Latest news with #Kendal
Daily Mail
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Jimmy Carr makes heartbreaking admission about his mental health and opens up about death of best friend Sean Lock to Alison Hammond in rare candid interview
Jimmy Carr made a heartbreaking admission about his mental health as he opened up to Alison Hammond in a rare candid interview. The comedian, 52, was the latest celebrity to spend a weekend with Alison Hammond on her new interview show. The pair enjoyed a hike and a boat ride before Alison drove Jimmy to one of his tour performances in Kendal - and the TV funnyman got unusually candid. 'I was a bit depressed in my mid-20s,' he admitted to the Bake Off host at the beginning of the programme. 'I didn't like my life, I didn't like where it was going. I left everything to become a comedian to tell jokes above a pub.' From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. The pair enjoyed a hike and a boat ride before Alison drove Jimmy to one of his tour performances in Kendal - and the TV funnyman got unusually candid Later in the episode, Alison asked Jimmy about the death of his best friend and Eight Out Of 10 Cats co-star Sean Lock. 'It's a weird thing where you know it's coming but it's still shocking,' he said. 'I got sent all of the best bits of Sean and they all had me in them. It's a very privileged position.' Jimmy also showed his emotional side as he spoke about another huge loss in his life, his mum Nora - who died from pancreatic cancer when he was in his mid twenties. He revealed that his mum had also been depressed when he was a child, and making her laugh was his favourite thing so it went on to inspire his love of comedy. He said: 'She was depressed for a lot of my childhood… Making her happy made me happy, so the compulsion to be funny came from that.' Speaking about her death, Jimmy said: 'I was very close to my mother, so her dying was the worst thing I could imagine. When I was a kid, my fear was this sort of separation anxiety of something happening to her. 'When it happens, there's a weird freedom, where that's happened and I'm still here. It got across to me what mortality really is. 'This is it, this is your life, you don't get another go, so do what you want to do.' 'I don't believe in an afterlife,' he continued. 'But I carry her with me I think about her all the time. But there is an after life – the kids are the afterlife. 'There's a theory that you die twice, once when you die and then again the last time someone says your name.' Last year Jimmy admitted he is 'still not over' Nora's death. Speaking on The Development by David podcast with David McIntosh, Jimmy said: 'I lost her when I was about 26. I don't think I'm over it yet. Grief is the price we pay for love. 'I was so close to my mother, I couldn't imagine anything worse than losing her. The benefit of losing her is a sense of freedom, pushing the f**k it button.' Jimmy likened a person's death to the time before they were born, saying there isn't any difference between the two. He said: 'You get mortality, in a way. We die and we're the lucky ones because we get to live. Mark Twain said it brilliantly, I wasn't alive for billions of years before my birth and it didn't inconvenience me in the least. 'This is why life is so special, it's this little shaft of light in the middle of it all. 'It's not an easy thing to lose a parent. Grief, we don't talk about it enough. Society is set up to kind of hide it away.' Jimmy's parents Nora and Patrick - known as Jim - moved to England from Limerick, Ireland and raised Jimmy and his two brothers in Slough. The comic has been estranged from his father since Nora's death and said in November 2021 he hadn't spoken to his dad in 21 years. Elsewhere during the interview, Jimmy spoke about cancel culture which he jokes about in his new Netflix special Natural Born Killer. Jimmy is adamant that comedians should never apologise for jokes, no matter who may find them offensive. He said: 'There's a bit on the new special. You can't go around apologising for jokes. 'So what I'm gonna do the next time I get cancelled, I'm going to say the day of the cancellation, I'm going to say, [mock childish voice] "I'm sorry." 'The people who are offended will say, "You don't really mean that apology," and I'll say, '"So you're saying I can say something and not mean it?" Now you're getting it.'
