With a thumping 54-14 victory over Bristol Bears, Gloucester-Hartpury reclaimed the top spot in the Premiership Women’s Rugby standings.
In the London derby at Trailfinders on Saturday, Saracens defeated the reigning champions 57-5 to move them to the top of the standings.
However, Gloucester-Hartpury is now five points clear at the top thanks to a bonus-point win on Sunday, which included eight tries from eight different scorers.
Champions march on Bristol
After scoring 35 unanswered points in the opening period of Sunday’s only PWR game, Gloucester-Hartpury were out of sight by half-time.
Before the break, Mia Venner, El Perry, Tatyana Heard, and Sarah Beckett started the scoring drive, which Sam Monaghan did in the fourth minute.
Bristol advanced to the play-off semi-finals of last year, where they lost to Gloucester-Hartpury, but their most recent run of form has been disastrous, leaving them second-bottom after four games.
With only 42 minutes left in the second half, Bethan Lewis headed over for the reigning champions.
With a derby win, Saracens maintain pressure.
Images courtesy of Getty
Eight different players scored nine tries for Saracens on Saturday, including World Cup winner May Campbell who crossed twice and her England team-mate Zoe Harrison who scored 12 extra points.
Trailfinders opened the scoring on their home turf with a dominant Saracens performance, but they only managed to get 22 more in the process.
Within three minutes, Francesca McGhie’s Trailfinders was off the mark, but Saracens quickly responded, scoring with a score from Sydney Gregson.
With continued attacking play, Saracens increased their lead after 26 points with tries from Campbell, Alysha Corrigan, Lotte Sharp, and Marlie Packer.
The hosts had no chance, as Poppy Cleall extended Saracens’ lead after the break by completing a driving maul to make it 36-5.
Before Saracens’ eighth try, former Trailfinders prop Liz Crake made her former side’s problems even more with her second try.
Leicester is still on a losing streak.
Images courtesy of Getty
Georgie Lingham scored the game’s opening goal in the fourth minute at Franklin’s Gardens, home of the Loughborough Lightning.
Loughborough full-back Lucia Scott made her Premiership debut with a quick start and a quick finish from club veteran Bo Westcombe-Evans.
Westcombe-Evans, who is making her 50th appearance for Loughborough, scored four times to equal the hosts’ eight-try total, was pleased with the outcome.
The Tigers, who had a fourth try ruled out for a knock-on before the break and scored three tries for the second time this season, showed signs of hope.
Jemima McCalman, a Tigers’ player, was on par with a quick move in the second half when debutant Scott, 21, made a try-saving tackle that cost her a bonus point.
After the game, Westcombe-Evans commented, “That was a lot of fun.” On my 50th cap, it meant a lot to me.
Exeter draw’s late penalty was missed by Sale.
A tense contest ended 26-26 at Sale Sharks’ Morson Stadium for the Exeter Chiefs, who had already drawn the first two games of the season.
The visitors finished the match with a close 14-12 lead after the teams each scored two tries in the opening period.
After the break, Sale, who were chasing their second win of the season, scored 12 points from tries from Morwenna Talling and Gwen Pyrs.
However, a yellow card prevented Exeter from returning, as Sale lock Charlotte Fray was sent off for a high tackle while Emily Robinson scored a converted try to bring the visitors back within touching distance.
The outcome was ultimately a game decision. With 10 minutes to go, World Cup champion Sale 26-21 up, Holly Aitchinson squandered a chance to extend their lead when she went for it by shoving in a penalty.
Pope Leo XIV has once more reaffirmed the Vatican’s call for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, calling it the “only solution” that can ensure justice for both sides.
Leo made the remarks as he flew from Turkiye to Lebanon on Sunday for his second and final international trip as pope.
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The pontiff was questioned by reporters on the plane about the conversation he had with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, when they first met in Ankara, and whether they had ever spoken about the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.
Leo confirmed that they had, claiming that Turkiye has an “important role to play” in putting an end to both conflicts.
He reiterated the Holy See’s long support for a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza. The only way to end the decades-old conflict is to establish a Palestinian state in East Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank, and Gaza, which has long been held internationally as the only option.
Israel may not agree with this solution at this time, but we believe it to be the only option available to them, according to Leo. We work with both sides to provide a mediating voice that can bring them closer to a solution that brings justice for all, adding that we are also friends with Israel.
