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Aberdeen 'finding it increasingly difficult' to keep youngsters

Aberdeen 'finding it increasingly difficult' to keep youngsters

BBC News3 days ago

Aberdeen say they are "finding it increasingly difficult" to hold on to young talent after confirming teenage defender Timothy Akindileni has left to join Queens Park Rangers for an undisclosed fee.The Pittodrie side say they made "prolonged attempts to persuade" the 17-year-old to stay, but the youngster has opted to join QPR's development squad.The centre-back impressed in the Dons youth set-up but never played a first-team game for the club."We are, of course, disappointed to be losing Timi as we had high hopes for him," said Aberdeen director of football Steven Gunn."We made numerous attempts to convince him to stay with Aberdeen, but similar to the issues faced by so many Scottish clubs in recent years, we are finding it increasingly difficult to hold on to our young players."Gunn adds that Aberdeen have "negotiated a significant deal" that will provide "future protection" if Akindileni develops "into the player we hoped he could be".

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Chatteris Museum closes for a day due to a lack of volunteers
Chatteris Museum closes for a day due to a lack of volunteers

BBC News

time14 minutes ago

  • BBC News

Chatteris Museum closes for a day due to a lack of volunteers

A town's museum has had to close temporarily due to a lack of Museum in Cambridgeshire, which is usually open for three days a week, is desperate to attract more volunteers – particularly those who can work front of museum has 23 volunteers, but not all of them want to work as "meet and greeters".The situation meant it was unable to open on Friday last week. Andrew Spooner, part of the museum's management team, said that without more volunteers, its future could be in Spooner's wife Sue, 68, who is also part of the management team, said: "Last week was a unique situation for us in that we didn't have any volunteers to open the museum to the public in the role we call 'front of house', where they meet and greet visitors."I think it is difficult for people [to volunteer], particularly on Friday mornings and Saturday afternoons, with [their] other commitments."Mrs Spooner said volunteers needed to give the museum only two or three hours a youngest volunteer is 16 and the oldest is in their mid-80s. Mr Spooner, 70, said: "One thing that is talked about a lot today is mental wellness, anxiety, loneliness and isolation. Volunteering at the museum gives people a chance to meet and engage with others."It is a chance to do something worthwhile [and] give something back to the community... You don't need to be an expert on local history – you just need to able to engage with visitors and be enthusiastic."He added that the museum was "an important pivot for the community, not just for looking back into the past but [for] looking to the future as the town grows". Visitors to the museum can see a wealth of unusual objects, including mobile stocks from 1774 and an early "boneshaker" exhibits illustrate traditional aspects of Fenland life and the waterways, the railway boom and the wealth of a prosperous 19th Century market museum is open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

Country diary: A stonefly in the sun – this is a sign of clean water
Country diary: A stonefly in the sun – this is a sign of clean water

The Guardian

time21 minutes ago

  • The Guardian

Country diary: A stonefly in the sun – this is a sign of clean water

A brilliant, golden-green day by the River Horner, sunlight flaring between alder leaves, fast-flowing water sliding through a series of clear, shallow pools. Minnows (Phoxinus phoxinus) are leaping for mayflies, their sides mirror-flashing as they fall back into the river with a soft, confidential plop. There are five or six of them working a sunny patch near the bank where tree roots clutch the riverbed. White bellies below a dark-olive stripe show them to be females; the males' undersides turn rosy in summer. Some have plain, stone-coloured backs, but others are flecked and mottled, imitating the gravel below. Their restless grace is interrupted by a blundering insect, crash-landing on a twig in the middle of the stream. It's a stonefly the size of a pencil stub, long wings folded cloak-wise against its elongated body. It makes agitated attempts to reach the bank. Having spent its larval stage underwater crawling among rocks and crannies, it doesn't seem to understand why it can no longer move through water with ease. After much fussing, it launches into a desperate, flailing swim to a bankside tree stump, where it grips moss and runs upwards to bask in the sun, before flying off in a clumsy blur of bark-coloured wings, only to plummet and disappear into the cracked earth. There are 34 species of stonefly in the UK, found in and around upland streams. They can be difficult to distinguish, but this one had dingy orange patches at the back of the head and top of the wings, indicating that it was probably a common medium stonefly (Diura bicaudata). Widespread in rivers, stonefly nymphs are particularly sensitive to pollution, especially organic pollution from agricultural runoff. They are one of the first species to disappear if oxygen levels drop, and their presence is a gauge of water quality. It's heartening to see the species here, just above where the river meets the sea, but the Horner is a short river, as is the Aller, which joins it at Bossington. It's no coincidence that the Aller is part of an ambitious habitat restoration project that includes reintroducing beavers and water voles. Under the Changing Skies: The Best of the Guardian's Country Diary, 2018-2024 is published by Guardian Faber; order at and get a 15% discount

Woodbridge businesses claim road closure signs are 'misleading'
Woodbridge businesses claim road closure signs are 'misleading'

BBC News

time24 minutes ago

  • BBC News

Woodbridge businesses claim road closure signs are 'misleading'

Business owners have claimed shoppers wrongly believe a "whole town is closed" due to road closure signs following a burst water main. Anglian Water started repairing the main on Station Road and Quay Side, in Woodbridge, Suffolk, on Sunday with work expected to conclude by a result, a small stretch of road in the town centre has been shut off, but signs alerting motorists to the closure have been put up as far away as the Melton and the even on the A12."It has definitely had an effect on the town and I would say I've seen up to a 50% decline in footfall," said Matthew Aldridge, who owns Silver Sun Jewellery. "It just seems like no intelligence has been used for where to place these signs and someone has just slapped them anywhere and everywhere."People think they can't get into the town and so they go elsewhere – it's not great at all." 'Confusing' Claire Flatt, general manager of Two Magpies Bakery, said while the road closure does add extra time to people's journeys, the "confusing signage" was the main problem."We are very quiet which we believe is to do with the fact that the road closure signs are so far away from where the road is actually closed," she told the BBC."The signage comes far too early when you are driving into Woodbridge and so people are thinking it[the town] is closed and they can't get in."We should be really busy but I have eight to nine tables free - we'd normally be very full." Other shop owners have claimed the road signs are also putting taxi drivers and bus drivers coming into Woodbridge out of fear they might get stuck. But Paul Newberry, who has owned the Fish Box for 20 years, said "all roadworks are a pain" but were "something you have to live with"."It does have an impact on everyone and you might lose a bit of passing trade but your diehards will make the extra effort to sit in traffic to get to you," he said."We have a lot to offer in Woodbridge and that does attract people but let's hope it is sorted pretty quick and we can get back to full capacity."Anglian Water has been approached for a comment. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

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