worked

Holidaying as a single parent is a tricky balance. You want to ringfence the kind of extended one-on-one time that can be difficult to find during term time; but too much of that and you know you’ll drive each other a little crazy. Kids need other kids, and you could do with some adult company too. You also need a break. It’s a nice idea to pack the car with camping gear and head out into the wilderness, but it can be a lot of work – and you end up in a field, attempting to put up a tent, alone.

Friends of mine have suggested holiday parks, some of them with bars and restaurants and a daily schedule of kids’ activities. That all sounds a bit overstimulating. I’d been dreaming about sinking into a quiet landscape. But would there be enough to do?

The potential answer came in the shape of One Cat Farm, a small nature reserve tucked in a remote valley in Ceredigion, west Wales, which may have the balance just right. Owners Jessie and Lyndon bought the old pig farm when they moved from London in 2013. Setting up a glamping site, running and raising it with three young children, a barely functioning bathroom and no internet was “not quite as fun” as they’d intended, they tell me, but they persevered, and after years of hard work it is – I soon discover – an incredibly special place.

The four cabins, which sleep two adults and up to three children, were designed and built by the couple and are spaced discreetly through the site. There’s a growing woodland (Jessie and Lyndon have planted more than 300 trees since moving here), a wild-swimming pond, and another where nature is left to do its thing. To the east are the Cambrian Mountains; to the west, the hidden beaches of Cardigan Bay – not that we see much of this when we first arrive, in the dark, having driven straight from school pickup. We’re met by Jessie, who shows us to our cabin, which (with double glazing and heating) is wonderfully warm. My six-year-old daughter can’t contain her excitement; she loves the cushions, the lights, the luxury bedding, and the enormous window through which we glimpse the last of the sunset. On discovering the bar of chocolate left as a welcome gift, she calls the place “paradise”.

I’m impressed by how much thought has gone into One Cat Farm. It is simple in the best kind of way, each detail carefully considered without ever feeling overbearing. On our first morning, we find pond-dipping equipment by the communal shed and head down to the water. We’ve dipped nets before without much success, but here the discoveries come thick and fast. There are newts and caddisfly larval cases, damselfly nymphs and water boatmen. Red kites wheel overhead. I strip down to my swimming costume and slip into the water; it is bitingly cold, and glorious. My daughter whoops. She’s standing by the reeds with a towel ready; I realise, with some surprise, that I’m feeling cared for, too.

Over the next few days we explore the nearby beaches, where there are resident dolphins and seals, along with miles of sand. We eat street food from the Manuka food van on the harbour wall in Aberaeron, and fresh pizza and gelato at Tafell a Tân in Llangrannog; we comb high-tide lines and peer into caves, discover mussels on rocky outcrops and stare up at sheer cliff faces. Walking the hedgerows, we forage pennywort and garlic mustard, and wild garlic in droves (Lyndon tells us to come back in autumn for the mushrooms, his favourite time of year).

It’s easy to be a visitor here, but Ceredigion faces challenges, with about 30% of children living in poverty. Jessie is keenly aware of this, and speaks passionately about the difference that places such as One Cat Farm are able to make to the local economy. “Our existence supports not just our family, but also two employees. And, because of our size, we don’t have onsite facilities like a cafe or pub, so guests go out and support local businesses.” She compares this model with those of bigger holiday sites, which are often run from afar by big businesses: “The difference between them and us is like comparing a big wealthy farm to a small subsistence farm.” Jessie and Lyndon clearly care deeply about what they do, and that the place is of benefit to the community and its wildlife.

It’s incredible to think how much must have changed here in the last decade or so, since the project began. By the pond, we spot an otter and a heron; there are rumours of polecats and a peregrine falcon. Crouching in the grass, a network of small tunnels becomes visible – evidence of voles and shrews, now permanent inhabitants.

I’m not always good at slowing down, but here it’s possible to do just that – even with a small person in tow. One night, she and I try the wood-fired outdoor baths; we soak (and splash) for hours, and watch the stars come out. It’s been ages since I’ve felt so relaxed, and so free to revel in my time with her.

While community is encouraged – there’s a communal kitchen and fire pit – it’s not enforced, and if you’ve come for quiet it is easy to be secluded. But before long my daughter has buddied up with the boys in the cabin down the slope, who are here with their dad. Soon they’re moving in a pack, playing on the rope swing, making clay models at our picnic table, drawing maps of the wood. As they head off again, I open a book, then stare at the hills, and yes, I think, it is a kind of paradise. This, I see now, is what we needed; not crowds, not endless choices and constant stimulation, but a bit of time to recoup, reconnect and get immersed in the world.

