worlds

A SURGERY addict has spent over £100,000 to get the ‘world’s biggest bum.’

But now, pictures of Natasha Crown, 29, ‘before’ going under the knife have left the internet open-mouthed. 

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Revealing all to Truly on a recent episode of Hooked on the Look, the glamour model, who is originally from Serbia, got candid on her surgery journey.

Natasha, who is 6’1 and describes herself as an “Amazon,” said she first realised she wanted a super-sized bum at the age of 17.

Three years later, she started her cosmetic journey from an “athletic teen to a curvy goddess.”

Now, Natasha has spent over $150,000 [£111,650] going under the knife and has had five Brazilian Butt Lifts (BBL).

A Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) is a painful surgery where fat is taken from the stomach, lips, lower back, or thighs and transferred to the buttocks.

This results in an hourglass figure and a larger bum and can cost up to £8,000.

Not only is it expensive, but it is incredibly dangerous and has in some cases led to death.

But Natasha has no desire to stop surgeries any time soon, as she explained: “When I was 17, I saw a girl with a really big bum, and I was sold. 

“I have added 100lbs [7stone 1lbs] to this big bum.

“I love having big curves. Everything needs to be big.

“I love surgery and I will keep going. I’m growing my bum to be over 100 inches.”

As well as five BBLs, Natasha, who is “famous” for her big bum and believes “the bigger the booty, the better,” has also had breast implants, Botox and fillers.

When I’m out, people stare. Online, people are mean, but it doesn’t affect me

Natasha Crown

But she doesn’t have any fears the impact of such procedures will have, as she added: “I don’t have any concerns about my health.”

Getting candid on the public’s reaction to her look, Natasha claimed that her “body shape scares men.”

She continued: “When I’m out, people stare. Online, people are mean, but it doesn’t affect me.”

Discussing the reality of having such a large derrière, the content creator admitted: “Things that are difficult having this big butt – when I fly, I need to have two seats. I bump into people when I’m at restaurants.”

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Social media users gasp

YouTube users were left gobsmacked by Natasha’s surgery transformation, but were particularly stunned by her ‘before’ photos. 

One person said: “I wish she knew how beautiful her natural self was.” 

Another added: “The before is better.” 

She was gorgeous before

YouTube user

A third commented: “She was so gorgeous.” 

Meanwhile, alongside a crying emoji, someone else sobbed: “She was gorgeous before.”

Not only this, but another user chimed in and claimed: “Delusion at its finest.”

At the same time, another wrote: “The doctors should have their licenses revoked! This is insane! I could find way better things to spend all that money on!” 

Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme – Sun Club

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Vietnam is regularly voted one of the best countries to visit in the world but when I visited I unearthed a whole new side to it – and it was incredible

Simon Green Head of Trendswatch

05:00, 05 Oct 2025

Simon joined Daily Star in 2015. Having spent a few years covering all things video, he became Senior Assistant Editor (Digital). Since June 2024, he has been Head of Trendswatch on the Content Hub

Looking out of my car window I see sandy coves drift past below towering cliffs. To my left are endless rolling mountains filled with lush jungle.

I’m winding my way around central Vietnam’s Hai Van Pass – described by former Top Gear man Jeremy Clarkson as one of the world’s most beautiful coastal roads. My destination isn’t a cheap no-frills hostel, the kind used by millions of backpackers who descend on Vietnam each year.

Instead, I’m staying in two five-star sister resorts – Angsana Lang Co and Banyan Tree Lang Co – on the outskirts of a small fishing village 55 minutes from Da Nang airport. I turn off a road on the edge of Lang Co village and drive past endless paddy fields, where water buffalo happily graze.

My first hotel – Angsana – comes into view. Smiling staff greet me with some welcoming cold flannels. I’m led to my one-bedroom courtyard suite and immediately take a dip in my private pool to wash away the jet lag.

I dry off on the sunbed and wonder what this already-impressive region has in store for me during my stay.

Just a short stroll from my room sits a golden two-mile private beach with no soul in sight. But the thought of walking its length doesn’t entice me after my 18-hour journey, so I instead hop on a quad bike that’s on offer.

I hurtle across the sand with gentle waves to my left and wild jungle to my right, before taking a turn that transports me straight into a scene from Jurassic Park. Insects and birds chirp all around as I navigate the well-marked path through the wilderness.

By the time I’m back at the resort, my adrenaline’s pumping and I’m in need of a pick-me-up. I slurp down some Vietnamese coffee, which is refreshingly iced and served with sweet condensed milk, and I’m raring to go again…

An hour from the Lang Co resort lies Hue, the former capital of Vietnam. My tour guide takes me to the impressive walled Imperial City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Built in 1804, it boasts palaces that housed the rulers of the last royal dynasty. I walk over a lily-covered moat and through the guard gate that towers ahead.

The palace is adorned with dragons externally, but the interior is even more spectacular. Gold-leafed walls and pillars surround a glistening gold throne where the monarch used to sit.

This grandeur is juxtaposed with bullet holes that are still visible on the city’s walls – a tragic reminder of the site’s significance in the Vietnam War’s bloodiest battle.

Another conflict Hue residents have overcome is occupation by the French, which ended in 1954. And this clash of cultures is reflected by the region’s delicious diverse food scene. I head to a traditional Hue restaurant called Les Jardins De La Carambole, which translates as ‘the starfruit gardens’ in French.

But instead of the escargots and entrecote you’d expect to guzzle down in Paris, Bun Bo Hue is on the menu. The spicy beef noodle soup is served with Hue-style crispy pancakes known as Banh Khoai.

There’s also a tingly green mango salad, as well as grilled beef in banana leaves. It’s undoubtedly one of my favourite meals of the entire trip. Heading out of the Imperial city, belly full, I reach the final pitstop on my Hue tour – Dong Ba market.

Inside is a sprawling network of street vendors willing to sell you anything and everything – from replica Ralph Lauren shirts to traditional food. It’s customary to haggle within markets in Vietnam, so I give myself a pep talk and pretend I’m on an episode of The Apprentice.

I feel like Alan Sugar is ready to become my business partner when I haggle 1,000 Vietnamese dong off the price of some coffee.

Then my tour guide brings me swiftly back to reality. When I brag to him about the deal I made, he tells me (through laughter) that I’ve only knocked off 20p. Soon it’s time to check into my next hotel – Banyan Tree Lang Co.

It’s just a short boat ride from Angsana along a 950-metre-long canal. As I step off, a golf buggy is waiting to drive me to my beachfront private villa. It comes complete with a picture-perfect private pool and Jacuzzi overlooking the beach.

I happen to be visiting during the Season of the Lotus and a whole host of activities celebrating Vietnam’s national flower await me.

Treats include a two-and-a-half hour wonderful Lotus spa experience, finished off with an aromatic lotus bath to revitalise my skin after hours under the glare of the scorching sun. I then enjoy lotus afternoon tea, served by waiters in traditional Vietnamese garments pouring out mugs of fresh herbal brews.

I sit with lanterns hanging above my head, observing the pretty lotus flowers blooming above the water in front of me.

When the time comes to eat there’s just enough space left in my belly for a meal at the Saffron Thai restaurant, offering wonderful panoramic views over the bay. The spot has been awarded a Thai Select signature status (the cuisine’s equivalent of a Michelin star) and after gorging on my lobster curry I can see exactly why.

My day of relaxation feels perfect – but I’m soon itching to get back out there and explore what’s on my doorstep. Roughly 90 minutes away to the south of the Lang Co properties sits one of Vietnam’s most popular tourist destinations – Hoi An.

Its ancient town, another UNESCO World Heritage Site, dates back to the 15th century. As I walk down its streets I pass wooden fronted Chinese shophouses, French colonial buildings and traditional Vietnamese houses.

But before I fully immerse myself in the region, I decide, perhaps rather bizarrely, to head to Hoi An’s leading bespoke tailors Yaly Couture. Hoi An has built a reputation as Vietnam’s clothes capital thanks to dozens of tailors offering jaw-droppingly cheap rates on anything from custom suits to dresses.

