Tag Archives: fish

Freddie Flintoff wants to open chip shop in London

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From battering boxers to battering fish: Flintoff intends to open a chippy in London

By
Sunni Upal

PUBLISHED:

10:37 GMT, 3 January 2013

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UPDATED:

12:07 GMT, 3 January 2013

Freddie Flintoff is so unhappy with the quality of fish and chips shops in London that he wants to open his own.

The former England cricketer is in talks with TV producers about a news series, potentially on Sky One, where he runs a chippy in London with wife Rachael.

A source said: 'Freddie isn’t impressed with the quality of fish and chips shops down south and wants to open his own up in London selling market-fresh fish.

What's this garbage Flintoff is said to be unhappy with the quality of chippys down south

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Fishy Flintoff

What's this garbage Flintoff is said to be unhappy with the quality of chippys down south

'He would be front of house but the business would be run by his wife Rachael, who has a background in catering and events.'

The move would be the latest in Flintoff's post-cricket career after he won on his professional boxing debut in Manchester last year.

Flintoff has been a regular on Sky's A League of Their Own as well as starring in ITV4 series Freddie Flintoff Versus The World.

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King of the ring: Flintoff celebrates beating Richard Dawson

King of the ring: Flintoff celebrates beating Richard Dawson

Experience: Rachael has worked in the catering industry

Experience: Rachael has worked in the catering industry

Ex-England and Yorkshire cricketer Chris Old opened a fish and chip restaurant in Cornwall

Ex-England and Yorkshire cricketer Chris Old opened a fish and chip restaurant in Cornwall

Jimmy Bullard messing about – image of the week by Andy Hooper

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Andy Hooper: My image of the week – Jimmy Bullard messing about on the river

PUBLISHED:

08:20 GMT, 23 October 2012

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UPDATED:

08:20 GMT, 23 October 2012

Jimmy Bullard was always going to be up for a bit of larking around.

The interview was to take place in Cobham and as Jimmy is a keen fisherman we decided to look for a picturesque shot down by the river.

He spent his time looking for places to fish while I set my gear up. When the lights were turned on Jimmy jumped for the camera, kicking an imaginary ball.

It’s the expression on his face which makes this a good picture, as he appears to float above the river.

Nikon D4
Lens 24-70mm
Exposure 1/250th of a second at F4.5, ISO 50

Water performance: Jimmy Bullard in a shoot with Sportsmail snapper Andy Hooper

Water performance: Jimmy Bullard in a shoot with Sportsmail snapper Andy Hooper

Charles Sale: Smoked salmon supplier Forman cries foul over "police state"

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Smoked salmon supplier Forman cries foul over 'police state'

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UPDATED:

23:25 GMT, 1 August 2012

Smoked salmon supplier Lance Forman,
who has invested 1million in his Games hospitality initiative at his
Stratford fish factory, claims London 2012 are trying to force him out
of business.

Enforcement officers from the
Olympic Delivery Authority on Wednesday ordered Forman to remove signs on
lampposts outside the Olympic Park directing Games spectators to his
Fish Island Riviera, claiming they contravened marketing regulations.

Hit hard: Lance Forman

Hit hard: Lance Forman

Forman, who has room for 8,000 guests in his prime site across the River Lea from the Olympic Stadium, has attracted only hundreds of visitors in the first week.

He said: 'London 2012 should be doing everything it can to help a local business trying to regenerate this area. Instead they're going out of their way to obstruct me at every turn. It's utterly ridiculous taking down the signs. It's like we're living in a police state.'

The former president of the Cambridge Union, who originally had ambitions of making 1m a day during the Games, added: 'It's been a bit quiet but hopefully it's the lull before the storm. I'm not panicking yet, but if we're only getting hundreds next week, I'll be gutted.'

A LOCOG spokeswoman said: 'There are categoric rules regarding marketing activity close to the Olympic Park and we can't make exceptions.'

