STARING at the gigantic copper cauldron where the King of England used to bathe, I kick myself for ­forgetting my swimmers.

It’s not often you get the chance to share the same hot tub as the supreme ruler of the British Empire.

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I’m in a spa town deep in a Bohemian forest, unearthing areas of the Czech Republic I’d never heard of.

For three exciting days I would be exploring this beautiful central European country entirely by rail.

My journey begins in Prague. The beautiful capital city on the Vltava River is packed with history.

Climbing the hill up to Prague castle is a must.

The fortress is the largest castle complex in the world. Inside its towering walls are historical buildings and museums including the Old Royal Palace and the city’s gothic temple, St Vitus Cathedral.

That evening I catch a train west.

Unlike those in the UK, trains in Czechia run smoothly and are dirt cheap.

Prague is soon far behind as the IC 558 train trundles along, following the Berounka river’s meandering path through the countryside.

I catch snapshots through the window.

Paddle boarders punt down the river.

Giggling kids tumble down a giant inflatable slide at a village fete.

As the sun sets the train pulls into the serene spa town of Marianske Lazne in the deep Bohemian forest.

Since local monks discovered the mineral-rich springs in the early 19th century, people have been coming here to drink, bathe in, and even inject the healing water and gases that bubble out of the ground.

The town’s heyday was in the Victorian era when spa treatments were popular among high society.

One such spa obsessive was King Edward VII, who visited Marianske Lanze nine times for weight-loss treatments in a purpose-built room at the Nové Lázně spa.

The hotel is still there and for a hefty price, guests can book a session in the large copper bath he used.

My own treatment takes place at the Falkensteiner hotel and spa, a five-star resort with a 2,500sq metre spa complex, 162 rooms, heated pool, excellent restaurant and stylish bar.

After a buffet breakfast, I’m ushered into a dimly lit wood-panelled room where a bath of warm water the colour of milky tea is waiting.

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The slightly sparkling mineral-rich water is pumped directly from the hotel’s own Alexandra Spring, 800 metres away.

The treatment is said to widen blood vessels, lowering blood pressure and improving circulation to relax the mind and body.

The health benefits of spa treatments like this are taken seriously.
Drinking fountains dotted around the town deliver water from the local springs.

Iron-rich and metallic- tasting it is believed to help alleviate inflammation. I hope it does, because it tastes revolting.

Staying at the spa resort hotels is pricey.

But there are plenty of cheaper hotels in the town and treatments at the spa complexes are available for walk-in customers too.

Czechs are the world’s most prolific beer drinkers, consuming 184.1 litres of it each every year.

Nowhere is this obsession more obvious than in my next stop, the city of Pilsen.

It’s just over an hour away by rail and my train ticket costs the equivalent of £6.

Home of the world-famous Pilsner beer, the town is swimming in the stuff and by the end of the day, I will be too — literally.

Among the most popular brews is the famous Pilsner Urquell. The first ever pilsner beer, it has been brewed here since 1842.

A tour of the Pilsner Urquell brewery is fascinating.

The 90-minute walk-through shows the original brewing method and vats from the early 19th century.

Then, the modern, vastly scaled-up operation, where staggering amounts are brewed, bottled then shipped worldwide.

The tour ends in the miles of subterranean tunnels where the beer was once stored.

Here, brewmasters keep the traditional method alive, brewing the Pilsner in oak barrels.

Comparisons are regularly made to the modern method to ensure it tastes authentic.

And you can judge for yourself, with a glass of cold Pilsner poured straight from the barrel at the end.

I head off to soak up some more beer, this time through my pores.

On the outskirts of Pilsen, at the Purkmistr Brewery, an interesting mash-up has spawned the “beer spa” — a big wooden bathtub full of warm, hoppy lager, minus the alcohol (it dries out the skin).

Submerged up to my neck in barley, hops and yeast with a large keg of pilsner within arm’s reach and Oasis’s Wonderwall playing over the complex’s sound system, I feel I have achieved lager-nirvana.

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HOUSEHOLDS across England can get up to a whopping £2,665 worth of cost of living payments this month.

The money comes via the Household Support Fund (HSF) which is worth £421million in total.

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The fund has been split up between councils in England who are in charge of distributing their allocation before the end of September.

What you can get depends on where you live, as each local authority has been given its own unique amount.

Now households across England are being offered a collective of £2,665 cost of living payments – with up to £500 per household depending on your location.

The government recently encouraged state pensioners who have just missed out on a Winter Fuel Payment to claim money from the Household Support Fund where they live instead.

