So why is Boxing Day called Boxing Day?

Alecia Dixon explains

Christmas hazards

You would have thought overeating and overspending were the worst Christmas hazards
Well, no, there are worse things that might happen to you during the festive season
- and if you are to have any dealings with Santa and his elves, watch out

SantaCon 2011

No, it's not Christmas yet - it's SantaCon

Ideas for Repeal Day

Some cocktail recipes on the 78th anniversary of the end of the Prohibition

But remember: if you choose to drink, drink responsibly

London museums no longer free?

The best things in life are (or used to be) free

Shoppers out in full force

More about Black Friday

Black Friday Stories

Some Black Friday veterans unveil their shopping plans

Thanksgiving pizza

A New York pizzeria is offering 'Thanksgiving Pizza' this week (featuring turkey meatballs)

Goodbye to lollipop ladies?

London Borough of Bromley is withdrawing school crossing patrols

Urban cycling, not as safe as it should be

Stories like this one feature in the news too often

Here is a good guide to safe cycling

Crisis up, divorces down

The economics of divorce
(We'd heard about this before)

Bonfire night

It's Bonfire Night tonight, so . . .

. . . don't forget the Firework Code

MARGIN CALL

This is what Derek Malcolm wrote about Margin Call

THE HELP

David Sexton reviews The Help

The dietary consequences of Halloween

So much Halloween candy can't be good

Putting Big Ben back

It took five hours to put Big Ben back 60 minutes

Fire Prevention

140 years after the Great Chicago Fire, the National Fire Prevention Week delivered some useful advice on fire safety and prevention

Buying one, ...

... nigh on impossible

Renting a place to live ...

... is getting way too expensive

The language of your dreams

Some people explain here what language/s they dream in

Learning languages improves people's brain power

So says British Education Secretary

Bug Supper

Fancy one grasshopper taco? Or some bacon cheddar crickettes?
Would you like to try worm-stuffed mushrooms?
If bugs on a plate are your thing, reach for your credit card and buy a ticket for:
Edible Insects & Other Rare Delicacies: An Insect and Mezcal Pairing Dinner

What's the secret?

Anthony Roser writes about some of the less known Spanish wines

US culture of cleanliness, on the decline

So says BBC News

THE TREE OF LIFE

This is what Josef Woodard wrote about Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life

What's in a smile

How do the British smile? What about the Americans?
What are the typical Japanese emoticons?
Read about all this here

The return journey

The return journey always seems quicker. Or so says the Mail Online.

Postcard Writing

A lost art?

Noisy cinema-goers

Noisy cinema-goers annoy Barbara Nachman

Octogenarian teacher claims she was unfairly dismissed

This is what she said to the New York Post

Supermarkets' tactics to make you spend more

Are you surprised?

McDonald's Round The Clock

Police aren't happy about it

Tower Bridge Under Construction

You've seen pictures of London's Tower Bridge countless times. Now you can see some pictures of the bridge under construction 120 years ago.

Watch out what you post on social networks

It can affect your employment prospects

Firefighters without hoses?

Read the story as told by the London Evening Standard

Tell me what you read, and ...

Should e-readers display books' covers?
Lisa Lewis explains how e-readers have ruined her best pickup line.

Bedtime Stories

Did you like being read to at bedtime when you were a child?
Would you like it now?
If so, this is the thing for you.

Win Win

Charlotte O'Sullivan writes about Thomas McCarthy's Win Win

The shortcomings of machine translation

This tourist sounds enthusiastic about a hotel being "increiblemente caro para la ubicación". Must be joking?
No, because she/he describes the place as "alojamiento maravilloso".
Well, it isn't a joke. It's all down to machine translation.

If we go to the top right hand corner (see flag) and get the original version in English, everything falls into place. The machine mistook "priced" for "pricey".

Incidentally, the "Met" referred to by the next reviewer and translated into Spanish as "la Conocimos" is, in all probability, the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Let's not go any further.

