Normal view

100 ultramarathons in 100 days: former rugby pro hit by brain injury nears end of feat

31 August 2026 at 17:00

David ‘Jacko’ Jackson has aimed to raise awareness of brain injuries, with fellow runners sharing their stories

The key for David “Jacko” Jackson is to take each stage nice and gently. “It’s not about running fast,” he said. “It’s more like the hare and tortoise story. Slow and steady – and do it again tomorrow.”

So far, so good. Jackson, a former professional rugby player who retired after a traumatic brain injury, is nearing the end of an extraordinary bid to run 100 ultramarathons (50km, or about 30 miles) in 100 consecutive days.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Francesca Jones/The Guardian

© Photograph: Francesca Jones/The Guardian

© Photograph: Francesca Jones/The Guardian

Bel review – the powerful life force and haunting absence of a traumatised singer-songwriter

31 August 2026 at 11:00

Beldina Odenyo alchemised the pain of exile, loss and racism into music as Heir of the Cursed before her death in 2021, as this attentive tribute explores

Instead of an artist in a booth, a lone amplifier plays the music of singer-songwriter Beldina Odenyo for a cluster of microphones to pick up during the posthumous recording of her debut album. It is a haunting encapsulation of the absence and presence at the heart of Louise Lockwood’s documentary, which makes a commendably thorough exploration of the mental illness that led to Odenyo killing herself in November 2021, and its roots: exile, loss and racism.

Performing under the moniker Heir of the Cursed, a translation of the Tetela name of assassinated Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba, Odenyo was on the verge of bigger recognition at the end of 2021 after a successful performance at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall. But hemmed in by successive Covid lockdowns, the 31-year-old is clearly unwell in a discomfiting backstage interview. Squirming, monosyllabic, she seems to be regressing to the non-verbal state of shock in which she arrived in Dumfriesshire from Kenya as a young child.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Euan Robertson

© Photograph: Euan Robertson

© Photograph: Euan Robertson

Properties in UK national parks command 24% premium, study finds

31 August 2026 at 07:00

Nationwide research also shows average 14% premium for housing in national landscapes of England and Wales

Housebuyers are paying a premium of almost a quarter to own a property located within a UK national park, with the New Forest the most expensive national park to live in, according to Britain’s biggest building society.

Nationwide found that a property located within a national park cost 24% more on average than a similar property elsewhere, while buyers were also stumping up a 6% premium for homes within three miles of a national park.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Greg Balfour Evans/Alamy

© Photograph: Greg Balfour Evans/Alamy

© Photograph: Greg Balfour Evans/Alamy

Properties in UK national parks command 24% premium, study finds

31 August 2026 at 07:00

Nationwide research also shows average 14% premium for housing in national landscapes of England and Wales

Housebuyers are paying a premium of almost a quarter to own a property located within a UK national park, with the New Forest the most expensive national park to live in, according to Britain’s biggest building society.

Nationwide found that a property located within a national park cost 24% more on average than a similar property elsewhere, while buyers were also stumping up a 6% premium for homes within three miles of a national park.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Greg Balfour Evans/Alamy

© Photograph: Greg Balfour Evans/Alamy

© Photograph: Greg Balfour Evans/Alamy

❌