Colin D Gordon

“The majority of British homes are just not equipped for high temperature events”. This observation by Andy Simms, a property expert with the MyBuilder organisation, quoted by the edie-com contributor Matilda Cox on 6^th July, was prompted by the succession of heatwaves experienced across the UK this summer. Requests for domestic air conditioning (AC) installations, reported Cox, had “skyrocketed by 320%” over the previous few weeks. Likewise, Alex Baldock, the CEO of the electrical goods retailer Currys, confirmed to the Guardian journalist Sarah Butler that sales of its fans had increased by 3,000% and its AC appliances by 330%

The key problem, the Observer columnist, Lily Isaacs, noted on 28^th June, is that for decades our living spaces have been designed to be energy efficient and air tight in order to keep the heat in during the winters. “Now we need the opposite”.

Dr Matthew Blackett, an associate professor of Physical Geography and Natural Hazards at the University of Coventry, however, told Cox that he considers air conditioners to be a short-term solution that might even inadvertently worsen global warming. That’s because the units simply blow hot air from inside a property into the streets outside, thereby raising temperatures in the area and also because they are already responsible for at least 7% of global electricity consumption. As science insights.com has pointed out, hotter temperatures lead to more AC use, which produce more carbon emissions and so cause more warming.

International Energy Agency (IEA) data indicates that there is a “wide disparity” between countries regarding the number of households with AC. Japan tops the list with 91%, followed by the US (90%), South Korea (86%), Saudi Arabia (63%), China (60%), Mexico and Brazil (16%), Europe (10%), Indonesia (9%), South Africa (6%), India and the UK (5%). Although the French are depicted by the Guardian analyst, Fred Harter, as generally “frowning on AC as a vulgar US extravagance”, even there its use has risen to 48% in its southern provinces, though remaining at 10% in the north. The UK’s Climate Change Committee has meanwhile warned the Government that 92% of residences in this country are at risk of overheating by 2050 because they were “built for a climate that no longer exists”, and that AC should be integrated into all care homes and hospitals by 2036 and into all schools within 25 years.

According to the World Population Review (WPR), China is by far the largest AC market, selling around 53 million units annually, 41 million of which are for residential purposes and 12 million for commercial establishments. The US sells 24 million pa, Japan 11 million and India (well behind but catching up) 4 million pa. The WPR notes that,whereas – for cultural reasons – AC has become a normal and expected feature of everyday life in countries such as the US, Japan and South Korea, until now it’s been less common in Europe due to milder climates, older building designs, higher energy costs and an emphasis on limiting energy consumption.

Global Market Insights Inc. anticipates that the international AC market will grow from $US 206.6 billion in 2026 to $US 361.2 billion by 2035, with the Japanese Dalkin Group being the dominant brand by revenue and technology and China’s Gree Electric Appliances leading by unit volume.  The Asia-Pacific region is the largest for both production and demand.

775 rooms – AC mainly just in those used for State occasions, receptions & administrative purposes.

Tom Gill, a writer on sustainability and renewables for heatable.co.uk advises anyone considering purchasing a portable AC unit to opt instead for a wall-mounted one because (he says) they are better for the environment, are more energy efficient and are easier to control with smart thermostats. Also, people who think they can keep cooler without having to spend on an AC by just opening their windows are making a fundamental error. If it’s hotter outside than inside, the warm air will be drawn into the house. A fan does use up less electricity than an AC appliance, but not if you leave it on all day thinking you’re saving money.

On 26^th June, the Sunday Times correspondents Ben Spencer and Claire Irvin, reported that some four & five star hotels in central London, all of which have AC in their rooms, were experiencing an influx of guests checking in because their own nearby accommodation was much too hot.

  When there were rumours that extra-terrestrials had landed in deepest Alaska, the bureau chief of the World Wireless Service (WWS) in Omaha, Mr Williams, immediately rushed off there to investigate. Although the flying saucers had disappeared by the time he arrived, he sent off his report about them anyway to his New York office because, as it was the summer , they needed material that would attract major national attention. However, when he went back the following year because his local contact, Edwin C Benson, has assured him the aliens would return, it had lost its novelty and was no longer considered to be of any interest.

An excerpt from Steven Spielberg’s latest film “Disclosure Day”? No, it’s the narrative of a short story titled “The Silly Season” written by the american futuristic author, C.M. Kornbluth, which was published in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction’s 1950 issue. The point that Kornbluth was trying to make was that Williams was under pressure to produce something significant for WWS (a fictional organisation) even if it was completely invented.

The concept that there’s a period of the year when nothing really happens so publications have to fill their pages with light-hearted, humorous and often improbable incidents dates back 160 years to when it was first mentioned in the Saturday Review on 13^th July 1861. As the communications specialist Alan Anstead has noted, the terminology was given formal recognition in the 2^nd edition of the “Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable” in 1894 , being defined as the months when Parliament, the Law Courts and the political institutions are in recess and media outlets are obliged to search for alternative content.

