As the Switch 2 celebrates its first birthday, GameCentral looks back at the highs and lows of Nintendo’s most recent console and tries to predict where it goes from here.
Since the internet, and the real world beyond it, increasingly only deals in extremes it’s difficult to talk about the Switch 2 in any kind of nuanced fashion. It is neither the best thing ever nor the worst and determining exactly where it sits along that gradient is not easy. Today is its first anniversary, which is slightly awkward as there’s reason to hope there’ll be a major Nintendo Direct next week which will, possibly, answer some of the questions we’re about to pose.
Looking at the console with the benefit of 365 days of hindsight, we’d say that that the hardware itself was largely faultless. The design hasn’t changed much, of course, and it could do with a longer battery life and maybe a better screen, but for the price it’s almost perfect, with the click of the magnetic Joy-Cons still seeming magical to this day.
It’s still baffling that Nintendo has made no attempt whatsoever to demonstrate the power of the console – we didn’t get so much as a tech demo pre-launch – but multiple third party games have made it clear it’s far more powerful than you would expect, with excellent versions of everything from Resident Evil Requiem and Cyberpunk 2077 to Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Star Wars Outlaws.
Advertisement
The remake of Star Fox 64 does seem to be a step up, in terms of technical prowess, but other upcoming games, like Splatoon Raiders and Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave, still look like Wii U games. Nintendo games are rarely sold on their graphics, but the Switch 2 clearly has raw power to spare and yet it’s not being used – one of many strange decisions orbiting the console.
Ever since the unveiling of the console and its games in April last year, it’s seemed as if Nintendo was only showing and doing the bare minimum. Despite having eight years to prepare, and no deadline to meet in terms of when the console had to be released, everything to do with the Switch 2 has felt hurried and poorly thought out, like a student who was out partying the night before their big report was due and only just scrabbled together what they needed.
Expert, exclusive gaming analysis
Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning.
Advertisement
That impression has not changed over the last 12 months, but it has morphed into an industry default for most publishers who, in their wisdom, have decided that it’s best to have as little to look forward to as possible and to know as little about what is announced as can be contrived.
That logic obviously makes sense to someone, somewhere, because it’s taken deep root within so many different publishers, but Nintendo has taken it to an absurd extreme, to the point where it’s now June and we haven’t had a single large scale, first party Nintendo Direct all year. That in turn means we have no idea about anything coming out after July (except that supposedly Fortune’s Weave and FromSoftware’s The Duskbloods will be along at some point, if they haven’t been delayed).
Advertisement
At exactly the point where a first party Direct would seem the most useful to both Nintendo and its customers – considering a price rise is on the horizon – they’ve decided to say less about their future plans than they ever have before.
This seems to be in large part because of the industry wide problem of games costing too much, and taking too long, to make. The Switch 2 may be impressively powerful, but Nintendo’s not used to working with that kind of hardware and that’s no doubt part of the reason behind some of their stranger decisions.
Mario Kart World – a good game but not a classic (Nintendo)
We had hoped, before the Switch 2 became a reality, that Nintendo, who have always benefited from keeping a tight rein on their budgets, would cope better than most with the issue, or demonstrate some new way of avoiding it, but sadly that hasn’t happened.
Instead, the software line-up has been a strange mixture of A-listers and deeply underwhelming lower budget games. Mario Kart World as a launch game makes perfect sense, but the strange way the open world was handled – which was exacerbated by the misleading marketing – left a bad taste in the mouth of many fans. While the continued lack of any DLC at all (why does Donkey Kong only have one extra costume?) is impossible to explain.
Mario Kart World is a good game, and Donkey Kong Bananza is even better, but in hindsight the latter would’ve made a much better Christmas release, rather than having the line-up fizzle out with the deeply disappointing Metroid Prime 4. You can see the sense of releasing Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment early on, because it meant at least some kind of new Zelda game was available, but surely there was a better choice than yet another brain dead Dynasty Warriors knock-off.
Advertisement
Kirby Air Riders does have its fans, even if we’re not amongst them, but why did Nintendo feel it was so important to release a second cartoon racing game within the launch window? Especially one that was only ever going to be popular in Japan. They did later admit that they’d focused too much on games for their home audience, but surely Nintendo has been in the business long enough not to make that mistake in the first place?
There are many other strange decisions beyond that, including the highly experimental Drag x Drive, which might have been a cult hit if hadn’t been so utterly devoid of content that you could see all there was to see within a couple of hours. Does Nintendo really not employ enough people that they couldn’t have whisked up a quick single-player mode or a proper tournament structure? Or, you know, used any colour other than dark grey for the graphics.
