Mowing the lawn at the wrong time during hot weather can weaken grass, increase moisture loss, and leave the lawn vulnerable to drought and yellow patches

Keeping a lawn in good condition during spells of hot weather can prove difficult. Elevated temperatures put strain on grass, making appropriate lawn care all the more crucial.

One of the most frequently neglected elements of summer lawn maintenance is understanding when to mow and selecting the optimal time. Mowing at an unsuitable time can compromise grass health, accelerate moisture loss, and render the lawn susceptible to drought and yellow patches.

Yellow patches and weakened grass don’t indicate it has died, but it’s preferable to prevent this. One approach is to mow the lawn at the correct time, particularly during hot weather spells, as certain parts of the UK are currently experiencing.

According to George Davies Turf & Stone, the “ideal” time to mow your lawn is late morning, between 10am and 12pm.

They said: “The grass blades tend to be drier during this time, so the cut will be cleaner, and the clippings will mulch more efficiently”.

“Mowing early has other advantages as well. The morning dew acts as a natural lubricant, so the blades glide through the grass more smoothly.

“The lower temperatures also ensure less stress on the grass.

“Midday mowing should be avoided, as the heat places extra strain on the lawn.”

Late-afternoon and evening cuts aren’t recommended, but if mowing must take place during these hours, ensure sufficient time for the clippings to dry before darkness falls to avoid disease.

To maintain your lawn in prime condition, mow at least once weekly throughout the active growing season.

However, during warm, dry spells or when you notice growth declining, you can cut back to mowing every 10 to 14 days.

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) similarly advises mowing once weekly on average, reducing to fortnightly during drought conditions.

Flower-rich lawns can be mown every four to six weeks, while long-grassed lawns are ideally cut once or twice throughout the summer, though typically not before June.

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A mum was sitting on a bench with her two-year-old daughter outside the crocodiles enclosure at a Cambridgeshire zoo when she heard a loud scream from the crocodile enclosure where a boy, 3, was seriously injured and later airlifted to hospital.

A stunned mother heard a chilling scream coming from the crocodile enclosure where a three-year-old boy was seriously injured, and subsequently witnessed him being airlifted to hospital. The mother was seated on a bench with her two-year-old daughter outside the enclosure at Johnsons at Old Hurst zoo in Huntingdon on Thursday (June 18) when she heard a loud scream, believed to have come from an adult.

She also disclosed how she had experienced a ‘sixth sense’ earlier in the day, before visiting the zoo, with a gut feeling ‘not to go into the crocodile house’. The mother, who is in her 20s, told SWNS: “We were sitting on a bench in the park between the bear and the crocodile enclosure. I was on the phone with my dad when it was all happening as my daughter was calling the capybaras happy-baras.

“We sat there and heard a loud scream. Never in a million years did I think someone was in with the crocodiles. The whole zoo went really quiet and it felt really eerie.”

The mother said that shortly afterwards, she and other visitors were asked to vacate an open area adjacent to the enclosure because “there had been an incident.”

She said that within ten minutes of the scream, she heard sirens and two police vans, and four police cars arrived at the zoo where she was standing outside. She added: “We then saw the air ambulance come over within about 10 minutes. We thought there had been a road accident.”

The mother then described a “white sheet” being erected between the zoo café and the farm shop, which she believes was used to shield the injured young boy from public view.

She added: “They held up a white sheet in between the farm shop and the cafe so no one could see what was happening. All of the police cars were there too. I think that was out of respect for the family. It felt very eerie and weirdly quiet. I saw four police cars and two police vans.”

The mum also said how fearful she felt leaving the zoo with a child of a similar age to the boy. She said: “My daughter was oblivious to everything because she is so little but it is scary because, what went through my head was, if I hadn’t of stopped to make that call it could have been her.

“The little boy was only three and my daughter is two, it could have been her.”

Titled The Wargame, the four-part series will air this September and is based on the Sky podcast of the same name.

The format places public figures around the table of a fictional cross-party cabinet to respond to a simulated Russian attack on UK soil, with the drama unfolding through Cobra-style emergency meetings.

Michael Gove, former Conservative MP, will lead the fictional government as prime minister.

New Sky show to star Michael Gove and Nichola Sturgeon

He is joined by former Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon as deputy prime minister.

Penny Mordaunt serves as defence secretary, Labour’s Baroness Harriet Harman is home secretary, and former Labour MP Jim Murphy takes the role of foreign secretary.

Phil Edgar-Jones, executive director of unscripted originals at Sky, said: “A year ago, Sky News’ groundbreaking original podcast The Wargame captivated listeners, shedding light on the impossible choices our country’s leaders face under escalating military threat.

