Latest news with #Sands
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Family-run business opens new ice cream parlour in town centre store
A NEW ice cream parlour is set to open in Penrith today [Saturday], just in time for the heatwave set to hit the county this weekend. The store, which has been popular family-run business in the town since 1977, has decided on an ice cream parlour as the latest edition to its in-store improvements. Lauren Siddle, who is a director at Sands in Penrith, has been working hard to bring new elements into the business in recent years, with the opening of a balloon service in store last year and an ear piercing and bracelet welding service earlier this year. Lauren's latest idea has been to open an ice cream parlour at the back of the store in an underutilised part of the shop. Speaking about the additions to the shop, she said: "Footfall was down, in general retail isn't great at the moment and the High Street is quiet, so I am bringing in services to the store. "I have tried to think of services we can offer that you can't buy online. "It's just been kind of a dead area, so I thought, 'you know what, why don't I trial and build an ice cream parlour at the back of the shop?' So we have put an ice cream parlour in there. "I was going to open it up next weekend, but we have decided to push it forward to this weekend, just because of the heat, its been a bit of mad rush to do it." The team have brough in a counter and will be serving 'luxury Lakes ice cream' from the kiosk. Lauren said: "It looks really lovely actually, it has transformed the back entrance of the shop and looks really inviting." When asked about the reaction from people in Penrith, she said: "It's been very positive actually, people are very excited and saying 'this is great'. "You can go into the Spar for instance and buy a Calypso, but there's not actually anywhere that has a proper freezer where you can go and pick your flavours. It's a bit of a gap in the market. "I think that people appreciate we are really trying to bring every service into store."
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
'Forum of hate' founder unmasked as couple win libel case against gossip site
Neil and Donna Sands embarked on their two-year case against toxic gossip site Tattle Life, finally winning £300,000 and exposing the person behind the site as Sebastian Bond Online gossip site, Tattle Life, known for the vicious trolling of influencers and celebrities alike could finally be shut down. The site describes itself as a platform for 'commentary and critiques of people that choose to monetise their personal life as a business and release it into the public domain' Like many social media platforms, Tattle Life allows users to post discussion threads, but these often took a nasty turn, resulting in toxic and hurtful conversations which targeted a selection of celebrities and influencers, from TikTok star GK Barry to TV host Stacey Solomon. Despite its nature, the site accumulated 12 million readers per month. 'I thought someone was going to kill me and my unborn baby' Since the site opened in 2018, Tattle Life has had a notorious reputation for going a step too far. Victims of the site have reported that their partners and children were all 'fair game' to Tattle Life's trolling, which often targeted people's weight and disabilities. Tattle Life trolls even went as far as exposing the GDPR details such as the addresses of their family homes, reports MailOnline. A female creator feared for her life and her pregnancy after her home address was shared on the website. The anonymous mother told Cosmopolitan: "I had such paranoia that someone was going to break in and kill me, and my unborn baby, that I was signed off work for a week". A site 'making profit out of people's misery' Now, after years of celebrity complaints against the site, a couple has finally won their libel case against Tattle Life. Neil Sands, 43, and his wife Donna, 34, sued over posts made in February 2021. They claimed they were subject to a campaign of harassment, invasion of privacy, defamation and breach of data rights. The legal battle lasted two years and was undertaken at the cost of Mr and Mrs Sands. The plaintiffs were originally awarded £300,000 in damages against the then unknown operators of Tattle Life in late 2023. On June 13, the defendant companies and suspected operator of the site, Sebastian Bond, was revealed after reporting restrictions were lifted at Belfast's High Court. Ruling in their favour, Belfast's High Court judge said the website was 'solely aimed at making profit out of people's misery', according to The Guardian. The court case was funded by the Sands and included a list of freezing orders made that were worth more than £1 million as a global forensic investigation operated to identify both the defendants and their assets. The cessation figure the defendant has to pay was revealed to be a huge sum of £1,077,173 to have the frozen assets order lifted. Help us improve our content by completing the survey below. We'd love to hear from you! Who is Sebastian Bond? At Belfast's High Court in 2023, it was revealed that Sebastian Bond, a 41-year-old Brit, was the man behind the gossip forum. He also goes under the alias of Bastian Durwud. Bond was unveiled as a vegan influencer and the author behind the plant-based recipe Instagram account Nest and Glow, which has 135,000 followers. MailOnline reports that Tattle Life's six-month revenue is estimated at £276,770 in Google Ads, according to figures from 2021. 'The internet is not an anonymous place' Mr Sands has said that the case had been done for all those who had suffered severe professional and personal distress from the anonymous virtual attacks. Though the thread about Neil and Donna was successfully removed in May 2025, thousands of others persist online. The couple posted a statement on Instagram, writing: "'We are very grateful for your support, and hope that this serves as a reminder to those who want to attack others from behind a screen - that the internet is not an anonymous place. We will share more soon, but for today, we hope that this news will provide some peace to those affected by online hate and harassment, and that the internet can be a safer space for us all. Onward". Tattle Life remains live and running, with the next case review scheduled for June 26 at Belfast's High Court.
