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New York Times
4 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Planes, ferries and mini-buses with Aston Villa's long-distance supporters: ‘It's more than the game'
It is an evening in early May and The Athletic joins the call. Smiling faces beam back. There are several, more than anticipated and, for the first few seconds, it feels overwhelming. They are each sitting in their homes, not in Birmingham, where Aston Villa are based, but 200 miles away in the county of Cornwall, England's extreme south-western peninsula. 'Our closest game is Bournemouth (circa 145 miles) but watching Villa is definitely still the quickest to get to,' says Andy. Andy is a member of the Cornwall Lions, a Villa supporters group based in the south-west that has amassed more than 250 local members. But it is far from the only supporters group geographically distant from Villa. Their stories vary, but each of them shares on thing: a mutual love of Villa. Here, The Athletic spoke to some of the team's long-distance supporters who make the journey through rain or shine, hell or high water, to Villa Park… Jay White lives on the Isle of Wight. Born and bred in Birmingham, he has resided on the island off the southern coast of England for more than a quarter of a century, though his passion remains. To get to Villa Park he has to travel by boat and car, with logistical and financial pressures complicating matters. Advertisement 'For context, my dad is Peter White,' Jay says. 'He's retired now, but he covered Villa in the 70s, 80s and 90s for the Birmingham Mail. It was ingrained into me. I've had a season ticket sitting in the Lower Holte End for four years. Before that, I didn't need one because I could always get tickets. 'My wife comes to a few games. I don't want to say our life revolves around Villa, but on occasions it can. I was fortunate enough for both of us to be in Paris (for the Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain). 'For other Champions League games, I've had to use holiday. I'll take a half day on the day of the game, stay up and then drive back down for work that afternoon. 'If it's a Saturday match, sometimes I'll go the night before. But mostly, for a 3pm kick off, I'll leave home at 7am to catch the ferry, which takes around an hour. The drive up into Birmingham's city centre is three and a half hours. I'll then meet pals. 'If I do come back straight after, it would be the 10pm ferry, provided we get out of the ground by six. I'll then walk through my front door just before midnight. 'I did 20 games last season, including a few Champions League matches. The cost is a problem. If an average ferry is £80, then staying up in a hotel, having a couple of beers and petrol costs means it becomes £250/£300 day. That's before you take into account a match ticket. 'But it's just a pure love. It's more than the game — it's meeting up with mates and camaraderie. The football we're playing now makes the journeys better. Luckily, my wife is very understanding. Our wedding last year had a claret-and-blue-themed table plan.' In the early hours of a January morning, Rob Steele sits next to me in one of Heathrow's departure lounges. Villa are playing Monaco that evening and despite a 6am flight, there is no shortage of enthusiasm. Rob, who lives in Bridgend in Wales, about 130 miles from Birmingham, is used to early morning starts in aid of Villa. 'The journey to Birmingham is fine most of the time,' he says. 'We set off a bit earlier to make sure we get a tidy parking spot and then we kill time in the Witton Pub.' Later in the season, he describes his itinerary for a home match against Newcastle: 'My main accessory is a portable charger. I can't be having a dead phone with the drive from South Wales. It wasn't such an issue with physical season-tickets, but with them now on my phone, you've got to have a backup plan. Advertisement 'I go with mates, so we sort who is driving — and organise pickup times — a couple of us live in Bridgend and some in Cardiff. For tonight's 5.30pm kick off, I'll leave Bridgend with my mate Nik at 11am. At 12pm, pick up one of the lads in Cardiff. At 2pm, park up and get some food. '5pm: Head to Villa Park. 5.30-7.30pm: Stress like hell about the game. 10.15pm: Home.' Bryan, one of the Cornwall supporters, explains his support for Villa over the video call: 'My family are from Essex, we moved to Hampshire when I was four. My dad supported Villa and we had season tickets driving from Hampshire for six years. I relocated here five years ago. Me and my lad George don't have season tickets, but we travel to as many games as we can.' 'I'm from North Kent,' says Stuart, another Villa supporter on the call. 'My dad was Tottenham, my mum was Arsenal. I got to the middle of junior school and I had to stick with a team. Villa chose me.' Karen: 'I was born in Sutton Coldfield, but my family came from different parts and just congregated in Birmingham. But I've got a great-grandmother who was a proper Brummie and family that were there before Villa's inception, so it's in my blood. I'm still a season ticket holder. I join the guys on the mini-bus — when we lose, it's like a hearse.' Andy: 'I'm from Great Barr. I used to walk to Villa Park with my dad and grandpa. I've been going since 1984. I had a hiatus after I moved down to Cornwall and started picking it back up in 2016. My first game back was with my boy in the Championship and we've been season-ticket holders for the best part of 10 years. 