
Temporary route announced for Jersey's Battle of Flowers
They added: "We are a new team, brimming with enthusiasm for the future of the Battle of Flowers."This August is about celebrating our incredible community and the enduring spirit of this unique festival and keeping it alive. "We're focused firmly on the road ahead - revitalising the event, ensuring its sustainability, and creating even more magical moments for Jersey and our visitors. "Subject to final Bailiffs permission we invite everyone to join us for these two special one off free parades as we embark on this exciting new journey together."
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BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
'Why I celebrate the true meaning of carnival'
"Take care of those hats, they were expensive," says Joanne Alexander as she hands out costumes to her 115-strong dance mostly made up of children, is preparing to perform at Leicester's Caribbean Carnival, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year on year's event was called off with just weeks to go, with organisers citing significant financial risk and poor weather as factors behind the says the carnival, which she attended for the first time when she was eight, is "very important" to her. "It's just celebrating emancipation, freedom and celebrating the true meaning of what carnival is as black heritage people," the 47-year-old explains. The carnival has a different theme each year and this weekend's event will celebrate the "shared origins, experiences, struggles and triumphs of black communities in Leicester".As part of this, Joanne's troupe's performance will focus on the Jab Jab, a traditional and satirical form of masquerade that originated in Grenada."The back story of that is the slave masters would call black people 'devils' and basically the slaves were ridiculing them, which is why they dress up with horns and chains in black," says Joanne."They're taking the mick out of their slave masters."According to the Grenada National Trust, the tradition sometimes involves carrying chains or shackles and, at one point, even carrying serpents to make themselves look fierce, a practice that has now been banned on the Joanne, who also runs a dance and drama group called Can't Blame the Youth, taking part in the carnival is about more than just says: "We sit down and I tell them the whole back story of why we're doing carnival." The first carnival was held in 1985 and, although it is a landmark anniversary year, it has been cancelled on a handful of occasions, including during the Munroe, who is on the carnival committee and helping to organise this year's event, says the carnival was founded by Elvie Morton, who had the idea of "bringing us all together and to show that we are a community that just wants to have fun" after riots in Brixton riots took place at a time when racial tensions meant that many of Britain's inner cities were of police brutality against a black man resulted in angry crowds confronting officers for a few hours before the disturbances were an arrest the following night sparked off the rioting in earnest, first in London but then spreading to many other cities across the says: "So much was happening with police brutality and racism - and racism has risen too much in the last few years."We are so divided at the moment and I think carnival has a huge part to play in reducing that division and bringing us all together." This year's carnival will get under way with a "vibrant" opening ceremony featuring music, food stalls and children's activities at the African Caribbean Centre on Maidstone Road, where it started four decades ago, at 10:00 will gather there before a procession moves the celebrations to Victoria Park, where the main event will take parade will follow a new route designed to "increase visibility and community engagement".Setting off from the African Caribbean Centre, it will cross Swain Street Bridge and pass through the city centre before arriving at Victoria main stage line-up features a mix of DJs, dancers, live bands and other performers, with entertainment set to take place between 12:00 and 19: the opening ceremony and parade are free to attend and take part in, but the event at Victoria Park will be ticketed as it has been since Leicester City Council reduced its annual funding for the event from £100,000 to £60,000 in 2014. According to Tara, the carnival was once "one of the biggest in Europe" and she hopes it can return to its former glory."This year has been a massive learning curve, we've had a lot to overcome and to understand about how things work," she says."God willing, I will still be there next year and, moving forward, it needs to be as soon as carnival is done, give it a month and we're working towards the next one."I'm on the old team now. We need to bring these young people in and see how they want to make it move forward."


