As we welcome the New Year, it is a time for collective reflection and anticipation. Just like closing a familiar book, we now stand on the brink of a new chapter, ready to explore what lies ahead.
Gather your loved ones around you as we bid farewell to 2024, a year filled with its share of ups and downs. Take a moment for contemplation and express your affection for those dear to you. Let them know your excitement to witness their growth in the coming year.
Take a little time today, to pause, to breathe, to live, to laugh and of course, to learn.
Or we could have a look back at all the things that have annoyed us last year?
Yeah, let’s do that, the weather outside is fairly horrible and nobody can actually afford to go out anymore can they? Ok, cool.
Looking back, 2024 was quite a memorable year. From stories of cycling heroes to tales of mischievous AI, from the sassy Northerners to charismatic chefs, the year was colored with scandals and stories that kept us entertained on the island of Albion.
It would be impossible to select everyone we want to and some entrants arguably deserve to be nominated more than once (Paddington Bear), so don’t be too disheartened if your favourite isn’t on the list.
In fact, if you really feel strongly that we’ve missed out someone egregious, leave a friendly comment below.
So without further ado let’s get into it! These are the MailOnline’s top 12 villains of 2024.
January – The Post Office
In January the reputation of your friend, and mine, the Post Office, took a battering.
25 years ago, the Post Office computer system began malfunctioning so badly that many sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses were driven out of business or investigated and even jailed for fraud.
The Post Office – so stringent in castigating the smallest rule-bending by customers – refused to listen or investigate fairly.
More than 900 subpostmasters were prosecuted between 1999 and 2015 after faulty Horizon accounting software made it look as though money was missing from their accounts.
Hundreds are still awaiting compensation despite the previous government announcing that those who have had convictions quashed are eligible for £600,000 payouts.
Monica Donlan (left), Jo Hamilton and Toby Jones attend the 50th annual Broadcasting Press Guild awards, at the Royal Horse Guards Hotel after the release of Mr Bates vs The Post Office
Lee Castleton, who has been made an OBE in the New Year Honours list, for services to justice
Former post office workers Lee Castleton (left) and Noel Thomas celebrate outside the Royal Courts of Justice, London, after their convictions were overturned
This week after a year of pressure, four subpostmasters, including Lee Castleton, were awarded OBEs in the King’s New Year’s Honours.
Mr Castleton was wrongly found to have had a £25,000 shortfall at his branch in 2004, and was made bankrupt after he lost his legal battle with the Post Office.
His case came under the spotlight in January when it featured heavily in the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
He said the campaign had undergone ‘a complete turnaround’ after the drama aired, adding: ‘The whole of the nation seems like they’re very much behind us.’
Mr Castleton said there were still ‘highly pensioned, highly paid’ executives at the Post Office who needed to be held accountable for their role in the Horizon scandal.
He went on: ‘I hope that our fight, my fight, everyone’s fight, continues until something changes.
‘I just don’t mean for our group, I mean for everybody. Society deserves so much better. We deserve proper justice – there’s nobody in this country that’s above the law.’
February – Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Experience
Every now and then, a scandal comes along that is so uniquely British it couldn’t have happened anywhere else.
In February, that was the Glasgow Willy Wonka experience.
Parents were left furious when they turned up to an ‘immersive’ Willy Wonka event and their children were left sobbing when it turned out to be a tiny bouncy castle and a small lollipop.
Irate parents slammed the £35-a-ticket event as ‘an absolute shambles’ after being promised ‘a universe where your dreams come true’ and would ‘make memories that will last a lifetime’.
Just 24 hours before ‘Willy’s Chocolate Experience’ on Saturday at the Boxhub, organisers House of Illuminati posted pictures of a van full of props and said ‘it’s all coming together nicely’.
Yet families were left stunned when they arrived and were greeted with a near-empty warehouse with a few Wonka-themed props and a small bouncy castle, leaving distraught children in floods of tears.
The event was cancelled halfway through on Saturday as angered mothers, fathers and grandparents demanded refunds with the police even being called on the event.
