Just the moor stretching in every direction, the wind, and a pub that has been standing on this ridge since the reign of Mary I.

The Lion Inn at Blakey Ridge is one of the most extraordinary places in the North of England and most people have no idea it exists.

Built between 1553 and 1558, the pub is believed to have been constructed by monks as a rest stop when carrying coffins across the moors.

It sits at 1,325 feet above sea level at the highest point of the North York Moors National Park – and is the fourth highest pub in England.

The views from the car park alone are worth the drive.

What it feels like inside

Walk through the door and you walk into another century. Low beamed ceilings, bare stone walls, flagstone floors, and fires burning in ancient stone fireplaces.

The pub is a series of small interconnected rooms, each with its own atmosphere.

There is real ale on the bar – Black Sheep, Theakston’s Old Peculier, Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, and a menu that runs from midday to 9pm every day.

“I just love the old feel of the place and the unique layout – the way all the little rooms lead into each other,” wrote one regular visitor on Tripadvisor.

“There’s always a cosy atmosphere and a little corner to sit in.”

Another reviewer, who has been going for years and sees no reason to stop, described it as “exactly the kind of place that’s emblematic of why I love pubs like these” – great atmosphere, wonderful aesthetic and fantastic food.

What to order

Come hungry. Portion sizes at the Lion Inn are a recurring theme across more than 1,000 Tripadvisor reviews.

“The portions are simply huge, even the plates they are served on are bigger than normal dinner plates,” one regular visitor said kindly.

The Sunday roast is what people travel for.

“Fantastic quality with huge slabs of beef,” wrote one reviewer who booked online the night before and was served within 15 minutes of ordering.

The steak sandwich gets its own devoted following, with one visitor, who came after a family celebration from Scarborough, calling it “the best I have ever had.”

The soup is homemade and described as “great” and “thick and hot.”

Jam roly poly and custard is also on the menu for pudding, if you can manage it.

A word on the walk

The Lion Inn sits on the Coast to Coast walking route, one of England’s most famous long-distance walks, and is the highest and most isolated overnight stop on the entire route.

Walkers have been stumbling through that door for generations.

On a wet day on the moors, with the fires going and a pint of Old Peculier on the table, it must feel like salvation. It is, as one reviewer put it, “a real gem of a place.”

Getting there

The Lion Inn is on the road between Castleton and Hutton-le-Hole, near Kirkbymoorside, North Yorkshire, YO62 7LQ. It takes around 45 minutes to drive from Teesside and an hour from York.

Booking ahead is strongly advised.

AV Dawson, which operates the Port of Middlesbrough, scooped the accolade at the North East England Chamber of Commerce Awards last Thursday (June 18).

The port and logistics firm, which employs around 200 people, was praised for its long-standing commitment to supporting communities across Teesside.

Charities supported by AV Dawson include Teesside Hospice, the MFC Foundation, The Teesside Charity and The Headlight Project.

It also works with education programmes such as Tees Maritime, Tees Valley Education and Spark Tees Valley.

AV Dawson’s people and culture director Louise Croce said: “We are incredibly proud of the ways in which our people give back, whether that’s through volunteering their time, sharing their skills or supporting local initiatives.

“For us, community engagement isn’t just about financial contributions; it’s about making a meaningful and lasting impact in the community in which the business was founded and built.

“This award reflects the passion of our team and the pride we take in making a positive, lasting difference in our local area.”

The award ceremony, held at The Glasshouse International Centre for Music in Gateshead, saw AV Dawson triumph over Radisson Blu Durham, Maldron Hotel Newcastle and Media Cultured.

AV Dawson operates a 120-acre multimodal logistics hub on the River Tees and has recently completed a £10m three-year investment plan including a renewable energy plant, a new head office and quayside upgrades to handle larger vessels.

The company says it will continue to measure its success not only in commercial terms but in the positive difference it makes to local people and places.

British households are being warned to familiarise themselves with the signs and symptoms of heatstroke as a life-threatening alert over extreme heat has been issued.According to the NHS, the following symptoms are a sign that you may be suffering from heatstroke:

• a very high temperature
• hot skin that’s not sweating and might look red
• fast breathing or shortness of breath
• a fast heartbeat
• confusion and restlessness
• lack of coordination
• a seizure or fit
• loss of consciousness

If you, or someone nearby, displays any of these symptoms and remains unwell after 30 minutes of resting in a cool spot, being cooled down and drinking fluids, you must seek urgent medical assistance and dial 999.

