Essential

There are many dedicated figures devoted to Chicano empowerment in America. But in the arts, playwright-director-impresario Luis Valdez — the migrant farmworkers’ son behind the defiantly consciousness-raising El Teatro Campesino and the historic hits “Zoot Suit” and “La Bamba” — holds a singular place, achieved with remarkable perseverance. It’s a trajectory that the immensely appealing, rollicking documentary “American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez” tracks with a vitality and purpose befitting its subject.

Anchored by Valdez himself, now in his 80s and filling the camera frame like a grandfatherly lion, the film supplements his vivid biographical details with rich archival footage and testimonials from family members, collaborators and peers. There’s also the bold but sneakily effective narrator choice in Edward James Olmos, reviving his snarling, star-making El Pachuco growl from “Zoot Suit” to remind us of one of Valdez’s essential contributions to the theatrical canon. (Olmos is also an interviewee, as is Cheech Marin, Taylor Hackford, Lou Diamond Philips and labor leader Dolores Huerta.)

Born in Delano, Calif., and drawn to literature and language as a way to combat racist assumptions about a Mexican American’s destiny, Valdez found his gifts sharpened by puppet shows, school plays and finally, the union movement in his hometown. Valdez saw that pointed, raw satire was not only necessary but a recruitment tool for the fight. We hear the underdog aesthetic term rasquachismo used to describe these early impromptu performances: essentially a colorful funkiness, “so funky that nothing can undermine you,” Valdez says. As if something earthier and stronger had been harvested in the fields with all those valuable grapes.

After the labor battles of the Vietnam War era, Valdez took El Teatro Campesino’s mission nationwide. Excerpts from a televised adaptation of his play “Los Vendidos (The Sellouts)” — about a shop selling automatons representing Chicano stereotypes — underscore the continuing tensions of assimilation, a trap disguised as acceptance. But the piece also reflected feelings Valdez had about his long-estranged brother Frank, an engineer whose alienating efforts to deny his own background and fit in formed a heavy undercurrent in Valdez’s life.

“Zoot Suit,” an ambitious, musicalized, slang-flavored staging of the violent injustice behind L.A.’s notorious 1943 Zoot Suit riots, became a smash in 1978 (its narrow-minded New York reception notwithstanding). The story of how the Ritchie Valens biopic “La Bamba” came to be — a delicate mix of legacy tending and savvy casting — is similarly rousing and illuminating, even if it seems like an omission not to dig into why, after such a big hit, more movies didn’t follow. (Although, since this is Hollywood, we can guess the reasons.)

There’s so much to chew on in David Alvarado’s portrait of life, art and activism that “American Pachuco” plays like a joyful challenge to those searching for their own voice or meaning. As engaging a chronicler of his own life as Valdez is, his lessons in how to be seen and heard — and how to stay that way — feel especially timely. In our demonizing present, the story of such a pioneering truth-teller speaks powerfully to the needs of our blended American future.

Two thirds of Brits consider a nearby pub essential for the perfect staycation – with a cosy interior, traditional pub grub and a scenic beer garden topping the wishlist

A survey of 2,000 adults who have taken holidays in the UK revealed 61% regard a pub as vital for the ideal getaway. Preferably it should serve traditional pub food, feature a cosy interior

and a beer garden with scenic views. Local ales, a roaring fire and live music or entertainment are also desirable – as is being dog friendly. And 42% prefer a ‘proper local’ over a more touristy option.

The study was commissioned by cottages.com, which has teamed up with broadcaster and countryside champion Clare Balding to launch its Pub Walk Collection.

The collection features a carefully curated selection of pub walks, including lesser-known routes. Clare said: “A proper pub walk is a much-loved British tradition. For me, the perfect route is four to six miles with dramatic scenery, ending at a great local pub.

“It’s fantastic to see that our appetite for adventure has grown and we want to help people discover the lesser-known corners of the UK that make a staycation truly special.

“Some of the most memorable parts of a break can come from taking a different turn, chatting to locals and discovering places which aren’t on every itinerary.”

The research revealed that 46% of people believe their sense of adventure has grown considerably over the last 10 years, while 51% would prefer to uncover lesser-known destinations rather than flock to well-known tourist hotspots.

Furthermore, 32% of 18 to 34-year-olds favour what might be described as a ‘hidden gem’ over popular destinations – with nearly a quarter actively seeking out places that haven’t been swamped by tourists.

When questioned about their top holiday priorities, value for money came out on top with 49%, followed by good weather (34%), ease of travel (31%), great local walks (28%) and peaceful, crowd-free surroundings (28%).

