16 h. ago Who should you smile at in the street? Here are my rules – from dogs to babies | Zoe Williams

I’ll acknowledge young people in love, anyone in hi-vis and a dad who seems to be pulling his weight. The rest of the time, I have a face like thunderI just smiled at a middle-aged woman on a pushbike, and she looked at me as if to say, “do we know each other?”, and I thought, good point, we don’t know each other, why am I smiling?That was a straight solidarity smile – you are on a bike, I also have a bike. I wouldn’t just smile willy-nilly at anyone the same age as me, they would have to be doing something that not all of us do: vaping; cycling; whistling. I’ll always smile at a baby in a pram, but I won’t smile at the mum, because I remember how much I used to hate it when people assumed that, just because I had a baby, it meant I was nice. You’ve already lost so much identity, so fast. I will, however, smile at a dad, because if he’s pushing a pram, he’s pulling his weight. I know that walking to the nursery is the absolute bare minimum and doesn’t tell you anything about the dis...

Politics

7 d. ago How do I know my life has gone wrong? Because I spend all my time at the tip | Zoe Williams

I am there so often that the man who runs the recyclables aisle knows my name – and he is seriously unimpressed with my offeringsYou know a lot of things have gone wrong for you when the guy at the municipal dump knows your name. It basically means you’re bereaved or getting divorced – because if you’re just a regular, organised person who goes to the dump a lot, you’re in and out of there like a ghost.So anyway, I wouldn’t call it a friendship, between me and the guy in the recyclable items aisle; it’s more of a Tom and Jerry thing. I try to leave stuff where it might find a new home, and he tries to get me to put it in landfill. I say, “But sir, it’s a brand new commode, there are people who’d bite your hand off for one of these,” and he says, “Give it back to the NHS,” and I say, “Do you think I haven’t tried that?”. And he shakes his head, and I put it in landfill, but then wait until his back is turned and run back with three Zimmer frames. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Blood, sweat and cigarettes – why there’s nothing cute about school uniform | Zoe Williams

The charm is intoxicating at first. But wait till their expensive kit is mired in mud, the blazer takes on a flammable sheen and the PE kit stinks up the houseThe first time you put your kid in school uniform, there’s an intoxicating charm to the moment. There he is, your precious firstborn, and you’ve dressed him up like a grown-assed man who’s managing the fanciest restaurant on a very large ferry. Slacks and a well-pressed shirt are just the baseline; there’s also insignia on everything – jumpers, shorts, bags, pencil cases and water bottles – and the crest is something egalitarian, such as a tree or a leaf, but whatever it is, only that will do. After a full and overall pretty happy life of not sweating the small stuff, suddenly there’s a person in your house whose every clothing item is absolutely irreplaceable, and that person is four, and has squashed a beetle into it. On that first day, though, all you’re thinking is, “How adorable, this is like his first Christmas, when we ...

Politics

3 w. ago We should all be eating 30 different plants a week. I can’t even name that many | Zoe Williams

There have been times when I have eaten virtually no fruit or vegetables, but at least five-a-day felt achievable. The new ideal seems impossibleThe first mention of five-a-day, as a fruit and vegetable diet ideal was in California in the late 80s, but didn’t reach the chattering crudité classes until the mid-90s. I once wrote a food diary for a magazine, in which it turned out I’d had one vegetable across the space of a week, when someone in a cafe slipped some spinach under my fried egg. Eating five a day was harder than it looked, particularly if you didn’t like tomatoes and hated fruit. There was a bit of debate around whether potatoes counted (they don’t), whether bananas and avocados were false friends (nobody ever got to the bottom of that) and how much lettuce counted as a portion, given that it is basically air. Later, there was a little consternation at how much influence had been wielded by the fruit and vegetable industry. But the late, much-missed Michael Mosley made th...

Politics

3 w. ago Does James Bond have to be played by a man? Helen Mirren seems to think so | Zoe Williams

The actor says she is ‘such a feminist’ but that it doesn’t work to have a woman as the next 007. She may find that Amazon, which has taken creative control of the franchise, agrees‘I’m such a feminist,” Helen Mirren told Saga magazine, but there are some jobs a woman can’t do. To be precise: “You can’t have a woman [as James Bond]. It just doesn’t work. James Bond has to be James Bond, otherwise it becomes something else.”Mirren is starring opposite Pierce Brosnan in the film adaptation of Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club, in which they both play amateur sleuths in a care home. Happily, that is a unisex job. Brosnan might also describe himself as “such a feminist” – he has never said so explicitly, but in 2019, he said a female Bond would be “exhilarating”. However, he’s now back on team men, saying: “I’m so excited to see the next man come on the stage and to see a whole new exuberance and life for this character.” Exhilaration, excitement, exuberance: all qualities I don’...

Politics

3 w. ago ITV This Morning doctor speaks out on Loose Women move ahead of major change

This Morning doctor Zoe Williams has spoken out on ITV Loose Women move ahead of major change-up on the panel show, after appearing in the first-ever Loose Doctors episode

Politics

3 w. ago This Morning star reveals she had a miscarriage while presenting live on air

You can contact the Miscarriage Association helpline on 01924 200799 or email the charity at info@miscarriageassociation.org.uk. The helpline is open from 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday. For more information, help and support regarding pregnancy loss, you can contact Tommy’s on 0800 0147 800.

Society

3 w. ago This Morning star makes heartbreaking miscarriage admission 'I was on bleeding on the sofa'

This Morning star Dr Zoe Williams made a candid confession on Thursday's show

Events

3 w. ago ITV star shares traumatic miscarriage experience on This Morning sofa

This Morning star Dr Zoe Williams opened up on suffering a miscarriage live on the ITV show

Events

3 w. ago This Morning star admits 'I was bleeding' as she opens up on suffering miscarriage live on air

This Morning star Dr Zoe Williams made a candid admission on Thursday

Society

3 w. ago ITV star opens up on suffering miscarriage on This Morning sofa

ITV star Dr Zoe Williams opened up about a heartbreaking loss on Thursday's This Morning

Politics