Marc Walker
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Freelance news and feature writer for the UK national papers. If you have a story, please direct message or email marc_walker@live.co.uk
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Articles by Marc Walker
Net zero drive has left our home unsellable, say couple who spent £40K following government advice
Marc Walker A couple who forked out tens of thousands of pounds to make their house energy-efficient are fuming after being slapped with an F energy rating. Tori McKillen and husband Mhinder Mehta want to sell their home, but can't because most mortgage providers won't lend to buyers for properties with an F-rated energy performance certificate (EPC).
Brits tell 'booze untruths' and often lie about how much they drink
Marc Walker Millions of people are lying to their GP about how much alcohol they drink. Some 38% of British adults are telling ‘booze untruths' and fibbing about their boozing on medical forms. Two in five respondents downplay their drinking so they are not judged by medics . And 30% said they were simply too embarrassed to admit how much booze they consumed. Some 27% make up how many units of alcohol they drink because they have no clue how many they are drinking.
Luke Littler's darts revolution sparking major jealousy in rival sports, admits top star
Marc Walker Snooker stars have admitted they are "jealous" of darts' meteoric rise and would swap the green baize for the oche. Top cueist Mark Allen - currently competing in the Masters snooker at Alexandra Palace - said it was hard not to feel envious of darts' explosive growth in popularity. The Northern Irishman, speaking from the north London venue, which hosted this year's PDC World Darts Championship, said: "It does make us a little bit jealous - let's be honest.
Brits set to snub 'Dry' January and get themselves down to the pub for one reason
Marc Walker Fewer people are set to give up the booze after Christmas – in a boost for struggling pubs. Interest among Gen Z youngsters in “Dry January” has plummeted. The booze-free campaign turns customers away from inns already hammered by tax hikes and rising costs. But the number of younger drinkers keen on abstaining from alcohol for a whole month has fallen from a third (33%) to fewer than a quarter (24%) show latest figures from drinks industry analysts IWSR's Bevtrac.
Pubgoers face horror price hikes for their pints including popular beer brands
Marc Walker Pubgoers face forking out more for pints of lager, bitter and cider in 2026 due to price hikes set to be rolled out by Heineken. The Dutch beer giant will ramp up the cost of several brands, including Birra Moretti, Amstel, John Smith's Extra Smooth and Inch's cider, by 2.7% from next month. Top-selling Italian-style lager Moretti, brewed by Heineken in the UK, is already a wallet-busting average of £6.04 for a pint.
Plasterer called Hubert crowned Britain's 'toughest tradie' - seeing off joiners and scaffolders
Marc Walker A plasterer crowned Britain's “Toughest Tradie” reckons his profession boasts the hardest grafters after beating joiners, plumbers and scaffolders to the title. Hubert Burrell, 51, faced rivals from a string of other trades in a battle of strength and endurance to find the UK's strongest tradesman .
Monopoly 'banned' from Sandringham because royal family find it 'too vicious'
Marc Walker & Steve Hughes Monopoly has been banned at Sandringham this year because the Royal Family find it "too vicious". The Crimbo board game favourite was outlawed by the late Queen Elizabeth II for sparking rows - and King Charles will continue his mother's wishes by barring it at the Windsor's Christmas residence. Royal insiders said William was keen on the money-making game, a favourite of his that he plays at home with Kate and children George, Charlotte and Louis.
Wizzard really do wish it could be Christmas every day as 97% of earnings come from hit
Marc Walker Glam rockers Wizzard really do wish it could be Christmas every day - with 97% of the band's earnings coming from their 1973 hit. A whopping £429,000 of the group's £444,000 income from streaming platform Spotify has come from festive downloads of I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday, new data shows. It means the 70s rock stars, led by frontman Roy Wood, rely almost entirely on the classic Yuletide single and live off Christmas notoriety more than any other artist or band.
Couples are increasingly spending Christmas home alone so they can swerve in-laws
Marc Walker & Andrew Jameson Big festive get-togethers are dying out as couples increasingly avoid their relatives to enjoy “mini Christmases”. Nearly nine in 10 working Brits who are in a relationship but don't have children — some 89% — say they will avoid a big family gathering this year. While a third of “dual-income-no-kids” couples, known as “dinks” (33%), said it would be just the two of them on Christmas Day .
