Category Entertainment News

Gardeners ‘ World host Monty Don has opened up about a ‘ great trouble ‘ at his Herefordshire home and the changes he’s been forced to make in order to combat the issue

Monty Don has spoken out about a “great trouble” he’s faced at his home as he grapples with a persistent issue.

The 69 year old gardening guru has opened up about the UK’s shifting weather patterns, stating that the “extreme” conditions have become a “problem” for green-fingered enthusiasts nationwide, leading them to seek out more resilient plants. At his Longmeadow residence in Herefordshire, Monty has been battling with flooding issues. Back in January, Monty and his wife Sarah found themselves “flooded in”, unable to leave their property due to the rising water levels.

During an episode of the Talking Gardens podcast, Monty discussed the adaptations gardeners are having to make to cope with the changing climate. He explained: “It’s the extremes of weather rather than the weather trends that are the problem, so we are getting very wet weather, very dry weather, very cold weather and very hot weather.

“And we’re in new territory, we’ve all been brought up and trained to find plants that fit niches. But increasingly we want plants that will adapt to extremes and that’s testing everybody”, reports Gloucestershire Live.

” And I would challenge anybody who says they knew how that would pan out and we’re all working that one out for better or for worse. I think more interestingly is to what extent we try and mitigate it. I mean, in my own garden we’ve put in big drains this year, at great trouble and expense to try and take some of the water away in winter. “

Monty has shared that Longmeadow, the property he acquired in 1991, is prone to flooding due to its location on a flood plain. He’s concerned about the” saturation “of the soil, which results in” puddles bubbling out of the ground”.

He added:” The problem is, I can plant for wet conditions, that isn’t a problem, but we’ve also had some very dry summers. I think the interesting thing is to what extent plants will adapt themselves. “

As long as they receive enough rain in the winter, the hosta is an example of a plant that is becoming tougher through the colder summers. He cited “reasonably drainage” as being necessary for gardeners who require soil that can hold moisture.

The green-fingered guru has voiced his worries about the increasing instances of floods in the UK before. On BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he remarked: “Flooding has always been part of life, you know, forever, but it’s definitely got worse.

It’s getting more frequent, he says. And I mean, I’ve just observed that we’ve lived where we’ve been for 34 years.

Monty has been gracing television screens for over three decades, starting with a gardening segment on This Morning in 1989. He became widely recognised in 2002 when he succeeded Alan Titchmarsh as the lead presenter of Gardeners’ World.

Last night, Gardeners’ World returned to BBC Two for a second time. For a vibrant summer garden, Mary Don provided advice on how to maximize plant growth, including seed division and seed division.

Lady Gaga was suspended above the stage during her Friday night headlining performance at Coachella due to significant technical issues.

During her Friday night Coachella headlining performance, Lady Gaga had to deal with significant technical issues.

The 39-year-old pop star, who goes by Stefani Germanotta, was having technical issues right away with her performance, with her microphone starting to malfunctioning as soon as she entered a staged in a dress-like structure. She was left helpless after receiving a replacement microphone from engineers because the issue threatened to undermine her performance.

With the performance of her first two songs, including the recent single Abracadabra, going without a hitch, Gaga’s headset microphone gave off a ominous warning about what was to come when her first two songs, including her own, began to crackle. The singer initially had the ability to adjust her microphone, but soon the crackling and loss of voice began to take hold. As technicians worked to resonate the singer’s voice, Gaaga continued to sing and dance, but the audience was only hearing the backing vocals.

Her headset was gone, and Gaga was holding a chunky microphone when she reappeared from her dress-like structure. Due to her keeping the mic closed for singing, she was unable to fully immerse herself in the dance routines, so everyone was delighted as the performance continued.

