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Borneo Post
5 days ago
- Politics
- Borneo Post
S'wak Archive Building milestone in preserving historical legacy despite green cert setback, says Premier
Abang Johari (third right) listens to a briefing during the State Archive Building project site visit today. – Photo by Kong Jun Liung KUCHING (Aug 6): The State Archive Building currently under construction may not fully meet the criteria for green building certification as originally intended, but it remains a significant milestone in preserving Sarawak's historical legacy, said Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg. During a site visit today, the Premier expressed mild disappointment over the project's deviation from its initial green building aspirations, attributing the change to modifications made during the Covid-19 pandemic. 'Initially, we planned for it to be a green building. But during Covid-19, there were some changes to the project that I wasn't made aware of. 'Even though it cannot be officially declared a green building, it still has green elements, such as the use of rainfall harvesting and temperature control features that help reduce heat,' he said. Despite the setback, Abang Johari remained upbeat, describing the archive as one of the region's most advanced archival facilities, especially in terms of humidity and temperature regulation – critical elements for document preservation. 'This project is intended to provide a centralised facility to store important historical documents and hard copies, especially those related to Sarawak's legal, political, and scientific history,' he said. Among the key records to be housed at the facility are certified copies of historical documents obtained from the United Kingdom through partnerships with institutions like the London Museum and other British authorities. These include records pertaining to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), as well as earlier correspondence and treaties from Sarawak's colonial and pre-independence eras. Abang Johari also highlighted the inclusion of scientific collections, including works linked to renowned naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace and his assistant Ali, who collected specimens in Sarawak that contributed to Wallace's theory of evolution. 'We now have access to valuable records, such as the Sarawak Law and other historical notes, including those related to butterflies,' he said. Abang Johari underscored the importance of storing these materials under controlled conditions, noting that while many original documents remain in London, Sarawak must ensure that authenticated copies are preserved for future generations. 'We are building this archive to house these documents properly, with full control over humidity and temperature. That is what makes it special,' he said. Following the site visit, the Premier witnessed the exchange of a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between the Knowledge Research Group (KRG) and Universiti Teknologi Sarawak (UTS) at the nearby State Library. The event also featured the signing of an agreement between the State Library and UCTS Consultancy Services Sdn Bhd (UCSSB), along with the symbolic handover of 12 'Librarian in Every Home' training kits and the soft launch of 50 Digital Community Centres (DCCs). Also present during the visit and the event were Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian, State Secretary Datuk Amar Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki and other officials. Abang Johari green building lead Sarawak Archive Building
Spectator
25-07-2025
- General
- Spectator
The scourge of London's chicken shops
It was recently announced that the sign from the original Morley's chicken shop is to go on display in the new London Museum in honour of the chain's 40th anniversary. Morley's, which has more than 100 branches, almost all in south London, has become something of an institution. Even Mayor Sadiq Khan has declared himself a Morley's man. The idea that Morley's is museum-worthy London heritage seems a stretch, though. Fried chicken is meant to be the prized food of Kentucky or Korea, not Kennington or Kingsbury. But I paid a visit to my nearest Morley's to see what the fuss was about. I opted for the famed spicy wings and referred – as is obligatory – to the server as 'Bossman'. Past the counter I could see men at the fryers, their faces shining and not with happiness. There was a vague smell of BO – though unclear whether emanating from one of the chefs (is that the right word?) or my lunch. But, in truth, Morley's isn't the worst of these places. 