While waiting for help to arrive, the person suffering from heatstroke should be wrapped in a cool, damp sheet, fanned, or sponged down with cold water.

Stress and anxiety accounted for 46,000 of the 81,000 days lost to absence in the year to 31 March.

Stress continues to be the main reason for sickness absence by council staff in West Lothian though the numbers of days lost last year fell slightly

Stress and anxiety accounted for 46,000 of the 81,000 days lost to absence in the year to 31 March.

Councillors heard that the bulk of calls to a new counselling service related to mental health issues.

Of the days lost due to sickness absence, a significant proportion of the absences are attributable to long term absence, which is defined in the policy as a period of continuous absence ‘in excess of four weeks’.

Education and Operational Services saw the greatest number of days lost. Of the total number of 46,919 days lost in Education Services, 32,482 (69.23%) of those days were due to long-term absence and were accounted for by 510 employees.

Of the total number of 37,593 days lost in Operational Services, 30,892

(82.17%) of those days were due to long-term absence and were accounted for by 458 employees.

A report to the Corporate Policy and Resources PDSP said the figures reflected a national picture. Claire Wallace HR Services Manager said: “This remains reflective of the wider picture in the UK, with mental ill health reported to be the top cause of long-term absence in the context of an on-going increase in sickness absence across sectors.”

Mental and behavioural reasons accounted for around 32% of the number long term absences and staff days lost in the last year with 46,004 lost.

This figure is far ahead of other categories including Musculoskeletal 15,236, Infectious 10,408 and Accidents, Incidents & Poisoning 9,526.

Further breakdown shows that in the Mental and Behavioural category personal stress was the main cause of absence with 21,515 days lost. The next highest was work related stress 7,095, Anxiety 5,970 and work and personal stress 4,374.

Delivering the report Lesley Henderson, the Head of Corporate Services told councillors: “Absence rates for the Council in 2025/26 have seen a slight decrease in comparison to 2024/25.

“Stress continues to be the highest contributor to levels of sickness absence across the council and action continues to focus on support for services reporting high levels of stress related absence, with guidance on identifying early signs of stress and how to develop action plans to effectively address those.”

The report outlined the response to a new assistance programme. “Since 1 December 2025, a new telephone-based counselling service has been in operation, provided by Health Assured.

“Between 1 January 2026 until 1 March 2026 there were 133 calls to the service. Of those, 11 were referred for face to face counselling services, seven for video conferencing counselling, one for online CBT, and one for Right Steps therapy, an online self-help tool.

Call contact reasons indicate that 58.65% related to mental health, 12.03% to life events, 11.28% to legal issues, 6.77% to relationships, 6.02% of work related matters, and 5.26% for service enquiries.

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In the past few weeks Jenny Young visited some renowned businesses in Winchburgh where she met with the owners and discussed the unique things they offer the local community.

Lothians West MSP Jenny Young is urging people to “think local” after visiting local businesses to mark Scotland Loves Local Week 2026

In the past few weeks Young visited some renowned businesses in Winchburgh where she met with the owners and discussed the unique things they offer the local community.

Young, who was newly elected on May 7, met with John Lawson Butchers and Delicatessen and Marley & Co Pet Supplies.

The Labour MSP said: “People are appreciating what they can find in their local community more than ever before”.

Scotland Loves Local is a national annual campaign that celebrates local businesses, social enterprises and community organisations, recognising the important role they play in the community in which they are based.

This year Scotland Loves Local week ran from June 13 to 20.

Ms Young added: “I think now, especially with how much shopping is done online or at huge out-of-town shopping centres, people really appreciate what they’re able to find in their local community more than ever before.”

“Local businesses and organisations contribute a lot to the character of a community and it’s quite right that we take the time to celebrate them for offering something unique that you’re unlikely to find anywhere else.

“I had a fantastic time visiting some of the great local businesses in Winchburgh.

“If you live in Winchburgh or pass through then you’ll know these businesses and how highly they’re thought of in the community.

“Speaking to John and Jordan really made it clear just how much knowledge local business owners have about the community they serve – they know the local issues and they know what their customers want.

“I would urge anyone who has the time to think local, to get out into their local area and visit a business or community group that means something to them.”

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is set to pass a bipartisan housing bill on Monday that aims to bring down prices and increase supply in one of the most sweeping efforts in recent decades to reduce federal regulations and increase local control.

The bill has been the focus of intense House-Senate negotiations in recent weeks as lawmakers in both parties try to address housing costs in an election year. The final version of the legislation bans corporate investors from buying single family homes but doesn’t include a Senate provision that would have required investors to sell newly constructed homes within seven years.

