PlantwatchPlantsWhen it comes to attracting pollinators, buttercup petals hold all the aces. They even provide their guests with heating Do you like butter? Hold a buttercup under your chin and folklore says if there is a yellow reflection on your skin it means you do. But the real reason the flowers seem to shine with an intense glittering yellow is nothing to do with butter but about advertising the plants to insect pollinators from a great distance.
New Zealand This article is more than 10 years oldShark attack kills award-winning film-maker in New ZealandThis article is more than 10 years oldAdam Strange, 46, victim of first such incident since 1976Beaches in New Zealand have been closed after a swimmer was dragged out to sea and killed by a shark off one of the most popular beaches near the city of Auckland. Eyewitnesses described the sea as being covered in blood, and several sharks may have joined in the attack.
TheatreReviewAlmeida theatre, London Rupert Goold’s production of the alt-rock musical has a talented young cast and some striking moments but the songs are often banal It is audacious of Rupert Goold to stage a flamboyantly morose alt-rock musical about teenage repression and rebellion for a Christmas show. Based on Frank Wedekind’s 1891 play – banned or censored across the ages – it does not have many fuzzy edges and its staging now feels more refreshing for it.
LGBTQ+ rights This article is more than 5 years oldTanzania: men arrested for 'gay marriage' face anal examinationsThis article is more than 5 years oldTen detained on island of Zanzibar to undergo test campaigners call torture Ten men arrested for allegedly conducting a same-sex marriage ceremony on the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar are to face a forced anal examination on Friday, activists have told the Guardian. The procedure is supposed to discover evidence of homosexual activity, though many say the primary aim is to humiliate and hurt.
The Last Kingdom: episode by episodeThe Last KingdomOur hero Uhtred attempts to save his marriage, while the rapidly advancing Odda the Younger is enjoyably loathsome in this fantastically well-paced episode Spoiler alert: this blog is for those who have watched the fourth episode of The Last Kingdom, showing on BBC2, Thursday nights in the UK; please refrain from posting any spoilers if you’ve seen more of the series. Read Sarah’s recap of episode four here.