Isobel Pankhurst

Dunelm is selling selected colours of its Zoe Pinstripe Fabric Square Storage Footstool for £99.50, reduced from £199, making it less expensive than the similar £249 John Lewis Classic Storage Footstool. The square upholstered footstool provides seating, a place to rest feet and storage, and customer reviews praise its appearance, value and size. However, some buyers criticise the rough fabric, limited storage depth and oversized dimensions.

Interior designers identify five living-room decorating choices that can make a home look cheap or dated: accent walls, excessive faux fur, too many mirrored accessories, short or badly hung curtains, and a lack of a coherent colour scheme. The recommendations favour integrated design, restrained use of texture and shine, floor-length curtains, and coordinated colours.

Mary Berry’s summer pudding loaf recipe offers a simpler, neater alternative to traditional summer pudding by using a loaf tin lined with juice-soaked bread and filled with mixed berries. The dessert requires overnight chilling and uses both cooked and fresh berries to create a vibrant, sliceable pudding. It serves 12 and uses leftover bread to help reduce food waste, with remaining berries served alongside each slice.

Llamas and alpacas, both domesticated camelids from Peru and Bolivia, differ in size, appearance, behaviour and wool characteristics. Alpacas are smaller with compact faces and fine, colourful fleeces, while llamas are larger with long faces, banana-shaped ears and coarser wool, and are typically bred as pack animals. Behaviourally, alpacas are more timid and herd-oriented, while llamas can serve as guard animals. The two species can interbreed, producing hybrids with llama-like frames and alpaca-quality wool.

A UK heatwave with temperatures reaching up to 35C has prompted guidance on low-cost ways to cool homes. Energy experts and LEAP Energy Advice recommend placing bowls of cold water or ice near open windows, with airflow helping circulate cooler air. Using a fan with ice can boost the effect while remaining far cheaper than air conditioning. British Gas supports these methods as an affordable way to improve comfort during hot weather.

The writer prefers Tesco’s ready-made macaroni cheese over versions from Sainsbury’s and Co‑op, highlighting its superior taste, convenience, and frequent Clubcard deals. Despite being less healthy, it offers a quick, enjoyable meal at a mid‑range price and remains the author’s go-to option when craving mac and cheese without the effort of cooking.

Dub Custom Cars Limited, an Essex-based vehicle customisation firm founded in 2014, has entered liquidation with FRP Advisory appointed as liquidators. The notice appeared in the London Gazette, and the potential impact on jobs remains unclear. The company, known for vinyl wrapping, paint protection and custom modifications for high-end cars, had promoted itself as a leading UK vehicle customiser. Images on its website show work on brands including Aston Martin, Porsche and Maserati.

A chef recommends elevating a cheese toastie by using a blend of mozzarella, taleggio and red cheddar between slices of shokupan cooked in clarified butter, with optional crispy chilli oil. Experts also suggest mayonnaise as an alternative to butter for a better crust.

Major UK retailers including Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, the British Heart Foundation, and Coughlans Bakery are closing numerous locations due to financial pressures and restructuring plans. M&S will shut 14 in‑store cafés, Morrisons plans to close around 100 Morrisons Daily outlets, and BHF will close 150 shops by 2027. Coughlans Bakery has entered liquidation, shutting all sites immediately. Additional closures include GO Outdoors’ Colchester store and the long‑standing Ahernes of Hellifield post office in North Yorkshire.

A 1975 Mary Berry recipe for a no‑cook tomato soup that contains no tomatoes, only tomato juice, resurfaced due to its unusual ingredients and absence from later cookbooks. The recipe, published in her out‑of‑print book Beating the Cost of Cooking, combines yoghurt, tomato juice, lemon, cucumber and seasoning, and is served chilled. Copies of the book occasionally appear on resale sites.

Nigella Lawson shares her preferred potato salad recipe, replacing mayonnaise with mustard, cornichons, capers and high-quality rapeseed oil. She describes her dislike for traditional American-style mayonnaise-based salads and emphasises steaming potatoes for optimal texture and flavour absorption. Lawson suggests optional additions such as anchovies, eggs or crispy bacon and outlines the full ingredients and method for preparing the warm, mustard-based dish.