EXPLORE Free Articles on ZINIO

Breaking through the ground in ragged, abstract shapes, as if it’s emerging from the earth, this house began life as a question. Is there an alternative to building with timber that is just as nature-friendly but also accessible and ubiquitous? For architect John Wardle, who has headed up his namesake studio in Melbourne for more than 30 years, the answer was baked earth. ‘We’re always curious about developing materials, and terracotta has universal qualities,’ says Wardle. ‘Our research shows it has good environmental credentials. It’s also practical and we’ve engaged with specialists to develop it. Terracotta has these beautiful qualities of warmth, texture and tonality that resonated with us. So we landed on baked earth – or the anglicised, and now Australianised, ‘burnt earth’, a playful term that became the…

Think of your self-worth as the ceiling to your aspirations — an invisible boundary that determines the height of your potential. You will never ascend beyond the limits of your self-worth. It’s the guiding force that shapes every facet of your life, from your income and time investment at work to your energy levels, dietary choices, social circles, boundaries with others, and even your romantic connections. Consider this: we are born with our self-worth account overflowing, a reservoir of untapped potential waiting to be realised. However, as the journey of life unfolds, we encounter painful experiences, trauma, shame, and various challenges that slowly deplete this account, leaving us feeling undeserving and constrained. The question then arises: has anyone ever guided you on how to replenish your self-worth account? Have they…

Anyone who learned music will know the mnemonic, ‘All cows eat grass’. But this doesn’t make all beef ‘grassfed’. Knowing the differences between grass- and grain-fed beef can help you make better choices as a consumer.So what is the difference? Grass-fed beef is from cattle that’s eaten grass its whole life. It may have a diet supplemented with grain in times of bad weather, but mostly it’s free to roam and munch on grass all day. You’ll find that grass-fed beef has a creamy, yellow hue to the fat. Grain-fed beef comes from cattle that’s been ‘finished’ on grain for at least 60 days. Some are finished for 100 days or more (premium beef like wagyu can be finished for up to 400 days). “This helps to finish the animal…

Walking hand in hand on a morning stroll with my husband of 11 years, I felt blissfully happy. I was approaching my 40th birthday and had a lot to be thankful for. I had a job I loved running a recruitment agency and although my husband and I didn’t have any children, we were content with it being just the two of us, enjoying long holidays and an active social life. ‘WAS THIS A MIDLIFE CRISIS NOW I’D HIT 40?’ But in October 2012, mere weeks after my birthday, my perfect life as I knew it, began to change. Scrolling through Facebook one afternoon, a post from an acquaintance, Lara*, grabbed my attention. A friend of a friend, she was asking for support with her dating troubles and, as I was doing a…

5:07am. Even when it is cold and dark, there is something magical about riding the streets of London while most of the city sleeps. Every light is green. The only other traffic is the occasional delivery van and a handful of cabs cruising like sharks in search of scraps. I skirt round the back of King’s Cross and down a deserted side street to find the underground parking at St Pancras station. In a perfect world I would be taking my bike with me on the Eurostar so I could simply ride off at the other end in Belgium. Sadly, despite the growth in demand for sustainable travel, Eurostar only offers limited options for carrying bikes on journeys to the Continent, so I’m obliged to leave my bike in the car…

MAD MAX ADVENTURE TRAVEL Mad Max is the quintessential Aussie movie saga — putting the pedal to the metal in four adrenalineinduced fantasy road adventures. The first three films showcased our wonderfully raw, rugged land to the wider world. And while the fourth adventure, Mad Max: Fury Road, diverted to Namibia, southern Africa, the fast-approaching fifth film, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, returns the mayhem to Aussie soil. Yet the seemingly brutal wastelands that serve as the progressively desolate environments for Max Rockatansky’s exploits are, in fact, remarkably habitable, picturesque destinations for travellers. From endless rural backroads among the Melbourne hinterlands to the eternal expanses of the iconic Mundi Mundi Plains in Silverton, NSW, and the underground otherworldliness of Coober Pedy, SA, and beyond — we’ve selected the most memorable…

The INFYNITO range is for people who love the sea without limits or boundaries, as expressed by the “Further than you can Sea” concept. Making her debut at Boot Düsseldorf, INFYNITO 80 joins the brand’s hugely successful INFYNITO 90 and builds on the range’s typical characteristics: environmental friendliness, unprecedented flexibility and innovative layouts, as magnificently embodied in the iconic All-Season Terrace. Other strengths include the yacht’s versatility, with a sundeck that can be open or semi-closed, and the sheer size, above average for the segment, of the exterior surface area covered and protected by the hard top or superstructure. Built at the Marina di Ravenna shipyard, Ferretti Yachts’ INFYNITO 80 is the result of collaboration between the Strategic Product Committee chaired by Piero Ferrari and the Ferretti Group Engineering Department,…

