Latest news with #Janet
Telegraph
4 hours ago
- General
- Telegraph
Marriage Diaries: I'm worried my wife's newly divorced friend is leading her astray
'I'm just going out with Janet for a few drinks.' It's a sentence I'm hearing a lot from my wife, recently. The Janet in question is her recently divorced best mate, whose split from her husband has swiftly been followed by a period of sustained socialising in which my wife has become her wing-woman. I've always really liked Janet. She's extremely warm and, well, lots of fun. And the fact that she's my wife's oldest friend means I'm not at all surprised that she wants to hang out with her and vice versa. Janet has decided to turn the negative of her divorce into a big positive and embrace the sudden lack of someone waiting for her at home by going out to meet whoever might be waiting for her elsewhere. Don't let that paint the wrong kind of picture, either, it's not like Janet's on some horny, hell-raising bender, she has her kids every other week and with her husband moving out of the house they shared, she's just making the most of the opportunity and lack of responsibility on her free weekends. However, she has stolen my wife, and we do have school-age kids, which leads to plenty of weekend responsibilities, and some of the escapades that Janet gets her involved in are starting to impact my life. Most of these escapades can usually be prefixed with the word ' boozy '. From brunches to lunches, even a picnic in the park, a lot has recently turned 'boozy', and I wouldn't be surprised if my wife called me next week to tell me that the museum visit they have planned has turned a bit 'boozy'. Last weekend, after a Friday night out with Janet, she was still too hungover the next day to go to a birthday party on Saturday afternoon, leaving me to go it alone with a gaggle of primary school parents, only 32 per cent of whom we like. Usually, we would look out for one another at such events, knowing full well who the 68 per cent are and realising that if one of us is engaged in conversation with one of them for more than five minutes that we'll need rescuing. There have been three separate instances like this since Janet, not that I'm keeping count. It doesn't always involve alcohol. Sometimes it's just that she has plans with Janet at the weekend that trump our plans because Janet 'needs her right now,' and I'm not sure what the expiration date on 'right now' is for recently divorced best friends. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised that my wife is enjoying the opportunity to let her hair down after the last few years with me, where we had settled into an, admittedly, slightly less exciting daily routine that involves work, dinner and an evening in front of The Traitors. So, maybe every marriage needs a Janet, at some point, to shake things up. Although there's now talk of a girls' holiday, which is not happening, given the perilous state of our finances at the moment and the fact that we can't even afford a family holiday ourselves. So, I'm frantically searching my database of eligible fellas in the hope that I can set Janet up with one of them and things might start to calm down a bit. Unfortunately, most of my mates are now either married or golfers, and I know Janet well enough to know she's allergic to golfers. However, there is a very good friend of mine who has been a confirmed bachelor for years, and he could be the Janet antidote that I have been searching for. They'd be perfect for one another. Janet would get a new partner in crime. I'd get my wife back, everyone wins. White Lotus instead.
