Londoners know that renting or buying a home is far cheaper up North.

We’re reminded of this every time our friends decide to finally leave the city or we look at what’s considered ‘cheap’ in London (spoiler: it’s still more than what people are paying outside the capital).

But it’s still helpful to have a reminder of what exactly your rent gets you around the UK, so you can have a more realistic sense of whether you should pack up your stuff and ditch London entirely.

That’s part of why we do our weekly series, What I Rent, which goes inside people’s rented properties, shows what renters get for what they pay, and chats with them about the reality of renting.

This time around we’re chatting with Amy, 27, a textiles designer for Next living in Leicestershire.

She rents a maisonette solo, along with her cat, Hermione.

Hey, Amy! How much do you pay to live here?

I pay £500 a month on rent and around £120 on bills (gas/water/electric/internet).

And what do you get for what you pay?

My home is classed as a maisonette spread across three levels! I have six rooms in total. And the toilet is separate to the bathroom.

Do you feel like you have a good deal?

I think I have a very good deal, yes. For the size and age of the property, plus central village location, I love it!

How did you find the maisonette?

I found it on Rightmove.

How have you made it feel like home?

There are many ways I’ve made my place feel like home. This includes putting my own personal style into the interior furnishings, painting the walls and having a little garden in the front yard.

As a Homeware designer, it’s impossible to not put my stamp on the place! I’ve loved working with what I’ve got. For example, the old wooden beams look great with a painted backdrop and the kitchen hasn’t been refitted since the 1950s but it’s my exact style as I love a bit of a retro feel. The cupboards are a beautiful ochre tone! I also love my sash windows.

Have you found it difficult to decorate when renting?

My landlady has been very open with me about what I can and can’t do within the property. I can paint the walls and hang things on the wall.

Do you feel like you have enough space?

I think I would always love more space as I always have bigger and bolder ideas for interior spaces but for now, I’m very comfortable!

Are there any problems with the home you have to deal with?

Heat! My bedroom is in the attic and it gets so warm up there!

The flooring isn’t great either – it’s quite uneven as it’s an old property and the carpets need an update. I prefer stripped back flooring and floorboards styled with cosy rugs.

Do you have plans to move again soon?

I will eventually move when the time is right – I do love this property so no plans on moving just yet. I’ve been here for over two years already.

Do you want to own a place some day or are you happy to rent?

I am currently saving for my own home, so some day I would like my own place. I have too many ideas so I won’t rent forever!

Shall we take a look around?

What I Rent is a weekly series that’s out every Tuesday at 10am.

Check back next week to have another nose around a rented property.

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Brittany ‘Flex’ Watts started her fitness journey after something of a wake up call about her lifestyle.

The now-31-year-old was living with her parents in Oklahoma and working in a bar, ‘drinking every night’.

Then, in her early 20s when her parent had health issues, she accompanied them to an exercise class and decided to turn her life right around.

Not only is she now a fitness fanatic, she’s actually ranked number 13 in the world for women bodybuilders.

Brittany says that ‘95% of the men in the gym will not be lifting anywhere near as heavy as I am’, and that Covid-19 hasn’t stopped her achieving her lofty goals.

During the pandemic she reached her personal best of lifting 360lbs, and hopes to be ranked top five in the IFBB women’s league by the end of this year.

Specifically Brittany participates in women’s physique competitions, which involve weeks of training beforehand.

Entrants are judged on their muscle definition and how their bodies look aesthetically, with ‘blinged out’ swimsuits, a deep tan, and full makeup.

Brittany estimates that she and the other women who take part in these competitions spend close to £5,000 getting ready for a show, whereas men who compete have a lot less of an outlay.

But it’s been a labour of love for muscly Brittany.

‘Bodybuilding probably saved my life, because I was just very self-destructive,’ Brittany told Barcroft media.

She moved from Oklahoma to Miami some years ago to pursue her career in the sport.

As well as it taking off in a big way, Brittany has also found love with her boyfriend Julio, who she lives with along with their French Bulldog Ron.

The couple train together every day, but Brittany does (lightheartedly) admit that she’d probably win out against her beau in a bodybuilding contest.

Julio calls Brittany one of the strongest people he knows and says that she inspires him ‘to be great as well’.

There are competitions coming up for Brittany, and she feels that there’s so much to look forward to in her career.

‘The horizon for me would consist of me continuing to get better at my practice in bodybuilding and continuing to try to be number one,’ says Brittany.

‘I’m excited for where I am right now but even more excited for the future because I know I’m not anywhere near where I’m going to end up being.

‘So every day is definitely something to wake up and be excited about.’

Do you have a story you’d like to share?

Get in touch at MetroLifestyleTeam@metro.co.uk.

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For the past five months I’ve been endlessly, unsuccessfully, job hunting.

Granted, my timing could not have been worse. I closed my small, award-winning business in January 2020 in search of such ‘perks’ as maternity pay and weekends, and I was confident that my entrepreneurship and experience would provide a smooth transition into a new vocation. 

Unfortunately no sooner was I free to roam, we became a nation in lockdown. Rising unemployment figures made each job more competitive meaning I couldn’t be particular.

I just needed to work, so applied for anything I could, including a funeral arranger, despite the fact funerals are petrifying to me. 

I distributed around 30 CVs per week, made ceaseless phone calls to The National Careers Service and sent application form after application form to no avail. 

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I wasn’t offered one interview, but watched on longingly as friends lined them up from the comfort of their sofas. I wondered: what have they got that I haven’t? They didn’t work harder, weren’t cleverer and none of them have had it handed to them on a plate. 

Then a depressing but totally plausible idea hit me: what if it’s my name? 

