IMMEDIATE SIDEBAR: I would never use the phrase: "rocked my world" in a conversation I wanted to use "melted my face" but I was told by the suits that it's not SEO-friendly. I want that entered into the public record and traffic lights—no lawn in sight But back when I lived on the other side of town I’d spend the entire day in the yard but multiple times in different directions just to get those crisp stripes It wasn’t just yard work—it was art I’d crack a cold beer and sit in the shade for hours just admiring the masterpiece I had created imagine my emotional crisis when I saw the fake grass outside the Danbury Mall recently no bare spots—just flawless green carpet that probably doesn’t need any maintenance As someone who’s risked life and limb chasing the perfect lawn this synthetic sorcery hit me in the cockles but now I’m questioning everything I thought I believed in could I actually make the switch to carpet It used to look like the rough at a 1970s mini-golf course The look has seriously leveled up over the decades it’s probably going to look like garbage I don’t even know what I believe in anymore When I walked up to the mall and saw that little green patch of perfection I was instantly transported to my happy place I completely forgot why I went there in the first place and parked myself in the shady corner of the fake grass for hours. It was delicious The beer and the grass—I was tasting both and enjoying them equally The mall staff was not delighted when I took my shirt off apparently that goes against some policy they have My favorite is staring at the portion of the grass where the sunlight meets the shade so much is happening where those two worlds collide Check out the Ethan, Lou & Large Dave Show Podcast on Apple & Spotify Saturdays were everything. I’d spend the entire day in the yard, mowing the grass not once, but multiple times in different directions just to get those crisp stripes, Yankee Stadium style. It wasn’t just yard work—it was art. It was meditation.\nRead More Check out the Ethan, Lou & Large Dave Show Podcast on Apple & Spotify Danbury Ridge prospected the land due to its unusual geological make-up had noticed the quality of the 2020 Essex vintage ‘despite high rainfall’ This prompted him to research soil properties initially together with Lee Jones of the British Geological Survey Atkinson then developed a detailed map focusing on the ‘plasticity of London Clay’ which he said ‘stretches from Windsor to Margate to Harwich’ ‘extreme plasticity at the surface is very rare as is the case in Bordeaux,’ he added This plasticity is mainly due to the presence of the mineral smectite which has immense water-holding capacity but makes it difficult for vine roots to extract that water creating a positive stress situation conducive to high quality fruit This ‘ability to hold water and release it slowly’ according to Atkinson and works to a vine’s advantage in both dry and wet years Plantings in the new Danbury Ridge site will be 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay Establishment of the vines will be slow as they struggle to take root in this environment and Atkinson does not expect a first crop until later this decade The new site will take the producer’s total plantings to 17ha though estuarine Essex is quite blessed overall,’ Atkinson said Most Essex plantings are in the Dengie Peninsula in the Maldon district the area between the Blackwater Estuary and the River Crouch Clay soils and the warm and dry climate here favour still rather than sparkling wine production Essex created headlines last year when California-based fine wine group Jackson Family Wines bought 26ha of land in the Crouch Valley CEO Charlie Holland confirmed that 12ha were planted this spring Essex sees further expansion with not one but two wineries in construction Contract winemakers Itasca Wines is building a ‘dual-purpose’ facility in the village of Stow Maries overlooking the River Crouch Head winemaker Ben Smith said: ‘it will have equipment to process ultra-premium still wine we also have a high degree of automation for machine-harvested fruit.’ Smith added that the existing site in Hampshire focuses on sparkling wines while the Essex site will be dedicated to still wine The £3m investment will have a 1,400-ton capacity and is set to open in 2025 founder and CEO of Defined Wines which already has a contract winemaking facility in Kent confirmed that it will open a new facility with a 150-ton capacity in the village of Holton St Mary in Essex The new venture will be ready to service East Anglian winemakers in time for the 2024 harvest According to WineGB’s latest Industry Report there were 325ha of vines in Essex in 2023 8% of the UK’s total vine plantings of 3,928ha There were three wins for Liam Squirrell and two for Reece Seddon on their return to Chelmsford & District League action after a five-year absence Chelmsford A lead the way in division one with three wins from three fixtures and while Danbury A are just four points back it is Chelmsford’s week four opponents Danbury C who will no doubt provide their biggest test to date Harry Chivers fired his second hat-trick of the season in Chelmsford A’s 6-4 away win at Danbury B Liam Squirrell and Reece Seddon were in action for Danbury C as they won a tight encounter with Writtle A 6-4 while Seddon’s only loss was at the hands of Kevin Read who claimed the nail-biting decider 16-14 There was a treble for Eric Green in his first appearance of the season as his Danbury A side won 8-2 at Galleywood A Green’s toughest match was with Alistair Hill who had held a 2-1 lead before Green stormed through Hatfield Peverel A lead the way in division two following an 8-2 home win against Galleywood B Martin Archie fired his second treble of the season with two wins apiece for Julie Johnson and Alastair Piper – both players undone by Galleywood’s Mark Glenister Peverel’s toughest challenge may yet come from Buttsbury A who they face in Week 4 off the back of an 8-2 victory over Danbury F in week three Maldon A were without last week’s hat-trick hero Lloyd Bennett-Smith but Derek Balding made his first appearance of the season and took the player-of-the-match honours with three victories in Maldon’s 7-3 win at OCA B Hamish Innes and Dawn Baldry supported Balding with two wins apiece but both fell at the hands of Mick Richardson – Innes having led 2-1 There was no Gary Ward for Writtle C but the three Johns – Webber Gagg and Parodi – claimed a 5-5 draw with Chelmsford C in his absence Webber fired his first treble of the season while teammate Gagg pulled off an eye-catching win over Felix Reeve The great Sanjay Saptarshi won all three of his matches as Danbury D beat Writtle B 7-3 In his first league match of the new season Eamonn Hall backed Saptarshi up with two wins – losing out to Writtle’s Phil Smith who won two of his own Hall showed his never-say-die attitude by successfully overcoming a 0-2 deficit against both Trevor Collin and Trevor Carter The only two unbeaten sides in division three – Writtle D and Buttsbury B – sit in third and fourth positions respectively as Chelmsford D lead the way followed by clubmates Chelmsford E Andy Swales and Kelvin Edeh hit three wins apiece as the leaders Chelmsford E beat Hatfield Peverel B 9-1 Having played in division five over the past few seasons Edeh’s improvement is apparent and showed his recovery powers when trailing Paul Mulley 2-0 Matthew Brown hit his second treble of the season in Writtle D’s 8-2 demolition job of leaders Chelmsford D Malcolm Henstock and Bob Garson both won twice for the hosts as Chelmsford’s Adi Kamma stood firm with wins against both opponents Three wins for Grace Liu and two each for Caroline Cole and Frances Hutt saw Buttsbury B win 7-3 at Danbury J An inspired Gus Heath hat-trick helped Danbury H to a 6-4 away win at Galleywood C Heath consigned Galleywood’s Gary Copsey to his first defeat of the season over five games Denis Ballic was undefeated as Danbury G won 6-4 on the road at Writtle E Ballic beat Dave Moles over five games after Moles had beaten Danbury’s Louis Gunn by the same 3-2 scoreline Maldon B and Hutton A look to be the two outstanding teams in division four at the moment with both sides displaying a perfect three wins from three fixtures going into week four Brian Riedling and Chris Ravenhill won three apiece as Maldon B beat Hatfield Peverel C 7-3 while Alex Ware fired his third hat-trick of the season in Hutton A’s 7-3 away win at Danbury K Mark Nolan was in action for the second time this season and promptly served up his second treble as Chelmsford G beat OCA D 6-4 Peter Harverson won three with team-mates John Manning and Roy Gandy winning two each in Danbury L’s 8-2 win over Danbury M M team’s Oliver Martin prevented Manning and Gandy winning three – Martin fought back from 2-0 down in both matches Roger Patient and David Cockrell hit trebles in Highwood A’s 8-2 win over Galleywood D Highwood’s Keith Fitz-John’s two wins were both five-gamers but Galleywood’s Lewis Armstrong prevented his hat-trick Jenne Seibolt won all three as Buttsbury D beat clubmates Buttsbury C 7-3 Seibolt gave Oscar Hutt his only defeat of the night in a competitive 3-1 (11-13 Hutton B sit proudly top of division five with three wins from three Writtle F and Maldon C sit four points back while Buttsbury E could be serious challengers having won both of their fixtures Hutton B are showing a strength in depth having used eight different players for their three victories – Peter Moxham won