Nelly Korda is playing with so much control even her misses are right where she’s aiming. She birdied her last two holes on Friday with exquisite irons shots for another 7-under 65, giving her a daunting six-shot lead going into the weekend at The Chevron Championship.

Korda has made only one bogey through 36 holes at Memorial Park, missing a 3-foot putt on the sixth hole after a nifty chip from below the green.

Otherwise, the two-time major champion has been practically flawless in reaching 14-under 130 that makes her appear to be playing a different course.

“I’m comfortable with my game,” Korda said. “I think where I’m the most comfortable is definitely with my mindset of knowing when I mess up I’ll figure it out. Sometimes I think you get stuck in wanting to play well and wanting to be at the top always that you have this tension of not wanting to make a mistake.

“I think there is a power in knowing it’s OK to make a mistake and just bounce back.”

Patty Tavatanakit had another bogey-free round with a 69. Another shot behind were Ina Yoon (68), Ryan O’Toole (68) and Texas junior Farah O’Keefe (69), one of five amateurs to make the cut.

O’Keefe didn’t get her invitation to The Chevron until after the Augusta National Women’s Amateur three weeks ago, and she’s making the most of it. She played bogey-free in the second round, though she only managed one birdie on the par 5s.

But her scrambling saved her, and the 20-year-old didn’t seem all that fazed by Korda on the verge of running away with this major.

“I compared it to Rory (McIlroy) at the Masters. You never know what can happen in golf,” O’Keefe said, referring to McIlroy losing a six-shot lead on the weekend at the Masters before going on to win for the second straight time.

“There is so much random out there that you can get a bad break and it’s just kind of that thing,” she said. “My dad and I called it that golf is a staring contest and all you have to do is not blink first. So I’m just trying not to blink. Just trying to keep playing my game, and whatever that ends up at the end of the week is where it ends up.”

Korda, however, has hit her stride again. She won the season opener in a weather-shortened event, and has played in the final group in all four of her tournaments.

She looks calm and poised, and there is power.

Korda began her great closing stretch with a 3-wood into the wind from 221 yards that landed in the perfect spot to roll out 15 feet beyond the hole, leaving an eagle putt that grazed the right edge of the cup.

She missed an 8-foot birdie chance on the par-5 16th, and then finished with a flourish — a 7-iron that danced around the cup and settle 10 feet away for birdie, and then a 9-iron that again scared the hole and left her 4 feet for her 15 birdie in 36 holes.

It was the lowest 36-hole score in her career in the majors, and the third-best 36-hole score in LPGA majors behind Jeongeun Lee6 (127), Brooke Henderson (128) and In Gee Chun (129), all at the Evian Championship, the tournament in France the LPGA chose to designate as a major in 2013.

There was disappointment for England’s Mimi Rhodes, though, shooting a six-over round of 78 to miss the cut. Compatriots Charley Hull (-2) and Lottie Woad (+1) did make the weekend.

AP

My husband was recently describing something that happened on a past holiday. It wasn’t a significant event, but it sounded pleasant. I, however, had no recollection of what he was telling me. He couldn’t quite believe it.

We know that “recollections may differ”, but how can it be so different? And why do I not have this memory? I’m busy at work – have I simply run out of space?

It’s a tempting explanation. We talk about “full heads”, “information overload”, and “too much to take in” as though the brain were a container that eventually reaches capacity. But the brain does not fill up. Instead, it filters.

At any given moment, far more information is available to us than we could ever realistically store. The sights, sounds and conversations of even a single day would overwhelm any system that attempted to record them in full. Instead, the brain relies on selection. Attention determines what is noticed. Emotion helps determine what matters. Then, structures such as the hippocampus decide what is worth committing to longer-term memory.

If your attention is elsewhere, the process falters at the first step.

On that holiday, my husband may have paused long enough to register the moment. I may have been thinking about where we were going next, checking timings, or simply moving through the day without stopping to take it in. The difference is subtle, but it matters. Without focused attention, experiences are only weakly encoded, if at all. In that sense, the memory was not lost. It was never fully formed.

Even when memories are successfully encoded, they are not stored as fixed records. Each time we recall an event, we reconstruct it, drawing on fragments of sensory detail, prior knowledge and expectation. With repetition – through conversation, reflection or retelling – those reconstructions become stronger and more coherent. Over time, they can feel increasingly vivid and certain.

This helps explain why shared experiences can diverge so dramatically. We assume that living through the same moment should produce the same memory, but the brain does not work that way. It does not passively record experience. It actively selects, prioritises and, just as importantly, discards.

