Category Archives: Life and style

‘I feel free when I run’: the young women enjoying a sense of freedom in Iraq

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Displaced Iraqi girls stuck in camps are getting a taste of independence by running, hiking and kickboxing, thanks to a programme teaching them about sport and confidence

The mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan are edged with a tangerine glow as our minibus drives past them. We set off earlier from Erbil, the region’s capital, and are driving to Shaqlawa, a historic city about 50 minutes away, to hike up the nearby Safeen mountain. Inside the minibus, a group of teenage girls are playing their favourite songs.

The teenagers live with their families in one of Erbil’s two main camps for internally displaced people (IDPs), Baharka and Harsham, having fled Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, and surrounding towns such as Tal Afar and Sinjar, when the area was captured by ISISsis in 2014. The hike has been organised by Free to Run, an NGO that supports and empowers women and girls in regions of conflict through sport, offering them life-skills training, and creating safe spaces for them to develop confidence and friends, and to reclaim public space in a country where women’s rights are lacking.

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Ready, steady, glow: 10 reader tips to keep you warm at home

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Feeling the chill? Get knitting, or make some soup, or tackle the dirty dishes, or …

Use natural materials to knit yourself a jumper – they are better for the planet and keep you warmer than artificial yarns. The beauty and benefits start almost as soon as you cast on, since the growing garment on your knees keeps you warm long before it’s ready to wear. Win-win! Carol Brook, West Yorkshire

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How we met: ‘She was giving out free footballs, and I thought she was really beautiful’

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Nick met Tess in Bordeaux while watching Wales in the Euros. But it was only when she made a dash to their airport to see him off that they shared their first kiss


In January 2016, Nick’s mother died. He had only been living in Bristol for six months when it happened. “It was difficult because I didn’t know many people,” he says. A week later, his girlfriend dumped him by text. “It was a really bad time. I’d relocated from my home town of Wrexham to be a theatre operations manager, but I was lonely,” he says.

He decided to cheer himself up with a trip to France to watch Euro 2016, so, that summer, he travelled to Bordeaux with a friend. “We weren’t able to get tickets, but the city had set up massive fan zones with huge screens for watching the games,” he says. “We were supporting Wales in their game against Slovakia.” All around, there were promotional stands giving out free merchandise. That’s when Nick spotted Tess, a French student who was working as a host at the event.

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How Dr Becky Kennedy became Instagram’s favourite ‘parent whisperer’

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What started as a useful tip on social media has turned the US psychologist and mum of three into a parenting phenomenon and the voice of reason for a generation of young mums and dads

Talking to Dr Becky Kennedy today requires flexibility – the kind of flexibility that many of us parents have had to hone pretty well during the pandemic. My five-year-old daughter is off from school with her first bout of Covid, which means I have to take Kennedy’s Zoom call from the bedroom. Kennedy’s own seven-year-old daughter is also at home with a fever and sore throat; luckily her husband has stepped in to help oversee childcare, so she’s got an hour to speak.

The slapdash situation feels apt: Kennedy, a clinical psychologist from New York who specialises in parenting, experienced a rapid rise to prominence during the pandemic when young parents suddenly found themselves at home with their children and in desperate need for a hand to guide them through it. Kennedy had never even posted on Instagram when Covid-19 first emerged, but on 28 March 2020, two days after lockdown measures came into force in the UK, she wrote a message to her 200 followers that changed her life. It read: “Most young kids will remember how their family home felt during the coronavirus panic more than anything specific about the virus. Our kids are watching us and learning about how to respond to stress and uncertainty. Let’s wire our kids for resilience, not panic. How? Scroll for some tips.”

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Wear a suit to the office. It’s a special occasion…

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Savile Row designer Ozwald Boateng says it’s time for a smarter look, tailored to a new era of hybrid working

He’s the designer famed for reviving Savile Row tailoring in the Cool Britannia era of the 90s with his sleek, jewel-coloured suits. Since then, office attire has become less formal and working from home has taken off, yet Ozwald Boateng believes rumours of the death of the suit are greatly exaggerated.

