Exclusive: State-run Northern Rail has cancelled an average of 142 trains per day so far this year

Actor starred in aAladdina show after leaving soap in 2021

Former couple are said to be aat wara after Fisher broke silence on subject

Sean OaGrady takes this well-built, understated model out on the road and finds that, pricey as it may be, his every wish is its command

The next battle in the generational culture wars is all about cramped flats versus spare rooms. And itas all too easy to see why young Brits are getting hacked off, argues Helen Coffey

The latest Marvel blockbuster a starring Anthony Mackie and Harrison Ford a has drawn backlash from all political corners. But a film this bland doesnat warrant such hand-wringing

Zellwegeras Bridget is now a widow a and romanced by both Leo Woodallas younger man and Chiwetel Ejioforas kindly teacher a and this sequel, adapted from Helen Fieldingas third book in her series of novels, is vulnerable, honest and very funny

Sitcom character deserves more appreciation

aThere were circumstances that prevented me from having a bigger send off,a actor said

aI apologise in advance," Irish presenter"s stand-in said

TV chef is said to be feeling betrayed by former ITV co-star

UK shows will conclude the week before Glastonbury Festival gets underway

aThey were terribly upset about it,a Child said

aThatas one secret I wanted to savea said Morris about Firthas involvement in production

Gibbs has claimed that Drakeas new collaborative album with PARTYNEXTDOOR includes astolena elements

RosalAa and Marshawn Lynch are among a number of new faces joining HBOas hit series

The Sri Lankan son of refugees was reprimanded for a racially insensitive remark a but his exit was not linked to the comment

aThereas been some confusion,a host Fallon said before Hollywood couple comedically left venue

aToday is a victory,a rapper said

When a pallet carrying a small army of 13-inch-tall golden men vanished 24 years ago, Academy bosses raised the alarm and the FBI joined the hunt. Ellie Harrison looks back on the strange tale, which features a dumpster diver, Hollywood handshakes and a $50,000 reward

The aStranger Thingsa actress is the daughter of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke

Filled with weddings, sardonic best friends and an abundance of Julia Roberts, these are the greatest romcoms of all time a ranked by Adam White from 25 to 1

The enigmatic star talks to Adam White about sexuality, psychopaths and aSeverancea a and why Madonna and Sean Pennas wedding was the noisiest heas ever attended

Olaf Scholz says Germany awill not accepta people who aintervene in our democracya after US vice-presidentas speech in Munich

• JD Vance stuns Munich conference with blistering attack on Europeas leaders

Agence France-Presse has some more on Olaf Scholzas comments today at the Munich Security Conference.

On Ukraine, the German chancellor said:

We will also not accept any solution that leads to a decoupling of European and American security. Only one person would benefit from this: President Putin.

We Europeans will represent these interests confidently and unitedly in the upcoming negotiations.a

Iair Horn, Alexander Sasha Troufanov and Sagui Dekel Chen released by Hamas

Several media are quoting a statement released by Hamas this morning, in which it says Israel will only be able to repatriate the remaining hostages if it implements in full all terms of the ceasefire and hostage release agreement.

Hamas added that the release of hostages is being carried out after it received guarantees from mediating countries that Israel will uphold the agreements, Haaretz reported.

AdriA!n Simancas encountered a humpback off Chileas coast a but scientists say he was never at risk of being swallowed

AdriA!n Simancas had been paddling for two hours in the calm but icy seas of the Strait of Magellan, off the coast of Chilean Patagonia, when something massive emerged from the water and dragged him under.

aI saw dark blue and white colours before feeling a slimy texture brush against my face,a the 24-year-old told the Guardian. aI closed my eyes to brace for impact, but it was soft, like being hit by a wave.a

Wildlife charity backs policy of exploitation of small number of some endangered species for economic purposes a such as trophy hunting

The wildlife charity WWF has been working to support the trade in polar bear fur at the same time as using images of the bears to raise money, it can be revealed.

