The Moon in Cancer draws attention to home and commitments issues. An important adjustment at home calms tension. Acting with more thought towards family today strengthens broken bonds and restores harmony. Come on Aries, you’ve got this!
Taurus (April 21st – May 21st)
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A financial or practical matter needs careful handling. Observing details ensures smoother progress and prevents mishaps. One deliberate step now sets the stage for long-term stability. Patience and attention create results more lasting than rushed effort.
Gemini (May 22nd – June 21st)
The Sun in your sign energises communication and curiosity. Sharing an idea sparks understanding and unexpected support. Engaging fully without overthinking is what brings you clarity and momentum.
Cancer (June 22nd – July 23rd)
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The moon in your sign encourages reflection and emotional clarity. Noticing small patterns and habits in relationships helps guide your most important choices. Intuition combined with practical action creates the lasting benefit you crave.
Leo (July 24th – August 23rd)
Venus sextile to Pluto enhances your focus in relationships and creative pursuits. A subtle shift in your approach you take from today deepens trust and brings results needed. Attention to nuance today creates progress that is both powerful and quiet.
Virgo (August 24th – September 23rd)
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The Moon in Cancer gives you answers you could not get this time last week. . Observing reactions and patterns allows careful, practical decisions, which could not be found as you entered this month. Small steps today prevent future tension.
Libra (September 24th – October 23rd)
Creativity and social connection spark inspiration. Sharing ideas or collaborating brings momentum and joy. Engaging fully refreshes energy and builds trust. Sometimes a small insight shared quietly has a bigger impact than grand gestures.
Scorpio (October 24th – November 22nd)
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Partnerships show patterns that need gentle adjustment. Observing actions rather than words clarifies intentions. Responding with honesty strengthens trust. Small, deliberate steps prevent tension and build lasting connections.
Sagittarius (November 23rd – December 21st)
The Moon in Cancer guides focus on home and family projects. Practical adjustments now prevent stress and restore calm. Attention to detail creates long-term benefit and lasting comfort. Even minor effort today resonates widely.
Capricorn (December 22nd – January 20th)
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Career or professional matters benefit from careful timing. One focused action today sets momentum for weeks ahead. Confidence combined with preparation ensures results. Deliberate steps create lasting credibility and influence.
Aquarius (January 21st – February 19th)
New ideas and insight spark progress. Observation and thoughtful action turn possibilities into practical results. Curiosity guides decisions, and one deliberate step produces advantage. Energy flows when intuition meets focus. (56 words)
Pisces (February 20th – March 20th)
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Reflection reveals patterns in behaviour or relationships. Awareness allows conscious choice, preventing unnecessary tension. Adjusting one small habit today strengthens personal and emotional balance. Action guided by insight brings long-term benefit.
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A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to restore sites changed under an executive order calling for the nation’s museums, parks and landmarks to not display elements that “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living.”
The preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley in Massachusetts also orders a pause on any additional changes, writing that the plaintiffs have shown that these efforts are meant “to rewrite the Nation’s history with a white-out pen.”
“History cannot be faithfully told while excluding the experiences of communities whose contributions, struggles, and achievements form an important part of our Nation’s story,” the judge wrote.
The Trump administration must also provide a status report every week describing the progress they’ve made with these changes, the judge wrote.
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“Under the guise of promoting American dignity, this Administration seeks to share a limited history by ordering the removal of all signs, displays, and interpretive exhibits at National Parks that do not align with its preferred narrative, thereby telling half-truths,” Kelley wrote.
The order comes in response to a February lawsuit filed by conservation and historical organizations over National Park Service policies that the groups say have forced park service staff to remove or censor dozens of exhibits that share factually accurate and relevant U.S. history and scientific knowledge, including about slavery and climate change.
Many of the changes were at Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park, where the administration removed exhibits on the lives of nine people enslaved at the site in the 1790s under George Washington, the first U.S. president. Other changes included removing a sign at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument in Arizona describing basalt bubbles because it had an image of a visitor holding a Pride flag while films on labor history were removed from the Lowell National Historical Park in Massachusetts.
President Donald Trump signed the executive order “restoring truth and sanity to American history” at the nation’s museums, parks and landmarks last year. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum later directed removal of “improper partisan ideology” from museums, monuments, landmarks and other public exhibits under federal control.
