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Aldi is looking for wine tasters to sample bottles for free

Where can we sign up?




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Forget banana bread: why we're turning to peanut butter in a time of crisis

Sales are soaring and recipes are going viral. We're going nuts for peanut butter, says Laura Hampson




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Fake news in Covid-19: how misinformation is spreading online during the pandemic

During this pandemic, fake news has spread as fast as the virus itself. Amelia Heathman investigates why




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Marianne's style: How to dress like Daisy Edgar-Jones' character from Normal People

Hers is a style so good that it's far from normal




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Under-fire cruise Carnival pledges to follow official rules on cruises

Cruise company Carnival on Tuesday promised to follow social distancing measures on restarted cruises amid mounting questions over its handling of the coronavirus crisis.




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Connell's chain: Normal People's protagonist has kicked off a major men's jewellery trend

Don't pretend you didn't notice it: that whisper-thin necklace glinting against Connell's chest




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Peanut raises £9.6 million to fund its mission to become the leading social network for women

The app now counts 1.6 million users




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What is OnlyFans? The NSFW social network shouted out by Beyoncé

OnlyFans recently received a nice bout of publicity thanks to Beyoncé




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Duck or rabbit? How Archie's birthday book is based on an age-old optical illusion

The book appeared in an adorable new video of the Duchess of Sussex reading to baby Archie on his first birthday




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Reach for the stars to support midwives in this star jump challenge

Time to get moving again




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It's time to make do and mend: why now is the time to start sewing

Don't buy new — stitch it. Vicky Frost has a guide to becoming a sewing machine




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The best stretches and exercises for back pain, according to a physio

How to look after your body physically while WFH




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Let's Make-Up: the beauty products to know about this week

The first in a new series where each week we bring you an edit of the new-in skincare, make-up and hair products we're loving




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Gyms 'may stay closed until autumn,' as industry body publishes guidelines for fitness studios to open safely

A ban on sweat towels could be introduced under new guidelines from ukactive




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15 colourised photos from WWII to commemorate VE Day

It's been 75 years since Winston Churchill announced the war in Europe was over




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VE Day recipes: 8 classic British party foods to make at home

Why not try these easy, tasty recipes at home?




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Watch this exclusive performance of If The World Was Ending with JP Saxe and hear the love story behind it

For the latest episode of At Home With...JP Saxe opens up about his song with girlfriend Julia Michaels and challenges Amira Hashish to sing her verse of If The World Was Ending




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Photographers team up to capture lockdown London on doorsteps to raise for NHS heroes

"All of my work has been cancelled [because of the crisis] and I was just missing shooting people and thought it would be a nice way for the community to come together and have a memory of this time.




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Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special 2019 – live

Merry Christmas, glitterati! It’s a cracker of a lineup, but who will win that most sparkling of festive prizes, the Silver Star? Join us to find out

Afternoon all, hope you’re having a lovely Christmas day.

There’s no official liveblog for today’s Strictly Christmas special, but we’ve opened a blog so you can add your special brand of festive sparkle in the comments below. It’s a Christmas cracker of a lineup, featuring lots of our favourites from previous years – Chizzy Akudolu, Debbie McGee, Gemma Atkinson, Joe Sugg, Mark Wright and Richard Arnold. It’s also very much a couples’ choice – both Gemma and Joe will be dancing with their real-life partners Gorka and Dianne, which is all rather lovely.

Continue reading...




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Having a laugh: is this the end for clowning?

The massive popularity of horror films like Joker and It have been a real downer for happy, family clowns. Mark Wilding hears how the entertainers are fighting back

In the corner of Matthew Indge’s kitchen is a photograph of the entertainer Kerby Drill. For many years, Drill was both a clown and a comic voice of authority. He toured the nation’s schools and appeared on television shows, often promoting road safety, until he passed away last year, aged 97. Indge describes him as his “clown hero”, but he recognises that Drill represents a very different era of clowning. “The truth is,” Indge says, “these days, I don’t know if kids are going to listen to a clown saying be careful on the road.”

