Actors Cate Blanchett and Adrian Dunbar will receive the Freedom of the City of London for their work in the arts.
The 56-year-old Australian, who won Oscars for her roles in The Aviator and Blue Jasmine, has long been an advocate for action on climate change and a range of humanitarian issues.
Northern Irishman Dunbar, 66, is best known for his time as Supt Ted Hastings in the award-winning TV series Line of Duty and has written and directed plays.
Both have performed at the Barbican over the past year, and Mr Dunbar is an alumnus of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
One of the City of London’s ancient traditions, freedoms are believed to have been handed out since 1237.
They give thanks to individuals for their contribution to London or public life – or to celebrate a very significant achievement, the City of London Corporation (CLC) says.
Ms Blanchett’s and Mr Dunbar’s names were included on a list of more than 50 people nominated to receive the Freedom, which was approved at a Court of Common Council.
Alderman Russell, chair of the CLC’s Freedom applications committee, said Freedom is “offered as a way of paying tribute to their outstanding contribution to London or public life, or to celebrate a very significant achievement”.
Representatives for Blanchett and Dunbar have been approached for comment.
Gary Crowley has fond memories of his 1994 interview with a soon-to-be-famous Liam and Noel Gallagher
It’s June 1994 and a relatively unknown band from Manchester are about to play London’s Marquee Club. In a small guitar shop in London’s West End, two brothers sit down for their first national TV interview together. The presenter waiting for them is Gary Crowley.
“It just felt like a tornado had just blown in from Denmark Street,” he says of Noel and Liam Gallagher. “They just both exuded this energy.”
Oasis are about to embark on their long-awaited reunion tour, and the presenter admits he couldn’t have predicted the meteoric rise the band would enjoy – although there were signs of their potential for stardom.
PA Media
Noel and Liam announced last summer they would be reuniting for Oasis’s UK-wide tour
Crowley landed what turned out to be the first of many interviews with the Gallagher brothers when presenting Carlton Television’s The Beat, which he describes as a “grown-up music magazine TV programme”.
“In 1994, it was such an exciting year for music,” says Crowley.
“It felt like there were more intrinsically British bands who were beginning to come to the fore. Whether it was Saint Etienne, Pulp or Elastica, or of course five young gunslingers from Manchester called Oasis.”
Crowley first came across Oasis through their radio promoter, who sent The Beat team a copy of Columbia – a song that would be on their debut album Definitely Maybe – which he says he and his producer “fell in love with”.
“There seemed to be a kind of punky-ness to them, which I loved,” the BBC Radio London presenter says.
‘The Beat’ Fuji Television, 1994
Gary Crowley describes the Gallagher brothers as being very comfortable in front of the camera
“Liam was like a squirrel on a washing line. He was here, there, everywhere… sort of doing that Liam walk, that swagger that he has,” Crowley recalls. “He was very charming. When he focused on you, you couldn’t help but be sort of charmed by him.
“Noel, it felt to me, had written all the books about what you had to do to become a pop star. He was very funny and very irreverent as well – slagging off a lot of the other bands we’d had on the programme.”
Getty Images
Oasis playing London’s Splash club in early 1994
What strikes Crowley most looking back at the interview – apart from what he now sees as a questionable taste in fashion in his younger self – is how comfortable the brothers were in front of the camera.
“They could not wait to see the red light go on,” he says. “They were not shy, wilting flowers.”
The Gallagher brothers had the production crew in fits of laughter – “behind the camera, and everybody’s got their hand over their mouth”, Crowley recalls.
The presenter quickly realised how compelling the brothers were as a double act, although he says “Liam did a lot of the talking” during the interview.
Getty Images
Oasis released their first album, Definitely Maybe, in August 1994
At one point, Noel interrupts his brother to say: “Can I say something now? My name’s Noel. I write the songs.”
Liam later speaks of his ambition to “be a star” and “have a big house somewhere”, with Noel quipping: “Preferably not anywhere near my big house.”
Crowley says the dynamic between the pair in 1994 felt like the sort of thing you’d see between any two brothers working together. The rancour that would ultimately cause Oasis’s 16-year hiatus had yet to develop.
“They were taking the mickey out of each other,” he says. “You could see that affection.”
After the interview, Crowley says Noel took him aside.
