If you’re of a certain age, you likely remember when it was at its height – parades, music, floats, celebrities.

And sadly, you also probably remember its gradual fading in the early noughties, where expanding costs and shrinking crowds brought the former summer mainstay to its knees, culminating in its eventual cancellation.

The Bethel Crowd Amateur Dramatics Society at the Westhoughton Carnival procession August 2005 (Image: Karen Hope)

But now, Westhoughton community group Howfen Wakes is set to bring back the Carnival after an absence of around 20 years.

That’s 20 summers without the sight of costumes and parades, without the smell of hotdogs and popcorn, without the sounds of the brass band or the rollercoaster.

The carnival will start small and hopefully expand, depending on popularity, as the team try to turn their much-loved childhood memories into a reality once again.

Westhoughton carnival float (Image: Kerry Dunk Leigh)

Hazel Bumby from Howfen Wakes said: “I remember it from when I was a teenager, so it was last on probably about 20 years ago.

“We’d have celebrities, floats, open top cars, people throwing sweets into the crowd – although you probably couldn’t get away with that now.”

‘Howfen’ is a slang term for a Westhoughtoner, so ‘Howfen Wakes’ refers to the reawakening of the Howfens as they revive their carnival.

The Bourbon Street Roof Raisers provide the music at the Westhoughton Carnival procession. August 14, 2005.. (Image: Karen Hope)

According to Westhoughton councillor David Wilkinson, the carnival began as an agricultural show, where locals could display their wares.

The show expanded, however, eventually blooming into a full carnival with all the usual trappings – stalls, food, floats, a ‘carnival queen’.

“We’d go down Bolton Road across Market Street and into central drive over to then park then we’d have a celebrity open the carnival.”

Members of Bolton Spartans Scooter Club got into the carnival spirit back in 1962 when they prepared to take part in the procession for Westhoughton Carnival dressed in home-made costumes (Image: Archive)

The new edition of the carnival is starting small with a party in the park – stalls, amusements, food, face painting and hair braiding for the kids.

This nullifies one of the largest carnival expenses – paying for road closures.

According to Cllr Wilkinson, it was this this and other expenses that lead to the dissolution of the carnival the first time around.

Sarah Hall, the Westhoughton Carnival Queen Elect at the Westhoughton Carnival procession August 2005.. (Image: Karen Hope)

“Road closures are expensive, traffic management is expensive.

“But after such a long period of time you have to start somewhere.

“It was well attended in its heyday – everyone looked forward to it but there was a lot of cost.”

The Westhoughton Carnival procession. Photo by Karen Hope, Bolton Evening News, Sunday August 14, 2005. (Image: Karen Hope)

Cllr Wilkinson himself related a story of how he used to enter the carnival show with homegrown goods of his.

If this first carnival is a success, however, the team are planning to expand until it begins to approach its former pomp, with street parades, floats, and live entertainment.

A Wetherspoons customer baffled people after sharing the cooked breakfast they ordered with an unlikely additional item that some said had no place on the plate

We Brits love a fry up, but we all have our own ideas for what should and shouldn’t go on the plate.

Some of us love loading up on sausages, some of us think beans shouldn’t go anywhere near the plate, and there’s often a difference of opinion when it comes to additions like black pudding.

No matter what you consider to be the perfect cooked breakfast, many cafes and restaurants that serve the morning meal will let you customise your dish to your liking.

That’s what one Wetherspoons customer did recently at their local pub in Ramsgate, Kent. But when they posted their customised breakfast on social media, people were baffled by one addition.

On Reddit‘s fry up forum, one person said they had ordered the “Freedom Breakfast” from their local Wetherspoons. This comes with two rashers of bacon, two hash browns, two eggs, two servings of mushrooms, two grilled tomatoes, and baked beans.

They then said they added a sausage, two pieces of black pudding, and the controversial addition – haggis.

They said: “I added a sausage, two black pudding and haggis (seems to be a new addition to the menu here). The pint of Guinness went down very well with it. Just over a tenner all in, including the pint. Overall very satisfying, especially for the price, and haggis was a great addition.”

The addition of haggis to the cooked breakfast split opinions in the comments section. Some believed haggis makes the “perfect side to any meal”, while others said it had no place on a fry up.

One person said: “Haggis and Guinness are a guaranteed winner.” Another added: “Solid breakfast! You can’t beat the helping of haggis and black pud!”

However, someone else was less convinced, stating: “Haggis looks like sheep [poo] infested with maggots.”

