Latest news with #Whitley
Gulf Today
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Gulf Today
Kym Whitley happily joins the Adam Sandler universe with ‘Happy Gilmore 2'
There's the vaunted Marvel Cinematic Universe. There's the Star Wars Universe. And then there's the Adam Sandler Universe. It doesn't involve as many capes or existential threats, but Sandler expects actors who join him to bring the funny and bring it hard. And 'Happy Gilmore 2,' the sequel to his beloved 1996 film, is a comical cornucopia of original cast members, cameos and big-name stars. It's now streaming on Netflix. Veteran actress and stand-up comic Kym Whitley ('Next Friday,' 'Along Came Polly') got to join in on the fun and visited Atlanta recently to promote the movie for Netflix. Whitley has been in the comedy world for more than 30 years. In this film, she plays Bessie, part of Happy's alcohol recovery group led by the sadistic Hal (Ben Stiller), who was a nutty orderly in the first movie. 'I sometimes found myself watching the scene instead of being in the scene,' Whitley said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution at the Waldorf Astoria in Buckhead. 'Ben is crazy. Adam is crazy. It's hard to keep a straight face. Sometimes I kept my head down and held it.' At the same time, she added, 'my goal was to make Adam laugh in a scene. But he's a tough one to break. He's able to stay in character.' The set itself was relaxed because Sandler ensured everyone felt included, she said. 'You could always go up to director (Kyle Newacheck) or Adam and say, 'I thought of something. What if we do this?'' Whitley said. 'They make it a fun job. You never feel restrictive as a creative.' 'Happy Gilmore 2' in a pre-streaming world would have landed in movie theaters, but Sandler has forged a strong partnership with Netflix for more than a decade, releasing about a dozen movies on the platform. In this case, Netflix gave him a generous budget to ensure the sequel was packed with visual oomph and ridiculous star power. Two key players, of course, are back from the first film: Julie Bowen as Happy's loving wife and Christopher McDonald as Happy's bitter rival Shooter McGavin. According to Netflix, 30 past and current pro golfers appear as themselves, led by John Daly, who is living with Happy and gets plenty of airtime. Others include Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson and Jack Nicklaus. 'Jack Nicklaus is still around?' Whitley asked. (He's 85 and gets a couple of lines.) Lavell Crawford, a friend of Whitley's, plays the son of Chubbs, Happy's original mentor (Chubbs was played by actor Carl Weathers, who died in 2024). NFL star Travis Kelce is a waiter. Rapper Bad Bunny becomes Happy's caddie. Others who have notable roles include Steve Buscemi, Haley Joel Osment, Eric André, Kevin Nealon, Post Malone, Eminem and Rob Schneider. Whitley has steadily found work going back to the 1990s. She has 138 acting gigs listed on her IMDb page, including appearances in 'Curb Your Enthusiasm,' 'The Neighborhood,' 'Fuller House' and 'Black Dynamite,' as well as Atlanta-based productions like BET's 'Let's Stay Together' and Bounce TV's 'Act Your Age.' Tribune News Service
The Advertiser
6 days ago
- The Advertiser
'Today it wouldn't have happened': how four country cops captured Rambo wannabe
For several days in early 1984, a heavily armed gunman who styled himself on John Rambo caused cross-border terror. Now, more than 40 years later, the four policemen who safely ended the manhunt while the offender aimed a gun at one of the officers have been recognised for their heroism. Andrew Joseph Medlock, 25, had amassed an arsenal of high-powered guns and ammunition after holding Kate Haynes and Roger Whitley captive in an isolated farmhouse near Woomargama, north of the NSW-Victoria border city of Albury-Wodonga. Dressed in army jungle greens and sporting a large hunting knife in a sheath behind his neck - just like Sylvester Stallone had in the movie First Blood, released 13 months earlier - the Army Reserve-trained 25-year-old was happy to show his captives his shooting proficiency by killing a bird in a tree. Ms Haynes and Mr Whitley had been tied by their hands and feet, forced to watch the Hitchcock horror movie The Birds, and threatened with a knife and guns. The terrified couple were held for five hours on the night of January 20, 1984 and believed they would be killed. Their ordeal only ended when they freed themselves before midnight and ran six kilometres to a nearby home, raising the alarm and sparking a major police operation that would span four days. Medlock fled Woomargama in Mr Whitley's Toyota four-wheel-drive with multiple firearms from the house, and an estimated 500 to 1000 rounds of ammunition. The hold-up of the couple was front page news in The Border Morning Mail, and residents in the region expressed fear while the armed man was on the run. Dog trapper Wayne Tindle stumbled upon Medlock in a remote part of the Nariel Valley, south of Corryong, four days after the pair were held captive, and had a gun pointed at him. Medlock had run out of fuel. Mr Tindle managed to escape with his life by