'Mmm… It Tastes Better' reads their tagline. And if they mean better than Chicken Cottage, they may have a point. The ketchup even comes in proper round little tubs and not those fiddly sachets providing sauce enough for precisely three fries. (The sharp-edged rectangular plastic tubs are all but banished from the modern-day chicken shop, presumably in case they could be used as a murder weapon.) When hungry or hungover, if you can look past the unidentifiable black stringy bits, Morley's serves a purpose. But there's no getting around the fact that what these chicken shops serve up is lowest common denominator food. If the Big Mac is the American century in edible form, the chicken wing somehow represents globalisation's greasy underbelly. There is still something a tiny bit optimistic about McDonald's – the Happy Meal, the clown smile, the golden arches promising a bite of the capitalist dream. There is nothing redeeming about the chicken slop. Ronald wouldn't be so much as turning in his grave as bent over his tombstone in his happy yellow jumpsuit, retching. And leaving taste aside, the bigger problem is the blight on the high street. Chicken shops are everywhere – there are, extraordinarily, 8,000 in London alone (including 29 on a single stretch of road in Streatham). That compares with 10,500 fish and chip shops across the entire UK, down from a peak of more than 35,000 in the 1930s. The problem with chicken shops is the garish signage, the smell of oil last changed at some point in the 2010s. There's the crime (in 2019, the Youth Select Committee heard evidence that 'chicken shop gangs' were recruiting children to their drug operations with the offer of free chicken), the crowds, the loafing, loutishness and litter. Above all, the litter. More than any of the big-name fast-food chains, chicken shops seem to disgorge boxes, buckets and bones on every street that they plague. Keep Britain Tidy does good stuff ('Don't be a tosser' was a favourite). But the charity's campaign to combat the blight of cigarette butts feels stuck in the wrong decade. We need rather a national effort against chicken skeletons. I once followed bones all the way down Blackstock Road from chicken shop to Tube station, like Hansel and Gretel. The trail ended, fittingly, with three undevoured wings strewn across the floor. After all, it's hard to keep it all in the bucket when jumping the ticket barriers. Fried chicken has become recently rather chic. Gen Z tune into Chicken Shop Date on YouTube and London has gentrified with upmarket joints – Popeyes, Butchies, Lucky's. At another, Thunderbird Fried Chicken, at Embankment, I paid £17.74 for eight wings with fries and a milkshake. Not that those prices make it free-range, mind – though at least it's halal so you know the battery bird has suffered. Writing in the Times, Charlotte Ivers recently hailed the chicken wing as a 'quintessentially British success story' and 'one of the victors of multiculturalism', as she salivated over the offering at Wingmans on Kilburn High Road. 'What a blessing,' she sighed. I'm sorry but this is tosh. This is not some sort of authentic ethnic dish like Caribbean jerk chicken (and very nice that is too). No culture would be proud of the junk that comes out of these shops or want its cuisine to be judged on this basis. This is Theresa May's 'citizen of nowhere' encased in batter. But we have allowed ourselves to be browbeaten into accepting the fiction that these places are serving up some sort of ethnic delicacy, a nostalgic right for diaspora groups. A quote from Vice magazine is emblazoned across the wall at Morley's: 'Seeing a Morley's lets me know that I'm home.' How have we let it happen that fried chicken, something with no connection to the UK, or for that matter with the ancestral homes of our diaspora groups, is now synonymous with London? This is a difficult area. I have no desire to control what people eat though force of law. But it is no surprise that with some 40 chicken shops for every secondary school in Tower Hamlets, the borough has the sixth-highest rate of child obesity in the UK. Won't someone think of the children. Of course these places will continue to exist. But the chicken shops' merciless spread like some sort of cooking oil slick is something we should resist. Fewer of them would be a public good. Please, Bossman.
