When the initial 2026 World Cup schedule was released two years ago, the date of Seattle’s final group-stage contest fashioned an unmissable opportunity. The “Emerald City”, positioned with its exquisite downtown skyline off the Pacific coast in Washington state, is famous for its spectacular Pride celebrations at the end of June. It coincides with the 1969 Stonewall Riots, seen as the catalyst for the liberation of gay people in the United States more than 55 years ago.

For Jen Barnes, founder and CEO of Rough & Tumble – a first-of-its-kind sports bar which promotes gender equity and inclusivity in sports viewing and fandom – Friday is a chance to parade the LGBTQ+ community in perfect harmony with the world’s most popular sport and its greatest show.

“Soccer is the world’s game for a reason,” Barnes, who is co-chair of Seattle’s World Cup Pride+ Match Committee, tells The Independent. “When I think about what it will look like to fans watching from afar and fans who are here experiencing it, I do feel like we are celebrating Pride for the world on that day.

“I think that is really the most important story here.”

And yet, not for the first time at this World Cup, the story is different. What should have been an elaborate celebration of inclusivity has instead turned into another unpalatable political storm. December’s draw in Washington, DC, came and went and, 24 hours later, the matches fell into place.

Which countries would be involved in the first-ever World Cup Pride Match? Iran and Egypt. Two countries with long-standing anti-gay laws and ideology.

In Iran, homosexuality is strictly illegal under Sharia law. Penalties range from flogging to the death penalty. In Egypt, homosexuality is not explicitly outlawed, but LGBTQ+ people experience regular discrimination and violence. Police, via the implementation of vague “debauchery” and “incitement to indecency” laws, regularly persecute and arrest queer people, who can face up to seven years in prison.

In the aftermath of the draw, both countries’ football federations were quick to condemn the rainbow match. Egypt said it “categorically rejects any activities promoting LGBTQ during the match”, citing the “provocation of cultural and religious sensitivities among fans.” Iran’s football federation stated that the event was an “irrational move that supports a certain group.”

Both countries appealed to Fifa, who were quick to wash its hands of any involvement. “I must clarify that there will be no ‘Pride Match’ at the World Cup,” Fifa president Gianni Infantino said in January.

“There will be a Fifa World Cup match in Seattle and, on the same day, events organised by external organisations will be taking place in the city. But that has nothing to do with the match itself.”

There is some inescapable irony here. At the last World Cup in 2022, Fifa insisted any team captains who wore the rainbow “OneLove” armbands, as England’s Harry Kane planned to, would receive yellow cards due to it being a “political statement”. In protest, the German team memorably covered their mouths in their pre-match team photo.

This time around, on the face of it, there is a very simple alteration Fifa could have made to alleviate any concerns or protests surrounding Friday’s event. The Canadian city of Vancouver plays host to the other Group G match taking place simultaneously on Friday night, with Belgium playing New Zealand: two countries with progressive LGBTQ+ laws.

Why could the two matches not simply have swapped locations? For one thing, it would have removed one of the three obstacles Iran has faced in their myriad US visa issues over the last fortnight. As it turns out, the Iran team have actually been in Seattle since Wednesday, in a match they need a result (and likely a win) to progress to the knockout stage. Mohamed Salah’s Egypt, meanwhile, will top the group with a victory.

Yet typically, common sense did not prevail with the potential city-swap. We are where we are. “I think it’s expected given their rules,” Barnes said, of Iran and Egypt’s protestations. “I’m not sure if disappointed is the right word. Despite Iran and Egypt’s policies, queer people exist everywhere and that’s really the most important part.

“We don’t control the draw. Those are the countries that were drawn. It’s an important moment to make sure that we are uplifting a community that is disenfranchised in certain parts of our world. We’ve really spent a lot of time uplifting the queer community and making sure that our visitors and our fans coming into town feel safe.

“If they are allies, they know they’re in a wonderful place celebrating the queer community. If they are queer themselves, they’re in a safe place and they’re going to have a lot of fun.”