As many as 70% said peace and relaxation matter more than how a destination looks on social media when choosing where to go.

However, 34% had visited a restaurant, beach or landmark specifically because they saw it on social media, according to OnePoll.com figures.

A spokesperson for cottages.com, which features a collection to help holidaymakers uncover some of Britain’s finest pub walk routes, including exploring some less well-known trails, added: “Britain’s best holidays aren’t always about travelling further, they’re about discovering more.

“Whether it’s finding a beautiful new walking route, stumbling across a fantastic village pub or exploring somewhere you’ve never visited before, those moments are often what people remember most.

“Our research shows people are looking for experiences that feel authentic and help them connect with the places they’re visiting.”

TOP 9 PUB WALK COLLECTION ROUTES:.

1. Peak District – e.g. Bamford Edge, Goyt Valley Heritage Walk, Youlgreave: Land of the Druids.
2. Yorkshire (Dales or Moors) – e.g. Settle: to the top and round, Richmond and Easby Abbey, The Coast Path & Larpool Viaduct.
3. Lake District – e.g. Walla Crag and Derwentwater, Cockermouth to Papcastle and the River Derwent, Kendal to Sizergh Castle.
4. Northumberland – e.g. Corbridge, Tyne River and hills, Morpeth and the River Wansbeck, Castles and Kippers, Embleton Bay.
5. Wales and Welsh Borders – e.g. Conwy Valley views, Wintour’s Leap, Mumbles and Langland Bay.
6. Cornwall – e.g. Boscastle Discovery, Looe to Polperro and back, Kynance Cove and Lizard Point.
7. Scottish Borders – e.g. Kelso Abbey and the Teviot, Melrose and the Eildon Hill.
8. Scottish Highlands – e.g. Pitlochry, Killiecrankie and the River Garry, Fort William and Inverlochy Castle.
9. Norfolk – Aldborough Three Churches, Salthouse and Cley Marches, Norfolk Broads Waterways and Woodlands.

Can you tell the story of America in 10 movies? Maybe so — at least a version of it — if you stick to moments of serious national friction and those rare instances when a filmmaker meets the mood with a true vision. If you want tearjerkers about red, white and blue triumph, this is not your list (although the Space Race drama “The Right Stuff” always does the trick). Meanwhile, our current state of disunity and division will find its own expressions in time; start with “Civil War,” though it’s a bit too soon. Instead, we thought about historical pivot points and built a list of classics, along with a few alternatives for each title.

The Great Depression

Henry Fonda, left, in the 1940 film “The Grapes of Wrath,” directed by John Ford.

(20th Century-Fox)

‘The Grapes of Wrath’ (1940)

America is a broken place in John Ford’s poetically charged adaptation of the Steinbeck novel: a downbeat landscape of Oklahoma dust storms, long shadows and the teetering sight of a car turned into a truck transporting a family westward. This will always be one of those essential movies about a particular national dream — not just a myth — of emerging from economic catastrophe and being reborn in the promised land of California. Ford, with the instincts of a showman, foregrounded hope on the horizon via inspired performances by Henry Fonda and Jane Darwell’s pragmatic Ma Joad getting the final word (“We keep a’coming…”). But there is still so much darkness in “The Grapes of Wrath,” especially in its scenes of John Qualen’s Muley Graves, crumpled on the ground, suddenly a squatter on his own piece of land. He’s no match for the bulldozers. As long as the idea remains that property gets its purpose from those tending it, working it, nourishing it and dying on it, the film will never become a relic. Its binding values of labor and community remain relevant, even if today’s Hollywood rarely speaks to them. — Joshua Rothkopf

See also: “Modern Times,” “Sullivan’s Travels,” “Bonnie and Clyde”

Postwar optimism

Michael Hall, from left, Teresa Wright, Myrna Loy and Fredric March in the 1946 movie “The Best Years of Our Lives.”

(Samuel Goldwyn Productions)

‘The Best Years of Our Lives’ (1946)

World War II ended with ticker-tape parades and soaring expectations. William Wyler’s sweeping drama arrived just as America was beginning to reckon with what coming home actually meant. Harold Russell, a real-life veteran who lost both hands during the war, plays a sailor struggling to imagine a future with the woman he loves. Dana Andrews is a decorated bombardier who returns to the same soda fountain job he held before the war, discovering that military heroism doesn’t necessarily translate into peacetime opportunity. The movie became one of the biggest hits of 1946 because it understood a challenge facing millions of Americans: The war had given the country a common purpose but peace meant each person had to find their own. Yet for all its honesty about that dislocation, the film remains remarkably hopeful. Its faith that people can rebuild their lives and start over feels almost radical today. Seen from the distance of eight decades, it feels like a dispatch from a country that had just survived a catastrophe and still believed its best days lay ahead. — Josh Rottenberg

See also: “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Miracle on 34th Street,” “Giant”

Capitalism, unchecked

Daniel Day-Lewis in the 2007 movie “There Will Be Blood,” directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.