Actor Kirsty Paterson pictured playing a glum-looking Oompa Loompa at the disastrous Willy Wonka Experience in Glasgow
The original £35-a-ticket ‘immersive’ event (pictured) was mercilessly ripped on social media after it emerged that organisers were offering just one Oompa Loompa and giving children a handful of jelly beans
The experience, set up by organisers House of Illuminati, became the subject of national mockery in February after families in Glasgow arrived for a fun day out only to be met with a near-empty warehouse (pictured)
Children were left screaming in terror at the Glasgow event at the emergence of ‘The Unknown’, a haunting made-up character for the Wonka themed event
Despite organisers posting pictures on social media of thousands of sweets and lollies in the days leading up to the event, it was claimed by one parent their children were handed just a couple of jelly babies and a quarter of a can of Barr’s limeade
That wasn’t the end for Willy though.
In response to the original event, the American’s decided to create their own tribute in Los Angeles.
The shockingly bad event was brought back to life in a shadowy warehouse in downtown Los Angeles, drawing a small crowd of oglers who’d each paid $44 to be there.
Kirsty Paterson, the actress who went viral for her pained performance as an Oompa Loompa at the original, was the main attraction, and this time guests were treated to four jelly beans instead of just one.
Despite a well-stocked bar that sold chocolate covered magic mushrooms, the event failed to impress. Again.
It was also made into a stage play for the Edinburgh Fringe titled Willy’s Candy Spectacular: A Musical Parody.
March – School dinners (or lack thereof!)
Nobody has fond memories of school dinners but judging by some of the offerings to have gone viral this year, the kids have it harder than we ever did.
In March, a headteacher went viral after issuing an apology to parents for poor quality school dinners served to pupils.
Jason Ashley, head of Redbridge Community School in Southampton, criticised catering company Chartwells who hold the school’s catering contract.
In a letter to parents, Mr Ashley shared photos of the food which is also being served to staff. Dishes include chips and beans and a tuna jacket potato.
He said if the food had been served to his own children, he would be ‘exceptionally unhappy’.
The former Ofsted inspector also said portion sizes had ‘gotten smaller in recent times’ whilst ‘prices have increased.’
Chips and beans served at Redbridge Community School
Pie and mash served at Redbridge Community School
Photos of what appears to be a veggie burger served at Redbridge Community School
Jason Ashley, head of Redbridge Community School in Southampton (pictured), wrote the letter to parents
Highlighting one example, Mr Ashley went on: ‘For example, recently it was British ‘pie week’ and the pie served was of extremely poor quality when compared to our partner schools.’
The letter, dated March 12, added: ‘As the headteacher, you will often hear me say ‘if it’s good enough for my own children, it has to be good enough for yours.’
‘Frankly, the food that is served in the canteen is completely unacceptable, so much so, that if my own children’s school served this I would be exceptionally unhappy.
‘Unfortunately, Redbridge Community School has no control over the private company Chartwells.
‘This company provides the catering contract for the school. Myself and Mrs Wall-Bradfield have been in numerous meetings (the most recent this morning) and I am simply fed up with the lack of progress being made.
Roast meal served at Redbridge Community School
Roast turkey dinner which is made by Chartwells staff working at Redbridge Community Staff
Mr Ashley questioned if the catering company could make a jacket potato. Pictured: Tuna jacket
‘We have concluded with our photo evidence that Chartwells do seem to be unable to ‘bake a potato’ correctly.’
The headteacher continued in the letter: ‘Moreover, for many of our students, a school meal is so important to them but I can no longer tolerate, provide reasons or even justify to you the unacceptable nature of the food.’
He appealed to parents for their comments about the food, saying: ‘Now, I could be completely wrong, misguided, fussy, difficult or on a different planet; so I will leave you to decide with a selection of photos taken (and this is served to staff) for you to make up your own mind.
‘Therefore, I hope that you are as angry and as disappointed as me. For those of you that pay from your hard-earned wages – I can only apologise and I am sorry. However, nothing I seem to do or say makes any difference and I feel you have the right to know.
‘Finally, I keep asking myself ‘how difficult is it to bake a potato’? Answers or a postcard to [email protected].
‘Wishing you all the very best and I sincerely apologise for this failing.’
April – Cycling Mikey
Cycling vigilante Cycling Mikey is considered the bane of London’s roads due to his holier than thou antics.
However, in a shocking video from April the pedalling pest revealed that he too was a law breaker.
He confessed to jumping a red light – telling haters: ‘So what? I’ll pay the fine!’