“He said: ‘Look, you should come [to the gig] this evening.’ And I said: ‘Well, I’ve got to go and see this movie and review it.’”
The film was Shopping. “It was freaking awful. In fact, I think my review called it ‘shocking’,” Crowley laughs. “I stayed for about a third of the film, and then I hotfooted it over to the Marquee – and it was the best decision that I made that year.”
Looking back now, what stands out to Crowley is not just the charisma but the assuredness.
“Where did that self-confidence come from?” he says. “They looked to me like they’d been doing it for years. They seemed incredibly relaxed.”
While other bands often preferred to “let the music do the talking”, Crowley says Oasis embraced the attention.
“They absolutely grabbed the bull by the horns and ran out of that guitar shop with it.”
Getty Images
Oasis’s line-up has undergone several changes over the years – in 1995 Alan White (left) was the first of them, replacing drummer Tony McCarroll
The interview would prove to be the first of many Crowley did with the Gallagher brothers.
Asked why he thought they kept asking him back as their success grew, he jokes: “Because I’m cheap.”
Crowley says watching the tape puts a “big dopey smile” on his face. “It’s a lovely snapshot of where they were at that time.
“I didn’t foresee it,” the presenter says of Oasis’s global success. “But I left that interview feeling better for having met them.”
Senior palace aide drops new update on King Charles’ health
A senior palace aide has dropped an update on King Charles health as he praised the monarch for still fulfilling royal duties while undergoing cancer treatment.
Even though the Buckingham Palace has kept details about the monarch’s health private, an official revealed that Charles is responding well to treatment.
At the annual Sovereign Grant briefing, James Chalmers, the monarch’s new Keeper of the Privy Purse, revealed that the King has managed to keep up with many constitutional duties, including regular meetings and state responsibilities.
“The King demonstrated remarkable resilience by undertaking a wide programme of public and state duties at home and overseas while continuing to receive treatment,” Chalmers said.
He further described the past financial year as “something of a return to normal business after the health challenges faced by members of the family in the previous fiscal year.”
“Indeed, by happenstance, the period to which this Sovereign Grant Report relates correlates almost exactly with His Majesty’s return to public-facing duties, in April of 2024,” he added.
Charles approach demonstrated “not only His Majesty’s personal commitment to duty but also the adaptability and resilience of the Royal Household in ensuring continuity of service, no matter the personal circumstances,” Chalmers further shared.
He noted how the public was very supportive of Charles and Kate Middleton, who was also diagnosed with cancer last year.
“The profound connection the royal family maintains with people across the country and indeed the world.”
“No metric can fully capture the scale of this connection,” he said, highlighting that the royal websites attracted a record 4.2 million new visitors, while the royal family’s videos reached nearly 400 million views and their social media content generated 1.3 billion impressions.
According to David Koma, his menswear line is a “selfish” project. “I wanted to have new experiences and to have something to enjoy on top of working hard,” he tells me. “It’s the first time I’ve had myself in mind as a customer, so there have been nice surprises along the way.”
Even though the London-based designer has been designing menswear for three seasons now, he’s only just felt ready to put on a menswear show — and what appears to have been the perfect opportunity presented itself. Koma is showing as part of Berlin Fashion Week (BFW) organiser Fashion Council Germany’s primary talent scheme, Berlin Contemporary, which offers a €25,000 grant to put towards a show. The invitation to show in Berlin came a few months ago through one of his PR agencies, Reference Studios, which is based in Berlin with offices in Milan, Paris and London, and has been working with Fashion Council Germany to invite buzzy designers to the schedule as part of its showcase, Intervention. GmbH and Ottolinger are also taking part.
It’s early summer in the Georg Jensen workshop in Copenhagen, and the young apprentices and masters – all known as smithies – are at work. It is here, in a lofty warehouse space that has been the company’s headquarters since 2004, that all of the handmade and bespoke items are beaten, polished and hand-carved.
Melanie Larsen, an apprentice, is working on a silver cup, her iteration of a project with which students are presented in their first trial weeks. Her second attempt at making a perfect vessel, her work is already accomplished, symmetrical and neat.
