British climber summits Everest for 19th time, a non-Sherpa record
A British mountain guide scaled Mount Everest on Sunday for the 19th time, breaking his own record for the most ascents of the world’s highest mountain by a non-Sherpa guide.
Kenton Cool, 51, from southwest England, scaled the 8,849-metre (29,032-foot) peak on Sunday along with several other climbers.
He was doing well and on his way down from the summit, said Iswari Paudel of Himalayan Guides Nepal, which equipped his expedition.
Mr Cool first climbed Mount Everest in 2004 and has been doing it almost every year since then.
He was unable to climb Everest in 2014 because the season was cancelled after 16 Sherpa guides were killed in an avalanche, and again in 2015 when an earthquake triggered an avalanche that killed 19 people.
The 2020 climbing season was cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The record came despite an earlier warning he would never walk again unaided after he shattered both heel bones in a rock-climbing accident in 1996.
Mr Cool previously became the first person to complete the Everest triple crown, scaling Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse in a single push without returning to base camp.
He was also the first British guide to lead a client to the summit of K2, the world’s second tallest mountain.
Hundreds of climbers and their guides are on the mountain during the popular spring climbing season, hoping to scale the world’s highest peak.
Many of them have already succeeded while more are expected to make their attempt before the climbing season closes at the end of May.
That is when weather conditions are expected to deteriorate with the coming of the rainy monsoon season, making climbing difficult.
Only Nepali Sherpa guides have scaled the peak more times than Mr Cool.
The highest number of climbs of Mount Everest is 30 times by Nepali Sherpa guide Kami Rita, who is also on the mountain currently and is expected to make the climb in the next few days.
PGA Championship tee times for final round at Quail Hollow
Scottie Scheffler capped the third round of the PGA Championship in style to grab a three-shot lead over Sweden’s Alex Noren on Saturday at Quail Hollow Club, where the world number one has a third major title in his grasp.
Scheffler followed a back-nine eagle with a birdie, then picked up two more strokes over the tricky three-hole closing stretch known as the Green Mile for a six-under-par 65 that was the day’s low round and brought him to 11 under on the week.
Despite the stellar finish, Scheffler was not perfect, as evidenced by the three bogeys on his card, but he managed not to compound mistakes on a windy day or get rattled even when his tee shot ended up in a divot on the 18th fairway.
“Some days it works better than others,” Scheffler said about his ability to stay calm on the course. “Today was a day down the stretch where it worked well, and other days it doesn’t.
“At the end of the day, just proud of my fight the last three days and looking forward to the challenge tomorrow.”
1310 Chris Kirk, Sergio Garcia (Esp)
1320 Bud Cauley, Byeong Hun An (Kor)
1330 Brian Campbell, Elvis Smylie (Aus)
1340 Austin Eckroat, Brian Harman
1350 Tom Kim (Kor), Michael Kim
1400 Nicolai Hojgaard (Den), Stephan Jaeger (Ger)
1410 Justin Lower, Kevin Yu (Tpe)
1420 Daniel Berger, Rasmus Hojgaard (Den)
1430 Tommy Fleetwood (Eng), Collin Morikawa
1440 Xander Schauffele, Sam Burns
1450 Christiaan Bezuidenhout (Rsa), Rory McIlroy (NIrl)
1510 Richard Bland (Eng), Sam Stevens
1520 Tom McKibbin (NIrl), Corey Conners (Can)
1530 Luke Donald (Eng), Thorbjorn Olesen (Den)
1540 Marco Penge (Eng), Beau Hossler
1550 Max Homa, Wyndham Clark
1600 Harris English, Aaron Rai (Eng)
1610 Eric Cole, Nico Echavarria (Col)
1620 Rafael Campos (Pue), Cameron Young
1630 Michael Thorbjornsen, Tyrrell Hatton (Eng)
1640 Harry Hall (Eng), Taylor Moore
1650 Joaquin Niemann (Chi), Viktor Hovland (Nor)
1710 Robert MacIntyre (Sco), David Puig (Esp)
1720 JJ Spaun, Alex Smalley
1730 Taylor Pendrith (Can), Maverick McNealy
1740 Ben Griffin, Ryo Hisatsune (Jpn)
1750 Ryan Fox (Nzl), Max Greyserman
1800 Denny McCarthy, Ryan Gerard
1810 Lucas Glover, Cam Davis (Aus)
1820 Joe Highsmith, Garrick Higgo (Rsa)
1830 Matt Wallace (Eng), Adam Scott (Aus)
1840 Matthieu Pavon (Fra), Matt Fitzpatrick (Eng)
1900 Tony Finau, Bryson DeChambeau
1910 Jhonattan Vegas (Ven), Keegan Bradley
1920 Jon Rahm (Esp), Si Woo Kim (Kor)
1930 Davis Riley, JT Poston
1940 Scottie Scheffler, Alex Noren (Swe)
What is still worth learning? How AI will reshape the way we think
The biggest lie a teacher ever told me was that I needed to learn how to do long division by hand. An entire generation of students heard this claim, based on the mistaken idea that we would not have calculators in our pockets when we were older.
