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She wanted to switch off from the world, but then she decided to make a difference

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Manchester Evening News

On Huddersfield Road, a lifeline has been created. From outside it might look like any other coffee shop, but speak to the person behind it and you soon realise it’s much more.

Inside She Remains Brave – a new community coffee shop and boutique in Newhey – staff laugh together as they brew fresh cups of coffee. Slices of cake are dished out and workers and customers put the world to rights.

For founder Becky Taylor, it’s exactly what she envisioned. Concerned people didn’t have anywhere to disconnect from phones and engage in meaningful conversations, she set about creating a space for everybody.

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While the cafe is already proving successful, it was born out of a particularly challenging period in Becky’s life. The cafe aims to raise awareness of sexual violence, support survivors and help build a more informed and compassionate community.

Throughout her journey, which involved a serious and traumatic incident, Becky has met survivors, families and individuals who felt isolated, unheard and unsure where to turn after similar experiences. It’s something Becky can relate to. She felt compelled to make a difference in her own community.

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Her main aim when opening the doors a few weeks back was to create a welcoming space where people could connect, access information, find support and feel part of a community. It’s something she was desperate for during the last few years.

“I was heartbroken, I didn’t know what to do,” Becky recalls of her last few years. “I felt so alone and lonely, I couldn’t talk to anybody around me. I switched off from the world. But that’s when I thought ‘what can I do to make a difference?’”.

Over the last few months, with the support of family, friends and local businesses, Becky and her team of volunteers have transformed an empty shop into a thriving community space.

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Alongside coffee and light refreshments, they provide a space for local makers and small businesses to showcase their products, while also offering a welcoming environment where people can access information, support and connection.

Shelves lined with handmade cards, keychains, teddy bears and candle melts – all made and produced by local people – sit next to vital resources from organisations like Andy’s Man Club and The Maggie Oliver Foundation, giving customers, visitors and anyone needing someone to talk to an opportunity to do so.

“I wanted to know how I could give back to people that have helped, and every shelf is a different person of business and we’re supporting them, because they support us. I love what we are building here.”

Becky continues to work alongside organisations supporting survivors and families affected by sexual violence, including The Maggie Oliver Foundation, and remains committed to raising awareness and advocating for positive change.

“The safe space we have created is not just [about] trauma and sexual assault, but I’m advocating for that in the background to get laws changed,” continues Becky.

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“You could have lost someone, be going through something so terrible but as a human being when we ask ‘are you okay?’. It’s a thin question, nobody really cares, nobody talks anymore. We need to bring back communication. We’re doing that here.”

To ensure that people felt visible and able to connect, Becky has made sure the kitchen is a focal point so customers can engage directly with staff. Similarly, to ensure it’s open to all, she has kept the costs low so there’s an affordable option for everybody.

On the menu there’s a range of toasties from £3.50, plus jacket potatoes at the same price and with a number of topping options. They also serve omelettes with salad or baked beans, plus soup, sandwiches and salad bowls.

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Many pop in for a brew, cake and a good chat, so their meal deal (£3) for a hot drink and a cake is catering for that. There’s also a children’s menu, plus a selection of freshly made baked goods.

Becky has used her life savings to bring She Remains Brave to life, something that not everybody could understand when she first set out to create the space. But now, many can see how important the space is for them and the community.

“My husband said to me ‘I always felt like this place was meant to be here,’ and a lot of others have said that too. I’d never felt so lonely in my life, but here, I feel more confident now.”

While they can’t expand the food and drink options too much without the extraction fan, the landlord has bought the building, meaning they can grow She Remains Brave in the months to come. This will ensure they have more spaces for counselling sessions, community groups and any activity that will support the community.

“This is the way I’ve coped, it’s my coping mechanism. I can make a difference now.”

