Why Do We Drink Champagne on New Year's Eve?

See why

Confetti throwing is not as simple a matter as it may seem

It's got to be tested

LES MISERABLES

Some reviews

Why Boxing Day is called Boxing Day

Boxing Day and Boxing Day traditions

More about Christmas food

Bad weather means higher prices

Crisis 'almost over'

So say the experts

Britain's cheapest Christmas dinnner ...

... at £1.89

The Mayor of New York has already regulated them

What's the aim of the new law?
What do people think?

The Mayor of London wants to regulate pedicabs

What's the problem?

Family only

A good idea?

Ideas for Repeal Day

5 cocktails for Repeal Day

A flight to nowhere

Far from useless, though

LIFE OF PI

Some reviews

How did early Black Friday go?

A bit of everything

Cold calling

And how to deal with it

Rounding up - Who cares about cents?

Some people do

Black Friday begins on Thursday

Didn't Black Friday use to be the day after Thanksgiving?

Not everyone is happy about this state of things

What would you have done?

Read story

Soft drinks make you fat

Alcoholic drinks, too

Never too old

Not really

SKYFALL

Some reviews

Election Day

No problem

Halloween

Apparently, Halloween is still big business

A brief history of Halloween

Do not turn hands backwards

How to change (very) old clocks

Better not change clocks at all?

FRANKENWEENIE

Betsy Sharkey reviews Tim Burton's Frankenweenie

Tattoos not OK for London Metropolitan Police

Officers won't be allowed to get visible tattoos

Not everybody agrees

THE IMPOSSIBLE

Some reviews

U.S. candidates will debate in Spanish

Read story

Not everyone's idea of healthy food

Fatal bug-eating contest

TO ROME WITH LOVE

Some reviews

New York gets tough on drunk driving

20,000 drivers may lose their licences this year

We thought it was cheese they liked

Apparently they like other foods too

KILLING THEM SOFTLY

Peter Bradshaw reviews Killing Them Softly

Should children have IDs?

Ryanair says Yes

Smile

But not too much

Beer garden bans children after 4 p.m.

Parents think that's too early

Beef processing company sues Jamie Oliver

The pink slime controversy

THE DEEP BLUE SEA

Some reviews

McDonald's goes vegetarian

in Amritsar

How to nap

The scientific power of naps

Bet you never saw this movie

Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein

Foods you should never feed your dog

See list, and see why

Desperately seeking Sofia

Impossible love?

Who hasn't fallen asleep on the Tube?

One example

French lessons for babies

Brooklyn babies take French lessons

A traveller's dream

A universal plug socket

If you've got a gold Rolex watch to sell...

...be careful.

Always pay attention...

...at work

A freakish accident

A woman slips in the shower... and falls out of the window.

PROMETHEUS

Opinions on Ridley Scott's Prometheus

Care about the bear

A little help

Don't talk on your mobile...

...while it is driving your car

THE GUARD

Tim Robey reviews John Michael McDonagh’s The Guard

SHAME

Robbie Collin reviews Steve McQueen's film

Who said there's too much security at airports?

A runaway 11-year-old boy boards a plane in Manchester and travels to Rome without a passport or a boarding pass

Manchester Airport's Director of Communications explains incident

Scary car wash

Whose fault was it?

A more detailed account of the incident plus some comments

Anyone can make a mistake

Not such a big deal after all

THE IDES OF MARCH

See a review of the film

and a clip

No longer a secret

McDonald's executive chef reveals secret sauce recipe

Earlier Summer Holidays

Schools in east London are starting the summer holidays two weeks earlier - because of the Olympics

Listen to what students and teachers have to say about it

The Rolling Stones: Fifty Years

Today's the fiftieth anniversary of the Rolling Stones' first gig

Air-conditioned clothes

Those of us who have to dress up for work have always thought wouldn't it be wonderful if there were air-conditioned suits you could wear during the hot season. Now a group of MIT graduates have designed a shirt that regulates your body temperature.

Read the story, and watch the accompanying video on this link.

After reading this story we've done a bit of research, and, yes, it seems there are air-conditioned suits. See here, and here.