Polar bears are severely affected by the loss of Arctic sea ice, which makes seeking prey harder and forces the bears to use more energy. In some regions, polar bears are showing signs of declining physical condition, having fewer cubs, and dying younger.

Trend towards more extreme-weather events will continue to hit crop yields and create price spikes, Inverto says

Extreme weather events are expected to lead to volatile food prices throughout 2025, supply chain analysts have said, after cocoa and coffee prices more than doubled over the past year.

In an apparent confirmation of warnings that climate breakdown could lead to food shortages, research by the consultancy Inverto found steep rises in the prices of a number of food commodities in the year to January that correlated with unexpected weather.

• Italian will be suspended from the game until 4 May
• World No 1 won the Australian Open title last month

Jannik Sinner, the menas world No 1, has been banned from tennis for three months in a settlement of his doping case.

The 23-year-old Italian, who won the Australian Open in Melbourne last month, will now be suspended from the sport until 4 May. He will be eligible to play in the yearas next grand slam, the French Open, which starts on 19 May at Roland Garros.

Combs is in a Brooklyn jail and still faces dozens of other civil lawsuits, while this was the first to mention Carter

An anonymous woman who accused Shawn aJay-Za Carter and Sean aDiddya Combs of raping her in 2000 when she was 13 dismissed her civil lawsuit on Friday against the hip-hop moguls.

A filing in federal court in Manhattan said the plaintiff, referred to as Jane Doe, voluntarily dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning she cannot bring it again.

With a new HQ and digital-savvy staff, Reform UK is trying to tighten its operation a but there are tensions over fringe views and trouble brewing at the grassroots

• Whoas who in Nigel Farageas Reform UK

Nigel Farage seems to be everywhere again: striding into rallies to the beat of Eminem, popping up at Maga parties in Washington, hosting a champagne-soaked fundraiser in Mayfair and grinning on the ITV breakfast sofa taunted by a Chinese dragon.

Since July, Reform UK has soared in the polls, threatening the Conservatives and Labour and leaving many backers daring to dream that one day Farage could enter government.

When the contractor started a two-month job in the Persian Gulf, he said it was his final lengthy posting. Six weeks later, he was dead, and a co-worker charged with his murder. Now his partner is struggling to make sense of what happened

In October 2022, Robbie Robson, 38, a British offshore worker, travelled to Qatar for an eight-week contract in the oilfields of the Persian Gulf. Robson was handsome, ambitious, and determined to do well by his family. The job was an attractive opportunity: after years working on vessels, and as a pipelayer, he was pursuing safer and more lucrative positions piloting the remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) that are used to monitor underwater structures. It was a long stint away, but at least head be back to enjoy Christmas in South Tyneside with his partner, Kristie Graham, 39, her daughter Willow, 10, and Sefa, their 17-month-old son, in the new house theyad just bought.

Until then, his home would be the Seafox Burj, a three-legged jack-up rig planted in the shallow waters of the Al-Shaheen oil field, 80km from land. Robson hated being away, but stayed connected to Graham and his friends over WhatsApp. From his vantage point in the middle of the Gulf, head take photos of dramatic sunsets and send them to Graham. It was a window into the strange world of offshore workers and a sign, for her, of the way he could always find the positive in any situation.

Billionaireas sprawling business empire faces financial woes as easy earnings from petrochemicals have receded

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the billionaire chemicals magnate behind Manchester United, is a man who likes a beer. He considers this important enough to include in the eccentric mission statement pictogram he devised to acapture how Ineos works, and whya.

The Ineos Compass, which he devised in 2022, includes a dizzying array of words and phrases, divided between those that Ratcliffe likes (aa beera, aout of the box thinkinga, adoggednessa) and those that he doesnat (apoliticsa, alosing moneya, apeople who get on the busa). If there are clues to Ratcliffeas vertiginous rise and recent troubles they might be here.

