4 d. ago ‘There is bounty almost everywhere’: why you’ll always find me in the flea market on my travels

Forget sightseeing, secondhand shopping is now a major draw for tourists. A seasoned bargain-hunter shares her tips on picking up the best vintage finds when travelling abroadMarburg, Germany. It’s a fairytale city, not only because of the hilltop castle that overlooks its cobbled streets and half-timbered houses, but also because this is where the Grimm brothers once lived and studied, starting the collection of folklore stories that would eventually become their famous anthology of fairytales. Throughout the city, sculptures – some perched in improbable places – pay homage to this past, forming a mile-long route known as the Grimm Path. It’s very much like a treasure hunt.But on my visit to Marburg, I had a different type of treasure hunt in mind and, once done with enchanted mirrors and kissy-lipped frogs, headed straight for the SecondHand by DRK (Deutsches Rotes Kreuz – the German Red Cross) to scout for pre-owned items. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago City bosses warn on pay as UK minimum wage closes in on graduate salaries

Chief executives voice fears about impact on recruitment ahead of expected rise in Budget

Events

1 week ago Former Swansea City and Newport boss Colin Addison dies as clubs pay tribute

Colin Addison has died aged 85

Events

1 week ago Striking TfGM staff stop traffic in Manchester city centre in ongoing pay row

Workers claim mooted 3.2pc rise is a 'pay cut in disguise'

Events

1 week ago Detroit paying nearly $6M in second death connected to bus driver with many crashes

The city of Detroit has agreed to pay nearly $6 million to settle a lawsuit over the death of a pedestrian who was struck by a bus

Events

2 w. ago Return of banker bonus bonanza fuels City pay boom as average hits £100,000

Abolition of banker bonus cap in 2023 has unleashed new six figure pay boom in the Square Mile

Economics

2 w. ago Average full time pay for City workers smashes through £100,000 barrier for the first time

Abolition of banker bonus cap in 2023 has unleashed new six figure pay boom in the Square Mile

Economics

3 w. ago The city where you pay more to park if you drive an SUV: Fury at Labour

Cardiff Council's plan to hit SUV drivers with extra charges is 'just another tax' on motorists, according to drivers in the Welsh capital.

Politics

3 w. ago City council approves plans to make SUV drivers pay more for parking

Cardiff Council will increase the cost of parking permits for owners of sports utility vehicles or cars weighing more than 2,400kg.

Politics

4 w. ago Momentous changes to parking in Cardiff about to be decided on

Cardiff Council's city parking plan will change rules in the city and also require drivers of larger vehicles like SUVs to pay a surcharge

Politics

4 w. ago Revealed: '£760m' equal pay claim that sunk Birmingham City Council was 'false' and 'overstated,' angry critics say

The 'false' figure was 'a figment of someone's imagination' and forced the authority to declare it was broke needlessly, local politicians, union leaders and academics said.

Economics

last month Pick a Colour by Souvankham Thammavongsa review – behind the scenes at the nail salon

This impressive novel shows how war, colonialism and migration play out in a small room where everyone’s name tag says SusanPick a Colour, the first novel from Laotian-Canadian poet and short-story writer Souvankham Thammavongsa, takes place over one summer’s day in a nail bar; implicitly in Canada, but it could be in any city. The narrative potential of such businesses, where customers pay for a particular service and expect to receive other kinds of care, has been explored in films and novels set in taxis, hairdressers and, in Katja Oskamp’s Marzahn, Mon Amour, a chiropody clinic. Such settings open rich questions: who has the power, the one who pays or the one who shapes the customer’s body, often with alarmingly sharp implements? How human can such exchanges of cash for care or “beauty” be? What do we buy and what do we sell in these transactions?The novel sets out its stall plainly. Narrated by Ning, the salon owner and a retired boxer, t...

Politics