News Room

THE BIG Freeze will finally come to an end this weekend as emergency services battle to “keep the country moving”.

There is still another blast of cold weather to come before conditions will slowly begin to pick up on Saturday.

Brian Lawless/PA Wire

REUTERS/Karen Cox

And while the climbing temperatures will come as an enormous relief to motorists, schools and struggling households, it means for one creative genius she will be waving goodbye to her masterpiece.

Tipperary native Kayleigh Dwyer and her family had a go at building their own igloo along with some other huge efforts elsewhere this week.

Initially just making a snowman, Kayleigh, her dad James and boyfriend Dillon decided to make something bigger as a way of clearing off some of the snow.

As they live up in the hills, they were left with around three feet of snow, and the icy conditions meant it would freeze over.

All in all it took them an incredible four days to complete.

Kayleigh told The Irish Sun: “We got boxes and we were filling up the boxes and I’m stomping on it to compact the snow. And it was so satisfying watching it come out.

“Because we’re up so high, the snow was freezing around five o’clock every evening. And if it was turning into powder, it wouldn’t compact.”

Another orange weather warning for low temperatures and ice was issued for counties Carlow, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Cavan, Monaghan, Galway, Roscommon and Tipperary.

Travel disruption and delays and poor visibility are expected in affected areas for this warning which applies from 7pm on Thursday night until 8am Friday morning.

A yellow warning for low temperatures and ice covers all of Ireland until midday today, with widespread frost, ice, lying snow and some patches of freezing fog expected.

Potential travel disruption and poor visibility are also possible.

The national director for Fire and Emergency Management, Keith Leonard said that the current severe weather situation should be over within “the next 24 to 48 hours.”

He explained: “While we have another bitterly cold night in store tonight, we may finally be reaching the end of this phase of severe weather, with temperatures expected to slowly rise from Friday onwards.

“However, for now, road and path surfaces remain challenging throughout the country and I would continue to urge drivers, cyclists and pedestrians to take extra care if you have to make a journey.

‘DECEPTIVELY SAFE’

“Remember that icy conditions – and in particular black ice – can make surfaces look deceptively safe.

“We are continuing to coordinate a cross-government response to ensure the most appropriate supports are happening at local level, and we remain particularly focused on getting those who are still without power or water reconnected as quickly as possible.

“Finally, I’d again like to thank people who have been checking in on vulnerable neighbours during this cold spell. We have another very cold day and night ahead, so please continue to keep an eye out for them and make sure they are ok.”

The national emergency team may meet again on Friday as conditions begin to improve.

LOWEST TEMPS

Met Eireann said the lowest temperature recorded overnight today was a provisional record of -8.2C at a climate stations in Granard, Co Longford.

Temps hit f -7.5C in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, -7C in Athenry, Co Galway, and -6.7C was noted in Oak Park, Co Carlow.

Overnight temperatures were tonight expected to dip between -5C and -8C in some areas, Met Eireann forecaster Matthew Martin said.

But, Mr Martin said weather conditions would “gradually improve” this weekend.

‘LAST OF THE WINTRY HAZARDS’

“But before that we are expecting a weak band of rain and sleet to move up into some southern counties tomorrow morning,” he said.

“That could well turn to snow for a time over some hills, but it will be the last of the wintry hazards, with a steady thaw then setting in later tomorrow and through the weekend, then by Sunday it will turn much milder,” he added.

Speaking on RTE’s Today with Claire Byrne, Mr Martin said the “slippery conditions” would persist as the thaw sets in.

Any forecasted rain and sleet, he said, could “freeze on impact and cause hazardous conditions through tomorrow morning”.

DANGEROUS CONDITIONS

“So really it’s not until Sunday where we see a real proper thaw,” he added.

Temperatures tonight are set to drop to as low as minus seven, with patches of freezing fog in places on Friday.

During the Status Orange warning, there will be dangerous travelling conditions on roads and underfoot, travel disruption and delays, animal welfare issues and poor visibility.

Elsewhere Aoibhinn Twomey, communications manager with the Road Safety Authority, urged motorists to allow extra time for journeys and to drive with “extreme caution” during the current “big freeze.”

UTILITY OUTAGES

Around 500 people remained without power across the country on Thursday morning as the ESB asked anyone affected by outages in Limerick, North Cork and Tipperary to attend their local hotel for support.