Several other commenters simply couldn’t believe the Wetherspoons patron had managed to get a breakfast and a pint of Guinness for around £10, describing it as a “bargain” no matter what food items were on their plate.

There were also people who were surprised that a Wetherspoons in Kent was serving haggis as a side dish – as it’s usually only available in Scotland.

It is sometimes available in wider parts of the UK around Burns Night on 25th January, but it would normally be gone from menus again by the middle of February.

When one person said they were surprised to see haggis available outside of Scotland, someone replied: “I think they sell it everywhere around Burns Night. Didn’t know they’re still selling it outside Scotland, though.”

But someone else theorised: “This will have been farmed, doesn’t taste the same. You only get proper wild-caught Haggis in Scotland these days.”

“They weren’t good enough, apparently, so they went abroad. Mohamed Salah went to Roma and Kevin De Bruyne went to Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg. They were the players that they were, they gained confidence, they did all those things, they came back to the Premier League and then it was game over, history was written.

It added: “If we are right in thinking that CPI inflation will average 1.8% in the fourth quarter of this year, then the MPC may ultimately end up cutting rates further than investors expect, to 3% this year, with the chances of the next rate cut happening in March rather than our current forecast of April edging higher.”

Manchester United have joined Premier League rivals Arsenal and Chelsea in the race to sign Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez, according to reports in Spain.

Alvarez has been strongly linked with a return to England ahead of the summer transfer window after spending the last two seasons in Madrid.

Eyebrows were raised when Atletico agreed to spend over £80m on Alvarez, who was only a squad player at Manchester City.

But the Argentine enjoyed a productive first season under Diego Simeone, scoring 29 goals in all competitions.

Alvarez has been less effective this term, ending a run of 11 games without a goal with his 12th of the season in Atletico’s stunning 4-0 Copa del Rey win over Barcelona last week.

The 26-year-old World Cup winner remains one of the most highly-rated forwards in Europe, however, and is attracting interest from a number of top clubs ahead of the summer.

Arsenal and Chelsea have both been heavily linked with moves for Alvarez, who scored 36 goals across his two seasons at Man City, winning two Premier League titles, the Champions League and FA Cup.

Premier League leaders Arsenal signed Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting last summer but the Sweden international has had a mixed first season at the Emirates Stadium.

While he has started banging in the goals since the turn of the New Year, a number of pundits have questioned if he has the all-round game to lead the line for Arsenal.

Chelsea, meanwhile, spent almost £100m on Joao Pedro and Liam Delap last summer but are still believed to be interested in signing a new striker in the next transfer window.

According to Spanish outlet Sport, Manchester United have also registered an interest in signing ex-Manchester City forward Alvarez.

Doubts remain over £74m summer signing Benjamin Sesko despite his upturn in form since Ruben Amorim was sacked last month.

Alvarez is aware he is the subject of transfer interest from multiple Premier League giants but has made Barcelona his ‘preferred option’ should he leave Atletico Madrid.

Barca have been linked with a move for well over a year and reports in Spain say Alvarez would ‘welcome’ the chance to move to the Nou Camp.

A deal between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid is seen as ‘extremely complicated’, however, partly due to their La Liga rivalry but also because of his huge asking price, which is believed to stand at around £100m.

In response to the transfer rumours, Atletico have already started efforts to get Alvarez to sign a new contract and commit his long-term future to the club.

His current deal does not expire until the summer of 2030 but Atletico know a new contract extension would ‘put an end once and for all’ to speculation over Alvarez’s future.

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Earlier this week ex-Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder Emmanuel Petit urged the Gunners to sign ‘really special’ Alvarez, insisting it would be a ‘statement’.

‘When Julian Alvarez was playing for Manchester City, I really liked him,’ Petit told Ignition Casino. ‘He didn’t start every single game but every time he played for City, and for Atletico as well since, he has been really special.

‘He can score goals and give assists, but he’s got temper, personality, and character. I think in terms of movement he is very intelligent.

‘Physically as well, he’s a top player and technically, he’s got everything to suit the best clubs in Europe.

‘The reason why he left City was because he wanted to play regular football, but I think Pep Guardiola would be very happy to have him back in the squad.

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‘So definitely, if Arsenal have a chance to get him, with the connection with the Spanish players and the way they play up front, I think that would be great news for Arsenal.

‘That would be a very, very good addition to the squad and a statement.’

Atletico Madrid face Club Brugge in the Champions League play-offs on Wednesday night before returning to La Liga action this weekend against Espanyol.