Accommodation was provided by One Cat Farm. Cabin rates start from £134 a night (sleeps two adults and up to three children), minimum two nights.

Until recently, President Trump always found a way to fail forward, through a combination of spin, threats, payoffs and bluster.

OK, that’s the simplistic interpretation. The fine print tells a less-glamorous story: a man born on third base who spent decades insisting he’d hit a triple.

Still, it’s hard to argue with success. When Trump entered politics, he redefined the rules of the game. Rivals who tried to outflank him on policy detail, ideological consistency and institutional norms found themselves either vanquished or assimilated by the Borg.

By my lights, only once during Trump’s admittedly chaotic first term did he run into something that his playbook couldn’t at least mitigate or parry: the COVID-19 pandemic. For the final year of his presidency, reality refused to negotiate, and political gravity reasserted itself. It turns out, viruses aren’t susceptible to the Art of The Deal.

But then, miraculously, Trump wriggled through legal jeopardy, bulldozed his way past more conventional Republicans and Democrats, and re-emerged victorious in 2024.

If anything, that comeback reinforced the idea that Trump could survive anything by virtue of his playbook.

By the start of his second term, he’d made impressive headway in co-opting not only individuals but also major institutions within big tech, the media and academia.

Even in foreign affairs, Trump’s sense that any problem could be solved via force, intimidation or money was confirmed when he captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and installed Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, as a sort of puppet leader. Everyone has a price, right?

Unfortunately for Trump, no. Not everyone does.

Lately, the president has encountered a different kind of resistance — adversaries motivated by something bigger and more transcendent than money, power or the avoidance of pain.

In dealing with Iran, for instance, Trump has confronted people operating under a wholly different set of incentives. It’s a regime guided by a mix of ideology, radical religious doctrine and long-term strategic interests that don’t always align with short-term material gain.

(Now perhaps, having punished Trump enough already, Iran will finally come to the negotiating table. But even if that happens, it will have occurred after exacting a steep price — so steep, in fact, that it may already be too late for Trump to plausibly claim a win.)

It turns out, you can’t easily intimidate or pay off a true believer who isn’t afraid to die and believes they have God on their side.

A similar (though obviously not morally equivalent) dynamic is now also on display in the form of Trump’s skirmish with Pope Leo XIV, a man who commands moral authority. He opposes the war in Iran (“Blessed are the peacemakers”) and has demonstrated a stubborn refusal to back down to Trump’s attempts at bullying.

“Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth,” Leo said during a tour of Africa. It’s a remark that the American pope seemed to implicitly be aiming at the American president.

Here’s what Trump doesn’t understand: There are still pockets of the world where concepts like faith and national identity outweigh tangible incentives. Where sacrifice and suffering are an accepted part of the plan.

When facing these sorts of foes, Trump’s usual operating system starts to look less like a cheat code and more like a category error.

But he can’t see this because Trump is always prone to a sort of cynical projection — of assuming everyone views the world in the same base, carnal, corrupt way he sees it.

Whether it was his incredulity that Denmark wouldn’t sell Greenland, rhetoric that seemed to discount the motivations of those who serve and sacrifice in the military, or his affinity for nakedly transactional gulf states, the pattern is familiar: a tendency to view decisions through a cost-benefit lens that not everyone shares.

To be fair, that lens has often served him well. In arenas where power, money and leverage dominate, Trump’s approach is eerily effective.

But after years of taming secular, “rational” opponents, he is fighting a two-front war against people who see their struggles as moral and spiritual.

They aren’t stronger in a conventional sense. But they are, in a very real sense, less susceptible to Trump’s methods.

For perhaps the first time in his life, Donald Trump finds himself facing adversaries who aren’t just immune to his usual Trumpian playbook but are playing a different game altogether.

Matt K. Lewis is the author of “Filthy Rich Politicians” and “Too Dumb to Fail.”

EXCLUSIVE: Lisa Kudrow has returned to our screens for the third and final season of The Comeback.

The Comeback co-creator has opened up on working with Lisa Kudrow as HBO Max finally arrives in the UK.

From Succession and Euphoria, to Game of Thrones and The Sopranos, HBO Max is home to some of the biggest global hits with new series continuing to be added.

