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Daily Record
9 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Kris Boyd on what happens after Rangers rows with Celtic hero Chris Sutton once Sky Sports cameras stop rolling
The pair have regularly sparred on air over the Glasgow giants - but things off screen appear to be very different Kris Boyd insists that Celtic hero Chris Sutton knows how to exploit his "vulnerability" when the pair clash on Sky Sports. But the Rangers fan favourite reckons he gives as good as he gets - with the duo remaining pals off screen despite the Glasgow divide separating their allegiances. Last season the sparring between the two ranged from 'dead rubber' derby claims to promises of cuddles in car parks as temperatures boiled over in the Sky Sports studio. But Boyd has revealed that the pair will often have a beer after the on-screen exchanges. And he insists the back and forth only proves that the duo are not "bluffers" as they appear alongside James McFadden and host Eilidh Barbour for Scottish Premiership clashes. He told the Sunday Post: "I believe there is a real good chemistry with everyone in the studio, up in the gantry and behind the scenes. Eilidh Barbour anchors it well. " Chris Sutton is excellent at his job and isn't afraid to give his opinion. James McFadden is diligent, respected and likeable. "Ian Crocker is one of the best in the business and has been leading Scottish football commentary for almost 30 years. Luke Shanley gets some great interviews. "We all work really hard to do our jobs to the best of our ability. We are not bluffers. Nobody would last if they tried to cut corners. "People might think it's easy but live television is far from a walk in the park. "When managers aren't doing their jobs well enough you need to call them out and criticise. I know many of the guys but I will not try to cover up for them. "That said, it's not easy to criticise. Some people just can't do it and I've seen pundits crumble when they are put on the spot and asked for an honest assessment of a player or manager. "You also need to be ready to take on your fellow pundit. If any vulnerability is sensed, then it will be quickly pounced upon. "I'll do it to Chris and he will do it to me. We have frank exchanges but we are always fine afterwards. "We'll have a beer or two together. We get on well.* You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers and Celtic pages, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season. here and our Celtic community here.
New York Post
6 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
In a fit of common sense, the Times echoes our anti-Mamdani ‘endorsement'
What a pleasant surprise! The New York Times' editorial board not only deigned to address city politics early Monday, it even echoed our advice in the Sunday Post: Democratic primary voters shouldn't give Zohran Mamdani even a fifth-place vote; leave him off your ballots entirely! More, the Times declared that 'a certain version of progressive city management has failed' — the version pushed by Mayor Bill de Blasio that 'was skeptical of if not hostile to law enforcement,' claimed 'schools needed more money and less evaluation' and 'blamed greedy landlords for high rents, instead of emphasizing the crucial role of housing supply.' Mamdani has embraced 'an agenda uniquely unsuited to the city's challenges' that 'reads like a turbocharged version of Mr. de Blasio's dismaying mayoralty.' Advertisement Worst, 'he shows little concern about the disorder of the past decade, even though its costs have fallen hardest on the city's working-class and poor residents.' We have no idea what's going on inside The Times Building, and won't be surprised if much of the editorial board quits over this fit of common sense — but we'll enjoy it while it lasts.
