The_Times_2908

the times | Tuesday August 29 2023 51 Football Sport was forced to duck. The 29-year-old Lascelles was punched in the back of the head as he tried to restore peace before throwing a punch himself. He suffered damage to his ear as a result of the blow. Only when his friend was knocked unconscious after being kicked in the face did the other group leave the area outside the nightclub. At that point the filming of the incident stopped. The friend was believed to be unconscious for ten minutes before being taken to hospital, where he was advised to stay for six hours. It has been claimed that Lascelles and his group were threatened with T he autumn of 2009 was unremarkable in the history of Hamilton Academical. Their first three games in the Scottish Premier League were 3-0, 3-0 and 4-1 defeats by Kilmarnock, Aberdeen and Rangers and they went out of the League Cup to Ross County. So far, so humdrum. The four-game period is notable only for a name which now stands out in the Accies team. In defence, the club had a certain Luis Rubiales. Unlike World Cup medal ceremonies, Rubiales, the under-fire head of the Spanish football federation, passed through Scottish football without incident. Those four games were all he played under the Accies manager Billy Reid, who was subsequently Graham Potter’s assistant at Swansea City, Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea. Rubiales, a strapping defender, signed a one-year contract but quickly decided that he wanted to return to Spain. After the defeat by Rangers at Ibrox he was named Hamilton’s man of the Controversial Spaniard was ‘a gent’ at Accies, former club chairman tells Michael Grant club and then reintegrated into the squad. Nunes signed from Sporting Lisbon one year ago in a deal worth £38 million and has a contract until 2027, with the option for a further year. The Premier League champions confirmed their interest in the Portugal midfielder with a bid on Wednesday night. City are expected to return with a new bid as they look to bolster their midfield. It is understood that Wolves are interested in Tommy Doyle, the 21- year-old midfielder, and he could be included in a deal for Nunes. Kevin De Bruyne has been ruled out for up to six months with a torn hamstring and City pulled the plug on a potential £85 million deal for Lucas Paquetá after learning that the West Ham United midfielder is the subject of an FA investigation into potential breaches of betting rules. Rubiales was named man of the match – then retired match, only to come into the media room and surprisingly announce his retirement. It was the week of his 32nd birthday. A mutual agreement was reached with Hamilton and Rubiales returned to work for one of his former clubs, Levante, before becoming president of the Spanish players’ union and — now infamously — the Spanish football federation. Accies’ former chairman, Ronnie MacDonald, remembers Rubiales well, and fondly. “We were casting around trying to find players,” he said. “We got him in from Spain. He was a good player. He was a proper professional, a really fit guy. He was always quite a specimen. I was thinking, ‘What’s this guy doing here.’ He had various aspirations and wanted a personal masseuse and stuff like that. That wasn’t the level we were at. That wasn’t the Ronnie MacDonald way. We had a team of grafters. “To be fair he was a very educated and reasonable guy. His team ethic was good as well. He never caused me any bother at all. He was brand new. He was a proper player and a proper gent, for want for a better word. He was obviously a bright guy. I think we lost our first three league games which wasn’t exactly a good look and we parted ways. He wanted to go back abroad because, ultimately, he became head of the Spanish players’ union. “Suddenly he was at the Spanish FA and sacking [Julen] Lopetegui [Spain’s men’s manager on the eve of the 2018 World Cup], so he has a bit of history for being confrontational. “He was a proper guy to work with, a proper gentleman, polite to everyone. I could never have guessed he would be involved in something like this. You never know what’s coming next . . . although at Hamilton Accies there was always something coming.” Rubiales signed a one-year deal at Hamilton Academical but played only four games before he returned home to Spain Lascelles suffered damage to ear in brawl being shot by the group as trouble initially started outside the nightclub. “A group of lads threw bottles at Jamaal Lascelles outside of the nightclub and then his brother was hit in the face with an elbow,” a source told The Times. “There was blood coming out of his brother’s mouth.” Lascelles then became involved in an argument and there was pushing before his group were attacked again. “Lascelles was hit on the back of the head several times before he threw a punch back,” the source added. “One of Lascelles’ group was on the ground and then got kicked in the face and was knocked out cold. He was being resuscitated when the police arrived. He was out cold for more than ten minutes.” He has not suffered any permanent damage because of the brawl. Lascelles has since returned to training. Newcastle are aware of the incident and no action is expected to be taken. Newcastle’s players were given two days off after the defeat by City. The team flew back to Tyneside after the loss in Manchester and then Lascelles, his brother and their friends went to the Chinawhite nightclub. It is not thought there was any trouble inside the club, situated on Fenkle Street in the city. No arrests were made and Northumbria police have been approached by The Times for comment. Lascelles has been Newcastle’s club captain since being given the armband by Rafa Benítez in 2016 when he was 23. He lost his first-team place under Eddie Howe in the summer of 2022. The England defender Kieran Trippier has been the club’s on-field captain when Lascelles has not been picked. Lascelles moved to Newcastle in 2014 from Nottingham Forest, along with his team-mate Karl Darlow, for a combined fee of £7 million. He was loaned back to Forest for that season and after Newcastle’s relegation played a key part in them winning promotion back to the Premier League in 2017. Lascelles, who has recently been linked with a move to Besiktas, has been an unused substitute in all three of Newcastle’s matches this season, including the 2-1 defeat by Liverpool on Sunday. continued from back Lascelles is still Newcastle’s captain despite losing his place in the side Romelu Lukaku is to leave Chelsea on loan after the west London club agreed a season-long loan deal with AS Roma. Lukaku, 30, will join up with the Roma head coach, José Mourinho, for the third time, having worked with the Portuguese at Chelsea and Manchester United. The Belgium striker was forced to take a pay cut to join the Serie A club with Chelsea unwilling to contribute to his salary, while Roma will pay an £8 million fee. Chelsea are understood to have installed a clause that would mean Lukaku’s wages, which were more than £300,000 a week, will be significantly lower should he return to the club next summer. A release clause has also been added that would set the price for any negotiations. Nunes refusing to train Charlotte Duncker Matheus Nunes has told Wolverhampton Wanderers he wants to leave and has failed to turn up for training for the past two days as he tries to push through a move to Manchester City. Wolves rejected a bid of £47 million for the Portugal international last week and anticipate the Premier League champions to come back with an improved offer before Friday’s deadline. The 25-year-old did not turn up for training on Sunday or yesterday as Gary O’Neil’s side prepared for their League Cup game against Blackpool tonight. The midfielder will not take any part in the game as a resolution to the situation is sought. Wolves want about £60 million for the midfielder and should the Portugal international not get the move he wants he will be disciplined by the Lukaku set for Roma loan Tom Roddy Lukaku heads to Italy after a summer of tense and complicated negotiations that included the striker turning his back on a return to Inter Milan before deciding against joining Juventus. Chelsea were aiming to sell Lukaku this summer and had an offer from Saudi Arabia but the former Manchester United and Everton striker refused to move to the kingdom. Inter had been confident about securing a deal to bring Lukaku back to the San Siro, having had him on loan last season, and had two bids — the highest was £26 million — turned down by Chelsea. Inter ended their interest after learning of his talks with Juventus. Lukaku has been training with the club’s development squad, away from the first team, at Chelsea’s Cobham training base and was not given a squad number before the new season. Joe Gomez has become the latest Liverpool player to be targeted by Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad. Liverpool have already sold Fabinho to the Middle East club for £40 million and are aware of their interest in Mohamed Salah, too, with the transfer window closing on Friday. As is the case with Salah, there has been no formal bid made to Liverpool as yet for Gomez, 25. West Ham United have also been discussing Gomez, who impressed for Liverpool on Sunday in Liverpool’s win over Newcastle United on Sunday. Meanwhile, Everton are set to finalise the signing of striker Beto from Udinese for an initial £26 million. Gomez now Saudi target Paul Joyce

52 Tuesday August 29 2023 | the times Sport Football in the gym, even while his transfer to Real was being sealed. He is very popular with staff who appreciate the humility and work ethic, as well as the technical and physical gifts, of a player who is striding inexorably towards world-class status. The obvious long-term concern is overplaying and Bellingham has already made 203 appearances despite leaving his teenage years only two months ago. Fortunately, he has good people around him and they, and him, have shown how adept they are at managing his career. Similarly encouraging, Bellingham has a curiosity about the game that helps develop him further. He watches footage of George Best and clips of Zinedine Zidane, a fabled inhabitant of the Real No 5 shirt now graced by Bellingham. He not only analyses their skills but their movement. Southgate is lucky to have him and the game owes a debt to Bellingham’s parents for bringing up such a balanced human being as well as an exceptional footballer. The game also owes a debt to Birmingham City and their academy, another reminder of the importance of EFL clubs. Bellingham has already played 24 times for Southgate, being used as a substitute in nine of his first 14 internationals. Since then, Bellingham has started all the ten he’s been available for. His talent demands he starts. The balance of England’s midfield, as well as the question over whether Harry Maguire can possibly be included when he is not even wanted by Manchester United, will dominate the narrative going into and through the international break. (Southgate will inevitably be asked about the troubled, troubling Mason Greenwood, but that’s already clear-cut: he will never represent England again.) In those Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia, Trent Alexander-Arnold shone alongside Declan Rice and Jordan Henderson in midfield. Bellingham has to return, Rice is embedded, especially as he shields the back four so well, which leads us to the eternal Alexander-Arnold debate. Is Southgate adventurous enough to field Alexander-Arnold, Rice and Bellingham? Or will he turn to Henderson, who has left the demanding Premier League for Saudi riches, or Conor Gallagher — honest, hard-working — to stiffen midfield? If England are to seize the opportunity to win Euro 2024, they have to be bold. An attack of Bukayo Saka, Kane and Marcus Rashford mixes pace and potency, and there are high-class understudies in Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling. A midfield of Rice, AlexanderArnold and Bellingham offers tackling, intercepting, passing and goals. It is worth assessing at the very least. Henry Winter Football writer of the year England must be bold with Bellingham T he question now with the thoroughbred talent that is Jude Bellingham is not whether he starts for England but where? Bellingham has only just turned 20 but plays with such maturity and impact in a range of roles: deep midfield, box-to-box to No 10. He’s even powering in headers like an old-school No 9. Bellingham is lighting up La Liga, scoring freely (four in three games) and revelling in his role at the tip of Real Madrid’s diamond. Carlo Ancelotti, such a calm, wise coach, constructs a platform for Bellingham in a 4-1-2-1-2 system, letting the Englishman express his many gifts behind Vinícius Jr and Rodrygo. He makes clever runs, and releases team-mates with flicks and passes. He dribbles, assists and scores. Ancelotti gave Bellingham this advanced role because “he’s intelligent, he arrives at the right moment”. He has certainly arrived in style in Madrid. He already looks a leader there. 6 A collective shushing to Mike Dean, please. The former referee, now making a name for himself in the media, has undermined those still out in the middle with his comments on Simon Jordan’s podcast. As VAR last season for Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur, Dean decided against recommending that the on-field referee, Anthony Taylor, check on Cristian Romero’s hair-pull of Marc Cucurella to spare his “mate” more “grief”. Dean claims his words were taken out of context but he needs to choose his words more carefully. “Mate” implies some secret society and feeds into fans’ myriad conspiracy theories that officials are out to get their club. Taylor is a good, honest referee, vastly superior to Dean, and does not deserve the wave of doubt that Dean has sent crashing across the profession with “Mategate”. 6 Chelsea will today announce the end of their six-figure subsidising of coach travel for their away support in the Premier League. The argument is that only 100 to 180 fans use the £10 service, that costs are soaring and that few other clubs do it. Results dictate the mood most at clubs but Chelsea’s co-owner, Todd Boehly, must beware alienating fans. During a transfer window when his club spent over the odds on certain players (and are waiting for the agents’ bills to come in) and during a cost-of-living crisis, it seems harsh to be letting down some of Chelsea’s most committed fans, some of whom are wheelchair users who appreciate that the coach stops right outside away grounds. More broadly, Chelsea fans fear it is indicative of a trend taxing their loyalty. Boehly has to be careful not to appear cut off from the lifeblood of the club that will be there long after he has made his money and moved on. Bellingham for club and country Touches for England v Italy in March 2023 Touches for Real Madrid v Celta Vigo on Friday Direction of play Hotspur last season against Wolverhampton Wanderers, shaking off Nathan Collins to head in Ivan Perisic’s flick on at a corner. It’s the type of goal that hungry forwards feed on. (Kane’s was particularly memorable because it broke the record for the most goals scored at a single Premier League club.) At this rate, and profiteering from this advanced position, Bellingham will easily eclipse the 15 goals he scored in 54 games for Borussia Dortmund, where he played deeper, and for England last season. His header inevitably dominated the headlines but there was so much else to savour in his 90 minutes, including chances created for Joselu, Federico Valverde and Fran García. His threat was such that five separate Celta players fouled him: Carl Starfelt, Aidoo, Unai Núñez, Óscar Mingueza and Miguel Rodríguez. But they couldn’t stop him. If he features against Ukraine in Wroclaw or Scotland in Glasgow, Bellingham will become the first Real player to represent England since David Beckham against Estonia in Tallinn in June 2007. Only three others have: Laurie Cunningham (three caps), Steve McManaman (13) and Michael Owen (11). (Jonathan Woodgate was on loan from Real at Middlesbrough when playing against Spain at Old Trafford in February 2007.) Bellingham returns to the squad having withdrawn through injury from the group that defeated Malta and North Macedonia in June. FA staff noted with pride how Bellingham still reported to St George’s Park for work Bellingham has scored four goals in his first three games for Real Gareth Southgate announces his latest England squad on Thursday and will take great pride in being able to name two of the world’s most in-demand players this summer — and now two of the most in-form players — Bellingham at Real and Harry Kane at Bayern Munich, both shining at stellar clubs. Bellingham’s latest goal for Real, Friday’s winner away to Celta Vigo, came via a set piece and demanded the intelligence in timing that Ancelotti so admires; he made his run not from when Toni Kroos delivered the corner, but from when Joselu flicked on. It demanded strength and determination to get away from his man-marker, Joseph Aidoo. It required vision and placement to direct the perfect glancing header past Iván Villar. It echoed a match-winning, recordbreaking goal of Kane’s for Tottenham

the times | Tuesday August 29 2023 2GM 53 Sport How much more disruption can we expect from Saudi Arabia and will Salah really leave? Al-Ittihad’s interest in Mohamed Salah is obviously real. With money no object, why would they not want the most popular Arab player? Yet Liverpool maintain they have not received any offer for the player and, in any case, selling just before the transfer window is due to close would surely undermine their hopes for the season. That this is all a dress-rehearsal for next summer when Salah will have only one season to run on his contract feels plausible. Liverpool would at least have time to prepare properly for that eventuality. The problem for Al-Ittihad is that they may not be the only Saudi club dreaming of Salah by then, hence why speculation persists they are preparing a bid of about £130 million for the Egypt international. While Jürgen Klopp will hope an offer does not materialise, other topflight clubs will feel the fact that the transfer window in the Saudi Pro League only closes on September 20 presents an opportunity to sell those players they cannot offload this week. What problems have the first three games thrown up that clubs need to fix? For Everton — no points and no goals — there is a clear determination to boost their firepower, although that has been the same all summer. A lack of money means deals have to be creatively constructed, for example with low down payments, and are unattractive to selling clubs. A breakthrough appears imminent with Beto set to arrive from Udinese for an initial £26 million fee which will presumably be paid over the course of the striker’s contract. Arsenal have been looking for a full back, with Jurrien Timber ruled out for the season. Timber was brought in to play in tandem with Oleksandr Zinchenko but was covering the left back when injured in their opening match. Richarlison’s struggles at Tottenham Hotspur continue. Spurs are closing in on signing Brennan Johnson from and Rob Holding. Pochettino also wants to reduce his squad at Chelsea to 25 players including goalkeepers, meaning they could offload Marc Cucurella, Trevoh Chalobah and Conor Gallagher. Nottingham Forest must trim a bloated squad, in part for financial reasons, and Manchester United want to sell several players to sign a left back. The Premier League clubs will have to submit their 25-man squad lists on September 13. An escape route at last for Lukaku? Only Roma were left as a realistic option for Romelu Lukaku after the forward rejected moves to Saudi Arabia, Inter Milan and Juventus. Two officials from the Italian club travelled to London and they were rewarded last night when they secured the Belgium striker’s return to Italy, where he played for Inter on loan last season. Will Maguire still be at United? With Luke Shaw injured, leaving Erik ten Hag with one less option for cover at centre back, it is unlikely Harry Maguire will leave unless a left back can be brought in this week. Is Salah off? Which clubs need to act? Nottingham Forest for £50 million and the Wales forward would challenge the Brazilian for his place. Mauricio Pochettino has been looking for an attacker after Christopher Nkunku and Carney Chukwuemeka were injured, leaving him short of a versatile player. Nicolas Jackson is their only fit striker while Armando Broja returns from a knee injury. Emile Smith Rowe, the Arsenal attacking midfielder, could be a target. Which clubs will be the busiest? The Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom said after Sunday’s defeat by Manchester City that he wanted to sign “as many players as possible” as he continues to look to reshape a squad which has lost many of those who helped the club gain promotion from the Sky Bet Championship. Manchester City are still looking to add a midfielder to their squad before Friday’s deadline with Matheus Nunes of Wolverhampton Wanderers a target. Manchester United are keen on a left back and a midfielder. Nottingham Forest want a left back and could try to bring in a forward if, as expected, Johnson leaves the club. Which clubs are most in need of offloading players? Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, who had both expected to raise significant sums from player sales this summer. Due to restrictions on non-homegrown players above the age of 21, Tottenham would need to offload eight of their 31 senior players if they want to add three further players and still comply with the Premier League’s rules on the 25-man squad limit. After sales, Tottenham have spent £70 million this summer and a total £400 million over the past five years and their income is affected by not being in European competition this season. The unwanted players include Hugo Lloris, Davinson Sánchez, Eric Dier, Tanguy Ndombele, Sergio Reguilón and Djed Spence. Fulham are interested in Dier but the defender has indicated that he does not want to leave Tottenham. Arsenal will have received £64.6 million from sales, should the forward Folarin Balogun complete a £34.3 million move to Monaco. But the club had to loan Kieran Tierney when they expected a £30 million sale and they have been unable to shift Nicolas Pépé, who was their record signing, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Cédric Soares, Nuno Tavares Charlotte Duncker and Gary Jacob seek to answer all the burning questions as transfer deadline day looms Mohamed Salah wanted by Saudi club Al-Ittihad Romelu Lukaku closing in on Roma loan Harry Maguire seems set to stay at United Matheus Nunes wants move to Man City Manchester United have blocked a fresh approach for Harry Maguire from West Ham United. David Moyes, the West Ham manager, had been open to reviving a deal for the England centre back, who rejected a permanent £30 million transfer to the east London club a fortnight ago. However, Moyes has been told that Maguire will be staying at United, who have injury problems in defence, after the player seemed to change his mind valuation with the potential of players heading to the City Ground as part of the deal. It is understood that the centre back Davinson Sánchez is one of the players under consideration to join Forest. The 27-year-old Colombia international made only eight league starts for Tottenham last season. Talks between the clubs are said to be progressing before Friday’s transfer deadline. Johnson contributed to 11 goals in the Premier League last season and Forest could look to bring in a replacement if he departs. continued from back Spurs closing in on Johnson Chelsea eye up Smith Rowe Arsenal are willing to sell Emile Smith Rowe after an approach from Chelsea. The midfielder was left frustrated that he has not appeared in the three opening league matches and played only three minutes in the FA Community Shield victory against Manchester City. Smith Rowe has been offered to other unnamed Premier League clubs. Arsenal have not put a valuation on Smith Rowe but he is among the players who could be sold to recoup money after they spent about a net £170 million this summer. Smith Rowe played 161 minutes in 12 appearances off the bench last season, which in part was restricted by an ankle injury, and then helped England win the European Under-21 Championship in July. However Mikel Arteta, the manager, was also unhappy about fitness issues. Arsenal may also consider selling Gabriel, the centre back who was dropped from the opening three league matches, if they are able to find a replacement. Gary Jacob United: Maguire is staying about a move. A deal was also complicated by Moyes having five centre backs after he signed Konstantinos Mavropanos from Stuttgart for £17 million. United have maintained that they are not pushing Maguire, 30, out of the club and that Erik ten Hag, the manager, would be happy for him to remain in the squad. But Ten Hag, who stripped Maguire of the captaincy in July, passed up the chance to use him when Raphaël Varane was replaced by Victor Lindelof for the second half of the 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest on Saturday. Gary Jacob, Charlotte Duncker

