Pink sheep, live music and vaccines – festival season is back
With 40,000 people packing into Henham Park in Suffolk this weekend, Latitude festival is welcoming the largest crowds since most restrictions were lifted in England.
It is part of the government test scheme so everyone here has had to provide evidence of either a negative lateral flow test or double vaccination in order to gain entry.
And while the event’s famous pink sheep or the sheer amount of glittery outfits might seem strange to some, it’s the pop-up vaccination centre that stands out as unusual on-site.
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Vaccines were available to music-lovers at Latitude
Never before required, it’s busy as people can turn up for first jabs, or their second dose as long as they’re eight weeks on from their first.
“We’re trying to increase the uptake in the younger age cohort”, said Jawn Jiang, director of GM Graham Pharmacies which has brought the vaccination bus here, in collaboration with Norfolk Community Healthcare Trust and Norfolk and Waveney CCG.
“We’re assuming festival-goers will want to go back to nightclubs when they open – following the government announcement of the double jab requirement from September.”
He admits that while they’re currently getting lots of interest – most of the enquiries are planning to wait a couple of days before they take the plunge.
“People tend to want to get their jab towards the end of the festival as they don’t want to experience side effects or feel unwell while here.”
The vaccine bus at Latitude music festival
David from Huddersfield was among those that did take up the jab.
“I’d seen the buses had been at other places so I was hoping they would be here as well,” he said.
“It’s reassuring for work particularly, especially with the relaxation of the rules coming with the test and trace – being able to test daily rather than having to sit out for 10 days.”
COVID is also making its presence known when it comes to the line-up.
Two acts – Fontaines DC and Alfie Templeman – have had to drop out after getting positive test results.
Festival organiser Melvyn Benn says it’s a “shame” those acts won’t perform but that it was an eventuality he was prepared for.
Some 40,000 people are attending Latitude festival
“I think most of (the acts) are existing in a little bubble until they have managed to come and play”, he told Sky News.
“We did lose a couple but there were people standing by waiting to come and play, so we have managed to replace them.”
And the show is indeed going on, with maskless crowds making the most of their first festival in two years.
But it’s not possible to completely forget about the pandemic, with volunteers handing out boxes of lateral flow tests around the site, and hand sanitiser more plentiful than it’s ever been here before.
And with COVID-passports looking like they will become the norm later this year, it might be the first time that there’s been a walk-in vaccine centre at Latitude, but perhaps it won’t be the last.
A judge has warned Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s lawyers to stop publicly discussing their competing lawsuits.
Both actors – who co-starred in 2024’s It Ends With Us – have filed lawsuits against each other following an initial legal complaint from Lively.
The 37-year-old accused Baldoni of sexual harassment on the set of the film – and an alleged subsequent plan to damage her reputation.
Baldoni then sued Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, accusing them of hijacking both the production and marketing of the film, as well as allegedly attempting to smear him and others who worked on the production through false allegations.
New York district court judge Lewis J Liman has scheduled a trial date combining the two claims for March 2026 – but warned both parties on Monday that their comments to the media could impact their cases.
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Why is Blake Lively suing Justin Baldoni?
Lively’s lawyer Michael Gottlieb complained that Baldoni’s lawyer Bryan Freedman violated professional ethics rules for lawyers by accusing the actress of “bullying” in People magazine.
He told a hearing at Manhattan federal court that “it’s very hard to un-ring the bell” and argued such statements could taint a jury pool.
But Mr Freedman complained “this has not been a one-way street”, and claimed his comments to the magazine and on a podcast were a response to a New York Times article from 21 December that “completely devastated” Baldoni.
Judge Liman has now adopted a state rule barring most out-of-court statements that could affect a case’s outcome – with an exception to protect clients from prejudicial adverse publicity. Neither lawyer objected.
Lively’s legal team have previously accused Mr Freedman in a court filing of trying to influence potential jurors by creating a website to release selected documents and communications between her and Baldoni.
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In late December, Lively sued Baldoni, his production company Wayfarer Studios and others in New York for sexual harassment and attacks on her reputation, asking for unspecified damages.
Baldoni then filed his lawsuit in January, accusing Lively and her husband, Deadpool star and Wrexham FC co-owner Reynolds, of defamation and extortion. He is seeking at least $400m (£321m) in damages.
The actor also sued The New York Times newspaper for libel after it published allegations about him.
Lively starred in the 2005 film The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants before rising to fame in the TV series Gossip Girl from 2007 to 2012. She is also known for films including The Town and The Shallows.
Baldoni is known for the TV comedy series Jane The Virgin and for directing the 2019 film Five Feet Apart. He also wrote Man Enough – a book pushing back against traditional notions of masculinity.
Actor and comedian Brian Murphy has died aged 92.
Best known for his role in the 1970s sitcoms Man About The House and George And Mildred, news of his passing was shared by his wife Hi-de-Hi! actress Linda Regan.
Posting a picture of her kissing her husband, she said: “My love for you will never die. RIP sweetheart.”
Brian Murphy. Pic:Jonathan Hordle/Shutterstock
Murphy first came to prominence playing landlord George Roper in Man About The House, starring alongside the late Yootha Joyce.
The show began in 1973 and was considered controversial for the time because it featured two single women living with a man.
When it ended in 1976, Murphy and Joyce starred in the spin-off, George And Mildred, which ran for five series until 1979.
He also starred as Alvin Smedley in Last Of The Summer Wine.
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Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce at Heathrow Airport leaving for New Zealand for a ten-week tour of the stage version of their show.
Pic: PA
Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce in George And Mildred.
Pic: ITV/Shutterstock
Born on the Isle of Wight, Murphy was a member of the Theatre Workshop, founded by Joan Littlewood, and was a jobbing actor before appearing in TV shows including Z-Cars.
In 1993, he starred in the first major stage version of the HG Wells science fiction classic The Invisible Man.
More recently, Murphy appeared in TV shows including the BBC’s Holby City and ITV’s Benidorm.
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