The Tudor way of death — drunken tumblings and dangerous dung carts
Johnson's unenviable fate was documented for posterity because Tudor law required any suspicious or sudden death to be investigated by a coroner. And so after his body was discovered this official (assisted by a jury of at least 12 trustworthy local men) examined his corpse and questioned witnesses about the circumstances of his death. Once the coroner reached a verdict (in this case, of 'misfortune') his report was sent into storage at Westminster where over the course of the 16th century it was joined by records relating to nearly 9,000 similarly unfortunate individuals.
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The Independent
14 minutes ago
- The Independent
Norwich City steward who accidentally sent memes to colleague wins £8,000 payout
A steward at a Championship football club has won an £8,000 payout after he was wrongly sacked under his club's ' Orwellian ' disciplinary policy for sending memes about politicians. Gennaro Romano, 49, was sacked by Norwich City Football Club in October 2023 after sending mocked-up images of Diane Abbott and Nicola Sturgeon alongside comments about Russell Brand to the head of the academy. The steward, who had a 12-year unblemished record, apologised and said he forwarded the WhatsApp messages by accident, an employment tribunal was told. The championship club sacked him for breaching its disciplinary policies, a decision described as 'riddled with unfairness'. A Norwich employment tribunal heard Mr Romano had been working as a steward on matchdays since 2011 alongside his main job with Royal Mail. In September 2023, he was accused of sending 'messages of an inappropriate nature' to Neil Hunter, head of The Canaries' academy operations. The photos were of former Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon and MP Diane Abbott with captions about actor Russell Brand. 'This was at the time when the media was reporting that allegations of sexual assault were being made against Russell Brand,' the tribunal said. At a meeting with the club, he was shown a screen shot of two images received by Mr Hunter. Mr Romano claimed he had meant to send the photos to a friend who is also called Neil, but had forwarded them to his colleague by accident, the tribunal heard. The Carrow Road steward admitted the pictures were 'not nice', and apologised a number of times throughout the process, the tribunal was told. But club managers decided that he had not shown 'sufficient understanding or remorse', and sacked him. Upholding Mr Romano's claim, the tribunal said the club's decision-making process had been 'riddled with unfairness'. 'It was not one which any reasonable employer would have taken,' it added. Describing the club's actions, the tribunal said: 'If the club intends its disciplinary policy to have such an extensive, some might say Orwellian, reach, then it is incumbent on it to make that position clear.' The tribunal awarded Mr Romano £8,300. His claim of race discrimination was dismissed.
Daily Mail
15 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Serial bad driver who killed two promising schoolboys by smashing into their stationary car after doing 96mph while sipping booze is jailed
A motorist who killed two promising grammar school pupils when she smashed into their stationary car at 70mph after sipping alcohol at the wheel has been jailed for ten years. Mother-of-two Natasha Allarakhia, 36, was speeding at 96mph in her Audi Q2 when she failed to notice the car which had stopped at temporary traffic lights in front of her. Both William Ray, 17, who had driven three of his friends to watch an England football match on television, and his passenger, Eddie Shore, 18, died. A second passenger, Jack Prince, then 17, suffered life changing injuries. Allarakhia, who was driving her own female partner and two young daughters, aged seven and 12, initially claimed not to have been at the wheel when police arrived at the scene, telling them it was a friend who had run off through a field which meant the National Air Service was deployed in a bid to find them. The court heard Allarakhia has five previous convictions for 12 offences, including a bad driving record and was even court speeding again while on bail after the fatal crash. David Eager, prosecuting, said Mr Ray, known as Will, had consumed no alcohol and was waiting at a set of temporary traffic lights on the A17 at North Rauceby, Lincs, on June 20 last year when Allarakhia simply drove into the back of his Ford Fiesta. Mr Eager told the court: 'Not only was she driving at 96mph but she was not paying attention all the time. 'During part of the journey she was drinking from a can of alcohol, literally drinking and driving.' Data taken from the two vehicles showed Allarakhia did not take her foot off the accelerator until just two seconds before the collision and was only 37 metres away from Mr Ray's car when her brakes were briefly applied. Allarakhia had also failed to notice two signs warning of the temporary traffic lights which were visible from 620 metres away. Allarakhia was asked to take a roadside breath test and replied: 'I've had a drink. I'm not p*ssed. I'm not the driver.' The court heard Allarakhia was within the legal limit. 