Latest news with #examiner
The Guardian
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Think you know a lot about Dickens? Then who's this Herbert character?
It's unwise to drill too deeply into the exact questions that come up in a GCSE paper. You can't get a proper sense of proportion when: you most likely don't know the answer the examiners are looking for, or anything about the subject; your kid can't remember what they wrote anyway; and someone on TikTok has the mark scheme. But do they really? Or is it more TikTok nonsense? You'll either get sucked into the catastrophe-vortex, or you fall into the trap of minimising, looking over your metaphorical half-moon glasses and going, 'I'm sure it'll be fine, darling,' like an Edwardian dad. All parents and teachers know this, which is what made last week so very unusual. The English paper set by one of the main examining boards has a character question that encourages pupils to engage deeply with someone in the key text. It might not be the main character, but usually it will be one you've heard of. In Great Expectations, however, they chose Herbert. Maybe you're familiar with the story – there's a hero, there's a love interest, there's an eccentric benefactor, and there's a villain who only appears twice but is very colourful. None of these people are Herbert. There's a kindly father figure, a mother figure, a random bad guy, a merchant and a gold-digger, and, again, none of these are Herbert. Herbert is a nobody. He's the guy in the wedding photo whose name people can't remember by the 10th anniversary. He is – in the modern parlance – not A Thing. Shoehorning everything, or even anything you know about Great Expectations, through the character of Herbert is like trying to explain photosynthesis using a fingernail and some gravel. It's been the talk of the town. I walked into a Starbucks and overheard two people of about my age going: 'Who the hell is Herbert?' This is probably the most talked-about Herbert has ever been. So, a great day for him, but a disaster for everyone else. Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist
BreakingNews.ie
19-05-2025
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Court confirms examiner to Workman's Club as Dublin venue unable to pay debts
The High Court has confirmed the appointment of an examiner to Workman's Club Ltd, part of the former Press Up hospitality and entertainment group founded by Patrick McKillen jnr and Matthew Ryan. Ms Justice Eileen Roberts said on Monday she was satisfied to appoint Declan McDonald of PwC as examiner to the company. Advertisement The confirmation of Mr McDonald as examiner follows a petition for court protection brought on behalf of the company by Kelley Smith SC, instructed by Gavin Simons, partner in AMOSS solicitors, earlier this month. Mr McDonald was appointed as interim examiner to the company following that petition. The company runs the Workman's Club, a bar and live music venue on Dublin's Wellington Quay close to Temple Bar. Declan Murphy BL, for Mr McDonald and instructed by Matheson, told Ms Justice Roberts his client, after preparing an interim examiner report, was of the opinion the company had a reasonable prospect of survival as a going concern. The judge noted the emergence of some potential investors in the company. The court had previously heard the company has an excess of liabilities over assets and is unable to pay debts as they fall due. Advertisement The application to confirm Mr McDonald as examiner was not opposed by a number of creditors represented in court, including the Revenue Commissioners, financiers RELM Capital, and Lolapop Ltd, the landlord of the Wellington Quay property. The judge made orders joining the creditors as notice parties to the proceedings. Press Up was renamed the Eclective Group last February following its take over and running by Cheyne Capital. Press Up, at its height, operated 50 bars, restaurants and hotels with 1,600 employees. Advertisement Ireland Firm linked to Press Up group makes fresh bid to b... Read More In October 2021, the group was refinanced to the tune of €55.5 million by Cheyne Capital and deleveraging began with the selling off of the hotels in the group, the Dean and Clarence, the court petition stated. Full deleveraging did not take place and Cheyne took over management in July 2024 when it says it discovered depleted stock levels, substantial arrears to suppliers, deferred maintenance and limited reinvestment. It was decided that four of its operating entities would enter receivership so that the core business and a broader restructuring could take place along with an injection of new money from Cheyne which took 95 per cent of the group's shareholding in a debt for equity swap and installed its own management team. The company now operates 12 Dublin venues, including Peruke and Periwig on Dawson Street, Doolally on Richmond Street, and the Workman's Club on Wellington Quay. It has 55 full-time employees out of a total of 362.
