In what just might be one of my favourite pop culture stories of the year, singer/icon Lana Del Rey has married an alligator swamp tour guide. Honestly, why the hell not? According to Daily Mail, “The unlikely couple exchanged vows by the water in Des Allemandes, Louisiana — the same bayou where Dufrene (the groom)...
The post Lana Del Rey has married an alligator swamp tour guide and yes you read that correctly appeared first on Punkee.
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LUIS ENRIQUE has opened up about the heartbreaking death of his daughter Xana.
The Paris Saint-Germain manager’s beloved daughter tragically passed away at the age of nine in 2019.
Less than a year after taking over as Spain manager, Enrique would step away from the role in June 2019 for personal reasons.
Two months later, Enrique shared the news of Xana’s death after her five-month battle with osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer.
The former Barcelona and Real Madrid midfielder has again paid a heartfelt tribute to his youngest daughter.
Enrique opened up about her passing in a profoundly moving segment in the third episode of his documentary You Haven’t Got a Clue.
He said: “Can I consider myself fortunate or unfortunate? I consider myself fortunate, very fortunate.
“My daughter Xana came to live with us for nine wonderful years. We have a thousand memories of her, videos, incredible things.
“My mother couldn’t keep photos of Xana.
“Until I came home and asked, ‘Why are there no photos of Xana, Mom?’ ‘I can’t, I can’t, she used to say.
“‘Mom, you have to put up photos of Xana, Xana is alive,’ I replied.”
Enrique added: “Physically, she may not be here, but spiritually she is.
“Because every day we talk about her, we laugh, and we remember because I think Xana still sees us.”
The images of Xana that accompanied his words reflect the happiness she radiated, which Enrique vowed to keep alive in his memory.
The Champions League winning manager with Barca returned to his Spain job to replace interim coach Robert Moreno ahead of Euro 2020.
He lost on penalties to eventual champs Italy in the semi-finals and stepped down after Spain lost another shootout to Morocco in the Round of 16 in the Qatar World Cup.
Back in November 2022, after his Spain side drew 1-1 with Germany in the group stage in Qatar, Enrique paid tribute to Xana ahead of what would have been her 13th birthday.
He said: “It was a special day for me and my family.
“Obviously we don’t have our daughter with us physically anymore, but she is still present every day.
“We remember her a lot, we laugh and think about how she would act in each situation that we experience.”
Enrique also thanked the medical team who treated his daughter “for their dedication and treatment”.
BRITAIN’s youngest ever lotto winner has welcomed her fifth child, gushing: “I count my blessings every day.”
Callie Rogers – who famously scooped £1.8m in 2003 aged 16, but blew it on drugs and cosmetic surgery – has finally found happiness with a new baby – and a new man.
Now 37, Callie has shared heartwarming photos of her newborn daughter Navie-Nicola on her Facebook page.
Snaps include one the tot at five weeks old in August, captioned: “The Best five Weeks Of Life Loving You Our Little Bean”, and another captioned “Mammys precious girl”.
Pals gushed over the arrival, with one writing: “Awww how beautiful she is, you’ve been blessed with beautiful babies Cal” and another commenting “Cuteness overload!”
The Sun can also reveal that Callie is in a relationship with Lee Matthews, 35.
The pair posted a loved-up selfie on social media in March announcing that they are a couple – prompting well-wishes from pals, with some joking that Lee is “punching above his weight.”
Callie’s baby joy comes after a rollercoaster two decades.
She first made headlines when she became Britain’s youngest ever lotto winner in 2003 soon after turning 16.
Over the next nine years she reportedly splurged the lot on plastic surgery, cocaine and clothes.
She also gave hundreds of thousands to friends and family – some of whom she said she later realised were using her.
The mum has also battled depression and twice attempted suicide.
Callie, who has four other children, later voiced regret at not having saved more of her winnings as they would have helped her support son Blake, 12, who has cerebral palsy.
She has also admitted that she was not “equipped” for winning the huge sum aged 16, saying in a previous interview: “I was buying houses when I didn’t have the first idea about the responsibilities involved.
“I didn’t know how to pay a bill because I’d never had to. I didn’t know what council tax was.”
The National Lottery has since increased the minimum age for players to 18.
In 2018 dog-sitters Marie Hind and Jayde Quayle were jailed after assaulting Callie after a night out.
The lotto winner was left with broken ribs, smashed teeth, concussion and permanent damage to her sight following the horror attack.
And in 2021, after crashing her car while on cocaine, Callie was pepper sprayed and hit with a driving ban.
She refused to provide a breath sample and appeared at Workington Magistrates Court where she was banned from getting behind the wheel for 22 months and given an 11-week curfew.
