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Telegraph
13-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Wine critic sues actress-turned-dog sitter after pet cockapoo run over
A leading wine critic is suing an actress-turned-dog sitter after his cockapoo was run over while in her care. Harry Eyres blames Kendra Torgan for the serious spinal injuries his dog Ebony suffered after it was hit by a car outside her home in Walthamstow, north-east London. The 66-year-old said he had been forced to spend thousands of pounds on life-saving surgery for the dog, described as a 'beloved member' of his family. Mr Eyres hopes to recoup the cost of the treatment from Ms Torgan, who he blames for letting the cockapoo escape from her garden. It was hit after running into the path of a passing estate agent's car. The former Etonian is seeking up to £30,000 in damages at Central London County Court. The case is also expected to incur legal costs of more than £150,000. Ms Torgan, who starred as a 'beautiful female assassin' in the 1998 British crime thriller Killing Time before setting up a business offering pet 'whispering' and 'outdoor adventures for dogs', denies the incident was her fault. Mr Eyres, who is also an author and poet, has written for publications including Country Life magazine. He was also formerly a theatre critic for The Times, wine editor for Harpers and Queen, and has penned columns for publications including the Financial Times and The Spectator. His lawyers said Ebony 'wandered into the road' while being looked after by Ms Torgan at her then home in Walthamstow in October 2022. The dog was then struck by a car driven by an employee of estate agent firm Dexters. Mr Eyres claims Ms Torgan 'negligently failed to supervise the dog' and also 'failed to call the dog back once it left her side'. Following the collision, the car's driver took Ebony and Ms Torgan to an emergency veterinary clinic before the pet was transferred to an animal hospital in Marlow for urgent treatment, court documents revealed. Although the dog survived, it suffered a fractured spine which needed repeated reconstructive surgery, with metalwork and screws inserted to hold its broken bones together. Mr Eyres said he was shocked when Ms Torgan wrote his lawyers an email suggesting 'euthanasia' might be a cheaper option than surgery, according to court documents. 'In order to prevent the vertebrae from collapsing, a revision of the original spinal surgery needed to be performed on 30 March 2023, involving removal of the original implant and screws and their replacement with a new larger implant and 13 screws,' his lawyers said. They added that the dog's treatment remained ongoing. The case papers said: 'Mr Eyres's insurers have confirmed that they will not pay out any sums, he will say that the dog was left with Ms Torgan and she owed him a duty to take care of Ebony.' Mr Eyres, from Queens Park, is also suing Dexters, which also denies blame. Caitlin Corrigan, Dexters's barrister, said Ms Torgan had 'not filed a defence'. But she added that Ms Torgan had argued in correspondence that she should not be sued as an individual and that the legal action should instead be directed towards her company, despite it being dissolved in 2023. Ms Corrigan said the dog sitter had also claimed that the collision was 'unforeseeable', as the cockapoo ran out of her garden having 'forced the gate open herself'. Outside court last week, Ms Torgan said: 'It was completely out of character as [Ebony] bolted out of the gate'. The Dexters employee said he was driving with the utmost care. Elaine Everett, the firm's solicitor, claimed he had no chance of avoiding hitting the dog. She added: 'Dexters will aver that [Ms Torgan] failed to control the dog in question, resulting in it suddenly running into the road.' The loser in the court battle could face a bill of more than £180,000. Some £30,000 in damages is being sought, with Mr Eyres's costs estimated at £112,390, while those of Dexters are budgeted at £40,337. The case will return for a full trial at a later date.
