Life & Style news

• Wild brass bands festival kicks off in Serbia

  13-08-2017 22:18
  GUCA, Serbia (Reuters) - The 57h Guca Brass Band Festival, Serbia's liveliest traditional music event, has attracted tens of thousands of people crowding the streets and savoring the trumpet beat.
  
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• Beware the avocado mafia in Mexico | Letters

  13-08-2017 20:07
  The only people who gain are those who market the avocados abroad, and the political organisations associated with them, says Charles PosnerYour article (Taco alarm bells ring as avocados go out of reach for Mexicans, 7 August) misses the point about what is the nature of the problem and who is responsible. A farm in the west of Mexico that I owned until a few years ago simply could not get its product on the market because the commercialisation is controlled by mafias, including local political
  
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• Egyptian artist creates portraits out of burnt tobacco

  13-08-2017 18:05
  ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (Reuters) - In a small studio littered with empty cigarette packets in Egypt's second city, Alexandria, Abdelrahman al-Habrouk sits hunched over a sheet of paper making portraits...
  
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• Beyond the storage locker:self-storage facilities expand, bring in new perks

  13-08-2017 17:01 via winnipegfreepress.com
  TORONTO - Boardrooms, a wine-storage centre, an on-site sommelier, a lounge — those are just some of the perks an Ottawa-based company is promising as it builds a massive self-storage ......
  
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• Want to get ahead at work? Sit next to the office swot

  13-08-2017 17:00
  Researchers have shown that sitting next to the most productive people, or those who do the best work, can improve how you do your job. Unfortunately, ‘toxic’ colleagues are just as influential …Name: The office swot.Appearance: Busy. Continue reading...
  
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• Practical to spectacle: how Britain's appetite for cooking shows is changing

  13-08-2017 13:53
  As Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain returns to screens, Emine Saner looks at how food programmes have fared over the yearsThe main ingredient in the BBC’s new cooking competition show seems to be hugs. And the main giver and receiver of those hugs is Nadiya Hussain. At one point Zoe Ball, Hussain’s co-presenter in The Big Family Cooking Showdown, puts an arm around her; Hussain hugs the contestants, they squeeze her back. After winning The Great British Bake Off in 2015, Hussain’
  
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• Why I run by Malcolm Gladwell, Denise Lewis, Sadiq Khan and more

  13-08-2017 13:00
  Former political strategist Alastair Campbell says he gets his best ideas while running, DJ Charlie Dark uses it to bring communities together and chef Michel Roux Jr says it helps him deal with stressWe asked celebrity runners how they got into the sport, where and how they do it, and if they had any tips to pass along. Continue reading...
  
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• Tenerife's pop-up restaurants: tradition and taste – without the hype

  13-08-2017 13:00
  In sheds, gardens and fields in the north of the island, wine growers run makeshift guachinches, selling their own wine and excellent local foodIn the green, wine-growing areas of northern Tenerife, sharp-eyed visitors might spot makeshift restaurants in garages and courtyards. These unpretentious places are guachinches, originally outlets for small growers to sell their surplus wine. The atmosphere is convivial and relaxed. Oilcloths in vibrant colours cover the tables and they are traditional,
  
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• More than 80,000 hit Sydney streets for City2Surf fun run

  13-08-2017 10:39
  SYDNEY (Reuters) - More than 80,000 runners took part in Sydney's annual City2Surf race on Sunday, with 2016 champion Harry Summers defending his title in 42 minutes and 16 seconds, media reported.
  
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• The Hungry Empire: How Britain’s Quest for Food Shaped the Modern World by Lizzie Collingham - review

  13-08-2017 10:00
  A colourful history of how Britain’s diet drove the rise of its empire sidesteps many unpalatable truthsFood history narratives sell only in the tiniest quantities in the UK, so any publisher contemplating such a proposal needs to find a marketing angle, one that resonates with contemporary issues perhaps, or addresses our national psyche.In the cinema world, films such as Viceroy’s House, and Victoria & Abdul are testament to our enduring fascination with the British empire, the
  
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• Man down: why do so many suffer depression in silence?