And Yaly is one of the most renowned, having tailored outfits for the likes of Mick Jagger and the president of Singapore. After picking from the exhaustive list of materials and colours, I opt for a two-piece cashmere suit.

Back at home, buying a tailored suit as good as this could easily cost north of £1,000. But my jaw drops when I go to pay and an unbelievable “£180” comes up on the screen. I’m seriously glad that I don’t have to do any haggling this time.

Shopping session completed, it’s time to sample some of the country’s world-famous Banh-Mi. A remnant of the country’s colonial past, it’s a French-style crispy baguette with a combination of delicious fillings.

I race to authentic local deli Madam Khanh to try it for myself before closing time – and luckily manage to nab the last one. In the queue behind me, the news filters down that I’ve sold out the shop and I’m greeted by jealous and slightly angry faces.

One bite of the veggie-filled sandwich reveals why – it is absolutely delicious. The Vietnamese Bamboo Circus is the perfect place to digest as I watch some wonderfully ripped men and women tell the story of central Vietnam through death-defying stunts – all using just bamboo. By the time I leave the theatre, the sun has set and the ancient town has come alive.

An iconic sight greets me at the river – hundreds of paper flower lanterns bobbing on the surface of the water. I hop onto one of the basket boats boat to release one myself.

You’re meant to make a wish as you let your light drift away into the night.

Wish you were here? What are you waiting for? Just go and book a Vietnam break you will never forget.

Book it

Travelbag offers seven nights on B&B at the Banyan Tree Lang Co resort in Vietnam from £1,699pp including flights from Heathrow and private transfers. travelbag.co.uk

Rooms at the Banyan Tree Lang Co resort start at £337 a night B&B.

Rooms at the Angsana Lang Co resort start at £118 a night B&B.

MORE INFO – vietnam.travel

Stonehenge has been ranked as one of the top ten bucket list attractions in the world by Iglu Cruise, which also rated Sagrada Familia, Taj Mahal, Angkor Wat and the Niagra Falls highly

The ethereal Stonehenge has been among the world’s top bucket list attractions.

“If you’re the kind of person who’s willing to hike out to the middle of nowhere just to take a few photos of some rocks, or if you’re up for baa-ing with the sheep, you’ll love it here.”

That’s the one-star review of one particularly sarcastic person who clearly wouldn’t know a high-quality henge if one were to land on his plate. Clearly, the public at large disagrees with his grumbling review of a UK attraction that is among the most iconic of the country’s symbols and has now earned seventh place on Iglu Cruise’s list of the world’s best.

One could be forgiven for thinking that Stonehenge was erected all in one go. If not over a long weekend, then by the same set of ox-strong monument constructors.

READ MORE: Major blow for train fans as night train connecting European cities is axedREAD MORE: ‘Trump effect’ sees tourists ditching US holidays while China holidays surge

In fact, the stones were erected over hundreds of years, according to English Heritage. In about 2,500 BC, the stones in the centre of the monument were set up.

“Two types of stone are used at Stonehenge – the larger sarsens and the smaller ‘bluestones’. The sarsens were erected in two concentric arrangements – an inner horseshoe and an outer circle – and the bluestones were set up between them in a double arc. Probably at the same time that the stones were being set up in the centre of the monument, the sarsens close to the entrance were raised, together with the four Station Stones on the periphery,” English Heritage’s website explains.

“About 200 or 300 years later the central bluestones were rearranged to form a circle and inner oval (which was again later altered to form a horseshoe). The earthwork Avenue was also built at this time, connecting Stonehenge with the river Avon.”

Perhaps the last prehistoric activity to take place at Stonehenge was the digging around the stone settings of two rings of concentric pits, the so-called Y and Z holes. Radiocarbon has dated these back between 1,500 and 1,500 BC.

The length of the project, and the fact that generations of Neolithic West Country builders kept standing up more stones, adds to the mystique and attraction of the place.

Perhaps the most intriguing part of Stonehenge is the unlikely fact of its existence. Recent geochemical research work has concluded that the stones were transported around 20 miles to their current site. Given that the average sarsens weigh 25 tons, with the largest stone, the Heel Stone, weighing about 30 tons, it would’ve required an extraordinary amount of organisation and effort.

“Building the stone circle would have needed hundreds of people to transport, shape and erect the stones. These builders would have required others to provide them with food, to look after their children and to supply equipment including hammerstones, ropes, antler picks and timber. The whole project would have needed careful planning and organisation,” writes English Heritage.

Once transported and then cut down to size, the stones needed to be lifted up into place. To erect a stone, people dug a large hole with a sloping side. The back of the hole was lined with a row of wooden stakes. The stone was then moved into position and hauled upright using plant fibre ropes and probably a wooden A-frame. Weights may have been used to help tip the stone upright. The hole was then packed securely with rubble.

Today, English Heritage runs the Stonehenge site and charge around £28.00 for an on-the-door ticket. If you claimed a free-entry coupon via the Mirror earlier this month, then you can check out the stones for no extra cost. It is possible to see Stonehenge from a public path, but the viewpoint is a little further away than is optimal.

A great time to visit is in the autumn, when the nearby trees turn brown and yellow, and the crowds are a little thinner.

Other attractions on Iglu Cruise’s list include Sagrada Familia, Taj Mahal, Angkor Wat and the Niagra Falls. You can check out the full list on its website.

Sept. 30 (UPI) — A 47-year-old Chinese national has pleaded guilty in Britain to a multi-billion-dollar Bitcoin scheme, according to Metropolitan Police, which said it has made what is possibly the “world’s largest” cryptocurrency seizure, worth more than $7.3 billion

Metropolitan Police said Zhimin Qian of no fixed address pleaded guilty Monday to charges of acquiring criminal property and possessing criminal property, with the property in both offenses being cryptocurrency.

The charges stem from allegations that Qian, also known as Yadi Zhang, orchestrated a massive fraud scheme in her native China, defrauding more than 128,000 victims between 2014 and 2017.

Authorities said she stored the illegally obtained funds in Bitcoin assets. She fled to Britain in September 2018 with the use of false documents and attempted to launder the proceeds by purchasing property.

wHer guilty plea on Monday follows seven years of investigation by the Metropolitan Police, authorities said.

“Today’s guilty plea marks the culmination of years of dedicated investigation by the Met’s Economic Crime teams and our partners,” Will Lyne, Metropolitan Police’s head of Economic and Cybercrime Command, said in a statement.

“This is one of the largest money laundering cases in U.K. history and among the highest-value cryptocurrency cases globally.

“I am extremely proud of the team.”

Authorities said that Qian had worked with Jian Wen, who was sentenced to more than 6 1/2 years in prison for her role in the scheme in January.

Wen, a 44-year-old former restaurant worker, had purchased two properties worth more than $672,000 in Dubai for Qian in 2019.

Authorities said that Wen was in possession of a cryptocurrency wallet with more than $403.3 million. She told police that she had worked for a Chinese national who had asked her to buy the Dubai properties and that she was unaware that the Bitcoins in her possession were the product of crime.

Metropolitan Police said it had seized more than 61,000 Bitcoin from Qian.

Specifics of how Qian defrauded victims of so much money in China were not initially clear.

“Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are increasingly being used by organized criminals to disguise and transfer assets, so that fraudsters may enjoy the benefits of their criminal conduct,” Robin Weyell, deputy chief crown prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said.

“This case, involving the largest cryptocurrency seizure in the U.K., illustrates the scale of criminal proceeds available to those fraudsters.”

Metropolitan Police

‘The goddess of wealth’

Crown Prosecution Service

It costs from £30 a night, is right in the heart of London, but there’s a catch – you can only just about sit up in bed

The largest “capsule” hotel in the world has opened – just not for claustrophobics.

Slap bang in the heart of London, it is packed with nearly 1,000 pods. While it boasts about being the biggest of its kind anywhere, its rates are anything but – a snip at just £30 upwards. Compare that to the swanky Ritz Hotel, a short walk away, where rooms can set you back £1,100.