all three matches on his first appearance with two victories for Charlie Gould Galleywood E’s Steve Peacock fired his second treble of the season in Galleywood E’s 5-5 draw with Writtle F Ron Tam won twice for Writtle though missed out in five at the hands of Peacock Tam had earlier recovered from 2-0 down against Doug Blaber who staged a 0-2 recovery of his own against Michael Anthony in a close encounter which ended 12-14 Kym Eames and Arthur Shadforth won seven of their nine singles matches for the second time this season in their 8-2 away win at Anglia Ruskin University Shadforth scored the hat-trick this time for Maldon while team-mate Raymond missed out on a treble of his own when falling 3-2 to Connor Casey There were first trebles of the season for Bruce Wickham Andy Whiley and Andy Simmons in Hatfield Peverel D’s 10-0 win against Hatfield Peverel F The Buttsbury Bees are top of junior division 1A with three wins from four fixtures as Vivaan Babbar and Joshua Freeman won all of their singles matches against Hutton Hawks and Hutton Harriers Adhuna Das won twice for the Chelmsford Lions in their 3-2 home win over the Chelmsford Tigers while Charlie Gould and Billy Andrews were unbeaten as the Hawks beat the Buttsbury Bats 5-0 The Chelmsford Leopards look like the dominant force at this early stage of junior league division 1B though they were unable to keep their run of 5-0 wins going as they beat the Hutton Hammers 3-2 Sai Suresh of the Leopards took his record to six individual wins out of six so far this season though he had to recover from 2-1 down against Michael Bradshaw Another undefeated player this season is Zac Berry who took his tally of individual wins to four from four as the Buttsbury Bears beat the Hutton Hyenas 4-1 Theo Rugg of the Hyenas earned a last gasp win against Shay Coughlan with a 12-10 scoreline in the decider The Chelmsford Jaguars dropped just two games in their 5-0 away win at the Buttsbury Bulldogs – Bernard and Damon Chow doing the damage this week The Jaguars move into second position with two wins from two UCLan North of England Cadet & Junior 2 Star Gold for Karabardak in Montenegro Cates and Rainford dominate Island Finals Night Website by Jask Creative Keith Adams fired a hat-trick in his first appearance of the season to boost Danbury TTC who will be looking to improve on just seven victories from their 20 fixtures completed over the first two weeks of the season An Adam Brewer hat-trick led Writtle A to a 7-3 home win over a Danbury B side who slipped to their second straight defeat at the start of their division one campaign Ian Wall in four and took the decider in his match with Sam Lowman Danbury’s Wall and Lowman narrowly missed out in the doubles encounter to the Writtle team Aidan Lees and Josh Bickles fired trebles as Chelmsford A maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a 9-1 victory over Chelmsford B The ever-improving Felix Reeve (pictured above) took his largest league scalp to date with a 3-1 win over Harry Chivers – Reeve started last season in division three where he posted a 57% win rate Keith Adams won all three matches as Danbury C took their bow for the new season with an 8-2 win at Danbury A Adams dropped just one game and will be hoping to take that early season form into Danbury’s upcoming matches with Writtle A and Chelmsford A Lloyd Bennett-Smith was the star of the show as his Maldon A were held to a 5-5- home draw with Buttsbury A Bennett-Smith beat Jamie Elliott in three games David Gatheral in four and young talent Grace Liu in five Felix Reeve hit a hat-trick as Chelmsford C cruised to an 8-2 home victory over Danbury E Reeve won two of his matches by a 3-0 scoreline but was made to work hard by Tony Forster and had to rally from 2-1 behind in order to take the win Another commanding win for early pacesetters Hatfield Peverel A as Alastair Piper went one better than last week with a treble Julie Johnson also won three in her first appearance of the season Ian Whiteside prevented Martin Archie from a successive hat-trick with a come-from-behind 3-1 win Richard Storey and Bob Garson gave Writtle B a 6-4 home win over Old Chelmsfordians B Mick Richardson proved the toughest nut to crack for OCA with two victories of his own though missed out in a five-gamer with Garson OCA’s David Porter was the man to prevent a treble from Garson Gary Ward fired his first hat-trick of the season in Writtle C’s 6-4 away win at Galleywood B Ward dropped just one game on the night but his match with Mark Glenister was a tight 3-0 (14-12 Chelmsford D are top of division three having registered their second 9-1 victory of the season Mike Johnston fired his second treble of the season and he was assisted by Dusan Doszkoty and Alex Tkachuk who won three