Sue Barker obituary
My wife, Sue Barker, who has died aged 79 of pancreatic cancer, devoted her life to protecting and improving the lives of vulnerable children,Over more than five decades in social work she brought her fierce integrity to some of the toughest cases in England and Wales,Born in the village of Royston, then in the West Riding of Yorkshire, Sue was the youngest of three children,Her father, Alexander Willett, was a coal miner; her mother, Eleanor (nee Cheetham), had been in domestic service,After leaving Normanton girls’ high school, Sue became a “house mother” in a boys’ home in Batley, providing love and safety.
By the age of 20 she had progressed to running another children’s home, on her own, on call 24 hours a day, with a single day off each week.From this grounding, she went on to take on almost every social work role within children’s and adults’ services, fostering, adoption and safeguarding.In her 20s she gained her professional social work qualification at Leeds Polytechnic (now Leeds Beckett University) and worked to make families’ lives better in many of the most deprived parts of Yorkshire.Her 30s were spent in Newcastle and the wider north of England, solving complex welfare cases.She then went on to run children’s services across South Tyneside.
Approaching her 50s she went to Northumbria University, gaining a master’s in management.In her late 50s, she created her own business, MCRT, troubleshooting for social services departments across England and Wales, from Kent to Caerphilly, Tyneside to Yorkshire, often tackling situations where things were deemed to have gone badly wrong.Beyond local authority work, as regional programme manager for Together for Children for Yorkshire and Humberside, Sue was instrumental in rolling out the government’s Sure Start initiative at its launch in 1998, and contributed to the wider profession through her writing, which included a chapter on Sure Start in the 2009 textbook Making Sense of Every Child Matters.Sue and I met in 1972 while we were both working for the West Riding social services department.We married in 1977 and built a life together, raising two children, Dan and Jess, in Whitley Bay.
Sue created a home full of warmth, generosity and laughter,She loved walking by the sea, reading, interiors, and after 2015, when she made a third and successful attempt to retire, travelling the world,She was principled and non-judgmental,She gave freely, whether donating her winter fuel allowance to food banks or showing kindness to strangers,She saw her work as a necessity to help families and children have happier futures.
She made the world better and my life immeasurably richer.She is survived by me, our children, and her brother, Alan.
Ex-NFL star Doug Martin dies aged 36 after reported struggle with police
Former NFL All-Pro running back and Boise State star Doug Martin is dead at the age of 36, his family said in a statement on Sunday.TMZ and FOX were among the media organizations to confirm the news with people close to Martin. A statement from his family provided to FOX read: “It is with great sadness to inform you all that Doug Martin passed away Saturday morning. Cause of death is currently unconfirmed. Please respect our privacy at this time
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Max Verstappen is convinced that he is now very much in the fight for the world championship after his victory at the US Grand Prix. Following a dominant win in Austin the Red Bull driver was adamant he could still yet take his fifth title and was enthused at the chance to do so.Verstappen won with a flawless drive from pole to flag at the Circuit of the Americas, and in so doing narrowed the gap to the championship leader Oscar Piastri to 40 points. In what is now a three-way title battle Lando Norris, who took second place, is just 14 points off Piastri.Until this weekend Verstappen has been very circumspect in assessing his chances of competing for the title, despite winning two of the previous three races
Formula One: United States Grand Prix – as it happened
So while the anthems play (side note: quite a few Mexican flags in the stands), we’ll sign off. Thanks for following along with us today through a race in which first place was never in doubt but the intrigue up and down the standings was palpable.Next week: A little ways farther south – Mexico.To be clear – if Piastri can get back into form and average third or maybe even fourth place the rest of the way, he’ll likely hang on to the lead over Verstappen. Norris has less margin for error
Verstappen cruises to victory in F1 US Grand Prix to pile pressure on McLaren
Dominant, untouchable and bearing a broad, beaming grin in the Texas sunshine, the transformation in Max Verstappen after he took victory at the US Grand Prix could not have been starker.The disillusioned and dissatisfied driver who felt his title defence was long over has, against all the odds and indeed his own expectations, restaked his claim as a genuine contender in a deliciously tight Formula One world championship battle. Little wonder there were smiles, Verstappen knows he is back in the fight.Verstappen beat title rival Lando Norris into second and with Norris’s McLaren teammate, and championship leader, Oscar Piastri managing only fifth from sixth on the grid, the meeting in Austin has set up an enormously tense run-in as the season enters its final five meetings. Norris has now closed to within just 14 points of his teammate
NFL week seven: Eagles beat Vikings, Chiefs crush Raiders and Rams rout Jaguars – as it happened
That is it from me then. Matthew Stafford’s five touchdown passes for the Rams has to be the outstanding performance of the day. To do it without his star receiver in Puka Nacua makes it even more impressive. The QB ended up finding 10 different pass catchers in Nacua’s absence. True offensive wizardry from Sean McVay, these Rams will be eyeing the postseason
England invite Noah Caluori to training after sparkling five-try Prem debut
Noah Caluori, the 19-year-old Saracens wing, has been invited to train with England by the head coach, Steve Borthwick, after an incredible five-try barrage against Sale in his first start in the Prem on Saturday.A 36-man training squad has been named to prepare for the upcoming autumn internationals, with Tom Willis the most notable omission by Borthwick after the No 8’s decision to return to play in France.The supremely talented Caluori, however, was the 37th name on Borthwick’s list as his players gathered at Pennyhill Park on Sunday night to prepare for Australia’s visit to Twickenham on 1 November. “As part of a development agreement with Saracens Noah Caluori will join the squad for training,” the RFU said.Forwards Fin Baxter (Harlequins), Ollie Chessum (Leicester), Alex Coles (Northampton), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale), Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins), Theo Dan (Saracens), Ben Earl (Saracens), Ellis Genge (Bristol), Jamie George (Saracens), Joe Heyes (Leicester), Emeka Ilione (Leicester), Maro Itoje (Saracens), Nick Isiekwe (Saracens), Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale), Guy Pepper (Bath), Henry Pollock (Northampton), Bevan Rodd (Sale), Will Stuart (Bath), Sam Underhill (Bath)
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