Latest news with #Ellie
Scotsman
2 hours ago
- Automotive
- Scotsman
I was a Miss England finalist and I've been tractor-pulling since I was 7
This video More videos A former Miss England finalist shares her story of growing up in the world of competitive tractor-pulling, in a high-octane video taken at a national motorsports event. Keep up with the latest new videos with the Shots! Newsletter. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Meet Ellie Pacey (click to play video above), a motorsports enthusiast who was a finalist in Miss England 2020, and hopes to encourage more girls to take up tractor pulling. Former beauty queen grew up with motorsports Ellie started competing in tractor pulling when she was 7 years old, and says she's never known any different. Ellie says: 'My dad competed in tractor pulling, so I went to my first event when I was 2 weeks old.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ellie Pacey from Northants with her light-modified tractor, On The Limit. | Lucinda Herbert The sport involves driving modified tractors -some with multiple engines and other modifications, while pulling a heavy drag (also known as a sled) down a 100-metre long track. The winner is the tractor driver that manages to pull theirs the furthest. Watch Ellie speed down the track Ellie drives a light modified tractor as part of the On The Limit team, with her mum and dad. In the video above, 24-year-old Ellie can be seen revving up her engines and speeding down the track during the UK Truck and Tractor Pull 2025. Ellie Pacey from Northants with her light-modified tractor, On The Limit. | Lucinda Herbert The event was held at Scorton Showground, in Lancashire. Inclusive and family-friendly motorsport Ellie was one of many female drivers at the nationwide motorsports competition, and the former beauty queen claims tractor-pulling is a diverse and inclusive sport. The two-day event includes different classes, including some aimed at youngsters. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ellie Pacey from Northants with her light-modified tractor, On The Limit. | Lucinda Herbert Ellie, who also works as a test technician for the Mercedes F1 team, says: "It's a motorsport, so there are going to be more men into it, but I've never been treated any different because I'm a girl". 'Iconic' Jessica Rabbit painting on tractor Her light-modified tractor has an eye-catching design, which was all painted by hand. The painting has a theme around a gambler who has spent up. One side of the tractor also includes a painting of iconic cartoon character, Jessica Rabbit. Ellie Pacey from Northants with her light-modified tractor, On The Limit. | Lucinda Herbert Further tractor pulling events will take place at the Scorton Showground, including the Great Eccleston Show on 12 - 13 July and the BTPA Championship points pull, round 5 on 22 Aug.
Glasgow Times
7 hours ago
- General
- Glasgow Times
East Kilbride school 'superheroes' launch campaign to boost attendance
Led by Ellie, from Kirktonholme Primary, the pupils helped South Lanarkshire Council kick off its campaign to boost and maintain attendance in schools. Every School Day Matters aims to highlight the social and lifelong benefits of education, and as the term draws to a close, it is targeting young children preparing to start in August. (Image: South Lanarkshire Council) Councillor Gavin Keatt, depute chairperson of the council's education resources committee, says the campaign comes on the back of startling research which reveals the impact of low attendance. He said: 'I was taken aback to discover that, from our own research, a young person who misses even a few weeks of school each year, from P1 through to S3, loses an entire year of education.' (Image: South Lanarkshire Council) He added: 'Family life is busy, and from time to time it might seem that a day's absence here or there really doesn't make a difference. We know that's not the case. 'Coming to school is about so much more than books and numbers. It helps to nurture, support and create social skills, friendships, support networks, resilience and the ability to learn, change and adapt.' (Image: South Lanarkshire Council) Councillor Keatt met Ellie, the face of the campaign, to highlight to families that 'every pupil can find their superpower in the classroom' adding: 'That could be in the art class, music hall, playground, science lab and playing field.' He said: 'Being in school is the foundation upon which happy, successful and resilient young people are built.' A dedicated page is now live on the council website, with lots of information, support, links and advice on the campaign, which will run at various times across the coming school year, and will focus on specific groups, including secondary schools, as it progresses.
