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A WOMAN has revealed a clever Pringles trick that stops annoying reclining passengers.

When someone puts their seat back on a flight, regardless of whether it’s long-haul or short, it can be frustrating.

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Now, one woman has taken to TikTok to share her antidote.

In the video @clareduggan1982 has her foldable tray laid out.

A Pringle tube stands on the tray in-between the seat and works as a stopper.

If the person in front attempted to recline, the Pringle tube would ultimately prevent this.

Thousands of fans have jumped to the comment section to state their view.

One person said: “Clever! But they are entitled to put seat back.”

While a second commented: “This is ridiculous and quite frankly, you should be banned from flying.”

A third person pointed out an elephant in the room and said: “The tray moves with the seat.”

This sparked its own debate.

One person replied to the comment with: “Doesn’t on a lot of planes. I once got my tablet stuck when someone reclined.”

And another person added: “They don’t otherwise your drink or food falls on your lap while reclining.”

The debate as to recline or not to recline is generally an ongoing one.

In June 2024, Skyscanner posted to Facebook and asked: “To Recline or not to recline? That is the question!”

The post racked up dozens of comments.

One passengers said: “Yes of course. But not when meals are being served.”

Whereas another said: “In my opinion on everyday holiday flights seat back should not be adjustable.

“I am of average height but on a number of flights I have experienced very little knee movement between my seat and the seat in front.

“If the passenger in front had reclined their seat back it would have been unbearable.”

While a third said: “Have the decency to ask the person behind first, before making any move.”

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A TEENAGER has tragically become the second killed in Storm Eowyn after 100mph winds caused a tree to fall on his car.

The 19-year-old’s vehicle was struck in Mauchline, East Ayrshire.

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The incident happened prior to a red weather warning coming into force in Scotland due to the approaching Storm Eowyn. 

It’s the second death related to the storm after 20-year-old Kacper Dudek died in County Donegal, Ireland, on Friday morning when a tree fell on his car.

Met Office weather warnings are in place across the nation as Storm Herminia arrives.

The forecasters have warned of widespread damage following the aftermath of Storm Eowyn.

SOPHIE Wessex has rightfully climbed the royal ranks, becoming a ‘secret weapon’ for the family.

And so it may not come as a surprise that Prince William, 42, has ‘major plans’ for The Duchess of Edinburgh, who recently turned 60, when he ascends the throne. 

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Sophie has become one of the most popular working royals who backs difficult causes which previously received very little global attention.

Not only does she have a close bond with the likes of King Charles, 76, Queen Camilla, 77, and The Princess of Wales, 43, but her wide recognition as a ‘secret weapon’ for the Firm has led experts to say she will have a coveted role when Prince William’s time on the throne arrives.

Reports that William will give his aunt a key role were provoked after a royal insider spoke to The Sunday Times and said: “They [the Waleses and the Edinburghs] get on very well.” 

The source then added that they believe that the Prince of Wales will be “eager for his aunt and uncle to play a more prominent role in public life”.

Not only this, but speaking to OK!, former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond said: “By any measure, Sophie has proved herself to be a major asset to the royal family, and William would be foolish to ignore the value she brings.”

Whilst William isn’t afraid to shy away from challenging subjects like mental health and male suicide rates, Sophie is eager to focus on the difficult subjects of the eradication of sexual violence in conflict areas, female genital mutilation and gender equality.

Praising Sophie further, Jennie added: “She is dignified and elegant, and yet still the same Sophie she was when she met Edward: unpretentious, generous and with a natural charm.

“She has worked below the radar for many years, neither expecting nor receiving the publicity she deserves. 

“Recently though, with the slimmed down royal family, the public have come to recognise how important the Duchess is to the work of the monarchy.”

One of the reasons behind Sophie’s impressive rise is the role she has assumed as a talented diplomat who is frequently sent abroad to carry out politically sensitive and high-profile trips to war-torn or otherwise troubled areas of the world.

She has been on tours to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Baghdad, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Sudan and, more recently, Ukraine.

Jennie recognised: “The Government have deployed her to use the monarchy’s soft power in a number of very delicate situations.

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“She is always well prepared and confident to take on more responsibilities. And she has taken on some highly sensitive issues in some of the most dangerous parts of the world.

“At just sixty, she is a relatively young member of the senior royals…so I am sure there will be a major role for her in the future, and King William will be leaning heavily on both Sophie and Edward to support the monarchy in all it does in the future.”

