1 hour ago Why summer’s a time to pass the port | Hannah Crosbie on drinks

When the sun’s out, try using port as a mixer and surprise yourself with a port tonic or any number of citrus punchesSome drinks are so inexorably tied up with specific seasons and circumstances that it’s hard to imagine them anywhere else. Like bumping into a teacher outside school or witnessing someone take off their shoes during a flight. It’s legal, sure, but there’s always a moment of deep discomfort and confusion before acceptance. And that’s pretty much how I imagine many people feel about drinking port in summer. Or, indeed, at any time of the day that isn’t evening, or served alongside anything that isn’t an intriguing, veiny cheese.Consider Porto, the city responsible for bringing the drink to the rest of the world – do you think that, when the temperatures creep up, everyone there stops drinking the stuff? No, they find new ways to enjoy it. Improvise, adapt, overcome. Continue reading...

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27 h. ago Is it safe to use magic mushrooms while pregnant? One woman’s quest raises questions

Inspired by Indigenous practices, Mikaela de la Myco has collected stories of mothers who say psilocybin helped them during pregnancy. US scientists are skepticalWhen Mikaela found out she was pregnant six years ago, she knew she needed to stop drinking. What she wasn’t sure about was how she would manage the cravings.As a teenager, she had discovered that alcohol and opiates could dull traumatic memories, including recurrent sexual assaults that played in her mind nonstop and led to suicidal thoughts. But as she entered her 20s, eager to address her mental health, she realized what helped most was psilocybin. Continue reading...

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31 h. ago A moment that changed me: I stopped drinking – and realised what friendship really meant

I always thought hitting the bottle made me the life and soul of the party, but sobriety helped me to be honest with myself – and make genuine connections with other peopleThe conversation began with an apology. I’d rehearsed it many times, trying not to sound too defensive or pitiful. I’d walked through every potential rejection that might come as a result of letting my friend Gillian into a side of my life I’d tried hard to keep hidden. But she had just told me that she wanted to come to visit me in New Haven, so I was cornered. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m sober now.” I felt embarrassed. “I have stopped drinking,” I added, to clarify. “If you visit, I can’t drink with you.”In the pause that followed, I imagined her politely trying to work her way out of coming to see me, now that our favourite thing to do together wasn’t an option. Continue reading...

Politics

47 h. ago Dignity in Dying campaigner Emma Bray dies after vowing to starve herself to death 'to protect her children'

Dignity in Dying campaigner Emma Bray spent her final days in a hospice this summer after voluntarily deciding to stop eating and drinking.

Events

3 d. ago Scientists reveal what really happens to your body when you stop drinking

Katinka van de Ven and Nicole Lee explain how the body recovers after removing alcohol from your life

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3 d. ago Basic kitchen item stops bananas going brown and extends their lifespan

Bananas are the ultimate snack but can turn bad pretty fast once ripe - but there's a cheap and simple solution to stop them from going brown for at least a few extra days

Politics

4 d. ago Dad of tragic teen says major rule change 'should be biggest moment in online safety'

Ian Russell, whose daughter Molly tragically took her own life in 2017 after accessing horrendous material online, told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg Ofcom must enforce tough new age enforcement laws that begin this month

Events

4 d. ago Sophie reveals her emotions on taking Duchess of Edinburgh title, as she pays tribute to late Queen Elizabeth II

Speaking during her visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina this week, the duchess said her change in title in 2023 'felt like quite a big moment'.

Politics

4 d. ago Marc Cucurella shares moment that 'changed career' as Chelsea eye Club World Cup glory

Chelsea are set to face Paris Saint-Germain in the final of the Club World Cup and Blues star Marc Cucurella is hoping to lift another trophy after enjoying the best year of his career

Politics

5 d. ago ‘I felt pure, unconditional love’: the people who marry their AI chatbots

The users of AI companion app Replika found themselves falling for their digital friends. Until – explains a new podcast – the bots went dark, a user was encouraged to kill Queen Elizabeth II and an update changed everything A large bearded man named Travis is sitting in his car in Colorado, talking to me about the time he fell in love. “It was a gradual process,” he says softly. “The more we talked, the more I started to really connect with her.”Was there a moment where you felt something change? He nods. “All of a sudden I started realising that, when interesting things happened to me, I was excited to tell her about them. That’s when she stopped being an it and became a her.” Continue reading...

