Lifestyle - Saturday, May 30, 2026

Nullarbor outback golf, a political shake-up and the best beards contest are all part of the Guardian Australia’s best photos from around the country Continue reading...

Celebrate sweet and sour cherries in these recipes for Black Forest cake, gazpacho, turnovers and more.

Our resident food product tester gives supermarket veggie burgers a good grilling to find out which made him flip and which couldn’t take the heat • The best (and worst) meat-free sausages, tasted and rated This was an interesting and varied test, with a range of burgers from classic, 1960s-style bean patties to ultra-processed meat analogues. Even though the latter have become far more convincing of late, I find it hard to trust the more processed examples, because they’re made with a blend of dozens of ingredients and synthetic additives designed to deceive the palate, rather than offer genuine flavour. As a result, I’ve marked down patties based on their processing levels and synthetic additives, though I do understand their value and purpose. Ultimately, the lesser-processed burgers stood out, not least for their incredible value: flavour-packed and textural, with a good bite and ingredients lists bursting with nutrition. Continue reading...

The actor on his fear of pigeons, his dashed boyband hopes, and having a crush on the entire male cast of Neighbours Born in London, Hugh Skinner, 41, trained at Lamda and appeared in the BBC’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles in 2008. From 2014 to 2017, he played Will in the comedy series W1A; he also appeared in Fleabag and The Windsors. His films include Les Misérables and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. In 2024, he starred in The Importance of Being Earnest at the National Theatre. He reprises the role of Will in Twenty Twenty Six, and stars in the new BBC drama Two Weeks in August. He lives in London. What is your grea test fear? Pigeons. One got stuck in my flat once for quite a long time and it really changed how I feel about them. Continue reading...

A study of nearly 500 domestic cats uncovered similarities between cancer gene mutations in felines and humans.

The 2,700-mile route covering the entire English coastline is almost complete. We walked less trodden sections big on scenery and history Day one Circular walk of Lindisfarne (4 miles) Day two Budle Bay to Bamburgh to (5 miles) Continue reading...

From Akkadian and Babylonian to ‘ancient, morbid and toxic’, test your knowledge with the Saturday quiz 1 The UK’s video recorders were reset in 1997 in advance of what? 2 Which tree is described by the Woodland Trust as “ancient, morbid, toxic”? 3 Which Midwest university has the biggest sports stadium in the US? 4 Henry and Edward are the title characters of what 1886 novella? 5 Which Hollywood star couldn’t abide wire hangers? 6 In 1413, whose body was moved from King’s Langley Priory to Westminster Abbey? 7 Which races are held over the 37-mile Snaefell Mountain Course? 8 Which soft drink was originally launched as Pickup’s Appetiser? What links: 9 Cecily stained glass; Meiping vase; Rodin’s Thinker; Temple Pyx fragment; Wagner garden carpet? 10 The King and I; Boy on a Dolphin; My Fair Lady; West Side Story? 11 Fátima; Guadalupe; Knock; La Salette; Walsingham? 12 Sumerian; Akkadian; Babylonian; Assyrian? 13 Bayern’s Müller and WBA’s Brown; middleweight Graham; Air Marshal Harris? 14 I Am Maximus; Tiger Roll; Reynoldstown; Poethlyn? 15 Archaea; Bacteria; Eukarya? Continue reading...

My toes are sore from buying the wrong size online, and my walk back from the shoe shop is fraught with peril Some years ago I made myself a simple rule based on experience: never buy footwear online. I have proved the worth of this rule several times since, by breaking it. But I never learn the lesson. Last year I paid a substantial sum for a pair of smart black shoes which raise a blister the size of a 10p coin on my right heel whenever I walk more than a hundred metres in them. Luckily I only wear these shoes to funerals, which are largely seated affairs. One day I may build up a tolerance to them, but I don’t know how many more people will have to die before that happens. My wife and I are going on a holiday with an itinerary that calls for walking shoes. It is a matter of some debate whether we actually own walking shoes. Continue reading...

Ailsa, 31, a systems engineer, meets Mike, 35, a paralegal What were you hoping for? Good conversation with someone interesting. Continue reading...

If you’re more of a ‘wet’ food fan than a ‘dry’ one, this sweet and spiced, milk-soaked sponge will tick all your boxes M argot Henderson once described herself as a “wet” over a “dry” food person, and the world, seen in those terms, suddenly made more sense to me. I’m also a “wet” food person (I need a sauce with every meal), and I’d wager that the same goes for most Indians, especially with savoury food, but also with sweet. Rasmalai , gulab jamun and jalebi are all Indian desserts for which batters or doughs are cooked and then soaked in syrup or milk. I wanted to make a “wet” cake in that same tradition – a classic sponge soaked in spiced, sweet saffron and cardamom milk – and in doing so have taken a little inspiration from Mexico’s tres leches cake . Continue reading...