Mike Van Erp, 52, who is better known by his YouTube moniker, rides through London with his GoPro as he attempts to catch drivers users on their phones – before confronting them on video and taking their number plate.
The road safety warrior claims to have ratted on more than 2,000 offenders since first strapping on his ‘helmet-cam’ back in 2006 – with his motoring victims including Frank Lampard, Guy Ritchie and Chris Eubank.
But Mr Van Erp – who works as carer and roller-skating instructor – has now been caught out by his own cameras as he pedalled over a London crossing despite the lights being red on April 8 at 13.16pm.
In video he posted on his own channel Mr Van Erp carried on riding through the crossing of Eccleston Street and Ebury Street next to Victoria Station despite a red light being shown.
But he placed the blame on the area – where he claims the traffic lights for cars coming from the other direction had been turned around so he believed it was for him.
Confessing to his fans, he said: ‘So this next bit of video, you’re going to see me run a red light. Yeah, it’s my mistake, I hold my hands up – I’m at fault there.’
But Mr Van Erp – who works as carer and roller-skating instructor – has now been caught out by his own cameras as he pedalled over a London crossing despite the lights being red (pictured) on April 8 at 13.16pm
In video he posted on his own channel Mr Van Erp (pictured) carried on riding through the crossing of Eccleston Street and Ebury Street next to Victoria Station despite a red light being shown
He placed the blame on the area – who he claims had turned the traffic lights for cars coming from the other direction so he believed it was for him
He added: ‘I’m sure that some trolls would like to report me for running the red light – you’re welcome to. I’ll even give you the time and the date.
‘If the police prosecute me so what? I’ll pay the fine. You’re not going to see me complaining.’
He even posted the link to where you can report road crime online in London with his video.
Appearing to minimise his crime, the pedalling pest claimed that the intersection in central London was ‘fairly quiet’ and claimed other motorists had also nearly fallen for the traffic light.
He also said he had looked left and right and he crossed – which he said is ‘probably the most important thing’.
The peddling vigilante later added that he thought a ‘drunk’ may have twisted the sign ‘to point down the wrong road’.
Unlawfully passing through a red light is a criminal offence and is enforced by the police, who take action against offenders detected through TfL cameras.
Mr Van Erp continued: ‘Essentially what happened is somebody spun round the traffic light for the cycle lane to my right and had it facing down this road. And when that turned green I thought I had a green.
‘And I missed that the other two traffic lights were still red. I realised something was wrong when the scooter next to me revved his engine and then stopped – so he obviously also got caught too.
Mr Van Erp, who works as a carer first gained ‘notoriety’ after broadcaster Jeremy Vine retweeted one of his videos of him on the bonnet of a silver Mercedes
Mr Van Erp claimed to have caught more than 1,000 drivers in last three years alone, after it became easier for civilians to report crime via the internet. Over 600 were prosecuted
‘And he and the other scooter rider behind me too didn’t follow through. And that’s probably the best use of video cameras I have over the years is that I can go back and look at when there’s been a point of conflict or something’s gone unexpectedly and I can find out what went wrong and change my own riding as a result.
‘So I suppose that the really good thing is when I went through this fairly quiet intersection I still looked left and right to check for traffic to the side.
‘That’s probably the most important thing you do, is that you look to where the hazard is.’
May – VAR
It’s a topic of conversation every weekend and in May, one Premier League club finally had enough.
Reeling from having statistically the worst record with the technology in the league (with a net score of -17 meaning15 decisions for, 32 against) since its inception, Wolves proposed scrapping the system entirely.
The vote was seen as the Molineux club speaking for thousands of frustrated fans across the country who were all still licking their wounds from a variety of VAR gaffes over the season.
They would go on to lose their vote to scrap VAR by a resounding 19-1.
At the time, Mail Sport took a look at six VAR moments from the past 12 months that sparked major controversy.
There is set to be a vote on whether to scrap VAR in the Premier League next season
Jeremy Doku: Man City vs Liverpool – March 10, 2024
City winger Doku went crashing into Alexis Mac Allister in the penalty area in the dying moments of their Anfield clash. The referee decided that it wasn’t a penalty, and VAR controversially stuck with the on-field decision. The game drew 1-1.