We're going to order a couple of them that help us get through the summer heat.

WUTHERING HEIGHTS

Derek Malcolm writes about Wuthering Heights

It's 4th of July today

About the Fourth of July

Talking urinals

You serious?
Absolutely

A longer minute

You know the phrase 'It won't be a minute' doesn't hold the same meaning for everybody. Well, the last minute of Saturday 30th June 2012 is going to be slightly longer than usual.
See why

Do It Yourself

Make your own zebra crossing

Proud to be rude

Britain's rudest shop

It's Father's Day today

In case you didn't know

And here's some videos about dads

Driver gets fined, car gets blown up

Read story

And see some pictures

'Slutty Wednesday'

Students rebel against dress code

Mayor Bloomberg explains

Mayor Bloomberg talks about the fight against obesity... and about National Doughnut Day

Not everybody agrees

Is sugar addictive?

It's all about sugar

New York mayor declares war on sugary drinks

It's National Doughnut Day (see recipe)

It's terrible being famous

Facebook founder left no tip

Supermartkets' dodgy tactics

Not so great offers

People still buying fountain pens...

...and using them

Dine-out etiquette

Tips for civilised diners

What are school dinners like?

A nine-year-old schoolgirl has posted pictures of (and comments on) her school dinners

Watch your step

Not your iphone

CELL ONE

A story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

An unforgettable experience

(For the wrong reasons)

ROUTE IRISH

Derek Malcolm reviews Route Irish

Russia bans 'sport' of shooting sleeping bears

About time

Another dog story

- on a very different note

ID cards for dogs?

Dogs to be microchipped in UK

SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN

Neil Smith reviews Salmon Fishing In The Yemen

Thief repents...

...and returns loot

Prêts à travailler

Sandwich chain to recruit more British staff

Read the story

And this is what THEY say

Want to visit the Titanic?

Would you like to visit the Titanic?

To see how click here

Is that a joke?

Yes, it is

April Fools' Day

It's April Fools' Day today...

...and here's an April Fools' hoax

Shocking news about cell phone thefts

And cell phone companies

Truly Big Brotherish,

isn't it?

Talk about freebies

Pay what you can

Big Ben climb will continue to be free

- until at least 2015

It's Saint Patrick's Day today

 It's Saint Patrick's Day today

And traditions live on

Too much security

Or so it seems

More about burglars

Clever thief or poor security?

Rhubarb against burglars

Do they hate it that much?

Big Ben climb no longer free?

Very likely

What is a Leap Year?

Here's a brief explanation

That can't be true!

Can they read my text messages?

So what is it like?

(The new London bus)

You can still win...

...the chance to be the first passenger on the new Routemaster

Hyperpolyglots

That's what we call people who speak a lot of languages

Street advert can tell...

... if you’re a man or a woman

THE WOMAN IN BLACK

Robbie Collin reviews The Woman in Black

Does 'chivalry' annoy you?

It does annoy Piper Hoffman

Impossible to hide

Are iPhones unstealable?
We've heard about this before

An act of intolerance?

What do you think?

A North London Borough is determined...

...to stamp out a nasty habit

There's a lot of literature on this subject

Some of it penned by Charles Dickens

Happy (Chinese) New Year

Although it is always in January or February, the Chinese New Year does not fall on the same date each year. This year Chinese New Year is on Monday, January 23. It is the year of the Dragon. If you want to find out about the various animals and the years they represent, the 12 animals of the Chinese calendar are explained here.

THE DESCENDANTS

David Blaustein reviews The Descendants

Red wine might not be so healthy after all

'Research' on the (alleged) anti-ageing properties of red wine has been found to be not quite reliable

Read story here

How to avoid sports injuries

On top of having a healthy diet we need to take exercise, but we must learn to avoid sports injuries
See how

Spanish Omelette

After the Christmas excesses we need to eat healthy food
Jamie Oliver explains how to make a Spanish omelette

Twins born in different years

Read story here

Goobye to leap years?

There would be no more leap years if this idea were put into practice

This is what the new calendar would look like