She Remains Brave, 5 Huddersfield Rd, Newhey, Rochdale OL16 3RU

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‘Regret is a major theme of my work’: Matt Haig on finding acceptance

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‘Regret is a major theme of my work’: Matt Haig on finding acceptance

Best-selling author of The Midnight Library, Matt Haig, has made his career addressing regret and mental health. Now, at 50 years old and with the release of his new book The Midnight Train, he explains why acceptance descended on him

When Matt Haig thinks about regret, his mind goes back to the mental health crises he experienced in his early 20s, including a suicide attempt, and the impact it had on his girlfriend, now his wife.

“Me and Andrea have been together since we were 19, and I had a full-blown breakdown at the age of 24 and the years prior to that,” he says. “There was drink, drugs, bad behaviour, all giving Andrea hell. Then I went from being one type of nightmare boyfriend to the opposite type, who couldn’t leave the house and had to have his hand held to go to the corner shop for years, as I was agoraphobic.”

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Now 50, Haig has found that, with time, “acceptance descends on you”.

“If you’ve spent enough time through depression, regretting and regretting, you start to regret the regret. It got to that point. Therapy helped.”

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Haig’s personal experiences, particularly around mental health, have fed much of his work over the last three decades, from his breakthrough memoir Reasons to Stay Alive to the bestselling The Midnight Library, which explored alternate lives and roads not taken.

His latest novel, The Midnight Train, follows 81-year-old Wilbur, who boards a magical train after a heart attack and revisits key moments in his life, particularly his Venice honeymoon with his late wife, Maggie, confronting regret and the temptation to rewrite the past.

“Regret is a major theme of my work,” Haig says. “I feel this book is a companion to The Midnight Library. Whereas that was about there being no perfect life, this is more about not getting trapped in social pressures of status and workaholism and those very male things where, whatever level you’re at, you always feel you need one level higher.”

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If you’ve spent enough time through depression, regretting and regretting, you start to regret the regret

That may be easier to say when you are one of Britain’s most widely read novelists.

“Yes,” he says, laughing. “But if you’re the type of person who always feels like you’re failing at something, that psychology stays with you. You tick a box and get something you’ve been dreaming of, whether in career or relationships, and you stay the same miserable git you were to start with.

“Then you think the problem is something else you’ve got to fix. That’s why we see so many celebrities go off the rails, because they haven’t fixed something they thought success was going to fix.”

He adds: “When the kids were young, me and Andrea were both, like a lot of new parents, in a state of freefall. I can’t remember much of those first 100 days. You treat everything too seriously and worry about everything. I’d love to go back and enjoy that more.”

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Haig’s personal experiences, particularly around mental health, have fed much of his work over the last three decades

“There is always some calamitous world’s end to focus on, but what you remember at the end of your life is not going to be news footage, it’ll be the people you lived with.”

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Born in Sheffield in 1975 and raised in Newark, Nottinghamshire, Haig says writing helped him find his feet, though it took time.

“A lot of people think Reasons to Stay Alive was my first book. I think it was number 10,” he says. “I started off being karaoke Ian McEwan, very intense, trying to win a Booker, and I realised that wasn’t me. Over time, I developed my own style.”

Part of that voice was shaped by his willingness to speak openly about mental health before it was common. “I’ve always had a dopamine hit from saying truths other people might find uncomfortable,” he says. “I like directness.”

Celebrities go off the rails because they haven’t fixed something they thought success was going to fix

However, that openness he says labelled him. “I wasn’t seen as Matt Haig the writer for a while, it was Matt Haig the mental health ambassador, and I didn’t feel equipped for that. People would write to me almost like I was a therapist. I was just someone who had had a breakdown, no longer was suicidal, and wrote about it.”

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Now based in Brighton, with his wife, two children and two dogs, Haig has also found some relief in his 2021 autism and ADHD diagnosis.

“A lot of things clicked into place,” he says. “At school I was fidgety, couldn’t pay attention, always accidentally getting into trouble. I always wished there had been one clear reason for my struggles, because when you have depression you become a detective, trying to work out who did it.”