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh's 'humble' start in life

UNLIKE Prince Edward, Sophie comes from humble beginnings.

The daughter of a tyre salesman and a secretary, she was working in PR at Capital Radio when they met in 1987.

Edward was dating her friend at the time, but six years later they got together after a charity event.

Sophie continued to work for a few years after they got married before finally becoming a full-time royal in 2002.

“I remember our first meeting many years ago when she was just becoming known as Edward’s girlfriend,” former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond said. 

“I was lunching at The Ritz with one of the Queen Mother’s ladies in waiting when I saw Sophie at a nearby table. I seized the moment and introduced myself which was probably very annoying for her, but she was charm personified, and we chatted for a few minutes.

“And I really don’t think she has changed much since then.

“Yes, she and Edward live in a mansion, have titles and huge privilege, but Sophie has known a life outside those cloistered palace walls and she has kept her sense of perspective. 

“For example, she has told her children that, titles or no titles – and they have chosen thus far not to use their HRH status – they should expect to have to earn a living.

“Sophie was happy for her daughter to take on a seasonal job at a garden centre for less than £7 an hour.

“And during the pandemic Sophie served as a volunteer with the Royal Voluntary Service, talking with people on the phone to help them combat the feeling of isolation – and she carried on talking with some of them after the pandemic ended. 

“She will also often travel under the radar to places like Malawi, Botswana or Ethiopia to visit projects dedicated to promoting eye health and preventing blindness, and she does this from the heart after her daughter Louise was born with a squint.

“Sophie is one of the strengths of the new monarchy – elegant, engaging and empathetic. I think people have really taken her into their hearts.”

Not only this, but in recent years, The Duchess of Edinburgh has proved herself as an engaging and empathetic senior member of the Royal Family – with many referring to her as King Charles’ ‘secret weapon’.

She’s also been seen as a ‘helping hand’ to Princess Kate after her recent cancer diagnosis.

Sophie has proved herself to be a major asset to the royal family, and William would be foolish to ignore the value she brings

Jennie Bond

When Kate stepped back from public life, Sophie was the first to take on some of her engagements.

“That sort of pragmatism, a genuine desire to help and support someone who has been knocked off kilter, is pure Sophie,” says a senior royal source. 

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“It really helped William and Kate, obviously in a practical way, but also knowing Sophie could always be relied upon to give her support whenever it was needed.”

And that support was extended to the Wales’s children, with ‘Aunt Sophie’ arranging picnics and play dates at Bagshot for George, 11, Charlotte, nine, and Louis, six, during the times when Kate needed to rest after her debilitating sessions of chemotherapy.

Away from the spotlight, she and Prince Edward live at Bagshot Park in Surrey with their two children, Lady Louise Windsor, 21, and James, Earl of Wessex, 17, when they are not away at university and school.

She and Edward marked their 25th wedding anniversary last year, and their love for one another was clear to see as Sophie paid tribute to him in a heartfelt speech in which she called him “the best of fathers, the most loving of husbands and still is my best friend.”

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IT was once the world’s most famous prison – now Dartmoor is an empty shell.

Murderers, serial killers, gangsters, spies – and even the president of Ireland – have done time there.

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But the jail closed last summer after a health scare and its future now hangs in the balance.

Which could mean a multi-million headache for Prince William.

The sprawling stone complex which holds 650 inmates is owned by the prince’s Duchy of Cornwall estate, and the Home Office now looks likely to cancel its lease and hand the keys back to William.

As heir to the throne, William is owner of 135,000 acres of land and property which provide him with a whopping income – accounts for 2023-4 show he trousered £23.6 million from the estate.

But Dartmoor – immortalised in the Sherlock Holmes mystery The Hound of the Baskervilles – is a whopping white elephant.

Nobody wants it.

Back in 2019, the government announced plans to close Dartmoor in 2023. It was considered old, ramshackle and colossally expensive to run.

But as jails across the country continued to be full to bursting, the decision was reversed.

However, last year high levels of radon, a radioactive gas, were discovered in the rocks surrounding the prison. Over 600 inmates were quickly shipped out to other locations.

Ironically, breaking up those same Dartmoor rocks was part of the ‘hard labour’ punishment handed down by judges up till 1948, when the practice – along with flogging – was abolished.

