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Man killed by falling sign at Christian festival named as church pays tribute

30 August 2026 at 21:42

Robert Guanco, 41, a pastor at Jesus Living Water church in Eastbourne, described as having ‘touched many lives’

A 41-year-old man who died after a large wooden sign fell at a Christian festival on Friday has been named as Robert Guanco, a pastor at a church in Eastbourne, East Sussex.

A tribute from his church on Sunday described him as a respected pastor who was a “loving husband” and “a devoted and caring father”.

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© Photograph: gofundme

© Photograph: gofundme

© Photograph: gofundme

Man killed by falling sign at Christian festival named as church pays tribute

30 August 2026 at 21:42

Robert Guanco, 41, a pastor at Jesus Living Water church in Eastbourne, described as having ‘touched many lives’

A 41-year-old man who died after a large wooden sign fell at a Christian festival on Friday has been named as Robert Guanco, a pastor at a church in Eastbourne, East Sussex.

A tribute from his church on Sunday described him as a respected pastor who was a “loving husband” and “a devoted and caring father”.

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© Photograph: gofundme

© Photograph: gofundme

© Photograph: gofundme

This is how we do it: ‘My ex wouldn’t even kiss me during sex. Marcus is happy to take his time’

30 August 2026 at 13:00

Camille had bad experiences with men, so when she met Marcus they took things slowly. Now sex is a shared joy

How do you do it? Share the story of your sex life, anonymously

Marcus will go down on me for as long as it takes. He has a gentle touch and is an amazing kisser

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© Illustration: Ryan Gillett

© Illustration: Ryan Gillett

© Illustration: Ryan Gillett

‘Tiny bit of rain and the sewage comes’: Brighton swimmers vent fury at sea pollution

30 August 2026 at 09:00

Checking for sewage spills has become as normal as checking the weather forecast, say swimmers on East Sussex beaches

“I’m furious,” says Jo Armstrong, 75, sitting on Brighton beach with her daughter and granddaughter.

Armstrong lives in Lewes, a town 8 miles from Brighton, and usually goes swimming in nearby Seaford in East Sussex every day. But over the past week the water there has been too polluted to swim. “Brighton beach was the only place that stayed clean,” she says.

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© Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian

© Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian

© Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian

‘Tiny bit of rain and the sewage comes’: Brighton swimmers vent fury at sea pollution

Checking for sewage spills has become as normal as checking the weather forecast, say swimmers on East Sussex beaches

“I’m furious,” says Jo Armstrong, 75, sitting on Brighton beach with her daughter and granddaughter.

Armstrong lives in Lewes, a town 8 miles from Brighton, and usually goes swimming in nearby Seaford in East Sussex every day. But over the past week the water there has been too polluted to swim. “Brighton beach was the only place that stayed clean,” she says.

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© Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian

© Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian

© Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian

AI vaginas, customisable personalities and fake bruises: the sex doll market is booming. Does it matter how the dolls are treated?

29 August 2026 at 23:00

As the sex doll industry grows and AI changes the products available, what does it mean to engage in any kind of relationship with a woman-shaped thing?

Two weeks ago, two distressed citizens stumbled across what they assumed was the mangled corpse of a woman, stuffed into a suitcase in a small town about three hours south of Sydney. They called the local police, who in turn issued a statement that a body in a suitcase had been found. The wider public waited sombrely for Australia’s tally of dead women to tick up by one.

But instead, a day later, after forensic analysis, it was determined that the woman in question wasn’t a woman at all. The “body” was that of a sex doll, marked with fake bruises, left to rot on a lonely dirt road. In Australia, as in the UK and some other European countries, it is not illegal to own a sex doll unless it resembles a child. Given the doll’s seemingly mature presentation, police investigations were called off.

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© Photograph: Getty Images

© Photograph: Getty Images

© Photograph: Getty Images

There is clearly trouble ahead for Harry and Meghan on their return to the UK. Here are five ways to avert it | Stephen Bates

29 August 2026 at 09:00

With a sceptical public and hostility from a lot of the press, the Sussexes face quite a challenge. Still, they really could help themselves

They’re back! Harry and Meghan’s quiet return to England this week, via Birmingham airport, was much anticipated but scarcely celebrated – no bunting or street parties.

So far there are many questions but very few answers: not just “why return now?” and “why so suddenly?”, but also questions of security: who pays if not themselves, given that they are not working royals? And where will the money come from to keep them in the style to which they are accustomed?

Steve Bates is a former Guardian royal correspondent

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

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© Photograph: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

© Photograph: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

© Photograph: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

Man, 41, dies after large sign falls at Christian festival in West Sussex

29 August 2026 at 12:26

Six more people hospitalised after incident at Big Church festival near Steyning

A 41-year-old man has died and at least six other people have been injured after a large sign fell at a Christian festival in West Sussex, police have said.

The man, from Eastbourne, East Sussex, was pronounced dead at the scene after the incident at the Big Church festival near Steyning on Friday afternoon.

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© Photograph: bigchurchfestival

© Photograph: bigchurchfestival

© Photograph: bigchurchfestival

Digested week: Is there anything sadder than the end of summer? | Emma Brockes

28 August 2026 at 13:11

Plus, views from the Cotswolds of Harry and Meghan’s return, and the embarrassing anachronism that is Ali G

Is there anything sadder than the end of summer? As schools go back next week and parents rely on the boosting effect of a return to routine, we look around for other ways to soften the blow. A few things this year that might make it easier: the need for rain ensures that the advent of autumn is slightly less depressing than usual; people with attic conversions in which you could bake a muffin over the summer will be able to use them again; and if you happen to be a woman of 50 or thereabouts, the fresher weather is ... a relief.

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© Photograph: Adam Vaughan/EPA

© Photograph: Adam Vaughan/EPA

© Photograph: Adam Vaughan/EPA

This is how we do it: ‘Since having cancer, I’m more open – before I was straight, now I’m queer’

23 August 2026 at 13:00

Following the all-clear, Kevin and Jade found a new openness in discussing sex and intimacy – and also a shared desire for exploring polyamory

How do you do it? Share the story of your sex life, anonymously

Since the all clear, my relationship with my sexuality has shifted a lot

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© Illustration: Ryan Gillett

© Illustration: Ryan Gillett

© Illustration: Ryan Gillett

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