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Tony Blackburn has revealed that he had life threatening sepsis and pneumonia after coming out of a two-month stay in hospital. The veteran BBC Radio DJ had pulled out of his Sound Of the 60s UK Tour and accompanying radio show earlier this year after he was taken ill. At the time, Blackburn told his listeners he had a chest infection. Now that Blackburn has fully recovered and has been discharged from hospital, the DJ has revealed that he was actually suffering from sepsis, pneumonia and blood poisoning. “I was doing three a week at one time forgetting that I’m now a little bit older, so I ended up in hospital for two months with sepsis and pneumonia and blood poisoning,” he said on BBC Radio Scotland’s Afternoon Show on Wednesday (23 August). “And I didn’t realise how unwell I was until one day in the hospital my whole family were gathered around the bed. And I thought ‘this isn’t good’.” “A couple of weeks ago I went to see my specialist and he said ‘you are cured’, so that was a nice thing to hear.” After a three-month break, Blackburn has returned to his tour but will be doing one show per week rather than three per week. He said: “I haven’t been doing the [tour] show for about three months because I was told to rest a little bit. Now I’m back in form and we’re selling out.” “I love being with the band and it’s just loads of fun.” Blackburn returned to BBC Radio 2 after Johnnie Walker covered his Sounds of the 60s radio show during his illness and has since launched a new show on Sunday afternoons – Tony Blackburn’s Soul on Sunday on BBC Radio London. Back in May, Blackburn announced that he had been discharged from hospital and was looking forward to broadcasting again. “After three weeks in hospital I have just been discharged and am now at home to have some more treatment by having a daily injection for a few days from a hospital near me,” he said. “Thanks to everyone at the Wellington Hospital in London, doctors and nurses for looking after me. “After my treatment and a rest I look forward to getting back @BBCRadio2 and @BBCLOCALRADIO to doing what I love doing. Just want to thank all my friends for your lovely messages, you are all so kind to think about me xx,” he concluded. According to the NHS, sepsis is a life-threatening reaction to an infection when your immune system overreacts to an infection and starts to damage your body’s own tissues and organs. There are lots of symptoms of sepsis, and those symptoms can be similar to other conditions, including the flu or a chest infection. Read More Former royal chef explains why Prince William and Kate’s children don’t eat with them What we know about the leaked Pentagon documents on Ukraine Bride tries on mother’s wedding dress 30 years after parents’ wedding 4 hacks to get teens off the sofa and get active – as study warns of heart damage Selling Sunset’s Amanza Smith says she ‘almost died’ from spine infection Strictly’s Amy Dowden finding it ‘so hard’ as she shares hair loss update amid cancer

Virgin Galactic is finally taking its first space tourists on a rocket ship ride after years of delays

A celebrity chef has “banned” vegans from his restaurant after reportedly receiving a negative review from a customer who criticised the lack of plant-based options. On Tuesday, Chef John Mountain revealed on the Facebook page for his restaurant Fyre that the eatery would no longer be catering to vegan diners. According to Mountain, the decision to ban vegans from the Perth, Australia, restaurant was due to “mental health reasons”. “Sadly all vegans are now banned from Fyre (for mental health reasons),” the post on the restaurant’s Facebook reads. “We thank you for your understanding. Xx.” The post also included the caption: “Yep. I’m done.” and the hashtags #vegan, #not, #pleasegoelsewhere, #veganfreezone, and #nomorevegans. The decision allegedly stemmed from a bad review posted by a vegan customer, with Chef Mountain telling PerthNow that a customer had reached out to him to ask if there were any vegan options at the restaurant, and that he’d promised he would accommodate her. “A young girl reached out to me and said she was coming to the restaurant… and asked if there were vegan options,” he said. “It was my only shortfall… I said I would accommodate her, I said we had gnocchi, vegetables… and that was that.” However, according to Mountain, who previously starred on the BBC show Great British Menu, he’d forgotten about the woman’s request when she came to dine on Saturday, as he’d been busy catering a private party. “Saturday came around and sadly I’d forgotten… I had a private party I had to cater for,” he told the outlet, adding that his sous chef had reportedly reprimanded him for “not telling them about the vegan customer”. According to the UK-born chef, the woman wrote a complaint to the restaurant on Facebook the following day, in which she’d criticised the $32 vegetable dish that had been her “only option”. The woman’s message also reportedly read: “I think it’s incredibly important nowadays that restaurants can accommodate everyone and to not be able to have actual plant-based meals shows your shortcomings as a chef. “I hope to see some improvements in your menu as I have lived in Connolly for quite some time and have seen many restaurants come and go from that building and none of them last. If you