54 Tuesday August 29 2023 | the times Sport Rugby union would miss it horribly. Though I suspect they need refreshment too. England are so clunky, so slow of wit, so formulaic (without grasping the formula). So scared to play. They need a fresh-air release, to recall how to operate with the technical freedom that they have all shown at their clubs. For years, I have believed passionately that the absolute key to coaching is to know when to stop. The day has arrived. Bring in Ashton By Stuart Barnes What’s good enough for Eddie Jones is surely good enough for Borthwick. The former England head coach has been looking for a little assistance with Australia. None other than Steve Hansen, the New Zealand World Cup-winning coach, has been casting a Kiwi eye over the Wallabies. It’s created a furore in the land of the long white cloud. But as Hansen has explained: “I’m here for about three or four days at the request of Eddie, a good mate of mine, just to give him some feedback on what he’s doing.” If ever a head coach and his staff needed an objective eye, it is this England management. My idea would be to request the services of Ashton, the England head coach when an average team made the final in 2007. He’s a free-thinker, the diametric opposite of Borthwick. Whereas Borthwick is into fine detail, Ashton believes in player power. Just nudging England away from the tyranny of the pre-programmed game plan for their World Cup opener against Argentina which George Ford was promising — or should that say “threatening”? — would help. Players aren’t going to say: “Are you sure?” to Borthwick, as independents such as Ashton and Hansen could do. france The first-choice XV comfortably beat Australia in Paris on Sunday. The anthem was stirring, the crowd boisterous, and the support they will receive at the Stade de France as the World Cup hosts will be spectacular. Romain Ntamack’s injury is a blow, but Matthieu Jalibert is a fine replacement outside the sublime Antoine Dupont. Worryingly, however, Australia’s scrum showed them up. They will want Cyril Baille back from injury. south Africa Has there ever been a more Springbok move than fielding seven forwards on the bench? They did just that against the All Blacks at Twickenham and they won 35-7. It doesn’t matter what the ocFlying France and ailing casion is, beating New Zealand by 28 points is a statement. They have their usual power up front, but they are not as boring as you may think, with Canan Moodie and Cheslin Kolbe out wide. ireland The world’s No 1 team have had a subdued build-up compared with other nations. They received little kudos for beating England in Dublin and then an experimental side almost succumbed to Samoa in the Bayonne rain on Saturday. Lest we forget, though, they are grand slam champions and beat France this year. The squad arrives at their base camp on Thursday. new zealand From their worst run of results for generations (six defeats in eight matches) came a resurgence of 11 games unbeatElgan Alderman 1 (1) Ireland 91.82 2 (3) South Africa 91.08 3 (4) France 89.22 4 (2) New Zealand 89.06 5 (5) Scotland 84.01 6 (7) Argentina 80.86 7 (9) Fiji 80.28 8 (6) England 79.95 9 (8) Australia 79.87 10 (10) Wales 78.26 11 (11) Georgia 76.23 12 (12) Samoa 76.19 13 (13) Italy 75.63 14 (14) Japan 73.29 15 (15) Tonga 70.29 16 (16) Portugal 68.61 Men’s full rankings Points Empower the players By Alex Lowe The great irony of the 2007 World Cup was that the England players taking ownership of the game plan was seen as a revolt when it was exactly what Brian Ashton had wanted all along. The head coach wanted the team to become decision-makers and play to their strengths. When they did, they reached the final. Lawrence Dallaglio was in that squad and his observations on the present situation are relevant. “Honest conversations have to take place among the team and management,” he wrote. “The best XVs in the world are coachled but player-driven. The players need to own it and take responsibility.” Steve Borthwick’s strategy does not have full buy-in from the squad. It sounds as if those who played with him or under him are more on board than the others. The squad is not tight enough. The players have not built up enough trust in one another. Conversations are taking place over the game plan but it will not change much at this stage. Borthwick’s selections can, though. He needs to lift the protected status on underperforming players such as Maro Itoje, Ellis Genge and Freddie Steward. Nobody should be a guaranteed pick. That would immediately drive standards up. At present it all seems too comfortable. One of the hallmarks of the defensive system that Borthwick and Kevin Sinfield employed at Leicester Tigers was how they scrambled if opponents got outside them. Players would bust a gut to cover for one another. England are not doing that. The squad should cancel their home leave and come together as a group this week, without the coaches, and work out what unites them. It is a standard process run by leadership experts and it generates buy-in. If their purpose is to prove the world wrong, harness it. If their purpose is the financial bonus after the World Cup, use it. Then go out together naturally, not in forced, organised fun time. There is still no better way to build bonds. England will face teams in their pool — Argentina and Samoa especially — who generate enormous emotion from the fact they play for a higher purpose. Look how powerful that is for South Africa. What do England play for? Do absolutely nothing By Stephen Jones Well, here’s the plan for England’s revival: don’t have one. Do nothing at all for a week. By all means watch television, concerts, walk miles into the country. I suppose we’d better let you go to Pennyhill Park, the team’s Surrey training base, because your cars would drive there on their own if you weren’t in them. But leave your boots in the boot. With your laptops. Your eyes will recover from the glare. Some fitness work would be allowable. But also nights out without guilt, along with the compulsory watching of, say, a Fiji sevens triumph to help you recall that rugby can give you pure joy. Or replay the astonishing scenes at Heathrow when the BA 747 nicknamed “Sweet Chariot” arrived back from the 2003 World Cup as England fans besieged the airport. But rugby training? None until well into next week. Confusion is in charge, clarity is out of town. The cure is seven days of contemplation and peace. Of course, Borthwick and his staff The former England coach, 76, has been used by the RFU in a consultancy capacity with coaches at lower levels and in the women’s game. Sixteen years ago, he coaxed enough thinking from his team for them to fight their way to the final. Four World Cups on, the players need some freedom of their own and the coaches an alternative panacea. Let Ludlam loose By John Westerby Billy Vunipola’s absence against Argentina means that Borthwick has a crucial decision to make: which of the remaining back-row options could give England the gainline momentum that was lacking in their warm-up matches? It beggars belief that they are in such a pickle at No 8. Borthwick backed Alex Dombrandt as his Six Nations starter. Now he is not even in the squad. Much faith has been placed in Vunipola, even though the Saracens man is some way past his peak. Sam Simmonds? Gone. Zach Mercer? Surplus to requirements. Ben Earl wore No 8 against Fiji on Saturday, but remains a better option from the bench. Tom Curry will be a candidate if he is fit for Argentina, but he should return in his preferred position at No 7. Which leaves Lewis Ludlam, a player who has rarely let England down. His natural position is at blindside flanker, where Courtney Lawes must start, but Ludlam has been one of the team’s most convincing ball-carriers in recent months. He could add some zip and energy that has been so badly missing from England’s attacking play. Ludlam will, of course, be so much more effective if the front five are helping to generate front-foot ball, but if he were to play and excel against Argentina, Vunipola could find that he struggles to get back into the starting line-up once his ban expires. Flood the back line with ball players By Elgan Alderman Whither England’s second playmaker? The prospect of Marcus Smith lining up at full back has emerged during this summer series, in the hope of him sharing the responsibility for masterminding England’s attack. Put that in the “maybe” pile for now, as it is a possibility. Why limit yourself to two playmakers? Let’s start with the half backs: Alex Mitchell was not named in the original World Cup squad, but dress him up at No 9 and have Ben Youngs on the bench, supported by Ford at fly half. Get a ball-carrier at inside centre, so that’s Ollie Lawrence, the Gallagher Premiership player of the season, rather than Manu Tuilagi. And have Joe Marchant as the outside centre, a man who can play on the wing with his ability to cut angles. On the wings, Elliot Daly and Max Malins are skilful footballers. Malins was a full back for England Under-20 and started out for Saracens as a fly half, while Daly can cover just about anywhere and has a huge left boot (Thomas Ramos and Caleb Muntz showed that accumulating with the boot can still win rugby matches). At full back, give Henry Arundell a chance in the position from which he has created highlight reels in club rugby and have Smith on the bench as a man to come on at fly half or full back, with Steward in the No 23 jersey. This is assuming that those with injury concerns are available before Owen Farrell returns from his suspension. Making plays Alex Mitchell 9 Joe Marchant 13 Ollie Lawrence 12 George Ford 10 Elliot Daly 11 Max Malins 14 Henry Arundell 15 Elgan Alderman's suggested England backline to face Argentina How do you fix a problem Team’s World Cup build-up hit new low with defeat by Fiji. With the management seemingly out of ideas, Times writers offer some solutions Must improve Itoje is one of several automatic picks who have failed to deliver

the times | Tuesday August 29 2023 2GM 55 Sport like England? Aussies – how other nations are faring en. However, a 28-point defeat at Twickenham by South Africa — a record-breaking defeat — will sting. Scott Barrett’s reprieve, avoiding a ban for his red card against South Africa, is a boost, given Brodie Retallick’s injury leaves them a specialist lock down. scotland Expected victories over Italy and Georgia bookended a double-header against France. They showed character with 14 men to win at Murrayfield against an experimental line-up, and came back strongly to almost beat the fullstrength version in Saint-Étienne. If any Scotland team can give Ireland and South Africa a go, it is this one. argentina An easy win over Spain in Madrid was always going to be the outcome of their took over as head coach makes it difficult to be anything other than negative about Australia’s chances. Jones has selected a young squad, pinning his colours to Carter Gordon, 22. Their strength may be up front, where the likes of Angus Bell and Will Skelton showed promise in the scrum against France. They are in a bun fight with Fiji and Wales in pool C. the rest Any World Cup is improved by the ruffling of feathers by Fiji and Samoa, and this weekend suggested 2023 might be such an occasion. Italy have looked decent but have France and New Zealand in their way, a couple of late tries massaging their scoreline against Japan, who do not resemble the force of 2019. Georgia gave Scotland a scare but were easily beaten in the end. final warm-up match. In the Rugby Championship, they beat Australia and were only one point off the Springboks in Johannesburg. Though inconsistent, they have the quality to pose a threat to England and whichever nation they may meet in the quarter-finals. wales After the calamitous early build-up of retirements by key players came talk of personal-best fitness levels and a 20-9 win over England in Cardiff. Then they failed to see off an England team briefly down to 12 men and were dismantled by South Africa. However, we have still yet to see the first-choice line-up in action. Much will ride on that opening match against Fiji. australia Five defeats in a row since Eddie Jones Hovland glides into form at just the right time L uke Donald probably afforded himself a contented smile after Viktor Hovland dominated the Tour Championship and landed the FedEx Cup’s mind-boggling $18 million (about £14.2 million) bonus in Atlanta on Sunday. The Norwegian’s third victory in less than three months also means three of the top four players in the world rankings happen to be European. And while Zach Johnson prepares to court controversy when naming his six captain’s picks for next month’s Ryder Cup this afternoon, Donald, his European counterpart, has another week to finalise his plans and knows his selections are likely to be less contentious. Hovland, 25, had to break into a jog to make his tee time at East Lake after misjudging his route to the start, but it was processional fare from that point. Never looking like he would lose his way, he reached 27 under par and was five strokes clear of Xander Schauffele by the end. His 63 came on the back of finishing the previous Sunday’s BMW Championship with a round of 61, assuaging doubts about his ability to close out tournaments. Johnson, of course, is spoilt for choice and could pick an entire team from within the top 20 in the world rankings. In contrast, Europe have only nine players in the top 50. However, he also has a huge decision to make over Justin Thomas. The former world No 1 has had a torrid summer, missed the FedEx Cup play-offs and would be nowhere near the plane to Italy but for a Ryder Cup record of six wins and only two defeats. Pick him and a string of players will have just cause to feel aggrieved. Omit him and some will accuse him of snubbing a talismanic presence. Those already qualified are Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Brian Harman, Patrick Cantlay, Max Homa and Schauffele. Vice-captain Fred Couples has told listeners to his radio show that Jordan Spieth and Cameron Young will be included and, having just slipped outside an automatic qualifying spot, only politics will prevent LIV Golf’s Brooks Koepka being selected. Collin Morikawa’s form at the Tour Championship was timely and the Rickie Fowler revival is likely to get a run in Rome, which could leave a string of players, including Sam Burns and Keegan Bradley (who were joint ninth at East Lake) plus Tony Finau and Lucas Glover vying with Thomas for that final berth. Hovland has already qualified and his continued rise provides a huge boost for European prospects. He had started the PGA Tour finale six shots clear of Schauffele and, although the margin was briefly trimmed to three, he was unflappable. Hovland successfully shed the final day of the PGA Tour’s end-of-year jamboree of any comeback drama. “The game plan was trying to play as boring as possible,” he said. “I was just trying to play like Tiger back in the day when he would post a 69 or 70 in a major championship and walk away with a victory.” He had opened with a birdie before lightning in the Atlanta area forced a near two-hour delay. Schauffele did all he could to apply early pressure with three birdies in his opening four holes, but it was a testament to Hovland’s brilliance that it barely made a dent. Hovland’s ascent has been a work in progress for a couple of years, but he has reached a new level since partnering with swing coach Joe Mayo in January. Mayo immediately sent him for 3D analysis and deduced that the cure to his well-documented chipping problems was in tilting his shoulders and changing the position of his pelvis when striking the ball. “Joe might be one of the only golf instructors that never watches golf,” Hovland said after lifting the FedEx Cup. “So he kind of had a fresh set of eyes and he’s just brought a lot of math and physics to my golf game. Funny enough it works.” The Tour Championship’s staggered scoring system meant Hovland had started out on Thursday five strokes ahead of Schauffele, but the American took the defeat well, his mood probably softened by taking $6.5 million for finishing second. In victory Hovland referenced his early days and how playing in an aircraft hangar to combat darkness in Norway fuelled his creativity. “Maybe it teaches you other things that I wouldn’t have learnt if I lived in the United States and grew up on some country club.” More good news for Donald came as Rory McIlroy rallied to finish joint fourth after being hampered by a back issue. He said it had improved over the weekend and he would take a few days off before the Irish Open. Donald names his full team on Monday. Hovland, McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton are already there. Tommy Fleetwood and Bob MacIntyre are set to join them via automatic spots. Matt Fitzpatrick, who tied for ninth at East Lake, is also a shoo-in, and Sepp Straka, one stroke behind and now the world No 23, looks to have done enough. Assuming Justin Rose and Shane Lowry are picked for experience despite recent poor form, that leaves two spots and a plethora of candidates with one week to impress. The Norwegian’s latest win may be timely, but the US has the cream of the crop to choose from, writes Rick Broadbent Hovland has now moved up to fourth in the World rankings Must be picked An alternative voice Ashton’s freethinking would benefit England Ludlam deserves to play at No 8 against Argentina

Times Crossword 28,694 across down Yesterday’s solution 28,693 Check today’s answers by ringing 0905 757 0141 by midnight. Calls cost £1 per minute plus your telephone company’s network access charge. SP: Spoke 0333 202 3390. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 L I N C T U S B I C Y C L E E O E A O A A T F L U M M O X E D P E R C H T R P O R I E I D I O T P U B L I C B A R E S R H U O N W H E E L O F F O R T U N E B S N F E T A N N U S M I R A B I L I S D I S L C C F L A R G H E T T O H Y E N A Y V O B S D G O N A I R A R I S T O T L E F N D L L A E N F L A R E U P L A G G A R D 1 Course director, virile type, inspiring old railway company (8) 6 Polluted air current breathed in by maternal grandmother (6) 9 Shot leaders of beasts in desert (4) 10 Pounds one quietly invested in new Hogarth print (10) 11 Retired head plugging bleepers for travellers? (10) 13 Couple I encountered going west (4) 14 Austrian citizen struggles with English, going round North Tyneside (8) 16 Liberal leaving W African state for European peninsula (6) 18 Condition ultimately discernible in her young cow (6) 20 One who digs fish, extremely eager to protect river (8) 22 Capital optimistic speculators laid out first of all (4) 24 Unusually dark, a finer breed of cattle (10) 26 Outstanding, like schoolwork submitted a second time (10) 28 Message about large herbaceous plant (4) 29 Pal got overheated about conclusion of sermon (6) 30 Put up with revised role in gallery (8) 2 Morse’s last case calling up memories (9) 3 Chinatown’s appalling nemesis? (7) 4 Fruit consumed by some Londoners (5) 5 Clear obstruction in court? (3) 6 Doctor working hard during function? That’s eyewash! (9) 7 Transport organisation’s broadcast on policy (7) 8 Man securing root of tulip tree (5) 12 Voter shows muscle, changing sides almost at the start (7) 15 Set aside, like some seals enclosing book (9) 17 Graceless modern worker supporting key cricket side (9) 19 Pay a grand: finally secure film material (7) 21 Grant fencing in one type of tree (7) 23 Very fine cut, reportedly (5) 25 Make obeisance naturally at first in ship (5) 27 Sent up bill for American club (3) y(7HB7E2*OTSNMP( |||+@!\' Newspapers support recycling The recycled paper content of UK newspapers in 2020 was 67% Stuart Fraser Tennis Correspondent, New York Andy Murray has accused Wimbledon of putting increased TV money ahead of creating a fair playing environment for players. The two-times Wimbledon champion believes late-night play on Centre Court has compromised fair conditions in favour of boosting the financial value of television rights contracts. Nocturnal tennis at Wimbledon has become more common after later 1.30pm starts were introduced in 2021, with 20-minute breaks between matches, in a move that increases the chances of play extending into the evening for primetime action to be shown on the BBC. Before his opening match at the US Open, Murray, 36, revealed that All England Club officials had ignored his specific requests not to hold his matches in the controversial “third slot” this year. Murray was badly affected by this for his second-round contest against Stefanos Tsitsipas. The match did not start until 7.46pm, with Murray leading two sets to one when play was suspended at 10.39pm because of the Merton council curfew of 11pm. It killed his momentum, allowing a flagging Tsitsipas to recover and win both sets when the match resumed the following day. This was one of several late-night matches at Wimbledon this year. Novak Djokovic also had play suspended for the day in his fourth-round appearance. “It seems like a basic thing to change,” Murray said. “Just go back to the 1pm start, or even 12.30pm. But it’s a financial 2GM Tuesday August 29 2023 | the times Sport World No 198 Miyazaki into second round in New York Briton’s US Open joy Drop underperformers, talk to Ashton: our writers offer solutions How to fix England When Rubiales played for Accies Luis Rubiales, the controversial head of the Spanish football federation, played four games for Hamilton Academical in 2009. Full story, page 51 Lascelles hurt in street attack Martin Hardy Spurs closing in on Johnson Charlotte Duncker The Newcastle United captain, Jamaal Lascelles, and his brother were attacked outside a Tyneside nightclub after the defeat by Manchester City and then became involved in a brawl. One of the members of Lascelles’ group was knocked unconscious in the mêlée and had to be taken to hospital for treatment after police arrived. The incident outside the Chinawhite nightclub followed Newcastle’s 1-0 loss against the Premier League champions on Saturday, August 19 and was caught on video. It has since been shared on social media. It is thought his brother, who is 19, was elbowed in the face and then another member of Lascelles’ group was knocked to the ground. A bottle of vodka was also thrown at them and only just missed hitting Lascelles, who Tottenham Hotspur are getting closer to agreeing a £50 million deal for Brennan Johnson with the Nottingham Forest forward preferring a move to Ange Postecoglou’s side over Brentford. Postecoglou is keen to improve Tottenham’s striking options after the sale of Harry Kane to Bayern Munich. The club’s good start to the season, with seven points won from three games, has come amid a lean run of form for Richarlison, the Brazilian who has been starting at centre forward for Tottenham. Brentford, who had a bid rejected in the summer, are still interested in the 22-year-old Wales forward but it is understood that he would prefer a move to Spurs. Forest are confident that Tottenham will reach their Murray slams Wimbledon over TV times reason they are doing it for, so it won’t change. I had multiple conversations before the start of the tournament and asked not to play the third match every single day because you know that’s what is going to happen with the 1.30pm start and the breaks in between the matches. “The roof, in my opinion, was there for when it rains so that there is always matches that can go on for the fans and for TV, and it’s great. [But] it feels like it’s getting used now for darkness to play matches later in the evening. “When you get that third slot, you have no way of practising on an indoor grass court. It’s not possible. I skipped the French Open to prepare to play my best tennis at Wimbledon but then you’re playing every match under different conditions than what you’re preparing for. “You play an indoor match, the next day you are outside practising, then you come out to play again and it’s indoors and then we got stopped for time. It’s not a major thing but playing indoors and outdoors are not the same.” There are growing calls across the sport for all grand-slam tournaments to address finishes. Murray played a match at this year’s Australian Open that did not finish until 4.05am, while play often goes beyond midnight at the US Open. “Tennis is also partly entertainment,” Murray said. “I don’t think it helps the sport much when you’re playing at 4am. Everyone’s leaving because they have to get home and you finish a match like that in front of 10 per cent of the crowd.” Money comes before fairness, says former champion

