Aldi

ALDI shoppers have been going wild after a sell-out winter gadget returns to shelves today.

The bargain supermarket is famous for its middle aisle products.

And one fan favourite that is great for the cooler months is its heated airer , which is back in stock today (September 28).

The large 230W heater, which can be plugged in, has 20 heating tubes – handy for drying clothes and making the house cosy.

It means you won’t need to turn your heating on just to dry clothes when temperatures drop.

It’ll cost households less than 50p to use it for eight hours and is priced at £39.99.

If you are after the product then you’ll need to be quick.

As it is a Specialbuy , once it’s gone, it’s gone – so you may want to act fast to get one for yourself.

Shoppers are already racing to social media to share their thoughts on the iconic item’s return.

One said: “Mine is fine it heats the room up to.”

While others commented, “We need this” and “we’ll need to keep it eyes open for these”.

But the winter device hasn’t gone down well with everyone.

Someone said: “Had one years ago, Aldi weren’t the first to do them, absolute waste of money, the only bits of the clothes to dry were the bits that actually touched the heated bars”

And another wrote: “Rubbish mine is in the loft, only dries the part of the clothes on the heated rails so have to co stand move, dries faster on the old fashioned clothed horse.”

It’s not available to buy online so you’ll have to check at your nearest Aldi .

If you want to try it out you can find your nearest Aldi by using the store locator tool on its website.

Whilst it’s a great price, make sure to shop around as you may find a similar product elsewhere.

Prices can also vary day to day what deals are on at the time and remember you might pay for delivery you’re ordering online.

You can compare prices on websites like Google shopping and Trolley.co.uk – which compares the prices of 130,000 products across 14 major supermarkets.

The Latest Deals app also lets you search items and lets you compare prices at several supermarkets to see where it’s cheaper.

At the time of writing, Amazon was selling one for £38.99 – £1 cheaper than Aldi’s.

And Lakeland had a similar one for £39.99, the same price as Aldi’s.

How much does it cost to run a heated air dryer?

The cost of using a heated air dryer varies, depending on the wattage of the appliance.

Aldi claims that this heated airer costs up to 6p to run for an hour – which is what Uswitch estimates the average cost of running one is.

So if you use it three times a week and keep it on for four hours, that costs £37.44 over the year.

It marks a significant saving compared to what it would cost if you used a tumble dryer instead.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected] .

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NO longer considered a byword for sub-par plonk, wine in a box has come on leaps and bounds in recent years.

Improvements to bag-in-container technology, which keeps oxygen out to ensure freshness and longevity, mean many vino producers will now package better grapes in this way.

And improved quality and sustainability – combined with good-value price tags – mean today’s quaffers are keener, too.

Add in portability, convenience and the fact that most square tipples keep fresh in the fridge for up to a month if stored upright, and these bargain boxes can offer unbeatable booze bang for your buck.

This month Aldi launched a brand new boxed Merlot containing the equivalent of three bottles’ worth of red wine for just £12.49.

Here drinks expert Helena Nicklin gives us her verdict on a range of supermarket bargain Chateau Cardboard red, white and pink top picks.

WHITE

Chardonnay, Morrisons 2022, £14.95 (£4.98/75cl) 13% 2.25L

Score: 3/5

This cheeky box of Chardonnay is described as fresh and citrusy on the outside of the box but when you swig the white wine inside it’s actually quite rich and flavoursome.

Made in Moldova, it’s not oaky as such, but think vanilla and melon with lots of ripe fruitiness.

For me it could do with a little zippier acidity, so it’s a bit of a one glass wonder if you are sipping alone, but it really comes to life with food and will be cracking with a chicken salad or roast.

Perfect for: Sunday lunch.

Sainsbury’s House Soave, £13.50 (£4.50/75cl) 11% 2.25L

Score: 4/5

This sultry supermarket Italian Soave from the north east of the country won’t win any pretty packaging prices for its rather basic boxed exterior, but don’t let that put you off.

