Dont be fooled, Christmas isnt over yet so keep on celebrating | Peter Ormerod

 Posted on April 8, 2024  |  4 minutes  |  785 words  |  Valentine Belue

OpinionChristmas This article is more than 7 years oldDon’t be fooled, Christmas isn’t over yet – so keep on celebratingThis article is more than 7 years oldPeter OrmerodThe corporate calendar decrees that Christmas is done with – so it’s up to us to resist, and go on enjoying this special time of year for as long as possibleMerry Christmas! And again: Merry Christmas! And again: Merry Christmas! I’m going to keep this up until everyone realises these days in which we now find ourselves are not the dead and dreary affairs they seem but are still actually Christmas. [Read More]

Fidel Castro's Potbelly amigo Max Marambio finds brother Raul Castro is not so friendly | Cuba

 Posted on April 8, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  373 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

The ObserverCuba This article is more than 13 years oldFidel Castro's Potbelly amigo Max Marambio finds brother Raul Castro is not so friendlyThis article is more than 13 years oldMax Marambio had it all from the Cuba leader Fidel Castro. Now Raul Castro wants him on corruption chargesA globe-trotting guerrilla befriends a dictator, goes into business and makes a fortune but ends up accused of corruption and betrayal. How the story ends remains unclear, but Max Marambio's rise and apparent fall could already fill several novels – and shed light on Castro rule in Cuba. [Read More]

Houseplant of the week: variegated rubber plant

 Posted on April 8, 2024  |  1 minutes  |  199 words  |  Valentine Belue

Houseplant of the weekInteriorsThis low-maintenance beauty will add texture and interest to your home Why will I love it? Ficus elastica “Tineke” is a prime example of how nature inspires fashion. The foliage is characterised by mottled variegation, which illustrates one of nature’s perfect colour combinations: the camouflage-like creamy pink with pale and dark green. Indoors, it will stand proud at almost a metre tall, adding texture and interest to any home or office. [Read More]

HTC U11 review: the squeezable phone with a stunning camera

 Posted on April 8, 2024  |  9 minutes  |  1716 words  |  Aldo Pusey

HTCReviewNew 5.5in smartphone might be bulky, but its super-shiny back and pressure sensitive controls make up for it Once the darling of the smartphone world, HTC has been struggling to gain traction in a market dominated by Samsung and Apple with its solid but bland devices. Now the U11 is here and it’s squeezable (no really), can the former smartphone leader turn it around? The U11 is the new top of the line for HTC, replacing last year’s all-metal HTC 10 with the company’s new shiny metallic glass design. [Read More]

I'm infatuated with my son-in-law | Life and style

 Posted on April 8, 2024  |  4 minutes  |  848 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

Private livesLife and styleI'm infatuated with my son-in-lawHe's half my age but I've yearned for my daughter's man since I first met him three years ago - I'm so ashamedMy husband and I are 57, our daughter is 28. I am very attracted to my son-in-law, 31, and have been since I met him three years ago. My heart races when I am near him, I want to look at him constantly and feel weak when I hear his voice on the telephone. [Read More]

Lucie Rie: The Adventure of Pottery; Peter Doig review

 Posted on April 8, 2024  |  7 minutes  |  1446 words  |  Kary Bruening

Lucie Rie in her studio at Albion Mews, London, in the 1990s. © Estate of Lucie Rie/ Times NewspapersView image in fullscreenLucie Rie in her studio at Albion Mews, London, in the 1990s. © Estate of Lucie Rie/ Times NewspapersThe ObserverArt and designReviewKettle’s Yard, Cambridge; Courtauld Gallery, London Form and function unite in quiet perfection in an unmissable gathering of the potter’s coveted work, while the Scottish artist lets the sunshine in – up to a point [Read More]

Meet the teenager flying solo around Australia and breaking records in between exams

 Posted on April 8, 2024  |  5 minutes  |  951 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

Chloe Familton is a 17-year-old pilot from NSW currently circumnavigating Australia. She’ll become the youngest female to have flown around Australia solo.Chloe Familton is a 17-year-old pilot from NSW currently circumnavigating Australia. She’ll become the youngest female to have flown around Australia solo.Australia newsDisrupting the ‘boys’ club’ of flying, Chloe Familton’s journey will cover 14,100km, stopping at 40 aerodromes over about 19 flying days Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast Chloe Familton answers the phone in mid-air. [Read More]

The 100 best novels: No 69 The Heat of the Day by Elizabeth Bowen (1948)

 Posted on April 8, 2024  |  4 minutes  |  786 words  |  Aldo Pusey

The 100 best novelsFictionElizabeth Bowen’s 1948 novel perfectly captures the atmosphere of London during the blitz while providing brilliant insights into the human heart Elizabeth Bowen: ‘a unique sensitivity to the lives of ordinary English men and women in extremis’. Photograph: Jane Bown/ObserverLondon in the blitz influenced the creative lives of many important English writers, from Graham Greene to Rose Macaulay. But none captured wartime London as memorably as Elizabeth Bowen (1899-1973), an Anglo-Irish writer who first attracted critical attention with a collection of short-stories in 1923. [Read More]

Andrew Tate greeted us by his pool bare-chested: Dan Reed on his pursuit of the misogynist

 Posted on April 7, 2024  |  9 minutes  |  1812 words  |  Jenniffer Sheldon

TelevisionThe documentary-maker behind Michael Jackson exposé Leaving Neverland reveals how the planet’s eighth most Googled man seemed ‘oddly vulnerable’ when they met at his house in Dubai February 2023. Our full-access Andrew Tate documentary is going fine, even after the sudden plot twist of his arrest for allegations of rape and human trafficking in Romania. Marguerite Gaudin, the director, has managed to shoot Tate for a day in London – shopping on Savile Row, cosy chats in a limo, an appearance on Piers Morgan – and she’s now waiting for him to be released on bail to do more filming. [Read More]

Are the men of the African Aka tribe the best fathers in the world? | Children

 Posted on April 7, 2024  |  7 minutes  |  1467 words  |  Kary Bruening

ChildrenAre the men of the African Aka tribe the best fathers in the world?While the women hunt, the men look after the babies - even letting them suck their nipples. Joanna Moorhead asks anthropologist Barry Hewlett why the Aka are such unusual parentsIt's a question that has united Aristotle, Darwin and my three-year-old in puzzlement: what exactly are male nipples for ? This week, the charity Fathers Direct came up with an answer, courtesy of some research it unearthed about a nomadic tribe of African hunter-gatherers. [Read More]