(Paramount Vantage)

‘There Will Be Blood’ (2007)

“I drink your milkshake — I drink it up!” Oil man Daniel Plainview’s deranged metaphor, allegedly taken from congressional transcripts from the 1920s Teapot Dome scandal in which Interior Secretary Albert Fall defended the practice of directional oil drilling, a.k.a. drainage, became a catchphrase when “There Will Be Blood” arrived in 2007. Elon Musk probably has a T-shirt in the back of a drawer emblazoned with the line. It epitomizes the American ethos of extracting resources that belong to someone else and then brutally bragging about the beatdown. Paul Thomas Anderson’s movie is part history lesson, part horror film, which, when it comes to chronicling the American experience, feels like the perfect blend. The oil man’s exploits take place more than a century ago, but seem particularly relevant now with Musk newly minted as the world’s first trillionaire and income inequality rapidly widening. Plainview confesses, “I have a competition in me. I want no one else to succeed.” It neatly sums up the endgame in which we find ourselves — and his vanquishing of the preacher Eli speaks to what we worship in the United States. He’s finished and sometimes it feels like we are too. — Glenn Whipp

See also: “The Wolf of Wall Street,” “WALL-E,” “Sorry to Bother You”

Post-Vietnam/Watergate cynicism

‘Nashville’ (1975)

Ronee Blakley in the 1975 movie “Nashville,” directed by Robert Altman.

(Paramount Pictures)

Could one movie capture the breadth of emotions around this year’s 250th anniversary celebrations as well as Robert Altman did the bicentennial? As the country was still reeling from the assassinations and discord of the 1960s, the despair of Vietnam and the scandals of Nixon and Watergate, there was a soul-baring uncertainty to what it even meant to be an American. With 24 main characters interwoven around the town of Nashville, home of country music and intersecting political undercurrents, the film tries to make sense of the chaos. While the conspiracy thrillers of the 1970s are seen as the most direct response to the moral malaise of the moment, Altman finds an unexpected way to gild his innate skepticism with a light filigree of hope, a complex quilt of characters capturing the contradictions inherent in the American identity. And yet as cynical and beaten-down as the film’s viewpoint can often be, there is still a spark of decency and perseverance. That is the America that Altman celebrates, even as he lets no one off the hook. Few films capture the hum of life in all its maddening beauty quite like this one. — Mark Olsen

See also: “Blow Out,” “The Conversation,” “The Parallax View”

‘Network’ (1976)

Robert Duvall, Faye Dunaway and William Holden in the 1976 movie “Network,” directed by Sidney Lumet.

(MGM Studios / Getty Images)

Much has been made over the years about how prescient this film was, as if screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky and director Sidney Lumet saw the constrictive dangers of corporate consolidation in the distance and came back to warn us. But if these rumbling premonitions have remained true across multiple eras of an ever-evolving media landscape, have we really learned anything? Perhaps we really do live in a “demented slaughterhouse of a world,” as the unhinged newsman Howard Beale says in one of his apocalyptic broadcasts, and have all along. Maybe what “Network” nails most of all is apathy: that even the most righteously committed can have their heads turned from their true goals and then struggle to get back on track. What may be most shocking rewatching the film today is the suspicion that some current media figures see the maneuverings of villainous executives played by Robert Duvall and Faye Dunaway and somehow think that they were the heroes of the story all along. Not even Lumet or Chayefsky would have predicted that. — Mark Olsen

See also: “Broadcast News,” “The Insider,” “Nightcrawler”

Gentrification and racial tensions

Spike Lee, left, and Danny Aiello in the 1989 movie “Do the Right Thing.”