The wine inside is a winner. Dry and yeasty with a salted almond tang and a pinch of pear, it is a great all-rounder white that’s made well.

It fits easily in the fridge for a glass on tap anytime, stays fresh for ages and shows off excellent value for money.

Perfect for: Aperitifs with salty snacks.

PINK

La Vieille Ferme Rosé, Asda £19 (£6.33/75cL) 12.5% 1.5L

Score: 3/5

Almost water white, this pale, rose petal pink boxed French plonk from Asda looks and feels elegant in the glass and proves that boxed doesn’t have to mean unappealing packaging. Thankfully the drink delivers too, with an attractive, floral aroma and subtle, strawberry and raspberry flavours.

Well balanced, dry, crisp and clean, this is a very simple but delicious well-made glugger. Ideal for al fresco sipping in an Indian summer!

Perfect for: Carrying to a picnic.

Italian Blush, Tesco £15 (£5/75cL) 11.5%, 2.25L

Score: 2/5

Less blush and more flush, this boxed Italian rose tipple has a deeper, more orangey pink colour than anticipated in the glass, which potentially hints at a lack of freshness.

On the palate it’s drinkable, with a fairly generic ‘wine’ taste and sweetness that’s a bit disjointed.

Fine as a boxed stand-by to keep in the fridge and a good price, but there is better vino around.

Perfect for: A spritzer with ice and lemonade or as a Kir with blackcurrant cordial.

Asda Extra Special Pinot Grigio Rosé 2022 £17.95 (£5.98/75cL) 12% 2.25L

Score: 5/5

This box of great-value pink really surprised me – in a good way.

With its enticing ballet-shoe hue, this is an Italian wine that manages to strike the balance between crisp and dry with just the right amount of red fruit splashed in.

It has personality and substance but is light on its feet.

An excellent price for the three bottles’ worth you get too, and definitely a good mid-week, or anytime, plonk pleasure.

Perfect for: Cold cuts, with canapés or just enjoy alone in the glass!

RED

Baron Amarillo Merlot, Aldi £12.49 (£4.14/75cL) 12.5% 2.25L

Score: 3/5

This new, pocket-friendly Merlot from Aldi is pretty decent plonk for the super low price tag.

A rustic red packed with baked fig and strawberry flavours, with a sprinkle of baking spice, it has a fair bit going on and is not cloying or too acidic like many cheap wines can be.

Cheap, but for the three bottles’ worth of red you get for the money it is nicely cheerful.

Ideal to have in as we get ready to cosy up and the evenings start to shorten.

Don’t forget, even boxed red wine will stay fresher longer if refrigerated, too.

Perfect for: Midweek sausage and mash or burgers.

Jam Shed Shiraz, Tesco £14.50 (£7.25/75cL) 13.5% 1.5L

Score: 3/5

Big, bold, very ripe and juicy, jam is the word with this wine!

If you like sweeter styles of vino with a peppery, spicy kick, this big ol’ boy from South Australia will bowl you over.

It may get cloying after a few glasses but it does what it says on the tin – or rather, box.

Tone down the sweetness with a chunk of chocolate or some salty cheese and you’ll have the ultimate guilty pleasure pairing.

Fun stylish packaging to keep in the fridge, too.

Perfect for: Telly nights on the sofa with some chocolate.

Banrock Station, Shiraz Cabernet 2021, Sainsburys £19.50 (£6.50/75cL) 13.5% 2.25L

Score: 5/5

Here’s an awesome Aussie red with a serious purpose: Carbon neutral-certified Banrock Station plant 100,000 native trees and shrubs in Australia every year.

In the glass this Shiraz is dry and really delicious, with yummy coffee bean and dark chocolate flavours balanced by pretty, plummy fruit notes.

Yes, there’s lots going on, but this box is good value for what you get and unpretentious with it.

Perfect for: BBQs and grilled meat and veg.