About 4,500 people were without water, according to Uisce Éireann, with a majority of affected customers in Co Tipperary.

Meanwhile homeless support services put out an SOS call to any people sleeping rough in sub-zero temperatures as a number of people were found sleeping out in the freezing conditions.

Homeless charity Novas said it secured accommodation overnight for a man sleeping rough in Limerick city centre where temperatures plummeted to -7 degrees.

HOMELESS STRUGGLES

A tent and blankets used by a woman by a wall situated off Island Road, Limerick, was another grim reminder of the homeless crisis.

Another tent was being used by a male in the Corbally area.

Another woman desperately seeking accommodation sat out on a thin piece of cardboard along Limerick’s main thoroughfare, O’Connell Street, on Wednesday as temperatures hit below zero.

The woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “It’s very very cold today, the forecast is for minus ten and it’s not good for anyone’s health to sit on the street, it can cause hypothermia, you could die and it’s not how anyone should be living.

‘THERE ISN’T ENOUGH HELP’

“Yes, that’s a possibility that I might have to stay out tonight and that I might have nowhere to go,” she said.

“I’ve been on the street since New Year’s Eve, and as a vulnerable person I find the homeless (hostels) intimidating, they don’t (provide) for vulnerable people who can’t go and share accommodation with people involved in substance abuse and violence problems, I cannot go in the hostels so really there is no help for me.

“Everyone is needing help but there isn’t enough help, it’s a terrible situation that vulnerable people can be left on the streets literally to die.

“I’m looking after myself, I’m clean and I’m doing my best for myself, but the help isn’t there.”

REUTERS/Karen Cox

REUTERS/Karen Cox

Brian Lawless/PA Wire

SICK rap lyrics have been posted online boasting of the murder of a boy of 14 — as his mum told of trying to free him from the clutches of gang life.

Kelyan Bossaka, who rapped under the name Grippa, was stabbed on a bus on Tuesday.

Supplied

Sick rap lyrics were posted online boasting about the murder of a 14-year-old boy Kelyan Bossaka on a London bus[/caption]

Supplied

He had been caught up in a grim postcode war in Woolwich, South East London.

Hundreds of tributes were posted on Instagram after his death.

But also written online were the lyrics: “Caught Grippa lackin’ on the 472 (bus). Blade in my coat, it’s do or die.

“He tried jumping off, but the door’s don’t slide, hah.

“Now he’s sittin’ there stiff with the fear in his eyes.”

Described by mum Mary Bossaka, 50, as polite and caring, Kelyan was groomed into a world of drugs by gangsters.

She told The Sun her son was groomed from six-years-old before he fell into the care system and descended into street life.

In the run up to his death, Mary and family members tracked him down to a bench in Stratford, East London, where he sold drugs.

They approached him at one in the morning and pleaded for him to come home.

But the pull of gang lifestyle and fear of repercussions meant the youth declined.

Mary said: “My son and others were taken advantage of by gangs. They were groomed.”

Kelyan was linked to the Wildbatch gang, which controls the crack cocaine trade from the notorious Barnfield estate in Woolwich. Foot soldiers face near-daily threats of death from WoolyO, a bitter rival gang barely two miles away.

Older gang members seduce ­vulnerable youngsters into their postcode war with promises of fast cash and protection.

Kelyan told his story using his drill rap moniker Grippa.

Supplied

Tearful Mary visited the scene and read some of the tributes left at the bus stop where the attack took place[/caption]

The name itself relates to holding a weapon, be that a knife or gun, and Kelyan appeared fully masked in his videos.

On the day of his death, Kelyan shared an Instagram story asking for a “mindy” — believed to be a reference to the Somali word mindi — meaning knife.

His mum revealed it was his first day back at school, with the teen trying to get his life back on track after attending a youth referral centre.

Kelyan, who was knifed multiple times, had 25 court appearances in less than 15 months in the run up to his murder.

His charges included possession of a knife and machete, theft and drug offences.

The killers are still on the loose, with cops hunting two suspects seen leaving the scene with a machete.

Floral tributes and messages have been left at the bus stop where the attack took place.

Tearful Mary visited the scene yesterday and read some of them.

Mary, seen looking towards the police cordon, said: “Our children are being killed on the streets.”

It comes just two weeks after Kelyan paid tribute online to pal Daejaun Campbell, 15, who was stabbed to death in Woolwich in September.

