It’s a warm morning, the sky is cloudless and the marshes of the Hoo Peninsula, 25 miles downriver from London, are thick with daises and red clover. In the churchyard of St Mary’s in the village of Lower Higham there is a scent of cut grass. The whole scene, in other words, is distinctly un-Dickensian.…
Good morning. Yesterday led into a long night for newspaper peopleand all those who bird-dog the mood of the nation and the actions of its electorate. Today, pundits will try to tell us what happened and why it matters or doesn’t. Wherever you stand on the political spectrum, it may leave you more exhausted still.…
We were finalizing our travel plans for Thanksgiving, which we spend with my family in Vermont. Our 13-year-old son, who usually loves going, was hesitant about the trip this year, but he wouldn’t say why. So, we asked his older sister to investigate; they’re close. She told us his reluctance has to do with a…
WASHINGTON — Voters in Idaho, Nebraska and Utah on Tuesday were on track to approve what their Republican-led legislatures repeatedly would not: free or low-cost health coverage for most poor adults through an expansion of their Medicaid programs. The three deep-red states are now poised to join 33 others that have already expanded Medicaid, an…
According to new evidence, anthocyanin — a pigment present in a variety of fruits and vegetables — could help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease when ingested in high quantities. A plant pigment may help keep cardiovascular problems at bay, find the authors of a recent systematic review. Cardiovascular diseases affect the well-being of many…
It’s not enough to find a good guy, you need to somehow carry the romance, respect, passion and other pleasant attributes of the candy-bouquet period into a serious relationship. The first stage is the easiest and the most important, because it sets the tone for your entire life together. We are talking about the basic…
In the city center, just a 15-minute walk from the cobblestone alleys of the Old City of Jerusalem, trendy restaurants and boutiques — even coffee bars that double as late-night performance venues — have blossomed. Their youthful, often tattooed clientele offer a curious juxtaposition to the religious pilgrims roaming the Holy City. A growing tech…
If I may borrow a phrase: Winter is coming. And with that comes holidays, family gatherings and vacation time. Ski vacations are certainly popular during the winter months, but they’re not always easy to plan. Furthermore, prepping for a ski getaway can vary wildly, depending on whether you’re a single professional or a couple with…
For many of us, the shorter, chillier days of autumn can dampen our enthusiasm for exercise. But a new study suggests that some simple techniques might shore up our commitment to being physically active as the seasons change, and one of them, surprisingly, is to learn to meditate. Among exercise scientists and enthusiasts, November is…
Throughout my time working in restaurants, I developed an illogical dread of some basic kitchen tasks. None of them — picking and chopping parsley, peeling and mincing garlic, browning pans of ground meat — were particularly difficult. But at the scale required in a professional kitchen, they felt Sisyphean. And even though it has been…