Latest news with #Stroud
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
NFL legend Peyton Manning shares thoughts on former Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud
Former Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud has had a pretty remarkable start to his NFL career. He was the 2023 Offensive Rookie of the Year and has led the Houston Texans to two straight playoff appearances. Of course, as with many sports fans, they want more and they want it now. Stroud took some criticism in his second season, as it seemed like a bit of a regression, but NFL legend Peyton Manning begs to differ. In an event with Fanatics, both Peyton and Eli Manning took the stage with Stroud, Bryce Young, and Celeb Williams. In a matter of just 63 seconds, Peyton heaped the praise on Stroud, shutting down anyone who thinks he isn't doing enough. "...I didn't win a playoff game 'til my sixth year. He's two for two." - Peyton Manning Manning talked about how hard it is to come into the league and play well as a rookie, and then began the compliments of how well the former Buckeye prepares in watching film and doing study. He continued on comparing Stroud's beginning to his own NFL start, saying, "He went to the playoffs in his second year. He was 22. Let's be careful saying it was a down year. I didn't win a playoff game 'til my sixth year. He's two for two." That's big time coming from one of the all-time NFL greats. While Stroud's numbers weren't as strong in year two, throwing for fewer yards and touchdowns and more than doubling his interceptions, he also had to navigate a number of injuries to his offensive line (he was sacked 52 times, which was second most in the NFL) as well as injuries to his top three receivers. Manning also points out that after such a strong rookie campaign, teams had more film to watch to make adjustments. The Texans are looking to build on the success of the past two seasons and have added some more firepower to the team. With a healthy roster, Stroud is poised to take another step forward in his third year.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Gloucestershire housing targets 'putting councils under pressure'
House building in Gloucestershire is increasing but councils in the county are concerned the government's targets are too this year the government released proposed housing targets for each local council in England to meet as part of their pledge to build 1.5 million homes by the end of the councils such as the Cotswolds and Stroud have found it difficult to find places for new properties."The reality is the planning landscape has changed significantly," said Juliet Layton, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning at Cotswold District Council. Recently the Hunts Grove phase four on the outskirts of Gloucester was approved, adding 620 homes to more than 1,000 already Tewkesbury and Cheltenham more than 4,000 homes have been approved at Elms between Sharpness and Berkeley, outline planning permission is being sought for 2,750 plans also include a primary, secondary school and a railway station. The Labour MP for Stroud, Dr Simon Opher, said the planning process "simply takes too long in this country". "I think it's essential we build houses for young people and young families in this area, because there's a real lack of housing and that has all sorts of repercussions," he added. "Local people are having to move out of the area, whereas they want to work and stay in the area."Dr Opher has been speaking with government transport bosses around improvements to junction 14 of the M5, which has been cited as one of several issues holding up the approval of Stroud District Council's local plan. "The area that can be developed is limited because we've got the flood plain of the Severn on one side and the area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the other," he added. "This has taken so long to do this. Four or five years of waiting for housing developments, when local people are desperate for new houses to move in to."
Times
2 days ago
- Times
I went on a £1,000 writing retreat — this is what I learnt
Back in 1816, during a summer where the rain never stopped, Mary Godwin found herself in the Swiss Alps with her future husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Lord Byron. With hiking off the menu, the trio decided to have a competition: who could write the scariest story? The result, of course, was Frankenstein. You could see this story as proof of the benefits of bad weather on holiday; I choose to see it as proof of the benefits of writing retreats. I know I'm not the only person who has had an idea for a novel bouncing about in their brain for years — more books than ever are being published in the UK each year (about 200,000, compared with 120,000 ten years ago) and that's without the further thousands being self-published online. There's a reason so many people want to write books. The idea of crafting your own manuscript, immersing yourself in a world of your own making and then it being enjoyed by others is intoxicating. The idea of actually sitting down and churning out 90,000 words? That's less intoxicating. Life, work and social commitments were crowding out the time I'd set aside to reach my already rather low goal of writing 1,000 words of mine each week. The hours I did manage to ringfence I spent rewriting my opening paragraph for the twentieth time. So when I discovered that Hawkwood College in the town of Stroud, Gloucestershire, was launching a series of writing courses I jumped at the chance to try one out. Hawkwood is a mere 