Supermarkets and high street stores are full of cheap cups, cushions and ceramics. How can it ever be a good deal for designers, factory workers a or the planet?

Walk into any big UK supermarket, and somewhere between the pasta and pet food youall find an aisle stacked with seductively stylish yet affordable homeware. From tableware to throws, cushions to coasters, objets daart to duvet covers, the shelves will be teeming with everything you could possibly need to furnish your home a all in the latest shades and styles, and most costing less than the price of a takeaway.

Just a few years ago, this would have seemed strange, but with Asda, Sainsburyas and Tesco all launching own-brand homeware ranges in the past decade, and the expansion of Lidl and Aldi, both known for their amiddle aislea bargains, purchasing homewares during the weekly shop has become the new normal.

Matthew, 24, a tax consultant, meets Izzy, 25, an advertising executive

What were you hoping for?
A fun story and a nice dinner, with good company as an added bonus.

Itas been 11 years since she published a novel. In that time, the author has lost both parents, seen Trump become president twice a and finally returned to fiction after a bruising reaction to her comments on gender

I arrive early to meet Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the Nigerian-American writer, feminist, author of Americanah. Her home, just outside Baltimore, looks Scandinavian somehow amid the snow crust and woodland. Adichie is mid-photoshoot, but the stylist shows me through to the kitchen, telling me to help myself to roast chicken and rice. At a desk in the corner, Adichieas nine-year-old daughter is wearing headphones and absorbed in what looks like homework. In the middle of the room, watched over by a nanny, are two smiling, 10-month-old boys, one sitting in an activity centre, shrieking with joy, the other gnawing a toy. Iad read a lot about Adichieas life in the last few years: the sudden death of her father, Nigeriaas first professor of statistics, in 2020, the second shock of her motheras death months later in 2021. Iad heard her on BBC Radio 4as Womanas Hour in 2023 discussing how motherhood is a glorious gift that comes at a cost: aI could probably have written two novels had I not had my child.a Nowhere had I heard that shead had twins.

aYouave met my babies,a Adichie laughs when she appears in a vibrant orange dress. She sits to remove the hair extensions she has worn for the shoot. aI want to protect my children. Iam OK with having them mentioned, but I donat want the piece to become about them.a Later, she tells me that for a long time people didnat know she had a husband, either a she married Ivara Esege, a hospital physician, in 2009. aSo, hereas the thing, Nigerians are a| a Nosy? aThey want to know about your personal life. Because of that, I am resistant. I very rarely talk about it.a

Exquisitely awful guests and drama itas impossible to look away from: it can only be the third, Thailand-based season of Mike Whiteas luxury resort drama. Bring on the memes!

Sure, The White Lotus is an acclaimed drama, eagerly anticipated after more than two years away from our screens, but it is also a solid and reliable meme factory. From the second seasonas banger of a theme tune, to every line Jennifer Coolidgeas character deigned to speak, when The White Lotus is in season, the internet transforms into its fan account. For such a rich and well-crafted satire on bored elites and their casual cruelty, it really does translate well to screenshots and parodies. These memes, theyare trying to murder me!

In an age of fragmented attention spans, then, The White Lotus is that rare cultural phenomenon that still feels like a collective activity. These days, only a handful of shows would warrant mass speculation about how a season is going to end, and The White Lotus has become one of them. Inevitably, it returns for a third series under the heavy weight of expectation. Can it survive the loss of Coolidgeas Tanya, killed off with operatic gusto at the end of season two? Can it survive a new theme tune? Thankfully, the answers are yes and yes. It has had a few minor tweakments but the work is subtle, and it basically passes as its former youthful self.

Whose tortelloni are pillows of pasta perfection, and whose taste like postage stamps? Our quick-cook columnist has the answers a|

aC/ The best food processors and mixers a chosen by chefs

Shop-bought ravioli and tortelloni are staples in my kitchen a Iave even been known (with some chutzpah) to serve bowls of the stuff to friends, including well-known food writers, albeit improved with brown butter, crisp sage and hazelnuts, or in my signature ravioli lasagne.

