Last week’s chicken too dry to finish off. A carrot so old it flops like a garden hose. Yoghurt – with a carton of mouldy blueberries – three weeks past its use. You might see trash; I see entree, dinner and dessert. There’s no such thing as food too old to eat. But those of … Read more
Believe me, I would love to write a drama about something other than the energy bills of strangers, but try as I might to find new inspiration, nothing creates tension, plot twists and psychodrama like the utilities sector. So here we go again … Act I The scene is London, where AH has discovered that his … Read more
Daisy Mumba didn’t think her train journey from Reading to Sheffield could get any worse. Seven months pregnant and unable to get to the seat she had booked because of the number of people onboard, she had to sit on the floor, constantly getting up and down to let other passengers past. But worse it … Read more
Slovenian Alps ‘There’s a magic to sleeping surrounded by Alpine peaks, nestled up against the stars’ In spring, when the snow starts to melt from the tops of the Kamnik-Savinja Alps in northern Slovenia, and the crocuses are coming into bloom, I like to head to Velika Planina. For two weeks in April, the whole … Read more
As I sat on the sofa with my sister, my gorgeous and affectionate new cat ambled between us, purring. That’s when I finally had a meltdown. Weeks of anxiety had come to a head and, exhausted, I told her I was considering whether I should give my new housemate back. Leo wasn’t the problem. With … Read more
Dance can be life-changing – it’s a lesson we learn every year on Strictly Come Dancing, but it bears repeating. Last year’s winner, comedian Chris McCausland, the show’s first blind celebrity, defied expectations and changed people’s attitude to his disability, while 80-year-old presenter Angela Rippon demonstrated in 2023 that age is no barrier to dancing. … Read more
The question I am a woman in my early 30s and about two years ago, I moved out of London and back home with my parents as I found the city soul-crushing: expenses and rent constantly going up and a sense of only surviving there, for which I saw no end in sight. I don’t … Read more
From empty mascara to shampoo bottles, beauty products create a lot of plastic waste. Switching to refillables is a fairly effortless way to cut down on single-use products that might otherwise end up in landfill. The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. The … Read more
Sharmilee, 71-73 Belgrave Road, Leicester LE4 6AS, (0116 266 8471). Starters £4.25- £5.95, mains £6.95-£12.95, desserts £1.50-£4, beers from £3.95 I can’t describe in detail how the upstairs dining room at Sharmilee in Leicester has changed since last I visited, but that’s not down to senility, not yet at least. After all, 26 years is … Read more
From the outside, Tara Yoga Centre looks like a normal, welcoming yoga studio. A pleasant building in an expensive east London postcode, with another popular branch on an Oxford high street. There are positive, even gushing, Google reviews. The website is professional, with photos of smiling people stretching on matching purple yoga mats. It promises … Read more