While visiting Turkiye, the pope has stayed away from making any direct reference to Israel’s genocidal conflict there.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office did not respond right away. He has long argued that establishing a Palestinian state would reward Hamas, which would eventually create a larger Hamas-run state on Israel’s borders.
Netanyahu asserted earlier this month that neither Israeli opposition to a Palestinian state has “changed a single thing” and is not threatened by pressure from outside or inside. He claimed, “I don’t need anyone to give me affirmations, tweets, or lectures.”
A “glimmer of hope”
Later in the afternoon, the American pontiff arrived in Beirut and will meet with Lebanon’s president, Joseph Aoun, the only Christian head of state, in a speech addressed to authorities and diplomats at the presidential palace.
He is expected to meet Lebanese officials on the side of the road leading to the presidential palace. He’ll also attend a massive mass in Beirut’s center, according to Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem, who is there. He then travels to several cities nationwide.
Lebanon’s population is predominantly Muslim, with roughly half of them coming from the Shia and Sunni branches, while only 30% of its population is Christian.
Popes have increasingly sought to meet local Catholics, spread the faith, and conduct international diplomacy as a result of their efforts to travel abroad.
Pope Leo XIV arrives in Lebanon [Louisa Gouliamaki/Reuters]
For the sake of peace
Leading Druze cleric Sheikh Sami Abi al-Muna said Lebanon “needs the glimmer of hope represented by this visit” and that Lebanon’s diverse communities were appreciative of the papal visit.
Prior to Leo’s arrival, reinforcements from the Lebanese army and internal security forces were stationed at the airport.
His convoy will pass through southern suburbs of Beirut, a region where Hezbollah controls control and where the terrain was hampered by Israeli airstrikes last year. As the convoy passes, Imam al-Mahdi Scouts from Hezbollah will hold a welcome ceremony by the side of the road.
Leo’s schedule includes a prayer at the Beirut port site of the devastating explosion that killed 200 people and damaged $ billion worth of damage in 2020.
He will also visit a psychiatric hospital, one of the few mental health facilities in Lebanon, where residents and staff members are eagerly awaiting his arrival. He will also lead an outdoor mass on the Beirut waterfront.
Leo won’t travel to the south, where Israeli attacks are likely to take place. Israel continues to bomb southern Lebanon almost daily despite a US-brokered ceasefire in November 2024.
According to Beirut resident Farah Saadeh, the pope “is coming to bless us and for the sake of peace.” We must wait and see what will happen after he leaves, Saadeh said, “we hope nothing will occur after his departure.”
Since Cilla Black’s passing, TV icon and singer’s clothes have been preserved and a sizable sum has been raised for charity.
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Cilla Black wardrobe raises big money for children’s charity(Image: Shutterstock)
The clothes collection of the late TV and singing star Cilla Black raised £40,000 for charity – with some items set to go on museum display in the future. On Friday, TV legend Cilla’s wardrobe featuring 246 items went under the hammer with the proceeds going to the children’s charity Variety.
The turquoise ‘Faye’ maxi dress worn by Cilla during her memorable 1971 appearance on The Morecambe & Wise Show achieved £800, the highest winning bid on the day. The second highest earner of the day at £720 was Cilla’s Jean Varon, ivory coloured mini dress which she wore in 1968 on the 1st season of her BBC ‘Cilla’ tv variety series.
Cilla was best known for fronting shows on ITV such as Blind Date and Surprise Surprise, having previously been a singer in the Sixties and starred at venues like The Cavern in Liverpool alongside The Beatles.
Commenting after the sale, Cilla’s son Robert Willis told the Mirror: “I’ve just learned that 100% of the catalogue lots were sold. I’m so glad that all the items have found new homes, where I hope they’ll be cherished, appreciated, and given fresh life and meaning by those who won them at auction. I’m also very pleased that we raised £40,000 for Variety, the Children’s Charity — something I’m sure Mum would have been very happy about!”
According to The Mirror, the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&, A) is planning to make several of Cilla’s most well-known fashions available for public viewing in the future.
Robert responded, “It’s a fantastic compliment that the V&, A, such a prestigious institution, has chosen to take on part of the collection. It’s a great honor and I’m truly grateful. One day, I’m looking forward to seeing these pieces displayed at V&, A.