It goes without saying that smart home technology has become the norm in most households. Whether you’ve got a smart bulb for more colourful lighting or a smart speaker for better audio, chances are you have some type of smart device within your home. With the continued popularity of smart home products in mind, Amazon debuted its most recent device earlier this year: the Echo Hub (£169.99, amazon.co.uk). The new Echo Hub has adapted Amazon’s well-known smart home displays, like the Echo Show, but in this iteration, it puts your smart home at the forefront of its design and capabilities. Designed to act as a smart home wall panel, the Echo Hub can be mounted on the wall or sit in a stand for ease of use. Like the Echo Show 8,…

There’s no denying that colour informs how we understand our surroundings. It can evoke emotion and, according to Google Design Studio, it can also be expressed through sound, taste, smell and touch, as much as visual perception. The studio is mounting its third interactive Milan Design Week exhibition, ‘Making Sense of Color’, in collaboration with the LA-based art and research lab Chromasonic. The installation activates all the senses as visitors move through 21 ethereal spaces, eventually reaching a series of rooms that more tangibly demonstrate how certain tones relate to specific sensations and are harnessed in the brand’s ever-evolving suite of products – phones, tablets and smart home devices. ‘Colour resonates with vibrancy, embodying energy,’ says Ivy Ross, vice president of hardware product design at Google. ‘Colour has both biological…

He has been businessman, TV showman and president of the United States. This week, in the sobering surroundings of a New York courtroom, Donald Trump played yet another role in American history when he became the first former White House occupant to stand trial in a criminal case. The case, involving hush money paid to the adult film star Stormy Daniels, carries profound political and legal ramifications. It is a jury trial not only of Trump but of the US, testing its checks and balances and sacred promise that no one is above the law. Trump joins the ranks of Silvio Berlusconi of Italy, Imran Khan of Pakistan and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil as a world leader in the dock. For the US, this is uncharted territory: even Richard…

When Angelina Jolie began working as a lead producer on the new Broadway musical The Outsiders in August, she had help from a special volunteer assistant: her 15-year-old daughter Vivienne (with ex-husband Brad Pitt). Before the musical—an adaption of S. E. Hinton’s beloved 1967 coming-of-age novel that inspired the 1983 film—opened April 11 at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, the mom of six, 48, caught up with People about her and Vivienne’s introduction to the Great White Way. When did your love of theater begin? My mother [Marcheline Bertrand, who died in 2007] loved theater and studied with [acting teacher] Lee Strasberg. She chose to raise me and my brother and not focus on a career, but it was her love. I started to bring my children as often as I…

Two full days in the South Tyrolean highlands under the banner of the fourth edition of the Alto Adige wine summit organised by Consorzio Vini Alto Adige. With its mountainous scenery, the alto adige region of Northern Italy is a complex mosaic of unique and original settings and cultures. Alto Adige is a trading point from every direction and the meeting place of three different cultures (German, Italian and Ladin). The area is an authentic climatic island located in the centre of the Alps. 98% of the territory is mountainous and only 0.6% of the area is cultivated with vineyards at altitudes ranging from 200 to 1000 metres. The vineyards of Alto Adige carpet the slopes bordering two rivers, the Adige and Isarco, along the route from the Alpine glaciers…

ADVICE, INSPIRATION & A LITTLE PEACE OF MIND DESPITE OUR to-do lists and good intentions, it can happen to the best of us: We scroll through Instagram instead of writing that work memo, dash to the drugstore at midnight to get a birthday card, spend April 14 swimming in tax forms we’re going to finish, we swear…as soon as we scrub down the stove. And maybe clean the oven while we’re at it. If you’re repeating this pattern habitually—avoiding the thing you really need to do, and keeping busy while you don’t do it—then you may be among the estimated one in four adults experts call “chronic procrastinators.” The habit has nothing to do with laziness, poor time management, or incompetence. (Leonardo da Vinci may have taken 16 years to paint it—but…

Small businesses in South Africa should brace for a difficult operating period in April, according to data released by Retail Capital’s monthly SME economic forecast. A reduction in trading days due to public holidays and Easter has undoubtedly had an impact on SMEs who have had fewer days to hit targets and inevitably seen a decrease in consumer engagement, the forecast showed. The report stated that the election day seems to have cast a shadow over the market, with some businesses facing something close to paralysis as the country waits to find out what the implications of the election result will be, no matter how predictable that result might be. Retail Capital said: “This uncertainty puts businesses in a precarious position when predicting April results. With more trading days in…

