Latest news with #Poltergeist
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
There's only one thing worse than a dull sermon and that's a bossy vicar
It was the fictional Reverend Henry Kane, in Poltergeist II, who, until this point, took the prize for scariest vicar. Kane terrorises kids, his skeletal face, terrible teeth and phoney friendliness chilling all to the bone. But then I came across real-life Rev Janine Arnott, rector of St Oswald's Church in Malpas, Cheshire. She wears a large black t-shirt emblazoned in multi-coloured letters with the word, in capitals, 'BELIEVE'. I think it's an order. And judging from reports seeping out of her parish, if you're one of her congregation, you'd best buckle up and believe. In quite what, who knows? One might assume it's in the Almighty, in the Eucharist, or in the power of prayer. Or indeed in, perhaps, her fervent wish that the church loos need fixing. But what is clear is that belief is also firmly demanded in her. Her way of doing things, of running services and to such an extent that parishioners have accused her of 'dictatorial' leadership and which has led to a mass exodus from the village church. Dig deeper, and there are poison pen letters, anonymous flyers left on the windscreens of cars and mutterings of witchcraft. The goings-on have rather rattled the 1,500 inhabitants of Malpas in Cheshire. Although perhaps it was inevitable that one day something terrible might occur in a village whose name translates from Old French rather awkwardly as 'bad passage'. Now, the village chat is focused on the shenanigans of Rev Janine, particularly her run-ins with the now-disbanded choir. A choir which, during a service of Eucharist in February, took it upon themselves to sing the Sanctus in Latin. This, churchgoers will know, is the bit when the congregation usually chimes in with 'Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts. Heaven and earth are filled with etc etc.' When there's a proper choir, those folks lead the way. And thus it was at St Oswald's when the choir blasted out the Sanctus in Latin trilling: 'Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua, etc, etc.' And jolly wonderful that must have sounded too in that most beautifully pointless of languages. Although not to the vicar who, allegedly, 'went ballistic' after the service and 'tore strips' off the choir. She didn't appreciate the Latin because, it was reported, she felt it was against canon law and took her revenge by banning the choir from singing anything other than her own approved hymns during the subsequent Lent period. The final straw came during the May VE Day celebrations when Rev Janine allegedly refused to let the choir sing I Vow to Thee My Country in the churchyard. The choir resigned en masse, and the regular congregation of 60 suddenly became about 10. Diana Webber, a 74-year-old member of the church, joined others who criticised the Rev's 'authoritarian' rule and said: 'She had this awful, autocratic hostility towards people'. Others claim they regularly saw the rector 'storming up and down the church', could get so angry that you could 'see her skirt trembling', and many of the congregation were frequently reduced to tears. This conflagration of tempers and weeping is not quite what one expects from what was named this year as one of the best places to live in the UK. The parochial church council (PCC) voted overwhelmingly at a recent meeting in a vote of no confidence against Rev Janine. Alas, the Bishop of Chester, Mark Tanner, has failed to quell the trouble, although the C of E's legal team did dispatch a missive criticising the PCC, singling out 'the inference that your lawfully appointed incumbent is akin to a witch'. This came after the chief bellringer was allegedly removed from his post and the church bell tower was barricaded with 'broomsticks'. Rev Janine took over as rector in 2022 and, as I write, is still in her post. But then, she does seem to be performing the Church of England's unwritten instruction to vicars, which is to empty churches. If there's a tuneless hymn that no one knows, you'll have to sing it. If there's a non-theological subject for a sermon that can be aimed not at the adults but at the children who aren't listening, they'll preach it. If they can, they'll abandon a short traditional Matins service from the 1662 version of the Book of Common Prayer and replace it with a scattering of badly photocopied paper covered with adverts for some aberration called Messy Church. And, better still, in the name of accessibility, they'll rip out all of the ancient pew seats and replace them with stackable chairs and a cheap carpet. Not that our new vicar is doing anything but an exemplary job, I should add, and he has, I hope, now realised that his modern version of 'Our Father' was outgunned by our trad version as our increasingly loud saying of 'thy' resolutely drowned out his 'your'. In this era of non-belief and non-attendance, vicars need PR skills, not the attitude of an oppressive head teacher. It's their job, rather, to keep the eggs warm than to rule the roost. But with dwindling congregations, very little money by way of stipends and (having sold off all the nice rectories), the prospect of rather miserable accommodation, is it any wonder that most applicants for the job of C of E Rev are mad, bad or indifferent? Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
