term

Los Angeles has a secret magic to which you have to earn access, and the way you earn it is by making it, becoming a contributor to the city’s misapprehended culture of spectacle and soul, diversity and monolithic elitism. It’s a get-in-where-you-fit-in or get-edged-all-the-way-out kind of city, wherein a deceptively laissez-faire game of musical chairs can determine your fate. Kahlil Joseph has a private magic to which you have to earn access, and you earn it by resonating with the untapped nerve centers of Black culture that animate this city, and even then you might be denied.

Joseph is like the city (Los Angeles, not Hollywood), and the city enforces confidentiality, drive, wit, style and devotion often mistaken for diva-ism. The filmmaker and video artist moved to Los Angeles from Seattle for university, and was quickly followed by his brother, the painter Noah Davis, who would found the Underground Museum, a venue and near-speakeasy with West Coast casual gravitas and pan-African rigor and breadth, which became as important to the zeitgeist of Black Los Angeles as both brothers have.

Movie still from Kahlil Joseph’s film “Blknws: Terms & Conditions.” Funmilayo Akechukwu (Kaneza Schaal) channels a 93-year-old W.E.B Dubois, 200 years in the past.

(Courtesy Rich Spirit / BLKNWS©)

In somewhat rapid succession, Joseph lost his father, Keven Davis, an accomplished attorney who represented the likes of the Williams sisters and Wynton Marsalis, in 2012, and his brother Noah in 2015. Joseph navigated those years in the wake with unadorned reverence, while starting a family of his own and directing some of the most transcendent music videos of the 2010s. As testament to his resilience and that of the community around him, grief sharpened Joseph’s purpose and became a kind of grace he transmuted into moving images so saturated with feeling, sans easy pathos, they offered new ways of seeing. The stakes were higher and layered with the existential absurdity of abrupt shifts, which he carried with an elegant, slightly seething temperament that has found its expression in the work. It’s relevant that he shares a birthday with Miles Davis — this is Los Angeles, where it’s customary for a person to request your cosmic DNA before asking your name — and it’s relevant that like Miles, Joseph’s vocal tone is whisper-pitched, toward the mode of retreat that begets echo; you lean in and hear him twice. His quiet tone is not shyness or false modesty but circumspection and a sense of boundaries that imply respect and love for real communication. You sense this in his work ethic and what it produces, an intimacy of form that implies an almost ritualistic attentiveness to the world around him on its own terms. In the 2012 Flying Lotus music video “Until the Quiet Comes,” directed by Joseph and set in Los Angeles, death and rebirth are addressed as a duet, companions in the expansion of collective consciousness instead of foils or adversaries, as a fallen child leaves his body and returns more alive than before he was bloodied on screen. And the violent scenes aren’t grotesque or didactic — think of Miles’ muted trumpet sound reconfigured as resurrection visuals, of his ability to play and stage ballads so well that their uptempo momentum moves into territories too macabre to mute. Like Miles, Joseph tests and stretches his range.

With the closure of the family-run Underground Museum, first in 2020 and then officially in 2022, the path uptempo was visited by more obstacles and disappointments, a shift, if temporary, in Joseph’s role in the local community, as he became more private and distant from public elegy. On the phone recently, Joseph and I discussed the trauma economy, how much of a trap it is for Black art and artists, especially in this post-BLM, post-Obama, post-neoliberal dominance, post-nonprofit industrial complex dominance territory we’re all in now, whether we face it or not. As antidote and balm to the market for repackaged abjection, Joseph adapted the sensibility that makes his music video landscapes so lush and transgressive for the art world with “Blknws,” which debuted in 2019 as an imagined syndication or television network, a nonlinear merger of digitized Black archival material pulled from the center to the margins and the radical academic avant-garde — an infinitely looping ensemble wherein Fred Moten enters into conversation with memes of ghetto-fabulous street gymnasts doing backflips into a fried chicken spot, for example, collapsing so-called high and low into an endless woodshed for an impossible concert.

