I'm A Celebrity will swap jungle for ruined British castle - Update: Gwrych castle granted £2m for repairs

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/lifestyle/other/aj-pritchard-and-girlfriend-are-caught-flouting-covid-rules/ar-BB1bSorH?ocid=msedgntp

AJ Pritchard and girlfriend are ‘caught flouting Covid rules’ last night as they partied with the Strictly star’s cousin and friends on a night out in Kensington.

The group spent much of last night at Jako London, a restaurant and private hire venue in High Street Kensington, before arriving separately at AJ’s cousin’s flat, despite not being allowed to mix in other households.

Well, if “celebs” can (and get away with it) then everyone else will … :102:

There are always going to be people flouting the rules whether they are so called ‘celebs’ or common people. They don’t think the rules apply to them, they are young & totally foolish & covidiots. As long as this goes on we will never be free of the virus.

The castle which hosted ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! is set to be saved from collapse thanks to a £2.2m grant. The Grade I listed venue in Abergele in Conwy county requires urgent repairs delayed by the pandemic.

The venue’s trust said the work will reverse the “critical situation”.

Dr Mark Baker, head of Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust, said the castle’s buildings are in “perilous condition following the pandemic”.

“With this substantial funding award, we can reverse the critical situation that the site is currently in, allowing Gwrych Castle to be returned to its former glory,” he said.

It is one of several Welsh heritage sites to secure NHMF Covid-19 recovery funding, with Gladstone’s Library in Flintshire, Insole Court in Cardiff and two medieval churches also receiving money.

That’s excellent news but I don’t think £2.2 will cover restoration from “critical” to “former glory” … :thinking:

That paltry sum will just about cover the stabilisation of what is still standing. Ten times that amount might put a roof back on all towers etc and some floors reinstated, but I doubt if it will ever be restored to how it used to be. It should have been better cared for before it fell into utter disrepair. Complete false economy to allow such dilapidation :man_shrugging: