Reminiscing over a picture of himself and friend Simon Bimpson at The Clothes Show in 1996, Vernon, 51, opened up about the moment that “changed his life forever,”

The Clothes Show was a British fashion show that was broadcast on BBC One from 1986 to 1998, and from 2006 to 2009 on UKTV Style and Really.

“We went to the show on our way to see a friend of mine who had just moved from Bolton Wanderers to Aston Villa,” Vernon said.

“He wasn’t settling in and said, ‘look guys, come and visit me,’ so we did.”

That visit would prove pivotal for Vernon.

Stopping along the way at The Clothes Show, Vernon caught the eye of modelling agent James Noel from Select Model Management.

Vernon said his friends teased him relentlessly, but he “didn’t care”.

“This happened on a Friday, and then on the following Friday I moved to London.

“The Friday after that I moved all my stuff down and never went back home,” he said.

“The rest, as they say, is history.”

Vernon grew up in Horwich and attended St Joseph’s RC High School before spending two years at St John Rigby College in Orrell.

He reportedly had his first job at 14, putting stickers on imported bananas, and later worked cleaning schools across Bolton.

Vernon graduated in environmental science from Manchester Metropolitan University before fate intervened at The Clothes Show.

Fast forward to today, his new quiz airing tonight called Do You Know Your Place? sees Vernon challenging famous faces.

Paul Gorton from The Traitors acts as an unreliable tour guide, setting questions in towns and cities across the UK.

The contestants must decide what’s fact and what’s fiction while taking part in fun studio games along the way.

The celebrity with the most correct answers wins each episode, with an overall champion crowned at the end of the week.

The show airs tonight at 6.30pm. However, Vernon continues to dominate UK radio, attracting 6.7 million listeners each week.

The move would allow parents to take children out of school for ‘term-time holidays’

Headteachers are being urged to group together inset days to reduce term-time absences and enable families to book cheaper holidays. Travel company On the Beach said the measure would solve a problem that the Government “has run out of answers to”.

Most schools in England have five mandatory inset days per academic year, during which teachers work but pupils do not attend. Those in Wales have six.

Schools determine when their inset days happen, with the vast majority not grouping them together to form whole weeks. On the Beach has written to the headteachers of 25,000 schools in England and Wales asking them to implement inset weeks staggered by region.

The company said enabling families of schoolchildren to book week-long trips outside of term time would give them “access to holidays at a fraction of peak-season prices”. Analysis by insurer Go.Compare published in July last year found the average price of a package holiday in Spain was 20% higher during school breaks compared with term time, which was equivalent to an extra £337 per person.

Parents can be fined if their children have unauthorised absences from school. The daily rate is £80 if paid within three weeks, or £160 if paid within four weeks. Recent Department for Education (DfE) figures show nearly 460,000 fines for unauthorised family holidays were issued in 2024/25.

Zoe Harris, chief customer officer at On the Beach, said: “Families shouldn’t have to choose between following the rules and being able to afford time away together. The real frustration we hear is that parents can see cheaper off-peak holidays, but there’s no straightforward way to access them without their children missing school, and that’s exactly where inset weeks can help.

“Approximately 25,000 headteachers hold the key to getting more families on holiday for less, boosting attendance figures and solving a problem that the Department for Education has run out of answers to. Inset weeks are the answer.”

Andy Stirland, principal at Python Hill Academy in Nottinghamshire, which has had an inset week tagged on to the spring bank holiday every May for the past seven years, said: “Parents should not be faced with fines or enforcement for wanting to spend family time together.

“Inset week has allowed families at our school the option of cheaper holidays while maintaining our attendance figures. Our school attendance figures have been above the national average every year and I believe without inset week this would be a very different story.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “While academies and councils have the flexibility to set term dates that best suit their community, it is of utmost importance that no child loses out on essential learning time. More widely, through our Plan for Change, we have made huge progress in tackling the attendance crisis, with over five million more days in school last academic year and 140,000 fewer pupils persistently absent – signalling the biggest year-on-year improvement in attendance in a decade.”

The disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, three weeks ago has prompted volunteers to launch their own searches in the dense desert near her home, hoping to uncover clues.

