https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/weekend Latest news and features from theguardian.com, the world's leading liberal voice en-gb Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2017 Mon, 11 Dec 2017 02:29:20 GMT 2017-12-11T02:29:20Z en-gb Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2017 https://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.png https://www.theguardian.com https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/10/romesh-ranganathan-christmas-survival-guide-for-vegans-food-drink <p>Vegans have an unfair reputation as difficult guests, especially at Christmas. So here are my tips on what to say, what to serve – and why you probably need to pack your own pudding</p><p>Veganism is a point of contention all year round. So much so that many vegans cut themselves off from the rest of society, huddling together for warmth and smugness, and using online forums to vent their disgust at the morally corrupt dairy- and meat-eating savages who make up most of the populace. But at Christmas, vegans are forced temporarily to reintegrate into mainstream society, which can be incredibly stressful for both them and the omnivores who host them. Here, then, are some basic guidelines for a happy vegan Christmas.</p><p>People don’t need a vegan in their ear, explaining how milk is made up of mainly pus and cruelty</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/09/meera-sodha-vegan-christmas-recipes-sprouts-radicchio-salad-red-cabbage-parcels">Meera Sodha’s recipes for a vegan Christmas dinner</a> </p><p>If you’re a vegan, it’s because you’re morally compelled or a Beyoncé fan. But it’s good practice not to bang on about it</p><p>There are no great substitutes for cheese. I bought a vegan ‘world cheeseboard’ for Christmas and it was an international tour of disappointment</p><p>You’ll know you can’t have the carrots because they have butter on</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/10/romesh-ranganathan-christmas-survival-guide-for-vegans-food-drink">Continue reading...</a> Veganism Vegan food and drink Christmas Food & drink Life and style Sun, 10 Dec 2017 09:00:31 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/10/romesh-ranganathan-christmas-survival-guide-for-vegans-food-drink Photograph: Barry J Holmes for the Guardian Photograph: Barry J Holmes for the Guardian Romesh Ranganathan 2017-12-10T09:00:31Z https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/10/thomasina-miers-christmas-baking-recipes-chestnut-whisky-cake-cheesecake-custard-tart-roast-pears <p>Christmas baking is all about keeping the work to a minimum and the flavour to the max</p><p>’Tis the season to be jolly, but while many of us would love to sit back and bask in the warm glow of Christmas, most of us know that it takes a lot of work to get there in one piece as we navigate the office parties, family gatherings and long shopping lists. So I’ve pulled together a celebratory collection of festive puddings that shouldn’t tie you up in knots and that will, hopefully, have something for everyone, be that a tray of lightly spiced roast pears in port (perfect for using up last year’s bottle), delicately scented and flour-free baked cheesecakes, a decadently moist chestnut and chocolate cake or a lighter, creamier take on the minced pie.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/10/thomasina-miers-christmas-baking-recipes-chestnut-whisky-cake-cheesecake-custard-tart-roast-pears">Continue reading...</a> Cake Baking Dessert Fruit Eggs Chocolate Spirits Wine Christmas Winter food and drink Food & drink Life and style Sun, 10 Dec 2017 08:30:31 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/10/thomasina-miers-christmas-baking-recipes-chestnut-whisky-cake-cheesecake-custard-tart-roast-pears Photograph: Louise Hagger for the Guardian Photograph: Louise Hagger for the Guardian Thomasina Miers 2017-12-10T08:30:31Z https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/09/how-to-grow-crab-apple-trees <p>Our gardening expert on how to select and grow the perfect crab apple tree</p><p>They hang like lanterns or Christmas baubles, a&nbsp;whole tree heavily laden with fruit when all else is bare. Where many crab apples have lost their fruit by November, a&nbsp;few species and cultivars will hold on to theirs well into the new year.</p><p>If you nibble one – and a nibble is often all you can do as many are the size of cherries – you’ll find they are tannin rich, stripping your mouth of moisture, though sometimes they have beautiful flavours beneath that. It takes many cold nights and sharp frosts before these apples soften and become desirable to birds, hence why they persist on trees deep into winter.