Latest news with #Brod
Wales Online
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Small Welsh bakery seen in BBC's Death Valley sells amazing pastries and the 'world's best bread'
Small Welsh bakery seen in BBC's Death Valley sells amazing pastries and the 'world's best bread' Throughout the series you may be able to spot some local places as filming took place around Wales The Welsh bakery offers an array of Danish pastries (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne ) You might be wondering where Timothy Spall's TV detective relaxes with his favourite coffee in BBC's brand new comedy drama, Death Valley. Well, it's popular Welsh cafe, Brød, a Danish bakery that has four locations in south Wales where they sell a selection of yummy Danish pastries, cakes and bread. BBC's new comedy crime drama, Death Valley, aired for the first time this month with the opening episode airing on Sunday, May 25. The show follows Detective Janie Mallowan, played by Gwyneth Keyworth and former TV detective John Chapel, played by Timothy Spall as they become partners, fighting crime in Mountain Ash. (Image: BBC/BBC Studios/Simon Ridgway ) Throughout the series you may be able to spot some local places as filming took place across south Wales. For the latest restaurant news and reviews, sign up to our food and drink newsletter here From churches to piers to bakeries, read about all the south Wales locations used for the filming of Death Valley here. In one scene, Timothy Spall is seen enjoying a macchiato in Brød Bakery in Penarth, one of the Danish bakeries located in south Wales, which was founded in 2015 by Danish photographer-turned-baker Betina Skovbro. Brød now has three other spots across Cardiff including, Newport Road, the OG in Pontcanna and Cardiff Bay. Betina Skovbro moved to Wales in 1998 (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne ) Betina first arrived in Cardiff in 1998, bringing her grandfather's love of baking with her to feed the people of Wales delicious sweet and savoury treats. She told WalesOnline: "I went freelance as a photographer for 18 years and then I decided that I needed to have better bread in this country so I decided to give it a go. Some stupid idea turned into reality." From pastries to fresh bread, Brod have a wide selection of Danish treats (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne ) In 2023 the bakery was named amongst the top 20 bakeries in the UK by The Finical Times, commending it for offering "real deal" pastries. Article continues below It was also named best in the world the previous year winning three awards at the World Bread Awards in 2022. Named after the Danish word for bread, Brod's stores are filled with fresh pastries and goods made that morning – with the bakers starting weekend shifts at midnight and working until the small hours. The menu includes some of the same staples Betina's grandfather made working in a bakery in Copenhagen years ago. You can read more about the story behind Brod here.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Yahoo
101-year-old Hasidic family matriarch who fled Russia after WWII fatally struck by unlicensed driver in NYC: ‘Independent till her last day'
A 101-year-old Hasidic family matriarch who fled Russia after World War II – and was 'extremely independent till her last day' – was fatally struck by an unlicensed driver in Brooklyn, according to cops and her family. Taibel Brod was walking home from a birthday party for a rebbe around 8:25 p.m. on April 8 when a 65-year-old man behind the wheel of a 2023 GMC Yukon SUV plowed into her as she crossed at the corner of Brooklyn Avenue and Montgomery Street in Crown Heights, authorities and relatives said. Brod was rushed to Maimonides Medical Center, where she was initially listed in stable condition – but succumbed to her injuries less than two weeks later, on Sunday, police said. Brod left behind five children – three sons, two daughters — and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren, according to her loved ones. Born in Kremenchuk, Ukraine, Brod was among many Hasidim who fled Russia on escape trains to Poland, according to an online obituary. She met her husband, Reb Chatzkel Brod, at the Poking displaced persons camp in Germany, the obit said. They married there and had two daughters before moving to the US in 1951, according to Brod's relatives. The growing Chabad family lived in Brownsville before moving to Crown Heights in the mid-1950s. Brod lived alone after her husband died 20 years ago. On Thursday afternoon, her Crown Heights home – a short walk from the deadly crash – was filled with grieving family members sitting shiva, a seven-day Jewish mourning ritual. Her son, Yosef Brod, 73, who works as a building engineer in Los Angeles, said his mother spent decades feeding patients at Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center. 