The latest is that Fifa will not stop fans from bringing in rainbow flags to Seattle’s Lumen Field stadium on Friday.

A Fifa spokesperson added: “General statements of human rights, including rainbow flags and other flags representing sexual orientation and gender identity, are permitted under the Fifa World Cup 2026 Stadium Code of Conduct and may be displayed inside stadiums provided they are used in a manner consistent with the code.”

Celebrations across the city, outside of Fifa’s jurisdiction, include “The Unity Loop” – a curated route designed to direct visitors to LGBTQ+-owned restaurants, bars and shops. There will be watch parties across Seattle, including at Barnes’s Rough & Tumble bar, while there will also be rainbow-themed merchandise and social media campaigns.

For Seattle’s Police Department, when combining the Pride celebrations with the expected Iranian regime protests – as seen at Iran’s first two matches in Los Angeles, such as booing of the national anthem – it is set to be quite the operation. There will be heightened security measures, including drones and Coast Guard patrols along the waterfront.

Seattle’s mayor, Katie Wilson, admitted that local law enforcement were “expecting and prepared for protest activity.” Jamie Pedersen, the state senator and one of several openly gay members of the Washington State Legislature, added: “If you tried to import a pride celebration into Egypt or Iran, obviously that could be a disaster.

“But in a community like Seattle that prides itself on welcoming people from all over, I just can’t imagine that it’s going to be a significant problem.”

And Barnes, ahead of an event which has been four years in the making, concurred: “What I really do anticipate is purely a celebration of soccer and inclusion. We’ve worked really closely with our Iranian-American community and our Egyptian-American community here. Seattle is such a welcoming community for our LGBTQ+ fans and those who live here.”

As for the legacy of the Pride Match, there is even hope that the event could take place at the 2030 World Cup, held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco. “I absolutely hope that this is something that gets carried forward,” she added. “There are queer human beings everywhere on this planet. There’s no reason not to be inclusive of a huge portion of our fan base and our athletes themselves.”

ChatGPT maker OpenAI said Friday it is restricting the release of its new artificial intelligence model at the request of President Donald Trump’s administration, the latest in an unprecedented government vetting of AI products that could pose cybersecurity risks.

OpenAI said its new AI product, called GPT-5.6 Sol, would only be available for now to a “small group of trusted partners” approved by the Trump administration.

“We don’t believe this kind of government access process should become the long-term default,” OpenAI said in a statement. The company said it viewed the testing period as a temporary step on the “path to broader availability in the coming weeks.”

OpenAI’s staggered release of a powerful new AI system follows actions the government took earlier this month against OpenAI rival Anthropic, maker of the Claude chatbot.

Anthropic took offline two new AI models, known as Fable 5 and Mythos 5, just days after publicly releasing them to comply with a Trump directive blocking their use by foreign nationals.

Officials have grown increasingly concerned since Anthropic warned earlier this year that its Mythos model was adept at finding flaws in software in a way that could be weaponized by malicious hackers and threaten critical computer networks around the world.

Trump earlier in June signed an executive order on AI oversight that established a framework for the federal government to vet the national security risks of the most advanced AI systems for up to 30 days before their public release. The order described participation by AI developers as voluntary but the framework has not yet been fully developed.

OpenAI said its new Sol model “is better at helping people find and fix vulnerabilities” than it is at carrying out cyberattacks and does not cross the company’s own risk threshold. But it acknowledged there could be unforeseen risks especially if its model is combined with other tools.

“That uncertainty, along with the model’s broader step change in capabilities, is why we are pairing the model’s increased capabilities with stronger safeguards and a phased release,” the company said Friday.

The new station is expected to service around 1.8 million passengers a year

A new train station opens in Cambridge this weekend, after facing delays. Cambridge South station will welcome its first passengers on Sunday, June 28.

The opening comes after much delay, with the date being pushed back twice. The first delay was in February last year, after a sub-contractor went into administration and this led to a second delay.