Why did the marketing for Yoshi And the Mysterious Book make it seem like a game for pre-schoolers when it’s actually one of the most inventive and open-ended platformers Nintendo has put out for years, and much better suited to adult players than anyone else.
Advertisement
Pokémon Pokopia is the best first party Switch 2 game (The Pokémon Company)
And how is it that of all the games Nintendo has released in the last year a Minecraft clone by the makers of Hyrule Warriors turned out to be the most compelling? That certainly wasn’t on our bingo card and it clearly wasn’t on Nintendo’s either, who were caught out by the success of Pokémon Pokopia and have been scrambling to leverage it ever since.
One of the most encouraging annoucement this year (not that there have been many of any type) was the reveal of Pokémon Winds and Waves, which does look like a generational leap from Scarlet and Violet. Having that next year does seem a useful anchor but the overriding problem with the Switch 2’s line-up is the mystifying logic behind how Nintendo has been prioritising its various franchises.
Kirby Air Riders is one thing but why on earth is Star Fox deemed so important all of a sudden, such that it was shore-horned into the Mario Galaxy movie, of all things? A decision that takes on reality-bending levels of bizarreness when you realise that Nintendo hasn’t yet breathed a word about a new Super Mario game since before the Switch 2 was announced.
Why are we a year in and there’s still no sign of Splatoon 4 and instead it has to wait in the queue behind a primarily single-player spin-off? And why was a new Fire Emblem announced so early on when we still haven’t heard anything about far more mainstream games, like a new Animal Crossing?
Advertisement
Not furnishing Mario Kart World with constant updates is one thing but we felt sure that the reason support for Animal Crossing: New Horizons – the breakout hit of the entire franchise – was cut short was so the team could get a new game ready for early on in the Switch 2’s career, so that it could benefit from new content throughout the whole of the console’s life. But instead Nintendo announced a Switch 2 Edition that adds almost nothing of note and implies a new game is several years away.
Nintendo not making sense might seem like their natural state of being, but in reality everything they do is perfectly logical, from their point of view, and only becomes so to others over time. The Switch 2 has been stretching credulity since the beginning though, to the point where everything feels like they switched to Plan B sometime in 2024 and they’ve been on that track ever since.
Why was a new Animal Crossing not a priority? (Nintendo)
Even if sales at Christmas were less than hoped for, the Switch 2 is still the fastest-selling console of all-time and well ahead of where the Switch was at the same time in its lifetime. But you could tell the Switch 1 was special before its first Christmas, with a GOAT launch window line-up that Switch 2 hasn’t come close to matching.
The changing nature of game development may make the Switch 1’s achievements impossible to repeat (especially given the boost it got from being able to use Wii U ports to fill gaps in its schedule and provide a cast iron classic of a launch title) but that still makes it impossible not to be at least a little disappointed with the Switch 2.
We’ve long ago learnt not to try and predict Nintendo, or believe any rumours about them, even if the one about a Zelda: Ocarina Of Time remake is very persistent. Who knows what they’ll announce next week, if there even is a Direct next week, but while we’d welcome a modernised version of Ocarina Of Time as much as anyone, what we really crave is something new, in terms of both IP and gameplay ideas.
Advertisement
Nintendo always delivers eventually but they’ve certainly not made it easy waiting for that to happen with the Switch 2, which continues to be a great console supported by a merely good games line-up. Other publishers would be happy with far less but the problem with Nintendo’s reputation is that they’ve trained people to always expect the best thing ever, and this time that hasn’t happened. Or at least not yet.
Maybe the Ocarina Of Time rumours are true or maybe they’re not (Nintendo)
Charlie Brooks is rumoured to be reprising her role as Janine Butcher for a brief but “explosive” storyline on the long-running BBC soap.
The plot could be linked to the show’s Christmas Day episode, according to reports.
EastEnders star Charlie Brooks ‘returning’ as Janine Butcher
“The bosses have several huge stories planned for this autumn, which will all start building towards Christmas,” an EastEnders insider told The Sun.
“Although Charlie is only reprising her role as Janine for a couple of episodes this time around, her involvement is bound to cause plenty of drama.
“The plans are being kept top secret as they are really keen fans don’t have the storylines spoilt for them.”
Advertisement
The source added: “But no doubt they are going to love seeing Janine back to cause chaos.”
The BBC did not comment when approached by Newsquest.