“Now, working with the talented team at The Garden, we’re bringing The Wargame to new audiences in a visceral new TV format, which will challenge some of the most experienced political and military minds in the country to imagine how they might respond under threat of war.

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“At a time when we are facing increasing threats from all sides, this series couldn’t be more timely.”

The cabinet cast also includes Tory Baroness Sayeeda Warsi as attorney general, Labour’s Baroness Ayesha Hazarika as director of communications, retired British Army general Sir Richard Barrons as chief of defence staff, Lord Kim Darroch as national security adviser, and former MI6 officer Christopher Steele as intelligence chief.

The fictional UK team will be opposed by a group of Russia experts led by British writer Keir Giles.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass declared an emergency Saturday to ensure the city gets the resources it needs to fight a large warehouse fire that has sent large plumes of smoke into the air.

“The city and county have opened spaces for families seeking relief from the smoke, and we will continue working around the clock and doing everything possible to put this fire out completely,” Bass said in a news release announcing the emergency declaration.

The fire at a privately owned cold-storage warehouse in the city’s Boyle Heights neighborhood started Wednesday, prompting shelter-in-place orders in the area because of the risk of hazardous air. Residents were told to close all windows, doors and vents, turn off air conditioning and bring people and pets to an inside room.

Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Jaime Moore said in a news conference that they have taken care of the hazardous materials portion of the blaze and now they are working on the biohazard challenges.

“We have 85 million pounds of frozen food inside of this facility and the way the building has been laid out, it’s very difficult for us to get in there because there’s zero visibility inside,” Moore said. “Our firefighters are not able to just go in there and start moving pallets.”

The mayor’s declaration asks for recovery help under the California Disaster Assistance Act. She also asked the state to expedite access to resources and other relief programs.

Bass said their chief concern is for the health and safety of the people impacted by the fire, so they are trying to secure the help needed to move the toxic materials away from the area and dispose of them in a way that will avert a major environmental disaster.

“So this is about prevention,” she said. “This is about protecting your public health.”

US President Donald Trump has claimed that “vandals” are responsible for damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington DC, as a former Olympian David Hearn was arrested after touching a piece of the pool’s already-damaged liner

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US President Donald Trump has launched a scathing attack on social media against the “vandals” he alleges are behind damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington DC, with arrests including a former Olympian.

Trump posted on his preferred platform, Truth Social, claiming federal officers had made “multiple arrests” of individuals he accused of vandalising the historic site.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, Trump posted online: “Many additional people have been arrested having to do with the disgraceful Vandalism of our beautiful Reflecting Pool.

“What they have damaged does not even include the earlier killing of a large amount of grass which was, by far, the least of it. They took some form of knife or blade, and put a 250-foot-long gash into the beautiful facade of what took so much work, competence, and money to build and complete.

“They also poured corrosive and destructive chemicals into the Pool”, he said, as per a report by the Express.

The US President revealed that contractors informed him on Saturday that the Reflecting Pool would require draining for restoration work, though repairs would be “done as quickly as possible”, as he attempts to justify why the USD$14-million-plus renovation scheme he initiated for the nation’s 250th anniversary has apparently gone awry. Trump’s assertions emerge as a former Olympian faces arrest for allegedly damaging the pool.

David Hearn, a three-time Olympic canoeist who represented the United States, informed the Washington Post that while cycling past the monument on Friday, he halted after spotting a section of the pool’s liner drifting in the water.

Hearn, 67, explained to the publication that he extended his hand and touched the loose piece of liner. Seconds later, he found himself detained by Park Police.

Viral video clips show Hearn appearing confused as National Guard members approached him. The footage then depicts police placing him in handcuffs.

“I didn’t vandalise anything,” Hearn insisted, according to The Washington Post. “I didn’t destroy or break or peel anything. By the time I realised what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs.

“I reached in there, and I was able to grab the end of that flapping piece, the already peeling piece. It was still attached to the bottom. I didn’t remove anything.”

Hearn participated in the Whitewater Slalom Canoe for the US at the 1992, 1996, and 2000 Olympic Games.

The ex-Olympian disclosed he spent nearly five hours held at a Park Police station. His court appearance at DC Superior Court is set for 9 July.

The Olympian’s detention follows earlier statements by the US President on Friday (19 June) claiming there had been “some real problems with vandalism at the beautiful Reflecting Pool”. “It’s a shame that the Radical Left Lunatics, most likely Dumocats, who have spent their lives trying to ruin our Country, are free to do so,’ Trump wrote.

“Law Enforcement is actively investigating this situation, and will hopefully have it resolved soon.”