Cambridge South will be the first station under the Great British Railways, a new public sector body that will overlook Britain’s railways. Emily Heria, senior sponsor on behalf of GBR Anglia, spoke earlier this week about the station opening.

She said: “We are all so excited to open the new station on Sunday, June 28 and can’t wait to welcome our first customers and see their reaction to their new railway station. We hope they will be as proud of their new station as we are to have built it.”

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “The newly opened Cambridge South station cuts journey times, improves access to jobs, and makes everyday life that little bit easier for thousands of people.

“This £250 million investment means a journey that once took over an hour – involving a train, a bus, and a walk – is now a single 45-minute direct train from London. That’s a real, tangible difference in people’s lives.“With up to 20 services in peak hours connecting passengers to London, Birmingham, Stansted, and beyond, Cambridge South will connect people with opportunities across the region and the wider country. This is Great British Railways in action.”

Ahead of its Sunday opening, here is all you need to know about Cambridge South station.

Where will the station be?

The new station will be situated next to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and Addenbrooke’s Hospital.

What trains will run through the station?

Once it’s open, the station will welcome up to nine trains per hour. These will run from Cambridge, with direct services to London King’s Cross, London Liverpool Street, Birmingham New Street, Brighton, Gatwick Airport and Stansted Airport.

The services will be run by Greater Anglia, Great Northern, Thameslink and Cross Country, and up to 20 services an hour will call at the station during peak times. Passengers will also be able to make use of a 45 minute direct train to and from London.

What will the station feature?

The station will feature a green roof with solar panels, and a rainwater collection system with a wildflower environment.

It’ll also be connected to the local cycle network, and will have 1000 spaces for cycle parking, as well as blue badge bays. It’s right next to the guided busway system, giving passengers more sustainable travel options around the city.

How much has the station cost?

The station has been mainly funded by a £250 million Government investment. There was also a combined £5 million in contributions from AstraZeneca, Cambridge and Peterborough Combined Authority, and the Greater Cambridgeshire Partnership.

It’s estimated to serve 1.8 million passengers a year.

Padel has captured the British sporting imagination. Combining aspects of tennis and squash, and played across a net but within a walled court, padel was invented in Mexico in 1969.

In the intervening half century, it cultivated a significant following in Latin America and Spain. Padel is the second most popular participation sport in Spain – behind football – with 6 million players. The professional padel circuit is now more than 20 years old.

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Britain is late to the party. In 2019, the number of people playing padel in Britain was just 15,000. However, the Lawn Tennis Association, the national governing body for padel in Britain, recorded in May 2026 that 1 million people play padel across the country. Such growth is a stunning success story.

Yet, in certain quarters, padel’s rise has not been met with unbridled enthusiasm. There is unease in some tennis circles that padel could entice away a large proportion of recreational players. Even Novak Djokovic has voiced concern that padel threatens tennis at the club level.

Padel’s appeal to club players

Djokovic makes the economic case that one tennis court can be converted into three padel courts, and three courts are more profitable than one. However, the threat runs deeper. Five structural features make padel attractive for club players.

1. the initial learning curve is less steep than in tennis – for example, padel points begin with an underarm serve
2. padel rackets are more forgiving to imperfect strokes than tennis rackets as they are made of fibreglass or carbon fibre and have no strings
3. less time is spent retrieving balls after errant shots because padel courts are smaller than tennis courts and enclosed by walls
4. the walls add unpredictability to shots, at least for beginners, and this uncertainty over the ball’s path creates a fun coordination challenge for players, and an entertaining spectacle for their opponents
5. padel is inherently social as it is played in a doubles format and the smaller court lends itself to a flow of conversation between partners and opponents alike.

The culture around padel also appeals to club players. Padel culture prizes informality, community and inclusion. Far from the hushed tones of tennis tournaments, padel events are more likely to play music while spectators recline on beanbags and socialise courtside. Racket throwing and gamesmanship are not just frowned upon – such conduct is viewed as decidedly odd. Padel is not simply a different sport to tennis, it offers a different way of doing sport.