The result was so compelling that the project was commissioned by A24 as a feature film sans script, then purchased from them by Rich Spirit and released last year as “Blknws: Terms & Conditions.” In this longer and more structured form, what began as an intentional scattering of ashes becomes an elegiac letter home mediated by shipwreck. Joseph weaves together an imaginary “Transatlantic Biennial” and W.E.B. Dubois’ “Encyclopedia Africana” — a project that Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Kwame Anthony Appiah transformed into a book, which Joseph’s father had given his brother before they passed. In this way, the film becomes a manifesto for alternate destinies within the Black experience, and a semi-formal goodbye letter to the delusional but politically expedient optimism of the 2010s, wherein the end of the neoliberal order becomes a gateway to renewed self-possession and agency. Since our grief is less of a ready-made commodity lately, we can reorient it around ourselves, a little safer and more sovereign from the gnawing public gaze. And we can be more honest about its paces and paths in that more autonomous landscape. “Blknws” arrives how a successful jazz album does, belligerently inconclusive about the next stylistic leaps the music might make but clearly in the process of launching in that unknown or unspeakable (perhaps secret) direction. The film is agitation made vivid and precise in the dialectic between theorized “Black Study” and practical applications of Black marronage, where we realize that big disembodied ideas are no more sophisticated than what can be danced and gestured at and spoken in our real and virtual conversations. Here, the multiverse becomes one transcendental, transatlantic consciousness where past and present, life and afterlife, blur the way they do in Joseph’s interpretation of “Until The Quiet Comes” to give us a film with a song-like hook and an album’s non-sequitur whimsy.

Movie still from Kahlil Joseph’s film “Blknws: Terms & Conditions.” The underwater study of Funmilayo Akechukwu (Kaneza Schaal) located in the hold of the ship.

(Courtesy Rich Spirit / BLKNWS©)

Over the last several months, I’ve discussed with Joseph what might become of the momentum propelling “Blknws: Terms & Conditions,” after the film’s run, as speculators enclose searching for clues and stake in his next project. He’s considered its potential evolution into a media company, a real paper, a production house, a series of related films, or a hybrid of all of these endeavors. Alongside his experience on all sides of the art world, he has an acute awareness of the wayward state of print and digital culture, writing and production, the constant closure or downsizing of veteran media outlets, the aftermath of diversity fever in the form of shrinking major magazines often starting with those who cover culture explicitly, the mass turn toward brand-name digital platforms that become extractive monopolies and diminish what can be covered and produced as writers and artists are overworked, understaffed and undervalued. Galleries are also closing and downsizing, and films that don’t oblige the content farm aren’t solicited as readily as influencer-helmed or easily digestible projects that can be played as background noise for scrolling.

After a screening last December of “Blknws: Terms & Conditions” at 2220 Arts + Archives, a space I co-curate, the rapt audience of local cinephiles seemed eager for some magic-bullet insight into Joseph’s path to creative breakthrough and relative creative freedom. Rather than hacks and shortcuts, he shouted out collaborators and inspirations — Wales Bonner, who hand-stitched garments for the film’s Ghana-based scenes; British composer Klein, who helped score the film; Joseph’s time in Brazil, where his father was from and where he went to high school. Sensibility and natural eclecticism, rather than unchecked ambition, is what propels Joseph; he has an innate knack for assembling bands and ensembles, good taste and good timing.

Kahlil Joseph with friends at the screening of “Blknws: Terms & Conditions.”

“I found the encyclopedia at the Underground,” he explains, of the DuBois work that became central to “Blknws.” “It seemed no one had looked through it, as if my dad and brother left it for me in the future.” And instead of ruminating on the weight of that inheritance, he integrates it into his film, whose refrain-as-question is do you remember the future? As if his father and brother are awake in some scenes, asking him to remember. Another resurrection. “I just want to make films,” Joseph reaffirms as a personal coda when the questions get too meta or abstract, never conflating the material conditions of the craft with the magical thinking that can unfold in scripts and on screen. Most everyone in attendance at 2220 seemed to be there to meet or support one of their favorite artists, one of the devout purists of our time who manages to remain that without getting smug, lazy or feral, all common pitfalls.

Last October, I gave Joseph a copy of Hemingway’s “A Moveable Feast,” which I’d just finished reading myself for the first time. I was impressed to the point of restlessness with the authority of Hemingway’s memory, his recall; it’s one of those books you wanna throw at the wall and absorb word for word at the same time. Hemingway seemed to effortlessly savor and store every detail of his days, while remaining agile and present enough within them to focus on writing one true thing after another, in his daily sessions at the typewriter, as if possessing two coterminal minds and the capacity to access or silence both at will. A juggler too advanced for the circus, language’s great folk hero. Joseph is kind of like this, capable of intense simultaneous focus on both creative and mundane tasks without complaint, and he took to the book as I expected he might, sharing my sense of awe over the writer’s command of time and scene. They are both among the artists who have a polite way of making those around them feel like a team and want to work a little harder and little less aggressively (more communally) at the same time. Editors at his post-production studio have come from all over the country to work with him based on that leadership.

