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Spectator
6 days ago
- Spectator
The nostalgic joy of Frinton-on-Sea
For the recent heatwave, it was my mission to escape our little Wiltshire cottage, where it hit 35°C. It has one of those very poor structural designs unique to Britain that, like plastic conservatories or the Tube, is useless in hot weather. First, we went to stay with friends in Frinton-on-Sea with our English bulldog, who was born in nearby Clacton and is shamelessly happy to be back among his people. Some years ago I lived in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, a living museum of America's pre-revolutionary settler history. Frinton doesn't go quite that far – there are no ersatz yeomen milking doleful cows – but to visit is to enter a time warp back to the mid-1930s. It's the sort of place where Hercule Poirot might solve a crime while en vacances. The town's heyday was the first half of the 20th century, when society notables including Churchill and Edward VII came to enjoy the solemn whimsy of ornate villas (Dutch gables, gothic crenellations and French balconies to the owner's taste), the pristine golf course and the elegant lawn tennis club. Most famous of all are the beach huts, a long, neat row on stilts, which contain so many people's early memories. My grandmother lived near Colchester and every summer my mother courageously carted her six children (and, on two occasions, a cat in a basket) from Wales, across the London Underground and out to Essex for a week. Encounters with childhood nostalgia can be disappointing. The den from primary school has been tarmacked over. A favourite climbing tree has blown down. Caramac bars have been discontinued. Frinton, though, is just as I remember it. The sweet shop, the greensward, the wooden groynes covered in seaweed. The big sky and murky sea. Second homes and holiday lets are rare. Deep consideration is given to what innovations might lower the tone, and most things are rejected. There is now one pub, which opened 25 years ago, and one fish and chip shop that started in 1992. Huts have been painted cheerful pastel colours instead of the original dark brown. Other than that, Frinton is unchanged. Is the town an example of stout local pride or stick-in-the-mud nimbyism? With its mad but lovely housing stock and proximity to London, it might have become England's answer to East Hampton were the local council and residents not so resistant to change. As it is, you can't even sell ice creams on the seafront. I like it. Tucked into Nigel Farage's constituency, Frinton embodies the 'good old days' that so many Reform-minded people want to get back to, because those days simply never left them. Two days later, via London where I record the Telegraph's Daily T podcast with Tim Stanley, we head west to my parents' house in [redacted] Pembrokeshire. The small coastal town is another delight, the secret of which makes locals and lifelong holidaymakers cry when they see it featured in Sunday supplement 'best places to stay' lists in case it attracts the kind of hordes who block up Cornish lanes with their enormous Range Rovers. Costa del Cymru is a balmy 30°C and plays host to an unwelcome shoal of jellyfish who park up in the bay and a raucously fun farm wedding above the golf course. By day we swim, sandcastle, and siesta in front of the cricket and tennis. In the afternoons we loll in the garden and, in lieu of a children's paddling pool, have great results with a washing up bowl and the lovely sensation of sticking your finger up a gushing hosepipe. At night we are treated to lobster – proudly potted by Dad – white wine and the blissful sensation of snuggling down under a duvet against the slight chill. It's a deeper sleep than we've had in weeks. At the end of the stay, Mum and I try on some hats for my sister's impending wedding, then we play a tedious game of suitcase Tetris before travelling home in heavy rain. I drive and my husband works. It makes me think of how robust the constitutions of cabinet ministers must be, seeing as they do most of their box work from the back of a car and aren't sick. We arrive home to a dead lawn and the creepers of wisteria climbing into our bedroom windows like The Day of the Triffids. I check my weather apps – variable and unsettled; ho hum – and get back to work on my latest novel, which is about the shenanigans of randy young farmers in the countryside. That night I lie awake on top of the sheets in the humid darkness, sure I can ever so faintly hear the crash of waves and the cry of gulls. There is no refreshing waft of breeze, neither easterly nor westerly.
