The Rose & Crown, located in Westhoughton on Bolton Road, will welcome customers once again from 12pm on Thursday, May 21.

The refurbishment was funded by Proper Pubs, the community-focused operator division of Admiral Taverns, and marks a fresh chapter for the venue under the leadership of new operator Ray Lester.

Mr Lester said: “I’m delighted to be taking over The Rose & Crown, and it’s been fantastic to see the transformation come together over the past few weeks.

“The space is already looking great, and I’m really excited to start welcoming customers through the doors – both familiar faces and those visiting for the first time.”

With more than 10 years of experience in the industry, Mr Lester said he hopes to establish the Rose & Crown as a vibrant social hub for the neighbourhood.

The pub now features brand new flooring, fixtures, fittings and furniture throughout, as well as updated décor, along with dedicated darts and pool areas in the lower bar.

Outside, customers can enjoy new covered areas to socialise, additional lighting and a children’s play area.

A broad drinks selection will be available, including Madri, Fosters, Coors, Carling, Guinness, Murphy’s and Strongbow, along with a new cocktail menu.

The Rose and Crown before the refurbishment (Image: public)

The Rose & Crown will also host regular entertainment, including live music, karaoke, quiz nights and pub teams for both darts and pool.

In addition to its social offering, Mr Lester said he plans to support the wider community by collecting food donations for the local foodbank and raising funds for a defibrillator on site.

Matt Gurney, operations director for Proper Pubs, said: “It’s a real pleasure to welcome Ray to The Rose & Crown, and it’s been fantastic to watch the refurbishment come to life.

“We look forward to welcoming the local community into the pub, especially for the reopening event on the 21st of May.

“On behalf of myself and the whole team at Proper Pubs, we’d like to wish Ray every success in his new venture – it’s great to have him on board.”

Proper Pubs operates more than 200 pubs across England, Scotland and Wales.

The company runs an annual programme of events and fundraising campaigns to connect with and support the communities it serves.

Earlier this year, Proper Pubs collected 21,619 Easter eggs for donation to local charities, and last Christmas its operators gathered 17,500 selection boxes for those in need.

In addition, the pub group raised £80,255 for Admiral Taverns’ charity partner, Claire House Hospice.

In 2025, Proper Pubs donated enough food to help feed 1,300 people for a week through UK foodbanks, and has been recognised in a UK-wide defibrillator installation campaign.

So far, the campaign has helped save 11 lives.

In recognition of its community focus, Proper Pubs was named a finalist in the Best Community Pub category at the 2026 Great British Publican Awards.

The company also received the title of Community Pub Operator at the Publican Awards in 2024.

The reopening of The Rose & Crown is seen as another positive step in the company’s ongoing efforts to invest in people and places that matter.

With new facilities, regular events and a renewed focus on supporting Westhoughton, the pub aims to re-establish itself as a gathering place for all generations.

The Rose & Crown is located at 222 Bolton Road, Westhoughton, Bolton.

Eastbourne House, which supports up to 72 older people including those living with dementia, was praised for its compassionate and personalised approach to care.

In a routine inspection carried out in February, the CQC rated the home as outstanding in the categories of effective, caring, responsive, and well-led.

The home, operated by HC-One No.2 Limited, retained its previous rating of good in the safe category.

Alison Chilton, CQC deputy director for adult social care in the north, said: “At Eastbourne House, people told us they felt genuinely at home.

“We found an exceptionally skilled and compassionate team who empowered people to be themselves and live as they wanted to.”

Ms Chilton highlighted how staff went “above and beyond” to make residents feel valued, including helping a lifelong football fan celebrate their 100th birthday by arranging for them to walk onto the field with their favourite team and flip the coin to start the match.

She said: “They told us it was one of the best days of their life.

“Many other residents were celebrating in a local pub and watching the event on TV.”

The CQC noted that staff supported residents through difficult times with sensitivity and respect.

In one example, after a resident experienced a decline following a bereavement, staff encouraged them to take part in a fundraising activity in memory of their loved one, helping them reconnect with their sense of purpose and community.

Inspectors also observed that residents appeared happy and relaxed and spoke positively about the kindness and respect shown by staff.

They were encouraged to pursue their interests and take part in meaningful activities, while being supported to remain as independent as possible.

Staff used clear and accessible communication methods, such as picture menus, to help residents express their preferences.