August 29 | 2023 Plus The 10 lifestyle changes experts recommend I said, ‘I want to see my children grow up. I just want to stay alive’ Julia Bradbury on breast cancer and after

2 Tuesday August 29 2023 | the times times2 people with cancer. Unlike some celebrity wellness gurus, she doesn’t just wang on about organic broccoli and aromatherapy acupuncture. She’s talked to experts. Don’t take her word for it, she says, take theirs, because they’re credible and have studies to back up their information. This matters to her because as well as having the platform of being “that woman off the telly”, she has nearly half a million combined followers on X (formerly known as Twitter) and Instagram who don’t hesitate to tell her that she’s a rotten mother for not letting her children have sweets. Some of us might be inclined to file the parts of the book that sit at the Gwyneth Paltrow end of the wellness spectrum — is breathing really something we need to worry about, at least until we can’t? — but it’s hard not to be persuaded by Bradbury’s enthusiasm and positivity. Breathwork is all about stimulating the vagus nerve, apparently, which runs from your brain to your large intestine. She does her breathwork every morning and communes with the tree outside (“I’ve always been a tree-hugger”). She ignores her phone until 9am, after she’s finished the school run with her son, Zephyr, 12, and her twin girls, Xanthe and Zena, eight. Bradbury’s shtick is that being in nature is as good for you as not existing on bacon and Haribo. She cites a study by the University of Exeter that points to the benefits of being outside for 120 minutes a week and a psychotherapist who describes the positive impact this has on the brain. Of course, it’s all very well for her to say, “Be in nature” — she has a lovely garden at the family home in west London. “You can find nature everywhere, it’s not about having a nice garden,” she says. “You can go to the park, walk outside, get a window box, have house plants. It’s connection with green things. And walking barefoot on grass,” she adds, warming to her The Bard’s dinner decision I’m delighted that Shakespeare, who wasn’t even a northerner, has been revealed as one of those sensible people who use “dinner” for what misguided southerners call “lunch” — which is what the midday meal is, that being dinner time. I hope he also knew that what southerners call dinner (or “supper”, if they’re posh) should be referred to as “yer tea”. And that actual supper is not eaten at 7pm, or even 8pm, but more likely 11pm. While watching Match of the Day in your pyjamas. What possessed the Prince of Wales to agree to drive his uncle, the Duke of York, to church on Sunday? I thought William was sound on the Uncle Andy issue. Wasn’t he the prime mover behind getting the late Queen to park her favouritism and boot No 2 son out of the fold after his public selfdisembowelling on Newsnight? Didn’t William threaten to pull out of the big Order of the Garter ceremony last year if fellow garterwearer Andrew showed up? Doesn’t he know the man is absolute poison to the royal brand? That was my first thought when I saw the photograph of Andrew’s unrepentant face. William — and most certainly Kate — must know this in their bones, right? And yet there is the picture. Taken through the windscreen of a Land Rover Defender (the brand is never far away when the royals are on the move; I wonder whether the PR department considers this entirely an unmixed blessing), we have a tight-lipped nextin-line at the wheel, dutiful wife in the back and there, riding shotgun, is the dodgy uncle. (I note, by the by, that in another car, Edward was driving, with Vice-Admiral Tim next to him and Sophie and Anne behind. The whole little-ladies-in-the-back arrangement needs an urgent rethink. It looks, and indeed is, dismally sexist.) Back in the main motor, off to Crathie Kirk they went, the future king and queen plus the man who hung out with a convicted sex offender, didn’t apologise for his behaviour on telly and later paid a fortune to settle a sexual assault allegation out of court (without admitting any liability). Not a good look. I think King William V will one day regret this photograph. He probably does already. How come Andrew is suddenly back in the fold? The last time I paid much attention, Charles was about to boot his brother out of the Royal Lodge (30 rooms, so more of a Royal Massive Mansion really) where he lives with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson. Now, he’s gone from quasi-squatter on the Windsor estate to cosy guest at Craigowan Lodge (seven bedrooms) at Balmoral. His ex-wife is there too, as are Princess Beatrice and Princess The true meaning of a shed Congratulations to Archie Proudfoot, winner of the megaprestigious Shed of the Year competition this year (having also topped the “Colourful” category). Some detractors dismissed Archie’s efforts, because he had renovated his victorious shed from a formerly dilapidated state. But surely the restoration only magnifies Archie’s achievement. Anyone can throw money about to create a fancy shed, which ends up more of a chalet or summer house, anyway, in my view. However, to take a rotting shed (known to us shed-fanciers as a “donor” shed, sometimes a “legacy shed”, or occasionally a “totally minging derelict shed”) and turn it into something once more useful and beautiful takes love and skill. I take a firm, some would say purist, line on shedistry. A shed can’t be judged through a metric of comfort or convenience, colour or creativity. A shed can’t be bought or rushed. Nor, strictly, can it even come into existence at a particular moment. A true shed defies the normal rules of space and time. It is organic, evolving, adding and subtracting, forever accumulating and shaping the memories of the endless, futile yet joyous pottering within its walls. A shed is not a structure. A shed is a state of mind. Eugenie. Sarah Ferguson is undergoing treatment for breast cancer, and if the royal family are rallying round her, we would all think that was a good thing. Meanwhile, Beatrice and Eugenie are popular with their cousins, while also providing a possible diplomatic back channel to the Montecito Unmentionables. So maybe that explains Charles’s apparent change of heart. Clearly Andrew must trust his older brother enough not to suspect a cunning plan is afoot to change the locks at the Royal Lodge while he’s up in the far north, distracted by kilts, cabers and killing wildlife? Or maybe Charles is trying to teach his son and heir a lesson? Assert his regal primacy after a period of superb press for the Waleses? Are the royals that Machiavellian? It wouldn’t be the first time. Then there’s the “it’s what the Queen would have wanted” argument. And yet, with respect, while in general her judgment was impeccable, it’s common knowledge that Elizabeth had a huge blind spot re: her favourite son. Or maybe, blood being thicker than water, we should welcome Andy: The Horror Returns as a redemptive act of family forgiveness? The ties that bind? Who are we to cast the first stone etc? Who among us has not got a dodgy rellie, after all? We don’t banish them into the outer darkness for ever, do we? And we are, after all, approaching the first anniversary of the Queen’s death — it’s easy to forget the private family grief in the middle of a huge national event. But that raises the question: if Andrew is there for private family reasons, why wheel him out in public? Why not just make him feel welcome behind closed doors? Perhaps the royals are banking on our sentimentality? To which I say: too soon, Firm. Way too soon. Robert Crampton Surely it’s way too soon for the royals to wheel Andrew out in public? ‘It was brutal Julia Bradbury was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago. Now in the clear, she tells Hilary Rose how the experience has profoundly altered her outlook On a warm summer’s day, Julia Bradbury is sitting in her garden talking about her left breast. “It’s quite tight around the implant,” she says cheerfully, “and it looks like mozzarella when you take it out of the bag, it’s got those ripples down the side. My surgeon said he could suck flesh from my inner thighs and inject it into the ripples to smooth them out, but honestly? I don’t want another surgery, I don’t want another anaesthetic and I don’t want that trauma. I’m going to live with my mozzarella boob.” Bradbury had a mastectomy and breast reconstruction after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021, and made a TV documentary about her experience. It was widely praised for pulling no punches. But it wasn’t until two months after her surgery that she could bring herself to look in the mirror. Surgeons don’t talk to you about how you’re going to feel, she tells me today via Zoom, they talk to you about what they’re going to do. “Chop your breast, scrape the tissue. It’s very, very brutal.” Two years on, she’s at peace with her appearance and grateful that, unlike many women, she was able to have immediate reconstruction. On the other hand, she adds brightly, “as I get older I’m going to have one boob up here and one boob down there”. She looks down at the offending boob and shrugs. “And I’m good with that.” In her thirties Bradbury struggled to be diagnosed with and treated for endometriosis. When a boyfriend asked her why she spoke so publicly about it, she told him it was to help other women get diagnosis and treatment. In her forties she talked about IVF, miscarriage and her struggle to conceive. Now in her fifties, she’s talking about what she’s learnt from cancer about how to stay alive. Cancer saved her life, she says, counterintuitive though that may sound; contemplating her death was a chance to re-evaluate how she lives. “When I had that first biopsy I was, like, ‘I want to see my children grow up. I want to live through GCSEs and A-levels and 21st birthdays and university. I want to see them as adults. I just want to stay alive.’” The result of what she calls her “deep dive into how to stay alive” is a book called Walk Yourself Happy. It does quite a lot more than what it says on the tin, because “Go for a walk. The end” wouldn’t be much of a book. It is not, she writes repeatedly, about or for The Prince of Wales driving the Princess of Wales and Prince Andrew

the times | Tuesday August 29 2023 3 times2 but I want to be positive’ doing your body any favours.” She’s now pretty much teetotal. She had a drink on her birthday last year and another at Easter, and wondered if she would ever “bother” again. She eats healthily, with one portion of grass-fed meat a week. There’s almost no wheat in the house (“highly processed . . . horrible herbicides”), no processed foods, no sugar, no cereal. The children make their own breakfasts with nuts, seeds, coconut pieces and berries, and are allowed organic Weetabix once a week as a treat. The sweetie drawer has been replaced with a dark chocolate drawer. She cooks for the family but concedes that the children sometimes won’t eat what she’s having. When occasionally they have bread or pizza, it has to be sourdough. It all sounds a bit joyless when you see it written down, but in person she radiates joy and good health. “Am I saying never have a bowl of your favourite pasta? No. Am I saying it should be part of your staple diet? No. It’s not a staple part of mine any more, or my children’s. I just can’t, in all conscience, let them continually eat stuff that I know will have an impact on their health.” She wears a watch that monitors her heart-rate variability because apparently the higher this is, the better, and she keeps a gratitude journal because it helps her to appreciate what she has, rather than focus on what she does not have. She used to be a night owl, but now she’s up the stairs at 9.30pm and asleep by 10pm because a sleep expert told her that the hours between 10pm and 3am are when the body repairs itself best. She suffered from insomnia before and after her mastectomy because of the worry, the pain, the fear of how her new life would be. The five days she spent in hospital were the longest she had gone without seeing her children — she didn’t want to video-call them. “I didn’t want them to see me like that. I thought it would be worrying for them. What’s difficult with young children is explaining cancer to them without petrifying them. I was very aware that I had to be honest.” The day she left hospital, her sister helped her do her hair and make-up and put on her “game face” to reassure them. They’ve been brilliant, she says, but she knows that it’s had an impact. One of her girls asked her the other day: “Mummy, what happens if the cancer comes back?” “That was really hard,” she says, tearing up. “Cancer has shaped who I am, but it doesn’t define who I am. It profoundly changed my life and the way I think and behave. You never forget, but you can try to convert the experience into something else and that’s what I’m trying to do: convert it into something positive.” I was very aware I had to be honest with my children Julia Bradbury. Left: in Britain’s Favourite Walks: Top 100 in 2018 theme, “is another really important thing to do — it helps with inflammation, helps you sleep, helps pass electrons from the earth to us . . .” She catches my raised eyebrow and laughs. “It sounds woo-woo, I know, but we’re spinning round the sun! Doesn’t that sound pretty woo-woo? So why is it so woo-woo that we’re electrically charged as well?” Bradbury grew up in Rutland with her older sister, Gina. She left school at 16 and started work as a receptionist, but she really wanted to be on television. At the time, Janet Street-Porter was setting up L!ve TV and Bradbury saw her chance. She found out that Street-Porter collected towels from hotels, so she blagged one from the Ritz and sent it with a note asking for an interview. She got a job, moved to GMTV a year later to be its LA correspondent and she was off. Countryfile was the show that made her a household name when she was 38, and earned her the extravagantly sexist title of “the walking man’s crumpet”. “Ha!” she says. “I’m definitely not that any more, am I?” She had Zephyr when she was 41 and her twins through IVF nearly four years later. Their father, Gerard Cunningham, is a property developer. In the book she gives her pre-cancer self a tough time. She’s horrified that after a long day’s filming she would sometimes wolf down a burger from a motorway service station. But she was pretty healthy, surely? Slim, regular yoga practice, occasional exercise classes, lots of walking and fresh air? She shakes her head. “Too haphazard. My chance of reoccurrence reduces by multiple percentages if I exercise regularly, if I strength-train and if I don’t drink. That’s my motivator. If you’re downing those social drinks on Friday and Saturday, which I was, you’re not It’s a bird! It’s a plane! Wait, no, it is in fact a bird — a dead one Carrie Bradshaw once wore on her head. I didn’t take her for a taxidermy enthusiast. Not that she’s a real person. Oh, but she is — to so many! That aside, the bird: it’s up for auction. At Sotheby’s. Crikey. Get the paddles ready. The price? A cool £31,000 to £55,000. Roughly. Oh dear. I might have to bow out what with the cost of, well, everything at the moment. Fair enough. You might not be the target audience, to be honest. No. That’s an awful lot for a deceased ball of feathers, though. Why? Because it’s an extremely fashionable ball of feathers, darling! I’ll need a better reason than that. Well, because Sarah Jessica Parker, as the style icon Bradshaw, once modelled it? Mmm, not sold. Personally I always found her outfits to be a bit chaotic. No offence. I’m astounded that you have an opinion. You underestimate me. Still, it is not ours to ask why. The auction house has spoken. This is the going rate for dead bird headpieces worn by pop culture heroines. I see. What sort of fowl is it? A big blue and turquoise-feathered bird of paradise. From which brand? None, specifically — it’s vintage. And when did Bradshaw wear it? On her wedding day to Mr Big, the one she was famously jilted on. Yikes. No wonder she wants to get rid of it. It was a dark day in the character’s fabulous life. And she didn’t even know what would happen with the Peloton bike yet. Hannah Rogers The lowdown Carrie Bradshaw’s bird hat Walk Yourself Happy by Julia Bradbury (Little, Brown Book Group £20). To order a copy go to timesbookshop.co.uk or call 020 3176 2935. Special discount available for Times+ members

4 Tuesday August 29 2023 | the times health he’s older — he’s 40 now — but “I want to be more flexible. So I’m focusing on the thing I’m least good at.” The area that needs most work, for him — and those who hunch over screens — is the back. “I need to increase the extensions in my thoracic spine.” So he’s adding five to ten minutes of stretching to his daily routine — say, in the ad breaks while watching Love Island with his family. “I do my cat-cow [which involves arching your spine and bringing your head and pelvis down, like a cat] because that really helps,” he says. “This morning, I was waiting for the kettle to boil so I stretched my calves out.” Learn something new Dr Mithu Storoni, neuroscience researcher and author of Stress Proof: The Scientific Solution to Protect Your Brain and Body and Be More Resilient Every Day Storoni is a fan of “incremental mastery”, as it encourages Do just one thing — the 10 lifestyle changes experts recommend Want to improve your wellbeing but don’t know where to start? We asked top names from the worlds of health and fitness which single habit they would recommend taking up this autumn. By Anna Maxted which is linked with lower risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and bowel cancer) they indirectly benefit brain health. “The blood-brain barrier [BBB] prevents anything but the select few molecules from crossing from the blood into the brain — important because anything unwanted can trigger inflammation,” she says. “A breakdown of the BBB is one of the early changes seen in Alzheimer’s disease. It’s also seen in the brains of those with depression and schizophrenia.” However, she says: “When you eat fibre, your gut microbes convert them into compounds called short-chain fatty acids that travel in the bloodstream and protect the BBB.” Wilson’s favourite fast bean recipe: empty a can of cannellini or butter beans into a saucepan with their water. Simmer for two minutes. Grate in cheese (eg cheddar), stir until melted. Season with pepper. Eat with olive oil and wholemeal bread. Stretch your back Dalton Wong, celebrity personal trainer and founder of TwentyTwo Training in London Wong is doing more stretching — a type of exercise he’s neglected. If your fitness regimen is lopsided, he recommends balancing it out. He says: “I do strength training three to four times a week, I do Brazilian jujitsu three times a week, cardio once a week, but what I lack is mobility and flexibility. It’s my weak link.” He’ll certainly be strong when Below: Kimberley Wilson and Dalton Wong See your friends Eat more beans S ummer’s bright evenings are fading along with memories of barbecues, rosé and lazing around. Soon the leaves will be falling, school will be in, and it will be back to reality and routine. Who wouldn’t feel flat? We asked ten experts in the fields of health, fitness and medicine to each explain the one habit they’re working on, or have built into their day, to make life better. Swap processed foods for whole foods Dr Jonathan Krell, consultant oncologist at Leaders in Oncology Care, part of HCA Healthcare UK Eating a natural, unprocessed diet is very difficult and time-consuming, Krell says. Even so, “one thing we try to do more as a family and also promote to others is try to avoid unnatural foods and additives”. This week two landmark studies presented at the European Society of Cardiology congress in Amsterdam revealed that ultra-processed food significantly increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes. Krell, meanwhile, notes that there’s evidence that chemical preservatives, such as nitrates, in processed meat can increase the risk of bowel cancer. His go-to snack? “Half a pint of milk and some raw nuts.” Convenient as they are, “even the supplement drinks and meal replacements, high in protein and nutritionally complete, contain lots of synthetic additives”. He advises “going back to basics, making your food from raw, natural ingredients rather than buying manufactured processed foods”. Eat beans Kimberley Wilson, chartered psychologist and registered nutritionist, and author of Unprocessed: How the Food We Eat Is Fuelling Our Mental Health Crisis Wilson eats a lot of beans and advises that we do too. “Honestly, beans are the future,” she says. Not only are they rich in fibre (eating plenty of neuroplasticity, the ability to keep forming new connections in the brain. At the moment, “my ambition is to do one strict pull-up. I can’t do a clean, full-range one,” she says. “So I’m doing progressive resistance training in the gym, progressive accumulation of strength, leading up to one final target.” Learning is especially beneficial in midlife, as she says “the buzz of connectivity in the brain starts to diminish with age. Lots of studies show that if you surround yourself with opportunities for challenge and novelty, you can offset that to some degree. Curiosity, the ability and willingness to learn — all are associated with healthy ageing and general brain health.” She adds: “I constantly put myself in situations where I’m forced to learn” — a new idea or a new language — “but it doesn’t have to be a mental thing to create that plasticity. Even when you’re doing something physical, you still have to learn.” Walk, walk, walk Dr Hannah Douglas, consultant cardiologist at London Bridge Hospital (part of HCA Healthcare UK) Douglas believes that walking is “very underrated”. She says: “We are, as a population, much more sedentary than we should be. I recommend outdoor walking to a lot of patients who don’t exercise regularly. I’m very strict about getting my steps in.” She aims for 10,000 to 12,000 and, if she is desk-bound all day, “I’ll make

