Latest news with #Kidnapped
NZ Herald
18-07-2025
- NZ Herald
Gail Pope: Robert Louis Stevenson's Samoan home shot by Hawke's Bay photographer
On the voyage, the Waikare stopped at several islands including Tonga, Fiji, Rotuma, Samoa, Niue, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. Russell, a prolific photographer, took many images of the islands they visited, amongst which was this photograph of Vailima, the residence of celebrated Scottish author, Robert Louis Stevenson and his wife Fanny. Robert wrote masterpieces such as Treasure Island (1881), Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886) and Kidnapped (1886). Born in Edinburgh and suffering throughout his life from the effects of tuberculosis, he was an avid 'wanderer on the face of the earth, seeking the will of the wisp health with scant success'. Robert along with his wife Fanny, cruised the Pacific on board the schooner Equador, arriving in Samoa on December 7, 1889. They were met by American trader and friend, Harry Moors, with whom they stayed for a couple of days until moving into rental accommodation. The couple chose Samoa to build their home, primarily because of the temperate climate, which helped ease the tuberculosis symptoms from which Robert constantly suffered. The archipelago also had a regular mail service, essential for connections with the author's agents, editors, and publishers. On January 10 1890, Robert purchased the Vailima estate of approximately 128 hectares. It was named Vailima, 'five waters', due to five streams crossing the property. In April 1890 they moved into their new home, along with Fanny's son Lloyd and Robert's widowed mother Margaret. Their home, named Vailima after the estate, was at the base of Mt Vaea overlooking Apia on Upolu Island and stood in the middle of a green plateau, which sloped gently toward the sea. Constructed entirely from wood, some imported from California, the two-storey house was low and rambling, the exterior painted a subdued colour with a glaring red iron roof. The homestead comprised five bedrooms, all of which were on the upper floor fronting the verandah, while on the lower floor was a library, combined dining and sitting room, a ballroom which could accommodate 100 dancers with accompanying piano, a kitchen, smoking room and an infirmary. Throughout the house, the darkness of beautifully polished wood, was softened by large windows and French doors, which let in Samoa's light and warmth. To remind Robert of his native Scotland, two fireplaces were installed - both of which were never lit. The couple had separate bedrooms as Robert, a restless sleeper, would get up and write at his desk all hours of the night and did not wish to disturb Fanny. Their beds were placed on either side of a shared wall, through which Robert built a hatch, so they could converse together while in bed. Vailima was a warm, inviting home in which visitors were always welcomed and entertained. In December 1893, a reporter described his visit under the title 'The novelist at Home'. In depth he aptly described Robert's physical appearance as being 'a little above medium in height but woefully thin and pale' whose face was 'gaunt and haggard' wearing an expression of 'continual weariness'. From the description, it was obvious Robert was extremely ill but regardless, was 'good-natured' with 'a dim suspicion of a smile in the depths of his big black eyes' as he extended his 'long, thin, cool, patrician hand' to greet the visitor. The two sat opposite, Robert viewing the 'ceiling in a retrospective manner' while holding a homemade cigarette in his right hand. On a small table stood a can of tobacco from which the author rolled a fresh cigarette as soon as the last was discarded. Robert was dressed in a 'tight-fitting sleeveless undershirt, cut décolleté', with black trousers rolled 'halfway to the knees'. The author's feet were bare so that the reporter could 'plainly see his ingrowing toenail' while his right foot, which rested across his left knee, was 'symmetrical, long and slender and beautifully arched, but not overclean'. As the two conversed, Robert 'gently toyed among his shapely toes with his disengaged hand'. He concluded by stating the Vailima was 'an ideal spot for the dreamer [Robert] and a home for the poet and student of nature [Fanny].' Robert became a trusted friend, firm advocate and political adviser in Samoa, so much so he was gifted the name Tusitala, teller of tales. During the four years he lived at Vailima, drawing inspiration from life in the Pacific, Robert wrote several books including 'The Beach of Falesá' (1892) and 'The Ebb-Tide' (1894), before passing away December 1894 from a cerebral haemorrhage. Both Samoan and European officials carried Robert's body up the steep 'Road of Loving Hearts' to be buried on a clearing just below the summit of Mt Vaea, overlooking his beloved Vailima. 'I love Samoa and her people. I love the land, I have chosen it to be my home while I live, and my grave after I am dead.' - Robert Louis Stevenson.