don’t get with the times, I don’t hold out faith that your restaurant will be the one that does.” The restaurant reportedly addressed the woman’s complaint in a response of its own, in which it noted that it tried to “accommodate everyone” before encouraging the customer to “feel free to share your sh**ty experience”. “Thanks for your negative review… please feel free to share your sh***y experience and I look forward to not seeing you again. How very childish. You and all your vegan mates can all go and enjoy your dishes in another venue, you are now banned,” the restaurant’s response read, according to PerthNow. Although Chef Mountain admitted he’d said he would accommodate the woman and then “didn’t,” she’d made the complaint “personal”. The chef also claimed that, as a result of the woman’s complaint, his restaurant was flooded with negative one-star reviews on Google, which he said “really hurts the business”. “F*** vegans seriously… I’m done. At the end of the day, it’s not what I want to do, they can f*** off,” he added. Mountain reiterated the sentiment while speaking to 7News, with the chef telling the outlet: “F*** vegans, I’m done with them.” Mountain also claimed that customers should “know what they’re getting from me,” as he has previously written a cookbook titled Pig. “I once wrote and sold a book called Pig which had pork recipes. People know what they’re getting from me,” he said. “I understand where vegans are coming from but my job is to make food taste as good as I can and I can’t always cater to everybody’s dietary requirements.” On social media, the chef’s ban on vegans has sparked an intense debate among customers, with some praising Mountain and Fyre, while others have condemned the decision. “Bravo! Good on you mate, great stance. It’s nowhere near where I live but I will definitely come to your restaurant now,” one comment under the Facebook post reads, while another person wrote: “Can’t wait to try this place, just booked a table! Looking forward to a nice piece of rare steak.” The restaurant has also received a flood of positive reviews on its Facebook, where many have praised both the food and the staff, while others have applauded the restaurant’s “principles” and “ethics”. “Outstanding chef. Great rules and ethics,” one review reads, while another recent review states: “Great staff, great food and a chef with principles.” However, the restaurant has also continued to face criticism over Mountain’s “ban” on vegans, with one recent review reading: “You can’t call yourself a chef if you can’t even cook veggies. Owner is very arrogant and can’t take criticism.” “Discriminating and refusing vegans into his venue, all for a complaint for not following an agreed vegan option. How disgusting,” someone else wrote. The restaurant’s alleged ban on vegans comes after a vegan landlord in New York City recently went viral after requesting that only tenants who follow a plant-based diet live in the building. The Independent has contacted Chef Mountain for comment. Read More Vegan landlord seeks tenants for $5,750 New York apartment with period features. Meat eaters need not apply Vegan family asks neighbours to close their windows when cooking meat Former vegan says meat ‘saved her life’ after diet ‘made hair fall out’ Missing Glastonbury? Here’s how to have a festival feast at home Four berry sweet recipes that go beyond strawberries and cream Can you whip up the perfect burger in just five minutes?

A grandmother who was diagnosed with a rare cancerous tumour after her ankle “looked a bit swollen” had to have her leg amputated, but she is now walking with a prosthetic and has achieved her goal of waltzing again with her husband. Shirley Parnell, 75, a retired production coordinator, who lives in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, with her husband, Lawrence, 76, a retired chartered surveyor, noticed a lump on her ankle in July 2022, and little did she know, it would lead to a devastating diagnosis. Shirley “assumed it would be something that (doctors) could fix”, but, after several scans, she was diagnosed with spindle cell sarcoma, a rare malignant cancerous tumour, and was told a leg amputation would be the only way forward. The mum of two and grandmother of two felt “shocked and in disbelief” as it “hadn’t even crossed (her) mind” that she was going to be diagnosed with cancer. After the surgery, Shirley had an “overwhelming sense of relief” and focused on getting better – to motivate herself, she set herself the goal of being able to dance with her husband again. But, while learning to walk again, Shirley was diagnosed with metastasis lung cancer and could not help but feel “a little bit cheated” as her parents lived until their 90s and she now knows “that’s probably not going to happen.” She did not let this get in the way of her achieving her goal, and in the middle June 2023, she danced with her husband again at a friend’s wedding and said she “had a real sense of achievement”. In July 2022, Shirley got her first warning sign of cancer when she experienced pain in her right ankle. Shirley told PA Real Life: “My ankle started to look a bit swollen – at first, I didn’t think anything of it as I assumed I had just knocked it on something in the house and not realised, but then I noticed a lump. “The lump kept moving around and the pain started to get more intense. So much so