Parks and seafronts are already busy this weekend as Brits enjoy the 21C temperatures after Tropical Storm Henri's washouts, main image at St James's Park in London and, inset at Bournemouth Beach. The Met Office has said showers on Monday and Tuesday would be followed by 20C sunshine on Wednesday in preparation for the warm blast next weekend. Next Saturday starts a three-week spell of 'prolonged' sunshine and dry skies as high pressure 'dominates' until the second half of October.

The comedian, who appeared alongside his siblings Barry and Paul on their hit BBC show ChuckleVision, proposed to 25-year-old Amy Phillips after meeting her on Facebook 18 months ago. The couple, pictured, who live together in a £255,000 detached home in Maltby, South Yorkshire, are now set to tie the knot in a 'quiet affair at a registry office', according to her mother.

Munich tapped the keg Saturday on the world's biggest beer festival, Oktoberfest, with six million revellers expected. The celebration of traditional Bavarian culture with its oompah music and beloved frothy beverage kicked off when Mayor Dieter Reiter opened the first beer barrel with two mallet blows and offered a toast to a 'peaceful' Oktoberfest.

Tensions between the neighbouring countries have mounted since Hungary blocked a route for migrants into EU countries. Since then, 20,000 migrants have entered Croatia. Zoran Milanovic said his country could take no more and would give them food, water and medical attention, before sending them on their often perilous journey to western and northern Europe. Some 3,000 entered Hungary by bus and train on Friday with officials accusing Croatia of committing 'a major violation of international law'.

Staff at the Western Regional Hospital in Belize used a broom and their hands to try and extract the rodent from its hiding place in the supposedly sterile container. After a failed attempt, one nurse manages to pinch the rat's tail, extract it from the plastic container then club it to death with a broom handle.

Singer Camilla Kerslake (left) is the girlfriend of England Rugby captain Chris Robshaw, while lads' magazine model Chloe Madeley (right) is James Haskell's partner. The fiercely ambitious England WAGs deny reports of a rift. So what's the truth?

The twin-screw U-boat 110 was readying an attack on a convoy of merchant vessels when her periscope was sighted, only 50 yards away, and she was forced to the surface by Allied depth charges. With her forward diving rudders jammed in the up position and fuel tank damaged, the submarine was then rammed twice by the H.M.S. Garry and hit with several bursts of gunfire. The relentless attack caused the U-Boat to sink off the north east coast of England, not far from the town of Hartlepool, on July 19, 1918. She was recovered later that year and before being sold for scrap a series of photographs were taken providing a rare glimpse of the U-Boat's mechanics.

They are the memories that parents will treasure for the rest of their lives. But not all family photographs of newborn babies turn out the way mothers and fathers had planned, as new book Born to Be Awkward proves. These hilariously awkward family snaps show how even the cutest of creations - babies - can ruin a picture.

Disgraced Mike Watson, a Labour peer who served eight months in prison for starting a fire in a hotel in November 2004, has been promoted to education spokesman. And MP Ian Lavery, a hardline ex-union baron who was arrested for hooliganism at a football game in the 1980s, has been handed a Shadow Cabinet Office role.

Scott and Gabby Dannemiller, from Bellevue, Tennessee, decided to buy no clothes, gadgets, electronics or toys for a year as they felt they had lost touch with what was important in life. They kept the challenge a secret from their children Audrey, five, and Jake, seven, and neither noticed any change - apart from an increase in quality time together, which they loved. The couple decided they would only be allowed to buy goods that they could use within a year, such as groceries and gas, but not clothes. Mr Dannemiller admitted the year was 'challenging', but said the family had no regrets

Arthur Holland, 69, first met Val, 64, when she was a 15-year-old schoolgirl at a disco in Bedlington, Northumberland. But they soon split and spent decades apart before being reunited 10 years ago. They rekindled their romance but the pair were dealt a devastating blow when Arthur, known to his friends as Dutchy, was diagnosed with bowel cancer. The father-of-one bravely battled the disease but just weeks ago was told it had spread to his lung and liver. His doctors have now stopped all treatment and Val must face the prospect of a future without Arthur. But knowing he didn't have long left to live, Arthur decided to fulfill his lifelong wish. And, just a few days ago, asked Val to marry him. Pictured, the couple in hospital (left) and on their wedding day (right).

