Winter car check

If you want to reap the benefits of better sleep, increased happiness, a boosted immune system and the ability to manage long-term health conditions, then outdoor swimming might be the hobby for you. Generally, there are two types of outdoor swimming: open water (which refers to events and races) and wild (unsupervised locations in seas, rivers and lakes etc). According to The Outdoor Swimming Society in the last year, 7.5 million people in the UK ventured into the water outdoors and a recent report by Outdoor Swimmer Magazine found that 75% of new outdoor swimmers said they wanted to continue swimming outside throughout the winter. However, as the cold weather sets in, is it still OK to plunge in? ‘You have three elements when it comes to outdoor swimming,’ says Professor Greg Whyte OBE, a world-renowned sports scientist who trained both David Walliams for his 21-mile swim across the English Channel and Davina McCall for her 506-mile ultra-triathlon. ‘Exercise … [Read more...] about Always fancied wild swimming? It has surprising health benefits, even in winter

A woman who was killed along with her three golden retrievers after they were hit by a car has been named as Olivia Riley. A 26-year-old driver was held on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving following the shocking incident just after 6am yesterday in Chelsea, west London . Mrs Riley, 41, from Suffolk, was found dead in Cheyne Walk, where house prices average £3.5 million, after officers and paramedics raced to the scene. The driver was found with minor injuries and taken into custody with a crime scene put in place at the crash site. A Met Police spokesperson said: ‘A woman who died following a road traffic collision in Chelsea on Saturday morning has been named. ‘Olivia Riley was 41 and from Suffolk. Her family are being supported by specialist officers. ‘Police were called to Cheyne Walk, SW3, at 06:21hrs on Saturday, 14 May following reports of a road traffic collision involving a car, a pedestrian and three dogs. ‘Officers attended with … [Read more...] about Woman killed along with her three dogs in Chelsea car crash is named

More than 100 'partygate' fines now issued, Met announces Civil servants revolt against back-to-office directive We're not budging on Northern Ireland Protocol, EU tells UK Nadhim Zahawi: Going to school ‘non-negotiable’ Comment: Patel channels her inner Professor Snape Russia-Ukraine latest: Kremlin blasts Nato expansion B oris Johnson has said a windfall tax on oil and gas giants to help tackle the cost of living crisis is not the "right way forward". The Prime Minister did not rule out introducing a levy on the excess profits of energy firms but he made clear his opposition to the policy. He told LBC Radio: “I don’t like them [windfall taxes]. I don’t think they are the right way forward. I want those companies to make big, big investment.” The Government has argued that imposing an additional tax on the companies would damage their ability to invest in crucial new energy sources for the UK. But there is increasing evidence of a split … [Read more...] about Split between Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak emerging over tax on energy firms’ excess profits

The Cabinet meeting in Stoke-on-Trent yesterday will have been a counsel of despair. The idea was to brainstorm solutions to the cost of living crisis, but ministers have no tools: they can’t control inflation any more than they can control the weather. They can control taxes and try to stoke economic growth. But lockdown left Britain with the worst economic hit in Europe and one of the slowest recoveries – made all the slower by what is, now, the highest tax rate for 71 years. Far worse is to come. The Bank of England thinks inflation will soon pass 10 per cent , with almost no growth for the next three years. It envisages a future of rising unemployment and, perhaps, outright recession (the economy contracted in March). Already, the statistics are translating into stories of real human misery: yesterday, we heard of a woman who asked to be evicted so she could qualify for social housing. A food bank manager in Rhondda Cynon Taf in Wales said he had seen three months’ worth of … [Read more...] about Boris has reached peak ‘cakeism’ – and all of us are paying the price

A trade war with the European Union threatens to pile further pressure on UK households, intensifying the cost of living crisis. Soaring prices could push even higher if Britain finds itself at loggerheads with the bloc - its largest trading partner. In an extreme situation, consumers could be forced to shoulder 10pc levies on cars from the Continent, as well as higher costs for key goods such as clothing and food. “Escalating anything with the EU right now would mean massive self-inflicted price pressures at the worst kind of possible moment,” says Sophie Hale, principal economist at the Resolution Foundation. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is reportedly set to announce the UK will move to unilaterally alter parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol, which sets the terms of trade in the region. That would mean effectively suspending elements of the Brexit deal. Brussels has warned the UK of serious consequences in retaliation, with Belgian prime minister Alexander De … [Read more...] about How a trade war with Europe will spark a fresh cost of living crisis