The challenge of competitive padel

Among sceptics, however, concern about padel at the recreational level is often coupled with antipathy towards it at the competitive level. Alexander Bublik, men’s tennis world number 11, recently opined: “If you can’t play singles, you play doubles. If you can’t play doubles, you play padel.” However, the ease of starting a sport should not be confused with the difficulty of mastering it.

While padel combines skills from tennis and squash, it is not merely derivative. Padel requires its own distinct set of skills, strategies and physical attributes. Shots such as the vibora, bandeja and bajada are staples in padel, but do not exist in tennis. Learning to use the wall to attack and defend takes years to master.

Strategy in padel and tennis are also fundamentally different. In tennis, the primary objective is to hit the ball past your opponent. In padel, balls that fly past an opponent usually bounce off their back wall and hand them an attacking position. Padel matches are not determined by a dominant shot, such as a powerful forehand, so points often involve long tactical chess matches aimed at manoeuvring opponents out of position to create an opening or to elicit a short lob.

The historical case for padel

Aside from a concern for grassroots tennis and an aversion to competitive padel, traditionalists may object to padel merely as a challenge to the established order. However, lawn tennis is itself a relative newcomer compared to sports such as golf and cricket, which predate it by centuries.

Even in the history of racket sports, lawn tennis is a recent development. It is a descendant of what is now called “real tennis”, a sport developed by French monks in the 12th century, which involved playing over a rope and against the walls of a monastery. Originally played using one’s hand, strung rackets were introduced in the 16th century.

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Lawn tennis evolved from real tennis in the late 19th century. Much like padel now, it enjoyed a period of global expansion in the 50 years following its creation.

Traditionalists should embrace padel because, first, padel preserves the real tennis challenge of playing over a net within walls that form part of the playing area. In this fundamental respect, padel is a truer descendant of real tennis than lawn tennis.

Second, while developments in racket and string technology have made volleying a dying skill in lawn tennis (at least in singles), attacking the net is the primary strategic objective in padel. Those who lament the demise of net play in lawn tennis should embrace padel as preserving the endangered art of meeting the ball before the bounce.

Padel is now a fixture in the British sporting landscape. With 35 million players globally and 100 national federations across five continents, it seems likely to feature in the Brisbane 2032 Olympics.

Lawn tennis and padel need not engage in a zero-sum rivalry in which one side’s winning necessitates the other’s losing. Of the 1 million people who play padel in Britain, approximately two-thirds also play lawn tennis.

Both sports attract their own specialists, but the grassroots need not be a battleground. Club players can enjoy both, and revel in how padel allows them to deepen their existing racket skills to tackle a fresh sporting challenge, to follow a more varied sporting diet and to belong to a vibrant new sporting community.

The auction house listing describes the Egyptian head as being radio-carbon dated to between 750 and 800 BC, adding that it came from a private collection.

It says the head was brought to the UK by a British soldier during World War One and it remained in the possession of the family for a century.

The Indonesian head has been carbon-dated to between 800 BC and 750 BC.

Lowry added that he believed there are thousands of these types of remains “in attics” around the UK, with “all sorts of people” also choosing to display them in their homes.

He added that people take “great pleasure” in their aesthetics and “wondering who was that person”.

Biers, who co-ordinates a task force which tracks how human remains are sold online, said there has been a spike in sales “since social media began”, but particularly in the last five years.

She said the ethical issues stem from how the remains were historically obtained.

“Murder, kidnap, people selling because they’re poor and they have no other way to feed their family so somebody wealthy comes along and says: ‘Well, I’ll buy that head or that body from you and take it back to London and then sell it at auction,’” she said.

Biers added that collectors have many uses for the remains, ranging from the ritualistic to some being turned into things like lamps and earrings.

“We’ve got all of this evidence of these horrific situations, like a child’s spine as the handle of a handbag being sold for over €6,000 (£5,174).”

Science journalist Patrick Pester, tracks the trade in human remains and said listings like this are not unusual

“I come across auctions like this every single day, and the vast majority are taking place online,” he said.

