November

The way humans refuse to reflect is most ironic. Everyone immediately blamed the heavens for the events of November 2025, when massive floods swept across Sumatra (Indonesia), submerged southern Thailand, and turned Malaysian roads into rivers. It was as if humans were passive victims swept away by something beyond their control, and rain was the sole factor.  This elegant narrative is perpetuated to shield us from guilt and responsibility, making us reluctant to acknowledge that these ‘natural’ disasters have actually been engineered by human choices and negligence over a long period of time. The greatest tragedy lies in the audacity to ignore the damage we have wrought upon ourselves, not the water falling from the sky.

What happened at the end of November was not just extreme weather. Reuters stated that heavy rains were the main cause of flooding and landslides, which are estimated to have killed at least 129 people in Southeast Asia before and after 25 November 2025.  However, blaming the rain as the sole cause is like blaming a match when your entire house is on fire, even though you were the one who spilled the petrol (Reuters, 2025). The rain is not the problem. Rain is a common climatic event. What is unusual is how vulnerable our countries are to something that should have been anticipated.

For years, Green Theory has reminded us that environmental damage is the result of development and political and economic practices that prioritize growth over sustainability. Theoretically, disasters are political rather than natural occurrences. According to this viewpoint, structural power disparities and policy decisions that favor capital accumulation are the main causes of society’s susceptibility to natural disasters. And what happened in November 2025 shows that current politics prioritizes short-term profits, land exploitation, and dependence on destructive industries over maintaining the ecological balance that enables human life.

For example, flooding in Sumatra is caused by the loss of millions of hectares of forest over the past twenty years. The loss of forests has eliminated the absorption and soil retention systems that previously functioned as a ‘natural brake’ on water flow. FAO data shows that Indonesia’s deforestation rate has been one of the fastest in the world for years and that the damage has not disappeared without a trace (FAO, 2023). When the roots are gone, the soil and water lose their bond. Disaster becomes inevitable when the rains fall.

The same pattern was found in cases in Thailand and Malaysia.  Development that destroyed hillsides, settlements that crept up into landslide-prone areas, and concretization that eliminated absorption spaces have made these areas an inevitable ecological hazard. There were no truly ‘sudden’ floods and landslides that struck southern Thailand in the same week reported by AP News (AP News, 2025).  What remained suddenly was our realization that the rain was testing the consequences of years of neglect.

Ironically, politicians, mainstream media, and most of the public are more comfortable blaming the heavens.  Although terms such as ‘extreme rainfall,’ ‘climate anomalies,’ and ‘unpredictable weather’ are meteorologically accurate, they are also ethically and politically misleading. Blaming the weather is an elegant way to avoid more uncomfortable questions: who cut down the forests? Who issued the plantation and mining permits? Who built cities without drainage systems? Who turned a blind eye to disorderly spatial planning? And who chose not to learn from the same tragedies of last year, the year before, and the year before that?

Green Theory emphasizes that states and markets often collaborate to cause environmental/ecological damage while covering up their political activities with stories of ‘unpredictable nature.’ The disaster that occurred in November 2025 provided an important lesson that these stories are not only misleading but also dangerous.  To avoid responsibility, attention is shifted from human actors to an abstract entity called ‘the weather.’ It transforms meteorological chaos into structural chaos.  Thus, the sky becomes the most convenient scapegoat for all parties who benefit from the current situation.

We often forget that rain has been with us throughout human history.  It is not the sky that has changed; rather, it is the earth beneath our feet that has been altered, divided, and sold without consideration for its ecological limits. The IPCC has repeatedly warned that although climate change increases rainfall in certain areas, its effects are highly dependent on land use, ecosystem health, and human-controlled environmental carrying capacity (IPCC, 2023).  In other words, rain may be natural, but its disasters are not.

 According to a UNEP report, modern disaster risk consists of a combination of hazards and vulnerability, and it is vulnerability that is most often created by humans (UNEP, 2022).  We are the ones who cut down forests, destroy riverbanks, and build cities without considering hydrological logic. We are responsible for turning floodplains into residential areas.  Yet we blame the rain for being the culprit simply because the water returns to its source.

This is why November 2025 is not just a date of disaster; it is a date of remembrance. A reminder that we live in an age where environmental damage is caused by human activity, not the weather. A reminder that contemporary disasters are the result of poor decisions.  And our hands will remain clean in the story we write as long as we continue to point to the sky, but the ground beneath us will continue to crumble.

 If we want to break out of this cycle, we must stop pointing to the sky and start dismantling the political, economic, and vested interests that make communities vulnerable every time it rains. Disasters must be seen as a reflection of failed environmental governance, not as ‘inevitable’ natural events. This necessitates the establishment of political accountability mechanisms for officials who disregard ecological warnings, independent environmental audits for significant projects, and strict spatial planning reform. We must also understand that change will not come from the heavens; it must come from the very people who have been destroying, if they are finally willing to reform themselves.

The rain will continue to be blamed until that day.  And humans will continue to try to save their own reputations by pointing upwards so that they do not see the damage happening beneath their feet.  However, the sky is never to blame, as will be clearly recorded in history.  The rain simply falls.  It is humans who cause the destruction.  This is the greatest irony of modern civilization: the more power humans feel they have, the more they enjoy washing their hands of the consequences of that power. Humans who destroy mountains for quick profits from mining, build cities without adequate drainage, and pour concrete into rivers, and then feign surprise when everything comes back to haunt them. Rain is merely the trigger; humans prepare the ingredients for the explosion.

It is not the weather that must change, but our morals.  No technical mitigation can replace a political culture that continues to trade forests for capital, mortgaging the future for growth charts, or romanticizing ‘development’ that never produces anything but risk.  We can keep praying for favorable weather, but those prayers will only echo in the void as long as the Earth is treated as a victim.  Because we are the ones who need to live on Earth.  Earth is the source of our life.  And as long as people continue to deny that, disasters will become timely consequences, not mere warnings.

Today we discuss Texas, overreaction and the voluminous field of candidates for California governor.

Is there anyone who is not running for governor?

I’m not. And neither are my two cats. At least they weren’t as of this morning, when we discussed the race before breakfast.

That leaves us somewhat short of the 135 candidates who ran in California’s 2003 recall gubernatorial election. But not by much.

I count nearly a dozen serious candidates, with possibly more to come. Why so many?

Opportunity.

This is the most wide-open race for California governor in decades. By comparison, you’d have to go back to at least 1998, when Lt. Gov. Gray Davis surged past a pair of moneybag candidates, Al Checchi and Rep. Jane Harman, in the Democratic primary, then stomped Republican Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren in November to win the general election.

Now, as then, there is no one who even remotely resembles a prohibitive front-runner.

Polling in the governor’s race has shown former Democratic Rep. Katie Porter and Chad Bianco, Riverside County’s Republican sheriff, narrowly leading the field. But with support for both in the middling 13%-to-21% range, we’re not talking about a pair of world-beaters.

Like nature, political ambition abhors a vacuum.

Speaking of moneybags…

Tom Steyer!

Yes.

After making a bundle as a hedge fund manager, the San Francisco billionaire and environmental activist has been panting after public office for years. Running for president didn’t work out in 2020, even after Steyer spent more than $345 million on his effort. (That’s close to what the Dodgers spent on their 2025 payroll.)

So now Steyer is running for governor, a move he appeared to telegraph by airing nearly $13 million in self-promotional ads that, oh yes, supported passage of Proposition 50, the Democratic gerrymander initiative.

What are his chances?

Longtime readers of this column — both of you! — will know I make no predictions.

But California voters have never looked favorably upon rich candidates trying to make the leap from political civilian to the governorship or U.S. Senate. In fact, over the last 50-plus years, a gilded gallery of the well-to-do have tried and spectacularly failed.

