My dance instructor has students as old as 90, so he shouldn’t be fazed by a hunched 46-year-old with no rhythm and keyboard-gnarled claws for handsI know it’s Strictly season, because I see it when I look into other people’s houses, my chilly face pre…
‘There was always an excuse to take a drink’: Succession’s Alan Ruck on Ferris Bueller, booze and bouncing back
After a decades-long slump, the actor’s career came roaring back with the role of Connor Roy. He talks about his 80s success, his ‘attitude problems’ and his excitement about Succession’s new seriesAlan Ruck is talking to me by video about the present,…
Teen leaving the nest? Give them a taste of home with these recipes
Ease your child’s start at university with tasty low-budget recipes that are easy to makeLast week, I experienced something I’d been dreading since my daughters came into the world: my first-born leaving home for the first time. I’ve experienced such a…
Readers reply: why haven’t we invented a way to record and play back smells?
The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical conceptsI imagine that a couple of hundred years ago the idea of recording and playing b…
Welcome to my micro museum
Whether it’s a love of lawnmowers or mustard pots, these enthusiasts have turned niche hobbies into full-time obsessions. Michael Segalov has a wander around six unusual collectionsThe British gardening machine industry was the biggest and best in the …
The love spy: how I became a relationship detective
As a teen, Daniella Isaacs sneaked a peek at her mother’s private journal – and was surprised at what she read. The discovery sent her on a life-long journey questioning the meaning of trust, desire and, ultimately, loveI discovered my mum’s diary in h…
Sometimes I’m not sure what planet my young son is on
He’s mastered the solar system. Now my toddler just needs to work out where Ireland is‘MERKERY!’ my son shouted, sticking his hands in the air for emphasis. ‘Well done!’ cried his teacher with polite surprise, as I’d just asked him to tell her which pl…
Don’t feel guilty about the divorce, Adele. And the songs might help | Sophie Heawood
Lyrics on her new album explain the end of her marriage. She wonders how her son will react to hearing themDivorced parents across the country felt a guilty pang of recognition last week as Adele broke five years of silence to talk to Vogue about her n…
From fringe to mainstream: how millions got a taste for going vegan
First, it was a fad. Now, as meat consumption falls, it’s part of everyday life … the unstoppable rise of the plant-based dietIt says something about the gathering momentum of veganism that last week it breached not one but two bastions of British culi…
The apple falls not far from the tree
My daughter and I bond over her nearby gardenEvery year, Kala’s nasturtiums invade her neighbours’ gardens. Every year, we sow more. It’s not as if we don’t know they will self-seed for eternity. It’s an addiction I fear I have passed on to my daughter…