Irish Times
19-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
High Court confirms appointment of examiner to Workman's Club Ltd
The High Court has confirmed the appointment of an examiner to Workman's Club Ltd, part of the former Press Up hospitality and entertainment group founded by Patrick McKillen jnr and Matthew Ryan. Ms Justice Eileen Roberts said on Monday she was satisfied to appoint Declan McDonald of PwC as examiner to the company. The confirmation of Mr McDonald as examiner follows a petition for court protection brought on behalf of the company by Kelley Smith SC, instructed by Gavin Simons, partner in AMOSS solicitors, earlier this month. Mr McDonald was appointed as interim examiner to the company following that petition. The company runs the Workman's Club, a bar and live music venue on Dublin's Wellington Quay close to Temple Bar. READ MORE Declan Murphy BL, for Mr McDonald and instructed by Matheson, told Ms Justice Roberts his client, after preparing an interim examiner report, was of the opinion the company had a reasonable prospect of survival as a going concern. The judge noted the emergence of some potential investors in the company. The court had previously heard the company has an excess of liabilities over assets and is unable to pay debts as they fall due. The application to confirm Mr McDonald as examiner was not opposed by a number of creditors represented in court, including the Revenue Commissioners, financiers RELM Capital, and Lolapop Ltd, the landlord of the Wellington Quay property. The judge made orders joining the creditors as notice parties to the proceedings. Press Up was renamed the Eclective Group last February following its take over and running by Cheyne Capital. Press Up, at its height, operated some 50 bars, restaurants and hotels with 1,600 employees. In October 2021, the group was refinanced to the tune of €55.5 million by Cheyne Capital and deleveraging began with the selling off of the hotels in the group, the Dean and Clarence, the court petition stated. Full deleveraging did not take place and Cheyne took over management in July 2024 when it says it discovered depleted stock levels, substantial arrears to suppliers, deferred maintenance and limited reinvestment. It was decided that four of its operating entities would enter receivership so that the core business and a broader restructuring could take place along with an injection of new money from Cheyne which took 95 per cent of the group's shareholding in a debt for equity swap and installed its own management team. The company now operates 12 Dublin venues, including Peruke and Periwig on Dawson Street, Doolally on Richmond Street, and the Workman's Club on Wellington Quay. It has 55 full time employees out of a total of 362.
The Independent
06-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Independent
New driving test changes come into force in DVSA plan to save lives
New changes to driving tests will come into force from Tuesday as the DVSA have launched a new trial to make tests more realistic. The DVSA are trialing a three month change to the driving test with three major updates across 20 driving test centres. These centres will include: Avonmouth, Bishopbriggs, Cambridge, Oxford and Portsmouth. They will be reducing the number of stops carried out on a driving test from two to one, in order to allow more of the test to be spent on higher speed roads, including rural roads where possible. The DVSA will also change the frequency of emergency stops from one in three driving tests to one in seven, an element of the test which has not been reviewed since before the fitting of Anti-lock Braking Systems (ABS) became mandatory on new cars in 2004. There will also be more flexibility to increase the time of independent driving on the sat nav from 20 minutes to the full duration of the test, as the use of the navigation technology becomes more popular. Up to four driving examiners at each of the test centres will take part, using new routes in rotation with current established ones that will include the changes being tested in the trial. A DVSA spokesperson said: 'DVSA is committed to improving road safety. We continually keep our driving tests under review to make sure they present a rigorous, realistic test of using Britain's roads safely. 'Today (6 May 2025) we are beginning a 3-month trial at 20 driving test centres to increase the amount of time test candidates spend on higher speed roads, including rural roads, where available, during a driving test. 'High speed roads, including rural roads, are some of the most dangerous for novice drivers. We need to ensure that the driving test continues to test the skills needed to drive safely and replicate conditions new drivers will face in the real world to keep improving road safety.' These changes come as 48 per cent of killed or seriously injured casualties among young car driver collisions occur on rural roads, compared to 42 per cent for other aged car driver collisions. On top of this, young male car drivers aged 17 to 24 are four times as likely to be killed or seriously injured compared with all car drivers 25 or over. The latest test changes come a month after the Department for Transport (DfT)made changes to the driving test rules after the DVSA saw record high waiting times to book exams. It is now only possible to make changes up to 10 working days before a booked test slot, compared with three working days previously. DfT officials hope this will incentivise learners to wait until they are ready to pass before they book a test, and encourage people to pull out of tests sooner, meaning there is more chance their spot can be taken by someone else. There is also a campaign to recruit and train 450 new driving examiners.