Earlier this month, Walt Disney World began reopening, following almost four months of closure due to the pandemic. I flew to Orlando to experience the magic. The week I arrived, Florida had registered the highest single-day case count of any state thus far. In Orlando’s airport, I felt a vague sense that Floridians considered such statistics a source of secret pride, as if they had set a record for fattest alligator or ugliest serial killer or most senior citizens in a golf cart. The airport where I had started my day, in Connecticut, had required masks, and everyone wore them. Here in Florida, some passengers went totally unmasked, but most wore masks in a defiant fashion, either slung under their chin or with their nostrils gaping out over the top, sucking and spewing potentially viral particles with every breath. A friend who lives a couple of hours away in St. Petersburg likens this latter style to “wearing a condom that covers only the shaft.” Disney World is in Florida only … [Read more...] about I Went to Disney World

Warning, this story has references to suicide. Vicky White had talked for months about retiring, according to her boss, the sheriff. Her 16-year career at an Alabama county jail was supposed to end with one last accolade: Her colleagues had voted her corrections employee of the year. Then, on her final day last month, White ran off with a man awaiting trial on murder charges . Authorities soon surmised that 56-year-old Vicky White and 38-year-old Casey White were not related but had a “jailhouse romance”. Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said inmates recounted favouritism and “extra food” on Casey White's trays. “I've learned that you just don't know people sometimes,” Singleton said at a news conference on Monday, as an 11-day search came to an end with a car crash, Casey White's capture and Vicky White's death, which was eventually ruled a suicide. READ MORE: Fugitive US inmate and jailer were prepared for a shootout, sheriff says Escaped US inmate … [Read more...] about A prison guard ran off with a murder suspect, then her death deepened the mystery

Dennis Waterman, the actor, who has died aged 74, specialised in playing unreconstructed south London jack-the-lads in a succession of popular television series, notably The Sweeney, Minder and New Tricks. In a memoir published in 2000, Waterman observed: “I’m about as far removed from an intellectual actor as you can get. My method is mostly based on heart and bollocks.” This was perhaps overmodest, but it is true that audiences revelled in his portrayals of world-weary coppers and bodyguards, sensing that these characters’ tastes and prejudices were probably not dissimilar to his own. Waterman was a generous friend and was always described as “a man’s man”. He loved football, cricket and golf; pubs were almost places of pilgrimage. He was also an inveterate skirt-chaser for much of his career, and embarked on four marriages, including a disastrous union with a combustible red-headed Polish countess, Rula Lenska. Women, in Waterman’s lexicon, would be “very tasty”, “totally … [Read more...] about Dennis Waterman, television tough-guy star of The Sweeney, Minder and New Tricks – obituary

Vladimir Putin’s gamble that invading Ukraine would undermine the unity of Nato appears to have backfired spectacularly. With a clear and present danger to unite them, member countries of the military alliance are more committed than ever to deeper security ties and the principle of collective defence. Finland will soon be followed by Sweden in applying for membership, expanding Nato’s footprint across the north of the continent . But the move also draws into focus a problem which predates the war in Ukraine and will exist long after: the proximity of the Kremlin war machine to European territory. Russia’s Western flank, which already butts up against Nato at Estonia and Latvia, is heavily fortified. Soon the alliance’s new outer extremity, extended by 800 miles along the east of Finland, comes to within a stone’s throw of even more of Russia’s vast military. The Severomorsk naval base, the heart of its northern fleet, now lies just 115 miles from Nato’s … [Read more...] about Map of Finland, Russia and Sweden reveals how Putin’s war machine is on Nato’s doorstep

Allotments are incredible spaces for growing food, getting active and connecting with nature – and more younger people are starting to get involved. Allotment spaces are ideal for anyone interested in gardening, growing or cooking fresh meals – how nice would it be to prepare yourself a meal using all of your very own produce? Fruit, veggies and herbs will come in handy in the kitchen, whilst prettier flowers and shrubs can be planted for an attractive, wildlife friendly plot – so it can benefit both you and your local community. But if you don’t have the greenest of fingers, it can be daunting to think about growing things on a larger plot of land. Especially if you struggle to even keep your houseplants alive. Thankfully, the plant professionals over at GardeningExpress.co.uk have compiled a guide to help people kickstart an allotment plot this spring. Chris Bonnett from GardeningExpress.co.uk says: ‘More than ever we need to get outside and fill our bodies with … [Read more...] about How to start an allotment