He smiles at the thought. “You almost envy people who had one triggering event. Mine was more diffuse. Some of it was family history, some bullying, some not fitting in, and part of it was being neurodivergent in a world that wouldn’t have recognised it. In the 1980s autism was basically Rain Man. That wasn’t me.”

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Matt Haig is now based in Brighton, with his wife, two children and two dogs

“I always had this feeling of difference. You feel like a weirdo in your own head. That sense of otherness, and the work of making peace with it, has shifted over time. Getting older has been beneficial for me,” he says. “The breakdown I had when I was younger was so traumatic, but the flashbacks eased. Accepting myself as a vulnerable person helped.”

That does not mean stability is permanent. “I’m convinced there will be future patches where I’m not mentally that well. Last year I descended into massive hypochondria and was diffcult to live with. You have to accept happiness is temporary and when you feel bad that is temporary too. It’s about riding the waves.”

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That phrase feels close to a philosophy but it also informs how he thinks about masculinity and what he sees happening among younger men.

“If young men have nothing to do but stare at YouTube, rabbit holes are easy to fall down,” he says. “When I was young I hated being diagnosed with depression. I thought it said something weak about me as a man. A lot of what we’re facing with toxic masculinity is to do with men being unable to embrace vulnerability, to ever be a victim, to ever be ill. That’s why people don’t go to the doctor and die younger.”

I’ve always had a dopamine hit from saying truths other people might find uncomfortable

His answer is not abstract policy but places and people: youth clubs, sport, arts and community. Simply more places to belong. Research increasingly backs that instinct up, linking community belonging and social connection with better mental health, especially for young men vulnerable to isolation.

It is striking how often Haig circles back, even when talking about regret, to connection rather than achievement. Not the milestones, but the relationships around them. For a writer so associated with alternate lives and what-ifs, his conclusions are surprisingly grounded. Regret, he suggests, may be unavoidable, but it need not be a prison.

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The fantasy at the heart of The Midnight Train is that we might revisit the past and alter our course. The gentler truth running beneath it is that peace may come not from changing what happened, but from seeing what was already there.

After decades writing about breakdown, mortality, anxiety and second chances, that feels close to a hard-won kind of hope. And perhaps that is the destination of this novel too: not to spend life staring backwards at missed platforms, but to recognise, while there is still time, that we are already on the journey.

The Midnight Train by Matt Haig is out now, published by Canongate.

Photography by Peter Flude 

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The REAL story behind David Foster’s shock snubbing of Meghan Markle

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Meghan Markle suffered what looked like an awkward exchange with Prince Harry's pal David Foster at the music mogul's starry charity event in Canada last Friday

Meghan Markle suffered what looked like an awkward exchange with Prince Harry‘s longtime friend David Foster at the musician’s charity event in Canada last Friday.

In the viral clip, Foster appeared to completely ignore Markle as she eagerly extended her arm out to greet him on the red carpet before he swiftly walked past her to pose to the left of his much-younger wife Katharine McPhee for a group photo.

The Duchess of Sussex, 45, played the moment off expertly by quickly tucking her floating arm behind her back before leaning into her tuxedo-clad husband, 41, for a group photo with Foster, 76, and McPhee, 42.

However, all is not what it seemed as sources close to Foster have now exclusively revealed to the Daily Mail the truth behind the perceived ‘snub.’

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Foster ‘wanted Harry and Meghan,’ the exclusive insider insisted, adding that the composer ‘genuinely just didn’t see’ the As Ever founder on the red carpet.

‘He’s always been a big fan of Diana and he’d never snub either of them,’ the source explained, referring to Harry’s late mother Princess Diana.

Meghan Markle suffered what looked like an awkward exchange with Prince Harry’s pal David Foster at the music mogul’s starry charity event in Canada last Friday

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‘It was a genuine moment where he didn’t see them and nobody really thought much of it. It’s nothing.’ 

