I fell hard for life in the Vosges in France. But when it got dark I couldn’t helped being spooked by every rustle, bark and footstep I heard. Then a night drinking outside changed everythingEighteen-and-a-bit years ago, pushing 40, tired of England an…
An electric Faust outfit and a pair of kinky boots in V&A’s ‘major refresh’
Most items in the museum’s new theatre and performing arts galleries going on display for the first timeA fabulous red dress and thigh-high leather boots worn by Lola the drag queen in the musical Kinky Boots are to go on display near to what many woul…
Work your muscles and rethink your diet: how fitness can help you through the menopause
From the right way to exercise, to what to eat and drink and the case for HRT, experts explain how women can prepare for midlife changes to their bodiesSometimes your body notices things before your mind does: you might think you’re so far away from th…
My children have had their first taste of competitive sport – and they love it | Emma Brockes
At school in New York, any whiff of competition is firmly avoided. Not so at my six-year-olds’ summer tennis campThere’s a game I play with my children that we never tire of, in which I share details – outlandish, unimaginable – of how things were in t…
Ikea Symfonisk picture frame review: Sonos wifi speaker hidden by art
Latest collaboration puts great sound behind fabric art panel that can be hung or leant against a wallThe latest device from Ikea’s novel partnership with the wifi-speaker maker Sonos is a bit different: a speaker hidden in a picture frame.The Symfonis…
Depression is why I’m writing this. Shame is why I’m writing it under a pseudonym
My Asian parents, like many, did not understand my depression or anxiety. Today, talking about how it affected me openly is still treacherous terrainI can’t recall exactly when we started referring to them as my vitamins. Looking back, it feels as if I…
Emma Beddington tries … fell running: ‘It’s like dragging bags of cement uphill – only the bags are my legs’
A run on Ilkley Moor promises panoramic views. But what about the bogs and boulders en route – and my terrifying lack of fitness?My favourite part of childhood summer holidays with my dad was our trip to the Yorkshire Dales agricultural show, a respite…
Hot summer nights: ‘On the phosphorescent sea, I realised I was just a tiny part of something bigger’
A sailing holiday with my dad and his mate didn’t sound too promising. But when I took the tiller in the middle of the night, I had a teenage epiphanyMy dad had a pal called George who had a boat. It was a sailing boat but not a very big one – 25ft lon…
‘It felt like political persecution’: Labour’s Apsana Begum on the trauma of her criminal trial
The MP was cleared last month of housing fraud. Finally able to speak about her ordeal, she opens up about her controlling ex-husband, the family that disowned her and her political futureWhen Apsana Begum found out she had been acquitted of housing fr…
‘We love everybody’: the French drag couple making non-traditional wedding dresses
James and ViviAnn Du Fermoir-de-Monsac want to create an atmosphere where those who don’t fit the vision of an ideal bride feel comfortableOn the third floor of a typical Alsatian building in Strasbourg, a door opens on to a bright atelier, dotted with…