Latest news with #Stowe
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Lando Norris capitalises on baffling Oscar Piastri error to take home victory in chaotic British GP
From here on in, Lando Norris will want his own personal grandstand at every race. The 25-year-old, arguably the sport's most popular driver among the Netflix generation of F1 fans, had expectations sky-high this weekend at Silverstone, racing for the quickest team in a championship-contending season. And for the 10,000 decked in bright yellow in the 'LandoStand' at Stowe corner, who bought tickets in the space of an hour last autumn, they were rewarded for their enthusiasm and endeavour amid grey skies around them with a dramatic win for their man on Sunday. Advertisement Norris took the chequered flag by five seconds, becoming the 13th British driver to win his home grand prix, while Oscar Piastri was left to rue a costly mid-race error behind the safety car. For the Australian, usually a modicum of composure, the customary post-race interview hit saw how vigorously his blood was boiling. 'I'll get myself in trouble,' he said. Norris celebrates his first win at Silverstone (Getty Images) Yet perhaps the story of the day was Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg, breaking his personal podium curse by finishing in the top three for the first time in Formula 1, in his 239th race. Most impressively, it was Lewis Hamilton (whose streak of podiums at Silverstone dating back to 2013 is over) who he held off to secure a memorable third place from 19th on the grid. 'I don't think we can comprehend what we just did,' the emotional German said over team radio. However, for Norris, who won the prestigious race around the streets of Monaco earlier this year, this triumph took the biscuit as his finest yet. 'It's beautiful, everything I dreamed of,' he told Jenson Button afterwards. Advertisement 'Apart from a championship, this is as good as it gets in terms of achievement and pride. This is where it started for me. Incredible race, stressful as always, the support from the fans made the difference. 'Your mind goes pretty blank [at the end], everything you might think before the race, you forget. The main thing is don't f*** it up!' Norris has endured his fair share of errors so far this season, but this time Piastri was the McLaren driver under the spotlight. As ever at Silverstone, the start was shrouded in ambiguity across the grid due to the elements. A heavy downpour half an hour before lights out triggered all 20 cars to start on intermediate tyres, the hybrid wet-dry rubber. Advertisement Yet by the time pole-sitter Verstappen led the pack around for the formation lap, a handful of cars, including George Russell in fourth, gambled on the track drying, diving into the pit lane before the start for slick, dry tyres. It didn't quite pay off. Oscar Piastri led most of the race but his 10-second penalty cost him victory (Reuters) An early crash between Esteban Ocon and Liam Lawson resulted in a virtual safety car, but with rain on the short-term forecast, the frontrunners all stayed out. TOP-10 - BRITISH GRAND PRIX 1. Lando Norris 2. Oscar Piastri 3. Nico Hulkenberg 4. Lewis Hamilton 5. Max Verstappen 6. Pierre Gasly 7. Lance Stroll 8. Alex Albon 9. Fernando Alonso 10. George Russell Advertisement Piastri took the lead on lap eight with superior speed on the Hangar Straight over Verstappen, but his lead was soon rendered irrelevant with a full safety car on lap 14, as the heavens opened. Norris and Verstappen had earlier squabbled for second, with the Brit coming out on top, before a slow stop meant the Dutchman took the spot back in the pit lane. Yet by the time racing properly resumed on lap 21 – after Isack Hadjar's heavy crash forced another safety car – the usually faultless Verstappen made a mistake, spun at Stowe, and dropped from second to 10th. Yet there was hot water for Piastri out in front. Before the safety car ended, the Australian braked erratically on the back straight, with Verstappen needing to take drastic action to avoid a collision and gesticulating over team radio. Nico Hulkenberg clinched his first podium in F1 (Andrew Matthews/PA) (PA Wire) Lewis Hamilton finished fourth (AP) It looked clumsy and somewhat baffling from Piastri, and the stewards agreed, dishing out a 10-second time penalty. It was an adjudication that gave Norris behind him a precious and ultimately race-winning lifeline. Advertisement Yet with no more rain on the radar, the looming question hanging in the air was: when would the frontrunners pit for dry tyres? Russell, as he often does, rolled the dice too early on lap 40 and soon spun, much to the anger of Toto Wolff in the Mercedes garage. He would finish in 10th. However, a crossover point still seemed inevitable amid blue skies. Piastri dived in a lap earlier than Norris on lap 43, served his penalty, and the Briton took the lead by around five seconds after his stop. Mercifully, Norris kept his McLaren safely between the white lines and, to the acclaim of 160,000 fans at Silverstone on Sunday, took top spot on the podium, narrowing the gap to Piastri in the championship standings to just eight points at the halfway stage of the season.