My foreign-sounding – where-the-hell-is-that-from, I bet she can’t speak English, is that a man or woman – name. 

Hiring a Sevjan, which is my Turkish birth name, is pretty risky – she could bring all sorts of issues. Is she allowed to work in this country? Will she be religious, or unsociable? 

The frustration of not even getting a single rejection email consumed me, so I decided to try something drastic. 

The time had come for my socially acceptable, white-sounding middle name, Melissa, to take centre stage and work her caucasian magic. 

I edited my CV, changing my name but nothing else, and – bingo.

After five months of silence, the offers finally began to roll in. I sent out another batch of 30-odd CVs as Melissa. Almost instantly my phone started to ring – recruiters, HR departments and even one company I’d sent my original CV to suddenly wanted to arrange a Zoom interview. 

The time had come for my socially acceptable, white-sounding middle name, Melissa, to take centre stage and work her caucasian magic

I scheduled four interviews in one day; one company phoned to set it up the same day I applied. It was almost too easy. 

Was this a coincidence? I wanted in my heart to believe that it was but experience told me differently. 

I’ve always been exposed by my name. I look white so I blend in quite comfortably up until the point someone asks what I’m called. On answering, a predictable, ethnically-charged barrage of other questions are deployed. Where are you from? Where are your parents from? What does your name mean?

Occasionally people mistake my name for something simpler and in my relief, I let them. There’s a good few folks out there who think I am called Sarah-Jane. 

There was only one explanation for what happened with my job hunt: outdated, accepted, inherent, racism. On paper, I cannot hide my truth, much like non-white people cannot hide theirs in person. 

I have had hateful things said to me about my culture and race many times, and it never stops feeling unfair, shocking, to receive abuse from people that don’t know me. 

The grotesque culture of name discrimination is not new. It’s not due to coronavirus or lack of jobs, it’s a deeply ingrained, widely accepted, learnt behavior. Another kick in the teeth for people who cannot conform to the whitewashed world we live in. Even I have privilege that comes with being fair-skinned. 

Last year in the UK, 77 per cent of white people were in employment, compared to 65 per cent from all other ethnic groups combined. It’s not surprising though, if non-white people are not even being given a chance to get out of the starting blocks. 

Despite how far things may have come, my experiment does not bode well for our collective future. I had to make my name white, hide my culture and change myself to fit in – and only then did I become employable. 

I posted online about my experience and received overwhelming support from droves of white friends who had previously been oblivious to this shade of discrimination. Others reached out in solidarity, full of empathy because they too had been compelled to use this tactic to gain employment. 

One black friend confessed to using a totally different white name during the interview process, only revealing her true identity upon signing legal paperwork after getting the job. 

In an attempt to promote diversity some companies now accept applications without a name, age, or gender. This is a potential solution, but why should it be? Why is diversity in the workplace even up for debate? Imagine the experiences that a melting pot of cultures at work could yield.

This is not about blame – people often aren’t aware of inequality that they haven’t experienced. But no matter what the ‘new normal’ means, our eyes must remain open with our new-fangled 2020 vision. 

We’ve all witnessed young black people protesting just to matter, we’ve seen footage of men and women killed in the street by police. 

We’ve all started to talk about race, and all know enough to know better. Let us say our names proudly and allow everyone the opportunity to succeed, no matter what languages we speak. 

Melissa has since had a number of interviews. She will be breaking through the closed doors and minds for me until I can hopefully find an employer that can’t pronounce my name, but hires me anyway.

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Gutted about missing Carnival this year?

You’re not alone. Some of us had too much fun chatting to the men of Notting Hill carnival last year.

Sadly due to the pandemic, one of London’s biggest and glitteriest street parties won’t be taking place.

But that’s not stopping Papa John’s from celebrating the spectacular Caribbean affair.

Teaming up with glamourous festive performers who would usually be parading the streets of Notting Hill this month, the pizza brand has hired them to make deliveries this month.

People who live in the area can choose dinner and a show via the website.

And it’s not just pizza you can enjoy. The fast food joint has also come up with an all-new Reggae Reggae Jerk BBQ wings pack for the occasion.

Papa John’s has also partnered with the charity, Hospitality Action, to raise funds for those in the industry that have been affected by the cancellation of carnivals up and down the country from carnival performers to food vendors. 

Spokesperson Giles Codd said: ‘It’s no doubt that the absence of carnival this year will be sorely missed by carnival-goers and performers this month, so in a bid to keep the spirit of this festive event alive, we wanted to bring some fun with the new delivery service.’

Astrid Wears-Taylor, from Hospitality Action, added: ‘The funds raised will enable us to continue to provide essential and much-needed support to the most vulnerable across our industry, making a real impact on the lives of many.’

To opt-in for the carnival-themed delivery service, customers can select the tick box located on the Papa John’s website.

If you aren’t in the area for the carnival-themed delivery, you can still get the Reggae Reggae Jerk BBQ Wings from 3 August to 31 August.

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Removing hair is never a glamorous process.

It’s often messy, or involves trying to stretch into awkward positions to get those hard-to-reach places.

And when it comes to the pictures used to advertise the products we use for hair removal, they don’t often match up to that reality.

Argos and Philips have decided to show more true-to-life depictions of people using the Lumea device, which uses intense pulsed light to reduce hair more permanently across the body.

The device has become much more popular in recent months with a 20% increase in sales as customers turn to home hair removal as they were unable to go to salon during the coronavirus lockdown.

And now, the new pictures on the brands’ websites show people bending into different positions to get every last spot and feature more relatable body types.

There’s also images of women removing hair from toes and bikini lines to highlight that everyone has hair there too, and some people choose to remove it.

