Adam Hollioake has already experienced the highs and lows of coaching a cricket team with Kent.
From being the worst red-ball team in the country after finishing bottom of the County Championship Division Two table in 2025, Kent go into this season's final round of fixtures with promotion in their own hands.
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Kent currently occupy the second promotion spot and are four points ahead of third-placed Northamptonshire, who visit Middlesex on Thursday.
If Kent match or better the Northants result when they host bottom side Gloucestershire in Canterbury, they will bounce back to the top flight two years after relegation in 2024 under Matthew Walker.
But Hollioake, who replaced Walker in 2025, says he had doubts over whether or not he was in the right job after a poor first season in which Kent won just two of their 14 Championship games.
"There was a time at the beginning of the year when I was questioning whether coaching was actually the right thing for me," the 55-year-old told BBC Radio Kent.
"Of course, we all have self doubts at times, so I'm pretty stubborn and pretty resilient.
"But I just demanded we keep those standards high and keep coming back to them and I kept on trying to reassure the guys it would turn around.
"There was a time there when I wasn't sure if that was going to be the case but I'm glad to see now it's starting to get some positive results."
Kent have won seven of their 13 matches this season and have already amassed 78 more points than they managed last time around.
Hollioake puts the improvement down to taking it one game at a time and using a "simple template of how we're going to play and reverting back to that no matter what's gone on in the game before".
The former England all-rounder said he was "pretty confident" Kent would put in a good performance against Gloucestershire after bouncing back from defeat at Derbyshire with a seven-wicket win over Lancashire.
"That's all we can do. Northampton will do what Northampton do, the weather will do what it does up there and it'll do what it'll do here," Hollioake added.
"All we can do is just keep executing the plans that we've been executing since the fourth week of the season and keep going back and trying to stick to that template.
"If we do that, then the other stuff is out of our control." %!s()
I had an amazing time visiting Door County, Wisconsin, in the fall, and it changed my perspective on travel.
Hayley Hutson
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I love traveling up and down the East Coast, and I have always wanted to see the Pacific Northwest — but I can't say I ever dreamed of visiting the states that fill out the center of the United States.
However, I changed my mind the second I saw photos of Door County, Wisconsin, during autumn. I was awestruck by images of lush trees that seemed to go on forever in the most vibrant hues of red, yellow, green, and orange.
Growing up in Virginia, I was no stranger to fall foliage — but I had never seen anything quite like this. I felt an immediate pull to the area, and within a few weeks, my flight was booked for a trip in late October.
Door County looked like a place right out of a Hallmark movie
The fall foliage in Door County was breathtaking to me.
Hayley Hutson
On my first day in Door County, I woke up to views of Lake Michigan from my balcony at The Water Street Inn, a circa 1896 hotel that looked like it was right out of a Hallmark movie.
I kicked off the day with a ride aboard the Door County Trolley to get a closer look at the leaves I had been dreaming of for weeks. It's one thing to see that kind of beauty in a picture, but seeing it in person was surreal.
It had rained that morning, so the wet streets reflected the colors of the maple trees towering over them, with brightly colored leaves covering many of the roads in blankets of orange and gold.
I took the Door County Trolley to see the foliage.
Hayley Hutson
In the days that followed, I spent my time strolling through diverse nature preserves and parks, such as Whitefish Dunes State Park and The Ridges Sanctuary.
I climbed to the top of the Cana Island Lighthouse, which is over 150 years old and towers just beside Lake Michigan.
I was able to climb to the top of Cana Island Lighthouse during my trip.
JamesBrey/Getty Images
I explored the picturesque downtown areas of Fish Creek and Egg Harbor, and took part in Door County's most time-honored tradition: the fish boil.
What began as an efficient way to feed hungry fishermen a century ago has turned into an incredible way to bring the town together on a regular basis for an unpretentious, delicious meal by the fire.
Watching people cook in giant steel pots, talking to new people, and sharing bites of things like whitefish, potatoes, and corn with others was a special experience that made me feel like part of the community.
The Midwestern peninsula had much more than quaint towns and mesmerizing scenery
Door County has some of the most beautiful fall foliage I've ever seen.
Hayley Hutson
During my time in Door County, I discovered more than just once-in-a-lifetime fall foliage, charming towns, and epic waterfronts.
I found there was a deep sense of pride among the people who lived here. I met locals who were eager to tell me they'd lived on the peninsula for their entire lives. Some had left for college or moved away as adults to see what else was out there, but came back when they didn't find a place more special than the one they grew up in.
The locals who have painstakingly preserved the area's heritage while adding to its story are the ones who've made Door County flourish, and their love is evident in every square mile from Sturgeon Bay to Fish Creek.
