Woman's 'genius' Christmas tree hack that makes the decoration look 'extra bright'

Strong winds are set to hit the UK tomorrow as Storm Pia arrives - with a yellow weather warning issued just days before Christmas.

Wham! taking the lead for the peak position on the charts.The news follows a neck-and-neck race between the iconic ‘80s pop duo Wham! And Eurovision star Sam Ryder over the past week, with their respective songs ‘Last Christmas’ [1986] and ‘You’re Christmas To Me’ [2023].At the first look at the race last week, just 42 chart units stood between the two taking the top spot on the UK charts, however, this week it has been revealed by the Official Charts that Wham! are in pole position, and have widened the gap between Ryder’s Amazon Music original track – which remains at Number Two.However, it doesn’t seem likely that the charts will stay this way until Christmas, with Ryder set to play a fan-exclusive gig tonight (December 19) in Shoreditch, London, in a push to promote the song in time for Christmas Day.Similarly, today (December 19) The Pogues are sharing a special, limited-edition physical run of their own iconic Christmas song ‘Fairytale Of New York’ in a push to climb the charts.Originally released in 1988 and featuring Kirsty MacColl, the track is being reissued in memory of the band’s late singer Shane MacGowan, who died “peacefully” in hospital from pneumonia on November 30. He was 65 years old and his funeral took place in Nenagh, County Tipperary on December 8.All proceeds from the reissue will be donated to the Irish charity Dublin Simon Community, and the release also arrived alongside a fan campaign to get Fairytale of New York to Christmas Number 1 for the first time.The push for the top position on the charts has also been endorsed by Shane MacGowan’s widow, Victoria Mary Clarke.

Dame Esther Rantzen says if her lung cancer does not improve with treatment, she is considering the option of assisted dying.

Timothée Chalamet‘s Wonka has topped the global box office.The musical prequel directed by Paul King pulled in a whopping $92.6million (£73.1million) over the weekend, topping the box office in 60 of its 77 international markets, according to Screen Daily. Its worldwide total currently stands at $150million (£118.4million).In the US, it made its debut pulling in $39million (£30.8million) over the weekend to top the box office and enjoyed strong openings in France at $5.1million (£4million) and Australia $4million (£3.2million).The UK/Ireland leads the international pack with $23.2million (£18.3million) after 10 days, ahead of Mexico with $11.2million (£8.3million).

U2 performed their cover of Darlene Love’s ‘Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)’ for the first time in nearly 36 years at the Las Vegas Sphere this weekend.The Irish rock band performed the Christmas classic for the first time since 1987 during their show at the Sphere at The Venetian Resort on Friday (December 15).They last performed the track in December 1987 as they closed out the ‘Joshua Tree’ tour at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona.While performances from that gig featured on U2’s hybrid live/studio album ‘Rattle and Hum’, their version of ‘Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)’ was not included.However, they did release a video filmed in November 1987 at the Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana before their concert there that night. It was also released in December 1987 with the charity compilation album ‘A Very Special Christmas’.They revived the track on Friday and, according to setlist.fm, rehearsed it during soundcheck in the day but did not print the song on the setlist.Watch the performance below.Back in October, U2 announced they were extending their residency at the Sphere, adding 11 extra dates to the run.

Baileys is a popular drink enjoyed by many every Christmas, but fans are being warned not to do one thing with their beverage that experts claim could "wreak havoc" during the holiday.

EXCLUSIVE: Paramount Pictures’ adaptation of Tomi Adeyemi‘s novel Children of Blood and Bone is gaining momentum. Deadline is hearing The Woman King director Gina Prince-Bythewood is coming on to helm. Prince-Bythewood will develop the next pass of a draft penned by Adeyemi.

Shane MacGowan’s funeral today (December 8).The Irish singer-songwriter and former Pogues frontman died from pneumonia in hospital, aged 65, on November 30. It came after he had been diagnosed with encephalitis and had been in ill health.As reported by BBC, the procession took place between 11am and 11:45am GMT around the south inner city, close to where MacGowan lived in Ballsbridge.

