Bucket. Check. Spade. Check. Back in two weeks.

By John Rentoul | Eagle Eye | Thursday, 29 July 2010 at 6:55 am

They Say “Jump” and You Say “How High?” – Adrenaline Junkies

You’ll have done well to avoid the incessent advertisements for tonight’s Channel 4 documentary ‘The Men Who Jump off Buildings’. This dose of Cutting Edge (hopefully) goodness explores the most dangerous of all adrenaline sports; base jumping and follows Dan Witchalls and Ian Richardson as they sneak around dark cities in the hope that they [...]

By Ilona Burton | Notebook | Wednesday, 28 July 2010 at 7:22 pm

Sorry Oscar, but Chelsea’s going Wang

Yes, we can exclusively reveal that Chelsea Clinton is NOT – as some gossip and even serious news sites continue to contend today – in a tizzy about whether to wear Oscar de la Renta or Vera Wang when she ties the knot at her hush-hush upstate New York wedding on Saturday.    A person not [...]

By David Usborne | The Foreign Desk | Wednesday, 28 July 2010 at 4:07 pm

Pete Yorn teams up with Frank Black

Last year’s collaboration with Scarlett Johansson was probably more aesthetically pleasing but music fans will likely be more excited by Pete Yorn’s latest hook-up with Frank Black, aka Black Francis (not to be confused with Frances Black). The Pixies frontman has produced the LA singer-songwriter’s new self-titled album, which will be released on 28 September.
The [...]

By Larry Ryan | Arts | Wednesday, 28 July 2010 at 3:57 pm

A little ‘heartbreak’ but few surprises from Mervyn King

No great surprises from the Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, at the Treasury Select Committee today, which is a bit sharper than it used to be, thanks to chair Andrew Tyrie and sparky contributions from the likes of Jesse Norman, Chuka Umunna and Andrea Leadsom, all new to the Commons, as well [...]

By Sean O'Grady | Eagle Eye, Econoblog | Wednesday, 28 July 2010 at 1:55 pm

Blooming marvel: is this Britain’s best-dressed pub?

Can you beat The Churchill Arms in Kensington? Send your picture if you think you can.

By Martin King | Notebook | Wednesday, 28 July 2010 at 1:36 pm

Rugby League: Salford could be the winners of Castleford and Wakefield stadium battle

I’ve had the large-scale atlas of Yorkshire down off the bookshelves to study the lie of the land around Castleford and Wakefield way.
As the whole world now knows, Cas have plans for a new ground at junction 32 on the M62, Wakey a couple of junctions further west.
Wakefield Council have already said that they will [...]

By Dave Hadfield | Sport | Wednesday, 28 July 2010 at 1:16 pm

Florida Church planning to burn Qurans on 9/11

A Florida church is planning to burn a stack of Qurans on 11th September this year, in a tasteful effort to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Centre.
The Dove World Outreach Center, a non-denominational church in Gainesville, is charmingly trying to rebrand 9/11 as International Burn A Koran Day. If [...]

By Tom Mendelsohn | The Foreign Desk | Wednesday, 28 July 2010 at 12:56 pm

Hoffman, royalty, Robyn and more…

The best of the web

By Gillian Orr | Digital Digest, Notebook | Wednesday, 28 July 2010 at 12:02 pm

Must watch: Doggie day-care to solve pet obesity?

It’s old news that the British are stupidly soppy when it comes to their pets. But research by veterinary charity the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA), claiming that more than one in three dogs in the UK is overweight, shows that soppiness in the form of an extra portion in exchange for pouchy-eyed and [...]

By Matilda Battersby | Notebook | Wednesday, 28 July 2010 at 11:34 am