When youre childless not by choice, Mothers Day can be a painful reminder of profound loss | S

 Posted on May 30, 2024  |  5 minutes  |  939 words  |  Delta Gatti

OpinionMother's Day This article is more than 1 year oldWhen you’re childless not by choice, Mother’s Day can be a painful reminder of profound lossThis article is more than 1 year oldSian PriorWhen other women are being feted by their progeny, no amount of positive psychology can override the sense of loss I feel I check my inbox. “Order your Mother’s Day hamper now!” the headline shouts. Delete. On my television screen someone’s trying to get me to buy their “special gifts for special mums! [Read More]

'It destroys lives': why the razor-blade pain of vaginismus is so misunderstood

 Posted on May 29, 2024  |  10 minutes  |  1925 words  |  Christie Applegate

Health & wellbeingThis common condition can lead to relationship breakdown and unnecessary surgery. So why is treatment still so poor and underfunded? I was just a few weeks into a new relationship when the pain started. Whenever my boyfriend and I started to have penetrative sex, it felt as if there were razor blades inside me. At first I laughed it off, but soon I became terrified of intercourse. My body would freeze with fear as my clothes came off. [Read More]

Harper Lee: my little sister

 Posted on May 29, 2024  |  6 minutes  |  1114 words  |  Merlyn Hunt

Harper Lee: Go Set a Watchman specialHarper LeeThey were 15 years apart, but shared a passion for home and family. Alice Finch Lee on the growing pains of her little sister, To Kill A Mockingbird author Harper Go Set a Watchman: read the first chapter Oprah Winfrey: my lunch with Harper Lee Shami Chakrabarti: To Kill a Mockingbird made me a lawyer Mary Badham: how playing Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird changed my life My father was a self-made person. [Read More]

Italian village offers 2,000 gifts to boost dwindling population | Italy

 Posted on May 29, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  469 words  |  Barrett Giampaolo

Italy This article is more than 6 years oldItalian village offers €2,000 gifts to boost dwindling populationThis article is more than 6 years oldBormida, population 394, also offering homes to rent for as little €50 a month in effort to persuade people to move there The mayor of a remote mountain village in Italy is offering to pay €2,000 (£1,700) to anyone who moves there, in an attempt to save it from becoming a ghost town. [Read More]

Lord Judge obituary | Judiciary

 Posted on May 29, 2024  |  6 minutes  |  1084 words  |  Barrett Giampaolo

JudiciaryObituaryLord Judge obituaryFormer lord chief justice who was a resolute defender of free speech and the independence of the judiciaryAfter more than 30 years on the bench, culminating in his time as a widely admired lord chief justice of England and Wales (2008-13), Igor Judge, Lord Judge, was not the type to abandon public service. His subsequent career as an active parliamentarian and convenor of crossbench peers in the House of Lords saw him develop into an outspoken defender of democracy who warned of the dangers of an over-mighty executive. [Read More]

My life was in Ukraine, but my daughters and I had to leave: their future is everything | Alina Andr

 Posted on May 29, 2024  |  5 minutes  |  959 words  |  Barrett Giampaolo

A year of war in UkraineRefugees This article is more than 10 months oldMy life was in Ukraine, but my daughters and I had to leave: their future is everythingThis article is more than 10 months oldAlina AndriiakoOur sponsors in England could not have been kinder. But when the app on my phone buzzes, I know the Russians are attacking back home My family and I didn’t expect to end up in the UK. [Read More]

Paul and Rachel Chandler: How we survived being kidnapped by Somali pirates | UK news

 Posted on May 29, 2024  |  13 minutes  |  2769 words  |  Merlyn Hunt

The G2 interviewUK newsInterviewPaul and Rachel Chandler: How we survived being kidnapped by Somali piratesDecca AitkenheadThe British couple were held hostage for 388 days. But despite being dismissive of the Foreign Office's efforts to free them, they are largely untroubled by their ordeal – and looking forward to setting sail againBecause crime is by its nature random, there can be no such thing as a typical victim – and yet we are all familiar with the modern media narrative that makes so many victims sound the same. [Read More]

Bold Girls review Rona Munro's portrait of women under siege

 Posted on May 28, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  407 words  |  Brenda Moya

TheatreReviewCitizens, Glasgow The tale of four Belfast women during the Troubles becomes an unflinching study of the effects of male violence On the face of it, Bold Girls is not a violent play. In form, Rona Munro’s 1990 four-hander has the raucous girls-night-out shape of the kind of comedy perfected by Kay Mellor or Marie Jones. It looks as if it’s all about the bonds of female friendship as three working-class Belfast women, plus mysterious hanger on, go from front room to nightclub and back again, growing loose lipped as the drink kicks in. [Read More]

How much would Central Park be worth if it were to be sold off for construction? | Notes and Queries

 Posted on May 28, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  454 words  |  Brenda Moya

ROOT OF ALL EVILHow much would Central Park be worth if it were to be sold off for construction? Jimmy Dundas, Edinburgh, UK It would depend on how it was divided up. As a single lot it would likely have no buyer, no one could afford it or find justifiable alternative use for it. If it were subdivided into small building lots, then you could do some calculations. Average land value in Manhattan is about $US1000/sqft. [Read More]

Italian teenage cyclist Jacopo Venzo dies after crash during race in Austria | Cycling

 Posted on May 28, 2024  |  2 minutes  |  219 words  |  Delta Gatti

The ObserverCyclingItalian teenage cyclist Jacopo Venzo dies after crash during race in AustriaVenzo, 17, dies after crash in first stage of Junioren RundfahrtItalian teenager suffered fall during downhill leg, team saysItalian cyclist Jacopo Venzo, 17, died after a crash during a race in Austria, his team, Campana Imballaggi Geo&Tex Trentino, said in a statement Saturday. The crash occurred during the first stage of the Junioren Rundfahrt on Friday. Venzo was flown to the Kepler clinic in Linz in a rescue helicopter before succumbing to his injuries. [Read More]