Latest news with #HayOnWye
BBC News
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Hay-on-Wye festival Gavin & Stacey postbox topper vandalised
A Gavin & Stacey themed postbox topper, which appeared in Hay-on-Wye to mark an appearance by the stars of the show, has been vandalised twice in a week, its creator has said. Last week, the postbox - painted gold in honour of Paralympics discus champion Josie Pearson - was decorated with two crocheted figures of the main characters from the hit TV Corden and Ruth Jones, who wrote and starred in the show as Nessa and Smithy, were at the Hay Festival talking about their new was concern when the postbox topper disappeared this week, but its creator Reet Prendergast said it was being repaired after being damaged for a second time on Wednesday. Passers-by spotted the woolly figures of Smithy and Nessa had vanished, leaving just the two posts where they once stood and Nessa's catchphrase, "oh, what's occurring", embroidered below. Hay-on-Wye, which sits on the Powys-Herefordshire border, has become synonymous with books and its literary festival has been running since and Corden's book When Gavin met Stacey and Everything in Between: A Story of Love and Friendship, is due out in first series of Gavin & Stacey aired in 2007, but the series officially ended with a grand finale Christmas Day episode last year and became one of the most watched scripted TV shows of the century. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Hay Festival: Gavin & Stacey's Ruth Jones gets award
Actress and writer Ruth Jones has been awarded this year's Hay Festival medal for drama. The Gavin and Stacey co-creator was honoured in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, where she was speaking about her new novel. War Horse author Michael Morpurgo won the fiction medal, while British-Turkish novelist Elif Shafak won the medal for prose."We are honoured to celebrate three exceptional storytellers," said Hay Festival chief executive Julie Finch, who said the three winners had "each done much to push the boundaries of contemporary writing and spread the joy of stories here and around the world". Jones, from Bridgend, writes about finding joy in unlikely connections in her new book, By Your is one of UK's best-known children's authors, writing more than150 books and serving as Children's Laureate. Shafak's most recent novel, There Are Rivers in the Sky, is the story of three lives – in Victorian London, 2014 Turkey and 2018 London – connected by a single drop of water.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Chris Packham: Chain yourself to trees or block a bulldozer to save green belt
Chris Packham has urged people to chain themselves to trees and sit in front of bulldozers if the Government's green belt planning reforms go through. The BBC presenter and campaigner accused Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves of creating a 'culture war' around bats and newts with plans that will line the pockets of developers. Packham said ordinary people must take radical action to preserve Britain's green belt. The Government plans to build 1.5 million homes under this parliament, with villages in the green belt stripped of protections against excessive development. Speaking about the Planning and Infrastructure Bill going through Parliament, Packham said: 'If that Bill goes through, we are in deep trouble, and frankly you need to get your chains out because you will need to be tying yourself to trees and you will be needing to sit down in front of bulldozers because that's the only way we're going to stop it. 'Why this government thinks there aren't people who won't do that, I honestly don't know. 'Why are we tolerating a government which is hell-bent on doing something enormously destructive and dangerous to the things we love most?' During an appearance at the Hay Festival, in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales, Packham said those who did not want to risk arrest should find their own way of protesting. 'You don't have to sit in the road. You don't have to get arrested. You simply have to shout above the noise and this is a time when we will have to do that.' He previously presented a television programme called Is It Time To Break The Law? in which he concluded that radical protest is 'the ethically responsible thing to do'. The Government wants to change the planning rules to speed up the building of housing developments. Sir Keir and Ms Reeves have vowed to make it easier for developers to push ahead with projects which have been held up by concerns about wildlife. They have been backed by Angela Rayner, the Housing Secretary, who led the way to overhaul green rules that prevent house building in the countryside. The Prime Minister has said that the Government's new 'common sense approach doesn't allow newts or bats to be more important than the home hard-working people need'. The Chancellor has said new plans will enable developers 'to focus on getting things built and stop worrying over the bats and the newts'. Packham said: 'Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer started a culture war against newts and bats, and they chose newts and bats as totemic symbols because these animals are afforded legal protection.' The Government wants to build homes 'that we don't need, to drive economic growth… through a sector which is one of the most greedy bunch of capitalists that you could ever come across anywhere'. He pointed to figures shared by Rosie Pearson, of the Community Planning Alliance, showing that there are 1.5 million derelict homes in the UK that could be renovated and tens of thousands of commercial properties that could be repurposed. 'The housing crisis is one of affordability. It's not planning, as the Government says. People can't afford their homes.' Packham shared a stage at the Hay Festival with Kevin McCloud, the Grand Designs presenter, who said the British have a 'small island mentality' and should follow the lead of countries in Europe where there are successful eco-housing projects with allotments and communal green spaces. 'When people build these days, they talk about the need for space: 'I need a spacious room'. They don't talk about connection – having that view, having that amazing piece of biodiversity outside your window. 'We build these houses on single plots with four walls which is the most inefficient way to build in terms of thermal loss. We build them around the country giving everybody their little fiefdom,' McCloud said. 'What we need to do is send Angela Rayner around Europe for three years. It's a small island mentality that we have. We can't understand what is possible.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Chris Packham: Chain yourself to trees or block a bulldozer to save green belt