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An email seeking comment from the Interior Department was sent Saturday.
Alan Spears, senior director for cultural resources for the National Parks Conservation Association, one of the organizations that brought the lawsuit, said the ruling will help protect national parks from the administration’s effort “to erase history and science at these one-of-a-kind places.”
“National parks belong to the American people and censorship of any kind goes against the values these places represent,” he said.
Bill Wade, executive director for the Association of National Park Rangers, another organization that brought the lawsuit, said this is especially good news for National Parks employees who “have prided themselves for being able to provide truthful, accurate and unbiased information.”
They were set to stage a four-day walkout from 7am on Monday – the 16th round of strike action since 2023.
But the British Medical Association (BMA) said on Saturday that a last-minute offer had been made, which will be put to members.
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Dr Jack Fletcher, chairman of the BMA’s resident doctors committee (RDC), said: “We have always been clear that no strikes needed to go ahead if we received an offer appropriate to put to our members.
“This should not have been left to the last moment, but we hold up our end of the bargain when the Government shifts its position.”
“All we have asked for is a fair offer that secures enough jobs to tackle the madness of doctor unemployment and take steps to address the erosion of our pay. Tens of thousands of frontline doctors will now vote in a referendum on whether this offer is sufficient.
“We will always negotiate in good faith and strikes are a last resort that we will only use in the face of complete Government intransigence. When Government moves, so do we.
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“Doctors will now have their say. If they say no to this offer, we will have to continue our plans for further escalated action across next month.”
The offer is understood to include standard 2016 resident doctor contract terms for all locally employed doctors and an average 6.6% pay uplift to be fully implemented by April 2027.
Professor Frankie Swords, national medical director at NHS England, had said that the service faced a “triple whammy of pressure” as the planned strike would have coincided with warm weather and the World Cup.
Health Secretary James Murray said: “It is a positive and welcome development – especially for patients – that the BMA have called off these unnecessary strikes.”
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He added that after a 28.9% pay rise for resident doctors over the last three years, “the country simply cannot afford to increase the pay offer for this year”.
Professor Ramani Moonesinghe, national clinical director for critical and perioperative care at NHS England, said: “It is extremely welcome news that the BMA has called off next week’s strike – for both patients and NHS staff.
“The BMA has recognised the positive changes we have made for both resident doctors and patients over the last year – but we are not complacent, we know more is needed and that working conditions have not been good enough, and we will continue to do more to make the NHS a desirable place to work.
“I want to thank staff across the NHS who have worked extremely hard to maintain care for patients throughout recent industrial action – and I really hope today is a positive step in the right direction to end strikes once and for all, while we continue to ensure the NHS is the best place to work for resident doctors now and in the future.”
Asato joined X, then called Twitter, in 2009 – just two years after it launched.
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‘It was a pretty joyous place,’ she recalls, saying she saw Twitter as a way for people to talk about politics on the ground.
That didn’t last long. One of Asato’s first experiences with misogyny on the platform was in 2014, when she commented on the rape trial of footballer Ched Evans.
‘The abuse I got was awful,’ she says. ‘Misogynistic abuse on social media has been going on for a really, really long time.
‘It’s now turbocharged with this ability to lift any woman’s image, manipulate it through AI, and then use it to demean, degrade, humiliate and create death threats.’
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An image manipulated BY Grok of Elon Musk wearing a bikini (Picture: 2026 Getty Images)
Grok is X’s chatbot feature, and has proven controversial (Picture: David Talukdar/Shutterstock)
Phoney images of real people, mainly women wearing bikinis or in sexually provocative situations, flooded X in December and January.
Research published on Friday from Malwarebytes reveals that one in three daily AI users think it’s okay to create fake explicit images of people they know.
But women previously told Metro that the realistic AI-generated images, called deepfakes, amounted to digital sexual assault.
One estimate puts the number of sexualised images created of real people between December 29 and January 8 at three million, or 190 per minute, according to the Center for Countering Digital Hate.
Asato’s mentions were flooded with such content after she called on Musk to take action.
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‘Somebody created this horrible AI video of me being chloroformed and my skirts being lifted as if for a sexual assault,’ she says.
Since I posted last I’ve had my image manipulated to portray me publicly in a bikini.
Where have I consented to this? The issue of consent is missing from this debate.