There's only one thing worse than a dull sermon and that's a bossy vicar
It was the fictional Reverend Henry Kane, in Poltergeist II, who, until this point, took the prize for scariest vicar. Kane terrorises kids, his skeletal face, terrible teeth and phoney friendliness chilling all to the bone. But then I came across real-life Rev Janine Arnott, rector of St Oswald's Church in Malpas, Cheshire. She wears a large black t-shirt emblazoned in multi-coloured letters with the word, in capitals, 'BELIEVE'. I think it's an order. And judging from reports seeping out of her parish, if you're one of her congregation, you'd best buckle up and believe. In quite what, who knows? One might assume it's in the Almighty, in the Eucharist, or in the power of prayer. Or indeed in, perhaps, her fervent wish that the church loos need fixing. But what is clear is that belief is also firmly demanded in her. Her way of doing things, of running services and to such an extent that parishioners have accused her of 'dictatorial' leadership and which has led to a mass exodus from the village church. Dig deeper, and there are poison pen letters, anonymous flyers left on the windscreens of cars and mutterings of witchcraft. The goings-on have rather rattled the 1,500 inhabitants of Malpas in Cheshire. Although perhaps it was inevitable that one day something terrible might occur in a village whose name translates from Old French rather awkwardly as 'bad passage'. Now, the village chat is focused on the shenanigans of Rev Janine, particularly her run-ins with the now-disbanded choir. A choir which, during a service of Eucharist in February, took it upon themselves to sing the Sanctus in Latin. This, churchgoers will know, is the bit when the congregation usually chimes in with 'Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts. Heaven and earth are filled with etc etc.' When there's a proper choir, those folks lead the way. And thus it was at St Oswald's when the choir blasted out the Sanctus in Latin trilling: 'Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua, etc, etc.' And jolly wonderful that must have sounded too in that most beautifully pointless of languages. Although not to the vicar who, allegedly, 'went ballistic' after the service and 'tore strips' off the choir. She didn't appreciate the Latin because, it was reported, she felt it was against canon law and took her revenge by banning the choir from singing anything other than her own approved hymns during the subsequent Lent period. The final straw came during the May VE Day celebrations when Rev Janine allegedly refused to let the choir sing I Vow to Thee My Country in the churchyard. The choir resigned en masse, and the regular congregation of 60 suddenly became about 10. Diana Webber, a 74-year-old member of the church, joined others who criticised the Rev's 'authoritarian' rule and said: 'She had this awful, autocratic hostility towards people'. Others claim they regularly saw the rector 'storming up and down the church', could get so angry that you could 'see her skirt trembling', and many of the congregation were frequently reduced to tears. This conflagration of tempers and weeping is not quite what one expects from what was named this year as one of the best places to live in the UK. The parochial church council (PCC) voted overwhelmingly at a recent meeting in a vote of no confidence against Rev Janine. Alas, the Bishop of Chester, Mark Tanner, has failed to quell the trouble, although the C of E's legal team did dispatch a missive criticising the PCC, singling out 'the inference that your lawfully appointed incumbent is akin to a witch'. This came after the chief bellringer was allegedly removed from his post and the church bell tower was barricaded with 'broomsticks'. Rev Janine took over as rector in 2022 and, as I write, is still in her post. But then, she does seem to be performing the Church of England's unwritten instruction to vicars, which is to empty churches. If there's a tuneless hymn that no one knows, you'll have to sing it. If there's a non-theological subject for a sermon that can be aimed not at the adults but at the children who aren't listening, they'll preach it. If they can, they'll abandon a short traditional Matins service from the 1662 version of the Book of Common Prayer and replace it with a scattering of badly photocopied paper covered with adverts for some aberration called Messy Church. And, better still, in the name of accessibility, they'll rip out all of the ancient pew seats and replace them with stackable chairs and a cheap carpet. Not that our new vicar is doing anything but an exemplary job, I should add, and he has, I hope, now realised that his modern version of 'Our Father' was outgunned by our trad version as our increasingly loud saying of 'thy' resolutely drowned out his 'your'. In this era of non-belief and non-attendance, vicars need PR skills, not the attitude of an oppressive head teacher. It's their job, rather, to keep the eggs warm than to rule the roost. But with dwindling congregations, very little money by way of stipends and (having sold off all the nice rectories), the prospect of rather miserable accommodation, is it any wonder that most applicants for the job of C of E Rev are mad, bad or indifferent?
Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Today's top TV and streaming choices: Billy Joel Night, Poltergeist and Tyler Perry's Straw
Women Under Hitler's Flag RTÉ2, 8.15pm First in a two-part documentary examining the part played by women in Nazi Germany, revealing that some were just as brutal, if not more so, than their better-known male counterparts. Billy Joel Night BBC Two, from 8.40pm An evening dedicated to the singer-songwriter begins with archive clips in Billy Joel at the BBC. It's followed by concert footage in The 100th Live at Madison Square Garden, before the night ends with a chance to see Joel in action in the Old Grey Whistle Test, recorded in 1978. The long-running sci-fi series' future is reportedly in doubt, but that isn't going to stop showrunner Russell T Davies celebrating the 20th anniversary of its return to our screens. He discusses the programme alongside cast and crew past and present, including David Tennant and Billie Piper. The Guard RTÉ One, 9.25pm John Michael McDonagh's wonderful comedy-thriller stars Brendan Gleeson (above) as a Garda whose laidback lifestyle is disturbed by the arrival on his patch of an uptight FBI agent (Don Cheadle) who needs his help to bring down an international drugs ring. Poltergeist RTÉ2, 11.25pm Smash-hit evergreen horror focusing on a family whose move to their dream home turns into a nightmare when their young daughter is kidnapped by the property's resident ghosts. JoBeth Williams, Craig T Nelson and Heather O'Rourke head the cast. The Survivors Netflix, streaming now We're mostly used to two types of Australian viewing: soaps and super-dry (to the point of cringe) comedy. This is different. The drama follows Kieran Elliott's life after two people drown in his hometown of Evelyn Bay, Australia. To top it off, a young girl also went missing. Returning with his family 15 years later, the simmering guilt resurfaces, especially when the body of a young woman is found on the beach… K.O. Netflix, streaming now No one does visceral city grit like the French. Bastien has lived as a recluse since accidentally killing his opponent Enzo in an MMA fight three years ago. Now, Enzo's widow tracks him down as, essentially, he owes her one. Her request? Find her missing teenage son. Tyler Perry's Straw Netflix, streaming now Between this and last month's release of She the People, Mr Tyler Perry is getting himself around. This offering, however, is far more stark than May's fare. Here, one mum's day unfurls as it goes from tricky to catastrophic. Pushed to the precipice by a world that seems indifferent to her plight (until they can livestream it), she soon gets attention when she unwittingly holds up a bank.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
You can't blame Jack Della Maddalena for ruining the fight everyone wanted to see
On the one hand, the musical champions thing that the UFC has going on in the wake of UFC 315 is kind of fun, so long as newly crowned welterweight champ Jack Della Maddalena doesn't get any bright ideas of going up to challenge Dricus du Plessis. For as good as Islam Makhachev has been for the past decade, he's still trying to distinguish himself from his coach and mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, his sauna soulmate who has been attached at his hip for as long as there's been MMA coverage. Now that Della Maddalena has taken out Belal Muhammad to win the welterweight title, it seems that Makhachev is moving up to do what Nurmagomedov never did. That is, go win a title in a second weight class. If ever there was a moment for Makhachev to create his own legend, that time is now. Advertisement What is less clear after UFC 315 in Montreal on Saturday night is whether Makhachev will vacate his lightweight title as he goes in search of that history. We didn't get immediate clarification because UFC CEO Dana White didn't attend the post-fight press conference to provide it. Makhachev himself seems to think he can hold onto his 155-pound belt as he attempts to add another to the collection. That, of course, would diminish some of the other bold moves going on around him. UFC 315 was set up like a Week 17 in the NFL wild-card picture. It was full of scenarios that would determine who'd be facing who, depending on the outcome. Advertisement If Muhammad wins — Makhachev, Belal's bosom buddy, remains at lightweight and defends his title for the fifth time against Ilia Topuria. If Della Maddalena wins — Makhachev moves up to face "JDM" for the welterweight title now that his buddy is out of the way, and Topuria faces Charles Oliveira for the lightweight title. We knew going into UFC 315 there would be many fates riding on the main event. Topuria, who vacated his own title at