Christian Arndt Armbrecht is working on a set of silver medals. Georg Jensen has a royal warrant and makes the orders and medals with which Danish citizens are honoured: these medals are imprinted with the likeness of King Frederik X, who was crowned last year. Timur Muharemovic is making a cigarette case – considered a technical milestone in the apprentice’s journey despite its obsolescence in the real world. He was formerly a catwalk model. Well, we are in Denmark after all.
Georg Jensen was founded in 1904 by the Danish designer and entrepreneur of the same name. He started the business from a cabinet of silverware in Copenhagen’s city centre and was its creative director until his death in 1935, having made the brand famous throughout the world. Following different ownerships, it was acquired in 2023 by Fiskars – the Finnish group that owns the brand behind the orange-handled scissors – for €151mn. (In 2022 it declared revenues of DKr1.2bn, about £130mn, a six per cent growth on the previous year.) Georg Jensen joined an illustrious design stable; Fiskars also owns the Danish porcelain maker Royal Copenhagen and Wedgwood, the fine bone china company. But while the brand has the lustre of an important heritage, it has suffered from a certain blandness and product saturation in recent years.
“We acquired the brand because of our conviction in its potential as Denmark’s definitive luxury house,” says Jacob Siboni, the senior vice president since 2023. “[It has] a potential much greater than its current reach.” Future plans include “new ranges of products and a return to categories that reflect the richness of our history. In parallel, we are aiming to expand our distribution footprint, including the opening of new retail stores.”
In charge of this design focus is Paula Gerbase, the Brazilian designer appointed creative director in 2024. A multidisciplinary creative, she arrived last September having worked previously on her own tailoring, clothing and jewellery labels, as well as at Sunspel and at the Hermès-owned shoemaker John Lobb. “With a background in craft through her training on Savile Row, Paula was the obvious choice,” says Siboni. “She’s someone who can appreciate the breadth of Georg Jensen’s artistic expression, looking beyond its current brand image and product lines. She is an innovator who is an uncompromising guardian of quality and a champion of design.”
Gerbase is not a smithy. Her apprenticeship lasted only about six days. Her attempt at a cup now sits, wonky and abandoned, on a counter in the workshop, a sweet reminder that she still has much to learn. Nevertheless, she has fallen hard for silver (and gold, an important but less conspicuous feature of the house). Moreover, she wants to test Georg Jensen’s reputation as a maker of minimalist things. “When I arrived, I thought I was taking over a lovely Danish brand that had a kind of minimalist expression with some art nouveau pieces in its heritage,” she says. “But what has unfolded is that this brand is not a brand, it’s a house, and it was a luxury house from 1904 until 1979.”
Some content could not load. Check your internet connection or browser settings.
Silver has enjoyed a mixed popularity in recent years, but since Covid-19 a new generation is popularising it again. “In terms of investment, obviously the recent rise of the price of silver (and gold) has generated some interest from clients,” says Isabelle Cartier-Stone, silver specialist at Christie’s. When asked about Georg Jensen, she points to the “period 1904-1925 or ‘the Pregnant Duck’” as being the pieces of most interest. Also known colloquially as “the Swan”, the Henning Koppel Pitcher 1052 was first designed in 1952. It is made in the Copenhagen workshop from two identical flat pieces of silver that are raised and then hammered to make smooth. The Swan is iconic, beautiful to look at, and costs £28,000. However, it sits at the apex of a vast proliferation of cheaper versions, including one in electric-blue stainless steel, priced at £210.
Gerbase wants to prove the brand “can still be expansive” while “remaining pure”. Her role is to elevate the offering – and protect the core. “I feel like Scandinavian design just got completely ambushed at some point. It became synonymous with beige. Until 1970, there was a CEO who had been a maverick thinker. And then, with his retirement – mixed with the ’80s and people becoming enamoured with the idea of serialisation and mass production – the brand became known for one specific thing. So the first step for me is really about re-establishing what this house is, to speak about what the designers were doing throughout its history and, of course, doing something new.”
On a moodboard on one wall of her office sits an assortment of images: a series of silver teapots, vintage bangles and pictures from the interiors of the 1950s New York store. Gerbase is currently interested in the brand’s art nouveau era – “the very beginning, 1904 to 1915”. But she is also enamoured of the midcentury experiments she has found in the archive, located in the eaves of the headquarters: a trove of objets, sketches, prototypes and “lost” designs. Here you can find the original catalogues for Jensen’s jewellery, pieces of sculpture, lipstick holders and funky sunglasses with silver star-burst frames. “When you see a brand that is quite pure,” she says, “you can overlook its range.”