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/09/how-to-grow-crab-apple-trees">Continue reading...</a> Gardening advice Gardens Life and style Sat, 09 Dec 2017 10:59:05 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/09/how-to-grow-crab-apple-trees Photograph: Compulsory Credit: GAP Photos//Martin Hughes-Jones Photograph: Compulsory Credit: GAP Photos//Martin Hughes-Jones Alys Fowler 2017-12-09T10:59:05Z https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/dec/09/ladder-england-oldest-youngest-towns-manchester-minehead <p>Minehead has the oldest population in England, Manchester the youngest. What do they tell us about the way we live now?</p><p>‘Baby boomers have built an empire and empires need protecting,” says Reuben Young, a millennial who runs the pressure group <a href="http://www.pricedout.org.uk">PricedOut</a>. “When younger people say, ‘We want our own house, we want to build more’, baby boomers see their empire as being under threat. God forbid that house prices fall and housing becomes cheaper for young people!”</p><p>Young is speaking at the <a href="https://www.battleofideas.org.uk">Battle Of Ideas</a> at the Barbican, close to the City of London, in October. Part of a panel addressing the question “Have Wrinklies Cheated Millennials?”, he offers some compelling arguments that they have: “Millennials will pay, over the course of their 20s, nearly £50,000 more in rent than baby boomers did at the same age. Millennials won’t have as big a pension as baby boomers, they’ll be paying more in taxes to fund an ageing population, and they are often spending half of their take-home pay renting homes they can be evicted from with just two months’ notice. You would be mad not to admit there is systemic intergenerational inequality in this country.”</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/apr/25/inequality-project-guardian-in-depth-look-unequal-world-equality">The Inequality Project: the Guardian's in-depth look at our unequal world</a> </p><p>I’m 35 and I still have a 25 grand debt from going to college, and what did it get me?</p><p>It’s not a zero-sum game, where older people are doing well at the expense of younger people</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/dec/09/ladder-england-oldest-youngest-towns-manchester-minehead">Continue reading...</a> Inequality Manchester Greater Manchester UK news Generational inequality Young people Society Older people Cities Sat, 09 Dec 2017 10:00:04 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/dec/09/ladder-england-oldest-youngest-towns-manchester-minehead Photograph: Sophie Green for the Guardian Photograph: Sophie Green for the Guardian Stephen Moss 2017-12-09T10:00:04Z https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/dec/09/simon-callow-q-and-a-interview <p>The actor on expensive sculpture, walking round bookshops and realising how precious life is</p><p>Born in London, Callow, 68, began his career at the National Theatre box office and went on to become an actor, writer and director. He appeared in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/oct/16/room-with-view-romance" title="">A Room With A&nbsp;View</a> (1985), <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/four-weddings-and-a-funeral" title="">Four Weddings And A Funeral</a> (1994) and Shakespeare In Love (1998). He performs a new adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/aug/26/oscar-wilde-de-profundis-greatest-love-letter" title="">De Profundis</a> at the Vaudeville theatre in&nbsp;London from 3-6 January and stars in <a href="https://gold.uktv.co.uk/shows/the-rebel/" title="">The Rebel</a>, on Gold.</p><p><strong>When were you happiest?</strong><br>At drama school, because I started having relationships with other men and found a satisfying job.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/dec/09/simon-callow-q-and-a-interview">Continue reading...</a> Simon Callow Culture Life and style Sat, 09 Dec 2017 09:30:03 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/dec/09/simon-callow-q-and-a-interview Photograph: Roberto Ricciuti/Getty Images Photograph: Roberto Ricciuti/Getty Images Rosanna Greenstreet 2017-12-09T09:30:03Z https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/09/felicity-cloake-christmas-with-a-twist-recipes-smoked-salmon-turkey-potatoes-sprouts-trifle <p>Tired of the standard festive menu? Felicity Cloake takes five Christmas favourites – smoked salmon, turkey, spuds, sprouts and trifle – and turns them into something way more exciting instead</p><p>The idea that Christmas is a season best enjoyed in a state of abject exhaustion is one festive tradition that needs knocking on the head: if you have to get up at 6am to start cooking, it isn’t worth it. Here are three ways with five Christmas classics: one designed with maximum ease in mind, one requiring just a little effort, and one guaranteed to knock their Santa socks off – and all guaranteed delicious. Recipes serve six.