Latest news with #Timmy
Eyewitness News
an hour ago
- Sport
- Eyewitness News
Families of last group of junior footballers stranded in Portugal anticipating their return
CAPE TOWN - The families of the last group of junior footballers who were stranded in Europe are counting down the hours to see the children. The last group from the BT Football Academy will touch down on home soil at around 2pm on Thursday afternoon. ALSO READ: - Teen duo relieved to be back home in CT after football tour group left stranded in Portugal - Families ready to welcome home some of the BT Football Academy players who were stranded in Portugal The team and their coaches were stranded for a week after their return tickets were never booked. But South Africans rallied to bring them home with donations to feed and house them while abroad. With the last group of teen footballers arriving home in just a few hours, some parents are gearing up to take legal action against BT Football Academy. One of the parents, speaking on condition of anonymity, said academy owner Brandon Timmy reached out to him, asking for R29,000 to help get the kids back. 'I'm just waiting for the other kids to come back. Then, when they're done coming back then I'm going to the police station.' He added that on the day the team left Cape Town, Timmy wouldn't allow parents to see the plane tickets. The emotional father also expressed his frustration about online comments directed at them. 'What makes me cross is people on social media saying, 'parents, what did they do?' It pains me every day. We did a lot for our kids, guys. They must know that parents did a lot.' It's still unclear whether the owners of BT Football Academy will be meeting with the parents to explain why their children and the coaches ended up stranded in Portugal.
IOL News
20 hours ago
- IOL News
How did 25 Cape Town teens leave SA on one-way tickets to Europe?
How did 25 schoolchildren from Cape Town found themselves stranded in Europe after travelling to Spain on one-way tickets for an international soccer tournament? A group of 25 schoolchildren from Cape Town were left stranded in Europe after travelling to Spain on one-way tickets for an international soccer tournament - with no confirmed return flight home. The young players, aged between 13 and 18, represented BT Football Academy, a Cape Town-based youth development club, at the Donosti Cup 2025 in San Sebastián, Spain. While they were scheduled to return home on July 15, it was soon discovered that their tickets only covered the outbound journey. This left the children stranded in Portugal, reportedly with no food, accommodation, or funds to secure their return to South Africa. This left many of us wondering how exactly this happened The tickets were allegedly booked by the club's founder, Brandon Timmy, who is said to have purchased the one-way flights at Cape Town International airport. Timmy also operates his own travel company, BT Travel - which means that he has knowledge of loopholes in the system that most travellers are not aware of. While Timmy and his wife returned to South Africa on their return tickets, the children were left behind in Europe, prompting concerns and confusion over how such a trip was allowed to proceed without proper travel documentation.
Irish Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Business
- Irish Daily Mirror
How boxty became a beloved Irish dish all over the world
There's a reason why the waft of a chipper or the scent of your granny's brown bread can transport you back to a moment in time. Smell is the only sense that connects directly to the brain's limbic system, which governs memory and emotion. So it's no surprise that certain foods are often steeped in nostalgia, particularly those from specific regions. We don't have too many of these in Ireland - think Dublin coddle or the Waterford blaa - but one that has gone from Leitrim to all over the world is boxty. Boxty, a traditional Irish potato pancake, is one food that often reminds people of days with their grandparents or breakfast with their cousins. Or evokes childhood memories if you're from the north-west, where it's a proud local dish. Donal Skehan's take on boxty It's steeped in tradition, especially in Cavan and Leitrim. Boxty is believed to have been created before the famine as a resourceful way to use both leftover mashed potatoes and grated potatoes. The name itself might stem from the phrase "arán bocht ti" as Gaeilge, which means "poor house bread". For Aine Faughnan, boxty is at the core of her childhood memories. She is the managing director for Dromod - one of the country's leading boxty makers. Her father Timmy founded the business 35 years ago after having great success baking and selling his mother's recipe in his local shop in Dromod, Co Leitrim. She said: "So my dad was making boxty in the morning very early, at like 5am, and bringing it up and selling it in our own shop. "So it would have been Granny's recipe he was using. And the bread men would come in and they'd ask him, 'Could you make some for us to bring on our routes to other stores as well?' So he started doing that and got really busy." Timmy then decided to turn the shop into a bakery and as it grew bigger and bigger, he decided to open up his own company, Dromod Boxty. Customers can now buy the beloved product online or from any of its many stockists across the country, including SuperValu. Aine said her favourite thing about Boxty is that it brings families together and is one of the truly traditional Irish foods that every tourist wants to try when they visit here. Typically made with a combination of mashed and grated raw potatoes, flour and milk, boxty can be eaten with almost anything. While some people like to go rogue and pop sugar on the potato cake, Aine likes to keep it savoury. It can be enjoyed with eggs, avocado, ham and cheese, or even used as a pizza base. For those who have never tried the dish before, she recommends keeping it simple with some gorgeous butter. She said: "I would advise putting it on the pan on a medium heat with some butter. "So melt the butter and then put it on the pan until it's nice and crispy on the outside, and then you'll have that chewy potato texture on the inside. "Some people microwave it or put it in the toaster. You can do that, but it just doesn't give you that real deliciousness that you get when you fry it." Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here. The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week
