“wit alone doesn’t win you prizes”

Our round-up of the funny, fascinating and unusual stories this fortnight

Having sewing be part of my job was not something I ever thought would happen. I’m a writer, and that isn’t something you would connect with making clothes, but what I write about is cosplay, costume

When I was aged 10, the farmers used to come round the schools to pick volunteers to work on the farms during the summer holidays, mainly to help bring in the harvest. The country was still building u

As he coaxes a galumphing porcine up to her summer abode on a bright July morning, John Lewis-Stempel considers whether it was an uphill struggle or simply a pig of a day

WINDINGS NO STRAIGHT ROAD TAKES YOU THERE ...

HELP! I need help!” I gasp down the phone, sinking on to my kitchen floor. “It’s a life or death situation. I don’t know what to do.” I close my eyes and try to breathe as the panic overwhelms me. “Yo