'Last Christmas' for many pubs thanks to Rachel Reeves' tax hikes as bars hit
Marc Walker & Steve Hughes Rachel Reeves' Budget tax raid on boozers will make this Christmas the last one for many pubs, fear industry experts. The Chancellor's revaluation of business rates means struggling inns could be left with no choice but to call last orders permanently, warned Alex Probyn, from property tax specialists Ryan. He pointed to The Shakespeare pub in Derby, which will see its rateable value jump by more than 500% from April.
Mullets are set to 'rule 2026' but the trend will follow a scaled down 'baby' version
Marc Walker The mullet is set to “rule 2026” but experts predict that the trend will follow a scaled down “baby” version of the classic 80s hairstyle. Hair expert Nate Abbott says that blokes will be queuing up at barbershops for the “baby mullet” - like the dos sported by Gladiator II star Paul Mescal or England cricket hero Ben Stokes at The Ashes in Australia. Nate said: “The mullet refuses to disappear, but it's getting more refined.
Self-Reported Pain Rating during Clinical Testing and De Quervain Tenosynovitis
Objectives: Hand maneuvers commonly used to clinically diagnose De Quervain tenosynovitis (DQT) possess differing intrinsic levels of discomfort. We hypothesized that assessing the degree of pain would better differentiate replication of condition-related pain than a binary “yes or no” assessment, and we hope to use these data to establish thresholds on a Likert pain scale for these tests to designate a positive or negative result.
The same Christmas songs have been in the charts for the last 20 years in a row
Marc Walker & Steve Hughes Fairytale of New York has made it into the Christmas top 40 for the past 20 years in a row. The Pogues' 1987 festive hit, featuring Shane MacGowan and Kirsty MacColl, is set to make its 21st consecutive appearance in the Yuletide charts this year. It's among a string of Christmas songs that now appear in the rundown “on repeat”, found researchers. They discovered 63% of tracks in the 2024 Christmas top 40 were exactly the same as the year before.
Modulator Control of Cation Distribution in Mixed-Metal UiO-66(Zr,Ce) Metal–Organic Frameworks
Synthesis and Characterization The synthesis of the mixed-metal UiO-66(Ce/Zr) using different modulators with low to high Ce/Zr ratios was optimized based on a published procedure using solvothermal conditions (using N , N - dimethylformamide (DMF) – water mixed solvent). (26) The detailed synthesis methods are provided in Supporting Information (SI; Section S2).
Brits urged to 'rat-proof' their homes ahead of 'looming rodent invasion'
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Millions of Brits warned after hiding house key under same two places
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Pub 'regular' at risk of dying out as Brits can't afford to visit their local
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Falling asleep in front of the telly is doing two bad things to you
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Bread 'sommeliers' the latest food fad and you need a training course to be one
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AI 'killing off agony aunts' as we turn to chatbots for relationship advice
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Wetherspoon is opening 30 new pubs as BrewDog calls time on 10 bars
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Davids and Joannes are the unluckiest Brits
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Boozy noodle pots created by boffins in ultimate student hack to save a few quid
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Pubs 'pricing out' poorer customers who are switching to cheap supermarket beer
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Small market town now boasts UK’s priciest pint at eye-watering average of £7 a pop
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Brides ditching makeup on wedding day as grooms go mad for eyeliner and blusher
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AI robots are scamming innocent Brits using sneaky voice mimicking trick
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Gen Z enjoy social media chat about festivals and parties more than actually going
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UK heatwave warning as 40C 'Mediterranean furnace' to send mercury rocketing this weekend
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Dogs' sleeping positions show how furry friends really feel about their owners
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Brits eye up 'coolcations' to Scandinavia to escape sweltering UK heatwave
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Bugs Bunny and Popeye slapped with 13+ age rating for 'violence' and 'foul language'
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Mum thinks ghost of Prime Minister wants her 'out' of shop as things 'get creepy after 5pm'
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English football's cheapest pie and pint revealed with Liverpool behind Championship club
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One in ten Brits hate their name, survey claims - but WHICH are the most disliked?
Prime Minister Keir Starmer will announce plans on Monday to double UK border security funding and treat people-smuggling gangs as terror networks to curb Channel crossings. Addressing Interpol, he will call the gangs a “serious threat to global security,” urging global recognition of the issue’s severity, according to his office. Scientists have discovered a possible explanation behind how Jesus performed one of his most famous miracles.
