[!WARNING] 翻译质量评估未完全通过 (Quality Audit Failed) 发现以下潜在质量问题： - Missing proper nouns in translation: About Burnham, Acadia National Park, After Rachel
Page, Alastair Grant
Tipping, Albert Square, Alisdair Gill, Although Burnham, American Revolution, Americana The Independent
Standouts, Andy Burnham
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首相及内阁办公室在曼彻斯特设立的这个前哨站被嘲笑为噱头——而且它确实带有某种形式主义的成分。然而，它是一个指向正确目标的象征，即推动权力走出伦敦。
安迪·伯纳姆在曼彻斯特的赫伦大厦开设了 No 10 North，并在周五部长们首次在此聚集时宣布，这是“我人生中最美好的一天”。
针对 No 10 North 存在各种实际的反对意见。最重要的一点可能是，在高效政府的核心地带，首相的时间是稀缺资源，如果仅以斯达汉诺夫式的效率（Stakhanovite efficiency）作为唯一衡量标准，在伦敦和曼彻斯特之间奔波可能并非最佳的时间利用方式。
然而，现代的安全通信技术在理论上使得在任何地方工作都成为可能，尽管在实践中，火车的 Wi-Fi 简直成了个并不好笑的国家级笑话。
此外，一位承诺将花更多时间与国会议员在一起的首相，也不可能同时出现在两个地方。在两个基地运营存在低效和重复，包括重新安置公务员的一次性成本。
此外，如果伯纳姆先生决定使用飞机是确保在其他行程前及时往返于
赫伦大厦的唯一途径，那么工党可能会后悔之前大肆抨击里希·苏纳克在境内旅程中使用喷气机和直升机。他在周五乘坐政府专机前往那里，但这是因为他当时正从伦敦经由苏格兰前往会见权力下放政府的领导人。
然而，这些劣势在优势面前显得微不足道。租金和住房成本更低。公务员系统将能够从不同的潜能人才池中招聘，包括那些负担不起——或者不愿——搬到伦敦的人。但最重要的是，这将通过政府机器传递一个信号：首都以外的国家地区拥有较高的地位。这不仅仅是一个信号：现实将是，伦敦以外的人将参与中央政府最高级别的一些职能工作。
由苏纳克先生设立的财政部达灵顿校区（Darlington campus）的成功，为这种方式开辟了先河。与 No 10 North 一样，它是由于一名政治家具有选区利益而创建的——苏纳克先生在约克郡里士满的席位就在几英里外。但它成功地拓宽了财政部的社会文化。蕾切尔·里夫斯在那里花费的时间不多，但她的继任者约翰·希利或许会。
伯纳姆先生对地域政治的痴迷并非仅仅是追求某种“氛围”。全国各地对伦敦财富和权力所感到的愤恨是真实的，这加剧了许多选民对政治的疏离感，让他们觉得政治像是某种从遥远的地方强加在他们身上的东西。
首相试图证明，运行国家的方式不应该仅仅是所有事情都由威斯敏斯特和怀特霍尔决定。当然，曼彻斯特以外的地方会对从赫伦大厦发挥的影响力产生不满，但任何有助于打破英国政体单极化（unipolarity）的行为，都是向正确方向迈出的一步。
不用说，仅仅在办公大楼里安装一个唐宁街 10 号的仿制大门，是无法大幅改变英国社会和英国经济的地域失衡的。
在曼彻斯特。伦敦在英格兰的主导地位，就像巴黎在法国一样，是数世纪国家统一的产物；且若非过去一个世纪的绿带政策、规划法和区域政策，这种主导地位还会更加显著。
但是，通过将重要的公务员和公共部门职能迁出伦敦，可以实现（且已经实现了）很多目标。在伯纳姆先生担任市长期间，大曼彻斯特地区取得成功的一大驱动力，便是英国广播公司（BBC）决定将其大部分业务迁至索尔福德。
No 10 North 也许只是一个姿态，但这是一个正确的姿态。
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西班牙已宣布进入国家紧急状态，法国则出动军队应对火情
Amy-Clare Martin
昨日，法国西南部拉卡诺附近的消防员（AP）
由于毁灭性的山火横扫西班牙中部和法国西南部，超过 280,000 人被迫逃离家园。
法国已部署军队，数百名士兵参与控制火势。自 1 月以来，山火已吞噬了创纪录的 98,000 公顷土地。昨日，当局命令波尔多郊区的大部分地区撤离，包括 Le Haillan、Eysines 和 Merignac 地区。
强风使得消防员在与火势搏斗时陷入苦战，与此同时西班牙宣布进入国家紧急状态，马德里市外多处火场已合并。地区总统伊莎贝尔·迪亚斯·阿尤索（Isabel Diaz Ayuso）表示，这是“该地区历史上最严重的火灾”，且高温、大风以及多处火场合并共同导致情况进一步恶化。
欧盟国家已派遣直升机、飞机和地面团队。其中包括来自罗马尼亚森林火灾救援队的 40 人，两架葡萄牙和两架瑞典的 Air Tractor 飞机，四架直升机（其中两架来自德国，一架来自捷克，一架来自斯洛伐克），以及来自瑞士的四架轻型直升机和 30 名地面人员。
被迫撤离的居民在离开家园时描述了末日般的景象。马里昂·吉罗-里姆（Marion Girault-Rime）在周五凌晨 4 点左右被手机上的紧急警报唤醒，该警报指示富裕度假小镇 Lege-Cap Ferret 的每位公民立即撤离。她抓起内衣和牙刷，与女儿 Mahau 和男友 Tony 一起冲向汽车。“幸运的是，我的丈夫和儿子当时不在家，”她说道。
马里昂·吉罗-里姆被迫逃离她在 Lege-Cap Ferret 的家（Marion Girault-Rime/Quatre Histoires）
不久后，当他们加入数百辆逃离该地区的车辆队列时，浓烟的味道令他们窒息。当灰烬在空中飞舞时，吉罗-里姆女士惊呆了。
“面对肆虐的毁灭性山火，欧洲与法国和西班牙站在一起，”欧盟委员会主席乌尔苏拉·冯德莱恩在 X 平台上写道。
挡风玻璃上就像在“下灰”，亮红色的火焰喷薄而出，伴随着冲天而起的黑色烟柱。这位 53 岁的人告诉《独立报》，现场场景“令人恐惧且壮观”。
朗德省消防救援局副局长罗曼·穆塔德（Romain Moutard）上校表示，这场火灾具有“末日感”，并在火焰蔓延时将情况描述为“但丁式”的惨状。
环法自行车赛（Tour de France）最后一赛段的长度已缩短，以便警方人员被重新部署以对抗肆虐的山火。巴黎警察局表示，今天的最后一赛段将缩减三分之一的长度，这一非常规措施凸显了火灾的严重性。
[[IMG_XXXX]] 西班牙军队紧急救援部队的消防员在马德里以西 80 公里的埃尔蒂姆布洛（El Tiemblo）与火焰搏斗 (AFP/Getty)
英国政府建议在西班牙的公民避免前往马德里和阿维拉（Avila）的受影响地区，同时告知在法国的人员遵循当地当局的建议。建议潜在的度假者在出行前与住宿或旅行供应商核实。一名法国外交部长敦促游客不要取消旅行计划。
山火也影响了苏格兰的部分地区，凯恩戈姆山国家公园（Cairngorms National Park）已宣布进入重大事故状态。500 名以上的消防员一直在扑救这场已肆虐 10 天的大火，大火迫使该偏远地区的当地居民撤离家园。
苏格兰首席部长约翰·斯温尼（John Swinney）表示，凯恩戈姆山国家公园的山火仍处于“非常严重的情况”。他补充说，此类情况可能会“非常迅速且剧烈”地发生变化，这反映了苏格兰消防救援服务局及其他应急响应人员所面临的挑战。
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居民被撤离，当局请求使用推土机协助控制火势
Danyel Vanreenen
[[IMG_XXXX]] 在凯恩戈姆山国家公园扑灭山火 (Photos PA)
由于凯恩戈姆山国家公园的火势继续肆虐，产生了“末日般”的浓烟，尽管此前曾保证火势已得到控制，但高地地区的居民在昨天感到“心烦、愤怒且沮丧”。
500 名以上的消防员在过去的 10 天里一直在扑救这场大火，火势迫使该偏远地区的家庭撤离。
内西桥及其周边社区委员会（Nethy Bridge and Vicinity Community Council）主席桑迪·麦库克（Sandy McCook）表示，在被撤离之前的周五，凯恩戈姆山村庄的居民可以看到山火产生的大片烟羽。
烟雾改变了方向，昨天他表示烟雾正向阿伯丁郡（Aberdeenshire）和北海方向飘去，但从内西桥（Nethy Bridge）郊区看，火焰依然“清晰可见”。
应急服务部门此前表示，包括更强风力在内的天气状况显著变化，导致了火势行为的不可预测性。
在昨天上午的一份更新中，苏格兰警方表示，作为预防措施，多尔巴克旅馆（Dorback Lodge, Lain Thatchan）西北部一小片区域的居民已被撤离。
村民们“靠肾上腺素支撑”
苏格兰政府表示，村庄周围的防火隔离带已在夜间建立，随着苏格兰消防救援服务局（SFRS）部署额外资源，新的隔离带正在建设中。
“如果您受到烟雾影响，请尽可能留在室内，关闭窗门，并避免剧烈的户外活动，”SFRS 表示。
该部门还请求提供更多重型机械（如推土机）以协助应对工作。
“能够提供合适工程机械以支持当前多机构协同应对的运营商，请前往 Nethy Bridge 的村委会报告，”SFRS 表示。
在现场，McCook 先生表示，在村庄及其周边地区，来自 SFRS 的消防单位以及多个野火响应单位大幅增加。
“我认为很多人现在是靠肾上腺素在支撑，”他说。
大火产生了“末日般”的浓烟
“很多人对当前的局面感到难过、愤怒和沮丧，因为苏格兰政府在一周前（周三）表示他们有足够的资源来处理，并在周四表示火势已得到控制。”
“我的质疑是，如果您在周三和周四说火势已得到控制且资源充足，为什么 10 天后我们仍在与之作战，且它依然失控？它在任何方面、任何形式上都还没有被控制。”
应急服务部门表示，昨天现场有九辆消防车，并由专业野火资源提供支持。
此次更新是在首席部长 John Swinney 周五晚上主持苏格兰政府韧性室（SGoRR）会议后发布的。
John Swinney 表示火势已“转向另一个方向”
会议由多位部长以及包括 SFRS 和苏格兰警察局在内的应急服务部门代表参加。
周五，Swinney 先生表示：“我显然要求该地区的人们遵循所有现有建议，并遵守已设立的禁区规定。”
他在发表上述言论时，由于风向改变，Glenmore 附近另一场野火产生的烟雾已飘至阿伯丁。
这场火灾于上周三在 Glenmore 村附近爆发，导致居民和营地被撤离。
在最高峰时，火势覆盖了约六平方公里的石楠刚和小型树木。
被撤离的居民被引导至 Macdonald Aviemore 度假村的专门安置中心。
公众被要求避开受影响区域，消防部门表示，由于消防行动、迅速变化的火情以及直升机活动，该区域仍然不安全。
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多名消防员被送往医院，后已出院
Anna Loren
埃塞克斯郡 Rettendon 的火灾于周五被宣布为重大事件 (PA)
周五，埃塞克斯郡一个工业单位发生的火灾摧毁了三辆消防车和两辆消防警官车，同时有 20 名消防员在事件后被送往医院。
周五晚上，在一次化肥爆炸之后，消防员们面临着一场“规模大且发展迅速”的大火。
埃塞克斯郡消防救援服务局首席消防官兼首席执行官 Rick Hylton 昨天下午在新闻发布会上通报了火灾的最新进展。
道路昨日关闭，民众被要求避开该区域 (PA)
Hylton 先生表示，有 20 名消防员在事件后“前往医院就诊”。
“在这 20 人中，4 人受轻伤，其余人员为预防性评估，包括检查爆炸后是否出现听力损失等问题。我很高兴地确认，所有这些消防员现已出院。”
这场火灾导致附近房屋被撤离，并于周五下午被宣布为重大事件。
埃塞克斯郡消防救援服务局表示，应急服务部门在周五 4.50pm 首次收到位于 East Hanningfield 和 Rettendon 之间 Southend Road 的这场大火警报。
这场火灾导致附近房屋被疏散（路透社）
几个工业单元及相邻的一块田地被大火吞噬。最初约有 100 名消防员被部署用于扑灭这场大规模火灾。
海尔顿先生（Mr Hylton）表示：“事故目前已得到控制，不过消防员将继续留在现场，处理剩余的火点并支持进入恢复阶段。”
相关人员被要求远离该区域，以便消防员能够继续开展行动。
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大卫·马多克斯（David Maddox）政治编辑
唐宁街消息人士称，安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）“有勇气”解决困扰政坛数十年的问题——但反对党想要知道资金从何而来（PA）
在有消息称新首相计划于本周开始着手解决社会护理问题后，安迪·伯纳姆面临着越来越大的压力，需要解释他将如何为其支出承诺提供资金。
伯纳姆先生在就任首日表示，他不希望在结束首相任期时，还没有做出解决英格兰社会护理危机所需的艰难决定，他声称这一危机已困扰政府近三十年。然而，在提出了一系列小型承诺——包括降低酒吧、俱乐部和音乐场所的商业税率、取消能源账单的增值税（VAT）以及将公交车票封顶在 £2, 之后，伯纳姆先生受到了质疑
2009, 年担任卫生大臣期间，伯纳姆先生曾试图通过寻求跨党派支持建立一项征费来资助社会护理，从而解决该危机。然而，当时的保守党对他反戈一击，指责他试图凭空制造一种新的“死亡税”。他现在打算在就任第二周将解决这一危机作为优先事项，一名唐宁街消息人士称他“有勇气”解决这些问题并做出艰难选择。预计他将在接下来的几天内针对青年失业和权力下放问题采取干预措施。
一名 No 10 消息人士表示：“安迪将直面那些被忽视的问题，重新给人们带来希望。他有勇气解决那些被忽视多年且被认为无法解决的最困难问题。他不接受这些问题不可解决。它们不能再被忽视了。首相决心证明，只要政府愿意，就可以改善人们的生活。他希望让英国人重新燃起信心。”
梅尔·斯特赖德（Mel Stride）指责伯纳姆在“没有计划”的情况下就任（PA）
与 NHS 护理不同，社会护理在就诊时并非免费，其高昂的费用有时意味着人们被迫出售房屋来支付所需费用。储蓄额超过 £23,250 的人无权获得当地议会对护理费用的资助。
伯纳姆先生已经承诺在这一问题上“利用部分政治资本”。但在 2019, 年，鲍里斯·约翰逊在担任首相后的首次演讲中表示，保守党将“彻底解决社会护理危机”——这一承诺最终未能实现。
在基尔·斯塔默爵士（Sir Keir Starmer）的领导下赢得 2024 年大选后，工党因取消了英格兰个人终身护理费用 £86,000 封顶计划而面临批评，工党此前辩称该方案在规定时间框架内是“不可行”的。伯纳姆先生表示，近几十年来政府未能采取行动是“无法辩解的”。
首相及其选定的财政大臣约翰·希利（John Healey）已经面临压力，需要解释他们将如何维持为公交乘客、能源消费者和酒吧顾客宣布的一系列支持方案。独立智库决议基金会（Resolution Foundation）估计，上周的承诺在 2029-30, 年将耗资 20 亿英镑以上，这将使财政空间被挤压至仅剩 £8。
自由民主党党魁埃德·戴维（Ed Davey）支持结束护理危机 （下议院/英国议会）
伯纳姆先生被保守党指责挥霍无度。在给希利先生的一封信中，影子财政大臣梅尔·斯特赖德爵士（Sir Mel Stride）指责首相做出了“缺乏资金支持的承诺”，并表示国家“不能指望通过增税、支出或借贷来逃避做出艰难决定”。他表示，首相的承诺将增加人们对下次预算案中税收上涨的担忧。
梅尔爵士表示：“安迪·伯纳姆在就职时没有计划。他做出了许多承诺，但似乎对他将如何支付这些费用毫无头绪。这些缺乏资金支持的承诺只会增加人们对工党在下次预算案中进一步增税以及进一步借贷的担忧和猜测，从而给后代留下沉重的负担。”
“英国承担不起这一点——企业和家庭不应被蒙在鼓里。这就是为什么我要求约翰·希利公开伯纳姆计划的真实成本——并告诉我们他预计由谁来买单。”
但自由民主党党魁埃德·戴维爵士对他重新关注护理部门表示支持，并说：“我真心希望这是一个严肃且持久的努力的开始，以结束社会护理的灾难。安迪·伯纳姆说他愿意投入政治”
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大曼彻斯特地区将于下周选出安迪·伯纳姆的继任者，那么首相可以预见他的工党在首场选举测试中会表现如何？丹·海格斯（Dan Haygarth）为您揭晓。
[[IMG_XXXX]] 安迪·伯纳姆与女儿安妮合影，在 2017 年 5 月抵达大曼彻斯特市长选举投票站（Getty）
安迪·伯纳姆可能还在学习如何担任首相，但本周他的首场选举考验对他来说会熟悉得多。这位当时的利（Leigh）区国会议员在 2017 年离开议会，成为大曼彻斯特地区首位当选市长，获得了 63% 的选票。
这个新角色大致遵循伦敦市长的模式，其创建者乔治·奥斯本（George Osborne）将其称作“北方的重大时刻”，将权力从威斯敏斯特和怀特霍尔转移到这个最大的城市地区。伯纳姆拥有对 10 个地区的规划、住房、警务、卫生和交通的管辖权。
在新冠肺炎（Covid-19）大流行期间，他对政府处理该地区方式的反应使他获得了“北方之王”的赞誉，从而将这一角色提升到了全国知名度。
[[IMG_XXXX]] 伯纳姆“北方之王”的称号源于他对政府新冠封锁措施的反应（AFP/Getty）
伯纳姆在英格兰西北部极受欢迎，他在 2021 年再次当选，并在大曼彻斯特地区的所有市议会选区全部获胜；随后在 2024 年，除一个选区外，他在其余所有选区均获胜。
全国性的报道经常错误地将伯纳姆之前的职务称为曼彻斯特市长，但大曼彻斯特地区远不止这座城市本身。在他担任市长期间发生了许多变化，其特点是出现了大量市中心高塔；与 2010 年相比，曼彻斯特市中心的居住标准提升幅度高于英国任何其他地方。
以及整个英国的增长，但这种增长主要集中在城市本身。而像奥尔德姆（Oldham）、罗奇代尔（Rochdale）和威根（Wigan）这些地方——伯纳姆之前的以及目前的议会选区所在地——并不一定会感谢你将他们称为曼彻斯特。
伯纳姆的梅克菲尔德（Makerfield）选区部分位于大曼彻斯特的威根区（Getty）
这些外围地区的许多人会认为自己来自兰开夏郡（Lancashire），而不是 1970 年代创建的大曼彻斯特，这在一定程度上可以解释 2024 年选举中 32% 的投票率。组成这些地区的城镇和村庄在很大程度上是工人阶级后工业时代的工党心腹地带，但它们并非繁华的大都市曼彻斯特。
在某种程度上，工党选举联盟的两个关键组成部分在大曼彻斯特都有体现——城市选民，以及来自英格兰“被遗忘”地区的人群。利物浦大学政治学教授、出生于伯里（Bury）的乔恩·汤奇（Jon Tonge）认为，该地区“主要是工党的领地”，但在“曼彻斯特市本身以外，社会观念相当保守”。
他告诉《独立报》：“伯纳姆的人气延伸到了所有领域，但身份认同问题依然存在。身份和地域依然重要。在政治控制权方面存在一些差异，但并不大。自民党现在控制着斯托克波特（Stockport）议会——此前它是
伯纳姆在梅克菲尔德的补选获胜，此前工党在地方选举中惨败（AFP/Getty）
“但改革党在议会选举中取得了巨大进展。工党会松一口气，因为只有三分之一的席位在竞争，因为如果那是全面选举，改革党现在很可能会控制大曼彻斯特的一些议会。”
五月的选举还看到绿党在曼彻斯特市取得了显著进展，而工党在全国范围内遭遇了惨淡的结果——在英格兰失去了 1,500 个议会席位，并失去了 30 个地方当局的控制权。这些结果为基尔·斯塔默（Keir Starmer）的首相任期敲响了丧钟，并结束了伯纳姆担任市长的时光：他在 6 月的梅克菲尔德补选中轻松击败改革党重返议会，随后接任工党领导权。
这是大曼彻斯特今年第二次议会补选，此前是戈顿和登顿（Gorton and Denton）——在工党阻止伯纳姆参选后，该选区由绿党赢得。当现在这位首相宣布他希望回到
威斯敏斯特时，工党失去对大曼彻斯特控制权的可能性被用作让他留任的理由。
在选举公布时，几家博彩公司将改革党列为早期热门，但目前的民调表明，随着改革党和绿党争夺第二名，工党将相对轻松地保留市长之位。汤奇认为，这完全归功于 No 10 的变动。
伯纳姆与露西·鲍威尔（Lucy Powell）和安吉拉·雷纳（Angela Rayner）上个月在贝芙·克雷格（Bev Craig）的竞选启动仪式上（PA）
他说，如果斯塔默仍然是工党领袖，且伯纳姆不在选票上，这次选举“将会是一场极其激烈的战斗，工党很难守住”。“在戈顿和登顿的补选中，人们显然在寻找工党的替代方案。但随着伯纳姆的出现，一切都改变了。人们不再寻找工党的替代方案；
一旦伯纳姆将成为首相变得显而易见，伯纳姆首相任期的溢出效应意味着工党目前已重新恢复竞争力。
乔恩·汤奇教授，利物浦大学
“在我看来，博彩公司最初的定价是错误的——尽管我理解原因——他们将改革党视为微弱领先者。但一旦伯纳姆将成为首相变得显而易见，伯纳姆首相任期的溢出效应意味着工党目前已经重新焕发活力。”
最新的YouGov民调预测，在本次选举的第二轮中，工党候选人贝芙·克雷格（Bev Craig）将以 62% 对 38% 的支持率击败改革党的希安·阿斯特利（Sian Astley）。此次选举将采用补充投票制——正如 2017 和 2021 年那样。然而，这将是曼彻斯特大区市长选举首次进入第二轮。
政治学教授乔恩·汤奇（Jon Tonge）表示，曼彻斯特大区的补选将证明工党在斯塔默之后的“伯纳姆反弹”效应 (PA)
“‘伯纳姆效应’掩盖了整个竞选过程，并使其他所有因素都显得微不足道，”他解释道。“工党正处于蜜月期，伯纳姆免于受到审查，而且即将利物浦举行一场凯旋般的工党会议。直到深秋之前，这对伯纳姆来说都是一次胜利巡礼，而贝芙·克雷格将与他在曼彻斯特大区共同完成这次巡礼。”
克雷格自 2021 年起一直担任曼彻斯特市议会领导人，代表伯尼奇（Burnage）选区，这里是 Oasis 乐队加拉格尔兄弟的童年故居。她不能自称拥有与伯纳姆相当的知名度，但她曾以市议会领导人以及联合当局经济与商业成员的身份与他密切合作。“她简直就像是伯纳姆的门生，”汤奇说。
一辆行驶在曼彻斯特市中心的 Bee Network 巴士：将巴士纳入公共控制是伯纳姆的一项旗舰政策 (PA)
她的竞选品牌借鉴了伯纳姆在梅克菲尔德（Makerfield）使用的“为了我们”风格，她的政策主张则是延续性与伯纳姆式新承诺的结合，例如为 11 至 16 岁青少年提供免费巴士通行证。
随着工党胜选已成定局，接下来的看点是，一位长期鼓吹权力下放的首相是否会让他的市长继任者比他当年拥有更大的权力。“伯纳姆拥有 [北部市长中] 最多的权力，并将其发挥到了极致，”汤奇说。“现在的问题是他将向贝芙·克雷格及其他人授予多少进一步的权力——这里始终存在‘poacher-turned-gamekeeper’（猎人变守林人/立场反转）的风险。”
“在政治生涯早期，作为卫生大臣时，伯纳姆并不支持权力下放，因为他担心国民医疗服务体系（NHS）会出现不统一的情况。随后在担任市长期间，他成了一个极端权力下放主义者。一旦你成为首相，总会有一定的风险让你重新变得中央集权。他在谈论推广权力方面说得天花乱坠，且很难在之后反悔，但风险依然存在：在接收权力时，每个人都是伟大的权力下放主义者，但在授予权力时，你是否还能保持这一点？”
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安迪·伯纳姆担任首相的第一周，他任命了一个极具北方色彩的内阁，并以在他曼彻斯特外设机构的首次会议结束。丹·海加斯（Dan Haygarth）从盟友处获悉，这种显而易见的执念对他的政府未来意味着什么。
安迪·伯纳姆在 Stubshaw Cross 社区与体育俱乐部的工党竞选总部迎接支持者 (Getty)
在基尔·斯塔默爵士的首相任期接近尾声时，一个位于前矿业小镇郊区、不起眼的社交俱乐部成为了工党重启的神经中心。位于阿什顿-因-梅克菲尔德（Ashton-in-Makerfield）东北部的 Stubshaw Cross 社区俱乐部，在夏季之初是安迪·伯纳姆补选竞选的基地。
选择一家传统的工党俱乐部作为竞选总部，表明了当时曼彻斯特大区市长在寻求不仅仅是梅克菲尔德席位时希望实现的目标。它代表了即将成为他的愿景——让工党回归基层，重新建立联系。
这家俱乐部与伊斯灵顿区现已消失的 Granita 餐厅截然不同，据说托尼·布莱尔和戈登·布朗在 1994 年在那里就领导权达成了一项君子协定，并开始按照他们的构想重建工党。
“他在政治运作和象征意义的把控上非常出色，”来自同属西北选区索斯波特的工党议员帕特里克·赫利在谈到伯纳姆的竞选基地时说道。
权力之座：5月，位于 Stubshaw Cross 社区与体育俱乐部的伯纳姆竞选总部内部（Getty）
“在兰开夏郡的一家工党俱乐部里，指挥过去 100 年来最重要的补选竞选活动——这本身就说明了许多问题，也预示了工党接下来的走向，”他告诉《独立报》。
“这充分说明，在安迪的领导下，我们在一定程度上找回了节奏。我想，那些我们作为政党和运动而成立旨在倡导和代表的群体，已经意识到了这一点。”
伯纳姆在就职的第一周宣布了一系列政策，旨在为民众和像 Stubshaw 俱乐部这样的款待业企业在生活成本危机中提供“喘息空间”——不出所料，这一举措受到了议会工党团的欢迎。
民调显示，该党目前正享受着某种“伯纳姆红利”，在 More in Common 的最新数据中，与改革党的差距缩小至两个百分点。
伸出援手：安迪·伯纳姆（右）和约翰·希利在访问埃塞克斯郡哈洛的 Hare 酒吧期间（PA）
这位新任首相致力于“重构英国”，并承诺在近半个世纪以来实现最重大的政治变革，将权力从国家首都移交给各地区。目前，他的个人支持率已上升至正 13 —— 高于基尔爵士曾经达到的任何水平。
“安迪精准地指出，你不能仅仅在威斯敏斯特和怀特霍尔管理一个国家，”赫利说。“你不能只是在唐宁街的办公室里签几张纸，国家就会突然变得更好。这是一个从基层开始的、艰苦卓绝的漫长过程。”
赫利认为，Stubshaw Cross 俱乐部就是这些基层的代表，且他相信伯纳姆在这些人中间感觉要自在得多——而且比他的前任更了解他们。他补充道：“他在梅克菲尔德的一次竞选口号是‘如果我们团结一致，情况将会好转’。”
“这对我来说精准地指出了安迪的方法与过去 30 年来工党政府方法的区别。在 ’97 年，口号是‘情况只会好转’（things can only get better）。那给人一种感觉，事情注定会好转，无论你是否愿意，都会有一只进步的引导之手，而中西部和北部的工人阶级所需要做的，就是坐等进步发生在自己身上。
“而安迪认为情况好转的愿景则很大程度上取决于集体，很大程度上取决于‘如果我们团结一致，情况将会好转’这种说法。”
“为我们投票给安迪”——5月，Stubshaw Cross 社区与体育俱乐部的竞选总部内摆放着描绘安迪·伯纳姆的工党补选竞选标语牌（Getty）
一个北方内阁和一个北方前哨
“伦敦圈子把持权力太久了，”伯纳姆在补选期间接受《观察报》采访时谈到他的政党。此后，他或许是刻意地，任命了一个内阁
关于安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）对工党（Labour）进行的明显偏向北方的重启，利物浦城市地区市长、首相的密友史蒂夫·罗瑟拉姆（Steve Rotheram）本月早些时候告诉《独立报》：“毫无疑问——这会让一些人感到恼火。”
但据这位前市长同事称，这位新领导人只是在利用工党引以为傲的“宽容包容性”（broad church）。他说：“无论你是 16 岁离开学校且几乎没有正式资格证书，还是足够幸运地进入了牛剑，这都不重要。只要拥有相同的价值观，该党就应该吸引所有人。”
“安迪拥有工党的价值观。他希望人们能获得最好的生活，希望国家繁荣，但他希望带着人们一起前行，并解决一些棘手的问题。”
[[IMG_XXXX]] 位于曼彻斯特（Manchester）阿尔伯特广场的赫伦大厦（Heron House），将成为英国政府“北 10 号（曼彻斯特首相办公室外设机构）”的临时基地（Getty）
他北方革命的核心是北 10 号（No 10 North）——首相在曼彻斯特的驻地，他表示这将成为他将权力重新分配至全英国的“渠道”。
“怀特霍尔（Whitehall）抵制权力下放的日子已经彻底结束了，”首相在周五首次在该地开会前表示，并承诺这将把影响力从威斯敏斯特（Westminster）转移出去。
罗瑟拉姆希望从中受益于其与利物浦的邻近。这位市长表示：“我认为对于安迪而言，这个位置对于他想要实现的‘曼彻斯特主义’及其扩展具有象征意义。但其功能将比其地理位置更重要。”
“如果突然之间，人们意识到你可以去某个地方与政府沟通，而不是总是得去 SW1（伦敦），那将非常有帮助。”
首相关注他曾经领导的这座城市并不令人惊讶。在明年举办 G20 峰会时，他还邀请唐纳德·特朗普前往他的旧地盘——但这是否意味着曼彻斯特现在真正成为了英格兰的第二大城市？
[[IMG_XXXX]] 安迪·伯纳姆（Andy Burnham）迎接利物浦城市地区市长史蒂夫·罗瑟拉姆及其孙子（Getty）
西米德兰兹郡市长理查德·帕克（Richard Parker）否认了其崛起可能会以伯明翰为代价的说法。帕克告诉《独立报》：“非常明确地，安迪·伯纳姆现在是这个国家的首相，只有国家成功，他才能成功。”
“我能做最好的方式就是与他合作，确保西米德兰兹郡取得成功，这是我的首要任务。我对权力下放以及首相在任职期间迄今所产生的影响持非常积极的态度。”
他补充道：“我不会死盯着北 10 号（No 10 North）。”“它的存在是为了给我们的地区带来增长、投资和繁荣，我认为这是一个真正的积极信号。”
帕克认为，伯纳姆对权力下放的倡导以及对一种与前任截然不同方法的承诺，是他登上国家最高职位的主要原因。他说：“安迪对此（与基尔爵士不同的关注点）非常明确，事实上我认为这种前瞻性，或者说这种关注和认可，正是他成为首相的原因。”
“一个带有紧迫感的工党政府”
在罗瑟拉姆看来，伯纳姆的政治能力（而非其政治主张）与那个在 2024 年带领工党重返执政的人形成了对比。
[[IMG_XXXX]] 位于曼彻斯特市中心的 Millstone 酒吧安装了一扇唐宁街 10 号正门的复制品（PA）
“安迪能够建立联系，”他说。“有了安迪作为领导人，我们将能够利用之前未能有效触达的沟通方式，努力确保我们能深入基层，告诉人们在安迪·伯纳姆担任首相的情况下，工党如何能改变人们的生活。”
对于赫利（Hurley）而言，执政第一周的做法凸显了为什么工党内部的人敢于抱有希望——尽管是谨慎的。“这是一个带有紧迫感的工党政府，而这种紧迫感在过去的6到12个月里遗憾地缺失了，”他说。
“我对前任首相的批评是；他带着很多良好的意愿就职，但我认为，他往往缺乏必要的紧迫感。”
“基尔（Keir）的开局不顺利。11号办公室在前六个月做出的一些决定并非是最优的。
“但在2024年8月，他在唐宁街的玫瑰园发表了一次演讲——那时他上任大约六周——他说：‘情况将会变得更糟，而且事情并没有你们希望的那样好。’这在一定程度上打击了人们的积极性。
“在安迪的领导下，这里存在一种谨慎乐观和希望的氛围。这不是盲目的，也不是天真的。而是充分意识到，我们将为这个国家做的事情将是非常、非常困难的。
“但只要我们团结一致，一步一个脚印，情况就会好转。”
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拥挤不堪：波顿-on-the-Water的村庄绿地几乎被游客淹没 （照片由夏洛特·乔因斯拍摄）
波顿-on-the-Water曾被J.B.普里斯特利（JB Priestley）誉为典型的英国乡村，并被称为“科茨沃尔德的威尼斯”，如今已处于崩溃边缘。居民们警告称，这座历史悠久的科茨沃尔德目的地正被涌入的日游客和Instagram博主摧毁。
该地区一直很受游客欢迎，但近年来，由于社交媒体上完美的照片以及与名人相关的联系（包括《克拉克森的农场》——曾有传闻称杰里米·克拉克森要在波顿买一家酒吧），这种受欢迎程度进一步增加。
“我们是一个美丽的、典型的英国村庄，拥有深厚的遗产，人们想要来参观，”波顿居民之声（Bourton Residents Voice）主席夏洛特·乔因斯（Charlotte Joynes）说道，该组织旨在解决村民中日益增加的忧虑。“我们愿意分享它，但目前，涌入的人群意味着我们正在被摧毁。它不再是人们心中那个美丽的村庄了——它更像是‘水上布莱克浦’。”
在Instagram上搜索波顿-on-the-Water，你很快就能找到一份夏天不建议访问的原因清单。村里太忙碌了，在海量的沙滩椅和野餐垫之下，甚至很难看到村庄的绿地。
波顿-on-the-Water美丽的河流在炎热天气吸引了数百万游客
据居民称，自新冠疫情以来，旅游的性质发生了根本性的变化。此前，村庄接待的是来自美国和澳大利亚的国际旅行者，他们为了建筑而来，通过过夜和在外就餐支持当地经济；而目前的趋势则是，来自附近城镇和城市的日游客数量在不断增加。
“他们自带野餐食谱，唯一买的只有冰淇淋，”乔因斯（Joynes）说道。“他们使用应用程序寻找免费停车位，堵塞了我们的街道。大巴停车场已经关闭，现在大巴车在住宅区街道上乱停，简直成了毫无秩序的‘自由地带’。”村里的居民报告称，有游客将树篱当作厕所，在垃圾桶旁堆积垃圾，甚至凿下标志性的科茨沃尔德（Cotswold）石墙碎片带回家作为纪念品。
在村里住了 34 年的乔因斯估计，每天有 5,000 到 10,000 名游客涌入伯顿（Bourton）——而这里仅有 4,000 名居民。村里的绿地经常被野餐者挤满，乔因斯甚至报告称，看到一个家庭在河里摆放桌椅，吃了一顿完整的炸鱼薯条大餐。
“我在其中一家酒吧工作，”她补充道。“我们确实欢迎游客。但就像我所称呼的那些‘野餐与戏水者’，他们对经济没有任何贡献。现在我们甚至有游客在抱怨伯顿里的其他游客。这里不再是我们自己的村庄了。”
在更安静时代的典型科茨沃尔德村庄
Instagram 上的评论讲述了游客们沮丧的故事。“别误会，伯顿-on-the-Water 是我们在科茨沃尔德地区最顶级的目的地之一，但对于那些期待在阳光下度过田园诗般的一天，结果却迅速变成与全国所有有同样想法的人挤在河岸边的人来说，我们总是希望自己有一个备选计划，”度假租赁公司 Boltholeretreats 写道。
“今天的伯顿-on-the-Water：一场巨大的集体野餐，没人知道自己坐在谁的垫子上，”用户 doctor_with_a_suitcase 写道。
最近一项针对 202 名居民的调查发现，超过 90% 的人认为该村目前旅游业的水平不可持续，且对其生活质量产生了负面影响。总共有 94.6% 的居民表示，他们认为游客数量过多。
格洛斯特郡议会（Gloucestershire County Council）最近就伯顿-on-the-Water 的交通和停车问题发起了一项咨询。该议会表示：“我们知道人们担心高街沿线的行人安全，以及包括大巴车和巴士在内的车辆如何影响人们在村庄内的活动。我们希望听到您的经验，以制定正确的解决方案，确保每个人都能继续享受这个具有历史意义的村庄。”
夏洛特·乔因斯（Charlotte Joynes），伯顿居民之声（Bourton Residents Voice）主席
伯顿居民之声呼吁立即干预，并将目前的咨询过程描述为“一个绝对的闹剧”，指出由于链接失效，咨询参与者无法参加最近一次与郡议会就该问题举行的会议。
“我们希望加强执法，”乔因斯说。“由于交通法规，进来的大巴车是在违法行驶。但我们没有警察来阻止他们。我们希望人们来参观，但要尊重他们到访的地方。我们是一个只有 4,000 名居民的小村庄，我们无法应对。我们需要为后代留下一些东西。”
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E
少年的秘密网络正诱骗目标前往 Discord 和 Telegram。正如 Nicole Wootton-Cane 报道的，这两个平台都不在拟议的 16 岁以下社交媒体禁令之列。
[[IMG_XXXX]] Elijah Palmer 敲诈一名十几岁少女，强迫其自残并拍摄自己的露骨照片（皇家检控署）
当 Elijah Palmer 第一次通过在线游戏平台 Roblox 联系 Ania* 时，他正在寻找一名受害者。他伪装成朋友接触这名年轻少女，将她诱导至即时通讯网站 Discord。
在那里，他对其进行诱导（grooming），使其实施一系列令人心惊胆战且虐待性的行为，并敲诈她将他的在线用户名刻在皮肤上以及向他发送性爱图像。他对她及其家人发出威胁，甚至告诉她，如果她拒绝，他将用她的名义发送电子邮件，向当地一所学校发送伪造的炸弹威胁。
他这些令人作呕的要求，是为了在一群同样具有暴力倾向的男孩和青年中追求日益极端的“影响力”（clout）。这些被统称为“Com 网络”的团体，蓄意将目标锁定在脆弱的受害者（通常是年轻女孩）身上，通过敲诈手段获取虐待性“内容”，以便与网络内的其他成员分享。
上个月，在谢菲尔德刑事法院，Palmer 因承认多项罪名被判处四年九个月监禁，其中包括鼓励或协助严重自残、导致他人违背意愿进行性活动以及拍摄儿童淫秽照片。
在接受《独立报》采访时，国家犯罪局（NCA）警告称，Com 网络是一个“令人深感担忧”的威胁，它超越了国界，并给年轻女孩造成了“前所未有”且“严重”的伤害。
这些团体是“五眼”情报联盟的“优先”打击目标，该联盟汇集了来自澳大利亚、加拿大、新西兰、英国和美国的执法机构。
负责该局打击儿童性虐待工作的 Rob Richardson 表示，目前正在调查约 200 起涉及 Com 网络的案件，自 2022 年以来，此类虐待报告增加了 2,900%。
由于该威胁被识别出的时间相对较晚，Richardson 先生解释说，目前无法判断这种转报病例的激增是反映了规模的快速增长，还是仅仅因为犯罪分子被更有效地识别了出来。
但他表示，Com 网络代表了一项独特的挑战。“这是被吸引到网络有害地带的孩子们，他们正在对其他孩子造成这种伤害，”他说道，“我们担心的是伤害的严重程度”。
像 Palmer 所加入的 764 这样 Com 团体的成员，会将目标锁定在极其脆弱的在线空间中的年轻女孩，包括针对进食障碍者或自残者的论坛。
已知这些团体会胁迫并诱导年仅 11 岁的受害者严重伤害或性虐待自己、兄弟姐妹或宠物。这些令人不安的行为的照片和视频随后会在组内分享，以供犯罪者寻求名声，而关于如何“敲诈”受害者的技巧则通过“知识手册”（lore books）进行传授。
根据 Richardson 先生的说法，Discord 和 Telegram 是案件中出现最频繁的两个平台。目前，这两个平台都被认为不包括在政府针对 16 岁以下人群的社交媒体禁令中，因为它们被视为即时通讯软件而非社交媒体平台。政府告诉《独立报》，其社交媒体禁令“仅是保护儿童安全的一套措施”，且平台在《在线安全法》下负有职责。
一些游戏应用也被认为是通过这些途径将男孩吸引进这些网络的。
Palmer 并非首个在英国法院面临审判的 Com 网络成员。在 2025, 19 岁的 Cameron Finnigan 承认鼓励自杀、持有恐怖主义手册以及持有儿童淫秽图像。他同样也是 764 的成员，被判处六年监禁。