BBC News
23-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Memorial in Kendal for babies of unwed mothers at St Monica's Maternity Home
A memorial for dozens of babies born to unmarried mothers, who were badly treated at a home with "Dickensian" conditions, has been children, thought to be in an unmarked grave, were born to teenagers and young women at St Monica's Maternity Home in Kendal, Cumbria, which was run by the Diocese of Carlisle from 1918 until the 1970s. The Church of England has apologised for the mistreatment of the mothers. The service at Parkside Road Cemetery was led by the new Bishop of Carlisle, the Right Reverend Rob Saner-Haigh, who said the home should have been a "sanctuary" but was instead a "place of pain, rejection and heartache". Bob Chubb found out when he was 65 that his mother had been at the home, after she told him he was not her first said: "She said she had a stillborn called Faith, but they've since found records that the baby lived for 12 hours."I came and laid some flowers this morning, I just hope my mother would be proud. "Faith was the sister I never knew I had." If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can find details of organisations that can offer support via the BBC Action Line. In 2006, Stephen Hindley's wife Judith took her own life near where her baby son was buried. He believed the "Dickensian" treatment she received at the home in the 1960s, when she was a teenager, led to lifelong trauma and her death. Speaking after the service, he said: "I feel like a weight has been lifted today. "I told Judy in the mortuary that I would fight for her, and I haven't stopped."I've finally done it and I can't believe how emotional it's been." Dr Michael Lambert, of Lancaster University, who carried out research into unmarried mothers' homes, said St Monica's was one of the worst he had come said it was probable that babies died because of a lack of care at the home and it was a "scandal that should have been avoided". An investigation by North West Tonight in 2023 revealed allegations of historical abuse at the the time, a Diocese of Carlisle representative said: "Those working at St Monica's were in positions of trust. "To breach such trust would constitute a terrible dereliction of duty and our heartfelt apologies goes to anyone who has suffered such mistreatment."A purple rose, called Rhapsody in Blue D, was gifted to the memorial garden by Diana was forced to give up her baby for adoption and is a campaigner for Movement for an Adoption Apology (MAA).Bishop Saner-Haigh said: "St Monica's should have been a sanctuary, yet for many it became a place of pain, rejection and heartache, which has reverberated through to today."Babies and mothers were so precious, but were not treated well by people, by the church, by authorities whose responsibility it was to care for them, to treat them with dignity and compassion."I am truly sorry." Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
The Independent
21-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Survivor of Mount Everest avalanche that killed thousands remembers moment of terror
A decade after surviving a devastating earthquake and avalanche on Mount Everest, adventurer Alex Staniforth is marking the anniversary with an ambitious feat: climbing 446 mountains across England and Wales. In 2015, a 19-year-old Staniforth was on his second attempt to summit Everest when a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Nepal. The quake triggered an avalanche that swept down the mountain, an experience Staniforth vividly remembers. The disaster claimed thousands of lives and left thousands more injured. 10 years on from the earthquake, he recalled: 'At this point, I wasn't aware of an earthquake. I didn't feel the ground shaking, but my teammates did. I was completely on my own, and I remember feeling something was wrong. 'I could sense there was an avalanche coming towards us, but I couldn't see it because the cloud was so bad… I remember feeling really confused, and then feeling this massive blast of white just knocking me off my feet. 'For the first time in my life, at 19, (I remember) thinking 'This is it, game over', and that sickening feeling of fear that I've never really felt before.' The motivational speaker, who lives in Kendal, Cumbria, said he is 'grateful' to have survived the avalanche and is now commemorating 10 years since the earthquake by scaling 446 mountains across England and Wales in 50 days for charity. In the UK, a mountain is generally considered to be a summit of more than 2,000ft (600m), according to the Ordnance Survey. Mr Staniforth said: 'I'm very grateful that I survived that day, but I think, ever since then, I've just tried to make it count and try to give something back, and I hope that this challenge will do that.' He is raising money for Mind Over Mountains, the charity he founded in 2020, which focuses on using walks in nature and venturing outdoors as a tool to support people with mental health issues. He said the charity helps to 'give people the tools to stay mentally and physically well' by providing safe spaces for people to walk and talk about challenging topics around mental health and suicide. 'The outdoors has always been my natural health service, and I want other people to have access to that,' he said. 'By doing this challenge, it's not only opening conversations around mental health and suicide, but it's actually directly providing more access to (the outdoors), which, for me, is what makes it all worthwhile.' The challenge started on Friday with the mountains of Yes Tor and High Willhays in Dartmoor, Devon, and Mr Staniforth is expected to finish in the Lake District at the end of June to mark his 30th birthday. The whole journey will be human-powered because he is running and cycling to every mountain before scaling each one. His bike ride was 103 miles (166km) and his longest run to come will be 36 miles (58km), while his highest mountain climb will see him tackle 11,483ft (3,500M) of ascent. He said he wants his challenge to provide a 'bit of hope' for young people, particularly those approaching their 30s, who might be struggling to find a sense of purpose in life. 'I think when a lot of people reach 30… they feel like they're not where they should be or they feel like they're not where they want to be,' he said. 'There's a lot of mental health challenges and depression, and I just wanted to be a bit of hope for those people that things can go wrong but you can always pick yourself up and find another way. 'I think Everest, for a long time, was like my idea of success. It was like the be all and end all, and actually it's given me much bigger opportunities.' The adventurer has already faced ankle issues and feeling sick from the 6,500 calories he is eating daily, but said the recent good weather and support from his team has encouraged him to persevere. The journey will see him travel from Dartmoor to Bristol and through the Brecon Beacons and North Wales, before reaching the Peak District, the Yorkshire Dales, Northumberland and the Lake District. So far, Mr Staniforth has raised nearly £12,000 of his £100,000 target which forms part of Mind Over Mountains' Project 500 campaign to raise £500,000.
