Latest news with #Carlin
Daily Mirror
29-06-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
George Russell's email to Toto Wolff rejecting offer for the 'benefit of career'
George Russell once rejected a Mercedes contract offer from Toto Wolff before the pair eventually joined forces, with the British driver leading the team's charge in 2025 George Russell boldly rejected Toto Wolff's advances a decade ago before rising to become Mercedes' leading driver. In his early motorsport career, Russell was courted by high-profile teams as he shone in the lower tiers, with Wolff seeking out the young British talent during his early years in charge at Mercedes. While excelling in the European Formula 3 series and pondering his next step, Russell engaged in discussions with Wolff but ultimately chose to join the UK-based squad Carlin, backed by Volkswagen. He also declined an offer worth "a lot of money" from BMW, wary that it might hinder his chances of joining Mercedes in the future. Russell, who eventually teamed up with Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes full-time after three years at Williams, told Motorsport Magazine in 2022: "I was already having conversations with Toto and Mercedes prior to joining Carlin and Volkswagen. "I actually had a deal on the table to have almost the same backing from Mercedes as I had from Volkswagen. But because there wasn't an opportunity open at PREMA [a team with Mercedes links], the next team I would have had to join would be a German team called Mucke Motorsport, who I felt, for my first season F3, wouldn't be as well suited to me as a British team in Carlin." Russell politely declined Wolff's offer via email, only to be told he was making a mistake. Russell added: "So after my meeting with Toto at the start of 2015, I sent him an email just to say, 'I really appreciate the meeting and thanks for all of your advice. Just to let you know, I'll actually be joining Carlin and Volkswagen as opposed to Mücke Motorsport and Mercedes because I believe it's better for my career.'" "And I had the opinion that if I went out and did a good job, Mercedes would still be interested. So he replied back, 'I think you're making a wrong decision but let's stay in touch and let's see where we go from there.'" However, Russell and Wolff's partnership was not too far away as the driver joined the Mercedes junior programme in 2017. Wolff later influenced Russell's step up to F1 with Mercedes-powered Williams in 2019. Russell memorably stood in for Hamilton at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix after the seven-time world champion had been sidelined by Covid. Russell almost beat team-mate Valtteri Bottas to pole and was on course to win the race until a Mercedes pitstop error wrecked his chances. He eventually joined the team full-time in 2022 and has four wins to his name, the last of which came at the recent Canadian Grand Prix, where he finished just in front of Max Verstappen. Despite his stellar 2025 performances, rumours persist that Verstappen might take his seat in 2026, with Wolff making no secret of his desire to land the four-time world champion. However, Russell, who has been linked to Aston Martin, has no issue with his team's interest in his arch-rival. "Why wouldn't teams be interested in Max? If every driver had no contracts for next year, Max would be No.1 for every single team. And that's understandable," he said ahead of this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix.
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Incestuous kings 'unlikely' to be buried in ancient tomb
For many years it was believed that burial at the an ancient Irish passage tomb was the preserve of kings and other dignitaries, who represented a dynasty that practised incest. But a new research paper suggests Newgrange in County Meath may not have been confined to the social elite. The tomb is 5,200 years old - older than the Great Pyramid of Giza - and is also renowned for a winter solstice phenomenon where sunlight penetrates a passage and illuminates an inner chamber, indicating an ancient understanding of astronomy. Associate professor of archaeology Neil Carlin from University College Dublin (UCD) said suggestions of "an incestuous ruling elite in Stone Age Ireland did not match our understanding of society at this time, it did not fit the evidence very well". Newgrange is a Neolithic monument constructed by stone age farmers in the Boyne Valley. It is part of a network of several prehistoric monuments in an area which is recognised as a Unesco World Heritage Site. "We now have some really great examples of monuments elsewhere in Europe that contain people with very close biological ties - parents, children, grandparents etc," said associate professor Jessica Smyth, also from UCD. "This sort of aDNA (ancient DNA) evidence is much closer to the idea of a lineage or dynasty. We do not see this evidence in Irish passage tombs." The findings also claim that no other incestuous unions have been identified in Neolithic Ireland and Britain, and that there is a lack of evidence for inbreeding across prehistoric Europe. They also say the evidence found at the site does not support the existence of a 'king' of Newgrange or any hereditary power or dynasty with a shared ancestry. "People were definitely being selected for burial in passage tombs - the whole community does not end up in these monuments" Prof Smyth said. "However, we don't know the reasons behind this selection, and why they were thought to be special. "Unlike today, bodies don't tend to be