You’ve touched down, picked up your suitcases and are hotel bound. Stick the out of office on: the holiday has officially begun.

While your diary currently contains nothing more than “dip in the pool” and “reapply sunscreen” for the next two weeks, now is actually the time to think about experiencing more than just luxury accommodation and tropical weather on your Abu Dhabi break.

With studies showing a strong link between new experiences and happiness - and with 78 per cent of millennials saying they spend money on an experiences rather than buying something - holidays are now about mixing things up and going slightly off the beaten track for a far more fulfilling break.

If you find yourself in the UAE capital, there’s a wealth of new things to try. Kayaking among a flock of flamingos? Camping under a galaxy of stars in the desert? Here’s our suggestions for how a break in the city can end up enriching your life.

Marvel at historic paintings 

Fine art lovers rejoiced when a second outpost of Paris’ Le Louvre museum opened up in the city in 2017. Its permanent collection is breathtaking enough - more than 600 pieces of art across 23 galleries - but amongst all the works by Van Gogh, Matisse and Monet lies something pretty special: Napoleon Crossing the Alps, by late 18th and early 19th century painter, Jacques-Louis David, which is on loan from the museum at the Palace of Versailles.

The painting, which depicts the French military leader heading to Italy on the back of a stallion (more of a representation, as he actually did the crossing on a mule, but that wouldn’t have quite sent the right message) signals the beginning of a new era of a French power grab - one that had profound implications for the rest of Europe.  

Entrance AED 63, louvreabudhabi.ae

Kayak with a flock of flamingos 

It’s not all high-rise mega-towers in Abu Dhabi, as great care has been taken to create and conserve green eco-systems in the region. The Eastern Mangroves are an idyllic spot to spend a tranquil afternoon, and thanks to their network of waterways, it’s a perfect place to kayak. Make sure to bring a - waterproof - camera as the lush mangroves often attract some exotic animals, the most exciting being flocks of bright-pink flamingos. If you go gently around them, you could end up snapping a picture to rival something found in National Geographic magazine - and a photo that will impress forevermore.

Kayak excursions from AED 130

sea-hawk.ae

See the stars 

Fast living takes its toll on all of us, so luxuriate in a  slower pace. The best place to find some full-of-wonder moments is out in a desert ‘glamp’, huddled around a fire and looking up at a galaxy of stars about you. Abu Dhabi Adventure has become the buzzword for transporting guests into the peaceful, far-flung reaches of the Arabian wilderness, and an overnight camping trip will fulfil all of wanderlust dreams of living off-grid for a while. Contemplate your place on the planet and...breathe.

Overnight trip for four people from AED 2,800

abudhabiadventure.com

Fly with the birds 

Sometimes, you need a bit more perspective to appreciate the beauty of a place. And a birds-eye view from a seaplane is just the way to do it. Sea Wing’s 30-minute signature tour sweeps guests up, up and away and along the stunning Arabian coastline, taking in everything from Yas, Lulu and Saadiyat islands to the green and lush waterways of the city’s mangroves. Flying commercial will never be the same again.

From AED 998 per adult

seawings.ae

Swim in the sea 

Once you’ve reached the heady heights of the heavens, plunge down below into the deep blue. In Abu Dhabi, the Al Mahara Diving Centre is the place to make a splash with, as they offer everything from complete beginners classes to adventure diving. One of the most picturesque trips is their East Coast journey, which is brimming with a whole new underwater planet’s worth of exotic fish and other marine life to discover. 

Adventure dives from AED 425 per person, 

divemahara.com

Despite hopes for encouraging Christmas sales, HMV has become the latest high street retailer to go into administration. 

On Friday morning it was announced that for the second time in six years, the company has collapsed, leaving over 2,000 jobs at risk. 

HMV is far from the first former high street giant to go under this year, while numerous other companies have resorted to closing hundreds of branches in a bid to save their businesses.

Here are 8 others who’ve either closed completely or had a seriously testing 12 months.

Toys’R’Us

Toys’R’Us was one of the first retailers to go in 2018 when it fell into administration in February.

In a pattern that would soon be repeated by other companies, a last-ditch rescue attempt to find a buyer failed and administrator Moorfields Advisory started an “orderly wind-down” of the company’s stores. 

Along with over 100 stores in the UK, Toys’R’Us had a further 1,500 in 33 countries across the globe. 

Maplin 

Just hours after Toys’R’Us announced their administration, the electronics store became the second to go. The demise of the two brands spelled the end for a combined total of 5,500 jobs. Maplins blamed in part the fall in the pound’s value since the 2016 Brexit referendum. 

“The business has worked hard over recent months to mitigate a combination of impacts from sterling devaluation post Brexit, a weak consumer environment and the withdrawal of credit insurance,” their chief executive said at the time. 

“This necessitated an intensive search for new capital that in current market conditions has proved impossible to raise.

“These macro factors have been the principal challenge not the Maplin brand or its market differentiation.”

New Look 

Fashion brand New Look has managed to stave off administration, by sacrificing 60 of its stores. 

The firm blamed a “challenged trading performance and a difficult retail environment” for the move, which is part of a company voluntary agreement (CVA).

It is still facing an uphill battle though and just before Christmas, it was reported that the brand’s debts still total over £1billion. 

Poundworld

The bargain chain collapsed in June 2018 and administrators Deloitte struggled to find a buyer, with two huge deals falling through.

By August, all of Poundworld’s 355 stores had shut, bringing the total number of job losses to 5,500. 

House Of Fraser 

While many of the department stores branches are still standing, it’s been an incredibly tough year for this retailer. 

Its troubles intensified in June, when it was announced that 31 stores would be closing with 6,000 jobs being axed. 

When the company went into administration, Sports Direct bought it out for £90m in early August — but the problems did not end there.

Following the sale, issues with online orders being severely delayed led to the cancellation of thousands of purchases, further angering customers.

In a truly surreal twist, one woman then became an unlikely national hero when she took matters into her own hands, and brazenly carried a sofa they owed her out of the Darlington branch.  

Homebase 

DIY superstore Homebase is yet another giant that is battling to stay out of administration. 

In late August, the firm secured approval from creditors to close 42 stores, putting around 1,500 jobs at risk.

The retailer is closing the stores via a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), a controversial insolvency procedure used by struggling firms to shut under-performing shops. The same method was used by New Look. 

Mothercare

The brand closed over 100 stores in 2012 and at least a further 60 will be gone by June 2019. 

Their “restructuring” plan means numerous branches across the country are midway through huge sales, with closures about to take place in cities including Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Newport. 

Debenhams

At one point, the department store business was worth over £2billion but this month, it’s value dropped to £46million.

While this figure might still sound impressive, the huge decline in company worth signalled dire times with shares subsequently dropping to a new low of 3.8p.

In just 12 months, the share value has slumped by 90% and came two months after Debenhams announced a £491.5 million loss  instead of profits and plans to close around 50 stores. 

Holly Willoughby may not have been keen on trying a Bushtucker Trial while presenting ‘I’m A Celebrity’, but it seems hosting ‘Dancing On Ice’ has left her feeling a little more inspired. 

The presenter has admitted she is keen to get her skates on and take to the ice, following in the footsteps of co-host Phillip Schofield. 

Phil performed a routine with then co-presenter Christine Bleakley when the show went on hiatus in 2014, with Holly now keen to try it out. 

Speaking ahead of the new series’ launch, she said: “Do you know…I would! I’d absolutely love to learn to do it but it’s finding the time to do it properly. You can’t just go and have a one-hour lesson. 

“Phil really committed to that! In his head he thought was going really fast but then he watched it back and he said he was really slow, I thought he did amazingly. 

“I think it’s finding the time to do it properly but yes, I would love to…one day!”

Of his time on the ice, Phil added: “Christine and I were so thrilled that we’d learnt our routine because it’s quite intense and there wasn’t enough time. To do it properly you have to give a lot of time to it, as all our skaters find out.

“I thought when we did that it went really well and then I watched it back and thought ‘Oh my god, we’re going so slowly’ but it felt really quick on the ice.”

Among the competitors on the new series of ‘Dancing On Ice’ are ‘TOWIE’ star Gemma Collins, former ‘Strictly’ pro James Jordan, ‘Love Island’ finalist Wes Nelson and ‘Coronation Street’ star Jane Danson.

