#i have seen swn once

[funeral-flower-the-clown]

spirk comic. can't think of a name. page 1

[scotwresnet]

By The Masked Embroiderer Twitter

  As with most things in life, at least the things that are worth doing, it usually takes a lot of time and a lot of effort but in the end you get your reward. The most important step in the process though is the very first one and that is to ‘Begin’.

A great example of this is Rob Downie’s Wrestling Hall of Fame.

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You’ll all have seen some of his work, if not all of it, and you can go back and read the Artist Interview we did with him before if you’re completely unfamiliar with his work, but here is the story behind an idea he dreamt up a few years ago and through his own hard work and persistence has been able to make it a reality. In fact, as you’ll read, it’s morphed and grown organically into something quite special.

–

Rob, tell us what is your ‘Wrestling Hall of Fame’ and when did it all begin?

My wrestling hall of fame is basically a series of small portraits I’ve been drawing of as many wrestlers as I can and also getting as many of them autographed as possible for a personal collection. I started the series in 2018. I once imagined having a big collection of them like a set of trading cards and just fell in love with the idea.

Roughly how many pieces have you made for it now?

At the moment I have drawn 151 pictures of wrestlers. (Note: This number has now increased since talking to us.) I also made a bonus “Non-Wrestler” Hall of Fame because I felt like showing some love to the referees, announcers etc too. That one has 15 pictures. I’ve also got 101 autographs between both sets.

That’s impressive. How do you store them all or display them?

I keep the autographed ones in a small photo album at the moment. I may upgrade it to a bigger one or even a big frame one day. I didn’t expect it to go as far as this but I don’t plan on stopping any time soon either.

Where do you do your drawings? I’ve heard you do some when your on the train?

I only do my silly sketches during long train journeys. I do all of my main stuff from home. I use Photoshop and a graphics tablet.

You obviously take them to the shows to get autographed. Have you ever had any problem getting them in?

Not really, the staff at every show I’ve been to have been mostly quite helpful. In fact I wouldn’t have nearly as many autographs without their help. I try to catch the wrestlers during the intervals or after the show’s over. Sometimes it’s hard to catch certain wrestlers at certain shows because they’re quite busy obviously.

How widely does your collection vary? Which promotions have you covered?

I usually cover promotions I go to, so Discovery Wrestling, Fierce Females and ICW mostly. But I’ve drawn wrestlers from a lot of other promotions across the UK and overseas, and some WWE wrestlers too. Those ones will be fun to get autographed.

Prized piece? Best story behind a piece?

That’s a tricky one. All these pieces are like my children to me so it’s hard to pick out a prized piece. I have had my work noticed by some WWE wrestlers like Naomi, Paige and MVP. That was pretty exciting. The Rock doesn’t seem to have noticed my drawing of him yet, but I’ll keep trying. (Any tags and retweets to help Rob with this would be welcome)

https://twitter.com/RobArtDownie/status/1232078265420066816?s=20

Any pieces you want to make and add to the collection?

I don’t have any specific names at the moment but I’d like to branch out and try and draw a few more WWE wrestlers. And maybe some more from USA and Japan.

I want to thank our good friend Rob once again for talking to us at SWN and recommend that you check out his work using the following details:

Instagram: @robartdownie Twitter: @RobArtDownie

Until next time folks. Thanks again for tuning in.

And if you’d like to be featured in SWN Fan Art Corner you can send in your art to:

Instagram: @themaskedembroiderer Twitter: @TEmbroiderer Or email us ScotWresNet@gmail.com Or use the hashtags #scottishwrestlingart or #scottishwrestlingfanart

SWN Fan Art Corner #14 | Behind The Art: Rob Downie’s Wrestling Hall of Fame

SWN Fan Art Corner #14 | Behind The Art: Rob Downie’s Wrestling Hall of Fame

SWN Fan Art Corner #14 | Behind The Art: Rob Downie’s Wrestling Hall of Fame

[thepippapotamus]

Cardiff’s Women in Music Exhibition

In 2018 I was lucky enough to be asked to contribute to and exhibit in the brilliant Cardiff Women in Music Week, as curated by the unstoppable and Liz Hunt of The Moon in Cardiff, without whom the Cardiff music scene would be all the more poorer.

Anais Mitchell, Clwb Ifor Bach

Islet, Swn Festival

Gryff Rhys, Clwb Ifor Bach

Y Niwl, Swn Festival

Strange News From Another Star, Undertone

Joanna Gruesome, Swn Festival

Below is my accompanying essay:

Mine is a wandering road through music. There is no real start or end as I’ve been involved in all aspects of making, playing and managing. Photography and writing were always passions of mine and I studied each formally as well just having fun with them. Those, combined with a love of music, a background in opera, a musician mother, partner and friends meant some level of involvement was inevitable. A naturally organised and (ever so slightly) bossy person, I started helping my partner Joshua Caole and others with booking their shows and tours. I enjoyed the romance of packing a car up and driving around Europe on tour with Josh. There was some blagging and bullshitting at first and a very steep learning curve. I put together press packs from guides on the internet to sell these acts to venues and promoters. I started emailing and phoning people blindly and the ones who responded I built working relationships with for future acts. Booking my first tour for a US act (James Apollo) I came up against a very well-respected London promoter who both called me out on my blagging but also respected me for trying so hard to get this band the best shows I could. After a couple of successful tours, more people asked me to book for them. My biggest project to date was a tour for Christiaan Webb, Jimmy Webb’s son, which was crafted with a lot of love together with his Welsh brothers, the Musicbox studios and rehearsal rooms crew. Musicbox is the lifeblood of Cardiff music and without Mark and Bernie we’d all be lost. A big tip. Spreadsheets are a booker’s friend. Many many spreadsheets. For contacts, tour day plans, keeping track of what gear the venue will provide, what length set the band has to play… have one for everything.

As I was already going to a lot of shows, I took my camera. It was a natural progression and felt like a higher level of interaction. Some of my shots proved popular when bands or events shared them online and found their way into the press. Taking photos of bands that you know gets you to the front of the crowd and from there, once you have work to show people, it’s not hard to get press passes or interest from others who want you to shoot them. I would often work as an official photographer at a festival which is where all my Sŵn shots come from. Approaching festivals and asking to take photos for free one year can lead to a more official position the next.

Everything I’ve done, however, including more recently helping a new venue with their programming, has been sporadic due to the fact that I have increasingly severe ME. When I enjoyed runs of moderately good health some years ago I could dip my toe into different waters, just a little - I could book bands, take photos, manage tours - but all in a very limited capacity. Other photographers could shoot all day, every day. I also required huge rest periods after the smallest amounts of activity so even during my best times I could never fully be immersed in music as my health always had to come first. Sadly, as my disease has progressed and I have become far more severely affected, my involvement in the industry has understandably waned. The majority of the last 5 years have been spent in bed, in hospital or in a wheelchair so it means a lot personally that anyone has noticed my contributions to Cardiff music, especially as a person with disabilities. I often worry I disappear from memory when I’m alone in my room, able only to watch the ceiling and unable to move even to the bathroom without help. The rights of those with disabilities is therefore as important to me as gender equality and I’ve been really happy to see projects like Gig Buddies come to Cardiff. Notably, however, whilst venues and promoters are more and more prepared for disabled customers, few are ever ready for disabled people in the industry itself. Trying to make sure my artist parking for a festival was accessible on walking sticks one year was incredibly complicated and issues like these seem to confuse whomever is at the other end of the phone as it’s just not expected. This is something I have had to confront much more often than sexism. Turning up on sticks, in a wheelchair and still commanding attention, trust and respect is distressingly difficult. Whenever I can take photos or interact with music, however, I do. Tenacity is definitely crucial. It has been a while since I could physically push my way to the front of a show and take photos though so these days I’m more of an email warrior.

Photography to me is the urge to capture real moments. I sometimes think this makes me less creative than other photographers who dream up magical landscapes, but that’s just not what interests me. It’s more about documenting emotion and moments in a visually interesting way, especially with live music. For that reason I never cared much for photographing stadium shows and big festivals, despite the visual artistry involved in the production. I prefer small venues and intimacy. Photographers I admire include Lomokev who is a wonderful guy based in Brighton who first came to the fore taking photos at raves on his then very unfashionable Russian Lomo cameras as he crawled through the grass.

I’ve always been able to project a confidence (it’s totally fake) and when needed, a slight arrogance. This has got me through moments where gender could have been a barrier, I think. Especially in photography. My tutor, the unforgettable “Dr Fred(ericks)” told me if you ever worried you didn’t belong somewhere or felt under-experienced for a shoot, turn up with all the gear you have and barge on through.

The relationship between women and anyone identifying as anything but male with the music industry is obviously a troubled one. I believe I possibly take a different stance to some people, however, due to a uniquely multi-generational view. My mother (though she loathes me to tell anyone) was the real trailblazer. She was a session player at some big studios whilst she was still unmentionably young. The stories she has told me; the assaults and assumption of women as complicit sexual objects regardless of their actual involvement in the music are disgusting and have influenced my view of a lot of industry big-hitters. They are also far removed from the still deep-rooted but nowhere near as toxic sexism I’ve encountered. She went and did it all though and lived through horrible situations for the love of music. Today, I truly believe there has been progress. I think it’s sometimes important to just recognise that instead of worrying how far there is still to go. Progress has occurred not just in the role women play in music but in the way in which we engage in discourse about gender, sex and even consent. It is important to remember women have always played key roles in music and sound engineering. There are women in every great rock story who showed up, got on with it and earned respect. Music was never a no-go area for women but we had to prove ourselves to an unjust degree and put up with a lot of shit and assumptions that men don’t have to. I feel like banging the drum incessantly about inequality in music sometimes does an injustice to all those in the industry who support everyone around them and lift each other up regardless of gender. There are some great people out there and they are the only way forward. No path is impossible for women in music; Sound engineers (one particular woman in Hamburg I will never forget), musicians (Liela Moss is one of the most underrated front-people in rock), bookers, tour managers, and the Liz Hunts of the world, who appear to somehow do everything, are making sure the roads that have been forged stay open and flow with more and more talent.

The best advice any woman in music ever gave to me was from Take That’s first booking agent, a wonderfully Ab Fab-esque woman who told me to go out there and “kill them with kindness”. She meant it as an all-encompassing ethos, but I feel it is especially pertinent to women in male-dominated spheres. For example, when the worst kind of promoters think they can walk all over a female tour manager because she’s no way going to stand up for the band and fight for the fee they’re owed that night and you respond with calm but strong insistence rather than shouting or cowering away it is then that you see something really interesting start to happen and they listen.

A great feat this year was to see how female-focussed the Cambridge Folk Festival line up was, without pretence or affect. These were women who simply needed to be there because they were the best. Previously some men may have got their slots through “old boys club” mentalities but we can see this is changing and merit is winning out. It is important to not fetishise women in music, however. I’ve seen awful “Girls with guitars” tours that don’t help anyone legitimise female achievement. Those terrible “female” monikers: “female” drummer, “female” sound engineer, etc, go hand in hand with fetishisation, but, our best way to obliterate them is to go out there, do our thing and educate anyone needing it along the way - exactly what exhibitions like this aim to do. I have come up against some women who demonise men just for being in the music industry and that upsets me deeply as it’s equality we want, not a war, and not positive discrimination. Social media sometimes makes us feel like we are all competing for photos to be seen, shows to be promoted but that’s not how things work. It works best when we all support each other’s endeavours regardless of gender. Community in all things is vital. The biggest challenge facing us is getting people excited about small shows in sweaty rooms and beautiful music again as attendance has dropped and caused the closure of so many wonderful, dirty places.

[hyperadaption-blog]

Video Transcript

Olivia

What is it?  

Features and benefits?  

A key feature of the Hyperadapt is the fact that the shoes are “self-lacing”. Having shown this technology in the film Back to the Future Part 2 in 1989, the overwhelming desire for the public to have access to self-lacing shoes has been long coming (Eden, 2016). Not only does Nike provide the product for this need but it simultaneous introduces this technology with a more professional athletic angle. One of the key aspects of Nike’s trainers is their ability to enhance athlete's performance, designer Tim Hatfield kept this as a core principle when brainstorming for the progression of Nike’s designs for the future (Eden,2016). Thus, securing two markets upon release of the trainer.  

Eric Avar, the Nike creative director stated the Adapt BB was specifically targeted at basketball athletes (Nike, 2019). The genius of targeting basketball players is that there power to wear a shoe and have their fans want the same shoes. This has been tried and tested with the Jordan's. Therefore, it is likely, based on the success the Jordan's had, that various basketball players fans will likely strive to possess the Adapt BB in a similar manner.  

Another key benefit that may be able to come into play with the progression of the technology could be the ability to aid people in a medical way. Hatfield suggests that the adapt BB shoes could be ideal for those who are unable to put their own shoes on due to disability (Rubin,2019). Currently there are shoes that are supposedly designed to help people with cellulite and back pains; for example, the MBTs (Masai Barefoot Technology) by Karl Müller (Josse, 2000). Similarly, in a blog post, user Katie Menzies states how much the design of the regular Converses helped with her Cerebral Palsy (Menzies, 2018). It is highly likely with further research Nike would be able to curate a design that used this new adaptive footwear technology in order to cater to specific medical issues.  

Catering to the medical needs of those with disabilities is something that has become increasingly important to consumers with and without disabilities and was found especially successful with M&S’s easy dressing range, which was “praised by hundreds online” (ITV, 2018). And as of June 2018, there are more clothing lines dedicated to dogs than to those with disabilities (Ryan, 2018) and considering that the “purple pound” is worth around £249 billion in the UK (Ryan, 2018) - it seems that inclusive design could financially and morally be a great market for Nike to tap into further.  

The technology that Nike are using is nothing beyond the majority of the public's technological capabilities, as there are very few buttons and the functions are all labeled very simply and clearly. The most difficult aspect of the trainers is arguably the connecting of the phone to each shoe as several reviews on the app store detail having a large issue with this aspect of the app. This is an essential feature for the trainer to function at full potential. Furthermore, the app is essential to the functionality as mentioned, however the app is not compatible with iPhone 6 or anything before that and the apple watch for any generation. The app also only provides 15 languages and for comparison the Instagram app functions with over 29 languages so that is not ideal.  

Currently Puma have invested money into self-lacing shoes and have debuted a trainer in January that will connect to your phone and are self-lacing. Adidas have a “speed-lacing” selection of shoes and advertised this as not needing any charging, lights or mobile devices. So, although there are attempts from rival businesses, no brands have currently progressed as far as Nike have yet. I would argue that this is due to consumers having an instant correlation of self-lacing technology with the Nike brand as it was designed for Back to the future Part 2 by Nike and therefor featured their logo (Eden, 2016).

With the trainer's current capabilities, people will use it, but I think it is largely a niche market. Though basketball is a huge sport, this is predominantly a US sport with US fans. Therefore, really limiting its market. But keen “sneakerheads” and those who are serious about sport will be very interested in these shoes. As stated, there is huge market that could be developed for those with disabilities further in the future.  

Izzie

Complexity & Trialability

Nike may find it hard to distribute and sell in other countries because of any barriers to entry.  It may be challenging to pass different laws and regulations abroad such as the EU laws, which have been implemented. Nike must ensure their technology meet any requirements set by the EU, which ‘protect human and animal health, the environment and consumers rights’ (Europe EU, 2019). Researching the different laws and regulations from countries Nike chooses to export in may incur higher costs and can be time consuming. It can also be expensive to make any adaptions that might be required for them to trade in that country.

Research and development can be very expensive especially for technology, it is needed for innovation and finding better and new types of products. This is reflected by the high selling price, overtime the selling price will reduce due to the Research ad development cost being paid off.

Observable Communication

This technology is seen as cool and innovative as it hasn’t been seen before. Self-tying laces are new and no other brands have introduced it. This is a Unique Selling Point for Nike and it will attract customers, especially ones who are technology focused and have strong interest in new innovations.

The design is not the most fashion forward as other trainers in the price range such as shoes from Balenciaga, Christian Louboutin and Gucci, but these Nike trainers offer a different selling point, which is the technology in the shoes. Although, in general trainer sales have soared in the last few years and in the UK trainers ‘has become a staple fashion item in the nation's wardrobes”(SWNS Digital, 2018) showing that the trainer market is growing continuously due to a change in peoples lifestyle preferences. Consumers have become more casual in the way they dress at the workplace and outside their work, which has made them adapt their fashion preferences to more comfortable styles.  

Re-Invention  

This is a new product to the existing trainer market, it is personalized to the consumer as the laces adapt to the shape of their foot. This is their unique selling point,  

They have ‘“adaptive lacing” technology that’s activated by a heel sensor that automatically tightens its laces’ (Sneaker Bar Detroit2019) which will appeal to certain markets such as the primary audience who are basketball players. It may also expand to other consumers overtime if it proves to be good and worth the price.

Relating to the product life cycle, the Research and Development stage is long and costly due to the extensive research required for technology. Nike has their own ‘Sport Research Lab (NSRL) where athletes, scientists, engineers and designers converge to develop the key performance insights that drive Nike’s innovation’ (Nike, 2019). It has already been estimated that Nike have spent ‘$2.5 billion on research and development in the last five years’ (Business Insider, 2017). This is likely to rise as well if Nike want to remain competitive due to the vast amounts of competition such as Adidas, as well as the fast paced technology market.  

At the introduction stage will generate a lot of interest and a ‘hype’ around the trainers via social media, sports players and bloggers who target sportswear’s and technology. According to the Independent ‘Nike's new Adapt BB shoes have been hailed as the future of sneakers’ (Independent, 2019), this has already drawn attention to the product.  

When it comes to the growth stage sales will hopefully rise, then once it hits the maturity stage it is likely to slow down quickly as competitors will bring out their own versions or new technology will be invented. Therefore it is likely to reach the decline stage (Tutor2u).