BULK CARRIERS China’s Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding has been contracted to build eight 85,000dwt bulk carriers for the Dynacom Group of Greece at a cost of $37 million per vessel for delivery between 2025 and 2027. To be operated under Dynacom’s Sea Traders banner, the 228.9m newbuilds will have a larger load capacity when compared with traditional 82,000dwt bulkers and will also be compliant with the energy efficiency requirements of Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) PHASE III, which is used to promote the adoption of more environmentally friendly ship designs. The order follows an earlier Sea Traders contract signed with China’s Hengli Shipbuilding (Dalian) for ten 82,000dwt Kamsarmax bulk carriers, with delivery of all 18 ships expected to expand the 1974-established Sea Traders’ fleet to almost 60 vessels.…

What happened Engineers and demolition crews began the slow and arduous work of clearing the ruins of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge this week, after a shipping accident that killed six construction workers and crippled one of the nation’s busiest shipping ports. The bridge crumpled into the Patapsco River after a 985-foot cargo ship, the Dali, lost power around 1:30 a.m. and barreled into one of its supports. The ship, whose unexplained power loss is under investigation, remains pinned under thousands of tons of mangled steel. Workers opened a small channel to allow limited shipping; in the coming weeks, they hope to open deeper channels and expand access to a port that typically handles up to $200 million worth of goods daily. The cleanup, which involves cutting the wreckage into pieces…

When Keanu Reeves was photographed kissing longtime girlfriend Alexandra Grant on the Los Angeles set of his upcoming film Good Fortune on March 28, it offered a rare glimpse into their low-key relationship, which a source close to the Matrix star, 59, describes as “the most fun and positive” he’s ever had. “Alexandra has her own life and career but is also very supportive of Keanu’s,” says the source. “Keanu is very happy.” Beyond occasional public outings, Reeves and the visual artist, 51—who have been linked since 2011 and made their public debut as a couple at the 2019 LACMA Art + Film Gala—“often have friends over for dinner,” says the source. “They’re very much homebodies.” RIVER CALLAWAY/GETTY IMAGES; VEGAN/BACKGRID…

Former physics teacher David Borton has always taken an interest in two things: science and the water. Growing up, he spent a lot of his time on the lakes of New York’s Adirondacks and began earning his freshwater sea legs around the same time he learned to walk. As life moved forward, he became obsessed with his second love, fundamental science. So, when the oil crisis hit in 1974, Borton’s research-driven mind sought solutions. He set his eyes on alternative energy, namely the thermonuclear reactor 93 million miles away from Planet Earth we call the Sun. Over time, the now 79-year old’s Troy, New York home became solar powered, and in 2005, he had a thought: The sun provides enough energy to sustain life on earth and power for his solar…

On a cocktail napkin, she wrote A real kiss. He wrote Sex and clarity. The pair had been seeing each other every couple of months for about a year. After dinner or the opera, they’d typically end their dates with a hug. One night the woman suggested that they each write down what they would like if they beat the other in a game of pool. After he won a game, her date revealed a napkin saying he wanted to be friends with benefits. He was divorced and wasn’t ready for a relationship. “That’s fine,” said his date, Helen Fisher, Ph.D., a biological anthropologist and senior research fellow at the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University. But “once you start to have sex with somebody, it can trigger the brain circuitry for…

When New York police cleared a “Gaza solidarity encampment” from the grounds of Columbia University last week, arresting some 100 peaceful protesters, Columbia president Minouche Shafik likely thought she’d saved her job, said Michelle Goldberg in The New York Times. A day earlier, Shafik had appeared before a House committee investigating campus antisemitism—the same GOP-led panel whose December grilling of the presidents of Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania resulted in both women being “driven from their jobs.” Unlike the defensive Claudine Gay and Liz Magill, Shafik readily agreed with her Republican inquisitors that some pro-Palestinian activism at Columbia had crossed the line into antisemitic harassment of Jewish students, and said she was cracking down. Soon after, she invited the NYPD onto campus. It wasn’t enough for Republican lawmakers, who…

Wildlife photography is a thrilling adventure where you get to explore and capture magnificent creatures in their natural habitats. It’s not just about photography alone; it demands a deep understanding of animal behaviour, and an appreciation for the art of blending into their world. To capture perfect shots, you need to predict animal movements and patiently wait for just the right moment. At the same time, you need the right gear and to be passionate, patient, and respectful towards nature. Here’s five quickfire tips to help you reach your wildlife goals. 1 THINK LOCAL While it’s easy to assume you must travel far to photograph wildlife, the reality is almost anywhere in Australia will have wildlife you can capture in one form or another, including in cities. Nature groups or camera clubs can…