Of course, some people like to let their body hair grow and it’s all down to personal choice but both Argos and Philips wanted to open up a conversation around body hair.

According to a survey by the brands, 43% of women feel embarrassed or uncomfortable talking about hair removal.

Unfortunately, though, these images don’t go as far as some other brands – last year Billie razors released an ad where you could visibly see the pubic hairs.

On the Argos and Philips pictures all you can see is a little bit of stubble in some areas.

Jess Pasco, Senior Buyer (Personal Care) at Argos, said: ‘We all have different needs when it comes to hair removal, but by posting images of real hair removal on our website, we’re opening up the conversation and encouraging our customers to be honest about body hair.

‘We want our customers to see themselves reflected in these images and feeling reassured that we understand that the reality of hair removal isn’t as glamorous as it is often seen online.’

Jess Gregory, Philips Lumea Marketing Manager, said: ‘Hair removal doesn’t need to be a chore or something we’re embarrassed about – it’s a part of our everyday routines.

‘We want women who use Lumea to feel empowered by their hair removal and what works best for them, through a personalised programme to suit their needs and choices.’

Do you have a story to share?

Get in touch at metrolifestyleteam@metro.co.uk.

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King Charles I didn’t exactly have the ending to his life that most of us would covet.

He was executed for high treason in 1649 and England was made a republic (at least for a while). But the years he did have were still lived in outright luxury – as you can see from this mansion in which he once stayed.

The property – in Bradninch, Devon – is currently on sale for £3.5 million, and boasts original and new features fit for a king.

The Grade I listed manor house still has many of its original 400-year-old interiors, and the master bedroom is known as the King Charles Room as that’s where he once slept.

As well as the historical side of things, though, you’ll also be the proud new owner of a swimming pool, six bedrooms, and your very own lake, library and rose garden.

The home was originally built in 1547, but has had work done to it throughout the centuries – despite renovators keeping much of the original character of the place intact.

It belonged to Peter Sainthill, and has been associated with the Duchy of Cornwall for many years, acting as a place for evacuees from Duchy-owned properties in London to stay in during WWII.

The manor house then served as a boarding school after the war, before being bought as a home.

While £3.5 million is no small price tag, the history of this place is unmatched, and with seven acres of land even a family as big as the Windsors would have plenty of room.

The local area of Bradninch was voted one of the most family-friendly places to live in 2012, and with all that land you could have animals and nature right at your fingertips.

You might want to burn some sage and throw some holy water around if you do move in to ward off the spirits of the English civil war. Other than that, though, living in a home with such a rich past would be incredible.

Check the property out at Knight Frank.

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The Eat Out to Help Out scheme is in full swing across the UK, giving diners the chance to enjoy discounts on meals eaten out during August.

The scheme gives customers the chance to score 50% off their bill – capped at £10 off per person) – in restaurants, cafes and pubs across the country from Mondays to Wednesdays this month.

Over 72,000 venues, including most of the country’s big-name chains – are taking part in Eat Out To Help Out, which is aimed at kickstarting the economy in the wake of coronavirus lockdown.

But is Wetherspoon’s among them – and what are their prices?

Is Wetherspoon’s participating in Eat Out To Help Out?

Like so many other big-name chains, Wetherspoon’s is indeed participating in the Eat Out To Help Out scheme.

That means customers can enjoy 50% discounts on their breakfasts, lunches and dinners – while the discount can also be used on existing offers such as the pub chain’s Tuesday Steak Club deal.

The discount is applicable on meals eaten in only – takeaways and deliveries are not included – and only applies to food and soft drinks, so if you want a pint or a glass of wine with your meal you’ll need to pay full price.

More than 700 Wetherspoon’s establishments are taking part in Eat Out To Help Out – you can find out where your nearest participating pub is by using the locator tool on their website.

You can also find your nearest branch by using the postcode checker on the Government’s Eat Out To Help Out website.

What are Wetherspoon’s Eat Out To Help Out menu prices?

Customers visiting Wetherspoon’s for breakfast can expect to pay just £1.75 for a full English fry-up, while a breakfast with coffee will cost £2.24.

A classic burger with a soft drink will set you back £2.75 – the same price you’ll pay for a Margherita Pizza and a soft drink in the deal – while a gourmet burger and drink will be £3.33.

You can also expect to pay just £2.37 for a Deli deal, which comprises a Southern-fried chicken and smoky chipotle mayo wrap, with chips and a Remedy Kombucha raspberry lemonade.

Children’s meals will cost £2.50 in the deal – and your refillable tea or coffee will set you back a mere 65p.

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For the past 15 years, Laura Teare-Jones, 30, has dealt with cyclical bouts of what she thought was depression.

When it strikes, socialising with friends becomes very difficult, watching a moving advert on TV can trigger meltdowns, and she often experiences cluster migraines that leave her bedridden.

Laura, of Deeside in Flintshire, north Wales has even been at events where she has been left in tears, unable to move from her seat.

For years, she went back and forth to the doctor and was repeatedly told it was likely just a low mood, which she tried to combat with exercise and healthy eating.

At her lowest, she feared that the mood swings – which would disappear as suddenly as they struck – were indicative of bipolar disorder, a mental health condition characterised by periods of manic highs and depressive lows.

But then, scrolling Instagram one day, wellness coach Laura saw a post about premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) – a severe form of PMS that can cause extreme anger, anxiety and depression every month.

Consulting her doctor, she was officially diagnosed later that month, and is now speaking out to raise awareness and spare other women the same battle for answers.

‘I never connected the way I was feeling to my period,’ Laura explained.

