Latest news with #Graeme
Daily Record
a day ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Family of football fans from West Lothian complete 24-hour SPFL club challenge
They started off in Annan at 3pm last Friday as they took on the 720-mile journey Three generations of football fans from a West Lothian family visited the grounds of all 42 SPFL football clubs in a 24-hour challenge. Graeme Cunningham, 38, from Fauldhouse, his dad Colin, 66, and his 11-year-old son Cole, who lives in Bathgate, started off at Annan at 3pm last Friday as they took on the 720-mile journey north to Dingwall, raising over £4,700 for three worthy causes. Graeme, a bus driver with Lothian Country, had set a target of £3,000 to be split equally between baby-loss charity SiMBA, Scottish Autism, and for Cole's team - Bathgate Thistle Community FC. All three organisations are close to his heart, his baby daughter Rebecca-Rose was still-born in 2013, and SiMBA supported the family then. His four-year-old niece Evie, Cole's cousin, is autistic. Graeme, Colin and Cole arrived at Ross County's Victoria Park on Saturday afternoon. 'We completed our challenge yesterday at 2:05pm so inside the 24 hour target,' said Graeme. 'There were no hiccups on the road. 'Some of the grounds are behind gates, like Spartans and Airdrie, so we couldn't get really close but that's understandable as we were there in the very early hours of the morning. 'Highlights for me were Kilmarnock, East Kilbride, Peterhead and Ross County. 'My dad's friend David Sneddon, whose own dad was Kilmarnock manager years ago, met us outside Rugby Park and donated a bottle of Kilmarnock FC gin and also presented Cole with a Kilmarnock top signed by the whole team, which made him so happy. 'East Kilbride's kitman Davie let us into the dressing room and pitchside and gave Cole an away and goalkeeper top, which was amazing. They even told us to keep in touch so we could meet them in Elgin as they were travelling north to play in the Premier Sports Cup. 'Peterhead gave us full access to the dressing room, media room, and allowed us to take pictures at pitchside even with it being a match day. Sharon the General Manager was absolutely fantastic with us. I even bought myself a Peterhead top as a keepsake. 'Ross County, our last stadium was equally as good. Ryan who works for them let us in and walked us round the pitch so we could get some amazing pictures to finish off our trip.' The challenge and trip is one that will last a lifetime for Graeme, a self-confessed 'fitba geek', his dad Colin and Cole. He has documented every stadium on his social media accounts with his TikTok page attracting a fair bit of attention. You can see for yourself on Facebook: 42 Clubs in 24 Hours and TikTok: @42in24. Graeme added: 'Overall it was an absolutely amazing trip with memories I will cherish forever. Most importantly we are sitting at £4,700 raised for the three charities which is crazy considering I only aimed for £3,000. 'Big thanks to everyone in Lammies Bar in Fauldhouse as well, they had a fundraiser on Saturday night (July 19) and raised £800.'
The Irish Sun
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Inside Graeme McDowell's life away from golf with wife & kids as he makes commentary debut at The Open
GRAEME McDowell has already impressed after making his commentary debut at his local course of Portrush on Thursday. The 6 McDowell joined Sky Sports' regular commentators such as Laura Davies and Wayne Riley Credit: Getty 6 He married partner Kristin Stape in 2013 6 They have two children together Credit: Getty Images - Getty 6 Nowadays he is a teammate of Brooks Koepka on the Smash GC team on the LIV Golf circuit Credit: AP He had hoped to play at the 153rd edition of the world's oldest golf tournament but Here, SunSport delves into the 2010 US Open winner's life away from the golf course: WIFE AND CHILDREN Around the time of that career highlight Major victory, Graeme met his spouse Kristin. He'd initially hired her as an interior designer while he was building his home in the ultra-wealthy Florida community of Lake Nona in Florida. Read More On Irish Sport They wound up dating and got engaged in October 2012. They tied the knot in an intimate ceremony in The Bahamas in September 2013. The couple have two children together. Their daughter Vale was born in 2014 whilst son Wills came into the world two years later. Graeme is a very private individual so there are no photos of them publicly available with his EARLY LIFE He's been based in the US for much of his life as he went to college at the University of Alabama in Georgia after transferring over from Belfast's Queen's University where he'd studied engineering. Most read in Golf The former When asked about his personal sense of identity he emphasizes that he doesn't like picking one nationality over another. Tense moment as furious Jon Rahm confronts golf fan at The Open When asked about potentially playing in the He explained: "I'm not bothered who I play for. I'll be honoured to represent Britain or Ireland or both. I'm proud to play golf for Europe." He added: "Yes, I sit on the fence but why not? There's no right or wrong answer. I'm always going to upset someone so why not sit on the fence?" The 45-year-old ultimately never represented either on the Olympic stage as he chose not to replace 6 The 'Golf, But Louder' circuit has seen him play in tournaments around the world compared to the more US-centric PGA Tour Credit: Reuters 6 Talor Gooch is another relatively famous teammate of his at Smash GC Credit: Reuters NET WORTH McDowell's become a somewhat peripheral figure in playing terms ever since Playing on Multiple sites such as and estimate his net worth to be around $40million. This leaves him trailing only McIlroy in COMMENTARY PRAISE Despite only being a quarter of the way into this year's final Major, he's proven a hit with viewers as a co-commentator. Among the online posts hailing his insight on Thursday, the GolfisLife account hailed: "Graeme McDowell is doing a great job on the Open broadcast as the in-booth player commentary. "It is amazing the booth crew are also being respectful on LIV and asking about LIV. This plus 19 LIV guys in the field it seems very appropriate." Similarly, Golf Monthly tweeted: "Very much enjoyed listening to Graeme McDowell in the booth today." To which Terry agreed: "Yes. Him and Faldo commentate without eulogising or speculating, the twin curses of most the others." Lastly, Luke reckoned: "One thing many missed in the division of golf is that great people & their ability to article the game went to LIV. "Players like Mickelson, McDowell & Casey would all make exceptional broadcasters & it was moronic to initially blackball them."
