WITH the summer months drawing closer, we all want to spend our evenings relaxing in the garden.

But there’s always some sort of nasty critter to stop you from having a good time.

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Sick of flies pestering you in the summer?[/caption]

Facebook

The Range is selling a £5 buy to keep them away[/caption]

Flies tend to thrive in the warmer weather and reproduce quickly which is great for them but not so much for us.

And they will often try to make their way inside the home looking for food and shelter.

When you’re outside in the evening they can be attracted to the light and the scent of your drinks or food too.

Fortunately, The Range is selling a cheap buy to keep the pesky bugs away.

The homeware store has released a new range of large candles that burn for up to nine hours and contain citronella to keep flies away.

Taking to Facebook, the store wrote: “Keep those pesky flies at bay!!”

“Fruity Citronella Candles available in stores now for £4.99.”

The candles come in an array of designs including strawberry, pear and lemon.

The oil of citronella doesn’t kill pests but can repel them from the area.

It works by masking scents that are attractive to insects, making it difficult for them to locate food.

The Range bosses say: “Enjoy warm summer evenings with the Fruit Citronella Candle.

“It’s infused with citronella to keep pesky bugs at bay, so you can relax peacefully.

“Available in an assortment of styles, this candle is housed in a bright fruit-shaped container to beautify your home and create a warm, inviting atmosphere in any room.”

Facebook users who saw the post were eager to get the new buy for themselves.

One person wrote: “Nice for the garden.”

Another commented: “I need this.”

“We need some of these this year,” penned a third.

Meanwhile a fourth tagged a friend: “You need these!”

It comes after bargain hunters spot a £40 clock that’s scanning for just 49p at the tills.

FASHIONISTAS are loving a summer dress from Marks and Spencer.

Not only is it super comfy and flattering, but it’s also bloat friendly.

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Shoppers are raving about this[/caption]

M&S

It’s perfect for holidays nad is bloat friendly too[/caption]

M&S

It also comes in two colours which shoppers love equally[/caption]

So, if you’re looking to update your summer wardrobe with a versatile buy, keep reading.

The dress, which is being sold on the M&S website is originally made by French Connection.

The Pure Cotton Knee Length Shirt Dress comes in two colour options – navy and white.

Shoppers who have bought the £49 dress have said that it’s not just flattering but also adjustable too.

The dress is just the right balance of stylish and relaxed fit so it can be worn for a pub lunch, a day in the park or even on holiday, dressed up with some sandals or heels.

And the best part is that the waist has drawstrings so that you can cinch it in for an evening look to show off your curves.

Not only does it work to show off your body, it can obviously also be loosened for after-dinner bloating if you have too much of the buffet on vacation.

M&S bosses say: “Crafted from pure cotton poplin, this shirt dress from French Connection is full of effortless style.

“The button-through design is cut in an easy relaxed fit, with a classic collared neckline, handy side pockets and long cuffed sleeves.

“A drawstring fastening creates gathering at the waist, while the knee-length hem features splits that allow you to move with ease.”

The dress comes in sizes extra small to extra large and according to customers, it’s perfect as they have given it a solid five stars out of five.

Customer Thoughts

One person wrote: “A must have for summer styling. Found this while browsing and have so totally loved it. Dress up or down for home or holidays. Buy in every colour if you will.”

Another commented: “I tried to buy this style dress from French Connection last year and it was sold out, so happy they have made it again.”

“Lovely material, great for summer/holidays. Very relaxed fit but can be cinched in at the waist for more structure,” penned a third.

Meanwhile a fourth said: “This dress is lovely material, very glamorous in style.”

“Fabulous dress, so comfortable and stylish. The cotton material is cool and easy to wear,” claimed a fifth.

Someone else added: “Absolutely fab dress it pulls in as much as you want it too, it looks great with heels or trainers.”

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FOODIES are going wild and are racing to get to their nearest M&S store, desperate to get their hands on the latest viral chocolate bars. 

So if you’re on a budget and can’t afford to break the bank on Dubai chocolate – the pricey snack that’s all over our social media – then you’ve come to the right place and won’t want to miss this.

Simon Jones

If you can’t justify splashing the cash on Dubai chocolate, M&S has got you covered[/caption]

Instagram/@marksandspencers

Now, foodies can get their hands on three new chocolate and date bars from M&S – and they’re just £1.75 each[/caption]

TikTok/@daisyasaf_

TikTok/@daisyasaf_

Instead of the Dubai chocolate, which has been labelled as ‘Prime hysteria’ all over again after it is being sold in Sainsbury’s for £10 a bar, bargain hunters are now eager to nab a new range of chocolate bars from M&S that have sent shockwaves through social media.

Not only do they contain just a select range of ingredients, but they’re affordable too.

The much-loved chain took to social media to give shoppers a close-up look at the new treats – and there’s three flavours to choose from.