the times | Tuesday August 29 2023 5 health a conscious effort to do a 20 to 30- minute walk after dinner. As much for mental health as for physical health.” People have different abilities and the key is to slowly build on yours, she says. “To burn calories and increase muscle strength you’ve got to increase your heart rate a little bit.” This is because “that increase in heart rate for a sustained period of time leads to blood vessel health. It helps you, over time, to lower your blood pressure. Any regular exercise that increases the heart rate will help with elasticity of the blood vessels. We have to think of heart health as whole body health.” Take a dance class Dr Lucy Pollock, consultant geriatrician and author of The Book About Getting Older Pollock has taken up dancing. “I’m an atrocious dancer,” she says, “but I do a dance class once a week with my girlfriends. We laugh and laugh. And it’s incredibly good for your concentration, co-ordination and balance.” She recommends it because “as we age, being positive and sociable reduces our chances of getting dementia, and being active improves our chance of remaining independent”. Dancing — enabling you to improve balance, strength, sociability and have a laugh — combines the lot. “We’re dancing to all sorts of music, from Shostakovich to Michael Bublé to Beyoncé,” Pollock says. They balance, jump around, get out of breath, learn new routines. “I go the wrong way — everyone’s going left, I Curiosity and the ability to learn are associated with healthy ageing Stretch in front of the TV to do is remember and hold onto the fact that life is about more than jobs and lists (‘I must lose weight, I must walk more, I must buy quinoa’) and that it is really, essentially, about one’s relationships and the quality of those relationships.” She advises we invest in ours too. Lots of people hope for a relationship reset in summer, when they spend more time together, yet they often find themselves arguing more. It’s why her phone starts pinging around September 5 with couples seeking relationship help. But if you’ve loved your time together, “make a resolution to maintain that, to put your partner and family first and not let work take you over again”. Tap into your circadian rhythm Dr John O’Neill, molecular and circadian biologist, and principal investigator at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge O’Neill maintains good “circadian hygiene”. He says: “Every cell in our brain and body has its own circadian clock that organises our physiology to accommodate the differing demands of day and night.” He adds that our cellular clocks “are synchronised with each other and the outside world by the times we eat meals, see light and are physically active”. While circadian rhythms can start deteriorating in middle age, he says, “following similar activity patterns every day ingrains these biological rhythms, helping maintain health and good sleep, supporting the immune system and enhancing performance.” So what does he do? “Our bedroom has blackout blinds. Get some, they’re amazing. We tend to have the lights off at about 11pm, don’t eat after 8pm, and we do any exercise in the afternoon or early evening. I mostly drink low or no-alcohol beer and avoid caffeine after 5pm, as alcohol and caffeine impair sleep timing and quality.” But he’s not a bore about it. “I don’t worry about the occasional late-night party, skipped breakfast or whether I’m getting enough sleep.” Do your pelvic floor exercises Dr Bella Smith, NHS GP and co-author of The Female Body Bible Smith does pelvic floor exercises dayin, day-out (“I talk about it all the time and when I talk about it I find myself doing my pelvic floor exercises!”) and advises that we all learn to look after our pelvic floor. “After having a baby, everyone’s allowed to talk about it,” she says. “But before that, athletes, active women — all women and men — may have pelvic floor issues but just silently put up with it.” Often, she sees post-menopausal women who have prolapses or leak urine because they didn’t know enough to protect these important muscles. A properly functioning pelvic floor can help young men with premature ejaculation, and for older men with prostate issues, it can help if they leak urine, she says. It can be too strong as well as too weak (which may cause constipation). “You need to be able to tighten and relax your pelvic floor for it to function properly,” says Smith. A dysfunctional pelvic floor can cause back pain as “our posture, core, pelvic floor and back are all interlinked”. She suggests adding the exercises to a daily habit, like brushing your teeth. If you don’t know how to engage your pelvic floor, it can be worth seeking professional help. go right. I tread on my own toes. It’s a giggle. It makes me so happy.” See your friends Dr James Kinross, colorectal surgeon and author of Dark Matter: The New Science of the Microbiome Kinross is trying to prioritise what he describes as “social synthesis”. He says: “It’s focusing on my friendships, and trying to re-establish my real-world meaningful friendship groups.” He adds, “It might be my stage in life. It might be my gender. It might be reinforcing some of the things I think are important from a biological or scientific basis. But in a post-pandemic world, I want to prioritise my physical connections with people.” Seeing friends in the flesh is important for every aspect of our health. “When you’re having fun and you’re not stressed there’s an immunological response to it,” he says. “Isolation is immunologically stressful as well as psychologically stressful.” You also exchange beneficial gut bugs with your social circle. “For me,” Kinross says, “it’s about sharing microbiomes, having social interactions, improving my mental resilience as well as my physical resilience, and it is about reconnecting.” Focus on relationships Susanna Abse, consultant psychotherapist and author of Tell Me the Truth about Love: 13 Tales From the Therapist’s Couch When we’re busy, we can sideline the people we love. Abse says: “What I try How to manage inflamed joints in summer Carlos Cobiella, consultant orthopaedic surgeon at The Shoulder Practice During the summer months high temperatures and humidity can cause us to sweat more and lose more water, leading to dehydration, which exacerbates inflammation. Warm weather can also cause blood vessels to dilate, leading to increased blood flow to joints and potential swelling. When the sun is out, it’s also likely that people will be engaging in more physical activity, which places additional strain on joints and contributes to inflammation. Lowimpact exercise helps to maintain joint flexibility but prevents overheating, so activities such as swimming, walking or cycling are best. It’s also important to drink plenty of water. Dr Jeremy Harris, senior partner at The Private GP Group The RICE method can be used for treating inflamed joints: rest, ice, compression and elevation. To ease pain and swelling, apply cold packs to joints. Physical therapy, joint-specific exercises and maintaining a healthy weight can alleviate symptoms as excess weight puts extra stress on your joints. Hydration also supports joint lubrication. Over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can provide relief, but consult a healthcare professional before use. The same is true in more severe cases where prescription medication may be needed. Abbas Kanani, pharmacist at Chemist Click Extreme hot weather may impact the pressure of synovial fluid, the viscous solution that oils your joints and is found in joint cavities, increasing nerve sensitivity and pain. When you don’t drink enough water you also don’t create enough synovial fluid, so you are more prone to inflammation of the joints. If you have joint pain, apply an ice pack or a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a towel on the painful area for up to 20 minutes every two to three hours. Stay away from foods that are high in saturated fats, including processed food and fried foods as they worsen inflammation. Alcoholic drinks and smoking can also increase inflammation. Yasmin Choudhury

6 Tuesday August 29 2023 | the times health 14-year study published in the European Heart Journal. “Alcohol can be directly toxic to the heart,” Behar says. “By having it in excess it can cause damage and the heart can be weakened.” Is it possible to reverse AF? AF is reversible for some provided it is spotted early. Last week, Gupta presented an updated review of evidence after a separate study he had published in the European Heart Journal three years ago that showed weight loss in overweight people with AF slows progression and in some cases reverses the condition. “Plenty of animal and lab-based studies have shown that AF is reversible with weight loss,” he says. Is any other treatment available? The longer people have AF, the more I f you need yet another reason to be more active in midlife, cardiologists are warning that a lack of fitness raises the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF), an irregular heartbeat that, left untreated, can lead to blood clots and a five times greater risk of having a stroke. AF occurs when electrical impulses that trigger muscle contractions of the heart misfire chaotically. Researchers from the National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan tracked 15,450 people, none of whom had AF at the start of the study, assessing their fitness over a decade. The results, reported at the European Cardiology Congress (ECC), showed that the fittest participants, mostly in their fifties when the trial began, were significantly less likely to develop AF. “When someone is sedentary and overweight, their heart is being put under stresses just by virtue of working harder to maintain a body that is heavier than it should be,” says Professor Dhiraj Gupta, a cardiologist at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital, who presented his findings on AF treatment and reversal at the ECC. “That presents a huge physical strain for the heart that can result in AF.” In those with the condition, the normal pumping action in the two upper chambers of the heart, called the atria, is disrupted, resulting in an erratic and sometimes alarmingly Irregular heartbeat? Why it matters and what to do about it Exercise in midlife can help prevent atrial fibrillation, a new study reveals. Peta Bee on a condition 1.4 million of us have rapid heart rate of up to 300 beats a minute or more. Often there are no warning signs other than unusual palpitations or heartbeat. Dr Jonathan Behar, consultant cardiologist and electrophysiologist at HCA London Bridge Hospital, says AF “is associated with a number of medical problems, including strokes, dementia and heart failure”. He describes its prevalence in the UK, where it affects 1.4 million people, as “an epidemic with a vast number of the population having it, including one in five people over 80”. Age and genetics are unavoidable risk factors, but the latest study adds to the emerging evidence that lifestyle habits play a role in the rise of AF among the middle-aged. “Essentially, AF is the result of the atrium chambers of the heart getting bigger, or stretching, and the electrical connections become worse,” Behar says. “If you do things that increase general pressure in the heart such as smoking, underexercising or gaining excess weight and eating too much salt, that can stretch the atrium chambers and increase the risk of AF.” Here’s what you need to know. A smartwatch will help keep tabs on your heart rhythm Consider your smartwatch as a portable ECG on your wrist. Devices such as the Apple Watch can be set to flag up any abnormalities with your heart rate. “This is a great idea, as if your heart rate does go excessively high you get a warning anyway,” Gupta says. A clinical trial validated Fitbit devices for recording heart rhythm data during sleep, which can then be analysed retrospectively for signs of AF. Don’t become obsessed with results — once a week is enough and the test takes about 30 seconds to complete. Does the jitters after a coffee indicate AF? Getting the jitters after drinking an espresso does not mean you have AF. In fact the British Heart Foundation suggests that any source of caffeine, coffee included, is not a cause of AF and “drinking four to five cups of tea or coffee a day shouldn’t increase your risk of developing heart disease”. Is it OK to have a glass of wine with dinner? Alcohol is among the biggest stressors for AF. “If I see someone in their fifties or younger with AF I almost know for a given that alcohol is involved,” Gupta says. Just one small glass of wine a day, a single shot of spirits or a small bottle of beer is enough to raise the risk of AF by 16 per cent compared with nondrinkers, according to a

the times | Tuesday August 29 2023 7 health the heart gets used to it and the worse it becomes. “The aim is to break that spiral by getting people to spend as much time as possible in a normal rhythm,” Gupta says. In the past, for people who do not respond to lifestyle changes the main route to achieving this was through tablets including beta blockers or Amiodarone to control heart rate and rhythm (although they are not without side-effects). Over the past decade, catheter ablation, a keyhole surgery technique in which thin flexible electrical catheters are inserted via small tubes into the veins near the groin and used to burn heart tissue, has emerged as the most effective treatment. “It creates an electrical insulation barrier in the heart that prevents these faulty electrical signals from causing arrhythmia,” Gupta says. “It’s extremely effective and takes only about 90 minutes to perform.” Doctors stress any treatment needs to come with lifestyle changes too. Extreme exercise can also cause AF “Regular exercise reduces the resistance through which the heart has to pump, which is a good thing, but excess of anything is not good,” Behar says. “In people who do ultramarathons there are changes to the heart, some of which may be negative.” One recent study of 942 athletes mostly in their fifties, published in the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, found the middle-aged and older ultra-runners, cyclists, swimmers and triathletes who developed AF were at a greater risk of stroke than the general population. “It’s unfair, but these apparently superfit people who take good care of their bodies may also be placing a toll on the heart that predisposes them to AF,” Gupta says. “In patients who do develop AF as a consequence of overexercising in middle age, their heart is responding to being stressed beyond its means,” Gupta says. “The human body wasn’t designed to run hundreds of miles a week and it can take its toll.” Before work 6 Woke up at 6am for a walk outside 6 10 minutes of deep-rest meditation 6 30 minutes of Pilates 6 90-second cold shower After work 6 Watched the sunset 6 Hid phone an hour before bed 6 Took a sleep supplement 6 Used mouth tape to encourage nasal breathing technique, also called yoga nidra. It’s meant to increase energy and productivity throughout the day, and regulate breathing and cortisol. After ten minutes I felt much more rested than I was expecting. With my new-found energy I moved on to the exercise portion of Huberman’s protocol and did 30 minutes of Pilates before stepping into a cold shower. He is a big proponent of cold exposure and suggests about 11 minutes of it every week. This works out at a reasonable 1.5 minutes a day, which is still enough time to make you want to scream expletives when you step inside but short enough to be manageable. By the time I made it to work and was finally able to have a coffee, I’d never felt better. Other morning routines I’d experimented with hadn’t stuck, but I felt so energetic and relaxed I found myself looking forward to trying it again the next day. I didn’t even notice when the time for my typical midafternoon slump had passed without remark. That evening when I returned home from work, I followed Huberman’s advice and watched the sunset, which, not unlike the morning-sun exposure, sends important signals to your circadian rhythm that it’s time to wind down. I then switched on some red lightbulbs and tried to put my phone away about an hour before I was ready to go to sleep. I read for a bit, took Huberman’s suggested sleep supplement cocktail of magnesium and apigenin (a compound with antioxidant properties), popped on some mouth tape, which encourages nasal breathing and as a result deeper rest, and proceeded to have the best sleep I have had in a long time. Over the course of the week, as I kept up this routine, I noticed huge differences. While the list of lifestyle tricks from Huberman and his many online fans can seem endless, even incorporating a few helped me to feel significantly more rested and energised. I also got to appreciate the true fuel of the Huberman experience: getting to smugly tell everyone that you’ve already lived a whole life before they’ve even got out of bed. I first encountered the Stanford neuroscientist turned wellness influencer Andrew Huberman while scrolling through TikTok at 1am. I was eating chocolate cake in my pyjamas with all the overhead lights turned on when I came across a video about “Huberman husbands”, the internet’s shorthand for men who have become obsessed with the scientist’s health hacks. A recent break-up had left me eating poorly, sleeping badly and spending way too much time on my phone, so I was intrigued by the videos of Huberman and his tanned, smiley and fit devotees. They explained why late nights, sugar and overhead lighting were probably the things holding me back from achieving true health and happiness. Most of the tips Huberman dispenses via his wildly successful podcast, Huberman Lab, and to his 4.6 million Instagram followers and 3.8 million YouTube subscribers, aren’t necessarily groundbreaking: he’s a proponent of things like waking up early, avoiding blue light in the evenings and intermittent fasting. But what’s unique about him is that he has been able to package the wellness advice many of us have encountered into an evidence-based, actionable and low-cost routine. He’s also made it his mission to share all this information online free. At first I wasn’t sure whether Huberman might be another wellness snake-oil salesman, so I sent out a call to various group chats asking if anyone had tested out any of his techniques. I was flooded with eager replies, mostly from my male friends in the States, where Huberman and I are from and his largest group of fans is based. Rather than texting, one friend simply sent me a selfie of him wearing red light glasses, sitting in a room filled with red lightbulbs — one of Huberman’s suggested pre-sleep rituals. The more I researched, the more I came across stories of people who had reshaped their lives thanks to Huberman’s protocols. I was soon convinced. I wiped the chocolate off my hands and got to work, ordering a red lightbulb and Huberman’s favourite supplements on Amazon for next-day delivery. I set a 6am alarm and committed to trying the routine for a week. Waking up on the first morning was difficult. I snoozed my alarm three times before forcing myself out of bed for the first step of Huberman’s ritual, a “sun exposure” walk. Still half-asleep, I yanked on a pair of tracksuit bottoms and mismatched socks before essentially falling out of my front door. According to Huberman, morning sunlight (even through cloud cover) “triggers the timed release of a healthy level of cortisol into your system, which acts as a signal to promote wakefulness and the ability to focus throughout the day”. For the first few minutes of the walk I felt as crazy as I looked, hobbling around my neighbourhood squinting at the sky, but before long I started to feel alert and refreshed. It almost helped me to forget I hadn’t yet had coffee, which Huberman recommends staving off for 90-120 minutes after waking up to avoid afternoon energy crashes. Instead, he suggests swapping in low-sugar electrolytes, which I did when I returned home. I then made my way onto a yoga mat for the next step of his routine, a session of NSDR, or non-sleep deep rest. Huberman swears by this meditation-like A Stanford neuroscientist has a cult podcast. Chiara Brown tried to follow his wellness regime How I revamped my life — the Huberman way Andrew Huberman I force myself out of bed at 6am for a ‘sun exposure’ walk What I did on my Huberman day