Removing old synthetic siding is just the first step in the restoration of a neglected exterior; it requires little skill and is usually the fastest part of the restoration. A small team can strip a large two- or three-storey house in less than a week. Repairs and prep work take far longer. That and painting are the costly parts of the job. one When Jim and Merry Boone realized the two-tone asphalt shingled rental they owned was the ugliest house on the street, they set about the long process of stripping and restoring the exterior. two The Boones hired a team of five people to strip asbestos-free asphalt shingles from the 1887 Stick Style two-family next door to their own Queen Anne. The work took four days and filled a 40-yard waste container. three While most…

Have you ever wondered why some photos stand out from the rest? Of course, there are plenty of aspects that may catch our eye but it’s most likely to have something to do with the composition. With the rise of social media platforms, we’ve all seen countless shots that apply common composition strategies; but here’s the thing, however impressive or technically correct they are, these shots tend to get lost in a sea of similar-looking images. This is hardly surprising, as when we are first introduced to photography, the use of classic framing methods is high on the list of things we are taught. Straying from this path of tried-and-tested rules is not considered an option although, in reality, not every interesting scene can be captured at its fullest potential…

Finally, it’s time to go and high-five that withered arm hanging out at Mohgwyn Palace and follow the eternally youthful Miquella into the Land Of Shadow. More than two years after Elden Ring’s erd-shattering debut, DLC will spin this fable further afield from 21 June. There are a few reasons why this chapter has been such a long time coming. For one, it introduces a totally separate location that’s almost as expansive as Limgrave in the base game. The DLC tugs upon story threads attached to several major players too, with the Land Of Shadow fabled as the place Marika first set foot. Why Miquella has followed in her footsteps, and why this location has existed apart from the Lands Between until now are just two threads in the unspooling mystery. In…

Canadian Museum of Nature Our knowledge of horned dinosaur diversity has exploded in the last couple of decades, yet some of the most iconic taxa were described over 100 years ago. Of these, Triceratops probably comes to mind first, but Styracosaurus is likely the most striking, owing to the series of six long spikes that radiate from the back of the frill. The holotype specimen (which is to say, the first example of its kind) of Styracosaurus albertensis is held in the collections of the Canadian Museum of Nature (formerly with the Geological Survey of Canada) in Ottawa, where I work. I often refer to the animal as the posterchild of the museum’s Palaeobiology division, owing to its instant recognizability. The skeleton is on display in our fossil gallery today,…

The future for many of the UK’s once abundant wildlife species is looking relatively bleak, nationally. But in a few small pockets of the country, a different story is beginning to unfold. Dormice In many counties in the UK, dormice have been declared completely extinct. But at Calke Abbey, Derbyshire, a reintroduction programme has taken place, and their population is increasing. Before they could be reintroduced, the National Forest team collaborated with the People’s Trust for Endangered Species to create an environment where dormice could thrive. Studies have shown that different plants help sustain dormice for different reasons. Hazel trees provide an important food source, as does honeysuckle, which also creates a route for the tiny mammals to climb into the trees via their hanging tendrils. Bramble cover is also crucial, both for…

Sexuality is a topic that has been shrouded in myths and misconceptions for centuries. These myths often perpetuate unrealistic expectations and can lead to unnecessary anxiety and dissatisfaction in our sexual lives. In this article, I aim to debunk some of the most common sexual myths and provide practical advice for embracing a healthy and informed approach to sexuality. Size Doesn’t Matter One of the most prevalent sexual myths is the belief that size matters. Many people, particularly men, worry about the size of their genitalia and how it may impact their sexual performance. However, the truth is that size doesn’t determine sexual pleasure or satisfaction. Some interesting Stats Research has consistently shown that the average penis size falls within a relatively narrow range. According to a study published in the British Journal of…

DURING THE years when Jews were hounded in France and in the rest of Europe, I spent my summers, between the ages of nine and twelve, with my younger brother Philippe and our Alsatian Catholic caretaker Mazéle (short for Mademoiselle) in hiding in a refurbished attic. Unlike Anne Frank's urban attic, though, this one was part of a functioning farmhouse near the village of Chambon-sur-Lignon, in the central mountains of the “Free Zone” run by Marshal Philippe Pétain. And unlike Anne Frank, I was not confined in the attic, but able to move about near the farm, ride my bike, visit friends, and shop for food in the village proper and beyond. My parents, Jewish Parisians from the seventh arrondissement, had resettled in St-Étienne, a major town near there, and…

“WHY NOT PAINT INTERIOR DOORS A COLOUR? WE HAVE A MOTTO IN THE STUDIO, WHICH IS ‘YOU NEVER HAVE TO LEAVE A DOOR WHITE.’” Designer Gillian Gillies first decorated her client’s townhome 12 years ago and was excited to be invited back for a refresh that would extend beyond the optical intrigue of decor. “The house is now just over 20 years old and some of the original elements were showing signs of age,” she says. In other words, it was the perfect time to meld clever renovations with a fresh shift in the aesthetic tone. Construction projects in the 4,500-square-foot space would include replacing the builder-issued flooring and updating the powder room and bathroom. For the style overhaul, Gillian envisioned a tailored, fashion-forward home, and brought that to fruition with…