The Independent
06-07-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Lando Norris capitalises on baffling Oscar Piastri error to take home victory in chaotic British GP
From here on in, Lando Norris will want his own personal grandstand at every race. The 25-year-old, arguably the sport's most popular driver amongst the Netflix generation of F1 fans, had expectations sky-high this weekend at Silverstone, racing for the quickest team in a championship-contending season. And for the 10,000 decked in bright yellow in the 'LandoStand' at Stowe corner, who bought tickets in the space of an hour last autumn, they were rewarded for their enthusiasm and endeavour amid grey skies around them with a dramatic win for their man on Sunday. Norris took the chequered flag by five seconds, becoming the 13th British driver to win his home grand prix, while Oscar Piastri was left to rue a costly mid-race error behind the safety car. For the Australian, usually a modicum of composure, the customary post-race interview hit saw how vigorously his blood was boiling. 'I'll get myself in trouble,' he said. Yet perhaps the story of the day was Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg, breaking his own personal podium curse by finishing in the top-three for the first time in Formula 1, in his 239th race. Most impressively, it was Lewis Hamilton (whose streak of podiums at Silverstone dating back to 2013 is over) who he held off to secure a memorable third place from 19th on the grid. 'I don't think we can comprehend what we just did,' the emotional German said over team radio. But for Norris, who won the prestigious race around the streets of Monaco earlier this year, this triumph took the biscuit as his finest yet. 'It's beautiful, everything I dreamed of,' he told Jenson Button afterwards. 'Apart from a championship, this is as good as it gets in terms of achievement and pride. This is where it started for me. Incredible race, stressful as always, the support from the fans made the difference. 'Your mind goes pretty blank [at the end], everything you might think before the race you forget. The main thing is don't f*** it up!' Norris has endured his fair share of errors so far this season but, this time, Piastri was the McLaren driver under the spotlight. As ever at Silverstone, the start was shrouded in ambiguity across the grid due to the elements. A heavy downpour half an hour before lights out triggered all 20 cars to start on intermediate tyres, the hybrid wet-dry rubber. Yet by the time pole-sitter Verstappen led the pack around for the formation lap, a handful of cars, including George Russell in fourth, gambled on the track drying, diving into the pit-lane before the start for slick, dry tyres. It didn't quite pay off. An early crash between Ocon and Lawson resulted in a virtual safety car, but with rain on the short-term forecast, the frontrunners all stayed out. TOP-10 - BRITISH GRAND PRIX Piastri took the lead on lap eight with superior speed on the Hangar Straight over Verstappen, but his lead was soon rendered irrelevant with a full safety car on lap 14, as the heavens opened. Norris and Verstappen had earlier squabbled for second, with the Brit coming out on top, before a slow stop meant the Dutchman took the spot back in the pit-lane. Yet by the time racing properly resumed on lap 21 – after Isack Hadjar's heavy crash forced another safety car – the usually faultless Verstappen made a mistake, spun at Stowe, and dropped from second to 10th. Yet there was hot water for Piastri out in front, too. Prior to the safety car ending, the Australian braked erratically on the back straight, with Verstappen needing to take drastic action to avoid a collision and gesticulating over team radio. It looked clumsy and somewhat baffling from Piastri and the stewards agreed, dishing out a 10-second time penalty. It was an adjudication which gave Norris behind him a precious and ultimately race-winning lifeline. Yet with no more rain on the radar, the looming question hanging in the air was: when would the frontrunners pit for dry tyres? Russell, as he often does, rolled the dice too early on lap 40 and soon spun, much to the anger of Toto Wolff in the Mercedes garage. He would finish down in 10th. But a crossover point still seemed inevitable amid blue skies. Piastri dived in a lap earlier than Norris on lap 43, served his penalty, and the Briton took the lead by around five seconds after his stop. Mercifully, Norris kept his McLaren safely between the white lines and to the acclaim of 160,000 fans at Silverstone on Sunday, took top spot on the podium, narrowing the gap to Piastri in the championship standings to just eight points at the halfway stage of the season.