Brooks, who joined the soap in 1999, recently teased a possible return by suggesting that Janine’s release from prison was drawing near.
In a recent appearance on Good Morning Britain, the actress was asked whether she might “get out earlier” by entertainment editor Richard Arnold.
Advertisement
She replied: “We’ll have to see!”
Charlie Brooks last appeared in EastEnders in 2022 (Image: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
After a further prompt from Susanna Reid, Brooks added: “I mean, look, I get asked this question all the time.
“I love Janine, I love playing her.
“She’s a wonderful character.
Advertisement
“I always get blessed with such great storylines.”
“So, who knows?
“It’s always a home from home, EastEnders, you know.”
Janine’s long history on the Square includes the murder of her husband Barry Evans in 2004.
Advertisement
She helped to stab to death her fourth husband, Michael Moon, in 2013.
The character was arrested in 2022 after her fifth husband Mick Carter (Danny Dyer) supposedly drowned in the Channel.
Janine was sentenced to five years in jail for perverting the course of justice by framing Mick’s ex-wife Linda Carter for a drink-driving crash.
EastEnders star axed from BBC soap
In other EastEnders news, soap legend Michelle Ryan has been axed from the BBC show, just one year after her comeback.
Advertisement
Ryan returned to Albert Square last year after her character, Zoe Slater, had a 20-year absence.
The star originally appeared on EastEnders from 2000 to 2005, and Zoe’s return saw the character reconnect with her estranged mother, Kat Moon, played by Jessie Wallace.
But now Zoe is set to leave the BBC soap for good, with reports that scriptwriters have chosen to kill off the character.
Zoe’s exit reportedly has already been filmed, with EastEnders viewers able to watch the scenes later this year.
Advertisement
Discussing the characters depature, a source told The Sun, “Michelle’s long-awaited return has been somewhat flat and lacklustre.
“There’s been a backlash about her comeback, leaving some fans disappointed with her on-screen presence.
A white van was rammed into the two cops in the town yesterday afternoon.
A van driver is being hunted after attempting to murder two police officers in Lanark. A white Renault Traffic was rammed into the officers as they carried out enquiries at a property on Glen Avenue on Saturday at around 2:10pm.
Advertisement
Two male officers, aged 41 and 43, were rushed to hospital for treatment to serious injuries. The 41-year-old has since been released and the 43-year-old remains in hospital in a stable condition. There were no reports of any other injuries as a result of the incident.
The van was later recovered in Kirkstyle Place, Glassford, and police are treating the incident as attempted murder and desperately trying to trace the driver. He is described as a white male, 6ft tall, wearing dark shorts, a grey jumper and a beige baseball cap.
Detective Inspector Gary Smillie said: “This was a deliberate and despicable attack on two officers who were simply carrying out their duties.
“Extensive enquiries are ongoing and I am appealing for anyone who was in the area around the time and witnessed the incident to contact us.
Advertisement
“I would also appeal to anyone in the area who may have dash cam footage or private CCTV which could assist to get in touch. Any information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, could assist with the investigation.”
Chief Inspector Paul Doyle said: “Violence is not part of the job for police officers – it is not acceptable and will not be tolerated.
“I would like to reassure the community that we are working to trace the person responsible and will continue to carry out enquiries in the local area.
“We are speaking to members of the public and there will be additional patrols in the area, and would encourage anyone with any information or concerns to speak to officers.
Advertisement
“Our thoughts are with the officers, their families and colleagues at this time. We will continue to offer them all the necessary support.
“Anyone with any information should contact 101 quoting reference 1652 of 25 July, 2026. Information can also be given to Crimestoppers anonymously by calling 0800 555 111. “
Get more Daily Record exclusives by signing up for free to Google’s preferred sources. Click HERE.
A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: “This is a rural location, but we’re keen to hear from anyone who was in the area and may have seen anything unusual. Did you notice any suspicious vehicles, people, or activity around Ruddings Farm during this period?”
Advertisement
Police are also asking people to check any CCTV, doorbell, or dashcam footage from those dates.
Anyone with information is asked to contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, quoting incident number NYP-24072026-0230.
NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump administration has imposed double-digit tariffs on more than 60 countries, using a legal justification that permits the president to levy import taxes and other sanctions against countries found to engage in “unjustifiable,” “unreasonable” or “discriminatory” trade practices.