Sarah

innovators

✦ innovators are categorised by their imagination and openness to new things. This is the smallest sector of the diffusion process with only 2.5% of consumers being in the category.

✦ innovators are crucial as the diffusion process if innovation is ‘drip down’ meaning the technology won’t spread any further if innovators do not adopt it. The products introduction process is catalysed by the core motivater of pleasure/ pain, the new technology provides excitement for many different groups of Nike’s consumer base.

✦ Hyper-adapt and self lacing technology were anticipated by many innovators as the first shoes to feature the technology (Nike Mags) were based on the film ‘Back to the future 2’ this gained attention from those involved in sci-fi/ futurism and also with an interested in pop culture I believe there a few different sectors of innovators within the pool for the Hyper-adapt including ✧ social media influences for example Casey Neistat whom made videos about both the original Nike Mags and the Hyperadapt 1’s. He is Clearly an innovator as the video was made in 2016, when the technology was less famed and closer to the beginning of Nike’s attempt to shift to a new technological trajectory. Casey has a following of 11M on youtube and the video on the Hyperadapt 1 accumulated 2.6 M views. The shoe was also featured on channels such as ‘What’s Inside?’ Who's key demographic isn't those with an interest in fashion. With technology ✧ Nikes first intended practical purpose of the self lacing technology was for their use in basketball as it is essential to the game for laces and the shoe to be tight and fitted to the foot. Nike has sponsored Basketball player’s such as Jayson Tatum who was the first to debut the sneakers in a game for Boston Celtics. Nike are supporting the industry they wish to sell into and have an outlet to showcase the shoes capability through their actual intended usage early adopters   ✦ the early adopters are the type to run to the product as soon as they see the perceived benefit. In relation to Fogg’s  behaviour model, the early adopters basically require to see a simplicity factor in order to increase their motivation to buy the product.

✦ it is likely the simplicity factor of physical effort that would convince early adopters consumers to purchase as the intention of the technology is to prevent you having to bend down and tie your laces, this can also be linked to the simplicity factor of time.

✦ also according to Fogg’s behaviour model, Nikes increase in advertising and sponsorship is an attempt to provide triggers. This type of trigger is a spark designed in tandem with a core motivator. Nike would be attempting to highlight the pleasure the shoes can bring to the wearer and the benefits to perhaps beginning to incite fear about not having the sneakers. An example of this is the video Jayson Tatum made on the NBA on ESPN youtube channel recently speaking about and demoing the shoe. the early adopters likely includes

✧ ‘hypebeasts’ or ‘sneakerheads’ who are interested in having the newest Nike product almost regardless of the design and focusing more concern on it’s demand from others in the community and the ability to sell the product on. This group of consumers already showed interest in the Nike Mags when released, with 2011 iterations selling for up to  $10,000 on Flight Club, an infamous rebelling sight

✧ the shoes are also likely in this phase to be adopted by more NBA players as they become more educated they become more motivated to purchase as they understand the benefit to them ✦ Despite adding motivating factors Fogg’s behavioural model suggest that both motivational and enabling factors are necessary for the fastest rate of adoption. Due to limited line releases and the price tag of £619.95 Nike is not attempting to enable each of their consumers to buy the product, this is because the early adopter phase is also still for testing and improving according to Robinson early majority

✦ the early majority marks the product leaping the chasm to reach a bigger audience. They're followers who are comfortable with moderately progressive ideas.

✦the way for Nike to bridge the gap and ensure they reach the early majority from the early adopters is to refine the product to increase ease and reduce costs.

✦ another option would be to adapt the technology to different sports such as soccer, tennis or even ice skating. This is a great way for Nike to integrate the new technology to their pre-existing product line and introduce the product to new markets.  

✦majorities are more cost sensitive and adverse to risks and disruptions, they simply want a product that is trendy and will benefit their life. the early majority is the largest of categories so far at 34%, there is many demographics inside of this which includes ✧ followers of the NBA who’ve bought the product because they’ve seen their favourite basketball players sporting them. Particularly in America. ✧ other players of sports whom are motivated by the core motivator hope/ fear as they hope to simplify and solve there issue in order to improve their playing late majority

✦the late majority are those who hate risk and are uncomfortable with new ideas. The main driver for this group is the fear of not fitting in.

✦‘emphasise the risks of being left behind’ via advertising and social media. This will convince most of the late majority to adapt the technology

✦ but in order to reach the late majority Nike may have to alter the usage of their technology further not just providing it just for sports or fashion but also making it a purpose driven product engrained in real life. Many jobs require laces that stay tied including nurses and builders and if the price was right the industries may endorse the technology

✦ it can also be purpose driven within the context of healthcare for stroke/ cardiac victims etc. The late majority includes

✧ those who would not support the innovation due to the absence of the simplicity factor from fogg’s model of money. As Nike will likely be mass producing by the point of the late majority it should be cheaper for them to produce the shoe due to economies of scale. This means they can reduce cost and over come that. ✧ anyone for which the shoe does still not provide obvious purpose for. Those who are not particularly sporty and have waited for the fashion trend to be secure before purchase, these people are not trendy but once again want to fit in laggards  

✦ laggards are the last phase of the innovation diffusion process. These people see high risk in adopting new technologies and will do their best to put up arguments again. Sometimes laggards are innovators of other products. For example a consumer may believe self lacing technology is not revolutionary, and be wearing  hoverboots instead.  

✦ in Roger’s model of diffuseon of innovation it is suggested too give the laggards a high level of control to make them feel invested and in control in regards to the product. Luckily Nike has a service called NikeID which allows for this idea and would allow people to customise their shoes with self lacing technology, not forcing it as an essential but allowing it to be an option. This control is motivational for laggards

✦✧ laggards may include those with loyalty to other brands as although Nike is the market leader red fame found in a study on young people’s favourite sports brand that Adidas controls 21.5%

Cree

does it have a practical benefit?

What we have seen with the new hyper adapt bb trainers are that the future of footwear is no longer solely based on trends and fashion but have progressed further to benefit the consumer in a more performance based aspect.

With this new trainer they have the ability to help athletes who are serious about their profession. ‘When a player steps into the Nike Adapt BB, a custom motor and gear train senses the tension needed by the foot and adjusts accordingly to keep the foot snug.

By manual touch or by using the Nike Adapt app on a smartphone, players can input different fit settings depending on different moments of a game.’

The practicality of hyper adapt trainers are solely for basketball use however the Nike team have stated that they are moving toward adapting the technology to fit other sports and lifestyle options. However will all sports adapt to this technology and embrace it as well as the basketball community has? The shoes has been criticized recently for being a gimmick however the designer assures us that it has an more meaningful purpose. The shoe can also help to prevent injuries for athletes as well as help those with disabilities due to its adaptive nature. In the future Nike intends to develop this technology more by even adding an zip that use similar tech as the self-lacing trainers especially or those with disabilities.    

Although the argument is that if  Nike are targeting all lifestyles the price of the trainers are not suitable for all economic backgrounds. This could cause problems with marketing it to their consumer base because it is not fees able for everyone. Although this may be what they want for the hyper adapt trainer, to have more exclusivity than any of their other shoes and later on in the product life cycle make it attainable to other consumer areas.  

Does it fit in with the brand ethos?  

Nike’s ethos is to continue to be the leader in innovation being that their mission statement is “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.” I believe that this shoe embodies everything that their brand stands for. For example the back to the future self-lacing shoe is one of Nike recent projects as well. The trainer  is a replica of Michael J fox’s shoes in the 1989 movie,back to the future. This shoes a continuation in advancing that technology which proves that Nike innovation strategy is to continue being a futuristic market leader within the industry. The brand image of Nike is to make their customer feel like every aspect of  of their business is an experience. Which is why hyper adapt links so well with their ethos because every aspect of the tech is specialized in a way making you feel as if the shoe is made especially for you and adheres to your individual body and lifestyle as well as making you feel as if you are apart of that back to the future culture.  

Does it reflect a logical development in their tech strategy?  

Nike current tech strategy is to take advantage of three main strategies business. In 2017 Nike unveiled its plan for growth is called the Triple Double Strategy (2X). Through it, the company promised to double its cadence and impact of innovation, double its speed to market and double its direct connections with consumers. This is important for the brand as they have the most market share within the footwear industry and need to continue to find ways to retain their customers. The hyper adapt trainer does fit in well with their current growth strategy for technology. It reaches all three of their core growth strategy goals. On the impact of innovation this is one of the first trainers Nike has done that gives athletes an almost heightened ability which can make them more competitive in their designated field especially with basketball. Moving to connection with their customers they have allowed famous athletes to test trial their shoe and have posted it on all social media platforms, this is an key marketing tool as it adjust the consumers mind to allow the early majority to adapt sooner because they identify with the celebrity that is using the item, Specifically the hype beast culture that is continuing to have an impact on the way younger consumers buy products. They don’t necessarily like the product but the prestige of the brand who sells it.  

The hyper adapt technology and design took 28 years to develop and perfect including and extra 11 years just for Research and development. This conflicts with Nike strategy to double its speed to market however with such a sensitive piece of technology you can agree that it is time sensitive, which is also why the shoe is so expensive. In my opinion I feel that the technology will continue to grow and overtime be useful to many different types of athletes around the world.

Jess

Nike’s general target market is quite wide range. For this innovation ‘Hyper Adapt BB’, they are targeting basketball players meaning it is a niche market. However, this market will definitely make use of the product due to the practicality and efficiency that it gives them. Nike are targeting high profile basketballers to begin with, meaning that they have a high social media profile and engagement, meaning that they will market the product to the followers without Nike having to go out of their way to advertise which means that more people will be interested and aware of Nikes’ new innovation. In the long-term, the product will most likely be used by a wider range market due to the facts form the diffusion of innovation theory including early majority then leading onto late majority and laggards (Changeology, Les Robinson, 2019). Also customers such as disabled or wheelchair users may find that this could potentially have a great impact in improving their health whilst playing sport or even walking in general. This means that an even wider range of people will use Nikes new innovation which increases the customer range.

Although the future path for trainers is bleak and not known, eventually lots of customers may be interested because it is known as the ‘back to the future’ self lacing shoe, which means that it will become a ‘wanted’ item due to the fact it has a back story to an extremely popular and cool film. Customers will see this innovation as the next big thing if they associate it with back to the future.(digital trends, 2019)  

Can the brand use it to strengthen their market position? How? Communication?

In the past when Nike have released similar self-lacing trainers to the Hyper adapt BB however they have only released low quantities due to the fact that the brand can’t support the high demand at this stage of innovation and because a new innovation is a high risk.

The brand already has a strong market position meaning they have a high customer and brand loyalty.according to Ansoffs Matrix, (tutor2u, 2019) Nike are currently at the product development stage of the innovation and are outlining the market development stage as they are releasing them. Therefore, this means that Nike can use this new innovation, hyper adapt, to strengthen the brand and increase the range of consumers interested. The more interest they get means that the brands market position increases and strengthens to become the top brand in the market. This is because they are one of the first in the gap in the market and they have a high level of knowledge within the industry.

Can the brand afford to implement it? Afford not too? Additional resources/ investment required?  

Nike are a multi-million £ brand which means they have the funds to afford to implement the new technology and they also have the brand loyalty needed to ensure it actually takes off within the market.(Nike, 2019)

Nike are a huge organisation therefore have a lot of resources’ to carry out a large amount of research and development which means that their market share has a higher chance of increasing due to having a good knowledge and understanding of the industry and the consumer spending habits. However, other competitors have this knowledge too. Like Puma, Puma created a self lacing sneaker with Fit intelligence earlier this year (2019), however even though they released it after the first Nike self lacing trainer, they had made slight adjustments from what Nike did meaning that Nike would need to keep working and improving theirs. (Dezeen, 2019)

Nike first sold the 2016 self lacing shoes through a lottery system and donated $10 of the money to Parkinson’s research charity, proving that the brand know how to please the customers and know the customers habits etc. they know what the customers want from the product and from the brand. Customers don’t just want a good product, they want a good brand.

Leading on from this, Nike have introduced another self lacing shoe at a much lower price for 2019, showing that the brand are still innovating and improving on the same self lacing trainer to try and appeal to a wider range of people and increase the amount of people buying them. The hyper adapt BB is the 2019 version aimed at basketball players.  (Forbes, 2019).

Conclusion  

In conclusion, the main feature that stood out with the hyper adapt technology is that it is developing further to benefit different types of lifestyles especially those that have disabilities. It has promoted the health and performance enhancing benefits rather than just focusing on the fashion aspects of a trainer. Nike have diversified and innovated their trainers to help consumers with disabilities by making the trainers adapt to their foot size which makes them more comfortable. The self-tying laces make the trainers easy to take on and off for the consumer, therefore saving time and any difficulty they may have previously experienced.

Secondly, this technology in the trainers is new and unique to the current market. Eventually this technology could be incorporated in every trainer and considered to be standard in all footwear. If it is successful Nike may only make trainers with the technology and other brands such as Adidas may follow in their footsteps. The price is high due to the costs of the research and development that was required to invent the technology, once that cost is reimbursed the selling price will reduce therefore making it more attractive to consumers  who perhaps do not have very large amounts of disposable income. The lower price will be more affordable and will hopefully lead to a larger volume of sales, which will generate more sales revenue. This sales revenue can be used to be reinvested into Nike to innovate further and keep up with the fast paced technology market.

[funnynewsheadlines]

Mouse Is Caught On Camera Cleaning Up A Man’s Shed At Night

72-year-old British man Stephen Mckears began to question his sanity when he started noticing objects had been moved around in his shed overnight. And they weren’t just being randomly placed, things like clips and screws were somehow finding themselves neatly packed back into a tub as if to chastise Mr. Mckears for his untidiness. Just who was this fastidious phantom, this organized apparition?

Image credits: SWNS

Baffled but determined to solve the mystery, Mr. Mckears decided to empty out the tub and scatter its contents around. He was astonished to find that sure enough, everything was back in its place the next morning. Something was definitely afoot.

Image credits: SWNS

Enlisting the help of friend and neighbor Rodney Holbrook, they decided to set up a trail camera to catch the helpful ghost once and for all. Mr. Holbrook is a keen wildlife photographer, so he has experience in tracking down mystery visitors. What they found was adorably unexpected – a cute and determined mouse lifting objects twice its size in an effort to keep its ‘home’ clean.

Image credits: SWNS TV

“I’ve been calling him Brexit Mouse because he’s been stockpiling for Brexit,” Mr. Mckears said.

“The heaviest thing was the plastic attachment at the end of a hosepipe – and the chain of an electric drill. I didn’t know what it was at first. The kids were saying it was a ghost.”

Image credits: SWNS TV

“One day I emptied the tub out and spread the contents on the side – and the next day they were all back in again. I thought I was going mad.”

Image credits: SWNS TV

Mr. Holbrook was astonished at the mouse’s diligent behavior. “I’ve been calling him Metal Mickey but some people have been saying he’s just mouse proud,” he joked.

“I was quite amazed to see it – it is an amazing mouse.”

Image credits: SWNS TV

“Steve asked if he could use my trail camera to film whatever it was that was moving the objects in his shed.”

“The mouse was chucking things into the box – we thought it was a ghost or something at first. I thought I have to see this for myself.”

Image credits: SWNS TV

Image credits: SWNS TV

It seems that the mouse goes on-shift from around midnight to 2.30am – and has been doing its cleaning duties every night for about a month now.

Image credits: SWNS TV

Image credits: SWNS TV

Image credits: SWNS

“It was doing it for about two hours that night – he must have had to go for a sleep after it,” Mr. Mckears said.

Image credits: SWNS

“I’ve seen a mouse moving objects to make a nest but never metal objects. It’s quite amazing.”

“It’s still busy doing it now.”

Image credits: SWNS

People were amused by the cute and funny story

from Funny – Bored Panda https://ift.tt/2CuNNgL via IFTTT from Blogger https://ift.tt/2HvtLai

[scottish-wrestling-network]

By The Masked Embroiderer Twitter

  As with most things in life, at least the things that are worth doing, it usually takes a lot of time and a lot of effort but in the end you get your reward. The most important step in the process though is the very first one and that is to ‘Begin’.

A great example of this is Rob Downie’s Wrestling Hall of Fame.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

You’ll all have seen some of his work, if not all of it, and you can go back and read the Artist Interview we did with him before if you’re completely unfamiliar with his work, but here is the story behind an idea he dreamt up a few years ago and through his own hard work and persistence has been able to make it a reality. In fact, as you’ll read, it’s morphed and grown organically into something quite special.

–

Rob, tell us what is your ‘Wrestling Hall of Fame’ and when did it all begin?

My wrestling hall of fame is basically a series of small portraits I’ve been drawing of as many wrestlers as I can and also getting as many of them autographed as possible for a personal collection. I started the series in 2018. I once imagined having a big collection of them like a set of trading cards and just fell in love with the idea.

Roughly how many pieces have you made for it now?

At the moment I have drawn 151 pictures of wrestlers. (Note: This number has now increased since talking to us.) I also made a bonus “Non-Wrestler” Hall of Fame because I felt like showing some love to the referees, announcers etc too. That one has 15 pictures. I’ve also got 101 autographs between both sets.

That’s impressive. How do you store them all or display them?

I keep the autographed ones in a small photo album at the moment. I may upgrade it to a bigger one or even a big frame one day. I didn’t expect it to go as far as this but I don’t plan on stopping any time soon either.

Where do you do your drawings? I’ve heard you do some when your on the train?

I only do my silly sketches during long train journeys. I do all of my main stuff from home. I use Photoshop and a graphics tablet.

You obviously take them to the shows to get autographed. Have you ever had any problem getting them in?

Not really, the staff at every show I’ve been to have been mostly quite helpful. In fact I wouldn’t have nearly as many autographs without their help. I try to catch the wrestlers during the intervals or after the show’s over. Sometimes it’s hard to catch certain wrestlers at certain shows because they’re quite busy obviously.