8 Tuesday August 29 2023 | the times times2 shortly after coming to power in 2017, to reduce France’s traditionally high taxation on shares and other financial assets. Others claim that many of the subsidies he has pumped into the economy have ended up in millionaires’ bank accounts. Whatever the truth, there is little doubt that the prosperous have been prospering during his terms of office. Take, for instance, Bernard Arnault, 74, whose group, LVMH, dominates the global luxury goods market with brands such as Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co, Christian Dior, Fendi, Givenchy and also Fred. He was flourishing before Macron entered the Élysée Palace but has done even better since, and is at present the world’s second richest person, with a fortune estimated by Forbes at $212.6 billion (behind Elon Musk, 52, on $231.2 billion). Arnault, who is said by Le Monde to have enough influence to make or break fiscal policies, has bolstered his standing in the presidency by ensuring an apparently limitless line of Louis Vuitton outfits for Brigitte, the first lady. Arnault is not the only citoyen français at the top end of Forbes’s list of the rich. Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, 70, the granddaughter of the founder of L’Oréal, the cosmetics group, who has a fortune estimated at $87.8 billion, is the world’s wealthiest woman. She too is French. A little way behind her, François Pinault, 87, the founder of Kering, the luxury goods group that owns Gucci and Alexander McQueen, lives comfortably too, with $37.2 billion. The Forbes list contains a host of other French billionaires who made their money in luxury and cosmetics, but not all of them live in France these days. There are Alain Wertheimer, 74, and Gérard, 72, his brother, who have a majority stake in Chanel, for example, and Nicolas Puech, 80, who descends from the founder of Hermès, the luxury leatherware business. Aline Pozzo di Borgo, a luxury brand consultant and lecturer at the Sorbonne University in Paris, says their fortunes are testimony to the dynamism of the French cosmetics and luxury sectors, which in her view deserve credit for having had the foresight to embrace globalisation. “They were very quick to realise they should export their goods around the world, to America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa where that was possible,” she says. As customers in New York, Shanghai and Tokyo snapped up France’s designer handbags, clothes and perfumes, the groups had enjoyed an “exceptional growth” that showed no sign of ending. Christopher Dembik, director of macro research at Saxo Bank, agrees, saying: “The luxury sector is one of the factors [behind France’s rising share of the world’s millionaires].” He says that in other countries, people who had made their money in the energy and real estate sectors had seen their fortunes dwindle. There was no such fall in demand for luxury. Since Britain’s decision to quit the EU, more than 5,500 financial sector jobs have been created in Paris, with JP Morgan, Bank of America, Citi and Goldman Sachs all reinforcing their presence in the French capital. “Paris’s success since Brexit has been spectacular,” François Villeroy de Galhau, the governor of the Bank of France, said recently. “It . . . has exceeded our expectations.” The influx of bankers has boosted France’s millionaire cohort, to the delight of estate agents in Paris’s expensive 16th arrondissement, which has become a magnet for those forced out of London. Many head for the Porte de la Muette area, with its international schools and proximity to the Bois de Boulogne. Eastern Paris may not be quite so chic, but it is home to Station F, “the world’s biggest start-up campus”, at least according to its website. It was opened by Macron in 2017 and funded by Xavier Niel, 55, the telecoms tycoon and symbol of what Macron calls La French Tech. Niel, whose fortune is estimated by Forbes at $6.3 billion, is the partner of Arnault’s daughter, Delphine, with whom he has a child. This all comes amid fierce debate over the benefits of having so many millionaires. Sandrine Rousseau, an MP with the Europe Ecology-the Greens party, said that their presence signalled the demise of the French “social model”. Monique Pinçon-Charlot, co-author of 27 books on the French upper classes, blames Macron for abolishing French wealth tax and introducing a flat tax on capital gains. The measures had ensured the “triumph of capital over work”. Macron’s supporters disagree, claiming the wealth has trickled down to those at the bottom. They point to the UBS study, which suggests that inequalities have diminished, albeit marginally in recent decades. Pozzo di Borgo says the French should stop criticising their millionaires, and notably those from the luxury goods sector. “They are creating jobs that are not going to be delocalised,” she says. She adds that if the country’s millionaires came in for such criticism, it was because “France has a problem with money. I don’t get the impression that that problem exists in the UK and the US.” Where have all the millionaires gone? Paris, bien sur. Here’s why France has more wealthy people than anywhere except America and China. Adam Sage on the Gallic big shots T he models had arrived in chauffeur-driven black limousines at a narrow street off the Champs Élysées. The Michelin-starred restaurant where they were to eat had been decked out in flowers. The jewels were in glass cases by the table. Emma Roberts, the actress and niece of Julia Roberts, had flown into Paris for the occasion. Fred, the luxury French jeweller, had organised what was billed as a “private dinner” to promote its “Pretty Woman” collection, which notably features a 208-diamond necklace. Roberts was the face of the collection and Charles Leung, Fred’s chief executive, greeted her with a broad smile and a claim that his overarching ambition was to “celebrate love”. Elsewhere in the Golden Triangle, as the area around the Champs Élysées is known, analysts were celebrating his sales figures. The luxury sector may like to wrap itself in notions of romance and aesthetics, but it is a flourishing French financial success story and one of the reasons the country has become something of a last bastion for people with assets of at least $1 million in recent months. Across much of the West, dollar millionaires are dropping like flies amid inflation, a decline in the value of financial assets and currency fluctuations. Britain lost 439,000 last year, Japan 466,000, Germany 253,000 and America 1.8 million. France bucked the trend, with the number remaining at 2.82 million compared to 2.83 million in 2021, according to the Swiss bank UBS. The bank’s researchers calculated that as a result, France now has 4.7 per cent of the world’s millionaires, a higher proportion than anywhere else except China and America. It was the first time the country had made it into the top three in the Swiss bank’s annual ranking. Left-wingers were aghast and accused President Macron of betraying the heritage of the 1789 French Revolution. How could the land of Maximilien Robespierre end up as a citadel of the rich, they asked. The answer is that under Macron’s presidency, the luxury industry has continued to grow, the tech sector has enjoyed a boom and bankers have been crossing the Channel after Brexit. Some observers say the trends have been fuelled by Macron’s decision, Salma Hayek and her husband, FrançoisHenri Pinault, the son of François Pinault. Below: Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron. Far right, from top: Françoise Bettencourt Meyers; Bernard Arnault and his daughter, Delphine

the times | Tuesday August 29 2023 9 arts the day of Princess Diana’s funeral. This has been changed from London’s book, in which Tania disappeared on the day of the 1987 hurricane, though both instances are emblematic of a thread that runs through this series: the refusal to listen to women and girls. The Eighties weather forecaster Michael Fish airily dismissed the concerns of a woman who rang the BBC to ask if there was a hurricane coming. And Diana, however you view her, wasn’t always listened to either. We discuss crime dramas and the growing army of powerful women who populate them. Are we blokes now facing a moral reckoning in shows, many of which were conceived at the height of the #MeToo movement? “I suppose I hadn’t really thought about how we’re representing you guys as we rise like phoenixes,” Whelan says cheerily. “Yeah, sorry about that. But maybe it’s your turn. I’m joking.” She notes that her character’s new boss, Stuart McQuarrie’s DCI Jim Fedden, may begin as cantankerous and impatient, but shows he can admit fault and apologise, and is “not just another middle-aged man in a suit telling me what to do”. Like Whelan’s fearless Game of Thrones warrior Yara Greyjoy, Collins is gay, I observe. She responds by recalling a male interviewer describing her as “sardonic” and adds with a smile: “Maybe that’s an energy that seems to draw casting directors toward my sort of masculine energy. I don’t know . . . It wasn’t an insult, he was very, very kind . . . I had to go away and look up what ‘sardonic’ meant and thought, yes, you could be right there.” I assume she doesn’t agree with Russell T Davies, who said in 2021 that gay roles should be played by gay actors in the interests of “authenticity”? “No, I don’t. I mean, I can absolutely see his point. I certainly wouldn’t ever dream of trying to play someone with a disability . . . Should murderers play all murderers on TV? Only detectives play detectives? I don’t know. It becomes slippery. And it could become insulting to people. So I don’t want to be drawing swords, but I feel like I’m comfortable portraying that, given my life experience so far. And I don’t feel like I’m doing anything untoward or misrepresentative of the greater view of humanity.” She is, quite understandably, choosing her words judiciously, and is careful to say how much she respects Davies (“I’d love to work with him!”). She also notes that many of her life experiences have been channelled into aspects of her work, including having had an eating disorder as a teenager, which culminated in near death at 17, when she was hospitalised for eight months. “I’ve probably spoken about that enough now. But, equally, if it helps one person to go, ‘Wow, she was poorly and look at her’ . . . Not ‘look at her now’, like I think I’m amazing, I mean that I’m well and I’ve got children and I’m working, and that would have been enormously inspiring to me as someone who is suffering. So if it just helps one or two people without banging on about it . . . because I don’t want it to be my identity. That’s way in the past.” Now she is carrying a show, I wonder if she is prepared for the uptick in fame this may bring. I remind her that she was once snapped by paparazzi outside a theatre with her child, and in the resulting article described as “every inch the doting mum”. It must be strange being in the public eye like that, I suggest. “Yes, it’s really weird . . . but it happens so rarely. Because I think I am a little bit chameleonlike. I’m not instantly recognisable. People often look at me curiously and ask, ‘Did we go to school together?’ or ‘Where do I know you? Is it at the school gates?’ It’s not, ‘Oh my God, there’s Olivia Colman,’ and everyone loses their shit, which I’m sure must be terrible for her. It’s more along the lines of ‘I loved you in that thing,’ as they’re getting off the train. I’m sure there is [negative] stuff out there but I didn’t look for it . . . hopefully we’ll just carry on being pretty anonymous.” She doesn’t think Upstart Crow or Gentleman Jack are coming back, at least for the moment, so apart from a forthcoming stage role (which she can’t discuss), The Tower is her focus. The day after we spoke she was heading to Liverpool to film series three and is pleased to note that London has written a fourth book. “The longer you go on, the more you get to know the character, the more the audience will hopefully enjoy the journey.” Could DS Collins become one of TV’s great female detectives? I wouldn’t be surprised. “Oh, to be another Jessica Fletcher, that’s the dream,” she says with a laugh. There’s that modest, amused and amusing self-deprecation again. But it’s still nice to know she’s going places. From soup to deserved superstardom, I expect. The Tower: Death Message is on ITV1 this week, concluding on Thursday I last spoke to Gemma Whelan in April 2020, when we were in the depths of the first lockdown and her work on the stage production of Ben Elton’s Shakespeare comedy Upstart Crow had been put on hold along with so much else. Her dream, she told me then, was to go one day to her favourite café and have a bowl of tomato soup with her husband, Gerry, and young daughter, Frances. Today she is in another café in East Dulwich: falafel is on the menu (though she did have that fabled soup), Gerry is now a trained psychotherapist and Frances, who is turning six next month, is in the background, happily playing (I even get a wave over Zoom). Whelan, 42, has a second child, Freddie, who turns two in September and is sleeping on her chest. And the actress is reprising her first big TV lead role, DS Sarah Collins in The Tower, series two of which started on ITV this week. “Look at the beautiful circle we’ve come,” she says with a jesting, halfserious laugh that suits an actress skilled at both comedy and drama. Whelan’s warm, expressive face is probably most familiar to viewers from her compelling supporting roles in The Moorside (where she played Shannon Matthews) and Game of Thrones (in which she was Yara Greyjoy), but she has funny bones too, as anyone who has seen her sweary, drug-taking Edwardian comedy character Chastity Butterworth will attest, not to mention Upstart Crow’s loveable, progressively minded Kate. She’s full of praise for The Tower’s ensemble, but being the first name on the call sheet, while a thrill, is also a responsibility, she says. She is very invested in the part of DS Collins, who has some of those traits common to many TV detectives — she is lonely, dedicated to the job and has a dark backstory. But there are also some original flourishes here, including what Whelan calls Collins’s “good girl behaviour” and “perfectionism”, which she relates to and which we have seen her display in other roles such as the dutiful sister of Suranne Jones’s whipcracking landed lesbian in the BBC period drama Gentleman Jack (Whelan, who has an older brother, says that is the role she most identifies with). Collins’s by-the-book approach makes her the moral locus of the stories, though perhaps not the best person to break bad news to relatives (via the so-called death message, which is the subtitle of this series). But her sense of right and wrong means she speaks out when she hears that her new sidekick — Ella Smith’s DC Elaine Lucas — has been given the nickname “Fat Elaine”. It’s a slightly shocking moment. But given that Kate London, who wrote the books on which the series is based, worked as a copper, such occurrences seem to be drawn from lived experience. For her part, Whelan says: “I did speak to a lot of supporting artists who were ex-coppers of 30 or so years, and all of them said it’s not really that unrealistic.” Other real-world subjects, such as domestic abuse and police misogyny, seep into the two main storylines of the new series, one of which involves a teenager called Tania Mills who vanished on Gemma Whelan returned in series two of ITV’s The Tower this week. She plays the lead, DS Sarah Collins, alongside Jimmy Akingbola as DC Steve Bradshaw, below Meet TV’s next great detective Casting directors seem drawn to my sort of masculine energy Gemma Whelan, the star of Game of Thrones and Upstart Crow, tells Ben Dowell about her new drama

10 Tuesday August 29 2023 | the times times2 Your weekday brain boost More puzzles Pages 14-16 TRAIN TRACKS CODEWORD FUTOSHIKI SUDOKU Yesterday’s solutions SAMURAI KILLER SUKO Solutions in tomorrow’s Times2 Mini Sudoku Fill in the grid so that every column, every row and every 3x2 box contains the digits 1 to 6 Codeword Every letter in the crossword-style grid, right, is represented by a number from 1 to 26. Each letter of the alphabet appears in the grid at least once. Use the letters already provided to work out the identity of further letters. Enter letters in the main grid and the smaller reference grid until all 26 letters of the alphabet have been accounted for. Proper nouns are excluded. Suko Place the numbers 1 to 9 in the spaces so that the number in each circle is equal to the sum of the four surrounding spaces, and each colour total is correct Fill each grid so that every column, every row and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9. Where the puzzles overlap, the rows and columns do not go beyond their usual length. Every day, Monday to Thursday, a page of extra puzzles to give your brain an extended workout Samurai medium Sudoku fiendish Fill the grid so that every column, every row and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9. Each set of cells joined by dotted lines must add up to the target number in its top-left corner. Within each set of cells joined by dotted lines, a digit cannot be repeated. Killer tricky Train Tracks Lay tracks to enable the train to travel from village A to village B. The numbers indicate how many sections of track go in each row and column. There are only straight sections and curved sections. The track cannot cross itself. Futoshiki Fill the blank squares so that every row and column contains each of the numbers 1 to 5 once only. The symbols between the squares indicate whether a number is larger (>) or smaller (<) than the number next to it. Solve Times puzzles interactively with same-day solutions at thetimes.co.uk MINI SUDOKU

the times | Tuesday August 29 2023 11 television & radio Times Radio Digital, web, smart speaker, app 5.00am Rosie Wright with Early Breakfast 6.00 Aasmah Mir and Stig Abell with Times Radio Breakfast 10.00 Matt Chorley. A lighter take on Westminster goings-on 1.00pm Mariella Frostrup. Conversation about the issues that matter 3.00 Jane Garvey. Entertaining conversation and the news of the day 5.00 John Pienaar with Times Radio Drive. In-depth discussion of today’s news 7.00 Pienaar and Friends. Informed debate with leading figures 8.00 The Evening Edition with Kait Borsay. Engaging evening conversation 10.00 Rick Kelsey. Politics in-depth and consumer features 1.00am Stories of Our Times 1.30 Red Box 2.00 Highlights from Times Radio Radio 2 FM: 88-90.2 MHz 6.30am The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show 9.30 Vernon Kay. Beverley Knight selects the Tracks of My Years 12.00 Jeremy Vine 2.00pm Scott Mills 4.00 OJ Borg 6.30 OJ Borg’s Half Wower 7.00 Jo Whiley’s Shiny Happy Playlist 7.30 Jo Whiley 9.00 The Jazz Show with Jamie Cullum. A selection of classic tracks and new music from the world of jazz 10.00 Trevor Nelson’s Magnificent 7. Seven of Rhythm Nation’s biggest hits, uplifting tunes and essential throwbacks 10.30 Trevor Nelson’s Rhythm Nation. The DJ introduces a mix of R’n’B and soulful tunes 12.00 Phil Williams 3.00am Pick of the Pops (r) 4.00 Owain Wyn Evans Radio 3 FM: 90.2-92.4 MHz 6.30am Breakfast Radio 3’s classical breakfast show presented by Petroc Trelawny 9.00 Essential Classics Georgia Mann presents music and features 12.00 Composer of the Week: Icons of British Light Music Donald Macleod examines how light music benefitted from the boom in holiday-making at seaside resorts across Britain during the first few decades of the 20th century. John H. Glover-Kind (I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside); Albert Ketèlbey (In Holiday Mood; In a Persian Garden; and In a Monastery Garden); Eric Coates (The Merrymakers, a Miniature Overture; Lazy night; Summer Days Suite; and The Dam Busters March); and Reginald King (Song of Paradise). See Radio Choice 1.00pm Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert Sarah Walker presents highlights from this summer’s Schwetzingen Festival. Today’s programme includes Chopin from the cellist Christian Poltera and Haydn from the Dover Quartet. Chopin (Cello Sonata in G minor, op. 65); Nielsen (Serenata in vano, FS 68); and Haydn (String Quartet No. 30 in E flat, op. 33/2, Hob. III:38 “The Joke”) 2.00 Afternoon Concert The BBC Symphony Orchestra play music by Pejacevic and, with the pianist Martin Helmchen, Brahms. Plus, more highlights from the 2023 Queen Elisabeth Competition. Pejacevic (Menuet, Op 18); Meyerbeer (Nobles seigneurs, salut!, Urbain’s aria from Les Huguenots); BBC Proms, first broadcast live on Monday 14th August, presented by Petroc Trelawny — Brahms (Piano concerto No 2 in B flat major, Op 83); Artist Choice TBC; BBC Proms, first broadcast live on Monday 14th August, presented by Petroc Trelawny — Pejacevic (Symphony in F sharp minor, Op 41); Rossini (Nacqui all’affanno — Angelina’s aria from act 2 of La Cenerentola); Mozart (Rondo in B flat major, K 269); and Viardot (Sonatine in A minor) 5.00 In Tune Music and arts news 7.30 Classical Mixtape A selection of classical favourites mixed with jazz, folk and music from around the world 8.00 Live BBC Proms 2023 Jon Hopkins joins the BBC Singers, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the conductor Jules Buckley at the Royal Albert Hall as he makes his BBC Proms debut with the world premiere of a 22-minute psychedelic drone epic for orchestra, choir and piano. Alongside this are reinterpretations of pieces from Hopkins’ critically acclaimed albums Immunity, Singularity, and Music for Psychedelic Therapy, re-imagined to form what he calls a group sonic meditation for 5,000 people 10.00 Between the Ears: Species of Spaces The postman and writer Kevin Boniface invites listeners to join him on his round, reimagining the everyday spaces people move through, but never truly notice (r) 10.30 Between the Ears: Miniatures — The Gallery Aliya Pabani pieces together fragmentary memories of a protest from the news images taken that day (r) 10.45 The Essay: Japan in Five Lives A profile of the artist Tezuka Osamu (r) 11.00 Night Tracks 12.30am Through the Night Radio 4 FM: 92.4-94.6 MHz LW: 198kHz MW: 720 kHz 5.30am News Briefing 5.43 Prayer for the Day 5.45 Farming Today 5.58 Tweet of the Day (r) 6.00 Today 9.00 The Life Scientific Jim Al-Khalili talks to fellow scientists (4/7) 9.30 One to One Aleighcia Scott speaks to Chris Price about his family’s contribution to reggae (4/7) 9.45 (LW) Daily Service 9.45 Book of the Week: How to Build Impossible Things By Mark Ellison (2/5) 10.00 Woman’s Hour Nuala McGovern presents the show 11.00 The Archbishop Interviews The Archbishop of Canterbury in conversation with Shirine Khoury-Haq (2/6) (r) 11.30 The Art of Relativity Jerry Brotton explores how the theory of relativity impacted the arts 12.01pm (LW) Shipping Forecast 12.04 Call You and Yours 1.00 The World at One 1.45 Animal Blair Braverman speaks to the author Sabrina Imbler about shapeshifters (2/5) 2.00 The Archers (r) 2.15 Drama: This Thing of Darkness By Lucia Haynes. Sarah has made a new friend — which feels like good news to expert forensic psychiatrist and psychotherapist Dr Alex Bridges (3/7) (r) 3.00 The Kitchen Cabinet Jay Rayner presents the panel show (5/7) (r) 3.30 A Very British Cult After finding out there has been a government investigation going on at the same time as hers, Catrin finds herself in court questioning Paul Waugh (8/8) (r) 4.00 Moving Pictures An appreciation of Édouard Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergère (1/3) (r) 4.30 Great Lives Profile of a major cultural figure (5/9) 5.00 PM 5.54 (LW) Shipping Forecast 6.00 Six O’Clock News 6.30 The Ultimate Choice With guests Chris Cantrill and Kiri Pritchard-McLean (6/6) (r) 7.00 The Archers Brad knocks heads together 7.15 Add to Playlist With guests Anne Dudley and Ruairi Glasheen (6/8) (r) 8.00 File on 4 De-Graft Mensah examines how children permanently excluded from school are being lured into a life of crime (1/3) 8.40 In Touch 9.00 Political Animals Lucy Cooke explores the ways in which female animals wield authority (2/3) (r) 9.30 The Life Scientific (4/7) (r) 10.00 The World Tonight 10.45 Book at Bedtime: Death of a Naturalist By Seamus Heaney (2/5) 11.00 Call Jonathan Pie Comedy series starring Tom Walker (1/10) 11.30 Call Jonathan Pie On his last night standing in, Pie talks about money on the radio show (2/10) (r) 12.00 News and Weather 12.30am Book of the Week: How to Build Impossible Things (r) 12.48 Shipping Forecast 1.00 As BBC World Service Radio 4 Extra Digital only 8.00am The Goon Show 8.30 Little Blighty on the Down 8.55 Inheritance Tracks 9.00 Who Goes There? 9.30 No Commitments 10.00 The Belgian Nurse 11.00 King Solomon’s Carpet 11.30 The Price of Silence 12.00 The Poet and the Echo 12.15pm Modern Morality Tales 12.30 Bad Salsa 1.00 The Goon Show 1.30 Little Blighty on the Down 1.55 Inheritance Tracks 2.00 Who Goes There? 2.30 No Commitments 3.00 The Belgian Nurse 4.00 King Solomon’s Carpet 4.30 The Price of Silence 5.00 The Poet and the Echo 5.15 Modern Morality Tales 5.30 Bad Salsa 6.00 The Goon Show 6.30 Little Blighty on the Down 6.55 Inheritance Tracks 7.00 Who Goes There? With Francis Wheen, Fred Housego, Claire Rayner and David Aaronovitch 7.30 No Commitments. Charlotte feels neglected 8.00 TED Radio Hour. How migration is part of everyone’s history 8.50 Inheritance Tracks. With Phil Collins 9.00 Mastertapes. Georgie Fame discusses his album Rhythm & Blues at the Flamingo 9.30 Murder Most Foul. Last in the series 10.00 Comedy Club: The Ultimate Choice. With Chris Cantrill and Kiri Pritchard-McLean 10.30 Alice’s Wunderland. The narrator tries to track down a child-killer from the 1970s 11.00 Meet David Sedaris. The humorist reads his comedy essays 11.30 Think the Unthinkable. The management consultants try reversing the fortunes of an inner-city school Radio 5 Live MW: 693, 909 5.00am Wake Up to Money 6.00 5 Live Breakfast 9.00 Rachel Burden 11.00 Naga Munchetty 1.00pm Nihal Arthanayake 4.00 5 Live Drive 7.00 Live Sport: Plymouth Argyle v Crystal Palace (Kick-off 7.45) 10.30 Colin Murray 1.00am Dotun Adebayo talkSPORT MW: 1053, 1089 kHz 5.00am Early Breakfast 6.00 talkSPORT Breakfast 10.00 Jim White and Simon Jordan 1.00pm Hawksbee and Baker 4.00 talkSPORT Drive with Andy Goldstein and Darren Bent 7.00 Kick Off 10.00 Sports Bar 12.00 Extra Time TalkRadio Digital only 5.00am James Max 6.30 The Julia Hartley-Brewer Breakfast Show 9.30 Mike and Kev 10.00 The Independent Republic of Mike Graham 1.00pm Ian Collins 3.00 Kevin O’Sullivan 5.00 David Bull and Nicola Thorp 7.00 Jeremy Kyle 8.00 Piers Morgan Uncensored. Discussing the day’s global events 9.00 The Talk 10.00 First Edition 11.00 Petrie Hosken 1.00am Paul Ross 6 Music Digital only 5.00am Chris Hawkins 7.30 Lauren Laverne 10.30 Mary Anne Hobbs 1.00pm Craig Charles 4.00 Steve Lamacq 7.00 New Music Fix Daily 9.00 6 Music Artist in Residence 10.00 Riley & Coe 12.00 6 Music’s Indie Forever 1.00am The Evolution of John Peel 2.00 The Evolution of John Peel 3.00 6 Music Live Hour 4.00 The 6 Music Playlist Virgin Radio Digital only 6.30am The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with cinch 10.00 Eddy Temple-Morris 1.00pm Jayne Middlemiss 4.00 Ricky Wilson 7.00 Bam 10.00 Amy Voce 1.00am Sean Goldsmith 4.00 Steve Denyer Classic FM FM: 100-102 MHz 6.00am More Music Breakfast 9.00 John Brunning 12.00 Anne-Marie Minhall 4.00pm Margherita Taylor 7.00 Smooth Classics at Seven 10.00 Calm Classics 1.00am Bill Overton 4.00 Early Breakfast Radio choice Ben Dowell Composer of the Week Radio 3, noon This week Donald Macleod, above, has been tracking the rise and fall of light music in Britain over roughly 100 years, from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th. Yesterday’s programme explored the music of Edward German and Haydn Wood, while today’s episode, entitled Oh I do like to be beside the seaside, focuses on how light music benefited from the boom in holidaymaking at seaside resorts across Britain during the first few decades of the 20th century. Here orchestras emerged to cater for crowds with sounds from composers such as Eric Coates and Albert Ketèlbey. our tv newsletter T here’s a Netflix programme on this week in which an American “educator” called Dan Buettner claims to have found the answer to living to 100. My view is that if people want a long and happy life, they should forget that Mediterranean diet stuff and find a way of injecting the life force of a certain Yorkshire artist and unrepentant smoker into their veins. David Hockney: A Celebration was about as life-affirming as TV can get as Melvyn Bragg, slightly slower of gait and quieter of voice as he approaches his 84th birthday, talked to his old friend and regular subject from nearly five decades of profiles. Over 12 months these two great northern men spoke with wise, gentle ease, with Hockney’s hearing problems providing an unexpected boon: it meant they sat quite close, intensifying the intimacy of an encounter so lovely and illuminating the arrival of the credits felt a genuine shame. It was a celebration, and one that seemed consciously to steer away from the darkness of bereavements and break-ups that have inevitably been part of Hockney’s experience after so many years on earth. But what a celebration. Bragg confirmed this month that he is stepping down from The South Bank Show and while it isn’t technically part of that series, this programme (and others he has made on Hockney that are broadcast this week), couldn’t have been a more fitting send-off. Neither men were born to riches or privilege and both love what they have always done. Hockney’s work, like Bragg’s film-making, has always been accessible but never lightweight. Indeed, Bragg has said that Hockney is the hardest-working artist he has ever come across. And given how many artists Bragg has come across, that is quite some compliment. Alongside fascinating contributions from friends (and sitters) such as the dancer Wayne Sleep and the textile designer Celia Birtwell, there was some gentle advice that young artists would do well to listen to. Go for something new but don’t make it all about achieving a “style”, Hockney said. Picasso’s work taught him that. And while he has used a camera endlessly, he has come to learn that photographs “don’t show you everything”. Before he painted the Grand Canyon he sat in front of it for seven days just looking. Hockney’s nonconformist parents and his own sexuality were all factors in shaping his singular vision. On his early life, he chuckled: “In bohemia I could be anything, so I didn’t really care about the law.” To be still experimenting, with iPads and immersive exhibitions such as the one in King’s Cross, London, until December, was inspiring. Yes, he’s a canny operator who cultivated his image from the start, but this is someone who clearly trusted his inner voice, not the yammering of others. As well as those dazzling yellow specs he wore, the tobacco-loving Hockney sported for most of this film a badge that said: “End Bossiness Soon”. Not “End Bossiness Now”, because that “would be a bit too bossy, wouldn’t it?” he said. Oh, to live in Hockney’s bohemia. And at 86 to be so full of life. And so funny. For a review of The Tower, see digital editions An intimate, illuminating portrait of the artist David Hockney: A Celebration Sky Arts/Now {{{{( Ben Dowell TV review Melvyn Bragg has been profiling David Hockney for five decades