Joseph’s next feature, he suggests, will certainly be more narrative, more of a linear beginning-middle-end story, more Hemingway-esque in its commitments to the blunt daily reality that “Blknws” blurs with Black myth. He and his family have sacrificed unquantifiably in effort to defy stale archetypes and outdated patterns of art practice, and it might be his time or turn to be reciprocated for having endured those risks, time to give his family unequivocal and vivid afterlives on and off screen.

Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris have long circled one another.

The two moved in the same political slipstream, wooed the same set of Democratic donors and, for a time, even shared the same group of campaign advisors.

Harris rose from San Francisco district attorney to elected positions in Sacramento and Washington before twice running unsuccessfully for president.

Newsom climbed from San Francisco mayor to lieutenant governor to California’s governorship, where he quietly stewed as Harris leapfrogged past him into the vice presidency. While she served in the White House, Newsom tried any number of ways to insinuate himself into the national spotlight.

Now both have at least one eye on the Oval Office, setting up a potential clash of egos and ambition that’s been decades in the making.

Newsom, whose term as governor expires in January, has been auditioning for president from practically the moment the polls closed in 2024 and horrified Democrats realized Harris had lost to Donald Trump.

Harris, who’s mostly focused on writing and promoting her campaign autobiography — while giving a political speech here and there — hasn’t publicly declared she’ll seek the White House a third time. But, notably, she has yet to rule out the possibility.

In a CNN interview aired Sunday, Newsom was asked about the prospect of facing his longtime frenemy in a fight for the Democratic nomination. (California’s gallivanting governor is embarked on his own national book tour, promoting both the “memoir of discovery” that was published Tuesday and his all-but-declared presidential bid.)

“Well, I’m San Francisco now, she’s L.A.,” Newsom joked, referring to Harris’ post-Washington residency in Brentwood. “So there’s a little distance between the two of us.”

He then turned zen-like, saying fate would determine if the two face off in the 2028 primary contest. “You can only control what you can control,” Newsom told CNN host Dana Bash.

A decade ago, Newsom and Harris swerved to keep their careers from colliding.

In 2015, Barbara Boxer said she would step down once she finished her fourth term in the U.S. Senate. The opening presented a rare opportunity for political advancement after years in which a clutch of aging incumbents held California’s top elected offices. Between Lt. Gov. Newsom and state Atty. Gen. Harris, there was no lack of pent-up ambition.

After a weekend of intensive deliberations, Newsom passed on the Senate race and Harris jumped in, establishing herself as the front-runner for Boxer’s seat, which she won in 2016. Newsom waited and was elected governor in 2018, succeeding Jerry Brown.

Once in their preferred roles, the two got along reasonably well. Each campaigned on the other’s behalf. But, privately, there has never been a great deal of mutual regard or affection.

Come 2028, there will doubtless be many Democrats seeking to replace President Trump. The party’s last wide-open contest, in 2020, drew more than two dozen major contestants. So it’s not as though Harris and Newsom would face each other in a one-on-one fight.

But dueling on the national stage, with the country’s top political prize at stake, is something that Hollywood might have scripted for Newsom and Harris as the way to settle, once and for all, their long-standing rivalry.

The two Californians would start out closely matched in good looks and charisma.

Those who know them well, having observed Newsom and Harris up close, cite other strengths and weaknesses.

Harris has thicker skin, they suggested, and is more disciplined. Her forte is set-piece events, like debates and big speeches.

Newsom is more of a policy wonk, a greater risk-taker and is more willing to venture into challenging and even hostile settings.

Newson is more fluent in the ecosphere of social media, podcasts and the like. Harris has the advantage of performing longer on the national stage and bears nothing like the personal scandals that have plagued Newsom.

But Harris’ problem, it was widely agreed, is that she has run twice before and, worse, lost the last time to Trump.

“To a lot of voters, she’s yesterday’s news,” said one campaign strategist.

“She had her shot,” said another, channeling the perceived way Democratic primary voters would react to another Harris run. “You didn’t make it, so why should we give you another shot?”

(Those half-dozen kibbitzers who agreed to candidly assess the prospects of Newsom and Harris asked not to be identified, so they could preserve their relationships with the two.)