Although Anstead depicts this as an “annual custom deeply ingrained in British journalism culture”, he acknowledges that many European countries also have a similar tradition. In Norway, Hungary, Holland, Denmark and the Czech Republic, for example, it’s known as “pickled cucumber time”, in Germany “Sommerloch” (summer news hole), in France, “the dull or conker-tree season”, in Sweden “Nyhetstorka” (news drought) and in Spain “serpiente de verano” (summer snake ).

Charley Nash, a cypersecurity expert and accounts manager for Eskenzi PR, however, questions whether it’s reality anymore. The political situation both at home and abroad, he points out, is now far more unpredictable and global issues such the Russia – Ukraine war, the Strait of Hormuz, the spiralling cost of living everywhere and the climate warming crisis all continue to dominate the headlines irrespective of whether Parliament is in session and much of the population is on holiday. The “Rocketeer” contributor, Sarah Light-Waller, has furthermore observed that, until the end of the 1950’s, although the public didn’t always trust the traditional press they were still disposed to believe what they read. No longer, mainly because there’s now such a vast range of different versions of the news available, hence which one is regarded as”correct” depends very much on the attitudes of the person accessing them.

The Australian commentator, Andrew Mueller, has expressed regret on the Monocle cultural website that “journalism has lost its high-summer lull”. In his view, these days it’s always silly season, especially on social media where we are permanently vulnerable to a frivolous or inane scroll from someone, somewhere. It doesn’t help, he observes, that “Earth’s most powerful individual is an incessant source of silliness, which we are obliged to take seriously because of the office (in the White House) that he holds”.

Yet, despite the ubiquitous nature of modern communications, emphasises Dr Craig T Robertson, a professor at the Reuters Oxford Institute for the Study of Journalism, that doesn’t mean that holidaymakers in the Algarve or Tenerife are glued on their smartphones to what’s happening elsewhere in he world. On the contrary, he cites research indicating that there is a growing trend towards avoiding any news which is overtly political, overwhelmingly negative and seems to have little relevance to their own personal lives.

Alan Anstead highlights the fact that anecdotes about animals invariably receive most media coverage in the summer. He provides, as examples, the apparently drug-addicted squirrels running around and creating havoc in the London borough of Brixton in 2005, the 272 occasions one August when seagulls allegedly swooped down on people strolling along the sea-front to steal their fish and chips or their ham and cheese sandwich and the celebrated case of Yvonne the cow in 2011 who escaped the abattoir, wasn’t recaptured until 1^st September and was then relocated to a sanctuary for the rest of her days. There are also more claimed sightings of the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland than at any other time of the year.

On 8^th June, a photo appeared in the Metro newspaper of a St Bernard dog, Louie, being driven around in the sidecar of a Honda motorcycle wearing a helmet and goggles and on 10^th June the UK media applauded the rescue of an Alsatian dog, Bruce, that had been swept out to sea on an inflatable kayak near the Farne islands off the north-east coast of England.

“There’s absolutely no reason to panic”. It was with these words that Kenton Jarvis, the CEO of the budget airline Easyjet, quoted by the Press Association journalists Neil Lancefield and Alexandra Snow on 21^st May, attempted to reassure passengers worried about their flights. Easyjet customers, he insisted, should “book with confidence”. There would be no cancellations or fuel surcharges resulting from the oil crisis in the Strait of Hormuz. He did, however, acknowledge that reservations were lower than at the same stage in 2025 and that the airline had so far filled just 58% of its seats for the six-month period ending in September.

This is not entirely surprising. The limited budgets currently available to many families in the UK has meant that they are questioning whether hey can really afford to go abroad this summer or, even if it’s financially possible, simply don’t want to submit themselves yet again to the stress of what the Britbrief Daily Digest has described as the “savage sunbed warfare” at their hotel in Tenerife or whichever resort they have chosen for their holiday.

An additional deterrent factor has been the introduction by the European Union of its new “Entry Exit System” (EES) which came into effect on 10^th April and has, as the “Which?” contributor Kate Pasola pointed out on 15^th May, has created disruption and confusion at airports across Europe. All non-EU nationals, including UK passport holders since Brexit, on arrival in a Shengen country have now to provide the fingerprints of their right hand and a facial scan at one of the dedicated automated kiosks as well as answering questions about the reason for their visit, where they’ll be staying and how much money they are bringing with them.

Pasola recommends that, when using an EU airport catering for a large number of flights to and from the UK and where long queues have been reported, such as in Lisbon, Milan, Berlin, Paris, Geneva, Bologna, Amsterdam, Krakow and many Spanish ones, it’s sensible to get there at least three hours before departure. According to the Mirror’s news reporter, Eliana Nunes, the Easyjet boss is highly critical of the “completely unacceptable” new arrangement which has caused dozens of his customers to miss their flights due to long border delays and should have been introduced (in his view) at a much quieter time of the year.

The European Commission in Brussels claims the scheme provides additional security and enables them to monitor more precisely “who’s coming and going”. It also insists that individual EU nations are not allowed to apply their own interpretation of the rules or offer exemptions for specific nationalities. That’s exactly what Greece initially declared it would do for UK citizens, noted the EuroWeekly News correspondent Adam Woodward on 20^th April, whereupon it was promptly admonished by the EU Commission. Nonetheless, observed Biometric Update.com on May 19^th, the Greeks will probably act as they want for the time being. The reason for this is the country’s rising popularity as a tourist destination.