Pester said that tens of thousands of these skeletons remain in private collections or within the medical field, but the reality is that nobody knows how many are still out there.

Kevin Hollinrake, the Tory MP for Thirsk and Malton, hit out at the ‘unsustainable’ number of people claiming unemployment benefits in his constituency and called for the reinstatement of the two-child benefit cap to increase the budget of the Armed Forces.

The Conservative Party chairman added that 1,120 people in his constituency were claiming unemployment benefits, which he said was “not sustainable”.

Kevin Hollinrake MP.

​The percentage of people aged 16-64 claiming unemployment benefits in Thirsk and Malton is two per cent, and in Scarborough and Whitby it is 3.1 per cent.

Mr Hollinrake said: ​“The threats we face are getting more and more serious. That is why I voted to demand the Government cuts welfare and gives our Armed Forces the backing they need to keep us safe.”

He added that there was “a consensus that our military is not ready for war” and that reinstating the two-child benefit cap would create savings for increased defence spending.

Readers took to The Press website to have their say.

Beyond Infinity said: “Oh, hooray, what the country needs is more vacuous slogans, right?”

Metalclog said: “The reality is, our Armed Forces cannot survive on a diet of government spin, over-the-horizon spending commitments and hollow rhetoric.”

Freeda said: “It’s more complicated than poor people out of work directly and solely affecting the military budget. A child benefit cap singles out women as the perceived burden of society.

“It would mean fewer potential military recruits being born, more people in debt, families fragmented and older people who have spent a lifetime forging support systems having to uproot and start from scratch.

“If a politician wants votes, don’t make the poor poorer or go against women! A country is judged on the bottom rung of that society’s standard of living, as well as military might and the wealthy.”

ChiefTired said: “Knew it was Hollinrake before I read the article.”

PsDsTsTsK said: “These are disgraceful comments from a Member of Parliament and entirely unbecoming of someone elected to represent the public.”

The Bear’s fifth and final season introduces another member of the family portrayed by a major guest star, so who is behind Cheese?

**Warning – this article contains minor spoilers for The Bear Season 5.**

The Bear Season 5 is finally here and will bring the hit FX and Disney+ series to a thrilling conclusion.

With time rapidly running out, Carmy (played by Jeremy Allen White) about to quit and a storm raging outside, the stakes have never been higher for the team of dedicated and stressed out chefs.

Joining the award-winning lead actor White is a stellar cast, including Ayo Edebiri, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Liza Colón-Zayas.

The series has also featured a number of guest stars, from Jamie Lee Curtis to Olivia Colman and even John Cena, with many of them expected to reappear in the epic finale.

Season 5’s second episode, titled Lamb, introduces yet another new member of the team in Terry Cheddario, nicknamed ‘Cheese’. So who plays her?

Who plays Cheese in The Bear Season 5?

Cheese is the niece of Nicholas Marshall (Brian Koppelman), whom everyone calls The Computer, a maths genius who becomes The Bear’s unofficial accountant to analyse where the restaurant is overspending.

In Season 5, Cheese tags along with Computer and Uncle Jimmy ‘Cicero’ Kalinowski (Oliver Platt) in an attempt to find a backer to sell the restaurant while the chefs battle through their toughest night of service yet.

She’s portrayed by actress Elsie Fisher, who is best known for her breakout role as teenager Kayla Day in Bo Burnham’s acclaimed directorial debut Eighth Grade.

In the film, Kayla is an anxious 13-year-old who struggles to find social acceptance in her last week of middle school before starting high school after the summer.

Fisher landed the role when she was just 13 herself and went on to win an incredible 17 major awards for her performance, including a Gotham Independent Film Award and a Critics’ Choice Movie Award.

She was also nominated for a Golden Globe and Independent Spirit Award.

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Although Eighth Grade was her first major on-screen role, it wasn’t her first experience in the mainstream as she previously portrayed Agnes in the first two Despicable Me films.