Gaga’s Lady Gaga: The MAYHEM Ball, which will be her first performance at London’s O2 Arena since 2014, will be held in the UK with the hope that these technical issues will be resolved when she makes her European tour debut there. Before moving on to Manchester’s Co-Op Live on October 29, she will perform three nights at London’s O2 Arena on September 29 and October 2 and October 2 before moving on to Manchester’s O2 Arena.

Lady Gaga stated on her official Instagram account that she initially didn’t intend to go on a tour. After my shows in Singapore, she wrote, “I wasn’t planning to tour this year, but the incredible response to the new album inspired me to keep things moving.”

“It all came together very quickly thanks to Live Nation’s incredible team and Arthur Fogel, who had a global tour in a few weeks. I can’t wait to see the show because we chose arenas this time because it allows me to control everything in a way that you can’t in stadiums.

This performance is meant to be exactly how I envision MAYHEM coming to life. Yours will soon have access to the MAYHEM Ball Tour. Monsters, see you soon.

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Songwriting legend Sir Elton John has been open about his various health issues over the years and in more recent times has been left battling with his vision

Sir Elton John has opened up about a series of health challenges that sparked concern among fans around the world, and have left him contemplating his own mortality. The 77-year-old music icon appeared on The Graham Norton Show in February alongside singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile to promote their new track, Who Believes In Angels?

During the emotional interview, Elton spoke about how the songwriting process for another project unexpectedly hit home, forcing him to think about his future. Elton admitted that when he worked on a song called When This Whole World Is Done With Me, written by longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin, he was overcome with emotion.

He said: “Bernie Taupin gave me a lyric for a song called When This Whole World Is Done With Me, and I’m writing the verse quite quickly, and I think this is a really lovely verse.

“And then I get to the chorus, and I find that it’s about my death, my demise. And as a 76 year old man, which I was at that time, and having children and having a husband, mortality, and you think about, ‘How long have I got? How long? I hope I’ve got, much longer than maybe I’ve got.’

“And so by the time I got to the chorus and suddenly realised that I started singing it (and) I lost it for 45 minutes. It was a very, very heavy moment for me.”

The singer added: “After 45 minutes of being consoled, I was okay, but I recorded the next day… when you’re singing about being washed out to sea and the end of your life, it took me by surprise.”

This moment of truth came after a series of health concerns that the Rocket Man singer has faced over the years, the most frightening one being his declining eyesight.

While Elton was supporting his musical The Devil Wears Prada in a London theatre, the star admitted that he had “lost his eyesight and can’t see the stage”. The shocking news sparked a wave of concern from his fans.

Elton later revealed that the issue stemmed from a serious eye infection he contracted during a holiday in the South of France. He posted an update on Instagram in September, saying: “Over the summer, I’ve been dealing with a severe eye infection that has unfortunately left me with only limited vision in one eye. I am healing, but it’s an extremely slow process and it will take some time before sight returns to the impacted eye.

“I am so grateful for the excellent team of doctors and nurses and my family, who have taken such good care of me over the last several weeks. I have been quietly spending the summer recuperating at home, and am feeling positive about the progress I have made in my healing and recovery thus far. With love and gratitude.”

Although he had hoped for a gradual recovery, Elton told the London audience that his condition hadn’t improved, saying: “I’ve lost my eyesight and cannot see the stage… As some of you may know I have had issues and now I have lost my sight. I haven’t been able to see the performance but I have enjoyed it. To my husband who’s been my rock because I haven’t been able to come to many of the previews… it’s hard for me to see it but I love to hear it and it sounded good tonight. Thank you for coming!”

This is far from the first health hurdle the singer has faced. In 2013, he postponed tour dates due to appendicitis, with a spokesperson saying he made “superhuman efforts” to perform despite being unwell. He later had surgery to have his appendix removed.

Elton has also lived with Type 2 diabetes since the early 2000s, and made considerable changes to his diet because of it. On Ruthie’s Table 4 podcast, he shared: “I can have an apple, I can eat a bit of melon. As long as you’re sensible about it, it doesn’t shoot your blood sugar up. But what I crave is chocolate and ice cream, I can’t have any ice cream.”