In an ideal packet, Iam looking for a well-seasoned filling, nice and light from the ricotta, and not too processed or stodgy in texture. Similarly, the pasta shouldnat taste plasticky; the closer it is to homemade, the better.

The actor on making mistakes in the public eye, finding happiness in a lido, and his famous footballer crush

Born in London, Douglas Booth, 32, was cast in the film From Time to Time at 16. In 2010, he played Boy George in the television film Worried About the Boy and the following year he was Pip in a BBC adaptation of Great Expectations. In 2013, he starred as Romeo in Carlo Carleias version of Shakespeareas Romeo and Juliet; his other films include Noah, The Riot Club, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Mary Shelley, Shoshana and Iave Never Wanted Anyone More, which is now available on digital platforms. He is married to the actor Bel Powley and lives in London.

When were you happiest?
Whenever Iam swimming in the lido at London Fields.

Linda Geddes spends a week with a clown, a comic and some toddlers to test the science behind the uplifting power of play

If foreign politics, environmental collapse and the impending takeover of the world by machines are leaving you glum, psychologists have identified a strategy that could help bolster your resilience: alemonadinga.

Rather than wallowing in an acerbic soup of despair, researchers have discovered that people with high levels of playfulness may be better equipped to cope with the dud cards life throws at them.

Three months after club predicted an annual profit of up to APS160m, more job losses are pending to tackle financial crisis

When Sir Jim Ratcliffeas minority investment in Manchester United was announced on 24 December 2023, many fans thought it an early Christmas present. Presented as a locally born lad and lifelong fan, he was a multibillionaire and was putting some of his hard-earned (but not hard-taxed) money into the club.

Ratcliffeas investment gave him control of the football operation and in the mind of many fans the post-Ferguson slump in major trophies was coming to an end. Enterprising Mancunians started selling Muga (Make United Great Again) baseball caps, the club defeated Manchester City in the FA�Cup final and the good times were about to roll again a| until they didnat.

PSG forward is among the worldas best players right now after years of being unfairly weighed down by narrative

A few years ago a British newspaper published a thousand-word article about Ousmane DembA(c)lA(c) not going to a notorious Spanish sex club.

The article featured 14 photos of the notorious sex club DembA(c)lA(c) had never been to, including one of a frightening sex-crucifix DembA(c)lA(c) had never been lashed to, and another of a Spiderman-style sex-net DembA(c)lA(c) would never find himself contorted around in the grip of tearful public ecstasy. There was even a greasy close-up of the sex-doorbell DembA(c)lA(c) would never furtively press, go anywhere near, or be aware of existing.

As a sports journalist, I learned more about these players in a couple of episodes than years of press conferences

Things are a little different around Englandas training base at Pennyhill Park this year. Itas not just that they have a new captain or a couple of uncapped players, itas that you have to go way back to 2009 to find the last time that one, the other, or, more often than not, both of Ben Youngs and Dan Cole werenat with the squad.

The Leicester pair have been ever-present through the best and worst of the past 15 years of English rugby, until Youngs, 35, retired from Test rugby after the last World Cup. His great mate Cole, 37, went on one more year, until the head coach, Steve Borthwick, finally decided to leave him out of the squad this spring. Cole hasnat officially announced his own international retirement but only because, he says drily, that ait would feel like locking the stable door after the horse has already bolteda.

The former World Cup-winning captain says aI do care about England a itas in my blooda, after a torrid Ashes down under

aOne thing I do know, I canat take on any more teams!a Charlotte Edwards has her coaching hands more than brimming as head coach of Mumbai Indians, Sydney Sixers, Southern Brave and Hampshire (formerly Southern Vipers). If she wasnat busy enough a aPeople think I must be mad, but I want to make a difference whilst Iave still got the energya a the former England captain has also just launched a foundation in her own name that seeks to help female cricketers in aunder-served communitiesa.

