business

I’m in the fortunate position of owning my own home and some land without a mortgage (in a very affordable and somewhat remote area), and every week I hear more stories from friends about their struggles to get by. We’re all in our 30s, but I feel as if my stress levels are infinitely lower … Read more

In August 2014, conservation biologist Steve Krichbaum was searching for wood turtles on a small plateau in a West Virginia forest. His dog Henry was exploring below, near a stream, out of sight. Henry – a fluffy former stray so joyfully affectionate Krichbaum’s former partner nicknamed him the “Love Dragon” – accompanied him everywhere, hiking, … Read more

My seven-year-old daughter is playing a game on my husband’s phone. A punky, doll-like character has a dirty face, with green oozing spots and patches of brown dirt, bed-head hair sprouting from her head in crude black lines. My daughter dutifully selects a sponge from the toolbar and wipes off the spots, as if in … Read more

From my vantage point on a rooftop terrace I can see the snaking form of the Ourika River meandering through the swathe of palmerias at the southern edge of Marrakech. It’s hard to imagine that barely 20 miles (32km) separate me from the frantic bustle of the famous Djemaa el Fna square and the clamour … Read more

I’m looking for four things in pasta. First, its ability to hold up during cooking: good pasta retains structure and form, which helps it retain flavour and digestibility, which are the second and third things I look for. If the opposite is true and the pasta is not muscular, there is a good chance it … Read more

The prosecution: Eleanor We should make a house fund for garden stuff. We already have one for a cleaner, so what’s the difference? Living in a shared house with Raheem and one other flatmate is a bit of a balancing act with splitting bills, dishes, and deciding who gets the good shelf in the fridge. … Read more

Sad, dizzyingly over-scheduled and suffering a serious case of “thumb fatigue”, midway through last year, Anne* decided to delete her dating apps. For the previous four months, the 31-year-old Sydney resident had been attempting to achieve two big adult milestones at once: finding love and finding a place to buy. Every Saturday, it felt as … Read more

Rachael on George What were you hoping for?A lovely evening with a guy who felt comfortable and knew how to ask questions of their date. First impressions?A bit nervous, but very friendly and chatty, easy to get into a conversation with. What did you talk about?Cats. Travelling. Skiing and ski seasons. Our jobs. Running into lamp-posts. So … Read more

On the day he took this image, French photographer Michel Kharoubi was on his way to visit his father in a medical retirement home. This was shot in Les Olympiades, in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, but Kharoubi notes that the specific location is not important to him. “I don’t practise realistic or documentary street photography, but try to capture iconic urban images,” he says. “I positioned … Read more

Born in London, Milton Jones, 60, won the Perrier best newcomer award at the Edinburgh fringe in 1996. He went on to appear on shows such as Mock the Week and Live at the Apollo. He is currently making his 15th series for Radio 4, regularly performs on I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue, and has won … Read more