Alcohol

AN ISLAND dubbed the “Caribbean without the jetlag” – where pints cost just £2.20 – could be the perfect escape from the moody British weather.

An index tracking the best winter sun spots, ranking temperature, hours of sunshine, pint and meal for two prices, time difference, and precipitation, revealed its winner.

Sal in Cape Verde was the top spot of the unique index taking into account all things Brits love.

The Atlantic island offers white sandy beaches, subtropical temperatures and just a one-hour time difference with the UK, despite flights taking six hours.

Winter highs average between 24°C and 25°C throughout January to March.

Visitors can enjoy around 10 hours of sunshine each day, according to easyJet’s Winter Sun Index.

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The island also boasts dishes inspired by Portuguese, African and Brazilian cuisines, with a meal for two costing roughly £30.

Close behind in the rankings is Egypt’s Red Sea gem, Hurghada, with winter temperatures sitting between 21°C and 25°C.

Unbelievably pints of beer on average cost under £2.

The resort town offers near-endless sunshine, crystal-clear waters and desert landscapes with activities like quad biking or Jeep safaris.

The Canary Islands also remain firm favourites, with Gran Canaria and Lanzarote claiming third and fourth spots.

Gran Canaria is known for its golden beaches, while Lanzarote stands out with striking black sands and volcanic vistas.

Kevin Doyle, UK country manager for the airline, said: “As temperatures at home begin to drop and the days get darker, now is the perfect time to book an escape to warmer climes.

“Our network and package holidays offer a broad range of winter sun destinations across Europe and beyond – from Sub-Saharan islands to Spanish peninsula cities.”

Other highlights from the index include the likes of Agadir in Morocco, Djerba off Tunisia and Spain’s Seville.

Agadir offers winter highs of 23°C, nearly nine hours of sunshine per day and very little rainfall, while on average, meals for two come in at £26 and a pint just £1.75.

Djerba made the index thanks to a mix of culture and relaxation, with winter temperatures ranging from 16°C to 18°C and up to eight hours of daily sunshine.

The island blends Mediterranean coastline and Saharan influences, plus artisanal market streets, palm trees and sandy beaches, with meals for two costing around £26 and a pint is just £1.30.

Seville, Europe’s warmest city in winter, scores highly for its elegant Moorish architecture and vibrant city life.

Travellers can expect temperatures between 16°C and 22°C, around eight hours of sunshine and a pint for just £2.20.

The city’s plazas, flamenco recitals, and sunny streets make it perfect for those seeking city warmth rather than the sea.

Andy Dick says he is “110 percent” fine after video of him slumped over unresponsive on some steps from an apparent overdose in Hollywood circulated this week.

The comedian and convicted sex offender has been updating numerous outlets about the incident, telling the New York Post on Friday that he believes fentanyl is to blame for his medical emergency. This follows his Wednesday interview with TMZ in which he mentioned he doesn’t “mind doing a little crack [cocaine] every now and then.”

“It has to be [fentanyl],” Dick said to the Post, explaining that paramedics told his friends that the synthetic opioid was the likely cause. “That’s the only thing that can kill you that quickly, like I just dropped.”

Dick recounted to both outlets how he was out with friends Tuesday when he saw a stranger waving him over. He then “snuck away” briefly and did some drugs.

“There was a guy that was my age and I felt for him,” Dick said to TMZ. “He was depressed and he was on the sidewalk … and then he whipped out [what looked like] crack. And I’m like, you know what, I might need a little bit of that.”

He told the Post that he then “just dropped,” but declined to elaborate any further.

According to Shawn Harrell, who came across the scene as friends were trying to revive the unresponsive comedian and was present when first responders arrived, Dick was in pretty bad shape Tuesday.

“He was blue. His hands [were] blue and his face was blue,” Harrell told People. “His body was limp. It was like deadweight. … I thought he passed away.”

But after being administered some Narcan, the brand name of a medication used to reverse opioid overdoses, Dick reportedly was able to leave the area with a friend and was not transported to a hospital.

“It was a group effort,” one of Dick’s friends said to TMZ.

According to the Post, Dick’s comments about crack were meant to be a joke.

