Chitty Chitty Bang Bang carousel comes to Guernsey
She added: "We can't wait to see the pier buzzing with families as we come together to celebrate this important milestone in Guernsey's history."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
11 hours ago
- Daily Mail
How did stars do in their A-Levels? As students celebrate and commiserate, a look at a qualification-free billionaire, the straight-A Harry Potter star and Jeremy Clarkson's annual boast
Pupils across the UK are celebrating an incredible year for A-level results - after scoring record top grades outside of the pandemic years. And while teens of today are boasting bumper grades, a slew of stars will no doubt feel reflective of the fruits of their labour many moons ago. Stars such as Emma Watson and Tinie Tempah have superb grades to their name, particuarly for the former who won a place at the Ivy League Brown University. For others however - megabucks and super stardom were not born of the marks on a paper as Richard Branson famously left school with 'no qualifications' yet still went on to become one of the UK's most iconic billionaires. No results day can go without Jeremy Clarkson, as the star has become renowned for his annual tweet in which he comforts students with the fact he received a C and two Us in and still has riches - this year boasting of his helicopter pad. Jeremy's tweet this year boasted of his helicopter pad Emma Watson Despite having to study for her exams while filming one of the biggest film series of all time, the Harry Potter star still managed to achieve excellent results. She shared that for her A-levels she got straight As in 2008 for English Literature, Geography and Art. The actress, best known for playing Hermione Granger, then went to study English Literature at the highly-acclaimed Brown University in America. Richard Branson One of the UK's most high profile billionaires, Sir Richard Branson, famously left school with 'no qualifications'. The Virgin founder and millionaire, who has dyslexia, dropped out of school aged 16 to start a magazine for students. On his last day of school, his headmaster allegedly told Richard he would either end up in prison or become a millionaire, according to the Telegraph. Richard often sends encouraging messages out to students via Twitter. Last year he wrote: 'Thinking of everyone receiving their a-levels results today. 'Remember that your grades don't define you, or what you can do in life. I dropped out of school, partly because I was struggling with dyslexia, but later realised it was my biggest strengths.' Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy has often opened up about receiving a C and two Us in his A-levels. The TV presenter tweets a supportive message every year, which always revolves around how he left school with disappointing grades and now has a lot of money. First starting in 2014, he tweeted: 'If your A level results aren't joyous take comfort from the fact I got a C and two Us. And I have a Mercedes Benz.' In 2013, he penned: 'It's not the end of the world if your A level results aren't what you'd hoped for. I got a C and 2 Us and here I am today with my own brewery.' This year's witty update saw the star pen: 'If your A level results are disappointing, don't worry. I got a C and two Us and here I am today, installing lights for a helicopter landing pad in my garden.' Geri Horner Ginger Spice scored an A in English Language at Camden School for Girls, but she didn't bother with university. Instead, Geri worked as a nightclub dancer in Majorca and became a glamour model at the age of 19. The singer then joined the Spice Girls as they went on to become the best-selling female group of all time. Simon Cowell The X Factor creator and music mogul left school earlier with three O-levels behind him, which is the equivalent to a GCSE The X Factor creator and music mogul left school earlier with three O-levels behind him, which is the equivalent to a GCSE. Although he has no A-levels, Simon got his first big break by working in the mailroom at his dad's record label, EMI, before being promoted to talent scout and crawling his way to the top. Simon went on to create some of the most successful singing competitions ever including The X Factor, Pop Idol, America and Britain's Got Talent. Tinie Tempah Before finding fame in the music industry, Tinie Tempah - real name Patrick Okogwu - studied media studies, religious studies and psychology and earned two Bs and a D. In 2020, he offered a cash prize to students who scored top grades in their A-Level results. The rapper wished school leavers luck on receiving their results, before offering £100 to those who got A grades or above if they sent him a photo of them with proof and the video for his song Whoppa in the background. He penned on Twitter: 'Good luck to everyone getting their A-level results today. If you didn't get the results you were expecting or into the uni you hoped don't sweat you can appeal if your mock results were better. 'If not, it's not the end of the world.' Lord Alan Sugar Results: The Apprentice's Lord Alan Sugar left with six GCSES, although he claims these qualifications were tougher than today's standard The Apprentice's Lord Alan Sugar famously didn't do well at school and dropped out aged 16. He left with six GCSES, although he claims these qualifications were tougher than today's standard. In 2019, he tweeted: 'Get you facts right I got 6 old fashioned GCE's which are 10 times harder than the multiple choice answer A levels of this day and age.' Lord Sugar then went on to set up his own business Amstrad at 21-years-old.