家长们被敦促要了解孩子的网络生活（Getty）
理查森先生将 Com 组织描述为一种“性别化的威胁”。他表示，涉案男孩通常是孤独、社交孤立的个体，他们在现实生活中难以建立人际关系，且生活的大部分时间都花在网上——在帕尔默和芬尼根身上都能看到这种模式。
理查森先生表示，这些男孩随后被极端的、虚无主义的内容捕获，这些内容通过社交媒体算法反复推送给他们，将他们拉入 Com 网络运行的阴暗角落。他补充说，与“男性圈”（manosphere）相关的内容（该圈子推崇男性至上主义和侵略性的男性气概）被认定为进入 Com 网络的一条常见路径。
“很多这类内容就存在于公开网络中，并不一定在暗网里，所以很容易识别，”他说。“它在这些年轻人心中产生了一种委屈感。这种对自己生存状态的 bleak 观点，驱使部分年轻人进入有害的网络空间。”
“我认为算法的运作方式是有待究查的。业界肯定还能做更多工作。并不需要太多[努力就能被推送有害内容]。”
南端口（Southport）调查的下一阶段将探讨社交媒体在激进化年轻人中所扮演的角色。该调查旨在了解如何才能防止杀手阿克塞尔·鲁达库巴纳（Axel Rudakubana）对一个泰勒·斯威夫特主题舞蹈班发起的毁灭性持刀袭击。
理查森先生表示，虽然许多犯罪者是因为社交孤立以及父母和周围人对其网络活动缺乏好奇心而被吸引到 Com 组织中，但情况并非总是如此。
“还有一些例子，有些孩子生活在原本可以被描述为关爱、充满爱且富裕的家庭中，而父母直到警察破门而入后才首次发现这种行为，”他说。
他敦促家长们与孩子就其网络生活进行“开放”且“不带评判”的对话。
“孩子们的网络素养远高于他们上面的那一代人，这往往会让家长感到相当畏惧，”他说。
“因此，与孩子进行这种不带评判的对话，对他们所做的事情表现出兴趣并能够对其提出质疑，以及利用家长控制功能，是非常重要的。”
一名 Telegram 发言人表示：“Telegram 的服务条款明确禁止参与 Com/764 的行为。自发现以来，Telegram 一直在删除与 Com/764 相关的群组和频道，其中包括利用 Com/764 内容的哈希值（这些哈希值既由 Telegram 管理员多年来收集，也由外部组织提供）。”
一名 Roblox 发言人表示：“这种行为在 Roblox 没有任何生存空间。我们配合执法部门的工作，以追究不良行为者的责任。Roblox 严肃对待引导用户离开平台的报告，并且我们拥有旨在增加用户（尤其是年轻用户）分享个人信息或被引导至平台之外之难度的规则和安全系统。我们将继续加强安全保障，以帮助保护我们的社区。”
*受害者姓名已更改以保护其身份
已联系 Discord 寻求评论。
如果您感到痛苦或难以应对，可以通过 116 123（英国和爱尔兰共和国）机密地与萨玛利坦（Samaritans）交流，或访问萨玛利坦网站查找最近分部的详细信息。
如果您在美，且您或您认识的人现在需要心理健康援助，请致电或发送短信至 988，或访问 988lifeline.org 使用 988 自杀与危机生命线的在线聊天。这是一个免费、机密的危机热线，一周 7 天，每天 24 小时为所有人提供服务。如果您在其他国家，可以访问 www.befrienders.org 查找您附近的援助热线。
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(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
临界点
在格拉斯哥举行的英联邦运动会上，肯尼亚的 David Gichohi 在新加坡队与肯尼亚队的男子 B 组 3x3 篮球赛中尝试投篮，多只手在争抢篮球。AP
干跑
一张航拍图显示，在伦敦西部的布雷（Bray），Maidenhead & Bray CC 板球场在比赛期间呈现出绿色方块与干枯发黄草地交织的景象。Getty
积极参与
以光为舞
在日本 Tatebayashi 手持烟花节期间，一名 Tezutsu-shu（传统手持烟花表演者）持有一个手工艺竹管（tezutsu hanabi），竹管内填充的火药喷发出高耸的火花和火焰柱。Getty
昨日，一名巴勒斯坦男子在被占领的西岸 Tell 村的一座大厅外路边蹲着，人们在此向周五被以色列军队杀害的受害者家属表达哀悼。Getty
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在格拉斯哥由 Unite the Clans Scotland 组织的抗议活动中的示威者 (PA Wire)
移民抗议活动爆发暴力冲突导致人员被捕
昨日，格拉斯哥的反移民抗议者与反种族主义抗议者之间爆发暴力冲突，导致数人被捕。苏格兰警方追击并拦截了冲向反法西斯团体的 Unite the Clans 示威者，双方许多人戴着面具。警方表示，目前已部署大规模警力，市中心各处报告有骚乱。
警方在声明中表示：“请公众此时避开该区域，我们理解此事给社区带来的担忧。任何有顾虑的人都可以向警员咨询。这是一个极具挑战性的局面，警员们正努力结束此次事件。”
他们。当反移民团体接近反种族主义活动人士时，现场发生了肢体冲突，且有投掷物被扔向反种族主义人群。随着警方在市中心 Saltmarket 附近将两组人群分开，直升机在市中心最繁忙的公园之一上空盘旋。
参加 Unite the Clans 集会的人员高喊“让他们滚回家”，并举着写有“停止船只”（Stop the boats）的标牌，公园内蓝色烟雾弥漫。在一段演讲中，一名抗议者说“身为白人太棒了”和“我热爱身为白人”，现场爆发了巨大的欢呼声。一名男子被听到说：“我是纳粹，我对此感到热爱。” PA
伦敦警察厅使用新设备打击手机抢夺者
伦敦警察厅正通过在伦敦全境部署新型测试设备，加大对非法电动自行车和电动滑板车的打击力度。此前该部队报告，2026. 年的查封数量创下纪录。此次打击行动旨在遏制这些车辆在犯罪活动（尤其是手机盗窃）中的使用。
作为“Lexand 行动”的一部分，警员于周五在 Tottenham Court Road 地铁站附近查获了 29 辆电动自行车和 7 辆电动滑板车。这一针对性行动是伦敦警察厅应对手机盗窃和社区犯罪更广泛计划的一部分，标志着今年以来第七次此类行动，夏季期间还计划进行五次。截至 2026, 年，该项目已导致 2,500 辆以上非法电动两轮车被查封，超过了 2025 年查封的 2,241 辆。
警方正在使用创新的“滚动道路”技术来高效识别违规车辆。这些便携式的 Dynostar 和 Wenger 测试设备充当跑步机，快速测量电动自行车或电动滑板车通过电助力踏板、电池或油门推进的速度是否超过 15.5mph（法定限制为 15.）的法定限制。伦敦警察厅和诺丁汉郡警方目前是全国唯一部署该先进设备的警队。PA
一名 14 岁少年在一名飞往 曼彻斯特 机场的飞机收到虚假威胁后，正“协助警员进行调查”。国防部已确认，皇家空军（RAF）的台风战斗机于周五从林肯郡紧急起飞，拦截该卡塔尔航空航班以应对此次威胁。
Nats（前身为国家航空交通服务中心）在周五下午 6 点左右收到威胁，警方与皇家空军及机场当局共同做出响应。大曼彻斯特警察局确认，飞机已安全着陆，乘客和机组人员未受到威胁。警方表示，一名来自博尔顿的 14 岁少年（并非该航班乘客）已被确认身份，目前正“协助警员进行调查”。
首席督察加里·霍马（Gary Homa）表示：“此类行为完全不可接受。公众安全始终是我们的首要任务，每一项此类报告都会被极其严肃地对待。虚假报警可能会造成严重干扰，分散关键的应急服务资源，并给乘客、机组人员及广大公众带来不必要的担忧。”
“庆幸的是，此次事件安全结束，但提供虚假报告并非恶作剧，可能会导致严重的后果。我们将始终彻底调查此类事件，并在发生犯罪行为时采取强有力行动。” PA
前部长在回家途中摔伤去世
前部长约翰·霍拉姆（John Horam）已去世，享年 87 岁，其家属如此表示。这位保守党贵族于 7 月 2 日在议会上院工作一天回家途中摔伤，随后在帕丁顿的圣玛丽医院去世。其家属表示，尽管接受了护理人员和医院工作人员的救治，但他未能恢复意识。
霍拉姆勋爵出生于兰开夏郡的普雷斯顿，曾任独立学校 Silcoates School 的学生会主席。随后他在剑桥大学攻读经济学，并于 1960. 获得硕士学位。他的第一份工作
是在糖果品牌 Rowntree’s，在那里他参与开发了 After Eight 薄荷巧克力。在进入政坛之前，他曾在新闻界工作过一段时间，为《金融时报》和《经济学人》撰稿。
霍拉姆勋爵在议会中代表过三个政党。在 1970 和 1983, 之间，他曾担任盖茨黑德的 工党 及其后社会民主党（SDP）的议员；随后在 1987, 转投保守党，并在 1992 和 2010. 之间担任奥平顿的保守党议员。他曾在 工党 和保守党政府中均担任部长，并于 2013 年被封为格里姆萨格的霍拉姆男爵，成为一名终身贵族。
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Namita Singh
达曼德拉·普拉丹（Dharmendra Pradhan）昨日辞职，这对全国要求对试卷泄露负责的抗议者来说是一次重大胜利 (AFP/Getty)
印度教育部长达曼德拉·普拉丹昨日辞职，此前由 Z 世代主导的抗议活动持续数周，要求他为影响数百万学生的试卷泄露事件承担责任。
在由“蟑螂民众党”（Cockroach Janta Party, CJP）领导的运动导致数周的全国性示威、静坐和绝食后，这次辞职标志着纳伦德拉·莫迪总理政府做出的首次重大让步。
不久之后，该团体的发言人阿舒托什·兰卡（Ashutosh Ranka）和索拉夫·达斯（Saurav Das）在与联合部长吉滕德拉·辛格（Jitendra Singh）和 JP 纳达（JP Nadda）举行的联合新闻发布会上宣布撤回了
政府则相应同意撤销所有针对学生抗议者的起诉。
Saurav Das 和 Ashutosh Ranka，蟑螂人民党（Cockroach Janta Party, CJP）的发言人，于昨日抵达并与部长 JP Nadda 和 Jitendra Singh 进行会谈（路透社）
“蟑螂人民党宣布，本着诚信原则，我们在达成协议条款将在约定时间表内执行的理解下，撤销抗议活动，”Das 表示。“我们的第二项要求是，不仅在德里，而且在所有由 BJP 执政及 BJP 联盟执政的邦内，所有针对抗议者提交的 FIR（第一信息报告/立案记录）都应被撤销。这同样是我们的第二项要求。政府也接受了该要求。”
CJP 起初是一个讽刺平台，为数百万对高失业率和试卷泄露感到沮丧、并寻求政府加大问责制的印度青年提供了集结地。
在过去的一周里，数万人聚集在首都德里，要求 Pradhan 先生因印度国家资格兼入学考试（Neet）泄露事件而辞职。
蟑螂人民党（CJP）支持者在新德里庆祝 Pradhan 辞职（法新社/盖蒂图片社）
这些示威活动已成为近年来公众对莫迪政府表达不满最显著的标志之一。即便本周警方使用了催泪瓦斯和警棍驱散试图前往议会大厦的行进者，数千人依然重返街头。
抗议者自称“蟑螂”，他们对这一举措表示欢迎。
“我们做到了，”CJP 创始人 Abhijeet Dipke 表示。该运动最初是对印度最高法院法官 Surya Kant 在一次演讲中将印度失业青年比作“蟑螂”的尖锐评论而做出的嘲讽性回应。Dipke 先生的话在 Jantar Mantar 抗议现场引起了激烈的欢呼。
近年来印度最大规模的街头抗议已成为政治冲突点，随着政客加入年轻人的行列共同要求采取行动，这对莫迪先生构成了最大的挑战之一。
“我们还有两项要求。我们不会就这样离开。Dharmendra Pradhan 已经辞职了。但那些自杀孩子的家庭应该获得一千万卢比（£77,700）的赔偿。他们应当得到这笔钱。给所有这些家庭一千万卢比的赔偿。其次，针对 20 日（7 月）采取行动的那些警察暴徒，必须对相关警员采取行动。记住，不要惹蟑螂。”
CJP 支持者在昨日持续的抗议活动中举牌，几天前数千名抗议者曾向议会大厦进军（路透社）
在部长辞职后，蟑螂人民党在 X 上写道：“民主获胜！”
Pradhan 先生在辞职的同时，警方在印度首都发射催泪瓦斯以驱散年轻抗议者，而此时距离抗议领导人预定与部长会谈仅有数小时。
“考虑到 Jantar Mantar 以及全国范围内出现的局面，为了防止反国家势力利用这种情况……我已向总理递交了辞职信，”Pradhan 先生在其帖子中写道。
随着消息传开，在德里中心地带及其他地方集会的数千名抗议者爆发出了欢呼声。
政府为了控制局势，关闭了靠近抗议现场的 18 个地铁站的出口，并暂停了该地区的互联网服务。
由于警方在周一通过发起警棍冲锋和发射催泪瓦斯来阻止前往议会游行的抗议人群，导致许多学生受伤，愤怒情绪由此激增。
一名抗议者在抗议期间举着横幅（路透社）
这些抗议活动主要由年轻人领导，是由对高风险入学考试试卷泄露的不满所触发的，反映了人们对就业匮乏、腐败以及政府问责制的愤怒。
莫迪政府此前曾试图通过宣布为涉及试卷泄露的案件设立快速通道法院，并表示将引入立法以加强针对考试制度中作弊和腐败的措施来缓解紧张局势。
关于赔偿要求，联邦部长 JP Nadda 表示：“在赔偿问题上，政府已经以非常清晰的措辞阐明了立场。我们也深表同情……我们所有人都说过，将根据规章制度，在可能的最大范围内，向他们提供体面的赔偿。同样，关于你们前天和昨天交给我的、与教育考试制度改革相关的五点章程，我们的立场是我们将予以认真考虑。
“我们还将与你们的代表团举行讨论，凡是可以通过商议解决的，我们将尽最大努力去办。这些是他们的要求。在我看来，他们提出的所有要求都已在同情和理解中得到了接受。”
随着该部长的离任现已确认且让步方案（至少在原则上）已达成一致，政府部长们呼吁停止抗议。Nadda 先生补充道：“我对大家的请求是，那些领导运动的人应该撤回抗议，以便我们所有人都能和平地向前推进。”
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N
委内瑞拉人告诉 Maira Butt，在导致 5,300 多人死亡的灾难发生一个月后，日常生活已变成一场生存斗争，食物、住所和水依然匮乏
2026 年 7 月 23 日，在 6 月 24 日地震发生近一个月后，一名民防部门成员在委内瑞拉卡拉贝耶达一座坍塌建筑的瓦砾中搜寻尸体时做出手势。(AFP/Getty)
这座坐落在大海与群山之间的加勒比沿海城市拉瓜伊拉，曾是繁忙的旅游和贸易热点。但在委内瑞拉一个世纪以来最严重的震动发生一个月后，这座城市的某些部分在遭受两次地震的沉重打击后，如今已成为昔日繁华的影子。
卫星图像显示了广泛的破坏，公寓塔楼被夷为平地，酒店被摧毁。政府官员报告称，死亡人数已超过 5,300 人，失踪人数仍超过 50,000 人。另有 16,500 多人受伤。
尽管灾难的真实损失随着每一周的流逝仍在不断显现，但世界银行在周四的一份声明中估计，此次灾难已造成约 $19.6bn (£14.7bn) 的损失。
志愿者和救援队在坍塌建筑的碎片中寻找尸体，距离6月24日的地震已过去近一个月 (AFP/Getty)
至少 47 per cent 的损失发生在住宅建筑，27 per cent 影响了基础设施，26 per cent 影响了非住宅结构。
“恢复进程极其缓慢，令人心碎，” 33 岁的邮轮工作人员萨达姆·塞代诺（Saddam Cedeño）告诉《独立报》。“尽管距离悲剧发生已经一个月了，但受灾最严重地区的景象依然触目惊心。重型机械在持续作业。恢复工作甚至还没有开始，因为目前的重点仍是在清理坍塌现场，并为寻找失踪亲人而抱有希望。”
随着雨季临近，对遮蔽处和住房的需求变得紧迫。“我们数千人生活在临时营地、应急避难所或直接搭建在原居之地的简易帐篷中，要么是因为无处可去，要么是担心离开那些我们好不容易抢救回来的少量财物，”他说道。
塞代诺解释说，寻找干净饮用水依然是每日的艰苦斗争，而依赖他人的支持对许多人来说已经变得“令人精疲力竭”。每日的停电和不稳定的电话服务使生活条件更加恶化，导致人道主义援助的获取断断续续，通信也变得更加困难。
“小型当地企业的生计在一夜之间消失了，”他说道。“现在的每日奋斗就是为了确保食物和物资的供应。”
重型机械的声音此起彼伏 (AFP/Getty)
许多受害者仍在寻找他们的亲人。 49 岁的渔民维克多·卡尔德隆（Victor Calderón）告诉英国广播公司（BBC），他失去了 26 名家人。其中包括他的姐妹及其子女和孙辈、继父以及九位表亲——他们的年龄从两岁到七十多岁不等。“这是一件非常、非常可怕的事情，”他说。“我还没有为他们哭泣，直到我找到最后一名失踪者为止。”
医疗危机也同样严峻，医院和医疗设施受到了严重限制。国际医疗团（International Medical Corps）于 7 月 11 日部署了一座应急野战医院并提供了
他们提供了伤口护理、急性病和慢性病治疗、母婴健康服务、药物更换以及其他关键服务。该组织称，在受影响社区分布的三支流动医疗单元至今已提供了近 2,000 次额外咨询。
萨达姆·塞代诺与“治愈委内瑞拉”组织的志愿者（Saddam Cedeño）
另一个方面是灾难对心理健康的影响，对于那些仍在寻找亲人、住在临时避难所、仍在寻求答案且陷入希望与悲痛之间煎熬的家庭来说，这种影响极其严重。
无国界医生（Medecins Sans Frontieres）将受影响者面对的恐怖与震惊描述为一场“心理危机”。该组织表示，在过去的四周里，已提供了 113 例个人心理健康病例处理、323 场团体治疗课程以及 1,402 场心理教育课程。
一名居住在拉瓜伊拉（La Guaira）的 29 岁委内瑞拉人告诉《独立报》，他的公寓在地震中被摧毁，且他在拉瓜伊拉的大多数大学同学都已去世。“我花了很多年工作攒钱……”
“有钱买公寓并买下一套。现在这里只剩下碎片了，”他说道。“有太多的问题。人们担心失去挚爱。他们没有地方住。有许多被摧毁的建筑，而没有倒塌的建筑也倾斜了。”
无国界医生组织（MSF）表示，由于当地基础设施严重受损，救援团队正在实施水、环境卫生和个人卫生（WASH）干预。
Cedeño在地震前于邮轮上工作的照片，他表示这场灾难的影响令人“心碎”（Saddam Cedeño）
国际医疗团（International Medical Corps）表示，截至目前已提供了超过 30,000 升安全饮用水，惠及约 2,400 人。该国其他紧急医疗团队正在评估卫生与个人卫生情况。
“一方面，这种团结的氛围令人瞩目，”Cedeño继续说道。“当地志愿者正在进行协调，人道主义组织正在提供必要的心理和医疗支持。”他提到 Healing Venezuela 基金会是帮助当地民众的关键组织。“另一方面，对于未来以及重建房屋和基础设施存在不确定性。我们知道这将需要很长时间。”
“现在我们只能走一步看一步，努力为家人保持坚强。我们感谢相关组织和上帝，让我们幸存下来并获得了再次生活的机会。”
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该穹顶描绘了狄俄尼索斯与阿里阿德涅，两者的结合是希腊神话中最著名的故事之一
Anna Loren
庞贝部分修复后的天顶
庞贝的考古学家揭晓了一个部分重建的壁画天顶穹顶，其中包含详细的希腊神话图像。
庞贝在公元 79, 年被意大利维苏威火山喷发掩埋，现为联合国教科文组织世界遗产地，也是该国最受欢迎的旅游景点之一。
考古学家在周四晚间，即一次关于这座古城新发现的国际研讨会结束之际，展示了这个天顶穹顶。
考古公园表示，随着新的壁画碎片被发现并修复，它们将被添加到场景中。
专家在处理面包房（Bakery House）部分修复后的天顶穹顶
专家确定，该作品的主题是克里特公主阿里阿德涅与酒神狄俄尼索斯。
这对情侣的结合是希腊神话中最著名的故事之一。
2025, 考古学家发现了一个被描述为“百年一遇”的类水疗综合体。
在掩埋于数米深火山岩下数个世纪后，这座被认为是该市最大的私人浴场之一的建筑被揭开面纱。
这些房间——包括一个大型浸泡池以及热水室、温水室、冷水室和更衣室——可容纳多达 30 人，且位于一座宏伟住宅的核心位置。
浴场位于住宅宴会厅附近，这表明这座罗马住宅倾向于成为一个“庆祝舞台”，其规模超出了我们今天标准中所谓的“私人空间”。
AP
今年 3 月，20 多个在灾难性火山喷发中丧生的遇难者石膏铸模首次在永久展览中展出。
这些被学者称为“痛苦印记”的铸模，戏剧性地捕捉到了 79 AD 该市每位居民死亡时的准确姿态。
这些复制品是通过将液体石膏倒入硬化火山灰中由分解尸体留下的空洞而创建的。
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当报道其与杰弗里·爱泼斯坦联系的记者获奖时，唐纳德·特朗普微笑着耸了耸肩（路透社）
特朗普在爱泼斯坦报道记者获奖时耸肩
在白宫记者协会的晚宴上，当《华尔街日报》的记者因报道杰弗里·爱泼斯坦丑闻而获奖时，总统唐纳德·特朗普尴尬地站在一旁。该报道曾促使总统在去年发起一项不成功的 100 亿美元 ($10bn)（75 亿英镑 £7.5bn）诽谤诉讼。
在周五的晚宴期间，《华尔街日报》的记者多次获得表彰。当这些报道被描述时，总统经常耸肩或微笑，并与部分获奖者握手。轮到他发言时，总统开玩笑说，听到他们的工作内容后，这“并不是一个轻松的夜晚”。他说：“所有这些奖项，我有发言权吗？”
《华尔街日报》、媒体大亨鲁珀特·默多克，以及参与《华尔街日报》报道他涉嫌给爱泼斯坦发送的一封生日信件的记者和出版商；总统声称该信件并不存在。
中国应对诺欧台风
预计诺欧台风将在本周末给包括香港在内的中国南部地区带来大风和强降雨，使该地区处于高度警戒状态。
香港天文台表示，诺欧台风中心附近的最大持续风速为 81 英里/小时，昨日正稳步穿越南海东北部，并向广东东海岸靠近。
该市天文台预报，诺欧台风可能会在周日上午于中国南部城市惠州和汕尾附近地区登陆，给该地区部分地区带来强阵雨和雷暴。
泽连斯基否认右翼可卡因阴谋论
弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基在一次与美国极右翼 Maga 影响者的离奇采访中，否认曾与法国总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙一起吸食可卡因。
劳拉·卢默是唐纳德·特朗普的亲密盟友，也是一名狂热的阴谋论者。在过去三年里，她一直淡化俄罗斯的入侵，此次她前往基辅会见乌克兰总统并见证战争的影响。卢默在 X 平台上拥有 200 万粉丝，此前她曾将乌克兰贴标签为“充满纳粹辩护者的国家”，并声称他们正由一名“圣战辩护者”领导。
然而，这位强硬的右翼活动人士在近几个月改变了立场，并在马林斯基宫会见了泽连斯基，告诉他：“我意识到我被俄罗斯的宣传给蒙蔽了，我对乌克兰产生了很多不真实的认知。”
关于泽连斯基与马克龙一起服用 A 类药物的传闻被塔克·卡尔森放大，后者同样是美国右翼人物，并于 2024. 年对俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京进行了面对面采访。当被问及这一传闻时，这位乌克兰领导人笑了笑，回答道：“当然没有”。
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约翰·伦图尔认为，他已经有了一个良好的开端，转移了人们对即将到来的预算案中另一轮艰难选择的注意力，甚至可能为工党的另一次胜利开辟了道路。
快速起跑：安迪·伯纳姆周六在他位于切希尔的住所附近跑步 (PA)
在安迪·伯纳姆担任首相的第一周里，有一句话尤为突出：“我唯一关心的是让这个政府赢得连任。”这并非伯纳姆的原话，而是他的政治秘书海登·蒙罗发给唐宁街 10 号新同事的一条 WhatsApp 消息。
这样一个显而易见的陈述竟然如此引人注目，这充分说明了斯塔默政府在末期是多么地缺乏方向且士气低落。人们可以就阴谋和不忠进行相互指责，但导致基尔·斯塔默下台的真正原因是，没有人认为他能在下一次选举中获胜。接替他的人则是一个一心一意追求该目标的人。
伯纳姆在就任首周密集发布公告并制作社交媒体视频，为那些缺乏资金支持的承诺赢得了良好的宣传，而这些承诺由往往令人尴尬但能引起共鸣的内容支撑。总的来看，这是一次成功。
首相在公关方面取得的一些胜利似乎几乎是偶然的。民调机构 More in Common 的卢克·特里尔（Luke Tryl）表示，在焦点小组中，他很“惊讶于伯纳姆在 No 10 演讲时缺乏讲台这一点竟然产生了如此大的影响力”。这被认为与斯塔默形成了对比，意味着“拆除了障碍”，给人一种“大胆”的感觉。
伯纳姆与财政大臣约翰·希利在酒吧里闲聊的社交媒体视频原本可能会令人尴尬，但很多人却很喜欢。他们看起来很亲民，并在最后传达了一个简单的政治信息：因为他们对零食的评分大体一致，伯纳姆总结道：“这将是一个良好的合作伙伴关系。”
总体而言，选民喜欢他们所看到的。伯纳姆就职后进行的首次民调显示，他的净支持率为正值。但工党（Labour）的支持率仅小幅上升，且不太可能上升到足以让提前大选成为现实可能性的程度。（尽管伯纳姆在周五被问及是否在考虑此事时回答“我没有”——这毫无意义：他从戈登·布朗 2007 年未能控制猜测的失败中吸取了足够教训，知道在自己决定宣布之前必须予以否认。）
这意味着首相与财政大臣的这个“良好合作伙伴关系”将不得不提交一份预算案，可能在 11 月，这在政治上看来越发不妙。在蕾切尔·里夫斯
理解伯纳姆首相任期的关键不仅在于门罗关于“赢得连任”的评论，也在于伯纳姆与希利之间那段 TikTok 上的酒吧闲聊。伯纳姆并不是在沟通经过成本核算的政策承诺；他只是在聊天。
理解伯纳姆首相任期的关键不仅在于门罗关于“赢得连任”的评论，也在于伯纳姆与希利之间那段 TikTok 上的酒吧闲聊。伯纳姆并不是在沟通经过成本核算的政策承诺；他只是在聊天。
鉴于伯纳姆的政治秘书明确阐述了本届政府的首要任务——“赢得连任”——我有一些预测。其中之一是，国防开支将不会提高到在 2030, 达到国民收入 3 per cent 的轨迹上，而这正是希利上个月辞职所涉及的问题。
这可能会让希利看起来很功利。这可能会引发一些猜测，认为他的辞职更多是为了让斯塔默下台，而不是为了确保 3 per cent 的数字。可惜的是，让本届政府连任才是关键，而为了应对一个选民并不相信的俄罗斯威胁而大幅加税是没有帮助的。
同样地，我预测伯纳姆旨在解决社会护理问题的大胆且勇敢的计划（将在未来几天内公布），要么不会在未来几天内公布，要么即使公布了，也不会附带价格标签。这个问题自伯纳姆自己在 2010, 放弃“死亡税”计划以来，被每一任首相所回避，现在将再次被回避。
里夫斯已经提交了两份加税预算案，他们是否还得提交第三份？这并非是因为在露宿街头、电费、公交车票和酒吧等方面的承诺大多具有象征意义，而是因为那些大宗项目：国防开支、社会护理，以及由美国与伊朗战争引起的经济前景恶化。
在梅克菲尔德（Makerfield）的补选期间，酒吧里谈到了冻结所得税个人免税额的问题。安迪·伯纳姆的反应是，这种情况令人不堪，政府应当采取措施，尽管他的原话是：“我们将在预算案中将其与其他所有事项一并考虑。”
至于预算案，他与希利在研究后会发现，除了对那些除国家养老金外没有其他收入的人提供有限保障（确保其养老金无需缴纳所得税）——这一点由里夫斯在去年宣布——之外，已经没有任何资金可用于其他用途。
本周，一个提醒人们注意安迪·伯纳姆灵活性的例子是，他将通过取消数字身份计划来为取消电费增值税提供资金。该计划本身不仅没有资金支持，而且安迪·伯纳姆正是当年在 2005 年引导《身份卡法案》通过下议会的内政部初级部长。
安迪·伯纳姆很灵活，他希望赢得下次选举，而且在政府中他可能拥有斯塔默所缺乏的冷酷政治本能。如果他能在预算案中维持局面且不遭受过多损失，前景可能会开始变得乐观。保守党与改革党瓜分了右翼；而安迪·伯纳姆则与自民党紧密接触，并尽可能地中和绿党的势力。
我们将在接下来的几个月里见证安迪·伯纳姆在政治上究竟有多出色，但要实现蒙罗“赢得连任”的目标，确实存在一条可行的路径。
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我属于一个在和平时代成长、享有特权的世代——但 YouGov 的一项调查显示，如果面对入侵威胁，只有 6 per cent 的英国人愿意志愿参战，这让我倍感失望，于是我采取了行动，帕布洛·奥哈纳（Pablo O’Hana）如是说。
英国广播公司（BBC）纪录片《年轻士兵》中的一群新兵：“在许多意义上，我们是英国最幸运的一代——然而我们也是最不准备捍卫这个国家的一代”（BBC）
我就是右翼警告过你们的所有特质的结合体。一个左翼、大都市的千禧一代——亲欧、反特朗普、反对枪支、捍卫乌克兰、支持多样性、公平性与包容性（DEI）、国际主义者。我还是一个每次都选择骑车而非开车出行的人。简而言之，我是一个“觉醒（woke）”的人。因此，当我告诉朋友们我要加入英国陆军预备役时，你不必费力想象他们惊讶得合不拢嘴以及我父母瞪大眼睛的样子。
进步主义者听到“军队”二字，立即就会将其与穿着白色背心、拍胸脯的民族主义，以及以我们的名义发动的无法正当化的战争联系在一起。这种反应虽然并非没有历史依据，但揭示了一个盲点。在我这一代人中，很少有人被要求为国家的安全做任何贡献。
即便在弗拉基米尔·普京非法且无端挑起的战争蹂躏乌克兰之际，我们竟然将自己的安全视为一种道德成就，或者是前人为我们抵达的终点，而不是它真正的本质——一个关于出生时机的幸运偶然。这种认知偏差已经显现。YouGov 的一项新民调发现，如果国家面临入侵威胁，仅有 6 per cent 的英国人愿意志愿参战——而 17 per cent 的人将拒绝任何捍卫国土的命令。
我认为对于一个给予了我们一切的国家来说，这是一种耻辱。这并不是说一切都完美无缺。房租、工资、住房，以及那种感觉梯子在我们面前被抽走的感觉——像大多数年轻人一样，我觉得我们的国家还没有为我们地努力工作。而且在贝尔法斯特生活过两年后，我理解英国军队在那里所承载的极其糟糕的名声。（我朋友们的反应也并不热情。）
我不认同的是，仅仅因为事情艰难复杂，就选择放弃它。当左翼在精心筛选自己的反对理由时，请看看是谁在响应号召。在另一项民调中，尼格尔·法拉奇的改革党支持者中有一半表示在某些情况下他们会参战。这就是在我们的缺席下，决定英国未来武装力量的构成方式。
这种快要作呕的抵触情绪并非遗传而来的。当年创建了我们挚爱的国民医疗服务体系（NHS）的同一个工党政府，也将英国带入了北约并建立了威慑力量。克莱门特·艾特利的部下们明白，提供社会正义的国家与捍卫自身安全的是同一个国家。我们的不适感更接近于伊拉克战争时期，而非 1945 年。
在这个规模小得令人难以置信、古怪、热爱排队、痴迷足球、矛盾但宽容得惊人的进步岛屿中，蕴藏着非凡的潜力
我并非在主张强制征兵，我也不是在煽动战争。我倡导的是就绪与准备。强制服役将是一种失败，而非解决方案。但如果我们中有足够多的人自愿加入，那么“强制”一词就永远不会进入讨论范围。如果只需 10% 的 35 岁以下英国人加入预备役——大约 1.4 million 人——就将增强威慑力，让乌克兰等盟友安心，并将那些走上街头反对非法战争的人们置于一个致力于打击此类战争的机构之中。
在你们询问我们将为什而战之前，作为一名曾前往美国后又返回的人，我可以告诉你们：这是一个你可以与其争论并获胜的国家。一旦生病，令全世界羡慕的 NHS 会为你治疗，无需多问。在我的父母那个时代，同性婚姻是不可想象的，而在我的时代，这已变得极其平常。安全、合法且保密的生殖护理被载入法律。我们的教育对每个孩子都是免费的，无论其父母是谁。我们的文化被出口到地球的每一个角落，而我们的新闻业——无论左翼、右翼还是低端小报——都是无可匹敌的。
当普京入侵时，我们毫不犹豫地选择了立场；在经历了四任首相之后，我们的立场依然没有动摇分毫。这里的政府在选举中落败，便搬离办公大楼并移交钥匙。因此，我加入了预备役。这并非一种姿态，也不是因为我停止了对这个国家的批评——在我的职业生涯余下时间里，我打算继续成为它的一个重大麻烦。但这正是因为，在这个规模小得令人难以置信、
在许多方面，我们是英国最幸运的一代——然而，我们却是最不准备捍卫它的这一代。在场边咆哮和挥爪并非进步。这是在背叛那个给了我们一切，且从未要求我们回报任何东西的国家。
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在这一周里，新政府承诺投入近 £1.5bn 以缓解生活成本危机，吉娜·米勒（Gina Miller）对于这笔资金如何筹措有一些想法
安迪·伯纳姆政府唯一表现出增长兴趣的领域就是公共支出（Getty）
我理解为什么我们这么多人将希望寄托在安迪·伯纳姆及其承诺的英国“电路断路器”上。他的直觉是正确的：增长无法由怀特霍尔下令实现，而必须自下而上地培育。
然而，在他担任首相的第一周，经济学家们就发出警告，所有承诺用于应对生活成本的新支出项目——包括用于取消电费增值税的 £850m、用于限制巴士票价的 £450m，以及用于降低酒吧和俱乐部营业率的 £100m——可能会迫使财政大臣通过加税来为此买单。
希望并非一项政策。如果伯纳姆政府想要具有实际意义，那么在其所做的一切中，从第一份预算案到最后一份，必须贯穿一个核心主线：公平。
英国税务及海关总署（HMRC）将 2024-25. 年度的税收缺口（即应缴税额与实收税额之间的差额）定在创纪录的 £59.2bn。这并非一个抽象的概念；这些资金本可以用来清理候诊名单并重建破旧的学校。在这背后，是一个为了让资金凭空消失而构建的完整生态系统，因为追缴资金极其困难，且受益者财力雄厚。在人工智能（AI）的帮助下，一个公正的政府可以堵住这些漏洞。
在所有税种中，公司税的缺口增长最快之一，超过 18 per cent。那些在英国获得数十亿销售额却将利润转移至他处的跨国公司和在线平台，不能再将缴纳税款视为可选项。
接下来是一个没有政治家愿意触碰的问题：养老金三倍锁定机制（pensions triple lock）。每年按照最高项（通货膨胀率、收入增长率或 2.5 per cent）来上调国家养老金，在它作为一项应急措施引入时是合理的。但如果将其作为一种永久性的自动上调机制，它既不可持续，也不符合代际公平。如果改为“双倍锁定”——即取通货膨胀率或收入增长率中的较高者——在 fiscal studies 研究所计算的数据基础上，到 2030 年代中期每年仍可节省约 £19bn，同时能保护养老金领取者免受实际购买力下降的影响。
但这里有一个每位财政大臣都知道，却很少有人敢大声说出的残酷事实：即使我们明天就能收回那 £59bn 的每一分钱（其中包含 £59 的基数），堵住公司税缺口并转向双倍锁定机制，这仍然远远不足以支撑起一个稳定的国家。
你无法通过对一个萎缩的经济体征税来获得安全感。而我们的经济恰恰在最关键的地方陷入低迷。本周公布的数据显示，青年失业率已攀升至 16.4 per cent，为 11 年来的最高水平。近六分之一的年轻人失业，而职位空缺持续下降，私营部门的实际薪资在走低。公平告诉我们应该由谁来承担成本，而增长则决定了是否还有值得承担的东西。
这一切都并非易事，也并非没有代价。但公平从来如此，增长亦然。 2030 年代将被一个核心问题定义：我们是否足够诚实，能够同时实现这两点。
因此，在公平之外，必须运行第二条主线：真实的、广泛的、让每个邮编区域都能感受到的增长——这正是伯纳姆所声称他想要的。 10 年计划可以等到秋季再出台。但信心是在前 100 天建立的，而不是在第 10 年，而现在有 2 个可以快速实现的目标，成本低且信号明确。
首先是我们的年轻人。政府应向雇主提供一项限时的国民保险免税期，只要他们今年雇佣一名 25. 岁以下（即 25 岁以下）或长期失业的年轻人即可。该措施见效快，因为它可以直接通过现有的工资单系统运行。它接近于自足资金，因为一个在职的年轻人会纳税，且申请的救济金少于失业者。同时，这直接回应了首相关于推动年轻人就业的承诺。允许一代人因失业而留下心理创伤，是一个国家所能做出的最昂贵的错误。
其次是我们仍处于资金不足状态的一半人口。罗丝评论（Rose Review）发现，如果女性创业和规模化经营的速度与男性相同，我们的经济可以增加 £250bn——经通货膨胀调整后，现在接近 £310bn。然而，仅有约 2 per cent 的股权资金流向了全女性创始团队。这不是慈善：这是该国最大的未实现增长潜力池。
一个快速获胜的方法是将英国商业银行（British Business Bank）资本的特定份额定向给女性领导的企业，并要求每一个接受公共资金的基金清晰地公布其支持谁以及拒绝了谁。我职业生涯的全部时间都在证明，透明度能够改变行为。
在这两项举措背后是一个更大的目标：让我们的储蓄在本土发挥作用。英国养老基金已悄然变得规模庞大——价值约 £3.2 万亿——但它们在英国的投资却少得惊人。在豪宅改革（Mansion House reforms）下，最大的职场计划已同意将其部分资产导向英国基础设施和成长型公司，这是一个开始，但仅仅是一个开始。如果一个经济体要求我们共同创造的资本去建设道路、电网、房屋、护理系统以及我们的后代将依赖的公司，那么这个经济体将更加公平，增长也会更快。
这一切都不是轻而易举的，也没有免费之谈。但公平从来不是免费的，增长亦然。21 世纪 30 年代将被一个单一的问题定义：我们是否足够诚实，能够同时实现这两点。公平地分担一个安全、统一国家的成本，并发展能够为此买单的经济。或者，我们是否将账单转嫁给那些最无法发声的人，从而加深已经贯穿我们之间的分歧。我知道我想生活在什么样的国家里。
这一切始于资金——而且现在就必须开始。
吉娜·米勒（Gina Miller）是一位活动家，SCM Direct 的联合创始人，以及投资平台 MoneyShe 的创始人。
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劳伦斯·奥斯特莱尔（Lawrence Ostlere） 首席体育撰稿人
塔德伊·波加查（Tadej Pogacar）庆祝赢得环法自行车赛第 19 赛段（美联社）
这是一个在两周前就被预知的结果，自从塔德伊·波加查在图尔马莱峰顶举起双臂向天空微笑，并在第六赛段夺得黄衫起，结果便已注定。早在车队在这个最终周末到达阿尔佩迪埃兹山坡之前，这段历史就已经被起草好了。
波加查在第 10 和 14 赛段的胜利中扩大了领先优势，并且在周五的阿尔卑斯山顶再次获胜。昨天，环法自行车赛通过罕见使用的东部后路——萨雷讷山口（Col de Sarenne），回到了阿尔佩迪埃兹。尽管波加查未能追上突围者以夺得另一个赛段冠军，但他的名字已经与一项新成就并列。
当他今天在巴黎完成比赛时，波加查将正式加入一个由雅克·安奎尔（Jacques Anquetil）、埃迪·默克斯（Eddy Merckx）、贝尔纳·伊诺（Bernard Hinault）和米格尔·印杜拉因（Miguel Indurain）组成的精英骑手俱乐部——他们都赢过五次黄衫，而克里斯·弗鲁姆（Chris Froome）则孤单地停留在四次。在 27 岁时，波加查成为了达到这一总数最年轻的人；根据目前的证据，除非发生极其罕见的事情——比如意外受伤、极度无聊，或者提前退休去搞陶艺或经营小农场——否则没有人能阻止他赢得创纪录的第六次冠军及之后更多的胜利。