Perhaps Steyer will display the policy chops or the razzle and dazzle they all lacked. But his launch video certainly didn’t shatter any molds. Rather, it presented a stereotypical grab bag of redwood trees, potshots at Sacramento, multicultural images of hard-working-everyday-folk, a promise to fight, a pledge to build more housing and, of course, a dash of profanity because, gosh darn it, nothing says “unbridled authenticity” like a political candidate swearing!

Maybe his fellow billionaire, Rick Caruso, will show more creativity and imagination if he gets into the governor’s race.

At least Democrats have been showing signs of life.

Indeed. Dare I say, the party’s mood swing from near-suicidal to euphoric has been quite something.

Winning gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia — not by a little, but a lot — and prevailing in down-ballot contests in Pennsylvania and Georgia had a remarkably transformative effect. (Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral victory in sky-blue New York City was no big surprise once the democratic socialist prevailed in the primary.)

Literally overnight, Democrats seized the momentum heading into the 2026 midterm election, while Republicans have begun scrambling to reposition their party and recraft its messaging.

All that being said, even before their buoyant off-year performance those widespread reports of Democrats’ demise were greatly … well, we’ll leave that Mark Twain chestnut alone. As analyst Charlie Cook points out, 2024 was a deeply disappointing year for the party. But it wasn’t a disaster.

Democrats gained two House seats. There was no net change in any of the 11 gubernatorial races and legislative contests across 44 states ended in something close to a wash. The party lost four Senate seats — and control of the chamber — but three of those losses came in the red states of Montana, Ohio and West Virginia.

“This is not to argue that Democrats had a great night in November 2024, but it certainly wasn’t a massacre or a party-wide repudiation,” Cook wrote in a recent posting. “If voters had intended to take it out on the party as a whole, the results would have looked quite different.”

Rather than a wholesale takedown of Democrats, the result seemed very much a rejection of President Biden and, by extension, his hasty replacement on the ballot, Vice President Kamala Harris.

What does that mean going forth?

If you’re asking whether Democrats will win control of the House or Senate…

Yes?!?

…I haven’t a clue.

Democrats need to gain three seats to take control of the House and both history and Trump’s sagging approval ratings — especially as pertains to the economy — augur well for their chances. The president’s party has lost House seats in 20 of the last 22 midterm elections and, according to Inside Elections, the fewest number of seats that flipped was four.

That’s why I thought Proposition 50, which sets out to all but decapitate California Republicans in Congress, was a bad and unnecessary move, effectively disenfranchising millions of non-Democratic voters.

An appeals court last week tossed out a Republican gerrymander in Texas, putting Democrats in an even stronger position, though the legal wrangling is far from over. The Supreme Court temporarily blocked the decision, pending review. And still to come is a high court ruling that could gut the Voting Rights Act and yield Republicans a dozen or more House seats nationwide.

So the fight for control is far from decided.

As for the Senate, Republicans stand a much better chance of keeping control, given how the seats contested in 2026 are located on largely favorable GOP terrain.

But until the votes are counted, nobody knows what will happen. That’s the thing about elections: they help keep wiseacres like me honest.

Nov. 21 (UPI) — The Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday it won’t deliver the October Consumer Price Index report, meaning the Federal Reserve won’t get the important data before it meets again Dec. 10 to decide on interest rates.

October’s CPI report was scheduled to come out on Nov. 7, but was canceled because of the government shutdown. The November report was scheduled for Dec. 10, but that’s been changed to Dec. 18, which will be too late for the Fed.

The BLS gathers information via visits, phone calls and surveys, which would have made it impossible during the shutdown and very difficult to get information retroactively.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis also said the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index “is to be rescheduled,” though no firm date has been announced, CNBC reported. That report is the main inflation forecasting tool that the Fed uses.

Minutes from the Fed’s October meeting show that the officials disagreed on whether to lower interest rates at the December meeting after it approved back-to-back reductions.

Each of the last two meetings ended with them lowering the rate by .25% to a now-3.7% to 4%.

“This is a temporary state of affairs. And we’re going to do our jobs, we’re going to collect every scrap of data we can find, evaluate it, and think carefully about it,” CNBC reported Fed Chair Jerome Powell said after the October meeting.

“What do you do if you’re driving in the fog? You slow down. … There’s a possibility that it would make sense to be more cautious about moving.”

New York Fed President John Williams said Friday he thinks the central bank probably has “room for a further adjustment in the near term,” implying a potential cut.

Luxair, Finnair, British Airways, Turkish Airlines, and Loganair have already made the change with two others to follow

Passengers at one UK airport are advised to be aware of two significant changes taking effect from later this week. A number of key airlines have already mde a change to their operations at the regional airport.

Now, although Emirates and easyJet are not yet operating from Manchester Airport’s Terminal 2, that will soon change. In an update to X, formerly Twitter, Manchester Airport said: “Reminder! From 19th November, all airlines, except Ryanair, will operate from Terminal 2.

“This change is part of our £1.3bn transformation programme, bringing more airlines into our upgraded terminal and improving facilities for passengers.” While Emirates departures currently take place at Terminal 1, this will switch to Terminal 2 on November 18. Meanwhile, easyJet departures will move to Terminal 2 on November 19, just one day later.

Luxair, Finnair, British Airways, Turkish Airlines, and Loganair are among the numerous other airlines that have already transferred to Manchester’s Terminal 2. Additional developments to Terminal 2 will also be occurring over the coming months.

The X update, published on November 14, continued: “Further parts of Terminal 2 will be opening over the coming months including the Great Northern Market, the airport’s first Wetherspoons pub, new shops and bars including Fever Tree, and a new pier that will allow more flights to depart from the Terminal.

“As part of our multi-million-pound investment, we’ll be expanding Terminal 3 to make use of space that will be available when Terminal 1 closes. Some new parts of Terminal 3 will open early next year, including new sports bar Sporting Chance.”

Further guidance from Manchester Airport states that ‘all airlines will contact passengers directly to confirm the details’ and staff will be available to support these arrangements. Check-in desks for Terminal 2 are located on the upper level of the Terminal.

If you’ve reserved a parking spot in Terminal 1 or 3 but your flight has been relocated to Terminal 2, the airport can transfer your reservation to the nearest parking area at no additional cost. You will need to fill in an online form to have these changes applied.

However, this is only possible if you booked parking directly through the official Manchester Airport website, including Meet & Greet or multi-storey car parks. Unfortunately, the airport cannot modify third-party bookings, so you must contact the provider directly in such cases.

For those who have reserved a lounge in Terminal 1 or 3 but are now flying from Terminal 2, the airport adds: “If you booked your lounge directly on the official Manchester Airport website, you’ll need to cancel your current booking and rebook a lounge in Terminal 2, subject to availability.

“If no availability is shown for Terminal 2 lounges, you can still cancel your original booking for a full refund. If you booked through a third-party website or provider, please contact them directly. We’re unable to make changes to third-party bookings.”

For more information, head to Manchester Airport’s website here.

As the UK is hit by cold and wet weather, many Brits are looking to escape the winter blues by booking a last-minute holiday abroad – and one travel expert has shared his top recommendations

The dreary, grey November conditions are prompting Britons to snap up last-minute breaks overseas, as sun-seekers desperately hunt for an escape from the winter gloom. For those yearning for warmth, there are loads of options for a scorching getaway that won’t empty your wallet.

Holiday-makers hunting for ideas might want to check out four suggestions from Rob Brooks, a travel guru and social media star with holiday firm On The Beach. Well-known online for dishing out money-saving travel tips, accommodation reviews, and getaway guidance, Rob has built up a massive fanbase on TikTok under the handle @Robonthebeach.