He added with a laugh: “If I had a death row meal, it wouldn’t contain anything except sweets, because I can’t eat them now. So, I’d have ice cream, donuts, apple pie, rhubarb crumble.”

In 2017, the Your Song hitmaker was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He decided to get surgery instead of chemotherapy, hoping that would take less of an emotional toll on his family. However, he suffered from complications after the procedure that nearly claimed his life. In his memoir Me, Elton revealed he was just “24 hours from death” after contracting a rare infection.

He remembers lying awake in a hospital bed, sharing: “In the hospital, alone at the dead of night, I’d prayed: please don’t let me die, please let me see my kids again, please give me a little longer.”

The following years brought more challenges, including a painful fall that forced him to postpone the 2021 leg of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour. While describing the discomfort his hip injury brought him, the singer said: “Despite intensive physio and specialist treatment, the pain has continued to get worse and is leading to increasing difficulties moving.”

He ultimately had surgery and only went back to performing in 2023 after further delays that were caused by the pandemic. Despite all the health setbacks he has faced, Elton is proud to still be alive and kicking. In October, he updated fans on his health, saying: “To be honest with you, there’s not much of me left. I don’t have tonsils, adenoids or an appendix. I don’t have a prostate. I don’t have a right hip or a left knee or a right knee. In fact, the only thing left to me is my left hip. But I’m still here.”

Ross Lynch was just 15 when he first appeared on Disney Channel but now almost 30, he’s reflected on how growing up in the limelight affected him and his development

Ross Lynch has revealed growing up on the Disney Channel was a “unique experience.” The actor and singer made his debut as Austin Moon in the series Austin & Ally back in 2011 and instantly became a hit with viewers.

Since then, the 29-year-old has gone on to carve out a successful career in both acting and music, having been the lead singer of pop rock band R5, before branching out with The Driver Era. Nowadays though, he’s touring the world with the latter alongside his brother Rocky Lynch and has amassed a staggering 10.8 million followers on Instagram alone.

“It’s interesting,” Ross exclusively told the Mirror about growing up in the spotlight. The singer, who is back with their latest album, Obsession, went on to add: “I’ve definitely had a unique experience. It’s definitely different than probably anyone you’ve been friends with, unless you have any other friends who have been on TV since they were 15. It’s interesting, I developed in certain ways quicker than other people and then I didn’t develop in other ways quicker.

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“For instance, romantic relationships came later in life for me, because I wasn’t really in high school. I was just on set working.” Ross adds that “setting boundaries” came later in life for him as he was “so used to being a worker.” He explained that his working life made him “used” to sending over his schedule to other people. But he admits that while his childhood was very different to most, he wouldn’t change it for the world.

“I think my life is pretty cool,” he said while grinning. Ross added: “I’ve enjoyed it up to this point, for instance, being able to travel the world with my family making music, I think it’s a pretty unique experience and I’m grateful for it and I wouldn’t change. Even now, being on tour.

“I think the plus side of it is I have all this experience.” It’s been 14 years since Ross found fame but the lesson he’s taken away from his career so far is to “try and enjoy it.” He commented: “Even with Obsession coming out, I feel like Obsession is arguably some of the best songs that I’ve ever put out. That feeling of more, I want to write more songs, there’s always going to be that feeling and I think it’s just important to feel a sense of accomplishment and enjoy it and also that sense of desire that is going to push you to continue to create.”

Speaking about the record, Ross admits it’s a “relief” for it to be released. The Driver Era work independently, without the backing of a major label which he feels a lot of people don’t realise.

“We kind of like the idea of owning our masters and we have this great fan base,” he said of their decision to work independently. But while there’s no label behind them, he reveals there’s dozens of people working behind the scenes to make things happen for the band. “It takes a lot of concentration, love and effort,” he said. But the musician admits he’s proud of the people he works with and the songs they have managed to create.

