The ‘miracle' delay that saved student from Air India crash
Chauhan, a business administration student from Bristol, was turned away by airport staff and was initially frustrated about missing the flight and the possibility of a ticket refund.
After leaving the airport and learning about the crash, Chauhan described her survival as a "miracle," while her mother attributed it to the blessings of the Mother Goddess.
The Air India flight crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport en route to London Gatwick, killing 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian.
India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, along with teams from the US and UK, is investigating the crash, with the recently found black box expected to provide insights into the cause.
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Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Travellers move onto road through leafy common surrounded by £5million homes, infuriating families living nearby
A group of travellers have infuriated residents of a leafy London suburb after setting up camp next to a nearby park. Locals living next to Ealing Common in west London have been left fuming following the arrival of a large convoy earlier this month. Around 14 large caravans have been spotted parked up along Warwick Road, which runs through the posh W5 borough. The group appear to have made themselves quite at home, with fold-out tables, towels and gas cylinders dotted around the temporary camp. But residents of the surrounding properties, valued as much as £4.3m, are furious with the amount of rubbish that their new neighbours have left behind. They have become enraged over the apparent lack of care taken by the travellers at the site, where mounds of waste have already begun piling up on the grass. Bin bags, food packaging and even items of clothing also appear to have been strewn across Warwick Road, which runs through the heart of Ealing Common. It is not the first time travellers have made Ealing Common their home, with locals previously saying caravans are often parked on the grass during the summer months. Back in June 2019, at least eight caravans were seen scattered around parts of the common, as groups of children ran between the vehicles. Some members of the public at the time said they were too scared to walk between the vehicles as they felt 'intimidated' by the travellers. Marie Shelton, 66, branded the group 'selfish' because the common should be enjoyed by everyone. She said: 'It's frustrating that the council can't seem to stop them. 'I know it happens in other places and I think put up a barrier to stop them. 'It's called a common for a reason, it's for everyone to enjoy. 'But when they come along like this, it is selfish and it can be intimidating. 'They act like it's their own private land and don't care whether it affects other people who have lived here for years. The group appear to have made themselves quite at home, with fold-out tables, towels and gas cylinders dotted around the temporary camp 'I can't imagine it is good for the grass and I doubt they put all of their rubbish in the park bins - they are far too small. 'I doubt they pay for the trouble so that leaves us who pay council tax to fund the clean up.' Becky Chambers, 26, a charity worker, said at the time: 'I don't live far from here and to be honest I've gotten use to it. 'I know lots of people aren't happy about it and think they shouldn't be here. 'I understand some people might feel intimated but they don't affect me. 'You can see that they are families so if they are here they mustn't have anywhere else to go. 'They're here quite often but mainly during the summer when the weather is good.
Telegraph
10 hours ago
- Telegraph
What Britain needs to learn from American barbecues
Sizzling racks of ribs in sticky sauces, smoky tender brisket, huge tomahawk steaks which melt in your mouth with a buttery tang. No one barbecues like the Americans. If you've visited the southern states, it can be hard to look at the British tradition of charred sausages and burgers in quite the same way. The uninitiated might find themselves perplexed by the announcement that a Texas Michelin-starred barbecue joint, Interstellar, will be landing at one of London's swankiest hotels, The Ned, in September. Is Michelin-starred barbecue an oxymoron? Not so, says Shauna Guinn, a barbecue expert, outdoor cookery tutor and (with her wife and business partner Sam Evans) co-author of Hang Fire: Adventures in American BBQ. In 2013, the pair took a pilgrimage to the Deep South to study its barbecue secrets, and brought the quintessentially American brand of cooking to the UK. 'For Americans, barbecue is not a verb, it's a noun. It's not something they do, it's a specific style, a genre, a culture of food,' explains Guinn. 