‘Some women with PMDD describe it as a red mist of anger that descends on them – but for me, it was more a grey fog. I felt despairing rather than angry.

‘It wasn’t that I was lashing out at others – I was lashing in, becoming consumed by self-loathing.’

As a teenager, she noticed she would have mood swings, but did not connect them to her hormones, assuming instead that they were just part of her personality.

She said: ‘One of the main reasons I never connected them to my period was because, for me, the week I actually menstruated was almost a release and I would feel okay. It was the build-up beforehand that was difficult.’

Over the years, Laura was repeatedly hit by bouts of depression that would subside after a couple of weeks.

Speaking with doctors, she was advised to eat healthily and exercise in a bid to lift her mood – but working as a wellness coach and often going running, she was already doing so, to no avail.

‘Out of nowhere, I’d be suddenly hit by these feelings of utter despair,’ she said. ‘I would blame myself for not looking after my mental health properly.

‘Little things like a sad film or a moving advert on TV, that might make somebody else a bit emotional, would trigger an absolute meltdown in me.

‘It’s like putting a magnifying glass over any little stress you have in your day. It all felt very hopeless.

‘Then, every time I built up the courage to go to the doctor, I’d find I suddenly felt better again.’

At the start of 2019, she became convinced she may have bipolar disorder.

Laura added: ‘But when I read up more about it and its symptoms, it didn’t quite fit. I never had manic phases – just depressive ones.

‘Although doctors had told me that I was depressed, that didn’t make sense either, as it seemed to come and go so often.’

Then, in May 2019, she spotted an Instagram page about the symptoms of PMDD that changed everything.

Heading to the doctors armed with a detailed record of her symptoms she explained that she believed she may have the condition.

She said: ‘Of course, I was relieved to finally have an answer and to feel less alone, but I also wished I’d made the connection to my hormones years ago.

‘PMDD would have been much easier to cope with if I had understood what was happening, but before I knew about it, I could never tell when my bad days were coming.’

Now, Laura continues to live with PMDD, but she has developed some coping mechanisms to make it more manageable such as doing shift work, napping more, and avoiding emotional scenes.

Although the condition affects everybody differently, in Laura’s case, her symptoms begin during the ovulation phase of her menstrual cycle, around two weeks before her period.

Her cluster migraines then tend to hit when she has her period.

According to the Massachusetts Center for Women’s Mental Health – part of Harvard Medical School – PMDD mood symptoms are not present in the absence of a menstrual cycle, therefore, the condition should not affect pregnancy.

While Laura is yet to decide whether she will have children, she is feeling more positive about the future since being diagnosed.

Keen to raise awareness, last month, Laura set up an Instagram page called @myhormones_myhealth where she documents her life with PMDD, and is also launching a mental health podcast of the same name.

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Besty-Mae Lloyd is only seven but she is already making hundreds of pounds from the antique bottle shop she has opened in her parents’ back garden.

Her Victorian-style play shed is filled with all the things she has dug up from historic landfill sites.

The schoolgirl and her dad Jason, 49, collect their finds from old landfill sites across the West Midlands using only a pair of shovels.

They then take them home, clean them up, place them in the shop and list them for sale on Facebook.

The young entrepreneur sells 12 bottles for £10, which she gift wraps herself, and has already made £600 from her business venture within a few months, which she has used to buy a laptop.

Betsy-Mae said: ‘The bottles are from the olden days, I like them as they are different colours and sizes.

‘My favourite part is digging and getting dirty though. I find it really good fun.

‘I’ve got about a thousand bottles in my shop and people come to buy them in person and on Facebook.

‘I think my shop is super. My dad helps me with the prices but I help find them and clean them up myself. I enjoy going digging with my dad.’

Dad-of-two Jason, who lives in Wednesbury, West Mids., with wife Frances, 32, said their daughter had been helping collect bottles since she was aged two.

He said: ‘It has always been a hobby of mine, so I’ve sort of passed the torch. I took her out of her first dig when she was aged two and she’s loved it since then.

‘We were getting fairly inundated with bottles and leaving most behind, so she came up with the idea of selling them and we thought we’d give it a go.’

Jason, who used to work on fairgrounds and now builds playhouses for a living, said that he was already busy with his current business, so although he helps out, most of it is done by Betsy.

He added: ‘She washes the bottles in her outdoor kitchen after we find them in historic landfill sites, they’re 100 years old or more, it’s not modern rubbish.

‘It’s almost like a time capsule, as sometimes you’ll find an old bus or theatre ticket inside them and it’s a fascinating look at a different era.

‘They date back to between 1870 and 1930, and we’ve found all sorts. Its great to get kids out of the house in this day and age of the internet and she really enjoys it too.’

He still goes digging with her a few times a week to keep the stop well-stocked.

Jason, who is also dad to 19-year-old Jake, added: ‘We get permission off the farmers and they’re happy as long as we fill the holes back up afterwards.

‘There’s no high tech equipment, we just go down there with a couple of shovels and start digging.

‘We get old maps online and look where there was an open mine, then compare it to a map from about 10 years ago and if it’s been filled in, it’s landfill.

‘She has a steady flow of customers now, to get money for something that has been left and smashed up, is nice really.’

But even Jason was surprised by the amount Betsy has already made from her new business.

He said: ‘She has been selling a fair bit as well. The other day I found £200 on the mantelpiece and I said ‘you better hide that’.

‘Then she said ‘there’s more where that came from’, went up to her room and came down with another £200 odd in cash.

‘That’s not bad going for a seven-year-old primary school pupil and she’s already treated herself to a new laptop.

‘I think it’s a good life lesson for her as she has worked hard and earned that money, she fully deserves it.’

