People

Describing his return to live television, Marr said: "Of course, yes, I was self-conscious. I normally use my body a lot when I'm talking. I wave my arms about. But I can only wave one arm around, so I'd fall over if I did it too much, and also my face is slightly less mobile, so I'm less inclined to smile and sort of make strange facial gestures as I work. I'm conscious about that as well." … [Read more...] about Andrew Marr: stroke has made me more aware of people with disabilities

"Many patients with a chronic cough are driven to seek treatment because of the significant negative impact it can have on their quality of life, but at the moment physicians are unable to help," said Prof Jacky Smith from the University of Manchester, who led the study. … [Read more...] about Drug hope for people with chronic cough

The death of Nóra’s husband turns out to be only the first in a series of unexplained events in the valley. A child is stillborn; cows do not give good milk; a woman sets herself on fire. But this is a place where it cannot be accepted that such occurrences are arbitrary or meaningless. If calamity visits an individual, it is not mere misfortune, but because she has failed in her adherence to the proper rituals. The mother of the stillborn infant is blamed for its death, having failed to visit the blacksmith to “blow the bellows”. Kent brilliantly conjures the sly malice of this folkloric blame culture. … [Read more...] about The Good People by Hannah Kent review – beware the fairies

In a broadcast interview in 2006, Hallyday, whose musical career spanned 57 years and 79 albums, with sales of more than 110m, was seemingly unimpressed with the suggestion he would be given a state send-off. “It’s not that great an idea. I’m not an absolute star … I’m just a simple man,” he told France 3 television. … [Read more...] about Johnny Hallyday to get spectacular ‘people’s tribute’ send-off in Paris

Monroe is one of two dolls currently on display in the powder pink nursery where Eldred-Smith shoots her videos (she now has some misgivings about the color choice; “It doesn’t always film too well,” she admits). There’s a rocking chair and a crib, a changing table and a dresser. Scallop-collared ensembles by the French children’s clothier Jacadi hang on tiny hangers. When I timidly ask about a baby bottle –white with what appears to be formula – perched alongside a tube of diaper ointment and talc, I’m assured that they’re all just props. “There are collectors that love to role-play,” she says. “I’m not that collector.” … [Read more...] about ‘People don’t get it’: inside the world of hyper-realistic baby doll collecting