In more recent years, she has starred in Netflix’s 2026 comedy hit Roommates, portrayed Katie Harris in the third and fourth seasons of HBO’s acclaimed drama Barry, and landed a recurring role in the second season of The Summer I Turned Pretty as Skye.

The Bear Season 5 is available to stream on Disney+.

Ms Craig today launched her campaign to replace Andy Burnham as Metro Mayor after his departure to Westminster and announced plans to give free bus travel on the Bee Network to every 11 to 18-year-old in Bolton and the rest of Greater Manchester.

The move comes after Greater Manchester Combined Authority scrapped time restrictions on pensioners using their free bus passes.

At a launch event in Bury, she was joined by Mr Burnham and Labour Deputy Leader Lucy Powell as 200 local supporters gathered to give her their full backing.

Mayor Campaign trail (Image: Labour Party)

Ms Craig outlined how she will extend the popular ‘Our Pass’ scheme from 16 to 18-year-olds to all 11 to 18-year-olds.

She said: “When Greater Manchester fought to take control of the buses… it wasn’t just about saying where a bus route goes. It was putting power and control back into the hands of local people. And we have seen what that does. We have seen that open doors and opportunities.

“And I have been talking to families that have been telling me how tight it is. I spoke to a mum who is making decisions and cutting back, not buying the stuff that she needed, not looking after herself, because she still had to pay for her kids’ bus fare to get them to school.

“I have spoken to young people who have said they are held back by lack of opportunity. How at the age of 15, getting around our city-region still costs too much.

“And I have spoken to 16 and 18-year-olds who have seen the great benefits that Our Pass has been able to bring.

“So that’s why I am proud to announce if I was elected as Greater Manchester’s Mayor, all bus travel for 11 to 18-year-olds will be free.

“This to me is the test. It is something that puts hundreds of pounds back into the pockets of ordinary people to make their life better. And it is something that opens the doors to tens and tens of thousands of young people across our city region that says this place is for you.”

The election for Greater Manchester will take place on Thursday, 30th July.

“Local people know about this connection, but we’ve always looked upon it as Cheadle’s best kept secret.”

Head through the impressive stone gates of Abney Hall Park off Manchester Road in Cheadle and it feels like you’re escaping to another time. Meander through the woodland until the trees separate out and a sweeping view of the majestic hall comes into sight.

Now, a new information board has been added to this spectacular view, to allow visitors to learn about the fascinating role this hall played in the life of one of the world’s greatest authors – Agatha Christie. The board was unveiled this week by Agatha’s grandson Mathew Prichard, who has fond memories of playing in the hall as a child.

The world-famous crime writer’s older sister, Margaret ‘Madge’ Watts, lived in Cheadle for almost 50 years and Abney Hall was one of her homes in the village. It is said to be one of the main inspirations for the iconic ‘country house’ setting that features so prominently in Christie’s work and several of her books are dedicated to Abney Hall or members of her extended family in Cheadle.

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They include the 4.50 from Paddington which is said to be inspired by the layout of the grounds at Abney Hall; After the Funeral which Agatha dedicated to “good time at Abney” and The Body in the Library which Agatha dedicated to ‘Nan’ Watts who was a lifelong friend.

Agatha was said to have spent many joyful Christmases at the grand 19th century hall, an influence noted in Hercule Poirot’s Christmas and The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding, in which Agatha gives a detailed dedication to ‘the Christmases of her youth’ at Abney Hall.

The Information Board about Christie is part of the new Cheadle Heritage Trail, a project by Cheadle Civic Society that has been supported by the Northern Trains Community Project Fund, Manchester Airport’s Community Trust Fund and Jonathan Alcock & Sons Ltd and is designed to bring the village’s history to life.

Each board highlights the story of a place, building or person that has contributed to Cheadle’s story – from historic landmarks to memorable characters.

It includes: Cheadle Green, James ‘Scotch Bob’ Telford, Cheadle Hall, Brooklyn Crescent Park, Cheadle Primary School and the Alcock Family. An information board is also planned for St Mary’s Church on Cheadle High Street.

