Latest news with #MatthewRichardson
Daily Record
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Writers on the same page as club enjoys annual awards dinner
Members swapped pens and pencils for knives and forks for one night only in order to celebrate each other's writing successes. Frocks were worn, suits donned, and shoes polished as Ayr Writers' Club held their 2024/25 awards dinner, writes Matthew Richardson. Members swapped pens and pencils for knives and forks for one night only in order to celebrate each other's writing successes. Formed over 50 years ago, the club is one of the biggest and most successful writing groups in Scotland. Members meet weekly at the Mercure Hotel in Ayr to pen poetry, short stories, drama, and much more. Guest speakers over the year have included Scottish crime novelist Tony Black, 'Hear No Evil' author Sarah Smith, and award-winning poet Alison Chisholm. The awards dinner marked the end of the formal 2024/25 season and members celebrated their success over the previous year. Trophies were handed out for competitions including scriptwriting, flash fiction, non-fiction, and children's fiction. The club also marked a successful year for published writing, with club members having their prose and poetry circulated online and in print in a variety of publications. The 2025/26 season will mark a change of presidency for the club, with co-presidents Linda Brown and Carrie Watts handing over to Fiona Johnson. Planning for the forthcoming session is already underway, with another programme of guest speakers, workshops, and feedback nights in the offing. Those interested in joining the club are encouraged to visit to find out more.
Daily Mail
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
AFL great forced to apologise to premiership-winning coach after embarrassing insult live on air
Dale Thomas has issued an on-air apology to Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan after making an awkward comment during Channel 7's coverage of the Dreamtime at the G clash. The former AFL star labelled Fagan 'old' in a light-hearted discussion about potential coaching candidates for Tasmania 's new AFL team. Fagan, 63, led the Lions to a long-awaited premiership in 2024 and has taken the club to back-to-back grand finals. His name was floated as part of a coaching wishlist alongside Nathan Buckley, Chris Scott, Ken Hinkley, John Longmire and Adam Simpson. During post-match analysis, Thomas questioned what role Fagan might play if he joined Tasmania's AFL project. 'Would that be a coach or more of a mentoring overview from Chris Fagan who, with no disrespect, is getting old,' Thomas said. The remark drew a laugh from co-host Matthew Richardson, a proud Tasmanian and former Richmond great. But moments later, Richardson's phone lit up with a message from none other than Fagan himself. Realising the situation, Thomas quickly addressed the audience. 'I did just reference that maybe Chris Fagan - I did say 'with no disrespect' - was old,' he said. 'I just saw Richo's phone go ping, and the name that popped up was Chris Fagan. Do I need to order an official apology?' Richardson grinned and urged him to do just that. 'He's not old, Fages,' he said. Thomas responded with a red-faced retraction. 'Look ... I probably didn't ... Chris, I'm tremendously sorry,' he said. 'I love everything you're doing and if you do want to come to Tassie, I'll be there with you. I think you'd be a perfect candidate.' Richardson chimed in again. 'Oh, you want a job down there as well?' he joked. The moment came amid renewed focus on Tasmania's bid to enter the AFL, with Tasmania Devils CEO Brendon Gale addressing the state's hopes at a Melbourne breakfast. Gale stressed that if a stadium at Macquarie Point wasn't approved, the entire bid could collapse. 'It's that black and white,' Gale said. Richardson added: 'If this doesn't get up, it'll be Tasmania's biggest mistake in 20–30 years.' Meanwhile, Chris Fagan's credentials speak for themselves. Born in Queenstown, Tasmania, he played more than 260 senior games before moving into AFL coaching. He spent almost a decade as an assistant coach at Melbourne and then Hawthorn, playing a key role in the Hawks' premiership dynasty. In 2017, he took over as senior coach of Brisbane. After transforming the struggling Lions into title contenders, Fagan capped his efforts with a grand final win in 2024. He became the oldest coach to win an AFL premiership - and the first to do so without playing at the elite level. Thomas, affectionately known as 'Daisy', enjoyed a decorated career at Collingwood and Carlton, winning a flag with the Magpies in 2010 before retiring in 2019. He has since made a name for himself in media, hosting TV shows, appearing on reality programs, and staying involved in community footy.
7NEWS
21-05-2025
- Business
- 7NEWS
Australian activewear brand Exoticathletica goes into administration
A popular Australian activewear brand has collapsed, owing more than $100,000 to its employees. Exoticathletica was placed in administration on April 9, according to documents filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Matthew Richardson and Terry van der Velde from SV Partners have been appointed as administrators. It's estimated the Queensland -based company owes as much as $114,000 to its staff, including $37,000 in superannuation, $73,000 in annual leave, $5800 in long service leave and $33,000 in pay in lieu of notice. The activewear brand owes $6.7 million to Commonwealth Bank and about $5.4 million to unsecured creditors. It also owes $211,000 to Active Apparel Group, an activewear manufacturer. The brand was founded by Leilani Chandler in 2014 and specialises in brightly coloured and printed athleisure clothing. According to the company's website, Chandler was inspired by Brazil's fashion culture. 'We create activewear and active lifestyle products, using innovative and elevated fabrics and fits, with bold and bright colours and prints,' the company's bio says. The business has continued to operate during the administration process. The creditors are seeking to sell the business via expressions of interest.
BBC News
14-03-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
GB men win team sprint gold at Track Nations Cup
Matthew Richardson, Harry Ledingham-Horn and Harry Radford set a new British record on their way to gold in the men's team sprint at the UCI Track Nations Cup in been the fastest in qualifying, the British trio posted a record time of 41.788 seconds in the first round, before Ledingham-Horn reversed a narrow deficit against Japan in the gold-medal ride."We worked really well as a team to glue it together," said Richardson, who was competing with the GB squad for the first time since switching nationality from Australia."It was the first time we had ever raced as a team so we were learning every single ride and trying to take as much as we could from the one before."Meanwhile, Lowri Thomas, Lauren Bell and Rhian Edmunds took silver for Britain in the women's team sprint, with the Netherlands proving too strong in the final race.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Richardson wins debut gold at British Championships
Matthew Richardson won the men's sprint final on his debut at the British Track Cycling Championships in Manchester. The 25-year-old, who switched his allegiance to Great Britain after collecting two silver medals and a bronze for Australia at the Paris 2024 Olympics, beat Peter Mitchell to gold, with Marcus Hiley finishing third. Welsh rider Anna Morris won the women's scratch race in style, coming home over half a lap ahead of Katie Archibald, with Erin Boothman third over the 10km distance. European champion Josh Charlton won gold as he caught Michael Gill in the men's individual pursuit final, with William Perrett claiming bronze. Meanwhile, Lauren Bell, Rhian Edmunds and Lowri Thomas held off Iona Moir, Rhianna Parris-Smith and Georgette Rand in a competitive women's team sprint final. Sophie Unwin and Jenny Holl set a world record time of four minutes 36.737 seconds as they took gold in the women's B individual pursuit. Lora Fachie and Charlotte Deykin were second with Selvi Krishna and Eva Hague taking third, while Elisabeth Simpson won the women's C1-5 time-trial. Earlier on Friday, Alex Jones tasted success in the men's C5 time-trial, while Archie Atkinson produced a superb ride to beat reigning champion Jody Cundy to gold in the men's C4 time-trial. Jacob Smith took the men's MC3 time-trial title with Ben Hetherington, a former stage winner at the 2019 Tour of Morocco, taking silver. Matt Robertson secured the blue, white and red national champion jersey in the C2 time-trial and Steve Bate and Chris Latham retained their men's B individual pursuit crown.