Herald Malaysia
9 hours ago
- General
- Herald Malaysia
Catholic Sister brings synodal approach to prison through restorative justice
Sr. Janet Ryan, OSF, facilitates restorative 'justice circle keeper' trainings for staff and incarcerated individuals inside prisons in the US state of Illinois, as part of her ministry with Mobilizing Network. Jun 28, 2025 Sr. Janet, OSF leads a circle training with Catholic Mobilizing Network at Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation in Chicago, Illinois By Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, Catholic Mobilizing Network*When thinking of the American penal system, we might recall the harsh conditions depicted in popular movies and television shows. And when one hears about justice being pursued or carried out in these environments, the first words that come to mind might be punishment and retribution. Of course, our Catholic understanding of justice extends beyond this narrow definition to include concepts and goals like rehabilitation and restoration. True justice—Gospel-inspired justice—is oriented toward genuine peace, flourishing, and even communion. This vision of justice is truly a synodal way of proceeding. It is rooted in the dignity of each person, something that is innate and cannot be forfeited. But does that vision of justice and the recognition of each person's dignity, even when they have committed grave crimes, seem like a mere fantasy, given the nature of incarceration and capital punishment in the United States? Sr. Janet Ryan, OSF, does not think so. That's why she is leading restorative justice trainings inside prisons throughout Illinois. Sowing Seeds of Hope in Prison Sr. Janet is a Fransiscan sister from Clinton, Iowa. For more than a decade, she has served at Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation (PBMR), an organization located in the Back of the Yards neighborhood in Chicago, IL, which exists to restore human dignity through hospitality, hope, and healing. It feels especially fitting to share the story of her hope-filled work in prison as we continue to celebrate this special Jubilee Year dedicated to hope. Founded by the Catholic religious order, the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, PBMR serves community members who are impacted by violence and the criminal justice system, including men and women who are currently incarcerated. Sr. Janet's particular role within PBMR is to lead the peace circle prison ministry. A peace circle, also known as the restorative practice of circle process, invites participants to sit in a circle and pass a talking piece, which signals the speaking order. Facilitators, like Sr. Janet, guide the dialogue using a series of prompts to which every person has the chance to provide a response. Recently, Sr. Janet has initiated a new circle process training program inside prisons to equip incarcerated individuals and prison staff to use the restorative practice of circle process themselves. Offering this program not only to those who are incarcerated, but to the correctional staff at these prison facilities as well, Sr. Janet transcends this common divide in a highly uncommon way. Sr. Janet says each time she gathers in a circle is an opportunity to meet 'beautiful, loving, funny, gifted people.' There is a lot of laughter and a lot of tears. Through authentic dialogue, the circle process creates space to recognize the humanity in every person, which Sr. Janet says 'has the potential to have long-term impact and bring about real transformation'—even if that takes time. Each training is conducted over the course of four days and takes roughly 28 hours to complete. In that time, Sr. Janet shares that she hopes to reflect the goodness, beauty, and dignity of those who are incarcerated and those who work in corrections, creating a space where each person feels safe enough to share honestly and vulnerably without judgment. By the end of this experience, Sr. Janet says the participants—whether incarcerated individuals or prison staff—walk away with the skills and tools needed to facilitate these kinds of authentic dialogues in prison or in their community. Catholic Mobilizing Network's facilitator guide, Conversations in Communion: Parish Dialogues for Connection and Understanding, serves as a companion to Sr. Janet's trainings. She said that one inmate was particularly passionate about the potential impact of this model. He made a striking observation, suggesting that you could change parish to prison, and parishioner to inmate, and distribute copies throughout prisons across the country. Synodal Encounters Toward Healing and Communion A testament to the success of this approach is that Sr. Janet's co-trainer, Eric Anderson, is helping to facilitate circles in the very facility where he was incarcerated about five years ago. His story is a great inspiration to many of the men who know his history and desire a better way forward. The staff, meanwhile, have been polite and professional toward him, even those not yet ready to participate in a circle with him. Sr. Janet is aware that the circle process is deeply countercultural—particularly in the prison system. But this is why it can be so transformational. She believes we can do better—for the incarcerated individuals and the prison