这次登上阿尔卑斯山的后路之行被正式定为 2026 环法自行车赛的“皇后赛段”，在四个环法巨头山峰中累计爬升 5,000 米：铁十字山（Croix de Fer）、电报山口（Col du Telegraphe）、加利比埃山口（Col du Galibier）以及最后的萨雷讷山口（Col de Sarenne）。波加查在残酷的特级山口萨雷讷引领追击突围者，但 3 分 30 秒的差距太大了。这场狂野且时而混乱的比赛最终由身披波点衫的厄瓜多尔选手理查德·卡拉帕斯（Richard Carapaz）赢得，他顶住了追击者的压力，在三天内夺得第二个赛段冠军。这为卡拉帕斯令人印象深刻的最后一周画上了圆满句号，他在四天内赢得了积极奖（combativity award），并确保了自己“山地之王”的地位。
然而，早一天进行的第 19 赛段，是波加查在阿尔卑斯山的夺冠时刻。在环法自行车赛最标志性的攀爬路段，经过著名的 21 个发夹弯，领先者们在层层叠叠、近在咫尺的狂热粉丝中蜿蜒前行。波加查以 35分 27秒 登顶阿尔卑斯山，打破了一项 29 年前的记录。来自巴林-维多利亚队的法国选手伦尼·马丁内斯将他追击至最后，但最终落后六秒，并在沮丧中拍打着自己的车把。
马丁内斯比大多数人都接近他。波加查几乎可以随心所欲地赢得赛段冠军，在此次比赛中又增加了五个。波加查目前在环法自行车赛中拥有 26 场职业赛段胜利，距离纪录保持者马克·卡文迪什仅差九场。一个由高产冲刺手创下的记录，正被一名“山地怪兽”追平。
大环赛仍有新的前沿等待突破。波加查尚未赢得西班牙 vuelta a Espana（西班牙巡回赛），因为他仅参加过一次，并在 2019. 年获得第三名。他距离默克斯总共 11 个大环赛冠军的纪录还差五次胜利，尽管到年底时，西班牙赛事的冠军可能已经加入他的荣誉簿。
但就像他的许多骑行经历一样，波加查已经脱颖而出，成为了史上最伟大的公路自行车运动员。默克斯在两年前就承认了这一点，而这位斯洛文尼亚人变得愈发强壮、快速且具有统治力。
他的稳定性依然令人惊叹。波加查参加了九次大环赛，并且全部登上了领奖台。从他在自行车运动五大纪念赛（Monument races）中首次获胜（2021, 年赢得列日-巴斯通-列日赛）起，他在随后的 21 场比赛中从未掉出前五名，仅有一次因摔车出局，并赢得了 13 次冠军。默克斯拥有 19 次纪念赛冠军，这也是另一项曾经看似不可逾越、而现在已岌岌可危的记录。
但撇开所有数字、记录和统计数据，波加查与乔纳斯·温格高之间的关系或许才最具说服力。三年前，温格高在两人备受瞩目的环法自行车赛正面交锋中击败了对手，在高海拔山区的强度表现过于强大，最终以七分之——
——之差赢得了环法冠军。这是温格高的连续第二件黄色球衣，使两人的环法冠军次数持平，均为两次。尽管波加查拥有显而易见的神级能力，但人们似乎很难想象，在高海拔的炎热日子里，在波加查有时会感到疲软的云端之上，他如何才能抵挡住温格高的极端强度。
他们的竞争现在还存在吗？“波加查 vs 温格高”在维基百科上有专门的页面，但两年来没有更新过条目。当温格高在本次比赛的第 15 赛段摔车出局时，波加查哀悼失去了他的“朋友”，其无意中透露的潜台词是，两个激烈对手之间冰冷的隔阂早已消融。原本注定是一场历史性的竞争，现在变成了历史。
Tadej Pogacar 与队友 Isaac Del Toro 一起跨过第 20 赛段的终点线（路透社）
波加查的王冠目前没有竞争者。雷姆科·埃文波尔在本赛段 20 中获得第二名，这也是他今天结束环法赛事的最终排名。这位比利时人在过去两年中将自己转型为一名顶尖的高山骑手，并在本次环法中表现出色，但他最终仍将落后于黄色球衣七分钟。
因此，波加查可以在巴黎缩短的第 21 赛段中，在经历了三周艰苦的骑行后沉浸在这一时刻，然后再考虑接下来的计划。他可能会在今年夏天晚些时候尝试夺取缺失的西班牙赛冠军，然后在九月的蒙特利尔追求连续第三个世界公路赛冠军头衔。如果波加查有征服的意志，那么仍有山峰等待被征服。而很难想象有人能阻挡他。
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这位三届奥运冠军最终仅获得铜牌，而来自泽西岛的菲利普·诺瓦茨基（Filip Nowacki）击败他夺得银牌
Luke Baker
[[IMG_Adam Ramsay-Peaty was beaten in Glasgow (Reuters)]]
亚当·兰赛-皮蒂（Adam Ramsay-Peaty）在格拉斯哥举行的英联邦运动会中，在其最擅长的项目中遭遇完败，在男子100米蛙泳中被迫接受铜牌。
三届奥运冠军兰赛-皮蒂同时也是该项目的世界纪录保持者，此前被广泛看好能夺回英联邦冠军。12年前，他的职业生涯就在格拉斯哥的同一个泳池中起飞，但此次在比赛的最后几米，他未能追上澳大利亚的萨姆·威廉姆森（Sam Williamson）或泽西岛的青少年天才菲利普·诺瓦茨基。
[[IMG_Adam Ramsay-Peaty was beaten in the 100m breaststroke (Reuters)]]
[[IMG_He had to settle for bronze behind Sam Williamson of Australia and Jersey’s Filip Nowacki (PA)]]
赛前曾有传闻称，18岁的诺瓦茨基——被视为英国该项目未来的希望，并将兰赛-皮蒂视为偶像——可能会挑战这位游泳偶像。
当兰赛-皮蒂走入托尔克罗斯国际游泳中心（Tollcross International Swimming Centre）时，现场观众爆发出了巨大的欢呼声。他在起跳台上显得自信满满，但未能像巅峰时期那样在比赛中展现出统治力。
在转身时，这位夺冠热门暂时排名第三，南非的迈克尔·胡利（Michael Houlie）在前50米飞速领先，威廉姆森也领先于他。
胡利在比赛后半段速度下降，但诺瓦茨基强势发力，反超了兰赛-皮蒂，同时澳大利亚对手威廉姆森也保持在领先位置。这位英国选手在最后十米试图反击，但体力已不支，无法追上前方两名选手。
[[IMG_Ramsay-Peaty received a huge ovation in Glasgow (PA)]]
[[IMG_But he was unable to deliver victory (PA)]]
威廉姆森以59.17s的成绩率先触壁夺金，这比兰赛-皮蒂在2019年创下的56.88s世界纪录慢了两个多秒。诺瓦茨基以59.34s的成绩落后0.17s获得银牌，为泽西岛赢得了自1990年以来的首枚英联邦运动会奖牌。
兰赛-皮蒂的成绩为59.65s，落后冠军0.48s，而胡利则掉到第七名完赛。
“这是一场伟大的比赛，能与亚当同场竞技始终是一种荣幸，”诺瓦茨基在赛后表示。“至于一些澳大利亚选手……这是我第一次在这里赢得银牌，也是泽西岛久违的第一枚奖牌。”
三届奥运冠军兰赛-皮蒂除了两枚个人奥运金牌外，还拥有一枚4x100米混合泳接力金牌。这是他参加的第四届英联邦运动会，他早在2014年以19岁的年纪在格拉斯哥夺得了首枚奖牌。
他于去年12月与名厨戈登的女儿霍莉·兰赛（Holly Ramsay）结婚。在与大多数家人关系破裂后，他的个人生活成为了八卦专栏的话题，此外他曾在2021年参加了《舞者》节目（Strictly Come Dancing）。
他将本届运动会描述为一次“圆满的回归”，旨在重启职业生涯。他在2024年巴黎奥运会上获得银牌，从困难的2023年中恢复过来——在那一年，为了专注于心理健康问题，他退出了系列赛事。
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Abdukodir Khusanov（右）已与曼彻斯特城签署一份为期五年的合同 (Getty)
麦肯进入英联邦游泳决赛
麦德琳·麦肯（Madeleine McCann）的弟弟肖恩（Sean）在首次参加英联邦运动会 400 米自由泳决赛时，得到了父母和双胞胎姐姐艾米莉（Amelie）的加油鼓劲。这位 21 岁的选手在格拉斯哥 Tollcross 国际游泳中心的四组预赛第三组中获得第四名，他的成绩为 3:52.64，勉强以总排名第八位的成绩挤入决赛。随后，他在决赛中同样名列第八，而澳大利亚的萨姆·肖特（Sam Short）夺金，英格兰的詹姆斯·盖伊（James Guy）获得第四名。
2007 年，麦德琳在葡萄牙普赖亚达卢什度假期间，在四岁生日前不久失踪，当时麦肯年仅两岁。尽管经过大规模搜寻，她仍未被找到。肖恩此前曾在 2023 年的多巴哥英联邦青年运动会上代表苏格兰参赛，当时他在 400 米自由泳项目中获得第五名。
他从小就开始学习游泳，虽然在英格兰长大，但由于其父亲盖里（Gerry）出生于格拉斯哥，他有资格代表苏格兰参赛。他的姐姐艾米莉是一名极具前景的苏格兰铁三运动员。
父母盖里和凯特·麦肯（Kate McCann）经常观看儿子的游泳比赛。肖恩表示，他希望利用英联邦运动会的经验，争取进入 2028 年洛杉矶奥运会的英国队。“奥运会永远是最终目标，”他补充道。麦肯在格拉斯哥还将有进一步崭露头角的机会，因为他预计随后还将参加男子 800 米和 1500 米自由泳项目。
曼城解释 Khusanov 获得丰厚五年新约的原因
曼彻斯特城在认定 Abdukodir Khusanov 具备成为世界级中后卫的所有特质后，与其签署了一份为期五年的新合同。这位 22 岁的球员于 2025 年 1 月以 £33.5m 的价格从朗斯（Lens）加盟，他在对阵切尔西的糟糕首秀后迅速调整状态，成为上赛季后半段的关键球员。
在曼城两次赢得温布利球场的联赛杯和足总杯决赛时，Khusanov 均在首发名单中，并且在对阵皇家马德里的欧冠比赛中表现出色。随着经验丰富的后卫约翰·斯通斯（John Stones）和内森·阿克（Nathan Ake）的离队，他被选定在恩佐·马雷斯卡（Enzo Maresca）的新体制中扮演关键角色。
曼城足球总监雨果·维亚纳（Hugo Viana）表示：“我们对 Abdukodir 的进步感到非常满意和印象深刻。他的身体和技术能力顶尖，具备成为世界级中后卫所需的所有条件。年仅 22 岁，他的黄金期就在前方，他进一步提升潜力的前景显而易见。”
Khusanov 成为首位在英超联赛效力的乌兹别克斯坦国际球员，并在今年夏天参加了该国首次世界杯征程。现在，他追随队友后卫约什科·格瓦迪奥尔（Josko Gvardiol）的脚步，在今年夏天签署了新合同。
据当地报道，意大利将任命传奇中场安德里亚·皮尔洛（Andrea Pirlo）为该国新任主教练。皮尔洛曾是意大利 2006 年世界杯冠军队的核心成员，并在国际米兰、AC米兰和尤文图斯效力，拥有极高评价的球员生涯。在担任目前迪拜联队（Dubai United）主帅之前，他还曾执教尤文图斯、桑普多利亚以及土耳其球队法提赫卡拉古姆鲁克（Fatih Karagumruk）。据意大利出版物《共和报》（La Repubblica）报道，他将签署一份为期四年的合同，任期将持续到 2030 年世界杯。
意大利足球正面临数十年来最深重的危机之一，任命新任国家队教练被视为更广泛努力的第一步，旨在重建青少年发展和人才培养体系。在一个足球依然是全民痴迷之地的国家，该体系已严重恶化。
在四届世界杯冠军意大利队连续第三次未能获得世界杯入场券后，詹纳罗·加图索（Gennaro Gattuso）于 4 月辞任意大利国家队主教练。
佩普·瓜迪奥拉（Pep Guardiola）在本周早些时候拒绝了执教意大利的机会。意大利足协主席乔瓦尼·马拉戈（Giovanni Malago）此前确认本周正与瓜迪奥拉进行谈判，但据 Sky Italy 报道，这位前曼彻斯特城主教练因“超出足球范围的个人原因”拒绝了这一职位。
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A
厨师阿拉斯代尔·吉尔（Alasdair Gill）是 AA 吉尔（AA Gill）和前内政大臣安伯·拉德（Amber Rudd）之子，他在父亲成瘾的阴影下长大，随后自己也陷入其中。他向梅根·劳埃德·戴维斯（Megan Lloyd Davies）讲述了他的康复之路，以及为什么清醒带来了其自身的意外挑战。
顶住压力：阿拉斯代尔·吉尔表示，他的新书是写给“社会的游牧民”——即那些在快节奏厨房环境下工作的人（照片由当事人提供）
在 12, 岁第一次喝酒后，阿拉斯代尔·吉尔意识到自己与酒精的关系与同龄人不同。“学校不是我的归属之地，”他在伦敦家中说道，他穿着一件白色 T 恤，双臂布满纹身，顶着一头略显凌乱的铜色金发。“然后我发现了这个东西，它让我觉得合理，并消除了我对自己身体的不适感。”
“我记得它在我脑海中占据的位置与我的朋友们不同。这感觉如此陌生，以至于人们在明明可以寻求快感的时候，竟然能安静地坐在图书馆里。”
吉尔患有严重的阅读障碍，他的学生时代是主流教育中的挣扎、频繁更换学校（他被开除过两次）以及未被诊断的 ADHD（注意力缺陷多动障碍）的混合体。但如今，他不愿将自己的成瘾归结于单一原因。
“你认为如果我没有阅读障碍且没有 ADHD，我还会成为一名成瘾者吗？”我们在交谈时，吉尔问道。“是的。绝对会。我曾是那个偷走所有糖果、把它们藏在房间里，然后又加入搜寻队伍的孩子。成瘾早在我就药和喝酒之前就开始了。”
“但与灭火相比，火是如何引起的其实并不重要。”
阿拉斯代尔的父亲，作家 AA 吉尔，在 30. 岁保持清醒之前一直与成瘾作斗争
然而对吉尔来说，遗传和家庭模式是其中关键的一部分。他的父亲，著名作家 AA 吉尔，在 30 岁清醒之前同样对酒精和药物成瘾。他在 2016, 年死于癌症，比他的儿子在 27 岁进入康复中心早了三年。
到 16 岁时，他在肯辛顿一家由酒店改为毒窟的地方被教如何吸食海洛因。到 18 岁时，他离开了大学，开始在伦敦的餐厅工作，那里的毒品使用现象非常普遍，他在工作时间和休息时间之间，几乎尝试了名单上的每一种物质。在一家东区时尚餐厅工作期间，他的“饮食”包括可卡因、氯胺酮和掺有芬太尼的赞安量隆；在索霍区工作期间则全程饮酒，然后在关店时通过吸食可卡因碎片来获得快感。
“并不是说我对某种特定药物上瘾，”吉尔说道，“我是上瘾于‘不保持清醒’，上瘾于让自己脱离现状。”
尽管[我父亲]已经离世，但我与他之间建立起了一种全新的联系。我现在意识到，尽管我从未认为我们相似，但我们其实非常相似。
在《刀与勺》（Knives and Spoons）结尾的一段讽刺文字中，吉尔在与怀孕伴侣进行产前检查时，被询问了药物使用情况。此时他已经戒毒五年，吉尔对护士从名单上读出的每一种药物——大麻、可卡因、苯丙胺、海洛因、氯胺酮和溶剂——都回答“是”，直到最后在被问到甲丙胺（mephedrone）时才回答“否”。
“那个护士笑逐颜开，就好像我刚刚赢得了拼写比赛冠军一样，”他写道。
将近十年时间里，吉尔在担任厨师的同时深陷成瘾，有时陷入恶性循环，有时又稍微好转，但无论他多么渴望，都无法让自己彻底清醒。考虑到他所经历的挣扎与他的父亲如此相似，年长的吉尔难道没有介入，并试图某种方式说服儿子不要重复自己的悲剧吗？
Alisdair 设法在成瘾与他的厨师职业之间取得了平衡——在厨师行业中，可卡因和酒精通常触手可及。
这是这对父子之间最接近直接承认他生活中所发生事情的一次尝试。
“他当然知道，”吉尔说，“但作为一个戒毒者，你知道没有人会因为别人的意愿而变得清醒。你唯一能做的就是留一扇窗，并尽可能地倾听。我的父母一直都在。”
考虑到他的母亲安伯·拉德（Amber Rudd）在 2016 年 7 月被特蕾莎·梅任命为内政大臣——就在他父亲去世前六个月——吉尔长期接触违禁药物的历史就显得更加令人震惊。在成瘾期间，吉尔一直住在家里。他承认，那是一段“疯狂的时光”。
我在所有事情上都撒谎。我的首要目标就是不被发现。
“我当时状态混乱，经常到处沙发客，我妈在她的选区，而我在所有事情上都撒谎，”他回忆道，“我的首要目标就是不被发现。你会变得非常擅长转移注意力，把一切都化解掉。”
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作家尼古拉·福姆比（Nicola Formby）——在他的专栏中被称作“金发女郎”——并且与她育有一对双胞胎子女（一男一女）。在一次前往法国探访他们期间，谈话转向了 AA（匿名戒酒会）。
吉尔的人生三条准则：不纹身，不骑摩托车，不吸海洛因。
“不要像 Ali 那样把三条全部打破，”他对年幼的孩子们说道。
虽然他意识到自己可能会给家里带来麻烦，但最终，是他与母亲的一次交谈，以及她务实且充满爱心的回应，最终扭转了局面。
那时，吉尔 27 岁，已被药物和酒精折磨得极其虚弱，甚至连他的药贩子都在鼓励他停止。在厨房工作让他摆脱了独自吸毒时那种“令人心碎的孤独感”。但由于偏执且孤立，他也感到身体状况日益恶化。当鲁德有一天轻声询问儿子是否还好时，积压的情绪终于倾泻而出。
在她的支持下，他去看医生，医生告诉他是一名药瘾者和酒精成瘾者，并且患有早期肝硬化，同时警告吉尔，如果不立即寻求帮助，他将在几个月内死亡。他在苏格兰接受了戒毒治疗，随后在清醒状态下返回伦敦——并且从此一直保持清醒。
刚开始时，虽然他清醒了，但对成年生活完全不知所措。当他在 27, 岁尝试建立生活时，他与日常琐事作斗争，比如申请停车许可证，以及面对更复杂的问题，例如重返餐厅工作，因为他需要收入——但同时他也深知，古柯碱在那里触手可及，而下班时间总是伴随着冰啤酒。
与他的母亲、国会议员安伯·鲁德的一次交谈，是吉尔最终戒瘾所需的心理宣泄。
106 他还发现，清醒并非一条直线，而是一条之字形道路，因为他的成瘾人格以新的方式表现出来。例如，在戒毒期间，吉尔出现了进食障碍。之后，他与从强迫购物到赌博的一切问题作斗争。但六年过去，他的生活现在看起来截然不同。
如果说吉尔的书是关于一个年轻的成瘾者如何隐藏在一个药物滥用十分普遍的行业的阴影中，以及在最黑暗的岁月里他从未想象过可能的康复过程，那么这本书也是写给餐厅厨房及其围墙内世界的爱情信。他说，餐厅为那些“在其他任何地方都无法融入的人”提供了一个家。
吉尔：“运气好的话，我不会死于成瘾，但我将带着它死去”
“我以前对 18 岁时不得不洗盘子感到很苦闷，因为其他人都在读大学，”他说。“厨房是唯一愿意雇佣我的地方。”他说，《刀与勺》（Knives and Spoons）是关于“社会的游牧民族”的。“厨房吸收了其他工作无法容纳的所有不适应者，”他说。
107 “运气好的话，我不会死于成瘾，但我将带着它死去，”吉尔说。“它没有被治愈。但现在这一切都非常可控，这是一件了不起的事情。”
如今，他将偶尔在餐厅厨房工作与经营私人厨师业务相结合。烹饪不仅为吉尔提供了收入和生活的结构，还提供了一种至关重要的社区感；而《刀与勺》则是围绕着他制作的一些对他个人最重要菜肴的食谱而构建的。
“烹饪始于生存，最终成为了我的救赎，”他说。“食物是我家族中吉尔这一侧所有男性的共同点。
“我的叔叔是一位了不起的米其林星级厨师，我的父亲写关于食物的文章，我的弟弟现在也是一名厨师。对我们所有人来说，食物是一种沟通和创造的方式。”
“尽管他已经不在了，但我与他之间建立了一种全新的联系，”吉尔说。“我现在意识到”
吉尔表示，他现在觉得与父亲的关系更加亲近，而他以前认为在父亲在世时两人没有任何共同点。例如，在戒毒期间阅读 AA Gill 的自传是他认为康复可能的关键驱动力，因为他突然意识到，他所经历的一切，他的父亲也经历过——并且依然重建了新生活。
就像他的父亲曾经那样，吉尔（Gill）摆脱了成瘾地狱，与伴侣以及他们五个月大的儿子一起开启新生活。
“我很幸运能走到那种极端地步，因为这样你能得到一个非常明确的答案，”他说。“很多人一生都在触底的边缘徘徊，而从未真正触底。其中有些人这样做反而获得了成功，那么他们怎么可能放弃呢？”
“对我来说很简单，因为在清醒之后，生活立刻变得美好多了。”
《刀与勺：一位厨师关于厨房、成瘾与混乱的故事》（Knives and Spoons: A Chef's Story of Kitchens, Addictions and Mayhem）现已由 Pan Macmillan 出版社出版。
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在《新女孩》（New Girl）长达七年的拍摄期结束之后，杰克·约翰逊（Jake Johnson）发现好莱坞——以及汤姆·克鲁斯（Tom Cruise）——对他张开双臂表示欢迎。但随着他主演一部名为《The Dink》的 Apple TV 新喜剧，他向安娜贝尔·努根特（Annabel Nugent）讲述了为什么他决定选择一条自己的路。
杰克·约翰逊：“很多年里，这个旧俱乐部一直在失效”（盖蒂图片社）
通常情况下，面对一部长播且成名之作的情景喜剧完结，演员面前会有两条路。第一条是“消失术”，此后再无音讯，直到几十年后在某篇 TMZ 文章中出现，证明他们现在已经变得多么“认不出是谁”。第二条则是成为超级巨星，通过大制作的系列电影实现，而且通常（但并非总是）是改编自漫画书的作品。
在担任了七年《新女孩》中可爱且懒散的尼克·米勒（Nick Miller）后，杰克·约翰逊尝试了后者。他通过拍摄《侏罗纪世界》（Jurassic World）和汤姆·克鲁斯的《木乃伊》（The Mummy）等电影涉足大片世界，但发现水温并不理想。甚至是有毒的。“你见过被拉出河外太久的鲑鱼吗？”约翰逊现在说道，脸上露出了痛苦的表情。“那不是一个快乐的结局。要把鲑鱼留在溪流里。”
然而，这条特定的“鲑鱼之溪”正在干涸。“中等预算的电影……”这位演员叹息道，听起来比他 48 岁的实际年龄要沧桑得多。“现在只有两种类型的电影，一种是十亿美元级别的系列大片，另一种是超级酷的独立电影。但以前曾有一种中型电影，看完后你会觉得：‘伙计，这 90 分钟真有趣。’它可能不是拍得最酷的片子，但它也不是由 75 位 A 级演员和 IP 堆砌而成的——虽然我很高兴电影院里有这类大片——但以前曾有完整的中产阶级电影群，而现在它们正在消失。”
约翰逊正通过自己的努力进行反击，他的新片正地地处于那个档位。这部电影在某种程度上像是《快乐吉尔摩》（Happy Gilmore）与《躲避球》（Dodgeball）的结合体，《The Dink》讲述了达斯蒂（Dusty）的故事，他曾是一个失败的网球神童，在一次手腕受伤后（此处接自慰笑话），接触到了备受嘲讽的皮克球运动。
比赛结束：约翰逊与亚伦·陈（Aaron Chen）主演《The Dink》（美联社）
这部电影很幽默，内心温暖，主角容易让人产生共鸣，他在一个三幕式的救赎弧线中跌跌撞撞地前行。借用约翰逊的话说，这正是那种让你看完后会想“伙计，这 90 分钟真有趣”的电影。（事实上，片长为 102 分钟。）
顺便提一下，约翰逊原计划在拍完《The Dink》后继续打皮克球——他与好友演员贾斯汀·朗（Justin Long）甚至买好了球拍——但他很快就被分散了注意力。“我是个‘阶段性’的人，”他现在解释道。他最近的阶段是举巨大的重量级杠铃，并“看看我能把多少重物举过头顶——你知道的，随着年龄增长你就会这么干。”
无论他变得多大岁数，在某些人心中，约翰逊将永远是《新女孩》中那个拥有金子般内心的懒汉，那个用纸袋代替钱包、接吻像回家的矿工亲吻妻子的人。约翰逊并不介意这种关联。“尼克是我演过的在喜剧节奏上，以及在我认为的生活幽默感上，与我最接近的角色，”他说。“尼克的那种基调与我的内心非常契合。”
“我的梦想一直是在这个行业里，而且并不是说我搬到洛杉矶后，一周半就演上了《New Girl》，”他说。“在此之前有很多年我都在面对挫败。我走进试镜现场，能从他们的脸上看到：‘天呐，我们讨厌你这么演。’而我想，‘伙计，这套行不通。’但和 Liz [创作者 Merriweather] 合作时，情况完全相反。她想要更多。”
无论如何，如果他被永远地与比如杰弗里·达默（Jeffrey Dahmer）联系在一起，那情况就不同了，约翰笑着说。“所以，是的，太棒了……等我 80 岁在地铁上的时候叫我 Nick！太牛了，伙计。因为那个混蛋，我过上了梦想中的生活。”
电视巨星：Zooey Deschanel、Prince 和 Johnson 在热门情景喜剧《New Girl》（福克斯广播公司）中
直到今天，约翰仍会发现自己处于一些极其像 Nick 的情境中，以至于他想立刻给 Merriweather 打电话。就在昨晚，他决定在凌晨一点在酒店房间里洗个澡。“就在放水的时候，我突然想给 Liz 打电话说：‘让你知道一下，我现在正处于我身体最丑陋的阶段，而且我准备把整个身体浸在这一桶‘汤’里。我想让你知道这件事。’”
说到这里，当我问他如何看待制片厂曾要求他为饰演 Nick 而减肥时，他说：“我认为福克斯是对的！我进来的时候太圆润了！谁不喜欢薯片和玉米饼呢？”但
约翰的职业生涯走势——在那些能造星的演出和顶格主演的大制作电影面前突然转向，在柏油路上留下急刹车痕迹——导致人们产生一种假设，认为他或许不像同辈那样有野心。这是一个错误的假设。
“我认为我比地球上大多数人都努力，”约翰说。“我的意思是，不是指那些工作极其辛苦的人——比如在曼哈顿下城建筑工地上的某个家伙可能会想：‘滚蛋，我这可是真在扛管子’——我是指在我的行业内。但因为我的目标不同，看起来我可能拒绝了一些工作，但这并不意味着我停止了努力。”
恐-龙：Johnson（此处为《侏罗纪世界》剧照）决定大制作商业片和顶格特许经营系列电影并不适合他（环球影业）
尤其是现在，他说，“我经常精疲力竭，但我从根本上认为这些是我奋斗的年份；四十岁后期正是你的工作黄金期。我的身体依然足够强健，大脑依然足够敏捷。所以我想继续工作，并且我觉得非常幸运能拥有我梦想中的职业。我还不想这么快就失去我在业内的地位。”
话虽如此，约翰逊并不是那种为了演戏而愿意在没有自来水的偏远地区，远离双胞胎女儿和妻子度过大半年时间的演员。“我不会为了拍一部能赚十亿美元的好电影，而让自己度过糟糕的九个月，”他说。“那九个月对我来说比电影更重要。所以一切必须可行，否则对我而言就毫无意义。”
听约翰逊谈论他的职业让人耳目一新。演戏并不是全部，甚至不是他的全部。这是一份不错的工作，甚至可能是重要的工作。但说到底，它并没有那么深奥。他并不总是持有这种观点——当然，在他青少年时期开始演戏、痴迷于大卫·马梅（David Mamet）、山姆·谢泼德（Sam Shephard）和约翰·帕特里克·尚利（John Patrick Shanley）的作品时并非如此。
“我那时极其自以为是，”约翰逊说。“体验派表演（Method acting）的理念和那些七十年代的演员是我唯一关心的一切。后来，随着年龄增长，我觉得那有点像在作秀。”
他的问题不在于体验派表演，而在于所有关于体验派表演的议论。“如果对手戏演员在戏中表现出色，我并不在乎我是否能闻到他们呼吸中的酒味——这是演艺圈，我们又不是在给孩子做手术——所以如果你在戏中表现很好，而且为了达到这个效果你需要假装成拉里（Larry），那就他妈的假装成拉里，但我不想听你在这儿喋喋不休，”他说。“如果你是一个体验派演员，做了所有这些准备，但开拍后表现得像坨狗屎，我想你得重新思考你的选择。”
我只想进入一个场景，听到有人喊‘开拍’，然后在三分钟内与汤姆·克鲁斯一起‘消失’在角色中
话虽如此，他不能说自己完全反对体验派。“我的意思是，我可以和迈克尔·塞拉（Michael Cera）一起进行长达四个月的角色沉浸！”他只是觉得没有必要谈论这件事。
逗他们妈妈笑。“自从我们五岁和八岁起，我们就一直在玩角色扮演，讨论什么才是好的表演，什么才是坏的表演，”他说。“我想我学会的最早的词之一就是‘敷衍’（hack），因为我们会看某些东西然后说：‘这演得太敷衍了！’”
有一部大制作电影是约翰逊很高兴自己参演了的——尽管他再也不会这么做了。2017, 年，他在《木乃伊》的翻拍版中饰演汤姆·克鲁斯饰演的英雄的喜剧助手。
“导演给我打电话说，‘汤姆·克鲁斯想和你一起即兴发挥’，”约翰逊回忆道，“尽管实际情况并非如此……但我当时想，天呐，太酷了。汤姆·克鲁斯是个如此优秀的演员，我想向这家伙学习。我只想进入一个场景，听到有人喊‘开拍’，然后在三分钟内与汤姆·克鲁斯一起‘消失’在角色中。我不在乎剧本。”
一个无法拒绝的邀约：约翰逊几乎拒绝了汤姆·克鲁斯的《木乃伊》（环球影业）
或者至少，在他真正阅读剧本之前没有拒绝。“那是一部他妈的动作片，要拍两个月，他和我一起在阿富汗跑来跑去，周围建筑不断爆炸。我不想做那个，”约翰逊说。克鲁斯要求在洛杉矶见一面。“他非常有说服力，而且我之前不知道他其实很幽默，还会开你玩笑，”约翰逊说。这场魅力攻势奏效了。并非
约翰逊对自己多年前做出的选择感到满意，即关上名利的大门，转向规模更小（报酬也更少）的作品。“有些人追求的是一条完整的上升轨迹，这对他们来说很棒，也非常出色，”他说。“但那种类型的职业生涯，我并不想要。我很喜欢我目前所处的水平。”
《The Dink》正在 Apple TV 上线
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参观了诸如艾米莉·狄金森、马克·吐温和赫尔曼·梅尔维尔等文学巨匠的故居，
乔迪·格雷格和他的女儿开启了一次非凡的美国东海岸公路之旅
在新英格兰地区（Discover New England），湖泊在不可思议的天空下延伸，静谧悠长
“与其开口说话而消除所有疑虑，不如保持沉默而显得愚蠢，”我的女儿莫尼卡说道，她引用了这句话（通常被认为出自马克·吐温），当时我们正踏入这位伟大小说家在康涅狄格州那充满奇思妙想的家中，这是我们父女新英格兰公路旅行的第二天。
我们在肯尼迪国际机场（JFK）租了一辆黑色的斯巴鲁森林者，开始了一次穿越新英格兰文学之心的非同寻常的 2,000 英里朝圣之旅。想法很简单：造访美国最伟大作家的故居，追溯塑造他们的风景，并看看天才在曾经居住的地方是否留下了任何痕迹。同时，这次旅程也成了在开阔道路上寻找美食和进行长时间、不被打断的交谈的机会。
马克·吐温在哈特福德的故居不像任何一座文学圣殿。它看起来就像是一艘密西西比河的蒸汽船撞上了一座维多利亚哥特式大厦，然后逐渐沉淀成一种极其美式的风格。红砖、华丽的烟囱和俏皮的山墙，赋予了这座建筑一种拒绝过于严肃的氛围。
在屋内，导游完全将他称为“萨姆”，仿佛塞缪尔·克莱门斯只是暂时出去了片刻。莫尼卡兴致勃勃地讨论着《哈克贝利·芬恩》，而我则在心中默默意识到自己忘记了多少。父母理应比孩子知道得更多，但文学朝圣之旅总有办法纠正此类假设。
马克·吐温的故居以红砖、华丽的烟囱和俏皮的山墙为特色 (Adams & Knight)
这座房子是用吐温继承人妻子奥利维亚的财富建造的，是美国最早安装电力和中央供暖的房屋之一。1881 年，他们委托路易斯·康福特·蒂法尼将室内装修成一种戏剧性的华丽风格，采用了压花壁纸、模版绘画天花板以及深红色和金色。这极其昂贵，最终促使吐温重新回到讲座巡演中以修复家庭财务状况。
仅几步之遥便是《汤姆大叔的小屋》作者哈丽特·比彻·斯托更为简朴的住所。很难想象还有哪一块区域能如此浓缩美国文学历史。在楼上的台球室里，吐温创作了《哈克贝利·芬恩》的大部分内容，这部小说经常被描述为现代美国文学的基石。站在那里，不可能不将他的旅程——从河船领航员和身无分文的记者到国家级人物——视为美国梦本身的一个版本。
第一站为随后的所有行程奠定了基调。
在接下来的两周里，我们穿越了新英格兰的大部分地区，追溯了赫尔曼·梅尔维尔、艾米莉·狄金森、露易莎·梅·奥尔科特、伊迪丝·华顿，以及超验主义者拉尔夫·沃尔多·爱默生和亨利·戴维·梭罗的生活轨迹。其间穿插着鲈鱼钓鱼、划独木舟、长长的冰川湖、草莓地、乡村绿地和白色尖顶教堂。而且在每一个地方，必然会出现龙虾卷和蛤蜊浓汤。
长时间坐在车里创造了一个在日常生活中罕见的家庭对话空间（《独立报》）
这次旅程在一定程度上受到了电影的启发。《纸月球》（Paper Moon）和《金池塘》（On Golden Pond）长期以来一直暗示，旅途本身与抵达目的地同样重要。（《金池塘》的粉丝应该入住冯·霍恩庄园，那是一家真正位于湖边的乡村别墅酒店。）我们的版本则平静得多。唯一经常出现的争执是关于音乐的。我倾向于平克·弗洛伊德（Pink Floyd）；莫妮卡则向我介绍了 Geese，她将他们描述为“现代鲍勃·迪伦（Bob Dylan）”。在我们将播放列表从感恩死之舞（Grateful Dead）切换到绿洲乐队（Oasis）时，我们发现双方在书籍上的共识与在音乐上的共识一样多。
随着里程的增加，一些微妙的变化发生了。长时间坐在车里创造了一个日常生活中罕见的对话空间。书籍让位于政治、音乐、职业，以及仅仅观察美国在挡风玻璃外缓缓展开的奇妙快感。新英格兰本身也成为了对话的一部分：枫林一片翠绿，公路空旷，城镇里的白色护墙板房屋依然聚集在村庄绿地周围，仿佛时间在此停驻。
新英格兰既拥有令人惊叹的美景，也拥有极其浓厚的历史积淀。在这里，美国革命的第一枪被鸣响。在这里，一个年轻的国家开始
我们入住康涅狄格州 Winvian 的一家树屋，这是一个拥有 18 栋小屋的乡村庄园，其餐厅提供季节性美食。虽然有提醒要小心野熊，但更显而易见的现实是在附近森林中骑行的迷人体验。酒店是美国梦的一部分。
康涅狄格州 Winvian 的树屋住宿（《独立报》）
当我们离开哈特福德（Hartford）时，旅行的目的已经开始发生转变。我们出发是为了寻找作家的故居，而我们发现的却是某种更难以捉摸但更持久的东西：无需被打断的共处时光之乐，这种快乐是以英里而非分钟来衡量的。
在伯克希尔山脉（Berkshires），赫尔曼·梅尔维尔（Herman Melville）位于箭头部（Arrowhead）的住宅静静地坐落在格雷洛克山（Mount Greylock）的阴影下。这座房子很简陋，几乎毫不张扬，但也因此而更具力量。这里是《白鲸》（Moby-Dick）的创作地——这部史诗在出版时遭遇失败，在数十年后才找到它的受众。
俯瞰这片景观，很容易想象梅尔维尔在外界冷漠无视的情况下，如何与自己的创作进行搏斗。每座文学故居似乎都传达了
同样的教训：认可与才华极少能同时到来。对于驾驶者来说，一个绝佳的消遣是入住湖边的 Prospect Berkshires，这里有超级时尚的小木屋和桑拿房，是一家依托于绝美水景的、极具时代感的度假村。
在阿默斯特（Amherst），艾米莉·狄金森（Emily Dickinson）的故居呈现出另一种强度。狭小的房间，克制的光线，以及一种为了让想象力扩张而刻意收窄的生活。她在世时几乎没有发表过任何作品，但她的诗歌如今被视为现代文学的基石。
艾米莉·狄金森的故居房间狭小，光线克制（Lynne Graves Photography）
不远处，路易莎·梅·奥尔科特（Louisa May Alcott）的果园屋（Orchard House）讲述了一个完全不同的故事——关于家庭、想象力与安静的激进主义。《小妇人》（Little Women）就在这里写就，直接取材于家庭生活，却将其重塑为某种更为永恒的东西。如果说狄金森代表了孤独，那么奥尔科特则代表了连接。
在康科德（Concord），爱默生（Emerson）和梭罗（Thoreau）的世界感觉更像是一种概念而非家庭生活。尤其是瓦尔登湖（Walden Pond），梭罗曾在那里的一间木屋中住了两年两个月零两天，这里抵御了陈词滥调。它比预想的要小，更安静，更
在这里，自然并非风景，而是一种哲学。简约并非美学，而是一种道德。漫步在海岸线上，很容易就能看出人们曾经如何在这里想象人类与自然界之间的一种新关系。
在这些停留点之间，新英格兰以一种非正式的方式展现其风貌。带有吱呀作响门廊的餐厅供应着鸡蛋、土豆饼和无限量供应的咖啡。沿海小镇在俯瞰灰色大西洋水的野餐桌上提供龙虾卷。湖泊在不可思议的天空下延伸，悠长且平静。
新英格兰展现出其作为美国风情（Americana）前沿的姿态 (The Independent)
在康涅狄格州的纽黑文，值得关注的是经营时间悠久的家庭披萨餐厅 Modern Apizza，以及一家名为 Shell and Bones 的海滨海鲜餐厅，那里有真正令人兴奋且充满活力的绝佳海鲜。千万不要错过生蚝。另一个令人惊叹的美食高地是马萨诸塞州莱克星敦的一家名为 Woods Hill Table 的餐厅，这是一家氛围精致的完美当地餐厅。
在马萨诸塞州的莱克星敦，历史变得触手可及。在美国革命第一枪响起的村庄绿地上，一名身穿时代服装、极具魅力的导游 Gerry Marrocco 讲述了保罗·里维尔（Paul Revere）的午夜骑行，以一种近乎传教般的精准地警告道：“英国人来了”。人们很容易忘记这段历史其实如此之近。
我们入住位于马萨诸塞州莱克星敦的 Inn at Hastings Park。在其完美主义所有者 Trisha Kennealy 的改造下，这里已成为美国高级美食的标杆。它位于古波士顿马车道上，值得任何一次绕道前往。
附近的建筑讲述了一个关于重新定义的不同故事。由沃尔特·格罗皮乌斯（Walter Gropius）在马萨诸塞州设计的包豪斯风格房屋，感觉像是与过去的一次彻底决裂——精准、现代，其简约程度近乎激进。新英格兰很少长时间地保持单一面貌。格罗皮乌斯的房子迷人且具有革命性。
在这些道路的某个地方，另一场旅程正在发生。我和 Monica 分担驾驶，分享音乐，并在长时间的沉默中穿插着争吵与笑声。我们在播放列表中意见不一，在食物上达成一致，并缓慢地积累起一张仅属于我们两人的共同参考地图。
导游 Gerry Marrocco 讲述保罗·里维尔的午夜骑行 (The Independent)
美丽的温尼斯夸姆湖庄园 (The Lake Estate on Winnisquam)
温尼斯夸姆湖庄园（The Lake Estate on Winnisquam）是由 Patti 和 Ed Rocco 创造的一个价值 £100 梦想度假胜地。它就像是从罗伯特·雷德福（Robert Redford）的田园诗中走出来的一样，淳朴且雄心勃勃。它似乎在池塘的另一边低语道：科莫湖，你得羡慕死在这里了。最初的文学朝圣之行已演变成另一种东西，它提醒人们，共度的时光并非旅行的附带好处，而是旅行真正的目的。
在 2,000 英里旅程的终点，我们拜访了塑造一个国家想象力的作家，以及塑造了这些作家的风景。但最持久的印象完全不是文学性的。而是一种感觉：旅程很少能兑现其承诺——而往往会带来更好的东西。
我们出发是为了通过最伟大的作家来了解美国。最后我们理解了一些更简单的事情：旅行不仅改变了你所看到的，还改变了你与身边人的交谈方式。马克·吐温相信旅行能消除偏见。他可能还会补充说，旅行对家庭关系也极有好处。
Journeyscape 提供为期 14 天的经典新英格兰套餐，包括访问波士顿、普利茅斯、鳕鱼角及其岛屿、阿卡迪亚国家公园、伯克希尔、新罕布什尔湖区、康涅狄格州、伍德斯托克、波特兰等地。每人 £4,180 起，不含机票。
回到顶部
英籍牙买加艺术家 塞迪·克莱顿 (Sadie Clayton) 访问了她祖母出生的首都，在这个地方，她可以拥抱自己的双重传承，同时探索当地的艺术与文化。
塞迪发现金斯敦充满了艺术、文化与色彩 (Sadie Clayton)
“Mi pic up, mi gaan。”（我接上她了，出发。）司机电话响起时，整个对话就这么简单。而我内心深处——那个为了这次旅行准备了数周、紧绷且过度思考、过度计划的部分——突然释然了。我瘫坐在座椅上，心想：就这样，我到了。我真的抵达了。
在我还没来得及进一步消化这一切之前，司机在双车道边靠边停车，递给我一个新鲜的椰子，就在路边用砍刀劈开——带着太阳的温度，甜美且完美无瑕。收音机里的雷鬼音乐没有停歇。金斯敦的空气没有等待。
