Latest news with #DavidMitchell
The Guardian
a day ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Club World Cup didn't start the fire – it didn't light it but we'll try to fight it
Does it feel too much? Premier League bleeding into the playoffs into the Champions League into the international break … we're still bleeding … rip off your shirt and make a tourniquet! The European Under-21 and Under‑19 Championships into the Club World Cup, overlapping with the Women's Euros … oh look the Premier League fixtures for 2025-26 are out and the EFL ones come out next week … and there's David Prutton paying (excellent) homage to David Mitchell's pisstake of Sky Sports on Sky Sports: 'Catch all of the constantly happening football here it's all here and it's all football. Always. It's impossible to keep track of all the football.' You start to imagine Billy Joel rewriting We Didn't Start the Fire … an endless list of footballers and pundits, of owners and streaming services, of controversies and grimness amid the beauty and joy. Will it ever reach breaking point? To legacy fans (who liked football before the start of June) the Club World Cup may feel like the moment where you switched off, or just didn't switch on in the first place. If football began yesterday, you'd probably plan it with a tournament with club sides from all over the globe. But football didn't begin yesterday. Jonathan Wilson can tell you exactly when that was. And of course you don't have to watch this shoehorned land‑grab of a tournament, but sometimes it would be nice to not even have the option. The inflated prize money, where that wealth has come from and the impact huge sums of money going to individual clubs will have on leagues around the world are the start of the problems. Then there's the fear of the US's Immigration and Customs Enforcement service coming to deport a couple of players (or some of those coming to watch). The crowds are, to quote Gennaro Gattuso, 'sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe shit' – more than 400,000 empty seats so far (BBC), 1.5m tickets sold so far for the tournament (Fifa). The tournament overlapping with the Women's Euros is disgraceful. Careers may be shorter, and we should care about this issue – but how many of us will just support the next guy in the shirt? The reality will be the same whenever players with the potential to reach the peak of the game suffer injury or loss of form. Take Dele Alli or Ansu Fati: we just stop calling them elite and then let them drift from our minds. There will always be top players playing for top clubs. There will always be the best player and so on and so on. Unless players strike it will carry on down the same path. It is obviously easier for neutrals to ignore it. But if you happen to be, say, a Chelsea fan, then part of deal is that you follow your team in their games. Sure there's a hierarchy of importance – Premier League over Carabao Cup – but it doesn't feel like you can just keep this file closed. It might the most obvious thing ever written, but if your team is playing, your team is playing. To criticise the Club World Cup is to be accused of having a Euro- or Anglo-centric view of the game – and that might be fair. 'Try telling those Botafogo fans that this doesn't matter.' The scenes at full time after their win over PSG were wonderful. Who wouldn't want to see Lionel Messi score another great free-kick? Do you know what, I'm probably OK. Fifa, the guardian of the game, is plonking this in with little care for elite player welfare or the fans or the women's game. It is not alone. Uefa enlarged the Champions League; the prize money there already distorts smaller European leagues. The Premier League won't filter enough money down to the EFL. League Two clubs won't vote for more teams to come up from the National League. The Club World Cup is just the ultimate example. The notion of the football family is a nice one to cling to. But it only really exists when you can tweet that you care about something that has no material impact on your prospects. This tournament will grow as its history grows. There will always be people who want to watch football because, well, football is great. The danger as always is what comes next: franchise football teams, franchise footballers, a world league, the end of the pyramid. You can't blame people for just wanting to watch a game without thinking of the greater good, or bad. This is the football you are given, you can watch it if you like. Those of us lucky enough to work in the game should constantly recognise the privilege, and even when I'm complaining about the amount of football, I'm watching Cambridge United's shirt-reveal video over and over (not because I'm in it, but because Paul Wanless is at the chippy! Steve Fallon is in the Cambridge Blue!) and I'm checking the Spurs transfer gossip. The game has that hold over us, and it is a shame that there are too many people right at the top who want to exploit that. Surely a month off would be good for everyone? Just four or five weeks without VAR, instead the soothing voice of Marais Erasmus rocking and rolling it – that's hit him outside the line, surely? In the meantime … come on Billy … get out your piano … overwhelm us with just the sheer amount of all this stuff … Lionel Messi, Ben Mee, Gianni's shiny trophy key Player welfare, PSR, Tuesday's Stoke away Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion Mick McCarthy, regulator, sportswashing, Opta data Scrapping replays, Thomas Frank, we are the FSA (Instrumental break) VAR, Player X, Women's Euros, Sir Becks Botafogo, IShowSpeed, Joey Barton's Twitter feed Fit and proper owners' test, Harry Kane needs a rest City's charges, gambling sponsors, where's Ange's series three? We didn't start the fire …
