They are not medical experts, but they work alongside NHS staff in hospices or the community to help patients take control over their final days. In the upstairs room of Blighty Coffee in north London, two women greet their guests as they file in with cups of tea or glasses of wine. On each table are menus, with delicate morsels of suggested topics for the evening ahead. "What things make for a ..
Brutalist buildings are back in fashion, and local authorities are realizing their potential For me the most exciting building in any town is always the brutalist one. It is architecture on heat: it struts, invites you to rub its porridgy skin and goggle at its projections. There is a reason that music music videos are shot in them, rather than in drab supermarkets. Over the past couple of years..
Since I had a nervous breakdown, nothing has lifted my spirits more, or has made me feel saner, than my garden January is the time of year when, for us gardeners, a small ray of hope breaks through the grey skies. Not long now, I think, until I can start chitting my potatoes. A few early daffodils have bravely poked their necks above the soil. I know the snowdrops will soon be on their way. Espe..
I used to be mortified when my mother took items back to the shop for a refund, which she always got. Then I realized I'd inherited her skill... I know a lot about taking things back to shops. My mum was an expert and I spent much of my childhood hiding behind clothes rails in Marks & Spencer and BHS, not wanting to be associated with the woman having loud and embarrassing conversations at the c..
Divorce and separation can have a hugely detrimental impact on children. But Swedish studies show that having them live with each parent half the time is the best way to help them cope Why don't children bounce back from divorce? They're resilient little things, yet the research shows a relentless association between parental break-ups and poor academic achievement, stress, ill health and depres..
Often our relationships with our teachers, friends and people we date mimic those we had when we were young I am a 14-year-old girl, and I want to be a dancer when I'm older. I feel as if have an attachment to my dance teacher at school: we have a really good bond and I talk to her often about personal issues. When I notice other people talking closely with her, emotions are triggered that affec..
I respect my father's wishes and feel the neighbors are being irrational. Am I too close to the problem to see what to do? My mother died in 2009. She intended her body to be used for medical science, but an unexpected problem made this impossible and funeral arrangements had to be made hurriedly and without careful thought. My father decided that she should be buried on their land. Due permissi..
To seek the input of others is not new. But the speed of email means we can elicit multiple viewpoints at once, taking the stress out of those big decisions When it comes to "life choices", I'm not the best. My friends will confirm this. They're particularly well-placed to do so, because over the past few years I've put the big decisions I've needed to make to them by email, on at least three oc..
Stella Grey needs cheering up after a man keeps her waiting - perhaps lunch in Paris with a 'French doctor'? I didn't hear from Edward for 48 hours after our date. My phone cover began to fray, with constant opening and closing. I sent a message saying it was lovely to meet him: a formal enough response to minimize the awkwardness, should a "Look, here's the thing" reply be fermenting in his bra..
Stella surprises a man she's been emailing but hasn't met and suggests an impromptu lunch Alex is one of the few men I've come across who wants to spend time establishing a friendship via email before meeting. Generally it's a thing that men complain women want. I've seen some man-chat on the internet about it. Some commenters diagnose a need for a lot of attention. For many women, they say, onl..
Don't ask her what she did at school: that's like asking an adult what they did in 2014. Here's some conversational advice for the child-free and child-fearing I'll level with you. Kids used to scare the bejesus out of me. (As a rule, I'm wary of anything that's smaller and faster than me; see also woodlice.) I don't have children, but most of my pals have gone down the parenthood route, and I'm..
"We feel lucky to live in a beautiful part of the world... "From the Dordogne to the Philippines, Brits tell how they left homes and jobs in the UK to start new lives abroad - as hoteliers Covert Cabin, Dordogne, France Off-grid hideaways in the woods don't get much better than these cabins in the Dordogne. They're the sort inspire dreams of downsizing and doing important things with your life -..
The capital's uncontrolled growth has given it a dominance that damages the rest of the country It's annoying when a news story has no obvious villains, isn't it? Really stops your gallop. There you are, braced to denounce one side or the other as evil, incompetent or both, and then you realize: oh no, wait - it's the system that's the problem. As you were. That's how I felt when I read about th..
Economists can't agree gyrating financial markets mean we face a global meltdown. We asked leading analysts to debate the question... A glimpse of what a real crash looks like This episode doesn't smell to me like apocalypse now. But what we are seeing are the structural weaknesses of the post-2008 recovery, and we're getting a glimpse of what a real crash could look like. True, the FTSE is now ..
The school gate pyjama row shows how difficult it is for schools to set boundaries : but dressing properly sends a key message to children - and teachers How long does it take you to get dressed in the mornings? Nothing fancy, obviously; just clothed in the first thing picked up off the floor. Five minutes? Ten at a push, counting a quick go with the hairbrush and the vain hunt for a pair of tig..