You don’t need to be bonkers to be a goalkeeper, but it surely helps. Placing one’s head in harm’s way of a rocketing projectile and swinging cleats for a living is risky enough; adding insult to potential injury, if your side loses, you’re usually the one who gets blamed. Meet Bobby Dekeyser. In the 1980s, he was a fearless backup goalkeeper for Bayern Munich, then the toast of European football. At age 26, a catastrophic injury nearly cost him his left eye and brought his sporting career to a dramatic close. Thankfully, he remains 100 percent committed to crazy jobs: He’s now a high-end hotelier. Since opening Nay Palad Hideaway, his flagship barefoot paradise in the Philippines, in 2012, the resort has garnered a trophy cupboard to rival Bayern Munich’s.…

LENOVO has proved rumors true and built a laptop with a transparent screen. The augmented reality machine is just a concept for now, but has an undeniable cool factor. The screen is 55 percent transparent when the pixels are off—switched on, they become increasingly opaque, but never completely. It has a modest 720p resolution, and the keyboard is a flat piece of glass with a projected layout. This looks good, but isn’t easy to type on. As for what can you use it for, Lenovo starts to run out of ideas, even suggesting that artists can place items behind it for reference. What’s needed is software that can make use of the interaction between screen and reality, something Apple managed on its Vision Pro headset. We don’t expect commercial hardware…

DRINK MORE WATER As soon as you get up – even before you go to the loo – drink a pint of cold water. You awake in a dehydrated state and it’s crucial to replace the fluids you’ve lost overnight (through sweating and breathing) as quickly as you can. Dehydration is a leading cause of poor mental and physical performance, both of which you want to avoid as much as possible to stay focused and motivated for your fat loss journey. Aim to drink at least two to three litres of water per day and more if you are exercising, especially in hot or humid weather. Always carry a big bottle of water around with you and sip from it constantly throughout the day to keep hydrated at all times. If you…

THE ATACAMA DESERT IN NORTHERN CHILE stretches from the Pacific to the Andes across a barren expanse of red-orange rock canyons and peaks. As one of the driest deserts on Earth, it’s a bucket-list destination for stargazing tourists who come for some of the clearest views of the night sky. With its arid, rocky landscape so closely resembling Mars, the desert has even attracted the attention of NASA, which has tested rovers there. But the Atacama has also attained a less wondrous distinction as one of the world’s fast-growing dumps of discarded clothes, thanks to the rapid mass production of inexpensive attire known as fast fashion. The phenomenon has created so much waste that the UN calls it “an environmental and social emergency.” The challenge is turning off that tap. The numbers…

IT IS SAID THAT YOU CAN SPOT a gentleman by his shoes and his watch. At least, it was said in the days before contemporary incarnations of the noblesse de race (actors, civil servants, sons of peers, trustafarians and anyone in the media) affected to look like they had spent the weekend sleeping in a hedge. Nonetheless, these two items of apparel still have the power to mark the man from the masses, especially a fine watch — which even hedged-welling sons of privilege have been known to own. Of course, there are watches and there are watches, and then there are watches. Most of us at one point or another have had a mass-produced timepiece on our wrists, save perhaps the late, great Gianni Agnelli who only ever wore…

Late last year, UrgentSeas received an anonymous tip from a former employee at the Miami Seaquarium about animal tanks away from public view. The advocacy group went to investigate. In November, the group posted a short clip of what it found by flying a drone over the property: an elderly manatee living alone in a decaying private pool. Within a month, the clip had been watched millions of times and the outcry had grown so intense that the US Fish and Wildlife Service moved the manatee, Romeo, to a sanctuary. Over the past decade, drones have become irreplaceable tools in activist and conservation circles. In 2013, the animal rights group Peta launched a drone campaign tracking illegal bow-hunting in Massachusetts. Since then, drones have been used to record factory farm pollution in the…

CRISPIN HOLBOROW of Savills Private Office (07967 555511) has hit the ground running at the start of the spring selling season with the simultaneous launch onto the market of three historic country estates, each of which has survived the upheavals of the 20th century to emerge resplendent in the 21st, thanks to sound long-term investment and upgrading by current owners. He quotes a guide price of £18 million for Grade II-listed Combe Court, a classic Victorian country house set in 94½ acres of formal gardens, lakes, parkland and woodland in the heart of the Surrey Hills, two miles from the quintessentially English village of Chiddingfold. The house stands on high ground overlooking its own grounds, with glorious southerly views over a wonderfully peaceful part of rural Surrey. Combe Court was built in…

