4 h. ago If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a youth hostel to give their parents a break | Nell Frizzell

Forget luxury escapes: it’s more fun to share time and space with people of all ages and from all walks of lifeI’ve never been in a band. But I have been to a youth hostel with four babies, which is sort of the same thing. Everywhere we turned there was singing, selfies, strangers coming up to us in the street and women getting their boobs out – it was the Small Faces, but with actual small faces.My God, how I love youth hostels. In all their strange, intergenerational, shared washing-up sponges and boot-room glory, they are the best of us. You can keep your sponsored hotel stays and luxury apartments as far as I’m concerned. Give me a fluorescent-lit kitchen with five electric hobs and a roll of stickers to label your milk any day.Nell Frizzell is a journalist and author Continue reading...

Society

6 d. ago Jacinda Ardern reveals Queen’s blunt parenting advice during pregnancy

The Dame was seven-months pregnant at the time and wanted to get the Queens take on raising a child while in the spotlight

Politics

7 d. ago Tiny abandoned UK village where no one can enter without special permission

Stanford, a deserted village and civil parish in Norfolk, was taken over by the British Army during the Second World War and can only be accessed with permission

Events

7 d. ago Russia seizes more Ukrainian territory amid fears of fresh ground offensive

More than 200 settlements in Sumy region under evacuation orders after Russia take control of two villagesUkrainian officials issued evacuation orders on Saturday for 11 more villages in the northern Sumy region after continued Russian gains led to fears that Moscow could be gearing up for a fresh ground offensive.Russia advanced deeper into Ukrainian territory on Saturday, taking control of two more villages in Sumy and killing two people in a missile and drone barrage. More than 200 settlements in the region were already under evacuation orders. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Clash Live Village Underground Takeover For SXSW London Announced

Clash Live Village Underground Takeover For SXSW London Announced  clashmusic.com

Politics

1 week ago Sums behind Nigel Farage's vow to spend £85billion if he wins the next election 'are implausible', experts say

Nigel Farage unveiled a string of policies in a major speech, including scrapping the two-child benefit cap, reinstating winter fuel payments and raising the tax-free income allowance to £20,000.

Economics

1 week ago Russian forces take four border villages in Ukraine’s Sumy region

A Ukrainian official says Russian forces have taken over four border villages in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region

Politics

1 week ago Russia seizes Ukrainian border villages as its massive bombing campaign slows

A Ukrainian official says Russian forces have taken over four border villages in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region

Events

2 w. ago I’m feasting on the contents of hedgerows like a horse in plimsolls – and I’ve never felt so healthy | Nell Frizzell

Nettles, hedge garlic, sticky weed: Britain in May is a lush salad bar that I can’t resist, and it’s doing wonders for my skinI had a daughter during one of the bone-cold early months of this year, which means that my full-time job is now to produce a yield. Between the hours of dawn and midnight, with a few lactic minutes in between, I am a feeding machine for a new person.And it is this, perhaps, that has led to my somewhat strange new eating habits. Pregnancy may traditionally be the time associated with cravings and aversions – the old cliches of sardines and jam, coal and creosote, bread and crackers. But here, in my postnatal feeding frenzy, I’m eating nettles by the handful. I am chomping on sticky weed. I have been biting the heads off dandelions (bitter – like really serious dark chocolate) and sucking the nectar from inside honeysuckle. This recent chlorophyll gala has, of course, coincided with England’s greatest month: May. Some of us love the look of May, some of us enj...

Politics

2 w. ago Marcelino, miracle man of Villarreal, takes ‘village’ to Champions League | Sid Lowe

The Yellow Submarine won at Barcelona to seal fifth place and vindication for a manager they sacked nine years agoVillarreal had given everything all season when with one game left the roof fell in on them, but not like that. It had been 10 long, hard months of “solidarity and commitment methodology, work, honesty and dedication,” their manager said, yet this was no late lament, all that for nothing; instead, this was reward and release, “time to enjoy it”, to let go, so they did. Outside at Montjuïc, Barcelona had begun their party, even 2025’s first league defeat and killjoy keeper Wojciech Szczesny saving an outrageous overhead kick from his own son not spoiling the fun; inside the dressing room, the club from the small town 200 miles south had begun theirs too, and nothing could ruin this either. Someone put La Morocha on and the players were bouncing about, drumming the rhythm on the ceiling when, in another triumph for cheap construction, the first beam came down. Captain Juan...

Sport

2 w. ago RAF Red Arrows up close as training takes places over small coastal village

Photographs of the RAF Red Arrow's display being honed above the picturesque coastal village of Chalkoutsi provide a sneak peek into the adrenaline-fuelled action

Politics

2 w. ago Modern parenting is rejecting abusive ways of punishing children. Will England listen? | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

Older relatives might roll their eyes at this generation’s approach, but it is overdue in a country where smacking is still legalA new trend is circulating on social media where adults ask their children to complete some of the toxic parenting phrases they remember from their own childhoods. Sayings such as “I’ll give you something to ... [cry about]”; “children are to be [seen and not heard]”, and “I brought you into this world [and I can take you out of it]” are reconfigured by a new generation of little kids who have been raised in more loving and respectful ways.“I’ll give you something to ” one parent asks, as their child replies “help you with”. “Children are to be children” and “I brought you into this world and made you happy”. It’s powerfully moving, seeing how this generation of parents are trying their best to break the cycle of abuse that has frequently masqueraded as discipline over previous decades. Continue reading...

Society

2 w. ago Every year hundreds of travellers tie up their horses outside my house to sell them

EXCLUSIVE: Residents living in a sleepy Hampshire village have taken to locking their doors and shutting their blinds on the same day every year when a traveller festival arrives.

Politics

3 w. ago Villagers in pretty 'new Cotswolds' fear Airbnb takeover due to sudden fame

Fittleworth, in West Sussex, is a quaint countryside village with only a pub, two churches, a primary school, and a community shop and residents say they are divided on the title's new name

Politics

3 w. ago Alex Jones says it makes her 'feel sick' as BBC show misses out

Alex Jones has revealed how she felt saying "it takes a village"

Politics

3 w. ago Soaps spoilers next week: Emmerdale Nate bombshell and Corrie favourite at death's door

Revelations around Nate's disappearance swirl around the village as Belle takes action to find him. Meanwhile, tempers flare on the Corrie cobbles, leading to another disaster.

Events

4 w. ago Ayrshire village on the hunt for volunteers ahead of annual gala day

The Gala Day takes place at the village playing fields on Saturday, June 7 and there’s a host of family entertainment on offer.

Politics