至于我，我有一半牙买加血统，出生于约克郡，在雷鬼音乐中长大，有些周日的早晨在祖母的引导下出入福音教会，她说的牙买加克里奥尔语 (Patois) 就像音乐一样。我坐在那辆车里喝着椰子，生命中第一次感觉到一种完全的、彻骨的踏实感。一种归属感。
“欢迎回家，”他说。
塞迪在金斯敦拥抱她的双重传承
金斯敦：灵魂获得滋养之地
金斯敦的克拉伦登区 (Clarendon parish) 是我祖母出生和成长的地方。金斯敦不会让你慢慢适应。它没有温柔的引导，也没有安静的第一印象。金斯敦以环绕立体声和饱和色彩宣告自己的存在，你要么进入这个频率，要么在路边被其震撼得不知所措。
我进入了这个频率。
对我来说，雷鬼音乐并非背景音乐；它是我的童年原声带，无论是出现在我母亲那个典型的白人英国家庭，还是充盈在我牙买加祖母家中。因此，当它在金斯敦浓厚的空气中响起，而我也在那儿逐字跟唱时，我的胸口产生了一种我真心没准备好应对的反应。情感迅速且毫无预兆地袭来。
我以前去过加勒比地区的其他地方。我曾在美丽的沙滩上坐过，吃过绝佳的美食，感受到那种惬意的、典型的度假放松感。但这次？这完全是另一回事。这是更高层级的体验。这是认同感。
我还没站稳脚跟，就已伫立在金斯敦艺术区 (Kingston Art District) 的水巷壁画 (Water Lane Murals) 面前——一条延伸的、阳光普照的街头艺术长廊，让我彻底停下脚步，脸上洋溢着巨大的笑容。巨大的面孔凝视着我。双手在延伸。历史在诉说。我想到了我的祖母。我想到了我的双重传承和我的童年。我的两个世界是如何完美融合的。色彩、声音、形状、语调、质感。我用来感知世界的全部要素，此时此刻都在这里。
塞迪在金斯敦艺术区探索壁画
美术馆：墙壁说话的地方
作为一名文化传播者，我需要理解我所见之物的深层结构。于是我与牙买加国家美术馆 (National Gallery of Jamaica) 的高级总监 纳丁·布斯-古登 (Dr Nadine Boothe-Gooden) 博士坐在一起，她谈起牙买加艺术时既精准又热烈。她敏锐而温暖，对于这些作品为何至关重要，她的态度绝不妥协。
与她一同参观藏品，就像是在一场活生生的对话中穿行：历史、生存、美学、精神性、政治、迁徙、喜悦、自我定义，这一切都在画布、雕塑和插画中清晰可见。早期的作品在与国家认同和独立进行博弈。而现在的牙买加艺术家们正通过一个无可置疑且纯正的牙买加视角，参与关于全球对话、气候焦虑、性别、离散、记忆和技术的探讨。
“决定性的转变在于，世界终于开始意识到，牙买加文化的知识和艺术层次远比以往被描绘的要丰富得多，”Nadine 博士说道。“多年来，牙买加的全球形象一直被音乐和旅游业所主导，但现在人们对支撑这些影响力的深层文化生态系统产生了越来越浓厚的兴趣。”
Sadie 与牙买加国家美术馆馆长 Nadine Boothe-Gooden
金斯敦的粗犷、其创作的直接性，以及许多主要艺术之都已悄然舍弃的真实感，正是吸引人们的地方。她强调，可见度绝不能意味着简化。
她说：“我们的责任是拒绝为了国际消费而将牙买加简化。牙买加同时具有复杂性、矛盾性、深厚的知识底蕴、深邃的精神世界以及极其强大的创造力。”
正是在与 Nadine 博士一同参观画廊时，我在 Edna Manley 的《觉醒的黑人》（Negro Aroused）前停了下来，心中被触动了。这座雕塑于 1935 年由深色桃花心木雕刻而成，人物从压迫中崛起，目光投向天空，体现了斗争和几近无法承受的希望。作为一名雕塑家，我感受到了她与材料之间的对话。那不是技巧，那是对现实的审视。那是有人在用双手探索真理。
她告诉我，我可以在金斯敦港找到它。
港口：对话延续之地
在金斯敦的水岸边，一座大型青铜复制版的《觉醒的黑人》面朝大海而立，气势磅礴。人物从大地升起，双手合十，目光转向天空，表情坚定且觉醒。根基稳固却在奋斗，身处当下却在企及未来。
当一名雕塑家遇到另一位雕塑家的作品时，会发生某种化学反应，尤其是面对如此规模、如此信念的作品。你能用身体感受到那些创作决策。手臂和手部比例异常巨大，摆放在人物身前，既优雅又强而有力；厚度强调了力量，线条将你的目光向上牵引，看向伸长的颈部和抬起的面孔。Edna Manley 让这个形象坚持被世人看见。而站在那个港口，背后是大海，身后是整个金斯敦，那种坚持感觉就像整个城市在用同一个声音地发声。
金斯敦的特伦奇镇（Trench Town），鲍勃·马利曾居住和表演的地方
力量、韧性、崛起。这就是牙买加艺术的作用——它不是为了装饰房间，而是为了开启对话。在那一刻，我完全愿意让自己被它改变。
国家博物馆：属于所有人的历史
牙买加国家博物馆馆长 Jonathan 在对话开始时展现出的热情极具感染力。博物馆的主要客群是牙买加的工人阶级学童，他们睁大眼睛地来到这里，人生第一次以三维形式接触自己的历史。“他们在一次学校旅行中发现了自己，”他告诉我，这句话的简洁让我深为触动。体验式学习。将文化作为课程。而我也在寻找我自身的另一半。
英国与牙买加之间的共同历史被刻在了建筑之中。在旅途后期，我开车经过卢西亚（Lucea），发现几座乔治亚风格的建筑在牙买加的阳光下显得格格不入。很美。历史无法被化解，但继承历史的孩子们可以诚实地审视它。
解放公园：门户
它于 2002, 年解放日的前一天开业，每一个细节都经过深思熟虑——它是对被锁链锁在岛上的祖先们一份永恒且生动的致敬。
在入口处，你就能看到她：那是劳拉·费西（Laura Facey）创作的 11 英尺青铜雕塑《救赎之歌》（Redemption Song），一对裸体的黑人男女面对面而立，共同仰望天空。该作品灵感源自马利（Marley）的名言：“唯有我们自己才能解放我们的思想。”费西表示，她希望传达出“超越、敬畏、力量与统一”。作为一名同行雕塑家，我感受到了这项雄心的每一个毫米。
我走出这里时，感觉比多年来任何时候都要轻松。扎根、充盈、连接，然后释放。我在壁画、画廊、港口、对话、椰子以及那辆车中，找到了我此行想要的答案。
我的灵魂得到了滋养。现在，我可以自由离去了。
Sadie 入住了蒙特哥湾的圆山度假村（Round Hill Resort）
圆山：灵魂修复之地
随后来到了圆山，随之而来的，是一次深长的呼气。
圆山酒店及别墅（Round Hill Hotel and Villas）是 The Set 成员，坐落在波光粼粼的加勒比海湾上方的一个私人半岛上。它以一种现代旅行几乎已经遗忘的频率地运作着：永恒、从容且完全独立。面向大海的客房、套房和鸡尾酒吧均由拉夫·劳伦（Ralph Lauren）独具匠心地设计。
这里并非在刻意表演优雅。它本身就是优雅的。这是最纯粹意义上的低调奢华：鲜花在海风中摇曳，食物的味道让人能准确感受到它的来源，而那种温暖是无法通过培训习得的。它要么根植于你的内心，要么不存在。在圆山，每个人身上都有这种温暖。
我抵达时，心中仍回荡着金斯敦的电波，雷鬼音乐在脑海中循环，壁画在眼前闪现。而圆山并没有要求我在进门时抛弃这一切。它用一条冰毛巾、一杯朗姆潘趣酒以及随处可见的艺术与格调迎接了我。
我坐下，微笑，睡得像个在经历了一场异乎寻常的长途旅行后终于抵达终点的人。因为，我确实就是这样做的。
Sadie 是作为 The Set 和 Visit Jamaica 的嘉宾旅行的。
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一个人如何在西方世界最繁忙的城市中安稳入睡？在一次浏览枕头菜单和静脉滴注的睡眠之旅中，艾莉·西摩（Ellie Seymour）找到了答案。
Bryte 睡眠套房只是纽约少数几个致力于帮助客房睡眠的场所之一（柏悦酒店 Park Hyatt）
“聆听量子谐波会让你感到非常放松，”我的治疗师凯维娜（Kevina）说道。 我不确定她的意思是什么，但我尝试接受。我面朝上躺在一个部分注水的发光治疗床上，在一个感觉像豪华掩体般的暗室中，被一个弧形天花板包裹着。凯维娜在我的耳朵上戴上一副加厚降噪耳机，并为我盖上了一床加重毯。
“我 30 分钟后回来，”她轻声说道，随后调暗了微小的射灯，离开了房间。
几秒钟后，叮叮咚咚的迷幻音效开始播放，床铺也开始轻轻震动。这种组合起初感觉很古怪，但又有一种奇异的幸福感，我记得在五分钟之后就没意识了。当凯维娜（Kevina）低声唤醒我时，我觉得自己像是在深层睡眠中度过了好几个小时，对于一个难以入睡的人来说，这简直是个奇迹。
我来到纽约五星级的 Equinox 酒店，是为了在被称为“睡眠实验室”的房间里体验一次奢华、高强度的两晚睡眠主题住宿，并测试这里提供的助眠疗法。比如这次在 Sleep Wave Table 上的梦幻疗程，我发现它与 60 分钟的 NutriSLEEP 静脉滴注（一种包含镁等诱导放松营养素的混合液）堪称绝配，让我陷入了愉悦的昏昏欲睡状态。
艾莉·西蒙斯（Ellie Seymour）在俯瞰哈德逊河的 Equinox 酒店考虑静脉滴注疗法 （独立报/The Independent）
作为一个深受失眠困扰的浅眠者，我一直热衷于寻找更好的睡眠方法。同时我也非常痴迷于纽约市——每年访问两次——因此，睡眠问题加上兴奋感和时差，意味着我通常在这座城市度过的时间都处于一种过度疲劳且神经紧绷的朦胧状态。然而，在入住酒店的第二晚，我竟然连续睡了七个小时，打破了
这是一个奇迹，尽管每晚 $1,700 (£1,260) 的价格（不含疗程）高得惊人。
纽约市被誉为“不夜城”，嘈杂的纽约是最不可能找到休息之所的地方。每次访问，我都让自己接受一个事实：我可能会在睡眠不足的状态下度过时光。然而，几家纽约酒店正顺应流行的睡眠健康旅游趋势，我此次前来正是为了尝试其中四家，每家酒店的奢华程度和强度各不相同。
睡眠旅游兴起于 2010 年代后期的更广泛的健康旅游运动。随着酒店开始将睡眠包装成一种奢华体验，它在 2020 年代初成为了一个显著的旅游趋势，其中 Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas 等品牌通过专注睡眠的疗程、昼夜节律照明以及旨在促进压力和疲劳恢复的设施，率先开创了高端健康酒店业。睡眠健康或许并非纽约独有，但这座城市的高能量绝对使其成为了一个极具吸引力的实验场。
我那奶油色调、最先进的“睡眠实验室”避风港已为完美的夜晚睡眠做好了准备：双层玻璃落地窗、遮光窗帘、温度控制床以及可调节的房间功能，例如你入睡和醒来时的时间、温度、声音和光线。通过床头的平板电脑和 iPhone，我在抵达后立即设置了自己的偏好，然后喝起来自“RoomBar”的草本茶——这是一个增强健康的微型药房，包含维生素、电解质、能量饮和镁贴片等各种药剂。
当我安顿好时已是傍晚，于是我开始按照床头书籍的建议进入“关机”状态——先是通过电视进行一次瑜伽，随后进行一次加入了薰衣草和乳香油的极佳蒸汽淋浴。在焕然一新且身心放松后，我蜷缩在低矮的丝绒沙发上，啜饮一碗骨头汤
入睡之地：纽约市 Equinox 酒店的一切都致力于提升您的休息质量（Vanessa Tierney）
我和我的房间同时准备入睡；我贴上镁贴片并钻进被窝，此时灯光开始自动调暗，窗帘缓缓关闭。这是我第一晚轻松的收尾，尽管我在凌晨醒了一次，但很快就重新入睡了。对此我感到很满意，因为我能体验到在床头平板电脑发出轻柔的风铃声中醒来，同时灯光缓缓变亮。喝完一杯 Nespresso 咖啡后，我前往酒店那拥有壮丽景观的巨大健身房，然后回到房间进行蒸汽淋浴。早餐时，我饮用了一杯加入南非醉茄以降低皮质醇水平并促进更好睡眠的“大脑燃料”奶昔。
两天的这种例行程序有时感觉像在参加新兵训练营，但事实证明，这是我所有纽约之行中最健康的一次开端。离开这里后，我精力充沛，准备前往下一站：位于热闹的中城东区（Midtown East）的四星级 Benjamin Royal Sonesta 酒店，体验其面向成人及儿童的“休息与更新”计划。在经历了高科技的 Equinox 之后，我已经准备好尝试一个更低调且更实惠的选择。The Benjamin
Royal Sonesta 的主要特色是一个广泛的 10 枕头菜单，专门针对不同的睡眠姿势——趴睡、侧睡或仰睡。我订购了“冷却云 10”和“缎面美颜”枕头，纯粹是因为这些名字很有创意，同时还要求了一台白噪音机，这有助于掩盖入住期间几次将我惊醒的汽车鸣笛声和警笛声。
两天后，当我办理入住纽约公园酒店（Park Hyatt New York）的一间面向中央公园的宽敞“Bryte 睡眠套房”时，我依然感觉精神焕发。我对睡在 AI 驱动的 Bryte 床上的前景感到非常兴奋——我非常喜欢那种充满传感器且能随身体移动而自动调节以帮助维持睡眠的床垫。为了操作它，我通过床头柜上的二维码将手机连接到 Bryte 门户。在这里，我可以随意尝试，更改床垫的柔软度和硬度（真是太新奇了！），查看我的睡眠报告（很有趣），并将床设定为通过轻微震动唤醒我——感觉奇妙地舒适。这是我睡过最舒服的床，让我享受了两个幸福且无干扰的夜晚，其中还因为一个技术问题而多睡了一次超长懒觉。幸运的是，我当时没有任何必须起床处理的事情。
睡眠谈话：The Benjamin Royal Sonesta 酒店的枕头菜单 (The Benjamin Royal Sonesta)
仅凭其典范级的服务和欢迎就让我感到安心，灵活的入住和退房时间同样如此。我来到这里是为了享受一次两小时的基于阿育吠陀的睡眠支持疗法（Sleep Support Therapy）护理，该疗法旨在通过一次“旅程”来缓解失眠、对抗时差并调节睡眠模式。虽然 635 美元（£471）的价格并不便宜，但如果你负担得起，每一分钱都花得值得。在一次惬意的足浴之后，我躺在加热床上，享受我人生中最棒的一次水疗护理：一次尽情的全身和面部按摩，重点按压特定穴位以重新平衡能量水平。
“我接触的大多数人很少能记得治疗结束时的情景，”我的按摩师克里斯塔（Krista）在我们开始旅程的最后阶段——希罗达拉（Shirodhara）疗法时说道。考虑到我的睡眠史，我确信自己不会成为其中之一，但她是正确的；我也没记住。随着温热的油从铜制的希罗达拉瓶中轻轻滴在我的前额上，我无法抵抗困意，几分钟后就沉沉睡去。当我醒来时，感觉身体沉重如铅，像是粘在了按摩床上。如此深层的放松感实属罕见，我不希望这种感觉结束，于是我闭上眼睛，试图延长这种状态，而这座不夜城在 22 层楼之下的深处地处律动。
Ellie Seymour 由维珍航空（Virgin Atlantic）提供机票飞往纽约，并入住纽约 Equinox 酒店、皇家索内斯塔本杰明酒店（Royal Sonesta Benjamin）、纽约公园海悦酒店（Park Hyatt New York）和纽约半岛酒店（Peninsula New York）。
如何抵达
维珍航空提供伦敦希思罗机场与肯尼迪国际机场（JFK）之间的直飞航班，往返票价每人 538 英镑（£538）起，包含免费餐饮和机上娱乐。欲了解更多信息，请访问 www.virginatlantic.com 或致电 0344 8747 747。所列价格截至 2026 年 4 月 29 日有效，且可能发生变动。
下榻地点
纽约 Equinox 酒店，其睡眠实验室（Sleep Lab）每晚 1,700 美元（£1,260），30 分钟的睡眠波床（Sleep Wave Table）疗程 60 美元（£45），营养睡眠静脉滴注（NutriSleep IV） 250 美元（£185）。
纽约公园海悦酒店，其由 Bryte 打造的一卧室睡眠套房每晚 1,500 美元（£1,112）。
纽约半岛酒店，其高级客房每晚 895 美元（£725）起，睡眠支持疗法（Sleep Support Therapy）护理费用为 635 美元（£470）。
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symbolic gesture from the new PM
he outpost of the Office for the Prime Minister and Cabinet in Manchester has been derided as a gimmick – and there is an element of tokenism about it. However, it is a token of the right objective, which is to push power out of London.
Andy Burnham opened No 10 North at Heron House in Manchester, declaring it to be “the best day of my life” as ministers gathered there for the first time on Friday.
There are all sorts of practical objections to No 10 North. The most important is probably that the prime minister’s time is a scarce resource at the heart of an effective government, and travelling between London and Manchester may not be the best use of it, if Stakhanovite efficiency were the only test.
However, modern secure communications make it theoretically possible to work anywhere, even if train wifi is in practice an unfunny national joke.
Nor can a prime minister who has promised to spend more time with his MPs be in two places at once. There are inefficiencies and duplications in operating out of two bases, including the one-off costs of relocating civil servants.
It may be, also, that Labour will regret making a fuss about Rishi Sunak’s use of jets and helicopters for domestic journeys if Mr Burnham decides they are the only way of getting to and from
Heron House in time for other commitments. He took a government plane there on Friday, but that was because he was travelling from London via Scotland to meet the leaders of the devolved administrations.
These disadvantages are outweighed, however, by the advantages. Rents and housing costs are cheaper. The civil service will be able to recruit from a different talent pool, including people who cannot afford – or do not want – to move to London. But above all, it will send a signal through the government machine that parts of the country outside the capital have high status. Not just a signal: the reality will be that people outside London will work on some of the highest functions of central government.
The success of the Darlington campus of the Treasury, set up by Mr Sunak, is a trailblazer for this approach. Like No 10 North, it was created by a politician who had a constituency interest – Mr Sunak’s seat in Richmond, Yorkshire, was a few miles away. But it successfully broadened the Treasury’s social culture. Rachel Reeves did not spend much time there, but perhaps John Healey, her successor, will.
Mr Burnham’s obsession with the politics of place is not a matter of mere “vibes”. The resentment felt around the country at the wealth and power of London is real, and contributes to the alienation that so many voters feel from politics, which can feel like something that is done to them from far away.
The prime minister is trying to show that there are better ways to run the country than doing everything from Westminster and Whitehall. Of course, there will be resentment from places outside Manchester about influence wielded from Heron House, but anything that helps to break down the unipolarity of the British polity is a step in the right direction.
And it goes without saying that the regional imbalance of British society, and Britain’s economy, is not going to be changed much by putting a replica door of 10 Downing Street in an office block
in Manchester. The dominance of London in England, like that of Paris in France, is the product of centuries of national unity, and it would be more dominant still if it were not for green belts, planning law and regional policy over the past century.
But a great deal can be achieved, and has been achieved, by moving significant civil service and public sector functions out of London. One of the drivers of Greater Manchester’s success during Mr Burnham’s time as mayor has been the BBC’s decision to move a large part of its operations to Salford.
No 10 North may be a gesture, but it is a gesture in the right direction.
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wildfires in Spain and France
Spain has declared a national emergency and France has brought in its army to tackle the flames
Amy-Clare Martin
Firefighters near Lacanau, southwestern France, yesterday (AP)
More than 280,000 people have been forced to flee their homes as devastating wildfires rage across central Spain and southwestern France.
France has deployed its army, with hundreds of soldiers joining efforts to contain the flames, which have ripped through a record 98,000 hectares since January. Yesterday, authorities ordered the evacuation of large parts of Bordeaux’s suburbs, including the areas of Le Haillan, Eysines and Merignac.
High winds have left firefighters struggling to battle flames as Spain declared a national emergency, with multiple fires merging outside Madrid. The regional president, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, said it was the “worst fire in the history of the region” and that conditions had been made worse by a combination of high temperatures, wind, and the merging of a number of fires.
European Union countries have sent helicopters, planes and ground teams. These include 40 personnel from a Romanian forest fire team, two Portuguese and two Swedish Air Tractor planes, four helicopters – including two from Germany, one from the Czech Republic and one from Slovakia – and from Switzerland, four light helicopters and 30 ground personnel.
Residents forced to evacuate have described apocalyptic scenes as they left their homes behind. Marion Girault-Rime was awoken at around 4am on Friday by an emergency alert on her phone that instructed every citizen of the wealthy resort town of Lege-Cap Ferret to evacuate immediately. She grabbed underwear and toothbrushes and, along with her daughter Mahau and boyfriend Tony, rushed to the car. “Luckily, my husband and son were not at home,” she said.
Marion Girault-Rime was forced to flee her home in Lege-Cap Ferret (Marion Girault-Rime/Quatre Histoires)
It was not long until they were overwhelmed by the smell of smoke as they joined hundreds of other cars fleeing the area. Ms Girault-Rime was left speechless as cinders blew across the
“Europe stands alongside France and Spain in the face of the devastating wildfires ravaging them,” European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen wrote in a post on X.
windscreen as though it was “raining ash”, with bright red flames erupting and a towering pillar of black smoke. The scene was “frightening and spectacular”, the 53-year-old told The Independent.
Colonel Romain Moutard, the deputy director of the Landes fire and rescue service, said the fire was “apocalyptic” and described the situation as “Dante-esque” as the flames spread.
The length of the final stage of the Tour de France has been shortened to allow police officers to be redeployed to battle the raging wildfires. The race’s final stage today will be reduced in length by a third, the Paris police department said, in an extraordinary measure that underscores the gravity of the fires.
Firefighters from Spain’s military emergencies unit battle flames in El Tiemblo, 80km west of Madrid (AFP/Getty)
The UK government is advising citizens in Spain to avoid travelling through affected areas of Madrid and Avila, while those in France are being told to follow the advice of local authorities. Prospective holidaymakers are advised to check with their accommodation or travel provider before making the journey. A French foreign minister urged tourists not to cancel their travel plans.
Wildfires are also affecting parts of Scotland, with a major incident declared in the Cairngorms national park. More than 500 firefighters have been tackling the blaze, which has raged for the past 10 days and forced locals from their homes in the remote region.
Scotland’s first minister John Swinney has said that the Cairngorms national park wildfire is still a “very serious situation”. He added that such situations can change “very quickly and dramatically”, reflecting the challenges faced by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Services and other responders.
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‘apocalyptic’ smoke rages for 10 days
Residents evacuated and authorities ask for bulldozers to help contain blaze
Danyel Vanreenen
Fighting the wildfire in the Cairngorms national park (Photos PA)
Residents in the Highlands were left “upset, angry and frustrated” yesterday as the fire in the Cairngorms national park continued to rage, creating “apocalyptic” palls of smoke, despite earlier assurances that it was contained.
More than 500 firefighters have been tackling the blaze for the past 10 days, which has forced the evacuation of homes in the remote region.
Sandy McCook, chair of the Nethy Bridge and Vicinity Community Council, said residents of the Cairngorms village could see large plumes of smoke from the wildfire on Friday before they were evacuated.
The smoke has changed direction, and yesterday he said it was blowing towards Aberdeenshire and the North Sea, but the flames were still “very plain to see” from the outskirts of Nethy Bridge.
Emergency services previously said significantly changed weather conditions, including stronger winds, have contributed to the unpredictable behaviour of the blaze.
In an update yesterday morning, Police Scotland said residents in a small area of properties north-west of Dorback Lodge (Lain Thatchan) had been evacuated as a precaution.
Villagers ‘running on adrenaline’
The Scottish government said a fire break around the village was established overnight, and new breaks are being constructed as Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) deploys additional resources.
“If you are affected by smoke, stay indoors where possible, keep windows and doors closed, and avoid strenuous outdoor activity,” SFRS said.
The service also requested more heavy machinery, such as bulldozers, to help with the response.
“Operators who can provide suitable plant machinery to support the ongoing multi-agency response are asked to report to the Village Hall in Nethy Bridge,” SFRS said.
