Family

When you’re a sportswriter covering high school sports in Southern California since the 1970s, you meet lots of sports families who come and go.

It’s going to be the end of an era for one of my favorite families, the Kymans. Bernie was the patriarch. He coached and was athletic director at so many high schools he could have worn a different mascot shirt every day for weeks. He was at Daniel Murphy, Los Angeles, St. Bonaventure, Moorpark, Chaminade (twice), Bishop Alemany, Littlerock, Cal Lutheran and Pierce College (twice).

His son, Coley, became a star in football and volleyball at Reseda in the 1980s, then the starting quarterback at Cal State Northridge and a Hall of Fame volleyball player for the Matadors. Coley’s wife, Michelle, won a national championship playing for UCLA’s women’s volleyball team. They had two sons, Jake and Brayden.

Jake helped Santa Margarita win a Southern Section Division 1 basketball championship in 2019, then spent three years at UCLA before transferring to Eastern Washington.

The last of the Kymans is Brayden, a 6-foot-7 senior at Santa Margarita and a Washington State commit who will get to play on Saturday for the first time where his father, mother and brother once played — UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion. Santa Margarita faces Sherman Oaks Notre Dame in a 7 p.m. basketball game as part of a daylong showcase.

“Once I saw it on the schedule, I was really grateful and super excited,” Brayden said. “My brother played there, my parents played there. It’s kind of a full circle moment.”

His grandfather died in 2019 at the age of 78. Brayden said he learned plenty from a man who always believed in character and commitment.

“He taught me a lot and my dad, which was passed down to me — working hard and staying focused on what you want to do in life,” he said.

His parents both played professionally in volleyball, so they’ve been good role models and sounding boards for what to expect in the college journey.

“They always give me the best advice, whether it’s about recovery or a game,” he said. “They support me.”

Santa Margarita returns four starters this season and began the season as the No. 2-ranked team in the Southland by The Times. Kyman has already accomplished something few other top players are doing these days — staying from freshman season through senior season.

“It’s gone by super fast,” he said. “I remember yesterday I was a freshman. I’m grateful for the experience to be here all four years. I know that’s not as common now.”

After Brayden graduates, his parents are moving to Montana. It allows them to drive some five hours to his games in Pullman, Wash., while enjoy being away from big-city life. Just don’t expect Brayden to hang out in Montana. He makes it clear he’s a California boy for life.

“I think it’s crazy,” he said. “I’ve lived in the same house [in Aliso Vijeo] my whole life. I’m going to visit for a few days but not a whole week.”

He can also visit his brother, Jake, who’s living in Austin, Texas, and is a filmmaker. Brayden wants to keep playing basketball for as long as he can, then become a coach or trainer.

It’s been wonderful to see the Kymans make their mark in Southern California sports history.

Day session Saturday at Pauley Pavilion

Servite vs. Loyola, 9:30 a.m.

Orange Lutheran vs. St. Francis, 11 a.m.

Crean Lutheran vs. Campbell Hall, 12:30 p.m.

Mater Dei vs. Crespi, 2 p.m.

Night Session

JSerra vs. Sierra Canyon, 5:30 p.m.

Santa Margarita vs. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, 7 p.m.

St. John Bosco vs. Harvard-Westlake, 8:30 p.m.

Anya Garnis, who shares two young children with her husband Sunna Van Kampen, recently tried to rent a property in Devon, but she was rejected from doing so because of a Home Office blunder

Former Strictly star Anya Garnis fears she may be left homeless after a Home Office blunder rejected her right to live in Britain.

The Russian-born Latin dancer started dancing at the age of 10 and began competing professionally with her dance partner, Strictly’s Pasha Kovalev, in 1998. The pair moved to the US in 2001 to start her professional dancing career.

They reached the final of the US Open Ballroom Championship on a number of occasions and have also appeared in US series So You Think You Can Dance. Anya, who is a US citizen, has performed at the Emmys and the Oscars and even headlined the Broadway show Burn The Floor.

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The 43-year-old, who shares two young children with her husband Sunna Van Kampen, recently tried to rent a property in Totnes, Devon, but she was rejected from doing so because of a Home Office blunder.

Baffled by the situation Anya investigated and discovered the Home Office’s landlord checking system suggested she did not have permission to live in the country, despite being here since 2013.

The Home Office said her application for leave to remain may have been lost – rendering her ‘illegal’. Speaking to the MailOnline she said: “I was absolutely shocked and devastated. We have to leave the place we’re living now in a couple of weeks, but have been told we can’t rent or buy anywhere else.

“In effect, this will leave us homeless in Britain. If we leave the country, my visa application will be dismissed entirely, but we may have no choice.”

Anya came to the UK on a temporary UK visa in 2013 to work for Strictly. She married Mr Van Kampen in 2017 and they later had two children, now aged three and one.

Since 2013 Anya has lived in the UK on rolling temporary visas without any major issues until she applied to renew her permission last September.

After applying she heard nothing for months so chased her application up on the Home Office website which suggested her application was being processed. When she tried to call, they told her they couldn’t discuss individual cases on the phone.

Home Office guidelines state that applicants have automatic leave to remain while their applications are being processed, so she thought nothing of it. After applying again she was shocked to still be turned down by the LCS.

She said: “I can’t buy or rent a property, but I also can’t leave the country while I’m waiting for a decision. I know highly skilled Americans who have been forced to give up on a life in Britain and move back home because of this catch.”

The Home Office said it would not comment on an individual case.

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MY fearless six-year-old son, Alex, giggled as a large Asian brown owl landed on his gloved arm, just inches away from his face.

Neeka is so used to mingling with guests who visit the birds of prey aviary that she happily sat there for a few seconds, slowly twisting her neck, taking in the view.

And who can blame her, when the view is as stunning as this?

We were staying on the stunning Swinton Estate, set in the Yorkshire Dales within an incredible 20,000 acres of sprawling land made up of villages, farms and moorland.

At the centre of this is the Downton Abbey-style, ivy-clad ancestral stately home of Lord and Lady Masham which has been turned into a luxury hotel with 42 suites and bedrooms.

Despite its grandeur, I discovered it to be one of the most down to earth — and definitely the most child-friendly — places I’ve ever stayed in the UK.

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The pretty English market town home to one of the weirdest hotels in the UK

What’s more, visitors are on the doorstep of explorable market towns, as well as just a 10-minute drive from historic Jervaulx Abbey (one of Yorkshire’s most beautiful historic sites) and 20 minutes from Lightwater Valley Family Adventure Park, home to mini rollercoasters, giant swings and a crazy golf course.

That’s if you can find the time to leave the estate.

Swinton has even more activities than overcrowded tourist traps such as Center Parcs — with comparable prices.

During our short stay, we enjoyed treasure hunts, children’s cookery courses, fishing, archery, escape rooms and cycling.

There are complimentary meditation classes, tea tasting, clay pigeon shooting, history tours, movie nights and a birds of prey show.

Falconer Mandy explained that most of the owls, hawks and falcons on site were hand reared.

They even go on “walks” through the estate, high above your head.

And what a great place for a stroll, it is. Our dog Layla certainly agreed.

Unlike many hotels, Layla wasn’t just tolerated here, she was adored.

She walked alongside us as we explored some of the 63 miles of footpaths as well as the play area, wild swimming lake, shop and the Country Club.

She even plodded into the reception with me while I booked an amazing £50 back, neck and shoulder massage.

Although, I did leave her with the others when it came to enjoying my treatment.

This meant I could take full advantage of the amenities, which include thermal suites, a heavenly relaxation room and two pools, both of which have select adults-only times so the grown-ups can properly de-stress.

OLD-WORLD CHARM

Even those with kids can get their downtime thanks to the on-site babysitting service, available from £15 an hour.

The Estate itself is a charming mix of contemporary design blended with grand antiques and historical paintings of the family that once owned it.

This old-world charm continues into the bedrooms and suites too.

Our room featured high ceilings and large low windows where Alex and Layla sat together watching the deer roam freely in the fields.

Every tiny detail has been considered here.

There were coats and umbrellas to borrow, dog biscuits, a teddy bear on the bed and soft, squishy towels and dressing gowns.

While Alex was grateful for the bowl of apples and pile of shortbread biscuits left on the side, I was more appreciative of the smart coffee machine and the Estate’s home-made sloe whisky.

Whisky is just one of many things that comes from the grounds.

Pretty much everything from vegetables and meat to herbs and fruit does, too.

I am a sucker for a good brekkie and thanks to the outstanding estate sausages, this was undoubtedly my favourite meal of the stay.

A freshly-cooked plate of breakfast goodies also helped to ease my slightly sore head after the excellent mixologists rustled me up one too many spicy margaritas the night before.

You don’t need to be an overnight guest to visit the Estate.

Those popping in during the winter months can experience a new winter light trail which will lead them through a sparkling woodland and around the pretty lakes — tickets are from £7.50 per child, while those under five go free.

If you do fancy checking in for the evening, however, now is the time to book.

On selected dates this winter, you can bag a suite with breakfast and a bottle of house wine for £275 in total.

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I am from Yorkshire originally, but I don’t think I’ve ever actually received such a Yorkshire welcome as I did here.

Even Neeka the owl was happy to see us.