I Cannot Take Credit For Former Assistant Enzo Maresca’s Success – Pep Guardiola - The Independent | Everand
Pep Guardiola insisted he could not take any credit for his former assistant Enzo Maresca’s success as a manager. The pair will go head-to-head on Sunday in Maresca’s first game as Chelsea boss when City launch their bid for a record-extending fifth-successive crown at
Price hikes on beer, vegetables and meat because of wet weather, experts warn
The UK’s wet and wild spring will spark inflation-busting price rises on summer favourites including beer, barbecue meat, bread, pasta, salads and new potatoes, experts warn. Vast swathes of farmland – still under water from storms earlier this year – have been hit by more heavy rain this month, devastating crops and leaving many farmers unable to put livestock out to graze.
Stop panicking over pub closures, James May says
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Bangers, bacon and bao buns - how traditionalists are embracing exotic twist on the familiar fry-up
Bao buns, chorizo and masala beans can all be enjoyed as part of a morning fry-up, the society devoted to promoting the traditional English breakfast has said. The English Breakfast Society says foreign twists can play a part, and even help the tradition to spread around the world. The full English aficionados announced they had dropped “the dogma surrounding the modern tradition” amid a global “explosion in popularity”.
Stop panicking about pub closures, says James May
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Stop panicking about pub closures, says James May
May says pubs are 'not monuments' - JACK HILL/TIMES MEDIA LTD TV presenter and publican James May believes Britain is “oversubscribed” with watering holes and the sector’s struggles are simply “a cull” that will eliminate “bad pubs”. The former Top Gear host, who owns a half-share in The Royal Oak, in the village of Swallowcliffe in Wiltshire’s Nadder Valley, criticised efforts by the Government to prop up the trade.
Nine in ten British women are scared of cycling in towns and cities, survey suggests
The survey revealed that fewer than 25 per cent of women own a bike compared to 43 per cent for men - DesignSensation Nine in ten British women are scared of cycling in towns and cities, a survey suggests, with road rage and the fear of a collision among their main concerns. The survey also revealed that fewer than 25 per cent of women own a bike, while the figure stands at 43 per cent for men.
Criminals could use jogging apps to target people, experts warn
Runners who use apps like Strava often share their route data publicly - Nike Running app users should tighten their privacy settings as a precaution to stop stalkers and other criminals harvesting sensitive data about their movements, experts have warned. Joggers and hikers can share details of their routes, speed and distance with friends and followers on popular online platforms such as Strava.
Wines from the north of England and Scotland are the future, French experts say
Wine produced as far north as Northumberland and Scotland will threaten the future of traditional grape growing regions, experts have found. A new global map created by scientists from France’s Bordeaux and Burgundy wine provinces predicts that wine production will be forced to shift from the traditional terroir of southern Europe to the northernmost reaches of Britain.
Wines from the north of England and Scotland are the future, French experts say
Microsoft Cares About Your Privacy Microsoft and our third-party vendors use cookies to store and access information such as unique IDs to deliver, maintain and improve our services and ads. If you agree, MSN and Microsoft Bing will personalise the content and ads that you see. You can select ‘I Accept’ to consent to these uses or click on ‘Manage preferences’ to review your options and exercise your right to object to Legitimate Interest where used.
Wines from the north of England and Scotland are the future, French experts say
Wine produced as far north as Northumberland and Scotland will threaten the future of traditional grape growing regions, experts have found. A new global map created by scientists from France’s Bordeaux and Burgundy wine provinces predicts that wine production will be forced to shift from the traditional terroir of southern Europe to the northernmost reaches of Britain.
Real ale drinkers froth at firm’s ‘fresh ale’ handpumps
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Real ale drinkers froth at firm’s ‘fresh ale’ handpumps
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Gladiator, Ready! Exeter’s Jodie ‘Fury’ Ounsley Primed To Bid For Red Roses Role - The Independent
Exeter wing and Gladiators star Jodie Ounsley has targeted a place in the England 15s squad after hanging up her super-hero outfit and changing back into a rugby kit. The 23-year-old from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, is already an England Sevens international and has set the bar high following her exploits as Fury on the revamped BBC show. Ounsley, who became the first deaf woman to play for a senior England rugby side in 2019, told the PA news
Shortage of assistance dogs leading people to train their own pets
Guide Dogs says it is working hard to slash the waiting time for trained animals - E+ People are having their own pets trained to become guide and support dogs amid a nationwide shortage. Formal training of assistance dogs can take several years and requires established breeding as well as careful rearing, socialising and training. But some people can wait several years to get a guide dog due to these constraints and despite the best efforts of charitable organisations.
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