Latest news with #GeriHalliwell
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
On This Day: Spice Girls fan with world record collection showcases her treasures
On this day in 2016, Liz West, a dedicated Spice Girls fan from Manchester, proudly showcased her impressive collection of memorabilia at Watford Colosseum. Holding the Guinness World Record for the largest collection of Spice Girls items, Liz possessed nearly 5,000 unique pieces, including personal items like shoes and costumes. She reflected on her journey as a collector, stating: "I first started collecting mostly because I was a fan. "Like everyone else I loved listening to their music and swapping photographs in the playground like football stickers." Read more On This Day: Golf star unveils statue at prestigious club On This Day: Viewers left baffled as bizarre blunder appears on BBC On This Day: 'Serious' fire breaks out in field after record-breaking temperatures Liz's passion for collecting began in her childhood, where she preserved items in their original packaging, unlike her peers. Her most significant purchase was a green dress worn by Geri Halliwell during The Spice World tour, which cost her £2,500. Now, her ambition is to meet all the Spice Girls and acquire the iconic Union Jack dress currently displayed in a Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas. [From the Watford Observer of July 22, 2016]
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
It is Britain's utter disgrace that wearing the Union Flag has become the ultimate taboo
It was a small and sorry tale that went big. On Friday July 11, as the sun shone down in Warwickshire, Courtney Wright, a Year 7 pupil at the village school in Bilton, Rugby, ought to have had a lovely day. It was the school's 'culture day', and so Courtney donned a cute sequinned Union Flag number and a hat to match. It had shades of the famous dress worn by Geri Halliwell of the Spice Girls in 1997, back when Britannia was briefly considered 'cool'. But a few hours later, Courtney's day had turned into an Orwellian nightmare. She found herself sitting outside the school waiting for her father to collect her, having been castigated and expelled. Her crime was wearing British garb, and with it, the suggestion that on a day of cultural celebration for the school 'community' in Warwickshire she was somehow … what? Asserting white supremacy? Racist nationalism? Expressing disgust for the 'diverse' members of the school? This sweet 12-year-old girl was treated as if she'd come dressed as a member of the Ku Klux Klan, or a skinhead from the National Front. Never for a moment dropping the imbecilic woke jargon that led them into this perverse position in the first place, the school issued a sort of bureaucratic apology, which reminded me of the Labour party's apologies for repeated outbreaks of anti-Semitism. Clearly missing the point, it droned that it was 'learning from this experience and ensuring that every student feels recognised and supported when expressing pride in their heritage'. One felt a queasy guffaw rise in the throat as the statement went on. 'As a school, we are reviewing our policies and strengthening staff training to ensure our practices reflect our values of inclusion, respect and understanding for all.' No, you buffoons. This isn't about 'reviewing policies' or 'values of inclusion'. It's about a culture that is so embarrassed and actually hostile to itself that it can't even countenance its own flag worn in sequins and good spirit by a 12-year-old girl. It's about the disastrous policies that have led to a moment in which terrorists are painstakingly afforded all the protections of British and European human rights, and pro-Palestine obsessives can drape themselves in keffiyehs and Palestinian flags, but a girl is humiliated, ostracised and sent home by teachers for celebrating, in the most light-hearted of ways, her British heritage. It's about the catastrophic melange of bad ideas leading to the blind worship of 'multiculturalism'. Careful observers have always known that this term was a mess; it has killed off any understanding of the importance of having a flexible but dominant home culture. One that is critically engaged with its history and heritage, but also insistent upon the Western values that are the fruits of that history and heritage. One that could not only handle, but enjoy, a dress like the one Courtney wore. We all know that Bilton School's aims are not for a moment about actual