'For over 50 years she would feed patients,' said Yosef, as he sat next to three lit candles. 'Over 50 years day in and day out.' Yosef said his mother, who was 'very active in the community,' had 'goodness and kindness going for her.' Another son echoed his sentiments. 'My mother was deeply committed to the community as a volunteer in many areas. She did a lot of praying on a daily basis,' added son, Yisroel, 69, of Israel. 'A very open house and visitors would come from other countries to be in this community. She'd welcome them for a weekend, a holiday. She was a very giving person.' The great-grandmother was walking alone – with the light in her favor – when driver Menachem Shagalow tried to make a left turn eastbound onto Montgomery Street and struck her in the crosswalk, according to police. 'She was [a] very independent woman,' said her 38-year-old grandson, also named Yisroel, of Miami, who works in business development. 'Extremely independent and strong. She would take the bus by herself. She was extremely independent till her last day.' Shagalow was arrested at the scene and charged with aggravated unlicensed operator, failure to exercise due care and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, cops said. He was released on a desk appearance ticket and is set to be arraigned on April 28, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office. Shagalow has only one prior arrest, for grand larceny in 1998, cops said. The family declined to talk about the driver, with the elder Yisroel only saying, 'It was an accident.' Yosef said he had the chance to visit his mother in the hospital on Thursday and Friday, days before her death. 'From time to time, she did open her eyes,' he said. 'I sensed that she did recognize me. The day that she passed away, my brothers and two sisters walked from Brooklyn to the hospital and she smiled at them. That was before she passed away.' He said he looks to his faith as he grieves his mother's death. 'I don't know God's mystery, how he wants the world,' Yosef said. 'We are taught that everything that happens in the world is called Divine Providence.'
New York Post
24-04-2025
- New York Post
Family matriarch, 101, who fled Russia after World War II fatally struck by unlicensed driver in NYC: ‘Independent till her last day'
A 101-year-old Hasidic family matriarch who fled Russia after World War II – and was 'extremely independent till her last day' – was fatally struck by an unlicensed driver in Brooklyn, according to cops and her family. Taibel Brod was walking home from a birthday party for a rebbe around 8:25 p.m. on April 8 when a 65-year-old man behind the wheel of a 2023 GMC Yukon SUV plowed into her as she crossed at the corner of Brooklyn Avenue and Montgomery Street in Crown Heights, authorities and relatives said. Brod was rushed to Maimonides Medical Center, where she was initially listed in stable condition – but succumbed to her injuries less than two weeks later, on Sunday, police said. Family matriarch Taibel Brod, 101, was fatally struck by an unlicensed driver in Crown Heights, cops said. Brod left behind five children – three sons, two daughters — and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren, according to her loved ones. Born in Kremenchuk, Ukraine, Brod was among many Hasidim who fled Russia on escape trains to Poland, according to an online obituary. She met her husband, Reb Chatzkel Brod, at the Poking displaced persons camp in Germany, the obit said. They married there and had two daughters before moving to the US in 1951, according to Brod's relatives. The growing Chabad family lived in Brownsville before moving to Crown Heights in the mid-1950s. Brod lived alone after her husband died 20 years ago. On Thursday afternoon, her Crown Heights home – a short walk from the deadly crash – was filled with grieving family members sitting shiva, a seven-day Jewish mourning ritual. Brod, a grandmother and great-grandmother, fed patients at Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center for 50 years, her family said. Google Maps Her son, Yosef Brod, 73, who works as a building engineer in Los Angeles, said his mother spent decades feeding patients at Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center. 'For over 50 years she would feed patients,' said Yosef, as he sat next to three lit candles. 