Jeremy Doku appeared to kick Alexis Mac Allister in the chest but Liverpool were not given a penalty
Willy Boly: Nottingham Forest vs Bournemouth – December 23, 2023
Boly was shown a second yellow card in the first half hour for a challenge on Bournemouth’s Adam Smith, sparking controversy as Forest went on to lose 3-2. Boly won the ball, his momentum taking out Smith. VAR were unable to intervene as they can’t overturn yellow cards.
Anthony Gordon: Newcastle vs Arsenal – November 4, 2023
A scrappy goal by Gordon was allowed to stand after VAR checked three points – the ball going out of play, a possible offside against the scorer, and a possible push by Joelinton on Arsenal defender Gabriel. The offside was probably the most contentious decision, with the VAR unable to draw their lines due to the ball being obscured in their video replays.
Tyrone Mings: Aston Villa vs Liverpool – May 20, 2023
Mings was incredibly lucky to get away with just a yellow card when he went flying in on Cody Gakpo at the end of last season, catching him in the chest as Villa drew 1-1 with Liverpool. Gakpo removed his shirt and the Liverpool forward was left with visible cuts, but the Villa defender had already been excused after a VAR check.
Tyrone Mings was lucky to avoid a red card for a high challenge on Cody Gakpo last year
Luis Diaz: Liverpool vs Tottenham – September 30, 2023
This one tops the list. Mo Salah played Luis Diaz through on goal, and the forward found the back of the net – only for the assistant to flag for offside. VAR mistakenly thought the on-field decision had been to award the goal and told the referee the check was complete. VAR learned of their mistake after the game had restarted and were unable to overturn their decision. Tottenham went on to win 2-1.
Luis Diaz was denied a goal after VAR wrongly completed a check believing that the goal had been given on the pitch when the offside flag had actually gone up
Andre Onana: Man United vs Wolves – August 14, 2023
This one from the opening day of the season isn’t far behind, when Wolves were denied the opportunity to level the game in the 97th minute. Onana charged from his line as Sasa Kalajdzic attacked a cross, only to miss the ball and take out the player. VAR checked, and no penalty was awarded.
June – Milkshake throwers face the wrath of Farage
It was a trend that wasn’t funny when it started in 2017 and certainly isn’t now.
In June, Nigel Farage became the latest victim of the milkshaking trend when he was set upon by an OnlyFans model on the campaign trail.
Victoria Thomas Bowen threw the drink outside a pub in Clacton-on-Sea during the general election campaign.
Dramatic pictures showed how the mother-of-one dodged Mr Farage’s burly minders before flinging the contents of a McDonald’s cup towards him. It caught him full in the face.
Mr Farage, who previously dubbed Clacton the ‘most patriotic’ town in Britain, merely wiped his eyes and continued.
Despite posting a video on X with the caption ‘my milkshake brings all the people to the rally’ in reference to the 2003 song Milkshake, Farage admitted it was ‘quite frightening’.
Mr Farage was flanked as usual by burly security as he left a pub, but they could do nothing as the women flung the contents of what appeared to be a McDonald’s cup towards him
It caught him full in the face, although he merely wiped his eyes and continued
Victoria Thomas Bowen arrives at Westminster Magistrates’ Court
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage (fourth from left) and Victoria Thomas Bowen (sixth from left) arriving at Westminster Magistrates’ Court
Victoria Thomas Bowen threw the drink outside a pub in Clacton-on-Sea during the general election campaign. She is pictured outside court
Aides played down the impact saying the milkshake ‘barely stained’ Mr Farage’s suit
The 25-year-old model also admitted criminal damage after causing £17.50 worth of damage to a jacket belonging to Mr Farage’s security officer James Woolfenden.
Mr Farage, who is now Clacton MP, was doused as he left the Moon and Starfish Wetherspoon pub in the Essex seaside town on June 4.
He had earlier addressed supporters at a rally during the general election campaign and was left with the yellow liquid splattered across his dark blue suit.
Thomas Bowen had originally denied the charges and was due to go on trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday but changed her pleas to guilty before proceedings began.
Deputy senior district judge Tan Ikram adjourned sentencing to December 16 and told the defendant: ‘You have pleaded guilty to, in my judgment, two serious charges.
‘This was an unprovoked, targeted attack now on an elected Member of Parliament.
