vladimir putin is sworn in as russian president for the fourth time. he pledges to improve everyday life for russians and protect national sovereignty. it's official, today's the warmest early may bank holiday on record. borisjohnson goes to washington in an attempt to persuade donald trump to keep the iran nuclear deal. and improving the health of local communities, a call for urgent action. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. vladimir putin has been sworn in as the president of russia for the fourth time. during an ornate ceremony at the kremlin, he described it as his life's aim to do all he could for russia,

both now and in the future. today's inauguration extends his almost two—decade rule by another six years. our moscow correspondent sarah rainsford was watching. from his work desk to his inauguration. blood amir putin chose to send a that they's ceremony is simply —— vladimir putin chose to send the message that today's ceremony is simplya message that today's ceremony is simply a continuation of his rule. there was a brand—new limousine carrying him across the cobblestones of the kremlin and then came the p°mp of the kremlin and then came the pomp and the ceremony. it is the fourth time he has strode this path through the gilded hall where russian czars were once crowned. he is now the longest ruler of modern russia since josef is now the longest ruler of modern russia sincejosef stalin. once again he pledged to be a loyal servant of his people after an

election which delivered him his eager to mandate yet. translation: thank you for the sincere support i received from the citizens of russia at the presidential election of russia. i view it as a huge moral backing. it gives us hope that russia will continue to boost its power while its people live better lives. but these were the scenes leading up to the grand ceremony. anti—putin protests this weekend across russia. not huge crowds that young and determined and demanding change. they were met by riot police as they chanted, russia will be free. despite the protests, vladimir putin still commands strong support here. he has achieved that by presenting himself as a saviour of this country, the man who has raised russia from its knees and made it strong again, and that message is very popular here. but a resurgent russia is a major

challenge for the west. whether in syria where russia's military support has kept present assad in power, or in the us where it's accused of interfering with the elections. it's also the case of the skripals, an ex—russian spy and his daughter poisoned in salisbury with a nerve agent developed in russia. russia insists it knows nothing. and as resident putin takes office again, there are no signs that this competition with the west will end and no pressure from the russian people either for and no pressure from the russian people eitherfor mr and no pressure from the russian people either for mr putin to alter his political course. live to sarah in moscow now. in recent weeks and months, we have heard much about russia on the international stage but president putin talking about domestic issues today, particularly the economy? yes, i think it's interesting, though whether a clear focus in this speech on the economy and a promise

that he will raise the prosperity of his people, he said it was the meaning of his life, it is a significant. he talked about increasing income and health care and education, making improvements there and he used a word breakthrough, which he has begun to use quite a lot recently, a russian greatly forward which he appears to be —— great leap forward which he appears to be promising. he is doing that at the same time as he continues a policy of confrontation with the west. if sanctions increase, the impact on the economy here will be significant, and mr putin might find it hard to follow through on those promises. for the moment, he seems to be confident in his position and he seems to have the support of most russians for his policies as we have seen today with that very flamboyant ceremony in the kremlin. in terms of concrete changes, we have seen one key step today, mr putin has nominated dmitry

medvedev, the current prime minister, to remain as his nominee for prime minister in the future. as mr putin is settling back into his seatin mr putin is settling back into his seat in the kremlin, it looks like very little else here is set to change. the metropolitan police says there will be additional patrols in london today after four separate shootings over the bank holiday weekend. in the latest incident, two boys aged 12 and 15 were injured after being shot in wealdstone in harrow. our home affairs correspondent danny shaw is at south harrow police station. police have described this latest attack in the area as callous, reckless and brazen, a senseless attack is how it is described, the shooters showed and after this regard to the well—being of others.