‘Dancing On Ice’ returns on Sunday 6 January on ITV. 

A builder attempted to covertly film people using a unisex toilet at the five-star hotel he was working at.

Reginaldo Lima, 46, was arrested after a cleaner found his mobile phone hidden in the toilet at the plush Royal Lancaster Hotel in central London.

Police then found other covert videos of a woman showering with her baby – not taken at the hotel – and of him performing a solo sex act.

Brazilian national Lima’s behaviour cost him his marriage and he was kicked out of his marital home in Bromley, south east London, after his crimes were exposed, magistrates were told on Friday.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of voyeurism at Westminster Magistrates Court.

Matt Barrowcliffe, prosecuting, said the offence at the five-star hotel next to Hyde Park happened on 23 October this year.

Barrowcliffe said: “Police were called to the Lancaster Hotel in Lancaster Terrace after a cleaner had found a mobile phone in the unisex toilets which had been set up to record.

“That phone belongs to the defendant, who was a contractor there at the time.

“It captures the defendant himself using the toilet. Fortunately the phone is then found within 45 minutes on that occasion.”

Police then found a young mother being covertly filmed showering with her baby in a recording on his phone.

Barrowcliffe said of that footage: “The complainant is recorded in her own home.

“The recording is made upside down, the camera appears to be set up under a sink in the bathroom.”

The 59-minute clip was taken in her bathroom on October 15, and two other videos on his phone.

One showed him setting up the camera underneath a sink while naked and the other was of him performing a solo sex afterwards.

The prosecutor said: “Lima sets up the camera whilst he is naked.

“He appears to move some bottles of cleaning fluid around to conceal it.”

The victim said in a statement: “This has made me feel shocked, scared for myself and I cannot believe what has happened.”

A lawyer acting for Lima said that no members of the public were recorded by the device at the hotel before it was found.

The magiatrates’ chairman, Lord Fred Ponsonby, sentenced Lima to seven months in jail, suspended for two years.

He told Lima: “You pleaded guilty on the day of your trial and I can see that you are ashamed of yourself.

“So you have now got a suspended sentence, what that means is if you commit another offence you will go to jail unless it is unjust.”

He will be on the Sex Offenders’ Register for 10 years, and must pay £500 prosecution costs as well as a £115 victim surcharge. No orders for compensation were made.

He received four months suspended jail for the offence at the hotel, and three months consecutive for the offence at the home.

Sajid Javid has declared the rising number of migrants attempting to cross the English Channel a “major incident”.

The home secretary made the move on Friday following an increase in the numbers of refugees reaching Britain by sea over recent days.

It came after authorities were called to several incidents which saw 40 migrants including two children, some in dinghies, cross the Channel on Christmas Day.

Some seven more migrants arrived on Boxing Day, while a further 23 migrants reached the south coast of England on Thursday, according to authorities.

And in another incident in French waters, nine migrants were rescued and are now in the UK after the engine of the vessel they were travelling in failed.

The Home Office said on Friday evening that Javid had “taken control of the response to the rising number of migrants attempting to cross the Channel in small boats”.

It said there was “concern that it is only a matter of time before people lose their lives”. Javid will now also seek urgent talks with his French counterpart.

Javid has held a conference call with Border Force officials, Immigration Enforcement and the National Crime Agency.

The department said: “He has insisted the Home Office treat the situation as a major incident and has appointed a Gold Commander and asked for daily updates.

“The home secretary has also asked for an urgent call with his French counterpart over the weekend to reaffirm the continuing need for the UK and France to work closely together to tackle the problem.

“He has also commissioned detailed options from Border Force about the provision of additional vessels in the Channel, including another Border Force cutter, and whether this is likely to encourage more people to try and make the crossing rather than act as a deterrence.”

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. Check back for the fullest version. Follow HuffPost UK on Twitter here, and on Facebook here.

Filming sex scenes can be one of two things for an actor - either embarrassing or hilarious.

But for Olivia Colman, she decided that shooting her intimate scenes for upcoming film ‘The Favourite’ were definitely going to fall into the latter category, revealing the lengths she went to in order to make co-star Emma Stone laugh. 

The period drama sees Queen Anne, played by Olivia, embark on a sexual relationship with Emma’s character Abigail Hill. 

Detailing the first encounter they had to film with director Jorgos Lanthimos, Olivia told ‘The Graham Norton Show’: “I trusted him completely in the love making scenes. Emma was worried about me though because she had to touch me intimately under the sheets. So, I put a big wet sponge there as a barrier.

“She was going up my leg and her face was a picture when she reached it!”

Emma previously revealed she had insisted on getting naked to make the scenes more authentic, but Olivia refused.

Olivia said: “There wasn’t actual nudity. Jorgos asked and I said I absolutely won’t. There is no way. 

“I think he said it would be great if everybody was able to. And I said, ‘No’. And he replied, ‘Right’.”

Despite not yet being released in the UK, ‘The Favourite’ has already received much awards season hype, receiving five Golden Globes nominations, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.

Olivia previously won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the 75th Venice International Film Festival back in August, making her a serious Oscar contender. 

‘The Graham Norton Show’ airs on New Year’s Eve at 10.40pm on BBC One, while ‘The Favourite’ is released in UK cinemas on 1 January. 

People have dismantled a Home Office video advising EU citizens they need to pay £65 to submit permanent residency forms after Brexit.

The short clip explains the process EU citizens who wish to stay in the UK will need to follow after the country leaves the European Union.

But Twitter users were quick to criticise the video for its upbeat and cheery tone, described by some as an attempt to mask the difficult situation many of those affected have found themselves in.

EU citizens who currently live in the country were quick to highlight their disapproval of the Home Office clip.

Therese Collins, a Swedish citizen who now lives in Sheffield, said: ”Thanks for allowing me to apply and pay to stay in my home for over 20 years. Perhaps you could have used some of the taxes you’ve happily taken off me during these years?”

Others were less, well, polite.

“You absolute s****! I’ve lived here 35 years, got a stamp in my passport for ‘indefinite leave to remain’ in 1985 and now you want me to apply to stay in my own home,” said Lene Kruhoffer a Danish citizen who now lives in Scotland.

Meanwhile, the Irish Border Twitter page, known for comical critiques of the government’s Brexit strategy, quickly tracked down the stock images the government used for the video.

They said: “Like me, you may have been wondering about the happy EU millennials in this video who smilingly welcome the Home Office’s benign new immigration regime. They really get around these EU nationals.”

They pointed out examples of how the images had been used form marketing in Australia and Canada.

Politicians also waded into the row. Labour’s David Lammy said: ”What a way to treat our neighbours, friends, family and partners from Europe. King Herod would be proud Theresa May.”

Lammy’s Labour colleague, the shadow health secretary, Jonathan Ashworth, also retweeted the video asking the Home Office thank all the EU staff who support the countries public services “rather than this menacing tone”.

SNP MP Peter Wishart claimed the video of the Brexit discourse. He said: “Immigration is the cold beating heart of the case for Brexit. There are leavers to pander to and people to unsettle. This is the future of Brexitised UK.”

The UK is due to leave the EU on the 29th of March 2019, but the future relationship with the bloc still in doubt as Theresa May still needs to get her unpopular withdrawal agreement through parliament. 

Theresa May has been accused of a “shameless use of patronage” after the appointment of three Conservative MPs to the Privy Council.

The honour goes to former health minister Philip Dunne, former Public Accounts Committee chair Sir Edward Leigh and the head of the UK delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Sir Roger Gale.

Labour MP Virendra Sharma claimed the appointments were part of a “desperate” attempt by the Government to shore up support for the Prime Minister’s EU Withdrawal Agreement ahead of next month’s crucial vote in the Commons.

Eurosceptic Sir Edward was initially an outspoken critic of May’s deal, and tabled an amendment calling for the termination of the agreement if the EU refuses to remove a “backstop” arrangement for the Irish border by the end of 2021.

But following this month’s European Council summit, he told the Commons that “many of us who have been sceptical about the deal so far could be persuaded to vote for it”.

Describing his position as “unfashionably supportive” of the PM, Sir Edward, who represents Gainsborough, urged her in the December 17 debate to “keep calm and carry on”.

Ludlow MP Dunne and North Thanet MP Sir Roger have both said they will support May’s deal in the vote scheduled for the week of January 14.