Posting on Instagram, M&S wrote: “New in the M&S Foodhall – Reduced ingredient snack klaxon!

“Introducing three new snack additions to our brilliant Only…Ingredients range – and best of all they include THE trending TikTok fruit of the moment – the DATE.

“These date and dark chocolate bars are made with five ingredients or less, perfect for those wanting a sweet snack, but don’t want an ingredient heavy classic chocolate bar.”

There’s three bars to choose from – a Dark Chocolate Date Bar, a Dark Chocolate & Almond Date Bar and a Dark Chocolate & Coconut Date Bar.

The Dark Chocolate Date Bar contains just four ingredients – date paste, dark chocolate, coconut oil and salt.

Meanwhile, the Dark Chocolate & Almond Date Bar has only five ingredients – date paste, dark chocolate, almonds, coconut oil and salt.

Not only this, but the Dark Chocolate & Coconut Date Bar also contains a handful of ingredients and is stuffed full with date paste, dark chocolate, desiccated coconut, coconut oil and salt.

These new chocolate bars are suitable for vegans and you’ll find them in M&S Foodhalls in the sandwich/food to go section. 

Social media users were left overjoyed by the new chocolate bars and many eagerly raced to the comments to express this.

One foodie beamed: “M&S Food getting it so right again.” 

Another chocolate lover wrote: “These look phenomenal!!” 

Whilst a third penned: “Can’t wait to try these!”

‘M&S have pulled it out the bag’

At the same time, one foodie, a mum-of-three named Daisy who is from the UK, sprinted to her local M&S at Bluewater Shopping Centre in Dartford, to stock up on the tasty chocolate bars.

Eager to try them out herself, the content creator wrote: “Come to M&S with me to find their new fewer ingredient chocolate date bars!”

Straight to M&S I go

TikTok user

Daisy admitted that she “ran” to M&S and after trying all three bars, beamed: “YESSSS Marks & Spencer you have pulled it out the bag AGAIN!!! Absolute 10/10.”

Not only this, but she continued: “If you like the viral dates and chocolate (I’m obsessed FYI) then you will LOVEEEEE these!”

She later gushed: “Oh my gosh they are SOOO good!” 

And Daisy’s TikTok clip, which was posted under the username @daisyasaf_, has clearly impressed many, as it has quickly racked up 97,300 views, 3,383 likes and 58 comments.

Chocolate lovers were stunned by the new bars, with many were desperate to try them. 

One person said: “Need!!!!”

Another added: “Straight to M&S I go.” 

A third commented: “That’s my local M&S. I’m going tomorrow just to get these.”

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TWO WHSmith stores will vanish from our high streets today as part of a major shake-up.

Both stores are holding mega 75 per cent off closing down sales, so shoppers better get in there quick.

REUTERS

The stationery retailer has said it will close up to 20 stores in the coming weeks after it agreed to sell off nearly 500 of its high street shops.

First to go are the stores in Halstead in Essex, and Woolwich in London, which will be shutting up shop today.

The other stores are closing later in April, May, or July.

These are all the dates we’ve had confirmed so far:

• Halstead, Essex – April 12
• Woolwich, London – April 12
• Halesowen, West Midlands – April 19
• Diss, Norfolk – April 19
• Newport, Wales – April 26
• Haverhill, Suffolk – April 26
• Oldham, Greater Manchester – May 3
• Stockton, County Durham – May 17
• West Mall, Frenchgate Centre Doncaster – May 31
• Bedford, Bedfordshire – July 5

Several of these stores are currently holding closing down sales.

Halesowen and Diss have a huge 75 per cent off sale, and staff say the stock is selling fast.

Newport, Haverhill, Stockton, and Oldham also have 50 per cent off sales taking place.

The Sun previously approached WHSmith for comment.

So far, 10 WHSmith stores have closed this year.

They were:

• Bournemouth Old Christchurch Road, Dorset
• Luton, Bedfordshire
• March, Cambridgeshire
• Basingstoke, Hampshire
• Long Eaton
• Newtown, Powys
• Winton branch in Bournemouth, Dorset
• Rhyl, Denbighshire
• Bolton, Greater Manchester
• Accrington, Lancashire

The end of WHSmith on the high street

The closures mark the beginning of the end of a 233-year stint on the high street for WHSmith.

Earlier this year, it put its entire high street estate up for sale as it focuses instead on its more profitable travel arm.

Its remaining 480 high-street stores were snapped up by Hobbycraft owner Modella Capital last month as part of a £76 million deal.

The move saved the jobs of roughly 5,000 employees.

However, the famous WHSmith name is set to be lost to the high street as the shops will be gradually rebranded to TGJones.

WHSmith stores will remain in airports, train stations and hospitals, and the retailer is planning to expand here.