The feeling that our brains are “full” arises not because we have run out of storage, but because we have reached the limits of what we can process at once. Attention is finite. Working memory – the small amount of information we can actively hold in mind – is even more limited. When these systems are saturated, new information struggles to gain a foothold. This is the mental equivalent of too many tabs open: nothing has been permanently lost, but everything becomes harder to manage.

Where the computer analogy breaks down

Computing analogies are useful up to a point. If working memory resembles RAM – fast, temporary, limited – then long-term memory is often compared to a hard drive. But this is where the parallel breaks down. A hard drive stores files in fixed locations, retrievable in exactly the same form in which they were saved. The brain does not work this way.

Memories are not stored as discrete files. They are distributed across networks of neurons, overlapping, reshaped, and reassembled each time they are recalled. New experiences do not simply add to what is already there – they interact with it, altering both the new and the old.

Attempts have been made to estimate how much the brain could theoretically hold. One widely cited figure from the Salk Institute puts it at around a petabyte – roughly equivalent to hundreds of years of continuous video. It is an impressive number, but also a somewhat misleading one. It implies a storage system that fills up over time, when in reality the brain is constantly reorganising itself. Capacity is not fixed, and information is not stored in isolation. It is integrated, modified, and, when no longer useful, allowed to fade.

Which raises a slightly uncomfortable question: what happens to the memories we would like to keep?

Some of them will fade – not because the brain has run out of space, but because they are not continually reinforced. Memory is not preserved simply because it matters to us. It is preserved when it is revisited, retold, or reconnected to other experiences. Without that reinforcement, even meaningful moments can become harder to access over time.

What is lost, in most cases, is not the memory itself but our ability to retrieve it. A familiar smell, a piece of music, or an unexpected detail can bring something back that seemed entirely gone. The trace remains, but it has slipped out of reach. And the absence of a memory is rarely evidence of a system at capacity – more often, it is the trace of a moment that was never fully stored, or one that has simply not been called upon.

Though this may seem like something of an internet niche, young men are paying attention. Almost two-thirds of boys and men aged 16-25 in the UK, US, and Australia regularly watch and read masculinity influencer content, research from the men’s mental health charity Movember shows. Some of the most popular UK-based masculinity influencers boast millions of followers online.

The crash involved a grey Audi Q2, a red Land Rover Discovery and a silver Ford Fiesta, all of which were travelling south down the A6055, near Pickhill – west of Thirsk – at 10.40am on Friday (April 24).

The driver of the Audi, the man in his 70s, was taken to hospital by air ambulance, police said.

The road remains closed to motorists.

Recommended reading:

A force spokesperson added: “The driver of the Land Rover, a 22-year-old man, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of causing serious injury by careless driving.

“Two other casualties from the Fiesta and Audi were taken to hospital with minor injuries.

“We are keen to speak to anyone who witnessed the collision, or saw the vehicles involved prior to the collision.

“In particular, we believe that the occupants of a vehicle which was travelling north may have witnessed the collision and stopped at the scene but left prior to police arriving.

“This vehicle is not believed to have caused or contributed to the collision in any way, and the occupants may have important information which could help our enquiries.

“Anyone who can assist the investigation is asked to contact TC 556 Michael Mcvay, by calling North Yorkshire Police on 101, or emailing michael.mcvay@northyorkshire.police.uk – please quote reference 12260073606.”

Back in Cardiff, that link is deep, real and reciprocated.

“Even though she’s wearing the red rose, which obviously is not something that is normally celebrated much in Wales, everybody here is Meg’s biggest supporter,” says Harries.

“What we all really admire about Meg is the fact that she’s chosen her own path, but she hasn’t forgotten her roots.

“It’d be very easy to be all in now with England and leave that side of it. But she’s always willing to do any interviews in Welsh and celebrate her Welshness. She’s very, very proud of where she came from.

“And that’s massive for the pupils here, for them to see that you can chase your dreams, but never forget where you’ve come from.

“Never forget your roots, and be proud of that, and be proud of who you are, and celebrate that you’ve got those different sides to you.

“She’s a real inspiration to everybody, whether you’re a rugby fan or not, whether you’re Welsh or whether you’re English, it doesn’t matter.

“She’s just a real true role model in every essence of the word.”

Jones regularly returns to her old school, doing coaching sessions, presenting awards and inspiring the next generation.

While there was no girls school rugby team for Jones to represent during her time at Glantaf, now there are several.

One of those who plays is another Meg Jones.

Megan Jones, the current Glantaf pupil, represented Wales in last month’s under-18 Six Nations festival, lining up against England in the centres., external

Jones senior has helped nurture her younger namesake, putting on a one-on-one kicking session on a visit to Glantaf. On another occasion she presented young Meg with a pair of her boots, prompting the pupil to dissolve into tears of joy.