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No doubt the few lags and lifers who’ve been detained in the Moor at the sovereign’s pleasure would be surprised that nitpicky health rules should shut down the toughest slammer in Britain.

The Ministry of Justice signed a new 25-year lease on the prison in 2023 but will now be regretting that decision – health and safety requirements meaning that, according to one local, “it’d be cheaper to build a new jail than fix this one.”

Dartmoor was built in 1809 to house French prisoners in the Napoleonic wars. Soon they were replaced by troops captured during America’s war with Britain which kicked off in 1812.

At one stage the massive stone prison blocks, surrounded a by high circular wall, were crammed with up to 6,500 detainees. Inevitably some managed to escape.

But the terrain outside – miles and miles of exposed moorland with no shelter – meant few got away. Locals were offered a bounty of a guinea per head for every absconder they collared.

Violent convicts

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One who did get away in the 20th century was notorious gangster Frank Mitchell, known as The Mad Axeman.

With a reputation for violent robbery, Mitchell claimed there wasn’t a lock he couldn’t pick – he escaped several times from prisons and psychiatric wards.

So strong he could lift a grand piano unaided, his party trick was to pick two grown men up by the scruff of the neck – one in each hand.

In an earlier escape he’d held a couple hostage, threatening them with an axe – hence his nickname. He became known as Britain’s most violent convict.

Mitchell escaped from a Dartmoor work-party in 1966 in a plot engineered by the Kray brothers, who had him whisked away to London in a getaway car.

While the bleak winter moorland was being combed by 200 police officers, 100 Royal Marines, and an RAF helicopter, Mitchell was happily feasting on his dinner in East London.

Confined for his own safety to a Kray safe house, he became argumentative and violent. So the Krays had him shot, the Axeman taking 12 bullets before he finally died.

His body was never found.

Local retired teacher Carolyn Cullum says: “I remember when the Mad Axeman escaped. Sirens were blaring and we were all told to stay indoors and lock our doors.”

He was one of the rare ones that got away – most of the escapees would get lost or give up through cold and exposure.

Sometimes they would go and hide in the woods nearby, not realising that the authorities had placed sensors in there to detect human movement.

“The best thing to do if you were banged up in Dartmoor was – do your porridge, keep your nose clean, speak nicely to the warders and you’ll be out in no time,” one local commented.

Acid bath murderer John Haigh did time in Dartmoor before being released to kill six (he claimed nine) innocent people.

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The accountant battered to death or shot his victims, and disposed of their bodies using sulphuric acid. He then went on to forge their signatures so he could sell their possessions and collect the money.

Before slaughtering his first victim, a wealthy rent collector, Haigh experimented with field-mice and discovered that it took only 30 minutes for their bodies to dissolve.

It actually took two days for the body of William McSwan to evaporate in a 40-gallon drum – but so encouraged was he by the results that Haigh then moved on to McSwan’s parents before picking off more victims.

After his 1949 arrest, police discovered 28lb of human body fat, part of a human foot, gallstones and some false teeth outside his workshop.

Haigh’s big mistake was to believe he could not be found guilty of murder if the bodies could not be found.

Former Dartmoor inmate Jack McVitie, known as Jack The Hat, was a notorious enforcer and hitman during the reign of the Kray Brothers in the 1950s and 60s.

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But having fallen out with the twins, he made the crucial error of going round London pubs saying he was going to kill them.

Their response was to invite him to a party with the idea of shooting him as he entered the room.

Reggie would pull the trigger. But Reggie’s gun jammed, so instead he knifed McVitie in the face, chest and stomach.

“Jack got silly,” recalled his friend Joey Pyle later. “He knew he was going to get it. I can’t blame the twins for what they did – if someone goes around saying they’re going to kill you, you don’t have a lot of choice – you have to do them first.

“But Jack should never have gone the way he did. He died like a ****ing rat.”

Less lurid, but possibly the most high-profile prisoner Dartmoor ever had was Eamon de Valera, later to become President of Ireland.

The politician was a prisoner in Dartmoor for a short time before being released in 1917. He’d been a leader of the Easter Rising in 1916 and was originally sentenced to death.

But his time in Dartmoor convinced him that prison was not for him, and when he was re-arrested and sent to Lincoln jail he was determined to escape.

He did – by getting friends in Dublin to send him lock-picking materials baked in a cake. You couldn’t make it up.

But the days of the hard men of Dartmoor are long gone. Most recently the place has been designated Category C, a training and resettlement establishment only one step away from an open prison.

