Latest news with #Abbey
Geek Tyrant
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
It's Time to Say Goodbye in First Teaser Trailer for DOWNTON ABBEY: THE GRAND FINALE — GeekTyrant
The first teaser trailer has been released for the upcoming final film in the Downton Abbey franchise, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale . This is the teaser that was released to attendees at Cinema Con, and we are finally able to see it for ourselves. The third film in the franchise, and it is written by Downton creator and Oscar winner Julian Fellowes. The movie is set in the 1930s, and it hints that the film is about the Crawleys coming to terms with leaving the Abbey behind. It will be a bittersweet sendoff, especially considering the loss of the fantastic character, Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, played by the late, great Maggie Smith. The returning cast for the film includes Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Phyllis Logan, Robert James-Collier, Joanne Froggatt, Allen Leech, Penelope Wilton, Lesley Nicol, Michael Fox, Raquel Cassidy, Brendan Coyle, Kevin Doyle, Harry Hadden-Paton, Sophie McShera, Douglas Reith and Dominic West, alongside exciting new additions, Paul Giamatti, Joely Richardson, Alessandro Nivola, Simon Russell Beale, Arty Froushan, and more. The finale is set to hit theaters on September 12th. Check out the teaser below:
Irish Independent
17 hours ago
- Automotive
- Irish Independent
Built to order, backed by family – how the third generation is driving the future of Abbey Machinery
And while the colour of Abbey equipment is 'definitely orange', according to Clodagh Cavanagh, managing director of the Toomevara-based machinery company, it is happy to cater for colour requests. 'While our predominant colour is orange, there is a push from people who are very particular about the tractors they drive.' One of the first countries to change the colour was Iceland, where blue is the preferred colour. 'We don't use it as a sales tool, but we find there is a market trend. Lots of big contractors – all their fleet is the same colour. 'There is quite a large customer in south Tipperary and everything is John Deere green. So the tanks, the toppers – are green. 'Our lines are set up for orange, but we're happy to support what the customer wants. We did Maserati blue recently, and we did a Porsche purple-type colour this year.' The company's second relocation in 2016 from Nenagh to a new 35ac site in Toomevara with a purpose-built factory, which can cater more easily for custom paint jobs and customised machinery. That was four years after Clodagh took over running the business from her father Charles. 'One of the big things for us in Nenagh was that the paint room was too small. We had to come in and paint at the weekends to facilitate the machines. Now there are two painting bays.' The paint quality may be the first impression the customer gets of a product but managing all a customer's expectations is vital, she says. Customisation helped Abbey weather the last recession, according to Clodagh, and being able to provide that remains key to the company. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more 'When you get into the big contractor piece of kit, they can be very specific on the running gear or a particular piece of kit, and that item might be something we don't carry in stock. 'We have to be very flexible on producing feeders to the customer's requirements. Rather than producing the full basic product, we prefer to offer solutions that best match their enterprise.' Out of season, Abbey can batch-build products, but in season it has to adapt and manipulate its planning and production schedules while also offering perhaps a door at the back, or some other optional equipment to put in the machine. 'Where we see the biggest variability is around the door arrangement and the height. Depending on what they did previously, their trough height is a big issue. "In some of the older sheds, it can be hard to manoeuvre, so you might end up where a guy is reversing his feeder in and using a rear door. 'While the feeder is a standard enough piece of kit, the height and door arrangements are what the customer might want specified. 'You'll find the very large or very small customers will have a particular need, and we're flexible on that side of things. 'And it's really important we meet those needs. If we meet their needs or manage expectations correctly, you will win. 'I have a sales team that says everything is possible.' Clodagh, who is the third generation of the Cavanagh family to run the company, credits much of the company's growth to their team and values. It's her key piece of advice for anyone in business. 'Get the right people on the bus. Having the right team, whether it's in your company or your dealers, is everything.' Her grandmother Mary was heavily involved in the business, which was set up by her grandfather John in 1947. 'Growing up there were always meetings around the kitchen table. The Abbey family were an extension of our family. 'My father grew the company significantly and as it grew, it moved away from the kitchen table to a professionally run company. Today, we have a senior leadership team, a management team – our expertise around us is excellent.' The company has three parts: manufacturing, two retail outlets and spare parts. Clodagh, whose background is in accountancy, spent summers working in the factory alongside her brothers Owen and Cormac. Clodagh didn't walk into the business with ambitions to become managing director: 'I came to do a project, and the project extended. I grew with the role and the team.' Running a family company founded in 1947 comes with responsibility. 'It's more rewarding, but also more challenging. 'We made the decision to invest in our people and ourselves when we moved to Toomevara 10 years ago. It was a huge decision, but look what we've achieved. 'We're a family-owned, professionally run business that all comes back to the customer. 'If we understand what the customer needs, we can provide the best solution. 'When we bring customers here, we show them what we're about – our capabilities, our understanding. That gives results. That was backing ourselves and the team.' According to Francis Merrigan, head of quality and research with Abbey, significant investment by the company was required to match the 6,000-gallon tankers customers were looking for. Construction on the site, which employs over 100 people, began not long after Dublin Airport's Terminal 2 opened, with locals dubbing it 'Terminal 3' due to its size and scale. Another 10pc was added to the building, along with solar panels to increase its sustainability. Abbey currently offers eight product lines with hundreds of options. Slurry handling is the biggest seller, followed by feeding and muck-handling equipment. The market in Ireland changed in the 1970s and '80s toward liquid slurry systems, prompting demand for tankers over side spreaders; then in the early '90s, Abbey entered the feeder equipment space, and next came vertical tub feeders. And while they offered band spreading technology in the '80s, it didn't take off until 2006/07. The more recent rise of large-scale farms has shifted the product mix from smaller, single-auger feeders to larger twin-auger machines. 