The Independent
13-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Wine critic in £180,000 court fight with dogsitter after beloved cockapoo hit by car
A top wine critic is suing a dogsitter after his beloved pet cockapoo was hit by a car while in her care. Writer and renowned wine critic Harry Eyres is blaming Kendra Torgan for serious spinal injuries his dog, Ebony, suffered after being run over by an estate agent's car outside her home in Kensal Rise, London, in 2022. Mr Eyres, 66, says he was forced to spend thousands on life-saving spinal reconstruction surgery for the dog, which he regards as a "beloved member of his family". He is now trying to recoup the cost from Ms Torgan, who he blames for letting the cockapoo escape from her garden and into the road. Mr Eyres is seeking up to £30,000 in damages at Central London County Court, with the case also set to run up more than £150,000 in legal costs. But Torgan, a former actress who starred as a "beautiful female assassin" in 1998 British crime thriller Killing Time, denies the accident was her fault and blames the dog for its own injury. Mr Eyres is a renowned wine critic, writing for publications including Country Life magazine. He is also an author and poet, formerly a theatre critic for The Times, wine editor for Harpers and Queen, and has penned columns for the Financial Times and The Spectator. Ms Torgan acted in a series of films before setting up her pet business, which offers dog walking, puppy training, whispering and behavioural therapy. Mr Eyres' lawyers say Ebony somehow 'wandered into the road' while being looked after by Ms Torgan at her then home in Ridley Road, Kensal Rise, in October 2022, and was then struck by a car being driven by an employee of estate agents Dexter's London Ltd. The 66-year-old ex-Etonian claims Ms Torgan 'negligently failed to supervise the dog' and also 'failed to call the dog back once it left her side'. The Dexter's driver took Ebony and Ms Torgan to an emergency vets' clinic, from where it was transferred to an animal hospital in Marlow for urgent treatment, court documents revealed. Although Mr Eyres' pet survived the smash, it was found to have suffered a fractured spine which needed repeated reconstructive surgery, with metalwork and screws inserted to hold the broken bones together. Mr Eyres, who is now suing the dogsitter for damages to cover the costs of Ebony's treatment, says he was left aghast when Ms Torgan allegedly wrote his lawyers an email suggesting "euthanasia" might be a cheaper option to surgery. 'In order to prevent the vertebrae from collapsing, a revision of the original spinal surgery needed to be performed on 30 March 2023, involving removal of the original implant and screws and their replacement with a new larger implant and 13 screws,' his lawyers say in the case papers. 'The dog's treatment remains ongoing.' Mr Eyres' insurers have confirmed that they will not pay out any sums, he will say that the dog was left with Ms Torgan and she owed him a duty to take care of Ebony. "She had gone on to suggest that he could have his dog - "prior to the incident healthy, and a beloved member of the family - euthanised rather than seeking treatment," they claim. The wine critic is also suing the estate agents, but both Ms Torgan and Dexter's are denying blame for the accident. Ms Torgan claims she should not be sued personally over the incident but rather that Mr Eyres should target her company, despite it having been dissolved in 2023. Summarising the case, Dexter's barrister Caitlin Corrigan explained: 'Ms Torgan has not filed a defence but in correspondence has said that she should not be being sued as an individual, but rather her dissolved company." She added that Ms Torgan is also claiming the accident was 'unforeseeable', as the dog took her by surprise when it suddenly wriggled out of her garden, having 'forced the gate open herself'. Outside court after a brief pre-trial hearing at Central London County Court last week, Ms Torgan added of the incident: 'It was completely out of character as (Ebony) bolted out of the gate'. For his part, the Dexter's driver insists he was driving with the utmost care and the company's lawyers claim their driver had no chance to avoid hitting the dog which shot out into the street, said their solicitor Elaine Everett. 'Dexter's will aver that (Ms Torgan) failed to control the dog in question, resulting in it suddenly running into the road. 'The driver was unable to safely stop the vehicle and swerving to avoid the dog would have been dangerous,' she added. The pet payout fight reached court before Judge Daniel Bunting for a case management hearing during which lawyers argued over issues including the extent of the expert medical evidence to be heard. Ms Torgan was present at court, but not represented by lawyers. The loser in the fight could face a bill of more than £180,000, with £30,000 damages being sought and Mr Eyres' costs being budgeted at £112,390, while those of Dexter's are budgeted at £40,337. The case will return for a full trial at a later date.
