- Dave Dawson threatened to remove travellers by force himself after declaring: 'I won't tolerate it.'
- Police say travellers left of their own accord in two hours 50 minutes after Mr Dawson's intervention
By Luke Salkeld
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Not having it: Dave Dawson, left, responded to travellers moving on to his land by leaping into his digger and threatening to move them by force
When he found travellers’ caravans had arrived on his land, Dave Dawson had two options.
He could either alert the authorities and wait for the slow turning of the wheels of justice and officialdom.
Or he could rely on the somewhat quicker wheels of his digger – and remove the caravans by force.
Taking the second course of action, Mr Dawson put in a call to the police to inform them of his intentions, which risked leading to his arrest.
Officers arrived to oversee what appeared to be a few heated exchanges before – remarkably – the travellers left of their own accord.
His swift action stands in stark contrast to the decade-long battle to shift travellers from the notorious Dale Farm site in Essex, which only came to an end in October last year.
Mr Dawson, whose farm is near Shoreham in West Sussex, discovered the intruders early yesterday morning. ‘I would have used any force possible to get them off my land,’ he said. ‘I got down here about 6am and told them to move off. There were four vans there at the time and more parked up outside.
‘I came down with the digger and tractor and told them if they didn’t move I was going to move them.
‘I just won’t tolerate it. It is my land. I bought it and I have worked hard for it. I called the police and told them I was going to get the digger and move them.
‘I didn’t care if they got squashed, flattened or left on their own, but one way or another I was going to get them off my land.’
'It's my land': Undeterred by the sudden arrival of the travellers, Mr Dawson called police and told them he was prepared to remove the intruders by force
'I would have used any force possible': Officers were forced to stand between Mr Dawson's digger and the travellers' caravans to prevent him from carrying out his threats
It is believed that the went to Lancing Green, West Sussex, three miles from Mr Dawson's land
He said that at one point in the clash the officers had to stand between the two sides.
‘The police told me that once they are on the land they have rights. But what about my rights?’ Mr Dawson added.
‘If I had left it to the authorities they could have been on my land for weeks. I wasn’t going to wait for a court order to get rid of them.
‘As it was, the police threatened to arrest me. It has already cost me a day’s work and about 500 to repair the damage. They cut through a metal gate and put their own lock on it.’
A spokesman for Sussex Police said: ‘Six caravans turned up on land at 6.45am. The landowner also turned up and threatened to evict the travellers.
Furious: Officers oversaw what appeared to be several heated exchanges between Mr Dawson and his uninvited guests
A traveller talks to officers: Mr Dawson feared that if he left the eviction to the authorities, the caravans could have been left on his land for weeks
‘Police attended and remained on scene to prevent a breach of peace. The travellers left the site of their own accord at 9.35am.’ Removing travellers who have occupied land without permission is usually a much more costly and time-consuming exercise.
At Dale Farm, the decade-long legal battle cost taxpayers an estimated 18million.
A total of 43 people were arrested and several injured after protesters fought running battles with riot police over the eviction of about 80 families from what was the UK’s largest illegal traveller settlement.
As soon as Basildon council had declared a final victory, there was a massive leap in the number of caravans pitched on the legal Oak Lane site next door – and an adjoining road – prompting more expensive legal action.
In 2009, a convoy pitched up at another controversial travellers’ site just hours after a group had been evicted following a six-year legal battle costing 400,000.
The new arrivals rolled on to a field adjoining the notorious Smithy Fen site at Cottenham, Cambridgeshire, where travellers had set up an illegal camp.
Bye bye: The travellers eventually moved off Mr Dawson's land at 9.45am - three hours after they had arrived
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Pole dancing tutorials on YouTube cure autistic woman's fear of leaving the house - Daily Mail
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An autistic woman has conquered her fear of leaving the house after learning how to pole dance from YouTube tutorials.
Kaiya Latham, 27, from Braintree, Essex, suffers from Asperger syndrome and spent much of her early 20's trapped at home due to severe anxiety.
But since mastering strenuous dance routines from the comfort of her own home she discovered a newfound confidence and is pursuing dreams of becoming a full-time dance teacher.