Sharma, a supporter of the Best for Britain campaign for a second EU referendum, said: “Using the cover of Christmas recess to appoint MPs to the Privy Council is a shameless abuse of patronage.

“It all raises serious questions about how the government are using all the perks at their disposal.

“They are clearly doing this in a desperate attempt to try and twist arms for the meaningful vote.”

Formally, members of the Privy Council act as advisers to the monarch, but in practice only a handful of the 600-plus counsellors attend regular meetings with the Queen.

The full council is convened only on very rare occasions, such as the death of the monarch.

Membership allows senior politicians and former politicians to be briefed on confidential information “on Privy Council terms”.

Dunne has been MP for Ludlow since 2005, Sir Edward MP for Gainsborough since 1983 and Sir Roger MP for North Thanet since 1983.

A statement released by 10 Downing Street said: “The Queen has been pleased to approve that Sir Edward Leigh MP, Philip Dunne MP and Sir Roger Gale MP be sworn of Her Majesty’s most Honourable Privy Council.”

What is the Privy Council?

The Privy Council dates back to Norman times and is one of the oldest parts of government. These days, however, the Privy Council is simply the mechanism through which interdepartmental agreement is reached on those items of government business which, for historical or other reasons, fall to ministers as Privy Counsellors rather than as Departmental Ministers. Although members of the Privy Council are appointed for life, only Ministers of the current government participate in its day-to-day business and they are accountable to parliament for all matters conducted through the Privy Council.

Source: Gov.uk

A woman has been charged with murder following the deaths of two children in Margate, Kent Police has said.

Samantha Ford, 37, was detained on Thursday, after two young children were discovered at a property in the Kent coastal town in the early hours of Thursday.

Less than an hour before they were found and taken to hospital, the woman was involved in a car crash and was taken to hospital.

Kent Police said in a statement: “At around 3.35am on Thursday December 27 2018 officers attended a property in Castle Drive, Margate, due to concerns for the welfare of the occupants.

“The South East Coast Ambulance Service also attended and two young children were taken to hospital, where they were later confirmed deceased.

“Samantha Ford, aged 37 and of Castle Drive, Margate, was arrested and on December 28, following authorisation from the Crown Prosecution Service, was charged with two counts of murder.”

She is due to appear at Canterbury Magistrates’ Court on Saturday, 29 December.

A select number of people each year are recognised in the New Year Honours list for outstanding achievement and service to communities.

The 2019 honours list is filled with recipients from all walks of life, across sectors, with seven in 10 honourees having undertaken “outstanding work in their communities” in a paid or voluntary capacity.

Notable figures including England football manager Gareth Southgate and model Twiggy are being recognised, but there are hundreds of lesser-known people whose honourable work is being awarded.

Here are some of their stories.

Andrea Aviet BEM (British Empire Medal), campaigns tirelessly around domestic abuse and is being honoured for her services to victims and survivors.

She self-funded and self-published her book White Sorrow which she sells through Impact Family Services, a charity which supports all members of the family through divorce, relationship breakdown and and domestic violence.

“I work tirelessly to help abused women. People see abused women as being frail, frightened. You can’t do anything, you’re scared. I know how they feel, because I was abused. My ex-husband abused me. I have two beautiful children not by choice, but because my mother was catholic and abortion is not allowed where catholics are concerned.

“It’s not necessarily that you need to be married and have sex consensually. And I am sorry I will be so open about this topic but I think it needs to be heard. My husband would rape me. If you look at my girls, they don’t look anything like me – they’re blonde, with green eyes. Every day I get up and I look at them and I know what I’ve been through. I’ve been through starvation through pregnancy, I’ve had no clothes, I’ve had no food. I remember one day being threatened because I went to buy porridge because I couldn’t take it anymore, I was starving.

“My older daughter has a very weak immune system because of all of this. My strength comes from looking at my two girls. My strength comes from knowing what I have been through, and I do not want them to go through it. And I don’t want any other woman going through it. Whenever I talk to mothers, they say ‘thank you for what you are doing’. That means a lot to me. Whenever I go anywhere, I have a habit of hugging people, because I believe in spreading love.

“I’ve been through a lot. [One time after work] I saw my daughter and she told me ‘daddy didn’t give me food to eat’. I was working two jobs later on in the marriage, seven days a week. I would have everything cooked and ready, but I remember one day coming home and my daughter having burnt toast on the kitchen cabinet – it was black like coal. When I went to kiss her good night, she held onto my dress and said ‘mummy, I’m hungry’. I said ‘hungry?’. And when I came down I saw the toast again. And she said ‘daddy said that if I don’t eat that I will go to sleep hungry’.

“As a mother, I went into a fit of rage and he told me that if I don’t shut up, he will finish me. There’s a lot of times I nearly died throughout the marriage. I survived and I say I’ve got a second chance at life. That second chance would be a waste if I do not help other women.

“You can’t be angry when you go through something like this. I could have been angry, I could have been bitter, I could have been a lot of things, The reason I am so passionate about it is I have been through it. I know how you can overcome. I know how you can help others.

“I would not change anything I have been through in my life, because I would not be here. And I certainly would not be helping others. As a young girl I would pray ’Jesus, help me to become very rich, very rich, so that I can feed the poor and help others. I got my wish. I’m not a millionaire, I’m not very rich. But I am helping mums and women. My daughters one day will know why they do not have a father around and they will know what mum has done.

“Life is what you make it. Let go of the bitterness, let go of the anger, and just concentrate on love.”

Mark Prince OBE, is founder of anti-knife charity Kiyan Prince Foundation, which is named after his son who he lost to knife crime in 2006.

Since then, Prince has delivered some 200 talks to schools, as well as mentoring young people.

In 2015, he set up the I Have A Dream programme, pairing weekly boxing sessions with topics including knife crime and drug and substance abuse for high-risk young people aged 16 to 25.

He is being honoured for services to tackling knife and gang crime in London.

“What this means to me, when I first opened the letter, tears started welling up. The journey’s being a very emotional journey, I’ve been committed to impacting young people’s lives and showing them a better way away from this mindset of knives and gangs and guns, and inspiring them to use their potential.

“Recently I had an idea that I wanted to get out and impact more young people in London and to get out to them and I thought ‘I really need a press conference so I can get some support from the press’. So I brought the team together to think ‘how should we make this happen?’. There’s something to be said for being committed and working hard and believing in what your vision is and when I opened the letter, I said, ’wow, here I have the platform to be able to let everybody know, to reach out, to not just the few schools, but to have a powerful message that reaches out to all the schools across London and to get the backing of the community and the support of corporates and others who can help us.

“The money we’re saving the community, the money we’re saving the government to be able to save young lives – a murder case would cost £1 million. We’re touching lives and changing lives in the moment of an hour and doing that across 39 weeks for 58,000 young people, which will cost £150,000. We’re saving lives and [saving] parents feeling like me. I think that’s not only value for money, but it’s value for what we’re bringing back to our community, for my son, who lost his life. This is what I can give back on behalf of my son who is in a cemetery and I have to visit him and I can impact other young people’s lives and impact families as well.

“This is why this means so much to me, because it’s about using this, not going around saying ‘ooh, I’ve got an OBE’, because that doesn’t really do anything for me when I go to the cemetery and visit my son. But what it does do is it enables me to bring the vision forward and give other people hope, young people that are homeless like I was at 15, that are into that criminal life like I was in my teens, and want to turn their life around. I did that to become number one in Britain as a boxer. So I use that now to help change their lives, and now to get an OBE shows them that people like us from our community can do great things and can be recognised for the great things they do for others.”

Stephen Addison BEM is being recognised for services to young people in Barking and Dagenham and is the founder of Box Up Crime, which he established after he lost a close friend to gang violence.

His organisation works with 600 young people each week, teaching non-contact boxing in schools, pupil referral units and community centres across the capital.

“This award isn’t about me, it’s got nothing to do with me, it’s about my community, it’s about the young people I represent.

“I’ve lost seven kids in the space of a year that have been murdered. We’ve seen 131 murders in London and the reality of the situation is these young people, where we work, where we’re from - they don’t have access to hope. They don’t get to see any success. They don’t get to see awards and go to press conferences. So when I’m here winning this award, for me, it’s like I’m doing it for the kids. I’m trying to show the kids that ‘you can do this’. Because I’ve come from that background, I’ve been involved in drug deals, I’ve been involved in gangs, I’ve been involved in all of that mess that we see on TV. It’s only by the grace of god that my life got turned around.

