10 h. ago My best friend of 50 years knew me better than anyone. But when she died, no one seemed to take my grief seriously

Friends know you differently from family, but where do you sit in the pecking order after they die? Below immediate relatives, ahead of a cousin, behind a workmate?I don’t remember a time in my life when Chrissy wasn’t in it. We were born 11 days apart and were both one when our families moved on to the same street in Geelong, a port city an hour south-west of Melbourne. We had a very Australian childhood; summers spent in our bathers, running through sprinklers; swimming in back yard pools; eating sausages in bread on New Year’s Eve, when we were allowed to stay up late while our parents drank cask riesling with the neighbours, and we’d lie on the cool evening grass listening to crickets.During those blisteringly hot summer days of our childhood, we lived at the beach, where shark alarms were constant and the waves dangerous. Occasionally, Chrissy would paddle out on her inflatable red and blue raft to the big waves out the back where the serious surfers were. Sometimes, I’d panic ...

Events

15 h. ago 'I was one of the most recognisable faces on TV but I gave it all up to become a teacher'

A face many people grew up with on CBBC and CITV Michael Underwood left his life in front of camera to become a primary school teacher in South West London

Politics

33 h. ago A massive outbreak has made Ontario the measles epicentre of the western hemisphere

Three-quarters of cases are in unvaccinated children, and this week saw the first fatality: a premature babyMeasles outbreak: how contagious is it and what are the symptoms?Outside the emergency room of the St Thomas Elgin general hospital, about 200km (125 miles) south-west of Toronto, a large sign with bright yellow block letters issues an urgent warning: “NO MEASLES VAX & FEVER COUGH RASH – STOP – DO NOT ENTER!”To see such an imperative in the 21st century might have been previously unimaginable for Canada, which in 1998 achieved “elimination status” for measles, meaning the virus is no longer circulating regularly. Continue reading...

Politics

33 h. ago A huge outbreak has made Ontario the measles centre of the western hemisphere

Three-quarters of cases are in unvaccinated children, and this week saw the first fatality: a premature babyMeasles outbreak: how contagious is it and what are the symptoms?Outside the emergency room of the St Thomas Elgin general hospital, about 200km (125 miles) south-west of Toronto, a large sign with bright yellow block letters issues an urgent warning: “NO MEASLES VAX & FEVER COUGH RASH – STOP – DO NOT ENTER!”To see such an imperative in the 21st century might have been previously unimaginable for Canada, which in 1998 achieved “elimination status” for measles, meaning the virus is no longer circulating regularly. Continue reading...

Politics

38 h. ago Three giant ‘doomsday fish’ wash up in one week, but harbinger of calamity a damp squib, say experts

After one oarfish was found in Tasmania, two were discovered in New Zealand, but there is no evidence of link between sightings and natural disaster, say scientistsBad luck comes in threes, according to the saying. And this week three ethereal oarfish, nicknamed “the doomsday fish”, have washed up on the shores of Australia and New Zealand.Two headless specimens were found near Dunedin and Christchurch on New Zealand’s South Island, following the discovery of an oarfish on Tasmania’s west coast on Monday.Sign up to get climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as a free newsletter Continue reading...

Politics

57 h. ago Heartbreak as 'beautiful' schoolgirl, 10, dies suddenly in quiet village as tributes are paid to 'loved and valued' daughter

Lily Wilson passed away in the 320-population village of Simpson Cross in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales.

Events

3 d. ago Little UK town named most 'boring' place to live but not everyone agrees

One South West London town has been named one of the UK's most boring places to live - but its great transport and activity offerings have some begging to differ

Politics

4 d. ago South West Water owner Pennon says losses deepened after Devon parasite outbreak

Last year’s incident in Brixham, south Devon, cost it about £21 million, pushing it deeper into an annual loss, it said.

Politics

5 d. ago Earth moves as Dumfries and Galloway hit by small earthquake

The tremor, measuring 2.2 on the Richter scale, hit a few miles south west of Beattock

Events

8 d. ago Two sisters, 19 and 21, arrested by terror police for running 'virtual jihadi academy' for young women from their bedrooms

Police arrested the suspects on Monday in Alcorcon, south-west Madrid, in the home that they shared on charges of terrorist indoctrination.