At the time, it seemed inconceivable that everyone would one day carry a device that was not only a calculator, but one that essentially contained all human knowledge. The arrival of smartphones has allowed me to forget most of the maths I learned at school in the 1990s and early 2000s – as well as historical dates, geographical phenomena and scientific formulas – without it ever significantly impacting my day-to-day life.
But now a new technology is challenging not just what we need to learn, but how we learn. The latest generation of AI apps like ChatGPT, Gemini and DeepSeek are rendering traditional homework assignments obsolete, capable of writing original essays or completing worksheets in seconds.
A recent advert for the writing assistance app Grammarly featured a student struggling with his homework. After discovering the new AI tool, he says, “Wow, this sounds like me, only better”.
Educators are rapidly integrating AI into their classes and reshaping courses of study to account for this fundamental shift, but some philosophers and futurists are calling for entire curriculums to be rewritten.
The focus, according to a growing number of advocates, should switch to critical thinking, logic and reasoning. Without these skills, there is a risk of becoming too reliant on AI. If tools like ChatGPT are then handling all of our reasoning tasks, and holding all the facts we would have once been forced to remember, then there is a risk our brain might even begin to atrophy through lack of use.
Earlier this year, researchers at Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University in the US found that over-reliance on generative AI was causing workers to lose core skills like creativity, judgment, and problem-solving.
“Used improperly, technologies can and do result in the deterioration of cognitive faculties that ought to be preserved,” the researchers wrote in a study detailing their findings.
“A key irony of automation is that by mechanising routine tasks and leaving exception-handling to the human user, you deprive the user of the routine opportunities to practice their judgement and strengthen their cognitive musculature.”
This can even be seen in the way people use AI on social media. A recent viral trend has involved people holding an object behind a piece of paper or cloth, and then filming it from an angle with the tagline “How does the mirror know what’s behind it?”
Dozens of responses to one recent video shared on X (Twitter) tagged in Grok, the AI chatbot created by Elon Musk’s company xAI, to ask how it is possible. The chatbot provided responses, as requested, without users needing to engage their critical faculties.
Looking further into the future, advanced AI systems may force a rethink of how we learn to live in a world where most work is not even necessary.
Oxford professor Nick Bostrom, who is best known for warning the world about out-of-control AI in his 2014 book Superintelligence, addressed the issue in his latest book, Deep Utopia: Life and Meaning in a Solved World. In it, he imagined a near-future where AI and robots are able to perform tasks as well as any human.
“Instead of shaping children to become productive workers, we should try to educate them to become flourishing human beings. People with a high level of skill in the art of enjoying life,” he wrote.
“Maybe it would involve cultivating the art of conversation. Likewise, an appreciation for literature, art, music, drama, film, nature and wilderness, athletic competition… techniques of mindfulness and meditation might be taught. Hobbies, creativity, playfulness, judicious pranks, and games – both playing and inventing them. Connoisseurship. Cultivation of the pleasures of the palate. Celebration of friendship.”
