Latest news with #Welshpool
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Moment killer driver overtakes bus and ploughs head-on into OAP's car: Man is jailed for smash that killed 87-year-old as she tried to make the short trip to buy her newspaper
This is the moment a driver overtook a bus and ploughed in to an elderly woman's car, killing her as he sped down the road. Matthew Parrott, 42, overtook a bus on a road with double white lines and collided with an oncoming Ford Fiesta car, killing 87-year-old Margaret Lee who was out to buy her morning paper. Parrot was jailed for three years on Thursday and his defence described him as 'genuinely remorseful'. The court heard that despite passing a sign warning of hidden dips and 'slow' being written on the road, the driver made the dangerous manoeuvre and overtook the bus which was driving at 42mph along a 50mph road. Parrott from Bewtown, mid Wales, admitted causing the death of Ms Lee by driving his Honda Civic dangerously on the A458 at Middletown, between Welshpool and Shrewsbury on November 27, 2023. The pensioner, who lived locally and was driving just a short distance from her home to buy a newspaper that morning, had 'catastrophic' injuries. Mr Parry said she died at the regional trauma unit at Stoke on Trent the same day. Dafydd Roberts, defending, said Parrott was 'struggling to come to terms with the fact his actions resulted in the death.' He added: 'This is someone genuinely remorseful.' There were no previous convictions and Parrott was successful in his career. Judge Timothy Petts imposed a six-and-a-half years ban with an extended test. He told Parrott: 'It's clear Margaret Lee had absolutely no chance to avoid what happened. There was no need to overtake and clearly an unsafe place to overtake.' The judge said Parrott had lost concentration for a few seconds and thought, wrongly, that he had time to pass the bus. 'Only a sentence of imprisonment will do,' Judge Petts added.
Leader Live
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Leader Live
Ryan Reynolds admits 'confusion' over Welshpool in Deadpool
After Welshpool made a cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine, Reynolds confessed in an interview on US television on May 13 that he wasn't aware of Welshpool the place before naming Welshpool the character. Reynolds appeared on an episode of the US talk show, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, to promote the latest series of the documentary following his and Rob McElhenney's ownership of the Welsh club. The pair discussed Welshpool as a scene in Deadpool & Wolverine depicts multiple alternate versions of Deadpool, including one with a Welsh dragon plastered across his chest. This version of the character was named Welshpool in the credits. During the interview, Reynolds admitted that he didn't know Welshpool was a real place before naming the character. Colbert asked: 'One of them has the red dragon of Wales on his chest, that's Welshpool?' Reynolds said: 'In Deadpool I fight a whole bunch of other Deadpool's, and I think one of them, Welshpool, which I found out is an actual town, by the way, called Welshpool, so there was some confusion. 'Welshpool is Paul Mullen, one of our star strikers, underneath that suit.' MORE NEWS: The character and town had been brought up in reference to a clip featured on the show from Welcome to Wrexham, in which Reynolds brought the suit worn by striker Paul Mullen to portray Welshpool on display in Wrexham's Racecourse Ground. The clip from Welcome to Wrexham features British comedian Humphrey Ker, who is credited with introducing McElhenney and Reynolds to football and Wrexham AFC and has since become executive director at the club, describing the process of putting the suit on display. Ker said: 'One of our owners, I can't remember which one it is, is Deadpool, the popular comic book character. 'In the most recent film a number of cameos were executed by Wrexham AFC players. Paul Mullen and Ollie Palmer were both in it. Ollie played Bar Patron #1 and Paul played Welshpool. 'His costume's a bit more recognisable, big Welsh flag emblazoned across the Deadpool suit. So Ryan arranged for it to be transferred into the football club.'