In keeping with this ethos, Gerbase’s first offering was a series of bag charms, each drawn from different eras at the house. These included the art nouveau Bud motif by Jensen, first created in 1904; the Oak, originally designed by Danish silversmith Harald Nielsen and the Facet, a rounded stud by Kim Naver, the 84-year-old Danish textile turned jewellery designer whose first collection for Georg Jensen appeared in 1973. Artists rarely had contracts that stipulated deliverables, says Gerbase, but were instead invited in to “play”. The freestyle mood is something she would like to reinvigorate, although she’s keen to nurture the spirit within the workshop rather than via talents from outside.
This spring, in a viral re-entry to the design world, Gerbase took an ice-cream store to Salone del Mobile in Milan: guests at Gelateria Danese were served cardamom-infused gelato in silver “paper” cups with tiny silver spoons. Of the 105 spoons delivered to the design fair, some 25 went missing. “In fact, hardly any were stolen,” Gerbase says. “It was more that people would forget that they were silver and throw them in the bin.”
Her next act, The Collector, is a curation of high jewellery that will also showcase the artistic traditions of the house. A magnifying glass pendant and chain are recrafted replicas of pieces by the legendary silversmith Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe, known as Torun. A stone-encrusted bangle is a reissue of a Nanna Ditzel design, based on a very rudimentary prototype found in the archive.
Some content could not load. Check your internet connection or browser settings.
The collection of reissued pieces could be described as couture, but it’s a word that Gerbase resists. “Georg Jensen always wanted his pieces to be of high quality but he would have never called himself a jeweller or a maker of high jewellery. It’s also why he did not use diamonds or sapphires; he was naturally drawn to far less precious stones. Plus, it’s silver – even though he worked with gold, silver was his preference. And I think that there’s a real beauty in the way he saw beyond what is meant by high jewellery or fine.”
Today, there are between 23 and 26 employees in the workshop; a further 13 people work in Gerbase’s own creative team. Bespoke pieces are still handmade in Copenhagen but most of the industrial production is elsewhere. The main jewellery line is made in Thailand, says Gerbase, “because they have better tools”. Glassware is often made in Portugal. Slovakia mainly does the wood. “It’s really [about] where the specialism is,” says Gerbase, “rather than saying we only produce in X,Y, Z.”
Back in the workshop we meet Stella Birkefeldt, a fourth-generation silversmith who now works on the bench alongside her father, Michael, a master silversmith and wood carver. What’s it like to work with far? “I love it, actually,” says Stella, an apple-cheeked twentysomething who looks like an advert for the wholesome smithy life.
Across the room, Adnan Hadzihasanovic, the master cutlery-smith, works on a set of Blossom spoons – he estimates that he has made some 25,000 in his career. Opposite him is Beatriz Santos, a young chaser working with malleable metal: she shares a book in which she has made exquisitely handwritten notes.
Michael also has a smaller private workshop, in which sits a Pyramid coffee pot held together with a wooden vice. First designed in 1930, the pot is part of the art deco offering, with sweeping curves, geometric contours and a handle in darkest ebony. The shiny metal adds another touch of magic to a room that feels like something in a Hans Christian Andersen fairytale – the workstation is arranged with hundreds of utensils, each tool handmade by every worker to meet their individual needs.
Next door, in the hammering room, a drawing of “the Pregnant Duck” is taped to a locker stacked with hammers and other tools. If Gerbase’s plan comes to fruition, this long-standing hero of the workshop is poised to sit within a broader portfolio. It’s easy to see why she’s become so passionate about this atelier and the change she hopes to bring. Thanks to the less-known treasures hiding in the archive, the duck should become just one of many icons allowed to soar.
Leo Tolstoy’s novel Anna Kareninais a masterpiece. It has never been out of print. Luminaries from William Faulkner to Jilly Cooper have remarked on its brilliance. It is usually within the top 10 of any list of the “100 books you simply must read before you die”. However, I would argue that it’s a singularly poor choice of a book to bring with you for 10 days on the beach in Tenerife. Especially in hardback.
