Latest news with #RaisetheRoof
Rhyl Journal
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Rhyl Journal
Rhyl Liberty Players to take to the stage for new show
Rhyl Liberty Players will take to the stage at Rhyl Little Theatre on Friday, September 6, at 7.30pm for a special 'Raise the Roof' variety show. The event aims to raise funds to repair the roof of the company's workshop. It will feature songs, sketches, comedy and a few surprises, with around two hours of live entertainment. It is a collaboration between Rhyl Liberty Players and the adult group from Rhyl Little Theatre, who are donating their time and talent to support the cause. READ MORE: Gallery: Some of the best images from day one of the Eisteddfod Red Arrows set to fly over Rhyl this week - here's when you can see them Tickets are priced at £12.50. A spokesman said: "The Little Theatre itself is a magical venue, a chance to step back in time, switch off your phone, and immerse yourself in an evening of live performance and community spirit. "At a time when the world can feel a little overwhelming, we want to offer audiences a place to relax, laugh, and make memories."
Irish Daily Mirror
19-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Daily Mirror
'Grocery prices in Ireland hiked overnight and men don't seem to get it'
I'm always giving out about the rising cost of groceries in Ireland. In the past few years, it's gone mad. But this year, prices seemed to hike up overnight. Consumer expert Conor Pope told recently how we're paying 40% more for shopping than we were in 2021. A weekly trolley that used to cost €150 now costs €225. That's an extra €3,000 a year on groceries, for exactly the same stuff. I reckon Pope is one of the few men who gets it. Apologies for the mass generalisation lads, but male eyes tend to glaze over if I say a package of coffee now costs €11, or a single fillet steak is now €16.60 in my local Tesco. They nod their heads, make sympathetic noises, but they haven't a baldy what I'm on about. Because they're generally not the ones who spend half their lives in and out of SuperValu, Tesco and Dunnes. I meet the odd fella who loves the bargains in Lidl, but most men hate supermarkets and their main aim is to get in and out of them as quickly as possible. They don't usually have a collection of clubcards, apps and money-off vouchers, working out how to buy the weekly shop on special offers. They're often the ones footing the bill, as men are still most likely to be the main breadwinners. But if you're not in the aisles, then you're not seeing food inflation play out in real time, not clocking its relentless rise. So I understand why an exasperated Mary Lou McDonald went postal over it in the Dail on Wednesday. She sounded like she was banging her head off a brick wall trying to get the message across to Taoiseach Micheal Martin. Mary Lou mocked Micheal for saying grocery prices were simply 'at a relatively elevated level' - saying they were through the roof. Groceries were costing families €1,000 a month, she said, which is 'beyond a joke.' Mary Lou McDonald TD, Sinn Fein leader, addressing the Raise the Roof rally, outside Leinster House, Tuesday 17th, June 2025. (Image: COLLINS PHOTO 2025) The Sinn Fein leader has made this a crusade - previously highlighting how butter is now a euro more than it was last year, and how a kilo of chicken that was €4.99 in 2022 is now €11. Micheal did the serious politician reaction, talking about global pressures and trades and tariffs and how the Government is limited in its ability. But that's no use to anyone. That's holding up your hands, helpless, saying: 'Nothing we can do.' That's a cop out. This is not happening at this rate everywhere, and it's disingenuous and dismissive to frame it so. We've all been away and noticed the huge difference at European checkouts. Figures released last month reveal food prices here are the third highest in the EU at almost 15% above average. Meat prices are up here 22% in the past year. Why? Supermarkets have denied accusations of price gouging, but in a climate like this, gouging is a real risk. Junior retail minister Alan Dillon acknowledged the impact on consumers and promised action, including new fines. We should come down hard on anyone in breach. But we should also be investigating why price hikes happened almost overnight. And why are some items far cheaper in small shops or convenience stores than they are in major supermarkets? In the meantime, it seems to me prices will continue to rise as long as we continue to pay them. I think the Government will be forced to put a cost-of-living package together, but only for the most in need. The squeezed middle will have to try to find ways around it. It's up to the consumer to limit the impact in the only way we can - buying special offers, giving up most expensive goods and switching to cheaper own brand products. If enough of us refuse to buy into food inflation, things will change. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
USA Today
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Robert Plant announces fall 2025 US tour with Saving Grace: Cities, dates, tickets
Robert Plant will be touring the U.S this fall with his latest band of collaborators, the band Saving Grace. The one-time Led Zeppelin frontman connected with the musicians in 2019 and they played together during the 2020 COVID lockdown in England. "They have become unique stylists and together they seem to have landed in a most interesting place," Plant said in a news release announcing upcoming tour dates. The collective made up of vocalist Suzi Dian, drummer Oli Jefferson, guitarist Tony Kelsey, banjo and string player Matt Worley, cellist Barney Morse-Brown have played together over the past six years and are currently touring Europe. The tour wraps up this month with dates in France and Spain. Plant last performed in the U.S. in September 2024 with Alison Krauss. The duo won five Grammys including album of the year for their 2007 album "Raising Sand." They also released a 2021 follow-up "Raise the Roof." In addition to tours with Krauss, Plant's previous performances in the U.S. included tours in 2010 with the Band of Joy, which featured Nashville musicians including Patty Griffin and Buddy Miller, and the Sensational Space Shifters in 2013. Plant and Saving Grace had planned to tour the U.S. in 2020, the iHeart radio news site reported, but the COVID pandemic nixed those plans. "About the group, '"We laugh a lot, really. I think that suits me. I like laughing,' Plant said about the group in the news release. 'You know, I can't find any reason to be too serious about anything. I'm not jaded. The sweetness of the whole thing … These are sweet people and they are playing out all the stuff that they could never get out before. They have become unique stylists and together they seem to have landed in a most interesting place.' Jeff Lynne: ELO co-founder 'heartbroken' to cancel final show amid health worries Robert Plant and Saving Grace tour dates Tickets for the initial run of a dozen North American shows can be found at New album coming from Robert Plant and Saving Grace Plant and the band have a new album "Saving Grace," due out Sept. 26, which was recorded between April 2019 and January 2025, spans selections such as traditional folk songs "As I Roved Out," the Carter Family song "I Never Will Marry," and Moby Grape," "It's A Beautiful Day Today." Other songs on the album were previously performed by Memphis Minnie, Blind Willie Johnson, The Low Anthem, Martha Scanlan, Sarah Siskind, and the band the track list for the album: Mike Snider is a reporter on USA TODAY's Trending team. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at mikegsnider & @ & @mikesnider & msnider@ What's everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day
