The decade that brought us the internet, The Spice Girls and Pokémon is also the era that travellers look back at most fondly.

Gen X (aged 45-54) is mourning the ‘90s holiday the most, with over one in three Brits (35%) saying it delivered standout holidays compared to what’s on offer in 2026.

In second spot was the 2000s, which reigned supreme for nearly 2 in 10 Brits.

Comparatively, the 2010s and 2020s were only favoured by a measly 6% and 8% respectively.

Though 34% of trip-goers said holidays haven’t really changed at all.

The research by Marella Cruises to celebrate its 30th birthday sailing the seas, released today (8 April), also unlocked what makes for a perfect trip abroad.

Travellers are increasingly seeking trips that feel more meaningful and memorable.

The nineties is seen as a better time for holidays because experiences felt more immersive (14%), while others said travellers were more present in the moment (11%).

The core reason people go on holiday hasn’t changed – the top motivations remain quality time with loved ones (32%) and taking time out for a mental reset (32%) – but phones are seen as the biggest barrier to connection.

Of those surveyed, 38% of Brits said constant screen time gets in the way of socialising.

Cruises could hold the key to recreating that nostalgic holiday spirit.

Brits (14%) said they associate cruises with a steady availability of off-screen entertainment – from live gigs to family games and everything in-between creating natural opportunities to spend time together.

Additionally, around one in 10 UK adults (12%) feel heading out to sea would help them properly switch off and escape everyday stress – especially because it’s less hassle than a traditional holiday (16%).

Holidays are when Brits feel most open to connecting with others, with a quarter saying they felt more relaxed and confident while away from home.

Of those surveyed, a lucky 7% met the love of their life on holiday.

Meanwhile, 15% met someone on holiday that they still keep in touch with to this day and 14% formed life-long friendships.

Others say they are more sociable simply because they are free from everyday responsibilities.

This appetite for connection is reflected in what travellers want from holidays today with 24% prioritising a social atmosphere that feels natural and not reliant on apps or technology.

Live entertainment (18%) and adults-only options (18%) are also high on the wish list, alongside longer, slower trips and wellness-focused breaks.

The findings come as Marella Cruises celebrates its 30th anniversary with a nostalgic, 90s-inspired entertainment line-up tapping into the growing appetite for throwback experiences.

The brand’s all-inclusive approach, covering everything from flights and transfers to food, drinks and entertainment, aims to recreate the ease and sociable atmosphere many associate with holidays of the past.

Chris Hackney, CEO at Marella Cruises, said, “With Marella Cruises marking 30 years in the UK, we’re excited to celebrate at sea with acts from all three decades to attract both new and returning cruise customers.

“Our customers value our all-inclusive offering and seamless end-to-end service, and this celebration will take them on a nostalgic journey back to 1996 with music, quizzes and onboard entertainment inspired by the era.

“We can’t wait to welcome guests aboard our ships to celebrate this milestone birthday with us.”

Ultimately, the perfect holiday hasn’t changed all that much.

The top “ideal moment” for Brits is still watching the sunset over the sea with a drink (22%), followed by seeing loved ones happy and relaxed (18%), and simply doing nothing together (10%).

The commentary of Peter Withe’s winning goal against Bayern Munich in Rotterdam hangs above the Doug Ellis Stand.

In two weeks, Villa may need another banner if they win in Turkey, which would also earn a Champions League return regardless of whether they finish in the Premier League’s top five.

John McGinn’s late double put the gloss on a dominant performance that was too much for Forest to match, or even cope with.

Boss Vitor Pereira was able to include Morgan Gibbs-White, Ibrahim Sangare and Murillo on the bench but none were fit and only defender Murillo made it on to the pitch and that just for two minutes with the game lost.

But even with that trio fully available, the visitors might have struggled to contain a rampant Villa, who only increased the tempo throughout the match.

