7 h. ago Billy Connolly, 82, in rare public appearance as comedy legend says 'I suffer from horrible illness'

Comedy legend Billy Connolly made a rare appearance at a film festival where he was the guest of honour and recognised with an award, presented by Steve Buscemi and Aidan Quinn

Politics

9 h. ago Emotional scenes as Sir Billy Connolly makes rare appearance to accept award

Sir Billy Connolly's attendance at an event near his home in Florida proved to be an emotional moment.

Events

21 h. ago My Cultural Awakening: I moved across the world after watching a Billy Connolly documentary

A chance viewing of the comic’s World Tour of Scotland made me swap Australia for the Highlands, although things didn’t quite go to plan I was 23 and thought I had found my path in life. I’d always wanted to work with animals, and I had just landed a job as a vet nurse in Melbourne. I was still learning the ropes, but I imagined I would stay there for years, building a life around the work. Then, five months in, the vet called me into his office and told me it wasn’t working out. “It’s not you,” he said, “I just really hate training people.” His previous nurse had been with him for decades; she knew his every move. I didn’t. And just like that, I was out of a job.I drove home crying, feeling utterly adrift. I wasn’t sure whether to try again at another vet clinic or rip up the plan entirely and do something else. After spending a few days floating around aimlessly, trying to recalibrate my life, I turned on the TV, needing something to take my mind off things. And there he was: Bill...

Culture

3 d. ago SoftBank shares dive after Nvidia sale puts AI valuations in spotlight – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as investors ponder AI valuations and SoftBank’s growing funding demands for OpenAIJapan’s government is growing anxious about its weakening currency.The yen, which has been generally weakening since the start of October, is approaching the significant level of ¥155 to the dollar, a point where Toyko has intervened in the markets before“We’re seeing one-sided, rapid currency moves of late.The government is watching for any excessive and disorderly moves with a high sense of urgency.”The reopening of the U.S. government has been a bittersweet elixir for the greenback.On one hand, risk is back on — stocks have caught a second wind, buybacks are flowing, and high-beta FX like AUD are catching the same tailwinds that power stocks. On the other hand, the same optimism that revives equity appetite also reawakens the yen’s old nemesis: carry.“We have delivered a resilient performance thanks to the hard work of our teams on the gro...

Economics

7 d. ago My cultural awakening: The Big Lebowski inspired me to embrace unemployment

The Dude’s relaxed attitude towards the pressures of life helped me realise it was better to be jobless than stuck in one I hatedQuitting your job in your 30s with no solid plan is generally considered poor decision-making. Doing it because you watched The Big Lebowski is probably even worse. But as I faced up to what would be my eighth year in an IT role, I watched Jeff Bridges meandering his way through the chaos of life in a dressing gown. And I found myself thinking: maybe the Dude had it figured out.For most of my working life, my identity has been strongly bolstered by work: doing well career-wise felt like evidence of my utility and respectability (despite the fact no one ever really understood what my job was anyway). And, like most millennials, I’d felt exceptionally lucky to eventually get a grad job out of university at all, especially one that paid more than a “living wage”. On top of that, as a second generation immigrant, I’d bee...

Politics

2 w. ago Martin Compston 'delighted' to pay tribute to Sir Billy Connolly as Hoolie in the Hydro co

Martin Compston and Julie Fowlis will host this year’s Hoolie in the Hydro, paying tribute to Sir Billy Connolly.

Economics

2 w. ago Martin Compston to host musical ‘Hoolie’ in tribute to Sir Billy Connolly

The Line Of Duty star will lead the event at the Hydro in Glasgow in December alongside musician Julie Fowlis.

Politics

3 w. ago My cultural awakening: A Jim Carrey series made me embrace baldness – and shave my head on the spot

I was a mess of insecurities, trying to hide thinning hair, worried I was ageing too quickly. Then a scene in the TV show Kidding changed everythingGrowing up, I was obsessed with Jim Carrey. I was just entering my teens when The Mask came out, and I can still picture myself watching Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls on TV one weekend afternoon, absolutely howling at the silliness of it. His elastic facial expressions, the energy, the stunts – it was the perfect tenor of humour for a young boy.By the time I was in college, I had moved on to his more thoughtful films. The Truman Show was a favourite: still funny, but with a philosophical edge that spoke to me at the time. I loved seeing Carrey stretch into more serious roles, and as the internet made it easier to watch interviews, I came to admire him as a person, too. Continue reading...

Culture

3 w. ago Jimmy Fallon drinks Buckfast as he shares highlights from trip to Scotland

The US telly favourite has also visited Billy Connolly's home during his time here.

Politics

3 w. ago Inside the Republican network behind big soda’s bid to pit Maga against Maha

A Guardian investigation finds the US soda and snack-food industries, threatened by RFK Jr’s movement to change Americans’ eating habits, have turned to a group of well-connected strategists, shadowy pollsters and ‘anti-woke’ influencersMajor US soft-drink and snack-food corporations are waging a coordinated campaign that aims to pit Donald Trump’s Maga faithful against Robert F Kennedy Jr’s Make America Healthy Again movement, a Guardian investigation in partnership with environmental watchdog Fieldnotes has found. Their goal is to stymie the Maha-led effort to curb Americans’ consumption of soda and ultra-processed foods.To carry out the plan, the companies have turned to a partially formalized network of for-hire pollsters, strategists and political financiers with deep ties to the national Republican party – several of whom have taken steps that obscure their connection to the effort and to one another. In the process, the industry has also been aided less directly by a loose co...

Politics

4 w. ago My cultural awakening: ‘The Specials helped me to stop fixating on death’

After several people close to me died I became obsessed with fitness and gripped by panic attacks. But then a ska cover taught me life doesn’t have to be serious all the timeMy anxious disposition means I think about death a lot. But a cluster of people I loved dying in 2023, and most of them unexpectedly and within a few months of each other, was enough to shake my nervous system up pretty significantly. Five funerals is too many. The first was my nan: she was the family matriarch. The oldest person in the family, so there was a level of acceptance among the sadness. But soon after it was her son, and then her granddaughter (my cousin). The latter two were shocks, completely upending my nervous system, one compounding the other. From there, two more followed. Death was all around. It wasn’t just a part of life by that point – it was something to expect soon and often.At first I seemed fine. Despite concerned friends and partners asking if I was hiding anything, ...

Events