The Mirror spent the night to find out just what it is like sleeping in what, as it turned out, felt little bigger than an over-sized box – with absolutely no daylight.

Capsules hotels are nothing new: the first opened in Japan in 1979 in the city of Osaka. Other pint-sized versions have opened in the UK, but none on this scale.

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The Zedwell Capsule Hotel is just moments from London’s bustling Piccadilly Circus – if you can find it. Arriving in the early evening, there was no obvious sign of the entrance. Nearby is Zedwell’s sister hotel – with bigger rooms – but it was soon clear I wasn’t the only one willing to give the capsule experience a go, with the concierge pointing a small group of all us in the right dirtection. And not backpackers willing to slum it – all were business folk.

Having eventually found the small door beneath some scaffolding and checked-in, it was up to my capsule.

If staying in a cramped capsule wasn’t off putting enough, the designers have decided to paint virtually everything else dark grey. Even the windows outside the lift were painted grey, and didn’t open. It added to the dystopian feel – like something out of movie Bladerunner.

READ MORE: ‘Enchanting’ woodland seen in Star Wars is ‘like stepping into a fantasy’

Guests sleep in dormitories – it reminded me of a storage unit corridor – ranging in size from eight to 100 capsules, with female only options available. The capsules are stacked two high. Mine was up a few stairs, with four others, all facing each other. No doors here. Instead, getting in means rolling up an office cabinet-like shutter.

Inside there is a mattress…and not much space for anything else. Each capsule is 220cm long, just 100cm wide, and a disconcertingly low 100cm in height – just enough to sit up in. That said, it had a socket, light, mirror, and an overhead fan – described as a “smart climate control” system but which appeared to be a simple fan that failed to keep things cool.

No en-suite facilities here: you wander down the corridor to a shared toilet and showers, which are good and plentiful. I made the schoolboy error of not taking my room card – twice – which proved a tad awkward.

And so to bed. I’ve never had a big issue with small spaces but, pulling the shutter down, and switching off the light, brought on the collywobbles. If you are in anyway claustrophobic, think twice.

I have to confess opening the shutter a little to see some corridor light, even if that did mean facing my neighbour’s entrance, right there. Talking of neighbours, who you are staying cheek by jowl with, there is real risk you find out knowing a little too much about their sleeping habits, just a few centimetres away. The capsules are said to have “noise reduction” and, while I could hear whoever was next door moving around, it was worked well in the main.

They also boast Hypnos mattresses and Egyptian cotton bedding, which more than did the job, and helped make for a good night’s sleep. But waking up in the morning, in pitch darkness despite the time, I was overcome with the urge to break out of my box and see the daylight. Emerging into the sunshine made me appreciate it a whole lot more.

Judging by how busy it was, the super-sized capsule concept may well capture the imagination. And for the price, it is a bargain. But staying in what must surely be among the smallest hotel rooms in Britain definitely won’t be to everyone’s taste.

The allure of sea cucumber, Addison on Cafe 2001 and its elusive watermelon cake, plus L.A.’s king of super chuggers and more. I’m Laurie Ochoa, general manager of L.A. Times Food, with this week’s Tasting Notes.

Crackle pop

The sea cucumber spring roll at Wing in Hong Kong before it is sliced and plated. Behind the roll is a display of dried sea cucumber before its undergoes a multi-day cooking process.

(Laurie Ochoa / Los Angeles Times)

The crackle of paper-thin pastry under a razor-sharp cleaver as the chef beside your table slices a golden fried spring roll in half is just one sign that you are about to eat something extraordinary.

There is also the sight of the otherworldly creature — a sea cucumber — displayed on a platter in its dried state before it has undergone a multi-day blooming and braising process and formed the filling of the spring roll before you.

You bite into the delicate wrapper and find that the sea cucumber has been transformed into something that on one level resembles braised pork belly but also has its own kind of lusciousness.

This is the sea cucumber spring roll by chef Vicky Cheng, one of the not-to-miss dishes he created at his restaurant Wing in Hong Kong.

Cheng, who was born in Hong Kong, grew up in Canada and came of age as a chef in North America, learning the intricacies of French cuisine at Toronto and New York restaurants, including Daniel with chef Daniel Boulud.

That French training shows in the lightness of the pastry wrapper of Cheng’s fried spring roll. Not to mention the showmanship of its presentation, which provides ASMR thrills when the cleaver cuts through the cylinder. But Cheng’s true purpose is to recontextualize a traditional Chinese ingredient that has been seen as old-fashioned, a luxury texture food often eaten more for medicinal purposes and status rather than deliciousness.

Chef Vicky Cheng in the dining room of his Hong Kong restaurant Wing.

(Laurie Ochoa / Los Angeles Times)

At his first Hong Kong restaurant, the Michelin-starred restaurant VEA, one floor above Wing in the same office building that houses a collection of Michelin-starred restaurants, including the Chairman, Feuille, Hansik Goo and Whey, sea cucumber quickly became one of Cheng’s signature dishes.

In the VEA preparation, a smaller, spikier type of sea cucumber surrounds a shellfish filling — in January, when I tried the dish, it was tiger prawn. But for the spring roll at Wing, Cheng uses a much larger and smoother species from New Zealand and Australia, which has the first sea cucumber fishery certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council.

The sea cucumber spring roll is one of the dishes Cheng is planning to serve at Kato here in Los Angeles when he collaborates with chef Jon Yao for a two-night dinner series on Oct. 14 and 15. Reservations quickly disappeared when they were made available this week, but I’ll be talking with Cheng onstage Sunday, Oct. 12 at UCLA’s Fowler Museum about his restaurants and the different ways he’s trying to shift the conversation about Chinese cuisine for a younger generation. Joining us will be chef Curtis Stone, who featured Cheng and many others in the Hong Kong episode of his PBS series “Field Trip With Curtis Stone,” which will be screened at the free event.

The appearances will cap off our L.A. Times Food Bowl Night Market at City Market Social House Oct. 10 and 11. VIP tickets are sold out, but limited general admission tickets remain for the Friday and Saturday night event presented by Square. The more than 40 participating restaurants include Holbox, Baroo, the Brothers Sushi, OyBar, Heritage Barbecue, Crudo e Nudo, Hummingbird Ceviche House, Rossoblu, Perilla L.A., Evil Cooks, Villa’s Tacos, Holy Basil, Heavy Handed, AttaGirl, Heng Heng Chicken Rice, the Win-Dow, Agnes Restaurant & Cheesery and Luv2Eat Thai Bistro. Check lafoodbowl.com for tickets and info.

Chasing watermelon

Chef Giles Clark and some of his breakfast, lunch and pastry specials at Cafe 2001 in downtown Los Angeles.

(Emil Ravelo / For The Times)

My habit at the Arts District’s Cafe 2001 has been to arrive just after 11 a.m. when chef Giles Clark‘s menu, restricted to breakfast items before that point, opens up with lunch choices. It’s the best way to experience the full array of inventive dishes Clark has cooked up for the day … with one big exception. The cafe’s gorgeous watermelon cake, taught to Clark by Tokyo chef Toshio Tanabe, doesn’t come out of the kitchen until 1 p.m., even if it’s sometimes visible earlier than that, tempting diners. All summer long I haven’t managed to get a slice of that cake. But our restaurant critic Bill Addison is a pro; he got the cake and so much more, which he elegantly describes in his new review of Cafe 2001 — “a peculiar and quietly serious little place, with a narrow yet soaring space reclaimed from urban decay, and casual, sophisticated daytime meals,” he writes. “Its eccentricities feel like welcome refuge.”

For more on Cafe 2001, read Food’s deputy editor Betty Hallock on Clark’s spring-green potato salad (with his recipe), plus my contribution to our brunch guide on the appeal of Clark’s morning offerings and my newsletter earlier this summer on how the chef’s corn fritter was a welcome sign of summer in a city recovering from downtown L.A. restaurant closures after immigration enforcement actions prompted a curfew.