Belfast Telegraph
a day ago
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
‘It's a big moment for me': NI's Ellie McCartney becomes swimming's latest golden girl
The 20-year-old from Enniskillen claimed the 200m individual medley crown at the event in Slovakia, but says she isn't getting carried away with thoughts of the Olympics just yet. The swimmer, who is studying Sports Science at the University of Limerick, splits her training between the base of Swim Ireland in Limerick and Bangor's Aurora Centre, said she was delighted and surprised to have picked up the biggest title of her career to date. 'Honestly, I wasn't really expecting it,' she said, having focused much of her training on the 200m breaststroke this season. Ellie, a former pupil at Enniskillen Royal, had qualified fastest for the final but was up against competitors who had a faster personal best time, and was in third place halfway through the four-leg event which sees swimmers combine backstroke, butterfly, breaststroke and freestyle legs. 'In the end, I think it was the breaststroke training that really helped,' she said. 'Overall the other girls have been quite a bit faster than me, but the breaststroke leg went well.' Ellie powered through the field to take the lead and held on to take the title in a time of 2 minutes 12.5 seconds. She had 1.22 seconds to spare over second-placed Bertille Cousson from France with Slovakia's Tamara Potocka in third. 'I didn't really have any pressure in the race,' she said. 'I had already achieved qualifying times for the World Championships which will be held in Singapore at the end of July, so it was nice to be able to go out there and just race. 'I managed to get my hand to the wall first and that was really exciting and unexpected. It's a big moment for me.' The European U-23 championships were last held in Dublin in 2023, with Irish Olympians Daniel Wiffen and Mona McSharry among the gold medallists while Ellen Walshe was the champion in the 200m Individual medley. News Catch Up - Friday 27th June Ellie enjoyed previous success at the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago in the 100 and 200-metre breaststroke, and 200-metre individual medley when she won two golds and a bronze making her double Commonwealth Youth Games champion. 'Singapore will be a new experience for me,' she said looking ahead to next month's World Aquatic Championships. 'Being part of the Swim Ireland team going over there is something I'm really looking forward to. 'The next Olympics are still three years away so there's plenty of time to think about that later. Now it's all about the training, improving my times to make sure I qualify for these major long course (50m pool) events. Right now, anything that comes after that, like gold medals at European level to start with, is a real bonus.' Ellie has another two events in Slovakia, with the 100m breaststroke and her favoured event, the 200m breaststroke, still to come over the weekend. 'Training well and getting the experience of competing at the World Championships is my next goal,' she said. 'Next year there's the Commonwealth Games to aim for so there's still a lot of hard work ahead.'
Dublin Live
2 days ago
- Dublin Live
Couple evicted from TUI hotel and banned from flight after 'complaining about food'
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 A dream holiday turned sour for a pair evicted from their Corfu hotel and then barred from their return flight. Paul Bell and his wife Ellie faced a Grecian getaway gone awry when they were ejected after TUI accused them of "aggressive and disrespectful language" in the hotel's diner. The North Shields couple, Paul, 64, and Ellie, 65, had to spend a hefty sum on another stay in Corfu, book alternative flights, and sort out their transportation after the fallout with TUI. In defiant response, the Bells promise never to use TUI again, denying the claims of causing trouble at Sidari's Terezas Hotel restaurant — an establishment they'd praised before. The controversial episode erupted following Ellie's expression of discontent with substandard food to the manager, with Paul labelling the offerings as "tepid" and "not very nice". Paul laid bare their culinary grievances, describing meals such as: "Some of the things you would get were rice with sprouts, or another time you'd have rice with a slice of beetroot in it. My wife spoke to the manager twice, she complained about the food being inedible and he didn't seem interested. She asked him to join us for breakfast the next day so we could show him what we meant, but he never turned up." Paul and Ellie were utterly shocked when they got a letter the next day telling them their stay at the hotel was cut short. The letter, dated May 20, accused: "You caused a serious disturbance by shouting inside the hotel restaurant in front of other guests, resulting in significant distress and disruption to the peaceful environment of the hotel," and claimed "you directed aggressive and disrespectful language towards both hotel staff, the hotel owners, and TUI representatives on site," as reported by the Mirror, reports the Irish Mirror. (Image: Iain Buist/Newcastle Chronicle) However, Paul disputed these allegations to Chronicle Live, maintaining that he and Ellie hadn't gotten the chance to present their version of events to TUI. He explained: "I don't remember anybody shouting. We