diversity, whether it is conscious of this fact or not. They are about brainwashing. And what happened to Courtney Wright is a microcosm of what has been happening, at greater intensity, in Britain's wider culture for years. Indeed, Bilton School's notion of 'heritage' as something that's first and foremost 'inclusive', and thus worth celebrating so long as it's not British, will feel very familiar to many. For example, the students at university or pupils at school who, for years, have dared not say anything about the British empire lest they end up conveying something other than scathing hostility. Britain faces a massive crisis of identity, and the events in Rugby have shone a direct light on it. The anti-Britishness of Britain is leading directly to policies, like those of the police and the security services, that harm British children. The grooming gangs weren't stopped, in part, because of a fear of Islamophobia. The security services didn't chase up a lead that might have stopped Salman Abedi from bombing the Manchester Arena; there is no reason to think this blind-eye-turning wasn't, at least in part, caused by the same fear. At the 20th anniversary of the 7/7 bombings in London, the great and the good hung their heads in respect of the victims, but few named what caused the carnage: Islamist terror. Fear of inflaming 'community tensions' – the same reason Jews were told not to hang 'missing' posters of the hostages taken by Hamas on October 7 – no doubt explain that reticence. I'm as averse to chest-thumping jingoism as the next cosmopolitan, rootless Jew whose patriotic grandparents had to flee their nations – their national loyalty counting for less than zero. Nationalism has long been associated with violence, racism, anti-Semitism and loutishness, to say nothing of Nazism, the most terrifying empire the world has ever seen. But Britain isn't plagued with Nazism, or the murderous racism of the Ku Klux Klan. Not even close. We are, in fact, dealing with a country on its knees, suffering from a lethal lack of confidence. As ever, Europe both experiences and responds to such tensions in volatile technicolour. In Germany, the far-Right, nationalist, anti-immigrant AfD has closer links, for obvious reasons, to the dangerous rhetoric of Germany's recent past. Indeed, celebrating 'Germannness' is, in my view, something that should only be done with the utmost caveating for quite some time to come. At any rate, the AfD's Thuringia chapter is considered its most extreme Right-wing and is on German state watch lists. Its leader, Björn Höcke, has many views ranging from dubious to repellent. He has said that 'the big problem is that one presents Hitler as absolutely evil', wants less Holocaust education and a return to the 'natural gender order', whatever that is. But in his book, Never Twice in the Same River, Höcke, a former school teacher, stumbles on a kernel of truth. He tells how one summer, students at the school started wearing T-shirts with the names of countries printed on them, including 'Turkey', 'Russia' and 'Italy', but of course not Germany. And then a girl showed up wearing a 'Germany' shirt. 'The Turkish and African boys were beside themselves,' writes Höcke. 'These otherwise divided Turks and Africans spontaneously agreed in their aggressive rejection of 'Germanness'.' Höcke then turned up in a 'Germany' shirt the next day, and he was elated when some students followed suit. The point is not that poor old Germany deserves to forget the Holocaust and rehabilitate Hitler; that would be monstrous. It's that societies founder without a clear sense of where they've been, where they are and where they are going. Germany and the rest of Europe do not need to embrace far-Right politics to do this. No, they have only, at least in the first place, to refuse to let worries about offending minorities, or being seen to do so, get in the way of asserting the rule of law. And for the rest of us, the job is to assert the customs and values of the land without fear. Without that clarity of mission and identity, we will continue to see travesties from the small to the cosmic. Thankfully, Britain is not Germany. We have a history without the atrocities of the Nazi era. Our cultural inheritance is so rich, and has so many brilliancies alongside the less good things, that we have a feast of opportunity to work on, if only we were able. Seeing things this way would not only be more interesting and educative for children, it would also save lives.