It appears that the battle for Europe’s summer tourists is no longer focused solely on sunshine and beaches but just as much on “smooth mobility and climate resilience”. The extreme weather conditions now being experienced by Spain, the flooding risks and “reduced holiday enjoyment” are together proving significant deterrents. The last issue is especially topical on the brink of the new season. On 10^th May, the BBC journalist,Ewan Somerville, highlighted how some hotels and in Spain are “cracking down” on guests reserving sun loungers with towels after a court in Hanover awarded a German holidaymaker £850 against his tour operator because, although he got up at 6 am, they still failed to guarantee him one. The Tenerife Forum commentator, Peter, has emphasized that the competition is especially intense in the south of the island, where some people will set their alarm for 5.45 am so they can lay a towel on a plastic recliner around the pool or on the beach before going back to sleep or to have breakfast. Managements prefer to avoid a confrontation but might impose a fine in excessive cases.

Despite (or because of) the growing enthusiasm for Greece, this is now happening there as well. Since 2024, the authorities have used drones to combat the “beach-hogging” practice and have stipulated that tables, parasols, deck chairs and sunbeds must be at least four metres from the sea.

A 64-year old Greek pensioner, Eugenia Rapti, told the Mirror that when they’d bought their summer home 40 years previously, the nearby Pefkochori beach was “empty and nice to lie on”. Not any more.

“Gambling brought our family together. We had to move to a smaller house”. Gemma Bradley, a care assistant from Wakefield in Yorkshire, if she was aware of this joke once made by the British comedian, Tommy Cooper, is unlikely to find it amusing. She’d almost certainly identify more with the observation by the polemical American entrepreneur Robert T Kiyosaki that either you win or you learn, but never both at the same time.

Mrs Bradley was just one of several thousand customers with the William Hill betting organisation who believed on March 16 that they’d won a “jackpot”. In her case, the amount was £33,000 following her participation in an online casino game. As quoted by the Mirror journalist Miranda Pell, she was crying with happiness because it meant she’d be able to pay off her mortgage. However, noted Pell on March 31, her celebrations hadn’t lasted very long. The company contacted her the very next day to demand the cash be returned, claiming it had been credited to her in error due to a “technical glitch”.

Similarly, Claire Ainsley, a single mother from Liverpool, thought she’d won £1 million, a “life-changing amount of money”, was planning to take her children on holiday and then to buy a new house. She told the ITV breakfast show, “Good Morning Britain” that she’d been congratulated by the William Hill staff, was told the funds would be in her bank account within 72 hours, once she’d provided identification documents, but the money never arrived and that instead she was offered a consolation £39. In yet another example, postman Stephen Harvey from Dunstable in Bedfordshire was denied his expected prize of £330,906 for successfully playing an online slot machine activity, though was allowed to keep £200.

According to Philip Conneller, a contributor to casinoorgphilc, in addition to these three, there were estimated 35,000 people in mid-March who were erroneously awarded wins connected to the “Jackpot Drop” feature at William Hill and 888, both owned by the bookmakers company Evoke. Jake Evans, a Next.io correspondent, has depicted the mistake as having pumped millions into customer accounts which William Hill have been desperately attempting to retrieve on the basis that they were not generated through valid or properly functioning game-play. The company insists that clause 8 of its Terms and Conditions allows them to void transactions if a malfunction has occurred, though many of its consumers have vowed to take legal action to protect their perceived winnings.

There have been plenty of precedents for such disputes. In 2021, Betfred were ordered by the High Court to pay out £1.7 million after they’d initially refused to do so and in 2025 the same court ruled that a gardener was entitled to a £1 million jackpot which had been contested by Paddy Power. Evans has pointed out that this latest “ unfortunate episode” has occurred at a particularly sensitive moment for Evoke, the owners of William Hill.

On April 19, the Sunday Times business journalists Oliver Gill and Daniel Woolfson reported that the company is £1.8 billion in debt and is currently negotiating a rescue deal with the American Rhode-Island based casino operator Bally, who are better known in Britain as the front-of-shirt sponsors of Nottingham Forest Football Club. On 31 March, Evoke announced announced that from 24 May it will be closing 200 (14.3%) of its 1,400 betting outlets across the UK. This reflects a continuing development which has been evident over more than twenty years, not just with William Hill but also its main competitors Ladbroke Coral, Betfred and Paddy Power.

At their peak,notes the UK Bookmakers (UKB) website, there were over 16,000 betting shops across the country, not hidden away in side-streets but located openly in town centres. Not any more. Even in 2009, there were still 8,872 of them, but since then the number has declined to 5,825. UKB have attributed this “culling of the industry” mainly to the increase in internet and smartphone betting, whereby “punters” can discreetly and anonymously place stakes from the comfort of their own home or indeed from almost anywhere and estimate that remote gambling in Britain now produces revenues of at least £14.4 billion a year.

