
The scene at the food bank, recalls the director, where Katie is so hungry, she pours baked beans into her hand from a tin and eats them cold, came from a real story
In 2016, we were – as we continue to be – in a time of mean-spiritedness. If you were vulnerable or needed support, you were met with punishment, and there was a constant vilifying of people who needed help. I, Daniel Blake was based on that. It’s very much a film about the cruelty of the system that says: “Poverty is the fault of the poor. You’re not striving enough. You’re not doing enough job interviews.” Dave Johns’ character, Daniel Blake, shows us this. He needs to work, he wants to work, but the system makes it hard for people not to be tripped up.
Continue reading...The raspberry danish latte is making its way around the world after its inventors decided to share the recipe
A viral coffee drink created by a little college town coffee shop on the outskirts of Minneapolis is now making its way around the world after its inventors decided to give the recipe away for free.
After Little Joy Coffee’s raspberry danish latte, a spring seasonal drink, went viral in March, the shop’s owners decided to encourage coffee shops to rip off the recipe directly and add it to their menus.
Continue reading...Hungary’s return to democracy will be hard. But the impact of Péter Magyar’s decisive victory could be profound, inside the country and beyond
Continue reading...The latest in our ongoing series of writers highlighting their go-to comfort watches is a journey back to 2004 and the unusually violent village of Sandford
With the endless library of films we all have at our fingertips, in our DVD collections and on whatever the cloud is, finding your top feelgood movie can be a deceptively hard task. Though it seems obvious now, mine was so familiar to me that somehow it managed to hide in plain sight. Eventually, I had to ask my partner what she thought my comfort movie was. She answered decisively: Hot Fuzz. And she’s absolutely right. How could it not be?
Hot Fuzz is Edgar Wright’s second entry in his Cornetto trilogy, preceded by the cult classic Shaun of the Dead and followed by pub crawl alien invasion adventure The World’s End. I’m not convinced Hot Fuzz is Wright’s best film – it’s not even my favourite. But as far as feelgood movies go, it’s unbeatable.
Continue reading...Every time I successfully place a piece, I get a little rush and a sense of achievement. How could I have thought puzzles were only for children?
Until last year, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d done a jigsaw puzzle. It must have been at least 20 years ago. As far as I was concerned, puzzles were for children. There were always other more exciting, interesting and productive things to do – or so I thought.
While rummaging around at home on a rainy autumn afternoon, however, I stumbled upon a jigsaw puzzle that had been lying untouched since my husband and I were given it a few years ago. I’m not sure what came over me – perhaps it was because my husband was watching a film that didn’t particularly interest me – but I decided to give it a go. I was immediately hooked.
Continue reading...For its inaugural show, the V&A’s east London outpost is celebrating 125 years of Black music-making in Britain. We asked top performers to pick their favourite exhibit
Goldie: Kemistry and Storm (The Diptych) by Eddie Otchere (1995)
Continue reading...Official report says system ‘completely failed’ because some form of violence by Axel Rudakubana had been ‘unambiguously signposted over many years’
Axel Rudakubana was able to carry out the Southport atrocity because of “catastrophic” failures by multiple agencies and the “irresponsible and harmful” role of his parents, a damning inquiry has found.
Sir Adrian Fulford condemned the “inappropriate merry-go-round” of state bodies passing the buck and their “frankly depressing” refusal to accept responsibility, saying: “This culture has to end.”
Continue reading...US president claims 158 ships in Iranian navy ‘obliterated’ and threatens further action if vessels come close to blockade in strait of Hormuz
Circling back to Donald Trump’s coming naval blockade, the US military said it would block all Iranian Gulf ports on Monday at 10am ET on Monday (5.30pm in Iran and 1400 GMT), effectively seizing control of maritime traffic in the strait of Hormuz.
“The blockade will be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman,” US Central Command said on X.
This is like a game of chicken. It’s who caves first. The Iranian regime is hoping that Trump will cave. Today, he showed he’s not.”
Continue reading...PM rejects claim plan is integration with EU ‘by stealth’, saying changes will happen only if parliament passes law
Keir Starmer has defended plans for the UK to align more closely with some EU rules without parliamentary votes, saying a closer relationship with Europe “is in the UK’s best interest”, particularly given the international turmoil over the Iran war.
Speaking to the BBC after the Guardian revealed that ministers were planning to use so-called Henry VIII powers to dynamically align with EU rules by default, Starmer argued that, nearly 10 years after the Brexit referendum, it was time to “look forward”.
Continue reading...Incident took place on first day back at school in small village, as settlers blocked pupils’ access
Israeli forces have fired teargas at Palestinian schoolchildren who were staging a sit-in in the occupied West Bank after settlers blocked access to their school.
The Israeli military said it had dispersed an “unusual gathering”, but did not specify whether its troops had fired teargas at the children on the first day of class since the start of the Iran war.
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