How widely does your collection vary? Which promotions have you covered?

I usually cover promotions I go to, so Discovery Wrestling, Fierce Females and ICW mostly. But I’ve drawn wrestlers from a lot of other promotions across the UK and overseas, and some WWE wrestlers too. Those ones will be fun to get autographed.

Prized piece? Best story behind a piece?

That’s a tricky one. All these pieces are like my children to me so it’s hard to pick out a prized piece. I have had my work noticed by some WWE wrestlers like Naomi, Paige and MVP. That was pretty exciting. The Rock doesn’t seem to have noticed my drawing of him yet, but I’ll keep trying. (Any tags and retweets to help Rob with this would be welcome)

https://twitter.com/RobArtDownie/status/1232078265420066816?s=20

Any pieces you want to make and add to the collection?

I don’t have any specific names at the moment but I’d like to branch out and try and draw a few more WWE wrestlers. And maybe some more from USA and Japan.

I want to thank our good friend Rob once again for talking to us at SWN and recommend that you check out his work using the following details:

Instagram: @robartdownie Twitter: @RobArtDownie

Until next time folks. Thanks again for tuning in.

And if you’d like to be featured in SWN Fan Art Corner you can send in your art to:

Instagram: @themaskedembroiderer Twitter: @TEmbroiderer Or email us ScotWresNet@gmail.com Or use the hashtags #scottishwrestlingart or #scottishwrestlingfanart

SWN Fan Art Corner #14 | Behind The Art: Rob Downie’s Wrestling Hall of Fame

SWN Fan Art Corner #14 | Behind The Art: Rob Downie’s Wrestling Hall of Fame

[socialattractionuk]

Bisexual polyamorous couple say love should be like the sun and ‘radiate all directions’

Darrien Leathers, and boyfriend Ryan Meyers pictured with Beth, Darrien’s other partner (Picture: SWNS)

Darrien Leathers, 23, and Ryan Meyers, 27, had a ‘spiritual marriage’ within two months of meeting on a dating app in 2018.

The couple from San Diego, California felt monogamy was too restrictive and wanted to explore other partners.

A few months later, Darrien met student Beth Sanchez, 20, on Tinder who she eventually began dating.

Ryan has met his spiritual wife’s girlfriend but doesn’t date her himself. And Beth has a boyfriend and is also in an open relationship.

The open relationship works for the trio, who are not in a throuple yet but say they may choose to be in the future.

‘A monogamous relationship can sometimes feel like I’m taking my love and shining it like a flashlight on one person,’ says Ryan.

‘In a sexually fluid relationship, your love is like a sun and it radiates in all directions.’

Darrien (right) and Ryan got spiritually married after two months of meeting (Picture: SWNS)

Ryan, a music producer, and Darrien, a meditation guide, met on MeetMindful, a dating app for mindful people.

Darrien said: ‘I joined the app because I wanted to meet people who were into the conscious lifestyle and aware of what they ate, how they felt and the choices they were making.

‘I originally downloaded the app to talk to girls, but before I changed my preferences, Ryan’s face popped up.

‘We met shortly after. We fell in love right away. Love is limitless and we don’t have to put a lock on love.

‘He told me that he was also fluid and he had an attraction to both sexes.

‘We decided to be in an open relationship and that we were going to see each other and other people too.’

Darrien met Beth on Tinder (Picture: SWNS)

Moving in together after two weeks, the couple opted against a legal marriage because they didn’t want the government to define their love.

In October 2018, the pair travelled to the Sequoia National Forest in California for their wedding, changing their surnames to Seqqoÿa in honor of their ceremony.

In July, Darrien began dating Beth, a student and hairstylist, who she had met on Tinder 18 months before.

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Speaking of her girlfriend Beth, Darrien said: ‘It felt like we had known each other for a long time. It’s been really cool to be able to nurture this feminine bond.’

Ryan initially had some doubts about Darrien’s relationship with Beth.

He said: ‘At first I was a little hesitant about Beth.

‘She was a relationship from the past and we were growing and releasing old patterns and creating new realities for ourselves, not just following our physical desires.

Ryan is in one relationship only at the moment but is open to more in future (Picture: SWNS)

‘But once I met Beth I knew it was a genuine thing. It’s all love and I can feel the love and it’s great to just get more and more love.

‘I can feel jealous but I have to remember that it’s free and open love. We want to allow each other to be the best version of ourselves.’

Although Ryan says ‘doesn’t have time’ to date other people right now, he believes that in the future he will have his own girlfriend or boyfriend or become a ‘throuple’.

He continued: ‘I’m just going with the flow and whatever is meant to be, will be. It’s not something I’m pushing or forcing at all.’

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Beth added: ‘I get to enjoy the best of both worlds. They are night and day.

‘There are two parts of me that feel completed. It’s possible to love more than one person.

‘Love is something that can be spread rather than just contained to one person.’

MORE: Falling for a polyamorous man changed what I thought love was

MORE: Polyamorous triad with three kids want more children and are open to more lovers

MORE: Are we moving towards a society where everyone is polyamorous or in open relationships?

[courtneytincher]

Thomas Cook collapse: Chaos at airports as fleet scrambled to bring 150,000 stranded UK holidaymakers home — latest news