Evoke is not the only one closing many of its shops. Ladroke Coral and Paddy Power are doing the same and Betfred have warned that this could happen to all its 1,287 outlets. The Labour Government’s 2025 Autumn Budget, which increased online casino tax from 21% to 40% from 1^st April 2026 and General Betting Duty from 21% to 25%, effective April 2027, has added significantly to the pressure.

Nonetheless, despite this trend, Boylesports have been opening up new sites rather than closing down existing ones. That’s because, in the opinion of “Which Bookie.com”, land-based venues remain a popular choice for many gamblers in Britain who prefer the social ambiance and the individual attention they receive at these locations to the impersonal and remote service available to them online.

“I’m a slow walker, but I never walk backwards”. This remark. attributed to Abraham Lincoln, US President from 1861 – 1865, is generally regarded as reflecting his determination never to retreat or give up once he’d made a decision (such as abolishing slavery). One of his biographers, Albert Kaplan, has described how Lincoln moved around with caution, firmness and an even tread, His personal mannerisms “encapsulated his robust philosophy of intentional action”, shaping perceptions of him both at the time and ever since.

As the mAd MiNds organisation pointed out in a YouTube video clip on 15^th March, the physical styles of people in charge can project an aura of confidence, authority or approachability when they enter a room, even before they’ve uttered a word. Their body language in effect often reveals more about their objectives than whatever they’re about to say. Some will proceed promptly to the podium, others will greet well-wishers along the way, a few will keep their eyes focused exclusively straight ahead.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, it seems, belongs to this last category. A study in the British Medical Journal has concluded that Putin’s distinctive “Gunslinger’s / Clint Eastwood strut”, whereby his left arm swings freely but his right arm remains static”, is derived from his training with the Soviet KGB. Apparently, as the Daily Express journalist Mataeo Smith has observed, the purpose was to enable operatives to draw their gun as quickly as possible when confronted with a foe. In the same video, French President Emmanuel Macron is depicted as being assertive, energetic and even elegant when accompanied by his wife Brigitte while Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “upright bearing” conveys the impression of control and stability.

At a recent rally in Kentucky, reported by the Huffpost contributor, Monica Torres,on 22^nd March, President Trump acknowledged that he descends wet stairs very carefully to avoid slipping but claimed that Barack Obama’s way of doing it had been more “unpresidential”. Although he has often also mocked Joe Biden’s tendency trip over, Trump’s own gait was characterised by the Health Digest contributor Cole Hediger on 25^th November as being “curiously pigeon-toed”,with his feet turning inwards, not forward, when stepping, thereby reigniting questions about his well-being. According to the New York Post columnist Richard Pollina, in his final year in the White House, Biden was flanked by aides in order to block cameras from filming him shuffling and stumbling.

For the British author, Matthew Beaumont, walking is far from being a neutral activity. On the contrary, in his opinion, it is “irreducibly political”.Which is why The Times newspaper has highlighted the fact that so many British Members of Parliament have increasingly resorted to what it dubs the “Westminster Walk-And-Talk” whereby they stride purposefully towards the camera to delivery punchy narrative on the latest contentious issue. Dr Christian Jarrett, the editor of the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, however, cautions that, despite the potential immediate impact of a “pavement pitch”, it can either look like a desperate attempt to make an impression or lead the viewers to make false judgements about the person appearing on their screen.

Indeed, whether it’s possible to accurately identify individuals based on their movement patterns has, according to the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda Maryland, USA, long fascinated society. The rapid development of AI has made this much easier. Rather like fingerprints, leg length, muscle flexibility, joint mobility and overall body structure (states info@feet.co.uk) together provide each person with a distinct walking style which can be detected by surveillance tools now being deployed in many parts of China.

“You don’t need people’s cooperation for us to be able to find out who they are”, the CEO of the computer data company Watrix, Huang Yongzhen has told the Associated Press correspondent Dake Kang. That’s because gait recognition devices can’t be deceived by someone pretending to limp, hunching over, turning their back or covering their face because the software analyses features of the whole body and can function at a distance of 50 metres away. As Kang notes, there is growing concern about how far this technology will go.

Meanwhile, studies conducted by the Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International in Kyoto, Japan, cited by the Guardian’s Science Editor, Ian Sample, on 18^th March, have concluded that how people walk is a definite indication of how they are feeling. A large arm swing suggests they are in an angry mood, a smaller one that they are a bit despondent. If they have their hands in their pockets, this could mean they are dissatisfied with the way they look or with the clothes they are wearing. Those with heavy footsteps have persistent personalities but can be inflexible in their attitudes.

A YouGov survey has revealed that 42% of respondents between the age of 18 – 49 classify themselves as fast walkers, whereas 44% of 65 year-olds and over reluctantly accept they are now much slower. Another 12% either don’t know or haven’t given it much thought.

“Start doing things you think you cannot do”. The main purpose of this “powerful exhortation” by Eleanor Roosevelt, the US First Lady from 1933 – 1945 (according to the Socratic Method website) was to encourage individuals to rise above their self-imposed limitations. It seems unlikely nonetheless that, during her twelve-year resídence in the White House, she needed to heed this advice herself by replacing an electrical socket or fixing the plumbing for one of the presidential sinks.

