The week’s bestselling books, October 11
The Southern California Independent Bookstore Bestsellers list for Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, including hardcover and paperback fiction and nonfiction.
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I paid £850 for a week’s holiday on a container ship with no pool, snacks, entertainment
NO signal, no all-you-can-eat buffet and your bed is next to hundreds of shipping containers – it’s certainly not your average cruise.
Yet this didn’t stop passenger Pieter Stroop Van Renen from shelling out £850 to travel for a week on board the shipping boat.
Pieter, 59,said he was stunned to realise you could pay to travel onboard the ships that are usually for cargo rather than leisure.
Talking to The Sun, he said he jumped at the chance to go on one and loved the idea of being the “only passenger onboard.”
Paying around €1,000 (£848) to travel aboard the Elbcarrier, the 140m-long vessel sailing was from Rotterdam to Dublin and back again.
It’s safe to say that the ship is the opposite of a luxury liner – there’s no infinity pool, no cocktail-fuelled small talk with fellow tourists and no breakfast buffet.
The first major difference from a commercial cruise was before the journey even began – as nobody could tell Pieter exactly when the ship would leave.
Even in the week before his holiday, he did not know whether he would depart on the Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
Pieter eventually boarded the Elbcarrier at 4pm on Saturday – but the ship did not set sail until 12 hours later, at four in the morning.
As he waited, confined to his cabin while loading was completed, the reality of spending several days aboard a working cargo ship began to sink in.
Peter said: “I thought, will I get bored, or will I get seasick, or what happens there? Where can I walk? Who are these guys, and do they know I’m coming?”
But that wasn’t a problem for Pieter, who instead spent hours on the bridge watching the captain and officers navigate, studying the ship’s radar screens, chatting to the crew and touring the engine room.
Pieter continued: “The bridge was beautiful at night. They keep the lights off, so it’s pitch black outside and all you can see are the navigation lights and the equipment glowing in the darkness. It was magical.”
At the invitation of the captain, Pieter had one of the best seats in the house as the vessel headed out towards the North Sea.
The journey to Dublin usually takes at least 48 hours by sea, but Pieter’s crossing lasted around 52 hours.
Pieter also couldn’t wander about as he pleased on deck – passengers aren’t allowed to walk between the stacks of containers, which can tower four or five containers high.
Pieter explained: “If something happens [and one falls], then you’re crushed and you’re dead.”
Mealtimes gave him another taste of life aboard a working ship.
Pieter’s ticket included three hot meals a day – there were fried eggs for breakfast and hearty dinners of meat and vegetables in the evening.
What Pieter had not prepared for was getting peckish between meals – but luckily the captain sold chocolate bars and cans of beer.
Sleeping was another challenge altogether because while daytime conditions were relatively calm, it’s a different story at night.
Pieter explained: “You’re just rolling in your bed from left to right continuously. I didn’t get seasick. But I didn’t sleep at all at night.”
He warned that anyone particularly prone to seasickness should think carefully before following his lead – especially as there’s no getting off the boat for excursions like on a usual cruise.
Anyone expecting to spend the voyage scrolling TikTok will also be disappointed as on the Irish Sea, there’s no connection whatsoever.
Pieter had to wait until he was back on dry land before posting about his experience on social media – where clips from the trip unexpectedly took off.
While the internet is impressed with his thirst for adventure, his family, however, were less enthusiastic about joining him on board a working ship.
He said: “I couldn’t get them to come. They would never do this. So, time for myself.”
To see more of Pieter’s container ship holiday, head here.
Jim Davidson, 72, dating Simon Cowell’s ex, 60, just weeks after cancelling sixth wedding to 23-years-younger fiancee
JIM Davidson has reportedly found love once again with Maria Rice-Mundy, a beauty pageant queen who previously dated Simon Cowell.
It comes just a month after the comedian and former Celebrity Big Brother star, 72, split from his fiancée and called off their planned nuptials.
In September, The Sun revealed how Jim had cancelled his wedding – which was set to be his sixth time tying the knot – to partner of three years Natasha, who is 23 years his junior.
