The Time Out London blog team

After decades of dedicating your blood, sweat and tears a 9 to 5, we all want to settle down somewhere we know we’ll be well-looked after – whether that be  when we need medical attention or when we just fancy a cuppa and a chat. There are places across the country that are far better suited to OAPs than others, and now the Times has compiled a ‘Growing Old Index’ to reveal exactly where retirees are the healthiest and happiest. And you won’t have to go far out of London to find the number one spot.   The paper’s research looked at six main factors: average life expectancy, GP provision, A&E wait times, the referral period for trauma and orthopaedic services, number of care home beds and where each location ranks in the ONS’s annual happiness index.  After diving into all that data, the Times said that Windsor and Maidenhead is home to England’s healthiest, happiest retirees right now. The royal borough, just 20 minutes from the capital city, has the second highest average life expectancy (83.2 years) after Wokingham (84 years) and is joint first for the proportion of referrals to trauma and orthopaedic services within 18 weeks.  Windsor and Maidenhead also got high scores when it came to happiness, GP provision, the number of care homes and A&E waiting times Peter Titmuss/ Shutterstock But OAPs don’t just rely on health services to keep them content. Things like green spaces, leisure facilities and social communities are important too. One 95-year-old Maidenhead...

Not only was London recently named the world’s best city for food in 2026, but a newly-announced restaurant festival in Hackney next month means you’ll be able to try out some of the Big Smoke’s finest culinary offerings for a fraction of their usual price. The aptly-named The Restaurant Festival, Hackney will feature restaurants across the borough. Stretching from Stamford Hill in the north through family-friendly Stoke Newington, trendy Dalston, Haggerston and Hoxton and over to Clapton via Homerton, it will show off the full breadth of Hackney’s diverse and delectable culinary scene. The event is the result of a collab between local favourite Acme Fire Cult and dining app EatClub. The aim is to celebrate the best of the borough’s food spots and encourage food lovers to explore new restaurants during February – often one of the quieter months of the year for restos. Foodie favourites like Mangal 2 and My Neighbours the Dumplings are among the names on the 14-strong list of participating venues, which also includes Corrochio’s, Big Night, Papi, Tom’s Pasta, Alber’s, Sune, Oren, Marksman Public House, Mambow, Lucia’s and Berber & Q. Even more participating restaurants are yet to be announced. If that wasn’t enough, the winter food fezzie is also offering some properly enticing discounts.  You’ll be able to get a not-too-shabby 40 percent off meals at participating restaurants during selected times throughout the month. So what do you need to do to secure your seat at the...

All jetsetters will know the hassle of only being able to bring tiny toiletries in your hand luggage (and having to fit all of them in a tiny plastic pouch) every time you fly. But from today (January 23), anyone planning to travel through London Heathrow can breathe a sigh of relief, as London’s biggest aviation hub has joined the ranks of airports which have scrapped the 100ml liquids rule. The rollout of swanky new CT scanners at airports up and down the UK over the last few years has eliminated a load of faff at security. Not only can passengers pass through with bigger toiletries, but they can leave laptops stored snugly in their luggage.  Bottles and containers of up to two litres are now permitted at LHR security, meaning that the extra-large bottle of sun cream or shampoo can make it into your luggage without fear that it will be binned.  Heathrow is one of the last major UK airports to make the changes to its security machines, more than seven years after the ‘next generation’ tech was first announced. The airport’s upgrades cost a whopping £1 billion.  So, what will you still need to faff about with at security? Refillable metal or ‘double walled’ or vacuum containers still need to be emptied, but can be refilled once you’re airside. Coins, keys, phones and other small items will need to pass through security in a tray, as well as coats and cabin baggage. Photograph: Shutterstock The changes, which see the 19-year-long limit on liquids come to an end, mean it...