Speaking to The Independent last year, Professor Bostrom described these as “radical future possibilities”, for when we get to a stage where today’s problems are solved and the responsibility for further progress can be handed over to artificial bodies and brains.
At that point, society could move away from efficiency, usefulness and profit, and move toward “appreciation, gratitude, self-directed activity, and play”.
This might involve learning physical skills, or even games that artificial intelligence figured out long ago. AI mastered chess 30 years ago, but we still want to play.
Computers have been beating human champions at chess since IBM’s Deep Blue beat Gary Kasparov nearly 30 years ago, but people still enjoy playing – and watching – chess. Likewise, if AI masters knowledge, we will still enjoy acquiring it.
That means even in this future scenario, learning still has a place. “I think a passion for learning could greatly enhance a life of leisure,” Professor Bostrom wrote in Deep Utopia. “The opening of the intellect to science, history, and philosophy, in order to reveal the larger context of patterns and meanings within which our lives are embedded.”
This echoes similar sentiments expressed nearly a century ago by former first lady and activist Eleanor Roosevelt, who promoted the intrinsic value of learning – that it is not just a means to an end but an end in itself. “The essential thing is to learn,” she said. “Learning and living”.
I’m an adult child of divorce – and we’re not talked about enough
The day my parents officially announced they were divorcing, I was newly 30. It was, if I’m completely honest, a relief. They had already been separated for about two years by this point, a long, acrimonious process that grew even more caustic after my mother moved out of our family home. Before the ink dried on their divorce papers, I cried.
Things were different for Ellie Coverdale, whose parents’ divorce shook her world when she turned 23. Now 36, Coverdale can still recall the precise moment she was told. “It was over a video call,” she says. “I was in my flat, I was working late. It felt surreal, like the ground shifted under me. I remember I was completely quiet, I didn’t know what to say. It took some time to accept it as a fact.”
Our experiences may differ, but the thing we have in common is that we were both fully fledged adults when our parents split up. It’s an aspect of divorce that is often overlooked – after all, adult children will have already flown the nest, may be settling down into their own relationships and careers, and may even have children of their own. But there is a growing number of us due to the increase in “silver splitters”, a term coined to describe couples divorcing in later life.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that divorces among people aged 65 and over have been steadily increasing for the past two decades. In 2021, one in four divorces took place after the age of 50. Some of the reasons behind “silver splits” are cause for celebration. For example, it’s undoubtedly a positive development that more women are becoming financially independent enough to leave an unhappy marriage – a far cry from the days when women had little choice but to stick things out in misery. Divorce has also become much more of a societal norm and, with the introduction of no-fault divorce in the UK in 2022, the path to less contentious separations has also been made clear.
But while there are plenty of resources for families of young children and teenagers navigating the choppy waters of divorce, adult children are usually left to their own devices. “There is an expectation that adult children will just get over it if their parents get divorced,” says Kate Daly, a specialist in all things divorce. “But it’s just not true – the impact on adult children is just as big as it would’ve been had they been kids when their parents made this decision.”
Daly, who co-founded separation service Amicable, explains that some things stay the same no matter how old children are when their parents split, such as how to navigate birthdays, holidays, weddings and other life events after the fact. Parents with younger children also feel more of a need to shelter them from the more contentious aspects of divorce, whereas those with adult children feel like they should be able to handle the darker side of things.
The emotional aftermath of my parents’ divorce left me reeling. One moment I was re-evaluating every relationship I’d ever had, wondering if my own marriage was doomed. The next moment I was trying to push my feelings aside to focus on my work and setting goals for my future. My younger sister found the news especially difficult. I imagined myself as her buoy, keeping her afloat among the crashing waves of turmoil. The storm went on, and on, and on. It is only now, nearly three years later, that I feel like I’m on the other side of it, and I can’t help but wonder how other adult children cope with it.