The brand opened its first shop in 1792 in Little Grosvenor Street, London, later becoming the UK’s main newspaper distributor.

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IN my 26 years as The Sun’s Travel Editor I’ve chatted to Virgin’s Richard Branson on the rooftop of his Caribbean island home, watched flamingos soar over the salt flats of Chile’s Atacama desert and ticked off every major European capital, Mediterranean hot spot and US city.

But nothing can beat the moment I step out of the shower block of my South of France campsite on my own family holidays.

Wrapped in a towel, from the block’s elevated position I can gaze through sprawling umbrella pines and swaying palm trees to the Mediterranean sea – the last of the day’s sunlight glinting off the deep blue azure waters.

The day’s salt and sand washed off me, the sun still warming my skin, it’s a special place and a golden time of day. A sense of calm and contentment washes over me.

It’s just one of the reasons why despite the fact I can travel the world for free – I have chosen to pay for my own holiday every year at Camp du Domaine, a 5* campsite right on the beach at Bormes Les Mimosas on the Cote d’Azur.

I was six years old on my first visit with my mum, dad and three sisters – and this July will mark 50 years of returning to the very same spot. 

Of course, my own three kids will be there – even though they are now adults with partners and grown-up jobs of their own.

So will my 80-year-old Mum. 

And also the many friends – English, French, Dutch, Swiss and German – I have known since I was a child.

We first rocked up at Camp du Domaine – towing our tiny Sprite caravan – back in 1975 after mum and dad rejected the crazily cramped campsite near Saint Tropez they had originally booked.

Camp du Domaine was just over half an hour along the coast towards Toulon, a laid back wild and wonderful campsite that tumbled down pine-forested hills from a grand old chateau to the broad, soft sand beach.

Back then, it was a rough and rustic park with pitches set higgledy-piggley on pine needle-covered terraces. 

Caravans were parked up right on the beach – or set behind dunes thickly carpeted with ice plants – a succulent that thrives in the sands.

For us kids, it was paradise. We had freedom never granted on our suburban streets back home and relished little responsibilities like heading to the campsite shop for freshly-baked baguettes each morning.

Facilities back then were nothing more than a small shop, bazaar for camping essentials, bar and restaurant.

The restaurant served just two dishes – crispy-skinned roast chicken or spicy merguez sausages – alongside groaning platters of freshly-fried frites.

When it came to having a family of my own, it was a no brainer.

With three kids in tow, the savings you could make in school summer holidays by having our own caravan were substantial and meant we could return each year without breaking the bank.

My kids grew up learning to swim in the calm, shallow waters of the campsite’s beach. They built elaborate sandcastles with the children of the friends I’d made when I was young.

As they grew, the gaggle of kids would roam from one pal’s pitch to another – the parents keeping a careful eye but giving them the same freedom we had as children.

Over the years, our days have remained the same.

For someone who spends all her life travelling for work – always on the go and always busy – this is my perfect, relaxing home from home

Lazy breakfasts, trips to the beach, a stroll into the local market to pick up ingredients for dinner, a cheeky glass of wine as the sun sets on the beach and relaxed dinners with family and friends that stretch long into the night.

‘Priceless’

Don’t get me wrong. We’ve ticked off all the sights. With a network of locals in the know we are savvy about the best restaurants in the little seaside commune of La Faviere and the hilltop medieval village of Bormes with its narrow, flower-filled alleys and art galleries.

We’ve taken endless trips to the vineyards that pepper this special part of Provence – picking up delicious, pale pink rose for a fraction of the price back home.

And we’ve explored the islands just off the coast – Port Cros and Porquerolles.

An easy ferry-ride from the mainland they offer a perfect microcosm of the best of the south of France – without the crowds you’ll see on the pricey, celeb-stuffed streets of Saint Tropez and Monaco.

But for someone who spends all her life travelling for work – always on the go and always busy – this is my perfect, relaxing home from home.

Over the years, we’ve edged ever closer to the front of the campsite, switching our pitches every few years. Now we have two weeks right on the beach – a fortnight of barefoot relaxation right next to the sea.

And as the years have flown, so the campsite has grown. Where once tents covered the hillsides, bright and modern bungalows have been built with wooden decks to take advantage of those stunning views.

Some pitches now come with their own private bathroom and kitchen lodges so you can have the best of both worlds – your own tent or caravan alongside the facilities you’d expect in an apartment.

Facilities have moved with the times too. There’s a superb spa with sauna, hamman, beauty treatments and hair salon with a serene zen garden.

And the tennis club has courts, children’s playgrounds and a buzzing bar and restaurant with nightly entertainment.

All this does come at a price. My pitch right on the beach now costs around £100 a night in peak season but that includes the caravan and as many as eight people. Off-season rates start from just £45 a night.

But the view from my sun lounger as I soak up yet another glorious sunset alongside friends and family? That’s priceless.

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