'At that point she laughs, again in the presence of her children,' Mr Eager added. Mr Eager said Allarakhia maintained the lie that she wasn't the driver for one hour and 12 minutes. Mr Eager said: 'During that time two boys were being extracted from the vehicle, and the other two men were effectively dying,' Mr Eager stressed. Allarakhia's partner, Kim Booth, was also injured. She described how Allarakhia had driven to Sheffield to pick her up and had taken a couple of sips from her can during the return journey. She also said Allarakhia had been drinking earlier in the day. Investigations showed Allarakhia had also allowed her youngest child not to wear a seat belt during the trip. All four passengers were taken to the Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham where Mr Ray and Mr Shore were later declared dead from their head injuries. Allarakhia, of Turner Crescent, Norwich pleaded guilty to causing the deaths of Mr Ray on 21 June and Mr Shore on 22 June by dangerous driving. She also admitted a third charge of causing serious injury to passenger, Jack Prince, on 20 June. The court heard Allarakhia had five previous convictions for 12 offences, including a bad driving record. They include two convictions for theft and a 20 week suspended jail sentence passed in January 2023 for contravening a pedestrian crossing and driving without due care and attention. On the date of the offence in August 2022 Allarakhia hit a taxi after driving through a red light on a pedestrian crossing. The court heard Allarakhia was also banned from driving earlier this year under the totting up procedure for two incidents of speeding. Those offences occurred on 13 June and 5 July, 2024, therefore shortly before and after the fatal collision. In a victim impact statement Eddie's mother, Kerri Foster, told Allarakhia that her 'selfish actions' had robbed her of her son. Allarakhia, wearing a purple dress, held her head and mumbled 'I'm sorry' as Mrs Foster insisted 'I am serving a life sentence of grief.' Mrs Foster revealed Eddie was about to take up a dream job as a ski lift operator in Canada and described how the family received his successful A Level results just eight weeks after his death. The results meant Eddie would have been able to take up a place at university in Leeds. 'Now we will never know what that future had for Eddie,' Mrs Foster explained. Eddie's father, James Shore, described the two days he spent holding his hand in hospital before he died. 'It has broken me and I will never be the same the person again,' Mr Shore said, before insisting that he would keep going to help Eddie's sister and preserve the memory of his son. Mr Ray's mother, Sarah Barker, described how she was working away in Glasgow when she learnt of the tragedy. 'Our lives after 9.41pm on that evening will never be the same again. My Will, my only boy, the love of my life,' Mrs Barker said. Mrs Barker explained how she still visited her son's grave every day and drew strength from the support of the other impacted families and his friends. Mr Ray's father, Steven, described his son as the 'best of us' and noted how he had genuinely never heard a bad word said about him. Mr Ray revealed how he also still cried in his sleep. In his statement Mr Prince told Allarakhia he had been left with life changing injuries and described the mental harm as 'unspeakable.' Mr Prince said he was still haunted by the collision and explained that the fractures he suffered had derailed his chosen career in the RAF. The third passenger in Mr Ray's Fiesta, Luke Wood, described how the deaths of Will and Eddie had left him with a lifetime of 'grief and trauma.' Following the collision Allarakhia was arrested and gave a prepared statement in which she claimed to have suffered a momentary lack of inattention. Edward Renvoize, defending Allarakhia, said she had shown genuine remorse which was emphasised by her demeanor in court. 'She did not set out to hurt anyone,' Mr Renvoize told the court Mr Renvoize added: 'It was a stupid lie told at the roadside which was voluntarily desisted from.' The court heard Allarakhia was also the primary carer for her two children. 'She is unlikely to see them again until they reach adulthood.' The court heard Allarakhia five previous convictions for 12 offences, including two convictions for theft. In January 2023 she was handed a 20-week suspended jail sentence for contravening a pedestrian crossing and driving without due care and attention after hitting a taxi when she drove through a red light on a pedestrian crossing. The court heard Allarakhia was also banned from driving earlier this year under the totting up procedure for two incidents of speeding. Those offences occurred on 13 June and 5 July, 2024, therefore shortly before and after the fatal collision. Before passing sentence Judge James House KC addressed a packed public gallery and stated: 'I am very conscious what brings us here today is a devastating tragedy.' Judge House said: 'Will and Eddie had just completed their A Levels. They will never learn their results, but had achieved what they worked so hard for' The Judge noted it was impossible not to be moved by all of the victim impact statements which highlighted 'what they will now miss out on together.' Addressing Allarackhia, Judge House said while alcohol could not be proved to be a factor in the crash her previous convictions were an aggravating factor. 'This is a woman who has had a number of warnings to slow down,' Judge House noted. 'This defendant was not just driving significantly in excess of the limit but was not paying attention for a significant period of time.' Allarakhia was also made the subject of a twelve and half year driving ban and must take an extended retest before she can ever drive again.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Furious Man Utd fans stranded outside Old Trafford with tickets ‘cancelled' and hundreds turned away
