The Guardian — Life & Style • Jan. 12, 2026, 2:34 a.m.

Which supermarket marmalades hit preserve perfection and which aren’t worth their rind? • The baking kit the pros can’t live without For this week’s taste test, I asked my old River Cottage colleague, friend and author Pam “the Jam” Corbin for advice.

“A truly brilliant marmalade,” she says, “is simply one where the peel, the gel, the texture and indeed the flavour are in harmony. “The amazing and rather magical thing about marmalade,” Pam says, “is that if 100 people made a panful, each one would vary: different sugars, different peel sizes, different boil times and even different water influence the final outcome.” Store-bought products are no different, though most commercially produced marmalades are made with extra pectin, acidity regulators and orange oil, which, while relatively harmless, all affect the taste and texture, and aren’t entirely necessary, either.

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The Guardian — Life & Style • Jan. 12, 2026, 2:34 a.m.

Stick vacuums are a convenient alternative to corded designs, but which model wins for overall cleaning prowess? Our expert reveals all • The best robot vacuums to keep your home clean and dust free Choosing a cordless vacuum isn’t a decision that should be taken lightly.

You’re likely to keep a vacuum cleaner for years, relying heavily on its ability to suck up dust, crumbs, mud, pet hair and any other dry spillages or sheddings that end up on your floor. Choosing the right model can be the difference between an effective cleaner that’s a delight to pull out of the cupboard and a dud that you dread having to unblock, detangle and clean after every use.

In this review, I took 13 of the leading cordless vacuum cleaners from a range of manufacturers and at various prices and inflicted the same cleaning tests on each one.

The Guardian — Life & Style • Jan. 12, 2026, 2:34 a.m.

Arrabiata means angry, but this simple and delicious pasta dish is pure joy Pasta all’arrabbiata is the perfect dish for January. Not only is it quick, vegan and made from ingredients you might conceivably have in the cupboard already, but the name, which means angry, could be said to suit my mood now that the last of the Christmas festivities are over.

Happily, a big plate of rich, tomatoey pasta can always be relied upon to lift the spirits. Prep 5 min Cook 25 min Serves 2 Continue reading...

The Guardian — Life & Style • Jan. 12, 2026, 2:34 a.m.

As Alzheimer’s tightens its grip, we have started making our way through the hundreds of albums in my childhood home. But some are too painful to revisit A couple of months ago, my mother moved into a nursing home.

Her Alzheimer’s has progressed to a point where it’s no longer safe for her to live alone, and she now needs round-the-clock care. It has been my task to empty out her house, where she lived for more than 50 years.

It’s not a job I would have asked for; it requires that I trawl through memories that aren’t mine, or shared memories that are painful for one reason or another. But my mother is no longer able to make these decisions herself, about which of her possessions are worth keeping hold of and which should be discarded, either for practical reasons of space or necessity or because a continued attachment to the stories behind them might do more harm than good.

The Guardian — Life & Style • Jan. 12, 2026, 2:34 a.m.

The snapshot was taken just months after I lost my mum, and not everyone in it is still with us. But it is an image of survival, capturing the aftermath of grief and the beforemath of future losses I remember the moment this photo was taken: five years ago, on my partner Claire’s birthday, in a National Trust for Scotland garden six miles east of Edinburgh.

We were standing on a wooden deck, an ideal spot for pond-dipping with the kids and a lesser-known viewing platform for trainspotters. This is where my autistic son, then six, loved (and still loves) to jump in tandem with the ScotRail trains toggling back and forth in the middle distance.

We had just eaten a small, hasty birthday picnic of pastries and Nosecco. We wandered down through the walled garden to the wild meadow encircling a pond.

The Guardian — Life & Style • Jan. 12, 2026, 2:34 a.m.

Sex parties allow Conrad and Callum to explore their desires in a safe space – and as couple • How do you do it? Share the story of your sex life, anonymously We keep the connection with subtle signals, glances across the room and an unspoken agreement that we won’t disappear Continue reading...

The Guardian — Life & Style • Jan. 12, 2026, 2:34 a.m.

They bonded over football and felt the same about taxing billionaires. How did they fare on immigration?

Fraz, 22, Bradford Occupation Law graduate, training to become a commercial solicitor Continue reading...

The Guardian — Life & Style • Jan. 12, 2026, 2:34 a.m.

Fifteen independent retailers showcase their brands at a pop-up market in Manchester – for one weekend only Look to the high street and you’ll find the future of British retail taking shape in the hands of small business owners. From roasting coffee to reimagining the umbrella – their flair, ingenuity and deep sense of community is quietly reinventing the high street in communities across the UK.

And championing these independent brands is retail expert Mary Portas in partnership with Mastercard and Worldpay. They have joined forces to show each and every one of us why it’s so important to support these retailers in the best possible way.

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The Guardian — Life & Style • Jan. 12, 2026, 2:34 a.m.

Does central London really need another fancy Italian restaurant? Well, yes, apparently it does … Does the area around Sloane Square in central London really need another fancy, Italian-leaning restaurant that serves up tortellini in brodo and veal Milanese?

Well, yes, apparently it does. One Saturday lunchtime late last year at Martino’s was hectic even in the delightful reception area, where we were waiting to check in a coat with the elegantly uniformed front-of-house ladies.

All the tables in this hot new all-day brasserie were booked and busy, and plenty of walk-ins were champing at the bit for cancellations. Actually, “delightful reception” is not a phrase I’ve often uttered, or even thought, but this is a Martin Kuczmarski restaurant, so the small things tend to add up to a larger picture – this cocoon-like holding pen keeps would-be queuers away from the diners.

The Guardian — Life & Style • Jan. 12, 2026, 2:34 a.m.

Counselling should help, but it sounds as if you need to slow down and give yourself time to grieve I am 37 years old, happily married and have two children, who came along quickly after we got married in my late 20s. I instantly fell in love with them.

However, I wasn’t really emotionally or practically ready, and developed postnatal anxiety. I’ve always cared about the climate crisis , and since after having kids, and knowing it will affect their lives more than mine, I became motivated to make changes.

We live a very “green” life. Continue reading...

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