'If you were in North or South Carolina, it means pork with a vinegar or mustard mop sauce. In Texas, it's brisket or short beef rib. If you're in Arkansas or Kansas City, it's all about sweet and sticky barbecue sauce, but it's all about food cooked on a low and slow heat.' By contrast, the typical British barbecue, according to Guinn, is characterised mostly by a state of panic. 'In Britain, we are constrained by the elements,' Guinn laughs. 'The sun comes out on a Thursday, we check the weather forecast, see it's going to be nice on Saturday, then run to the supermarket to buy some cheap charcoal and sausages. We cook them as fast as we can on the hottest grill possible so we can finish up while the sun lasts.' This method results in that most quintessential British delicacy: the burnt-yet-raw sausage. 'If there's one thing I'd like to encourage British people to learn from American barbecue it's that taking your time will yield great results,' says Guinn. Here is Guinn's advice on what Britain must learn from American barbecue culture. Invest in good quality (chemical-free) charcoal If you're cooking on fire, then the foundation of your meal is the fuel and the smoke it produces. So why settle for something lesser? 'Do not panic-buy cheap charcoal at supermarkets or petrol stations,' warns Guinn. 'The vast majority comes from sub-Saharan Africa or South America. It comes to this country covered in chemicals to prevent it from burning in transit, then they have to spray it with even more chemicals so you can light it.' It's an old wives tale that you need to make sure your coals have turned white before you cook on them. That's mostly a side-effect of the chemicals, says Guinn. 'If you buy really good quality British charcoal (which is the by-product of maintaining our woodlands) you can light that barbecue and be cooking in about 10-15 minutes, which is much easier.' Another advantage of chemical-free charcoal is you can cook things straight on the coals, giving vegetables with skins like peppers and tomatoes a smoky taste. Good, sustainable British options include The Oxford Charcoal Compan y and Whittle and Flame. Start your barbecue early 'In America, barbecuing is about taking your time and things taking as long as they take,' says Guinn. 'The best barbecue food is cooked on a low heat very slowly. Light your barbecue first thing in the morning, close the lid and let it warm up. You want to cook on embers and hot coals, not on open fire.' Take advantage of two-zone grilling American pitmasters build their barbecues in a specific way to ensure everything is thoroughly cooked at the same time. 'You need much less fuel than you think, especially if you have a kettle barbecue with a lid,' says Guinn. 'When you put the lid down on a barbecue it creates a convection oven.' The idea is to set up your barbecue to take advantage of 'two-zone grilling'. 'Flood your barbecue with charcoal on one side,' explains Guinn. 'The other half should be empty. That means when you put something over the coals and it looks like it's cooking too quickly, you've got the option of moving it to the cooler side of the grill, then you put the lid down. It'll still cook and absorb all those smoky flavours, but much more slowly and delicately.' Choose your meats wisely (but cheaply) 'Things like brisket, wings and ribs, staples of American barbecue, were all, once upon a time, very cheap cuts of meat which would have often gone into landfill and pet mince,' explains Guinn. 'Barbecue is a great place to use meats that you otherwise wouldn't and it can be very good value.' Guinn suggests befriending your local butcher to see if you can get larger cuts of meat from them, which you can carve up yourself. 'You're looking for meats with a high fat content (hanger steak, flank, skirt, bavette, pork shoulders, chicken thighs). All the fat renders out but as you cook it slowly over a low heat, it'll absorb the smoky flavours really well and it'll be much tastier than a sausage sealed in a skin,' explains Guinn. 'If you're a total beginner, I'd recommend chicken thighs on the bone or even spatchcocking a whole chicken.' Don't be afraid to barbecue your vegetables 'We love to make side-dishes in the UK, but nobody eats them,' chuckles Guinn. 'But anything you can cook in your oven, you can cook on the barbecue, so experiment.' Anything with a skin can be cooked directly in the coals: tomato, pepper, onions, chillies, beetroots or potatoes. 'That's a good way of using up your charcoal too,' says Guinn. 'A lovely vegetable kebab is a great idea; celeriac chopped into steaks are great on the grill. A real American favourite is brining watermelon with a soy sauce brine. The whole texture of the melon becomes a bit harder, then when you grill it you get something with the texture of steak but with a real sweetness.' Experiment with rubs, marinades, and brines If you've ever followed a Nigella Lawson turkey recipe at Christmas, you'll know the benefits of brining meat, but you can use the same technique to enhance your barbecue. 