MEMOIR ANIMAL TRUST by Julian Rota (Bramble Press £21, 330pp) Julian Rota is an eminent antiquarian book dealer: it’s a genteel-sounding world which, he admits, actually contains quite a number of dodgy characters, Del Boys and barmy bibliomaniacs. In his spare time, though, he also works as a volunteer at …...Read More
It shouldn't happen to a volunteer!
WHAT BOOK would fashion guru and writer Susannah Constantine take to a desert island?
. . . are you reading now? A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, a traumatic tale of male friendship. By turns uplifting and unspeakably harrowing, the writing is exquisite. Just when you think things can’t get any worse for Jude, the protagonist, they do. The abuse he suffers as a …...Read More
Man whose family fled Taliban for UK releases gripping memoir
MEMOIR THE BOY WITH TWO HEARTS by Hamed Amiri (Icon £16.99, 288pp) In 2001, when Hamed Amiri was ten years old, his mother made a speech declaring that women ‘have the same rights as men’. In Taliban-ruled Herat, Afghanistan, this was a radical statement, and a dangerous one: that night, …...Read More
Tending and growing plants has always proved to be therapeutic for a troubled mind
BOOK OF THE WEEK THE WELL-GARDENED MIND by Sue Stuart-Smith (William Collins £20, 352pp) Back in 1915 Alexander Douglas Gillespie, an officer with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, wrote a letter home from the battlefields of Northern France. He told how ‘a big shell suddenly swooped down from nowhere into …...Read More
Sip great summery scented wines for under ten quid
June 24 1981 is probably a date that doesn’t immediately make you think of wine. It was the day that the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only was released. Ever since watching that movie at the Odeon in Bournemouth, I’ve been on a quest to taste a particular wine …...Read More
Boy, six, pushed off tenth-floor balcony at the Tate wants to SLAP his attacker, court is told
Autistic Jonty Bravery was in council care but 'frequently assaulted' his carers and had been arrested for attacking them, the Old Bailey heard yesterday A six-year-old boy who was pushed off a tenth floor balcony at the Tate Modern has said that he would 'like to slap' his attacker, who …...Read More
Ex-Post Office boss Paula Vennells sparks outrage by blaming IT scandal on tech workers
Former Post Office boss Paula Vennells caused outrage yesterday after trying to shift the blame for an IT scandal that ruined the lives of more than 1,000 postmasters. The part-time priest, 61, insisted she did not approve prosecutions of her staff and was misled by computer experts. She said she …...Read More
UK Weather: Roads melt and London 'runs out of water'
Advertisement Roads melted and London prepared for water shortages as temperatures soared to 92F on the hottest day of the year so far - before Britain was struck by dramatic thunderstorms overnight. Sweltering 92F (33.3C) temperatures were recorded in southern England on Thursday afternoon, surpassing the 90.7F (32.6C) highs experienced …...Read More
In Norway, Gymgoers Avoid Infections as Virus Recedes
Like many countries, Norway ordered all gyms to close in March to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. But unlike any other nation, Norway also funded a rigorous study to determine whether the closings were really necessary. It is apparently the first and only randomized trial to test whether people …...Read More
Disgraced Lobbyist Jack Abramoff Headed Back to Jail
Jack Abramoff, the disgraced lobbyist whose corruption became a symbol of the excesses of Washington influence peddling, is set to return to jail for violating the law that was amended in response to his earlier crimes, law enforcement officials said on Thursday. Prosecutors said Mr. Abramoff, 62, is the first …...Read More