Ollie Watkins’ opener and Emi Buendia’s penalty put Villa ahead on the night and then in the tie. After that there was never any doubt in a performance that even gained Royal approval from a fan – Prince William visiting the dressing room post match to offer congratulations

“They [the players] were so focused, they were aware about the momentum,” said Emery. “We planned before emotionally and how we were playing the match. It was the only match we played with this circumstances.

“The possibility to get to a final was the only moment we’ve had here. We were confident about how the supporters were here and creating this atmosphere.”

It will be Emery’s sixth Europa League final with four wins – a record – and one defeat, which came against Chelsea while Arsenal manager in 2019.

“Europe is very important,” he said. “In my first press conference here I was speaking about Europe, I was speaking about trophies as well, but it’s very difficult. It’s difficult to get trophies.

“In Europe, it’s difficult to be consistent like we are. It’s through our hard work and the players must set the standards we want to achieve.

“Today the players [gave] their best, collectively and individually.”

Only Giovanni Trapattoni, with seven, has reached more major finals in European competition than Emery.

“There’s no better manager than this to get us prepared for this game and take us into the final. His track record speaks for itself,” Watkins told TNT.

“We need to go and win it now.”

Watkins himself admitted changes in the squad are expected this summer and so this current run represents the last chance to achieve something together.

Emery has wrung everything out of his players. Several like Watkins, Ezri Konsa, Matty Cash and Morgan Rogers came to Villa from the Championship, and there is an internal recognition the squad needs to be revamped.

Skipper McGinn also recognises the players have a final chance to be compared to past heroes like European Cup-winning captain Dennis Mortimer and Paul McGrath who lifted the 1994 and 1996 League Cups.

He told TNT: “We’ve had low moments, definitely. It’s a demanding club to play for, but when it’s like this, Villa Park is electric. What we’ve done in the last few years is exceptional.

“I felt it this morning, but now it is about embracing it and trying to be legends. You see the guys from 1982, you see the cup winners in the 90’s.

“It’s a historic club and it’s been a long time without success. There’s been massive lows, like relegation and it has built itself back up. It’s such a proud football club, it deserves success and hopefully we can be the group to do it.”

Crystal Palace desperately did not want to be in the Conference League – now they are one game from winning it and creating more club history.

On one of the greatest nights the club has known at a passionate and raucous Selhurst Park, the Eagles beat Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 to seal a 5-2 aggregate success in the semi-finals.

Having won the FA Cup and Community Shield in 2025 at Wembley, their remarkable European journey started in a Swiss courtroom, unsuccessfully appealing against demotion into the Conference League from the second-tier Europa League.

But since then, Palace have not looked back.

They have travelled to Norway, Poland, France, Republic of Ireland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus, Italy and back to Poland, with one last stop to come – the final in Germany.

And should Palace lift the trophy on Wednesday, 27 May, in Leipzig against Spanish side Rayo Vallecano, who defeated Gary O’Neil’s Strasbourg 2-0 on aggregate in their semi-final, it would complete an unprecedented phase of success for the club.

Boss Oliver Glasner, who will leave in the summer having only been appointed in February 2024, is on the verge of a third trophy in a remarkable period.

Even the 51-year-old could not believe what has been achieved.

“I spoke to the chairman before the match, he always comes into my office,” said Glasner afterwards.

“I said, ‘do you ever think we would be playing in the semi-final of a European competition?’ He said ‘no’.

“I said, ‘when we talked for the first time three years ago, I didn’t think about it’. This is what you achieve if you work hard and stick together in tough moments – and we have had a few. When you stick together in difficult moments, you get the reward.”

He was speeding while rushing home to take his “unwell cat to the vet” at the time of the offence.

Hollywood was officially clocked driving at 96mph, but he is thought to have reached speeds of up to 105mph.

The Great British Bake Off judge was a “bully” to other motorists on the M25 by tailgating them at high speeds on January 9, Worthing Magistrates’ Court has heard.

Peter Csemiczky, a partner at Hickman and Rose Solicitors, said: “Mr Hollywood accepts he was driving too fast.

“He was rushing home to get his unwell cat to the vet.