Ms Guthrie, 84, was last seen at her residence just outside Tucson on 31 January and was reported missing the following day. Authorities believe she was kidnapped, abducted, or otherwise taken against her will, with drops of her blood found on the front porch. However, little other evidence has been publicly disclosed.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department has acknowledged the public’s concern but has urged volunteers to allow investigators to conduct their work. “We all want to find Nancy, but this work is best left to professionals,” the agency stated over the weekend.

Despite the sheriff’s request, volunteers have persisted in their efforts. A small group reported finding a black backpack on Sunday, though it did not match the brand of one identified in surveillance video released by the FBI, which showed a masked man at Ms Guthrie’s home on the night she vanished.

A sheriffs’ spokesperson told Tucson television station KOLD that the bag and its contents didn’t appear to be viable leads. The Associated Press reached out to the sheriff’s department for comment on Monday.

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Two women from the group Madres Buscadoras de Sonora, or “Searching Mothers of Sonora,” who were carrying digging tools Sunday outside of Guthrie’s home, said they, too, would join the search. They posted fliers on Guthrie’s mailbox with her picture and their contact information.

Tony Estrada, the former long-time sheriff in neighboring Santa Cruz County, said volunteer searchers have good intentions in wanting to help and can serve as a force multiplier, but it’s crucial that their efforts be coordinated with law enforcement.

“You can’t have people all over the place looking for something and not reporting to anybody or letting them know that they’re going to be in that area,” Estrada said. “They may be trampling into things that may come out to be helpful in the future.”

Nearly all search operations for U.S. law enforcement agencies are staffed with volunteers, said Chris Boyer, executive director of the National Association for Search and Rescue.

Untrained volunteers who show up to help in a search may mean well, but experts say they could end up contaminating a crime scene.

“It’s painful for law enforcement when that happens,” Boyer said.

Volunteers should undergo background checks, be trained in things like administering first aid and preserving crime scenes, and work under the direction of law enforcement authorities, said Boyer, whose group provides education, certification and advocacy for search and rescue efforts across the United States and other countries.

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Several hundred people are working the Guthrie investigation, and more than 20,000 tips have been received, the sheriff’s office has said. The FBI and other agencies are assisting.

The sheriff’s office has watched around the clock lately at Guthrie’s house. It also enacted a temporary one-way flow on the road so that emergency vehicles and trash collection trucks could get through. The constant presence of news crews, bloggers and curious onlookers has drawn mixed reaction from neighbors.

Some appreciated the attention the case has been getting. Others have placed traffic cones and signs on their properties to keep people off.

Meanwhile, the tribute to Nancy Guthrie outside her home keeps growing, with flowers, yellow ribbons, crosses, prayers and patron saints for older adults and in desperate situations.

Aran Aleamoni and his daughter Ariana picked out a bouquet of red, pink and white flowers and placed them at the edge of Guthrie’s yard, alongside a sign that read “Let Nancy Come Home” and a statuette of an angel.

“My heart goes out to the entire family,” said Aran Aleamoni, who has known the Guthrie family for a long time. “We are all pulling for you. We’re with you in your corner.”

Nigel Farage’s party plan to cut taxes and it would see cuts to vital public services, says Record View.

One of the worst aspects of modern politics is leaders making promises they know they cannot keep.

Former Tory prime minister Liz Truss was an expert at this dismal practice when her farcical government announced its disastrous mini budget.

But Reform seems intent on outdoing Truss with the most preposterous tax plan in the history of devolution.

The SNP government, while far from perfect, has over the last few years increased income tax on the wealthy to help pay for public services.

In Scotland, unlike south of the border, university tuition and prescriptions are free and we also have the Scottish Child Payment to help low income families.

These policies have to be paid for and the SNP government has made the decision to raise taxes.

Nigel Farage’s party, in an act of unparalleled recklessness, is planning to reverse all the tax rises at a cost of £2billion. This price tag also includes cutting tax rates to 1p below rates set at Westminster.

The problem with this reckless policy can be seen in Reform’s self-styled income tax “calculator”.

Scots earning £20,000 would receive a paltry £34.63 a year cut, while those on £1million would land a £41,431 boost.

The rare Scot earning £10million a year would receive an annual cut of £401,431.

Reform’s tax plan is a huge subsidy for the rich and benefits the likes of Farage and his Scots sidekick Malcolm Offord.

It would lead to huge public spending cuts with schools, hospitals and roads all crumbling.

Reform have proposed a bung to millionaires and it should be rejected outright.