Most of the handicappers gave the edge to Newsom in a prospective match-up; one political operative familiar with both would have placed their wager on Harris had she not run before.

“I think her demographic appeal to Black women and coming up the ranks as a Black woman working in criminal justice is a very strong card,” said the campaign strategist. “The white guy from California, the pretty boy, is not as much of a primary draw.”

That said, this strategist, too, suggested that “being tagged as someone who not only lost but lost in this situation that has set the world on fire … is too big a cross to bear.”

The consensus among these cognoscenti is that Harris will not run again and that Newsom — notwithstanding any demurrals — will.

Of course, the only two who know for sure are those principals, and it’s quite possible neither Harris nor Newsom have entirely made up their minds.

Those who enjoy their politics cut with a dash of soap opera will just have to wait.

TREAT the kids to a fantastic half-term day out this week without breaking the bank.

There are superb free and low-cost events across the UK promising a lot of laughs at festivals, farms, forests, castles and animal parks. Trisha Harbord has selected a dazzling dozen.

FESTIVAL FUN

WITH a name like Super Duper, it is bound to be a great family festival.

For four days in half-term, Manchester is transformed into a giant playground with free activities in public spaces, cultural venues and landmark destinations such as the Central Library and Great Northern Warehouse.

There is storytelling with CBeebies, crafts, dancing, music workshops, shows and sports. Get a photo beside a Formula 1 car, or try the Lego workshop.

There will also be a carnival with a Victorian carousel and stalls, in St Ann’s Square.

CHEAP BREAK

Hotels offering FREE stays for kids this half-term including cosy seaside spot

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GO: From February 18-21. Free. See visitmanchester.com

MARITIME MARVEL

EXPLORE 300 years of fascinating maritime heritage for free.

Pick up a pass from Portsmouth Historic Quarter’s Visitor Centre to access the boathouse, exhibitions and beautiful gardens.

Fantastic artwork installations include the new Standing With Giants — silhouettes of military figures, including Winston Churchill — to celebrate wartime sacrifice.

You can also see iconic vessels including the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, currently docked here.

GO: Free. See portsmouthhq.org.

BRICK SAFARI

THERE’S a new destination for Lego fans — Longleat Safari Park.

The Wiltshire estate is celebrating its 60th anniversary with a Brick Week, including tiny versions of animals, from lorikeets to giraffes.

Families can build creatures, structures, trees or plants, to become part of the brick safari.

Longleat’s Scott Ashman said: “It’s 60 years since the first drive-through safari outside of Africa.

“The brick safari will grow throughout the week.”

Enjoy adventure playgrounds, the railway or lake’s jungle cruise before driving to meet the real animals.

GO: Until February 22. Adult from £39.95, children £29.95, under-threes free. See longleat.co.uk.

FABULOUS FORESTS

RAIN or shine, get the kids outside with Forestry England.

There are trails, cycle courses, play areas and stargazing in woodlands across the country, including Hicks Lodge, Leics; Gisburn Forest, Lancs; and Kent’s Jeskyns Community Woodland.

A highlight is the Room On The Broom trail, based on Julia Donaldson’s famous story, at sites across the country, with themed activities to help the witch find her hat and wand.

An adventure pack costs £4 and includes a lanyard, stickers and spell cards.

Many forests also have a Gruffalo orienteering course, with giant sculptures littered among the trees.

GO: For free and low-cost events, see forestryengland.uk.

HORSING AROUND

MARVEL at the magnificent 100ft horse head sculptures that are the pride and joy of Falkirk.

The Helix: Home Of The Kelpies offers tours to learn about the engineering and how they represent the country’s history and industry, with horses having played a huge role in the development of the area.

There are exhibitions about the steel horse heads — the largest in the world.

And the surrounding Helix parkland has an adventure zone and splash play.

It is also perfect for walking and cycling.

GO: Tour for adult £8.50, child £3.50 (free with an adult ticket), under-fives free. See thehelix.co.uk.

ANIMAL KINGDOMS

LET the kids play at being vets, with a third off zoo tickets.

Vets In Action runs throughout this week at London Zoo and Whipsnade, Beds.

Youngsters will be shown how to do a health check on real animals while practising on cuddly toys.

At London, they will join a rescue mission to save precious Darwin’s frogs from extinction.

And at Whipsnade — a 600-acre site with 11,000 animals — kids can learn about the conservation and well-being of the chimpanzees.

