‘Joy and laughter’: the Leicester rugby team for children with Down’s syndrome
A rugby team set up for young people with Down’s syndrome has been described as a “lifeline” by parents who say there is a chronic lack of opportunities for their children. Leicester Tigers launched the team in October last year…
Baillie Gifford will no longer sponsor Borders and Cheltenham literature festivals
Cheltenham literature festival and the Borders book festival have become the latest to announce that they will no longer be working with the investment management firm Baillie Gifford. The company had previously sponsored eight literary festivals and the UK’s most…
Sid Going obituary
Sid Going, who has died aged 80, won 29 Test caps as a rugby union scrum-half for the All Blacks between 1967 and 1977, and made 86 appearances in all for New Zealand, captaining them five times. A taciturn man,…
The Acolyte review – Star Wars gets a thrilling new hero
When you are trying to craft compelling new stories within a well-established fantasy franchise, it can help to ditch the baggage and put some clear water between your baby and the existing mythos. Game of Thrones prequel House of the…
Lizzie Deignan faces rival Kopecky in reborn women’s Tour of Britain
Ninety riders from 15 teams will roll out of Welshpool on Thursday morning as the resurrected and newly renamed Tour of Britain Women gets under way in mid-Wales. The four-day event is one of the key build-up races before the…
Gene therapy trial gives deaf children hearing in both ears
Five children who were born deaf now have hearing in both ears after taking part in an “astounding” gene therapy trial that raises hopes for further treatments. The children were unable to hear because of inherited genetic mutations that disrupt…
This month’s best paperbacks: Zadie Smith, Matthew Perry and more
Age of the City Ian Goldin and Tom Lee-Devlin How cities are shaping our world By 2050, it’s predicted that two thirds of the global population will live in cities, more than at any time in human history. According to…
The Captive Imagination by Elias Dakwar review – a window into addiction
When reading a book, I like to understand something about the person who wrote it. The Captive Imagination is rich in words yet strangely elusive in overall meaning, and feels as though it has been written by several different people, at…
Women perform better in cognitive tests when menstruating, study finds
Women make fewer mistakes and have better mental agility while on their period despite feeling worse than at any other time during their menstrual cycle, research suggests. The research, conducted by the UCL Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health (ISEH),…
‘I could bench-press 100kg. Now, I can’t walk’: Lucy’s life with long Covid
‘I was incredibly strong and fit,” says Lucy Keighley. And she looks it, in the photo she is showing me, taken a few years ago. She is with her best friend, Lorna; they have just completed a 15-mile race on…