NEW RESEARCH IN INDONESIA HAS FOUND that a simple-yet-clever device can help restored coral reefs grow as fast as healthy reefs after just four years. The study, carried out by the University of Exeter and partners and published in Current Biology, took place off the south coast of Sulawesi, where vast areas of coral reef were decimated in the 1980s and 1990s by ‘blast fishing’ – a destructive practice that uses explosives to stun schools of fish. Researchers looked at the work of the Mars Coral Reef Restoration Programme, which has been restoring reefs using networks of Reef Stars – hexagonal, sand-coated steel frames transplanted with coral fragments from healthy reefs. Reef Stars work in two ways. They provide a structure on which coral can grow; and they stabilise coral…

Smoking, smacking, smart-phones for kids: never mind the “nanny state”, today’s national debate seems crowded with demands for decisive action from politicians to save us – or our children – from ourselves. Rishi Sunak’s ban on selling cigarettes to under-15s for ever once they come of age is supported by 59% of the public, according to one recent poll. He has been unabashed about defending the tough policy, despite some of his more libertarian colleagues claiming it is an infringement on personal freedom, and one, Don Valley MP Nick Fletcher, fretting that “nanny states do not raise warriors”. Meanwhile, the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, whose MPs backed the tobacco bill in the House of Commons last week, previously embraced the term “nanny state” when confronting objections to Labour’s policy of supervised tooth-brushing for…

1 Royal Castle Symbol of rebirth In the heart of the Old Town stands the Royal Castle. The first wooden tower on this site was built in the 14th century by the dukes of Masovia, then developed into a royal residence after Warsaw was incorporated into the kingdom of Poland. In the late 16th century, Sigismund III Vasa moved his court from Kraków to Warsaw, and commissioned a revamp of the castle. During the heyday of the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth, it became one of the most splendid royal residences in Europe. A large part of its art collection was lost during Swedish and Russian invasions in the 17th century and, like much of Warsaw, the castle was blown up by the Nazis towards the end of the Second World War. But it was…

MARTYN BRUNT Martyn is tri's foremost average athlete and is living proof that hours of training and endless new kit are no substitute for ability. One of the best things about being a triathlete is that we are constantly being underestimated. This is particularly true if you are, let's say, an age-grouper of advancing years with a physique that suggests they should be sat on a kitchen counter with mugs hanging off them, but I think it's something pretty much everyone who does our sport experiences at one time or another. You'll all know those occasions when a cyclist, or runner, or swimmer hears you're a triathlete, and often their immediate reaction is to assume they're better at that sport than you. And you'll hear old clichés like ‘triathletes can't…

IN NOVEMBER 2023, SpaceX launched its second Starship rocket test flight. This was the heaviest, tallest and most powerful rocket ever built and – not unexpectedly – it didn’t work. Both stages exploded – the first at an altitude of 90km, the second at 150km. This was seen by some as proof that Earth is flat, because the rocket supposedly crashed into the “firmament” above our flat Earth, rather than exploded. Typical flat-Earth explanations on TikTok were, “There’s no breaking through the energy dome. You cannot go to space physically. We have never been to the Moon.” Firmament believers are a subset of the wider flat-Earth community and tend to be fundamentalist Christians. They believe God placed a physical barrier – the so-called firmament – exactly 200km above the ground. How is…

KRUGER LUCKY PACKET My first visit to the Kruger National Park was in 2002 at the age of 27. My then boyfriend, Morné, invited me to go on holiday with him, his older brother Henri and his fiancee, Frieda. Morne have been visiting the Kruger with his family since 1974. I was so excited - I always wanted to go, but never had the opportunity before. We entered the Kruger at the Phalaborwa Gate. We then followed a gravel road (H9) to the Nhlanganini Dam. And what do you know... there on the embankment a male lion was lying down. My first spotting was a LION! I ne excitement in the car was contagious and I had this adrenaline rush. I was hooked there and then. “There was this anticipation - it felt…

If your knowledge of modern golf is gleaned from newspapers’ back pages, we’d forgive you for assuming that the sport isn’t quite itself. The professional game maintains its influence, but it’s also stuck in a fractured state, with the rift between PGA Tour golfers and those on the Saudi-backed LIV circuit proving hard to repair. But look beyond the feuds and professional spectacle and you’ll find a thriving community. Participation has seen an upswing, and the game is attracting younger players, as well as golfers of different demographics and genders. Cool-kid tech brands, such as Hyperice and Whoop, are now partners of the PGA Tour, while hip clothing collabs are attracting new fans and golf-specific training plans are cropping up in popular fitness apps. Some players are even shunning the greens…

