none of this would have been possible without the community of Wrexham. I don't even know where else in the world you can find that, it's a very unique place.'
BreakingNews.ie
3 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Scorching temperatures in Europe not deterring Irish tourists from travelling
Scorching temperatures in mainland Europe are not deterring Irish tourists from travelling, travel agents nationwide have found. Temperatures have surged past 44°C in parts of Spain, Portugal, Italy, and France. Portugal and Spain recorded their hottest June ever. Advertisement Scientists said the extreme temperatures in the region were related to a "heat dome" over continental Europe. A heat dome is an area of high-pressure air in the atmosphere which gets stuck in place over a region because atmospheric dynamics around it block it from moving. A heat dome results in clear, sunny days, and still conditions with little cooling wind. Europe is the world's fastest-warming continent, heating up at twice the global average according to meteorologists. Current seasonal forecasts for July, August and September indicate Europe is highly likely to experience a warmer than average summer, Dr Samantha Burgess, Strategic Lead for Climate at the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service, told Reuters news agency. Advertisement Mary Denton, chief executive of Sunway Travel, one of the country's largest travel agents, explained that they 'haven't received any queries from customers asking to re-arrange their holiday dates or cancel due to the temperatures at their destination.' Ms Denton added: 'We have a lot of people due to travel this weekend (and) most of our customers will be going to Spain, Portugal, Turkey and Morocco. 'People are paying attention to what's going around the world but it hasn't put a stop to holidays and it isn't dampening enthusiasm for summer holidays. 'Holiday resorts and hotels are well prepared and once customers are sensible and follow local advice they will enjoy their time away.' Advertisement The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has calculated that Irish people took more than 12 million overnight trips abroad in 2023 - many of them over the summer months. Thomas Britton who owns Marble City Travel in Kilkenny revealed that people are 'just powering ahead with their planned holidays. They want heat on their bones. Bookings are solid.' Mr Britton warned that there are 'cost implications' in postponing or cancelling holidays due to hot temperatures. 'Travel insurance companies will not cover postponing holidays due to the heat dome across Europe.' His remarks were reiterated by travel expert Eoghan Corry, who outlined that holidaymakers 'can't cancel trips' due to the hot temperatures. 'Insurance will just not cover cancellations due to such temperatures. Unless they can show that the heat will seriously impact their heat with medical letters then insurance companies might consider cancellations or postponements'.
