21 hours agoLatest NewsComments Off on Royal fans brave the rain as early birds line Pall Mall for Trooping the Colour with Princess Kate & kids to arrive
SOGGY royal fans are already lining the Pall Mall to watch this year’s Trooping the Colour celebration for the King’s birthday.
Many braved the early morning rain to queue for a good view – bedecked in Union Jack flags and crowns.
George Cracknell WrightRoyal fans shelter from the rain on the Mall in Westminster ahead of the Trooping of the Colour[/caption]
ReutersWell-wishers gather along The Mall with life-sized cardboard cutouts of their favourite royals ahead of the celebration[/caption]
George Cracknell WrightRoyal fans line the Mall in Westminster despite the early morning rain[/caption]
George Cracknell WrightMany have dressed up crowns and Union Jack apparel[/caption]
George Cracknell WrightIt’s a drizzly beginning to the day as police and Union flags line the Mall in Westminster[/caption]
Fans came prepared with umbrellas and rain coats after the Met Office issued storm warnings, as the UK is lashed by floods, thunder and lightning.
Kate Middleton and the kids – Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and naughty Prince Louis, six – are yet to arrive.
The Coldstream Guards are on display for the world to see, dressed in full military regalia, alongside a huge number of supporting staff.
Over 1,400 officers and soldiers, 400 musicians, 200 horses and 10 bands are taking part in the Trooping the Colour event.
King Charles asked royals to wear black armbands in remembrance of those killed in the Air India plane tragedy.
Those wearing the bands will be the Prince of Wales, Colonel of the Welsh Guards, thePrincess Royal, Colonel Blues and Royals, and theDuke of Edinburgh, Colonel Scots Guards.
A spokesperson said this is “a mark of respect for the lives lost, the families in mourning and all the communities affected by this awful tragedy”.
There will also be a minute’s silence at the event following Thursday’s devastating crash which killed at least 241 people.
The parade today is almost five months before King Charles’ actual birthday.
Charles was born on November 14, though the reigning British monarch has two birthdays.
The sovereign’s birthday, which is celebrated through the Trooping the Colour, usually falls in the summer months.
Notably, the King’s youngest son and his family are not present.
The late Queen used to invite the extended Royal Family onto the balcony, but this was later changed so that only working royals are allowed.
Trooping the Colour dates back to the 17th Century, when it was first held by King Charles II.
The ceremony takes its name from each regiment showing off their battle colours, which made them easier to identify when at war.
Fans can either stream the event or attend live, though Central London is expected to be extremely busy.
GoffCheerful royal fans have gone all out in Union Jack clothing for the event[/caption]
George Cracknell WrightPreparations are underway for Trooping The Colour 2025[/caption]
George Cracknell WrightTrooping the Colour Military personnel and police make preparations on Horse Guards Parade in Westminster ahead of the celebration[/caption]
21 hours agoLatest NewsComments Off on Private English island that’s now open to the public with live music festivals and riverside bar
A PRIVATE island in the UK that hoped to be home to the ‘Savoy on Thames’ is open to the public – with a music festival on it every summer.
D’Oyly Carte Island was previously called Folly Eyot before being bought by Richard D’Oyly Carte (behind the Savoy Hotel) in 1890.
AlamyD’Oyly Carte Island has a riverfront bar open to the public[/caption]
AlamyThe island was once privately owned[/caption]
AlamyThe island property is being renovated[/caption]
However, it remained closed to the public until last year, after it was bought by Andy and Sheila Hill in 2021.
Last summer the island hosted a number of summer music events as part of larger Weymouth Festival.
This year, the island is hosting the D’Oyly Carte Island Summer Concerts 2025 from July 4-6.
Bands include Flo Collective, Yacht Brothers and Miami Coast.
Running from 11am to 4pm, tickets cost £20 per person although kids under 10 go for free.
Previously, people could only visit the island by using a chain ferry to pull themselves onto it.
A footbridge was later built in 1964, which allowed easier access to the island.
Now, people can park just outside the island, before walking the free foot bridge.