Jason made the little shed for her shop himself to store all the bottles and said that most people buy online but some people come to see them in person too.

He said: ‘Antique shabby-chic style items are still in fashion at the moment, so people just buy them for decorative purposes as the colours match their homes.

‘She sells online but people are welcome to come on down and have a look in person, she does little history talks about the origins of the bottles as well.’

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Blinds are one of those household items that you don’t realise are so expensive until you need to replace them.

Last year, Ikea released a great solution to this with their Schottis polyester pleated blind, costing only £3.50.

Unlike ‘regular’ blinds, these can be cut to size. They also don’t need to be drilled into the frame, attaching to the top of the window with a sticky strip.

This handy product has has risen to prominence once again, after a member of the Facebook group Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK extolled its virtues.

‘Seen a lot of people posting about the £3.50 blinds from ikea ! They’re amazing this cost me a total of £7! BARGAIN!’ read the post.

Over 1,400 people liked it, but after some comments about the quality the original poster added ‘I know they’re not going to be good quality for £3.50 thank you everyone they was just a cheap quick cover for the windows got some nosy neighbours.’

Plenty more, however, commented on how great the blinds looked and how nice it was that they let in a small amount of natural light for ambience.

Others recommended the Wilko version of the blinds, too. Slightly more expensive at £4, they too can be cut to fit and stuck up on any window or door.

For people who don’t like net curtains but want to retain a bit of privacy or keep the room a bit cooler, you can’t really get a more cost-effective option.

Do you have a cleaning or homeware hack you’d like to share?

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East London’s Brick Lane is famed for its curries, however a new report has found a steep decline in curry restaurants over the last 15 years.

A new film and report by race equality think tank Runnymede Trust looked at the cultural significance of the narrow street, also known as Banglatown, and its unfortunate decline of late.

As part of a two-year research project focusing on Brick Lane’s restaurant and retail sectors, the report, called Beyond Banglatown, highlights the unique contribution of the Bangladeshi community to Brick Lane and its world-renowned curry houses.

The research analyses the area’s rapid gentrification over the last 15 years and the impact of new businesses on the UK curry capital.

The area became a heartland for the Bangladesh community when they migrated during the 60s and beyond.

The area has a rich history of migration- home to Huguenots fleeing religious persecution, Irish fleeing the famine, Jews fleeing pogroms in Russia and Eastern Europe, to seafarers from across the world who disembarked at the nearby imperial docks, to post-war labour migrants from South Asia, including Bengalis.

Many Bangladeshis and their families also came to the UK to escape the chaos and upheaval around the time of the country’s war of independence in 1971.

But the report says this community has been excluded and displaced by this process of regeneration.

The report highlights a steep decline in Brick Lane’s curry restaurants, with a decrease of 62% in just 15 years.

It found that in the mid-2000s there were 60 curry houses compared to just 23 in early 2020.

While hipster cafés, vintage clothes shops, delicatessens and boutique chocolatiers have boomed on Brick Lane, Bangladeshi-run curry restaurants have struggled.

Restauranter Shams Uddin who has ran his business, The Monsoon, for 21 years has said the Brick Lane curry house landscape has been diminishing for some time.

He tells us: ‘On a Sunday we used to get 90-110 people. This Sunday, we only served 13.’

At the time we called him, at 5pm on a Monday, he says they haven’t had any customers at all on the day.

‘That’s how we’re doing,’ he says.

‘Banglatown is one of the most affected areas in the U.K because our customers are based on office workers and tourists. But without them, we are struggling.

‘We used to have customers in the summer from America, Canada, Japan, Europe at this time because of the summer holidays. But now not even a single customer is a tourist.’

Shams says business was slow even before the pandemic and he is apprehensive about the future.

‘I am worried, I see a dark future for Brick Lane. Banglatown needs special care and support from the government.’

Prior to the pandemic, there seemed to be a drop in sales, which Shams says is partly due to supermarkets offering cheap curry deals.

‘Ready meals in supermarkets are also affecting us,’ he says. ‘If it’s £4 or something for two people, it becomes impossible to survive in this industry. Consumers should think about that.’

Shams feels there’s no point in The Monsoon taking part the government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme, as customers are so few and far in between.

They also have to pay full-price for groceries which Shams says the government should subsidise if it wants businesses to boom again.

Vendor Abdul Ahad, who runs restaurant City Spice, also says Brick Lane businesses were already suffering but coupled with a global pandemic, they have been struggling even more.

He tells Metro.co.uk: ‘The pandemic has been, well heartbreaking. Brick Lane being an area that thrives off of tourists, city workers and domestic tourism has seen a very big shift in footfall, from having tons of people crowd the street prior to Covid to now having people come in, in the tens to the street on a daily basis.

‘Footfall has dropped by around 85% easy and this has had a huge negative impact on our business and I’m sure other businesses around the area.’

While other restaurants around the county can adapt to takeaways, unfortunately being so close to the City of London, means City Spice is finding it difficult to fill seats as there is a lack of office workers who pop in.

‘The fixed costs of running a business in Brick Lane are so high that these days, working off of takeaways alone would not be feasible,’ adds Abdul.

While Abdul is thankful to the customers who have frequented the establishment in the past, he thinks the government can do more to help.

He adds: ‘Help from the council would definitely be welcome and perhaps necessary, given that current government support is honestly not enough to cover the costs of running a restaurant in Brick Lane and the costs of sustaining the business until things get better.’

Abdul is hopeful his business can return to near-normal levels in the future.

The authors of the report also want a range of measures to help the restaurants to survive and evolve.

These include government support to weather the Covid-19 crisis, investment and training for restaurateurs, and formal recognition of the Bangladeshi community to the history of Brick Lane, and global London.