The Killers have announced a handful of extra dates and their opening support act for their ‘Rebel Diamonds‘ greatest hits UK and Ireland arena tour.Ahead of the release of their ‘best of’ album, ‘Rebel Diamonds’, The Killers have added four extra dates in Dublin, Manchester, Glasgow and London to their celebratory 2024 tour due to exceptional demand during early ticket pre-sales.Brandon Flowers and Co. have also shared that the Glaswegian band Travis will be serving as opening support for the tour.The ‘Rebel Diamonds’ tour will mark the first time The Killers play arena shows in the UK since 2017’s ‘Wonderful Wonderful’ tour, and will see their return after the band’s most recent stadium tour, which saw them play to 400,000 fans at sold-out shows, and their acclaimed headline appearances at Reading & Leeds 2022.Tickets for the tour are set to go on sale tomorrow, December 8 at 9:30am local time.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “The Summer With Carmen,” Zacharias Mavroeidis’ queer comedy, has been acquired in major territories since world premiering at the Venice Film Festival. The movie, which is represented by Be For Films and had its North American premiere at AFI, recently won three prizes at the Thessaloniki Film Festival. It will be released next year by Cinobo in Greece, Epicentre in France and Xenix Filmdistribution in Switzerland.

Tom Waits made a rare public appearance this week to honour actor Nicolas Cage.The singer-songwriter presented Cage with a lifetime achievement prize at the SFFILM Awards Night in San Francisco, California on Monday evening (December 4).Waits’ participation in the event had not been announced prior, and his presence prompted “gasps” and “wild applause” from those in attendance, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.After taking to the podium at the Yerba Buena Center For The Arts, the musician spoke about how he and Cage have known each other since the Oscar-winner was a teenager working for Waits as his driver.“He was the same as a teenager. It was troublesome for his family and other people around him,” Waits joked in his speech.

Coca-Cola is on a mission to further spread its ethos of ‘Real Magic’ and human connection this holiday season, with a new short film anthology: The Santa Stories.

It was the show that got everyone talking when it first launched last year and now the BBC have given the first look at series two of The Traitors.

Hollywood’s long strike season is over and the town can finally get back to work without the specter of any more labor action, for now.

Ethel Cain has announced her 2024 ‘The Childish Behaviour’ tour, with stops in North America, Europe and the United Kingdom.The alt-pop singer – who released her first album ‘Preacher’s Daughter’ in May last year, took to her official social media pages to share the handful of tour dates slated to commence in June 2024.Cain’s first show of the tour is set to Kick off on June 3 at Le Trianon in Paris, France. From there, the singer will head out to Amsterdam to play Paradiso on June 4 followed by a show at the Roundhouse in London on June 5.

The second season of The Traitors is on its way, with a first look showing host Claudia Winkleman standing among fire, with two mysterious figures behind her. The popular BBC reality show will be back on our screens on Wednesday, 3 January at 9pm on BBC One.The following two episodes will be ready to watch on BBC iPlayer straight after the first episode next year.The show will then be aired on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights.

The Murder Capital covered The Pogues‘ ‘I’m A Man You Don’t Meet Every Day’ in tribute to Shane MacGowan during a recent live performance in Ireland.The Dublin punk group were performing as part of Other Voices Festival on Friday (December 1) at St James’ Church in Dingle when they remembered the late Pogues frontman, who died last week, aged 65.The five-piece performed an a cappella version of The Pogues’ 1985 song from album ‘Rum Sodomy & the Lash’, only occasionally using the sparse rattle of a tambourine for the haunting rendition.Frontman James McGovern asked the crowd to “join us if you know it”, before performing their version of the song. “Love you, Shane,” he said as they closed out the set.A post shared by The Murder Capital (@themurdercapital)The Murder Capital are the latest band to pay musical tribute to the late Irish singer-songwriter.U2 covered The Pogues’ ‘A Rainy Night in Soho’ in tribute to MacGowan during their latest show at the Las Vegas Sphere.

The wife of The Pogues singer Shane MacGowan has said the late singing icon was "so vibrant and beautiful and so determined to live only a few days ago" before his death at the age of 65.

Kiefer Sutherland learned after meeting the late Shane MacGowan for the first time at a bar in the ’90s. A 2019 anecdote shared by the “24” star is making its resurgence Thursday amid news that the Pogues frontman has died at age 65. During an appearance on Ireland’s “The Late Late Show,” Sutherland, 56, told host Ryan Tubridy about the time he ran into Sinead O’Connor, Van Morrison, Ronnie Wood and MacGowan at a Dublin club.

EXCLUSIVE: Aislinn Clarke is set to direct Hellish Nell, the genre thriller for Studiocanal and The Picture Company.