</p><p>Even the most chilled-out cooks blanch at the mention of the ‘turkey’ word</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/09/felicity-cloake-christmas-with-a-twist-recipes-smoked-salmon-turkey-potatoes-sprouts-trifle">Continue reading...</a> Christmas Starter Main course Side dish Dessert Baking Cake Turkey Vegetables Fish Seafood Cheese Food & drink Life and style Sat, 09 Dec 2017 09:30:03 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/09/felicity-cloake-christmas-with-a-twist-recipes-smoked-salmon-turkey-potatoes-sprouts-trifle Photograph: Patricia Niven for the Guardian Photograph: Patricia Niven for the Guardian Felicity Cloake 2017-12-09T09:30:03Z https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/09/yotam-ottolenghi-recipes-cooking-for-crow-christmas-main-course-cod-pork-lamb-pasta-vegetables-salad <p>The secret to cooking for a festive get-together? Organisation, so you can join in with all the fun, too</p><p>Feeding a crowd is fun, but it requires a fair bit of organisation. Three practical tips, then. First, plan and prepare as much as you can in advance: marinate meat, make sauces and dressings, toast and chop nuts, grill vegetables. Next, picture the plate you’re planning to serve: more is not always more, and you don’t need to offer 12 different things to choose from. I often draw a quick sketch of the dish as I imagine it: does everything fit on the one plate, and would I want to eat it? Finally, give a thought to portion size: if a recipe says a dish serves four and you have 12 to feed, chances are you’ll be able to double (rather than triple) the quantities without your guests going hungry – especially if you’re making a range of dishes. Also, bear in mind that the more guests you have, the less, proportionately, they’ll eat. So, plan, picture, portion. Then party.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/09/yotam-ottolenghi-recipes-cooking-for-crow-christmas-main-course-cod-pork-lamb-pasta-vegetables-salad">Continue reading...</a> Main course Pasta Lamb Meat Fruit Vegetables Fish Seafood Pork Salad Christmas Food & drink Life and style Sat, 09 Dec 2017 09:00:03 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/09/yotam-ottolenghi-recipes-cooking-for-crow-christmas-main-course-cod-pork-lamb-pasta-vegetables-salad Photograph: Louise Hagger for the Guardian Photograph: Louise Hagger for the Guardian Yotam Ottolenghi 2017-12-09T09:00:03Z https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/dec/09/when-harry-met-meghan-richard-curtis-movie <p>Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: a charming English posho wants to find love, but British girls just don’t come up to snuff</p><p>Now that we are in the holiday season, it feels entirely apt that the whole world is captivated by the most Richard Curtis storyline of all time, gazumping even Love Actually. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: a charming English posho wants to find love, but British girls just don’t come up to snuff. Then along comes a glamorous American actress: she teaches him to share his feelings, he teaches her the value of real things, like roast chicken dinners with one’s friends from Eton. Ignoring the stuffy naysayers, he declares that he loves her, the country cheers and end credits roll. I speak, of course, of Prince Harry and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/meghan-markle">Meghan Markle</a>. And while I don’t have proof that Harry <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GU9Z4i245Q4">proposed in the rain</a>, if he did I’m betting that Meghan didn’t notice.</p><p><i>(July 1, 2016)</i>&nbsp;<strong> </strong></p><p></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/dec/09/when-harry-met-meghan-richard-curtis-movie">Continue reading...