3 d. ago I thought it was being gay that made my life so difficult. Then, at 50, I got an eye

I spent far too many years lonely and angry, thanks to schoolmates who called me ‘weird’ and bosses who dismissed me as ‘hysterical’. But was it my sexuality that put their backs up – or the autism I am still coming to terms with?My earliest memory is of feeling different. I’m gay, and grew up in the 1980s, in a tough, working-class town in the north of England at the height of the Aids crisis. My gayness was obvious in the way I walked and talked. I was bullied at school, called a “poof”, “pansy” and “fairy”; other children did impressions of me with their wrists limp. I experienced physical violence, too. I was shoved, kicked, my head was slammed against the wall. I was punched in the face more than once.But it wasn’t just my sexuality that set me apart. I was “weird”. I had a rigid attachment to routine and was terribly shy, sometimes freezing in social situations. I needed to be on my own for long periods; not easy when you’re in a family of five and share a bedroom with your br...

Politics

4 d. ago Man convicted of burning Koran and shouting 'f*** islam' outside Turkish embassy admits he is 'very worried' that he may now end up being killed

Hamit Coskun, 50, was ordered to pay £240 and a statutory £96 surcharge on Monday after screaming 'Koran is burning' and 'Islam is religion of terrorism' while holding a flaming copy the Koran.

Events

2 w. ago 'Anger mounts behind the scenes at ITV' after This Morning escapes channel's cuts and brutal schedule shake

Anger is reportedly mounting behind the scenes after This Morning escaped the ITV cutbacks announced this week amid a schedule shake-up and overhaul at the channel.

Culture

2 w. ago Millions of food parcels handed out in UK as number rises 51 per cent

There has been a 46% rise in food parcels provided to families with children, and a 32% rise in parcels to support children under the age of five

Politics

2 w. ago Children are speaking to strangers online – and grooming is on the rise. This is how to protect them | Devi Sridhar

Parents are used to worrying about walking home alone and sleepovers, but games and messaging apps pose new risksWhen we look at what causes poor mental health, we often think of stress, genetics, poverty or loneliness. These are all contributing factors, but there’s another, more hidden cause that isn’t talked about enough: abuse, especially during childhood. I recall Chad Varah, the founder of Samaritans, reflecting that there were many things that drove people to call the charity’s suicide helpline. But abuse was a prominent reason.Abuse isn’t an easy subject to raise or talk about. It brings up issues of gender dynamics – a colleague studying global sexual abuse told me: “The vast majority of perpetrators are men; the victims are equally boys and girls.” These are hard issues to think about, harder still to discuss and difficult to address. They challenge notions of safety, trust, family and community. But if we want to make progress in addressing poor mental health, we have to ...

Politics

3 w. ago ‘Punching walls’ and ‘shouting’: Inside the worrying rise of children reporting anger issues

School and online pressures have been blamed for the rise in children turning to Childcare for help with anger issues

Politics

3 w. ago Rise in anger issues among children blamed on 'growing emotional challenges' including social media

The charity said it provided 2,895 counselling sessions for children with anger in 2024/25, a six per cent increase on the previous year.

Politics