One of Rob’s latest clips was called ‘Where I’d go for a hot, cheap holiday.’

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Offering guidance to his 34k followers, he explained: “Here are the four places that I can recommend for this November if you’re after a last-minute migration to escape the freezing cold here. I’ve seen loads of people asking recently, ‘Where’s hot in November?'”.

“But I think the real question is, ‘Where’s hot and cheap this November?’ Because sure, Dubai is lovely, and Thailand’s boiling, but can any of us actually afford that on short notice? So I’ve gone through the booking trends, weather forecasts and our live pricing to find four places I’d actually recommend this November for a warm, good value escape.”

Discussing his fourth choice, Rob revealed: “Costa Blanca. It’s not blazing hot, but it’s that lovely kind of jumper in the evening, t-shirt all day kind of weather. This November is looking like highs of 23 degrees, no rain, and loads of sunshine. Benidorm, Alicante, Calpe. They’re all ticking over lovely in November, but way quieter and way cheaper than summer. You can still swim in the sea and sit outside for dinner, there’s just less crowds there.”

He went on: “Antalya in Turkey. Still properly hot there, around 25 degrees most days, and it’s even warmer inland. While you’re soaking in the sun, your mates will be back home scraping ice off the windscreen.”

For his following suggestion, Rob remarked: “Tenerife, still hitting 27 degrees most days on the south coast. There’s loads of sunshine and the sea’s definitely warm enough to swim in. For me as well, November is actually one of the best times to go. Quieter beaches, lower prices, but still that proper Canaries heat.”

Wrapping up his recommendations, Rob concluded: “The number one place I’d recommend, Sharm El-Sheikh. If you want actual summer in November, this is it. It’s still 30 degrees every day. The Red Sea is like bathwater, and it’s one of the few places you can get an all-inclusive, proper luxury place for under £500 per person.”

The clip proved a hit with viewers, amassing thousands of likes. One person responded: “Malaga is always perfect in November.” Another user posted: “Just got back from Madeira last night. Can’t believe this wasn’t on your list.”

Ever dreamt of walking on a beach resembling popcorn? A European shore on the Canary Islands has a striking natural phenomenon that is well worth a visit for some winter sun

With temperatures plummeting in the UK, holidaymakers are turning their attention to European winter getaways to bask in a warmer climate, and there’s one fascinating place with a ‘popcorn beach’ that reaches a welcoming 24C in November.

The Canary Islands, known as the sunshine centre of Europe, have long been top of the list for Brits hunting for some sun, with beaches offering golden sand and crystal clear blue waters. But it’s not just the picture-perfect coastlines that entice tourists to the southern region of Spain.

Elsewhere on the islands, visitors can stumble upon beaches with shimmering or dark sand, due to the islands’ volcanic origin, or admire the sand dunes in Gran Canaria that resemble those in the Egyptian desert. With a fascinating collection of shores, there’s one that has caught attention, so much so that it’s been given its own nickname.

Popcorn Beach, officially called Playa del Bajo de la Burra, is one of the most striking beaches in the world. Found in Fuerteventura, the beach is fantastically composed of white, fossilised coral or calcareous algae that has been washed up on the shore, resembling puffed-up popcorn pieces.

The similarity to edible popcorn on the beach is so striking that in photos, it could easily be mistaken for the tasty cinema snack. Holidaymakers have flocked to the beach to marvel at the natural wonder, labelling it the “most bizarre in the world” and comparing it to the likes of the Caribbean.

One traveller shared a review of Popcorn Beach on TripAdvisor and said: “Great place to visit and just sit and relax. Nice wind and when the tide is out, plenty of rock pools to explore. Beware of the slippery lava rocks, very dangerous. When the tide is in, the white popcorn algae makes it look like the Caribbean!”

A second holidaymaker commented: “This a brilliant little beach near Corralejo Town, the bits of stoned algae that look like pop corn allow for brilliant photos. We visited with our toddler and filled in a nice half hour.”

“Unusual beach that truly looks like popcorn. Very nice views. Beach itself is a bit small,” a third shared. While another warned that you can’t swim in the sea, “Unfortunately, there is no direct water access on site, but the experience of Popcorn beach belongs on every adventure list on Fuerteventura.”

However, anyone planning to visit Popcorn Beach should be aware that there is a strict law against taking any of the coral home, no matter how tempting it might be as a souvenir. Unfortunately, it’s such a problem that the beach reportedly loses around 1,000kg of natural material per month.

Tourists have been urged to preserve the endangered ecosystems and refrain from removing any of their precious sand in the Canary Islands. Otherwise, visitors can face a fine of £128 (€150) to £512 (€600) for “minor” offences, or up to £2,563 (€3,000) for “major” breaches, depending on the amount pocketed, according to the Canarian Weekly.

Despite the strict laws, visitors are welcome to capture themselves among the popcorn-shaped coral in photos and stroll along the shore to admire its distinctive beauty. It’s well worth a visit to admire the natural phenomenon, and with temperatures in Fuerteventura reaching between 22 to 24C in November, it’s the ideal spot to bask in some sunshine.

Not only this, but the island is incredibly easy to reach with direct return flights from London Stansted to Fuerteventura, starting from as little as £36.99 with Ryanair.

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

IF you fancy African sunshine but less of the hustle and bustle from the likes of Marrakesh and Rabat, check out this alternative.

It still has everything you’d want from a visit, from historical sites to souks as well as lively festivals.

This is the city of Meknes in northern Morocco. It’s just 50 minutes away from Fez – and it’s much quieter.

For those who love history, Meknes has an interesting one as it was once the capital of Morocco.

During the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Sultan Moulay Ismail made it the capital of Morocco.

Meknes was transformed into a massive imperial city with palaces, fortifications, and monumental gates – lots of which still stand today.

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The Kasbah of Moulay Ismail was built during the 1600s and is one of the most popular sites for tourists to see in Meknes.

It’s still used as an occasional royal residence by the current King of Morocco.

The medina of Meknes is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in itself and according to VisitMorocco, is nicknamed the “Versailles of Morocco”.

Place El-Hedim has all kinds of shops with locals selling all sorts, from vases, plates to bracelets.

There are green spaces within the city too, from orchards to olive groves and vineyards.

Just outside of Meknes is a popular historical site, called Volubilis, a well-preserved Roman city, where tourists will find ruins of mosaics, and even a Triumphal Arch.

While Meknes is quieter than the likes of Fez because it generally has less tourists, that doesn’t mean there’s not much going on there.

In fact, Meknes holds festivals through the year, like Festival International de Volubilis des Musiques Traditionnelles du Monde – a big music festival.

This includes the International Festival of Animated Film and its own Fantasia festival which is a traditional Moroccan horse festival.

Like most of Morocco, Meknes is pretty warm throughout the year.

In November, there are highs of 30C and lows of 9C and little rainfall. The coldest month is generally January – but there can still be highs of 16C.

The hottest months are July and August, where the city can experience highs of 34C.

Meknes does not have its own airport as the closest is in Fez.

Brits can take direct flights to Fez in as little as three hours 20 minutes and journeys in November start from £17 with Ryanair.

It’s easy to get there from Rabat too, which you can fly to from the UK in a little over three hours.

From there you can get a direct train from Rabat to Meknes which takes around two hours and tickets cost as little as £5.50.

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Here’s a little more on other citiies in Morocco…

Marrakesh

From a bustling Medina, to activities in the desert, vibrant cafes and spice stalls, you can’t go wrong with Marrakesh.

The city in western Morocco is at the bottom of the Atlas Mountains and in the winter months offers warm weather and lots of sunshine.

Lisa Minot, Head of Sun Travel, went on a trip earlier this year and said: “I’ve spent a wonderful long weekend in Marrakech and the city is as exciting as ever.”

