A reader looks back at the best games to ever be released in September, from Driver: San Francisco to GTA 5, and looks forward to this year’s bumper batch of new titles.

Autumn is a time for new beginnings, and this writer has certainly found plenty of meaning as to why September feels fresh and new. For one thing, September begins one day after my birthday, and I live in the UK, where school begins again – but I’ll save you the personal journey through my tumultuous and evolving journey through the education system. September in the realm of video games is very exciting, and here I want to share my favourite games that came out in September and explain why I love those games as much as I do.

One game that immediately springs to mind when I think of September is 2011’s Driver: San Francisco. One of the coolest games to grace any console ever, Driver: San Francisco combined the series’ classic chase movie action with an insane out-of-body and astral projection experience. Playing as a man in a coma, you are John Tanner, and you discover the ability to cause wholesale vehicular mayhem in your mind, from above the San Francisco clouds. And yes, I do think that says enough about how ebullient this game is.

Next on a whistle stop tour of September in games is 2013’s Rayman Legends, perhaps the best platformer in existence, or at least the craziest. If you thought Origins was off the wall, you ain’t seen nothing yet. The variety and the fluidity of the platforming gameplay in Rayman Legends is sublime, and it’s freakishly well made, with colour and whimsy bursting out of every fibre of its existence.

The leviathan that was GTA 5 also landed in September 2013 and I wolfed that one down as urgently as a man on hunger strike, once he sees a delectable steak dinner. GTA 5 was massive and showed us exactly why Rockstar keeps on impressing us with its scale. OK, so the story isn’t on the level of GTA 4, but you can play as three protagonists, and it’s extremely well written, looks amazing, and boasts insane mission variety the series hadn’t seen before. All told it was an extraordinary GTA game.

Marvel’s Spider-Man web-slung his way onto the PlayStation 4 with amazing results. Managing to capture the true essence of Spider-Man and giving us the Spidey title we had waited over a decade and a half for, Spider-Man was one of the almighty trinity of Game of the Year games in 2018, along with God Of War and Red Dead Redemption 2, and it put up a huge fight for supremacy at that.

Mafia: Definitive Edition showed up in 2020, when we were all still contending with the uncertainty of those times, and it turned out to be one of the best remakes ever made. It was a full body remake at that, and it turned Mafia into a gorgeous modern shooter you’d definitely be happy you played.

In 2024, we were all treated to one of the greatest platformers ever made when Astro Bot came along to bring an astronomical level of joy to the souls of PlayStation gamers everywhere. This joy was matched by all the PlayStation icon bots you got the chance to meet and collect, as well as all of those out of this world specialised levels you participated in. Astro Bot was a PlayStation adventure like no other and brought a cheery sunshine to the format, which had been overtaken by too much focus on deep emotional and mature experiences.

September this year looks to feature even more excellence, with Onimusha: Way Of The Sword, The Blood Of Dawnwalker, Marvel’s Wolverine, Silent Hill: Townfall, Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, and Control Resonant scheduled for release. September is one heck of a month to get excited about games; there is no other month quite like it for gaming.

By reader James Davie

The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot.

Just contact us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk or use our Submit Stuff page and you won’t need to send an email.

MORE: There’s one very important thing missing from GTA 6 – Reader’s Feature

MORE: Despite what some people say Hideo Kojima has not wasted his career – Reader’s Feature

MORE: I’m worried how GTA 6 is going to affect my children – Reader’s Feature

A number of criminals have been caged in Scotland after French authorities cracked the highly encrypted EncroChat messaging service in 2020.

Gangsters, drug lords, weapons dealers and county lines runners have been rounded up after their dodgy dealings were exposed on the app.

The Record’s new series will explore Scotland’s biggest encrochat busts – and the individuals behind the deals who believed they were untouchable.

Former Ayr United footballer, Paul Shepherd, was jailed for more than nine years after being exposed as a trusted courier for a major drug gang through the EncroChat hack.

The 48-year-old, was caught with a fist-sized bag of cocaine and a phone loaded with the highly encrypted messaging platform when he was arrested in Leeds in April 2020.

What officers did not know at the time was that French investigators had already infiltrated EncroChat – a service used by criminals around the world who believed their messages could never be traced.