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5 d. ago Simple ingredient will stop iced coffee tasting watery and bland during heatwave

Iced coffee is the perfect way to cool down in a heatwave, but there's nothing worse than it tasting watery after five minutes - and the solution is so simple

Events

7 d. ago Brits told to stop boiling potatoes as one faster method locks in flavour

Potatoes are a staple on British dinner tables, but boiling them can be time-consuming. Now, food experts have shared a quicker, healthier and more flavourful cooking method

Politics

7 d. ago Stop adding ice to drinks and wrap your glass in one common kitchen item

Experts have warned UK households to wrap their beverages with this one common kitchen item to keep them cooler for longer - and it's a lifesaver hack for the summer

Politics

8 d. ago Chef says stop boiling corn and use simple cooking hack to make it much more delicious

Chef Thom Bateman has shared his simple recipe for making corn ribs - and once you try it, you'll never go back to your boring old corn on the cob again

Politics

8 d. ago A moment that changed me: I was told my home was haunted – and it made me a tidier, happier person

I don’t believe in ghosts, but I am also an extreme people pleaser. If my living room was filled with judgmental spirits, it felt disrespectful to remain such a messAbout a year after I moved into my apartment in Los Angeles, I was woken up by three loud knocks on my bedroom door at 3am. I thought there might be an intruder – but I got up, opened the door, and there was nobody there. I went to the front door, thinking I had misheard it, but there was nobody there either. I thought I had imagined it. Then it kept happening about once a week.I thought it must be my upstairs neighbours, perhaps working a night shift, but after I introduced myself to them to ask about the noise, they assured me they wouldn’t be awake at that hour. I asked the man who looks after our 70s-built apartment block if there were problems with the pipes. He said no. At one point, I started putting my dresser in front of the door, because I was so scared. I couldn’t shake the idea that somebody was getting into ...

Events

1 week ago 'I realised I was an amputee when I saw my leg hanging above me after train exploded'

EXCLUSIVE: Martine Wright is the most injured female survivor of the 7/7 London bombings, which claimed the lives of 52 victims, and spoke to us about that life-changing moment 20 years ago

Politics

1 week ago Stop scooping avocados out with a spoon and use one kitchen item instead

A simple video shows an avocado being prepared in mere seconds thanks to a kitchen utensil associated with baking cakes

Politics

1 week ago Out of Emma Raducanu's shadow, the new British hope Sonay Kartal is relishing her debut on Centre Court

Look back at the career of any tennis player and there is a sliding-doors moment when, unbeknown to them at the time, their life changes course.

Events

1 week ago Vicky McClure in huge career change in 'first time ever' moment for Line of Duty star

Line of Duty star Vicky McClure has taken her career in another direction after a huge social media announcement left her saying there is a 'first for everything'

Politics

1 week ago How do we celebrate the 4th of July when American freedom is disappearing? | Deborah Archer, Song Richardson and Susan Sturm

The yearly commemoration has always marked a contradiction. But despair is not a strategy: this is a moment to create changeThe Fourth of July celebration of freedom rings hollow this year. The contradictions built into a national commemoration of our triumph over autocracy feel newly personal and perilous – especially to those who have, until now, felt relatively secure in the federal government’s commitment to democracy and the rule of law.But the contradiction is far from new. Black, brown and Indigenous communities have always seen the gap between the ideals of American democracy and the lived reality of exclusion. Frederick Douglass’s 1852 address What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? demanded that Americans confront the hypocrisy of celebrating liberty while millions were enslaved. Today, those contradictions persist in enduring racial disparities and policies that perpetuate segregation, second-class citizenship and selective protection of rights.Deborah N Archer is the pr...

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