Rising fuel costs are pushing millions of Brits to ditch long drives and holidays abroad in favour of UK summer holidays closer to home.
Families are choosing to explore locally due to costs of travel(Image: Getty Images)
Staycations are becoming even more local in 2026 – as fuel prices impact summer plans. A survey of 2,000 adults who have enjoyed a UK holiday revealed millions are planning to make the most of their nearby areas – venturing just 85 miles – rather than destinations further away.
According to the findings, one in four of those arranging to go away have switched a foreign holiday for a UK break. But 62% confessed the expense of travel and petrol has been a key factor in bringing this year’s staycation even nearer to home.
A third are reserving a seaside getaway, 27% fancy a countryside camping retreat, and 23% will be savouring day trips from home.
David Howells, camping and travel expert at Halfords which commissioned the study, said: “Summer holidays don’t always have to involve a week-long stay somewhere on a plane, but this year we’re seeing a real shift towards people rediscovering what’s on their doorstep.
“With travel costs front of mind, many are rethinking what a summer break looks like and embracing the charm and convenience of staying closer to home.”
Beyond petrol costs, 32% have had to shorten the duration of their trip, while a further 32% will have to scale back on activities and dining out once they are there.
Nevertheless, the research also discovered there is a bright side as 35% said taking a break nearer to home will lessen the overall stress of it, and 31% can be more adaptable with their plans.
What’s more, 65% said staycationing closer to home will still feel like a ‘proper’ holiday to them, according to the OnePoll.com data.
However, loading up the car appears a distant prospect as those planning a getaway don’t currently possess the necessary essentials such as roof boxes or bars (69%), tents (59%), or folding chairs (23%).
A fifth need to splash out on new purchases specifically for their forthcoming UK holiday, with items like camping stoves (30%), sleeping bags (23%), and cool boxes (23%) on the shopping list.
David Howells added: “It seems people are clearly making more considered choices this summer and cutting back on time away and extras once they get there to keep costs under control.
“However, looking at it more positively, staycations near home are giving people the freedom to be more flexible – whether that’s changing plans last-minute or fitting trips around everyday life.
“A UK break still delivers that all-important sense of escape, proving you don’t have to travel far or spend big to enjoy a proper holiday”.
For nearly two decades, Nigeria fought Boko Haram and its offshoots, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Ansaru, largely with bombs, bullets, and casualties announced in press briefings. However, the slow process of delivering justice through prosecution was the part of the counterterrorism machine that never quite got built properly.
Thousands of suspects, many of them innocent, disappeared into the barracks and detention facilities of Giwa, Wawa, and the Borno Maximum Security Prison, some for a decade or more, without ever seeing a judge. HumAngle has reported extensively on that. Now, that is visibly changing.
At least 865 convictions were secured between January and July 2026 alone, according to Nigeria’s Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA). The convictions are part of the country’s Mass Trial Programme, a series of tribunal sittings. That figure represents more than half of all terrorism-related convictions the programme has produced since its inception, according to Zakari Mijinyawa, the ONSA’s Director of Legal Services.
However, ONSA has not released comprehensive data on acquittals, dismissals, plea agreements, or pending cases within this period, making it difficult to assess the programme’s overall prosecutorial performance or conviction rate.
In April, a federal court in Abuja convicted 386 people in a single sitting after four days of hearings before a panel of 10 judges, with sentences ranging from five years to life. In June, 12 more defendants were sentenced to death by hanging in cases spanning terrorism financing, kidnapping, and the 2022 massacre at St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, where terrorists killed more than 40 worshippers.
The charges themselves read like a mirror of how an insurgency actually sustains itself: not only fighters but financiers, couriers, and suppliers. One man was sentenced to 20 years for selling cattle and goats to Boko Haram; the presiding judge, Justice Binta Nyako, called the offence “so gruesome” and rejected pleas for leniency. Another received ten years for exchanging roughly ₦750,000 with the group. A woman was convicted for ferrying hundreds of rounds of ammunition to a terror leader in the country’s northwestern region.
This is prosecutorial attention to the economic scaffolding of terrorism – financing, logistics, and information-withholding; rather than a fixation on the terrorist with the gun, which has historically been the easiest and least useful person to punish.
Justice delayed – now being served
Just as significant, though less publicised, is what has been happening on the other side of the ledger. The Department of State Services, under its current Director-General, Oluwatosin Adeola Ajayi, has spent the past year and a half reopening what officials describe as “inherited” detention files, including cases dating back to 2021 and 2022 involving people held for years on suspicion of terrorism before internal review panels ultimately found the allegations baseless.
A Kaduna farmer and herder, Nura Idris, arrested in 2024 over alleged Boko Haram links, was cleared and paid ₦3 million. A Yobe State resident, Ya’u Mohammed, received a similar package after two years in custody. Perhaps the starkest case is that of Sunday Ifedi, arrested with his wife, Calista, in 2021 over alleged links to the separatist group IPOB; Calista died in detention before either of them was ever tried. Sunday was released in December 2025 and paid ₦10 million, and the DSS says it now intends to rebuild the restaurant Calista once ran, in her name. Agency sources say more than 30 such cases have been reviewed and over ₦300 million has been paid out in total.
None of this restores what was lost. Years of a life lost, families destroyed, or a wife who did not come home. But as a matter of institutional behaviour, it is a genuine departure. Public compensation for wrongful terrorism detention remains unusual among West African security services.
Even though it comes after years of pressure from human rights groups and media organisations, the reviews suggest a shift in institutional practice under the current DSS leadership, in which “we got this wrong” is no longer an unspeakable sentence inside Nigeria’s intelligence services. However, it is too early to know whether the approach will endure.
For a country whose counterterrorism record has been shadowed for years by allegations of arbitrary detention, torture, and enforced disappearance in military custody, allegations HumAngle and other outlets have documented extensively, that is not a small shift.
Communities in the North East, particularly in Borno and Yobe, where terrorism has been ravaging lives, have long complained that indiscriminate sweeps net far more innocent men than actual insurgents. In 2014, for instance, 42 men from Gallari, a community in Borno State, were arbitrarily arrested and detained by the Nigerian Army. By 2025, more than a decade later, only five were still alive. Of those five, only three were eventually released.
Each acquittal or compensation payout, in theory, is a data point against that particular grievance, and a small deposit into public trust that has been overdrawn for a generation.
Still, an important puzzle remains why this shift is happening, and if there are measures in place to prevent further arbitrary or illegal arrests and detention of innocent citizens. An official with the DSS, who pleaded anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media, offered some insight into this.
“The Director-General, on assuming office, directed that no arrest is made until all reasonable evidence is gathered about the offence being committed or believed to be about to be committed and the evidence is substantial enough to secure conviction in court,” they said.
The halt of Operation Safe Corridor?
It is against this backdrop that the Senate’s intervention on July 8 lands. Meeting to discuss a wave of attacks on military personnel, prompted by the abduction and death in captivity of retired Major General Rabe Abubakar, the Senate adopted a resolution urging the federal government to halt Operation Safe Corridor (OPSC), the decade-old programme that screens, deradicalises, and reintegrates former Boko Haram terrorists who surrender rather than fight to the end.
In July, Senator Joseph Ikpea, who represents Edo Central Senatorial District, made an additional prayer, seconded by former labour leader and Edo North Senator Adams Oshiomhole, arguing that pardoning and rehabilitating people responsible for atrocities makes no sense while their victims and the families of fallen soldiers receive comparatively little. The Senate wants surrendering fighters prosecuted instead, and “made to face the full wrath of the law”.
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The instinct is neither irrational nor new. Communities that watched OPSC graduates return home with vocational grants while widows of soldiers got condolence visits have voiced exactly this complaint for years. HumAngle’s own reporting from Borno has documented residents’ fury, alongside cases of the programme’s supposed “clients” turning out to be non-combatants swept up in raids and warehoused there simply because army cells were overcrowded.
HumAngle understands that not everyone who goes through a deradicalisation programme was once a terrorist. Some of them can, in fact, be described as victims. Sources confirmed to HumAngle that whenever Boko Haram or ISWAP terrorists storm a village, they often prevent anyone from leaving and force residents to choose between joining the insurgents or being killed. For some people, the instinct to survive leaves them with little choice but to go along with the terrorists, hoping they will eventually find an opportunity to escape and surrender to the military.
Even after surrendering, such individuals are usually required to undergo the deradicalisation process because of the time they spent under the control of the insurgents and the possibility that their beliefs or worldview may have been influenced.
There are also people who are made to undergo deradicalisation because they spent long periods in military detention facilities or prisons alongside high-profile terrorist suspects. The concern is that prolonged exposure to extremist inmates could have affected their thinking, even if they are later cleared and released. That was the case for Abubakar, a man who was once accused of belonging to Boko Haram but was later freed after authorities established that he was innocent. He told HumAngle that because of the years he spent in detention, he was still required to pass through the deradicalisation programme at Mallam Sidi, a facility in Gombe State that serves as the OPSC rehabilitation centre.
However, civil society groups such as the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and the CREAP Africa Initiative, in response to the Senate’s move, called for something more surgical: an evidence-based review of the programme’s screening and transparency, not its abolition.
“CISLAC commends the Senate for responding to earlier calls drawing national attention to the worsening security situation and reiterates that protecting the lives of Nigerians, upholding justice, and restoring public confidence in national security institutions must remain central to all government responses to terrorism and violent extremism,” stated its director, Auwal Rafsanjani.
But the Senate’s prescription runs into an operational reality that the mass trials should make obvious: Operation Safe Corridor and the tribunal system are not rivals competing for the same defendants. They were designed, from the start, to sort two different populations: hardened commanders and financiers who should be prosecuted, and conscripted or coerced low-level members whom the military itself has long argued should not be, because there would be nowhere to put tens of thousand of them, and because the promise of a “safe corridor” home is one of the few incentives that reliably pulls terrorists out of the bush faster than bullets do.
Babayo Sule, a security analyst, put it this way in response to the resolution: the programme exists precisely because years of a purely kinetic strategy failed to end the insurgency on its own; scrapping it removes one of the few levers that can shrink Boko Haram’s manpower without a single shot being fired.
“The Nigerian government will not have opted for the choice of deradicalisation except that Nigeria’s security architecture is overwhelmed by the multi-pronged and multidimensional challenges of insecurity across the country,” he said.
There is also a due-process irony the Senate seems not to have registered. The same week lawmakers called for suspending rehabilitation in favour of prosecution, courts were demonstrating, at unprecedented volume, that prosecution is now genuinely available and increasingly being used.
The danger of the Senate’s resolution, then, is less that it is emotionally wrong (grief for a murdered general and for civilians killed for a generation is entirely legitimate) than that it collapses two distinct instruments into one, at the exact moment when both are showing, separately, signs of working.
That distinction has, in fact, just been reinforced by the federal government itself. On Monday, July 13, the ONSA, through the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), unveiled a comprehensive set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Nigeria’s Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) programme. Rather than expanding eligibility for rehabilitation, the framework seeks to formalise a process that has often been criticised as opaque by defining institutional responsibilities, referral pathways, case management procedures, human rights safeguards, and mechanisms for inter-agency coordination.
Perhaps more importantly, officials were explicit that DDR is not intended to replace criminal accountability. Abimbola Wońosikou, the NCTC’s Director of Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism, stressed during the validation workshop that individuals accused of serious crimes would continue to face prosecution through the appropriate legal processes, while only those who meet established eligibility criteria would proceed through rehabilitation and reintegration.
In effect, the SOPs are intended to codify the distinction between those who should stand trial and those whose circumstances warrant disengagement and rehabilitation, an area critics have long argued lacked sufficient clarity and transparency.
“What needs to be done is to look at what is wrong, how to amend it and how to make it better. It is even better to expand the programme rather than discard it,” Babayo said.
This, HumAngle gathered, could include reforming screening, introducing tighter oversight of who qualifies as a “low-risk” defector, and ensuring faster referral of the genuinely culpable into the tribunal system. The newly adopted DDR SOPs appear designed to achieve many of these objectives by clarifying institutional mandates, strengthening oversight, and embedding human rights safeguards throughout the process. Such measures would address almost every grievance the Senate raised without discarding the one mechanism that has, for a decade, given terrorists still in Sambisa and the Lake Chad Basin forests a reason to walk out instead of dig in.
Whether these safeguards restore public confidence will depend less on the existence of the SOPs than on how consistently they are applied, particularly in deciding who qualifies for rehabilitation and who is referred for prosecution.
Healthcare equipment maker Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) is due to report second-quarter earnings on July 15, with analysts expecting a quarter of solid growth.
The consensus EPS Estimate for Intuitive Surgical is $2.50, representing a 14.2% Y/Y jump. On the revenue side, ISRG is projected to
Al Jazeera put nine leading AI models to the test to predict the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup champion.
Published On 14 Jul 202614 Jul 2026
As the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup enters its final stages, AJLabs asked nine leading AI models to predict the tournament’s final podium based on all available data for each team, including:
Team strength
Squad quality
Coaching
Historical performance
Team’s performance during the current tournament
France emerged as the favourite to lift the trophy, receiving five (Gemini, Grock, DeepSeek, Le Chat and Qwen) of the nine champion votes.
Argentina, the defending world champions, received the remaining four votes (ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot and Meta AI).
France’s forward #10 Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the 2026 World Cup football tournament quarterfinal match between France and Morocco at Boston Stadium in Foxborough on July 9, 2026 [Odd Andersen/AFP]
Predictions for the runner-up were more divided: France and Argentina each received three votes, followed by England with two and Spain with one.
Spain was the clear favourite to finish third, receiving six of the nine third-place predictions, while England and France each received fewer votes.
Lamine Yamal celebrates after the match as Spain qualify for the semifinal stage of the World Cup [Gary Vasquez/Reuters]
The predictions reflect a broad AI consensus around the four remaining contenders, France, Argentina, Spain and England, but also highlight differences in how leading language models weigh recent performances, squad depth and tournament momentum.
The AI predictions come as the tournament reaches the semifinals. France will face Spain on July 14 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, while England will meet Argentina on July 15 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
The third-place playoff will be played on July 18, before the World Cup final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The University of California Board of Regents is being asked to consider whether to bring back the SAT and ACT for admissions, a debate so hot even New York is weighing in on this Golden State dilemma.
Despite dire warnings from our right-coast friends and thousands (yes, thousands) of professors who claim incoming students lack necessary skills, I’m here to present a somewhat contrarian position, based on reality, common sense and one key fact that keeps getting shuffled to the side: California parents pay taxes so their California kids can attend these excellent schools, even if they can’t do advanced calculus.
UC is not Harvard, and was never meant to embody that type of self-perpetuating exclusivity disguised as a meritocracy. As the parent of two (hopefully) college-bound teens, I understand the resentment toward both the UC admission process and the post-pandemic, artificial intelligence mess that plagues our K-12 schools.
But at its best, this push to immediately bring back these tests is a disservice to both the mission of our public universities and the remaining classes of kids who lost learning during the pandemic. At worst, it is jumping on the misguided and retrograde anti-diversity, anti-inclusion bandwagon being led by the Trump administration — and pretending we don’t see where this caravan is headed.
Here’s the common sense: This isn’t a problem of scamming students or lazy teachers, though of course both exist. This is a problem with high schools, and the lingering effects of the pandemic. Bringing back a test solves neither.