</a> Meghan Markle Prince Harry Life and style UK news Richard Curtis Film Four Weddings and a Funeral Notting Hill Sat, 09 Dec 2017 09:00:03 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/dec/09/when-harry-met-meghan-richard-curtis-movie Photograph: Chris Jackson/Getty Images Photograph: Chris Jackson/Getty Images Hadley Freeman 2017-12-09T09:00:03Z https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/dec/09/adam-driver-acting-military-star-wars-the-last-jedi <p>The Star Wars actor on leaving the Marines, filming nude scenes with Lena Dunham and getting in touch with his dark side</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/adam-driver">Adam Driver</a> has a reputation for being a serious young man, which is partly a matter of attitude and partly, I suspect, to do with some aspect of his physiognomy: he has a large head and outsize features that somehow combine to give an impression of gravity. Before the photoshoot, he let it be known that he finds it uncomfortable to have a journalist (me) in his sightline on set, the kind of specification one might expect of a particularly precious Hollywood star. But this turns out to be misleading. Driver’s discomfort is with the entire celebrity aspect of his job, which makes talking about his role in the latest <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/starwars">Star Wars </a>trilogy somewhat tricky. I don’t even know where to start with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/oct/10/star-wars-the-last-jedi-full-trailer-revealed">The Last Jedi</a>, I say, as we settle down after the shoot, and Driver grins, then looks gloomy. “Me, neither,” he says.</p><p>We are in downtown Manhattan, a few miles from Driver’s Brooklyn Heights neighbourhood (<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/lena-dunham">Lena Dunham</a> lives there, too) and a more upscale part of Brooklyn than the grungy Greenpoint location of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/girls">Girls</a>. That show, the sixth and final season of which ran on HBO earlier this year, was watched by relatively modest numbers, but has had an outsized influence on the culture. Barely a day goes by without Dunham being mentioned in a blogpost somewhere, and it gave Driver, who played her on-off boyfriend, the kind of career launch twentysomething actors can only dream of. At 34, not only does he have his second go as Kylo Ren in the latest Star Wars movie, but he has just shot <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1318517/">The Man Who Killed Don Quixote</a>, directed by Terry Gilliam, was in the Steven Soderbergh film <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/jul/24/logan-lucky-review-steven-soderbergh-channing-tatum-daniel-craig">Logan Lucky</a> and played the title role in the Jim Jarmusch movie <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8pGJBgiiDU">Paterson</a>. Pretty good, I’d say, although I assume the two Star Wars films – <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/dec/16/star-wars-the-force-awakens-review-a-spectacular-homecoming">The Force Awakens</a> and The Last Jedi – are the real life-changer.</p><p>He’s even recognisable when travelling at speed. He got pulled over by cops, who said, ‘Hey, can we take a picture?'</p><p>The image of us on our red carpet wearing expensive suits is not what I was after when I started this job</p><p>Lena Dunham is a great writer. She’s a good thief, also: she’s very aware of her environment</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/dec/09/adam-driver-acting-military-star-wars-the-last-jedi">Continue reading...</a> Adam Driver Star Wars: The Last Jedi Star Wars Film Science fiction and fantasy Star Wars: The Force Awakens Lena Dunham Culture Girls Sat, 09 Dec 2017 09:00:03 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/dec/09/adam-driver-acting-military-star-wars-the-last-jedi Photograph: Andreas Laszlo Konrath for the Guardian Photograph: Andreas Laszlo Konrath for the Guardian Emma Brockes 2017-12-09T09:00:03Z https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/09/what-really-thinking-mediator <p>We need to be impartial, non-judgmental and endlessly patient, but I feel like telling them to stop behaving like five-year-olds</p><p>The housing trust is at its wits’ end.&nbsp;Two households are in an intractable dispute over a small area of pavement between their houses, where each feels they have a right to park. In fact, no one owns the road outside their house, but each person feels their circumstances entitle them to park there. So, a mediator – me – has been called in. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/aug/26/parking-eye-takes-on-top-barrister-85-fine" title="">Parking disputes</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/housing-network/2013/dec/10/housing-problems-happiness-space-noise-research" title="">noise issues</a> are now so&nbsp;common that they make up the majority of my working day.