Looking for something brilliant to read this weekend? Here are six of our favourite pieces from the last seven days.
1. My father, the German refugee who fought the Nazis as a ‘secret listener’
Where do you draw the line between honouring your family’s cultural and religious traditions and adopting the traditions of your new home country? Are British-born Greek Cypriot friends somehow less British because their children learned Greek? As the far right fulminates about who “belongs” in Britain, journalist and broadcaster Robin Lustig wrote this powerful piece remembering his father Fritz Lustig, who arrived in Britain in 1939, just months before war broke out. Initially jailed as an “enemy alien”, he played a vital role in a top-secret military intelligence unit.
2. ‘They take you out of life, out of time’: a journey into Spain’s astonishing cave paintings
For tens of thousands of years, these Palaeolithic artworks were unseen. When they were rediscovered, onlookers marvelled at their vivid beauty. Stephen Phelan took an up-close look with one of the world’s leading experts.
3. ‘You can be made a laughing stock to millions’: can gen Z escape the fear of being cringe?
The catalogue of things that gen Z finds cringe is huge: sincerity, trying too hard, enthusiasm; any behaviour that isn’t nonchalant. Ellie Violet Bramley wrote about how the constant risk of being recorded leaves many young people afraid of showing enthusiasm – let alone doing something so potentially embarrassing as dancing in public. Cringe has been identified by some working in mental health as a relatively new form of shame. It is now so prevalent that it has been blamed as a reason so many people – and particularly young people – aren’t living their lives to the fullest.
4. Life under a Delhi flyover: how one homeless family endures the city’s extreme heat
Hour by hour, Shahida and her baby are exposed to the full force of the deadly temperatures affecting India’s capital – without reliable access to food, water or healthcare. The flyover has become one of the few places where Shahida’s family can remain relatively undisturbed. The concrete offers some shade from direct sunlight, even if the trapped heat underneath it often becomes suffocating by noon. Anuj Behal wrote this moving account of a day in their lives.
5. ‘I can gauge John’s reaction: that’s good, stick that in’: Paul McCartney on how old bandmates – and Oasis – inspired his nostalgic new album
“I still think humanity’s got great resilience and great spirit, and most of the people I meet are cool, good, nice people.” Laura Barton interviewed McCartney who, at 83, is looking back for his 18th solo LP, to formative flirtations, family singalongs, even his own birth – and the febrile times that mirror our own. It’s given him “every hope that we’ll get through”.
6. Always have a starter – and be wary of specials: restaurant critics on 14 ways to order the perfect meal
“Chefs often try out things in the starter section, so you tend to get more interesting food.” Restaurant dining is a terrific and expensive treat, so how can you be sure to get the best from every menu? Sarah Phillips asked experts for their tips on ensuring you have the best possible dining experience. Their insider secrets ranged from looking for the strangest dish to going easy on the booze.