Now, the once-notorious Dartmoor stands empty. And unless the cash-strapped Starmer administration can find the millions to refurbish the place – this week the Prison Service stated that a decision will be taken later in the year – its 216-year run as the world’s most famous jail will be over.

And as Duke of Cornwall, Prince William will be left with a multi-million pound headache.

What do you do with a prison nobody wants?

Various ideas have been floated locally, including converting the old stone buildings into a hotel – as happened successfully in Oxford in 2006.

But that might cost William’s Duchy much more than the site is actually worth, since it’s too remote to be turned into housing and, stuck right in the middle of Dartmoor’s 50,000 acres, there are few other options left.

Mark Renders, who owns Princetown’s post office and shop, and is a local councillor and member of the Dartmoor National Park Authority says: “Closure has been hanging over us since the 1960s. Re-opening the prison will depend on whether the government will spend money on it when they review their finances later in the year.

“But it would be a tragedy to see such an iconic building closed and left to fall down.

“Princetown is the highest village in the country and we get around 30,000 visitors a year and that will have an effect on the locals if the closure is permanent.

“The Duchy are playing their cards very close to their chest so we don’t know what their plans are when the prison closes. A lot of people locally feel the Duchy is using the Radon scare as an excuse to mothball the place, and that the problem is not as bad as all that.

“We live on a huge block of granite here and though I’ve lived here for 13 years, I’ve never heard of anyone dropping dead from Radon.”

“But if the closure’s permanent, Princetown will take it on the chin.”

Maybe it’s time for William to pay his first visit – unlock a cell door, sit down with a bowl of porridge and work out what’s to be done next.

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Sometimes, the most difficult part of getting chores done is working up the motivation to get started But even if a major overhaul like spring cleaning can’t fit into your busy schedule, there are still plenty of essential to-do items you can get in less time than it takes to brew a cup of tea. In a recent video, Instagram "dad advice" influencer @DadAdviceFromBo laid out a handful of small household tasks that are as important as they are quick, with all of them taking less than five minutes and mostly using tools you probably already have on hand. Read on to see which quick chores you could get done today.

RELATED: 10 Mistakes You're Making That Keep Your House Cold, Experts Say.

​1 | Do a quick ventilation clean.

Despite the fact that they heat your home throughout the winter and keep the air flowing in some rooms, ventilation systems can be easily forgotten.

According to @DadAdviceFromBo, vacuuming out bathroom fans and wall heaters is essential. In fact, he warns that this can become a fire risk if it’s not performed every year or so.

All bathroom fan cleaning requires is turning off the breakers to the appliance, removing the covers, and cleaning.

“And on your wall heaters, just vacuum everything out—and make sure you don’t touch any of the fins because if you bend those up, sometimes that can create some sparks!” he cautions.

​2 | Tidy up the space around your refrigerator.

It’s common knowledge that you need to clean the inside of your refrigerator, but when was the last time you tidied up around it?

“I know it’s gross, but at least twice a year, you’ve got to pull your fridge out and clean underneath it and vacuum out behind it,” says @DadAdviceFromBo, adding that you can motivate yourself to “do it while you have that vacuum cleaner out” from taking care of your wall heaters and bathroom fans.

RELATED: The 2 Things You Need to Do to Keep Your Bathroom Mold-Free, Doctor Says.

​3 | Thoroughly clean your dishwasher.

Just because your dishwasher is getting your plates and utensils clean doesn’t mean it’s staying clean on its own. Just like your washing machine, the dishwasher has a piece that needs to be regularly cleaned.

“Clean [the filter] out, and then I like to wipe down the inside [of the dishwasher] with vinegar,” @DadAdviceFromBo says. “Then, run a cup of vinegar through the cycle to clean everything up.”

4 | Unclog your drains.

Let’s be honest: Using your sink shouldn’t be a race against your running water.

“If you’re like my daughter and you’ve been watching the drain in your sink go slower and slower, you need to understand it’s not going to get better all by itself,” @DadAdviceFromBo says.

To remedy the issue, he suggests buying a drain clog remover tool from the store, which usually costs $5 or less. "Thread it down your drain, and pull out whatever gunk you can!” he advises.

Feeling motivated to keep cleaning? As an honorable mention, @DadAdviceFromBo says you should also remember to swap out your fridge’s old water filter for a new one if you haven’t done so in a while.

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