But back on the dating horse already, Jim is said to have been seeing new partner Maria, 60, for “a few weeks”.
A source told The Daily Mail: “Jim’s already fallen big time and posted a picture of her on his Facebook.
“They’ve been on a few dinner dates and she’s very giggly around him. Jim doesn’t mess about when it comes to the ladies.”
The Sun has reached out to Jim’s representative for comment.
Maria, a mum of two, dated music mogul Simon Cowell back in the 1980s.
Jim has been married five times and it was set to be six before he called off his wedding to ex Natasha.
The pair were set to wed at Hampton Court Palace – the home of home of Henry VIII – and lost their £10k deposit when they jilted.
Speaking to The Sun in September, Jim revealed: “There’s no bad blood. Natasha is the most caring and dutiful person.
“It’s not like we’re splitting up because we don’t love each other anymore.
“It’s a sort of a grown-up separation. The timing’s not right because she has so much time for everybody and how can you knock that?”
He added at the time: “We still speak every other day, but whether we’ll ever find room to see one another again, I don’t know.
“She is very dutiful. She puts family first. And of course she has three children and now a grandson as well.
“She is just so busy and so I’m very busy as well.”
Dad-of-five Jim met Natasha, who is 23 years his junior, at the Southampton Boat Show in 2023 soon after the breakdown of his fifth marriage.
It was shortly after his split from fifth wife Michelle Cotton, whom he was with for 14 years.
Jim first married his childhood sweetheart Sue Walpole back in 1971, but the union lasted just a year.
He then went on to wed Julie Gullick in 2981, before they divorced in 1986.
TV presenter Alison Holloway was next, but she only stayed married to Jim for two years.
His fourth wife was Page 3 model Tracy Hilton, and they were together for ten years.
Jim’s most recent marriage – before getting engaged to Natasha – was Michelle, whom he married in 2009 and split from in 2023.
Billy Joel, 77, shares new health update weeks after undergoing surgery for rare brain condition
BILLY Joel has shared a new health update just weeks after undergoing surgery for a rare brain condition.
The singer, 77, who was diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) in May 2025, underwent a procedure to help improve his symptoms last month.
According to the NHS website, a hydrocephalus is a “build-up of fluid in the brain. The excess fluid puts pressure on the brain, which can damage it”, and NPH “usually develops in older people”.
He had a shunt implanted in his brain to drain excess fluid.
Earlier this week he shared how he has been feeling while on his SiriusXM show The Billy Joel Channel.
Billy said: “I know people are worried about me because they read that I have a brain disorder, which sounds a lot worse than it actually is.”
He added: “I’m okay” but went on to confess that his “balance isn’t that good”.
The performer also explained that he’s “lost a little bit of my hearing” – which he actually thinks is due to the performing on stage for years.
The star also confessed that he “appreciates” everyone but doesn’t want people to “worry” about him.
Talking about the surgery, Billy said last month: “I didn’t want to do that, but then I read up on it and I realised it can help improve your balance and can help your memory.”
He added: “You know, I don’t want to lose my marbles.
“It’s hard to tell what’s age and what’s a condition, so I agreed to do the shunt and I had a surgery, and they implanted a shunt in my brain and it actually improved things.”
After having the surgery, Billy explained: “My memory got better, my balance got a little better, my ability to function was better.”
After being diagnosed with NPH, Billy cancelled all tour dates due to the condition.
Billy is best known for songs such as Piano Man, Uptown Girl and We Didn’t Start the Fire.
Vital ferry route from UK to France is being axed 3 weeks EARLIER than planned after more than 40 years
A VITAL ferry route to France is being axed three weeks earlier than planned after operating for over 40 years.
Customers have been told they will receive a full refund or alternative travel routes following the shock announcement.
Brittany Ferries has confirmed that the Poole to Cherbourg route will close three weeks earlier than planned.
The last crossing was originally set to take place at the end of the month.
All passengers who were set to be travelling in the latter half of the month will receive a full refund or be provided with alternative travel on Portsmouth routes.