Metro
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Metro
Red Bull decide to sack driver just days after Christian Horner exit
Just days after Red Bull axed Christian Horner, the Formula 1 giants have reportedly decided to sack one of their drivers. Last week, Red Bull announced that Horner had been 'relieved of his operational duties' having lead the team for over two decades. The dismissal of the team principal, husband of former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, comes after months of tension within the team and a sharp decline in performance on the track. While Max Verstappen has won two races this season and sits third in the standings, he will relinquish his championship crown to either Oscar Piastri or Lando Norris of McLaren. The RB21 is proving incredibly difficult to drive, as evidenced by the woeful results of Verstappen's teammates, who have scored a combined seven points to the Dutchman's 165. Young Liam Lawson was picked by Horner to replace Sergio Perez for 2025 but was brutally axed after just two races, with the more experienced Yuki Tsunoda replacing him. The Japanese driver has not fared much better however, failing to finish higher than ninth and not scoring any points in the last five grand prix. And it seems patience has run out for the 25-year-old, with GPblog claiming that Red Bull have decided not to extend his contract, though he will be allowed to see out the rest of the season. It might not be the end of the road for Tsunoda however, as it is said his representatives recently held talks with Cadillac who are joining the grid in 2026, while he also continues to be linked to Aston Martin. If all this is true, Red Bull could have an entirely new driver line-up next year with four-time champion Verstappen in talks to join rivals Mercedes. More Trending Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar would be first in line to step up to the senior Red Bull team following his impressive start to life in F1, with Lawson also under consideration. This would open the door for 17-year-old Arvid Lindblad, a Red Bull junior and Formula 2 star, to be fast-tracked to Racing Bulls and become the fifth British driver on the grid after Norris, Sir Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Ollie Bearman. The F1 season continues with the Belgian Grand Prix on July 27. For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. MORE: Inside Christian Horner and Geri Halliwell's sprawling countryside homes with mini farm MORE: How much did Christian Horner make as Red Bull chief before dismissal? MORE: Inside Christian Horner's marriage to Geri Halliwell as he's sacked from Red Bull
Daily Mail
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Iconic times A-listers have rocked the Union Jack from Geri Halliwell, to Kate Moss and Taylor Swift - after school came under fire for banning flag-themed outfit
A school caused quite the debate this week when a 'straight A' student was put into isolation for wearing wearing a Union Jack dress for her school's culture day. Courtney Wright, 12, wore a Spice Girls-esque dress to celebrate being British and wrote a speech about history as part of the celebrations at Bilton School in Rugby, Warwickshire. However, the Year 7 pupil was told the dress was 'unacceptable' and was made to sit in reception until her 'gobsmacked' father Stuart Field, 47, collected her. Despite the stir, Union Jacks certainly quite the fashion statement in popular culture, with a whole host of celebrities rocking the flag over the years. Some A-listers have gone down in the history books for rocking Union Jack outfits, with Geri Halliwell for one becoming synonymous with her flag-themed mini dress. And she is certainly not the only one, with American celebrities even jumping on the trend to show off their love for British culture. Geri Halliwell Arguably the most famous Union Jack look, Geri, 52, stepped out at the 1997 BRIT Awards in a mini dress featuring the flag. Joined by her Spice Girls bandmates Victoria Beckham, Mel B, Mel C and Emma Bunton, Geri certainly attracted attention in the daring look. Geri revealed the iconic look was actually created by her very own hand as she stitched a tea towel on the front of a 50s style Gucci black mini dress. It has gone down in pop culture history and the look has inspired many party costumes in the years since, with everyone wanting to channel Geri's look. The unforgettable outfit even holds the Guinness World Record for the most expensive piece of pop star clothing sold at an auction - after nabbing £41,320 in 1998. Kate Moss Supermodel Kate, 51, has sported Union Jack on many occasions over the years, serving endless 'patriotic' fashion moments. Most recently, Kate wore a jacket featuring the flag to mark The Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June 2022 - just months before Queen Elizabeth's death in September of that year. She wore the ensemble while joining Naomi Campbell, 52, on an open-top bus for the 1990s Times of Our Lives celebration, which rode down The Mall. Kate wasn't the only celebrity to jump on the trend for the Platinum Jubilee as Cliff Richard also sported a Union Jack blazer for the 2022 celebrations. Fashion designer Jasmine Guinness also wore the flag while marking Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee ten