(Universal Pictures)

‘Do the Right Thing’ (1989)

Spike Lee’s masterpiece was met with hand-wringing when it arrived in theaters 37 summers ago, with white critics fretting how “urban audiences” would react to its shocking ending of brutality and angry protest. “If some audiences go wild, [Lee] is partly responsible,” critic David Denby wrote in New York Magazine. Nobody rioted. “Do the Right Thing” made some people uncomfortable because it told truths from a Black perspective that they did not want to accept. That unwillingness to have hard conversations and learn from them remains evident today as we prepare to celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday without an honest reckoning of the anguish that lies beneath the storybook version of America’s founding. The paradox is that Lee’s movie is itself that conversation, its characters engaging in a series of arguments, evenhanded and empathetic, about how race affects the lives we lead in America. Until our country engages in that dialogue, nothing will change. For a moment, the Black Lives Matter movement signaled a willingness to grapple with the past. But the pendulum swung and we’re back to days of “Driving Miss Daisy” denial. But “Do the Right Thing” remains with us, its urgency and relevance undiminished, waiting for an America open to listen and live up to its idealized aspirations. — Glenn Whipp

See also: “Get Out,” “12 Years a Slave,” “Fruitvale Station”

The rise of the yuppies

Roddy Piper, left, and Keith David in the 1988 movie “They Live,” directed by John Carpenter.

(Universal Pictures)

‘They Live’ (1988)

“I believe in America,” the guy says, but we’re not in the private office of some all-powerful Corleone. Rather, this is a working man in a plaid shirt and denim. As the sun sets on his sad L.A. tent city (inspired by the real-life Justiceville), he only wants what everyone else wants: a hard day’s work for fair pay and the chance to get ahead. “It’ll come,” he says, serenely. He doesn’t know he’s in a John Carpenter movie — Roddy Piper was never put to better on-screen use — and that those keeping him down are, in fact, aliens hypnotizing us into an unseeing stupor as they carve up the world’s resources. Released at the tail end of Reaganomics, Carpenter’s most politically forward thriller now feels like a decoder ring for ’80s-era greed, detachment, complacency and ruthlessness. Carpenter meant us to to see his bug-eyed space invaders as yuppies. He also intended us to question whether we were selling each other out, just to join the “human power elite” for a tiny piece of pie. “They Live” looms just on the other side of appreciated. Many genre films say what our more prestigious dramas can’t about the creeping forces that are changing America; this one still feels like it’s getting away with murder. — Joshua Rothkopf

See also: “American Psycho,” “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” “After Hours”

’80s women in the workplace

Harrison Ford, left, Melanie Griffith and Sigourney Weaver in the 1988 movie “Working Girl.”

(20th Century Fox)

‘Working Girl’ (1988)

Mike Nichols’ zeitgeisty hit opens on a shot of the Statue of Liberty hoisting her torch like a paycheck. Down by her green toes, Melanie Griffith’s Staten Island secretary Tess McGill ferries to Manhattan to type memos for important men. Tess has a job, not a career. But 1988 was the first year that female undergraduates outnumbered men on college campuses. Even without a degree, Tess is ambitious to climb the corporate ladder — once she swaps out her practical white sneakers for a pair of pumps. The script by Kevin Wade throws up hurdles of sexism and class snobbery, never sugarcoating how Tess’ male co-workers treat her like a blow-up doll. (Critics dismissed Griffith, too, until this performance earned her an Oscar nomination.) Yet note how her Ivy League-educated boss Katharine (Sigourney Weaver) isn’t immune to harassment either; she’s just mastered how to parry her colleagues’ advances. Fantastic as it is, “Working Girl’s” core flaw is that Tess can’t snag her seat at the conference table until she yanks Katharine out of it. Weaver said that when she showed the script to real-life working girls on Wall Street, they asked, “This awful secretary steals your man, wears your clothes, takes your office — who’s going to sympathize with her?” Millions did and still do. — Amy Nicholson

See also: “9 to 5,” “Baby Boom,” “Silkwood”

Digital alienation

Justin Timberlake, left, and Jesse Eisenberg in the 2010 movie “The Social Network,” directed by David Fincher.

(Merrick Morton / Columbia TriStar )

‘The Social Network’ (2010)

In 2010, Apple introduced the iPad, Instagram launched its app and Silicon Valley still looked to many tech-besotted Americans like a force for progress. At a moment when technology companies were promising to bring people closer together, David Fincher’s acerbic drama about the founding of Facebook had a darker theory about why people wanted to connect in the first place. Aaron Sorkin’s screenplay traces Facebook’s creation back to a very old human desire: getting noticed by the people who matter. Instead of celebrating innovation, the movie unfolds through lawsuits and broken friendships. At Harvard, Jesse Eisenberg’s Mark Zuckerberg fixates on the exclusive final clubs that won’t quite accept him. It’s a surprisingly sour approach for a Facebook origin story. Years before social media became a political battleground, Fincher was focused on something more basic — the fear that everyone else had been invited to a party you couldn’t get into. The movie ends with Zuckerberg alone at a computer, refreshing the Facebook page of the woman who dumped him and waiting for her to accept his friend request. More than 15 years later, it’s still hard to think of a better image for the loneliness and insecurity lurking beneath our connected lives. — Josh Rottenberg

See also: “Her,” “Eighth Grade,” “Ingrid Goes West”

Post-9/11 anxieties

A scene from the 2004 movie “Team America: World Police,” directed by Trey Parker.

