Steve Birks, a head groundskeeper for Nottinghamshire, will retire in January after a 28-year career at Trent Bridge.
Some of the most memorable moments in recent English cricket history were provided by Birks, who previously spent 18 years at Derbyshire.
England’s men twice broke the world record for ground-based ODI scores, scoring 444 against Pakistan in 2016 and 481 against Australia two years later, breaking the record.
England’s Bazball revolution started at Trent Bridge when the Test team defeated New Zealand in 2022 in a 77-ball victory over the Test team at 299 in just 50 overs.
In addition to his two List A trophies and two T20 victories, he also won three County Championships while playing for the club.
Birks described the club’s website as “absolutely delightful” for the past 28 years.
“I had no idea how successful we would become as a team and how many trophies we would eventually win,” said Trent Bridge employee.
I want to thank everyone who has helped me through the years for making it such a pleasant experience.
Birks has won numerous awards at the ECB’s Grounds Manager of the Year, including the overall award in 2017.
At Trent Bridge, Nottinghamshire’s cricket director, Mick Newell, paid tribute to Birks’ contribution.
Steve’s dedication to this organization was unmatched, Newell said.
He consistently delivers engaging cricket for supporters on the kinds of surfaces that players enjoy using.
“On a personal note, I’ve really enjoyed working with Steve, who has worked incredibly hard to help us win trophies over a long period of time.
He’ll be “in many ways irreplaceable,” but he’ll leave behind a capable ground staff that will carry on his work.
Marks & Spencer has you covered if you’re looking for something a little different to go with a roast or even your Christmas dinner. However, if you don’t love it, you’ll probably detest it.
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Marks and Spencer has launched a new product that has customers amazed(Image: In Pictures via Getty Images)
Cauliflower cheese is an essential part of many people’s roast dinners and Sunday lunches. It’s even a fixture of the legendary Christmas dinner for lots of people.
But if you’re looking for something a bit different, Marks & Spencer has you covered – although if you don’t love it, you’ll probably hate it. The national chain has launched a new product in its Foodhalls – cauliflower cheese with Marmite.
Posting on Instagram, the company said: “New in the M&S Foodhall – ready for to LEVEL UP your cauliflower cheese this Autumn?! This month we’ve collabed with Marmite AGAIN and launched a DECADENT side dish – It’s Cauliflower Cheese and Marmite.
Our NEW Marmite Cauliflower Cheese is a MUST-have for Sunday roasting because it is prepared with tender cauliflower florets in a rich, cheesy Marmite sauce and served with delicious toasted Marmite breadcrumbs. Find it on @ocadouk NOW at your local M&, S Foodhall, and on @ocadouk.
Despite Marmite’s “love it or hate it” status, the post’s comments were largely positive, with one saying, “OMG! I’m unable to breathe.
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Another person responded, “I neeeeed this so much.”
Ooo you are such tempters, says the third sentence, “Cauliflower cheese and yumyum together.”
If you enjoy the taste of yeast extract, you’ll enjoy our It’s Cauliflower Cheese and Marmite, according to the product’s M&, S website’s description.
The veggie florets are finished with a crispy, savoury breadcrumb topping and a decadent extra-adult cheddar cheese sauce.
Continue reading the article.
Prices vary by store, but they typically range between £3.75 and £4.25. Check this out at your neighborhood M&, S Foodhall.
On his way to constructing what he claims will be a new 8, 400-square-foot (90, 000-square-foot) ballroom, President Donald Trump has completely destroyed the East Wing of the White House, shocking historic preservationists and drawing national ire.
Trump’s supporters point to another recent White House renovation, suggesting the current outcry is unjustifiably unfair, despite criticism of this projected $300 million project.
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An October 22 X post that shared a 25-second clip of a , CNN news story read, ” A CNN report from 2010: Renovation of the Obama administration cost $ 376 million.” Where did the Democratic outcry go then?
A CNN report from 2010:
Renovation of the Obama administration cost $ 376 million.
The Democrats’ outraged, where was it then? pic. twitter.com/MvLVDFcTru
Another X post that shared the same video clip reshared it with “BREAKING.” A 2010 CNN clip that shows Obama’s $376 million White House makeover, which taxpayers paid for, is being “explored.” While President Trump is paying for his $250 million ballroom,
A 2010 CNN clip that depicts Obama’s $376 million White House makeover was discovered by the public. While President Trump is paying for his own $ 250 million ballroom, pic. twitter.com/PSS2K8SJRJ
During the White House renovation, Obama served as president. However, there are significant differences between Trump’s and that project.
After a government report released during President George W. Bush’s second term discovered that the building needed upgrades to its electrical and water pipes, Congress approved funding for White House work in 2008, according to a CNN report from 2010 that was released. Since the changes, which hadn’t been updated since 1902 or 1934, improved the heating, cooling, and fire alarm systems.