Patrick Green, of anti-knife crime charity The Ben Kinsella Trust, said early intervention is crucial to stamp out grooming by gangs.

Instagram

Tributes have flooded in following Kelyan’s death[/caption]

PA

A police car next to a bus stop in Woolwich, south London, after the stabbing[/caption]

BESIDES his flamboyant attire, Gucci loafers and spiky blond locks, Rod Stewart wears another thing rather well.

His fame. Most superstars encounter choppy waters.

Getty

Rod Stewart is celebrating his 80th birthday today[/caption]

Getty

Rod’s status as a Brit national treasure has never been in doubt – pictured performing in Australia in 2023[/caption]

For some, it’s a case of stormy seas.

But for Sir Roderick David Stewart, navigating life in the dazzling glare of publicity seems, erm, plain Sailing.

As he celebrates his 80th birthday today with his brood on a superyacht (what else?), Rod’s status as a national treasure has never been in doubt.

When he occupies the Sunday teatime “legends slot” at Glastonbury in June, it is guaranteed to be the summer’s biggest singalong. (Sorry Noel and Liam).

We all know the inimitable rasp and we all know the hits . . . Maggie May, Sailing, Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?, You Wear It Well, Tonight’s The Night (Gonna be Alright), I Don’t Want To Talk About It and the rest.

But the great thing about Rod is that he DOES want to talk about it . . . usually with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

I vividly remember a recent interview when he strolled into a swish London hotel suite, dapper as ever, the day after Stormy Daniels made her cringe-inducing comment about Donald Trump’s manhood.

“Simon, how you bloody well been?” he cried.

“Nothing like a penis that looks like a mushroom is there?!”

Humour aside, Rod is also a man of huge passions for — in no particular order — family and friends, music, Celtic FC, model trains, fashion and a nice glass of vintage red.

Woe betide anyone who upsets his “forever” partner, third wife Penny Lancaster, also known as Loose Woman, Special Constable and Lady Stewart.

‘I feel blessed many times over’

Wasn’t it jaw-dropping when Rod gave MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace both barrels?

“You humiliated my wife when she was on the show, but you had that bit cut out didn’t you?” he fumed.

“You’re a tubby, bald-headed, ill-mannered bully.

“Karma got ya. Sir Rod Stewart.”

In our various encounters over the years, Rod has been mindful to express his devotion to Penny, mother of their two boys, Alastair and Aiden.

After a string of relationships with beautiful, usually blonde women including Swedish pin-up Britt Ekland, Penny’s the one who finally tamed the hellraising rock star.

Penny’s a great mum – the whole package.
We never go to bed without kissing each other good night. It’s just wonderful

Rod

“Well, she’s a British girl, the first one I’ve married,” he told me, before listing the mothers of five of his eight children.

“Alana (his first wife) and Kelly (Emberg, his formerpartner) are Americans and Rachel (Hunter, his second wife) is a New Zealander, so maybe that’s the key.”

Rod proceeded to give a touching, unguarded tribute: “Penny’s an Essex girl and she’s proud of it.

“Apart from the visuals of Penny, she’s tough but not too tough and she doesn’t take any ­nonsense from me.

“She’s also a great mum —  the whole package as far as I’m concerned.

“We hug every time we have to go away from each other and we always have a cuddle at night even if we’re not having sex.

“And we never go to bed without kissing each other good night.

“It’s just wonderful.

“I feel blessed many times over.”

On another occasion, Rod swelled with pride when he talked of Penny’s “super brave” work as a special constable, patrolling the City of London.

“Oh man, she’s saved lives, talking people out of jumping off the bridges,” he said.

“Just the other day, she stopped a guy in a Lamborghini with blacked-out windows, Saudi Arabian plates and the wrong licence.

“She had the car towed away, no messing.”

On one rowdy Friday night, Rod even ventured down to Liverpool Street Station, in the heart of Penny’s beat, to check she was safe.

“I took my Rolls-Royce Phantom, as big as they come, white on white,” he said, referring to his limo’s exterior paintwork and matching leather upholstery.

“The people were good as gold though.

“They looked at the car and saw me in the back.

“One bloke said, ‘You all right, Rod, mate?’.”

If the Stewarts are the picture of domestic bliss these days, it is a far cry from Rod’s self-confessed roller-coaster ride through previous relationships.

