I find Anthony Hopkins's career trajectory fascinating. He was born in 1937. He got his first acting credit in 1960 then did a bit of work in 1965 before getting regular TV roles from 1967 all the way through the 1990s.

Gene Hackman owned the rights to Thomas Harris's novel The Silence of the Lambs and Hackman was going to direct and star in the movie adaptation but the screenwriter pulled out because his daughter thought it was too violent so Hackman walked away too and then Jonathan Demme stepped in as director. Demme offered the role of Hannibal Lecter to Sean Connery but the Scot found the story "disgusting" so said no. Then Demme remembered seeing another British actor in David Lynch's The Elephant Man - Anthony Hopkins.

Hopkins loved the script and jumped at the chance so became a global film star in his mid-50s, has worked in countless major movies in the three decades since, won two Oscars and been nominated for four others. It really shows you that you can achieve great things later in life.

I’m currently 19 weeks pregnant. I have worked for the NHS since 2018. I have confirmed I qualify for both OMP and SMP when starting my new job.
I have to work a 6 week notice period which starts from next week. So I am due to start my new job on the 14th of Dec and I will be 27 weeks pregnant. My new boss just phoned me and said the contract will be sent in next 2 days and that’s when I’ll hand in my notice at my current job.
I have now spoke to my new boss twice on the phone and not mentioned I’m pregnant. HR advised I waited until I signed my contract… now I’m in a really really difficult situation. I know legally they can’t do anything but social it is very awkward. My new boss made it clear that it’s a busy team and that everyone is looking forward to me starting… advice??? Am I right to wait till the contract comes through? How should I approach? I feel terrible.

With all the talk of a flagging economy and in particular the high street, why do I never hear anything about expanding Sunday trading hours in England? I don’t think they are the same in Scotland and I’m unsure about Wales.

For people who work all week, we often rely on sundays for shopping etc, but can be hamstrung by restricted hours.

Edit. Just to answer all the assumptions that I have never worked in retail. I have worked in retail for years (not currently). This was in a country without regulations on Sunday hours and I used to work Sundays there. I understand this wouldnt suit all staff however I actually found it ok in what my circumstances were, I used to be more annoyed working on Saturdays.

Booked a package holiday with TUI to Mallorca. Specifically chose later inbound flights as my two kids are 1 & 4 and wanted to avoid waking them in the middle of the night for an early flight. Outbound was TUI, inbound easyJet, all booked through TUI in same package.

I went to check in this morning as we are due to fly home tomorrow, all correspondence emails say we are due to fly at 18:00 back to Newcastle, even the TUI app still has it down for 18:00, but when I went to check in on the easyJet site the flight has been changed to 06:05, a 12 hour change.

Spoke to the TUI rep at the hotel desk who didn’t have a clue. She had no record of a 06:05 flight and didn’t have any transfer info for an early flight (hotel is 1hr from Palma so paid for transfer to be included). I then rang the TUI office who confirmed that the flight had been changed but they hadn’t been informed by easyJet so didn’t inform us. I’ve spoke to easyJet customer service who said they changed the flight in June and TUI should have been notified!

If I didn’t decide to check in this morning and waited until tomorrow we would have missed our flight. We should be entitled to €400 per person compensation as the flight was essentially cancelled. TUI are saying to claim through easyJet but easyJet are saying we aren’t entitled as they notified TUI of the change back in June. Absolute shambles. Anyone know where we stand with this?

The TUI app still literally says 18:00 when we’re due to fly in 18 hours.

Hi everyone!

It’s been almost 4 years since I moved to the UK. I come from a country in southeastern Europe where we have all four seasons, including proper winters!

But one thing that genuinely shocked me when I first moved here was how people dress during winter or on cold days.

I came here as a student, and I remember walking around wearing about 10 layers, thermals, wool, everything, while seeing other students in shorts and T-shirts! I still see this all the time, and it amazes me.

And the funny thing is, I wouldn’t even consider myself someone who feels the cold more than the average person. Even people who dress normally for winter seem to wear far fewer layers than I do.

