My sister's shock death at 34 was devastating. So at 42 I'm already planning my budget funeral - including the trick to save my family £3,601 on my burial
I'm only 42 years old and in good health. But I have attended more than my fair share of funerals and planned a couple, too, which made me realise that I didn't want some extravagant funeral that comes just about as close as you can get to simply burning money.
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Reuters
26 minutes ago
- Reuters
F1 drivers to get trophies made of LEGO at British GP
SILVERSTONE, England, July 6 (Reuters) - The top three Formula One drivers in Sunday's British Grand Prix will have to handle their trophies with care during the podium celebrations or risk ending up with a pile of LEGO toy bricks. The novel trophies are part of a multi-year partnership between LEGO and Formula One that has already put drivers in a fleet of 10 brick-built cars for a pre-race parade at the Miami Grand Prix, a moment that went viral. Sunday's race marked 75 years of the championship at the Silverstone circuit where it started in 1950 and the winner's gold-adorned LEGO trophy, modelled on the real RAC golden trophy, is made of 2,717 bricks. It weighs more than 2kg and is more than 59cm high. The second and third-placed trophies are white with red and blue detailing respectively, while the constructors' is dark blue and gold. "We wanted to create something very special because it's the 75th anniversary," LEGO's chief product and marketing officer Julia Goldin told Reuters. The blocks are stuck together with glue, and took seven builders 210 hours to create in Denmark. Goldin said breakages would not be the end of the world. McLaren's Lando Norris did just that in Hungary with a special porcelain trophy in 2023. "If he smashes the trophy it will fall apart into thousands of beautiful bricks," said Goldin. "And then we can rebuild it. Because that's the whole point of LEGO bricks. "You can create amazing things and then you can rebuild them. I just want the drivers to be happy and whatever they do is fine." Formula One is reaching out to a new demographic, and particularly a younger audience, with considerable success and has found partners in previously untapped areas. That includes deals with Mattel's Hot Wheels toy cars, a 2026 collaboration with Disney's Mickey & Friends and LEGO announced last year. Emily Prazer, Formula One's chief commercial officer, rejected any suggestion of the sport "dumbing down" and said the strategy was to make brands more accessible and reach out to those who may never go to a race. "LEGO puts us in nearly every shopping mall in the world," she told Reuters. "Disney helps us appeal to the next generation of fan. Hot Wheels and Mattel allow for kids to actually play with the cars at home." Goldin said LEGO also appealed to more and more adults and had products that were intriguing to people with all kinds of interests. "The same is happening with F1 and there is a real benefit of how the sport is able to engage different people with different interests and different elements of the sport," she said. "We are not just trying to turn the sport into a toy but actually trying to help the fans to experience the best."
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Arsenal have one final hurdle in Viktor Gyokeres deal after Benjamin Sesko issues
Arsenal are in talks with Sporting over a move for Viktor Gyokeres, with a deal set to be concluded once a payment structure is agreed. Mikel Arteta wanted a striker in before pre-season properly started, which is one reason for the sudden advancement. Arsenal's football leadership had been involved in constructive discussion over whether to proceed on Gyokeres or RB Leipzig 's Benjamin Sesko, with Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins a fallback, and it is understood that the difficulty of doing a deal for Sesko has ultimately swayed the decision. The prospective signing is the first sign of new sporting director Andrea Berta's influence, as his preference was for Gyokeres. While the club's staff generally rated both the Swedish forward and Sesko equally, there were a number of considerations like age profile –Gyokeres is 27 and Sesko 21 – as well as readiness to immediately fit in, and the context they've been scoring goals in. Arsenal had still been at least €10m away from Leipzig's valuation on Sesko, with the German club wanting €40m of the release clause up front, and around €40m split over fewer instalments. A further issue is that Arsenal hadn't agreed a final package with Sesko's camp for the player's terms, with the impasse lasting right up to last week with Berta specifically feeling Leipzig's demand was too high a figure. It is understood that Arsenal got increasingly frustrated with the pace of negotiations and with Sesko's camp, which has been a key factor in the evolution of their striker pursuit. Arsenal have since been working more in other directions, due to Arteta's will for the situation to not drag on. There had been no such complications with Gyokeres, who has made it clear for months he only wants to join Arsenal. Personal terms are agreed and only final details now need to be settled with Sporting, for a deal that could come to around £60m. Once a forward is confirmed, Arsenal are still expected to move on to potentially two further players. They have been in talks with Chelsea over Noni Madueke, with The Independent having previously reported that the Stamford Bridge hierarchy want £50m. Arsenal retain a strong interest in Real Madrid's Rodrygo and, especially, Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze, but there has been no concrete movement on either yet. Arsenal are likely to have to sell before bringing in one of the two, with the primary budget having been allocated for a forward and Real Sociedad's Martin Zubimendi. The signing of the Basque midfielder was finally confirmed on Sunday.