“[Hollywood] understands this is no excuse and apologises for his actions.

“He understands and accepts that he will be punished.”

PC Alexander McAlpine of Surrey Police, who was behind Paul’s vehicle in an unmarked police car at the time of the offence, said Hollywood would “repeatedly ‘bully’ other vehicles out of its way, through use of unsafe tailgating”.

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He said: “Whenever there was a vehicle ahead, the driver would close up to a follow distance of less than five metres which was wholly inappropriate for the conditions and speed.

“Once a vehicle moved out of the way having been tailgated until they did so, the driver would then heavily accelerate and travel well in excess of the limit until they reached the next vehicle ahead on the road, at which point they would repeat the process, to try and ‘push’ any traffic that was in front of them out of the lane, even if they were legitimately overtaking traffic travelling slower in lane three.”

PC McAlpine said he clocked Hollywood’s speed at a “peak” of around 105mph after he had moved onto the M26.

He also said the baker’s “general road speed remained above 90mph for an extended period of time.”

The officer said: “The driver stated that the reason for their urgency and driving behaviour was transporting an unwell cat.”

Mr Hollywood pleaded guilty to speeding and was given five penalty points, a £293 fine, £120 in costs, and a £117 victim surcharge.

He pleaded not guilty to a charge of driving without due care and attention.

Following legal intervention, the allegation was withdrawn.

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Paul once claimed his former fellow Bake Off judge Dame Mary Berry hit him with her handbag because he was driving too fast.

Speaking on Bake Off spin-off show Extra Slice, he said: “I probably drive a little bit too quick.

“It scares a few people.

“I took Mary in a car once and she was hitting me with her handbag.”

Once touted as a future successor to Salford city mayor Paul Dennett, Jack Youd is now without a job in elected politics

Salford’s Labour deputy mayor has lost his council seat in a spectacular win for Reform UK in the local elections this evening (May 8). Jack Youd came a distant second to Reform UK’s Miles Henderson in the Walkden North race, with 953 votes to Henderson’s 1,209.

The result means Youd, once touted as a future successor to Salford city mayor Paul Dennett, is now without a job in elected politics.

Mr Youd was at the centre of a Salford council investigation last November, when officials launched a probe into claims a misconduct complaint against deputy mayor Jack Youd was removed from the email inboxes of councillors without their knowledge.

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Town hall chiefs said the sender’s anonymous email address and the wording of the email ‘raised immediate concerns’ over IT security when it arrived, with the term ‘anonymous’ being associated with an ‘active hacking group’, prompting its removal.

But the move sparked claims of a ‘cover up’ at the town hall to protect the deputy mayor from scrutiny.

Salford Lib Dems said in October: “It’s deeply concerning that the Labour-run Salford council appears to have removed complaint emails from councillors’ inboxes and failed to carry out any investigation despite a clear complaint being made.”

The Manchester Evening News revealed last year the original complaint alleged Mr Youd had a relationship with a woman who works at the council. Mr Youd is married to another woman who is an elected councillor in Salford.

He said in October: “Last year I had a relationship, the personal repercussions of which I regret. People I care for were hurt and I am sorry for the pain caused.”

Council bosses said they reviewed the allegations but did not believe disciplinary action needed to be taken. A spokesperson said at the time: “The council is aware of this matter and has brought it to the attention of the council’s monitoring officer, who having taken external advice, has concluded that the matter does not meet the legal threshold (as required under the Localism Act 2011) to engage the Members’ Code of Conduct.

“It is not appropriate for the council to comment on individual staffing cases, and so we will not be making any further statement on this matter.”

The Fortnite servers are currently down, leaving thousands of players unable to play Battle Royale online

Fortnite servers have seemingly crashed, leaving countless players unable to access Battle Royale online.

The server status presents a bleak picture for enthusiasts, who’ve voiced frustrations about being locked out of Battle Royale.

Independent monitoring site Down Detector has logged thousands of complaints that Fortnite has stopped functioning.

