Your Least Favourite Celebration Has Been Ditched From Some Boxes This Christmas

Every Christmas, the same sad chocolates rattle around the almost-empty selection tub as people race to scoff their favourites before anyone else can (shout out Malteaser Teasers).

Now, in a bid to stop its most unloved miniature chocolate going to waste, Mars has announced a major change to its Celebrations boxes and tubs, reports BirminghamLive.

Shoppers at Tesco’s pop-up Christmas markets will now be able to buy limited edition ‘No Bounty’ boxes of the iconic chocolates. According to a survey, the coconut filled chocolate was the least popular in a box of Celebrations with over half (52%) admitting to picking it last – and 32% admitting to throwing them away.

Now, the special Bounty-free boxes will instead come stocked with miniature versions of: Snickers, Mars, Twix, Galaxy, Galaxy Caramel, Milky Way and Malteasers Teasers.

Celebrations senior brand manager Emily Owen said: “Last year, we gave customers the opportunity to return their unwanted Bounty chocolates. Now, off the back of public demand, we’re trialling taking them out of the tub altogether.

“You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. And to those loyal – and secret – Bounty lovers out there, there’s still a chance they’ll make a return after the trial.”

Shoppers can get their hands on a tub in November and December at 40 participating Tesco Christmas Markets.

Share Button

Jennifer Lawrence Reveals She Wishes She’d Taken Adele’s Advice About One Of Her Films

Jennifer Lawrence has admitted she wishes she’d taken her friend Adele’s advice when it came to one of her most divisive big-screen outings.

In a new interview with the New York Times, the Oscar-winning star reflected on a period when the films she was making were becoming less well-received, to the apparent dismay of her fans.

“I was like, ‘Oh no, you guys are here because I’m here, and I’m here because you’re here. Wait, who decided that this was a good movie?’” she recalled.

When asked if one particular film was a turning point, she named the 2016 sci-fi offering Passengers, in which she and Chris Pratt play two people who wake up from induced hibernation on board an interstellar flight.

“Adele told me not to do it!” Jennifer admitted. “She was like, ‘I feel like space movies are the new vampire movies.’ I should have listened to her.”

“It definitely wasn’t a failure. I’m not embarrassed by it by any means. There was just stuff that I wished I’d looked into deeper before jumping on.”

Read Jen’s full interview in the NYT – including exactly how that night out came to be – here.

Share Button

5 Rishi Sunak Leadership Pledges Heading For The Bin

Rishi Sunak made a lot of promises during this summer’s Tory leadership election.

From immigration to tax, the former chancellor unveiled a long list of policies aimed at persuading the Conservative rank and file to choose him over Liz Truss.

His campaign was ultimately unsuccessful, with Truss triumphing by 57 to 43 per cent.

However, after the former PM’s ill-fated 44 days in Number 10, Sunak was finally given the keys to Number 10.

It has now emerged, however, that every single pledge and “guarantee” he made during the leadership contest is now under review and may never be implemented.

His spokesperson said: “Obviously, those are pledges that were made a few months ago now and the context is somewhat different, obviously, economically.”

Here are some of the most eye-catching promises which will probably never see the light of day.

Sunak the tax-cutter

Trailing his rival badly in the polls, Sunak was forced to ditch his previous refusal to promise tax cuts by announcing that he would reduce the basic rate of income tax to 16p in the pound by 2029.

He said: “What I’m putting to people today is a vision to deliver the biggest income tax cut since Margaret Thatcher’s government. It is a radical vision but it is also a realistic one.”

Not that realistic, given his spokesperson today refused to say whether he still stands by it.

Controlling Britain’s borders

In July, the ‘Ready For Rishi’ campaign unveiled a 10-point plan to “take back control of our borders” by cracking down on illegal immigration.

Among the pledges were vows to “reform our broken asylum laws” and give parliament the power to set an annual cap on the number of refugees allowed to settle in the UK.

There were also promises to “hold the French to account” for the number of small boats carrying immigrants across the English Channel and end the “farce” of asylum seekers being put up in hotels.

But despite still supporting the “sentiment” of his own pledges, Sunak’s spokesperson confirmed that the 10-point plan is also now being assessed to check whether it is, in fact, “deliverable”.

Stopping the ‘war on motorists’

Road-users who thought that a Sunak premiership may usher in a golden age are also set to be disappointed.

In August, he pledged to ban new smart motorways, clamp down on “rogue private parking fines ripping off” drivers and review controversial low traffic neighbourhood schemes.

Sunak declared: “As chancellor I introduced the largest cut to fuel duty in a generation, and as prime minister I will go further so that we stop the war on motorists once and for all.”

Now, less than three months later, those promises are no longer set in stone.

Reforming education

Sunak vowed “radically reform education” if he became prime minister.