yesterday lunchtime, a 15—year—old boy was approached by two people, one of them armed with a shot gun. he was shot in the head and suffered injuries, he is now in hospital. the injuries, he is now in hospital. the injuries were caused by shotgun pellets which, when fired at close range, can be fatal. what also happened was a 13—year—old boy was injured who is being described as an innocent bystander in all this, he was walking along the street with his parents, he was treated in hospital and has since been discharged. there is thought there could be third victim of the attack and had not come forward to police who may have been injured in his arm. one man was arrested yesterday, 39a arm. one man was arrested yesterday, 39 a —year—old, has been released under investigation. this is the latest in a series of violent incidents which included the fatal shooting of rhyhiem barton in south london. the early may bank holiday temperature record has been broken. parts of the country

reached 24.1 degrees, beating the previous record of 23.6 degrees celsius. it could still reach a record high for the the hottest bank holiday weekend. this was london's regents park this morning, sunseekers arriving early to soak up the weather. and in bognor regis people have been flocking to the beach. our correspondent frankie mccamley is live in southend. yes, as you can see, people behind me are already out swimming. they have been here since the early hours of this morning and if we go along the beach, we can see it is absolutely packed. he pulled eating ice cream, building sand castles. the may bank holiday monday record was broken at 11am the may bank holiday monday record was broken at ”am this morning. just before iiam, was broken at ”am this morning. just before "am, in east sussex, when temperatures past 2a degrees. the original record was back in

1999, 20 3.6 degrees. —— 23.6 degrees. one family is enjoying the sunshine, how you finding it? brilliant, at long last we have got summer. very, very good, we love coming down here. you come down here all year round or is itjust the sun is out? we are down here all year round, son, snow, everyone laughs at us round, son, snow, everyone laughs at us because we round, son, snow, everyone laughs at us because we are round, son, snow, everyone laughs at us because we are here when it is pouring with rain or snow. true british weather usually extract what are you up to today, what's your favourite thing about the beach?|j would favourite thing about the beach?” would say running out to the sea and doing the golf at adventure island. and you love being here, what is your favourite thing to do, you have your favourite thing to do, you have yoursumming your favourite thing to do, you have your summing costume your favourite thing to do, you have yoursumming costume on? your favourite thing to do, you have your summing costume on? the waterfalls over there is really fun. i'm going on the beach in the summer. thank you to you. they are enjoying the sunshine along with eve ryo ne enjoying the sunshine along with everyone else. if you are heading

out the advice is to drink lots of water, where a hat and keep your sunscreen on. manchester united have thanked people for the outpouring of support for the club's former manager sir alex ferguson, who underwent emergency surgery on saturday for a brain haemorrhage. the club has given no further update on sir alex's condition beyond saying the procedure had gone well, but a period of intensive care was needed to optimise his recovery. messages of support from current and former players, as well as rival managers and fans, have been left all weekend for the 76—year—old. manchester united have thanked people for the outpouring of support the foreign secretary, borisjohnson, has warned the united states that it would be a mistake to abandon the international nuclear deal with iran. president trump is due to announce his decision at the weekend. mrjohnson is in washington for meetings with white house officials. our correspondent barbara plett usher is in washington for us now. we know that president trump is not

happy about this deal, can boris johnson persuade him? he's certainly going to try, he's on a bit of a media blitz, he has written an article in the new york times, he has done some of the morning shows and the most important one is coming up, fox and friends because that is the cable show that mr trump watches and he is not going to be meeting the president so this is a chance for borisjohnson to get his message directly. he will be delivering the message in person to the vice president, the secretary of state and the national security adviser. that is, yes, donald trump think the iran nuclear deal is not tough enough but it has prevented iran from getting nuclear weapons and there is no better way of doing that so far so let's keep the deal and we can address the president's concerned in other ways. that is the message that the french and german leaders came to washington with recently, i don't think there will bea recently, i don't think there will be a breakthrough but i think they feel they have to keep trying because they think it is important for the security of the middle east