IOL News
3 days ago
- Sport
- IOL News
Cape Flats soccer stars stranded in Spain
Young soccer players from the Cape Flats are stranded in Spain after their return tickets failed to materialise. Image: Daniel Allgyer from Pixabay It was meant to be a dream football experience, but young soccer players from the Cape Flats are stranded in Spain after their return tickets failed to materialise. The distressing situation unfolded just weeks after players from Brandon Timmy's BT Football — a Cape Town-based academy — embarked on a tour inspired by aspirations of honing their football skills and immersing themselves in Spain's rich footballing culture. However, when the group concluded their activities and prepared to return home, reality struck. The return tickets that were supposed to bring them back to South Africa were mysteriously unavailable. The shocking news has left the young players and their families in Cape Town reeling in disbelief and despair. According to LinkedIn, Timmy is also listed as the owner of a travel agency, BT Travel. While a few return tickets had surfaced in the days prior, the broader situation remained dire. Efforts to reach Brandon Timmy have thus far been unsuccessful. He did not respond to calls, and his wife, Jonique, terminated a call without comment. Meanwhile, Jayvin Chisholm, a BT Football coach, returned home with a small group of players on Saturday. He recounted the emotional and frustrating ordeal of having to leave their teammates behind. The distressing circumstances have left Chisholm 'crushed,' largely due to what he described as an apparent lack of planning that forced coaches to take on roles typically reserved for professional tour managers. Several coaches reportedly paid for various expenses from their own pockets, with one covering more than R60 000 in costs. In an exclusive interview with Independent Media, Chisholm outlined the chaos that marked the tour, including critical gaps in travel and accommodation arrangements — areas he felt were handled with alarming unprofessionalism. Desperate for help, the coaches approached the South African Embassy in Madrid, but their efforts were in vain. Back home, a heartfelt show of solidarity emerged. Cape Town football coach Shamieg Mc Laurie took to social media to shine a light on the group's ordeal. Posting on his Facebook page, Captured Sporting Moments, Mc Laurie raised awareness and called for support from the broader community. He also revealed that the players' parents had each paid about R50 000 for the trip, making the situation even more tragic. According to Mc Laurie, Timmy has since gone missing, and families are unable to make contact with him. Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, has reportedly been made aware of the players' plight. Further responses from authorities and organisers are awaited as the young players and their families continue to seek a resolution to the crisis. Get your news on the go, click here to join the Cape Argus News WhatsApp channel. Cape Argus
Irish Independent
10-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Family run company in Leitrim celebrates 35 years in business: 'Boxty is a regional treasure'
Dromod, a company that has been handmaking traditional Irish boxty for over three decades, began in 1990 as Timmy Faughnan started making his Grandmothers recipe of Boxty and Potato bread and selling it to the locals of Dromod village. Following investment and some equipment upgrades, the company also started making pancakes and bread. In 2015, the next generation stepped in as Timmy's daughter Áine Faughnan took over leadership of the company with Timmy happy to step back and share his wisdom. In 2016, the company joined the SuperValu Food Academy, marking a new milestone in business development. This contract opened doors for Dromod Boxty and the products are now stocked in the West, Midlands and East of the country, while they also dispatch international order to the USA and further afield. 35 years on from their humble beginnings, Dromod now continues to thrive and innovate, staying true to their traditional roots while embracing new opportunities. Boxty might not be on every Irish table, but in the northwest, it's iconic. A traditional potato pancake made from raw and cooked spuds, it's been a staple in counties like Leitrim and Cavan for generations. Dating back to pre-famine times, long before Irish staples like the famous Guinness, boxty is one of Ireland's oldest traditional dishes. 'Our customers often tell us that our boxty tastes just like what their granny made,' says Áine Faughnan, Managing Director of Dromod. 'But more than that, they'll say things like, 'It reminds me of Sunday breakfast as a child' or, 'We always had this before going to a match'. "Food has that power - it holds people and moments inside it,' said Ms Faughnan. The company continues to make their products by hand in Co Leitrim, using recipes passed down through generations of the Faughnan family. As modern life gets faster, Ms Faughnan believes more people are turning back to these traditional foods, not just for comfort, but for connection. "There's a new wave of people who want something real - something they can call their own tradition. 'Boxty isn't just a recipe. It's a link back to their family, their place, their culture. "It connects generations, helping to preserve those memories and traditions so they can be shared and enjoyed for years to come. 'Boxty is a regional treasure. 'We want to share it with the rest of the country - to treasure what's truly Irish, like ham sandwiches on the way to a GAA match or a flask of tea on the sideline. "These simple foods carry our culture and connect us through generations,' said Ms Faughnan. Rooted in a family recipe and local ingredients, Dromod is committed to quality, sustainability, and flavour, proudly carrying the Guaranteed Irish mark and Origin Green Gold Membership.
