Latest news with #Jan
Daily Record
3 days ago
- Health
- Daily Record
Gran who became forgetful and angry diagnosed with brain tumour the size of a fist
Jan Burrell put her forgetfulness and short temper down to old age. But was stunned to discover her symptoms were caused by a brain tumour the size of a fist. A gran who became short tempered and forgetful discovered her sudden change in behaviour was due to a brain tumour. Jan Burrell, 62, had been suffering migraines for years but put it down to old age. But in January 2021 she became "short tempered and angry and didn't recognise" herself. On a short walk to the chemist she lost part of her vision and her speech and a trip to A&E revealed she'd had a seizure due to a brain tumour the size of a fist. Jan was diagnosed with meningioma and underwent a craniotomy to remove most of the tumour. The grandmother now lives with quadrantanopia - a permanent loss of vision - in a quarter of her visual field and has annual scans to monitor the remaining tumour. Jan, who previously ran a cleaning and gardening business, from Stroud, Gloucestershire, said: "In 2019 I started to notice I was becoming forgetful. "Only to remember suddenly that I hadn't locked up the houses after I cleaned them and turned back to secure them. As a person I had always had the attitude of getting on with things and so I pushed this new behaviour to the side and didn't bother telling my husband, Steve. "There were many things I thought it could be, old age or perhaps the beginning of Alzheimer's. For years I had suffered with migraines, one time having a meltdown. Although Steve was reassuring, I was sure there must be something wrong with me. "Years later in January 2021 I felt that same sense of losing control I had experienced years before. I became short tempered and angry and didn't recognise myself." Jan had just moved from Cornwall to Gloucestershire and had "lost confidence" to get out the house. But a seizure in February 2022 revealed her tumour. She said: "Steve encouraged me on a walk to the chemist which was 10 minutes away. On the way, I lost part of my vision, half of my world went black. I marched on at a speed which meant Steve struggled to catch up. "When it was my turn to speak at the counter there was the sound of only a grunt, no sentence or even words. I couldn't understand why I was there. "Feeling embarrassed, I went outside. Upset and unsteady on my feet, I was able to say a few words but kept repeating myself. I burst into tears through fear of what my body was doing, no longer under my control." Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Jan was rushed to A&E at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, thinking she was having a stroke. She was transferred to Southmead Hospital in Bristol - where a CT scan and further tests revealed she had a brain tumour the size of a fist. Jan said: "The doctor sat me down and said 'you have a brain tumour '. All I remember is shouting 'no!' at the top of my voice. "It never occurred to me that I could have a brain tumour, I was terrified. Suddenly I had a flood of thoughts, my grandchildren I wouldn't get the chance to see them grow up." Jan needed a surgery to remove her tumour but feared she wouldn't wake up or life-changing injuries might stop her from drawing and painting. She decided to pen a book for her grandson, Finn, four. On May, 12 2022, Jan underwent a craniotomy at Southmead Hospital and surgeons successfully removed the tumour, which was found to be slow-growing. She now has annual scans to monitor the remaining tumour. Jan said: "My recovery was hard. I needed strong medication, which caused hallucinations of things from my past. "I now live with quadrantanopia which is a loss of vision in one quarter of my visual field and am under the care of an ophthalmologist." Despite this, Jan is now able to read her book - called Finn's wonderful world - to Finn. Jan said: "I wrote the entire story slowly, letter by letter, by hand, and I never crossed anything out. It flowed straight from my heart to the page. I wanted to leave Finn something deeply personal, a message of wonder and joy, in case I wasn't there to share it with him myself." It took three years for Jan and her husband, Steve, to save enough to get the book published. Every copy sold will raise vital funds for Brain Tumour Research, a charity close to their hearts. Jan said: "This book has given me purpose and focus. Finn was just one when I had my surgery. "Now he's four and looks exactly like the boy I drew. "To see him enjoy the story I created for him, it's the most special gift. "I poured my heart into it, and to know it's helping fund vital research means everything to us." Letty Greenfield, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: "Jan's story is incredibly moving and a powerful reminder of the resilience and creativity that can come out of adversity. "By sharing her journey and donating profits from her beautiful book, Jan is helping raise awareness and funding for a disease that remains hugely underfunded. "We're so grateful for her support and determination, it's people like Jan who help us drive change."