Thousands left stranded abroad as Thomas Cook collapses Oliver Gill: The airline bosses who will welcome Cook’s fall The Thomas Cook bosses who received £20m in bonuses in last 5 years as company collapsed Thomas Cook collapse: is my holiday safe? Have your travels been disrupted by the Thomas Cook collapse? Share your experience by emailing yourstory@telegraph.co.uk We’ll keep you updated throughout the day About 150,000 Britons have had their travel plans thrown into disarray after the collapse of Thomas Cook, leading to chaos in airports and hotels. The 178-year-old travel giant has cancelled all its flights, leading the government to initiate its biggest repatriation effort since the Second World War. A rescue fleet has been scrambled to bring back holidaymakers stuck overseas. Codenamed Operation Matterhorn, dozens of charter planes, from as far afield as Malaysia, have been hired to fly customers home free of charge. The company’s 21,000 employees — around 9,000 of whom are UK-based — have lost their jobs, with 600,000 people worldwide having their travel plans disrupted. Thomas Cook  collapsed into liquidation overnight , a failure that consigns the most iconic name in world travel to the annals of history. Thomas Cook collapse | Read more Richard Moriarty, the chief executive of the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), said the Government had asked his organisation to launch “the UK’s largest ever peacetime repatriation”. In a statement, the CAA said: “Thomas Cook Group, including the UK tour operator and airline, has ceased trading with immediate effect. “All Thomas Cook bookings, including flights and holidays, have now been cancelled.” 12:02PM Political row begins over whether Thomas Cook should have been bailed out Prime Minister Boris Johnson boarding his plane at Heathrow Airport as he heads off for the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York Credit:  Stefan Rousseau/ PA Boris Johnson has defended his decision not to to rescue Thomas Cook, after Labour called for the collapsed tour operator to be given a state-backed bailout package. Speaking to reporters as he traveled to New York to visit the UN General Assembly, Mr Johnson said of Thomas Cook’s rejected request for £150m from the state: Clearly, that’s a lot of taxpayers’ money and sets up, as people will appreciate, a moral hazard in the case of future such commercial difficulties that companies face. The Prime Minister instead said attention should be paid to the amount the travel giant’s bosses have been paid in recent years. Labour Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell accused the PM of “ideological bias”. He told the BBC: The government’s intervention could have enabled us to just stabilise the situation, give a breathing space so that there could be proper consultation with the workforce in particular about how to go forward. To just stand to one side and watch this number of jobs go and so many holidaymakers have their holiday ruined, I just don’t think that’s wise government. Meanwhile, Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has offered her thoughts to those people who have lost their jobs.  Inevitable that much of the focus today will be on those who have had flights cancelled, but the Thomas Cook collapse is devastating for the company’s many workers. My thoughts are very much with them and their families. https://t.co/KPz2ZTBCxy— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) September 23, 2019 11:49AM Train services offer free tickets to affected customers Network Rail’s train services are holding a unified line on travel disruption today, offering customers who have had their holiday plans foiled a free ticket to get back from the airport: Following the collapse of ThomasCook we want to support those impacted who may already have plans to travel to or from @LDNLutonAirport or @Gatwick_Airport. If you have bought rail tickets from us & no longer travelling, you'll be able to get a full refund (with no admin fee).— Thameslink (@TLRailUK) September 23, 2019 Following the collapse of ThomasCook we want to support those impacted who may already have plans to travel to or from @LDNLutonAirport or @Gatwick_Airport. If you have bought rail tickets from us & no longer travelling, you'll be able to get a full refund (with no admin fee).— Great Northern (@GNRailUK) September 23, 2019 Any customers affected by the ThomasCookcollapse who are unable to make their booked train will be permitted to travel on the next suitable service by providing reasonable evidence of a Thomas Cook booking.— GWR Help (@GWRHelp) September 23, 2019 11:44AM Tunisian tourism minister: Thomas Cook owes hotels £60m Tunisia’s tourism minister, Rene Trabelsi, has told Reuters that Thomas Cook owes hotels in the country €60m for stays in July and August. It’s likely we’ll be getting a clearer sense of the company’s widespread debts as the day continues... 11:36AM ‘We woke up this morning and heard on the news that Thomas Cook had gone bankrupt’ John Garrett and Ajoulyn Chaffe arrived at Gatwick to find Thomas Cook had gone bust as they were flying Credit:  SWNS More testimonials from the wires: American couple John Garrett, 40, and Ajoulyn Chaffe, 35, arrived at Gatwick to find Thomas Cook went bust while they were in the air. Holidaymakers who had booked with Thomas Cook were ‘devastated’ when they turned up at Gatwick this morning to find their trips had been cancelled. Among them were Jerry Blackwell, 47, who said he and his wife were scheduled to fly to Dalaman in Turkey at 5.15pm yesterday. Mr Blackwell said: “We went to the boarding gate and someone said it was cancelled due to staff illness so we got put up in a Premier Inn last night and were meant to fly out at midday. “We woke up this morning and heard on the news that Thomas Cook had gone bankrupt.” Read more here: Thomas Cook collapse: Misery across Europe as stranded Britons wait for repatriation 11:30AM Thomas Cook staff pensions  ‘are protected’ People leaving Thomas Cook’s Peterborough headquarters Credit:  Joe Giddens/ PA Thomas Cook staff who have lost their jobs today will have their pensions protected, according to the Pension Protection Fund — a statutory fund intended to protect members if their defined benefit pension fund becomes insolvent. We understand this is an extremely difficult time for the members of @ThomasCookUK’s defined benefit pension schemes, but they can be assured that their pensions are protected by us. To find out more about the PPF and the protection we provide, see here. https://t.co/bGssuroVSr— Pension Protection Fund (@PPF) September 23, 2019  The PPF says it will be contacting Thomas Cook employees today: To all members of the @ThomasCookUK defined benefit pension schemes, your pension trustees will be in touch soon with an update on your scheme. To understand how the PPF works and protects your pension click here https://t.co/X74NtvKvkV— Pension Protection Fund (@PPF) September 23, 2019 11:27AM Petition to bail out Thomas Cook nears 70,000 signatures  AChange.org petition to calling for the Government or a plucky investor to re-finance the collapsing tour operator is edging closer to 70,000 signatures. The petition, created by a Thomas Cook employee’s husband, says: The iconic travel firm, the oldest travel firm, Thomas Cook has made dream holidays for us all and we have made so many memories, had work experiences and met so many great people that had effect in our lives. Thomas Cook is one of Britain's most well known brands. I so believe the company will come good again once this financial problems have been resolved.  Let’s help our Thomas Cook at this difficult times.  If the Government or any other lenders help to fund shortfall of money then the future will be bright. 11:15AM Have your travels been disrupted by the Thomas Cook collapse?  Share your experience by emailing yourstory@telegraph.co.uk 11:09AM Final flight eyewitness: Clear staff had been left ‘in total limbo’ Passengers exit the final Thomas Cook passenger flight, which landed at Manchster Airport this morning Credit: OLI SCARFF/ AFP A passenger on one of the last ever Thomas Cook flights to fly has  described how emotional staff broke news of the company’s collapse when they landed this morning. From the wires: Jason Ritchie, 50, was onboard a Thomas Cook flight from Orlando to Manchester with his wife Sharon, 49, when staff announced the company’s closure this morning. Their flight took off at 12:30am UK time, half an hour after the travel company's collapse as staff rushed to get the flight off the ground. Jason, from Nottingham, said: “We were just landing at Manchester Airport at 8:30am when the cabin crew announced that Thomas Cook had collapsed. “We were due to set off from Orlando at 7:15PM local time on 22 September, and only experienced a 10 minute delay in taking off from there. “When the staff announced what had happened, they sounded emotional and it was clear they'd been left in total limbo with no more information themselves on what we'd been told. “I spoke to one of the cabin crew who said they’d heard nothing from head office, and hadn’t even spoke to their family — they had no idea where they stood with their jobs.” 11:02AM Ex-affiliate Indian airline caught in crossfire  Thomas Cook India — which exited Thomas Cook seven years ago and now has no relationship to the collapsed group beyond its name — has nonetheless seen its share price suffer from rough headlines around the travel giant in recent days. The company has taken to Twitter to try and clear up the confusion: Thomas Cook PLC (UK) has no relationship with Thomas Cook India as we were acquired by Canada based Fairfax Financial Holdings (Fairfax) in 2012. We are completely independent of Thomas Cook UK & hence the news of their situation does not impact us. https://t.co/8hszrYqI69— Thomas Cook India (@tcookin) September 23, 2019 10:54AM Turkey prepares support package for impacted customers Authorities in Turkey,  have warned hotels not to evict affected customers or demand money from them: Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry warns hotels in Turkey: If you demand payments from tourists or evict them from their hotel rooms due to ThomasCookCollapse, you will be prosecuted. https://t.co/TQExCGbZ27— Yunus Emre Oruç (@defusertt) September 23, 2019 Turkish tourism ministry also announces that they're working with the Finance and Treasury Ministry to provide a support package for the establishments affected by the collapse. ThomasCookCollapse— Yunus Emre Oruç (@defusertt) September 23, 2019 Here’s a video purportedly from on board the final Thomas Cook flight: Dedicated Thomas Cook staff on last flight ��so sad @GMBpic.twitter.com/QT8kIPb71A— Gill (@Gill99287213) September 23, 2019 10:48AM Short-sellers set to win out from Thomas Cook’s collapse One group who will be smiling today are Thomas Cook’s short-sellers: investors who had placed a financial bet that the company’s share price would fall. Around 11pc of the company’s shares were being shorted according the most recent filing to the Financial Conduct Authority, with the biggest short positions held by TT International and Whitebox Advisors. Thomas Cook: Share price 10:39AM Condor and Thomas Cook split on number of stranded Germans A Condor airlines plane, part of the Thomas Cook Group, is seen at the Heraklion airport on the island of Crete Credit:  STEFANOS RAPANIS/ REUTERS Other than the 150,000 Brits stranded abroad, it looks like another big chunk of the 600,000 customers left in the lurch by Thomas Cook’s collapse may well be German holidaymakers. A few minutes ago, the travel company said there are 140,000 people abroad who are currently travelling with its subsidiaries in Germany. But Condor, its biggest German subsidiary, says around 240,000 are booked on its flight and awaiting a return home. I’m sure more clarity will be forthcoming, but it looks like Germans will be feeling the disruption at least as much as Brits. 10:31AM Scenes from around the world as travel giant collapses Photos are pouring in from across the world as the aftershocks from Thomas Cook’s collapse spread: A British Government official speaks with Thomas Cook passengers at Son Sant Joan airport in Palma de Mallorca Credit: JAIME REINA/AFP People line up in front of a counter of Thomas Cook at the Heraklion airport on the island of Cret Credit: STEFANOS RAPANIS/REUTERS Office workers outside the Peterborough headquarters of the 178-year-old tour operator Credit: Joe Giddens/PA The last Thomas Cook flight, coming from Orland, US, arrives in Manchester Credit:  Gareth J. Bond via REUTERS John Garret from Boston, Massachusetts. who was supposed to be flying to Malta takes a photo of the empty Thomas Cook check in desks in Gatwick Airport Credit: Alastair Grant/ AP A British Government official assists passengers at Manchester Airport Credit: PHIL NOBLE/REUTERS 10:17AM Liquidation will have ‘major impact for the high street’ Thomas Cook has 588 high-street stores Credit: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg Thomas Cook’s collapse, as well as putting 9,000 people out of work in the UK, will also have a major impact on the nation’s high streets. Joanne Fearnley, partner and commercial property expert at law firm Gordons, says: We must not forget in all of this that there is a major impact for the high street too. Thomas Cook has 588 stores which will inevitably close, a further blow for landlords already suffering from a number of high-profile closures and collapses. It’s another massive blow for the UK high street and underlines the need for imaginative change. Crash landing: Thomas Cook in numbers 10:13AM Thomas Cook collapse: Everything customers need to know People walk in front of a counter of Thomas Cook at the Heraklion airport on the island of Crete Credit:  STEFANOS RAPANIS/REUTERS  Telegraph Money have all the key info customers need about how Thomas Cook’s collapse could impact them: What happens to Thomas Cook flights and holidays? Everything customers need to know Here are some of the key points: Will my holiday be affected?  The good news is that Thomas Cook package holiday customers will not be left out of pocket because these holidays are protected by the company’s Air Travel Organiser’s Licence, or Atol. What kind of compensation will I get and when? Atol will step in to help with either a refund or a replacement holiday. Martyn James, of consumer champions Resolver, said: “If you’ve booked a packaged holiday with a flight, then Atol can help with disputes and cancellations.”  What if I'm already abroad? Will my return flight be cancelled?  Even if you were stuck abroad, you will get whatever help you needed to enjoy your holiday then return home. The Government has promised to ensure that all British travellers who were due to fly back within the next two weeks are brought home free of charge. Is my hotel booking protected? Martin Lewis, founder of website MoneySavingExpert, said those who’ve already paid for their hotels abroad as part of a Thomas Cook package shouldn’t pay again. But, he added, “that won’t stop a few uncertain and scared hoteliers overseas wanting money directly from British travellers to be doubly sure. This could leave British tourists in sticky situations. If so, the Civil Aviation Authority has a helpline which should sort it for you.”   9:59AM Liverpool FC ‘assessing the impact’ of Thomas Cook collapse on hospitality packages Liverpool fans can buy hospitality packages from Thomas Cook Credit: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC Among its multi-faceted operations, Thomas Cook sells Liverpool fans hospitality packages to attend the club’s home games at Anfield. Liverpool FC said in a statement: We are currently assessing the impact of Thomas Cook ceasing trading and the impact for those supporters who have purchased packages from Thomas Cook. Once we have those details from Thomas Cook we will update supporters. 9:54AM First rescue flight sets off from JFK Airport The first rescue flight as part of Operation Matterhorn has taken off from New York’s Matterhorn Airport carrying “over 300 passengers”, the CAA says: The first Civil Aviation Authority repatriation flight has now left JFK, headed for Manchester with over 300 passengers on board. It is estimated to arrive at 5PM today. If you have been impacted by ThomasCook ceasing trading, please visit our website:https://t.co/g4G2b6RlHcpic.twitter.com/pfVPG6bL6Y— UK Civil Aviation Authority (@UK_CAA) September 23, 2019 9:52AM Newlyweds’ honeymoon plans ruined after flight is cancelled News agency SWNS reports: A honeymoon couple were among tens of thousands of people whose holiday plans have been scuppered by the collapse of Thomas Cook. Jane and Richard Dawson, who tied the knot on Friday, stayed at a hotel at Gatwick Airport overnight in preparation for their ten-hour flight. But the newlyweds, from Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, where the world’s oldest travel operator was based, woke up to find that their flight to Jamaica had been cancelled along with hundreds of others. Jane and Richard, who were due to fly at 11.45am today, were told to go home by airport staff. 9:44AM Thomas Cook’s final passenger flight lands Sky News has footage of the last-ever Thomas Cook flight landing at Manchester Airport, just over an hour ago: BREAKING: The last Thomas Cook passenger flight lands at Manchester Airport after the company collapsed following failed rescue talks. Get the latest on the ThomasCook collapse here: https://t.co/3Hgpl7YJkQpic.twitter.com/65sibJ4CO7— Sky News (@SkyNews) September 23, 2019 9:42AM Stranded customers: ‘The hotel next door shut the gates and wouldn’t let people leave’ An airport worker speaks with passengers of the British travel group Thomas Cook at Son Sant Joan airport in Palma de Mallorca  Credit:  JAIME REINA/ AFP Around 600,000 people, including 150,000 Brits, have had their travel plans thrown into chaos by Thomas Cook’s collapse. My colleagues have been gathering stories from those affected: Danielle Rutherford, on holiday in Tunisia told BBC’s Today programme: “We haven’t been told anything by Thomas Cook.  “The hotel have said we shouldn’t have to pay, but we don’t leave until Friday so we don’t know. My husband and I were told on Saturday that we had to pay £4,000.  “The hotel next door shut the gates and wouldn’t let people leave. We hope to be able to carry on our holiday and not worry about it.” Read all their stories here: Thomas Cook collapse: Misery across Europe as stranded Britons wait for repatriation 9:32AM MP: Collapse is ‘devastating news’ for Greater Manchester Labour’s Lucy Powell, MP for Manchester Central, tweets: With over 3,000 people in Greater Manchester employed by Thomas Cook, its collapse will have a massive impact on families and communities here. This is devastating news. https://t.co/89NzP2cHfI— Lucy Powell MP (@LucyMPowell) September 23, 2019 9:29AM Thomas Cook: a timeline How did Thomas Cook end up entering liquidation after 178 years in operation? Our timeline charts the key event in the travel group’s history: Thomas Cook timeline 9:28AM ‘Gutted doesn’t cut it’ Some of Thomas Cook’s 9,000 UK staff are speaking out on social media, sharing their memories of working at the company. It was a short lived journey with Thomas Cook, but it was a job I wanted and loved. My heart goes out to my store colleagues and to all staff with Thomas Cook. Gutted doesn’t cut it�� pic.twitter.com/LuYcEGCHT7— molly ranger (@mollyroseranger) September 23, 2019 9:23AM Thomas Cook’s German subsidiary seeks emergency loan Travellers queue up in a Condor check-in service at the Frankfurt Airport Credit:  KAI PFAFFENBACH/REUTERS Condor, Thomas Cook’s subsidiary in Germany, will continue flying but has requested financial aid from the German government. AFP reports:  Condor, the German airline subsidiary of British travel giant Thomas Cook, said Monday it was requesting financial aid from Berlin to help keep it in the air even after its parent company declared bankruptcy. Underlining that it had been “profitable for many years,” the airline added that “to prevent liquidity bottlenecks at Condor, it has applied for a state-guaranteed bridging loan” which is being examined in Berlin. “We’re continuing to concentrate on what we do best: flying our guests safely and punctually to their holidays,” said managing director Ralf Teckentrup. 9:19AM Swiss chalet group: Matterhorn code name is damaging for Switzerland A tightrope walker in front of the Matterhorn mountain Credit: Dominic Steinmann/Keystone A Swiss chalet operator has raised concerns that Operation Matterhorn, the government’s codename for its operation to repatriate Thomas Cook customers, could cast aspersions upon Switzerland (home of the Matterhorn mountain, in the region of Zermatt). Matterhorn Chalets’ Ed Mannix told the Telegraph: I think you will agree that whilst the Matterhorn is essentially Zermatt’s trade mark as well as Switzerland’s de facto national icon, any association with the calamitous financial failure of Thomas Cook cannot be good for us here. In the circumstances, can anything be done on an official level to protect the reputation of Switzerland, possibly the world’s most financially secure country, and Zermatt, home of the Matterhorn and it’s most well-known known tourist destination? 9:11AM Staff ‘in tears’ at Thomas Cook headquarters  People walk outside the Peterborough headquarters of Thomas Cook Credit: Joe Giddens/ PA Thomas Cook’s collapse is a tragedy for staff at its headquarters in Peterborough, who are set to lose their jobs as the company enter liquidation. Reuters reports: Thomas Cook staff were seen hugging each other in tears at its headquarters in Cambridgeshire this morning — after the holiday company collapsed. Hundreds of employees have been seen heading into the offices at Lynch Wood in Peterborough for a 10am meeting about the compulsory liquidation, which happened this morning after a weekend of talks to save the company. Many looked tearful as they arrived at the headquarters, which employs around 1,000 people. Scene at Thomas Cook HQ Peterborough where around 1000 employees are learning of their fate after the company collapsed after 178 years, more on @BBCCambs 95.7/96fm 1026mw DAB Freeview 722. pic.twitter.com/bNU66bS6hW— John Devine (@JohnDevine1961) September 23, 2019 9:07AM Travel rivals’ shares climb after collapse Shares in rival TUI are up around 7pc Credit: Eric Greer/Boeing Thomas Cook’s collapse is paying off for other travel firms, with rival TUI soaring nearly 7pc up as the biggest climber on the FTSE 100 share index. Easyjet, on the FTSE 250, is up just under 6pc. Other airlines such as Wizz Air, IAG, Lufthansa and Air France-KLM are all gaining. RIP Thomas Cook. From a TUI fan. Airline rivalry means nothing on a day like this— Richard Wilson (@richwilson26) September 23, 2019 You’re never too big to fail. Last year, Thomas Cook bought in £9.5billion in revenue. Today, they collapse in disgrace. Another reminder to stay humble. Feel sorry for staff and those stuck abroad.— Austin (@AustinDarbo) September 23, 2019 So guess who was flying with Thomas cook to NYC ���� in less than 3 weeks time... yes that’s me ����— Georgie Higginson (@Georgina_higg) September 23, 2019 8:56AM CAA chair: ‘Every single person will be brought back home’ Dame Deidre Hutton Credit:  Jane Mingay/The Daily Telegraph The Civil Aviation Authority’s chair Dame Deidre Hutton has told the BBC that all Thomas Cook customers will be brought back home once their holidays finish. She said: Every single person will be brought back home at the end of their holiday... Everyone will be brought home free of charge. 8:46AM MoneySavingExpert: What Thomas staff who have been made redundant should do now Martin Lewis from MoneySavingExpert has offered his sympathies to Thomas Cook staff who will lose their jobs due to the company’s collapse, tweeting: Im v sorry for all Thomas Cook staff; horrid night 4u. Youll get specifics of your situation from the administrators.. For provisional reading, there is info in our redundancy guide - incl claiming wages off the NI Fund https://t.co/E5WmSRR5cN— Martin Lewis (@MartinSLewis) September 23, 2019 8:43AM More reaction from Twitter... ...it looks like lots of customers had close calls: We got lucky... we flew with Thomas Cook in June when the talks of liquidation started. I feel so bad for everyone who’s stranded RIPThomasCook— Manika�� (@swiftlymanika13) September 23, 2019 Close call. Booked a holiday very recently after looking at the options. Nearly chose Thomas Cook as the service was so great but the firm couldn’t match the price offered by a local travel agent. Am feeling lucky for me, but very sorry for everyone caught up in the chaos.— Alan Dapré (@AlanDapre) September 23, 2019 Girlfriend was cabin crew with Thomas cook. Looked after passengers last night knowing not getting paid. Lost her job, company have abandoned her in Newcastle to find own way back to Cheshire. Other crew kicked out of hotels overnight. Who is looking after them @MC_HMGovernment— Radio Free Salford (@salfordpf) September 23, 2019 8:32AM Thomas Cook’s Twitter support page has shut down Thomas Cook Cares, the account through which the travel giant fields customer questions, has officially shut down, and will no longer be monitored.  We are sorry to announce that Thomas Cook has ceased trading with immediate effect. This account will not be monitored. Please visit https://t.co/PLklUd1C7q for further advice and information.ThomasCookpic.twitter.com/jnYvg8jpV3— Thomas Cook Cares (@ThomasCookCares) September 23, 2019  The dedicated page for customer service support, run by the CAA, is here:  8:30AM Labour’s McDonnell: Thomas Cook bosses should have to repay their bonuses  Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell Credit: Kirsty O'Connor/PA Labour Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has said the government should have bailed out Thomas Cook, and that the travel group’s bosses should hand back their bonuses. He told the BBC: When this crisis started I said to the government that they should intervene if only to stabilise the situation while a real plan for the future of the company could be addressed. I think the government should have been willing to do more, intervene and stabilise the situation and allow a long-term plan to develop.” To just stand to one side and watch this number of jobs go and to so many holidaymakers have their holidays ruined is not good government John McDonnell says the Government should have bailed out Thomas Cook He says it should have been given funding ‘with strings attached’, highlighting similar intervention in steel crisis He says Thomas Cook bosses should ‘examine their consciences’ and pay back their bonuses— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) September 23, 2019 8:21AM A 178-year legacy comes to an end Passengers talk to Civil Aviation Authority employees at Mallorca Airport Credit:  ENRIQUE CALVO/ REUTERS The last-ever Thomas Cook flight will land at Manchester Airport in just over half an hour. You can follow its progress via OAG Flightview here. What began on 5th July 1841 with a train journey from Leicester to Loughborough ends in the next half an hour or so when the final ever Thomas Cook flight lands at Terminal 1 of Manchester Airport, completing its journey from Orlando. End of an era. pic.twitter.com/WQY0bKWV2m— Peter Ruddick (@ruddick) September 23, 2019 On social media, users are continuing to pay tribute to the company’s more than 20,000 staff. Thinking of the thousands upon thousands of employees of Thomas cook this Monday morning, my heart truely goes out to them. Devastating �� pic.twitter.com/xIJ1JC6tTy— s a r a h �� (@xsarahorr) September 23, 2019 8:09AM Wizz Air offers Cyprus ‘rescue fares’ for stranded Thomas Cook customers Sensing an opportunity, rival airline Wizz Air is offering Thomas Cook customers hoping to fly between Larnaca and Paphos, Cyprus, and London Luton.  The airline’s managing director Owain Jones, said: Wizz Air is pleased to offer customers whose travel plans between the UK and Larnaca or Paphos have been cancelled following the bankruptcy of Thomas Cook the opportunity to travel with Wizz Air between London Luton and Larnaca at the special price of £99/€109.99 [One way including all taxes and non-optional charges]. The number of seats available at this special rescue fare is limited and the special fare is available only to customers with confirmed Thomas Cook reservations  until 30 November 2019 .  7:54AM Staff ‘stabbed in the back’, says pilots’ union A security person stands next to the entrance of the German headquarters of travel company Thomas Cook in Oberursel near Frankfurt, Germany Credit: Michael Probst/ AP Thomas Cook’s staff “have been stabbed in the back without a second’s thought”, the pilots union has claimed.  A statement from the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) said that while plans were in place to rescue stranded tourists, pilots and other staff have been left with no certainty about their future.  While detailed plans to repatriate passengers have been carefully put together and Ministers have and will continue to claim the credit for that, the staff have been stabbed in the back without a second’s thought.​ Despite continuing to keep Thomas Cook going in recent weeks with dignity and integrity while their own futures were being secretly decided we don’t even know if staff will get a pay cheque this month. It is despicable. Thomas Cook pilots and all staff deserve better than this. For pilots, BALPA will be supporting our members through the legal complexities of what Thomas Cook liquidation means for them and doing everything we can to help them find alternative jobs in other airlines. 7:44AM On the Beach faces costs from Thomas Cook collapse Another British travel company, On the Beach, has warned this morning that it expects to take a one-off hit as a result of Thomas Cook’s collapse.  On the Beach said that following the failure of Thomas Cook overnight it “is assisting customers that are currently in resort and whose travel plans will be affected”. The beach holiday seller said it anticipates “a one-off exceptional cost associated with helping customers to organise alternative travel arrangements, and lost margin on cancelled bookings”. The company said it expects to recover the costs of cancelled flights but that it was still assessing the potential impact on its financial performance for its next financial year, which starts in October.  7:33AM ‘A deeply sad day’ — Thomas Cook's boss Thomas Cook boss Peter Fankhauser Credit:  ullstein bild/Getty Thomas Cook’s boss Peter Fankhauser has said the company's collapse “marks a deeply sad day for the company which pioneered package holidays and made travel possible for millions of people around the world”.  Thomas Cook collapse | Read more It was a matter of “profound regret” that he and the other board members were unable to save the company, he added.  Here is what else Fankhauser had to say in this morning's stock exchange announcement:  We have worked exhaustively in the past few days to resolve the outstanding issues on an agreement to secure Thomas Cook's future for its employees, customers and suppliers.  Although a deal had been largely agreed, an additional facility requested in the last few days of negotiations presented a challenge that ultimately proved insurmountable. It is a matter of profound regret to me and the rest of the board that we were not successful. I would like to apologise to our millions of customers, and thousands of employees, suppliers and partners who have supported us for many years. Despite huge uncertainty over recent weeks, our teams continued to put customers first, showing why Thomas Cook is one of the best-loved brands in travel. Generations of customers entrusted their family holiday to Thomas Cook because our people kept our customers at the heart of the business and maintained our founder's spirit of innovation. 7:27AM Statement from Thomas Cook Thomas Cook has made a statement to the stock market this morning confirming that it is entering liquidation.  Further to the announcement made on 20 September 2019, Thomas Cook Group plc (“the Company”) continued to engage with a range of key stakeholders over the weekend in order to secure final terms on the recapitalisation and reorganisation of the Company.  Despite considerable efforts, those discussions have not resulted in agreement between the Company's stakeholders and proposed new money providers. The Company's board has therefore concluded that it had no choice but to take steps to enter into compulsory liquidation with immediate effect. The failed travel company confirmed that the High Court had granted an order for the Official Receiver to be appointed as liquidator. It said it expects Alix Partners will be appointed as special managers to act on behalf of the official receiver and that Alix will "work very closely with the Civil Aviation Authority in the UK to effect the repatriation of all UK customers impacted by this announcement".  6:00AM ‘My heart is broken’ Members of the company’s 21,000 staff reacted to the news on social media, some posting pictures of themselves walking from their last flights. “Love my job so much, don’t want it to end,” Kia Dawn Hayward, a member of the company's cabin crew, said on Twitter. Love my job so much, don’t want it to end���� Thank you for making my dream job come true ThomasCook , you will always be my first ever airline and the last in my Sunny Heart�� pic.twitter.com/1T4jL8cBsF— Kia Dawn Hayward (@kiaandmusic) September 22, 2019 Chloe Rawlinson said: “Heartbroken to say the least. Had the most surreal 2 years of my life full of fun laughter and smiles all around and I’ll always be thankful for Thomas cook. 178 years of amazing service that has came to an end.” Heartbroken to say the least�� had the most surreal 2 years of my life full of fun laughter and smiles all around and I’ll always be thankful for Thomas cook. 178 years of amazing service that has came to an end ���� thomascookpic.twitter.com/NiacbR7lxH— Chloe Rawlinson (@xChloerawlinson) September 23, 2019 Absolutely devastated , 25 years I have given to thomascook and it’s all gone overnight ��— BrendanMcgarry (@brenmcgarry) September 23, 2019 Holidaymakers also expressed sympathy for those who lost jobs. My honeymoon has gone down the drain as we had booked with thomascook but I don’t care, I’ll get refunded. I care about the employees who have lost their jobs with no warning and this close to Christmas, ❤️— Steph Wight (@steph_wight) September 22, 2019 5:43AM Grant Shapps: ‘We will bring everyone home’ Transport Secretary Grant Shapps Credit:  Andrew Crowley/The Daily Telegraph Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, has promised to bring all the affected Thomas Cook customers back.  Very sadly Thomas Cook has collapsed. The biggest UK peacetime repatriation in history is underway. We will bring everyone home. An enormous task, there will be some delays, but we're working round the clock to do everything we can. Visit https://t.co/0wVHltRgqB for details.— Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) September 23, 2019 4:38AM What is Operation Matterhorn? Britain's biggest ever peacetime repatriation has got under way in an effort to bring home 150,000 holidaymakers who were stranded after the collapse of Thomas Cook. Codenamed Operation Matterhorn, Richard Moriarty, chief executive of the CAA, said it had launched "what is effectively one of the UK's largest airlines" in order to repatriate British holidaymakers. Here's everything you need to know about the operation. 3:47AM What is ATOL protection? There is a lot of talk about whether your Thomas Cook holiday was ATOL protected. Here's a brief guide about what that means. At a glance | ATOL holiday protection 3:13AM Fosun 'disappointed' in collapse A Thomas Cook aircraft awaits departure on the runway at Terminal 1 at Manchester Airport yesterday Credit:  Anthony Devlin/Getty Fosun Tourism Group, which noted it is a "minority investor with no board representation" in Thomas Cook, issued a statement after the travel operator's collapse. The Chinese conglomerate, which owns Wolverhampton Wanderers, said: "Fosun is disappointed that Thomas Cook Group has not been able to find a viable solution for its proposed recapitalisation with other affiliates, core lending banks, senior noteholders and additional involved parties. "Fosun confirms that its position remained unchanged throughout the process, but unfortunately other factors have changed. "We extend our deepest sympathy to all those affected by this outcome." 2:58AM Dozens of charter planes hired Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announces dozens of charter planes have been hired to fly customers home free of charge. In a statement, the Department for Transport (DfT) says all customers currently abroad with Thomas Cook who are booked to return to the UK over the next two weeks will be brought home as close as possible to their booked return date. A general view of the Thomas Cook check-in desks in the South Terminal of Gatwick Airport Credit: PA The DfT says  Thomas Cook package holiday customers will also see the cost of their accommodation covered by the Government, through the Air Travel Trust Fund or Atol scheme. Mr Shapps said: "Thomas Cook's collapse is very sad news for staff and holidaymakers. "The Government and UK CAA is working round the clock to help people. "Our contingency planning has helped acquire planes from across the world - some from as far away as Malaysia - and we have put hundreds of people in call centres and at airports. "But the task is enormous, the biggest peacetime repatriation in UK history. So there are bound to be problems and delays. "Please try to be understanding with the staff who are trying to assist in what is likely to be a very difficult time for them as well." 2:49AM Thomas Cook chief apologies Peter Fankhauser, the chief executive of Thomas Cook, said the tour operator's  collapse was a "matter of profound regret" as he apologised to the company's  "millions of customers, and thousands of employees".  "We have worked exhaustively in the past few days to resolve the outstanding issues on an agreement to secure Thomas Cook's future for its employees, customers and suppliers. "Although a deal had been largely agreed, an additional facility requested in the last few days of negotiations presented a challenge that ultimately proved insurmountable. "It is a matter of profound regret to me and the rest of the board that we were not successful. Thomas Cook chief executive officer Peter Fankhauser Credit: PA "I would like to apologise to our millions of customers, and thousands of employees, suppliers and partners who have supported us for many years. "Despite huge uncertainty over recent weeks, our teams continued to put customers first, showing why Thomas Cook is one of the best-loved brands in travel. "Generations of customers entrusted their family holiday to Thomas Cook because our people kept our customers at the heart of the business and maintained our founder's spirit of innovation. "This marks a deeply sad day for the company which pioneered package holidays and made travel possible for millions of people around the world." 2:46AM Website down  Holidaymakers seeking information are being left frustrated as the website dedicated to the collapse is not up and running. The website: https://ift.tt/2M9NFaz  The CAA says:  "We are aware that some users are having difficultly accessing the dedicated website for information and advice following Thomas Cook ceasing trading. Please keep checking the website as it is currently launching." 2:42AM CAA launches 'one of the UK's largest airlines' Richard Moriarty, chief executive of the CAA, said it had launched "what is effectively one of the UK's largest airlines" in order to repatriate British holidaymakers.He said: "News of Thomas Cook's collapse is deeply saddening for the company's employees and customers, and we appreciate that more than 150,000 people currently abroad will be anxious about how they will now return to the UK. "The government has asked us to support Thomas Cook customers on what is the UK's largest ever peacetime repatriation. "We have launched, at very short notice, what is effectively one of the UK's largest airlines, involving a fleet of aircraft secured from around the world. The nature and scale of the operation means that unfortunately some disruption will be inevitable. We ask customers to bear with us as we work around the clock to bring them home. "We urge anyone affected by this news to check our dedicated website, thomascook.caa.co.uk, for advice and information." 2:38AM Operation begins to bring home holidaymakers The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said the Government had asked it to launch a repatriation programme over the next two weeks, starting on Monday and running to Sunday 6 October, to bring Thomas Cook customers back to the UK. The CAA statement said: "Due to the unprecedented number of UK customers currently overseas who are affected by the situation, the Civil Aviation Authority has secured a fleet of aircraft from around the world to bring passengers back to the UK with return flights. "Passengers in a small number of destinations may return on alternative commercial flights, rather than directly through the Civil Aviation Authority's flying programme. Details and advice for these passengers are available on the dedicated website. "Due to the significant scale of the situation, some disruption is inevitable, but the Civil Aviation Authority will endeavour to get people home as close as possible to their planned dates. This will apply to both Atol protected passengers and those who are not protected. "Customers currently overseas should not travel to the airport until their flight back to the UK has been confirmed on the dedicated website. "Thomas Cook customers in the UK yet to travel should not go to the airport as all flights leaving the UK have been cancelled." 2:30AM Thomas Cook collapses Good morning. All eyes are on Thomas Cook this morning after the travel operator collapsed in the early hours of Monday.  Thomas Cook has collapsed, a failure that will likely consign the most iconic name in world travel to the annals of history. The Government and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have launched Britain’s biggest peacetime repatriation of customers. The CAA said the tour operator has "ceased trading with immediate effect". "All Thomas Cook bookings, including flights and holidays, have now been cancelled," it added.

