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Wales Online
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Gavin and Stacey's Ruth Jones admits 'I'm suffering' as she shares health 'wake-up call'
Gavin and Stacey's Ruth Jones admits 'I'm suffering' as she shares health 'wake-up call' Award-winning Gavin and Stacey actress Ruth Jones has shared a painful update, admitting she'd previously taken her health "for granted", ahead of appearing on BBC's Saturday Kitchen Ruth Jones is at the height of her powers as an actor, but she's beginning to feel the ravages of time (Image: Dave Benett,) Ruth Jones has an impressive list of achievements, with a fistful of prestigious awards including a couple of TV BAFTAs, an MBE, and even an honorary degree from the The Open University in Wales. But, at 58, the thing she's most grateful for is her health. "You don't know what you've got until it's gone," the Gavin and Stacey star told Woman & Home magazine. "I don't particularly practise gratitude, but often I get a wake-up call where I'll go, 'Thank goodness I can still do this.' "At the moment I'm suffering with my knees," she added, "I hadn't realised how much I take being able to walk down the street for granted." Ruth has been showered with awards for her work (Image: Dave Benett, Alan Chapman/) Ruth says she made the decision to start pursuing a healthier lifestyle at the beginning of 2010 after a particularly indulgent holiday. She recalled the significant moment, saying: "I came back from holiday - January 2010 - and we all overdo it on holiday, don't we? Something just clicked, I felt this is now or never, I wanted to make a positive change for me and I haven't looked back." Article continues below Rather than following strict diets, she focused on managing portion sizes and keeping an eye on what she was eating to make sure she didn't take on more calories than she was burning with exercise. She shed an impressive 4½ stone (Image: Mike Marsland, Mike Marsland/WireImagevia Getty Images ) Her dedication paid off as she dropped four and a half stone over a period of 22 months. Ruth reflected on her no-nonsense approach: "Although I have done loads of diets in my time I have never done it the old-fashioned way: taking in less calories than I was using." She took on a manageable goal of between 1,250 and 1,500 calories each day, significantly below the average recommended intake of 2,000 for women. This strategy played a crucial role in her slimming down to a size 12. Lately, that achievement has been eclipsed by her showbiz awards. Ruth had a heartfelt message for Gavin & Stacey finale co-creator James Corden, after the Nessa Jenkins star picked up a BAFTA award for her role earlier this month. Ruth hinted that she might be working with James Corden again (Image: Gareth Cattermole,) After thanking the Gavin and Stacey team as a whole, she singled out James in particular, saying: "The person I would like to thank most is my dear, dear, talented, lovely, kind, funny friend, James Corden, with whom I have shared this astonishing journey with for the past 17 years and without whom Nessa Shenessa Jenkins would simply not exist." In a hint that there might be more to come from their partnership, Ruth added: "I love you, James, I love writing with you, long may it continue." In a playful aside that came straight from her Gavin and Stacey role, Ruth went on, in character, saying: "I've won a BAFTA before, of course I have, in 1976. It was the Barry Arcade Fruity Technician Award and I was grateful for that but this, this is cracking." Article continues below Ruth is appearing on Saturday Kitchen this morning from 10am on BBC One and iPlayer.
Sky News
09-05-2025
- Science
- Sky News
First moon rocks on Earth in half a century arrive in UK
The first samples of moon dust brought back to Earth for more than 50 years are in the UK - being studied by scientists in Milton Keynes. "It really humbles me to think that I am one of the seven billion plus people on this planet who has a chance to work with these precious samples," said Professor Mahesh Anand. The professor of planetary science and exploration at The Open University is just one of seven international scientists chosen by China to study the samples, and travelled to Beijing to pick them up. They are the first moon rocks brought to Earth since the last Soviet Luna mission of 1976. Knowing how rare the samples are, Prof Anand was reluctant to let them out of his sight on his journey back from China - so he carried them in his hand luggage. "I couldn't risk losing them," he told Sky News, speaking from a train to Manchester where he was still carrying the samples to show graduating students. "Today, when I'm carrying one of these samples with me, they are actually in triple-sealed containers. Of course, these are not coming into contact with any terrestrial atmosphere." Prof Anand has spent his career studying moon samples brought back to Earth by the Apollo missions. Those samples were collected from the six moon landing sites where astronauts walked. 0:44 These new samples, collected by China's Chang'e 5 mission in 2020, come from a completely different part of the moon. "It turns out that from a chemical point of view, they are very, very different and they are telling us something very different about the moon's geological history," Prof Anand said. 3:07 He and his team hope to better understand the origins of the moon and the history of elements that are essential for life on Earth, like hydrogen, carbon and nitrogen. That work is "absolutely crucial" for plans to get humans living on the moon, he said. He added: "I have a huge obligation and huge responsibility, but I'm just so happy to be given a chance.