Discussing the fund, the government said: “Over a million pensioners will still receive the Winter Fuel Payments, and our drive to boost Pension Credit take up has already seen a 152per cent increase in claims.

“Many others will also benefit from the £150 Warm Home Discount to help with energy bills overwinter while our extension of the Household Support Fund will help with the cost of food, heating and bills.”

Below is a list of councils known to be offering support and how much:

• Brent: £500
• Blackpool: £300
• Rutland: £200
• Herefordshire: £500
• Sunderland: £220
• Bracknell Forest: £315
• Rotherham: £250
• Wiltshire: £200
• Cambridgeshire: £110

You will only receive the payment if you were found to have been eligible after applying.

Anyone who qualifies for help will have received an email telling them.

A maximum of one payment will be made per household and any payments are being made direct into bank accounts.

Some councils started distributing help in April and have already depleted their share, so you might have missed out for now.

The Household Support Fund has been extended multiple times since its inception in October 2021, so it may be extended again though.

There are currently a number of councils offering help via the HSF.

Leicestershire Council is handing out payments worth £300 to thousands of households.

Households in Stockport can claim up to £315 worth of free supermarket vouchers to help with the cost of living.

Meanwhile, Wokingham Council is handing out grants worth up to £140.

If you want to check if you are eligible for help, contact your local council.

You can find what council area you fall under by using the Government’s council locator tool.

How else to get help with the cost of living

If you’re not eligible for the Household Support Fund in your local area, it’s worth checking if you qualify for benefits.

Recent figures from Policy in Practice reveal millions of people aren’t claiming the extra help when they could be.

In total, £23billion went unclaimed over the last financial year, with £8.3billion worth of Universal Credit not claimed for.

You can apply for benefits on the Government’s website.

It’s not just extra money you get from benefits either, with a number opening up additional perks.

Those on Universal Credit can get help covering the cost of childcare, for example, while those on Pension Credit can get a free TV licence.

Those on the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit also qualify for the Warm Home Discount – a £150 discount off energy bills once a year.

You may also be able to get grants to cover your energy bills if you’ve fallen into arrears.

A number of energy firms offer grants to struggling customers, including Scottish Power, Octopus Energy and British Gas.

If you’re struggling to pay your bills, speak to your supplier to see if they can give you any help.

I fear that in the Budget this month UK chancellor Rachel Reeves may be seduced by the proposal your distinguished contributing editor Andy Haldane puts forward for jettisoning International Financial Reporting Standards — the accounting rules for public companies (Opinion, FT Weekend, August 5).

Deriding these standards as probably “not . . . among the finest inventions of the human mind”, Haldane contends that they have materially damped business investment in the EU and the UK, and delayed decarbonisation. The suggestion is that by decreeing they be ditched the chancellor could boost investment, raise gross domestic product, cut carbon emissions and burnish her reputation for cutting red tape — and all this without spending government money. On the face of it, a very tempting addition to her other measures due to be announced on October 30.

I normally find Haldane’s pieces persuasive. But not this time, because he seriously misunderstands the current form and past development of international, UK and US financial reporting standards (admittedly, not a quick and easy read for a non-accountant). This negatively impacts the force of his statistical work and the heroic inferences he seeks to draw.

And he has turned a blind eye to the significant body of rigorous peer-reviewed analysis of relevant data by independent experts, which presents a markedly contrary picture and concludes that, by reducing information asymmetry in financial markets and increasing transparency, adoption of IFRS has lowered the cost of capital and stimulated, rather than eroded, funding of business investment.

Haldane’s suggested policy would be counter-productive. The chancellor would do well to resist this tempting policy choice.

Geoff Meeks
Emeritus Professor and Fellow
Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK

THOUSANDS of households on certain benefits will no longer qualify for this year’s £300 winter fuel payment.

However, those who have active claims for at least one of seven benefits will still get the cash.

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The winter fuel payment was previously available to everyone over the state pension age (66).

However, changes by Chancellor Rachel Reeves mean that around 10million pensioners will no longer receive the benefit.

Now, the payment is limited to retirees on pension credit or those receiving certain six other means-tested benefits.

These include Universal Credit, employment and support allowance (ESA), jobseeker’s allowance (JSA), income support, child tax credit and working tax credit.

You can check that you are actively receiving these benefits, by looking out for relevant codes on your bank statement.

If you are over the state pension age and have received any of the following payment references on your statement, you are likely eligible for this year’s winter fuel payment.