The breakthrough gave police access to thousands of conversations between organised crime figures and would ultimately help bring down the four-man gang Shepherd was working for.

The former professional footballer, who also played for Leeds United, Luton Town and Scarborough, had been trusted to move and store cash and cocaine for gang boss Carl O’Flaherty.

Messages recovered from EncroChat showed O’Flaherty, 38, had instructed Shepherd to deal with the drugs found when he was arrested.

Investigators went on to uncover the full scale of the operation, with the encrypted messages laying bare how O’Flaherty bought cocaine, had it diluted and then sold it on for a substantial profit.

The gang leader would purchase three kilos of high-purity cocaine for £123,000 before using cheap chemicals to increase the quantity and selling four kilos for £150,000.

Dane Marshall, 42, was described as the gang’s “chef”, responsible for cutting the cocaine before it was repackaged for sale.

Clinton Blakey, 38, meanwhile, was a dealer who regularly bought kilogram quantities of cocaine from O’Flaherty before adding further cutting agents and selling it on.

EncroChat messages uncovered conversations between the pair, including photographs of cocaine blocks and discussions about prices.

Blakey was also involved in supplying cannabis, while Marshall used a landscaping business as a front and obtained a £50,000 Government bounce-back loan during the Covid pandemic.

The National Crime Agency (NCA), which investigated the gang, later raided a Leeds property linked to the operation.

Inside they found 13 kilos of amphetamine, large quantities of chemicals used to dilute cocaine and equipment showing that around 12 kilos of cocaine had been repackaged at the address.

O’Flaherty, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, was found to have played a leading role in the operation.

He admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine, producing amphetamine and conspiracy to supply amphetamine and was jailed for 17 years and 10 months.

Shepherd, of Leeds, was found guilty following a trial of producing and conspiracy to supply drugs and money laundering. He was sentenced to nine years and six months in prison.

Marshall admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and acquiring criminal property and was jailed for six years and six months.

Blakey fled to Marbella in Spain before being brought back to face justice. He admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis and was jailed for 12 years.

The case showed the crucial role EncroChat evidence could play in exposing organised crime networks.

NCA operations manager Nigel Coles said the investigation had dismantled a “dangerous criminal organisation” supplying large quantities of cocaine.

He said the trade fuelled “intimidation and exploitation” across the UK.

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The papers won’t be what Nigel Farage would have been hoping for after his speech to the Reform UK conference. The Times says it was overshadowed by an exposé about political donations, external, broadcast by Channel Four, while the Guardian talks about pressure on the leader, saying the party became engulfed by scandal., external Noting that Farage has admitted Reform needs to professionalise, the Daily Express quotes him as saying: “Yes, we absolutely must do better., external” For the Daily Mirror, Reform is “in chaos.”, external The headline in the Sun is more upbeat for Reform, saying Farage “hit back” with the message, “they’re scared of us”., external He described the undercover filming as “a prolongued exercise in entrapment”.

The Guardian says the Chancellor John Healey is acutely conscious of factors beyond his control that are severely limiting his room for manoeuvre in October’s budget. In an interview with the weekend edition of the Financial Times, Healey acknowledges that households are feeling cost of living pressures, just as firms are feeling the cost of business pressures., external The paper says he’s politically exposed after resigning as Defence Secretary, because his predecessor as chancellor, Rachel Reeves, would not commit to allocating three per cent of GDP to defence by 2030. An ally of Reeves texted the paper with the message “Lol”, the paper notes.

Writing in the Daily Mail, the former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson says Andy Burnham must “get a grip” and send reinforcements to the Falklands, external – after Argentina’s latest claim to the British-owned islands off its coast. The Daily Telegraph says it would take about four weeks to sail UK aircraft carriers the 8,000 miles, external to the South Pacific. The Sun says that for now, the only reason Argentina has confined itself to sabre-rattling is that its own army is so small.

The Daily Express pays tribute to the late sitcom actor Richard O’Sullivan as “the star who brought warmth and wit to millions.” The Mirror says the “Man About the House” star had effortless charm.

