business 
The British think the cuppa is their national treasure, but a new interest in tea sets among young people is bringing with it an interest in the international cultural significance of the teatime ritual. Online vintage homeware marketplace Vinterior reports a six-fold increase in teapot purchases over the past six months, while sales at John … Read more
My earliest memories of childhood involve hugging my dad, and also punching him. Let me explain. My father, who moved from Hong Kong to New York in the late 1960s, was a professional artist and a black belt in karate. When my brother and I were kids, he trained us up in his studio, to … Read more
It feels as if time has stopped, frozen in the swinging 1960s, as you pass through the pristine gate that opens on to this enchanting lakefront building. The lake in question is the magical and wild Mergozzo, tiny, utterly charming and yet still rarely visited by tourists. The house was built in 1963. Its equally … Read more
On the day after Boxing Day last year, my dad and I went to buy some cabbage. My aunt and cousins were joining us for dinner that evening and we had a meal to prepare. The local supermarket was closed and the cabbage, sourced from an Italian deli around the corner, was obscenely overpriced. In … Read more
Sally, Tim, Andrew and Elizabeth Phillips in 1972 and 2025Sally, Tim, Andrew and Elizabeth Phillips in 1972 and 2025. Later photograph: Pål Hansen/The Guardian. Styling: Andie Redman. Hair, makeup and grooming: Celine Nonon and Carol Sullivan at Arlington Artists. Archive photograph: courtesy of Sally Phillips Born in Hong Kong in 1970, Sally Phillips is a comedian, … Read more
Of all the things wasted in our throwaway times, the greatest is wasted talent. There are millions of people around the world who could help make the world a better place, but don’t. I’m talking about the ones who have got the power to shape their own careers, though you would never know it from their utterly unsurprising … Read more
As parents to an autistic son, my husband and I found it hard to accept his diagnosis. Developmental milestones were missed, and the difference between Tristan and others became stark. It could not be ignored, denied or explained away – our beautiful son was profoundly autistic. Tristan was offered a place at a school for children … Read more
Rich, dark and squidgy, this cake is very much an after-dinner, rather than an afternoon-tea affair – something you’ll need a fork for, and quite possibly a spoon, too. Somewhere between a cake and a mousse, it’s the perfect end to an Easter celebration (serve with creme fraiche and chilled sliced blood oranges) and a … Read more
Looking after your skin used to seem so simple: for decades, a basic “cleanse, tone, moisturise” routine was seen as the gold standard. But the skincare industry has recently exploded with thousands of new products, while skincare influencers have been racking up millions of views with often bewildering (and conflicting) advice. The Guardian’s journalism is … Read more
Early on the morning of 3 August 1944, a unit of heavily armed German soldiers arrived at the Villa Il Focardo outside Florence. They didn’t knock. They didn’t ring the bell. They simply smashed through the front door, marched in and started shouting for the villa’s owner, Robert Einstein, cousin of the world-famous scientist Albert … Read more