'Over 50 years day in and day out.' Yosef said his mother, who was 'very active in the community,' had 'goodness and kindness going for her.' Another son echoed his sentiments. 'My mother was deeply committed to the community as a volunteer in many areas. She did a lot of praying on a daily basis,' added son, Yisroel, 69, of Israel. 'A very open house and visitors would come from other countries to be in this community. She'd welcome them for a weekend, a holiday. She was a very giving person.' The great-grandmother was walking alone – with the light in her favor – when driver Menachem Shagalow tried to make a left turn eastbound onto Montgomery Street and struck her in the crosswalk, according to police. 'She was [a] very independent woman,' said her 38-year-old grandson, also named Yisroel, of Miami, who works in business development. 'Extremely independent and strong. She would take the bus by herself. She was extremely independent till her last day.' Shagalow was arrested at the scene and charged with aggravated unlicensed operator, failure to exercise due care and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, cops said. He was released on a desk appearance ticket and is set to be arraigned on April 28, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office. Shagalow has only one prior arrest, for grand larceny in 1998, cops said. The family declined to talk about the driver, with the elder Yisroel only saying, 'It was an accident.' Yosef said he had the chance to visit his mother in the hospital on Thursday and Friday, days before her death. 'From time to time, she did open her eyes,' he said. 'I sensed that she did recognize me. The day that she passed away, my brothers and two sisters walked from Brooklyn to the hospital and she smiled at them. That was before she passed away.' He said he looks to his faith as he grieves his mother's death. 'I don't know God's mystery, how he wants the world,' Yosef said. 'We are taught that everything that happens in the world is called Divine Providence.'
Japan Times
12-04-2025
- Japan Times
How to spend the perfect day in Hiroo, Tokyo's expat enclave
Looking for a day of relaxation? Then head to Hiroo, arguably the swankiest residential neighborhood in central Tokyo. Just one stop from Ebisu Station on the Hibiya Line, Hiroo is an enclave on the border of Shibuya and Minato wards known for its international consulates and chic expat lifestyle. But is everything as effortless and glamorous as it seems? Try this itinerary to see if Hiroo lives up to its reputation. Bread and breakfast: 9 a.m. The perfect day in Hiroo starts with freshly baked bread. There are few neighborhoods in Japan that do bread as well as Hiroo does, to the point where you can catch an alluring whiff of baked goods on certain streets: sweet and dry, all flax and rye and powdered sugar. Boulangerie Burdigala specializes in southwestern French goods, with impeccable cream puffs piled up like Mount Fuji. Truffle Bakery serves white truffle salt bread and hearty egg salad sandwiches, and intimate Brod has Scandinavian loaves with nuts and seeds that offer a slice of Nordic coziness. 'On Sunday mornings, people are strolling up and down the shops, a little music playing in the background, very typical and cute,' says Kristina Ganea, 50, owner of Brod and a Hiroo resident herself. 'You have your shopping, housing, kids' activities, sports, anything you need. And that can easily become, for the foreign community, a little bubble which you almost never leave — like floating in your own soup.' Not a miso soup, mind you, but a nice French onion or maybe a bouillabaisse. Hiroo is located within the circular Yamanote Line that marks off central Tokyo. The area has long been a favored residential area for expatriates and the wealthy. | JOHAN BROOKS Hiroo might be the most attractive neighborhood for expatriates in all of Japan, especially because of the widespread availability of international ingredients and products. The historic Meidi-ya and import-hub National Azabu grocery stores are loaded with everything from heaps of tortillas, Weetabix and Lucky Charms to imported raspberries and Ehime mikan (Japanese mandarin). But can you really spend a whole day in a bubble of foreignness? As you ponder the dream of an idyllic international life over a morning bite, the question comes to mind: Just how segregated from the rest of Japan is this expat paradise? A spot of history: 12 p.m. Once you've had your European-style bread and perhaps an artisanal roast from Bondi Cafe or Nem Coffee & Espresso (artfully decorated with earthy ceramics, elaborately spiced avocado toast available on weekdays only), the sun has risen high into the sky and you need a retreat. Leafy Arisugawa Memorial Park with its ponds and arched stone bridges speaks to the vaunted history of the neighborhood. In the Edo Period (1603-1868), the park was the urban villa of the daimyo of Morioka. Back in those days, the whole area belonged to wealthy samurai while peddlers carried rice from distant farms into central Edo. A man is fishing in Arisugawa-no-miya Memorial Park's Imperial Pond. The park is named for Emperor Meiji's uncle Gen. Prince Arisugawa Taruhito. | JOHAN BROOKS After the Meiji Restoration, land found a new purpose: embassy grounds for the nations Japan began to wheel and deal with in its era of modernization. With lower humidity than other areas of Tokyo due to its slight elevation, Hiroo became a favored place to live for the rich and powerful, as well as the waves of foreigners arriving in Tokyo. The United States and France established embassies within a stone's throw of each other. The U.S. military's GHQ also set up shop in the area following World War II. Over the decades, the presence of diplomats and soldiers fueled a boom in restaurants, bars and supermarkets that catered to international tastes. A quick stroll down residential streets in any direction reveals hulking mansions lacking typical hyōsatsu (nameplates), likely for celebrities or politicians to maintain anonymity. Recent constructions like the lofted white Arisugawa Duplex, a box of pale bubbles floating over a fragile tree, have added a modern flair to the neighborhood's design sensibility. But new buildings often rise at the expense of older middle-class homes. The Arisugawa Duplex is an award-winning residential building that adds a modern flair to the neighborhood's design aesthetic. | JOHAN BROOKS Alex Shapiro at Tokyo Portfolio, a boutique real-estate firm servicing primarily expats, says that the neighborhood has never before been so financially inaccessible. 'There's a shortage of desirable expat properties,' he says. 'Ones that have multiple bathrooms, ovens, fully equipped kitchens. That's a big reason why prices for these properties are shooting up.' The population of Minato Ward has increased 10% in the past decade, but the population of foreign residents is up 20%. The numbers of Americans, British and French have actually decreased, while primarily Chinese and South Asians have entered the neighborhood. It's a subtle change more than a palpable one — Hiroo hasn't wavered from its focus on Western delights. Old-school Cuban bar Havana 1950 is still a hot spot; local food and drink standouts include Middle Eastern feasts at Zenobia and a remarkable tequila selection at Ferri's. One of the owners of Fukuda-ya, a 90-year-old seafood restaurant, cuts fish to be used for sashimi. The owners are in good spirits but lamented the closing of older stores in the area. | JOHAN BROOKS On this particular day, lunch means a luscious Gorgonzola bacon burger at second-floor terrace joint Burger Mania. Afterwards, you decide to go on a mid-afternoon jaunt to the Teien Art Museum, which has an exhibit on German graphic design. The museum, designed by French architect Henri Lapin, is one of the premier sites for European art in Japan. Looking out the bus window on your way back, you see more families than businessmen, and plenty of tourists — or are they locals? Dinner and drinks: 6:30 p.m. It's easy to forget you're in Japan while spending the day in Hiroo. Orders for breakfast, coffee and lunch were all conducted in English. But now, office workers and creatives in their mid-30s are out for a bite and a drink, and a part of you registers a different side to the area — a strangely ordinary one. One long-term American resident, who asks to remain anonymous, says he mostly strolls with his wife up to Omotesando for food and drinks. 'It's a cookie-cutter place, in some ways,' says the 60-year-old who works in real estate. The main shopping street in Hiroo is almost remarkable for its mundanity, with its drug stores, ramen and yakitori joints alongside splashes of traditional culture: the century-old bathhouse Hiroo-yu, the scent of fresh incense from the temples of Kyoto at Kousaido. Hiroo resident Steve Bernstein takes Bert, a 15-year-old sulcata tortoise, out for a bit of fresh air on the weekend. | JOHAN BROOKS The resident observes that high-class expat life centers around business and careers: socializing at embassies and at the Tokyo American Club (with a ¥3 million initiation fee to get in the door), or among the parents of international schoolchildren. Even the ultimate expat bubble can't insulate a place from 'real' Japan leaking in from all sides, apparently. 