13 h. ago My favourite family photo: ‘It’s a snapshot of our goofy bond’

Since my mum died, family photos can be painful to look at. But this one of me and my brother is a reminder we still have each otherMy only sibling is seven years older than me. That means he has forever been seven years ahead of me in life, sitting somewhere between a willing co-conspirator and knowledgable surrogate parent – protective but fun, and always aware of the secrets of existence I am yet to discover. It was his aside that spoiled the secret identity of Santa Claus; he who laughingly revealed the mechanics of sex; he who gave me my first sip of beer. Yet, when he found out I was sneaking cigarettes from my dad’s stale dinner party supply, he chastised me before either of my parents could, and when my mum was diagnosed with cancer and I was just 15, he was already a 22-year-old medical student, able to speak in a doctor’s shorthand and advocate for her care while my father and I floundered.Ever since my mum died in 2013, family photos have been a source of bittersweet pain...

Culture

30 h. ago My favourite family photo: ‘I can still feel my mother’s arm around my shoulder’

I love the way we are both looking in astonishment at my son. It shows the unwavering support she gave me when he was bornThis picture of my mother, me and my eldest son, Theo, was taken the morning after he was born in May 2002, in University College Hospital, London.There are a lot of things I love about it. I love the fact my mother is exquisitely dressed – she’s wearing her pearls! She always looked very elegant at this time in her life and enjoyed clothes (we bought that suit on a day out together). I love the composition too – our three dark heads, faces in profile and the way our three hands are aligned. I love the miracle of my son’s intricate little shell of an ear, the nose (his dad’s) and lips (mine) still visible now in his 23-year-old face. Continue reading...

Culture

32 h. ago How to make your New Year's resolutions stick before 'Quitters Day'

You're running out of time to make your New Year's resolutions stick with 'Quitters Day' fast approaching, when most Brits accept that the year ahead will be just like the last

Politics

37 h. ago My favourite family photo: ‘I was six, with mumps and diarrhoea – and having the time of my life’

When I went to Saudi Arabia in the 1980s to see my Dad it felt like visiting another planet. But beyond the scale and shininess of the country was the feeling of my family finally being togetherIn the 1980s, the British construction industry was hit hard by recession. At the same time, Saudi Arabia had the opposite problem; lots of money and a desire to build infrastructure, but not enough skilled workers. As a result, thousands of British labourers found it was the only place where they could earn a wage. My dad – freshly out of work with a young family to support – was one of them. We travelled out to see him twice, once to Riyadh and once to Jeddah.Objectively, the Riyadh trip was better. Dad lived on a worker’s compound, and there was a pool and a restaurant and loads of room to run around. Jeddah, less so – but that’s where this photo was taken. Dad shared a tiny flat on the city’s noisy Palestine Street with one of his colleagues. I caught mumps basically upon landing and (acc...

Culture

50 h. ago Tesco shoppers 'running' to stores for activewear slashed by 25% for limited time

The supermarket's incentive won't be around for long.

Politics

54 h. ago My favourite family photo: ‘My mother stares dreamily into the distance, looking like an extra from Mad Men’

I found solace in looking through my father’s slides after he died. They made me gasp – and my childhood turned from monotonous monochrome to glorious TechnicolorWhen my sister handed me a box of old Kodachrome slides last summer, I almost didn’t bother looking through them. Unusually for pre-smartphone times, my camera-crazy father had extensively documented our lives, filling dozens of photo albums. What could the transparencies possibly reveal that we hadn’t already seen countless times? I dimly remembered him ambushing us to watch slideshows, until we were old enough to rebel.My father died in 2012. Not long before, I had developed an interest in photography myself and, after he was gone, I found solace in my viewfinder. It was, and still is, a way of feeling connected to him. What prompted me to set up my iPad as a makeshift lightbox to view the slides was technical interest. Continue reading...

Culture

61 h. ago My favourite family photo: ‘I bucketed 30 years of tears that day – then smiled my smiliest smile’

After more than three decades together, Simon Hattenstone and his partner Diane Taylor decided to have a civil partnership. It was a beautiful celebration before the shock of the pandemicDiane and I had been living together for more than 30 years, and our children were 28 and 26 when we got civilled. We’d never wanted to get married. It seemed a bit too pipe and slippers. It also felt like tempting fate. We were really happy without being married, so why change things? And you can’t have more of a commitment than children. But we always said if they introduced civil partnerships for heterosexual couples, we’d get civilled.I think friends assumed we did it primarily for tax reasons – to ensure that if one of us died, the other wasn’t left in the shit. There was an element of that. But more importantly, we actively wanted to get civilled. It actually felt really romantic – tying the civil knot as an expression of love after all this time together. It was such a beautiful day, in every...

Culture

3 d. ago Family favourite restaurant chain is running out of time to stop collapse as 20 locations face closure

THE company behind a family favourite restaurant chain has filed its third notice to line up administrators as it seeks a more secure rescue deal. Liberty Bar and Restaurant Group, which runs TGI Fridays’ UK operations, is finalising an insolvency plan which could come as soon as next week. The firm filed a notice of...

