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A man who once struggled to get in and out of his own car will take on an ironman challenge after losing half of his body weight.

James Baker from Cheltenham branded himself “the happiest fat kid you’d ever meet” but was unhappy with his weight and, into adulthood, struggled to play with his two children at 38st (241kg).

Before Covid, Mr Baker changed his lifestyle and went on a calorie-restricted diet in preparation for gastric sleeve surgery, which made his stomach the same size as an apple.

He has lost 19.5st (124kg) and will take on the 17-hour ironman race in Leeds on 27 July, which involves a 2.4 mile (3.8 km) swim and a 112-mile (180 km) bike ride, followed by a marathon.

Mr Baker stopped playing rugby into adulthood due to a shoulder injury.

“My weight spiralled and I got up to a maximum of 38st… it was horrible,” he said.

“I struggled to get in and out of my own car so I swapped cars with my partner because hers was bigger.”

Before the pandemic, Mr Baker was due to have weight loss surgery in the UK and had to go on a restricted calorie diet in order to lose 3st (19kg) in preparation.

Mr Baker continued dieting and lost 10st (64kg) after the surgery fell through.

When the pandemic hit, Mr Baker said he gained weight again, but was eventually able to have gastric sleeve surgery in Egypt.

Gastric sleeve surgery involves removing 80% of the stomach so it feels full sooner and less food is then needed to be eaten.

“It was a tool to help me get to a place where I can manage my exercise and keep on top of nutrition,” he said.

“Even this week, we’ve been to Alton Towers which is something I never would have done before because I just wouldn’t have fitted in the rides.”

After running triathlons, Mr Baker is looking forward to taking part in the Leeds ironman event this month, although he said the bike ride and marathon will be hilly.

“I’ve been training for it for a while now,” he said.

“My family are coming with me to support, it’s going to be a good day.”

On a scorching hot weekend in June, Leanne Fish prepared to dance the evening away at Scarborough Open Air Theatre.

The 39-year-old, from Hull, was a regular at the venue and this time had booked to see electronic duo Basement Jaxx.

With temperatures set to reach 25 degrees, the theatre posted to Instagram, reminding concert goers to pack sunglasses and sun cream.

Leanne arrived on 21 June, armed with her factor 30 – only to be asked to hand it over by security staff.

“Being fair-skinned and previously being diagnosed with cancer, I take things like that a little bit more seriously,” Leanne said.

“I always take my sun cream everywhere anyway.”

Once at the venue, security did the usual routine of checking bags, but stopped Leanne when they found her sun cream.

“He said ‘oh you can’t take it in’ and I replied, ‘well why can’t I take it in?’,” Leanne said.

“He told me it’s not allowed, it’s on the prohibited items list.

“He took it off me, I wasn’t allowed to go in with it.”

Upset by the situation, Leanne messaged her dad, Steve Fish, once she got inside.

“I was straight on the phone to Scarborough Open Air Theatre and the lady on the phone said it was down to the security,” he said.

“I was annoyed about it on the day because the sun cream just goes in a bin apparently, so it’s just a waste of money.”

Steve believed the sun cream could have been mistaken for a spray or aerosol and that was the reason for its removal.

“The security guys maybe need a little bit more training to identify what is and what isn’t a spray,” he added.

A spokesperson for Scarborough Open Air Theatre confirmed sun cream was not on the prohibited items list.

They added all security teams had been “thoroughly briefed” on what was and what was not a prohibited item and they were looking into Leanne’s complaint.

Leanne is due to return to the venue in August for a Will Smith concert, but said she was worried the same thing would happen again.

“I’ll be in the seated section this time, so I’ll be sat in the sunny area of the arena,” she said.

“If the sun’s out and it’s warm, I’m going to need sun cream.

“When they specifically put out a safety message, you go through the gate and they take it off you, it’s ridiculous.”

The venue said the management team would speak to Leanne about her experience and “ensure her next visit to Scarborough OAT is a pleasurable one for both her and her family”.

