40 h. ago Is it OK to read Infinite Jest in public? Why the internet hates ‘performative reading’

Posts mocking strangers for cracking open classics have become popular. So where are we supposed to read them?I consider no activity more luxurious than posting up at a bar solo with a good book. The creasing of a paperback in one hand, the weight of a wine glass in the other, the feeling of being alone in a crowd of people all make for a lovely evening. Or at least, I thought so, until recently, when two twentysomethings approached me during this ritual. “Are you reading alone?” one asked. “I could neverrrr,” the other said, and then uttered the universal mean girl slight: “I wish I had your confidence.”Reading in public – not cool. Or at least “performative reading”, as it’s been dubbed on social media, is worthy of ridicule. Continue reading...

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41 h. ago Man's bizarre skin cancer sign after 'getting drunk from one glass of wine'

Simon Bowler, 50, started to feel a 'strange' head fuzz and began to get drunk after just one glass

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9 d. ago JANA HOCKING: Vile subconscious trick used by pickup artists that's so irresistible to women... even I was fooled

It started off as a very casual date. One glass of wine, legs crossed, phone on silent. The plan was simple: decide if he was more than a pretty face, and absolutely no bedroom antics.

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9 d. ago JANA HOCKING: I was tricked into bed on the first date by a master 'Dark Arts' pickup artist... here's how to spot them

It started off as a very casual date. One glass of wine, legs crossed, phone on silent. The plan was simple: decide if he was more than a pretty face, and absolutely no bedroom antics.

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1 week ago Munster’s monster hits shows why Queensland captain’s time has come

Origin game two mixes gladiatorial brutality with slapstick comedy as Maroons hold off Blues comebackModeration is often cited as the secret to a long and fulfilling life. Semi-regular exercise. The odd glass of red wine. Precious time with family and friends. And no more than a sprinkling of Cameron Munster.But then again, it’s hard to turn down an existence offered by State of Origin game two. This was an exhilarating glimpse into excess. Of gladiatorial brutality interspersed with slapstick comedy. Of breakouts and comebacks. Of captain Munster, spearheading a Queensland performance very much in his image. Continue reading...

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2 w. ago How Starmer’s impromptu glass of wine with four pals reveals the G7 has become the G6 plus 1

Starmer and his four mates getting an impromptu glass of wine together may have been about finding the dutch courage to deal with Donald Trump, speculates David Maddox at the G7 in Canada

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2 w. ago Solo traveller in Tenerife says her glass of wine 'disappeared' during dinner

One evening, she was at a table with a family of five, only for the mother to object to her drinking on the grounds that she was a woman doing so.

Events

2 w. ago 'I was watching TV at home in UK when deadly African scorpion crawled past me'

The homeowner from Swindon was given the shock of her life when the deadly scorpion appeared on her living room floor - but acted quickly to trap it under a wine glass

Events

3 w. ago A new start after 60: My voice went and suddenly part of me was missing – then I discovered bellringing

As a lifelong singer and a teacher, Jean Walters was used to making a noise. At 67 she found a new way to do itOne sunny August evening, Jean Walters was sitting in her garden in Meltham, West Yorkshire, when the church bells began to ring. She sipped her glass of wine; the evening seemed idyllic. “A quintessential English country garden,” she thought, and posted on Facebook: “Bells ringing, how lovely!”The next day when the plumber came to fix her toilet, more prosaically, he mentioned that he had seen her post, and being a bellringer himself, gave her the number of the local church’s tower captain. “He said, ‘Come along and try it.’ I did. I loved it. I said to my husband, ‘Did you hear that single bong? That was me.’”Tell us: has your life taken a new direction after the age of 60? Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago How to make excellent pizza at home – no pizza oven (or pizzaiolo training) required

It started with a walk, a glass of wine and a pizza dropped face-down on the floor. Hannah Twiggs shares her dad’s hard-earned lessons in home pizza – plus three topping combos worth arguing over

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