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Daily Record
28-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
The Max Aarons baptism of fire Rangers star survived as Norwich ally reveals new man can handle the heat
Rangers' latest signing survived being thrown into Norwich's fiercest fixture as a rookie 18-year-old for his league debut Max Aarons was handed a Norwich baptism of fire in the derby jokingly dubbed the Old Farm. The then 18-year-old refused to be cowed by Ipswich fans in that league debut at Portman Road seven years ago. But the Rangers new boy will soon discover handling the beast that is the Old Firm is a country mile from that first taste of footballing rivalry. Few would argue the intensity of the East Anglia derby falls short of the fiery furnace of Glasgow's bitter contest. But still, for a young Canary hoping to take flight there was hardly a bigger or more intimidating fixture to start out than that 1-1 draw in enemy territory. Rather than have his wings clipped, the full-back rose to the challenge. So much so that Daniel Farke simply couldn't take him back out the team. Aarons went on to make 41 league appearances that season as Norwich stormed to the Championship title. And for ex-Carrow Road team mate Michael McGovern that day in Ipswich was all the proof he needed that Aarons was the real deal. The former Celtic goalkeeper knows few footballing rivalries compare to what lies in store for Russell Martin's first signing. But he has no doubt Aarons is built for the challenge. McGovern, who spent seven years at Norwich, said: 'I know Max really well, we used to sit beside each other in the changing room. 'I played in his debut in a cup game against Stevenage and then a few weeks later he made his league debut away to Ipswich Town which is obviously a huge rivalry, the biggest game for Norwich fans. 'He was put straight in from the start, he was only 18, but he came in for that East Anglian derby and was excellent. 'He handled the occasion superbly well. It's not quite on the Old Firm level but for an 18-year-old lad to make their debut in that environment it was a huge test. 'Daniel Farke clearly trusted him and the thing about Max is he has a really good temperament. Even back then. 'So as much as it is difficult to play for a club like Rangers and be in the Glasgow goldfish bowl, Max will be fine because he has a really good head on his shoulders. 'He isn't fazed by anything really. Remember he has now played in big games in the Premier League. He's played away at Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and both Manchester clubs many times. He was young and that would have been a real learning curve. 'Not just that but he handled the pressure of two separate title wins in the Championship which is a really competitive league. 'So I'm sure he will handle Rangers and Scottish football. He will relish the challenge. 'Max is a top player with so much potential till to do well at Ibrox. He has played a lot of games at a young age. He's also had a taste of playing in Spain so I think Rangers are getting a really good player.' Aarons arrived on a season-long loan deal from Bournemouth on Wednesday - and immediately set his sights on kick starting his career that stalled last season with just two starts for the Cherries and five appearances for Valencia in a La Liga loan stint. The 25-year-old will go head-to-head with skipper James Tavernier for the right back spot at Ibrox. And McGovern reckons there's no way Aarons is moving north to play second fiddle. He said: 'That's up to Russell Martin who starts in each position! 'I don't know where Max will fit in. Naturally he is a right back but he can also play on the left. 'But I imagine he will be going in there to play. 'He's not going to want to go somewhere and not play because he didn't play too much at Bournemouth last season or on loan at Valencia. 'He just needs regular games. I'm pretty sure if he gets that you will see a player who was quoted as a £20m player not so long ago. 'Max is really comfortable on the ball. He's a good one v one defender and really good going forward. He's intelligent and knows the game. 'He just needs regular football. He has a good chance of getting that at Rangers. I think he will be an asset for them this season.' That £20m valuation comes from reported Manchester United interest in Aarons three years ago while the player was at his peak with Norwich. The Canaries refused to cash in and by the time he moved on in 2023 - with just a year left on his contract - they had to settle for a £7m from Bournemouth. Now he's preparing for a crack at Scottish football after becoming the first signing of the Martin era. And his first competitive action could come in the form of a European debut in the Champions League qualifier against Panathinaikos next month. McGovern said: 'Max is a Premier League quality player. It's a shame there's no option to buy for Rangers. Bournemouth are probably looking at Max as an asset who can make them a good few quid in the future. 'He just needs games and a bit of love. He's not had too many games the last year or so. But he will hopefully get that platform with Rangers.'