As he prepared to show at London fashion week on Monday after a 12-year absence, he told the Observer that he believes the suit will be seen as less an everyday work uniform and more as special occasion wear – but with many of those going into an office just two or three days a week making more of an effort and opting to dress more formally.

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Beverley Knight: ‘On stage I feel the goddess that I am’

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The singer, 48, on always knowing that her voice was different, speaking out about abusive relationships and singing for Prince

I was given a special instrument at birth. Mum, Dad and my siblings all sang, but I understood my voice was different. By the age of eight I’d decided I’d do it professionally. But I had no idea how Beverley from Wolverhampton went from watching Top of the Pops to being on it.

My parents were dedicated Christian folk. We were always at services and meetings, and music was a constant presence. It was only when I stole the radio from my parents’ bedroom I discovered a whole new world of sounds.

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Ideas to change the world: Margaret Atwood talks to seven visionaries fighting for a brighter future

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The author’s hand-picked panel share their ideas on music, mushrooms, zombies and more

What do you get when you bring together some of the most revered thinkers, most progressive-minded activists and one of the most celebrated novelists writing today to discuss the immense challenges we face? A debate about the Spice Girls, of course! For the Guardian’s Saturday magazine, Margaret Atwood wanted to gather some of her favourite experts from around the globe, to ask how they see the world we live in – and what they believe is key to creating the future they want to see.

The lineup included bestselling author Raj Patel, dubbed the “rock star of social justice writing”; Senator Yvonne Boyer, the first Indigenous person appointed to the Canadian senate from Ontario; Akala, a writer, musician and poet; the excellently named Merlin Sheldrake, an expert on fungi; Kate Fletcher, whose speciality is sustainable fashion; Jessie Housty, a young Indigenous activist with a focus on decolonisation and community; and Yasmeen Hassan of Equality Now, which works to combat gender discrimination. The panel, hand-picked by Atwood, reflects the many disparate subjects the author is passionate about, and she was as keen to hear from them as they were to understand her vision and ideas.

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The abortion travel agents: ‘Some women know what they need, others just say: help’

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With reproductive rights being increasingly restricted in Europe, people are relying on a network of volunteers to help them

When The Handmaid’s Tale first came out in 1985, the initial response was broadly that people thought such threats to women’s bodies and reproductive rights “couldn’t happen here”. By the time it aired as a TV series in 2017, just after Donald Trump was inaugurated in the US, people were no longer so sure. With every headline about gains in reproductive rights – Ireland repealing the eighth amendment in 2018, which had effectively banned abortions – there are others that underscore how fragile these rights are, wherever you live.

Recent changes to abortion law in Texas, which have prohibited abortions after six weeks – one of the most restrictive rules in the nation – and Poland’s near total ban on the procedure last year make it clear just how slippery the slope still is. We have to ask: what kind of country do we want to live in? A democratic one in which every individual is free to make decisions concerning their health and body, or one in which half the population is free and the state corrals the bodies of the other half?

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Margaret Atwood on feminism, culture wars and speaking her mind: ‘I’m very willing to listen, but not to be scammed’

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At 82, the Canadian author has seen it all - and her novels predicted most of it. Just don’t presume you know what she thinks, she tells Hadley Freeman

‘How are you? You’re named after Ernest Hemingway’s first wife,” Margaret Atwood announces by way of a greeting when we meet on a hotel’s heated patio near her home in Toronto. Atwood, 82, has often been described as a prophet, thanks to her uncanny ability to foresee the future in her books. When Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in January 2021, it looked, terrifyingly, like a scene out of The Handmaid’s Tale, when the government is overthrown and the dystopian land of Gilead is founded. She seemingly predicted the 2008 financial crash in her nonfiction book Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth, published that year. Atwood has always scoffed at any suggestion of telepathy, pointing out that every atrocity in The Handmaid’s Tale had been carried out by totalitarian regimes in real life, and she “predicted” the crash by noticing the number of adverts offering to help people with their personal debt. But as she stands in front of me, snowflakes glittering around her like stars, the flames of the hotel’s gas heaters leaping on either side of her, dressed all in black save for her little red hat, correctly guessing who I’m named after, she certainly seems to have a touch of magic about her. How did she know about the Hemingway connection?