The Times reassures critics of the Bayeux Tapestry’s loan to the British Museum, external that two damaged threads could have been broken as long ago as when it was removed from its home in France last September, rather than during the move to the UK, this July. As if offering advice on how to fix it, the paper’s headline about the damage reads, “Darn it…”

Caleb Milligan (William Ash) isn’t a man known for resisting temptation in Emmerdale.

The ruthless businessman is always cooking up some scheme or another in his constant – often not legal – quest for wealth.

His appetites don’t stop with greed either. Caleb’s got a penchant for revenge if anyone gives him a reason – and Joe Tate (Ned Porteous) ripped out his kidney.

That’s why Caleb took great delight in orchestrating an epic revenge against his organ-harvesting enemy by helping Dawn Taylor (Olivia Bromley) to jilt Joe on his wedding day and flee to Spain with her ex Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle) .

The revenge worked well. Too well. The dramatic events of Joe’s wedding hell led to a shocking car crash which claimed both the lives of his bride-to-be Dawn and Jimmy King (Nick Miles).

It’s hard to think of anyone as conniving, power-hungry and just plain bad as Caleb Miligan.

Or at least, it was.

Now Emmerdale’s ultimate villain Sadie King (Patsy Kensit) is back in the Dales just in time to bury her ex-husband Jimmy, who she’s been apparently having an affair with this whole time.

Affairs are Sadie’s bread and butter. Let’s not forget she had a rather steamy affair with Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley) back in the day, not to mention her passionate dalliance with the king of Dales hard men himself, Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordely).

Patsy Kensit recently spoke to Metro about the experience of reuniting with Jeff after a twenty year absence from our screens, and how Sadie reacts to seeing Cain again.

‘I had quite a daunting day with Jeff Hordley where we shot about eight or nine scenes, and it was all about putting that relationship to bed. There is a lot she reveals about what happened to her after he left her on the runway. There were two ways of playing it, and Jeff is such a brilliant actor – as is everyone on the show.’

‘I’m learning so much every day, as I did years ago. It’s an education. But we decided to play against that and make it a real conversation between two people that had shared some time together, and I think that was the right way to do it. It ties things up.’

However, she also teased a potentially fresh romance… with none other than Caleb himself.

This might come as something as a shock to fans, especially seeing as Caleb is very much not single. He’s married to his co-partner in revenge, Emmerdale’s answer to Lady MacBeth Ruby Fox-Miligan (Beth Cordingly).

But since when does something like a committed relationship stop Sadie from getting what she wants?

That’s something she’s got in common with Caleb, who famously did the dirty on Ruby with Tracy Robinson (Amy Walsh) until his scorned wife exposed it.

But it seems that Sadie’s got big plans for Caleb, according to Patsy Kensit, who seemed to suggest she’d been filming some recent scenes where Sadie got Caleb hot under the collar. And not just Caleb either.

‘Sadie has got her sights set on Caleb. And Ruby, as well.

Curiouser and curiouser…

MORE: Emmerdale’s Nicola Wheeler breaks silence on controversial Jimmy King twist that really upset fans

MORE: Sadie’s sinister motives ‘confirmed’ in Emmerdale as she is caught red-handed by Nicola

MORE: ‘Don’t believe it’: Emmerdale fans not buying what Sadie King is saying about Jimmy

Northern Rail put out an alter on Friday September 4 warning that the line between Bolton and Blackburn may be blocked over the course of the evening.

They have warned that various services may be impacted.

A statement said: “Train services running through these stations may be cancelled, delayed or revised.

“Disruption is expected until the end of the day.”

According to Northern, affected stations could include Rochdale, Castleton, Mills Hill, Moston, Manchester Victoria, Salford Central, Salford Crescent and Bolton.

They may also include Hall I’ Th’ Wood, Bromley Cross, Entwistle, Darwen, Blackburn, Ramsgreave and Wilpshire, Langho, Whalley and Clitheroe.

Northern has warned that train services on the line are likely to be affected throughout Friday evening.

Passengers have been warned to expect delays, to plan their journeys ahead of time and to check Northern’s website for further updates.

Jama Yusuf discharged a volley of seven gunshots towards two men while cycling through the streets

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A teenager who discharged a firearm through the window of a home occupied by a mother, her 10-month-old baby, and her elderly mother called out “see you guys” as he was sentenced.