“For sure, these are systemic structural problems and inequalities,” Michal Kurlaender, the chancellor’s leadership professor of education policy at UC Davis, told me.
Still, the argument is that we are letting in the “wrong” candidates — those who lack academic skills that would solve for the derivative of f(x) = 3x² + 2x − 5 but who are desirable for other, perhaps invalid, reasons that our current admissions are favoring.
This narrative was given a rocket-fuel boost when UC math professors released an open letter demanding standardized tests be reinstated to weed out the unprepared students cluttering their classes. That letter has now been signed by more than 3,000 UC faculty.
Shockingly, the letter seems to be pushing for a return to standardized tests by, in effect, arguing that a growing percentage of their students are simply too stupid to succeed, no matter what professors do.
“UC has finite resources and can help only so many students, and only when the preparation deficits they need to overcome are within reach,” the letter reads.
These “wrong” candidates are supposedly sneaking through the grueling admissions process with inflated grades and AI cheating (never mind their numerous Advanced Placement test scores, which are largely being ignored in this debate), and what some apparently believe is the foolish decision of administrators to emphasize an admissions process that goes beyond rankings, scores and grades.
The result of the unwelcome presence of these “wrong” admits in our elite academic halls is world-class professors being forced to teach beneath-them basics, and a diminishing of the reputation of our top schools — despite the fact that Berkeley was just rated the No. 1 public university in the country (UCLA is No. 2) and received a record 133,000 first-year applications in 2026.
Here’s that reality I mentioned: When we talk about wrong candidates, we are actually largely talking about race and socioeconomics (including the ever-squeezed middle class).
In California, where the Latino population is more than 40% and growing, our universities have increasingly pushed to serve this demographic and other “first-generation” or underrepresented college applicants. We have also significantly increased the number of students our universities accept, from all demographics.
It is useful to know that standardized testing was eliminated by the regents in a controversial 2020 vote, largely based on the idea that it was discriminating against this broader pool of students — though the data didn’t actually back that up.
In fact, a 19-person task force that investigated the issue found the opposite: that the tests were useful predictors of college success and could pluck diamonds in the rough out of otherwise average applications — when used as one factor among broader admissions criteria.
Wait, what?
Then why am I against returning to these tests? Because the part of that report we are ignoring is that it also found that the University of California can do better than the SAT or the ACT. Saul Geiser, a UC Berkeley professor and a top expert on this issue, says the task force report was flawed because it failed to account for factors including family income and parent education. He calls the SAT “antithetical” to the mission of UCs and says that it is an “illusion” to think bringing them back would do anything but hurt diversity.
“Unlike private Ivy League colleges, public universities must strive to serve all sectors of the state and all segments of the population,” he told me. “The SAT, with its strong correlation with inherited privilege, is a major barrier to achieving that mission.”
The task force originally suggested that California create its own, alternative test by 2025 that would go beyond math and English to measure the persistence, resilience and determination that have always been the markers of success, in college and in life.
The pandemic and costs killed off that project, but our new era of AI has made it more possible than ever. Li Cai, a UCLA professor who was on the task force and who serves as the director of the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing, told me that he supports bringing back standardized testing and that the test-blind decision process is a “failed” experiment — even though he voted for it six years ago.
But he also still supports a test designed by the UC system for the UC system — a test that could be free, available to take anytime at your school or local library as many times as you want, and that gives continuous feedback so students can better see their weaknesses and prepare.
“My vision has not really changed very much,” Cai told me. “A public university, a prominent one like the UC … has almost an obligation to not let the private sector take the charge in terms of intellectual leadership.”
On top of that hesitancy about the real effects of returning to the SAT is the fact that not all UC professors agree it is impossible for lacking students to catch up. Björn Birnir is the chair of the Mathematics department at UC Santa Barbara, and one of only two math chairs in the system who did not sign the open letter.
He told me that Santa Barbara sees the same deficiencies in math, especially in non-math majors, but it has found an effective way to deal with it that doesn’t involve slashing admissions based on test scores.
When students don’t have the basic skills, they are sent to the nearby community college, often over the summer, to catch up. They usually come back, he said, ready for the rigor he expects.
“These problems, they have to be addressed, but you don’t address them by reinstating the SAT,” Birnir said. “Just shutting the door is not really the best solution. We think the best way is to have a path for these students to make up deficiencies.”
Problem solved.
Bringing back the SAT may satisfy frustrated professors and parents, but it is a test that can never contend with the complicated reality of our state universities: We want them to be both world-class and a pathway for our imperfect, still-recovering kids to achieve their dreams, even if it involves summer school.
Last month, veteran Hollywood producer Roy Lee got three calls in a single day from executives at three different studios. Each believed they had found the next internet-native short poised to become a Hollywood blockbuster — an online monster named Siren Head — and each was ready to make an offer and wanted Lee’s help to develop a movie.
The frenzy traces back to the enduring global box-office runs of two low-budget horror films, Curry Barker’s “Obsession” and Kane Parsons’ “Backrooms,” which have earned $403 million and $349 million, respectively. Studios have become fixated on hunting down every short film, internet meme and indie video game with the potential to “put something new and fresh on the screen,” Lee said.
“In the past, whenever we were putting together movies with the studios, they would resort to going back to safer bets with filmmakers who’ve made movies before,” Lee said, whose L.A.-based horror production company, Spooky Pictures, secured three Barker films before “Obsession” hit theaters. “But because of the [ongoing] success, bosses are going to their lower-level executives saying, ‘You better find the next person and bring them to us.’”
The race for Hollywood to capture new-age internet intellectual property, or IP, is well underway. And, in some cases, it’s happening on terms decided by the online creators themselves, according to interviews with agents and producers.
A still of leading actor Chiwetel Ejiofor in “Backrooms.”
(A24)
A new kind of scouting
Mining the internet for the next big thing isn’t a new idea. What’s changed is how major studios approach the creators behind it. In the past, studios have plucked influencers from their online niche and slotted them into whatever mainstream production needed a face. Under the precedent set by Barker and Parsons, studios are now looking to acquire a fully developed idea from creators who already have a built-in audience, agents say.
The industry has long been criticized for leaning too hard on sequels, franchises and remakes led by well-seasoned directors. But after “Obsession” and “Backrooms” were released, it became clear what kind of story could still pull audiences into a theater. Both films came from digital-native storytellers in their 20s who arrived with sizable online followings already attached. In the wake of their success, Parsons is reportedly working on a “Backrooms” sequel for A24, and Barker has another horror movie in the works for Universal Film Group.
“Hollywood is realizing that they have to take more chances,” said Jordan Lonner, Barker’s agent at United Talent Agency. “You have to take those leaps to attract a younger audience. They can feel when something is authentic and that they’re being served something by filmmakers that actually understand them, versus when they’re being served by a big corporate giant.”
Creators are calling the shots
As Hollywood looks to the internet for answers, agents and executives say creators may soon have more leverage than ever at the negotiating table. For example, creators probably will retain ownership and control of their IP, said Ty Flynn, a partner and agent at UTA’s Creators division.
“[Creators] can really have the final say in the creative oversight of their project,” Flynn said. “It’s definitely something that is unique to the space, because they’re obviously the masters of their audience. They know better than anyone else how their audience responds. It’s in the best interest of any partner to [have it] play out, versus trying to control it from the start.”
“Obsession” stars Inde Navarrette and Michael Johnston.
(Focus Features)
While creators break into the mainstream, their representatives say traditional companies are growing more comfortable betting on digital stars. UTA‘s roster includes Alix Earle, Jake Shane and Markiplier — the last of whom recently landed his own box-office breakthrough with “Iron Lung.” The YouTuber, whose real name is Mark Fischbach, self-financed the horror film for $3 million, distributed it on his own and earned roughly $50 million in 4,000 theaters worldwide.
Creative Artists Agency is also teaming up with private equity firm TPG to buy creator-led companies.
Kori Adelson, president of North Road Films — one of the financiers behind “Backrooms” — predicts this shift also will change how studios weigh “price point to risk.” If major companies are willing to diversify their budgets, she said, it could open the door for small-, mid- and big-budget projects to reach a wider range of viewers.
“There’s a direct relationship between budget and authenticity,” Adelson said. “The bigger the budget, the more protections that are in place to ensure that it makes money, because the investment is so big, so you are by definition not able to take risks. And the lower the price point is, the more freedom you have to be bold and to take big swings and to be original.”
Even before the release of “Obsession” and “Backrooms,” multiple studios competed for the theatrical rights to the popular online video game “99 Nights in the Forest,” hosted on Roblox. Disney’s 20th Century ultimately won, with the game’s developers signing on as executive producers.
“Studio people were bending over backwards to make all these promises that would never happen in the past,” Lee said.
There are limits to this model, however
Replicating this success at scale won’t be easy, said Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends for Rentrak. Because major studios operate with far bigger budgets, he said, the low-budget, indie playbook doesn’t simply transfer over.
Buzz Lightyear and Woody in Disney and Pixar’s “Toy Story 5.”
(Disney / Pixar)
“The whole point is that [‘Obsession’ and ‘Backrooms’] were made by independent filmmakers with very modest budgets,” Dergarabedian said. “It makes sense that everyone’s looking for what’s next, but it’s not an easy task. Both of those films came about very organically and authentically.”
Many studios will remain “inherently risk-averse,” said Darrell Miller, an L.A.-based entertainment lawyer — largely because of how much cash flow they need just to operate. He said, “Obsession’s” $403-million worldwide gross is a “big win” for Focus Features, the indie distributor backed by Universal, but it doesn’t compare to what a major studio needs from a tentpole release.
“Major studios have to generate over a billion to pay for the overhead, the operation and the size of their business model,” Miller said. “Blockbusters average between $200 [million] and $400 million [to make] and they’re spending another one to two times for marketing. The major studio game is much bigger.”
Every film, regardless of budget, carries a degree of unpredictability. Plenty of indie productions flop at the box office or never land distribution at all — just as plenty of big-budget releases continue to resonate with mass audiences. “Toy Story 5,” for one, has taken the 31-year-old franchise to new heights. The animated film, made with a budget between $150 million and $200 million, has earned upward of $763 million globally less than a month after its release.
Some creators are saying no
Even as studios chase internet-native IP, some of the most sought-after creators are turning them down. For Luke Pounder and Tristan Tales of L.A.-based TalesVision, traditional Hollywood isn’t the goal. The duo, known for fictional young adult content on YouTube, plans to keep leveling up their material while keeping it native to the internet.
“We never wait on a green light from anyone to tell the stories that we want to tell, and social media has already given us that opportunity,” Tales said.
The pair had been in talks with traditional studios about a few of their ideas, but timeline constraints and the potential loss of creative control steered them away. Even as creators become bigger stakeholders in these deals, for Pounder and Tales, that still isn’t enough.
Later this year, they‘ll launch their first premium series, “Lostlings,” with Lion Forge Entertainment. The eight-episode, half-hour series will premiere on their own YouTube channel.
“YouTube isn’t just like this discovery platform where you pluck the talent or the IP and then throw it into the traditional system. YouTube can be that next phase as well, where you take the talent or the IP and distribute it on there,” Pounder said. “YouTube has to catch up to its creators and their ambitions.”
Meanwhile, the competitive bidding war for the internet urban legend Siren Head closed last week, with Warner Bros. winning the theatrical rights for an undisclosed amount. The film will be directed by Brian Duffield (“No One Will Save You”) and co-written by Zach Cregger (“Weapons”). Trevor Henderson, the artist who created the monster online, will serve as an executive producer.
Lee, who will serve as a producer on the “Siren Head” movie, sees this as just the beginning.
“We’re talking about making films the traditional way using the talent that learns their craft either by doing shorts on YouTube, or doing things in a non-traditional manner.”
The summer holidays are almost upon us. And whether you’re planning to stay at home or travel further afield, family adventure expert Conor Carter shares his advice for stress-free fun
09:01, 02 Jul 2026Updated 09:02, 02 Jul 2026
Whether it’s a local trail, a coastal walk or a weekend somewhere new, a bit of preparation can turn an ordinary day into a proper adventure(Image: Shared Content Unit)
Adventure doesn’t have to mean climbing the highest mountain, buying all the gear or travelling for hours before the day has even begun. Often, the best summer adventures are the ones that feel simple enough to actually do. Conor Carter, known as ConorHikes on Instagram and a member of the Dacia Adventure Community, has amassed over 200k followers offering advice on the best places to go, and how to make the outdoors feel accessible. Whether it’s a local trail, a coastal walk or a weekend somewhere new, a bit of preparation can turn an ordinary day into a proper adventure. Here are his tips for getting started this summer.
Start with what’s nearby
You don’t need to go far to find a good route. Look for circular walks, country parks, canals, hills, forests or coastal paths within easy reach. Starting close to home keeps the pressure off, especially if you’re new to hiking or getting out there.
Pick the right route
Be realistic about distance, terrain and who’s coming with you. A shorter route with a great view, café stop or somewhere to paddle can be more enjoyable than pushing through a walk that’s too long.
Check the basics
Look at the weather, parking, facilities and how clearly marked the route is. Download a map or screenshot key details before setting off, especially where phone signal may disappear.
Pack properly
British summer can be unpredictable, so take water, snacks, sun cream, a waterproof layer, comfortable footwear and a fully-charged phone. A small first aid kit is worth carrying, too. Being prepared means you can relax and enjoy the day.
Leave room for spontaneity
Some of the best moments happen when you’re not rushing: an unexpected viewpoint, a quiet beach, a village pub, or a path that looks too good not to follow. Build in extra time so the day can unfold naturally.
Make space for the right kit
Walking boots, rucksacks, layers, food, camping gear or beach kit can quickly fill a car. A practical, spacious car such as the Dacia Bigster helps make it easier to bring what you need without overthinking the day.
Respect the outdoors
Take litter home, stick to marked paths where needed, close gates and give wildlife space. And while photos are brilliant for remembering a day out, try not to experience the whole thing through a screen. Take the picture, then put the phone away and enjoy where you are.
Although increasingly limited, China’s dependencies on the EU in strategic technologies have not disappeared.
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In today’s increasingly tense geopolitical environment, closing this gap has become an urgent priority for Beijing. The country’s 15th Five-Year Plan, unveiled last March, places technological self-reliance at the heart of its industrial strategy through 2030.
In semiconductors, aerospace technologies, pharmaceuticals, automotive chips, robotics and quantum computing, European companies still supply products that remain essential to China.
As trade tensions with Beijing intensify, could these dependencies give Europe leverage? Most experts are sceptical. China’s monopoly over rare earths — essential for Europe’s green technologies and defence industry — is a far more powerful weapon that could be used in retaliation against the EU.
“China really has a choke point when it comes to minerals, but we don’t have an equivalent choke point, which is very powerful,” Tobias Gehrke, an expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told Euronews.
In some sectors, China may achieve self-reliance within just a few years, according to expert Sam Goodman in a report published in May for the Brussels-based Martens Centre.
Euronews examined those sectors. Here are the technologies in which China still remains dependent on the EU.
Semiconductors
In the semiconductor supply chain, the EU has a jewel : ASML, the Dutch company with the highest market valuation ever recorded by a European company, boasting a market capitalization of more than €630 billion in 2026.
The company holds a near-monopoly on extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines, which are essential for manufacturing advanced semiconductor chips used in artificial intelligence and electric vehicles.