'If you're barbecuing a whole chicken, the breast and legs will cook quicker, but if you brine it overnight in water with a bit of salt, sugar and aromatics, it'll lock in the moisture, which will help it cook more evenly over your charcoal,' says Guinn. 'Brining will help the meat stay moist. Remember, the saltier the brine, the less time you need to brine it for.' American barbecue is also characterised by rubs and marinades. 'In Texas, they'll do a lot of dry rubs,' explains Guinn. 'A Texan brisket usually uses a Dalmatian rub, which is essentially salt and pepper and maybe garlic. As a general rule of thumb for rubs use equal parts brown sugar and paprika (for colour) and then a fifth part of salt. Then it's all about where you want to take it in terms of flavour: it's lovely to add a bit of spice, a bit of cinnamon, and maybe some herbs. 'You need your meat to be dry on the outside before you apply a rub, so leave it in the fridge for at least an hour first,' Guinn adds. 'The most important thing with a rub, despite the name, is that you apply it by patting, not rubbing. Shake the rub on then pat it down. As soon as you start massaging the rub into it, you block the pores of the meat which makes it much more difficult for the smoke to penetrate and you lose a lot of flavour.' While the Deep South typically uses rubs, other regions prefer a marinade. 'The trick is to use something with an enzyme: live yogurt, lime, lemon. Those will help break down the fibres in the meat so that it'll cook quicker, retain more moisture, and be a lot more tender,' explains Guinn. Slather a marinade on your meat, leave it for a few hours before you start barbecuing and you're set. Get an instant-read thermometer If you write off everything else on this list as American nonsense, Guinn begs you to follow this one tip. 'Get an instant-read thermometer. It costs a tenner and it'll stop you from ever serving burnt-on-the-outside-raw-in-the-middle barbecue food ever again. It's a fact that barbecue food gets charred, but that doesn't mean it's cooked, so goof-proof yourself, make sure what you're eating is safe, and just get a thermometer.'
The Independent
11 hours ago
- The Independent
Lucy Charles-Barclay's career was dogged by injuries until she discovered why. Now she's back for another shot at the Ironman world title
Lucy Charles-Barclay is not a household name, and yet she might be the most complete female athlete on the planet. There is no purer sporting test than a triathlon, which makes demands on every muscle in the body, and the Ironman distance takes those demands to ludicrous extremes: running a full marathon after a refreshing 2.4-mile swim and an invigorating 112-mile bike ride, covering the distance from London to Sheffield in eight-and-a-half hours. Charles-Barclay won the Ironman World Championship in 2023 and broke the record for the iconic Kona course in Hawaii, in which the best long-distance triathletes compete through crystal blue waters and black lava fields. She will be back at Kona in a few weeks' time to try to regain the title, and the 31-year-old is in the form of her life after an emotional win at her home race in the London T100 last weekend. Yet the road to this point has been a brutal one, after three years spent battling a series of mysterious injuries from rib fractures to muscle tears to a rip in her hip cartilage, after which she was told she might never race again. She embarked on an investigation into her own anatomy, travelling to Red Bull's high performance centre near Salzburg to undergo testing. 'We really couldn't find a reason,' she says. Finally, last year, she received an answer: a diagnosis for Celiac disease, the serious autoimmune condition triggered by gluten. 'It was a lightbulb moment. Before a race I would carb load, so I would just eat pizza, pasta, all these things. I was basically poisoning myself before going into a big event.' Charles-Barclay had often competed through the pain. She won the Ironman world title after tearing her calf muscle at the start of the marathon, which crept open like a zip so that by the time she finished 26 miles later, it was 14cm long. So when she came to a halt on London's Victoria Dock during last year's T100 race – part of triathlon's new F1-style championship at glamorous locations all over the world – it had to be bad. Her achilles had blown and she was wheeled away on a golf buggy, past the fans who had come out to see her compete in the flesh. 'It was devastating,' she says. It took nearly a year after her diagnosis to feel fully healthy, but a change in diet – swapping out gluten for rice, chicken and eggs – transformed her body's resilience. Last weekend, in almost exactly the same spot where she had broken down the year before, Charles-Barclay overtook her rival Kate Waugh to lead the London race. She reached the finish straight alone, with just enough time to hype a giddy crowd inside the ExCel Centre before lifting the finish tape over her head in triumph. Then she collapsed into the arms of her coach and husband Reece, and the tears flowed. 