The wine auteur

Winemaker Scott Sampler gets chuggy at Anajak Thai in Sherman Oaks.

(G L Askew II / For The Times)

Chances are good you’ve seen Scott Sampler‘s Scotty-Boy! wines in restaurants and local wine shops. And you may have sipped from bottlings of some of his other labels without realizing they came from the same mind.

“Sampler’s wines,” writes Food contributor Patrick Comiskey, “have managed to channel L.A.’s boundless culinary enthusiasms for the past decade.” Of course, Comiskey adds that Sampler’s wines — “pungent, savory, defiantly unfruity” — “can be polarizing even in the era of natural wine, when wine’s very range of flavors is in flux.”

Sampler and Comiskey met in a booth at Musso & Frank’s in Hollywood to talk wine, food, Serge Gainsbourg and how the king of the super chuggers got serious about what he puts in a bottle. A terrific read.

3 out of 50

Gilberto Cetina, chef and owner of Holbox, pictured outside his restaurant.

(Mariah Tauger/Los Angeles Times)

On Thursday night, three Los Angeles restaurants were named to the inaugural North America’s 50 Best Restaurants list from the World’s 50 Best franchise, as Food’s Stephanie Breijo reports. They are Kato at No. 26, Holbox at No. 42 and at No. 47 Providence, which also received its third Michelin star this year.

“Everybody’s really proud,” Holbox chef Gilberto Cetina told Breijo, “especially right now with these times when our people don’t feel as welcome as we have before, with the way politics are. Being able to be here at a national forum representing Mexican culture through our food is really cool.”

Diner talk

Chef Nancy Silverton and Phil Rosenthal share a milkshake at the counter of Fair Oaks Pharmacy and Soda Fountain in Pasadena.

(Ron De Angelis / For The Times)

Food’s columnist Jenn Harris took chef Nancy Silverton and TV’s Phil Rosenthal to Pie ‘n Burger and the soda fountain at Fair Oaks Pharmacy in Pasadena to discuss the many debates the two have during the making of their soon-to-open diner Max and Helen’s in L.A.’s Larchmont Village. Patty melt or hamburger? Both was the compromise. And the secret of a great milkshake? The answer might surprise you.

Reeling

PCH seafood stalwart The Reel Inn before the Palisades fire.

(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)

Will the Reel Inn rise again? That’s the question Food’s Stephanie Breijo asked in her story about the challenges the iconic restaurant is facing as it tries to rebuild after the Palisades fire.

And in her Quick Bites report on new restaurants, Breijo has details about Bub and Grandma’s Pizza in Highland Park; Michelin-starred Kali‘s pivot away from tasting menus to steakhouse favorites; the appearance of Pino’s Sandwiches in Los Feliz from the owner of Salumeria Verdi in Florence and the expansion of Tacos Villa Corona to Eagle Rock.

Also …

As world leaders talked about acting against Israel at the UN General Assembly, more than 360 Palestinians in Gaza were killed, with many more injured, starved and displaced by the ongoing genocide. Israel has killed 66,000 Palestinians since October 7, 2023.

THE world’s tallest bridge has opened to the public — cutting journeys from a staggering two hours to just two minutes.

China‘s Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge in Guizhou province is a whopping nine times higher than the Golden Gate Bridge and twice the height of the Eiffel Tower.

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It is almost as tall as the 632-metre, 128-story Shanghai Tower, China’s tallest building.

As well as breaking world-records, the bridge has increases connectivity in the region.

Locals were previously forced to spend almost two hours navigating the vast canyon.

But now, travel time is reduced to just two minutes.

The mighty structure took three years to build, requiring advanced technologies, such as satellite navigation and drones.

Soaring 2,050 feet over the Beipan River, travelling over the world’s tallest bridge will not be for the fainthearted.

The gargantuan structure features massive steel reinforcements weighing 215 metric tons.

These will help support the heavy loads going across the 0.9 mile-long structure.

Officials also believe the crossing will stimulate economic development in Guizhou, one of China’s lesser developed provinces. 

Chen Jianlei, deputy director of Guizhou Transport Department told China Daily: “The completion of the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge will strengthen economic ties between [neighbouring cities] Guiyang, Anshun and Qianxinan, fostering regional economic integration.”

The chief engineer of the record-breaking bridge has said that seeing his project come to life gives him “a profound sense of achievement and pride.”

The central element of the bridge, its primary load-bearing part, is made up of 93 segments weighing a collective 22,000 tons – or three times the weight of the Eiffel Tower.

Work on the £227 million project began in 2022.

Until it opens, the title of tallest bridge in the world will remain with the Beipanjiang Bridge in Guizhou province around 200 miles north of the Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge.

The bridge with four lanes of traffic was finished in 2016 and stands 1788 feet over the Beipan River.

Meanwhile, construction has started once again on the world’s tallest skyscraper that was left half-built seven years ago.

Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah Tower, once completed, will be three times taller than the Shard and will dwarf all other developments.

The enormous tower would stand 3,280ft high when completed.

The Jeddah Tower has long been touted as the next Burj Khalifa – the world’s tallest building in Dubai, at 2,723ft.

Following the unveiling of incredible plans for one of the world’s tallest skyscrapers, which will include the highest nightclub and observation deck on the planet.

The Burj Azizi also set for Dubai will be a staggering 2,379ft tall.

Azizi Developments say construction of the £1.15 billion tower – twice the size of The Shard – has already begun and is expected to be completed in 2028.

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One UK man visited the world’s most expensive cafe, Cedric Grolet, in Monaco. After ordering a coffee and some pastries, he was shocked to receive a bill that left his wallet empty

It seems like the cost of a coffee and pastry has soared everywhere. Whether you’re popping into your neighbourhood Greggs or a hip independent bakery, it’s hardly shocking to fork out £5 or more for a flat white and croissant.

But while that stings your purse, it pales in comparison to what’s available at one of the globe’s most lavish cafés, where a basic sweet indulgence can exceed your entire weekly grocery bill. Head south to France and you’ll discover Monaco, the billionaire’s paradise. This minuscule principality is famed as the beating heart of Formula One, home to countless multi-million pound superyachts – and its legendary casino.

Perched above that very casino within the Hotel de Paris Monte-Carlo, an upmarket patisserie has gained notoriety for its exquisite pastries and bakes – alongside the astronomical prices they demand.

Stroll through the marble foyer and you’ll discover what’s been branded the “world’s most expensive café”, Cedric Grolet.

Grolet is a globally celebrated French pastry chef boasting millions of social media fans and honours, including “Best Pastry Chef in the World”.

The Monte-Carlo branch marks his Mediterranean debut, following phenomenally successful launches in Paris, London and Singapore, though given its setting, it appears among the most expensive.

His masterpieces are immediately identifiable, with puddings crafted to mirror lemons, peaches or strawberries perfectly on the exterior, before unveiling intricate layers of mousse, cream and sponge inside.

Some of the traditional pastries might not necessarily empty your wallet, but they’re still decidedly on the expensive side. For instance, a pain au chocolat will set you back a hefty €12, but with some more luxurious pastries available, one visitor soon fell into the sweet trap and was left with a massive bill.

During a visit to the bakery that he later shared on TikTok, Charlie Betts ended up shelling out an eye-watering £140 on just a few items and a matcha.

Upon arriving at the bakery, he said: “There’s life like looking at fruits, I don’t even know what they would be, maybe little chocolate tarts? I’m not sure, but I think it’s going to be quite good. Hopefully, the best sweet treats I’ve ever had in my life.

“This has got to be the best thing of my life. I’m really scared of what the price is going to be.”

Ordering a chocolate chip cookie, a peanut, mango and strawberry styled dessert, and a final special rose tart, the bill was certainly on the steep side. Each dish was clearly meticulously assembled with layers of mousse, foams, cake and jams all rolled into something scrumptious, but can any baked good justify such a high price tag?

Charlie summarised: “If price isn’t involved, I’m going to give it a solid 8.5 out of 10. My most expensive meal ever.”