Daily Mail
7 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Why I forgave the fraudster who scammed me out of £300 for fake festival tickets - after finding her by accident on TikTok
A music fan who was scammed out of £300 for fake concert tickets says she has forgiven the fraudster who conned her – after finding her by accident while browsing videos on TikTok. Bristolian music lover Laura was tricked into buying fake V Festival by one–time serial con artist Jodie Gayet, handing over £300 for two tickets worth £200 each in a deal that was too good to be true. But in an incredible stroke of fortune, she found Ms Gayet 10 years later while browsing TikTok, and reached out to say she had forgiven her after learning that the fraudster had been battling a gambling addiction. The pair met 'face–to–face' for the first time in a video call with MailOnline this week following their chance encounter via social media. Ms Gayet, from Lowestoft, tearfully admitted she had not expected forgiveness after conning Laura and others out of a total of £10,000 for non–existent tickets, for which she was given six months in prison. 'Forgiveness is not something that you ever expect to get when you did the terrible thing I did,' she said. 'I did some bad stuff, but I'm not a bad person.' For Laura, who asked us to use her first name only, it was cathartic to be able to forgive the woman who had stolen from her. She said: 'I felt really stupid and disappointed in myself back then, which passed, but to hear her story now you realise people do make mistakes.' Jodie says she turned to crime to feed a gambling addiction that began when she had a termination at 18, playing online bingo before winning a £33,000 slots jackpot. She spent £8,000 of her winnings and lost the rest chasing her next big win, which never came – so she took out loans to keep playing and cover up the loss. Working at the Chelsea Building Society in Norwich, she then pilfered the bank account of an 89–year–old man with Alzheimer's and his 95–year–old wife, believing they would not notice the money was gone. In all, she stole £19,000 from them. 'I never thought what I was doing was wrong. I wasn't stealing – I was just borrowing this money because I was going to win it back and I would pay it back, and they would never know,' she said. It wasn't long before the theft was discovered and she was sentenced to six weeks' jail time in 2011 at 21, heavily pregnant. She gave birth four days after being freed. But without proper support or counselling for her addiction she found herself craving the next big win again, setting up an account on classified ads site Gumtree with a plan to fund her gambling. She messaged someone selling real V Festival 2014 tickets – which featured the likes of the Killers and Lily Allen on its line–up – and asked for their order confirmation as proof, modifying it to add her name and an old address. Her fake ticket listing, complete with a convincing confirmation, was priced below face value to draw in victims – which is how she and Laura came to cross paths as the music fan hunted out tickets as a gift for a friend. Laura recalled: 'I think it had sold out on the official site and I was looking at eBay, Gumtree... and that's where I saw Jodie's listing.' The confirmation gave the listing an air of legitimacy, she admits. Laura also said she had been taken in by how 'engaged' Jodie was in selling the tickets – which were to be sent by post, long before the advent of the e–ticket. But after sending the cash, Laura was fobbed off with excuses that the tickets had been lost in the post. It then dawned on her that she had been scammed. 'As the event got closer the dialogue changed – her story was changing and changing and it was then that I felt a bit dim,' she admits. Half of Brits see social media as a safe place to buy tickets despite scams More than half of Brits still see social media as a 'safe space' to buy gig tickets despite the fact they offer no protection from fraudsters. A survey conducted by Get Safe Online, a UK online safety resource, found that 17 per cent of people had a negative experience buying tickets through 'unprotected' platforms. But around 54 per cent still see them as a reasonable place to buy tickets. Around 90 per cent of recent Oasis scams unfolded on social media, with fans losing an average of £346 each, according to Lloyds Bank. GSO recommends using reseller sites such as Viagogo, which is listed as a commercial partner on its website, to combat fraud. Its CEO, Tony Neate, says fans need 'safe alternatives' to social media. 'I had to phone my mum and tell her I had been scammed and I had to repurchase the tickets. But Jodie's story had been so believable.' Laura reported the scam to Action Fraud – and once again, the law caught up with Jodie, who it emerged had conned others out of £6,000 with the same trick. She was given a 12 month prison sentence, suspended for two years – but returned to court after pulling the same stunt again a year later in 2015, depriving would–be festival–goers out of another £4,000. It guaranteed her a six–month jail term, with a judge describing her as having a 'nasty dishonest streak', the Eastern Daily Press reported. Her father and brother paid victims back, the court had been told. Jodie served 12 weeks behind bars, serving the rest of her sentence on an electronic tag. It was the wake–up call she had been needing. She now admits: 'I was acting as a very selfish person. I knew what I was doing was wrong and, I'll be honest, I really didn't care what I did to get the money. 