“I should be dead right now. I should be in prison. But it’s because of god’s goodness that I’m here today.

“I’m really humbled that I’m able to take this back, and show the kids that ’you’ve got this, you can do the same thing, you can bring your parents to award ceremonies, you can create a legit income for yourselves and your families. My vision is to see young people all over London have opportunities and win awards like this, to forget about their past, forget about the murders that they’ve had to witness, and bring hope back to their communities. I’m in it to see young people have the same reality and I’m so thankful for Mark Prince as well, I want to take the time to acknowledge him.

“When I was doing my journey of transformation and I was 22 years old, he used to take me down to the gym and give me the most gruelling boxing session. At the time I used to hate him for it. Just to see him here today to collect his award, he’s been through so much, he’s a tremendous man, and what he’s adding to the community, he’s adding value.”

Dozens of emergency workers who responded to terror attacks in London and Manchester last year are among those recognised in the latest New Year Honours.

As well as charity workers and first responders, stars across the arts, literature, science, sport, business and community work have been recognised for their long term achievements and service to their industry internationally, including Monty Python’s Michael Palin, The Handmaid’s Tale author Margaret Atwood, and director Christopher Nolan.

The England team’s commendable World Cup efforts over the summer are acknowledged with an OBE for manager Gareth Southgate and an MBE for captain Harry Kane.

While football didn’t come home, the squad reached the semi-final and earned their greatest success since 1990 after finishing fourth in the competition.

Model Lesley Lawson, better known as fashion icon Twiggy, gets a damehood for services to fashion, arts and charity. Record-holding cricketer Alastair Cook receives a knighthood.

Tony award-winning actress Sophie Okonedo is being honoured with a CBE, and Westworld star Thandie Newton an OBE, while Geraint Thomas, winner of this year’s Tour de France, will receive an OBE.

More sporting honours follow with an MBE for Paula Dunn, Paralympic head coach and the first woman to be appointed to the role by UK Athletics after she helped take the team to third place during London 2012.

Alongside better-known names stand the seven cave divers dubbed “heroes” for their their gallant efforts in the Thai cave rescue mission in June and July this year. 

Vernon Unsworth and Connor Roe will both be awarded an MBE for services to cave diving overseas, while civilian gallantry awards will go to Rick Stanton and John Volanthen who will receive George Medals. Chris Jewell and Jason Mallison will be honoured with Queen’s Gallantry medals.

In addition to gallantry awards given earlier this year to emergency service workers responding to the series of terror attacks in 2017, 43 ambulance, surgical and police workers have also been recognised including Paul Woodrow, director of operations at the London Ambulance Service who receives an OBE and Theresa Lam, Family Liaison Lead for Greater Manchester Police, honoured with a BEM (British Empire Medal).

36 people died across the Westminster Bridge, Manchester Arena, London Bridge and Finsbury Park terror attacks last year.

Seven firefighters from Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue have received Queen’s Gallantry Medals for rescuing vulnerable residents from a fierce blaze at a care home in Cheshunt in 2017.

Campaigners and community leaders working to tackle knife crime, gang culture and domestic abuse are also being honoured by the Queen following a “strategic steer” from Theresa May that the awards system should tackle discrimination and support young people to fulfil their potential.

Among the campaigners being celebrated is Mark Prince, who founded anti-gang culture charity The Kiyan Prince Foundation after he lost his son to knife crime in 2006. He will receive an OBE for services to tackling knife and gang crime in London.

His recognition follows recent figures showing the highest number of murders in London in a decade with at least 131 deaths recorded since January 1.

Domestic abuse survivor Andrea Aviet will be honoured with a BEM for services to victims.

The first British winner of the Global Teacher Prize, Andria Zafirakou, has been given an MBE for services to education, as will Diana Parkinson for services to women prisoners. Stephen Addison, founder of social enterprise Box Up Crime has been honoured with a BEM for his work with young people in Barking and Dagenham.

In total, 1,148 recipients from 14 to 100 years old will be recognised at investiture ceremonies at Buckingham Palace throughout 2019, with seven in 10 undertaking “outstanding work in their communities” in a paid or voluntary capacity.

Women make up 47% of all honourees, 12% are from a black, Asian or minority ethnic background, while 5% identify as LGBT and 4% consider themselves to have a disability.

Any member of the public can nominate somebody for an award, which can be given to anyone given they meet the criteria. This year saw 3,500 nominations from which 1,148 were selected by 10 independent committees across sectors including health, education, sports and public service.

The prime minister agrees the final list before submitting it to the queen.

MBE’s are the most frequently awarded honours this year, with 422 being given out.

Hundreds of people are recognised every year in the New Year’s honours list, but not everyone is so eager to welcome the gesture from the Queen.

Danny Boyle, Jon Snow and Stephen Hawking are among the celebrities to have shunned the offer or an MBE, OBE or CBE. But they’re far from alone.

Here is a list of 29 famous faces who rejected a gong:

1. Ken Loach

The film director didn’t mince his words when he spoke about turning down an OBE in 1977.

Ken Loach, whose films centre on social issues such as poverty, homelessness and benefits, told the Radio Times in 2001: “It’s all the things I think are despicable: patronage, deferring to the monarchy and the name of the British Empire, which is a monument of exploitation and conquest.

“I turned down the OBE because it’s not a club you want to join when you look at the villains who’ve got it.”

2. Danny Boyle

The director and master behind the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony revealed he turned down an honour because: “It’s just not me”.

Danny Boyle said it did not feel right to accept the award when thousands of people were involved in the planning and execution of the highly-praised opening ceremony.

He told the Radio Times: “I also thought it was wrong, actually.

“You can make these speeches about ‘this is everybody’s work, blah blah blah’.

“And you’ve got to mean it, and I did mean it, and it is true, and it’s the only way you can carry on something like that: through the efforts of all the people.

“I don’t know whether I’ll ever get invited back to the Palace.”

3. Jim Broadbent

Jim Broadbent said in 2012: “I was offered an OBE a couple of years ago, but I said, ‘no’, and turned it down.”

The actor said that the honour should be given to those who help others.

He said: “I’m not that comfortable with actors receiving honours, partly because I think they ought to go to those who really help others.

“Besides, I like the idea of actors not being part of the Establishment.

“We’re vagabonds and rogues, and we’re not a part of the authorities and Establishment, really. If you mix the two together, things get blurry.”

4. Jon Snow

The renowned journalist has declined an offer of an OBE, reportedly because he believed that working journalists should not take honours from those about whom they report.

He said: “I tried to find out why I’d been given it and was unable to get a clear answer or, indeed, to find out who had proposed me.”

5. Howard Gayle

Liverpool FC’s first black player turned down an MBE last year saying that his “ancestors would be turning in their graves after how Empire and Colonialism had enslaved them”.

Howard Gayle was nominated for the honour for his campaign work with Show Racism the Red Card.

He wrote on his Facebook page: “This is a decision that I have had to make and there will be others who may feel different and would enjoy the attraction of being a Member of the British Empire and those 3 letters after their name, but I feel that It would be a betrayal to all of the Africans who have lost their lives, or who have suffered as a result of Empire.”

6. Phil Scraton

Hillsborough campaigner and academic Professor Phil Scraton rejected the offer of an OBE in the Queen’s 2016 New Year’s Honours list, citing how successive governments reneged “on any kind support for the families in getting to the truth”. 

Scraton has been widely praised for snubbing the honour, which he said would not be “fitting” for him to accept. 

The academic said at the time: “I feel very strongly that for many years the successive governments refused to take seriously the issues that we raised in those early reports and in Hillsborough: The Truth.”

He said: “I think that many of the people who are involved in offering such honours have been part of that process and I feel very strongly that I could not accept an honour now that these issues have been resolved in the way in which they have.”

Scraton added: “These awards are made without recognising ties to an imperialist history or its legacy. I could not accept an honour tied in name to the ‘British Empire’. In my scholarship and teaching I remain a strong critic of the historical, cultural and political contexts of imperialism and their international legacy.”

7. Benjamin Zephaniah

The poet made a public refusal to collect an OBE in 2003.

Writing in the Guardian at the time, Benjamin Zephaniah explained why he refused to be appointed an officer of the Order of the British Empire.