Cole Brauer has become the first American woman to sail solo around the world non-stop. Brauer, 29, finished the Global Solo Challenge in 2nd place in her 2008 Owen-Clarke designed Class 40 First Light on 7 March. Brauer completed the race – in which competitors set off in a ‘pursuit’-style staggered start – in 130d 2h 45m. She finished 2nd to Frenchman Philippe Delamere, who was sailing an Actual 46, though her corrected elapsed time was actually 17 days faster than Delamere’s. Race organisers report that Brauer’s circumnavigation is also the fastest known time for a solo non-stop around the world on a 40ft yacht, saying it ‘can’t be ratified as an official record, but effectively improves the reference record time set by the late Guo Chuan in 2016’. Brauer,…

For months, there have been concerns that the worsening Gaza crisis might push the shadow war between Israel and Iran into open conflict, said Samer Al-Atrush in The Times. On Saturday night, those fears were spectacularly realised when Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel. The vast majority of the weapons were intercepted before reaching Israeli airspace, with the help of the US, the UK, and neighbouring Jordan; Israel’s air defences destroyed almost all the rest. The lone casualty was a seven-year-old Arab-Israeli girl, who was injured by falling debris. Iran declared that it had achieved its stated goal – a necessary retaliation for a presumed Israeli strike on its consulate in Damascus this month that killed two leading Iranian generals and five other soldiers – and…

Namibia’s agricultural producers urgently called for the declaration of a national State of Disaster following the extended drought in the country. Namibian organised agricultural structures jointly petitioned Minister Calle Schlettwein, minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, at a recent meeting for such a declaration as the drought and the impact thereof on the country intensified. “Although we are grateful for the rain received in parts of the country during the last two weeks, the impact of the drought conditions continues to intensify in certain areas. For this reason, all three unions teamed up to discuss proposals with the minister,” The Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU), Namibian National Farmers’ Union (NNFU) and the Namibian Emerging Commercial Farmers’ Union (NECFU) said in a joint statement. Roelie Venter, CEO of the NAU, told Farmer’s Weekly…

Every weekend at the farmers market, a few people approach me with hungry twinkles in their eyes and ask wistfully if it’s possible to grow morel mushrooms at home. It’s entirely possible, although many will tell you it’s a fool’s errand. It usually takes 3 to 5 years for morels to grow, and you won’t know whether it worked until they pop up. Morels have several particular needs; perhaps the most critical is that they must experience a cold snap to trigger growth. My family is fortunate to live in Michigan, where we’re guaranteed a cold snap in winter, and the spring morel season is a big deal here. They say big snowstorms yield the best morel seasons. If you live in a warmer climate, growing morels isn’t likely to work,…

In contrast to the north Cornish coast’s open, dramatic cliffscapes and wind-beaten shores, the Roseland peninsula on the southern side feels softer, more secret. Dangling midway down the county’s south coast, its lush landscapes of jungle green thrive thanks to a mild microclimate. Lanes fringed with hedgerows wind down to little hidden bays untroubled by crowds. Ancient stone churches and tiny tea rooms are wrapped in Mediterranean blooms amid manicured fields of tea plants. Charming boating towns give way to walks through National Trust landscapes. Here in the Roseland, everything moves that little bit slower – which makes it perfect for a laid-back spring break. Charming towns At the tip of the Roseland peninsula, across the water from Falmouth (and accessible via ferry in 20 minutes), pretty St Mawes is…

There was a great sense of anticipation as we paddled out into Loch Ness. We carefully scanned the murky lake, hoping to glimpse the water’s best-known inhabitant—the Loch Ness Monster. But unlike 10,000 other people who claimed to have seen it, we were disappointed. Mischievous Kelpies Scottish legends tell of monsters called kelpies that live in many lochs, including Loch Ness. Kelpies are mischievous spirits that prey on unwary people, particularly children, who wander near the water’s edge. Parents use the legends to warn their children not to swim in the cold loch in case the kelpies should take them. The kelpie legend is probably the origin of the first written account of the Loch Ness Monster. In 565 C.E., so the story goes, the Christian missionary monk St. Columba supposedly saved…

TOKYO Hailed as the world’s first diggital art museum when it opened back in 2018, Tokyo’s teamLab Borderless (teamlab.art) was sorely missed following the closure of its original Odaiba location two summers ago. But no longer. In February, the interactive and immersive experience reopened in the city’s newly unveiled Azabudai Hills complex, with 7,000 square meters of space that truly must be seen to be believed. Curated by the trailblazing Japan based art collective teamLab, the museum’s 70-plus installations compose a “world of artworks without boundaries” in which the digital creations move out of rooms, merge with other works, and respond to the viewer’s movements. The result is an ever-shifting, wildly colorful environment that invites engagement and exploration. Many of the crowd-pleasing installations from the Odaiba site have been resurrected…