After 30 minutes of discussion about the state of the womenas game at home and abroad and her thoughts on that disastrous Ashes campaign we get round to the elephant on the phoneline. Edwards chooses her words carefully, conscious that the Australian dirt is still spattered with Englandas blood and the dust of the fallout far from settled.

After an England Under-23s call-up the Leicester striker is on the rise a and happy she chose football over badminton

A former county champion in badminton who also played cricket in the Worcestershire county schools team, Missy Goodwin always seemed destined for a sporting career, one way or another, it was just a question of in which sport.

After her latest inclusion in the England Under-23s squad that will face Germany and France this month, she is certainly glad she chose football. After her winning goal for Leicester against Liverpool in the Womenas Super League, her club unquestionably are too.

The UK is now a secular nation and the Church of England should no longer be one of the central pillars of state

The national church aof Englanda has been meeting this week in London and is in turmoil. Does it matter, other than to the 1.7% of the population of England who still worship under its roofs? Since the Church of England continues with an aestablisheda role in the life of the nation, the answer is yes.

The argument within the C of E over safeguarding seems endless. It has brought the downfall of one archbishop and is vexing his successor. The church is divided over how to police abuse in future, whether through an independent agency or through internal discipline. This in turn reflects whether it sees itself as a dignified institution of state or just another religious sect.

Simon Jenkins is a Guardian columnist

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

I lost my own husband at a young age. Itas rare (and v.g.) to see a heroine trying to live joyfully despite her grief

Bridget Jones is back and once again blazing a new path, this time as a widow. In Mad About the Boy, our eternally chaotic but lovable everywoman is navigating single parenthood, dating apps and grief. But unlike most widows in romcoms, sheas not here to wither away in a beige cardigan, politely mourning until society deems it acceptable for her to love again. Instead, sheas in bed with a 29-year-old park ranger named Roxster, proving that healing doesnat have to be quiet reflection a it can also look like great sex with a younger man.

This is where Bridget breaks the mould. In most romantic comedies, womenas grief is pitched as a problem to be solved. We must undergo a period of deep self-reflection before we are allowed back into the world of desire. We must heal, learn and then a maybe a we can be kissed under some twinkly lights at the end of the movie. Hilary Swankas character in P.S. I Love You waits for divine permission from her dead husbandas letters before even thinking about dating again, whereas poor Demi Moore in Ghost is emotionally tied to Patrick Swayze for ever, choosing to simulate foreplay with a memory over intimacy with the living.

Hit drama The Years has seen audience members fainting hysterically. Perhaps if we dispensed with the red flags, people would enjoy this fine play more

If your Valentine disappointed you this weekend, spare a thought for the protagonist of The Years, the explosive West End play based on the writings of the French novelist and Nobel laureate Annie Ernaux. A teenager is thrilled to discover she has attracted the temporary attention of an older man at summer camp. After he painfully takes her virginity, she gradually realises that he has told half the resort. She finds the word awhorea scribbled across her bathroom mirror. Still she yearns for the validation of his returning desire.

The play takes as its subject the full range of life experiences contingent on embodied womanhood. Like the Ernaux memoir from which it draws its name, its heroine tells her story in the plural awea and speaks for a generation of war-born French women. To the frustration of its artists, however, one of those experiences has captured all the headlines.

As the US rips up its rules-based order and threatens sovereign nations, this is the time to make allies. Reparations might help

Imagine this: a continent scarred by centuries of violence and exploitation, now standing united to demand justice. This weekend, the African Union (AU) is kicking off its annual summit with a bold, historic declaration: 2025 will be the year of Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations. This marks the first time in its history that the AU has placed reparations front and centre.

