British driver qualifies fastest with 1min 18.518sec lap in Melbourne
Lando Norris sixth after running over Mercedes cooling fan
George Russell claimed pole position for the Australian Grand Prix, the opening race of the new Formula One season, with an ominously dominant run for Mercedes. Russell and teammate Kimi Antonelli locked out the front row with their nearest competitor Isack Hadjar in the Red Bull almost eight-tenths of a second behind the pole time in third place.
The British driver and Mercedes were in a class of their own at the front of the field but there was a disastrous opening for four-time world champion Max Verstappen who crashed out before he had even set a timed lap.
Continue reading...From ancient China and Paris’s Latin Quarter to ‘Han shot first’, test your knowledge with the Saturday quiz
1 The slogan “Han shot first” protested against the re-editing of which film?
2 The boundaries of the North, East and West Ridings met at which city?
3 What is the smallest species of UK crow?
4 Which notorious Disney film was based on stories by Joel Chandler Harris?
5 Which precursor of the UN was established by the treaty of Versailles?
6 Rama IX ruled which country from 1946 to 2016?
7 Which singer and pianist was born Eunice Waymon?
8 What military force was the BAOR?
What links:
9 Ancient China; California; Nagasaki; Latin Quarter of Paris; Rome?
10 Alert (possible); warning (expected); severe warning (risk to life and significant disruption)?
11 Covalent; ionic; metallic?
12 Bakelite; french fries; internal combustion engine; saxophone; standard map projection?
13 Ade Adepitan; Ian Dury; Frida Kahlo; Joni Mitchell; Itzhak Perlman; FDR?
14 Bligh’s ship; Olympus Mons location; Panthera leo; Via Lactea?
15 Isabella of France and Margaret of Anjou; Chester Burnett; Jordan Belfort?
In this week’s newsletter: Our annual recap of the must-see series spread across Apple TV, Netflix, Disney+ and more
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Streaming services: there’s a lot of them (with yet another, HBO Max, on the way later this month) and everyone seems to be signed up to different ones, making recommendations a challenge. Step forward the Guide’s fourth edition of A Show for Every Streamer (previous versions can be seen here, here and here), which does exactly as it describes. As is tradition, we’ve tried to avoid series that everyone has been nattering about (unlucky, Heated Rivalry), and instead spotlight less heralded, more surprising picks, starting with …
Apple TV | Drops of God
… a Japanese-American-French drama about warring wine experts, of course. A curious one, though it does fit in with Apple’s penchant for high-end subject matter. After a first series that saw the daughter of a deceased French wine expert face off against his Japanese mentee for ownership of his multimillion-dollar wine collection, season two – which arrived in January – sees the two team up to investigate the mysterious origins of a bottle of red from dad’s collection.
Five multiple-choice questions – set by children – to test your knowledge, and a chance to submit your own junior brainteasers for future quizzes
Molly Oldfield hosts Everything Under the Sun, a podcast answering children’s questions. Do check out her books, Everything Under the Sun and Everything Under the Sun: Quiz Book, as well as her new title, Everything Under the Sun: All Around the World.
Continue reading...Mountain hikes, river swims and centuries-old traditions appeal to the whole family on a trip to the Balkans
‘Uno, Uno, Uno No Mercy!” the six-year-old son of our hosts for the day bellows while leading my boys, 10 and 12, into his dimly lit corrugated iron home. I let out a little sigh of relief. The popular card game is a much-needed icebreaker as ominous clouds close in on the remote stan (the Albanian word for a shepherd dwelling). Despite the language barrier, much laughter and consternation soon spill out of the darkness, just as hail hammers down on the tin roof. Dogs bark, chickens cluck and sheep bleat as the thunder grows louder, and we all – our eight hosts, seven guests and one guide – shelter in the tiny kitchen, the living room-cum-bedroom (now Uno parlour), or on the veranda.
It’s day two of a seven-day trip with Undiscovered Balkans, crisscrossing between Albania and Montenegro on foot and by car. Having always wanted to hike the Peaks of the Balkans trail, a 119-mile (192km) hike linking Montenegro, Kosovo and Albania, I jumped at the chance to sample this new guided itinerary. Combining some of the region’s most famous hikes with gentler excursions for kids, such as a day experiencing life as a shepherd, or visits to remote swimming spots, it seemed a novel alternative to our usual “get a map and hope for the best” approach to hiking holidays.
Continue reading...My sexuality had to be hidden from my friends, my parents, not to mention the authorities. Then I found freedom at house parties and one song that sums up me finally being able to be myself
I was raised in Tehran, under the Ayatollah’s sharia law and daily watch of Basij – the “morality police”. My parents fell in love with the Islamic Revolution when I was a baby and welcomed life under its strict religious rules. The Ayatollah’s face stared down from the walls at home, a daily reminder of what was expected and what was forbidden. This included being gay, but by my teenage years I knew I was different from my peers, and began hiding my sexuality from my parents and the world outside.
The other side of life under the regime was that there was little room for celebration: happy events, even religious ones, came with inherent guilt while frivolous outside influences, including western music, were considered dangerous. And so I was in my mid-20s before I went to my first real party: an underground gathering that would become my gateway to a hidden, gay Tehran.
Continue reading...This sophisticated, character-driven sitcom from the creators of Scrubs and Ted Lasso is very funny. And it’s proof that all that drama hasn’t blunted Carrell’s comic edge
Here’s a funny thing. When comically gifted actors go “straight”, taking on dramatic roles with zero laughs, the world falls over its feet to give them flowers. You might not realise it from looking at every single acting award ever handed out but comedy is much harder than drama. Both share techniques and aim at truth. But with comedy, rhythm and originality are crucial, and the spotlight is merciless. (Fart noise.)
From Robin Williams to Jim Carrey, Hugh Laurie to Daniel Kaluuya, when an actor gets more admiration keeping the hahas in, they often don’t go back. Which brings me to Rooster, a show that, along with last year’s Four Seasons, marks Steve Carell’s return to TV comedy. Since leaving The Office, Carell has spent 13 years fictionally fathering drug addicts, being an abusive wrestler-philanthropist, and getting fired from his job as a news anchor for sexual misconduct. (That was on The Morning Show, not Anchorman.) Incredible projects, obviously. But don’t they sometimes have the hint of homework?
Continue reading...
Alleen al in Rotterdam waren het afgelopen jaar ruim vierhonderd woningbranden en lang niet altijd konden de bewoners terug naar huis, zeker wanneer hun woning onbewoonbaar werd verklaard. Maar wat betekent dat eigenlijk voor de bewoners en wat gebeurt er met het huis?
Alleen al in Rotterdam waren het afgelopen jaar ruim vierhonderd woningbranden en lang niet altijd konden de bewoners terug naar huis, zeker wanneer hun woning onbewoonbaar werd verklaard. Maar wat betekent dat eigenlijk voor de bewoners en wat gebeurt er met het huis?