3 h. ago Andy Murray: ‘I don’t have any plans to go to Wimbledon. I don’t go to watch tennis as a fan’

Double champion unlikely to be at SW19 this year but is enjoying helping out Britain’s next generation of tennis playersAndy Murray has always had a way of creating alchemy on a tennis court. But, even in retirement, he is discovering new tricks. For more than an hour he has little kids from West Byfleet junior school transfixed as he coaches them through the joys of mini-tennis. There are swings and wild misses, gentle advice and high fives. In fact Murray is so locked in, he even makes his familiar power-exhale noise while he gently lifts the ball over a tiny net.In short, he is a natural – even if he doesn’t quite see it that way himself. “I think they were just buzzing to get a few hours out of the classroom to be honest,” he says, typically self-effacing, as he chats during a quick break. “But it’s great. I love seeing kids on a tennis court having fun.” Continue reading...

Politics

8 h. ago I’d lost my childhood love of reading – but rediscovered it when I set aside my iPhone | Adrian Chiles

You can keep your ebooks. There is no better way to engage with words than through a paperbackEverything changes so everything can stay the same. In the beginning I read a lot. I read paperback books. The Famous Five, the Secret Seven and all that stuff. I had – have, actually – all 21 Famous Five books. They’re in paperback, apart from the fifth one, Five Go Off in a Caravan, which is in hardback. A present from my nan. Nice. But I preferred paperbacks. I’ve never seen the point of hardbacks. They’re unwieldy, harder to hold in bed, especially under the sheets when I was supposed to be asleep.In my teens I raced through Agatha Christie, Alistair MacLean and the like, and Reader’s Digest too, countless editions of which were lined up beside every toilet in the house. Then schooling started interfering with my tastes and I got into Thomas Hardy in a big way, and other big thick, proper paperback novels. After my A-levels I went cycling in France with a mate, which was a miserable exp...

Politics

58 h. ago Meet Love Island's four bombshells ready 'to stir things up' in villa

Two guys and two girls are ready to turn heads

Events

4 d. ago Love Island star Shaughna Phillips stuns fans with before and after weight loss photos

Former Love Island contestant Shaughna Phillips has been getting herself summer ready with a strict fitness and diet plan - leaving fans gasping over her impressive transformation

Culture

4 d. ago My perfect holiday reading, by Bernardine Evaristo, David Nicholls, Zadie Smith and more

Authors including Michael Rosen, Samantha Harvey and Rutger Bregman reveal their books of the summerSummer reading: the 50 hottest books to read nowThe 10 best audiobooks for summerZadie SmithFor me summer reading is about immersion. Three novels fully absorbed me recently. Flesh by David Szalay is a very smart and stylish novel about the 1%, filtered through the life of a Hungarian bodyguard/driver in their midst. Cécé by Emmelie Prophète (out 23 September) vividly depicts the slums of contemporary Haiti via a very online young sex worker who lives her best life on Facebook. Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie features a series of unforgettable women trying to work out what love means. The summer read I’m looking forward to myself is Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata, a true original.David NichollsI would recommend two books, 800 pages and a shade under 150, depending on what you can carry. Helen Garner’s collected diaries, How to End a Story, are frank, gripping and rev...

Events

8 d. ago These evangelical men saved sex for marriage – they weren’t well prepared

Scores of Christian men have been raised on ideas of abstinence and ‘purity’ – what does that mean for their sex lives later on?Like many people, reaching the age of 40 inspired Matt to do some self-reflection. He had achieved many hallmarks of adulthood: a college degree, a career he enjoyed, and two beloved dogs. But he’d never had a relationship, or even a sexual partner.This weighed heavy on him; he craved the experience of a deep romantic connection and wondered how it might feel to be in love. Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago Ordinary Love by Marie Rutkoski review – some of the best sex scenes I’ve read this year

In this page-turning romance, teenage sweethearts reunite as thirtysomething womenSex is notoriously difficult to write. Some authors avoid it entirely; even those who have been called great can come a cropper. Which is why I want to start this review by saying that the sex scenes in Ordinary Love are some of the best I have read this year, and that Marie Rutkoski has a facility for writing physical intimacy that can elude even some of our most gifted authors. Her voice has been compared to that of Sally Rooney. I don’t see much of that in this novel beyond a Rooneyesque ability to write sex well, but that is a talent worth noting.Ordinary Love is a queer romance that tells the story of Emily and Gen, teenage sweethearts who break up in college and reunite in their 30s, their paths having diverged dramatically. Emily marries Jack, who is wealthy and emotionally abusive. When she sees Gen again, she is in the process of leaving him for the second time (the novel opens with ...

Politics

1 week ago Danniella Westbrook 'deeply in love' with new man who she's 'ready to marry'

Danniella Westbrook and her boyfriend are said to have been friends for six years before taking things up a notch and things turned romantic between them

Politics

1 week ago ‘I yearned to be a California Girl – but I lived in Burnley’: readers on their love for Brian Wilson

From memories of photoshoots and telephone calls with the late Beach Boy, to appraisals of his complex but pure music, Guardian readers pay tribute to a greatWhether wistful or euphoric, Brian Wilson made pop’s most overwhelmingly beautiful musicRay Davies, Graham Nash and others on Brian Wilson’s songwriting geniusEndless summer: how Brian Wilson soundtracked CaliforniaI remember the Christmas after my mother’s death in 1989 when I was 15, I purchased the best-of collection from Asda, interested to see what I would hear. It had the hits, of course, but also a few of the deeper cuts from Pet Sounds and onwards. To say this changed my life is an understatement – Brian’s music, harmonies and subject matters struck an incredible chord in me. It did exactly what he existed for, bringing comfort to a heart and soul that needs it. I’ve been a fan ever since – I saw him at the Royal Festival Hall on his first Pet Sounds tour, watched him perform Smile in utter disbelief and wonder in Liver...

