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
Born in California, Gregory Porter, 53, released his Grammy-nominated debut album, Water, in 2010. He went on to receive best jazz vocal album Grammys for Liquid Spirit in 2014 and Take Me to the Alley in 2017. He sang for Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee and was the first celebrity to sing a lullaby on CBeebies Bedtime … Read more
In a narrow lane in Kolkata, West Bengal, Ankit Ghosh paused for a moment to take this photo. Ghosh was among crowds attending Vijaya Dashami, the last day of the Durga Puja, a festival he describes as “cultural potpourri”. He says, “It’s celebrated all across India, but there is no other place to experience it better than West Bengal. As this … Read more
While feta is often synonymous with Greek salad, you’ll find a range of uses for this brined, tangy white cheese, and a real range in finishes, too. On the whole, though, the longer the feta has been aged, the punchier its finish will be. Young cheese needs only about two to three months to mature, … Read more
Kat on Matt What were you hoping for?Great food, a fun story and hopefully someone to explore London with. First impressions?Very friendly and warm. He’d also kindly saved the booth seat for me, which I appreciated. What did you talk about?Carbs. Copenhagen v London prices (I’m from Copenhagen). Beach holidays. Films we haven’t seen. Our … Read more
It’s all in the mind True (up to a point)The way stress manifests is very much bodily, centred around hormones such as cortisol and their effect on us. But this process is triggered by the brain (notably the amygdala and the hypothalamus) and the way our brains react to stress is often set in early … Read more
I’m a 40-year-old man and worried about my family. Since my sister (in her late 30s) became pregnant with her first child four years ago, there hasn’t been a period longer than a week without her and my mother getting into toxic fights. A couple of days ago, after my sister had resorted (yet again) … Read more