Glasgow Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Glasgow Times
Glasgow dad running West Highland Way in memory of son
The 38-year-old dad originally from Yoker will run the West Highland Way nonstop in memory of his stillborn son Marco, who would have been 10 this year. He's competing in the West Highland Way Race, one of the world's longest-established ultra-marathons, first held in 1985. It'll see him battle rough terrain and rise over 14,000 feet as he attempts to run the long-distance trail between Milngavie (just north of Glasgow) and Fort William in the Scottish Highlands. Mark will set off at 1am this Saturday, June 21, alongside 300 other rave ultra runners. Mark says he'll crawl across the line if he has to (Image: Gordon Terris) READ MORE: 8 of the best decorated cabs at Glasgow Taxi Outing Fund day out to Troon Mark is running the race to raise money for The Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Charity (Sands), a cause close to his heart. He said: "Unfortunately, 10 years ago, we lost our first son Marco. "On his due date, so full term, and Sands are such a great charity. "I'm trying to spread awareness of what they do, which is the reason behind everything I've been doing. "Over the last 10 years, I've just passed the £25,000 mark raised for Sands and Marco's memory." His previous challenges include running three laps of a Tough Mudder course, so he's no stranger to pushing himself. Mark, who now lives in Kelvindale, last attempted the route solo in 2023, but had to stop at the 71-mile mark due to an injury. He explained: "In 2023, I attempted the West Highland Way solo. "I sprained my ankle 67 miles in and had to hobble 71 miles to get collected. "I'd raised some more money for charity, just over £10,000 I raised that time." "That put me at a really low point because obviously I'd failed in my challenge. "But everybody reminded me, 'Well, you've not failed because your ultimate goal was to spread awareness and raise money for a charity, which you did.' "When I get to Glen Coe and leave Glen Coe, that'll be me going into uncharted territory because that's 71 miles in. "That's the furthest I've ever been before on a single run. "I think then I'll start believing at that point that it's there, the finish line's there. "I'm just looking forward to seeing the family at the end. That's what it's going to be all about." READ MORE: 'Goodbye for now': Popular West End pub announces temporary closure Mark hopes to cross the finish line in a time of around 25 hours, with a cut off on the race of 35 hours, to which he told me with a determined stare, "If I need to crawl to the finishing line, I'll be making it to the finish line. His family has been heavily involved in his training. He's been running with his sons Tino, Vito, Enzo, and Remo, and has had support from his wife Lisa. Mark said: "It's a point to prove, my family's invested a lot of time into this. "A training week for me is maybe 10 to 15 hours worth of actual running time. "I want to prove to everybody that I can manage this and repay people's generosity." (Image: Gordon Terris) READ MORE: 'Glasgow deserves better': Heritage groups slam approval of O2 ABC site plans Mark's focus, in addition to raising money for the charity, is to spread awareness and encourage people to open up about the 'taboo' subject. He said: "I've spoken to a lot of people over the years, and you often run into this kind of thing in everyday conversations – someone says, 'Oh, how many kids have you got?' and I'll say, 'I've got five boys – one of them passed away.' It can become quite a conversation killer." "People don't know what to say to other people when it's happened to them. Even when it happened to us. When we lost Marco, nobody knew what to say... "The one thing I wanted to know was that people are there, talking about it and saying my son's name. "People who have lost a child need to know they've still had a child, they're still a mom, they're still a dad. And that's really one of the focuses of my story and my mission." READ MORE: Council speaks out over primary school's union flag letter Mark will have a support crew of family and friends, and his 'partner in crime', best friend Ryan, will join him for some miles later in the race as a boost. Mark's employer, Brikability, is matching donations up to £3,000, which will massively boost his fundraising efforts. Most of the funding to the charity will go towards supporting parents and counselling groups, as well as memory boxes for families who have lost their baby. You can read more about Mark's efforts and donate at
Extra.ie
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
Neil Sands speaks out after winning Tattle Life court case
