Latest news with #Farry
IOL News
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- IOL News
SA woman's unforgettable moment at Pope Francis' last public appearance
As billions of people mourn the death of Pope Francis, a South African woman who was among a few thousand to witness the pope's final goodbye on Easter Sunday, said seeing the church leader in the flesh was a dream come true. Event manager and founder of GF Exquisite Events, Genevieve Farry, who recently moved to Rome to study her international masters, was in the crowd at St Peter's Square in the Vatican City as Pope Francis made his last public appearance, waving goodbye to a strong crowd. "I have travelled to Rome and St Peters Square for several years in hope of seeing the Pope and receiving his blessing. Yesterday, on Easter Sunday as well as it being the celebratory Jubilee year, we received the great honour to have Papa come out despite him not being well and graciously gift us with his blessing which is a testament of his devotion and resilience,' she said. #FarewellWave #EasterMemories #LegacyOfLove #InMemoriam #RomeMoments #SouthAfricanSpirit #CatholicHeritage #BreakingNews #IOLnews ♬ Very Sad - Enchan @iolnews Genevieve Farry, an IOL reader and South African resident in Rome, captured a poignant final moment when Pope Francis gave one last tender goodbye on Easter Sunday. The beloved pontiff, who was 88, passed away on Easter Monday, leaving behind an enduring legacy of humility and compassion. #PopeFrancis Farry said the pope's final message was exceptionally powerful, elegantly presented, and deeply affecting, serving as a call to all to unite and strive towards a common peace. Farry expressed gratitude for being in his presence. The event was additionally significant since she enjoyed it with both a long-time friend and new friends. "It was an emotional and peaceful renewing experience that I felt. Being that I have left my home, in South Africa for a new journey in Rome, it was a reassuring feeling that everything is going to be okay with his blessing. 'Grazie Mille Papa, may you rest eternally in perfect peace." Farry has described the atmosphere at the square as peaceful, despite there being over 50,000 people.
BBC News
25-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Former Ferryhill sub postmaster's compensation offer 'ridiculous'
A former sub postmaster who "lost everything" after the Horizon scandal has described his compensation offer as "ridiculous".David Farry, who ran a post office in Ferryhill, County Durham, was pursued by the Post Office through the civil courts over shortfalls that were not his received a compensation offer on Monday, but said it was significantly less than his claim and he was not going to accept it. The government said it had "more than tripled the total amount of payments". "I'm absolutely traumatised. This is just mental torture," Mr Farry said."I expected to get quite a decent sum of money to see me until my retirement age and give me a little bit of a buffer so I can treat the children."However, he said he was offered "way less than 50%" of the claim he had put in."Absolutely ridiculous - it's an insult to people's intelligence," he said."Took me about 30 seconds to digest the offer and make my mind up."A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said scheme applicants who feel they were owed more should speak to their legal advisors to appeal and this would be overseen by an independent panel of experts. 'Lost everything' Mr Farry bought Ferryhill post office in 2000 and ran it with his ex-wife, who became the sub said issues with the Horizon system started within weeks when a £1,380 deficit appeared."It continued from there. You'd get to the point where you'd phone the Horizon helpline, you would get no help," Mr Farry his marriage ended he became a sub with shortfalls continued and Mr Farry said he was advised by his solicitor not to sign cashier counts."Fortunately looking back, I think if I had signed the cashier counts they would've taken me to court and prosecuted," he was still pursued via the civil courts with a civil charge on his property over the shortages. "I went into the Post Office with a mortgage-free property and a quite nice lifestyle," Mr Farry said."I left the Post Office with absolutely nothing, I was living sofa to sofa, begging and borrowing off family and friends - it was just horrendous. "No help, no support, you couldn't challenge anything, absolutely devastating - I lost everything." 'Recognise the suffering' Mr Farry said the way the compensation scheme was administered was not "acceptable".He added it was "unfair" that he could not access compensation for the 12 years he had run the post office with his wife, even though it had been a joint venture.A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said: "We recognise the suffering that victims of the Horizon scandal like David have endured."We have more than tripled the total amount of payments under this government to provide postmasters with full and fair redress and have issued 410 offers to the 431 GLO claimants who have submitted full claims." Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