Spectator
02-07-2025
- Sport
- Spectator
State-school cricket at Lord's? Bring it on
A state-school cricket competition announced last week with a final at Lord's is such a good idea you wonder why it has taken until now for someone to come up with it. Ever since Lord (George) Byron convinced the authorities to allow the first Eton vs Harrow match to be played at Lord's in 1805, the public schools have monopolised the cricket played on the game's most celebrated turf. Byron himself, although crippled with dysplasia and a deformed right foot, played for Harrow in that match and afterwards went to the West End to 'kick up a convivial row in the Haymarket Theatre'. The new T20 competition was launched at Lord's by Michael Vaughan and Heather Knight, both state-school-educated England captains, and it will be known as the Knight-Stokes cup (Ben Stokes was also state-educated). There will be a girls' and a boys' final hosted on the main ground at Lord's from next summer. Get your entries in now. England's current batting line-up is a great advert for public-school sport. Opening with Zak Crawley (Tonbridge) is Ben Duckett (Stowe); Duckett was not just an awesome run machine from his first year at Stowe; he also amassed nearly 1,000 runs the year before at his prep school. After them come Ollie Pope (Cranleigh) and at No. 5 Harry Brook (Sedbergh). All very well, but if there's a fraction of that talent learning the game on what remains of the playing fields at state schools, we should surely try to bring it on. The first five batsmen in the first Test England played after the war (against India at Lord's) were all state-school-educated: Len Hutton, Cyril Washbrook, Ben Compton, Wally Hammond and Joe Hardstaff Jnr. Whoever would have imagined that the worst two teams in county cricket at the moment, currently battling it out at the bottom of Division 2, would be Kent (the county of Cowdrey, Knott and Underwood) and Middlesex (the county of Compton, Strauss and Gatting)? Meanwhile, at the top of county cricket various acts of torture were committed during Surrey's monster innings of 820 for nine declared on Monday. Surrey's skipper, Rory Burns, was presumably muttering to himself as he delayed his declaration through the longest, hottest afternoon of the summer: 'If they were dumb enough to put us in to bat, they deserve to pay for it.' While quite what the Durham skipper Alex Lees was thinking as he kept spinner George Drissell on for 45 overs while he took one wicket for 247 is hard to imagine. Only 14 of Surrey's runs came from extras, which shows you how regularly poor Drissell and his fellow Durham bowlers managed to hit the full face of the Surrey bats. I've never met an Aussie I didn't like, but it would be nice to stuff them at the Ashes this winter. Australia's batting line-up is pretty terrible. The current order features Sam Konstas, Usman Khawaja (who is almost as old as me), Cameron Green, Josh Inglis and Beau Webster, none of whom are a patch on Hayden and Langer, Ponting or the Waughs. These Ashes could be England's for the taking, which would be a fitting climax to Ben Stokes's extraordinary, driven, focused cricket career. These Lions could be one of the best teams our islands have ever sent abroad. The rugby is fluent and assured, free-flowing and attractive, with a mighty powerful front five. One of the most vibrant players is Henry Pollock. There seems to be a refusal by the more grizzled members of the rugby commentariat to acknowledge quite how much fun the 20-year-old flanker is to watch. It's no surprise that everyone who plays against him wants to clock him. But he's a game-changer and the sort of player who can bring the spectators flooding in.
South Wales Argus
25-06-2025
- General
- South Wales Argus
Who gets the dog during a divorce? Experts explain all
However, one area married couples tend to neglect when splitting is who gets custody of the dog. If you're breaking up with your husband or wife and want to keep ownership of the family pet, or are simply interested in reading about the topic, here is everything you need to know. Who gets the dog during a divorce? According to Stowe Family Law, the rules are "clear" around who gets the family pet. The firm states that dogs are classed as chattel and, therefore, are an item of personal property. Technically speaking, the person who bought the animal and to whom it is registered to will keep it in the event of a divorce. However, it adds that the "only exception" to this is when there is "clear evidence" that the animal was subsequently gifted to the other party. Is pet 'co-parenting' possible during a divorce? On an episode of The Divorce Podcast, RSPCA pet welfare expert Dr Samantha Gaines and Divorce Specialist Carol Harte discussed the topic of pet "co-parenting" in the event of a divorce or seperation. Samantha said: 'A shared care arrangement is absolutely a possibility. "When I think of my separated friends that have got shared arrangements with their dogs, they have very rich lives, because both caregivers go to incredible lengths when they get to spend time with them. 'They are very much committed to the time they have for their dog when it is their turn. Pet co-parenting is possible after a divorce if it is carefully planned (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto) Recommended Reading: 'They'll be at home, plan exciting walks and do things they know their dog will absolutely love.' However, while in the 'vast number of cases' dogs can 'adapt very, very well' to carefully-planned new living arrangements, there are many challenges with other species. Sam adds: 'It's potentially a little bit more difficult having that shared arrangement with cats. They find being transported very, very stressful.'