This contrasts markedly with the situation currently faced by many households in Britain who, as the Sun journalist Anna McGovern pointed out on 5^th February, are having to deal with broken domestic items themselves rather than pay someone else from outside to do it for them. Although saving money is clearly the biggest motivator, with 52% using their own tools to reduce costs, a survey conducted by the Gorilla Glue company, an American brand of polyurethane adhesives based in Sharonville, Ohio, has discovered that for 72%, achieving something they thought would be too difficult for them had engendered a sense of pride and 40% had also acquired new skills in the process. Thomas Sutton, the company’s UK Marketing Director, was quoted by the Metro newspaper on 6^th February as applauding the fact that people are at least attempting to mend possessions such as toys, picture frames and even their vacuum cleaners. T

The Daily Star columnist, Oliver Lewis, the same day sounded a more cautionary note. Certain tasks, he emphasised, are generally regarded as exceptionally demanding, especially replacing roof tiles (65%), patching a leaking roof (62%), problems with guttering (51%) and changing a plug socket (35%) while one of the main deterrents is concern about making mistakes. The Britwealth property consultants are adamant that anyone with “Do-It-Yourself” (DIY) ambitions should first make a “brutally honest assessment” of their own capabilities and to be realistic about the time they have available. Apparently simple DIY projects, they observe, often take much longer than anticipated, particularly when unforeseen challenges occur.

Hannah Healey, senior researcher and writer for the Which? Consumer protection organisation, agrees. While some people, she notes, have no difficulty changing a washer on a tap, for others it can lead to a “DIY disaster”. Trying to plumb in an appliance (for example a washing machine), rewire a light-switch, replace a fuse for an oven, unblock drains, pipes or a toilet, among many other similar tasks, can cause a complete calamity if you don’t really know what you’re doing. Jobs that Healey considers most DIY beginners should be able to do include painting and decorating, taking draughtproofing measures, cleaning carpets and sofas, re-grouting tiles or resealing around a sink, bath or shower, putting up pictures or shelves and applying plaster where there has been minor damage.

Data provided by the DIY Statistics UK 2026 Report published on March 7^th by Ben Dracup, the Search Engine Optimizing (SEO) Manager with Minty Digital, has indicated that 68% of UK adults have tried some form of DIY over the past year, mainly for financial reasons and that only 25.2% of consumers employ professionals to carry out the work. Home owners aged 50-64 spend the most on home improvements at £52.10 per week, the 30-49 year-olds £44 pw and those 75 or over £33.10 pw. Almost 7 million of them plan to renovate their properties by 2027, with interior decorating being the most common DIY activity, 23% aiming to install a new kitchen, 21% to upgrade their bathroom and 21% to lay new flooring.

Although Dracup depicts the UK as a nation of D IY enthusiasts, he also highlights the fact that 30% of the country’s adults (approximately 15.9 million people) didn’t finish the DIY job (80% of them involving painting and decorating) they’d embarked on over the previous twelve months, mainly due to lost motivation (35%), not enough time (28%), they’d realised (24%) they lacked sufficient skills to complete what they’d started or didn’t understand the instructions and 3.4 million couldn’t continue because they’d injured themselves, 31% from electric shocks and 19% by falling from a ladder.

In this category, 36% had sought medical attention, either by visiting their doctor (GP) or going to Accident & Emergency (A&E) at a hospital and 24% had been forced to take time off from their employment to recover. In the opinion of 85% of professional tradespeople, DIY videos online are responsible for a large proportion of their call-outs being to rectify damage caused by homeowners unrealistically inspired by social media platforms such as Instagram (24%), Facebook (23%), Pinterest (16%) and TikTok (8%).

Dracup anticipates, on the basis of the latest available Mordor Intelligence projections, that the UK DIY and decorating industry will generate an estimated total revenue of £30.8 billion by 2030. This is clearly excellent news for the leading UK retailers of home improvement products, B&Q, Kingfisher, Wickes and the sofa sellers DFS, all of whom, as the Business Live contributor Mark Sweney observed on 29^th December, have already benefited from the closure of their main rival, Homebase. in November 2024.

“Be proud to be Latino and never lose that pride”. The Puerto Rican singer Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio (stage name “Bad Bunny”) emphasised his commitment to his origins and his belief that “an artist should never forget where they are from” when he performed and spoke almost entirely in Spanish during half-time at the National Football League’s “Super Bowl” final at the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California on February 8th.

This didn’t please the current occupant of the White House who ridiculed Martinez Ocasio’s show on the grounds that no-one could anyway understand he was saying. In fact, the Economist publication pointed out in it’s February 14th edition, this piqued response wasn’t at all accurate, mainly because a large proportion of the USA’s 40 million Spanish speakers will have been among the estimated 135.4 million people who watched the event globally. The rival “Turning Point” alternative, screened at the same time, attracted only 5.2 million viewers. Furthermore, stated the Economist, the USA is the world’s fifth-biggest Hispanophone country, though it also anticipates that, due to the current immigrant deportation policies and the assimilation process whereby ethnic communities gradually adapt to their local environment, this percentage could begin to decline.