• Pension credit – National insurance (NI) number followed by “DWP PC” or “DWP PCGC”
• Universal Credit – (NI) number followed by “DWP UC”
• Income-related employment and support allowance (ESA) – NI number followed by “DWP ESA”
• Income-based jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) – NI number followed by “DWP JSA”
• Income support – NI number followed by “DWP IS”

Households that receive tax credits are paid by HMRC and these will show the following references on your bank statement:

• Child tax credit – NI number followed by “HMRC CTC”
• Working tax credit – NI number followed by “HMRC WTC”

To be eligible for this year’s winter fuel payment, you must have an active claim for the benefits mentioned above during the “qualifying week,” which runs from 16 to 22 September (this week).

Most households automatically receive the winter fuel payment, including those on pension credit.

However, 760,000 households are thought to be missing out on pension credit, which unlocks their eligibility for this year’s winter fuel payment.

Thousands of Sun readers flooded our Winter Fuel SOS helpline on Wednesday, looking for help to hang on to the payment.

The Sun has now launched a free tool to help you check whether you will get the winter fuel payment this year.

Figures from the DWP show that 65% of those entitled to pension credit claimed it in 2023, up from 63% in 2022.

New claims for pension credit can be backdated by up to three months.

This means that the absolute deadline to claim the benefit and qualify for this year’s winter fuel payment is December 21.

Of course, if you fail to apply for the benefit before this date, you won’t qualify for this year’s £300 payment.

OTHER BENEFITS DON’T QUALIFY

Those claiming housing benefit without pension credit will not be due this year’s winter fuel payment.

Housing benefit can help you pay your rent if you’re unemployed, on a low income or claiming benefits.

Only those over the state pension age can put in a new claim.

Households that only claim council tax reduction will also not qualify for a winter fuel payment.

Also known as council tax support, the benefit is designed to help individuals on low incomes or certain benefits reduce the amount of council tax they need to pay. 

State pensioners who claim child benefit to supplement their income while fostering or raising a child under 20 will also not qualify for a winter fuel payment.

Child benefit provides regular payments to parents or guardians to assist with the costs associated with raising children.

It is designed to help cover expenses such as food, clothing, and other essential needs.

However, it’s important to note that these households may still be eligible for this year’s winter fuel payment if they also claim a qualifying benefit.

Even if you are found to be claiming an eligible benefit during the qualifying week, some households may still be ineligible for the winter fuel payment.

You will not be eligible if you:

• Live in Scotland
• Have been in hospital getting free treatment for more than a year
• Were in prison for the whole of the week of September 16-22, 2024
• Were living in a care home for the whole time from June 24 to September 22, 2024

However, you can get a winter fuel payment if you have lived in a care home for less than 13 weeks, including the week of September 16-22, 2024.

Your review of Martin Gayford’s book How Painting Happens (Life & Arts, October 5) quoted Howard Hodgkin saying: “Having to go through the horrors of painting a picture is not something I look forward to, ever.”

In “The Secret of Artistic Creation”, Stefan Zweig, the Austrian writer, describes the processes through which great composers and artists create their immortal works.

For Mozart, it was easy: “There were no sketches and all we possess are the finished articles, the definitive texts, jotted down in one go in that light, effortless, winged hand.”

With Beethoven it was hard labour. There were countless drafts, each an agony of creation.

“With such fury does he score and strike at the paper, that the whole page is torn apart — and one sees here the enraged man at his labours, the man who stamps, groans, curses because the ideal musical form cannot be expressed from where it originates in his head.”

Zweig sums it up well: “Mozart plays with art as the wind with leaves; Beethoven struggles with himself like Hercules with the 1,000-headed Hydra.”

Tim Anderson
Johannesburg, South Africa

A BARGAIN supermarket has been crowned better than M&S, Waitrose and Tesco for Christmas dinner.

Aldi is known for its low-cost grocery goods – but it has now been crowned one of the best-tasting supermarket for Christmas too.

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The German discounter knocked out M&S, which is notorious for its festive treats out of the park.

Upmarket Waitrose and ever-reliable Tesco were also trumped by the bargain store in Good Housekeeping’s annual taste test.

Lucky tasters put over 730 products from over 97 brands through their paces.

The grub is assessed on appearance, aroma, flavour and texture, and then rated out of 100.

Aldi topped the charts with 15 of the brand’s products appearing in first or second place across all categories.

For example, its mince pies, which cost just 38p each were crowned the star of the show.

Elsewhere, its Specially Selected Orange and Maple Pudding scored 88/100 and was a fan favourite amongst panellists.

The citrus take on the classic cost just £9.99.

Coming in second was the Meg Rivers Christmas Pudding which will set you back £18.50.

Aldi’s Veuve Monsigny Premier Cru Champagne also claimed the title of “Best Champagne’” and cost £22.