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Thousands left stranded abroad as Thomas Cook collapses Oliver Gill: The airline bosses who will welcome Cook’s fall The Thomas Cook bosses who received £20m in bonuses in last 5 years as company collapsed Thomas Cook collapse: is my holiday safe? Have your travels been disrupted by the Thomas Cook collapse? Share your experience by emailing yourstory@telegraph.co.uk We’ll keep you updated throughout the day About 150,000 Britons have had their travel plans thrown into disarray after the collapse of Thomas Cook, leading to chaos in airports and hotels. The 178-year-old travel giant has cancelled all its flights, leading the government to initiate its biggest repatriation effort since the Second World War. A rescue fleet has been scrambled to bring back holidaymakers stuck overseas. Codenamed Operation Matterhorn, dozens of charter planes, from as far afield as Malaysia, have been hired to fly customers home free of charge. The company’s 21,000 employees — around 9,000 of whom are UK-based — have lost their jobs, with 600,000 people worldwide having their travel plans disrupted. Thomas Cook  collapsed into liquidation overnight , a failure that consigns the most iconic name in world travel to the annals of history. Thomas Cook collapse | Read more Richard Moriarty, the chief executive of the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), said the Government had asked his organisation to launch “the UK’s largest ever peacetime repatriation”. In a statement, the CAA said: “Thomas Cook Group, including the UK tour operator and airline, has ceased trading with immediate effect. “All Thomas Cook bookings, including flights and holidays, have now been cancelled.” 12:02PM Political row begins over whether Thomas Cook should have been bailed out Prime Minister Boris Johnson boarding his plane at Heathrow Airport as he heads off for the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York Credit:  Stefan Rousseau/ PA Boris Johnson has defended his decision not to to rescue Thomas Cook, after Labour called for the collapsed tour operator to be given a state-backed bailout package. Speaking to reporters as he traveled to New York to visit the UN General Assembly, Mr Johnson said of Thomas Cook’s rejected request for £150m from the state: Clearly, that’s a lot of taxpayers’ money and sets up, as people will appreciate, a moral hazard in the case of future such commercial difficulties that companies face. The Prime Minister instead said attention should be paid to the amount the travel giant’s bosses have been paid in recent years. Labour Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell accused the PM of “ideological bias”. He told the BBC: The government’s intervention could have enabled us to just stabilise the situation, give a breathing space so that there could be proper consultation with the workforce in particular about how to go forward. To just stand to one side and watch this number of jobs go and so many holidaymakers have their holiday ruined, I just don’t think that’s wise government. Meanwhile, Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has offered her thoughts to those people who have lost their jobs.  Inevitable that much of the focus today will be on those who have had flights cancelled, but the Thomas Cook collapse is devastating for the company’s many workers. My thoughts are very much with them and their families. https://t.co/KPz2ZTBCxy— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) September 23, 2019 11:49AM Train services offer free tickets to affected customers Network Rail’s train services are holding a unified line on travel disruption today, offering customers who have had their holiday plans foiled a free ticket to get back from the airport: Following the collapse of ThomasCook we want to support those impacted who may already have plans to travel to or from @LDNLutonAirport or @Gatwick_Airport. If you have bought rail tickets from us & no longer travelling, you'll be able to get a full refund (with no admin fee).— Thameslink (@TLRailUK) September 23, 2019 Following the collapse of ThomasCook we want to support those impacted who may already have plans to travel to or from @LDNLutonAirport or @Gatwick_Airport. If you have bought rail tickets from us & no longer travelling, you'll be able to get a full refund (with no admin fee).— Great Northern (@GNRailUK) September 23, 2019 Any customers affected by the ThomasCookcollapse who are unable to make their booked train will be permitted to travel on the next suitable service by providing reasonable evidence of a Thomas Cook booking.— GWR Help (@GWRHelp) September 23, 2019 11:44AM Tunisian tourism minister: Thomas Cook owes hotels £60m Tunisia’s tourism minister, Rene Trabelsi, has told Reuters that Thomas Cook owes hotels in the country €60m for stays in July and August. It’s likely we’ll be getting a clearer sense of the company’s widespread debts as the day continues... 11:36AM ‘We woke up this morning and heard on the news that Thomas Cook had gone bankrupt’ John Garrett and Ajoulyn Chaffe arrived at Gatwick to find Thomas Cook had gone bust as they were flying Credit:  SWNS More testimonials from the wires: American couple John Garrett, 40, and Ajoulyn Chaffe, 35, arrived at Gatwick to find Thomas Cook went bust while they were in the air. Holidaymakers who had booked with Thomas Cook were ‘devastated’ when they turned up at Gatwick this morning to find their trips had been cancelled. Among them were Jerry Blackwell, 47, who said he and his wife were scheduled to fly to Dalaman in Turkey at 5.15pm yesterday. Mr Blackwell said: “We went to the boarding gate and someone said it was cancelled due to staff illness so we got put up in a Premier Inn last night and were meant to fly out at midday. “We woke up this morning and heard on the news that Thomas Cook had gone bankrupt.” Read more here: Thomas Cook collapse: Misery across Europe as stranded Britons wait for repatriation 11:30AM Thomas Cook staff pensions  ‘are protected’ People leaving Thomas Cook’s Peterborough headquarters Credit:  Joe Giddens/ PA Thomas Cook staff who have lost their jobs today will have their pensions protected, according to the Pension Protection Fund — a statutory fund intended to protect members if their defined benefit pension fund becomes insolvent. We understand this is an extremely difficult time for the members of @ThomasCookUK’s defined benefit pension schemes, but they can be assured that their pensions are protected by us. To find out more about the PPF and the protection we provide, see here. https://t.co/bGssuroVSr— Pension Protection Fund (@PPF) September 23, 2019  The PPF says it will be contacting Thomas Cook employees today: To all members of the @ThomasCookUK defined benefit pension schemes, your pension trustees will be in touch soon with an update on your scheme. To understand how the PPF works and protects your pension click here https://t.co/X74NtvKvkV— Pension Protection Fund (@PPF) September 23, 2019 11:27AM Petition to bail out Thomas Cook nears 70,000 signatures  AChange.org petition to calling for the Government or a plucky investor to re-finance the collapsing tour operator is edging closer to 70,000 signatures. The petition, created by a Thomas Cook employee’s husband, says: The iconic travel firm, the oldest travel firm, Thomas Cook has made dream holidays for us all and we have made so many memories, had work experiences and met so many great people that had effect in our lives. Thomas Cook is one of Britain's most well known brands. I so believe the company will come good again once this financial problems have been resolved.  Let’s help our Thomas Cook at this difficult times.  If the Government or any other lenders help to fund shortfall of money then the future will be bright. 11:15AM Have your travels been disrupted by the Thomas Cook collapse?  Share your experience by emailing yourstory@telegraph.co.uk 11:09AM Final flight eyewitness: Clear staff had been left ‘in total limbo’ Passengers exit the final Thomas Cook passenger flight, which landed at Manchster Airport this morning Credit: OLI SCARFF/ AFP A passenger on one of the last ever Thomas Cook flights to fly has  described how emotional staff broke news of the company’s collapse when they landed this morning. From the wires: Jason Ritchie, 50, was onboard a Thomas Cook flight from Orlando to Manchester with his wife Sharon, 49, when staff announced the company’s closure this morning. Their flight took off at 12:30am UK time, half an hour after the travel company's collapse as staff rushed to get the flight off the ground. Jason, from Nottingham, said: “We were just landing at Manchester Airport at 8:30am when the cabin crew announced that Thomas Cook had collapsed. “We were due to set off from Orlando at 7:15PM local time on 22 September, and only experienced a 10 minute delay in taking off from there. “When the staff announced what had happened, they sounded emotional and it was clear they'd been left in total limbo with no more information themselves on what we'd been told. “I spoke to one of the cabin crew who said they’d heard nothing from head office, and hadn’t even spoke to their family — they had no idea where they stood with their jobs.” 11:02AM Ex-affiliate Indian airline caught in crossfire  Thomas Cook India — which exited Thomas Cook seven years ago and now has no relationship to the collapsed group beyond its name — has nonetheless seen its share price suffer from rough headlines around the travel giant in recent days. The company has taken to Twitter to try and clear up the confusion: Thomas Cook PLC (UK) has no relationship with Thomas Cook India as we were acquired by Canada based Fairfax Financial Holdings (Fairfax) in 2012. We are completely independent of Thomas Cook UK & hence the news of their situation does not impact us. https://t.co/8hszrYqI69— Thomas Cook India (@tcookin) September 23, 2019 10:54AM Turkey prepares support package for impacted customers Authorities in Turkey,  have warned hotels not to evict affected customers or demand money from them: Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry warns hotels in Turkey: If you demand payments from tourists or evict them from their hotel rooms due to ThomasCookCollapse, you will be prosecuted. https://t.co/TQExCGbZ27— Yunus Emre Oruç (@defusertt) September 23, 2019 Turkish tourism ministry also announces that they're working with the Finance and Treasury Ministry to provide a support package for the establishments affected by the collapse. ThomasCookCollapse— Yunus Emre Oruç (@defusertt) September 23, 2019 Here’s a video purportedly from on board the final Thomas Cook flight: Dedicated Thomas Cook staff on last flight ��so sad @GMBpic.twitter.com/QT8kIPb71A— Gill (@Gill99287213) September 23, 2019 10:48AM Short-sellers set to win out from Thomas Cook’s collapse One group who will be smiling today are Thomas Cook’s short-sellers: investors who had placed a financial bet that the company’s share price would fall. Around 11pc of the company’s shares were being shorted according the most recent filing to the Financial Conduct Authority, with the biggest short positions held by TT International and Whitebox Advisors. Thomas Cook: Share price 10:39AM Condor and Thomas Cook split on number of stranded Germans A Condor airlines plane, part of the Thomas Cook Group, is seen at the Heraklion airport on the island of Crete Credit:  STEFANOS RAPANIS/ REUTERS Other than the 150,000 Brits stranded abroad, it looks like another big chunk of the 600,000 customers left in the lurch by Thomas Cook’s collapse may well be German holidaymakers. A few minutes ago, the travel company said there are 140,000 people abroad who are currently travelling with its subsidiaries in Germany. But Condor, its biggest German subsidiary, says around 240,000 are booked on its flight and awaiting a return home. I’m sure more clarity will be forthcoming, but it looks like Germans will be feeling the disruption at least as much as Brits. 10:31AM Scenes from around the world as travel giant collapses Photos are pouring in from across the world as the aftershocks from Thomas Cook’s collapse spread: A British Government official speaks with Thomas Cook passengers at Son Sant Joan airport in Palma de Mallorca Credit: JAIME REINA/AFP People line up in front of a counter of Thomas Cook at the Heraklion airport on the island of Cret Credit: STEFANOS RAPANIS/REUTERS Office workers outside the Peterborough headquarters of the 178-year-old tour operator Credit: Joe Giddens/PA The last Thomas Cook flight, coming from Orland, US, arrives in Manchester Credit:  Gareth J. Bond via REUTERS John Garret from Boston, Massachusetts. who was supposed to be flying to Malta takes a photo of the empty Thomas Cook check in desks in Gatwick Airport Credit: Alastair Grant/ AP A British Government official assists passengers at Manchester Airport Credit: PHIL NOBLE/REUTERS 10:17AM Liquidation will have ‘major impact for the high street’ Thomas Cook has 588 high-street stores Credit: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg Thomas Cook’s collapse, as well as putting 9,000 people out of work in the UK, will also have a major impact on the nation’s high streets. Joanne Fearnley, partner and commercial property expert at law firm Gordons, says: We must not forget in all of this that there is a major impact for the high street too. Thomas Cook has 588 stores which will inevitably close, a further blow for landlords already suffering from a number of high-profile closures and collapses. It’s another massive blow for the UK high street and underlines the need for imaginative change. Crash landing: Thomas Cook in numbers 10:13AM Thomas Cook collapse: Everything customers need to know People walk in front of a counter of Thomas Cook at the Heraklion airport on the island of Crete Credit:  STEFANOS RAPANIS/REUTERS  Telegraph Money have all the key info customers need about how Thomas Cook’s collapse could impact them: What happens to Thomas Cook flights and holidays? Everything customers need to know Here are some of the key points: Will my holiday be affected?  The good news is that Thomas Cook package holiday customers will not be left out of pocket because these holidays are protected by the company’s Air Travel Organiser’s Licence, or Atol. What kind of compensation will I get and when? Atol will step in to help with either a refund or a replacement holiday. Martyn James, of consumer champions Resolver, said: “If you’ve booked a packaged holiday with a flight, then Atol can help with disputes and cancellations.”  What if I'm already abroad? Will my return flight be cancelled?  Even if you were stuck abroad, you will get whatever help you needed to enjoy your holiday then return home. The Government has promised to ensure that all British travellers who were due to fly back within the next two weeks are brought home free of charge. Is my hotel booking protected? Martin Lewis, founder of website MoneySavingExpert, said those who’ve already paid for their hotels abroad as part of a Thomas Cook package shouldn’t pay again. But, he added, “that won’t stop a few uncertain and scared hoteliers overseas wanting money directly from British travellers to be doubly sure. This could leave British tourists in sticky situations. If so, the Civil Aviation Authority has a helpline which should sort it for you.”   9:59AM Liverpool FC ‘assessing the impact’ of Thomas Cook collapse on hospitality packages Liverpool fans can buy hospitality packages from Thomas Cook Credit: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC Among its multi-faceted operations, Thomas Cook sells Liverpool fans hospitality packages to attend the club’s home games at Anfield. Liverpool FC said in a statement: We are currently assessing the impact of Thomas Cook ceasing trading and the impact for those supporters who have purchased packages from Thomas Cook. Once we have those details from Thomas Cook we will update supporters. 9:54AM First rescue flight sets off from JFK Airport The first rescue flight as part of Operation Matterhorn has taken off from New York’s Matterhorn Airport carrying “over 300 passengers”, the CAA says: The first Civil Aviation Authority repatriation flight has now left JFK, headed for Manchester with over 300 passengers on board. It is estimated to arrive at 5PM today. If you have been impacted by ThomasCook ceasing trading, please visit our website:https://t.co/g4G2b6RlHcpic.twitter.com/pfVPG6bL6Y— UK Civil Aviation Authority (@UK_CAA) September 23, 2019 9:52AM Newlyweds’ honeymoon plans ruined after flight is cancelled News agency SWNS reports: A honeymoon couple were among tens of thousands of people whose holiday plans have been scuppered by the collapse of Thomas Cook. Jane and Richard Dawson, who tied the knot on Friday, stayed at a hotel at Gatwick Airport overnight in preparation for their ten-hour flight. But the newlyweds, from Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, where the world’s oldest travel operator was based, woke up to find that their flight to Jamaica had been cancelled along with hundreds of others. Jane and Richard, who were due to fly at 11.45am today, were told to go home by airport staff. 9:44AM Thomas Cook’s final passenger flight lands Sky News has footage of the last-ever Thomas Cook flight landing at Manchester Airport, just over an hour ago: BREAKING: The last Thomas Cook passenger flight lands at Manchester Airport after the company collapsed following failed rescue talks. Get the latest on the ThomasCook collapse here: https://t.co/3Hgpl7YJkQpic.twitter.com/65sibJ4CO7— Sky News (@SkyNews) September 23, 2019 9:42AM Stranded customers: ‘The hotel next door shut the gates and wouldn’t let people leave’ An airport worker speaks with passengers of the British travel group Thomas Cook at Son Sant Joan airport in Palma de Mallorca  Credit:  JAIME REINA/ AFP Around 600,000 people, including 150,000 Brits, have had their travel plans thrown into chaos by Thomas Cook’s collapse. My colleagues have been gathering stories from those affected: Danielle Rutherford, on holiday in Tunisia told BBC’s Today programme: “We haven’t been told anything by Thomas Cook.  “The hotel have said we shouldn’t have to pay, but we don’t leave until Friday so we don’t know. My husband and I were told on Saturday that we had to pay £4,000.  “The hotel next door shut the gates and wouldn’t let people leave. We hope to be able to carry on our holiday and not worry about it.” Read all their stories here: Thomas Cook collapse: Misery across Europe as stranded Britons wait for repatriation 9:32AM MP: Collapse is ‘devastating news’ for Greater Manchester Labour’s Lucy Powell, MP for Manchester Central, tweets: With over 3,000 people in Greater Manchester employed by Thomas Cook, its collapse will have a massive impact on families and communities here. This is devastating news. https://t.co/89NzP2cHfI— Lucy Powell MP (@LucyMPowell) September 23, 2019 9:29AM Thomas Cook: a timeline How did Thomas Cook end up entering liquidation after 178 years in operation? Our timeline charts the key event in the travel group’s history: Thomas Cook timeline 9:28AM ‘Gutted doesn’t cut it’ Some of Thomas Cook’s 9,000 UK staff are speaking out on social media, sharing their memories of working at the company. It was a short lived journey with Thomas Cook, but it was a job I wanted and loved. My heart goes out to my store colleagues and to all staff with Thomas Cook. Gutted doesn’t cut it�� pic.twitter.com/LuYcEGCHT7— molly ranger (@mollyroseranger) September 23, 2019 9:23AM Thomas Cook’s German subsidiary seeks emergency loan Travellers queue up in a Condor check-in service at the Frankfurt Airport Credit:  KAI PFAFFENBACH/REUTERS Condor, Thomas Cook’s subsidiary in Germany, will continue flying but has requested financial aid from the German government. AFP reports:  Condor, the German airline subsidiary of British travel giant Thomas Cook, said Monday it was requesting financial aid from Berlin to help keep it in the air even after its parent company declared bankruptcy. Underlining that it had been “profitable for many years,” the airline added that “to prevent liquidity bottlenecks at Condor, it has applied for a state-guaranteed bridging loan” which is being examined in Berlin. “We’re continuing to concentrate on what we do best: flying our guests safely and punctually to their holidays,” said managing director Ralf Teckentrup. 9:19AM Swiss chalet group: Matterhorn code name is damaging for Switzerland A tightrope walker in front of the Matterhorn mountain Credit: Dominic Steinmann/Keystone A Swiss chalet operator has raised concerns that Operation Matterhorn, the government’s codename for its operation to repatriate Thomas Cook customers, could cast aspersions upon Switzerland (home of the Matterhorn mountain, in the region of Zermatt). Matterhorn Chalets’ Ed Mannix told the Telegraph: I think you will agree that whilst the Matterhorn is essentially Zermatt’s trade mark as well as Switzerland’s de facto national icon, any association with the calamitous financial failure of Thomas Cook cannot be good for us here. In the circumstances, can anything be done on an official level to protect the reputation of Switzerland, possibly the world’s most financially secure country, and Zermatt, home of the Matterhorn and it’s most well-known known tourist destination? 