1976 TV programmes back on our screens

The BBC has started to re-run a famous music show called Top of the Pops. Top of the Pops ran from 1956 to 2006. Each week it showed songs from the singles chart.

The bands usually appeared in the studio, although sometimes they pretended to play along to the soundtrack, and viewers remember fantastic costumes and strange performances. Sometimes a group of dancers performed the song instead, which could often be very strange to watch.

Where are the top beaches in Europe?

One of the top ten beaches resorts, voted for by TripAdvisor users, is in the UK. St Ives is in the sunny south-west of England, in Cornwall.

Not only does it have clear blue seas and golden sandy beaches, but world-class attractions such as a modern art gallery, Tate St Ives, and the Barbara Hepworth sculpture museum.

St Ives came in 6th place in a list, behind islands and resorts in Greece, Cyprus and Turkey and ahead of destinations in Spain and Italy.

St Ives came top in a separate survey of British beach destinations. It was followed by Newquay, Bournemouth, Weymouth, Tenby, St Brelade, Woolacombe, Padstow, Shanklin and Swanage.

Eating habits change again

A chain of sandwich bars has announced its new best-selling item: porridge.

Pret a Manger, which has branches in most UK cities, is best-known for its sandwiches and salads.

But recently it added porridge to the menu and is now selling 50,000 bowls a week. However it is not traditional Scottish porridge, made of slow-cooked oats, water and salt. The Pret a Manger porridge sells for GBP 1.99 and is topped with cooked fruit.

… Royal Wedding update of the week

This week we learned that 8,000 TV and radio journalists and technical staff from all over the world will come to London to cover the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton on April 29.

There have been estimates that up to 2 billion people will watch the live coverage of the wedding. This is much bigger than the estimated 750m people round the world who watched the 1981 wedding of Prince William's parents, Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer.

And children are being encouraged to enjoy the fun. A theme park called Legoland - based around the famous children's building bricks - has built a Royal Wedding scene. This features Buckingham Palace, the bride and groom, and the Royal Family, and they're all made out of Lego bricks.

by Susan Young (susan@englishuk.com)