Agadir

Morocco doesn’t just offer city breaks, Agadir has incredible golden beaches. It’s known to be a premier resort destination with beautiful hotels and pristine pools.

Deputy Travel Editor Kara Godfrey visited Agadir last winter and enjoyed the much warmer weather of 25C.

Kara added: “The Moroccan city is home to the country’s largest market, Souk El Had, as well as a bustling harbour and modern marina. No wonder the North African country looks set to be a holiday hotspot as Brits look past Spain.”

Fez

Another lesser-visited city in Morocco is Fez. It’s found inland and has been referred to as the “country’s cultural capital”.

There’s plenty of shopping to be done in Fez at the Medina, which is the oldest in North Africa and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s made up of over 9,000 alleys that are separated from the outside world by high walls. 

Inside you’ll find lots of food, leathers, handmade rugs and hand-painted ceramics.

Tangier

The city at the very tip of Morocco is Tangier – on a clear day, you can even see Spain across the Strait of Gibraltar.

Tangier has been a major trade centre for thousands of years thanks to its location and busy port.

Visitors can learn about its interesting history with a guided tour, and wander through Kasbah, the walled part of the city full of tiny streets and alleys.

Kasbah has been used for Hollywood movies including James Bond and the Bourne film series.

For more on Morocco, read more about Head of Sun Travel Lisa Minot’s trip to Marrakesh.

Plus check out this peaceful African city right by the sea that feels ‘more like Europe’ – but tourists always miss it.

The engineering works are set to disrupt trains on Saturday, November 15, and Sunday, November 16

A major London airport has issued an alert regarding scheduled engineering works in November. No Heathrow Express or Elizabeth Line train services will operate to or from Heathrow Airport on two days this week.

In a message to X, formerly Twitter, London Heathrow Airport said: “Due to planned engineering works, there will be no Heathrow Express or Elizabeth line train services to/from Heathrow on Sat 15 & Sun 16 November 2025. @TfL Piccadilly Line services to/from #Heathrow will be running as normal. Please plan your journey in advance as other services will be busier than normal.”

A similar alert has appeared on National Rail’s website, urging travellers to use the network’s Journey Planner to identify the most suitable routes. It also noted several other travel disruptions happening this weekend, in addition to the cancellation of Heathrow Express and Elizabeth line services to the airport.

Regarding the Elizabeth line specifically, the National Rail site reads: “No trains will run to / from Heathrow Airport. Services between Shenfield and London Paddington (and beyond) will run between Shenfield and London Liverpool Street (high level) only.

“Services between Abbey Wood and London Paddington (and beyond) will not run. There will be an amended and reduced service between London Paddington and Hayes & Harlington / Maidenhead / Reading.

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“Please note that trains will run to / from the high level of London Paddington station. On Sunday, until 07:00, trains will only run between Ealing Broadway and Hayes & Harlington / Maidenhead / Reading.”

It also added: “There will be no Heathrow Express service.” More than 20,000 miles of track, 45,000 bridges and tunnels and 65,000 level crossings make up our national network, according to National Rail.

This weekend, engineering work will occur between Hayes & Harlington and Heathrow Airport.

Like National Rail, Heathrow Airport also provides its own online Journey Planner to help travellers organise their routes. The tool allows people to enter their postcode or local station address alongside the location of a Heathrow terminal before calculating the travel distance between them.

For more information, please visit Heathrow Airport’s website by clicking here or National Rail’s website here.

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A strange scene unfolded at the Adams/Vermont farmers market near USC last week.

The pomegranates, squash and apples were in season, pink guavas were so ripe you could smell their heady scent from a distance, and nutrient-packed yams were ready for the holidays.

But with federal funding in limbo for the 1.5 million people in Los Angeles County who depend on food aid from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — or SNAP — the church parking lot hosting the market was largely devoid of customers.

Even though the market accepts payments through CalFresh, the state’s SNAP program, hardly anyone was lined up when gates opened. Vendors mostly idled alone at their produce stands.

A line of cars stretches more than a mile as people wait to receive a box of free food provided by the L.A. Food Bank in the City of Industry on Wednesday.

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

As thousands across Southern California lined up at food banks to collect free food, and the fight over delivering the federal allotments sowing uncertainty, fewer people receiving aid seemed to be spending money at outdoor markets like this one.

“So far we’re doing 50% of what we’d normally do — or less,” said Michael Bach, who works with Hunger Action, a food-relief nonprofit that partners with farmers markets across the greater L.A. area, offering “Market Match” deals to customers paying with CalFresh debit cards.

The deal allows shoppers to buy up to $30 worth of fruit produce for only $15. Skimming a ledger on her table, Bach’s colleague Estrellita Echor noted that only a handful of shoppers had taken advantage of the offer.

All week at farmers markets where workers were stationed, the absence was just as glaring, she said. “I was at Pomona on Saturday — we only had six transactions the whole day,” she said. “Zero at La Mirada.”

CalFresh customers looking to double their money on purchases were largely missing at the downtown L.A. market the next day, Echor said.

A volunteer loads up a box of free food for a family at a drive-through food distribution site in the City of Industry.

(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

“This program usually pulls in lots of people, but they are either holding on to what little they have left or they just don’t have anything on their cards,” she said.

The disruption in aid comes as a result of the Trump administration’s decision to deliver only partial SNAP payments to states during the ongoing federal government shutdown, skirting court order to restart funds for November. On Friday night, Supreme Court Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson temporarily blocked the order pending a ruling on the matter by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

But by then, CalFresh had already started loading 100% of November’s allotments onto users’ debit cards. Even with that reprieve for food-aid recipients in California, lack of access to food is a persistent problem in L.A., said Kayla de la Haye, director of the Institute for Food System Equity at USC.

A study published by her team last year found that 25% of residents in L.A. County — or about 832,000 people — experienced food insecurity, and that among low-income residents, the rate was even higher, 41%. The researchers also found that 29% of county residents experienced nutrition insecurity, meaning they lacked options for getting healthy, nutritious food.

Those figures marked a slight improvement compared to data from 2023, when the end of pandemic-era boosts to state, county and nonprofit aid programs — combined with rising inflation — caused hunger rates to spike just as they did at the start of the pandemic in 2020, de la Haye said.

“That was a big wake-up call — we had 1 in 3 folks in 2020 be food insecure,” de la Haye said. “We had huge lines at food pantries.”

But while the USC study shows the immediate delivery of food assistance through government programs and nonprofits quickly can cut food insecurity rates in an emergency, the researchers discovered many vulnerable Angelenos are not participating in food assistance programs.

Despite the county making strides to enroll more eligible families over the last decade, de la Haye said, only 29% of food insecure households in L.A. County were enrolled in CalFresh, and just 9% in WIC, the federal nutrition program for women, infants and children.

De la Haye said participants in her focus groups shared a mix of reasons why they didn’t enroll: Many didn’t know they qualified, while others said they felt too ashamed to apply for aid, were intimidated by the paperwork involved or feared disclosing their immigration status. Some said they didn’t apply because they earned slightly more than the cutoff amounts for eligibility.

Even many of those those receiving aid struggled: 39% of CalFresh recipients were found to lack an affordable source for food and 45% faced nutrition insecurity.

De la Haye said hunger and problems accessing healthy food have serious short- and long-term health effects — contributing to higher rates of heart disease, diabetes and obesity, as well greater levels of stress, anxiety and depression in adults and children. What’s more, she said, when people feel unsure about their finances, highly perishable items such as fresh, healthy food are often the first things sacrificed because they can be more expensive.

The USC study also revealed stark racial disparities: 31% of Black residents and 32% of Latinos experienced food insecurity, compared to 11% of white residents and 14% of Asians.