and two matches respectively Writtle put up a good fight with Neil Thompson winning the opener over Tkachuk in five games and Malcolm Storey taking Doszkoty the distance Galleywood C and Writtle D currently sit behind the leaders equal on 11 points after two fixtures Buttsbury B and Writtle D played out a 5-5 draw with Buttsbury’s Harry Sawford dropping just one game from his three wins Writtle’s Matthew Brown and Ryan Pitt gave Sawford a taste of defeat in the double contest whereby they conquered Sawford and Keith Abbott in five Gary Copsey fired another hat-trick as Galleywood C earned a 5-5 draw at OCA C The OCA team failed to take a game off Copsey who has dropped just one game in his six wins so far this season The closest match of the night was OCA’s Luke Richardson’s 3-2 success over Nathan Blore – Blore had won games two and three 13-11 and 18-16 before the Richardson fight back After three defeats (two in five-gamers) last week against title favourites Chelmsford D Neil Freeman won all three matches in week two to help Hatfield Peverel B to a 6-4 away win at Danbury G Freeman had to overcome Denis Balic in the opening contest of the night which was only settled in the fifth and final game Freeman and Paul Mulley recovered from 2-0 to beat Danbury’s Balic and Louis Gunn – Gunn like Balic only saw singles defeat at the hands of Freeman Danbury H could only field two players in their clash with Danbury J though H’s Peter Harverson won all three of his singles matches to take his record to five wins from six this season Terry Hyland in four and had to recover from 2-1 down to get the better of Dave Marsh in a match which saw the J team take the honours 6-4 Hyland and Marsh beat Harveron and Steve Buer 3-1 in the doubles Maldon B sit proudly at the top of division four with two wins from two following a 10-0 away win at Galleywood D While the match card reported a ‘whitewash’ it was clear that Galleywood D were no rollovers as three matches went five games and a further four went to four games as Marty Englander Brian Riedling and Chris Ravenhill became the first team this season to claim a maximum of 10 points Hutton A have also won two from two as Alex Ware dropped just one game enroute to a treble in a 7-3 win at Danbury L Danbury’s John Manning prevented both Nick Giles and Anthony Barnes from completing their hat-tricks for Hutton Giles and Ware won a closely contested double contest which went the distance Two wins for Melanie Bonnett and Roger Patient earned Highwood A a 5-5 draw at last years division five champions Danbury M Bonnett’s two wins were in three straight games but she was denied a treble by Danbury’s Graham Naggs who took the deciding game 13-11 Steve Martin and David Smith fought back in the double contest to take the fourth and fifth games 13-11 Despite all three players losing their first match of the contest there were two wins apiece for Frances Hutt Torsten Greenan and Oscar Hutt as Buttsbury C posted a 6-4 away win at Hatfield Peverel C Both of Greenan’s wins were from a 2-1 deficit though he was unable to repeat this feat when teaming with Frances Hutt having levelled at 2-2 against Bob Hillis and Gary Simmons David Bishop fired a hat-trick and was well supported by two wins from Russell Hall as OCA D won 6-4 at home to Danbury K Hall was denied his hat-trick by a Dave Marsh recovery from 2-1 down Three singles wins by Kelvin Edeh were not enough to prevent Chelmsford G from falling to a 7-3 away loss to Buttsbury D on Friday night Edeh’s victories over Jenne Seibolt and Kevin Willis were clinched in the deciding game It was a good week for junior players in division five as both Joshua Freeman and Charlie Ware fired three wins apiece to lead their respective teams to 8-2 victories Freeman’s three wins were completed with the minimum of fuss against ARU – all three victories being comfortable-looking 3-0 routs Ware dropped just two games from his three matches and teamed with Vicente Beco in a 3-0 doubles win over Bruce Wickham and Andy Whiley Martin Goodard fired a hat-trick as Highwood B won 6-4 on the road at Hatfield Peverel E Peverel’s Jackie Treacy was the only player from the hosts who was able to take a game off Goodard Treacy had earlier beaten Keith Pallett but fell to Mike Pitt despite holding a 2-0 lead Two wins each for Stuart Wintle and Matthew Porter helped OCA E to a 6-4 home win against Chelmsford H Wintle did well to fend off a James Grindlay recovery from 2-0 down to take the decider but fell in three straight games to Jacqui Smith Wintle beat Peter Davenport in five while teammate Mike Morecroft came back from 2-1 down to beat Smith Steve Peacok won three as Galleywood E won 6-4 at Maldon C Peacock’s toughest match of the night was with Kym Eames who