According to the “Babbel” commentatór, James Lane, on January 4th, there are 486 million native speakers of Spanish around the world, putting it behind only Chinese (1.3 billion) and ahead of English (380 million, though this doesn’t include the billion who use it as a second language), followed by Arabic (362 million), Hindi (345 million), Bengali (237 million), Portuguese (236 million) and Russian (148 million).

Recent YouGov data reveals that 30% of UK residents who currently only speak English but would like to learn another language would choose Spanish, 18% French, 10% German, 8% Ítalian and 3%-4% Mandarin. This confirms the trend highlighted by the PA Media correspondent Eleanor Busby whereby Spanish has overtaken French in popularity among GCSE (General Certificate Of Education) students in Britain. Ofqual (Office of Qualifications & Examinations Regulation) figures show that entries for French GCSE fell by 1.9% from 130,650 in 2024 to 128,155 last year, for German by 7.6% from 35,110 to 32,430 but increased by 1.6% for Spanish from 129,935 to 131,985. Likewise at “A-Level”: French and German down ( by 8.3% and 6.8%) but Spanish up by 1.4%.

Vicky Gough, a schools advisor with the British Council attributes this to the growing importance of Spanish for international business and Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) considers it almost certainly reflects the fact that young people and families in Britain frequently select mainland Spain, the Balearics and the Canary Islands as their preferred holiday destination.

In the Guardian on 10^th February, the journalist Gary Nunn described Spanish as “clearly now the world’s coolest language” and queried why children in the UK are still being pushed to learn French. In his view, it’s mainly for historical reasóns, the proximity of France and the fact that it maintains 2^nd place (after English) at the United Nations and for the Olympics. Nevertheless, he declared, it’s time for the curriculum to be changed to take into account the fact that Spanish will be more useful for students for their future employability, travel opportunities and “cultural credibility”. Híspanic musíc, he observed, ís having a major effect worldwide. He cited the Catalan singer Rosalia as an example, but could have íncluded countless others such as her compatriot Enrique Iglesias as well as “Bad Bunny”, Ricky Martin (also Puertó Rican), Shakira and Karol G (Colombia), Juan Luis Guerra (Dominican Republic) and Peso Pluma (Mexico).

The Forbes Lifestyle contributor, Meggen Harris,on December 15^th took thís analogy even further. Latin American fashion, she declared, isn’t just havíng “a moment”, it’s emergíng as the índustry’s next “Global Powerhouse” and the new generatíon of desígners from Colombia, Mexicó, Peru, Brazil and across the region is attracting the keen interest of the major international brands. Prominent among them, highlighted by the Dominican founder and president of Latin Fashion Week, Sobeidy Vidal, on January 15^th, are Wílly Chavarria, a Mexican-American who “fearlessly celebrates his Chicano roots”, Fernandó García (the Dominican co-creative director of Oscar de la Renta), Maria Cornejo, a Chilean focusing mainly on minimalist geometric designs, Gabriela Hearst, a Uruguayan whose innovations reflect “conscious luxury” and Mexico’s “romantic revolutionary”, Carlos Pineda, acclaimed for his “dramatic florals, cascading ruffles and traditional embroidery”.

The freelance writer and “digital nomad”, Mike James, has observed that notable Spanish designers such as Pedro del Hierro, Paco Rabanne and Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, are also having a significant influence on the development of the international fashion sector. Similarly, brands such as Zara, Balenciaga, Manolo Blahnik, Massimo Dutti and Delpozo have not only made Spanish styles easily accessible but have become commercially powerful on a global scale.

 “The UK fashion industry is experiencing a dynamic period of growth and transformation. With its focus on innovation, sustainability and inclusivity, it’s not only setting new trends but also redefining what it means to be fashionable in the modern age”. Furthermore, in the view of the UK Reporter newspaper, the nation’s capital has reinforced its reputation as a hub of creativity and the biannual London Fashion Week (LFW) remains a prestigious venue for both established designers and emerging new talent.

The comments by the Brítish Fashion Council’s CEÓ, Laura Weir, prior to the start of the latest LFW (19th-23^rd February), although not directly contradicting any of this, nevertheless reflected the current pragmatic mood within the sector. The event is at its most potent when it combines the creative with the commercial, she told the Guardian’s fashion editor, Jessica Cartney-Morley and she acknowledged that financial pressures have led some designers to absent themselves not only from the London schedules but from the New York and Paris ones as well. This explains why the BFC has not charged fees for some of the catwalks and has doubled its investment in its International Guest Programme. As she told Cartney-Morley, the cost of putting on a show can be as much as £50,000, so “if its going to get you into loads of debt, don’t do it”.

According to the latest figures on Family Spending released by the Office For National Statistics (ONS), the average UK household allocates an estimated 3.9% – 4.1% of its annual expenditure to clothing and footwear, amounting to around £27 per week. This, they say, “demonstrates fashion’s resilience as a consumer priority, even amid inflationary pressures and tighter disposable incomes”. The Mckinsey & Company’s “State Of Fashion 2026” Report, nevertheless emphasises that the sector worldwide now faces new challenges such as considerable economic volatility and the technological disruption arising from Artificíal Intelligence which is obliging brands to rethink their digital marketing and e-commerce infrastructure .