Society

4 d. ago Popular Asian restaurant shuts venue in Scots city centre suddenly

A POPULAR Asian restaurant chain has closed down a branch in Edinburgh. YO! Sushi on Princes Street in the capital's city centre appears to have shut for good. The Japanese-style eatery has a sign reading 'we're closed' on the front door. Some parts of the interior also appear to have been removed. And the Princes...

Politics

4 d. ago A US chain that makes 'superior sandwiches' is coming to Cardiff

Which Wich? first opened in Texas in 2003 and is now coming to Cardiff

Politics

4 d. ago Majestic Smith passes Hobbs to leave only Bradman clear on top of Ashes mountain | Geoff Lemon

The great Australian batter was typically twitchy before passing his latest personal milestone in SydneyThere was a time, while Steve Smith was at the height of his batting prowess, when “best since Bradman” was used with confidence. The thing about that line is that even when the recipient has dominated for years, it gets applied too quickly, given the point of comparison is a career-lasting two decades. Lots of players reach the top for a time, no other has stayed as long. Smith was untouchable for six years before returning to the realm of the merely very good.The combination of those phases, though, took him to a rare position on the third day of the fifth Test in Sydney. In the statistics of the game there are milestones, then there are mountaintops. For a long time in Smith’s Ashes-heavy career there have been two peaks gradually drawing closer in the mist. Donald Bradman’s 5,028 runs against England is one that even Smith will never climb. Jack Hobbs’s 3,636 runs against Aust...

Politics

5 d. ago Jamie Oliver reveals first location for restaurant chain relaunching in UK next MONTH – as company eyes up 40 sites

A BELOVED celebrity chef is set to relaunch his Italian restaurant chain for the first time in six years, according to company filings. The first Jamie's Italian will open for service in London's Leicester Square in February, after Jamie Oliver confirmed the relaunch of the high street chain in December. The reopening comes six years...

Society

5 d. ago Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s football

Nuno lets a golden opportunity slip, Viktor Gyökeres does everything but score and Benjamin Sesko struggles againCalum McFarlane’s unexpected battle with Pep Guardiola brought back memories of the 2021 League Cup final, when Ryan Mason, Tottenham’s 29-year-old interim coach, faced the significant task of trying to outsmart one of the greatest managers in the game’s history. For Mason there was the added baggage of Spurs’ 13-year trophy drought; for McFarlane, making his senior management debut, it was Chelsea’s astonishingly bad recent record against Manchester City. Four and a half years have passed since Chelsea last beat Guardiola’s side, when Thomas Tuchel’s team triumphed in the Champions League final, and a draw on Sunday took that winless run to 12 matches. But Enzo Fernández’s injury-time equaliser, combining with the midweek upheaval at Stamford Bridge, made it a triumphant point, something Enzo Maresca didn’t achieve against City during his tenure. Taha HashimMatch report:...

Politics

5 d. ago Is it true that going out when it is chilly can make you catch a cold?

Respiratory infections are more common in winter, but it’s largely because we spend more time indoors in close contact with other peopleIs spending too much time outside on chilly days to blame for coughs and runny noses? Not exactly. “Colds are more common in the winter, but it’s almost certainly correlation, not causation,” says John Tregoning, a professor in vaccine immunology at Imperial College London.One marginal factor is that UV light can kill viruses. Sneezing outside in the summer, for example, may expose viral droplets to sunlight, which can deactivate the virus, while faster evaporation causes it to desiccate. But the main driver is behavioural: in colder months, we spend more time indoors with poorer ventilation and in closer contact with others. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Venezuela live updates: Maduro in New York jail ahead of court appearance as Trump says US will run country

Trump says U.S. officials will be running Venezuela ‘for a period of time’ but offers no specifics when pressed by reporters

Events

6 d. ago Venezuela live updates: Maduro held at Brooklyn jail ahead of court appearance as Trump says US will ‘run’ country for now

Trump said U.S. officials would be running Venezuela ‘for a period of time’ but did not offer specifics when pressed by reporters

Events

6 d. ago Ronan Keating says Boyzone tour would be 'unhealthy' as he reveals previous reunion shows were a 'toxic environment' and they had a 'huge blow up'

Boyzone is set to reunite for two shows at London's Emirates stadium in June - which will be the first time the band has performed together since their London Palladium run in 2019.

Society

6 d. ago Venezuela live updates: Maduro arrives in New York to face criminal charges as Trump says US will ‘run’ country for now

Trump said U.S. officials would be running Venezuela ‘for a period of time’ but did not offer specifics when pressed by reporters

Politics

6 d. ago Venezuela live updates: Trump doesn’t rule out ‘boots on the ground’ as he says US will ‘run’ country for now

Trump said U.S. officials would be running Venezuela ‘for a period of time’ but did not offer specifics when pressed by reporters

Politics

7 d. ago Donald Trump issues chilling warning of second 'much larger attack' on Venezuela

President Donald Trump has warned a 'much bigger' wave of strikes could be launched against Venezuela as he announced the US will be 'running' the Latin American country 'for the time being'

Events