10-minute drive from the centre of Stroud, but as the taxi driver navigated the potholes of the college's long driveway, inching past biodynamic vegetable gardens and the resident herd of cows, I realised I'd be escaping all the trappings of urban life. The main house dates back to 1845 (it was named, rather strangely, after a 14th-century English mercenary) but has been functioning as an adult educational centre since 1947. Then, it focused on Steiner methods (indeed, we shared the building with a group of Steiner teachers, tunic-clad women who toted very fetching lutes), and soon expanded to a huge range of short-term courses. Today Hawkwood's 150 courses each year include forest bathing, basket weaving, spoon carving and embroidery (you can see the influence of hippyish Stroud here), but it also hosts conferences, corporate retreats and, now, writing retreats, as it offers accommodation, with 28 rooms. If you're looking for total luxury, Hawkwood isn't for you. The old house has a well-worn feel to it, all creaking floorboards and slumping sofas. Some of the bedrooms have en suites, some have shared bathroom facilities. But for me, this was all part of its charm. No one worries about tramping mud into the dining room after a walk around the grounds, no one cares if you tiptoe down to the kitchen in your pyjamas for a bedtime cup of tea. 'We want people to feel cared for and looked after,' Hawkwood's CEO Alicia Carey explained to me over lunch. 'We want them to switch off from the busyness of life.' And Hawkwood's food provision made me feel more than cared for. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are all homemade with fresh, organic ingredients (many of them harvested from the Hawkwood garden) and served promptly with a ringing bell. But you'll also enjoy 11am biscuits, fresh from the oven, and afternoon tea at 4pm. I'm still thinking about the meatballs with potatoes — and the sticky hot cross buns. And what about all the writing these meals were supposed to fuel? Writing courses can be strange beasts, as the kind of people who want to pen novels tend to be characters themselves. We had a marvellous mix of seven people on our five-day course — including a private chef, a stand-up comedian and even an opera singer — and I was nervous about how we'd all get on. If worse came to worst, I reckoned, I could retreat to my attic room with a view. • Seven of the best UK retreats for aspiring writers Step in the horror writer Ally Wilkes and the freelance editor Cat Camacho, the double act who were leading the course. The pair have impressive industry experience and — even more useful — worked together on Wilkes's first manuscript. That means they could share the proper details of the writing, editing and publishing process, even the bits that are usually hidden for confidentiality reasons, such as Wilkes's first draft and Camacho's comments on it. Each day had at least one masterclass, on topics ranging from structure to novel openings. These were dense with information, but still collaborative and relaxed. Often they came with optional homework, which we could choose to share with the class — and this was Wilkes and Camacho's real skill. They made each of us feel comfortable enough to share our work with strangers and have it inspected live in front of us — a process that was completely invaluable for me. How else would I have found, for instance, that the piece of Northern Irish slang I'd unthinkingly slung into my opening scene meant nothing to English readers? We could also sign up for as many as six 30-minute one-on-one tutorials with either Wilkes or Camacho. A few other people on the course had previously attended Arvon courses, which have a similar format (and price) to this one. They were shocked by the difference. At Arvon, you could only have a maximum of 30 minutes of one-on-one time and — sacré bleu — you have to cook your own food. By contrast, Wilkes and Camacho made it clear that we could chat to them about our work any time we wanted — even if that meant interrupting their knitting or wild garlic foraging. By the end of the week our little group genuinely became friends. One afternoon the private chef sneaked us out of the estate in his vintage convertible. With the Gloucestershire valleys opening up around us, we headed to the Woolpack, the pub Laurie Lee immortalised in his autobiographical novel Cider with Rosie. We ordered pints of local pale ale and toasted our own writerly endeavours, even if the trip meant we just missed the bell for dinner that night. And what about my novel? Well, when I arrived it was a hazy idea, flashes of a character and a setting. I worried it would never take full form. But by the end of day one I had a structure for the whole plot. By the end of day two I'd reworked my opening to something that fitted better. By the end of the week I had a first chapter and confidence that one day I may actually write the whole thing. Laura Hackett was a guest of Hawkwood College and the Writing, Editing and Publishing Your Novel courses with Ally Wilkes and Cat Camacho, which have three nights' all-inclusive for £747pp from September 4-7, and four nights for £950 from November 3-7 ( Times+ members can save an exclusive 30% on courses at Hawkwood. Visit for more information The bestselling author of Foster and Small Things Like These is running a summer retreat in Co Carlow, Ireland. The focus here is on theory, with lectures on narrative, time, character and dialogue — and there's a reading list you'll need to complete beforehand. But if that sounds exciting rather than daunting, you'll have