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Is buying with friends the answer to a tough housing market?
Four friends keen to get on the property ladder, but finding prices too steep, clubbed together to buy a home in London. Could this be the future of home ownership? The two couples, now each with a baby, live together in a three-bedroom flat in north-east London. Francesca, Graeme, Sonja and Kieran, all 34, have known each other since school and university, and lived together during the Covid pandemic until the landlord "doubled the rent overnight". From moving in, to house renovations, to the women giving birth four months apart, how is it all working out? Francesca, a musician, says when they all bought the flat together in 2022, she and her partner Graeme would not have been able to afford a suitable place in London on their own. Graeme says they would have been able to afford a property in the £350,000-£400,000 price range - but by bringing all four incomes together, they could afford "a lot more". They ended up paying £650,000. He says "apart from some estate agents being surprised", there were no massive hurdles to overcome to buy as two couples versus a sole couple. They got a floating deed of trust, a legal document that outlines how ownership of a property is divided between joint owners. Rise in non-traditional mortgages The four friends are among a growing number of people with non-traditional mortgages. Some of the UK's biggest lenders have reported trends in people co-buying with friends, siblings and parents. Lloyds Bank said its research found half of young first-time buyers were willing to consider more non-traditional routes to be able to afford a home, while Barclays reported "a strong interest" in non-traditional mortgages this year. Natwest head of mortgages Lloyd Cochrane said the bank was seeing "more and more customers think about different ways of getting on the housing ladder", but there was a need to raise awareness of non-traditional ways to get there. Part of the decision for Francesca, Graeme, Sonja and Kieran was that they wanted to stay close to their workplaces in London. It helped they were already close friends and living together "so it didn't feel like such a big step", Francesca says. "If anything, moving in just the two of us felt like a bigger step." Kieran points out the couples have each been together for a decade, so they were "fairly confident" they would not to split up and "cause havoc". Francesca and Sonja found another bonus, in that they spent a lot of their maternity leave together, which Sonja says "helped in a time that can be really lonely". The two families share groceries, childcare and cooking - splitting all expenses four ways - and their two children get on "like siblings", according to all the parents. The reaction from others has been positive, Kieran says. "Whoever I tell about it, they always think it's a great idea and they like it," he says. "But I do have to preface it with: 'It's not like a commune or anything. It's communal living.'" SpareRoom, a UK-based website that specialises in flat-sharing and finding flatmates, recently conducted a survey on 6,524 flatmates and lodgers in the UK. When asked how they planned to afford a deposit, of those who expected to buy a property, 89% said savings, 44% said they planned to team up with a partner, 25% said with financial help from friends or family, 17% said inheritance, 9% will team up with a sibling or parent, and 6% will team up with a friend. Of the 14% who said they did not expect to be able to buy a property, almost half said it was because their family could not help with a deposit. Things to consider The legal agreement or deed of trust Adam French, consumer expert at Money Facts, said: "What happens if the mortgage cannot be paid, or for example one of you wants to move out? Having all of that crystal clear in writing is really important." Credit scores Mr French said it was important to be "really transparent" about that one bad credit score or it could bring down the mortgage application. Other costs Insurance and stamp duty will need paying. Having a plan and an agreement in place will help to make sure things go smoothly. Friends Mirko, 37, and Lorenzo, 30, moved from Italy to London more than 10 years ago to work in casinos. After nine years, realising they had spent £160,000 on rent between them, they pooled their salaries and bought a two-bedroom flat in Woolwich for £450,000 with a deposit of £90,000. "We thought... why, instead of paying rent, don't we pay a mortgage?," Mirko says. "We've known each other so long, we trust each other. We can do that." He says the bank told them it was more likely to give a mortgage to friends because "couples are more likely to split up". "The bond you can have with a friend is bigger than a bond you can have in a relationship," Mirko says. Lorenzo adds that "with the money of a two-bedroom flat in London, you can buy a villa with a swimming pool" in big Italian cities like Rome and Mila, and their parents are proud of what they have achieved because they know how expensive London is. Mirko says he would recommend the set-up for "no more than two people" because it is difficult to find friends who think in the same way, but "if you find the right person, I think it's the right solution". 