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Designer Destinations: Grace Loves Lace founder on her favourite beaches, cities and where she's jetting off to nex

Laura Hampson chats to Megan Ziems, founder of cult Australian bridalwear brand Grace Loves Lace, about the joy of living on the coast and why she's swapped Spanish beaches for hiking in New Zealand




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The Duchess of Cambridge champions NHS wearing baby blue Tabitha Webb knit for latest virtual appearance

The Duchess has made an apparently seamless transition into her WFH wardrobe




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Best sleep meditation apps

Soothing sounds to help you drift off




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The best Met Gala dresses of all time, from Lady Gaga to Kendall Jenner

As this year's sartorial spectacle gets ready to go virtual, we round up the event's best-ever looks




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Normal People ending: How the show's conclusion compares with the book

*Spoilers ahead* Don't go any further if you haven't finished Normal People yet...




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London after lockdown: Gyms to reduce class sizes and run open air sessions as part of 'new normal'

The number of high intensity "heavy breathing" work-out machines such as treadmills and cross trainers will be hugely reduced in gyms to help make them safe when the lockdown ends.




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Aldi is looking for wine tasters to sample bottles for free

Where can we sign up?




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Daniel Radcliffe to narrate first chapter of Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone in new series

David Beckham, Dakota Fanning and Eddie Redmayne will also narrate chapters of the first book




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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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Apple confirms WWDC 2020 date as annual conference goes digital

Mark June 22 in your calendars now




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Hay Festival unveils its first-ever digital programme

This year's digital-only festival has dropped nearly 600 events, but it will be completely free




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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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The 10 vintage Chanel pieces to buy now in the FarFetch sale

*Rushes to find purse*




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Apps for parents: track feeding times and connect with other parents with these smart apps

Log on to lockdown lifelines for parents




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The Queen of the LBD: where to get Adele's birthday black dress look

The Hello hitmaker is celebrating her 32nd birthday




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The tie-dye pieces too good not to buy now

Positively tie-dye for pieces




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Your ultimate guide to parenting in lockdown by the Scummy Mummies

Ellie Gibson and Helen Thorn from Scummy Mummies podcast give us their sage - and realistic - advice...




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Ruby Wax on mindfulness, mantras and virtually connecting in lockdown

'Practising mindfulness is like going to a gym, you have to exercise the muscle and it works with anxiety'




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Superdrug to offer safe spaces for domestic abuse victims

A quarter of all UK pharmacies have joined Hestia's 'UK SAYS NO MORE' campaign




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Stephen Fry teams up with CBeebies as he voices new mental health game for children

CBeebies tapped the mental health campaigner to narrate the new game




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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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4 flat shoe styles to WFH in now

Ditch the slippers, your feet deserve better




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No breakfast buffet and smartphones as keys: what London hotels will be like after lockdown

Breakfast buffet's out as hotels prepare to make you open doors using phone




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Book review: The Consequences of Love by Gavanndra Hodge

On losing a little sister and having a junkie as a dad




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A ray of sunshine: where to get the Duchess of Cambridge's summer-ready look

It's time to embrace yellow




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A definitive guide to the books and literary references in Normal People

In a story about the challenges of communication, the characters in Normal People often find solace in reading




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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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Best independent online wine delivery in London

London's wine shops and bars have shifted their booze online to beat the crippling financial effects of coronavirus. Abbie Moulton on the new way to drink responsibly...




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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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Happity at home: the platform keeping toddlers entertained with live-streamed classes

From learning Spanish to playing music, Happity is helping to keep toddlers occupied at home




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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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The best high fashion scented candles: From Gucci to Fornasetti and Bella Freud

It's lit




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10 cookbooks the ES team has been using religiously during lockdown

From Ayurvedic cooking to traybake heroes, these are the cookbooks we've turned to over the last seven weeks




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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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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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Lee Phillip Bell, co-creator of The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful, dies aged 91

The ‘queen of daytime television’ created the two soap operas with her husband William Bell

The co-creator of The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful, Lee Phillip Bell, has died aged 91.