12 Tuesday August 29 2023 | the times television & radio suspect) Loretta. And Steve Martin’s Charles also yearns for companionship. However, in the previous episode he experienced the “white room”, a hellscape for actors who get a fear of performing, and it prompted him to unwittingly propose to his girlfriend (Andrea Martin). He now has to make a big decision. Only Murders in the Building Disney+ One of the lovely things about this clever, warm, funny show is the way it unembarrassedly shows love among people of more advanced age. Martin Short’s theatre producer Oliver is openly attracted to Meryl Streep’s actress (and potential murder sleuthing as he sizes up his next target, the slightly eccentric, widowed, wealthy fantasy fiction author Cheryl (Marianne JeanBaptiste)? Is Rob a toxic misogynist, a psychopath or just plain unpleasant? Adding menace to an already bizarre tale are fantasy sequences where he morphs into some sort of, well, He-Devil. existence in a bungalow with her son, the gentle magician partner Benji (Julian Barratt). There is a playful approach to the storytelling, with plausibility not its strongest point. As Alice stares openmouthed at Rob as he walks past, you might think he would look up and recognise her. Or maybe notice her as she embarks on a game of we meet strolling in Oxford preparing to deliver a talk about climate change. The undervalued Alice Newman (Rebekah Staton) chances (ha!) upon the smoothtalking academic, who was also apparently once her husband; however, he scarpered after taking all her money and forced her into a straitened who did her wrong that was made into a 1986 drama? That story of female empowerment has a lot in common with this five-parter from Penelope and Ginny Skinner that was commissioned in 2020 but delayed by Covid. It is essentially a fantasy tale about the female victims of a conman called Rob Chance (Alistair Petrie), whom Viewing Guide Ben Dowell The Following Events Are Based on a Pack of Lies BBC1, 9pm Remember Fay Weldon’s brilliant novel The Life & Loves of a SheDevil about a woman’s revenge on the people Top pick 7PM Early 8PM 9PM 10PM 11PM Late BBC1 BBC2 ITV1 Channel 4 Channel 5 7.00 The One Show Presented by Alex Scott and Roman Kemp 7.30 EastEnders George is angry to learn Cindy didn’t return to the square for their family, while Phil get a shock when they run into Ian (AD) 8.00 Celebrity MasterChef In the first of the semi-finals, the contestants cook in tents while using unfamiliar equipment to serve up a feast for 100 of the staff and volunteers at the Beamish Museum (AD) 9.00 The Following Events Are Based on a Pack of Lies New drama series starring Rebekah Staton and Alistair Petrie. Alice begins investigating her conman ex-husband as he starts dating a famous author. After 15 years, she is determined to get the truth. See Viewing Guide (1/5) (AD) 10.00 BBC News at Ten 10.30 BBC Regional News and Weather 10.40 Boot Dreams: Now or Never The squad are at Macclesfield FC, minutes into their first game in front of scouts who could offer them new pro contracts, but disaster has already struck (2/6) (r) (AD) 11.40 This Is Spinal Tap (15, 1984) An ageing British rock band embark on a disastrous American tour with a film crew in tow to record the mayhem. Spoof documentary with Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer and Rob Reiner (AD). See Viewing Guide 1.05am-6.00 BBC News 7.00 Coastal Defenders The dive team are called out to Brighton Marina’s main jetty which is on a tilt, and at low tide threatens to fall on young diver Kai’s head. Also, an oil tanker the size of two football pitches is given an inch-by-inch inspection before it is allowed to set sail (/8) (AD) 8.00 This Farming Life New series. Return of the documentary following life on farms around Scotland, beginning as the autumn sales are over and preparations are being made for winter. See Viewing Guide (1/12) 9.00 Ultimate Wedding Planner The contenders clash over plans for a multi-themed wedding, and with two venues to arrange it turns out to be the toughest challenge yet (4/6) (AD) 10.00 Henpocalypse! The mother-of-the bride outlines a plan to improve post-apocalyptic life (3/6) (AD) 10.30 Newsnight Analysis of the day’s events with Faisal Islam 11.15 In the Heat of the Night (12, 1967) A racist sheriff is forced to accept the help of a black detective in a Mississippi murder investigation. Drama starring Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger and Warren Oates 1.00am Couples Therapy Orna has a breakthrough with Sean (r) 1.30 Sign Zone: Ultimate Wedding Planner. It comes down to the wire as the planners battle to impress the judges and pull off a millionaire’s garden party (r) (AD, SL) 2.30-3.15 Clean It, Fix It. The team travel to Greenwich to help retired professional Primrose (r) (SL) 7.30 Emmerdale Claudette is horrified by Victor’s betrayal, and Nate is starting to get in too deep. Meanwhile, Charity accepts Gail’s dare (AD) 8.00 Paul O’Grady’s Great British Escape In Dover Harbour, Paul boards a speed boat to blast along the iconic white cliffs (3/6) (r) (AD) 8.30 Love Your Garden The team creates an elegant tea garden for a charity volunteer in Birmingham (/8) (AD) 9.00 The Tower Sarah and Lizzie must work together to track down a murderer and a missing child. A new suspect emerges in Sarah’s investigation into Tania Mills’ disappearance (2/4) (AD) 10.00 ITV News at Ten 10.30 Regional News 10.45 Identity Thief (15, 2013) An executive goes in search of the con-woman living off his credit cards, planning to bring her to justice personally. Comedy with Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy (AD) 12.35am Tipping Point Quiz show (r) 1.30 The Chase (r) 2.20 Loose Women (r) 3.10 The Reunion. Max and Thomas are shocked by their discovery, so the latter turns to Pianelli for help. Annabelle reveals what she has always known (r) (AD, SL) 3.55 Unwind with ITV 5.05-6.00 Ainsley’s World Cup Flavours (r) (AD, SL) 7.00 Channel 4 News 8.00 Bake Off: The Professionals Guest judge Philip Khoury sets the semifinalists their first challenge — his signature Dawn of a New Day dessert. In the second challenge the teams must create a miniature village scene complete with enough elements to serve 40 guests (9/10) (AD) 9.00 Selling Super Houses New series. Eight aspiring estate agents compete for the chance to sell luxury properties for property magnate Paul Kemsley at his agency RIB. In the first challenge, the competitors host an open house at an exclusive property (1/6) (AD) 10.00 999: On the Front Line A car swerves to avoid a cow in the middle of the road and ends up being hit from behind by another car. Paramedics are called to a man sitting on the pavement and refusing to move. A man who is bed bound has a high temperature and heart rate (6/10) (r) 11.05 Top Guns: Inside the RAF A pilot faces a life-or-death decision over Syria, while Lossiemouth’s station warrant officer prepares for one of the biggest events on the military calendar (2/6) (r) (AD) 12.05am Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA A restaurant in Massachusetts (r) (SL) 1.00 Couples Come Dine with Me (r) 1.55 London Bridge: Facing Terror (r) (AD, SL) 3.10 Bone Detectives: Britain’s Buried Secrets (r) (AD) 4.05 Location, Location, Location (r) (SL) 5.00 Undercover Boss USA (r) 5.50-6.15 Beat the Chef (r) 7.00 Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly Graeme Hall meets an excitable English Bulldog that welcomes new guests by latching onto them with his vice-like grip, and his owners disagree on how best to tame him (r) 7.55 5 News Update 8.00 The Yorkshire Vet Julian rushes out on an emergency call to his old friend’s farm where a sheep is unable to deliver a lamb. Meanwhile, a grumpy cat has a strange lump that requires surgery 9.00 Dan & Helen’s Pennine Adventure On the penultimate leg of their journey, Dan Walker and Helen Skelton explore the Yorkshire Dales, visiting Beck, Wensleydale, the Buttertubs Pass and the Swaledale Valleys (3/4) 10.00 The Girl in the Box The story of how, following the kidnap of 25-year-old Stephanie Slater in 1992, extortionist and murderer Michael Sams tried to evade a huge police operation. The programme looks back at estate agent Stephanie’s abduction at knife point, and how, despite being blindfolded during her abduction, she was able to provide vital details that eventually lead police to her captor 11.50 Entertainment News on 5 11.55 Traffic Cops Documentary (r) 1.00am Live Casino Show 3.00 Entertainment News 3.05 The Pompeii Mystery (r) 3.55 Cruising with Jane McDonald (r) (SL) 4.40 Wildlife SOS (r) (SL) 5.05 Divine Designs. High Church architecture (r) (SL) 5.30 Entertainment News 5.40 Milkshake! Monkey’s Amazing Adventures (r) (SL) 5.45-6.00 Paw Patrol (r) (SL) 6.00am Breakfast 9.15 Morning Live 10.00 Critical Incident. Emergency services that were on the scene look back at the 7/7 attacks 10.45 Expert Witness. An expert witness helps link a drug gang to the death of a Vietnamese man in Wales 11.15 Homes Under the Hammer. Featuring properties in South Shields, Birmingham and Dover 12.15pm Bargain Hunt. Charlie Ross hosts from the Agricultural Showground on Anglesey (r) (AD) 1.00 BBC News at One; Weather 1.30 BBC Regional News; Weather 1.45 Money for Nothing. New series. Sarah Moore visits Keynsham recycling centre in search of items to upcycle 2.30 Rick Stein’s Cornwall. Rick makes heritage cider and meets a sea shanty group with a difference (r) (AD) 3.00 Escape to the Country. Nicki Chapman helps a couple find a property in Pembrokeshire with holiday let potential 3.45 The Repair Shop. The experts repair a stuffed toy lamb and a radiogram (AD) 4.30 The Finish Line. Quiz in which contestants race in moving podiums across the studio floor to try and win £5,000. Hosted by Roman Kemp and Sarah Greene 5.15 Pointless. Quiz hosted by Alexander Armstrong 6.00 BBC News at Six; Weather 6.30 BBC Regional News; Weather 6.30am Bargain Hunt (r) 7.15 Animal Park (r) (AD) 8.00 Sign Zone: Expert Witness (r) (SL) 8.30 Robson Green’s Weekend Escapes (r) (AD, SL) 9.00 Nicky Campbell 10.00 BBC News 12.15pm The Super League Show. Tanya Arnold introduces action from the latest Super League matches, including Catalans Dragons v Wigan Warriors and St Helens v Castleford Tigers (r) 1.00 Impossible. Rick Edwards hosts the quiz (r) 1.45 Eggheads. Quiz show hosted by Jeremy Vine (r) 2.15 Make Me a Dealer. Paul Martin hosts as a Dorset mother-of-two takes on a chef in the antiques-buying challenge (r) 3.00 Great British Menu: The Finals. Chefs compete to cook a fish course worthy of serving at a banquet (r) 4.00 David Attenborough’s Natural Curiosities. Animals with unusual means of finding their way around (r) (AD) 4.30 Great British Railway Journeys. Michael Portillo catches a rare glimpse of Edwardian life on celluloid (r) (AD) 5.00 Flog It! The team values antiques at Longleat in Wiltshire (r) 6.00 Richard Osman’s House of Games. With Jennie McAlpine, Ugo Monye, Joe Pasquale and Felicity Ward (r) 6.30 Marcus Wareing’s Tales from a Kitchen Garden. Marcus and gardener Anatoliy learn about bee keeping 6.00am Good Morning Britain. Magazine featuring a mix of news and current affairs 9.00 Lorraine. Entertainment, current affairs and fashion news, as well as showbiz stories and gossip. Presented by Lorraine Kelly 10.00 This Morning. A mix of chat, lifestyle features, advice and competitions. Including Local Weather 12.30pm Loose Women. More interviews and topical debate from a female perspective 1.30 ITV News; Weather 1.55 Regional News; Weather 2.00 James Martin’s Great British Adventure. The chef begins a culinary road trip around the UK in the Orkneys, where he sets up his mobile kitchen in Stromness harbour and visits a North Ronaldsay shepherd (r) (AD) 3.00 Lingo. A father and son from Dorchester, siblings from Craigavon, and a pair from London and Bristol compete in the quiz hosted by Adil Ray (r) 4.00 Tipping Point. Ben Shephard hosts the arcade-themed quiz in which contestants drop tokens down a choice of four chutes in the hope of winning a £10,000 jackpot 5.00 The Chase. Bradley Walsh presents as contestants work as a team to take on one of the ruthless Chasers and secure a cash prize 6.00 Regional News; Weather 6.30 ITV News; Weather 6.15am Countdown (r) 6.55 Cheers (r) 7.45 Everybody Loves Raymond (r) (AD) 8.40 Frasier (r) (AD) 9.40 The Big Bang Theory (r) (AD) 10.35 The Simpsons (r) (AD) 11.35 Channel 4 News Summary 11.40 Come Dine with Me. A painter, decorator and security guard is the first host in south London (r) 12.10pm Come Dine with Me. A sales manager hosts an evening of celebrities and Caribbean cuisine (r) 12.40 Come Dine with Me. Vegan dishes and meditation (r) 1.10 Come Dine with Me. This host hopes to meet the standards she has expected of others (r) 1.40 Come Dine with Me. An Asian-themed menu and a glam-it-up dress code (r) 2.10 Countdown. Ardal O’Hanlon is in Dictionary Corner 3.00 A Place in the Sun. A couple seek a holiday home in Crete (r) 4.00 A New Life in the Sun: Where Are They Now? A catch-up with the owners of a luxury B&B that’s been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic (r) 5.00 Four in a Bed. The rivals arrive at Starshinezzz in County Durham (r) 5.30 Come Dine with Me. An Italian-themed night (r) 6.00 The Simpsons. Ned Flanders embarks on a romance with Mrs Krabappel (r) (AD) 6.30 Hollyoaks. Darren can’t find a way to get through to his son and blames himself (r) (AD) 6.00am Milkshake! 9.15 Jeremy Vine. The broadcaster and guests discuss the issues of the day 11.15 Storm Huntley. Debate on the day’s talking points continues with Storm Huntley 12.40pm Alexis Conran. The actor, writer and broadcaster examines the important stories of the day, getting viewers’ opinions and views on them 1.40 5 News at Lunchtime 1.45 Home and Away. Felicity feels sick after receiving the blackmail text and Tane wants to contact Cash, but Felicity is adamant — her brother can’t know about this (r) (AD) 2.15 FILM: Memories of Murder (12, TVM, 2023) After two women are attacked while camping, one of them endures amnesia while trying to uncover what really happened. Thriller inspired by true events with Andrea Bogart 4.00 The Cruise: Fun-Loving Brits at Sea. The three groups of British holiday-makers explore Barcelona, before boarding the cruise ship Regal Princess for a week-long cruise around the Mediterranean 5.00 5 News at 5 6.00 Susan Calman’s Grand Day Out. The comedian explores Devon and Cornwall in her vintage camper van, taking in some dramatic scenery, unspoilt countryside and incredible historic sights along the way (r) 6.55 5 News Update