and for europe. more than 20 homes have been totally destroyed and hundreds more are in danger after a volcano erupted in hawaii. 1,700 people have been evacuated from the largest island as a result of the activity from the kilauea volcano. some people have been allowed to return temporarily but only to collect their pets. a new clinical service has been developed by an nhs laboratory in birmingham to help in the battle against new drugs on britain's streets. psychoa ctive su bsta nces are increasingly leading to patients attending emergency departments. in some cases they've been linked to deaths. the new clinical service, which will enable much faster identification of particular drugs that have been taken, is the first of its kind and will be available across the uk from this week. from birmingham, sima kotecha reports. men under the influence of black mamba. a psychoactive drug, it mimics the effect of cannabis but users say it's stronger and can cause hallucinations, vomiting and trigger

a zombie—like state. i've been addicted to drugs for the past 38, a0 years. i was a heroine and crack cocaine addict and then all of a sudden, black mamba's hit the streets. i've been addicted to mamba now for two and a half years. i have to wake up to £30 worth of it every day otherwise i'm violently, violently sick. its use is particularly widespread among the homeless because it's cheap and easy to get. how does it make you feel? just sedated. blocks all the pain out from my life. and that's why you take it? yeah. we have got a spliff come in with a patient... the surge in psychoactive drugs has led to scientists in birmingham creating a method of testing where they can quickly and cheaply establish what new chemicals somebody has taken. many labs around the country are still using what we call immunoassay techniques, test—tube techniques to look for classic drugs. they're just not looking for these

new drugs because they haven't got the technology. we're taking samples in from all over the country, from the channel islands up to the north of scotland, to actually show these new substances are present. and as of this week, this test will be available to nhs hospitals around the country. this machine is able to detect more than 1000 substances in a matter of minutes. what happens is a sample is taken from a patient or from a substance and put in here. the molecules are then fired to the top, brought back down again and in that time of flight, the scientist is able to tell exactly what chemical that person has taken. but critics question why it's taken so long for a service like this when psychoactive substances have been readily available for years. paramedics here say they've seen ten people every day this year who've been taken ill after using these drugs. it is still a problem,

it's still a problem in the city centre and we're grateful for any help we receive from any other services to try and identify what's going on and provide the treatment as best we can. new substances hit the street all the time. the worry is whether this test can keep up with spotting them. the nhs could be bankrupted by people's lifestyle choices according to a senior government advisor. the senior medical advisor to nhs england says urgent action is needed especially in poorer communities where ill health and early deaths are linked to a poor diet, high rates of smoking and not enough exercise. for the past 18 months our health correspondent dominic hughes has been following efforts to improve health in one such town, the formerfishing port of fleetwood in lancashire. this is the generation that has seen their town of fleetwood undergo dramatic changes.

from a prosperous fishing port to a community plagued by illness and premature death. one step forward. but now the youngest generation is being offered the prospect of a healthierfuture. from getting active... to thinking about what they eat. they're taking control of their destiny. wouldn't be sat here now, i'd probably be in a coffin, dead. when we first met tom in 2016, he was playing football as part of his recovery from drug addiction. a year and a half later, he is doing well. now coaching others and in some ways, making amends for his behaviour in the past. the only thing i wanted to do was cause chaos and destruction. and now i'm doing something active that i like, and it's also making a great difference. tom has turned his life around. and on fleetwood's westview estate, local volunteers are trying to make similar changes across an entire community.

a lot of people in fleetwood, they've become isolated. from 15 upwards, there's nothing for that age. you've done all your schooling, you've got your qualifications, and at the end of it, there's nothing. from 15 upwards, there's nothing for that age. do you feel now more or less optimistic than 18 months ago? definitely more. more people are joining. we're trying to get people the support and confidence, bring them together and get them to go out and look out and say, we live in fleetwood, we're proud of fleetwood, but there's a world out there and we've got to try and get the best of it. what happens in fleetwood matters because lifestyle choices, smoking, drinking, poor diet and not enough exercise, mean people are dying early, notjust here but right across the uk. and yet over the past 18 months, we've seen lots of different projects that are all trying to break that cycle of ill—health that is claiming lives.

