According to the Met Office, the UK has a rainy week ahead with showers set to start tonight across England and Wales. Additionally, the largest El Niño event is heading our way in Autumn, bringing with it heavy showers and storms.

Now, experts are urging homeowners to ensure that garden drainage is in place ahead of the coming months to prevent waterlogged lawns, pooling driveways and damage to plant life.

We spoke with Andy McLaughlin, Sales & Operations Director at RF Paving to learn more about the best drainage solutions for gardens in the UK.

McLaughlin explains: “A French drain is a sloped, trench-like drain that combines gravel and a drainage pipe to distribute surface water elsewhere, such as a soakaway. This method is best for large areas of oversaturated soil or water which is pooling too close to your home.

“First, plan and mark the area where water accumulates and mark the path for the drain, ensuring it slopes away from your patio. Then, dig a trench approximately 15-25 cm wide and 60 cm deep along the marked path.”

Then, he explains, you need to lay a 5-10cm layer of coarse gravel at the bottom of the trench and position a perforated pipe on top of the gravel, ensuring the perforations face downwards.

Finally, cover the pipe with more gravel, filling the trench up to ground level and cover with decorative stones or turf for a seamless finish.

McLaughlin says: “Aggregate drainage is best for garden spaces with dense, clay-heavy soil or landscaped gardens with patios and paths, which prevent water from naturally soaking beneath the surface.

“Aggregate drainage, such as crushed stone or pea gravel, allows water to percolate through the soil and away from critical areas, providing excellent natural drainage to maintain soil health, prevent erosion and ensure a slip-free environment.”

As aggregates aren’t compact, the gaps between the stones allow water to flow through easily, reducing the risk of flooding or waterlogging.

McLaughlin says: “Sometimes referred to as linear drains, channel drains are sleek and discreet, seamlessly integrating with your paving. They efficiently collect and divert surface water to an appropriate outlet to prevent pooling, especially around driveways and patios.

“You’ll require a space wide enough for your channel drain, plus 100mm of concrete is required on either side. Excavate the marked trench to the depth of the channel drain, allowing an additional 50mm for the compacted mortar base and a 2mm clearance at the top.”

If this all sounds a little out of your scope, McLaughlin recommends hiring a professional.

He adds: “Assemble the channel as a dry run and make any necessary cuts at the end opposite the outlet, then install it from the lowest point upwards, fit the end caps, connect it to the main drain or soakaway with a 110mm pipe, and test the flow with water before protecting the grating with masking tape, pouring the concrete and allowing it to set for 72 hours.”

Miriam Margolyes has shared her take on her recent controversial appearance on This Morning.

Last week, Miriam faced criticism over an interview with This Morning host Andi Peters, during which she made numerous comments about the presenter’s race and complexion.

First imitating Christine Lampard’s Northern Irish accent, Miriam went on to ask Andi: “What accent would be normal for you? What are you? You’re a mix, aren’t you? You’ve got a Black daddy and a white mummy?”

When Andi clarified that both of his parents are Black, and tried to make light of the situation by questioning if the show’s make-up team had made him a “lighter shade than normal”, Miriam continued: “I think you’re what I would call ‘high yella’. That’s what they call it in America when someone isn’t deeply Black.”

“High yellow” – described by the Merriam Webster dictionary as a “dated” and “often offensive” term – was an expression historically used to refer to Black people with a light complexion.

After Andi interrupted to say that the producers in his earpiece were “getting nervous now”, Miriam responded: “Don’t be nervous. We [in Britain] welcome everybody. And that’s what I want to write about in my book!”

On Sunday night, Miriam gave a Q&A in Southend on Sunday to promote her new book Miriam’s Full English, in which she reflects on modern British society.

During the conversation – footage from which later made its way onto TikTok – Miriam insisted it was never her intention to “embarrass or hurt Andi, because he seems very nice”.

“I’d never met him before. I didn’t know who he was,” she said. “And I didn’t know he was Black until I saw him.