The end-of-life care provided was also commended, with some staff choosing to sit with residents during their final moments even on their days off if family could not be present.

Leadership at the home was described as supportive, knowledgeable, and visible, with a strong culture of learning and continuous improvement.

I’m not surprised that Talk Like Yoda Day exists. Over 40 years since his Star Wars debut (puppeteered and voiced by Frank Oz), Yoda remains a recognisable figure in pop culture. This is in part due to his distinctive and frequently imitated version of English.

What stands out about Yoda’s speech is his unusual word order. Think of some of his most famous lines: “Patience you must have, my young Padawan” and “Your path you must decide”. This is clearly not the typical English word order, but it’s not random either. Yoda’s word order mirrors the syntax of British Sign Language (BSL). By building your sentences like Yoda, you can master a key aspect of BSL grammar.

In Yoda’s sentences, the topic comes first. In linguistics, the topic of the sentence is the word or phrase that represents what the sentence is about. The other parts of the sentence provide extra details on this topic. Through a syntactic process called topicalisation, the topic is brought to the front of the sentence.

Topicalisation is uncommon in English, but can be used for emphasis. Generally, English sentences follow this word order: subject then verb then object. For example: Anna (subject) ate (verb) a biscuit (object). What is the topic of this sentence? In fact, it could be any of those sentence elements. It depends on which information the speaker thinks is most important.

If the speaker wishes to place emphasis on what they have chosen as the topic of the sentence, topicalisation is a useful tool. Consider the difference between these two sentences:

The biscuit was eaten by Anna.

It was Anna who ate the biscuit.

In the first sentence, what was eaten is important. In the second sentence, who ate the biscuit is important.

Topicalisation is closely linked with question words – who, what, where, why and sometimes how. Each of these questions picks out a different topic. If you were asked, “What did Anna eat?”, it would probably feel odd to answer, “It was Anna who ate the biscuit”. This is because the topic of that response focuses on who, not what. Subconsciously, on a linguistic level, we understand what the topic of the answer should be, even though we may not be used to thinking about sentences in terms of topics.

There is an important difference between topicalisation in English and how Yoda structures his sentence. For Yoda, topicalisation only involves moving the topic; the rest of the word order remains intact. Yet, in English, we need some extra words to facilitate the topic moving. In English, it sounds much more natural to say, “Patience is what you must have, my young Padawan”, although this is very unlike Yoda.

Yoda and BSL

British Sign Language (BSL) is the primary or preferred language of the British Deaf community. There are around 151,000 BSL users, of whom 87,000 are deaf.

A common misconception is that BSL has the same grammar as English. BSL has its own syntax, separate from English and from other sign languages. BSL is what linguists call a topic-comment language. A sentence commonly starts with the topic and is then followed by further details that build on the topic, known as the comment.

No matter whether the topic is a subject, verb or object, it comes first. So, how can you sign the sentence “Anna ate a biscuit”? Using our question words as a guide, we can identify three possible topics: Who ate the biscuit? What did Anna do? What did Anna eat? For each of these scenarios, you sign the topic first, followed by the rest of the sentence:

BSL: Anna eat biscuit.

(Translation: “It was Anna who ate the biscuit.”)

BSL: Eat biscuit Anna.

(Translation: “What Anna did was eat the biscuit.”)

BSL: Biscuit Anna eat.

(Translation: “It was a biscuit that Anna ate.”)

As with Yoda’s English, in BSL, topicalisation elegantly rearranges the elements in the sentence, without the need for extra words. As well as a prominent position, topics can be marked with so-called “non-manual features”, such as a head nod or widened eyes during the topic sign, or a pause after signing the topic.

The topic-comment structure is a very important aspect of BSL grammar. Unfortunately, it is something that hearing learners can struggle to use consistently. In the worst case, you may feel tempted to give up and use English word order instead. But this isn’t BSL, and it could make your signing unclear and difficult to follow for a Deaf person.

Learning a language with a different grammar might seem difficult, but it is associated with many benefits for the brain, such as increased creativity and improved working memory. It is an opportunity to think about how to express your thoughts differently, which might develop your creative problem solving.

Language is also a powerful social and cultural tool for connecting with other people. In 2021, a survey by the Royal National Institute for Deaf People found that people who are deaf or have hearing loss are twice as likely to experience mental health problems compared to people without hearing loss. The survey reported that nearly 47% of respondents felt excluded in everyday life and 33% felt lonely. By learning some BSL, you are working towards making our society more inclusive of people who are deaf.

