Villains
Gen Z Americans, who are appropriating British accents. They sometimes use theatrically bad imitations to make light of a stressful situation: “The tougher the conversation,” one California tech worker tells The Guardian, “the more Cockney I become.” Americans used to associate Britain more with posh voices, but thanks to reality shows like Love Island and The Only Way is Essex, they’ve now started to plagiarise the UK’s rich array of regional accents.
Villain
Martin Scorsese, who allegedly accepted $500,000 to executive-produce a World War II movie, then did precisely no work on it. The veteran film-maker is being sued by the production company, which claims it handed over a hefty down-payment in exchange for him contacting A-list directors and cast members on its behalf.
Villain
Buckinghamshire Council, which zealously ticketed an entire car park of vehicles in High Wycombe. Officials put up a small sign saying the area was closed for “relining”, but motorists didn’t see it, leading to yellow tickets galore (pictured). The council has apologised and the fines are being cancelled.
Heroes
Britain’s parents, who are doling out above-inflation hikes in pocket money to their children despite the cost-of-living crisis. Data from NatWest shows that from March 2022 to February 2023 the average child’s “earnings” rose 11%, to £333.84, beating the inflation rate of 10.4%. Six-year-olds enjoyed the biggest bump, at a whopping 34%.