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sexual assault and drink driving – cosy crime but not as we know it
A puzzle-setter turns sleuth in a quirky British crime series. Stop me if you think you've heard this one before. Murder Most Puzzling is trying to be Ludwig, which was a hit for the BBC last year. But it's a pale imitation. While that one was a five-star treat starring David Mitchell, this one is a two-star rip-off starring Phyllis Logan. The missteps start as soon as we are introduced to her character, Cora Felton. Cora is The Puzzle Lady, a crossword compiler whose job has made her so famous that she has her own range of biscuits and TV adverts. Let's not pause to ponder how unlikely that is. She is called in to investigate the case of a young woman found murdered in a churchyard, with a mysterious crossword clue in her pocket. Unfortunately, Cora can't make head nor tail of the clue when she first sees it because she's still sozzled from the night before. When we first meet her, she is passed out at the wheel of her car after a spot of drink-driving. Drink-driving? Really? We're supposed to find this quirkily amusing, but it strikes the wrong tone right away. It's a sign that the show doesn't quite know what it's supposed to be. This is cosy crime, yet having someone at a town hall meeting ask if the murder victim was sexually assaulted belongs in a grittier police drama. At least the mystery is wrapped up in a feature-length episode rather than being dragged out. The show is based on a book series by Parnell Hall and the failings of the TV series are odd because its writer, Dominique Moloney is a veteran of Father Brown and The Sister Boniface Mysteries. Some bits do conform to the cosy crime template: jaunty music, a picturesque setting in the fictional market town of Bakerbury (it's Lisburn in Northern Ireland), and the odd silly character, such as the blustering mayor in a cravat who runs the local police force. The programme's saving graces are the three lead performances. Logan, best known as Mrs Hughes in Downton Abbey, is a safe pair of hands and does her best with the material. Charlotte Hope is a bright spot as Cara's niece and right-hand-woman, Sherry. And Adam Best is, well, the best thing here as DCI Derek Hooper, who has never worked a murder case before and reluctantly turns to Cora for help. There is a twist halfway through relating to Cora's job, and if you didn't see it coming then I'm afraid your sleuthing skills are a little below par. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Daily Record
03-06-2025
- General
- Daily Record
New Ayr United goalkeeper David Mitchell on his 'unfinished business' at Somerset Park
The first new signing of the summer brings experience to the number one jersey and returns to Somerset Park some 15 years after he left as a youth. David Mitchell says he has unfinished business at Ayr United - after rejoining the club he left as a kid. As a teenager he watched on from the bench when Ryan Stevenson scored his famous promotion play-off winner at Airdrie in 2009. Now Mitchell is back where it all began some 15 years since he left Somerset Park to pursue first team football. Mitchell, 35, returns as an experienced pair of hands bidding to bring stability between the sticks for United. And he insists Ayr are getting a far better version of the player who departed in search of regular game time. He told the Ayrshire Post:"It's nice to be back where it all started. When I was a kid here and went on loan to Stranraer, it was the best thing I ever did in terms of my development. "When I returned I was wanting to play games but looking back, I was never ready for that. So I feel like it's a bit of unfinished business to come back now. It's a proud moment for me. "When the manager picked up the phone, it was a bit of a no brainer. You just have to look at the ambition the club is showing and the plans that they have in place." Mitchell, who joins on a two-year deal after leaving Championship rivals Partick Thistle, is adamant he has the experience to calm a position that was often turbulent for Ayr last season. He added: "It's not something I've overly thought about - I just focus on the job I have to do and everything else should take care of itself. "I know I'll have a role to play with the younger lads and the other goalies - and I'll learn from them as well. I'm experienced but you never stand still in this game and you never stop learning. "It helped that I played a lot of games early on in my career and have always been an organiser and very vocal. I've always liked that side of the game and if you do that side right then it makes the job far easier." Mitchell, who was part of United's Academy setup before joining Brian Reid's first team back in the day, added: "It's really nice to be back amongst familiar faces. "Davie White was the head of the Academy back then as well and was someone who was really good for me. You always remember those people who really believed in you in the game. "So this is a move which just feels good for me and it will be another exciting season in a highly competitive Championship. "But the ambition on show here is big - the club are not just happy to be where they are. It's now up to us on the pitch to make that happen."