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Porky Britain loses its appetite for Greggs sausage rolls
Asked last year if she thought Britain was approaching 'peak Greggs', Roisin Currie laughed off the suggestion. The bakery chain's chief executive said this point was 'a long way off' as she announced plans to open dozens of new stores across the country following a surge in sales. Today, the prospect of Greggs' over-saturation is less of a laughing matter. After years of extraordinary growth, questions are being asked about whether the chain can maintain its upwards trajectory. Shares in the company plunged by more than 15pc this week after it warned June's scorching heatwave had dampened demand for its hot pastries and sausage rolls, and would lead to lower profits this year. In March, the company posted its slowest sales growth since the pandemic, warning it faces a tougher time in 2025. Investors' faith has been faltering all year, causing a slump of almost 40pc in its share price since January. Though it still offers a cheap meal, the chain has been forced to raise the cost of many of its best-sellers as the burden of paying for labour, ingredients and energy soared. Jonathan Pritchard, of investment bank Peel Hunt, believes these price rises are putting some shoppers off. Other challenges are on the horizon. Labour plans to force takeaway chains to cut customers' calories in an effort to tackle the nation's expanding waistlines. At the same time, Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, has vowed to make appetite-suppressing weight-loss jabs easier to get on the NHS. 'We've had unseasonal weather or overly seasonal weather many times over the last 10 years, and they've sailed through that without too many problems. I do think it nods to something slightly more fundamental,' says Pritchard of last week's warning. Recipe for success Founded in 1951 in Newcastle, Greggs was largely a regional business until retail veteran Roger Whiteside took over in 2013 and led a march of expansion across the country. By ditching the traditional bakery side of the business, improving the coffee, revamping the shops and focusing on takeaway food, Whiteside – a former M&S executive – grew the chain to more than £1bn in revenues by 2018. He is widely credited with turning the once-hesitant British middle classes on to the wonders of the Greggs sausage roll. The invention of the £1 vegan version in 2019 sealed Greggs' newfound dominance on the high street, turning the chain into a viral sensation and winning over millions of younger fans. In 2022, Whiteside stepped down, passing the torch to Currie, a well-respected executive who previously led its people, retail and property operations. Greggs' winning streak continued during the first few years of her tenure. While the cost of living crisis hit more expensive brands, it helped the low-price bakery chain as demand soared for cheaper food. By the end of 2024, the chain's revenues had topped £2bn. Today it runs 2,649 shops – more than both McDonald's and Starbucks – and Currie has said she believes there is scope to reach as many as 3,500 in the long term. Obesity crackdown Yet the recent sales slowdown raises questions about whether this ambition is misplaced. Greggs was approached for comment. Some observers are also sceptical of Greggs efforts to try to conquer dinner time. In recent months the chain has been pitching its pizzas as a cost-efficient alternative to Domino's, while simultaneously increasing its focus on chicken dishes to compete with the likes of KFC. 'In the evenings there is absolutely tons of opposition, and it's difficult,' Pritchard says. 'They've tried to come with a value proposition, but you're up against Domino's, and you're up against people that have got enormous marketing budgets and consumer loyalty.' Simon Stenning, a hospitality industry expert and founder of Future Foodservice, believes Greggs is still good value and can give rivals a run for their money on price. 'If you're on your way to work, why wouldn't you buy a bacon roll and a coffee for £2.50, or whatever it is? I think in a world of comparisons where prices are known, they can get away with an extra 5p, 10p or 20p,' he says. He is more worried, however, that increasingly interventionist legislation could hamstring the bakery and other hospitality firms at a time when costs are high and growth is imperative. The Government is planning an ambitious clampdown on food companies that could see chains such as Greggs compelled to reduce diners' calorie intake. 'There's going to be taxation, legislation, nudging, nanny-state intervention to try to reduce our fast food consumption out of home,' Stenning says. 'That's going to be a slowing down.' Then there is the question of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, which are rapidly growing in popularity in the UK. An estimated 1.5m people now take them. Currie has called them 'something on the horizon we are watching closely and understanding and learning about'. Greggs has made efforts to combat the perception that it is unhealthy and, under Currie, has been launching healthier options such as salads and lower-calorie bakes. But the reality is that GLP-1 drugs work by suppressing appetites, meaning people on them will be eating less. Currie insists that recent troubles are simply bumps in the road. But after a decade of dominance, the hard yards are ahead as Labour pushes Britons to ditch the sausage rolls.
