New York State

Craving a budget-friendly break in the sun?

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Parts of Cape Town will face water shutdowns due to planned maintenance from Tuesday, 17 June. Here are the affected areas.

A reader breaks down the Switch 2 launch line-up and lists the mistakes he feels Nintendo has made, from the marketing to the prices.

For anyone looking to switch networks, it’s a great time to upgrade.

Smarty has some seriously good data boosting SIM-only plans right now, with up to 200GB of data for just £12.

Smarty

You can get double the data at no extra cost from Smarty right now[/caption]

Smarty SIM-only deal, 100GB 200GB data for £12/month

I’ve covered SIM-only deals for a while now, and over time, you learn to spot the real gems from the overhyped fluff. 

This latest offer from Smarty is easily one of the better ones to pop up in recent months.

Right now, Smarty is running two impressive promotions that boost data without hiking up the price.

If you’re someone who chews through mobile data, these are well worth a look.

The first is its 16GB plan, which has just been bumped up to 50GB per month, all while staying at just £8.

The real eye-catcher, though, is Smarty’s 100GB plan, which has now been doubled to 200GB for just £12 a month.

That’s a huge amount of data for a great price, especially since there’s usually a big leap between low GB plans and Unlimited.

Deals like this make Unlimited plans feel less necessary, and are ideal if you’re not a heavy user but still want peace of mind.

It’s also a great time to join Smarty, as the provider runs on Three’s network, which is in line for some major improvements following Three’s merger with Vodafone. 

That means better coverage and faster speeds are likely on the horizon as the networks start sharing infrastructure.

Best SIM-only deals from Smarty

If you want to spend less and use less data, or if Unlimited is what you need, Smarty has plenty of other budget-friendly deals going right now.

• 5GB for £6 per month – buy here
• 8GB for £7 per month – buy here
• 40GB for £10 per month – buy here
• 150GB for £15 per month – buy here
• Unlimited data for £20 per month – buy here

Smarty plans are all rolling 1-month contracts, meaning you’re never locked in and can switch or cancel easily.

It’s another reason the network is a favourite for budget-savvy shoppers.

And if you’re in the market for a new handset too, this week has delivered some tempting extras in the Android world.

One major provider is offering a free tech bundle worth £410 when you pick up the latest Honor phone, with plans starting from just £20 per month.

If these deals aren’t quite the right fit, check out our roundup of the best SIM-only deals across the big networks.

Smarty SIM-only deal, 100GB 200GB data for £12/month

BOOTS just launched a beauty box for festival goers, with £161 worth of products for £45.

The edit includes 13 beauty treats to kit shoppers out for the festival in their diary, with products from cult favourite brands like Sol de Janeiro, Skin + Me and Anastasia Beverly Hills.

Boots Festival Beauty Bag, £45 (worth £161.34)

Glastonbury is two weeks away, so the Boots Festival Beauty Bag has dropped just in time for festival season.

The collection of skincare, body and make-up buys includes a full-size version of the viral Milk Cooling Water Jelly Tint (worth £22) that reviewers have described as “amazing”.

The blush and lip stain combo has a cooling effect, that works to give a natural glow that’s perfect for festival looks.

Also inside to elevate any festival look is the The Beauty Crop Dewy Bounce Setting Mist, along with Too Faced’s Kissing Jelly Gloss (worth £21).

Boots has thought of everything with its new edit, including a Monday Haircare Dry Shampoo and the TikTok famous Luna Spray-To-Wipe Body Cleansing Spray for staying fresh on the go.

No Boots beauty box would be complete without a product from Sol de Janeiro, and the retailer has thrown in a Cheirosa 68 Perfume Mist from the trending brand.

Nine out of the 13 products are full-size, while the other minis are great for travelling, including Skin + Me’s popular moisturiser with SPF.

Everything is packaged inside a drawstring bag, which can carry the beauty products or other essentials during the festival.