Friends seem delighted that Callie, of Workington, Cumbria, appears to have found joy at last.
They rushed to congratulate her when she and beau Lee revealed on social media that they are in a relationship, declaring the pair “cute” and “lovely”, and another writing: “Chuffed for you Callie.”
And the photos of Navie-Nicola have clocked up dozens of ‘likes’, with pals labelling a photo of Callie’s older daughter Georgia gazing at her little sister as “adorable”.
DRIVERS have been hailing a £13 gadget which can keep your car warm this winter without wasting petrol on heating.
The handy device can also keep your motor fresh and even de-fog your windscreen.
Winter is well and truly on the way, with the UK seeing temperatures drop and heavy rain sweep in over recent weeks.
While the Met Office is suggesting the mercury could bounce back as high as 22C in the coming days, Brits wouldn’t expect to see much more of that at this time of year.
With that in mind, motorists are righty looking to get their cars ready for the colder months and it seems there’s a new bit of tech on the rise.
Most modern cars are fitted with air conditioning, which includes heater functions, and many even have a special button to de-mist the windscreen.
But the problem with running your air con is that it is powered by a driver belt attached to a crankshaft on the engine.
As such, the more you use the blower, the harder the engine has to work to keep a consistent power output.
This makes your motor less fuel efficient, slashing its mpg rating.
And with the cost of petrol at almost 135p per litre on average, this could end up costing you at the pumps.
Instead, some drivers are opting for an aftermarket heater unit as a more efficient way of staying warm.
Available for as little as £13 on Amazon, the device is about the size of a mobile phone and can be placed on an adhesive stand on your dashboard.
Instead of relying directly on the engine, it plugs into the cigarette lighter or charger socket and is powered by the battery.
While the battery does derive charge from the engine, it’s more efficient to recharge the battery via the alternator than it is to run the air con for an extensive period.
The new gadget has two modes, allowing you to channel hot air or “natural” air to keep things fresh.
And the stand can rotate through 360 degrees with a 60-degree tilt, allowing you to keep the air flowing to any part of the cabin.
It can even be directed forwards to defrost your windscreen on chilly days in seconds.
The heater enjoys a 100% five-star rating on Amazon, with one customer saying it’s a “great product”.
It comes after a dad revealed how he built his young son a fully driveable Rolls-Royce made completely out of wood.
A TINY English train station that is barely used is like something Harry Potter.
Chappel & Wakes Colne railway station in Colchester is around an hour from London, travelling to Liverpool Street station.
Just over 28,000 people use it a year, working out to around 77 passengers a day.
However, the train station is right next to the Chappel Viaduct, a huge brick structure measuring 1,066ft.
Built in the 1840s, trains run over the top of the viaduct, which is above a field of blue linseed oil bearing flowers during the summer.
Costing more than £2million to build in today’s money, it is one of the UK’s largest brick-built structures still standing.
Many may see the resemblance to the Glenfinnan Viaduct in Scotland, made famous for featuring in the Harry Potter films when used by the Hogwarts Express.
And the Essex viaduct has boomed in popularity by social media users who take pictures in one of the 32 arches, stretching 30ft tall.
Earlier this year, the viaduct celebrated its 175th anniversary of train routes, which launched in 1849.
Otherwise there is nearby The Swan Inn pub right on the river, whose beer garden is right underneath the viaduct.
One previous tourist wrote: “The location is beautiful and we had a short walk afterwards under the viaduct – a hidden gem of Victorian Essex.”
If you fancy visiting, the station has just one platform with a single track.
Thankfully, just one train runs an hour in each direction so there is rarely a battle for the track.
Platforms two and three are home to the East Anglian Railway Museum.
The attraction has themed events including Thomas the Tank Engine day outs as well as Steam train days.
Sun Travel's journalists have taken their fare share of train journeys on their travels and here they share their most memorable rail experiences.