The 47th US President also turned his attack on a journalist amid the Reflecting Pool fiasco, accusing “lightweight ABC Reporter Jonathan Karl” of plunging his hand into the pool and attempting to scrape the rubber from its surface.

His outburst follows Karl’s ABC News report on Thursday, in which his team discovered the Reflecting Pool laden with muck and green algae. Karl further noted that the multi-million dollar paint job appeared to be deteriorating rapidly.

Earlier this month, Trump took to Truth Social to declare the Reflecting Pool restoration complete, proudly boasting that the renovation was “very complex, but powerful”.

The President also claimed that fresh water had been added to the pool, yet just weeks after Trump’s triumphant proclamation, algae turned the newly added water a nauseating shade of green. Last week, workers were spotted pouring hydrogen peroxide into the water in a bid to tackle the spreading algae.

The US Department of the Interior, the government body overseeing the project, confirmed in an official statement that “nanobubbler technology” had been installed to combat the persistent algae problem. Trump has since claimed that the algae has been reduced by 75 percent.

The Reflecting Pool has troubled successive US administrations, as algae accumulation has regularly stopped the water from properly mirroring the memorial as intended.

The Department of Justice has refused to supply signed declarations from Trump administration officials pledging not to to create the nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” that critics have a labelled a “slush fund” that would reward January 6 rioters and other Trump allies.

In a court filing, a top Justice Department lawyer said Judge Leonie Brinkema’s demand for the sworn documents as a condition for dismissing a lawsuit over the controversial fund proposal amounted to judicial “overreach.”

“Such declarations are unnecessary and the compelled testimony of senior officials from the Executive Branch implicates serious separation of powers concerns,” wrote Andrew Block, senior counsel to Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr.

In his Friday filing, Block cited acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s recent congressional testimony that the fund was “not going forward, period.”

He also said that he has twice signed briefs “reaffirming” that position, and that the Justice Department “has twice said substantially the same thing in open court.”

“All these statements were made against the backdrop of serious penalties for falsity,” he wrote.

Earlier this month, the judge issued a preliminary injunction that blocks the government from establishing the compensation fund.

During a court hearing on June 12, Brinkema stressed that Blanche’s congressional testimony wasn’t enough to satisfy her.

She gave him, Woodward and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent until Friday to file the declarations if they wanted her to declare a lawsuit over the fund as moot.

Brinkema also warned that if the declarations weren’t filed by her deadline, she would issue a scheduling order and require the defendants to file a response by July 17.

Block now says that “such declarations are unnecessary.”

The lead plaintiff in the case is Andrew Floyd, a former federal prosecutor who alleged that he was fired for prosecuting Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 to try to prevent Congress from certifying his loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.

Blanche and other administration officials have insisted that they are following the court’s order and abandoning plans for the fund, but officials have also suggested that they are still looking for pathways to issue payouts.

The Justice Department said the fund was being created as part of an alleged settlement agreement between Trump and his own administration. Trump agreed to dismiss a lawsuit against the IRS, which he sued for $10 billion over the leak of his tax returns by an agency contractor.

The deal also includes a provision that bars the Justice Department and IRS from taking legal action against Trump, his sons Don Jr. and Eric, and the Trump Organization for any other past alleged wrongdoing.

The president has claimed he wasn’t involved in discussions about creating the fund, which would ostensibly compensate people who Blanche said were the “victims of lawfare” by the Biden administration.

But the president has also said he “loves” the idea. He recently told NBC’s Meet the Press that “it was up to me, I’d pay them the kind of money that they deserve.”

“People have been destroyed. Lives have been destroyed,” Trump said during a June 12 interview that aired two days later.

The sitdown in Wisconsin ended abruptly when Trump got angry and stormed off after host Kristen Welker pressed him for evidence to support his unfounded claims that the 2020 election and the recent California gubernatorial primary were “rigged.”

“You’re either crooked or you’re stupid,” he said. “You play right into their hands with this crap.”

Tees Folk will make its comeback, returning to the Stockton Globe on Saturday, September 19, , after a year-long pause in 2025.

The third edition of the event promises a fresh line-up of contemporary and traditional talent, headlined by Mercury Music Prize nominees The Unthanks.

John Smith (Image: Supplied)

Rachel and Becky Unthank, performing for the first time at the Stockton Globe, will lead their full 10-piece band in what will be the last chance to see The Unthanks in 2026 performing with their full 10-piece band.

Described as “one of the UK’s most acclaimed folk acts,” The Unthanks are known for blending time-honoured traditions with contemporary influences, creating what organisers call a “powerful, moving and captivating” live experience.