The private equity firm Lone Star Funds is among a pack of suitors that want to devour Princes Foods, the company behind some of Britain’s most popular tinned foods.

Sky News has learnt that Lone Star, along with other financial investors including Epiris and Aurelius, are interested in buying the company.

A deal, which would cost several hundred million pounds and potentially more than £400m, would be among the largest in the UK food sector this year.

City sources said on Thursday that Newlat, the Italian food group, and One Rock Capital Partners, another financial investor, were also interested in a takeover.

It is the latest attempt by Mitsubishi Corporation, the giant Japanese conglomerate which owns Princes, to offload the company.

An earlier auction conducted this year failed to draw interest at a sufficiently attractive price.

Princes produces tinned fish and fruits, as well as a range of soft drinks.

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Houlihan Lokey, the investment bank, is working on the sale.

Read more: Reduced chance of winter power blackouts despite loss of coal back-up Rishi Sunak refuses to answer questions on HS2’s future

Princes has been owned by Mitsubishi since 1989, but traces its roots back to 1900.

Its sales declined in 2022, but remains one of the UK’s biggest food groups, with revenues of close to £1.5bn in the year to the end of March 2022.

Bankers had previously suggested that a break-up of the company was possible, with its oils business one candidate to be disposed of separately.

None of those approached by Sky News would comment.

HUNDREDS of thousands of women are owed £1,000s after being caught up in a huge state pension error.

One of those individuals, Mrs Atkinson now 74, has received a £17,000 windfall after falling victim.

The error, which was first revealed last year , has seen an estimated 210,000 people miss out on money they are entitled to during retirement – most of them women who were stay-at-home mums.

Of these, 150,000 are still alive and around 60,000 are now deceased.

The DWP estimates that £1.3billion is owed to those affected.

It means the average amount owed is £5,000 each.

The affected are those who claimed child benefit , largely women, prior to May 2000 as they could have gaps in their National Insurance (NI) record which in turn affects their state pension amount.

The amount of state pension someone gets is based on their NI contributions and the number of “qualifying years” they have.

From 1978 to 2010, protection was provided for parents to avoid these gaps by a system known as Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) credits.

This system was then replaced in 2010 by the one we have now, called NI credits.

If someone claimed child benefit before May 2000 and did not provide their NI number on the form, it is possible that their credits may not have been transferred to their NI account from the child benefit computer.

This may affect their pension entitlement and women who are now in their 60s and 70s are most likely to be affected.

Mrs Atkinson, who lives with her husband in Cornwall, was getting a state pension of £134 per week based on 29 years of National Insurance contributions.

However, earlier this year she heard about Home Responsibilities Protection and applied in March 2023.

She had a letter back from HMRC in June saying she had been awarded HRP from 1978/79 to 1988/89.

Even though was working for some of these years, most of them showed blank on her NI record, so HRP for those years would improve her pension.

But after DWP had failed to update her state pension she contacted Steve Webb, partner at LCP who has campaigned on this issue for over a decade, who took up her case.

She has now had an increase of £29.68 to her state pension and a lump sum of £16,966 for all of the underpayments since she retired in 2009.

It comes as the DWP is about to begin contacting people who might have been entitled to HRP between 1978 and 2010 but have no HRP on their NI record within weeks.

Where errors are found, NI records will be corrected and the DWP will then recalculate state pensions and pay arrears.

This could result in increased pension payments as well as a lump sum payment

Steve Webb said: “It is truly shocking that so many people have been underpaid because of errors on their National Insurance record for time at home with children.

“It is even worse that tens of thousands of people, mostly mothers, died without ever receiving the correct state pension.

“It is vitally important that HMRC and DWP are open and transparent about this whole process and that every effort is made to track down all those who may be entitled.”

What do I need to do now?

Mr Webb said anyone who has received child benefit since 1978 should check their NI record.

If the payment is missing, there is a form that can be filled in to get the information added to your record.

It is called a CF411 form and it can be found on the government’s website.