The outage tracker monitors social media chatter surrounding specific topics to identify when services fail worldwide.

Down Detector’s outage map reveals that the Fortnite problems are impacting users across the UK and Europe, though the overwhelming majority of complaints are originating from the US.

Fortnite creator Epic Games has recognised the problem, confirming that it’s working towards a solution.

“We’re aware that players may not be able to log into or matchmake in Fortnite,” reads an Epic Games tweet, reports the Express.

“We’ll provide an update when we have one.”

The server troubles emerged mere moments following the most recent Item Shop refresh, which brought Mortal Kombat skins back into circulation.

On a related note, Fortnite enthusiasts are eagerly anticipating the launch of the major Mother’s Day bundle, which introduces fresh crossover skins.

Lois Griffin, Peggy Hill and Linda Belcher are scheduled for an 8 May release date in Fortnite.

Available separately or within a bundle, the fresh skins can be snapped up when the Item Shop refreshes at 5pm PT / 8pm ET on 8 May. Due to the time difference, UK supporters can get their hands on the bundle at 1am BST on 9 May. For those based in Europe, that’s 2am CET.

The ceiling collapse was caused by a leak from solar panels

A woman who was told her Co Down home was safe to live in was left in a nightmare situation when the roof caved in last week. Julie Hanna has lived at the property in the Ardilea Close area of Downpatrick for the past ten years.

Last Wednesday, April 29, she was out of the property when her daughter heard a dripping noise found to be coming from the attic door. Calling Julie to inform her about the leak, she then placed a jug underneath, with the water flow increasing very quickly.

Whenever Julie returned home around 15 minutes later, she said water began coming in through the living room ceiling downstairs, drenching the floor and damaging furniture.

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Speaking to Belfast Live, Julie said: “My daughter heard a dripping noise and when she went upstairs to investigate it, she saw the drips were coming from my attic door, so she put a jug under it. Within ten minutes, she said it was flooding through the hatch.

“Within around 15 minutes I got home, and by then the water was coming into the living room. When it hit the landing and came through whatever cracks there were, through the carpet and has travelled aong and went down into the living room. My living room floor was drenched and furniture has been damaged.

“The plumbers came back out to fix the leak or see where it was coming from, and when they turned the water back on it made the water come through the ceiling in the living room again.”

A contractor for Clanmil Housing Association attended the property the following day, isolating the property’s solar panels, with the mains water supply temporarily switched off, with both this and the electricity being reinstated later that day.

An electrical contractor also carried out checks on April 30 and May 1, with dehumidifers provided at the property to assist with drying. Julie said she had been told the property was safe to live in, as both the water and electricity had been reinstated, and to keep an eye on the leak.

However, she did not feel comfortable living in the damp property, and stayed with family. On Friday night, May 1, the ceiling upstairs caved in.

“They said it was suitable to live in but on Friday night, the roof caved in. If I stayed there like they suggested, it could have fallen on me while I was walking up the stairs,” Julie added.

“My grandkids come up to see me and it could have fallen on them. I’ve been staying here, there, and everywhere for the past week. It has been a nightmare.”

Clanmil Housing Association said they attended the property on May 5 to help with clearing up after the ceiling damage and to arrange repairs, with the work expected to be completed as soon as possible.

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Local SDLP councillor, Conor Galbraith, has been assisting the family after the ceiling collapse caused by a leak from solar panels. He is calling on the housing association to take preventative action.

Councillor Galbraith said: “The family impacted have been warning Clanmil for some time about leaking coming from the property’s solar panels and a significant smell of damp. Their pleas for repairs were ignored and they arrived home at the weekend to find their ceiling had collapsed and a significant portion of their furniture had been ruined.

“This family was left with no support over the weekend, no alternative accommodation was provided and they were basically left homeless. Work is now ongoing to make the house habitable again, but Clanmil are pursuing a sticking plaster approach that will not address the underlying issues that caused this collapse.