'I see huge value' It has been three years since Sonja, Kieran, Francesca and Graeme moved in together, and the experience, they say, has "really worked" - although Kieron says he would not recommend it to everyone. "You have to be confident with who you're living with and be very open with your finances and your family plans - and have a timeline," he says. Sonja says she could see such an arrangement working throughout different stages of life. "I think there's something sad when your networks narrow. I see huge value for this type of investment in retirement as well," she says. "Who knows what the next stage is for us - whether we'll continue to live together or separate into different homes - but I'd really like to have some element of communal living in my life." Additional reporting by Anna O'Neill Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to Similar stories Tips from first-time buyers: 'We bought a £320,000 home aged 25' When will interest rates go down again? Is buying with friends the future of housing? Solve the daily Crossword
BBC News
7 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Buying a house with friends: 'It's not a commune, it's communal living'
Four friends keen to get on the property ladder, but finding prices too steep, clubbed together to buy a home in London. Could this be the future of home ownership?The two couples, now each with a baby, live together in a three-bedroom flat in north-east Graeme, Sonja and Kieran, all 34, have known each other since school and university, and lived together during the Covid pandemic until the landlord "doubled the rent overnight".From moving in, to house renovations, to the women giving birth four months apart, how is it all working out? Francesca, a musician, says when they all bought the flat together in 2022, she and her partner Graeme would not have been able to afford a suitable place in London on their says they would have been able to afford a property in the £350,000-£400,000 price range - but by bringing all four incomes together, they could afford "a lot more". They ended up paying £650, says "apart from some estate agents being surprised", there were no massive hurdles to overcome to buy as two couples versus a sole got a floating deed of trust, a legal document that outlines how ownership of a property is divided between joint owners. Rise in non-traditional mortgages The four friends are among a growing number of people with non-traditional of the UK's biggest lenders have reported trends in people co-buying with friends, siblings and parents. Lloyds Bank said its research found half of young first-time buyers were willing to consider more non-traditional routes to be able to afford a home, while Barclays reported "a strong interest" in non-traditional mortgages this year. Natwest head of mortgages Lloyd Cochrane said the bank was seeing "more and more customers think about different ways of getting on the housing ladder", but there was a need to raise awareness of non-traditional ways to get there. Part of the decision for Francesca, Graeme, Sonja and Kieran was that they wanted to stay close to their workplaces in helped they were already close friends and living together "so it didn't feel like such a big step", Francesca says."If anything, moving in just the two of us felt like a bigger step."Kieran points out the couples have each been together for a decade, so they were "fairly confident" they would not to split up and "cause havoc".Francesca and Sonja found another bonus, in that they spent a lot of their maternity leave together, which Sonja says "helped in a time that can be really lonely". The two families share groceries, childcare and cooking - splitting all expenses four ways - and their two children get on "like siblings", according to all the reaction from others has been positive, Kieran says."Whoever I tell about it, they always think it's a great idea and they like it," he says. "But I do have to preface it with: 'It's not like a commune or anything. It's communal living.'" SpareRoom, a UK-based website that specialises in flat-sharing and finding flatmates, recently conducted a survey on 6,524 flatmates and lodgers in the asked how they planned to afford a deposit, of those who expected to buy a property, 89% said savings, 44% said they planned to team up with a partner, 25% said with financial help from friends or family, 17% said inheritance, 9% will team up with a sibling or parent, and 6% will team up with a the 14% who said they did not expect to be able to buy a property, almost half said it was because their family could not help with a deposit. Things to considerThe legal agreement or deed of trustAdam French, consumer expert at Money Facts, said: "What happens if the mortgage cannot be paid, or for example one of you wants to move out? Having all of that crystal clear in writing is really important."Credit scoresMr French said it was important to be "really transparent" about that one bad credit score or it could bring down the mortgage costsInsurance and stamp duty will need paying. Having a plan and an agreement in place will help to make sure things go smoothly. Friends Mirko, 37, and Lorenzo, 30, moved from Italy to London more than 10 years ago to work in casinos. After nine years, realising they had spent £160,000 on rent between them, they pooled their salaries and bought a two-bedroom flat in Woolwich for £450,000 with a deposit of £90,000. "We thought... why, instead of paying rent, don't we pay a mortgage?," Mirko says. "We've known each other so long, we trust each other. We can do that."He says the bank told them it was more likely to give a mortgage to friends because "couples are more likely to split up"."The bond you can have with a friend is bigger than a bond you can have in a relationship," Mirko says. Lorenzo adds that "with the money of a two-bedroom flat in London, you can buy a villa with a swimming pool" in big Italian cities like Rome and Mila, and their parents are proud of what they have achieved because they know how expensive London says he would recommend the set-up for "no more than two people" because it is difficult to find friends who think in the same way, but "if you find the right person, I think it's the right solution". 'I see huge value' It has been three years since Sonja, Kieran, Francesca and Graeme moved in together, and the experience, they say, has "really worked" - although Kieron says he would not recommend it to everyone."You have to be confident with who you're living with and be very open with your finances and your family plans - and have a timeline," he says she could see such an arrangement working throughout different stages of life."I think there's something sad when your networks narrow. I see huge value for this type of investment in retirement as well," she says."Who knows what the next stage is for us - whether we'll continue to live together or separate into different homes - but I'd really like to have some element of communal living in my life." Additional reporting by Anna O'Neill
Daily Mirror
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Lucky cop couple who won big on EuroMillions now living off the land
Police officers Graeme and Katherine White went from catching bad guys to catching hens after they scooped their big win - a million on the National Lottery's EuroMillions draw A lucky couple went from the beat to botany after they won the lotto. Police officers Graeme and Katherine White vowed to live off the land by moving to the country and enjoying the 'Good Life' after they scooped £1m on The National Lottery 's EuroMillions draw. The green-fingered duo took a sabbatical from chasing crooks and today, 12 months on from winning, the pair are well on the way to living a more sustainable life as they welcome the first livestock to their smallholding - four hens, two of whom are aptly named 'Euro' and 'Million'. Katherine, 37, said: 'Welcoming Euro and Million, as well as Bark Bark Hen and Jeff, is the culmination of an incredible first year as National Lottery winners and another step towards us living a more sustainable life. "Since our win everything has changed for the better, we've fast forwarded our 20-year plan at warp speed to give us, and our two children, breathing space both physically and financially. 'It's been a crazy 12 months and we've learnt a lot. From 'don't dig a post hole too big or your fence won't be strong enough', to 'remember to water your seedlings in a hot polytunnel.'' The hens are not the only new arrivals for the winning White family. Much to the delight of their daughter, six and son, four, and realising they finally did have the time and space, Katherine and Graeme recently welcomed a new Labrador puppy to the family. Katherine laughs: 'We also thought about giving him a National Lottery inspired name such as 'Lottie' and 'Millie' but the children have other ideas, so Rusty he is.' The couple have both taken a sabbatical from their roles in the Police and while they miss the camaraderie, being able to put shift life behind them is the icing on the cake of a pretty phenomenal year, with Katherine saying, 'Before the win we only ever had one weekend a month together as a family due to our shift patterns. Now we have every weekend together, and pretty much most the week too. Spending time with the kids is precious. When I was little we always went camping at Hunstanton, it's a very special place for me, so to now be close enough to pop there after school for a chippy tea and a play on the beach is priceless. Well not quite, it was the price of the EuroMillions winning ticket.' Looking ahead Katherine and Graeme have plans for a more extensive vegetable garden, once they have rabbit proofed the area, and a few more chickens. Katherine said: "Our dream is to be as self-sufficient as possible. I don't expect our gardening efforts to produce a bounty of vegetables or Euro and Million to lay enough eggs to save a weekly trip to the supermarket but we're at least at the start of that journey. 'In time we will add a few more feathered friends to the henhouse and my ultimate aim is to have a herd of goats.' Graeme, 36, added: 'I really think this is our little slice of heaven, somewhere we can raise our family and build wonderful memories. 'The experiences, the challenges and the laughable 'every day is a school day' moments we've had as we get to grips with country life are etched in my memory. I wake up each day excited about our future plans and go to sleep happily exhausted from the hard work and fresh air. 'The other day as I was planting up the polytunnel with vegetable seeds, Katherine arrived with a glass of her amazing homemade elderflower cordial. We looked at each other and laughed, we've changed in so many ways since our move from town life.'