Sunday Post
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Sunday Post
Louise Gilmour: We need more leaders who are willing to utter the most offensive word in politics
Get a weekly round-up of stories from The Sunday Post: Thank you for signing up to our Sunday Post newsletter. Something went wrong - please try again later. Sign Up It may not be the most offensive word that springs to mind when considering our political leaders but, to them at least, U-turn is the worst. Kissing babies? No problem. Pot-shotting opponents? Sure thing. Admitting a cherished policy is not, after all, a work of political genius but a piece of junk? Dream on. Spinning 180 degrees not only highlights backfiring legislation, politicians fear, but exposes a weakness, a willingness to cave under criticism. Their concern is understandable but misplaced because our country needs more policy-makers willing to heed concern, acknowledge mistakes, reverse, and repair the damage. Like so many things still shaping our politics today, Margaret Thatcher did the damage when famously insisting: 'You turn if you want to. The lady's not for turning.' It was malarkey, of course – the lady turned when she had to – but it cemented the notion that U-turns are for faint-hearts and fearties. © PA Coincidentally, our union's annual congress last week was in Brighton, where Thatcher delivered her big line to the Tory conference in 1980. The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, fresh from her own U-turn on winter fuel payments for pensioners, was with us on Tuesday to announce a huge investment in nuclear power. The UK Government plans to spend £14 billion on a new plant at Sizewell C, in Suffolk, creating a baseload of safe, clean and secure energy and thousands of skilled, well-paid, unionised jobs. A huge investment with huge benefits, for energy, for jobs, for communities. For England. Here? The sound of silence. Or rather the sound of First Minister John Swinney harrumphing before insisting that new nuclear energy will never, ever get a green light from the SNP. No, Scottish ministers will continue to pursue renewables, continue promising a greener tomorrow, and will, according to research from Robert Gordon University, continue doing so while 200 jobs are lost in our oil and gas industries every week for the next five years. The UK and Scottish governments' failure to effectively support an offshore sector that is on the brink must change too, of course, and escalating speculation suggests the scale and speed of the looming jobs catastrophe, offshore and in supply chains, is pushing ministers to reconsider. Well, that and Nigel Farage promising that if they don't, he will. That rethink cannot happen soon enough but, meanwhile, the SNP's refusal to even consider nuclear energy's potential is an abdication of responsibility. It makes no sense if ministers want to achieve net-zero targets and it makes no sense if they want Scotland's economy to grow again. This, of course, is the same government that recently refused to support an industry-leading welding school on Clydeside because skills learned there will help build nuclear-powered submarines for the Royal Navy. © Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire Ministers explained, with straight faces, that while they understood the need for Britain's armed forces, they could not, in good conscience, arm them. They oppose nuclear weapons too, of course, while promising an independent Scotland will join Nato, a nuclear alliance. John Healey, the UK defence secretary, said the refusal to support young Rolls-Royce welders on the Clyde was not the decision of a serious government and compared it to student union politics. He was being unfair to the students. On defence spending and nuclear energy, the Scottish Government seems happy to burnish its principles while shunning the opportunity to reboot our industrial capability, defend our country, secure our energy and create thousands of good jobs for our children and our children's children. Politicians with principles are to be welcomed (and encouraged to breed) but as the economist John Maynard Keynes almost said, when the facts change, principles should change too. Well, the facts have changed, in Washington, in Moscow, on defence spending, and on nuclear power. It is time for the Scottish Government's ban on nuclear, its pearl-clutching queasiness over defence, and its apparent disdain for creating skilled, secure jobs to change too. You turn if you want to but, in Edinburgh, ministers must. Louise Gilmour is GMB Scotland secretary
Sunday Post
10-06-2025
- Sport
- Sunday Post
Travel: Portrush is Open for business as golf's big show returns
Get a weekly round-up of stories from The Sunday Post: Thank you for signing up to our Sunday Post newsletter. Something went wrong - please try again later. Sign Up The low sun casts a golden glow over the sand dunes, where pockets of perfectly manicured lawn appear like an oasis. This is Royal Portrush Golf Club on Northern Ireland's famous Causeway Coast, where the famous Open Championship is due to start in a few weeks' time. As the wind blows through the spiky Marram grass that edges the fairways, it makes a murmur that echoes like distant crowds cheering on former golfing glories. The place is a hive of activity, as work on massive grandstands, tents, marquees and parking enter their final stages ahead of the event on July 12-16. When the event was last held there in 2019, it became clear there was a lack of high-quality accommodation in the town, which is expected to welcome in excess of 250,000 people over the four days. To this end, Dunluce Lodge, a new