I survived two strokes in my twenties says Rutherglen woman
Colette Boyd, who suffered the strokes in her late twenties, is marking the milestone by performing at The Griffin on March 25.
The 48-year-old's show is titled A F.A.S.T 20 Years and is described as "a celebration of life, laughter, and momentous events".
She took up stand-up comedy in 2023 and is now using humour to celebrate the milestone.
Her show aims to raise funds for Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland.
Colette shared how her self-deprecating humour helped her deal with the challenges of being a young stroke survivor and improved her mental health.
She said: "I had my first stroke when I was 28 and then I had my second stroke when I was 29.
"I'd read at the time that most stroke survivors don't live past 20 years after their stroke.
"I assume that's because people that have strokes are older when they have them.
"I always thought I'd have a party when I got to 20 years.
"When I started doing stand-up comedy I was telling my friend, who also does stand-up, that I'd have a party.
"He suggested I put on a gig during the International Comedy Festival instead and I thought it was a great idea."
Colette will be performing alongside comedians Jimi Longmuir, Tattoo Dave, and Patrick Rolink.
She added: "When I decided to do the show I knew I couldn't fill an hour myself so I put a call out asking if anyone wanted to get involved.
"Patrick has had a stroke more recently and has been involved with CHSS.
"The other comedians have had family members affected by heart disease so it worked out well to host it for CHSS given it's a Scottish charity."
Tickets for the show can be purchased from the Glasgow Comedy Festival's website.
For support and information on chest, heart, stroke conditions or Long Covid, contact Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland's Advice Line.
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National Geographic
a day ago
- National Geographic
The best evidence yet Queen Victoria had a secret "marriage"
A portrait of Queen Victoria taken in honor of her Diamond Jubilee in 1897. Victoria was 78-years-old in the photograph, more than 30 years after her rumored affair with servant John Brown. Photograph By Press Association/ AP Images When Queen Victoria died in 1901, she was laid to rest with photographs of her family and mementos from her husband and consort, Prince Albert, who had passed 40 years earlier. Tucked into her coffin were Albert's handkerchiefs and a marble sculpture made from a cast of his hand. Her devotion into the grave is no surprise: Victoria has spent four decades publicly grieving his death, wearing mourning clothes, and lavishly commemorating Albert's life. But it wasn't just Albert's mementos she sought in death: she also wanted a photograph of her longtime servant John Brown, locks of his hair, and his mother's wedding ring. Brown, a Scot employed at Victoria's Scottish estate Balmoral, had spent almost two decades constantly at Victoria's side, emerging as her closest companion after Albert's death. At the time, only her doctor and ladies-in-waiting knew about her desire to be buried with Brown's effects, but nevertheless, for 160 years, rumors have swirled about the precise nature of the relationship between Victoria and Brown. Was he a particularly devoted servant? A platonic male shoulder to lean on in her grief? Or did the pair have a romantic relationship? The rumor has fascinated historians for over a century, each generation arguing over scraps of evidence, reinterpreting the relationship and reshaping their knowledge of Victoria and her era. Victoria's own writings have fueled the speculation, too: 'Perhaps never in history was there so strong and true an attachment, so warm and loving a friendship between the sovereign and servant,' she wrote in a letter after he died. Historian Dr. Fern Riddell recently entered the debate with her new book Victoria's Secret: The Private Passion of a Queen and its accompanying documentary, which claims to reveal new evidence about Victoria's and Brown's relationship. Riddell tells a compelling story filled with midlife passion, gossiping courtiers, and resentful adult children. 'It's got everything—it's tragedy, it's high romance, it's love across a huge social divide, it's the secrecy of it,' Riddell tells National Geographic. 'And when you look at it closely, it's the story of a man who was absolutely devoted to the woman that he loved. And that's very powerful for us today.' Riddell's cheekily named book is part of a 21st century attempt to correct the historical record. Since the moment she was laid in her grave, Victoria has been remembered as a stern, remote, even prudish monarch in voluminous black dresses. But her posthumous reputation is a far cry from the flesh-and-blood realities of her life. A 1864 photograph of Victoria and John Brown. Brown worked as a ghillie at Balmoral, the Queen's estate in Scotland, and was rumored to have had an affair with Victoria. The long-standing rumors about Mrs. Brown Limited Time: Bonus Issue Offer Subscribe now and gift up to 4 bonus issues—starting at $34/year. The rumors started shortly after Victoria was widowed. Avoiding the British public and frustrated with her ministers, she retreated to solitude at the picturesque Balmoral, an estate she'd built with Albert in 1852. Brown had worked at Balmoral for years as a ghillie, an attendant on hunting trips but, by 1864, Victoria had promoted him, giving him the official title of Queen's Highland Servant—'to remain constantly in attendance upon the Queen,' according to the memorandum Victoria issued to Brown. In the years that followed, Brown was constantly at Victoria's side, accumulating enormous sway within her household. Her courtiers started talking, and then the gossip spread into the boisterous print culture of 19th century London, with satirical magazines publishing sly items about Brown's omnipresence; The Tomahawk, for instance, published a cartoon of Brown leaning on an empty throne, gazing down on an attentive British lion. Most explosive was an 1866 report from the Swiss Gazette de Lausanne, which suggested that not only was Victoria—so thoroughly secluded since Albert's death, so far from the public eye, routinely missing important ceremonial occasionals like the opening of Parliament—involved with Brown, but more scandalously, she'd become pregnant. 