Latest news with #HumbleCrumble
Daily Mirror
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
American tourist who'd never left the US comes to UK and is instantly let down
Sean Miller, a comedian from New York, is one of the participants of the new Travel Virgin Show, which takes people abroad for the first time. He touched down in London this week A 'travel virgin' who had never been out of his country before has been shocked and delighted in equal measure by the UK. Sean Millea is a 28-year-old living in New York City who had never been out of the US until earlier this week. He is in good company. By some estimates, around 23% of Americans have not traveled internationally, while a quarter of Britons have never boarded a plane or ferry to go on holiday abroad. Whether it's the cost and hassle of sorting out a passport (close to 50% of Americans don't have one currently, according to the Apollo Academy) that is putting people off, or the fact that they're quite happy at home, clearly travel is not for everyone. Stand-up comedian Sean had been content exploring the US, until he was given the chance to hop across an international border for the first time by Jetpac. The travel eSim brand has chosen several 'travel virgins' to star in its docu-series, hosted by Love is Blind's Benaiah. When it airs, it will see newbie travelers swept away on an all-expenses-paid journey to an exotic destination. The Mirror spoke to Sean the day after his arrival in the UK. He was standing amidst the hustle and bustle of Borough Market, digesting a laden pudding from the viral Humble Crumble and reflecting on a deeply disappointing first brush with British pastry. "The pork pie. My friend Marshall told me to get it. I didn't love that. It was sort of tasteless and hard to eat, you really need to put in muscle to get it open. It looked like a little castle. I did, however, like the Humble Crumble," Sean explained. "I also don't like the candy here. American candy is full of chemicals, which is why it tastes delicious." Sean was not opposed to the idea of travelling abroad, but given the demanding nature of his comedy career, he had never found the right time to do so. "I don't ever have money like that. I have been to Florida, California and Chicago, but I'm uncultured to anywhere outside of the US," Sean said. While he may have found the pork pies a little underwhelming, the American in London was excited to throw himself into the culture, having grown up on a string of British classics such as the Beatles, David Bowie and Shakespeare. Visits to the Globe and Abbey Road were ticked off on his first evening. In terms of vibe, "London feels like New York if you're not paying attention." When it comes to the actual travelling process, Sean found it to be a mixed bag. "I got a passport, a few months ago on a whim, and there was some visa thing I had to get. I ended up just tapping myself out of the airport, no questions asked. It was pretty smooth," he explained. "I did get scammed at a currency exchange. I got half my money back." The first episode of The Travel Virgin Show will go live on June 30. The company argues now is the right time for it, given the steady rise in travel since the coronavirus lockdowns, when people were pent up, unable to get away and desperate to get back out on the road. According to one recent poll, 76% of Gen Z and 72% of Millennials say they're more interested in travel than they used to be. And passport applications have surged by up to 38% in key markets like the UK, suggesting the appetite for exploration is stronger than ever. Aditya Goyal, CEO at Jetpac. "There's a huge group of people who are only now taking their first step abroad—and we think they deserve the same tools as anyone else. Jetpac is here to make that first time seamless, empowering, and unforgettable."
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
'I tried the UK's new high-tech £200million trains with underfloor heating'
It's not every day that the country gets a new train. Let alone 36 of them. Happily, Monday was one of those days. On June 9, the first of 36 Class 730/2 Northwestern Railway trains opened doors to passengers for the first time. I was lucky enough to be on the test train on Friday, when it trundled out of London Euston stations, making its way roughly half an hour to Milton Keynes, where it promptly turned back around. For those who need a little more to get their blood pumping than a ride from a classic domitary settlement on a spotless commuter train, there was entertainment. Sequin jacket-wearing performers belted out tunes that might've been from The Greatest Showman, while viral pudding brand Humble Crumble served up little cardboard bowls of their sweet treat. Merlin Entertainment was onboard, hiding free tickets to its attractions up in the freshly polished, see-through luggage racks (designed to make spotting bags/freebies easier) and beneath the tidily upholstered chairs. For those with a deeper appreciation of a good train, then Great Northwestern delivered some tantalizing figures. The 730 Class consists of 84 trains and 324 carriages. An average three-carriage train has 199 seats, while the five-carry configuration takes 406. For the 36 Class 730/2 trains specifically, north of £200million has been splashed out. It will run on Cross City Line routes from Lichfield to Birmingham and Redditch, linking Walsall and Wolverhampton and Rugeley to Birmingham International. At its fastest, the train rattles along at 90 mph, powered by electric engines. London Northwestern has tweaked the classic train design a little to give the impression of more space. The gangways have been left open, giving a "more spacious feel", while extra room has been allocated to bike storage - although "up to three" bikes will do little more than remind cyclists of how far we have fallen since the giddy days of bike-carriages on UK trains. For that kind of considerate fun, your best bet is heading to France, Italy or the Netherlands. Each seat has a plug and USB socket. While this is to be expected on a new train, it is still good news—so long as they actually work and don't cause your phone to glitch out, as is often the case. London Northwestern's overall investment in new trains and infrastructure (which totals three new train fleets and lots of depot upgrades) is £1billion. So what will commuters make of it? While it might not be blow anyone's mind or cause Michael Portillo to dust off his presenting boots, it is a solid train. The 730/2 does not fall into any of the classic traps. Its seats are comfortable and well upholstered (more than can be said for the likes of GWR) and its aisles are well proportioned (something Greater Anglia finds incredibly difficult for some reason). There's enough space in the seats and communal areas to give you a bit of breathing space during the morning commute, and the toilets don't talk to you, unlike the psychotic Virgin trains that used to serve this part of the country. All in all, a well-executed train. Would ride again.
