All posts tagged: Traveller

Best Apps for Focus (2026): Focus Friend, Forest, Focus Traveller

Best Apps for Focus (2026): Focus Friend, Forest, Focus Traveller

Published by skeptic

when you’re trying to stay focused on something, there’s no shortage of distractions on your phone, through your web browser, or out the window. And with attention spans crumbling in the TikTok era, we now have an entire category of apps dedicated to helping you stick to what you’re supposed to be doing. These apps all work more or less in the same way, giving you a straightforward method of tracking how long you’re spending on a task, and offering some sort of incentive to keep going for the allotted amount of time. Sometimes you get a few extra features as well, like the ability to block access to other apps. In the interest of trying to write this specific article without switching between browser tabs and apps every two minutes, I gave three of the best focus tools a try. Here’s how they stack up. Focus Friend Focus Friend gives you a companion bean to focus with. Photograph: David Nield The vibe of Focus Friend is very much a warm and cozy one. When …

Doc Martin star Martin Clunes loses four-year planning battle over traveller site

Doc Martin star Martin Clunes loses four-year planning battle over traveller site

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Doc Martin star Martin Clunes has lost his four-year planning dispute to prevent a permanent Travellers’ site from being established adjacent to his Dorset home. The Wuthering Heights actor, alongside several neighbours in Beaminster, had vocally opposed the proposals put forward by Theo Langton and Ruth McGill. The couple, who have resided in a 45ft by 16ft (13.7m by 4.9m) mobile home on their own land at Meerhay for a quarter of a century, had sought official planning permission to establish their permanent residency. Initially, officers at Dorset Council had recommended the plans for approval when they were first presented to its western and southern area planning committee in April 2025. However, the decision was subsequently deferred following significant concerns regarding the potential risk of flooding at the proposed site. A comprehensive flood risk assessment was then conducted, which ultimately concluded that any risk of …

London Bridge terror attack officer sacked over ‘offensive’ Traveller messages | UK News

London Bridge terror attack officer sacked over ‘offensive’ Traveller messages | UK News

Published by Sam Flores

One of the first police officers on the scene of the 2017 London Bridge terror attack has been sacked for gross misconduct for his use of the word “pikey” in messages about Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller people. In one WhatsApp message, Detective Constable Mark Luker of British Transport Police used the term “dags”. He was referencing a scene from the Guy Ritchie film Snatch in which Stephen Graham’s character struggles to understand Brad Pitt’s character’s accent when he mentions dogs, the misconduct panel heard. In another message Mr Luker referred to “scrap metal, lead roofing and cable”, which he accepted was a joke to link theft to the Irish Traveller community, the panel was told. The panel concluded he was likely aware the language was “offensive” to a minority community and ruled it gross misconduct. But it accepted that DC Luker is not “inherently racist”. The panel wrote: “As an experienced BTP police officer used to dealing with a whole range of people, the panel found that, on the balance of probabilities, he probably would …

Traveller family feud descends into axe-wielding chaos

Traveller family feud descends into axe-wielding chaos

Published by Sam Flores

A teenage boy threatened to “drive a family out of Cardiff” while wielding an axe after he “inherited a family feud” in the traveller community. The teenager was part of a group which attacked a caravan as the owner was watching television in bed, and cars were driven into vehicles before his mother was injured in the melee. Dominic Janes, 18, was among a group of people involved in a disturbance at Shirenewton caravan site in St Mellons, Cardiff, on November 24, 2024, which was described as a “revenge attack” on Michael O’Brien and his family. Mr O’Brien was in bed watching television when he heard a noise outside of windows smashing. A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Wednesday heard Janes and a group of others were outside. Don’t miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here. He shouted at the victim: “I am going to show you what I am going to do with you now.” The defendant was waving an axe and shouted at Mr O’Brien that …