Why stress can cause a stroke and how to prevent it
How much exercise do you need to do to reduce stroke risk? Kwan suggests 20 minutes of moderate intensity exercise each day. “Get on the rowing machine, do yoga or run – it doesn’t matter so long as it makes you puff. Pilates is good, too: there’s a direct relationship between strength in your 40s […]
How to build serious muscle fast
To follow in the sandal-clad footsteps of Russell Crowe’s Oscar-winning performance of Maximus in Gladiator is not for the faint of heart. Nor the weedy of limb. Which is why Paul Mescal knew going from his brooding and bookish portrayal as Connell Waldron in the television adaptation of Sally Rooney’s Normal People to fearless, formidable […]
How to cook the perfect jacket potato in an oven
For the fluffiest centre, you need to begin with the right potato. I usually plump for large (200g-250g) Maris Pipers or King Edwards, which are easy to find and offer a wonderful, soft interior and crispy skin when baked well. I’m also keen to try the new Nemo potato, which is said to cook more […]
How to time travel your way back to Renaissance Florence
The first patrons to pit Raphael and Michelangelo directly against each other were the wealthy Florentine fabric merchant Agnolo Doni and his new young wife, Maddalena Strozzi. Soon after he came to Rome, they commissioned Raphael to paint their portraits against an idyllic Tuscan landscape. At the same time, they commissioned Michelangelo to make what […]
How to serve up a special supper for two
I had to cook meals that were special and put flowers on the table. I started to make a list of dishes that would be a treat but that didn’t require too much work. A bit of luxury – scallops, steak, wild mushrooms – was in order. A bowl of pasta, unless it was unusual […]
The dos and don’ts of LinkedIn etiquette
The response was brutal. “LinkedIn is a disease,” claimed @RossMcCaff, posting the comment on X (receiving 14,000 likes). “Horrible place. I feel soiled after about 5 minutes there. It’s all I can stand,” agreed another user. When I consult etiquette coach William Hanson, the author of Just Good Manners who runs his own etiquette training […]
How to create a coffee corner in your kitchen
Set the mood Paul Firmin and Niko Dafkos, founders of lifestyle brand Earl of East, are so fanatical about the brown stuff that their trio of London stores features coffee counters; on their website, a dedicated Cafe Core section is stocked with Scandi-cool mugs and containers. In their own home, they have recreated the café ambience with mood […]
How to get the body of a Roman gladiator
You should never underestimate the power of bread and circuses. Hundreds of gladiators have risen to the fight knowing they were mere pawns in a politician’s bid for higher office. The Republic was a bad time for that sort of thing. These days, we perform at the emperor’s command, and on as few as 10 […]
How to wear the ‘soft goth’ trend in midlife
Silk blouse, £620, Irish Twin; Velvet trousers, £160, Aspiga; Leather heeled mule, £150, Jigsaw; Gold plated earrings, £170, Polene It’s not just movie star style that is driving the soft goth trend, there’s also a broader pop cultural context at play. Sarra Manning – a former teenage goth, now novelist and Literary Editor of Red magazine – explains that soft […]
What is it and how to get rid of it?
You might not be aware of the medical term kyphosis, but chances are you will have heard of a ‘dowager’s hump’, or its modern day equivalent: tech neck. Used to describe any sort of rounding of the upper back, this outdated name stemmed from the fact that a pronounced hump in the spine at the […]