He wrote: “Me? I thought, OBE me? Up yours, I thought.

“I get angry when I hear that word “empire”; it reminds me of slavery, it reminds of thousands of years of brutality, it reminds me of how my foremothers were raped and my forefathers brutalised.”

He added: “I am not one of those who are obsessed with their roots, and I’m certainly not suffering from a crisis of identity; my obsession is about the future and the political rights of all people.

“Benjamin Zephaniah OBE - no way Mr Blair, no way Mrs Queen. I am profoundly anti-empire.” 

8. Yasmin Alibhai-Brown 

The journalist and author has described herself as “stupid once” after she allowed herself to accept an MBE, which she later returned.

Alibhai-Brown said she partly accepted the honour to please her mother before returning it and she now speaks “with the zeal of a convert”.

The journalist wrote in 2006: “I was stupid once and allowed myself to accept an MBE, partly to please my mum, who was always afraid that my big mouth would get us deported from here, as we were from Uganda.

“Then the poet Benjamin Zephaniah shamed me live on Channel 4 news, just as the Iraq war was building up and my republicanism was solidifying.

“I returned the lovely object and have had to put up with scorn ever since, some deserved.

“But I now speak with the zeal of a convert. The Honours system sucks and we should start again, devise a fair and independent new method to annually acclaim exceptional citizens for their contribution to the nation, not to overweening political parties or the semi-skilled, dysfunctional Windsors.”

9. Paul Weller

The musician rejected a CBE in 2006.

In a statement a spokeswoman for Weller simplsaid: “Paul was surprised and flattered, but it wasn’t really for him.”

10. French and Saunders

Comedy duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders turned down OBEs “for services to comedy drama” in 2001. Saunders later revealed why they turned down the honour offered to them.

“If I felt I deserved a Damehood I’d accept it,” she told Source magazine.

“At the time, we felt that we were being paid very well to have a lot of fun. It didn’t seem right somehow.

“We didn’t deserve a pat on the back. It felt a bit fake to stand alongside people who devoted their lives to truly worthy causes.”

11. George Harrison 

In 2000 the former Beatle turned down an OBE after his band mate Paul McCartney was awarded a knighthood.

Every member of the Beatles was awarded an MBE in 1965, but Lennon returned his as a peace protest.

Documents revel that the Beatles guitarist was put forward for the honour due to his contribution to the music industry.

But journalist Ray Connolly, who knew The Beatles, said Harrison would have been insulted at such an offer after McCartney receieved a knighthood three years previously.

“Whoever it was who decided to offer him the OBE and not the knighthood was extraordinarily insensitive,” he said.

“George would have felt insulted – and with very good reason.”

12. Nigella Lawson

In 2001, celebrity chef Nigella Lawson turned down an OBE. It is not known why she rejected the offer.

13. David Bowie

The musician turned down an OBE in the Queen’s birthday honours in 2000. 
David Bowie suggested that he turned down the honour because he did not see the point in it.

He said: “I would never have any intention of accepting anything like that. I seriously don’t know what it’s for.

“It’s not what I spent my life working for.”

Addressing fellow musician, Mick Jagger, accepting the honour, Bowie said: “It’s not my place to make a judgment on Jagger, it’s his decision. But it’s just not for me.”

14. Albert Finney

Actor Albert Finney turned down a CBE in 1980 and rejected a knighthood in 2000.

15. Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking revealed in 2008 that he had been approached with the offer of a knighthood in the late 1990s, but declined.

It has been reported that this is because of the UK government’s handling of science funding.

16. Alan Bennett

Alan Bennett turned down the offer of a CBE in 1988 and then rejected a knighthood in 1996.

The playwright and author said that the reason for doing so was because he did not believe that he could carry off being a knight.

He said: “I felt that, in my case, it just wouldn’t suit me, that’s all. It would be like wearing a suit every day of your life.”

17. John Cleese

The Monty Python star was offered a CBE in 1996 but refused because he thought they were “silly”.

John Cleese was offered a peerage by then Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown in 1999 because he felt that staying in England during the winter months was “too much of a price to pay”.

18. Roald Dahl

The children’s author, beloved by many for his books Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The BFG and The Fantastic Mr Fox, as well as being grandfather to model Sophie Dahl, refused an OBE in 1986.

19. JG Ballard

Novelist James Graham ‘J G’ Ballard explained in 2003 why he rejected a CBE, which he was put forward for to recognise his services to literature.

Ballard, a self-proclaimed republican said he could not accept an honour awarded by the monarch.

“There’s all that bowing and scraping and mummery at the palace.

“It’s the whole climate of deference to the monarch and everything else it represents.

“They just seem to perpetuate the image of Britain as too much pomp and not enough circumstance. It’s a huge pantomime where tinsel takes the place of substance.

“A lot of these medals are orders of the British Empire, which is a bit ludicrous.

“The dreams of empire were only swept away relatively recently, in the 60s. Suddenly, we seem to have a prime minister who has delusions of a similar kind.

“It goes with the whole system of hereditary privilege and rank, which should be swept away.

“It uses snobbery and social self-consciousness to guarantee the loyalty of large numbers of citizens who should feel their loyalty is to fellow citizens and the nation as a whole. We are a deeply class-divided society.”

20. Ian McDiarmid

The actor and director, perhaps best known for his role as Palpatine in the Star Wars film series, has turned down an OBE. It is not clear why he declined the honour.

21. Audrey Callaghan

In 1979 – shortly after her husband James led the Labour Party into the start of an eighteen-year period out of office – Audrey Callaghan refused a Damehood from Margaret Thatcher.

22. John Lennon

John Lennon is one of the few honours recipients to send his back, returning his MBE in 1969 in protest against Britain’s foreign policy. 

He reportedly wrote to the Queen, informing her: “Your Majesty, I am returning my MBE as a protest against Britain’s involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam and against ‘Cold Turkey’ slipping down the charts.”

23. John le Carre 

The successful author was among a 2003  list of leaked names of those who declined an honour.

It is not clear what honour le Carre declined or his reason for doing so.

24. Hughie Green

The ‘Opportunity Knocks’ presenter snubbed an OBE in 1960, at a time when he was reaching new heights in his entertainment career as the host of ‘Double Your Money’.

25. Rudyard Kipling

The poet and novelist Rudyard Kipling, who wrote The Jungle Book, declined a knighthood.

His wife reportedly explained his decision by saying that Kipling felt could “do his work better without it”. 

26. LS Lowry

Between 1955 and 1976 the painter turned down honours five times: an OBE, a CBE, a knighthood and Companion of Honour (twice).

27. Aldous Huxley

The Brave New World author refused a knighthood in 1959.

28. Evelyn Waugh 

The Brideshead Revisited scribe snubbed a CBE in 1959.

29. CS Lewis

The creator of the Chronicles of Narnia series of books declined a CBE in 1952.

CS Lewis reportedly rejected the honour so as to avoid association with any political issues. 

This article was originally published on 29 December 2017.

Fears over Brexit, exams and school stress top the list of parents’ worries for their children in 2019, a survey has revealed.  

A poll by children’s charity Barnardo’s – which questioned more than 1,200 parents across the UK – found that 86% of mums and dads are concerned about what the new year will have in store for their kids.  

While 42% of parents said they were worried about the stress exams and school could put on their children in 2019, 4 in 10 reported fears about the impact leaving the EU could have on the next generation.

Meanwhile, more than a third (38%) of respondents in the YouGov poll said they were scared their kids might be bullied and 31% voiced concerns about cuts to children’s services.

Barnardo’s chief executive Javed Khan said the results offered a “unique insight” into parents’ views.

“It is troubling, although not surprising, that more than two fifths of parents (42%) are concerned about their children being stressed about school and exams,” he said, calling on schools to look at ways to reduce stress for pupils.

“The government must also take note of parents concerns about cuts to children’s services and provide much needed funding to plug the £3 billion shortfall in funding.

“Otherwise, we will see even less support for the vital work children’s services do – like counselling children to overcome trauma, helping them to stay in education or making sure they have a secure home.”

The study also revealed that around a quarter (24%) of parents are concerned about their children developing mental health issues and not being able to get timely support.

Just under a fifth (19%) said they were worried their kids would be affected by drugs or knife crime in the coming year.