Pembrokeshire Herald
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Pembrokeshire Herald
Founding Day returns to Milford Haven with fun for all the family
Live music, heritage activities, local stalls and more planned for June celebration MILFORD HAVEN will mark its founding in style on Saturday, June 7, with a day-long celebration packed with free activities, music, and heritage-themed fun for the whole family. Organised by the Milford Haven Business Circle (MHBC), the Founding Day event will run from 11:00am to 4:00pm along Charles Street, which will be closed to traffic from 10:00am to 5:00pm to ensure a safe and festive atmosphere. Highlights of the event will include: Free bouncy castles Face painting and glitter tattoos Rides for small children A wide range of food stalls Local craft and goods stalls Live music and performances Heritage-themed activities in partnership with The Open University, National Museum Wales (Amgueddfa Cymru), and the Ateb Group Many local businesses will also be joining in the celebrations, offering special promotions and activities throughout the day. A spokesperson for the Milford Haven Business Circle said: 'We are incredibly excited to bring Founding Day back to the town. It's a brilliant opportunity for our community to come together, celebrate Milford Haven's unique heritage, and enjoy a fantastic day out with friends and family.' Get involved – limited spaces remaining There is still time for stallholders and community groups to get involved. A few outdoor and indoor spaces remain available, and the organisers are inviting local groups to contribute performances or demonstrations. Anyone interested should email to apply. Thanks to local sponsors The Milford Haven Business Circle has expressed its thanks to the sponsors and supporters who are helping to make Founding Day possible: The Port of Milford Haven Milford Haven Town Council Taste of Haven Evergreens Outlet Phoenix Yarns Ambulance Friends Green Light Traffic Management Boulevard Theatre Pegasus Ambulance Service Cast n Craft – Fishing for Health Captured Soul Photography Founding Day is expected to be one of the town's standout events of the year, bringing together heritage, entertainment, and community spirit in the heart of Milford Haven.
BBC News
07-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
Academic's quest to commemorate 1826 mill massacre
A man who came across a forgotten 200-year-old story of the massacre of starving cotton workers while walking his dog has secured a £170k grant to help commemorate it in its bicentenary David Scott stumbled over a memorial to the deaths while walking his rescue dog Flossy in Chatterton a small village in the Rossendale Valley, Lancashire."I was out walking my dog when I discovered the Chatterton Peace Park and was shocked to find it had been the site of a massacre," he people were killed and others seriously injured on 26 April 1826 when troops fired on Lancashire mill workers who were protesting because they were starving. Dr Scott, a lecturer in criminology at The Open University, was moved to do more research and began learning how the uprising broke of loom workers rebelled in the face of a perfect storm of high food prices, low or no wages, growing poverty and the introduction of much cheaper forms of weaving through destroyed equipment before being confronted by 20 soldiers from the 60th Duke of York Own Rifles, who fired into the crowd."These people were starving - they could not even afford bread and those who could eat at all had only oatmeal," Dr Scott said. "We still don't know exactly how many people were injured or died in the following days."The grant has been awarded from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to the Weavers Uprising Bicentennial Committee, a charity the academic founded and will use the money to highlight the weavers' story across the county from next February."Almost immediately an attempt was made to shut down what had happened and call it a riot," the lecturer continued."We in the committee have been working to change that interpretation and correct this injustice."A programme of artistic, creative, and community heritage activities backed by Lancashire County Council will take place as part of the the history of the weavers' uprising will be taught in primary schools across the county for the first time. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists say 2 asteroids may actually be fragments of destroyed planets from our early solar system
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Scientists believe that two asteroids might be fragments of long-lost "planetary embryos" from the early solar system. These embryos, somewhere between small planetesimals and fully formed planets, were abundant during the solar system's formative stages and played a critical role in planetary formation. Two asteroids in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, (246) Asporina and (4125) Lew Allen, are the subject of a new study that has found they could be leftover pieces from these embryos forged in the earliest days of our cosmic neighborhood. "We identified two large asteroids that show similar spectral features to angrites [some of the solar system's oldest meteorites, believed to have originated from planetesimals], suggesting these asteroids could be some of the most ancient remnants of an early-formed planet in the early solar system," Ben Rider-Stokes, a post-doctoral researcher at The Open University, told "This provides evidence that angrites could indeed be linked to the debris of early planetary embryos, some of which may have contributed material to the terrestrial planets." Angrites are a distinct group of meteorites, characterized by olivine-bearing basaltic minerals and unique isotopic signatures (such as oxygen, magnesium, and chromium isotopes) and elemental ratios that indicate they could only have formed in the inner solar system. "Angrites are a small group of ancient meteorites that formed within the first few million years of solar system history, recording information about the early solar system processes," said Rider. "Identifying the origin of these samples is therefore of key interest to identify an ancient asteroid that may be one of the earliest forming asteroids. [However,] resulting debris from their disruptions is not easily discernible in the modern-day solar system. Scientists have suggested previously that an angrite parent body may be a remnant from an early planetary embryo. However, evidence for this body has been scant, likely having been lost when it merged with other planetesimal bodies during a phase of rapid growth in the early solar system. "No specific asteroid, or family of asteroids, has been identified as the [agrite parent body]," wrote Rider and his colleagues in their paper published in the journal Icarus. "The igneous nature of the meteorites implies their parent body was sufficiently large to sustain an extended period of magmatic activity, but the size of the [parent body] is disputed." Estimates have been made by comparing the nature of angrites to the howardite-eucrite-diogenite (HED) meteorites, which originate from the Vesta parent body, whose radius is larger than 162 miles (260 km). The scientists set out to analyze the UV-Vis-NIR spectra of ten known angrites that have fallen to Earth and compare them with the spectra of 712 documented asteroids. "We have a wide collection of ancient meteorite samples with different chemistries, isotopic compositions, and mineralogies, these differences indicate separate parent bodies or parent asteroids or planets," said Rider. This technique examines how a material interacts with light — different materials absorb or reflect light at distinct wavelengths, producing a unique spectrum or "fingerprint" that reveals key information about the material's composition. By comparing the spectra of angrites and asteroids, the team was able to identify similar compositions, narrowing down the potential origin of the angrites and possibly pinpointing which asteroids, if any, could be remnants of the long-sought planetary body. "Simply, the wavelength of the light bounced back from a surface (an asteroid or meteorite) will show distinctive peaks and troughs due to the differences in mineralogy and chemistry," explained Rider. "The wavelength of the meteorite and asteroid can thus be compared and matched." "The increased diversity among meteorite collections on Earth has enabled the evaluation of extra-terrestrial mineralogies in a wider context," he continued. "This increased diversity, due to more meteorite finds, increases the potential chance of identifying an asteroid with a similar mineralogy to that of a meteorite sample. This motivated the study to find an asteroidal analog for [...] an angrite." The team initially found spectral matches to asteroids (246) Asporina, (4490) Bambery, (4125) Lew Allen, and (136617) 1994 CC, also finding equivalent matches in their mineral chemistry (although no mineral chemistry was available for (136617) 1994 CC). More consistent matches between (246) Asporina and (4125) Lew Allen to quenched angrites — those that cooled rapidly, preserving minerals in a high-temperature state — and intermediate angrites — cooled at a moderate rate, allowing for more gradual mineral formation — helped identify these two as the best parent body candidates. Due to their orbital differences, the team believes it is likely that they originate from different parent asteroids. Given that (246) Asporina is the largest body (though at approximately 32 miles (50.9 km) in diameter it is still significantly smaller than the predicted size of the parent body), and possesses an extremely similar band structure to the angrite NWA 10463, the team thinks it is very plausible that (246) Asporina represents a significant fragment of an ancient, long-lost body somewhere between the sizes of the moon or Mars. Related stories: — What are asteroids? — Earth's recent asteroid visitor might've been a piece of the moon — The early solar system was donut-shaped, meteorite study suggests It's possible that either the original angrite parent body was catastrophically destroyed during the chaos of the early solar system, or that the predicted size could also have been overestimated. "Some asteroids are too small for the light to bounce back and be recorded on Earth, so there may be many smaller fragments that have a similar mineralogy to meteorites," added Rider. "Another [challenge] is terrestrial weathering (i.e. rusting) of meteorites that affects their mineralogy and could therefore hinder spectral matching." As more data is gathered, it will not only provide clearer answers to the forces that shaped our solar system, but also enhance our understanding of the formation, composition, and evolutionary role of asteroids — offering key insights into the early stages of planetary development. Research on these two asteroids has been published in the journal Icarus.