Joining the Jet Set

Rights-holders in the Olympic Hospitality Centre, which is reserved for official sponsors and guests, have expressed concern that wealthy spectators have been able to buy their way into the facility. It is alleged access was arranged through hospitality provider Jet Set Sports, a sister company of CoSport, whose botched Olympic ticket distribution caused chaos before the Games. LOCOG say they have no evidence of transgressions.

Dr Dre

Beating the system

The ambush marketing campaign behind the Beats headphones worn by Team GB athletes, contrary to IOC regulations, was achieved by the company owned by American rapper Dr Dre (right) targeting footballers and swimmers. Beats sent reps and a consignment of their headphones to the hotel in Edinburgh where the swimmers stayed before the start of the Games and another batch to the Manchester hotel base of the Team GB footballers.

Hand in Glover

Helen Glover and Heather Stanning had barely passed the finishing line at Eton Dorney before UK Sport circulated an email claiming the credit for their rowing gold. The funding agency say they won't repeat this after every Team GB victory but had wanted to get it across that Glover's involvement in rowing was a result of UK Sport's national talent identification programme.

Any (soft) questions

At this stage of the Beijing Olympics the Chinese organising committee began cancelling daily press conferences on the bizarre grounds that there was nothing to discuss – such as human rights – since the operation was running so smoothly.

The IOC consider LOCOG are delivering the Games to such a standard that their early morning daily meetings have been postponed until Saturday. And although LOCOG aren't following the Chinese example of blocking press questioning, today's meeting will be informal rather than the set-piece Q & A format.

Following the brief inadvertent showing of a BabeStation preview this week on the television screens in the main press centre in the Olympic Park, volunteers at the North Greenwich Arena, venue for the gymnastics, were dispatched to ensure that none of the televisions in the media areas could access any porn channels.

After Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian of all time with 19 medals, the first question BBC poolside interviewer Sharron Davies asked him was about his gracious attitude when he lost his 400m individual medley crown to Ryan Lochte. And once again, the BBC's crass obsession with employing celebrities rather than proper broadcast journalists for reporting jobs was shown up.

Wimbledon 2012: Arsenal to give James Ward VIP tickets after selling season tickets

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We're Gunner get you in: Ward to be given VIP treatment after selling Arsenal season tickets

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UPDATED:

22:07 GMT, 27 June 2012

Arsenal are giving British No 3 James Ward two VIP tickets to a game next season to help ease the blow of him selling his season tickets.

Arsenal fan Ward, who plays Mardy Fish on Thursday in the second round, gave up his seat to a friend because it was so expensive but soon regretted after netting 23,125 for beating Pablo Andujar.

Going through: James Ward celebrates beating Pablo Andujar in the first round

Going through: James Ward celebrates beating Pablo Andujar in the first round

Ward said after the game: 'I think I sold [the tickets] today. Bit of a nightmare. I can probably afford it now. It's expensive: Arsenal is the most expensive season ticket there is and now I might see if I can get them back.

'It's 1,300 a ticket, and the problem for me is, if I'm travelling so much, I can only go to six, eight games a season, max.'

Ward overcame Andujar 3-6 6-0 3-6 6-4 6-4 in an epic encounter which lasted more than three hours, and now faces American Fish in the next round.

Thierry Henry abandons giant fish tank plans in London home

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Henry abandons plans for giant fish tank inside 6m north London home

Thierry Henry has abandoned plans to build a giant fish tank in a house he wants knock down and re-develop because it doesn't suit the needs of his family.

The ex-Arsenal striker was given the green light to demolish his 6million mansion in Hampstead, north London, and build another but there was a last minute change to the application.

Documents submitted to Camden Council a day before it was due to go before a planning committee are pretty much the same but with an omission – the three-storey aquarium.

Footballer Thierry Henry's new house plan has angered his neighbours but now the plan for an aquarium (bottom left) will not go ahead

Footballer Thierry Henry's new house plan has angered his neighbours but now the plan for an aquarium (bottom left) will not go ahead

The original plans showed a 40ft high fish tank stretching 15ft across and going from from the basement up to the roof of the second floor.

The four separate tanks on top of one another would have been worth around 250,000 and would have held 5,500 gallons of water.