</p><p>We meet in a neutral space. Their body language says it all. Eyebrows raised in sarcasm and disgust, a lot of tutting and eye rolling and a fair few F-words – despite the ground rules, which ask for respectful behaviour. Each side makes it clear that if only these stupid neighbours could see the unreasonableness of their position, no one would need to&nbsp;sit here wasting everyone’s time.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/aug/26/what-im-really-thinking-family-court-adviser">What I’m really thinking: the family court adviser</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/09/what-really-thinking-mediator">Continue reading...</a> Housing Communities Society Life and style Sat, 09 Dec 2017 09:00:03 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/09/what-really-thinking-mediator Illustration: Lo Cole Illustration: Lo Cole Anonymous 2017-12-09T09:00:03Z https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/09/meera-sodha-vegan-christmas-recipes-sprouts-radicchio-salad-red-cabbage-parcels <p>Being vegan doesn’t mean you have to settle for second best at the festive table</p><p>Christmas in the Sodha family is a movable feast. We usually eat British or European food, rather than the Indian we have every day, because to us it feels more celebratory. Every year, each of us chooses something we most want to eat and, to honour that household tradition, every recipe on today’s Christmas menu is based on one of my family’s favourite ingredients or dishes.</p><p>I love being in the kitchen on Christmas Day, preparing the day’s meal while family and friends wander in and out. That said, I am well aware that this is not everyone’s idea of fun, so I have tried to come up with recipes in which many of the elements, if not the entire dish, can be prepared in advance. Happy Christmas, everyone.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/09/meera-sodha-vegan-christmas-recipes-sprouts-radicchio-salad-red-cabbage-parcels">Continue reading...</a> Starter Snacks Main course Dessert Fruit Salad Baking Cake Vegan food and drink Veganism Vegetables Vegetarian food and drink Christmas Food & drink Life and style Sat, 09 Dec 2017 08:30:02 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/09/meera-sodha-vegan-christmas-recipes-sprouts-radicchio-salad-red-cabbage-parcels Photograph: Rita Platts for the Guardian Photograph: Rita Platts for the Guardian Meera Sodha 2017-12-09T08:30:02Z https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2017/dec/09/beauty-best-christmas-gifts-mums-sali-hughes <p>Forget about wicker baskets full of anonymous toiletries – here are presents she might actually want</p><p>I always thought “Gifts for Mum” were&nbsp;the dullest pages in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/christmas" title="">Christmas</a> catalogues, but it’s only now, when I’m exactly the type of woman at whom they’re aimed, that I realise quite how unwanted their picks must have been. Floral hand creams designed for those who supposedly love weeding gardens and washing pans, everything scented with lily of the valley, big wicker baskets full of toiletries even I wouldn’t know what to do with. Our mothers should have been handed Olivier awards for their effusive thank-yous.</p><p>I can’t speak for others, but this mum would always like something either useful and effective or so frivolous and luxurious that I would be unlikely to treat myself. Ticking both boxes is <a href="https://www.zoevacosmetics.com/europe4/all/197/rose-golden-luxury-set-vol.-1" title=""><strong>Zoeva’s Rose Golden Vol I set</strong></a><strong> </strong>(£65), which has a&nbsp;comprehensive selection of great-quality brushes (and a lovely makeup pouch) that work out at £8-ish a pop. There’s no look I can’t achieve with them. (Zoeva sells vegan versions, too.)</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2017/dec/09/beauty-best-christmas-gifts-mums-sali-hughes">Continue reading...</a> Beauty Fashion Life and style Makeup Sat, 09 Dec 2017 08:00:01 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2017/dec/09/beauty-best-christmas-gifts-mums-sali-hughes Photograph: Alex Lake for the Guardian Photograph: Alex Lake for the Guardian Sali Hughes 2017-12-09T08:00:01Z https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/dec/09/december-party-invitation-howard-jacobson <p>Jonas Kaufmann has asked me over the same evening Philip Roth wants a game of darts</p><p>December is the cruellest month. You wait all year to be invited somewhere interesting, then December comes along and you have more invitations than there’s room for on the mantelpiece. There are three parties at opposite ends of London I particularly want to go to this week, one carol service, one St Matthew Passion, one Chanukah dinner and two mince pie happenings in bookshops. The trouble is, they’re all on the same night.