After the first day, festival portaloos tend to become quagmires of filth.

The smell! The dirt! The piles of excrement! You really want to spend as little time in them as possible.

Unless, of course, you happen to be at Eastern Electrics Festival.

Revellers were stunned this weekend to find that one of the plastic bogs at the south London festival was actually the gateway to a secret rave.

Kind of like a less wholesome Narnia

But with electro and mad lighting

There can’t be many portaloos people actively want to visit

But then again, it’s not every day that a portable loo becomes a teleportation station for rave heads

Now imagine the person queuing for some loo-based privacy and falling into a full-on party…we imagine fun but also mildly distressing.

AD FEATURE: Here’s an easy way to split the cost of summer

MORE: Woman who is in love with a ghost now wants to have babies with him

When it comes to the war on plastic and waste, Morrisons is way in the lead.

The supermarket has started replacing plastic bags with paper ones for fruit and veg, it’s offering coupons for shoppers who bring back their plastic bottles, and it’s also rewarding people who bring their own tupperwear to take home meat and fish.

And now, Morrisons has taken the plastic off most of its cucumbers, as part of an ongoing plastic reduction programme.

The move is set to prevent 16 million plastic sleeves from being used every year.

Cucumbers have sold in plastic in recent years in a bid to extend their lives in the fridge – preventing any dehydration.

But Morrisons believe that their cucumbers will be enough shelf life for customers if the fruits are transported very quickly from farm to store.

Half cucumbers will still come dressed in plastic because their shelf life would be dramatically reduced if packaging was removed.

Richard Hatherly, Senior Buying Manager for Salads at Morrisons says: ‘We’ve listened to customers concerns and we are doing what we can to remove plastic packaging. While plastic can serve a purpose we believe this move will remove it from the environment without leading to food waste.’

MORE: Adorable hedgehog chases its tail as it cools off beneath a sprinkler

MORE: How about having a hidden rave in a festival portaloo?

Do we even need to say that renting in London is tough?

We all know about the days spent searching for a flat that’s actually livable, only for it to get snatched up before you even arrive for a viewing.

We know about the extortionate prices, the toilets that don’t flush properly, the mould lingering in the ceilings.

But knowledge is power, and the more we know, the better equipped we are to deal with the madness that is London renting.

If we know what people are paying and what they’re getting in return, we can get a better sense of what’s normal in London and what’s an absolute rip-off.

That’s why we created What I Rent, a weekly series that takes you inside the rented property of someone living in London.

This week we’re at Sophie and India’s place. They’ve shared a two bedroom flat in Peckham for the last year.

We chatted to India about what that’s been like.

Hi India! How much are you and Sophie paying for this place?

We pay £650 each – so £1,300 altogether. Bills are about £100 each.

And what do you get for that price?

Two bedrooms, a tiny bathroom, a kitchen, and a living room.

How did you end up living together?

We met when we were students in Manchester. We lived together the whole way through university.

I moved down to London straight after university and Sophie came and stayed at the shared house I was renting in New Cross Gate about a year later, to complete a course.

I then moved out to live with a boyfriend in Southwark. Six months later, we both found ourselves single and decided to live with each other.

We love living together, we’re best friends so the flat feels like a home instead of just a place to sleep at night. We have a lot of friends in common, so there’s never any issues about having people over either.

We’re both very busy with work – I work in documentaries for Docsville and Sophie runs an ethical fashion startup called Birdsong, but we normally try to spend at least one evening a week together to watch crappy tv and eat together.

Our taste in décor and messiness levels are about the same too, so we very rarely come into conflict over anything in the flat.

And how did you find the flat?

Sophie found it online.

What do you think of the area?

We love living in Peckham. We have lots of friends nearby and it’s easy for me to cycle to work or for Sophie to get a bus in.

The block of flats we live in is mostly council tenants who have been here for a long time, and there also used to be a big squatting community here, so everyone knows each other. It’s really nice knowing your neighbours – it feels very safe.

There’re always kids playing out in the gardens – that are beautifully maintained by the tenants. There’s a barbecue area and a meadow which feels rare for central London.

We’re close to all the big shops on Old Kent Road which is convenient, and there’s plenty going on in Peckham if we want to eat or hang out locally.

Do you feel like you have enough space in your flat?

Yes, the flat is perfectly sized for the two of us. Only issue is the tiny cupboard-sized bathroom, but we’re used to it now.

Are there any annoying issues with the house you have to put up with?

The pipes are a bit old, so the sink blocks a lot but it’s not a huge problem.

The main issue is that the landlord has decided to sell it (for £345,000!) which is more than we could ever afford.

It’s been inconvenient having people come to view it all the time, but at this point in time they don’t seem to have sold it.

However, because the rent is so high, Sophie’s having to look into moving into a co-op nearby in order to stay in London. We don’t want to leave it, but it looks likely we won’t be here for much longer.

Sophie’s interviewing to live in a co-op in the next few months. The rent is much lower – it’s the only way she’ll be able to keep on living in London as rents keep going up.

When this happens I think I’m moving into another friend’s house in Bow. We’re both hoping that further down the line we’ll be able to live together again as we’ve loved sharing this flat.

Have you considered buying a place?

We would love to but it feels like we’ll never be able to afford it.

Shall we have a look around the friends’ flat? 

What I Rent is a weekly series that’s out every Tuesday at 10am. Check back next week to have a nose around another rented property in London. 

MORE: What I Rent: Paul and Mike, £1,350 for a flat in Tooting

MORE: What I Rent: Rachel, £936 a month for a one bedroom flat in Seven Sisters

MORE: What I Rent: Rachel, £936 a month for a one bedroom flat in Seven Sisters

When’s the last time you chatted to a stranger?