telling Medlock he would get him fuel for the stolen Toyota LandCruiser, and managed to notify police. Police surrounded the area on January 24 and, fearing what would happen if the wanted man escaped with his arsenal, quickly hatched an arrest plan. Wodonga detective Pat Brear, dressed in the trapper's clothes to lull Medlock into a false sense of security, walked up to the 25-year-old on a remote track with two empty fuel cans. The detective had a gun pointed at him before three Albury officers swooped in and tackled the gunman. Mr Brear was unarmed with no ballistic protection and was just eight metres away from Medlock while he aimed at him. Five more cocked and loaded guns were next to the wanted man, ready to be used if he needed. While the three Albury officers - Peter Beacroft, Bert Bennett, and Dennis Monk - had bulletproof vests handed down from Sydney, they would have been useless against the high-powered guns Medlock had. Mr Bennett believes the wanted man had been set up for an ambush, given the location of his vehicle and having the six guns loaded and ready to fire. One of his rifles had bullets able to pierce armour and the four officers had fully expected shots to be fired by the wanted man during his arrest. Despite 41 years having passed since the high-stakes operation, the retired officers can recount details as if it happened yesterday. "There was a fair bit of fear by the population that lived up there that way about this unknown gunman, on the loose, in the hills around Corryong," Mr Beacroft recalled. He said it was a different world in 1984. "Negotiators didn't exist in those days, there was no communication," he said. "We were on our Pat Malone, just the four of us. "The command post was about an hour and a half away from where we were. "If something had gone down, there was no ambulance on standby. "Today, it would not have happened. "You'd have helicopters and 20 or 30 people surrounding the place." Despite the immense risk faced by the four officers, they knew they had to get their man before he could leave the area and cause "bloodshed". He had been highly erratic during his initial farmhouse hold-up, switching from quiet and passive to pointing guns and a knife in his victims' faces, telling them he knew how to kill. "Is he gonna put his hands up, or is he gonna come out firing?" Mr Beacroft said. "Because he had all his guns there ready to do that. "This took place after the first Rambo movie came out, and this bloke thought he was Rambo up in the mountains taking on the police. "He's dressed in military gear, got a mask around his face, got a knife hanging over his shoulder like Rambo, the whole box and dice." Following his capture, Medlock faced Albury court and admitted to charges, with the offending treated as a mental health case. The fallout from the incident still continues for Mr Brear, who said he quickly went downhill in the days after the arrest and lasted just four more years in the job. He has at times been hospitalised due to his symptoms of PTSD, having been shot at during his time in the Armed Robbery Squad in Melbourne before the 1984 incident. Being recognised, even 41 years later, feels like a "great panacea". "It cut short my career, but the recognition is so powerful," Mr Brear said. "It certainly helps me. "It's great to receive recognition from the NSW Police force." Mr Beacroft said the group had gone "a fair bit above" the award criteria. "I think it closes a door on something that perhaps should have been done a long time ago," he said. "It should have been done a long time ago. "There was a potential bloodshed scenario, which was stopped by the police who were up there. "At that stage, I'd been in the police for 20 years. "I'd never heard of anything like that happening before. "I was in the force for 20 years nearly afterwards, I never heard of anything similar to that afterwards." Detective Sergeant Troy Martin this week listened to two of the four officers tell their story and viewed photographs taken by The Border Morning Mail. "It's just amazing to hear these stories now," he said. "To see these photos, it shows how different it was back then. "It's an amazing story." The detective said it was "fantastic" the four men would be recognised. "It's well deserved," Detective Sergeant Martin said. Mr Beacroft, Mr Monk, and Mr Brear attended Thursday's awards ceremony, with Mr Bennett unable to make the event. For several days in early 1984, a heavily armed gunman who styled himself on John Rambo caused cross-border terror. Now, more than 40 years later, the four policemen who safely ended the manhunt while the offender aimed a gun at one of the officers have been recognised for their heroism. Andrew Joseph Medlock, 25, had amassed an arsenal of high-powered guns and ammunition after holding Kate Haynes and Roger Whitley captive in an isolated farmhouse near Woomargama, north of the NSW-Victoria border city of Albury-Wodonga. Dressed in army jungle greens and sporting a large hunting knife in a sheath behind his neck - just like Sylvester Stallone had in the movie First Blood, released 13 months earlier - the Army Reserve-trained 25-year-old