“Because I’m deep into Martha Gellhorn,” she says, launching into a long discussion about the celebrated war correspondent and Hemingway’s third wife. Atwood isn’t writing a book about Gellhorn (yet), but she found a letter from her to the father of her late partner, Graeme Gibson, who died in 2019, and is now a Gellhornologist. After six or so minutes, I wonder if we’ll ever talk about anything else, but Atwood has a regal quality that makes interruption unthinkable. It does not, as I later learn, render argument impossible.

I don’t like to favouritise my books. The others would be out to get you: ‘How could you? I spent all this time with you!’

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‘Childbirth as it really is’: This Is Going to Hurt actor defends series accused of misogyny

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Ambika Mod, who plays stressed junior doctor, reacts to criticism that BBC drama disrespects women

It is the TV drama that has divided its viewers. Hailed by some as a brutally accurate depiction of the realities of working in an NHS maternity unit, This Is Going to Hurt has been denounced by others as misogynistic and insulting to women giving birth.

Now the actor who plays an exhausted and stressed female junior doctor in the show has rejected criticism of the BBC series set on an NHS obstetrics and gynaecology ward.

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So, can I eat on the bus again? And other pressing questions for the return of real life

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Forgotten how to behave in public? As Covid restrictions lift, a quick refresher on everyday encounters from shaking hands to sharing drinks

Recently, while out for drinks and sharing plates, a friend reached over and took a sip of my cocktail. There are key parts of this anecdote that still, two years into the push–pull of pandemic guidance, strike nervousness into me. They include the words “dinner”, “friend”, “sharing plates”, not to mention the thought of a bathroom where there’s nice soap but the water from the tap still comes out cold and for some reason there’s no dainty way of opening the door once you’ve washed your hands, so you just have to grab the door handle with your newly washed hand, which seems to instantly negate the point of washing the hands. But the crucial information here is that I had a very nice negroni in front of me, and they wanted to try it, so they took the glass and raised it to their lips and took a sip.

In 2019, I would not have minded. That’s because All This hadn’t happened, and I considered myself fairly normal. This is no longer true. I have forgotten how to talk to anyone. How to greet people. How to meet new people. How to sit in an office. A lot of people forgot how to talk back to me, too. Restrictions are easing up, but people aren’t necessarily doing the same. So I spoke to some experts to get some guidance.

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11 strangers watched me write this article. Is this the answer to our productivity crisis?

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When the pandemic hit, I realized the work that would take me a few hours in the office drags on at home. Discovering a site that forced me to be accountable saved me

The first thing I did when I sat down to write this piece was to have a conversation with Ben. Ben is a polite clean-cut white American thirtysomething with a 5 o’clock shadow sitting against a plain blue wall. The only thing hanging in his study is a white frame with “less.” on it in lower-case serif, which makes me think he’s a graphic designer. But the only thing I really know about Ben is he’s too easily distracted, and so am I.

I have been randomly assigned to work with Ben on a website I use every day called Focusmate, which uses a sense of accountability to help you focus. The homepage kind of looks like a Google calendar: you book in a 50-minute session and the site matches you with someone else who wants to work in that time slot (this is mostly done randomly although brand new users are matched with more experienced ones). When the time comes, you and your buddy get placed on a video call. You politely and briefly tell each other what you’re planning to use the time to do and then you get on with it.