Telegraph
09-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
The Daily T: Why Starmer won't rule out a wealth tax
At today's PMQs, Labour leader Keir Starmer refused to rule out a new wealth tax, despite mounting pressure in the Commons. Leader of the opposition Kemi Badenoch demanded a cast-iron guarantee that there won't be an autumn Budget raid on wealth, but the Prime Minister couldn't give one, fuelling Tory claims that a 'toxic cocktail' of Labour tax rises could be on the way. Tim and Gordon are joined by our economics reporter Emma Taggart to discuss what a potential 2% wealth tax on assets over £10 million, suggested by Labour grandee Lord Kinnock, could mean for savers, homeowners, and the British economy. And if you visit Heathrow this summer, Grammy-nominated artist Jordan Rakei has turned the airport's everyday noises into a four-minute ambient soundscape designed to soothe travellers before flights. But will it calm the nerves of anxious flyer Tim? Watch episodes of the Daily T here. You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Daily Mirror
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Claudia Winkleman's royal relatives as Strictly star receives MBE
Strictly Come Dancing host Claudia Winkleman is to receive an MBE in the King's Birthday Honours List – but she has had her fair share of encounters with the royals Claudia Winkleman may be receiving an MBE, but she has a very close relationship with the Royal Family. The Strictly Come Dancing host and her co-star Tess Daly will be awarded an MBE for services to broadcasting as part of King Charles ' Birthday Honours, alongside the likes of Sir David Beckham and darts ace, Luke Littler. Speaking of the recognition, Claudia said: "I am incredibly grateful to receive this honour. It's a real privilege to work with extraordinarily talented people and I have only got this because of them. So this is for the BBC, the traitors and the faithful, for pianos and for the cha cha. I will buy a hat and am taking my mum. I am ridiculously lucky and will celebrate with Tess by doing a paso double." This, however, isn't her first brush with royalty as Claudia is technically related to the King. The 53-year-old was an only child until her parents, Eve Pollard and Barry Winkleman, divorced in 1975. After Barry remarried with Cindy Black, he went on to welcome daughter Sophie Winkleman, 44, an actress. While Sophie is best known for playing Big Suze in the sitcom Peep Show, the actress is in fact, royal. The actress married into the House of Windsor in September 2009, tying the knot with Lord Frederick Windsor, the son of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent at Hampton Court Palace. Upon their marriage, Sophie has been styled as Lady Frederick Windsor, but uses her maiden name for work purposes. Their wedding was attended by Lady Gabriella Kingston, Princess Eugenie, the Duke and Duchess of Kent, Lady Helen Taylor, and, of course, Sophie's sister, Claudia. In keeping with royal marriages, the late Queen Elizabeth consented to the marriage, as required by the Royal Marriages Act 1772. Now, he and Sophie are 53rd in line to the throne. Frederick was a first cousin once removed of the late Queen, a first cousin twice removed of the late Prince Philip and is also the second cousin once removed of King Charles – meaning Claudia has a distant relation to His Majesty. While neither Claudia nor Sophie frequently open up about their regal in-laws, Sophie has, on rare occasions, spoken about her family. "Family isn't always brilliant but this lot are very sweet," she said on the Daily T podcast. She went on to add: "I love all of them." She went on to add: "I've got much more friendly with them as I've got to know them." Meanwhile, in an interview with HELLO! Magazine, she said of Catherine, Princess of Wales: "She's wonderful. I last saw her at Wimbledon; it was so cheering to see her, beautiful as ever. She's been amazingly brave and is doing so well." Reflecting on her cousin-in-law, the King, Sophie told the outlet: "Duty and service run through him like a stick of rock; it just doesn't occur to him to rest, something which those who love him are desperate for him to do. He's battling cancer and doesn't give himself a moment off – he's a hugely inspirational man. "The central royal family work very hard. It's not an easy existence, having a spotlight on you from the second you're born. I count pretty much every one of them as a trusted friend. I'm very lucky." But this isn't Claudia's only connection with the royals – it's said that the broadcaster has a close bond with Her Majesty Queen Camilla, who is "one of Strictly's greatest fans." Tess Daly's husband, Vernon Kay, said: "Camilla and Tess have a real friendship through it now. They don't text, but we have mutual friends and messages come through. When they see each other, the Queen is always asking: 'Who is your favourite?' She wants to know the backstage gossip. It's crazy to think of the King and Queen sat on the sofa with a brew watching your wife present Strictly." The late Queen Elizabeth was also a fan of the show, and Princess Catherine is said to be a huge fan. Meanwhile, Princess Anne previously confessed that she would love to sign up for the show, according to professional dancer Nadiya Bychkova.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The Daily T: ‘Tax rises are inevitable' – Rachel Reeves's spending review decoded
The Chancellor's much-anticipated spending review is a day away, with extra cash expected for defence, health and education. Are tax rises on the horizon to pay for all this? Camilla is joined by guest presenter Jacob Rees-Mogg, who says Labour doesn't understand business and argues that Keir Starmer could survive sacking Rachel Reeves… The former Tory MP also reacts to the Government's U-turn on the winter fuel payment, supposedly a response to a healthier economy under Labour. But the unemployment and jobs figures seem to say otherwise. Plus, how two very different rows about immigration triggered riots in North Ireland and in LA. Protests turned violent after an alleged sexual assault in Ballymena, while unrest is ongoing in California's biggest city over ICE raids and Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. Watch episodes of the Daily T here. You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Daily T: Labour's winter fuel U-turn fires up Farage
Rachel Reeves finally confirmed Labour's rumoured U-turn on the winter fuel cut for pensioners this lunchtime, completing a humiliating climb down for the Government and reinstating the payments for around nine million elderly people. Nigel Farage was quick to take credit for the reversal in a speech in Wales, where he also called for domestic coal mines to be reopened and said Reform chairman Zia Yusuf 'lost his rag' when he resigned late last week – only to return on Saturday. Camilla and Gordon ask whether Reform's continual outflanking of the Tories like this is only cementing their place in the public's minds as the unofficial opposition. Later, they speak to the MP tabling a new free speech bill after a man was prosecuted for burning a Koran. Nick Timothy says that blasphemy laws are being brought in through the back door to quash criticism of Islam. Watch episodes of the Daily T here. You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