was happy to show his captives his shooting proficiency by killing a bird in a tree. Ms Haynes and Mr Whitley had been tied by their hands and feet, forced to watch the Hitchcock horror movie The Birds, and threatened with a knife and guns. The terrified couple were held for five hours on the night of January 20, 1984 and believed they would be killed. Their ordeal only ended when they freed themselves before midnight and ran six kilometres to a nearby home, raising the alarm and sparking a major police operation that would span four days. Medlock fled Woomargama in Mr Whitley's Toyota four-wheel-drive with multiple firearms from the house, and an estimated 500 to 1000 rounds of ammunition. The hold-up of the couple was front page news in The Border Morning Mail, and residents in the region expressed fear while the armed man was on the run. Dog trapper Wayne Tindle stumbled upon Medlock in a remote part of the Nariel Valley, south of Corryong, four days after the pair were held captive, and had a gun pointed at him. Medlock had run out of fuel. Mr Tindle managed to escape with his life by telling Medlock he would get him fuel for the stolen Toyota LandCruiser, and managed to notify police. Police surrounded the area on January 24 and, fearing what would happen if the wanted man escaped with his arsenal, quickly hatched an arrest plan. Wodonga detective Pat Brear, dressed in the trapper's clothes to lull Medlock into a false sense of security, walked up to the 25-year-old on a remote track with two empty fuel cans. The detective had a gun pointed at him before three Albury officers swooped in and tackled the gunman. Mr Brear was unarmed with no ballistic protection and was just eight metres away from Medlock while he aimed at him. Five more cocked and loaded guns were next to the wanted man, ready to be used if he needed. While the three Albury officers - Peter Beacroft, Bert Bennett, and Dennis Monk - had bulletproof vests handed down from Sydney, they would have been useless against the high-powered guns Medlock had. Mr Bennett believes the wanted man had been set up for an ambush, given the location of his vehicle and having the six guns loaded and ready to fire. One of his rifles had bullets able to pierce armour and the four officers had fully expected shots to be fired by the wanted man during his arrest. Despite 41 years having passed since the high-stakes operation, the retired officers can recount details as if it happened yesterday. "There was a fair bit of fear by the population that lived up there that way about this unknown gunman, on the loose, in the hills around Corryong," Mr Beacroft recalled. He said it was a different world in 1984. "Negotiators didn't exist in those days, there was no communication," he said. "We were on our Pat Malone, just the four of us. "The command post was about an hour and a half away from where we were. "If something had gone down, there was no ambulance on standby. "Today, it would not have happened. "You'd have helicopters and 20 or 30 people surrounding the place." Despite the immense risk faced by the four officers, they knew they had to get their man before he could leave the area and cause "bloodshed". He had been highly erratic during his initial farmhouse hold-up, switching from quiet and passive to pointing guns and a knife in his victims' faces, telling them he knew how to kill. "Is he gonna put his hands up, or is he gonna come out firing?" Mr Beacroft said. "Because he had all his guns there ready to do that. "This took place after the first Rambo movie came out, and this bloke thought he was Rambo up in the mountains taking on the police. "He's dressed in military gear, got a mask around his face, got a knife hanging over his shoulder like Rambo, the whole box and dice." Following his capture, Medlock faced Albury court and admitted to charges, with the offending treated as a mental health case. The fallout from the incident still continues for Mr Brear, who said he quickly went downhill in the days after the arrest and lasted just four more years in the job. He has at times been hospitalised due to his symptoms of PTSD, having been shot at during his time in the Armed Robbery Squad in Melbourne before the 1984 incident. Being recognised, even 41 years later, feels like a "great panacea". "It cut short my career, but the recognition is so powerful," Mr Brear said. "It certainly helps me. "It's great to receive recognition from the NSW Police force." Mr Beacroft said the group had gone "a fair bit above" the award criteria. "I think it closes a door on something that perhaps should have been done a long time ago," he said. "It should have been done a long time ago. "There was a potential bloodshed scenario, which was stopped by the police who were up there. "At that stage, I'd been in the police for 20 years. "I'd never heard of anything like that happening before. "I was in the force for 20 years nearly afterwards, I never heard of anything similar to that afterwards." Detective Sergeant Troy Martin this week listened to two of the four officers tell their story and viewed photographs taken by The Border Morning Mail. "It's just amazing