The new tariffs announced in recent days take effect just as temporary 10% worldwide tariffs expired, and critics say they are less about cracking down on forced labor than they are a way to replace those tariffs. The expired tariffs were themselves a temporary replacement for worldwide tariffs the Supreme Court struck down in February.
The tariffs were levied on countries that the U.S. says either don’t have or don’t effectively enforce a forced-labor import ban. The affected countries, which account for 99% of U.S. imports, were quick to protest, calling the Trump administration’s claims unfounded and arbitrary, as nations with vastly different records on forced labor received the same tariff level. The U.S. spent four months investigating but gave few details on how it arrived at the tariff rates, which are either 10% or 12.5%.
Sidestepping Congress
The tariffs were levied under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 on countries that the U.S. determined had failed “to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor.”
Advertisement
During President Donald Trump ‘s first term, he cited Section 301 to impose sweeping tariffs on Chinese imports amid a dispute over the sharp-elbowed tactics Beijing was using to challenge America’s technological dominance. The U.S. is also using 301 powers to counter what it calls unfair Chinese practices in the shipbuilding industry.
“The 301s allow a permanent tariff without going to Congress to settle the dispute,” said Barry Appleton, a law professor and co-director of New York Law School’s Center for International Law. “That’s what all of this is about. The president doesn’t want to knock on the front door of Congress, so he’s trying every side door and every unlatched window to get in.”
Little evidence that countries failed to enforce import bans
The office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) said it consulted with all 60 economies under investigation and held two rounds of public hearings, elicited more than 2,100 public comments, and had “engagement” with its trading partners about what they were doing to combat forced labor bans.
It didn’t detail its talks with the countries, saying those were confidential. Experts say it is fairly straightforward to investigate whether a country has a ban or not, but it is difficult to determine the government’s exact rationale for each country’s failure to enforce import bans.
Advertisement
“There’s not a lot of hard evidence there,” said Scott Lincicome, vice president for general economics and trade policy at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank. “It’s pretty laughable on its face to think that a country like the ones in Europe or in Norway or Switzerland aren’t doing enough to police forced labor.”
And even if countries do enact and enforce the forced-labor import bans the U.S. wants, they would still need to prove that they’re enforcing them to Washington’s satisfaction before the tariffs would be removed, said lawyer Patrick Childress, a partner at Holland & Knight and a former U.S. trade official.
“This suggests that no short-term path for countrywide relief from the new Section 301 tariffs will be available,” he said.
Advertisement
Sign up for Morning Wire:
Our flagship newsletter breaks down the biggest headlines of the day.
Advertisement
Countries and industries reject the forced labor argument
Many countries have pushed back against the Trump administration’s findings.
Brazil, which faces a 12.5% forced-labor tariff, called the U.S. move “arbitrary and unjustified.” The U.S. “chose to manipulate an issue of great importance to human rights and the struggles of workers worldwide in order to accuse 59 countries and the European Union of unfair practices,” it said in a statement.
Australia also questioned the justification for its 12.5% tariff.
Advertisement
“We believe that amongst all of the countries in the world, Australia does take the issue of slavery, modern slavery, seriously, and will continue to do that,” Trade Minister Don Farrell told reporters in Adelaide.
Carve-outs have riled some industries. The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), which describes itself as the voice of the American textile industry, protested a mechanism that exempts the Section 301 tariffs for textile and apparel imports from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Malaysia based on those countries’ imports of U.S. cotton and textiles.
“No other industry has been more disadvantaged by forced labor than the U.S. textile industry, which employs 453,000 workers and has lost 41 plants over the past two plus years,” NCTO chief executive Kim Glas said in a statement. “We remain strongly concerned that USTR’s textile mechanism will harm the very domestic manufacturers the administration seeks to help.”
US forced-labor bans don’t always work
The U.S. has two major pieces of legislation related to forced-labor import bans. The Tariff Act of 1930 gave Customs and Border Protection the authority to seize shipments where forced labor was suspected and to block further imports. But it had a big carve-out: If there was “consumptive demand,” meaning there wasn’t sufficient supply to meet domestic demand, imports were allowed regardless of how they were produced. The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act that took effect in 2016 eliminated that loophole.
But goods made with forced labor can still make it into the U.S. In 2015, an Associated Press investigation found that slave labor was used in the fishing industry in Southeast Asia. The seafood they caught made its way to supermarkets and pet food providers across the U.S.
An investigation by The Associated Press in 2020 into the $65 billion palm oil industry found labor abuses among an invisible workforce consisting of millions of men, women and children in Asia. The fruit they harvested made its way into the supply chains of major companies, including Unilever, L’Oreal, Nestle and Procter & Gamble.