Jawhar Ben Mbarek’s sister said his health had ‘severely deteriorated’ and a ‘dangerous toxin’ was detected in his body.

Jailed Tunisian opposition figure Jawhar Ben Mbarek has been hospitalised due to severe dehydration, his family has said, as his health continues to deteriorate after more than two weeks on hunger strike.

Ben Mbarek, the cofounder of Tunisia’s main opposition alliance, the National Salvation Front, started his hunger strike on October 29 to protest his detention in jail since February 2023.

In a Facebook post on Friday, Ben Mbarek’s sister, Dalila Ben Mbarek Msaddek, warned that her brother’s health had now “severely deteriorated” and doctors detected “a highly dangerous toxin” affecting his kidneys.

Msaddek said Ben Mbarek had “received treatment but refused nutritional supplements” at the hospital where he was transferred on Thursday night, insisting on continuing his now 17-day protest.

The politician was discharged from hospital on Friday afternoon and returned to prison, Msaddek added.

On Wednesday, Ben Mbarek’s lawyer Hanen Khmiri said he had “faced torture” at the hands of guards at Belli prison, as they attempted to force him to end his protest.

“He was severely beaten, we saw fractures and bruises on his body,” Khmiri said, adding that she had filed a complaint with the public prosecutor, who promised to investigate.

“He told me that four of the prison guards beat him severely in a place where there is no surveillance camera,” she said.

Ben Mbarek is one of the most prominent opponents of Tunisian strongman President Kais Saied, who has been in power since 2019.

In April, he was sentenced to 18 years in prison on charges of “conspiracy against state security” and “belonging to a terrorist group”, in a mass trial of opposition figures slammed by human rights groups as politically motivated.

Ben Mbarek has denied the charges, which he has called fabricated.

Rights groups have warned of a sharp decline in civil liberties in Tunisia since a sweeping power grab by Saied in July 2021, when he dissolved parliament and expanded executive power so he could rule by decree.

That decree was later enshrined in a new constitution, ratified by a widely boycotted 2022 referendum. Media figures and lawyers critical of Saied have also been prosecuted and detained under a harsh “fake news” law enacted the same year.

Last week, Ben Mbarek’s family and prominent members of Tunisia’s political opposition announced they would join him in a collective hunger strike.

Among the participants was Issam Chebbi, the leader of the centrist Al Joumhouri (Republican) Party, who is also behind bars after being convicted in the same mass trial as Ben Mbarek earlier this year.

Rached Ghannouchi, the 84-year-old leader of the Ennahdha party, who is also serving a hefty prison sentence, also said he would join the protest. Chebbi and Ghannouchi’s current condition is not known.

Prison authorities have maintained the men are under “continuous medical supervision” and denied “rumours about the deterioration in the health of any detainees”.

With the longest U.S. government shutdown over, state officials said Thursday that they are working quickly to get full SNAP food benefits to millions of people, though it could still take up to a week for some to receive their delayed aid.

A back-and-forth series of court rulings and shifting policies from President Trump’s administration has led to a patchwork distribution of November benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. While some states had already issued full SNAP benefits, about two-thirds of states had issued only partial benefits or none at all before the government shutdown ended late Wednesday, according to an Associated Press tally.

The federal food program serves about 42 million people, or about 1 in 8 Americans, in lower-income households. They receive an average of about $190 monthly per person, though that doesn’t necessarily cover the full cost of groceries for a regular month.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which runs the program, said in an email Wednesday that funds could be available “upon the government reopening, within 24 hours for most states.” But the agency didn’t say whether that timeline indicates when the money will be available to states or when it could be loaded onto the electronic cards used by beneficiaries.

West Virginia, which hadn’t issued SNAP benefits, should have full November benefits for all recipients by Friday, Gov. Patrick Morrisey said Thursday.

The Illinois Department of Human Services, which previously issued partial November benefits, said Thursday that it is “working to restore full SNAP benefits.” But it won’t happen instantly.

“We anticipate that the remaining benefit payments will be made over several days, starting tomorrow,” the department said in a statement, and that “all SNAP recipients will receive their full November benefits by November 20th.”

Colorado officials said late Wednesday that they are switching from delivering partial to full SNAP benefits, which could be loaded onto electronic cards starting as soon as Thursday.

Missouri’s Department of Social Services, which issued partial SNAP payments Tuesday, said Thursday that it is waiting for USDA guidance on how to issue the remaining November SNAP benefits but would move quickly once that guidance is received.

Paused SNAP payments stirred stress for some families

The delayed SNAP payments posed a new complication for Lee Harris’ family since his spouse was laid off a few months ago.

Harris, 34, said his North Little Rock, Ark., family got help from his temple and received food left by someone who was moving. With that assistance — and the knowledge that other families have greater needs — they skipped stopping by the food pantry they have sometimes used.

Harris’ family, including his three daughters, hasbeen able to keep meals fairly close to normal despite missing a SNAP payment this week. But they have still experienced stress and uncertainty.

“Not knowing a definite end,” Harris said, “I don’t know how much I need to stretch what I have in our pantry.”

Federal legislation funds SNAP for a year

The USDA told states Oct. 24 that it would not fund SNAP benefits for November amid the government shutdown. Many Democratic-led states sued to have the funding restored.

After judges ruled the Trump administration must tap into reserves to fund SNAP, the administration said it would fund up to 65% of its regular allocations. When a judge subsequently ordered full benefits, some states scrambled to quickly load SNAP benefits onto participants’ cards during a one-day window before the Supreme Court put that order on hold Friday.

Meanwhile, other states went forward with partial benefits, and still others issued nothing while waiting for further USDA guidance on the situation.

Amid the uncertainty over federal SNAP funding, some states tapped into their own funds to provide direct aid to SNAP recipients or additional money for nonprofit food banks.

The legislation to reopen the U.S. government provides full SNAP benefits not only for November but also for the remainder of the federal fiscal year, which runs through next September. Citing that legislation, the Justice Department on Thursday dropped its request for the Supreme Court to continue blocking a judicial order to pay full SNAP benefits.

Mulvihill and Lieb write for the Associated Press. AP writers John O’Connor in Springfield, Ill.; John Raby in Charleston, W.Va.; and Colleen Slevin in Denver contributed to this report.

It takes a certain composure, as a teenager, to walk out onto Taylor Swift’s stage in a sold-out stadium and play an opening set to tens of thousands of fans who have never heard of you. But it takes even more conviction to use the occasion to play music almost guaranteed to leave them squirming — grimy, bloodletting noise-rock and electro about being a sexual menace and growing disillusioned with God.

The now-20-year-old singer-songwriter Sofia Isella did that last year, opening on the Australian run of Swift’s Eras tour. “Taylor was an angel for allowing me to share that stage,” L.A.-raised Isella said. “I wish I could have recorded that feeling. But the show itself is not as nerve-wracking as it is playing for 20 people. There’s something about a giant room that almost feels a little dissociative, like it’s not really happening or it’s not really there.”

“Dissociative” is a decent descriptor for Isella’s music, too — disorienting, unnerving, drawing out emotions you might not understand. But there’s so much skill in the performances and imagination in her arrangements that they may well get Isella — who plays the Fonda Theater on Nov. 16 — onto much bigger stages of her own, just as the world gets much bleaker around her.

“This next record, I’m having so much fun with s— that’s really f— dark,” Isella said. “It’s like, the only way to stop screaming about it is to have a moment laughing about it.”

Isella grew up in Los Angeles in a family with enough entertainment-biz acclaim to make being an artist feel like a viable career. Yet they still let her be feral and freewheeling in developing her craft. Her father, the Chilean American cinematographer Claudio Miranda, won an Oscar for 2012’s “Life of Pi” and shot “Top Gun: Maverick” and the recent racing hit “F1” (Her mom is the author Kelli Bean-Miranda). Looking back on her bucolic childhood in L.A., Isella recalled it filled with music and boundless encouragement, worlds away from her social media-addled peers.

“I’d been homeschooled my whole life,” Isella said. “My mom would leave little trails of poetry books for me to find, and my dad would set up GarageBand and leave me for hours with all the instruments and nothing but free time. I didn’t even have a phone until I was 16. When I first was on TikTok, I saw everyone had the same personality, because they had been watching each other for so long. Being around kids my age was so strange, because I’d grown up around adults — like, ‘Oh, these kids are so sweet and kind and adorable, but they think I’m one of them.’”

After her family temporarily moved to Australia during the pandemic and Isella began self-releasing music, it became clear that her talents set her very far apart. Drawing on her early background in classical music and a fascination with scabrous rock and electronic music, she found a sound that melded the Velvet Underground and Nico’s elegant miserablism, Chelsea Wolfe and Lingua Ignota’s doom-laden art metal and the close-miked , creepy goth-pop of Billie Eilish’s first LP.

Isella began self-releasing music during the pandemic. Since then, she’s landed opener spots on multiple high-profile tours.

(@okaynicolita)

Her early music showed a withering humor and skepticism of the culture around her (“All of Human Knowledge Made Us Dumb,” “Everybody Supports Women”), but singles came at rapid clip and translated surprisingly well on the social media platforms she loathed (she has 1.3 million followers on TikTok). It all got her onto stages with Melanie Martinez and Glass Animals and, eventually, Swift. (A Florence + The Machine arena tour opening slot is up next.)