Each answer in this crossword variation has two clues leading to it, using different meanings of the word. The clues are separated into Across and Down, but are otherwise ordered randomly. When you find two Across or two Down clues that seem to have the same answer, add up their clue numbers to determine the place in the grid at which the answer should be entered. For example, if the clue for 1-Across were “Metallic element” and the clue for 17-Across read “Starring role,” the answer would be LEAD, which would go in 18-Across (1 + 17). Tags such as “Hyph.” and “2 wds.” have been omitted. ANSWER, PAGE 70 ACROSS 1 Grant privilege 2 Slash on a bowling score sheet 3 Piece of cake 4 “A,” “an,” and “the” 5 Painting a fence à la Tom Sawyer 6…

Artificial intelligence is going to upend every aspect of our society. At least, that’s what some of the leading people in the tech industry want us to believe. For the past year, they’ve been adamant that every worker will have an AI assistant, chatbots will take the place of doctors and teachers, and their products might even get to the point that they threaten our very existence. (But that shouldn’t stop us from building them.) Now, that all sounds a bit far-fetched to me, but there’s no denying these narratives are designed to set the foundation for a much more expansive rollout of these technologies. What’s often left unsaid is the true cost of that decision. There are always people harmed in the tech industry’s commercial schemes, but what’s often less…

IT’S A BIT GRIM out there, isn’t it? And I don’t mean the weather. I mean the world. I sometimes wonder if banging on about access to nature and green spaces is a bit of a luxury in the face of genocide, famine, terrorism and climate catastrophe. But then I look to history. In 1935 writer and walker Tom Stephenson wrote an article for the Daily Herald responding to a letter the paper received from two American youngsters who wanted advice on planning a ‘tramping’ holiday. Ah, those heady pre-Internet days! Stephenson didn’t know what to say. He was mortified to think of these young adventurers confronted by thousands of ‘Strictly Private’ and ‘Trespassers Will Be Prosecuted’ signs around the woods, moors and downland they might want to explore. Stephenson’s published…

Breakfast contributes to around a third of your child's daily nutrient intake of protein, iron, fibre and calcium. Children's developing brains and bodies need a good constant supply of these nutrients. Eating breakfast has been shown to help enhance children's learning and it is associated with better academic performance, including improved concentration and IQ. To help you make the most of your mornings, here are five delicious and nutritious breakfast foods for school days that are rich in essential nutrients that children need for optimal cognitive performance and good health. Whole oats Porridge and Bircher muesli made with whole oats are a nutritious way to start the school day, helping kids feel full and focused throughout the morning. Oats are an excellent source of fibre and slow-release complex carbohydrates to fuel the brain…

For years, there’s been an ongoing debate about whether it’s better to be a ‘morning lark’ who wakes early, full of energy, or a ‘night owl’ who prefers to sleep in and is more switched on later in the day. This natural preference for when to wake and sleep is known as your ‘chronotype’. But why do chronotypes vary between people, and how are they established in the first place? Rhythms of the night Chronotypes are determined by the body’s circadian rhythm, explains Kevin Morgan, Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Loughborough University. ‘Within a 24-hour cycle, your sleep occupies a given phase – and that phase can be advanced or delayed within those 24 hours,’ he says. Those with an ‘advanced’ phase are early birds, while individuals with a ‘delayed’ phase stay…

THE amount of research that a car manufacturer carries out before naming a new model might surprise you. There is, after all, an array of different considerations. Does the name suit the car? Will it have cross-border appeal? Might the proposed moniker cause offence in a specific language? And then there is the X-factor. David Placek of Lexicon Branding, who was responsible for naming the Subaru Outback and Forester, as well as the Lucid brand name, explained to Auto Express: “Naming cars is more complex than most other products. There is more emotional value in naming a car than, for example, a new bottle of water or detergent.” With all this to take into account, it’s inevitable that some names have been shared by models from different makers. Here we…

Studley Royal Park This beautiful deer park holds many treasures within its grounds, not least the ruins of Fountains Abbey, which helped it obtain World Heritage Status in 1986. Founded in 1132, Fountains Abbey – the largest monastic ruins in Britain – survived Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries relatively intact, and in 1767 it was purchased by William Aislabie, owner of the neighbouring estate, to complete the elaborate gardens begun by his father, John Aislabie. Today, UNESCO calls Studley Royal “one of the most magnificent Georgian water gardens ever created.” nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/yorkshire/fountains-abbey-and-studley-royal-water-garden Staithes Whitby may be better known, but for us, the coastal village of Staithes (our cover star) is the epitome of Yorkshire charm, with its warren of houses, shops and inns all huddled around the harbour and hugged by the hills either side,…