  13-08-2017 09:00
  When Kevin Braddock hit rockbottom, he had every intention of killing himself. He recounts what happened next – and reveals why so few men ask for helpIt was a Monday when Robin Williams killed himself three years ago – Monday 11 August 2014. His death was shocking even if in hindsight it shouldn’t have been a surprise that the world’s funniest man might also be the most sorrowful, too – a person despairing to the point of ending it all.It’s a date I remember
  
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• The problem with sex and glitter

  13-08-2017 08:00
  From phone cases to vaginal pills, we know glitter can be harmful – so why do we love it so much?Last month a doctor was compelled to tell women not to put glitter pills inside their vaginas and once again I was reminded of Stephen Hawking’s prediction that humans are heading for extinction. 2017: the year Earth learned why we’re not allowed nice things. Passion Dust Intimacy Capsules are “small, sparkleised capsules that dissolve when inserted into the vagina and release
  
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• On my radar: Jazzy Jeff’s cultural highlights

  13-08-2017 08:00
  The DJ and producer on Jay-Z’s new album, the Philadelphia 76ers and the great taste of blue crabBorn in West Philadelphia, DJ Jazzy Jeff has been spinning records since he was 10. The skills he developed in his family’s basement soon became the basis for hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince. As well as winning DMC Championship and American Music awards, he was the first hip-hop artist (together with Will Smith) to win the first best rap performance Grammy for Parents Jus
  
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• Three top tips for happy houseplants

  13-08-2017 07:00
  Succulents and similar are amazingly ‘in’; here’s how to get yours Instagram-readyThough there are many glossy, beautifully arranged pictures of houseplants that take Instagram by storm, any horticulturist scrolling through has to reveal that many set-ups are clearly impossible. On Instagram there are photos of plants that would never be able to grow together, display ideas that are totally impractical, and even plastic replicas passed off as the real deal. I love how social me
  
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• Three cheers: a trio of English wines

  13-08-2017 07:00
  Delicious home-grown wines made from the Bacchus grapeNew Hall Bacchus, Essex 2016 (from £9.50, Newhall wines; Mr Wheeler Wine)English winemaking used to be a rather eccentric, eclectic pursuit. Certainly, the set of grape varieties farmers used were not the kind you’d really find elsewhere in the world. They were mostly hybrids or crossings that had been bred for hardiness and early ripening, chosen for their ability to withstand the English climate rather than their reputation for
  
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• The weekend I went on the road with Oprah Winfrey

  13-08-2017 07:00
  It’s the 2008 US election campaign and Obama’s scheduling director is navigating Oprah Winfrey and the future president through an Iowan ice stormThe 2008 US election campaign was very long. As Barack Obama’s director of scheduling, I had no breaks, no vacations. There were nights at my desk eating bad food and drinking cheap beer. And then there was Oprah.Just like on her TV show, she turns up exactly when you need her. She showed up for us with a public endorsement in Decembe
  
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• The Old House, Hull: ‘It could be great…’ – restaurant review

  13-08-2017 07:00
  One of Hull’s oldest buildings has been given a new lease of life – and with a few tweaks it could really be top notchThe Old House by Shoot the Bull, 5 Scale Lane, Hull HU1 1LA (01482 210 253). Meal for two, including drinks and service: £40-£100Chris Harrison knows how to do a lot of things. At the Old House pub, Hull’s oldest domestic building, he seems determined to do most of them. Perhaps this is driven by necessity. Hull may be the City of Culture, a place of
  
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• Second nature: five designers inspired by plants

  13-08-2017 07:00
  Harking back to the Victorian era, these designers are breathing new life into botanical illustration. By Emma LoveBotanical illustration isn’t anything new but it is becoming increasingly popular as part of a wider greenery trend. The current Tradescant’s Orchard: A Celebration of Botanical Art exhibition at the Garden Museum in London is showing watercolours by 50 artists and there’s a botany theme at next month’s London Design Fair. Meanwhile, photography duo Haarkon a
  
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• Nigel Slater’s prawns and mackerel recipes

  13-08-2017 07:00
  Seafood recipes should be simple and quick – it’s the best way to capture all the taste of the oceanI came home with fat, raw prawns to cook in their shells and two fine mackerel, stiff as boards, for the grill. The prawns went into a shallow pan on the hob, in butter into which I had crushed a couple of sticky cloves of black garlic and a handful of chopped dill, their shells shining as I spooned over the frothing butter. At the table, we cracked the shells open and pulled out the g
  
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• My husband has lost interest in sex – and blames the dogs

  13-08-2017 07:00
  A reader with a high sex drive wonders if her husband’s reasons not to have sex are just excusesThe dilemma My husband and I have been together for almost 10 years. Our sex drives were never quite on the same wavelength, but for the past four years he has had almost no interest in sex. He blames the dogs (he doesn’t like having sex when he can hear them), but I wonder if he is just less interested generally, coupled with high stress levels – he’s a worrier.Continue readin
  
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• How perfect are you? Personality quiz

  13-08-2017 07:00
  Answer four questions to find out if you really are God’s giftInterviewer: What’s your biggest weakness? Applicant: I’m a perfectionist Continue reading...
  
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