Latest news with #JamesRoss
Edinburgh Reporter
6 days ago
- Business
- Edinburgh Reporter
Bonnyrigg footballer's medal sold to Tottenham Hotspur
The medal awarded to Captain James Ross, from Bonnyrigg in Midlothian, was bought by Spurs, the London club he went on to play for after the war. Ross won the Military Cross for his 'conspicuous gallantry' fighting with the North Staffordshire regiment on the Western Front in 1918. After the war 'Jimmy' played as a right back for Raith Rovers before transferring to Tottenham in 1923. The Military Cross and five other medals presented to Ross for his services in the First and Second World Wars went under the hammer at Noonans' sale of Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria in London. Tottenham Hotspur, who this week won the Europa League final against Manchester United, paid a hammer price of £1900 — almost double the £1000 estimate — to secure the group won by their former player 'for their collection'. Ross was born in Bonnyrigg on 7 March 1895 and joined the Royal Army Medical Corps, serving with them during the Great War on the Western Front from 12 May 1915. He was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the North Staffordshire Regiment on 26 March 1918 and was given the medal for conspicuous gallantry and good work during the fighting in the Forêt de Mormal on 4 November 1918. His Military Cross citation in the London Gazette of 4 October 1919 read: 'For conspicuous gallantry and good work during the fighting in the Forêt de Mormal on 4 November 1918. 'His company was held up and his company commander was wounded. He assumed command, and owing to his coolness and ability the advance was properly continued and two field guns were captured with personnel complete.' Christopher Mellor-Hill, Head of Client Liaison at Noonans, said: 'Captain Ross was 23 years old when he was awarded the Military Cross for his gallantry during the final push to victory. 'A keen footballer, initially with Raith Rovers, Ross subsequently signed professional forms with the Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, then playing in the top division of English football. 'He made seven appearances for them as a defender in the 1922-23 and 1923-24 seasons.' Ross saw further service during the Second World War in the Cameronians. His Military Cross went under the hammer along with Ross' 1914-15 Star; British War and Victory Medals; Defence Medal; and War Medal 1939-45. He died at Lasswade, Midlothian, on 5 November 1962, aged 67. James Ross Military Cross Credit Saltire News James Ross Credit Saltire News Credit Saltire News Like this: Like Related
Toronto Sun
6 days ago
- Health
- Toronto Sun
Australian woman on trial for mushroom murder of in-laws says she was trying to fix 'bland' lunch
Published Jun 04, 2025 • 3 minute read Erin Patterson, the woman accused of serving her ex-husband's family poisonous mushrooms, is photographed in Melbourne, Australia, on April 15, 2025. Photo by James Ross / AP WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Before Erin Patterson's in-laws and their relatives arrived at her home for lunch, she bought pricey ingredients, consulted friends about recipes and sent her children out to a movie. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Then, the Australian woman served them a dish containing poisonous death cap mushrooms — a meal that was fatal for three of her four guests. Whether that was Patterson's plan is at the heart of a triple murder trial that has gripped Australia for nearly six weeks. Prosecutors in the Supreme Court case in the state of Victoria say the accused lured her guests to lunch with a lie about having cancer, before deliberately feeding them toxic fungi. But her lawyers say the tainted beef Wellington she served was a tragic accident caused by a mushroom storage mishap. She denies murdering her estranged husband's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and their relative, Heather Wilkinson. The mother of two also denies attempting to murder Heather's husband Ian Wilkinson, who survived the meal. In a rare step for a defendant charged with murder, Patterson chose to speak in her own defense at her trial this week. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. On Wednesday, she spoke publicly for the first time about the fateful lunch in July 2023 and offered her explanations on how she planned the meal and didn't become sick herself. Adding more mushrooms to a 'bland' meal No one disputes that Patterson, 50, served death cap mushrooms to her guests for lunch in the rural town of Leongatha, but she says she did it unknowingly. Patterson said Wednesday she splurged on expensive ingredients and researched ideas to find 'something special' to serve. She deviated from her chosen recipe to improve the 'bland' flavor, she said. She believed she was adding dried fungi bought from an Asian supermarket from a container in her pantry, she told the court. 'Now I think that there was a possibility that there were foraged ones in there as well,' she told her lawyer, Colin Mandy. Patterson had foraged wild mushrooms for years, she told the court Tuesday, and had put some in her pantry weeks before the deaths. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The accused says she 'shouldn't have lied' about cancer Patterson, who formally separated from her husband Simon Patterson in 2015, said she felt 'hurt' when Simon told her the night before the lunch that he 'wasn't comfortable' attending. She earlier told his relatives that she'd arranged the meal to discuss her health. Patterson admitted this week that she never had cancer — but after a health scare, she told her in-laws she did. In reality, Patterson said she intended to have weight loss surgery. But she was too embarrassed to tell anybody and planned to pretend to her in-laws that she was undergoing cancer treatment instead, she said. 'I was ashamed of the fact that I didn't have control over my body or what I ate,' a tearful Patterson said Wednesday. 'I didn't want to tell anybody, but I shouldn't have lied to them.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Patterson says she threw up her mushroom meal The accused said she believes she was spared the worst effects of the poisoned meal because she self-induced vomiting shortly after her lunch guests left. She had binged on most of a cake and then made herself throw up — a problem she said she had struggled with for decades. Patterson also said she believes she had eaten enough of the meal to cause her subsequent diarrhea. She then sought hospital treatment but unlike her lunch guests, she quickly recovered. At the hospital where her guests' health was deteriorating, her estranged husband asked her about the dehydrator she used to dry her foraged mushrooms, she said. 'Is that how you poisoned my parents?' she said Simon Patterson asked her. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Growing afraid she would be blamed for the poisoning and that her children would be taken from her, Patterson said she later disposed of her dehydrator. She told investigators she'd never owned one and hadn't foraged for mushrooms before. While still at the hospital, she insisted she'd bought all the mushrooms at stores even though she said she knew it was possible that foraged mushrooms had accidentally found their way into the meal. She was too frightened to tell anyone, Patterson said. Also later, Patterson said she remotely wiped her cell phone while it sat in an evidence locker to remove pictures of mushrooms she'd foraged. Prosecutors argued in opening their case in April that she poisoned her husband's family on purpose, although they didn't suggest a motive. She carefully avoided poisoning herself and faked being ill, they said. The trial continues on Thursday with Patterson's cross-examination by the prosecutors. If convicted, she faces life in prison for murder and 25 years for attempted murder. Columnists Sunshine Girls Crime Sunshine Girls Other Sports
Toronto Sun
03-06-2025
- Health
- Toronto Sun
Accused triple murderer testifies 'vast majority' of mushrooms came from stores
Erin Patterson, 50, told the court she began foraging fungi during the COVID-19 lockdown Published Jun 03, 2025 • 4 minute read Erin Patterson, the woman accused of serving her ex-husband's family poisonous mushrooms, is photographed in Melbourne, Australia, on April 15, 2025. Photo by James Ross / AP WELLINGTON, New Zealand — An Australian woman accused of murdering three of her estranged husband's relatives with poisonous mushrooms told a court on Tuesday she accepted that the fatal lunch she served contained death caps. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account But Erin Patterson said the 'vast majority' of the fungi came from local stores. She denies three counts of murder and one of attempted murder over the beef Wellington meal she served to her parents-in-law and her estranged husband's aunt and uncle at her home in July 2023. Don Patterson, Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson were hospitalized and died after the lunch in the rural town of Leongatha in the Australian state of Victoria. Heather's husband, Ian Wilkinson, was gravely ill but survived. Patterson's lawyer earlier told the Supreme Court trial that the poisoning was a tragic accident but prosecutors said it was deliberate. If convicted, she faces a sentence of life imprisonment on the murder charges and 25 years in jail for attempted murder. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Long queues formed outside the Latrobe Valley Courthouse on Tuesday after Patterson took the stand late Monday, which was the first time she had spoken publicly since the deaths. Accused foraged mushrooms for years During several hours of evidence on Tuesday, Patterson, 50, told the court she began foraging fungi during the COVID-19 lockdown of March 2020, witnessed only by her children. 'I cut a bit of one of the mushrooms, fried it up with some butter and ate it,' she said. 'They tasted good and I didn't get sick.' Patterson said she also fed foraged mushrooms to her children, chopped up 'very, very small' so they couldn't pick them out of curries, pasta and soups. She developed a taste for exotic varieties, joined a 'mushroom lovers' Facebook group, and bought a dehydrator to preserve her finds, Patterson said. Her lawyer, Colin Mandy SC, asked if she accepted that the beef Wellington pastries she had served to her lunch guests in 2023 contained death caps. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Yes, I do,' said Patterson. The accused told her lawyer most of the mushrooms she used that day came from local supermarkets. She agreed she might have put them in the same container as dehydrated wild mushrooms she had foraged weeks earlier and others from an Asian food store. Mandy in April told the court his client had lied when she initially told investigators that she had never foraged before. But he denied that she had deliberately sought out death cap mushrooms and said she disposed of her dehydrator in a panic about the accidental deaths. Regrets over 'venting' messages about in-laws Earlier Tuesday, Patterson became tearful when she was asked about expletive-filled messages she had sent about her in-laws in December 2022 in a Facebook group chat that she described as a 'safe venting space' for a group of women. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I wish I'd never said it. I feel very ashamed for saying it and I wish that the family didn't have to hear that I said it,' said Patterson. 'They didn't deserve it.' Patterson, who said she had tried to have her parents-in-law mediate a dispute with her estranged husband, Simon, about school fees, said she was feeling hurt, frustrated and 'a little bit desperate.' The couple formally separated in 2015 after earlier temporary splits, the court has heard. Simon Patterson was invited to the July 2023 lunch but did not attend. Accused said she was still close with husband's family Tuesday's evidence also traversed Patterson's health after prosecutors' suggestions that her lunch invitation was unusual and that she'd organized it on a false pretense of receiving a cancer diagnosis. The mother of two admitted she never had cancer, but had been worried enough by symptoms to seek tests. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Despite her separation from Simon, Patterson said she had hoped to reunite with her estranged husband and said she had remained close to her in-laws. 'It never changed. I was just their daughter in law,' said Patterson, through tears. 'They just continued to love me.' Evidence follows lengthy prosecution case The 14-member jury has heard five weeks of prosecution evidence, including what the lunch guests told relatives before they died. Heather Wilkinson said shortly before she died that Patterson ate her individual beef wellington pastry from a different colored plate to the other diners, said prosecutor Nanette Rogers. Opening her case in April, Rogers said the poisoning was deliberate but that her case would not suggest a motive for the alleged killings. The prosecution says Patterson lied when she told investigators she had eaten the same meal as her guests and fed her children the leftovers. Patterson is due to continue giving evidence on Wednesday. Her evidence Tuesday did not include her account of the day of the lunch, or cross-examination from prosecutors. Columnists Sunshine Girls Olympics Technology Sunshine Girls
Scoop
29-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Goodbye Budget Vibes, Hello Real-World Value
Press Release – New Zealand Taxpayers' Union Loneliness, housing quality, and happiness all matter, but trying to legislate for the vibe was never going to work. Real wellbeing comes from more opportunities in an economy with low inflation, stable debt, and rising incomes that let Kiwis … Responding to the announcement of the plan to repeal of Labour's 'wellbeing' provisions in the Public Finance Act, Taxpayers' Union Spokesman James Ross said: 'Finally, the Minister of Finance is free to focus what they can actually control — balancing the books, bringing down debt, and restoring the economy.' 'Loneliness, housing quality, and happiness all matter, but trying to legislate for 'the vibe' was never going to work. Real wellbeing comes from more opportunities in an economy with low inflation, stable debt, and rising incomes that let Kiwis afford the services and lifestyle they need to thrive.' 'What did the last Government's 'wellbeing' obsession give us? He chased the outcomes without doing the groundwork, turning surpluses into runaway deficits, tripling government debt, and letting inflation rip. It's time to turn the page on his failed experiment and let the Finance Minister focus on the figures, not just the feelings.'
Scoop
28-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Goodbye Budget Vibes, Hello Real-World Value
Responding to the announcement of the plan to repeal of Labour's 'wellbeing' provisions in the Public Finance Act, Taxpayers' Union Spokesman James Ross said: 'Finally, the Minister of Finance is free to focus what they can actually control -- balancing the books, bringing down debt, and restoring the economy.' 'Loneliness, housing quality, and happiness all matter, but trying to legislate for 'the vibe' was never going to work. Real wellbeing comes from more opportunities in an economy with low inflation, stable debt, and rising incomes that let Kiwis afford the services and lifestyle they need to thrive.' 'What did the last Government's 'wellbeing' obsession give us? He chased the outcomes without doing the groundwork, turning surpluses into runaway deficits, tripling government debt, and letting inflation rip. It's time to turn the page on his failed experiment and let the Finance Minister focus on the figures, not just the feelings.'
