Latest news with #Hamish
Irish Daily Mirror
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
Famous ex-footballer in bike smash during charity cycle in Ireland
Former Rangers ace Ally McCoist was involved in a four-person bike smash during a charity cycle. The collision took place on the second day of the MND challenge cycle in aid of My Name's Doddie Foundation. The group, which will arrive in Dublin after cycling from Belfast, will cover all four provinces of Ireland. In an Instagram video with Doddie Weir's son, Hamish, Ally said: "We're here in beautiful southern Ireland, after leaving Westport this morning at about half past eight. It was meant to be eight o'clock! "We're on our way to Galway, and we're about a quarter of the way through and so we've stopped for a coffee and a bit of carrot cake. "But the difference today, mate, it's been unbelievably windy. It's been a struggle today. Yesterday was great fun, no wind, but the boys have felt a little bit of pain from the wind today. We've had one missing in action, Duncan gave himself a sore one so hopefully he's okay." Hamish then let slip McCoist fell during the challenge. He said: "You've had a little bit of an accident, talk us through it." Ally replied: "Yes, I just came off myself actually. I was hoping to let that one go, Hamish, but thanks very much! I had three people in front of me who were down, I shan't name names, but I just went into the back of them, but hey, we're all fine. It was a comfy landing, I landed on one of the bigger boys." McCoist added: "We're here for your dad, we're here for MND and we're trying to raise as much money as humanly possible and we're having a bit of fun doing it as well. "We've been meeting some great people, the people of Ballymena looked after us, and Monaghan looked after us. The people here have been wonderful."
The National
a day ago
- Sport
- The National
Ally McCoist in four-man crash during 555-mile bike ride
The incident took place on the second day of the Doddie'5 Lions Challenge, an event aimed at raising funds for motor neurone disease (MND). The challenge is organised by the My Name'5 Doddie Foundation, which was established by the late Scottish rugby hero Doddie Weir, who passed away in 2022 after battling MND. READ MORE: Anas Sarwar urged to whip Scottish Labour MPs against welfare cuts By the time of his death, the foundation had raised £8 million for the cause. (Image: My Name'5 Doddie Foundation/PA Wire) The group are cycling from Belfast to Dublin, covering all four provinces of Ireland. Along the way, they will visit the origin clubs of the British and Irish Lions and present the match ball for the British and Irish Lions versus Argentina fixture at the Aviva Stadium. In an Instagram video alongside Doddie Weir's son, Hamish, McCoist shared his thoughts on the challenge so far: "We're here in beautiful southern Ireland, after leaving Westport this morning at about half past eight. It was meant to be eight o'clock! "We're on our way to Galway, and we're about a quarter of the way through and so we've stopped for a coffee and a bit of carrot cake. "But the difference today, mate, it's been unbelievably windy. "It's been a struggle today. "Yesterday was great fun, no wind, but the boys have felt a little bit of pain from the wind today. "We've had one missing in action, Duncan gave himself a sore one so hopefully he's okay." Hamish then reminded McCoist of his own tumble in the saddle, he said: "You've had a little bit of an accident, talk us through it." McCoist replied: "Yes, I just came off myself actually. I was hoping to let that one go, Hamish, but thanks very much! "I had three people in front of me who were down, I shan't name names, but I just went into the back of them, but hey, we're all fine. "It was a comfy landing, I landed on one of the bigger boys." McCoist added: "We're here for your dad, we're here for MND and we're trying to raise as much money as humanly possible and we're having a bit of fun doing it as well. "We've been meeting some great people, the people of Ballymena looked after us, and Monaghan looked after us. The people here have been wonderful." The pundit captioned the clip with a written update, writing: "Day two - we're now 217 miles in, 338 to go. "Conditions today were effectively brutal, horrendous headwind, and two men down. "If you can, please donate using the link in my bio, anything at all, we would be most grateful. "See you tomorrow, Limerick." READ MORE: Texas star Spiteri recalls early days in music as she collects honorary degree McCoist's efforts have been applauded by several famous faces and athletes. Cycling legend Sir Chris Hoy commented on the post: 'Keep it going!' Fellow cycling star Mark Cavendish added: 'Good lad!' Former boxing champion Tony Bellow wrote: 'Well done, champ.' Paisley actor, Craig McGinlay, known for playing King Arthur, chimed in saying: 'Great effort Ally.'