'We were going up on the train before I met Dave. We will car share up to Exeter and then make our own way, by hook or by crook. It's a labour of love and a 500-mile round trip every couple of days.' Stuart: 'For a Saturday 3pm, the mini-bus that some of our members arrange sets off at 9am. We aim to be up there two hours before.' Dave: 'With a pit stop at the Witton Pub for a couple of beverages.' Andy: 'For a 12.30 kick off, we hit the road just after six. Rousing my 16-year-old son takes time, but we are there for 10am. For Champions League nights, I was picking up from school and arriving 7pm. The journey is four hours on a good day.' Advertisement Dave: 'I was getting back from those games at 4.30am and then going to work about 10am. If you're not there, we have a big WhatsApp chat that you almost feel like you're at the game. We've got group chats for tickets, events, banter and matchday talk.' Karen: 'When you're somewhere like Cornwall, you're so far apart from each other. I live in a village and I've got two other Villa supporters here, so that helps any sort of isolation.' Bryan: 'When George and I go, we've had to buy higher-priced tickets because they were the only ones available. Throw in hotel accommodation and a couple of beers, it's expensive. We can't really stay on a Sunday night after games because George's school doesn't particularly like us missing Mondays. It's tricky to manage.' George: 'I don't think school is very important when it comes to Villa! It's painful when you go back to all your friends at school the next day who are United fans but have never been to the ground. They give it the big one all the time, for some reason.' The following week, I'm joined by Andrew Bready in the Villa Park press box. I first met Andrew in Athens before Villa's Conference League semi-final against Olympiacos last May. He commutes to every home and away match — barring the odd Carabao Cup fixture — from Northern Ireland and has been for 15 years. 'My love of Villa began in the early 90s,' he says. 'Villa came to Belfast to play against Man United and my cousins were going and were United fans. I just wanted to be different. I said, 'I'm supporting Villa'. I caught the bug after that. 'I missed three games in the Championship, home or away. Since Covid, I've rarely missed one. I didn't go to Brentford last season because I was at a wedding. I've not missed any other games aside from the Carabao Cup. 'Matches during the week are not ideal. For the Celtic match, I flew from Belfast at 3.30pm. To avoid missing a day off work (Andrew works in a factory managed by his cousin), I worked until lunchtime, got changed and drove to the airport, which takes an hour. 'I then fly over, go to Villa Park and fly back the next morning — usually the 8.35am flight. I'll land an hour later, drive home 70 miles and be back at work for 11am. The next day after the game at Paris Saint-Germain, I was back at work for lunchtime. I'll go straight to Belfast after early-evening kick-offs and will land at 1am. Advertisement 'Delayed flights are a pain. Ipswich Town away, I flew to Stansted. The flight was delayed by over three hours. The plan had been to meet Kevin and hire a car to drive up, but I was delayed so I ended up getting a bus. The drive felt like forever, but I only missed 10 minutes. 'It's nice to get the summer off, yet by the time the season starts, I'll have that buzz again. I sit in the Lower Trinity Stand, so it's good to meet up with the Villa family; the people you know from sitting around them.'
Irish Times
26-05-2025
- Irish Times
Stabbed man's partner witnessed his death in incident ‘so brutal and cruel'
The partner of a man who was stabbed to death two years ago has said that she witnessed his life being taken 'in a way that no human being deserved'. Keith Smithers (41) and Peter White (40) had pleaded not guilty to the unlawful killing and robbery of Brian Hogan on January 13th, 2023, at Collins Place in Finglas. Smithers, of Barry Close, Finglas, Dublin 11, was convicted on both charges following a trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, while White, of Casement Drive, Finglas, was acquitted of the unlawful killing of Mr Hogan, but was convicted of robbing him. Smithers has just over 90 previous convictions, including offences for criminal damage, drugs, possession of knives and handling stolen property, while White has 264 previous convictions, including offences for assault causing harm, robbery, theft, drugs and road traffic offences. READ MORE On Monday, Smithers was handed a global sentence of nine years, while White was jailed for four and a half years for robbery. Lyndsey Doyle's victim impact statement was read into the record during the sentencing hearing. Ms Doyle was with Mr Hogan that evening when they went to a house where Smithers and White were over a dispute about Mr Hogan's phone. The court heard he had given it to the men as security for a rock of cocaine the previous day. Ms Doyle was pregnant at the time with the couple's daughter. Ms Doyle said in her statement she witnessed Mr Hogan's 'life being taken so brutal and cruel in a way no human being deserved'. She said 'it will haunt me', and said he has left behind a broken family, referring to Mr Hogan's elderly father 'who is lost without him', as Mr Hogan had been his carer. Ms Doyle said her daughter will grow up without a father, who would have adored her as he adored his older son. Mr Hogan has an older son from a different relationship. She said Mr Hogan's death has 'left a huge void' in all their lives. She described him as 'a well-liked, decent fella' who did not deserve the end he got. Ms Doyle concluded her statement by thanking Sgt Shane Behan for helping them 'getting justice for Brian and knowing that his life mattered'. She said she hopes Mr Hogan rests in peace now. Judge Martin Nolan said the events which led to this prosecution were 'serious', adding that 'unfortunately a man died' on this date. He said there was 'little formal mitigation' for either of the defendants, and noted they both had a record of previous convictions. The judge said he had considered Smithers's background, his history of addiction and the contents of letters submitted by extended family. Judge Nolan said the court was of the view that Smithers was remorseful for his actions, which was 'a small level of mitigation'. He handed Smithers a sentence of nine years for manslaughter and a concurrent sentence of four and a half years on the robbery charge. In relation to White, the judge said the context of the robbery was 'quite serious' and imposed a sentence of four and a half years. The judge directed the men should receive credit for any time served in custody on these matters alone and granted a defence application to extend legal aid in the event of an appeal.