buried 'whole' or 'intact' in this time period. Before they end up in megalithic monuments, bodies are broken down, sometimes cremated and even circulated around their communities." Speaking to BBC News NI, Prof Carlin said some of the materials used to build the tomb came from "distant areas". "We have chemical signatures indicating that some of the burials in some of these passage tombs are coming from beyond the locality," he said. "At Newgrange itself, we see the stones coming from as far away as 40km in and around Dundalk Bay. "So, there are all these indications that this is not about biology or lineages, this is about people being chosen as representatives of their community." Newgrange was rediscovered in AD 1699 and its interior had been heavily disturbed prior to its modern excavation in the 1960s, according to the authors "Burnt and unburnt fragments from just five people were recovered from the 1960s excavations of the tomb," said Mr Carlin. "Due to the high levels of disturbance in the centuries before that, we don't know if this number was originally much higher." Newgrange is part of a complex of monuments built along a bend of the River Boyne known collectively in the Irish language as Brú na Bóinne and the sites are managed by Ireland's Office of Public Works in partnership with the National Monuments Services of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The tomb is a large kidney shaped mound covering an area of over one acre, retained at the base by 97 large kerbstones, some of which are decorated with megalithic art. The 19m (62ft) long inner passage leads to a cruciform chamber with a corbelled roof. The site, which has been reconstructed, was originally built about 5,200 years ago which makes it older than Stonehenge. Newgrange is also renowned for a winter solstice phenomenon where sunlight penetrates a passage and illuminates an inner chamber, indicating an ancient understanding of astronomy. The light travels 19m, from the roof box at the entrance through the passage and into the chamber.
Edinburgh Reporter
16-06-2025
- General
- Edinburgh Reporter
Call for end to booking rubbish recycling slots in West Lothian
The need for resident to book time slots to visit West Lothian recycling sites has been questioned by a local councillor. A booking system was introduced during the Covid pandemic for reasons of social distancing. The council's Executive decided two years ago to introduce a full-time booking system for the sites to coincide with the reduced hours at the recycling centres. Broxburn's SNP councillor Mike Carlin said the question of the continued need for booked slots to use the recycling centres had been raised by constituents at a community council. Questions he had been asked why the slots were needed post Covid. Discussing the work of Operational Services which includes the CRC sites and cleansing team at the Environment and Sustainability PDSP Councillor Carlin asked: 'Why are we still having to book slots at the recycling centres.?' He added: 'This question came up at a community council. Now we're through Covid and going through a quiet period. Why are we still having to book slots at the recycling centres?' Fellow SNP councillor Veronica Smith asked: 'The feedback is that the centres are very quiet so that's why the questions were asked about why we need to book.' Head of Operational Services David Maule, said: 'The reason for having a booking system is to ensure we have a safe environment for staff and members of the public, with moving traffic.' 'I've looked at the usage figures, they are all fairly busy. I'm not sure they get too many quiet times. I think there are very good reasons for safety that we should maintain the booking system at centres.' The current booking system was confirmed in October 2023, at the same time as hours at the five recycling centres were reduced as part of cutbacks to save £330,000. Councillors have also argued that many people without transport are losing out on the service because they cannot access the recycling centres on foot. At local area committees recently the surge in fly-tipping around communal bin areas has also been highlighted Mr Maule's predecessor as head of Operational Services had argued at the time that the service would be improved because people would not have to sit in traffic queues to get into the centres. Following initial closure during the Covid lockdown some centres notably Oakbank at Livingston saw massive traffic tailbacks which needed police control. Councillor Carlin's local CRC suite at Broxburn, along with neighbouring Linlithgow, had its opening hours cut back considerably. Across the county the centres are open for 144 hours a week – down from 280. Both Linlithgow and Broxburn are only open one day during the week and on afternoons or mornings at the weekends. For Broxburn the opening hours are: 10am to 6pm Thursday, 2pm to 6pm on Saturday and 10am to 2pm Sunday. The changes were met with sustained complaints initially. However, in June last year the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported: 'Despite the cut in hours introduced last October and the introduction of the booking system there's been no loss of customers with 191,000 bookings made between October and April. More than 13,000 people booked slots at West Lothian's recycling centres but never turned up with their rubbish. By Stuart Sommerville, Local Democracy Reporter Like this: Like Related
Daily Record
16-06-2025
- General
- Daily Record
West Lothian residents fume 'why do we need to book quiet recycling centres?'