China’s dependence on ASML has already been exploited by the United States and the Netherlands, which have restricted sales of the strategic technology to Beijing. But China can still buy less advanced deep ultraviolet lithography machines, a segment in which ASML holds almost 90% of the global market, according to Gehrke. In 2024, for some of those products, up to 70% of shipments went to China.
However, China is moving quickly to catch up. It now requires that 50% of equipment used in new chip production capacity be sourced domestically, Gehrke wrote in a report published in March.
“The Chinese have set a target that they want to start producing their own chips, not using ASML machines by 2028,” Goodman told Euronews. “But they’re still going to be dependent on ASML to learn.”
Maintenance and repair of installed equipment in China also account for a significant share of EU suppliers’ revenues.
In the event of EU restrictions on semiconductor exports, Gehrke forecasts “potentially large” economic damage to China, particularly if servicing were restricted, “but great spill-over risks,” as a significant share of ASML’s revenue is exposed.
Aerospace
The Comac C919 narrow-body airliner is China’s answer to the widely used passenger jets produced by U.S. manufacturer Boeing and European rival Airbus. But its supply chain remains heavily dependent on European companies.
Goodman lists several of them, including France’s Safran, which produces its engine, Germany’s Liebherr Aerospace, which supplies its cabin pressure system, and Italy’s Avio Aero, which manufactures the engine casing.
“Without the participation of these companies, China wouldn’t have a civil aviation programme,” Goodman said. “Civil aviation is very complicated to begin with, with safety standards very high; it takes a long time to get the know-how needed to do it.”
However, despite China’s dependence on European suppliers, any attempt to weaponise the supply chain could also come at a cost for Europe.
“It will hurt the bottom line of European aerospace suppliers which do very well out of China,” Goodman told Euronews. But he argues that the alternative is to “accept basically that China learn all our technology, create rivals and then destroy our market share”.
Competition between Chinese and European manufacturers is already intense.
A quiet battle is emerging over certification, with China seeking approval from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to allow the C919 to operate in Europe.
“This is a leverage for Europe which could politicise the process and refuse China’s aircraft certification”, Gehrke said. But Beijing is already playing the same game, slowing down the certification of new Airbus aircraft in China.
As of now, Airbus has more than 2,200 aircraft in service in mainland China, holding roughly a 55% market share.
Pharma and biotechnology
Europe still leads China in pharmaceutical patents. “In 2024, companies in Italy, Germany and France alone had double the number of pharmaceutical patents granted compared to China,” Goodman said.
The expert added that EU companies continue to dominate the vaccine market, with Germany’s Merck, France’s Sanofi and Britain’s GSK “accounting for 51 percent of global vaccine market share in 2024″.
However, according to figures from LEEM, the French pharmaceutical industry association, China’s R&D investment grew by 16.2% annually between 2020 and 2024—twice the pace of Europe—allowing it to account for more than one-third of new molecules produced by global pharmaceutical research in 2024.
Some EU companies have also established joint ventures and R&D partnerships to benefit from China’s research spending and lower manufacturing costs, including Germany’s Bayer and France’s Sanofi.
Which side benefits the most from joint ventures? “Always China,” Goodman said. “I’ve found no example of a joint venture between a Chinese company and a non-Chinese company where the non-Chinese company has benefited from technology transfer.”
When it comes to medical equipment, EU companies such as Siemens Healthineers and Philips remain global leaders in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), although both have significantly expanded their manufacturing footprint in China.
“Local competitors are catching up rapidly,” Gehrke said, but he added that “there is still a gap in key upstream MRI components – such as superconducting magnets and image-processing software.”
Automotive chips
Chinese flagship automakers such as BYD and Chery also depend on European technologies, including chips from Germany’s Infineon, the Netherlands’ NXP and Franco-Italian STMicroelectronics.
China’s strategy is to become self-reliant in the sector, but Goodman said that the “domestic demand for EVs and the chips within them has meant that automotive companies in the PRC [People’s Republic of China] face an import substitution challenge”.
But the EU’s leadership in these niche technologies remains precarious.
“Europe is strong in mature automotive chips because they do produce power electronics sensors, but there are still very high vulnerabilities in certain parts of the supply chains, mainly in the back-end manufacturing part,” Giulia Albini from CLEPA, the European Association of Automotive Suppliers, told Euronews.
The EU depends on other regions—including China—for packaging, assembly and testing, as last year’s dispute over Dutch-based Nexperia, owned by China’s Wingtech, revealed. Following the Netherlands’ takeover of the company, China restricted chip exports to the EU.
Goodman added that the significant share of Chinese customers, as well as EU carmakers operating in China, makes it “unlikely that this leverage could be utilised”.
Robotics and quantum
Robots are China’s latest showcase of technological progress. Few will forget Chinese humanoid robots taking centre stage during televised Lunar New Year celebrations.
But Goodman said that a sizeable portion of the downstream supply chain, including the components that make the robots move, is produced by European companies, including Sweden’s Ewellix and Germany’s Rexroth.
“The leading Chinese humanoid robotic companies do not publish their supply chain for this very reason,” Goodman said.
However, he added that, in any case, the narrative of a self-sufficient Chinese humanoid robot sector “ready to take the world by storm” should be examined carefully.
When it comes to quantum computing, designed to carry out complex calculations faster than classical computers, Goodman said that China wants to keep working with Europeans to meet its industrial and commercialisation targets.
However, EU member states remain divided over the merits of partnering with China in what is regarded as the next major technological frontier after the AI boom.
“The French, the Dutch, the Germans have very rigorous export controls on materials that could be used for quantum computing by China, while the Spanish and the Italian have active projects with Chinese companies developing quantum in Europe,” Goodman said.
“Unless we have a unified approach, inevitably China is going to gain the system.”
WASHINGTON — Jennifer Siebel Newsom has spent more than a decade cultivating an identity distinct from her husband, Gov. Gavin Newsom, as an active documentary filmmaker and gender equity activist with her own organizations, staff and salary.
The 51-year-old calls herself California’s “first partner,” a title she coined herself to signal an equal footing with the governor and gender inclusivity.
Her independent streak has generated her a steady income. She earns money from a set of organizations she founded or controls. They include the Representation Project, a nonprofit that advocates for gender equity through film and education programs; Girls Club Entertainment, a for-profit production company she owns that holds the copyrights to her documentaries; and the California Partners Project, a second nonprofit that works closely with her government office and receives donations solicited by the governor.
Since its creation in 2020, the California Partners Project has received nearly $5.1 million from so-called “behested payments,” raising alarms over the years about the influence large companies have amassed in Sacramento.
California law allows officials to solicit donations to specific charitable or governmental causes when the payments are reported within 30 days. The public donation system, however, came under scrutiny in 2020 when payments made at Newsom’s behest — to a variety of organizations, not just the California Partners Project — ballooned to an unprecedented $226 million to help fund the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With no limit on how much money can be donated by organizations or individuals at the behest of the governor, millions of dollars flowed in to prop up public services during the pandemic and fund Newsom’s favored programs, including an effort to address homelessness and a public safety campaign promoting the importance of wearing masks. The top donor of Newsom-behested payments in 2020 was tech giant Facebook, which gave $27 million for gift cards that went to front-line healthcare workers and for public health ads.
“It’s not illegal, but it certainly pushes the bounds of campaign finance law, and the first couple has been doing this for some time,” said David McCuan, a political science professor at Sonoma State University. “In this battle between Newsom and [President] Trump this makes their [the first couple’s] actions, these payments and the operation of the nonprofits a rich target for scrutiny.”
The Newsoms’ financial arrangements are now the subject of renewed scrutiny. The governor has accused the Trump administration — specifically, the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service — of questioning their friends and former employees about him and his wife. The governor said the probes are politically motivated, a personal vendetta because he’s considering a run for president in 2028.
Newsom said he and his wife have nothing to hide, and promised to release all of his recent tax returns — though he has not announced when.
In turn, the governor has demanded that the Department of Justice release all records pertaining to the probe.
“The American people deserve to know who ordered this abuse of power and how far it goes,” the governor wrote on social media last week.
“These are dark days in our nation’s history when the leader of the free world spews animus openly and without shame — aiming to silence and destroy not only his political opponents, but their friends, colleagues, and families,” Siebel Newsom said in a statement to The Times. ”My husband and I will continue to push back on this vindictive attack — and I certainly will not let this distract me from the important work ahead to protect the health, wealth, and safety of women and children and give California kids the best start in life. Together, we can set an example of strong leadership that protects people rather than preys on them.”
To better understand the finances, here is a breakdown of how Siebel Newsom’s company and nonprofits are working.
The Representation Project
Alongside the release of her first documentary, “Miss Representation,” in 2011, Siebel Newsom created her nonprofit, which originally shared the same name as her film. The organization licenses her films and reimburses costs to her production company.
The nonprofit earns some revenue from licensing the first partner’s documentaries for use in classrooms, college campuses and workplaces. Licensing for film screenings at schools starts at $49, while corporate licensing for her films starts at $995; purchase of screening rights also comes with curricula to facilitate discussions.
The Representation Project has earned more than $5.2 million in revenue from film screenings, licensing and speaking fees since 2011, according to a review of its tax filings.
The Representation Project is not required to disclose its donors but has received at least $2.6 million since 2014 from various charitable foundations that disclosed the gifts in their own tax filings. Several corporations that have had business before the state have donated to Siebel Newsom’s nonprofit, including Pacific Gas & Electric Co., AT&T and Kaiser Permanente.
Its past donors also include entrepreneur and progressive donor Susie Thompkins Buell, who is credited as a producer on several of Siebel Newsom’s documentaries, as well as the Marin Community Foundation and Onward Together, the political action organization founded by Hillary Clinton.
Four months after Newsom took office in 2019, the state Department of Education recommended that high schools screen two of his wife’s films, “Miss Representation” and “The Mask You Live In,” a move that has garnered criticism from conservative media outlets. The state said the films “can help facilitate a discussion about the impact of mass media and gender socialization on self-image and relationships with others.”
Though it does not specify where its films have been licensed, the nonprofit boasts in annual impact reports that its films and curricula have “reached over 2 million students” and “are being used in over 5,000 schools in fifty U.S. states.”
Since founding the Representation Project in 2011, Siebel Newsom has received more than $1.9 million in compensation from the nonprofit organization, according to a review of federal tax records. Her separately owned film production company, Girls Club Entertainment, has collected about $2.2 million in independent contracts from the nonprofit, records show.
Combined, the two streams of money total about $4.1 million flowing from the charity to Siebel Newsom personally or to entities she controls over the span of a little over a decade.
Her current annual salary is $161,250 for a 40-hour workweek, records show. Siebel Newsom earns income from both her production company and her nonprofit, according to state financial disclosures.
Jeff Tenenbaum, a nonprofit attorney with 30 years of experience advising nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations, declined to comment on Siebel Newsom’s specific case. But generally, he explained the legal framework that would apply to an arrangement like the one described in the filings.
Under federal tax-exempt organization law, he said, the “private benefit doctrine” governs whether a nonprofit’s overall activities unduly benefit any single individual — including through indirect payments to entities they own. The tax law asks whether too much benefit flows to one person or entity.
This is separate and distinct from the “private inurement” doctrine, which prohibits nonprofits from paying greater-than-fair market value compensation to insiders, including founders, and which requires that such compensation arrangements be approved by individuals with no conflicts of interest.
“Theoretically, a situation like this could raise some private benefit concerns,” Tenenbaum said, when the structure of the arrangement was described to him.
The doctrine does not prohibit all private benefit, he said, only what the federal tax code calls “impermissible” private benefit.
“There has to be too much benefit compared to the benefit to the public,” he said. Whether that threshold is crossed here, he said, would require a fuller review of the organization’s finances, contracts, and other considerations, including copyright ownership issues relating to the films produced.
Girls Club Entertainment
An actress and documentary filmmaker, Siebel Newsom founded her production company to develop independent films with a focus on combating gender stereotypes and empowering girls and women. She serves as the company’s chief creative officer.
She has written, produced and directed five films exploring themes of inequality and traditional gender roles. Siebel Newsom is best known for her 2011 documentary “Miss Representation,” which focused on the few and narrow representations of girls and women in American media.
Tax records show that the production company owns the rights to “Miss Representation” and has licensed the film to the Representation Project for a minimum of seven years for the purpose of distributing and screening the film in public. Costs associated with film production — including the writer, director and producer fees — have been reimbursed by the Representation Project, tax filings show.
Her latest documentary, “Miss Representation: Rise Up,” examines “the rising backlash against women’s progress and the hostile landscape of technology designed to harass and, ultimately, silence women.” The film premiered this month at the Tribeca Film Festival.
California Partners Project
In 2020, Siebel Newsom founded the California Partners Project, a nonprofit focused on improving gender equity in the workplace and the safety and well-being of children in online spaces. She does not collect compensation from the nonprofit or serve on its board.
It hosts an annual “gender equity summit” and provides resources for parents on issues such as social media safety and child mental health.
In the fall of 2024, Siebel Newsom and the California Partners Project hosted representatives from TikTok, Meta, Pinterest and other social media platforms for an event about children’s online safety. A day before the panel, state Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta took a more forceful tack to go after the tech industry by joining with 13 other states in a lawsuit against TikTok that accused the platform of exploiting young app users with its addictive features.
In September of 2024, the governor signed a bill to prohibit internet services and applications from providing “addictive feeds,” defined as media curated based on information gathered on or provided by the user, to minors without parental consent.
The California Partners Project also does not publicly disclose its donors in its tax filings, but much of the nonprofit’s funding appears to come from behested payments. Siebel Newsom does not receive a salary from the organization.
Since its founding, the Newsoms have steered more than $5 million to the nonprofit via behested payments, according to a review of the disclosures. While many donations to the California Partners Project come from charitable foundations, it also received hundreds of thousands from companies including Silicon Valley Bank, Pinterest and the charitable arm of Blue Shield of California.
Its biggest funder is the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, a Sonoma County tribe that operates a casino in Rohnert Park and spends heavily in state and federal elections. The tribe has given $2.3 million to the nonprofit since 2022. In June 2023, Newsom appointed tribal Chairman Greg Sarris to the University of California Board of Regents. Newsom has also supported efforts by the tribe to block a smaller tribe from building a casino in nearby Vallejo.
Blue Shield, which has reported giving $100,000 to Siebel Newsom’s nonprofit, also has a cozy relationship with her husband. The nonprofit health insurer was an early donor to Newsom’s 2018 campaign for governor and later received a $15-million no-bid contract to distribute COVID vaccines. State regulators in 2024 also signed off on the nonprofit’s request to restructure and establish a new parent corporation out of state, a move that raised alarm among healthcare advocates.
The California Partners Project did not respond to questions about its donors and spending.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — World Cup tickets are expensive. Flights to North America are expensive. Hotel rooms in many places are expensive.
Then there’s the price of beer.
There are some fun — and yes, sometimes pricey — food and drink offerings at the venues playing host to the World Cup. A $75 caviar-topped tray of tater tots and a $40 empanada weighing in at 5 pounds for the daring or for sharing in Miami. Ribeye tacos for $8 in Guadalajara, Mexico. Something called a Twinkie cheeseburger that has nothing to do with dessert for $22 in Los Angeles.
Prices, in many cases, aren’t all that different from what U.S. fans would experience on NFL Sundays or college football Saturdays. But some international fans aren’t used to such pricing and are calling foul, especially over beer prices that can top $20.