GO: Until February 22. Adult tickets from £29 and children £20.30, under-threes free. Use code WEB30 at londonzoo.org and whipsnadezoo.org.

ADVENTURE TRAILS

NATIONAL Trust properties have a huge selection of events for little outdoor adventurers.

Croft Castle, near Leominster in Herefordshire, has a Wildlife Detectives trail where kids track down clues among the trees.

The 17th century manor house, complete with turrets and towers, has a secret garden and play area with rope swings and balance beams among 1,500 acres of parkland.

There is a welly hunt at Charlecote Park, Warks; orienteering at Wentworth Castle, South Yorks, and a Winnie the Pooh exhibition at Nymans, West Sussex.

GO: Croft Castle family ticket costs from £42.50. Detective trail with a prize costs £3. See nationaltrust.org.uk.

MAGICAL RESORT

HAVE a spell-binding time in Blackpool as the resort bursts into life for the February Festival of Circus and Magic.

There are free spectacular shows, live performances and hands-on workshops for four days at venues including the Blackpool Tower.

Street entertainers roaming through the town centre include singer Elton

Wrong driving a white piano. Try your hand at puppetry and circus skills.

Last year’s Britain’s Got Talent winner, magician Harry Moulding, headlines a show at the Pleasure Beach Resort.

GO: From February 19-22. Festival free. Harry’s show from £12.50. See visitblackpool.com/febfest.

PERFECT PASS

PACK in a host of attractions in York, there is something for all the family.

Most famous sights are just a short walk from one another and you can take your pick from 35 with a one-day pass.

They include the 7th century Minster — one of the world’s most magnificent cathedrals — the Jorvik Viking Centre, which is a fascinating journey back in time, and The Cocoa Works — a yummy lesson in chocolate-making.

Why not take a sightseeing tour down the River Ouse to hear about York’s history with City Cruises?

GO: A day’s Visit York Pass costs from £65 per adult, child £40. See yorkpass.com.

BARGAIN GARDENS

HERE is an offer you can’t refuse — pay what you can afford to enjoy a major attraction.

Throughout February, Cornwall’s Lost Gardens of Heligan, which normally cost £28 an adult and £12.50 a child, are letting families choose their own admission price.

The Neon Jungle roller rink is a highlight this half-term — skate to a playlist of retro hits.

Meet the Home Farm animals, including piglets, goats and donkeys, take part in question-time sessions and try horse tail-braiding. There’s a shop and cafe, too.

GO: Skate session £10. See heligan.com.

CUT PRICE FUN

BUTLIN’S is slashing day visit prices until February 26. There is 20 per cent off at Minehead and Skegness, and ten per cent off at Bognor Regis.

Families have access to the Skyline Pavilion at all resorts, with a packed schedule of shows and activities including Dino Expo, where kids come face-to-face with pre-historic predators.

There are fairground rides, Splash Waterworld pools with slides and flumes, football, plus arts and crafts sessions.

Bognor Regis has a four-storey soft play centre for 200 children, and the sister parks have playgrounds with climbing towers and trampolines.

GO: Adult day pass now costs from £29, child £12. See butlins.com.

CUDDLY ENCOUNTERS

IT always feels like spring is on its way at a lambing festival.

Get up close to the cuddly newborns at Park Hall Countryside Experience, Shrops, and, if you are lucky, see a birth.

The team will be on hand to educate youngsters on the new arrivals.

There are lots of other animals too including ponies, pigs, alpacas and chinchillas, on the farm near Oswestry.

And there are fun activities galore, with indoor play areas, science and music rooms, tractor and barrel train rides, go-karts, an adventure course and a 130ft zip wire.

GO: Until February 22. Ticket £14.95. See parkhallfarm.co.uk.

The debate comes as Jeri, who is not running for re-election, faces allegations of bribery and influence-peddling.

The head of Peru’s Congress, Fernando Rospigliosi, has announced a special plenary session to weigh the removal of the country’s right-wing president, Jose Jeri.

The session will take place on the morning of February 17, according to a statement Peru’s Congress posted on social media.

The debate comes as Jeri’s short tenure grows mired in scandal, just four months after he took office as interim president.

In October, Jeri — the leader of Congress at the time — took over as president following the unanimous impeachment of his predecessor, Dina Boluarte, on the grounds of “permanent moral incapacity”.

Boluarte herself assumed the presidency after her predecessor, Pedro Castillo, was impeached for attempting a self-coup.