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Kaiya Latham has conquered her fear of leaving the house after learning to pole dance
Kaiya - who lives with her fiance Simon Sheridan, 35, a graphic designer became increasingly housebound when she was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome - a form of autism which often affects social interaction - when she was 22.
She struggled to leave that house and would become anxious if she had to speak to new people or visit new places.
But once she took up pole dancing as a hobby her fears gradually lessened.
She said: 'I used to dance when I was younger and had trained to become a dance teacher but I never completed my final exams because my condition escalated when I was a teenager.
'It's a really addictive hobby and soon I was making myself leave the house to attend classes,' says Kaiya
'But once I got into pole dancing I began to feel much more confident as you get a real buzz from knowing you can hold your own weight with just your hands on the pole.
'It's a really addictive hobby and soon I was making myself leave the house to attend classes and learn new moves on the pole.'
After she started competing in pole dancing competitions, her friends began coming round to learn some moves and her business grew from there.
Since launching Essex-based company KL Pole Studio last year Kaiya has seen her waiting list grow each week and she is now looking for bigger studio space.
She currently teaches students aged 16 to 60 in four weekly evening classes at a special space at her home.
Kaiya added: 'It's amazing to think how far I've come in less than five years. Back then I would never have even considered having my own company and now I'm fulfilling my dream and teaching dance at a studio.
'I can't believe how much pole dancing has transformed my life.'
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Bopara laments injury woes - SkySports
The Essex right-hander was at the head of the queue to fill England's number six position against the Windies in this summer's Investec Test series, only to suffer a calf injury on the eve of the squad announcement for the first match last month.
That place was filled at Lord's, and in two subsequent Tests, by Yorkshire's Jonny Bairstow - and Bopara's calf trouble was the latest in a series of minor but untimely niggles over the past eight months.
The middle-order batsman is expected to be back at number four in the first of three 50-over matches against the Windies, at the Ageas Bowl on Saturday.
"I'm really looking forward to it," he said.
"I haven't played a lot of cricket for England recently because of injuries. So it's exciting for me, and I'm in good form."
Frustration
Bopara returned to action at the start of June with a 50-over century, and then one in four-day cricket too, for Essex.
He is not about to start worrying unduly either about a run of injuries, which may be pure coincidence.
"It's very frustrating. It's only recently I've started to get a few injuries," he said.
"Before that, I very rarely missed games through injury ... it's probably a sign of me getting old.
"It is annoying. It is frustrating. But whatever's meant to be is meant to be."
Bairstow has endured a tough start to his Test career posting scores of just 16, 4 and 18 in his three completed innings to-date.
And Bopara, while aware others are profiting from his absence, knows that at 27, time is not on his side as much as it once was.
"I guess what it does is it gives someone else an opportunity to cement their place, and that's not ideal.
"But it means when I get my opportunity, I've got to cement my place. Let's hope I get it soon."
Source: www1.skysports.com
Does everyone need a prenup these days? - msnbc.com
NEW YORK — For centuries, men and women didn't marry for love -- they married for money. The union of a man and woman was strictly a business arrangement to create financial security and combine fortunes as well as empires.
Today's couples, at least in the United States, have more freedom in selecting a spouse. But they also have a way out of the partnership: divorce.
That is why more of them are waltzing down the aisle with a prenuptial agreement in hand. Sheila Riesel, a matrimonial attorney at Blank Rome LLP in New York, talks about the trends in prenups.
Q. Are you seeing more prenups?
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A. A prenup is private contract among two individuals. We don't know how many prenups are in existence. Without question, though, prenups are becoming a commonplace occurrence before couples with some financial means, even young ones, tie the knot.
Q. Why are younger couples flocking to prenups? Is it family pressure?
A. The reality is that 50 percent of the time, these marriages end in divorce. People need some downside protection. They may come to a marriage with substantial dollars, be it something that they've earned (a la Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg) or something they've inherited or been given by their families.
Q. Does everyone with money need a prenup?
A. The conventional wisdom is that a prenup is an important thing for the "monied" future spouse if a marriage dissolves; otherwise, their assets will be divided in an equitable distribution or as community property, depending on which state they live in. But prenups give the spouse who doesn't have money a way to peek at their partner's assets -- and negotiate. It's a way of getting to assets you might not otherwise know about.