'The world could have been on fire and I wouldn't have noticed. Again, I told myself I was just borrowing this money from these people because I would win it back.' Almost a decade on, Jodie now works with anti–fraud body We Fight Fraud to help people spot potential scams, with her own story showing how easy it is to deceive people into handing over money. Among her hot tips are to avoid buying tickets on social media and not to bank transfer - instead buying from primary ticket vendors directly or from secondary resellers that have a guarantee of a refund if the ticket either doesn't arrive or isn't valid for entry. These scams have reared their heads amid the Oasis reunion tour – with mad fer it fans losing a reported £346 each buying fake tickets, according to Lloyds Bank. She shares her experiences of gambling addiction, recovery and imprisonment with 50,000 followers on TikTok – and it's there that fate saw fit to bring she and Laura together again 10 years on. Laura said: 'I was just scrolling through and she appeared on my feed telling her story of the fraud. I thought it sounded familiar... then realised that she was the person who had scammed me. The algorithm got me!' She sent Jodie a message explaining who she was, and the pair reconnected. Jodie even made reparations with a donation to the anti–knife crime charity Mikey's World, founded after teen Mikey Roynon was stabbed to death in 2023. The charity is very close to Laura's heart. And earlier this week, they spoke 'face–to–face' via a video call for the first time, joined by a MailOnline reporter. Laura said sagely: 'People make mistakes, don't they? If we were all crucified for every mistake we make there wouldn't be many of us around, would there? 'Yes, absolutely, I forgive her. It was a long time ago, and what Jodie is doing now, the fact she's working with We Fight Fraud, makes it so easy to forgive her. She only buys festival tickets from official vendors now. 'If something seems too good to be true it probably is,' she concluded. Jodie, who is now a mother to three, has also written a book, Me, Myself and My Addiction, recounting her experiences of gambling addiction and turning to crime. She hopes her story will inspire others to use their own bad experiences to do good in the world. Her voice breaking, she summed up: 'It gives a person hope that you can move on from the past and do good. 'I'm devastated by what I did, even now. I never meant to hurt Laura or any of my victims. 'But it is amazing to have her here and I'm grateful she's in my corner.'


The Review Geek
16 hours ago
- The Review Geek
With You and The Rain – Season 1 Episode 4 Recap & Review
Summer Festival Episode 4 of With You and The Rain begins with Fuji's father bringing home matching (and tacky) T-shirts for Fuji and You. But no matter how much he pleads, neither You nor Fuji is interested in wearing them. Fuji ultimately has her way by threatening to tell her mother about his secret smoking habit. The scene shifts to Fuji arriving home to a waiting You on a rainy day. The two quietly enjoy a peaceful bath together. As thunder strikes, she comforts a frightened You and reminisces about being a quiet child growing up. The next day, her parents ask if she wants to join them for fireworks. Even though it goes against You's wishes, Fuji asks Kii-chan and her fierce dog if they would like to come along to the summer festival with them. On the day of the festival, You is relieved to find that Kii-chan's dog won't be joining them, while also trying to escape Fuji's father, who attempts to dress You like himself. 'It's tacky!' says You, holding up a cue card to the devastated old man. Fuji, Kii-chan, and her family enjoy the festival and all the treats it brings, with You having a blast. Fuji stays back with You while the others head off to find their spot for the fireworks. But just as she's buying a treat for You, he suddenly disappears. Fuji frantically searches for him as the fireworks begin. Eventually, she finds him along the shrine path and follows him into the shrine, only to realise that he'd brought her to the best hidden spot to enjoy the fireworks. It's just the two of them there, soaking in the peace and beauty of the moment. The Episode Review In another adorable episode of With You and The Rain, we delve deeper into Fuji and You's connection. What's striking is how the narrative arc begins with You struggling to understand Fuji, yet ends with him intuitively guiding her to the perfect, quiet place for watching the fireworks. For a moment, it almost felt like the anime might veer into a mystical twist, with Fuji following the quietly vanishing You into a shrine but instead, it becomes a touching reveal of how well You has come to understand Fuji's peaceful nature and how she finds joy in beauty and silence. Though the anime doesn't have a central plot or high-stakes action, its episodic storytelling works beautifully. Each episode gently peels back layers of Fuji's personality and her growing bond with You, who brightens her world in the softest and most respectful way possible. The small moments of comic relief, like the tacky T-shirt gag, add charm without disrupting the serenity the show is built on. With You and The Rain continues to deliver exactly what it promises: comfort, connection, and quiet companionship and it's absolutely working! Previous Episode Next Episode Expect A Full Season Write-Up When This Season Concludes!