3 d. ago She'd endured every mother's worst nightmare, but was it a poisonous feud with the 'village witches' over her craft shop that drove a healthy Brit, 65, to end her life in a Swiss suicide clinic?

Amanda Machin, 65, from Bentham, North Yorkshire, never recovered from the loss of her daughter, Jenny, 19, from a brain tumour - but also claimed she had been 'bullied' by fellow crafters.

Science

8 d. ago Family's shock after 'Swiss suicide clinic sends them a text telling them mother, 58, is dead... and her ashes are in the post'

Maureen Slough travelled to the Pegasos clinic on July 8 telling her family she was going to Lithuania with a friend, according to a report in the Irish Independent.

Events

9 d. ago Comedian Tamar Broadbent on why she's happy for people to bring babies to her show

The comedian and new mother tells us why she doesn’t have a problem with people bringing their babies to her show - she encourages them, in fact.

Culture

9 d. ago Parents, don’t panic – healthy screen time for children is possible, if you follow these few simple tips | Kaitlyn Regehr

Yes, the huge firms pushing unsuitable content must be regulated. But until they are, adults can model the positive use of techDr Kaitlyn Regehr is the programme director of digital humanities at University College LondonThis summer the technology secretary, Peter Kyle, announced he was considering a two-hour “screen time” cap on children’s use of social media apps – a proposal that is not just insufficient, it’s outdated.Though appropriately placed at the start of the summer holiday – a time when kids’ screen time can increase, along with the onus on parents to ensure the safety of such engagement – Kyle’s announcement is linked to somewhat stale screen time guidance. We should indeed be thinking about moderating time on screens, but the proposed cap addresses only the quantity of consumption, not the quality. Fortunately, as someone who lectures on digital literacy (and is a mother), I can tell you there are some ways to push back and create healthier habits for children this summ...

Society

3 w. ago Water bills to see ‘small, steady’ rise despite reform plans, says Reed

But the Environment Secretary has promised that families will never again see ‘huge shock hikes’ to their bills.

Politics

3 w. ago I have no idea how old my mother is. She simply won't tell us. And it's left me with a messed

They say it's impolite to ask a lady her age - but your own mum? For Polly Hudson, it's always been a mystery, and one that's left her with a whole lot of hang-ups

Politics

3 w. ago Miriam Margolyes: ‘The closest I’ve come to death? When the media reported my imminent demise’

The actor on disappointing her mother, the only time she will tell a lie, and a terrible spat with Glenda JacksonBorn in Oxford, Miriam Margolyes, 84, began acting at Cambridge University. In 1994, she won a Bafta for her role in The Age of Innocence and was later cast as Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter films. Her stage credits include Wicked, The Vagina Monologues and Dickens’ Women; her TV work includes Trollied and Blackadder. In 2002, she was made OBE, and in 2022 received a BBC Audio Drama lifetime achievement award. She takes Margolyes and Dickens: More Best Bits to the Edinburgh fringe at the Pleasance at EICC, Pentland theatre from 9-24 August. She lives in London.When were you happiest? On tour during Christmas vacation at Cambridge with its European Theatre Group, playing Shakespeare. I knew it was the best time of my life. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Doctor tells inquest she feared girl’s conspiracy theorist mother influenced daughter over cancer treatment

Paloma Shemirani, 23, died on July 24 2024 after refusing treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Science

3 w. ago Cure by Katherine Brabon review – moments of grace in meditation on chronic illness

Doubles and reflections abound in this subtle exploration of the stories we tell about sickness, centring on a mother and daughter who travel to Italy in search of healingGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailKatherine Brabon’s fourth novel follows a mother and daughter with a shared experience of chronic illness who travel to Italy in search of a cure. It feels like a companion piece to her elegant previous novel Body Friend, about three women who seek out different ways of managing their chronic pain after surgery. Cure continues Brabon’s metaphoric use of doubles, mirrors and reflections to explore the social dimensions of the body in pain. It opens in Lake Como, where, we are told, in autumn “clouds devour the hills around the lake” and the water “reflects the scene of disappearance. [It] cannot help but replicate the obscuring fog.” Vera has been here before; she is now taking her 16-year-old daughter, Thea, to a small town in Lombardy, where she herself travelled with her...

Politics