Having struggled to find love, Nicci Taylor (left) announced in an online blog that she was going to sell her home, a three-bed semi in the Wirral ('quite ordinary, postage-stamp garden, no boathouse,' she says), and all her possessions, buy a campervan and set off on an adventure to find a partner. She would tour Britain in the camper accompanied only by her dog Milo (pictured inset), stopping off for dates along the way. Eventually she met James Pollard (right), a Lord of the Manor in Scotland. Love blossomed and within four days he had asked her to stay for ever, uttering the words that every singleton living in a campervan wants to hear: 'What's mine is yours.'

When John Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth wrote Fawlty Towers - first shown 40 years ago today - they had no idea they were creating an anti-hero and a hotel that would become national institutions. Pictured left to right are the actors and below their famous characters Andrew Sachs (Manuel), Booth (Polly), Cleese (Basil) and Prunella Scales (Sybil).

The Beverley Sisters spent their lives literally side by side, meaning the chasm left by Joy's death, aged 91, last month following a stroke is physical, palpable, writes FRANCES HARDY. Whenever they performed, gave interviews or appeared in public, the line-up was unchanging. On one side was Babs, on the other was Teddie, and in the middle, flanked by her younger twin siblings, Joy. No matter which hit it was - I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, How Much Is That Doggy In The Window? or their matchless signature tune Sisters - the formation did not vary: Teddie, Joy, Babs, that glorious combo, The Beverley Sisters.

Heckington Community Swimming Pool committee chairman, Michael Wells, said it started off as a bit of a joke, but the response surprised them. The pool organised three doggy events this month. Committee members had to check with an expert to make sure the chlorine was safe for dogs.

Shocking images show Folsom Lake reservoir, near Sacramento, standing at only 18 per cent capacity (main) as the state's four-year drought continues. The area, which used to house more than 700 boats (inset), is currently deserted as green grass covers what used to be the marina base and dry rocks lie on the former reservoir banks. The pictures emerged as some farmers and water agencies were told they could resume pumping from three waterways.

Comedian Michael McIntyre, 39, has infuriated his neighbours in London's leafy Hampstead with proposals for 'destructive' changes to his £5.6million family home. The father of two wants to enclose the first-floor terrace, making it part of his study, and turn the roof of the extension into a new terrace. Since submitting the proposals in July, McIntrye has added French doors along with a Juliet balcony and sash windows to the plans. McIntyre lives in the semi-detached house with wife Kitty, 39, and their children, Lucas, ten, and Oscar, eight.

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jimmy Nelson was taken to the hospital Thursday after he was hit in the head by a line drive on the mound. The incident took place in the third inning. With a man on third, Tommy Pham stepped to the plate against Nelson. On the third pitch of the at-bat, Pham hit a line shot back at the pitcher's mound. Nelson didn't have enough time to react, and was hit on the right side of his head. Pham reacted immediately, visibly wincing once he realized what happened. He would make it second base on the play, but quickly buried his head into his hands as Nelson laid on the ground.

There were some very opposing views of actress Kate Winslet at the Toronto Film Festival this week. On Monday night it was not her acting that divided opinion, but her rather splendid figure, clad in a Badgley Mischka figure-hugging ball gown, as those on two sides of the catwalk were afforded a completely different Kate to the gawpers across the way. Kate, like me, seems to have one of those bodies that appears to occupy three parts of the dress-size spectrum: a size 12 from the front (left), a size 10 from the side (centre) and a size 14 from behind (right), writes JULIA LAWRENCE.

This week, Sir Bruce Forsyth releases his autobiography Strictly Bruce: Stories Of My Life - a collection of tales from his early years and his astonishing 75-year career in showbusiness. Here, in these moving extracts, we share some of the best with you...