The island is also home to D’Oyly’s, an outdoor cafe where people can order food and drinks such as alcohol cocktails as well as crepes.
People can visit on the island and sit in the outdoor garden or even pull up on the side by boat.
Guests can even moor on the island with 45 pitches that have electricity and water, along with heated toilets on the island.
New this year are a number of wellness events such as yoga, pilates and forest bathing with a number of classes already sold out.
Original owner Richard D’Oyly Carte was dubbed the Simon Cowell of the Victorian era due to his creation of the Savoy OperaTheatre as well.
After buying the island in the late 1800s, he also built the huge Eyot House on the island complete with a grand ballroom and even a real crocodile.
It was hoped that the hotel would become the “Savoy on Thames” with a dedicated boat service between the two hotels.
However, after being denied an alcohol license, the 13-bedroom property remained as their home, where they invited friends and family over instead as well as having their own private concerts.
The Grade-II listed mansion was was left abandoned for years, was sold in in 2021 for £3million along with the island.
It is now being converted, with the 13 rooms being reduced to 10 en-suite bedrooms and will eventually be open to the public.
Until then, the hotels’ grand ballroom opens every year to just 50 people as part of the D’Oyly Carte Music with “intimate performances” by top artists, yet to be revealed.
21 hours agoLatest NewsComments Off on I never thought I’d have to worry about Isobel – then she died at 21 after dismissive doctors said ‘just take ibuprofen’
WHEN Isobel Allen cried to her GP about the pain she was experiencing, the teenager was told not to worry.
It would be several appointments later – and eventually, after opting to go private – that Isobel would find out that her painful periods were the first sign of the disease that would lead to her death.
Isobel Allen died on April 2, aged 21 years old. She had seen her GP for painful periods aged 19suppliedHer family described her as “confident, outgoing, and had everything going for her”suppliedIsobel’s family say she was “let down”supplied
Isobel, of Hornchurch, Essex, was a normal 19-year-old girl who liked to go out with her friends and buy new clothes.
She worked as an accounts manager at a recruitment company and her parents say they never worried for her future.
Something about Isobel’s pain didn’t sit right with mum, Sarah, but she tried to believe the doctors.
But looking back, Sarah realises how Isobel was “let down”.
Isobel died on April 2, 2025, aged 21 years old.
She was told she had incurable sarcoma cancer six months after first seeing a GP.
Sarah, a former hairdresser, tells Sun Health: “The doctors literally thought she was a teenager making a meal out of nothing.
“But I knew she wasn’t, I knew that the pain she was in wasn’t normal.
“Isobel felt so strongly – and we do as a family – that medics aren’t listening to these youngsters. They’re being misdiagnosed time and time again.
“She would scream at the TV when she saw one of those NHS adverts saying ‘early diagnosis saves lives’. Because we had to pay privately for her diagnosis.”
Sarah, who is married to Isobel’s dad, Christian Allen, 50, who works in the construction industry, adds: “I know deep down it isn’t our fault, but as parents, there have been times when we’ve doubted ourselves. But you believe the medical professionals.
“Isobel fought with every bone in her body. At her funeral, her dad said, ‘I never thought I’d have to worry about Isabel. She was confident, outgoing, and had everything going for her’.
“And it changed so suddenly.”
suppliedIsobel’s mum, Sarah, tells Sun Health she knew the pain she was experiencing “wasn’t normal” and they paid for private scans after being repeatedly turned away[/caption]
Isobel started chemotherapy after a cancer diagnosis, but it was a means to extend her time with familysupplied
Isobel started having painful periods and spotting – bleeding inbetween – in November 2022. Sarah says they went to the GP “a few times” before Isobel was given an ultrasound.
“He said it was fibroids [benign growths in the womb] and she started to cry,” Sarah recalls.
“He said, ‘Why are you crying?’ And she said, ‘I’m worried it could be something serious’. He said, ‘No, no, it’s just fibroids’.
“So we didn’t think anything more of it. I have fibroids, a lot of women do.”
But Sarah grew concerned because the pain Isobel was experiencing seemed abnormal, with painkillers barely touching the sides.