A second insider added that Foster was ‘so excited to see Harry and Meghan’ as he is ‘longtime friends’ of the couple, who also reside in Southern California’s affluent town of Montecito. 

Foster’s snubbing of Markle was a complete accident, the source claimed, noting that he was likely distracted by his hosting duties.

‘As host of the evening, David had a lot going on at the moment. David was doing interviews in that moment too.’

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The insider then revealed that Foster had ‘already said hi [to Meghan and Harry] before’ the now-viral red carpet moment.

‘They had already said hi before that photo moment. There were lots of hugs and David introduced Harry & Meghan to his other family there.’ 

The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for both Markle and Foster for comment but has yet to hear back.

The now-viral moment between Markle and Foster was also dissected by body language expert Judi James for the Daily Mail.

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In the viral clip, Foster appeared to completely ignore Markle as she eagerly extended her arm out to greet him on the red carpet before he swiftly walked past her to pose to the left of his much-younger wife Katharine McPhee for a group photo

In the viral clip, Foster appeared to completely ignore Markle as she eagerly extended her arm out to greet him on the red carpet before he swiftly walked past her to pose to the left of his much-younger wife Katharine McPhee for a group photo

The Duchess of Sussex, 45, played the moment off expertly by quickly tucking her floating arm behind her back before leaning into her tuxedo-clad husband, 41, for a group photo with Foster, 76, and McPhee, 42

The Duchess of Sussex, 45, played the moment off expertly by quickly tucking her floating arm behind her back before leaning into her tuxedo-clad husband, 41, for a group photo with Foster, 76, and McPhee, 42

According to James, Markle was in ‘pose-alert’ as Foster and McPhee arrived on the red carpet.

‘Smiling at David Foster, she graciously extends an arm with hand palm-up to sweep them onto the red carpet and into the pose beside her, beckoning and gesturing to announce that they should step in front of her as they do so,’ James shared.

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‘When Foster appears to walk past without replying to Meghan’s smile of greeting, she lowers her head and busies herself arranging her dress as an act of distraction. 

‘Meghan looks happy and slightly relieved when everyone has locked into her line-up and she returns to her professional mode – although Harry rather impolitely disrupts the arrangement by leaning back to chat to the man known as his “surrogate father” behind the wives’ backs.’

At this, the Duchess ‘performed an act of realignment by pulling Harry closer and laughing for no apparent reason apart from to perhaps negate any suggestion of rebellion and a lack of manners on his behalf’.

Friday night marked the 40th anniversary of the David Foster Foundation, which the 16-time Grammy winner hosted in his hometown of Victoria, British Columbia. 

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He founded the organization in 1986 to provide financial support for Canadian families with children who need life-saving organ transplants and raise awareness of organ donation in Canada and the US. 

Meghan and Harry were the clear guests of honor as they were notably seated next to Foster and wife McPhee inside the event’s venue. 

However, all is not what it seemed as sources close to Foster have now exclusively revealed to the Daily Mail the truth behind the perceived 'snub'

However, all is not what it seemed as sources close to Foster have now exclusively revealed to the Daily Mail the truth behind the perceived ‘snub’

Foster 'wanted Harry and Meghan,' the exclusive insider insisted, adding that the composer 'genuinely just didn't see' the As Ever founder on the red carpet

Foster ‘wanted Harry and Meghan,’ the exclusive insider insisted, adding that the composer ‘genuinely just didn’t see’ the As Ever founder on the red carpet

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The red-haired royal wore a black tuxedo and bow tie while his wife was dressed in a black maxi one-shouldered gown by Canadian designer Greta Constantine.

The Suits actress dazzled in an elegant black one-shoulder gown and accessorized with Princess Diana‘s diamond and sapphire earrings.

She also owns the late Princess of Wales‘s butterfly earrings and matching cuff bracelet as well as a diamond tennis bracelet, a Cartier Tank Louis and Diana’s ‘divorce ring’, an emerald-cut aquamarine surrounded by diamonds gifted to her by close friend Lucia Flecha de Lima in 1996.

