Latest news with #DigIt!
Daily Mirror
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Radio 2's Zoe Ball shares love life insight as she says one gesture 'properly made me cry'
Zoe Ball and fellow radio star Jo Whiley were reflecting on the best presents they have been given during a conversation on their new Dig It! podcast Zoe Ball admits she 'properly cried' at a thoughtful gesture from someone 'special' to her. BBC Radio 2 star Zoe made the admission while considering the best gifts she has given and received. On the Dig It podcast, fellow presenter Jo Whiley explained the best present her husband Steve Morton has ever given her was a replica of her first car. She explained the baby blue Renault 4 was 'exactly the same' as the one she had as a youngster. It led Zoe to say the 'only thing' about buying such a gift is that it sets the bar so high. However she recalled one touching present she received from 'someone she adores' that brought her to tears. She said: 'Someone special to me took all of the messages and some of the things we'd sent each other and put them into a book and this book is bound, it is so beautiful, it properly made me cry. It's like, 'Oh my goodness me, you've captured all those lovely early messages', and there's funny things, there's moving things and it is beautifully bound and it is on the shelf next to two books of poetry. 'It's such a special thing and just between the two of us and I was like, 'Wow'. But then, follow that! How do you follow that? Go low, go with the chopping board and then build up.' Co-host Jo Wiley called the gift a 'mic drop' moment. She added: 'Photobooks I think are really good but that is next level, it really is.' Back in May Zoe made her return to Radio 2, six months after stepping away from her popular breakfast show. The early morning slot was instead over by former Radio 1 star Scott Mills. Zoe said it was "time to step away from the very early mornings and focus on family" after the death of her mother Julia. Announcing the new show, Helen Thomas, head of Radio 2, said: 'Zoe is one of the UK's most loved presenters, so I'm thrilled to announce that she has a new home on Radio 2 on Saturday lunchtimes, plus she'll be hosting various specials for us throughout the year.' Last year Zoe is also said to have sold her £2 million home in rural Sussex and moved to a townhouse in Brighton and Hove, closer to where her ex-husband Norman Cook, known professionally as Fatboy Slim, lives. Zoe and Norman are both said to have taken up hobbies such as gardening, with Norman also opening the Big Beach Cafe in picturesque Hove. Their son, Woody, told MailOnline: 'In the last five years, it's been funny watching my parents take up gardening both of them. 'These crazy party people I grew up with are now gardening, making puzzles and working in the local café. It's very funny to see that transitional period, just as I'm kind of leaving the nest and now at the start of something big for me in music.' Zoe and ex-husband Norman started dating while he was a DJ and she presented on BBC Radio 1. They married in 1999. They announced their separation in 2016. The former couple share grown-up children Woody and Nelly together.
The Herald Scotland
19-06-2025
- General
- The Herald Scotland
Fascinating sites opened to public through Scotland Digs 2025 campaign
Now in its seventh iteration, the national campaign coordinated by the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland's Dig It! project begins on Friday 20 June 2025 to promote opportunities for the public to engage with archaeology this summer. Titled 'Meeting People', this year's theme is raising awareness of the wellbeing benefits of archaeology, both in terms of learning about people from the past and connecting with other individuals at the events. Surveying, recording, excavation and more will take place in urban and rural areas coordinated by a range of organisations across the country, with many sites welcoming the public with free tours, open days and volunteering opportunities - no experience required. Volunteers will be able to get involved (Image: Shahbaz Majeed) Dr Jeff Sanders FSAScot, Head of Outreach at the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, said: 'A growing number of studies are showing that archaeology can have a positive impact on wellbeing. 'The results of archaeological investigations can help us feel connected to the past, giving a sense of both perspective and appreciation of the places we live in and visit. But actually getting involved in fieldwork is also richly rewarding and offers the chance to connect to others. 'These connections, whether to people from thousands of years ago or to fellow volunteers on site, is what our 'Scotland Digs 2025: Meeting People' campaign is all about.' In Fife, the Monastic Archaeology Field School is excavating the 12th-century Lindores Abbey, which has a long tradition of distilling. Students from Global St Andrews Summer School are addressing research questions relating to the surrounding landscape and the use of water, including its environmental impact. From 21 June to 4 July, the public can visit from Wednesday to Friday between 11am and 3pm, including on their Open Day on 3 July which will feature site tours and a showcase of the finds. Throughout the summer, the public can also contact Archaeology Shetland to help survey what remains of Shetland's meal roads. This network of roads was created as part of a famine relief scheme in the mid-1800s where residents - including children - received meal (coarse flour) in exchange for their labour. The projects are probing several sites (Image: Shahbaz Majeed) On 23 August, the public are also invited to help record a large and complicated 19th-century crofthouse. Between 24 June and 8 July, the University of Glasgow and the National Trust for Scotland are investigating an early modern township in Glencoe to uncover how the communities built relationships with their landscape and managed their resources. The campaign continues in September, with the 1722 Waggonway Heritage Group returning to the East Lothian site where remains of Scotland's earliest railway were discovered in 2021. They want to learn more about this wooden track, which was constructed over 300 years ago to bring coal from Tranent to the salt pans and harbour at Cockenzie and Port Seton. The public can drop in to visit or help at the excavation on 5 and 6 September or enjoy a tour on 7 September. Rock Art is central to one of the projects (Image: T Burnett) From 18 to 20 September, Stirling Council's Archaeologist Dr Murray Cook FSAScot and Fintry Museum will be digging at Balgair in Stirlingshire, a site with a history thought to span 4,000 years. Their work began in 2024 with the hunt for a medieval village that vanished around 1800, although quartz artefacts and LiDAR images of prehistoric houses and a possible hillfort suggest that the site was also occupied thousands of years earlier. The public can register to join the dig and help continue the investigations. Finally, in September, Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust are also running a community excavation of prehistoric rock art near Aberfeldy, which was created over 5,000 years ago. The excavation aims to enhance understanding of the carvings, their relationship to the surrounding landscape, and of Scotland's rock art more widely - while promoting community engagement and raising public awareness. The public is invited to register to help with the dig or drop by the Open Day, the details of which will be announced soon. Dr Susan O'Connor, Head of Grants at Historic Environment Scotland, said: "Doing archaeological fieldwork allows people to get up close and personal with their historic environment, fostering a sense of pride and connection to the past. 'The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland's Dig It! project is a wonderful way for members of the public to learn about their heritage, from Shetland's meal roads to Scotland's earliest railway in East Lothian.