I really tried. Every day, I’d read two or three pages before realising I’d read the same pages the day before, and it simply hadn’t stuck. I kept drifting off during the more complex descriptions of 19th-century property law. I simply couldn’t see what Anna saw in Vronsky; he seemed dreadful, just a slightly different kind of dreadful from her husband, Karenin. My arms ached, the sand seemed unusually gritty, and on day four, as children shrieked and splashed around me, their parents read Jack Reacher books while I failed to understand the significance of Levin scything his fields, I thought, ‘No more!’ My luggage allowance was about 20kg. Tolstoy had taken up more than a tenth of it, and 100% of my headspace. I couldn’t relax. I wasn’t enjoying myself. When I found a Sophie Kinsella novel in the hotel gift shop, I almost wept with relief. It didn’t matter that I’d already read The Undomestic Goddess – my aching brain craved comfort and joy, and it simply wasn’t finding it on Russian railway lines.
As an author and a reader, it makes me sad that “beach read” has become a pejorative term. In my book Read Yourself Happy, I investigate the enormous positive impact that reading has on our wellbeing – and I discover that we can only experience the benefits of books if we’re enjoying what we’re reading. I believe that any reading we do is good for us, if it captures our attention and stimulates our imagination. The results of a 2016 Yale University study demonstrated that readers of books tend to live longer; another, published by the National Library of Medicine in 2020, showed that reading wards off cognitive decline.
But studies also show that fewer children and adults are reading for pleasure. A 2024 survey from the Reading Agency found that 35% of us used to read for fun, but we’ve let the habit lapse. It’s understandable, because it’s incredibly difficult to cultivate a reading habit in the 21st century. We all think we “should” read, in the way we think we “should” do more exercise. We put it off. We pick up our phones and wish we could put them down again. It’s very hard for books to compete with our phones, because books don’t tend to light up, or vibrate, or flash with notifications. Books haven’t been designed to be addictive.
We plan to read when we have some free time. Eventually we go on holiday and promise ourselves that we’ll tackle some serious Russian literature, or we bring the Booker winner with us. And we struggle to concentrate and connect with the story because we’re not used to using our reading muscles. We long to pick up our phones and scroll instead. We feel angry with ourselves, and we resent the books. Reading feels like a chore, and we don’t feel as though we’re having the relaxing, reviving, nourishing holiday that we need.
After my failed attempt to read Anna Karenina, I vowed to prioritise pleasure when choosing my holiday reading, jettisoning anything that felt too much like holiday homework. And I started to notice some surprising changes. First, I started to relax much more quickly. I didn’t waste the first two days in a state of anxious agitation, struggling to switch off. In the past, I’d felt fidgety and restless when I was lying by the pool. However, when I found a book I loved, I lay with purpose.
Daisy Buchanan on the beach. Photograph: Courtesy of Daisy Buchanan
My sleep seemed to improve. I felt calmer and more grounded. It changed my focus, too. When I wasn’t reading, I felt more present – I was better at listening to conversations and paying attention. During day trips, I didn’t have the urge to scroll through my phone seeking out recommendations for better restaurant options or nicer beaches. I didn’t have the same irritable holiday squabbles with my husband. This was partly because I felt happy and relaxed, and partly because most of those squabbles are about missing phone chargers and power adaptors. Reading was reducing my screen time, and I wasn’t draining my phone battery.
Most importantly, reading for pleasure made me feel that I’d benefited from the holiday. We go away because we need to relax and recharge. A holiday is supposed to have health benefits. And reading might be the magical secret that ensures we feel those benefits. It’s one way to truly get away from it all. It’s easy to dismiss “fun” summer books: because they are so easy to read, critics (wrongly) assume that they must be easy to write. But in a world where everything can feel very difficult, easy books are more valid and valuable than ever. They bring us lasting, nourishing pleasure.
Sarah Maxwell, the founder of the UK’s first romance-only bookstore, Saucy Books, says that this summer the shop will be celebrating and focusing on beach reads. She says: “A so-called ‘beach read’ can often reach places a serious book can’t – especially when we’re craving ease, escape or a dose of delight. Summer is a time to recharge, and reading for pleasure is one of the simplest, most nourishing ways to reconnect with yourself.”