You can also contact the HMRC National Insurance helpline for an application form.

Your state pension will then be automatically recalculated and the arrears will be paid.

You can still apply for HRP if, for the full tax years (April to April) between 1978 and 2010, if you were either:

• Sharing the care of a child under 16 with a partner you lived with and they claimed Child Benefit instead of you
• caring for a sick or disabled person

Any HRP you had before April 6, 2010, have converted to National Insurance credits.

You must have reached State Pension age on or after April 6 for these credits to go towards your pension.

Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) explained

HRP was a scheme to protect parents’ and carers’ State Pension.

National Insurance credits replaced HRP in 2010.

Most people got HRP automatically if they were getting child benefit in their name for a child under the age of 16 and they had given the child benefit office their National Insurance number.

If you think you may be entitled, but you have questions, the Pension Service can be reached using the gov.uk website or by calling 0800 731 0469.

A FRIED chicken chain that’s “better than KFC” is opening more stores across the UK.

Miss Millie’s was founded in Bristol over 35 years ago by then Harry Latham.

But its fried chicken roots stretch back even further as Mr Latham helped set up the first KFC in the UK alongside Ray Allen in 1965.

He served as a KFC managing director in the 1970s before opening stores in 1988 under the Miss Millie’s brand.

The chain has 11 restaurants across the UK, including in Bristol, Weston-Super-Mare, Yate Billericay and Walthamstow.

Fried chicken fans will also be pleased to hear that two new stores are on the block.

One already opened in Eastbourne on September 14 but a brand new branch is opening in Bristol.

This is the first Miss Millie’s shop to open in the South West city in over 30 years.

It already has locations in Bristol on East Street, High Street and Whiteladies Road.

The store will include a new range of burgers, hot loaded wings, chicken tenders, fries and desserts.

The shop will be located on St Augustine’s Parade though an opening date hasn’t yet been announced.

Miss Millie’s has been a popular fried chicken choice over the years and many foodies have been raving about it.

One customer declared: “Better than KFC “.

While someone else wrote: “Miss Millies is the goat. Top quality fried chicken.”

And someone else said: “Finger fricking good.”

Miss Millie’s managing director, Carl Traill, told the B24/7: “We are delighted to be opening this new Miss Millie’s store in Bristol, the home and birthplace for the brand.

“Bristolians have been enjoying Miss Millie’s chicken for over 30 years and we are excited to introduce a new generation to the brand with some exciting new menu items.”

Fried chicken aficionados may also be able to save money at Miss Millie’s as some items are cheaper than KFC’s fan favourites.

We had a look and compared KFC prices to Miss Millie’s prices.

For example, a fillet burger from KFC via Just Eat will cost shoppers £6.49.

In comparison, the same item from Miss Millie’s via Just Eat in the same area will cost people £5.99.

A boneless banquet meal at KFC costs £10.49 at KFC but with Miss Millie’s you’ll pay £9.49.

It’s not a huge difference but the cost can add up – especially if you’re a fried chicken fan.

Shoppers can order a Miss Millie’s meal in store or online via Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Just Eat.

Make sure you factor in delivery costs and prices can vary depending on which third-party app you choose to use.

If you don’t live in the South West and want to try something new then Morley’s chicken is also another option.

Fast food chains are always popular, but with budgets being tight right now, shoppers are looking for cheaper deals.

You can find shops across London, including Finsbury Park and London, and a little further afield in Brighton and Worthing .

In recent years, it’s won a host of fans, including celebrities like Stormzy and YouTuber Amelia Dimoldenberg .

You can get a chicken fillet burger meal, which includes a drink, a side and a dip, for £7.49.

This is the same price as a Fillet Tower Burger Meal at KFC.

Plus a pot of burger sauce, ketchup, chilli sauce and BBQ sauce costs just 30p.

But Morley’s is slightly pricier for certain items, for example, its large fries cost £2.79 but they are just £2.19 at KFC.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected] .

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