6 d. ago Tim Dowling: I had this amazing dream. But I can’t divulge the details

There was a horse in the living room and I thought: this will make such a good column. But then I woke up I wake up suddenly and early, the dog lying so heavy across my legs that my feet have gone numb. I extract myself and hobble across the bedroom until circulation is restored. Then I throw open the curtains to introduce my wife to the new day.“Ugh,” she says. Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago Outdoor oven that's a 'pizza lover's dream' on offer at Amazon

Transport your family and guests from Wales to Italy in an instant

Politics

1 week ago Tim Dowling: our garden is identical to next door’s – only with added weeds

The privet hedge has been uprooted and the two front gardens have become one – revealing a stark contrastA tall hedge – a privet – marked the boundary between our front garden and our neighbour Marianne’s. The hedge afforded both a measure of privacy and an illustrative contrast in maintenance regimes: Marianne’s side is always neat and straight; ours shaggy and bulging into the walkway.A couple of years ago the hedge started to die. At first it was easy to ignore, to hope that the remaining greenery would spread into the bare spots. But it got worse, not better. The time came for a difficult conversation with Marianne. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Tim Dowling: on my band’s nationwide tour, it’s vital to be in the right car

Long journeys provide way too much time to tinker with the set list – but my opinion doesn’t seem to countFor the second leg of our band’s nationwide tour we’ve hired a van for all our stuff, but it only has three seats, so the rest of us are following in two cars. We have agreed that no changes will be made to the show, but halfway to Bristol a revised set list appears on the band WhatsApp. “The other car have swapped two songs out of the first half into the second,” I say to the guitar player, who is driving.“Why have they done that?” he says. “Dunno,” I say. “Since when are they in charge?” Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Thailand holiday hell as husband dies and wife brings remains home in rucksack

Gill Dunn described the "bureaucratic nightmare" she endured to repatriate her husband Paul, who passed away on their retirement getaway

Events

3 w. ago 'My dream noise cancelling headphones are almost 20% off in Amazon Spring Sale'

Amazon has discounted Sony's excellent-quality WH-1000XM5 Noise Cancelling Headphones - and there are several stylish colour options

Politics

3 w. ago Giraffe pressure washer that 'works like a dream' slashed by 60% in Amazon spring sale

Amazon's seven-day spring sale kicked off this morning.

Economics

3 w. ago Tim Dowling: I’m on tour with my band – and my wife is ignoring my calls

After a misunderstanding over who was using the car, my wife teaches me a lesson without saying a wordThe band I’m in is heading out for a spring tour from Edinburgh to Exeter, a dozen dates across four weekends. Two nights before we set off I leave a rehearsal room at 10pm, exhausted after a seven-hour practice. It occurs to me, not for the first time, that I am too old for this shit.On the morning of the first gig, my wife and I have a row: she appears to be unaware that I am taking the car for the weekend. Continue reading...

Politics