More than 33 million people across England lived in areas with illegal levels of air pollution in 2016, new analysis has revealed. 

According to research by the Labour Party, more than 60% of people in the country lived in areas breaching pollution limits, with London the worst affected at 98% of the population.  

In the capital alone, eight-and-a-half million people lived in such conditions, with 32 out of 33 London boroughs failing to stay within legal limits of air pollution.

Meanwhile, 82% of people who called Yorkshire home faced high levels of air pollution – around 4.4 million people – and 76% in the North West.  

The East of England was least affected by the issue, with 30% of the population living in areas with illegal pollution levels, followed by the East Midlands at 40%.

Research by the Royal College of Physicians estimates 40,000 deaths a year in the UK are attributable to outdoor air pollution, with related health problems costs more than £20bn annually.

Labour’s shadow environment secretary, Sue Hayman, accused the government of “completely failing” to tackle the issue of air pollution.

“Despite losing repeatedly in the courts on this issue, they continue to dodge responsibility, leaving millions of people living in areas of illegally high levels of pollution,” she said. 

“Labour has promised a new Clear Air Act – including a network of clean air zones – to get a grip on the illegal levels of pollution across the country.”

But Tory environment minister Therese Coffey accused Labour of “astonishing” hypocrisy. 

“Not only are they trying to mislead and scare millions of people now, Labour deliberately encouraged the dash to diesel which has directly led to air pollution in our towns and cities,” she said. 

“Worse than that, they ignored official advice that their policies would create health problems.

“We’ve made progress cleaning up the dirty air we inherited from Labour, with NO2 emissions down 27% since 2010. We’re investing £3.5 billion in cleaning up our air and we’ve been praised by the World Health Organisation for our radical Clean Air Strategy.” 

Coffey added: “Labour should apologise for ignoring advice and fuelling this major public health problem. It should also be getting those Labour-led councils that are dragging their feet on improving air quality to accelerate local solutions as quickly as possible.”

It’s been a rocky couple of years for Ryanair, with cancelled flights and ever-changing luggage restrictions leaving holidaymakers fuming. And now, the budget airline has been named the worst when it comes to disruptive passengers on flights.

Nearly one in six Ryanair passengers (17%) said they have been on a flight with a disruptive passenger in the last year, according to a new survey of almost 8,000 passengers by consumer watchdog Which?. 

This comes after a video went viral showing a white man refusing to sit next to a black passenger on a Ryanair flight, leading to many calling for a boycott of the airline due to the way the incident was handled by staff. 

Ryanair topped the Which? rankings for disruptive passengers, with Thomas Cook and TUI coming in second and third with 15% and 14% of passengers reporting disruptive behaviour on their flights, and easyJet ranked fourth (12%).

 [Read More: Is the UK’s Love Affair With Ryanair Finally Over?]

Overall, one in 10 airline passengers reported that they had experienced a flight blighted by shouting, drunkenness, verbal abuse or other obnoxious behaviour.

Which? heard from one holidaymaker who said an enraged fellow passenger had to be “wrestled to the floor” by an off-duty policeman when they were refused more alcohol after downing four vodkas. Another passenger told of a flight from Newcastle to Alicante where a drunken stag party tried to set fire to a seat cover.

The results raise concerns about how effectively airlines are managing troublesome passengers, particularly those who are drunk on board.

Problems seem to be increasing. On average, there were 186 disruptive passenger incidents a year on flights between 2012 and 2016. In 2017, that number had jumped to 417, according to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Airlines have acknowledged the issue. However, the approach of some carriers to tackling problem passengers doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. 

EasyJet has previously said that the consumption of duty-free alcohol on planes, which is already banned by airlines, should be a criminal offence.

However, an easyJet flight attendant told Which? that cabin crew are rewarded for selling the most alcohol and that training on dealing with disruptive passengers lasted just two to four hours. 

The staff member also claimed that they had been groped by drunk passengers, and that reporting disruptive behaviour when the aircraft lands often mean hours of sitting around waiting to fill in additional paperwork – time which is unpaid.

Ryanair recently announced it was calling for new restrictions on serving alcohol at airports, including a two-drink limit per passenger and no alcohol sales before 10am.

Yet in the same week, the airline also tweeted an image of an apparently paralytic young man lying on a beach with an empty bottle at his side. The caption to the photo included the approving tagline: “this could be you”.

The tweet has since been deleted. 

Rory Boland, Which? travel editor, said airlines need to take more responsibility for preventing passengers having too many drinks.

“People should be able to take a flight without having to worry about their trip being disrupted or journey diverted by rowdy passengers who have had one too many,” he said. 

In response to its flight attendant’s claims, easyJet said staff work to a ‘serve responsibly’ policy, meaning they monitor consumption and refuse to serve anyone who’s drunk. But it confirmed it does run ‘on-board sales incentives’ for all products sold, not just alcohol.

The airline didn’t provide a figure for how much training staff are given to deal with disruptive passengers but said the training was “appropriate” and “robust”, and refreshed each year. It said that it encourages staff to report incidents and claims they are able to do this when on board the flight or immediately afterwards, while still being paid.

HuffPost UK contacted Ryanair for comment and is awaiting response.

A cancer patient has urged blood donors to keep their appointments over the festive season after she was able to spend this Christmas with her new husband. 

Newlywed Emily Edwards has terminal cancer and only months to live but she celebrated both her birthday just before Christmas, and then Christmas itself, with her new husband Sam – thanks to the generosity of strangers.

Edwards, 28, from Eastbourne, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in 2012 and married in April 2018 after being told her condition was terminal.

She is now using some of her remaining time to support the NHS appeal for people to keep their blood donation appointments over the Christmas and New Year period, when cancellations are common.

Edwards said that she had a wonderful Christmas with her family thanks to the people who donated their blood, platelets and bone marrow.

“Without these people I wouldn’t be alive today,” she said. “It honestly is the greatest gift. It’s so important for people to keep giving blood at this time of year.”

Edwards has received around 60 units of blood and 35-40 units of platelets, which have enabled her to live for as long as she has, including spending Christmas with her new husband. The couple married in April 2018 after Sam, a 29-year-old builder, proposed in February during a trip to Budapest.

Having been together for four years, they originally planned to marry in November but brought the date forward after they received the news in April that there was no longer any chance of a cure. 

“We basically organised the wedding in three days, with lots of help from our family and friends who went above and beyond to give us a magical day, we will never forget the effort they put in for us,” said Edwards.

Edwards, a dental nurse, was diagnosed after suffering a variety of symptoms while she was at university, including finding it difficult to breathe.

Acute myeloid leukaemia is an aggressive cancer. The patient’s bone marrow produces too many immature white blood cells, which then crowd out the bone marrow and prevent the creation of red blood cells and platelets.

“The blood transfusions make such difference, it’s crazy. One day you feel exhausted and then after the transfusion you are just a different person, you have much more energy,” said Edwards. “You want to say thank you to all these people so badly. I don’t think donors really understand how much it means. I would have died a long time ago without blood and platelets.” 

She added: “My husband Sam has been so good, he has been amazing. He has never left my side. He used to sleep in the hospital all the time. My mum also has been a huge support from the beginning taking time off work and sitting with me all day every day for months at a time while I had to stay in hospital.”

Regular blood donors are being urged to keep their appointments over the festive period because blood stocks drop as people are busy with shopping and celebrations. Last year, around one in 10 people simply failed to turn up for their appointment.

Mike Stredder, Director of Blood Donation for NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “We need our loyal donors to keep their appointments to make sure hospitals have the blood they need for patients like Edwards. Each donation can save up to three lives.”

Existing donors are being prioritised to try and ensure stocks stay healthy. First time donors are being asked to make an appointment for the new year, when they will be able to find appointments.

In this week-long series, we’re talking to HuffPost UK readers who set themselves a new year’s resolution last year that you may be considering for 2019 – and stuck to it. Their motivation could be your inspiration. Here, Gillian Henry, a psychiatric nurse from Carlisle, Cumbria who’s raising money via Just Giving, shares her story.

I’ve tried running a few times but always ended up giving up, so in January 2018 I made it my new year’s resolution to complete the Red January challenge –  which means committing to running one mile each day of the month.

I work as a psychiatric nurse, so I wanted to raise money for the mental health charity, Mind. Plus I was turning 50, so it seemed like a good time to set a challenge. But it was still intimidating signing up. When you put it on Facebook and then everybody knows about it, you think: “Oh my God, I’m actually going to have to do this now.”