The entrepreneur who took an infamous gossip site to court alongside his wife has detailed how they decided they 'had to do something' after discovering the magnitude of the hate-site. Neil and Donna Sands were awarded £300,000 (€350,000) in libel damages at the Belfast High Court on Friday following a historic legal battle to unveil the person behind Tattle Life. The site is marketed as a gossip site, with Mr Sands stating that 'it's actually a well-designed forum for hate, harassment, defamation and stalking.' Neil and Donna Sands were awarded £300,000 (€350,000) in libel damages at the Belfast High Court on Friday following a historic legal battle to unveil the person behind Tattle Life. Pic: Donna Sands/ Instagram The couple are business owners, with Donna operating popular clothing brand Syklie and Neil a tech businessman. After the lifting of reporting restrictions on Friday, it was revealed that UK national Sebastian Bond was the man behind the site alongside UK-registered company Yuzu Zest Limited and Kumquat Tree Limited, registered in Hong Kong. Sebastian Bond also goes by the alias Bastian Durwood, with the Daily Mail confirming he is a vegan influencer with 135,000 followers on his Instagram page, nestandglow. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Neil O. Sands (@neilsands_) More than 12 million users take to the site on a monthly basis. The site has thousands of threads on influencers and celebrities. Among those under fire were the Sands, who were subject to defamation and harassing commentary over a 45-page thread, which was since been taken down from the site. The couple were awarded £300,000 (€350,000) on Friday for libel damages after winning their defamation and harassment lawsuit. Among those under fire were the Sands, who were subject to defamation and harassing commentary over a 45-page thread, which was since been taken down from the site. Pic: Donna Sands/ Instagram Speaking on RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland on Monday, Mr Sands detailed how 'very defamatory' comments were being made about himself and his wife on the forum site. He explained how people who were spoken about on the hate page ranged from influencers and celebrities to business owners. 'We're just a normal couple,' he said, 'Thousands of people have reached out to us in the last 48 hours who have explained their stories, but for us, the online space was always quite a positive community.' Mr Sand's tech background helped him in uncovering Mr Bond alongside a legal team. The couple were then able to take him to court.
RTÉ News
5 days ago
- Business
- RTÉ News
Man who sued Tattle Life says case 'very complicated'
An Irish tech entrepreneur has said that a defamation and harassment case he and his wife took against gossip website Tattle Life was a very complicated and complex legal and technical undertaking. On Friday, Neil Sands and his wife Donna, who are based in Co Antrim, were awarded £300,000 in libel damages at the Belfast High Court as part of what has been described as a "landmark" legal battle to uncover the operator of Tattle Life. Mr and Ms Sands won their defamation and harassment lawsuit over abusive comments posted on the site. Tattle Life is an online forum, which attracts up to 12 million visitors a month, and has thousands of threads that allow people to comment on influencers, celebrities, and the general public. Following the lifting of reporting restrictions on Friday, the defendants were identified as UK national Sebastian Bond and Hong Kong-registered companies Yuzu Zest Ltd and Kumquat Tree Ltd. Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Sands said that the online space has "always been difficult to police" and given that he and his wife are business owners, their "online reputation is very important" to them. Mr Sands said that the website describes itself as a "gossip site" but he said: "The reality is it's actually a well-designed forum for hate, harassment, defamation and stalking." He explained that the comments escalated and innocent interactions he and his wife had with people were being recounted and published on the site and were "twisted" and "very defamatory". Mr Sands said this created momentum to act. "We discovered as we dug into it, it was just so many people. They're not all influencers, they're just business owners that are affected by the site. So, we had to do something," he said. He added that the laws around online regulation are "very opaque" and "difficult to navigate". "We're just a normal couple. They're very big personalities and organisations and the police in several jurisdictions have tried to take down the website Tattle Life or make the owner accountable. "And so it was quite a complex legal undertaking, but also a complex technical undertaking," Mr Sands said. He said because he has a technical background, he was able to work with the legal team to uncover who was behind the site and pursue them through the courts. Mr Sands said: "It's not an easy thing to speak about. And I can tell you that we're not alone in this phenomenon of online harassment.