and senior nhs figures say something has to change because otherwise the health service itself could be overwhelmed. what can we do so that people will stay fit, well and healthy, into their older years? encouraging positive lifestyle changes is fast becoming an nhs priority. the problem is, if we don't make those changes, we'll be in the situation of saying, we just don't have enough money to look after as many people as we would choose to, as doctors would choose to, and could end up with the equivalent of bankrupting the nhs. this is a process that has only just begun. but the prize is that these young people grow up in a town that is healthier and happier. and time, everyone, well done. there's more throughout the afternoon on the bbc news channel, we are back with the evening news at 6.30pm. now on bbc one it's time for the news where you are. goodbye.

hello, you are watching bbc news. the world championship snooker final resumes at 2pm, it is shaping up to bea resumes at 2pm, it is shaping up to be a classic. mark williams leads john higgins 10—7. williams rattled off the final three frames last night. whoever wins will be the oldest champion for over a0 yea rs, be the oldest champion for over a0 years, it is the first to 18. these are live pictures from the crucible theatre. such an intimate venue. venue. capacity is less than 1000. williams

could win it this afternoon, very unlikely. they resume at 2pm. we saw over the weekend how the football world has been united, thousands of messages sent to sir alex ferguson who remains in intensive care. ryan giggs has described his old boss as a fighter and says that's what makes me think he will make a recovery. the 76—year—old underwent surgery on saturday. there has been no update on his condition. we have heard from current player philjones. absolutely devastated. he brought me to the club and gave me that opportunity to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world. he took me under his wing like a father. it is shocking and sad. i know he has that fight in him and hopefully he will recover well. he has his family

and friends around him with support from staff and players and around the world. when something like that does happen, it is nice of the football world shows support. we are rooting for him. the organisers of the tall order yorkshire are interested in hosting the full world dear sagna. —— vuelta d'espagna. talks have been going on for many months, with the organisers. that is all the sports now, much on the bbc sport website including the snookerfinal the bbc sport website including the snooker final which starts in one hour. back to bbc news. thank you. the number of children living in poverty, even when their parents are working, has gone up by a million in less than a decade, that's according to new research. the tuc estimates that

3.1 million youngsters are in households living below the breadline. the government disputes the findings. to discuss this further, i'm joined in the studio by kate bell who's head of economics at the tuc. thank you forjoining us. what does it mean in terms of the everyday lives of children who are now as you say living in poverty? these figures make for grim reading. this is about making choices, between things like whether to turn the heating up, whether to buy healthy food, whether they can afford school trips. the extra stress that comes with making those difficult choices. what do you put this down to? would you blame government policy? they would say they dispute this because they talk about absolute and relative poverty. there is a difference. we are

looking at poverty compared to living costs. the government like to use living costs from 2010 and how they compare. there is a real message which shows government policy is having a significant impact. we found 600,000 children in our research had been pushed into poverty, whether it is pay cuts in the public sector, or cuts to benefits. you are pointing out that these are not necessarily people who are just surviving on benefits but children who are in working families? this research focus —— focuses on children where one parent is working. we are seeing for far too many families even with a job or two jobs, it is not enough to meet a reasonable weekly budget. are there particular areas in the uk

which are worse hit or is this to do with public sector pay being held down? there has been a pay freeze. poverty in working households has gone up around the country. it has shot up in the east midlands in particular. the public sector pay cuts and benefit cuts are affecting everyone, on top of years of week wage growth. the government would say they have taken many the government would say they have ta ken many working the government would say they have taken many working people out of tax altogether, they have raised the personal allowance, interest rates have been low for those with a mortgage. they would say they are taking steps to help people. these figures look at the impact of government policy in the round and taken those government policy in the round and ta ken those changes government policy in the round and taken those changes into account. there has been a huge impact in the choices the government has made,

