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As the weather turned cool this autumn across England, Frankie the flamingo had apparently had enough. On a blustery Sunday morning this month, the juvenile bird vanished from the zoo in Cornwall where she was born. Frankie’s journey was exceptional, her keepers said, as she is only a few months old and had a wing clipped, which should have prevented her from ever taking flight. “Being a young bird, we were quite surprised how quickly she got to France,” said David Woolcock, a curator at the Paradise Park Wildlife Sanctuary, where Frankie lived. “But she’s feeding, she’s preening, she’s having a whale of a time by the look of it.”

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Last time, getting out of south London and crawling back two days later cost us 13 hours of the precious weekend. We have learnt that it is well worth getting the two-hour train to Abergavenny then splashing out on a 50-minute taxi. For any weekend away, constrained as you are by its shortness, I would argue that trains trump cars. Getting the train can save valuable time on a weekend break, says Huw Oliver GETTY IMAGESAnd brave the local buses. These days I might even suggest you haven’t done Cardiff unless you’ve bar-crawled around the Brewery Quarter and mainlined a kebab at 2am on Caroline Street, aka “Chippy Alley”; nor Bristol unless you’ve caught some obnoxious experimental music at the Arnolfini (arnolfini.org.uk) or the Cube (cubecinema.com); nor Cambridge unless you’ve mingled with the folk buffs at the Junction (junction.co.uk) or the Portland Arms (theportlandarms.co.uk).

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Get the inside track from Roisin O'Connor with our free weekly music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy noticeRobbie Williams believes his worsening eyesight has been caused by weight loss jabs. “I want to warn people reading this of the potential risks, to make sure they do their research,” he told The Sun. The study, however, could not prove that semaglutide actually caused the condition, and admitted that the numbers affected were small. Robbie Williams at a charity football match in June ( Getty Images )Williams revealed in 2023 that his then-recent weight loss was a result of using injections and that it was a medical necessity due to his experiences of depression.

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The senior Cabinet minister hit out at the leader of Reform UK while speaking at the Co-operative Party conference. “Lack of economic growth it is the cause. Business Secretary Mr Kyle is no stranger to sparring with the Reform leader over their political differences. Earlier this year, Mr Farage made clear his opposition to the Government’s Online Safety Act. He also spoke about parties and politicians “who feed off the decline and division”, pointing to Reform UK.

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Good weather, awards and a world-famous soup contest - it has been all in a year’s work for a group of dedicated volunteers at a picturesque Moray town. Cullen beach won two awards this summer. One of those delighted with such a successful tourist season is Discover Cullen’s chairman David McCubbin. Discover Cullen chairman David McCubbin, pictured here at the Harbour Gala in July, has welcomed a “hugely positive” tourist season for the town. Local café owner Lynne Watson receives her Tradition Cullen Skink World Championship trophy from the Lord Lieutenant of Banffshire Andrew Simpson.

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The town of Deal in Kent was recently named one of the best places to go for a winter getaway by Time Out. The outlet listed the areas of the UK that offer "a cosy weekend" getaway with the fresh sea air and snug pubs as key features. Deal was described as being the best place to head for "cosy-loving foodies" as Time Out wrote: "Plenty of places in Kent are magical in winter (we’re looking at you, Whitstable and Margate), but for a proper cosy little getaway, there’s nowhere better than Deal. Deal, the 'cosy' Kent seaside townDeal is within easy reach of London; you can reach the town in an hour and a half via St Pancras International or in just over two hours via London Bridge. Recommended ReadingThe Kent seaside town is also a great place for art lovers, with Linden Hall Studio, which showcases a range of contemporary art from local artists.

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