staff—to reduce trauma and stress and to create a more just and effective system. Hosting these trainings is one step in that direction. Amid fractured relationships and divided communities, we are all in need of dialogue like this that fosters deep listening, authentic encounter, and radical truth-telling that can build a path toward healing and communion. Whether behind prison bars or in the parish hall, this is the work of synodality that we as a Church are being called to. Both synodality and restorative justice encompass a vision and process for journeying together through woundedness and division, inside prison and here on the outside. Just how critical this work is can be best summed up here: When some of the incarcerated individuals found out that the Department of Corrections did not provide any funding for their trainings, they pooled their own resources and wrote Sr. Janet a check for more than $1,000. Sr. Janet's teaching of circle process—and the transformation made possible through the practices of restorative justice—is truly a tangible sign of hope today. * Are you interested in bringing the restorative process of circle process to your parish, ministry, or community? Explore Catholic Mobilizing Network's formation program Conversations in Communion: Parish Dialogues for Connection and Understanding. --Vatican News
Montreal Gazette
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Montreal Gazette
Skies clear just in time for magic Blue Rodeo show at jazz fest
Music By The skies cleared just in time for Blue Rodeo. Of course, they did. It's the magic of the Montreal International Jazz Festival, but it's also the magical ties that bind this Toronto band to their fans ici. The forecast all week insisted there was a 90- to 100-per-cent chance of rain at 9:30 on Friday night, but the folks at MétéoMédia clearly haven't been listening to the Five Days in July album often enough. There was no way the big free outdoor Blue Rodeo show at the jazz fest was going to be rained out. And the fans knew it. The crowd stretched all the way back to Ste-Catherine St. and anyone who stayed home because of the forecast will be kicking themselves when their friends tell them how inspirational this soirée was. By the time Jim Cuddy got to belt out Try, the very first Blue Rodeo hit, as the encore and sitting at the keyboard, there was no getting away from the fact this was one of the great Blue Rodeo shows here. I mean not that there have been any Blue Rodeo shows much less than life-affirming. I was there Friday night with my daughter Devan reminiscing about the epic Blue Rodeo shows we'd seen at Théâtre St. Denis and Place des Arts. Friday, they ended with Lost Together and if you weren't choking up just a little bit, then you just don't love this thing called rock'n'roll. You could see Cuddy and fellow lead singer Greg Keelor were just loving this as much as the audience. 'Merci beaucoup,' Cuddy said, near the end. 'Nous adorons Montréal.' Later, Cuddy said: 'We'd like to thank the rain for taking a little break for us and mainly we'd like to thank you for coming out in spite of the weather.' Highlights included an incredibly intense take on Diamond Mine with Keelor rocking his vocal hard, a brilliant Trust Yourself with thousands singing along, and the anthems Til I Am Myself Again and Hasn't Hit Me Yet, which were just as great as you might imagine. I bumped into promoter Rubin Fogel, who was talking about how the first show they did in Montreal was at Club Soda in January 1988, back when they were hardly known here. A year later, that was no longer the case. Close to 40 years on, many of those same fans are still at the rendezvous. One of those was Anita Stephenson. She and her two sisters came from Guelph just to see Blue Rodeo. She's a huge fan and spent the entire drive here playing Blue Rodeo tracks and singing along to them, which kind of drove her two sisters, Janet and Susan, a little crazy. Anita's seen them 15 times. 'They're Canadian and they're part of our culture,' Stephenson said. 'They brought this Canadiana. They weren't forced to go touring in the U.S. I think the songs are great, the people are great, it's a mix of country and rock, but it's not true country. Some songs are more romantic, some are straight-up anthems. I just like it all.' Her sister Janet said they're not nearly as fanatical as Antia, 'but we support our baby sister.' And they're also making a 'girls' weekend' of it, hanging out at the jazz festival for two days. 'Look at the smile on our face,' Janet said. 'I feel like a little kid,' Anita said. Patrick Beaudet has been a Blue Rodeo fan since 1989, the year he first saw them at the Spectrum. 'I fell in love the first night I saw them,' Beaudet said. Friday night was his 12 th Blue Rodeo show and a forecast predicting heavy rainfall wasn't going to keep him away. 'I'm a fan fini, good weather, bad weather, I was going to be at this show,' Beaudet said. 'I can easily cry listening to Blue Rodeo. It hits me viscerally, inside me, profoundly. It's the lyrics, the harmonies. I like Oasis, Pulp, British rock, but I love the Canadian roots of Blue Rodeo.' Stéphane Fortin is also a hardcore fan and has been for over 30 years. 'I love the melodies,' Fortin said. 'And music is all about emotion.'