The auction included pieces by Alexander McQueen, Yves Saint Laurent, Jean Muir, Loewe, Issey Miyake, Jimmy Choo, and many others, making it a rare opportunity to own a piece of British fashion and entertainment history. Cilla, a TV aficionado and singer, passed away in 2015 and is renowned for hosting shows like Surprise Surprise and Blind Date despite earlier chart success.
Robert explained that Cilla’s wardrobe had a proud place in the attic at The Grove, the family home in Denham, and that Cilla’s outfits remained spotless. She hid all of her clothing on rails, carefully stored under plastic bags, and according to Robert, “she kept everything on rails.” They stayed there for a long time. The sale occurred ten years prior to Cilla’s passing in 2015.
Cilla’s fashion choices were expressive and joyful, just like her personality. The collection featured feathered and beaded showgirls who adorned her television sets in sleek, tailored jackets.
The sale was announced by Variety’s CEO, Laurence Guinness, who stated: “Millions of disabled and disadvantaged children are currently living off of the basic necessities.” The life-changing impact of the Cilla Black collection auctioneers’ glamour rivals that of the Cilla Black collection auction. A vulnerable child could have a future filled with opportunity, while winning could give them a vital wheelchair, a special bed, or the means to communicate.
Continue reading the article.
Cilla was a strong supporter of Variety, and this is a chance to carry out her generosity at a time when it is more urgent than ever.
* Variety supports disabled and disadvantaged children across the UK https://variety.org/
In response to months of military expansion in the Caribbean, President Trump declared on Saturday that Venezuelan airspace had been “closed” without providing any further information. This caused tensions between Washington and Caracas.
Venezuela has accused the US of a “colonialist threat” in Latin America, as millions of people in the country remain on edge. Prior to this, President Nicolas Maduro had warned that Washington was using false information to justify military intervention in Venezuela.
Venezuela has been conducting regular drills over the past few weeks and has announced a large-scale mobilisation in preparation for any possible attack.
Since launching a number of strikes on alleged drug boats in early September, the Trump administration has massive naval assets deployed in the Southern Caribbean. Washington has not provided any proof that the targeted boats were involved in drug trafficking. In those attacks, at least 83 people have died.
Ramping up pressure on Maduro last week, Washington designated what is known among Venezuelans as the Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns in English, as a “foreign terrorist organization”.
In a bid to combat drug trafficking, the Trump administration claims to be targeting Venezuela. However, political analysts and human rights observers warn Washington against laying the groundwork to unlawfully remove Maduro from power.
Will Trump then launch an offensive against Venezuela after it announces the end of its airspace? Can the US military action be legally justified? What is the cause of Trump’s hostile attitude toward Maduro?
Will the US go to war against Venezuela?
Trump has increased his rhetoric against Maduro, blaming Caracas for drug trafficking and the flow of Venezuelan immigrants, since taking office in January.
Within a few weeks into his second term, Trump nixed Venezuelan oil concessions granted by his predecessor, Joe Biden, imposed 25 percent tariffs on countries buying oil from Venezuela, and doubled the reward for the arrest of Maduro to $50m, designating him a “global terrorist leader”.
Trump’s administration deployed the world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R Ford, other warships, thousands of troops, and F-35 stealth jets to the Caribbean in recent weeks, as confirmation that he has authorized the CIA to conduct secret operations there.
Last Thursday, Trump said land strikes inside the country could come imminently.
Prior to the start of sanctions against Cartel de los Soles, Trump reportedly spoke with Maduro last week, according to reports from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
On November 25, Trump, on board Air Force One, was asked by reporters if he planned on speaking with Maduro. I might speak with him, I say. We’ll see. However, we’re talking about that with the various staffs. We might talk”, Trump told reporters.
When asked why he wanted to speak with a member of the “foreign terrorist organization,” he answered with a moral compass.
“If we can save lives, we can do things the easy way, that’s fine. And if we have to do it the hard way, that’s okay, too,” he said.
Can the US military action be legally justified?
The Trump administration’s military actions, in addition to international law, are in conflict with the US Constitution, according to critics. Rights observers and legal scholars have said the deadly boat strikes amount to “extrajudicial killing” and violation of human rights.
According to a report in The Washington Post, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had ordered the military to kill every passenger on board a ship suspected of having drugs.
Hegseth has rejected allegations, calling the report “fake news”. He claimed that the “fabricated and inflammatory” report was intended to “discredit our incredible warriors fighting the homeland.”
The defence secretary has said the strikes in the Caribbean are “lawful”.