Glasgow Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Glasgow Times
Ally McCoist in four-man crash during 555-mile bike ride
The incident took place on the second day of the Doddie'5 Lions Challenge, an event aimed at raising funds for motor neurone disease (MND). The challenge is organised by the My Name'5 Doddie Foundation, which was established by the late Scottish rugby hero Doddie Weir, who passed away in 2022 after battling MND. By the time of his death, the foundation had raised £8 million for the cause. (Image: My Name'5 Doddie Foundation/PA Wire) READ MORE: Ally McCoist congratulates 'great talent' on Rangers signing The group are cycling from Belfast to Dublin, covering all four provinces of Ireland. Along the way, they will visit the origin clubs of the British and Irish Lions and present the match ball for the British and Irish Lions versus Argentina fixture at the Aviva Stadium. In an Instagram video alongside Doddie Weir's son, Hamish, Ally shared his thoughts on the challenge so far: "We're here in beautiful southern Ireland, after leaving Westport this morning at about half past eight. It was meant to be eight o'clock! "We're on our way to Galway, and we're about a quarter of the way through and so we've stopped for a coffee and a bit of carrot cake. "But the difference today, mate, it's been unbelievably windy. "It's been a struggle today. "Yesterday was great fun, no wind, but the boys have felt a little bit of pain from the wind today. "We've had one missing in action, Duncan gave himself a sore one so hopefully he's okay." Hamish then reminded McCoist of his own tumble in the saddle, he said: "You've had a little bit of an accident, talk us through it." Ally replied: "Yes, I just came off myself actually. I was hoping to let that one go, Hamish, but thanks very much! "I had three people in front of me who were down, I shan't name names, but I just went into the back of them, but hey, we're all fine. "It was a comfy landing, I landed on one of the bigger boys." McCoist added: "We're here for your dad, we're here for MND and we're trying to raise as much money as humanly possible and we're having a bit of fun doing it as well. "We've been meeting some great people, the people of Ballymena looked after us, and Monaghan looked after us. The people here have been wonderful." The pundit captioned the clip with a written update, writing: "Day two - we're now 217 miles in, 338 to go. "Conditions today were effectively brutal, horrendous headwind, and two men down. "If you can, please donate using the link in my bio, anything at all, we would be most grateful. "See you tomorrow, Limerick." READ MORE: Ally McCoist leaps to defence of Ange Postecoglou and blasts 'clown' claim Ally's efforts have been applauded by several famous faces and athletes. Cycling legend Sir Chris Hoy commented on the post: 'Keep it going!' Fellow cycling star Mark Cavendish added: 'Good lad!' Former boxing champion Tony Bellow wrote: 'Well done, champ.' Paisley actor, Craig McGinlay, known for playing King Arthur, chimed in saying: 'Great effort Ally.'
NZ Herald
5 days ago
- Lifestyle
- NZ Herald
Meet Hamish Sturgeon, the quail kid cracking the Coromandel egg market
'I have to feed them, water them, do all the food for them. 'So that's what I do.' The youngest of five siblings, Hamish has a three-tiered coop and a movable pen in his family's yard for his 29 birds. They are Japanese quails and come in several different earthy shades without the signature quirky head feathers of the Californian variety. 'If you're lucky enough, you could just hear the male crow. 'Hear that? It's quite cool.' Hamish exudes confidence with a wide smile and a firm handshake when he greets RNZ's Country Life at the gate to his Coromandel home overlooking the bay. His infectious enthusiasm and marketing skills no doubt win over a few shoppers. He sometimes takes the quails to the market to show them off and encourage people to buy the diminutive eggs, which he packages up in trays of a dozen. 'They have three times the protein of chicken eggs - delicious! 'They taste like chicken eggs, but a little bit more flavour - beautiful!' The packaged eggs ready for market. Photo / RNZ, Sally Round Hamish's 'store buddy', the much older Giovanni Vico, sells gluten-free bread alongside Hamish at the market, and they work in tandem to sell the bread and the eggs. 'Last week, we just scrambled some up and put them on the focaccia toast.' 'We are a mega team,' Giovanni said. 'It's fantastic, a young kid ... looking after animals, and at the same time making a little bit of money out of it. 'He's a little genius, my friend over there.' Hamish takes the eggs to market each Saturday, packaged up and displayed alongside his brightly illustrated sign. Photo / RNZ, Sally Round Hamish was introduced to keeping quails by his aunt nearly two years ago, and he has since soaked up the information needed on how to care for them, describing them as 'amazing creatures'. 