Daily Record
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
This Morning's Alison Hammond emotional as she details wish on-air
ITV viewers were given the latest headlines by Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary during Friday's show. During Friday's episode of This Morning, Alison Hammond shared a heartfelt moment on the show. While speaking with Kate Lawler, who was reporting live from a football ground in anticipation of the Women's European Championship, Alison became visibly moved. As Kate concluded her segment by demonstrating some football skills and reminiscing about her childhood dream of becoming a footballer, Alison made a confession. She remarked: "You know what is so lovely? It actually makes me a little bit emotional because of how far women's football has come." She continued, expressing her joy and aspirations for the sport, adding: "It's actually beautiful to see. It makes me so happy, it really does. It's unbelievable, I just want them to be paid the same. I wish." Kate, during the broadcast, confessed to being "star-struck" while interviewing two England Lioness legends, reports Wales Online. Janet Bagguley, a member of the 1972 team who now works as a postwoman, proudly displayed her 12 caps earned during her football career, stating: "I'm very, very proud." Acknowledging the progress of women's football, Janet expressed her amazement: "Oh, it's absolutely fantastic!" She reflected on the impact of the previous European Championship victory, adding: "When you look at these kids behind us today, and after we won the Euro's last time, it went boom." Janet also spoke to viewers about her current role, gathering letters of support for the England team as part of her postal duties. Discussing the Lioness Letter campaign, she revealed: "We've been around all the schools, we're in Manchester later today, we're in London over the weekend. "Anybody can come and write their own letter, and we promise they'll be delivered to the Lionesses." Janet, holding one of the letters, informed Kate that it was written by her five-year-old granddaughter wishing the team good luck. Kate responded: "That's class, that is! I just want to say, I can't believe I'm stood with an OG Lioness." The UEFA Women's EURO 2025 will take place from 2 to 27 July in Switzerland, across eight venues. Both ITV and the BBC will provide coverage. This Morning is available to watch on ITVX.
Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
This Morning's Alison Hammond 'emotional' as she makes candid confession
This Morning presenter Alison Hammond was left 'emotional' after a segment on the ITV daytime show. This Morning's Alison Hammond couldn't hold back her emotions on Friday's show as she spoke about the progress of women's football. During a heartwarming segment, ITV's bubbly presenter chatted with Kate Lawler, who was live from a football ground, gearing up for the Women's European Championship due to start next week. As the discussion wound down, Kate proudly displayed her footballing skills and reminisced about her childhood dreams of becoming a footballer. Alison replied: "You know what is so lovely? It actually makes me a little bit emotional because of how far women's football has come. "It's actually beautiful to see. It makes me so happy, it really does. It's unbelievable, I just want them to be paid the same. I wish." Throughout the broadcast, Kate had the chance to speak to two England Lioness legends, admitting she felt "star-struck" during the encounter, reports Wales Online. Janet Bagguley, a member of the 1972 squad who now works as a postwoman, showcased her 12 treasured caps, stating: "I'm very, very proud." Kate reflected on Janet's pride at witnessing the tremendous strides made in women's football today. Janet responded with palpable gusto: "Oh, it's absolutely fantastic!" Pointing to the enthusiastic young footballers nearby, Janet recalled: "When you look at these kids behind us today, and after we won the Euro's last time, it went boom." In her current role as a 'postie', Janet revealed that she's been gathering supportive letters for the England squad from across the nation. Discussing the Lioness Letter initiative, Janet told viewers: "We've been around all the schools, we're in Manchester later today, we're in London over the weekend. "Anybody can come and write their own letter, and we promise they'll be delivered to the Lionesses." Holding one of the letters, Janet informed Kate that it was penned by her five-year-old granddaughter, wishing the team all the best. Kate responded: "That's class, that is! I just want to say, I can't believe I'm stood with an OG Lioness." The UEFA Women's EURO 2025 will take place from 2 to 27 July in Switzerland, with eight venues set to host matches. Fans will be able to catch the action on both ITV and the BBC. This Morning is available to watch on ITVX.