BreakingNews.ie
26-05-2025
- BreakingNews.ie
Man was stabbed to death in 'brutal' and 'cruel' way, partner tells court
The partner of a man who was stabbed to death two years ago has said that she witnessed 'his life being taken so brutal and cruel - in a way that no human being deserved'. Keith Smithers (41) and Peter White (40) had pleaded not guilty to the unlawful killing and robbery of Brian Hogan on January 13th, 2023 at Collins Place in Finglas. Advertisement Smithers, of Barry Close, Finglas, Dublin 11, was convicted on both charges following a trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court while White, of Casement Drive, Finglas, was acquitted of the unlawful killing of Mr Hogan but convicted of robbing him. Smithers has just over 90 previous convictions including offences for criminal damage, drugs, possession of knives and handling stolen property, while White has 264 previous convictions including offences for assault causing harm, robbery, theft, drug and road traffic offences. On Monday, Smithers was handed a global sentence of nine years, while White was jailed for four and a half years for robbery. Lyndsey Doyle's victim impact statement was read into the record during the sentencing hearing on Monday. Advertisement Ms Doyle was with Mr Hogan that evening when they went to the house where Smithers and White were over a dispute about Mr Hogan's phone. The court heard he had given it to the men as security for a rock of cocaine the previous day. Ms Doyle was pregnant at the time with the couple's daughter. Ms Doyle said in her statement that she witnessed Mr Hogan's 'life being taken so brutal and cruel in a way no human being deserved'. She said 'it will haunt me' and said he has left behind a broken family, referring to Mr Hogan's elderly father 'who is lost without him' as Mr Hogan had been his carer. Advertisement Ms Doyle said she was pregnant at the time and her daughter will now grow up without a father who would have adored her as he adored his older son. Mr Hogan has an older son from a different relationship. She said Mr Hogan's death has 'left a huge void' in all their lives. She described him as 'a well-liked, decent fella' who did not deserve the end he got. Ms Doyle concluded her statement by thanking Sergeant Shane Behan for helping them 'getting justice for Brian and knowing that his life mattered'. She said she hopes Brian rests in peace now. Previous convictions Judge Martin Nolan said the events which led to this prosecution were 'serious', adding that 'unfortunately a man died' on this date. Advertisement He said there was 'little formal mitigation' for either of the defendants, and noted they both had a record of previous convictions. The judge said he had considered Smithers' background, his history of addiction and the contents of letters submitted by extended family. Judge Nolan said the court was of the view that Smithers was remorseful for his actions, which was 'a small level of mitigation' He handed Smithers a sentence of nine years for manslaughter and a concurrent sentence of four and a half years on the robbery charge. Advertisement In relation to White, the judge said the context of the robbery was 'quite serious' and imposed a sentence of four and a half years. The judge directed the men should receive credit for any time served in custody on these matters alone and granted a defence application to extend legal aid in the event of an appeal. Sgt Behan told Kieran Kelly BL, prosecuting, that Ms Doyle told gardaí that she and Mr Hogan went to the house in Finglas that day in an attempt to get back Mr Hogan's phone that had been given as security for a rock of cocaine. The phone was important to Mr Hogan as it had photographs on it that were of sentimental value and he had cash with him to pay the men for the drugs. They gained access easily to the house and immediately went upstairs where they found Smithers and White. An altercation arose and at one point a knife fell to the ground before Smithers got hold of it. Ms Doyle told gardaí that there was a struggle and she saw Smithers stab Mr Hogan once at the top of the stairs before Sgt Behan said the victim was effectively 'frogmarched' down the stairs by Smithers and White. The struggle continued outside and ultimately Mr Hogan received three further stab wounds and some puncture wounds. Mr Kelly confirmed that a pathologist's report concluded that three of those four stabs wounds could have been the fatal injury. Sgt Behan said Mr Hogan was then dragged from the front of the house to a nearby laneway where CCTV footage captured him being kicked to the head and upper body by one man. His pockets were also gone through at that point. The cash that he had brought with him to the house was no longer in his pockets when they were later searched by investigators. Letters in court Giollaíosa Ó Lideadha SC, defending Smithers, told Judge Nolan that there were letters in court from Smithers family who said they are heartbroken that he was involved in this