cuts to public sector pay, and benefits, are having an impact. and those in the private sector? there isa those in the private sector? there is a difference. we have seen rubbish wage growth across the economy, our average wage is still below the 2008 level, with benefit cuts hitting everyone, and the rise of insecure work particularly in the private sector, zero—hours contracts which make it difficult to make ends meet even if you are in work. employment has been going up, that must be helping families? that is what we would hope for when we have thisjob is miracle you want what we would hope for when we have this job is miracle you want work to provide a stable route out of poverty. these figures are telling us poverty. these figures are telling us thejob is miracle hasn't been enough. thank you very much forjoining us this afternoon. the latest eruption from the kilauea volcano on hawaii's largest island

has now destroyed 26 homes and is threatening hundreds more. some residents have been allowed to make quick visits home to rescue their pets, but the local authorities say it is too dangerous for them to stay. bill hayton reports. the best way to make sense of this eruption is from the air. a line of flame and smoke stretches across four kilometres of this corner of hawaii's big island. ten separate fissures have torn open this neighbourhood. in a few places, lava flows slowly across the land, steadily swallowing everything in its path. these houses are a0 kilometres from kilauea's crater, the ground literally opened up beneath them. when i evacuated on thursday, i pretty much said goodbye, because i have lived here a long time and i have seen what the lava does. so i think it was just most important for everybody just to be realistic. around 2,000 people have now left their homes, knowing they may not return for quite some time.

some fled so quickly they couldn't even take their pets. knowing that these pets are still in cages, and in fences, or on chains, without food. it makes my heart sore a little bit. so that's one of the reasons why we went in, also to feed some of the pets that are in there right now. it'sjust sad. some of the fissures continue to spit lava, along with clouds of sulphur dioxide and other potentially deadly gases. scientists expect more cracks to open up, but they can't predict where. so far, no one has been seriously hurt, but dozens of families have lost their homes, and hundreds more don't know whether they will have a home to return to. bill hayton, bbc news. with temperatures soaring, you may tempted to indulge in an ice cream or two, but if your favourite flavour

is vanilla, the price you pay for it could be about to rise. bad weather in madagascar, the world's top producer, has affected the harvest and is pushing up prices. our business reporter maryam moshiri has been to see how businesses are coping. cookie dough, chocolate brownie, creme brulee, whatever your favourite flavour, vanilla, the key ingredient for sweet treats is now, after saffron, the second most expensive spice in the world. i have got some flavours for us to try. i've got honeycomb and original vanilla and a rum and raisin. snugburys ice cream is run by three sisters in cheshire. the family's been churning ice cream for 30 years, but the cost of this key ingredient is starting to bite. yes, it has gone up. we decided to buy it forward and buy a year's worth. we had to make a decision

as to whether we were going to absorb the costs, which we did in the end. this summer, we have to crunch the figures and just see how it will work out. the sisters insist they'll stick with the real thing, but other ice cream businesses are taking vanilla off the menu. so why has vanilla become such a valuable commodity? here at these rhs gardens, vanilla is grown in this glasshouse, but 75% grows in madagascar. vanilla is currently around $600 per kilo. the main reason for this is that there was a cyclone in madagascar last march which damaged a lot of the plantations and despite hopes that the price would have eased by now it's still on the high side, around those levels, and, in fact, this means it is higher

than the price of silver. a highly prized and highly priced ingredient, as a result, only 1% of the flavouring in food comes from actual vanilla plants like these ones. and even though you might find it in sweet scented perfumes or candles, cakes, or even cocktails, do beware, because cheaper alternatives can be extracted from wood and even petrol. it will take untiljune to find out how this year's vanilla harvest fares. it will take untiljune to find out how this vanilla harvest this year will fare. the team at snugburys say they aren't passing on the cost to customers yet. they say the taste is worth it, whatever the price. maryam moshiri, bbc news. time for a look at the weather with tomasz. how often does this happen, the weather gets it right in time for the bank holiday weekend. it is a record breaker, the hottest early may