Jama Yusuf fired seven gunshots towards two men while riding a bicycle through the streets of Toxteth.

The incident resulted in further bullets hitting a parked van and the exterior brickwork of another property. When police arrived at his residence two days later, Yusuf asked officers: “Was it a bad shooting? Did anyone get hurt?” reports ECHO.

Although CCTV footage showed Yusuf wearing identical clothing to the cyclist shortly before the incident while buying milk and rolling a cigarette in a convenience store, he denied involvement. Following a trial, he was unanimously found guilty of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, possession of ammunition without a certificate, and two counts of criminal damage.

Returning to Liverpool Crown Court this afternoon, Friday, Yusuf was handed 13-and-a-half years detention in a young offenders’ institute. Appearing suited in the dock, his mum waved to him from the public gallery as he was led to the cells before he shouted: “See you guys, bye.”

Sentencing, Judge Ian Harris told him: “You fired seven bullets towards two unknown males. One went through a double glazed window. Fortunately, it missed an elderly lady who was in her daughter’s house. Additionally, other members of family, including a 10-month-old baby, were in the house, although fortunately not in that living room.

“Other bullets you fired damaged brickwork, a metal shutter and the rear door of a Peugeot van. During routine house to house enquiries, police called at your address, close to the scene of the shooting. Police become suspicious about your reactions.

“There is enormous public concern about gun crime. Firearms cause death and grievous injuries. In your case, the gun that you used has not been recovered and, therefore, must still be in criminal circulation.

“The evidence is that seven shots were fired at two individuals in an 18-second period. You then rode away on your cycle. The fact that no individual was shot was, in my judgement, sheer good fortune. You could easily be facing more serious charges.

“Ms Abdi, the householder, said that they were all extremely shaken and scared, especially her elderly mother, who had been sitting by the window. Her scarf had fragments of glass from the window on it.

“There was some planning for the offences. Once you saw the two men, you went to collect the pistol. You had a face covering. You knew your routes extremely well and were able to escape without detection. You subsequently discarded the clothing that you had on, in my judgement, to avoid detection, if at all possible.

“The motive for this offending is unknown. In my judgement, it was clearly connected with serious ongoing criminal activity. The major mitigating factor is your age, 18 years and seven months old at the time of the offending.

“I note the contents of the pre-sentence report. The probation officer sets out that you still deny responsibility for the offences. She mentions that your maturity is not fixed and your positive engagement with education while in custody, your mentoring role and family support suggests that there are possibilities for you to develop and change.

“However, she sets out that the escalation in your offending will require substantial work. Notwithstanding concerns expressed in the pre-sentence report about risk, I note the absence of any previous serious offences, your age and the degree of optimism about your future, albeit you will need strict guidance. Given the length of time that you will spend in custody, I have decided that I do not need to pass an extended determinate sentence.”

A jury of seven men and five women previously heard in July that the seven gunshots were discharged by the cyclist as he rode along Millennium Road, Seaport Street and Kingsley Road shortly after midnight on October 5 last year while supposedly firing in the direction of two other men, who fled the scene on foot and on another bicycle. Steven Swift, prosecuting, told the court: “One of the bullets embedded itself into the living room wall of the home address of Ms Hiba Abdi.

“She resides with her mother and 10-month-old baby at Kingsley Road. She could recall being upstairs, searching for a phone charger at this time, her mother sitting downstairs on a sofa under the window, when she heard a shout, a scream.

“Her mother was really unable to appreciate what had just happened. She thought that somebody might have thrown something at the window. On closer inspection, it became clear that there was a small hole in the blind and curtain and a bullet had gone through, missing Ms Abdi’s elderly mother.

“You will hear evidence that another bullet damaged the brickwork of an address on Seaport Street. Another damaged the rear door of a Peugeot Boxer van parked on Seaport Street, and there was other damage to metal shutters on Granby Street.”

CSI officers subsequently recovered seven spent bullet casings and five live 9mm rounds from the scene, with CCTV enquiries subsequently linking Yusuf to the incident. Footage from the body worn camera of a police officer, captured in August of last year as the 19-year-old was stopped and searched, showed him wearing a dark coloured Rab coat with his hood up, a garment said to match that of the alleged gunman when he was seen rolling a cigarette in the communal hallway of a block of flats on Parliament Place and buying milk from Granby Minimarket earlier on the evening of the shooting.