Returning to the stage is Middlesbrough’s Amelia Coburn, who performed at the inaugural Tees Folk in 2023.

Since then, she has completed a sold-out solo UK tour and supported major acts including Paul Weller, Suzanne Vega and The Proclaimers.

The festival will also welcome acclaimed singer-songwriter John Smith, who has spent two decades at the forefront of British folk guitar music.

Poster (Image: Supplied)

With more than 125 million Spotify streams, the Essex-born artist is known for his “deeply romantic songwriting” and “innovative guitar work.”

John Smith has performed around the world and built a loyal following.

Completing the line-up is East Cleveland’s Dale Husband, who performs as Glad Town Ghost.

Mr Husband’s sound blends vivid, post-industrial storytelling with American folk influences, for fans of Jackson C Frank and Cormac McCarthy.

His solo concept album, The Endless Heavy Sleep, came in 2020.

Organisers promise that Tees Folk will once again transform the Stockton Globe with its unique atmosphere and eclectic mix of carefully curated traditional and contemporary sounds. “There will be no shortage of emotive storytelling and harmonious melodies.”

Tickets are available now through the Stockton Globe website.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit stocktonglobe.co.uk.

A reader gives his view on which was the best year ever for video games but do his opinions stand up to scrutiny or is it all just nostalgia talking?

The debate about the best year in video game history never ceases. There are so many years in video games that were spectacular or otherwise extremely important for the industry, so narrowing one year down can be a very tough task.

You could say that 1998 was an amazing breakout year, seeing as we were treasured with groundbreaking titles like The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time, the original Metal Gear Solid, Half-Life, Resident Evil 2, and Banjo-Kazooie. Or you might suggest 2007 was greater due to the likes of Bioshock, Super Mario Galaxy, Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Mass Effect, Assassin’s Creed, and Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.

However, for me personally, I see the years 2011 and 2013 as remarkable years in gaming. Both of these years poured it on with top quality releases throughout the year, from January through to December, like you wouldn’t believe, managing to combine quality and quantity like no other year has ever achieved. So let’s dive into the games and consoles that made both of these years remarkable beyond any other.

When I think about 2011, I think of 18/19-year-old me in college and walking down to the local supermarket to buy the latest hot release during break times, giddy with child-like excitement when I arrived home to play them. The sheer assault of releases in 2011 should make any other year blush and curl up into a foetal position.

January blasted things off by gifting us LittleBigPlanet 2, the PlayStation 3 version of Mass Effect 2 and Dead Space 2. Then throughout the year we were bombarded with amazing top tier releases like Bulletstorm, Portal 2, the Mortal Kombat reboot, L.A. Noire, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Dark Souls, Minecraft, Saints Row: The Third, Skyrim, Batman: Arkham City, Rayman Origins, and The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

I would be remiss not to mention the portable juggernaut that was the 3DS and the wealth of great games utilising its gyroscopic 3D capabilities like The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time 3D, Star Fox 64 3D, Super Mario 3D Land, and Mario Kart 7.

2013 was arguably way larger and far more epic, seeing as it was both an industry-shifting year, and it served as the last bastion of amazing seventh generation titles. The start of the year saw Ninja Theory’s audacious take on Devil May Cry with DmC: Devil May Cry, and featured one of my favourite games in the history of ever in Ni No Kuni: Wrath Of The White Witch.

Moving along, we were treated to captivating titles throughout the year including Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Luigi’s Mansion 2, the Tomb Raider reboot, Bioshock Infinite, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Far Cry: Blood Dragon, The Last Of Us, Pikmin 3, Saints Row 4, GTA 5, Puppeteer, The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, The Legend Of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, The Stanley Parable, Rayman Legends, Tearaway, Killzone: Mercenary, Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, and Super Mario 3D World.

Then in November the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One arrived, and they changed the games industry in a way that’s still very present to this day. Launch titles for PlayStation 4 consisted of Resogun, Knack, and Killzone: Shadow Fall. And the Xbox One gave us Ryse: Son Of Rome, Forza Motorsport 5, and Dead Rising 3. Suffice to say, 2013 exploded with a crescendo of excellent games that didn’t stop coming. Simply put, the enormity of 2013 isn’t spoken about often, but it really should be enshrined in video game lore forever.

So, as you can see, 2011 and 2013 were extraordinary years in video games, and they overloaded us with games unlike any other. Their industry-shifting qualities shouldn’t be understated either, as they are both hugely significant to the history and modern state of video games today.

By reader James Davie

The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot.

Just contact us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk or use our Submit Stuff page and you won’t need to send an email.

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