Events

8 d. ago South west London’s emerging tech trends: Crypto gambling and beyond

South west London’s emerging tech trends: Crypto gambling and beyond  South West Londoner

Politics

8 d. ago AD FEATURE: 50 years of steam magic: discover the beauty of Ilfracombe via the magnificent Paddle Steamer Waverley

Waverley returns to South West Wales this summer, with cruises departing from Monday, June 2 until Wednesday, June 25

Politics

8 d. ago Walk on the wild side: Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs on their epic hiking movie The Salt Path

Raynor Winn’s bestselling memoir about her and her husband’s 630-mile trek around England’s south coast has become a film. Its stars, makers and Winn talk floods, fog and forgiveness‘I have played a lot of powerful, well-dressed women in my career,” says Gillian Anderson. They flash before your eyes: Margaret Thatcher (The Crown), Eleanor Roosevelt (The First Lady), Emily Maitlis (the Prince Andrew/Newsnight drama Scoop) – as well as the formidable sex therapist in the Netflix hit Sex Education, a role that led to her being inundated with dildos from over-enthusiastic fans. “These are all women in control of themselves and their environment. Any time I have an opportunity to steer against that, particularly lately, it’s of interest to me.”There is steering in another direction, and then there is the screeching handbrake turn represented by her role in The Salt Path, adapted from Raynor Winn’s 2018 memoir of homelessness and hope along the coastline of England’s south-west. Playing W...

Politics

9 d. ago More cases of parasite outbreak confirmed after visits to popular Welsh petting farm

Cryptosporidium is a parasite that can cause gastrointestinal illness, often associated with contact with animals, especially young farm animals such as calves and lambs

Politics

1 week ago Rampage killings have become commonplace and drugs like cannabis are to blame

Hitchens compared the light policing of cannabis in the West to countries like South Korea, Japan, and China, making the point that Asia sees very few of these rampage-style killings.

Events

1 week ago The Salt Path review – Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs hike from ruin to renewal

Marianne Elliott directs this affecting drama, based on Raynor Winn’s memoir, which builds steadily as the couple journey towards redemptionThis film gives cinema one of the most nail-biting scenes of the year so far: an edge-of-the-seat moment as Gillian Anderson puts her bank card into a cash machine. Is there enough money in the account? Everything is at stake. This impressive, intelligent drama is an adaptation of Raynor Winn’s memoir about walking the South West Coast Path from Somerset to Dorset, with her husband, Moth. Unlike other hikers, the couple were not walking for pleasure – at least not to begin with. They had nowhere else to go after losing their farm. From theatre director Marianne Elliott, it stars two fancy actors – Anderson and Jason Isaacs – both giving lovely, emotional, low-key performances.In flashback we see the bailiffs banging at the door, evicting the couple, who are in their 50s, from the home in which they raised their kids, now flown the nest to univer...

Politics

1 week ago 'Paradise' town on the real Salt Path has dolphins and hidden coves

Salcombe in Devon is one of the many pretty seaside towns that sit on the South West Coast Path, which runs from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harbour in Dorset

Politics

1 week ago Gillian Anderson was ‘profoundly affected’ by memoir that inspired The Salt Path

The film follows a couple who complete the 1,000km South West Coast Path after losing their home.

Politics

2 w. ago ‘Hardest Geezer’ finishes 2,343km run along length of New Zealand

Russ Cook previously raised more than £1 million by running the length of Africa.

Politics

2 w. ago This tiny Australian bat is the size of a matchbox. But it flies up to 150km a night in search of food

Until now, little was known about foraging flights of critically endangered southern bent-wing bats, which roost in cavesGet Guardian Australia environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as an emailGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA tiny, critically endangered bat – roughly the size of a matchbox – can fly about 150km in a single night, new research has found.Southern bent-wing bats roost in caves in south-west Victoria and south-east South Australia. They fly out at night in search of food, eating about half their body weight in insects. Continue reading...

Politics