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Cornish identity: why Cornwall has always been a separate place

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DevolutionRecognition of the Cornish people as an official minority only confirms the differences that become obvious the moment you cross the Tamar. This is a separateness that runs deep When I first drove down to live in Cornwall more than 20 years ago, I was met by a graffiti message on a railway bridge near Truro: “Go home, English!” I should have taken it personally. I should have politely turned around to head back across the Tamar. Read More...

Frozen in time: Audrey Hepburn shopping with a fawn, 1958

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‘Audrey being followed around town by this lovely creature stopped everyone in their tracks.’ Photograph: Bob Willoughby/mptvimages.com‘Audrey being followed around town by this lovely creature stopped everyone in their tracks.’ Photograph: Bob Willoughby/mptvimages.comFrozen in timeAudrey HepburnBeverly Hills thought it had seen it all – until Audrey Hepburn went to supermarkets and parties with Pippin the deer In 1958, Audrey Hepburn was shooting Green Mansions, playing a woman in the Venezuelan jungle who is followed everywhere by a little fawn. Read More...

His Dark Materials is two decades old, but its lessons are made for today | Philip Pullman

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Books blogPhilip PullmanHis Dark Materials is two decades old, but its lessons are made for todayThe Book of Dust will soon expand Philip Pullman’s landmark fantasy trilogy, but the first books can still teach us a lot about how we live now Fans of Philip Pullman and his wonderful His Dark Materials trilogy are in for an abundance of treats over the next few years. Pullman’s long-promised followup The Book of Dust – which turns out to be a trilogy itself – has its first volume arriving in October, while the BBC is working on a TV adaptation of His Dark Materials that is set to start filming in autumn. Read More...