Sexualising someone’s image without consent is digital sexual abuse and needs to stop.
Given that she has campaigned against nudification apps, which create doctored explicit images, none of this is a surprise to her.
‘I became the victim of the very thing I was talking against,’ she says, alleging that X gave her no real ways to protect herself.
‘This isn’t just because of the nature of the content that’s created – albeit it is pretty traumatising – it’s to do with the fact that you, your personality, your image, has been taken without your consent, manipulated by somebody you don’t know into something that looks realistic but is not you. That’s where the violation happens.
‘Nobody would be allowed to come up to me in the street and strip my clothes off and put me in a bikini, so they shouldn’t be allowed to do that online either.’
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Investigating xAI
Media regulator Ofcom and the Information Commissioner’s Office, the data watchdog, both launched investigations into xAI.
X removed illegal content depicting children and suspended accounts before restricting the image-generation tool to just paying subscribers.
However, Metro found that Grok could still make partially nude images by using certain words. It also doctored illicit images of men on its standalone app and website, Grok Imagine.
Things would have been different, Alsato argues, if Grok had launched with safeguards or followed policies outlined by regulators.
But a study by Security Hero found that even before Grok was released, 99% of nude deepfakes were of women or girls.
New claimants have come forward to join Asato’s legal action, many saying they have struggled to persuade X to remove the offending images.
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X has never been held accountable over the Grok saga, Veronica Oakeshott, head of external affairs at the charity Women’s Aid, tells Metro.
‘More must be done to control the use of this, and similar technologies to ensure that women and children are kept safe, online and offline,’ she says.
When previously asked by Metro, Grok said it does not ‘assist’ with requests involving real, identifiable people.
Grok has a standalone tab within the X app and website (Picture: Getty Images Europe)
Asato’s High Court claim is being brought under the Data Protection Act and for tortious misuse of private information.
Goshawk, director of business development at the domestic abuse and sexual violence charity, Solace, says it should mark a change in our approach to online safety.
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‘Removing the tools alone does not get to the heart of this issue, which is that our society values women’s privacy and dignity less,’ Goshawk says.
At the end of the day, Asato says she’s not asking for much – no woman is.
‘It’s making sure that women are free to be ourselves in online spaces without the fear,’ she adds, ‘of being turned into pornography if you say something a man doesn’t like.’
Swinton Estate, near Ripon, has announced the appointment of Steve Darou as Executive Head Chef, joining the estate on June 8.
Darou joins from St. John restaurants in London, where he served as Group Head Chef.
The estate says he brings with him a deep respect for ingredient-led cooking, seasonality and the resourceful nose-to-tail philosophy that has made St. John one of the UK’s most influential culinary institutions.
That experience will strengthen Swinton’s estate-to-plate ethos still further, and focus on the connection between land and kitchen, championing whole-animal butchery, and ensuring the estate’s produce is used with imagination, integrity and minimal waste.
A key part of his role will be to develop the wider team of chefs so that they build a deeper understanding of how to handle and use ingredients from across the county, creating a more authentic expression of Swinton’s land, people and provenance.
Steve Darou said: “I am delighted to be joining Swinton and leading the food offering across the estate. Having grown up in Canada with a strong connection to foraging and fishing, I have always held a deep respect for produce and provenance.
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“After 12 years with St. John in London, I am excited to work with the team to realise the full potential of one of the country’s great estates, from its exceptional walled kitchen garden to the wider landscape that shapes its identity. It is a rare opportunity to create food that is not only delicious, but truly rooted in place.”
Alongside these wider developments, Josh Barnes will conclude his time at the Chef’s Table at Swinton on July 5, bringing to a close an important chapter in the evolution of the estate’s culinary offering.
During his tenure, the Chef’s Table was awarded 3 AA Rosettes and received Michelin recognition. Further details of the next chapter for the experience will be announced in due course.
General Manager Ramune Aleks added: “This is an exciting moment for Swinton, and we are delighted to welcome Steve to the estate.
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“His appointment reflects our ambition to build a kitchen culture that combines exceptional cooking with a deeper understanding of provenance, seasonality and regenerative hospitality, while making the very most of the extraordinary produce and farming heritage around us.”