The National
3 days ago
- Sport
- The National
Go Ahead Eagles receive Breum bid 'worth more than Celtic's'
The Parkhead club are attempting to sign the winger from Go Ahead Eagles but have already had three offers rejected. They started at £1.5 million before increasing that to £1.75m and then £3m, but were still rebuffed. The Dutch club want £6.5m and are a holding firm. The men from Glasgow's east end are not the only ones showing interest and PSV were previously linked. However, Go Ahead Eagles technical director Jan Willem van Dop has indicated that FC Twente have been in touch as well. Their technical manager Jan Streuer initially contacted about another player but added Breum to the conversation and submitted a proposal that was already worth more than Celtic's. Read more: Van Dop told Oosttribune: 'I spoke to Jan once this summer and he inquired about Joris Kramer. And then I very clearly indicated that we don't want to lose Joris. 'And that's what I like too. You can then fight at that moment. But Jan indicated in response to my explanation right away, 'Well, Willem we respect and are and done with that.' 'And then he had a second question and that was Jakob Breum. I say, 'Well, obviously that's something to talk about if the price is right.' 'And we didn't get out of that. What to me was the only positive of that was, that they offered at least already above the official offer that was ever made by Celtic. 'Because that was one and a half million. So his thinking was higher. 'I at least indicated that we did not go along with the bid that they made. And coincidentally this morning, obviously we still had the agent on the line who hopes that he will go that way. 'And we are, I think, really not the hardest club, but it has to fit. And if we don't come out of it financially better, we also have that that right, I think, to then say, 'Well, then it's not going to happen.''
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mirror
'I started losing my temper - I shouted no when given diagnosis'
Jan Burrell, 62, had been suffering with migraines for years, but put it down to her age A grandmother who turned short-tempered and forgetful discovered her sudden personality change was caused by a brain tumour. Jan Burrell, 62, had endured migraines for years, but blamed them on getting older. However, in January 2021 she became "short-tempered and angry and didn't recognise" herself. During a brief stroll to the chemist she lost part of her sight and her speech, with a dash to A&E revealing she'd suffered a seizure caused by a brain tumour the size of a fist. Jan was diagnosed with meningioma and had a craniotomy to remove most of the growth. The grandmother now lives with quadrantanopia - permanent sight loss - in a quarter of her visual field and requires annual scans to monitor the remaining tumour. Jan, who previously operated a cleaning and gardening business, from Stroud, Gloucestershire, said: "In 2019 I started to notice I was becoming forgetful. Only to remember suddenly that I hadn't locked up the houses after I cleaned them and turning back to secure them. "As a person I had always had the attitude of getting on with things and so I pushed this new behaviour to the side and didn't bother telling my husband, Steve. There were many things I thought it could be, old age or perhaps the beginning of Alzheimer's. "For years I had suffered with migraines, one time having a meltdown. Although Steve was reassuring, I was sure there must be something wrong with me. "Years later in January 2021 I felt that same sense of losing control I had experienced years before. I became short-tempered and angry and didn't recognise myself." Jan had not long relocated from Cornwall to Gloucestershire and had "lost confidence" to leave her home. However, a seizure in February 2022 exposed her tumour. She recalled: "Steve encouraged me on a walk to the chemist, which was 10 minutes away. On the way, I lost part of my vision, half of my world went black. I marched on at a speed which meant Steve struggled to catch up. "When it was my turn to speak at the counter there was the sound of only a grunt, no sentence or even words. I couldn't understand why I was there. "Feeling embarrassed, I went outside. Upset and unsteady on my feet, I was able to say a few words, but kept repeating myself. I burst into tears through fear of what my body was doing, no longer under my control." Jan was quickly taken to A&E at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, believing she was suffering a stroke. She was then transferred to Southmead Hospital in Bristol, where a CT scan and additional tests revealed she had a brain tumour the size of a fist. Jan said: "The doctor sat me down and said the words 'you have a brain tumour'. All I remember is shouting 'no!' at the top of my voice. "It never occurred to me that I could have a brain tumour, I was terrified. Suddenly I had a flood of thoughts, my grandchildren - I wouldn't get the chance to see them grow up." Jan required surgery to remove her tumour, but was terrified she wouldn't wake up or that life-altering injuries might prevent her from drawing and painting. She chose to write a book for her four-year-old grandson, Finn. On May 12, 2022, Jan underwent a craniotomy at Southmead Hospital and surgeons successfully removed the tumour, which was found to be slow-growing. She now has annual scans to monitor the remaining tumour. Jan said: "My recovery was hard. I needed strong medication, which caused hallucinations of things from my past. I now live with quadrantanopia, which is a loss of vision in one quarter of my visual field, and am under the care of an ophthalmologist." Despite this, Jan is now able to read her book - called Finn's wonderful world - to Finn. Jan said: "I wrote the entire story slowly, letter by letter, by hand and I never crossed anything out. It flowed straight from my heart to the page. I wanted to leave Finn something deeply personal, a message of wonder and joy, in case I wasn't there to share it with him myself." It took three years for Jan and her husband, Steve, to save enough to get the book published. Every copy sold will raise vital funds for Brain Tumour Research, a charity close to their hearts. Jan said: "This book has given me purpose and focus. Finn was just one when I had my surgery. "Now he's four and looks exactly like the boy I drew. To see him enjoy the story I created for him, it's the most special gift. I poured my heart into it, and to know it's helping fund vital research means everything to us." Letty Greenfield, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: "Jan's story is incredibly moving and a powerful reminder of the resilience and creativity that can come out of adversity. By sharing her journey and donating profits from her beautiful book, Jan is helping raise awareness and funding for a disease that remains hugely underfunded. We're so grateful for her support and determination, it's people like Jan who help us drive change." To get a copy of Finn's wonderful world, where all proceeds go to Brain Tumour Research, visit JanBurrellArt on Etsy UK.