Meanwhile, the US Congress set forth an investigation into the incident on Saturday. “At this point, I would call them extrajudicial killings”, Republican Senator Rand Paul told Fox News Sunday in October.
Expert on US constitutional law, Bruce Fein, backed Paul.
“Trump is acting extra-constitutionally and committing murder”, said Fein, who served as associate deputy attorney general under Republican President Ronald Reagan.
Fein argued that only Congress has the authority to impose offensive military use, not to mention that Trump’s executive orders in this regard do not have legal authority. “The victims are engaged in warfare against the United States, except in Trump’s fantasyland – a page from George Orwell’s 1984”.
The Trump administration claims that this isn’t a war between two countries that necessitates congressional declaration, but rather a counterterrorism operation against a non-state actor by designating the Cartel de los Soles, which Washington now refers to as the Venezuelan state.
Cartel de los Soles emerged in the 1990s when Venezuelan generals and senior officers were investigated for drug trafficking and related crimes. It is not a cartel in Venezuela, but rather a frequent reference to military personnel engaged in corruption and other illegal activities.
Maduro delivers a speech while holding the Venezuelan independence hero Simon Bolivar’s ‘ Sword of Peru ‘ during a military ceremony in Caracas on November 25, 2025]Federico Parra/AFP]
What has the president of Venezuela said?
Caracas has denounced Trump’s announcement that effectively closed the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela.
Trump’s statement, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, sought to “affect the sovereignty of]Venezuelan airspace, creating yet another extravagant, illegal, and unjustified aggression against the Venezuelan people.”
Meanwhile, Maduro, whose win in July’s election was not recognised by Washington, has called for peace, rejecting war, and advocated for harmony as he continues to appear frequently on state television broadcasts. No war, yes peace, forever, as Maduro put it in a mix of Spanish and English.
On November 15, Maduro invoked singer John Lennon’s peace anthem “Imagine” during a rally of supporters. As John Lennon once said, “Do everything for peace.” Imagine all the people”, he said.
Maduro later retorted the use of force or military threats and said, “Dialogue, call, yes. Peace, yes. No, not war. Never, never war”.
However, Maduro pledged to protect the nation from any “imperialist threat” last week as tensions continue to rise. He addressed a crowd at the Fuerte Tiuna military academy, in full martial dress, waving a sword that belonged to Simon Bolivar, Venezuela’s national hero.
[Photo by Alex Brandon/AP Photo] Trump leans in to a question as he speaks to reporters on Air Force One, November 25, 2025.
What’s driving Trump’s hostile policy against Maduro?
According to foreign policy analysts, Trump’s aggressive actions toward the Venezuelan government are rooted in Caracas’s oil holdings, which are the largest proven reserves in the world, and establish US dominance in the Western Hemisphere.
Salvador Santino Regilme, a political scientist who leads the international relations programme at Leiden University, said Washington wants Venezuela to align firmly with US strategic preferences instead of China, Russia, or Iran.
In the 1970s, Venezuela was viewed as a trustworthy US ally during the Cold War. But when the founder of the governing United Socialist Party and former president, Hugo Chavez, was elected in 1998, relations with Washington began to sour.
Following a failed coup attempt in 2002, Chavez resigned from his position as president of the United States and fired US military advisers. He also pushed out US oil majors ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips after nationalising the oil sector, further straining the ties. Another US oil tycoon, Chevron, is still based in Venezuela.
Chavez was critical of the US involvement in Latin America and cultivated ties with regional left-leaning countries such as Cuba and Bolivia under former socialist President Evo Morales. Additionally, he improved communication between Russia and China regarding the economy.
After Maduro took over from Chavez in 2013, relations worsened. Trump supported Maduro’s political rivals during his first term, recognizing Juan Guaido as the interim president in 2019.
The US’s so-called “war on drugs” here functions as a political technology that strips alleged traffickers and small-boat crews of their humanity, argued Regilme, “so that lethal force and regime change look like law enforcement rather than war”.
Regilme cited the Trump administration’s use of Maduro’s state as a “criminal syndicate” to “delegitimise not just the regime but the entire political-economic model that resists this kind of restructuring.”
Adolfo Franco, a lawyer and Republican strategist, told Al Jazeera that while Trump has not explicitly laid out the next steps, he clearly wants regime change in Venezuela.
Everything is on the table for President Trump, according to the statement. The desire here, from my experience in government, is forcing Maduro to exit, either peacefully, which I think might be a tall order”, Franco said.