By February, she was experiencing “really bad belly pain” – which Sarah says doctors recommended ibuprofen for – and in March, the pain spread to her back and legs.
They told us Isobel had cancer and it had spread to quite a few places. It wasn’t like how you see it on the TV, when they hold your hand. She was told quickly, without compassion.
SarahIsobel's mum
Sarah took her to A&E at Queen’s Hospital in Romford on two occasions in March which conducted more ultrasounds.
“By now, Isobel could hardly walk, she was hanging on to me to walk, and had been signed off work,” she says.
“The only time she was happy or comfortable was if she was in the bath or laying on the settee.
“She was running baths at three o’clock in the morning. I just knew it wasn’t normal.
“I’ve found out since this that youngsters can sleep through pain and if they can’t, it’s something really bad. Now that’s all adding up.”
She was referred to The London Independent Hospital and was told by a gynaecologist again that she had a fibroid in the womb. An MRI would have a six month-wait because they were ‘prioritising cancer patients’.
‘IT SHOULD HAVE NEVER GOT THIS FAR’
The family had had enough, forking out £500 for a private MRI scan, in April 2023.
Two days later, they were seen by a consultant and Sarah “could tell by her face” that it was bad news.
Sarah recalls: “The consultant said, ‘This looks nasty, you should prepare yourselves. She also said it should ‘never have got this far’.”
Isobel was then referred to Queen’s, which told her to come in with a night bag. But she ended up having a 40-day hospital stay.
On Friday May 12, a diagnosis was given to Isobel with her mum and dad there, following a biopsy. The ‘fibroid’ turned out to be a tumour on Isobel’s womb.
Sarah says: “It wasn’t like how you see it on the TV, when they hold your hand. She was told quickly, without compassion.
“They told us Isobel had cancer and it had spread to quite a few places.”
Tumours were eventually found in her lungs, hip and kidneys.
Isobel was blue-lighted to University College London Hospitals (UCLH) because she was so unwell, and a few days later, on Thursday May 18, the family were hit with another devastating blow.
She wanted to “live like any 19-year-old”, says mum Sarah. Isobel is pictured after completing her first six rounds of intense chemotherapysuppliedIsobel with her brother Josh and cousins Ellie, Jake and Buster – it was her last Christmas, in 2024, three months before she diedsuppliedIsobel put up a fight for 20 months before doctors said there was nothing more they could do. She is pictured toward the end of her illnesssupplied
The symptoms of sarcoma cancer
The most common symptom of soft tissue sarcoma is a lump somewhere on the body.
But this doesn’t necessarily mean cancer – there are all sorts of reasons for lumps and swellings, but it must always be checked by a GP.
The lump is usually found deep under the skin and might be felt before it can be seen.
The lump is usually solid to the touch, painless and hard to move around under the skin.
It will continue to grow and as it does, it can become painful.
Other symptoms depend on where in the body the lump is.
These can include:
Tummy pain and constipation if there is a sarcoma near the tummy
A cough that does not go away if there is a sarcoma near the lungs
Source: NHS
Sarah says: “They told us it was incurable, and that they would do everything they could to prolong her life. Which, at the age of 19, is not what you want to hear.
“I didn’t leave her side after that. I was just too scared, let down, devastated… just looking at her and crying. We all cried.
“She would say, ‘Why me? Why couldn’t I have gotten another cancer?’ To go through that as a family, it was unbearable.”
Sarcoma UK say more than 5,100 people are diagnosed with the disease each year.
Sarcoma develops in the body’s bones and soft tissues, such as muscles, fat, blood vessels, nerves, tendons, and joint linings.
There are more than 100 subtypes, the two main ones being soft tissue and bone.
Supportive friends would plan meet-ups around Isobel’s chemotherapy schedule so she’d have the energy to join themsuppliedsuppliedIsobel at her 21st birthday party with friends[/caption]
Shocked at the survival statistics for sarcoma, Isobel raised £13,000 for Sarcoma UK with a charity ballsuppliedsuppliedIsobel in Paris at Christmas for a girls trip with her family on one of her good weeks with no treatment or hospital visits[/caption]
Cancer Research UK says: “Soft tissue sarcoma incidence is unusual compared with most cancers because a sizeable proportion of cases occur in children and younger adults; however, the highest incidence rates are in older people.”