Otago Daily Times
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Renowned blues singer film a blast from the past
Thirty-four years ago, Derek McCullough was in Memphis as a judge for the World Barbeque Championships. At the time he owned Double D's Bar and Grill and operated in the Arts Centre. It was a memorable time in Memphis, the home of the blues and the birthplace of rock and roll – he got the opportunity to meet legends BB King and Ruby Wilson. McCullough, who is now chair of the Mt Pleasant Memorial Community Centre and Residents Association, asked Wilson if she would perform at the first Blues, Brews and BBQs which he was organising at Hagley Park in 1993. To his amazement she agreed and the rest is history. 'She was great, she was a blues diva of the first ilk, knew exactly what she liked,' he recalls. 'Just stunning, in a club setting she had the audience in the palm of her hand, a real professional performer with an amazing voice.' Now a slice of that memorable day resurfaced last week with footage of her performance which has never been played before, McCullough says. CTV filmed the festival and it was played on Friday as a fundraiser for the Mt Pleasant Community Centre 'Raise the Roof' campaign. It helped pay for a louvered roof for its front deck costing $130,000. So far more than $35,000 has been raised. McCullough was clearing out his attic, looking for items to use for the community centre's Art in the Attic fundraiser earlier in the year when he came across a VHS copy of the festival. He transferred it to a USB stick and played it on his TV to make sure it worked. 'It just took me right back to those days, those heady days,' he said. As part of the trip to the barbecue event in Memphis in 1991, McCullough was invited to the opening of BB King's Blues Bar on the iconic Beale Street, where Ruby Wilson was the featured singer. He had grown up listening to blues music, so when he had the opportunity to meet BB King, it was a surreal moment for him. 'Incredible, a little boy from Nelson meeting BB King was a real treat. He was very humble, a great guy and charming,' said McCullough. Wilson toured and sang in Beale Street clubs for almost 40 years, until she died in 2016 from a heart attack aged 68. She took to the stage at Hagley Park for Blues, Brews and BBQs on January 31, 1993. 'Before long she had them (crowd) all up right up the front. 'When you see the film, you'll see why she was considered the Queen of Beale Street,' he said. She was backed by Christchurch band The Coalrangers. Wilson toured New Zealand when she was out here. Her opening act was at Turangawaewae in Ngaruawahia, the official residence of the Māori monarch. She performed for Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikahu, who Wilson also met and befriended in Memphis, said McCullough. 'That was a real honour (for Wilson) to be invited to that,' he said. Wilson did not charge a performing fee at the Hagley Park event, McCullough instead paying for her accommodation, expenses and transport while on tour. He had a sponsorship from Continental Airlines to fly her to New Zealand and back. 'She just appreciated the opportunity to come to New Zealand,' said McCullough. She also spent a night at a blues club in Manchester St, two nights at the famed Gluepot in Auckland and one night in Wellington.
The Journal
05-07-2025
- Politics
- The Journal
Tenants' protest planned for Dublin today as 80 unions seek momentum for all-island fight
MORE THAN 80 trade unions and organisations have lent backing to a housing protest taking place in Dublin city centre later today. Organised by the renters group called Community Action Tenants Union Ireland (Catu), it is seeking for the Dáil to immediately implement a number of measures to protect people across the island from homelessness. The demonstration will start at 1pm at the Garden of Remembrance in Parnell Square. These include the introduction and re-instatement of the eviction ban, which expired in March two years ago, and a commitment to ensure no child is living in emergency accommodation by 2026. It also wants 'proper resourcing' of the Tenant in Situ scheme, which has been hit by changes and restrictions that risked sending people into homelessness . The union also demands a rapid expansion of community mental health and addiction supports to address the complex harms experienced by many people forced into the homeless system. Describing itself as an all-island union, it also wants the same measures implemented by Stormont in the North. Advertisement Organisations who have endorsed include Forsa, Siptu, Conradh na Gaeilge and Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland. John Bohan, a member of Catu's national committee, said today's protest is trying to capture 'anger' on the issue that he feels was lost due to the pandemic. 'There had been such momentum on housing as an issue. Before the pandemic hit, you had these massive protests, occupations of key buildings like Apollo House , you had pushback against evictions, and you had the big Raise the Roof rallies ,' Bohan said. 'Covid just put a pause on that. I think the big danger is to turn housing into a new healthcare, where people are like, 'Oh, that's that's a joke, it's been broken for years and it will take a load of years to fix it so what can you do?' That sense of apathy has really built up.' The latest figures show that 15,747 people were living in emergency accommodation in May. The figure includes 4,844 children – some 69 more than last month. The statistics do not include people rough sleeping, refugees, asylum seekers, individuals in domestic violence shelters, or those experiencing 'hidden homelessness', such as sleeping in cars, on couches, or other unsuitable living conditions. Bohan said the the aim of today's protest is that to direct anger towards people who are 'responsible delivering policy decisions, to help organise and focus our friends and neighbors towards people with power who change things'. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