‘I take a serious view of these offences. I am seeking a pre-sentence report which will consider all options for sentence.’
July – Just Stop Oil organisers are finally jailed
After years of flirting with custodial sentences, in July, the government finally showed they were serious in tackling anti-social climate protesters by jailing the Just Stop Oil five.
Roger Hallam, an environmental activist who was one of the founding members of the group, agreed to causing disruption to traffic by having protesters climb onto gantries over the motorway for four successive days in November 2022.
The 58-year-old was joined by Daniel Shaw, 38, Louise Lancaster, 58, Lucia Whittaker De Abreu, 35, and Cressida Gethin, 22, as they were all sentenced at Southwark Crown Court.
Hallam was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment while the remaining four defendants were each handed four years’ imprisonment.
Prosecutors alleged the protests, which saw 45 people climb up the gantries, led to an economic cost of at least £765,000, while the cost to the Metropolitan Police was more than £1.1 million.
They also allegedly caused more than 50,000 hours of vehicle delay, affecting more than 700,000 vehicles, and left the M25 ‘compromised’ for more than 120 hours.
Prosecutor Jocelyn Ledward KC told the court that a police officer suffered a concussion and bruising after being knocked off his motorbike in traffic caused by one of the protests on November 9, 2022.
Roger Hallam (pictured) was one of five Just Stop Oil protesters jailed for conspiring to organise protests that blocked the M25 motorway
From left to right: Lucia Whittaker De Abreu, Cressida Gethin, Louise Lancaster, Daniel Shaw and Roger Hallam. Hallam was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment while the remaining four defendants were each handed four years’ imprisonment
Environmental Defender Michel Forst (centre) outside Southwark Crown Court with the five Just Stop Oil protesters who have been jailed today
Prosecutors alleged the protests, which saw 45 people climb up the gantries (pictured) , led to an economic cost of at least £765,000, while the cost to the Metropolitan Police was more than £1.1 million
All five defendants joined a Zoom call on November 2 2022, in which discussions were held about the planned protests, based off ‘what was said expressly and what could be inferred’, and were aiming to recruit others for the protests on the call, Ms Ledward told the court.
A journalist from the Sun newspaper, who had joined the call pretending to be interested in the protest, managed to record some of it and passed the recordings on to the police.
Judge Christopher Hehir said the Zoom call showed ‘how intricately planned the disruption was and the sophistication involved’, and was ‘compelling evidence’ of the existence of a conspiracy.
There was ‘extensive organisation and planning’ for the protests and each defendant had a ‘significant role’ in the conspiracy, Ms Ledward said.
The defendants were convicted by a jury of conspiracy intentionally to cause a public nuisance, contrary to section 78 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and Section 1 of the Criminal Law Act 1977, on July 11.
The protestors, referred to as the Whole Truth Five by Just Stop Oil on social media, spoke to confirm their names in court and shouted ‘We love you’ from the dock immediately after the sentences were passed down.
August – Oasis and dynamic ticket pricing
In August, Liam and Noel Gallagher sent the country into meltdown when they announced they would be reforming for a series of 2025 arena tour.
An estimated 14million Oasis fans spent ‘Supersonic Saturday’ desperately battling it out to get their hands on tickets to see the brothers but eager fans were left raging after the price of standing tickets went up from £150 face value to £355 within hours due to the huge demand.
Fans described Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing as an ‘absolute disgrace’ and lashed out at the company’s bosses which include CEO Michael Rapino, UK managing director Andrew Parsons, president Mark Yovich and COO Michael Wichser.
The ‘dynamic pricing’ system, which Ticketmaster introduced in 2022, works by altering the prices of tickets based on demand – similar to an Uber journey or seats on flights.
When face value tickets have sold out, ticket providers release more at a higher price, agreed in advance with the artist’s manager and promoter.
Crucially, Oasis – often hailed as working class heroes – could have rejected dynamic pricing to keep the cost lower for fans. Singer Tom Grennan said in 2022 that he had ‘dismissed all VIP and platinum ticket options’ due to the cost-of-living crisis.
Ticketmaster said the hated practice is ‘driven by supply and demand’ and that the extra money from the inflated prices for Oasis tickets will go to the band.