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Twitter CEO’s weeks-long paternity leave hailed by fellow dads

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Parag Agrawal’s plan seen as step toward normalizing time off for men involved in childcare

Twitter’s new CEO, Parag Agrawal, is reportedly taking a “few weeks” off for paternity leave after the birth of his second child, a move that drew cheers from other fathers as a positive step towards normalizing men taking time off for childcare.

The 37-year-old became CEO of the company in November when its co-founder Jack Dorsey stepped down.

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How to move: exercising after having Covid-19

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Even a mild Covid infection can cause lingering fatigue, but exercise plays a crucial role in recovery

The Omicron variant has caused an avalanche of Covid-19 cases in Australia in the past months. While most people who catch the disease experience mild symptoms, many report feeling short of breath and sluggish for weeks afterward.

“It’s normal to feel tired after a viral infection, and everyone’s recovery is different,” says Janet Bondarenko, a senior respiratory physiotherapist at Alfred hospital in Melbourne. “But the severity of your Covid illness doesn’t necessarily predict whether you will have those lingering symptoms.”

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The ugly truth: beauty’s not just skin deep – gorgeous people may be healthier too

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Good-looking people may be better at fighting infections, a study finds, so don’t feel shallow when you swipe right

Name: Gorgeous people.

Age: Considerable. Certainly of greater longevity than poor saps like you who’ve been battered by the ugly stick and, let’s face it, will probably die sooner than hotties like me.

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Living in a woman’s body: as the world moves on from Covid, I feel the pain of being left behind

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I have blood cancer and continue to isolate, living without touch, hugs, intimacy or love. It is heartbreaking

Before the pandemic, I was an artist, activist, teacher, director and producer – living fully, despite having had blood cancer for 10 years. Today, I am classified as “A3” (a person with comorbidities) in the Philippines. In the UK, I am classified as extremely clinically vulnerable.

I don’t believe in labels, yet all of a sudden, I am one. Although I am fully vaccinated and boosted, there are no guarantees that the vaccines work in a body that has a suppressed immune system, like mine.

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Living in a woman’s body: I want my daughter to be inspired by my miraculous scars

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When I was pregnant, I discovered that I had developed breast cancer – just like my mother before me. One day, the child I was carrying may face the same hard choices

When I was five, I would talk to my mother while she was in the bath. When she stood to get out, the water fell from her, her skin pink from the heat. Her body was miraculous to me. Women’s bodies are miraculous, with the things they can do, but I didn’t know any of that then. I just knew that she was soft and perfect, and mine.

By the time my mother developed breast cancer, I was 30. She was double that age and there was an ocean between us: I was married and living in New York, so when the news came, I couldn’t hold her to me, or be a practical support. I sat on my bed and cried. The next time I saw her, it was all over. One breast removed and carefully reconstructed. The cancer gone. My husband asked me, as we approached my parents in the airport, whether it was OK to give my mum a hug. The surgery was recent; I wasn’t sure. But it was OK. She seemed the same.

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Julia Fox steals the show as LaQuan Smith sticks to glamour at New York Fashion Week

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Red sequins, faux fur corsets and sky high heels from the celebrity favourite in a tribute to his late mentor, Andre Leon Talley

LaQuan Smith’s autumn/winter 2022 show at New York fashion week on Monday evening started over an hour late.

It soon became clear why – a celebrity was involved. Julia Fox, the model and actor who has had the lens of the paparazzi trained on her for months thanks to her recent relationship with Kanye West, opened the show and caused a hush across the audience.

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Naomi Campbell says becoming a mother at 50 ‘best thing I’ve done’

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The supermodel is pictured on the front cover of British Vogue’s March issue with her daughter

Naomi Campbell has described becoming a mother at the age of 50 as “the best thing I’ve ever done”.

In a photoshoot for the March issue cover of British Vogue, the supermodel will appear photographed with her daughter. Campbell has never revealed her daughter’s name, but she confirmed to the magazine that she was not adopted.

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