Andi Oliver let Metro snoop through her kitchen (Picture: Andi Oliver)
Welcome back to What’s Cooking, Metro’s foodseries, taking a peek inside the nation’s kitchens.
This week we’re at home with chef and presenter, Andi Oliver, who is best known as the host of the BBC’s Great British Menu.
After replacing Prue Leith on the show and working as a judge for four seasons, Andi took over the mantle of host in 2020.
However, the 63-year-old hasn’t always worked with food. She actually started her career as a singer in the band Rip Rig + Panic in the 80s.
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If you’ve ever wondered what a TV chef really eats at home when the cameras aren’t rolling, we’ve got the answers, as well as her top tips for finding the most delicious dishes when travelling.
The chef and presenter is the host of the Great British Menu (Picture: Andi Oliver)
First, tell us a secret. What’s your most unhinged snack obsession?
I’m addicted to this vegan caramelised white chocolate by Ombar. It’s so nice and creamy, I eat it every single day.
Usually, I don’t have a massive sweet tooth, but now I have to have at least two squares of this after dinner, otherwise I feel a bit weird.
I went on holiday to Antigua recently, and I’m so obsessed that I had to take some of it with me. I literally had 10 bars of it in my suitcase.
Ombar is the 63-year-old’s current obsession (Picture: Andi Oliver)
Do you have any tips for finding the best food when travelling?
I like to find out what local people are eating. So I always ask the cab drivers for their recommendations. They’ll tell you where to go, and it’ll be some random little cafe that you’d likely never have found by yourself.
I was taken to the best jerk and barbecue place in Jamaica. It was in this little clearing in the Blue Mountains, and I’m so glad we asked, because if not, I would have completely missed it.
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You can also ask people in local food markets where they like to go, or speak to the experts at Intrepid Travel.
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From the latest Walkers flavours to the secret McDonald’s menu, Metro Food has it all
I’m a massive fan of what they do, which is why I’m working with them on their new Endangered Dishes campaign to highlight 10 iconic global dishes facing extinction due to overtourism and climate change.
These are more than just delicious things on the plate; these are our human stories. These recipes tell the stories of the movement of people, why we’re in the places we are, how we got there, how we connected, and how we thrived as people all over the world.
We need to preserve, celebrate, and encourage people to experience these beautiful dishes.
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Intrepid Travel’s 10 endangered dishes…
10. Kwun Tong Gao (Jumbo Soup Dumplings)
9. Petkhvis Chvishtvari (Black Millet Patty)
8. Inanchila (Sacred Sticky-Rice Tongue Dessert)
7. Traditional Gumbo with Filé Powder
6. Hand-rolled, Kettle-boiled Bagels
5. Tlacoyos with Maiz Criollo (Heirloom Native Corn)
4. Chelsea Bun
3. Cuscos Transmontanos com Coelho (Transmontanos Couscous with Rabbit Stew)
2. Mosbolletjies (Grape Must Buns)
1. Funazushi / Narezushi (The Original Sushi)
Which dish always reminds you of your childhood?
Banana pancakes. My mum used to make them every day, and we’d eat them with savoury food in Antigua.
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You can make them from pumpkin or banana, and they’re a cross between a pancake and a fritter. They’re delicious, and you can have them with everything.
Name one thing that’s always in your fridge…
Andi always has oat milk in the fridge (Picture: Andi Oliver)
I don’t have dairy, so I buy oat milk, and I specifically like to get pistachio oat milk.
I’ve got one of those Nespresso machines, and you can get matcha and vanilla pods. I mix that with pistachio oat milk, and then put a little bit of honey and add a tiny drop of orange blossom water in there – it’s a trick I learned from a woman in San Antonia, and it’s absolutely delicious.
What about in your store cupboard?
Tinned fish is always in the cupboard (Picture: Andi Oliver)
I love tinned fish, like big time, and I’ll make sardines on toast with shaved, raw onion, a fudgy boiled egg, and a little bit of green seasoning on top, which is a mix of herbs, spring onion, and garlic.
That’s a real Antiguian breakfast/lunch thing to eat, with a side of avocado.
And in the freezer?
I always have stock or bone broth in my freezer, and I’m quite a fan of Itsu dumplings.
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I’ll cook the dumplings in a pan, straight from frozen, and add some of the green seasoning I mentioned earlier, plus a splash of stock, and some butter. You get this really lovely, buttery chicken stock sauce.