It would have housed 300 fish and cost 12,000 a year to run, making the super-size aquariums owned by the likes of Madonna, the Beckhams and Stephen Ireland look like tiddlers.

London boy: Henry made a brief return to Arsenal earlier this season

London boy: Henry made a brief return to Arsenal earlier this season

London boy: Henry made a brief return to Arsenal earlier this season

Henry currently divides his time between New York where he is playing for MLS side New York Red Bulls and London, just a few miles round the corner from former club Arsenal.

The former France international – and Arsenal's all-time top scorer – made a brief return to the Gunners last season in a bid to maintain fitness between MLS seasons.

One local, who asked not to be named, said: 'Thierry obviously had his heart set on the aquarium.

'But in the end everyone around here was saying he was only demolishing the old house so he could get the fish tank specially made to his liking.

'Knocking down a perfectly good 13-year-old house worth in the region of 10m is not something that is looked upon kindly if it is just to put a fish tank in, so a lot of us think he got round the council simply by saying he would get rid of the aquarium.'

Flash home: Conti, whose garden backs on to Henry's home, and seven others have urged planning officials halt the proposal

Flash home: Conti, whose garden backs on to Henry's home, and seven others have urged planning officials halt the proposal saying 'If someone wants a larger house why do they not just buy one somewhere else'

Celebrity battle: Footballer Thierry Henry had originally wanted to build a huge fish tank going from the basement to the roof of his Hampstead mansion

Actor Tom Conti has told footballer neighbour Thierry Henry to move out of his 10m London pile rather than demolish it for a larger home

Celebrity battle: Henry, left was urged by neighbour Tom Conti, right, to move out of his 6 million London home rather than demolish it for a larger house to accommodate a monster 40ft fish tank

Actor Tom Conti, who is a neighbour of Henry's in Hampstead, north London, led an attack against the plans, but the councillors gave their consent for the building to be knocked down and re-built.

Camden councillor Jonathan Simpson described the designs as 'fantastic', adding: 'It is an outstanding contribution to the borough.'

Conti, the 70-year-old actor best known for his portrayal of Greek taverna owner Costas in the film Shirley Valentine, claimed the building of the house would cause massive disruption and was not suited to the area.

Henry argues that his house, built in 1999, has aged badly and is not fit for purpose as a family home.

Plans: Henry intends to rebuild his Hampstead home, although the original architect Sir Richard MacCormac is opposed to the demolition

Plans: Henry intends to rebuild his Hampstead home, although the original architect Sir Richard MacCormac is opposed to the demolition

‘Its interior spaces are cramped, deteriorated and commercial in feel, with low ceilings, narrow rooms and poor daylight,’ according to papers submitted to the council by Montagu Evans, the agents acting on his behalf.

The row in leafy Hampstead has been brewing since February, when French footballer Henry applied for planning permission.

The French footballer – who fronted the ‘va-va-voom’ TV adverts for car firm Renault – is the latest in a long line of celebrities to take an interest in flashy fish tanks.

Celebrity fish tank obsession

The French footballer – who fronted the 'va-va-voom' TV adverts for car firm Renault – is the latest in a long line of celebrities to take an interest in flashy fish tanks.

Madonna, the Beckhams, Cher and Premier League footballers Stephen Ireland, Joe Hart and Micah Richards, have all splashed out on opulent fish tanks.

Ireland has reportedly spent more than 100,000 on his 13ft aquarium, and is now believed to be planning a shark tank under his kitchen floor.

It has been suggested that the celebrity obsession with aquariums may not be just about a fondness for fish.

One tank designer, who asked not to be named, said: 'Our client list tends to be male-dominated and they are looking for status symbols and showpieces.'

Henry bought his house in 2001 when he was married to model Claire Merry. The couple divorced in 2007.

But he is understood to be keen to maintain his London base to be close to their young daughter, Tea. His new home will also include a swimming pool and gym.

The French footballer – who fronted the 'va-va-voom' TV adverts for car firm Renault – is the latest in a long line of celebrities to take an interest in flashy fish tanks.