On 2024’s writhing EP “I Can Be Your Mother,” songs like “Sex Concept” had the sensual fatalism of poets like Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath, paired with the drippy erotic menace of Nine Inch Nails. “I’ll bend him over backwards, give him something to believe in,” she sings. “We’ll play the game, both go insane and then we’ll call it even … I’m the only god that you’ll ever believe in.”

“The first EP was this whole story of giving birth to yourself, this giant stretched-out muse,” Isella said, leaning into a stemwinder about the genesis of art. “It just doesn’t feel like it’s coming from me. It feels like it’s coming from some weird thing I somewhat worship.”

A May 2025 follow-up, “I’m Camera,” dealt with the depersonalizing effects of sudden attention. On “Josephine,” she makes tour life feel like a proverbial grippy-sock vacation to the breakdown ward — “I’m sock-footed, sick and selfish holding strangers’ hands … I lost something, I sold it, I only remember the ache.”

Isella’s wariness of institutions extends to her recording career. She’s still independent for now — surprising for an artist on Swift’s radar — and uncompromising about what a label would demand of her compared to what they can provide. “I’ve met with a lot of the big dogs, and they’re very kind people, but I just love the feeling of being independent,” Isella said. “Maybe I’ll change my mind on that, but I’m trying to fully understand a label and what its functions are, what it gives the artist in a social media day. I’m trying to fully assess that before I sign any magic papers.”

Her newest material (and her subversively eerie, Francesa Woodman-evoking music videos like “Muse”) feel perfectly timed to the apocalyptic mood in L.A. and the U.S. now, where an inexorable slide to ruin feels biblical. “Out In the Garden,” from September, hits some of the Southern gothic moods of Ethel Cain, but with a sense of acidic pity that’s all her own. “That there’s a small part of me that’s envious / That you full-heartedly believe someone is always there,” she sings. “That will always love you, and there’s a plan for you out there.”

Even at her bleakest, there’s a curdled humor underneath (her current tour is subtitled “You’ll Understand More, Dick”). But if this little sliver of young fame has taught Isella anything, it’s that even when everyone wants a piece of you, no one is actually coming to save any of us.

“There’s nothing with weight, nothing that’s meaningful, to blind faith,” Isella said. “On this next record, I’m about to go really angry because religion really pisses me off, it inflames me. But it’s the most beautiful placebo to imagine that there’s a father that loves you no matter what you do. I’m a really lucky person in that I’ve always been safe and protected, but if you’ve had a rough life, that is insanely powerful to imagine that and believe that.”

ZARA McDermott has taken the next major step in her relationship with Louis Tomlinson.

The Love Island alum went Instagram-official with the One Direction hitmaker, 33, back in May and since then, their relationship has been going from strength to strength.

The Sun first revealed in March that the Strictly star, 28, and boyband singer, 33, were an item after being spotted on dates and holidaying together.

The pair have kept a relatively low profile, though last month Louis couldn’t help but gush about his stunning girl on Steven Bartlett‘s The Diary of a CEO podcast, hinting at how much she’s inspired his new music.

This week, Zara, 28, captured her “date night” look on Instagram for her social media followers as the pair spend time in Los Angeles.

Now the BBC documentary-maker has been confirmed as a firm member of the family after it was revealed she’d met Louis’ niece.

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One fan asked blogger and actress Phoebe Tomlinson, 21: “Has Zara met Olive yet?” referring to her little girl, Olive Varley, aged one.

She swiftly replied with a previously unseen image and the words: “She has! Girlies!”

Louis’ other sister, make-up artist Lottie, 27, has also revealed her bond with the TV star.

Alongside a recent Instagram post showing Zara in a red dress, she wrote: “Beauty in red.”

SIBLING APPROVAL

Lottie has previously broken her silence on her sibling’s romance – and the potential for baby-sitting.

Speaking to The Mirror at the launch of her beauty line, Lottie said: “Yeah, she is amazing and they are really happy. I’m really happy for him.”

Lottie was also said to have laughed when it was suggested Louis and Zara could babysit for her children Lucky, two, and five-month-old Flossie.

“Hopefully, yeah,” she told the publication.

LOUIS’ LOVE

Back in August, Louis told Zara “I love you” in a rare public comment.

He then told how she was inspiring his new music.

The X Factor star said: “

“I’m a deeply, deeply romantic person.

“It’s also easy to be romantic when you are a creative… I really struggle to write in a fictional sense, I really struggle.

“For me, I have to have been living it, it has to be real to me. So, if I wasn’t feeling so good, like right now, I wasn’t feeling so in love… the record probably would have a slightly different feel to it.”

He added: “One thing I was thinking about with this record, my intention is just to maybe feel good.

“I know that’s a really cliché and obvious thing to say, but I’m not sure some of my other music did that. It made you feel, it was honest, it was painful at times, but it didn’t feel good.

“So, I think now I’ve got this almost new sense of life, a new sense of happiness, and purpose, and fulfilment, all those things.”

END GAME

Before sparking up romance with Louis, Zara dated Made in Chelsea star, Sam Thompson.

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The former flames were an item for five tumultuous years before calling it quits in 2024.

Whereas Louis last girlfriend was Danish model Sofie Nyvang who he dated for a couple of months at the beginning of 2023.

A MUSEUM based in south-east London that is loved by families will be getting even more attractions next year.

The Horniman Museum and Gardens in Forest Hill – named London‘s best family attraction in 2024 by Muddy Stilettos – will open a new play park next year.

Dubbed the ‘Nature + Love’ project, the park is one of several new experiences launching as part of the museum’s 125th anniversary celebrations.

The free-to-visit play area will have a nature theme and also feature a cafe.

Called the Kusuma Nature Play, it will include a number of different features designed to “encourage learning and wellbeing through nature and play”.

There will also be an augmented reality trail (AR) opening in the Gardens.

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It will be free to visitors and feature a cast of animated animals for visitors to meet and interact with.

The trail will also include a number of challenges and mini games for visitors to play.

In addition, The Horniman’s Nature Trail will offer step-free access for the first time.

The Gardens Nursery will be transformed as well and will include new glasshouses, a public boardwalk route and a workshop space – all free to visit as well.

Later in early 2027, the Horniman’s natural history gallery will reopen to the public having been fully refurbished.

Inside, visitors will be able to once again see many of the museum’s favourite items as well as new objects.

To mark its 125th birthday, the museum will also be hosting a number of events between June 27 and 29, 2026.

Michael Salter-Church MBE, Chair of the Horniman, said: “Opening in the Horniman’s 125th year, these new features in the Gardens will help visitors learn about the natural world and provide new welcoming spaces for everyone to enjoy for years to come.

“They embody the Horniman’s ethos and purpose and will help us celebrate our birthday!”

Gordon Seabright, chief executive at the Horniman, said: “We are delighted to reveal a first glimpse of what’s to come at the Horniman as part of our Nature + Love project.

“The Gardens are a beloved and integral part of the Horniman, and we hope the new attractions opening in 2026 will provide new and familiar visitors with fun and enriching encounters with the precious natural world we all share.”

Most of the Horniman is free to visit, including the library, animal walk, World Gallery and gardens.

And according to The Guardian, the destination “feels as if it was created for kids”.

There is also an aquarium that visitors can go to, though this is ticketed costing £6.50 per adult and £3.25 per child.

Inside, visitors can explore 15 exhibits showcasing different water environments from around the world, such as pond life and coral reefs.

There is also a butterfly house, which is also ticketed, costing £9.75 per adult and £6.50 per child.

The tropical indoor garden features free-flying butterflies of different colours and sizes.

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If you are looking for other things to do in the Big Smoke, these are the city’s best free indoor attractions for families.

Plus, a popular family attraction to return to UK capital – 8 years after it was scrapped.

A deputy for the Medina County Sheriff’s Office in Texas fatally shot California-based food influencer Michael Duarte last week, a police spokesperson confirmed to TMZ.

The outlet reported on Wednesday that Duarte, who amassed a following on social media as “FoodWithBearHands,” died Nov. 8 after deputies responded to a disturbance call in Castroville, Texas. Law enforcement reported to a “male subject with a knife acting erratically.” The spokesperson alleges that Duarte threatened and approached the responding deputy, and did not follow numerous “verbal commands” to get on the ground.

“Duarte charged toward the deputy while yelling, ‘I’m going to kill you,’” the spokesperson told TMZ. The spokesperson added that the deputy fired two rounds from her “duty weapon” and struck Duarte. He was reportedly given medical aid at the scene and transferred to a nearby hospital, where he died. He was 39.

Neither representatives for the Medina County Sheriff’s Office or Duarte immediately responded to requests for confirmation on Wednesday.

Barbecue pellet company Bear Mountain BBQ announced Duarte’s death on Tuesday in a joint statement shared to his Instagram page. A GoFundMe fundraiser created to benefit his family confirms that Duarte died “in a horrible accident on Saturday” while he was traveling in Texas, three days after he and his wife celebrated their ninth wedding anniversary.

“The world may know him as ‘FoodwithBearHands,’ but to us, he was a loving husband, father, brother, and a great friend to many,” reads the fundraiser description. “We ask that you lift Michael’s family up in prayer during this extremely difficult time, especially for his 6 year old daughter Oakley, and his wife Jessica.”