Because of the large number of forces and signals we’ve been sending to the region, he continued, “The negotiation part is challenging.” “I can’t imagine it being business as usual with Maduro running the Venezuelan government. That is not a table,”
Two homeless people share a dose of fentanyl in an alley in Los Angeles, August 18, 2022. [Jae C. Hong/AP Photo] Use of fentanyl, a potent opioid, is on the rise in the US.
Is Venezuela the main source of drugs going to the US, as Trump claims?
The Trump administration has promoted the idea that Venezuela is connected to “narco-terrorist” networks. But the fentanyl crisis that claims the most American lives has hardly any connection to Caracas.
Mexico is consistently cited by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Department of State as the country’s top producer of synthetic opioids using precursors from China, in particular the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels.
Venezuela does not even serve as a significant transit corridor for the drug that overwhelmingly enters the US through legal ports of entry, along the southwest land border rather than via the Caribbean maritime routes currently being targeted by the US Navy.
Venezuela appears to be a transit hub for cocaine, but it is not the main producer or the main trafficker.
Colombia remains the world’s leading cultivator of the drug. The majority of the cocaine that travels through Venezuela is exported to Europe.
In March 2020, the US estimated between 200 and 250 tonnes of cocaine were trafficked through Venezuela each year, representing 13 percent of the estimated global production.
The Trump administration’s attacks on the Caribbean have also been met with resistance from the US allies in Europe.
At a Group of Seven foreign ministers ‘ meeting in Canada’s Niagara region, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the strikes “violate international law” and were concerning France’s territories in the wider region.
Marco Rubio, the US’s top diplomat, was present. Before departing, he told reporters that drugs are also shipped via Venezuela to Europe, so the US should be thanked for killing the alleged smugglers.
Rubio claimed that the European Union does not have the authority to define what international law is. “They certainly don’t get to determine how the United States defends its national security”.
Colombia, which has a 2, 219km (1, 378-mile) border with Venezuela, has vehemently opposed US actions. Bogota already hosts millions of Venezuelan refugees who have fled the country due to a debilitating economic and political crisis.
Gustavo Petro, the president of left-wing Colombia, effectively ended security cooperation with the US following the boat strikes. He refused to recognize Maduro’s re-election in January.
Petro has described Trump as a “barbarian” who “wants to frighten us” in interviews in the US media. He referred to the US military’s expansion in the Caribbean as “unquestionably an aggression against Latin America.”
Brazil’s President Lula da Silva has taken a more diplomatic but equally firm stance, telling reporters in Johannesburg, South Africa, “no president of another country should make assumptions about what Venezuela … will be like”.
In televised remarks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticized the US strikes as “unacceptable” and said, “This is how lawless countries generally act, as well as those who consider themselves above the law.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping, in a late November letter to Maduro, reaffirmed the two nations as “intimate friends, dear brothers, and good partners”, saying “China resolutely opposes the meddling of external forces in Venezuela’s internal affairs under any pretext”.
Trump dances onstage as the Village People prepare for a rally in Washington, DC, on January 19, 2025 [Brian Snyder/Reuters]
Are Venezuela’s actions dividing Trump’s MAGA base?
Trump won back to power this year, rising in his campaign pledge to avoid “forever wars,” which appeared to be deeply in line with his Make America Great Again (MAGA) goals.
Many in his camp are sceptical of extended military engagements abroad, viewing them as costly distractions from domestic priorities and a drain on US resources. When the US bombed Iran earlier this year amid tensions between Tehran and Israel, that fear was at the center of the discussion.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of the most vocal faces of MAGA, had a public falling-out with Trump over his administration’s focus on foreign conflicts at the expense of the pressing economic issues, including the cost-of-living crisis, facing Americans. She has since decided to leave the Congress.
However, some MAGA-aligned voices have backed pressuring Venezuela’s government by sanctions or low-scale operations amid public opinion against any military intervention in the country.
Rubio, who is also the country’s national security adviser, has pushed for a tough Venezuelan policy, which serves his supporters in Florida, where there are many Cuban and Venezuelan immigrants.
Confronting an “authoritarian socialist narco-regime” plays well domestically for Trump as well, said Regilme, the foreign policy expert, adding that it ties “together anticommunism, border security, and the promise to be tough on crime”.
A kinetic strike on Venezuela is both a real option and a bargaining tool, according to Regilme.