Many in the comments were as shocked at the price. One person wrote: “As a pastry chef, those prices are ridiculous.”

While another added: “I get hives at the price of Costa, can’t imagine what medical condition I’d develop here.”

Croydon Airport was once the largest airport in the world and was the UK’s main aerial hub before Heathrow took over – it was also the site of many famous flights

London and the surrounding area has been the setting for numerous extraordinary mega structures throughout the decades.

As Britain navigated its way through the technologically revolutionary 20th century, increasingly spectacular and striking venues were constructed to support these advancements.

Consider Brooklands, situated within Havering borough – this racing circuit was the globe’s pioneering track designed specifically for motorcars as society realised, similar to horses previously, that automobiles could serve sporting purposes beyond mere transportation.

READ MORE: NatWest to close 20 bank branches during October – full list

Nevertheless, Brooklands wasn’t the sole facility created to support technological progress, with airfields emerging across the capital to welcome increasingly massive and swift aircraft. Croydon Airport represented one such location.

Established in 1920 through combining Beddington and Waddon airfields, it subsequently transformed into RAF Station Croydon before shutting down in 1959.

Throughout its 39-year operation, it pioneered standards for global airports, housing the planet’s inaugural custom-built terminal, air traffic control tower and aviation hotel, reports MyLondon.

At its peak it ranked as the world’s largest airport, a distinction currently belonging to Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd International Airport. Furthermore, prior to Heathrow’s emergence, it served as Britain’s principal aviation centre, with Croydon claiming the distinction as the nation’s foremost aerial gateway.

Such was its reputation that shortly following the airport’s launch, The Times christened it “the official Charing Cross of international air travel” in 1920. At its height, the aviation hub provided services to destinations including Paris, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Berlin alongside routes to East Asia, Africa, the Middle East and India.

Additionally, it even provided pilot training with notable graduates, including aviator Amy Johnson and Winston Churchill. The former departed from the airfield at the beginning of one of her most celebrated journeys.

On her way to becoming the first woman to complete a solo flight to Australia, Amy departed before a gathering of 200,000 spectators from Croydon.

During wartime, Croydon served as a vital base for fighter planes protecting British airspace before returning to civilian operations in peacetime, then ultimately closing when Gatwick underwent redevelopment and expansion.

The airport’s primary structures remain today as the Croydon Airport Visitor Centre. While, the Historic Croydon Airport Trust helps preserve the site’s golden era.

Speaking to The Times about celebrated aviator Amy Johnson, volunteer Tony Francis stressed that Croydon Airport represented more than merely transportation.

He said: “It’s all those pioneers who were battling against the establishment of the time. Not only with technology at its leading edge but also breaking down barriers, showing there were opportunities for everybody.”

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A HUGE tech upgrade that allows phones to “think with you in real time” is coming from some of the world’s biggest mobile makers.

The latest kit claims to not only enable highly intelligent AI tools, but also lightning-fast multitasking and better battery.

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Snapdragon, the tech brand millions will be familiar with as the front-of-shirt sponsor for Manchester United, has just announced some mega improvements.

The chips – made by US firm Qualcomm – are already among the most powerful around, used in phones by Samsung, OnePlus, Xiaomi and more.

These are essential for the smooth running of devices and power consumption among other things.

Every year, Qualcomm announces start-of-the-art chip enhancements at a huge Snapdragon Summit event in Hawaii.

We were invited along to see what’s in store and for 2025 bosses revealed the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.

Qualcomm says it is the fastest mobile system on-a-chip.

It means users can expect “lightning-fast” multitasking and seamless app switching so you can have loads open at once without causing major sluggish performance.

The upgrade is also good news for gamers, with “incredible performance and power efficiency”.

And in a mobile landscape increasingly filled with AI apps and tools, the new chip can better understand and learn from your habits to provide more useful personalised recommendations – and better still, it’s all handled on the device, so no data is sent off.

Qualcomm claims the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 boosts performance by 20 per cent compared to its last Snapdragon 8 Elite chip.

“With Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, you are at the center of your mobile experience,” said Chris Patrick, senior vice president and general manager of mobile handset, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

“It enables personalized AI agents to see what you see, hear what you hear and think with you in real time.

“Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 pushes the boundaries of personal AI, allowing you to experience the future of mobile technology today.”

The new chip is expected to appear on flagship smartphones from a number of huge names, including:

• Honor
• iQOO
• Nubia
• OnePlus
• OPPO
• POCO
• Realme
• REDMI
• RedMagic
• ROG
• Samsung
• Sony
• Vivo
• Xiaomi
• ZTE

Qualcomm teased that new devices will be launched with the chip in the coming days.

Must-know Android tips to boost your phone

Get the most out of your Android smartphone with these little-known hacks:

In an overstuffed workshop in East L.A., Chris Francis reached out a heavily tattooed arm and pulled a single shoe box from one of the floor-to-ceiling shelves lining the walls.

“Anjelica Huston,” the shoemaker and artist said. “Let’s see what’s in here.”

Removing the top of the box, he revealed two carved wooden forms known as shoe lasts that cobblers use to make their wares. Beneath those were strips of yellowing shoe patterns and a tracing of the actor’s foot with a note written in loopy cursive:

To Pasquale
My happy feet shall thank you
— Anjelica Huston

The Di Fabrizio collection includes shoe measurements for stars like Nancy Sinatra, Kim Novak, Joe Pesci and Madeline Kahn, all adorned with green, white and red striped ribbon.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

“Cool, huh?” Francis said, gazing reverently at the box’s contents. “Every time I open one it’s amazing. It’s like Christmas all the time.”

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For the last three years, Francis has been surrounded by a sprawling archive of famous feet originally amassed by Pasquale Di Fabrizio, the late shoemaker to the stars. From the early ‘60s to the early 2000s, Di Fabrizio created custom footwear for the rich, famous and notorious out of his humble shoe shop on 3rd Street.

The shoes went to his customers, but his voluminous collection includes shoe lasts, patterns, drawings, correspondences, leather samples and handwritten notes from thousands of clients, all stored in cardboard shoe boxes that the Italian immigrant trimmed with green, white and red striped ribbon.

The names, written in bold Magic Marker on the front of each box are a who’s who of entertainers from the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s and beyond: Liza Minnelli, Tom Jones, Richard Pryor, Robert De Niro, Sarah Jessica Parker, Bea Arthur, Arsenio Hall, Nancy Sinatra, Ace Frehley. The list goes on and on.

Francis found foot measurements, wooden shoe lasts and a shoe in progress that Pasquale Di Fabrizio made for Ginger Rogers in a box marked with her name.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

“Shoe Machine” is one of Chris Francis’ art pieces that he has shown at museums.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

“So many great people stood on these pieces of paper,” Francis said, looking at the stacks of boxes around him. “Roy Orbison. Eva Gabor. Stella Stevens. Lauren Bacall. I could pull these down all day.”

Francis never met Di Fabrizio, who died in 2008, but in 2022 he traded two pairs of his sculptural shoe-art pieces to Di Fabrizio’s friend and fellow shoemaker Gary Kazanchyan for the entirety of the Italian shoemaker’s archive. Three years later, Francis is still making his way through it all.

The amount of material is overwhelming, but he is committed to preserving Di Fabrizio’s legacy. Ultimately, he wants to find a space where he can share it with others.

“I never want to be without it, but I’m realistic that it deserves to be appreciated by more than just myself,” he said. “If my life’s work ended up in somebody’s hands, I don’t think I’d want them to just keep it for themselves forever.”

A shoemaker’s journey

Francis isn’t just cataloging L.A.’s shoemaking history, he’s helping to keep it alive.

Over the last decade and a half he’s made a name for himself as a custom shoemaker, creating handmade bespoke footwear for rockers like former Runaways guitarist Lita Ford and Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols, as well as sculptural art shoes that are displayed in museums like the Craft Contemporary, the Palm Springs Art Museum and SCAD FASH in Atlanta.