In the UK, the additional complicating factor is that the sector is still suffering the consequences of Brexit even though it’s almost ten years since the UK voted to leave the European Union (23^rd June 2016).As the Independent Commission on UK-EU relations has emphasised, Britain’s fashion and textile industry is not just a cultural powerhouse but also an economic force comprising 72,000 enterprises, 714,000 individuals and contributing £109.9 billion to the country’s exchequer. The visa and work permit requirements now faced in both directions by British and EU designers, stylists, models and photographers have, declares the Commission, made the UK less competitive compared to hubs like Paris and Milan and the exodus of 60% of skilled European staff has been a severe loss to the workforce.

The decision by the US Supreme Court on February 20th that the President doesn’t have the authority to impose tariffs without the approval of Congress doesn’t mean that the previous trading arrangements can now be immediately resumed. The President, having been blocked from using the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) promptly declared that he would instead invoke section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act in order to increase tariffs globally by 15%, though this reverted to 10% on 24^th February and will require the approval of Congress after 150 days for it to be extended for a further period. The discreet response from the UK Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has been that it will work with the US administration to understand “how the ruling will affect tariffs for the UK and the rest of the world”.

Meanwhile, amidst all of this and the international media furore over the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, LFW A/W proceeded almost as planned. Indeed, King Charles III himself attended the first day on 19^th February at the BFC studios at 180 The Strand , sitting in the front row for the catwalk by the British-Nigerian designer, Tolu Coker, flanked by Stella McCartney and Laura Weir. It was the first time, noted the Independent columnist Lara Owen, since the appearance of Queen Elizabeth II in 2018, that a reigning British monarch had turned up at LFW in a gesture of support for the UK’s fashion scene. The remaining four days featured traditional stalwarts such as Burberry, Erdem, Emilia Wickstead, Temperley London and Simone Rocha plus several designers participating in LFW for the very first time.

“The busy streets, the shouts and the car horns: The perfect symphonic soundtrack to the city that never sleeps”. It’s with these euphoric words that the north-east England fiction writer, Tillie Cole, has professed her profound affection for New York. The American author, Holden Chase, however, pointed out in his travel blog on September 25^th that although overseas visitors might find this “urban cacophony” attractive, under recently introduced legislation (sections 24-221 of the NYC administrative code) New York drivers now risk incurring a $350 fine and have points put on their licence (which would increase their insurance premium) if they indulge in “unnecessary honking”. The declared objective is to create a more peaceful environment and reduce stress for both residents and commuters. To monitor decibel levels and catch offenders, automated noise cameras are being increasingly positioned around the city, issuing penalties of between $800 – $2,500 for excessive horn use.

According to the “Intelligent Transport Systems UK” website, a survey conducted on its behalf by the “Opinium” organisation has indicated that 69% of the public in Britain support the introduction of noise cameras. They were first installed in several London boroughs in 2021 / 22 and are now being trialled by many local authorities around the country who also have the option of the regulations already in force. On 15^th January, for example, the Metro newspaper reported that the Tandridge District Council in Surrey was considering imposing a £100 fine on “inconsiderate road users” who honked their horn too loudly. Despite complaints by some local people that this measure was “a bit harsh”, the UK Highway Code’s Rule 112 makes it clear that the horn should only be utilised as an “alert system for safety purposes” and when the car is moving, not when it’s stationary. 

As Peter Bamford, the retail director of the “Mr Tyre” company has emphasised, any vehicle over 3 years old will fail its mandatory annual MOT test if the horn is not working properly. He also advises that it’s illegal to “toot” your horn to greet someone you know, scare animals from the road, express outrage or annoyance at somebody’s behaviour, to hurry up other road users and between the hours of 11.30 pm and 7 am (except in cases of imminent danger). So if you’re collecting a colleague, friend or family member from their workplace or home, you shouldn’t sound the horn to let them know you’re outside: “If a police officer is nearby, you could end up facing an immediate “Fixed Penalty Notice” (FPN) of £30, rising to £1000 if you unsuccessfully contest 

Nevertheless, observes Bamford, there are situations in the UK when using the horn is both acceptable and recommended, such as when a car is reversing out of a driveway and hasn’t seen you, to warn cyclists or pedestrians and when approaching a bend, junction or narrow bridge in a rural area. The sound should be somewhere between 100 – 100 decibels, depending on the vehicle model, must be continuous and uniform and can only mimic sirens, bells or gongs if it is a genuine antique.

Around the world, however, according to Olivia Richman, a motoring contributor to the technology news-site, Slashgear, the permitted volume and frequency of car horns varies according to local culture and traditions. In Japan and Germany (she says) they are generally reserved for emergencies and excessive honking is regarded as disrespectful, whereas in Italy, Africa and many Latin America countries, it’s an integral part of everyday road expression and is treated as a “ friendly social signal” rather than aggressiveness. Statistics indicate that drivers in India use them 40 times more often than their European counterparts.

The Data Insight Market website calculates that the global car horn market, valued at $710 million in 2025, will grow by another 6.3% by 2033. That’s partly due to the increasing popularity of customizable ones that allow owners to choose different sounds and tones. Musical horns that play a short tune and omit the traditional honk are forbidden in the UK but there is a growing interest in them, noted the Alibaba Car Interior correspondent, Andre Silva on 28^th January, particularly among truck drivers in North America, Europe and South-East Asia.

