50 h. ago ‘I found it 35 years later and dissolved into tears’: readers’ favourite photo booth moments

As the photo booth turns 100, people share their best snapshots – including a private kiss and a chaotic proposal100 years ago, Anatol Marco Josepho, a Russian immigrant to the US, invented the world’s first fully automated, coin-operated photo booth. When it opened its doors near Times Square in New York City, the “photomaton” – which produced pictures from a carefully orchestrated mechanical darkroom inside – was an instant hit. A reported 280,000 people lined up to use it in the first six months.To mark 100 years, nine writers shared their favourite photo booth pictures, and we asked Guardian readers to show us their favourites and tell us what they mean to them. Here are some of their stories. Continue reading...

Culture

9 d. ago ‘Fabulous 50s dresses and even a kilt’: readers’ favourite vintage shops and markets in Europe

Our tipsters rummage through thrift stores and markets from Budapest to Bologna• Tell us about a lesser known corner of Italy or a winter stay in the UK – the best tip wins a £200 holiday voucherW Armstrong in Edinburgh is a true institution. There are several locations, but the Grassmarket spot is a treasure trove. Frequented by locals, students and tourists alike, there is a price point for all. Whether I’ve been on the hunt for vintage cashmere, denim, fabulous 1950s dresses, garb for a fancy dress party or even a kilt, this store has sorted me out. It is always a favourite for when friends visit the city, and whether you are looking to buy or not, it is worth a visit just to see its eclectic collection.Amy Continue reading...

Economics

9 d. ago Will the Kindle paperwhite be on sale for Black Friday 2025?

Our tech critics’ favourite e-reader had 28 per cent off in last year’s shopping event

Events

1 week ago ‘I look deranged, but my baby looks happy!’ Nine writers on their favourite photo booth picture

This year marks a century since the birth of the photo booth, and friends and families are still squeezing into them for fun and unflattering snaps - capturing the highs, lows and loves of their livesI didn’t find early motherhood easy. It wasn’t my daughter’s fault – she was, mercifully, a wonderful and cheerful baby – but I underestimated what a huge shift it would be at an already stressful time. When I was pregnant, we moved to a new town, to a wreck of a house we planned to do up. My mum, who was ill, moved in with us, and then I was the carer of a newborn and a dying parent – at the two extremes of life, but sharing many of the same needs, and often at the same time. Continue reading...

Culture

2 w. ago ‘You don’t have to hurtle down slopes or dance like crazy at après parties’: readers’ favourite winter mountain holidays in Europe

The Alps, Spain’s Sierra Nevada and the national parks of Sweden and Albania feature among our readers’ treasured winter mountain breaks• Tell us about a stay in a historic building – the best tip wins a £200 holiday voucherInnsbruck offers lots of options for a winter holiday. I found it’s a place where you don’t have to hurtle down ski slopes or dance like crazy at après-ski parties. In fact I was amazed when I took the 20-minute cable car from the city centre up 2,000 metres to an area where locals were sitting in deckchairs on the snow reading books and sipping hot chocolate in the strong Tirolean sunshine. You can ski to your heart’s content on slopes just half an hour from the famous Imperial Palace in the city centre. The city authorities provide some guided free walks and winter activities, including a cross-country skiing taster if you have a Welcome Card provided by your hotel. Then again, you can just sit and sample strong Austrian coffee or Gerschtnsuppe (soup with barle...

Politics

2 w. ago ‘She called me a silly boy! Lovely lady!’ Your treasured memories of Prunella Scales

From her assistance with crosswords to a wink that set a career in motion, Guardian readers share favourite memories of the actorIn the 70s I wrote radio plays. Prunella Scales was in one of them. During a break I was doing a crossword and getting stuck. She sat down next to me and had a look at the mess I was making. “Silly boy!” she said (I was perhaps 30 at the time). “It’s ‘surprise’, not ‘suprise’!” and we soon finished it off. In the end I did around 25 plays, but that’s the only conversation with an actor I remember. Lovely lady. James, Sussex Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Will the Kindle paperwhite be on sale for Black Friday 2025? All you need to know

Our tech critics’ favourite e-reader had 28 per cent off in last year’s shopping event

Events

last month ‘It was as good aged 61 as it had been at 16’: readers’ favourite trips as older travellers

From Interrailing around Europe to trekking in the Himalayas, our tipsters share their memorable trips made later in life• Tell us about a great winter mountain holiday – the best tip wins a £200 holiday voucherI went Interrailing at 16 – so decided to do it again at 61! My wife and I bought our passes for all of Europe (under £500 for one-month unlimited rail trips) and it was great to rediscover the sense of freedom and adventure travelling by train gave. Having a romantic dinner in Paris, getting on the night train and having coffee and croissants for breakfast in Nice on the Côte d’Azur for example. I corrected the teenage mistake of trying to do too much and see too many places so we lingered longer in places such as Poland and Romania, soaking up the atmosphere in Wrocław and Bucharest. It was interesting to compare the speed, quality and comfort of train services too. We found that sometimes slow travel was better – like when we got on the wrong train from Rome to Naples, all...

Politics