Wooden shoe lasts hang from the ceiling as Chris Francis works on a shoe for the singer Lita Ford in his garage.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

In his East L.A. workshop, he eschews modern technology, focusing instead on traditional methods of shoemaking, often with hand tools.

“The handmade shoe is alive and well in this shop,” he said, dressed in pressed black slacks and tinted sunglasses, chunky gold rings gleaming on his fingers. “There’s no computer here, and even the records half the time are vinyls or 78s.”

Making shoes by hand is time-consuming and expensive work — Francis doesn’t sell a pair of shoes for less than $1,800 — but for his mostly musician clientele, a sturdy, custom-made, comfortable shoe that also boasts over-the-top style is well worth the price.

“At my price point, my customers are buying something that’s really a tool,” he said. “It’s part of their look, but it also has to hit 27 guitar pedals, keep all of its crystal, be beautiful, last multiple tours and they have to be able to stand in it all night.”

Francis, who has a certain aging-rocker swagger himself, never expected to become a shoemaker.

After going to art school and hopping freight trains for several years, he moved to Los Angeles in 2002 originally to join the Merchant Marines. Instead he found work hanging multi-story graphics and billboards on the side of hotels and high-rises on the Sunset Strip and at casinos in Las Vegas. “That gave me the same thrill of riding a freight train,” he said. “Being on a high-rise building and rappelling down.”

Francis found fabric samples and designs for shoes that Pasquale Di Fabrizio made for a Broadway production of the musical “Marilyn: An American Fable.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Shoemaker and artist Chris Francis makes shoes the traditional way in his workshop in East Los Angeles.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

He discovered he had a knack for pattern making in 2008 when he began creating hand-stitched leather jackets to wear to the Hollywood parties he had started attending with his now-fiancee. One day a stranger approached him and said she knew someone who would appreciate a jacket like the ones he was making. She was a stylist for Arnel Pineda, the lead singer of Journey. Commissions from Mötley Crüe and other rock bands followed.

A few years later he became interested in making shoes, but although he knocked on the door of several shoe shops in town, he couldn’t find a mentor.

“They didn’t have time, or they’d say, ‘You belong in a rock and roll band, you’re not one of us,’” he said. “But I would say, ‘Just teach me one thing, one trick.’ And everyone had time to teach one trick.”

It was an education in much more than shoemaking.

“Almost every shoemaker I met had immigrated to the country,” he said. “So I learned how to make shoes from the Italians, from guys from Armenia, Iran, Iraq, Russia, Syria, from everybody. And while doing so, I learned about all these different cultures.”

‘He was the king’

As Francis dove deeper into the history of shoemaking in Los Angeles, one name kept coming up again and again: Pasquale Di Fabrizio.

The late Pasquale Di Fabrizio, a cobbler to the Hollywood elite, photographed in front of his collection of shoe lasts, circa 1982.

(Bret Lundberg / Images Press / Getty Images)

“I started asking other makers about him, and they were like, ‘Oh yeah, we remember him,’” Francis said. “He was the king.”

For more than 50 years Di Fabrizio was the most sought after shoemaker in Los Angeles. He made Liberace’s rhinestone-encrusted footwear and shod Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Donald Duck for touring productions of Disney on Parade. He was the go-to shoemaker for country western stars, Vegas showgirls, Hollywood movie stars, gospel singers and casino owners. The Rat Pack helped put him on the map.

“My best customer is Dean Martin,” Di Fabrizio told The Times in 1972. “He buys 40 pairs a year.”

Sporting a thick, bristled mustache and oversize glasses, Di Fabrizio had a tough reputation. He once kicked a movie star out of his shop because the star brought back a pair of patent leather shoes that he claimed were defective. Di Fabrizio accused him of missing the urinal and peeing on them at the Oscars.

“Never come back here again,” he said in his thick Italian accent.

The shoemaker occasionally made house calls, but his customers mostly came to him. In his workshop on 3rd Street near Crescent Heights, he would trace their bare feet on a piece of paper and measure the circumference of each of their feet at the ball, around the arch, the heel and the ankle. Then he would customize a pre-carved wooden last from Italy, adding thin pieces of leather 1 millimeter at a time to more perfectly mimic the unique shape of the client’s foot.

The size and shapes of the lasts varied wildly. He once told a reporter that it took “half a cow” to make shoes for Wilt Chamberlain, who wore a size 15. In his archives, Francis found a petite high heel shoe last roughly the length of his hand.

Francis holds a foot tracing and shoe lasts made for Robert De Niro by Pasquale Di Fabrizio.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

“Di Fabrizio did lots of shoes for little people,” Francis said. “He really offered an important service for that community. They could have formal footwear rather than having only the option of wearing kids shoes.”

The same lasts could be used over and over again to make several pairs of shoes, as long as the heel height was the same. Each last went in its own box decorated with a ribbon in the colors of the Italian flag.

“It’s so simple, but he claims his territory with that ribbon,” Francis said. “He cared enough to take one extra step. It’s what really made that collection iconic.”

A legacy preserved

Francis first encountered Di Fabrizio’s archives in 2010 when Kazanchyan offered him a job at Andre #1 Custom Made Shoes on Sunset Boulevard. Kazanchyan inherited the shop from his uncle, Andre Kazanchyan, who once worked with Di Fabrizio and became his good friend.

Gary Kazanchyan and Di Fabrizio were close as well. When Di Fabrizio retired in the early 2000s, Kazanchyan hired all of the guys who worked at his shop. Di Fabrizio was at Kazanchyan’s wedding and when the older shoemaker was in a nursing home at the end of his life, Kazanchyan visited him every day.

For years Kazanchyan stored as many of the ribbon-trimmed boxes as he could fit in his Hollywood shop, but just before COVID he moved his shop to his garage in Burbank and transferred Di Fabrizio’s archives to his backyard. “At one point, my whole backyard was this mountain of shoe lasts,” he said.

Chris Francis, left, and Gary Kazanchyan at Palermo’s Italian Restaurant in Los Feliz.

(Deborah Netburn / Los Angeles Times)

Kazanchyan started a renovation on his house in 2022 and could no longer store Di Fabrizio’s archive in his backyard. He’d sold some of the most famous shoe lasts at auction — a bundle of Di Fabrizio’s shoe lasts for Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. went for $4,375 in 2013 — but he still had several tons of material stacked on pallets and covered in tarps. He remembered that Francis loved the collection, so he called him and asked if he wanted it. Francis did.

Francis didn’t have the money to purchase the collection in cash, but he offered Kazanchyan two art pieces that he’d exhibited and Kazanchyan accepted. The first carload of boxes Francis took to his studio included lasts for Wayne Newton, Paula Abdul, Ginger Rogers, Burt Reynolds and Sylvester Stallone.

“My excitement was on fire,” he said.

Francis spent a few weeks sorting through the archive and discarding lasts and shoe boxes that were too covered in mold or deteriorated to be worth keeping. Just before a rainstorm threatened the rest of the collection, he brought thousands of shoe lasts to his studio but even now regrets that he was unable to save it all.

“I tried to grab the big names, but there was so much I couldn’t keep,” he said. “It was heartbreaking.”

The boxes hold stories — and life lessons

Living and working among the Di Fabrizio collection has taught Francis a lot more than just the art of making shoes.

“I’m constantly seeing the obituary of a celebrity who has passed and I go to the workshop and there’s their box,” he said. “It really lets you know that life is for the living. It’s up to you to be responsible and live your life when you’re alive. Be yourself, teach others, leave something behind.”

Hanging onto the collection has not been easy — but Francis believes he was chosen from beyond to care for Di Fabrizio’s archive and to share it with others responsibly.

He’s still not sure what that will look like, but he’s determined to try.

And in the meantime, he is also determined to keep the traditional art of shoemaking alive in Los Angeles.

If you look around his workshop, you’ll spot several boxes adorned with red, white and blue striped ribbon.

Francis is making those boxes his own.