he managed to see off in the fifth game Joseph Hutt showed good form as he went undefeated in the Buttsbury Bees’ 3-2 home win over the Chelmsford Lions Hutt was taken the distance by Chelmsford’s Ethan Collins who narrowly missed out to Vivaan Babbar by the same 3-2 scoreline Ben Robinson completed a fine turnaround to get the better of Babbar in five and teamed with Collins to take a close doubles encounter The Buttsbury Bats picked up a first win of the season with a 5-0 home victory over the Hutton Harriers Joseph Hutt and Lewis Woods didn’t drop a game in their singles matches and combined for a 3-1 doubles success Sai Suresh extended his unbeaten record this season as the Chelmsford Leopards beat the Buttsbury Bears 5-0 in division 1B Vivaan Deshpande also won twice for the Leopards and had to recover from 2-1 down against Shay Coughlan – earning victory with a 12-10 score in the fifth game The Hutton Hyenas won the battle of two teams who tasted defeat in week one with a 3-2 home victory against the Buttsbury Bulldogs despite two wins from Zac Berry of the Bulldogs Berry fought back from 2-1 against Michael Bradshaw to take the match 12-10 in the decider like Agatha Danbury (perhaps known to you only as Lady Danbury) we’re ending our three-part “Celebrating Bridgerton Love” series with the women who make this whole world possible From the ever-deepening friendship between Agatha and Violet to the complex one shared by Agatha and the queen these women give us some of the most moving examples of platonic love Six of them are below — get those tissues ready When Anthony and Edwina’s wedding implodes who refuses to look foolish after making Edwina the diamond and approving and then hosting this wedding demands that Lady Danbury figure out some way for her to save face Violet comes upon Agatha hiding out in the palace as she attempts to come up with a solution to this mess There’s still some tension between the two women over what went down during that horrible dinner with the Sheffields but this current situation puts that into perspective an acknowledgment of how dire this is — how for the first time in her life Lady Danbury her way out of this — and then they start to laugh And there are peacocks running around everywhere you’ll just end up crying over it — an age-old survival tactic that works much better when you’re doing it with a friend we might be used to chatting with our friends about our — how shall we say it That’s why it was such a delight to see Violet open up to Lady Danbury this way as their bond deepened in Queen Charlotte Violet wasn’t going to just come out and say she’s all hot and bothered so instead uses a very elaborate and effective gardening metaphor Agatha immediately picks up what her friend is putting out and not only makes sure Violet doesn’t feel embarrassed about sharing that part of her but also celebrates her for it Queen Charlotte and Lady Danbury’s relationship has been complicated from the start always blurring that line between subject and friend when both women truly need someone in their corner they make a point to call out the distinction Lady Danbury apologizes for treating her only “as the crown,” telling her what she thinks the queen would want to hear rather than treating her like a person who has feelings “You shall be my friend?” Charlotte asks her when Charlotte confesses that she wants to run away from her life because it is not the life she “wished for” — her husband refuses to see her she is lonely — Agatha gives her friend advice no one will simply hand them their dreams or desires They must be brave and go after them for themselves Every person should have a friend who reminds them “You have a right to high standards,” and that is exactly what Agatha says to Violet when she starts apologizing for wanting a love that is possibly as great or at least in the realm of what she had with her late husband Violet is allowed to want something great for herself Now why is this the scene that brings tears to my eyes every single time I watch it There’s just something about our Bridgerton elders so openly affirming their friendship with one another that does it for me Violet vents about needing to get in front of the queen to talk to her about Francesca’s engagement to a man who was not the queen’s pick and Lady Danbury responds with an almost perfunctory offer to help But the last thing Violet wants Agatha to think is that she’s just there to ask for a favor “I hope you know that my care for you is not contingent on your aid,” she tells her Even when there are no unmarried children left to help.” It is a profession of platonic love that rivals the romantic ones on this show After the reveal in Queen Charlotte that Lady Danbury once had an affair with Violet’s father