Bell, an accomplished broadcast journalist and talk show host, and her husband William created two of the world’s most prominent soap operas, which have run continuously for over 47 years, and aired more than nearly 20,000 combined episodes.

We are all devastated by the passing of Lee Phillip Bell. A television pioneer and powerhouse in her own right, she elevated daytime television in co-creating “The Young and the Restless” with her equally iconic husband, Bill Bell. We sadly mourn our true matriarch. pic.twitter.com/V5nUaz4N5E

Lee Phillip Bell, Rest In Peace....Queen of Daytime Television https://t.co/4wIueloEF0

We are deeply saddened by the news of the passing of a member of our CBS family and Daytime community, Emmy Award winning broadcast journalist, and co-creator of Y&R and B&B, Lee Phillip Bell. She was a pioneer in television and will be missed dearly. pic.twitter.com/6BYpUYQwaU

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Covid-19 leaves news and entertainment industries reeling

TV and news website audiences are sky-high but, with few ads or new shows, future looks fraught

From TV channels running out of shows, to newspapers facing the threat of closure, the British media industry is facing a financial shock that will permanently reshape how we consume news and entertainment.

Media analysts and insiders warn the pandemic will have a long-lasting impact on the country’s cultural life, predicting that changes in consumer behaviour expected to take more than five years may have happened in five weeks, with many people unlikely to entirely return to their pre-lockdown habits.

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The Letdown: a sweet patchwork of comforting stories for anyone feeling alone

A comedy that never quite whinges about new motherhood, but is frank and self-deprecating about its difficulties

I know this is a column about shows you recommend watching in isolation, but I’m not sure if this one is comforting or excruciating right now. Maybe both! But if you’re self-isolating with small children, it’s almost definitely the latter.

The Letdown is the story of a new mum, Audrey (Alison Bell), struggling to cope with her changed circumstances. As the primary caregiver to her daughter Stevie, she’s largely confined to her home. She feels inadequate, out of control, confused, and frustrated as her previous life – friends, parties, a semi-stable career! – slips out of grasp.

Related: Orphan Black: gripping sci-fi series shows that in dark times, family (or a 'clone club') prevails

Related: The Bold Type: candy-coloured take on millennial women shines with hope and comfort

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Comedy, tragedy, elegy: why Alan Bennett’s home truths are perfect for our times

As new actors revive the Talking Heads TV monologues, the poignant tales they tell will resonate more than ever with viewers in lockdown

The decision, announced last week by BBC Drama, to revive and recast Alan Bennett’s landmark Talking Heads series was driven as much by necessity as sentiment. Monologue, delivered to camera, is just about the only form of acting possible at the moment. But, still, there will be a special poignancy in hearing how the mini-dramas sound a generation later in their new voices – Imelda Staunton instead of Patricia Routledge, Kristen Scott Thomas in place of Eileen Atkins, Tamsin Greig for Penelope Wilton, Jodie Comer instead of Julie Walters.

Bennett wrote the first of the monologues in 1987, giving voice, in his 50s, to lives that in several cases were facing their last act. He himself turns 86 next week, about the same age as Thora Hird was when he cast her so memorably in Waiting for the Telegram in the last of the second series of monologues in 1998.

Related: Jodie Comer to star in new BBC production of Alan Bennett's Talking Heads

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Coronavirus poses huge threat to entertainment industry

The sector is wrestling with issues such as staging plays with social distancing, or running rollercoasters half full

The row between cinema chains and Universal Studios over the digital-only release of Trolls World Tour is one of may crises racking the entertainment industry during the coronavirus lockdown. The challenges range from working out how to stage live performances to managing social distancing in queues for rollercoasters. Here are some of the issues they face.

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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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SwitchArcade Round-Up: ‘Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath’ Coming May 26th, ‘Slayin 2’ and Today’s Other New Releases, the Latest Sales, and More

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for May 7th, 2020. Like most Thursdays, today is mostly about …





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SwitchArcade Round-Up: ‘Fury Unleashed’, ‘Stone’, and Today’s Other New Releases, the Latest Sales Featuring ‘Saints Row IV’ and More

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for May 8th, 2020. Today was basically a nightmare scenario for …