9:11AM Staff ‘in tears’ at Thomas Cook headquarters  People walk outside the Peterborough headquarters of Thomas Cook Credit: Joe Giddens/ PA Thomas Cook’s collapse is a tragedy for staff at its headquarters in Peterborough, who are set to lose their jobs as the company enter liquidation. Reuters reports: Thomas Cook staff were seen hugging each other in tears at its headquarters in Cambridgeshire this morning — after the holiday company collapsed. Hundreds of employees have been seen heading into the offices at Lynch Wood in Peterborough for a 10am meeting about the compulsory liquidation, which happened this morning after a weekend of talks to save the company. Many looked tearful as they arrived at the headquarters, which employs around 1,000 people. Scene at Thomas Cook HQ Peterborough where around 1000 employees are learning of their fate after the company collapsed after 178 years, more on @BBCCambs 95.7/96fm 1026mw DAB Freeview 722. pic.twitter.com/bNU66bS6hW— John Devine (@JohnDevine1961) September 23, 2019 9:07AM Travel rivals’ shares climb after collapse Shares in rival TUI are up around 7pc Credit: Eric Greer/Boeing Thomas Cook’s collapse is paying off for other travel firms, with rival TUI soaring nearly 7pc up as the biggest climber on the FTSE 100 share index. Easyjet, on the FTSE 250, is up just under 6pc. Other airlines such as Wizz Air, IAG, Lufthansa and Air France-KLM are all gaining. RIP Thomas Cook. From a TUI fan. Airline rivalry means nothing on a day like this— Richard Wilson (@richwilson26) September 23, 2019 You’re never too big to fail. Last year, Thomas Cook bought in £9.5billion in revenue. Today, they collapse in disgrace. Another reminder to stay humble. Feel sorry for staff and those stuck abroad.— Austin (@AustinDarbo) September 23, 2019 So guess who was flying with Thomas cook to NYC ���� in less than 3 weeks time... yes that’s me ����— Georgie Higginson (@Georgina_higg) September 23, 2019 8:56AM CAA chair: ‘Every single person will be brought back home’ Dame Deidre Hutton Credit:  Jane Mingay/The Daily Telegraph The Civil Aviation Authority’s chair Dame Deidre Hutton has told the BBC that all Thomas Cook customers will be brought back home once their holidays finish. She said: Every single person will be brought back home at the end of their holiday... Everyone will be brought home free of charge. 8:46AM MoneySavingExpert: What Thomas staff who have been made redundant should do now Martin Lewis from MoneySavingExpert has offered his sympathies to Thomas Cook staff who will lose their jobs due to the company’s collapse, tweeting: Im v sorry for all Thomas Cook staff; horrid night 4u. Youll get specifics of your situation from the administrators.. For provisional reading, there is info in our redundancy guide - incl claiming wages off the NI Fund https://t.co/E5WmSRR5cN— Martin Lewis (@MartinSLewis) September 23, 2019 8:43AM More reaction from Twitter... ...it looks like lots of customers had close calls: We got lucky... we flew with Thomas Cook in June when the talks of liquidation started. I feel so bad for everyone who’s stranded RIPThomasCook— Manika�� (@swiftlymanika13) September 23, 2019 Close call. Booked a holiday very recently after looking at the options. Nearly chose Thomas Cook as the service was so great but the firm couldn’t match the price offered by a local travel agent. Am feeling lucky for me, but very sorry for everyone caught up in the chaos.— Alan Dapré (@AlanDapre) September 23, 2019 Girlfriend was cabin crew with Thomas cook. Looked after passengers last night knowing not getting paid. Lost her job, company have abandoned her in Newcastle to find own way back to Cheshire. Other crew kicked out of hotels overnight. Who is looking after them @MC_HMGovernment— Radio Free Salford (@salfordpf) September 23, 2019 8:32AM Thomas Cook’s Twitter support page has shut down Thomas Cook Cares, the account through which the travel giant fields customer questions, has officially shut down, and will no longer be monitored.  We are sorry to announce that Thomas Cook has ceased trading with immediate effect. This account will not be monitored. Please visit https://t.co/PLklUd1C7q for further advice and information.ThomasCookpic.twitter.com/jnYvg8jpV3— Thomas Cook Cares (@ThomasCookCares) September 23, 2019  The dedicated page for customer service support, run by the CAA, is here:  8:30AM Labour’s McDonnell: Thomas Cook bosses should have to repay their bonuses  Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell Credit: Kirsty O'Connor/PA Labour Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has said the government should have bailed out Thomas Cook, and that the travel group’s bosses should hand back their bonuses. He told the BBC: When this crisis started I said to the government that they should intervene if only to stabilise the situation while a real plan for the future of the company could be addressed. I think the government should have been willing to do more, intervene and stabilise the situation and allow a long-term plan to develop.” To just stand to one side and watch this number of jobs go and to so many holidaymakers have their holidays ruined is not good government John McDonnell says the Government should have bailed out Thomas Cook He says it should have been given funding ‘with strings attached’, highlighting similar intervention in steel crisis He says Thomas Cook bosses should ‘examine their consciences’ and pay back their bonuses— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) September 23, 2019 8:21AM A 178-year legacy comes to an end Passengers talk to Civil Aviation Authority employees at Mallorca Airport Credit:  ENRIQUE CALVO/ REUTERS The last-ever Thomas Cook flight will land at Manchester Airport in just over half an hour. You can follow its progress via OAG Flightview here. What began on 5th July 1841 with a train journey from Leicester to Loughborough ends in the next half an hour or so when the final ever Thomas Cook flight lands at Terminal 1 of Manchester Airport, completing its journey from Orlando. End of an era. pic.twitter.com/WQY0bKWV2m— Peter Ruddick (@ruddick) September 23, 2019 On social media, users are continuing to pay tribute to the company’s more than 20,000 staff. Thinking of the thousands upon thousands of employees of Thomas cook this Monday morning, my heart truely goes out to them. Devastating �� pic.twitter.com/xIJ1JC6tTy— s a r a h �� (@xsarahorr) September 23, 2019 8:09AM Wizz Air offers Cyprus ‘rescue fares’ for stranded Thomas Cook customers Sensing an opportunity, rival airline Wizz Air is offering Thomas Cook customers hoping to fly between Larnaca and Paphos, Cyprus, and London Luton.  The airline’s managing director Owain Jones, said: Wizz Air is pleased to offer customers whose travel plans between the UK and Larnaca or Paphos have been cancelled following the bankruptcy of Thomas Cook the opportunity to travel with Wizz Air between London Luton and Larnaca at the special price of £99/€109.99 [One way including all taxes and non-optional charges]. The number of seats available at this special rescue fare is limited and the special fare is available only to customers with confirmed Thomas Cook reservations  until 30 November 2019 .  7:54AM Staff ‘stabbed in the back’, says pilots’ union A security person stands next to the entrance of the German headquarters of travel company Thomas Cook in Oberursel near Frankfurt, Germany Credit: Michael Probst/ AP Thomas Cook’s staff “have been stabbed in the back without a second’s thought”, the pilots union has claimed.  A statement from the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) said that while plans were in place to rescue stranded tourists, pilots and other staff have been left with no certainty about their future.  While detailed plans to repatriate passengers have been carefully put together and Ministers have and will continue to claim the credit for that, the staff have been stabbed in the back without a second’s thought.​ Despite continuing to keep Thomas Cook going in recent weeks with dignity and integrity while their own futures were being secretly decided we don’t even know if staff will get a pay cheque this month. It is despicable. Thomas Cook pilots and all staff deserve better than this. For pilots, BALPA will be supporting our members through the legal complexities of what Thomas Cook liquidation means for them and doing everything we can to help them find alternative jobs in other airlines. 7:44AM On the Beach faces costs from Thomas Cook collapse Another British travel company, On the Beach, has warned this morning that it expects to take a one-off hit as a result of Thomas Cook’s collapse.  On the Beach said that following the failure of Thomas Cook overnight it “is assisting customers that are currently in resort and whose travel plans will be affected”. The beach holiday seller said it anticipates “a one-off exceptional cost associated with helping customers to organise alternative travel arrangements, and lost margin on cancelled bookings”. The company said it expects to recover the costs of cancelled flights but that it was still assessing the potential impact on its financial performance for its next financial year, which starts in October.  7:33AM ‘A deeply sad day’ — Thomas Cook's boss Thomas Cook boss Peter Fankhauser Credit:  ullstein bild/Getty Thomas Cook’s boss Peter Fankhauser has said the company's collapse “marks a deeply sad day for the company which pioneered package holidays and made travel possible for millions of people around the world”.  Thomas Cook collapse | Read more It was a matter of “profound regret” that he and the other board members were unable to save the company, he added.  Here is what else Fankhauser had to say in this morning's stock exchange announcement:  We have worked exhaustively in the past few days to resolve the outstanding issues on an agreement to secure Thomas Cook's future for its employees, customers and suppliers.  Although a deal had been largely agreed, an additional facility requested in the last few days of negotiations presented a challenge that ultimately proved insurmountable. It is a matter of profound regret to me and the rest of the board that we were not successful. I would like to apologise to our millions of customers, and thousands of employees, suppliers and partners who have supported us for many years. Despite huge uncertainty over recent weeks, our teams continued to put customers first, showing why Thomas Cook is one of the best-loved brands in travel. Generations of customers entrusted their family holiday to Thomas Cook because our people kept our customers at the heart of the business and maintained our founder's spirit of innovation. 7:27AM Statement from Thomas Cook Thomas Cook has made a statement to the stock market this morning confirming that it is entering liquidation.  Further to the announcement made on 20 September 2019, Thomas Cook Group plc (“the Company”) continued to engage with a range of key stakeholders over the weekend in order to secure final terms on the recapitalisation and reorganisation of the Company.  Despite considerable efforts, those discussions have not resulted in agreement between the Company's stakeholders and proposed new money providers. The Company's board has therefore concluded that it had no choice but to take steps to enter into compulsory liquidation with immediate effect. The failed travel company confirmed that the High Court had granted an order for the Official Receiver to be appointed as liquidator. It said it expects Alix Partners will be appointed as special managers to act on behalf of the official receiver and that Alix will "work very closely with the Civil Aviation Authority in the UK to effect the repatriation of all UK customers impacted by this announcement".  6:00AM ‘My heart is broken’ Members of the company’s 21,000 staff reacted to the news on social media, some posting pictures of themselves walking from their last flights. “Love my job so much, don’t want it to end,” Kia Dawn Hayward, a member of the company's cabin crew, said on Twitter. Love my job so much, don’t want it to end���� Thank you for making my dream job come true ThomasCook , you will always be my first ever airline and the last in my Sunny Heart�� pic.twitter.com/1T4jL8cBsF— Kia Dawn Hayward (@kiaandmusic) September 22, 2019 Chloe Rawlinson said: “Heartbroken to say the least. Had the most surreal 2 years of my life full of fun laughter and smiles all around and I’ll always be thankful for Thomas cook. 178 years of amazing service that has came to an end.” Heartbroken to say the least�� had the most surreal 2 years of my life full of fun laughter and smiles all around and I’ll always be thankful for Thomas cook. 178 years of amazing service that has came to an end ���� thomascookpic.twitter.com/NiacbR7lxH— Chloe Rawlinson (@xChloerawlinson) September 23, 2019 Absolutely devastated , 25 years I have given to thomascook and it’s all gone overnight ��— BrendanMcgarry (@brenmcgarry) September 23, 2019 Holidaymakers also expressed sympathy for those who lost jobs. My honeymoon has gone down the drain as we had booked with thomascook but I don’t care, I’ll get refunded. I care about the employees who have lost their jobs with no warning and this close to Christmas, ❤️— Steph Wight (@steph_wight) September 22, 2019 5:43AM Grant Shapps: ‘We will bring everyone home’ Transport Secretary Grant Shapps Credit:  Andrew Crowley/The Daily Telegraph Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, has promised to bring all the affected Thomas Cook customers back.  Very sadly Thomas Cook has collapsed. The biggest UK peacetime repatriation in history is underway. We will bring everyone home. An enormous task, there will be some delays, but we're working round the clock to do everything we can. Visit https://t.co/0wVHltRgqB for details.— Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) September 23, 2019 4:38AM What is Operation Matterhorn? Britain's biggest ever peacetime repatriation has got under way in an effort to bring home 150,000 holidaymakers who were stranded after the collapse of Thomas Cook. Codenamed Operation Matterhorn, Richard Moriarty, chief executive of the CAA, said it had launched "what is effectively one of the UK's largest airlines" in order to repatriate British holidaymakers. Here's everything you need to know about the operation. 3:47AM What is ATOL protection? There is a lot of talk about whether your Thomas Cook holiday was ATOL protected. Here's a brief guide about what that means. At a glance | ATOL holiday protection 3:13AM Fosun 'disappointed' in collapse A Thomas Cook aircraft awaits departure on the runway at Terminal 1 at Manchester Airport yesterday Credit:  Anthony Devlin/Getty Fosun Tourism Group, which noted it is a "minority investor with no board representation" in Thomas Cook, issued a statement after the travel operator's collapse. The Chinese conglomerate, which owns Wolverhampton Wanderers, said: "Fosun is disappointed that Thomas Cook Group has not been able to find a viable solution for its proposed recapitalisation with other affiliates, core lending banks, senior noteholders and additional involved parties. "Fosun confirms that its position remained unchanged throughout the process, but unfortunately other factors have changed. "We extend our deepest sympathy to all those affected by this outcome." 2:58AM Dozens of charter planes hired Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announces dozens of charter planes have been hired to fly customers home free of charge. In a statement, the Department for Transport (DfT) says all customers currently abroad with Thomas Cook who are booked to return to the UK over the next two weeks will be brought home as close as possible to their booked return date. A general view of the Thomas Cook check-in desks in the South Terminal of Gatwick Airport Credit: PA The DfT says  Thomas Cook package holiday customers will also see the cost of their accommodation covered by the Government, through the Air Travel Trust Fund or Atol scheme. Mr Shapps said: "Thomas Cook's collapse is very sad news for staff and holidaymakers. "The Government and UK CAA is working round the clock to help people. "Our contingency planning has helped acquire planes from across the world - some from as far away as Malaysia - and we have put hundreds of people in call centres and at airports. "But the task is enormous, the biggest peacetime repatriation in UK history. So there are bound to be problems and delays. "Please try to be understanding with the staff who are trying to assist in what is likely to be a very difficult time for them as well." 2:49AM Thomas Cook chief apologies Peter Fankhauser, the chief executive of Thomas Cook, said the tour operator's  collapse was a "matter of profound regret" as he apologised to the company's  "millions of customers, and thousands of employees".  "We have worked exhaustively in the past few days to resolve the outstanding issues on an agreement to secure Thomas Cook's future for its employees, customers and suppliers. "Although a deal had been largely agreed, an additional facility requested in the last few days of negotiations presented a challenge that ultimately proved insurmountable. "It is a matter of profound regret to me and the rest of the board that we were not successful. Thomas Cook chief executive officer Peter Fankhauser Credit: PA "I would like to apologise to our millions of customers, and thousands of employees, suppliers and partners who have supported us for many years. "Despite huge uncertainty over recent weeks, our teams continued to put customers first, showing why Thomas Cook is one of the best-loved brands in travel. "Generations of customers entrusted their family holiday to Thomas Cook because our people kept our customers at the heart of the business and maintained our founder's spirit of innovation. "This marks a deeply sad day for the company which pioneered package holidays and made travel possible for millions of people around the world." 2:46AM Website down  Holidaymakers seeking information are being left frustrated as the website dedicated to the collapse is not up and running. The website: https://ift.tt/2M9NFaz  The CAA says:  "We are aware that some users are having difficultly accessing the dedicated website for information and advice following Thomas Cook ceasing trading. Please keep checking the website as it is currently launching." 2:42AM CAA launches 'one of the UK's largest airlines' Richard Moriarty, chief executive of the CAA, said it had launched "what is effectively one of the UK's largest airlines" in order to repatriate British holidaymakers.He said: "News of Thomas Cook's collapse is deeply saddening for the company's employees and customers, and we appreciate that more than 150,000 people currently abroad will be anxious about how they will now return to the UK. "The government has asked us to support Thomas Cook customers on what is the UK's largest ever peacetime repatriation. "We have launched, at very short notice, what is effectively one of the UK's largest airlines, involving a fleet of aircraft secured from around the world. The nature and scale of the operation means that unfortunately some disruption will be inevitable. We ask customers to bear with us as we work around the clock to bring them home. "We urge anyone affected by this news to check our dedicated website, thomascook.caa.co.uk, for advice and information." 2:38AM Operation begins to bring home holidaymakers The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said the Government had asked it to launch a repatriation programme over the next two weeks, starting on Monday and running to Sunday 6 October, to bring Thomas Cook customers back to the UK. The CAA statement said: "Due to the unprecedented number of UK customers currently overseas who are affected by the situation, the Civil Aviation Authority has secured a fleet of aircraft from around the world to bring passengers back to the UK with return flights. "Passengers in a small number of destinations may return on alternative commercial flights, rather than directly through the Civil Aviation Authority's flying programme. Details and advice for these passengers are available on the dedicated website. "Due to the significant scale of the situation, some disruption is inevitable, but the Civil Aviation Authority will endeavour to get people home as close as possible to their planned dates. This will apply to both Atol protected passengers and those who are not protected. "Customers currently overseas should not travel to the airport until their flight back to the UK has been confirmed on the dedicated website. "Thomas Cook customers in the UK yet to travel should not go to the airport as all flights leaving the UK have been cancelled." 2:30AM Thomas Cook collapses Good morning. All eyes are on Thomas Cook this morning after the travel operator collapsed in the early hours of Monday.  Thomas Cook has collapsed, a failure that will likely consign the most iconic name in world travel to the annals of history. The Government and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have launched Britain’s biggest peacetime repatriation of customers. The CAA said the tour operator has "ceased trading with immediate effect". "All Thomas Cook bookings, including flights and holidays, have now been cancelled," it added.