He opened up about it in 2018 when talking about his song Look In Her Eyes, the opening track on his No1 album Blood Red Roses.

It’s set in a New York nightclub and tells of “Johnny from Brooklyn” hooking up with “Marion from Queens”.

Rex Features

Instagram

Stewart. a Celtic superfan, posted a picture this week of his extended family in green and white[/caption]

Rod said: “The song starts with a line of people outside the club.

“The girls are all done up — and the boys are giving it all that.

“I used to love that!

“In the old days, we didn’t have girl friends who we didn’t try to s**g, right?” he continued.

“I never had a girl friend I didn’t have sex with, or at least try to!

Rod then revealed a regret that runs as deep as the “first cut” in the Cat Stevens song he still loves to sing live.

“I haven’t treated women badly but I’m not proud of the way I broke up relationships,” he confessed.

“I was a real coward.

“It wasn’t like Phil Collins.

“I didn’t send a fax but I left a lot of broken hearts.

“I’ve apologised or at least tried to since.”

It was only when supermodel Rachel Hunter, mother of his dancer daughter Renee and ice hockey star son Liam, turned the tables and walked out on Rod that he understood how devastating it could feel.

“When Rachel left me, I didn’t have the tools to cope with a break-up,” he sighed.

“I went to pieces.

“It was terrible.

“If ever karma got me back, it was then.”

Time, they say, is a great healer and it was good to see pictures of Liam and bride Nicole getting hitched in Croatia last May with Rod, Penny and Rachel united for the happy occasion, wreathed in smiles.

Another theme that comes shining through in Rod’s company is abiding love for his late parents, Scottish dad Bob and English mum Elsie.

The final song on his 2021 album Tears Of Hercules, Touchline, is one of the most raw and personal things he has ever done, his husky, yearning vocals a masterclass.

‘My dad taught me to respect women’

It revisits his dad’s funeral, “a sad but humorous affair” at which his mum, who was suffering from memory loss, thought her husband had just gone down the betting shop.

Rod said: “We had to tell her, ‘He’s up the front in the box, Mum’.

“When those lyrics fell down on paper, I had to ask myself, ‘Is this cringeworthy? To mention your mum? And memory loss? How do you manage to get that in a song?’

“When the words are staring back, you think, ‘You ain’t going to get away with that’.

“But God gave me a voice to make things sound convincing.”

Touchline refers to “plumber by trade” Bob and begins with, “There he’d stand every Saturday afternoon, rain pouring down that well-worn face”, followed by, “he’d watch his sons play the game he loved”.

Rod said his dad wanted nothing more than for him and his two brothers to succeed in life — and on the football pitch.

“He was born in Leith and came down to live in London,” says the son who literally picked up the ball, ran with it and has never looked back.

“What did he teach me?” mused Rod, repeating a question I’d put to him.

“He always said, ‘Look after your money because you’ll go through it quick’.

“I did lose it quick when I was in The Faces — so obviously I didn’t learn anything from him when it came to finances!”

Getty - Contributor

The rocker with Kelly Emberg in 1984[/caption]

Getty - Contributor

Rod with supermodel Rachel Hunter in the Nineties[/caption]

On a more serious note, he added: “My dad taught me to respect women, which hopefully I’ve done.

“He also said, ‘Get yourself a left foot’, because I couldn’t kick with my left foot.”

We now know that football has run in Rod’s veins ever since his boyhood in Highgate, North London.

A lifelong superfan of both Celtic and the Scottish national team, he posted a picture this week of his extended family in green and white Hoops shirts with the caption, “Early birthday celebrations”.

Rod once told me: “I wasn’t born in Scotland but, because of my dad, there’s a lot of Scottish blood in me, oozing to get out.

“Football is one way I get it out.”

When we met in 2015, Rod revealed that his own playing days were over.

“I’ve only recently given it up,” he said.

“I was still playing in the over-50s league when I was 68.

“Some of the other players were pretty nifty and their tackles were starting to hurt.

“I’d be in Los Angeles on Sunday morning and doing Vegas in the evening — I’d limp on to the stage.

“Words can’t describe how much I miss it.”

Since then, after years chiefly based at his LA pile, Rod has made the UK his home again.

Back here, at least he’s been able to enjoy kickabouts with sons Alastair and Aiden and run an under-tens “Young Hoops” team.