Calls for a more comprehensive approach to combat forced labor
During hearings on the tariffs this month, National Retail Federation vice president Jonathan Gold, who was representing the business coalition the Joint Association Forced Labor Working Group at the hearing, said that in order for the import bans to work, they would have to be much more extensive.
Advertisement
He said there need to be “clear, measurable benchmarks” tied to tariffs for countries to hit, and that the U.S. should help countries build enforcement programs.
Kenya Davis, a partner at the Boies Schiller Flexner law firm, said an effective ban needs a “comprehensive approach” that provides transparency about what the investigations consisted of, along with programs that provide countries aid in enforcing bans.
MOSCOW (AP) — A U.S.-Russian space crew landed safely in the steppes of Kazakhstan on Sunday after an eight-month stint on the International Space Station.
NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Russian crewmates Sergei Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev touched down in their Soyuz MS-28 that landed smoothly by parachute in a designated area southeast of Dzhezkazgan.
Their 241-day stint on the orbiting outpost was the first space mission for Williams and Mikaev and the second for Kud‑Sverchkov.
The crew will be flown by helicopter to Karaganda, where Williams will board a plane to return to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, while Kud‑Sverchkov and Mikaev will take a flight to their training base in Star City, just outside Moscow.
Advertisement
Once bitter rivals in the space race during the Cold War, Russia and the U.S. cooperate on the space station and other projects. That relationship was marred by tensions after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, but Washington and Moscow have continued to work together, with U.S. and Russian crews flying to the orbiting outpost on each country’s spacecraft.
On July 14, the crew of NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina arrived at the International Space Station for an eight-month mission after launching from the Russia-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on July 14.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman attended the launch, the first visit to Baikonur by a NASA chief in eight years.
The newly arrived trio have joined NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrei Fedyaev as part of Expedition 75.
Simon Jordan airs Anthony Joshua conspiracy theory after boxer knocked out rival despite hitting the canvas TWICE to set up money-spinning Tyson Fury fight: ‘Something not quite right’
Simon Jordan has questioned the nature of Anthony Joshua‘s victory over Kristian Prenga as he recovered from two knockdowns to set up a lucrative showdown with Tyson Fury.
Joshua, who had been returning to the ring after seven months of inactivity, appeared on the brink of defeat in the opening round against Prenga.
The Albanian heavyweight knocked Joshua down just 20 seconds into the contest with an uppercut.
Joshua then survived another knockdown later in the round, with fans fearing the long-awaited showdown with Fury was at risk.
Advertisement
The second round proved dramatically different as Joshua unleashed a series of heavy blows to force Prenga towards the ropes, before delivering a knockout blow.
Joshua’s stunning turnaround, coupled with Fury’s victory over Mariusz Wach just 24 hours earlier, cleared the path for the two British heavyweights to finally meet in one of the most lucrative fights in boxing.
Anthony Joshua survived two knock downs in the first round against Kristian Prenga
Advertisement
Joshua responded in the second by delivering a second round knockout of the Albanian
Simon Jordan questioned the nature of Joshua’s victory given the difference between the two rounds
talkSPORT presenter Simon Jordan controversially questioned the dramatic difference in the rounds between Joshua and Prenga.
Jordan declared ‘something not quite right’ as he appeared to reference the sums on offer for Joshua’s fight with Fury.
Advertisement
‘Not having that… #anthonyjoshua fight,’ Jordan posted.
‘Dropped twice and sets the tempo, how’s that ? … Prenga totally different in 2nd
‘Something not quite right, all designed to rinse maximum amount of money…’
Punch stats for the fight revealed the stunning difference between the two rounds, with Joshua landing just five of his 22 attempted punches in the first, while Prenga connected with 15 of his 32.
Advertisement
The second round swung with Joshua landing with 13 of his 46 punches, as Prenga dramatically dropped off by landing three of 17 attempted.
Despite Jordan’s comments on social media, Joshua insisted that ‘champions rise’ in a post-fight interview after coming through the test.
Prenga had stunned Joshua in the opening round and landed 13 of his 32 attempted punches
He landed just three of 17 punches in the second round as Joshua became the aggressor
Advertisement
Prenga was sent to the canvas by a brutal blow from Joshua, who later declared ‘champions rise’ when asked about the dramatic turnaround
‘He [Prenga] gave me a good test but this is what champions do, we rise,’ Joshua said.