Events

1 week ago Closing arguments: Is Karen Read's murder trial a tale of love gone wrong or a police coverup?

Lawyers in the second murder trial of Karen Read are set to give their closing arguments after weeks of testimony

Events

1 week ago Love Island first look as pair face the wrath of their actions and an explosive re

Get ready for tonight's explosive episode of Love Island, packed with steamy kisses, shocking confessions and a game changing recoupling. Here's your exclusive first look...

Events

2 w. ago Brian Wilson, visionary creative spirit for the Beach Boys, dies aged 82

Musician, who suffered from mental health problems, wrote and produced the 1966 album Pet Sounds – seen by many as the greatest album of all timeBrian Wilson, the Beach Boys musician, songwriter and producer who created some of history’s most purely beautiful pop music, has died aged 82.In a post shared on Instagram on Wednesday, Wilson’s family wrote: “We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away. We are at a loss for words right now. Please respect our privacy at this time as our family is grieving. We realize that we are sharing our grief with the world. Love & Mercy.” Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago How Not to Be a Political Wife by Sarah Vine review – a bitter memoir of power and betrayal

She was Michael Gove’s wife and Samantha Cameron’s best friend. But then Brexit happenedPolitics is awful.If you want the digested read of Sarah Vine’s memoir on life as a Westminster WAG, that’s it: politics, she writes, is a hateful business that ruined her marriage to Michael Gove, her health and happiness. (Don’t ask what the Cameron years did to anyone else: this book is absolutely not about anyone else.) But like many a passionate hatred, this one started out as love. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago ‘Parenthood is messy’: what it’s really like to raise a child – in pictures

Aware that social media paints an unrealistic picture of ‘perfect’ parenting, Kirsten Lewis spent 15 years capturing the raw reality of life with kids. Her message? Your children love you! Continue reading...

Society

2 w. ago 'Girl uses me for crazy sex, splashes my cash and then sleeps with my mates'

JUST JANE: Today our agony aunt Jane O'Gorman is dealing with a new issue from a Daily Star reader who can’t get the love of his life to take him seriously

Politics

3 w. ago James Lowe, singer of psychedelic rock trailblazers the Electric Prunes, dies age 82

The band’s early single I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night) was their biggest hit, featuring on the compilation Nuggets, and has influenced generations of musiciansJames Lowe, the singer of psychedelic rock band the Electric Prunes, has died aged 82. His family said in a statement that he died of natural causes.“Dad leaves behind a legacy of sound, love and boundless creativity,” they said on Facebook. “At the centre of it all was our amazing mom, Pamela – his guiding star, enduring muse and wife of 62 years. We know how deeply he cherished this community, and we feel that love too.” Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Our obsession with spoiling pets has gone too far: your dog doesn’t care if its collar is from Burberry | Van Badham

From luxury pet-friendly accommodation to chartering a private plane for your pooch, the indulgences of late-stage capitalism are extreme A delightfully fluffy expenses controversy emerged in Queensland in the past week. The ABC reported that the chair of a Queensland government-owned company “faced questions” after billing the taxpayer for a hotel stay with a luxury accommodation package for his dog.The energy company chair, his “fur-baby Vito” and his wife (unnamed) allegedly enjoyed a $500-a-night stay at the Ovolo hotel in Fortitude Valley when a board meeting obliged his attendance in Brisbane, 100km away from his Sunshine Coast home. The “luxury pet-friendly accommodation” offered at the five-star Ovolo includes a “super comfy” dog bed, treats, premium dog food, mealtime mat and water bowl, as well as a take-home dog toy “because who doesn’t love a present?” Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago ‘An electrifying moment’: Charles and Camilla visit sparks Ravenna tourism boom

Queen enthralled by Italian city’s museum dedicated to poet Lord Byron, who wrote Don Juan thereIf the most satisfying thing for anyone giving a guided tour is speaking to an enthusiastic and curious listener, then Diego Saglia felt he royally hit the jackpot when he met Queen Camilla in Ravenna.The queen, who was in the northern Italian city with King Charles during a state visit to the country in early April, was so enamoured of her visit to a museum dedicated to the British poet and satirist Lord Byron that she kept her husband waiting in the courtyard. She lingered over Byron’s original manuscripts, locks of his curly hair and the love letters he wrote to Countess Teresa Guiccioli. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago 'My woman wants to splash my £500 bonus on fancy sex parties and freaky gear'

JUST JANE: Today our agony aunt Jane O'Gorman is dealing with a new issue from a Daily Star reader who faces pleasure and pain in the name of love

Economics

3 w. ago Not all weeds are bad news – but these interlopers have no place in my garden’s veg patch

I try to harbour small colonies of weeds in my plot, but growing vegetables is the priority and some wild plants are too energetic for the spaceI started my growing season late this year. Life got in the way. By the time I was able to get stuck in, my veg patch was busily filling up with plants that had found their own way there. Now, I’m firmly in the camp of those who believe a weed is simply a plant that’s not where we’d like it to be. Our growing spaces and the creatures that dwell in them benefit from the gardeners who are able to live with some uninvited plants.That said, my veg patch had become something of a wilderness and, while there are plenty of so-called weeds I am happy to host, some had to go if I was to grow the edible plants I love this year. Continue reading...

Politics