So I’m genuinely curious, is this something British people get used to from childhood? Do you actually not feel the cold as much, or do you just learn to tolerate it?

The reason I’m even more curious now is that I have a baby, and I’m wondering how this whole thing works. Is it something similar to Scandinavian countries, like Denmark, where children are encouraged to spend time outdoors in cold weather from a young age? Or is it completely unrelated?

I’d love to hear your thoughts because after almost 4 years here, I’m still freezing while someone next to me is wearing shorts!

I’m currently nannying for a family with two children aged two and six, and I’m unsure whether the conditions I’ve encountered would be considered a safeguarding concern.

I’ve worked in childcare for several years, but I’ve never encountered a household quite like this.
The house is generally very unclean, with dirty carpets, rubbish and food debris scattered across the floors. I found a used nappy on the floor of the children’s bedroom, along with a detached vape mouthpiece in the room where the children sleep.
The bathroom is also in a particularly poor condition, with significant grime and staining around the sink, bathtub and shower. This is the only bathroom in the property.

I wasn’t given a proper handover when I arrived, despite having contacted the father beforehand. The mother went upstairs to work without explaining the children’s routines, allergies or where essential supplies were kept. I’ve had to ask the six-year-old for basic information about the household.
I want to emphasise that both children appear clean, appropriately dressed and fed. They seem happy and comfortable, and I haven’t observed anything concerning about their physical appearance or behaviour.

I’m conscious that families can have difficult periods, and I don’t want to judge someone simply because their home doesn’t meet my personal cleaning standards.

However, I’m concerned about the potential hygiene and safety risks, particularly for the two-year-old.
I’ve raised my concerns with my agency, but I’m interested in hearing other perspectives.
Would you consider this a safeguarding concern, or simply a household struggling to maintain cleanliness?

I’ve reached the grand old age in life where I’m asking for a really decent towel set for Christmas. Don’t judge me, I’ve wanted decent towels for ages but it isn’t something I’d usually invest in for myself so Christmas seems like a good opportunity!

So where are we buying good towel sets from? I want BIG but I don’t want mega soft and fluffy. I’m a weirdo and I don’t like it when towels are so fluffy they just shed all their fluffiness all over you whenever you use them. I’m looking for thick and soft ish but ones that actually dry you.

I have had a look around online, but every semi decent looking set advertises how soft the towels are!

Many thanks!

Title says it all, my girlfriend has been diagnosed with a very aggressive form of cancer at 24, and will undergo very extensive chemo and surgery to try combat its rapid growth and continued spread.

We do not live together, she will have to isolate fully whilst undergoing her treatment and thankfully lives rurally with her parents so is safe from contact that could give her flu, cold etc - the current outlier is me.

I’m currently not working, having quit my recent role last month. But I am due to start a new role in January which is 5 days a week in parliament. I’m worried this is going to become an issue and cause me to not be able to see and support her despite vaccinations.

I guess my question is, do I whilst my girlfriend has this treatment move out of London to my parents house rurally and take a remote/part time role that minimises contact to be able to support, or be slightly selfish and continue in this new role and limit contact.

I don’t want anyone telling me off or being nasty please - this is a genuine ask for advice on a new situation that’s difficult for someone who is also 24.

The obvious answer that we might reasonably jump to is the cost-of-living crisis.

However, having lived in the UK for a decent number of years now, I've noticed a clear pattern in how people approach indoor heating, based on conversations with work colleagues, local friends, acquaintances, and others.

I completely understand the struggle with bills faced by low-income households and the desire to save on utilities. However, the people I've met and spoken to are generally relatively well-off and can afford to splurge on luxuries and non-essentials without having to compromise on necessities or worry too much about budgeting.

Yet they'd rather layer up than even consider turning the heating on for a short while. What's the backstory behind this mentality? Do some people grow up with a sort of parental-induced complex, having been shamed or scolded for wanting a functioning radiator or a warm home as children? Or is it simply stinginess? Or is there more to it?