So when you’re packing for your holiday, and fretting about reading the books that will impress your friends and intimidate your enemies, why not try to give yourself “a dose of delight”? If you’d like to get the most from your time away, and read yourself happy, here are some suggestions.
It sounds counterintuitive, but it might be worth bringing a book that you’ve already read. When I’m especially stressed, or struggling with anxiety, I bring one that I know I love. I find rereading very comforting, and sometimes I need to warm up with something familiar and remind myself that sitting down with a book feels good. It takes the pressure off the reading experience – and it feels like being reunited with old, beloved friends. If the idea of rereading an old book doesn’t appeal, look for a book by a writer you’ve enjoyed before, or something from a series of books. (You can’t go wrong with Poirot or Miss Marple.)
Sometimes I start my holiday reading before I go on holiday. In the run-up to a trip, it feels as though there’s never enough time to pack, clear my desk and do my laundry – but if I try to read a few pages every day, I feel the benefits as soon as I arrive. It can take a couple of chapters to get into a book, and it’s difficult to focus in a new environment, even if it’s supposed to be a relaxing space. But if I’m already invested in the narrative, I’m excited about picking it up as soon as I arrive. (And if I have been reading on the plane or train, I find the arrival process – waiting for luggage and going through passport control – a lot less stressful.)
A Quiet Moment by Rowland Wheelwright Photograph: Mary Evans Picture Library
If I’m going on holiday with friends or family, I’ll suggest we share and swap our books. That way, we can maximise our luggage allowance, and avoid a situation in which we have eight copies of We Solve Murders and All Foursbetween us. One of my favourite holidays was a trip to France with my sisters, where we all took it in turns to read The Disaster Artist – Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell’s wild account of working with Tommy Wiseau on The Room (“the greatest bad movie ever made”). Of course, remember not to bring a prized first edition. Take a book that can be replaced if the worst happens. When books are being read and thoroughly enjoyed on holiday, they risk being dropped in the pool or covered in sun cream.
Perhaps the most important piece of holiday advice is this: if you don’t like the book you’re reading, you don’t have to finish it. Be fair to yourself, and fair to the book. Holidays are supposed to be relaxing and enjoyable. For example, if you work for Nasa and you’re taking a break from a stressful workplace, you might feel tense and triggered after three chapters of Atmosphere, Taylor Jenkins Reid’s new astronaut novel. Reading is a subjective experience. I will rarely give up on a book – but I often pick up a book and put it down again, realising I need to be in a better mood to get the best from it. And sometimes, changing to a more fun book is all it takes to put me in that better mood.
I returned to Anna Karenina eventually. It took me a few years to do so – and I spent that time building up my reading muscles. I read it for pleasure, and by the time I was ready, my appetite for pleasure had become much broader. I didn’t need to learn how to read; I needed to learn to love to read again. It was that Sophie Kinsella book that reminded me of the power of brilliant storytelling. The experience of losing myself in the novel was delicious, and it made me greedy for more. Reading for the sheer fun of it fills up my emotional tank and gives me the strength to attempt “challenging” books. Maybe even more importantly, they also give me the strength to deal with challenging real-life situations. When I’m cheerfully immersing myself in a series of happily-ever-afters, I feel more optimistic and positive. I see the best in people, and I’m kinder and more patient. Life starts to imitate art.
Reading always leaves me feeling better and calmer. I never regret picking up a book, and I’m so grateful to have discovered a hobby that makes me happy, as well as making me feel as though I’m on holiday. It’s good to keep the holiday vibes alive and kicking on a dark, rainy Saturday afternoon in November. And I’m confident that reading for pleasure this summer will ensure you have a better time on the beach. But I suspect the benefits will outlast the trip, too. My holiday reading romance has been going on for years, and rediscovering my passion for romcoms made me realise that books had been my true love all along.
Books for reading yourself happy on holiday
Book Boyfriend by Lucy Vine Simon & Schuster Jenna is a reader, and a dreamer. When a secret admirer starts leaving her letters in her favourite book, she’s reluctant to take the relationship off the page. But her chaotic twin, Clara, is determined to solve the mystery. This classic romcom is utterly charming – a gorgeous dollop of escapist fun.
