In a week when Cyprus’ tourist sector has been highlighting turnover drops of 50%+ following the drone attack on RAF Akrotiri several weeks back, I can report that I am just returned from this stunning Mediterranean island intact, suntanned (a slight exaggeration perhaps) and with not one missile or drone in sight!

I remember watching a television documentary in which George Martin, speaking quite matter-of-factly, referred to Yesterday as something he had ‘written’ - while a caption on the screen attributed the song to John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

There is a well-known saying in farming, “Where there is livestock, there is deadstock," and it is important to remember. Whether you are a smallholder like me with a small range of animals, a sheep farmer with thousands of sheep, or a dairy farmer with dozens of cows, losing any animal is devastating.

This release is another triumph in what has been a marvellous three-volume traversal, and the news that Kaleidoscope's exploration of Brahms alongside his lesser-played contemporaries is to continue beyond the piano quartets — pairing the master with further unjustly neglected voices — is very welcome indeed. On this evidence, one can hardly wait.

New data showing the worst UK airports for flight delays may be the “calm before the storm” ahead of the summer holiday season our regular columnist Jane Hawkes, has warned.

Back in 1992, ITV launched their equivalent of the hit US series, American Gladiators. While the show had done well Stateside, there was little anticipation that the UK equivalent, Gladiators, would become the 8-series phenomenon that ended in 2000 with a diminishing viewership of around 6 million.

When the book arrived, I flicked through it initially and spotted the phrase, ‘Mel…the motorbike’ and thought this may just be for me. The prologue is set in London in 1941 and we’re introduced to Mel Greenway, on her nineteenth birthday, the day ‘the letter’ dropped through the letterbox, the letter inviting her to enlist.

Eager to get behind the wheel of Mazda’s all-new CX-5, a quick trip to Scotland gave me the opportunity to put the car through a thorough test on challenging and mostly traffic-free roads.

For many professionals, the traditional nine-to-five job is no longer the sole definition of working life. The rise of the “side hustle”—a secondary job or entrepreneurial pursuit alongside a primary role— is reshaping how people earn, grow, and find fulfilment in their careers.

After more than five decades on the road, beloved British music icon Leo Sayer is preparing to return to the UK in autumn 2026 for what will be his final full nationwide tour. While he insists he is not retiring completely, Leo says the tour marks the end of an era as he begins to slow the pace of live performances after 54 years on stage.

The 70th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest is now literally just around the corner. The bookies have been favouring Finland ever since Linda Lampenius and Pete Parkonnen romped to victory with Liekinheiten at this year's edition of Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu. However, with 35 entrants competing to take the crown from Austria's JJ on May 16, there is plenty of new music to discover at this year's contest.

The 2026 GB3 season got underway at Silverstone between 23rd and 26th April with Sheffield’s Rowan Campbell-Pilling making his championship debut at the iconic ‘home of British motorsport'. The race weekend, which is the first of eight events in the GB3 calendar, saw Campbell-Pilling finish all three of the races in the top 10 to finish the weekend as the top-ranked rookie.

Women are living longer than ever. In the UK, the US, Australia, and Spain, a woman born today can expect to outlive her male counterpart by several years. But the uncomfortable truth is that living longer is not the same as living well.

Born in Geneva in 1936 and Professor of Organ at the city's Conservatory until 2002, Rogg has also been a composer of quietly persistent originality, and it is to this side of his work that Anne Page now turns in a thoughtfully chosen recital for Regent. The programme she has assembled covers a wide range. At one end sit the modest Neuf pièces brèves; at the other, the substantial Hommage à Takemitsu, the radiant Yorokobi-Pièce Joyeuse, and two virtuoso toccatas, which frame the disc with an appropriate flourish

Searches for “wired headphones” have risen 68% month-on-month as shoppers rethink wireless tech, wellness claims and retro accessories Wired headphones are making an unexpected comeback, with new search data showing shoppers are once again looking for older, cheaper and more recognisable tech.

When I’m travelling, exercise becomes even more important – not less. Travel can be physically draining. Long periods of sitting, changes in routine, different food, disrupted sleep – it all adds up. I’ve found that keeping some form of movement in my day helps me stay energised, focused and balanced.

