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A new £3 million fund to upgrade and renovate England’s village halls has been announced by the Government to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Over a three-year period, the Platinum Jubilee Village Hall Improvement Grant Fund will provide money for projects such as installing wifi, extending buildings and modernising facilities. The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) said village halls are at the heart of rural life, hosting […]

Councils across England have received “a huge number” of applications from residents eager to celebrate More than 16,000 street parties are expected to be thrown over the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee bank holiday weekend. Councils across England have received “a huge number” of applications from residents eager to celebrate the monarch’s 70-year milestone, according to the Local Government Association (LGA). Many councils have waived administration fees for road closures, of which […]

More than one in 10 Scottish homes have still not returned their census, new figures have revealed, weeks after the original deadline to fill out the form passed. Some 86% of homes have returned the form, the National Records of Scotland (NRS) said on Saturday, with more than two million filling the once-in-a-decade census online and around 250,000 posting a paper copy. Paul Lowe, chief executive of the NRS, urged […]

Lieutenant Colonel Herbert “H” Jones VC was killed charging at an Argentine position during the battle for Goose Green on May 28 1982 in a pivotal moment of the Falklands War. One of 255 British soldiers who lost their lives during the conflict, the commanding officer of 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment, was awarded the Victoria Cross – the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system – for […]

Rishi Sunak’s measures to help disabled people during the cost-of-living crisis are not enough and will be “quickly swallowed up”, a woman living on Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) has said. Julie Inglis, 53, from Forres in the north of Scotland, worked in an ambulance control centre but had to retire after multiple strokes. She lives with chronic pain, and has been diagnosed with fibromyalgia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, […]

A full-scale starship formed the centre-piece of an exclusive exhibition at Disney’s Star Wars Celebration, which featured props, costumes and animatronics featured in several of the franchise’s spinoffs. Items and apparel used by characters in The Book of Boba Fett and The Mandalorian were on display, some of which are to be used again for upcoming series. Glass cases featured rifles and staffs used by stars Pedro Pascal, who plays […]

That's according to a survey of more than 2,000 people commissioned by Post Office Travel Money Spain has topped a ranking of the best value overseas destinations for UK holidaymakers. The Mediterranean country’s mainland was given a 92% value rating by past visitors in a survey of more than 2,000 people commissioned by Post Office Travel Money. The Spanish Canary Islands were in second place at 91%, followed by Greece […]

EasyJet is to cancel more than 200 flights over the next 10 days as transport disruption hampers the outset of the half-term break. The airline said the cancellations would affect about 24 flights per day from London’s Gatwick airport between May 28 and June 6. It added the cancellations were “necessary to provide reliable services over this busy period”. It comes after a software failure forced EasyJet to cancel around […]

Thousands of people are expected to gather in Belfast on Saturday to celebrate the centenary of Northern Ireland. Lambeg drumming, food stalls and speeches are all planned, as thousands of people are expected to take to the streets of the city to mark 100 years since partition. The event to mark the creation of Northern Ireland in 1921, organised by the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland, comes after the Covid-19 […]