On the ground, Mr McCook said there was a major increase in firefighting units from the SFRS in and around the village, plus multiple wildfire response units.
“I think a lot of people are running on adrenaline,” he said.
The fire has created ‘apocaplyptic’ palls of smoke
“A lot of people are upset, angry and frustrated at the ongoing situation because the Scottish Government said a week ago [on Wednesday] that they had enough resources to deal with it, and they said on Thursday that the fire was contained.
“My argument with that is, if you said the fire was contained and you had enough resources last Wednesday and Thursday, why are we still fighting it 10 days later and it’s still running out of control? It is still not controlled in any way shape or form.”
Emergency services said there were nine fire appliances at the scene yesterday, supported by specialist wildfire resources.
The update came after first minister John Swinney chaired a meeting of the Scottish government’s resilience room (SGoRR) on Friday night.
John Swinney said the fire had ‘moved in another direction’
The meeting was attended by several ministers and representatives from emergency services, including SFRS and Police Scotland.
On Friday, Mr Swinney said: “I would obviously ask people in the region to follow all of the advice that is available and to respect the exclusion zone that’s been put in place.
His comments came as smoke from another wildfire near Glenmore drifted as far as Aberdeen due to changing wind conditions.
The fire, which broke out near the village of Glenmore on Wednesday last week, led to residents and campsites being evacuated.
It covered about six square kilometres of heather and small trees at its height.
Evacuated residents are being directed to a dedicated respite centre at the Macdonald Aviemore Resort.
Members of the public are asked to avoid affected areas, which the fire service said remains unsafe due to firefighting operations, rapidly changing fire conditions and helicopter activity.
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fertiliser explosion causes huge blaze
A number of firefighters were taken to hospital and later discharged
Anna Loren
The fire in Rettendon, Essex, was declared a major incident on Friday (PA)
Three fire engines and two fire officers’ cars were destroyed in a blaze at an industrial unit in Essex on Friday, while 20 firefighters were sent to hospital following the incident.
Firefighters were faced with the “large and rapidly developing” blaze on Friday evening following a fertiliser explosion.
Rick Hylton, chief fire officer and chief executive at Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, gave an update on the fire in a press conference yesterday afternoon.
Roads were closed yesterday and people were being asked to avoid the area (PA)
Mr Hylton said that 20 firefighters had “attended hospital” following the incident.
“Of that 20, four suffered minor injuries, and the remainder were precautionary assessments, including checks for issues such as hearing loss following the explosion. I am pleased to confirm all of those firefighters have now been discharged from hospital.”
The fire, which prompted the evacuation of nearby homes, was declared a major incident on Friday afternoon.
Emergency services were first alerted to the inferno on Southend Road, between East Hanningfield and Rettendon, at 4.50pm on Friday, Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said.
The fire prompted the evacuation of nearby homes (Reuters)
Several industrial units and an adjacent field were engulfed in flames. About 100 firefighters were originally deployed to combat the extensive fire.
Mr Hylton said: “The incident is now under control, although firefighters will remain at the scene, dealing with the remaining hotspots and supporting the transition into the recovery phase.”
People were asked to stay away from the area so that the firefighters could continue their operations.
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questions about ‘unfunded spending’
David Maddox Political Editor
Downing Street sources say Andy Burnham ‘has the courage’ to fix issues that have bedevilled politics for decades – but opposition parties want to know where the money is coming from (PA)
Andy Burnham is coming under increasing pressure to explain how he will fund his spending pledges, after it emerged that the new prime minister intends to make a start on fixing social care this week.
Mr Burnham said on his first day in office that he did not want to end his time as prime minister without having taken the difficult decisions required to fix the social care crisis in England, which he claims has bedevilled governments for almost three decades. However, after a series of mini pledges on cutting business rates for pubs, clubs and music venues, taking VAT off energy bills, and capping bus tickets at £2, Mr Burnham has been challenged
When he was health secretary in 2009, Mr Burnham attempted fix the social care crisis by seeking cross-party support for a levy to fund it. However, the Tories at the time turned on him and accused him of attempting to invent a new “death tax”. He now intends to make addressing the crisis a priority in his second week, with a Downing Street source saying he “has the courage” to fix the problems and make tough choices. He is also expected to make interventions on youth unemployment and devolution in the coming days.
A No 10 source said: “Andy is going to run towards problems that have been neglected, giving people hope again. He has the courage to fix the most difficult issues that have been ignored for years and [are] seen as impossible to resolve. He doesn’t accept that they are. They can’t be ignored any longer. The prime minister is determined to show that governments can make people’s lives better if they choose to. He wants to get Britain believing again.”
Mel Stride has accused Burnham of coming into office ‘without a plan’ (PA)
Unlike NHS care, social care is not free at the point of use, and the high cost of it sometimes means that people are forced to sell their homes to pay for what they need. People with savings worth more than £23,250 are not entitled to help with the cost of care from their local council.
Mr Burnham has already pledged to “use some of [his] political capital” on the issue. But in 2019, Boris Johnson said in his first speech as prime minister that the Conservatives would “fix the crisis in social care once and for all” – a pledge that failed to come to fruition.
After winning the 2024 election under the leadership of Sir Keir Starmer, Labour faced criticism for scrapping plans for an £86,000 cap on the amount anyone in England would need to spend on their personal care over their lifetime, having argued that the proposal was not “deliverable” in the time frame. Mr Burnham said the failure of governments to act over the course of recent decades was “not defensible”.
The prime minister and his pick for chancellor, John Healey, are already under pressure to explain how they will sustain a raft of support packages they have announced for bus passengers, energy consumers, and people who drink in pubs. The Resolution Foundation, an independent think tank, has estimated that last week’s pledges will cost more than £2bn in 2029-30, and will squeeze fiscal headroom to as little as £8bn.
Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, is in favour of ending the care crisis (House of Commons/UK Parliament)
Mr Burnham has been accused by the Tories of going on a spending spree. In a letter to Mr Healey, shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride accused the prime minister of making “unfunded promises”, and said the country “cannot afford to tax or spend or borrow our way into avoiding difficult decisions”. He said the prime minister’s pledges will add to concerns about tax rises at the next Budget.
Sir Mel said: “Andy Burnham came into office without a plan. He has made numerous promises, but seems to have little idea how he will pay for any of them. These unfunded pledges will only add to concern and speculation about yet more Labour tax rises at the next Budget, as well as yet more borrowing, leaving a crippling burden for future generations.
“Britain cannot afford that – and businesses and households should not be left in the dark. That’s why I’m calling on John Healey to come clean on the real cost of Burnham – and tell us who he expects to pay for it.”
But Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey expressed his support for renewed focus on the care sector, saying: “I really hope this is the beginning of a serious, lasting effort to end the social care catastrophe. Andy Burnham says he is willing to expend political
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Greater Manchester will choose Andy Burnham’s successor next week, so what can the prime
minister expect from the first electoral test for his Labour Party? Dan Haygarth finds out
Andy Burnham, pictured with daughter Annie, arrives to vote in the Greater Manchester mayoral election in May 2017 (Getty)
ndy Burnham may still be learning the ropes as prime minister, but his first electoral test this week will feel far more familiar to him. The then MP for Leigh left parliament in 2017 to become the first elected mayor of Greater Manchester, winning with 63 per cent of the vote.
Broadly following the model of the mayor of London, the new role was hailed by its creator George Osborne as “a massive moment for the North”, transferring powers from Westminster and Whitehall to its largest city region. Burnham had power over planning, housing, policing, health and transport across the 10
And he took the role to national prominence during the Covid-19 pandemic, when his response to the government’s treatment of the region saw him hailed as “King of the North”.
Burnham’s ‘King of the North’ moniker emerged from his response to the government’s Covid lockdowns (AFP/Getty)
An immensely popular figure in England’s North West, Burnham was re-elected in 2021 and won in every council ward across Greater Manchester; he followed this by winning in all but one in 2024.
National coverage often incorrectly refers to Burnham’s previous role as mayor of Manchester, but there is a lot more to the Greater Manchester region than the city itself. His time as mayor saw plenty of change, defined by the emergence of an abundance of city-centre towers, as Manchester’s inner-city living standards, measured against 2010, rose more than anywhere else in the UK.
well as that of the UK as a whole, but that growth has been focused mainly in the city itself. And places such as Oldham, Rochdale, and Wigan – where Burnham’s previous and current parliamentary seats can be found – would not necessarily thank you for referring to them as Manchester.
Burnham’s Makerfield constituency lies in part in the Greater Manchester borough of Wigan (Getty)
Many from these outer boroughs would see themselves as being from Lancashire, rather than the 1970s creation of Greater Manchester, which may go some way towards explaining the 32 per cent turnout at the 2024 election. The towns and villages that make up these boroughs are largely working-class post- industrial Labour heartlands, but they are not the thriving metropolis of Manchester.
In a way, the two key components of Labour’s electoral coalition are present in Greater Manchester – urban voters, and those from “left behind” areas of England. The region is “predominantly Labour land”, but “quite socially conservative outside Manchester itself”, according to Bury-born Jon Tonge, a professor of politics at the University of Liverpool.
He tells The Independent: “Burnham’s popularity extended right across, but there are still issues of identity. Identity and place still matter. Politically, there is some variation in control, but not much. The Lib Dems control Stockport council now – it was
Burnham’s by-election win in Makerfield came after Labour took a drubbing in the local elections (AFP/Getty)
“But Reform made huge gains at the council elections. Labour would breathe a sigh of relief that only one-third of the seats were up for grabs, because had they been all-out elections, chances are Reform would control some of Greater Manchester’s councils now.”
May’s elections also saw the Green Party make significant gains in the city of Manchester as Labour suffered gruelling results nationwide – losing 1,500 council seats in England and relinquishing control of 30 local authorities. Those results were the death knell for Keir Starmer’s premiership, and brought about the end of Burnham’s time as mayor: he returned to parliament in June’s Makerfield by-election, beating Reform comfortably, before assuming leadership of the Labour Party.
It was Greater Manchester’s second parliamentary by-election this year, following Gorton and Denton – won by the Greens after Labour blocked Burnham’s candidacy. When the man who is now prime minister declared that he wished to return to
Westminster, the prospect of Labour losing control of Greater Manchester was used as an argument to keep him in post.
Several bookmakers made Reform the early favourite when the election was announced, but polls now suggest that Labour will retain the mayoralty with relative ease, as Reform and the Greens battle for second place. Tonge believes that is all down to the change in No 10.
Burnham with Lucy Powell and Angela Rayner at Bev Craig’s campaign launch last month (PA)
If Starmer were still leader of the Labour Party, and Burnham were not on the ballot, this election “would have been a mighty close battle and very difficult for Labour to hold on”, he says. “At the Gorton and Denton by-election, people were clearly looking for an alternative to Labour. But all has changed with Burnham now. People are no longer looking for an alternative to Labour;
Once it became evident that Burnham was going to be prime minister, the spillover effects of a Burnham premiership meant Labour is back in business for now.
Professor Jon Tonge, University of Liverpool
“Initially, the bookmakers priced it wrongly in my view – though I understand why – having Reform as very slight favourites. But once it became evident that Burnham was going to be prime minister, the spillover effects of a Burnham premiership meant Labour is back in business for now.”
The latest YouGov poll predicts that Labour’s candidate Bev Craig will beat Reform’s Sian Astley by 62 per cent to 38 per cent in the second round of this election, which will use the supplementary voting system – as was the case in 2017 and 2021. It would be the first time, however, that an election for Greater Manchester mayor had gone to a second round.
The Greater Manchester by-election will be proof of Labour’s post-Starmer ‘Burnham- bounce’, says politics professor Jon Tonge (PA)
“The ‘Burnham effect’ just overshadows this entire contest and dwarfs every other factor,” he explains. “Labour is enjoying a honeymoon period, Burnham is insulated from scrutiny, and there’s a triumphant Labour conference coming up in Liverpool. Until deep into autumn, it’s a victory lap for Burnham, and Bev Craig will run that victory lap with him in Greater Manchester.”
Craig has been leader of Manchester City Council since 2021, representing the Burnage ward, where you will find the childhood home of Oasis’s Gallagher brothers. She cannot claim to have a profile comparable to Burnham’s, but worked closely with him as council leader and as the combined authority’s member for the economy and business. “It’s almost as if she is Burnham’s protégé,” says Tonge.
A Bee Network bus in Manchester city centre: bringing buses into public control was a flagship Burnham policy (PA)
Her election branding borrows the “For us” style used by Burnham in Makerfield, and her policy offering is a combination of continuity and Burnham-esque new pledges, such as free bus passes for 11- to 16-year-olds.
With a Labour win likely, what remains to be seen is whether a prime minister who has long banged the drum for devolution will make his mayoral successor more powerful than he ever was. “Burnham had the most powers [of the Northern mayors] and used them to the max,” says Tonge. “Now the question is how much further power he will bequeath to Bev Craig and others – there’s always a risk of poacher-turned-gamekeeper.
“Early in his political life, as health secretary, Burnham wasn’t pro-devolution because he feared a non-uniform NHS. He then became an uber-devolutionist as mayor. Once you become prime minister, there’s always a slight risk you become centralist again. He’s talking a great game about rolling out powers, and it will be difficult to renege on that, but the risk remains: everyone is a great devolutionist when receiving powers, but will you remain one when bequeathing them?”