Working with hand tools, Chris Francis makes a custom pair of shoes for musician Lita Ford.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

IN one of the most beautiful places in the country is a holiday cottage owned by the Fletchers.

The family, headed up by Emmerdale star Kelvin and his wife Liz Fletcher, renovated the home on Fletchers’ Family Farm, and you can stay there yourself.

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Called Stag Cottage, the house is found in the village of Wincle – on the site of the Fletcher farm, and you can book it on Sykes Holiday Cottages.

Inside, the cottage has been renovated into a cosy rental that sleeps up to six, there’s a sitting room with a woodburning log fire with squishy sofa and chairs.

The kitchen has a central island and is fully-equipped with everything visitors need to make home-cooked meals.

Upstairs are three bedrooms all with king-size beds with plush bedding, and one has an en-suite.

For any musical guests, there’s even a grand piano to tinker on; there’s also a snug and conservatory.

Outside is a garden with lawn, patio area, decking, furniture and hot tub.

The cottage is getting lots of bookings and has been getting five star reviews from visitors.

One visitor wrote: “The cottage was cosy, peaceful, and full of charm—just what our family needed to unwind from city life. The hosts were truly fantastic – so welcoming and easy to chat with, like catching up with old friends.”

Another added: “The cottage is more than just somewhere to stay, it’s the most relaxing place ever. The decor makes it so relaxing we had to force ourselves to go out. Kelvin, Liz and family are a pleasure to meet.”

Sun Travel found a seven night stay in May 2026 for £1546 which works out as £220.86 per person.

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However it can be more expensive with a one night stay in November 2025 being £1015 which works out at £169.16 per person.

Wincle is found just outside of Sutton near Macclesfield, where visitors can easily explore the Peak District – one of the most beautiful places in the UK.

The Peak District is well-known for being one of the prettiest places in the UK with huge hills, moors, valleys, and chocolate box villages.

For anyone planning a visit to the Peak District, writer Jennifer Sizeland, who is also a local, reveals the spots where you should go to, rather than the busy tourist places.

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For views, Jennifer said: “Head to Hen Cloud in Leek, Staffordshire, where you can see the rock formations of The Roaches — including the pretty Lud’s Church chasm and Doxey Pool, where a strange mermaid is said to live.

“You can go there for sunrise or sunset, and park for free in the bays on Roach Road. Or visit Tittesworth Reservoir, £5.50 for two to four hours of parking, and walk from there.

“This lake is a wonderful place for spotting birds and wildlife and it has a play park for children.”

Other suggestions include Coombes Valley, Padley Gorge, and ditch Matlock Bath for the quirky village of Bonsall.

For fans of Emmerdale, read more from one Sun Writer who toured the TV set in the Dales.

And the hotel named the best in the UK has Peak District views and guests say is ‘worth every penny’.

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People were left in stitches after one woman shared a video of her arrival at a tiny airport in the US, with the baggage carousel leaving people in hysterics as to how small it is

When you jet off for a weekend city break or embark on a holiday abroad, it’s always intriguing to see the variety of airports.

Some are grand and contemporary, others retain an old-world charm – and some are surprisingly petite. One US airport has left passengers astounded with its unique baggage claim system.

Hattiesburg Laurel Regional Airport in Mississippi, US, has a baggage conveyor belt so compact that bags only make one circuit before being collected. Established in 1967, this airport primarily serves international flights and caters to a region spanning ten counties.

READ MORE: Woman buys Heathrow Airport lost luggage for £130 and is left baffled by contentsREAD MORE: UK airport makes major new addition to offer ‘worldwide opportunities’

Nestled in the ‘Hub City’, renowned for its ‘Southern hospitality’, it is a significant business hub for much of America’s Southeast.

The airport recently left one traveller gobsmacked upon reaching the baggage claim area. Casey, hailing from Chicago, garnered over eight million views after posting a video of the diminutive conveyor belt, where she observed bags making just a single round before collection, reports the Express.

Casey said: “Please, this airport is so small. Small but efficient.” In another video documenting her journey to Hattiesburg Airport, Casey added: “I knew this airport would be small but when we pull up and there is one singular gate, I could not stop laughing.

“I got my bag plane-side but I couldn’t help but take a look at this fun-size baggage claim. When she [a staff member] rolled this door open and then just started individually placing them [the bags] on the carousel, this was the funniest thing to me.”

People were quick to comment, with one saying: “Just hand me my bag. Why you playing with me with this lil baby belt?” Stop, why is this so cute,” another chimed in. “I’ve seen bigger sushi belts,” quipped a third.

Another added: “Oh bless it, and the little baggage claim sign.” “At this point do they even need the baggage belt,” Booking.com questioned. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines joined in, stating: “At this point the baggage belt is just there for the vibes.

“At this point, why even put a belt in it?” agreed another. “Just call my name at this point,” added another. One person joked: “And passengers will still be asking what carousel their luggage is at… like babe there’s only one.

“The Starbucks in LAX airport is bigger than this space,” another pointed out. Another shared: “I remember I was landing there and I told my boyfriend (who is from Hattiesburg) to meet me in the airport so I didn’t get lost… he was so confused and then I landed and saw this.”

While Hattiesburg may be a small airport, there are others which are even smaller. Morgantown in West Virginia is also home to a tiny airport, served by just one commercial airline offering direct flights to two places – Clarkburg and Washington.

Other small airports around the globe include Barra Airport in Scotland, Tenzing-Hillary Airport in Nepal, Saba Airport in the Caribbean and Agatti Airport in India.

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Bibury in the Cotswolds has been named the most beautiful village in the world – and it’s not difficult to see why with its thatched cottages, picturesque stream and lush green surroundings

The Cotswolds has been crowned the most popular spot for an autumn break. It is also home to the most beautiful village in the world.

The region, which primarily runs through Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire, has claimed the crown as Britain’s most in-demand autumn destination, with 85% of October weekend stays already snapped up. According to new research from Ubuy UK, bookings in the region have surged 31% year-on-year — putting it ahead of the Lake District (78%) and Scottish Highlands (76%).

It is clear to see why people’s attention turns towards the Cotswolds when the leaves begin to fall. It is home to golden lanes lined with honey-stone cottages and fires that crackle in rural pubs. The Cotswolds is drawing travellers in record numbers. Nearly nine out of ten beds are already gone for October, confirming its place as this year’s top seasonal getaway.

If you are planning to visit this autumn, then there are plenty of pretty spots to check out, such as Bourton-on-the-Water, Castle Combe and Stow-on-the-Wold. However, the jewel in the hilly region’s crown is Bibury.

READ MORE: European airport opens hotel for dogs so owners can travel with easeREAD MORE: Popular city becoming ‘abandoned’ and ’emptied out’ as locals flee from singing tourists

The village of 627 appears as though it’s stepped straight from a storybook, with its verdant countryside, thatched-roof homes, and charming waterways and bridges that dominate the locale. Add in the welcoming local pubs and breathtaking hiking routes throughout the region, and it’s easy to understand why it remains such a hit with visitors from across the globe.

A standout feature is Arlington Row, a lane adorned with 17th-century homes which residents describe as “the most photographed and beautiful cottages in the country” due to their riverside position alongside the River Coln. The area boasts numerous scenic attractions too, from England’s most ancient operational trout farm to the Church of St. Mary, all adding to the village’s distinctly British appeal.

It comes as little surprise that Bibury consistently appears on lists of the globe’s most attractive and enchanting villages. This year, it has claimed the title of ‘most beautiful village in the world’.

The experts at Forbes assessed the planet’s 50 most scenic villages, with Bibury securing first place owing to its delightful homes and waterside panoramas. The team wrote: “Nestled in the heart of the Cotswolds, Bibury unfurls like a watercolor dream—where honey-slicked cottages line Arlington Row; their mossy roofs whispering tales of 14th-century weavers. The River Coln murmurs gently here—weaving through golden buttercups and forget-me-nots, while plump ducks paddle lazily beneath canopies of willow. Nearby, Bibury Trout Farm invites visitors to feed fish or enjoy a riverside picnic, and St. Mary’s Church offers a moment of stillness amid ancient stone—while the air carries the smell of blooming lavender, mingling with freshly baked scones.”