Madonna, the Beckhams, Cher and Premier League footballers Stephen Ireland, Joe Hart and Micah Richards, have all splashed out on massive fish tanks.

Ireland has reportedly spent more than 100,000 on his 13ft aquarium, and is now believed to be planning a shark tank under his kitchen floor.

Henry's new home is expected to take about six months to complete.

Before news of the successful planning application Mr Conti said: 'They'll be drilling into the basement and it’ll go on for months and months.

'There are a lot of retired people round here or people like me who work from home – I write – and it’s a terrible disturbance.

'Why do they have to knock it down I've never met Thierry Henry and I've got nothing against the man at all. I’m sure he’s a very nice man and he’s welcome to build whatever he likes. But please not here, not next to me, with all the noise.'

Conti added: ‘This used to be a wonderful place to live, but in the last ten years there’s been endless, endless building.’They’ll be drilling into the basement and it’ll go on for months and months.

Big Apple: Henry is currently plying his trade with the New York Red Bulls

Big Apple: Henry is currently plying his trade with the New York Red Bulls

Trading is only permitted under strict Government regulations.

The house’s original architect, Sir Richard MacCormac, a former chairman of the Royal Institute of British Architects, opposed Henry’s application.

He said the house has 'good daylighting and is in good condition but appears not to have been well maintained'.

Influential civic group the Heath and Hampstead Society had also called for the application to be thrown out, saying the design of the new house 'has no style or elegance'.

Thierry Henry fish tank: Arsenal striker plans to rebuild his 6m home

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Henry to rebuild 6m London mansion to make va-va-room for 5,000 gallon fish tank

Thierry Henry has lodged controversial plans to demolish his 5.9 million north London house and replace it with a larger property – incorporating a 40ft high fish tank that will cost 250,000 to build.

The former Arsenal striker wants to rebuild his luxury home – which was completed only in 1999 and is described as one of the finest examples of modern architecture in the UK – to accommodate it.

Stretching 40ft from the bottom of
his house to the very top, it will take 5,500 gallons of water to fill,
house 300 fish and cost a staggering 250,000 to build. His proposals detail the extravagant four-storey aquarium.

Gisele Bundchen and Thierry Henry

Fish Fan: Thierry Henry

Fish Fan: Thierry Henry, seen here with model Gisele Bundchen, is to splash out 250,000 on a four-storey fish tank at his North London home

Henry – Arsenal's all-time top goalscorer – recently ended his second spell at the Emirates before leaving to rejoin MLS side New York Red Bulls.

He made seven appearances for the Gunners and scored the winning goals against Leeds in the FA Cup and against Sunderland in the league before bowing out in the 4-0 Champions League drubbing to AC Milan.

But his influence on matters in the north of the capital would not seem to have ended with news of the grand plans he has for the property.

As well as the vast cost of construction, the 15ft long by 3ft wide tank will set Henry back 12,000 a year to run, including weekly inspections at about 50 an hour. The annual bill for fish food alone would be 2,500.

The French footballer – who fronted the 'va-va-voom' TV adverts for car firm Renault – is the latest in a long line of celebrities including Madonna, the Beckhams, Cher and Premier League footballers Stephen Ireland, Joe Hart and Micah Richards, to splash out on opulent fish tanks.

Ireland has reportedly spent more than 100,000 on his 13ft aquarium, and is now believed to be planning a shark tank under his kitchen floor.

But Henry's super-size version will dwarf them all.

Elaborate: The 15ft long by 3ft wide tank will set Henry back 12,000 a year to run, including weekly inspections at about 50 an hour. The annual bill for fish food alone will be 2,500

Elaborate: The 15ft long by 3ft wide tank will set Henry back 12,000 a year to run, including weekly inspections at about 50 an hour. The annual bill for fish food alone will be 2,500

His aquarium will actually be made up of four separate tanks, one for each storey of the house.
Each will be made of Perspex-like material and will give the optical illusion of one giant aquarium – but will be cheaper to clean, run and maintain than a single tank.