“It’s unfair. It’s not right. It’s wrong,” said Thomas Schüller, an engineer from Germany in Toronto to watch his national team play over the weekend, as he held a beer that cost him 24.25 Canadian dollars (about $17). “It’s three times the cost of what I pay in my country.”
But is that stopping him?
“Well, no,” Schüller acknowledged.
Beer prices become a mild pint of discord
There is clearly some sticker shock among international visitors to this World Cup, especially when it comes to the concession prices. In Europe, it’s not uncommon for beers to be perhaps around 4 or 5 euros (about $5-6).
There’s also no shortage of intrigue on the menu at the concession stands at stadiums across the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
“Never seen anything like it,” said Janine Arbetter, a fan from Austria, as she waited for a hot dog, chips and soda combo in Miami last week. The pre-tip price: $19.35, which included a discount for using Visa. “It’s a lot of food for a little snack.”
Some Argentina fans happily showed off their $34 lobster rolls from a match in Kansas City on social media, but in Toronto, the brisket sandwich with chips and a bottle of soda for nearly 40 Canadian dollars ($28) had some online commenters lamenting it as “robbery.”
“It’s OK, more or less, for the World Cup,” German fan Daniel Feldmann said of the food prices while watching a match in Vancouver last week.
Concession offerings vary from stadium to stadium
FIFA, the sport’s governing body and the tournament organizer, has very specific rules on just about everything related to the World Cup — and there are guidelines that concessionaires have to follow as well. But prices can vary by market, as do the food and drink offerings. And that means the experience in one city might look, or taste, nothing like what’s offered in another.
The “Fancy AF Tots” for $75 at Miami Stadium aren’t really tots at all — it’s three deep-fried hash brown patties, with caviar, creme fraiche and chives. (For those who just want the caviar, it’ll be $70.) Southern California’s Twinkie cheeseburger is in fact a burger topped with a Texas Twinkie — a bacon-wrapped jalapeño stuffed with brisket and cream cheese.
But there’s also a slew of choices specific to a local market; for example, Vancouver offers short rib poutine along with a maple bacon smokie (smoked sausage topped with bacon onion jam that features Canadian maple syrup).
And in Miami, the signature offerings include pan con lechon (a Cuban-style sandwich with pork, infused with citrus mojo sauce and served on a toasted full Cuban loaf) and Empanada Mundial (the five-pound, handmade, chicken-and-cheese-stuffed dish named after the World Cup).
Both Vancouver and Miami have Sodexo Live as a food and beverage provider, and the typical game-day menus in both stadiums were revised a bit to accommodate a soccer crowd.
“We want it to feel like Miami when you’re here,” said Zach Williams, Sodexo Live’s vice president of operations at Miami Stadium. “Everything we do around the Miami Stadium, we want to make sure everybody understands that when they come here, they’re getting a Miami experience.”
Atlanta Stadium keeps prices low
In Mexico City, a beer could cost a day’s pay — literally. The daily minimum wage in Mexico City is just 315.04 pesos (roughly $18). Some beers at Mexico City Stadium were selling for between 299 and 310 pesos — about twice as much as fans would ordinarily pay in the same stadium when the World Cup isn’t in town.
But in Atlanta, where Falcons owner and stadium operator Arthur Blank promised the low concession prices he’s championed for many years would hold for the World Cup, pizza slices were $3, 32-ounce sodas were $4, a cheeseburger was $5, chicken tenders with fries were $6 and beers could be had for as little as $8.
Jonathan Arango, a 33-year-old from Greenville, S.C., was at a match in Atlanta with his wife, daughter and father.
“In total for what we got — three orders of tacos, a slice of pizza, two waters and a Coke — we spent like $50,” Arango said. “Compared to what we’ve paid at other events … it’s nice after you paid a lot for a ticket.”
And Schüller pointed out that even though the tournament does come around every four years, it still feels like a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“The entire football world is having fun,” Schüller said, “so cheers to that.”
Car hire is at its peak over summer, with people using them to travel around the UK and beyond. And getting it right is easy with a bit of knowhow, says travel expert Jamie Holt
Car hire is a task completed by Brits in their hundreds of thousands every summer(Image: Getty)
Hiring a car is not particularly sexy nor glamorous – but it’s a task completed by Brits in their hundreds of thousands every summer. “We’re seeing families prioritise flexibility and convenience more than ever, whether that’s for a summer holiday abroad or a UK staycation,” says Jamie Holt, SIXT’s Head of Operations and Resident Travel Expert. “Whether it’s a week in Cornwall, a weekend in the Lake District, or driving straight from the airport to a resort abroad, people want the journey itself to feel easy and enjoyable.” Here he shares his top tips for getting it right.
Don’t leave it too late
Jamie says: “Summer is always busy, and family-friendly vehicles – SUVs, estates and 7-seaters- get booked up first, particularly during school holidays. Booking early gives you more choice, better value and the right vehicle for your trip. It’s also worth being realistic about space: once you add luggage, pushchairs and everything else, a slightly larger car makes the whole journey more comfortable.”
Embrace flexibility
Jamie says: “My biggest tip is to embrace the flexibility a car gives you – stop at a beach on the way down, visit smaller villages that are harder to reach by train, and avoid the pressure of fixed schedules. Make sure you plan for busy roads during peak weekends: setting off slightly earlier or later than the main rush makes a real difference. Keeping snacks, entertainment and chargers easily accessible helps too. We’re seeing more families turn short UK breaks into proper road trip experiences.”
Understand local rules when abroad
Jamie says: “Book in advance, especially in popular destinations where availability drops quickly in summer. Make sure you understand the local driving rules before you travel – speed limits, road signs and right-of-way rules can vary significantly. Check what’s included in your rental: unlimited kilometres, protection options and 24/7 breakdown assistance make a big difference abroad. And always take five minutes to familiarise yourself with the vehicle, the navigation system and local road apps before you set off.”
Book the right car for you
Jamie says: “Comfort and practicality should come first. People focus on price, but choosing the right vehicle completely changes the experience. At SIXT, we specialise in premium vehicles, so customers can expect a comfortable drive from the moment they collect the car. For summer, whether you’re heading on a UK road trip or hiring abroad, SUVs and larger family vehicles are popular because they offer the room and comfort that longer journeys demand. Think beyond getting from A to B; the journey should feel like part of the holiday.”
Take five minutes before setting off
Jamie says: “It makes a real difference, especially when driving somewhere unfamiliar or abroad. Before anything else, do a full walk-around of the car and take photos and videos – it only takes a moment and gives you peace of mind for the journey ahead. Check the navigation system, phone connectivity, charging points and child seat fittings before leaving the branch. Test how luggage fits in the boot rather than assuming it will all squeeze in later. Travel days can already feel hectic during summer, so a little preparation upfront helps everything run more smoothly.”
Plan, plan, plan
Jamie says: “Extra planning goes a long way during peak season. Whether you’re collecting from an airport, heading off on a staycation or navigating busy roads, giving yourself extra time helps. Keep an eye on live traffic updates and avoid the busiest routes where you can. If you’re travelling with children, build regular breaks into the journey. Hiring a car through SIXT already takes a lot off your plate – with flexible booking, 24/7 support and out-of-hours returns, families can focus on enjoying the trip.”
Hire straight from the airport
Jamie says: “Hiring straight from the airport removes unnecessary stress. After a flight, the last thing you want is to navigate train connections or wait for taxis with lots of luggage. Having a car ready means you continue your journey comfortably and on your own schedule – especially useful in destinations abroad where public transport is limited. We also see strong demand for same-day and short-notice bookings during summer, so flexibility is built in for when plans change.”
Look beyond the headline price
Jamie says: “Features like unlimited kilometres, vehicle protection and 24/7 breakdown assistance make a huge difference, particularly for families driving long distances or abroad. Adding an extra driver for longer trips is also worth considering – sharing the driving makes the experience more relaxed, especially with children. And for UK staycations, you can often book and collect from city centres and local branches, not just airports.”
Think about the journey as part of the holiday…
…”not just the transport,” says Jamie. “The smoother the travel day, the better the trip starts for everyone. Booking early not only gives you the widest choice of vehicle categories – it’s also where you’ll find the best rates, with SIXT’s prepay option offering great value and transparent pricing with no hidden fees. At SIXT, we’re making it easier than ever to hit the road – browse the premium fleet at sixt.co.uk or download the SIXT app to book from our nationwide network including city centres such as London, Manchester, and airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Edinburgh and many more. SIXT gives people the freedom to travel on their own schedule, make spontaneous stops, and avoid the stress of crowded stations or peak-time public transport.”
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. Maybe the Dodgers can lure Nuke LaLooshout of retirement.
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The Dodgers are struggling in June, going 7-6 this month after going 20-11 in March/April and 18-10 in May. Why? Let’s take a look.
Runs per game March/April: 5.39 May: 5.25 June: 5.54
Batting average March/April: .273 May: .252 June: .261
OB% March/April: .350 May: .339 June: .354
SLG% March/April: .452 May: .441 June: .413
Power is down a bit, but all the other numbers are normal, so offense does not appear to be a big problem. They are hitting about the same in all the clutch stats, so that’s not a big problem. Let’s look at the pitching:
ERA April: 3.19 May: 2.95 June: 4.73
ERA by starters April: 2.83 May: 3.31 June: 3.28
ERA by relievers April: 3.88 May: 2.35 June: 7.51
Ah, we begin to see the problem: The bullpen, which has been outstanding all season until this month.
That’s a lot of bad pitching in the bullpen this month. Of course, this is the same bullpen that set a team record for most consecutive scoreless innings. And, just like batters go into slumps, so do pitchers.
“Out of the bullpen specifically, I think maybe some strike throwing, a few more walks that we’re not used to over the last six weeks or so, because they’ve been really, really good,” bench coach Danny Lehmann told reporters after the Dodgers lost to the Chicago White Sox on Sunday. “We’ve gotten bit by the long ball, obviously in Pittsburgh, and here tonight. But overall, it’s more the strike throwing and just getting ahead of guys and doing what they’re supposed to do.”
Are fresh arms on the way?
Well, Brock Stewart is on a rehab assignment in Ontario, but he has been injured so often since the Dodgers traded for him, you can’t expect anything from him. You can just hope. Evan Phillips is on assignment in Oklahoma City, and is on track to return in early July.
“It’s really good to see,” Dave Roberts told reporters recently. “Evan’s a guy that’s very focused and determined, and he’s going to do everything he’s supposed to do to get back. And to potentially have him back is a big weapon that we’ve missed for quite some time, and I miss seeing him around. … I depended on him a lot when he was active, so to get him back is going to be a big boost to everyone.”
There are the usual suspects in the minors, such as Paul Gervase, whom they can turn to, but other than that, it’s just wait and see and hope Stewart and Phillips can come back healthy (especially Phillips, who was a key man in the bullpen for four seasons).
Congratulations!
Roberts missed Sunday’s game for a very good reason: His daughter, Emme, graduated from Stanford.
“I’m really proud,” Roberts told David Vassegh on AM 570 last week. “It is weird, though, because you never want to miss a game. But I think that this is a good reason.
“I think the one thing for me, is the world has evolved, and many can argue not in a good way. In some ways good, some ways bad. But I do think in a lot of ways from the workplace sense of things, it’s more open to people spending time with their families. Knowing that those moments are important, they’re fleeting. The job is going to get done with or without you.
“So I encourage my coaches to enjoy graduations and things like that. One of our coaches had to leave for a surgery for their daughter. I certainly welcome that, because there’s nothing more important than family. And also, I think when you get to do moments with your family and other things that are really important, I think you do your job better, and you feel better for the people you work with and for.”
These names seem familiar
How notable players who were with the Dodgers the last couple of seasons are doing with their new teams (through Sunday). Click on the player’s name to be taken to their full stats page:
Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
SANTORINI’S latest move to limit numbers of cruise-ship visitors descending on the Greek isle is into its second week – and looks to be easing congestion.
The local authorities have said no more than 8,000 trippers – equivalent to the passengers of two or three ships – can disembark daily over summer.
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Santorini has moved to limit the number of cruise-ship visitors to try and ease congestionCredit: GettyNigel Thompson and his wife reported a much more pleasant visit to Santorini compared to more crowded previous visitsCredit: Supplied
Previously, as many as 17,000, from seven or eight vessels, had choked the streets of Santorini hotspots Fira and Oia during peak season.
It comes as the island also introduces a controversial 20-euro port tax per passenger, which has led to some cruise lines cancelling visits in protest.
Other new changes, first announced last year, mean a maximum of 30 per cent of a ship’s passengers can now arrive at the island’s Athinios ferry port, which has road access.
The rest must use island capital Fira’s Old Port and head up to the town by cable car (which has long queues on busy days). Or sweat their way up 588 steps.
The island has also introduced a controversial 20-euro port tax per passengerCredit: GettyThe changes mean visitors can stroll the pretty streets easily and stop for photos with no jostlingCredit: Getty
The latest change, which came into force on June 1, means tender operations – where passengers are ferried ashore in small boats from ships parked in the 1,200ft- deep waters of the island’s caldera – are now carried out by vessels of the Santorini Boatmen’s Association (SBA) rather than cruise ships’ lifeboats.
The Greeks have also set a 500-passenger limit on numbers waiting for the cable car or a tender at the Old Port – and to keep to that figure, tendering schedules will be controlled by SBA vessels rather by than the ships’ crews.
I visited gorgeous Santorini earlier this week – aboard Tui’s Marella Voyager, one of three ships in the caldera – and was pleasantly surprised by how well things are working, having faced horrendous overcrowding on previous trips.
The SBA tender to Athinos, to catch a tour bus to the south of the island, was on time, the boat was lovely and modern and the crew were friendly.
When I later stopped at Fira for lunch, it was busy but not overcrowded and I could stroll the pretty streets easily and stop for photos with no jostling.
There was no queue for the cable car down, though there was one at the bottom waiting to head up.
My tender back to Voyager was also very easy, with a short queue and swift boarding.
Only time will tell how things pan out this summer, and no doubt the island authorities can make further changes if required, but my visit this week was seamless and Fira was fun, not frightful.
Ron, a West L.A. resident, thinks he knows why former reality TV star and political newcomer Spencer Pratt won so much support in his run for mayor.
People are frustrated, frightened and angry about homelessness “and the crime associated with it,” Ron said in an email. He added that he voted for Mayor Karen Bass, but “almost everything Pratt said about the homeless resonated with me. … The homeless run wild here, without consequence.”
“Many of us support him not because we think he’s perfect,” said Kathy, “but because we are deeply dissatisfied with the direction of Los Angeles and feel that traditional politicians have not delivered the results we were promised.”
Bob, “a left-leaning Palisades resident,” said the issue is not Pratt’s lack of credentials, but the failures of incumbents. “There was a columnist … who documented in depth the situation at MacArthur Park,” Bob wrote in reference to me. “What was his name and what happened to him? Did he change his tune?”
These are all fair points, and if Pratt holds onto one of the top two spots and makes it to the Nov. 3 general election, or he’s overtaken by late-charging Councilmember Nithya Raman, we’re going to hear a lot more about homelessness in coming months.
So whether we’re looking at a Bass-Raman contest or a Bass-Pratt showdown, here are some random musings, and I’ll begin by responding to Bob’s question about whether I have changed my tune.
Not in the least.