The measure was the result of years of work to “lower costs, expand housing supply, cut red tape, protect taxpayers, and help more Americans achieve the dream of homeownership,” said Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C., who worked with Democrats to get the bill passed.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Banking panel, told The Associated Press that she believes the bill is significant “because it acknowledges that the federal government has a role to play in lowering housing prices and because for the first time ever, private equity will be blocked from buying up single family homes and trying to turn housing into one more Wall Street investment.”

Senate passage of the bill shapes up as a rare bipartisan legislative achievement when much of Republicans’ agenda has stalled. The House is expected to give final approval later this week and send the bill to President Donald Trump, who has signaled his support.

Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California, who helped negotiate the legislation, said it was a “huge step toward finally addressing the affordable housing and homelessness crises in this country.”

Housing costs are a concern for both parties

Republicans and Democrats have embraced the bill as a way to show they are addressing the nation’s affordability crisis, driven in part by rising home prices due to a shortage of affordable housing. The U.S. housing market has been in a slump dating back to 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows.

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes have been hovering close to a 4-million annual pace going back to 2023 — well short of the 5.2-million annual pace that’s historically been the norm. Sales slowed last year to a 30-year low and have remained sluggish so far this year, declining in January and February versus a year earlier.

The Economic Report of the President in April found a shortage of 10 million homes, while a report this month from the Joint Center For Housing Studies at Harvard University found sales of existing homes were at three-decade lows and inventories were rising due to high home buying costs. “Cost burdens for both renters and owners continue to climb, while assistance remains profoundly underfunded,” the report said.

While the median U.S. monthly rent has been declining for nearly three years, it was still 17.2% higher in May than it was before the pandemic, according to data from Realtor.com.

Changes for grants, Section 8 and manufactured housing

To increase the supply of housing, the bill would streamline environmental reviews and speed up the construction process.

It would offer funding to local governments that build more housing, including Community Development Block Grant money to places exceeding the median rate of homebuilding. It would also provide money for communities to turn abandoned infrastructure into housing, and offers a framework for communities that want to reform outdated zoning regulations, which often limit larger housing developments.

The legislation would allow banks to invest more in affordable housing and raise limits on the number of public housing units that can receive private financing through Section 8 funding to rehabilitate properties. And it would remove outdated requirements and expand federal financing to make manufactured homes more affordable.

“Manufactured housing produces some of the most cost-effective housing in America, but access to financing has been tightly restricted,” Warren said. “This creates the opportunity for more manufactured housing and, at the same time, creates a structure for people living in manufactured housing communities to organize and protect their investment in their homes.”

Lawmakers compromised on a disaster program

One of the sticking points between the two chambers was over a federal disaster recovery program.

An earlier Senate bill had permanently authorized block grant recovery funds, a change intended to ensure that funding requests aren’t needed after every disaster. House lawmakers opposed that provision because of concerns over how the program was run, so they agreed on a three-year authorization instead.

The final bill has received widespread support in the housing community, both from organizations representing landlords and large property owners as well as groups that advocate for tenants and low-income renters.

“There is no magic wand that will fix this crisis overnight, and no single piece of legislation is perfect,” said David Dworkin, chief executive of the National Housing Conference, the nation’s oldest housing coalition.

“Compromise demands that. But this bill is a significant down payment on a long-term effort to make housing more affordable for all Americans.”

The DWP holds a comprehensive list of debts that can result in your Universal Credit benefit being cut, with 3.3 million households affected by deductions

Universal Credit claimants may discover funds removed from their payments through ‘deductions’ to settle various outstanding debts. The sums taken can be redirected to the DWP, to creditors, or even straight to your landlord.

Recent Department for Work and Pensions statistics showed that 3.3 million households claiming Universal Credit in February this year had one or more deductions taken from their benefit payment before it landed in their account. Nearly half of all Universal Credit claimants have experienced their payments reduced in this manner at some stage, representing an increase of 300,000 claimants over the past 12 months.

The DWP also maintains a detailed list of the debt categories that can lead to your benefit being reduced. However, deductions are typically capped at 15 per cent of your standard allowance to stop claimants from sliding into greater financial difficulty while repaying their debts.

Types of debt that can be deducted from Universal Credit payments:

• Advance payments
• Universal Credit overpayments
• Tax credit and Housing benefit overpayments
• Recoverable hardship payment
• Budgeting and crisis loan repayment
• Third party deductions

Most of these loan, hardship and overpayments are returned to the DWP. Deductions directed towards other individuals or organisations fall under third party deductions, reports Wales Online.