Full list of contents:

• Milk Makeup Cooling Water Jelly Tint -Fresh (full-size)
• Luna Daily The Everywhere spray to wipe original 30ml (full-size)
• Too Faced Kissing Jelly Gloss in the shade Rasbperry 4.5ml (full-size)
• The Beauty Crop Dewy Bounce Setting Mist 100ml (full-size)
• Monday Haircare Original Dry Shampoo 200ml (full-size)
• Kylie Cosmetics Kylash Volume Mascara 12ml (full-size)
• Skin + Me Daily Moisturiser with SPF 50 for Oily to Combination Skin 24ml (full-size)
• Sacheu Lip Liner Stay-n in the shade coreal 3.5ml (full-size)
• Sol De Janeiro Cheirosa 68 Perfume Mist 30ml
• ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS Brow Freeze Deluxe 2.5g
• John Frieda Frizz Ease Moisture Barrier Hairspray 75ml
• Bioré UV Aqua Rich Watery Essence SPF50 3ml sachet
• ONE of either of the following:
• Eylure Pre-Glued Cluster Lashes Natural 30 clusters (full-size)
• or
• Eylure Volume & Curl Lashes Clusters No. 9 30 clusters (full-size)

Boots’ beauty boxes usually sell out, including the Make More Room For Beauty Box worth £227.

One edit that is still in stock is the retailer’s Fresh Faced Skincare Set, featuring brands including Supergoop and No7.

Whether you’re planning for Glastonbury or a day festival, Fabulous Deputy Fashion Editor Abby McHale has found the outfits and essentials to shop for less.

WE may well be seeing lower slug and snail numbers this summer thanks to colder weather in winter and the recent dry spells.

But mother nature never makes it easy for us. Instead – of course – there’s a new pest in town.

Getty

RHS members have found aphids to be the biggest problem this year[/caption]

Supplied

Adam Woolcott told Sun Gardening how to get rid of garden pests[/caption]

Aphid levels have rocketed this year – and the RHS reckons it’s top of the list of gardening queries to their hotline.

There’s over 500 different species found in the UK – and can be red, yellow, black, green, brown or pink.

They feed by sucking sap from plants – and can cause severe damage – including distorted growth, sooty mould and plant viruses – and sometimes plant death.

Chelsea award winning gardener Adam Woolcott – and Webb ambassador – gave Sun Gardening some top tips on how to tackle the most common early summer pests.

APHIDS

Physically remove the aphids from the stems and leaves.
Use natural insecticidal soaps.
Blast off with water jets.
Encourage predators such as ladybirds, lacewings, and hoverflies

VINE WEEVIL

Both the adult vine weevil beetles and their larvae cause damage.
Adults — all female — chew distinctive ‘U-shaped’ notches in leaves, particularly on evergreen shrubs like rhododendrons, escallonias, and viburnums.
Underground: larvae feed on plant roots and can kill container plants like Heucheras.
Remove adults at night when they’re most active
Break the life cycle with biological controls such as nematodes (apply in spring and autumn when grubs are active) Chemical treatments are a last resort, but offer longer-term control

LILY BEETLE

The bright red beetles and their larvae are both covered in their excrement. They can strip a plant in days, affecting flowering and bulb health.

Remove beetles by hand where practical
Encourage wildlife into the garden. Birds and ground beetles will eat the larvae
Grow a resistant variety.
Tolerate some damage if you can — total eradication isn’t always necessary.

CATERPILLARS

Especially troublesome in veg patches. Cabbage white butterfly caterpillars love brassicas, while box tree caterpillars are spreading rapidly across the UK, stripping foliage as they go.

Remove the caterpillars by hand if you can and destroy any badly affected plants (if practical) to stop the infestation from spreading.
Use biological sprays like nematodes.
In some cases, hot water and a mild detergent can help. Ecover is on sale at Dunelm for £2.45.
As a last resort, chemical controls can be effective

Find out who's on the cards for you.

This is just one of more than 1,000 protestors that are expected to happen on Flag Day across the country; there is also a protest planned in Aiken.