</p><p>I don’t know how this comes about, but there is always one evening that everyone fixes on to hold their event, and it is always the same evening that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/jonas-kaufmann">Jonas Kaufmann</a> invites you over to his place for a Mahler lieder singalong and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/philiproth">Philip Roth</a> happens to be in town wanting a game of darts. This happens too often to be coincidence. There must be some herding instinct that explains it, a memory trace of the day we all leapt out of the primal soup together. Or it might be beyond our volition, an imperative of the non-human calendar: the transit of Venus, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/27/bali-volcano-will-mount-agung-erupt-and-what-happens-if-it-does">a volcano erupting in Bali</a>, a bad night on telly. But the reason for these clashes isn’t the issue. Etiquette is. Who does one say no to?</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/dec/09/december-party-invitation-howard-jacobson">Continue reading...</a> Howard Jacobson Christmas Life and style Culture Books Sat, 09 Dec 2017 08:00:01 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/dec/09/december-party-invitation-howard-jacobson Photograph: Tim Ridley/Getty Images/Dorling Kindersley Photograph: Tim Ridley/Getty Images/Dorling Kindersley Howard Jacobson 2017-12-09T08:00:01Z https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/09/quiz-perfume-sperm-whales-monument-memoirs-thomas-eaton <p>From a monument to memoirs, test your knowledge with the Weekend quiz</p><p><strong>1</strong> What did the Chicago Daily Tribune famously claim on 3 November 1948?<br><strong>2</strong> What perfume ingredient comes from sperm whales?<br><strong>3</strong> What usually range in size from 6.5 to 8?<br><strong>4</strong> The Monument to the Battle of the Nations is in what city?<br><strong>5</strong> Choupette is which fashion designer’s cat?<br><strong>6</strong> What art term means “light dark” in Italian?<br><strong>7</strong> Which TV series is based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth?<br><strong>8</strong> With 110 million people, what is Pakistan’s most populous province?<br><strong>What links:</strong><br><strong>9</strong> The Rover; The Forc’d Marriage; The City Heiress; Abdelazer?<br><strong>10</strong> Farleigh; Blue Tit; Czar; Victoria; Mirabelle?<br><strong>11</strong> Capital of the Benin Empire, formerly, and Tokyo, before 1868?<br><strong>12</strong> Ethiopian princess; Violetta Valéry; Manrico; Duke’s jester?<br><strong>13</strong> Sumatran; Bornean; Tapanuli, as of 2017?<br><strong>14</strong> New Zealand Warriors; Catalans Dragons; Berwick Rangers; Cardiff City; Toronto Blue Jays?<br><strong>15</strong> Aelfheah; Thomas Becket; Thomas Cranmer; William Laud?</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/09/quiz-perfume-sperm-whales-monument-memoirs-thomas-eaton">Continue reading...</a> Life and style Sat, 09 Dec 2017 07:00:00 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/09/quiz-perfume-sperm-whales-monument-memoirs-thomas-eaton Photograph: sunstock/Getty Images/iStockphoto Photograph: sunstock/Getty Images/iStockphoto Thomas Eaton 2017-12-09T07:00:00Z https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/09/fit-in-my-40s-gut-bacteria-analysed-zoe-williams <p>I’m a Village Peasant (and that’s good), says our columnist Zoe Williams</p><p>There are three broad categories of microbiome, named by <a href="https://atlasbiomed.com/" title="">Atlas</a>, a company that will analyse the bacterial environment in your gut: the Urban Citizen, the Village Peasant and the Indigene. Your type can change if you significantly alter your diet. Anyone with any sense wants to be an Indigene, since the Urban Citizen is associated with the “western diet” (code for: “some Cinnamon Grahams and a KFC, what of it?”) and the Village Peasant sounds a bit, you know, dumpy. However, the Indigene is most prevalent in isolated tribespeople from the Amazon and Africa, or failing that, vegetarians.</p><p>I got my results back from the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/sep/23/fit-in-my-40s-dna-test-fortune-teller-science" title="">£125 test</a> I did in August, a complicated business of trapping poo on a piece of paper. I did this because your gut environment is as vital to your overall health as your hormonal one, or your brain chemistry; its health is determined by bacterial balance, which in turn is affected by your diet.