40 m. 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

53 m. ago Epsom security stop Derby pub drinkers staging race over track

A group of 14 tried to stage an impromptu race over the Derby course after an afternoon spent in a local hostelry, a week before the big race

Events

1 hour ago ‘The moon came into view and I searched for the perfect place to stand’: Eric Kogan’s best phone photo

The Brooklyn-based photographer on a chance encounterNew York-based photographer Eric Kogan took this picture on a family day of furniture and thrift-store hunting in Shelton, Connecticut, about a 90-minute drive from their Brooklyn home. En route, they stopped off in New Haven for a pizza. “The city is famous for its top-notch pizza restaurants,” Kogan says. “And the one we chose, Frank Pepe’s, is rumoured to have invented the first-ever pizza box!” After lunch they continued on to Shelton, pulling into the large parking lot of a furniture sample store a little before 4pm.“It was so tucked away that we kept questioning if we were heading in the right direction,” Kogan says. “The moon came into view as we made our way to the entrance. The sun had just set and it was semi-daylight out. I searched for the perfect place to stand. I also had to underexpose the frame a bit, turning it down until the moon felt right: luminous and detailed against its subdued ...

Culture

2 h. ago Jack Reacher author Lee Child: ‘More sex is medically implausible and I’m as rich and famous as I need to be’

The thriller writer on being a fearless Brummie, how he came to own a Renoir and his six-decade love affair with smokingBorn in the West Midlands, Lee Child, 70, studied law before working in television. After losing his job following a corporate restructuring, he published Killing Floor, the first in the Jack Reacher series, in 1997. His novels have been adapted into two films, starring Tom Cruise, and an Amazon Prime series. He now writes with his brother Andrew and they headline Theakston Old Peculier crime writing festival in Harrogate next month. The 30th Reacher thriller, Exit Strategy, is out in November. He is married with a daughter, and lives in the north of England.When were you happiest? In 1993, making love on the beach of a deserted island in the Bahamas. Continue reading...

Culture

3 h. ago Jeremy Clarkson bans customer from his pub over price complaint

TV star has documented the process of launching The Farmer’s Dog pub in the latest series of ‘Clarkson’s Farm’

Economics

4 h. ago Barcelona’s rebirth and one last job for Szczesny: La Liga season review

It’s the Sids! Barça reclaimed the title as Madrid’s giants faltered while Athletic, Celta and Rayo shook up the European placesThe day La Liga 2024-25 began, Wojciech Szczesny was sitting on the beach in Marbella lighting up a cigarette, enjoying his retirement. The night it ended, he sat in the dressing room in Cornellà, 1,000km round the coast, and lit up a cigar instead. He had walked away in August, at 35 years old, unwanted and his heart no longer in it, or so he thought. Nine months on, here he was surrounded by kids half his age, a footballer again and winner of every trophy his new home country had to offer. He had not lost a single league match en route to becoming a champion.“I’ve arrived where even my imagination wouldn’t even dare to take me,” Szczesny had said when he retired. And if he hadn’t dared imagine that, there was no way he could imagine this: a Copa del Rey, a Super Cup and a Champions League semi-final to go with the title. Continue reading...

Politics

4 h. ago Couple's last day of holiday ruined by cruel 'Scouse stereotype' insults

Catherine Kemp, 57, and her partner Stephen Rice, 56, were enjoying a weekend away in the Lake District when they popped into a pub called the Crafty Baa in Windermere for a drink

Politics

6 h. ago UK's 'most beautiful seaside town' is unsung spot with 'overlooked' beach

Weymouth in Dorset has been named as an "unsung beach town" despite its stunning beach and range of activities on offer, making it a great place to visit this summer

Politics

6 h. ago I spent a night at the luxury hotel where Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds stay on Wrexham visits

Carden Park Hotel and Spa in Cheshire is a beautiful hotel resort in the rolling countryside that's just a short drive away form Wrexham AFC's ground and has had a host of celebrity guests

Society

11 h. ago Beautiful UK seaside village named 'the best in England' with endless charm

This village in Cornwall has been named in Conde Nast Traveller's list of the best seaside places in England in 2025, known for its stunning harbour and sandy beach

Politics

13 h. ago Yoga classes resume at San Diego beach as court says they are ‘protected speech’

Instructors Steven Hubbard and Amy Baack had sued after a city ordinance restricted such activities on the beachYoga classes are back on at San Diego beaches this week after a federal appeals court ruled that a city ordinance restricting such activities was unconstitutional and that teaching yoga was “protected speech”.The three-judge panel of the US ninth circuit court of appeals on Wednesday overruled a San Diego judge and decided in favor of two instructors who had sued over a law that San Diego passed in 2024 banning yoga classes of four or more people at shoreline parks and beaches. Continue reading...

Events

14 h. ago US supreme court rules Doge can access social security data during legal challenge

Key player in Trump’s drive to slash federal workforce keeps access to sensitive records including family court and mental health recordsThe US supreme court on Friday permitted the so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge), a key player in Donald Trump’s drive to slash the federal workforce, broad access to the personal information of millions of Americans in Social Security Administration data systems while a legal challenge plays out.At the request of the justice department, the justices put on hold Maryland-based US district judge Ellen Hollander’s order that had largely blocked Doge’s access to “personally identifiable information” in data such as medical and financial records while litigation proceeds in a lower court. Hollander found that allowing Doge unfettered access likely would violate a federal privacy law. Continue reading...

Events

15 h. ago 7 Madeleine McCann theories of what happened to her – from drink drive crash to burglary

Madeleine McCann vanished in May 2007 while on holiday with her family in Praia da Luz, Portugal, with a recent renewed operation to find her unearthing no major discoveries

Events

16 h. ago Jeremy Clarkson bans punter from his pub for complaint about £24 steak pie

Former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson has barred the customer from his Cotswolds pub - The Farmer's Dog - after they complained about the prices of food on his menu

Economics

18 h. ago Gavin and Stacey star Joanna Page writing life story in pub car park while eating choc

Her book will follow Page from her childhood in a small village near Swansea to graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art - and landing the plum role as Stacey

Politics

19 h. ago Death, violence and endless delay: Inside Africa’s most troubled energy project

Africa’s largest natural gas project was expected to drive Mozambique’s economy to new heights. The reality has been far different, writes Nick Ferris

Events

19 h. ago Chilling moment 5ft shark's dorsal fin is spotted just 30 feet from one of Britain's most popular beaches

The porbeagle shark, a relative of the great white was observed for 25 minutes feeding in the relatively shallow water off Southbourne beach in Bournemouth.

Politics

19 h. ago Friday night pub quiz: Test your general knowledge with these 20 questions

See how you fared in this week's leaderboard

Politics

20 h. ago 'Bendiest' road in UK is so hard to drive motorists should avoid

The stretch has an apt nickname and is a real test for even the most experienced drivers

Events

20 h. ago Brit holiday hotspot bans 'sunbed hogging' with 'harsh' new beach rules

A popular beach destination in Cyprus has banned a controversial sunbed-saving practice - and the move has already divided holidaymakers who flock to the stunning area

Politics