Next week’s debate about Jeri’s future is the latest chapter in the ongoing instability facing Peru’s government. The country has seen eight presidents within the last decade, with several of them impeached or resigning before their term expired.

In recent months, Jeri has become increasingly embroiled in scandal, including one colloquially known as “chifagate”, named for the Peruvian-Chinese fusion cuisine known as “chifa”.

The scandal started when local media outlets obtained video of Jeri arriving late at night at a restaurant to meet with a Chinese businessman, Zhihua Yang, who previously received government approval to build a hydroelectric plant.

Their meeting was not listed in the official presidential agenda, as is required under Peruvian law. Critics have questioned whether Jeri’s outfit — which had a deep hood that rendered him nearly unrecognisable — was meant to be a disguise.

Additional footage placed Jeri at another one of Yang’s businesses days later. Jeri also allegedly met a second Chinese businessman, Jiwu Xiaodong, who was reportedly under house arrest for illegal activities.

Jeri has dismissed some of the off-the-books meetings as planning for an upcoming Chinese-Peruvian friendship event. Others, he said, were simply shopping trips for sweets and other food. He has denied wrongdoing but has acknowledged taking the meetings was a “mistake”.

“I have not lied to the country. I have not done anything illegal,” Jeri told the news outlet Canal N.

But critics have accused Jeri of using his position for influence-peddling at the unregistered interactions.

Similar accusations erupted earlier this month when Peruvian media highlighted the irregular hiring of several women in Jeri’s administration and contracts he awarded as possible evidence of bribery.

The debate over Jeri’s removal comes as Peru hurtles towards a general election on April 12, with the presidency up for grabs. Jeri will not be running to retain his seat.

FOR many, winter means hibernation – but if you’re looking for something to do as a family, there are plenty of options out there.

Now might also be a good time to look for better deals, with fewer crowds and lower prices; those looking for winter days out and short breaks can feel more special than during peak season.

Whether you’re craving crisp countryside walks, a fun day filled with adventure and rides, or something a bit more spontaneous, a little planning goes a long way.

Winter can also open the door to seasonal events that don’t exist during the summer and cosy family experiences with less hustle and bustle.

Wondering where to get started?

That’s where this checklist comes in handy, as a practical, inspiration-led guide to making the most of the colder months.

Before you resign yourself to another winter spent mainly indoors, here are five ideas worth considering.

Top 5 travel checklist

Drayton Manor

Adventure Leisure, operator of Mulligans indoor crazy golf and Ninja Warrior UK venues, is introducing a mobile phone ban during February half term week to give families more time to connect without smartphone distractions

We’re all aware that excessive screen time can negatively impact our mental wellbeing, yet stepping away from our devices entirely remains a challenge. Even during family outings, many of us can’t resist a quick peek at emails or a scroll through social media.

That’s why the company behind two popular UK attractions has revealed plans to ban mobile phones across its venues this half term, allowing families to spend quality time together free from smartphone distractions. Adventure Leisure, behind the move, describes the initiative as the first of its kind in Britain, with a ‘phone patrol’ ensuring guests keep their devices tucked away.

Adventure Leisure operates Mulligans, a chain of indoor crazy golf centres that also features activities ranging from pool to virtual reality experiences, alongside five Ninja Warrior UK venues. Throughout February half term week – running from February 16 to 22 – its locations will transform into ‘no phone zones’, with families requested to switch their mobiles to airplane mode upon entry.

According to a company statement, the initiative will enable “uninterrupted time to create lasting memories” for parents and children alike. Instead, families can immerse themselves in Mulligans’ entertainment offerings, including themed crazy golf, electro-darts, rebound shuffleboard, and karaoke.

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Meanwhile, at Ninja Warrior UK, families can tackle numerous challenges at adventure parks boasting climbing frames, inflatables, and various physical activities inspired by the hit television programme. Families visiting Mulligans this February half-term will receive a 50% discount voucher valid for a return trip in March.

The mobile phone ban for the forthcoming February school holidays follows concerns raised by Catherine, Princess of Wales, who warned that excessive screen time is fuelling an “epidemic of disconnection”.

Writing alongside Professor Robert Waldinger from Harvard Medical School, she highlighted the damaging impact of smartphone overuse, cautioning: “We’re physically present but mentally absent, unable to fully engage with the people right in front of us.”

