I’ve been asked to put away the dog bed – and even my shower gel. Surely prospective buyers should know that I’ll take all my mess with me when I leave
Trying to sell a house is pretty much a once-a-decade event for me, so I shouldn’t be surprised that times have changed. When I sold my first flat in 2006, the norm was actively anti-tidy. Obviously you’d spirit away food waste and animal detritus, maybe you’d put a lid on your laundry basket, but the market was overheated; everything was nonsensically expensive. In that respect it was much like it is now, except that back then, we were still surprised and a bit baffled. Consequently, a bit of visible wear and tear was beneficial, because people felt they might be getting a bargain from a dumb seller, rather than spending 50 grand over the odds for some pristine skirting boards.
Fast forward a decade, and things had changed somewhat. Everyone had got used to not being able to afford shelter, but the market was much slower, so you did have to spruce up your quarters a bit. For instance, I’d once managed to spill a triple espresso on the outside of the house, a vivid dark brown splash that no amount of weather, over the years, managed to shift. I remember arguing with the estate agent about whether or not I should get someone to paint over it – my point being, “What a silly notion, when the next people might want to paint the entire front some colour other than white,” and his view, to the contrary, being, “It’s just a bit off-putting, entering into a commercial exchange with someone who would spill coffee on their own house and never get round to painting over it. You’d wonder what else they hadn’t dealt with. Subsidence. Electrical hazard. A squirrel colony in the attic.” In retrospect I am ashamed at how slowly he had to walk me through this.
Continue reading...The World Cup spotlight causes single games to live longer in the memory than any other. The remaining teams at this tournament face defining moments
World Cup games mean more. England have only ever played 80 games in the finals, which is to say, not much more than two Premier League seasons in the 76 years since they first entered. Those games draw huge audiences: more than 17 million in the UK watched Saturday’s win over Norway, even though it was after midnight by the time it finished. In most countries, World Cup matches are more discussed, more analysed, than any other in sport, perhaps any other cultural phenomenon. They are rare moments that bring vast numbers of people together, hoping, agonising, celebrating, commiserating. They become part of the culture.
Moments from games become touchstones. Allusions can be made to games from six decades ago in the reasonable expectation of being understood. That has a strange, distorting effect. Far too much is read into individual games, in a way it just wouldn’t be in a league game. Senne Lammens’s error that cost Belgium the quarter-final against Spain was watched by far more people than watch the average Manchester United game. There is not another match in three or four days that would mean Lammens’s mistake would be readily forgotten. It will always be part of his story, even if it subsequently becomes about redemption with a brilliant display in some future World Cup.
Continue reading...Detection of erythrulose shows compounds that are key to life can form in expanse between stars
A natural sugar found in raspberries and used in fake tan lotions has been detected in an enormous cloud of dust and gas that lurks near the heart of the Milky Way.
The discovery does not suggest that the galaxy revolves around a distant civilisation of pale, safety-conscious frugivores, but shows that compounds important for life can form in the frigid expanse between the stars.
Continue reading...Higher temperatures can cause radio, TV and microwave signals to travel hundreds of miles farther, upsetting communications
It was 3am in north-east Indiana’s Huntington county when the outdoor emergency alarm went off on 1 July.
The only issue? There wasn’t a storm, tornado or any other emergency weather event forecast or present anywhere for hundreds of miles.
Continue reading...Labor sources say the PM will discuss safety concerns in speech this week but will not provide an update on copyright reforms to protect artists
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
Anthony Albanese will describe the progress of AI as an inflection point for society on par with the renewable energy transition, but is not expected to detail progress on copyright reforms to protect creative industries.
The prime minister will deliver a highly anticipated speech in Sydney on Wednesday to address growing concerns around social licence and the necessary policy guardrails for AI, datacentres and the ability of big tech to profit from Australian intellectual property.
Continue reading...The marine disaster may be linked to a high number of dolphin deaths in the region, scientists say
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
The number of dead dolphins washing up on South Australian beaches spiked in 2025, according to long-term data that reveals mortalities during the state’s devastating algal bloom were the highest in 12 years.
Last year, at least 70 carcasses of common and bottlenose dolphins were found across SA, with a further 20 reported in 2026, including the recent death of a popular Port River dolphin known as Zoom.
Continue reading...Donald – a small community about 280km from Melbourne – is grieving after a missing teenager was found dead
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
In the week after Layla Jeffery failed to return home in the early hours of 4 July, residents in the tiny Victorian town of Donald worriedly shared posts about the missing 13-year-old girl.
One woman, who was receiving chemotherapy treatment in the town last week, wrote on Facebook that she felt “sick” at the thought of something happening to Layla. Others shared a post from police, asking for any information about her whereabouts.
Continue reading...Posts promoting illegal products appear across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube as expert says platforms ‘aren’t doing the job they promised they would do’
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
Illegal vape sellers have turned to social media to promote nicotine-filled products, with experts calling for a crackdown including stronger penalties for the platforms.
Guardian Australia has identified a network of posts across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube promoting the sale of illegal products to Australian audiences.
Continue reading...Killing of man – identified by rights groups as 26-year-old Colombian – comes days after man killed by ICE in Texas
A federal immigration officer shot and killed a man in Biddeford, Maine on Monday, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed, just days after a man was killed by an immigration officer during a traffic stop in Texas.
In the statement, DHS claimed Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were “conducting targeted surveillance on the last known address of an illegal alien with a final order of removal”.
Continue reading...No content available
Elizabeth Warren asks Jamie Dimon if he was advised to ‘mildly threaten’ UK chancellor over tax on bankers’ bonuses
A leading Democratic senator has written to the boss of JP Morgan to request clarification on the bank’s contact with the child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the senate banking committee, wrote to Jamie Dimon last week to ask if he took advice from Epstein while lobbying against a UK tax on banker bonuses, in a letter published by the committee on Monday.
Continue reading...Elizabeth Warren asks Jamie Dimon if he was advised to ‘mildly threaten’ UK chancellor over tax on bankers’ bonuses
A leading Democratic senator has written to the boss of JP Morgan to request clarification on the bank’s contact with the child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the senate banking committee, wrote to Jamie Dimon last week to ask if he took advice from Epstein while lobbying against a UK tax on banker bonuses, in a letter published by the committee on Monday.
Continue reading...