Atletico and Simeone’s title hopes are already all but over, with the club slipping 14 points behind La Liga leaders and local rivals Real Madrid with 14 games remaining.

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In November 2025, singer Kate Nash stood outside the London offices of Spotify and Live Nation with placards, arguing that the music economy no longer works for many working musicians.

The protest drew attention to the financial strain of touring at scale. In February 2026, she elaborated on these concerns in testimony before a UK parliamentary select committee, stating that she lost £26,000 on the European leg of her tour and covered those losses only by selling content on OnlyFans.

In her testimony, Nash criticised major industry players for what she called a “destructive influence” on artists’ finances. She warned that rising costs, including the complexities of post-Brexit touring, could limit both cultural reach and economic viability for UK performers.
Nash has been a well-known figure in British music for years, but her public frustration highlights a disconnect between visibility and a sense of security that many mid-career artists understand.

Streaming sits at the centre of this tension, as digital platforms pool subscription revenue and redistribute it based on a share of total listening. Critics argue that this structure concentrates income on global hits while leaving most artists with fractions of a penny per play. Artists increasingly describe having to juggle budgets that resemble household accounts, such as vans against fuel, hotels against sofa-surfing and merchandise against storage fees. One cancelled show can tip a tour from workable to loss-making.

À lire aussi :
Why musicians are leaving Spotify – and what it means for the music you love

At the same time, data shows that grassroots music venues in the UK are struggling. Music Venue Trust’s 2025 report found that over the preceding year, more than half of these venues made no profit and dozens closed.

These small venues, often holding just a few hundred people, help sustain touring circuits and renew local music scenes. When they close, much of the cultural support for new talent disappears.

Who pays for live music?

Supporters of the live sector have proposed measures such as ticket levies on large shows to support smaller venues and planning protections for long-running clubs facing redevelopment. These ideas have been debated in Parliament and city-level cultural forums, including a UK government call for a voluntary arena and stadium ticket levy to protect grassroots venues.

Platforms and promoters resist the bleakest readings. Streaming services emphasise the sums they distribute and the global audiences they reach, while large promoters point to rising touring costs and the risks of softer ticket sales. At the same time, analyses of how streaming revenues are shared suggest that most artists receive only small fractions of subscription income. This is not a simple story of villains and victims, yet the distribution of rewards continues to trouble many performers.

Politicians have taken notice, reopening questions about streaming payments and transparency and examining how live music might be supported more broadly. A fan-led review of the live sector launched by MPs has invited evidence from artists, promoters and audiences about the pressures facing touring and small venues.

Similar debates are playing out at city level. The London Assembly has already backed a voluntary ticket levy on arena and stadium shows to help grassroots spaces. Campaign groups and commentators have also pushed for clearer contracts, including initiatives such as the Musicians’ Union’s “Fix Streaming” campaign, which calls on Parliament to support fairer streaming royalty distribution for all creators.

Some critics go further, arguing that the streaming model continues to channel a disproportionate share of revenue to the biggest acts and pressing for reforms to support a broader tier of working musicians, drawing on evidence from the UK Parliament’s inquiry into the economics of music streaming.

These problems have effects beyond money. As touring becomes more difficult and there are fewer venues, fewer acts are willing to take risks with new audiences. Local music scenes are shrinking, and young performers lack opportunities to try out new material, make mistakes, and improve. Audiences feel this too, when there are fewer shows, less variety and favourite bands stop touring.

Nash doesn’t claim to speak for everyone, and one protest can’t represent the whole industry. However, her choice to share frustrations usually kept private says something about today’s situation. Popular music has always mixed glamour with uncertain pay and long hours, but what’s new is how openly artists are now asking if the current system can support lasting careers.

If this middle ground continues to shrink, listeners might notice the change not in statistics but in daily life: fewer tours, closed local venues and bands quietly deciding that touring is no longer worth it.

Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here.

During the panel discussion, Prince William reflected on his own feelings, saying: “I take a long time trying to understand my emotions and why I feel like I do, and I feel like that’s a really important process to do every now and again, to check in with yourself and work out why you’re feeling like you do.

Commuters are facing long delays on the M4 after it was closed in both directions for emergency works.

The road is closed between junction 10, near Wokingham and junction 11 near Reading in Berkshire.

Urgent repair is needed after the discovery of structural damage to a power line pylon near the motorway.

Repair work on the Southern Electricity Networks are likely to continue throughout the morning.