At first, you might wonder: is this really the right moment? Former colonial powers have shown little interest in addressing their past, and global leaders like the US president, Donald Trump, are actively dismantling international institutions. But maybe this is exactly the right moment for Africa to demand accountability, and for Europeas democracies to finally offer a meaningful response. As the world grapples with shifting power dynamics, Africaas call for justice is more urgent than ever.

Exclusive: Barristers at Doughty Street Chambers say they have been subject to surveillance, hacking and rape threats

UK-based lawyers have spoken out about being targeted by the Chinese state and its supporters in a campaign of intimidation including surveillance, hacking of bank accounts and rape threats.

The barristers, from Doughty Street Chambers in London, say there has been a coordinated and concerted campaign against them since they began acting for the jailed Hong Kong pro-democracy activist and media mogul, Jimmy Lai, three years ago.

Attorney general declines to refer Axel Rudakubanaas 52-year minimum sentence to unduly lenient sentence scheme

The sentence of the Southport killer will not be referred to the court of appeal under the unduly lenient sentence scheme, the attorney general has said.

Axel Rudakubana, 18, was handed a 52-year minimum sentence for murdering three girls at a dance class, the second-longest sentence imposed by the courts in English history, but the Southport MP Patrick Hurley previously asked the attorney general to review the sentence as aunduly lenienta, saying it is anot severe enougha.

New data reveals a huge rise in complaints, especially at British Gas, putting stress on consumers

Britainas big energy providers have paid more than APS20m in compensation to customers for billing mistakes over the past five years, analysis by Guardian Money has found, with British Gas paying out more than a fifth of the�total.

We analysed cases handled by the Energy Ombudsman, the service which steps in if a customer and energy company are unable to resolve a complaint within eight weeks of it being made.

Trump had said defense bureau was high on list of worldas richest manas federal budget and personnel slashing team

Members of Elon Muskas adepartment of government efficiencya arrived at the Pentagon Friday, in what appeared to be their first meeting with defense department staff, a US official told Reuters. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.

Donald Trump has said the Pentagon would be an early target of Muskas government budget and personnel slashing team and that he expects the tech billionaire to find hundreds of billions of dollars in fraud and abuse in the department.

Rebels make rapid advance into capital of South Kivu province, less than a month after taking Goma

Rebels from the Rwandan-backed M23 group have entered Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, after a rapid advance south in recent days.

M23 fighters entered the cityas Kazingu and Bagira zone and late on Friday were advancing towards the centre of the city of about 1 million people. Gunfire rang out but the rebel forces encountered little resistance. Shops and businesses had long closed and frightened civilians fled.

Ugly events occur on the beautiful isle of Harris in An t-Eilean. Plus: Brian Cox and Christina Hendricks chat to Jonathan Ross. Hereas what to watch this evening

9pm, BBC Four

At 83, The Accidental Tourist author discusses the secret to a good marriage, publishing her 25th book and why she can no longer keep politics out of her novels

aIam ashamed,a Anne Tyler says of the publication of her new novel, Three Days in June, a typically Tyleresque offakilter romantic comedy about a long-divorced, mismatched couple. aI�didnat even realise I was up to 25. If you look at a writeras work and you see that many titles you think, aWell, it canat be very serious work.a But thatas what happened.a

The seriousness of Tyleras fiction, which includes much-loved novels Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, The Accidental Tourist and the Pulitzer prize-winning Breathing Lessons, has bothered critics for decades. How could a writer of such witty, warm, kind novels about middle-class families that contain very little historical context, no politics or sex, even, really be one of Americaas finest living novelists, as so many have claimed? Not to mention her prodigiousness. The author herself couldnat give two hoots. Unswayed by literary fashion or criticism, she has been writing the novels that interest her, and her devoted readership, for 60 years. aHow we handle day-to-day life as we go through it, with its disappointments and its pleasures, thatas all I want to know,a she says.

Trend to fix or buy consoles such as Game Gear or Nintendo 64s may reflect a desire for internet-free fun

Nestled between an original Donkey Kong arcade machine, a mint condition OutRun racing simulation game and booths wired up with GameCubes and Nintendo 64s, the engineer Luke Malpass works away dismantling a broken Nintendo Wii.