Now, while he admits its a relief for the record to be out, he jokes it feels “heavy” to wait and find out what people think of the album. “I’m proud of the work we’ve all done, I feel good about the record, what it represents and I’m thinking that a lot of people can relate and enjoy this body of work,” Ross explained.

The album is perhaps their most personal, documenting the lives of young guys in their 20s running around town trying to figure life out, making mistakes and falling in love. Ross said: “A lot of the songs are about those experiences directly.”

Creating such a personal album was important for the duo as Ross himself has grown up and connected with songs from other artists, admitting they helped him through dark periods in his life. He explained: “People come to our shows and say that same thing to me and it means a lot. Honestly, that’s a big part of why art is important. I have those experiences so for anyone to have those experiences with something that we’re making, I feel is incredible and it’s a big part of why anyone should do art is to further. Storytelling in general has that capacity to enlighten and inspire people in beautiful ways, really.”

For Ross, connecting with his millions of fans allows him to remain attached to humanity. But some of his closest friends still have no concept of his levels of fame. The star racks up millions of views on TikTok, has social media accounts dedicated purely to photographs of himself by his adoring fans. “Some of my peers don’t realise how famous I am,” he shyly said. Ross added: “Not in a weird way but everywhere I go, I’m taking pictures with people.”

He understands why some people in his position often wear sunglasses and hide themselves as a “coping mechanism”. He explained: “I don’t even think it’s an ego, people develop a defence mechanism to try and have a normal experience.

“Everybody is human at the end of the day, we’re all just trying to get through this thing [life] with enjoyment. I think that’s one of the tricks to continuing to make things is you have to stay street level.”

The band have carved out their own unique sound which has worked in their favour, attracting thousands of fans to their sold out gig but this wasn’t on purpose. “I like that we have this distinguishable sound and this like unique, eclectic body of work now,” he said.

Ross added: “I think it’s cool and it’s nothing that we ever try to do on purpose. Whenever we’re making things, we’re never really referencing other people’s work. We just like to make what sounds good to us or what we think is unique and original.”

That resonated on their latest UK tour with the band playing in cities up and down the country. “We loved Bristol, we ended up having an amazing show and we went to this bar down the street and they kept it open for us, it was just great vibes,” he said. But London was perhaps one of their “best shows” of the whole tour, which is still ongoing across America.

Ross has no plans to slow down any time soon though, with their tour lasting for another three months. There’s also some exciting filming projects in the pipeline for him though, although he wasn’t able to disclose too much information.

He said: “There’s some films in the works, there’s a film that I would really like to make that we’re trying to put on its feet with a really amazing true story of an athlete, which is really exciting. And then music is going to be a thing for me forever. There’ll always be more music coming down the pipeline to some capacity.”

The Only Way Is Essex star Chloe Brockett has appeared to aim a fresh dig at her former boyfriend Jack Fincham, just weeks after confirming they had split for the sixth time

Reality TV star Chloe Brockett has thrown some serious shade at her former flame Jack Fincham following their split – the sixth time they’ve called it quits. The 24-year-old, best known for appearing on The Only Way Is Essex, recently confirmed that she and the Love Island winner, 33, had decided to go their separate ways after a turbulent few months.

Since the breakup, Chloe’s been dropping some rather pointed messages on social media, with her latest Instagram post throwing shade at Jack as it read: “Respect yourself enough to walk away from everything that violates your value.”

This comes hot on the heels of Chloe being quizzed by fans during an Instagram Q&A about whether she’s still with someone. Making her relationship status crystal clear for her followers, Chloe declared: “No I’m not in a relationship anymore… just want to focus on myself and the things that make me happy.”

Jack Fincham and Chloe apparently ended things for the sixth time following a string of heated arguments. According to reports last month, the couple’s recent rows had been exacerbated by Jack’s ongoing court case, putting a strain on their relationship.