Markle has previously worn Diana’s earrings at public events and chose to sweep her hair into an updo to show off the stones on the red carpet at the charity gala.

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Meghan and Harry have long been friends with Foster and McPhee, who are considered an A-list musician couple.

They were even previously pictured on a double date with Foster and McPhee.

In 2019, Foster arranged for the Duke and Duchess to stay at a close friend’s mansion on Vancouver Island.

He told the Daily Mail at the time: ‘I felt honored that I was able to help Meghan there because I’m a Canadian, and we’re a Commonwealth country – we’re the Crown’s.

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‘It’s important to us, so I grew up with that kind of sentiment. I was really happy to be able to help them to find a respite just to take a little time off.’

McPhee went to school with the LA-born Duchess and told Access Hollywood in 2020 that her husband and the Duke had a 'really, really beautiful relationship'

McPhee went to school with the LA-born Duchess and told Access Hollywood in 2020 that her husband and the Duke had a ‘really, really beautiful relationship’

The mansion, a secluded waterfront estate in North Saanich, British Columbia, was owned by Mr Foster’s close friend, whose identity he refused to give away.

McPhee went to school with the LA-born Duchess and told Access Hollywood in 2020 that her husband and the Duke had a ‘really, really beautiful relationship’.

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‘They’re so cute. They’re like father and son,’ she gushed. ‘We just stay in touch with them [the Sussexes].

‘But mostly, Meghan and I knew each other from childhood, but really Harry and my husband are friends. It’s really nice.’

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WFH: Working from hotels with the perks of air con, wifi and electricity included is the new heatwave trend

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WFH: Working from hotels with the perks of air con, wifi and electricity included is the new heatwave trend

Booking a hotel for the day isn’t a novel idea, but platforms like Dayuse, which allows users to book rooms by the hour, are enjoying renewed relevance. Most of the London properties on there are cookie-cutter chains and/or vaguely sleazy, but there are some winners, including Treehouse London, the soaring hotel at the end of Regent Street. There are also the London outposts of the ever-reliable Hoxton hotels (in Holborn, Southwark, Shoreditch and Shepherd’s Bush).

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‘Andy Burnham needs to tell Trump not to pardon my groomer Ghislaine Maxwell’ | News Politics

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'Andy Burnham needs to tell Trump not to pardon my groomer Ghislaine Maxwell' | News Politics
Lara Blume McGee says she was groomed by Maxwell when she as 20 (Picture: Aaron Schwartz/Getty Images)

Andy Burnham should tell Donald Trump not to pardon convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, an Epstein survivor and a lawyer for his victims have said.

Lara Blume McGee, who says she was groomed by Maxwell aged 20, has urged the new Prime Minister to ‘make it clear’ Epstein’s former girlfriend should stay behind bars.

Lawyer Spencer Kuvin, who has represented nine Epstein victims, said Burnham ‘has a voice’ over a feared pardon of Maxwell, who is a British citizen.

Trump has not ruled out granting clemency to the former socialite, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison on child sex trafficking charges in 2022.

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FILE PHOTO: Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein are seen in this image released by the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., U.S., on December 19, 2025 as part of a new trove of documents from its investigations into the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. U.S. Justice Department/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES/File Photo
Jeffrey Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted of child sex trafficking (Picture: via REUTERS)

Many survivors are outraged at Trump’s new US attorney general Todd Blanche, who was responsible for moving Maxwell to a minimum-security prison shortly after meeting her last year.

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One of those who railed against Blanche’s confirmation last week was McGee, who was just 20 when she met Maxwell at New York Fashion Week in 2000.

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She claims Maxwell used the prospect of modelling connections to lure her into Epstein’s orbit before he abused her.

McGee told Metro: ‘A pardon for Maxwell would not only be a travesty of justice but a devastating message to survivors everywhere. We cannot allow this. We will not allow this.’