September 23, 2019 at 12:02PM via IFTTT

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Transport for London will spend for funerals of 7 victims who passed away in Croydon cable car crash

TRANSPORTATION for London has actually provided to spend for the funeral services of the 7 people eliminated in the cable car crash in Croydon.The operator

has actually vowed to do "whatever we can to support the families and all those impacted", following the derailment practically a week ago.

Robert Huxley one of the victims of the Croydon tram crash British Transportation Police Donald Collett, 62,( left) and Philip Logan, 52

,( right )died in the accident. Left to right: Dorota Rynkiewicz, Mark Smith, Phil Seary and Dane Chinnery An interim report into the awful crash will be published by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB)tomorrow.The authority will publish its initial findings into why the two-carriage cable car came off the tracks in south London, killing 6 males and one lady, and leaving more than 50 injured.However a full report is not

expected for several months.The news comes a day after the heartbroken family members of Croydon cable car crash victim Robert Huxley revealed they had waited an agonising 3 days for his death to be verified by detectives.The 63-year-old

's household were not officially informed until Saturday that he was one of 7 people eliminated in the crash last Wednesday.In a homage to a "bigger than life character" his spouse Eileen and sons Ross and Adam stated Robert, referred to as Bob, was likewise a season ticket holder for Chelsea football club.Two other

victims of the Croydon cable car crash were called by cops together with Mr Huxley.They are Donald Collett, 62, from Croydon, and Philip Logan, 52, from New Addington.

Rail workers at the site work to repair the track where the tram hindered

on Wednesday which saw seven people killed Rail employees at the site work to fix the track where the cable car thwarted on Wednesday A tram carriage covered in tarpaulin is repelled from the scene of the accident on a truck in Croydon The other victims who have actually currently been called on Wednesday were Mark Smith, Dane Chinnery, Phil Seary and Dorota Rynkiewicz.The crashed cable car carriages were removed on the back of 2 trucks on Saturday early morning and repair on the track has started.British Transportation Authorities said the 100ft-long tram had been divided into areas which were craned on to flatbed lorries.All sections have actually now been taken away from the scene as the Rail Mishap Examination Branch (RAIB) continues its inquiry.Investigators think the tram was taking a trip at "substantially higher speeds" than those permitted when it derailed.The cable car's motorist,

Alfred Dorris, 42, from Beckenham, south London, was detained at the scene and was questioned on suspicion of murder prior to being bailed up until May.

Picture of schoolgirl who passed away after collapsing at college in Manchester

Southwest Airlines employee passes away after being shot at Oklahoma Airport

Three injured after bomb goes off in city centre coffee shop

in Turkey Strange moment bride and groom are required to have SEX in front of wedding visitors

Police officers hunt lout who'urinated on sleeping homeless male prior to releasing racist tirade at a complete stranger'

< a href= https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2175912/cops-hunt-lout-who-urinated-on-sleeping-homeless-man-before-launching-racist-tirade-at-a-stranger/ > A spokesperson for First Group, which carries out the day-to-day operation of the trams, stated he had worked at the business since March 2008.

It is understood that establishing if Mr Dorris was asleep or had blacked out are lines of inquiry.The contents

of a so-called black box data recorder on the tram were downloaded by investigators.Mike Brown, London's

Transportation Commissioner, stated:"We are doing whatever we can to support the families and all those impacted at this incredibly challenging time for them."This includes covering funeral costs and travel

costs for loved ones. The TfL Sarah Hope line is readily available 24 hours a day to supply recommendations on a whole series of matters and immediate monetary and other support. "< img src= https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/nintchdbpict000281741882-e1478995688575.jpg?w=960&strip=all alt="Loved ones of some of the victims marched previously on Saturday to the website of the crash"width=960 height=634 > Buddies and family of a few of the victims marched previously on Saturday to the website of the crash< img src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/nintchdbpict0002817422101-e1478984034356.jpg?w=960&strip=all alt ="Homages left for victim Mark Davis near

the Sandilands cable car visit the website of the Croydon cable car crash "width =960 height =626 > Homages left for victim Mark Davis near the Sandilands cable car drop in the site of the Croydon cable car crash

British Transportation Authorities said Donald Collett, 62, of Croydon; Philip Logan, 52, and Robert Huxley, 63, died in the mishap when the cable car reversed

6 guys and one lady died and more than 50 were taken to hospital after the early Wednesday morning crash at a "sharp, left-hand curve" near Sandilands tram drop in South London.A group of

approximately 100 people on Saturday marched down the roadway to the area to pay tribute to the victims of the hindering in south London.A declaration from Mr Collett's household read:"Don was a well loved, funny and generous male, who could illuminate a room with his smile. He is unfortunately leaving behind a caring family, partner, adored pals and work colleagues. Please rest in peace and know you are truly liked and significantly missed out on."The household of Mr Logan explained him as a"real household guy"and a "generous buddy". Enterprise News and Pictures Mark Smith and bride-to-be Indra Novikovaite with their 18 month old boy

PA: Press Association Philip was explained as

a'mild giant' PA: Press Association A map of where the crash happened A declaration from the family added"Phil was a man with more love empathy and zest for life than words can reveal. He will be exceptionally missed by all that understood him."

One of the victims of the Croydon tram crash catastrophe was due to get wed next year.Mark Smith

, 35, had planned a summertime event with his Lithuanian bride-to-be Indre Novikovaite, 25, the mother of their 18-month-old son.Her sibling Osvaldas, 23, told The Sun: "They were preparing to obtain wed. My sibling is totally ravaged by this."

Dorota Rynkiewicz with hubby Andrzej Rynkiewicz.< img src= https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/nintchdbpict000281104267.jpg?w=960&strip=all alt =NINTCHDBPICT000281104267 width=960 height =675 > PA: Press Association A one minute's silence was observed by the cenotaph in Croydon to mark the crash Dorota, of New Addington, has

2 young children aged 5 and seven. She was the only female to pass away in the crash.Friends described her as an "remarkable mother" who constantly had a"special smile" on her face. Buddy Asma Kazim stated:"Dorota had lots of life, caring and an amusing lady. It is shocking news for us and I still can't think she has actually gone."

London News Pictures The cable car tipped

PA: Press Association The family of Philip Seary, 57, have commemorated the Crystal Palace fan who passed away in the crash PA: Press Association Employees at the site of the Croydon cable car crash stand during a two minute silence to mark Armistice Day Philip, also of New Addington, was said to be a "gentle giant". He was only on the cable car after accepting switch shifts with a fellow electrical engineer at the Royal Opera Home in Covent Garden. Son-in-law Darren Mimms said: "As Phil was such a kind guy he would do anything to assist anyone.

"It's truly hurting his spouse. He shouldn't have actually been on that tram.

"If he had not have actually been at work he would have been doing bits and bobs around the house and caring for his granddaughter."

Tributes were also paid online to keen fisherman Mark, of Coulsdon.His cousin Tom

Smith said on Facebook: "Still can not believe this is true, the last few days have actually simply felt like a nightmare that I'm going to wake up from.

Emergency employees continued to operate at the scene of the thwarted tram< img src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/nintchdbpict000281592291.jpg?w=720&strip=all alt =" Philip was just on that tram because he had agreed to switch shifts with

a colleague"width=720 height= 960 >

PA: Press Association Philip was only on the cable car because he had actually agreed to swap shifts with a colleague< img src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/nintchdbpict000281562756.jpg?w=637&strip=all alt= "Friends and family of among the deceased lay flowers near

the scene of the tram crash," width=637 height=960 > SWNS: South West News Service Household and buddies of among the deceased ordinary flowers near the scene of the tram crash News Group Newspapers Ltd Workers were seen today aiming to move the cable car which crashed previously this week PA: Press Association Flowers left at the scene near the cable car crash in Croydon"Not just were you my cousin however actually my buddy. The idea that we are all never going to see you or speak with you once again makes me feel sick.

"We are all in bits and I just want you might stroll back into your house with that smile on your face and make everyone laugh.

"I understand I have made brand-new family in Indre Novikovaite and Osvaldas Novikovas however I would give everything if you might come back and join us brother.

"See you one day for that catch up we kept discussing."

Police officers are stated to be probing whether the driver was on his phone or had "blacked out."

Cranes to clear wreckage as Croydon cable car crash victims called

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk!.?.! or call 0207 782 4368

Source

Transport for London will pay for funerals of seven victims who died in Croydon tram crash

from http://taxi.nearme.host/transport-for-london-will-spend-for-funerals-of-7-victims-who-passed-away-in-croydon-cable-car-crash/

from NOVACAB - Blog http://novacabtaxi.weebly.com/blog/transport-for-london-will-spend-for-funerals-of-7-victims-who-passed-away-in-croydon-cable-car-crash

[kevingbakeruk]

Transport for London will spend for funerals of 7 victims who passed away in Croydon cable car crash

TRANSPORTATION for London has actually provided to spend for the funeral services of the 7 people eliminated in the cable car crash in Croydon.The operator

has actually vowed to do “whatever we can to support the families and all those impacted”, following the derailment practically a week ago.

Robert Huxley one of the victims of the Croydon tram crash British Transportation Police Donald Collett, 62,( left) and Philip Logan, 52

,( right )died in the accident. Left to right: Dorota Rynkiewicz, Mark Smith, Phil Seary and Dane Chinnery An interim report into the awful crash will be published by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB)tomorrow.The authority will publish its initial findings into why the two-carriage cable car came off the tracks in south London, killing 6 males and one lady, and leaving more than 50 injured.However a full report is not

expected for several months.The news comes a day after the heartbroken family members of Croydon cable car crash victim Robert Huxley revealed they had waited an agonising 3 days for his death to be verified by detectives.The 63-year-old

’s household were not officially informed until Saturday that he was one of 7 people eliminated in the crash last Wednesday.In a homage to a “bigger than life character” his spouse Eileen and sons Ross and Adam stated Robert, referred to as Bob, was likewise a season ticket holder for Chelsea football club.Two other

victims of the Croydon cable car crash were called by cops together with Mr Huxley.They are Donald Collett, 62, from Croydon, and Philip Logan, 52, from New Addington.

Rail workers at the site work to repair the track where the tram hindered

on Wednesday which saw seven people killed Rail employees at the site work to fix the track where the cable car thwarted on Wednesday A tram carriage covered in tarpaulin is repelled from the scene of the accident on a truck in Croydon The other victims who have actually currently been called on Wednesday were Mark Smith, Dane Chinnery, Phil Seary and Dorota Rynkiewicz.The crashed cable car carriages were removed on the back of 2 trucks on Saturday early morning and repair on the track has started.British Transportation Authorities said the 100ft-long tram had been divided into areas which were craned on to flatbed lorries.All sections have actually now been taken away from the scene as the Rail Mishap Examination Branch (RAIB) continues its inquiry.Investigators think the tram was taking a trip at “substantially higher speeds” than those permitted when it derailed.The cable car’s motorist,

Alfred Dorris, 42, from Beckenham, south London, was detained at the scene and was questioned on suspicion of murder prior to being bailed up until May.