only spoke to the rep on the day she was at the hotel and there was nothing disrespectful shown to her. They've never come and spoke to us to find out what happened, they've decided off what the manager has told them. But surely there are always two sides to a story? I was furious, because it spoiled the day we had planned." Without the opportunity for a formal response or appeal, all Paul and Ellie were told was to contact the UK consulate should they need further assistance. Then, on the evening of May 21 at 22.28, the pair received yet another upsetting piece of news - a letter declaring that Ellie was prohibited from getting on the TOM1531 flight back to Newcastle scheduled for Friday, May 23. Barely half a day had passed when Paul and Ellie got a shocker of an email informing them that they'd been banned from their TUI flight home. TUI said the ban was "due to your conduct and behaviour", in accordance with their policies. In a scramble, Paul booked return flights back from Corfu using Jet2, shelling out €328.56 (£280) on Thursday, May 22. But when they got back to North Shields, TUI dropped yet another bombshell via email. The latest update stated: "the refusal of carriage for Paul Bell and Eleanor Bell has now been revoked, and you will now be allowed travel on your inbound flight". Paul fumed over the hassle, saying "That doesn't help us now, because we were told we have to make our own travel arrangements and we came home. We had to pay €60 for a taxi to the airport as well, because we weren't allowed on the transfers,". (Image: Paul Bell/Chronicle Live) Explaining their peaceful holiday style, Paul remarked, "When we go on holiday, we try to go somewhere nice and quiet, sit and chill, try the local stuff, go to the towns and see the scenery and to have food like we did (in the hotel) was really disappointing. We got no back-up whatsoever from TUI." He vented his frustration with how quickly the decision was made, detailing, "They took whatever the manager said as gospel and came to a decision just like that. Had we been drunk and disorderly, fine, but we weren't - we've never had any bother on any holidays before, until this time with TUI." ChronicleLive has learned that TUI is planning to reimburse the couple's unexpected flights and their taxi fare to the airport. TUI has opted not to comment further. The Mirror has contacted TUI for further information. Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice . For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage .
Scotsman
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Scotsman
I was a Miss England finalist and I've been tractor-pulling since I was 7
This video More videos A former Miss England finalist shares her story of growing up in the world of competitive tractor-pulling, in a high-octane video taken at a national motorsports event. Keep up with the latest new videos with the Shots! Newsletter. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Meet Ellie Pacey (click to play video above), a motorsports enthusiast who was a finalist in Miss England 2020, and hopes to encourage more girls to take up tractor pulling. Former beauty queen grew up with motorsports Ellie started competing in tractor pulling when she was 7 years old, and says she's never known any different. Ellie says: 'My dad competed in tractor pulling, so I went to my first event when I was 2 weeks old.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ellie Pacey from Northants with her light-modified tractor, On The Limit. | Lucinda Herbert The sport involves driving modified tractors -some with multiple engines and other modifications, while pulling a heavy drag (also known as a sled) down a 100-metre long track. The winner is the tractor driver that manages to pull theirs the furthest. Watch Ellie speed down the track Ellie drives a light modified tractor as part of the On The Limit team, with her mum and dad. In the video above, 24-year-old Ellie can be seen revving up her engines and speeding down the track during the UK Truck and Tractor Pull 2025. Ellie Pacey from Northants with her light-modified tractor, On The Limit. | Lucinda Herbert The event was held at Scorton Showground, in Lancashire. Inclusive and family-friendly motorsport Ellie was one of many female drivers at the nationwide motorsports competition, and the former beauty queen claims tractor-pulling is a diverse and inclusive sport. The two-day event includes different classes, including some aimed at youngsters. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ellie Pacey from Northants with her light-modified tractor, On The Limit. | Lucinda Herbert Ellie, who also works as a test technician for the Mercedes F1 team, says: "It's a motorsport, so there are going to be more men into it, but I've never been treated any different because I'm a girl". 'Iconic' Jessica Rabbit painting on tractor Her light-modified tractor has an eye-catching design, which was all painted by hand. The painting has a theme around a gambler who has spent up. One side of the tractor also includes a painting of iconic cartoon character, Jessica Rabbit. Ellie Pacey from Northants with her light-modified tractor, On The Limit. | Lucinda Herbert Further tractor pulling events will take place at the Scorton Showground, including the Great Eccleston Show on 12 - 13 July and the BTPA Championship points pull, round 5 on 22 Aug.
