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What is the difference between an asteroid and a meteorite? The kids’ quiz
Five multiple-choice questions – set by children – to test your knowledge, and a chance to submit your own junior brainteasers for future quizzes Submit a question Molly Oldfield hosts Everything Under the Sun, a podcast answering children’s questions. Do check out her books, Everything Under the Sun and Everything Under the Sun: Quiz Book, as well as her new title, Everything Under the Sun: All Around the World. Continue reading...
Which song features nine times in the film Groundhog Day? The Saturday quiz
From Brinsworth House and Denville Hall to Goliath, Timperley Early and Valentine, test your knowledge with the Saturday quiz 1 Which African capital city and its river are anagrams of each other? 2 In the UK, which bird of prey has gone from near extinction to about 4,500 breeding pairs? 3 Which 1956 play was written on a deckchair on Morecambe Pier? 4 Which song features nine times in the film Groundhog Day? 5 Who was the only crowned heir apparent to the English throne? 6 Denville Hall and Brinsworth House are retirement homes for whom? 7 What is England’s largest forest? 8 What volcanic glass is named after a Roman traveller? What links: 9 CND chair; 9-57 v South Africa; Happy Valley star; RAF philanthropist? 10 Benfica, 2026 and 1978; Galatasaray, 1986; Perugia, 1979; Red Star, 2008? 11 Coal Miner’s Daughter; I Saw the Light; Sweet Dreams; Walk the Line? 12 Champagne; Fulton’s Strawberry Surprise; Goliath; Timperley Early; Valentine? 13 Isabella Bird; Nellie Bly; Ida Pfeiffer; Freya Stark? 14 Sunshine Desserts (Barron); LA beaches (Anderson); White House (Janney)? 15 Eddy; Falstaff; Junior; Lily; Lin; Lucy; Oscar? Continue reading...
How doing a wash while you watch the World Cup at 2am could cut energy bills
Change in viewing habits offered by match times at 2026 tournament could mean using cheaper off-peak power Watching late-night or early hours football could provide UK households with a practical opportunity to cut their energy bills, as even just doing the washing when cheaper electricity rates apply can net a decent saving. At a time when energy costs are back at worrying highs, research by E.ON Next shows the potential to save money on a time-of-use tariff – in this case, its Next Smart Saver deal, which has three rates: peak, off-peak and super off-peak. Continue reading...
The Guide #246: Does World Cup fever leave you in a cold sweat? Here’s how to escape the footie
In this week’s newsletter: Are you indifferent to office sweepstakes and bored by endless stats? Fear not – there’s a bounty of film, TV and music being released this summer to take your mind off the on-pitch action Have you, like me, got an incurable case of World Cup fever? Have you spent hours staring intently at the wallchart, attempting to memorise the kick-off times of all 104 games, even – no, especially – Uzbekistan v DR Congo? Have you signed up for the office sweepstake, played Bracketology, listened to approximately 831 preview podcasts (including the Guardian’s Football Weekly, of course), and quietly left your moral reservations about the Trump of it all at the front door? I’m all in. For people with no interest in football, however, this must be the most hellish of periods, where every last billboard, newspaper front page (and website) and cola can is devoted to the sport. And that’s before you even switch on your TV, where the tournament has laid waste to regular scheduled programming. Continue reading...
UK parents support an under-16 social media ban – but what do their children think?
These young people recognise dangers of ‘addictive’ social media but have differing views on a total crackdown Nine in 10 parents in the UK support an under-16 social media ban, but the feeling among the children it would affect is more mixed. Or at least it is for a group of 10 preteens and teenagers who talked to the Guardian at a location in west London this week. The 12- to 16-year-olds were well versed in the debate, with a set of views ranging from mandatory time limits to tougher controls and a full ban for under-16s. All those options have been under consideration in a government consultation on children’s online safety that is due to deliver an outcome next week, with an under-16 age limit expected for “high-risk” platforms, and restrictions on features such as livestreaming for others. Continue reading...
G’wed: this underrated gem of a comedy is filthy, heartwarming and packed with ideas
Now on its third season, the Scouse sitcom doesn’t shy away from huge topics such as class, anoxeria and neurodiversity. But also, you’re never too far from a joke about ‘ye ma’ How had I not heard of this show? Had I heard of it, then forgotten? Questions plagued me as I caught up on two series of this week’s underrated gem. In my defence, G’wed is an esoteric title. I assumed it was the name of a person, place or ancient story, possibly borrowed from Celtic mythology. Turns out it’s scouse for “go ahead”. Reviewers that saw previous series of the adolescent comedy noted its similarities to The Inbetweeners. A middle-class boy, Christopher, is forced to “slum it” with working-class lads, including his nemesis neighbour, Reece, at a new secondary school in Liverpool. Immature antics ensue, alongside merciless teasing and finally acceptance. Hearts are warmed, knob jokes hammered. The difference was, this show kept talking about grief, and had more to say about class than does your average fish-out-of-water premise. Continue reading...