The situation in MacArthur Park — targeted Thursday in a crackdown that involved multiple arrests — has long been a disgrace, and the same is true of many other places I’ve written about for the past quarter of a century. Last month, I visited a Hollywood neighborhood where one frustrated resident hired her housekeeper to document chronic problems related to homelessness, illegal dumping and criminal activity.
Residents have good reason to ask why they haven’t gotten better results after responding to politicians’ pleas for more money over the years.
It’s no surprise that Bass had high unfavorability ratings and why, despite leading in the primary vote count, she’ll fall far short of the 50% needed to avoid a second election phase. I still can’t believe that when I first asked her about the sad state of MacArthur Park, she told me she was fully aware, because she often drove through the area on her way to work.
Then why hadn’t she led the charge to address the problems and return the park to the community?
It shouldn’t take months, let alone years, to take back control of public spaces, and Pratt’s criticism is warranted, no doubt. And my main issue is not the hypocrisy of him saying God wants him to be mayor while calling his opponents demonic entities and villainizing homeless people he intends to shoo away to Seattle. It’s that his “fixes” demonstrate a lack of understanding.
Let me make a confession. From one angle or another, I’ve been writing about the intersection of homelessness, mental illness and addiction for a couple of decades, and I still have a lot to learn.
And on a personal note, I lost my son to a drug overdose. He had a job and wasn’t homeless, but like a lot of people who struggle with depression and other demons, he was resistant to help, and even to the idea that he needed help.
There are a lot more substance users like him, living out of public view, than there are on the street. We notice only those who don’t have the means to pay the rent or the mortgage as housing prices rise. So when Pratt says we don’t have a homelessness problem, but a drug problem, he’s missing a critical component in understanding why L.A. has tens of thousands of unsheltered people.
Pratt said on his website that his “treatment first” approach would direct resources into mental health and drug treatment care, which sounds good except that those responsibilities are primarily under county jurisdiction, not city control.
He and others have attacked harm reduction practices, such as distribution of needles and other paraphernalia. And I have to admit that it seems counterintuitive to enable further drug use. But the idea is to prevent death, engage clients and start a relationship that might lead to transformative care.
The county reports that in 2024, fentanyl-related deaths decreased by 37% and meth-related deaths by 20%. Harm reduction can be “absolutely invaluable,” addiction specialist Rick Rawson told me when I was working in MacArthur Park, but we need much more than that.
“When you have someone who becomes so incapacitated that they can’t stand up,” Rawson said, “to say that you’re just going to provide them with harm reduction and hope they don’t die, I think that falls short of the responsibility we have to each other and to the sickest people.”
I’ll add here that I firmly believe we should intervene more aggressively with people who are gravely ill, or are a threat to themselves or others. I recently profiled two San Diegans who are advocating for use of an existing law to allow for deeper evaluations and longer-term treatment plans for people with chronic drug and mental health issues.
It’s worth noting that drug and alcohol rehab is seldom a quick or surefire remedy. As for mental illness, it took me one year, along with the help of trained professionals, to convince my friend Nathaniel to seek help after he’d spent decades on the street following a diagnosis of schizophrenia.
What I’ve found over the years is that many of those living in tents and cars and alleys and parks are damaged in numerous ways.
I’m less inclined to judge people from a distance after having met a man on Skid Row who said he fell apart after his young daughter drowned. I’ve met women who are victims of domestic abuse or sexual assault. People in the grip of killer drugs like meth or fentanyl don’t think as clearly as we’d like them to, and they repeatedly sabotage their own self-interest.
To see people take over public spaces, openly sell or use drugs, lash out and scare those around them is disturbing and sometimes scary. But to say they choose to live on the street, as Pratt has, is to miss the point, to excuse our own complicity, to overlook historic policy failures, and to choose contempt over compassion.
Homelessness can cause mental illness, and mental illness can cause addiction, and vice versa. One condition alone can be difficult to address, but intertwined maladies further complicate matters.
I recently checked in with a guy I wrote about who had been addicted and homeless in Koreatown, and he said his recovery took more than half a year. He was in residential treatment for a few months, then in intensive outpatient treatment. There are no shortcuts, he said.
I’m not here to defend Bass, or Raman and the rest of the City Council, which shares responsibility for the current state of the city. Limited progress has been made in the last 3½ years, with a marginally lower number of homeless people.
But there’s a long way to go in moving people indoors and restoring a sense of order and public safety. The many needs include smarter enforcement of existing laws, faster development of low-cost interim and permanent housing, better coordination of outreach and follow-up services and more people willing to do all of this work.
Let’s hope that in the coming months we’ll get an honest conversation about what’s working, what isn’t, and how to do better.
After the 2022 Los Angeles mayoral primary, developer Rick Caruso looked to have a surprising, and sizable, lead over then-U.S. Rep. Karen Bass.
The morning after the polls closed, Caruso was ahead by 5 percentage points — 42% to Bass’ 37% — and the former Republican called the early results “a victory story.”
But that lead did not last as the vote count continued. By the time all votes were tabulated two weeks after election day, Bass had come out on top, with 43% of the vote compared with Caruso’s 36%.
Welcome to the postelection vote-count slog in California, where tight races are often impossible to call even when the initial results seem clear-cut.
The California governor’s race still has not been called even though Republican Steve Hilton has been the top voter-getter and Democrat Xavier Becerra has been in second place since election night. The same is true in the battle over who will face Bass in the mayoral election: reality TV personality Spencer Pratt, who is now in second place, or L.A. City Councilmember Nithya Raman, who is in third place.
At this point in the vote tally, “everybody has an opinion and very few facts” about what the results will be, said Mike Murphy, a Republican strategist.
“Nobody in politics wants to be patient,” Murphy said, adding that California has “adopted a system that’s slow and deliberate.”
It’s not just the L.A. mayor’s race where mail-in ballots have swung election outcomes. Other contests, including those for highly competitive Orange County congressional districts and L.A. City Council seats, have come down to extremely narrow margins that have shifted long after election day.
On election night in November 2024, just over 1,000 votes separated Democrat Dave Min and Republican Scott Baugh in their bid for the 47th Congressional District, with Baugh enjoying a slight lead.
But, ultimately, as more ballots were counted, Min pulled ahead. He ended up winning by about 10,000 votes.
Similarly, in the race between Democrat Derek Tran and then-incumbent Michelle Steel to represent Congressional District 45, it took until Nov. 27 to determine that Tran had won the contest by just over 650 votes.
In 2022, the race between then-incumbent Gil Cedillo and community activist Eunisses Hernandez for L.A. City Council was similarly unsettled. On election day, Cedillo had a comfortable lead with 56% of the vote. But two weeks later, Hernandez ended up in the lead with 54% of the vote to Cedillo’s 46%.
Experts say confirming the final spot in the mayor’s race could still take several more days, depending on how close the contest becomes and how many ballots still need to be counted. Only an estimated 62% of ballots from the city of Los Angeles had been counted as of Thursday morning.
“Of the 40% remaining, or outstanding, there could still be a chance that there would be a significant return of more left-leaning votes, which would certainly benefit Raman,” said Pete Peterson, dean of the School of Public Policy at Pepperdine University.
Late results tend to favor Democrats — as seen in the 2022 Bass-Caruso contest — as Democrats tend to be more likely to vote by mail, a system that accepts ballots up to seven days after election day as long as they are postmarked by that Tuesday. And this year, Democratic voters held on to their ballots longer amid an unsettled governor’s race, which could further boost that phenomenon.
“The major difference between ’26 and ‘22, you had two candidates versus three,” Peterson said. “Mathematically, it’s a different situation.”
Three experts The Times interviewed said Raman still had a chance to pass Pratt, but it seemed more likely at this point that Pratt would survive and challenge Bass in November.
The remaining ballots to count, even if they are overwhelmingly left-leaning, will probably be split between Raman and Bass, which means Raman needs to outperform not just Pratt but Bass to make such a comeback possible, Peterson said.
He called her chances of ousting Pratt “dastardly remote … but it’s not impossible.”
In L.A. County, the registrar of voters reported late Wednesday that officials estimate they still have about 713,000 ballots to process and count, which primarily includes vote-by-mail ballots postmarked by election day but not yet received, as well as ballots returned to drop boxes and vote centers on election day. The registrar only made countywide estimations, which includes a much larger pool than L.A. city voters who will decide the mayor’s race.
Kamy Akhavan, the managing director at the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future, said there’s a theory circulating among pundits that ballots submitted later are going to break more progressive, meaning they’ll be more friendly to Raman.
“Whether there is enough of them to tilt the outcome in favor of Raman taking a second place position, right now, it seems unlikely,” he said.
Pratt is pulling from the same electorate in Los Angeles that voted for President Trump and could snag a few more voters who are angry about the state of the city. But his lead very well could shrink a bit as more Democrats’ ballots are counted, Murphy said.
“Nithya, she’ll probably go up because there’s going to be a fair amount of Democratic votes and she’ll get her chunk, but will she catch Pratt? You can extrapolate it either way,” Murphy said.
A similar left-leaning shift also occurred as more ballots were counted in November 2022 when Bass and Caruso faced off in the general election. Results on election night wavered between the two candidates, but by the following morning Caruso had a thin lead with 51.25% of the counted votes. Bass sat at 48.75%.
Caruso remained in the lead — though it continued to shrink — as the week dragged on, but by Saturday, Bass had pulled ahead with 50.78% of the counted vote. Caruso had fallen to 49.22%.
Her momentum continued to grow as more ballots were processed. Eight days after polls closed the following week, the Associated Press called the race for Bass. At that point, she led Caruso by six points with 53% of the vote.
The final tally would have her winning almost 55% of the vote.
California officials have worked to dispel rumors and falsehoods about slow election results — explaining that it’s part of the process to accurately count and confirm ballots, especially those mailed in — though there has been a growing push to expedite results to build voter trust.
The process has been particularly slow in L.A. County, though experts say that is mostly a result of the county’s massive voter base. Mail-in ballots are also heavily scrutinized with workers verifying signatures and giving voters a chance to remedy the situation if their signature doesn’t match, a process that takes time.
“They’re using that level of care because they’re supposed to — that’s their protocol — and also because it could make a big difference,” Akhavan said. “We’ve seen some elections in Southern California decided by single digits. And that just means this is going to take time. That can be very frustrating, even annoying, to Angelenos.”
In the race for Los Angeles mayor, incumbent Karen Bass secured a place on the November ballot. But who will challenge her is yet to be determined, as votes are still being tallied.
With 62% of the expected vote counted, reality television personality Spencer Pratt sits in second place and City Councilmember Nithya Raman trails in third. Although Pratt has declared victory, the Associated Press, which estimates the expected votes in, has not called the race.
This story is based on a snapshot of precinct-level results provided by the L.A. County registrar on Wednesday. The Times analyzed the 525,326 votes processed so far. This story will be updated when winners are finalized in early July by the secretary of state.
This map shows the margin and density of votes by precinct. Areas where a candidate leads by a wide margin, such as Brentwood for Pratt, appear darker on the map. More densely populated neighborhoods — such as Bass strongholds in Baldwin Hills and Hyde Park — appear in brighter colors. As of Wednesday, an estimated 710,000 ballots were yet to be counted, according to L.A. County officials.
More votes per square feet
More votes per square feet
More votes per square feet
The preliminary results show narrow margins among precincts on the Eastside, with some precincts showing an almost 30% split across the top 3 candidates.
Bass retained a strong lead in precincts across South L.A. compared with her 2022 race against Rick Caruso. Pratt has garnered heavy support from his neighbors in Pacific Palisades, as well as precincts in Bel-Air and Shadow Hills.
Raman, who represents Los Feliz, Hollywood Hills, Sherman Oaks and Encino on the city council, has so far underperformed in her home 4th District. She led in 12 of the 66 precincts, particularly in parts of Los Feliz. A few precincts in East Hollywood swung heavily for Pratt; but Bass led much of CD-4.
Karen Bass
Percentage of votes
Bass had strong support in South L.A.
Spencer Pratt
Pratt won half the vote in wealthy Pacific Palisades and Bel-Air precincts
Nithya Raman
Raman underperformed in much of her own council district
To win the race outright, Bass needs to secure at least 50% of the vote. She currently holds 35% of the vote and a five-point lead over Pratt. A Berkeley IGS poll released last week found that Bass and Raman would likely defeat Pratt by double digits in the event of a runoff.
Mail-in ballots with a June 2 postmark will be accepted by county election officials through Tuesday.
We visited Houston in Texas where a rodeo, baseball, space and delicious food were on the jam-packed agenda. Here’s why you need to get planning your trip to the Lone Star State…
We visited Houston during rodeo season
I’ve always wanted to visit Texas and what better time than rodeo season? Rodeo is a year-round pastime for Texans, but Houston holds the largest event in the US in March, with even more cowboy boots and hats descending upon the city than usual, a buzz of excitement and yee-haw in the air. Add in a Space Center visit and a baseball game and this trip to the Lone Star State isn’t one that I’ll forget in a hurry.
RIP-ROARING RODEO
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo runs across 21 days, with a carnival atmosphere, shows, music, energy and excitement. Inside the NRG Stadium, rodeo competitions – bull riding, barrel racing, saddle-bronc riding and roping – take place, while outside there’s livestock shows, exhibitions and loads more fun.
The fried food creations on offer are endless – think funnel cakes, jumbo corn dogs and deep-fried Oreos. “When in Texas,” we thought, as we ordered (and surprisingly enjoyed) a deep-fried cheesecake.
The rodeo is a jam-packed day and each night a musical superstar takes to the stage in the stadium. We got to see Texas native Kelly Clarkson putting on an impressive show as she bounced energetically around the rotating stage and reminding the 70,000-strong crowd just how many hits she has – naturally she finished her set with Since U Been Gone.
COWBOY COOL
To take in the atmosphere like a local, we wanted to be properly kitted out, so we visited the Republic Boot Co. I’ve never seen so many tempting rows of cowboy boots – and it’s not just a tourist trap, either. Drake is among the clientele of this cool spot.
As well as footwear, there’s a dedicated Hat Bar, where you can choose from a range of styles and colours, customising your hat however you like. My plan for a simple, understated look quickly changed when I saw the leather trims, feathers, charms and badges on offer. I walked out with my initials branded on and a playing card tucked behind a giant feather.
BASEBALL & BEERS
Go Astros! We headed to Daikin Park, the baseball stadium which is home to the Houston Astros, to watch a quarter-final of the World Baseball Classic where the US took on – and beat – Canada. It was my first time at a game, but you don’t need to be an expert to be caught up in the thrill – it’s relentless. Soon
I was willing a home run so I could see the Home Run Train chuff round the track in celebration. We didn’t need to be told twice to order the stadium’s signature Crawford Dog and settled happily into our seats with giant beers, feeling like we were at the movies.
OUT OF THIS WORLD
Houston is known as Space City, so I couldn’t miss a visit to Space Center Houston, the official visitor centre of NASA, where astronauts train and Mission Control keeps everything on track. So soon after Artemis II’s moon mission, the place is still feeling the thrill of the historic exploration, and this is where you can really immerse yourself in all things astronautical.
The highlight was the tram tour to see the Astronaut Training Facility and Rocket Park, packed with actual rocket parts so you can see the incredible scale. It’s impossible not to get caught up in the excitement.
TASTE OF TEXAS
Texas is foodie heaven. Battling jet lag on our first night, we grabbed dinner at Agnes and Sherman, a short walk from our hotel, kicking things off on a real high. The cheeseburger fried rice has to be tasted to be believed.