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Recent research revealed that British adults now spend more time glued to their mobiles than watching television, clocking up an average of seven and a half hours of daily screen time. The findings also exposed the relentless nature of phone usage compared to TV viewing.

Whilst television consumption peaks outside working hours, mobile phone activity remains constant throughout the day, making it a persistent distraction during both professional and personal time.

Stephen Brown, Chief Operating Officer at Adventure Leisure, commented, “We know how important spending quality time with your family is, so we wanted to create the best environment where our guests can make their memories. We’re really proud to be the first leisure operator to introduce an official ‘No Phone Zone’, and we hope to see others following suit in the future.”

IF you still have no plans for February half-term – then take advantage of Butlin’s half-term offer with 30 per cent off.

You can bag yourself a break at the Bognor Regis seaside resort from £69pp.

To keep both adults and kids entertained this half-term in less than two weeks’ time, check into Butlin’s Bognor Regis for an action-packed break.

For the price of £69pp guests will get accommodation along with plenty of entertainment.

The main event will be The Masked Singer Live which returns with brand-new songs, routines, top tier disguises and new mystery celebrities beneath them.

There’s not only singing – Maximum Pro Wrestling is set to take to the ring.

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The show will have wrestling action from global stars who will be battling it out for the championship belt.

This show will feature some celebrity guests like Peter Andre, Jake Quickenden, Jeff Brazier and Chris Hughes.

Other new shows around the holiday park include Peppa Pig-Nic Party and Jack and The Beanstalk pantomime.

There will also be Brainiac Live! and Theatre of Rock.

There’s also unlimited access to Splash Waterworld pool which has rapids, the Helter Skelter-inspired water slide and multiple pools.

At the fairground, kids can hop on the carousel, bungee trampoline, waltzers, go-karts and other rides as many times as they like.

Children can explore The Beachcomber Inn Playground with climbing frames, slides and swings.

The break also includes access to the new 3,000 square feet, four storey Skyline Gang Soft Play at no extra cost.

It has climbing challenges, slides, log ramps, cargo nets and for babies, a multi-sensory space.

While the children play, there’s plenty of seating, drinks and snacks for the grown-ups.

If you pay a bit extra, gamers can head to the Playxperience which is set over two floors and is filled with games like VR experiences, escape rooms, shuffleboard, laser tag and glow in the dark table tennis.

Other activities at an additional cost include football academy, high-ropes, archery and the Skyline Gang Disco Dance Academy.

The break starting from £276 or £69pp – it’s based on a three-night stay during half term in two bedroom Comfort Room on 20 February 2026 in Bognor Regis (price is based on a family of four sharing).

You can add on an all-inclusive drinks package with a range of unlimited Costa Coffee, alcoholic and soft drinks starting from £25.95 per adult, per day, £10.50 per child (6-14), per day and free for under5ss. 

Dining packages start from £25.95 per adult, per day, £15.50 per child (6-14), per day and £7.25 per child (2-5).

Hear more from one Travel Writer who tried out the Skyline Gang-themed soft play…

Travel Writer Catherine Lofthouse tested out the new soft play at Butlin’s Bognor Regis…

“Butlin’s Bognor Regis opened its brand-new £1.8million Skyline Gang-themed softplay attraction in time for the Easter holidays – and we were among the first guests to try it out.

“This 26ft-tall, four-storey playframe can fit up to 200 youngsters, while the seating area offers welcome respite to 100 tired parents at a time.

“The bright colours, reflecting the bubbly characters of the Butlin’s Skyline Gang, proved a huge hit with my smallest boy, who loves their energetic song and dance routines.

“My tweens were fans of the tall twisty slide that they could travel down together. I loved that my three boys, aged 12, ten and five, could all join in, thanks to the 1.7m height restriction on the section aimed at juniors.

“It’s been a fair few years since my eldest was under the 1.5m limit at the old soft play that snakes its way behind the stage in the Skyline Pavilion.”

For more on Butlin’s, one writer went on best value all-inclusive ‘weather-proof’ break in UK for £30-a-night.

Plus check out the new Big Weekender launched at Butlin’s – and three TOP names that have joined the line-up.

Avoid paying a massive fee at the airport gates by checking your cabin bag size before you fly. With half term on the way, here’s the latest sizing regulations for some of the most popular airlines

One thing that often catches passengers out when flying on budget airlines is cabin baggage allowances. On busy flights, it’s common to see the dreaded bag sizer coming out, and being over just a centimetre can mean you end up paying a massive fee to check your bag at the gate.