'It doesn't quite feel real,' Charles-Barclay says, watching back the footage of her winning moment. She is talking to The Independent after a hard morning's training at the London Aquatics Centre in Olympic Park, four days after that T100 victory. 'There's so much emotion in that video. It feels a little bit weird, like it was like a real 'moment', a turning point, proving to myself that I'm back to my old ways and feeling strong again.' There was a poignancy, too, after Charles-Barclay's grandfather died in December. 'He watched all my races, most of them online because I don't race in the UK, so London last year was the final race that he actually came to watch me, and obviously I had to pull out. So it was really, really sad. We had all the family there this year apart from him, but it definitely felt like he was there with me.' Triathlon remains a fringe sport outside of its place in the Olympic Games, but T100 is bidding to change that. Its world tour operates like a Formula One season, with 20 contracted triathletes competing for points and prize money at nine destinations around the world. Races are staged in Miami, San Francisco, Ibiza and Dubai, and the champion at the end of the season scoops £150,000. The 100km competition – somewhere between a regular triathlon and an Ironman – was launched last year as a ploy to build a more consistent narrative, with the best athletes regularly going head to head. The event has lured plenty of big names including Olympic champions Flora Duffy and Alistair Brownlee, while Alex Yee is considering joining the championship next year, which would be a major coup. Triathlon is increasingly attracting the executive class, usurping golf as the go-to hobby of the CEO, but it also has a growing grassroots following. Charles-Barclay has amassed a small army of fans with half a million followers on Instagram, and a line of mostly young girls queued up after her London win to get selfies with their hero. Quietly, she is blazing a trail. 'It makes it all feel so worth it,' she says. 'Sport at this level is incredibly tough, you make a lot of sacrifices, you often feel like it's quite a selfish pursuit training all the time and not seeing family and friends very often. So to feel like you're doing it more than just for yourself, you're inspiring others – hopefully those young kids will grow up and try triathlon or get into sport, so it feels a lot bigger than just swim, bike, run.' Many of her fans were sporting the familiar 'battle braids' hairstyle that has become an essential part of the Charles-Barclay image. 'In my first ever triathlon I just decided to braid my hair to keep it out of the way, and then it became a good luck charm and I would braid my hair before every race,' she says. 'It's like I'm going into battle every time that I'm going to line up for a competition, so it's almost like a confidence thing. It's inspired young girls to braid their hair, whether it's sports day at school, or I've had young women who sit exams and they'll braid their hair just to feel a bit more confident doing it. It's become a real movement that I didn't expect and every time someone shares it online, it's just so amazing to see that.' The Olympics remains triathlon's biggest stage, and there is talk of the 100km format making its debut at the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane. That may come too late for Charles-Barclay, who has never competed at the Games, and she admits it is frustrating not to get the same recognition as those who race over the shorter Olympic distance. 'We deserve it, we work so hard,' she says. 'I definitely don't do it for [recognition] but I feel like if we were given the platform, with more mainstream media sharing that journey, we've got the capacity to inspire so many new people to get involved in this fantastic sport. That's one of the main reasons why I do it.' And, of course, to win. Charles-Barclay is heading to Lanzarote for a five-week training camp before returning to Kona in October, the scene of her greatest triumph. She is, technically, the defending champion on that particular course after the World Championship made an unpopular detour to France last year, when she was out injured. It will be back in Hawaii, and so will Charles-Barclay – somehow, after everything, feeling stronger than ever. Her course record – 8hr 24min 31sec – could even be under threat. 'Hawaii's all about the conditions, so if it's super windy it will be slow on the bike,' she says. 'But I managed to win there with a torn calf, so I do believe I can go faster. I just really want to go there and get the win again.'