De la Haye said her team is analyzing data from this year they will publish in December. That analysis will look at investments L.A. County has made in food system over the last two years, including the allocation of $20 million of federal funding to 80 community organizations working on everything from urban farming to food pantries, and the recent creation of the county’s Office of Food Systems to address challenges to food availability and increase the consumption of healthy foods.

“These things that disrupt people’s ability to get food, including and especially cuts to this key program that is so essential to 1.5 million people in the county — we don’t weather those storms very well,” de la Haye said. “People are just living on the precipice.”

States administering a federal food aid program serving about 42 million Americans faced uncertainty Monday over whether they can — and should — provide full monthly benefits during an ongoing legal battle involving the U.S. government shutdown.

President Donald Trump’s administration over the weekend demanded that states “undo” full benefits that were paid under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program during a one-day window between when a federal judge ordered full funding and a Supreme Court justice put a temporary pause on that order.

A federal appeals court in Boston left the full benefits order in place on Sunday, though the Supreme Court order ensures the government won’t have to pay out for at least 48 hours. The Trump administration is also expected to ask the justices to step in again, and Congress is considering whether to fund SNAP as part of a proposal to end the government shutdown.

Some states are warning of “catastrophic operational disruptions” if the Trump administration does not reimburse them for those SNAP benefits they already authorized. Meanwhile, other states are providing partial monthly SNAP benefits with federal money or using their own funds to load electronic benefit cards for SNAP recipients.

Millions receive aid while others wait

Trump’s administration initially said SNAP benefits would not be available in November because of the government shutdown. After some states and nonprofit groups sued, two judges each ruled the administration could not skip November’s benefits entirely.

The administration then said it would use an emergency reserve fund to provide 65% of the maximum monthly benefit. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell said that wasn’t good enough, and ordered full funding for SNAP benefits by Friday.

Some states acted quickly to direct their EBT vendors to disburse full monthly benefits to SNAP recipients. Millions of people in those states received funds to buy groceries before Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson put McConnell’s order on hold Friday night, pending further deliberation by an appeals court.

Millions more people still have not received SNAP payments for November, because their states were waiting on further guidance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers SNAP.

Trump’s administration has argued that the judicial order to provide full benefits violates the Constitution by infringing on the spending power of the legislative and executive branches.

States are fighting attempt to freeze SNAP benefits

On Sunday, the Trump administration said states had moved too quickly and erroneously released full SNAP benefits after last week’s rulings.

“States must immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025,” Patrick Penn, deputy undersecretary of Agriculture, wrote to state SNAP directors. He warned that states could face penalties if they did not comply.

Wisconsin, which was among the first to load full benefits after McConnell’s order, had its federal reimbursement frozen. As a result, the state’s SNAP account could be depleted as soon Monday, leaving no money to reimburse stores that sell food to SNAP recipients, according to a court filing submitted by those that had sued.

Some Democratic governors vowed to challenge any federal attempt to claw back money.

In Connecticut, Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont said “those who received their benefits should not worry about losing them.”

“No, Connecticut does not need to take back SNAP benefits already sent to the 360,000 people who depend on them for food and who should have never been caught in the middle of this political fight,” Lamont said. “We have their back.”

Lieb and Mulvihill write for the Associated Press. Associated Press writers Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin; John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas; and Nicholas Riccardi in Denver contributed to this report.

The Trump administration is demanding states “undo” full SNAP benefits paid out under judges’ orders last week, now that the Supreme Court has stayed those rulings, marking the latest swing in a seesawing legal battle over the anti-hunger program used by 42 million Americans.

The demand from the U.S. Department of Agriculture came as more than two dozen states warned of “catastrophic operational disruptions” if the administration does not reimburse them for those SNAP benefits they authorized before the Supreme Court’s stay.

Nonprofits and Democratic attorneys general sued to force the Trump administration to maintain the program this month. They won the favorable rulings last week, leading to the swift release of benefits to millions in several states.

But, even before it won a stay on those rulings through an appeal to the Supreme Court on Friday night, the Trump administration balked at reimbursing states for the initial round of SNAP payments. Wisconsin, for example, loaded benefits onto cards for 700,000 residents, but after the U.S. Treasury froze its reimbursements to the state, it anticipates running out of money by Monday, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ administration warned in a lengthy statement Sunday.

The lack of money could leave vendors unpaid and trigger escalating legal claims, the states warned. “States could face demands to return hundreds of millions of dollars in the aggregate,” the filing at the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals says.

That situation “would risk catastrophic operational disruptions for the States, with a consequent cascade of harms for their residents,” the filing concludes.

That filing arrived as the Department of Agriculture on Saturday told states it would now consider any payments made last week to be “unauthorized.”

“To the extent States sent full SNAP payment files for November 2025, this was unauthorized,” Patrick Penn, deputy undersecretary of Agriculture, wrote to state SNAP directors. “Accordingly, States must immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025.”

Evers issued a quick response to the Trump administration’s demand. “No,” the governor said in a statement.

“Pursuant to and consistent with an active court order, Wisconsin legally loaded benefits to cards, ensuring nearly 700,000 Wisconsinites, including nearly 270,000 kids, had access to basic food and groceries,” Evers said. “After we did so, the Trump Administration assured Wisconsin and other states that they were actively working to implement full SNAP benefits for November and would ‘complete the processes necessary to make funds available.’ They have failed to do so to date.”

Bauer and Riccardi write for the Associated Press.

While the New Year is a peak time for booking summer holidays, especially for families looking to jet away outside of term time, here’s why I tend to be an early bird booker in November

The promise of a summer holiday is often the thing that gets you through the post-Christmas slump. And holiday companies certainly know this. While you’re finishing your turkey sandwich and fighting festive hangovers, there are two adverts you’ll see a lot of; sofa sales and holidays.

As a travel journalist, I take a lot of last-minute breaks, but as a busy mum when it comes to booking my own holidays, I like to be organised. This means that before I’ve put the tree up I’ve often got my summer holiday booked, and November can be an excellent time to start browsing travel sites.

Here are some of the reasons why I’m already thinking about my summer holidays this month and will likely be booking in the next couple of weeks.

1. Yes, there are some great deals

While travel companies do offer sales in January and February, November is a quiet month for bookings for travel companies, which means there are often flash sales and deals going on that aren’t as heavily promoted, but can still save you a lot of money.

Of course, the big one in November is Black Friday. At the time of writing, many of the major operators were still keeping their deals under wraps, although Jet2 currently have 20% off flights and £100 per person off all holidays.

Black Friday is officially on November 28, but in my experience, most travel companies will launch their offerings before then. If there’s a particular tour operator, airline, or cruise provider you’re interested in, sign up for their newsletter now. Some of them will give early access to deals, and you can always unsubscribe later.

2. Availability is better

Most airlines and accommodation providers will have released their 2026 summer availability by now for early bird bookers. If you’re looking for a very specific destination or holiday type, for example a certain cabin type on a cruise or a sea view apartment in your favourite resort, then you’ve got a better chance of nabbing it now before the New Year rush.

As someone who once endured an overnight ferry to France in a reclining seat because I booked too late and there were no cabins left, I always try to get bookings locked in as soon as I know the dates I want. Car hire is another one that tends to be better booked in advance, especially if you’re visiting a small Spanish or Greek island, as they’ll often have limited vehicles available.

3. It’s easier to budget

As a parent whose family holiday dates are restricted to half terms and those dreaded six weeks of summer, I’m well aware how expensive it can be to even get a few nights in a caravan during peak times. That’s why I like to take advantage of interest-free options for spreading the cost, so I can budget monthly and get the holiday paid off before I go.