'Because of tourists, now you need a reservation to go anywhere, so that sucks,' the resident says with a sigh. The influx of Chinese residents into the neighborhood is part of a Tokyo-wide trend, as are traditional houses with bonsai gardens toppled to make way for a parking lot or a four-story concrete block of high-end apartments. Hiroo has plenty of green spots, including this one off the main street being taken advantage of by Jerry, an Egyptian, and his puppy, Yin. | JOHAN BROOKS Ganea's biggest complaint is the lack of bicycle parking. 'We tried to live in a very Japanese neighborhood at the beginning of our time here and make friends with the people around us,' she says, 'but we eventually decided to go back to the international Hiroo situation.' As the final shreds of blue sky fade into dusk, the flow of the neighborhood shifts north. If the area around Hiroo Station represents the neighborhood by day, Shapiro says, the charming Italian restaurants, upscale izakaya (Japanese pubs) and amber-lit bars of Nishiazabu are Hiroo by night. A dog pokes its head out the window of a car on Hiroo's main street. | JOHAN BROOKS 'This is one of the few areas of Tokyo where you can barely know Japanese for 20, 30, 40 years and still get around,' Shapiro says. 'But those kinds of people are getting rarer and rarer.' Old-school overseas job postings are decreasing, and the families of today's international entrepreneurs and diplomats tend to be more invested in Japanese language and culture. Heading home: 10 p.m. The road at night is quiet but for a floodlight-bright 7-Eleven, an old man shuttering his ramen shop and a stylish young couple headed for post-dinner drinks. Taking a hard look at Hiroo at this hour reveals something more ordinary, and also more enduring. While its unique history, fashionable lifestyle, and lofty reputation precede it, the neighborhood is still subject to the same forces reshaping the rest of Japan. The dream of a perfect expat day has come to an end. Time to board the Hibiya Line and go back to your own Tokyo neighborhood — less prestigious, but yours all the same. Late at night and early in the morning, Hiroo's streets are as quiet as any other residential neighborhood in Tokyo, despite the locale's proximity to bustling Ebisu and Shibuya. | JOHAN BROOKS
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Large South Carolina wildfires contained as teens charged with starting blaze with cigarettes
PICKENS, S.C. (AP) — Two wildfires that started lose to each other in the South Carolina mountains and burned an area over half the size of Hilton Head Island are nearly contained, authorities said. Four teens who did not fully extinguish their cigarettes while hiking have been charged with causing the largest Table Rock Mountain wildfire which started March 21, the South Carolina Forestry Commission said. That fire and the Persimmon Ridge fire about 8 miles (13 kilometers) away burned about 25 square miles (64.5 square kilometers) during the 10 days they were out of control in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Rain this past weekend, coupled with more humid weather, helped firefighters finally get fire breaks built and check the entire area around the blaze for hot spots Wednesday, said Mike Brod, head of the federal team helping fight the fire. 'That was no small feat for sure. There was over 60 miles of fire perimeter," Brod said. No injuries were caused by the fire and no major structural damage was reported. The arrests for starting the fire were made earlier this week, authorities said. Four teens who were among seven hikers rescued off the mountain as the blaze started were charged with negligently allowing fire to spread to lands or property of another, the state Forestry Commission said. Arrest warrants said officers have evidence the teens were smoking cigarettes and did not properly extinguish them. The weekend rain and an additional downpour late Wednesday night were a huge help putting out the fires, but the danger is far from over. Millions of downed trees from last fall's Hurricane Helene remain to provide fuel to any new blaze and also impede efforts to fight fires, South Carolina Forester Scott Phillips said. South Carolina firefighters fought nearly 400 wildfires in March. April is typically the worst month for wildfires and forecasters said the long term forecast has more hot and dry days to come.