BBC News
12 hours ago
- BBC News
Stormzy 'proud' of his University of Cambridge students
The music artist Stormzy said he was "really proud" of the 56 students he has helped financially to study at Cambridge whose real name is Michael Ebenazer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr, launched the Stormzy Scholarship in 2018, which funds black UK students to study at the 32-year-old recently received an honorary Doctorate in Law from Cambridge for his to the BBC's One Show about the students, he said: "I'm just really proud of them. Hopefully in 10, 20, 30, 40 years I'll hear a story about someone who cured this disease or someone who pioneered in this field, and they're like, actually, they had the Stormzy scholarship all those years ago." So far, 56 students have benefited from full tuition and maintenance support, backed by his #Merky Foundation and HSBC he launched the scheme, Stormzy said: "It's so important for black students, especially, to be aware that it can 100% be an option to attend a university of this calibre."When explaining why the scholarship programme was important to him, he said: "When I first done this scholarship I didn't want to meet the students."I didn't want the students to feel like they owed me anything. But to actually sit down to talk to them, hear their stories, and you're like, damn, this is real."A lot of them say openly they wouldn't have applied without the scholarship being there." Destiny Charles, who recently completed her final year in human, social and political sciences at Cambridge University was supported by a Stormzy said the financial help has been immense: "I've had a lot of difficulties growing up. Finances, immigration, things just weren't in our favour. My mum was unable to work, my dad passed away in 2021."She said the scholarship helped "even the odds, so you can be on an even playing field with everyone else". Not having to worry about money was also huge help for theology student Di'Mario Downer. He said: "I'm the eldest of five and my mum is a single parent, so I think if I didn't have the support, I think a lot of the opportunities I've had in Cambridge would have been closed to me."It's enabled me to be a normal student and do what I'm here for, which is to study."He said that Stormzy deciding to fund the scholarships showed the artist "cares about community, cares about giving back to where he came from and lifting others up too".One of the first recipients of a scholarship, Drew Chateau, is now working as a solicitor. Her family struggled financially and they were often homeless. The idea of studying at Cambridge University had felt "like a place that was not for her".She said of the financial support, "I think, if I didn't have that, I question if I would have even manage to complete my university degree". Stormzy's mother Abigail Akweley attended her son's degree ceremony in June. She said this achievement was "the greatest one. [It's] Cambridge.""If you see me crying, it's tears of joy," she added. When speaking about the doctorate, Stormzy said: "This is such a full circle from someone who wanted to go to Cambridge, ended up being a musician, and to work with the university, being recognised and honoured in this way, it's like, it's perfect." Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Reuters
15 hours ago
- Reuters
Gaza's young musicians sing and play in the ruins of war
GAZA CITY, Aug 14 (Reuters) - A boy's lilting song filled the tent in Gaza City, above an instrumental melody and backing singers' quiet harmonies, soft music that floated into streets these days more attuned to the deadly beat of bombs and bullets. The young students were taking part in a lesson given on August 4 by teachers from the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, who have continued classes from displacement camps and shattered buildings even after Israel's bombardments forced them to abandon the school's main building in the city. "When I play I feel like I'm flying away," said Rifan al-Qassas, 15, who started learning the oud, an Arab lute, when she was nine. She hopes to one day play abroad. "Music gives me hope and eases my fear," she said. Al-Qassas hopes to one day play abroad, she said during a weekend class at the heavily shelled Gaza College, a school in Gaza City. Israel's military again pounded parts of the city on August 12, with more than 120 people killed over the past few days, Gazan health authorities say. The conservatory was founded in the West Bank and had been a cultural lifeline for Gaza ever since it opened a branch there 13 years ago, teaching classical music along with popular genres, until Israel launched its war on the Mediterranean enclave in response to the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks. Before the fighting, Israel sometimes granted the best students exit permits to travel outside Gaza to play in the Palestine Youth Orchestra, the conservatory's touring ensemble. Others performed inside Gaza, giving concerts in both Arabic and Western traditions. After 22 months of bombardment, some of the students are now dead, said Suhail Khoury, the conservatory's