TUI, for example, offer zero deposit options, with the cost of the holiday paid in instalments via direct debit. The last payment is made eight weeks before your holiday, so if you book earlier, you can spread it in smaller instalments which I find much less painful than paying in one go.

Some UK holiday providers offer the same such Haven offer low deposits of £30 and a variety of payment options to help you budget.

Always make sure you can afford the monthly payments, as missing one could mean your holiday ends up getting cancelled with any payments lost. Read any terms and conditions carefully. Make sure there’s no interest being added and avoid options like credit cards and pay later providers who can add massive fees.

4. You can lock down popular annual leave dates

If you’ve ever worked in a team with other parents, you’ll know there can be a battle to get weeks off at certain times of year. Even if you aren’t booking your holiday yet, it’s worth getting those annual leave requests in. Of course, never book a holiday before you’ve had your annual leave approved.

5. Enjoy the holiday excitement for longer

Christmas can be a stressful time, so it’s nice to have something to look forward to. I appreciate it’s not the same for everyone, but I really love the countdown to my big holiday. It gives me plenty of time to look for local attractions I want to visit, and even start shopping for holiday clothes.

Admittedly, early booking isn’t for everyone, some people love to be spontaneous. But if you’re already dreaming of jetting off in summer it may be a good time to see what the tour operators have to offer.

Have a story you want to share? Email us at [email protected].

BOSTON — President Trump ’s administration asked a federal appeals court Friday to block a judge’s order that it distribute November’s full monthly SNAP food benefits amid a U.S. government shutdown, even as at least some states said they were moving quickly to get the money to people.

The judge gave the Trump administration until Friday to make the payments through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. But the administration asked the appeals court to suspend any court orders requiring it to spend more money than is available in a contingency fund, and instead allow it to continue with planned partial SNAP payments for the month.

The court filing came even as Wisconsin said Friday that some SNAP recipients in the state already got their full November payments overnight on Thursday.

“We’ve received confirmation that payments went through, including members reporting they can now see their balances,” said Britt Cudaback, a spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.

Uncertainty remains for many SNAP recipients

The court wrangling prolonged weeks of uncertainty for the food program that serves about 1 in 8 Americans, mostly with lower incomes.

An individual can receive a monthly maximum food benefit of nearly $300 and a family of four up to nearly $1,000, although many receive less than that under a formula that takes into consideration their income. For many SNAP participants, it remains unclear exactly how much they will receive this month, and when they will receive it.

Jasmen Youngbey of Newark, N.J., waited in line Friday at a food pantry in the state’s largest city. As a single mom attending college, Youngbey said she relies on SNAP to help feed her 7-month-old and 4-year-old sons. But she said her account balance was at $0.

“Not everybody has cash to pull out and say, ‘OK, I’m going to go and get this,’ especially with the cost of food right now,” she said.

Tihinna Franklin, a school bus guard who was waiting in the same line outside the United Community Corp. food pantry, said her SNAP account balance was at 9 cents and she was down to three items in her freezer. She typically relies on the roughly $290 a month in SNAP benefits to help feed her grandchildren.

“If I don’t get it, I won’t be eating,” she said. “My money I get paid for, that goes to the bills, rent, electricity, personal items. That is not fair to us as mothers and caregivers.”

The legal battle over SNAP takes another twist

Because of the federal government shutdown, the Trump administration originally had said SNAP benefits would not be available in November. However, two judges ruled last week that the administration could not skip November’s benefits entirely because of the shutdown. One of those judges was U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr., who ordered the full payments Thursday.

In both cases, the judges ordered the government to use one emergency reserve fund containing more than $4.6 billion to pay for SNAP for November but gave it leeway to tap other money to make the full payments, which cost between $8.5 billion and $9 billion each month.

On Monday, the administration said it would not use additional money, saying it was up to Congress to appropriate the funds for the program and that the other money was needed to shore up other child hunger programs.

Thursday’s federal court order rejected the Trump administration’s decision to cover only 65% of the maximum monthly benefit, a decision that could have left some recipients getting nothing for this month.

In its court filing Friday, Trump’s administration contended that Thursday’s directive to fund full SNAP benefits runs afoul of the U.S. Constitution.

“This unprecedented injunction makes a mockery of the separation of powers. Courts hold neither the power to appropriate nor the power to spend,” the U.S. Department of Justice wrote in its request to the court.

In response, attorneys for the cities and nonprofits challenging Trump’s administration said the government has plenty of available money and the court should “not allow them to further delay getting vital food assistance to individuals and families who need it now.”

States are taking different approaches to food aid

Some states said they stood ready to distribute SNAP money as quickly as possible.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said it directed a vendor servicing its SNAP electronic benefit cards to issue full SNAP benefits soon after the federal funding is received.

Benefits are provided to individuals on different days of the month. Those who normally receive benefits on the third, fifth or seventh of the month should receive their full SNAP allotment within 48 hours of funds becoming available, the Michigan agency said, and others should receive their full benefits on their regularly scheduled dates.

Meanwhile, North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services said that partial SNAP benefits were distributed Friday, based on the Trump administration’s previous decision. Officials in Illinois and North Dakota also said they were distributing partial November payments, starting as soon as Friday for some recipients.

In Missouri, where officials had been working on partial distribution, the latest court jostling raised new questions. A spokesperson for the state Department of Social Services said Friday that it is awaiting further guidance about how to proceed from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers SNAP.

Amid the federal uncertainty, Delaware’s Democratic Gov. Matt Meyer said the state used its own funds Friday to provide the first of could be a weekly relief payment to SNAP recipients.

On Thursday, Nebraska’s Republican Gov. Jim Pillen downplayed the effect of paused SNAP benefits on families in his state, saying, “Nobody’s going to go hungry.” The multimillionaire said food pantries, churches and other charitable services would fill the gap.

Lieb, Casey and Bauer write for the Associated Press. Lieb reported from Jefferson City, Mo., and Bauer from Madison, Wisc. AP writers Margery Beck in Omaha; Mike Catalini in Newark, N.J.; Jack Dura in Bismarck, N.D.; Mingson Lau in Claymont, Del.; John O’Connor, in Springfield, Ill.; and Gary D. Robertson in Raleigh, N.C., contributed to this report.

A federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the Trump administration Thursday to find the money to fully fund SNAP benefits for November.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr. gave President Trump’s administration until Friday to make the payments through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, though it’s unlikely the 42 million Americans — about 1 in 8, most of them in poverty — will see the money on the debit cards they use for groceries nearly that quickly.

The order was in response to a challenge from cities and nonprofits complaining that the administration was only offering to cover 65% of the maximum benefit, a decision that would have left some recipients getting nothing for this month.

“The defendants failed to consider the practical consequences associated with this decision to only partially fund SNAP,” McConnell said in a ruling from the bench after a brief hearing. “They knew that there would be a long delay in paying partial SNAP payments and failed to consider the harms individuals who rely on those benefits would suffer.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

McConnell was one of two judges who ruled last week that the administration could not skip November’s benefits entirely because of the federal shutdown.

The Trump administration chose partial payments this week

Last month, the administration said that it would halt SNAP payments for November if the government shutdown wasn’t resolved.

A coalition of cities and nonprofits sued in federal court in Rhode Island and Democratic state officials from across the country did so in Massachusetts.

The judges in both cases ordered the government to use one emergency reserve fund containing more than $4.6 billion to pay for SNAP for November but gave it leeway to tap other money to make the full payments, which cost between $8.5 billion and $9 billion each month.

On Monday, the administration said it would not use additional money, saying it was up to Congress to appropriate the funds for the program and that the other money was needed to shore up other child hunger programs.

The partial funding brought on complications

McConnell harshly criticized the Trump administration for making that choice.

