Latest news with #Lydia
an hour ago
- General
Some Left in Philippines Unable to Obtain Japan Nationality
Linapacan, Philippines, June 4 (Jiji Press)--Some people who were born to Japanese fathers and Filipino mothers before the end of World War II and have remained in the Philippines since the war ended are unable to obtain Japanese nationality due to insufficient proof of their fathers' Japanese citizenship. As this year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the war, the Japanese government is strengthening its support for these people, who are now elderly. Last month, Esperanza Morine, 87, who lives on the island of Linapacan in the western Philippines, and her sister Lydia, 85, met two relatives from the southernmost Japan prefecture of Okinawa. It was the first meeting between the sisters, who obtained Japanese nationality last September, and a Japanese relative. The relatives were Naoaki and Yasuhiko Morine, aged 49 and 40, respectively. They were in tears as they shook the sisters' hands and made a video call to other relatives in Okinawa. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
Otago Daily Times
8 hours ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Horticulture love pays off for Goodman
Lydia Goodman has won the Central Otago young grower title. PHOTO: SUPPLIED Lydia Goodman has won the 2025 Central Otago young grower regional title. The Cromwell woman is the assistant orchard manager at Central Orchard Management and packing manager at CentralPac. To take the title, she pitched her skills against four fellow contestants to win the regional event in Cromwell late last week. She will now go on to compete against six other regional winners in the young grower of the year final in Christchurch in September. The 26-year-old was raised on a beef and dairy farm in England and developed a passion for agriculture early. After moving to New Zealand, she transitioned from cattle and crops to cherries, discovering a love for horticulture. "I literally fell into it when I was a backpacker in Wānaka. "My working visa was about to expire, it was post-Covid and the industry was crying out for workers." She snapped up the government's offer of supplementary seasonal employer visas and started work in a cherry orchard in Tarras. "I just loved it, the outdoor work and the passion and leadership in the industry. I have been here ever since." Lydia now has five years of experience managing teams in both orchard and packhouse operations and holds level 3 and 4 certificates in fruit production. She entered the competition to develop her technical skills, build connections with like-minded professionals, and challenge herself. "It was a great experience completing seven modules across the day along with two practical components, and a speech in the evening. "The big one for me was pruning a tree in front of two big names in the field." She manages a team of 12 recognised seasonal employer workers as well as being a manager in the pack house. She loves the outdoor work and the passion and leadership in the industry. "One of the best things is teaching the team how to do their job and seeing the passion develop as they learn and understand things like the physiology of a tree. That really fuels me." Her ambition is to become a Central Otago cherry grower. The runners-up were Jared Loewen, from Stone House Gardens at Roxburgh, who is redeveloping his family's orchard to improve productivity and sustainability, and Mackenzie Maaka, of Cromwell, who is studying level 4 horticultural fruit production at polytechnic. — APL
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
'Absolutely gutted': £16,500 Glastonbury packages won't be fulfilled after company goes bust
Glastonbury ticket holders have been left thousands of pounds out of pocket after a luxury glamping company went bust. Festival-goers who booked their tickets and accommodation with Yurtel have been told the company can no longer fulfil its orders and has ceased trading with immediate effect. Money: Some had spent more than £16,500 through Yurtel, with hospitality packages starting at £10,000. In an email, Yurtel said it was unable to provide customers with any refunds, advising them to go through a third party to claim back the money once the liquidation process had started. To add insult to injury, customers found out that Yurtel had failed to purchase the tickets for the 25 -29 June festival that they thought had been booked as part of their packages. In a letter to customers, Yurtel's founder Mickey Luke said: "I am deeply sorry that you have received this devastating news and am writing to apologise. "Yurtel is a hospitality business who pride themselves on looking after our customers, delivering a unique product and striving to create a better client experience year on year. Due to a culmination of factors over the past years, we have failed to be able to continue to do so and are heartbroken." The Money blog has contacted Yurtel to see if the business has anything to add. Several people have also reported that they were unable to pay by credit card at the time of booking, with the company instead asking for a bank transfer. This means they are unable to use chargeback to get a refund. You can read more about that here... 'I feel really ripped off' One of those customers was Lydia, who told Money she was "absolutely gutted" after spending thousands. This year's festival was "really important" to her as she was forced to miss out last year despite having tickets due to a health issue that left her needing an operation. "We tried to get Glastonbury tickets through the normal kind of route and couldn't get them," the accountant said. She ended up booking with Yurtel in November, sending over all the funds a month later. "It's super expensive. It was really, really important to us. Last year was gutting with the surgery and the whole situation around that was very traumatic, so it was a very special thing to then get the opportunity to go this year. It's really gutting," she said. "I feel really ripped off and I'm really disappointed in the festival, to be honest. I think that response is just pretty rubbish." More from Money:How roaming fees compare by network Yurtel did not pay for festival tickets, Glastonbury says Glastonbury said Yurtel was one of a small number of campsites local to the festival site - Worthy Farm - with limited access to purchase hospitality tickets for their guests in certain circumstances. But, it had not paid for any tickets for the 2025 festival before going into liquidation, and so no tickets were secured for its guests, it added. Every year, Glastonbury's website says that ticketing firm See Tickets is the only official source for buying tickets for the festival. "As such we have no records of their bookings and are unable to take any responsibility for the services and the facilities they offer," the festival said. "Anyone who has paid Yurtel for a package including Glastonbury 2025 tickets will need to pursue any potential recompense available from them via the liquidation process as outlined in their communication to you. "We are not able to incur the cost or responsibility of their loss or replacement." Instead, the festival has urged Yurtel customers to contact Yurtel@ to confirm their consent for personal data and details of their party to be shared with Glastonbury. "We will then be able to provide details of alternative potential sources for those customers to purchase tickets and accommodation for this year's festival," the festival added. 'Only option' on offer is 'pretty weak' Lydia said she agreed for her details to be passed on to Glastonbury, and the festival has told her the only option is to pay for the tickets again from another provider. "They are not giving us the opportunity to buy the tickets at face value. We would then have to go again and spend another stupidly unreasonable amount of money to be able to go. It's pretty disappointing," she added. "It's pretty weak that the only option they're giving people who've already lost out on huge amounts of money is to go and spend huge amounts more money." It's left her feeling like she won't go to the festival this year - and she's not hopeful about getting her money back. She said: "To be honest, I just don't think I can afford it. "It's already so much money wasted, and I'm not at all optimistic we'll get anything back."