Daily Mail
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews Forever Home: This property show felt like it would drag on for ever
Not so long ago, two topics above all were taboo for the British. You never asked people about money, and you never mentioned sex. Anything else was fair game. These days, sex and money are all anyone ever wants to talk about, particularly on TV. But many other ordinary and innocent topics have somehow become off-limits. It is not done, for instance, to ask a young couple whether they intend having children. That isn't just impolite, it's weirdly illiberal, as if the very idea that a woman might want to be pregnant is rampant male chauvinism. Presenter Helen Skelton, meeting 29-year-old Jess and her partner Colin, 33, was immediately eager to know the budget for their house renovation, on Forever Home (BBC2). But throughout the three-year rebuilding project, she didn't once ask whether the pair intended having a family — nor why, since it was currently just the two of them, they wanted or needed a four-bedroom house. Of course, they could have told her to mind her own business. But that's a phrase you don't hear nearly enough these days either. The question of children was all the more pertinent because, bizarrely, both Colin and Jess had a historic family connection to the building, near Welshpool, close to the English border. Formerly a pair of semi-detached cottages, it had been home at different times to her grandfather, and also to his grandparents. That's quite a coincidence. It's easy to see why the couple, who were living in London when they first met, felt an affinity to the place. But we don't watch shows like this to be left guessing about buyers' motives. The presenter's job is to ask questions even if they seem intrusive, which is why Kirstie Allsopp has been so successful on Ch4's Location, Location, Location for 25 years — she has no inhibitions. Helen Skelton lacks the brass neck. Property shows, as other Ch4 formats such as George Clarke's Amazing Spaces (pictured) have proved, work best when they feature several projects. Rapid editing and plenty of soundbites hold our interest. This programme lacked all that She told us at the outset that major renovations were her passion, because she'd tackled a similar rebuild at her own home. But apart from a handful of snapshots, we saw and heard nothing else about that either. Once again, we were left guessing. It's also difficult to know what co-presenter Patrick Bradley was meant to be doing. The architect from Northern Ireland is a chirpy, garrulous character, but Helen informed us he was on hand 'to give creative design ideas at every stage of the build'. This didn't happen. Patrick suggested moving the garage doors from the front to the side of the property, but that was about it. From start to finish, what with knocking down walls, ripping out fireplaces and building a glass-walled extension, the work took three years. Before we were halfway through, it felt as though Forever Home was going to drag on — well, for ever. Property shows, as other Ch4 formats such as George Clarke's Amazing Spaces have proved, work best when they feature several projects. Rapid editing and plenty of soundbites hold our interest. This programme lacked all that.
BBC News
10-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Wrexham chase promotion - but where is Paul Mullin?
Arms outstretched, Paul Mullin stands looking out at a sea of Wrexham fans singing his name and celebrating is April 2024 and the popular Liverpudlian is the side's leading goal scorer and leading man of the documentary series that catapulted the club owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney into the homes of a worldwide was a familiar scene. Just 12 months earlier, the striker had stood in the same place, the same pose, for the same as the Stok Racecourse readies itself for a potential - and unprecedented - third successive promotion, Mullin is conspicuous by his is no longer a guaranteed starter having not played a league minute since January. In fact, he has not even made the bench for the past nine where as once the question around the club's dramatic Hollywood-rise was 'Why Wrexham?' it is now where is Paul Mullin – and what has happened? "He's inspired millions of people all over the world with what he does. The more games this man plays for this club, the bigger this club's going to continue to get."Rob McElhenney was not holding back as he interrupted an interview with Mullin, first to congratulate the Liverpudlian on his March 2024 hat-trick against Accrington Stanley, and then to share the praise with the inevitable may not be far wrong given the club's documentary-fuelled profile and resulting popularity in the Mullin has been top billing throughout its run. Since signing in 2021, his 110 goals make him the club's seventh highest scorer in its 160 years."He's a modern day club legend, for obvious reasons, and a figurehead and talisman of what we have done on the pitch," says Wrexham fan and co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast Tim Edwards."But it's not just the goals; it's the way he plays which makes it feel as though we are playing for the club through him. That working class, street footballer who plays for the love of the game and everything else is a bonus, a bit like Wayne Rooney."He gets the club and we get him – which only makes the current situation feel a