offence and expressed their sorrow for the Hogan family. Counsel submitted that his client 'did not want this to happen and he is very sad for Mr Hogan and his family'. He submitted that the jury concluded that Smithers had 'used excessive self defence' in the context that Mr Hogan and Ms Doyle had come to his home that day. He said there was evidence in the case that his client was asleep at the time and intoxicated. Mr O'Lideadha asked Judge Nolan to accept that this situation was different to a fatality that may result from a fight on a public street. He said there was no evidence as to who brought the knife to the altercation and asked the court to accept that Smithers was not just defending himself but also defending White. Mr O'Lideaha also asked the court to accept that his client had no previous convictions for violence, rather this convictions are consistent with a chaotic lifestyle of criminality due to his drug addiction. Philip Sheahan SC, defending White, submitted that 'all of the jurors seem to accept that my client was engaged in self defence and had no knowledge of the stab wounds inflicted on Mr Hogan'. He accepted that White robbed Mr Hogan but said his client expected that the victim was 'going to get up and walk away'. Mr Sheahan said his client expressed remorse but asked Judge Nolan to accept that he had 'lesser moral culpability' than Smithers. Ireland Jury in Satchwell trial told to approach case 'wit... Read More 'He has been quite impacted by the profundity of this case and hopes to deal with his drug addiction and hopes to get employment and put his addiction behind him on release from custody,' Mr Sheahan said. He asked Judge Nolan to accept that there was 'no sophisticated pre-planning' in the offence but Judge Nolan replied that he believes the jury 'were happy there was common design in the robbery'. Counsel submitted that the jury appear to have accepted that his client removed someone who had come into his house and administered violence to someone outside. He reminded the court that there was no evidence that White had used a weapon and said White had 'not been on the road outside looking to cause trouble'.
Miami Herald
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
The Coolest Party in the Canadian Rockies, Slush Cup Monday, May 19th, 2025!
BANFF, ALBERTA / ACCESS Newswire / May 19, 2025 / For nearly a century, Banff Sunshine Village has celebrated the end of the ski season with a "water ski, or pond skim." The resort is credited to being the North American birthplace for pond skimming. It's believed the tradition was started by two friends, Cyril Paris and Peter White, back in 1928. The two were enjoying a spring ski, when they came upon the resorts infamous run, 'waterfall.' One supposedly dared the other to ski the water run and the rest is now history. Legend has it, the first pond skimmer on record at Sunshine Village dates back to 1928. At Banff Sunshine, what started as a friendly dare, has morphed and grown from a campy staff event, to a three-day festival that builds up to the Rockies coolest party, Slush Cup. This year's Slush Cup is happening Monday, May 19th at Banff Sunshine. "You know, winter is who we are. As the snow melts, we want to throw a proper goodbye party for our favorite season-winter," says Ralph Scurfield, CEO of Banff Sunshine Village. "Our goal is to each year throw a bigger and better Slush Cup party." This year marks the resort's 95thSlush Cup (it would be 97, but COVID happened.) For the 95thSlush Cup, the Canadian Resort has invited the University of Calgary Artistic Swim Team to perform the first splash of the event. Following the synchronized swimmers performance, the first contestant will attempt to hit the Slush Cup jump and skim across the 110 ft pool of snow cold melt water. Last year, 100 competitors competed for the crown of Mr. & Ms. Slush Cup. "If you love winter fun as much as we do, this is your invite to join us on for a fun-filled weekend at Banff Sunshine," Says Scurfield. The resort is encouraging guests to embrace the theme, Disco Snow Angel. For participants daring enough to attempt the legendary Slush Cup, the resort encourages all guest to arrive at the Village Sprung Tent early, as registration opens at 8 AM on May 19th, 2025. For guests hoping to partake in the festivities, access to the Slush Cup festivities is FREE with a Sunshine Season Pass, Spring Pass, lift ticket or sightseeing ticket. About Banff Sunshine: Banff Sunshine Village is home of Canada's Best Snow, Canada's Hottest Lifts, Banff's only ski-in, ski-out hotel Sunshine Mountain Lodge, and Canada's Best Spring Skiing. The resort is famous for its extra-long ski and snowboard season which spans from early November until late May. Located just 90 minutes west of Calgary's International Airport, and 15 minutes west of the town of Banff, Banff Sunshine Village is wide-open for skiing and snowboarding until May 19th, 2025. For more information about Slush Cup Long Weekend, contact Kendra Scurfield at media@
