ShortcutsChristmasFrom Wham’s Last Christmas to Leona Lewis’s One More Sleep, it’s not so much the quality of the songs that grates as the awful repetition. But some are definitely more irritating than others
A York shop’s decision to ban the usual Christmas pop hits this year in favour of a more traditional selection of carols is understandable, but will it work? Even the most sublime music would become irritating if you played it over and over again for weeks: the issue with the big Christmas hits isn’t always the songs themselves, more the way we gorge on them, like a drunk with a selection box at 9pm on Christmas Day. Read More...
Strictly Come Dancing This article is more than 1 month oldNigel Harman withdraws from Strictly Come DancingThis article is more than 1 month oldActor, 50, sustains injury hours before the quarter-finals, leaving just four celebrities in competition
Nigel Harman has withdrawn from Strictly Come Dancing after sustaining a rib injury just hours before the quarter-finals of the competition.
The Casualty actor, 50, had been due to compete with a Charleston to Step in Time from Disney’s Mary Poppins with his partner, Katya Jones, on Saturday night. Read More...
Suspected poachers caught in Chinko arrive at the park’s main base. Photograph: Jack LoshRangers in this Central African Republic nature reserve face an array of dangers in their bid to protect a rich variety of species
by Jack LoshDeep in the heart of Africa, a dedicated group of rangers patrol the Chinko nature reserve. In baking equatorial heat, they are weighed down with body armour and camouflage fatigues. Beads of sweat run down their faces; mosquitos whine. Read More...