‘We get knocked down and stand up. That is life, that is life’s motto.
‘I want to give a massive thank you to Prenga and his team for putting up a good fight. It means a lot to them and it means a lot to me and that is why you see what you see in the ring.
Advertisement
‘I want to give thanks to God. It was more than me in that situation, it can’t just be me in them type of situations. There is a higher power that is calling.
‘He’s a strong guy and I think Eddie [Hearn] wants to sign him now! He is going to do well and he has a bright future.
‘Maybe with a bit more experience, he [Prenga] will be up there with the rest of us. He is strong and durable.’
Looking ahead to the showdown with Fury, with contracts having already been signed, Joshua said in the ring: ‘Have we got Tyson Fury in the room? Is he here or not?
Advertisement
‘I am the meanest, most vicious champion. Nobody can stop me. He is no Oleksandr [Usyk].
‘All jokes aside, there are two sides. One is the fighter and the other is respect. I respect everything he has done and everything that he has achieved, but as a fighting person, we’re here now.
‘I hope the fans will be in for a lovely treat.’
Joshua had paid tribute to his two close friends, who were killed in a car crash in December.
Advertisement
Joshua will finally face Tyson Fury in a money-spinning contest with his rival having beaten Mariussz Wach a day earlier
Joshua paid tribute to his close friends Sina Ghami and Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele, who died in a car crash in December
Sina Ghami and Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele died while the car they were travelling in struck a truck on a road near Lagos in December. The pair were on holiday with Joshua after he beat Jake Paul in Miami.
Fighting in honour of Ghami and Ayodele, Joshua paid tribute to his friends by having their names printed on his military camouflage trunks.
He also walked to the ring wearing a military-style jacket to match his camo shorts. The jacket featured a medal bar displaying the IBF, IBO, WBA, and WBO titles – which he previously held – alongside pennants bearing Ghami and Ayodele’s names.
Meanwhile, ‘Latz x Sina, My Brother’s Keeper, MBK’ was printed on the canvas in his corner.
Asked about how he has been coping after beating Prenga, Joshua said: ‘It’s been tough,’ before becoming emotional. ‘That’s my brothers. I don’t want to talk about that.’
Advertisement
Speaking on DAZN, Matchroom Boxing chief Eddie Hearn admitted he feared the heavyweight had returned to the ring too soon after witnessing his struggles in the opening round.
‘Nobody can imagine what he’s been through in that last seven months. In that first round, I thought we’d come back too soon,’ Hearn said.
‘Boxing got him through. To even be in the ring tonight is astonishing. You don’t know what he’s been through. He had to go to the depths one more time to get up, like he has done the last seven months.’
In February, Joshua memorialised Ghami and Ayodele by having their names tattooed on his arm.
Photographers were spoiled for choice as Whitby’s streets and the pavilion filled with corsets, goggles and top hats, with many of the most eye-catching outfits captured on camera by The Press Camera Club’s talented members Garry Hornby and Simon McCabe throughout the weekend.
We’ve created this gallery of Whitby Steampunk Weekend 2026: 31 photos of amazing outfits to showcase all the fabulous photos – and to give the participants the audience their outfits deserve!
The three-day event, held at Whitby Pavilion from Friday, July 24 to today, Sunday, July 26, is widely regarded as one of the largest free steampunk gatherings in the UK, attracting crowds from across the country.
Whitby Steampunk Weekend 2026. (Image: Simon McCabe Photography)
Organisers said the family-friendly festival, first launched in 2017, once again transformed the seaside venue into a hub of “fanciful extravagance”, with around 70 traders offering clothing, accessories, and handmade curiosities.
Whitby Steampunk Weekend 2026. (Image: Simon McCabe Photography)
Alongside the retail emporium, visitors are being treated to a packed programme of talks, workshops, and live entertainment.
Highlights have included presentations on Whitby’s ghosts and legends, Vikings and vampires, Viking mythology, the town’s links to Bram Stoker, and the history of Victorian funeral customs.
Advertisement
Whitby Steampunk Weekend 2026. (Image: Simon McCabe Photography)
Experts and guest speakers have included author and parapsychologist Paul Fitz-George, funeral director Emma Sparre-Newman covering how and why Victorian social conditions gave rise to the modern day funeral director and shaped so many funeral customs, and curators from Whitby Museum showcasing unusual artefacts from their collections.
Entertainment extended beyond the pavilion over the weekend, with performances from Ravens Morris from East Yorkshire, and sea shanty group Whitby Tillermen Friends drawing crowds outdoors.
