parking

GEMMA Collins’ had a damper put on her bank holiday fun as she received a parking ticket in Essex this weekend.

The former Towie star looked horrified as she returned to her flashy Range Rover after lunch to see that it had been slapped with a hefty fine.

Dressed in a vibrant two-piece for the hottest day of the year so far, Gemma was snapped outside of Italian pizzeria Bel-Sit in Woodford.

However, it seems as though the parking ticket didn’t get her too down as Gemma was seen beaming upon ripping it off of her windscreen.

She appeared to be enjoying the British sunshine, too, as temperatures reached 28 degrees Celsius on what was the hottest day of 2026 so far.

The reality star’s outing comes just days after she was involved in a campaign that was branded “tone deaf” by the public.

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Gemma appeared in videos in collaboration with the Department for Education.

The clips, released earlier this week, show Gemma marching into an office to discuss learning with the Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson.

In one instalment, she prattles on about King Richard III and states “not many youngsters would know who he is today”.

The “GC”, who left school at 16 with a single GCSE — a G in maths — goes on: “Whatever you’re learning, make sure you concentrate because you’re going to be taking it into your future career.”

The videos have been ridiculed by mums and dads, with one joking: “I hadn’t thought of just saying ‘concentrate’. All will now be well.”

A second wrote: “What’s next? Joey Essex visits the Ministry of Defence?”

“It’s tone-deaf,” said a third.

Another said: “Many of us have had to fight every step of the way for our children to stay in school, for EHCPs, for specialist placements, and simply for our children’s needs to be recognised and understood.

“The SEND system is exhausting, adversarial, and often leaves families feeling unheard and unsupported.

“So to see the Department for Education use a celebrity with no lived experience of navigating this system feels disconnected from the reality SEN families face every day.”

Ticket prices are just the start of the soaring expenses many fans will face while trying to watch World Cup games this summer.

NJ Transit is charging $150 for round-trip tickets from Manhattan to the Meadowlands (the regular price is $12.60) for the World Cup final, while host committee shuttle buses will cost $80.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is demanding $80 to ride one of the 14 express trains on the 30-mile trip from downtown Boston to Foxborough for games at Gillette Stadium. That’s more than three times the normal price.

Parking in Kansas City, meanwhile, will set you back by as much as $900, depending on the game and lot.

In Southern California, however, it will cost $1.75 to get to SoFi Stadium on a combination of buses or trains from as far away as Claremont and Simi Valley. That’s also what it costs to get to the Inglewood venue on any other day of the year; only two of the 11 World Cup cities in the U.S. are offering less expensive public transportation.

“We’re trying to make things convenient,” said Conan Cheung, the chief operations officer for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, or LA Metro, the second-largest transit agency in the country, servicing more than 305 million riders in 2025.

That’s a marked departure from the experience fans have reported ahead of this summer’s World Cup, which was marked by complaints over difficulty getting access to buy tickets, high ticket prices, shifts in seat locations after they were purchased, high fees and expensive game-day transportation.

“There’s no standardized fare set across the board,” Cheung said of World Cup transportation. “We’ve made a commitment to keep our system accessible. The way we’re planning the entire program is to ensure that we support people from the minute they decide to come to L.A. for the World Cup.

Workers are getting SoFi Stadium ready to host World Cup matches this summer.

(Eduard Cauich / Los Angeles Times )

“We also want to make sure that your excitement and your experience for the World Cup starts and ends on Metro.”

LA Metro has been able to hold costs down in part because it received $9.6 million in funding from the $100 million Congress gave the Federal Transit Administration to support transportation to and from World Cup stadiums. LA Metro is adding about 300 buses to its regular fleet to handle the additional demand, with shuttles servicing nine direct routes to SoFi and various fan zones.

Roughly 200 of those buses will lent to LA Metro from 11 regional transit agencies. Additional security officers also will be added.

“I feel prepared,” Cheung said, “but you never know what’s going to happen. We’ve done enough major special events to know that you can do all the planning in the world, but you need to make sure that you have contingencies in place and you’re prepared to pivot at a moment’s notice.”

A case in point: when Game 3 of last fall’s World Series went into extra innings, LA Metro immediately extended the operating hours for Metro buses and trains, ensuring people had rides home when the game ended just shy of midnight.

“Part of our preparedness is going through tabletop exercises,” he said. “The point is to ensure that the flow from the parking, from the transit connection and walking up made sense and was intuitive and easy to follow.”

Since Metro trains don’t run directly to SoFi, Cheung has added shuttle buses to take fans from the stations to the stadium. Portable restrooms and hydration stations will be available. And nine park-and-ride sites will be set up around L.A. and Orange counties. Reserve and pay for a parking space and everyone in your car can ride to the stadium for free. (Be sure to bring a lot of friends since the parking fees range from $59 to $102 for the June 12 opening match.)