To that end, they’ve developed an education-focused website, which captures the project’s findings for schools and teacher so they can learn about the significance of Banglatown.

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A retiring couple is selling their four-bedroom home for £850,000 and it comes complete with a cattery which has room for almost 100 cats.

Wendy and Graham Jones, who are both in their mid-70s, moved to the site of Timbers Cattery in Norwich, Norfolk, in 2004.

They said that 16 years ago, the almost half-acre of land was a small, run-down place with a few small wooden sheds out the back of their home.

Over the years, the couple have poured all their time and money into completely renovating and refitting the cattery – which is able to house 95 cats.

The cattery charges £10 a day for individual cats and has 35 chalets in the garden, and the facilities have a five-star animal welfare rating from South Norfolk Council.

It was completely refitted in 2016, meaning that a new owner will have the benefit of many more years – without the need for further significant investment into the business.

It has recently re-opened after closing due to the Covid-19 outbreak – and is full this month.

Former schoolteacher Wendy says she and her husband, who ran his own consultancy business before, will miss each and every one of their furry guests.

Wendy said: ‘It is quite emotional to be parting with it – if it wasn’t time for us to retire, I think we would stay here forever.

‘We’ve got to know our customers over the years, and many of them have become our friends.

‘We now see the children of some of our former customers coming in, all grown up, and looking to board their cats.

‘I think we would have started seeing some grandchildren soon, too.’

But Wendy said she and Graham are planning to stay in Norwich – and will continue to visit the cattery from time to time.

She said: ‘I hope whoever buys it will enjoy having us around to show them the ropes.’

She said the business would suit a dynamic, younger, cat-loving family.

Selling agents Everett, Masson & Furby said: ‘We are delighted to bring to the market what is, in our opinion, one of the highest quality boarding catteries that we have had the pleasure of being appointed to sell.

‘Both the lovely spacious family home and the bespoke high-quality cattery provide excellent first-class accommodation for both humans and cats alike.

‘If you are looking for a cattery business together with a property for yourself to settle in then look no further, as you will be hard-pressed to beat what is on offer here.’

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Chipotle are known for their Mexican meals, as well as for charging extra for guac.

But they’re branching into another world soon, launching a range of goods as part of their offshoot brand, Chipotle Goods.

As well as the items being attractive, they’re made to make use of some of Chipotle’s by-products – such as avocado pits.

The brand will be using the stones to create a dye for clothes and bags, with each bag using up about five avo pits to transform its colour.

Given the chain throws away nearly 300 million avocado stones a year, putting them to use in a brand new way.

The collection will feature everything from leggings to jackets to shoes, and will be gender-neutral and ‘size inclusive’.

‘We looked at some of our biggest waste outputs that were landfill bound. We purchase more avocados than any other restaurant in America, which means we produce more avocado pits than any other restaurant,’ a Chipotle spokesperson told CNN Business.

‘Commercial compost isn’t available everywhere, and that meant that a lot of avocado pits were potentially destined for landfills each year.

‘We started brainstorming ways we could use our avocado pits for good, and natural dye was something that kept coming up.’

The collection aims to use up byproducts along with as little water as possible, furthering the company’s aim to be environmentally friendly.

You can actually make your own avocado dye very easily at home.

After washing the stones, boil them in water for about an hour, then leave them sitting in the water overnight to deepen the colour.

The next day, strain the water and put back on the heat, adding your white or light fabrics.

Simmer for at least 20 minutes – longer if you want a deeper colour – and you’ll end up with light pink fabric that didn’t cost the earth.

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A new museum in Greece is giving visitors the chance to see every detail of a shipwreck from around 425 BC.

The attraction is the first underwater museum in the country and has been labelled the ‘Parthenon of Shipwrecks’.

Lucky guests will be able to look around the wreck, which lies off the coast of Alonissos island and Peristera – an uninhabited islet – in the Western Aegean.

To actually go underwater, you have to be a certified amateur diver but if you can’t dive, you can get the experience through a virtual reality tour at the information centre in Alonissos.

Five underwater cameras have also been installed to offer a livestream of the divers.

The main thing to see is the wreck of a large merchant ship, which is thought to have sunk because of bad weather in the 5th century.

It was carrying thousands of amphorae (which are two handled vases) of wine.

Although the wine itself is long gone, the jugs have been incredibly well preserved at the bottom of the ocean and lay undiscovered until 1985, when some fishermen came across them.

It was then excavated by archaeologist Dr Elpida Hadjidaki in 1992-1993, 1999 and 2000-2001.

The jugs help to show the form of the ship because of how they lie.

The site will open as a pilot scheme from 3 August to 2 October this year

If it is successful, there are plans to open three more ancient shipwrecks in Pagasetic gulf which date back to Classical and Byzantine times.

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What do you see when you look at the picture above?

Perhaps it looks like someone has photocopied their junk in the work stationery cupboard? Or like one of the more tasteful of Seth from Superbad’s phallic drawings?

What is actually is is a marble-style chopping board one woman bought from Amazon, which has got the internet in stitches after it was posted online.

The woman’s friend tweeted a picture of the board, saying: ‘My friend ordered these cutting boards and this is what she got.’

The veiny protrusion appears to be a product of a randomised process that creates a marble-like pattern.

But despite it being a fluke, there’s no way we could stop ourselves thinking of penises every time we made a meal.

Other people were also tickled by the rude cutting boards, and the tweet now has a whopping 331,000 likes.

A large number of people also decided to buy the boards in response, but sadly no one yet has had such a pornographic pattern on theirs.

One person replied: ‘I don’t see what the problem is, they gave her free meat.’