In the midst of Pauline Quirke’s heartbreaking dementia battle, Linda Rosbson and Pauline Quirke have forged a decades-long friendship.
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Linda and Pauline have been friends since they were 10(Image: BBC)
Everything you need to know about Pauline Quirke and Linda Robson’s special friendship
North London stars Linda and Pauline have known each other since childhood. They first met aged just 10 and became swiftly inseparable. Both dreamed of stardom, and it led them to joining Anna Scher Theatre School together in the 70s. During a 2016 appearance on Loose Women, Linda declared they’d known each other ‘practically from the womb’.
The pair became well-known in the 1980s with their popular sitcom Birds of a Feather, which was filmed alongside their good friend Lesley Joseph and received tens of millions of views. As their wives struggled with their husbands’ imprisonment for armed robbery, their lives intersected in Sharon Theodopolopodous and Tracey Stubbs’ lives.
Pauline and Linda have had their ups and downs over the years, with rumours of rifts and off-screen tension, coming to a head in 2019 over a Birds of a Feather Christmas special, which Pauline eventually did not take part in. One past colleague said,”Pauline and Linda had a really tempestuous relationship at times. There were rows in toilets and disagreements over contracts but things are now much better.”
The friends would frequently use their fame to go on fun adventures, including meeting famous people, because they always shared a love of mischief and fun. When late singer George Michael left the venue, they once waited in a bar until 4am in the morning.
Pauline’s husband revealed her devastating 2021 dementia diagnosis in January. In a subsequent Instagram post, Linda wrote: ‘For the past three years, I’ve been in close contact with her husband, Steve, and spent time with Pauline. It breaks my heart to see her endure such a terrible illness..” In a new interview with the Mirror, Linda shared an update on her friend, admitting ‘I love her so much’.
READ THE FULL STORY: Linda Robson shares update on Pauline Quirke amid heartbreaking dementia battle.
Reuben Owen and girlfriend Jess Ellwood’s love life on the farm never ends, even at Christmas, thanks to turkeys, tinsel, and tractors. Speaking to The Mirror they exclusively reveal they are yet to spend a day apart…
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Reuben says: “I dug myself out of the snow to get to Jess. And I’d do it again a thousand times.”(Image: Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror)
Even an avalanche would not keep Reuben Owen and his girlfriend Jess Ellwood apart – which is a good job, as TV’s favourite farming couple prepare for Christmas in deepest North Yorkshire.
Reuben proudly declares that they haven’t spoken a day apart since they met at a Young Farmers’ convention in 2024 and are now in love. Rebuen, who owns and runs his 2000-acre family farm in Swaledale, North Yorkshire, says, “It snows heavily where we are” and that they “have never spent a day apart.” From the plot, he runs a machinery company.
“We got snowed in last year. I’ve seen Jess every single day since we got together. And it was going to be the only day I hadn’t seen her. But I wasn’t going to let a little (or a lot) of snow stop me from getting to my love. It took me a long time to get the tractor started and even longer to dig myself out of the snow but I did it. I dug myself out of the snow to get to Jess. And I’d do it again a thousand times.”
READ MORE: Our Yorkshire Farm’s Reuben Owen and girlfriend supported as they celebrate wedding
Fans of Channel 5’s Reuben Owen: Life in the Dales will be impressed by his wildly romantic gesture, but he doesn’t care whether Jess, 21, spends a white Christmas with him, saying, “I’d rather it rained, so I could just drive over.”
The couple, who revealed their romance in November, have the support of both their loving families and viewers. Reuben, 22, rose to fame in his 22nd marriage to Amanda and Clive Owen, and his eight siblings, Raven, Miles, Edith, Violet, Sidney, Annas, Clementine, and Nancy. Now his own show is a massive hit, the Christmas special of which, airing on December 23, will show everyone’s favourite characters coming together to convert an old barn on Jess ‘ family farm, ready for a festive feast.
Lovebirds Reuben and Jess spend much of his time on the site at Brough Castle, living alongside Jess’ mum Sarah, dad Dave, nana Diane, 400 sheep, 80 milk cows, three horses, 200 cattle, two cats and three dogs.
“When it snows, it freezes all the water pipes for the animals. You must also blow torch everything, including the troughs. It takes a long time. So we are not dreaming of a white Christmas”, laughs Jess. Because the milking parlours were cooled to minus 10 last year, we had to put heaters in them.