Coverdale says her parents’ divorce brought up a lot of questions about her childhood, despite sensing “constant tension” between them as she was growing up. “They weren’t openly unhappy,” she says, but recalls “lots of silence, small arguments, misunderstandings – like if they were not on the same page. It felt like they were more like roommates than a couple.”
“We hear from a lot of people who question their entire childhood when their parents announce a divorce,” Daly says. “Some even start to question their own relationships, because they’re not sure what a happy relationship looks like anymore. If there are grandchildren involved, more questions arise: how do you tell them that Grandpa and Grandma aren’t living together anymore? What about inviting them to birthday parties and Christmas if they don’t want to see each other? Are they getting enough time with the children individually? Is it fair?”
My childhood until the age of 10 was, for the most part, a happy one. But after that, the cracks in my parents’ marriage began to reveal themselves. They tried to plaster them over with religion, becoming active members of a local evangelical church, but the cracks grew into chasms that not even a divine miracle could heal. But instead of conceding that the relationship was over, my parents stubbornly stayed together, believing that it would be better for me and my siblings if they held out.
The idea of “staying together for the kids” has long been the source of unhappy, yet enduring marriages. But therapist Mandy Saligari says this approach can cause more harm than good. The unspoken agreement here is this: if parents are to sacrifice their happiness so their kids have a good childhood, their children had better be worth it – which is a wholly unfair position to put them in.
“Staying together for the benefit of the children means that parents put their happiness on hold because they ‘want their children to be happy’, which is a tremendous pressure to place on your children if you’re not modelling that behaviour yourself,” she explains.
One of the reasons some parents stay together when they don’t want to is the belief that the traditional nuclear family unit is their best chance at – to put it bluntly – not messing up their children. But Saligari says that children pick up way more than most parents think they do, even learning attachment styles between the ages of nought to six that will go on to shape their own future relationships.
“If Mum and Dad are pretending to be happy through gritted teeth and they go, ‘No, nothing to see here’, their child is taught to distrust their instincts because they feel something is wrong but are told everything’s fine,” explains Saligari. “This means that when they go on to form relationships, they’re likely to have an anxious attachment or anxious-avoidant style because they will not trust their gut instinct. ‘I like this bloke, we seem to be happy – but are we?’”
Thankfully, modern developments in the divorce process, as well as more access to support for families, means that parents have less reason to stay in a relationship for the sake of the kids. My parents, and other silver splitters, were part of a generation that saw divorce as a great failure and felt pressure to make things work even when they were desperately unhappy. At the end of the day, everyone suffered. I can’t help but look at friends whose parents split up when they were between the ages of 13 and 15, and wishing mine had done the same. While there is no “good” time for parents to divorce, there are ways to ensure it does the least amount of harm possible to all involved, says Saligari.
“How a divorce is handled is what damages children, not the divorce itself,” she explains. “So if parents get involved in blame and ask children to take sides, that’s when the divorce becomes toxic. If your children are genuinely your priority, then put your ego aside and listen to one another, and try, as adults, to come to some kind of decision. Either work through whatever’s going on, with or without help, or come to a peaceful decision that the relationship is over.
“Children, no matter how old they are, just need clarity. They need to know that Mum and Dad are as happy as can be, given that ‘happy’ is a relative term. Then they’re able to take that responsibility for themselves and make up their own mind about their parents.”
I often wonder what my life would have looked like had my parents called it quits when I was younger. I’m not alone, either.
“Sometimes I wish they had done it earlier,” Coverdale tells me, with a sigh. “Maybe we all could have been happier sooner.”
Kevin Spacey to be honoured for ‘artistic brilliance’ at Cannes Gala
Kevin Spacey will be presented the Award for Excellence in Film and Television by the Better World Fund at a gala in Cannes as he continues to return to the public spotlight after being cleared of sexual assault accusations in 2023 following a lengthy UK trial.
The 65-year-old actor, who won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as a con man in The Usual Suspects and a Best Actor Oscar for his performance as Lester Burnham in American Beauty, will be awarded at the Fund’s 10th Anniversary Gala dinner on May 20, Deadline reports.