To make things even more confusing, cabin bag size allowances change all the time, so even if you’re a frequent flyer, you can get caught out. It’s always best to check the size of the cabin bag that’s included with your ticket just before you go, so you can avoid hassle at the gates.

It’s also much cheaper to pay for extra bags when you book your flight, not once you’re at the airport, so always make sure you’ve booked the amount you need in advance.

Cabin bag allowances by airline

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Ryanair

Ryanair is notorious for strictly enforcing cabin baggage sizes, and if you’re taking a bag on board, you should make sure you get the tape measure out and check the dimensions before you head to the airport.

However, there’s good news for Ryanair passengers: the free underseat bag included in its basic fare can now be slightly larger. Previously, this small bag had to fit in a sizer with the dimensions of 40 x 25 x 20 cm, but since summer 2025 it can now be up to 40 x 30 x 20 cm. These free bags need to fit under the seat in front of you, and usually people bring a handbag, laptop bag, or small rucksack.

Technically, there’s no weight limit on these small bags, as long as they fit under the seat, but passengers will need to be able to carry and handle them, and an excessively heavy bag could be noticed by flight attendants.

Passengers can also pay to bring a second cabin bag of up to 55 x 40 x 20cm onboard with them, and this bag has a weight limit of 10KG. Passengers will need to lift this bag into the overhead locker above them, so bear this in mind when packing. If you prefer to check a bag, you can add a 10KG, 20KG, or 23KG bag to the hold. Prices vary depending on route and availability.

EasyJet

Budget airline easyJet is also known for strictly monitoring bag sizes, and you’ll see lots of orange sizers around the airport so you can check whether your luggage will fit. However, it’s best to measure bags at home when they’re packed so you can adjust accordingly.

Everyone who flies with easyJet gets one small underseat cabin bag included in the price. This can be up to 45 x 36 x 20 cm in size, and easyJet states it can’t exceed 15KG in weight.

Customers also have the option to book a second cabin bag of 56 x 45 x 25 cm maximum, including handles and wheels. As a bonus, if you book a second bag, you get speedy boarding included. When booking your flight, you also have the option to pay for up to three checked bags of 15KG, 23KG, or a whopping 32KG. Some airports offer a twilight bag drop for passengers on early flights, meaning you can check your luggage the night before heading off and head straight for security in the morning.

Jet2

Whether you’ve booked a package holiday with Jet2, or just a flight, cabin baggage allowances are the same. You get a small bag of 40 x 30 x 20cm, which must fit under the seat, and the price also includes a 10KG piece of hand luggage of up to 56cm x 45cm x 25cm. Again, you must ensure measurements include handles, wheels, and other fixtures.

Package holidays include 22KG of checked baggage, but if you’ve only booked a flight, you can still add a checked bag for a fee. Passengers can buy up to three bags of 22KG in weight, perfect for those who don’t like to travel light.

Families travelling with young kids can also bring a collapsible pushchair, car seat, and/or travel cot free of charge.

British Airways

British Airways (BA)’s economy basic fare includes a handbag and a cabin bag. The former can be up to 40 x 30 x 15cm in size and needs to easily fit under the seat in front, while cabin bags can be up to 56 x 45 x 25cm in size. However, BA can only guarantee that the smaller item will be allowed on board. If there’s not enough space in the overhead locker, your cabin bag may need to go in the hold.

BA also offers a range of options for checked bags, depending on the flight route you take and which classes are available. Economy with checked bag includes a 23KG bag in the hold, and unlike most airlines, BA put a size restriction on these checked bags of 90 x 75 x 43cm. Those lucky enough to fly business or first class get much bigger allowances.

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TUI

If you’ve booked a flight only on TUI Airways, you’ll get a piece of hand luggage of up to 10KG in weight for free, and this can measure up to 55 x 40 x 20 cm. You can also bring a small personal item like a handbag or laptop bag of up to 40 x 30 x 20cm that’s placed under the seat in front of you. TUI emphasises that passengers must be able to lift their hand luggage into overhead storage compartments themselves.

Customers can also add a checked bag when booking their flight, with prices depending on the route and availability. However, if you book a package holiday through TUI and are flying with its airline, then 20KG of checked luggage is included. Some holiday types, such as TUI BLUE or cruises, have a 25KG allowance, so it’s worth checking your booking confirmation before you go.

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