the chance to learn from one of contemporary fiction's great writers. It's held at Teach Bhride Holistic Centre in Tullow, which has accommodation, in single en suites, and is held from August 1-9. Details Eight nights' all-inclusive €3,000 ( Fly or take the ferry to Dublin If daily lectures make you want to run away and hide, an untutored retreat might be best for you. In Llanystumdwy, the ones hosted at the Tŷ Newydd Writing Centre simply provide the time and space (and food) for you to work on your novel in your own time, with no distractions. When you're not scribbling away in your private room, you can go walking along Cardigan Bay or into the woods, or retreat to the library, and come together with fellow guests over home-cooked meals. The next is held from August 4-8. Details Four nights' all-inclusive from £550pp ( Arvon is the best-known name in the UK writing retreat game — it hosts one almost every week at a couple of venues. So you can choose the date that suits you, or the tutors who pique your interest: the authors Sarah Moss, Eliza Clark and Nina Stibbe are all present on different weeks, but come prepared to show off your cooking skills and help wash up. Coming up (currently with availability, though many others are fully booked) is a five-night tutored fiction-focused retreat with Marcel Theroux, Kamila Shamsie and Caroline Brothers, July 21-26, at Totleigh Barton, a thatched 16th-century manor house. Details Five nights' all-inclusive from £895 (
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
NFL analyst describes Texans' 2025 offseason in one word
The Houston Texans' 2025 NFL season is going to be one to remember. The back-to-back AFC South champions retained most of their key players from the 2024 team that won the AFC South and went toe-to-toe with the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round in Arrowhead, but one of the team's best assets is playing elsewhere. Houston did move off Kenyon Green to acquire C.J. Gardner-Johnson from the Philadelphia Eagles, and shipped off five-time Pro Bowl tackle Laremy Tunsil to the Washington Commanders. In retrospect, the Texans also added some new wrinkles in receivers Christian Kirk and rookies Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel. Houston also bolstered the offensive line with the additions of Laken Tomlinson and Tay Ersery from Minnesota in the second round. The key to it all is C.J. Stroud, who could become one of the highest paydays this offseason should he exceed expecations under new offensive coordinator Nick Caley calling the shots after a woeful under to the Bobby Slowik tenure. But when tasked with coming up with one word to describe the Rams' season, FOX Sports' Ben Arthur wrote: "underwhelming." "After C.J. Stroud was the second-most sacked quarterback in 2024, the Texans entered the offseason in dire need of retooling their offensive line," Arthur wrote. "But their moves to address the group, including trading away perennial Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil, feel disappointing." Yes, it's fair to criticize the Texans' struggles with the offensive line, especially when the team had trouble keeping Stroud upright. However, change was needed, and with Tunsil entering a contract year, as well as other players requiring new contracts, it was inevitable that someone would be on the way out. Houston should easily win the AFC South again and could make another run to the Super Bowl, but it also could flounder in a make-or-break year with Stroud ahead of negotiations. No matter which way it falls, the Rams' braintrust of Decmo Ryans and Nick Caserio will need to figure out their plans for a team with a lot of question marks following this year
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Latest on much-loved Stroud town centre shop due to close
URGENT steps are being taken to save a much-loved Stroud shop which will close after 48 years. Sew & So, in Lansdown, is set to close after its owner, Jackie Hall, decided to retire. When the "closing down" sign was put in the shop window, Ms Hall said she was inundated with people saying how sad they were at the news. A GoFundMe page was set up and a group has now come forward to try and keep the store open. Diana Basterfield, who set up the fundraising page, said: "I am one of hundreds of Sew and So customers who have signed the petition on the shop counter because we can't bear the thought of this much-loved haberdashery shop closing down. "I went into the shop recently and was shocked to see the 'closing down ' notice. "I spoke to Jackie Hall, the owner, who has run it so successfully for 48 ,years. "She told me that she wanted to retire and no one had offered to take over the business. "I went home thinking about all the creative people in Stroud who depend on the shop for their materials - how two generations had depended on it to keep their family's clothes in good repair and how many mothers had been able to make inexpensive clothes for their children because of it. "I asked around and discovered that there was a way that the shop could continue - the community could take it over. "That was the answer. "Since then I have been contacting people to join the campaign and to raise starter funds through GoFundMe to pay to take on the lease and establish the Community Benefit Society. "People have already donated £900 and signatures of support on the form in the shop exceed 350. "Much remains to be done and I look forward to working with like-minded Stroudies to help Sew and So keep on going as it clearly meets a very important community need." Donate at -
