The best recent poetry – review roundup
Have It by John Cooper Clarke; The Dodo Stories by Mary Mulholland; Red River Valley by Ian McMillan; Some Sacred Harbour by Roger Robinson; Otherwhere by Carolyn ForchéHave It by John Cooper Clarke (Picador, £16.99)The latest collection from the…
‘Starchitects go home’: what’s the truth behind Albania’s astonishing building boom?
Sixty top architecture firms from around the world have mooted 500 eye-catching projects across Albania, sparking fury and protests. Now they’re being celebrated in an 800-page tome that some are calling ‘a smoking gun’Last autumn, I was sitting with a…
While I dream of garden greenhouses, a coldframe will do me just fine
A hothouse in my garden may be just a fantasy, but I can still offer plenty of protection for tender plantsI thought I would have had a new coldframe by now, but the only new thing in the garden is a fox hole. It would be more polite of them to direct…
‘It’s rational to fear the music industry’: Grouper’s Liz Harris on virality, streaming scammers and her ‘restorative’ dream-pop trio
When a rarity blew up on TikTok, the solitary ambient artist had fraudsters trying to steal her royalties. It reinforced her DIY mentality – until reforming her band Helen reminded her of the beauty of collaborationIn mid-September, I watched as Liz…
It’s true: this is my final column. You have exactly 24 hours to complain before my inbox self-destructs | Marina Hyde
Yes, after 25 years I’m signing off, and I’ve cherished every moment – especially storming the French embassy with a (toy) AK-47Journalism 101 – a course I have yet to complete – dictates that if you have something salient to say you should get there…
Kinky dating app Feeld’s founders share in record £3.8m dividend after sales jump
Platform ‘for the curious’ says users outside the UK account for nearly 90% of its revenuesBusiness live – latest updatesFeeld, a UK-based dating app aimed at non-monogamous, queer and kinky users, has reported strong sales growth and paid its…
‘It could get an orgasm out of a cabbage’: the best vibrators, tested
From bullets to rabbits to wand vibrators, our sexual wellbeing expert demystifies what’s available and rates her top 17 models (she tested 67)• 26 easy ways to spice up your sex lifeI could write here about how almost a fifth of women surveyed by Durex…
For too long, only the right has expanded the boundaries of what governments can do. Can Burnham change that? | Andy Beckett
The PM might come across as a nice bloke but he is politically ruthless. He will need to be if he is to turn big talk into big changesHow much can a Labour government change the country? According to many voters, journalists and politicians, including…
Trá Pháidín: Cloch’s Claí review – giddy Galway gang burst the boundaries of folk music
(World of Echo)With musical ideas spanning mariachi and motorik beats, and lyrics with Kneecap-grade rage, this brilliant collective evolve tradition with stinging, joyful songsQuicksilver and giddy in its exploration of Irish music, language and…
‘If you can’t hold it, you don’t own it’: why media fans want to escape algorithms with CDs, DVDs and vinyl
People describe their return to physical media – whether to protect data, support artists, or retain control of one’s choices For some, it is the security of knowing they have a physical copy of their favourite films and music, free from algorithms,…