Just Stop Oil activists have thrown tomato soup over Van Gogh’s Sunflowers masterpiece at the National Gallery in London.
Two women walked into the room at the Trafalgar Square gallery at around 11am this morning, where they threw the contents of two tins of Heinz tomato soup over the painting, which has an estimated value of £72.5m.
In the video, the women then appeared to glue one hand to the wall below the painting, before one shouted: “What is worth more? Art or life?
“Is it worth more than food? Worth more than justice?”
Activists with @JustStop_Oil have thrown tomato soup on Van Gogh’s Sunflowers at the national Gallery and glued themselves to the wall. pic.twitter.com/M8YP1LPTOU
The activist, understood to be Phoebe Plummer, twenty-one, continued: “The cost of living crisis is driven by fossil fuels. Everyday life has become unaffordable for millions of cold hungry families, they can’t even afford to heat a tin of soup.
“Meanwhile, crops are failing and people are dying in supercharged monsoons, massive wildfires and endless droughts caused by climate breakdown.
“We can’t afford new oil and gas, it’s going to take everything. We will look back and mourn all we have lost unless we act immediately.”
The campaign group has claimed responsibility for the incident, with them writing on Twitter: “BREAKING: SOUP THROWN ON VAN GOGH’S ‘SUNFLOWERS’.
🌻🥫 BREAKING: SOUP THROWN ON VAN GOGH’S ‘SUNFLOWERS’ 🥫🌻
🖼 Is art worth more than life? More than food? More than justice?
“Is art worth more than life? More than food? More than justice? The cost of living crisis and climate crisis is driven by oil and gas.”
The group, which campaigns against the government’s fracking manifesto, said in a statement its actions this month have been timed to coincide with the planned launch of a new round of oil and gas licensing.
They said: “We will not be intimidated by changes to the law. We will not be stopped by private injunctions sought to silence peaceful people.
“Our supporters understand these are irrelevant when set against mass starvation, slaughter, the loss of our rights, freedoms and communities.”
But punters don’t need to panic just yet, as the pubs won’t close until they have been sold.
Despite the closures Spoons has also opened branches, including The Square Peg in Birmingham and The Lord Palmerston in Southsea – after undergoing major refurbishments. The chain is also redeveloping pubs in Wakefield, central Cardiff and Glasgow, to the tune of around £8 million.
Wetherspoons currently boasts around 822 branches across the UK and recently announced its busiest-ever Saturday was during the Easter Bank Holiday weekend.
Cl1kr / Flickr
The 11 Wetherspoons pubs now up for sale:
The Pontlottyn, Abertillery
The Ivor Davies, Cardiff
Spa Lane Vaults, Chesterfield
The Gate House, Doncaster
The Market Cross, Holywell
The Regent, Kirkby in Ashfield
The Mockbeggar Hall, Moreton
The Hain Line, St Ives
The Sir Norman Rae, Shipley
The Sir Daniel Arms, Swindon
The White Hart, Todmorden
These are just the Wetherspoon locations recently announced to be closing by the chain, but there are dozens more that have already closed this year.
JD Wetherspoon
The list of Wetherspoon locations that have closed are:
Greater Manchester Police have issued an update on Ronald Webster, 81, who went missing from Oldham last Thursday.
The news comes after Ronald’s grandchildren made an appeal to the public asking for help to find their beloved grandad and to ‘keep him safe’ until they, or the police can get there.
It was believed the last sightings of the grandfather-of-five were at 10.52 am on Walkers Road, in Limeside, Oldham and again at 3.45pm as he got off the 184 at Huddersfield Bus Station, on September 14th.
Family submit / ITV
However, police have confirmed a new sighting of the pensioner, known by loved ones as ‘Ronnie’, just minutes later at 3.53pm, as he entered Huddersfield Train Station.
It is believed he may have links to the Bridlington, Whitby and Scarborough areas, although officers have said they are ‘not ruling out that he may have travelled elsewhere’.
Ronald’s family shared that he had recently undergone a triple heart bypass and had medication for his heart and for epilepsy, but that he had not taken any of his medicine with him when he went missing.
His grandchildren said that this is the first time he has not come home.
#MISSING | An update on Ronald. He was last seen at 15:53pm on 14/09/23 entering Huddersfield Train Station
He is 81, around 4'11, of small build and has grey hair around the back and sides, bald on top. He has a few gaps in his teeth
At the time of his disappearance, Ronald was wearing a blue and black coat with grey trousers.
He is described as 4’11 ins with grey hair around the sides, bald on top, and uses a walking stick.
In an update, a spokesperson for GMP said: “Since Ronald was reported missing, officers have been working closely with his loved ones to understand where he might have travelled to.
Greater Manchester Police
“It is believed he may have links to Bridlington, Whitby and Scarborough, although officers are not ruling out that he may have travelled elsewhere.
“Whilst officers are continuing to review CCTV from locations of significance, they are also working with colleagues from other forces to ensure everyone is on the lookout for Ronald so we can help him return to his family safe and well.”
Anyone with information about Ronald’s whereabouts should call 101 quoting 1013 of 16/09/2023.
At long last, H&M Home is opening up a store selling its interiors range in the city centre.
Shoppers were delighted when the Swedish fashion retailer, full name Hennes & Mauritz, decided to branch out and launch a homeware range in 2009, following in the footsteps of the likes of Zara.
At first, it teased us with a small concession in Selfridges at the Trafford Centre back in 2015, where shoppers and home decor enthusiasts could find affordable pieces that looked as good as those sitting on their Pinterest boards.
H&M Home
But then it closed for a long while and for many shoppers, it left a void that couldn’t be filled, with its home stuff only being available online. No more could you wander into the shop, pick up cute pieces and admire stylish bedding sets to decorate your home.
Recently, it opened up a H&M Home shop within the Trafford Centre which sells everything from cushions to lamps, candles, vases, bed linen, towels, dried flowers and a whole selection of homeware accessories you didn’t even know you needed.
And now a H&M Home shop is coming to the city centre too.
H&M Home
The retailer recently closed the majority of its Market Street store while it undergoes a refurbishment, leaving just a small section open for fans to continue to shop at the high street favourite.
This week, H&M announced that the small section will now become its H&M Home showroom so decor lovers can ‘scratch that interior design itch’ once again.
In a newsletter distributed to its members, H&M said: “You may have seen that our Market Street store is temporarily closed whilst we work on our new look and feel.
@hmhome / Instagram
“But from 23rd September, you can head down to our H&M HOME showroom in the same location where you can scratch that interior design itch by shopping our latest home decor collection.
“The first 100 members in the queue will receive a free H&M HOME gift and an exclusive offer for the full launch in winter 2023.
“There’s even some exciting new AR technology to help you visualise your living space and enhance your shopping experience just that little bit more.
@hmhome / Instagram
“If you’re looking for the rest of our assortment, you can find your nearest store in the Trafford Centre and we’re always open at hm.com.”
The H&M Home showroom located on Market Street will open this Saturday, September 23rd. The shop will fully launch in winter this year.