Best books… Patrick Grant The clothier and TV ...

The Gainsborough Silk Weaving Company has an illustrious past and fascinating present, as Charlotte Reather discovers

Finding poignancy in the dread and dislocation of modern living, London four-piece DRY CLEANING have garnered admirers including Nick Cave, Grace Jones and Jeff Tweedy. As new album Secret Love refines their nervy post-punk sprechgesang, the band set their sights on new targets. “Art and humour are our main weapon,” they tell Stephen Troussé

In last month’s column (see issue 375, p113), I mentioned I had attended FixFest 2025 (tinyurl. com/376fixfest), a two-day international repair conference organised by those lovely people at the Resta

The lives of Clara and Nancy are worlds apart – but is it time for them to finally live out their dream?

Betty Middleton had only moved in two weeks earlier, but already she was starting to annoy me with her frequent knocks at my back door. “Would you like a slice of my lemon drizzle? It’s home-made!” No