(Melinda Sue Gordon / Paramount Pictures)

‘Team America: World Police’ (2004)

To add drama to the ennui over the 2000 U.S. presidential campaign, “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone pledged to immediately produce a silly sitcom about the winner. “That’s My Bush!” ran for eight episodes in the spring of 2001, with plans to spin off into a feature called “George W. Bush and the Secret of the Glass Tiger.” But the Sept. 11 attacks changed everything, including the work of satirists. Parker and Stone pivoted to “Team America: World Police,” a bomb-throwing comedy about our country’s napalm-strength combination of naiveté and swagger. To prevent an attack hailed as “9/11 times a thousand,” a squadron of puppet commandos blows up the planet themselves. The dark joke is these marionettes aren’t behaving much differently than the action heroes who have shaped the national id — it’s a through-the-looking-glass lens into our Hollywoodized view of the globe, down to the Parisian streets made of cobblestone croissants. At once straight-faced, sacrilegious and scatological, “Team America” needed nine tries to eke past the MPAA. Yet in divided times, it was a unifier. The political spectrum from Kim Jong Il to Alec Baldwin got equally savaged and the film’s eff-yeah patriotic theme song (“Rock and roll! The internet! Slavery!”) could even be heard blaring from real-life tanks in Fallujah. — Amy Nicholson

See also: “Eddington,” “Idiocracy,” “Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay”

Home Bargains says the product contains ‘everything you need’ when travelling

When it comes to travelling, it can be hard to make sure you have all you need to get you through the trip. With luggage space often limited, it can mean big decisions on what to take and what to leave behind.

Now Home Bargains is selling what it says is “convenient” and contains all the beauty products you need for your break. It is selling the Travel Essentials Filled Bag for £24.99 – that is 75% less than its recommended price of £100.

Listing some of the contents on its website it describes it as: “A complete travel beauty and self-care kit featuring skincare, makeup, haircare, body care, and travel accessories. Includes Glow Hub, W7, Jil Sander, Escada, Aussie, and more, all packed in a stylish reusable travel bag.”

Then, in the product description, it adds: “Take your beauty and self-care routine wherever you go with the Travel Essentials Filled Bag. Packed with a carefully curated selection of skincare, haircare, makeup, and travel accessories, this convenient kit contains everything you need to refresh, hydrate, and pamper yourself while travelling.

“Inside you’ll find Glow Hub skincare favourites, W7 beauty essentials, Jil Sander shower gel, Escada body cream, Aussie travel-size haircare, and practical travel accessories including an eco scalp massaging brush, shower cap, and reusable travel bag. Whether you’re heading on holiday, a weekend getaway, or a business trip, this all-in-one collection helps you stay organised and feel your best on the go.”

Shoppers will not be able to pick up the bag in-store as it is an online-only deal. However the website gives further details of the Star Buy listing the products:

• Glow Hub Calm & Soothe Face Mask Stick 35g
• Glow Hub Calm & Soothe Serum Mist 90ml
• W7 Lip Drink Lip Oil 10ml
• Jil Sander Sun Shower Gel 150ml
• Glow Hub Scar Slayer Skin Mask 100ml
• Whind Dissolving Jelly Cleanser 6ml – Oasis Fresh
• Revolution Hot Shot Kombucha Kiss Primer 25ml
• W7 Sherbet Pop Eyeshadow Palette 18g
• Escada Santorini Sunrise Moisturising Perfumed Body Cream 50ml
• Aussie Miracle Moist Travel Hair Conditioner 100ml
• Aussie Miracle Moist Travel Shampoo 100ml
• Eco Scalp Massaging Brush
• Shower Cup
• Travel Bag

Meanwhile, if this is not to your taste, M&S also has an option. Its Summer Beauty Bag is priced £40 – a saving of 81% compared with buying the same amount.