The GoFundMe seeks to raise $100,000 to support Duarte’s family in covering funeral expenses and “bringing him back home to California.” Donors have raised more than $65,000 as of Wednesday afternoon.

Duarte, raised in the desert town of Calipatria, began his professional culinary career working in several restaurants in San Diego, he said in October. He began posting videos on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic. After a “mental health crisis that led me to rehab,” Duarte continued to post cooking videos during his time off, including his first video, which featured his daughter, he said.

“That’s when I realized how happy creating content made me,” he wrote. “Over time, I began to see it wasn’t just a hobby — it could be a business, something bigger than myself.”

Over the years, he shared cooking recipes for alligator, iguana, frog legs, smoked duck and a variety of other dishes. His YouTube channel boasts a following of more than 260,000 subscribers and his Instagram page touts even more, with 845,000-plus followers.

“He had a rare gift for capturing the true spirit of BBQ: the smoke, the stories, the laughter, and the love for good food that brings people together,” Bear Mountain BBQ continued its statement.

The statement added: “But beyond the work, Michael was so much more. A proud dad who lit up every time he spoke about his daughter. A devoted husband whose love for his family was the center of everything he did. A good man with a generous heart, whose warmth and kindness touched everyone he met.”

KING Charles had a letter hand-delivered to the Osbourne family after heavy metal legend Ozzy’s death.

Widow Sharon revealed she was left touched after the “amazing” monarch wrote to them.

Speaking on The Osbournes podcast with her children, 73-year-old Sharon said: “If he did it for us, you know he does it for many, many, many people.

“Now here’s a man that does know what’s going on in the street with people. Not just politics, not just . . . here’s a man that cares about the environment, animals. He’s got a good heart.

“In the past — Ozzy’s birthday, when Ozzy was sick in hospital with the motorbike accident, he reached out.

“He’s a good, caring man with a good heart, and Ozzy’s, as me, we’re royalists and that’s it.

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“And again, took the time out of his day to write us, have it hand-delivered to us, a note from the King for Ozzy’s passing with his condolences, that says so much.”

Sharon also revealed that she had received a message from US President Donald Trump, adding: “He knows what’s going on in the streets . . . and I can’t say that for our Prime Minister.”

Black Sabbath star Ozzy died of a heart attack on July 22 at the age of 76. A week later, thousands of fans joined a huge parade in tribute to the Prince of Darkness in his home town Birmingham.

Sharon joined mourners along with kids Aimée, Kelly and Jack. They had a private funeral the following day.

Kelly, 41, said she had not seen “an outpouring like that since Princess Diana died”, adding: “It wasn’t just the heavy metal community. It was the entire world.”

As Jasmine Harman addresses her husband’s heart attack in her brand new series, the Mirror takes a look at the A Place In The Sun star’s family heartbreaks, including the devastating loss of her sister-in-law

A Place In The Sun star Jasmine Harman has opened up about her husband’s heart attack horror, and it’s sadly not the first family struggle she’s endured.

While filming a recent episode of Jasmine’s Renovations In The Sun, 46-year-old cameraman Jon Boast, whom Jasmine met on the set of A Place In The Sun, began suffering persistent chest pains while renovating their family home in Estepona, Spain.

In dramatic scenes that aired yesterday, Jasmine, who will this week celebrate her 50th birthday, told viewers: “So, we’re at the hospital now. Jon had a funny turn at home, and I had to call an ambulance, but he’s sleeping now, having a little rest. Hopefully it’s nothing serious, but we’re just waiting for some test results.”

Giving an update from his hospital bed, brave Jon said: “Just when we thought we were getting back to normal life, or as normal as life could be, mid-renovation, and I was getting back on my feet.

“This afternoon, when we were with one of the builders, I got sort of pains in my chest and tight chested, aching arms. We called an ambulance and now I’m in hospital, and the blood test results suggest that I’ve had a mild heart attack.”

Speaking out for the first time about the ordeal, Jasmine told The Mirror that Jon has recovered and is back working. She said: “I know this sounds strange, but even with the background of what could have happened and worrying he could have died, it makes you feel lucky he just had a mild heart attack and everything is fine. But the challenges life throws at you has made me take things in my stride a lot better than I used to.”

Here, the Mirror takes a look at some of the painful heartbreaks mum-of-two Jasmine and her family have had to deal with over the years…

READ MORE: Jasmine Harman breaks silence after husband’s heart attack horror

Tragic loss of sister-in-law

Back in 2016, Jon tragically lost his sister, Joanne ‘Jo’ White, who died suddenly after going into cardiac arrest. Jo was just 40 years old, and her death came as a terrible shock to loved ones. In the years since, Jon has thrown himself into supporting CRY, a charity which helps to screen for cardiac risk among young people.

A video previously shared via Jasmine’s Instagram sees a tearful Jon announce: “I support CRY in memory of my amazing sister, Joanne White. [She] passed away suddenly in the night in 2016, from sudden cardiac death.

“Jo was an amazing mother, daughter, auntie, wife and sister. The reason I support CRY is they were there for her family when she was taken so suddenly, offering us guidance and immediate screening.”

Asserting that Jo would have wanted her story to be used to raise awareness, Jon continued: “CRY continue to support us with yearly heart screenings of myself and some of Jo’s family. […] Any funds raised will continue to support the amazing work CRY do in their research, the screening of young people for potential heart problems and raising awareness of young, unexplained cardiac deaths.”

In her new series, Jasmine explained that she and Jon had decided to move to Spain partly because of the shock of losing Jo. She said: “She was fit, well and very healthy. It was a very big shock.”

Baby agony

Jasmine and Jon share two children together, Joy and Albion, but their road to a happy family life was far from easy. Opening up in an interview with Fabulous magazine, Jasmine, whose two children were both welcomed via IVF, spoke candidly about the heartache she and Jon faced when trying to expand their family.

Back in 2017, the couple had tried for baby number three, only for their hopes to be dashed when the embryo didn’t implant. Jasmine shared: “Sadly, when we tried for a third baby in 2017, our embryo didn’t implant. This came so soon after losing Jon’s sister, Jo, who died suddenly at 40 from an unexplained heart problem.”

She continued: “We’d hoped that welcoming a new baby might have lifted the family and brought fresh joy after such a painful time, but instead we were reminded how fragile and precious life can be.”

Mum’s extreme condition

Although Jasmine is well used to looking around beautiful homes, she faced a very different sort of challenge in 2011, having set about helping her extreme hoarder mother clear away 30 years’ worth of clutter. This emotional journey was highlighted in the BBC doc My Hoarder Mum & Me, which resonated with many viewers.

In a candid 2023 episode of This Morning, the property guru gave a heartfelt joint interview with mum Vasoulla, admitting that she previously found her condition “embarrassing”, and feared it would affect the career she’d worked so hard for.

Speaking with Dermot O’Leary and Allison Hammond, Jasmine shared: “In fact, when I started working in television, it was my biggest fear that someone would find out about the way I’d grown up and the way that we lived at the time.”

However, gaining a deeper understanding of her mother’s hoarding and where it stems from has helped her prioritise “having a loving relationship” with Vasoulla, putting aside the fights they once had.

Recognised as a mental health disorder as of 2013, the World Health Organisation (WHO) defines hoarding as “an accumulation of possessions due to excessive acquisition of, or difficulty discarding possessions, regardless of their actual value”.

During the same interview, Vasoulla explained that the 1958 murder of her father, Evangelos, who was just 32 when he died, triggered her anxiety-based disorder. After the killing, Vasoulla and her mother Maria fled their home country of Cyprus for England, and it’s then that the hoarding started.

According to Vasoulla: “We moved from Cyprus when I was about three, so I left my baby things back home and started collecting trinkets in bombed-out houses that were still about in the early Sixties, after the war – trinkets that I treasured.

“Then we moved back to Cyprus for a couple of years, and those things all got lost. Then we moved back to England and all my new ties got lost – so I just had lots of upheaval, lots of loss.”

She continued: “It’s more the loss, like a bereavement. Losing your father is a big thing, moving country …you lose everything, and you get a new place to live. The trauma of loss [is] something that a lot of people have as the onset of their hoarding behaviour.”

Jasmine’s Renovation In The Sun is now available to watch on Channel 4.

Do you have a story to share? Email me at [email protected]

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Thousands of children in Gaza have been forced to take on adult responsibilities such as providing food, water and caring for family members injured by Israeli attacks. The UN says this ‘lost generation’ of children needs urgent help to get over the trauma of war.

A NEW attraction will soon be returning to London – with guests able to explore both the land and water in one trip.

Duck Tours is set to relaunch on the River Thames in London, eight years after it was scrapped.

The attraction, run by London Amphibious Tours Limited (LAT), will take off from Lack’s Dock slipway next to the MI6 building.

Duck Tours in other destinations usually involve some time on the road driving past historic and interesting sights, before heading onto the water for a river cruise, seeing more sights.

The new tours will be in partnership with Big Bus Tours and will feature new all-electric vehicles, which will be able to reach up to eight knots on the water and 30mph on land.

Each vehicle is expected to seat up to 36 people.

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The vehicles have been created by LAT’s sister company, Seahorse Amphibious Vehicles, after 10 years of research and development.