He’s also been indulging in his other great hobby — his massive model train layout based on New York and Chicago and the golden age of railways.

Rod shipped it through the Panama Canal in three giant containers, all the way to a purpose-built outbuilding at his mansion near Harlow in Essex.

“Every man should have a hobby like this,” enthused Rod.

“I might spend eight hours a day on it.

“I’m absolutely addicted.

“You’ve probably seen pictures with all the skyscrapers — I build all those.”

There’s so much more one could say about Rod Stewart’s life less ordinary but it is worth noting he has long championed servicemen and women on both sides of the Atlantic.

For years, he attended The Sun’s Military Awards — known as The Millies — honouring extreme bravery during gruelling tours of Afghanistan.

He was always prepared to put a comforting arm around those with life-changing injuries and I’ll never forget the sight of Rod and Penny leading a chorus of Sailing with a group of winners in 2016.

‘I was over the moon with knighthood’

It was in the same year that he became a knight of the realm, even if the honour arrived a full 18 years after his old mucker — and occasional rival — Elton John got his.

“I’m absolutely over the moon with it,” he told me just after Prince William had dubbed him at Buckingham Palace.

“It’s wonderful but I don’t insist on anybody calling me Sir Rod.”

Last but definitely not least, let’s reflect on Rod’s epic music career, which took off in the Sixties when he was known as “Rod The Mod”, singing with the likes of Long John Baldry and Jeff Beck.

After his riotous stint in The Faces with Ronnie Wood and Co, Rod became a solo superstar in the Seventies — and has remained on top ever since.

The Pope’s got a pretty good job but he doesn’t get to get up there and wiggle his hips. And I look after my voice… it’s the crown jewels

Rod

He still gets a thrill out of singing and THAT voice is in great shape, even if it requires a strict regime to keep it that way.

“It’s the crown jewels, mate,” Rod informed me proudly.

“I refuse to sing even one song unless I warm up properly.”

Only last year, he scored a big hit album, Swing Fever, with fellow model train fanatic Jools Holland, celebrating the Big Band era.

“I’m lucky,” he said.

“I can’t imagine anybody else in my department — won’t name any names — singing these songs with such conviction.”

As for performing live, he had this to say, again with that roguish look on his face.

“The Pope’s got a pretty good job but he doesn’t get to get up there and wiggle his hips.”

Amen to that — happy 80th, Sir Rod, mate!

Rex Features

Railway Modeller

Rod showing off his model railway set in December[/caption]

THE Masked Singer was thrown into chaos when a celebrity stormed off after being voted out.

The hidden star was apparently so gutted at being axed from the ITV show they initially spurned the chance to reveal their identity and sing for one last time.

ITV

ITV

ITV

The dramatic scenes will air tomorrow, when Pufferfish, Bear, Toad in the Hole, Wolf and Bush perform.

The Sun is choosing not to wreck the guessing game for viewers by exposing the diva, who is a world-renowned star.

But online sleuths have come up with potential names for the five characters, including Jamie Lynn Spears, Michael Sheen, Macy Gray, Marti Pellow and Patrick Stewart.

An audience member told The Sun: “It was absolutely bonkers.

“Usually the celeb with the lowest votes takes off their mask and then chats to the panel and sings again.

“But instead this character turned around and shuffled off stage, which was hilarious in their costume obviously — but we were all stunned.

“We knew something was going on because we saw lots of to-ing and fro-ing with crew before the person eventually came back on stage.

“We were even more intrigued to find out who was behind the mask.”

A celebrity has never reacted badly to their unmasking in the hit show’s five-year history, with huge names including US rapper Ne-Yo and Destiny’s Child star Michelle Williams relishing their time on the programme.

A show source said bosses worked hard behind the scenes to encourage the star to finish the show while host Joel Dommett, 39, entertained the audience.

The source said: “The celebrity was basically gutted and upset to be leaving the competition so soon.”

ITV has declined to comment.

ITV

Judges backed many fans by guessing soul singer Macy Gray, while also suggesting Mike Tyson, Annie Mac, and Jessica Ennis-Hill[/caption]

ITV

ITV

Host Joel Dommet, with panel Mo Gilligan, Maya Jama, Davina McCall, Jonathan Ross and guest judge Suranne Jones[/caption]

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