My level of fitness at the start of the year was very poor. My breathing was a real struggle and I couldn’t run that far without stopping. But by the end of January, after raising more than £400 for charity, I realised how much the daily runs had improved my physical and mental health and decided to extend my challenge.

I’ve now run at least one mile every single day of 2018.

There have been days when I didn’t want to run. When it’s cold and rainy and frosty outside, it’s really not appealing. The toughest sessions were when I’d been on the night shift and then I’d have a quick sleep, wake up and go running straight away. But friends have encouraged me a lot. They say: “You’ve come so far, you can’t give up now.” 

Other things happened in my life that have made me more determined to carry on. My husband left me and the kids – I’ve got a son who’s 21 and two daughters who are eight and 13 – and my mental health suffered quite a bit with that loss of confidence, self-esteem and low mood. 

But running helped me to cope with all of that. It was time to myself to think, or not think, to enjoy what was going on in the outside world and not think about all that internal anguish.

It was while this was all going on, around May, that I started to run a continuous mile. To blot out the thoughts running through my head, I just kept on putting one foot in front of the other, and before I knew it I’d run a mile.

Since then my physical health has improved absolutely loads. I used to walk up a hill or go up the stairs in a shop and I’d be out of breath before I got to the top. But now I can do it, no bother. I can run about with the kids, too, and I’ve lost about three and a half stone, which us a nice bonus!

It’s helped a lot with my mental health. With everything that happened, I think if I hadn’t run, I could have easily hidden myself away and not seen anybody. But thanks to the challenge I’ve got out of the house daily. 

I’m definitely more confident now. In the park at first I would never really talk to anybody. I would run with my head down, but now if I go past people I say “hello” and they often stop to chat. 

I’m going to do Red January for charity again this year and I’m being pushed by my friends to increase my distance. One of them wants me to do a 10K race next year! We’ll see.

For anyone tempted to try running, I’d say try not to care about what anybody thinks. I used to think people would look at me and say “why is she running?” But nobody looks at you and thinks “oh my God, she’s too big to run”. People don’t really care. Also, it doesn’t matter if you’re really slow. When I started I walked most of it, but perseverance can make a huge difference. As long as you’re out there trying, that’s the main thing. 

As told to Rachel Moss.

 So. That was 2018. The year when politics went wild, Mr Blobby appeared on ‘Loose Women’ to give his verdict on Brexit, and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) let us know that we have just 12 years to deal with impending global warming-induced disaster. 

With regards to the latter, you may be thinking what you can do in 2019 to be more eco-conscious. Good for you! To help you along the road to a new year habits that’s kinder to the planet, we chatted to some sustainability specialists for the resolutions they want you to try. 

1. Re-Imagine Your Relationship With Stuff 

“If you need something, buy it second hand or beg occasion pieces from your friends. If it’s got to be new, make it ethical, fair and sustainable and support brands like fashion label People Tree and footwear makers Po-Zu,” says Safia Minney, who founded the former in the early 90s and is the former MD of the latter –) and a leading ethical and eco-friendly style pioneer. 

[Read More: 5 Affordable Brands For Sustainable Fashion Fans]

2. Call Out Shops And Restaurants Giving You Extra Plastic

“Be bold and tell supermarkets and cafes that you don’t want unnecessary packaging,” says Will McCallum, head of oceans at Greenpeace and the author of How To Give Up Plastic (£12.99, Penguin). “You can send an email to the company, take a photo of any extra packaging and tweet it, tagging in Greenpeace and using #pointlessplastic, or speak to the manger of the retailer.”

3. Give Up Wet Wipes 

If you flush them, they add to our already clogged-up sewers and, even if you don’t, they’re still another single use disposable chucked in your landfill bin every day. Breaking up with all sorts of wet wipes, including the type that takes your make-up off, is a great resolution. The alternative? “Cut a cotton flannel into squares and spray on a mix of water and calendula oil, which is antibacterial,” says plastic-free campaigner Claire Sumners, who blogs at Zero Waste Maman. Stick the dirty ones in your washing basket and clean when you do your laundry. 

4. Take A No-Waste Pack Out With You 

“For 2019, you could commit to carrying a reusable water bottle, a canvas bag for shopping and a reusable coffee cup,” says McCallum. Doing this can drastically reduce your daily ‘to landfill’ waste – and will save you cash, too.

5. Get Political 

“I’m going to spend more of 2019 campaigning around modern slavery in fashion,” says Safia Minney. “You can join me on my campaigning Instagram, @slavetofash and spread the word on social media. And social justice and climate change are going to require all ages to change their lifestyles, so talk to your parents and grandparents to get them on board.” Minney suggests watching ‘The True Cost’ [available on Netflix], which shows the lives of the people who make most of the world’s clothes, to get the conversation going. You could also check out Stacey Dooley’s documentary, ‘Fashion’s Dirty Secrets’ [on BBC3].

6. Start Campaigning 

“The next six months are crucial, with regards to plastic,” says Will McCallum. “The environment bill is going to be tabled at some point in the new year and it’s our best chance for some positive legislation right now. You could resolve to get involved in the Greenpeace campaign via our website – we’re going to be doing tons of activity around getting people to meet with their MPs, getting local business to do the same – it’s going to be big.” 

7. Replace Your Takeaway Habit  

When you’re in the late night, early start grind, takeaway food ends up as a lifeline. But with all of the plastic packaging involved, it’s not the most eco route – “320 million perfectly edible meals are also thrown away each year by UK food venues,” according to Jamie Crummie, UK co-founder of Too Good To Go, an app which lets you buy food that hasn’t sold at restaurants on any particular day at reduced prices. To deal with both issues, download one of said apps (we also like Karma, but it only covers London) and buy what you find, rather than hitting up a Deliveroo.  

[Read More: 3 Apps For People Who Care About Food ... And Food Waste]

8. If You Have A Baby, Try Cloth Nappies 

According to 2006 research (old, but the latest data available) from recycling charity WRAP, the UK chucks out three billion nappies a year, accounting for 2-3% of all household waste. “Using reusable, cloth nappies can dramatically reduce the amount of waste we send to landfill and minimise our impact on the environment,” says Claire Sumners. “It is an initial cost, but, long term, it saves money, patience (you can’t run out as you have them at home to wash!) and unnecessary waste.” 

9. Try To Throw Zero Food Away, All Year 

Statistics from the UN Food and Agriculture organisation show that roughly a third of the food produced globally is wasted. In terms of household waste, this works out as 7 million tonnes of food wasted by UK households alone. Jamie Crummie says a great resolution is pledging to be super creative with leftovers, rather than binning them. “Stew excess vegetable trimmings to make a vegetable stock from scratch, dice your bread off-cuts to fry into croutons or blend into bread crumbs,” are two ideas he recommends. 

10. DIY Your Crisps 

While Walker’s have launched a recycling scheme for their crisp packets, they are still made out of plastic – and that doesn’t count for the myriad other brands out there, of which McCoy’s remains the self evident, undisputed queen. “Make your own from potato and vegetable peelings,” says Sumners. Stick your peelings on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, season with flaky sea salt and a little paprika or chilli power, if you like, then bake for ten minutes. 

We’ve all been there: sitting around the Christmas tree, opening presents only to be gifted the mother of all terrible jumpers/scarfs/socks. Most people have mastered the art of looking delighted in front of festive family spectators, all the while knowing that as soon as this charade is over that item will be going straight to the bottom of the wardrobe, never to see the light of day.

But rather than letting all those unloved presents gather dust, or chucking them in the bin to go to landfill, why not do something useful with them?

Here are four ways you could give those unloved items a new life:

Donate children’s toys to to a local toy bank and unloved hamper food to a food bank.

It’s a sad reality that while some children have more toys than they could possibly ever play with, there are many who won’t have any because their family simply can’t afford to buy presents. If your child has one too many toys or you’ve noticed a bunch of unloved ones languishing in the corner of the toy box you can donate them directly to a local toy bank. Look online to see what charities operate in your area, or get in touch with the Salvation Army, which runs many present appeals at churches and other centres this time of year.