It is described as “sunshine-ready” and contains some beauty-favourite products from brands including Clinique and Estée Lauder. It lists the contents as:

• Floral Street Wonderland Peony Eau De Parfum – 10ml
• Iconic London Prep Set Glow Original – 120ml (Full Size)
• Leighton Denny I love Juicy Opague Nail Polish – 13.5g (Full Size)
• Hair by Sam McKnight Sundaze Sea Spray – 150ml (Full Size)
• Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion SPF50 – 50ml (Full Size)
• Estée Lauder Perfectly Clean Multi-Action Foam Cleanser / Purifying Mask – 150ml (Full Size)
• Colour WOW Dreaming Mask – 50ml
• Colour WOW Shampoo – 75ml
• This Works Perfect Body Vit C Glow – 100ml
• Ultrasun Photo Age Control Fluid SPF 50 – 20ml
• SkinKind Mini Repairing SOS Balm – 25ml
• Storage Bag

The M&S saving is based on worth value calculated using price per ml/gram of standard-size product.

BRITS are jetting away in record numbers, but landing abroad to a shock mobile phone bill can instantly ruin your holiday vibe.

Thankfully, savvy travelers are dumping traditional setups for a clever digital alternative powered by Swiss tech pioneer Yesim.

Yesim eSIM – claim exclusive 15% discount with code: GETYESIM15

Why is traditional roaming outdated?

Ever since Brexit, major UK mobile providers have reintroduced painful daily fees just to use your standard phone data in Europe.

Big networks like EE and Vodafone hit travellers with charges up to £2.75 a day, which easily scales up to nearly £100 for a family holiday in Spain.

Worse still, traditional roaming ties your phone to a single local network provider, meaning your data speeds will completely tank if that specific partner has weak signal.

You also face the terrifying risk of automatic out-of-bundle charges if you accidentally slip past your hidden data allowance while streaming or video calling.

What are travel eSIMs and how do they work?

An eSIM is a clever digital microchip already baked directly into modern iPhones, Samsung Galaxies, and Google Pixel devices.

While the physical chip is built into your phone, a travel eSIM is a dedicated service that lets you download a cheap, temporary data profile over the air.

You simply install the profile at home while having a cuppa, and the internet connection automatically kicks in the very second your flight lands abroad.

Best of all, your primary UK SIM card stays completely active in parallel, meaning you can still receive emergency calls and crucial banking verification texts on your usual number.

What is Yesim, and how does it work?

Swiss tech brand Yesim is an industry pioneer making mobile connectivity a seamless, budget-friendly digital service.

Operating for seven years with over 800 partner operators, Yesim provide unstoppable coverage across 200 world destinations.

However, two terms are often confused in the market, and understanding the difference matters.

What is an eSIM?

An eSIM is simply the hardware: a microchip built into modern smartphones that allows profiles to be downloaded remotely, but it doesn’t guarantee lower prices or reliable connections abroad.

What is a travel eSIM?

A Travel eSIM, however, is the complete service ecosystem built around that chip.

It provides an app for choosing plans, 24/7 customer support, automatic connection to the strongest network, and transparent, fixed pricing.

That service layer is what you are actually paying for.

Why choose Yesim?

Yesim delivers that exact ecosystem, offering tailored data options for every holiday style, backed by multi-lingual support with a rapid six-minute average response time.

First-time users can even test the network with a 500MB trial plan for just £0.45.

To get started, check your phone’s compatibility on their website and install the profile via the app.

• Sun readers can score an exclusive 15% discount right now by using the promo code GETYESIM15 – claim here

Why you should consider a travel eSim for your next trip?

Unlike network providers that lock you into one signal, travel eSIMs like Yesim seamlessly switch in the background to whatever local network is strongest.

They offer total cash predictability by forcing you to look at the exact data limit, pricing, and expiry period before you spend a single penny.

Whether you need a quick 5GB chunk for a week in Turkey, or a Global Package (80+ countries) or Global Plus Package (140+ countries) for backpacking across South America, you choose a plan tailored perfectly to your trip.

For trips with unpredictable routes, the Pay & Fly plan offers a flexible pay-as-you-go model available in more than 170 countries.

You can even safely use your smartphone as a personal hotspot to share the internet with your tablet, laptop, or the rest of the family.

The Yesim app utilises switchless connection technology to automatically connect to the strongest network from over 800 partner operators globally.

The brand’s Multiple eSIMs feature allows you to manage connectivity for several devices from a single account.

The main app owner can share eSIM profiles with family members or colleagues without needing to install the app on every device.

The 79th Tony Awards went off without a hitch at Radio City Music Hall, Sunday. The show, hosted by Pink, ran just over three hours and was relatively unsurprising when it came to the wins it delivered. Although each year it seems more marquee film and television stars appear in the audience as celebrities of a certain caliber continue to flock to the stage in search of a more authentic—and immediate—connection to their audience.