Grasses a bargain

Last year, Police Scotland spent around £350,000 paying informants for information on criminal activity.

The amount was 12 per cent more than the previous year and more than double the figure dished out by cops 12 years ago.

The rising amount of cash paid out might raise eyebrows among those concerned about the correct use of public finances.

But this is money well spent by Police Scotland if it helps keep our streets safer.

Recently cops have tightened up vetting procedures and recruits are now known as Covert Human Intelligence Sources.

Former police chief Graeme Pearson says informants are a vital tool in the fight against organised crime – and good value for money.

Given the rise in gang violence last year across Scotland, the police clearly need every weapon at their disposal.

And if the information gleaned from these underworld sources puts more bad guys behind bars that is to be welcomed.

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Dear Coleen

I HAVE been in a relationship with my wife for 10 years. We’ve known each other since school and have enjoyed intimacy and a good sex life, or so I thought.

Recently, she admitted she’s never had an orgasm with me and always faked it.

I asked what I was lacking, and she told me size was an issue and I didn’t give her pleasure, as she couldn’t feel anything. I tried to look at ways to resolve this problem and found a swingers’ website.

I joined up and found a mature couple in the looking to entertain a younger couple. The location had to be far away from where we live, so this fitted the bill.

We arranged to meet with this couple and travelled up to see them. They were both a lot older than us, but looked young for their age.

After a chat we moved to the bedroom. Visually, it was a turn on. I really enjoyed seeing another man satisfy my wife – is there something wrong with me for feeling like this?

She enjoyed the experience, too, and wants to continue meeting swingers, but I have mixed feelings. I’d love some guidance on this.

Coleen says

YOU’VE done something to please her and it worked, but now you have to think about what’s in this for you long term. If you’re having doubts, that’s a concern. You enjoyed that experience, but the possibility of it becoming a regular thing is a different scenario and it obviously bothers you.

If sex becomes all about you watching her with someone else, it can be very damaging for your self-esteem and for your relationship. So, I think you need a bigger conversation about where you take this because both of you need to be on board. The fact you’re writing to me suggests you’re not happy, but you’re terrified of admitting it in case it causes problems.

I think you also need to talk about what does please her in bed. Maybe it is down to that excitement of doing something that other people would consider naughty. But you can be naughty without others being involved.

There’s a great book called She Comes First by Ian Kerner, and I know quite a few guys who read it and it transformed their sex life, so maybe give that a go and look into some other self-help guides.

But, as far as the swinging goes, you have to ask yourself whether it’s really for you. I dated someone once who loved lap dancing clubs and was also into porn. At first, I was cool with it because I loved this person but, as time went on, it destroyed my self-esteem because I wasn’t the one turning him on.

Think about what you want and whether it’s time to find someone who loves you for you.

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Changes from April will halve the additional payment for new Universal Credit claimants with severe health conditions, as a Nottingham MP warns reforms must not become a ‘cost-cutting exercise’

A DWP minister has admitted that forthcoming changes to Universal Credit may “sound a bit hard” as a Nottingham MP asks the government not to exacerbate people’s difficulties.

From April, alterations will reduce by half the amount received by new Universal Credit claimants with severe health conditions.

The government says this is part of a wider package of measures designed to encourage the 2.8 million individuals unable to work due to illness or disability back into employment.

However, a Nottingham Labour MP who previously opposed her government’s welfare plans argues that its reforms should not merely be a “cost-cutting exercise.”

Stephen Timms, the Minister for Social Security and Disability, visited Mansfield on Thursday (February 19) to observe a service that has assisted over 500 disabled individuals into work in recent years.

At an employability conference at Portland College, Sir Stephen stated that the previous approach had essentially seen the DWP “abandon” those unable to work due to illness or disability.

Speaking to NottinghamshireLive, the minister said: “There’s 2.8 million people – far, far too many people at the moment – out of work because of a health problem or disability and we know that hundreds of thousands of those people would love to be in a job, so we are determined to make that aspiration possible.”

In addition to the standard Universal Credit allowance, those with severe health conditions preventing them from certain work activities receive an extra £423 a month.

One of the government’s changes will mean that from April, new claimants will only receive half of that amount.

The government says the benefit reduction will be accompanied by a rise in the standard Universal Credit allowance and a £1 billion package of employment support – including 1,000 work coaches being allocated in Job Centres, a Connect to Work scheme expanding to the East Midlands from next month and a Work Well programme linking the NHS into employment support coming to Nottinghamshire in November.