'It just slowly came to me. I've got to learn about what I have. 'My auntie said ... they really like sand. 'So, I got some sand, and they really do like sand. They really do. 'They just go in the sand, and they just turn into little fluff balls, flicking sand everywhere.' The packaged eggs ready for market. Photo / RNZ, Sally Round He has learnt their laying rate coincides with the amount of sun they get. 'But then, slowly in the winter, they stop because there's not enough sunlight.' Only a couple of the birds have names, including 'Motherclucker' and 'Dobby'. Dobby nearly came to an unfortunate end with the family dog, but has since been nursed back to health by Hamish. Hamish takes Country Life on a tour of the little farm and puts a tray of sand in one of the cages as a dust bath. The quails enjoying a dust bath in their pen on the front lawn. Photo / RNZ, Sally Round Spotting a clutch of eggs, he quickly scoops them up. 'They just lay anywhere ... the females are bred to not care about their eggs or not be broody. Cool fact!' When the quails are laying, Hamish manages to take 10 to 11 dozen eggs to market each Saturday, packaged up and displayed alongside his brightly illustrated sign bearing the name 'Daily Quails Eggs est. 2024' and the tagline 'One small step for Hamish, one giant step for quails'. The eggs are delicious and protein-packed, Hamish says. Photo / RNZ, Sally Round He is saving the profits he makes after paying for the stall and other outgoings like feed. While Vico jokes about expanding into the hundreds of quails, Hamish is keen to keep the venture small and manageable, although he might add another three-tiered coop. 'Actually, having quails is quite fun. You've got to have responsibility to take care of them. And if you don't, they'll die. But if you do, you have a little bit of a reward.' Postscript: Hamish recently turned 13 and has been surprised to see the quails laying through the winter.
Daily Mirror
6 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Kemi Badenoch bills taxpayers for nearly £3,000 worth of electricity bills
The Tory leader claimed £1,800 worth of bills in February 2024, followed by another £1,000 a month later - both for her second home which is only just far enough away from London to claim expenses Kemi Badenoch claimed nearly £3,000 of taxpayers cash to pay the electricity bills at her second home - months after her government scrapped assistance for struggling households. The last government's Energy Bills Assistance scheme came to an end in June 2023. But the following February, Ms Badenoch billed taxpayers for more than £1,800 worth of electricity bills. And in March, she submitted a second claim for another £1,000. Government records suggest it's the first time Ms Badenoch has claimed for energy bills since moving into her Kent country pile, which she shares with her banker husband Hamish. The couple share a huge grade II listed farmhouse with six bedrooms - with rent paid for on expenses. Her banker husband subsidises the rent - as it is over the limit for the amount she can claim - but the Mirror revealed earlier this year that Mrs Badenoch has landed the taxpayer with the full council tax bill. The Mirror revealed earlier this year that Ms Badenoch claims the maximum level of Council Tax for her property - nearly £4,000 last year - despite it being just a stone's throw away from London. Ms Badenoch made the 23rd highest accommodation claim out of 664 MPs last year and yet her Essex constituency borders the 'London area' where MPs are not allowed to claim any second home expenses at all. The claims are within the rules but raises awkward questions for the outspoken right-winger, who says she wants a "smaller state" and champions lower Government spending. At the time the electricity bill claims were submitted, Ms Badenoch was business and trade secretary, earning almost £160,000 a year - more than four times the national average salary. Ms Badenoch's spokesman did not respond to a request for comment. Ms Badenoch came under fire this week after calling for measures to drive down energy bills to be scrapped. The Tory leader demanded an end to the windfall tax on oil and gas firms and for a ban on new licences in the North Sea to be lifted. She was accused of being "on the side of oil and gas giants rather than working Scots". The energy levy was brought in when Rishi Sunak was in power when profits exploded following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But in a speech to Scottish Tories Ms Badenoch claimed the windfall is "long gone" and claimed Labour is "killing this industry".