and that Violet figured it out but was keeping it to herself When Violet begins to have feelings for Agatha’s brother Marcus there comes a time for the friends to lay it all out on the table both make it clear that neither one needs permission from the other to love whom they love It was very much weighing on Agatha: When Violet tells her that she knows her father “was a good man and that [Agatha has] been a very good friend,” and that’s all she needs to know about the whole thing She repays that kindness by making sure Violet knows she feels exactly the same way in regard to Marcus But she also makes it quite clear that whatever happens between her best friend and her brother And that’s more than just friendship — that’s sisterhood bridgertonCelebrating ‘Bridgerton’ Love: The Sharma Sistersbridgerton‘Bridgerton’ Valentine’s Day Gift Guides: For the Fan Here for the Drama Maggie Fremont is a freelance pop culture writer with a focus on television. You can find more of her writing on Vulture, Entertainment Weekly's EW.com, and TV Guide bridgertonCatching Up With ‘Bridgerton’ Director Andrew Ahn on His New Rom-ComAhn has reimagined Ang Lee’s classic film “The Wedding Banquet,” maintaining the original film’s delightful core bridgertonThe Star Files: What Your Favorite ‘Bridgerton’ Stars Are Doing Right NowWhat have our beloved “Bridgerton” stars been up to when not working on bringing us the upcoming season bridgertonWhy Are People So Obsessed With Sophie Baek? A Deep Dive Into the Literary History of the Soon-to-Be Season 4 ‘Bridgerton’ LeadWhat is it about the Lady in Silver — the next “Bridgerton” leading lady — that has everyone talking grey's anatomyLena Waithe Talks Her ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Storyline and What’s NextWaithe discusses how her two-episode arc on “Grey’s” marked a full-circle moment for her and what she’s planning during an uncertain time in Hollywood the residenceInside the White House: The Craziest Presidential Requests for the White House KitchenFrom cheeseburger pizza to roasted possums to Coca-Cola salad presidents have noshed on from term to term grey's anatomySophia Bush on Shaking Up the ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ World This SeasonThe beloved actor talks playing a queer character and making TikToks with friend, coworker, and on-screen love interest Kim Raver. Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Known for her regal role as Lady Danbury in Netflix’s hit show Bridgerton, Andoh’s beauty regime is far more humble than her onscreen persona. “I don’t wear make-up on Christmas day, because I’m having a day off,” Andoh laughed, “So that means my face can just look the haggard, craggy mess it really is.” Despite her self-deprecating words, the 61-year-old actor’s plump and smooth skin is hard to ignore. “I will moisturise myself within an inch of my life – but I will have my Christmas nail varnish on, and I will smell fabulous – because I love all those things at Christmas.” When it comes to everyday beauty, Andoh has welcomed the ageing process. “I think there’s something that happens as you get older – you see the beauty in all sorts of ages and faces – in all different configurations. “I’m paying more attention to visual things generally – I’m kind of caught up in the wonder of our faces a lot more.” Having spent nearly four decades “looking at [her] face,” Andoh has arrived on the importance on skincare above all else. “Moisturise, moisturise, moisturise,” Andoh chants, “it’s like Tony Blair’s education mantra,” she laughs. “It’s a fundamental. You’ve got to feed your skin, you’ve got to drink a ton of water and you have got to sleep. If you get plastered – it will show on your face for days.” Andoh revealed she now times her drunken celebrations wisely, asking herself, “when do I have to be in public again?” Having been raised in the Sixties and Seventies, Andoh didn’t have the concept of skincare that Gen Zers do today. “I’ve always been somebody who loved getting darker,” she says. “When I was raised, you basically put chicken fat on and went out and burnt yourself. So it took me quite a while to come around to the idea that you need to wear factor 50. “The sun is powerful and as are you, but your skin is not, so protecting it is one of those things you’ve just got to do.” Whilst her onscreen looks are often glamorous, Andoh notes she usually only has 10 minutes to put her face on, and so focuses on the essentials. “You can do many things quickly – cover your bags, put on your eyeliner and put on your lipstick,” she says. “Our eyes and our mouth are how we read each other. We look at the the expressive parts of our face, and so those are the bits I focus on.” Andoh’s beauty philosophy is rooted in its symbolism and