One of which is the third and final season of The Comeback which revolves around the turbulent career of sitcom star Valerie Cherish (played by Lisa Kudrow).

12 years after series two, Valerie takes on a new sitcom written by AI in a bid to try and salvage her dwindling career but it’s not exactly plain sailing.

Of course, Kudrow is famed for portraying Phoebe Buffay in the unforgettable 1990s comedy Friends but The Comeback’s co-creator Michael Patrick King insists she’s “a lot more than Phoebe”.

Opening up to Reach Plc, King, who is best known for directing Sex And The City, shared: “First of all, the thing I really want to say about Lisa Kudrow is she’s a brilliant writer.

“You know she’s a brilliant actress. All you have to do is look at the contrast between Phoebe and Valerie and you can see her amazing range.

“She’s a very, very, very good writer. She has a scientific mind. She has a degree from Vassar [College] in biology.

“So she’s a lot more than Phoebe. And what’s great about working with her is she’s smart and hilarious and discerning. Very, very discerning.”

Kudrow recently spoke to CBS Sunday Morning about the reason why she’s still happy to be known for Friends, despite the show ending in 2004.

She said: “I never went through that period of ‘no I don’t want to talk about Friends. I have to move on, I want to play other characters and no, you have to know me from -’.

“No, no, that’s fine. Because Friends gave me everything.

“It just did. And I loved being Phoebe. I loved the whole experience and I don’t need to move away from it.

“I had done independent films and played different characters and, whether you’ve seen it or not, that’s fine.

“And it’s fine if all you know I’ve ever done with Friends, how could I not be OK with that?”

The Comeback is available to watch on HBO Max

The winners of Jonathan Ross’ new Channel 4 reality series, Handcuffed: Last Pair Standing, appeared on Friday’s Good Morning Britain

Channel 4 recently aired a new reality series that saw 18 people chained to someone who is their polar opposite for as long as they can manage, all in an effort to win a £100,000 prize.

Hosted by Jonathan Ross, Handcuffed: Last Pair Standing, saw nine couples forced to spend their every moment together, bound by a pair of handcuffs.

They slept in the same bed, showered together and even used the toilet in close proximity with their new companion.

Earlier this week, viewers saw Staffordshire porn star Rob, 32, and West Sussex homemaker Charlie, 44, who is a self-professed prude, make it all the way to the end, winning the show and a suitcase bulging with £100,000.

Appearing on Friday’s Good Morning Britain, the duo spoke about their time on the show and winning the programme. As per the reality series, GMB decided to handcuff the duo together for their interview.

Host, Ranvir Singh, said: “I’m afraid we’ve handcuffed you again… to really, like, hammer home the point that you were handcuffed.”

Talking about how they got involved with the show and if they knew what it was about, Charlie admitted: “I didn’t find out for quite a while!

“They approached me, found me on TikTok, and said, ‘We’re casting for a social experiment. We’re bringing two opposing worlds together, and we think you’d be great.’

“So I said to the family, ‘I’ve just had this message, what do you think?’ They were like, ‘Yeah, you’d be great, mum, go for it!’ Then it was down the line, weeks down the line, they said the show was called Handcuffed.

“[I thought I was getting involved in] a social experiment to bring two different worlds together and see if they could work together. I knew it would be a challenge, but I didn’t realise…”

It was a similar story for Rob, who recalled: “I was reached out on Instagram and I was like, in 2025, for me, was a Yes Man year. I don’t know if you’ve seen the film Jim Carrey Yes Man.

“That year, for me, was just like, whatever comes at me, I’m going to say yes to it and I did. I thought, you know what, I don’t care what it is, I’m just going for it and that’s what I did.”

Talking about why they think they won the show, Rob said: “Respect! Respect and communication, I think they’re the two biggest things.”

To which Charlie added: “And kindness. Rob was really kind and thoughtful and made the whole thing easier from the first moment.”

Good Morning Britain continues on weekdays at 6am on ITV and ITV X.

Zoe Markos, who appeared on Neighbours as an extra before landing a speaking role, has revealed what it’s really like working on the soap opera and let slip some backstage secrets

An actress who previously on a huge soap opera has opened up on what it’s really like on set.

Neighbours first aired in 1985 and initially ended in 2022, however, the show was later revived by Amazon before its final cancellation in 2025.

Over its long history, the Australian serial drama launched the careers of global stars like Margot Robbie, Kylie Minogue, Russell Crowe, and Liam Hemsworth but what is it actually like to be on the set of Erinsborough?