This year viewers could see Adrien Brody, John Lithgow, Laurie Metcalf, Rose Byrne, Daniel Radcliffe, Nathan Lane, Alden Ehrenreich and more. Despite, or perhaps because of the star power, the show stuck to its expected script with “Schmigadoon!” winning best musical, “Ragtime” best musical revival, “Liberation” best play and “Death of a Salesman” best revival.

Still, the night had enough laughs, groans and tender moments to keep things interesting. Here are seven of our favorites.

Vampires as metaphor for what ails America

Ali Louis Bourzgui used vampires as a metaphor for American folly in his acceptance speech for performance by an actor in a featured role in a musical at the 2026 Tony Awards.

(Theo Wargo / Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Who knew vampires made such a good metaphor for America’s worst excesses? When 26-year-old Ali Louis Bourzgui took to the stage at Radio City Music Hall after an upset win for performance by an actor in a featured role in a musical, he used the undead to poignantly describe the country’s biggest sociopolitical challenges.

“Vampires represent those who have shunned their own humanity in order to achieve a nonexistent sense of superiority. The billionaires will never find happiness from their money. The colonizers will never find fulfillment from the land and lives they steal. The fascists will never find meaning from their conformity, not in this lifetime or eternity,” said Bourzgui, who originated the role of David in the musical adaptation of the cult vampire horror film “The Lost Boys.”

—Jessica Gelt

A Tony trifecta for John Lithgow and Laurie Metcalf

John Lithgow won the third Tony Award of his career at the 2026 Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall.

(Theo Wargo / Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

It’s always a good feeling when actors we have known and love get rewarded by a well-deserved win, and so it was on Sunday night when John Lithgow and Laurie Metcalf took back-to-back wins early in the show. The former for performance by an actor in a leading role in a play for his portrayal of the controversial, beloved British author Roald Dahl in Mark Rosenblatt’s drama “Giant.” The latter for featured actress for her portrayal of Willy Loman’s protective wife, Linda, in “Death of a Salesman.” The plays were quite different, but the winners shared a very specific honor: the night marked the third Tony win for each actor.

Lithgow won his previous trophies in 1972 and 2002, and Metcalf in 2017 and 2018.

—Jessica Gelt

Nathan Lane is an ‘American theatrical treasure’

Nathan Lane accepts the best revival of a play award for “Death of a Salesman” at the 2026 Tony Awards.

(Theo Wargo / Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Unless Nathan Lane gets a crack at playing King Lear, his Willy Loman in Joe Mantello’s production of Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” will go down as one of the peak challenges of his acting career. Not winning the Tony for his indefatigable performance must sting, but John Lithgow was favored to win for his brave turn as the baleful Roald Dahl of Mark Rosenblatt’s “Giant.” Lane had to have been prepared but a subtle wince of disappointment could be detected when the camera pryingly caught his immediate reaction.

So it was gratifying to see Lane receive his due from Mantello, who upon accepting his award for directing credited Lane with being the inspiration for the production. And when “Salesman” won for best revival, it was only fitting that Lane accepted the award on behalf of the company about a play that, ultimately, he pointed out, is about a family.

It was a point that Laurie Metcalf, who won for her featured performance as Linda Loman, also raised when she thanked Lane, Christopher Abbott (who played Biff) and Ben Ahlers (who played Happy) —her ferocious Loman family— for making her better.

A three-time Tony-winner already, Lane doesn’t need another trophy to assure him that he’s an American theatrical treasure. But this wasn’t just another Broadway outing for him. This was Miller’s masterwork in a production that will be remembered long after the tally of this year’s Tony Awards are long forgotten.

—Charles McNulty

Joshua Henry is a good person, a great actor and everybody loves him

Joshua Henry won a Tony Award for performance by an actor in a leading role in a musical at the 79th Annual Tony Awards, earning perhaps the most rousing standing ovation of the night.

(Theo Wargo / Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

The biggest standing ovation of the night came when Joshua Henry won the award for performance by an actor in a leading role in a musical for his critically acclaimed portrayal of Coalhouse Walker Jr. in the revival of “Ragtime.” Wearing a show-stopping black suit with golden flowers, Henry rushed to the stage as the star-studded crowd leapt to its feet to deliver a rousing standing ovation.

Henry first came to the full attention of fans playing Aaron Burr in the 2017 national tour of “Hamilton,” and has since gone on to distinguish himself as one of Broadway’s most charming and relatable stars. His optimism and kindness shine through, as does his fierce love of his art form, which was apparent as he gave his acceptance speech, thanking — in particular — his first vocal coach for believing in him. He also gave a poignant shout-out to the show’s original cast members Brian Stokes Mitchell and Audra McDonald, and sent all the love to his three young sons.

