The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles a cautionary tale for tourists | Paul Bowles

 Posted on May 14, 2024  |  5 minutes  |  915 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

Journeys in literaturePaul BowlesThe Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles – a cautionary tale for touristsThis account of a jaundiced progress around north Africa is a bleak reminder of the perils that lie within the romantic idea of travel As travellers go, I am an inexcusably snobby one. Not about places or cultures, but about the concept of travel itself: tourists are awful. Wherever I go, I gleefully scorn the straggles of tour groups lumbering around town, with their bumbags and schedules, trapped in someone else’s snapshot of a place. [Read More]

Tig Notaro: Hello Again review all the right notes, except on piano

 Posted on May 14, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  408 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

ComedyReviewTheatre Royal, Brighton The comic brings an assured touch to tales of everyday humiliation, and even her terrible musicianship is endearing for a while Tig Notaro has never had an interval onstage until now – “intermissions”, in her word, not being a thing for standups in the US. So it’s apt that Hello Again really is a show of two halves. The first finds Notaro at the top of her game, reporting back in her studied, laconic style on new parenthood, her health (albeit not as dramatically as in the show that made her name) and unexpected crushes. [Read More]

Would Republicans accuse Joe the Plumber of voter fraud? | Ohio

 Posted on May 14, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  413 words  |  Aldo Pusey

On the road to the White HouseOhioWould Republicans accuse Joe the Plumber of voter fraud?Under the GOP's vote suppression strategy in Ohio, McCain's now famous icon could have had a hard time casting a ballotIn a case that has now gone to the Supreme Court for review, Republicans in Ohio are challenging the registrations of all new voters whose names and other information do not exactly match those in government databases. [Read More]

Bedbug crisis sparks political row in Paris as insect scourge continues | Paris

 Posted on May 13, 2024  |  4 minutes  |  690 words  |  Valentine Belue

Paris This article is more than 3 months oldBedbug crisis sparks political row in Paris as insect ‘scourge’ continuesThis article is more than 3 months oldDisgust spreads across country as travellers post videos apparently showing insects on Paris public transport France’s growing bedbug crisis has sparked a political row as Paris city hall said the invasion of bloodsucking insects must be tackled before next year’s Olympic Games and the transport minister summoned train and bus operators to prevent the bugs multiplying on seats. [Read More]

Djokovic challenges Australian Open heckler before surviving Popyrin scare | Novak Djokovic

 Posted on May 13, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  535 words  |  Chauncey Koziol

Novak DjokovicDjokovic challenges Australian Open heckler before surviving Popyrin scareWorld No 1 survives close call for second match in a rowSerbian clashes with fan on way to 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3 winNovak Djokovic survived a scare for the second match in succession to reach the third round of the Australian Open. The defending champion, who came through the longest first-round match of his grand slam career on Sunday, had to save four set points on his serve to avoid falling 2-1 down to Australia’s Alexei Popyrin. [Read More]

Food for Fort: What is brown crab meat, exactly?

 Posted on May 13, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  315 words  |  Chauncey Koziol

Food for FortFoodAre you sure you want to know? Well…I can't find angelica at the supermarket or even confectioners. Has it been deemed 'bad' for us? Ah, angelica, or Angelica archangelica, as its euphonious Latin name has it. Now there's a forgotten ingredient. Fresh, its leaves were added to salads; candied, it was one of those chummy ingredients you lobbed into cakes, puddings and the like – it was valued as an aid to digestion and a stimulant to circulation. [Read More]

Irelands oldest woman shares her secrets to enjoying life on her 109th birthday | Ireland

 Posted on May 13, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  425 words  |  Valentine Belue

Ireland This article is more than 7 months oldIreland’s oldest woman shares her secrets to enjoying life on her 109th birthdayThis article is more than 7 months oldLive life to the full and relish the simple things, says Máirín Hughes Ireland’s oldest woman has marked her 109th birthday by sharing two tips on how to enjoy a long life: don’t waste time, and live it to the full. Máirín Hughes follows her own advice by bird-watching, reading newspapers and novels, doing crosswords, listening to music, playing Scrabble – and enjoying the fuss every time she reaches another birthday. [Read More]

John Airs obituary | Drama and dance

 Posted on May 13, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  452 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

Other livesDrama and danceObituaryJohn Airs obituaryMy father, John Airs, who has died of cancer aged 81, was a drama teacher who inspired lifelong devotion from his pupils. He was also an active and campaigning socialist, and one of the Guardian’s more prolific letter writers. Born in Edinburgh, John was only three when his father, Wilf, an RAF navigator, was shot down over France during the second world war, leaving his schoolteacher mother, Mary (nee Ward), to raise him and his younger sister, Kathleen. [Read More]

Rapper Lil' Kim sentenced to a year and a day for lying about shootout | World news

 Posted on May 13, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  459 words  |  Chauncey Koziol

World newsRapper Lil' Kim sentenced to a year and a day for lying about shootoutThe rapper Lil' Kim was sentenced yesterday to a year and a day in prison and fined $50,000 for lying to a federal grand jury to protect friends who were involved in a 2001 shootout outside a Manhattan radio station. Dressed in a blue trouser suit that was far more sober than the revealing outfits in which she performs, Lil' Kim became the first prominent female rap artist to go to jail owing to a fracas involving her entourage. [Read More]

Simon Pegg: 'My daughter was a blank slate. This little life had never eaten an E-number'

 Posted on May 13, 2024  |  7 minutes  |  1345 words  |  Aldo Pusey

Lunch with...Simon PeggThe actor made his name in knockabout British comedies but he's now a fixture in Hollywood. So why he's growing his own carrots? "It's all about nutrition," he saysI'll admit it: I'm slightly disappointed when Simon Pegg arrives for our lunch and orders a mackerel salad niçoise. The waiter at Brasserie Blanc in Covent Garden gives us a quizzical look. "As a main?" he asks solicitously. Pegg nods. He's been off the booze for a few years now and asks for nothing more than a bottle of sparkling water as accompaniment. [Read More]