Journey into the midnight sun: my solo road trip to the top of Norway
I found cinematic landscapes, wild freedom and thousands of miles of perfect solitude on my campervan adventure through the Nordic countries It’s midnight, in June. Powder pink and dark grey clouds drift across a pallid sky, the palette reflecting in the motionless water of Lake Inari. Islets of pine and just-budding birch create pools of distorted shade close to the horizon of this 420 sq mile (1,080 sq km) lake in Lapland, northern Finland. There is not a sound. It’s so silent, I barely breathe to avoid disturbance. Only me, the lake and a moonbeam-coloured moth, whose wingbeat is inaudible. I am sat beside my car-sized campervan, with mesmerised reverence for the rose-tinged panorama. I do not wish to go to bed and miss this moment. And I am loving the wild freedom and deliciousness of being entirely alone, with nobody in the world knowing my exact whereabouts. Ordinarily, I would be long asleep by midnight, exhausted after a day of work and family life. But I have left my husband and (adult) children at home in England for an eight-week solo camping adventure through Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway, with the singular aim of reaching Nordkapp (North Cape) and Knivskjellodden, Europe’s northernmost point at the top of Norway, in time for midsummer. Continue reading...
TV tonight: Jason Derulo feels the heat at Capital’s Summertime Ball
The singer gives a hot performance at Wembley, along with Robyn, Take That and Mis-Teeq. Plus: hellish hangovers in Two Weeks in August. Here’s what to watch today 4.15pm, ITV1 Continue reading...
From Olivia Rodrigo to The Fall of Sir Douglas Weatherford: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead
The multiple Grammy-winner muses tunefully on love’s ups and downs, while Peter Mullan stars as a local historian in a new comedy drama Disclosure Day Out now A new Steven Spielberg movie is always an event, whether he’s in blockbusting Jurassic Park mode or gunning for Oscars. This new effort starring Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth and Colman Domingo sees the film-maker wrangling with a fave topic – UFOs – for an epic sci-fi drama involving whistleblowing, conspiracy theories and shady corporations. Continue reading...
Blind date: ‘Her one dating request was “no one in finance”. I work in finance’
Yusuf, 25, who works in finance, meets Hannah, 26, a PhD student What were you hoping for? Someone interesting, good chat is more important than anything. And a fun story. I like a random side quest. Continue reading...
The secrets of the deep sea, people living with dementia fighting against stereotypes and how life is getting harder for women in China
Need something brilliant to read this weekend? Here are six of our favourite pieces from the last seven days Continue reading...
‘Have you ever been around someone you just know is evil?’ Melinda French Gates on meeting Jeffrey Epstein, giving away billions, and her post-divorce peace
The philanthropist always saw Epstein for who he really was – despite his meetings with her then husband Bill Gates. Now carving out a life on her own terms, she explains why she’s focused on the fight for women’s health Melinda French Gates has entered a new phase of life, and it is “beautiful”, she says. It is five years since her painful, public divorce from the Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and two years since she stepped down from their charity, the Gates Foundation, to focus her full attention on Pivotal, the philanthropic organisation she founded in 2015 to promote women’s empowerment. Her three children have all left home, she goes by “Nonna” to her two granddaughters, and as an empty nester she finds herself in the strange position of having time on her hands. She has started visiting her local independent bookshop more often, chatting to the staff about what she should read next; when she finishes work at five, she often texts a friend to meet for a walk, and they go exploring new neighbourhoods of Seattle, decaf coffees in hand. She no longer runs daily but insists on a morning stroll to enjoy the natural beauty of her adoptive home town, Lake Washington glittering in late-spring light. This morning, she saw a blue heron, she says, sounding almost boastful. Continue reading...
Tim Dowling: I’m all for ‘letting the outdoors in’ – but I draw the line at pigeons
Opening up the back doors means we have a few uninvited guests in the house, giving my wife the opportunity to practise her tea towel bird-catching technique Our kitchen extension is typical of the area: a single-storey box with a big skylight, a picture window and glass double doors leading to the garden. It’s the sort of arrangement that advocates say brings the outdoors indoors. What they don’t say is: birds will get in. It’s largely a summer problem, when the double doors are flung open and the sunlight through the glass creates the illusion that kitchen and garden are one. Sometimes a magpie will stroll in off the lawn, glance around in confusion and walk back out, as if he were looking for sporting equipment and mistakenly found himself in housewares. But it’s not usually that straightforward. Continue reading...
Swiss wait to hear result of ballot on capping population at 10 million
The far-right proposal would require the government to put restrictions in place to limit the population by 2050 A national ballot on an unprecedented far-right proposal to limit Switzerland’s population to 10 million concludes this weekend, amid warnings of devastating consequences for the country’s economy if voters back the initiative. A “yes” vote would require the Swiss government to take steps to cap the population at 10 million by 2050, enacting tough restrictions on family reunification, residency permits and asylum if the number reaches 9.5 million before that date. Continue reading...