Indge has been clowning for 32 years, since he was eight years old. In a way that wasn’t necessary for Drill, Indge must now take steps to prove to his audiences that he doesn’t represent a dark and sinister threat. When we meet, he’s preparing for a performance as Zaz the Clown at a five-year-old’s birthday party, and “just to save me any problems,” he says, “I’ll make up in front of the kids” – an attempt to provide reassurance that there’s a benign performer behind the mask.

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Dancing on Ice’s first same-sex partnership is a milestone we should celebrate

H from Steps brought tears to the judges’ eyes with his performance. Now, more than ever, we must cherish these moments of LGBTQ visibility

One of the most peculiar aspects of realising that you are LGBTQ is the loneliness. Your immediate family is unlikely to belong to the minority you may feel you have been arbitrarily parachuted into. You may be fortunate that they have supportive attitudes; many are not. The odds are that you have heard derogatory terms about LGBTQ people thrown around the playground not once or twice but like confetti. On TV and film screens, on advertising billboards, in magazines and in books, society’s expectations about settling down with someone of a different gender will bellow at you. You may struggle to come out to yourself, let alone anyone else, and fear judgment and rejection.

That is why major cultural events, such as the first same-sex performance on ITV’s Dancing on Ice last night, are so important: they can be lifelines for the closeted, whether they are aged 13 or 78. Acceptance for LGBTQ people struggling with their sexuality is like water to a sponge: anything that showcases and values our existence has a profound impact. That’s why H from Steps – one half of the couple – told the judges that it was emotional, in part because “it means so much to so many people and the world is ready for this”. It’s why the actor John Barrowman broke down in tears “because of seeing two men who represent someone who is like me and to skate as well as you did”. What’s all the fuss, the usual suspects will cry, but it matters precisely because society, and particularly currently emboldened bigots, makes such a fuss about anyone who deviates from a heterosexual norm.

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Food porn, be gone! Ready Steady Cook is back and better than ever

Who needs pretentious chefs? After a decade away, TV’s simplest cookery show is on the air again, and with Rylan at the helm it’s the perfect recipe for success

This week, the first new episodes of Ready Steady Cook for a decade are broadcast on BBC One. The miraculous thing is that, watching it, you’d never know that it ever went away.

Sure, some things are little different. The budget for the ingredients has risen from £5 to a colossal £7.50, and they are presented in reusable totes rather than single-use plastic bags. The theme tune now comes with a weird techno burble that makes you feel as if you are playing an imported PlayStation 2 game about different methods of cooking mince. Sumac exists. And there is a new host in Rylan Clark-Neal, continuing his monomaniacal quest to seize and hijack every defunct daytime gameshow made during the 1990s.

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Netflix is reducing streaming quality amid coronavirus. How will it affect viewing in Australia?

Netflix is cutting down traffic to ease internet capacity as more people work from home. Here’s what it means for Australians’ streaming experience

Netflix has agreed to reduce the data it uses to stream movies and TV shows across Australia as more and more people are working from home due to the coronavirus shutdown. But what will it mean for your viewing habits while you’re staying at home?

Related: Australian government asks Netflix and Stan to reduce data to avoid broadband overload

Related: As cinemas go dark, the film industry may go straight to Netflix

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‘PUBG Mobile’ 0.18.0 Is Rolling Out Now on iOS and Android with Mad Miramar, a New Results UI, and a Whole Lot More

Earlier this week, Tencent announced a big new update for PUBG Mobile (Free) on iOS and Android. The version 0.18.0 …







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Boris Johnson's lockdown speech: When is it, what will he say, and how can I watch it?







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Hoard of ancient Middle Eastern items seized at Heathrow found to be fakes by British Museum





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White House criticised for limiting coronavirus task force testimony




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Boris Johnson's lockdown speech: When is it, what will he say, and how can I watch it?





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How Neil Ferguson, the architect of lockdown, was brought down by failing to obey his own rules




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High-rise 48-storey tower catches fire in UAE







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Wednesday morning news briefing: Top scientific adviser quits after meeting lover in lockdown




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Is there a PPE shortage, and how can NHS workers use it safely?






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Social distancing: What are the rules and how might they change?




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The British victims of coronavirus and their personal stories