Tiny Daggers by Caroline Corcoran Thomas & Mercer British expat Holly has built herself a perfect life in Miami – but when her old schoolfriend, also called Holly, turns up, she might have the power to pull the thread and destroy it all. But which one is Good Holly, and which one is Bad Holly? This twisty thriller is a perfect poolside read.
How To Make A Killing by Kate Weston Headline When Bella, the star agent at Harrington Estates, is murdered, people start to ask just how far her colleagues will go to make a sale. It’s a riotous comedy with a body count. If you’ve ever harboured murderous thoughts about estate agents, this is the book for you.
Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez Little, Brown Samantha falls for the hot and improbably named vet Xavier Rush almost instantly – and so do we. But, of course, they can’t be together. Can they? Completely captivating and instantly addictive, if you want to remember the sheer, giddy fun of falling in love, this is the one to read.
Can’t Get Enough by Kennedy Ryan Piatkus Hendrix Barry is glamorous, fabulous and successful – but behind the scenes, life isn’t so easy, as she has to take care of her ageing mother. She certainly doesn’t have time for love. Until tech mogul Maverick Bell shows up. Ryan is Jackie Collins for the BookTok crowd – her romcoms are smartly written, laced with spice and so much fun to read.
Read Yourself Happy by Daisy Buchanan (DK Red, £16.99). To support the Guardian, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.
The new series of Daisy Buchanan’s podcast, You’re Booked, will be recommending summer reads for every different mood, destination and suitcase.
Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah faced backlash on social media after he came forward to defend actor Diljit Dosanjh, supporting his decision to work with Pakistani actor Hania Aamir in Sardaar Ji 3. However, the controversy led to Naseeruddin deleting his Facebook post, seemingly in response to the negative reaction. Also read: Sardaar Ji 3: Diljit Dosanjh shares public response in Pakistan amid row over Hania Aamir’s casting
Naseeruddin Shah has posted a cryptic note on Facebook after deleting the post.
Naseeruddin Shah deletes post after backlash
Naseeruddin posted a supportive message for Diljit on Facebook on Monday, but it appears to have been deleted as it’s no longer visible on his timeline. It seems to be a reaction to the backlash he was getting for his comments.
The actor has posted a cryptic note on Facebook after deleting the post where he posted a quote by Georg Christoph Lichtenberg.
Naseeruddin wrote, “It is almost impossible to carry the torch of truth through a crowd without singeing somebody’s beard. -Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, scientist and philosopher.”
The comments section of Naseeruddin’s latest post reveals a divided opinion, with some users defending his right to free speech and others criticising him for supporting Diljit’s collaboration with a Pakistani actor.
What did Naseeruddin write on Facebook?
Earlier this week, Naseeruddin used Facebook to write words to show support to Diljit amid the backlash he is getting for working with Pakistani actor in Sardaar Ji 3.
Defending Diljit, Naseeruddin wrote, “I STAND FIRMLY WITH DILJIT. The dirty tricks deptt of Jumla Party has been awaiting a chance to attack him. They think they’ve got it at last. He was not responsible for the casting of the film, the director was.”
He added, “But no one knows who he is whereas Diljit is known the world over, and he agreed to the cast because his mind is not poisoned. What these goons want is to put an end to personal interaction between the people of India and Pakistan. I have close relatives and some dear friends there and no one can stop me from meeting them or sending them love whenever I feel like it. And my response to those who will say “Go to Pakistan” is ‘GO TO KAILASA’.”
Diljit in spotlight for Sardaar Ji 3
Over the last few days, Diljit has been getting hate for his latest film Sardaar Ji 3 including Pakistani actor Hania Aamir. The film also stars Neeru Bajwa. Amid the drama, the movie opened overseas on June 27. It didn’t release in India.
After the launch of the trailer, there have been calls to ban Diljit and his future work in India. The All Indian Cine Workers Association (AICWA) and Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) have called for a ban on Diljit and all his upcoming projects. Singer Mika Singh has shared that Diljit should apologise. The stir comes in the wake of the recent Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, followed by India’s Operation Sindoor on May 7, in which air strikes were carried out on terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
In Love Island USA season 7 episode 26, the islanders sent each other letters, sharing their honest but brutal opinions with the islanders in the form of anonymous letters.
When Amaya read her letters, one of them stated that she cried more than needed and tries to “move too fast” for everyone. The letter made Amaya tear up, and she clarified that she was a “sensitive gangsta” and that her tears were not her weakness.
