Latest news with #TyBurns
The Sun
29-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- The Sun
We bought old school bus on eBay & transformed it into family travel wagon – it has bunk beds, fridge & washing machine
A FAMILY have hit the road after buying and transforming an old school bus bought on eBay. Travelling with their two daughters, a couple from Newcastle have swapped their restaurant business for life on the go. 8 8 8 Lotti Harrison, 29, and Ty Burns, 37, sold the business to snap up a £25k classic American school bus on eBay. Having always dreamed of travelling in a van, Ty spotted the 11-metre long school bus listing in August 2024. The couple knew they had to go for it and Ty renovated the bus by himself for the next six months. They fitted their new family travel wagon with bunk beds, a full-sized fridge, washing machine and king-sized bed. It's even kitted out with noise-proof acoustic panelling to help with noise levels as well as underfloor heating, air-con and a log burner. Speaking to Chronicle Live, Lotti said: "It's very fancy, it's a luxury bus - we haven't scrimped on this. "We wanted it to be as comfortable for us and the girls as possible." They then sold their restaurant business and ended the tenancy for their four-bed, three-storey town house. The couple kept essentials and sentimental items but sold off the majority of their furniture and possessions with Lotti saying "it felt so good to get rid of stuff." They then set off on their travels last month for Belgium before making their way through Luxembourg, France and Italy. How to use ChatGPT for home & garden renovations without spending a penny - see how good it looks before you even start Their next stops are Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia before they travel through Albania, Montenegro and Serbia. The route back to the UK will see them pass through Greece, Italy and France. They hope to use their savings to fund their travels for a year before deciding whether to continue upon their return. Although not without its challenges, highlights so far have included Disneyland Paris and cycling around Lake Annecy in France. 8 8 Lotti said: "We've never been that 9 to 5 vibe - but ever since having the girls we realised how quickly time goes. "We wanted to spend as much time now together as a family and watch them grow up. "Sending them to a nursery didn't seem right to us. "If we didn't do it now, we'd probably never do it." The couple always dreamed of travelling and even bought a bus they saw on the side of the road for £500 six years ago. But their plans were put on hold after realising the bus was "knackered". 8 8 Lotti added: "Since having the girls the reality was a bit more tricky." But Ty then spotted the school bus on eBay and the couple decided to go for it. Their two daughters are loving life on the road, according to Lotti. She said: "The girls have taken to it so well. "Waking up in a different place is so exciting for them." They also love that they can stay in a place if they fancy or move on if the weather is "rubbish". There have been fans along the way too with everyone "in awe" and "beeping their horns". Lotti said: "We can't go anywhere without being papped". The mum of two also hopes to inspire others to travel and encourages others to get out of their "comfort zone". She said: "There's a whole world out there." Lotti and Ty aren't the only ones to have their home on the road either. Earlier this year a couple bought a double-decker bus on eBay to transform it into a flat on wheels after being unable to afford a house. Eventually, the bus will come complete with underfloor heating, a full-sized bedroom and lounge. 8
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Saying Oklahomans can eat ‘real meat,' lawmakers move to ban lab-grown alternatives
Rep. Ty Burns, R-Morrison, attends the final day of the 2024 legislative session. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice) OKLAHOMA CITY — Citing safety concerns and Oklahomans' ability to eat 'real meat from real animals,' House lawmakers advanced a measure Tuesday that would ban lab-grown meat alternatives. Critics, though, said House Bill 2829, which targets the science of using animal cells to grow meat in laboratories, is based in fear, is protectionist, and impedes Oklahomans' freedom to choose what they want to eat and how to practice their religions. Rep. Ty Burns, R-Morrison, said the measure is necessary to protect Oklahomans and their culture as well as the agriculture industry, which is one of the state's biggest economic drivers. He said cell-cultivated meat is popular in Israel. While it may not be in Oklahoma yet, the bill aims to ban it before it arrives, he said. Burns, the bill's author, said the government's top job is to protect and promote general welfare and health, and this bill does that. 'I don't think it's about being afraid of competition, obviously,' Burns said. 'We start talking about protecting Oklahomans and consumption of a product that we have naturally done healthier and better for you. I think it's an easy protective measure to put ahead of before we get it here.' Last year, Florida and Alabama both passed laws banning lab-grown meats. Rep. Tom Gann, R-Inola, said the product should be considered dangerous until it's known to be safe. 'It's not about free market. It's about really making sense,' he said. 'We have plenty of opportunity to eat real meat from real animals, and the fact that this stuff is being developed is nothing more than it is just acquiescing to the climate change agenda, the animal rights agenda, and everything green. And it's an attack on our growers who produce our food.' Oklahomans need to 'play it safe' by banning the product, he said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'Let somebody else experiment and keep the people of the state of Oklahoma safe,' Gann said. But Rep. Jared Deck, D-Norman, said when there are so many other health concerns in the state, he wonders why his colleagues are so afraid of this option. 'We put Twinkies in our body. Heck we deep fat fry them even,' he said. 'These are the things that we eat on a daily basis, that we feed our children, that we stock our grocery shelves with, and we're going to ban something that we don't even know about supposedly, but a lot of religions and cultures use such products in order to help abide by their own faith.' Deck said the state's agricultural industry isn't afraid of anything that's cultivated, including this product. He said genetic cultivation is also being used to develop seeds and vegetation, but that's not being targeted. 'We ought to be afraid of this stuff because it's not meat,' said Rep. Rick West, R-Heavener. 'It's cells that have been modified to grow forever and ever and ever. It's closer to a science experiment than it is to a steak. The cells used to grow it act like cancer cells, and the legal ground it stands on is shaky at best.' He said nobody knows the long-term health effects of eating lab-grown meats. Consumers need to ask if these are safe to eat because it's not just about biology, but about what's legal, he said. West said the Federal Meat Inspection Act overseas meat products. Lab grown meat is 'a blob of cells cooked up in a tank.' He said federal law also bans food labels that mislead people. 'If you buy chicken expecting a drumstick and you get a pile of lab cells instead, have you been duped?' he said. 'My answer to that is yes, you have.' Forrest Bennett, D-Oklahoma City, said he's 'caught a lot of grief' for liking boneless chicken wings and suggesting that the people who developed the technology to remove the bones from the wing be honored. And even though critics argue that it's not 'real chicken,' it's still his prerogative to eat it, he said. If lawmakers are so certain lab-grown meat is bad, he looks forward to watching them reject a bread roll because it's also made of duplicating cells, Bennett said. 'I just wish my colleagues would call this what it is,' Bennett said. 'We want to pick winners and losers in this building, and in this case, the winner is the beef industry, and the loser is an innovative new science that's trying to create non-meat alternatives for people who need that for their diets.' The bill, which passed 72-18, now heads to the Senate for YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