to hear these stories now," he said. "To see these photos, it shows how different it was back then. "It's an amazing story." The detective said it was "fantastic" the four men would be recognised. "It's well deserved," Detective Sergeant Martin said. Mr Beacroft, Mr Monk, and Mr Brear attended Thursday's awards ceremony, with Mr Bennett unable to make the event. For several days in early 1984, a heavily armed gunman who styled himself on John Rambo caused cross-border terror. Now, more than 40 years later, the four policemen who safely ended the manhunt while the offender aimed a gun at one of the officers have been recognised for their heroism. Andrew Joseph Medlock, 25, had amassed an arsenal of high-powered guns and ammunition after holding Kate Haynes and Roger Whitley captive in an isolated farmhouse near Woomargama, north of the NSW-Victoria border city of Albury-Wodonga. Dressed in army jungle greens and sporting a large hunting knife in a sheath behind his neck - just like Sylvester Stallone had in the movie First Blood, released 13 months earlier - the Army Reserve-trained 25-year-old was happy to show his captives his shooting proficiency by killing a bird in a tree. Ms Haynes and Mr Whitley had been tied by their hands and feet, forced to watch the Hitchcock horror movie The Birds, and threatened with a knife and guns. The terrified couple were held for five hours on the night of January 20, 1984 and believed they would be killed. Their ordeal only ended when they freed themselves before midnight and ran six kilometres to a nearby home, raising the alarm and sparking a major police operation that would span four days. Medlock fled Woomargama in Mr Whitley's Toyota four-wheel-drive with multiple firearms from the house, and an estimated 500 to 1000 rounds of ammunition. The hold-up of the couple was front page news in The Border Morning Mail, and residents in the region expressed fear while the armed man was on the run. Dog trapper Wayne Tindle stumbled upon Medlock in a remote part of the Nariel Valley, south of Corryong, four days after the pair were held captive, and had a gun pointed at him. Medlock had run out of fuel. Mr Tindle managed to escape with his life by telling Medlock he would get him fuel for the stolen Toyota LandCruiser, and managed to notify police. Police surrounded the area on January 24 and, fearing what would happen if the wanted man escaped with his arsenal, quickly hatched an arrest plan. Wodonga detective Pat Brear, dressed in the trapper's clothes to lull Medlock into a false sense of security, walked up to the 25-year-old on a remote track with two empty fuel cans. The detective had a gun pointed at him before three Albury officers swooped in and tackled the gunman. Mr Brear was unarmed with no ballistic protection and was just eight metres away from Medlock while he aimed at him. Five more cocked and loaded guns were next to the wanted man, ready to be used if he needed. While the three Albury officers - Peter Beacroft, Bert Bennett, and Dennis Monk - had bulletproof vests handed down from Sydney, they would have been useless against the high-powered guns Medlock had. Mr Bennett believes the wanted man had been set up for an ambush, given the location of his vehicle and having the six guns loaded and ready to fire. One of his rifles had bullets able to pierce armour and the four officers had fully expected shots to be fired by the wanted man during his arrest. Despite 41 years having passed since the high-stakes operation, the retired officers can recount details as if it happened yesterday. "There was a fair bit of fear by the population that lived up there that way about this unknown gunman, on the loose, in the hills around Corryong," Mr Beacroft recalled. He said it was a different world in 1984. "Negotiators didn't exist in those days, there was no communication," he said. "We were on our Pat Malone, just the four of us. "The command post was about an hour and a half away from where we were. "If something had gone down, there was no ambulance on standby. "Today, it would not have happened. "You'd have helicopters and 20 or 30 people surrounding the place." Despite the immense risk faced by the four officers, they knew they had to get their man before he could leave the area and cause "bloodshed". He had been highly erratic during his initial farmhouse hold-up, switching from quiet and passive to pointing guns and a knife in his victims' faces, telling them he knew how to kill. "Is he gonna put his hands up, or is he gonna come out firing?" Mr Beacroft said. "Because he had all his guns there ready to do that. "This took place after the first Rambo movie came out, and this bloke thought he was Rambo up in the mountains taking on the police. "He's dressed in military gear, got a mask around his face, got a knife hanging over his shoulder like Rambo, the whole box and dice." Following his capture, Medlock faced Albury court and admitted to charges, with the offending treated as a mental health case. The fallout from the incident still continues for Mr Brear, who said he quickly went downhill in the days after the arrest and lasted just four more years in