Sydney Morning Herald
09-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Millions of visitors drive through this town every year. Some tell them to skip it
When Stowe shows the Herald the old postmaster's home, Froma Court, built in 1908, a warning blast tells us it is a restricted area, and 'Please move away'. On Lurline Street, the main road leading to Echo Point, some of the once-fabulous 1920s guest houses are restored. Others are falling apart. Further on, one of the area's oldest guesthouses, The Clarendon, is looking its age despite colourful awnings. It is the subject of an interim heritage order by the Blue Mountains City Council after unauthorised works. For Aaron White, a residential house painter, news of what happened to the Paragon was the 'last straw'. He's offered to paint Katoomba's buildings –free, if someone donates materials – to lift the mood and look of the town. 'Tourists bypass the town, and head to the scenery, and the businesses are missing out millions of dollars in revenue,' said White. Loading Resident Michael Hart said when something as significant as the Paragon closed, it had a ripple effect. When the Carrington closed in the late 1980s, other shops shut soon after. 'That stuff adds up. It affects a lot of people.' Some say Katoomba has always had booms and busts. Harriet McCready, the cofounder of Mountain Culture Beer Co. – operating in a restored heritage building – says the streetscape hasn't affected its business. Katoomba remained vibrant even if the buildings looked derelict, she said. More life in the shops would be a plus, but the town was such a gem and the landscape so special that it drew visitors interested in bush walks, rock climbing, the art and their beer. Who to blame depends on who you ask. Locals say the council is too slow to approve projects; others say absentee landlords and developers don't engage with the community; congestion on the main bridge into town, say many, while others point to heritage rules, COVID, and the economy. As a former regulator and head of NSW's Fair Trading, Stowe advocates an inquiry to separate facts from conjecture He also says enforcement action is the most effective way to achieve compliance with heritage laws. According to Destination NSW, the Blue Mountains is the most popular destination outside Sydney, attracting three million visitors a year. Katoomba was once the top place to stay, as much for its ornate architecture as for its natural attractions. It has more historic homes and properties identified as historic or heritage by local, state, federal government and the National Trust, than the rest of the Blue Mountains. Stowe said: 'It was where tourism, in many ways, started in NSW. It was a place where people got away from the humdrum, the smelly city and into the mountain air.' With its relatively intact shops and old boarding houses, Stowe says it could be the Australian version of NZ's Napier, famous for its vibrant Art Deco architecture. Michael Brischetto, a co-owner with Jarvis of Katoomba's heritage-listed Carrington Hotel, said the state of the town's heritage was an embarrassment that reflected poorly on all levels of government. Empty shops opposite the station, bought by Carrington, are scheduled for restoration but are facing delays in approval from the council and Heritage NSW. 'Every time one of these absentee owners wants to sell one of their buildings, the community or local business people should be buying them,' said Brischetto. 'Because we live here. We're the ones who are embarrassed. Let's start doing something about it, right?' Brischetto attributes some of the decline in state heritage listed properties to understaffing of Heritage NSW, saying it failed to inspect and identify projects at risk before they fail. His hotel has been visited only twice in 21 years. The decline of the historic properties deterred investors or businesses. 'They see the hoardings up around places like the Paragon and ours and ask, 'Why aren't people renting these shops?' ' The NSW auditor-general 2023 report on Heritage NSW found almost 90 per cent of items (1583) on the register did not include a physical condition rating. It noted improvements in turnaround on applications for works on listed assets. But it found about 35 per cent (625) of items lacked detailed physical descriptions, which made it hard for officers to pursue breaches. 'The state heritage people are very well-meaning, and I know they're under-resourced,' Brischetto said. For a laugh, he likes to read an old email from Heritage NSW sent a decade ago after he waited months for a response. It said: 'Applicants applying pressure on Ministers to get more resourcing to process their applications would have more effect than anything else. ' Brischetto said, 'The heritage system is broken. It's only when you're trying to do something, when you're trying to preserve or conserve or restore, that [Heritage] get involved.' Mayor Mark Greenhill said Katoomba remained an outstanding tourist destination, and visitor numbers were increasing, not falling. The council was committed to Katoomba thriving as a welcoming destination, but could only operate within its jurisdiction. Greenhill said the council had secured $7 million for improvements, including new street furniture, upgraded lighting and paving, outdoor dining areas and public art. Stowe showed what could be done when the community came together. The Treeline Lurline project is aiming to restore the grand boulevard of trees that once led to Echo Point. Some new trees have been planted and powerlines moved underground. In response to the Herald 's questions, a spokesperson for the Heritage Council and Heritage NSW said the owners of Mount St Marys had responded to representations from Heritage NSW and Blue Mountains City Council and were addressing urgent rectification works.
