Latest news with #RecreationGround
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Residents turn out in force for annual Party in the Park event
Despite the extreme heat, Ludgershall residents turned out in force for the annual Party in the Park event. Held on Saturday, July 12, the Recreation Ground was bustling with activity, with attendees bringing picnic blankets and umbrellas to join in the fun. The event, organised by Ludgershall Town Council, boasted a range of attractions. Kick Start, Beat the Goalie and inflatable darts were particularly popular. Rich Pearson wowed the crowd with a bike show, followed by Mr Burt's children's entertainment and balloon show. Read more Alpacas bring joy and laughter to care home with surprise visit Wings & Wheels 2025: Eye-catching planes and vintage cars in action Music festival raises thousands to support church roof restoration Rich Pearson wowed the crowd with a bike show. (Image: Ludgershall Town Council) The raffle raised £300 for the Mayor's Charity, which this year is St James' Church Restoration Fund. Trade stands, food vendors and a busy ice cream van, along with tea and cakes provided by Friends of Ludgershall, English Heritage and St James Church, kept everyone refreshed. A selection of entertainers, including The Cover Girls, Nokando, Electric Eden and MJ Ponting, took to the stage throughout the afternoon and evening. As the sun set, more people joined, seeking shelter under the hedges surrounding the ground. A council spokesperson said: "Well done to all the people who helped to make this such a success and to all the Ludgershall residents who came to dance and sing along with us."
Telegraph
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Rugby players are suing over safety – that is why Dan Cole had to see yellow
Ever since I started writing this column it seems that I have had to remind people of the position that Bath rugby club used to have in the English domestic game. Their near total hegemony for more than a decade is the legacy their current players must be sick of hearing about. Last Saturday, in the Premiership final at the Allianz Stadium, was the day from which they should be judged going forward. There is nothing wrong with looking back on a proud history, but it is time to consign Bath's past to its proper place and for new heroes to write their own chapters. In the days of mooted franchises, it is time to give credit to Bruce Craig as an owner who has supported the club without making a return and in the face of planning objections to his proposals to develop the Recreation Ground in situ, rather than taking the easier option of finding a completely new venue. The training facilities he established are first class and in finally stabilising his coaching team he has given the Bath squad the certainty they needed to make the necessary incremental changes to become champions. When asked to contribute a couple of prediction paragraphs for the final, it was not difficult to highlight the contributions that would be made by the two outstanding No 10s on show, Finn Russell and Handre Pollard. I don't take much credit for stating what to me is obvious, that Russell has more to his game than the eye-catching sleights of hand with which he is usually linked. Yet that was one of the telling factors in Bath's win. When Bath came under pressure in the Tigers' second-half fightback, there was Russell calmly doing what was required to keep Bath that bit out in front. I have some sympathy for the frustration shown by Michael Cheika, the Leicester coach, at the officiating. They were on the wrong end of the penalty count and had to play 20 minutes with a man short because of two yellow cards, both of which were down to clumsy rather than deliberate acts. However, they did escape a yellow for a cynical handling penalty from Nicky Smith that probably stopped Bath scoring. The truth is that Tigers went close owing to their famous obduracy, but Bath have been the standout team for most of this campaign and deserved their win for that and because they just shaded a compelling, if uneven, final. Nobody wants games to rest on marginal errors, but fans must appreciate the context in which the relevant laws are created and interpreted. When considering sanctions, the law, rightly, decides on risk not outcome. A flying 19st-plus Dan Cole, colliding late with Russell, poses a risk of injury that would have been avoided had the challenge not been made. It is all arguable, but what do players expect when their colleagues are suing for alleged lack of player safety? This is an area over which there will never be complete agreement and it is one of the things valued by rugby aficionados, but which perplexes casual watchers. 'Common sense' is what the proponents of discretion always say. The problem with giving officials discretion, which is fundamental to rugby flowing as a game at all, is that you can never get absolute consistency. The only way to do that is for there to be strict liability, as there is in the NFL – get caught and you are liable, however trivial the incident. Is that what fans want? I doubt it. Of greater significance to Bath going forward is that three of their most influential players in the victory were Max Ojomoh, Tom de Glanville and Guy Pepper, who are the respective sons of Steve, Phil and Martin. Two sets of elite players, from two distinct eras, that are now marked by success. Where Bath move on to from here remains to be seen. I do not think it is a coincidence that the fostering of the local and English talent has helped Bath's success. After years of buying the last notable player available, Bath have stabilised both their player recruitment and coaching appointments. The manner in which this has been achieved says much about what has finally been forged by Craig, and their coaching team headed by Johann van Graan. It also shows the wisdom of Craig's decision to step down from the chairman's role in 2022. Is 'the sky the limit', as claimed by their captain, Ben Spencer, after the game or will it be a little more complicated than that? I suspect the latter because six different champions in the last six years shows that, on the pitch, the Premiership is in reasonable shape, whatever the outside criticisms.
BBC News
26-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Ancient beech tree 'threatened by Bath Rugby stadium proposals'
A rugby team's plans to build a stadium pose a threat to an ancient tree, Green Party councillors are copper beech tree is not one of the ten trees that would be removed under Bath Rugby's design proposals for an 18,000-seater stadium on the Recreation Ground, however, two councillors said a foundation and drain could be built into its root councillors said the way the tree was being overlooked exemplified "what's broken in our political and planning system".A spokesperson from Bath Rugby said the comments regarding the tree were "factually incorrect", and that the design proposals, which have not yet been approved, would protect it. Green councillor Joanna Wright, speaking alongside colleague Saskia Heijltjes, said the club's present planning application "has failed to address the real threat to this important local tree".The tree is recognised as "notable" in the Woodland Trust's Ancient Tree Wright said that people in political and planning systems "treat living ecosystems as if they're disposable, when in reality they are essential". 'Tragic for the club' The stadium plan is a highly controversial topic in Bath, according to the Local Democracy Reporting locals would like to maintain the green space in the heart of the others point out that Bath Rugby has to spend around £1m every year assembling and disassembling temporary Rugby CEO, Tarquin McDonald, said: "If we were not able to redevelop [the stadium], it calls into question our ability to stay here long term."That would be tragic for the city and the club."Ken Loach, the film director, was one of the 5,500 commenters on the stadium planning Loach, who lives in Bath, said: "Visitors come to see the Roman Baths and Georgian architecture, not to look at a modern sports stadium – you can see those without travelling very far."