Yusuf was also said to have been seen “making a gun gesture with his hand” while cycling past the same shop on a red bike shortly before midnight. Having then made his purchase, jurors were told that he returned to his home on Eversley Street, being seen in the rear courtyard of this address before leaving again shortly afterwards in the minutes before the shooting.

Mr Swift added: “Just after nine minutes after midnight, the gunshots are heard. You may think that multiple discharges of a gun, aimed towards two individuals, demonstrates the clearest intention to endanger the lives of those individuals.”

Further footage was said to have captured Yusuf returning home once more at 12.11am before leaving again and returning to Parliament Place in a change of clothing. He was then seen shopping with his mum at Footasylum on Edge Lane the following day while buying new clothes.

Two days after the shooting, on October 7, officers conducting house to house enquiries in the area visited Yusuf’s home address. Having been asked for access to his Ring doorbell camera, he was reported to have replied: “Well, wasn’t it all the way over on Kingsley?”

After being told that police required the footage in order to trace the movements of the suspect, Yusuf then added: “Was it a bad shooting? Did anyone get hurt?”

Mr Swift said of this: “The crown say that this interaction with the police is significant. It was as a result of that conversation and the nature of the responses provided by the defendant that enquiries commenced.”

This led to Yusuf handing himself in at St Anne Street Police Station on October 9, subsequently making no comment when interviewed on this occasion and during a second round of questioning in December. Mr Swift concluded his opening by telling the jury: “The crown say that this defendant was the man with the gun, firing live bullets in Toxteth in the early hours of the morning on the 5th of October and that, having heard all of the evidence in this case, the crown say that you can be sure of his guilt in relation to the counts he faces.”

Yusuf, who has two previous convictions for possession of a bladed article in a public place and possession of cannabis in 2024, opted not to give evidence during his trial. Philip Astbury, defending, said on his behalf today: “There is very little that I can say about the incident itself, given the defendant’s continued position.

“The suggestion was that there is evidence this was aimed at the two individuals. I would invite the court to exercise caution before concluding that is exactly what happened here.

“We know there was no injury. Something happened. The jury were clearly satisfied that there was an intent to endanger life. Your honour may feel it is a step too far to conclude, at close range, that it was aimed at those two individuals.

“He was only 18 at the time. He has never experienced custody. To now go to facing the type of sentence that he does, it does not need me to explain the impact of that and the trepidation he now has.

“Your honour sees that he successfully passed his GCSEs. He was at college up until the point that he was arrested for these matters. He was hoping to go on in education. There is a very different side to his character. I pray in aid that side of his character and the promise he still holds for the future. He looks forward and not back.

“Your honour knows that he has an extremely supportive family. Your honour will have seen his parents in attendance at the trial on each and every day. They are a supportive and very positive family.

“Both of his sisters graduated during the course of the trial. He will be surrounded, when he is released, by positive influences in the family. They stand by him. What your honour would not want to do, I am sure, is crush this young man or leave no light at the end of the tunnel for him to work towards.”

Schools in England are providing allergy awareness training for all staff for the first time following the death of Benedict Blythe who died after a fatal allergic reaction to milk given to him at school

The parents of Benedict Blythe, who died after a fatal allergic reaction from drinking milk at school, have urged schools to take ‘Benedict’s Law’ seriously.

Schools in England are providing allergy awareness training for all staff for the first time following the death of a schoolboy who was given milk.

The landmark protections, backed by statutory guidance, have been introduced after five-year-old Benedict Blythe suffered a fatal allergic reaction in school. The campaign, which will see 1.5million adults learning how to recognise an allergic reaction and respond appropriately, was run by Benedict’s mum Helen Blythe.

‘Benedict’s Law’ will see the state institutions provide allergy pen stock, compulsory training, and a dedicated allergy policy.

Parents Helen and Peter Blythe said: “This is a huge moment for our family and for every child living with allergies. Children starting school this September will enter one of the safest education systems in the world for pupils with allergies.

“Allergies shaped Benedict’s short life and, ultimately, ended it. The law that carries his name will help stop that happening to other children.