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Andy Burnham’s first week as prime minister saw him appoint a very northern cabinet and ended with his first meeting at his Manchester outpost. Dan Haygarth hears from allies about what this
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apparent fixation means for the future of his government
Andy Burnham greets supporters at the Labour campaign HQ at Stubshaw Cross Community and Sports Club (Getty)
s Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership neared its end, an unassuming social club on the outskirts of a former mining town became the nerve centre for a reboot of the Labour Party. The Stubshaw Cross Community Club at the northeast of Ashton-in-Makerfield was home to Andy Burnham’s by-election campaign at the start of the summer.
The choice of a traditional Labour club as his campaign headquarters illustrated what the then-mayor of Greater Manchester wished to achieve as he sought more than just the Makerfield seat. It represented what would soon become his Labour Party getting back to its grassroots, reconnecting with
The club is a far cry from Islington’s now-lost Granita restaurant, where Tony Blair and Gordon Brown were said to have struck a gentleman’s agreement about leadership and set about rebuilding the Labour Party in their image in 1994.
“He does politics and he does symbolism very well,” Patrick Hurley, Labour MP for fellow North West constituency Southport, says of Burnham’s campaign base.
Seat of power: Inside the Burnham campaign HQ at Stubshaw Cross Community and Sports Club in May (Getty)
“Running the most consequential by-election campaign for the past 100 years out of the hatch of a Labour club in Lancashire – that just speaks volumes, and it speaks volumes to where the Labour Party goes next”, he tells The Independent.
“It speaks volumes to the fact that under Andy, we’ve got our groove back a little bit. The people who we were set up as a political party and a movement to advocate for and to work on behalf of, I think they realise that.”
Burnham used his first week in office to announce a series of policies designed to offer “breathing space” for people and hospitality businesses, such as the Stubshaw club, from the cost of living crisis – a move which has unsurprisingly been welcomed by the Parliamentary Labour Party.
Polling has suggested that the party is enjoying something of a ‘Burnham bounce’ as well, narrowing the gap with Reform to two points in More in Common’s latest figures.
Reaching out: Andy Burnham (right) and John Healey during a visit to the Hare pub in Harlow, Essex (PA)
The new prime minister, who has set out his stall to “rewire Britain” and move power out of the nation’s capital to its regions as he promises the most significant political change for almost half a century, has seen his own personal approval rating rise to plus 13 – higher than Sir Keir’s ever was.
“What Andy has put his finger on is that you can’t just manage a country from Westminster and Whitehall”, says Hurley. “You can’t just sign a bit of paper in your office in Downing Street and suddenly the country has changed for the better. It’s painstaking hard work from the grassroots up.”
The Stubshaw Cross club is the representation of those grassroots, according to Hurley, and he believes Burnham is far more comfortable among them – and understands them better – than his predecessor. He adds, “One of his campaign slogans in Makerfield was ‘Things will get better if we stick together’.
“It pinpointed to me the difference between Andy’s approach and the approach of Labour governments over the past 30 years. In ’97, the slogan was ‘things can only get better’. There’s a sense there that things are going to get better, there is going to be this guiding hand of progress whether you like it or not, and all you need to do, the working class of the Midlands and the North, is sit back and progress will be done to you.
“Whereas Andy’s vision of things getting better is very much contingent on the collective, very much contingent on saying things will get better if we stick together.”
‘Vote Andy For Us’ Labour by-election campaign placards depicting Andy Burnham adorn the campaign HQ at Stubshaw Cross Community and Sports Club in May (Getty)
A northern cabinet and a northern outpost
“The London set have run it for too long”, Burnham said of his party in an interview with The Observer during his by-election campaign. He has since, perhaps pointedly, appointed a cabinet
About Burnham’s overtly northern reset of the Labour Party, Liverpool City Region mayor and close friend of the prime minister Steve Rotheram told The Independent earlier this month: “There’s no doubt about it – it’ll wind some people up.”
But the new leader is only utilising the “broad church” on which Labour prides itself, according to his former mayoral colleague. “It doesn’t matter whether you’ve left school at 16 with few formal qualifications or you’ve been lucky enough to go to Oxbridge,” he says. “The party should attract everybody if they have the same values.
“Andy’s got Labour values. He wants the best for people and he wants the country to prosper, but he wants to take people with him and tackle some of the thorny issues.”
Heron House in Albert Square, Manchester, which will be the interim base of the British government’s ‘No 10 of the North’ (Getty)
Central to his northern revolution is No 10 North – the prime minister’s Manchester outpost, which he has said will be the “conduit” through which he redistributes power across the UK.
“The days of Whitehall resisting devolution are over, for good,” the prime minister said before his first meeting there on Friday, as he promised it would move influence away from Westminster
Hoping to benefit from its proximity to Liverpool is Rotheram. “I think its location is totemic for Andy for what he wants to do with that Manchesterism and growing that,” the mayor says. “But its function will be more important than its geography.
“That would be really helpful, if all of a sudden somewhere was recognised that you can go there and speak to government rather than always go down to SW1.”
The prime minister’s focus on the city he used to lead is not surprising. He also invited Donald Trump to his old stomping ground when it hosts the G20 next year – but does it mean that Manchester is well and truly now England’s second city?
Andy Burnham greets Steve Rotheram, mayor of the Liverpool City Region, and his grandson (Getty)
West Midlands mayor Richard Parker rejects the suggestion that its rise could come at Birmingham’s expense. “To be really clear, Andy Burnham is now the prime minister for the country, and he can only succeed if the country succeeds,” Parker tells The Independent.
“The best way I can do that is working with him to ensure the West Midlands succeeds, and that’s my priority. I’m really positive about devolution and the impact the prime minister has made so far in his days in office.
“I’m not going to get fixated on No 10 North”, he adds. “It’s there to deliver growth, investment and prosperity for our regions, and I see that as a real positive.”
Burnham’s advocacy for devolution and a commitment to a markedly different approach to his predecessor are the primary reasons for his rise to the country’s highest office, Parker believes. “Andy was pretty clear about that [a different focus from Sir Keir], and actually I think that projection, or that focus and recognition, is the reason why he’s become prime minister,” he says.
‘A Labour government with a bit of urgency’
In Rotheram’s eyes, Burnham’s political abilities, more so than his politics, contrast with the man who returned Labour to government in 2024.
The Millstone pub in central Manchester installed a replica front door of No 10 Downing Street (PA)
“Andy can connect”, he says. “Having Andy as the leader, we’ll be able therefore to use the messaging that we've previously failed to connect with, to try and ensure that we get on doorsteps and tell people how Labour can change people's lives with Andy Burnham as the prime minister.”
For Hurley, the approach in the first week’s administration underlines why those within the Labour Party are daring to get their hopes up – albeit cautiously. “It’s a Labour government with a bit of urgency, which has been sadly missing in action over the past six to 12 months,” he says.
“My criticism of the previous prime minister; he came in with a lot of good intentions, but too often I think there wasn’t the sense of urgency that was needed.”
“Keir got off to a bad start. Some decisions out of No 11 for the first six months weren’t the most optimal.
“But he also gave a speech in the Rose Garden at Downing Street in August 2024 – he’d been in for about six weeks – and said, ‘Things are going to get worse, and things aren’t as good as you want them to be.’ It took the wind out of people’s sails a little bit.
“Under Andy, there is a contingent sense of cautious optimism and hope here. It’s not blind, it’s not naive. It’s knowing full well that this is going to be an incredibly, incredibly difficult thing that we’re going to do for the country.
“But bit by bit, step by step, if we stick together, things will get better.”
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This quintessential village has become ‘Blackpool-on-the-Water’, one inhabitant tells Jacqui
Merrington, as daytrippers take over without contributing to the local economy
Rammed: the village green at Bourton-on-the-Water can barely be seen for visitors (Photos by Charlotte Joynes)
nce heralded by JB Priestley as the quintessential English village, and known as the “Venice of the Cotswolds”, Bourton-on-the-Water is at breaking point. Residents warn that the historic Cotswold destination is being destroyed by an influx of daytrippers and Instagrammers.
The area has always been popular with visitors, but that popularity has increased further in recent years thanks to picture-perfect shots on social media and celebrity links including to Clarkson’s Farm – Jeremy Clarkson was once rumoured to be buying a pub in Bourton.
“We are a beautiful quintessential English village, with so much heritage, and people want to see it,” says Charlotte Joynes, chair of Bourton Residents Voice, which was formed to tackle the growing list of concerns among villagers. “We want to share it, but at the moment, the hordes of people that are coming means we are just being destroyed. It’s no longer the beautiful village that people think it is – it’s more ‘Blackpool-on-the-Water’.”
Search for Bourton-on-the-Water on Instagram and you’ll quickly find a list of reasons not to visit in the summer. The village gets so busy, it’s hard to even see the village green beneath the sea of deckchairs and picnic blankets.
Bourton-on-the-Water’s beautiful river attracts millions of tourists in the hot weather
According to residents, the nature of tourism has fundamentally changed since the Covid pandemic. While the village previously hosted international travellers from the US and Australia, who came for the architecture and supported the local economy by staying overnight and eating out, the current trend means increasing numbers of daytrippers are arriving from nearby towns and cities.
“They are coming with their own picnics, and all they’re buying is an ice cream,” says Joynes. “They are using apps to find free parking and clogging up our streets. The coach park is closed, and it’s become a free-for-all with coaches in residential streets.” Residents in the village have reported tourists using hedges as toilets, leaving litter piled up beside bins, and even taking chunks out of the iconic Cotswold stone wall to take home as souvenirs.
Joynes, who has lived in the village for 34 years, estimates that between 5,000 and 10,000 visitors a day descend on Bourton – which only has a population of 4,000 people. The village green is often rammed with picnickers, and Joynes even reports seeing one family set up a table and chairs in the river and eat a full meal of fish and chips.
“I work in one of the pubs,” she adds. “We do want visitors. It’s the ‘picnic-and-paddlers’, as I call them, that aren’t bringing anything to the economy. We now have tourists moaning about tourists in Bourton. It’s not our own village any more.”
The quintessential Cotswold village in quieter times
The Instagram reviews tell a story of frustrated visitors. “Don’t get us wrong, Bourton-on-the-Water is one of our top locations within the Cotswolds, but for those looking for an idyllic day in the sunshine that rapidly turned into a day crammed onto a river bank with the rest of the country that had the same idea, we always wish we had a back up plan,” writes holiday lettings company Boltholeretreats.
“Bourton-on-the-Water today: one giant communal picnic where nobody knew whose mat they were sitting on anymore,” writes doctor_with_a_suitcase.
A recent survey of 202 residents found that more than 90 per cent believed the current tourism levels in the village were not sustainable and had a negative impact on their quality of life. A total of 94.6 per cent of residents said they felt visitor numbers were excessive.
Gloucestershire County Council has recently launched a consultation on transport and parking in Bourton-on-the- Water. It says: “We know people are concerned about pedestrian safety along the High Street and how vehicles, including coaches and buses, [are] affecting how people move around the village. We want to hear your experiences to shape the right solutions to ensure everyone can continue to enjoy this historically significant village.”
Charlotte Joynes, chair of Bourton Residents Voice
Bourton Residents Voice is calling for immediate intervention and describes the current consultation process as “an absolute farce”, noting that consultees were not able to access a recent meeting with the county council on the issue as the link was broken.
“We would like enforcement,” says Joynes. “The coaches coming in are doing it illegally because of traffic regulations. But we don’t have police to stop them. We want people to visit but respect where they’re coming to. We are a little village of 4,000 residents and we can’t cope. We need to leave something for our future generations.”
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Secret networks of boys are luring targets to Discord and Telegram. Neither platform is included in
the proposed social media ban for under 16s, as Nicole Wootton-Cane reports
Elijah Palmer blackmailed a teenage girl into self-harming and making explicit images of herself (Crown Prosecution Service)
lijah Palmer was on the hunt for a victim when he first reached out to Ania* over the online gaming platform Roblox. He pretended to approach the young teen as a friend, luring her away to the messaging site Discord.
There, he groomed her into committing a series of haunting and sadistic acts, blackmailing her into cutting his online username handle into her skin and sending him sexual images. He made threats to her and her family, and even told her that if she refused, he would send a manufactured bomb threat to a local school under an email address in her name.
His sickening demands were made as part of an increasingly extreme quest for “clout” among a group of similarly violent- minded boys and young men. These groups, known collectively as “Com networks”, deliberately target vulnerable victims, usually young girls, to extort them for sadomasochistic “content” to share with other members of the network.
Palmer was jailed for four years and nine months after pleading guilty to a slew of offences, including encouraging or assisting serious self-harm, causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, and making indecent photographs of children at Sheffield Crown Court last month.
Speaking to The Independent, the National Crime Agency (NCA) warned that Com networks are a “deeply concerning” threat that transcends national borders and are causing “unprecedented” and “severe” harm to young girls.
The groups are a “priority” for the Five Eyes intelligence group, which brings together law enforcement agencies from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the US.
Rob Richardson, who leads the agency’s work against child sexual abuse, said it is currently investigating around 200 cases involving Com networks, with reports of the abuse up by 2,900 per cent since 2022.
Because of the relatively recent identification of the threat, Mr Richardson explained it is impossible to tell whether this explosion in referrals reflects a rapid growth, or whether offenders are simply being identified more successfully.
But he said Com networks represented a unique challenge. “This is children who are drawn into harmful places online, who are causing this harm to other children,” he said. “Our worry is the severity of the harm”.
Members of Com groups such as 764, which Palmer had joined, target young girls in particularly vulnerable online spaces, including forums for those with eating disorders or who are self-
harming. They have been known to coerce and groom victims as young as 11 into seriously harming or sexually abusing themselves, siblings or pets. Pictures and videos of these disturbing acts are then shared with the group as the offender seeks notoriety, and tips on how to “extort” victims are shared through “lore books”.
Discord and Telegram are the two platforms that appear the most in cases, according to Mr Richardson. Both are not currently understood to be included in the government’s social media ban for under-16s because they are seen as messaging apps rather than social media platforms. The government told The Independent its social media ban is “only one set of measures to keep children safe” and that platforms have duties under the Online Safety Act.
Some gaming apps are also believed to be ways that boys are being drawn into the networks.
Palmer is not the first Com network member to face justice in a UK court. In 2025, 19-year-old Cameron Finnigan pleaded guilty to encouraging suicide, possessing a terrorism manual, and indecent images of a child. He was also a member of 764, and was jailed for six years.
Parents are being urged to understand their child’s online life (Getty)
Mr Richardson described Com groups as a “gendered threat”. He said the boys involved are usually lonely, socially isolated individuals who struggle to form relationships in real life and spend much of their lives online – a pattern seen with both Palmer and Finnigan.
These boys are then captured by extreme, nihilistic content that is repeatedly fed to them through social media algorithms, pulling them into the murky corners where Com networks operate Mr Richardson said. He added that content linked to the “manosphere”, which promotes male supremacy and aggressive masculinity, is one of the pathways identified as a common route to Com networks.
“A lot of this content is on the clear web, it isn’t necessarily on the dark web, so it’s quite easy to identify,” he said. “It generates a sense of grievance amongst these young men. That bleak view of their own existence drives some of these young people into harmful spaces online.”
“I think there is a case to be answered for the way algorithms work. There is definitely more that the industry can do. It doesn’t take much [to get fed harmful content].”
The next phase of the Southport Inquiry, launched to understand how killer Axel Rudakubana’s devastating knife attack on a Taylor Swift-themed dance class could have been prevented, will probe role of social media in radicalising young people.
While many offenders are drawn to Com groups through social isolation and a lack of curiosity from parents and those around them about their online activities, Mr Richardson said that isn’t always the case.
“There are also examples where you have kids who live in what might otherwise be described as caring, loving, well-to-do families, and the parents have first identified this behaviour only once the police have gone through the door,” he said.
He urged parents to have “open” and “non-judgmental” conversations with their children about their online lives.
“Kids are much more cyber-literate than the generation above them, and that often can be quite intimidating for parents,” he said.
“So having those kind of non-judgmental conversations with kids, showing an interest in what they're doing and being able to challenge it, and making use of parental controls is really important.”
A Telegram spokesperson said: “Telegram's terms of service explicitly forbid acts Com/764 take part in. Telegram has been consistently removing groups and channels associated with Com/764 since they were discovered, including with the help of hashes of Com/764 content – both collected by Telegram moderators over the years and provided by outside organisations.”
A Roblox spokesperson said: “This behaviour has no place on Roblox. We engage with law enforcement efforts to hold bad actors accountable. Roblox takes reports of directing users off- platform seriously and we have rules and safety systems designed to make it harder for users, especially younger users, to share personal information or be directed off-platform. We will continue to strengthen our safeguards to help protect our community.”
*Victim’s name has been changed to protect their identity
Discord has been contacted for comment.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI) or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.
If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you
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(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Tipping point
Hands reach for the ball as Kenya's David Gichohi attempts to score a basket during a men's pool B 3x3 basketball match between Singapore and Kenya at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. AP
Dry runs
An aerial view shows the green square and parched, yellow grass on the cricket field of Maidenhead & Bray CC during a game, in Bray, west of London. Getty
Mucking in
Making light
A Tezutsu-shu, a traditional arm-held firework performer, holds a tezutsu hanabi, hand-crafted bamboo tube packed with gunpowder that erupts in a towering column of sparks and flame, during the Tatebayashi Arm-Held Fireworks Festival in Japan. Getty
A Palestinian man crouches on the side of the road yesterday outside the hall where people are offering condolences to the families of victims killed by Israeli forces on Friday in the village of Tell in the occupied West Bank. Getty
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Demonstrators during a protest organised by Unite the Clans Scotland in Glasgow (PA Wire)
Arrests as violence erupts at immigration protest
Several people were arrested after violence erupted in Glasgow between anti-immigration and anti-racism protesters yesterday. Police Scotland chased and held back Unite the Clans demonstrators who ran towards an anti-fascist group, with many on both sides wearing masks. The force said a significant policing operation was in place, with disorder reported across the city centre.
“Members of the public are being asked to avoid the area at this time, and we understand the concern this is causing in the community. Anyone with concerns can approach officers,” police said in a statement. “This is a particularly challenging situation, and officers are working hard to bring this incident to an end.”
them. Punches were thrown as the anti-immigration group approached anti-racism campaigners, while projectiles were thrown into the anti-racism crowd. Helicopters circled the park, one of the city’s busiest, as police managed to separate the groups near Saltmarket in the city centre.
Those taking part in the Unite the Clans rally chanted “Send them home” and held placards reading “Stop the boats”, as blue smoke billowed from the park. There were big cheers during a speech in which a protester said “It’s wonderful being white” and “I love being white”. One man was heard saying: “I’m a Nazi and I love it.” PA
Met use new kits to fight phone snatchers
The Metropolitan Police are intensifying their efforts against illegal e-bikes and e-scooters by deploying new testing kits across London. It comes as the force reports a record number of seizures in 2026. The crackdown aims to curb the use of the bikes and scooters in criminal activities, particularly phone theft.
As part of Operation Lexand, officers seized 29 e-bikes and seven e-scooters near Tottenham Court Road Station on Friday. This targeted action forms part of a broader Metropolitan Police initiative to tackle phone theft and neighbourhood crime, marking the seventh such operation this year, with five more planned throughout the summer. So far in 2026, the project has led to the seizure of more than 2,500 illegal electric two- wheelers, surpassing the 2,241 impounded in 2025.
The force is using innovative “rolling roads” technology to efficiently identify non-compliant vehicles. These portable Dynostar and Wenger test kits act as treadmills, quickly measuring whether e-bikes or e-scooters can propel themselves faster than the legal limit of 15.5mph through electrically assisted pedals, batteries, or throttles. The Met and Nottinghamshire Police are currently the only forces in the country to deploy this advanced equipment. PA
A 14-year-old boy is “assisting officers with their inquiries” after a hoax threat was made to an aircraft heading to Manchester airport. RAF Typhoons were scrambled from Lincolnshire on Friday to intercept the Qatar Airways flight in response to the threat, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.
Nats – formerly National Air Traffic Services – received the threat at around 6pm on Friday, and police responded alongside the RAF and airport authorities. The aircraft landed safely and there was no threat to passengers or crew, Greater Manchester Police confirmed. A 14-year-old boy from Bolton, who was not on the flight, has been identified and is “assisting officers with their inquiries”, police said.
Chief Inspector Gary Homa said: “This type of behaviour is completely unacceptable. The safety of the public is always our top priority and every report of this nature is treated extremely seriously. Hoax calls can cause significant disruption, divert vital emergency service resources and create unnecessary concern for passengers, crew and the wider public.
“Thankfully, this incident concluded safely, but making false reports is not a prank and can have serious consequences. We will always investigate incidents of this kind thoroughly and take robust action where offences have been committed.” PA
Former minister dies after falling on walk home
Former minister John Horam has died at the age of 87, his family has said. The Conservative peer died at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington after falling on the way home from a day working at the House of Lords on 2 July. Despite receiving care from paramedics and hospital staff, he did not regain consciousness, his family said.
Lord Horam was born in Preston, Lancashire, and was head boy at the independent Silcoates School. He went on to read economics at Cambridge, gaining an MA in 1960. His first job
was with the confectionery brand Rowntree’s, where he worked on developing the After Eight mint. He then had a stint in journalism, writing for the Financial Times and The Economist, before entering politics.
Lord Horam represented three parties in parliament. He was the Labour and later Social Democratic Party (SDP) MP for Gateshead between 1970 and 1983, before defecting to the Conservatives in 1987, serving as Tory MP for Orpington from 1992 to 2010. He was a minister in both Labour and Conservative governments, and was created a working life peer as Baron Horam of Grimsargh in 2013.
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weeks of ‘cockroach’ youth protests
Namita Singh
Dharmendra Pradhan resigned yesterday, handing a major victory to protesters nationwide asking for accountability over examination paper leaks (AFP/Getty)
India’s education minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned yesterday after weeks of Gen Z-led protests demanding that he take responsibility for an examination paper leak that affected millions of students.
The resignation marked the first major concession from prime minister Narendra Modi’s government after a movement led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) resulted in weeks of nationwide demonstrations, sit-ins, and hunger strikes.
Soon after, the spokespersons of the group, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, in a joint press conference with union ministers Jitendra Singh and JP Nadda, announced the withdrawal of the
The government, in turn, agreed to withdraw all cases against student protesters.
Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, spokespersons for the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) arrive for talks with ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh yesterday (Reuters)
“Cockroach Janta Party declares that we withdraw the agitation in good faith, with the understanding that the agreed-upon terms will be executed within the agreed-upon timelines,” Das said. “Our second demand was that all the FIRs filed against the protesters, not just in Delhi but in all BJP-ruled and BJP-allied states, should be withdrawn. This was also our second demand. The government has accepted that demand as well.”
The CJP sprang up as a satirical platform, providing a rallying point for millions of young Indians frustrated over high unemployment and exam paper leaks and seeking greater government accountability.
Over the past week, tens of thousands gathered in the capital Delhi demanding the resignation of Mr Pradhan over leaks of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Neet), India’s
Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) supporters celebrate Pradhan’s resignation in New Delhi (AFP/Getty)
The demonstrations have become one of the most visible signs of public dissent against Mr Modi’s government in recent years, with thousands returning to the streets even after police used tear gas and batons this week to disperse marchers trying to reach parliament.
The “cockroaches”, as the protesters call themselves, welcomed the move.
“We have done it,” said Abhijeet Dipke, founder of CJP, who started the movement as a mocking response to a pointed comment from India’s top judge, Justice Surya Kant, who likened India’s unemployed youth in a speech to “cockroaches”. Mr Dipke’s words were met with loud cheers at the Jantar Mantar protest site.
India’s biggest street protests of recent years have become a political flashpoint, posing one of the biggest challenges to Mr Modi as politicians joined youngsters’ calls to demand action.
“We have two more demands. We won’t go like this. Dharmendra Pradhan has resigned. But the families of the children who committed suicide should receive compensation of one crore rupees (£77,700). They should get it. One crore rupees compensation to all those families. And second, these police goons who acted on the 20th (July). Action must be taken against the police officers for that. Remember, do not mess with cockroach.”
CJP supporters hold signs during yesterday’s ongoing protests, a few days after thousands of protesters marched towards parliament (Reuters)
“DEMOCRACY WINS!” the Cockroach Janta Party wrote on X following the minister’s resignation.
Mr Pradhan’s resignation came even as police fired tear gas to scatter young protesters in the Indian capital, hours before the protest leaders’ scheduled talks with ministers.
“Considering the situation that has arisen at Jantar Mantar and across the country, so that anti-national forces do not take advantage of this situation ... I have sent my resignation letter to the Prime Minister,” Mr Pradhan wrote in his post.
Cheers erupted among the thousands of protesters who have been rallying in central Delhi and elsewhere as the news spread.
The government had shut down the exit of 18 metro stations closer to the protest site and suspended the internet in the area, in a bid to contain it.
Anger had boiled over since police on Monday injured many students, launching baton charges and firing tear gas to deter crowds of protesters marching on parliament.
A protester holds a banner during the protests (Reuters)
The protests, led largely by young people and triggered by discontent over leaks of question papers for high-stakes entrance exams, reflect anger over job scarcity, corruption and government accountability.
Mr Modi’s government had earlier sought to ease tensions by announcing fast-track courts for cases involving exam paper leaks and saying it would introduce legislation to strengthen measures against cheating and corruption in the examination system.
Regarding the demand of compensation, union minister JP Nadda said, “On the issue of compensation, the government stated its position in very clear terms. We also have sympathy… All of us have said that honourable compensation, in accordance with the rules and regulations, and whatever maximum is possible, will be provided to them. Similarly, regarding the five- point charter that you gave me the day before yesterday and yesterday, which is related to reforms in the education examination system, our position is that we will give it serious consideration.
“We will also hold discussions with your delegation, and whatever can be deliberated upon, we will make every effort to do so. These were their demands. In my view, all the demands they presented have been accepted with sympathy and understanding.”
With the minister’s departure now confirmed and the concessions agreed, in principle at least, government ministers have appealed for an end to protests. Mr Nadda added, “My request to all of you is that those who have been leading the movement should withdraw their agitation so that we can all move forward peacefully.”
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Daily life has become a struggle to survive as Venezuelans tell Maira Butt that a month on from
the disaster that left more than 5,300 people dead, food, shelter, and water remain scarce
A member of the Civil Protection service gestures while taking part in the search for bodies amid the rubble of a collapsed building in Caraballeda, Venezuela, on 23 July 2026, nearly a month after the 24 June earthquakes. (AFP/Getty)
estled between the sea and mountains, the Caribbean coastal city of La Guaira used to be a bustling hotspot for tourists and trade. But a month after the worst tremors to hit Venezuela in a century, parts of the city are now a shadow of what they once were after being the heaviest hit by a double earthquake.
Satellite images show widespread destruction, with tower blocks of apartments flattened and hotels destroyed. Government officials report that the death toll has surpassed 5,300 fatalities and the number of people missing is still in excess of 50,000. More than 16,500 people have been injured.
While the true cost of the devastation is still emerging with every passing week, the World Bank estimated in a statement on Thursday that the disaster has caused around $19.6bn (£14.7bn) in damage.
Volunteers and rescue teams still search for bodies amid the rubble of a collapsed building, nearly a month after the 24 June earthquakes (AFP/Getty)
At least 47 per cent of the damage hit residential buildings while 27 per cent impacted infrastructure and 26 per cent affected non-residential structures.
“Recovery has been painfully slow and deeply heartbreaking,” Saddam Cedeño, 33, a cruise ship worker, tells The Independent. “Even though it’s been a month since the tragedy, the landscape in the hardest-hit areas is still devastating. Heavy machinery is continuously at work. Recovery hasn’t even begun because the focus is still on clearing collapsed sites and holding on to hope for missing loved ones.”
As the rainy season approaches, the need for shelter and housing is becoming urgent. “Thousands of us are living in temporary camps, emergency shelters or improvised tents set up right next to what used to be our homes, either because there is nowhere else to go or out of fear of leaving behind the few belongings we managed to save,” he says.
Cedeño explains that the search for clean drinking water remains a daily struggle and that relying on the support of others has become “exhausting” for many. The living conditions are compounded by daily power outages and unstable phone services, making access to humanitarian aid patchy and communications harder.
“Small local businesses saw their livelihood disappear overnight,” he says. “Right now the daily fight is to secure food and supplies.”
The sound of heavy machinery is a constant presence (AFP/Getty)
Many of the victims are still searching for their loved ones. Victor Calderón, a 49-year-old fisherman, told the BBC that he had lost 26 members of his family. They include his sisters, their children and grandchildren, stepfather and nine cousins – they were aged from two years old to their late seventies. “It's a terrible, terrible thing,” he said. “I haven't cried for them yet, not until I find the last ones who are missing.”
The medical crisis is also dire with hospitals and medical facilities severely restricted. International Medical Corps deployed an emergency field hospital on 11 July and has provided
They have offered care for wounds, treatment for acute and chronic illnesses, maternal and child health services, medication replacement and other critical services. Three mobile medical units across affected communities have provided nearly 2,000 additional consultations so far, it says.
Saddam Cedeño and volunteers at Healing Venezuela (Saddam Cedeño)
Another aspect is the mental health impact of the disaster, which has been severe for families still searching for loved ones, living in temporary shelters, still looking for answers and stuck in a limbo between hope and grief.
Medecins Sans Frontieres describes the terror and shock faced by those affected as amounting to a “psychological crisis”. It says it has provided 113 individual mental health cases, 323 group therapy sessions and 1,402 psycho-education sessions over the last four weeks.
One 29-year-old Venezuelan based in La Guaira told The Independent that his apartment had been destroyed in the earthquake and that most of his university classmates in La Guaira had died. “I spent many years working to save up the
money to buy an apartment and buy one. Now it is just debris,” he said. “There are so many problems. People are worried about missing loved ones. They don’t have anywhere to live. There are many destroyed buildings, and the buildings that didn’t fall are tilted.”
With local infrastructure severely compromised, aid teams are implementing water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) intervention, says MSF.
Cedeño, pictured while working on a cruise ships before the earthquake, says that the impact of the disaster has been ‘heartbreaking’ (Saddam Cedeño)
International Medical Corps says it has delivered over 30,000 litres of safe water to date, which has reached around 2,400 people. Other emergency medical teams in the country are assessing sanitation and hygiene.
“On the one hand the period of solidarity is remarkable,” continues Cedeño. “Local volunteers are coordinating and humanitarian groups are providing essential psychological and medical support.” He cites the Healing Venezuela foundation as a key organisation helping people on the ground. “On the other hand, there is uncertainty about the future and about rebuilding houses and infrastructure. We know it will take a long time.
“Right now we are taking it one day at a time, trying to stay strong for our families. We are grateful to organisations and to God for the fact we have survived and got another opportunity to live this life.”
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ancient Pompeii banquet hall
The vault depicts Dionysus and Ariadne, whose union is one of the best-known Greek myths
Anna Loren
Part of the restored ceiling in Pompeii
Archaeologists in Pompeii have unveiled a partially reconstructed frescoed ceiling vault, featuring detailed images from Greek mythology.
Pompeii, which was buried by the eruption of Italy’s Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, is a Unesco World Heritage Site and one of the country’s most popular tourist attractions.
The archaeologists presented the ceiling vault late on Thursday, at the end of an international workshop on new discoveries at the ancient city.
As new fragments of frescoes are found and restored, they can be added to the scene, the archaeological park said.
Experts work on part of the restored ceiling vault of the Bakery House
Experts determined that the main theme of the work was of Cretan princess Ariadne and Dionysus, the god of wine and revelry.
The couple’s union is one of the best-known Greek myths.
In 2025, archaeologists discovered a spa-like complex that was described as a “once-in-a-century” find.
What is thought to be one of the largest private bathhouses in the city was uncovered after it lay buried underneath metres of volcanic rock for centuries.
The chambers – complete with a large plunge pool, and hot, warm, cold and changing rooms – could accommodate up to 30 people and were found at the heart of a grand residence.
The baths were found near the house’s banquet hall, suggesting the Roman residence lent itself to being a “stage for celebration” that goes beyond what we would consider a “private space” by today’s standards.
AP
In March this year, more than 20 plaster casts of victims who died in the catastrophic volcano eruption went on display for the first time in a permanent exhibition.
The casts, which scholars call “imprints of pain”, dramatically capture the exact position each resident of the city died in 79 AD.
The reproductions were created by pouring liquid plaster into the voids left by the decomposed bodies in the hardened ash.
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Donald Trump smiled and shrugged as journalists who reported on his links to Jeffrey Epstein received awards (Reuters)
Trump shrugs as Epstein reporters win awards
President Donald Trump stood by awkwardly at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner as reporters for The Wall Street Journal won awards for their coverage of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal that inspired the president to launch an unsuccessful $10bn (£7.5bn) defamation lawsuit last year.