This trip really taught me that although there's nothing wrong with visiting top tourist destinations, the United States is teeming with beautiful towns I've not yet heard of, and that many of them are worth exploring, too.
Now, I plan trips with a more open mind because I know that no matter where I go, whether it's Bucharest or the Midwest, I will find something wonderful worth experiencing.
This story was originally published on August 20, 2024, and most recently updated on September 23, 2026.
People Playground players urged to run scans and avoid firing it up until further notice
Image credit: Studio Minus
People Playground, a Steam sandbox game about torturing or otherwise messing with innocent ragdolls that work like crash test dummies, has had its Steam Workshop disabled over a "malicious mod" peddling malware. That's according to the game's developer Mestiez, who's urging anyone who played the game with mods on September 21st to run virus scans and has told everyone not to fire People Playground up until they've announced it's safe to do so.
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"You might have noticed the Workshop has disappeared again," the developer announced in a Steam post on September 22nd. "I disabled it quite a few hours ago due to yet another malicious mod. This one is especially bad."
They urged anyone who played People Playground with mods between 6PM and 8PM CEST on September 21st (that's 5PM and 7PM BST) to run an anti-virus scan. "Delete all your mods in your mods folder and do not open the game until I've announced on Steam that it's safe to do so," Mestiez added. According to the developer, the malware can do anything from permanently wiping "a considerable amount of your personal data", to vandalising your Steam config and Steam cloud data for other games, to publishing personal info from your Discord account to the Steam Workshop.
Mestiez previously wrote that the malware "DOES NOT steal your passwords, tokens, cookies, or other credentials", but has since crossed that out and is suggesting folks who want to make sure they're safe should probably "change the passwords of all [their] important accounts in order to invalidate any session tokens that could have been included.
They added that they see no use in speculating as to who unleashed the malware mod on People Playground, writing: "This is entirely my responsibility, and we gain nothing from throwing around rumours or speculations." Kotaku report that this is the second time in a year People Playground has suffered a malware attack via a Steam Workshop mod. Back in February, a malicious mod messed with affected players' files, contraptions folders, and mod lists for People Playground, prompting Mestiez to temporarily disable its Steam Workshop, as they've done again this time.
Here's hoping the game can be a lot more secure in future. I'd certainly be having second thoughts about going back to it once it's fixed or especially resuming modding it if I was a regular ragdoll torturer. %!s()
For those of us who only ever think about reindeer when December draws in, and even then in a fairly abstract sense, “Brace Your Heart” arrives as a flinty reality check. Following the life and trials of a young female reindeer herder in the present day, it’s stripped of any fairytale essence, and doesn’t stint on the grueling physical and economic challenges of the profession, even before the ugly actuality of being a woman in this male-dominated realm is made clear. The third feature from Swedish writer-director Amanda Kernell follows on from her 2016 debut “Sámi Blood” in spotlighting the experience of the indigenous Sámi community in northernmost Europe, to which Kernell herself belongs; where that film was a period piece, powerfully examining Sweden’s colonial oppression of her people, the filmmaker’s latest is a testament to the resilience of Sámi identity (and womanhood, in particular) in the 21st century.
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After premiering in Toronto’s Oscar-qualifying Platform program — where it received a special mention from the jury — “Brace Your Heart” had its European premiere in the main competition at San Sebastian: a festival one-two that indicates the film’s fairly broad arthouse appeal, despite its remote and little-known milieu. After “Sámi Blood” and Kernell’s 2020 sophomore feature “Charter” achieved solid international distribution, this rousing, accessible new work should follow suit — though given its youthful focus, specialist streaming may connect the film with its optimal audience.
Much like “Sámi Blood,” which rested heavily on the charisma of novice actress and Sámi reindeer herder Lene Cecilia Sparrok, “Brace Your Heart” unearths a raw new talent in Elli Sara Valkeapää, also a herder, who handles an emotionally demanding role with impressive subtlety and stoicism. She plays Ejva, the 20-year-old daughter of a reindeer herder who’s suddenly thrust into her father’s shoes following his untimely death. Handed the literal reins to the family business, she’s forced to adapt fast to a tough line of work that takes an extreme toll on the body and mind — and that’s without such calamities as her snowmobile falling through thin ice into the freezing waters below. Kernell and DP Sophia Olsson shoot that heart-in-mouth setpiece with a kind of detached calm, as if to stress it’s just another bad day at the office.