Metro
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
I'm a luxury wedding planner — we should be thrilled by Jeff Bezos' celebrations
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez have officially tied the not in a luxury Venetian wedding — and the celebrations have been about as over the top as you'd expect. The Amazon billionaire and his new wife celebrated in front of 200 VIP guests, following days of blatant excess in the floating city, two years after the billionaire proposed to the TV journalist on his $500 million superyacht. While locals have been protesting the 'absurd wealth theatre' on display – with creepy mannequins of the pair spotted floating through the Venice canals — Jeff has been pictured frolicking in the suds of a foam party aboard his lavish yacht before the big day. Guests began arriving earlier this week, with the likes of Ivanka Trump, Barbara Streisand, Kim Kardashian and Bill Gates jetting in. But things haven't exactly gone to plan: Thursday's pre-wedding party at the historic Madonna dell-Orto cloisters was hit by torrential rain. A-listers including Kylie Jenner were forced to take cover during the freak thunderstorm. Because even billionaires can't control the weather… yet. But according to top UK wedding planner Mark Niemierko, we shouldn't be rolling our eyes — we should be getting inspired. 'I think overall myself, and other fellow planners in the industry are excited,' he tells Metro. 'While their taste might not be to everyone's liking, I feel this is what is most important when it comes to planning and designing your wedding – being yourself.' Mark has been a luxury wedding planner for 20 years, with a client list that includes Julia and James Cordon and Rochelle and Marvin Humes. His company, Niemierko, has even planned weddings attended by royalty. After seeing enough drab wedding concepts while in the business, he's excited to see someone doing something different. 'I am thrilled we might have a break in the beige weddings taking over Instagram, the algorithm needs a refresh,' he says. 'Overall, I'm loving every minute from the leaked gift Registry card of the invites, to the foam party snaps, to the drama of having to move venues.' Mark knows a thing or two about excess — he's planned countless weddings, with the average budget stretching between £500,000 and £750,000, and some soaring into the millions. Think six-figure cake rooms, karaoke machines on the dance floor, private jets for a family's pet dog (and the pet's walker), entire countryside hotels restaffed top to bottom, and the London Museum's Christmas decorations removed overnight to fit a bride's specific vision. 'Very early on I learnt to listen to my couples, to ensure I created days around them – and not my own personal taste and style,' he says. 'Back in 2006, a bride told me she wanted this 'booth thing', a bit like at train stations where you have your passport photo taken. I immediately thought, what, that won't work. Well, it was and photo booths are now as common at weddings as confetti.' But, is there such a thing as too much? Mark says: 'The only time I draw a line is if it will ruin the guest experience. If it's a mad idea that'll work and keep guests guessing, and the night alive and not dull – I'm all for it. 'But if it's long-winded and service will be affected, I'll likely ensure we ditch it.' For Mark, the best weddings aren't just stylish, they're fun. 'Humour I think is a very important part of a wedding day, if it's all taking yourselves too seriously, posing for photos – where's the moment in that? Less fake, more fun I say,' he adds. If you're planning a wedding – but don't have quite the same budget as Jeff and Lauren, according to Nick there are still things you can do to make sure your nuptials have an A-list vibe. 'I think loos generally are the most important things,' he says. 'Whether you're at an airport or a nightclub, we all need to go for a wee. It shouldn't be an experience of 'Oh my God! I need to go for a wee, but I need to get out of this room so quickly'. 'It should be 'Oh my god, this is insane. I want to stay in here all night.' Mark doesn't hold back when it comes to styling the bathrooms at his weddings, adding everything from scented candles to tarot card readers to pleasantly surprise guests. One simple tip? He says: 'Get yourself crystal decanters, fill them up with mouthwash, get little paper cups and put them on the side. 'There's nothing more fabulous than being on a night out and thinking, 'I almost feel like I've brushed my teeth'.' Obviously, Mark adds, don't be stingy on your choice of soap, and if you can, add personal touches. 'I love doing a sweet jar full of every different coloured vaseline.' And, if he finds out which perfumes the couple wears, he might add little bottles of them in the bathroom. 