Zoe Markos first joined Neighbours in 2012 as an extra before eventually landing a speaking role in 2025 as Louisa Palamountain and she’s now shared some behind-the-scenes secrets that viewers might not know.

Speaking to JoeFortune, Zoe explained: “The studio is literally Erinsborough, built to feel like a real town. Walking around, you genuinely feel like you’re in an actual town because of how well it’s been designed. The sets are much smaller than they look on TV.

“For example, when you’re pretending to make juice or cook something, none of the utensils actually work but it doesn’t matter because the illusion is perfect.

“What really blows me away is how much history is packed into those sets. Especially when I was involved on the production side, I got to see props, furniture, and chairs dating back to the 1980s, all carefully preserved.

“They even have old VHS tapes of episodes that haven’t been digitised yet. It’s incredible. I think most people don’t realise just how much history was made in that studio and on that show. It’s truly remarkable.”

Zoe went on to share some bizarre rules she had to follow on set, revealing: “You can’t actually talk, so you have to mime.

“For example, if you’re opposite someone or asked to have a conversation on set, you just can’t speak. It’s probably common on all shows, but in party scenes, for instance, they don’t play the music, so you have to dance without it. It can feel a bit awkward.

“Another thing is that you really have to be very quiet and not make any noise, which is kind of funny when you think about it. Those would probably be some of the little secrets about being on set that people don’t usually notice.”

Moving on to clothing, Zoe added: “As an extra, it depends on your role. If you are part of the main background, like a work guard or a specific set role, they usually provide your costume. If you are just a regular member of the community in a scene, they might give you clothes or accessories.

“If not, they will send a brief to your manager or directly to you if you do not have one, explaining what you can and cannot wear.

“Generally, they avoid patterns like polka dots or anything too busy. They prefer plain clothing with no logos, and you definitely cannot wear anything that could be copyrighted.”

For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new ** Everything Gossip ** website

A Strictly pro who joined the show in 2022 has shared two words that sum up their thoughts on former host Claudia Winkleman, who announced her departure last year

A professional dancer from Strictly Come Dancing has shared two words that sum up their thoughts on former host Claudia Winkleman. A Chinese Strictly pro who joined the show in 2022 and lifted the Glitterball trophy with former Lioness Karen Carney last year, Carlos Gu was recently quizzed about whether he’d like to step into Claudia and Tess Daly’s shoes.

In October last year, the duo shocked fans by announcing they would be stepping away from their joint presenting duties on the BBC programme, sparking widespread speculation about their replacements.

Carlos doesn’t seem eager to throw his hat into the ring, though, noting that he doesn’t believe he could “ever be a presenter,” but he did have some kind things to say about the former hosts.

In a recent interview, Carlos was asked if he would like to take over from Claudia and Tess, to which he replied that he “didn’t see this coming” and that he loves them both.

He told Best Magazine’s Suddenly Single podcast: “I love Claudia and Tess. I love both of them. They are just iconic and obsessed about Claudia, too, personally. I love her.”

It was then suggested that Claudia was “kooky,” to which Carlos responded: “Very witty, very cool.” And, when it was claimed that the Traitors star “doesn’t like looking in the mirror,” he added that she knows her “value.”

Carlos continued: “No, it’s just, oh, she’s a woman who knows her value, and she knows everything about herself, and she’s so confident with it, which is so powerful. Like, Tess is, too, you know.”

In response to the original question, the dancer explained that he was a “born performer” and would “die on stage,” but doesn’t think he could “ever be a presenter.”

At the time of their announcement, Claudia and Tess shared a message on Instagram that reflected on their time on the show, noting that they “loved working as a duo and hosting Strictly has been an absolute dream.”

It represents the end of a remarkable 21-year journey for Tess, who, in addition to Claudia, also revealed that they were “always going to leave together” and that they felt it was the “right time.”

Speaking on Instagram, Tess shared: “After 21 unforgettable years, the time has come to say goodbye to Strictly Come Dancing. It’s hard to put into words what this show has meant to me, so here goes…

“Strictly has been more than just a television programme. It’s felt like having a third child, a second family, and a huge part of my life since that very first show back in 2004. I knew then it was something special, but I could never have imagined the magic it would bring.

“Strictly has always been about joy, celebration, and bringing people together – and I’m so proud to have played a small part in something that continues to mean so much to so many.”