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Celtic festival 'celebrates music, song and dance' on Isle of Man

Celtic festival 'celebrates music, song and dance' on Isle of Man

BBC News7 days ago
An annual festival bringing the Celtic nations together on Manx shores for a week to celebrate traditional music, song and dance will get under way later.Yn Chruinnaght, which means The Gathering in Manx Gaelic, will see artists from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and Cornwall joined by local players for a series of events.Dating back to 1977, organisers said the annual event remained true to its original aims of "promoting and celebrating the traditional culture of the Isle of Man in an appropriate way, amongst friends".Among the artists performing are Cornish folk quartet The Brim Ceilidh Band, eight members of young Welsh ensemble Avans and renowned Scottish folk band Rura.
The week-long celebration will also see a special concert with harpist Rachel Hair and acoustic guitarist Ron Jappy performing The Deer's Cry, a piece written to celebrate the work of artist and designer Archibald Knox.As well as formal concerts, the festival will include busking, traditional music sessions, displays, crafts and workshops, and food and folk sessions themed to highlight the Celtic nations.
Monday
11:30 YC House Band busking outside Marks & Spencer, Douglas13:00 Scottish Food and Folk session at Noa Bakehouse, Douglas19:30 Rura concert, with support from Tree ny Kiare, at the Centenary Centre, Peel20:00 Festival Friends traditional music session at the George Hotel, Castletown21:30 Festival Friends late night session at the Whitehouse Pub, Peel
Tuesday
11:00 Pop-up Gaeltaght (Manx conversation) at the House of Manannan, Peel13:00 Manx Food and Folk session at Noa Bakehouse, Douglas19:30 Song Night at the Masonic Hall, Peel
Wednesday
12:00 Displays and Workshops at the House of Manannan, Peel13:00 Cornish Food and Folk session at Noa Bakehouse, Douglas19:00 Conference of the Gaels: Manx/Irish panel discussion hosted by Raidió Fáilte at the Centenary Centre, Peel19:30 Celtic Myths & Legends Celi at the Masonic Hall, Peel19:30 Summer Concert with Yn Chruinnaght collaboration at the Sailor's Shelter, Peel20:30 Festival Friends traditional music session at O'Donnell's Pub, Douglas
Thursday
11:00 Pop-up Gaeltaght (Manx conversation) at House of Manannan, Peel13:00 Welsh Food and Folk session at Noa Bakehouse, Douglas17:00 Annual Ian O'Leary Lecture ("Ná habair é, déan é!" Don't say it! Do it! – an informal lecture on the development of Irish Gaelic in Belfast by members of Radió Fáilte) at the Atholl Room, Centenary Centre, Peel17:30 Celtic Myths & Legends Concert at the Centenary Centre, Peel21:30 Festival Friends late night session at the Whitehouse Pub, Peel
Friday
10:00 Archibald Knox themed Mini Musicians workshop with Mannin Music at the Manx Museum, Douglas12:00 Displays at the House of Manannan, Peel13:00 Irish Food and Folk session at Noa Bakehouse, Douglas19:30 Mega Manx Ceili with music and dance for all the family at St German's Cathedral, Peel19:30 Rachael Hair & Ron Jappy Concert celebrating 160 years of Archibald Knox at the Royal Chapel, St John's
Saturday
11:00 Music, song, drama and dance displays at St German's Cathedral, Corrin Hall & Grounds, Peel14:00 Workshops and masterclasses at the Atholl Room, Centenary Centre, Peel17:00 Live music from local and visiting artists at Peel Sailing Club19:30 Calum Stewart Trio Concert with Sophie Stephenson and Smooinaght Mie at the Centenary Centre, Peel21:00 Festival Friends Late night session at the Whitehouse Pub, Peel
Sunday
13:00 Survivors' sessions and gigs to finish the week at the Black Dog Oven, Peel
Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
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Why I forgave the fraudster who scammed me out of £300 for fake festival tickets - after finding her by accident on TikTok
Why I forgave the fraudster who scammed me out of £300 for fake festival tickets - after finding her by accident on TikTok

Daily Mail​

time3 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. 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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. 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Grumpy Britain needs the Geldof treatment
Grumpy Britain needs the Geldof treatment

Times

time4 hours ago

  • Times

Grumpy Britain needs the Geldof treatment

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Cancelling Jewish comedians is capitulation
Cancelling Jewish comedians is capitulation

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Cancelling Jewish comedians is capitulation

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Warped, childish and moronic though much of it is, antisemitism is too ancient and toxic a rash to be allowed even a millimetre's spread. It is enraging that our government should be contemplating some probably ill-written and illiberal blasphemy law against 'Islamophobia' rather than spending its energy instructing public forces to give no quarter to routine insults against British Jews. One might even cynically point out one difference: extreme Islamist calls for sharia law are commonplace and shruggingly tolerated, while Judaism does not proselytise or demand public concessions but rather the opposite: traditionally resisting converts with care and questioning doubt. As the gentle rabbi Lord Sacks once said to me, 'Over centuries in many lands Jews have learnt to harmonise in a minor key', while the centuries-newer faith has yet to achieve that. It is right — inevitable — to care about the people of Gaza. Inevitable to wince and weep at the immense scale of torment and starvation of its people, near-unbearable to hear daily about innocents caught between Hamas ruthlessness and Binyamin Netanyahu's remorselessness. It is increasingly hard to look away, and reasonable to beg western governments forcibly to relieve the suffering at any cost. Right also to insist, as many Israeli citizens do and its candid friends have done in these pages, that Israel must bend to mercy and reconciliation. But it is not tolerable to convert your shock into cheap, enjoyable, hysterical hatred. No civilised democracy can delude itself that attacking Jews for Jewishness, or pigeon-heartedly discriminating, is forgivable. Or should go unpunished.

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