president, including 14-year-old violinist Lubna Alyaan, killed along with her family early in the war. The school's old home lies in ruins, according to a video released in January by a teacher. Walls had collapsed and rooms were littered with debris. A grand piano had disappeared. Reuters asked the Israeli military about the damage. The military declined to comment without more details, which Reuters could not establish. During last week's session, over a dozen students gathered under the tent's rustling plastic sheets to practice on instruments carefully preserved through the war and to join together in song and music. "No fig leaf will wither inside us," the boy sang, a line from a popular lament about Palestinian loss through generations of displacement since the 1948 creation of Israel. Three female students practised the song Greensleeves on guitar outside the tent, while another group of boys were tapping out rhythms on Middle Eastern hand drums. Few instruments have survived the fighting, said Fouad Khader, who coordinates the revived classes for the conservatory. Teachers have bought some from other displaced people for the students to use. But some of these have been smashed during bombardment, he said. Instructors have experimented with making their own percussion instruments from empty cans and containers to train children, Khader said. Early last year, Ahmed Abu Amsha, a guitar and violin teacher with a big beard and a broad smile, was among the first of the conservatory's scattered teachers and students who began offering classes again, playing guitar in the evenings among the tents of displaced people in the south of Gaza, where much of the 2.1 million population had been forced to move by Israeli evacuation orders and bombing. Then, after a ceasefire began in January, Abu Amsha, 43, was among the tens of thousands of people who moved back north to Gaza City, much of which has been flattened by Israeli bombing. For the past six months, he has been living and working in the city's central district, along with colleagues teaching oud, guitar, hand drums and the ney, a reed flute, to students able to reach them in the tents or shell-pocked buildings of Gaza College. They also go into kindergartens for sessions with small children. Teachers are also offering music lessons in southern and central Gaza with 12 musicians and three singing tutors instructing nearly 600 students across the enclave in June, the conservatory said. Abu Amsha said teachers and parents of students were currently "deeply concerned" about being uprooted again after the Israeli cabinet's August 8 decision to take control of Gaza City. Israel has not said when it will launch the new offensive. Outside the music teachers' tent, Gaza City lay in a mass of crumbling concrete, nearly all residents crammed into shelters or camps with hardly any food, clean water or medical aid. The students and teachers say they have to overcome their weakness from food shortages to attend the classes. Britain, Canada, Australia and several of their European allies said on August 12 that "famine was unfolding before our eyes" in Gaza. Israel disputes malnutrition figures for the Hamas-run enclave. Sarah al-Suwairki, 20, said sometimes hunger and tiredness mean she cannot manage the short walk to her two music classes each week, but she loves learning the guitar. "I love discovering new genres, but more specifically rock. I am very into rock," she said. Palestinian health authorities say Israel's military campaign has killed more than 61,000 people, including more than 1,400 going to aid points to get food. Israel says Hamas is responsible for the suffering after it started the war, the latest in decades of conflict, with the October 2023 attack from Gaza when its gunmen killed 1,200 people and seized 250 hostages according to Israeli tallies. In a surviving upstairs room at Gaza College, the walls pocked with shrapnel scars, the windows blown out, three girls and a boy sit for a guitar class. Their teacher Mohammed Abu Mahadi, 32, said he thought music could help heal Gazans psychologically from the pain of bombardments, loss and shortages. "What I do here is make children happy from music because it is one of the best ways for expressing feelings," he said. Elizabeth Coombes, who directs a music therapy programme at Britain's University of South Wales and has done research with Palestinians in the West Bank, also said the project could help young people deal with trauma and stress and strengthen their sense of belonging. "For children who have been very badly traumatised or living in conflict zones, the properties of music itself can really help and support people," she said. Ismail Daoud, 45, who teaches the oud, said the war had stripped people of their creativity and imagination, their lives reduced to securing basics like food and water. Returning to art was an escape and a reminder of a larger humanity. "The instrument represents the soul of the player, it represents his companion, his entity and his friend," he said. "Music is a glimmer of hope that all our children and people hold onto in darkness," he said.
