68 minutes ago Pitch perfect: why listening to cricket on radio soothes a world that won’t hear sense

Waves crashing. Cicadas singing. And always the burble of cricket on the radio, unifying summers and people with its gentle pleasures for an uncertain worldMy father was a man of his generation, which meant when summer rolled around and the cricket season started, he insisted on muting Channel Nine’s coverage and blasting the ABC’s radio commentary instead.Ours was a complicated relationship but one thing for which I’ll be forever grateful was the way my father shared his love for Test cricket with me. I grew up as a cricket obsessive. My love for the game survived childhood, adolescence, and even the realisation that, given I was batting No 11 for South Melbourne under-12s, my dream to open the batting for Australia was unlikely to be fulfilled. Continue reading...

Politics

68 minutes ago My body is already in decline. Now experts can predict when my mind will follow | Emma Beddington

What’s more depressing than the thought of a long, slow decline in health? The thought of several short, sharp declines. Thank you, science!I don’t believe ageing is linear: I reckon we have long plateaux, then everything falls apart all at once. I realised this at the close of my harrowing 31st year, when I looked in the mirror and didn’t recognise the sad, grey ghost staring back. I swear one day I was young and moderately dewy with a functioning musculoskeletal system; the next my face imploded, shortly followed by my knee (yes, it was a fun year). There’s a phrase for this kind of sudden ageing in French: prendre un coup de vieux, which feels appropriate, since I was living in France during that first precipitous decline and prolonged exposure to the angry rigours of Parisian life was at least partly to blame.Anyway, now science is catching up. Earlier this year, researchers identified two “peaks” for ageing at 44 and 60, and now a new paper points to three peaks in brain ageing...

Science

83 minutes ago 'I’ve been on 1,000 dates in 8 years and send automatic rejection emails if it doesn't work out'

Suzan Mutesi, 38, used to go on dates whenever she was 'not in the mood to cook' and has been on more than 1,000 in the past eight years - but she still believes in true love

Politics

86 minutes ago Bukayo Saka injury assessment on Match of the Day says everything with Arsenal fans gutted

Bukayo Saka pulled up with a hamstring injury in the first half against Crystal Palace on Saturday, putting a dampener on Arsenal's comfortable 5-1 Premier League win ahead of Christmas

Sport

91 minutes ago Kate Middleton's university friend who shared unseen picture of royal at a flat party opens up about her 'magical time' at St Andrews with the future queen

Laura Warshauer, who was placed in the same halls as Kate during their time at the University of St Andrews, delighted fans when she shared an unseen snap of the royal during her student days.

Politics

2 hours ago Beast Games fans all asking the same question after watching first episode

New Amazon Prime Video show Beast Games sees 1,000 contestants battle it out to with a staggering $5million in cash – but viewers have been left with one question

Sport

2 hours ago I had 25 addresses in 20 years – but now I’ve created the beginnings of a new life | Jay Bernard

Gentrification and the cruelties of the rental market kept forcing me to move. This Christmas, I know I’ll find happiness wherever I amIn our end of year series, writers and public figures remember the place or time when they felt most at homeAfter a while, you want to live alone. And then it happens and you discover everything that’s difficult about it. You realise that you didn’t really want to live alone, you were just sad and alienated in your old life.The pandemic reshuffled society in a way that could not be anticipated. Sometimes it feels as though the life I now have has come about because I stepped through a portal to a parallel world. There is a disconcerting jump cut between life before Covid-19 and life now. In the history of unstable housing that characterised my 20s and early 30s, and about which I feel nothing but regret, there was a moment when it changed from an unquestioned, if depressing reality, to something emblematic.Jay Bernard is a writer and artist Continue ...

Politics

2 hours ago Love Island’s Arabella Chi shows off her baby bump after pregnancy announcement

Pregnant Love Island star Arabella Chi has showed off her growing baby bump in a new clip, after announcing her pregnancy with boyfriend Billy Henty this month.

Politics

2 hours ago Glaring Rangers issue identified as wounded Clement warned of more battle scars to come after Dundee dross

Andy Newport manned the phoned and found little festive cheer among Scottish football fans

Events

2 hours ago Giovanni Pernice declares 'I'm back' as he breaks silence on win and hints at Strictly return

Pro dancer Giovanni thanked fans for their support and referenced a 'difficult year' after a six-month BBC probe into his conduct

Politics