For a great breakfast or brunch, head to Dandelion Cafe, where the generous-sized chicken waffles have been voted “best breakfast in the US” by Good Morning America. We were also told that Viet-Cajun crawfish was a must try, so we pulled on our bibs and gloves with enthusiasm at Crawfish & Noodles in Chinatown.
A little out of town in the seaside resort of Galveston, we discovered Gaido’s Seafood Restaurant, which has served seafood to hungry locals since 1911. We dined on delicious stuffed shrimp and gumbo, followed by the famous pecan pie, before a stroll on the waterfront.
But the most magical meal of our trip was at intimate indigenous restaurant Ishtia. Choctaw chef David Skinner is inspired by his heritage and ancestors and tells the story of each dish and its ingredients as they are served.
WHERE TO STAY
We stayed in Hotel Daphne, a stylish luxury boutique hotel in historic Houston Heights. The relaxed atmosphere was just our vibe, as was the bright, quirky decor and striped purple and blue bathrobes. Around this pretty neighbourhood we discovered cool shops and grand houses on tree-lined streets, but you don’t have to venture far for a cocktail. The hotel’s restaurant and bar, Hypsi, with a sun-filled courtyard that’s perfect for catching rays, is always there to welcome you at the end of a day of adventures.
HOW TO BOOK
BA and United Airlines offer direct flights to Houston from London Heathrow. Rooms at Hotel Daphne cost from £272 per night, see hyatt.com. Plan your trip with visithouston.com
The idea grew as organically as the purple cauliflower at Erewhon. One day, I walked from my place in Los Feliz to the beach. I stopped at two Erewhon locations on the way to refuel. I made a reel about my journey and posted it to Instagram. My friend Fish saw it and said, “You should walk to all the Erewhons.”
I thought: I don’t have time to do that. I’m a very serious person who needs to write her novel.
But later I found myself mapping out an 89-mile hike in my Notes App, starting in Pasadena and ending in Calabasas, stopping at all 10 Erewhon locations on the way. (My route did not include the Palisades, which is closed because of the fires; nor did it include LACMA or the new Glendale locale.)
“I need to write my novel” is a thought I have a lot. I usually heed this thought and sit at the desk like a soldier, imagining the wonderful day when I’ll sell said novel — for an amount that would probably be comparable to a fraction of an Erewhon employee’s yearly salary.
Erewhon Trail map illustration by Swan Huntley.
(Erewhon Trail map illustration by Swan Huntley. )
I really wasn’t in the mood to write the novel, though. When I imagined myself pecking away at the keyboard, I felt bad. When I imagined myself walking around L.A. in my Home Depot gardening hat, I felt good. So, I put on my hat, got into an Uber headed for Pasadena, and texted my sister, “Carpe diem, bitch.” Or at least that was my intention. What I actually sent was, “Carpet diem hitch.”
Over the summer, I hiked a little bit of the Pacific Crest Trail. A few years ago, I biked the Camino in Spain. I’ve walked from Los Feliz to the beach a handful of times. I’ve traversed the length of Manhattan thrice. Before that, when I was a teenager, I used to trek from La Jolla to Del Mar while drinking beer (I carried a cooler; yes, I’m sober now) and listening to Sarah McLachlan on my Discman. I’ve always been drawn to activities that many people find tedious. Like walking forever. Or writing a novel.
Starting in the fourth century, pilgrimages were served up by the church as a way for Christians to pay penance for their sins. They were hard and dangerous and a lot of people died. Fast-forward to now: Such treks have taken on an “Eat, Pray, Love” aura. Or a “Wild “ aura. They live in the realm of self-help and of sport. They’re a way to create friction in an increasingly frictionless world. By walking from Mexico to Canada, or from Erewhon to Erewhon, I wonder whether we’re trying to get back to the part of ourselves that wants to try harder.
Or we just want to become more valuable dinner party guests.
What do you do?
I do really long walks.
I ordered a Goddess Smoothie in Pasadena, and then I repeated this tradition at every store thereafter. The smoothie costs $19, tastes like heaven, and it’s green, which my brain reads as “good for me.”
It took me a little over three hours to walk 11 miles to Silver Lake. I got a Vegan Avocado Sandwich for lunch, took an Uber home and posted a reel on Instagram about my first day on the trail. A lot of people liked it. Some of them called me a genius.
In the last 10 years, I’ve published four novels and two illustrated books for adults. I was naïve and just totally blindly happy about the publishing process in the beginning. People wanted to buy my work? Other people wanted to read it? Cool.
The first book, “We Could Be Beautiful,” did well because the publisher put real money into the marketing of it. Then that stopped happening. At a certain point, I realized that expecting too much was unwise. It was up to me to market my books myself. Which meant: social media.
They say you have to see a book cover six times before you buy the book — or consider buying it. There are a lot of book covers on Instagram. Actually, there’s a lot of everything on Instagram, and out of all the everything, is a book cover that exciting?
No.
My second reel, which depicted my journey from Silver Lake to Studio City, went a little bit viral. To date, almost 10,000 people have shared it with their friends. Why? I think the answer has something to do with a desire for levity.
If the atmosphere of the world could be depicted by an Erewhon beverage, it wouldn’t be a vibrant, cheerful one, like the bright magenta Pitaya Smoothie. It would be the dark and brooding Germ Warfare Shot. I find it perplexing that people talk about the apocalypse as if it’s happening later. It’s happening now. If we were really thinking about how climate change is affecting us, we’d be out in the streets screaming. All the time. But we’re not doing that. We’re carrying on with our usual lives. Apparently, for me, that includes walking to Erewhons.
Any long-distance trek is as much an internal journey as it is external. As I continued the trail, I started to think that maybe my endeavor was a reaction to my feeling of total powerlessness. I can’t save the polar bears. I can’t force the president to go to therapy. But I can add some levity to the brooding atmosphere.
Recently, someone commented on one of the reels, “Transplants make LA locals look bad.” This person, and many others, hear the name Erewhon and assume I’m poking fun at it. Erewhon has become a joke about L.A. — a joke that was amplified after Hailey Bieber invented her smoothie in 2022 that Erewhon dubs the “Strawberry Glaze Skin Smoothie.” I’ve never had it, but I can tell you that it looks like a sky full of strawberry clouds. According to an Erewhon employee I spoke to, this smoothie was a turning point. It aligned the brand with wealth and power. Now, Erewhon evokes the image of smooth-skinned, health-conscious Angelenos with money to burn.
The Erewhon Trail, then, inevitably becomes a conversation about privilege, my own included. Instagram hid my two favorite comments, because it was worried they’d be too rude to show, but I think they’re the funniest ones.
This is what white people do on Prozac.
This is what happens when a liberal arts teacher gets fired.
To both of these comments, I say: Yes.
I’m not on Prozac yet, but maybe after I get fired, I will be.
In order to get fired, though, I’d have to get an actual job, which might never happen.
The most intense leg of the trail was from Santa Monica to Calabasas. My friend Fish joined me. Google said it would take 27 miles. After marching through the mountains, I decided to use my own intelligence to make the route shorter. This cut out four miles, bringing the total to 23. For long stretches, Fish and I walked in the bike lane, or in the bramble by the side of the road. That’s the penalty for straying from Google. Your sidewalks disappear and your chances of getting hit by a car go way up.
My legs were noodles by the time we got to Calabasas. I crawled across the parking lot to show my viewers how weak they’d become. The employee at the door smiled at me and handed me a basket, and I thought about the pain of my legs, which no one could see, and about all the secret battles people are fighting all the time, and I wished that we cared about each other as much as Erewhon cares about us. Multiple employees were perfecting the already-perfect plateaus of bell peppers and apples in the produce section. Their thoughtfulness was the opposite of the vibe I encounter in most public restrooms, which is that the strangers who were there before me didn’t have many thoughts about my experience. As lame as the fact that an Erewhon smoothie costs $19 is that so many of us need to be paid to be nice to each other.
When I tell people about my love for Erewhon, they either say, “Duh, I know,” or something along the lines of, “That place is ridiculous, right?” This is almost always followed by the mention of a food item and some amount of money. Like, “Doesn’t a carrot cost $12,000?”
Actually, I tell them, no. Although sometimes, yes. There is a Japanese strawberry that’s famously expensive ($20), but that’s avoidable. I then explain that contrary to popular thought, there is a way to shop at Erewhon on a budget. A jar of soup, for example, costs $15.50. If you return the bottle, you get $3 back. In my opinion, the soup can be two meals, so that’s $6.25 per meal. A lot of the produce is either the same price or only a little bit more expensive than at other health food stores, and it’s in consistently better shape. The most important piece of making Erewhon more affordable, though, is becoming a member. You get 10% off, a free drink of the month and discounts on a bunch of items.
You might be wondering: How many Erewhon memberships has she personally sold?
She’s lost count.
The other reason to go to Erewhon is the environment. It’s visually appealing and the employee-to-customer ratio is notable, and the result is that you feel like you’re at a resort. And frankly, these simple things — a nice environment, high quality food — should be available to everyone.
Back to the question of whether or not Erewhon is ridiculous — yes, of course it is. If you sit at any of the locations and listen to the conversations around you, you’ll probably feel like you’re an extra in a satirical movie. At Studio City, I overheard two moms in white pants and cashmere sweaters talking about how, based on their Instagram recon, they figured out that so-and-so was sitting next to so-and-so at a benefit dinner. Another snippet I overheard in Studio City: “You gotta make music from the heart, man, and the label will feel it.”
It didn’t occur to me to ask for free merch until after I’d finished the trail. Armando at the Santa Monica location was the lucky recipient of my request. I explained my uniquely heroic feat to him, and then wondered aloud if perhaps I could get a sweatshirt, or at least a hat.
Sadly, Armando was unauthorized to give me merch, but he did offer me a gift card in a tiny envelope. I was very grateful. I assumed the card was worth $50 at least.
After we parted ways, I opened the envelope.
Ten dollars.
Enough to put a down payment on a smoothie.
My dreams now are so different from when I was younger. Back in grad school, I imagined that maybe I’d write a bestselling novel, and maybe it would be adapted for the screen, and maybe my tombstone would read: She contributed very serious literature to civilization.
What I never accounted for was, of course, the unknown. Maybe one day, over a decade after school ended, I’d get a lot of attention for making performance art about walking to grocery stores.
Huntley’s novels include “I Want You More,” “Getting Clean With Stevie Green,” “The Goddesses” and “We Could Be Beautiful.” She’s also the writer/illustrator of the darkly humorous “The Bad Mood Book” and “You’re Grounded: An Anti-Self-Help Book to Calm You the F— Down.” She lives in Los Angeles.
HE’S responsible for teaching Michael Jackson the famous moonwalk and choreographed some of the pop superstar’s biggest hits.
Now Shalamar icon Jeffrey Daniel, 71, has spoken in defence of Jackson’s box office smashing biopic, Michael, which has come under fire for omitting controversial elements of the singer’s life – including multiple allegations of child abuse.
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Shalamar’s Jeffrey Daniel has spoken in defence of the Michael Jackson biopicCredit: GettyMichael has been a box office smash but faced criticism for leaving out his controversiesCredit: Alamy
Giving his view on the film, which has grossed over $700m worldwide, he says: “At the end of the day, they’re a family and it’s about their family and it’s up to them to do. The public likes to hear controversy. The public likes dirt.
“They want to delve into that negativity. But when you look at Michael’s life and when you look back at it, the negativity was something that was fabricated. There are things that were just engineered to stand against him.”
Speaking from a friend’s home in LA ahead of Shalamar’s 50th anniversary UK tour, he continues: “There’s no way in the world you’re going to be totally vindicated on all charges and acquitted and still looked at as if you’re guilty? Then what was the point of even going to court?
“What was the point of even standing in front of a jury to come to a conclusion that you’re absolutely, unequivocally not guilty if the public is still going to keep running with the narrative of what you were supposed to have done? That doesn’t make sense to me.”
The film’s critics have called it a glorified promo for MJ’s glittering career, void of the challenging and concerning allegations he faced over the course of his life.
However, Colman Domingo, who plays Michael’s dad Joe Jackson, told the Today Show that it was the film’s timeline that dictated the events. It focuses on Michael’s life from the 60s through to 1988, some five years before the first allegations were made.
With the film teasing a part two, the darker side of Jackson’s life could still be revisited.
Filmmakers were also reportedly forced to do expensive re-shoots, having originally intended to include Jordan Chandler’s 1993 accusations when he was 13 years old.
They were unaware that part of Chandler’s $23m settlement in 1994 forbade anyone from dramatising the account.
Further accusations came much later, with Gavin Arzio’s allegations that he had been molested by Jackson as a child leading to seven charges brought against the star. However, in 2005 he was found not guilty on all counts.
In 2019, 10 years after Jackson’s death, the documnentary Leaving Neverland raised more uncomfortable questions.
The two alleged victims who were the focus of it, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, have joined forces to seek $400m (£298m) in damages from the Jackson estate in a civil trial set to take place later this year.
Michael’s nephew Jaafar plays the lead role in the biopicCredit: AlamyShalamar’s biggest album, Friends, was released in 1982Credit: Getty
But Jeffrey has a different outlook and cites an online conspiracy theory that claims Jackson used his Neverland Ranch to shield child victims of paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein as evidence of his innocence and insists MJ was trying to save “youngsters”.
Despite all of the allegations, Jeffrey maintains his late friend is still a great role model.
He continues: “You know what’s really inspiring? I’m seeing kids five years old, six and 10 years old imitating Michael.
“They weren’t alive even when he passed away. And they still love him. His legacy is living on.
“He’s the most successful post-mortem artist in history. He’s making more money in his grave than a lot of artists that are out there working their butts off right now. That is a testament to a miracle.
“I mean, because I work with him and I know him, I’m not trying to be biased.”
The biopic is very much a family affair, endorsed by the Jackson estate and with the King of Pop’s nephew Jaafar, 29, cast in the titular role.
However, MJ’s siblings Rebbie, Randy, and Janet don’t feature in the project and none has addressed their absence publicly, though La Toya Jackson said her sister “kindly declined” to be involved.
Jeffrey says the portrayal of the young Michael is so uncanny that it’s like seeing him revived from the dead.
“My God, you have to tip your hat to Jaafar,” says Jeffrey.
“That boy played the hell out of Michael. I couldn’t imagine anyone else. It’s like that guy who played Freddie Mercury [Rami Malek]. It’s like he was born to play that role. And deservingly enough, he won an Oscar for it.
“I see a lot of Michael Jackson impersonators, and they’re pretty good. But they either do too much or they only encapsulate just one dimension of Michael’s performance. Jaafar captured it in its totality.
“He was subtle when it was time to be subtle. He was dynamic when it was time to be dynamic. His mannerisms, the way he spoke, I got emotional.
“I mean, there’s about three times during the film I almost went to tears because I just got emotional because of the scenes that I had something to do with. And I was there when that happened. And I was a part of that when it was happening.
Jeffrey taught Michael how to moonwalk in 1980Credit: GettyThe group is celebrating its 50th anniversaryCredit: Shalamar
“And then it reminded me of being with Michael and the person he was. It was like seeing a relative come back to life or something. Because I was very close with him.”
Jeffrey’s working relationship with Michael began in 1980, two years prior to the Shalamar founder’s legendary performance on Top of the Pops.