that I decided to go and see my local GP.” Shirley’s GP thought it could be a blood clot, so she was prescribed cream and tablets, but after a week, nothing improved. She was then referred to Watford General Hospital for a blood test and an X-ray. Shirley said: “I had just assumed it would be something that they could fix with some medication and the thought of something more serious didn’t really cross my mind. “It was only when they said that the X-ray had come back showing some abnormalities and they wanted me to have an MRI scan, a CT scan and a biopsy that I started to worry. “A few weeks went by, and I tried not to think about the results but then I got a call saying the results were back and they wanted to see me, and I just felt like it was going to be bad news.” At the appointment, Shirley was told she had spindle cell sarcoma, a rare malignant cancerous tumour which can develop in the bone or soft tissue. The doctor suggested that the only option for Shirley was to have her leg amputated to remove the tumour. She said: “As he said those words, I felt shocked and disbelief. “I thought at the time, only last week I was living my life normally, doing things I would come to take for granted such as walking to the shops or going to a Pilates class. “It hadn’t even crossed my mind that it might be cancer, let alone that I would lose a limb because of it.” So, on October 24 2022, at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore, Greater London, Shirley had the surgery. She said: “I was very nervous going into surgery but funnily enough I was okay once it was done. “I just had an overwhelming sense of relief that that part was finished. “Everyone has always said to me that I am a very determined person and after the surgery, I just started to look to the future as I felt everything was getting better, so I focused on working towards that.” But, once her leg was amputated, Shirley could not help but feel like she had lost some independence. She said: “Before I could just pop out to pick up some essentials but I had to rely on others to help me, something I am learning to get better at. “I’m so grateful for my husband running me around though.” On January 27 2023, Shirley had a cast made for her prosthetic leg, and it was fitted a week later. She said: “Then came the long and challenging journey of learning how to walk again. “The staff at the Prosthetic Rehabilitation Unit at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital were amazing and their support was what got me through those first few weeks and helped me get used to my new way of moving. “I felt strange but excited with my new leg – it felt like it was a real step forward into being more independent.” When in physiotherapy, Shirley made it her goal to be able to dance at her friend’s wedding with her husband. She said: “My husband and I always loved dancing – he joked that we’ll be doing a jive, but I said maybe a slow waltz.” But, at the end of April 2023, she was diagnosed with lung cancer. She said: “My parents lived until they were well into their 90s and I’ll be honest, I fully accepted with my family history that I would do the same. “So it came as a bit of a shock that I now know that that’s probably not going to happen. “I felt a little bit cheated, I suppose, but the other thing it has made me realise is that there are people a lot worse off than me.” Determined not to let the diagnosis impact her goal, Shirley practised walking even more, and at the middle June 2023, they danced together at the wedding. She said: “It was wonderful, I had a real sense of achievement, and being able to have a few dances during the evening was wonderful. “My husband was really proud of me too. “My family have been unbelievably supportive, I can’t thank them enough. “They were so happy for me that day.” Now, Shirley remains under the hospital’s care, having regular scans, and has since passed her driving assistance test. She is also raising money for the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital Charity for its Impossible Possible campaign. Looking back on the last few years, she said: “I appreciate things a lot more now – I take time to appreciate my garden, the flowers blossoming, and my family. “I feel so lucky that I could have the amputation, and it puts things into perspective definitely.” Read More Mother reveals bruise on her toddler’s eye led to cancer diagnosis Jonnie Irwin details experience with palliative hospice care Ben Cohen’s ex-wife says she had only ‘one symptom’ before cancer diagnosis What is cardiac arrest? The condition that LeBron James’ son suffered from Mom left ‘appalled’ after water park says she can’t breastfeed son in lazy river Government has more work to do to ensure families secure quality childcare – MPs