Avoid them like the plague

No, they ARE the plague

L.A. is okay

What is the right way to pronounce "Los Angeles"?

Are New York streets paved with gold?

A New Yorker claims to have found "bits of diamonds, rubies, platinum and gold" on the sidewalks of Midtown Manhattan.

Excess Baggage

What happened when the police looked into the matter

Liquid Nitrogen and Hamburgers

John Tierney writes about liquid nitrogen, hamburgers, the basic physics of sandwiches and other interesting things.

The burglars stole the dogs

11 Staffordshire bull terrier puppies stolen from a house in South London

Jazz not as popular as it used to be

Jazz is not the US's popular music anymore, says 99-year-old saxo player.

Fish pedicures

Is it OK to use fish as pedicures? There seem to be some doubts.

LONDON RIVER

This is what Derek Malcolm (London Evening Standard) wrote about Rachid Bouchareb's film London River

THE SERRAMBI CASE

A story by Frances de Pontes Peebles

Dog's business (an environmental issue)

What's wrong with dogs watering trees? Rebecca Mcmackin explains what is wrong.

Looking at the Easter holiday

The Spanish tourist sector is optimistic about the Easter holiday, according to the hoteliers' association.
Not everyone is so happy about the holiday, though.
And the question is, are holidays good or bad for the economy? Listen and find out.

HANWELL IN HELL

A story by Zadie Smith

English food

Back in 1945 George Orwell was writing that "We are not likely to succeed in attracting tourists while England is thought of as a country of bad food". Have things changed since then? Certainly. England has become a major tourist destination. But has English food's reputation improved? Lonely Planet guide's recent description of  English cuisine as "A culinary heritage of ready-sliced white bread, fatty meats and boiled-to-death vegetables" is not going to help. Of course not everyone takes such a dim view of English food.
And BBC2 is running a series of programmes called The Great British Food Revival where top British cooks and chefs offer cooking tips and recipes - see one of them.

THE KING'S SPEECH

One of many reviews of Tom Hooper's film The King's Speech

90 ft² = 8.36127 m²

Read about and have a look at Ms Felice Cohen's 12-feet-by-7-feet apartment in New York's Upper West Side

John le Carré Not Interested In Prize

Spy fiction master John le Carré has demanded that his name be taken off Man Booker International shortlist

Travelling in Europe

This is what Los Angeles Times says about travelling in Europe this year

WILLIAM BURNS

A short story by Roberto Bolaño

THE SMOKER

A teacher/student story by David Schickler

Pay Teachers More

-says Nicholas D. Kristoff in the New York Times

Comments on 'Pay Teachers More'

This is what New York Times readers say about Kristoff's column on teachers' salaries

American and British universities, top of the world

- says Times Higher Education magazine

HOW WAS IT TO BE DEAD?

A story by Richard Ford

BLACK SWAN

Ryan Fleming on Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan

E-mail snooping

Are our e-mails being snooped on?

THAT FIRST TIME

A story by Christopher Coake

UK clocks to be moved forward

The UK government is planning to move clocks forward an extra hour

MAN FROM THE SOUTH

A story by Roald Dahl

Go Slow

The Spanish traffic authority wants to reduce the speed limit on urban roads

MISSING OUT

A story by Leila Aboulela

TRUE GRIT

Peter Bradshaw writes about the Coen brothers' latest

Fashion: The 60's

What it was like fifty years ago

Fashion: What To Buy

Laura Craik on what to buy... and wear

New York: No Smoking in parks or beaches

New York City Council bans smoking in parks and beaches

BIUTIFUL

Derek Malcolm writes about Javier Bardem's acting in González Iñárritu's Biutiful

BAPTIZING THE GUN

A story by Uwem Akpan

Spanish court raps low cost airline over boarding pass charge

It is not OK to penalize passengers who fail to print out their boarding passes, says Spanish judge

Making holiday plans

Some people have everything planned out - and the flights booked!

Who said there was no night life?

So you thought no place in the world had more bars than your home town?