Top it with some spinach and put the lid on while it finishes cooking, and that’s a really banging, quick lunch.
Itsu dumplings and frozen stock are her freezer must-haves (Picture: Andi Oliver)
Is there anything you can’t resist splurging on at the supermarket?
I do like a nice £40 bottle of champagne, like Fleury. That goes down very well in this house, and I’m partial to it with some elderflower cordial.
What do you prefer to get the cheap own-brand version of from the supermarket?
Tinned beans. There’s been a real thing lately where everybody’s buying beans in glass jars, but you don’t need fancy ones. People will always find a way to tell you to buy something more expensive, but I’ve been eating beans out of tins since I was born, and they’re fantastic.
Finally, what’s been cooking lately?
The filé gumbo is at risk of going ‘extinct’ (Picture: Intrepid Travel)
I’m currently working my way through all 10 of the Endangered Dishes and bringing them to life.
Recently, I’ve made chicken and oxtail gumbo from Louisiana, which is a filé gumbo. It has a roux, which is thickened with the filé powder (dried and ground leaves from a sassafras tree).
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It’s not an easy dish to cook; it takes hours, and there’s definitely some skill involved, but it was really interesting and exciting to make.
Want to take part in What’s Cooking and let Metro raid your kitchen at home? Email courtney.pochin@metro.co.uk
‘The phone charger is very handy, I can’t find anything not to like’
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
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Argos shoppers have been raving about a versatile desk lamp that serves several other purposes including charging smartphones. The model in question is available at Argos, which has highlighted the £40 Groov-e Ares LED Charging Desk Lamp as an ‘in demand’ item.
The standout feature of the lamp is its built-in 10W wireless charging pad, which can be used to charge compatible wireless charging devices such as smartphones and tablets by placing them on the base. This includes gadgets from brands like Apple and Samsung, with users reporting ‘no issues’ charging iPhones.
Available in black or white, the multifunctional Groov-e lamp also has a digital screen on the stem that can display the time, calendar or room temperature, as well as serving as a built-in alarm clock. It’s cleverly designed with a backup battery that ensures the alarm still operates should mains power be lost.
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As for lighting, it features a built-in LED bulb with three modes – warm, warm white and cool – plus a dinner mode, with five variable settings in each mode. All of these are selectable with a simple tap of the touch control pad, so users can select the best brightness to suit the mood whether working, reading or watching TV.
The Groov-e Ares lamp is designed with a folding arm that can be easily adjusted to angle the light where needed and a compact frame suitable for a range of desk sizes. It also boasts a one metre cable providing flexibility of placement.
The Groov-e Ares LED Charging Desk Lamp can charge compatible wireless charging devices like Apple and Samsung smartphones.
A similar lamp is on sale at Amazon, where the BIENSER LED Desk Lamp with Wireless Charging costs £27.99. Despite its lower cost, this model offers a total of 50 lighting choices and can also charge compatible devices.
Elsewhere, more traditional lamps are available at Dusk, where the £49 Emer Scallop Edge Reactive Glaze Table Lamp has received a perfect five-star rating. As for the Groov-e Ares LED Charging Desk Lamp, Argos customers have awarded it a 4.6-star rating after more than 40 reviews, with some saying it goes ‘beyond expectations’.
“It goes above and beyond my expectations,” one shopper said. “The light features are brilliant as well as the temp readings and the fact it has wireless charging [is] a bonus.”
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Another said: “Nice lamp with brightness and tone adjustment which is excellent when working late into the night. I have [an] iPhone 12 and there are no issues with charging, while charging a discreet red LED on the base will turn green when the phone is fully charged. I would recommend the light.”
However, the same buyer also highlighted one ‘bugbear’, adding: “One bugbear is the buttons at the back are flush and therefore difficult to find when adjusting the time/date.”
Nevertheless, another five-star review says: “Excellent bedside light, I bought two for my bedroom. Good variety of brightness, clear clock and temperature readout. The phone charger is very handy too – can’t find anything not to like.”
The Greater Cambridge Partnership wants to make the Riverside route safer and more accessible for pedestrians and cyclists – but not everyone agrees it’s the right priority
David Prince and Cambridgeshire Live readers
07:00, 14 Jun 2026
Readers of Cambridgeshire Live have been weighing in on proposals to upgrade a well-loved riverside route in Cambridge. Many are in favour of creating a safer environment for pedestrians and cyclists, while others argue that the funding would be better spent repairing the roads.
The Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) says Riverside is used daily by thousands of pedestrians and cyclists. The route forms part of the Bottisham Greenway.
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A GCP spokesperson said: “The GCP wants to enhance Riverside to create a safer, more accessible and more enjoyable route into the city and surrounding areas.” Riverside runs from the Elizabeth Way bridge to Stourbridge Common. The GCP’s proposals include:
Wider, more consistent footways;
New resting spots with planting and accessible seating;
Clearer signage and improved pedestrian crossings;
Safe, secure cycle parking.
Jonathan Camp, GCP Project Manager, said: “Riverside is already enjoyed by many people. These proposals aim to make it safer, greener and more inviting – a place where you can move easily, meet friends or simply enjoy being by the river. We’re asking everyone who uses Riverside to tell us what they think so we can create something that reflects what the community needs.”
A public consultation on the proposals is open until Monday, 13 July, at 11.59pm. You can access the link HERE.
One reader, Nocyclinganywhere comments: “Another vanity project and complete waste of money. Another project for cyclists that will be like all the others and not get used, if cyclists want these vanity projects, they should pay for them.”
Garyblowpants writes: “A great project! More road funds should be funneled to cyclists instead of being wasted on motorists.”
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Tartan53 asks: “Does the CGP have an overall plan to interfere and ‘improve’ every road in Cambridge, surprised there was no reference to the ‘millions’ of cyclists who use this route everyday.”
Bobbymcbobface says: “To be fair, when I pass through there, there are always loads of runners on the road; it may be safer if they had a proper pavement to use.”
Over on our Facebook page, Stephen R comments: “Another great development. Can’t wait.”
Frank G believes: “What a waste of money.”
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Martin L-S writes: “Excellent scheme to benefit pedestrians, long overdue. As the picture shows, the pavement by the river just stops half-way along Riverside, forcing people to walk in the roadway.”
Tom R adds: “This whole riverside has huge potential (and established use). It would benefit greatly from more ‘active transport’ facilities.”
Trevor P says: “Could widen the river here to allow floating restaurants and mooring for boat trips up the river to Ely, making a proper riverside promenade with coffee stands, snacks etc.”
Sue R thinks: “Here we go again, GCP, the ones that just pop into Cambridge now and again to see how they can spend more money on vanity projects. Yes, it would be nice, definitely Camcycle would be very happy, but wouldn’t it be better to improve some of the pavements and roads that are really in need of repair first around Cambridge?
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“I walk along the river there, and never have I found it to be overcrowded with ‘thousands’ of pedestrians and cyclists. Never seen an accident with the cyclists and pedestrians, although I’m not saying there hasn’t been one with the speed some of the cyclists seem to think they need to go.”
Eco Nick writes: “I remember when they sorted it out not long ago. Again? Not needed. Sorry to bang on about it, but resurface the roads. For all road users. I am totally against this plan. It is fine. I cycle it a lot. Litterpick it too.”
Does the riverside need to be improved? Comment below or HERE to have your say.
From the 1984 York Rock Festival – Echo & The Bunnymen and The Sisters of Mercy shaking the Knavesmire to modern blockbuster crowds, the tradition runs deep.
Remembering the huge gigs that have rocked York Racecourse – including pictures and memories from the 1984 York Rock Festival on Knavesmire. (Image: Submitted)
Sir Tom Jones drew more than 30,000 in 2015, arriving just in time to deliver a masterclass under evening skies.
There had been fears the then-septuagenarian sex bomb himself would be a non-runner after a respiratory infection had put paid to his earlier concerts at Saint Tropez and in Germany.
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Sir Rod Stewart kept the sell-out momentum rolling, with his July 2019 concert at York Racecourse held on a specially-constructed pop-up venue on the Knavesmire.
STILL WEARING IT WELL Rod Stewart at York Racecourse in 2019. Picture Cuffe and Taylor Rhodes (Image: Cuffe and Taylor Rhodes)
There have been screams for Boyzone in 2018, club vibes as Craig David brought his TS5 set, and pop-punk revivals with Busted.