“We know that schools are managing many competing demands, but keeping a child physically safe must rank among the very highest of their priorities whish is why we urge every school to take these changes seriously.

“This cannot become a tick-box exercise – training must leave staff able to recognise a reaction and confident enough to act. Policies must guide what happens every day, and individual healthcare plans must be understood by the people caring for each child.

“Behind every requirement is a real child and a family relying on their school to get this right. The difference between an allergy policy that exists on paper and one that is properly understood and followed can be the difference between life and death.

“We would give anything for the protections in Benedict’s Law to have been in place when Benedict started school. We cannot change what happened to him, but his name will now help protect generations of children who come after him.”

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A legal duty covering all schools is due to take effect in 2027, extending the requirements to independent schools and fee-paying special schools.

Benedict was given milk containing cow’s milk protein by a teacher, despite his allergy being known to the school in 2021. An inquest jury later found multiple failings, including a lack of training, his allergies not being communicated to people providing his care, his symptoms not being recognised, and delays in administering his medication.

Benedict’s family established the Benedict Blythe Foundation in his memory and have worked alongside allergy organisations, schools, clinicians, parliamentarians and the Government to campaign for national change.

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Benedict’s Law is intended to address the inconsistent protection previously experienced by children with allergies. Research by the Foundation found that half of schools did not hold spare adrenaline auto-injectors and one in three had no allergy policy.

Helen added: “September is not the end of this campaign – it is the moment implementation begins. The success of Benedict’s Law will not be measured by how many schools download a policy or record that training has been completed.

“It will be measured by whether children are safer, whether staff know what to do and whether parents can leave their children at the school gate knowing that every reasonable step has been taken to protect them.”

Robbie Pollock was diagnosed with a grade 4 glioblastoma after being rushed to hospital.

A young dad is in a race against time to marry his sweetheart after being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.

Robbie Pollock had suffered weeks of painful migraines which eventually led to a fall at his home in Paisley.

The 30-year-old was rushed to the Royal Alexandra Hospital by ambulance on February 22.

The dad-of-three and fiancée Lauren, 42, were given the news that he had a grade 4 glioblastoma – an aggressive brain tumour – after a scan revealed a 5cm mass.

Robbie has already undergone surgery and chemotherapy but doctors have warned the couple that his timeline is uncertain.

Lauren said: “We got the diagnosis three weeks before I was due to give birth to our second daughter and it was the kind of news that puts you on your knees.

“Robbie is doing well but the prognosis for glioblastoma is 12 to 18 months.

“You have your life planned out in front of you and your world comes crashing down. It was devastating.”

The couple met through work at a recruitment agency six years ago. Since then they have had two daughters together – Piper, three, and Primrose, 13 months – with Robbie also acting as step-dad to Lauren’s son Lyle, 10.

Following his diagnosis, surgeons were able to remove 96 per cent of the tumour during a surgery at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

He is also receiving maintenance chemotherapy.

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The couple are now desperate to tie the knot in a ceremony at The Corinthian on December 28, surrounded by their loved ones.

They are being supported by Pride of Scotland winners Wedding Wish Makers, a charity supporting people facing terminal illness.

The charity has launched an urgent appeal to help make their day possible and ease the financial pressure.

Lauren said: “Robbie proposed on August 7 at our home, our wee safe haven. It was very us and very lovely.

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“You take things for granted and then when something like this happens, it makes you revaluate everything and think about what’s important.

“I keep telling people close to me don’t wait to do things. Do it now, because you don’t know how much time you have left.

“We discovered Wedding Wish Makers last week and they have already helped find suppliers and raised thousands of pounds to make our big day possible.

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Wedding Wish Makers said: “This isn’t simply about giving them a wedding. It’s about giving them a day of happiness, love and memories at a time when their lives have been turned upside down.”

The family is also hoping to access private treatment abroad, with immunotherapy in Germany – estimated to cost around £200,000.

A GoFundMe appeal has raised around £46,000 toward the mammoth target.

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Dad Robbie has continued to fight, retaining his speech and returning to work on a phased basis.

Lauren said he remains determined to be here for their young family.

She added: “He keeps saying, he will accept the diagnosis but no one will dictate how long he has left.