Panelists rated the tipple 85/100.

The budget bubbly outperformed pricier competitors such as Selfridge’s and M&S’s which cost £34.99 and £28, respectively.

But Aldi was not the star of the show in every instance.

For example, Waitrose’s came out on top in the Christmas Turkey category for its £60 bird.

Plus ,Sainsbury’s took the crown in the Pigs and Blankets category for its premium £4.50 ‘Taste the Difference’ pork snack.

Full list of taste test winners

Baked Goods

• Winner: Co-op Ready to Bake Cinnamon Danish £3.00, 86/100
• Runner-up: Tesco Finest Cranberry & Orange Pane-toastie £5.50

Smoked Salmon

• Winner: Fortnum and Mason Farmed Scottish Smoked Salmon £15.00, 85/100
• Runner-up: Tesco Finest Strong and Robust Scottish Smoked Salmon £4.60, 81/100

Flavoured Smoked Salmon

• Winner: Asda Exceptional Fig, Whisky & Spiced Honey Smoked Salmon £4.60, 78/100
• Runner-up: Tesco Finest Smoked Salmon with Whisky £5.50, 76/100

Meat Canapés

• Joint Winner: COOK Chicken, Ginger & Lemon Grass Bites £8.50, 89/100
• Joint Winner: Morrisons The Best Pork Belly with Maple BBQ Sauce £6, 89/100
• Runner-up: Asda Red Thai Santa Hats £2.75, 87/100

Seafood Canapés

• Winner: Morrisons The Best Prawn Bao Bun £5.50, 91/100
• Runner-up: Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference 8 Crispy Prawn Toasties £5.25, 89/100

Veggie Canapés

• Joint Winner: Morrisons The Best Vegetable Tempura Nests with Sweet Chilli Dip £5, 85/100
• Joint Winner: Co-op Katsu Bites £3.50, 85/100
• Runner-up: Waitrose 8 Mexican Style Vegetable Tacos £8, 81/100

Starters and Sharers

• Winner: Waitrose No. 1 Lobster, Crab and Prawn Cocktail £5.95, 93/100
• Runner-up: Tesco Finest Chicken & Roasted Mushroom Quenelles £4, 91/100

Turkey Crowns (and Other Non-Whole Turkey)

• Winner: Waitrose Glorious Treacle Glazed Turkey Crown £60, £30 per kg, 89/100
• Runner-up: Lidl Deluxe Free Range Bronze Turkey Crown £27.90 – £41.85, £13.95 per kg, 87/100

Whole Turkey

• Winner: Aldi Specially Selected Roly Poly Whole Turkey £39.96 – £59.84, £9.99 per kg, 86/100
• Runner-up: Riverford Organic Farmers Turkey XL £155, 6.5kg, 83/100

Meat Mains

• Winner: Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Bone in Crackling Gammon with a Festive Spiced Glaze £30, 89/100
• Joint Runner-up: Aldi Specially Selected Crackling Gammon Joint Sugar Baked £18.99, 85/100
• Joint Runner-up: Asda Exceptional Fig, Whisky & Spiced Honey Gammon Joint £20, 85/100

Roast Potatoes

• Winner (Best Roast / Vegan Roast): COOK Roast Potatoes £3.50 – £4.95, 80/100
• Joint Runner-up (Best Goose Dripping): Morrisons The Best Goose Fat Roast Potatoes £4, 79/100
• Joint Runner-up: McCain Triple Cooked Roasts £3, 79/100

Pigs in Blankets

• Winner: Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Proper Pig in Blankets £4.25, 86/100
• Runner-up: Aldi Specially Selected Pigs in Blankets £2.49, 83/100

Pigs in Blankets (Flavoured)

• Winner: Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Caramelised Onion Chipolatas £4.25, 85/100
• Runner-up: Aldi Specially Selected Caramelised Onion Chipolatas Wrapped In Bacon £2.49, 82/100

Meat-Free Mains

• Winner: COOK Roasted Pepper and Goat’s Cheese Quiche £22, 83/100
• Runner-up + Most Impressive Looking Centrepiece: Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Mushroom, Cavolo Nero and Chestnut Filo Pie £12, 82/100

Vegetable Sides

• Winner: Taste the Difference Sprout, Leek and Cavolo Nero Gratin £5.50, 88/100
• Runner-up: Co-op Winter Roasting Tray with Sage and Sea Salt Melt (vegan) £2.80, 83/100

Christmas Pudding

• Winner: Meg Rivers Traditional Christmas Pudding £18.50, 85/100
• Runner-up: Bettys Classic Christmas Pudding (Large) £27, 84/100

