The Guardian

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The moment I knew: I’d lost his number and was about to switch off my old phone for good – then a text pinged

When Karen Bleakley locked eyes with Matt on the dancefloor, it was a sign of a new beginning. But when she lost his number, she thought she’d never see him again

In 2002 I was in the midst of a messy breakup, so my friend Clare did what friends do – she took me out, fed me shots and showed me a good time.

We were at Route 66, a cheesy nightclub in Portsmouth on the southern coast of the UK, that was blasting 80s tunes. Then on the dancefloor I saw him: a young, hunky Ryan Phillippe lookalike, if Ryan Phillippe had spent the summer windsurfing. Matt, a Portsmouth local, was all blond curls, tanned skin and bright blue eyes that caught mine as I stared at him.

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When Dad asked me to edit his novel, I wanted to say no – but ran directly towards the lion’s den | Anna Spargo-Ryan

My father doesn’t ask for help from just anyone. And yet he asked for mine. He believed in me

My dad and I believe in many of the same things: cheesecake; the Geelong football club; my mum. And that we should immediately be experts at anything. First try. No practice. No revision.

He taught me this in kindergarten. Every day he pushed me to be brilliant. We played spelling games in the car and did maths workbooks for fun. Before I started school I had “published” a library of my own books, complete with copyright information. I had become – and I’m assuming this is true of most Guardian writers – a precocious kid who irritated everyone around her by being boisterously, aggressively right about everything all of the time. Just like my dad. (Obviously I’ve grown a lot since then.)

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‘Grief becomes a routine’: Farhana lost five babies. A ‘culture of silence’ exacerbated her pain

A first-of-its-kind study shows the prevalence of miscarriage in Australia but experts fear multicultural groups remain underrepresented

On a quiet street in western Sydney, Farhana Laffernis races her curious English staffy and boisterous three-year-old daughter in the front door.

Inside, her three-year-old wears a pink tutu and excitedly babbles as she cuddles her toy doll. The family life Laffernis has built did not come easy.

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Ingebrigtsen sorry for calling 1500m rivals ‘losers’ but maintains Hocker ‘acted cowardly’

  • Fiery Diamond League comments partially walked back

  • On Hocker: ‘Cole and I talked it through after the race’

The double Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen has issued a part-apology for calling his rivals “losers” and a “bunch of cowards” after a spicy men’s 1500m Diamond League final on Friday.

However, Ingebrigtsen has continued to maintain that he was still right to accuse the Olympic 1500m champion Cole Hocker of cowardice – because he asked for a strong pace and swapped in his own pacemaker only to then hide behind others in the race.

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America has a whopping debt. But Europe has the whopping debt problem

The French-size problem at the heart of the EU.


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Minder lezen, Meer weten.

Broeders-Bol tweede in eerste Diamond League-finale op 800 meter

BRUSSEL (ANP) - Femke Broeders-Bol (26) is bij haar eerste finale van de Diamond League op de 800 meter tweede geworden. In het Koning Boudewijnstadion in Brussel noteerde de Nederlandse 1.54,81. Audrey Werro, de Europees kampioene uit Zwitserland, was nipt sneller en won in 1.54,75. Saida Tsehaye uit Ethiopië werd derde: 1.57,57.

Broeders-Bol won de voorgaande vijf edities de Diamond League-finale op haar oude discipline, de 400 meter horden. Eind vorig jaar maakte ze de keuze om over te stappen naar de dubbele afstand zonder obstakels.

Op de 800 meter heeft ze al in haar eerste seizoen aansluiting gevonden met de absolute top. Vorige maand maakte ze haar EK-debuut met een bronzen medaille. In de finale evenaarde ze het Nederlandse record waarmee Ellen van Langen op de Spelen van Barcelona in 1992 goud won (1.55,54). Bij de daaropvolgende Diamond Leagues scherpte ze die toptijd afgelopen weken tot twee keer toe aan: in Lausanne klokte ze 1.55,41, in Zürich dook ze daar nog ruim een halve seconde onder met 1.54,71.


Visser vijfde in finale Diamond League op 100 meter horden

BRUSSEL (ANP) - Nadine Visser (31) is bij de finale van de Diamond League vijfde geworden op de 100 meter horden. De Europees kampioene noteerde 12,54 seconden en zag de Amerikaanse wereldrecordhoudster Masai Russell naar de winst lopen in 12,30 seconden. Devynne Charlton uit de Bahama's werd tweede (12,33), voor de Jamaicaanse Megan Simmonds (12,43).

Visser verkeert dit seizoen in uitstekende vorm. Vorige maand in Birmingham won de Noord-Hollandse op de 100 meter horden na acht grote finales zonder medaille (op WK's, Olympische Spelen en EK's) voor het eerst de Europese titel.

Russell verbrak vorige week bij de Diamond League in Zürich het wereldrecord met een tijd van 12,09 seconden. In die race eindigde Visser met haar beste seizoenstijd van 12,34 als derde. In de buurt van die tijd kwam ze in het Brusselse Koning Boudewijnstadion niet.

De Nederlandse recordhoudster stond dit seizoen zeven keer aan de start van een wedstrijd in de Diamond League en eindigde slechts eenmaal buiten het podium, op de vierde plek. Ze werd vier keer derde en eindigde twee keer als tweede.


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How Snoqualmie Pass became the most important route across the Cascades

For one perspective on peopling the passes, and one that showcases the transition from two-legged to wheeled travel, consider Snoqualmie Pass, where Interstate 90 cuts through the Cascades. People began using this lowest route — 3,004 feet — over the mountains around 9,000 years ago. (Seattle Times, archive)

How Nicole Got Her Bark Back

Let's Talk About Chopping Wood. (FB reel) Nicole Coenen tells us a bit about wood. Also how to be Safe while chopping. Wood Chopping 101. Of course she is Canadian. Okie-dokie. She started her channel as a spoof of Thoren Bradley, the OG TikTok chopper. She has a book, too.

Outside Podcast: The Unexpected Benefits of Chopping Wood What does she do with her wood chopping skills? This.

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Defensie verbiedt gebruik van de reisapp Polarsteps na groot lek