Harries has taken photos of the two Meg Joneses together through the years in the hope that one day the two will complete the montage by posing together after facing each other at senior level.

Castle Car Park, in Tower Street, was scheduled to close this spring to make way for the redevelopment of the area below Clifford’s Tower.

City of York Council city development lead Garry Taylor said it would be closed following improvements to the neighbouring Coppergate Multi-Storey Car Park and contractors for the works were currently being appointed.

It follows the approval in December of the Castle and Eye of York scheme which is set to see the area below Clifford’s Tower turned into a park and play space.

RECOMMENDED READING:

The 298-space Castle Car Park is set to be closed to make way for the redevelopment, though 30 Blue Badge spaces will be retained.

An area dubbed The Castle Gardens is planned and it is set to include The Swathe seasonal planting space representing the moat which was once at York Castle.

It is set to see Castle Car Park grassed over and trees planted and water and power supplies installed so community events can be held.

The historic entrance to the York Castle complex is set to be marked by Castlegate Garden and a radial walkway is planned around the base of Clifford’s Tower.

A memorial to up to 150 Jews who died at Clifford’s Tower in a massacre in 1190 is also planned.

The project is set to cost an estimated £9.934m, including £200,000-worth of improvements to Coppergate Multi-Storey Car Park.

Castle Car Park, in Tower Street, York (Image: LDRS)

Coppergate is currently under-used for much of the year, according to a council report on the redevelopment.

Improvements floated by council officials include opening the multi-storey for 24 hours a day to make up for the loss of the Castle site.

CCTV and cosmetic improvements are also planned.

The council is yet to give a date for Castle Car Park’s closure or say when works on the redevelopment around Clifford’s Tower will start.

Director of City Development Mr Taylor said officials would continue to share updates about the scheme as the start of construction moves closer.

The director told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “We are continuing to progress our exciting plans to transform the area around Clifford’s Tower.

“We are currently in the process of appointing contractors who will shape the construction programme.

“A part of this work will include making improvements to Coppergate Multi-Storey Car Park to improve its function and attractiveness for users

“Our intention is to only close Castle Car Park after these improvements to Coppergate Car Park have been made.

“Castle Gateway will dramatically improve this area, with high quality public spaces, a place for children and families to play, spaces to reflect and much more.”

The plans are being considered by South Cambridgeshire District Council

Plans to build up to 75 new homes in Linton have faced backlash from people living near to the proposed development site. Neighbours have shared concerns about the “long-term harm” the new homes could have on “road safety, local services, and the existing community”.

The homes are proposed to be built on land off Back Road in Linton. Of the 75 homes, 30 are proposed to be made available as affordable housing and 45 to be put on the market. Gladman Developments Ltd said its proposals would create an “attractive, welcoming and walkable new residential development” with a “strong sense of place that is well integrated within its surrounding landscape”.

The design statement says: “At its heart, the scheme will promote health and well-being through the provision of accessible green public space , new play opportunities, and provision for community food growing; ensuring a vibrant and enduring new community.”

The outline planning application submitted to South Cambridgeshire District Council aims to provide a choice of housing to meet the needs of the area, while “respecting and enhancing” the site’s environmental assets.

Plans for the new homes has seen local backlash, with several objections lodged so far. One objector said Back Road can “barely sustain the amount of traffic as it is”, so more cars using that road could “cause chaos”.

A similar objection was raised by another local who said the site is “entirely unsupported by adequate infrastructure” which could “result in long-term harm to road safety, local services, and the existing community”.

Concerns were also raised about the negative impacts on local services such as the GP practice which locals believe will potentially be “stretched beyond capacity” due to the additional demand generated by this development.

Another objection saw apprehensions regarding the site’s close proximity to the River Granta and how Linton “can’t cope with the extra houses, people or cars”.

The spa has been hailed “unbelievable” with indoor and outdoor bars, water slides, saunas and more. You can also bag cheap return flights depending on what time you travel

Advertisement

Skip the expensive spa getaways in the UK and jet off to this must-visit European destination instead. Those seeking a tranquil weekend escape are in for a pleasant surprise.

A spa weekend can do wonders, benefiting both mental health and physical health through deep relaxation, stress reduction and better sleep. Holidaymakers are now raving about a particular European hotspot featuring an “unbelievable” spa with both indoor and outdoor bars, plus water slides.

The location is Bucharest in Romania. A widely-shared TikTok video from a well-known travel account urged viewers to experience Therme Bucharest – and with compelling reasons.