As well as being British, Maxwell’s victims were also groomed and abused at her residence in London, according to the US Department for Justice.

Asked what her message would be to the UK’s new Prime Minister, McGee said: ‘Prime Minister Burnham, stand with us.

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‘Use your influence to ensure that the UK is a beacon of justice, not a sanctuary for those who exploit and abuse.

‘Make it clear to President Trump and the world that pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell would be a grave injustice that Britain will not tolerate.’

Lara Blume McGee, a survivor of deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking ring, joined by survivors of deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking ring, speaks to members of the media outside a closed-door session with former Attorney General Pam Bondi, not pictured, in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, May 29, 2026. Former Attorney General Pam Bondi is appearing before the House Oversight Committee for a closed-door interview regarding the Justice Department's handling and review of files related to investigations into deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking ring. Photographer: Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
McGee wants Andy Burnham to ‘stand with us’ (Picture: Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Burnham has agreed to meet Epstein’s victims but is not considering holding a public inquiry into the paedophile’s UK activities, Downing Street confirmed this month.

Kuvin, who has represented Epstein victims since 2006, called on the PM to support an independent statutory inquiry into Epstein and ‘say publicly if credible evidence exists that anyone’ participated in the financier’s crimes.

The attorney added that survivors are ‘extremely concerned’ by talk Maxwell could be pardoned after her lawyers said she would only co-operate with investigations into Epstein’s crimes if granted clemency.

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Kuvin told Metro: ‘Victims should never be placed in the position of wondering whether the person convicted of helping facilitate their abuse might be freed because she has information that powerful people want.

‘That would send a terrible message to trafficking survivors everywhere.’

Asked whether Burnham could persuade Trump not to pardon Maxwell, the lawyer said ‘Britain absolutely has a voice’.

He added: ‘I would encourage Prime Minister Burnham and his government to communicate directly to President Trump that clemency for Maxwell would have consequences far beyond American politics.’

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Pic shows: Maxwell pleads fifth in new video released Convicted Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell stays silent for every question put to her at a Congressional hearing in the US. Ghislaine Maxwell refused to answer questions during a closed-door congressional deposition on Monday, prompting criticism from a House representative backing efforts to release Jeffrey Epstein investigative files. Robert Garcia, ranking member of the committee on oversight and government reform, said in a statement that Maxwell invoked the fifth amendment and refused to testify during her scheduled deposition. Maxwell???s attorney, David Oscar Markus, also said that she invoked her fifth amendment right. supplied by Pixel8000 07917221968
Maxwell was moved to a minimum-security prison by Todd Blanche when he was deputy attorney general (Picture: Pixel8000)
Spencer Kuvin - lawyer defending Jeffrey Epstein victims
Spencer Kuvin has demanded an inquiry into Epstein’s activities in the UK

Kuvin continued: ‘The Prime Minister could say publicly and privately that Britain believes Maxwell should serve the sentence imposed upon her.’

The lawyer said there are still questions British institutions have to answer about how Epstein was ‘able to operate for so long in plain sight, while surrounded by some of the most powerful people in the world’.

The Senate unanimously passed a resolution last month declaring it’s opposition to any presidential pardon for Maxwell, who has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing.

Senator Jacky Rosen, a Democrat of Nevada, said at the time: ‘It’s frankly horrifying that Trump would entertain the idea of clemency for even a second for a convicted sex trafficker.’

A Government spokesperson said: ‘Our thoughts are firmly with the victims of Jeffrey Epstein, who have suffered devastating trauma, and it is right that Ghislaine Maxwell has been handed out a 20-year prison sentence for her role.

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 ‘The Prime Minister is committed to meeting with victims. We are looking at all options to support them.’