Unknown to the public at the time, Jeffrey had taught the groundbreaking move to MJ after the Thriller star was mesmerised by it while watching an episode of American music show, Soul Train in 1979.
Jackson spent three years practising what was then referred to as a backslide before debuting his version in 1983 during a Motown 25 TV special.
Meanwhile, Shalamar had been scheduled to perform I Can Make You Feel Good on ToTP in 1982 but it was canned at the last minute when the song dropped down the singles chart.
Undeterred, they returned weeks later with a point to prove after Night to Remember became a hit.
Jeffrey’s backslide caused such a stir, bosses scrambled to get the group back for another performance.
Not long after, MJ took the backslide to new heights and remains synonymous with the move.
“I worked with him for over 20 years,” says Jeffrey. “And so, to see this come to life like that again, it was just amazing. I can imagine how his family must have felt.
“Jackie Jackson and Jermaine and Marlon were saying how they were feeling watching this come to life in front of them on screen. And by their own relatives as well, so it’s amazing.”
Jackson’s not the only megastar Jeffrey worked closely with.
He also found a fan in Sir Paul McCartney too, with the Beatle actively seeking him out on a visit to London in the 80s.
Shalamar 2026 UK tour dates
UK TOUR DATES 13 June Liverpool Philharmonic Hall 19 June Cambridge Corn Exchange 21 June Brighton Dome 28 June Glasgow Royal Concert Hall 2 July York Barbican 3 July London, Indigo at The O2 5 July Leicester De Montfort Hall 10 July Colchester Charter Hall
Their fortuitous meeting came when McCartney’s crew, who were filming musical drama Give My Regards to Broad Street, spotted Jeffrey taking a walk by the canal in Maida Vale and told him Macca was keen to work with him. The two music men had a brief introduction and Daniel would later return to the UK to work with him on the project properly.
On their second meeting, McCartney hopped out of a car after filming a scene with actress Tracey Ullman and proceeded to lead Jeffrey around the set by the hand, before they sat down for lunch with his late wife Linda.
He said: “I mean, oh my God. Come on, this is legendary greatness. You know, it was an amazing experience.”
Fast forward to the present day and Shalamar are gearing up to bring their energetic set to the UK next month.
Slick and well-honed after five decades, the group know what the audience wants and are more than happy to give it to them.
“The good thing about it is that we have so many hits to choose from and that’s a good thing,” says Jeffrey. “But we’re always trying to adjust it to make sure that we keep the shows interesting and that they appeal to the audience that’s there.”
The live music market is more competitive than ever. Already this year a string of big acts have been forced to cancel tours due to sluggish ticket sales.
When it comes to putting bums on seats, many of whom weren’t alive when Shalamar burst into the charts, Jeffrey says: “We have a catalogue of evergreen, feel-good music. And I think because when times get hard and we go through things, people need a respite.
“I think Shalamar’s music is kind of the antidote to that because it can help you get away when they’re in the audience. They’re up on their feet dancing. They’re singing along.
“I think we’re the last of the high performance bands in the 80s where the choreography, the costume, the interaction, it’s all there, you know.
“Not to toot our own horn, but I think we put on a good show together, you know. And it’s very entertaining. And the people love what we’re doing. And we love the people.”
I’VE lived on Kent’s trendy coastline for more than five years, so I think I can legitimately call myself a local now.
After ditching London in my late twenties, I’ve lived in both Margate and Folkestone, while spending my weekends exploring the other seaside towns.
The pretty harbour in the seaside town of Folkestone, where Deputy Travel Editor Kara Godfrey has been living for the past couple of yearsCredit: AlamyA view of Whitstable sea front, looking towards the much-loved Old Neptune pubCredit: Alamy
In the last 15 years, Kent’s seaside towns have arguably seen the biggest transformations of the whole British coast.
That’s due to a combination of new investment, an influx of ‘down from Londoners’ moving in and a reignited love of the traditional seaside break among Millennials.
But which town you should visit depends on what type of trip you’re looking for.
So here are my top tips for seven of the best Kent beach towns and villages, from what to do and where to eat, to the best hotel and things to do under a fiver.
Whitstable
One of the more established Kent seaside towns, Whitstable is famous for its annual Oyster festival and has been a popular tourist destination for the last few decades – long before towns like Margate saw a resurgence.
Eat and drinkin Whitstable
Blueprint Coffee and Books is the kind of place where you’ll go in for a cappuccino but come out with magazines and a candle.
The pastel pink Wheelers Oyster Bar is where everyone goes for their seafood (and for good reason) but if you fancy something other than fish, Harbour Street Tapas is the place for Spanish sharing plates.
In the summer months, the Old Neptune pub is a must, where the pub garden is right on the beach. Or try Porto Wine Bar, tucked a bit further down for staff who really know their wines.
Don’t forget an ice-cream – Bear’s Ice Cream Imaginarium has everything from classics to more unusual flavours like celeriac and wasabi. Yes, really.
The pastel pink Wheelers Oyster Bar where everyone goes for their seafood (and for good reason)Credit: GettyThe Old Neptune pub on the beach in Whitstable is the perfect spot to enjoy a pint in the sunCredit: Alamy
Best things to do in Whitstable
Harbour Street is home to some fantastic vintage shops to explore. I picked up a jumper worth £69 for a fiver, so it has some treasures if you look hard enough.
There’s also Whitstable Harbour, still a working harbour, to explore as well as the free-to-visit Whitstable Castle with beautiful gardens and a kids’ play area.
Really fancy a dip? Brave the water with the other cold water swimmers but make sure to warm up in the Sea Scrub Sauna, one of many around Kent.
I’ve tried it all from beach saunas (pictured) to rooftop barsCredit: Darren Fletcher
Where to stayin Whitstable
The Marine Hotel is a classic coastal B&B, with big chunky king size beds and windows thick enough to keep out the sea breeze.
The restaurant is where you will join the locals on a Friday night with a classic but hearty menu making you grateful for the proximity of your room.
Head to the end of the harbour and pick up a crabbing net from one of the stalls which are usually under a fiver and see what you can catch.
Margate
A view of Margate Harbour Arm, which is now home to several trendy bars and restaurantsCredit: AlamyRelax al fresco in among the bars and restaurants in Margate Old townCredit: Alamy
Nicknamed Shoreditch-on-Sea, Margate is known for being one of the trendiest beach towns in the country.
As well as having one of Kent’s rare sandy beaches (most are shingle) this has also seen a huge increase in cool wine bars and restaurants.
Eat and drink in Margate
Start your day at Big Shot Diner for a cup of tea while looking out over the beach, or the Bus Cafe for a great full English breakfast.
When it comes to fish, the best chippies in town are Peter’s Fish Factory and Beach Buoys, so expect queues out the door, or for a fancier sit down affair, head to Angela’s.
Pizza by the slice is best at Palm’s Pizzeria, best chased by a pickleback shot (whisky and pickle juice).
There are some great wine bars too but my favourite place to go are the pubs in Margate.
Try Rose in June for fun food and drink pop ups or the 18th century George & Heart House, which also has rooms above if you fancy staying the night.
Best things to doin Margate
The beach itself is beautiful but for more adrenaline-fuelled fun, head to the free-to-visit Dreamland.
You can pay for rides, or just take in the retro-style attraction – come in the summer for the fantastic live music line up ranging from Lovebox to Bastille.
Or did you know Margate is home to Europe’s only Crab Museum? It’s certainly quirky but one to visit as its free, although they rely on donations.
And of course there is the free Turner Contemporary art gallery as well, which is reopening on May 23 with a new exhibit.
Where to stay in Margate
Lots of boutique hotels have opened in Margate in recent years, and one of the best is Guesthouse No.42.
One of just four in the UK, it even has the town’s only rooftop bar, which overlooks the beach.
The bizarre Shell Grotto remains a mystery as to why or how it was built – but its a beauty to see.
Concession tickets start from £5, kids tickets are £2.
Folkestone
Folkestone seen a huge rise in popularity in recent yearsCredit: AlamyThe quirky Old High Street is home to Folkestone’s Creative QuarterCredit: Alamy
Named one of the best places to live in the UK last year, Folkestone has seen a huge rise in popularity in recent years, partly because of its speedy, 52-minute train from London.
There are some new openings to be excited about too, including the Lower Leas Cliff funicular.
Eat and drinkin Folkestone
After it’s success in Margate, Pomus opened their second small plate restaurant in Folkestone. It’s one of the smarter places in town, but service is just as friendly with a rotating menu of locally caught produce.
Award-winning Rocksalt is the place for fish lovers, overlooking the harbour (and the oysters are a must).
Or for something more low-key, there is the local-loved Morley’s which has a small but classic menu – think burgers and pastas.
If there is one thing Folkestone isn’t short of, it’s pubs – try the Harbour Inn or The Pullman for friendly staff and local ciders.
And splash out for the evening by heading to the end of the harbour for a glass of fizz at The Lighthouse Champagne Bar, or a cocktail at Gaia Studios.
People enjoying refreshment at the Lighthouse Champagne bar the on the popular Harbour ArmCredit: AlamyAward-winning Rocksalt is the place for fish lovers, overlooking the harbourCredit: Alamy
Best things to doin Folkestone
The Harbour Arm celebrated 10 years this year, and you can easily spend a day in the shipping container yard.
Along with food and drink stalls, there are independent shops selling everything from locally-made wine to clothing and dog treats. It also has lots of live music throughout the year and live screenings of films and sports.
Also nearby is The Boardroom for darts and shuffleboard (currently closed for a renovation), while the new Sea Scrub Sauna is the largest of its kind in the UK. Otherwise go for a wander along to the Lower Leas Coastal Park, which is getting a huge new playground too.
Where to stayin Folkestone
The London & Paris Hotel is one of the few boutique hotels in town, where every room overlooks the harbour.
Each room is coastal chic – think blue striped walls and vintage bathtubs – and they come with little touches such as complimentary binoculars and breakfasts delivered by hamper.
Grab an ice cream from Herbert’s Gelato with a rotating menu of interesting flavours such as hot cross bun or malted milk. From £3.90.
Ramsgate
Wellington Crescent Cliff Lift, an Edwardian grade II listed working elevator above Ramsgate main sandsCredit: AlamyThe Victorian Pavilion is the UK’s largest Wetherspoon’sCredit: Alamy
From welcoming Queen Victoria in the 1800s to having the UK’s only Royal Harbour, Ramsgate has a rather regal history.
Now, it is a popular seaside town still slightly overlooked by its trendier neighbours Margate and traditional Broadstairs, but it is a great weekend break.
Eat and drink in Ramsgate
Get your morning coffee at Staple (along with an irresistible cruffin to go) with cafes also open in Westgate and Broadstairs.
But for the best places to eat, there are two top choices. First up is Marc-Pierre’s Kitchen restaurant where you will find some of the best seafood in town (with enough awards to show for it).
It’s tucked down a tiny hidden side street but with big restaurants under his belt, including London’s famous Cinnamon Club, you’re in good hands (make sure to save room for the chocolate samosas).
End your evening at Noa Rooftop, which opened last year, for a crisp glass of wine to watch the sunset.
Best things to doin Ramsgate
Ramsgate has the UK’s only Royal Harbour, so it is the best place to spot the boats coming in and out for the day.
But its wartime history is best learned about at the Ramsgate Tunnels.
There are daily tours of the underground system that is also the largest UK network of wartime tunnels.
Search the knick-knacks of Petticoat Emporium, one of Kent’s biggest indoor markets with 200 traders and where you can pick up everything from vintage spoons to huge wicker chairs.
Aerial Views Of Ramsgate HarbourCredit: Alamy
Where to stay in Ramsgate
Ramsgate is more B&Bs than boutique hotels, but one of the best in town is the The House at Ramsgate which dates back to 1780. With just 14 rooms which are cosy but modern, choose the Queen Victoria Room where she spent three months in 1835. Make sure to stay for the roast dinners too…
With strong connections to Charles Dickens, Broadstairs is your more traditional seaside townCredit: Alamy
With strong connections to Charles Dickens (who raved about the place while holidaying there), Broadstairs is your more traditional seaside town.
It has seven sandy beaches to choose from, so you’re spoilt for choice.
Eat and drinkin Broadstairs
If you love a good coffee, you’re in luck – there’s Giant Coffee, who do unique hot drinks like cloud matchas (and are also in Ramsgate and Margate) to Forts who are known for their great coffees across Kent.
Fish and chips are a must at the beach and everyone heads to The Mermaid who do very large portions.
Chase it with an ice cream at Morelli’s Gelato which dates back to 1907, they sell huge towering sundae with all the trimmings.
But for dinner, you can’t go wrong with the award-winning Bar Ingo, a tiny restaurant with just a few tables but serving small plates inspired by basque dishes.
I’m still dreaming of the miso mushrooms after my last visit.
Morelli’s ice cream parlour at the English seaside resort of BroadstairsCredit: Alamy
Best things to do in Broadstairs
Broadstairs has the beautiful curved Viking Bay sandy beach, so hanging out there is a must. Grab a paddleboard or rent a deckchair; you can do what you like to while away the day.
There are also the retro arcades at the top of the hill, which are a surefire hit with the kids.
Or you can explore some of the independent shops selling trinkets and gifts on the high street (my favourites are Home by SP and Arrowsmiths).
Broadstairs beach on a sunny dayCredit: Alamy
Where to stay in Broadstairs
One of the newest hotels in Broadstairs is Smith’s Townhouse, with just six bedrooms in the Georgian building. Stylish east London interiors are across the downstairs cafe and the rooms – Room Five even has Elton John’s former wardrobe.
They have some of the best coffee in town – perfect for a breakfast pick me up – but stay for a vibe in the evening where you can get cocktails and nibbles too.
Broadstairs was once raved about by Charles Dickens, so a visit to the Dickens House Museum is a must.
Inside is the inspiration for Betsey Trotwood’s home from the novel David Copperfield.
Tickets cost £5 for adults of £2.50 for kids.
Deal
Deal is smaller than Whitstable or Folkestone, which makes it far more walkableCredit: Alamy
The town of Deal is quickly becoming a foodie hub, with some critically-rated restaurants popping up.
It also has a great art scene, with numerous galleries and frequent exhibitions from local artists.
It’s on the smaller side than Whitstable or Folkestone, but also makes it far more walkable.
Eat and drinkin Deal
Popup Cafe is, despite it’s name, not a pop-up but a fantastic coffee shop where you’ll be hanging with young families and coworkers on their laptops.
Mostly known only to locals, the local Jenkins & Son Fishmongers opens at certain days to offer street food dishes; I regularly make a trip for the Monkfish Tacos.
For pubs, try the Caribbean style roast at The Port Arms, which shares an outdoor seating area with the nearby Kings Head pub – also worth a drink in.
The recently revamped Le Pinardier wine bar will transport you to a French bistro (without the snobby staff when you ask for a Pinot Grigio, however).
Deal high street is full of art galleries and independent sellersCredit: Alamy
Best things to do in Deal
The high street is full of art galleries and independent sellers, my favourites being The Hoxton Store, Mileage and 123 High Street for gifts.
Explore the brutalist Deal Pier, restored twice in its history and now one of the last remaining of its kind, where you can weave between the fishermen for some of the best views in town.
Kids will love Deal Castle where they can explore the hidden tunnels and even play pretend with wooden muskets.