STV News
11-06-2025
- General
- STV News
Community fundraiser for memorial 150 years on from fishing disaster
A Fife fishing community is raising £30,000 to build a memorial garden commemorating the worst fishing disaster to ever hit the Kingdom. Some 37 men from the close-knit fishing villages of the East Neuk all died when a storm hit off the Norfolk coast in the 19th century. Around 80 Fife boats had spent months following the East Anglian herring season. But three from St Monans and two from Cellardyke never returned. Mary Henderson from St Monans Heritage Centre told STV News: 'You can just imagine how awful it was for the wives, children and parents, waiting at the harbour, looking out to see if these boats were anywhere, waiting for a telegram to arrive and…nothing. 'They were all related to each other – there were brothers, uncles, son-in-laws. The entire community was affected in one way or another.' The only permanent memorial marking the disaster is hundreds of miles south in Norfolk, where eight of the men are buried. Fife Architects via Supplied The community in St Monans is hoping to build a permanent memorial in the 150th anniversary year of the disaster Four of James Paterson's ancestors died in the tragedy. He told STV News: 'My great-great grandad was the skipper of the Beautiful Star. 'It's really emotional. It would be fantastic, and we're really hoping that everything goes ahead. We want to help as much as we can.' Hugh Wallace, a member of the St Monans Memorial Garden Committee, said: 'These were families that were known, people would have been in each other's homes, and this would have changed everything for them. 'We want to have this place so that people who are coming as visitors, as well as people in the community, can remember and always be grateful for those who gave their lives…just as there is in King's Lynn where the accident took place.' STV News Hugh Wallace is part of a group fundraising for a permanent memorial garden in St Monans. As devastating as the disaster was for Fife, it also had a profound impact on the fishing communities of Norfolk. A memorial, in the shape of the 'Beautiful Star' boat, was erected in the town of King's Lynn, where eight of the fishermen are buried. STV News The 'Beautiful Star' memorial lies in the Hardwick Road Cemetery in the English town of King's Lynn. The memorial was paid for by public subscription and records detail how people lined the streets for the funerals of men they treated as their own. 'The whole town turned out, the grief was deeply felt,' said local historian Dr Paul Richards Representatives from King's Lynn are to be invited to Scotland for an opening ceremony if the memorial garden can be built in time for the 150th anniversary in November. STV News Local historian Dr Paul Richards told STV News that people lined the streets for the Fife fishermen's funerals. Dr Richards said: 'That community response I know was much appreciated in Fife but the people of King's Lynn are very proud that they were able to help and to show respect and to honour their fisherfolk. 'We have not forgotten and we hope to be together in November.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Daily Mirror
03-06-2025
- Climate
- Daily Mirror
UK weather maps turn red as temperatures to soar to 27 in two weeks
Some weather maps are predicting that temperatures in the UK could go up to 27C this month - the UK has just had its warmest spring on record, provisional figures suggest Brits could be about to bake in some toasty temperatures as some weather maps turn red. Predictions from WX Charts suggest that temperatures could soar to up to 27C from June 12, with the East of England predicted to be the warmest of all. A red band of summer heat will stretch from London to Norwich, the map predicts, with the East Anglian city predicted to be 26. Temperatures could also be high all the way up to Newcastle. Further warm figures are possible in the southeast such as Sussex and Surrey, with 21C predicted. The warm weather could also spread across the southwest, with Somerset, Devon and Cornwall predicted to be slightly cooler but still warm at 17 to 20C. In the Midlands, the WX Charts map turns more orange due to predicted temperatures of up to 23C. Manchester and the surrounding areas, meanwhile, could also be around 23C. Newcastle looks to be the hottest place in the north of England at 21C into the evening that week. The eastern part of Wales will also be the hottest part of the country at 22C and Cardiff could see temperatures of 20C. Northern Ireland and Scotland look set to be cooler. There could be a milder feel of around 14C. For the same period, experts at the Met Office think June 7 to June 16 will be an 'unsettled' time, particularly at the start with many 'if not all' areas seeing showers and 'longers spells of rain'. The UK weather service said 'At first, wet weather may be focussed across the south of the UK but it looks like this focus will fairly quickly shift northwards during the first few days'. It added: 'Towards the middle of June, there is an increased chance that high pressure will become more dominant, at least in the south. This would result in some longer periods of drier weather, although unsettled spells