Noel and Liam Gallagher proved they had buried the hatchet on their 15-year feud as they met up this summer to pose for a photo together to mark the Oasis comeback tour
Dynamic pricing works on the logic that by increasing prices on official websites, touts will be scared off and the artists will be able to keep the extra profit. The ‘In-Demand’ tickets are often called ‘platinum tickets’, but consumers gain no added benefit such as VIP access.
Mr Rapino, the CEO of Live Nation Entertainment which owns Ticketmaster, has come under fire since Oasis tickets went on sale. One user tweeted: ‘You are everything that’s wrong with the live events industry.’
Another wrote: ‘Michael Ticketmaster are a joke and you’re a money grabbing scumbag. Demand pricing is Ticketmaster being the touts themselves. 1000s of UK fans writing to their MP. See you in court.’
Politicians accused Ticketmaster of ‘fleecing’ fans with its dynamic pricing, and Irish MEP Regina Doherty called for an investigation into the pricing structure for tickets sold for the two Oasis gigs at Croke Park in Dublin.
Although it has regularly been used in America, dynamic ticket pricing is a relatively new phenomenon in the UK and has already enraged the fans of Bruce Springsteen and Harry Styles.
Cabinet minister Lucy Powell questioned the ‘transparency’ of Ticketmaster pricing for Oasis tickets after she managed to bag two tickets for the hotly-anticipated reunion tour – but at a steep price.
Ms Powell insisted she ‘didn’t like’ being confronted with a higher price of £350 when she finally reached the front of the queue, adding that she was ‘not sure how totally transparent it was’.
Despite the frustration, the Commons Leader dismissed the idea of nationalising Ticketmaster.
Ms Powell told BBC Radio 5 Live that she had forked out ‘more than I was expecting to pay’ for her pair of tickets.
‘I think it was £350… it’s a lot of money,’ she said.
Asked about the way ticket prices were increased due to demand, she said: ‘I don’t particularly like it, I’m sure many people don’t.’
She insisted there were already protections for consumers, but added: ‘I think you’ve got to be transparent.
‘You’ve absolutely got to be transparent so that when people are arriving after hours of waiting, they understand that the ticket is going to cost more…’
Pressed on whether it was transparent yesterday, Ms Powell said: ‘I’m not sure how totally transparent it was… all I will say is that live entertainment has got very expensive.’
Promoters and artists set the ticket prices and they can either be fixed or market-based
September – Euston Station
In Dante’s Inferno, a sign hangs above the Gates of Hell reading: ‘Abandon all hope ye who enter here.’ In 2024, the sign now reads Euston Station.
Throughout September, conditions at the London station frequently branded Britain’s worst reached crisis points as customers railed against their treatment.
Hideous pictures from peaked times showed hundeds of customers pushed together as they were funnelled towards the often delayed services.
Others complained that Network Rail’s decision to install a huge advertising board where previously they had had a departure board alleviated to the problem and in response the advertisements were stopped.
Train passengers branded the station as ‘Like Squid Game but with a Boots’ as they routinely faced hellish delays.
Others described chaotic scenes as people made the ‘terrifying’ dash to their platform with just a minute’s notice after cramming round ‘a few 1980s TV screens’ for updates on their trains.
Train passengers branded London’s Euston station as ‘Like Squid Games but with a Boots’ as they faced a day of hellish delays
Commuters were fuming as they stood shoulder to shoulder inside the ‘dangerously overcrowded’ station with megaphones and police being used for crowd control
‘With the price of train tickets absolutely unacceptable.’
Another picture showed cloths stuck to the ceiling with yellow tape in a bid to stem the flow of the leaking roof.
Others were ‘treated like cattle’ as they were forced to stand or sit on the floor of the 1445 London Northwestern Railway service to Crewe.
One traveller spoke of how he missed his train when he backed out after being ‘crushed’ in the crowds stampeding to the platform.
The travel nightmare continued into the evening with National Rail warning of hour-long delays in and out of Euston until the end of the day caused by a trespasser blocking some lines.
Avanti West Coast services between Euston and Wolverhampton, Liverpool Lime Street, and Glasgow Central were all disrupted.
While the London Northwestern Railway faced delays between Euston and Milton Keynes Central, Northampton, Rugby, and Crewe.