The company already has tours in Windsor, Liverpool and Cape Town.

Tours previously operated in London until 2017 when the company lost access to the Albert Embankment slipway.

Many fans of the tours have already taken to social media to express their excitement for the return of tours to the Big Smoke.

One person commented: “Fantastic news.”

Another added: “I look forward to taking a trip on one when they’re back.”

A date for the official return of the amphibious tours is yet to be announced.

Graham Lumley, executive chair of London Amphibious Tours and Seahorse, said: “We are immensely proud to have secured a long-term lease at this prestigious site, for which we thank the Duchy of Cornwall.

“We have been passionate about expanding the duck tour concept for many years, and today’s announcement underscores Seahorse’s continued evolution as a global leader.”

Ed Lumley, managing director of London Amphibious Tours and Seahorse, said: “We are delighted to announce our partnership with Big Bus Tours, the world’s largest operator of open-top sightseeing experiences.

“There is no partner better suited to work with us on this exciting opportunity, and we look forward to collaborating with Pat Waterman and the Big Bus team.”

Pat Waterman, executive chair of Big Bus Tours, added: “These tours will become an iconic part of the London tourism scene, adding new layers of opportunity to our hop-on hop-off operations.

“We look forward to our recently announced Big Duck Tours brand becoming synonymous with ‘must do’ tourism activities in London.”

According to the company’s website, they are also soon launching tours in Singapore.

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What are Duck Tours like?

STANDING before me was the giant car-boat hybrid, looking as if it was from the future.

I was heading on a Duck Tour in Windsor – a tour that starts on the road before heading onto the water.

Once onboard the vehicle, it was hard to imagine how it could enter the water as it whizzed past Windsor Castle surrounded by cars.

After a few twists and turns down lanes, our entryway onto the Thames emerged.

And the vehicle slowly rolled down a slope and into the water.

What I thought might be a bit of a bumpy ride was actually smoother than a plane landing.

Then there is was…

The impressive Windsor Castle from a completely new angle – it felt so close I could almost touch it.

Our guide shared with us key information about the historic site, and of course the role of the River Thames that runs next to it.

The whole experience felt more like an adventure than a tour, and was a great way to see sights from a different perspective.

Tickets cost from £30 per adult and £20 per child.

In other attraction news, a new Pixar attraction is set to open in UK – with film sets you can step into including Toy Story, Monsters Inc and Up.

Plus, first look at the £12million Viking land opening at the UK’s ‘best theme park’ with inverting rollercoaster and feasting hall.

One of the best resorts in Wales is arguably one of the most family-oriented, but is it suitable for an adults-only break?

It was recently named the number one holiday park in Wales and third in the entire UK by Which? Magazine for the third year running. But is it suitable for an adults-only break?

The 5-star luxury holiday destination, Bluestone Wales, is set within 500 acres of glorious Welsh countryside in Narberth, Pembrokeshire, and easily rivals Center Parcs for British breaks. It’s hugely popular for summer holidays and weekend breaks, and families arrive in droves to enjoy a wide array of facilities, including a subtropical indoor water park and a pastel-coloured village with a pub, playground, cafes, and a shop.

I’d always wanted to visit, but there was one small issue: I don’t have children. “Who goes to a holiday park without kids?” my bewildered parent friends asked. We came in the off-season, when the unpredictable Welsh weather could go either way, and the question was simple: would Bluestone feel awkward for adults on a child-free break, or could two grown-ups have a perfectly lovely time without a single Jellycat in sight?

Check-in

After a breezy two-hour journey from Cardiff, the drive up check-in was impressively quick and efficient. I was expecting 4-mile tailbacks getting in.

Guests can enjoy the site’s facilities from 11am, which breaks up arrivals and is ideal for parents desperate to plonk the kids in the pool after an arduous car journey. We were directed to the ‘arrivals lodge’, where a smiling staff team presented us with our key cards and digital welcome pack and sent us off for our golf cart briefing and collection.

The lodge

We’d been assigned one of the resort’s fancier options, the Solva Lodge, located in a quiet, suburb-like corner of the park dotted with colourful cottages and large cabin-style lodges. The resort’s accommodation offerings really have considered every group size and budget.

Our swish, single-storey lodge frankly surpassed my expectations. It had spacious open-plan living, bi-fold doors, a master bedroom with an en-suite, and a private patio.

It also had a well-equipped kitchen complete with everything one could need for self-catering, from ample plates and cooking utensils to a dishwasher and microwave. I couldn’t wait to assemble a bougie charcuterie board.

Frankly, it was way fancier than I was expecting from a British holiday park. As an elder millennial, most of my holiday park experience came in the form of a bargain, caravan-style ‘Sun Holiday’, paid for in tokens from the paper.

The site

Before we could even unpack, we needed a game plan. Where does one begin in a vast holiday park filled with family-friendly activities?

Do you hit the waterpark first? Or stake out the spa for a soak and a glass of fizz? We compromised, a slow exploratory lap around the resort in the golf buggy, waving at fellow guests, like giddy retirees on a joyride.

You’ll need a buggy to get around the largely car-free site. Bluestone is enormous, with lakes, woodland, an activity ‘hive’, a tropical pool, and a cutesy pastel-coloured village to navigate. Just be sure to follow the one-way system, or you’ll have to reverse up a hill at 5 miles an hour like we had to.

The pool

After unpacking, we decided to brave the pool for our first ‘holiday activity’ and braced ourselves for battling with kids for first dibs on the flumes.

Bluestone’s ‘Subtropical Paradise’ is one of the resort’s main highlights, and it’s easy to see why. Cocooned by a wooden roof shaped like an upturned coracle, it’s a balmy all-weather hub with a large, temperature-controlled pool, a lazy river, flumes, spa pools, and a ‘Nippers Cove’ for the kids.

For families, there are bookable swim classes, including ‘water babies’ for children under three, and there’s a lively ‘pirate takeover’ with music and inflatables that sounds joyous.

Kids who are confident swimmers can also try the popular ‘Merschool’, where they’ll be transformed into mermaids. I was tempted to ask what the age limit was for this.

We arrived at the pool in the late afternoon, peak time for throwing the kids in the waves to burn off energy, so we fully expected a ‘last days of Rome’ situation, but with more rubber rings.

We were pleasantly surprised that several adults appeared to be swimming without kids, and the ambience was very chill. It was really rather calm for a holiday resort pool, another bonus for visiting off-peak.

Admittedly, you can feel self-conscious at first, entering a vast family pool without a couple of kids in tow, but after the first rounds of waves, we were soon bobbing on the lazy river and doing half-assed lengths for ‘fitness’.

Outside, there were warm spa pools, where we sat with several parents who had stolen a few moments to enjoy blissful Cocomelon-free silence.

“I left them with their dad in the waves”, a mother whispered to me. “He’ll cope.” I nodded in solidarity, as if I, too, had a child somewhere being supervised by a bearded hipster dad with a pool noodle.

There were still children, obviously; it’s not suddenly an adults-only lido, but the ratio was in our favour. During our swim session, we witnessed no full-scale shrieking water fights, lifeguards shouting into megaphones, or pool evacuating ‘faecal incidents’, the horror!

There was just a gentle background soundtrack of splashing and kids having a marvellous time on the flumes. Off-peak Bluestone, it turns out, is remarkably chill, and we scheduled more ‘pool time’ into our weekend plans.

The pub

After the swim, it was naturally time for the pub, so we dropped the buggy back at the lodge (Bluestone frowns upon drink-driving golf carts) and walked to The Knights Tafarn, in the heart of the resort’s twee village.

Located near the kids’ playground, this pub has proper ‘family vibes’, with pub grub classics like burgers, curries, sausage and mash, along with a decent children’s menu.

We sat outside in the rare Welsh sunshine, sipping Bluestone’s own G&Ts (yup, they even make their own gin here) while a live reggae band jammed.

Children bopped along, jovial parents queued patiently for the very affordable hog roast, and the wholesome atmosphere was akin to a modern, middle-class version of Hi-de-Hi! No wonder families enjoy coming here.

Places to eat

There are several eating options at Bluestone, including Oak Tree Restaurant, which serves Italian classics “made with Welsh love,” the family-friendly Farmhouse Grill, and the nutrition-focused NRG Lab Café, located in the Hive.

Over at the Black Pool Mill, you’ll be treated to dishes created from some of Pembrokeshire’s best produce. Located off the Bluestone resort in leafy Minwear Wood, this ‘heritage dining experience’ was once the site of an 18th-century iron furnace and forge.

The Grade II* listed Georgian building was built to use water power to grind wheat for flour. Machinery inside the building was installed in 1901 and has been preserved as part of Pembrokeshire’s industrial heritage.

There is a selection of snacks, sandwiches, and small plates, utilising fresh produce and seasonal ingredients sourced from the local area. The standout, in my opinion, is the upscale Sunday Lunch, which starts at £26 for two courses that we decided to sample, for journalistic purposes.

Starters set the tone: beef cheek croquettes with lasagne mayo (yes, that’s a thing and yes, it works), parmesan crackling and red pepper, or courgette pakoras with lime pickle mayo, coriander and mango gel.

For meat lovers, the headline act is the roasted Welsh topside of beef: perfectly pink, as it should be. In my opinion, well-done beef is a culinary war crime and should lead to kitchen banishment.