the job. He has at times been hospitalised due to his symptoms of PTSD, having been shot at during his time in the Armed Robbery Squad in Melbourne before the 1984 incident. Being recognised, even 41 years later, feels like a "great panacea". "It cut short my career, but the recognition is so powerful," Mr Brear said. "It certainly helps me. "It's great to receive recognition from the NSW Police force." Mr Beacroft said the group had gone "a fair bit above" the award criteria. "I think it closes a door on something that perhaps should have been done a long time ago," he said. "It should have been done a long time ago. "There was a potential bloodshed scenario, which was stopped by the police who were up there. "At that stage, I'd been in the police for 20 years. "I'd never heard of anything like that happening before. "I was in the force for 20 years nearly afterwards, I never heard of anything similar to that afterwards." Detective Sergeant Troy Martin this week listened to two of the four officers tell their story and viewed photographs taken by The Border Morning Mail. "It's just amazing to hear these stories now," he said. "To see these photos, it shows how different it was back then. "It's an amazing story." The detective said it was "fantastic" the four men would be recognised. "It's well deserved," Detective Sergeant Martin said. Mr Beacroft, Mr Monk, and Mr Brear attended Thursday's awards ceremony, with Mr Bennett unable to make the event. For several days in early 1984, a heavily armed gunman who styled himself on John Rambo caused cross-border terror. Now, more than 40 years later, the four policemen who safely ended the manhunt while the offender aimed a gun at one of the officers have been recognised for their heroism. Andrew Joseph Medlock, 25, had amassed an arsenal of high-powered guns and ammunition after holding Kate Haynes and Roger Whitley captive in an isolated farmhouse near Woomargama, north of the NSW-Victoria border city of Albury-Wodonga. Dressed in army jungle greens and sporting a large hunting knife in a sheath behind his neck - just like Sylvester Stallone had in the movie First Blood, released 13 months earlier - the Army Reserve-trained 25-year-old was happy to show his captives his shooting proficiency by killing a bird in a tree. Ms Haynes and Mr Whitley had been tied by their hands and feet, forced to watch the Hitchcock horror movie The Birds, and threatened with a knife and guns. The terrified couple were held for five hours on the night of January 20, 1984 and believed they would be killed. Their ordeal only ended when they freed themselves before midnight and ran six kilometres to a nearby home, raising the alarm and sparking a major police operation that would span four days. Medlock fled Woomargama in Mr Whitley's Toyota four-wheel-drive with multiple firearms from the house, and an estimated 500 to 1000 rounds of ammunition. The hold-up of the couple was front page news in The Border Morning Mail, and residents in the region expressed fear while the armed man was on the run. Dog trapper Wayne Tindle stumbled upon Medlock in a remote part of the Nariel Valley, south of Corryong, four days after the pair were held captive, and had a gun pointed at him. Medlock had run out of fuel. Mr Tindle managed to escape with his life by telling Medlock he would get him fuel for the stolen Toyota LandCruiser, and managed to notify police. Police surrounded the area on January 24 and, fearing what would happen if the wanted man escaped with his arsenal, quickly hatched an arrest plan. Wodonga detective Pat Brear, dressed in the trapper's clothes to lull Medlock into a false sense of security, walked up to the 25-year-old on a remote track with two empty fuel cans. The detective had a gun pointed at him before three Albury officers swooped in and tackled the gunman. Mr Brear was unarmed with no ballistic protection and was just eight metres away from Medlock while he aimed at him. Five more cocked and loaded guns were next to the wanted man, ready to be used if he needed. While the three Albury officers - Peter Beacroft, Bert Bennett, and Dennis Monk - had bulletproof vests handed down from Sydney, they would have been useless against the high-powered guns Medlock had. Mr Bennett believes the wanted man had been set up for an ambush, given the location of his vehicle and having the six guns loaded and ready to fire. One of his rifles had bullets able to pierce armour and the four officers had fully expected shots to be fired by the wanted man during his arrest. Despite 41 years having passed since the high-stakes operation, the retired officers can recount details as if it happened yesterday. "There was a fair bit of fear by the population that lived up there that way about this unknown gunman, on the loose, in the hills around Corryong," Mr Beacroft recalled. He said it was a different world in 1984. "Negotiators didn't exist in those days, there was no communication," he said. "We were on our Pat Malone, just the four of us. "The command post was about an hour and a half away from where we were. "If something had gone down, there was no ambulance on standby. "Today, it