Friday
Companion gardening: edibles are all the rage, but they’re not the only useful plants
‘Think of companion planting like a neighbourly friendship – struck by trading gardening advice over a low fence. Like good neighbours, companion planting will help the rest of your garden out. If you’re just starting, here are some plants to consider as companions, borders and soul lifters, that serve multiple purposes.’
Norman Hunter obituary
‘His popular nickname was Norman “bites yer legs” Hunter, and the epithet was well deserved. Detailed to perform an uncompromising, committed role at centre-half, he was a crucial element in a Leeds team that for much of its reign was widely disliked as cynical and mean.’
How Norman Hunter became one of Leeds United’s greatest legends
‘In a way Hunter did bite yer legs – opponents had to be good or quick to get past him – but first and foremost he was an excellent defender, not merely the enforcer his sobriquet tends to suggest.’
‘Guy pals’ Facebook group shut down after ‘revenge porn’ and misogynist abuse posted
‘The group’s description on Facebook previously read, “talk shit about any girl you want, stays between the boys … can organise fights in this chat but keep it peaceful”. Pages seen by Guardian Australia showed explicit and targeted posts about young women.’
My favourite game: France v New Zealand, 1999 Rugby World Cup
‘This wasn’t just an astonishing spectacle. It came, like so many French performances in World Cups, completely out of the blue. The All Blacks were so far ahead of everyone it wasn’t true. Jonah Lomu was in his pomp and their backline were cutting other teams to shreds.’
Saturday
Blind date: ‘He seems like he’d give good hugs’
‘[We talked about] anything but coronavirus. Sport, music, our lives in retail (I used to work in Ann Summers, so my butt-plug anecdote came up a lot sooner than it normally would have).’
Ask Moeen: the England all-rounder answers Guardian readers’ questions
‘The cliche about working hard is true. But beyond this, I would tell any young cricketer to make sure they really enjoy the company and camaraderie. Runs and wickets are one thing, but the friendships you make during your playing days, and the times you enjoy together, will stay with you for ever.’
On the trail of a Nazi war criminal: ‘It’s my duty to find the good in my father’
‘We stumble into a world of escape and espionage, of double-dealing and duplicity, of exhumations and reburials, travelling from the Vatican to Syria and South America, into monasteries, over lakes, across mountains, and enter the world of the “ratline” – the escape route used by Nazis to travel from Italy to Argentina and other places – barely imaginable. At the heart of the story is a relationship, one that survived, the wife believed, “because our love was without any limits and even went beyond death”.’
The world is now mirroring my twisted teen psyche – but there is an upside
‘When I was 17, and about to leave hospital for the seventh time in four years, my doctor told me it was time to stop – and this is the technical term – dicking around. If I lost weight again, she said, she wouldn’t allow me to accept my place at university the following autumn. So, I stopped dicking around. But all the anxiety that I once channelled into not eating – where could it go now? Enter, stage right, my next dance partner: Mr Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.’
‘Once tennis is done, I’ll be just fine’: Murray and Djokovic ponder future
‘Born a week apart and rivals since they were 11, there would appear to be little they do not know about each other, at 32. However, their Instagram exchange for more than an hour on Friday evening told a different story. They surprised even themselves, having never previously sat down together for any length of time.’
Sunday
Malcolm Turnbull on Donald Trump: ‘You don’t suck up to bullies’
‘The successful narcissistic bully is able to manipulate others effectively because he has a keen sense of others’ vulnerabilities. Like any predator, he can sense fear and weakness from miles away. So, the best way to deal with someone like Trump is to be frank and forthright. Be yourself, always be courteous – there’s nothing to be gained from rudeness or scratchiness. But stand your ground.’
Sweeten your tinned tomatoes – and 29 other tips for simpler, tastier home cooking
‘I worked as a chef for almost 30 years. Although I am now a full-time writer, I haven’t managed to escape the kitchen: I am currently feeding four strapping adults. I don’t always enjoy cooking, but I have had so much practice that I can get a reasonable meal on the table without much fuss. Here are some of the things I have learned that might make your lives a bit easier.’
Letters reveal postnatal crisis of Barbara Hepworth
‘For decades, Barbara Hepworth has been portrayed as a coldly ambitious artist who sent her children away when they were infants so that she could focus on her work. Now, however, that view is to be challenged by previously unpublished letters showing how deeply Hepworth struggled to care alone for her newborn triplets, and how she agonised over what to do for the best.’
Indigenous input helps save wayward grizzly bear from summary killing
‘In early April, a young grizzly bear swam through the chilly waters off the western coast of Canada in search of food. He came ashore on Hanson Island and quickly started eating garbage from a cabin. It was a dangerous move: bears that get too comfortable eating food waste and start to lose their fear of humans are quickly shot.’
Ex-paratrooper walking UK coastline isolates on empty Shetland island
‘Lewis and his dog, Jet, travelled by boat to Hildasay, a 108-hectare island off the west coast of the Shetland mainland, and have remained there ever since. They have been given permission to live in the one house there, a former shepherd’s hut without running water, heating or electricity.’