bank holiday weekend, and a balmy evening as well. this is what it looks like in the afternoon, high 20s in the south—east, low 20s further north. the weather is changing, cooling off a little bit through the night across western areas. the atlantic winds set in, and we have rain on the way for belfast, and behind this weather front is where the fresh atlantic air is rushing in. still a mild night, temperatures around ten degrees. tomorrow, across many parts of eastern areas, lots of sunshine around, but look at the rain spilling into north—western parts of the country. tomorrow is still pretty hot across the south—east, in the high 20s, but much fresher elsewhere. this is bbc news — our latest headlines. extra police are out in parts of london — after separate shootings in just 2a hours which left one teenager dead and three others injured. vladimir putin is sworn

in for a fourth term as president of russia — promising to improve the lives of the russian people. it marks 18 years in power. and today is the hottest may day bank holiday since the long weekend was introduced in 1978. the met office says temperatures reached 2a.2 degree celsius in east sussex and could rise as high as 28 degrees. president trump is being warned by the foreign secretary, borisjohnson, that pulling out of the iran nuclear deal could lead to a middle east arms race. now on bbc news, it's time for the travel show. this week on the travel show, i'm in windsor. in our royal special, we'll give you our guide to get the best out of the most talked—about wedding this year. on may19

on may 19 these streets are going to be around. english barley to represent harry, west coast hopes to represent harry, west coast hopes to represent meghan. and wejump on the qe2 as she finally reopens as a floating hotel in dubai. in a couple of weeks' time, on may 19th, prince harry and meghan markle will get married in st george's chapel at windsor castle. windsor has a long history with the royals. its castle is one of the queen's favourite weekend retreats and prince harry was educated at nearby eton college. am going to visit a local brewery

which is great because i'm feeling thirsty. it never ceases to amaze me how much goes on when you come into a brewery. we are combining english barley to represent harry, and west coast hops to represent meghan. that's lovely. it's quite fruity really.” to represent meghan. that's lovely. it's quite fruity really. i think it's just like jelly babies, isn't it? that's right, it is incongruous with how it looks. take a that hop. it isa with how it looks. take a that hop. it is a co—owner of the hop. if i put it in my hand and just rub it

with my fingers... that smells beautiful. no english hops are lovely but you can't get these flavours from english hops. to get the fruity aroma you'll have to use hops with parts of the world with more intense sunlight. —— from parts of the world with more intense sunlight. here's to harry and meghan. it's lovely. windsor is only a short train ride from london and it is reckoned around 100,000 well—wishers will show up here to see the procession. on may the 19th, these streets are going to be absolutely rammed. it's going to be heaving, i'm telling you, and there are even reports that some hotels are charging up to £10,000

for a single suite overlooking the procession. so if crowded spaces are not your thing, this place is not going to be your cup of tea on the big day. there are other ways to experience the occasion outside of windsor. let's head over to the capital, where a number of outdoor screenings and street parties are planned. now, every self—respecting tourist leaves london with a royal face mask or a tea towel, but how do you find a future collector's item? every thursday, this place, old spitalfields market, holds its weekly antique fair. now, i'm a bit of a novice at this but let's see what i can dig up. hello! have a look at this — it's a proper mug with harry and meghan on the front,

in the year they're getting married. it's going to be worth a fortune in a few years. look at it, it's beautiful. time to get it evaluated by a real antiques expert. so, mark, i've been looking around this market and this is what i've found — this rather lovely, cute little piece. what do you think? i'm going to chuck it right back at you and say, "what do you think of it? why did you buy it?" how very dare you! it's so obvious why i bought it! it's got the couple of the moment, probably the most famous couple in the world. how can you resist it? there's nothing wrong with it. what we're looking at is mass—produced, moulded factory or cast factory produced piece with a transfer print over the top. it's purely what it is. it is a mug to celebrate an occasion for which we'll all come together, a little ray of sunshine in our world of doom, gloom, dictators and death, i suppose. laughter. are you mugging me off? so as a royal souvenir hunter, what would you look for? what are your tips?

