1. My four miscarriages: why is losing a pregnancy so shrouded in mystery?
‘There is a magical feeling that comes on after a miscarriage, I have found. A semi-delusional state that lasts for days, sometimes weeks, afterwards. After each one of mine (and there have been four now), I’ve caught myself believing I am still pregnant, despite all evidence to the contrary – the trips to A&E, the blood, the still ultrasounds, the forms labelled “sensitive disposal of pregnancy remains”.’
2. ‘Lager and fags were our main vices’: Vic Reeves on booze, guns and his rock’n’roll years
‘Reeves seems to be part endearingly grumpy old man and part childish buffoon. He doesn’t have a computer or do email. “A few years ago, I started sending postcards to people, because I thought it was quite a good thing to do. And I got texts back from people, which is awful, isn’t it?” But the other day he was “trying desperately” to do a handstand.’
3. Dave Greenfield: putting beauty at the rotten heart of the Stranglers
‘His contributions were the solitary aspect of the Stranglers’ music you might describe as beautiful. Everything else about them was as relentlessly, wilfully nasty as their song titles suggested. If it makes for profoundly uncomfortable listening now – “problematic” barely begins to cover the lyrical content – their music had a remarkable power, a sense of unceasing, misanthropic hostility.’
4. Vijay Singh’s refusal to reminisce reflects his relationship with golf
‘When asking questions among fellow professionals about Singh, two themes are recurring. Golf-wise, he is described as borderline obsessional and filled with knowledge. Singh’s personality is perceived by many as aloof. “He can be like that with other players unless he likes and respects them, as a consequence he isn’t overly popular,” explains a major champion of Singh’s vintage.’
5. A bittersweet time travel back to Edgbaston 2005: why not?
‘This column isn’t long enough to tell the story of the whole game, and this needless sentence isn’t doing me any favours with the word count either, so let’s focus on the day life changed: 4 August 2005. The exponential drama of the match, culminating in England’s heart-stopping two-run win on the Sunday morning, sometimes obscures a first day that should never cease to astonish.’
6. I’ve lived with an eating disorder for half my life. I’m not ready for the baby question
‘Pregnancy, with its rapid physical changes, is often talked about as a miraculous, euphoric experience. Few talk about the toll it can take on those with a history of disordered eating, for whom rapid physical change can signify a terrifying loss of control.’
7. Ireland faces bill for millions to remove ‘ghost ship’ from rocks
‘The ghost ship that washed on to Ireland’s coast earlier this year remains something of a mystery: its owner has not been found, which could potentially leave the Irish state with a bill of millions for its removal.’
8. Celebrating the great inventors who changed football forever
‘Goal nets came thanks to John Alexander Brodie, an engineer from Liverpool who designed the UK’s first ring road, the Mersey Tunnel, and much of the architecture in New Delhi. In October 1889, Everton fan Brodie went to watch his team play Accrington Stanley at Anfield (Everton’s home ground at the time). Everton thought they had scored a winner but, with only goalposts and a crossbar to judge, nobody could be absolutely sure.’
9. What a global rugby season should and shouldn’t look like in the future
‘No the Six Nations won’t be budging from its February‑March slot, and no there won’t be any big push for gate revenue sharing with poorer southern hemisphere nations. If it stays that way there is no real possibility of a brave new world, merely an extension of the fudging and back-scratching with which rugby remains associated.’
10. Did Gladiator really deserve the best picture Oscar?
‘The argument that the film is any deeper than the red-meat savagery it delivers doesn’t hold up under scrutiny. It’s a terrific summer movie, and one of the new century’s least deserving best picture winners.’
How we create the Antidote
Every day we measure not only how many people click on individual stories but also how long they spend reading them. This list is created by comparing the attention time with the length of each article, to come up with a ranking for the stories people read most deeply.