“Without SNAP funding for the month of November, 16 million children are immediately at risk of going hungry,” he said. “This should never happen in America. In fact, it’s likely that SNAP recipients are hungry as we sit here.”

Tyler Becker, the attorney for the government, unsuccessfully argued that the Trump administration had followed the court’s order in issuing the partial payments. “This all comes down to Congress not having appropriated funds because of the government shutdown,” he said.

Kristin Bateman, a lawyer for the coalition of cities and nonprofit organizations, told the judge the administration had other reasons for not fully funding the benefits.

“What defendants are really trying to do is to leverage people’s hunger to gain partisan political advantage in the shutdown fight,” Bateman told the court.

McConnell said last week’s order required that those payments be made “expeditiously” and “efficiently” — and by Wednesday — or a full payment would be required. “Nothing was done consistent with the court’s order to clear the way to expeditiously resolve it,” McConnell said.

There were other twists and turns this week

The administration said in a court filing on Monday that it could take weeks or even months for some states to make calculations and system changes to load the debit cards used in the SNAP program. At the time, it said it would fund 50% of the maximum benefits.

The next day, Trump appeared to threaten not to pay the benefits at all unless Democrats in Congress agreed to reopen the government. His press secretary later said that the partial benefits were being paid for November — and that it is future payments that are at risk if the shutdown continues.

And Wednesday night, it recalculated, telling states that there was enough money to pay for 65% of the maximum benefits.

Under a decades-old formula in federal regulations, everyone who received less than the maximum benefit would get a larger percentage reduction. Some families would have received nothing and some single people and two-person households could have gotten as little as $16.

Carmel Scaife, a former day care owner in Milwaukee who hasn’t been able to work since receiving multiple severe injuries in a car accident seven years ago, said she normally receives $130 a month from SNAP. She said that despite bargain hunting, that is not nearly enough for a month’s worth of groceries.

Scaife, 56, said that any cuts to her benefit will mean she will need to further tap her Social Security income for groceries. “That’ll take away from the bills that I pay,” she said. “But that’s the only way I can survive.”

The next legal step is unclear

This type of order is usually not subject to an appeal, but the Trump administration has challenged other rulings like it before.

An organization whose lawyers filed the challenge signaled it would continue the battle if needed.

“We shouldn’t have to force the President to care for his citizens,” Democracy Forward President and CEO Skye Perryman said in a statement, “but we will do whatever is necessary to protect people and communities.”

It often takes SNAP benefits a week or more to be loaded onto debit cards once states initiate the process.

Mulvihill and Casey write for the Associated Press. AP writers Sara Cline in Baton Rouge, La.; Susan Haigh in Hartford, Conn.; and Gary Robertson in Raleigh, N.C., contributed to this report.

THERE are some places that thrive in the summer, but others are best explored when there are crisp orange leaves on the ground, and the grass is littered with frost.

On my recent adventure to Northumberland, I discovered sprawling National Parks, living museums, quaint village and plenty of cosy pubs.

My adventure took me to the site of the former Sycamore Gap tree – the story that seemed to upset the entire nation.

The famous tree was mysteriously cut down in the middle of the night in September 2023. Something about the hateful environmental crime captured the public imagination globally.

Before and after pictures appeared in the media around the world and tears were shed.

It would later emerge that the 120-year-old specimen tree – which had featured in the 1991 Robin Hood film as well as countless holiday snaps – had been felled by two oddball friends as some kind of warped prank.

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The pair were eventually jailed this summer for four years and three months each.

The episode initially seemed to spell the end of one of the North East’s greatest tourist attractions – but in fact it hasn’t.

The following year, the area earned nine per cent more from recreational visitors than it had before the tree was felled.

But if that makes it sound like the area is overrun with tourists, it isn’t. Not at all.

Unlike rivals such as the Lake and Peak Districts or the Yorkshire Dales, rural Northumberland doesn’t have quite as much mass appeal and it’s big and desolate enough to absorb the visitors it does get, so seldom feels busy.

Autumn is a particularly good time to go because the landscape and vernal colour palette seem to blend harmoniously together. 

If you go at low season (and now that half-term week has passed, that’s pretty much right now) you will find it feels most of the time as if you have the place to yourselves.

And it won’t cost much either – there’s excellent value for money.

Like the Sycamore Gap itself, much of what you will see is dotted along or near Hadrian’s Wall, the 2000-year-old fortification line that snakes its way up hill and down dale through all this glorious countryside.

And, of course, it joins up various other Roman sites that pepper the area with historic interest.

Our favourites were Vindolanda, an excavated village, the museum at Corbridge and the Temple of Mithras which has a counterpart in the buzzing heart of the City of London.

But naturally this one has a very different vibe as it’s out on its own on windswept moorland, miles from anywhere – and so superbly atmospheric.

We based ourselves in an Airbnb in converted outbuildings of a farm just outside the small town of Riding Mill, about 20 miles to the east of the Gap.

It was modestly priced but very pleasant and made an ideal base when motoring.

A couple of times we went east towards Newcastle or Beamish museum, with its charming recreation of streets and buildings from different periods.

We could also explore the coast, from the sweeping sands at Tynemouth to the more dramatic cliffs northwards.

Heading inland to the west it was more remote. Even at more managed spaces like the stunning National Trust park at Allen Banks, we scarcely saw another walker.

Our dogs loved it as much as we did. And after every walk we seemed to find ourselves conveniently close to a decent pub.

The area teems with them. I even compiled a top ten of the many boozers we went to during our week in Northumberland.

Here are John’s top 10 pubs in Northumberland…

1. Lord Crewe Arms, Blanchland – Ancient, spooky, cosy, perfect.

2. The Ship Inn, Low Newton – Understated gem on a gem of a beach

3. The Rat, Anick – Just a perfect country food pub.

4. The Kirkstyle Inn and Sportsman Rest, Brampton – Wild location, good food, well done.

5. The Pele, Corbridge – Not named after the footballer but the circa 1350 tower it is set in. Wonderful.

6. Crown Posada, Newcastle – Lavish and delightfully intact interiors.

7. The Free Trade Inn, Newcastle – Grog on the Tyne. Amazing cityscape view.

8. Langley Castle Hotel, Hexham – Surrounded by suits of armour.

9. The Tynemouth Castle Inn, Tynemouth – Art Deco seaside gorgeousness.

10. The Sun Inn, Beamish Museum, Stanley – Technically a fake pub in a theme park- but so well done

Pubs aside, there was still the question of actually visiting Sycamore Gap itself – or what’s left of it.

We had put this off as it felt a bit sad but we had to face it before leaving.

It’s a short and very scenic walk from the village of Once Brewed, up to and then along in parallel with the surprisingly intact Roman Wall.

And going back to the question of its surprisingly enduring popularity, we saw more people here than on any rural outing.

It was still not exactly crowded but busier – and you realised that others too wanted to pay tribute to the lost tree, whether that was with a selfie or a quiet thought or two.

Even in this remote corner we weren’t far from not one but two decent pubs: The Twice Brewed Inn at Bardon Mill and The Milecastle Inn at Haltwhistle, both of which were delightful.

Visiting here is a way of putting two fingers up at the vile pair who are now languishing in prison, it’s also an absolute treat.

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If you want to head to the beach, check out the Northumberland coast that is one of the world’s trending destinations.

YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul will seek another fight later in 2025 after his opponent Gervonta Davis was issued with a civil lawsuit.

Jake Paul’s exhibition boxing match against lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis was scrapped on Monday, with Paul planning a different bout before the end of 2025.

Their highly anticipated fight was scheduled for November 14 in Miami, Florida, though Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), Paul’s promotional organisation, said on Saturday that it was looking into the matter after a civil lawsuit was filed against Davis in Miami-Dade County last week.