Soft tissue sarcoma has a 45 per cent survival rate for 10 or more years.
Devastated by the shocking survival statistics of sarcoma, Isobel knew she had to raise money in the hopes it would contribute to better outcomes for future patients.
She raised £13,000 for Sarcoma UK at a charity ball, and her brother brother, Josh Allen, 24, has since ran the London Marathon, raising £27,000. Her friends are fundraising for Race For Life in July.
FOUGHT ‘TIL THE END
Isobel started chemotherapy, but it was a means to extend her time with family, living life as normally as she could between the side effects.
She returned to her work, even commuting to London two days a week, and her supportive friends would plan meet-ups around her chemotherapy schedule so she’d have the energy to join them.
The nurses always laughed that she’d turn up to her chemotherapy in a new outfit, wig and full face of makeup – until she became too weak.
Even when they told us about the tumour on her lung, I was sobbing and she said, ‘Come on, mummy, it is what it is’.
SarahIsobel's mum
Eventually, the family got the news that there was nothing more that could be done. It was Christmas 2024, and they were advised to think about end-of-life care.
Sarah says: “We had some tough conversations with the consultant in January, who said it wasn’t looking good. So Isobel knew the time was getting nearer.
“In March, she was struggling to breathe and they took her into hospital to drain fluid from her lungs – but it wasn’t fluid, it was a tumour.
“That’s when they said we need to get her home and make her comfortable. She wanted to be on the sofa, so we got her bedding down, and we actually all slept in the living room.
“She died the next day, on Wednesday at 10 to 3, at home with her family.
“I just didn’t realise it would be that quick.
“Isobel had protected us all along. She fought so hard to carry on as normal, even though the whole time, she had this deadly disease inside of her.
“Isobel was still talking about trying to go on holiday to Spain, she was ordering clothes two days before her death. She was just trying to live like any normal 19-year-old would.
“She was the one comforting us. Even when they told us about the tumour on her lung, I was sobbing and she said, ‘Come on, mummy, it is what it is’.”
Speaking of her legacy, Sarah notes a tattoo Isobel got towards the end of her life. It read ‘Go Live Life’.
“We’ve had so many parents and other young girls message us from UCLH to say how she inspired them.
“Even her consultant wrote that she was an ‘inspiring young lady’. One girl who rang the bell in December said ‘Isobel changed my life’.
“She would light up daycare. She’d tell them not to stop living their life, and they were more than cancer.”
A spokesperson for The London Independent Hospital, said: “While, it would be inappropriate for us to discuss individual cases, we send our deepest condolences to the patient’s family at this extremely difficult time.
“All patients who are referred to us undergo a comprehensive and meticulous consultation to identify and diagnose their symptoms. Should further tests and scans be required to investigate their condition, then these are booked promptly either at our hospital or a referral is made to another appropriate facility.”
Matthew Trainer, Chief Executive, Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “I’d like to extend our sincere condolences to Isobel’s family. We’re extremely sorry for their loss.”
Isobel and her cousin Ellie on Christmas Day 2024, her last Christmassupplied
21 hours agoLatest NewsComments Off on Carlton Blues star Sam Walsh ruled out of West Coast Eagles clash at Optus Stadium
Carlton coach Michael Voss expects midfielder Sam Walsh to be available in the approach to the finals, after the Blues prime mover was ruled out of Sunday’s game against West Coast.
21 hours agoLatest NewsComments Off on Anthony Albanese to spruik free and fair trade to business leaders ahead of hopeful G7 Donald Trump talk
Anthony Albanese will call on US business leaders to respect free and fair trade, with the PM under increasing pressure to secure a tariff exemption for Aussie exports.
21 hours agoLatest NewsComments Off on Horror Bali shooting leaves one Aussie man dead and another seriously injured as local police begin manhunt
Bullet holes and a bloody mess were all that was left behind after two Australian men were gunned down in Bali in what appears to be a targeted attack.