'They say… she is in an interesting condition and if she didn't attend the Volunteers review and the unveiling of Prince Albert's memorial, that would be only to conceal her pregnancy,' the paper reported. Victoria did little to squelch the rumors. Instead, she commissioned a large-scale painting by one of Britain's most important painters, Edwin Landseer. Shown at the Spring Exhibition of the Royal Academy, a major cultural event, Her Majesty at Osborne (1866) showed Victoria in her customary black, atop a horse guided by Brown, official papers littering the ground, in full view of the titillated British public. 'If anyone will stand by this picture for a quarter of an hour and listen to the comments of visitors he will learn how great an imprudence has been committed,' wrote a contemporary art critic. Victorians widely gossiped about the Queen's romance and even a possible love child, dubbing Victoria 'Mrs. Brown.' The coverup In 1883, Brown died suddenly at the age of 56. Once again, Victoria mourned, closing Brown's rooms, pouring out her sadness in her correspondence, and commissioning various memorials, but unlike Albert, where her grief left a trail across modern London, posterity began minimizing Brown. First, her advisors talked her out of privately publishing a memoir about Brown (the draft was later destroyed); it was already bad enough that she'd dedicated the second volume of selections from her Highland journals to him. Then, when Victoria died, she left care of her journals to her youngest daughter who spent years heavily editing the volumes and burning the originals. Victoria's letters, meanwhile, were edited for publication by two men with their own agendas, who weren't interested in things like pregnancy or motherhood, shaping her image for decades to come. And her eldest son Bertie, who became Edward VII, immediately turned Brown's chambers into a billiard room and purged all the reminders of the Scottish servant, including the numerous paintings and busts that his mother had commissioned over the years. After her death, 'Victorian' came to be synonymous with prudery, while Victoria herself was reduced to a black-clad, elderly great-grandmother, head topped with a fussy bonnet, perpetually unamused, never mind that she did have nine children. John Brown circa 1865. His relationship with the Queen was the source of endless Victorian gossip, leading many to dub Victoria, "Mrs. Brown." Photograph by W. & D. Downey/Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's consort, photographed before his early death in 1861 at age 42. Victoria was buried with many of Albert's mementos, including a marble sculpture taken from a plaster cast of his hand. Photograph By Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis/Getty Images The rumors persist into the 20th century Despite the attempts by posterity to purge Brown from public memory of Victoria's reign, stories about 'Mrs. Brown' continued to fascinate. Tantalizing hints also emerged over the course of the 20th century, Victoria's contemporaries dead long enough that their diaries, letters, and other papers became public. The world could finally read politician Lord Derby despairing over her lack of propriety with Brown, rattling off in his journal about the relationship: Long, solitary rides, in secluded parts of the park: constant attendance upon her in her room: private messages sent by him to persons of rank: avoidance of observation while he is leading her pony or driving her little carriage. The princesses, Derby added, referred to Brown as 'Mamma's lover.' Tom Cullen's 1969 book, Empress Brown, included a facsimile of a letter from Victoria to Brown's brother after his death, recounting a conversation in which they pledged their devotion to one another: 'Afterwards I told him no-one loved him more than I did … and he answered 'nor you – than me … No-one loves you more.'' The book suggested the existence of more evidence from Brown's own family, but his descendants refused access to any of it, with rare exceptions. The evidence piled up, even as historians continued to express skepticism or at least to point out the difficulty of knowing exactly what these two meant to each other, like Victoria's instructions for her burial arrangements. But the steady drip of stories kept the notion of Mrs. Brown sufficiently alive that in 1997, it was fodder for a historical drama that garnered Judi Dench a Golden Globe for her performance as Victoria—though a review of the movie described it as 'willfully discreet.' (Screenwriter Jeremy Brock was one of the few people who got a look at the Browns' archives, until now.) Reassessing Queen Victoria, the woman In recent years, increasingly, there's been a reassessment of Victoria. Books like Yvonne M. Ward's Censoring Queen Victoria, Lucy Worsley's Queen Victoria, and Julia Bard's Victoria: The Queen, have attempted to excavate the woman from the monarch and her public image. They're increasingly frank about the realities of Victoria's life as a woman, including her desires, the toll taken by so many pregnancies, the postpartum depression, even