Don’t feel bad if it’s been a while… you’re not the only one.

Loneliness is on the rise, with young renters in particular feeling increasingly isolated.

It’s tricky to pin down one cause – is it our reliance on social media and technology? Life in a city? Unsociable working hours? – but a small part is likely our awkwardness chatting with new people.

That’s why Costa Coffee is joining a new initiative, Chatty Café.

The coffee brand did some research and found that 63% of us are hesitant to start a conversation with someone they don’t know, but 75% say they’d like more real-life conversations.

It can be tricky to know when someone’s open for a chat or would rather be left alone, so Costa’s scheme will introduce dedicated ‘Chatter & Natter’ tables where people can sit if they’d be up for talking.

The scheme was originally launched in Manchester by Alexandra Hoskyn, but Costa is the first coffee chain to launch the tables in multiple stores.

The tables will be rolled out in over 300 branches nationwide, all with the goal of battling loneliness and getting the nation talking again.

Victoria Moorhouse, head of community and sustainability at Costa Coffee said: ‘It is clear from our research that although we appear to be talking less as a nation, there’s a real desire for people to actually have more face-to-face conversations around the country.

‘Our coffee shops have always played an important role within communities; acting as a hub for people to meet, spend time together and most importantly, talk.

‘With loneliness and social isolation on the rise, feeling part of a community is more important than ever.

‘And that’s exactly what the Chatty Café scheme is all about – we understand the importance of conversation and we want to help make it as simple as possible for our customers to open up, have a friendly chat and bring local people together within our stores.’

Nice, right?

If you fancy spending a few hours chatting with strangers and making new friends, you can find your nearest ‘Chatter & Natter’ table through the Chatty Cafe site.

And if you’re a cafe owner who likes the idea of getting people talking, you can sign up to become a Chatty Café through the website too.

MORE: How it feels to be lonely in your 20s

MORE: Why do so many Brits feel lonely in the workplace?

MORE: Summertime blues: Why the hottest months of the year can make people so anxious

If cats are born with nine lives, Sharon Stirling’s pet Jacob is at least one down.

Sharon – from Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire – was devastated thinking she’d lost her beloved black and white cat, and made posters to stick up around the local area.

Jacob hardly ever left home, which added even more worry to Sharon’s mind. She says, ‘I went down the street chapping on doors to ask if anyone had seen him.

‘He gets scared very easily so I knew he hadn’t gone away with anyone.’

After calling Cat’s Protection and checking with neighbours, all she could do was wait for news.

Little did she know, however, that news would come in the form of a call from her 75-year-old father Alex.

Jacob was found, stuck in his car’s grill, and had been there for over a week.

Sharon and Alex had swapped cars nine days earlier after Alex had had an operation and was unable to drive.

The pair believe Jacob had somehow gotten into the engine compartment before Sharon dropped the car back with her dad, and been stuck there ever since.

Alex had initially missed the moggy, as he parked his car with the grill against the wall.

It wasn’t until he went shopping at his local Asda in Girvan that he heard sounds coming from the front of the car. He slowly drove to the vet, but was told he’d have to go to the garage to release Jacob from the compartment.

Alex says, ‘No-one really believed me until they got the car up on the ramp and then they saw him – they said they had never seen anything like it before.

‘Four guys were trying to help get Jacob out but he was really stuck. We got his legs out but we couldn’t get his head.

‘When we eventually edged him out he just clung to me. He was really dirty and really thin and when I took him to the vet they said he had lost 1kg.’

Although Jacob was dehydrated, he’d been able to drink some rainwater that had dripped into the grill to sustain himself, and got through the ordeal with only a small bruise on his nose.

Sharon and Alex were relieved to find him, but couldn’t believe he was virtually unscathed, particularly as Alex had gone on an 80 mile trip to see a friend with the cat unknowingly in the car.

Thankfully the hot weather had subsided in Scotland, but vets warned that Jacob may not have been so lucky if it was scorching outside.

How he got in there Sharon and Alex will likely never know. They’ll be keeping an eye on him from now on, though, that’s for sure.

MORE: Costa launches dedicated chatting tables to battle loneliness

MORE: What I Rent: Sophie and India, £1,300 a month for a two bedroom flat in Peckham

Parents have posted a job advert on a childcarers site, looking for a personal trainer to help their kids lose weight.

The children, aged 6 and 11, have been rejected from their local gyms for being too young, and their parents are now looking to hire a trainer privately to help them get fit.

The ad appeared on Childcare.co.uk last week, and said that the successful PT needs to fulfil one-hour sessions four days a week, composed of a mixture of cardio and resistance exercises.

As the kids are at school until 3.20pm, training sessions could be anytime between 4pm and 9pm every day.

The little boy, 11, has already been bullied at primary school and his parents say that they’re hoping to up his confidence before moving into secondary school through exercise, and the family have said that they want him to start working out before the end of the six-week summer holidays.

Despite their commitment to healthy, active living now, both parents say that they suffered a lack of confidence, bullying and depression in their earlier lives – and that they’re committed to making sure that their kids don’t go through the same process.

While it might seem odd to enforce such young children to engage in such rigid forms of exercise, last year, one in five children were classed as obese by the NHS by the time they finished primary school.

So clearly, perhaps there could be a real market for children’s PTs…even if the crisis could be tempered by more physical play and less computer-based occupation/parents changing the kinds of meals their children are eating.

Richard Conway, founder of Childcare.co.uk says: ‘It’s clear that this advert has come from a good place, but I’m not sure about enforcing exercise on a child as young as six.

‘Obviously, it’s great to want to help their kids have a healthy lifestyle and improve their self-confidence, but I hope that the exercise isn’t too much for the kids and that they actually enjoy it.