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
New docuseries about kidnapped model announced after previous series filmed in Bolton
A new documentary series about a glamour model who was kidnapped is set to air - following a previous series about her which was filmed in Bolton. New BBC Three series Chloe Ayling: My Unbelievable Kidnapping will see the eponymous model recount, in her own words, the ordeal of her 2017 kidnapping. Giving her first documentary interview since her abductors' conviction, Chloe revisits the story of her time in captivity and tries to come to terms with what took place, the media reaction and why many people refused to believe her. No release date has yet been announced. This comes after the airing of dramatisation Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story last year. The show, which was partly filmed in Bolton, on the Oldhams Estate and in Le Mans Crescent, followed her abduction and time in captivity, as well as the subsequent court case that put her kidnappers in jail. Filming for Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story in Selkirk Road in Bolton (Image: Newsquest) In the summer of 2017, it was reported that then-20-year-old glamour model, Chloe, had been kidnapped in Italy by an international criminal gang known as Black Death. Turning up for what she believed to be a photoshoot in Milan, she was grabbed from behind, drugged and bundled into a bag before being taken to a remote farmhouse and handcuffed to a chest of drawers. There, Ms Ayling was told she had six days before she would be sold as a sex slave as part of a dark web auction. Read more: The Bolton locations where new true-life BBC gripping drama was filmed Read more: Powerful court scenes being filmed in Bolton for true life crime drama Read more: Cameras roll on a Bolton estate to the excitement of residents A scene from Kidnapped, shot on the Oldhams Estate Despite the terrifying circumstances, was able to convince her captors to let her walk free and into the hands of the local authorities. Eight years on, Chloe now wants to challenge any remaining doubters and finally put the past behind her. Through probing interviews with those involved, the series separates fact from perception and looks at the press coverage of this extraordinary case, the public reaction and asks how a survivor became a suspect. Speaking about the series, Chloe said: "I'm delighted BBC Studios are telling my story - not only in my own words, but also through the voices of those directly involved. "For years, people have doubted me, often because they don't understand what really happened - or who I am. "I think this documentary truly unravels and dives deep into who I am, the events of the kidnapping, as well as the intense media aftermath that tried to define me. I think people will finally see through the headlines."
Scotsman
25-06-2025
- Scotsman
Helping residents end motorbike nightmare
The petition calls for nightly closures of the Hawes car park There are few more atmospheric places to hold a public meeting than in the Hawes Inn, South Queensferry. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Nestled under the iconic pilings of the Forth Bridge, the inn itself has been serving customers since the 18th century. It features in the Robert Louis Stevenson classic, Kidnapped. Usually, meetings held in that space are only punctuated by the distant rumble of trains crossing the bridge overhead, but ironically our meeting in early June was disturbed repeatedly by the very noise we were there to discuss. The deafening whine of motorbike engines, some potentially stolen, some certainly illegally modified, and many hellbent on using this picturesque town as an all-night racetrack. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The waterfront at South Queensferry has been designated a World Heritage site for the Forth Bridge itself and for the breathtaking vista it offers. It has become a firm fixture on the itineraries of visitors to Edinburgh. But in recent years, this stunning beauty spot has attracted more than just sightseers and holidaymakers. Since the lifting of the last vestiges of lockdown, the people of South Queensferry have had their lives made a misery by antisocial vehicle use which goes on late into the night. Local hospitality businesses have lost income and been subjected to bad reviews after they've refunded guests who've been disturbed; local residents are routinely woken in the small hours by car horns and exhausts backfiring and there is a real risk that it's only a matter of time before someone is killed. Initially the problem was predominantly caused by drivers of high performance and often illegally modified cars. Their racetrack would commence at the Hawes public car park but would take in a circuit that includes but is not limited to the promenade, Queensferry High Street, Ferrymuir, Burnshot Road and the A904. I hosted the first public meeting about the problem last September. People were queueing out the door. It led to national media attention, a meeting with the First Minister, the establishment of a national ministerial task force on the problem and a significant local policing operation which continues to this day. Following demands made at another public meeting held at Christmas, the council installed speed cushions at the Hawes. This had a limited success in reducing the number of cars using the area antisocially, but then the motorbikes turned up to use the speed cushions as jumps. I say motorbikes, but as we heard in an excellent input from Tricia at the Biker's Cove cafe, these guys aren't bikers. They are inexperienced young men horsing around on 'crotch rocket' motorbikes. The Cove biker community are as appalled by their behaviour as local residents, not least as they suspect some of these people will be involved in the epidemic of motorbike theft which is blighting all of Edinburgh right now. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad This week I will help the residents of South Queensferry to launch a petition to Edinburgh City Council's Transport Committee and demand they bring forward measures to end the use of their town as a racetrack for good. This will require serious physical modification along all affected stretches to prevent speeding and even the nightly closure of the Hawes public car park with measures to render it inaccessible during these hours. These are severe and costly measures but not nearly as severe and costly as the misery my constituents have been subjected to. Alex Cole-Hamilton is Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and MSP for Edinburgh Western
