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A BELOVED restaurant in Birmingham’s city centre will close its doors for good this week, after serving the community for over 14 years.

Bodega Cantina, located on Bennetts Hill, announced the closure, blaming the financial strain caused by rising costs and tax hikes.

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The final service at the Bennetts Hill location will take place on Saturday, March 15[/caption]

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Bodega Cantina has struggled to cope with the pressures of the current economic climate[/caption]

In a heartfelt message on social media, the owners revealed the tough challenges behind their decision to close.

“It is with sadness that we announce the closure of Bodega Cantina on March 15.

“Like many others in hospitality, we’ve been significantly affected, first by Brexit taking away much of the staffing resources that our industry relies upon, and then the various dramas brought about by Covid.

“More recent factors such as the large increase in utility bills, ‘cost of living crisis’, double-digit inflation and upcoming increases in minimum wage and NI costs have now made the venue financially unsustainable.

“It’s been a great journey, these last 14 years, and we hope we’ve provided a great South American-inspired experience to our customers along the way.

“We also hope that we might see some of you again in our last week of trading.”

The latest increase in utility bills and the upcoming rise in national insurance and minimum wage costs made the venue financially unsustainable.

Despite its long-standing popularity, Bodega Cantina has struggled to cope with the pressures of the current economic climate.

The restaurant, known for its vibrant South American-inspired dishes such as tacos, burritos, and Brazilian fish stew, had already closed its Sutton Coldfield location after just two years.

Fans flooded social media with messages of sadness, expressing their deep appreciation for the restaurant’s impact on their lives.

One user wrote: “Absolutely gutted.”

Another shared a sentimental message: “Big love guys, you were a big part of my transformative years growing up in Brum x.”

A third added: “So sad, end of an era.”

The final service at the Bennetts Hill location will take place on Saturday, March 15, marking the end of an era for the much loved restaurant.

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Many food and drink chains have been struggling in recently as the cost of living has led to fewer people spending on eating out[/caption]

LADIES, we’ve all been there.

A friend is going through a messy relationship break-up and – several Proseccos in – spills all about her former man’s poor performance in the bedroom.

Steve Bell

Lily Allen mocked her exes’ ability in the bedroom after her split from husband David Harbour – it was embarrassing and shameful[/caption]

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Lily, 39, and Stranger Things actor David Harbour, 49, recently split[/caption]

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Lily made the shock confession live on stage at the Hackney Empire in London[/caption]

It’s bitchy, hilarious and cathartic. But crucially, it’s between mates. And it goes no further.

Not, that is, unless you’re Lily Allen.

Late last year, the 39-year-old singer split from her husband, Stranger Things star David Harbour, after she apparently discovered his profile on the elite celebrity dating app Raya.

The couple were, at this point, still together – so it’s no wonder she was heartbroken.

If true, Harbour behaved terribly. We can only imagine how betrayed poor Lily must have felt. So it’s hardly surprising the mum-of-two wanted her spill-all moment.

With Harbour now dating a much younger model, she’d have to be a saint not to want revenge. And Lily is certainly no saint.

But unlike the rest of us who gather friends in the kitchen, or head to a fancy cocktail bar, Lily has a podcast.

So now the whole world knows she is “not over it”.

What if a male celeb took to the airwaves to slam his former lovers for being bad in bed? He would rightly be vilified as a sexist cad and promptly cancelled.

Joanna Williams

And, what’s more, we all now know about her exes’ failures between the sheets.

With the opportunity to vent on a recent live recording, Lily dished the dirt.

And she didn’t restrict the tongue lashing to her ex-hubby but took aim at all her exes.

“I don’t think there has been one person that has been remotely interested in my pleasure,” she told the audience and, via her podcast, the entire world.

“I have actual d**k blindness. I can’t even picture, not even my ex-husband’s or boyfriends. I can’t picture them at all. Apart from one as I have pictures of it on my phone.”

Lily, you should be ashamed. It’s all just TMI.

One day your kids will stick their mum’s name into Google.

Do you really want them to know you carry around a picture of an ex-lover’s crown jewels on your phone? I’m embarrassed on their behalf.

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Singer Lily previously revealed she was going to seek help after her split from David Harbour[/caption]

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The pair married in 2020 but in December, friends confirmed they had split after ‘living separate lives’ for months[/caption]

It seems only fair to ask what if this was the other way round.

What if a male celeb took to the airwaves to slam his former lovers for being bad in bed?

If body shaming is bad, why is sex shaming acceptable? If fat-shaming is a no-no, why is d**k shaming fine and dandy?

Joanna Williams

He would rightly be vilified as a sexist cad and promptly cancelled.

The #MeToo brigade would complain about women being publicly shamed and humiliated. Rightly so.

But if it’s not okay for men to do this, why is it not just acceptable, but actually praised as ‘empowering’ when women behave in the exact same way? These double standards shame women.