'We're probably selling fewer machines but more high-value products,' Clodagh explains. In the new premises, a typical order takes 5-7 days from the start of the build, once the parts are in, nearly half of the work is done before the machine is on the floor. And while the company carries a huge amount of raw material and parts, it can still be a challenge – there can still be lead times for specialist kit but the company has to be agile. 'Every customer wants to improve performance, whether they have 20 cows or 2,000. Nobody wants to see unhealthy animals,' Francis says. 'Efficiencies is what our customers can achieve and we're trying to support that with the size of feeders or the product version. It can give a larger farmer capacity, or a mid-size farmer the capacity to do things really quickly.' Functionality and performance are essential to product development, according to Clodagh. 'If we're looking at a diet feeder, we have to assess its output. We can't supply something that doesn't offer consistent feed and energy efficiency. If horsepower requirements are too high, we risk excluding a cohort of farmers.' Exports 60pc of Abbey's sales are now abroad, with the UK remaining its largest export market. And while a move into Australia and New Zealand was riskier, it offered year-round manufacturing opportunities. 'Their seasons are six months apart from ours, so that helped even out workflow. And since they speak English and had European competition, the barriers to entry were level,' says Clodagh. And while transport costs remain a challenge in some European markets, where large local competitors have a proximity advantage, but Abbey's ability to customise is key. The new premises allows that and it also allows the company focus on 'containerisation' – making sure the machinery fits into a shipping container. Getting equipment to fit into a shipping container means significant savings on shipping costs. "We can fit three large feeders across two containers, and we have trained them to part-assemble. But the cost variation is about 60pc less to go in a container." To help manage this, the new site has a sunken loading bay which replicates the size of a shipping container. "It has opened up a lot for us. When we are exporting, we're talking to customers about roll-on, roll-off, or if it will go in a shipping container." And while local manufacturers may have a cost advantage other markets, 'for now, it's important that we stay close to what we're doing in the community,' she says. 'Quality, durability, and our ability to support customers are so important to the company mean every new product must be assessed for its impact on sustainability, efficiency, and what it can offer the customer.' Looking out the window at the company's testing ground in the adjoining field, she says that given the different climates we have and the different topography, anything that's tested in Ireland is good for 90pc of the world. 'And for the areas that we have to look at drier material, we bring that in and we test it here. 'Our view is, if it's tried and tested in Ireland, it will generally work anywhere.' Last year was 'extremely challenging' for the company. "We wrote the most fabulous business plan five years ago. It was beautiful. But life happens when you're making plans and we had Brexit, Covid and the uncertainty with wars,' Clodagh says. 'For a long time there was a 12-month wait for steel. Then all of a sudden, the supply chain caught up with themselves and every dealers yard across the world had a huge stock of tractors, which impacted their availability to take our product in. It was like someone hit the brakes. 'So we have to focus on what we have within our control and drive on and make sure that we're as efficient as possible and as innovative as possible.' And into the future, labour shortages and a gap in the skills market are Abbey's main concerns for the next 5-10 years. 'The height of the labour challenge came about three months into Covid – the government supports were so good and we could not get staff.' To address this the company has been involved with Enterprise Ireland and its apprenticeship programmes. 'Before Covid you could have sold Tipperary, the lifestyle and flexibility, but the labour market has changed and for us it's to encourage people to show them the skill set that we upscale, that we support the staff for training and different opportunities given the global footprint we have now.' And while Enterprise Ireland has been supportive, Ireland isn't necessarily an easy place to manufacture, she says. 'I think the government have a strategy here to support businesses, but it's not without its challenges, and there's been a lot of costs put on to companies and we need to ensure that we don't become uncompetitive. "Because Ireland is a small country and we're surrounded by water the only way for our companies to grow is to expand overseas, and for that, we need to be as competitive as possible.' She compares the agricultural equipment sector in Ireland to the car industry in Germany, name-checking the likes of Dairymaster, McHale, Pearsons and Combilift. And those in the sector are very good to each other, with Abbey getting great advice from others when it came to looking at new markets and technology. 'We've been at shows in Germany where other companies would help us with the stand set-up or moved a piece of kit for us. I think we have a really good community and network of companies within the sector. 'When we're looking at different markets and thinking of going to a show, you pick up the phone and ask those who have been how did they find it, what was the benefit of it. 'And Enterprise Ireland have people in the markets who can help with market research, or if there is a language or cultural barrier their help is really important.' That network of Irish manufacturing companies has also allowed Abbey to learn, while they too have opened their doors to other Irish companies to see how they do things. 'You can learn from other people's mistakes, people have learnt from ours. But we try to make sure we have the right product that gives a return on investment to our end user. "All equipment has gone extremely expensive, as has the cost of doing business, so we're trying to make sure we're saving labour, that we're reducing costs on farms, that we're increasing the milk yield – that's what it comes down to, profitability for the end user.'