Metro
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
New BBC drama smashes records despite viewers ‘switching off' after 5 minutesNew
BBC's new cosy crime drama Death Valley has smashed an impressive record already despite some less-than-enthusiastic reviews of the show. The six-episode Timothy Spall comedy-drama secured a whopping 2.9million viewers in its overnight ratings for the first episode. This not only made it the biggest audience for a new BBC Scripted Comedy title in five years but it even beat David Mitchell's fellow crime-solving sitcom Ludwig which landed 2.8million viewers for its premiere in September. The unexpected frontrunner, which came out last week, follows retired TV actor John Chapel (Spall) who has made a name for himself as a crime-solving sleuth the likes of Poirot and Sherlock. When one of his groupies DS Janie Mallowan (Gwyneth Keyworth) tracks him down she hopes he can help her crack some mysteries and climb the career ladder in one fell swoop. It's already been compared to everything from Gavin and Stacey (which has broken its own record or two) to Midsomer Murders as we witness the hijinks of this chaotic duo. But not everyone has had glowing thoughts about the show. 'Five mins & switching off – this is AWFUL soooooo baaad,' X user Philgals Swigott wrote. 'I really wanted to like Death Valley on BBC1, but it's beyond terrible,' SonnerSounds added. 'Sorry, but I could only watch a quarter of an hour of this before turning off and cancelling all future recordings,' CaroleBlain shared. Anne Sharman called it 'so dreadful on every level' and Robert Halpert said it was '45 minutes of life' they aren't getting back.# Of course, it has also managed to win over some viewers. 'I will watch Timothy Spall in anything, and Death Valley seems pretty good so far,' Roz Laws shared. 'Contrary to those who hate it I'm loving Death Valley so far,' Signoramac declared. 'Only ten minutes in but Death Valley is a breath of fresh air,' Danny Denay echoed. And if it's following the footsteps of Ludwig (also starring Anna Maxwell Martin), we can expect a season two renewal sooner rather than later. So there's likely more to come for this plucky young detective and our reclusive actor. Speaking about their dynamic to Radio Times, the Bafta-winning Harry Potter star said: 'They recognise each other instantly in their souls. They cut straight through any generational difference, any bizarre sexual difference or anything like that.' He described it more akin to an 'uncle and niece' aesthetic. More Trending It's been a standout run for BBC comedies over the past year. In December, the epic Gavin and Stacey finale drew in 19.3million viewersmaking it the 'most-watched scripted show across all broadcasters and streamers since current records began in 2002'. Not an easy feat. View More » All episodes of Death Valley are available to stream on BBC iPlayer now. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Harry Potter fans say new Hermione is 'perfect casting' after unearthed clip MORE: Doctor Who boss promises finale will address 'controversial' Time Lord change MORE: Yet another celebrity discovers they're related to a king 9 years after Danny Dyer
Cision Canada
21-05-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
Great Northern Energy Metals Acquires Option to Secure Uranium Claims in Colorado
VANCOUVER, BC, May 21, 2025 /CNW/ - Great Northern Energy Metals Inc. (" GNEM" or the " Company") (CSE: GNEM) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an assignment and assumption agreement (the " Assignment Agreement") to acquire all rights, title, and interests in an option agreement (the " Option Agreement") originally dated February 6, 2025, between UREnergy, LLC, a Colorado-based uranium company (" UREnergy"), and 16508731 Canada Inc., an Ontario-incorporated entity (the " Assignor"). Under the Assignment Agreement dated May 18, 2025, GNEM assumes the rights and obligations to earn a 100% interest in a package of mineral claims and leases (the " Property") located in San Miguel County, Colorado. The Property includes the Slickrock Lease and 60 contiguous unpatented mining claims, known for historical uranium occurrences. Transaction Summary: GNEM has assumed the Assignor's obligations under the Option Agreement to acquire the Property in exchange for: An aggregate of USD$1,450,000 in cash payments (collectively, the "Option Cash Payments") to UREnergy, following the below payment schedule: $250,000 on Nov 3 rd, 2025 $400,000 on May 18 th 2026; $400,000 May 18 th 2027; and $400,000 on May 18 th 2028; The issuance of fully-paid and non-assessable common shares in the capital of GNEM (the " Option Shares") to UREnergy in four tranches totaling CDN$1,830,000, following the below payment schedule: $750,000 worth of Option Shares on Nov 3 rd 2025; $360,000 worth of Option Shares on May 18 th 2026 $360,000 worth of Option Shares on May 18 th 2027; and $360,000 worth of Option Shares May 18 th 2028. The deemed price of the Option Shares will be based on the 15-day volume-weighted average trading price of GNEM's shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange (the " CSE") at the time of issuance. All issuances are subject to regulatory approval. UREnergy has provided customary representations and warranties, including good title and compliance with applicable environmental and permitting regulations. The Assignment is subject to any necessary approvals under applicable Canadian securities laws and the policies of the CSE. Strategic Importance The Property hosts prospective uranium targets in a historically productive uranium belt. The acquisition aligns with GNEM's strategy to secure high-potential uranium assets in geopolitically stable jurisdictions. "This transaction gives GNEM a significant foothold in a tier-one uranium jurisdiction," stated David Mitchell CEO of GNEM. "We believe the Slickrock district has untapped potential, and we are excited to advance exploration and development efforts in collaboration with UREnergy." About Great Northern Energy Metals Inc. GNEM is a Canadian-based exploration and development company focused on securing and developing critical energy metals, including uranium. The Company's mission is to support the global transition to clean energy through responsible resource development. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements", including but not limited to: the payments to be made under the Option Agreement, the development potential of the Property, approval of the CSE, and GNEM's strategic objectives. All statements in this new release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.