“I jokingly said ‘a little crack every now and then [is] not gonna kill anybody,’ but it killed me,” Dick said. “It killed me. I died, you know, my lips turned purple.”

Dick has a history of incidents involving drugs and alcohol, including arrests for public intoxication, drug possession, sexual misconduct and domestic violence. He reportedly indulges in more alcohol than drugs, according to a Friday TMZ report.

Los Angeles City Councilman John Lee repeatedly violated the city’s gift laws in 2016 and 2017, accepting freebies during a lavish trip to Las Vegas and at multiple restaurants in L.A., a judge said in a filing released Friday.

In a 59-page proposed decision, Administrative Law Judge Ji-Lan Zang concluded that Lee committed two counts of violating a law governing the size of gifts a city official can receive and three counts of violating a law requiring that such gifts be publicly disclosed.

Zang recommended a $43,730 penalty for Lee, who represents the northwest San Fernando Valley and was chief of staff to then-City Councilmember Mitchell Englander at the time of the alleged violations. However, the judge did not agree with allegations by city ethics investigators that Lee misused his position or helped Englander misuse his position.

In 2020, federal prosecutors accused Englander of accepting $15,000 in cash from businessman Andy Wang, lying to FBI agents and obstructing their investigation into the 2017 Vegas trip. Englander ultimately pleaded guilty to a single count of providing false information to the FBI and was sentenced to 14 months in prison.

The five-member Los Angeles City Ethics Commission is scheduled to make a determination on Wednesday, deciding both the number of violations Lee committed and any financial penalties to impose on him.

The commission has the power to accept or reject Zang’s recommendations. Ethics investigators have recommended that the commission take a more punitive approach by fining Lee about $138,000 and holding him responsible for all 10 counts.

The Lee case revolves around gifts — mostly food and alcohol but also hotel stays, transportation and $1,000 in gambling chips — provided by three men who have sought to do business with City Hall: Wang, who peddled Italian cabinets, “smart home” technology and facial recognition software; architect and developer Chris Pak; and lobbyist Michael Bai.

The judge issued her report six months after a multi-day hearing on the allegations against Lee, who replaced Englander on the council in 2019.

During those proceedings, Lee denied that he improperly accepted gifts, saying he made a good faith effort to pay his own way and, in some cases, declined to eat during meals. For example, he testified that he did not remember eating during his meetings at Yxta and Water Grill, both of which are in downtown L.A.

Zang, in her report, called those denials “not credible,” describing his testimony as “evasive and self contradictory.” She said Lee’s testimony also was in conflict with information he gave the FBI during its investigation into Englander, as well as testimony from other witnesses.

“It strains credulity to believe that [Lee] would join Englander, Bai, and Wang for lunch at Yxta and dinner at Water Grill without eating any food during the meals,” she wrote.

Ethics investigators have accused Lee of receiving an assortment of gifts during the 2017 Vegas trip with Englander and several others. Lee and a group of friends stayed at the Aria hotel and spent an evening at the Hakkasan Nightclub, according to the city’s allegations.

At the hotel restaurant, Blossom, Wang ordered a dinner worth nearly $2,500 for the group, which included Englander, Lee and several others, sending out servings of shark fin soup, Peking duck and Kobe beef, according to the judge’s summary of events.

Lee testified that he arrived at the restaurant in time for a dessert of bird’s nest soup, tasting it and deciding he did not like it, the judge said in her filing.

At Hakkasan later that night, Wang purchased three rounds of bottle service for the group for around $8,000 apiece, while Pak paid for a fourth round at a cost of $8,418.75.

“Each round of bottle service was served with fanfare, as female VIP hostesses brought bottles of alcohol to the table with flashing lights,” the judge wrote.

That night, at least 20 other club patrons went to Wang’s booth and drank alcohol at the table, according to the judge’s filing.

Lee was never charged by federal prosecutors and has said he was unaware of wrongdoing by Englander. In a filing submitted last week, his attorneys said that investigators incorrectly calculated the value of the gifts, including the bottles of alcohol, whose contents were distributed among many people.

Lee gave Wang $300 in cash as reimbursement for his drinks, withdrawing money from an ATM in Las Vegas to cover those expenses, his lawyers said.