her rocky experience of menopause. We know now, for example, that Victoria dreaded pregnancy and struggled with severe postpartum depression. She was physically very attracted to her husband: 'his love and gentleness is beyond everything, and to kiss that dear soft cheek, to press my lips to his, is heavenly bliss,' she wrote in her journal just days after they married. That reassessment extends to the topic of her relationship with Brown: 'There are few subjects as wildly speculated about and poorly documented as Queen Victoria's relationship with John Brown,' writes Baird. Still, she concludes: 'What is certain is that Queen Victoria was in love with John Brown.' Meanwhile, Worsley is skeptical that their relationship was a sexual one, chalking the scandal up to 'the unspoken belief that a widowed woman of middle age, as Victoria was, must inevitably become sexually insatiable.' The royal family is still staying silent on the topic of Mrs. Brown. As Baird revealed in her book, researchers who use the Royal Archives are required to agree that any quotes and 'all intended passages based on information obtained from those records' must be submitted for approval. And she was asked to remove 'large sections' from her book based on material found outside the archives, including Victoria's requests for the items in her coffin. Riddell enters the chat Riddell wades into the debate with a new approach, re-examining the existing evidence while looking much more closely at Brown, his family, and the community around Balmoral. 'I've always been fascinated by the idea that there was this man from a crofting farmer's family who stood at Victoria's side, the most powerful woman in the world, at this point, for 20 years, and we knew so little about him,' Riddell says. And she finally confirms the existence of that letter from Victoria to Brown's brother, as well as the Brown family archive, hinted at in Cullen's Empress Brown, much of which is now accessible at local archives in Aberdeen — and reveals much more about its content. For instance, Victoria had a cast made of Brown's hand just after his death, nearly identical to the one she had made of Albert's. There's also a New Year's card inscribed, 'To my best friend JB / From his best friend V.R.I.' (V.R.I was Victoria's royal cypher, meaning 'Victoria Regina Imperatrix.') Pointing to an account of a deathbed confession by Victoria's royal chaplain of marrying the pair and Victoria's documented behavior regarding Brown, including her demands that her sons shake his hand, as though he were their social equal, Riddell makes the case that Victoria and Brown likely had an 'irregular' marriage. Scottish marital customs were notoriously flexible at the time, and it had become common for couples to 'marry' by simply swearing vows. 'We'd only ever considered this possibility of a marriage from an English lens—there had to be a priest, there had to be marriage banns, there had to be a church wedding,' says Riddell. 'No one had ever considered it from his community's perspective.' Most interesting is Riddell's discovery of an enduring Brown family story which tells of a child. Angela Webb-Milinkovich, a pierced and tattooed care worker from Minnesota descended from Brown's brother Hugh tells Riddell: 'We were always told that we were the illegitimate line.' Hugh and his wife emigrated to New Zealand in the mid-1860s and registered a daughter's birth, the couple's only child. The couple stayed for only a decade, returning to the United Kingdom in the 1870s, child in tow. Their return trip was paid for by Victoria. There are plentiful reasons to be skeptical about a potential secret child—family stories about lineage are often unreliable, and Victoria was in her early 40s when her relationship with Brown developed. Plus, Victoria suffered from a painful injury, a prolapsed uterus, that her doctor discovered only after her death. But Riddell argues that none of that rules out the possibility that Victoria had another child. 'There's no evidence to support the idea that she had a prolapsed uterus immediately after [her youngest child's] birth,' Riddell says, and it's common for the injury to happen later in life. Nor was she too old: 'Many women in this period have their last baby between 45 and 47,' Riddell says. Plus, a pregnancy would have been easier than many might assume to conceal. Victoria was deep in seclusion, wearing voluminous mourning gowns. 'No one saw the queen naked. No one touched her body, apart from the four women who were her dressers,' says Riddell. Of course, there are Victoria's own words. She was famously vocal about her difficulties with pregnancy and doctors had advised Victoria not to have any more children over concerns about postpartum depression. But after Albert's death, Victoria longed, one of her daughters wrote, 'for another child.' Proof, though, would be difficult to establish. When it comes to DNA, 'it's much more complicated and much more delicate than television and culture has given us the impression of,' says Riddell, who makes no definitive claim regarding the story, simply presenting the evidence for and against. But what does become clear in Riddell's book is that Brown's own family understood that a relationship existed. The rumor of Mrs. Brown will no doubt endure; it's just too tempting to speculate about the private lives of the powerful, particularly when the details are so at odds with the public image. What Victoria's contemporaries saw between the monarch and her Highland Servant says as much about their society's fears, preoccupations, and messy realities as it does about these two individuals, and the modern fascination is no different. Everybody wants to know what happens behind closed doors, especially palace doors.
Tom's Guide
2 days ago
- Tom's Guide
Netflix teases new psychological thriller show that looks seriously intense — and I'm adding it to my watchlist already
I often find myself frustrated at how spoiler-filled trailers are these days. Fortunately, the new teaser for Netflix's upcoming thriller series 'Wayward' is a great example of a trailer that does just enough to pique your interest, but without giving away the show's biggest secrets. 'Wayward' is set to premiere on Netflix on September 25, and this first trailer is a great mood-setter. It introduces viewers to the town of Tall Pines, a place that looks quaint and idyllic on the surface but is hiding a very sinister underbelly. Consider me very intrigued to learn more. The minute-long trailer suggests a show that runs the gamut from psychological thriller to surrealist nightmare, and it's all set to a haunting rendition of 'In the Pines' sung by series star Toni Collette. In fact, Colette's involvement is another reason I'm particularly interested in this series, because she's great in just about everything. And I get the feeling we're in for another show-stealing performance from Colette, the unnerving final shot of the trailer is all the evidence I need of that. 'Wayward' comes from Canadian comedian Mae Martin, who serves as creator, co-showrunner, executive producer, and also plays the lead role. But 'Wayward' is unlike anything Martin has done before, so even longtime fans might be surprised to see this new side of them. Martin's elevator pitch for the series is an eye-catching one: 'It's like if you took the kids from 'Booksmart' and put them in 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,'' they explained to Netflix Tudum. The streaming service also notes that while the show mixes tones and aims to be 'scary,' Martin's signature humor and heartfelt outlook have been retained, creating an interesting blend of genres. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. The show is partially inspired by Martin's childhood, as well as the experience of a friend who was sent to a troubled teen institute at the age of 16. So, "Wayward" appears to be a thriller with something real to say. The eight-part limited series is set in the seemingly perfect town of Tall Pines, and centers on police officer Alex (Martin) and his pregnant wife (Sarah Gadon) who have recently moved to the area to start their family.. But when unusual incidents occur, Alex is drawn to investigate, and it becomes clear that the local school for 'troubled teens,' and its mysterious leader, Evelyn (Colette), are at the heart of the darkness that is spreading across the town. I can't wait to begin unraveling this mystery. The show also stars Sydney Topliffe, Alyvia Alyn Lind, Brandon Jay McLaren, Tattiawna Jones, Isolde Ardies, Joshua Close and Patrick J. Adams. Ryan Scott is co-showrunner, while Euros Lyn, Renuka Jeyapalan and John Fawcett will direct. 'Wayward' looks to have all the ingredients for a surefire Netflix hit, and the recently-released teaser trailer has taken it from a show barely on my radar to one I'm very eager to add to my watchlist as soon as possible. Fortunately, I won't have to wait too long to take a trip to Tall Pines myself because, as noted, the show will be streaming on Netflix from September 25. In the meantime, if you need something to keep you busy until then, here's a guide to everything you can stream on Netflix in August 2025, including movies and TV shows.
USA Today
2 days ago
- USA Today
Donald Trump's new Scotland golf course is ready. How can you play it?