Nakisa Bidarian, MVP’s CEO, said in a statement that Paul would headline another event to be streamed on Netflix later this year, with details on an opponent, a date and a location to be provided when finalised.

The bout was originally slated for Atlanta, but was moved to Florida, where it was sanctioned despite the huge weight difference between the boxers. Paul usually fights at cruiserweight, about 50 pounds (23kg) above the 135-pound (61kg) limit, where Davis holds a title belt.

The fight had drawn significant global interest due to the novelty of the matchup. The contest pitted the much larger Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) – who first became famous for his YouTube boxing exploits and then became a household name after fighting former heavyweight world champion Mike Tyson in 2024 – against Davis (30-0-1, 28 KOs), a current WBA champion and one of the most famous boxers in North America.

Spectators who bought tickets to the event via Ticketmaster will be refunded, MVP said.

Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” didn’t exactly wow audiences and critics when it premiered at the Venice Film Festival, and when it landed at the Telluride Film Festival a day later for a pair of late-night screenings, the response was even more muted. Leaving Colorado, the airport gate was full of hushed conversations between people registering their disappointment with the movie.

“Frankenstein,” the talk went, had three strikes against it — a plodding story, computer-generated imagery that looked appalling and was employed to often ridiculous effect and, outside of Jacob Elordi’s affecting turn as the monster, acting that seemed wildly excessive (Oscar Isaac) or hopelessly lost (Mia Goth). In short: a mess.

But then “Frankenstein” traveled to the Toronto, a city Del Toro regards as his “second home,” and finished as runner-up to “Hamnet” for the festival’s People’s Choice Award. Now playing in a theatrical limited release ahead of its Nov. 7 Netflix premiere, the movie has found favor with the filmmaker’s devoted fan base, selling out theaters, including dates at Netflix’s renovated Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, where admission lines wrapped around the block. And some prominent critics, including my colleague Amy Nicholson, have written some thoughtful reviews of the movie, praising Del Toro’s lifelong passion project. Amy calls it the “best movie of his career.”

So in this update to my post-festival Oscar power rankings for best picture, you’ll find “Frankenstein,” a movie that’s hard to place on this list but harder still to ignore. Previous rankings are parenthetically noted.

Falling out of the rankings since September: “A House of Dynamite,” “Jay Kelly”

10. ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ (Unranked)

A scene from 2022’s “Avatar: The Way of Water.”

(20th Century Studios)

The last “Avatar” movie grossed $2.3 billion and, yes, earned an Oscar nomination for best picture. Yet I’m hard-pressed to find anyone who’s truly excited about devoting half a day to see the next installment, which clocks in at 3 hours and 12 minutes. Just because the first two movies were nominated doesn’t mean this one will be. But underestimating James Cameron’s ability to connect with audiences — and awards voters — seems dumb. So here we are, No. 10, sight (still) unseen.

9. ‘Bugonia’ (10)

Emma Stone in “Bugonia.”

(Atsushi Nishijima / Focus Features)

Better than “Kinds of Kindness” but not nearly the triumph of “Poor Things,” this is mid Yorgos Lanthimos — off-putting, punishing and misanthropic but also featuring another showcase for Emma Stone’s bold, creative energy. There are a number of movies that could displace it as a nominee. Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice” offers a more humane — and funnier — look at ugly things people can do when desperate. But I’ll stick with “Bugonia” for now. After all, how many movies inspire people to shave their heads for a ticket?

8. “Frankenstein” (Unranked)

Oscar Isaac in “Frankenstein.”

(Ken Woroner / Netflix)

Netflix has four movies arriving during the awards season window — the meditative stunner “Train Dreams,” Katherine Bigelow’s riveting, ticking-clock thriller “A House of Dynamite,” the George Clooney meta-charmer “Jay Kelly” and “Frankenstein.” (That’s how I’d rank them in terms of quality.) One of these movies will be nominated. Maybe two. At this moment, nobody, including the awards team at Netflix, knows which one(s) it will be.

7. ‘It Was Just an Accident’ (7)

Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr, left, Madj Panahi and Hadis Pakbaten in “It Was Just an Accident.”

(Neon)

Jafar Panahi’s Palme d’Or-winning thriller possesses a withering critique of the cruelty and corruption of an authoritarian regime, combined with a blistering sense of humor. Panahi (“The Circle,” “Taxi”) has been imprisoned by the Iranian government many times for criticizing the government, and his courage has been celebrated for its spirit of artistic resistance. He has been a ubiquitous presence on the festival and awards circuit this year, eager to share both the movie and his story. As the Oscars have thoroughly embraced international movies the last several years, “It Was Just an Accident” feels like it’s on solid ground.

6. ‘Wicked: For Good’ (6)

Ariana Grande, left, and Cynthia Erivo in “Wicked: For Good.”

(Giles Keyte / Universal Pictures)

An academy member recently expressed some reservations about this movie to me — not about the sequel itself, but about the prospect of seeing stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande embark on another tear-soaked promotional tour. Whatevs. The first “Wicked” movie earned 10 Oscar nominations, winning for production design and costumes. With the added casting category, the sequel might just surpass that number.

5. ‘Marty Supreme’ (8)

Timothée Chalamet in “Marty Supreme.”

(A24)

Josh Safdie’s wildly entertaining, over-caffeinated portrait of a single-minded ping-pong player premiered on its home turf at the New York Film Festival and people left the Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall caught up in the rapture of the movie’s delirium. It might be the movie that wins Timothée Chalamet his Oscar, though he’ll have to go through Leonardo DiCaprio to collect the trophy.

4. ‘Sentimental Value’ (3)

Stellan Skarsgård, left, and Renate Reinsve in “Sentimental Value.”

(Kasper Tuxen / Neon)

Neon won best picture last year with Sean Baker’s “Anora,” and it’s not unreasonable to think it could run it back with “Sentimental Value,” Joachim Trier’s piercing drama about a family reckoning with the past and wondering if reconciliation is possible — or even desired. The three actors cast in familial roles — Stellan Skarsgård, playing a legendary director angling for a comeback, and Renate Reinsve and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas as his daughters — are excellent, and Elle Fanning has a choice role as an A-list actor who becomes entangled in the family drama. And like “Anora,” this movie ends on a perfect, transcendent note. That counts for a lot.

3. ‘Sinners’ (4)

Michael B. Jordan in “Sinners.”

(Eli Ade / Warner Bros. Pictures)

“Sinners” made a lot of noise when it was released in April and, months later, belongs in any conversation about the year’s best movie. The job now is to remind voters of its worth at events like the American Cinematheque’s upcoming “Sinners” screening with filmmaker Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan. With the level of its craft, it could score a dozen or more nominations, with only “One Battle After Another” as a threat to best that count.

2. ‘Hamnet’ (2)

Paul Mescal in “Hamnet.”

(Focus Features)

Since its tear-inducing Telluride premiere, Chloé Zhao’s tender portrait of love and loss and the cathartic power of art has been hitting regional film festivals, racking up audience awards and proving that people love a good cry. Stock up on tissues now for the film’s theatrical release later this month.

1. ‘One Battle After Another’ (1)

Leonardo DiCaprio in “One Battle After Another.”

(Warner Bros. Pictures)

The Gotham Awards did away with its budget cap a couple of years ago, allowing indie-spirited studio movies like “One Battle After Another” to clean up and, one supposes, the show’s sales team to move more tables at its ceremony. It was no secret that Paul Thomas Anderson’s angry, urgent epic would score well with film critics groups. (Panels of critics vote for the Gothams.) It’s just a question of how many dinners Anderson will have to eventually attend for a movie that has easily become the most widely seen film of his career.