A booking system was introduced during the Covid pandemic for reasons of social distancing. The need for resident to book time slots to visit West Lothian recycling sites has been questioned by a local councillor. A booking system was introduced during the Covid pandemic for reasons of social distancing. The council's Executive decided two years ago to introduce a full-time booking system for the sites to coincide with the reduced hours at the recycling centres. Broxburn's SNP councillor Mike Carlin said the question of the continued need for booked slots to use the recycling centres had been raised by constituents at a community council. Questions he had been asked why the slots were needed post Covid. Discussing the work of Operational Services which includes the CRC sites and cleansing team at the Environment and Sustainability PDSP Councillor Carlin asked: 'Why are we still having to book slots at the recycling centres.?' He added: 'This question came up at a community council. Now we're through Covid and going through a quiet period. Why are we still having to book slots at the recycling centres?' Fellow SNP councillor Veronica Smith asked: 'The feedback is that the centres are very quiet so that's why the questions were asked about why we need to book.' Head of Operational Services David Maule, said: 'The reason for having a booking system is to ensure we have a safe environment for staff and members of the public, with moving traffic.' 'I've looked at the usage figures, they are all fairly busy. I'm not sure they get too many quiet times. I think there are very good reasons for safety that we should maintain the booking system at centres.' The current booking system was confirmed in October 2023, at the same time as hours at the five recycling centres were reduced as part of cutbacks to save £330,000. Councillors have also argued that many people without transport are losing out on the service because they cannot access the recycling centres on foot. At local area committees recently the surge in fly-tipping around communal bin areas has also been highlighted Mr Maule's predecessor as head of Operational Services had argued at the time that the service would be improved because people would not have to sit in traffic queues to get into the centres. Following initial closure during the Covid lockdown some centres notably Oakbank at Livingston saw massive traffic tailbacks which needed police control. Councillor Carlin's local CRC suite at Broxburn, along with neighbouring Linlithgow, had its opening hours cut back considerably. Across the county the centres are open for 144 hours a week - down from 280. Both Linlithgow and Broxburn are only open one day during the week and on afternoons or mornings at the weekends. For Broxburn the opening hours are: 10am to 6pm Thursday, 2pm to 6pm on Saturday and 10am to 2pm Sunday. The changes were met with sustained complaints initially. However in June last year the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported: 'Despite the cut in hours introduced last October and the introduction of the booking system there's been no loss of customers with 191,000 bookings made between October and April. More than 13,000 people booked slots at West Lothian's recycling centres but never turned up with their rubbish.
Edinburgh Live
16-06-2025
- Business
- Edinburgh Live
West Lothian residents fume 'why do we need to book quiet recycling centres?'
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info The need for residents to book time slots to visit West Lothian recycling sites has been questioned by a local councillor. A booking system was introduced during the Covid pandemic for reasons of social distancing. The council's Executive decided two years ago to introduce a full-time booking system for the sites to coincide with the reduced hours at the recycling centres. Broxburn's SNP councillor Mike Carlin said the question of the continued need for booked slots to use the recycling centres had been raised by constituents at a community council. Questions he had been asked why the slots were needed post Covid. Discussing the work of Operational Services which includes the CRC sites and cleansing team at the Environment and Sustainability PDSP Councillor Carlin asked: 'Why are we still having to book slots at the recycling centres.?' He added: 'This question came up at a community council. Now we're through Covid and going through a quiet period. Why are we still having to book slots at the recycling centres?" Fellow SNP councillor Veronica Smith asked: 'The feedback is that the centres are very quiet so that's why the questions were asked about why we need to book.' Head of Operational Services David Maule, said: 'The reason for having a booking system is to ensure we have a safe environment for staff and members of the public, with moving traffic.' 'I've looked at the usage figures, they are all fairly busy. I'm not sure they get too many quiet times. I think there are very good reasons for safety that we should maintain the booking system at centres.' The current booking system was confirmed in October 2023, at the same time as hours at the five recycling centres were reduced as part of cutbacks to save £330,000. Councillors have also argued that many people without transport are losing out on the service because they cannot access the recycling centres on foot. At local area committees recently the surge in fly-tipping around communal bin areas has also been highlighted Mr Maule's predecessor as head of Operational Services had argued at the time that the service would be improved because people would not have to sit in traffic queues to get into the centres. Following initial closure during the Covid lockdown some centres notably Oakbank at Livingston saw massive traffic tailbacks which needed police control. Councillor Carlin's local CRC suite at Broxburn, along with neighbouring Linlithgow, had its opening hours cut back considerably. Across the county the centres are open for 144 hours a week - down from 280. Both Linlithgow and Broxburn are only open one day during the week and on afternoons or mornings at the weekends. For Broxburn the opening hours are: 10am to 6pm Thursday, 2pm to 6pm on Saturday and 10am to 2pm Sunday. The changes were met with sustained complaints initially. However in June last year the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported: 'Despite the cut in hours introduced last October and the introduction of the booking system there's been no loss of customers with 191,000 bookings made between October and April. More than 13,000 people booked slots at West Lothian's recycling centres but never turned up with their rubbish .