It seems ironic, given how cold it can get here and how many older homes are built to retain heat.

I was chatting to a bloke at work last week and he mentioned he never returns his shopping trolley to the bay, just leaves it wherever. He said it like it was no big deal but I found myself judging him way harder than I probably should have. It got me thinking about the little things people do that quietly tell you something about them. Maybe it is someone who is rude to waiting staff, or who talks over you constantly, or who never says thank you. Curious what yours is and whether it is something you have always noticed or picked up over time.

As the title suggests. Injury from the most mundane of tasks.

About 7 years ago i was in a shop getting a coffee, I had a small cup but without realising I had clicked the option for a large. So as it filled to the top, I was wondering why the heck it kept going and obviously it overfilled.

For some reason I PANICKED. Do you know what my stupid ass did next?

I threw the whole FILLED coffee cup into the BIN. And started pouring myself another coffee????

I genuinely feel really embarrassed because a worker had obviously seen this and while I was standing rather rudely/sarcasticly (but probably deservedly lol) said something along the lines of "throwing a cup of coffee into the bin whats the sense in that". And i noticed a couple of workers walking by staring at me so they were probably all talking about me.

I couldn't wait to get out of the shop and this memory pops up every now and again. I think to myself why did i not just grab a large cup to catch the rest of the drink still pouring from the machine and then pour my filled smaller coffee cup into the large one? (That makes too much sense!)

Anyway, its got me thinking, has anyone else done something really stupid that they wouldn't usually do when they are panicking or just not thinking clearly? I wonder what the science is behind it.

Trying to imagine with no internet , phone or power and it’s cold - how do the vulnerable and elderly get help and what can we do in advance to anticipate this other than knowing our neighbours ?

I'm currently curating a playlist with songs that were always used in film, TV shows or adverts in the 2000s - things like Somewhere Only We Know by Keane, Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol, Smile by Lily Allen and so on

Which songs, when you hear them, remind you of British TV shows?

We all have them, those phrases that someone will say and you just feel your teeth ache and hitting the person who said it seems to be the only correct response.

For me it is 'oh such and such a thing is to die for!''.

'Oh Cynthia's homemade beetroot and feta hummus is to die for!'. No it isn't, it's not religious freedom or a right to a free and fair democracy is it. It's just mashed up chickpeas.

What about you?

Edit: I wish I hadn't posted this now as I am even more furious with all of these examples. I didn't realise there were so many phrases I hate.

I lived in a cul-de-sac as a kid that had a bit of waste ground that we all used to play on. I remember once we saw some older kids that we didn’t recognise and for some reason I immediately hated them. To garner support from the other local kids in my random hatred I decided to spell out “fuck you” out of some discarded bricks and blame it on the older kids. Not only did it not get me the support I had hoped, I distinctly remember everyone thinking it was cool and rebellious that they’d done it and resourceful that they’d used the random old bricks laying around. Literally zero idea what my thought process was for any of this

I live in the Bradford postcode, so very much specific to here, although other councils may do the same.

We have one large bin and all glass, cardboard, paper and metal goes in together. Which means it's easier for us as Joe public, but I imagine harder at the sorting side.

Is it really all sorted and recycled, or does the majority still end up in landfill?

I know Wales for example has more strict separation for their recycling, but here we just launch it all in one bin and assume it's all being recycled as intended.

What happens if I don't rinse my ketchup bottle properly too, will that spoil it all or do the sorting machines pick up on that and take it out?

Is it just me, or is Reddit heading the same direction as Twitter did?

Back in the day, Twitter used to be great and then the bots, grifters, "influencers" and every other sewer-dweller got involved and it became unusable (for me at least).

Is Reddit heading the same way?

It seems the majority of posts are more thinly-veiled attempts to rile everyone up and keep folk in a perma-rage, and I'm wondering if it's time to ditch it.

