5 d. ago Inside the Salt Path controversy: ‘Scandal has stalked memoir since the genre was invented’

Raynor Winn’s bestselling book is far from the first time a true story has been called into question after publication. But how does it happen? And should readers really feel betrayed?“The Salt Path is an unflinchingly honest, inspiring and life-affirming true story,” reads the description of Raynor Winn’s bestselling memoir on its publisher Penguin Random House’s website.Which is unfortunate wording if accusations made at the weekend turn out to be true: an investigation by the Observer alleged that the 2018 book – which has recently been adapted into a film starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs – is not all that it seems. Winn writes in The Salt Path that she and her husband, Moth, had their home repossessed due to an investment in a friend’s company that went on to fail. With nowhere to live, as she tells it, the couple decided to walk the length of the South West Coast Path, wild camping along the way and relying on the kindness of strangers. The Observer piece suggests Win...

Politics

6 d. ago The five holiday accessories that are a complete waste of money, according to a travel expert

Every time I book a holiday, the day before I jet off, I find myself standing in Boots.

Politics

9 d. ago The radical 1960s schools experiment that created a whole new alphabet – and left thousands of children unable to spell

Decades ago, a generation of UK schoolchildren unwittingly took part in an initiative aimed at boosting reading skills – with lasting consequencesThroughout my life, my mum has always been a big reader. She was in three or four book clubs at the same time. She’d devour whatever texts my siblings and I were studying in school, handwrite notes for our lunchboxes and write in her diary every night. Our fridge door was a revolving display of word-of-the-day flashcards. Despite this, she also was and remains, by some margin, the worst speller I have met.By the time I was in primary school, she was already asking me to proofread her work emails, often littered with mistakes that were glaringly obvious to me even at such a young age. It used to baffle me – how could this person, who races through multiple books a week and can quote Shakespeare faultlessly, possibly think “me” is spelt with two Es? Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago ‘The best song to have sex to? Anything by Marvin Gaye. Nothing by Rick Astley’: Rick Astley’s honest playlist

The pop veteran works up a sweat to Biffy Clyro and recognises the dancefloor power of Abba, but which Kylie banger hits a little too close to home?The first song I fell in love with I’ve got two older brothers and an older sister. My sister played the grooves out of Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell. When I got my chance, I’d put on I Wan’na Be like You from The Jungle Book.The song I do at karaoke Tale As Old As Time from the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack, even though it’s a duet. My daughter Emilie is 33, but when she’s home, we’ll watch a Disney film together. She turns into a five-year-old, I turn into a young dad and it’s just lovely. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Biden’s reelection bid fell apart after he admitted ‘only thing’ he cared about was Hunter avoiding jail

Joe Biden was ‘distracted and devastated’ by his son’s legal battles during a crucial time in the reelection campaign, the authors of a new book claim

Politics

1 week ago From Madonna to New Order and Oasis, one man’s odyssey to make an ‘atlas of album cover maps’

Damien Saunder set out to survey the cartographic influence on album sleeve design. Four years and 400-plus records later, he’s created the coffee table book music fans and map lovers never knew they neededGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailGrowing up in rural Wangaratta in north-eastern Victoria, Damien Saunder spent many a wintry day listening to music on the family’s record player. Just beneath the stereo was a Reader’s Digest atlas. “Anytime we put on a record, I’d get out the atlas,” Saunder recalls. “It was like a gateway to the world – a way to dream, explore and let your mind wander.”Decades later, music and maps have come together again, this time in a coffee table book: Maps on Vinyl, a world-first survey of the cartographic influence on album sleeve design; an atlas of album cover maps. It’s the book most music fans – and map-makers – never knew they needed. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Crown Estate profits remain at record high but windfarm boost set to fall back

The estate said the short-term boost from offshore windfarms was expected to drop sharply to £25 million from January 2026.

Politics

2 w. ago TOM UTLEY: Please don't ask me to rate my Airbnb hostess whose house was full of anti

Aren't you heartily fed up with those constant demands to 'rate and review your experience' every time you buy anything on the internet, book tickets for a theatre or read a book on Kindle?

Society

2 w. ago Millions of Americans remain under heat warnings after days of record breaking temps. When will it end?

The heat dome that has caused temperatures to spike across the East Coast is expected to become less intense by Thursday

Events

2 w. ago Free driving tests could 'help learners pass sooner' amid worst ever backlog

It is 'cheaper sometimes to book that driving test time than it is to book a couple of lessons – and that cannot be right'

Politics

2 w. ago DVSA reveals 'best time' to book driving test as backlog remains at record high

The driving test waiting list exceeded 600,000 for the first time ever this month

Politics

3 w. ago London minicab drivers crisis: About 2,000 caught in TfL licensing backlog and unable to work

Sadiq Khan backs calls for compensation for drivers left at breaking point

Events

3 w. ago Flights are 'almost always cheaper' on two days of the month

A travel expert has revealed the best time to book a holiday, including the perfect time to get the cheapest flights and hotels - and it's not as far in advance as you might think

Politics

3 w. ago Foreign Treasury holdings remain near record high despite tariff turmoil

International investors’ stockpiles of US government debt fell slightly in April

Politics