21-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Covid-19: Businesses prove adaptable in the face of pandemic
Businesses across the South East were sternly tested by the unprecedented nature of first national lockdown in March 2020 forced huge numbers to close at short notice, and left many facing an uncertain coronavirus proved the death knell for some businesses, others were able to adapt in the most adverse of circumstances and have flourished Farry, owner of Laila Paris Aesthetic and Wellbeing Clinic in Horley, said, in a way, the pandemic helped, adding: "Now we are booming." Pre-pandemic, around 30% of Laila Paris's customer base worked at Gatwick Airport and associated Farry said it took "a good two years" for this base to this period of uncertainty, she went into a "deep reflection" about her desired direction for the said: "I've actually now branded myself as the Skin Witch and I'm doing really well with that."We're very fortunate that actually Covid has, actually boosted our business in a way."We did survive and now we're booming." Lesley Farrow, co-owner of Niche Boutique in Rye, said the pandemic forced her hand to open an online operation and outlet said: "At the end of the whole lockdown period we'd lost eight months of business roughly."The stock was still coming in and we were closed, so we opened a website."Mrs Farrow, whose husband Peter Farrow runs a jewellery business on the same site, admits the move online was a "learning curve".As for the outlet, this came about because there was so much stock that needed to be displayed."Covid has made us have two stores," she added. The Copper Rivet Distillery in Chatham rose to prominence during the pandemic, having pivoted from producing gin and whiskey to hand sanitizer for the emergency services. During the period of greatest need, the distillery was making 10,000 litres of sanitizer a Matthew Russell says this level of production was no accident. He said: "We as an organisation were monitoring the situation quite closely on the lead-up to the lockdowns..."Given the fact that Copper Rivet distillery is one of the few producers to make alcohol from scratch, we did a lot of pre-planning on what we might need to do or be asked to do."With tour numbers still not fully recovered since the pandemic, the distillery has adapted its offering by introducing more experience packages.
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pennsylvania could soon have an official state candy — thanks to a group of students
(WTAJ) — Pennsylvania has a state bird, state tree, state song and soon — thanks to some students — it could have an official state candy. Joining official state icons such as the Ruffed Grouse (state bird), Eastern hemlock (state tree) and 'Pennsylvania' (state song) would be the Hershey Kiss as the official candy of Pennsylvania. Lawmakers plan to introduce legislation that would name the iconic flat-bottom teardrop-shaped chocolate as our official candy. The bill will be introduced by Senators Frank Farry (R-Bucks County), Patty Kim (D-Dauphin County) and Steven J. Santarsiero (D-Bucks County). In the memorandum, Farry said the bill was drafted by dedicated students in Buck County and he's proud to introduce the legislation. If passed and signed into law, Pennsylvania would become the first in the nation to have a state candy. 'Pennsylvania is home to a wealth of candies and treats that we all enjoy, and everyone has their personal favorite,' Farry wrote. 'After researching and considering various options, the students selected Hershey's Kisses because of the iconic shape recognizable around the world and uniquely associated with Pennsylvania. The students chose a candy that represents many industries and values important to Pennsylvania's past, present, and future, including agriculture, manufacturing, steel and aluminum, innovative entrepreneurship, commerce, community and economic development, and philanthropy.' Farry added he's proud to partner with colleagues from across the aisle and all around the Commonwealth to make this happen. When Milton Hershey began building his chocolate empire, he had a factory, buildings, and homes for workers before he even had a chocolate recipe, according to History Channel's 'The Food That Built America.' Hershey, however, was undeterred and has become one of the biggest chocolate makers in the of the world, Pennsylvania can also tout that more potato chips come from the commonwealth than anywhere else in the world. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