Chris Packham has urged people to chain themselves to trees and sit in front of bulldozers if the Government's green belt planning reforms go through. The BBC presenter and campaigner accused Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves of creating a 'culture war' around bats and newts with plans that will line the pockets of developers. Packham said ordinary people must take radical action to preserve Britain's green belt. The Government plans to build 1.5 million homes under this parliament, with villages in the green belt stripped of protections against excessive development. Speaking about the Planning and Infrastructure Bill going through Parliament, Packham said: 'If that Bill goes through, we are in deep trouble, and frankly you need to get your chains out because you will need to be tying yourself to trees and you will be needing to sit down in front of bulldozers because that's the only way we're going to stop it. 'Why this government thinks there aren't people who won't do that, I honestly don't know. 'Why are we tolerating a government which is hell-bent on doing something enormously destructive and dangerous to the things we love most?' 'Shout above the noise' During an appearance at the Hay Festival, in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales, Packham said those who did not want to risk arrest should find their own way of protesting. 'You don't have to sit in the road. You don't have to get arrested. You simply have to shout above the noise and this is a time when we will have to do that.' He previously presented a television programme called Is It Time To Break The Law? in which he concluded that radical protest is 'the ethically responsible thing to do'. The Government wants to change the planning rules to speed up the building of housing developments. Sir Keir and Ms Reeves have vowed to make it easier for developers to push ahead with projects which have been held up by concerns about wildlife. They have been backed by Angela Rayner, the Housing Secretary, who led the way to overhaul green rules that prevent house building in the countryside. The Prime Minister has said that the Government's new 'common sense approach doesn't allow newts or bats to be more important than the home hard-working people need'. The Chancellor has said new plans will enable developers 'to focus on getting things built and stop worrying over the bats and the newts'. Packham said: 'Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer started a culture war against newts and bats, and they chose newts and bats as totemic symbols because these animals are afforded legal protection.' The Government wants to build homes 'that we don't need, to drive economic growth… through a sector which is one of the most greedy bunch of capitalists that you could ever come across anywhere'. He pointed to figures shared by Rosie Pearson, of the Community Planning Alliance, showing that there are 1.5 million derelict homes in the UK that could be renovated and tens of thousands of commercial properties that could be repurposed. 'The housing crisis is one of affordability. It's not planning, as the Government says. People can't afford their homes.' Packham shared a stage at the Hay Festival with Kevin McCloud, the Grand Designs presenter, who said the British have a 'small island mentality' and should follow the lead of countries in Europe where there are successful eco-housing projects with allotments and communal green spaces. 'When people build these days, they talk about the need for space: 'I need a spacious room'. They don't talk about connection – having that view, having that amazing piece of biodiversity outside your window. 'We build these houses on single plots with four walls which is the most inefficient way to build in terms of thermal loss. We build them around the country giving everybody their little fiefdom,' McCloud said. 'What we need to do is send Angela Rayner around Europe for three years. It's a small island mentality that we have. We can't understand what is possible.'
BBC News
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Why Ruth Jones accepted Gavin & Stacey Bafta award in bare feet
Ruth Jones has revealed that because she genuinely did not expect to win a Bafta award, she had "sort of settled in for the night" as an audience member and had taken her shoes off. So when she did win, there was nothing for it but to head up on to the stage was honoured in the best female performance in a comedy category for playing Nessa in Gavin & Stacey: The Finale. But she said it was such a strong category that she was simply sat holding co-creator James Corden's hand, worrying about how to look when she didn't an upcoming behind-the-scenes book with Corden about the show, the star said she hoped to show fans their writing process, their "silly little arguments", and the love and friendship they have. "I was really waiting for my name not to be read out, then when it was and I hadn't got any shoes on, I had to go up on stage barefoot, which was quite funny," Jones she was wearing a full-length evening gown, nobody watching had any idea her shoes were still tucked away under her seat, next to Corden. The actress and author will be appearing at the Hay Festival literature and arts event starting in the Powys town of Hay-on-Wye next week. She will be talking about her third novel By Your Side, which is published on Thursday, and appearing alongside Corden to talk about their upcoming book charting the behind-the-scenes story of the creation of Gavin & Stacey. Jones said it will give an insight into their writing process."I just think it might be interesting for people to find out how it came about, what our writing day was like, and some of the silly little arguments we've had on the way, the love we have for each other and the friendship that we have," she latest novel follows Linda Standish, a woman in her fifties who is about to retire from a unit that tracks down the next of kin for those who have died without any known relatives who would inherit their estate. She said Linda has been a cathartic character for her to write, because she was able to make Linda grumpy about some of the things that make her grumpy."Actually, at the back of the book there are a couple of pages dedicated to the things that really annoy Linda Standish and I have to say that some of those are things that I find annoying, like for example people who video call when they're on a train or a bus and they don't put headphones in." In the book, Linda is also an emotional eater. She comfort eats and has a stash of chocolate under the bed. Jones said that, at times, she has been an emotional eater too."I think both women and men can eat emotionally," she said."I know that I've sometimes I wanted to go, 'oh come on, it's a celebration, let's have a big blow out and have a curry or a massive bar of chocolate', and I know that people do. "Emotional eating is a thing. Whereas someone might pour themselves a couple of glasses of wine, Linda will go and eat a big Galaxy bar." There may be no more Nessa, but Jones will be back on our screens very soon starring in an adaptation of Harlen Coben's Run Away alongside James Nesbitt and Minnie Driver. Jones has also made a documentary called From Merthyr With Love with Welsh actor, comedian and local Steve Speirs."I'm very lucky, I'm getting to do lots of different things right now," she seems there is nothing Jones cannot do. And after she hinted at new writing projects with Corden in her Bafta acceptance speech, who knows, maybe the best could be yet to can catch up with the full Ruth Jones interview from Saturday's show on BBC Sounds