‘Bullying at school is every parents’ worst nightmare, and I think it’s admirable that these parents are giving their children the foundations to be confident, happy and healthy people, even before they’ve gone to secondary school. As much as a “children’s PT” sounds like an odd job role, I think there could be a real basis for it if done right.’

So, would you be up for paying out £80 for a PT to train your kids?

MORE: Europe’s tallest skyscraper is almost complete – and it’s huge

MORE: Costa launches dedicated chatting tables to battle loneliness

Let’s face, the tube is unbearably hot.

With London still in the grip of a serious heatwave, temperatures in Underground stations and on the trains themselves have moved beyond mild discomfort to truly sweltering.

On the Bakerloo line, temperatures of 38.2 degrees have been recorded.

To put this in perspective, livestock like cows, sheep and pigs cannot legally be transported in temperatures over 30 degrees.

In this heat, walking to your destination is probably preferable to suffering on an overcrowded and stiflingly hot tube train, and it could be faster too.

Transport For London has an official tube map that shows the walking distance between tube stations.

If you’re keen to be more active or you’re tempted to walk but don’t want to risk being late, the ‘walk the tube’ map could be a lifesaver.

You can save money, increase your daily step count and avoid the heat of the tube by hotfooting to your next destination. Even seasoned Londoners might forget that they can beat the crowds (and the smell of strangers’ sweat) simply by stretching their legs.

There are eight journeys that are faster to walk than to take the tube for, and we’re definitely not going to make the mistake of spending money when we could get some fresh air.

Leicester Square to Covent Garden

These two stations are just 250 metres apart from each other. They’re also in seriously busy part of London, crowded with shoppers and tourists.

If you can help it, you don’t want to queue to get into either station or cram yourself into a packed carriage if you can help it – particularly in rush hour.

Charing Cross to Embankment

It takes three minutes to walk between these two stations. Save yourself time and money by walking the 300m instead of tubing it.

Chancery Lane to Farringdon

Two changes and four stops? No thanks. You can walk it in just 10 minutes.

Knightsbridge to Sloane Square

It’s just 10 minutes on foot rather than a four stop, one change journey on the tube.

Bond Street to Oxford Circus

They’re both paradise for shoppers, but there’s no need to use the Underground to get between them.

It takes seven minutes to walk from one to the other, but remember that Oxford Street can be incredibly busy at peak times. Skip the crowds and walk down the adjacent (and much quieter) Brook Street instead.

Lancaster Gate to Paddington

Another convoluted journey that needs a change and four stops if you’re going on the tube.

It will take at least 15 minutes on the Underground, but just five minutes if you’re walking.

Aldgate to Aldgate East

Whichever station you’re aiming for, get off the tube early. These stations are a three-minute trot apart.

Blackfriars to Southwark

Don’t waste your time and money on two changes and six stops on the tube when you could simply walk across Blackfriars Bridge and get there faster.

Cut down on tube journeys where you can this summer (and beyond) and you’ll save money, see more of the sky and avoid the sweltering crush of commuters.

At least when you’re walking, you can maintain a better sense of personal space.

MORE: London Underground stations are hotter than Ibiza this summer

MORE: Do cats sweat?

Kids’ birthday parties seem to be getting bigger and more extravagant these days, especially their first one.

Although the children won’t remember most of it, parents and family members usually make a fuss over tot’s first birthday.

But one mum who threw a party to celebrate her daughter turning one probably doesn’t want anyone else to remember much of the shindig.

That’s because the cake topper she chose for the monkey cake she ordered was meant to look like the number one…but – according to some people – looked more like an erection that the monkey was clutching.

‘I had this monkey made for my daughter’s cake for her first birthday,’ she wrote on Facebook, reports MailOnline.

‘It looks like her monkey except people keep telling me how rude he looks in various ways.

‘I’ve been told he looks like a stoned monkey with his willy out!’

She told followers on a parenting group that she ordered the cake to model her daughter’s favourite monkey toy.

And the ‘one’ was to resemble the child’s first birthday obviously. But the cake makers didn’t have much foresight and didn’t realise that the flesh coloured fondant looked more like an erect penis.

But it seemed to be quite obvious to everyone else on the parenting forum that it was posted on. Although they found it pretty entertaining, users chimed in on how to fix the thing.

One mum wrote: ‘You could make a little present to go between his legs?’

Another one said: ‘Maybe try and flatten the one out a bit so it’s not as round.

If you didn’t initially see the phallic side, you do now.

Cake makers clearly don’t pay much attention to the little details as it’s not the first time we’ve seen a youngster’s birthday cake appear ruder than it is.

One mum ordered a cake with a topper that said two but unfortunately, once you turned it over, it looked more like the word c***.

You can understand why you wouldn’t want that around a bunch of toddlers.

At least they won’t remember it, so, hide all the evidence and you’ll be fine.

MORE: Grandma’s saucy 90th birthday cake might raise a few eyebrows

MORE: You can now have afternoon tea with the queen at Madame Tussauds

MORE: The new Great British Bake Off trailer is Beautiful – and the singing cakes are back, too

Women are still shamed for breastfeeding in public, despite it being entirely legal to feed your child out in the open in all 50 states of America.

One woman, who was out with her children in a restaurant, was feeding her baby when a man came over to her and told her to cover up.

She listened to him and covered up…her head.

To be fair, he didn’t specify which part she should cover.

Carol Lockwood shared the image on her Facebook saying she didn’t know the woman personally but it was a friend’s daughter-in-law.

Like the 97,000 people who liked the post, Carol thought the mum was clever for defying the man.