In 2010, Bob Peck, the then US General Services Administration’s Public Buildings Service commissioner, claimed that the White House occasionally experienced power outages and leaky pipes.
The interior of the building was primarily affected by Obama’s underground renovations.
The White House’s interior was updated and redecorated separately in 2009 from the Obamas  without using taxpayer funds. The White House’s new furnishings were largely funded by Obama’s book royalties and donations, according to The New York Times in 2020. The White House tennis court was also modified by Obama to make it more suitable for basketball use.
The federal agency that oversees federal building construction and renovations has not approved Trump’s demolition of the East Wing and addition of a ballroom. The project’s goal is to increase the East Wing’s seating capacity from 200 to 999, according to Trump.
Trump has since stated that the project will be $300 million, which was originally estimated at $200 million, but has since stated that it will be funded by donations. According to The Washington Post , donors include businesses like Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft.
The American public has been completely in the dark about the President’s plans, according to Sara Bronin, a professor of law at George Washington University, is “unprecedented in all the wrong ways.”
The Society of Architectural Historians’ Heritage Conservation Committee chair, Priya Jain, objected to calling Trump’s project a renovation. She said, “This project involves the total destruction of a significant portion of the building.”
Trump’s renovations were covered by Obama’s era project, which destroyed a whole wing.
According to CNN, the Obama-era renovation began in 2010 with an estimated $ 376 million in renovation costs for the East and West Wings, according to a report from 2010.
Peck described the project as largely subterranean utility work. When questioned about the cost, Peck told CNN: “It doesn’t do a lot of good to have a building that’s the kind of the image of the free world standing up there and functioning poorly.”
The Obama renovation was the largest White House upgrade since Harry Truman took office, according to Bloomberg News  in 2010. In response to significant structural and historical problems that at one point led to the leg of his daughter’s piano breaking through the floor, Truman oversaw the White House’s historic gutting, , renovation and expansion from 1948 to 1952.
According to historians who study historic preservation, Trump’s project will be the White House’s first significant exterior change in 83 years.
In a statement released on October 16, the Society of Architectural Historians stated that “a significant change to a historic building of this import should follow a rigorous and deliberate design and review process.”
Trump has also added gold highlights to the Oval Office and paved over the Rose Garden lawn since taking office a second time. The Rose Garden project, overseen by the National Park Service, and the National Park Service.
Federal agency approval for presidents’ projects is different.
The National Capital Planning Commission, the federal body that regulates the construction and renovation of federal buildings, convened a meeting in September to discuss the commission’s jurisdiction over “construction and vertical build” only. If the federal government shutdown continues, the commission was scheduled to meet on November 6. However, it’s not certain whether that will occur.
The National Planning Commission Project Search had no access to the database’s records before January 2012, but PolitiFact found them after checking the database for approval records for the Obama renovations. We contacted the commission to ask if they would approve the renovations for 2010 but were unsuccessful because of their closure.
The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, which requires each federal agency to take into account public perceptions and concerns when making final project decisions, exempts The White House from its provisions in Section 106. Presidents have typically undertaken White House projects in the spirit of public transparency, according to Michael Spencer, an associate professor in the University of Mary Washington’s historic preservation department. For instance, the National Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts, both, the commissions, approved Trump’s first-term term-long tennis facility modifications.
Most important of all of these projects involved the demolition of well-known historic structures, according to Jain.
According to National Park Service guidelines, the East Colonnade and East Wing were constructed in 1902 and 1942, respectively, and should have been evaluated for historical significance before being destroyed, she said.
Celebrity presenter Ant McPartlin is evicting his stunning £6 million mansion from his lavish, lavish home in Wimbledon with his wife Anne-Marie and their two children.
After losing a planning application to remove six trees after neighbors objected, Ant McPartlin and his wife Anne-Marie are scheduled to leave their stunning £6 million home.
After divorcing from Lisa Armstrong, the 49-year-old host moved to this lavish home with his wife Anne-Marie Corbett in 2019.
Ant revealed in an Instagram video from April 2020 that he had moved “six miles” from his previous residence to the posh Wimbledon Village.
This area is frequently referred to as the “perfect British village,” but it is only accessible to those with significant wealth and celebrity status. It is also known for hosting the renowned Wimbledon Tennis Championships.
The pair began renovating the property and occasionally taking their fans on social media to get a sense of what it’s like to live together after settling in with Anne-Marie’s two children from her previous marriage.
A swimming pool with changing rooms in the style of Victorians and two single-storey extensions were among their improvements.