Picture of schoolgirl who passed away after collapsing at college in Manchester

Southwest Airlines employee passes away after being shot at Oklahoma Airport

Three injured after bomb goes off in city centre coffee shop

in Turkey Strange moment bride and groom are required to have SEX in front of wedding visitors

Police officers hunt lout who'urinated on sleeping homeless male prior to releasing racist tirade at a complete stranger’

A spokesperson for First Group, which carries out the day-to-day operation of the trams, stated he had worked at the business since March 2008.

It is understood that establishing if Mr Dorris was asleep or had blacked out are lines of inquiry.The contents

of a so-called black box data recorder on the tram were downloaded by investigators.Mike Brown, London’s

Transportation Commissioner, stated:“We are doing whatever we can to support the families and all those impacted at this incredibly challenging time for them."This includes covering funeral costs and travel

costs for loved ones. The TfL Sarah Hope line is readily available 24 hours a day to supply recommendations on a whole series of matters and immediate monetary and other support. ” Buddies and family of a few of the victims marched previously on Saturday to the website of the crash

the Sandilands cable car visit the website of the Croydon cable car crash “width =960 height =626 > Homages left for victim Mark Davis near the Sandilands cable car drop in the site of the Croydon cable car crash

British Transportation Authorities said Donald Collett, 62, of Croydon; Philip Logan, 52, and Robert Huxley, 63, died in the mishap when the cable car reversed

6 guys and one lady died and more than 50 were taken to hospital after the early Wednesday morning crash at a "sharp, left-hand curve” near Sandilands tram drop in South London.A group of

approximately 100 people on Saturday marched down the roadway to the area to pay tribute to the victims of the hindering in south London.A declaration from Mr Collett’s household read:“Don was a well loved, funny and generous male, who could illuminate a room with his smile. He is unfortunately leaving behind a caring family, partner, adored pals and work colleagues. Please rest in peace and know you are truly liked and significantly missed out on."The household of Mr Logan explained him as a"real household guy"and a "generous buddy”. Enterprise News and Pictures Mark Smith and bride-to-be Indra Novikovaite with their 18 month old boy

PA: Press Association Philip was explained as

a'mild giant’ PA: Press Association A map of where the crash happened A declaration from the family added"Phil was a man with more love empathy and zest for life than words can reveal. He will be exceptionally missed by all that understood him.“

One of the victims of the Croydon tram crash catastrophe was due to get wed next year.Mark Smith

, 35, had planned a summertime event with his Lithuanian bride-to-be Indre Novikovaite, 25, the mother of their 18-month-old son.Her sibling Osvaldas, 23, told The Sun: "They were preparing to obtain wed. My sibling is totally ravaged by this.”

Dorota Rynkiewicz with hubby Andrzej Rynkiewicz. PA: Press Association A one minute’s silence was observed by the cenotaph in Croydon to mark the crash Dorota, of New Addington, has

2 young children aged 5 and seven. She was the only female to pass away in the crash.Friends described her as an “remarkable mother” who constantly had a"special smile" on her face. Buddy Asma Kazim stated:“Dorota had lots of life, caring and an amusing lady. It is shocking news for us and I still can’t think she has actually gone.”

London News Pictures The cable car tipped

PA: Press Association The family of Philip Seary, 57, have commemorated the Crystal Palace fan who passed away in the crash PA: Press Association Employees at the site of the Croydon cable car crash stand during a two minute silence to mark Armistice Day Philip, also of New Addington, was said to be a “gentle giant”. He was only on the cable car after accepting switch shifts with a fellow electrical engineer at the Royal Opera Home in Covent Garden. Son-in-law Darren Mimms said: “As Phil was such a kind guy he would do anything to assist anyone.

"It’s truly hurting his spouse. He shouldn’t have actually been on that tram.

"If he had not have actually been at work he would have been doing bits and bobs around the house and caring for his granddaughter.”

Tributes were also paid online to keen fisherman Mark, of Coulsdon.His cousin Tom

Smith said on Facebook: “Still can not believe this is true, the last few days have actually simply felt like a nightmare that I’m going to wake up from.

Emergency employees continued to operate at the scene of the thwarted tram

a colleague"width=720 height= 960 >

PA: Press Association Philip was only on the cable car because he had actually agreed to swap shifts with a colleague

the scene of the tram crash,” width=637 height=960 > SWNS: South West News Service Household and buddies of among the deceased ordinary flowers near the scene of the tram crash News Group Newspapers Ltd Workers were seen today aiming to move the cable car which crashed previously this week PA: Press Association Flowers left at the scene near the cable car crash in Croydon"Not just were you my cousin however actually my buddy. The idea that we are all never going to see you or speak with you once again makes me feel sick.

“We are all in bits and I just want you might stroll back into your house with that smile on your face and make everyone laugh.

"I understand I have made brand-new family in Indre Novikovaite and Osvaldas Novikovas however I would give everything if you might come back and join us brother.

"See you one day for that catch up we kept discussing.”

Police officers are stated to be probing whether the driver was on his phone or had “blacked out.”

Cranes to clear wreckage as Croydon cable car crash victims called

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk!.?.! or call 0207 782 4368

Source

Transport for London will pay for funerals of seven victims who died in Croydon tram crash

from TAXI NEAR ME http://taxi.nearme.host/transport-for-london-will-spend-for-funerals-of-7-victims-who-passed-away-in-croydon-cable-car-crash/

from NOVACAB https://novacabtaxi.tumblr.com/post/172807101166

[adelineweymouth-blog]

Game Area.

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[scotwresnet]

Hello Scottish Wrestling fans and once again welcome to another SWN Fan Art Corner Artist Interview. We haven’t done one of these for a while but I’ve managed to secure an interview with one of the top people who make Scottish Wrestling art great and who adds colour to the wrestling landscape. Rob Downie aka Robart Downie.

We’ve all admired his work for some time now and he has a forever growing fan base with both fans and wrestlers alike. He was a hard man to reach because of how busy his schedule was but he’s been gracious enough to let me pick his brain and spend a little time answering our questions. So without further ado let me pass it over to him. Enjoy.

If you can just start by introducing yourself and telling us what you like to do?

I’m Rob Downie. I’ve always loved cartoons and comics, and I have a bit of a thing for turning real life things into cartoons.

First question. How long have you watched wrestling?

Nearly 3 years. I was a bit late to the party.

Can you remember the moment you first fell in love with wrestling? What was it about it that attracted you?

I remember when wrestling got popular when I was at school…and I just didn’t enjoy it at all. I was still collecting Pokemon cards at the time. My first time going to a show was at a WCPW show in Meadowbank in 2017. I had recently got offered a job working on WhatCulture’s “WWE Superstar Diaries” series after my brother, Eoin, who’d been watching wrestling for years before me, commissioned 3 “Adam vs Adam” pictures from me and gifted them to them at a show. And as you can probably guess, I didn’t know much about wrestling at all at the time and was going to need to study up. So I decided to finally give it a chance…and I wound up yelling like crazy during Joe Hendry’s match with Drew Galloway. It’s safe to say I was a fan after that show.

Who have been your favourites to watch? Past, present and any tips for the future? And what has been your favourite match/event?

I’ve too many favourite wrestlers to count now. But Session Moth Martina, Grado and Lou King Sharp spring to mind. I think I like them loud and funny.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Whenever I get asked about my favourite matches, the same match always pops into my head first. And that was Discovery Wrestling’s Halloween match between Gene Munny and Sugar Dunkerton, where the ring was surrounded with zombies. It was so creative and fun. Not to mention that was the match that gave birth to The Munndertaker too.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

How does wrestling inspire your work? And what does Scottish Wrestling art mean to you?

Like I said, I just love turning real life things into cartoons. And I realised quickly that a lot of moments I’ve seen in wrestling can be translated so nicely into cartoon form. The good thing about being able to draw it is you can emphasise and exaggerate things like the actions and expressions and really capture what those moments felt like. And I’ve had some of the nicest feedback from nearly all of the wrestlers I’ve drawn too, and quite a few of them have even commissioned me for merchandise now. There’s such a great sense of community in wrestling and I love it.

Where can we find your work?

Facebook @robartdownie Twitter @robartdownie Instagram @robartdownie

Anything you’d like to add?

Commissions are currently open 😉

Once again I’d like to thank Rob for taking time out of his busy schedule to speak to us and we hope you’ve enjoyed reading more about him.

I think we’ll try and do another story with Rob so if you have anything you’d like to know then send in your questions and we can put them to him next time.

Thanks for tuning in.

–

If you have a Scottish Wrestling inspired fan art piece and would like to be featured, get in contact is with us

Instagram: @themaskedembroiderer Twitter: @TEmbroiderer Or email us ScotWresNet@gmail.com

Or use the hashtags #scottishwrestlingart or #scottishwrestlingfanart

Thanks again see you next time.

SWN Fan Art Corner #12 | Artist Interview: Rob Downie

SWN Fan Art Corner #12 | Artist Interview: Rob Downie

SWN Fan Art Corner #12 | Artist Interview: Rob Downie

[scottish-wrestling-network]

Hello Scottish Wrestling fans and once again welcome to another SWN Fan Art Corner Artist Interview. We haven’t done one of these for a while but I’ve managed to secure an interview with one of the top people who make Scottish Wrestling art great and who adds colour to the wrestling landscape. Rob Downie aka Robart Downie.

We’ve all admired his work for some time now and he has a forever growing fan base with both fans and wrestlers alike. He was a hard man to reach because of how busy his schedule was but he’s been gracious enough to let me pick his brain and spend a little time answering our questions. So without further ado let me pass it over to him. Enjoy.

If you can just start by introducing yourself and telling us what you like to do?

I’m Rob Downie. I’ve always loved cartoons and comics, and I have a bit of a thing for turning real life things into cartoons.

First question. How long have you watched wrestling?

Nearly 3 years. I was a bit late to the party.

Can you remember the moment you first fell in love with wrestling? What was it about it that attracted you?

I remember when wrestling got popular when I was at school…and I just didn’t enjoy it at all. I was still collecting Pokemon cards at the time. My first time going to a show was at a WCPW show in Meadowbank in 2017. I had recently got offered a job working on WhatCulture’s “WWE Superstar Diaries” series after my brother, Eoin, who’d been watching wrestling for years before me, commissioned 3 “Adam vs Adam” pictures from me and gifted them to them at a show. And as you can probably guess, I didn’t know much about wrestling at all at the time and was going to need to study up. So I decided to finally give it a chance…and I wound up yelling like crazy during Joe Hendry’s match with Drew Galloway. It’s safe to say I was a fan after that show.

Who have been your favourites to watch? Past, present and any tips for the future? And what has been your favourite match/event?

I’ve too many favourite wrestlers to count now. But Session Moth Martina, Grado and Lou King Sharp spring to mind. I think I like them loud and funny.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Whenever I get asked about my favourite matches, the same match always pops into my head first. And that was Discovery Wrestling’s Halloween match between Gene Munny and Sugar Dunkerton, where the ring was surrounded with zombies. It was so creative and fun. Not to mention that was the match that gave birth to The Munndertaker too.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

How does wrestling inspire your work? And what does Scottish Wrestling art mean to you?

Like I said, I just love turning real life things into cartoons. And I realised quickly that a lot of moments I’ve seen in wrestling can be translated so nicely into cartoon form. The good thing about being able to draw it is you can emphasise and exaggerate things like the actions and expressions and really capture what those moments felt like. And I’ve had some of the nicest feedback from nearly all of the wrestlers I’ve drawn too, and quite a few of them have even commissioned me for merchandise now. There’s such a great sense of community in wrestling and I love it.

Where can we find your work?

Facebook @robartdownie Twitter @robartdownie Instagram @robartdownie

Anything you’d like to add?

Commissions are currently open 😉

Once again I’d like to thank Rob for taking time out of his busy schedule to speak to us and we hope you’ve enjoyed reading more about him.

I think we’ll try and do another story with Rob so if you have anything you’d like to know then send in your questions and we can put them to him next time.

Thanks for tuning in.

–

If you have a Scottish Wrestling inspired fan art piece and would like to be featured, get in contact is with us

Instagram: @themaskedembroiderer Twitter: @TEmbroiderer Or email us ScotWresNet@gmail.com

Or use the hashtags #scottishwrestlingart or #scottishwrestlingfanart

Thanks again see you next time.

SWN Fan Art Corner #12 | Artist Interview: Rob Downie

SWN Fan Art Corner #12 | Artist Interview: Rob Downie

[scotwresnet]

Welcome to this months Scottish Wrestling Network Fan Art Corner.

Once again another great month of Scottish Wrestling action has occurred and more fantastic fan art has been made.

We try and get the best and most diverse pieces we can find and this month was no exception, we even have a piece seen on a recent episode of NXTUK. Thank you to @ashleyfcerguson for letting us use this.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

In fact thank you to everyone who either sent in their artwork or gave us permission to use their work. It’s always exciting and inspiring to see new pieces. And if your feeling as inspired as we are by these pieces and wish to send in your artwork for next months edition feel free to do so. You can get us at:

Twitter – @TEmbroiderer Instagram – @themaskedembroiderer

Or use the hashtags

#scottishwrestlingart #scottishwrestlingfanart

It would also be much appreciated if you could spread the word. We want to see even more next month.

Just before we go we’d like to add that we hope you enjoyed our last SWN Fan Art Corner with our interview with @the_mac_maniac go and check his work out if you haven’t already. It’s excellent. We will have another very special one of these in the near future with a talented artist and just so happens to be a ‘king of catch’ wrestling. I wonder who that could be? Keep a lookout for it.

Hope you enjoy and thanks again.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

SWN Fan Art Corner #6

SWN Fan Art Corner #6

SWN Fan Art Corner #6

[scottish-wrestling-network]

Welcome to this months Scottish Wrestling Network Fan Art Corner.

Once again another great month of Scottish Wrestling action has occurred and more fantastic fan art has been made.

We try and get the best and most diverse pieces we can find and this month was no exception, we even have a piece seen on a recent episode of NXTUK. Thank you to @ashleyfcerguson for letting us use this.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

In fact thank you to everyone who either sent in their artwork or gave us permission to use their work. It’s always exciting and inspiring to see new pieces. And if your feeling as inspired as we are by these pieces and wish to send in your artwork for next months edition feel free to do so. You can get us at:

Twitter – @TEmbroiderer Instagram – @themaskedembroiderer

Or use the hashtags

#scottishwrestlingart #scottishwrestlingfanart

It would also be much appreciated if you could spread the word. We want to see even more next month.

Just before we go we’d like to add that we hope you enjoyed our last SWN Fan Art Corner with our interview with @the_mac_maniac go and check his work out if you haven’t already. It’s excellent. We will have another very special one of these in the near future with a talented artist and just so happens to be a ‘king of catch’ wrestling. I wonder who that could be? Keep a lookout for it.

Hope you enjoy and thanks again.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

SWN Fan Art Corner #6

SWN Fan Art Corner #6

[scottish-wrestling-network]

If you can just start by introducing yourself and telling us what you like to do?

My name’s Andy. I’m a massive movie nut. I’ll give anything a go at least once. Ghostbusters, The Crow and Evil Dead are my top three all time faves. I’m also a bit of a closet goth with a twisted sense of humor.

How long have you watched wrestling?

Life long fan, earliest memories are of wrestling on the telly on a Saturday afternoon. World of Sport.

Can you remember the moment you first fell in love with wrestling?

Not one specific thing that made me fall for wrestling, was just hooked from the get go and been along for the ride ever since.

What was it about it that attracted you?

Well as a kid I think wrestling was the closest thing you could get to a real life superhero, as I got older I think it was more the absurd storylines and compelling characters that kept me in wrestling’s grip for all these years.

Who have been your favourites to watch? Past, present and any tips for the future?

Past wrestlers: Roddy Piper, Jake Roberts, Lord Steven Regal, cactus Jack.

Present: BT Gunn, Jackie Polo, Sha Samuels, Lionheart, Liam Thomson, Jack Jester, Joe Coffey and Noam Dar.

Future: Kieran Kelly, Leyton Buzzard, Lou King Sharp.

And what has been your favourite match/event?

In recent memory my favourite match has to be hands down the Chris Renfrew versus Joe Hendry saga, it was ridiculously relentless and fun. Favourite event ever has to be WrestleMania 8 as it was the first mania I’d ever seen.

Do you go to any of the shows? What has been your favourite show you’ve been to?

Tie between SummerSlam 92 (first big scale event I went to) and ICW Fight Club recordings from October 2018, never been to a show like it before, VERY addictive and can’t wait for my next one!

How does wrestling inspire your work?

Well I started out drawing at a young age, used to sketch the Looney Tunes from TV episodes, then I discovered comics in my early teens and the superheros/wrestlers comparison came in to play again, I began sketching my favourite wrestlers while watching the shows. Adult life got in the way of something I loved and I completely stopped drawing for about 8 years, then the ICW show last year got the old creative juices stirring again and the first thing I drew was Joe Coffey and it’s just grown and moved on from there when I started sharing my work on social media. So technically Insane Championship Wrestling got me drawing again.

Where can we find your work? Anything you’d like to add?

Instagram is the only place I really post art work so following the_mac_maniac on there is your best bet if you would like to see more thank you.

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Thank you to Andy for letting us reveal a fantastic new piece of The Filthy Generation below:

SWN Fan Art Corner #5 | Artist Interview: Andy

SWN Fan Art Corner #5 | Artist Interview: Andy