When questioned whether the benefits changes would be too drastic, Sir Stephen said: “It won’t be a cliff edge because anyone who’s in the old system at the moment will stay in there, they won’t have their benefit cut.

“It’ll be new people coming in who will find that the the lower premium is available for them.

“We’ll be matching that with the Pathways guarantee that they will get serious personalised support for moving back to work.”

Nottingham East’s Labour MP, Nadia Whittome, was amongst 49 Labour MPs to vote against the government’s welfare changes in July 2025.

Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and Universal Credit were the focus of the government’s original plans.

PIP is not linked to whether people can work or not, with the aim instead being to help claimants cover additional costs associated with being disabled or long-term sick.

People are assessed against ten different categories to determine whether they are eligible and how much they should receive. The government’s initial proposals would have made it more difficult for individuals to accumulate enough points to qualify for PIP.

Downing Street eventually conceded a series of reversals, including the announcement that any changes to PIP were being postponed until a review was conducted by Sir Stephen.

Regarding the government’s aim to increase employment among disabled people, Nadia Whittome stated: “There are many disabled and chronically ill people who would love to work but currently find this impossible for a number of reasons.

“The government is right to want to improve the support that it provides to disabled people, but it must be genuine support, rather than cuts to benefits which just make people’s lives harder.

“I was proud to work alongside disabled campaigners to successfully oppose the government’s proposed cuts to Personal Independence Payments (PIP) last year.

“The review of PIP that was promised in its place must be co-produced with disabled people, must improve the support they receive and the experience of claiming PIP, and must not be a cost-cutting exercise.”

Speaking about the PIP review, Sir Stephen told Nottinghamshire Live: “Spending on PIP has rapidly increased, really since before the pandemic.

“We’ve got to make sure that we’re using those resources for the best possible impact to enable disabled people and people with long-term health problems to be independent, including if they’re up for it to be in work and to make sure that we’re removing barriers which have held people back in the past.

“We’re going to have recommendations by the autumn, I don’t know what’s going to be in those, but I’ve very much enjoyed the discussions we’ve had so far and I hope it’s going to be a really fruitful review.”

The application from Club 55, above Ziggy’s nightclub in Micklegate, to renew its sex establishment licence is set to go before a York Council hearing on Monday, March 2.

One objection has been lodged claiming it is fuelling antisocial behaviour in an area popular with tourists and families.

Council officials said there are no legal reasons compelling refusal of the application and the number of such venues will remain at the locally-set limit of one if approved.

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It follows a delay to a decision on the application after the council mistakenly sent it the Licensing and Regulatory Committee instead of a licensing sub-committee hearing.

Club 55, which offers lap dances and pole shows, has applied to operate for another year and continue opening from 9pm to 3am on Fridays and Saturdays.

It would also be able to open from 6pm to 4.30am on race days if the application is approved.

The venue’s application was approved last year without objections.

Club 55 (right, first floor), in Micklegate, York. Picture is from Google Street View

North Yorkshire Police withdrew their objection ahead of last year’s hearing following an inspection the previous December after the venue was warned over not following licensing rules.

The police have not objected to Club 55’s bid to renew its licence this year, according to a council report.

The only objection to the application, from a Micklegate resident, stated it would be a shame if people started avoiding the area because of the club.

They said: “There is also concern about antisocial behaviour outside the venue.

“We have witnessed an extremely violent attack between two groups of men waiting to go in, which led to at least 10 officers an ambulance attending and an arrest.

“An establishment which attracts large groups of men following heavy drinking sessions potentially lays itself open to this kind of behaviour, especially on race days when drinking starts much earlier in the day.

“Having a sex establishment inside a Grade II*-listed building in one of York’s most important historical streets has a detrimental impact on the street and city’s reputation as a leading tourist destination.”

The council’s report stated the venue’s owners could appeal a decision to refuse their application at a Magistrate’s Court.

NEW YORK (AP) — Neighbors, government workers and a powerful railroad snow-clearing machine nicknamed “Darth Vader” scrambled to dig out much of the northeastern United States from a brutal and — in some areas — record-breaking storm that blanketed the region with snow and resulted in thousands of flight cancellations.

But as the snow moved northward and tapered off in other areas Tuesday, forecasters warned that another storm could be right around the corner.