would not have happened. "You'd have helicopters and 20 or 30 people surrounding the place." Despite the immense risk faced by the four officers, they knew they had to get their man before he could leave the area and cause "bloodshed". He had been highly erratic during his initial farmhouse hold-up, switching from quiet and passive to pointing guns and a knife in his victims' faces, telling them he knew how to kill. "Is he gonna put his hands up, or is he gonna come out firing?" Mr Beacroft said. "Because he had all his guns there ready to do that. "This took place after the first Rambo movie came out, and this bloke thought he was Rambo up in the mountains taking on the police. "He's dressed in military gear, got a mask around his face, got a knife hanging over his shoulder like Rambo, the whole box and dice." Following his capture, Medlock faced Albury court and admitted to charges, with the offending treated as a mental health case. The fallout from the incident still continues for Mr Brear, who said he quickly went downhill in the days after the arrest and lasted just four more years in the job. He has at times been hospitalised due to his symptoms of PTSD, having been shot at during his time in the Armed Robbery Squad in Melbourne before the 1984 incident. Being recognised, even 41 years later, feels like a "great panacea". "It cut short my career, but the recognition is so powerful," Mr Brear said. "It certainly helps me. "It's great to receive recognition from the NSW Police force." Mr Beacroft said the group had gone "a fair bit above" the award criteria. "I think it closes a door on something that perhaps should have been done a long time ago," he said. "It should have been done a long time ago. "There was a potential bloodshed scenario, which was stopped by the police who were up there. "At that stage, I'd been in the police for 20 years. "I'd never heard of anything like that happening before. "I was in the force for 20 years nearly afterwards, I never heard of anything similar to that afterwards." Detective Sergeant Troy Martin this week listened to two of the four officers tell their story and viewed photographs taken by The Border Morning Mail. "It's just amazing to hear these stories now," he said. "To see these photos, it shows how different it was back then. "It's an amazing story." The detective said it was "fantastic" the four men would be recognised. "It's well deserved," Detective Sergeant Martin said. Mr Beacroft, Mr Monk, and Mr Brear attended Thursday's awards ceremony, with Mr Bennett unable to make the event.
The National
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Lost traditional wheat varieties feature in film shot around Oban
Now, 14 years later, the wheat grown by his sustainable charity is featuring in a new film which has been shot around Oban with support from local craftspeople and businesses. Alongside being a stunning, genre-defying visual experience, Harvest involves Scotland The Bread, a sustainable food charity which grows some of the varieties of wheat traditionally grown here. Their expert input helped bring to life the striking wheat fields featured throughout the film, rooting the visuals in Scotland's agricultural past, adding depth to themes of harvest and renewal. Based on Jim Crace's Booker Prize short-listed novel of the same name, Harvest has just opened in cinemas in the UK and Ireland before being released exclusively on streaming service MUBI on August 8. The film was shot entirely within the Argyllshire countryside, including the picturesque glen of Inverlonan, and drew extensively on local talent, with members of the community joining the film's cast as villagers and supporting crew. It's hoped the film will also help bring Scotland The Bread to the public's attention. The Fife-based sustainable food charity is a collaborative project to establish a Scottish flour and bread supply that is healthy, locally controlled and sustainable – in other words, to promote and develop a 'People's Bread'. 'Our idea is simple – grow nutritious wheat and bake it properly close to home,' the charity's co-founder Andrew Whitley, below, told the Sunday National. 'Working together, we can change the entire system for the better – fair deals for local farmers growing nourishing food for people, fewer damaging food miles, more nutrition in every slice of bread and more jobs per loaf as we skill up community bakers to bring out the best in our local grains.' The charity was founded in 2016 by Whitley and Veronica Burke who worked with scientists in leading institutions to research heritage Scottish and Nordic wheats to find nutrient-rich varieties that do well in local conditions. In November 2017, the charity launched its first three fine wholemeal flours and began selling them online and from markets. For Whitley, the charity was a natural progression from his long career as a baker. He was the first breadmaker to supply genuine sourdough bread to supermarkets – even though he thought it wouldn't sell. However, it 'flew off the shelves' because many people had begun to suffer digestive complaints from mass-produced supermarket bread. Curious about what was causing this reaction, Whitley began to investigate further and was appalled at what was being used to make supermarket bread. 