“When you see someone, of course, you know they’re Black. But I wanted to know what he thought about it… because that’s more interesting.”

Going on to use a pejorative term for disabled people, Miriam continued: “How do Black people feel? How do brown people feel? How do cripples feel? How do fat people feel? You see what I mean?

“All of us feel something about who we are, and how people see us, and what they think of us.”

When the moderator clarified that Miriam had wanted to “discuss [Andi’s identity with him”, she added: “Yes, I am fascinated by other people. They are the people that interest me, not the celebrities so much – it’s everybody, what their story is, what made them who they are? Why you are the way you are.”

Andi also addressed the matter for the first time last week, after fellow broadcaster Jeremy Vine shared footage of the exchange on Instagram, praising Andi for how he “deal with” the situation.

“Thanks JV,” Andi later commented. “As you know we have to be ready for ANYTHING!!!”

HuffPost UK contacted reps for Miriam Margolyes, Andi Peters and This Morning last week, but did not receive a response.

But it seems the Queen of Pop is not done yet.

Over the weekend, the Grammy winner posted a TikTok video of herself pensively listening to the Confessions II cut L.E.S. Girl, which brings the album to a melancholic ending.

“Thinking about Charli…” she captioned the post, with Charli XCX then popping up in the comments section shortly afterwards.

“Wait… I got something I wanna talk about,” the British singer-songwriter wrote, in a nod to the lyrics of Madonna’s recent Sabrina Carpenter duet Bring Your Love, which has become something of a meme in recent weeks.

The two singers’ exchange has led many fans to speculate that they might be about to cross musical paths, potentially on a new remixed version of L.E.S. Girl.

Over the summer, Charli and Madonna were both pictured on the front row of Saint Laurent’s show at Paris Fashion Week, where they were seen laughing and smoking together.

After that, Charli told Nick Grimshaw for Radio 6 Music that she and the Like A Prayer singer kept running into each other, to the point their Paris trip felt like a “mini break together”.

Charli enthused: “She’s fab. She’s just so cool, and so interested in really talking about the music that she makes, and how, and why. I found it very inspiring to hang out with her.”

She also praised Madonna’s “wealth of songs” and “high” taste level, revealing the first Madonna song she “fell in love with” was the 2003 single Hollywood, taken from the album American Life.

Interestingly, earlier in the year, it looked like there may have been some mild beef between Charli and Madonna, after the Von Dutch singer claimed during a now-infamous British Vogue interview (and, subsequently, on her divisive single Rock Music) that she thinks the “dance floor is dead”.

“If your dance floor feels dead, maybe you’re playing the wrong music,” Madonna cryptically wrote on Instagram shortly afterwards.

How do we define the far-right?

It’s a phrase which has been long associated with those on the political fringes, like the English Defence League (EDL) and the British National Party (BNP).

But the Alternative for Germany (AfD)’s success in a regional election this week has sparked significant alarm that far-right ideas are becoming mainstream again.

The AfD is now the first far-right party to gain power in Germany at a state level since the Nazi era of World War 2.

Britain’s Treasury minister Emma Reynolds said she would put Reform UK in the “same bracket” as AfD, even though many of the parties’ policies are different.

Rising concerns over immigration and the impact of Donald Trump’s second term in power have also caused concern about a global swing towards the political right.

But what exactly makes something or someone far-right? Here’s what you need to know.

According to the European Commission, the “extreme right” consists of five characteristics: nationalism, racism, xenophobia, calls for a strong state and an anti-democratic attitude.

Yet the Commission said not all of these traits need to be present for it to qualify as far-right extremism.

Campaigners at Hope Not Hate have also warned that the term is not interchangeable with fascism.

They describe it is an umbrella term which encompasses the “radical right” – who still believe in the essence of democracy – and the “extreme far right” – who reject the ballot box.

Hope Not Hate then claimed the definition of “far right” has not been broadened in recent years, but what we see as normal has changed.