The fund told the publication that Spacey will be honoured for his “artistic brilliance” and “impact on cinema and the arts” throughout his career. “We are truly privileged to welcome Kevin Spacey as our Guest of Honour and Honoree at the Better World Fund Gala,” Manuel Collas De La Roche, the president and founder of the Better World Fund said in a statement.
He continued: “Kevin’s extraordinary contributions to the art of cinema have left a mark on audiences and filmmakers alike. His talent, depth and commitment to storytelling exemplify the transformative power of film. It is with great excitement that we celebrate his legacy and presence at this meaningful gathering.”
It comes after it was announced last week that Spacey has joined the cast of the conspiracy thriller, The Awakening, which also stars Justin Tinto (Just the Way You Are), Peter Stormare (Fargo, Dancer in the Dark) and Alice Eve (Star Trek Into Darkness, Before We Go Out).
The film reportedly follows a couple who uncover a conspiracy theory about world domination, which plunges them into a race against time to expose the truth.
Matt Routledge is directing the film, which is produced by Camelot Films, who also financed the movie along with Tinto. The film is currently in post-production with a screenplay co-written by Tinto, Routledge and Matt Hookings.
Since his acquittal, Spacey has starred in a number of small projects, including the 2024 thriller The Contract, where he played the Devil.
The actor was exiled from mainstream Hollywood in 2017 after actor Anthony Rapp accused him of sexually abusing him in 1986. Spacey would have been 26 at the time, while Rapp was 14.
Rapp’s allegations were later dismissed by a Manhattan court in 2022. Spacey has since faced several more allegations of sexual misconduct over the years, all of which he has either denied or insisted were consensual.
In 2023, Spacey stood trial in the UK after four men alleged that he had sexually assaulted them in separate incidents over the period between 2001 and 2013. He was again cleared of all nine offences.
Celebration villa breaks: find your perfect luxury getaway
If you’re planning a milestone birthday, a big anniversary, or a long-awaited reunion, a villa holiday is hard to beat. Imagine clinking glasses on a rooftop terrace at sunset or gathering loved ones around a candlelit garden table for a leisurely dinner under the night sky.
These special occasions deserve much more than booking out a busy hotel, and nothing beats having your own sun-drenched sanctuary where you have the space and privacy to celebrate in style. Whether you’re heading to Marrakech in the shadow of the Atlas Mountains, to the rolling hills of Tuscany, or a tropical oasis further afield, Villas are the perfect home-away-from-home for celebrating something, or someone, special.
CV Villas’ luxurious ABOVE collection offers the perfect backdrop for unforgettable moments – think breathtaking settings, total privacy, and the kind of comfort and space that makes everyone feel at home. All come with stunning interiors, sweeping views as far as the eye can see, and enviable locations in some of the world’s most sought-after spots. Each villa is hand-picked by dedicated CV Villa specialists, who are experts in helping people craft their dream getaway. Many come with their own infinity pools, breathtaking views and large alfresco dining areas, perfect for spending quality time together during life’s most important moments. Villas aren’t just places to stay, they’re a big part of the celebration itself.
From the moment you book your stay to your arrival back home, the CV Villas Concierge team is there to make everything as seamless and stress-free as possible. They are dedicated to looking after you and your party before and throughout your holiday so that you can focus on the things that really matter, like spending quality time together and celebrating without having to worry about the minor details. The team tailors each trip to exactly what you’re after, whether you’re looking to book a private boat day or need to organise a surprise celebration dinner, nothing is too much trouble. Many of the five-star villas even come with their own butlers and chefs so that you can be waited on hand and foot during your special getaway.
ABOVE villas are the epitome of luxury and come with designer interiors, infinity pools boasting panoramic ocean views, and terraces made for golden hour cocktails – properties with serious star quality. What’s more, they’re located all around the world, from the sun-soaked shores of Spain and Greece to the palm-fringed beaches of far-flung Sri Lanka and beyond.