The on-again, off-again couple, who have been romantically linked since 2019, have faced numerous split rumours and breakups, with the latest split said to be triggered by their constant clashing. A source at the time revealed that Chloe had moved out of their shared home but “no one thinks it’s over for good” this time.

Back in March, Chloe talked openly about a major argument she had with Jack, but denied they had split. During an appearance on the Spread The Juice podcast, the TOWIE star shared how she had hurled a virtual reality headset at the former Love Island star in a moment of rage, explaining it was a Christmas gift she had bought for him.

She confessed to host Jemma Lucy: “I bought Jack a Meta Quest for Christmas and I threw the Meta Quest at him. I just threw it at him.” Explaining the heated exchange, she expressed that her anger was the reason behind the outburst.

Despite the clash, Chloe made it clear they were still together at that point. She reassured her Instagram fans: “For anyone concerned, I am very much still in a relationship. The last few months been very hard for everyone involved.”

The troubles she hinted at seemed connected to his legal issues, where he narrowly avoided jail time. Last month, Jack – who had previously been handed a six-week jail term earlier this year for dangerous dog offences – won an appeal against his prison sentence and walked free from court with an extension to his suspended sentence order instead.

The 32-year-old, who won the 2018 series of ITV2 show Love Island with Dani Dyer, admitted at an earlier hearing to two counts of being in charge of a dangerously out-of-control dog.

He was sentenced at the earlier hearing at Southend Magistrates’ Court on January 29 to six weeks in prison, but on 21 March a judge ruled that was not “just” and set aside the custodial sentence.

Instead, she extended an existing suspended sentence order – that had been imposed for an unrelated driving matter – by three months.

Kate Middleton has been known to wear Castaner’s £110 pair on repeat over the years, and a pair of raffia wedges are the ideal choice for spring weddings and holidays.

Over the years Kate Middleton has been a constant source of outfit inspiration for those looking for timeless, sophisticated wardrobe staples. The Princess of Wales has always been known for picking pieces that can be re-worn time and time again, and has been spotted repeat-wearing everything from evening gowns to handbags on multiple occasions.

One of her most-worn pieces, however, is her Castañer Carina Suede Wedge Espadrilles, which she’s worn on repeat since 2019. Princess Kate has worn the Toasted Brown version of the wedges everywhere from Chelsea Flower Show to polo matches, often pairing them with midi and maxi dresses for an elegant spring/summer look.

This crossbody bag costs less than £300 and is worn on repeat by Zara Tindall this spring.

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The price of Kate’s Carina Suede Wedge Espadrilles, which retail for £145, makes them a great versatile choice for almost any occasion. In the spring and summer, they look great with wedding guest dresses, and they’re also great for anything, from lunch to summer vacations.

You could wear your Carina Suede Wedge Espadrilles with a pair of wide-leg linen pants or even some denim shorts, although Kate typically pairs her with floral midi dresses and skirts. You can wear raffia and suede for work, which is a great alternative to high heels for the office.

They are comfortable and simple to walk in thanks to their 3. 5inch heel and self-tie fastening around the ankle. The leather’s round-closet is made of 100% suede finished leather, and the back has a subtle cutout detail.

You’ll need to act quickly to purchase a pair because they currently come in all sizes from 3 to 8, but they all appear to be out of stock and are selling quickly. For those with tighter budgets, Selfridges also offers a slightly different version of the Castaner Carina Self-Tie Cotton Wedge Espadrilles, which retails for £110.

The toe is covered in a cotton canvas-style covering and has wider “self-tying” ankle straps in this lighter cream version. Next currently has them reduced to £70, even though there are only a few sizes left in stock, if you want to get an even bigger bargain.

The price of Jones Bootmaker’s very similar Alyssa Wedge Espadrille Sandals has been reduced from £89 to £71.20. The ASOS DESIGN Tyra Closed Toe Wedges In Natural Linen, available for £30, also has its own ultra-cheap version.