Scottish Sun
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Lydia Bright hits back at mum-shamers as she doubles down on choosing to co-sleep with her daughter instead of partner
THE ONLY WAY THE ONLY WAY Lydia Bright hits back at mum-shamers as she doubles down on choosing to co-sleep with her daughter instead of partner Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) LYDIA Bright has hit back at mum-shamers as she doubles down on her sleeping arrangements. The former Towie personality caused a stir when she admitted to choosing to co-sleep with her daughter instead of her partner. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 4 Lydia Bright doubled down against the cruel mum-shamers Credit: Splash 4 The reality star caused a stir when she posted a video of her daughter Lorretta sleeping next to her Lydia Bright, 34, previously came under fire over a sweet video she posted of her five-year-old little girl. In the sweet clip, her tot Lorretta - whom she shares with her ex-boyfriend Lee Cronin - could be seen fast asleep next to her mum. However, some cruel trolls said she should not be letting her child sleep next to her, if she wants to find a new man. The ITVBe beauty addressed the controversy head on as she took to her Instagram story with an explanation. She wrote: "This post was simply to highlight the beauty of co-sleeping. Something that's embraced in so many cultures around the world, yet is unusual here in the UK. "I wanted to just say, mums to trust your own maternal instinct. "Do what feels right for you and your child, not what society tells you is "normal". Lydia continued: "To those commenting 'good luck finding a man' or suggesting it'll be a problem when I meet someone. "I wouldn't be with a man who wasn't secure enough to respect the bond I share with my daughter." Lydia Bright reveals daughter, five, is still co-sleeping She added: "Her happiness will always come first, especially over my sex life. Sorry dad :D." Lydia previously responded to the backlash as she originally commented: "I had a relationship and it still remained the same sleeping arrangements. "My daughter is my priority, I won't be moving beds for no man." The former reality TV star is is back on the market after splitting with ex Ben Davies. But fans might not need to worry as Lydia recently revealed that she's signed up to a dating app. 4 The star wants to embrace the technique of co-sleeping Credit: PA
Daily Mail
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Nostalgia and longing in the best literary fiction out now: RIPENESS by Sarah Moss, LET ME GO MAD IN MY OWN WAY by Elaine Feeney, WHERE SNOWBIRDS PLAY by Gina Goldhammer
Ripeness by Sarah Moss is available now from the Mail Bookshop RIPENESS by Sarah Moss (Picador £20, 304pp) BACK in the 1960s, Oxford bound teenager Edith was dispatched to idyllic rural Lombardy to look after her elder sister Lydia, a ballet dancer in the final stages of an unplanned pregnancy. In the present day, seventy something Edith is living comfortably on the wet west coast of Ireland, enjoying an on-off dalliance with a German potter. As one strand of Moss's typically beautifully-crafted novel follows the ripening Italian summer, Lydia's pregnancy and her adamantine intention to give the baby away, the other follows Edith in the autumn of her life, as she reflects on mortality and the state of the world she'll leave behind. Above all, it's a meditation on belonging: Edith's own Jewish mother, who lost her family to the Holocaust and found peace in a kibbutz; the Ukrainian 'Good Refugees' who are welcomed by Edith's Irish neighbours; the African asylum seekers who are greeted with protests. As an outsider herself, Edith is well placed to observe it all, to thoroughly absorbing and moving effect. LET ME GO MAD IN MY OWN WAY by Elaine Feeney (Harvill Secker £16.99, 320pp) THIS hugely powerful third novel from the Booker-longlisted Feeney ostensibly follows university lecturer Claire in the wake of her victimised mother and tyrannical father's deaths. Blowing up her relationship with her solicitous boyfriend, she returns from London to the family home in Ireland, a place that, as the novel unfolds, we realise has been the scene of unspeakable horrors during the Irish War of Independence. It's only in the later stages of the novel that the two timelines coalesce, as Feeney excavates the overlapping oppression and violence of colonialism and patriarchy from a typically left-field angle. Questions of revolution, restitution and, perhaps, resolution swirl in the unsettled mix of this visceral, stimulating tale that is likely one of the most original you'll read this year. WHERE SNOWBIRDS PLAY by Gina Goldhammer (Hay Press £9.79, 264pp) THE author's own backstory here is every bit a match for her exotic plot, and in part its inspiration. A longtime personal assistant to Henry Kissinger, she was also caught up in the same 2000s insider trading scandal that embroiled US TV personality Martha Stewart. The backdrop is Palm Beach in the 1990s, a world of 'sculpted faces, sham marriages and designer-decorated homes'. Hannah and Philip are both English incomers, but only Oxford marine biologist Philip knows the shady family connection linking him to Hannah's disabled son. The glossily privileged milieu is sharply drawn, but elsewhere the execution is wanting, with slow-to-arrive intrigues out of focus and an ultimate descent into pure melodrama.