Monday’s storm that meteorologists are calling the strongest in a decade dumped more than 2 feet (61 centimeters) of snow in parts of the Northeast. By Tuesday, roads were beginning to reopen, mass transportation was coming back online in some cities and power had returned for some of the hundreds of thousands who had lost electricity in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Delaware and Rhode Island.

In New York City, which canceled classed Monday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that schools would reopen for in person learning on Tuesday, raising questions about how feasible that is with snow still piled along sidewalks.

Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella said school should remain closed, while Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, described the situation as “a big mess.”

“There’s going to be low attendance of students. You’re going to have low attendance of staff because people don’t know if they can travel, if they can get to schools,” he said.

Spokespersons for Mamdani didn’t respond to an email seeking comment but his schools chief, Chancellor Kamar Samuels, said in a post on X, that they were “confident in our decision to reopen.”

Philadelphia switched to online learning Monday and Tuesday. Districts on Long Island and elsewhere in the New York suburbs said they would cancel school again Tuesday.

The National Weather Service said it’s tracking another storm that could bring more snow to the region later this week.

While the new storm is not expected to be as strong, even a few extra inches of snow on top of hard-hit areas could make cleanup more difficult, said Frank Pereira, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland.

“Any additional snow at this point is probably not going to be welcome,” he said.

The weather service referred to Monday’s storm as a “classic bomb cyclone/nor’easter off the Northeast coast.” A bomb cyclone happens when a storm’s pressure falls by a certain amount within a 24-hour period, occurring mainly in the fall and winter when frigid Arctic air can reach the south and clash with warmer temperatures.

More than 2,000 flights in and out of the United States were canceled Tuesday, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. Most of the cancellations involved airports in New York, New Jersey and Boston.

Rhode Island’s T.F. Green International Airport paused its airport operations Monday as it dealt with nearly 38 inches (97 centimeters) of snow, according to the Weather Service, breaking a record set in 1978.

Central Park in New York City recorded 19 inches (48 centimeters) of snow. Warwick, Rhode Island, exceeded 3 feet (91 centimeters), topping the nation so far. The highest wind gust of 83 mph (134 kph) was recorded in Nantucket, with hurricane-force gusts seen all over Cape Cod.

New York, Philadelphia and other cities, as well as several states, declared emergencies.

The Boston Globe management called off printing its daily newspaper for the first time in its more than 150-year history because snow and winds kept staff from safely getting to its printing plant, the newspaper said in an article on its website.

In the New York City-area, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said Monday evening that subway lines are mostly operational after earlier delays, with the exception of the hard-hit borough of Staten Island, where rail service remained suspended.

Commuter rail service to suburbs to the north and east of the city were expected to resume limited service ahead of the Tuesday morning commute, the MTA said.

Christa Prince and two others were out in Brooklyn on Monday afternoon with shovels and an electric snowblower.

“We’re just making a path for this car,” Prince said. “It’s not our car but you know, we’re just doing our neighbor a kind deed.”

___

Izaguirre reported from Albany, New York. Associated Press writers Mike Catalini in Morrisville, Pennsylvania; Mark Kennedy and Mike Sisak in New York; Darlene Superville in Washington; Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; Philip Marcelo in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.

DadFest will return to South Cliff Holiday Park, in Bridlington, from Friday, May 15, to Sunday, May 17, celebrating father figures with a weekend packed full of activities.

The festival, organised in partnership with East Riding of Yorkshire Council and Rewilding Youth, was created by The Dads’ Network CIC and is open to dads, father figures, male carers and their children of all ages.

Dads and children are set to bond under the stars as DadFest returns to South Cliff Holiday Park in Bridlington (Image: Supplied)

Councillor Nick Coultish, cabinet member for culture, leisure and tourism, said: “It’s a pleasure to welcome DadFest back to South Cliff Holiday Park in 2026.

“This unique festival gives dads and children the chance to connect with nature while enjoying fun activities that help develop new skills and strengthen family bonds.

“I had the privilege of taking part in the last DadFest and was hugely impressed by how well organised it was and by the wide variety of activities on offer.”

The weekend will include archery, camping, storytelling, beach games, trampolines, den building, and the Regional Dad Dancing Championships, with one dad crowned Yorkshire Champion.

The ticket price covers all activities and camping for the entire weekend.

A small number of discounted tickets are available for low-income families.