One industry expert last night said the 12,000-a-year bill for heating, cleaning and lighting the tanks would be just a fraction of the 80,000 it would cost to maintain one huge tank.

Each aquarium will require a filtration system to ensure the water stays clean and fresh. Experts say there are 2,000 species of marine life suitable for the tanks, ranging from smaller breeds of shark to clown fish, yellow tangs, blue tangs and angel fish.

It has been suggested that the celebrity obsession with aquariums has nothing to do with a fondness for fish.

One tank designer, who asked not to be named, said: 'Our client list tends to be male-dominated and they are looking for status symbols and showpieces.'

Plans: Henry intends to rebuild his Hampstead home, although the original architect Sir Richard MacCormac is opposed to the demolition

Plans: Henry intends to rebuild his Hampstead home, although the original architect Sir Richard MacCormac is opposed to the demolition

The star, who divorced his wife Claire Merry in 2007 and is now dating Bosnian model Andrea Rajacic, is keen to maintain his London base, in Hampstead, to be close to his daughter Tea.

Henry's new home will be taller than the existing one and include a bar, a cinema and a swimming pool. Despite spending at least 2 million on rebuild costs, the finished house is likely to be worth at least 10 million.

The footballer is keen to highlight the eco-features of the new home, which includes extensive glass panelling to capture natural light and a so-called ‘biodiverse’ roof, which will incorporate plants and trees.

But the house’s original architect, Sir Richard MacCormac, is opposed to the proposed demolition.

Sir Richard, who also designed the Wellcome wing of the Science Museum, said last night: ‘I don’t think you improve sustainability by demolishing a house which is just 13 years old.

‘It surprises me that someone who can afford to build a new house and who claims to be serious about architecture should not simply build another one elsewhere.

‘I think my original design is well regarded locally and I think a lot of people are going to be upset.
‘The existing house has a very deliberate low-key design to ensure that it would not look out of place in the conservation area.’

Australian Open 2012: Roger Federer to play Ivo Karlovic in round three

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Injured Beck retires to send Federer through to round three… without hitting a ball!

Roger Federer booked his place the last 32 of the Australian Open without hitting a ball after Andreas Beck was forced to withdraw from their scheduled second-round clash.

Germany's Beck, who was due to take on the Swiss in the final match of day three on Hisense Arena, had to scratch after suffering a lower back injury.

Easy does it: World No 3 Roger Federer is through to the last 32 without hitting a ball after German Andreas Beck retired

Easy does it: World No 3 Roger Federer is through to the last 32 without hitting a ball after German Andreas Beck retired

Federer will now meet the winner of the clash between Croatian Ivo Karlovic and Argentinian Carlos Berlocq in the third round.

Alex Kay Talks Tennis

Mardy Fish had no such luck after becoming the highest seed to exit the tournament following his defeat to Alejandro Falla.

American Fish committed 58 unforced errors to help hand his Colombian opponent a 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, 7-6, (8/6) victory in exactly three hours.

Fried: Mardy Fish crashed out of the Australian Open in the second round

Fried: Mardy Fish crashed out of the Australian Open in the second round

Master stroke: Colombian Alejandro Falla was impressive in his straight sets win over American Fish

Master stroke: Colombian Alejandro Falla was impressive in his straight sets win over American Fish

Having lost the first set on a tie-break, eighth seed Fish became distracted by Falla's use of the trainer and a solitary break handed the world No 71 a two-set lead.

It looked bleak for Fish when he found himself a break down in the third, but he hit back to take it to another breaker only to again find himself on the back foot.

Falla, best known previously for squandering a two-set advantage against Federer at Wimbledon in 2010, looked nervy when wasting his first two match points, the first with a double fault.

Sailing through: Tomas Berdych proved too much for Olivier Rochus

Sailing through: Tomas Berdych proved too much for Olivier Rochus

But when a third chance presented itself he was grateful for Fish putting a backhand volley wide.

Seventh seed Tomas Berdych eased past diminutive Belgian Olivier Rochus 6-1, 6-0, 7-6, (7/4), while big-serving South African Kevin Anderson edged out Sergiy Stakhovsky 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.