
Blackpool Pleasure Beach plans £8.7m spinning pendulum ride
"It will be a fantastic addition to our ride line-up and we can't wait to see people's reactions when they experience it for the first time" she said.Preparation work began earlier this year with the demolition of the former Bowl-A-Drome building.More details will be announced later, but it will be located in the north of the park close to the perimeter, "so riders will feel as though they are being swung over the sea", the Pleasure Beach said.
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Daily Mail
11 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Leonardo DiCaprio joins Martin Scorsese and George Lucas at Robert De Niro's 82nd birthday celebrations
Leonardo DiCaprio joined other A-list celebrities such as famed directors Martin Scorsese and George Lucas for Robert De Niro 's 82nd birthday celebrations over the weekend. The Oscar-winning actor, 50, was seen arriving to The Greenwich Hotel in NYC on Sunday alongside other star-studded guests. Robert officially turned one year older on August 17 - which he rung in with what appeared to be an intimate gathering with close friends and loved ones in the Big Apple. Leonardo - who previously worked alongside the star on Martin Scorsese's Killers Of The Flower Moon - kept a lowkey profile as he arrived to the venue in a pair of black trousers as well as a black jacket. The Titanic star additionally slipped into a pair of black sneakers and added a black cap on top of his head. He was also accompanied by his father George - who carried a wrapped gift in his hand - and stepmom Peggy. Leonardo's niece Normandie Farrar was also seen joining the group and was stylishly casual in a short-sleeved, white shirt as well as a pair of denim jeans. Both Leonardo and Normandie have been spotted spending time together - and late last year, the pair grabbed dinner with Robert as well as his 46-year-old baby mama Tiffany Chen. Martin was another guest to arrive to the hotel for the celebrations, and sported a white button up as well as a pair of black trousers. The filmmaker completed the ensemble by layering with a green suit jacket and slipped into a pair of brown leather shoes. Robert has collaborated with the director on a number of films over the years, including Taxi Driver (1976), Goodfellas (1990), Casino (1995) and The Irishman (2019). Back in 2023, Martin reflected on his friendship with the actor and how the pair came to working with each other. 'With Bob De Niro, it's a formative relationship. It goes back to when we were 16 years old,' the filmmaker told the Hindustan Times. 'But we'd lost track of each other. I didn't know he wanted to act and he didn't know I started directing.' However, they were introduced to each other once again when they worked on the 1973 crime drama Mean Streets. Leonardo was also accompanied by his father George - who carried a wrapped gift in his hand - as well as stepmom Peggy The Titanic actor's stepmother was seen stepping out of a vehicle upon arriving to the celebrations Martin completed his ensemble by layering with a green suit jacket and slipped into a pair of brown leather shoes Leonardo previously worked alongside Robert on Scorsese's 2023 movie Killers Of The Flower Moon (seen above) 'When we did Mean Streets, we were reintroduced to each other by Brian De Palma,' Martin recalled. 'By doing Mean Streets and Taxi Driver together, we found that we were drawn to the same subject matter, same psychological and emotion conflicts in people, in characters, and in ourselves. A certain trust was developed...' Another director, George Lucas, was also in attendance at the birthday celebrations - and is known for the beloved Star Wars films. While the pair have not collaborated on a movie project, Robert and George have still developed a close friendship. Last year in May, Robert was one of the many celebrity guests at George's 80th birthday party which had taken place at Skywalker Ranch in California. While arriving to The Greenwich Hotel on Sunday, the director was seen stepping out of a sleek SUV while donning a plaid shirt as well as a pair of black sweatpants. George also opted for a pair of comfy Nike sneakers as he made his way towards the main entrance. Robert's baby mama Tiffany was also briefly spotted, and showed off what appeared to be unique temporary tattoos on her right arm. One image appeared to be of both herself and the Godfather Part II actor. While the pair have not collaborated on a movie project, Robert and George have developed a close friendship Before the bash officially kicked off, an array of balloons were spotted outside of the hotel. During an interview for Who's Talking To Chris Wallace last year, Robert reflected on aging. When asked how he feels about getting older, the Hollywood actor simply replied with, 'I have no choice,' before adding, 'Embrace it. Embrace whatever you've been given.' The star is a dad to daughter Gia, two, whom he shares with Tiffany. He is also dad to six other children: Drena, 53, Raphael, 48, twins Julian and Airyn, 29, Elliot, 27, and Helen Grace, 13. Robert - who has 120 credits to his name over a 60 year period - also recently made a bold career decision on filmmaking. 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The Guardian
13 hours ago
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A Mass of Life review – magical and ecstatic Proms performance of Delius's magnum opus
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Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
The genius man haunted by the patients he couldn't save... CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews Confessions Of A Brain Surgeon
Confessions Of A Brain Surgeon (BBC2) What's the difference between a bus driver and a brain surgeon? None at all, it turns out, if Henry Marsh is typical. Henry is a retired neurosurgeon who spends much of his free time in Ukraine, a country he loves, helping out in the operating theatre at Lviv hospital. Sometimes, when the senior medic needs a tea break, he steps in for a spot of impromptu brain surgery. That's very like the driver of a horse-drawn Victorian omnibus who, legend has it, spent his days off riding buses driven by his mates... having a 'busman's holiday'. Henry was the subject of an idiosyncratic hour-long biography, Confessions Of A Brain Surgeon. There was no particular reason for the film — no news angle or 'peg', as journalists call it. He hasn't reached a landmark birthday, and he isn't receiving a knighthood, though he probably deserves one. It's simply that the film-makers, Harriet Bird and Charlie Russell, seemed fascinated by his personality and his achievements. He is certainly flamboyant, the sort of man who, when asked to say something for a sound check, recites a Shakespearean sonnet. Neurosurgery, he says, is 'bomb disposal work for cowards', because though snipping out a tumour is a high-risk procedure, brains don't explode. But he's also a depressive, shattered by a brush with his own mortality after a bout of prostate cancer — though thankfully he's currently in remission. And, aged 75, he is haunted by memories of the patients he could not save and brain ops that went wrong. He referred five times to his 'inner cemetery, a place full of bitterness and regrets... I look back and there's this overwhelming sense of failure'. As if to torment himself, he invited the cameras to join him as he sat down with Tina, the mother of a boy called Max who died after a brain operation went wrong, 29 years ago. Tina admitted she couldn't help blaming Henry, even hating him, because he'd been unable to save her son. 'We put all our faith in him,' she said. 'We were told he was the best in the world.' The grief in her voice was edged with anger. Little wonder that Henry is traumatised by the surgeries that did not succeed. Under the weight of such criticism, most people would have no self-confidence left at all. He's plainly fortunate to have a strong support network of family and friends around him, including his former anaesthetist Judith Dinsmore, who helped him to develop the revolutionary technique of 'awake craniotomy' — brain surgery on a conscious patient. How it is possible for a person to lie still and talk after the top of their skull has been sawn off, this documentary did not explain. Little was said either about why, though he and his second wife Kate are apparently happily married, he lives in London while she lives in Oxford. Perhaps that is the secret of their success.