This can include:

• Utilities, like electricity, gas and water
• Council Tax
• Child maintenance
• Rent
• Service charges
• Court fines

A maximum of three third party deductions can be taken from your account at any single time. You will be informed in advance when a third party deduction is due to commence.

Should your landlord request a deduction to cover rent arrears or service charge debts, you have just seven days to notify the DWP if you wish to challenge the deduction, with a further seven days to provide evidence explaining why you believe it should not be applied.

You are entitled to dispute these deductions if you owe your landlord less than two months’ worth of rent and service charges. These arrears must relate exclusively to rent and/or service charges, as any other money owed to your landlord does not count towards this total.

Official DWP guidance states that “it is not possible” to establish how much will be deducted from your payment before a calculation of your earnings and benefits occurs at the end of each assessment period.

In the vast majority of cases, deductions are capped at a maximum of 15 percent of your standard allowance. However, this percentage can increase if you are subject to a ‘last resort deduction’.

Last resort deductions will go towards:

• Meeting your child maintenance obligations
• Preventing you from being evicted
• Stopping your utilities from being cut off

“But for me, following the clinical advice, basing future decisions on clinical evidence, is the right way to move forward in the context of me having received the most robust assurances about the safeguards which are in place to protect young people involved in this trial from receiving harm.”

Ashley Cain is ‘not proud of’ his sexist and misogynistic tweets, which resulted in the BBC sacking him last week.

The 35-year-old came under fire for historic tweets where he reportedly used offensive, sexist and misogynistic language about women.

After this, the BBC said that it has ‘no plans’ to broadcast the second series of Into the Danger Zone and there are ‘no future projects’ with Cain in the pipeline.

He has now spoken out in a post addressed to his ‘community’ on Instagram, saying he takes accountability for what was said.

‘I don’t deny it. I don’t excuse it. and I certainly don’t condone it,’ the Ex on the Beach star began the message.

Cain continued: ‘The truth is that these comments were made over a decade ago by a younger version of myself who still had a lot of growing up to do. I cannot change the past, and truthfully, I have never tried to hide from it.

‘I have always believed that accountability matters. We should all take responsibility for our actions, good or bad. But I also believe in growth, in learning from our mistakes, and in proving through our actions that the person we once were does not have to be the person we remain.’

In a series of posts dating back several years, which were uncovered by The Guardian, Cain suggested blurring the lines of consent during sex.

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He allegedly tweeted ‘jokes’ on numerous occasions about hitting and slapping women, with one being 2015 Love Island contestant Jessica Hayes.

It was also revealed that concerns were raised about his conduct when he was picked to host Sin City: The Real Las Vegas.

Cain went on to say that during that time in his life he felt ‘lost, frustrated and unsure of where my life was heading’ after his football career ended over an injury.

He explained that reality TV had given him a ‘second chance’ but left him navigating a world of fame that he ‘didn’t know’.

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‘One in which I was rewarded for developing a provocative personality,’ Cain wrote. ‘None of that excuses the things I said, but it is part of the truth of where I was and who I was becoming.’

Reflecting on his development since then, he listed the ‘incredible women’ in his life, including his mum, nan, auntie, and sister.

‘They taught me compassion, resilience, and respect long before I truly understood the valune of those things,’ he penned. ‘Looking back now, I can see many moments in my younger years where I lacked maturity, perspective and understanding.

‘Like many young men, I had lessons to learn, and life made sure I learned them.’

He went on to discuss how the death of his daughter had changed him ‘forever’, sharing that he had dedicated his life to honour her ‘legacy’.

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Azaylia was just eight months old when she died in 2021 after being diagnosed with a ‘rare and aggressive’ form of leukaemia.

He and her mum, Safiyya, had planned to take their little girl to Singapore for treatment after their fundraising page hit the £1million mark but were then told she only had days left to live.

Cain said during this time, the family experienced ‘mocking’ and death threats from strangers, which sometimes felt ‘unbearable’.

He reiterated that he had grown from this, ‘not because he is special’ but because he ‘chose better’ and had let go of the anger.

Wrapping the length statement, Cain said: ‘I cannot change the past. None of us can.

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‘But every day I wake up, I can choose the man I want to be, and I can choose the impact I want to have on those around me. That is what I have tried to do for many years now, and it is what I will continue to do moving forward.’

The post was flooded with messages of support for Cain, including from Safiyya, although the pair have split.

