A new amnesty is allowing people to swap their England shirt (the price of which has been labelled ‘outrageous’) for a literal holiday.
It means that England fans who have splashed out on the new kit could swap it – and our gloomy home nation – for the sunny climes of Spain.
The England shirt amnesty comes from package holiday experts On The Beach, who are targeting everyone who’s been upset by the launch of the new strip this week.
A replica England shirt will set you back £84.99 and the authentic ‘Dri-FIT Adv’ versions that the players wear are being sold at a whopping £124.99.
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Many have also questioned the change to the St George’s cross on the collar of the shirt – it’s now a striped pattern of purples, blues and reds, rather than the usual solid scarlet (personally think it looks alright…)
Even Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer have kicked off about the flag, like there aren’t bigger projects for them to be working on right now.
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Now On The Beach are joining the outraged people online and adding to the call for the strip to be changed.
And in the meantime, if you hate the new kit that much that you can’t bear to look at the one you’ve purchased, you can send it off to the holiday company and they’ll send you on holiday instead.
You can swap your ‘outrageous’ England shirt for a holiday in the On The Beach amnesty. Credit: Nike
On The Beach is promising to swap the £124.99 shirts for a £250 holiday voucher, double the cost of the shirt, to spend on a trip.
Zoe Harris, chief customer officer at On the Beach, said: “Along with millions of England football fans we can’t believe that the England flag has been changed on the nation’s strip.
“British holidaymakers watching the Euros abroad wear that shirt with pride, but we have no doubt that they’ll be wearing classic strips this summer and not this so called ‘playful’ update.
“So, we’re taking action. Anyone who has bought the shirt and wants to get rid can send us the strip and we will give them a £250 holiday voucher in return.”
Nike said that the update was meant to be a ‘playful’ change that would ‘unite and inspire’ fans for the Euro 2024 tournament.
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Zoe Harris added: “I know many of our customers will be repping the retro shirts but if you have taken a punt on the new England strip and you’re disappointed with the unnecessary changes that have been made, we’re here to take it off your hands.”
If you own one of the new authentic England shirts, you can send it to On the Beach’s head office at: On the Beach, England Shirt Amnesty, 5 Adair St, Greater, Manchester M1 2NQ, along with your contact name, address and number.
Fans have until 7 April to send their official shirt in and On the Beach will contact those who have taken part to send them a £250 holiday voucher.
Sir Ian McKellen pays emotional tribute to long-time friend and fellow northern actor Sir Patrick Stewart
Emily Sergeant
Sir Ian McKellen has paid an emotional tribute to his long-time friend and fellow northern actor, Sir Patrick Stewart, following his death.
Sir Patrick Stewart – who was born and bred in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, and is best-known for his theatre work alongside an illustrious 60-year screen career, taking on prominent roles in franchises such as Star Trek and X-Men – sadly passed away at the age of 86, with his death being announced publicly yesterday evening (29 October).
And now, his long-time friend and fellow northern actor, Sir Ian McKellen, has paid tribute.
Sir Patrick and Sir Ian shared the stage together countless times over their decades-long careers, but also famously starred alongside each other in the X-Men franchise, and subsequent Marvel movies, as Charles Xavier/Professor X and Magneto.
The tribute, shared across Sir Ian’s social media platforms, reads: “Before everything else, Patrick was defined by being born and bred in Yorkshire, the proud county in the north of England which he loved to the end. You could hear it in his accented voice and in the stern honesty with which he told you what he thought and felt. Yorkshiremen have no truck with half-truths or avoidance of big issues. He wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love.
“We first met as ambitious young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company half a century ago but we weren’t in the same productions.
“My first strong memory was a few years later, meeting him in the street in central London when he told me about an offer to take over a leading part in ‘Star Trek’. “But Patrick think of your stage career in the UK. Do you really want to risk getting lost in Hollywood for years and years?”
“Well, he took the risk and thank goodness for us all that he did, for not just his devoted Trekkies, but film and theatre audiences who marvelled at his using international celebrity to star in a string of cinema successes (‘X-Men’ of course) and in great classical plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Peter Shaffer, Pinter and Beckett at Stratford-upon-Avon, in London’s West End and on Broadway.
“America was his adopted home, where he met his adored Sunny who has cared for him through sickness and health, through thick and thin.
“But he never forsook his origins: and the proudest achievement of the most respected and beloved actor of his generation on either side of the Atlantic, was his appointment as Chancellor of Huddersfield University in Yorkshire.”
Sir Patrick Stewart’s farewell performance will be in Avengers: Doomsday, which is being released in UK cinemas on 18 December 2026
Featured Image – Gage Skidmore (via Flickr)
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Classic FM will be back playing calming music for anxious pets this Bonfire Night
Emily Sergeant
Classic FM will be back playing calming music for anxious pets during this year’s fireworks season.
Bonfire Night may be loved by us humans for the spectacular firework displays and all the festive-themed activities that come along with it… but sadly, the November holiday isn’t quite so fun for our four-legged friends.
Loud bangs, flashing lights, and unpleasant strong smell of spent explosives are just some of the reasons why fireworks are frightening to pets.
Not only that, but with multiple bangs occurring from numerous displays across this time of year, pets are rarely able to pinpoint when and where the booming explosions are coming from, therefore creating even more anxiety around this time of year.
Classic FM will play calming music for anxious pets during this year’s fireworks / Credit: DESIGNECOLOGIST (via Unsplash)
Which is why, for the ninth year running now, Classic FM is once again teaming up with the RSPCA for two Pet Classics programmes packed with ‘the most soothing and comforting classical music’.
The music has been handpicked to help calm and settle any anxious pets.
A survey by the RSPCA revealed that almost two-thirds (63%) of animal owners reported their pet was distressed during fireworks season, and that playing relaxing music was the most common way (36%) to help calm or prepare their animal.
Presenters Dan Walker, Aled Jones, and Dawn O’Porter will each host a night of the specially created programme to help keep the nation’s pets calm through the whizzes and bangs.
Dan will present the first programme on Bonfire Night itself (Thursday 5 November), and then as celebrations continue throughout the weekend, Aled will be on hand to bring some peace to Friday 6 November, and Dawn picks up the baton on Saturday 7 November.
Daisy Jackson -
22nd March 2024 