little weird." Unusual has become the norm, though, for Wrexham – and for relationship with the club's celebrity owners saw him invited to play a cameo role in Reynolds' recent Deadpool and Wolverine blockbuster. The 'Welshpool' costume he wore is on display in a glass cabinet in one of the hospitality areas of the when he suffered a punctured lung against Manchester United on a tour of the States, he convalesced at the Los Angeles home of summer's recovery from back surgery has been more dosed in reality, though. Two major operations would take their toll on most.A delayed start after a second problematic pre-season – and then missed chances. There have been only nine starts as a result. All told, it is three goals this term – one for every 384 minutes played, three-times worse than his last two seasons in the English Football League (EFL).And for a proven finisher, his xG rate is also the poorest among Wrexham's strikers."He's right up there with the best I played with and the best I've watched in my 30 years with the club," says Waynne Phillips, a member of the famed Wrexham side that beat Arsenal in the 1992 FA Cup. "But his season never really got going – and then, ultimately, players were brought in who have done better."Namely former Burnley and Southampton frontman Jay Rodriguez and 16-goal striker Sam Smith, a frontman signed from Reading in the winter window in a deal thought to be close to £2m. Both have started every game since they another ex-Premier League forward in Steven Fletcher, a leading scorer as substitute (with a division-best goal every 118 minutes), and one-time Derby County attacker Jack Marriott also in reserve, there has been no room on the bench – or for sentiment."You're not going to spend big money on strikers in January and not start them," adds Phillips, now a weekly Wrexham watcher for BBC Wales, who does not put the omission down to any sudden change of style or set-up. "And you don't get a place – or even on the bench – because of what you've done in the past. Phil Parkinson is an experienced manager with the promotions to back it up; he's been ruthless with players in the past and he will do it again." None of that has stopped the fall from star billing to understudy has prompted social media whispers of a fall-out with Parkinson."Nonsense", external has been Mullin's only word on the matter as he replied to a suggestion on X that he had argued with the manager and had called the owners to at the club and close to the player himself maintain the same. There has been no issues with training, no bust-up beyond a feeling of disappointment at being left out, no storyline that only the cameras will reveal in the next series of the of using his close relationship with the owners as some sort of leverage, Mullin is said to have put that respect for them and the club ahead of his natural he is not Palmer – another hero of promotions past – has also been moved aside as Parkinson evolves his the opening game of the season, more than half of the starting XI had appeared in the National League. In last week's win over Burton Albion, there were just could have left in January, but told officials he still felt he had a part to play and was prepared to wait for his chance, be it through injuries or a late attempt to inject something one source put it, 'that's football – it's just with Wrexham, it's happening in a spotlight'."Because it's become a chronicled story for the world to see, the players become characters – and there's an emotional connection," adds Edwards."We still love them but, as time has gone on, we're less angry about it."If we had stuck with them and the goals were still not flowing we'd be wondering why Phil Parkinson didn't buy players in January."I guess it's a case of trusting the process." Parkinson, often the calm amid the cameras and organised chaos that has accompanied Wrexham's rise, has played it straight."The lads out of the team like Mulls and Ollie, who have both made significant contributions for us, they're right with the group training hard every day and waiting for the moment because you never know when that moment is going to come," he said last six wins in the past eight games, the supporter upset has eased and the Mullin questions have stopped coming in press a scene-stealing return is not being says it would be "fitting" for a player who has done more than most to bring the success to the storyline to prove he can cut it at this level have a late impact in the bid for the Wrexham get there, and then whether Mullin remains to play in the second-tier is another only 30, he has a – reportedly well-paid – contract until 2027 and has shown no agitation to leave."This season has ultimately not gone the way that any of us thought it was going to, or that any of us would have wanted to go for Paul, but I think that there's still a huge future for him at the club," director Humphrey Ker told the Fearless in Devotion podcast, adding that his prior performances in the FA Cup against the likes of Coventry City and Sheffield United gave the club belief he has Championship question will have to wait given there is still a promotion to win and a season-finale to script."Everyone wants Mullin in the squad, but right now him not being there is being justified," sums up Edwards. "To be brutal about it, Phil Parkinson is a legend, Paul Mullin is a legend – but only one picks the side."Additional reporting by Nizaar Kinsella