There’s a lovely connection between the two families, dating back to long before the young couple met. “Jess’ grandad used to raise hundreds of turkeys for Christmas every year, and when I was a boy my dad would come to the farm to buy the biggest one for our Christmas dinner,” says Reuben.
This year, the couple decided to turn turkeys from chicks into a festive feast for their Christmas dinner and the show. Jess laughs, “We do regret the day we made that choice.”
“We’ve had a run around from those turkeys,” he said. We had to re-build their fences twice because they have escaped so many times. They’re not like sheep – they’re chaotic – it takes three people to round one bird up. Porna rounds her nightie and slippers back into their pen after spending some nights outside in the freezing cold. We are all enthralled by the CCTV. They’ve certainly made us work for our supper”.
The farm’s Christmas season is busy. Everyone works together to accomplish it. Christmas was always chaos at my house growing up – and it still is to be honest. Reuben says it was loud and exciting because there were eight of us kids present.
But never, even on Christmas Day, does farming stop. “All our jobs still had to get done before we could open our presents”, says Reuben. The animals are just as hungry as we are! You never get days off, according to Jess, who continues, “because it’s the most challenging part of farming.” It’s back breaking work sometimes. Being tired is always the hardest part. “Especially in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
“Christmas is truly a time we should realise just how much work goes into our dinner. The people behind the food, the preparation and hours people put in,” says Reuben. “All the animals, the veg has been planted months earlier, and a bad bit of weather comes and it all goes to pot. The amount of hours that go into getting it from the field to the table – I wish people knew.”
Reuben and Jess are the newest generation of farmers in the country, preserving traditional farming techniques and putting them to use in their communities. Our lives are quite different I would assume to the average 20 something, “says Reuben”. However, it’s common for us to find many young people who grew up on farms working in agriculture.
It’s a very different life, Jess continues, “compared to someone who doesn’t farm.” But there are more and more young people getting involved. The number of students at agricultural college was the highest ever year that I attended. also includes both girls and boys. So things are certainly changing for the better. It’s greatly needed, and being a part of the change is exciting.
“Being a girl in agriculture is great. I have many friends who work with their fathers, and there are a few of us nearby. When she first remembers farming with her father, Dave, “I remember the sheep and the cows. I was a part of it all from birth. Since I was a young child, I’ve always wanted to help my father. There’s a lovely sense of freedom to farming. Weather permitting, we’re out. Additionally, I can operate a tractor.
Reuben adds, proudly: “She’s great with a machine…” Now the couple are looking forward to their Christmas TV special. There are turkeys, tractors, and tinsel everywhere! Everyone worked hard, and it was a big team effort. Jess was stirring concrete, I was lugging stone flags around, all the familiar faces from the show lent a hand – from Sonny and Capper, too, and my brothers Miles and Sid, and my dad Clive – even the production team got involved to get it all done”, says Reuben.
The couple has big plans for the space now that it is finished. We’ve talked about using it as a wedding venue, but I’m not sure if Jess will get a ring under the tree this year. There might even be wedding bells.
They also anticipate that there will be additional income from the barn. Reuben explains that because farming is now so profitable, people have to work elsewhere. “Years and years ago farms like this would have been fine, they’d have made good money. However, now that food prices are rising, you must diversify to maintain a steady income.
Milk is “as affordable as water, if not more affordable.” This life can be quite stressful. Why is having a community close by so important. Everyone works together and contributes. I have my staff – who are my friends. Both of us have family farms. We assist each other’s families. It brings us all very close together. “
Reuben and Jess’ families will gather to celebrate this year. Our families will gather for Christmas. It’ll be a full house! Reuben asserts that farming is a good job because we live on farms. I’ll likely arrive at Jess’ family farm for lunch, meet her, and then drive home for a second Christmas dinner at my family farm. And at some point, the whole lot of us will get together for a damson gin, made by Jess ‘ nana. “
What can Jess anticipate finding under the Christmas tree in the absence of a diamond ring? For Christmas, I gave my mother some stone troughs last year to visit a house she’s doing up. I like to get functional gifts. I’ve got a chain from Jess’ father, Dave. Not a necklace, in any case. It’s a tow chain made in Sweden. I got Jess a cordless angle grinder. Nothing, after all, can express love like a cordless angle grinder.
Reuben Owen: Christmas in the Dales will be broadcast on Channel 5 starting at 8pm on December 16th.
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