Excusemaxxing – inventing names for my worst traits: the Becky Barnicoat cartoon
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The right has created a false reality – fuelled by toxic images delivered straight to your phone | Jason Okundaye
After a week of violence and discord, this is clear: some politicians know images supersede inconvenient facts. And Labour has no good response When voters in Makerfield head to the polls next week, their decision, as is increasingly the case across the nation, may come down to this: whether to be more swayed by a hopeful vision of the UK or by a narrative that defines the country as little more than the most shocking thing they have seen on their phone that day. That quandary has been sharpened by something that has quietly become a regular fixture of social media: members of the public are now consistently fed a stream of exceptional images and videos that once might have only been seen by investigators or from the inside of a courtroom. It is so regular that it has become banalised, whether it’s of robbers smashing up a jewellery shop, or of extreme and graphic assaults akin to snuff films. Jason Okundaye is a Guardian Opinion assistant editor Continue reading...
Meera Sodha’s recipe for fried courgette, black bean and goat’s cheese tacos | Meera Sodha recipes
Ever since Stanley Tucci got me into fried courgettes, I’ve been obsessed. And, of all the ways I’ve used them since, this is by far my favourite I had my head turned by fried courgettes while watching Stanley Tucci eat spaghetti alla Nerano (on Searching for Italy). So much so, in fact, that I went so far as to book a table at Lo Scoglio da Tommaso in Nerano while I was in Italy last year, only to be thwarted by a broken-down car. Still in search of the pleasure, my husband, Hugh, made that pasta when we got back home, and we slapped our thighs in amazement that so much flavour and pleasure could be achieved by frying courgettes until bronzed. I’ve been using them in all sorts of ways ever since and this is hands down my favourite. Continue reading...
From Disclosure Day to Kelsey Lu: the week in rave reviews
Steven Spielberg presents a sci-fi conspiracy barnstormer, and the US singer and cellist returns with a rich, inventive new LP. Here’s the pick of the week’s culture, taken from the Guardian’s best-rated reviews Continue reading...
Jessie J’s triumphant return puts lucrative Chinese market in spotlight
Other western acts have attempted to crack country’s music scene since singer’s breakout success in 2018 One week after announcing she was “cancer free”, the British pop star Jessie J did what any recovering patient would do and travelled thousands of miles around the world to perform for an audience of more than a billion people. On 29 May, the singer-songwriter, whose real name is Jessica Cornish, belted out a stage-rattling rendition of Frank Sinatra’s My Way on the stage of Singer, a hugely popular Chinese singing competition similar to The Voice. She also performed her new song, California, briefly adapting the lyrics to change California to Changsha, the Chinese city where Singer is hosted. Continue reading...
Riots and racism: why is the UK burning?
Claims of two-tier policing and uncontrolled immigration may not be borne out by the facts, but that has not stopped them being played up for political ends As the people of Glengormley, on the northern edge of Belfast, tidied up and prepared for more violence in the midst of what has been described as a modern-day pogrom, a court 500 miles away in Southampton, on the south coast of England, started to deal with its own outbreak of thuggery. The trigger for this week’s riots in the Northern Irish capital had been the image of a black assailant who appeared to be stabbing and slashing his supine white victim in the face and neck while shouting in Arabic. The suspect was later revealed to be a refugee from Sudan. Continue reading...
Country diary: It’s a painted lady summer, the stuff of lepidopterists’ legend | Phil Gates
Wolsingham, Weardale: These stunning butterflies are here in incredible numbers this year, yet what’s most remarkable is their multigenerational migration There’s a painted lady basking on the footpath. Her orange, black-tipped, white-spotted wings, a little worn after her long journey, blend with shadows and sun-flecks on heatwave-baked mud, so she’s almost under our feet before she takes flight. And here’s another, nectaring on a dandelion; and another; then several more. I can’t recall ever seeing so many so early in the year. Waiting for the arrival of these migrant butterflies is akin to anticipating the first swallow. Tantalising mid-April sightings from Wales and Cumbria were reported on social media, but we waited until mid-May before finding our first in Weardale. Continue reading...
‘I thought – gosh, he’s going to be some player’: the making of England’s Declan Rice
Rejected by Chelsea, honed by West Ham and a league winner at Arsenal, the midfielder has plenty from his footballing journey wishing him well at the World Cup Three years ago Declan Rice was the star guest at a Soho House event about the power of effective leadership. Tickets were in hot demand and Rice, who was due to play a European semi-final for West Ham two days later, could not understand why so many people were interested in what he had to say. The audience was packed with marketing directors and CEOs, all eager to hear the England midfielder speak. To Rice, though, it just seemed weird. Why him? What made him so special? The answer lay in his everyman appeal. It was because of his ability to form connections with everyone he comes across. It was because Rice, who goes into the World Cup fresh from winning the Premier League with Arsenal, would be a leader in any setting. More than anything, it was because England’s new vice-captain is authentic, genuine and always ready to charm, no matter if the 27-year-old is speaking to a room of high-powered executives or heading back to his old school to spend an afternoon with a group of awestruck kids. Continue reading...