WSJ reporters were honoured multiple times during Friday’s dinner. The president often shrugged or smiled as their reporting was described, and he shook some of the winners’ hands. When it was his time to speak, the president joked that it had “not been an easy evening” hearing about their work. “All these awards,” he said. “Do I have a say?”
Street Journal, media mogul Rupert Murdoch and the journalists and publishers who contributed to the WSJ’s reporting on an alleged birthday letter he sent to Epstein, which the president claims does not exist.
China braces for Typhoon Noul
Typhoon Noul is expected to bring winds and heavy rain to southern China including Hong Kong over the weekend, putting the region on high alert.
Hong Kong’s Observatory said Noul, with maximum sustained winds of 81mph near its centre, was moving steadily yesterday across the northeastern part of the South China Sea and edging closer to the coast of eastern Guangdong.
The city’s observatory forecast that Noul could make landfall Sunday morning around the vicinity of the southern Chinese cities of Huizhou and Shanwei, bringing heavy squally showers and thunderstorms to parts of the region.
Zelensky denies right-wing cocaine conspiracy
Volodymyr Zelensky has denied taking cocaine with French president Emmanuel Macron in a bizarre interview with an American far-right Maga influencer.
Laura Loomer, a close ally of Donald Trump and an ardent conspiracy theorist, travelled to meet the Ukrainian president and witness the impact of the war in Kyiv, after spending the last three years downplaying Russia’s invasion. Ms Loomer, who has two million followers on X, had previously labelled Ukraine a “country full of Nazi apologists” and had claimed that they were being led “by a Jihadi apologist”.
However, the hardline right-wing activist has changed her stance in recent months and met with Mr Zelensky at the Marrinsky Palace, telling him: “I’ve come to realise that I was bamboozled by Russian propaganda and I came to believe a lot of untrue things about Ukraine.”
Rumours about Mr Zelensky taking Class A drugs with Mr Macron were amplified by Tucker Carlson, a fellow figure on America’s right who carried out a sit-down interview with Russian president Vladimir Putin in 2024. When asked about the story, the Ukrainian leader laughed and replied: “Of course not”.
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He has made a good start, diverting attention from another round of difficult choices coming in the
Budget, and possibly even opening a route to another Labour victory, says John Rentoul
Fast start: Andy Burnham running near his home in Cheshire on Saturday (PA)
One sentence stood out in Andy Burnham’s first week as prime minister. “The only thing I care about is getting this government re-elected.” Not Burnham’s words, but those of Hayden Munro, his political secretary, who sent a WhatsApp message to his new colleagues in 10 Downing Street.
That such a statement of the obvious should be so striking tells us a lot about how directionless and demoralised the Starmer administration had become in its dying days. People can recriminate about plots and disloyalty, but what brought Keir Starmer down was that no one thought he could win the next election. He has been replaced by someone single-mindedly pursuing that goal.
Burnham’s first-week blitz of announcements and social media videos has achieved favourable publicity for unfunded promises backed up by often cringeworthy but relatable content. On balance, this has been a success.
Some of the prime minister’s public relations triumphs have seemed almost accidental. Luke Tryl of the pollsters More in Common said he was “surprised how much the lack of lectern for Burnham’s No 10 speech has cut through” in focus groups. It was seen as indicating a contrast with Starmer, “removing a barrier” and coming across as “bold”.
The social media video of Burnham and John Healey, the chancellor, chatting inconsequentially in a pub could have been embarrassing, but a lot of people like it. They come across as normal, with a simple political message at the end: because they broadly agree on their snack ratings, Burnham concludes, “It’s going to be a good partnership.”
Overall, the voters like what they see. The first polls taken after Burnham took office give him net positive ratings. But support for the Labour Party has risen only modestly, and is unlikely to rise enough to make an early election a realistic possibility. (Although Burnham’s comment on Friday when asked if he was thinking of it – “No I’m not” – is meaningless: he learned enough from Gordon Brown’s failure to control speculation in 2007 to know that he has to rule it out until he rules it in.)
That means that the “good partnership” of prime minister and chancellor is going to have to present a Budget, probably in November, which looks ominous politically. After Rachel
The key to understanding Burnham’s premiership lies not just in Munro’s comment about ‘getting re- elected’, but also in that TikTok pub chat between Burnham and Healey. Burnham is not communicating costed policy commitments; he is just chatting
The key to understanding Burnham’s premiership lies not just in Munro’s comment about “getting re-elected”, but also in that TikTok pub chat between Burnham and Healey. Burnham is not communicating costed policy commitments; he is just chatting.
In the light of Burnham’s political secretary spelling out this government’s overriding priority – “getting re-elected” – I have some predictions to make. One is that defence spending will not be raised to a trajectory that hits 3 per cent of national income in 2030, which is the issue over which Healey resigned last month.
This may make Healey look cynical. It may prompt suggestions that his resignation was aimed more at getting Starmer out than at securing the 3 per cent figure. Too bad. Getting this government re-elected is what matters, and whacking up taxes to stop a Russian threat in which voters do not believe is not going to help.
Similarly, I predict that Burnham’s bold and brave plan to tackle the problem of social care, to be announced in the coming days, will either not be announced in the coming days, or if it is, will not come with a price tag attached. The problem, ducked by every prime minister since Burnham’s own plan for a “death tax” was abandoned in 2010, will be ducked again.
Reeves’s two tax-raising Budgets, are they going to have to present a third? Not so much for the largely symbolic promises on rough sleeping, electricity bills, bus fares and pubs, but for the big-ticket items: defence spending, social care, and a worsening economic outlook caused by America’s war with Iran.
The freeze in income-tax personal allowances came up in the pubs of Makerfield during the by-election. Burnham’s response was that it was a disgrace and the government ought to do something about it, though his actual words were: “We’ll have to look at it at the Budget alongside everything else.”
When it comes to the Budget, he and Healey will have looked at it and discovered that there is no money for anything other than the limited guarantee that people with no income other than the state pension will not have to pay income tax on it – which Reeves announced last year.
One reminder of Burnham’s flexibility this week was that his removal of VAT on electricity bills will be paid for by abolishing the digital ID programme. Not only was that programme itself unfunded, but Burnham was the junior Home Office minister who in 2005 took the Identity Cards Bill through the Commons.
Burnham is flexible, he wants to win the next election, and he may have a ruthless political instinct in government that Starmer lacked. If he can get through the Budget without sustaining too much damage, the outlook might start to look promising. Tories and Reform split the right; Burnham hugs the Lib Dems close and neutralises the Greens as much as possible.
We will see how good at politics Burnham really is in the next few months, but there is a plausible route to Munro’s objective of “getting re-elected”.
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I’m part of a privileged generation that grew up in a time of peace – but I’m so disappointed by the
YouGov survey that shows only 6 per cent of Brits would volunteer to fight if we faced the threat
of invasion, that I did something about it, says Pablo O’Hana
A group of recruits from the BBC documentary ‘Young Soldiers’: ‘We are, in many senses, Britain’s luckiest generation – and yet we’re the least prepared to defend it’ (BBC)
I’m everything the right has warned you about. A lefty, metropolitan millennial – a pro-European, anti-Trump, anti-gun, Ukraine-defending, DEI- supporting, internationalist. I’m also a vegetarian who chooses cycling over driving every time. In a word, I’m “woke”. So you don’t have to try hard to imagine my friends’ jaws dropping and my parents’ eyes widening when I told them I was joining the British army reserve.
Progressives hear “army” and immediately assume white-vest- wearing, chest-beating nationalism for indefensible wars waged in our name. That reflex, while not without historical foundation, exposes a blind spot. Few people in my generation have ever been asked to do anything for the security of our country.
Even as Vladimir Putin’s illegal and unprovoked war ravages Ukraine, we have come to treat our own safety as a moral achievement and a destination reached by those before us, rather than what it is – a happy and lucky accident of when we were born. That reckoning is already visible. A new YouGov poll found that just 6 per cent of Britons would volunteer to fight if the country faced the threat of invasion – and 17 per cent would refuse any order to defend our land.
I think that’s a disgrace for a country that has given us everything. That’s not to say everything is perfect. Rent, wages, housing, the sense that the ladder was pulled up before us – like most young people, I feel our country is not working hard enough for us. And having lived in Belfast for two years, I understand the uniquely difficult reputation the British army carries there. (My friends’ reaction was less than enthusiastic.)
Where I don’t agree is that, because things are tough and complicated, you abandon it. While the left curates its objections, look at who is answering the call. In another poll, half of Nigel Farage’s Reform supporters said they’d fight under some circumstances. That is the composition of Britain’s future armed forces being decided by our absence.
This squeamishness isn’t inherited. The same Labour government that founded our beloved NHS also took Britain into Nato and built the deterrent. Clement Attlee’s people understood that the state that delivers social justice is the same one that defends itself. Our discomfort is closer to Iraq, not 1945.
There is extraordinary potential in this improbably small, bonkers, queue-loving, football- mad, contradictory but wonderfully tolerant, progressive island
I am not arguing for conscription. Nor am I warmongering. I am advocating readiness and preparedness. Compelled service would be a defeat, not a solution. But if enough of us volunteer, compulsion never enters the conversation. If just 10 per cent of Brits under 35 joined the reserve – roughly 1.4 million people – it would stiffen deterrence, reassure allies like Ukraine, and put the same people who march against illegal wars inside the institution that fights them.
And before you ask what we’d be fighting for, I can tell you, as someone who left for the US and came back: this is a country you can argue with and win. Fall ill, and our envy-of-the-world NHS treats you, no questions asked. Same-sex marriage was unthinkable in my parents’ lifetime, and is utterly unremarkable in mine. Safe, legal and confidential reproductive care is enshrined in law. Our education is free to every child, whoever their parents are. Our culture is exported to every inch of the planet, and our journalism – some left, some right, some in the gutter – is unrivalled.
When Putin invaded, we didn’t take a breath before picking a side, and four prime ministers later, we haven’t shifted an inch. Governments here lose elections, leave the building and hand over the keys. So I have joined the reservists. Not as a gesture, and not because I have stopped criticising this country – I intend to be a considerable nuisance to it for the rest of my career. But because there is extraordinary potential in this improbably small,
We are, in many senses, Britain’s luckiest generation – and yet we’re the least prepared to defend it. Snarling and swiping from the sidelines is not progressive. It is betraying the country that gave us everything, and never asked us for anything in return.
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After a week in which the new government committed almost £1.5bn to alleviate the cost-of-living
The only area Andy Burnham’s government has shown interest in growing is public spending (Getty)
I understand why so many of us are placing our hope in Andy Burnham and his promised “circuit breaker” for Britain. His instinct that growth cannot be ordered from Whitehall, but must be nurtured from the bottom up, is correct.
crisis, Gina Miller has some ideas about how it can be paid for
And yet, in his first week as prime minister, economists have warned that all the new spending commitments promised to tackle the cost of living – £850m to take VAT off electricity bills, £450m to cap bus fares, and £100m to cut business rates for pubs and clubs – may force the chancellor to raise taxes to pay for them.
Hope is not a policy. If Burnham’s government is to mean anything, one thread must run through everything it does, from the first Budget to the last: fairness.
HMRC puts the tax gap – the difference between what is owed and what is collected – at a record £59.2bn for 2024-25. That is not an abstraction; it is money that could clear waiting lists and rebuild crumbling schools. Behind it sits an entire ecosystem built to help money disappear, because chasing it is hard and the beneficiaries have deep pockets. With the help of AI, a fair government can close this down.
Corporation tax has one of the fastest-growing gaps of any tax, north of 18 per cent. The multinationals and online platforms that book billions in British sales while routing their profits elsewhere cannot keep treating their tax bills as optional.
Then there is the question no politician wants to touch: the pensions triple lock. Uprating the state pension each year by whichever is the highest – inflation, earnings, or 2.5 per cent – was defensible as the emergency measure it was brought in to be. But as a permanent ratchet, it is neither affordable nor generationally fair. A double lock – the higher of inflation or earnings – would still protect pensioners from real-terms cuts while saving around £19bn a year by the mid-2030s, based on figures calculated by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
But here is the uncomfortable truth every chancellor knows, and too few will say out loud: even if we collected every penny of that £59bn, closed the corporation tax gap and moved to a double lock tomorrow, it would still not come close to funding a stable country.
You cannot tax a shrinking economy into security. And our economy is faltering exactly where it matters most. The figures published this week show that youth unemployment has climbed to 16.4 per cent, its highest in 11 years. Nearly one in six young people is out of work, while vacancies keep falling and private-sector pay is going backwards in real terms. Fairness tells us who should carry the cost. Growth decides whether there is anything worth carrying at all.
None of this is easy, and none of it is free. But fairness never is, and neither is growth. The 2030s will be defined by a single question: whether we are honest enough to do both at once
So, a second thread must run alongside fairness: real, broad- based, felt-in-every-postcode growth – precisely the kind that Burnham says he wants. The 10-year plan can wait for the autumn. But confidence is built in the first 100 days, not the 10th year, and there are two quick wins available now that cost little and signal much.
The first is our young people. The government should offer employers a time-limited national insurance holiday for every under-25 or long-term-unemployed young person they take on this year. It is fast because it runs through existing payroll systems. It is close to self-funding, because a young person in work pays tax and claims less than one left on the shelf. And it speaks directly to the prime minister's own promise to push young people into work. Allowing a generation to become scarred by worklessness is the most expensive thing a country can ever do.
The second is the half of the population we still underfund. The Rose Review found that £250bn – now closer to £310bn once you adjust for inflation – could be added to our economy if women started and scaled businesses at the same rate as men. Yet only around 2 per cent of equity funding reaches all-female founding teams. This is not charity: it is the single largest pool of unrealised growth in the country.
The quick win is to direct a defined share of the British Business Bank’s capital towards female-led firms, and to require every fund that takes public money to publish, plainly, who it backs and who it turns away. I have spent my career proving that transparency changes behaviour.
Behind both sits the bigger prize: our own savings, put to work at home. British pension funds have quietly become vast – worth some £3.2 trillion – yet they invest startlingly little in Britain. The Mansion House reforms, under which the largest workplace schemes have agreed to steer a slice of their assets into UK infrastructure and growing companies, are a start, but only a start. An economy that asks the capital we all generate to build the roads, the grids, the homes, the care system, and the companies our own children will depend on is both fairer and faster-growing.
None of this is easy, and none of it is free. But fairness never is, and neither is growth. The 2030s will be defined by a single question: whether we are honest enough to do both at once. To share the cost of a secure, united country fairly, and to grow the economy that pays for it. Or whether we dump the bill on whoever is least able to speak up, deepening the divisions that already run through us. I know which country I want to live in.
It starts with the money – and it needs to start now.
Gina Miller is a campaigner and co-founder of SCM Direct as well as the founder of the investment platform MoneyShe
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yellow jersey matches Tour legends
Lawrence Ostlere Chief Sports Writer
Tadej Pogacar celebrates winning stage 19 of the Tour de France (AP)
It was a result known for two weeks, ever since Tadej Pogacar raised his arms atop the Tourmalet and smiled at the heavens, seizing the yellow jersey on stage six. It was a piece of history drafted long before the peloton reached the slopes of Alpe d’Huez on this final weekend.
Pogacar had increased his lead with victories on stage 10 and 14, and again at the Alpe’s summit on Friday. Yesterday, the Tour de France returned to Alpe d’Huez via the rarely used eastern back route, the Col de Sarenne. And although Pogacar couldn’t catch the breakaway to claim another stage, his name was already inscribed beside a new feat.
When he completes the race in Paris today, Pogacar will officially join an elite club of riders – Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain – to have won five yellow jerseys, leaving Chris Froome alone on four. At 27, Pogacar is the youngest to reach the tally, and on this evidence it would take something extraordinary – a freak injury, chronic boredom, perhaps an early retirement to take up stoneware pottery or tend to a smallholding – to prevent him winning a record-setting sixth and several more beyond.
This backdoor run up the Alpe was officially the queen stage of the 2026 Tour, featuring 5,000m of elevation gain over four Tour behemoths: the Croix de Fer, the Col du Telegraphe, the Col du Galibier and finally the Col de Sarenne. Pogacar led the hunt of the breakaway up the brutal hors categorie Sarenne, but the 3min 30sec gap was too much. A wild and often chaotic day of racing was won by Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz, wearing polka dots, who held off the chasers to claim his second stage in three days. It capped an impressive final week by Carapaz, who won the combativity award on four days and secured his place as King of the Mountains.
Yet stage 19, a day earlier, was Pogacar’s trophy moment in the Alps, up the famous 21 hairpins of the Tour’s most iconic climb, the leaders winding through thick layers of giddy fans inches from their faces. Pogacar scaled the Alpe in 35min 27sec, breaking a 29-year-old record. France’s Lenny Martinez of Bahrain Victorious pushed him to the end but lost by six seconds and beat his handlebars in frustration.
Martinez got closer than most. Pogacar was able to pick stage wins almost at will, adding five to his collection here. Pogacar now has 26 career stage victories at the Tour, nine behind record-holder Mark Cavendish. A mark set by a prolific sprinter is being hauled in by a mountain monster.
There are still new frontiers of grand tour racing to breach. Pogacar is yet to win the Vuelta a Espana because he’s raced it only once, when he finished third in 2019. He is still five wins behind Merckx’s total of 11 grand tour titles, although the Spanish race could yet be added to his palmares by the end of the year.
But like so many of his rides, Pogacar is already out on his own as the greatest road cyclist of all time. Merckx admitted as much two years ago, and the Slovenian has only got stronger, quicker, more dominant.
His consistency remains astonishing. Pogacar has started nine grand tours and finished all of them on the podium. From his first victory in one of cycling’s five Monument races, winning Liege-Bastogne-Liege in 2021, he has not finished outside the top five in any of the subsequent 21 races, crashing out only once and winning 13 times. Merckx has 19 Monument wins, another record that once seemed unfathomable and is now vulnerable.
But for all the numbers, records and statistics, perhaps it is Pogacar’s relationship with Jonas Vingegaard that feels particularly telling. Three years ago, Vingegaard crushed his rival in their mouthwatering Tour de France head-to-head, proving too strong in the high mountains to win the Tour by seven-and-a-
It was Vingegaard’s second successive yellow jersey, and it drew the pair level on two Tours each. For all Pogacar’s obvious superpowers, it seemed hard to picture how he might ever be able to withstand Vingegaard’s extreme strength on hot days at altitude, up in the clouds where Pogacar would sometimes wilt.
Does their rivalry even exist now? “Pogacar v Vingegaard” has its own Wikipedia page and it hasn’t had a fresh entry for two years. When Vingegaard crashed out on stage 15 of this race, Pogacar bemoaned the loss of his “friend”, the unintended subtext being that the quiet frost between two fierce opponents had long since thawed. What was meant to be a historic rivalry is now historical.
Tadej Pogacar crosses the finish line of stage 20 with teammate Isaac Del Toro (Reuters)
There are no contenders to Pogacar’s crown. Remco Evenepoel finished this stage 20 in second place, which is where he will end the Tour today. The Belgian has transformed himself into an elite rider in the high mountains over the past two years and produced an outstanding performance in this Tour, yet he will still finish seven minutes behind the yellow jersey.
So Pogacar can spend a truncated stage 21 in Paris soaking in the moment after three hard weeks in the saddle, before considering what’s next. He may go for the missing Vuelta crown later this summer, before chasing a third successive world road-race title in Montreal in September. There are still mountains left to conquer, if Pogacar has the will to conquer them. And it is hard to imagine how anyone stops him.
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Commonwealth Games in 100m
Three-time Olympic champion had to settle for bronze as Jersey’s Filip Nowacki beat him to silver
Luke Baker
Adam Ramsay-Peaty was beaten in Glasgow (Reuters)
Adam Ramsay-Peaty was comfortably beaten in his favourite event at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow as he was forced to settle for bronze in the men’s 100m breaststroke.
Three-time Olympic champion Ramsay-Peaty, who also holds the world record in the event, was a big favourite to reclaim the Commonwealth title in the same Glasgow pool where his career took off 12 years ago but couldn’t catch either Sam Williamson of Australia or Jersey’s teenage phenom Filip Nowacki in the final metres of the race.
Adam Ramsay-Peaty was beaten in the 100m breaststroke (Reuters)
He had to settle for bronze behind Sam Williamson of Australia and Jersey’s Filip Nowacki (PA)
There had been some pre-event talk that 18-year-old Nowacki, who is Great Britain’s next big hope in the discipline and cites Ramsay-Peaty as his hero, could challenge the swimming icon
Ramsay-Peaty received a huge roar from the crowd as he walked out at the Tollcross International Swimming Centre and looked confident in the blocks but failed to stamp his dominance on the race as he used to do at his best.
The favourite was third at the turn as South Africa’s Michael Houlie flew down the first 50 metres and Williamson also touched ahead of him.
Houlie faded in the second half of the race but Nowacki came on strong to overhaul Ramsay-Peaty and he also had Australian rival Williamson out in front. The Englishman tried to fight back in the final ten metres but didn’t have enough left in the tank to haul in either of the men ahead of him.
Ramsay-Peaty received a huge ovation in Glasgow (PA)
But he was unable to deliver victory (PA)
Williamson touched first in 59.17s, more than two seconds slower than Ramsay-Peaty’s world record time of 56.88s set back in 2019, to take the gold medal as Nowacki won silver, 0.17s behind in a time of 59.34s to claim Jersey’s first Commonwealth medal since 1990.
Ramsay-Peaty’s time of 59.65s was 0.48s behind the winner, while Houlie faded to finish seventh.
“That was a great race, and it’s always a privilege racing against Adam,” said Nowacki after the race. “Some of the Aussies, it’s my first time walking away with the silver there and Jersey’s first medal in quite a long time.”
Three-time Olympic champion Ramsay-Peaty, with a 4x100m mixed medley gold in addition to his two individual Olympic crowns, was competing in his fourth Commonwealth Games, having clinched his first medals as a 19-year-old in Glasgow in 2014.
He married Holly Ramsay, daughter of celebrity chef Gordon, in December last year, and has seen his personal life become the subject of gossip columns after experiencing a rift with the majority of his family, while he also competed on Strictly Come Dancing back in 2021.
He had described these Games as a “full circle moment”, looking to reignite his career, having won silver at the Paris Olympics in 2024 to bounce back after a difficult 2023 in which he withdrew from a series of events in order to focus on mental health concerns.
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Abdukodir Khusanov (right) has been handed a five-year contract at Manchester City (Getty)
McCann reaches Commonwealth swimming final
Madeleine McCann’s younger brother Sean was cheered on by his parents and twin sister Amelie in the final of the 400 metres freestyle event on his Commonwealth Games debut. The 21- year-old finished fourth in the third of four qualifying heats at Tollcross International Swimming Centre in Glasgow, his time of 3:52.64 just enough to squeeze him into the final in eighth position overall. Later, he finished the final in the same position, while Sam Short took gold for Australia and England’s James Guy finished fourth.
McCann was just two years old when Madeleine disappeared shortly before her fourth birthday during a holiday in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2007. Despite extensive searches, she has never been found. Sean previously represented Scotland at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Tobago in 2023, where he
finished fifth in the 400m freestyle event. He started swimming at an early age and although he grew up in England, he qualifies to represent Scotland through his father, Gerry, who was born in Glasgow. His sister Amelie is a promising Scottish triathlete.
Parents Gerry and Kate McCann are regular spectators at their son’s swimming events. Sean says he hopes to use his experience at the Commonwealth Games to target a place in the Great Britain team for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. “The Olympics is always the ultimate goal,” he added. McCann will have further opportunities to shine in Glasgow, as he is later expected to also compete in the men’s 800m and 1500m freestyle events.
Man City explain Khusanov’s bumper new five-year contract
Manchester City have given Abdukodir Khusanov a new five- year deal after concluding the has all the attributes required to become a world-class central defender. The 22-year-old, a £33.5m signing from Lens in January 2025, has recovered from a traumatic debut against Chelsea to go on to become a key player in the second half of last season.
Khusanov started in both the Carabao Cup and FA Cup finals as City won twice at Wembley, and he excelled in their Champions League tie against Real Madrid. With the departure of experienced defenders John Stones and Nathan Ake, he is slated for a key role in the new regime under Enzo Maresca.
City director of football Hugo Viana said: “We’ve been really pleased and impressed by Abdukodir’s development. His physical and technical abilities are top, he has all the assets needed to be a world-class centre-back. At just 22, his best years are all in front of him and his potential to get even better is clear for all to see.”
Khusanov became the first Uzbekistan international to play in the Premier League and appeared in his country’s maiden World Cup campaign this summer. Now he has followed fellow defender Josko Gvardiol in signing a new deal this summer.
Italy will appoint legendary midfielder Andrea Pirlo as the country’s new manager, according to local reports. Pirlo was a key part of Italy’s 2006 World Cup-winning side and played for Inter Milan, AC Milan and Juventus in a highly acclaimed playing career. He also coached Juventus as well as Sampdoria and Turkish side Fatih Karagumruk, before his current role in charge of Dubai United. He will sign a four-year contract, taking him to the 2030 World Cup, Italian publication La Repubblica reported.
Italian football is facing one of its deepest crises in decades, and the appointment of a new national team coach is seen as the first step in a wider effort to rebuild a youth development and talent pathway system that has deteriorated significantly in a country where football remains a national obsession.
Gennaro Gattuso resigned as Italy head coach in April after the four-time world champions failed to qualify for a third World Cup in a row.
Pep Guardiola turned down the chance to coach Italy earlier this week. Italian football federation president Giovanni Malago had confirmed talks with Guardiola were underway this week, but the former Manchester City manager rejected the position due to “personal reasons that go beyond football”, Sky Italy reported.
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A
The son of AA Gill and former home secretary Amber Rudd, chef Alasdair Gill grew up in the shadow of his father’s addiction before succumbing to his own. He tells Megan Lloyd Davies
about his road to recovery and why sobriety has brought its own unexpected challenges
Standing the heat: Alisdair Gill says he wrote his new book for ‘society’s nomads’, those working in the fast-paced environment of kitchens (Photos supplied)
fter having his first drink aged 12, Alasdair Gill knew his relationship with alcohol was different to that of his peers. “School was not my place,” he says, sitting in his London home, wearing a white T- shirt with arms covered in tattoos and a mop of slightly unruly copper blonde hair. “And then I had this thing that made sense and removed the discomfort I had in my own skin.
“I remember it occupying my head differently from my friends. It felt so alien that people were able to sit down in the library when they could be getting high instead.”
Severely dyslexic, Gill’s school years were a mix of struggling in mainstream education, attending successive schools – he was expelled from two – and undiagnosed ADHD. But today he’s reluctant to reduce his addiction to one single cause.
“Do I think I’d still be an addict if I wasn’t dyslexic and didn’t have ADHD?” Gills asks as we talk. “Yeah. Absolutely. I was the kid who used to steal all the sweets, hide them in my room and then join the search party. The addiction started long before I took drugs and drank.
“But how the fire started isn’t really important compared to putting it out.”
Alisdair’s father, writer AA Gill, struggled with addiction before going sober at 30
For Gill, however, genetics and family patterns are a key part of the mix. His father, renowned writer AA Gill, was also addicted to alcohol and drugs before getting sober aged 30. He died of cancer in 2016, three years before his son went into rehab aged 27.
By 16, he’d been taught how to smoke heroin in a former hotel turned drug den in Kensington. By 18, he’d left college and started working in London restaurants where drug use was often rife, ricocheting between almost every substance on the list – during his working hours, as well as his downtime. A diet of cocaine, ketamine and fentanyl-laced Xanax while working in a trendy East End restaurant, drinking throughout a shift in Soho before getting high on crack as he closed up.
“It wasn’t that I was so much addicted to one drug,” Gill says. “I was addicted to not being sober, to getting removed from where I was.”
I’ve grown this whole new connection to [my dad] even though he’s gone. I see now that we were so similar even though I never thought we were
In a wry passage at the close of Knives and Spoons, Gill is quizzed about his drug use as part of an ante-natal check with his pregnant partner. Five years sober by then, Gill says yes to every drug the nurse reads out from a list – marijuana, cocaine, amphetamine, heroin, ketamine and solvents – until he finally replies “no” to mephedrone.
“The nurse beams like I’ve just won a spelling bee contest,” he writes.
For almost a decade, Gill combined working as a chef with his addictions, spiralling downwards at times, pulling himself slightly upwards at others, but never able to get sober, however much he longed to. Given that he struggled in a very similar way to his father, didn’t the older Gill step in and try to somehow convince his son not to mirror his own story?
Alisdair managed to balance his addiction and his career as a chef – where cocaine and alcohol are often readily available
It was the closest father and son came to directly acknowledging what was happening in his life.
“Of course he knew,” Gill says. “But you know as a sober addict that no one’s ever going to get sober because someone else wants them to. All you can do is leave a door open and try to be there with open ears as much as you can. My parents were always there.”
Gill’s long history with illegal drugs is even more astonishing when you consider his mother, Amber Rudd, had been appointed home secretary by Theresa May in July 2016 – six months before his father died. Throughout his addiction, Gill was living at home. It was, he acknowledges, an “insane time”.
I was lying about everything. My number one objective was to not be found out
“I was all over the place, couch surfing a lot, Mum would be in her constituency, and I was lying about everything,” he remembers. “My number one objective was to not be found out. You get really good at diverting and turning everything into a
writer Nicola Formby – referred to as “The Blonde” in his columns – and have a twin boy and girl with her. During a visit to see them in France, the conversation turned to AA Gill’s three rules for life: no tattoos, no motorbikes, no heroin.
“Don’t break all three like Ali has,” he said to his younger children.
While he was aware of the trouble he could bring home, ultimately, it was a conversation with his mother and her pragmatic and loving response that finally turned the tide.
By then, Gill was 27 and so debilitated by drugs and alcohol that even his dealer was encouraging him to stop. Work in kitchens offered relief from the “harrowing solitude” of using alone. But paranoid and isolated, he also felt increasingly physically unwell. When Rudd quietly asked her son if he was OK one day, the floodgates finally opened.
With her support, he saw a doctor who told him he was a drug addict and alcoholic and had early-stage cirrhosis before warning Gill he’d be dead within months if he didn’t seek immediate help. He went to rehab in Scotland before returning to London sober – and has stayed that way ever since.
At the beginning, he was sober but completely at sea with adult life. As he started to try and create one aged 27, he struggled with everyday basics like applying for a parking permit, as well as more complex issues such as returning to restaurants because he needed an income – while also aware that cocaine would be readily available and end of shifts marked with cold beers.
A conversation with his mum, the MP Amber Rudd, was the catharsis Gill needed to finally get sober
He also discovered that sobriety was less a linear road than a zig- zag as his addictive personality manifested itself in new ways. While in rehab, for instance, Gill developed an eating disorder. Afterwards, he struggled with everything from problem shopping to gambling. But six years on, his life now looks very different.
If Gill’s book is about how a young addict hides in the shadows of an industry where drug use is common, as well as a recovery he never imagined would be possible during his darkest years, it’s also a love letter to restaurant kitchens and the world within their walls. Restaurants, he says, provide a home for “people who didn’t fit in anywhere else”.
Gill: ‘With any luck, I’m not going to die because of addiction, but I will die with it’
“I used to be bitter about having to wash dishes at 18 when everyone else went to uni,” he says. “Kitchens were the only place that would hire me.” Knives and Spoons, he says, is about “society’s nomads”. “Kitchens absorb all the misfits that other jobs can’t,” he says.
“With any luck, I’m not going to die because of addiction, but I will die with it,” Gill says. “It’s not cured. But it’s now all very manageable, and that is an amazing thing.”
Today, he combines occasional spells in restaurant kitchens with his business as a private chef. Cooking provides not just income and structure, but a crucial sense of community for Gill and Knives and Spoons is shaped around the recipes for some of the most personally important dishes he’s made.
“Cooking started as survival and has ended up being a saving grace for me,” he says. “Food is the common denominator with all the men on the Gill side of my family.
“My uncle was an amazing Michelin-starred chef, my father wrote about food, my younger brother is now a chef. For all of us, there is this connection to food as a way to communicate and be creative.”
“I’ve grown this whole new connection to him even though he’s gone,” Gill says. “I see now
Gill says he now feels even closer to the father he believed he had nothing in common with while he was alive. Reading AA Gill’s autobiography when he was in rehab, for instance, was a key driver of the hope that recovery was possible because he suddenly realised that everything he’d experienced, his father had too – and still gone on to build a new life.
Just like his father did before, Gill has left addiction behind to build a new life with his partner and their five-month-old son.
“I’m lucky to have been to the extreme I did because you get such a clear answer,” he says. “A lot of people go through life skimming the shores of rock bottom as opposed to ever hitting it. Some of them find success as they do it, so how can they give that up?
