Latest news with #Spurr
BBC News
19-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
'I mourned my theatre career but found my calling'
Former theatre professionals and actors who stepped away from the stage after lockdown have been reflecting on how their lives have changed five years in the West End and around the UK closed down shows on 16 March 2020, a week before the first national lockdown - a day that has since become known as Dark Cooper, 32, from Hackney, was an actor who also worked front of house at London's Almeida Theatre, and was waiting to hear back from a "dream" theatre Cooper, who now works in a children's hospital, said she had had an "out of body experience" because of the "horrifying realisation" she might never act again, adding: "It was really, really terrible." Acting had been so "intrinsic" to her identity since she was about 11 years old she struggled when the industry shut down, she said."We didn't know at that point if theatres would ever return," she said. "I asked myself 'Who am I without this?'"Though she "mourned" acting, Ms Cooper said she was "really lucky" to be furloughed despite being on a zero-hours she still does occasional acting roles, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland graduate said she had since found her calling working with sick children as a health play now uses play-based therapy - such as role-plays with puppets - to help children in hospital process what is happening to Cooper said moving from "plays in theatres" to "operating theatres and playing" had given her a "second passion"."It's so hard to imagine not being where I am now," she said. After years spent building his fringe theatre credits, Denholm Spurr's acting career was in the "ascendency" in early had 14 months of work booked and had recently starred in a biographical play about his time being Spurr, from Croydon, said he was "backstage at the Cockpit Theatre" waiting for the first performance of a "wonderful farce" when the producer told the cast "we can't go ahead"."I just went home - it was such an anti-climax," he said. As a freelancer, Mr Spurr "fell through the gaps" of the government's financial support as he was not eligible for either furlough or the self-employed grant scheme. 'I turned to sex work' Mr Spurr said the first lockdown was a "really lonely" time, with an ex-partner and several friends taking their own an income and facing being homeless again as the first lockdown lifted, Mr Spurr turned to sex said: "Lockdown happened and I had no money, so I was prepared to do that, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to eat."I was determined not to be homeless again." Mr Spurr also used the time to retrain, becoming a board game designer and computer the same time he started working for Off West End, which supports emerging artists and runs the world's largest fringe theatre awards, the managing director, Mr Spurr said having an arts leadership role allowed him to "feel I'm making a difference in the world". Actor Anna Scutt, from Truro in Cornwall, said she was often cast in final-year films by Cornish film students - usually shot in spring - so the timing of lockdown was "really bad".Ms Scutt, who has cerebral palsy and is a wheelchair user, applied for a Zoom reading of a new play with Bristol-based Theatre West, which she had found out about through a newsletter for disabled said she was "lucky" the reading was on Zoom as "they'd probably have wanted a Bristol actor" otherwise, she two-hander play, called Rose, was about a disabled woman's friendship with a convicted Scutt said she was "really impressed" the writers insisted on casting a wheelchair user "even though the readings were on Zoom".After several more workshops, Ms Scutt was asked to play the lead in a south-west England tour."Something good came out of the fact everything was on Zoom, " Ms Scutt said. Kate-Lois Elliott, from north London, had spent five years as a freelance workshop leader and actor in a prestigious London theatre's education department when the venues closed."The work disappeared within about three days - it was all gone."The theatre's management did not communicate until several weeks later. "No-one knew what was going on. I felt like I'd been abandoned. I felt so disposable."After a few weeks of "shutdown mode" in lockdown, Kate-Lois had a "burst of energy". 'A gift' She made a web series, wrote an award-winning book and - as venues "slowly opened back up" - started pursuing stand-up comedy."I see that as a gift in a way - having that time as an artist just for the love of it. I made the most of a terrible situation."And her comedy career is going "pretty well".Last year, her Edinburgh Fringe debut was featured in The Times' Best Jokes of the Fringe and won the Phoebe Waller Bridge Keep it Fringe Kate-Lois said she still enjoyed shows that were "far removed" from her previous theatre role, such as musicals, her lockdown experience left scars."I don't think I could go back to that theatre and see a show there." Sharon Wattis was on the Birmingham leg of the world tour of hit musical The Book of Mormon when the show's producers announced its had given up her London flat to go on tour, so moved in with her younger brother in her home town of Leeds."I was sleeping in my seven-year-old niece's bunk bed," she several "difficult" months without "any structure" she started working at a Covid-19 testing said it was "quite difficult doing the test on people, it was not very nice".Ms Wattis left the testing facility in summer 2021 when The Book of Mormon went back into said she was "grateful to be back at work" but "a little apprehensive" as some of the cast had chosen not to come back. Ms Wattis' Book of Mormon cast-mate Johnathan Tweedie, 42, was one of those who never returned."We came into the theatre that Monday morning and were called on stage," Mr Tweedie said. "I think we all knew."Mr Tweedie started acting at six and had already toyed with leaving performing because of the the chronic pain he suffered during lockdown shaped the direction he took caught Covid-19 "really severely" so lockdown was "awful" psychologically, he said, but he discovered he "really didn't miss" having to "keep his body and voice ready for a show all the time".Mr Tweedie now offers movement therapy to people with chronic pain, as well as performers dealing with injuries."Even though it was an incredibly dark time in my life - and many other people's lives - what I learned from it has undoubtedly changed the course of my life."