Scottish Sun
22-05-2025
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Britain's ‘cheapest pub' suddenly SHUTS after 500 years because owner ‘unhappy about photos of it being shared online'
SHUTTERS DOWN Britain's 'cheapest pub' suddenly SHUTS after 500 years because owner 'unhappy about photos of it being shared online' A PUB dubbed the "cheapest" in Britain has suddenly shut up shop after 500 years. Locals have been left shocked after the owners revealed a bizarre reason with a notice on the door. 3 The Abbey, Derby, posted the handwritten note on the door saying they were unhappy about photos of it being shared online. Credit: Google maps 3 The brewery operates 200 pubs across the UK and is known for it's strict rules from owner Humphrey Smith Credit: Google maps The Abbey, Derby, posted the handwritten note on the door saying they were unhappy about photos of it being shared online. The 22-word notice reads: "Closed!! "Due to someone posting pictures of the Abbey on social media. Sam Smith has taken the alcohol and closed these premises." Samuel Smith's Brewery owns the pub and it has been suggested the current landlords had broken policies and were dismissed as a result. The brewery operates 200 pubs across the UK and is known for it's strict rules from owner Humphrey Smith. Such rules include a no-swearing policy, no televisions or jukeboxes and a ban on the use of mobile phones or laptops in its public houses. Just days prior to the closure, a Facebook account with more than 125,000 followers posted 18 pictures of the pub, inside and out. The Great British Pub Crawl account, a page run by Dale Harvey and his wife, Holly, follows the couple as they attempt to visit every boozer in the UK. They posted the photos on Saturday, May 17 alongside the caption: "Not every day you are asked to grab photos or a video in a Sam Smith's pub." It's not clear whether the post was the reason behind the closure. The pub is one of the last surviving buildings from an extensive monastery, dating back to the 15th century. The sudden closure has left locals stunned, with many taking to social media to express their disappointment and confusion. While the brewery has offered no official explanation, insiders suggest the landlords were dismissed for allowing, or failing to prevent, photos of the pub being shared online, a clear breach of company policy. The closure marks yet another abrupt ending for a Samuel Smith's venue, following similar shutdowns in Bradford and London, and raises fresh questions about the brewery's management style and the long-term viability of its rule-heavy model in the digital age. The Abbey is far from the only British boozer pulling its last pint. A string of beloved pubs are closing their doors, with punters and landlords alike left heartbroken as pressures in the hospitality industry hit boiling point. In East London, the historic Gun pub in Homerton has shut down after 160 years of service. Once a bustling local favourite, the venue was brought back to life in 2014 following a major revamp by landlords Nick Stephens and his partner Hanna-Sinclair Stephens. Despite surviving the Covid crunch thanks to a heroic crowdfunding campaign that raised over £30,000 in a single day, the couple say the pub has now become 'unsustainable'. 'It was hugely popular, but we just couldn't keep going,' Nick said. 'The capacity was only 90 — the numbers just didn't add up anymore.' Meanwhile, in Nottingham, The Emerald, a vibrant Indian pub and sports bar, has also called time, just two years after opening. Dubbed a 'labour of love' by its owners, The Emerald quickly became a community favourite for curry lovers and cricket fans alike. But behind the scenes, soaring costs and the departure of a key business partner created what they described as 'emotional, financial and operational strain'. In a heartfelt post, they thanked loyal customers: 'The Emerald was always more than just a pub—it was a cultural space… Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.' Social media lit up with tributes from heartbroken regulars. One wrote: 'It was more like home to us. Watching India win the World Cup there was unforgettable.' And even award-winners haven't been spared, a Midlands pub, hailed as the region's best and a finalist for Desi Grill of the Year 2024, has also gone under, despite its short-lived success. The wave of closures paints a grim picture for the UK pub scene, already battered by the pandemic and now facing soaring prices for rent, business rates and barrels.