Otherwise try and visit on a Saturday morning to catch the local market that dates back to 1699 – and fill your pockets with antiques and cinnamon buns.
3A view of Deal pier from Deal beachCredit: Alamy
Where to stayin Deal
The Rose Hotel is one of the UK’s best boutique hotels, with just nine cosy rooms. Make sure to try the restaurant too, its one of the finest in town with a previous menu highlight being the chicken shnitzel.
Grab a bottle of beer at the stunning Deal Pier Kitchen to get beautiful ocean views, while being protected from the sea winds.
Hythe
Aerial views of Marine Parade in HytheCredit: Alamy
The military history of Hythe shapes it, being one of the UK Cinque Ports.
Now, its a sleepy seaside town, less crowded due to it being off the beaten track and having no major train station.
Eat and drink in Hythe
Arrive early and get a coffee from the tiny, locally-run Mit Milche Coffee although expect queues out the door by mid-morning.
Gorge on some moules mariniere at The Waterfront with a table outside by the promenade, where you can expect a range of live jazz and DJ music on certain days.
If you’re in the mood for something fancier, just on the outskirts is Hide & Fox which gained a second Michelin star last year.
Just come hungry if you opt for the eight-course menu.
If the sea air is a little brisk, warm up in the Kings Head pub, one of the oldest and cosiest in town dating back to 1583.
Hythe is one of Kent’s sleepier seaside towns, due to it being off the beaten track and having no major train station.Credit: Alamy
Best things to do in Hythe
The Royal Military Canal is prime for low-key strolling, running for 28 miles and made as an anti-invasion defence again Napoleon in 1803 (although it was never used.)
There are also the Hythe Sound Mirrors which were huge structures build to “listen” for enemy planes and have now been left abandoned – but worth a visit to see the sheer scale of them.
Want to get your shopping kicks? Head to Malthouse Arcade on Fridays and Saturdays with trinkets galore across two floors.
A boat on the Royal Military Canal at HytheCredit: Alamy
Where to stay in Hythe
You don’t get much grander than the Hythe Imperial Hotel, overlooking the English Channel. Inside an 18th manor house, there are 92 rooms to choose from. Save time for a cuppa in the Snug or a trip to its Moet & Chandon Bar.
Why not have a free game of tennis, with five courts open to the public at South Road Sports Facility (although save a few quid to buy some more tennis balls for any rogue hits).
When Meow Wolf’s Los Angeles location opens later this year, one of its biggest residents will be a 20-foot-tall, 1,000-pound amoeba-like creature named WoWoW.
Created by the L.A.-based multimedia collective Everything Is Terrible, WoWoW is alternately described as a “cosmic entity” and a “cartoony, root vegetable floating alien god.” The multi-eyed organism will serve as the centerpiece of “the N.E.S.T.,” an EIT-designed section of Meow Wolf’s new 26,000-square-foot immersive exhibition space.
In-progress detail of Everything Is Terrible’s WoWoW sculpture for the forthcoming Meow Wolf Los Angeles, shown with multi-color eye lighting.
(Photo by Allyson Lupovich / Meow Wolf)
That acronym has yet to be explained, and is cloaked in Meow Wolf’s intentionally mysterious messaging about its latest incarnation, which is set in an old Cinemark movie theater in West L.A. and will tackle the ephemeral joys and hardships of Hollywood’s dream factory. The L.A. location will be the Santa Fe, N.M.-based immersive art and entertainment company’s fifth outpost after Denver, Las Vegas, Houston and the Dallas suburbs.
The L.A. space boasts 45 local collaborating artists including Gabriela Ruiz, David Altmejd and more. Each is building their own unique installation featuring a variety of sculptures, dioramas and new media.
Everything Is Terrible is one of Meow Wolf’s most prolific partners, creating a variety of psychedelic characters for various installations over the years. The collective dreamed up the N.E.S.T. about two years ago as a way of paying tribute to maximalist roadside attractions like Wisconsin’s House on the Rock or New Mexico’s Tinkertown Museum. It also tells the story of the Noothies, a made-up community of former below-the-line film workers who stumbled upon a god — and a hidden truth about the nature of reality.
The installation presents a paradox by being a Hollywood idea that is completely un-Hollywood. It may wink at the industry’s unseen heroes, but who can afford to make art for art’s sake in the entertainment industry anymore? That seeming contradiction makes it a very Everything Is Terrible idea.
Founded nearly 20 years ago by a group of friends who met at Ohio University, Everything Is Terrible was launched as a found-footage website that created wild and singular art pieces using thrifted VHS tapes. It found viral success with videos about cat massage, and a dancing dinosaur who warns kids about the dangers of pedophilia, as well as its lauded quest to amass as many VHS copies of “Jerry Maguire” as humanly possible. (The group has about 45,000 at the moment, all stuffed in boxes and waiting to be unleashed on the world — perhaps as a pyramid in the desert or maybe featured in some sort of coffee table book.)
“I think our outlook on life has become, ‘look at the worlds that these people created,’” says EIT co-founder Dimitri Simakis. “No one asked them to do this. Someone just wanted to do a kids puppet show in some garage in North Carolina and now they’ve created a simulacra.”
That’s also what the collective is doing with its Meow Wolf exhibit, adds Nic Maier, another EIT member. “It’s what we’ve done for the last 20 years, really. We’re just a bunch of kooks who got together to obsessively make things in celebration of life and in appreciation of each other’s time.”
The marriage of Everything Is Terrible and Meow Wolf is a match made in heaven. The groups first met in 2009, bonded by a shared commitment to interactive art experiences that twist reality using an ornate handmade aesthetic.
A few years later, Maier was hired to work on what would become Meow Wolf’s first large-scale installation, Santa Fe’s “House of Eternal Return.” As he spent hours sculpting large, foam trees for the group, he says he fell in love.
A mystical, neon-colored forest in Meow Wolf’s Santa Fe, N.M., exhibition, “The House of Eternal Return.”
(Meow Wolf)
“We always joke that ever since then, EIT has been a barnacle on the side of the Meow Wolf ship, just hanging on but also occasionally hopping in to contribute,” Maier says.
When Meow Wolf announced it was opening two new spaces, in Las Vegas and Denver, it called on EIT for ideas. Simakis and Maier threw out a few pitches for Denver and one landed: a McDonald’s-like retro freak-out known as Pizza Pals Play Zone, which went on to become one of the attraction’s most talked about, photographed and beloved spaces.
“Pizza Pals Play Zone is super character dense,” says Han Sayles, Meow Wolf’s director of artist collaboration. “It’s just one of those spaces that feels like Meow Wolf. There’s hundreds of different pieces of media framed all around, featuring all of these different characters they created. They even made a bible … that had the narrative backstory of every single character and every deliverable they wanted for that room.”
Pizza Pals Playzone, created by Everything Is Terrible, at Meow Wolf’s Convergence Station in Denver.
(Jess Gallo / Meow Wolf)
When Meow Wolf’s Los Angeles project became a possibility, Sayles says Everything Is Terrible was one of the first groups she pitched as a potential contributor. EIT ended up being offered a custom project, in which the group used Meow Wolf’s extensive production facilities and resources to create their vision for the space, weighing in on everything from the shape of their room to the merch it might inspire in the Meow Wolf gift shop.
“We had a super trusting relationship with them,” Sayles says. “We recruited them as partners and negotiated a deal without knowing what they were going to put in the room. Both Nic and Dimitri have such a beautiful, strong sense of the exact genre of whimsy that we go for and they always deliver super deeply, so we knew it would be amazing.”
Sayles says she also thought the group’s experience of Los Angeles would lend itself well to the overall theme of the venue. Shakti Howeth, a creative director at Meow Wolf, agrees, saying that while Meow Wolf attractions are typically pretty otherworldly, they’re always built around an overarching story.
At Meow Wolf’s “Omega Mart,” in Las Vegas, guests first enter a satiric take on a grocery store, where portals lead to otherworldly art exhibitions.
(Christopher DeVargas / Meow Wolf)
The N.E.S.T., Howeth teases, will relate to some of the L.A. attraction’s character groups and themes, as well as its overall story. How audiences first encounter WoWoW and the N.E.S.T. will depend on which door they use to enter the room. From there, the points of visual interest will compound upon each other.
“We’re just incorporating all the things we love,” says Maier, noting that includes roadside attractions, folk art and anything “outsider.”
“It involves everything from the importance of dirt and worms to video games to experimental film to worker uprisings to entering literal other dimensions where you can meet what might be God, all within a [553]-square-foot space,” Simakis adds. “There have been times when we’ve been in the N.E.S.T. and thought we crammed in too much … but then you realize it has to be like that, because we’re trying to tell the whole story of the universe in just that room.”
For example, Maier spent much of the last two years building 45 beautifully weird costumes for the attraction, only two of which will be physically in the N.E.S.T. The other 43, he explains, are there for “world-building” and to make the story feel lived in. Everything in the space will have been created by Everything Is Terrible and Meow Wolf, including what seems like real found footage.
Simakis calls the group’s vision for the space “unrelenting joy mixed with benevolent chaos,” as well as “a beautiful folk art museum that’s also a space rave.” He likens what the group is doing to “building a puzzle out of thousands of other puzzles, gluing it together to make a new thing.”
“It’s like we’re making a movie that’s not a movie,” Simakis adds. “It’s a video game. It’s a living space. It’s all of these things, but you get to walk around in it.”
If that’s confusing, it’s because it’s meant to be — at least a little. How each visitor absorbs or receives the space will be entirely up to them. And while that could be a bit terrifying for some artists, to pour everything into a piece only to have the public possibly misinterpret or even ignore it, Maier and Simakis say they’re open to whatever comes.
“Millions of people are going to potentially walk through our space, so it has to be really special,” Simakis says. “We’ve also thought about all the different ways people could enjoy it, whether they’re a baby or a stoner or someone who’s just really into immersive entertainment or escape rooms. Even if you just go to take selfies, great. We’re pro-that. But also, if you want to keep going back or you want to spend hours there, I promise we’ve made it worth your while.”
On a recent weekday morning inside a studio in the heart of Hollywood, Rachel Lindsay and Van Lathan, co-hosts of The Ringer’s “Higher Learning,” were getting ready to roll.
By the time the podcasters came into the Spotify Sycamore Studios for their show, which covers all things in Black culture and politics, the overhead lights were set, and the cameras were precisely angled. Decorative books were propped up between their seats and a big red “Higher Learning” logo stood behind them.
As soon as everyone silenced their phones, the hosts began to banter like two old friends. Lindsay complimented Lathan on his recent foray into stand-up comedy at the Netflix is Joke Fest at the Laugh Factory.
“I just have to say … basically a star is born,” said Lindsay, grinning. “I have to talk about it. Now I never doubted you.”
The pair helms one of the many shows on The Ringer podcast network, known for its roster of A-list celebrity hosts and sports and culture commentators that recently moved into Spotify’s newest podcasting studios.
The 11,000 square-foot space on Sycamore Avenue was designed as both a home base for The Ringer’s production and a video podcasting hub for select Spotify creators.
Since its opening earlier this year, the space has welcomed more than 25 podcasters and shows, on top of the dozens of shows that still record at Spotify’s Mateo studios in the Arts District.
The company estimates that over the last five years it has contributed more than $10 billion to the podcasting industry, including payouts to creators and investments in new content.
Podcasts are just one arm of Spotify’s business, as the audio giant has over 100 million songs and 700,000 audiobooks on its platform. But video podcasts have become an increasingly important way for the company to keep listeners tuned in — and paying for subscriptions amid growing competition from Apple Music and YouTube Music. Despite a surge in profits in the first quarter, Spotify’s share price has fallen 25% this year as investors worry about a slowdown in subscriber growth.
Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay record their podcast, “Higher Learning with Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay,” at Spotify’s Sycamore Studios in Hollywood on May 7. The podcast is distributed on Spotify through The Ringer.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
One of the main drivers behind opening the Sycamore studios was to create a central hub for The Ringer, a media company Spotify acquired for $250 million in 2020.
Geoff Chow, Spotify‘s head of podcast studios and The Ringer’s managing director, said the investment is already paying off “in terms of the productivity and the quality of the content we’re able to produce from here.”
The Ringer is one of the streamer’s most popular assets. Spotify includes nine Ringer shows in its list of the top U.S. podcasts.
“They’re pouring into this space and their creators,” Lathan said, before recording a new “Higher Learning” episode. “We really have the freedom to do so much.”
He and Lindsay said the studio has elevated their show by switching up their workflow and increasing in-person work.
Thanks in part to its centralized location, tucked between the offices of SiriusXM and music and sports entertainment company Roc Nation, they say guests are more eager to visit and record in person. Lathan joked that even while walking down the street, he’ll run into radio personalities like Sway Calloway, who hosts his own successful “Sway in the Morning” show on SiriusXM, and convince them to come up for a tour of the space.
Sycamore has already seen guest appearances from Snoop Dogg on “Game Over with Max Kellerman and Rich Paul,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on “Higher Learning with Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay” and “Project Hail Mary” author Andy Weir on “House of R.”
“This street is so cool,” Lindsay added. “It’s just a different energy here.”
The duo first started recording at Spotify’s Arts District campus, which is more focused on audio-driven programs. But as the podcasting landscape evolves and video becomes a more important element, “Higher Learning” is now able to maximize on the new studio’s video-first capabilities.
Chris Thomas, studio operator, works in the control room on the podcast, “Higher Learning with Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay.”
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Spotify also employs a combination of full-time employees and freelancers that staff each show, including sound engineers, lighting specialists and set designers who help keep the place running.
The Ringer, founded by media mogul Bill Simmons, exists online as a website, a podcast network and video production house, anchored in sports, pop culture and politics coverage. Some of its most popular programs include “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” “The Rewatchables” and the inaugural Golden Globe winner “Good Hang with Amy Poehler.”
Many of the hosts overlap within The Ringer’s podcasting ecosystem. Just between Lathan and Lindsay, they host and appear as regular guests on as many as five shows, so they work from the studio three to five times a week. By being in close quarters together, a greater sense of collaboration has enveloped The Ringer’s team. Chow said there are some days when Simmons will walk onto four shows a day, just to share his thoughts on a topic.
“This is my dream of what The Ringer is. We’re all here talking, we’re all existing together,” Lathan said. “We’re all popping in and out of different rooms all the time.”
Exterior view of the building that houses Spotify’s new Sycamore Studios. The company takes up one floor of the facility.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
The Ringer was first founded in 2016. At the time, Simmons had recently been ousted from ESPN due to a strained relationship with higher-ups. Simmons had spearheaded the network’s Grantland sports blog, which focused on cultural commentary that is similar to what The Ringer does today. The Ringer soon established itself as one of the fastest-growing independent podcast networks.
The brand still keeps its roots in fandom — whether it’s through football or “Game of Thrones,” said Chow. So, to have a space that reflects the diversity of its programming often makes recording more fruitful, especially during key moments like the NFL draft or awards season.
As The Ringer continues to expand its roots in Hollywood, the network remains focused on maximizing its content.
In January, The Ringer started airing select podcasts on Netflix to reach a wider audience. Chow said the partnership is off to a promising start. Each of the five recording studios at the Sycamore site is fully equipped with live-streaming technology — making the weekly Netflix live shows possible.
“Podcasts have become like a cultural hub and curator of things that are happening in the world,” Chow said. “We always want to innovate and test. That’s something that was exciting to us to think about bringing our audience new content in different places.”