Meanwhile, a fault on a train tonight disrupted Overground services between the embattled station and Watford Junction.
Others described chaotic scenes as people made the ‘terrifying’ dash to their platform with just a minute’s notice after cramming round ‘a few 1980s TV screens’ for updates on their trains
One fuming passenger wrote on X that they had never seen the station as crazy as this.
‘Megaphones and police being used for crowd control,’ they said. ‘Gateline shut because of a train being full and standing to Crewe. This is not my idea of a safe environment, and I work to this station.’
Others compared the dash to the platform to the dystopian survival thriller Netflix show Squid Game.
‘The sheer angst of staring at the board until they announce the platform with three minutes until your train. Like Squid Games but with a Boots,’ they wrote.
One passenger said the ‘mad dash’ was ‘not safe, and it’s even less safe for the elderly or less able. A public service that endangers the public’.
Another passenger slammed the ‘horrendous scenes’ as people ‘pushed and shoved’ through the overcrowded station.
They said: ‘Now totally overcrowded station hundreds of people pushing & shoving far too many people no crowd control dreadful potentially very dangerous to have that many people never travel on a Sunday in the Uk.’
And Euston station was branded as ‘easily the worst station in western Europe’.
‘It’s like being taken away to be machine gunned in the woods by various mobile phone and soft drinks companies,’ one person said. ‘Congrats to everyone involved.’
People vented their anger on social media platform X as they described the station as being ‘dangerously overcrowded’
One commuter added on X: ‘It’s an assault on the senses and everything about it feels deliberately designed to torment the human brain.
‘It was so hideous one time that I chose to stand outside in the peeing rain.’
A conductor was forced to repeatedly apologise as people described being ‘dangerously overcrowded’ on one LNR train.
‘The conductor apologising repeatedly, clearly embarrassed,’ a commuter said.
‘2024, and we’re still being scammed by rail companies who only care about ripping people off.’
October – Paddington Bear
In October, nobody’s friend, certainly not mine, Paddington Bear finally overreached and received the widespread public condemnation his shameless brand of nauseating performative kindness deserved.
The bear has always been a polarising character. He is beloved by great swathes of the British public and reviled by others who rightly think his nice guy persona is just a cover for something more sinister.
But it wasn’t his social media posts that got him in trouble in October. It wasn’t the middling reactions to his latest contrite cinema offering.
It wasn’t even the fact the quasi-dictator had great statues of himself erected in all parts of the UK that rankled the public.
No, Paddington Bear finally got cocky and hit the British public where it hurts: their homes.
Paddington Bear (pictured before his latest scandal involving Airbnbs)
In an effort to promote his new film Paddington Bear finally overreached
Brightly coloured terraced houses on Chalcot Crescent in London’s Primrose Hill
Paddington Bear (pictured) outside the fictional home in 32 Windsor Gardens in Notting Hill where he lives with the Brown family
The Paddington Bear Airbnb was opened as part of a competition to celebrate the release of the new film
Locals in one of London’s most affluent areas were furious with the bear and accused Airbnb of ‘pimping’ out their street to tourists, after it was made famous his movies.
Residents of Chalcot Crescent in the picturesque Primrose Hill attacked the new ‘Paddington Bear’ Airbnb which was launched on the street.
The Paddington house was being offered as part of a competition in which three families will be invited to spend a special night to celebrate the upcoming release of the new Paddington in Peru film.
Airbnb said it was a ‘temporary feature’ and that the ‘space will be restored in a matter of weeks’ but locals were still unhappy with being associated with the bear, and for good reason.
Some residents said the commotion will disrupt the quiet lives of elderly people on the street of Grade II listed buildings, where houses sell for as much as £4million.
A group of locals, including business guru Mary Portas OBE, even penned a letter to Airbnb complaining they’re ‘tired’ of having their street ‘pimped’ by companies for profit.
Though the Brown family live at the fictional 32 Windsor Gardens in Notting Hill (Paddington doesn’t help with the mortgage), the blue-pastel home at 30 Chalcot Crescent is used as their home’s exterior in the films.
The house Airbnb planed to transform into the Brown’s home, however, is a few doors down.
Residents say StudioCanal, the production company behind the Paddington films, have long used their homes as a ‘free movie set’.
But they say the Airbnb is a ‘step too far’.
