business

EE texted to say they had processed my sim activation request, and the new sim would be active in 24 hours. I was told to contact them if I hadn’t requested this. I hadn’t, so I did so immediately. Twenty-four hours later, my mobile stopped working and money was withdrawn from my bank account. With … Read more

The other day, a friend decided to playfully name our individual roles within the group: planner, emotional support, and so on. I was the fault-finder – or, as she put it, “the grumpy teenager” – who points out problems, but doesn’t suggest alternatives. She was only kidding around, but she struck at an insecurity I … Read more

Put a deep pan of salted water on to boil. Peel 750g of potatoes, then cut them into large pieces. Cook them in the boiling water until tender to the point of a knife. About 12-15 minutes depending on their variety and the size you’ve cut them. You can also make this using smoked mackerel … Read more

It was about seven minutes into my cycle ride that the first signs of addiction became apparent. My ebike’s “power assist” button felt more like a morphine clicker as we climbed the misty hills of Bucovina in northern Romania. Sergiu, my group’s guide, knew what I was up to. “Be honest with yourself – only … Read more

Name: Waymo. Age: Founded in 2009 as the Google Self-Driving Car Project. Appearance: A driverless taxi and recruitment service. How futuristic – and they’ve been working on this since 2009? Actually, it goes back to 2004 and a prototype autonomous car built by Stanford University. The Google project became known as Waymo in 2016. Any … Read more

Even though the lamb is the star of this dish, it’s the asparagus that truly makes me happy. The arrival of asparagus season always feels like a little celebration of spring and longer, brighter days ahead. British asparagus, the best in the world, adds a fresh, seasonal touch that makes this rice really special. It’s … Read more

I am trapped in a shared-ownership flat, which is proving ­impossible to sell because the fire safety engineer who surveyed the block is accused of forging fire safety certificates required by mortgage lenders. I own 45% of my home and pay rent on the remaining 55% to Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (MTVH). The building has … Read more

Recent headlines about stock markets in freefall and graphs with downward arrows are not what you would choose as a backdrop to persuading people to move from cash savings into riskier investments. But that was what the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, was faced with after announcing that a review of cash and shares Isas was on … Read more

David Williams was 17 when his mother died of cancer. But he didn’t cry when his mum’s friend knocked on the door in the dead of night to give him and his sisters the news. He was the eldest of three, “the adult male” as his father had left years earlier. Instead, he bottled up … Read more

While waiting for a show during London fashion week in February, I and a few fashion writers, stylists and editors were admiring each other’s outfits. Surprise, surprise, we discovered that the pieces we loved most were preowned (and largely from charity shops, I might add). The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission … Read more