Rather than getting lost with verb or subject order, remember: talk like Yoda. Start with what is the most important part of the sentence and then provide details. As I’m sure the wise Yoda would agree, sign language learn you should.

Some of Tuchel’s biggest dilemmas have been in defence, where there have been injury and fitness issues.

Centre-back John Stones, in normal circumstances, would have been one of the first names on the England manager’s list.

When he accepted the job, Tuchel identified captain Harry Kane, Declan Rice and Stones as the key members of his leadership group.

The German, during the opening months of his reign, would stay in regular contact with the trio via text message – assuring them of how important they were to his plans.

A fully fit Stones is a nailed-on starter for England this summer. But the 31-year-old has made just four Premier League starts this season.

Central defenders Marc Guehi and Ezri Konsa look certain to make the plane to North America, while Harry Maguire’s international recall in March will increase the Manchester United man’s hopes of a place.

Beyond that; Jarell Quansah’s versatility could count in his favour, while Trevoh Chalobah and Fikayo Tomori were both included in the squad for March’s friendlies against Uruguay and Japan – but face an uphill struggle to make the final 26.

Levi Colwill, who has only recently returned from a long-term cruciate knee ligament injury, was included in Tuchel’s extended 55-man party for the tournament but is unlikely to make the full squad.

At right-back, all eyes – as ever – will be on whether Trent Alexander-Arnold makes the cut. On the face of it, the Real Madrid man should fear the worst.

He wasn’t included in the squad for March’s internationals despite Tuchel selecting more than 30 players in total.

Last year, Tuchel said Quansah – a central defender – was ahead of him in the pecking order, so it doesn’t necessarily look good.

That said, Tuchel has issues at right-back. Reece James, who is expected to start the tournament as first choice in the position, has endured an injury disrupted campaign.

Tino Livramento would also usually be selected. But the Newcastle full-back hasn’t played since mid-April because of a thigh injury.

The doubt over Livramento’s fitness, coupled with the expected exclusion of Arsenal’s Ben White – who is recovering from a serious knee injury – could yet open the door for Alexander-Arnold.

And with England anticipating the majority of the ball in their Group L matches against Croatia, Ghana and Panama, Alexander-Arnold’s strengths in possession may suit Tuchel’s side during the early stages of the tournament.

Tottenham’s Djed Spence could also be an option, having played four times under Tuchel.

Luke Shaw’s run into form has given Tuchel with a welcome headache as he finalises his squad. Nico O’Reilly’s outstanding form for Manchester City means he will almost certainly be selected, with Newcastle duo Dan Burn and Lewis Hall also hoping to get the nod.

The driver of the car was unharmed and no arrests have been made

A man has been taken to hospital following a crash on a road in a Cambridgeshire town. Cambridgeshire Police were called at around 7.54pm yesterday (Wednesday, May 20) to Lynn Road in Wisbech with reports of a crash involving a car and a motorcycle.

A 26-year-old man, who was driving the motorcycle, was taken to hospital with serious injuries. The driver of the car was unharmed. No arrests have been made but police are making enquiries into the incident.

Anyone who saw what happened, has dashcam footage, or was in the area around the time of the incident should go to the police. Anything can be reported through the force website quoting incident 474 of 20 May. If you do not have access to the internet, you can call 101.

A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire Police said: “We were called at 7.54pm to Lynn Road, Wisbech, following reports of a collision between a car and motorcycle.

“The motorcyclist, a 26-year-old man, has been taken to hospital with serious injuries. The driver of the car was unharmed. No arrests have been made and enquiries continue.

“Anyone who saw what happened, has dashcam footage of the collision, was in the area at the time or the moments leading up to it, can report it through the force website or by calling 101, quoting incident 474 of 20 May.”

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Rowntree Park in Terry Avenue is now home to Walk on the Wild Side, a free digital tree trail created by the Friends of Rowntree Park and developed with local app creators Boon & Moil.

The interactive trail guides users around 20 trees, from native varieties to ornamental species, offering identification tips, facts, and seasonal observations.

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Abigail Gaines, from the Friends of Rowntree Park, said: “We wanted to create something that encourages people to slow down and really notice the nature around them.

“Rowntree Park is full of incredible trees that many people walk past every day without knowing their stories.