“More ‘mainstream’ figures are increasingly crossing the line making it legitimate to use the term to describe them. The centre ground and conservative right are shifting rather than the definition expanding,” the campaigners said.

They added: “You do not have to be part of a far-right organisation to be a far-right activist.”

As voices on the right grow stronger in both the UK and the US, the term “far-right” is often used as an insult, but they are fundamentally different.

Dr Nafeez Ahmed – author of Alt Reich: The Network War to Destroy the West from Within – previously told HuffPost UK: “The right and the far-right are not the same.

“The right is about conserving markets, liberty and nations within a democratic framework.

“The far-right is anti-democratic: it thrives on conspiracy theories, scapegoating minorities and authoritarian ‘solutions’.”

According to YouGov, only 3% of Brits identified themselves as “very right-wing”, while a further 9% describe themselves as “fairly right-wing”.

That’s compared to 4% who describe themselves as “very left-wing” and 14% who say they’re “fairly left wing”.

Figureheads like Nigel Farage have been clear to reject the “far right” label, and claims to have “done more than anyone else to defeat the far right in Britain”.

His deputy leader Richard Tice has also described being called far-right “defamatory and libellous” – and the BBC had to issue an apology for describing Reform so in 2024.

Robinson’s “Unite the Kingdom” rally last September saw Brits from all over the country call for “free speech” and listen to Elon Musk’s call for them to “fight back or die”.

The leader of the Conservatives – traditionally seen as a centre-right party – Kemi Badenoch refused to condemn Musk’s statement, saying that she does not think he was inciting violence.

Two anti-migrant protests over the weekend have also sparked concern, even though the number of small boat crossings have declined compared to last year.

So what does this all mean?

Ahmed explained: “What we’re seeing in Britain is not just a surge of street mobilisation.

“It’s something deeper: far-right narratives – from the so-called ‘Great Replacement’ which says white people are being replaced by Black and brown migrants to attacks on fundamental rights – bleeding into mainstream politics.

“This signals a dangerous new phase. The far right is going mainstream, but it is also morphing into something unrecognisable: a trans-Atlantic project that fuses white nationalism with billionaire-backed techno-authoritarian hyper-capitalism.

“Its goal is not simply to influence democracy, but to smash it and replace it with a system built on surveillance, disinformation and the concentration of wealth and power.”

As Britain’s two-party system looks ever-more precarious, movements usually confined to the peripheries of the political system are shifting into the spotlight.

While there is appetite for further movement on the left – as seen by the spike of interest in the Greens – right-wing policies are dominating the news agenda right now and influencing government policy.

The Tories, usually Labour’s strongest centre-right opponents, have also started to drift further right to try and take back its voters from Reform.

As all the parties compete for voters’ attention with stronger policies to tackle immigration, some critics believe there is a dangerous drift to the far-right within the mainstream.

This debate is compounded by rising tensions over in the States, where opponents of the Trump administration have accused the White House of taking government policy to extremes.

London mayor Sadiq Khan claimed in 2025 that the US president had been “fanning the flames of the far-right” by “scapegoating minorities, and illegally deporting US citizens, deploying the military to the streets of diverse cities”.

He warned that the rise of the far-right presented a major threat to Britain’s progressive values – and urged voters to hold onto them during this time of change.

Anyone who’s tried to fix up or add to their garden in the winter months will know how hard it can be to get outdoor jobs done in the cold.

Aside from the unpleasantness of freezing fingers and relentless rain, there’s also the issue of hard soil, decreased insect life, and hibernating plants.

So, we thought we’d share the jobs to get done this autumn to prep your garden perfectly for the cold months ahead.

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) recommends scarifying your lawn, or raking it to remove moss, grass, and other debris, in autumn. This helps to ensure water penetrates through to the soil and reduces the change of fungal problems. If you’re unsure whether or not your garden needs scarification, look down at your grass; if you can’t see any soil beneath the blades, you might want to give the practice a go. “A lawn can only really take this brutal treatment in autumn, when it should recover well,” says the RHS.