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Rio Ferdinand makes Arsenal title claim as Man City sanction Rodri transfer | Football

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Rio Ferdinand makes Arsenal title claim as Man City sanction Rodri transfer | Football


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M60 traffic LIVE as motorway blocked with long queues after two incidents

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Manchester Evening News

Drivers are facing long delays on the M60 and M62 this morning following two incidents.

A crash near Simister Island is causing queues on the anticlockwise carriageway.

Traffic is stretching back past junction 19 of the M62 westbound, at Heywood.

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The M60 is partially blocked between Simister Island and Prestwich.

Meanwhile, drivers are also facing delays in two areas of the M60 clockwise.

There are queues approaching Simister Island following the crash on the other side, while the road has also been partially blocked near junction 15.

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‘Careless’ Peterborough crash left man with ‘nightmares’ and ‘excruciating pain’

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Cambridgeshire Live

‘Sometimes my wife has to shake me to stop me shouting’

A driver left a man with “excruciating” pain and “nightmares” nearly a year after a crash. A motorcyclist was left “fighting for his life” after a crash involving a car and motorbike on September 29, 2025 on the A15 at Glinton.

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The driver of the car, Les Rodgers, 52, was arrested and later charged with causing serious injury by careless and inconsiderate driving. Rodgers, of Black Prince Avenue, Market Deeping, was also charged with driving a motor vehicle with a proportion of a specified controlled drug above the specific limit, after he tested positive for cannabis in his system.

Rodgers appeared for sentencing at Peterborough Magistrates Court on Tuesday (August 11). For prosecution, Olaide Esan told the court how Rodgers was in stationery traffic on September 29, with the motorcyclist “overtaking this slow moving traffic”.

Rodgers then carried out a U-turn, leading his car to “go into the motorbike”. The court heard how the victim was left with “severe injuries”, which required three surgeries and “lengthy treatment”.

Ms Esan read out a victim statement from the motorcyclist dated from March 2 this year. The court heard how the victim has issues with his right leg, and he was “able to move a little on crutches”.

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The statement added: “I still need to be supervised by my wife and told to take my medications.” The court also heard how the man had “not walked” properly since September 29.

The victim said he was “keen to get back to work”, but was unable to work for now due to his injuries. He added that he suffers “excruciating pain”, especially in his lower back.

“The pain is constant and throbbing,” the statement added. The court also heard that when the man wakes up in the morning, he feels like “concrete”.

Ms Esan also told the court that the pain “wakes the victim up at night” and he was “not getting as good a sleep” as he did before the crash. The statement added: “I am getting nightmares. Sometimes my wife has to shake me to stop me shouting. The nightmares are like I am in a box I can’t get out of.”

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The victim concluded in his statement that he held “no animosity” towards Rodgers, but he wanted him to be “aware of what I have been through since the collision”.

In mitigation, for the defence, Mr Mohammad asked the judges to give credit to Rodgers for his earlier guilty pleas. The defence added that Rodgers was “remorseful and apologetic”, and that he reflected on the incident on a “daily basis”.

The court heard how Rodgers had not consumed drugs since the crash in order to keep a “clear head”. Rodgers was ordered to serve a high level community order for 18 months, including 15 days of rehabilitation activities. He was also disqualified from driving for 18 months, having served four months of that already.

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Rory McIlroy makes U-turn on decision after sending message to PGA Tour chiefs

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Belfast Live

Rory McIlroy has reversed his stance

Rory McIlroy has had a change of heart regarding the FedEx Cup by entering the opening leg of this year’s Playoffs. The world number two faced criticism 12 months ago for missing the first FedEx Cup event, as it had no bearing on his ranking position and provided an opportunity to rest before the Ryder Cup.

The FedEx Cup Playoffs is the culmination of the PGA Tour season. Throughout the regular campaign, players accumulate points based on their tournament performances.

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When the regular season wraps up in August, the highest point earners qualify for a three-tournament playoff series that crowns the overall season champion.

The opening Playoff event, the St Jude Championship, features a field of 70 competitors. For the second event, the BMW Championship, this is reduced to 50.