In their reply to the city, Lee’s attorneys contend that the statute of limitations has expired on the city ethics counts. They have also pushed back on the recommendation from city ethics investigators that Lee pay a $138,000 penalty.

“Such inflated numbers are not grounded in reason, have no basis in the record, no support in the governing law, and no place in a fair and impartial enforcement system,” they wrote in their filing.

Englander previously agreed to pay $79,830 to settle a similar Ethics Commission case over the gifts he received.

Ethics investigators have accused Lee of committing 10 counts of violating city laws — two counts of accepting gifts in excess of the legal limit, three counts of failing to report those gifts on his public disclosure forms, four counts of misusing his position and one count of aiding and abetting Englander’s misuse of his position.

In 2016, the legal limit on gifts to city officials was $460 per donor. The following year, it was $470.

In Englander’s 2020 federal indictment, Lee was mentioned not by name, but instead referred to as “City Staffer B.” Despite his legal troubles, he won reelection in 2024.

I travelled to Lille, France to explore its charming Christmas market, but when I tried to buy French cheese to bring home, I remembered UK restrictions on dairy products from the EU

In a bid for some festive cheer, I embarked on a day trip to France to experience their Christmas market and explore the local area. Travelling via Eurostar allowed me the liberty to bring back a few souvenirs, but there was one rule that tripped me up on my return journey.

My adventure started at London St Pancras International, where I hopped on the 9:01am Eurostar heading for Lille, France, a city nestled near the Belgian border. The Eurostar whisked me to the French city in just an hour and 23 minutes, so by 11.30am, I was stepping out of the train station, ready for exploration.

I spent the day meandering through Lille’s Christmas Village, which features an enchanting enclosed market brimming with an array of gifts and scrumptious treats, along with additional festive decorations scattered around the city. Later, I strolled through the charming cobbled streets lined with independent boutiques, bakeries, coffee houses and taprooms – a testament to their close ties with Belgium.

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The day was well utilised, and after a seven-hour quick tour of Lille, I headed back to the train station to catch the 18.36 Eurostar home. But not without a detour to the local supermarket, Carrefour, conveniently situated next to the station.

Free from the baggage and liquid limitations that come with air travel, I reckoned it was the ideal chance to bring back some French treats to share with family over the festive period. After sampling some of the most delectable French cheese at the Christmas market, the rich dairy delights topped my must-buy list.

However, I then recalled an email I’d received from Eurostar prior to my journey. The correspondence bore the heading ‘Important: Temporary food entry restrictions in Great Britain’ and explained that holidaymakers visiting the EU are prohibited from bringing cheese, amongst other foodstuffs, back to the UK.

Clarifying the implications for Britons travelling to the EU, the email stated: “The UK has introduced temporary restrictions on milk, dairy products, and certain meats from the EU. This is to prevent the spread of foot and mouth disease following a rising number of cases across mainland Europe.Travellers can no longer bring the following meats and animal products from the EU into Great Britain for personal use:This also includes items like sandwiches, cheese, cured meats or raw meats. Please ensure you don’t take any of these products with you on your journey to London.Some exceptions apply to infant food and special food needed for medical reasons. Please check what you’re allowed to bring on GOV.UK.”

While I was thankful, remembering the email before purchasing any produce, I was slightly disappointed that I couldn’t bring back a selection of cheese for Christmas. However, I fully understood the reasons why.

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Swiftly abandoning that idea, I decided to focus on acquiring a few bottles of wine for the upcoming festive season. It seemed only fitting, given France’s renowned status as one of the world’s top wine-producing countries!

For those considering bringing home some vino, Eurostar provides guidance on their website: “We appreciate that passengers often want to bring a few bottles back from their trip and we are happy for customers to bring unopened bottles of alcohol to take on to their destination. Any passengers with large quantities will need to contact a courier service.”

They further stated: “Although you can bring alcohol with you and we serve alcohol on board, safety is our top priority. So, please drink in moderation. If you behave in an antisocial way which ruins the journey for other passengers or break any laws or by-laws, we might ask you to leave the train at the nearest station.”

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