66 m. ago Meghan Markle's bold Paris Fashion Week look may have been a subtle nod to her last official Royal outing with Prince Harry

Meghan Markle elevated her stealth wealth style streak with two bespoke pieces from the Spanish luxury fashion house for a masterclass in quiet luxury at Paris Fashion Week .

Politics

86 m. ago The Poems of Seamus Heaney review – collected works reveal his colossal achievement

The complete works, including previously unpublished poems and expert notes, are brought together in one volume for the first timeBaudelaire introduced ordinary objects into poetry – likening the sky to a pan lid – and by doing so revolutionised poetic language. Likewise, Seamus Heaney introduced Northern Irish vernacular into the English lyric, peppering his lines with words like glarry, the Ulster word for muddy; kesh, from Irish ceis, a wickerwork causeway; and dailigone, “daylight gone” or dusk, from Ulster-Scots. It is this that gives his writing a mulchy richness and cultural resonance that remain unique in contemporary poetry. One of the key poems in North (1975) is a version of Baudelaire’s The Digging Skeleton, to which Heaney brings an Irish flavour – the skeletons dig the earth “like navvies”. It’s especially rich as digging for Heaney is also a metaphor for writing, while the archaeological metaphor resonates with the darkly symbolic bog poems.Bringing all Heaney’s poems...

Economics

86 m. ago I Swear review – biopic of pioneering Tourette syndrome activist is funny, fierce and full of heart

Kirk Jones’s moving film about of John Davidson, the man who taught Britain about Tourette, offers compassion and catharsis Feelgood true-life heart-warmers about courageous people overcoming medical conditions are common enough. But not when that condition zaps and jabs and stabs at the genre itself, piercing the carapace of sentimentality while surreally commenting on the form and on the demure niceties of polite society, in which we all keep our thoughts to ourselves.Kirk Jones’s terrifically warm, generous film is about real-life activist John Davidson, who is from Galashiels in the Scottish Borders and has Tourette syndrome, with its tics, compulsive behaviour patterns and random obscene shouts. He was awarded an MBE in 2019 for his work educating the nation about the condition since he first exhibited its symptoms as a teenager in 1989, as captured in the BBC’s sensational documentary John’s Not Mad. I Swear contains a great performance from Robert Aramayo, full of intelligenc...

Politics

86 m. ago ‘I’m a composer. Am I staring extinction in the face?’: classical music and AI

Technology is radically reshaping how we make music. As I dug deeper into this for a radio 3 documentary I began to wonder if creative organisations are right to be so upbeat about AI. Are we riding the wave or will the wave destroy us? The hacker mansion is part startup commune, part luxury crash-pad, part sales floor for the future. They are dotted around Silicon Valley, inhabited by tech founders and futurists. The most opulent I’ve seen is in Hillsborough, one of the Bay Area’s wealthiest enclaves, just south of San Francisco. Inside, marble floors gleam beneath taped-up portraits of tech royalty; in the gardens, gravel is raked into careful Zen spirals and pools shimmer beyond the hedges.It was a sunny June afternoon, and I had come with my producer, Fay Lomas, to record interviews for a BBC Radio 3 documentary about the collision of generative AI and classical music in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. Continue reading...

Politics

86 m. ago Keir Starmer promises bonfire of red tape for struggling pubs with key changes

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he is backing pubs and bars 'to thrive' with a four-week rapid review aiming to rip up old licensing rules

Events

1 hour ago Skechers 'luxury' winter slippers can be bought for £11 in the wake of Amazon Prime Day

"These slippers are by far more superior than a very well-known brand. So comfortable and they have a thicker sole take the strain off my legs"

Politics

2 h. ago Asian shares advance and oil prices fall as Israel and Hamas agree to pause fighting

Asian shares are mostly higher after US stocks hit records again following a brief stumble

Politics

5 h. ago 2 arrested for allegedly stealing cooking oil from London restaurants

2 arrested for allegedly stealing cooking oil from London restaurants  Yahoo

Events

8 h. ago Wayne Thiebaud review – staggering still lifes to make your mouth water

Courtauld Gallery, LondonThe pop pioneer’s paintings of sweets and cakes offer up a succulent and incredibly moreish slice of a long-lost American dreamYou’re not allowed to lick paintings in museums, which is cruel when you’re faced with something as mouthwateringly tempting as Wayne Thiebaud’s art. The American pop pioneer dedicated his long career to cakes, sweets and gumball machines, a visual world of treats and candies laid out in American diners and on deli counters, tempting viewers to commit the ultimate crime and take a big, juicy bite.But he didn’t just paint for the sake of getting you salivating. His work (here at the Courtauld in his first ever UK museum show) is both an ultraserious take on the material history of painting, a sort of update on the long legacy of the still life, and a deep dive into burgeoning consumerism and the capitalistic euphoria of the mass-produced, mid-century American dream. Continue reading...

Politics

8 h. ago Victoria Beckham review – Netflix’s riches to riches story reveals a woman eternally plagued by dissatisfaction

The former pop star’s determination to succeed belies a desperate need to be liked in this three-part documentary

Politics

8 h. ago Inside the London hotel with a secret tunnel that leads all the way to Princess Anne's palace

The Stafford London hotel describes itself as a 'true hidden gem', offering a 'quintessentially British experience with unparalleled luxury and charm'.

Politics

9 h. ago Three Keys and Three Stars: Why The Connaught is the Ultimate Luxury Icon

Three Keys and Three Stars: Why The Connaught is the Ultimate Luxury Icon  MICHELIN Guide

Politics

9 h. ago Claudia's Celebrity Traitors fight for the best prize of all

What wouldn't you give to be a Traitor? Some of the stars jostling to stab each other in the back at Claudia Winkleman's Highlands castle are so eager, they might literally kill to take part.

Politics

9 h. ago Charlotte Church makes grave mistake in first task of BBC's Celebrity Traitors

Contains some spoilers - The star's outfit choice caused quite the stir

Politics

9 h. ago Celebrity Traitors fans point out 'mistake' made following 'brutal' Alan Carr cliffhanger

Fans were left wondering who would be the first star murdered on the BBC series

Politics

9 h. ago Jude Gerrard's parents say son 'deserves better' after fatal nursey 'mistake'

Jude Gerrard, aged two, tragically died at Early Learners Day Nursery, in Bootle, Liverpool, and his parents are angry that his death has been put down to an "honest mistake"

Events

9 h. ago Millionaire model ditches glam life for ‘simple’ farm routine with goats, cows and chickens that ‘keep her sane’

A MILLIONAIRE model has swapped her glam lifestyle for a “simple” farm life where she tends to her baby goats, cows and chickens. Sophie Rain is one of the wealthiest OnlyFans models on the planet, who claims to have earned £61m ($82m) from her saucy work. Despite having the cash to splash on luxury ventures,...

Politics

10 h. ago The Celebrity Traitors 5* review by CHRISTOPHER STEVENS: Claudia's Traitors fight for the best prize of all

What wouldn't you give to be a Traitor? Some of the stars jostling to stab each other in the back at Claudia Winkleman's Highlands castle are so eager, they might literally kill to take part.

Politics

10 h. ago The Celebrity Traitors review: It’s still the camp and menacing show we know and love – with a stonking all

The starry spin-off of the BBC hit stays faithful to the original formula – and it’s such a delight to be back at Ardross Castle

Politics

10 h. ago The Celebrity Traitors, episode one on BBC One review: the ultimate celeb

Watching celebs reduced to sweaty, dirty messes in the name of television is great fun

Politics