She wrote: ‘I’ve never met her, but I think she’s awesome. I’m so over people shaming women for nursing.

‘To reduce speculation: it was a man who asked her to cover up, it was 90 degrees and extremely humid, and, no, she wasn’t in a Muslim country disrespecting tradition,’ added Carol.

The viral post also received 14,000 comments and 178,000 shares online.

Facebook user Anne supported the mum saying: ‘Good for her, there are too many people giving judgment on this sort of thing. It’s natural.’

Tina reminded everyone that there are no laws anymore that prohibits women from breastfeeding.

‘In case you did not know it’s your legal right to breastfeed in public from what I understand in the US,’ she wrote. ‘No one can ask you to stop breastfeeding in a public place, it’s just that most people are ignorant of this fact including most employers.’

One user took a more diplomatic approach, saying: ‘Respect is a two-way street and mothers who breastfeed should respect that not everybody is the same and some may find it uncomfortable (especially the older generations) and it’s not up to social media to dictate as to what people should and shouldn’t be offended by.  I couldn’t care less really. Whip ’em out girls…or don’t, whatever.’

What do you think?

MORE: As a father, breastfeeding my newborn daughter when my wife couldn’t was a huge honour

MORE: Beautiful photo series shows women breastfeeding around the world

MORE: As a new mum I mourned my inability to breastfeed

This might look like a juicy, crispy lump of smoked ham…but it’s actually a smoked watermelon.

Ducks Eatery, in New York, is a smokehouse restaurant which has decided to extend their smokey offerings to include a new vegetarian offering.

The faux-roast is causing something of a stir on social media, with some lambasting the watermelon as ‘atrocious’.

To create the juicy ‘ham’, the eatery first smokes the watermelon for eight hours before placing it into a brine made of salt, ash and spices for four days.

After that, it’s then smoked for another eight hours before being placed in a pan of rosemary, with meaty juices solidifying the taste.

YouTuber Jeremy Jacobwitzan, one half of the Brunch Boys, went to try the watery creation and said in a video that he ‘didn’t know how to process what (he) just ate, but it’s delicious’.

‘It’s such a mindf*ck…it’s like your brain wants to think”meaty” and get that smokiness and smokiness but then you go through it and you get the sweetness of the watermelon.

But opinion is still divided, with the top comment on YouTube being that ‘vegans have gone too far’.

One can only imagine.

MORE: Morrisons is now selling naked cucumbers without the plastic wrapping

MORE: The UK’s first trackable water refill station has arrived

Winnie The Pooh is a boy, right? A.A. Milne, Disney and voiceover artist Sterling Holloway have had us believe so over the years.

But thanks to a children’s story book, there is a confusion over whether he is actually a girl from Canada, not a boy from England.

Many are familiar with the stories of Winnie The Pooh and how A.A. Milne based his books on his son Christopher Robin and his toy bear.

But what is lesser known is that Christopher’s toy bear, who went by the name of Winnie The Pooh, was actually named after a real life bear called Winnipeg the Bear, known as Winnie for short. And Winnie was a girl.

On 24 August 1914, Canadian Lieutenant Harry Colebourn, who was a vet, was on his way to treat the World War I battlefield horses in England when he got off his train on a platform in Ontario.

There, he saw a black bear cub being sold for $20 by a hunter who had killed the cub’s mother. Harry called his bear cub Winnie, after his hometown Winnipeg, and took the bear cub to England.

This particular bear cub was a female bear cub, as proven on the London Zoo animal record card.

Winnie joined Harry’s regiment, the Second Canadian Infantry Brigade, in training, soon becoming the mascot of the regiment.

However, Harry made the tough decision to leave Winnie behind in England in December that year when his regiment headed to France to fight. Believing she wouldn’t be safe with them, he took her to London Zoo, who promised to look after her until after the war.

As the war went on, Harry would use his leave to visit Winnie at The London Zoo and while he had initially planned on taking her home to Canada with him, he ended up deciding to donate her to the zoo, seeing how popular she had become with visitors.

One visitor who had taken a particular shine to Winnie was Christoper Robin.

It’s understood A.A. Milne would take Christopher to London Zoo regularly to check in on Winnie, who the little boy had fallen in love with.

In fact, the bond was so strong that Christopher decided to rename his own toy bear Edward to Winnie instead.

Seeing how much his son adored Winnie – both the real bear and his toy bear – A.A. Milne then decided to name his fictional bear, Pooh Bear, Winnie. And that was how Winnie The Pooh was born.

The stories were based on the fictional adventures of Christopher Robin’s toy bear, while being initially inspired by Winnipeg the Bear.

But Milne’s Pooh Bear character was a boy, as was Christopher Robin’s toy bear, so while the inspiration for Winnie The Pooh’s name may have come from a female bear, the fictional character that the world knows and loves is, indeed, a boy.

This remarkable story is documented in the children’s book Finding Winnie: The True Story Of The World’s Most Famous Bear, written by Lindsay Mattick, who is the granddaughter of Harry Colebourn. Winnie, the London Zoo bear, died in 1934.

In fact, so close was Christopher to the real Winnie that in September 1981, London Zoo invited him to the unveiling of a statue of Winnipeg the Bear.

The zoo now has another statue of Winnie and Lieutenant Harry Colebourn too.

The second statue was a gift to London Zoo by the people of Manitoba – the province in which Winnipeg is the capital of – through their government on 19 July 1995.

There is also a 2004 film called A Bear Named Winnie, starring Michael Fassbender as Harry Colebourn, based on the origins of Winnipeg The Bear..

What about Winnie's friends?