Another said: ‘I think this is an actual penis like tell me that isn’t a ween photo copied.’

It’s not the first Amazon related blunder we’ve seen recently. This man has found himself bombarded with parcels of rubber ducks, despite not even having an account on the site.

A mum also hit headlines after buying ‘one-size-fits-all’ veneers on the platform. Reader, they did not fit all.

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Modern life bombards us with statistics at every turn – but what happens when the numbers start to hold too much importance?

I’d never given much thought to the power my smartwatch possessed – or the control it had over me – until GPS and smartwatch brand Garmin’s global outage last week. The manufacturer was reportedly being held to ransom for $10million by Russian hackers, and a blackout of its services had officially begun.

It wasn’t long before I realised something was amiss. Not just with the app, but with how much I had come to rely on it.

A regular refresh saw a glowing yellow box labelled ‘server maintenance’ appear on my screen. Two hours of refreshing later, I turned to internet forums for answers – alongside what looked to be half of the world’s fitness community.

Up until this point, keeping constant tabs on my step count, sleep cycle and workouts seemed like a perfectly standard form of procrastination. I’d regularly check the app upwards of 15 times a day, filled with a warm sense of satisfaction as my step total and calorie burn slowly increased.

I was hooked on the dopamine and endorphin rush that comes not only from the workout itself, but from the distance logged, the records broken and the virtual pats on the back from members of the workout community.

As an avid runner (and born-again cyclist courtesy of coronavirus), exercise has long been a core part of my day-to-day routine. From a lengthy walking commute to weekends filled with high-octane hockey matches and half marathon endurance prep, there seemed no better reason to invest in a Garmin smartwatch.

As it turns out, the seemingly insignificant numbers generated by those mini-computers we wear on our wrists aren’t always quite so trivial.

During lockdown, running became a form of continuity, discipline and escapism. Taking full advantage of my daily government sanctioned outdoor exercise, I saw my run mileage and step-count creep ever-upwards.

Joining virtual run challenges and winning virtual distance awards was the closest I could get to the thrill of competitive sport and outdoor races.

Beating the numbers was now my main goal – and inevitably, there comes a point where that’s not always possible and my desire to break my own records was a slow setup for failure.

On paper, all the Garmin blackout really meant was three days without my activity being logged and synced to my favourite workout apps.

In reality, no longer having access to up-to-the-minute data about my own body left me feeling on edge and riddled with anxiety.

It was less a case of ‘if it isn’t on Strava, did it even happen?’ more ‘I can’t see the information breakdown required to alleviate this constant feeling of unease’. I’d become so reliant on the figures that without precise numbers, calories equated to guilt.

I began to realise just how dependent I’d become on drip-fed statistics; the feeling of power that came from knowing the calories I’d burned, seeing the gradual and sustained drop in my resting heart rate

During the outage, I continued to log activity using my smartwatch, however, the basic information displayed on my screen meant my motivation had shifted.

There was no more meticulous in-app data analysis, instead, the occasional glance to keep track of my step count without the need to open my phone every five minutes. It felt as though a heavy weight had been lifted.

With both the Garmin app and running taken off the table – thanks to an Achilles injury I suffered at the same time – I was momentarily jolted out of the data-driven daze I’d been in.

I began to realise just how dependent I’d become on drip-fed statistics; the feeling of power that came from knowing the calories I’d burned, seeing the gradual and sustained drop in my resting heart rate.

My healthy routine had become an unhealthy obsession.

Then, just as quickly as the app had stopped syncing, a slew of new notifications popped up on my phone screen. ‘Affected systems are being restored and we expect to return to normal operation over the next few days’ noted Garmin in a statement following the attack.

I felt a pang of excitement at first, but this was followed by an anxious knot in my stomach. I could either choose to revert back to my lockdown habits, or continue with the healthier attitude I’d adopted.

For me, the outage was a wake-up call to reassess my relationship with statistics, and the app itself. Although I continue to use Garmin Connect sparingly, my approach now is far more balanced.

The app being down was like holding up a mirror to my bad habits, and what it goes to highlight is just how easily the pursuit of a healthy lifestyle can spiral into something altogether more sinister and destructive.

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A nine-year-old who has never had his hair cut is planning to have it all chopped off to help children with cancer.

Reilly Stancombe, of Little Clacton in Essex, has just kept growing his locks and they now reach past his bottom.

But now he will donate it all to The Little Princess Trust, which provides free real hair wigs to children and young people who have lost their own hair through cancer treatments or other conditions. He also has raised almost £800 for the charity in sponsorship.

His mum Daisy Canny, 30, said people know her son as ‘Reilly with the long hair’ and it’s now part of his identity.

‘It started off when he was younger, he never really had it cut and it was sort of just shoulder length,’ care worker Daisy said.

‘Then he got into football and he was a little bit inspired by Gareth Bale if I’m honest, with the long hair.

‘But then it just grew and grew and he was talking about having a little bit of the ends off just to keep it nice, and he’s never had it cut.

‘It’s now really really long.’

He was inspired to donate during a visit to Great Ormond Street Hospital, where he goes for appointments because he was born with a bowel condition.

He saw other poorly children who had lost their hair and thought about how he could help.

He finally made the decision to go for the chop when his little brother Roman, four, got a trim after lockdown.

‘Roman’s hair grew in lockdown and he styled it into curtains,’ she said.

‘Reilly just really liked the style. He just woke up one day and said “I think that’s what I want to do mum”.

‘I think he’s nervous but he feels he’s doing it for a good cause.’

Reilly added: ‘People do get picked on and it’s really sad when people have no hair and I feel like I want to give back and make people’s life way happier.’