Whitby Steampunk Weekend 2026. (Image: Simon McCabe Photography)
Evening events included a charity quiz and a tribute concert at the Whitby Pavilion Theatre featuring the Duran Duran Experience and Ant Trouble – Adam & The Ants Tribute.
Organiser Andy from WSW Events encouraged visitors to attend, saying: “Don’t wait for all the pictures to appear on social media and wish you’d come—make the effort and enjoy a day to remember.”
Advertisement
The event, which offers free daytime entry, is held every February and July.
Were you in Whitby for the Steampunk Weekend? Share your photos in the comments below – or join The Press Camera Club here.
Ruby Rae’s Country Bar is to open its doors on Thursday. August 6 in the former Jalou nightclub on Bridge Street.
Dean Saunders, co- founder of the Newcastle-based company, says he has ‘loved’ York for years.
He told the Press: “I have been coming down to York for years. I used toi come when the church contained Jalou. When I knew the building was available, an opening in York was a no brainer.”
RECOMMENDED READING:
Advertisement
Dan Cooke, Twinnie-Lee Moore and Dean Saunders open up the former Jalou. (Image: Jake Usman)
Dean says he has been working on developing the York site since February, which will be inspired by the world-famous Ryman stage in Nashville.
Clive Johnson Horsemanship and the team. (Image: Jake Usman)
Dean continued: “A lot of people who come to our Newcastle venue, they say they love the atmosphere. It’s a predominately female crowd, a about 65 per cent. People love the idea of dancing and dressing up. They might not initially be into country music but they might get converted.”
Advertisement
In the renovations of the former church, all the floors have been changed. Much LVT flooring has been used, which Dean says is great for line dancing.
Ruby Rae singers Ashleigh Bell and Harriet (Image: Jake Usman)
He said: “We have sanded some of the original flooring. We have removed the lighting to reveal a lot of the original features of the church. We have taken off the curtains to expose the brickwork. We have changed the bar to make it look more like Nashville.
“It’s all about the music. We are making the stage the main feature. It will have a deejay booth. Behind is a Ruby Rae’s York sign that will be epic.”
Furthermore, to add character will be plates reflecting the region, ‘dollar walls’, flags, lots of vinyls and ‘lots of neon signs everywhere.’
Advertisement
Singer Ashleigh Bell (Image: Jake Usman)
“It will be very Nashville,” Dean explained, adding lots of seats will be added.
“We want it to be somewhere where people can come in for hours and chill out. We have tried to expose as many of the original features of the church as it is such an epic building.”
Singe Ste Wilson (Image: Jake Usman)
And whilst the work has been underway, Ruby Rae received a boost with a visit from York-born country and western performer Twinnie-Lee Moore. The 39 year-old has appeared on the stage, as well as soaps including Hollyoaks and more recently Emmerdale as boxing promoter Jade.
Though based in Nashville, she regularly visits home and showed her support for Ruby Rae’s by turning up on a horse and with Ruby Rae singers Ashley Bell and Harriet.
Advertisement
Dean added that Twinnie-Lee will perform at Ruby Rae’s York one day.
What do you think of Country and Western music? Will you be going to Ruby Rae’s York?
A heatwave lasting four months, followed by water shortages and crop failures. This is England in the 13th century, not the 21st.
What is often called the Medieval warm period saw elevated temperatures in many parts of the world between the 10th and 13th centuries.
These warmer temperatures were caused in part by an increase in solar irradiance. This is the amount of solar energy reaching Earth, which effects global temperature patterns and influences weather systems. There were also very few volcanic eruptions in this period, which can produce a temporary global cooling effect.
Contemporary medieval chroniclers recorded a severe drought in 1252. The English Benedictine monk Matthew Paris described four months of “intolerable heat and drought” between March and July, unrelieved by “any fall of rain or dew”.
The Tewkesbury Annals, a contemporary chronicle written by the monks of Tewkesbury Abbey, agreed that “drought prevailed for four months, causing the grass to disappear”. Rubbing the grass between one’s hands was said to turn it into dust.
The Chronicle of the Princes of Wales (Brut y Tywysogion), a medieval record of Welsh history, similarly noted that “the heat of the sun was so great that all the earth became so dry therefrom, that no fruit grew on the trees or [crops in] the fields, and neither fish of the sea nor of the river was obtained”.