With confusion over Winnie being a boy or a girl, here is a reminder of what gender all of his Hundred Acre Wood friends are:

Piglet – male, based on Christopher Robin’s toy piglet

Tigger – male, based on Christopher Robin’s toy tiger

Eeyore – male, based on Christopher Robin’s toy donkey

Kanga – female, based on Christopher Robin’s toy kangaroo

Roo – male, based on Christopher Robin’s toy Joey

Rabbit – male, based on a rabbit who lived near the Milnes’ family home

Owl – male, created by by A.A. Milne and not based on one of Christopher Robin’s toys

MORE: Disney’s Christopher Robin banned in China as war on Winnie The Pooh continues

MORE: Hayley Atwell had to ride a jet ski to find WiFi in order to clinch Christopher Robin role

If you’re loved up, into food, fun and spending time in the sun, it’s probably time you booked a holiday to Barbados – because there’s a holiday that ticks all those boxes waiting for you there.

Sandals, the couples-only resort, is launching their Rumantic Culinary Retreat in November this year.

Curated by rum legend Ian Burrell and modern Caribbean chef Shivi Ramoutar, the seven-day break is packed with cooking masterclasses, trips to the local food market and, of course, a whole lot of rum.

I should know – I went earlier this year to see whether this really was the perfect couple getaway. And, well, aside from losing my phone by running into the sea in excitement, I wasn’t disappointed.

As soon as we got there, we were warmly welcomed with a cocktail reception – that’s before even being shown to our beautiful suite.

From there, it was onto a heavenly few days of relaxation, in between diving into authentic Caribbean cuisine and learning to make an array of delicious cocktails.

One of our hosts for the week was Shivi Ramoutar, a former contestant on MasterChef and author of a celebrated Caribbean cookbook.

We had a cooking masterclass with her, where we learnt how to make an incredible Bajan dish – foil-baked jerk snapper coupled with breadfruit chips.

It’s one of Shivi’s signature dishes and I can tell you, it’s one you’ll definitely want to recreate at home.

As part of the package, we also got the chance to visit the local food markets with Shivi.

It was a chance to source fresh, local produce and dive into the true culture of Barbados, which was incredibly vibrant.

There were bustling streets lined with food and drink stalls and even in the local fish market, there were workers who were listening to music and dancing while they worked.

If you only do one thing at the market, find a vendor that sells ‘doubles’. These are fried flat breads that are filled with chickpeas cooked in onions, garlic, curry powder and cumin. It is incredibly flavoursome and really cheap.

Barbados is a pretty magical island.

On the way to and from different spots on the island, you’ll spot people selling melon and fresh coconut on the side-walk.

There are even people playing cricket, and all under the gorgeous sun.

Making things a whole lot merrier is the island’s rum scene – and that’s where our other host comes in.

World’s leading rum ambassador Ian Burrell, who’s a bit of a legend in the drinks industry, took us on an excursion to the local rum distillery at the palatial St Nicholas Abbey.

It’s a beautiful house in the northern parish of St Peter that dates back to the 1600s.

We get a 2-hour tour with Ian, who has so many rum stories to tell. Somehow, we also squeeze in enough time to learn about how rum is made from start to finish.

Of course, no rum tour would be complete without the tasting.

We got to taste a few different styles from the distillery, including their standard white rum up to their aged 18-year-old rum.

A lot of work goes into producing these spirits, and the result is delicious. But honestly, your favourite will depend on what your palate prefers.

Back at the resort, we learnt how to put our new rum knowledge to good use – by shaking up some rum cocktails.

There’s something about making rum cocktails in the tropics that makes the whole experience that much more exotic.

While the food and drink experiences with Shivi and Ian are a big part of the Rumantic Culinary package, there is plenty to enjoy at the resort outside of the curated activities.

There are 11 different restaurants at the resort, offering everything from your classic steakhouse to sushi to curry.

My favourite was Butch’s Chophouse where you could order different cuts of beef or go surf n’ turf.

Even better, at the nearby Sandals Royal Barbados, there are six more restaurants to try.

The one thing I would say is that it can be hard to find vegan food at the resort. It’s possible, but they usually suggest you call ahead before you go.

There are also seven different bars across the resort, ensuring that you’re never thirsty.

Like other luxury all-inclusive resorts, all the food and drink is included but there are upgrades and you can, for example, purchase premium wines.

Sandals Barbados offers different activities across the resort as well.

You can try bowling, watch live acts on stage or simply chill in the infinity pool with a cocktail in hand.

There are also organised excursions outside of the resort, including boat parties where you’re taken out to sea to snorkel and swim with turtles.

This has to be my favourite part of the trip.

Back in the UK, it’s certainly hard to imagine going out on a lively party boat and then setting anchor somewhere so we could swim with turtles – but that’s exactly what we did.

In fact, this was when I lost my phone – because I was so busy getting into the water that I forgot all about emptying my pockets.

It’s hard to complain when I got to spend the rest of the day drinking rum and having great food on board after seeing all the tropical sea life while snorkeling.

Back at the resort, a treatment at the spa definitely helped as well. It was expensive though – expect to pay a couple of hundred of US dollars – but made me feel better.

I finished the day by drinking champagne in the hot tub in my room before heading out to enjoy the resort’s many restaurants.

As you can imagine, after a few days, it was pretty hard to leave. I’m not embarrassed to say I shed a tear as the taxi whisked me to the airport.

Fortunately, the Rumantic Culinary Retreat returns in November and I, for one, can’t wait to go again.

(Top picture: Picture: Myles Goode)

MORE: Why Nusa Penida is becoming the most Instagrammed island in Bali

MORE: Camels, dune bashing and star gazing: How to get the most out of Abu Dhabi’s desert

MORE: Why a cruise around the Caribbean is the perfect holiday for anyone with a chronic illness

Anyone who struggles with chronic bloating will be familiar with just how uncomfortable and distressing it can be.

