Was this billionaire recluse truly mad?
Nicholas Barber Features correspondent Alamy Howard Hughes is the archetypal super-rich hermit, said never to have trimmed his nails and to have kept urine in jars. But who was he really? Nicholas Barber takes a look. It takes a brave director to tackle a life story that Martin Scorsese has already put on screen, but […]
Wiltshire vineyards report ‘bumper’ harvest due to weather
Karen Gardner & Louis Inglis BBC Wiltshire reporter BBC Vintners say warm weather and rainfall levels have boosted the grape harvest Wiltshire vineyards have reported high yield and “very promising quality” and said this year’s grape harvest may prove to be their best for years. Growers said a warm spring and good rainfall over the […]
The most important TV show ever?
Jennifer Keishin Armstrong Features correspondent ABC Roots was the most-watched miniseries in the US when it aired in 1977. Can the remake match it? Jennifer Keishin Armstrong takes a look. When ABC network executives decided to air a miniseries based on Alex Haley’s novel Roots in 1977, they took every possible precaution to cut their […]
Brewery rapped over beer packaging rules
Tiny Rebel/Portman Group Packaging on six Tiny Rebel beers have fallen foul of industry rules A Welsh brewery has been taken to task for a third time by industry regulators for the packaging of some of its beer. Tiny Rebel Brewing was found to have breached rules including appealing to underage drinkers, sexual references and […]
Why Spice Girls’ Wannabe is the catchiest song of all time
Sam Rigby Features correspondent Alamy One study identified the girl group’s debut as pop’s most recognisable hit, but 20 years later, what’s really behind its continued success? When the Spice Girls released Wannabe in the UK on 8 July 1996, nobody could have foreseen what followed: two years of what can only be described as […]
‘People told me my plans for a skincare firm were crazy’
Anne Cassidy Business reporter Tata Harper Tata Harper launched her eponymous skincare brand in 2010 The BBC’s weekly The Boss series profiles different business leaders from around the world. This week we speak to Tata Harper, owner of the popular US skincare company of the same name. Tata Harper’s mission to create a natural skincare […]
She Can Play: FA People’s Cup 2016 runners-up to expand girls coaching scheme
But the story did not end there for She Can Play. Kat, who has played for Tottenham Hotspur, Crystal Palace and West Ham Ladies, had a clear mission – to get more girls and women to play and stay in football. She Can Play put on girls- and women-only football sessions in Essex, working with […]
Union calls for more help as production costs soar
Steffan Messenger BBC Wales Environment Correspondent BBC The Royal Welsh Agricultural Show returns on what is expected to be the hottest day of the year Farming leaders have called for more financial support for farms struggling with soaring production costs. The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW), at the start of the Royal Welsh Show, said […]
Europe’s Solheim and Ryder Cup teams boosted by Charley Hull and Shane Lowry’s good finishes
Professional golfers prefer to deal in wins, but sometimes high finishes are victories in their own right. Certainly Charley Hull and Shane Lowry would have preferred to spend Monday morning arranging space for new trophies, but both can reflect on very successful weekends. Hull was runner-up at the Kroger Queen City Championship in Cincinnati in […]
Would you eat slaughter-free meat?
Regan Morris & James Cook BBC News, San Francisco These chicken nuggets were grown in a lab from cells taken from a living animal There’s a looming crisis over the world’s growing appetite for meat. Could a chicken running around a farmyard in San Francisco hold the key to a solution? In 1931, Winston Churchill […]