Latest news with #PeterAllen
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Classic Hits owner acquires Galway Bay FM for ‘seven-figure sum'
The owner of Classic Hits FM, Bay Broadcasting, has confirmed the acquisition of Galway Bay FM which has a weekly listenership of 132,000 for a 'seven-figure sum', pending regulatory approval. Bay Broadcasting, the owners of Radio Nova, Classic Hits and Sunshine 106.8, is set to add the 25-employee station to its stable, the company confirmed to The Irish Times. The director of Bay Broadcasting, Kevin Branigan, said Galway Bay FM 'stands out as one of Ireland's most respected local stations' and said it possesses a 'loyal audience and a strong local identity'. 'It's one of the most enduring local radio stations in the country and its track record speaks for itself. We look forward to working with the excellent team in Galway Bay FM and to continuing the station's proud position as the leading radio service in Galway,' he said. READ MORE The station's chairman, Peter Allen, speaking on behalf of the departing shareholders said there had been 'several interested parties' but added that the eventual winning party was the 'clear choice'. The purchase of Galway Bay FM will bring Bay Broadcasting's national listenership figures to 810,000, which it said will make them the second largest radio group in the State. The acquisition would, they said, lead to them overtaking Onic, the owner of Fm104 and Q102, which has 796,000 listeners. The acquisition has already been approved by Coimisiún na Meán but is subject to Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and ministerial approval. Galway Bay FM originally launched under the name Radio West in 1989 before rebranding in 1993. The Connacht Tribune Ltd, which first owned a 27 per cent stake, became sole owners in 2006.
Times
30-04-2025
- Times
Our luggage was lost on holiday — but insurance won't cover it
✉ We travelled to Brazil in August and from there went on to visit the Atacama desert in Chile in early September, staying nearby in San Pedro de Atacama for four nights. We booked flights for the latter trip with Latam Airlines from Sao Paulo to Calama in Chile, with a stop in Santiago, the capital. When we arrived in Calama our suitcase wasn't on our flight from Santiago so we registered a lost baggage claim. Given the climatic conditions in the Atacama region — high temperatures during the day and very low temperatures at night — once the luggage had not turned up the day after our arrival (and with no information about when it would arrive), we bought some necessities and appropriate clothing, which cost about £300. The next day the case was finally delivered to our hotel. On our return to the UK we registered a claim for the cost of the items with Latam but this was rejected. We then turned to our AllClear Gold Plus insurance policy but the claim was rejected on the basis that the delayed baggage didn't occur on our initial outward journey from the UK but on a flight we took some days after this. It seems that even a top policy doesn't provide full cover while on holiday. Can you help?Peter Allen You'd assume that if you lost luggage at any point during a multi-leg outbound journey it would be covered, so your experience was worrying, but it seems your claim was rejected due to human error. A spokesperson for Zurich Insurance, AllClear's underwriter, said: 'We are pleased to confirm that Mr Allen's claim was fully settled this week. Following a full investigation, we identified that the claim was originally declined as it was incorrectly logged as a direct connection flight on their return to the UK and not a stop-off in Chile. While we strive to offer the highest standards of customer service, on this occasion it didn't happen. We apologise for the stress caused to Mr Allen as a result of this and will be in contact to offer a £100 gesture of goodwill payment for any inconvenience caused.' • Lost, delayed or damaged luggage? Your compensation rights explained ✉ My friend and I would like to spend a week travelling the Romantic Road in Germany from Würzburg to Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria but I'm uncertain as to the best way to do this. Can you recommend any travel companies that have an organised tour or suggest the best towns to stay in along the route? Also, is it easy to travel by train or better to hire a car?Marian Garland Germany's Romantic Road is one of Europe's finest road trips and is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year with events and festivals in the 29 towns en route. For maximum flexibility it's better to drive and the route is best done from north to south (Würzburg to Füssen) so that the Bavarian Alps are the grand finale. Don't be in too much of a hurry to leave Würzburg, however, because it's the Franconian wine capital. If you travel in June you could time your visit to coincide with one of its wine festivals. The medieval Rothenburg ob der Tauber, said to have been the inspiration for the village in Disney's Pinocchio, is the most-visited town along the route and the traditional, half-timbered Hotel Reichs-Küchenmeister is a good base (B&B doubles from £113; Dinkelsbühl, with its baroque castle, and Nördlingen, home to Germany's only completely preserved town wall on which you can walk around, are also must-dos; you'll find the lowdown on all 29 on the route's official website ( • 10 of the best cities to visit in Germany If you'd rather do an organised tour, Great Rail Journeys has an all-inclusive seven-night Bavaria's Romantic Road trip from London St Pancras, based in Landenau, which includes excursions to Neuschwanstein Castle and the medieval island town of Lindau on Lake Constance. It starts at £999pp ( ✉ My husband and I are travelling to France in the middle of September for a month. We have the first half sorted, with stays in Amiens, Normandy and Poitiers before going south to Carcassonne for a few days. All of that is self-catering but we thought in the ten days left before returning from Dunkirk we'd like a short cruise of between five and seven days somewhere in eastern France. While there seem to be many river cruises, I'm struggling to find one of that length. Any ideas?Carol Bridgeman CroisiEurope is the go-to for