Despite the fact that the trees were protected by a Tree Preservation Order (TPO), it was revealed in February 2023 that they had been given permission to cut down four cypress trees, a Weymouth pine, and a yew.
Some neighbors, however, accused them of intending to evict healthy trees from their lush property. There was a letter of opposition, which stated that “none of the applicant’s wishes allow for the re-landscaping of a portion of their garden are the only grounds given for falling these significant trees.” No evidence that any of the trees are ill or dangerous exists. Remaining these trees should not be based on the applicant’s personal preferences, which would benefit both the environment and the community. “
The couple, who were expecting their first child at the time, submitted revised plans to extend their current garden spaces, which also served as a gym, games room, study, and studio, while maintaining all six trees. The pair, however, have chosen to relocate to a new, undisclosed property eighteen months later.
For the time being, planned nuclear tests will be “noncritical” and won’t have any nuclear explosions, according to United States Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
Three days after President Donald Trump announced he had instructed the Department of Defense to “immediately” restart testing of US nuclear weapons, this clarification was made on Sunday.
What exactly are “noncritical” nuclear tests?
On the Fox News program The Sunday Briefing, Wright said, “I believe the tests we’re currently talking about are system tests.”
“These are not nuclear explosions,” the statement read. Noncritical explosions are what we refer to as these.
Wright explained that the only things that will be tested for nuclear weapons until now will be whether or not they function properly and cause nuclear explosion. He claimed that these tests will be carried out to demonstrate that the new nuclear weapons are superior to the previous ones.
We can simulate incredibly accurately exactly what will happen in a nuclear explosion thanks to our expertise in science and computation,” Wright said. We now simulate the conditions that caused that, and what will happen as we change the bomb designs.
Numerous nonnuclear explosive techniques can be employed for the development, maintenance, and monitoring of nuclear weapons, according to the website of the Washington, DC-based nonpartisan organization Arms Control Association. These can also include “subcritical” experiments that use plutonium without causing nuclear chain reactions.
According to Georgia Cole, a research analyst at Chatham House’s International Security Programme, “noncritical” nuclear tests involve testing of nuclear weapon delivery systems or components but not the detonation of a nuclear warhead.
“Noncritical tests are typically conducted in laboratories or testing facilities, frequently using cutting-edge computer simulations to evaluate nuclear warhead safety and reliability without detonation. There are also “subcritical” tests, which are underground, frequently at former nuclear test sites.
Trump made an announcement regarding nuclear tests.
Trump stated in a statement on his Truth Social platform on Thursday that he had instructed the Department of War to begin testing our nuclear weapons on an equal basis because of other nations’ testing programs. In September, Trump signed an executive order changing the name to “Department of War.”
Trump continued in his post that China “will be at least nuclear weapons free of China within five years” despite the US having “more nuclear weapons than any other country”.
Trump cited China’s rapid expansion of its nuclear arsenal as a justification for his testing decision. A truce on tariffs and some Chinese export restrictions on rare earth metals was made shortly before Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, which set off the announcement.
Trump said on Sunday in a 60 Minutes interview on the CBS News program that “Russian and Chinese nuclear testing is not discussed.” We are a society that is open, you know. We are unique. We discuss it. We must discuss it.
Trump continued, “We’re going to test because others test and they test.” And North Korea has undoubtedly tested. Pakistan has been conducting testing.
Trump did not provide any proof that any of the nations he mentioned has recently conducted nuclear weapons tests in secret, and he did not provide any supporting evidence. He doesn’t know why China could, in just five years, surpass the US’s vast nuclear arsenal.
There isn’t any conclusive proof that Pakistan, China, or Russia are conducting irrational nuclear tests. North Korea, which has observed a self-declared moratorium since 2018, is the only nation to have conducted nuclear tests in the 21st century, according to Cole.
There is no evidence that any of the nuclear-armed states have resumed nuclear detonations, despite the fact that all nuclear-armed states regularly test their missile-powered weapons.
Which nations possess the most nuclear weapons?
The US, Russia, the UK, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel are the only nations that possess nuclear weapons.
Russia has the highest total warhead count, 4 309, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) yearbook report released in January.
The US, which has 3,700 warheads, follows Russia. China has 600. France has 290. The UK has 225. India has 180. Pakistan has 170. North Korea has 50 and Israel has 90.
According to a SIPRI report from June, China’s nuclear arsenal has grown by about 100 warheads annually since 2023, surpassing that of every other nation. By 2030, China is expected to have 1, 000 nuclear weapons, according to a report released by the Pentagon in December.
Russia has retired 1, 150 nuclear weapons while the US has retired 1, 477. A nation’s military arsenal has been taken from a retired warhead and is awaiting its destruction. The retired warheads “are still relatively intact,” according to a report released in March by the Federation of American Scientists, a think tank based in the US.