He is getting his hair cut at a barbers in Clacton-on-Sea on August 18.

You can donate to Reilly’s fundraising on his GoFundMe page.

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Bessie the Bedlington-Whippet cross was sporting a new look last week after she accidentally turned herself blue.

The two-year-old dog rolled on paint leftover in the garden when her owner wasn’t looking.

Her owner’s relative had created the artwork and put it outside to dry but it fell over and created a bit of a mess.

Despite lots of attempts to wash the oil-based paint out of her fur, she remained stained for four days.

Her owner, Sacha Barbato, 49, says the family got a few ‘funny looks’ while out walking Bessie but she was absolutely fine.

The travel agent, from Brandiston, Norfolk, posted the photo of Bessie on social media and said: ‘What do you do when your dog rolls in some acrylic paint and it will not come out after two washes?

‘Asking for a friend.’

He later added: ‘Just to explain a canvas with fresh paint had dropped on the ground and she rolled in the grass which obviously smelt funny to her. She was washed and most was in her fur rather than skin. She is well and happy now and feeling less blue.’

He joked that he’d had to avoid blue clothes for a few days in case people thought it was some kind of fashion statement.

Sacha continued to update fans on Bessie as the colour faded, confirming that she had been checked over by a vet, who said she was fine.

After a day at the beach, rolling in the sand, Bessie was almost back to normal on Monday.

Sacha’s final update on Twitter said: ‘Bessie’s blue look has faded .. like her 15 minutes of fame. She is now more of a dull green .. not the cool blue she used to be.. a shadow of her former self.

‘She normally does something daft … so watch this space … I worry about her next move !?’

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Of all the men’s styles available at Clarks, the Wallabee and the Desert Boot are the most iconic.

In order to reinvigorate the styles with a brand new flair, the footwear company has teamed up with a streetwear legend and a football legend in an extremely exciting new collab.

A Bathing Ape – also known as BAPE – and Clarks Originals reworked the classic shoes with new colourways and patterns, with the whole collection being modelled by none other than Raheem Sterling.

The BAPE Wallabee features pink or teal suede along the top with a camo design along the sides. The BAPE Desert Boot are more muted in tone, but with laser-printed BAPE designs on the sand or oak uppers.

Other details like a jagged outsole on the Wallabees take things up a notch, and the Manhunt branding that harks back to the BAPE boots of yesteryear.

The collaboration marks 70 years of the Clarks Desert Boot, which has been completely unchanged since its launch in 1950.

Despite the streetwear features, these boots will still be made with the same Charles F Stead materials, with everything from the stitching to the laces bearing the quality you might expect.

The capsule collection will be available to buy from BAPE and Clarks websites, as well as the the Clarks Originals Berwick Street Store, London, from 8 August 2020.

They’ll be priced the same as the ‘regular’ styles (£120 to £140 for Wallabees and £110 to £120 for Desert Boots). Be quick, though, as you’ll probably see them on StockX for much more after the release.

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A mum-of-three who dismissed her headache as a hangover after a night out was later told it was a golf ball-sized brain tumour growing on her brain.

Lizzie Parker, 38, from Hull, started suffering from a migraine following the night with friends last April, but the pain continued to intensify over the following weeks.

She went to A&E at Hull Royal Infirmary where tests showed that she had an aggressive cancerous brain tumour.

Lizzie, a former primary school teacher, said: ‘Initially I wasn’t overly worried but as the days passed, it became obvious that it wasn’t related. 

‘Doctors assumed it was due to stress and I was placed on migraine medication which had no impact at all. 

‘Three weeks later, I had blood tests as I still felt unwell and I had started slurring my words at work.

‘I was dismissed again as being overworked by health professionals but I finally had a CT scan after taking myself to A&E due to shooting pains in my head.’

Doctors found a large mass and an MRI scan confirmed she had stage four Glioblastoma – one of the most aggressive types that is resistant to all treatment. 

She was then told that she had six to 12 months to live, but she knew she had to stay strong for her three sons and husband, Paul.

Lizzie decided to overhaul her diet before undergoing surgery and adopted a strict ketogenic diet, which involves 80% of her food being nutrient-rich, cutting out sugar, junk food and toxins.

Foods on the keto diet are high fat and low carb, which reportedly helps cells repair, reduces inflammation and balances blood glucose levels. 

Lizzie said: ‘There’s no doubt that my keto diet helped me regain my strength after my first brain surgery. 

‘It’s never too late to eat healthily. My diet won’t cure the tumour but it might stop it from growing and I might eventually outlive this disease, this parasite in my brain.’

Alongside her NHS treatment, Lizzie also has a nutritional oncologist in America and she pays for her blood to be taken every month which costs her £1,000.

She’s had some health setbacks in the past few months, suffering seizures and regrowth of the tumours, but after multiple surgeries throughout lockdown, Lizzie was able to go home and surprised doctors with how quickly she recovered.

She said: ‘The doctors couldn’t believe how well I recovered as I spent just three nights in hospital despite having major brain surgery.

‘Just 10 days after surgery I was back riding my bike.’

She is now symptom free and enjoying her life as well as spreading more awareness of brain tumours.

‘I can honestly say that cancer has given me a new lease of life,’ she added.

‘I see cancer as changing my life for the better and improving my attitude towards life in general. I will never take anything for granted ever again.’

Lizzie is also fundraising and so far has raised £13,000 for the Brain Tumour Charity, and £6,500 for cancer services at her local hospital. 

She is now embarking on a career as a lifestyle coach, helping children, teens, and families through adversity or challenges as well as having a food blog on Instagram @Eat_Right_For_Your_Family_Type, offering hints, tips and recipes for feeding your family well. 

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