HUNDREDS of fuming Manchester United fans were left stranded outside Old Trafford after being denied entry for the season opener against Arsenal. And thousands more were stuck in massive queues, before being forced to show IDs after United debuted a new ticketing system to crack down on touts. 8 8 8 Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Co announced the club's intention to use NFC (near field communication) technology for stadium entry in March. All tickets are digital on a smartphone, in the form of an NFC pass, similar to contactless payments on Apple Pay. But the changes have had some major consequences for supporters, with many left stranded outside the ground during the game on Sunday. A man from Essex claimed he was refused entry after being told his "ticket was cancelled". After a six-hour journey, the fan waited outside the stadium for his friend, who was already inside watching Arsenal 's narrow 1-0 win. He told Instagram content creator Mark B TV that his mate said "somebody else was sitting in his seat". The fan explained that he bought the ticket directly from the club's official website and downloaded the app to his phone. He is worried about getting into United's game against Manchester City on September 14 after paying a whopping £380 for his ticket from the club site. 8 SunSport has gone to the club for comment. Many other fans were still queuing to confirm their IDs at half-time, with United trailing after Riccardo Calafiori 's 13th minute opener after Altay Bayindir flapped at Declan Rice's corner. He's taking lessons from Mikel Arteta' joke fans as Ruben Amorim makes VERY bold claim after Man Utd's loss to Arsenal Before kick-off, thousands more were turned away from the turnstiles, forced to trudge to the Supporter Services building in the car park to vent their frustrations. A group of men claimed to have travelled from India, spending £5000 in total on flights, hotels and match day tickets. One said: "This is England. This doesn't happen in cricket matches in the Indian Premier League. The customer service goes smoothly." Creator Mark B TV spoke to a fan 30 minutes into the game who said: "My ticket wouldn't scan, they said it's 'not allowed'. I've had the f***ing ticket since 1966. This is my last year as a season ticket holder." 8 8 8 Footage of supporters standing in large queues has been widely circulated on social media, with many blaming the new ticket system. One fan on X wrote: "Man Utd ticketing is a disgrace #laughingstock." Another said: "It's a shambles. How can the club do this?" Season ticket holders were forced to take a live photo of themselves and upload ID to renew their ticket for the 2025/2026 campaign. But United supporters are not the only fanbase to be left cursing changes to their club's digital system. Chelsea fans took to social media to vent their frustrations after fans were unable to enter Stamford Bridge ahead of their goalless draw with Crystal Palace on Sunday. 8 What did we learn about Man Utd in Arsenal defeat? MANCHESTER UNITED have splashed the cash this summer but that couldn't prevent an opening day home loss to Arsenal. Here are SunSport Manchester United reporter Martin Blackburn 's key takeaways from the narrow 1-0 defeat vs the Gunners. No 1 ISSUE UNITED have been linked with Gianluigi Donnarumma and David de Gea in recent weeks, and surely they will sign a keeper before the window shuts. Ruben Amorim has faith in Andre Onana — even if a lot of the fans do not — but he did not consider him ready to start here. The Cameroonian has missed the whole of pre-season with a hamstring injury. So Altay Bayindir, who has played throughout the build-up to the season, got the nod — and ended up costing his team the game. He should have been stronger under pressure from William Saliba and flapped a corner on to the head of Riccardo Calafiori. Bayindir has had problems with set-pieces before. Amorim and sporting director Jason Wilcox have two weeks to come up with a solution before the end of the transfer window. NO GOALS — AGAIN UNITED mustered just 44 goals in the Prem last season — and here they were starting with a blank again. The Red Devils have spent £200million sprucing up their forward line this summer, and there were encouraging signs from Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha. But new £74m centre-forward Benjamin Sesko stayed on the bench until the 65th minute. On a couple of occasions before then there were crosses into the box but nobody there to put them away. Amorim said on Friday he believes Sesko can be United's No 9 for many years to come — and that is why they spent so heavily on him. So it seemed a strange call to leave him on the bench for so long. Clearly the fans agreed as he was given a huge ovation when he arrived. A couple of late half-chances went begging but the Slovenian did enough to show he will be a threat. MIDFIELD STILL AN ISSUE UNITED have abandoned their bid to land Carlos Baleba at least until next summer because of Brighton's asking price. There is an interest in Sporting's Morten Hjulmand, while United are one of several clubs who admire Adam Wharton of Crystal Palace. But there is a chance they will not sign another outfield player, and fans will be worried about the options in midfield. Casemiro was excellent in Europe last season but did not have the same impact in Prem matches, while we are still waiting to see the best of Manuel Ugarte. United are going to be more exciting to watch this season — that is clear already — but will they still have a soft centre?