Sampling delicious local food is a big part of a holiday, but catering for a large group can often mean juggling different requests and palates. Luckily for you, many of these luxury villas come with their very own in-villa chefs – perfect for when you’d rather toast the moment with a glass of fizz than spend time flapping around in the kitchen. Instead, let your chef whip up multi-course meals morning till night, using the freshest local produce, all based on your personal tastes and dietary requirements, before tucking into it alfresco under the undisturbed starry night sky.
The little luxuries make a big difference to a bucket-list trip: daily housekeeping to keep things spic and span, spa treatments for when you need a little R&R, wine tastings for the adults, yoga sessions with epic views, and even round-the-clock babysitting. All of this can be arranged to make your stay feel even more indulgent.
Maison Emilion, France
This rustic French villa is practically made for wine lovers, aptly located amidst the rolling vineyards of Bordeaux. This six-bedroom hilltop hangout boasts views of the working vineyards from every angle, including from the heated pool and surrounding sunbeds. Wander into the nearby village of Saint-Émilion, then enjoy the included wine-tasting experience before settling into the garden for dinner with nothing but the glow of flickering candlelight and the moonlit sky.
Oleander, Corfu
It doesn’t get much more luxurious than Oleander in Corfu, a five-bedroom villa overlooking Avlaki Bay and the picturesque town of Kassiopi. It’s located high above the Ionian Sea and is the ideal villa for memorable summer celebrations. Soak up the sunshine from the infinity pool while enjoying views of Albania’s craggy Ceraunian Mountains, or hang out on the wrap-around terraces and communal outside dining areas. During peak season at Oleander, chef service is also included, so you can enjoy meals with your loved ones without even having to leave the villa.
Spirit of Son Fuster, Mallorca
Spirit of Son Fuster in Mallorca is hard to beat for large groups and multigenerational stays. This five-star bolthole is set in a stunning natural landscape at the foot of the Alaro twin mountains, right near the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Serra de Tramuntana, and is as secluded as it gets. This gorgeous 14th-century manor house sleeps twenty people across ten bedrooms and even has its own on-site spa and hammam where everyone can enjoy treatments in the dedicated treatment rooms. There’s even a private cinema room for movie nights and a well-stocked wine cellar filled with local vintage wines.
Masseria Giardini, Puglia
Masseria Giardini in Puglia is the height of luxury and the perfect home-away-from-home for families and large groups. It was built in 1750 and is surrounded by leafy olive groves and landscaped gardens curated by Chelsea Flower Show winners Urquhart & Hunt. Enjoy unparalleled views of the Canale Di Pirro Valley from this ten-bedroom farmhouse and spend days lazing around in the heated pool. This villa is an architectural masterpiece, with signature stone domed roofs and hand-carved stone baths in five of the ten bedrooms.
For more travel information and inspiration and to book your perfect villa getaway, visit CV Villas
Why Palace’s victory provides hope for the future of English football
A good two hours after the final whistle at Wembley, Crystal Palace staff were still bringing crates of beer into the dressing room, as the players started to emerge. Manager Oliver Glasner had already told them inside that he long ago felt this was a “special group”, who could do “impossible things”. This victory was certainly something that felt so agonisingly out of reach for the club for so long. As such, some of the players were just buzzing from the euphoria, others were joyfully refreshed. Match-winning star Eberechi Eze had a huge smile as he strode out, proudly displaying his winner’s medal. Will Hughes was a few yards behind, bottle of Kopparberg in hand, singing the goalscorer’s name. Joel Ward, after what was one of his last games for the club, was displaying the FA Cup itself. Chairman Steve Parish was meanwhile with his young son, talking about what it means for everyone.
Some in the Palace contingent were by then able to admit the sheer terror they felt when the board showed 10 minutes stoppage time, and the idea that this could be an even closer and crueller way to lose it than in 1990 and 2016. That didn’t happen. Oliver Glasner’s team stayed resolute, not letting anything through.