Flavoured Christmas Pudding

• Winner: Aldi Specially Selected Orange and Maple Pudding £9.99, 88/100
• Runner-up: Meg Rivers Gin Infused Christmas Pudding £17.85, 84/100

Dessert Centrepieces

• Winner + Best Budget: Asda Crème Brûlée £5, 88/100
• Runner-up: Aldi Specially Selected Ultimate Gold Coin £6.99, 87/100

Panettone

• Winner: Waitrose Limoncello Fizz Panettone £12, 94/100
• Runner-up: Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Classic Panettone £16.50, 90/100

Yule Logs

• Winner: Asda Clementine and White Chocolate Yule Log £10, 85/100
• Joint Runner-up: Aldi Specially Selected Belgian White Chocolate Yule Log £8.99, 81/100
• Joint Runner-up: Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Millionaire’s Yule Log £11, 81/100

Stollen

• Winner: Meg Rivers Christmas Tart £14, 89/100
• Runner-up: Aldi Specially Selected Luxury Topped Stollen £5.99, 83/100

Mince Pies

• Winner: Aldi Specially Selected Mince Pies £2.29, 88/100
• Runner-up: Fitzbillies Classic Mince Pies £18, 84/100

Mince Pies with a Twist

• Winner: Booths 4 Viennese Topped Mince Pies £4, 91/100
• Runner-up + Best Budget: Asda Whisky, Fig and Spiced Honey Florentine Mince Pies £2.50, 83/100

Gluten-Free Mince Pies

• Winner: Costa Vegan Gluten Free Mince Tart £2.30, 82/100
• Runner-up: Waitrose Free From Milk & Gluten Free Mince Pies £2.90, 81/100

Christmas Cake

• Joint Winner: Biscuiteers Christmas Cake £68, 85/100
• Joint Winner: Daylesford Iced Christmas Cake £45, 85/100
• Joint Runner-up: Iceland Luxury Christmas Cake £10, 81/100
• Joint Runner-up: Aldi Specially Selected All Over Iced Christmas Cake £8.99, 81/100

Biscuit Tins

• Winner: Bettys Biscuit Tin Selection £25, 96/100
• Joint Runner-up: Fitzbillies Cambridge Gingerbread £17, 82/100
• Joint Runner-up + Best Budget: Co-op Highland Shortbread Selection Box £4, 82/100

Christmas Crisps

• Joint Winner: Waitrose Turkey & Stuffing Flavour Tortilla Chips £2, 85/100
• Joint Winner: Asda Extra Special Beef & Red Wine Gravy Hand Cooked Crisps £1.35, 85/100
• Runner-up: Savoursmiths Christmas Ham with Umami Truffle Glaze £2.95, 81/100

Christmas Heroes

• Winner: Asda Exceptional Bone Marrow Beef Pie £10, 91/100
• Runner-up: Specially Selected Honey Roast Hot Smoked Salmon Side £9.99, 90/100

Gingerbread Houses

• Winner: Asda Gingerbread House Kit £5, 89/100
• Runner-up: Waitrose Build Your Own Gingerbread House £6, 88/100

How to save money on your food shop

Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how you can save hundreds of pounds a year:

Odd boxes – plenty of retailers offer slightly misshapen fruit and veg or surplus food at a discounted price.

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Lidl sells five kilos of fruit and veg for just £1.50 through its Waste Not scheme while Aldi shoppers can get Too Good to Go bags which contain £10 worth of all kinds of products for £3.30.

Sainsbury’s also sells £2 “Taste Me, Don’t Waste Me” fruit and veg boxes to help shoppers reduced food waste and save cash.

Food waste apps – food waste apps work by helping shops, cafes, restaurants and other businesses shift stock that is due to go out of date and passing it on to members of the public.

Some of the most notable ones include Too Good to Go and Olio.

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Too Good to Go’s app is free to sign up to and is used by millions of people across the UK, letting users buy food at a discount.

Olio works similarly, except users can collect both food and other household items for free from neighbours and businesses.

Yellow sticker bargains – yellow sticker bargains, sometimes orange and red in certain supermarkets, are a great way of getting food on the cheap.

But what time to head out to get the best deals varies depending on the retailer. You can see the best times for each supermarket here.

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Super cheap bargains – sign up to bargain hunter Facebook groups like Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK where shoppers regularly post hauls they’ve found on the cheap, including food finds.

“Downshift” – you will almost always save money going for a supermarket’s own-brand economy lines rather than premium brands.

The move to lower-tier ranges, also known as “downshifting” and hailed by consumer expert Martin Lewis, could save you hundreds of pounds a year on your food shop.