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Louis Provis says there needs to be systemic change in how schools think about boys’ reading. Jacqueline Robson recalls a reading initiative that left students searching for moreLee Child is right that too many children are being put off reading by how literature is taught (Thrillers should be on th…
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The committee overseeing celebrations for America's 250th birthday next year announced Friday that the Times Square Ball in New York City will be featured in a pair of events on New Year's Eve and in July. America250 said the Times Square Ball, which attracts scores of tourists each year as it helps…
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From cheeseboard pies to spiced-up veg and one last sweet flourish, this is how to eat, waste less and savour the lull between Christmas and New Year• Sign up here for our weekly food newsletter, FeastAt this time of year, I like to stay home, shut off from the world and do as little as possible for…
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Danyah Miller responds to a pass notes column about companies that are hiring people to ‘own the narrative’Your article on the rise of storytelling as a corporate skill (Pass notes, 17 December) highlights something that storytellers have always known – that people crave meaningful human connection.…
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Readers share a range of responses to one of the commonest greetings in the English languageMy late father-in-law, who lived to be 104 and was a veteran of the Dunkirk evacuation and the north Africa war, would inevitably respond to the question “How are you?” (Letters, 23 December) with an enigmati…
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An elusive wild cat long feared extinct in Thailand has been rediscovered three decades after the last recorded sighting, conservation authorities said. Camera traps in southern Thailand’s Princess Sirindhorn Wildlife Sanctuary captured 29 detections, including a female with her cub, offering rare h…
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I had gone out with friends to mark the end of university, and one by one they disappeared. With the music throbbing, I learned I could be comfortable in my own companyBetween the ages of 16 and 21, the big night out wasn’t just a hobby, it was a calling. Getting together with friends, getting drunk…
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How our two-bedroom terrace become something of a cat rescue centre is illustration of nationwide crisisHow many cats is too many cats? I can’t tell you exactly, but a couple of weeks ago, I had 11 cats living in my terrace house. And I can say with confidence this is absolutely, definitely too many…
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Wintering Well boxes to counter effects of low light on mental health are ‘super popular’, says island librarian“Boxes of light” are being used to help people who struggle with low winter mood while living in one of Scotland’s darkest communities as part of a wider research initiative to support the…