Your stomach hurts, your jeans don’t fit properly, you feel sluggish.

But you’re not alone; so many people seem to suffer from it – regardless of size and fitness.

PT Elena Arathimos has been sharing pictures of her ‘bloat baby’, which she blames on three ‘trigger’ foods.

She explains on Instagram: ‘The first photo was taken first thing in the morning, after a workout, good lighting & no breakfast (yet). Second photo is me most days after I eat most foods. Bloat baby is real! I’ve been quite lucky and have never really had a problem with food intolerances until about a year ago, so that’s 34 years of goodness I took for granted.’

Elena has been asking her followers for advice on how to deal with chronic bloating, aside from cutting out eggs, dairy and sugar – which she believes triggers the discomfort.

She says that she takes probiotics every day and that she can only have one specific brand of vegan protein because the others cause bloating.

‘If any other of you suffer from this YOU ARE NOT ALONE! I try to be active most days, eat relatively healthy, take my vitamins, get my eight hours sleep, drink loads of water and still have my bad days. I will try my best to get to the bottom of this.

‘I will also keep you updated with what I find helps me keep the bloat baby under control. And hopefully, I might be able to help some of YOU out too! Wow! Imagine walking around with a flat tummy after you eat! Not having to change your outfit to accommodate the bloat! And man it’s frikkin’ painful at times too!’

Many of Elena’s followers have suggested visiting a gastroenterologist, homoeopathic doctor or allergist to see whether she’s actually sensitive towards certain food groups, with some suggesting that a low FODMAP diet might be the answer.

But the main thing is that so many women seem to be suffering from the same issue as Elena, with her post being liked by nearly 7,000 people in two days, and thousands commenting about their own experiences.

While some might think that Elena’s bloat looks smaller than other’s, it still goes to show that it’s an issue that seems to affect women of every fitness and body size – which is something of a comfort.

When it comes to dealing with chronic bloating, however, perhaps one of Elena’s followers has the best advice:

‘As a health professional, I can say this is the best advice: Go to the doctor’s to get tests done and tell you what your problem is, then rely on a nutritionist,’ they write.

‘Naturopathy is not a science… Medicine and nutrition are. By the way, sometimes intolerances do not show significantly in blood tests…a food diary could help you identify what you ate when you felt sick and what you should avoid eating.’

So if you also suffer from bloating, then your best bet might be to first keep a food diary: see which foods set you off and then head to the doctor with that evidence. Keep a track of meal times and bloating incidents too, and maybe note how well you feel otherwise on the days.

MORE: Mum’s cake for daughter’s first birthday looks a bit naughty

MORE: Would you be willing to pay £80 for a PT to help your child lose weight?

All mums are awesome but Cynthia Arnold, from Montana, U.S, is record-breaking awesome.

The 34-year-old ran the Missoula half marathon and ended up marking a new record for fastest time while pushing a baby stroller carrying her three kids.

And she did that all in one hour and 29 minutes. The previous record was one hour and 47 minutes.

It wasn’t about accolades and going down in history for Cynthia either, it was about introducing an active way of life to her kids.

Since secondary school, Cynthia was a passionate runner and competed in track and cross country races, even at university.

When she became a mother, she didn’t want to give up her active lifestyle and so began running while dropping her kids off to school.

It was then that her husband gave her the idea to compete in the half marathon.

‘That type of lifestyle shouldn’t be sacrificed if you have kids, and kids should realise that it’s fun and normal and good to make these types of choices,’ she told Runner’s World.

‘I think if I can instill the love of being outside and nature in them, and they count butterflies and see the dragonflies and a gazillion grasshoppers hopping around, that’s so much better in the long run than watching cartoons all Saturday morning.’

Although she became busier as a mum and started focusing on other things, when she got back into running, she realised all that was important was that her children were safe while she ran.

For her training, she ran uphill and on rocky ground in her hometown Polson. The tougher conditions helped when it came to race day as the course was much smoother.

The final moments leading up to the finishing line, Cynthia said she was happy to have finished with her kids who are aged six, three, and 11 months.

‘It was more of a parent moment than a running moment,’ she said.

While she got emotional, the kids smiled away, licking their lollipop unaware that mummy just broke a world record.

At least they can say they were part of the historical moment.

MORE: What it’s like to run an ultra-marathon

MORE: How to start plogging

MORE: Woman becomes youngest to run length of country alone

Kirby Northey, 34, absolutely loves the budget department store Kmart.

Who can blame her? We all love a deal.

So when it came to creating a maternity shoot for her second pregnancy, Kmart was an obvious choice – and not just because posing in the aisle is much cheaper than renting a studio.

Kirby came up with the idea when she was walking around Kmart with her sister, Kayarna Tregidgo, who also happens to be a photographer.

It seemed like the perfect plan, so the sisters worked on setting it up straight away.

Last week Kirby rocked up at her favourite KMart and posed for pictures in the aisles, mimicking labour with a toy instead of a real-life baby, lounging on a shelf, and using some on-sale plants as a fancy backdrop.

‘I just did a traditional maternity shoot on the beach for my first pregnancy,’ said Kirby. ‘It was really lovely, but I wanted to do something different.

‘I’ve always been addicted to Kmart. I will go in there with the intention of just getting one thing and come out with a trolley full of things. I love it.

‘It’s such a cult and there are huge groups of people, especially mums, who are also Kmart obsessed.

‘My sister is the same as me and we go shopping together at Kmart once a week.

‘One day we were walking around the store and I jokingly said, “why don’t we do a maternity shoot here in Kmart?” and we both laughed about how funny it would be.

