The best medicine to treat jaundice in the 1600s? Snails boiled in beer
Another recipe is for “hott surfett water”, which was said to “allay ye heat of a ffeavour” [sic]. The cook is instructed to combine a liver and…
How the Covid omicron rules will affect your New Year’s Eve plans
What do the rules mean for travel? The Prime Minister did not announce any extra international travel restrictions at the Downing Street press conference or during his…
Does The Princess Bride work even better as a radio drama? Inconceivable!
There was a similarly melancholy undertow to the soothing Moominland Midwinter (Radio 4, Saturday), in which young Moomintroll wakes from hibernation early, and wanders in a lonely,…
Banning popcorn and pick ’n’ mix? Cinemas are meant to be romantic!
Of course, the sound level depends on the genre. Let me make a sweeping generalisation: the culture vultures at a Wes Anderson or Coen brothers film will…
Chinese armed police parade ‘Covid restriction violators’ through streets as zero-Covid strategy falters
Jingxi is near the Chinese border with Vietnam. The public shaming was part of disciplinary measures announced by the local government in August to punish those breaking…
Up to 90 per cent of intensive care Covid patients have not had boosters, says Boris Johnson
Around three in five Covid patients in intensive care in London at the start of last month were unvaccinated, according to data from the Intensive Care National…
Irish foreign affairs officials had champagne party during lockdown
Irish officials and staff celebrated with champagne in their office during a “moment of happiness” after Ireland was elected to the UN Security Council in an apparent…
Russia orders another rights group to close after ‘worst year for freedom’ since end of the USSR
Russia has ordered the closure of a group that fights for the rights of political prisoners, a day after it shut the group’s sister organisation, which chronicled…
State schools increasingly adopting two-week half term for the ‘mental wellbeing of teachers’
A survey by this newspaper found that 31 of the 102 multi-academy trusts that operate secondary schools have a two-week October half-term holiday, as well as 30…
Prince Andrew challenges accuser’s residency status in bid to have sex abuse case thrown out
“It is undisputed that, at the time she filed this action, Ms. Giuffre had an Australian driver’s license and was living in a AU$1.9 million home in…
‘Overeating is harder to beat than alcoholism’: Richard Osman reveals his food addiction battle
Osman urged for anyone struggling with overeating and thinks the problem is “ridiculous” to “divorce” themselves from this idea and face it “head on”. He added: “There…
Davina McCall: Menopausal women leaving jobs as they feel they’ve lost their marbles
Millions of women could be leaving the workforce after the menopause left them feeling they have “lost their marbles”, Davina McCall has warned. The television presenter, fitness…
Windsor Castle crossbow intruder was ‘isolated and demotivated’ by lockdown, says his father
His father, Jasbir Singh Chail, 57, had told neighbours during lockdown he was concerned about the impact it was having on his son, claiming it had left…
Riot police break up traveller barricade that trapped residents in their own homes
Riot police were called to a housing estate after a group of travellers trapped residents in their own homes by barricading a road. The travellers set up…
Josef Fritzl could be released from jail early if he passes psychological tests
The psychological expert’s opinion is expected by the end of next month, according to Ferdinand Schuster, vice president of the Krems Regional Court. However, it is considered…
Families braced for £1,200 hit in soaring tax and energy bills in ‘year of the squeeze’
Torsten Bell, the chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, said: “2022 will begin with omicron at the forefront of everyone’s minds. But while the economic impact of…
Holidaymakers risk losing trips and ‘getting stuck abroad’ if recently recovered from Covid
The presence – and impact – of RNA could affect almost a third of people post-Covid, triggering a misleading PCR result up to three months after recovery….
Risk of double dip recessions as inflation and Covid restrictions bite, World Bank warns
Ms Reinhart also warned that worries over heavily indebted companies and stock markets risk tying the hands of central banks in their bid to fight rising inflation,…
Just one-fifth of new Covid hospital patients are true cases
Critics of the data say it is wrong to include incidental figures in the daily updates of admissions and patient totals, as they can include someone with…
Exclusive: Richard III may not have killed young princes in the Tower of London, researchers say
Two days later on March 3, royal documents reveal that Richard sent a trusted follower named Robert Markenfield on an unknown mission from Yorkshire to the remote…
Omicron causes just a quarter of deaths as previous waves, first data suggests
Omicron causes only a quarter of the deaths of patients as previous Covid waves, the first major study into mortality data suggests. Researchers at the University of…
Test and Trace wrongly tells people with Covid to self-isolate for 10 days
The alerts, which were sent to some people who had tested positive for Covid recently, do not mention last week’s rule change by Sajid Javid, the Health…
Transfer notebook: Everton eye loan move for Chelsea’s Ross Barkley
Everton will consider Ross Barkley among their targets for January loan signings as Rafa Benitez looks to bolster his squad for the second half of the season. …
Newcastle vs Everton postponed by Premier League due to Covid outbreak and injuries
Newcastle United’s game against Everton has been postponed following a request from the North East club as they could not field a team of senior players because…
Norwich City fail to fire as weakened Crystal Palace pick Championship-bound side apart
For anyone looking for evidence of why Norwich City remain fixed to the bottom of the Premier League table, then the second goal they conceded here would…