内容摘要：While many would have bowed down to some of the stars that spent time at Rockfield, Joan ruled the roost as "queen of the kitchen", Ms Murray said.

While many would have bowed down to some of the stars that spent time at Rockfield, Joan ruled the roost as "queen of the kitchen", Ms Murray said.

New German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is making a high-stakes trip to meet US President Donald Trump - his first time in Washington DC as the leader of the European Union's largest economy.Tariffs, defence spending and the war in Ukraine will be high on the agenda when Merz meets Donald Trump on Thursday at the White House.

There's also speculation that Trump's team - which repeatedly has weighed in on Germany's domestic politics - could subject him to an Oval Office "ambush".It would not be the first time.Both South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky found themselves in awkward, tense or even fiery exchanges as the world's cameras rolled, capturing every moment. Those moments have turned once cosy, diplomatic moments in the Oval Office into potentially fraught, tight-rope walks for visiting leaders.

Ahead of the visit, Berlin expressed confidence that the German side is ready. "I think he's well prepared for this meeting," Friedrich Merz's spokesman told reporters this week.Merz - from the centre-right CDU party - is not just prepared, but on friendly terms with the US President, according to German media.

The pair are even said to have exchanged text messages and be on a first name basis, Germany's ARD news outlet has reported.

It's always important to not talk for too long," Merz recently opined on German TV. "But to keep it short and also let him talk."The money will be spent on tram, train and bus projects in mayoral authorities across the Midlands, the North and the West Country.

The move comes before the government's spending review next week, which will determine how much money each Whitehall department gets over the next three to four years.Reeves has been under pressure from Labour MPs to spend money following criticism of relentless economic gloom, particularly concerning disability and benefit cuts.

Trams form the backbone of the investment plans, with Greater Manchester getting £2.5bn to extend its network to Stockport and add stops in Bury, Manchester and Oldham, and the West Midlands getting £2.4bn to extend services from Birmingham city centre to the new sports quarter.There will also be £2.1bn to start building the West Yorkshire Mass Transit programme by 2028, and build new bus stations in Bradford and Wakefield.