Retired warheads may be restored in some cases, based on how far the pieces have advanced through the dismantlement process. However, this procedure can take a lot of time and resources. More frequently, states “repeat components from outdated warheads” when developing or refining a new weapon, according to Cole.
(Al Jazeera)
How frequently have nations tested?
The first nuclear weapon detonation occurred over New Mexico’s desert in 1945, when the US started testing them. More than 30 years ago, in 1992, it tested nuclear weapons. According to the United Nations, the US has conducted 1, 032 nuclear tests overall.
The last nuclear test was in 1990, the last one being conducted by the Soviet Union. No nuclear tests have been conducted in Russia, which inherited the Soviet nuclear arsenal.
Nuclear weapons were tested 45 times by China in 1996.
Nuclear weapons were tested in 1996 by France for the last time. It conducted 210 tests from 1945 to 1996. From 1952 until 1991, the UK conducted 45 nuclear tests. The last one was the last one.
Following the introduction of the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), the majority of nations have stopped testing nuclear weapons.
According to the UN, ten nuclear tests have occurred since then: two by India and two by Pakistan in 1998, and six by North Korea in 2006, 2009, 2013, 2016, 2016 (twice), and 2017. The CTBT is not currently being ratified by India, Pakistan, or North Korea.
The US ratified the CTBT in 1996 but did not ratify it. The Russian government ratified the CTBT in 1996 and in 2000, but President Vladimir Putin withdrew its ratification in 2023.
A nation’s signature of a treaty indicates its general acceptance of the terms of the treaty and its intention to continue adhering to it. The treaty only becomes legally binding for that nation under international law upon ratification.
Do US nuclear tests need to be updated?
US officials have argued that the country is exempt from conducting additional nuclear tests in the name of science and political figures.
The US Department of Energy’s semi-autonomous agency, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NSA), is. The nuclear weapons stewardship is governed by the agency’s security, maintenance, and stockpile management. The US does not require new tests, according to the NNSA’s repeated assertions.
During his confirmation hearing in the US in April, Brandon Williams, the agency’s new administrator, stated that the country has determined that the nuclear stockpile without nuclear explosive testing is still safe, secure, and effective.
Williams added that the US Strategic Command commander and national security lab directors annually review the nuclear stockpile to determine whether underground nuclear testing is required. In a 2023 interview with the Arms Control Association, NNSA Administrator Jill Hruby also stated that new testing was not necessary.
Could US tests start a new nuclear race?
Other nations are likely to follow suit if the US breaks this moratorium on testing nuclear weapons, according to experts.
Other countries would almost certainly respond in kind if the US resumed its nuclear testing. Russia has already stated that any US tests would be modeled on, which could lead to China and North Korea to follow. The end of a 30-year moratorium on nuclear testing would reverse decades of restraint and sharply worsen the world’s nuclear risks, according to Cole.
In the lead-up to the Wallabies’ 25-7 defeat at Allianz Stadium on Saturday, Australia coach Joe Schmidt claims he was disappointed by England’s “gamesmanship” with the match officials.
Steve Borthwick’s regular pre-match meeting with referee Nika Amashukeli was used by England head coach Steve Borthwick, according to The Telegraph, on Thursday, to draw attention to “dozens” of instances of Australia playing rugby in rucks from the side during their Rugby Championship campaign earlier this year.
England and Australia captain Harry Wilson described any such complaints as “quite amusing,” while England refused to confirm whether the report was true.
“We have 1, 256 attacking rucks,” according to the report. At least two players are present in each of those. That’s 2, 500 ruck entries.
There was only one yellow card. Our clean-outs have not caused any injuries to anyone who leaves the field. There have never been excessive penalties for side entry against us.
So those things are always disappointing but not distracting, so I always find that.
Wilson and Taniela Tupou both received immediate punishment for entering the breakdown without permission in the opening five minutes. The Wallabies were five meters from the England line when the back-to-back penalties caused them to cross the line at the same distance.
Australia totaled 13 penalties, which is the same as England’s total at the end of the game.
Schmidt claimed that England’s glaring concerns did not have an impact on Amashukeli’s behavior.
He replied, “No, I don’t believe so.”
a day ago
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Two of scrum-half Alex Mitchell’s 11 kicks in the opening game gave England the lead, with wing Tom Roebuck winning the aerial contests and Henry Pollock and Ben Earl winning from the run in.
Everyone should keep working on because they were England’s two entry points into the game, Schmidt said, and there was some really good work from our players in the air.
“We don’t want to make excuses; England was very, very good — their intensity in the aerial chase, the intensity of their breakdown, and their ball carry, and the bench that they brought on — six British and Irish Lions — that’s strength in depth.”