Then, for the Tour Championship season finale, the field comprises the top 30 players on the list, reports the Mirror.

McIlroy heads into this year’s Playoffs sitting in 12th position, with his place in the Tour Championship essentially guaranteed even if he opts out of the first two events. As recently as last month’s Open Championship, McIlroy indicated he was willing to skip the initial Playoffs events and challenged the format in a direct message to PGA Tour officials.

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Prior to last year’s Playoffs, the Starting Strokes format, which favoured players higher up the standings, was scrapped. It had seen the leader begin on 10 under par, while players ranked 26th to 30th on the list started on level par.

McIlroy stated at The Open: “I guess I’m just at a stage that I have other things that I prioritise. The PGA Tour is in a lot of flux at the minute, with a lot of their schedule and structure and everything like that.

“So, I think the change where it doesn’t matter where you are in the top 30 going into the Tour Championship, it’s like I just need to be in the top 30 going in there to have a chance to win a FedEx Cup.

“So why would I care about the first two? I sort of came to that decision last year, and I’m just sort of doing the same thing.”

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Despite his earlier stance, McIlroy has had a change of heart and entered the St Jude Championship. He will be competing alongside the likes of Scottie Scheffler, who topped the regular-season leaderboard and pocketed a £7.4million bonus in the process.

This marks the first occasion since 2021 that McIlroy will enter the opening leg of the Playoffs outside the top 10 in the standings, though it would be premature to discount the Masters champion’s chances.

In a development likely to appeal to McIlroy, the PGA Tour is set to introduce a two-tier structure from 2028. A revamped Tour Championship will be held at a “rotation of prestigious courses, many of which the PGA Tour would play for the first time,” according to the Tour.

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How to watch PSG vs Aston Villa: TV channel and live stream for UEFA Super Cup today

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How to watch PSG vs Aston Villa: TV channel and live stream for UEFA Super Cup today

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Viral seafood boil restaurant Crabbish to open in Newcastle

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Viral seafood boil restaurant Crabbish to open in Newcastle

Crabbish has taken the social media world by storm in recent months with its theatrical presentation, steaming food and customers wearing bibs.

The Louisiana-inspired restaurant guests to sit around a communal table and wear bibs as a bag of boiling seafood is sliced open and poured out, with various items often ending up in the customer’s lap.

Customers scramble to get their hands on boiled prawns, crabs, mussels, corn-on-the-cob, potatoes and more thrown in the middle of the table.

While some say the experience is “great”, with many returning to try it for a second time, others assume it would be their “idea of hell” and ask “how is that even edible?”.

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A waiter serving a bag of Seafood Boil at a ‘Crabbish’ restaurant (c) Crabbish (Image: Crabbish on Instagram)

A picture of one of ‘Crabbish’s’ dishes shared on Instagram (c) Crabbish (Image: Crabbish)

The theatrics have, unsurprisingly, generated millions of views with customers flocking to the existing Crabbish branches in Liverpool and Manchester.

Residents in the North East, however, won’t have to head south for long; the chain announced on social media this week that they are opening a restaurant in Newcastle.

The restaurant is set to open in Pandon Bank, Quayside, with an official date to be confirmed.

The seafood boil phenomenon, which has raked in over nine million online watchers, said: “Crabbish is coming soon to Newcastle, bringing seafood boils loaded with crab, prawns and plenty more to the city centre!”

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The post continued: “If getting stuck into a huge seafood boil sounds like your idea of a good time, this is definitely one to keep an eye on!”

The announcement has been met with a lot of excitement, one user writing: “Can’t wait for this one! Love my seafood.”

“Very excited for this,” another said.

While excitement is through the roof to experience the seafood, questions have also been raised about whether local produce will be used.

One comment read: “North East crab? I hope I hope I hope.”

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With questions already arising, it is clear the people of Newcastle are not only thrilled, but ready, for the boiling bag to arrive in the North East.

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