Hi all, my American friends are coming to visit me in London and want to have a very charming English mini trip from London. I’m between seven sisters cliffs and bath and need help deciding. I loved bath, I loved the afternoon tea at Sally Lunns and prior park. I’ve never been to seven sisters but it would be really nice to see scenery. I’m looking for a quintessential English experience: afternoon tea in a traditional tearoom, cottagey experience etc etc. are the surrounding towns of seven sisters cliffs good for this?

If there are other places you suggest please lmk.

I have a friend visiting England from abroad, she has never been to the UK, she said she would like to try "Londonish" food.

I'm from the north myself, I have a vague idea of what she is asking.

But come to think of it, I actually don't know what is considered "london" food don't doesn't apply to rest of England in general.

And please don't say Sunday roast or outback angus steakhouse

For me, it is Captain Mainwaring of Dad’s Army. What makes him different to other comic characters is that he is three dimensional. Basil Fawlty, Del Boy, David Brent. They are all fairly one dimensional characters, Del Boy perhaps having an occasional more depth than the other two (he is better in the early to mid series later on he just becomes completely a caricature).

Mainwaring in contrast is only a few times turned up of the real type of people that did exist. He has an unhappy marriage, a class envy of Wilson, and yet in all of it, he isn’t written as a fool (pompous and a blusterer, but he is still well meaning) He is still a very brave person and at times sympathetic (to the point that his rivals such as Captain Square and Warden Hodges come across more unlikeable).

I think British TV has forgotten a bit how to make characters comic figures, without making them complete clowns in every single thing they do.

It is almost a uniquely well written TV series, as arguably each of the main characters, you could craft a show around, it has that much depth.

I live in a small run down town and the only choices for children’s clothes are really Next, Peacocks or pep and co. My kid needed a new winter coat as her zipper broke this morning and she requested pink.. I went into Peacocks and they had a mediocre quality pink coat for £24, so I decided to look in Next and they had a plush, beautiful pink coat with unicorns and other creatures on for £26, so I went with that. I also noted that their other children’s clothing was comparable in price (£7 for leggings or £8/£9 for a long sleeves t-shirt), so with Next offering superior quality for the same price, who the hell is keeping Peacocks open?

The most wonderful North-South miscommunication we've had to date happened this evening. My husband is Southern and uses long A's, I used short. Conversation happened roughly like this:

H: The medal was made of horse brahss

W: Horse bras?

H: Whores bras?!

W: Horses don't wear bras

H: HORSE BRASSS

What's your biggest misunderstandings?

If you had about £50 purely to make yourself feel good, what's it going on,?

In 1984, comedian Tommy Cooper collapsed from a heart attack aged 63 in front of 12 million viewers midway through his act on the variety show Live from Her Majesty's, transmitted live from Her Majesty's Theatre in London. His last words were "thank you, love" to the assistant, seconds before collapsing. The assistant smiled at him as he slumped down, believing that it was part of the act. Likewise, the audience laughed as he fell backwards.

Also in 1984, comic legend Eric Morecambe, after receiving six curtain calls and playing around with musical instruments to a rapturous audience at a theatre in Gloucestershire, shouted "That's your lot!" and walked off stage. Moments after stepping into the wings, he collapsed from a severe heart attack. He was 58.

Children's entertainer Rod Hull fell to his death in 1999 aged 63 after taking Gyles Brandreth's advice and climbing a ladder to adjust his TV aerial.

Singer Kirsty MacColl, who famously duetted on Christmas classic Fairytale of New York, was surfacing from a scuba dive in Mexico in 2000 and pushed her son out of the path of a speeding powerboat. The boat struck her, and the propeller caused severe head and chest injuries. She was 41.

Crimewatch presenter Jill Dando was mysteriously gunned down aged 37 outside her front door in West London in 1999. The crime remains unsolved.

Actress Natasha Richardson (daughter of Vanessa Redgrave and wife of Liam Neeson) died aged 49 in New York in 2009 after she fell during a beginner's ski lesson in Quebec. She complained of a headache but initially refused medical treatment.

ELO cellist Mike Edwards died aged 62 when a bale of hay crushed his van on a motorway in Devon in 2010.

Any others?