Though Ejva is strong and capable and has the proud support of her family, she’s still overwhelmed by the demands of going it alone — and so she strategically seeks an ally in Heaika (Andte Gaup-Juuso), a jockish local herding bigwig who has also been putting the moves on her romantically. Following her head more than her heart, she humors those too, despite being considerably more attracted to his gentler cousin Nejla (Vincent Niia), the man who rescued her from the aforementioned ice plunge. Framing this story of female agency and leadership as a conventional love triangle initially seems an oddly old-fashioned choice — though when Heaika’s behavior takes a startlingly toxic turn, “Brace Your Heart” expands into a study of contrasting schools of Sámi masculinity. And when Ejva turns to the conveniences of modern, urban life, she wonders if the effort of maintaining her familial and cultural legacy is worth it.
If Kernell’s screenplay can feel a bit schematic in its funneling of wider social issues into the small, hard story of one individual, “Brace Your Heart” is otherwise played with pleasing, powerful restraint — beginning with Valkeapää’s quietly expressive performance of a naturally taciturn character. Often shot in tight closeups that expose the harsh impact of the climate on her features, she’s frequently given the luxury of time to think on screen, particularly when weighing up crucial decisions on which the future and reputation of her entire family may depend.
Kernell herself is a patiently observant filmmaker: Olsson’s camera isn’t blind to the pale, spectacular sweep of the surroundings, but takes a pragmatic, quasi-documentary approach to the action at hand. A hint of ethereal whimsy, albeit still couched in cultural authenticity, is provided by the breathy a capella swoops and stutters of Rebekka Karijord and Kristian Eidnes Andersen’s score. Shot with a largely non-professional cast in the extraordinary, unyielding landscape of the Sápmi region, “Brace Your Heart” offers a detailed window into the Sámi way of life, even outside the strictures of the script. %!s()
The gas industry has been accused of unleashing a “scare campaign” before the Victorian election as it pressures the state government to reverse a ban on gas in new homes.
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A paper prepared by a lobbyist for the Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG) and shared with ministers has warned annual household gas bills could increase by $100 unless the ban is overturned, without providing evidence to support that claim.
From 1 January, all new homes and commercial buildings cannot be connected to the gas network and must instead run on electricity. The government expects this could save households $880 a year – or $1,820 once solar panels are installed.
AGIG – which is owned by a Hong-Kong led consortium – operates and owns major natural gas distribution networks and pipelines in Victoria. The company’s business model will be hit when new homes are not connected to these networks.
The document obtained by Guardian Australia was written by AGIG’s lobbyist, Ken McAlpine, and provides detailed advice on how regulation should be changed, how the ban could be reversed before the election, and how it should be announced to the media.
The document also provides unsolicited political advice claiming a change would neutralise a “key opposition attack line”. The Coalition has pledged to repeal the ban. McAlpine also cites unnamed qualitative research to claim “voters hate the ban”.
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The document cites modelling that suggests the government’s ban would lead to a network cost increase of 20% to 40% “primarily due to demand and customer reductions” associated with the ban.
The document claims small businesses and industrial customers could see gas price increases of more than $100 a year.
“AGIG is currently discussing these price increases with customer representatives as part of their regulator price reset process, but these numbers will likely become public by mid-September,” the document says.
The numbers have not yet been made public.
Tony Wood, an energy and climate change senior fellow at the Grattan Institute, said the document was “clearly a scare campaign”.
“I do not understand why there would be any price increases,” Wood said.
In March 2025, AGIG told the state government that network costs would increase for remaining gas customers as more people moved to electric homes.
“We have been warning against that outcome for some time and it should not be allowed,” Wood said. “The consumers who will be ‘forced’ to go electric rather than have a gas connection will be financially better off.”
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An AGIG spokesperson said the document was not written by the group but that it reflected its submissions to government and its campaigning on this issue.
Environment Victoria’s chief executive, Jonathan La Nauze, said the letter’s foreshadowing of a price increase – which is set by the independent Australian Energy Regulator and not AGIG – agreed the document was indicative of a “scare campaign”.
“This shows a sophisticated campaign that has considered the political and policy mechanisms,” La Nauze said. “They are very, very focused on getting what they want before caretaker period begins.
“I would absolutely urge and expect Ben Carroll to put the interests of Victorians before the interests of a foreign-owned private gas company.”
When asked about the lobbying document, the Victorian minister for energy and resources, Jaclyn Symes, said the government’s position “has not changed”.
“We’ve always said gas is part of our energy transition – but the reality is legacy supplies from Victoria’s Bass Strait are dwindling and prices are going up,” Symes said.
Francis Vierboom, chief executive officer of the non-profit Rewiring Australia, said AGIG was “trying to do the department’s homework for them”.
“We need to make sure that the government is taking its own advice and following the sensible and nation-leading policies they have already announced,” Vierboom said.
The leader of the Victorian Greens, Ellen Sandell, said “the gas lobby has become so brazen it’s literally written the government a step-by-step playbook for watering down the rules, right down to the media release it wants Labor to send”. %!s()