remain likely. Following a rather cool start to this period, there is a greater chance of warmer spells towards mid-June.' It comes after provisional figures showed the UK had its warmest spring on record and its driest in more than 50 years. The three months from March to May were also the sunniest spring on record for the UK, the figures reveal. The figures come after north-west England became the first region in the country to declare a drought following the exceptionally dry spring, farmers struggled to grow crops, and millions of households were warned they could face hosepipe bans this summer without sustained rainfall. And environmental campaigners said the latest data was a 'stark warning' that climate change was no longer a distant threat, but one which needed immediate action. Spring temperatures surpassed the long term average by 1.4C and beat the previous warmest spring in 2024, in records dating back to Met Office said that eight of the 10 warmest springs on record had occurred since 2000 and the three warmest had been since 2017, in a sign of the changing climate.
Sydney Morning Herald
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
MAGA v the monarch: Is King Charles blowing royal raspberries at Trump?
But venture he did. And, not for the first time since Trump's restoration, he seemed happy to become the leading man in an intricately choreographed act of geopolitical theatre directed against the White House. Loading In Ottawa he essentially reprised the role he played on the weekend after the Ukrainian president got roughed up in the Oval Office by Trump and his vice-presidential henchman J.D. Vance. Then he welcomed a bruised Volodymyr Zelensky to Sandringham, his East Anglian estate. Arranged at warp speed, that meeting was also rapid royal rebuttal. A very British middle finger. The government of Keir Starmer also knows how to play the royal card, using it both to charm Trump and to chide him. Trump, whose mother was born in the Western Isles of Scotland, is an arch monarchist who idolised Queen Elizabeth II and does not seem particularly perturbed that Charles is the most 'woke' monarch ever to occupy the British throne. The simple fact that Charles comes with the title 'His Royal Highness' and enjoys the kind of dynastic privilege money cannot buy, gives him a form of diplomatic immunity. No matter that Charles is gently mocked by family members, I am told, for being to the left of George Monbiot, one of The Guardian's most progressive columnists. So Trump, who is so easily flattered, instantly took the bait when Prime Minister Starmer, in full reality-TV mode, pulled out an envelope during an Oval Office fireside chat in February that contained a personal invitation from the King for an unprecedented second UK state visit. Since then Starmer has been at the forefront of the European rearguard to protect Ukraine from both President Putin's warmongering and President Trump's supine peacemaking. Yet despite Starmer playing a double diplomatic game, the promise of that presidential visit to Britain seems to have kept him in Trump's good graces. Proof came in the form of a new trade deal with the United States earlier this month, the first negotiated by an international leader since 'Liberation Day'. What of 'Independence Day', I hear you bellow. Why is Trump being allowed by his party, the Republicans, to act like a monarch? This is not so historically perverse as it seems. The American revolution, after all, was primarily a rebellion against the British parliament rather than the British king. The complaint of some leading revolutionaries was that after the Glorious Revolution in the late 17th century the British parliament had usurped too many monarchical prerogatives, and that King George should have overruled Westminster in managing his insurgent North American colonies. In 1776 it was possible to be both a revolutionary and a royalist. Alexander Hamilton, despite the myth-making of the brilliant Broadway musical, fitted this description. After the Americans triumphed over the British, this strand of thinking shaped the new US Constitution, and in particular its creation of a strong executive branch. An irony of the War of Independence is that the United States ended up with a new head of state with more powers than the deposed king. The titles under consideration for what eventually became known as the presidency reflected this kingly bent: 'His Elective Highness', 'His Supremacy', 'His Mightiness', 'His Magistracy' and, yes, 'His Majesty'. As for Britain's current monarch, Trump's subversion of America's postwar alliance system means he now stands at the head of a revitalised Commonwealth of Nations, a friendlier pact altogether. Loading Trump's antagonistic relationship with Europe has also enabled Starmer to reset relations with the European Union, sealed earlier this month with the renegotiation of the Brexit deal, and become a more weighty global player. Perhaps Trump has helped Britain, after losing its empire, finally find a role: to use the soft power of the monarchy, its one-time figurehead of imperialism, to thwart the territorial expansionism of its former colony. It's a joust for the ages. The monarch against MAGA. King Charles against King Donald.
The Age
30-05-2025
- Politics
- The Age
MAGA v the monarch: Is King Charles blowing royal raspberries at Trump?
But venture he did. And, not for the first time since Trump's restoration, he seemed happy to become the leading man in an intricately choreographed act of geopolitical theatre directed against the White House. Loading In Ottawa he essentially reprised the role he played on the weekend after the Ukrainian president got roughed up in the Oval Office by Trump and his vice-presidential henchman J.D. Vance. Then he welcomed a bruised Volodymyr Zelensky to Sandringham, his East Anglian estate. Arranged at warp speed, that meeting was also rapid royal rebuttal. A very British middle finger. The government of Keir Starmer also knows how to play the royal card, using it both to charm Trump and to chide him. Trump, whose mother was born in the Western Isles of Scotland, is an arch monarchist who idolised Queen Elizabeth II and does not seem particularly perturbed that Charles is the most 'woke' monarch ever to occupy the British throne. The simple fact that Charles comes with the title 'His Royal Highness' and enjoys the kind of dynastic privilege money cannot buy, gives him a form of diplomatic immunity. No matter that Charles is gently mocked by family members, I am told, for being to the left of George Monbiot, one of The Guardian's most progressive columnists. So Trump, who is so easily flattered, instantly took the bait when Prime Minister Starmer, in full reality-TV mode, pulled out an envelope during an Oval Office fireside chat in February that contained a personal invitation from the King for an unprecedented second UK state visit. Since then Starmer has been at the forefront of the European rearguard to protect Ukraine from both President Putin's warmongering and President Trump's supine peacemaking. Yet despite Starmer playing a double diplomatic game, the promise of that presidential visit to Britain seems to have kept him in Trump's good graces. Proof came in the form of a new trade deal with the United States earlier this month, the first negotiated by an international leader since 'Liberation Day'. What of 'Independence Day', I hear you bellow. Why is Trump being allowed by his party, the Republicans, to act like a monarch? This is not so historically perverse as it seems. The American revolution, after all, was primarily a rebellion against the British parliament rather than the British king. The complaint of some leading revolutionaries was that after the Glorious Revolution in the late 17th century the British parliament had usurped too many monarchical prerogatives, and that King George should have overruled Westminster in managing his insurgent North American colonies. In 1776 it was possible to be both a revolutionary and a royalist. Alexander Hamilton, despite the myth-making of the brilliant Broadway musical, fitted this description. After the Americans triumphed over the British, this strand of thinking shaped the new US Constitution, and in particular its creation of a strong executive branch. An irony of the War of Independence is that the United States ended up with a new head of state with more powers than the deposed king. The titles under consideration for what eventually became known as the presidency reflected this kingly bent: 'His Elective Highness', 'His Supremacy', 'His Mightiness', 'His Magistracy' and, yes, 'His Majesty'. As for Britain's current monarch, Trump's subversion of America's postwar alliance system means he now stands at the head of a revitalised Commonwealth of Nations, a friendlier pact altogether. Loading Trump's antagonistic relationship with Europe has also enabled Starmer to reset relations with the European Union, sealed earlier this month with the renegotiation of the Brexit deal, and become a more weighty global player. Perhaps Trump has helped Britain, after losing its empire, finally find a role: to use the soft power of the monarchy, its one-time figurehead of imperialism, to thwart the territorial expansionism of its former colony. It's a joust for the ages. The monarch against MAGA. King Charles against King Donald.
