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A gust of cinnamon from a pine-wreathed glühwein stand while the carousel plays Frosty the Snowman, and neon snowflakes decorate the neoclassical columns. A Pavlovian sense of festivity fights with my inner Scrooge. On the journey, there were still smudges of autumnal ochre on the wooded hills outside the train window. But Oxford, an hour’s ride from London’s Marylebone station, is in Christmas mode. I’m planning festive cultural tourism in my old home city, including visits to places in Philip Pullman’s books; His Dark Materials is currently enlivening Sunday nights as a BBC One drama. First stop is the Ashmolean Museum, 10 minutes’ walk from Oxford station. The world’s first museum has had a £61m revamp in the last decade and ancient treasures are newly revealed. The Last Supper in Pompeii exhibition (adult £12.25, 12-17s £6, until 12 January 2020) recreates Roman feasts from mosaics, rusty pruning hooks and carbonised … [Read more...] about Oxford at Christmas: a car-free trip to a city of dreaming spires

Rosy-cheeked temptress Aunt Sally has been replaced by an altogether darker version in the new BBC adaptation of Worzel Gummidge this Christmas. Actress Vicki Pepperdine has told how her version of the fairground doll is a far cry from the 1980s character made famous by Una Stubbs. In the original TV series, the character was a painted beauty with whom the scarecrow, played by Jon Pertwee, was very much in love. But this time around comic Pepperdine will play her far closer to the original bitter, maiden aunt version created by Barbara Euphan Todd in her books, which were first published in 1936. And rather than feeling amorous towards her, Worzel – who can swap his head between a swede and a turnip depending on his mood - is left feeling rather terrified. Pepperdine said that the poor doll has been languishing for years in a museum. “Our Aunt Sally, like the Aunt Sally in the original 1930s books, has been retired from fairground work and is now residing in a dusty old … [Read more...] about New Worzel Gummidge actress tells of much darker take on Aunt Sally character

If you want to get this briefing by email, sign up here'No survivors' left on volcano islandFive people are confirmed dead as a result of the White Island Volcano eruption, with another eight missing. There are no signs of life, says New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, with the focus having shifted to "recovery" of people's "loved ones". Police say 47 people were on the island at the time, including 24 from Australia, nine Americans, five from New Zealand, four Germans, two from China and one from Malaysia. The UK High Commission says two British women are among those being treated. The first victim to be identified is tour guide Hayden Marshall-Inman, from nearby Whakatane. Another guide and fellow Kiwi, Tipene Maangi, 24 is among the missing. Our picture round-up shows the extent of the eruption We asked volcanologists about the history and safety at "the world's most accessible active marine volcano" Keep track of the latest developments via our live page Party leaders … [Read more...] about News Daily: Volcano latest and election messages hammered home

The Reality Check team navigates the most questionable figures that have cropped up in the election campaign.£1.2 trillionOne of the biggest numbers to come out of the campaign so far was £1.2tn, which was the extra amount the Conservative Party said that Labour would spend over the next five years.The initial verdict on this was that the Conservatives could not possibly know this because the Labour manifesto had not yet been published.The dossier was released on 10 November, well before the Labour manifesto was published on 21 November.Now that we do have the manifesto, we can make a list of some of the items that were included in the Conservative costing that were not included, together with how much the Tories said they would cost over five years. Abolishing private schools - £35bn Free school meals for secondary school students - £6.8bn Excluding pensions from the 2% target for defence spending - £3bn That's nearly £45bn.Some of the Conservative … [Read more...] about General election 2019: The campaign’s most controversial numbers

Representatives from seven parties took part in a Question Time special with an audience of 18 to 30-year-olds.BBC Reality Check looked at some of their claims during the 90 minute-long debate in York.The Conservatives' Robert Jenrick said: "We've built 450,000 affordable homes in this country since 2010. That's more on average per year than the Labour government did before us from 1997 to 2010."Reality check: It's true that since 2010 about 450,000 affordable homes have been added to the housing supply in England. Not all of them are newly built - some have been converted from commercial properties or by splitting one dwelling up into two or more. That is slightly more on average a year than the previous Labour government - 50,107 a year compared with 42,854 between 1997 and 2010.But these figures cover all types of affordable housing including homes for social rent. And that means looking at the total number of affordable houses added each year doesn't tell the whole story. Since … [Read more...] about General election 2019: Question Time under-30s fact-checked