multi-million-pound resort has been created, overlooking the fairways of the world-renowned Royal Portrush Golf Club, and is the only five-star resort on the Causeway Coast. The retreat, behind gated access, is exclusive to guests, and has 35 luxury suites. Opened at the start of April and finished to the highest standards, its decor simply oozes luxury. The suites feature everything you would expect from a lavish hotel: king-size beds, a vast living space, coffee machine, well-stocked mini-bar and an offshoot bathroom area with marble finishes throughout and underfloor heating. Although squarely aimed at the high-spending golfing community, particularly from the United States, Dunluce Lodge also offers a huge variety of things to do for accompanying family such as a putting green on-site, as well as a luxury spa. It is situated a little way outside Portrush, but within walking distance, although transport can be provided, and free transfers to nearby golf clubs is on offer. There is a lovely bar with a terrace which looks out to sea over the golf course, and an outside fire pit and outside kitchen area, so guests can relax and watch the sun setting over the Donegal coast. Needless to say, dining facilities are superb, and the menu features the best of local produce, with an emphasis on seafood caught nearby. Another multi-million-pound investment, which has just been completed, is the transformation of one of the town's principal hotels, the Adelphi. Now owned by the Marine and Lawn Group, which also owns famous golfing hotels such as Rusacks in St Andrews and the Marine hotels in Troon and North Berwick, it is another oasis of luxury. Closed for several months while the work was carried out, this town-centre hotel now has 34 unique rooms. Each bedroom boasts bespoke furniture, high-quality bedding and bedside power and USB sockets plus the usual desk, TV and minibar. The highest-quality furnishings indicate this is an establishment offering comfort and tranquility, and the food in the Red Sail dining room blends locally sourced ingredients with Italian favourites. Away from golf, the area offers a wide range of cultural and sporting activities ranging from basket weaving and glass making to surfing, paddleboarding, e-bike rides and even a portable sauna on the beach. The area is world-famous for the Giant's Causeway, a few miles away. Under the care of the National Trust since 1961, the unique mostly hexagonal basalt rocks are simply awe-inspiring. A recently built £18 million visitor centre offers an interactive exhibition, cafe and audio guides, but the causeway itself can be visited free of charge. It takes around 20 minutes, but there is a regular bus service which costs £1 each way, although National Trust members can ride for free. Along the coast is the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, again a 20-minute walk from the car park and only for those with a head for heights and not scared of a bit of swaying! Nearby is the world's oldest licensed whiskey distillery at Bushmills, which has been operating since 1608, and offers tours of the distilling process followed by a tasting of several of the whiskeys produced there. The area has a number of artisan small-scale food and drink producers, and one of the best ways to experience this is to take a two-hour sail along the River Bann from Coleraine on the beautifully restored MV Kingfisher, built at Harland and Wolff. With a full lunch, canapés and locally produced gin provided, there are plenty of opportunities for wildlife spotting on the sail. © Christopher Hill The seven-mile-long Benone beach attracts hundreds of people who can park on the sand. Among them is a towable sauna, with access to the sea to cool down. For those who are keen on aquatic pursuits, Ricky Martin and his team at Alive Adventures offer surfing, kayaking and paddleboarding, at locations along the Causeway Coast. Ricky also offers e-bike rides along the coast, with him leading on a cargo version containing the food and drink for a picnic along the way. Elsewhere, LIR in Portrush is run by Stevie McCarry (of Great British Menu TV fame) and his wife Rebekah. This seafood restaurant, on the banks of the Bann at Coleraine, is growing in popularity due to Stevie's innovative menus, which included shrimp lasagne and six different flavoured oysters. Likewise, Shanty offers a wide menu with an emphasis on seafood with lobster a speciality. P.S. The area is well known for its range of unusual arts products, with many based near the Giant's Causeway at the Boat House Gallery and Glass Workshop, run by Eleanor-Jane McCartney. Visitors are able to cut stained glass sourced from the windows of a former local church, and using the Tiffany glassmaking technique, create their own unique masterpiece. Likewise, a fascinating visit to Louise and Trevor McLean's studio on the outskirts of Portrush allows you to try out traditional basket weaving. Factfile Dunluce Lodge: Rooms start from £299 per room on a B&B basis ( Portrush Adelphi: Rooms start from £245 subject to seasonality & availability per room per night, including full Irish breakfast and VAT. Pet friendly. (
Sunday Post
10-06-2025
- Sunday Post
Smooth and spectacular train ride on Canada's Rocky Mountaineer