My Yorkshire pudding was decently sized and accompanied by maple-glazed root vegetables, roast potatoes, seasonal greens, and swede and sweet potato mash. The gravy-to-meat ratio was also spot on, which, as far as I’m concerned, is the true test of any roast.

My husband opted for roasted Welsh pork loin with sausage and herb stuffing and declared it “the best decision I’ve ever made,” which I’m trying not to take personally.

Having been on many trips with kids present, I think the obvious bonus of an adults-only break is that you can eat when you want (I know, a radical concept).

There are no militant mealtimes dictated by toddlers who must dine at 5:01 sharp lest civilisation collapse. Instead, you can book a table for 8 p.m. and eat at a reasonable hour.

You’ll need to bring your appetite for this lunch. It was so filling that we cancelled our post-lunch swim in favour of a nap, which is possibly the most middle-aged sentence I’ve ever written.

The spa

Between coffee shop visits, walks and lazy mornings, we managed to fit in a few more ‘grown-up’ pursuits at Bluestone, starting with The Well Spa Retreat.

Delivered by an award-winning team of therapists, this swish spa is suitable for individuals 14 years old plus and is an indulgent escape for adults who need some me time. Upon arrival, you’re handed a towel and a plush robe, which immediately elevates you from holiday-goer to spa royalty.

This is where I find myself on a Saturday afternoon. Instead of emerging from under the duvet sporting a raging hangover like I used to in my 20s, I’m in a spa ‘sea salt cave’.

As much as I used to roll my eyes at anything I perceived as woo-woo, I’m now part of a growing cohort concerned with wellness, and instead of slamming sambuca shots, I now book sauna sessions and ice bath dips like a budget Gwyneth Paltrow. Nineteen-year-old me is judging so hard.

As a spa convert, I have to say I’m impressed. The Celtic Thermal Suite is clearly the centrepiece: a series of six interconnected pods that invite you to hop between hot, cold, and steamy experiences with your crew.

One minute you’re inhaling herbal scents in a steaming room, the next you’re rubbing ice over your limbs in the chilly ice Pod, before heading into a brick sauna or the intense Celtic Sauna infused with the subtle scent of Pembrokeshire bracken.

It’s a circuit designed to awaken, detoxify, and recalibrate your body, though, in practice, it mostly feels like gloriously permitted laziness. Mist, heat, ice, repeat, followed by a glass of fizz, for wellness.

During my sauna and steam hopping, my mind floated somewhere between a meditative state and a mild panic about whether my mascara was sliding off my face, as I had, of course, forgotten to remove it.

Every pore was open for business. I was sweating from places I didn’t even know had sweat glands. But I felt something like peace, or possibly dehydration, in that moment. Either way, it worked. I was full of zen and really in the market for a glass of prosecco or a very reasonably priced cocktail.

Want further indulgence? Treatments are an optional extra but worth every penny. You can book everything from bamboo massages and deluxe pedicures to signature massages, personalised facials, or the indulgent seaweed bath experience.

We chose the seaweed bath and emerged feeling fully human again, less swamp creature and more vaguely elegant adult. The bath is infused with Welsh sea salt and over eighty-five pure minerals, plus sustainably hand-harvested seaweed from the Pembrokeshire coast by Câr-y-Môr.

The experience detoxifies, improves skin tone, and moisturises like nothing else. It’s anti-ageing, anti-cellulite, and supremely relaxing, all in one steaming, mineral-rich tub. What a lovely treat.

Outside, the hydrotherapy pool is where the real magic happens. It has warm water, gentle jets, and, crucially, no children yelling “I did a wee in the pool.” It’s blissfully serene.

Around us, other adults were clearly unwinding too, even though the hen party was restrained, and no dodgy inflatables or body glitter were in sight.

For a while, the only soundtrack was the faint hum of jets, bubbles, and the occasional sigh of absolute contentment. By the time we left, slightly pruney and fully restored, it was obvious why the spa is a top highlight for Bluestone visitors.

Other activities

Outside of the spa, there are other wholesome wellness activities to enjoy, including scenic woodland trails to stomp along. Clearly, as a holiday resort, most of the activities here are family-oriented. There is archery, laser tag, kayaking, biking and bowling.

Many activities are centred around ‘The Hive’, an indoor play and activity hub that will keep the kids entertained for hours. There’s messy play, soft play, a play tower, an airmaze, and a multi-court arena for ball games.

The Serendome is equally impressive. Housed under a giant transparent dome, this unique indoor-outdoor adventure play area offers high-thrill activities like an aerial ‘sky walk’ consisting of a climbing frame built over seven towers with 24 bespoke climbing stations spread across three levels.

As we passed by, I felt a pang of envy. Back in my day, ‘holiday park entertainment’ meant a patchy lawn, a rusty swing set, and a strong imagination. Serendome would have blown my mind as an eight-year-old.

We decided to try kayaking, as it seemed like the most appropriate activity without children in tow. Obviously, the ‘air maze’ would have been my first choice. It sounds bloody amazing.

Kayaking and SUP sessions take place on the serene waters of Bluestone’s private lake, which is surrounded by beautiful wildlife and woodland.

There was a strong family vibe as we set off from the dock, as endlessly patient parents guided cute and delightfully uncooperative kids around the lake. “No, we mustn’t stoke the ducks, Hugo.”

For experienced paddlers like us, it was a very tame session, but it’s clearly designed for beginners, so we just had a slow lap around, regretting our decision not to bring ‘gin tinnies’ aboard our vessels.

Of course, being near the coast, Blustone is ideally positioned for more high-octane activities like coasteering and sea kayaking. Just a short drive away, you’ll find a mile of coast path, secured bays, and plenty of activity companies offering equipment hire and even guided sessions.

The verdict

As our time drew to a close, it was time for a verdict. I think that the beauty of Bluestone is that you don’t have to leave the site if you don’t want to. Everything is here.

Hop on a buggy, and you’re minutes away from woodland trails, a swimming pool, pubs, restaurants, a swanky spa, and a host of activities. Being car-free means it’s also very safe to let the little ones free-range if you’ve come with the family.

Spacious lodges and cottages also make this a great option for gathering your squad for a grown-up break with everything on site, especially if you’re looking for a spa escape where you can actually all stay together rather than in individual hotel rooms.

By the end of the weekend, I’d gone from mild sceptic to full Bluestone convert. What I’d assumed would be a glorified kids’ camp turned out to be a low-effort, high-reward getaway I didn’t realise I needed. It also turns out we’re not the only ones who think so.

According to the Bluestone team, so far this year, around 12.5% of all bookings (over 4,000) are adult-only, with no children or infants, which honestly really surprised me. but it seems plenty of adults are living their best holiday park life.

Of course, it’s worth noting that the park is still very much geared towards families. The pools, activities, and the Hive are designed for little humans to run riot, and that’s part of its appeal.

But if you can accept a few shrieks in the distance, it’s quite nice to have a weekend in a lovely lodge, with a pool, spa, and pub all within walking or buggy distance. You can also plan as much or as little as you like, and the logistics that normally plague UK getaways are fairly seamless.

Price-wise, it’s probably on the higher end for a Welsh break, but there are ways to make it more palatable. Midweek breaks often come with good deals, and if you’re going as a group, splitting the cost of a lodge makes it surprisingly affordable. Bonus: without children, you don’t have to factor in the extra cost of activities, so there’s more cash for spa treatments. Win!

Honestly, I’m already plotting a return visit with the girls this time. The plan? Cheese, wine, robes, and absolutely no itinerary. Maybe the odd spa session, though, for wellness.

I think my main takeaway is that Bluestone isn’t just for families corralling small children into armbands and softplay sessions. They can also be for adults craving a low-stress break where the pool is warm, the pub is a short stroll away, and for a few days at least, dreary life admin and emails can be forgotten. I’m sold.

Portia Jones was a guest of Bluestone. For prices and booking, visit bluestonewales.com

The official cause of death for Ace Frehley, the guitarist who was a founding member of hard-rock band Kiss, has been released, confirming details his family shared in October.

The medical examiner for New Jersey’s Morris County said in a report, published by TMZ, that Frehley died of “blunt trauma injuries” to his head suffered during a fall. His death was ruled an accident. The report listed injuries including a brain bleed and fractures to his skull.

Frehley’s death on Oct. 16 was announced by his family, which said he had recently suffered a fall. “In his last moments, we were fortunate enough to have been able to surround him with loving, caring, peaceful words, thoughts, prayers and intentions as he left this earth,” the family said in a statement at the time. Frehley was 74.

“We cherish all of his finest memories, his laughter, and celebrate his strengths and kindness that he bestowed upon others,” the statement continued. “The magnitude of his passing is of epic proportions, and beyond comprehension.”

Frehley, known also for his Spaceman alter ego, died less than two weeks after canceling the remainder of his 2025 live performances due to undisclosed “onging medical issues.” He was also hospitalized in late September after suffering a “minor fall” in his studio, his tour manager John Ostrosky announced. Though the rocker was “fine,” doctors urged him to take time from the road to recover, prompting him to cancel his appearance at the Antelope Valley Fair.