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/09/fit-in-my-40s-gut-bacteria-analysed-zoe-williams">Continue reading...</a> Health & wellbeing Life and style Sport Fitness Sat, 09 Dec 2017 06:59:00 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/09/fit-in-my-40s-gut-bacteria-analysed-zoe-williams Photograph: kellie french/Kellie French for the Guardian Photograph: kellie french/Kellie French for the Guardian Zoe Williams 2017-12-09T06:59:00Z https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/ng-interactive/2017/dec/09/stephen-collins-on-decorating-the-christmas-tree-cartoon <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/ng-interactive/2017/dec/09/stephen-collins-on-decorating-the-christmas-tree-cartoon">Continue reading...</a> Life and style Sat, 09 Dec 2017 06:00:16 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/ng-interactive/2017/dec/09/stephen-collins-on-decorating-the-christmas-tree-cartoon Illustration: Stephen Collins Illustration: Stephen Collins Stephen Collins 2017-12-09T06:00:16Z https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/09/tim-dowling-shed-hear-myself-think <p>My wife has seven keys to my shed. ‘This isn’t acceptable,’ I say. ‘We’re neighbours now’</p><p>In the morning I wake up early, get dressed, pull on boots and tramp across the frosted ground to my shed. I unlock the door, turn on the heat, then walk straight back to the kitchen to make coffee.</p><p>Working at the end of the garden is peaceful, if a little isolating. Most days I see no one until lunchtime, sometimes until dusk. The shed – a glass and timber pod assembled on site – is absolutely silent with the door shut. For the first time in months I can hear myself think, and I’m not sure I like it.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/09/tim-dowling-shed-hear-myself-think">Continue reading...</a> Family Life and style Sat, 09 Dec 2017 06:00:16 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/09/tim-dowling-shed-hear-myself-think Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo Tim Dowling 2017-12-09T06:00:16Z https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/picture/2017/dec/09/berger-wyse-on-drinking-cartoon <p>Bottoms up!</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/picture/2017/dec/09/berger-wyse-on-drinking-cartoon">Continue reading...</a> Life and style Sat, 09 Dec 2017 06:00:16 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/picture/2017/dec/09/berger-wyse-on-drinking-cartoon Illustration: Joe Berger and Pascal Wyse Illustration: Joe Berger and Pascal Wyse Joe Berger and Pascal Wyse 2017-12-09T06:00:16Z https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/09/planning-trip-hints-bim-adewunmi <p>From the bed to the bin, from the lavatory to the crockery, our pop culture expert on what to do before leaving home</p><p>Routines are the things that keep us in kilter: if you have a system, then you can feel like you’re clawing back a semblance of order. And, God, in 2017, don’t we all feel ripe for the idea of wresting back some control?</p><p>I was away from home recently, and even as I packed a suitcase, I&nbsp;knew the jet lag and exhaustion to come would wreck me. Luckily, I have a “leaving town” routine, perfected over years of travel, and designed to keep me sane and rested. Now, unsolicited, I will share it with you. Remember: most of it is to be implemented before leaving town.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/09/planning-trip-hints-bim-adewunmi">Continue reading...</a> Culture Life and style Travel Sat, 09 Dec 2017 06:00:16 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/09/planning-trip-hints-bim-adewunmi Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo Bim Adewunmi 2017-12-09T06:00:16Z https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/09/blind-date-michael-tom <p>Was there a spark between Michael, 27, special educational needs tutor, and Tom, 23, PhD student</p><p><strong>What were you hoping for?</strong><br>Someone fun and easy to be around.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/09/blind-date-michael-tom">Continue reading...</a> Dating Relationships Life and style Sat, 09 Dec 2017 05:59:16 GMT http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/dec/09/blind-date-michael-tom Photograph: Andy Hall/Andy Hall for the Guardian Photograph: Andy Hall/Andy Hall for the Guardian Guardian Staff 2017-12-09T05:59:16Z