As usual, Paddington did not comment on the situation himself on his nauseating X profile and presumably allowed his herd of lawyers to soak up the abuse he had well and truly earned.
Hugh Corcoran, the chef cum poet cum communist owner of North London’s most controversial new restaurant: The Yellow Bittern
Corcoran has already upset his customers by claiming some of them don’t understand the concept of lunch
The Yellow Bittern’s £6 radishes and butter consist of some radishes and some butter
One of the Yellow Bittern’s signature dishes is a £20 Dublin Coddle
November – The Yellow Bittern
In November, a fledging restaurateur sparked outrage on London’s culinary scene after claiming customers at his new restaurant weren’t ‘worth serving’ if they didn’t order enough food and drink.
Irish chef and bookseller Hugh Corcoran opened the exclusive Yellow Bittern in Kings Cross.
The dining spot only opens for lunch on weekdays, does not accept card or walk ins and seats 18 people with prospective diners having to call or send a postcode to reserve a table.
But despite being open for less than a month, Corcoran upset his clientele by claiming some of them don’t understand the concept of lunch.
In an Instagram tirade, the chef said: ‘Little sharing plates has ruined dining. Or rather it has ruined diners. It is now apparently completely normal to book a table for 4 people say and then order one starter and two mains to share and a glass of tap water.
‘There was at one point an etiquette in restaurants that if you booked a table in a nice place you at the very least had to order a main course (and possibly even a starter or dessert) and drink wine in order your table to be worth serving.
‘For example, we do to the effort of dressing the table, of picking and arranging the flowers, of polishing the glasses etc and reserve the table for 2 hours for someone to order a meal which ends up costing £25 a head. It’s not worth us opening.
‘When you come to a restaurant, it is expected that you are there to eat and drink with some sort of abandon. “A grand cru to drink and a Beaujolais Villages to rinse the mouth” (It is of course different in a no-booking cafe or bar sort of environment).
‘So at the very least, order correctly, drink some wine, and justify your presence in the room that afternoon. If you do not drink because you have done so to such excess that it cannot be permitted any longer, then come hungry and eat your fair share.
‘Restaurants are not public benches, you are there to spend some money.’
Corcoran’s menu is reasonably priced with the most expensive dish a chicken and guinea fowl sharing pie priced at £40.
He also has a selection of wines priced at £60- £100.
Reaction to the chef’s outburst on social media was mixed to say the least.
One said: ‘Telling people what they can order and critiquing them for sending too little. Well there’s a place I’ll never visit!!!’
Another raged: ‘Hahaha this is so f****** tone deaf. How many people have the luxury of going out for a boozy lunch midweek?’
When MailOnline visited the restaurant we were also left unimpressed by the offerings..
In December, Masterchef star Gregg Wallace (right) was hit by an onslaught of sexual harassment claims from several women (Pictured with John Torode)
The celebrity chef apologised for ‘any offence I caused’ after his controversial comments on Instagram
December – Gregg Wallace
In December, Masterchef star Gregg Wallace was hit by an onslaught of sexual harassment claims from several women which include groping, pressing his crotch against a colleague and allegedly flashing another woman in his dressing room.
He has denied any wrongdoing.
Wallace was dropped from the BBC show as the allegations rolled in, including those from the ghostwriter of his cringe inducing autobiography, Shannon Kyle.
She claimed the TV star made ‘revolting’ and ‘sickening’ sexualised remarks and touched her inappropriately whilst they worked on the project in the 2010s.
At breaking point, Wallace took to Instagram on December 2 and issued a defiant non-apology to his detractors claiming ‘middle class women of a certain age’ caused his MasterChef demise.
After a deluge of fresh criticism, the green grocer was forced to apologise again, this time for the offence caused by his non-apology.
Afterwards, polling firm YouGov shared research that revealed that one in three Britons don’t consider ‘I am sorry for any offence caused’ to be a proper apology, although 60 per cent did.
Their survey, from 2018, found the phrase used by Wallace was considered by some as a ‘common cop-out’ that can suggest ‘that it’s the fault of the offended for being so’.
The most sincere wording for an apology, according to Britons they spoke to, is either: ‘I sincerely apologise’ or ‘I apologise unreservedly’.
To date, Gregg has not spoken these words.