The fans could then let it all out. The number of Palace supporters openly weeping was moving. On the tube from Wembley Park, some could be heard talking about “all those 0-0s on Boxing Day, rain on the Holmesdale”. It was a timely reminder of what football is supposed to be about, and also important for English football for other reasons.
On that, Glasner is a manager who players say is tough, and he can be difficult, but he offered some genuinely stirring words on that illuminating element of victory. The Austrian had been discussing some of the more technical aspects of the 1-0 win over Manchester City, when he stopped himself.
“The biggest achievement we can have, the biggest success we can have is not winning the trophy,” Glasner began. “It’s that we could give thousands of our supporters a moment for their lives. We can give them great times. Maybe they have problems at home, we give them hours and days they can forget all of this, and just be happy.
“This is the biggest achievement sportsmen can do. We did it for many, many people.”
This, to repeat a phrase commonly used on the day, is what it’s all about. It is not, if you wanted to extend that further, for state-owned clubs or investment funds to just accumulate trophies and parade them for political or financial capital.
And that is why there is an importance to this win beyond the euphoria that Palace enjoyed.
It has been written on these pages countless times that football – and especially English football – has been enduring an era of increasing financial disparity and declining unpredictability. The same wealthy clubs tend to win all of the time.
Even the comparable joy that Newcastle United had on winning the Carabao Cup was caveated by the fact it was made possible through the takeover of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.
This season has admittedly felt more diverse and unpredictable, with a temporarily strong middle class that have competed for some one-off reasons. That had translated to the FA Cup, but there was this consistent concern that it would just end with the most predictable result possible: City winning again.
Palace did everything possible to ensure that didn’t happen. And the club finally lifted the FA Cup, their first ever major trophy, after 119 years and two lost finals. You only had to look across Wembley to see what it meant.
So while that was obviously the greatest moment in Palace’s history, it is also essential for English football. The game needs to show clubs can have hope. Palace can be an inspiration – and an example.
When you speak to people in football about the club, there is huge respect, but they don’t speak of any secret formula. There’s not Brighton’s analytics. Palace have actually built a fine modern team, in a slightly old-fashioned way.
The appointment of Glasner was obviously the key. You can see why Palace quoted Bayern Munich at least £30m for him last summer. Parish has since described it as “a moment in time”. They went for a brilliant coach on the up, whose career has also evolved in an old-fashioned way. Glasner has now won two valuable major trophies for lesser-resourced clubs, after the 2021-22 Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt. That was another victory, he said, that “no one expected”.
Except maybe him, and his squad, given the belief he instilled. Palace fancied this. You could sense it around Wembley beforehand, that this was their day. Glasner is also particularly suited to the group.
Palace are famously sitting on one of the three most fertile areas for footballers in the world, in south London. And, although they often lose young talent to Chelsea, this squad has really maximised that talent.
Everyone now wants Eze. He is the pick of a brilliant young squad, complemented by astute signings. Dean Henderson, the man of the day, was a surprising signing when first made but a calculated upgrade in goal. Daichi Kamada put in everything. Daniel Munoz, the official man of the match, has brilliantly linked Glasner’s team together. There’s then that defence, which rivals now say is one of the best in the Premier League – and potentially Europe, where Palace are now going for the first time, through Europa League qualification.
Glasner has built the team on the robustness of Chris Richards, Marc Guehi and Maxence Lacroix. The Austrian smiled as he spoke about the “passion” they put into “sliding tackles”, adding “we had to defend at a top, top level”.
From that, Palace may also be one of the finest counter-attacking sides around. There is certainly a belief that the team could have qualified for Europe through the league had Adam Wharton been fit for more of the season.
All of this is amplified by a supreme spirit, which could be seen around the dressing room after the final, and that Glasner quickly intuited. It is also something amplified by the Christian beliefs of many of the players, who pray together a lot – especially the backline. That is something not always discussed, but is developing into a trend in the modern Premier League.