Times
18-05-2025
- Business
- Times
British government courts Kendamil: the No 1 players in baby milk
I see Dundalk brothers Will and Dylan McMahon dropped into 10 Downing Street recently to update Sir Keir Starmer, the British prime minister, on their rip-roaring Kendamil baby milk business. Back in 2015, dad Ross McMahon, a former Kerry Group and Campbell Bewley executive, bought the former Heinz infant formula factory in Kendal in Cumbria for £1, saving Britain's only milk powder facility from closure. • Meet the Irish entrepreneurs competing for America's $4 billion baby milk market The astute McMahon, awarded an MBE for his efforts, then hit paydirt when the American infant formula market was plunged into a contamination crisis, and opened up to imports. Kendamil sales went from £34.1 million to £95 million in the year to March 2023, and profits
Associated Press
17-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
3 Benefits of a Free Google Ads Audit
05/16/2025, Kendal & England // KISS PR Brand Story PressWire // Google ads can surely bring your clicks up. However, running them can feel like trying to fix a car without knowing what half the tools in your garage do. Luckily, a free Google Ads audit from PPC experts can make a world of difference. Done right, an audit can give you clarity, direction, and peace of mind. Here are three benefits of a free Google Ads audit. 1. You Finally See What's Working Most people are flying blind. Even seasoned marketers can fall into the trap of optimizing based on guesswork or surface-level metrics.A free audit gives you that outsider perspective. A fresh set of expert eyes dives into your campaigns and uncovers the hidden patterns, which ads are quietly killing it, and where your settings might be holding you back without you even realizing it. And the best part? It's not personal. A PPC expert isn't there to judge your strategy, they're there to spot inefficiencies you might've missed simply because you're too close to the work. You know how you sometimes can't see the typos in your emails until someone else points them out? Yeah. It's like that, but for your ad account. So, whether you've got solid CTRs but poor conversions, or killer copy that's showing up for the wrong searches, an audit can help you see the full picture. 2. You Learn How to Spend Well Google Ads will happily take your money. And if you're not careful, you could be spending way more than you need to, on clicks that aren't doing anything for your bottom line. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking, 'If I just increase my budget, maybe things will improve.' But throwing money at the problem without fixing the strategy is like trying to fix a leaky boat by paddling faster. A good auditdoesn't just highlight what's broken. It also points out where you're overspending. These things add up. Little leaks in your campaign can silently drain hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars over time. But once you know where the leaks are? You can plug them up, redirect that budget into high-performing areas, and see more results without spending a dime more. 3. You Get Unfiltered, Actionable Advice You know those generic tips you find when you Google something like 'how to improve my Google Ads'? Stuff like 'use better headlines' or 'target the right audience.' Sure, great advice in theory. But also… incredibly vague. What a free Google Ads audit from PPC experts offers is theopposite of vague. It's tailored, specific, and often brutally honest. It might say, 'This ad group is overlapping with another one and it's cannibalizing your impressions.' Or 'This landing page doesn't match your ad promise, which is why people are bouncing.' That kind of direct, practical feedback is gold. It's also something you can take and run with, even if you don't end up working with the auditor long-term. Sometimes, just having someone lay it all out, like, here's what you're doing well, here's what's holding you back, and here's what we'd change, can help you take immediate steps in the right direction. Wrapping It Up So, is a free Google Ads audit worth your time? If you're serious about making the most of your ad spend and you're tired of the guessing game, then yeah—it absolutely is. You don't have to commit to anything long-term. You're not handing over control of your account. You're just getting a qualified second opinion from people who do this every day. And sometimes, that's all it takes to get unstuck and start seeing results at the end of the day, your ads should be working for you, not the other way around. Contact Person Name: Dan Trotter ● Company Name: PPC Geeks ● Email: [email protected] ● URL: ● Address: Kendal, England, United Kingdom This content was first published by KISS PR Brand Story. Read here >> 3 Benefits of a Free Google Ads Audit