the times | Tuesday August 29 2023 13 television & radio Film This Is Spinal Tap BBC1, 11.40pm Rob Reiner’s mockumentary about a British band touring the US has heavy metal parodies you can hum, is stuffed with laughs and deserves plaudits for Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest and Michael McKean’s accents alone. (15, 1984) trepidation rather than excitement. However, it’s not the whole story in this well-made Storyville film that also reminds us of AI’s potential benefits. Yes, we may get taken over by machines, but there is hope it may solve poverty, climate change and human suffering. Either way “precision surveillance”, as it is called, is already here. iHuman BBC4, 10pm An opening montage complete with dramatic music showing the creation of a humanoid made of metal and circuitry doesn’t seem to be designed to make you feel entirely comfortable. And of course the subject of artificial intelligence tends to inspire ground. But any time spent in Hockney’s company is worth it. It begins with an Omnibus from 1975, before moving on to lots of meetings with Bragg. Particularly touching is the moment he remembers his father paint a straight line without a ruler. To his young mind it was like observing Michelangelo. 50 Years on Film: David Hockney Sky Arts, 9pm Yesterday Sky Arts aired a film that included lots of footage of David Hockney and Melvyn Bragg talking. So this film, essentially a collage from the artist’s many TV interviews, will feel at times like treading old This Farming Life BBC2, 8pm We’re now on the sixth series of this amiable factual series following a year in the lives of five farming families across Scotland. In Newtonmore in the Cairngorms National Park, Robert Mackenzie prepares for winter by gathering in all his pregnant cows. In North Uist, the MacDonald family are harvesting potatoes grown in the sandy Machair soil particular to Scotland’s western lands. The croft has been in Angus’s hands since the 1980s but now he’s steadily handing over the reins to his son Fraser and Carianne, his daughterin-law and only fulltime farm worker. BBC1 Scotland As BBC1 except: 11.40pm The Big Scottish Book Club — Edinburgh Festival Special. With Colson Whitehead, Eleanor Catton and Judy Murray (r) 12.40am FILM: This Is Spinal Tap (1984) Spoof rock documentary starring Christopher Guest (AD) 2.00 Weather for the Week Ahead 2.05-6.00 BBC News BBC1 Wales As BBC1 except: 10.40pm Mavericks: Sport’s Lost Heroes. A profile of the former boxer David Pearce (r) 11.15 Boot Dreams: Now or Never. Disaster strikes minutes into the squad’s first game in front of scouts (r) (AD) 12.15am FILM: This Is Spinal Tap (1984) Spoof rock documentary starring Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer (AD) 1.35-6.00 BBC News STV As ITV1 except: 8.00pm Paul O’Grady’s Great British Escape. Paul hops on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway that runs along the Kent coastline (r) (AD) 8.30-9.00 Love Your Garden. Alan Titchmarsh and his team turn a suburban plot in Hull into a wildlife retreat (r) 10.30 STV News 10.40 Scotland Tonight. Current affairs show 11.05-1.30am FILM: Man of Steel (2013) Superhero adventure with Henry Cavill (AD) 3.55-5.05 Night Vision UTV As ITV1 except: 8.00pm-8.30 Mahon’s Way. Joe Mahon explores the highways and byways of Ulster 10.45 Up Close. The issues affecting the people of Northern Ireland 11.40-1.30am FILM: Identity Thief (2013) Comedy starring Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy (AD) BBC Scotland 7.00pm Beechgrove Garden. Carole Baxter discusses the bugs, blights and diseases that can attack plants (r) 7.30 Wild Cameramen at Work. Last in the series (r) (AD) 8.00 Island Crossings (r) 9.00 The Nine 10.00 Murder Trial: The Disappearance of Renee and Andrew MacRae (AD) 11.00-12.00 David Wilson’s Crime Files (r) (AD) BBC Alba 6.00am Alba Today 5.00pm AH-AH/No-No (r) 5.10 Lon le Linda (r) 5.25 Oscar & Ealasaid (r) 5.40 Shane an Chef (r) 5.53 ’S E Iasg a Th’Annam (I’m a Fish) (r) 5.55 Stòiridh 6.05 An Saoghal Droil aig Pol Ploc/The Rubbish World of Dave Spud (r) 6.15 A-null ’s a-nall (r) 6.35 Alba Eagalach (r) 6.40 Proiseact Ploigh (r) 7.00 Clann a’ Chogaidh Mhoir (Small Hands in a Big War) (r) 7.25 Dàn (r) 7.30 SpeakGaelic (r) 8.00 An Là (News) 8.30 Fuine (Home Baking) (r) 9.00 Sgeulachd Deacon Brodie. The life of Edinburgh-born William Brodie (r) 10.00 Trusadh: Clann an Taigh-sgoile/Children of the Schoolhouse (r) 11.00 Machair (r) 11.25 Fraochy Bay (r) 11.30 Alleluia! (Spiritual Music & Verse) (r) 12.00-6.00am Alba Today S4C 6.00am Cyw: Olobobs (r) 6.05 Gwdihw (r) 6.20 Pablo (r) 6.35 Odo (r) 6.45 Ahoi! (r) 7.00 Sblij a Sbloj (r) 7.10 Sam Tân (r) 7.20 Caru Canu a Stori (r) 7.30 Blero yn Mynd i Ocido (r) 7.45 Awyr Iach (r) 8.00 Cywion Bach (r) 8.05 Halibalw (r) 8.15 Bing (r) 8.25 Guto Gwningen (r) 8.40 Llan-ar-goll-en (r) 8.55 Og y Draenog Hapus (r) 9.05 Stiw (r) 9.15 Yr Ysgol (r) 9.30 Sion y Chef (r) 9.45 Sbarc (r) 10.00 Timpo (r) 10.10 Caru Canu a Stori (r) 10.20 Guto Gwningen (r) 10.35 Yr Ysgol (r) 10.50 Cymylaubychain (r) 11.00 Shwshaswyn (r) 11.10 Tomos a’i Ffrindiau (r) 11.20 Ein Byd Bach Ni (r) 11.30 Blero yn Mynd i Ocido (r) 11.45 Deian a Loli (r) 12.00 News; Weather 12.05pm Yn y Fan a’r Lle (r) (AD) 12.30 Heno (r) 1.15 24 Awr (r) 1.30 Ffermio (r) 2.00 News; Weather 2.05 Prynhawn Da 3.00 News; Weather 3.05 Cefn Gwlad (r) (AD) 4.00 Awr Fawr: Blociau Rhif (r) 4.05 Caru Canu a Stori (r) 4.15 Guto Gwningen (r) 4.30 Ein Byd Bach Ni (r) 4.40 Cacamwnci (r) 5.00 Stwnsh: Oi! Osgar (r) 5.05 Cath-Od (r) 5.20 Gwrach y Rhibyn (r) (AD) 5.40 Boom! (r) 5.55 Larfa (r) 6.00 Pysgod i Bawb (r) 6.30 Sgorio (r) 6.57 News 7.00 Heno 7.30 News; Weather 8.00 Pobol y Cwm (AD) 8.25 Adre (r) 8.55 News; Weather 9.00 Seiclo: Vuelta a España. Action from stage four 9.30 Stori’r Iaith (r) 10.30-12.15am Troseddau’r Baltig Variations 6.00am Stargate Atlantis (r) 8.00 Supergirl (r) 9.00 DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (r) (AD) 10.00 The Flash (r) 11.00 NCIS: Los Angeles (r) 1.00pm Hawaii Five-0 (r) 2.00 S.W.A.T (r) (AD) 3.00 DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (r) (AD) 4.00 Supergirl (r) 5.00 The Flash (r) 6.00 Stargate Atlantis. Part two of two. The crew tries to ally with the Wraith (r) 7.00 Stargate Atlantis. The team salvages a partially damaged Hive ship (r) 8.00 Magnum P.I. An armed hit squad lays siege to Robin’s Nest, with TC being badly injured (r) 9.00 Rob & Romesh vs Drag. The duo dive into the world of drag queens (r) (AD) 10.00 A League of Their Own (r) (AD) 11.00 The Blacklist (r) 12.00 Then You Run. Last in the series (r) 1.00am NCIS: Los Angeles (r) 2.00 Never Mind the Buzzcocks. With Gregory Porter, Amy Gledhill and Chesney Hawkes 2.45 Road Wars (r) 3.10 Hawaii Five-0. An FBI agent is killed (r) 4.05 S.W.A.T (r) (AD) 5.00 Highway Patrol (r) 6.00am Richard E Grant’s Hotel Secrets (r) (AD) 7.55 Boardwalk Empire (r) (AD) 10.10 Riviera (r) (AD) 12.10pm Game of Thrones (r) (AD) 1.15 My Brilliant Friend (r) 3.30 Boardwalk Empire (r) (AD) 5.50 Riviera (r) (AD) 7.55 Game of Thrones. The Hound is judged by the gods, while Jaime receives a different form of justice, Robb is betrayed, and Tyrion learns the true cost of a wedding (r) (AD) 9.00 The Gilded Age. As Edison’s illuminating electricity demonstration sparks conversation, George prepares for a legal battle and Bannister plots revenge (7/9) (r) (AD) 10.00 Tin Star. The truth about Jack Devlin’s past is revealed in an episode that travels back 10 years. Stars Tim Roth (9/10) (r) (AD) 11.05 Banshee. Hood offers himself to Mr Rabbit in exchange for Max’s safe return. Drama with Antony Starr (10/10) (r) (AD) 12.10am Riviera (r) (AD) 1.10 In Treatment (r) 1.40 Game of Thrones (r) (AD) 4.00 Richard E Grant’s Hotel Secrets (r) (AD) 6.00am The Nineties (r) 7.00 Discovering: Ronald Colman (r) 8.00 The Directors (r) 9.00 Hostages (r) 10.05 UFO (r) (AD) 11.00 Ghislaine Maxwell: Epstein’s Shadow (r) (AD) 12.00 Clint Eastwood: A Life in Film (r) 1.40pm My Icon: Denise Lewis (r) (AD) 2.00 On the Line: The Richard Williams Story (r) 3.50 My Icon: Natasha Jonas (r) (AD) 4.00 The Directors (r) 5.00 Discovering: Ronald Colman (r) 6.00 Hostages. The Iranian hostage crisis (r) 7.05 UFO. Phenomenon in 2004 (r) (AD) 8.00 Ghislaine Maxwell: Epstein’s Shadow. The life of the former socialite (2/3) (r) (AD) 9.00 Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York. Last in the series (r) (AD) 10.05 FILM: The Armstrong Lie (15, 2014) The cyclist Lance Armstrong’s fall from grace 12.30am FILM: Manhunt — The Search for Bin Laden (15, TVM, 2013) Documentary about CIA investigations into al-Qaeda 2.30 Meth Storm (r) (AD) 4.20 Mondays at Racine (r) 5.05 Discovering: Ronald Colman (r) 6.00am Arts Uncovered 6.15 Cirque du Soleil: Luzia 8.00 Watercolour Challenge 9.00 Tales of the Unexpected (AD) 10.00 Alfred Hitchcock Presents 11.00 Discovering: Jean Simmons 12.00 The Joy of Painting 1.00pm Tales of the Unexpected (AD) 2.00 Watercolour Challenge 3.00 Classic Literature & Cinema (AD) 4.00 Discovering: Susan Sarandon 5.00 Tales of the Unexpected (AD) 6.00 Alfred Hitchcock Presents 7.00 The Joy of Painting. A cabin in snow 7.30 The Joy of Painting. A field of sparse pines 8.00 Discovering: Jean Harlow (AD) 9.00 David Hockney: 50 Years on Film. The life and career of the artists. See Viewing Guide 10.00 David Hockney in London. The artist discusses his remarkable life and career 11.30 Comedy Legends. Norman Wisdom profile 12.30am Spike Milligan: The Unseen Archive (AD) 2.00 Soundtracks: Songs That Defined History 3.00 Classic Literature & Cinema (AD) 4.00 The Lot of Fun: Where the Movies Learned to Laugh 5.00 Auction 6.00am Sky Sports News 7.00 Good Morning Sports Fans 8.00 Good Morning Sports Fans 9.00 Good Morning Transfers 10.00 The Football Show 11.00 The Football Show 12.00 Transfer Talk 1.00pm Transfer Centre 3.30 Live US Open Tennis. Coverage of day two 7.30 Live EFL Cup: Salford City v Leeds United (Kick-off 8.00). Coverage of the secondround match from Peninsula Stadium 10.30 Live US Open Tennis. Coverage of day two from Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre at Flushing Meadows in New York, featuring matches in the first round 12.00 Live US Open Tennis. Further coverage of day two from Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre at Flushing Meadows in New York, featuring matches in the first round 2.30am Live US Open Tennis. Concluding coverage of day two from Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre at Flushing Meadows in New York, featuring matches in the first round 5.30 US Open Tennis Classic Matches Sky Max Sky Atlantic Sky Documentaries Sky Arts Sky Main Event 6.00am World’s Funniest Videos 6.35 Totally Bonkers Guinness World Records (SL) 7.00 Love Bites (AD, SL) 8.00 One Tree Hill 9.00 Dawson’s Creek 10.00 Secret Crush 11.00 Love Bites (AD, SL) 12.00 Dinner Date (AD) 1.00pm Family Fortunes 2.00 Chuck 3.05 One Tree Hill 4.00 Dawson’s Creek 5.00 Dinner Date (AD) 6.00 Celebrity Catchphrase (AD) 7.00 Family Fortunes. Gino D’Acampo hosts 8.00 Superstore. Lottery fever hits (AD) 8.30 Superstore. Glenn and his wife hold a gender reveal party at the store (AD) 9.00 Family Guy. Lois causes Peter distress when she tells him about her dinner date (AD) 9.30 Family Guy. The Griffins are invited to have their television viewing habits monitored (AD) 10.00 Plebs. Amanda Holden guest stars (AD) 10.30 Plebs. A heatwave hits Rome (AD) 11.00 Family Guy. Quahog is deserted (AD) 11.30 American Dad! (AD) 12.00 American Dad! With the voice of Uma Thurman (AD) 12.30am Superstore (AD) 1.30 The Stand Up Sketch Show 2.30 Totally Bonkers Guinness World Records 3.00 Teleshopping 6.00am Classic Emmerdale 7.05 Classic Coronation Street (AD) 8.10 On the Buses 9.15 Where the Heart Is (AD) 11.35 Heartbeat (AD) 1.40pm Classic Emmerdale 2.45 Classic Coronation Street (AD) 3.50 A Touch of Frost. The detective stumbles on an exotic animal smuggling ring at a farm (AD) 6.00 Heartbeat. Todd Carty guest stars (AD) 7.00 Heartbeat. Walker reopens a 15-year-old murder case. Jonathan Kerrigan stars (AD) 8.00 Midsomer Murders. An international cycling competition comes to Midsomer and the race leader is murdered (AD) 10.00 Stonehouse. John draws suspicion from local police while hiding out in Melbourne, and Barbara and Sheila fly to Australia to confront the disappeared MP (2/3) (AD) 11.05 Agatha Christie’s Poirot. A well-known eccentric contacts the Belgian sleuth when he is haunted by suicidal nightmares. However, he fails to follow Poirot’s advice, and is found dead soon afterwards. With David Suchet (AD) 12.10am Where the Heart Is (AD) 2.25 Unwind with ITV 2.30 Teleshopping 6.00am Nine Dart Finishes 6.05 Minder (AD, SL) 7.10 The Professionals (AD, SL) 8.15 The Champions 9.20 Robin of Sherwood 10.25 Magnum, PI (AD) 11.25 Extreme Salvage Squad 12.25pm The Saint 1.25 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (AD) 2.40 Magnum, PI (AD) 3.45 The Professionals (AD) 4.50 Minder (AD) 6.00 Extreme Salvage Squad. Luke and the team try to rescue a 20-tonne excavator 6.55 BattleBots. Uppercut takes on Sawblaze 8.00 Manx Grand Prix Highlights 2023. Action from the Isle of Man 9.00 FILM: Quantum of Solace (12, 2008) James Bond sets out on a personal mission of vengeance and uncovers a plan to cause a coup in a Latin American country. Spy thriller sequel with Daniel Craig and Olga Kurylenko (AD) 11.15 River Monsters. Angling detective Jeremy Wade journeys to the Pacific Ring of Fire, where an ancient fishing community is being terrorised by something in the water 12.20am Auto Mundial 12.50 Motorsport Mundial 1.20 Driving Force 2.20 The Protectors (SL) 2.50 Unwind with ITV 3.00 Teleshopping 6.00am Teleshopping 7.10 Pie in the Sky 8.00 Doctors 9.10 Classic Holby City 10.35 Casualty 11.40 The Bill 12.40pm Classic EastEnders 2.00 Pie in the Sky 3.00 Lovejoy 4.10 Peak Practice 5.20 The Upper Hand 5.55 ’Allo ’Allo! 6.40 Last of the Summer Wine. The trio scheme to get Wally out from under Nora’s thumb for a day, but come a cropper sneaking him back in 7.20 Last of the Summer Wine. Foggy comes up with a money-making scam 8.00 Dalziel & Pascoe. The detectives uncover a complex web of lies when they are called out to a robbery where a security guard has been found dead. Art Malik guest stars (5/5) (AD) 10.00 New Tricks. The team reopens the four-year-old case of a murdered street artist when graffiti by a person claiming to be the killer appears around London (5/10) (AD) 11.20 Silent Witness. The murder of a prominent anti-fundamentalist Muslim drags the Lyell team into the dangerous world of counter-terrorism. Stars Richard Lintern (AD) 1.50am Detectorists (AD) 2.30 Classic Holby City (SL) 4.00 Teleshopping 6.10am Train Truckers 8.00 Abandoned Engineering (AD) 10.00 WW2 — Battles for Europe 11.00 Adolf Hitler’s War 12.00 Great Continental Railway Journeys 1.00pm Antiques Roadshow 2.00 Bangers & Cash (AD) 4.00 Adolf Hitler’s War 5.00 Secret Nazi Bases 6.00 Great British Railway Journeys 7.00 Bangers & Cash. Dave gets a nasty surprise under the bonnet of a Ford from the 80s (8/10) 8.00 Secrets of the London Underground. Tim Dunn and Siddy Holloway snoop around TFL’s gargantuan maintenance facility (AD) 9.00 Retro Electro Workshop. Shamil finds a pinball machine that should be simple to repair, but just when Rob thinks he’s got the flippers flipping, another obstacle gets in the way (AD) 10.00 Bangers & Cash. Derek picks up a 1965 Ford Anglia with 33,000 miles on the clock (AD) 11.00 Abandoned Engineering. A mysterious structure on the 38th parallel (8/11) (AD) 12.00 Great British Railway Journeys 1.00am Train Truckers. The crew visits Germany 2.00 Forbidden History. The truth behind the legend of King Arthur (AD) 3.00 Teleshopping ITV2 ITV3 Yesterday 6.00am James Max. An initial insight into the day’s top stories 6.30 The Julia Hartley-Brewer Breakfast Show. All the stories you need to know to start your day 9.30 Mike and Kev. Mike Graham and Kevin O’Sullivan give their unique take on the front pages and the latest news 10.00 The Independent Republic of Mike Graham. The host looks through the morning newspapers 1.00pm Ian Collins. Monologues and debates 3.00 Kevin O’Sullivan. The host tackles the big stories of the day 5.00 Vanessa Feltz. Big names, interviews, and viewers’ thoughts on what has got the nation talking 7.00 Jeremy Kyle Live. The issues that matter 8.00 Piers Morgan Uncensored. Rosanna Lockwood stands in for Piers Morgan, including live updates from the Trump court case 9.00 The Talk. A panel of famous faces debate the hot topics everybody’s talking about 10.00 First Edition. Tomorrow’s newspapers 11.00 Piers Morgan Uncensored 12.00 Petrie Hosken. Bringing the latest news stories overnight 1.00am Jeremy Kyle Live 2.00 Kevin O’Sullivan 3.00 Piers Morgan Uncensored 4.00 The Talk 5.00 James Max 7.00pm Secret Life of Farm Animals. Examining the behaviour of farm animals, beginning by focusing on the sheep on a Welsh hill farm. Plus, a piglet that thinks it is a cow 8.00 Great Coastal Railway Journeys. Michael Portillo heads from Newcastle to Lynemouth 8.30 Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em. Frank survives an accident-prone journey to visit Betty in hospital — to the dismay of the medical staff 9.00 Yes Minister. Hacker faces a challenge 9.30 The Thick of It. Shadow minister Peter Mannion is due to visit. With Roger Allam (AD) 10.00 iHuman — Storyville. With AI permeating every aspect of modern life, storyville investigates the limits of artificial intelligence, how it is changing the world and the true extent of its consequences. See Viewing Guide 11.35 The Horizon Guide to AI. Examining how people have learnt to live with new emerging technology of the time, and how artificial intelligence systems power our daily lives 12.35am Horizon: Dawn of the Driverless Car 1.35 Berlin 1945 2.30 Great Coastal Railway Journeys 3.00-4.00 Oceans Apart: Art and the Pacific with James Fox (SL) 6.00am FILM: Department Store (PG, 1935) (b/w) 7.20 Sherlock Holmes (b/w) 7.55 FILM: The Lost Moment (U, 1947) (b/w) 9.40 The Rogues (b/w) 10.35 FILM: Subway in the Sky (PG, 1959) (b/w) 12.20pm FILM: The Left Hand of God (U, 1955) 2.05 FILM: The Secret Man (U, 1958) (b/w) 3.35 FILM: Made for Each Other (U, 1939) Drama (b/w) 5.25 Fireball XL-5 (b/w) 6.00 Colonel March of Scotland Yard (b/w) 6.30 Scotland Yard (b/w) 7.05 The Four Just Men (b/w) 7.40 Dick Barton — Special Agent 7.55 Look at Life 8.05 The Human Jungle (b/w) 9.05 Maigret 10.55 Cellar Club with Caroline Munro 11.00 FILM: Crucible of Horror (18, 1969) Horror starring Michael Gough 12.50am Cellar Club with Caroline Munro 12.55 The Many Faces of Christopher Lee 2.05 Cellar Club with Caroline Munro 2.10 FILM: The Devil Rides Out (15, 1968) Hammer horror 4.00 Cellar Club with Caroline Munro 4.05 The Rogues (b/w) 5.00 Stagecoach West (b/w) 11.00am Gulliver’s Travels (PG, 2010) Fantasy comedy with Jack Black (AD) 12.40pm Think Like a Dog (PG, 2020) Family comedy drama with Josh Duhamel 2.30 The Wackiest Ship in the Army (U, 1960) Second World War comedy starring Jack Lemmon 4.35 Picnic (U, 1955) Drama with William Holden 6.50 I, Robot (12, 2004) A detective becomes convinced that an android has killed its human creator. Sci-fi thriller starring Will Smith (AD) 9.00 Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (18, 1995) A Navy veteran on board a train battles hijackers who possess a weapon with the potential to trigger earthquakes. Adventure sequel with Steven Seagal and Eric Bogosian 11.05 Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (12, 2004) A chauvinistic newsreader faces a battle of the sexes when an ambitious female reporter threatens his status. Comedy set in the 1970s starring Will Ferrell and Christina Applegate (AD) 12.55am-3.20 Trading Places (15, 1983) Two billionaires arrange for a stockbroker and a down-and-out to swap lives. Comedy starring Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy (AD) 8.55am Kirstie’s House of Craft 9.15 A Place in the Sun 10.05 A New Life in the Sun 11.05 Find It, Fix It, Flog It (AD) 1.10pm Heir Hunters 2.10 Four in a Bed 4.50 Kirstie and Phil’s Love It or List It (AD) 5.50 The Secret Life of the Zoo. A chimp challenges the dominant male (AD) 6.55 The Dog House. A family decide between a litter of 10 German shepherd puppies (AD) 7.55 Grand Designs. Kevin McCloud meets a master craftsman who plans to build a castle in rural Devon made entirely of mud, forming the huge property out of two curved roundhouses connected by glazing (8/12) (AD) 9.00 24 Hours in A&E. Hospital staff deal with a spate of needle-spiking attacks (AD) 10.00 Rescue: Extreme Medics. How the Scottish Trauma Network brings life-saving treatment to remote areas over 30,000 square miles of land, where easy access to hospitals is not always possible (1/5) (AD) 11.05 The Emergency Ward. Dr Mark tries to help a car crash patient under police guard (AD) 12.05am 24 Hours in A&E (AD) 1.10 999: On the Front Line 2.15 24 Hours in A&E (AD) 3.20-3.50 A Place in the Sun TalkTV BBC4 Talking Pictures Film4 More4 ITV4 Drama