BBC News
11-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Pendle Council to buy two-bedroom houses to support homeless
Pendle Council is aiming to buy some local houses to offer temporary accommodation for people facing homelessness, rather than relying on more expensive bed-and-breakfast arrangements or rental councils are required by law to find temporary shelter for people with housing difficulties. But rising rents charged by private landlords, reduced council housing options and other factors have led the authority to seek a different their latest meeting, councillors approved the purchase of several properties to increase temporary accommodation provision in areas like Nelson and Colne. 'Notable increase' Councillors also approved the new Pendle Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy for 2025 – 2030, which aims to ensure the council continues meeting its duties to provide suitable temporary accommodation for homeless Spurr, Pendle Council's director of place, said: "As cases of homelessness have increased, the use of temporary accommodation has also increased. "At the same time, affordable housing has reduced as the private rented sector has become unaffordable and the availability of social housing has reduced."This has resulted in existing temporary accommodation becoming blocked and the only other option is often expensive bed and breakfast alternatives. "Options were looked at and now councillors have agreed that Pendle Council purchase and renovate five two-bedroom, long-term empty properties within Pendle."Wayne Forrest, a housing needs manager at the council, said there had been a "notable increase" in homelessness applications and a significant part of the authority's strategy was "dedicated to the prevention of homelessness". Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
The Independent
25-02-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Man who ‘begged' NHS for weightloss jabs drops nine stone after going private
A 30-stone man who failed to qualify for NHS weight loss jabs has lost nine stone after paying privately for treatment. Mark Spurr, 53, now weighs 21st and has lost eight inches off his waist thanks to the Mounjaro injections he started eight months ago. The security officer, from Morley, West Yorkshire, begged his GP to have treatment on the NHS after realising he no longer fit into the stab-proof vest he wore for work at an immigration centre in Leeds. He also struggled to walk from the car park to work due to his size. Mr Spurr's body-mass index was also 57 at his heaviest. Despite all these factors, he was told he did not meet the NHS criteria, which include having 'the highest clinical needs' with a BMI of over 35 and at least one weight-related illness. Determined to save his job – and his life – Civil Servant Mr Spurr decided to buy the treatment privately online with Cloud Pharmacy, starting from £100 per month. Now he has not only lost weight but claims he is £2,000 better off – saving the £400 per month he used to spend on snacks and takeaways – thanks to the drug which tricks the brain into feeling full. 'Mounjaro's changed my life and it might have even saved my life,' Mr Spurr told PA Real Life. 'I couldn't walk across the car park in June and last weekend, I hiked Whernside mountain in the Yorkshire Dales. 'When I went to the GP, I was basically on my hands and knees crying my eyes out and pleading with them to prescribe it to me, I was in so much pain. 'I might as well have been smashing my head against a brick wall as I was told I didn't fit the criteria. 'But they recommended that I take it privately and now I feel fantastic.' Mr Spurr, who was slim during childhood, began to gain weight when he left school aged 15 and took a job as a joiner for Leeds City Council. Ten years ago, his weight spiralled after the death of his mother Susan Spurr, in her 60s. 'Food was a coping mechanism,' said Mark. He joined a Slimming World group but his weight kept yo-yoing. On a typical day, he would eat a sausage, spam and egg sandwich followed by a bacon roll, a pastry and a coffee for breakfast. Lunch was a sandwich, pasty, bun and cake while dinner was takeaway fish and chips, with snacks of multipack crisps and chocolate in between. Things came to a head last year when Mr Spurr could no longer fit into the stab-proof vest he was required to wear for work and feared he would lose his job. 'I felt depressed, tired all the time but unable to sleep, and full of anxiety, like I was struggling in an 85-year-old's body,' he said. 'I was wearing shorts and T-shirts in winter because I was sweating by the time I'd walked from the car door to the office. 'A report by occupational health said I'd have to lose six stone to do my job safely and I took some time off. 'I have to thank my work for giving me the opportunity to lose weight.' Mr Spurr said he visited his GP every few months at Robin Lane Health and Wellbeing Centre in Pudsey where he 'begged and begged for help but got nowhere whatsoever'. He added: 'I asked if I qualified for a gastric band but there was a two-year waiting list. 