‘But then Kayarna sort of looked at me and said we should actually do it. She was really into it. So I just thought “well, why not?”

‘Now that I’m further along I’m loving my pregnancy bump and it’s the perfect time to do a maternity shoot. So we went into Kmart last week armed with a camera.

‘I was so nervous. I almost didn’t want to do it.

‘But we went in and spoke to the manager to check it was going to be alright with him first. He said it was fine and had a good laugh.

‘We started off slow, and I was just doing some normal maternity poses. But then we realised that nothing about this entire thing was normal, so we just started doing some funny and crazy poses.

‘We had other shoppers stare at us and smile. One lady said she loved what we were doing, and she had a good chuckle.

‘It was so much fun and really reflects our unique personalities. I will never forget it.

‘We might even do another Kmart photoshoot once the baby is born.’

The resulting photos are pretty glorious, and might convince other mums to try out photoshoots in their own favourite shops.

Picture it: An engagement photo in the frozen aisle of Lidl. You can even pick up food for the reception while you’re there.

Photographer Kayarna said: ‘I was totally up for it from the very beginning. I thought it was such a fantastic idea and something to treasure forever.

‘I think more people should do crazy things like this. It was so much fun.

‘The whole photoshoot took just over an hour and I took around 300 photos.

‘Photography is a huge passion of mine and I’ll always do shoots like this for my family and friends. But this was the first time I’d ever done anything in a department store.

‘We were just cracking up the whole time, my ribs hurt from laughing so much. The funniest moment was Kirby squatting on the potty, it was so hysterical.

‘I can’t wait until my little niece or nephew get older and I can show them the crazy things their mum and aunty did together. I think we’re going to put all the pictures in a scrapbook.

‘We are so close, and it was such a special thing to do together. I’ll never forget it.’

MORE: Widow does maternity photoshoot alone and edits in husband to show he’ll always be with them

MORE: Proud pug parents show off their pups in adorable maternity photoshoot

MORE: Mum’s cake for daughter’s first birthday looks a bit naughty

Forget running through fields of wheat, the best way to show your rebellious streak as a child was knocking on a door and running away.

Yes, it probably resulted in some disgruntled people being ripped from their dinner or favourite show to answer a door, but it was harmless fun and provided hours of entertainment.

When chatting in the office about our childhood memories of the game one thing became clear, though. Our memories, while similar, were definitely not the same.

Some of us referred to this game as knock down ginger, while others were set on chap door run, also known as chappy.

A recent thread by Jennifer Savin confirmed that different parts of Britain have wildly differing names for the prank.

Can we all just take a moment to process the fact that people actually call it knocky knocky nine doors? Clearly Britain has returned to some Dickensian state where youngsters talk like the Artful Dodger and go around pilfering pocket watches and rolling a metal hoop with a stick.

A few other answers felt oddly disturbing in their tweeness.

If you’re wondering where the repeated ginger-bashing comes from, it seems to originate from an old song about the game. It went:

Ginger, Ginger broke a winder

Hit the winda – crack!

The baker came out to give ‘im a clout

And landed on his back.

So instead of targeted harassment against redheads, it’s actually a cautionary tale of a kid called Ginger’s fate after getting a bit carried away with the game. Not that that ever seemed to stop any of us from terrorising our neighbours by playing.

Location plays a big part in what you call the game. In the US it’s more likely to be a round of ding dong ditch, while in parts of Wales it’s all about knock out ginger/

There appears to be a north/south divide when it comes to which term to use, and the flowery terms of the south aren’t favoured by Scots.

Given that ‘bobby knocking’ means something very different in Scotland, it’s not too hard to see why.

Start a debate in your own office and find out who the real psychos are.

Then vote in our poll to be proven right or very, very wrong (looking at your knocky nine doors advocates).

MORE: Food, rum and romance – Barbados has the perfect holiday for couples

MORE: How about a slice of crispy, smoked ham…made out of watermelon?

Every kid’s dreamed of walking down the hallowed halls at Hogwarts.

And for a group of very lucky students in Alabama, that dream has finally become a reality.

Staff at Parkside School have turned their boring school corridors into Hogwarts-themed hallways, complete with themed classroom entrances and 3D characters.

Jacy Douglas and his colleagues hired a local artist to paint murals onto the walls to transform the 7th and 8th-grade parts of the school into areas worthy of Harry himself.

Murals aside, Jacy and his co-worker collected inexpensive materials and donated items to do the rest. Last year, the pair tried theming the classrooms like Hogwarts houses and apparently, they saw a ‘huge decrease in student discipline referrals and an interest among our middle school students in reading and discussing books’.

This year, they’ve taken things further.

Writing on Bored Panda, Jacy says that the school is a ‘title one school in an economically depressed area’ in rural Cullman County, Alabama. That means that it has high numbers of children from low-income families.

‘The project was done completely with funds raised by our 5K race and out of teachers’ own pockets,’ says Jacy.

‘I have no idea how many hours we have spent on it-definitely in the hundreds by now! Our principal has been very supportive of our ideas and allowing us to do this project.’

MORE: Kmart-obsessed mum poses for her maternity photoshoot in the store’s aisles

MORE: Personal trainer shows how bloated she becomes after eating eggs, dairy and sugar

I was born sighted, yet in 2013, I saw for the last time. I have uveitis iritis, a persistent inflammatory disease with rapid deterioration that affected my eye sight.

There was only one way to regain my independence, and the confidence and the enthusiasm I once had, so 
I applied for a guide dog, and Ida and I became a partnership in January 2017.

The interactions I have with inquisitive and well-meaning people encourage me that humans are a kind, considerate and compassionate bunch.