This trend, he adds, aligns with broader shifts towards personalisation in vehicle modification (similarly with unique number plates). They are available in several configurations, such as pre-programmed novelty single-melody ones playing “La Cucaracha” or “Dixie”, which are reliable, inexpensive to install but a bit repetitive or alternatives that offer 20-46 variations that enable the driver to switch constantly through the songs. At the same time, they have to be not only functional but also comply with local regulations.

The Prime Minister of Cambodia, Hun Manet, however clearly doesn’t approve of musical horns. In March 2024, he banned them, claiming that videos had shown “inappropriate activity committed by some people, especially youth and children, dancing on the roadside to the melodies emanating from the trucks”. He ordered that they should be ripped out and replaced with the standard honking type.

“I hate holidays and never want to go on one again. They are an absolute

nightmare”. When the British journalist Ariane Sherine made this declaration in the Metro newspaper on November 6^th, she admitted that she was

perplexed as to why so many of her compatriots “can’t wait to pay through the nose to get stressed in an airport and then fly huddled in a cramped metal can for several tortuous hours before invariably arriving late at their destination. where they are fleeced by the taxi driver and accommodated in a bog-

standard hotel with terrible decor”. Yes, she adds, the weather in other countries might be better than in the UK, but it’s “quite nice here as well in the summer “, which is when (she contends) most people go abroad, often to where there are now dangerously high temperatures. Ruben Arribas, a contributor to the Gamin Traveler destination guide, agrees with Sherine that visiting new places, although often celebrated for its enriching experiences “is not without its downsides”: High costs, unrealistic and inflated expectations, overcrowding, journey fatigue and (increasingly) hostility from local communities. Is it truly worthwhile every time, he asks, or have we all just been sold an appealing delusion?

However, as the Guardian’s consumer affairs correspondent, Sarah Marsh, noted on 3^rd January, none of these concerns appear to have deterred the large numbers of Britain’s “winter-weary” population from already planning their “sunny breaks”. That date is known in the travel industry as “Sunshine Saturday” as it’s traditionally the busiest annual moment for bookings. Indeed, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which also runs the Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing (ATOL) scheme which provides protection and reimbursement for customers if their tour operator goes out of business, has predicted that 4.5 million people – 5% (200,00) more than in 2025 – will this month confirm their holiday trip reservations for later this year.

According to the Daily Mail’s Senior News Reporter, Elizabeth Haigh, there’s been a significant increase in online search traffic for Bermuda, Malta’s “quieter sister island”of Gozo, the Greek island of Crete as well as Sri Lanka and the Central American nation Costa Rica, the last two indicating a continuing shift in demand towards “long-haul” locations. Tenerife, nonetheless, observes Marsh, has reclaimed the top spot for 2026, while Egypt, Dubai, Malta and the Canary island of Fuerteventura have all climbed up the rankings.

Sea, sun and sand, The Independent columnist, Natalie Wilson, emphasised on 13^th January, are however not the only factors which need to be taken into consideration: Before leaving for the airport, you should check that your passport and travel insurance are still valid and that you’re going somewhere that the FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) deems to be safe. While they accept that

“only you can decide whether you should travel to a country or stay there”, they do maintain on their website a substantial and constantly updated list of the “ones to avoid” due to armed conflict, military coups, civil unrest, disease outbreaks or natural disasters. There are currently 12 nations classified by the FCDO’s as “definitely don’t go there”: Afghanistan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Haiti, Iran, Mali, Niger, Russia,

South Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen. There are another 42 where the advice is not to travel to parts of that country (such as within 10 km of the India-Pakistan border and Kashmir or to the Russian-controlled Transnistria area of Moldova) and a further 16 where only “essential travel” should be contemplated (for example, 5km from the Mexican-Guatemalan border and the Southern Highland provinces of Papua New Guinea).

The FCDO acknowledges that circumstances can change quickly and that they will remove advice against travelling somewhere as soon as the situation there improves. Natalie Wilson points out that anyone ignoring the FCDO’s recommendations is likely to have their travel insurance nullified and they may not receive UK consular support if an emergency occurs.

In a survey conducted in the UK by the Forbes Advisor service, 54% of respondents disclosed they’ve sometimes gone abroad without first taking out travel insurance and 11% stated that they’ve never done so. The Avanti Travel Insurance company attributes this partly to the fact that it’s become much more expensive – mainly, they say, due to higher global medical fees and frequent travel disruptions arising from extreme weather conditions and strikes by airport staff, pilots and flight controllers resulting in delays and cancellations. The cost of travel insurance, say Avanti, varies according to your age, health condition, how long you’ll be away, destination and the value of the possessions you’re taking with you.

Meanwhile, wherever you’re going, make sure your passport is in good shape. If it’s damaged or torn in any way, warned the tourism correspondent Julia Brookes in the Sunday Times on January 4^th, the border officials of many countries, among them Canada, Australia, the USA, Turkey, Vietnam and Indonesia, will refuse you entry.