The Guardian
11-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Golden Plains 2025: Irish rappers Kneecap and rockers Fontaines DC lead sublime weekend
I'm standing in a field in the middle of the country in the middle of the night, watching a glittering set from the American synth-pop duo Magdalena Bay. Midway through the groove of Killing Time, as colours and costumes swirl on stage, my cousin taps me on the shoulder and points to the sky. Thousands of strangers look up at the same time as a star burns slowly across the black night. The next day my friend tells me it wasn't a shooting star, but rather space junk. But we agree that whatever it was encapsulated a weekend at Golden Plains: a place where magic appears unexpectedly, and not all is as it seems. Now in its 17th year, the two-day camping event is going from strength to strength. While it used to be easy to source last-minute entry in the lead-up to the long weekend, this year tickets were in constant demand, with wannabe punters still begging for leads even after it had already kicked off. It's not hard to understand the festival's appeal: it's an eclectic affair that provides an avenue of discovery for curious music lovers – a rarity in the time of algorithmic curation – and feels like a private universe, with tents and couches scattered across the Nolan family farm, and doof sticks sparkling like stars in the night. True to form, some of this year's highlights aren't the headliners, but smaller acts from closer to home. Sydney's RMFC ramps up the energy on Sunday with a pummelling punk set sprinkled with saxophone. Cranking up the distortion to breaking point, Auckland rock duo Elliot & Vincent makes brutal noise that sounds like much more than the sum of their parts. Skeleten, the alias of electronic producer Russell Fitzgibbon, is surprisingly a full band setup – an extended version of early single Territory Day is blissful. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Interstitial DJs also often provide highlights – a run of indie sleaze classics, from the Strokes to Bloc Party and Vampire Weekend, is a nostalgic Sunday evening delight, as is an intoxicating Radiohead remix in the drizzling rain. This year, Irish flags and accents float around 'the Sup', as the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre is affectionately nicknamed; two of the country's acts are major draw cards. Hip-hop trio Kneecap requests that the stage lights are turned down low so barely anything is visible but a projection of their signature balaclava, with videos playing in the eye holes. It's a chaotic, energetic set – 45 minutes flies by, with an easy flow between the three vocalists, who encourage the crowd to open up a mosh pit and who lead memorable chants, from advocating for Palestine to irreverently condemning Jeff Bezos and Margaret Thatcher. They transition into a more club-heavy beat towards the end of the set, making way for late-night DJs. The other Irish act, Fontaines DC, got my Boot. Their set draws heavily from the 2024 album Romance, and singer Grian Chatten lurches over the microphone, delivering his erudite songs with an Ian Curtis-esque drawl and energy. The intensity is broken up with tracks such as the jangly Favourite and the anthemic new single It's Amazing To be Young, but it's otherwise all mood, with minimal chatter. They're one of the world's best bands right now and only getting bigger, playing a sold-out 45,000-capacity show in London later this year – seeing them in the intimacy of the Sup is, well, supernatural. So is PJ Harvey's preceding set as a lightning storm is brewing overhead. The singer is bewitching as she flits between a chair and the rest of the stage, playing a mixture of old and new material as the sky flashes. The storm never completely hits, but the atmosphere is fittingly haunting. Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion There are soulful moments, too. At first, Gamilaraay singer-songwriter Thelma Plum seemed to me like a strange choice for the festival, but the moment she takes the stage, it makes perfect sense. Plum's 2024 album I'm Sorry, Now Say It Back is far more dynamic live than it is on record – Nobody's Baby is a highlight, but it's all fabulous. Jada Weazel's Sunday morning set follows on in the same vibe – the Queensland R&B singer's awkward banter belies her confident vocals, and a moving cover of Olivia Dean's The Hardest Part washes any hangovers away. The most unexpectedly entertaining performance of the weekend is Robin S, whose 1992 single Show Me Love has been given eternal life in samples by Charli xcx and Beyoncé in recent years. An announcement that sounds a lot like a late-night infomercial plays over the speakers not once but twice before the singer appears just past midnight. She sings Show Me Love a few times and leads 'the biggest choir I've ever taught' in scat-singing, before thanking the crowd for staying with her for 'well over 30 minutes' – she barely cracks 20. She's gone as quickly as she arrived, leaving a bemused Sup in her wake. It's utterly absurd, and we're still unpacking what we witnessed on the dusty drive home on Monday. It's all part of the fun of Golden Plains, a festival that has deservedly achieved cult status in Australia for its community, adventurous programming and bucolic scenery. Hits and misses, sure – but it all adds up to something singular and sublime. Golden Plains 2025 took place March 8-10 at the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre, Victoria.
