Country diary: Peak District
The villages around the Dove and Manifold rivers were made more charming by the presence of so many swallows. Photograph: Brian Davies/AP In Norfolk I have long grown accustomed ...
Restaurant review: Digby Chick
Digby Chick’s modern interior. Photograph: Leila Angus for the Observer 5 Bank Street, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis (01851 700 026). Meal for two, with wine and service, £70-£100 It ...
Boris Johnson pledges extra buses and bike escorts as London Tube strike looms
London Underground tube workers have voted for a series of strikes. Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images Transport bosses and the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, stated yesterday they would “pull ...
India: economic growth contrasts with political unrest in a forgotten enclave
Aizawl, capital of Mizoram state, at dusk. Photograph: STR/EPA I am sitting on a balcony looking out on one of the more extraordinary places on earth. Teenage girls and ...
Spotted online: city tips by locals
Spotted by Paulo Cruz Pakistani Cafe is a very small, eccentric restaurant that serves “good Punjabi cooking [with] no artificial rubbish”. Photograph: Paulo Cruz The menu (handwritten) is ...
The huge picture: Blackpool beach, 1948
Holidaymakers enjoy the sun on a crowded Blackpool beach in 1948. Photograph: popperfoto.com My first reaction to this photograph is to feel itchy.
Conflict erupts at the top of Network Rail after internal inquiry clears boss of abusing position
Workers clear debris from the tracks between Balcombe and Three Bridges in West Sussex in an effort to minimise delays for commuters. Photograph: Peter Jordan/PA Archive/Press Association Ima Senior ...
In praise of … Endellion | Editorial
The Camerons’ choice of Endellion as one of the names of their new baby daughter would have delighted Nicholas Roscarrock, had he not unfortunately died 376 years too ...
George David Weiss obituary
Weiss fought for composers’ rights. Photograph: Dith Pran / New York Times What a Wonderful World, Can’t Help Falling in Love and Stay With Me Baby were a few ...
Martin Parr: how to take better holiday photographs
Jurmula, Latvia, 1999. Photograph: ©Martin Parr / Magnum Most family pic albums are a form of propaganda, where the family looks perfect and everyone is smiling: we try to ...