The unveiling of the Information Board about Agatha Christie is also the latest part of a year-long programme of free events organised by Cheadle Civic Society to celebrate the village’s connection with ‘The Queen of Crime’.

The line-up has included book clubs inside Abney Hall, walking tours, crime writers panel discussions and creative activities for children at the local library – all of which have been free of charge.

In September, as part of the national Heritage Open Days festival, Cheadle Civic Society will also be organising free tours of Abney Hall for people to learn more about the building and its famous ‘Christie connection’.

Andrew Frazer, chair of Cheadle Civic Society, said: “Local people know about this connection, but we’ve always looked upon it as Cheadle’s best kept secret.

“But we felt it was important that Abney Hall in particular and that relationship with Agatha was put on the map. We thought we could apply for a blue plaque, but we do things slightly differently in Cheadle, we thought we’d get a full interpretation board and from that grew this idea, well why don’t we have a full heritage trail.

He added: “The creation of a Cheadle Heritage Trail has been a long-held ambition of the Society and the inclusion of Agatha Christie and her connection to the village was always going to be a highlight.

“To be able to welcome Mathew to the home of his grandmother’s sister to unveil the Information Board about her is a real thrill and we’re very grateful to The Christie Archive Trust for sharing images from their collection to use on the board.

“Likewise, we’d like to thank Manchester Airport, Northern Trains and the Alcock family for their support in helping to make this happen.”

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Mathew, from Wales, was actually born in Greater Manchester back in 1943, when his heavily pregnant mother was visiting Abney Hall. He was born in neighbouring Gatley and proudly reveals he supports Manchester United!

He has fond memories of playing as a child along the long gallery at the back of the hall with his toy trains. Now 83, he says: “I used to be the chairman of the Agatha Christie Limited company and so I know from my days of doing that, days like this are mercifully quite frequent because people are still so keen to celebrate their links with Agatha Christie.”

Agatha died in 1976 aged 85, but remains the best-selling fiction author of all time. Among Agatha’s gifts to her grandson was giving him the rights to one of her most famous works, The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in theatre history.

He recalls of the gift: “I was 9 at the time, it didn’t strike chords of being remarkable at that time. I didn’t come across it properly for another 10 or 12 years.”

In 1995 he set up a charitable trust with the ongoing royalties from the play, which has raised millions of pounds for arts organisations across the UK. He said: “The idea is that it raises money for artistic events that owe in some way or another their existence to The Mousetrap’s longevity.”

Welcoming Mr Prichard to Abney Hall alongside Cheadle Civic Society this week was Demi Fletcher from Bruntwood, who has held the lease on the Hall since 1976. Bruntwood has been supporting Cheadle Civic Society with their events this year, providing access for the local community to explore Madge’s home of nearly 25 years.

Sharon Johnson, head of commercial at Bruntwood, said: “Abney Hall is an important part of Cheadle’s history and we’re delighted to support the Cheadle Civic Society in helping more people discover its connection to Agatha Christie. It’s been great to welcome Mathew Prichard to the Hall and to see the story of both the building and the local area brought to life through the Heritage Trail.” Carolyn Watson, Northern’s director of stakeholder and community engagement, said: “We proudly support the Cheadle Heritage Trail as it’s a brilliant project which allows people to immerse themselves in the village’s rich history. The new information boards look fantastic and I’m sure lots of people will enjoy learning all about the history of the buildings, locations and people – including Agatha Christie – that are part of Cheadle’s story.”

Helen McNabb, a trustee of the Manchester Airport Community Trust Fund, said: “We were thrilled to attend the opening of this important community asset, which we have partially funded. Manchester Airport’s Community Trust Fund aims to ensure that local communities share in the benefits of having a major international hub on their doorstep and invests more than £100,000 every year into community groups and not-for-profit projects.”

Cheadle Civic Society has plans to extend the Trail in the future, with a number of additional locations in the village already identified as suitable for their own Information Boards.

For more information about the Cheadle Heritage Trail and to download a free leaflet and map, visit: cheadlecivicsociety.uk/heritagetrail