'Then I did a blood test for Mounjaro but I didn't fit the criteria, even when the results showed I was in the lower end of type two diabetes.' The final straw came on a trip to Crete in June when he was unable to walk from the hotel to the beach and had to take taxis everywhere. 'When I came home, I said to my dad, 'that's it, I don't care if I can afford it or no, I'm doing it', and I ordered my first pen,' he said. Mr Spurr immediately began taking weekly Mounjaro injections, beginning on a dose of 2.5mg, costing £100 per month. 'I was really shocked because it works and it worked virtually within four hours,' he said. 'For somebody in my situation, we get food noise, where you'll be eating breakfast and you're already thinking about what's for dinner, but taking Mounjaro, that food noise just disappeared.' After seven days on the treatment, Mark had lost 9lb and had swapped junk food for meal replacement shakes and high protein meals like chicken and rice and egg salad. He is now losing a steady 2lb to 3lb per week, is closing in on his ideal weight of 16st and can go mountain biking again with his son Joshua, 28. He is also going on more walks with his partner, 54, and spending time running around in the park with his six-year-old granddaughter Hailey. 'So far, I've gone from a 6XL to a 3XL – now the goal is to be able to nip into Primark rather than travelling to specialist clothes shops for plus sizes,' he said. Mr Spurr has moved to a higher dose of Mounjaro, costing £150 per month, and says the price rises to £180 at the end of the course. 'It may not seem like a lot but as a civil servant on minimum wage for my level, I thought I couldn't afford it,' Mark said. 'But once the effects kicked in and I was eating less, I realised I'm actually saving £250 per month.' The grandfather, who also has a one-year-old grandson, Arthur, said the benefits outweigh the side-effects, based on his experience, which have been constipation and diarrhoea. 'If that's what I have to do to prolong my life and stay healthy, that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make,' he said. 'People say it's not a quick fix and it's not – I am putting in the hard work at the gym three to four times per week – but the medication controls my appetite. 'Rather than food being my life, I now eat to live rather than live to eat.' Mr Spurr is documenting his weight loss on his TikTok page, Mark on Fitness @spurry05tiktok, which has 3,500 followers and viral videos with up to 80,000 views. To help support the costs of his treatment and possible skin removal surgery, he has launched a GoFundMe page which has so far raised £25 of his £5,000 target. 'I'd like to thank everybody who has supported me so far, it really keeps me going,' he said. His fundraiser is at: Around a quarter of a million people living with obesity will be offered Mounjaro over the next three years, according to final draft guidance from the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence. It recommends the treatment for people with a body-mass index of more than 35 and at least one weight-related illness.
Yahoo
16-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
An eruption is possible at Alaska's Mount Spurr. What we know about the volcano
A volcano near Alaska's most populous city could be on the brink of eruption after showing signs of unrest over the past 10 months, according to experts. Hundreds of small earthquakes have occurred beneath Mount Spurr, located in the volcanically active Aleutian Arc and approximately 75 miles west of Anchorage, according to the Alaska Volcano Observatory, which tracks volcanic activity across the state. Experts have also observed ground deformations, said David Fee, a coordinating scientist at the Alaska Volcano Observatory. 'Basically, as we think magma and fluids rise within the earth, it causes the ground to swell or deform,' Fee told CNN Saturday. The rising magma and other moving fluids can heat up surrounding areas on the way to the surface, according to Fee. 'These are our two key longer-term observations telling us that something is going on underneath,' Fee said, adding changes at Mount Spurr's summit have also alerted scientists to the potential threat of an eruption. 'A small lake has formed within the crater, and there's some warmer water and gas coming out as well,' he said. Despite these signs, there is no way of telling when or if the volcano will erupt within a matter of days, weeks or months, according to experts. There would likely be increased signs leading up to the eruption, like raised water temperatures and melted snow and glaciers. All scientists can do, however, is keep monitoring closely. 'We use a lot of our knowledge from past eruptions to kind of see what we think might happen in the future,' Fee said. As of now, experts say there's a 50-50 chance the volcano will erupt. Because there are no communities or cities in the volcano's vicinity, 'there's no kind of local threat,' Fee said. The main two hazards of a volcano eruption would be ash clouds that could impact air travel and potential ash fall over regional communities, including Anchorage's, according to Fee. 