His promises included creating a “Russell Group of world class technical colleges” to rival the best in the world and “embrace new technology in our schools to provide teaching resources, reduce workloads and inspire pupils with new ways of learning”.

“Every child deserves a world-class education and, if I become prime minister, I will make it my mission from day one to ensure that’s what they get,” Sunak said.

Now that he is in Number 10, however, that is another promise which has been put on the back burner.

Saving the high street

Sunak said he would “rejuvenate high streets up and down the country” if he became PM, with plans to slash the number of empty shops by 2025, bring in tougher punishments for graffiti and littering, and supporting farmers’ markets.

“I have been clear that I have a plan to rebuild our economy; our high streets are a crucial part of that,” Sunak said in a press release issued at the end of July.

But like every other promise he made in the summer, Sunak’s plan to save the high streets has already.

Share Button

Hey Duggee’s Got A Super Catchy ‘Welcome Song’ For Ukrainian Refugees

Ah-woof! Or should we say, ah-welcome! Duggee and The Squirrels have taught the nation’s children many valuable lessons over the years. But their latest episode, which drops on November 2, is perhaps their most important yet.

In news that will delight kids everywhere (and parents who have watched all four seasons back-to-back, multiple times), the award-winning BBC CBeebies series has launched a brand new episode welcoming new characters from Ukraine.

The Squirrels are joined by new faces, as well as Ukrainian-known characters Mavka and Swampy, who Ukrainian children will recognise from animated feature film Mavka. The Forest Song.

To welcome their new friends, Betty, Norrie, Roly, Tag and Happy sing an incredibly catchy ‘Welcome Song’ complete with translations of Ukrainian phrases and words.

And yes, you will be whistling this song for the rest of the day.

<div class="js-react-hydrator" data-component-name="YouTube" data-component-id="8411" data-component-props="{"itemType":"video","index":7,"contentListType":"embed","code":"

","type":"video","meta":{"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rNKzzPulyM","type":"video","version":"1.0","title":"The Welcome Badge | Duggee Songs | Hey Duggee","author":"Hey Duggee Official","author_url":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj_mFUb-47d9QNiJ5556LjQ","provider_name":"YouTube","description":"🐾 SUBSCRIBE TO THE SQUIRREL CLUB: http://bit.ly/SubscribeToHeyDuggee\n\nAs seen on CBeebies! Watch all Hey Duggee full episodes on BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b07xdmgk/hey-duggee\n \nThe Welcome Badge | Duggee Songs| #HeyDuggee Official\n \nDuggee and the Squirrels are having some special friends coming from Ukraine, including Mavka and Swampy the Kittyfrog. Join them in a big Duggee Welcome song. Hello! Privit!\n \n*Watch More*\nHey Duggee: Badges: http://bit.ly/HeyDuggeeBadges\nHey Duggee: Best Bits: http://bit.ly/HeyDuggeeBestBits\nHey Duggee: Mini Episodes: http://bit.ly/HeyDuggeeMiniEpisodes\n \n*More about Hey Duggee*\nWelcome to the Official YouTube channel for HEY DUGGEE! Duggee is a big friendly dog who runs The Squirrel Club – a place where kids take part in all kinds of activities & have adventures. Join the members of the Squirrel Club; Betty, Happy, Norrie, Roly and Tag as they earn activity badges.\n \nCreated by STUDIO AKA for CBEEBIES & BBC STUDIOS\n© STUDIO AKA\n \n🖥 Website: https://www.heyduggee.com\n🐔 Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeyDuggee\n🐶 Instagram: http://instagram.com/HeyDuggee\n🐊 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heyduggee\n \nThis is a commercial channel from BBC Studios.","thumbnail_url":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-rNKzzPulyM/maxresdefault.jpg","thumbnail_width":1280,"thumbnail_height":720,"cache_age":86400,"options":{"_start":{"label":"Start from","value":"1","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s"},"_end":{"label":"End on","value":"","placeholder":"ex.: 11, 1m10s"},"_cc_load_policy":{"label":"Closed captions","value":false}}},"fullBleed":false,"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"options":{"theme":"life","device":"desktop","editionInfo":{"id":"uk","name":"U.K.","link":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk","locale":"en_GB"},"slideshowAd":{"scriptTags":[],"otherHtml":""},"slideshowEndCard":{"scriptTags":[{"attribs":{},"scriptBody":"\r\n (function(){\r\n var c = document.getElementById(‘taboola-endslate-thumbnails’);\r\n c.id += ‘-‘ + Math.round(Math.random()*1e16);\r\n \r\n var taboolaParams = {\r\n loader: \"//cdn.taboola.com/libtrc/aol-huffingtonpost/loader.js\",\r\n mode: \"thumbnails-b\",\r\n container: c.id,\r\n placement: \"Endslate Thumbnails\",\r\n target_type: \"mix\"\r\n };\r\n \r\n if (typeof window.modulousQueue === \"function\") {\r\n \twindow.modulousQueue.add(function(){ doTaboola(taboolaParams); });\r\n } else {\r\n \tdoTaboola(taboolaParams);\r\n }\r\n }());\r\n"}],"otherHtml":"