'But, just beware. They're going to get nabbed,' he adds. 'A guest is going to take them. Someone will steal them.' Next on Mark's essentials list? The bar. And not just what's in it, but where it is. 'You could not be a drinker. But you still need a drink. So the bar is going to need to be fully stocked,' he says. 'If you can't afford to water and feed all of your guests, then don't invite them. Have a fully open bar if you can afford it.' You want to make sure it's close to the action. Mark advises: 'Don't have it separate from the dance room, because you'll end up with a split group, and you want it closer to where the dancing is. More Trending 'Not on top of the dance floor, but close enough to make sure it's flowing and whoever's managing it doesn't run out of glassware. It needs to flow.' You might assume it's all over when the music stops, but Mark wants guests to be surprised until the very last moment. He's even set up a Shawarma kebab stall for guests to enjoy on their way out. 'Can you imagine what the guests are saying to each other when they leave that wedding? They're drunk and they're turning to each other, probably talking with their mouths full, going, 'Oh my God! This is the best wedding I've ever been to'.' Battersea Power Station (pre-renovation) – one of Mark's early large-scale projects was held at Battersea Power Station when it was still derelict in 2012. He turned it into a grand-scale rock-and-roll wedding. He says: 'It's funny going back there now and it's all so polished and beautiful.' British Pullman Train – in 2012, Mark transported guests to a countryside wedding at Blenheim Palace via the Belmond British Pullman Train. 'Everyone got on the British Pullman, and we had a fabulous dinner on the train. Then you arrived in Woodstock, and your hotel was taken care of,' he says. The British Museum – Mark orchestrated the first-ever wedding at the British Museum for just 20 guests in 2018. 'Guests didn't know where they were going,' he says. 'We did a very simple registry office and then they got in cars to a mystery venue and pulled up at the British Museum. It was like Night at the Museum. Totally empty. And then you walked to the Egyptian galleries and that's where we had a dinner. It was quite epic.' Private jet for dogs – Niemierko has gone the extra mile for all sorts of guests. 'There's obviously been private jets for dogs, he says. 'We can't say where they were flying from, but we had to make sure that dog was somewhere else and they pretty much flew with a staff member on a private jet.' Do you have a story to share? Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@ MORE: Who's who at Jeff Bezos's $10,000,000 wedding as A-list guests 'descend on Venice' MORE: Who's going to Jeff Bezos's wedding? The $10,000,000 guest list 'descending on Venice' MORE: Everything that's happened between Hailey and Justin Bieber as marriage breakdown rumours mount Your free newsletter guide to the best London has on offer, from drinks deals to restaurant reviews.
Powys County Times
26-06-2025
- Sport
- Powys County Times
Peter Fleming amazed to hear stolen Wimbledon medals were recovered by mudlark
Peter Fleming thought the Wimbledon medals he won during a famous doubles partnership with John McEnroe were lost forever when they were stolen in a robbery at his home. But months later the American was astonished to discover they had been found by a mudlarker on the banks of the Thames in tennis' own true crime story. The medals form part of a new exhibition, Secrets of the Thames, at London Museum Docklands, which features objects found through mudlarking – the historic practice of scouring the foreshore at low tide for artefacts. Fleming, who won four Wimbledon men's doubles titles with McEnroe in the 1970s and 80s and three US Open crowns, told the unusual tale to the PA news agency. 'I had just moved into a new flat in Wimbledon and for some reason I thought I didn't need to double lock my door because it was a secure building so I just pulled it shut and went out to play golf,' said the 70-year-old, a well-known face as a TV pundit. 'I came back about six hours later and my place had been ransacked. They stole a bunch of stuff. It's a horrible feeling when you get burgled, you feel like you've been violated or something. 'I had nine Wimbledon medals. You get to the semi-finals and they give you a medal: bronze, silver or gold. 'Apparently the guys who stole my stuff just drove down Putney High Street and anything that had a name on it they threw in the river. 'Six months later, somebody contacts me somehow, they first contacted the club I think. A couple of the medals were in perfect condition, a couple of them were all green. 