“There are other properties in this area that are experiencing similar issues with solar panels and unless the housing association changes their approach to routine repairs we will see similar incidents in future. Everyone has a right to feel safe and secure in their home and I would urge Clanmill to listen to their tenants and take preventative action and carry out routine repairs before another family has to go through such an ordeal.”

A spokesperson for Clanmil Housing Association said: “We can confirm that a customer first reported a leak at their property to us on 29 April 2026. Our contractor attended the same day to assess the situation and the issue was quickly traced to the solar panel system.

“A specialist contractor attended the following day, 30 April, to isolate the solar panels within the home. As a precaution, the mains water supply was temporarily switched off. Both water and electricity were safely reinstated later that day.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused during this time while we carried out necessary repairs. Disruption to utilities was for the minimum time possible to allow the repairs to be carried out.

“Our electrical contractor also carried out checks on 30 April and returned on 1 May to ensure everything remained safe and fully operational. Dehumidifiers were provided at the property to assist with drying.

“Our housing and property teams visited the customer on Tuesday 5 May to assist with clearing up following some ceiling damage and to arrange all necessary repairs. We intend to complete the remaining work to the ceiling in the property as soon as possible, and our contractors are currently on site working on this.

“Other than the repairs that are currently being completed as a result of this leak, there are no other outstanding repairs at this property that have been reported to us.

“Our records show that a number of other repairs identified by customers have now been completed, although we acknowledge that some repairs have taken longer than expected to carry out.

“To ensure any outstanding issues are resolved as quickly as possible, and that customers are clear about their responsibilities, we will visit all customers over the next week and offer a maintenance clinic with their Maintenance Officer. Our in-house maintenance team will also be in attendance to carry out on-the-spot repairs where possible.”

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Andrew’s story is a reminder that with the right support, people with autism don’t just access employment — they thrive in it.

When Andrew Bates walks through the doors of Titanic Belfast, he’s not just starting another shift — he’s stepping into a place where he belongs.

For Andrew, who is autistic, getting to this point hasn’t always been easy.

Like many people with autism, Andrew faced challenges that often go unseen — building confidence, adapting to new environments, and navigating a world that isn’t always designed with neurodivergent people in mind. The path into employment can feel uncertain, and for many, out of reach.

But Andrew didn’t give up.

With the support of Orchardville, a Northern Ireland charity with over 40 years’ experience supporting people with learning disabilities and autism, Andrew was given the opportunity to prepare for work in a way that worked for him — at his pace, with the right guidance, and with someone in his corner.

That support made all the difference.

In October 2017, Andrew began his journey at Titanic Belfast. Today, he works as part of the hospitality crew in the cafe, where his responsibilities include barista duties and serving customers. Over time, he has grown not only in skill, but in confidence — becoming a valued and trusted member of the team.

What may seem like everyday tasks to some represent something much bigger for Andrew — independence, routine, and pride in a job well done.

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“I feel part of something,” is how many people describe the impact of meaningful work — and for Andrew, that sense of belonging is everything.

Behind the scenes, Orchardville continues to provide tailored, one-to-one support — from job coaching to ongoing mentoring — ensuring Andrew has the tools and encouragement to succeed long-term. It’s this kind of support that helps turn opportunities into lasting employment.

Andrew’s story is just one example of what’s possible when barriers are removed and potential is recognised.

On 16th April 2026, Sir Stephen Timms, Minister of State (Department of Work and Pensions) visited Titanic Belfast to see that impact first-hand. During the visit, the Minister met Andrew and fellow Titanic Belfast employees Jack Gardiner, James Johnston and James Nelson — each with their own journey into employment, each demonstrating the value of inclusive workplaces.

The visit highlighted the powerful partnership between Orchardville and Titanic Belfast, which has already supported nine people into employment — changing lives not just through jobs, but through confidence, dignity and opportunity.

For Andrew, this isn’t just a job. It’s a future that once felt uncertain — now firmly within reach. And his story is a reminder that with the right support, people with autism don’t just access employment — they thrive in it.

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