14 Tuesday August 29 2023 | the times MindGames Fill the grid using the numbers 1 to 9 only. The numbers in each horizontal or vertical run of white squares add up to the total in the triangle to its left or above it. The same number may occur more than once in a row or column, but not within the same run of white squares. Kakuro No 3511 Fill the blank squares so that every row and column contains each of the numbers 1 to 5 once only. The symbols between the squares indicate whether a number is larger (>) or smaller (<) than the number next to it. All the digits 1 to 6 must appear in every row and column. In each thick-line “block”, the target number in the top left-hand corner is calculated from the digits in all the cells in the block, using the operation indicated by the symbol. KenKen Medium No 5984 Futoshiki No 4552 Slide the letters either horizontally or vertically back into the grid to produce a completed crossword. Letters are allowed to slide over other letters Every letter in this crossword-style grid is represented by a number from 1 to 26. Each letter of the alphabet appears in the grid at least once. Use the letters already provided to work out the identity of further letters. Enter letters in the main grid and the smaller reference grid until all 26 letters of the alphabet have been accounted for. Proper nouns are excluded. Yesterday’s solution, right Cluelines Stuck on Codeword? To receive 4 random clues call 0901 293 6262 or text TIMECODE to 64343. Calls cost £1 plus your telephone company’s network access charge. Texts cost £1 plus your standard network charge. For the full solution call 0905 757 0142. Calls cost £1 per minute plus your telephone company’s network access charge. SP: Spoke, 0333 202 3390 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5.30pm). Lay tracks to enable the train to travel from village A to village B. The numbers indicate how many sections of track go in each row and column. There are only straight sections and curved sections. The track cannot cross itself. Train Tracks No 2026 Lexica No 7023 No 7024 D R O K C A A I N L L G E Y P O A E B X A I I R M F F U A S R M L S Y F W U A I L L U Y E K Codeword No 4992 Winning Move Tetonor White to play. This position is from PhatakMijailovic, Belgrade 2023. Black is very tied down in this endgame. The king cannot move as this will allow Rxb7 and the rook cannot move for the same reason. Finally, the bishop also cannot move as this would enable White to play Rxb6+. The only piece that can move safely is the black knight. White just needs to turn the screw a little further. Can you see how? The next Tetonor puzzle will appear on Thursday When complete, the strip below the grid can be split into eight pairs of numbers. Adding the numbers in a pair gives one of the 16 numbers in the grid. Multiplying them gives a different number in the grid. For example, a 4 and 6 in the strip could be paired to make 10 (4+6) and 24 (4x6) in the grid. Enter each sum below the corresponding number in the grid. The blanks in the strip must be deduced, bearing in mind the numbers are listed in ascending order. 210 28 132 47 32 247 39 54 108 41 153 29 37 288 31 198 1 3 6 9 13 19 28 33 51 A A A B C E E E E G H H L L L L N N O O P R R S S T T T T T U Y 1 Show vet (6) 2 Sailor needs to achieve objective (6) 3 Result of increased e!ort (6) 4 Everyone following incredibly bent game (7) 5 Sporting cry in match – touch and go, ultimately (5-2) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Quintagram® Solve all five cryptic clues using each letter underneath once only Challenge your mind with puzzle books from The Times thetimes.co.uk/ bookshop For more puzzles, including Mini Sudoku, extra Codeword, Train Tracks and Futoshiki go to page 10 What are your favourite puzzles in MindGames? Email: [email protected] Moderate No 391

the times | Tuesday August 29 2023 15 MindGames Divide the grid into square or rectangular blocks, each containing one digit only. Every block must contain the number of cells indicated by the digit inside it. Enter each of the numbers from 1 to 9 in the grid, so that the six sums work. We’ve placed two numbers to get you started. Each sum should be calculated left to right or top to bottom. From these letters, make words of three or more letters, always including the central letter. Answers must be in the Concise Oxford Dictionary, excluding capitalised words, plurals, conjugated verbs (past tense etc), adverbs ending in LY, comparatives and superlatives. How you rate 15 words, average; 21, good; 27, very good; 33, excellent 1 Bats 2 Oscar Wilde 3 Dylan Thomas 4 Grease 5 Cain, it is titled Cain (2009) 6 Lord Peter Wimsey 7 Alnwick Castle 8 Pollock’s Toy Museum 9 Simon Singh 10 Peter Hain or Baron Hain 11 Max Beckmann 12 Bedford Park 13 Joe Meek 14 Cricket, Hughes was the first woman to write a book on first-class cricket 15 Phil Collins Oxybaphon (a) A bellshaped cup or vase (OED) Gainstrive (c) To resist or oppose (Collins) Inopinate (b) Unexpected (Chambers) Kakuro 3510 Futoshiki 4551 COF F I N O A I O P L AUGH S R CHEER Lexica 7022 KEY U HE R DOME E O L C SL IM A P Cell Blocks 4874 Set Square 3513 Lexica 7021 Suko 3893 Train Tracks 2025 Word watch 1 a5! is a sneaky little move that overloads the black position. The threat is 2 axb6 and there is no good defence as 1 ... bxa5 2 Bxa7 and 1 ... Kxa5 2 Rxb7 both win easily Chess — Winning Move 1 Stag 2 Click 3 Sexton 4 Goliath 5 Bombardier Concise Quintagram Quiz Easy 14 Medium 896 Harder 6,068 Brain Trainer Yesterday’s answers ana, anoa, arm, aroma, arson, maar, man, mana, manor, mar, masa, mason, moa, moan, naos, oar, oarsman, ram, ransom, roam, roan, roman, san, soar, soma, sonar, sora times2 Crossword No 9308 Brain Trainer ANSWER EASY 42 ANSWER MEDIUM 155 ANSWER HARDER 203 x 7 + 8 SQUARE IT ÷ 4 ÷ 8 + 7 + 81 50% OF IT x 3 32/ OF IT – 463 + 777 + 57 x 2 21/ OF IT + 87/ OF IT x 2 2 x 3 – 687 – 889 1/ OF IT + 43/ OF IT + 9 75% OF IT + 71 + 88 98/ OF IT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Across 1 Toboggan (6) 4 Pimple (4) 9 Rich European cake (5) 10 (Of a bathroom) accessible from a bedroom (2,5) 11 Fall at speed (7) 12 Chemically unreactive (5) 13 Myopic (4-7) O G L E M O T O R C A R A N E H O I N U N C H A K U M E N U Z L T N E T T E X A S A D J O U R N H V P E E E C Z E M A R E L I E F L L Y I O R E D T A P E D E B A R A R A P D S U N D O B O U Z O U K I S U L S W E N E A T N E S S N E W T Solution to Crossword 9307 17 Door fastening (5) 19 Lurch, reel (7) 22 As a whole (2,5) 23 Submicroscopic pathogen (5) 24 Horn’s high-pitched note (4) 25 Proficient in a language (6) Down 1 Abdominal crunch (3-2) 2 Along the way (2,5) 3 Shine, scintillate (5) 5 Number such as 17 or 53 (5) 6 One score (6) 7 Political heart of London (11) 8 Old Testament prophet (6) 14 Employ (previously used ideas or material) again (6) 15 Fencing phrase (2,5) 16 Business customer (6) 18 Musical speed (5) 20 Blacksmith’s block (5) 21 Put back to an initial state (5) Cell Blocks No 4875 Polygon Set Square No 3514 Please note, BODMAS does not apply Killer Moderate No 9042 Solutions Killer Tough No 9043 As with standard Sudoku, fill the grid so that every column, every row and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9. Each set of cells joined by dotted lines must add up to the target number in its top-left corner. Within each set of cells joined by dotted lines, a digit cannot be repeated. Need help with today’s puzzle? Call 0905 757 0143 to check the answers. Calls cost £1 per minute plus your telephone company’s network access charge. SP: Spoke, 0333 202 3390 (Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm). Cluelines Stuck on Sudoku, Killer or KenKen? Call 0901 293 6263 before midnight to receive four clues for any of today’s puzzles. Calls cost £1 plus your telephone company’s network access charge. SP: Spoke, 0333 202 3390 (Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm). The 18th World Youth Teams Championships took place earlier in the month in Veldhoven, the Netherlands. In the Under-26 series, England finished 18th (out of 24) in the round-robin and so unfortunately missed out on the quarter-finals by a distance. The Netherlands won, beating the surprise team of the championships Singapore in the final. The English team was Sam Anoyrkatis, Joseph Clark, Aaron Hutton, Harry Madden, Liam Sanderson, Daniel Winter, Michael Byrne (non-playing captain). England did quite well in the Under-26 Women, finishing 4th (out of 12) in the round-robin, although losing (to Poland) in the quarterfinals. The team was Charlotte Bedford, Dido Coley, Kimberley Hudson, Lily Kearney, Imogen La Chapelle, Lucy Norman, Claire Robinson (npc). The England Under-21 team also made it to the quarter-finals (albeit just) but again lost in that round of eight match. The team was Andy Cope, Jamie Fegarty, Liam Fegarty, Tom Furness, Thomas Gardner, Henry Rose, Ewa Wieczorek (npc), Charles Bucknell (coach). The England Under-26s, beat Argentina, mainly because Anoyrkatis-Winter bid and made 7♣ with these hands while the Argentinians went down in 6NT at the other table (spades were 4-2, although South was 4♠-5♥-1♦- 3♣ and could have been squeezed in the majors). However, the Argentine declarer outplayed the English declarer to make our featured 4♠, despite a great switch by the English West, Winter. West led the king of hearts (playing ace-for-attitude, king-forcount — recommended). At trick two, he found the excellent switch to the six of diamonds (note, not the queen). If declarer had succumbed to the temptation to rise with dummy’s ace, he’d have gone down. Guessing the layout, declarer played low from dummy (key play). East ruffed declarer’s two low diamonds, whereupon declarer could win East’s club return with the ace, draw trumps and lose only a club at the end. Very well played Baltazar Etchepareborda. [email protected] Contract: 4♠, Opening Lead: ♥K Dealer: West, Vulnerability: Both N W E S 1♥ Dbl(1) 3♥(2) 3♠ Pass 4♠ End (1) I’d have bid 1NT (as did the England North at the other table). (2) Frisky after a take-out double — I like it. S W N E ♠9875 ♥843 ♦- ♣J87642 Teams ♠AQJ ♥Q96 ♦AK432 ♣Q5 ♠K10632 ♥J ♦109875 ♣A9 ♠4 ♥AK10752 ♦QJ6 ♣K103 ♠AQ7 ♥AK65 ♦K10 ♣AQJ10 ♠K864 ♥J ♦A743 ♣K742 Bridge Andrew Robson Sudoku 14,281 Killer 9040 Sudoku 14,282 Killer 9041 Sudoku 14,283 Quick Cryptic 2470 KenKen 5983 Codeword 4991 1 Screen 2 Target 3 Upshot 4 Netball 5 Tally-ho Cryptic Quintagram Today’s solutions

29.08.23 Word watch Sudoku Mild No 14,284 Difficult No 14,285 Super fiendish No 14,286 David Parfitt Oxybaphon a A bell-shaped cup b An early submersible c Written left-to-right then right-to-left alternately Gainstrive a To progress by hard work b A tall purple-flowered marsh plant c To resist or oppose Inopinate a A medical stimulant b Unexpected c Shaped like a feather Answers on page 15 The Times Quick Cryptic No 2471 by Felix Across 7 Girl of fifty-one, large Yankee (4) 8 Some raw hate, verbal, of any kind (8) 9 Split on extreme points of Turkish economy (6) 10 Sullen medic stood up (6) 11 Old Dynasty showing finally to be suspended (4) 12 Contrary gardener to come down in a state (8) 15 Dramatic scenes as tether broken (8) 17 Means to raise flag (4) 18 Compensated for nonfunctioning television? (6) 21 Briefly opted to hold in trousers (6) 22 Catch “This is where you’ll find me!” being said? (8) 23 Autocrat in capital of Russia sat awkwardly (4) Down 1 Hotchpotch of notes heaped originally on potato dish (8) 2 Using keypad facility, PIN gets shrunk (6) 3 One cheating on a second occasion? (3-5) 4 Ranch maybe a long way — miles (4) 5 Fuel oddly eliminated speed: turmoil! (6) 6 Not so many of the French soldiers at the borders (4) 13 What’s doing nothing for your recovery? (4-4) 14 Parsons perhaps chaotically clash on introduction of ideas (8) 16 Ridiculous having a bus moving on road (6) 17 Clubs for smokers? (6) 19 A number one has to pursue loudly (4) 20 Ash maybe, and last bits of burnt rubber, lie here (4) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Yesterday’s solution on page 15 15 Fill the grid so that every column, every row and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9. Place the numbers 1 to 9 in the spaces so that the number in each circle is equal to the sum of the four surrounding spaces, and each colour total is correct The Times Daily Quiz Olav Bjortomt Answers on page 15 1 What is the common name of the flying mammals that form the order Chiroptera? 2 Neil Titley’s play Work is the Curse of the Drinking Classes is about which Irish playwright? 3 Stravinsky composed the 1954 work In Memoriam . . . which Welsh poet? 4 Paramount+’s cancelled prequel series to which musical film is subtitled Rise of the Pink Ladies? 5 José Saramago’s final novel is told through the eyes of which son of Adam and Eve? 6 Created by Dorothy L Sayers, which amateur detective lives at 110A Piccadilly? 7 Which castle in Northumberland has been dubbed the “Windsor of the north”? 8 Named after Benjamin Pollock, which museum in Fitzrovia, London closed in January 2023? 9 Who wrote the popular science book Fermat’s Last Theorem (1997)? 10 Which Labour peer wrote the South African memoir A Pretoria Boy (2021)? 11 Which German expressionist painted Rugby Players (1929)? 12 Located in Chiswick, London, what has been described as the world’s first garden suburb? 13 In 1960, who formed the independent record label Triumph Records with William Barrington-Coupe? 14 Which sport is the subject of Margaret Hughes’s book All on a Summer’s Day (1953)? 15 Which English singer and drummer is pictured? Suko No 3893 For interactive puzzles visit thetimes.co.uk For extra puzzles See page 10