The early axing of the Poole-to-Cherbourg route has occurred for two reasons.
Firstly, Brittany Ferries is selling the vessel which currently operates on the Rosslare/Cherbourg route – Cotentin.
To prepare, the vessel must be withdrawn from the service by mid-October.
Secondly, a back-up vessel, the Commodore Clipper, suffered gearbox failure earlier this month rendering the ferry out of action pending remedial work.
The gearbox issue forced the early closure of the Portsmouth-Le Havre route, but has now meant the company has needed to move Barfleur onto a new route and finish Poole-Cherbourg sailings earlier than planned.
Barfleur, the vessel which has served the crossing since 1992, is set to be moved to the Rosslare/Cherbourg route from October 12.
CEO of Brittany Ferries, Christophe Mathieu, said: “The reality is that, post-Brexit, Rosslare/Cherbourg has become a strategically significant route for Brittany Ferries, carrying nearly 25 percent of all freight traffic so we must prioritise.
“I know there will be disappointment with this operational change, and I apologise to all those travelling from Poole in the latter half of October.
“We shall of course refund tickets or provide alternative travel on routes out of Portsmouth.
“It has been a privilege to serve the Poole-Cherbourg route since 1986.”
The company revealed it would be shutting down the 40-year route owing to growing financial pressures, particularly affected by the pandemic, the EU’s Emissions Trading System and competition on the Eastern Channel.
The crossing closure is forecast to affect around 20 jobs and the decision forms part of a wider restructuring by Brittany Ferries.
Brittany Ferries has confirmed that passengers will still be able to head out to France from Poole, instead via the company’s seasonal service to St Malo.
Customers can also cross the Channel via routes from Portsmouth and Plymouth to Caen, Cherbourg, St Malo and Roscoff.
A new high-speed crossing between Poole, Guernsey and St Malo is set to be debuted in 2027.
The MS Barfleur first began her voyages between Dorset and France in 1992 and was the shortest journey over the Channel, taking just four hours and 15 minutes.
The crossing garnered a huge amount of success, leading to a £6million refurbishment of the ferry terminal in the 1990s.
The route has faced difficulties more recently, seeing a temporary closure in 2010 following a decrease in ticket sales – however it was reopened in 2013.
The week’s bestselling books, September 27
The Southern California Independent Bookstore Bestsellers list for Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, including hardcover and paperback fiction and nonfiction.
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The week’s bestselling books, September 20
The Southern California Independent Bookstore Bestsellers list for Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, including hardcover and paperback fiction and nonfiction.
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Two scenic train routes including famous Harry Potter railway to close for WEEKS as part of £22million project
TWO picturesque UK train routes will close for a number of weeks as part of a £22million upgrade.
The first route to close will be the West Highland railway line, which is well-known for being used in the Harry Potter films, from November 9 to 17.
The picturesque train journey which links Glasgow to Oban and Mallaig and crosses the Glenfinnan Viaduct, will undergo a £13million upgrade.
Work will be carried out between Helensburgh, Fort William and Mallaig and includes repairing parts of the track.
There will be replacement buses during the closure period.
Gerry McQuade, capital delivery director at Network Rail Scotland, said: “The West Highland Line is one that people really depend on, whether they’re travelling to work, visiting family or exploring some of Scotland’s most spectacular scenery.
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“This work is about making sure the route continues to provide a dependable service for the communities and visitors who use it every day.”
And it isn’t the only route in Scotland that will close for an upgrade.
The scenic Kyle Line between Dingwall and Kyle of Lochalsh will close for three weeks starting at the end of November.
No trains will run between Dingwall and Kyle of Lochalsh from November 28 to December 18.
Work will be carried out on the Carron Viaduct, as well as Inverness Station.
The £9million project is expected to take a few weeks with four miles of track being renewed.
McQuade said: “The Kyle line is one of Scotland’s most scenic and important routes, connecting communities across the Highlands.
“This £9m investment will allow us to carry out a significant amount of work in a short period of time, helping us keep the railway safe, reliable and resilient for the future.”