'One or more explosive events lasting one or a few hours would produce ash clouds carried downwind for hundreds of miles, and the uninhabited area around Mount Spurr would be inundated by pyroclastic flows, mudflows, and ballistic showers,' the observatory said in a February 6 statement. As of February 15, the observatory listed Mount Spurr's volcano alert level at advisory, one step above normal. 'Spurr, at least in the past, has provided a longer run-up and more kind of warning signs before an eruption,' Fee said. 'We're looking at the data really closely for Spurr to see if any changes that might (suggest) that eruption is more likely are coming soon.' Mount Spurr erupted once in 1953 and three times in 1992, according to the observatory. Both years saw eruptions at the Crater Peak vent, located two miles south of the volcano's summit. 'These eruptions were relatively small but explosive, and they dispersed volcanic ash over areas of interior, south-central, and southeastern Alaska,' according to a report on seismic activity at Mount Spurr by the US Geological Survey. In 1953, the columns of ash the explosions produced rose up to 65,000 feet above sea level and deposited about 6 mm of ash in Anchorage, according to the report. One of the 1992 eruptions closed down the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport for 20 hours, and numerous air-quality alerts were issued for several days after the eruption. A present-day eruption would likely happen at Crater Peak again, according to Fee. 'There has been no eruption from the summit of Spurr in thousands of years, … so that's one of the reasons we think it's more likely to erupt (from Crater Peak),' Fee said.
CNN
16-02-2025
- Science
- CNN
An eruption is possible at Alaska's Mount Spurr. What we know about the volcano
A volcano near Alaska's most populous city could be on the brink of eruption after showing signs of unrest over the past 10 months, according to experts. Hundreds of small earthquakes have occurred beneath Mount Spurr, located in the volcanically active Aleutian Arc and approximately 75 miles west of Anchorage, according to the Alaska Volcano Observatory, which tracks volcanic activity across the state. Experts have also observed ground deformations, said David Fee, a coordinating scientist at the Alaska Volcano Observatory. 'Basically, as we think magma and fluids rise within the earth, it causes the ground to swell or deform,' Fee told CNN Saturday. The rising magma and other moving fluids can heat up surrounding areas on the way to the surface, according to Fee. 'These are our two key longer-term observations telling us that something is going on underneath,' Fee said, adding changes at Mount Spurr's summit have also alerted scientists to the potential threat of an eruption. 'A small lake has formed within the crater, and there's some warmer water and gas coming out as well,' he said. Despite these signs, there is no way of telling when or if the volcano will erupt within a matter of days, weeks or months, according to experts. There would likely be increased signs leading up to the eruption, like raised water temperatures and melted snow and glaciers. All scientists can do, however, is keep monitoring closely. 'We use a lot of our knowledge from past eruptions to kind of see what we think might happen in the future,' Fee said. As of now, experts say there's a 50-50 chance the volcano will erupt. Because there are no communities or cities in the volcano's vicinity, 'there's no kind of local threat,' Fee said. The main two hazards of a volcano eruption would be ash clouds that could impact air travel and potential ash fall over regional communities, including Anchorage's, according to Fee. 'One or more explosive events lasting one or a few hours would produce ash clouds carried downwind for hundreds of miles, and the uninhabited area around Mount Spurr would be inundated by pyroclastic flows, mudflows, and ballistic showers,' the observatory said in a February 6 statement. As of February 15, the observatory listed Mount Spurr's volcano alert level at advisory, one step above normal. 'Spurr, at least in the past, has provided a longer run-up and more kind of warning signs before an eruption,' Fee said. 'We're looking at the data really closely for Spurr to see if any changes that might (suggest) that eruption is more likely are coming soon.' Mount Spurr erupted once in 1953 and three times in 1992, according to the observatory. Both years saw eruptions at the Crater Peak vent, located two miles south of the volcano's summit. 'These eruptions were relatively small but explosive, and they dispersed volcanic ash over areas of interior, south-central, and southeastern Alaska,' according to a report on seismic activity at Mount Spurr by the US Geological Survey. In 1953, the columns of ash the explosions produced rose up to 65,000 feet above sea level and deposited about 6 mm of ash in Anchorage, according to the report. One of the 1992 eruptions closed down the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport for 20 hours, and numerous air-quality alerts were issued for several days after the eruption. A present-day eruption would likely happen at Crater Peak again, according to Fee. 'There has been no eruption from the summit of Spurr in thousands of years, … so that's one of the reasons we think it's more likely to erupt (from Crater Peak),' Fee said.