The musician was among the original members of Kiss, playing with the band for about a decade, from 1973 — when he formed the group in New York with Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons and Peter Criss — until 1982, when he quit not long after Criss left.

The band, which had its final show in 2023, was known for flamboyant performances, and costumes and heavy makeup. Despite his relatively short tenure, Frehley proved instrumental in creating the band’s stomping and glittery sound, as heard in songs like “Detroit Rock City,” “Rock and Roll All Nite,” “Strutter” and “I Was Made for Lovin’ You.” He was part of a reunion tour with the band from 1996 to 2002.

“He was an essential and irreplaceable rock soldier during some of the most formative foundational chapters of the band and its history,” the band said of Frehley following news of his death. “He is and will always be a part of KISS’s legacy. Our thoughts are with Jeanette, Monique and all those who loved him, including our fans around the world.”

The 2014 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee is survived by his wife, Jeanette; his daughter, Monique; his brother, Charles; his sister, Nancy; and several nieces and nephews.

Times pop music critic Mikael Wood contributed to this report.

Eric Preven, one of L.A. County’s most prominent citizen watchdogs, has died at 63, according to his family.

Preven, a well-known government transparency advocate, garnered a reputation as an eagle-eyed observer of local meetings, a savvy wielder of the state’s public records act, and a reliable thorn in the sides of his government.

Relatives said Preven died Saturday in his Studio City home of a suspected heart attack.

The term “gadfly” often is bandied about local government to describe those who never miss a public meeting. But politicians and his family say the term doesn’t quite do Preven justice.

“You may not agree with him, but it wasn’t just like [he was] shooting from the hip. He would do his research,” said Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who watched Preven testify for more than a decade. “He would let the facts speak for themselves.”

In 2016, Preven and the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California took a lawsuit all the way to the California Supreme Court, which ruled in his favor, finding the public had a right to know how much the county was paying outside lawyers in closed cases. Three years later he successfully forced the city to expand its rules around public testimony after he argued he’d been unlawfully barred from weighing in on a Studio City development.

Many attendees of local public meetings tend to drift into offensive diatribes that have little to do with the matter at hand. Preven never did.

Instead he fine-tuned the art of presenting minute-long, logical arguments on everything from budget shortfalls to seemingly excessive settlements. He could be cutting but he always had a point to make.

And he never missed a meeting.

“Thank you for this exhausting dressing down of the probation department,” Preven said last Tuesday after the supervisors wrapped up rebuking officials for paltry programming inside juvenile halls. “The idea that we’re paying for these programs, these programs are scheduled, and nothing is happening is terrible.”

A New York native, Preven moved to Los Angeles to work in Hollywood, landing TV writing gigs on shows including “Popular” and “Reba.” His path into local activism began 15 years ago after his mother’s two chocolate labs were removed by the county’s animal control department following a fight with an off-leash dog, according to his family.

Preven, a canine lover known to throw parties with members of his local dog park, found the removal of the labs unjustifiable. He went to the Board of Supervisors meeting to tell them so. Then he went again. And again. And again.

Long after the dogs were returned, Preven kept going back.

“He started listening to the meeting and looking at the agenda, and he became just appalled at so many things that he saw,” said his brother, Joshua Preven. “He became so incensed by it.”

Preven became a fierce advocate for the public’s right to know what was happening in local meetings and kept close track of staff changes at City Hall. He was known to text local government reporters early on weekend mornings to ask why someone had stepped down from a city agency, or self-deprecatingly share his latest blog post on CityWatch, a local news site.

“My latest deep dive into my own navel,” he texted two weeks ago with his new article on the famed architect behind his historic home in Studio City’s foothills.

He often sent Times editors and reporters weekly emails on successes and shortcomings in their coverage. The county’s politicians and officials received similar messages about their governance.

“He could be irascible,” his brother said. “When he came and encountered the L.A. County Board of Supervisors, it became a really good use of that stubbornness.”

Preven was a dogged user of the California Public Records Act, finding gems of records buried in seldom-scrutinized agencies. He filed so many record requests to the Animal Care and Control department that the county assigned an attorney just to deal with them, according to Dawyn Harrison, the county’s top lawyer.

“Eric was the epitome of an engaged constituent and critic of local government, persistently questioning and challenging government officials,” Harrison said. “As his interest in County government grew, so did the range of his requests; so, my office decentralized the handling of his requests because no one person could cover all the subjects he looked into. He was a true watchdog.”

Supervisor Janice Hahn said Preven had been scrutinizing her and her colleagues ever since she was a councilmember at City Hall.

“Eric Preven never let those with power in government forget who we work for. … He pushed us, he challenged us, and he had an opinion on everything — from the biggest issue of the day to the more routine contract votes that too often go overlooked,” she said. “While some people wrote him off, I thought there was always truth in what he had to say.”

Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, whose district includes parts of Studio City, said he “took seriously the role of citizen, religiously participating in County meetings.”

In addition to his brother, Preven is survived by his sister, Anne Preven, his mother, Ruth Preven, his father, David Preven, and two children, 28-year-old Isaac Rooks Preven and 26-year-old Reva Jay Preven.

Preven ran several times for public office, launching idiosyncratic campaigns for mayor, city council and county supervisor. He barely fundraised and wasn’t allowed in many of the debates, said his brother, who helped out as his campaign manager.

“We didn’t know what the hell we were doing at all,” Joshua Preven said. “But he kept showing up.”

Times reporters Dakota Smith and David Zahniser contributed to this report.

NEW YORK — No one could possibly be working harder right now on Broadway than Kristin Chenoweth, who is bearing the weight of a McMansion musical on her diminutive frame and making it seem like she’s hoisting nothing heavier than a few overstuffed Hermes, Prada and Chanel shopping bags.

A trouper’s trouper, Chenoweth has reunited with her “Wicked” compatriot Stephen Schwartz, who has written the score for “The Queen of Versailles.” The show, which had its Broadway opening at the St. James Theatre on Sunday, is an adaptation of Lauren Greenfield’s 2012 documentary about a family building one of the largest private homes in America in a style that blends Louis XIV with Las Vegas.

When the Great Recession of 2008 crashes the party, the Florida couple who are never satisfied despite having everything find themselves scrounging to make the mortgage payments for this unfinished (and possibly unfinishable) Orlando colossus. Not even the banks know what to do with this gargantuan white elephant.

The first half of the musical traces Jackie’s rise from a hardworking upstate New York hick to a Florida beauty pageant winner who escaped an abusive relationship with her baby daughter. Her dream of nabbing a wealthy husband comes true after she meets David Siegel (F. Murray Abraham, in vivid vulgarian resort mogul mode). He’s decades older than her but as rich as Croesus, having proudly transformed himself into the “Timeshare King.”

With David funding her every whim, Jackie discovers the joys of consumerism as her family expands along with her credit line. David adopts her first-born, Victoria (Nina White), a sulky adolescent who doesn’t appreciate her mother’s lavish ways. And the couple proceed to have six more children together before adopting Jackie’s niece, Jonquil (Tatum Grace Hopkins), a Dickensian waif who shows up with all her belongings stuffed into plastic bags.

The musical’s book, written by Lindsey Ferrentino (whose plays included the raw veteran recovery story “Ugly Lies the Bone”) deals only with Victoria and Jonquil, leaving the other kids to our imagination along with most of the pets that suffer the seesaw of lavish attention and thoughtless neglect that is the Siegel family way.

Jackie didn’t set out to build such a ludicrously gigantic residence. As she explains in the number “Because We Can,” “We just want the home of our dreams/And the house we’re in now,/Although it’s sweet,/It’s only like 26,000 square feet,/So we’re just bursting at the seams.”

This version of “The Queen of Versailles,” making the visual most of settings by scenic and video designer Dane Laffrey, that can make Mar-a-Lago seem understated, embraces the sociological fable aspect of the tale. To drive home the political point, the musical begins at the court of Louis XIV and returns to France near the end of the show after the French Revolution has bloodied up the guillotine with the powdered heads of callous aristocrats.

Jackie sees herself as a modern-day Marie Antoinette, but instead of saying “Let them eat cake” she has her driver bring back enough McDonald’s to feed an entire film crew. Chenoweth, who is as gleaming as a holiday ornament on Liberace’s Christmas tree, arrives at a canny balance of quixotic generosity and parvenu carelessness in her portrayal of a woman she refuses to lampoon.

Kristin Chenoweth and the Company of “The Queen of Versailles.”

(Julieta Cervantes)

The second half of the musical recaps what happens when the super rich face ruin — ruin not in the sense of going hungry but of having to stop buying luxury goods in bulk. With his timeshare empire hanging in the balance, Abraham’s David transforms from Santa Claus to Ebenezer Scrooge, belligerently withdrawing into his home office like a beaten general plotting a counteroffensive and treating Jackie like a trophy wife who has lost her golden sheen.

Ferrentino extends the timeline beyond the documentary to include what happened to the family in the years since the film was released and Jackie took to the spotlight like a Real Housewife given her own spinoff. The federal bailout worked wonders for the haves, like the Siegels, while the have-nots were left to fend for themselves — casualties of questionable mortgage practices and the “more, more, more” mantra of America. But no one escapes the brutal moral accounting, not even Jackie, after she suffers a tragedy no amount of retail therapy will ever make right.

