3 d. ago Artists, Siblings, Visionaries by Judith Mackrell review – the remarkable lives of Gwen and Augustus John

Gwen’s talent vastly outshone her brother’s – but both are treated with subtlety in this outstanding dual biographyA young woman sits reading, a pot of tea to hand, her blue dress almost the only colour in a still, sandy room. Gwen John’s painting The Convalescent shows a subdued yet happy moment, for this woman is free to think and feel. That, we see in Judith Mackrell’s outstanding double biography of Gwen and her brother, was her ideal for living: to be at liberty even if that meant existing in deepest solitude.The quietness of a life spent largely alone in single rooms, reading, drawing, painting and occasionally having wild sex with the sculptor Rodin, is counterpointed in this epic narrative by the crowded, relentless, almost insanely overstimulated life of Augustus John. Lion of the arts in early 20th-century Britain, he was a bigamist, adulterer, father of so many children you lose track (so did he), and an utterly forgettable painter. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago After five failed rounds of IVF, my partner died. I thought I'd go mad with grief... instead I took the most desperate measure and used his sperm to father the children I longed for: CHARLOTTE CRIPPS

I was 40 and preparing for another IVF cycle as me and my partner, Alex, tried for a baby. But a Tuesday that had started off feeling like any other put me on a path towards the family I have now.

Events

5 d. ago Men think they don’t have a biological clock – but postponing fatherhood could stop them having children

Without a time limit on procreation, the pressure is off men when it comes to the question of fatherhood. But does a deadline-free existence hinder, rather than help, when it comes to family planning? Helen Coffey investigates whether procrastination ultimately winds up limiting male fertility choices

Politics

7 d. ago Experience: I travelled the world delivering letters to strangers

In Galápagos, travellers leave post in an old barrel in the hope it will be picked up – I decided to help outI have always loved travelling, and have spent most of my adult life either on the move or planning my next adventure. In 2014, I was living in London when my dad, Eric, was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND). I immediately moved back to my home town of New Plymouth in New Zealand, to help and spend time with him.When he passed away in October 2022, I wanted to find a way to process my grief, and I was desperate to get back out into the world. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago British woman held in Sri Lanka ‘could be months’ from bail hearing, lawyer warns

Charlotte May Lee is ‘coping’ with prospect of spending months longer in jail in Sri Lanka, her lawyer tells The Independent

Events

7 d. ago British woman jailed in Sri Lanka on drug offences could be months from bail hearing, lawyer warns

Charlotte May Lee is ‘coping’ with prospect of spending months longer in jail in Sri Lanka, her lawyer tells The Independent

Events

8 d. ago 'I want someone to go round to that house': Coroner's demand after key witness fails to turn up

An inquest into the death of Barry Dillon had a false start when a key witness didn't turn up in court

Events

1 week ago Colorado terrorist's job that put him close to unsuspecting Americans every day

To neighbors, Mohamed Soliman was a quiet father of five who watched his children play in the backyard of his two-bedroom Colorado Springs home. Then the FBI woke them up.

Events

2 w. ago Brave father reveals how he saved the life of his two children, 10 and 11, as 'drug driver' ploughed into crowds during Liverpool's title celebrations

Liverpool fan Anthony Claypole, 42, was in the middle of the crush with children Evan,11, and Sydney , 10, when the Ford Galaxy smashed into the crowd.

Society

2 w. ago Medic father, 60, who 'died a hero' after leaping into the sea to try to save two children was on holiday, devastated family reveal

Alexandru Melei, 60, died on May 25 while on holiday in Ingoldmells, near Skegness, after bravely leaping into the sea to try and rescue two twin girls who 'appeared to be in distress'.

Society

2 w. ago Matt Lucas says he would have 'loved' to be a father if his marriage had worked out

‘To me it’s part of the package of being in a relationship that’s settled and happy and something you both want,’ he shared

Politics

2 w. ago EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Gosford Park star Camilla Rutherford heartbroken after split from father of her two younger children

The Gosford Park star is nursing a broken heart again after splitting up with Dominic Burns, the father of her two younger children.

Politics

2 w. ago IVF as a male partner: 'I felt useless — now I want to stop men from suffering in silence'

Tom Webster found himself burying his struggles while he and his partner went through IVF. Here’s how he’s hoping to end the taboo and help others speak out

Politics

3 w. ago Shocking moment grinning female police officer is caught on camera saying 'let her rot' about vulnerable teenager

The female police office made the remark after the 19-year-old, who has a history of mental health issues, failed to open the door when she and three colleagues called round.

Events

3 w. ago Revealed: How monster father who kept children in filthy House of Horrors for four years due to Covid fears managed to dodge first police raid

It was in the middle of the Iberian peninsula blackout last month when police knocked on Christian Steffen's front door.

Events

4 w. ago Republican Texas is a surprising model for solving the UK’s prison crisis – but it just might work | Gaby Hinsliff

Jails in England and Wales are in overcrowded meltdown, but justice secretary Shabana Mahmood has a rare chance to flip the script. She shouldWhat should become of the two idiots who took a chainsaw to the beloved Sycamore Gap tree? Obviously it was thuggish, a pointless desecration of something that gave countless people joy, judging by the outpouring of unexpectedly deep emotion that followed. Landscapes work their way into the soul. But so does the thought of two children whose father is about to be jailed for what the judge warned would be a “lengthy period”. Though a line obviously has to be drawn, is this really the best way we can think of to punish a heartless act that nonetheless posed no danger to human life?Now is the perfect time to wrestle with questions such as this, about whom we send to prison and why, and whether doing it differently would lead to a more humane but more effective prison system and ultimately cut crime. For this government is – shock, horror – finall...

Events

4 w. ago I want a relationship, not out of love or passion, but out of fear of the future. Is this selfish? | Leading questions

Lots of the reasons we want a relationship boil off to not much liking the look of life without one, advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith writes. Luckily, lots of people want a relationship for partly these reasonsRead more Leading questionsI’ve come to a moment in my life I never expected; I’m contemplating starting a relationship, not out of love or passion, but out of fear – fear of the future. I always thought I’d be above such reasoning. But witnessing illness up close, seeing the care my father received from his wife and us children, the comfort of not being alone in a hospital bed, shook me more than I was prepared for.It’s a quiet but profound shift inside me. I stopped seeking out companionship a few years ago, deliberately. I did try but none of the few women I dated stirred anything close to love in me. So, as a 55-year-old man, I told myself it just wasn’t worth it: the arguments, the jealousy, the constant need to defend one’s need for solitude – especially for someone...

Politics

4 w. ago Who are Sean 'Diddy' Combs' seven children? Some show support for father at court

The rapper’s adult daughters are squarely behind their father despite charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and sexual assault among others

Events

4 w. ago Who are Sean 'Diddy' Combs' seven children as some show support for father at court?

The rapper’s adult daughters are squarely behind their father despite charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and sexual assault among others

Events

4 w. ago Who are Sean 'Diddy' Combs' children as they show support for father at court?

The rapper’s adult daughters are squarely behind their father despite charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and sexual assault among others

Events