—Jessica Gelt

Pink had fun, but didn’t seem to know why she was there

Neil Patrick Harris and Pink perform during The 79th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall.

(Jenny Anderson / Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Pop star Pink kicked off the show with a wink and a nod to her hit “Lady Marmalade,” and went on to wow the audience with an action-packed opener filled with more than 150 performers and riffs from every Broadway show imaginable, plus a spirited appearance by Megan Thee Stallion. But the line that resonated most came early on when she spun hopelessly on a rope above the stage dressed as Peter Pan and a worried Neil Patrick Harris appeared to ask why she was performing in such an old-fashioned show.

“I just want to show how much I love theater even though I’ve never been on Broadway,” Pink said, still dangling, but nailing a few tricks. “I’m just concerned people might be like, ‘Why’s Pink hosting the Tonys?’”

That wasn’t the first time she seemed to be apologizing to the audience for being there.

—Jessica Gelt

Darren Criss gives happy endings

Darren Criss and Nicole Scherzinger joked it up during the 79th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall.

(Theo Wargo / Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Darren Criss is a Broadway superstar who consistently delivers “Happy endings,” according to co-presenter Nicole Scherzinger.

In what might have been the show’s most racy and deliciously groan-worthy joke, Scherzinger, stood side-by-side with the “Maybe Happy Endings” star to deliver the penultimate awards of the night, and noted, “You gave the world happy endings.”

“I did?” asked Criss, feigning innocence.

“You’re a giver,” said Scherzinger.

The pair took a beat through bubbling titters from the audience before knowingly yelling, “Happy Pride everyone!”

—Jessica Gelt

Leslie Odom Jr. delivers a moving in memoriam

Leslie Odom Jr. performs the In Memorium tribute during The 79th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall.

(Theo Wargo / Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Tony Award winner Leslie Odom Jr. sang a soulful rendition of “Without You” from “Rent” during the ceremony’s In Memoriam segment, which honored artists who died in 2025 and 2026, including Diane Keaton and Robert Redford. These annual segments are mournful — and tricky — and the “Hamilton” star managed to create an understated atmosphere that set the perfect tone for the somber projection of recently lost greats such as Robert Duvall, Tom Stoppard and Carmen de Lavallade.

—Jessica Gelt

Shoppers looking for travel accessories could be in luck at the high street retailer

Home Bargains customers can upgrade their travel days for £2 with a ‘refreshing’ accessory. There’s nothing better than a sunny forecast for family day trips or a weekend getaway. But getting to your destination is sometimes easier said than done when you have to battle the heat while carrying luggage.

Thankfully, Home Bargains is selling a portable accessory to help travellers ‘stay cool on the go’. The discount chain has launched a £1.99 Travel Water Mist Spray Fan, and it could be ideal for summer.

The retailer explains: “Stay cool on the go with the Travel Water Mist Spray Fan from the Simple family – just fill with cold water, add ice for extra chill, and enjoy a refreshing mist whenever you need it.” The description continues: “Simply fill the bottle with cold water, turn on the fan and pull the trigger whenever you require a light covering of cool mist.

“Add ice to the tank for an even cooler mist! Empty water after every use and dry, always use fresh distilled water (to prevent mineral build-up and mould).”

For shoppers who don’t want the water mist, Home Bargains also sells a 99p Travel Mini Hand Held Fan. The description states: “Mini Hand Held Fan fits comfortably in your hand, making it easy to carry wherever you go. It’s small enough to slip into your bag or pocket, yet powerful enough to provide a refreshing breeze, keeping you cool for warmer days.”

Ahead of summer, Home Bargains is stocking a range of travel products. Other items include travel cubes, organisers, and luggage solutions. One option that could impress fans of the spray fan is the 99p Lakescape Foldable Water Bottle 500ml.

The foldable water bottle is designed for adventure, according to the retailer. Home Bargains says: “Stay hydrated wherever your adventures take you with the Lakescape Foldable Water Bottle! This 500ml reusable gem rolls, folds, and stands tall when full, plus it comes with a handy carabiner clip for easy travel.”

Customers who prefer stainless steel bottles might like the £4.99 Kitchen Stainless Steel Bottle. Home Bargains says the bottle is “durable and easy to use” with a “spill-proof lock.”

For dogs, there’s also a £2.99 My Pets Pet Water Bottle. The description reads: “Making travelling with your pet easier with this amazing reusable water bottle fills when pressed and can be locked to avoid leaks. Comes with handy lanyard style strap for easy carrying. Three colours, pink, blue and grey.”

For customers looking for more items, Home Bargains offers a wide range of products on its website. Shoppers could also visit their local store.