years earlier in 2012. It was not the first time Kate proudly sported the flag as she famously launched London Fashion Week in 1997 by wearing a Union Jack sweater. In 2016, Kate also draped an actual Union Jack over her shoulders while posing for a Vogue photoshoot. Taylor Swift Though she is American, Taylor, 35, has proved she is no stranger to a Union Jack and famously sported a head-to-toe Britannia ensemble on stage. In 2013, Taylor kicked off her performance at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show wearing a Union flag-print mini-dress. Her outfit was a surprising choice given the show took place in New York rather than London, but it has become one of her most memorable looks. The Shake It Off hitmaker strutted her stuff in a blazer mini dress featuring the flag, which billowed out into a dramatic cape behind her. She added to her look with matching peep-toe heels and a tiny top hat as she embraced all things British with the ensemble. Rita Ora Following in Taylor's footsteps, singer Rita, 34, also wore a flag-themed look while taking to the stage in New York just two years later. Rita put on a very arty display as she stepped out in a distressed leather jacket painted with a Union Jack across it. She made sure to turn heads as she performed at Fashion Rocks 2014 in Brooklyn, which was aptly presented by Three Lions Entertainment. Around the same time, Rita also draped herself in an actual Union Flag in the music video for her 2015 track Body On Me. In the video, she put on a racy display as she wore little else while draped in the flag and danced along to her sexy lyrics. At the time, Rita described the music video as her 'most intimate' one yet as she teased the cheeky scenes. Dua Lipa Joining the long list of pop stars jumping on the Union Jack trend, Dua, 29, also rocked a 1960s style ensemble during her notable BRIT Awards performance. The Levitating hitmaker took to the stage at the 2021 ceremony at the O2 Arena in a Union Jack blazer mini dress. She then stripped off the coat to reveal she was wearing a matching Union Jack mini skirt underneath, which gave a cheeky flash of her thong and stockings. The singer entertained fans as she ran through a medley of some of her biggest hits at the star-studded ceremony. Dua's choice of ensemble appeared to be a nod to Geri's headline-making dress, which she wore at very the same awards show some 24 years earlier.
The Sun
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
School banned my daughter, 12, from ‘diversity day' for wearing Union Jack dress – the reason was ridiculous
A GIRL was banned from a school's cultural diversity day — for wearing a Union Jack dress. Heartbroken pupil Courtney Wright, 12, was told: 'You get to celebrate being British everyday, this is for everybody else.' 4 4 4 The Year 7 pupil teamed her dress — similar to the one worn by Spice Girl Geri Halliwell in the 90s, above — with a matching bowler hat. She also planned to read a speech celebrating tea, Shakespeare, fish and chips and the royals. But the grade-A student was stopped by teachers who gave her the option of wearing a second-hand uniform instead. Courtney refused before her dad Stuart Field, 47, arrived to collect her from Bilton School in Rugby, Warwickshire. Last night, he slammed the school for 'virtue signalling' and said he had since received a grovelling apology. The dad of five told The Sun: 'Her head of year bizarrely said that if she had worn a suit of armour or a nurse's outfit, she probably would have been allowed. "It's ridiculous. The irony is they were having a cultural diversity day and yet they singled out a group of people. 'She's a grade-A student and they have vilified her and punished her for being proud of being British.' He said a mum told him her son was banned for wearing a farmer's outfit. The marine engineer, from Coventry, added: 'This was Courtney's interpretation of British culture and what it means to her. Homeowner divides opinion with Union Jack driveway as some praise 'patriot' but others say it'll 'knock £20k off house' "Their response goes against all the school's inclusion policies. She was segregated from the kids taking part.' Before last Friday's event, head Jayne Delves wrote to parents: 'This special day is dedicated to recognising and celebrating the rich cultural diversity within our school community. "Students across all year groups will have the opportunity to take part in a variety of cultural activities.' In her speech, Courtney hoped to say: 'We have lots of traditions including drinking tea, our love of talking about the weather and our Royal Family. 'We have amazing history, like kings and queens, castles and writers like Shakespeare.' She would add: 'Sometimes at school we only hear about other cultures — which is great because learning about different countries is interesting and important. 'But it can feel like being British doesn't count as a culture, just because it's the majority.' The school responded: 'We deeply regret the distress this has caused and offer our sincere and unreserved apologies. We've since spoken directly with the pupil and her family to listen to their concerns and reflect on how this could have been handled better. 'We are committed to learning from this experience and ensuring every student feels recognised and supported.' 4