Davos to Geneva, Switzerland
“After a ski holiday in Davos, I took the scenic train back to Geneva Airport. The snow-covered mountains and tiny alpine villages that we passed were so beautiful that it felt like a moving picture was playing beyond the glass.” – Caroline McGuire
Tokyo to Kyoto by Shinkansen
“Nothing quite beats the Shinkansen bullet train, one of the fastest in the world. It hardly feels like you’re whizzing along at speed until you look outside and see the trees a green blur. Make sure to book seat D or E too – as you’ll have the best view of Mount Fuji along the way.” Kara Godfrey
London to Paris by Eurostar
“Those who have never travelled on the Eurostar may wonder what’s so special about a seemingly ordinary train that takes you across the channel. You won’t have to waste a moment and can tick off all the top attractions from the Louvre to the Champs-Élysées which are both less than five kilometres from the Gare du Nord.” – Sophie Swietochowski
Glasgow to Fort William by Scotrail
“From mountain landscapes and serene lochs to the wistful moors, I spent my three-hour journey from Glasgow to Fort William gazing out the window. Sit on the left-hand side of the train for the best views overlooking Loch Lomond.” – Hope Brotherton
Beijing to Ulaanbatar
“The Trans-Mongolian Express is truly a train journey like no other. It starts amid the chaos of central Beijing before the city’s high-rises give way to crumbling ancient villages and eventually the vast vacant plains of Mongolia, via the Gobi desert. The deep orange sunset seen in the middle of the desert is among the best I’ve witnessed anywhere.” – Ryan Gray
Also in the UK is the Knaresborough Viaduct, built in 1851 that is often compared to a fairytale.
And here is the new scenic train that launched across the north of the UK this year.
STARS from Strictly Come Dancing, Britain’s Got Talent and Coronation Street have signed up for the new series of a BBC Two show.
The last series saw the likes of Spencer Matthews, Christine McGuinness and Michaela Strachan take part.
Now BBC Two’s Pilgrimage is returning with a brand-new line-up of famous faces, The Sun can reveal.
Presenter Jeff Brazier will be joined by The Traitors winner Harry Clarke, Strictly champ and The Wanted singer Jay McGuinness and Corrie star Helen Lederer.
Also taking part this time around are Paralympian and Dancing On Ice star Stef Reid and BGT comic Daliso Chaponda.
Pilgrimage follows the celebrities as they come together for an interfaith trek.
The most recent series, which aired earlier this year, saw the group take on the North Wales Pilgrim’s Way, a long-distance walking route measuring more than 133 miles.
Viewers previously saw mum-of-three Christine, 36, break down during emotional scenes as she discussed dying and leaving her children behind.
She said: “I just don’t know what I’d do without my kids. I don’t know what I’d do without my babies.
“I just wanted to come back and look at the church again and really appreciate it because I don’t enjoy the feeling of death. As a mum, it absolutely petrifies me.
“My biggest fear is leaving my children one day. My children are considered different because they’re all autistic, and so am I and I have often had comments like, ‘I bet you wish there was a cure or something to fix your children’, and I really don’t.
“I think every single child is a miracle. It just makes me want to be around forever because they’re so magical.”
And Michaela, 58 – who was recently announced as one of the stars taking part in the upcoming series of Dancing On Ice – later revealed why she wasn’t worried about signing up for Pilgrimage.
She told The Sun: “I knew going into Pilgrimage that there was no way they want to edit you in a nasty way.
“It’s supposed to be a nice programme that goes out over Easter that makes people feel good rather than sort of promotes people being b****y. So that I wasn’t worried about.
“I knew that it would be edited in a fairly sympathetic way. But I would always worry about going on something like, I’m a celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! Because I think sometimes the script is written before you come in.”
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THE ‘simply outrageous’ barrier draw for the world’s richest horse race on turf was mocked by punters – thanks in no small part to a man being fired out of a cannon.
Racing bosses in Australia went all out for the draw for Saturday’s £10.3million Everest, a mega-money race over six furlongs at Randwick.
https://twitter.com/SkyRacingAU/status/1846122105634423182The money on offer is colossal, with last year’s winner Think About It taking home a massive £4.3m.
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But the excess isn’t confined to the prize money.
Whereas the quaint draw for last June’s Derby was held outside a Wetherspoon pub in sleepy Epsom, there was no expense spared for the Everest.
Taking place in a circus, there were women on stilts, firebreathers and trapeze artists you’d expect to see in Cirque du Soleil.
An enormous structure called ‘the wheel of death’ was used to announce Growing Empire getting stall seven.
While the antics that announced I Am Me’s draw in gate one defied belief.
A woman was tied to a ladder which in turn was driven round in a circle by a bloke on a motorbike – all while suspended in mid-air.
Even Rod Stewart at his best couldn’t match anything like this.
But by far the best was the man being launched what looked at least 80ft through the air by, presumably, a cannon.
He landed on what looked like a massive bouncy castle on the other side as a huge banner unveiling the number nine signalled where favourite I Wish I Win had been drawn.
The whole thing was a truly bizarre spectacle.
But you have to praise Racing New South Wales bosses for thinking outside the box and giving it a go.
Even if not everyone agreed.
While some loved the razzmatazz of it all, one punter moaned: “What on earth are we watching? It’s horrendous.”
Another said: “This is ridiculous – cringeworthy.”
While a third summed up the view of many when they wrote: “I’m all for innovation but WTF am I watching?”
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