There has been a steady stream of people bringing in their old game consoles for repairs or modifications, on the house, to Four Quarters, a retro games arcade in Elephant and Castle, which has been transformed into a games clinic for two days.

John Hughes set the formula for many films and TV shows in his wake with his uneven 1985 high school-set comedy

It is the burden of all art wielding sufficiently vast influence that its revelatory power will be dampened by the many imitators following in its wake; if the 1971 proto-slasher A Bay of Blood now seems to be packed with cabin-in-the-woods cliches, thatas only because it coined so many of them. In the case of John Hughesa ur-teen-flick The Breakfast Club, still bratty four decades after its zeitgeist-capturing theatrical run, its headlining truth that teenagers possess depth beyond their broad archetypes has since been re-realized ad nauseam by generations of on-screen adolescents. (Smaller, ancillary truths, such as the binding potential of cannabis to bridge inter-clique divides, are where the film really shines.) Of recent vintage, high school crowd-pleasers Booksmart and Bottoms both learned the hard way that the pretty, popular girls descended from Molly Ringwaldas princess in pink Claire face private challenges belied by their put-together exterior. Arguably, grasping that other people exist just as much as you do is the defining milestone of the puberty years, but it still behooves a present-day viewer of Hughesa film to remind themselves that he first broke ground on what has come to seem matter-of-fact.

Hughesa unvarnished take on youth culture, replete with joints and F-bombs, arrived in 1985 to fill a vacuum of movies about young people in which they could see lifelike facsimiles of themselves. To one side, they had the risible attempts from much-mocked after-school specials to address Big Issues, and to the other, the cartoonish raunch of Porkyas and its hairy-palmed ilk. Following through logically on the anti-nostalgic purview of Hughesa tenure at National Lampoon, where he punctured Rockwellas wholesome Americana to find a waking hell in the ritual of family vacation, The Breakfast Club dared to admit that everything sucks. (In this stance, it announces itself as one of the earliest gen X touchstones.) And while that sentimentas accuracy hasnat been diminished by time a teens have no money, they live with their parents, their sense of self is a whirling cyclone of chaos a its articulation has.

Treacle tart is one of lifeas great pleasures, and it makes clever use of stale bread, too

Treacle tart is a great way to turn a bread crust into a treat. I made mine with a crust each of Danish rye and wholemeal spelt sourdough, and it was incredibly rich and flavourful.

Treacle tart
Put 200g plain flour and 100g chilled, diced salted butter in a large bowl, then rub with your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs. Stir in 50g sugar (I used soft brown), then mix in a beaten egg and knead lightly until the pastry comes together (add a splash of cold water to help, if necessary). Put the dough in a tub, cover and chill for about half an hour.

A little man wearing a tape measure round his neck appears out of nowhere, or perhaps from the distant past a|

There was a story I told a couple of months ago about my oldest son requesting a suit for his 30th birthday. The day before his birthday, my wife and I met him at the mall, where he tried on jacket after jacket. Sometimes, after he had rejected a jacket but before it went back on the hanger, I�would try it on myself, thinking: I�could also do with a new suit.

After several trips to the changing rooms, we were poised to buy him a�dark blue suit, when a little man wearing a tape measure round his neck appeared from nowhere, or out of�the distant past.

