Review Of The Year (part two) -- news that made the Chad headlines in 2022

Vivid images that made 2022 a memorable year, and not all for the right reasons.

It was another turbulent, tumultuous year. We smiled, cried, raged or despaired as 2021 brought us the rail and nurses’ strikes, the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend, the Qatar World Cup, Matt Hancock in the jungle, Just Stop Oil protests, soaring energy bills, the return of ‘Top Gun’, the triumphant England Lionesses, the climax of ‘Peaky Blinders’, Wagatha Christie, Elon Musk’s Twitter, three Prime Ministers in seven weeks, ‘The White Lotus’, booming inflation, England winning cricket’s T20 World Cup, Volodymyr Zelensky, ‘Derry Girls’, ‘Big Boys’, David Beckham queueing, Holly and Phil not queueing, Boris Johnson telling Parliament: ‘Hasta la vista, baby’, Harry and Meghan on Netflix, the crowning of Lionel Messi and the demise of Cristiano Ronaldo.

What’s more, although we tried so hard to get rid of them, Covid-19, Brexit and Donald Trump all lingered for longer than we anticipated.

But what of 2022 in Mansfield and Ashfield? What kind of year was it for us? In this four-part Review Of The Year, we take a look back at the most-read news and sport stories that made the Chad headlines, continuing with April to June.

APRIL

HUGE BEER GARDEN – it is announced that part of a former Mansfield nightclub will be knocked down so two Wetherspoon pubs can combine and create a large beer garden. The demolition of the rear section of QI nightclub, on Leeming Street, will make way for the combined facilities, complete with 200 seats and a heated, covered area, at the Stag and Pheasant and The Widow Frost boozers.

PHONE MAST MISERY – residents in Mansfield are fuming after a large mobile-phone mast is erected on their street without the usual letter informing them. Simone Swift, who has lived on Marriott Avenue for 27 years, says she is appalled at the lack of communication regarding the 15-metre mast on a grassed area just metres from her home. Mansfield District Council admits an error and apologises.

BERRY HILL PARK TRANSFORMATION – a classic car show in June is earmarked as the first major flagship event in plans to transform Berry Hill Park in Mansfield into a ‘destination venue’. With the help of almost £3 million from the government as part of its levelling-up agenda, Mansfield District Council has ambitious plans to turn the rundown park into an exciting place to visit for family days out.

TAYLOR-MADE TRUCK RACING – in sport, the Huthwaite-based team, Taylors Trucksport, are preparing for the start of an action-packed British Truck Racing Championship season at Brands Hatch. The team is spearheaded by Mansfield’s 35-year-old racer Mark Taylor, who was hoping to bring home some silverware.

MAY

HEARTBREAK FOR MUM – a heartbroken Skegby mum says she has “no choice but to stay strong” after tragically losing both her husband and son within the space of a month. Sammy Fradgley-Carter’s husband Mark died after suffering a serious head injury in a collision on the A38 Alfreton Road at Sutton and son Jacob, who was battling a rare form of cancer, succumbed to the disease at the age of 19.

PUMPING STATION CONVERSION – a former Victorian pumping station in Annesley is turned into a beautifully presented, modern home, available for a cool £1 million. The five-bedroom, detached period property on Warren Avenue goes up for sale by online auction. Its centrepiece is an old well, which extends to 17 metres below the ground and can be viewed via a structural glass plate.

ACTRESS’S SEX ABUSE – a Mansfield-based Hollywood actress, who groomed and sexually abused a 13-year-old girl with her husband, is jailed for eight years. Zara Phythian, 36, who starred with Benedict Cumberbatch in the Marvel movie ‘Doctor Strange’, plied the teen with rum before making her perform a sex act on her partner, Victor Marke, a court hears. They abused the girl "once or twice a month" at their home over a three-year period from 2005.

WEMBLEY DEFEAT FOR STAGS – more than 15,000 Mansfield Town fans descend on Wembley for the League Two promotion play-off final against Port Vale at Wembley. But the day ends in disaster for the Stags who go two down and have defender Oli Hawkins sent off in the opening 35 minutes. Nigel Clough’s men eventually lose 3-0 to a Vale side managed by ex-Stag Darrell Clarke.

JUNE

QUEEN’S PLATINUM JUBILEE – celebrations light up towns and villages across Mansfield and Ashfield to toast the 70th anniversary of the Queen’s reign. A memorable four-day Bank Holiday weekend, with beacon-lighting ceremonies, street parties, picnics and beer festivals, marks the Platinum Jubilee of the country’s longest-serving monarch. Sadly, she died three months later on Thursday, September 8.

MUMS’ TIKTOK MILESTONE – a couple from Ollerton who took to social media to promote and celebrate diversity are thrilled after reaching a major milestone. Mums Kerry and Anna Simpson, aged 37 and 30 respectively, surpass half a million followers on TikTok, where they post regular content as @Kerana0208, with videos “embracing uniqueness”.

FAST-FOOD FREEBIES – Mexican fast-food giant Taco Bell promise free tacos for its first 100 customers after opening a new outlet at the former Mansfield bus station site on Stockwell Gateway. Customers can drive through, dine in or take away.

EX-STAGS’ BOSS DIES – former Mansfield Town manager Billy Bingham dies at the age of 90. Bingham, who also bossed the Northern Ireland international team, took over at Field Mill in March 1978 to replace Peter Morris during the Stags’ only season in the second tier of English football. He couldn’t save them from relegation and he left the club 16 months later.