In July 2021, 30,000 thousand fans packed York Racecourse again for the first time in almost two years due to the Covid pandemic.
Racegoers watched a series of races followed by a concert by pop band McFly on the second day of the course’s Music Showcase weekend.
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Races had been held behind closed doors the previous year while York’s capacity had been limited to 4,000 at meetings earlier that year.
Olly Murs charmed the crowds at York Racecourse Picture Jeremy Phillips Photographer (Image: Jeremy Phillips Photographer)
Those restrictions on numbers at race meetings had been removed under the Government’s recent relaxation of Covid rules.
In 2022, about 45,000 packed in for Madness and Sugababes, proving the appetite only grows.
As this season returns, memories of Tom Fletcher and Danny Jones lighting up 2012 remind us that the music is just as big as the racing.
WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT Wildlife enthusiast Timothy Treadwell spent 13 successive summers living among grizzly bears in Alaska’s Katmai National Park
A fearless wildlife enthusiast and his girlfriend spent their final moments crying out for help as a starving grizzly bear mauled them to death, leaving behind a horrific collection of remains and the “worst recording ever made”.
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Timothy Treadwell, 46, was convinced he had developed a unique connection with Alaska’s most dangerous predators.
For 13 consecutive summers, he lived amongst grizzly bears in Katmai National Park, giving them names and engaging with them, despite constant warnings about the dangerous animals.
In October 2003, his conviction would claim both his life and that of his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard.
The couple had remained later than usual into the season, setting up their tent near Kaflia Bay as autumn approached and food grew scarce for the local wildlife, reports the Express.
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They were awaiting a seaplane to transport them home when the horror unfolded.
Inside their tent while rain pounded down outside, the pair were making a meal. Apparently drawn by the smell of food, a grizzly bear came near.
Treadwell is thought to have pressed record on a videotape to capture the attack, though the audio it recorded was considered too harrowing to ever be made public.
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Alaska state troopers who listened to the tape said Treadwell could be heard shouting, “get out of here, I’m getting killed.”
His terrified girlfriend pleaded with him to play dead, then begged him to fight back. Shortly afterwards, Amie herself came under attack.
“You can hear him screaming,” state trooper Chris Hill later stated. “She’s screaming, ‘Is the bear still there?’ He says something to the effect that he’s dying. We really didn’t hear the bear at all.”
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The recording was later described as so distressing that acclaimed director Werner Herzog, who featured Treadwell’s footage in his widely praised 2005 documentary Grizzly Man, refused to use a single second of it.
“You must never listen to this,” Herzog told Treadwell’s former partner and close friend Jewel Palovak after hearing part of the tape. She ultimately destroyed it, smashing it with a hammer and cutting it up with a knife.
“It felt freeing,” she said. “Very freeing.”
When rangers finally arrived at the campsite the following day, they were met with a truly horrific scene. The pair’s tents had been torn to shreds, with shoes still sitting by the entrance.
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Nearby lay a mound of mud, grass and human limbs.
Investigators discovered what remained of Treadwell’s head, still attached to his spine, alongside several severed limbs.
Four bin bags of human remains were subsequently recovered from the stomach of a 28-year-old male grizzly weighing close to 1,000lb.
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The bear, elderly and struggling to feed due to broken teeth, was shot dead after charging at officers.
Investigators concluded that Treadwell’s habitual practice of pitching camp in prime feeding grounds and allowing bears to come within touching distance most likely played a significant role in the fatal mauling.
Palovak, who co-founded the grassroots organisation Grizzly People alongside Treadwell, said “He didn’t have a death wish. He wasn’t stupid. He knew the dangers. He didn’t want to die.”
A former drug addict, Treadwell attributed his turnaround in life to the bears, crediting them with steering him towards sobriety.
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He was completely dedicated to living amongst the animals, carefully recording their behaviour, speaking to schoolchildren about the remarkable creatures and seeing himself as a guardian of the bears he wholeheartedly believed were under threat from hunters and humans.
“His goal was to show people the secret life of grizzly bears,” Palovak said, “to inspire children to fight for what they believe in, no matter how big the challenge.
“He always told me, ‘If I die, make a kick-ass movie.’ I was like, ‘Oh sure, I’ll do that’.
“But that’s actually what ended up happening … I think [ Grizzly Man ] would have been the kick-ass movie that he wanted.”
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