“It was easy for me because life instantly got so much better in sobriety.”
‘Knives and Spoons: A Chef's Story of Kitchens, Addictions and Mayhem’ is out now, published by Pan Macmillan
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T
After his seven-year stint on ‘New Girl’ came to an end, Jake Johnson found that Hollywood – and
Tom Cruise – welcomed him with open arms. But as he stars in a new Apple TV comedy called
‘The Dink’, he tells Annabel Nugent why he decided to do things his own way instead
Jake Johnson: ‘There were a lot of years of this old club failing’ (Getty)
here tend to be two paths available to an actor who faces the end of a long-running and star-making sitcom. The first is performing a vanishing act, never to be heard of again except for a single TMZ article, decades later, attesting to just how “unrecognisable” they’ve become. The second is super stardom, by way of tentpole franchises and often, but not always, comic-book adaptations.
When leaving New Girl after seven years as its lovable couch potato Nick Miller, Jake Johnson gave the latter a go. He dipped his feet into the world of blockbusters with films like Jurassic World and Tom Cruise’s The Mummy, but found the waters tepid. Toxic, even. “Have you ever seen a salmon that’s been pulled out of the river for too long?” Johnson says now, his face contorting into a grimace. “It’s not a happy ending. Keep that salmon in the stream.”
This salmon’s particular stream, though, is drying up. “Mid-level budget movies...” sighs the actor, sounding nostalgic way past his 48 years. “Right now there’s two types of movie happening, and that is the billion-dollar franchise and the super cool indie. But there used to be a middle-type of movie where you just go, ‘Man, that was a fun 90 minutes.’ It’s not the coolest thing that’s ever been shot. But it’s also not 75 A-list actors and IPs coming together, which I’m glad we have for theatres – but there used to be a whole middle class of movies and they’re disappearing.”
Johnson is doing his part to fight back, with his new film sitting squarely in that bracket. Something of a cross between Happy Gilmore and Dodgeball, The Dink follows Dusty, a failed tennis prodigy who picks up the much-ridiculed sport of pickleball following a wrist injury (cue the masturbation jokes).
Game, set, match: Johnson and Aaron Chen star in ‘The Dink’ (AP)
It’s funny, with a big heart and an easy-to-root-for protagonist who stumbles his way through a three-act redemption arc. It is, to borrow Johnson’s phrase, the exact sort of movie you leave thinking, “Man, that was a fun 90 minutes.” (In fact, it clocks in at 102.)
Incidentally, Johnson had planned to carry on with pickleball after wrapping The Dink – he and his buddy, the actor Justin Long, went so far as to buy rackets – but he quickly got distracted. “I’m a phase guy,” he says now, by way of explanation. His latest phase involves great big gargantuan weights and “seeing how much heavy stuff I can lift over my head – you know, as you do as you get older.”
No matter how old he gets, Johnson will forever be known to some as the slacker with a heart of gold from New Girl, the guy that uses a paper bag instead of a wallet and kisses like a coal miner coming home to his wife. Johnson doesn’t mind the association. “Nick is the closest character I’ve ever played to my comedic rhythm and to what I find funny in life,” he says. “That tone of Nick is so close to my heart.”
“My dream was always to be in this business, and it’s not like I moved to LA and a week and a half later I was on New Girl,” he says. “There were a lot of years of this old club failing. I would walk into auditions and I would see on their faces, ‘Oh my God, we hate what you’re doing.’ And I was like, ‘Man, this shit is not working.’ With Liz [Merriweather, the creator], it was the opposite. She wanted more.”
Anyway, it would be different if he were to be indelibly linked with, say, Jeffrey Dahmer, Johnson laughs. “So yes, great... Call me Nick on the subway when I’m 80! Awesome, man. I lived a dream life because of that son of a bitch.”
TV Royalty: Zooey Deschanel, Prince and Johnson in the hit sitcom ‘New Girl' (Fox)
To this day, Johnson will find himself in situations that feel so Nick-esque that he wants to ring Merriweather right then and there. Just last night, he decided to take a bath in his hotel room at one o’clock in the morning. “As I was filling it, I just wanted to call Liz and be like, ‘Just so you know, I’m going through the ugliest phase that my body has ever been in, and I’m about to soak the whole thing in a tub of soup. And I wanted you to know that.’”
On that note, when I ask how he reflects on the studio’s request that he lose weight for the role of Nick, he says: “I think Fox was right! I came in tubby! Who doesn’t love chips and tortillas?” But
The way Johnson’s career has gone – swerving away, tyre marks on the tarmac, from more star-making turns and top-billing tentpoles – has led to an assumption that he’s perhaps not as ambitious as his peers. It’s a false assumption.
“I think I work harder than most people on planet earth,” says Johnson. “I mean, not people who have really hard jobs – some guy on a construction site in Lower Manhattan is thinking, ‘Fuck off. I’m literally carrying a pipe’ – I mean, in my industry. But because I don’t have the same goals, it might seem like I’ve passed on certain jobs, but that doesn’t mean I stop working.”
Di- no -saur: Johnson (pictured here in ‘Jurassic World’) decided the world of big blockbusters and tentpole franchises was not for him (Universal Pictures)
Especially now, he says, “I burn out all the time, but I fundamentally believe these are my working years; your late forties are your working years. My body still works enough. My brain is still good enough. And so I want to be working, and I feel so fortunate that I have my dream job. I don’t want my seat at the table to go away just yet.”
That said, Johnson isn’t the kind of actor who is going to spend the better part of a year away from his twin daughters and wife in a remote location with no running water for the sake of it. “I’m not gonna have a bad nine months to be in a good movie that makes a billion dollars,” he says. “Those nine months mean more to me than the movie. So it all has to work or, for me, it’s not worth it.”
Hearing Johnson speak about his profession is refreshing. Acting isn’t everything. It’s not even his everything. It’s good work. It can even be important work. But at the end of the day, it’s just not that deep. He didn’t always have that perspective – certainly not when he started acting as a teenager, obsessed with the works of David Mamet, Sam Shephard and John Patrick Shanley.
“I was as pretentious as it gets,” says Johnson. “The idea of Method acting and those Seventies actors was everything I cared about. Then, as I’ve gotten older, I find it to be a tad performative.”
His problem isn’t with Method acting; it’s with all the talk about Method acting. “I don’t care if I smell booze on my scene partner’s breath if they’re good in a scene – this is show business; we’re not operating on children – so if you’re good in the scene, and in order to do that you needed to pretend to be Larry, then fucking pretend to be Larry, but I don’t want to hear about it,” he says. “And if you’re a Method actor doing all this but you’re dogshit on action, I think you gotta rethink your choices.”
I want to sit in a scene, hear someone call ‘action’, and disappear with Tom Cruise for three minutes
That said, he can’t say he is totally opposed to going Method. “I mean, I can do a bit with Michael Cera that lasts four months!” He just doesn’t feel the need to talk about it.
make their mum laugh. “We’ve been doing bits, and talking about what makes a good performance and a bad performance, since we were five and eight,” he says. “I think one of the first words I ever learnt was ‘hack’, because we would watch something and go, ‘That’s hacky!’”
There is one big-budget film that Johnson is glad he did – even if he still would never do it again. In 2017, he played the comedic sidekick to Tom Cruise’s hero in a remake of The Mummy.
“The director called me and said, ‘Tom Cruise would like to improvise with you,’” recalls Johnson now, “which is not what happened... but I thought, man, that is so cool. Tom Cruise is such a good actor, and I want to learn from the dude. I want to sit in a scene, hear someone call ‘action’, and disappear with Tom Cruise for three minutes. I don’t care about the script.”
An offer you can’t refuse: Johnson almost turned down Tom Cruise’s ‘The Mummy’ (Universal Pictures)
Or at least, he didn’t until he actually read it. “It’s a fucking action movie for two months, with him and me running around Afghanistan with buildings blowing up. I don’t want to do that,” says Johnson. Cruise asked for a meeting in LA. “He’s so persuasive, and what I didn’t know is that he’s also funny and he teases you,” says Johnson. The charm offensive worked. Not for
Johnson is happy with the choice he made all those years ago, to slam the door on fame and fortune in favour of smaller fare (and smaller fortune). “There was a whole trajectory of what certain people are chasing, and it’s great for them and it’s awesome,” he says. “But that certain type of career, I don’t want that. I like the level I’m at a lot.”
‘The Dink’ is streaming on Apple TV
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I
Taking in the houses of literary giants such as Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain and Herman Melville,
Geordie Greig and his daughter embarked on a remarkable drive across the US east coast
Lakes stretched long and still beneath impossible skies in New England (Discover New England)
t’s better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt,” my daughter Monica said, quoting a phrase often attributed to Mark Twain, as we stepped into the great novelist’s wonderfully eccentric Connecticut home on the second day of our father-daughter road trip through New England.
We had collected a black Subaru Forester from JFK airport and set off on an unusual 2,000-mile pilgrimage through the literary heart of New England. The idea was simple enough: visit the homes of America’s greatest writers, trace the landscapes that shaped them, and see whether genius leaves any trace in the places it once inhabited. It also doubled as a search for good food and long, uninterrupted conversations on the open road.
Mark Twain’s Hartford house is unlike any literary shrine. It looks as though a Mississippi steamboat has collided with a Victorian Gothic mansion and then been left to settle into something exuberantly American. Red brick, ornate chimneys and playful gables give it the air of a building that refuses to take itself too seriously.
Inside, the guide referred to him exclusively as “Sam”, as though Samuel Clemens had simply stepped out for a moment. Monica happily discussed Huckleberry Finn while I quietly realised how much I had forgotten. Parents are supposed to know more than their children. Literary pilgrimages have a way of correcting such assumptions.
Mark Twain’s house is defined by its red brick, ornate chimneys and playful gables (Adams & Knight)
The house, built with the fortune of Twain’s heiress wife Olivia, was one of the first in America to have electricity and central heating. In 1881 they commissioned Louis Comfort Tiffany to transform the interiors into a theatrical blaze of embossed wallpaper, stencilled ceilings and deep reds and golds. It was spectacularly expensive and eventually helped drive Twain back onto the lecture circuit to repair the family finances.
Just a short walk away stands the more modest home of Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. It is hard to imagine a more concentrated patch of American literary history. In the billiard room upstairs, Twain wrote much of Huckleberry Finn, the novel often described as the foundation of modern American literature. Standing there, it was impossible not to see his journey – from riverboat pilot and penniless journalist to national figure – as a version of the American dream itself.
That first stop set the tone for everything that followed.
Over the next fortnight we crossed much of New England, tracing the lives of Herman Melville, Emily Dickinson, Louisa May Alcott, Edith Wharton, and the transcendentalists Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Between them came bass fishing, canoeing, long glacial lakes, strawberry fields, village greens and white-steepled churches. And everywhere, inevitably, lobster rolls and clam chowder.
Long hours in the car created a space for family conversations that ordinary life rarely allows (The Independent)
The journey had been inspired partly by cinema. Paper Moon and On Golden Pond had long suggested that travel matters as much as arrival. (Fans of On Golden Pond should stay at the Von Horn Estate, which is a country house hotel actually on the lake.) Our version was considerably calmer. The only recurring dispute was musical. I leaned towards Pink Floyd; Monica introduced Geese, whom she described as “the modern Bob Dylan”. We found as much agreement over books as playlists as we juggled from the Grateful Dead to Oasis.
As the miles accumulated, something subtle shifted. Long hours in the car created a space for conversation that ordinary life rarely allows. Books gave way to politics, music, careers and the strange pleasure of simply observing America unfold beyond the windscreen. New England itself became part of the dialogue: maple forests blazing green, empty highways, and towns where white clapboard houses still gathered around village greens as though time had paused.
New England contains both astonishing beauty and an extraordinary density of history. Here, the first shots of the American Revolution were fired. Here, a young nation began to
We stayed in a treehouse at The Winvian, a Connecticut country estate with 18 cottages that offers seasonal delicacies in its restaurant. There were warnings to look out for wild bears, but the more obvious reality was the charming bike rides in the nearby woods. Hotels are part of the American dream.
The treehouse accommodation at at The Winvian in Connecticut (The Independent)
By the time we left Hartford, the purpose of the journey had already begun to shift. We had set out in search of writers’ houses. What we were discovering instead was something less tangible but more enduring: the pleasure of uninterrupted time together, measured in miles rather than minutes.
In the Berkshires, Herman Melville’s house at Arrowhead sits quietly beneath the shadow of Mount Greylock. It is modest, almost understated, and all the more powerful for it. Here, Moby- Dick was written – an epic that failed on publication and would not find its audience for decades.
Looking out across the landscape, it was easy to imagine Melville wrestling with his creation while the world outside remained indifferent. Every literary house seemed to carry the
same lesson: recognition and talent rarely arrive at the same time. A wonderful diversion from the driver’s seat was staying at Prospect Berkshires on a lake with super-stylish cabins and sauna huts, a zeitgeisty resort that leans into its stunning waterscape.
In Amherst, Emily Dickinson’s house offers a different kind of intensity. Small rooms, restrained light and a life deliberately narrowed to allow imagination to expand. She published almost nothing in her lifetime, yet her poetry now feels foundational to modern literature.
Emily Dickinson’s house has small rooms and restrained light (Lynne Graves Photography)
A short drive away, Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House tells another story entirely – one of family, imagination and quiet radicalism. Little Women was written here, drawing directly on domestic life yet reshaping it into something far more enduring. If Dickinson represents solitude, Alcott represents connection.
At Concord, Emerson and Thoreau’s world feels more conceptual than domestic. Walden Pond, in particular, where Thoreau lived in a wood hut for two years, two months and two days, resists cliché. It is smaller than expected, quieter, more
Here, nature was not scenery but philosophy. Simplicity was not aesthetic but moral. Walking the shoreline, it was easy to see how a new relationship between people and the natural world was once imagined here.
Between these lit-stops, New England revealed itself in less formal ways. Diners with creaking porches served eggs, hash browns and endless coffee. Coastal towns offered lobster rolls eaten at picnic tables overlooking grey Atlantic water. Lakes stretched long and still beneath impossible skies.
New England revealed itself to be at the forefront of Americana (The Independent)
Standouts in New Haven, Connecticut, were sessional family pizza restaurant Modern Apizza and an oceanside seafood restaurant, Shell and Bones, that has true piquancy and zest for utterly delicious seafood. Do not pass on the oysters. Another stunning food high-spot was Woods Hill Table, a perfect local restaurant in Lexington, Massachusetts, with a sophisticated vibe.
At Lexington, Massachusetts, history becomes physical. On the village green where the first shots of the American Revolution were fired, Gerry Marrocco, a charismatic guide in period costume, recounted Paul Revere’s midnight ride, warning “the Brits are coming” with evangelical precision. It is easy to forget how recent this history is.
We stayed at the Inn at Hastings Park in Lexington, Massachusetts, which has been converted by its perfectionist owner Trisha Kennealy to be a beacon of high American cuisine. It is on the old Boston coach road and worth any diversion.
Nearby architecture tells a different story of reinvention. The Bauhaus-inspired house designed by Walter Gropius in Massachusetts feels like a clean break from the past – precise, modern, almost radical in its simplicity. New England is rarely one thing for long. Gropius’s house is enchanting and revolutionary.
Somewhere along these roads, another journey was taking place. Monica and I shared driving, music and long stretches of silence punctuated by argument and laughter. We disagreed over playlists, agreed over food, and slowly accumulated a shared map of references that belonged only to us.
Guide Gerry Marrocco recounts Paul Revere’s midnight ride (The Independent)
The beautiful Lake Estate on Winnisquam (The Lake Estate on Winnisquam)
The Lake Estate on Winnisquam is a £100m dream vacation spot created by Patti and Ed Rocco. It’s straight out of a Robert Redford idyll, arcadian and ambitious. It seems to whisper from their side of the pond: eat your heart out, Lake Como. What began as a literary pilgrimage had become something else, a reminder that time together is not an incidental benefit of travel, but its real purpose.
By the end of 2,000 miles, we had visited writers who shaped a nation’s imagination and landscapes that shaped theirs. But the most lasting impression was not literary at all. It was the sense that journeys rarely deliver what they promise – and often deliver something better instead.
We set out to understand America through its greatest writers. We ended up understanding something simpler: that travel changes not only what you see, but how you talk to the person beside you. Twain believed that travel is fatal to prejudice. He might also have added that it is remarkably good for families.
Journeyscape offers a 14-day Classic New England package, including visits to Boston, Plymouth, Cape Cod and the islands, Acadia National Park, the Berkshires, New Hampshire Lakes, Connecticut, Woodstock, Portland and more. From £4,180pp per person, excluding flights.
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British-Jamaican artist Sadie Clayton visits the capital city where her grandma was born, a place
where she can embrace her dual heritage, while exploring its arts and culture
Sadie found Kingston to be full of art, culture and colour (Sadie Clayton)
“Mi pic up, mi gaan.” I’ve picked her up. We’re on our way. That was the whole conversation when my driver’s phone rang. And something in me – some tightly wound, overthought, over- planned part of me that had been bracing for this trip for weeks – just let go. I sank back into that seat and I thought, that’s it. I’m here. I’ve actually arrived.
Before I could process anything further, the driver pulled over to his mate on the side of the dual carriageway and I was handed a fresh coconut, machete-cracked open right there on the side of the road – warm from the sun, sweet and utterly perfect. The reggae on his radio didn’t pause. The Kingston air didn’t wait.
Me, I’m half Jamaican, Yorkshire born, reggae-raised, gospel- churched some Sunday mornings by a grandma who speaks Patois like music. I sat there in that car drinking my coconut, and I felt, for the first time in my life, completely, entirely, bone-deep grounded. Belonging.
“Welcome home,” he said.
Sadie embraces her dual heritage in Kingston
Kingston: where the soul gets fed
The Clarendon parish of Kingston is where my grandma was born and raised. Kingston doesn’t ease you in. It doesn’t do gentle introductions or quiet first impressions. Kingston announces itself in surround sound and saturated colour, and you either get on the frequency or you stand on the pavement overwhelmed.
I got on the frequency.
Reggae is not background music to me; it is the soundtrack of my childhood, both at my mum’s in my white British household, and the sound that filled my Jamaican grandma’s household. So when it came rolling through the thick Kingston air, and I’m there singing word for word, something happened in my chest that I genuinely wasn’t prepared for. Emotion arrived fast and
unannounced. I’ve been to other places in the Caribbean before. I’ve sat on beautiful beaches and eaten beautiful food and felt that lovely, particular holiday loosening in my body. But this? This was something else entirely. This was next level. This was recognition.
I had barely found my footing before I was standing before the Water Lane Murals, in the Kingston Art District – a sprawling, sun-drenched corridor of street art that stopped me completely still with a huge smile on my face. Enormous faces gazed back at me. Hands reached. Histories spoke. I thought about my grandma. I thought about my dual heritage and my childhood. How my two worlds fused beautifully. Colour, sound, shape, tone, texture. Everything I use to navigate the world. All of it, right here.
Sadie exploring the murals in Kingston Art District
The gallery: where the walls speak
As a cultural communicator, I needed to understand the deeper architecture behind what I was seeing. So I sat down with Dr Nadine Boothe-Gooden, senior director of the National Gallery of Jamaica, a woman who speaks about Jamaican art with precision and fire. Sharp and warm, she is utterly uncompromising on why this work matters.
Walking the collection with her is walking through a living negotiation: history, survival, beauty, spirituality, politics, migration, joy, self-definition, all visible on canvas, in sculpture, in illustration. Earlier works have wrestled with nationhood and independence. Contemporary Jamaican artists now engage global conversations, climate anxiety, gender, diaspora, memory and technology, through a lens that is unmistakably, irreducibly Jamaican.
“The defining shift is that the world is finally beginning to understand that Jamaican culture is far more intellectually and artistically layered than it has often been portrayed,” Dr Nadine says. “For years, Jamaica’s global image was dominated by music and tourism, but now there is growing curiosity about the deeper cultural ecosystem behind that influence.”
Sadie with Nadine Boothe-Gooden, director of the National Gallery of Jamaica
Kingston’s rawness, its creative immediacy, the authenticity many major art capitals have quietly traded away, is exactly what’s drawing people in. Visibility, she stresses, must never mean simplification.
She says: “Our responsibility is to resist simplifying Jamaica for international consumption. Jamaica is sophisticated, contradictory, deeply intellectual, deeply spiritual, and profoundly creative all at once.”
It is while walking the gallery with Dr Nadine that I stop in front of Edna Manley’s Negro Aroused and something sparks. Carved from dark mahogany in 1935, the figure emerges from oppression, gaze cast heavenward, embodying struggle and almost unbearable hope. As a sculptor myself, I felt the conversation she was having with her material. That is not technique. That is reckoning. That is someone working something out through their hands.
She told me I could go find it at Kingston Harbour.
The harbour: where the conversation continues
On the Kingston waterfront, the large-scale bronze replica of Negro Aroused stands facing the sea, and it commands. The figure rises from the earth, hands clasped, gaze turned skyward in an expression of determination and awakening. Rooted yet striving, present yet reaching.
There is something that happens when one sculptor encounters the work of another, especially work of this magnitude, this conviction. You feel the decisions in your body. The arms and hands are disproportionately large, posed in front of the figure in a way that is somehow both graceful and forceful, their thickness emphasising power, the lines pulling your gaze upward to the outstretched neck and lifted face. Edna Manley made this figure insist on being seen. And standing there on that harbour, with the sea behind it and all of Kingston at its back, that insistence felt like the whole city speaking in one voice.
Trench Town in Kingston, where Bob Marley lived and played
Power, resilience, emergence. This is what Jamaican art does, it doesn’t decorate a room, it starts a conversation. There I was, in that moment, entirely willing to be changed by it.
The National Museum: history that belongs to all
Jonathan, director of the National Museum of Jamaica, opens our conversation with a warmth that is instantly infectious. The main demographic of the museum is working-class Jamaican school kids arriving wide-eyed, encountering their own history in three dimensions for the very first time. “They find themselves on a school trip,” he tells me, and the simplicity of that line stopped me in my tracks. Experiential learning. Culture as curriculum. I was also finding the other half of myself.
The shared history between Britain and Jamaica is written into the very architecture. I was driving through Lucea, later in my trip and spotted Georgian buildings standing incongruously in the Jamaican sun. Beautiful. History doesn’t resolve, but it can be examined honestly by the children who inherit it.
Emancipation Park: the portal
Opened the day before Emancipation Day 2002, every detail is deliberate – it’s a constant, living tribute to the ancestors brought to this island in chains.
At the entrance, you see her: Redemption Song, Laura Facey’s 11ft bronze sculpture, a Black man and woman, nude, facing each other, both gazing skyward. Inspired by Marley’s own words: “None but ourselves can free our minds.” Facey said she wanted to communicate “transcendence, reverence, strength and unity”. As a fellow sculptor, I felt every millimetre of that ambition.
I walked out lighter than I’d felt in years. Rooted, enriched, connected, then released. I’d found what I came for, in the murals, the galleries, the harbour, the conversations, the coconuts, the car.
My soul had been fed. Now I was free to go.
Sadie stayed at Round Hill Resort in Montego Bay
Round Hill: where the soul gets restored
Then came Round Hill, and with it, the exhale.
Perched on its own private peninsula above a glittering Caribbean cove, Round Hill Hotel and Villas, a member of The Set, operates at a frequency modern travel has almost forgotten: timeless, unhurried, entirely itself. Oceanfront rooms, suites and the cocktail bar are distinctively designed by Ralph Lauren.
This is not a place that performs elegance. It just is elegant. Understated luxury in the truest sense: flowers flowing in the sea breeze, food that tastes like it knows exactly where it came from, warmth that can’t be trained into anyone. It either lives in you or it doesn’t. At Round Hill, it lives in everyone.
I arrived still buzzing with Kingston’s electricity, reggae looping in my head, murals bright behind my eyes, and Round Hill didn’t ask me to leave any of that at the door. It welcomed me with a cold towel, a rum punch and more art and style peppered throughout.
I sat. I smiled. I slept like someone who had finally arrived after an extraordinarily long journey. Because that is exactly what I had done.
Sadie travelled as a guest of The Set and Visit Jamaica.
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How does one get their head down in the busiest city in the Western world? Somewhere during
her slumber tour, flicking through pillow menus and IV drips, Ellie Seymour found the answer
The Bryte Sleep Suite is just one of a few places in New York dedicated to helping guests with their sleep (Park Hyatt)
istening to quantum harmonics is going to make you feel really relaxed,” says Kevina, my therapist. I’m not sure what she means, but I go with it. I’m lying face up on an illuminated treatment bed partially filled with water, cocooned under a curved ceiling in a darkened room that feels like a luxurious bunker. Kevina places a pair of padded noise-cancelling headphones over my ears and covers me with a weighted blanket.
“I’ll be back in 30 minutes,” she says in a hushed voice, and she dims tiny spotlights and leaves the room.
Seconds later, tinkly psychedelic sounds start playing as the bed begins to gently vibrate. The combination feels odd at first, and strangely blissful, and I don’t remember much after five minutes. When Kevina wakes me with a whisper, I feel as though I’ve been in a deep sleep for a good few hours, which, for someone who struggles to sleep, is nothing short of a miracle.
I’m at the five-star Equinox Hotel New York to experience a luxurious, intensive two-night sleep-focused stay in a room known as a “sleep lab”, and to test the sleep-inducing treatments on offer. Such as this dreamy session on the Sleep Wave Table, which I discover pairs perfectly with a 60-minute NutriSLEEP IV drip – a blend of relaxation-inducing nutrients like magnesium – that leaves me pleasantly drowsy.
Ellie Seymour considered IV drip therapy at Equinox hotel, overlooking the Hudson River (The Independent)
As a light sleeper who has suffered from insomnia, I am always keen to find ways to sleep better. I’m also an NYC obsessive – I visit twice a year – so sleep issues, combined with excitement and jetlag, mean I usually spend my time in the city in an overtired and wired haze. On my second night at the hotel, however, I managed to sleep for seven hours solid, knocking
It’s a miracle, although at $1,700 (£1,260) per night, not including treatments, it’s an eye-wateringly expensive one.
Dubbed the city that never sleeps, noisy NYC is the least likely place to find rest. Each time I visit, I resign myself to the fact that I’ll likely spend my time feeling sleep-deprived. Yet several New York hotels are leaning into the popular sleep wellness travel trend, four of which I was here to try, each with a different level of luxury and intensity.
Sleep tourism emerged from the wider wellness travel movement of the late 2010s. It became a recognisable travel trend in the early 2020s as hotels began packaging sleep as a luxury experience, with brands such as Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas helping to pioneer high-end wellness hospitality through sleep-focused treatments, circadian lighting and facilities designed to promote recovery from stress and fatigue. Sleep wellness may not be unique to New York, but the city’s high energy certainly makes it a compelling testing ground.
My cream-toned state-of-the-art “sleep lab” sanctuary is geared up for the perfect night’s sleep, with double-glazed floor-to- ceiling windows, blackout curtains, a temperature-controlled bed and adjustable room features, such as what time, temperature, sound and lighting you fall asleep and wake up to. Using a tablet and iPhone next to my bed, I set my preferences as soon as I arrive and settle in with a herbal tea from my “RoomBar”, a mini pharmacy of health-boosting potions including vitamins, electrolytes, energy shots, and magnesium patches, to name a few tinctures.
It’s early evening by the time I’m settled, so I begin powering down – as suggested in a book left by my bedside – with a yoga session accessed via my TV, followed by a glorious steam shower I infuse with lavender and frankincense oil. Spruced and relaxed, I curl up on my low-slung velour sofa and sip a bowl of bone
Land of nod: everything in NYC’s Equinox hotel is dedicated to improving your restfulness (Vanessa Tierney)
My room and I prepare for sleep simultaneously; I slap on a magnesium patch and get into bed as the lights start to automatically dim and the drapes close. It’s a relaxing end to my first night, and although I wake up once in the early hours, I fall back to sleep easily. I feel glad about this, as I get to experience waking up to the gentle sound of chimes from my bedside tablet as the lights slowly brighten. After a Nespresso, I hit the hotel’s huge gym with epic views, return to my room for a steam shower, and, for breakfast, drink a brain-fuel smoothie laced with ashwagandha to lower cortisol levels and promote better sleep.
Two days of this routine feels a bit like boot camp at times, but it also proves the healthiest start to any NYC trip I’ve ever had. When I leave, I am energised and ready for my next stop: the four-star Benjamin Royal Sonesta in buzzy Midtown East, to sample its “rest and renew” programme, which caters for children as well as adults. After the high-tech Equinox, I am ready for a lower-key and less expensive option. The Benjamin
Royal Sonesta’s main feature is an extensive 10-pillow menu tailored to different sleep styles – front, side or back. I order a “Cooling Cloud 10” and “Satin Beauty” purely for the inventive names, along with a noise machine, which helps drown out all the honking and sirens that wake me up a couple of times during my stay.
Two days later, I still feel fresh when I check into a spacious “Sleep Suite by Bryte” at the Park Hyatt New York, facing Central Park. I am also very excited about the prospect of sleeping in an AI-powered Bryte bed – I love the sound of a mattress filled with sensors that adjust as you move to help you stay asleep. To operate it, I connect my phone to a Bryte portal via a QR code on my bedside table. From here, I can play around, altering the softness and firmness of the mattress (such a novelty!), check my sleep report (interesting) and set the bed to wake me up with a gentle vibration – strangely nice. It is the comfiest bed I’ve ever slept in, allowing me two blissful, uninterrupted nights’ rest, including one extra-long lie-in, thanks to a technical issue. It’s lucky I had nothing to get up for.
Sleep talk: a pillow menu at The Benjamin Royal Sonesta (The Benjamin Royal Sonesta)
exemplary service and welcome alone put me at ease, as does its flexible check-in and check-out times. I’m here to indulge in a two-hour Ayurveda-based Sleep Support Therapy treatment designed as a journey to alleviate insomnia, combat jet lag, and regulate sleep patterns. It’s not cheap at $635 (£471), but worth every dime if you can afford it. After a lovely foot soak, I lie down on a heated bed for the best spa treatment of my life: an indulgent full-body and facial massage that focuses on specific pressure points to rebalance energy levels.
“Most people I work with rarely remember the end of the treatment,” says my lovely masseuse, Krista, as we begin Shirodhara, the final stage of the journey. With my sleep history, I’m convinced I won’t be one of them, but she’s right; I don’t either. As warm oil is dripped gently onto my forehead from a copper Shirodhara bottle, I can’t fight the sleepy feeling and am out like a light minutes later. When I wake up, my body feels as heavy as lead and glued to the table. It’s rare I feel so deeply relaxed, and I don’t want the feeling to end, so I close my eyes and try to hold on for longer, as the city that never sleeps pulsates 22 floors beneath.
Ellie Seymour flew to New York courtesy of Virgin Atlantic and was a guest of Equinox Hotel New York, Royal Sonesta Benjamin, Park Hyatt New York and Peninsula New York.
How to get there
Virgin Atlantic flies direct between London Heathrow and JFK with return fares from £538 per person, including complimentary food, drink, and in-flight entertainment. For further information, visit www.virginatlantic.com or call 0344 8747 747. Prices given are correct as of 29 April 2026 and are subject to change.
Where to stay
Equinox Hotel New York, where a Sleep Lab costs $1,700 (£1,260) per night and a 30-minute Sleep Wave Table session costs $60 (£45) and a NutriSleep IV costs $250 (£185).
Park Hyatt New York, where a one-bedroom Sleep Suite by Bryte costs $1,500 (£1,112) per night.
Peninsula New York, where a superior room costs from $895 (£725) per night and Sleep Support Therapy treatment costs $635 (£470).
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Part, Anna Loren
The, At Concord, At Lexington, At Round Hill, Bahrain Victorious, Bakery House
Experts, Baron Horam, Bev Craig, Bob Marley
结论： 发现多项阻塞性问题 (Blocking Issues)，翻译质量未通过审计。
[!WARNING] 警告块，列举了大量所谓的 "Missing proper nouns"（如 Acadia National Park, American Revolution 等）。3 per cent, 1.4 million 等未翻译的英文数量词，不符合全中文镜像版的要求。| 检查项 | 结果 | 备注 |
|---|---|---|
| 遗漏 (Omissions) | ❌ 发现 | Page 77 承接部分丢失 |
| 幻觉 (Hallucinations) | ❌ 严重 | 顶部的 WARNING 块包含大量无关内容 |
| 错误数字 (Wrong Numbers) | ⚠️ 存在 | 单位未翻译/部分数字处理不统一 |
| 残留英文 (Residual English) | ❌ 存在 | 数量词、部分人名保留英文 |
| 截断 (Truncation) | ⚠️ 存在 | 逻辑断层 |
| 清理标签 (Cleanup Labels) | ❌ 严重 | 包含翻译质量评估的内部审计标签 |