Asked different words

When the 90th edition of the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans gets underway next month, Italian racing team Iron Dames will be the only all-female line-up on the grid. The gruelling endurance race, which begins on June 11 and ends the nest day, will feature talent ranging from ex- Formula One driver and last year’s winner Kamui Kobayashi to Hollywood star Michael Fassbender. But looking to make an impact at her fourth consecutive Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance (LMGTE) Am race in a Ferrari 488 is Swiss driver Rahel Frey. She will race alongside team-mates Sarah Bovy and Michelle Gatting, who will compete day and night at the Circuit de la Sarthe, north-west France, under the name ‘Iron Dames’. Frey at 36 is no stranger to the challenges presented by Le Mans, having first taken to the famous track back in 2010. Yet she insists the ambitious Iron Dames have loftier expectations than their previous Le Mans outings. “Doing better than ninth is the objective, honestly speaking,” she … [Read more...] about Revolutionary Le Mans 2022 team Iron Dames aiming high as only all-female racing team

By Brian Wheeler Published 18 July 2013 comments Comments Share close Share page Copy link About sharing A look at eye-catching policy ideas that are often talked about but never seem to feature in UK general election campaigns. The background The NHS was created by the post-war Labour government in 1948. For the first time, hospitals, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dentists and opticians were brought together under one organisation to provide services free to the public at the point of delivery. The central principle - that health services will be available to all and financed entirely from taxation - has been an article of faith in British politics ever since. David Cameron is the latest in a long succession of prime ministers to vow that the NHS is "safe" in his hands and would not be "privatised". But privatisation is a slippery concept. Some see it in the … [Read more...] about Why not… privatise the NHS

I just checked on my two children, asleep in their beds. They’re both under 10, and I’m fretting about the fact that one has a sore throat, the other asthma and a bad cough. Earlier today, they came home from school, full of chatter about their day. In America , there are parents exactly like me, with one crucial difference – they’re not tucking their kids into bed. They’re mourning them. The news from Uvalde elementary school in Texas tonight is unthinkable. At least 14 children between the ages of five and 11 – the same age as my kids – and a teacher, dead after an active shooter was reported at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas , according to the district at the time of writing. It is tragic, terrible – and enraging. This isn’t the first time I’ve had to write about the death of innocent children at the hands of guns in the supposed land of the free, and it won’t be the last. So what, now, is America going to do about it? I remember reporting on the … [Read more...] about How many children have to die before America changes its gun laws?

It may have taken tragedy but in the past few days Beto O’Rourke has finally gotten good at running for president. There is a significant platform that comes with seeking the highest office in the US. Of all the candidates presently enjoying it, it is O’Rourke who has arguably made the best use of it in the wake of the tragic mass shooting in El Paso at the hands of a white nationalist. That is not to say that his Democratic colleagues have failed to respond meaningfully, but the manner in which O’Rourke conveyed the exasperation and anger at the greater forces that contribute to these violent incidents this week finally separated him from his competitors. O’Rourke choked back tears as he announced that he’d be cutting a campaign trip short in order to return to El Paso, where the congressional district he used to represent is based. It was a significant difference from Donald Trump ’s remarks, delivered on Monday, about the the two massacres that took … [Read more...] about Beto O’Rourke has finally proved himself a worthy presidential candidate – don’t drop out now

I’ve lived in the US for 20 years and mass shootings – even the unspeakable slaughter at the Pulse club in Orlando, Florida last weekend – by now almost numb the senses. They are so frequent, so pointless and so similar, rituals of heartbreak for so many people – they change nothing. Indeed the most discernible effect of each new horror is merely a boost in gun sales in the days and weeks that follow. Not so the murder of Jo Cox. Truly it shocked. Britain is a place where such things supposedly don’t happen. Not in our placid and level-headed country, where legend has it that you can more easily win the lottery than get hold of a handgun. Unlike America, where four presidents were assassinated inside a century, and where politicians in thrall to the National Rifle Association fight to preserve the constitutional right of deranged individuals to own the assault rifles whose sole purpose is killing as many people as possible in as short a time as possible. Contrary to … [Read more...] about We are adopting the nastiness of American politics in our own system

Rain is almost always guaranteed at the Lake District (Image: Getty) Discover the best city breaks, beach holidays, cruises and UK travel spots by signing up SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info It was February, and while there was gradual awareness of the silent killer out in Wuhan, we were still more than a month away from lockdown. Pandemic panic had yet to grip the nation by the throat and halt life as we knew it. No, the headlines were dominated by Storm Ciara, the powerful force of nature set to sweep the country with gusts of up to 130mph and widespread flooding. And we had a date with the Lake District, no raincheck considered. So it was that we found ourselves in a tower room at the Old England Hotel & Spa in Bowness-on-Windermere … [Read more...] about Walking in the cagoule countryside of the Lake District can be a joy – if you’re prepared

‘Miss Mirja, Dear, I’m downloading anti-virus programmes on your computer now. Will you pay by debit or credit card?’ ‘Sorry? Pay for what?’ I asked. ‘It’ll be £200,’ said ‘Eddie’. It was a Wednesday morning and it just dawned on me that I had been on the phone to the ‘Microsoft Help Desk’ for what must have been a good hour. The chap on the other end of the line – ‘Eddie’ – continued to talk to me with this soft voice that was beginning to bother me. I don’t know why my senses only kicked in then. Perhaps the prospect of parting with my money and card details was needed to finally shake me awake. I told ‘Eddie’ no and asked him to get out of my computer. I was almost apologetic – I dared not to be rude. I still can’t quite put my finger on how he managed to con me. Even now, weeks after it happened, I am bewildered as to why I fell for it. I still have no answer. I had never fallen for a scam before and I was absolutely convinced that I never would. The whole … [Read more...] about I thought I was too streetwise to fall for an internet scam – then it happened to me

Photo: Netflix It’s natural to skip past the end credits on a comedy special without thinking about the people credited within them. Platforms like Netflix practically encourage this behavior, taking you back to the navigation menu moments after the comedian has finished waving to the crowd. Linger on them for a little longer, however, and you’ll see the hundreds of artists and craftspeople responsible for bringing comedy specials to life. They’re producers who manage hiring and logistics, cinematographers and production designers who marry comedians’ content to their aesthetics, and sound mixers and editors who refine live performances into polished products. To learn more about how these professionals approach their crafts, Vulture interviewed a group of five behind-the-scenes figures who’ve made invaluable contributions to the comedy specials we consider technical achievements today. They’ve lent their expertise to productions like Jerrod Carmichael’s Rothaniel , Bo … [Read more...] about Meet the Technical Artists Behind Comedy’s Most Impressive Specials