However, recurrent questions and scenarios seem to arise whenever we are out in public, and these are the myths that I would like to dispel.

Guide dogs are not inbuilt sat-navs; they do not know when it is safe to cross roads or how to read bus numbers.

These puppies are born, raised and rigorously trained in the hope of one day becoming a working dog. Through constant reward and affection, they are taught commands such as forward, left and right.

A guide dog’s role is to walk in straight lines, avoid obstacles in the street, sit and wait at curbs and steps and, most importantly, listen to commands.

It’s always up to the guide dog owner to make decisions: where to go, if it is safe to cross a busy road or whether to get on a bus that has pulled up in front of us.

If I need directions, I will often approach a member of the public with: ‘Excuse me, could you tell me where X is?’

‘Sure,’ they say, bending down to speak to the dog, pointing. ‘It’s just over there.’

Both Ida and I look from the person to one another in utter bewilderment and confusion.

You know dogs don’t talk, right?

Simply giving Ida eye contact can disrupt our flow, cause her to be distracted and potentially put us both in danger.

(Photo: Sassy Wyatt)

It’s safe to say that the person asking you for direction is also the one requiring your instruction.

There are over two million people in the UK living with sight loss, and a large portion of them can see something. Only 2% of those people having no vision at all.

It is highly likely that the person you see in the street being guided by their four-legged companion actually has some residual vision.

‘Are you in training?’ is a question I get asked a lot.

‘No, she’s my guide dog,’ I reply. ‘Wow, that’s amazing, you don’t look blind!’

Another point is that distracting a working dog is never OK.

When you see us out in public, we are focused, concentrating hard, and working together as a team.

Asking to pet Ida, making noises or gestures to get her attention, or simply giving her eye contact can disrupt our flow, cause her to be distracted and potentially put us both in danger.

Dogs love attention and affection. At home, her white harness comes off: we wrestle, cuddle, run around and generally cause a ruckus.

Guide dogs know the difference between work and play, and Ida gets just as excited about wearing her harness as she does when I feed her treats.

Society perceives us as anomalies that need constant vigilance and protection, something the media exacerbate in films, television and degrading publicity campaigns.

I appreciate the kindness of strangers, we make friends and educate people on a daily basis, but having people believe that my guide dog does everything for me – or that only totally blind people have guide dogs, or that it is OK to interact with us when we are clearly working – supports negative stereotypes about disabled people and our autonomy and independence.

In an ideal world, disabled people would not be treated as secondary citizens, there would be no barriers to access due to ignorance, lack of education, and disability awareness training. I hope we get there one day.

MORE: I’m visually impaired, but it doesn’t give you the right to grab me

MORE: The journey hasn’t been easy, but wheelchair tennis is finally having its moment in the spotlight

Dogs, like humans, come in all shapes and sizes, dispositions and facial expressions.

They might bark if they’re unhappy but a dog’s face shows as much emotion as the next animal’s.

And to celebrate just how incredibly diverse dogs are, husband and wife creative duo Alexander Khokhlov and Veronica Ershova have put together a collection of canine-centric photographs.

In 2017, they released their first series entitled, The Dog Show. And this year, they’re back with The Dog Show Season 2.

Its aim is to ‘explore the wonderful world of our four-legged friends’, showcasing the variety of personalities within the doggie world.

As well as their characters, Season 2 also hopes to capture the beauty of different breeds.

So sit back and enjoy some up-close shots of some very, very good doggos:

MORE: ‘Does she read bus numbers?’ and other bizarre questions my guide dog and I are asked

MORE: How many sharks are killed each year and how many humans are killed by sharks?

It’s August, AKA magazine month, as some serious celeb royalties like Rihanna, Beyoncé, Zendaya, and Lupita have graced front covers of September issues.

Rihanna’s photoshoot for Vogue had people feeling nostalgic for the thin eyebrow trend of yesteryear and Beyoncé’s floral shoot for the mag left people reaching for the tissues.

Queen Bey discussed pregnancy, postpartum bodies, and overworking herself.

She also mentioned a word that you may have glossed over – FUPA.

That stands for fatty upper pubic area, a colloquial term that will probably become mainstream now Beyoncé’s used it.

The award-winning singer and all-around pop icon said in the interview: ‘To this day my arms, shoulders, breasts, and thighs are fuller. I have a little mommy pouch, and I’m in no rush to get rid of it. I think it’s real.

‘Whenever I’m ready to get a six-pack, I will go into beast zone and work my ass off until I have it. But right now, my little FUPA and I feel like we are meant to be.’

She used the acronym to address and normalise the taboo body part that many women feel embarrassed about.

It’s a little-known moniker and is medically referred to as panniculus –  a dense layer of fatty tissue growth consisting of fat below the abdomen.

It’s where your pubic hair grows, just before your vagina, and is not to be confused with your lower abdominal area which may stick out for men and women.

As with anything Bey does, fans were quickly on board and thanked her for talking about the seldom addressed body part.

‘Beyoncé is accepting of her FUPA and that’s what self-love is about’ wrote one, ‘she isn’t torn on breaking her body down to please the masses.’

‘I have never heard the term FUPA until Beyoncé and I’ve had one my entire life. I love her’ wrote another person.

Orange is the New Black star Laverne Cox praised the award-winning singer too, saying the quote about Bey’s FUPA made her cry.

So if you do have a chubby pubic region, don’t worry, it was cool to have even before Mrs Carter said it.

At least now we can say Beyoncé has it too.

MORE: Widow does maternity photoshoot alone and edits in husband to show he’ll always be with them

MORE: Woman says her endometriosis condition makes people think she’s pregnant

MORE: Black women are literally killing themselves to fit the beauty standards of what we are supposed to look like