if you're looking something that might go up in value or simply hold its value, quality, quality, quality, limited editions and buy something with visual appeal. if you like it, it's highly likely there'll be plenty of people out there who do too. i'm going to take your mug and i'm going to raise you with my lidded pot. turning it over, we can see on the base of it it's by a country called moorcroft, who are one of the great british ceramic companies. can you see its numberjust there? 39/100. yeah. that shows only 100 of these will ever be made, of which this is 39. a story is always great. so the scallop shells were initially used by the spencer family, and, of course, lady diana spencer married prince charles. since then her sons, william and harry, have adopted the scallop shell, the spencer family emblem, or one of them, in their coats of arms, which of course meghan is marrying into. you've got fabulous heritage in moorcroft and a fantastic

connection with harry and the royal family. thank you, and enjoy your moorcroft funny thing! after all that hunting around, you'll probably be tired and you'll need to find somewhere to bed down for the night. now, if a palace is out of your price range, i know somewhere else that will give you a right royal welcome. we're in wembley, where the fa cup final will be held on the same day as the wedding. it's more famous for its national football stadium than its 5—star accommodation. hello, margaret! hello! nice to see you! welcome to heritage house. oh, thank you! margaret is one of the uk's biggest collectors of royal memorabilia and, wouldn't you know it, she's letting out rooms during the wedding weekend. margaret, looking around, i don't know where to start, i've never seen so much

memorabilia in my life. i know, it is a lot. i think it's around the 10,000 mark, but of course when you have more royal babies, you have more royal memorabilia. well, i've been collecting for almost a0 years. it seemed a shame not to share it, because if people like the royal family, which obviously they do if they come here, i like to share it with them. that's when you decided to turn this into a b&b? yes, yes. for william and kate's wedding, i had quite a lot of american people. a chap came in and he stood here with his mouth open and he didn't say a word. i mean, harry looks so much in love and we so want things to go well for harry. he was that little boy walking behind his mother's coffin. we want life to be good for him. he wants a family, we want that for him. and so much more memorabilia to collect. yes, yeah, i know, i know!

i'll be out on the streets soon! honestly, it's that bad now! and after all that excitement, you can retire to your quarters. there's nothing like a royal wedding to bring a nation together, and it feels like the whole world is really looking forward to the big day, the 19th of may, and it's all because of this lovely couple. night, night, harry. night, night, meghan. if you are planning on heading to the uk any time soon this is our guide to all the things you could be doing when you are here. liverpool biennial is a celebration of contemporary art that takes place every two years across the city in public spaces, galleries and museums. the festival commissions international artists to make and present work in the context of liverpool. running betweenjuly 1a and october 28, this one marks 20

yea rs of and october 28, this one marks 20 years of presenting international art in the city and region. when it comes to quintessentially english sporting events and does not get more spectacular than the royal henley regatta. every first weekend ofjuly, a mixture of serious rowers, socialites and sun worshippers gather on the banks of the thames in the berkshire town of henley for five days of racing. the festival which attracts international rowing crews is one of the highlights of the british summer social calendar. and finally 2018 is the a0th anniversary of europe's largest hot air balloon event which sees over 150 hot air balloons take to the skies. you could also enjoy helicopters and balloon rides,

family entertainments and acoustic and fairground rides. still to come on the show... how to queue at the very british way. and we climb on board the qe2 as she finally opens asa board the qe2 as she finally opens as a floating hotel in dubai. there was never a point when herfuture was never a point when herfuture was going to be the scrap yard. the travel show your essential guide to wherever you are going. if you are coming to britain you had

better get used to the very british art of killing. queueing, we are number one, two, gin and tonic and three, wimbledon. think the british have kind of an obsession with queueing.”