Lifestyle - Wednesday, March 18, 2026

After years of scrabbling about for jobs, I’m happy I have the right work/leisure balance: four days on, three days off I do like Mondays. I never used to – who does? – but just recently I’ve found a way. It’s been quite a journey. School Mondays were bloody awful. I can still feel the abrasion, mental and physical, of the school uniform. It was always freshly laundered on a Monday, something I not only took for granted but also disliked. Urgh, the brutal stiffness of the material after the softness of the weekend. Misery. For a year of my life, and only a year, I did proper work, for my dad’s scaffolding company. God, the Monday mood was terrible. For me, the edge was taken off by the knowledge that this was but a gap year, not my full-time life. My workmates didn’t have the comfort of this endpoint. Handsworth, midwinter, dark, freezing and wet with a week’s worth of scaffolding to erect and dismantle. Despondence reigned. Continue reading...

Washington Post food critic Elazar Sontag entertains your restaurant questions, rants and raves.

A reader writes how a powerful blast from an irrigation machine at the GP has had lasting side-effects I sympathise with Freya Bennett ( A moment that changed me: I was planning to be a musician – then I had my ears syringed, 11 March ). In 2010, I found that my hearing was being muffled by a buildup of wax in my ears. I had always imagined that having ones ears syringed was a straightforward, risk-free process. An appointment was made at my local GP practice, and a healthcare assistant, without any explanation as to what to expect or any warning about side-effects, essentially turned the irrigation machine, like a water pistol, up to full and blasted out the wax. The power of the jet was such that I actually jerked my head away in shock. Continue reading...

Chicken thighs are a cut above the breast. These beginner-friendly recipes will give you juicy chicken every time.

A relaxed, Gallic approach to the last day of le weekend could be just what we all need to feel healthier and happier Name: French Sunday. Age: As a viral happiness trend, quite new. As an idea, quite old. Old Testament, even … Continue reading...

From romantic surprises to everyday rituals. The post 27 Long-Distance Relationship Ideas to Stay Close—Even When You’re Miles Apart appeared first on Camille Styles .

Drugs, defence, discrimination … we want to hear from people across the UK who hold different views on some of the more divisive issues of our time for our series Dining across the divide Are flags hung from lamp-posts intimidating? Do we need to spend more on defence? Should we legalise drugs? Where do you stand on these or other issues – and could you persuade someone with a different view? For the Guardian series Dining across the divide, we would like to hear from people living in the UK who have differing viewpoints about some of the most divisive issues that affect us now. Our aim is to find out whether encountering someone with the opposite point of view can make a difference. We’re interested in hearing from adults from every part of the UK with an interest in meeting and discussing opposing views with another reader. Continue reading...

They’re one of the most-hyped kitchen appliances of the last decade, but are these low-fat cookers worth the cost and counter space? • Don’t get the Filter delivered to your inbox? Sign up here I owned an air fryer long before they attained peak ubiquity, and I use it on a daily basis, so I’m surprised when people express zero interest in them. For my lifestyle, air fryers are brilliant: I’m usually multitasking, so being able to pop chicken, veggies or sausages in a drawer and walk away frees me up. But if you’re thinking of buying one, it’s worth exploring whether it will work for how you live – and the food you cook – to avoid cluttering your kitchen counter with another underused gadget, and needlessly spending money. Continue reading...

This one-pan dinner features plump, chili-seasoned shrimp and tender quinoa cooked with spinach in a tomatoey broth flavored with onion, garlic, cilantro and lime.

Plus, the iron-rich recipes to cook. The post The Sneaky Nutrient Deficiency That Might Explain Why You’re Always Tired appeared first on Camille Styles .