A pair of visitors from Japan rush to catch a Metro bus in March.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Cheung said LA Metro has been preparing for the World Cup almost as long as some of the players. When Taylor Swift brought her Eras tour to SoFi in the summer of 2023, LA Metro used that as something of a dress rehearsal for the World Cup, expanding late service and adding free shuttles from nearby train stations.

That increased ridership by 25%, which meant less traffic on the roads and freeways leading to the stadium. A repeat of that could be crucial during the World Cup since five of the eight games played at SoFi are scheduled to start at noon local time.

And just as the Taylor Swift concerts prepared LA Metro for the World Cup, now the World Cup will help inform preparations for the 2028 Olympics.

“A lot of the strategies that we’re doing now — the process for working with not only local jurisdictions, state and federal agencies, as well as the other transit agencies in the regions — we’re setting up ways that are going to help not only for the Olympics and Paralympics, but anytime we need to pull together to support our communities for special events [or] natural disasters.”

For more information on LA Metro services in and around the World Cup, go to www.metro.net/riding/world-cup

⚽ You have read the latest installment of On Soccer with Kevin Baxter. The weekly column takes you behind the scenes and shines a spotlight on unique stories. Listen to Baxter on this week’s episode of the “Corner of the Galaxy” podcast.

A flight attendant has revealed the best way to save money ahead of a holiday abroad, and it could cost just £4.99 and save travellers £100 if they are ‘proactive’

A flight attendant has revealed a savvy £4.99 hack for holidaymakers that could help them cut costs on their next getaway.

We’re always on the lookout for ways to save some extra cash, whether that’s a packing tip to avoid paying for luggage, being flexible with our travel dates to secure the best price, or flying from a different airport. One sure way to save money is how you get to the airport, with parking prices astronomical at some airport hubs, which can reach as much as £132 for a week’s stay or £8 for every five minutes at a drop-off area.

In a bid to avoid these unwanted charges, some travellers opt to be dropped off at the airport, while others book their parking months in advance or a car park farther from the airport to secure a lower price. However, Wizz Air cabin crew member Adam Hodge, 35, has outlined a vital hack for getting to the airport, and it could cost just £4.99.

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Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, Adam, who is based at Luton Airport, revealed: “You can get some really cheap deals on the trains and the bus.

“In Luton, for example, there’s now going to be two coach operators, National Express and FlixBus, so it means there’s going to be even more affordable options to get from the centre of London or the surrounding area, such as Cambridge, Milton Keynes and as far as Gatwick.

“If you book in advance, you can get a ticket, with FlixBus for example, for as little as £4.99.

“For National Express, if you have a coach pass, you can get fares from as little as £10 one-way, to and from the centre of London, Gatwick or one of the connecting airports.”

But that’s not the only affordable option. Adam highlighted: “At Luton Airport, there are also two train operators, Thames Link and East Midlands Railway.

“On East Midlands Railway, you can get a fare to St Pancras from Luton Airport Parkway or Luton for as little as £4.95, if you book and plan in advance. It has to be the specified train at the specified time, but if you’re flexible and want to save some money, you can get some really cheap fares if you book ahead.”

He added: “It’s about being proactive and saving a bit of money, especially with the cost of living crisis. And I think it’s actually very savvy and fashionable to be seen saving money, and being more money-conscious.”

While Adam mentioned Luton Airport, most UK airports also offer similar bus and coach services, so it’s well worth checking in advance to plan your route and secure the best price. And with some prices starting as low as £4.99, it’s a no-brainer.

Having travelled to around 30 countries, with Prague and Tirana being his personal favourites,

Away from airport travel, Adam has a wealth of other knowledge and advice, having visited around 30 countries, with Prague and Tirana being his personal favourites. One piece of advice is about what he packs, and there’s one item he never travels without.

“I had been looking at this item for a while, and I wasn’t sure at first, but now I have them, I’ve got them in all my suitcases, my crew bag and cabin bag,” Adam told the Mirror.

He revealed: “They are suitcase packing cubes, and are like little pouches. The worst thing is when you open a suitcase, and everything falls out, but with the packing cubes, everything is organised.

“For example, you have your electricals, your tops, trousers and shoes, they fit everything in organised cases, and you can actually fit more in, so it’s a really good hack. They don’t take up any space, so when they’re empty, they just lie flat, and they’re not bulky.”

To check out Adam’s public transport recommendations to the airport, visit the National Express or FlixBus websites. Or for more information about Wizz Air flights or to book your next trip, visit their website.

Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com