Yet there are examples everywhere. Just look at feminist complaints about body shaming. Lily herself has been swept up in this trend.

Back in 2021, after she shared a video of herself on Instagram, fans expressed concern that the singer was becoming too thin.

Lily, who has spoken of her struggles with alcohol and mental health problems, was quick to slap them down.

“Seriously where do you get off?” she asked. “You know nothing about me or my lifestyle. How dare you.”

She has a point. But if body shaming is bad, why is sex shaming acceptable? If fat-shaming is a no-no, why is d**k shaming fine and dandy?

It seems that nothing is private anymore.

Just occasionally, what happens behind closed doors is best kept behind closed doors.

Yet when it comes to discussing her sex life, attention-seeking Lily has no boundaries.

Back in January, she told The Times that Harbour was the first man she had ever slept with while sober, adding, “it’s been helpful to do it with someone that’s long-in-the-tooth in that game.”

Not the most flattering thing to say about a man 10 years her senior.

In a previous edition of her podcast, talk also turned to the couple’s sex life.

“I wonder if I kink-shame my husband?” she mused, “Because he quite often asks for things and I’m like ‘no babe it’s not happening.’”

Lily, enough already! Airing such private conversations in public is pure cringe.

And dressing-up man bashing as some kind of sex-positive feminism is particularly nauseating.

But from narcissism to hypocrisy, many things are odd about Lily’s sex talk.

Here’s another: she takes her audience for fools.

Are we really expected to believe that someone so confident at discussing all things intimate in public, and so forthright when it comes to calling out bad sex in front of a live studio audience, cannot communicate her needs and desires with one man in the bedroom?

But perhaps this is the problem.

Today’s culture tells us to spill-all in public, whether that’s on TV shows and podcasts if you are a celeb, or on social media if you’re not.

But when we do this, there’s nothing left that’s private. There’s no longer any room for trust and intimacy.

Take it from me, it’s trust and intimacy, more than anything else, that are the secret to great sex.

So Lily, I know you’ve not asked for it, but here’s my advice. The next time you’re tempted to d**k shame just put a sock in it.

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Lily’s man bashing should be called out[/caption]

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Lily hosts the BBC’s Miss Me? podcast with pal Miquita Oliver[/caption]

ILLEGAL streaming services used by thousands have been shut down in the latest effort against dodgy TV boxes.

Anti piracy chiefs have warned that the fresh crackdown “is not scaremongering” after turning up at more than a dozen households.

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Illegal streaming is a particular problem for sports broadcasting[/caption]

While serious action has largely focused on those behind these illegal sites, users have been warned of the hidden dangers they face for using them.

The Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) – backed by Sky, the Premier League and others – issued legal notices to 13 alleged IPTV operators across Ireland alone urging them to shut up shop or risk a criminal prosecution.

There were knocks at the door to people living in Dublin, Cork, Donegal, Offaly, Limerick, Louth, Clare, Westmeath and Laois.

This is the fourth wave of enforcement action to date since March 2023, and has resulted in the closure of almost 70 illegal services across Ireland.

Experts have warned anyone using illegal streaming platforms that they’re at “real risk” of devastating crime such as identity theft.

“Together with our partners we will continue to identify and take action against Illegal IPTV service providers,” said Kieron Sharp, Chairman of FACT.

“They are breaking the law, making criminal profits and putting consumers at real risk of malware, data loss and identity theft.

“We want to protect consumers from these risks and operations such as this ensure the message goes out.

“It is not scaremongering; these are real criminal actions which consumers and their families are exposed to.

“These investigations and operations will continue this new year.”

The action comes days after similar anti piracy efforts stepped up a level across the pond.

The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) recently filed two separate federal US lawsuits against alleged IPTV operators located in California and Pennsylvania.

The first is accused of running Outer Limits IPTV while the other is alleged to be behind a number of services including Beast Mode Live, GreenWing Media, Viking Media, BTV, Shrugs, and Zing.

“These lawsuits demonstrate ACE’s unwavering commitment to protecting the creative industry from digital piracy from coast to coast and around the world,” said Karyn Temple, Senior Executive Vice President and Global General Counsel for the Motion Picture Association.

“Illegal IPTV services not only harm creators and legitimate streaming platforms but also expose consumers to potential security and fraud risks. We will continue to take decisive legal action to shut down these operations and hold infringers accountable.”

GLOBAL CRACKDOWN

Last year, a major series of raids across Europe took place leading to a huge network used by 22million people being shut down.

Five addresses in the UK were stormed, along with suspects in Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland.

The biggest part was carried out in Italy, where 270 officers searched 89 properties in 15 Italian regions.

Nick Herm, chief operating officer at Sky, recently warned that illegal viewing of its subscription content was costing “hundreds of millions of dollars”.

He accused tech giants including Amazon of failing to tackle the problem, saying modified Fire Sticks “probably” make up “about half of the piracy” in the UK.

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