Paris went on to describe the lack of available pasture, which led to cattle and livestock wasting away. The warmer weather produced an “abundance of fleas, flies and gnats”, and led to a surge in diseases, with reports of malaria – or the “sweats” and “ague” – in low-lying marshlands.
Manorial accounts confirm the difficulties facing farmers, with one Bishopric of Winchester manor recording that the ground was so hard they could not plough for six weeks.
Illustration of agricultural workers in a wheat field in the medieval period. Public Domain
The good and the bad
But it wasn’t just England and Wales that was experiencing unusual weather in this period.
Advertisement
Most of the northern hemisphere plus South America, China and Australasia recorded temperatures 0.3-1.0°C higher than those recorded for 1960-1990 – a period that includes the hot summer of 1976.
Conditions in the North Atlantic were so favourable that Norse people were able to cross oceans as the ice melted. They established settlements in Iceland and Greenland, and travelled as far as Vinland (Newfoundland).
South-east England was warm enough to support vineyards – 45 were recorded in the hands of Normans or great abbeys in the Domesday Book of 1086. Yet significantly cooler conditions prevailed in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
Warm water was pushed towards Asia, creating wetter conditions in Australasia, but limited rainfall in what we now refer to as the American west. And there were changes in the North Atlantic Oscillation (a weather system over the north Atlantic), which brought warmer and wetter conditions to parts of northern Europe.
Advertisement
There are many sources of evidence for reconstructing past climates. These range from ice cores (long cylindrical samples drilled from glaciers which reveal hundreds of thousands of years of climate history) to tree rings showing the annual growing conditions – and from documentary evidence to the archaeological record.
Although some of the precise chronologies and contours of this evidence are still debated, the overall trends in reconstructed climates are becoming increasingly clear.
Tree rings in the Royal Ontario Museum, Royal Ontario Museum, Public Domain., CC BY-NC
Not all regions experienced warmer temperatures during this period, however. Many scholars prefer the label Medieval Climate Anomaly instead. This better reflects the fact that climatic changes varied across the globe, and involved more than just rising temperatures.
Although the warmer temperatures produced occasional drought conditions, the overall economic effects of the Medieval Climate Anomaly were largely positive for northern Europe and parts of Asia. It led to large-scale and widespread agricultural expansion and population growth.
Between 600-900, the population of Eurasia only marginally grew from 167 million to 178 million. Between 900-1200, however, it nearly doubled to 324 million.
Advertisement
It was during the Medieval Climate Anomaly that a highly commercialised and monetised economy developed in large parts of medieval Europe, in what historians have described as its commercial revolution.
A Yale University-owned map (believed to be a copy) of the area known as Vinland by the Vikings – now Newfoundland in Canada. Public Domain
Yet, the period had far more serious negative consequences elsewhere. The warm storms led to drought conditions in the southern US and parts of South and Central America. This initiated the outbreak of exceptionally large wildfires in the Rocky Mountains. Severe droughts, exacerbated by extensive deforestation and ecological degradation, were a contributing factor in the decline of the classic Maya civilisation (250-900).
The Medieval Climate Anomaly period was brought to an end by climatic instability in the second half of the 13th century – including a volcanic eruption in 1257 that led to global dust clouds and crop failures. These resulted in mass starvation in medieval London.
The early 14th century saw a shift in weather conditions, with exceptionally heavy rain and cool temperatures preventing crops from maturing. This culminated in the Great Famine of 1315-17, which killed around 10% of the European population.
Advertisement
Other significant historic events of the period were also linked to unusual weather and atmospheric conditions. For instance, the Black Death of 1347-53, which killed between a third and two-thirds of the European population, was brought into Europe on grain shipments imported to alleviate famine caused by another volcanic eruption, around 1345.
Around 45 vineyards were recorded in England during this medieval period, because of the warmer weather. Public domain
Any parallels with today?
The Medieval Climate Anomaly was a largely regional episode of natural warmth. Today’s climate change is a rapid worldwide warming trend driven primarily by human greenhouse gas emissions.
Moreover, temperatures are rising today at unprecedented rates. Records continue to tumble, as weather that was once considered extreme is becoming normal.
There are, however, some salutary warnings from the past. As climates change, so too will the risk of diseases spreading and the possibility of weather extremes. With increasing temperatures, it is possible, for example, that malaria may once again become endemic in the UK.
As the medieval period has demonstrated, fire spread can be another acute risk in long periods of dry weather. But unlike the medieval period, we now have the technology to help us prepare, as well as national fire services and more ways to share information quickly. That gives us an advantage that medieval communities just did not have.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login