Given the high demand for places to stay in the Cotswolds this autumn, a day trip may be preferable. Parts of the region are easy to get to via direct trains from London Paddington that take around an hour. However, smaller villages such as Bibury are very hard to reach on public transport. Doing so requires taking a train and, often, multiple buses.

THIS is the moment the new world’s fastest car hit its record breaking speed of 308mph.

The Yangwang U9 Xtreme from BYD has now officially been crowned the new world’s fastest car – and it’s electric.

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It follows a test drive that was carried out at the German Automatic Testing Papenburg, driven by Marc Basseng.

Yangwang has now released the footage of this record-breaking run on the ATP Papenburg’s high speed oval that was achieved last week.

Basseng can be seen sitting calmly in the car with his helmet on, as the car seems to be rapidly accelerating through the track.

He exits the 49.7 degree banking at over 186mph (300kph).

Then floor it down the main straight to reach the peak speed of 308.4mph.

Basseng can then be seen celebrating the amazing milestone.

He gives a shout, a clap, and removes both hands off the wheel while still going at at 218mph.

The new Yangwang U9 Xtreme is a special edition of the Yangway U9 hypercar which is currently on sale in China.

Basseng also reached the 233 mph in the original Yangway U9 in 2024, and 292mph over the summer.

The Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ is the only other one that remains above it in speed, after being driven at 304.7mph.

Following the drive, Basseng said: “This record was only possible because the U9 Xtreme simply has incredible performance.

“Technically, something like this is not possible with a combustion engine.

“Thanks to the electric motor, the car is quiet, there are no load changes, and that allows me to focus even more on the track.”

Yangway has said it will sell “no more than 30” of these vehicles.

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It is the first in any production car to run a 1,200-volt electrical system.

The standard is 800-volt.

It also has a lithium ion phosphate battery with the familiar blade configuration of BYD models.

To exceed speeds of 300mph on the track, the car has revised DiSus-X suspension and semi-slick tyres.

And a hefty kerb weight of 2,480kg.

The Yangwang U9 Xtreme may usher a new era of electric supercars to challenge traditional petrol vehicles known for hitting top speed records 

Britain’s Zoe Backstedt claimed a dominant victory in the under-23 time trial at the Road World Championships in Rwanda.

Backstedt, 20, took the winner’s rainbow jersey and gold medal, finishing one minute 51 seconds ahead of Viktoria Chladonova of Slovakia, with Italy’s Federica Venturelli third on a hilly 22.6km course around the capital Kigali.

The favourite for victory set a blistering pace in the final section of a course which consisted of two big climbs – the second being a punishing cobbled ascent which seemed to completely drain many competitors’ energy.

“It’s brutal climbing here, but I really like it,” said Backstedt afterwards. “The climb at the end – your legs are tired and you look up and you think ‘this one’s going to hurt’. It took so much energy out of your arms, legs and body on all of those bumps.”

Backstedt, who is from Wales, crossed the line and immediately had icy water poured over the back of her neck as she gasped for breath in hot and humid conditions, with temperatures about 26C.

This is the first time the Road Worlds, which began in 1921, have been held in Africa.

Backstedt, who rides for the Canyon-Sram Zondacrypto team, is the daughter of Swede and 2004 Paris-Roubaix winner Magnus, and sister of Elynor who competes for UAE-ADQ.

The men’s U23 time trial will take place on Monday afternoon.

Bibury in the Cotswolds has been named the most beautiful village in the world by Forbes Magazine – but for those of us who live here, it’s not quite the fairytale it seems

Being declared the world’s most stunning village might appear like a fantasy come true, but for residents of this picturesque settlement, the reality isn’t quite the fairy tale it appears to be.

Nestled in the heart of the Cotswolds, Bibury has captivated visitors for years with its golden limestone cottages, the renowned Arlington Row featuring its 14th century dwellings, meandering pathways, and the tranquil waters of the River Coln. Now, this acclaim has achieved international recognition.

In Forbes Magazine‘s freshly published 2025 compilation of the world’s 50 most stunning villages, Bibury claimed the top spot – an accolade that, whilst complimentary, has delivered a series of difficulties for those who reside in this community.

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What was once a tranquil neighbourhood of approximately 600 to 700 inhabitants now regularly welcomes up to 20,000 visitors during a single weekend, reports the Express.

Craig Chapman, chairman of Bibury Parish Council, has voiced concerns about the obstacles accompanying the village’s growing fame, describing it as a “double-edged sword” and noting this recognition has “come at a cost” for residents.

Whilst tourism bolsters the local economy, it simultaneously creates three significant issues, according to Mr Chapman: tourist conduct, parking pandemonium and the narrow roadway.

Speaking to BBC Radio Gloucestershire, he said: “I’m fairly flabbergasted, having travelled the world, to believe we’re the most attractive village in the world. It’s a great honour, but it’s a little bit of a surprise; there’s a lot of competition out there.”

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Hallstatt in Austria took the runner-up spot in Forbes’ ranking, with Reine in Norway, Giethoorn in the Netherlands, and Gásadalur in the Faroe Islands trailing close behind.

Mr Chapman remarked: “It’s completely a double-edged sword. The issue is very much about the mechanisms whereby people come to the village and when they come here, how they behave, where they park.”

“The reality is we sit on a B-road. The road is narrow, there’s one bridge across the River Coln, which is only wide enough for one vehicle. We’ve suffered greatly from congestion, particularly from the larger coaches.”

He emphasised the need for “harmony” between tourists and locals but acknowledged that recent restrictions were making a difference. Gloucestershire County Council has implemented new measures, including a coach access limit introduced in May and a recommendation last month for tourists to visit in smaller vehicles.

The fastest high-speed train travels at a speed of 267mph and it’s the only one of its kind in the world. Recently, one woman decided to ride it just to see how rapid it was

The world’s fastest train is no joke as it travels at a top speed of 267mph (430km/h). It’s the world’s only high-speed commercial maglev line which runs between a city to the airport. Now one woman decided to board the rapid train – and was left amazed.

TikTok user Silvana, who boasts over 1,400 followers, had been travelling across China and during her 10-hour layover in Shanghai was able to hop on the train. Her caption read: “Took the world’s fastest train during my 10hr layover in Shanghai! This is the Maglev train in Shanghai China which stands for Mag (magnetic) & lev (levitation). It hovers above the train tracks and it can go up to 431 km/hr.”

This magnetic levitation (maglev) allows the train to “fly” above the tracks, resulting in a smooth, friction-free ride. It connects Shanghai’s Pudong airport to the city centre.

Silvana continued: “I wanted to explore Shanghai City for a bit and this seemed to be the fastest way to get there from the airport haha.

“It cost me 80 Yuan / €10,50 for a return ticket and it got me to Long Yang Rd. Station in under 8 minutes.

“From here I just took another metro ride for only 4 Yuan / €0,50 and I was right in the centre of Shanghai City!

“Such a crazy experience.”

Though it can reach a top speed of 267mph (430km/h), its current commercial operating speed is actually 186mph (300km/h).

The 30 km line, utilising German Transrapid technology, opened in 2006, offering a fast and efficient, albeit costly, airport transfer.

Silvana, who calls herself a backpacker on her TikTok, was currently travelling across Asia when she decided to take the train.

Since she shared it, one of her followers was left starstruck by her experience as the post scooped up dozens of likes and comments.

Meanwhile, one user kicked off a Reddit thread by asking people who have travelled on the world’s fastest train.

One said: “Incredibly smooth. Imagine flying but with no turbulence.

“Shame it’s basically a glorified gadget bahn with less riders than the actual metro lines to the airport.

“I can’t say it’s that much of an improvement over regular high speed rail though.”

Another added: “I was just there for the first time last month. It’s super smooth! You can feel a bit of tilt on the curves, in a fun way. Otherwise it felt similar to conventional HSR.”