Get a weekly round-up of stories from The Sunday Post: Thank you for signing up to our Sunday Post newsletter. Something went wrong - please try again later. Sign Up A skirl of the pipes, a rush of excitement and then it's all aboard for the train ride of a lifetime. But this isn't the Flying Scotsman. It is Canada's world-leading Rocky Mountaineer. I'm about to embark on a 'Journey Through the Clouds' from cosmopolitan Vancouver to some of the most spectacular and remote places on the planet, reachable only by rail. Heaven beckons, but first there's a piper to be paid – with compliments, not cash; that's already covered. Mike Chisholm is a talented fourth-generation Nova Scotian whose 'people' arrived in Canada from the Scottish Highlands in the 19th Century. When he learns that The Sunday Post is on board, he pauses his pibroch to launch into Flower of Scotland. This adventure began – after a nine-hour flight from the UK – with a Sip and Shuck welcome (Champagne and oysters) at downtown Vancouver's stylish Fairmont Waterfront Hotel. Getting to grips with the art of opening the prized mollusc was surprisingly easy under the expert guidance of sous chef Barbara Gregoire. The hotel is my home for a couple of nights. I have a vast room with panoramic views of the bay. It was the first in the city to boast a green roof, its rooftop garden housing a honeybee apiary and inspiring not only the dishes elegantly conjured by its stylish ARC restaurant, but also its signature gin made with the rooftop honey. Glasgow's Angus Porter, the restaurant's assistant general manager, and award-winning bartender Frank Palter are a demon mixology duo whose gin-infused delights are highly recommended, especially when enjoyed in the high-rise garden after a lesson in all things bee from Julia Common, a master beekeeper who practised her art in Scotland's Borders. But if nature's bounty isn't Zen enough, Fairmont's wellness activities – like sound bathing – are. © Supplied This hedonist preferred the heated rooftop pool, floating aimlessly as the sun danced off mirrored skyscrapers and spotlit sea planes and sail boats on the picturesque bay below. Fairmont Waterfront is a stone's throw from the famed Gastown, Stanley Park Seawall, and iconic Canada Place, where I tried its Flyover experience, an all-immersive virtual flight over the Rocky Mountains, the perfect precursor to the train ride. As the Rocky Mountaineer team lined the tracks, waving off passengers with flags and smiles, we settled into sumptuous seats in its glass-domed upper level designed to afford the most arresting views. The Rocky Mountaineer has several times been given the prestigious award of the world's leading travel experience by train, and the world's leading luxury train. © Supplied Our package? Its top-notch, Goldleaf option, which not only includes the best seats but a steady flow of wine, cocktails and snacks, while on the lower level that gives access to a traditional open-air viewing platform, chefs prepare gourmet meals in the dining car. The first of two legs on this train head out along the mighty Fraser River, where gold glittering in its sand and gravel bars became a magnet for mid-1800s prospectors from Scotland, England, America, China and beyond. We pass Yale, in 1848 a gold rush boomtown, before hitting the fury that's Hell's Gate, the narrowest part of the river where 200 million gallons of water surge each minute through a 110ft gorge. And we marvel at Rainbow Canyon, where minerals in the rock reflect rainbow colours, the green and purple of oxidised copper and white iron appearing in orange and red. © Supplied As we go, senior manager Wendy Mitchell regales travellers with tales of onboard marriage proposals and friendships forged while bear spotting. Nearing Kamloops, for thousands of years a trading place for the Shuswap people, we discover a Loch Ness Monster equivalent, the Ogopogo, a legend to keep children from the freezing Kamloops Lake almost 500ft deep. With an overnight in the former fur trading town cuffed, it's back to the train for the 274-mile trip to Jasper, with the best yet to come. Back in the 1800s, a ball system was displayed trackside to indicate required speed; low ball indicating slow-to-stop and a high ball, full steam ahead. We're high-balling when one of our number spots a black bear trackside. En masse, we nose-press the windows for a clearer view. Low-balling, we approach the mesmerising Pyramid Falls that drain from Cheadle Lake to cascade 300ft trackside, so close the train travellers can feel their mist. This is the only place they can be seen up close. © Supplied This area boasts some of Canada's most magnificent mountains, the Premier range, named after the country's early prime ministers. And before we know it, there she is, Mount Robson, the highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies, visible for 10 miles along this stretch. Snow-topped and vertiginous, she's an awesome sight. Then as we close in on Jasper, a crystal clear stretch of water appears – Moose Lake, with Thunder Falls beyond – and we're dumbstruck by its beauty. Next week: part two P.S. Vancouver's bustling Granville Island and its public market are not to be missed, offering everything from the fruits of the sea and field to sweet treats and unique artisan crafts. I visited with the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel's director of food and beverage, Mike Pagnacco, and executive chef Harris Sakalis, who buy ingredients for their five-star culinary creations here. The Lobster Man had us wowed; he's been selling live shellfish since 1977, including geoducks, the world's largest burrowing clam with a lifespan of about 140 years. Meanwhile, Northern Bar's Michelle Avelana is on a mission to take The Nanaimo Bar – Canada's classic sweet treat – to the world. I'm a convert. Factfile A Rocky Mountaineer two-day rail-only package with an overnight stay in Kamloops starts at £1,606 per person for SilverLeaf, and £2,160pp for Goldleaf. Flights are not included. For details see or call 0800 088 5541