“This trail is a fun and gentle way to connect with nature, whether you’re visiting alone, with friends, or as a family.”

Walk on the Wild Side is a free app from Friends of Rowntree Park (Image: Friends of Rowntree Park)

The app includes a map and illustrated tree cards, making it easy for users to learn about tree characteristics as they walk through the park.

A shortened version of the trail is available for younger children, and the route takes around 30 minutes to an hour to complete.

The app can be used without booking, works on older devices, and is designed to function even with limited connectivity.

The Friends of Rowntree Park is a volunteer-run charity focused on maintaining and enhancing the park through gardening, wildlife projects, and community events.

Walk on the Wild Side is a free app from Friends of Rowntree Park (Image: Friends of Rowntree Park)

Their work aims to help people connect with nature and each other while ensuring the park remains a welcoming green space for everyone.

Illustrations for the digital tree trail were created by local illustrator Ellie Lewis.

For those who prefer a physical guide, a leaflet version of the trail is available for a small donation at the York Explore Reading Café within the park.

The app is free to download.

A surgeon was in a sexual relationship with a patient while prescribing her highly addictive painkillers under the counter. He claimed he was “blackmailed” into continuing the supply of drugs as he feared she would expose the relationship.

Dr Chirag Patel, a consultant neurosurgeon at University Hospital of Wales, qualified from an Indian university in 1994 and moved to the UK eight years later. He has worked at the hospital in Cardiff since 2015, his misconduct tribunal heard.

The panel was told Dr Patel first operated on the woman (Patient A) in February 2019, removing the damaged part of a disc in her spine, and then performed further surgery on her in August that year. The following month they began a sexual relationship. Full story here

Its latest purchase concerns Oak Beck Way, which has a combined floor space of 9,710 sq ft and is located just one mile north of Harrogate town centre.

The acquisition adds a range of national and SME businesses including a Medivet veterinary practice, glazing installer Hallmark Windows, a mechanics and a tyre company to the national roster of tenant businesses.

Bradford Estates Property Director Chris Hodson said: “Our acquisition of the units at Oakbeck Way is a great fit for our investment strategy, combining our confidence in the existing Harrogate market together with exciting future opportunities driven by its location adjacent to national retailers and the continued growth of Harrogate along the arterial Skipton Road corridor. 

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“Bradford Estates has strong links with Yorkshire, with existing industrial and retail sites in Barnsley, Leeds and Sheffield, so adding a location in Harrogate to our portfolio works on a strategic management level.”

In total, the industrial company now owns 15 institutional grade estates across England and Wales totalling 430,000 sq ft. They have occupiers including popular brands Screwfix, Halfords, Crown Paints, Euro Car Parts and Plumbase, as well as many regional and local enterprises. Overall, the portfolio has an occupier base which exceeds 100 businesses.

Bradford Estates managing director Alexander Newport added: “We are delighted with the quality of our new industrial investments and are now underway with various value creating asset management initiatives to support our return to the investment market again in the near future.”

The main Bradford Estates asset is a 12,000-acre land holding on the Shropshire-Staffordshire borders used for regenerative farming, sustainable forestry, leisure, local housing, SME business space and real estate development.

Southampton admitted spying on Middlesbrough before the first leg of the play-off semi-final, along with Oxford United at Christmas and Ipswich Town last month.

When Saints hosted Ipswich on 28 April the two teams were in direct competition vying to finish second and earn automatic promotion. The game ended 2-2.

Southampton have no further right of appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The Championship play-off final will now go ahead at Wembley on Saturday between Hull City and Middlesbrough (15:30 BST kick-off), with a place in the Premier League on the line.

“A league arbitration panel has dismissed Southampton Football Club’s appeal against the independent disciplinary commission’s sanction following the admittance of multiple breaches of EFL regulations,” the EFL said on Wednesday evening.

Saints called the ruling “an extremely disappointing outcome”.

It added: “While we fully acknowledge the seriousness of this matter and the scrutiny that has followed, the club has consistently believed the original sporting sanction was disproportionate, a view that has been widely shared by many in the football community over the last 24 hours.”

Hull, meanwhile, are unhappy they will have to face different opponents at short notice, with owner Acun Ilicali suggesting the club could take legal action if they lose the final.

Ilicali told Sky Sports he was not happy with the situation, but there was no other option “in order to finish this mess”.