Ali Wood

Feb 3, 2025 | mancunion.com | Ali Wood

In October, Senator Lidia Thorpe, the first aboriginal person to be elected senator for Victoria, walked down the central aisle of the Great Hall of Parliament House to heckle the King.

Dec 9, 2024 | mancunion.com | Ali Wood

After a long leadership contest with many twists, turns and surprises, the Conservatives have finally picked their new leader… only just. Kemi Badenoch won 56.6% of the vote, beating Robert Jenrick, making this the closest leadership race since party members were permitted to vote in 1998. With membership slumping and turnout low, what can we draw from these results, and how can we expect Badenoch to shape the battered and bruised Conservative party?

Feb 13, 2024 | countryfile.com | Lauren Franklin |Ali Wood

Abereiddy Bay is located on the Pembrokeshire Coast in West Wales. Relax on the pebble and sand, dog-friendly beach, perfect for a leisurely day by the sea. Just a short walk to the north of the beach you'll find the stunning Blue Lagoon. A former slate quarry, it's a must-see attraction with its deep blue waters surrounded by rugged cliffs. When slate quarrying ceased in 1901, the sea broke through into the quarry, creating a vivid blue harbour, protected from the strong currents of Abereiddy Bay.

Nov 21, 2023 | countryfile.com | Lauren Franklin |Ali Wood

There are few family pleasures as simple or as satisfying as finding fossils on the beach and Charmouth on the Jurassic Coast of Dorset and Devon is one of the best fossil hunting places in the UK. Charmouth is pleasantly removed from the blare and glare of other seaside amusements, and is a wonderful starting point for a fossil-hunting day trip. It was near here, in 1811, that 12-year-old Mary Anning and her brother unearthed the skull of an ichthyosaur.