featherweight to move up and challenge Makhachev, has been waiting to find out if he'd get his wish. Oliveira, who has been a step removed in this wait-and-see matchmaking food chain, seemingly benefits the most, as he now (presumably) gets thrust into some form of a title shot against Topuria. He defaults into a big spot. Lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan? He's like the little girl who got absorbed into the television set in 'Poltergeist.' You can hear his warbling cries for help but you can't see him. Advertisement Not that any of what I just laid out is what the public at large wanted. Or at least not the vast majority. What fans want is a fight between Topuria and Makhachev, two of the best pound-for-pound champions going, each in the primes of their careers. That fight didn't have to be a pie-in-the-sky event. It was sitting right there for us to have. It was right freaking there. And who knows, maybe it still is. In a game where we are denied so much, optimism has a way of sprouting like a weed through the sidewalk. Yet the danger in having an interested third party play so heavily into a title fight like Saturday night's is that big-picture rooting interests get in the way of a masterful performance. Perhaps the focus should've been less on what's next and instead zeroed in on what's happening. Because what happened was that Giacomo Della Maddalena, as he was so regally referred to after White wrapped the belt around his waist, did to Muhammad what for a dozen fights nobody else could. That is, he made Muhammad fight on his terms. Jack Della Maddalena handled Belal Muhammad like no one has in years. (Eric Bolte-Imagn Images (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect / Reuters) He shut down a dictator by becoming one. Advertisement He let the world know that there are levels involved in earning a Picasso nose like his. "JDM" lit Muhammad up in the first two rounds, staying on his front foot, moving forward, landing crisp shots and thwarting takedowns. By the end of the second round, the champ was — somewhat surprisingly — in a two-round deficit on the scorecards. What was more impressive is that Muhammad actually came to life. He turned into the pacesetting, level-changing human onslaught who dethroned Leon Edwards last year. He didn't stay holstered. He was actively turning the tables, especially in the fourth round, when he forced Della Maddalena into the deep waters. We didn't go without seeing Belal's best. Advertisement Yet in the fifth, it was Della Maddalena who dug deep. He landed the bigger shots. He hurt and staggered Muhammad. He opened the champ's nose and split his lip, as if to paint a picture of what it's like to stand in front of him for five rounds. He wasn't going to be denied, and in the end he left no doubt. He won the fight clear and definitively, without controversy and/or regrets. As he begins his run as the new 170-pound king, restoring Australia's status as a manufacturer of champions, he turned a neat trick. He made the idea of him defending that title against Makhachev feel like something more than a consolation prize. He made it feel like maybe Makhachev should be careful what he wishes for, as there's a buzzsaw now lying in wait. Now it seems like it might be "JDM" who destroys all of tomorrow's parties, if only because we were slow to understand he was the life of the party all along. Will the UFC make Makhachev jettison his lightweight belt? It's hard to imagine Topuria fighting Oliveira for anything other than the vacated title. But from the Della Maddalena perspective, none of it matters. He has his own thing he's protecting. And if Saturday night told us anything, it's that snatching it out of his hands might not be as easy as the UFC's most famous division jumper believes it to be.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
You can't blame Jack Della Maddalena for ruining the fight everyone wanted to see with his UFC 315 win
On the one hand, the musical champions thing that the UFC has going on in the wake of UFC 315 is kind of fun, so long as newly crowned welterweight champ Jack Della Maddalena doesn't get any bright ideas of going up to challenge Dricus du Plessis. For as good as Islam Makhachev's been for the last decade, he's still trying to distinguish himself from his coach and mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, his sauna soulmate who has been attached at his hip for as long as there's been MMA coverage. Now that Della Maddalena has taken out Belal Muhammad to win the welterweight title, it seems that Islam is moving up to do what Nurmagomedov never did. That is, go win a title in a second weight class. If ever there was a moment for Islam to create his own legend, that