shorter French cruises and one that ticks your boxes in early October is a barge trip from Strasbourg to Lagarde on the Marne-Rhine Canal. There are visits to the Villa Meteor, the oldest French brewery in operation, as well as to the Château du Haut-Barr and the Chagall trail in Sarrebourg. The six-night trip starts at £2,564pp. If that busts your budget, an alternative is a five-night voyage that ticks off all the must-see sites on the Rhône between Lyons, Provence and the Camargue, plus a splendid dinner at Paul Bocuse's Abbaye de Collonges restaurant. The October 4 departure starts at £1,614pp ( Just be aware that while all announcements and tours will be in French and English, you may well be the only English-speaking guests on board. ✉ It's my husband's 80th birthday on November 1 and I'm looking for a luxury family hotel for a weekend, which wouldn't be too far from Gatwick, Heathrow or Wimbledon, avoiding long taxi rides and our small granddaughters getting car sick. Any suggestions?Chantal Bull If you're prepared to splurge, Beaverbrook in the Surrey Hills sits nicely in that triangle and while it's hugely glamorous, it's also family-friendly: there are interconnecting rooms, a Sharky & George kids' club, indoor and outdoor pools plus a cinema, as well as 470 acres to roam. For adults, there's fabulous Japanese or modern European food, a swanky spa and excellent cocktails in Sir Frank's Bar. B&B doubles start at £699 in November ( Another possibility is the swish Coworth Park, a Georgian country house near Ascot in Berkshire, which has Michelin dining for the celebratory dinner (as well as casual dining in the Barn) and plenty of entertainment for children, including treasure hunts in the kids' club and riding in the equestrian centre. B&B Stable Superior rooms sleeping up to three start at £512 in November ( • Beaverbrook hotel review: a historic country manor house and spa in Surrey ✉ As a result of being involuntarily denied boarding by Ryanair, my partner and I arrived at Milan Bergamo eight hours later than originally planned. Our prebooked car hire had been cancelled due to our late arrival and so we had to arrange alternative car hire. We tried to claim a refund from Ryanair but it has refused. Is this correct?David Bainbridge Infuriating though it is to have your journey so significantly delayed, you can't claim for the new car you had to book because airlines are not responsible for consequential loss. The good news is that the denied boarding compensation you're entitled to for this trip — £220 each — should cover the extra cost. Have you got a holiday dilemma? Email traveldoctor@
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Firebird Metals partners with Sedgman for calcining kiln technology
Australia-based manganese developer Firebird Metals has partnered with Sedgman, a CIMIC Group company, to support the technical marketing of its innovative calcining kiln both in Australia and globally, excluding China. This collaboration aims to commercialise the technology worldwide, in response to the increasing demand for energy-efficient mineral processing solutions. Firebird's calcining kiln, currently patent-pending, offers higher energy efficiency than existing alternatives, claims the company. The kiln has demonstrated the potential to reduce energy consumption by up to 70% during trials of the pilot scale kiln. The technology operates at just 80-100kWh per tonne of feed, compared to over 300kWh for conventional kilns. This translates to cost savings of about $30 per tonne of product, which is roughly 5% of total production costs. The scalability of the calcining kiln technology extends its application beyond manganese mineral processing to other industries, including iron ore beneficiation and lithium sulphate production. Firebird said that the company has already received international inquiries about the technology, and with Sedgman's support, it is well-positioned to meet the growing market demand for energy-efficient processing solutions. Firebird managing director Peter Allen said: 'Partnering with Sedgman is a key step forward for Firebird as we look to commercialise our ground-breaking calcining kiln in the international markets, and support the ongoing and exciting work of our innovative research and development technical team in China. 'Sedgman is an industry leader that has been pioneering the use of new process technologies to improve the performance of processing plants for over four decades. Sedgman brings a proven track record of commercialising novel equipment and solutions to advance efficiency within our industry. 'Firebird's calcining kiln presents not only an opportunity to improve the cost efficiency of our processes as we become an effective producer of manganese-based cathode materials, but also an opportunity to bring that same efficient and emerging technology to the global mineral processing industry" Earlier this month, Firebird signed a nonbinding memorandum of understanding with French miner Eramet for the supply of manganese ore to its China-based plant. "Firebird Metals partners with Sedgman for calcining kiln technology" was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
BBC News
31-01-2025
- Science
- BBC News
Plans to cut sewage in the Ouseburn in Newcastle by 2030
Plans to reduce the amount of sewage released into a river have been Water said it had committed to carry out "interventions" on two storm overflows connected to the Ouseburn, in the Longbenton area of Newcastle, by 2030. Scientists have previously suggested bacteria levels in the river pose a "significant risk" to people. Green Party councillor for Byker Nick Hartley said he welcomed the move but he was concerned the firm appeared to have no immediate plans to upgrade the other overflows that discharge into the river. "I will be pressing Northumbrian Water for specific information on these overflows," he said. The water firm said it was in the early stages of planning its work on Longbenton's storm overflows. Newcastle City Council declined to comment as the work as it had not yet been discussed by its planning Democrat North Jesmond councillor Peter Allen said he hoped to see "spades in the ground as soon as possible"."This is the start but there is more to be done," he said.