In the TikTok footage posted to its 27,200 followers, the clip began with: “A cheap underrated European city break you need to visit.”

The TikTok video went on: “No joke, I genuinely believe that a trip to this European spa can be cheaper than going to one in the UK nowadays.

“Therme Bucharest is located in Romania and honestly is one of the most underrated city breaks.

“The city itself is absolutely gorgeous and the spa is unbelievable. They have indoor bars, outdoor bars, the most gorgeous botanical interior, face mask that you can use, temples, aqua aerobics, saunas, water slides, it’s honestly massive.”

What facilities does the spa provide?

Therme Bucharest presents three distinct experiences to “suit your desires”.

Galaxy: Ideal for families seeking fun, with 1.7km of thrilling water slides, a wave pool and engaging activities suitable for all ages. This is the only zone permitting children aged 3-14.

The Palm: An exclusively adult pool complete with a retractable roof, mineral pools, hydromassage beds, a poolside bar, and both indoor and outdoor areas for unwinding.

Elysium: Seeking something special? This tranquil sanctuary offers themed saunas, an extensive selection of wellness treatments, tailored spa services and upscale dining options.

Planning your trip? Remember to pack your swimming costume, flip-flops and a towel. Essential items can be purchased from the on-site shop.

Entry prices range from £20-£50 per adult, approximately 100-250 RON. Costs depend on your visit duration – 3 hours, 4 hours or all day – and which zones you access (Galaxy, Palm or Elysium).

Spa passes generally begin at around £22-£24 for standard entry, with additional charges for sauna packages or full-day tickets.

Return flights can typically cost under £100, but this can vary as a result of the ongoing travel chaos. It’s worth noting last-minute bookings can cost more, or if you’re flying premium.

Oxford Economics chief UK economist Andrew Goodwin said: “We expect the MPC to keep bank rate unchanged at 3.75%, with most committee members seemingly keen to hold policy at its current restrictive level as they gather more information about how the energy shock is feeding through to the economy.

Nigel Farage’s party has been urged to take action over comments made by Linda McFarlane, a Reform candidate in Gateshead’s Chopwell and Rowlands Gill ward.

It comes after Reform expelled another Gateshead candidate, David Prior, when it emerged this week that he was formerly a member of the British National Party (BNP).

In a Facebook post seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Ms McFarlane expressed support for far right activist Tommy Robinson.

Ahead of his release from prison last year, having been jailed for contempt of court in relation to repeating false claims he made against a Syrian refugee, she said that he “should never have been locked up”.

Last August she also reposted a video suggesting that King Charles III had converted to Islam and wrote that the late Queen Elizabeth II would “never allow Ramadan if she’d still be Queen”. 

In September 2025, she posted an image of Enoch Powell which contained the caption “it’s not hate to put your own people first” and wrote “Well said Enoch” and “your words are coming true”.

Mr Powell, the anti-immigration former Conservative MP, is known for the infamous 1968 ‘rivers of blood’ speech.

The anti-racism campaign group Hope Not Hate reported that an X account in the name of Ms McFarlane’s Lasting Enhancements cosmetic clinic, which had her photo as its profile image, posted “you should all be shot” at the accounts of Sir Keir Starmer and justice secretary David Lammy.

Screenshots of the account also include comments calling for only white English people to be allowed to become MPs and saying “let them all drown” in response to a post about migrants crossing the channel.

A Reform UK Spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service on Friday that the party is “thoroughly looking into the allegations and posts”. 

Liz Twist, the Labour MP for Blaydon and Consett, said it was “appalling that someone who has these views was selected as a candidate to represent the Chopwell and Rowlands Gill ward”.

She added that the area was “renowned for being a supportive community, one where people of all backgrounds and faiths can live side by side in support of each other”.

The Labour MP said: “There should be an urgent need from Reform to clarify if any further candidates have similar views within their vetting process.”

Hope Not Hate also questioned whether Mike Porritt, Reform UK’s candidate for Whickham South and Sunniside, was a “suitable” person to hold public office.

Mr Porritt was well known as the entrepreneur behind the CarShock chain of car dealerships, which collapsed in 2007.

The company owed £4.4m to creditors and 53 staff lost their jobs, while he was later declared bankrupt in 2009 having given  personal guarantees for £8m of finance from the Santander banking group.

On a Reform election leaflet, Mr Porritt promises to “use his years of business experience and social care to do everything he can to defend and improve the character of our community”. 

Mr Porritt also made headlines over his 2004 appearance in the Channel 4 show ‘Boss Swap’. He was placed at an estate agent’s office for the show and sacked its owner’s wife.

The LDRS has contacted both Ms McFarlane and Mr Porritt for a response.