"},"isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isMt":false,"entryId":"6360fe56e4b045895a966023","entryTagsList":"family-time,ukraine,uk-tv,kindness,childrens-tv,hey-duggee","sectionSlug":"parents","deptSlug":null,"sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"lifestyle","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"uk.parents","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc140cf94592c45d7390c","disabledWithMapiEntries":false,"overrides":{"all":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4"},"whitelisted":["56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439","56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529","570278d2e4b070ff77b98217","57027b4be4b070ff77b98d5c","56fe95c4e4b0041c4242016b","570279cfe4b06d08e3629954","5ba9e8821c2e65639162ccf1","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e","5b35266b158f855373e28256","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2","60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","60d0de02b627221e9d819408"],"playlists":{"default":"57bc306888d2ff1a7f6b5579","news":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","politics":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","entertainment":"56c6e7f2e4b0983aa64c60fc","tech":"56c6f70ae4b043c5bdcaebf9","parents":"56cc65c2e4b0239099455b42","lifestyle":"56cc66a9e4b01f81ef94e98c"},"playerUpdates":{"56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439":"60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b":"60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529":"60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced":"60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e":"60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2":"60d0de02b627221e9d819408"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"8b034f64-513c-4987-b16f-42d6008f7feb","clickToPlayPlayer":"5a777b9b-81fe-41a6-8302-59e9953ee8a2","videoPagePlayer":"19654b65-409c-4b38-90db-80cbdea02cf4"},"customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":2},"before_you_go_slideshow":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":0},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"6360fe56e4b045895a966023","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"desktop","page_edition":"en-uk"},"tags":[{"name":"family time","slug":"family-time","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/family-time","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/topic/family-time","mobileWebLink":"https://m.huffingtonpost.co.uk/topic/family-time"},"section":{"title":"Parents","slug":"parents"},"topic":{"title":"Family Time","slug":"family-time","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/family-time/"},{"name":"Ukraine","slug":"ukraine","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/ukraine","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/topic/ukraine","mobileWebLink":"https://m.huffingtonpost.co.uk/topic/ukraine"},"topic":{"title":"Ukraine","slug":"ukraine","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/ukraine/"},{"name":"uk tv","slug":"uk-tv","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/uktv","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/topic/uktv","mobileWebLink":"https://m.huffingtonpost.co.uk/topic/uktv"},"topic":{"title":"UK TV","slug":"uktv","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/uktv/"},{"name":"kindness","slug":"kindness","links":{"relativeLink":"section/kindness","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/section/kindness","mobileWebLink":"https://m.huffingtonpost.co.uk/section/kindness"},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/kindness/"},{"name":"children’s tv","slug":"childrens-tv","links":{"relativeLink":"section/childrens-tv","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/section/childrens-tv","mobileWebLink":"https://m.huffingtonpost.co.uk/section/childrens-tv"},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/childrens-tv/"},{"name":"Hey Duggee","slug":"hey-duggee","links":{"relativeLink":"section/hey-duggee","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/section/hey-duggee","mobileWebLink":"https://m.huffingtonpost.co.uk/section/hey-duggee"},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/hey-duggee/"}],"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-1\", \"entry_paragraph_1\", false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline\", \"entry_paragraph_2\", false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-2\", \"entry_paragraph_3\", false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-infinite\", \"repeating_dynamic_display\", false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0}}”>

The ‘Welcome Badge’ episode sees Duggee and The Squirrels waiting for some new friends to arrive. The show’s narrator, Alexander Armstrong, explains they come from a country called Ukraine.

The new arrivals speak a different language from Duggee and his friends, so to help them settle in, Duggee, The Squirrels and Hummingbirds burst into song.

‘The Welcome Song’ is complete with translations of Ukrainian phrases to help the new arrivals feel at home – and to give children here some phrases to use for a nice big welcome.

There’s also lots of waving, something everyone understands. And, of course, a big old Duggee hug.

The show’s producers say the aim of the episode is to improve the real experiences of Ukrainian children coming to the UK, in the hope they feel even more welcome.

It’s also educating British kids to learn their language and encourage them to be warm and kind.

The usual cast are joined by children from the UK, as well as those who have recently arrived from Ukraine, who all sing the words of the song in their native language.

All episodes of Hey Duggee are available on BBC iPlayer in the UK.

Share Button