Red Bull’s Helmut Marko says Mercedes made a last-ditch attempt to sign Adrian Newey as the Silver Arrows desperately look to haul in the deficit to Formula 1’s dominant team. Newey, the lead designer behind Red Bull’s rapid RB19 car this season, last week extended his deal with the Milton Keynes outfit. Yet F1 Insider report that the 64-year-old received a phone call from a Mercedes assistant, who formerly worked at Red Bull, about opening talks regarding a potential move to Toto Wolff’s team. But Newey, who has been at Red Bull since 2006, rejected the offer and Red Bull’s special advisor Marko seemed to confirm the report while speaking at the Miami Grand Prix. “Mr. Wolff may not seem to have the full confidence in his own people to fix the problems with their car,” said Marko. Mercedes recently announced a job swap in their department, with James Alisson returning to his role of technical director and Mike Elliott taking up the position of Chief Technical Officer. Wolff labelled the W14 a “nasty piece of work” over the weekend in Miami, where George Russell and Lewis Hamilton finished fourth and sixth respectively. Mercedes, the constructors’ champions in F1 from 2014-2021, are pinning their 2023 hopes on a highly-anticipated upgrade at the next race at Imola in the hope it reduces the gap to Red Bull out in front. Red Bull, meanwhile, are expanding to become an engine manufacturer for the new set of regulations in 2026, partnering with American automotive giant Ford to form Red Bull-Ford Powertrains. Newey, who is seen by many as the main reason behind Red Bull’s supreme RB19 this season given his experience in ground-effect aerodynamics, will play an important role as the division launches in Milton Keynes. “Adrian has been such a fundamental part since almost the beginning,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said. “He covers a lot of a lot of areas and, to have the depth of his experience and knowledge to draw upon, and the way he works with the young guys, it’s great. “He’s just as motivated as he always [has] been. Obviously, he has a great interest in what’s going on in Powertrains, and Red Bull Advanced Technology as well. So, he covers the three pillars of the campus in Milton Keynes.” Read More Red Bull chief ‘signs new contract’ in blow to rival F1 teams ‘Nasty piece of work’: Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes slammed by Toto Wolff Where are Mercedes and Ferrari? Frankly, you don’t want to hear the answer Max Verstappen claims Miami boos are due to his success: ‘They don’t like who wins’ George Russell takes aim at ‘distracting’ razzmatazz before Miami Grand Prix

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Sharon Osbourne has reminded her children of her and husband Ozzy Osbourne’s plan to die by assisted suicide, if their physical and mental health takes a severe decline. The former music manager and The Talk panellist, 71, initially discussed her end-of-life plans while promoting her 2007 memoir Survivor: My Story – The Next Chapter. In an interview at the time, Sharon said that she and Ozzy had come to the decision to visit a euthanasia facility in Switzerland, where the practice is legal. “Ozzy and I have absolutely come to the same decision,” she told the Mirror. “We believe 100 per cent in euthanasia so have drawn up plans to go to the assisted suicide flat in Switzerland if we ever have an illness that affects our brains. If Ozzy or I ever got Alzheimer’s, that’s it – we’d be off.” Sharon confirmed that their position on the matter hadn’t changed on the most recent episode of The Osbournes Podcast, hosted alongside Ozzy, 74, daughter Kelly, 38, and son Jack, 37. “Do you remember when Mum and Dad did that interview, talking about how they were gonna go and die through assisted suicide, and we were like ‘What the f*** is this?’” Kelly asked Jack. Jack replied: “They were like, ‘If we get terminally ill, we’re going to go to Switzerland and assisted suicide ourselves.’ Is that still the plan?” “Do you think that we’re gonna suffer?” Sharon asked, before laughing. To Jack’s proposal that “we [are] already all suffering”, she continued: “Yes, we all are, but I don’t want it to actually hurt, as well. “Mental suffering is enough pain without physical. So if you’ve got mental and physical, see ya.” She then clarified that if she had the chance to live longer while struggling with mental and physical issues, she’d decide against it. “What if you survived and you can’t wipe your own ass, you’re p***ing everywhere, s***ing, can’t eat,” Sharon said. “So, what’s different about your life [now]?” Kelly joked. Sharon’s strong view on having an assisted death is largely influenced by watching her father, music manager Don Arden, suffer from Alzheimer’s disease before his death in 2007. Then, in 2014, Ozzy spoke of his desire to die by medically assisted suicide in the case of any “life-threatening condition.” “If I can’t live my life the way I’m living it now – and I don’t mean financially – then that’s it...[Switzerland],” he told the Mirror. “If I can’t get up and go to the bathroom myself and I’ve got tubes up my ass and an enema in my throat, then I’ve said to Sharon, ‘Just turn the machine off.’ If I had a stroke and was paralyzed, I don’t want to be here. I’ve made a will and it’s all going to Sharon if I die before her, so ultimately it will all go to the kids.” If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch. If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you. Read More Inside the secret network of women naming and shaming their bad exes How to really tell if you’re Posh (or not) The rise of ‘Ozempic face’ and why it’s here to stay Billy Connolly says reports of his ‘demise have been greatly exaggerated’ How to get rid of bedbugs: Signs and symptoms amid threat of UK invasion Dawn O’Porter: ‘I fantasise about the other side of menopause’

Radio telescopes have revolutionized the cosmos. Radio wave signals from outer space — first detected