41 m. ago ‘Champagne for my real friends!’ Francis Bacon masterpiece escapes to the artist’s old drinking den

Seeing Bacon’s stunning depiction of his lover Peter Lacy hanging in a reincarnation of the watering hole where his skeletal friends would drink, stagger and cackle was a fleeting yet unforgettable experienceWhen a work of art fails to excite, interest or move me, the word that comes to mind is “dead”. Bad art is lifeless, good art is alive and great art is supervital. And it’s a supervital masterpiece I am looking at right now. Face as sharply hewn as a Congolese mask, with a flesh-coloured pullover melting into the shadows of his loins, Peter Lacy dominates the room, captured in a gold-framed portrait by his lover Francis Bacon.That room is the Colony Room Green in London, not the original Colony Room but a bar nearby that lovingly recreates, with the precision of an art installation or stage set, the bohemian drinking den run by Muriel Belcher where Bacon would order drinks all round with his famous toast: “Champagne for my real friends and real pain for my sham friends!” Its gre...

Politics

41 m. ago Everyone has gone nuts for pistachios. But they’re just an upmarket green peanut, aren’t they? | Emma Brockes

Encased in chocolate, blended into martinis, baked in a croissant – tasty, maybe, but let’s not kid ourselves about the health benefitsOn my desk as I write this I have a packet of shelled, unsalted pistachios, a snack about which I have no particular feelings beyond the fact they’re better for me than Hula Hoops and, like so many things I’ve been persuaded to buy by my doctor, can be integrated into a “heart healthy diet”. Pistachios are also, it turns out, having a moment. We’ve been here before, with pomegranates and acai and, a few years ago, bone broth and anchovies. Now it’s the turn of the upmarket green peanut (oh look, I do have an opinion), which, once you start noticing it, you’ll find appears to be everywhere.It started last year with the rise of what is informally known as Dubai chocolate, the so-called confectionery invented by the British-Egyptian entrepreneur Sarah Hamouda, that took over the world – and that became, according to Deliveroo, one of last year’s top ite...

Politics

43 m. ago Bizarre moment stunned fishermen are surrounded by dangerous 'square wave' phenomenon

A fishing crew was left stunned when it found itself surrounded by a dangerous square wave phenomenon.

Politics

51 m. ago Alexa Chung channels fisherman core at the launch of her new Barbour collection

The it-girl’s glamorous pals packed into Tollington’s fish bar to celebrate her new edit for Barbour

Politics

54 m. ago Indoor ski centre fined £100,000 over schoolboy’s toboggan crash death

Louis Watkiss, 12, died after he was in a toboggan crash at a SnowDome birthday party in September 2021.

Events

54 m. ago Divers stumble across ghost navy ship wreckage as it emerges from depths of ocean

This is the moment divers accidentally stumble across a ghostly navy ship wreckage as it emerges from the depths of ocean.

Politics

72 m. ago Two men charged with shooting and killing a Georgia college student while she was working at a bar

Both of the men charged were already in police custody on unrelated matters

Events

74 m. ago Indoor ski centre where boy, 12, died colliding with worker at tobogganing birthday party is fined £100,000

SnowDome ski centre in Tamworth, Staffordshire, has been fined £100,000 for health and safety failings after 12-year-old Louis Watkiss died in a collision with a member of staff.

Economics

78 m. ago Hilarious moment TV chef makes King Charles burst out laughing after making joke about his packing skills

The monarch, 76, was all smiles during the engagement at female-run Darjeeling Express on London 's Carnaby Street on Wednesday.

Events

1 hour ago A moment of reflection and Himalayan adventures – readers’ best photos

Click here to submit a picture for publication in these online galleries and/or on the Guardian letters page Continue reading...

Culture

1 hour ago Shocking moment driver knocks police officer to the floor before patrol car rams suspect to stop them in their tracks

Shocking footage, taken near Park Royal, shows two cops trying to open the suspect's door before the vehicle suddenly lurches backwards and hits one of them.

Events

2 h. ago Murder trial shown CCTV of children running from park after pensioner attacked

A 15-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl are on trial accused of killing 80-year-old Bhim Kohli in a park near Leicester in September last year.

Events

2 h. ago Tess Daly, 55, wows in plunging swimsuit as she flaunts ageless beauty in Dubai

Strictly host Tess Daly has jetted off to Dubai to soak up the sun and hasn't been shy in showing off her golden tan and timeless beauty in a plunging turquoise swimsuit

Politics

2 h. ago Teen girl who 'threw newborn baby from hotel room window' named

It is thought that the 18-year-old was suffering from pregnancy denial.

Politics

2 h. ago 'Britain's most hated mum' takes girl, 3, out of nursery and says she's learning more on holidays

Carla Bellucci said she feels sorry for parents who play by the rules as she has taken her three-year-old daughter out of nursery to go on holiday to Egypt and says she is "learning more"

Politics

3 h. ago Benidorm lover finds 'cheapest' bar where pints cost less than a cup of tea

Graham and his best mate Darren were thrilled when they found a pint for less than £2 in Benidorm, but they did share that flights were not as cheap as they used to be

Politics

3 h. ago Woman found dead in ferry toilets 'with injuries to her neck' is named after massive bar brawl broke out on board Wales

Mary Cash, 39, is understood to have been with a group of family and friends on their way to Rosslare Harbour in County Wexford from Fishguard in Wales when she tragically died.

Events

3 h. ago Manchester finally removes migrant tent city that has been plaguing the city centre for MONTHS... only for it to pop up again hours later, yards away

This is the moment Manchester City Council tore up a homeless camp in the city centre with bailiffs throwing tents into a bin lorry in a dawn crackdown.

Sport

3 h. ago Are you a Type A traveller? Why the quest for perfection could be ruining your holiday – and your relationships

Tomas Telegramma’s endless quest to optimise his holiday was doing the opposite. Here’s how he learned to put down the to-do list and love uncertaintyRome. Late summer. The crowds aren’t easing, nor is the sun, and it’s about to sear a hole in my relationship. Hot, hangry and hungover – a diabolical combination – we’re our own kind of ancient ruins, skulking aimlessly in what feels like a black hole: an area nowhere near any of the 50-odd places I’ve saved on Google Maps for our four-day stay.A bakery appears. Then a panini bar. Then a trattoria. Then another. We don’t stop. Instead I feverishly research them online for any signs of superiority. None were pre-approved on my months-long mission to compile the ultimate Rome hitlist, cross-referencing recommendations from friends with what I had found online. Continue reading...

Politics

4 h. ago Turkish barber stabbed and battered rival over "lack of respect"

The horrific attack was captured on CCTV in the Scots city.

Politics