'It was just such a freak occurrence. I thought they were gone. It was a real surprise to hear somebody say, 'we've got your medals'.' Mudlarks need a permit to search the banks of the Thames, and a condition of the permit is that all objects of historical interest must be reported to London Museum. 'The mudlark in question who found the medals, he was used to coming in and reporting his finds to us,' said museum curator Kate Sumnall. View this post on Instagram A post shared by London Museum (@wearelondonmuseum) 'It's written on the medals what they are so he brought them in and said, 'I've just found this group of medals all together on the same stretch of the foreshore, what do we do next?' 'We had a look at them, reached out to Peter Fleming and we were able to reunite the medals with Peter but also to hear the story of how Peter had unfortunately suffered from a burglary. 'We know that there's so much stolen property that ends up in the river, there's people's purses, wallets, jewellery, bags, that are just dumped in the river and it's rare that we can find the owner's name, and then to trace them and reunite them is a really special thing.' Among the other objects on display in the exhibition – which runs until March 1, 2026 – are the barrels from a sawn-off shotgun, a dagger that dates back to the 1500s, a ball and chain, and weighted gamblers' dice. Sumnall added of Fleming's medals: 'He was very generous with lending them to us and we're very pleased because they're one of the few contemporary objects we have on display, and it's lovely to have that connection with such an iconic sport and the Wimbledon Championships, and of course such a well-known name as Peter.'
Rhyl Journal
26-06-2025
- Sport
- Rhyl Journal
Peter Fleming amazed to hear stolen Wimbledon medals were recovered by mudlark
But months later the American was astonished to discover they had been found by a mudlarker on the banks of the Thames in tennis' own true crime story. The medals form part of a new exhibition, Secrets of the Thames, at London Museum Docklands, which features objects found through mudlarking – the historic practice of scouring the foreshore at low tide for artefacts. Fleming, who won four Wimbledon men's doubles titles with McEnroe in the 1970s and 80s and three US Open crowns, told the unusual tale to the PA news agency. 'I had just moved into a new flat in Wimbledon and for some reason I thought I didn't need to double lock my door because it was a secure building so I just pulled it shut and went out to play golf,' said the 70-year-old, a well-known face as a TV pundit. 'I came back about six hours later and my place had been ransacked. They stole a bunch of stuff. It's a horrible feeling when you get burgled, you feel like you've been violated or something. 'I had nine Wimbledon medals. You get to the semi-finals and they give you a medal: bronze, silver or gold. 'Apparently the guys who stole my stuff just drove down Putney High Street and anything that had a name on it they threw in the river. 'Six months later, somebody contacts me somehow, they first contacted the club I think. A couple of the medals were in perfect condition, a couple of them were all green. 'It was just such a freak occurrence. I thought they were gone. It was a real surprise to hear somebody say, 'we've got your medals'.' Mudlarks need a permit to search the banks of the Thames, and a condition of the permit is that all objects of historical interest must be reported to London Museum. 'The mudlark in question who found the medals, he was used to coming in and reporting his finds to us,' said museum curator Kate Sumnall. A post shared by London Museum (@wearelondonmuseum) 'It's written on the medals what they are so he brought them in and said, 'I've just found this group of medals all together on the same stretch of the foreshore, what do we do next?' 'We had a look at them, reached out to Peter Fleming and we were able to reunite the medals with Peter but also to hear the story of how Peter had unfortunately suffered from a burglary. 'We know that there's so much stolen property that ends up in the river, there's people's purses, wallets, jewellery, bags, that are just dumped in the river and it's rare that we can find the owner's name, and then to trace them and reunite them is a really special thing.' Among the other objects on display in the exhibition – which runs until March 1, 2026 – are the barrels from a sawn-off shotgun, a dagger that dates back to the 1500s, a ball and chain, and weighted gamblers' dice. Sumnall added of Fleming's medals: 'He was very generous with lending them to us and we're very pleased because they're one of the few contemporary objects we have on display, and it's lovely to have that connection with such an iconic sport and the Wimbledon Championships, and of course such a well-known name as Peter.'