time is now. Advertisement What is less clear after UFC 315 in Montreal on Saturday night is whether Makhachev will vacate his lightweight title as he goes in search of that history. We didn't get immediate clarification because UFC CEO Dana White didn't attend the post-fight press conference to provide it. Makhachev himself seems to think he can hold onto his 155-pound belt as he attempts to add another to the collection. That, of course, would diminish some of the other bold moves going on around him. UFC 315 was set up like a Week 17 in the NFL Wild Card picture. It was full of scenarios that would determine who'd be facing who, depending on the outcome. If Muhammad wins – Makhachev, Belal's bosom buddy, remains at lightweight and defends his title for the fifth time against Ilia Topuria. If Della Maddalena wins – Makhachev moves up to face JDM for the welterweight title now that his buddy is out of the way, and Topuria faces Charles Oliveira for the lightweight title. Advertisement We knew going into UFC 315 there would be many fates riding on the main event. Topuria, who vacated his own title at featherweight to move up and challenge Makhachev, has been waiting to find out if he'd get his wish. Oliveira, who has been a step removed in this wait-and-see matchmaking food chain, seemingly benefits the most, as he now (presumably) gets thrust into a some form of title shot against Topuria. He defaults into a big spot. Lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan? He's like the little girl who got absorbed into the television set in 'Poltergeist.' You can hear his warbling cries for help but you can't see him. Not that any of what I just laid out is what the public at large wanted. Or at least not the vast majority. What fans want is a fight between Ilia and Islam, two of the best pound-for-pound champions going, each in the prime of their careers. That fight didn't have to be a pie-in-the-sky event. It was sitting right there for us to have. It was right freaking there. And who knows, maybe it still is. In a game where we are denied so much, optimism has a way of sprouting like a weed through the sidewalk. Advertisement Yet the danger in having an interested third party play so heavily into a title fight like Saturday night's is that big picture rooting interests get in the way of a masterful performance. Perhaps the focus should've been less on what's next and instead zeroed in on what's happening. Because what happened was that Giacomo Della Maddalena, as he was so regally referred to after White wrapped the belt around his waist, did to Muhammad what for a dozen fights nobody else could. That is, he made Muhammad fight on his terms. He shut down a dictator by becoming one. He let the world know that there are levels involved in earning a Picasso nose like his. Advertisement JDM lit Muhammad up in the first two rounds, staying on his front foot, moving forward, landing crisp shots and thwarting takedowns. By the end of the second round, the champ was — somewhat surprisingly — in a two-round deficit on the scorecards. What was more impressive is that Muhammad actually came to life. He turned into the pacesetting, level-changing human onslaught who dethroned Leon Edwards last year. He didn't stay holstered. He was actively turning the tables, especially in the fourth round, when he forced Della Maddalena into the deep waters. We didn't go without seeing Belal's best. Yet in the fifth, it was Della Maddalena who dug deep. He landed the bigger shots. He hurt and staggered Muhammad. He opened the champ's nose and split his lip, as if to paint a picture of what it's like to stand in front of him for five rounds. He wasn't going to be denied, and in the end he left no doubt. He won the fight clear and definitively, without controversy and/or regrets. Advertisement As he begins his run as the new 170-pound king, restoring Australia's status as a manufacturer of champions, he turned a neat trick. He made the idea of him defending that title against Makhachev feel like something more than a consolation prize. He made it feel like maybe Islam should be careful what he wishes for, as there's a buzzsaw now lying in wait. Now it seems like it might be JDM who destroys all of tomorrow's parties, if only because we were slow to understand he was the life of the party all along. Will the UFC make Makhachev jettison his lightweight belt? It's hard to imagine Topuria fighting Oliveira for anything other than the vacated title. But from the Della Maddalena perspective, none of it matters. He has his own thing he's protecting. And if Saturday night told us anything, it's that snatching it out of his hands might not be as easy as the UFC's most famous division jumper believes it to be.