From Finnegans Wake to Satyendra Nath Bose, test your knowledge with the Saturday quiz

1 Who was the younger son of Richard IV and Gertrude of Flanders?
2 What is the UKas largest zoo?
3 Which border is marked by a 6m-wide clearing called the Slash?
4 Winning aged 13, who is Britainas youngest Olympic medallist?
5 What was last held on the Thames in 1814?
6 Which bird can beat its wings 200 times a second?
7 The M8 motorway links which two cities?
8 Which Daily Express columnist was dubbed the afirst lady of Fleet Streeta?
What links:
9 FeS2 and a Shakespearean warning to the Prince of Morocco?
10 Sarah Bernhardt; Indiana Jones; Freddy Krueger; Tom Landry?
11 Creation; Detroit Industry; Man at the Crossroads; The History of Mexico?
12 22nd and 24th; 45th and 47th?
13 Blue; harvest; hunteras; long night; super; wolf?
14 American Sniper; Kismet; Green Zone; The Hurt Locker; Three Kings?
15 Electric; Finnegans Wake; first; heavy; neutral; Satyendra Nath Bose?

A major new exhibition at the National Gallery puts the spotlight on the Tuscan townas artistic heritage. But nothing beats exploring its historic neighbourhoods on foot

This warren of narrow streets, some so tight that only the noon sunshine penetrates all the way down to the cobbles, is part gothic, part romanesque, and all beautiful. Itas�blessed with an embarrassment of architectural riches and wrapped up in�wonderfully preserved medieval walls that hug the city tightly, an enchantingly compact tangle of sandstone and terracotta perched on a�hill overlooking a quintessentially Tuscan landscape of olive groves and vineyards and winding gravel roads. In any other corner of the world, Siena would be the only show in town.

Around here though, there are several noisy neighbours. And none makes more of a racket than Florence, 50 miles north, famously the birthplace of the Renaissance and home of the Medici, Michelangelo, Giotto and Leonardo da Vinci. These days, itas also famous for tourist tuk-tuks and newspaper stories about a!25 ice-creams, as overtourism slowly erodes the cityas appeal. Which is why itas better to avoid the roped-off processions of the Uffizi and choose Siena for an art loversa city break instead. (And for anyone who canat make it to Chianti, the National Gallery in London will begin an extensive exhibition, Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300-1350, in March. It will showcase the cityas importance to European art and its vital role as a catalyst of change.)

Caistor St Edmund, Norfolk: Muntjac deer mate all year round, so itas quite possible. I take to the oak throne that we have on the farm, and scan the view

Itas a bright morning with a light frost sparkling on the meadow. The traffic noise from the nearby dual carriageway is louder than normal, oppressive in this rural scene. There are lots of deer prints here, the two toes making that characteristic heart shape. Roe deer and muntjac intermingled, making neat little paths, deer motorways, tracking through the field.

My daughter says she saw a fawn grazing here yesterday and, at first, I thought she must be mistaken a itas far too early a until I remembered that muntjacs give birth�all year round. And so I take to the large throne of a seat that we�have here, hewn by my Dad out�of a massive piece of oak. I�climb up and perch on it, feeling small in its expanse.

Marina Hyde on Keir Starmeras palid imitation of Trumpism. The sole survivor of a landslide describes the pain, the fear and the long, winding path of recovery. After Kendrick Lamar lands another savage blow at the Super Bowl, a crisis expert advises on how Drake can return to relevance. And, aI feel happier and healthier when not around my mothera a Philippa Perry advises one reader

Indian photographer Sayan Bose celebrates the cultural heritage of Bengal in this striking image of a young farmer

Sayan Bose had travelled two hours from his home in Kolkata, India, for a day of documentary photography in Sangrampur, West Bengal. aI was roaming around the village, capturing the local peopleas lifestyle, asking about their daily lives and jobs and struggles,a Bose says. aI got talking to a 17-year-old called Ariful Alam. He was a�farmer at a large sunflower garden. He was youthful and fun-loving, and agreed to pose in the field for me.a

Alam wears a Chou, or Chhau, mask. aThey hold a significant place in Bengalas rich cultural heritage,a Bose says. aTheyare used in a�traditional folk dance, the Purulia Chhau, which narrates mythologies and folklores, and also as decorative pieces. I�chose to use the mask that depicts a character named Mahisha, from Mahishasura Mardini, a�21-verse stotra from Hindu mythology.a

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