Northern passengers are being reminded that some train times will change next week and new Sunday services will be introduced between Whitby and Newcastle. It will happen on Sunday, 17 May, when railway timetables across the country will be updated.

This week (4-10 May) marks Deaf Awareness Week, which aims to raise awareness of deafness while celebrating the UK’s deaf community. This year, the National Deaf Children’s Society is highlighting the early signs of deafness in children and reassuring families that support is available from the very start. Deafness isn’t always obvious.

Nurofen’s Gender Pain Gap Index Report finds more than half (53%) of women felt their pain was ignored or dismissed, rising to nearly three quarters (73%) among women aged 18-24.

Deco return with Dreamhouse, the serotonin-soaked title track and first single from their forthcoming second album: a confident, uplifting statement that introduces a bold new chapter for the Nottingham-born five-piece.

In a cash-constrained economy, HEINEKEN UK announced today it is helping protect the great British local with a £44.5m investment to upgrade 647 pubs in its 2,350-strong Star Pubs estate in 2026. The programme includes the complete transformation of 108 pubs costing £145,000 or more and will create an estimated 850 jobs.

Happiness ...but the occasional episode in a general drama of pain THOMAS HARDY Cloudless skies, old roses coming into flower, a breeze flicking through The Mayor of Casterbridge. Toasted granary bread with damson jam, a pair of goldfinches on the bird-feeder. The whiff of fennel and rosemary, the farmer’s quad bike leaving the field.

Britain’s food supply chain is under growing pressure from forces both at home and overseas. The latest instability in the Middle East has again shown how quickly a regional conflict can become a global supply chain issue, with disruption to fuel, fertiliser, and shipping flows feeding into food production costs and availability.

Corrie legend Sally Ann Matthews, now touring with the official Steps musical Here and Now, admits her philosophy and ideas about food have kept changing.

I am very fortunate to have a large wildlife pond on my smallholding. Not only does it look pretty, but it also attracts an abundance of birds, bees, frogs, toads and insects, and it provides a wonderful, calming retreat – a place to sit at the end of a busy day. The pond features shallow, sloping edges, making it easy for wildlife such as hedgehogs to access.

2026 marks the centenary of a landmark in Scottish literature, though so far little appears to be happening to mark the occasion. Hugh MacDiarmid, whose A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle reshaped Scottish poetry through inventive language and modernist ambition, might not have been surprised by the lack of fanfare.

As National Smile Month gets underway, experts are highlighting a surprising fact: your mouth hosts roughly 700 different types of bacteria — and most of them play beneficial roles. Far from being a sign of poor hygiene, a diverse oral microbiome helps protect against harmful invaders, supports digestion, and contributes to overall oral health.

The Honda Civic has been around forever. Well, over fifty years to be precise. A few years ago, I got to drive a first-generation model, which was an absolute delight. A small car, with delicate controls and modest performance, it had much to commend it over its European rivals of the day.

Spring is nature's way of hitting the reset button. It’s the season of renewal and fresh starts that we can see and feel around us. Trees burst into blossom, fresh leaves return, and fields are dotted with fluffy lambs. After lying dormant through winter, nature delivers us the exciting possibility of a fresh start. Do you also feel like you’re waking up from a long sleep?

The programme itself is a familiar parade of favourites — Dukas's Sorcerer's Apprentice, Debussy's Clair de lune, Chabrier's Marche joyeuse, Ravel's Une barque sur l'océan, Saint-Saëns's Danse macabre and selections from Bizet's Carmen Suites — and the playing is, as one would expect from this hand-picked ensemble, exquisite.

Ahead of International Dawn Chorus Day on May 3, the RSPB shares how to experience nature’s greatest symphony Five top species to listen out for . Easy tips to experience the Dawn Chorus at its best. Top nature reserves and events across Yorkshire to immerse yourself in birdsong. With the days growing steadily longer and warmer, spring is unmistakably here.

Seven years is a long silence from a pianist of Arcadi Volodos's stature, and the wait for a new recording from the St Petersburg-born musician has been considerable. His return, captured live in the architecturally arresting surroundings of Frank Gehry's Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, finds him once again in the company of Schubert, to whose music he has devoted some of his most penetrating recorded statements, and turning for the first time on disc to Schumann's Kinderszenen.