“We have been thrown into this world of uncertainty. There is such limited new treatment on the NHS for glioblastoma.

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“I keep thinking will this Christmas be Robbie’s last but I need to stay positive. Our wedding will be an opportunity to celebrate all the good.”

To donate to the wedding fund, visit the GoFundMe here and to help fund Robbie’s treatment, visit the GoFundMe here.

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Pretty much everyone on stage at the Metropolitan Opera in New York must audition — even the snake who will briefly take center stage in an upcoming adaptation of a Mozart classic.

In charge of deciding who gets the s-s-s-s-starring reptilian role is Zoe Ziegfeld, a carnival performer-turned-opera actor cast as the snake handler in the Met’s version of “Così fan tutte,” inspired by Coney Island in the 1950s.

Ziegfeld takes each snake, lets it slither and wrap around, then hoists the animal over their head, rehearsing what they will do under the bright lights at center stage for each performance. Ziegfeld looks each one in the eye, almost face-to-face as they evaluate the snake’s demeanor.

“I need to know that the animal is comfortable with people and with what we are doing,” Ziegfeld said.

Princess slithers into her big role

In the cold-blooded competition, a boa constrictor named Princess won. She is a larger snake with a better visual presence on stage.

“We will be moving forward with Princess (the big sun-glow boa constrictor who is yellow-peach) in rehearsals on a trial basis! She is a wonderful snake, and the trial is not about her, but rather about me and my strength,” Ziegfeld wrote in an email after the auditions were over.

A slightly smaller brown boa constrictor named Nala from a second audition will be Princess’ understudy.

A Mozart opera set at a 1950s Coney Island carnival

This is the third time Ziegfeld has played the role of the snake charmer in the Met’s adaptation of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s 1790 opera.

In Mozart’s original, two Italian soldiers decide to test their lovers’ fidelity by pretending to head off to war. They then disguise themselves and try to seduce each other’s girlfriends. In this version, the plot remains mostly the same, but the setting is a 1950s Coney Island carnival complete with vibrant scenery and sideshow performers.

Carnaval snake charmer turned opera performer

Ziegfeld came to the role honestly. They spent a couple of seasons on Coney Island doing eight snake-charming shows a day.

When they tried out several years ago, live snakes weren’t allowed in the audition space. So instead, Ziegfeld brought video of their snake-charming act, then hammered home their carnival sideshow bona fides by knocking a nail into their own nasal cavity in what was called the Human Blockhead act.

“The music’s different. The money is different. It’s a pleasure to entertain. And with snakes, it’s a delight to know that there are people watching who are in awe and people who are terrified. And those things happen at the Met and at Coney — so I would say they are more alike than different, to be honest,” Ziegfeld said.

Animals are important characters at some Met operas

The snakes came to their audition thanks to Nancy Novograd and her company All Tame Animals.

She got into the business when her horse appeared onstage at the Met in a production of “Carmen,” and now she provides the opera house with everything from elephants to insects.

The first two snakes to audition were a bit small. One might have clashed with Ziegfeld’s top. But the key is personality, Novograd said.

“Animals have to perform as do human talent. Sometimes they have a set type of behaviors that they have to demonstrate. And sometimes they just have to get along with the talent,” Novograd said. “So in this case, they have to be the right color, size, and Zoe has to like them.”

___

Collins reported from Columbia, South Carolina.

At least two people have been killed after an explosion at a military barracks in Bolivia but authorities fear the toll could be higher.

Bolivian Defence Minister Ernesto Justiniano said at least 58 people had been injured when “pyrotechnic material” detonated at the barracks, where an artillery regiment is stationed, about 14:30 (18:30 GMT) on Friday.

Health official Rita Nebraska told local television between 10 and 15 people were believed to have died in the incident in Viacha, about 30km (19 miles) from La Paz, according to Reuters.

Police said dozens of homes had been damaged – largely windows shattered in the blast – and emergency workers are searching the rubble.

Nebraska said there was a risk of further explosion and urged people to stay at least 150m away from the military base.

Police spokesman Roger Roca told AFP news agency that fireworks had been stored at the barracks, and the cause of the blast remained under investigation.

Viacha’s authorities have declared three days of mourning.