There is then that extra element that people in football enthuse about with Palace, that naturally has quasi-religious elements: the fans. They certainly enjoyed deliverance, salvation, rapture, whatever you want to call it.
Glasner said “you can see what you get with patience”. He made a point of mentioning the support that stayed with them during a difficult start to the season when they lost five of their first eight games and didn’t win until their ninth in late October.
“Then you deserve it, when you always stick together.”
There are few lessons there, and an example. There’s also inspiration. How couldn’t there be, from such joy? This really is what it’s all about.
Trump fans try to identify who controlled Biden’s ‘autopen’
President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Saturday to slam former President Joe Biden after leaked audio revealed the 46th commander-in-chief struggling to answer questions during an interview with special counsel Robert Hur.
“Whoever had control of the ‘AUTOPEN’ is looking to be a bigger and bigger scandal by the moment,” said Trump.
Biden’s alleged use of an autopen has become an obsession on the right, with Kentucky Republican Rep. James Comer appearing on Fox News on Friday night, saying “Clearly, from that interview, which was many, many months prior to the heavy use of the autopen, Joe Biden wasn’t capable of making decisions. He wasn’t coherent.”
Conservatives took to social media to question who was “controlling” the autopen during Biden’s stint in the White House and if someone else was “acting” as the president in Biden’s place, without supporting their suggestions with evidence.
Influencer Link Lauren, a former aide to Robert F Kennedy Jr, wrote on X: “Who was controlling the autopen? Who was pulling the strings? Who were the unelected bureaucrats making decisions that negatively impacted our country? I want names. The Democrat Party & the MSM may never recover.”
One X user questioned who was “really acting” as the president, adding, “It obviously was not Joe Biden.”
Another user responded, pointing to former Domestic Policy Council Director Susan Rice, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, and longtime Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett. Neera Tanden, who succeeded Rice at the Domestic Policy Council, was also mentioned.
On Friday night, Comer piled on during his appearance on Fox News. The Oversight Committee wants to speak with former top Biden aides Annie Tomasini, Anthony Bernal, and Ashley Williams.
“This is one of the greatest scandals of our generation, and Americans are demanding answers,” he said. “Now that Biden’s top enablers can no longer hide behind the power of the presidency, we’re continuing our investigation to expose the truth.”
Hur interviewed Biden as part of an investigation into his handling of classified documents. While a transcript was made public last year, the Biden White House stopped the Department of Justice from releasing the recording, which was published by Axios on Friday, revealing Biden’s memory lapses on long pauses.
Comer said the House Oversight and Accountability Committee would investigate Biden’s cognitive abilities towards the end of his presidency because of questions surrounding the use of an autopen to sign a number of presidential orders, including preemptive pardons for some of Trump’s adversaries, including several members of the Biden family.
“There are serious concerns that President Biden lacked the mental capacity to authorize those actions,” said Comer.
Trump said on Truth Social on Saturday that Biden’s use of an autopen “is a major part of the real crime, THAT THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2020 WAS RIGGED AND STOLEN!”
“Millions and millions of people knew that, but the Radical Left Democrats waged a campaign of inoculation and innocence like none that had ever been waged before,” he added.
He went on to slam Biden for pardoning the members of the January 6 House Select Committee that investigated the 2021 insurrection.
Trump said that “THE UNSELECT COMMITTEE OF POLITICAL THUGS … WERE GIVEN A FULL AND COMPLETE PARDON BY THE PERSON WHO WIELDED THE NOW ILLEGALLY USED AUTOPEN.”
The president went on to accuse the committee of destroying evidence.
“Remember, it all began with DIRTY COP James Comey, Obama, a hapless and cognitively impaired Sleepy Joe Biden, and my now very famous ACCUSATION that, ‘THEY SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN!’” said Trump.
Comey, the FBI director fired by Trump in 2017, was recently interviewed by the Secret Service over a social media post that was interpreted as a threat against the president.
“Whoever had control of the Autopen is just the beginning. The biggest crime of all is that THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION WAS RIGGED!” Trump added.