“Just to reiterate, sun cream is not a prohibited item at the venue and Leanne should 100% bring this with her to the concert she is attending in August,” a spokesperson said.

There are calls for a new approach to St Pauls Carnival after this year’s event was deliberately scaled down.

The carnival’s organisers said they “reflected on finances” and as such there was no big parade but instead a series of smaller events were held to celebrate Bristol’s African and Caribbean communities.

However, a spontaneous street party evolved on the evening of 5 July and the area was filled with thousands of carnival-goers.

Richardo Sharry, the carnival director, told BBC Bristol’s Joe Sims the original event had to be scaled down due to a lack of money for appropriate safety measures, which were not considered at the “pop-up” event.

He said: “I saw some of the young people climbing up on the scaffolding [at the pop-up event] and part of me is like, that’s great, but what if someone falls off? Who pays for the injury and public liability insurance?

“It’s about getting that balance between making sure that the community can still have that grassroots event, but we as a city take ownership of making sure people are safe when they come.”

The theme of this year’s event was “Roots of Resilience” to commemorate the passing of The Race Relations Act 1965.

The Act was introduced two years after the Bristol Bus Boycott and outlawed discrimination in public places.

Many people who attended the “pop-up” carnival told BBC Bristol’s Primrose Granville this year’s festival had more of a community focus.

Kareem Burton, 30, said: “It felt like a more community thing. It felt less commercialised – felt less like a money making thing.

“It was just people coming together as a community.”

After the event, volunteers arrived early in the morning to clean up the streets.

Mr Burton, who is a filmmaker, added: “Our ancestors brought this carnival to this city.

“This carnival shouldn’t be dictated by this and that. It’s our community event – we were there, we looked after the community and we cleaned up after the community.”

The carnival director said the clean-up was a “testament to the spirit of the carnival”.

He said: “Back in the day it was volunteers that would come out, pop up, clean up, a week before pull together all of those different aspects of it.

“Given we were celebrating the 60th anniversary, the fact that the community did reflect on the ancestral legacy of the carnival – that really does epitomise what we’re trying to do at St Pauls.”

As Oasis return to sell-out stadium gigs and slip dresses with platform shoes are everywhere, it is clear to see resurgence of 90s.

And auctioneer Martin Hughes, a music specialist at Wessex Auction Rooms in Wiltshire, said this has made vinyl from that decade also rise in price.

Mr Hughes said albums from the 90s are “the mot popular with buyers right now”, driven by a surge in nostalgia for the decade, he said.

“The likelihood of finding a Beatles record worth more than £10 is pretty slim these days. You’re better off looking for anything released from 1993 onward, even Gloria Estefan, or The Beautiful South – their Greatest Hits album is worth £150,” he added.

Speaking to BBC Radio Bristol’s John Darvall, Mr Hughes said as well as 90s albums, he has also found gems in unusual places.

“I was searching through a pile of records sent in, and found an album by an obscure Bristol band called Folkal Point.

“You would definitely walk past it but it’s a £1,200 album because it sold no copies at the time.

“If you’re a folk collector, you start to go after these records that nobody else has got because you like to show them off to your friends,” he said.

Age doesn’t necessarily equal value, or even having things signed.

“I get unbelievable amounts of emails from people who have signed Beatles albums but so many of them were signed by managers so there aren’t that many that are genuine,” Mr Hughes said.

“The better the condition the more valuable it will be, but never write off something that isn’t great condition.

“In some genres like reggae and punk, which are very collectable genres, it’s so rare you’ll find them in lovely condition.

“I sold two warped demo discs by The Who, they were unplayable and they made £80 each, just because someone wanted to own them.

“The hottest thing right now is the 90s. I’m 43 so it’s my generation, it’s the nostalgia buying that drives so many areas of collectables.

“Oasis as an obvious example, forgetting that they got back together.

“They sold tons of records, but nobody was buying the vinyl back then, so unless you were a mega fan you’d get the CDs.

“The original pressings of their 90s material for example, their first two albums in decent condition are going to be north of £100 each.”