“The Queen of Versailles” has grown tighter since its tryout last summer at Boston’s Emerson Colonial Theatre, but it’s still an unwieldy operation despite the impeccable showmanship of Michael Arden’s direction. The problem isn’t the production but the musical’s shifting raison d’être.

The first act hews to the documentary in a flatly straightforward fashion. The making of the film becomes the invitation to tell Jackie’s story in the mythic terms she favors. The musical indulges her not with a smirk but with a knowing smile. It’s the culture that’s skewered rather than those who adopt its perverted values.

But not content to be a satiric case study in how the Siegel family story connects “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” and “Dynasty” to the shallowness and cruelty of Donald Trump’s America, the show aspires to the level of tragedy. Achieving great emotional depth, however, isn’t easy when wearing a plastic surgery mask of comedy.

Kristin Chenoweth as Jackie Siegel in “The Queen of Versailles.”

(Julieta Cervantes)

Schwartz has composed an American time capsule of Broadway pop, with as much variety as “Wicked” though with less bombast and no real standout blockbuster numbers. The score moves from the zingy send-up of “Mrs. Florida” and “The Ballad of the Timeshare King” in the first act to the more maudlin “The Book of Random,” in which vulnerable Victoria gives vent to her suffering, and “Little Houses,” in which the modest lifestyle of Jackie’s parents (played by Stephen DeRosa and Isabel Keating) is extolled in increasingly grandiose musical fashion, in the second.

Strangely, one of the show’s most captivating songs, “Pavane for a Dead Lizard,” is about a reptile that starved to death because of Victoria’s negligence. The number, a duet for Victoria and Jonquil, doesn’t make importunate emotional demands and is all the more poignant for its restraint. (White’s Victoria and Hopkins’ Jonquil come into their own here, letting down the defensive armor of their recalcitrant characters.)

Melody Butiu, who plays the Siegels’ Filipina nanny and indispensable factotum, has a readier place in our hearts for all that she has had to sacrifice to support her distant family. Her material lack exists stoically in the shadow of the family’s monstrous excess.

In “Caviar Dreams,” Jackie proclaims her “Champagne wishes” of becoming “American royalty.” Chenoweth, whose comic vibrancy breaches the fourth wall to make direct contact with the audience, relishes the humor of Jackie without poking fun of her, even when singing an operatic duet with Marie Antoinette (Cassondra James). But the material never allows Chenoweth to emotionally soar, and the fumbling final number, “This Time Next Year,” requires her to land the plane after the show’s navigation system has essentially gone blank.

“The Queen of Versailles” is designed to bring out all of Chenoweth’s Broadway shine. She never looks less than perfectly photoshopped, but the production ultimately overtaxes her strengths. New musicals are impossible dreams, and this is a whopper of a show, daunting in scale and jaw-dropping in ambition. If only Chenoweth’s dazzling star power didn’t have to do so much of the heavy lifting.

Strictly Come Dancing professional Karen Hauer shared an update with her fans on Instagram following a tough night with just hours to go until the latest live show

Strictly Come Dancing star Karen Hauer shared an update on her dog Betty’s health after she underwent surgery. The pro dancer let her fans know that Betty is home and recovering following the procedure.

The beloved pet was recently diagnosed with cancer and has now been undergoing further tests to assess her condition. Betty was seen wearing a blue surgical recovery suit in a snap uploaded to Karen’s stories on Instagram.

She wrote over the post, “Our brave girl is home. A little bit out of it after surgery, but she’s doing so well. Now we wait for results.” She then shared a further update with a video where Betty was laying in her bed while Karen sat beside her on the floor stroking her ears.

In the clip Karen admitted that she and boyfriend, former rugby player Simon Davidson, hadn’t had much sleep with just hours to go before she had to head to work for tonight’s live Strictly show alongside her celebrity partner Harry Aikines-Aryeetey. However, she did admit that Betty had got a good night’s rest and was recovering well from her surgery.

Speaking in the clip Karen said, “Just a little update on Betty. She slept okay last night, even though there were fireworks, and she’s not a fan of fireworks. But she managed to get some rest. Simon and I, really we didn’t get much sleep.

“He’s about to go running in a bit and then I’m going off to work in a bit as well. But she is very comfortable in her little suit, and all the other doggies are giving her some love. Even though they want to give her cuddles and kisses they’re trying to be good and stay away from her now.

“But she’s doing good. Our little baby. One day at a time. “

Then, in a further update she showed Betty heading out for a gentle walk with Simon, while still wearing her surgery suit. Karen shared the devastating news of Betty’s diagnosis with her fans on social media last month.

At the time she shared pictures of Betty, including some from recent vet appointments, and explained, “Last week Simon felt two small lumps on Betty’s belly and under her armpit. We took her to the vet, and the results showed traces of cancer. Our hearts broke.

“It’s grade one as far as we know, and our vets have been absolutely incredible. They’ll be doing further tests to make sure they have all the info and can guide us through the next steps to give our Betty the best treatment possible.”

She then issued a warning to fans over their own pets as she continued, “Please check your fur babies for any lumps or bumps… early detection can make all the difference.”

Strictly Come Dancing airs tonight on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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Through his decades-long career, Nick Lachey has done it all in Hollywood — he’s acted, he’s released solo albums, he’s led campaigns with brands (including Purina) and he’s reigned on the reality TV circuit, hosting the dating shows “The Ultimatum,” “Perfect Match” and the phenomenon that is “Love Is Blind,” which wrapped up its ninth U.S.-based season last week.

In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.

But through it all, he keeps returning to one passion project: 98 Degrees, the swoon-eliciting boy band that catapulted him to stardom in the late ‘90s.

“I’m really blessed to be able to be a part of some incredible shows,” Lachey says. “But truly it all comes back to the band for me. I still continue to love to do that and perform with those guys, so hopefully that will continue for a long, long time.”

Earlier this year, 98 Degrees released their first non-Christmas album in more than a decade, “Full Circle.” It features reworkings of their most iconic songs — including “I Do (Cherish You)” and “The Hardest Thing” — along with five new tracks.

Outside of work, what’s paramount in Lachey’s life “is being a dad and being present for my kids, and really being involved in their life,” he says. He and his wife, Vanessa Lachey, who’s also his “Love Is Blind” co-host, have three young children: Camden, Phoenix and Brooklyn.

The Cincinnati native and die-hard Bengals fan takes us along for his perfect Sunday in L.A., where he’s lived for more than 20 years. It involves football (of course), an indulgent brunch with waffles, relaxing at a Malibu beach and reading a print copy of the L.A. Times — an activity that we can absolutely get behind.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

7:30 a.m.: Coffee and the L.A. Times

I usually wake up around 7 or 7:30 a.m. I’m conditioned to get up when the kids do, so that’s typically the time even on a weekend. The first thing I’m doing on a Sunday is getting a cup of coffee. I’m kind of old-school. I still get the print paper. So I’ll walk out of my front door and go grab my L.A. Times and my cup of coffee, and hopefully have a few moments to myself to read the paper before my kids get up and harass me.

9 a.m.: Football time

Are we in football season? That’s a very important question. If it’s my dream Sunday then we’re in football season so around 8:30 or 9 a.m., I’m turning on “NFL Countdown” and we’re getting ready for the Sunday slate of games. The Cincinnati Bengals are my team. I grew up in Cincinnati so I’m kind of a fan by birth, if you will. Now, the Bengals are pretty good. For the majority of my life, they’ve been absolutely horrible and I’ve just been stuck with them, but it’s kind of fun now that they’re actually competitive [laughs].

12 p.m.: Indulge in waffles at brunch

We’re getting into the afternoon and getting ready for lunch. A place my family and I love to have lunch or maybe a late brunch is More Than Waffles, which is kind of an Encino institution, if you will. I usually get a skillet or an omelet, then combine that with a waffle. I don’t eat that great, but if you’re ever gonna eat bad, Sunday is the day to do it, so you gotta get the waffle. You gotta get the whipped cream and the strawberries. Go for broke.

2 p.m.: Hang out at the beach

A good Sunday is heading out to the beach. I’d take the kids to Zuma to see the ocean for a little bit even if it’s just a drive. It’s nice to take the drive down that way, see the water and feel the wind on your face. I’m not a big get-in-the-water guy. If I’m in the Caribbean or somewhere, maybe. [laughs] It’s a little chilly for me, so I’m more of the lay-on-the-sand, take-in-the-scenery kind of guy at the beach.

5 p.m.: Burritos and margs for dinner

Let’s get back to the house to take a shower and then we’d hit Casa Vega. That’s another one of my favorites in the Valley. My whole family loves it. I like the oven style chicken burrito smothered. You gotta get the chips and guac. You gotta get a house margarita blended, no salt, and you’re good to go.

8 p.m.: Family meeting

We always have a family meeting on Sunday nights to get ready for the week and kind of go over what’s going on. So we’d get the family back to the house, sit down with the kids, and kind of go over the expectations for the week and plan it out. Then you’re into shower and bath time because it’s a school night.

10 p.m.: Mommy and daddy time

Once the kids are down, maybe Vanessa and I will take in whatever show we’re watching at that time. That’s a good cap to a Sunday. I just finished watching “Perfect Match” on Netflix, which is a classic. I love all the Taylor Sheridan [shows]. I’ve already watched them all.