'It's pretty horrifying when you actually see it laid out page after page, all the additives, emulsifiers, fats, crumb-softening enzymes and so on,' he said. He concluded that it wasn't just the additives that were the problem but also the modern varieties of wheat that were being used, which were often less nutritious than the wheat grown in Scotland in the past. Not only that but he found Scottish farmers had been hit by cheap imports so had stopped growing wheat for bread and switched to growing wheat for booze or animal feed instead. 'In the 1990s, when I started getting interested in this, it became obvious that there were significant differences between traditional and modern varieties of wheat in terms of their mineral density and their goodness for eating as food,' said Whitley. 'I wanted to make bread that nourished people, not bread that just filled a supermarket slot. We're all struggling with diet and ill health because our food system has been completely hijacked by money interests. So that's why we started a campaign. 'That's what gets me up in the morning, the feeling that we've gone too far towards a new version of the kind of oppression that began with the emerging capitalist system where people were cleared off the land to work in factories and when the only bread that starvation wages could buy was adulterated with chalk and alum to make it look whiter.' Whitely said it wasn't just human health that was suffering by eating 'rubbish' as the system was also 'trashing' the environment. 'We have to sweat the land to grow vast weights of crops, much of which are wasted at the mill end and by the supermarket system,' he said. 'They travel massive distances and their production causes massive amounts of emissions. 'We have to fight against the system because it's killing us.' Whitley said this was why the charity is working on the concept of 'the People's Bread'. 'It's a bread for everybody that meets the needs of our times,' he said. 'We can do this if we just do it together and get the corporations off our backs. 'I would also add that we should challenge those public servants, for example, in the Scottish Government and Food Standards Scotland, who have responsibilities for health and nutrition. They seem reluctant to stand up to food industry interests. 'Take the so-called 'reformulation project' – removing a little bit of sugar from Irn-Bru, replacing it with artificial sweeteners and calling this a public health gain – you don't have to be a policy guru to realise that's nonsense. 'We could do so much better. So let's start with a really good loaf of bread, ideally made with wholemeal flour and fermented with sourdough, because that keeps everything good in it, rather than substituting the good harvest with rubbish,' said Whitley.
USA Today
18-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
2025 Arizona Cardinals training camp roster preview: OLB Benton Whitley
We will preview every player on the Cardinals roster leading up to training camp. This is about OLB Benton Whitley The Arizona Cardinals report to training camp on July 22 and begin the process of preparing for the regular season, forming the roster and determining starting jobs and roles on the team. Leading up to the start of camp, we will take a look at every player on the offseason roster, their background, their contract, their play in 2024, questions they face and their roster outlook. Next up is outside linebacker Benton Whitley. Benton Whitley background, 2024 season An undrafted free agent with the Rams in 2022 from Holy Cross, Whitley ended up with the Giants in 2023 and was then waived on Oct. 5, 2024. Three days later, he was signed to the Giants practice squad, but then was signed by the Cardinals on Dec. 24. With the Giants last season, he played two games and was inactive for two and was then inactive for the Cardinals' final two games of the season. In those two games with the Giants, he played two defensive snaps and 42 (93 percent) on special teams. Benton Whitley 2025 contract details, cap hit When he signed with the Cardinals in December, Whitley was also under contract for 2025 with a $1.1 million salary and the same salary-cap charge. There is no guaranteed money in the deal. 2025 questions, roster outlook Unless there are injuries, it's difficult to imagine Whitley making the 53-man roster in a loaded outside linebacker room. His best hope is competing for a spot on the practice squad. Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
NZ Herald
01-07-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Hawke's Bay women's rugby: MAC's grand final victory dedicated to sisters' late parents
Sisters Whitley and Patrice Mareikura embraced after the final whistle blew at Mitre 10 Sports Park in Hastings. The player-coaches had just led their team, MAC, to a 34-26 victory over Clive in the final of the Hawke's Bay women's premier rugby competition on Saturday. Their late parents, , had previously played for MAC and were staunch supporters of the Flaxmere-based club.