As we said earlier, it can be hard to maintain ― never mind add to ― your garden in the cold winter. So planting up the plainer parts of your lawn is best done before it gets too cold. Whether it’s due to pest damage or just plain forgetfulness, seed empty areas of turf now for a fuller garden in spring ― autumn’s cool, damp weather is the perfect time for planting.

Now’s a good time to deadhead flowers for continued growth in autumn and a healthier return in spring. While some plants, like sedum, monarda, alliums, rudbeckia, Jerusalem sage and echinacea, along with most ornamental grasses, can keep their flowers, consider removing the tops of all your border flowers to keep them strong over the winter. Check the advice for your specific plant, of course; fuchsia might need cutting down almost to the ground, for instance.

Whether it’s fruit trees, rosemary bushes, or lavender, now’s a great time to (literally) cut back. Removing dead, dying, or overgrown branches and flowers will help to keep your plants healthy and ensure easier growth in the next year.

Cutting H-shape slits on any small humps in your garden, peeling back the turf, and adding or taking away soil to address the unevenness sounds extreme. That’s because it is, so the job is best done in autumn, when the garden has time to repair itself.

The work of a gardener is never done, but finishing these five jobs before we find ourselves in winter should at least make it a little easier.

Autumn is an amazing season for so many reasons.

The beautiful leaves. The pumpkin spice-flavoured foods. I even like the nip in the air.

But – perhaps due to decreased light, seasonal affective disorder (SAD), grim weather, or all of the above – it seems a lot of us find it the toughest time to work out.

A 2022 study by Peleton found that “autumn apathy” affects a lot of us in the UK.

Only 2% listed October and November as their least favourite time to work out compared to the 27% of people who felt motivated to get moving in spring.

That’s a shame, as moving more and getting more sunlight may help to alleviate some symptoms of seasonal low mood.

While all exercise is good exercise, one sport may be easier than usual to pick up around this time of year: running.

Part of the reason is the weather.

Speaking to HuffPost UK, Dr Bryn Mota, Senior Director of University Fitness Centres at Case Western Reserve University, said: “Cooler temperatures and lower humidity are ideal for running outdoors.”

A 2007 paper published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that runners perform best at around 7-15°C – in other words, autumn temps.

No wonder Dr Mota said, “On the perfect autumn day, you can feel like you can run forever!”

There’s also a logistical element. If you’re training for a marathon, half-marathon, 5k or 10k in spring (when lots of events take place), starting now gives you time to develop your cardio base by race season.

Consider, too, the endless small races and park runs already happening. Little wins are key to motivating beginners.

“There are many fall fun runs (or walks) that are easy and attainable short-term goals you can enjoy with your friends, family and a newfound running community,” Dr Mota told us.

Sports partners seem to help people stick to their exercise plans, so bringing a friend or joining a group is a great idea.

And speaking to The Independent, keen runner Ania Gabb also pointed out that kids’ return to school frees up some parents’ time a little, making autumn the perfect time to get started.

Autumn runs aren’t just a mindfulness-boosting feast for the senses (Dr Mota said, “The sound of the leaves beneath your feet, smell of falling leaves, the crisp air, and the colourful landscape both invigorate and relax you”).

They can keep your body safer over winter, too.

Exercising in chillier climes can help you to build your immune system’s defences in time for winter when bugs abound, exercise-focused social enterprise Better Health says.

It may even help to lessen the symptoms of SAD.

Dr Milica McDowell, an exercise physiologist and vice president of operations at Gait Happens, told us: “Running in the autumn can help to set you up to be more active in winter; if you establish a consistent running habit throughout the fall, it’s easier to stick with it as the weather gets even colder”.

She added, “many individuals experience seasonal mood changes, and committing to a running practice can help counteract this.

“Running (and walking) have both been shown to boost your mood, reduce feelings and symptoms of depression and help to manage anxiety.”

So, if you can, avoid that “autumn apathy” where possible – and consider getting your running shoes on.