how we paint our faces is emblematic of a deeper meaning. This is an idea Andoh brought to the set of Bridgerton in her character of Lady Danbury – a senior matron who is considered one of the most powerful women in London high society. “I wanted her eyes to be a big focus of who she is, because she’s a person that came into society with nothing much but her wits. So she’s had to keep her wits about her the entire time as a survival mechanism,” Andoh explains. “She wore a lot of eyeliner,” Andoh explains, “I wanted her to be somebody who can be in a room and just watch – no frilly hair round her face – everything is exposed and her eyes are big and bold.” Not dissimilar to the aristocratic matriarch, the Boots Christmas campaign depicts Andoh as a glamorous Mrs Claus, who is the driving force behind Santa’s chaotic workshop. “I was very keen to wear a dress that I felt beautiful in,” she explains. Designed by couturier Rory Andrew, her ensemble balances glamour and practicality, with “no flappy sleeves” and a front opening to allow her to walk quickly. “There’s a quality of the skirt which has this undulation to it,” Andoh explained, “It’s a bit like a swan, paddling furiously but gliding across the top. “I just wanted to say to all the women out there who are running around like blue ass flies at Christmas time – I see you sisters!” Facebook pageTwitter feedRSS feed@2025 The Irish News Ltd Danbury, CT Mr. Rafter was born in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York on January 3,1966 a son of Patrick D. and Virginia (Triolo) Rafter. He attended New York schools and was a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. A professional chef by trade, Mr. Rafter was a general manager with Restaurant Associates by Compass Group, N.A. Tom’s number one joy was cooking, entertaining and caring for all his family and friends. He was a giver and not a taker, always sharing a smile and a kind word with everyone he met. In fact, he would much rather give than receive. In addition, he enjoyed gardening and spending time in his backyard with nature.  He loved the ocean and found solace by the sea. He was a great man who touched many hearts. In addition to his life partner Phyllis Boughton, he is survived by his step-mother, Lucy Rafter, two brothers. Patrick Rafter and James Rafter as well as several nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by a brother Robert Rafter. Burial will take place in the Cemetery of the Resurrection, Staten Island, New York. Contribution in his memory may be made to the Families Network of Western CT, 5 Library Place, Danbury, CT 06810 HamletHub invites you to contribute stories, events, and more to keep your neighbors informed and connected. Don’t miss what’s happening in your community.Subscribe to receive a daily digest of the people, places and things that make our community great. Copyright ©2025 HamletHub™ A community celebrating Black voices, Black art, and Black folx. Latines learning, remembering, healing, and finding joy in our diverse stories. Beautycon is a global platform that brings together beauty enthusiasts, brands, and industry leaders to explore the latest trends, innovations, and conversations shaping the future of beauty. Only a fool would leave a character like this According to the most recent press release (April 24, 2025) from AAA regarding gas prices the national average for regular gas is now $3.17 a gallon — a bit higher than last week and up 5 cents from last month Prices are creeping up as more people hit the road with the nicer weather it’s way cheaper than this time last year mainly because crude oil is going for about $62 a barrel now That is all well and good but what does it mean for Greater-Danbury? Here are the latest and cheapest gallons of gas in our local area as of (5/1/25) according to Gas Buddy. I never pay attention to gas prices—then suddenly I’m broke and can’t figure out why but this time I know the culprit: gas prices have been creeping up for weeks That is all well and good but what does it mean for Greater-Danbury? Here are the latest and cheapest gallons of gas in our local area as of (5/1/25)\nRead More According to the most recent press release (April 24, 2025) from AAA regarding gas prices That is all well and good but what does it mean for Greater-Danbury? Here are the latest and cheapest gallons of gas in our local area as of (5/1/25) according to Gas Buddy. I never pay attention to gas prices—then suddenly I’m broke and can’t figure out why. Surprise! I’m broke again, but this time I know the culprit: gas prices have been creeping up for weeks. Get important news about your town as it happens. Something went wrong. Please subscribe again. Get the top stories from across our network. Are you sure you want to unsubscribe from daily updates? Four men have been charged with serious federal crimes after investigators uncovered what they say was a disturbing child sex trafficking operation in Danbury. The case began in February when the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force and Danbury Police started looking into a local group suspected of trafficking minors. In March, investigators say they saw a WhatsApp message offering two 15-year-old girls for sex, the US Attorney for Connecticut said.  