The same goes for all that leftover, long-life food cluttering up the kitchen. If you’ve been gifted boxes of biscuits and luxury foods in a hamper, unwanted toiletries, or simply have got more than you need - why not donate to a food bank to help people in need.

Regift. 

We all buy too much, consume too much, and waste too much, especially at this time of year. So if you’ve been given quality gifts that aren’t to your taste but you know someone else will love them, why not consider regifting them throughout the year for birthdays and special occasions. It’s good for the environment, and for your conscience. 

Caution: just make sure you don’t accidentally give it back to the original gifter.

Give your clothes to a clothing bank, or charity shop.

You can directly donate some clothes to charities that will then give them to people in need. The homeless charity Barnabus in Manchester, for example, does this and takes men and women’s clothing, food, and toiletries.

The same goes for Women’s Aid, which provides refuge to victims of domestic violence. Contact your local branch to find out what they need.

You can also look up what charities do similar in your local area, or donate clothes to a charity clothes bank or charity shop to be resold to raise money for charity. 

Recycle them. 

If you really can’t find a new loving home for those unwanted gifts, then it’s worth finding out if you can recycle them. Unfortunately, most toys are not recyclable because they are made out of multiple materials. 

But when it comes to clothes and other fabrics, many of these can be processed by charities which will then sell on materials for money. 

Oxfam, Salvation Army and Islamic Relief are among a number of charities that will take items to be recycled. 

ORIGINAL SERIES

‘Comedians Of The World’  (1/1/2019)

This global, first-of-its-kind, series will showcase 47 comedians from 13 regions in 8 languages in an unprecedented stand-up comedy experience. The groundbreaking series will feature a range of stand-up specials from comedians diverse in style, gender and ethnicity. Get ready to start the new year off with a laugh!

‘Tidying Up With Marie Kondo’ (1/1/2019)

In a series of inspiring home makeovers, world-renowned tidying expert Marie Kondo helps clients clear out the clutter – and choose joy.

‘Ten Percent (Call My Agent!)’: Season 3 (4/1/2019)

Rising tensions prompt two agents to hatch a secret plot in a new season of showbiz antics with Isabelle Huppert, Monica Bellucci and Jean Dujardin.

‘When Heroes Fly’ (10/1/2019)

Years after a bitter falling out, four Israeli military veterans reunite and travel to Colombia in search of a loved one they’d presumed to be dead.

‘Sex Education’ (11/1/2019)

Meet Otis Milburn – an inexperienced, socially awkward high school student who lives with his mother, a sex therapist. Surrounded by manuals, videos and tediously open conversations about sex, Otis is a reluctant expert on the subject. When his home life is revealed at school, Otis realizes that he can use his specialist knowledge to gain status. He teams up with Maeve, a whip-smart bad-girl, and together they set up an underground sex therapy clinic to deal with their fellow students’ weird and wonderful problems. Through his analysis of teenage sexuality, Otis realises he may need some therapy of his own.

‘Friends From College’: Season 2 (11/1/2019)

Mistakes were made. Feelings were hurt. Life goes on. Now, with a wedding on the horizon, the gang try to put the past behind them.

‘Titans’ (11/1/2019)

Led by Batman’s former protégé Robin, a group of teen heroes forms to fight crime while wrestling with their inner demons.

‘Grace And Frankie’: Season 5 (18/1/2019)

In the return of this Emmy winning comedy, two friends launch a scheme to get their old lives back.

‘Star Trek: Discovery’: Season 2 (18/1/2019)

Mysterious events in different regions of the galaxy launch Discovery on a new mission with a temporary captain: Christopher Pike of the Enterprise.

‘Justice’ (21/1/2019)

Instead of joining her father’s law firm as her family expects, Farah strikes out on her own as a defense attorney after returning home to Abu Dhabi.

‘Medici: The Magnificent’ (25/1/2019)

He already sacrificed his dreams of being an artist and marrying his true love. Will building and protecting the Medici legacy cost him his soul too?

‘Kingdom’ (25/1/2019)

In a kingdom defeated by corruption and famine, a mysterious rumour of the king’s death spreads as does a strange plague that renders the infected immune to death and hungry for flesh. The crown prince, fallen victim to a conspiracy, sets out on a journey to unveil the evil behind it all and save his people.

‘Club de Cuervos’: Season 4 (25/1/2019)

Chava and Isabel come to terms with their futures and the future of the Cuervos in an all-new season of surprises.

‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’: Season 4 Part 2 (25/1/2019)

As the series comes to a hilarious and moving close, Kimmy has to choose between helping her friends, Titus (Tituss Burgess), Jacqueline (Jane Krakowski) and Lillian (Carol Kane), and helping someone she’s never put first before: herself. This final season includ

‘Revenger’ (15/1/2019)

A double-sized “Sliding Doors” episode exploring how the main characters’ lives might have been different if Kimmy had never been kidnapped.

NETFLIX FILM

‘Lionheart’ (4/1/2019)

When her father falls ill, Adaeze steps up to run the family business ― alongside her uncle ― and prove herself in a male-dominated world.

‘And Breathe Normally’ (4/1/2019)

An Icelandic single mom struggling with poverty and a Guinea-Bissauan asylum seeker facing deportation find their lives intertwined in unexpected ways.

‘Solo’ (11/1/2019)

In a remote area of the Canary Islands, young surfer Alvaro Vizcaino accidentally falls from a cliff. Seriously injured, he must fight to survive.

‘The Last Laugh’ (11/1/2019)

Retired talent manager Al reconnects with former client Buddy, a comedian who gave up performing decades ago, and urges him to go back out on the road.

‘Close’ (18/1/2019)

A former detective hell-bent on revenge infiltrates a remote island serving as a prison for dangerous death row criminals in search of a brutal fiend.

‘IO’ (18/1/2019)

One of the last survivors on Earth, a teen races to cure her poisoned planet before the final shuttle to a distant space colony leaves her stranded.

‘Soni’ (18/1/2019)

While fighting crimes against women in Delhi, a short-fused policewoman and her level-headed female boss grapple with gender issues in their own lives.

‘Polar’ (25/1/2019)

The world’s top assassin, Duncan Vizla, aka The Black Kaiser, is settling into retirement when his former employer marks him as a liability to the firm. Against his will, he finds himself back in the game going head to head with an army of younger, faster, ruthless killers who will stop at nothing to have him silenced.

‘Animas’ (25/1/2019)

When her best friend starts acting odd after a strange accident, a young woman descends into a living hell where nightmare and reality are blurred.

NETFLIX ORIGINAL COMEDY SPECIALS

‘Sebastian Maniscalco: Stay Hungry’ (15/1/2019)

Sebastian Maniscalco takes on life’s many annoyances with his singularly expressive approach in a live special based on his memoir of the same name.

Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias: One Show Fits All (29/1/2019)

In a new comedy special for 2019, Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias discusses his teenage son, encounters with Snoop Dogg and an overzealous fan, and more.

NETFLIX ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARIES

‘ReMastered: Massacre at the Stadium’ (11/1/2019)

For years, the murder of Chilean protest singer Victor Jara was blamed on an official in Pinochet’s army. Now in exile, he tries to exonerate himself.

‘FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened’ (18/1/2019)

The Fyre Festival was billed as a luxury music experience full of social media influencers on a posh island, but the reality was far from the promises.

‘Trigger Warning with Killer Mike’ (18/1/2019)

In this subversive comedy documentary series, rapper and activist Killer Mike and a team of funny correspondents explore socially relevant topics.

‘Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes’ (24/1/2019)

Get a unique look inside the mind of an infamous serial killer with this cinematic self-portrait crafted from statements made by Ted Bundy.

NETFLIX KIDS AND FAMILY

‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’: Season 3  (1/1/2019)

In the series’ third and final act, the Baudelaires will stop at nothing to solve the mysteries of the VFD and end Count Olaf’s relentless pursuit.

‘Pinky Malinky’ (1/1/2019)

Pinky Malinky sees the bright side of everything, including being born a hot dog. With his BFFs in tow, this little wiener takes a bite out of life.

‘Carmen Sandiego’ (18/1/2019)

Carmen Sandiego returns in this series that follows her new international capers as well as past escapades that led to her becoming a super thief.

‘Trolls: The Beat Goes On!’: Season 5 (18/1/2019)

This season, the trolls get lost in wormholes, journey to the Fountain of Glitter, go for a ride in a submarine, play in the snow and more.