The negotiation of a prenup is very much dictated by who wants to get married more. To put it as bluntly as possible, often there's a dynamic in a couple that one person is more in love, more committed to getting married. In that context, the other person, monied or not, has the leverage.
Q. Describe a typical prenup.
A. The basic structure is: "Everything in my name is mine, and everything in your name is yours. You will receive X dollars for every year we are married." Sometimes that's also tied to the number of children produced in a marriage.
Q. What's typically covered in the agreement?
A. Existing wealth and business interests are the top priority. A person may have intellectual property rights that need to be protected, too. Or they may be an author and create characters. I know of a prenup where a wine collection was an issue -- it was a very nice wine collection.
In states like New York, the definition of assets is very broad, so prenups will cover advanced degrees that are earned during the marriage. If you are still in school, you have a legitimate concern that the business, law or medical degree you get is a valuable marital asset, and your future earnings could factor into a divorce settlement.
You'll find a confidentiality provision in a prenup when a person is of public interest or has substantial wealth. Both parties agree to keep the existence of the agreement, terms, as well as the information one gathers as a result of the marriage, confidential.
Q. How about unusual provisions in a prenup?
A. I've seen situations where one person has all the money, and the other may be younger and more beautiful. It's been a while, but I've seen prenups tied to weight of one of the spouses -- so long there was not a weight gain, they'd get a certain amount. That's incredibly appalling.
Q. How far before a wedding should you hammer out the details of a prenup?
A. The earlier, the better. Six months before the wedding is ideal, but, on average, most people sign their prenups a month before the wedding. Of course, some people wait until the last minute. I've seen prenups signed on the day of the wedding. That's not smart. You don't want to tarnish the excitement of a wedding day, or leave yourself open to claims of duress.
When a prenup is negotiated, there may be a very clear mission in terms of what needs to be accomplished financially, but it has to be done in a way that doesn't damage the fabric of this nascent relationship.
Q. Do you get a lot of tears in your office?
A. Not usually, and when I do, it speaks to an imbalance in the relationship, where one person is too vulnerable. I do get a lot of anger and disappointment. People who do prenups best see this as something to get done as a business deal.
Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
Source: www.msnbc.msn.com
Jennie Garth returns to the day job with first acting role after divorce announcement - Daily Mail
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After being served with divorce papers by long-time husband Peter Facinelli earlier this year, Jennie Garth has run back into acting with both feet.
Unfortunately, those feet looked a little sore from the black pumps Garth's character wears in her new movie, The Eleventh Hour.
As soon as the 40-year-old got a break from shooting in Vancouver Monday, she tore the shoes off - and put on a pair of comfy flip flops.
Flip flop: Garth made herself comfortable in between scenes
Needed break: Jennie Garth traded her work shoes in favour of a pair of flip flops while filming The Eleventh Hour in Vancouver Monday
The Beverly Hills, 90210 actress is playing the title role of Hailey Dean, a district attorney's who's fiance is suddenly murdered.
The plot revolves around Dean trying to solve the case.
Hailey Dean is largely dressed in suits and pumps. For yesterday's scene, Garth wore a simple black skirt and white sheer blouse. The outfit looked comfortable except for the tight black low-heeled leather pumps.
In character: Garth is playing a district attorney set on solving the murder of her fiance
The Eleventh Hour was written by lawyer and TV commentator Nancy Grace as a novel in 2009 and promptly sold to the Lifetime Network as a movie.
Lifetime has retained Grace as the movie's producer and it was reported she gave the thumbs for Garth to play the main charaacter.
As popular blonde girl Kelly Taylor in Beverly Hills, 90210, Garth was one of the hottest TV actresses in the 1990s. Reprising her iconic role, Garth often made guest appearances as Kelly Taylor in the show's spin-off, Melrose Place. She also appears as Kelly in the current 90210.
It was while filming the TV movie, An Unfinished Affair, in 1996 that Garth hooked up with Facinelli, who would go on to star in the Twilight movies and as the quirky doctor in Nurse Jackie.
They married in 2001, once Beverly Hills, 90210 was off the air and had three children.
Facinelli, 38,surprised fans by serving the gorgeous blonde with divorce papers.
Action! The actress was ready for a retake of a scene
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Good on you Sir I salute you!
- Super Kev, London England, 14/6/2012 16:23
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