That message led police to a Danbury home, where they found the two teen girls — one 15 and one 16 — locked in separate bedrooms with adult men. Officers arrested four suspects at the scene and rescued the girls. Court documents say Ordonez-Ortega was the organizer. He allegedly arranged for the girls to be brought to Danbury, scheduled appointments with men, and collected payment. Officials say he booked 24 separate encounters with adult men over two days. The girls were given medical care and interviewed by law enforcement and child welfare officials. One suspect, Robles, is accused of injuring the 15-year-old during an encounter, prosecutors said.  Each of the four men faces charges of sex trafficking of children. That crime carries a minimum sentence of 10 years and can lead to life in prison. Ordonez-Ortega and Vasquez-Salinas also face additional charges, including attempted sex trafficking and coercion of minors. Robles and Quilli-Tacuri were arrested this week and remain in custody. The others are in state or immigration custody and will face federal court soon. and her husband demands he has sex with her — rough and painful — almost every night her maid Coral (Peyvand Sadeghian) runs her a bath so she can recuperate alone Lord Danbury doesn't appreciate his wife's brilliant mind or all she's done to secure they status in British society so it's a boon for her when Lord Danbury dies in episode three Lady Danbury schemes to have her and her husband host the first ball of the season When she secures the attendance of Queen Charlotte (India Ria Amarteifio as a young woman) and George III (Corey Mylchreest as a young man) "We're a success," she tell her husband when the ball ends Then he brings her upstairs for their marital duties while Agatha is going through the indignity of yet another sexual encounter "We are done," and they both laugh together Coral asks if she's "ready" and Agatha goes back into her room with a last "good luck." Then Lady Danbury puts on a big performance of calling for help for her husband so viewers might think she and Coral plotted to have him taken out through some sort of poison as Lady Danbury starts to live her life as a widow in the ever-changing British society she and Coral never talk about or make reference to a murder plot Despite her happiness to finally have her days to herself — she was betrothed to him when she was just 3 years old — it seems clear Lady Danbury did not kill her husband. Though she waited for the day she'd be free of him, her life as a widow was quite different from what she expected. She does experience some sex and romance after his death Queen Charlotte is streaming on Netflix now The Iola baseball team huddles up between innings against Danbury on Saturday at Cy-Lakes High School The Iola baseball team pushed its 2A Division I bi-district series with Danbury to three games but ran out of gas as the Bulldogs fell 9-3 Saturday at Cy-Lakes High School The winner-take-all finale was the second game of the day as Iola won 22-3 in five innings earlier in the afternoon to force a third game Iola leaned on a plethora of bats as Brek Roberts (4) Ryan Roubion (3) and Collin Fowler (3) all had multiple RBIs Austin Calvillo had just one RBI but was 3 for 3 Brody Vaughn was the winning pitcher in that one as he gave up five hits Iola got within one run at 3-2 but Danbury answered with two runs in the third to go up 5-2 and didn't look back Email notifications are only sent once a day College Station junior pitcher Jake Boggan was named the athlete of the week after his complete game helped the Cougars earn a share of the di… “We gave ourselves chances to chip away,” College Station coach Chris Litton said The second game in the series set for 7 p.m the third game is set for Saturday at a t… Centerville will face Garrison in the area round at a time date and location to be determined next week College Station's Wilson Stapp didn't expect his senior season to start with a serious injury but he's grateful for the time he gets back out there Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device Account processing issue - the email address may already exist Invalid password or account does not exist Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account