Cain’s X account, from which the sexist comments originated, now seems to have been deactivated.

Previously, the BBC said the comments were ‘unacceptable’ and removed him from presenting duties.

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Resigning as UK prime minster and leader of the Labour party, Keir Starmer said he accepted, “with good grace”, that the party does not think he is best placed to lead them into the next general election.

Following the election of Andy Burnham in Makerfield, it’s also clear who most Labour MPs want to replace him. It’s now more than possible that “King of the North” could be invited by the real king (Charles) to form a new government within weeks.

This momentous situation begs two questions: what is Andy Burnham actually about in terms of plans, priorities and personality? And, what are the main challenges that may well trip him up?

There are two distinct levels to Project Andy: Manchesterism and Burnhamism. The former encompasses his policy vision, revolving around the notion of “business friendly socialism” and place-based politics. Manchester’s integrated Bee Network of integrated public transport has been held up as an example of the city’s positive and optimistic political economy under Burnham’s leadership.

À lire aussi :
Andy Burnham: what has made the king of the north so popular?

On a national level, this Manchesterism approach looks like emphasising devolution of power to the English regions and a rejection of neoliberalism. It would be replaced by a new model of public governance in which communities up and down the UK have more control over the basic essentials of life: housing, utilities, transport and education.

A second policy dimension revolves around shifting to a preventative mindset. From health to housing, the role of the government cannot and should not be to keep spending more and more. But instead, to invest in tackling the root causes of key societal challenges. Build more social housing, invest in early interventions around physical and mental health, don’t deify university education and dare to innovate.

A third (and possibly defining) aspect is Burnham’s focus on tackling social inequality. This was evident in his response to Tony Blair’s recent “playing with fire” essay-cum-intervention. Burnham’s powerful rebuttal: “If you are not rooting your analysis in the fact that people are unable to live and that things that were taken for granted are no longer affordable, then you are not understanding what’s going on.”

It’s this ground-level understanding of real people, living real lives well away from the internalised gossip and gaming of Whitehall and Westminster, that Burnham now seeks to bring to national politics. It’s also why his recent success in the Makerfield byelection suggests he can draw traditional Labour voters back from the false promises and pitfalls of Reform.

Manchesterism v Burnhamism

At a deeper level, it is possible to separate the policy aims of Manchesterism from a political project that is potentially far more interesting. What has been overlooked in the excitement of recent weeks is that Burnhamism is not actually about the Labour party or the next general election.

Burnhamism represents a political ideology founded on the need to fundamentally change British constitutional government. There has been no attempt to hide this level of mega-political ambition. Burnham made it explicit in his recent electoral success: “If you can build a new politics, you can actually bring through big changes … Westminster is not working. I am calling for a completely different way of doing things, for a completely different political culture”.

Burnhamism represents a complete rejection of the traditionally centralised, elitist, two-party, Whitehall-knows-best Westminster model. It seeks to shift towards a power-sharing model that can accommodate long-term strategic policy-making.

Far-reaching devolution is part of this. And it is promoted alongside the need for electoral reform, in the form of proportional representation (which is itself attracting increasing public support).

Manchesterism and Burnhamism are clearly interwoven. Tackling entrenched socioeconomic inequalities will itself demand a redistribution of power that the current system was historically designed to sustain.

And then, of course, Burnhamism has a very specific performative dimension. There’s a certain folksy “local lad” hero element that feeds off the music and brashness of Manchester. The casual clothes carefully selected to represent not a traditional politician, but a popular (not populist) “bloke” operating outside the mainstream (tie-wearing) bubble. If Manchester wasn’t so far from Westminster, you could almost imagine him turning up on a Vespa or vintage Lambretta.

Burnham’s biggest challenge

It’s common in politics that the biggest obstacles are also the biggest opportunities. This is certainly true for Burnham as he vies to become the next prime minister. Other leadership contenders may emerge, the machinery of government certainly needs more than a little administrative tinkering if it is to deliver a radical agenda, and Nigel Farage and Reform remain a potent political foe.

And yet, his biggest challenge is more basic: forging a clear connection with the British public. If Starmer failed to do this, it was because he was too miserable early on and could never articulate a clear story about what he was doing as prime minister or why. U-turns and self-inflicted wounds only added to a generalised sense of governing incompetence that proved impossible to shake off.

The opportunity and the challenge for Burnham revolves around the need to craft a clear and careful message of hope and optimism about what he wants to do and why. But he must do so without over-inflating the public’s expectations – or failure becomes, to some extent, inevitable.