Local Norway
24-07-2025
- Lifestyle
- Local Norway
Gloomy office workers who love hiking: How Norwegians really live
The neighbouring Swedes think of Norwegians a little like Americans think of Canadians: cheerful to an unnerving degree, resolutely outdoorsy, but perhaps a bit on the simple side. They also see them, of course, as irritatingly and unjustly rich because of all that oil money. But while there are elements of truth to all this, the reality of the average Norwegian is a little different. Meet Anne and Jan Statistically, the average Norwegian woman is called Anne, although she also might be called Inger, Ingrid, Kari or Marit. The average Norwegian man is called Jan, although he also might be called Björn, Per, Ole or Lars. They are avid hikers Anne and Jan do indeed love to spend time outdoors. Fully 96.5 percent of Norwegians told a survey for Statistics Norway that they had participated in "outdoor activities" in 2024. The outdoor activity you are most likely to encounter Anne and Jan doing is hiking. Nearly 75 percent of Norwegians said they'd been hiking in the mountains or forests in 2024. Next up in their list of wholesome pastimes is swimming outdoors (69 percent), going berry picking or mushroom picking (47 percent), going on a boat trip (47 percent), country skiing (34 percent) and alpine skiing (21 percent). Anne and Jan are quite likely to be found tying up a bivouac out in the forest: an alarming 26 percent of Norwegians said they had actually slept outside in nature on at least one night over the preceding year. Advertisement The motivation for all this exertion isn't primarily fitness, with 68.6 percent of Norwegians saying their motivation for getting out into nature was "nature experiences", although 56.9 percent said fitness was part of the goal. Only 13 percent of Norwegians say they "never train", with 60 percent saying they exercise several times a week. As you might expect, all of that exercise doesn't leave that much time for culture, so neither Anne nor Jan are particularly enthusiastic about opera, ballet, or fine art. Only seven percent of Norwegians said they had seen an opera in the last year, in the most recent cultural barometer in 2023, and only 13 percent had seen a ballet or dance performance. The two of them are, however, willing to dip their toes into less highbrow culture: 65 percent of Norwegians said they had been to the cinema, 58 percent had been to a concert, and 38 percent had been to the theatre. They are not the cheeriest of the bunch While Swedes and Danes may see the average Norwegian as annoyingly chirpy, this is largely due to the sing-song rhythm of their language. Anna and Jan are in fact likely to be rather gloomy, at least compared to the rest of the Nordics. According to the annual ranking of self-reported happiness put together by Gallup World Poll, the average Norwegian ranks themself only 7.26 on a ladder of 0-10. While this may seem pretty happy, it only ranks them seventh in life satisfaction worldwide, with their neighbours in Finland, Denmark, Iceland and Sweden bagging first to fourth place respectively The Finns, while perhaps less overtly positive, rated their life satisfaction at a giddy 7.74. Advertisement An office worker While you might think the average Norwegian spends their days out on an oil rig, a fishing trawler, or wrestling with sheep on the steep slopes of a fjord, you are most likely to encounter Jan or Anne in a shop, office, hospital or school. The most common job in Norway if you include part-time work is a sales assistant in a shop, followed by health worker. If you only include full-time roles, the most common job is "a higher-level case worker in public and private organisations". This is basically any desk job that doesn't involve managing other people. Anne is most likely to work as a primary school teacher. Not as rich as you might think... With an average monthly salary of 62,680 kroner for men and 55,280 for women, Anne and Jan are likely to be pretty wealthy, but their envious Danish friends across the Skagerak are actually a bit richer (and Denmark barely had any oil at all). Anne and Jan also, according to UNECE, earn less on average than the Swiss, the Luxembourgers, the Icelanders and the Americans (although you can bet none of these countries get quite as much from their governments). ...and maybe less educated Surprisingly Anne and Jan never went to university. Under 35 percent of Norwegians over the age of 16 have a university level education, meaning they are still slightly outnumbered by the 37 percent whose highest qualification is a school leaving certificate. Advertisement But a Tesla driver nonetheless Elsewhere in the world, driving a Tesla is a sign of wealth, but in Norway even average Joes like Jan and Anne are customers of the increasingly controversial Elon Musk. The Tesla Model Y is the most common car on Norway's roads. Getting older Jan and Anna are 40 (That's if you look at the median. If you look at the mean, they're 41.6). And although they're graying a bit, they still have fully half of their lives to go. The average man in Norway can expect to live to 82, and the average woman to 85, up from 80 and 84 just ten years ago. About three quarters of that time will be spent working, with the average age to start withdrawing old-age pension just under 66. Incidentally, this means it would be time for Norway's finance minister Jens Stoltenberg (66) to hang up his boots if he was an average Norwegian (which he obviously isn't). Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and opposing leader Erna Solberg, though, still theoretically have a year to go. Advertisement Shrinking families Jan and Anne are married and they have two children. Anne was 30 when she had her first child and Jan was 32, meaning Emma (the most common girl's name in 2015) is now ten and Jakob (the most common boy's name of 2017) is now 8. Most Norwegian families still follow what's called the "two child family norm", but fertility is starting to fall from over two children per woman in the 1970s to 1.44 in 2025. Just under 40 percent of men in Norway are married and just over 37 percent of women, meaning they just outnumber those who have never been married (37 and 35 percent). 53 percent of men and 50 percent of women have previously been married. Just over 51 percent of children live with married parents, 25 percent live with cohabiting parents, 22 percent live with only one parent. About 59 percent of Norwegians lived in families or shared households, and 41 percent of people lived alone. Cheese-eating hiking families When it comes to diet, Norwegians aren't generally seen as being that healthy, but in fact Anne and Jan's consumption of fruit and vegetables, at 85.4kg each a year, is slightly above average for the EU. Their consumption of bread (50kg), meat (45kg), and fish (11kg) are all about average for the EU. Their consumption of cheese, however, at 17.5kg, is quite high. When it comes to restaurant habits there is not much data, although statistics from the food delivery service Foodora back in 2020 found the meal Norwegians were most likely to order was a burger, followed by pizza, followed by sushi. They are also surprisingly abstemious. Only 40 percent of men drink alcohol weekly, and 28 percent of women, which is very slightly above the EU average. Advertisement Not as skinny as you might think Perhaps it's all that cheese, but despite the hiking, Jan and Anna aren't as skinny as you might expect. Just under 19 percent of Norwegians are classed as obese, which might look good next to the podgy Brits (27 percent), but cuts a bulkier profile next to the Swedes (15 percent), Danes (13 percent) and French (9.7 percent). The average Norwegian In short, the average Norwegian (Anne or Jan) is a nature-loving, moderately wealthy, somewhat under-educated office worker who hikes often, eats plenty of cheese, and drives a Tesla. They may not be quite as happy, cultured or rich as their neighbours assume, but they live long, quiet lives, raise small families, and spend a surprising number of nights sleeping in the woods.
Metro
24-07-2025
- Metro
'Gangster gran' banned from Asda for 'yellow sticker scam' vows to clear name
A 'gangster granny' accused of being the mastermind of an elaborate supermarket discount scam is fighting back against the allegations of Gran Theft Auto. Jan Rhodes, 67, was barred from her local Asda on Hall Road, in Norwich after allegedly operating a yellow sticker scam. The supermarket claims to have caught her red-handed swapping reduced stickers on products in the store. They handed a three-year ban to Jan, who has shopped at the superstore since 2015. She is now clapping back, claiming Asda have 'got the wrong gran'. Jan told the Eastern Daily Press: 'I went in to buy three things and while I was there, the security came up to me and said I wasn't allowed in anymore. I've never done that [switch stickers]. 'I'm angry and I'm upset. I used to go in there all the time. I know loads of them in there. I just want to prove them wrong.' The scheme she is accused of involves swapping reduced labels on products to net cheap deals, all before fleeing on her mobility scooter. The beef revolves in part around a pack of bacon. Jan is alleged to have bought the meat the day before she was banned as part of her yellow sticker trick. But her husband Rob says she bought the pack on the same day it was expiring. He went back to the store to try and show the expiration date in an effort to clear her name. The gran's stepdaughter, Leanne Hutchings, has rushed to the store to plead her stepmother's case. More Trending Leanne said: 'They say she's been doing it for a prolonged period of time. 'I explained saying that this is a case of mistaken identity. They also said she's been abusive. She would never be nasty to someone.' A spokesman for Asda said: 'We ask all customers to treat our colleagues and stores with respect and do not tolerate any form of abuse. 'While banning a customer is always a last resort, this decision was taken due to repeated disruptive and abusive behaviour.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Little-known way to get half-price food from Sainsbury's, Asda, Morrisons and more MORE: Asda fined £650,000 for selling more than 100 out-of-date food items MORE: Forget about Prosecco — drink this £6.97 sparkling wine from Asda instead