The way President Donald Trump told it, the new Scotland golf course the Trump Organization named in his honor and dedicated to his mother wouldn't have happened without Sean Connery. He even broke out his best Bond impression to praise the late Scottish actor at the grand opening of Trump International Golf Links on Tuesday, July 29 near Aberdeen, Scotland. "The land, they said it couldn't get zoned. It was an impossibility," Trump said at the ribbon cutting ceremony before playing the course's ceremonial opening round with his son, Eric Trump, 2002 PGA champion Rich Beem and Irish golfer Paul McGinley. "Sean Connery said, 'Let the bloody bloke build his golf course.' Once he said that, everything came into line." Connery did offer support in 2008 for what Eric Trump described Tuesday as his father's "passion project," which Trump acknowledged got off to a rocky start with its neighbors. There were environmental concerns due to the resort's intrusion on the region's sand dunes and Trump's alleged tactics trying to acquire land. But Connery cited the potential benefits to the economy when Trump's initial $1.5 billion plan, which also included hundreds of houses that have not been built yet, received approval from the Scottish government. "During tough economic times, this is a major vote of confidence in Scotland's tourist industry and our ability to rise to the challenge," Connery said, according to the Daily Express. "I look forward to seeing a new gem in the north-east that is good for Aberdeenshire and good for Scotland." The resulting 36-hole golf resort, featuring a highly-acclaimed "Old Course" built in 2012 and the new course Trump formally debuted before returning to the United States after a five-day visit to Scotland, will officially open to the public on August 13. Before that, the property is set to host PGA Legends Tour and DP World Tour events the next two weeks. It will join Trump Turnberry, which Trump bought in 2014, as Scottish golf destinations. Tee times and hotel rooms are available starting next month for what the Trump Organization has dubbed "the greatest 36 holes in golf." But it won't necessarily come cheap. Here's a breakdown of how to stay and play at Trump's newest golf course, Trump International Golf Links. How to stay at Trump's new golf course Those wanting to play golf at Trump's golf property outside Aberdeen, Scotland, can stay on property. Trump MacLeod House & Lodge Hotel is billed as a five-star Scottish baronial mansion nestled within the 1,400-acre grounds of Trump International Golf Links, which is located on the former Menie Estate of Balmedie on the Scottish North-East coast. There are 19 "lavish" guest rooms (with personal butler service available), Italian marble staircases, intimate dining and bar facilities, a separate whisky bar, a full spa, outdoor hot tub, traditional log fires and secret stairways. It's available for exclusive use, corporate events and weddings and "minutes" from the property's golf courses. A house or lodge room for the week beginning on Sunday, August 18 ‒ the earliest day rooms are available as of July 29 ‒ costs 683 Euros (about $787) or more, depending on availability and number of nights. "We had an unlimited budget and we exceeded it," Eric Trump said. "This was his (father's) Mona Lisa." There are also golf packages that include hotel stays, with options built around playing one round or two rounds on the two courses at Trump International Golf Links. The two-night version featuring two rounds of golf on the property's old and new course, which includes a two-night stay at the hotel, a welcome dinner and a dram of whisky and breakfast, costs 2,500 Euros per person (about $2,884) or 4000 Euros (about $4,615) for two people sharing a room. The package is available from August 25 until October 31, 2025, according to the property website. The one-night version, which includes one round of golf on the property's old course, a one-night stay at the hotel and a three-course dinner at The Dunes Restaurant & Bar at the golf clubhouse, costs 1,070 Euros (about $1,234) for a single occupancy room and 782.50 Euros (about $903) per person for a double occupancy room. A one-night package with just golf and hotel accommodations costs 985 Euros ($1,136) for a single occupancy room and 697.50 Euros (about $804) per person for a double occupancy room. In November and December, the costs drop to 460 Euros (about $530) per person per night. The property website also advertises a "Winter Getaway for two" package at 495 Euros (about $571). It includes a one-night stay, three-course dinner at "Trump's Restaurant & Cellar," breakfast in the morning and beauty and wellness treatments at the hotel spa. How to play at Trump International Golf Links Golfers looking to play Trump International Golf Links can get tee times on the old course, the new course or "play the greatest 36 holes in golf." Tee times are available on the new course and old course beginning on Aug. 13, with greens fees costing 495 Euros (about $571) per person. There is a combined "Greatest 36" rate as well until October 31. Tee times will be allocated on a first-come-first-serve basis during the first few months of play, according to the property website. There are also various levels of club membership available for an undisclosed cost. "It's going to be something special and the big question is which is going to be better if there is such a thing," Donald Trump said about the two 18-hole courses, "because we've had such great ratings on the first, I don't know if you can match them on the second, but the second should be every bit as good. The land is of equal quality right on the North Sea and it's going to be good." Golfweek ranked the property's old course No. 31 in the international courses in its 2024 rankings.
