55 h. ago A moment that changed me: I stepped into the boxing ring – and decades of quiet anger lifted

As I punched and shouted, I knew I didn’t have to be demure, delicate or diplomatic. I could be as fierce as I wanted. Those three minutes set me freeOn meeting me, you would never guess that I used to be an angry person. I’m talkative, sociable and self-possessed – but for nearly 20 years I lived with a quiet fury. It started with my parents, whose strict conservatism restricted everything in my life: what I ate, what I wore, where I went, what I thought. As immigrants from Bangladesh, they believed that control was the best way to protect their daughters, but it suffocated me.I had to fight to go to university – for all the things that men in my community were given as a right. At first, my anger felt ambient – mild and ever-present – but it became something harder, more bitter, when I was pressured into an arranged marriage at the age of 24. Continue reading...

Sport

9 d. ago A moment that changed me: I went to a death cafe – and learned how to live a much happier life

I felt peace flood over me as I realised I no longer needed to seek validation from others. Rather than saying yes to everything, I became more open, present and patient‘Are you afraid of dying, or are you afraid of not living?” Last year, I was sitting in a circle of strangers – half Buddhist monks, half morbidly curious members of the public – when someone asked one of the most profound questions I had ever heard. I was at a “death cafe”, at my local Buddhist centre in south London. A plate of biscuits was passed around while people nursed mugs of hot tea. At 29, I was one of the youngest attending the informal chat about death and dying, which was part of an initiative to encourage more open conversations about the ends of our lives.During the session, people reflected on the lives of those they had lost. Stories were shared about the joyful moments they had had together. A woman asked me why I would want to come to something like this, at my age. I looked around before revealing...

Events

1 week ago Adele says relationship with son has changed after poignant moment

Adolescence hit screens earlier this year on Netflix and has quickly become a fan favourite, with many hoping another series is in the works

Politics

2 w. ago 'When I got that call from the nursery, Genevieve was already dead'

EXCLUSIVE: Speaking to the Manchester Evening New, the parents of Genevieve Meehan talk about their beautiful little girl, the moment their lives changed forever and their new campaign for change. Amy Walker reports.

Events

2 w. ago A moment that changed me: I saw my first wild water bear – and snapped out of my despair at the world

I was in anguish over the climate crisis, ecological devastation and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But this almost indestructible little creature gave me a lesson in resilienceLess than a millimetre in length, the squishy, transparent animal was completely unaware of my presence, my entire existence, while I watched it in awe. On my computer screen, where I gazed at the image generated by a cheap USB microscope, the water bear stumbled over grains of eroded rock and plant matter, an assemblage of soil, and I felt amused by its bumbling nature. Like someone trying to move through a field of beach balls, I thought.I had found this water bear, or tardigrade, in a clump of moss I collected during a wet and windy walk with our dog, Bernie, in late 2021. After changing into dry clothes, I rinsed the moss with water and removed the excess using coffee filter paper. Transferring the residue soil and stray moss leaves – known as phyllids – to a small glass bowl, I found the water bear within...

Politics

2 w. ago Was this the moment Jamie Laing changed his mind about being a dad? Ex MIC star spoke on podcast about 'secret battle' he hid from Sophie

Radio 1's Jamie, 36, was open on his Great Company podcast earlier this year about the 'secret battle' he's endured over whether to have children or not with wife Sophie Habboo.

Events

2 w. ago The celeb haunt that hides a horrifying secret... and the ghost of a little boy lingers

A group of wealthy locals muse about the food at the celebrity haunt, oblivious to the moment that changed America forever.

Politics

3 w. ago A moment that changed me: I was shy and cared too much what people thought of me. Then a group of K

From the moment I discovered Korean pop music in my 20s, I was hooked. But it took going to meet other fans to help me find my self-confidence – and my tribe‘You need to listen to this,” said my friend Helen over her birthday lunch in 2018. “Have you ever heard of K-pop?” I hadn’t – I didn’t know it was short for Korean pop music, or about K-pop “idols” (stars). She played me songs by the South Korean boyband SHINee and I was instantly captivated. It reminded me of the pop music I loved in the 00s, when I was growing up: the bombastic music videos, the repetitive electro-pop hooks, the bands where each member has a distinct role, like a family. It was pure escapism.Gradually, I started listening to more and more K-pop, until I took the plunge and did something I’d previously dismissed as “cringe”. With my twin sister, Hannah, I went to a K-pop-themed “cafe event” at the Gaza cafe in Soho, London. The get-together marked the birthdays of three members of the boyband GOT7. Their music...

Politics

3 w. ago The Premier League’s ‘existential moment’ and how fans aim to force change

Football supporters have grown increasingly restless with Premier League clubs eager to profit from their emotional connection but, as Miguel Delaney illustrates, this season has seen widespread protests to spark change in a bid to salvage fan culture in stadiums

Politics

3 w. ago Single moment Mo Farah's PE teacher changed his life by breaking a rule

Sir Mo Farah has opened up about the PE teacher who inspired him - and was the first person the Olympic champ confided in after being trafficked to the UK aged 9

Politics

4 w. ago Before the word ‘transgender’ existed, there was Bambi, the dazzling Parisian icon

The moment that changed queer history occurred on a sweltering day in early 1952 in Algiers

Politics

4 w. ago Legacy body focused on and capable of uncovering ‘unvarnished truth’ – Morgan

Sir Declan Morgan described a ‘reset moment’ to make changes to the Legacy Act.

Politics

last month A moment that changed me: I thought I’d never fit in in rural France – until a revelation at the boulangerie

I’d spent 10 years trying to be more like my goat-farming neighbours. What if I stressed my ‘Britishness’ instead?I was standing in the long queue of a rural French boulangerie when it happened. The sun was just coming up and the glorious smell of freshly baked baguette filled the dawn air. I drank it in and shuffled forward, awaiting my turn, aware I was getting “looks” – and it wasn’t difficult to see why. I had driven all night from performing at a comedy gig in London to get to my home in the Loire valley, and I was still in my work clothes. My stage wear included a check tweed Edwardian frock coat with matching weskit, navy blue dress trousers, brogue monk shoes, a smart Oxford-collared shirt and a knitted blue tie, slightly loosened. Under normal circumstances, I would not invade my local boulangerie dressed as a cross between a late 60s dandy and a roaring 20s duellist, but it had been a long drive, and I was too tired to tone it down.Plus, I had never really fit in locally a...

Politics