Explainers

Using a loose sat nav If you use your phone as a sat nav but don't fix it to the dashboard, you could be looking at fines of £200 and up to six penalty points. … [Read more...] about Is it illegal to drive without an MOT, or to use your phone as a Sat Nav? Driving traffic laws explained

How did Cordelia, Madison, and Myrtle survive the Apocalypse? Flashing forward to after the apocalypse in Outpost 3 and Mallory's magical awakening when in confrontation with Langdon, we see that her magical awakening woke up Cordelia, Madison, and Myrtle from their slumber in the healing muds of Misty's swamp (in which they hid to survive the nuclear carnage) - leading them to Outpost 3 and the confrontation that ended episode 3, Forbidden Fruit. … [Read more...] about American Horror Story season 8 finale Apocalypse Then explained

There wasn’t a happy ending for me and Win, though. It was lovely, the second-last time I saw her, down at the Falls of Clyde. When I turned up the next day though, the Sunday, Win said she didn’t want to go in the taxi again because it was too expensive. I’d paid for it, not her. I think she felt that I was throwing money at her, as if she was a problem. She said instead that she wanted me to push her down to Airdrie town centre in the very rudimentary wheelchair to look around the shops. I explained that the hospice was at the top of a steep hill, that I didn’t think I could manage it, that the shops would be closed anyway and that I didn’t mind paying for a taxi at all – quite the reverse. I’d love it. She sulked until I gave in and took her down to Airdrie, finding it hard to stop the wheelchair from going too fast on the way down, sweating with the effort of pushing on the way back up. We were both in bad moods when we parted, and I never … [Read more...] about Deborah Orr on leaving home: ‘My parents were the jailers I loved’

One thing stands out in Italian theatres: the audiences are really responsive. If they think an actor is very good, they are quick to applaud. If they dislike a player, they will make it quite clear at the curtain call. Authors and directors are treated the same way. They may be greeted with a steady stream of boos or cheers when they appear on stage. It may be cruel but it’s lively. Elsewhere when a production is a flop, or viewed as such, it generally prompts polite applause, but no more. Shouting is unusual, fighting even more so. There was neither shouting nor fighting in Milan for the first night of Lehman Trilogy, a play by Stefano Massini at the Piccolo Teatro. But the response of the audience, which included some of the city’s keenest theatre-goers, was a mixture of enthusiasm and disgust. … [Read more...] about Luca Ronconi’s Lehman Trilogy: staging the downfall of a financial giant

The staged silence One of the most awkward moments of the series was when Jess and Eve returned from their dates with Mike and Callum and the girls all got together to discuss it. … [Read more...] about Love Island fans spot ‘proof’ the show is ‘staged’ – from date night blunders to awkward silences