Daily Mirror
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Abbey Clancy fires jib at Peter Crouch after he makes 'sex ban' admission
Model Abbey Clancy and former England international footballer Peter Crouch regularly share insights into their relationship on their podcast Abbey Clancy aimed a jibe at husband Peter Crouch after he opened up about a "sex ban" before big football matches. The 44-year-old former footballer shared on their Therapy Crouch podcast that athletes often avoid intimacy before an important game. This revelation came when a listener mentioned his wife's desire for a romantic encounter before his golf match the next day. Peter confirmed the practice among athletes He said "It is in the sporting world, but not for golf though." Quick to respond, Abbey quipped: "You never stuck to that." Peter retorted with a laugh: "Absolutely not, you never look a gift horse in the mouth in my opinion. That's why I never got to the top of my profession." Peter went on to explain he wouldn't want to stay up too late before a football match. He added: "Obviously you don't want a marathon tantric session the night before a game but you know, I wouldn't have been drinking, and sometimes I think, as a man, it's hard to turn it down I would suggest." Model Abbey told listeners that former England and Liverpool striker Peter would be willing to stay up after midnight if he was in bed first and she woke him up. But if the roles were reserved she would tell the retired footballer to "get off" her. Peter Crouch shared a laugh with his wife Abbey Clancy about their past bedtime routines during his football days, saying: "When I was playing football, I would never have stayed up that late anyway, I'd have been in bed at 10 and you'd have been next to me. If there was any funny business, it would have been 8.30pm." Abbey quipped back that any such "funny business" would last from "8.30pm to 8.33pm" to which Peter retorted: "Eight-thirty-three and then 8.35pm gone." The couple, who often give fans a glimpse into their domestic life via their podcast, recently discussed a nocturnal dilemma they've been facing. Peter explained how Abbey has commandeered his orthopedic pillow, designed to aid his posture and sleep, for a better view of the telly, lamenting: "She's all over the orthopedic pillow. It helps with my posture and stuff and helps me have a good night's sleep." Abbey admitted to her tactical use of the pillow, saying: "I get into bed first and it's a bit firmer so I'm a bit more upright in this pillow so it's perfect. My face is in the perfect position for Married At First Sight." Peter humorously complained that he ends up feeling like he's "doing crunches" while trying to watch TV because Abbey had taken his pillow, and jokingly questioned their relationship: "I don't actually know why I'm with you." He continued, half-jokingly expressing his realisation: "It's dawned on me now. It's really actually dawned on me. You're belittling my wins, even if it's a small win, you should celebrate that as my wife. "Number two, you take the p*** out of my orthopedic pillow and number three, you steal it. It's unbelievable."
Scottish Sun
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Abbey Clancy drops HUGE clue baby number five with Peter Crouch could be on the way
Abbey and Peter have have a controversial rule in place at home extra time Abbey Clancy drops HUGE clue baby number five with Peter Crouch could be on the way Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) ABBEY Clancy has dropped a huge clue that she and husband Peter Crouch could soon be welcoming baby number five. Model Abbey, 39, and retired footballer Peter, 44, are already parents to Sophia, 13, Liberty, nine, Johnny, six, and Jack, five. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 4 Abbey has hinted baby number five with husband Peter could be on the way Credit: Getty 4 Shke revealed daughter Liberty is 'desperate' for another sibling Credit: Instagram 4 Abbey and Peter are parents to Sophia, Liberty, Johnny and Jack Credit: Instagram And she took to Instagram to reveal the kids are ready for a new sibling - and that she is also on board. Abbey shared a drawing by daughter Liberty, showing the family plus another baby. She wrote: 'My darling Liberty desperately wanting me to have another baby.' Putting the ball firmly in Peter's court, she added: '@crouchy ????' Abbey and Peter, who tied the knot in 2011, have a podcast called The Therapy Crouch and often give fans insight into what life at home with the kids is like. During a recent interview Abbey confessed that it's 'totally chaotic' in the Crouch household and shared the close bond she and the children have. Speaking to to OK! Magazine, she said: "Our kids are very good, though. "They've all got distinct personalities but they're all easy-going. "That's not to say family life isn't chaotic – it's totally chaotic! 'There's absolutely nothing chilled about the Crouch household, but we wouldn't have it any other way. Abbey Clancy and Peter Crouch reveal very controversial rule they've slapped on their kids 'My kids are not happy unless they're three inches away from me – even Sophia, my eldest – and I really hope that continues." Abbey and Peter have also have a controversial rule in place at home after banning phones and tablets. Peter said: "We said to them iPads and phones are gone and I feel we've stuck to that. "We made a conscious effort amongst ourselves to cut them out and they've properly cut them out."