Austin admitted to writing the letter and also said that it came across as harsher than he intended. Ace and Zac also chimed in and shared their grievances with Amaya while Bryan defended her.
Fans reacted to Ace, Zac, and Austin’s comments towards Amaya and felt they were ganging up on her. One person wrote on X:
“Ace, Zak, And Austin jumping on Amaya like this was completely unacceptable. this is horrible.”
“Moral of the story is if they all had something to say to her so f*cking important they could’ve waited, but instead they all decided to just jump on her all at ONCE. I don’t care what was said clearly amaya’s feelings were hurt because she was sob crying,” a fan commented.
“the way ace ,zak, and austin spoke to amaya was unacceptable. and the women not standing up for her? i don’t care how close you are to someone there’s no excuse for staying silent when a woman is being disrespected. i would never let that slide, friend or not,” a tweet read.
Fans of Love Island USA season 7 praised Bryan for defending Amaya:
““coming from a hispanic household. that’s just how we talk. you’re telling her to meet you halfway you gotta meet her halfway too” bryan, YOU GET YOUR 10’s being the only man to stand up for amaya when all the guys were ganging up on her,” a person wrote.
“what bryan said about growing up from a hispanic household is so true, we pass around nicknames like crazy and i’m glad that he decided to defend amaya at that moment when 3 men decided to bring her and her personality down (ESPECIALLY since ace raised his voice)” a fan commented.
“AMAYA IS A LOVER GIRL WHAT ABOUT ITTT??? If yall can’t handle that then leave amaya alone!! AND ACEEE NO ONE ASKED U FOR SH*T!! thank you bryan for defending her! and zak literally why would u say that in front of everyone?? F*CK THE MEN IN THIS VILLA,” a tweet read.
Fans of Love Island USA season 7 further said:
“for ace and zak to punch in on amaya like she already wasn’t crying?? are they f*cking serious?? they shouldn’t have done that sh*t at all, especially zak,” a person wrote.
“austin, ace & zak coming at amaya about crying is f*cking weird as f*ck. they can leave like today. yall weird as f*ck for that. especially after she already having a moment,” a fan commented.
Amaya breaks down as Ace, Austin, and Zak critique her personality in Love Island USA season 7 episode 26
In Love Island USA season 7, Amaya read out the anonymous letters the islanders had left for her. While the first one was funny, the next letter made Amaya tear up.
“You cry more than needed. You try to move too fast for everyone,” it read.
Amaya joked that she was a “sensitive gangsta” and explained that her tears were not her weakness, but her strength, given her past struggles. She added that if people saw it as a negative, she was not their “cup of tea to be drinking.”
Austin admitted to writing the letter and said that although he didn’t intend for it to be as harsh as it came across. The Love Island USA season 7 star said that after they coupled up, the intensity of Amaya’s emotions and wants went “way up.” Amaya countered his point and said she was tired of people viewing her emotions as a negative instead of a “power move.”
“Time out,” Ace said as he put his point across.
The male Love Island USA cast member said Amaya was used to wearing her heart on her sleeve and being passionate, but noted that her approach was “very strong” right from the start, as evidenced by her referring to him as “babe” when they were coupled up.
Ace said he wanted to slow down and said it was a matter of meeting people halfway with what they were comfortable with. Amaya continued to cry as she said that she wasn’t a book, “someone should be reading, and that’s okay.”
Bryan defended Amaya and said that coming from a Hispanic household, referring to each other as “babe,” “mi amor,” or “mi vida,” was how they spoke and that the Love Island USA islanders needed to meet her halfway as well.
Love Island USA season 7 Casa Amor bombshell Zak also spoke up and said that when they spoke, he let her be “passionate” with him. He added that he let her kiss and touch him, and felt like he needed to take a step back sometimes.
“Zac, you had every opportunity to tell me that when we were sitting now you wait until this moment to speak to me in front of 20 other people here? I don’t even want to continue speaking to you anymore,” Amaya said.
Fans of Love Island USA season 7 commented on the letter challenge and criticized Zac, Austin, and Ace for ganging up on Amaya.
Watch the segment back by streaming Love Island USA season 7 episode 26 on Peacock.
Sukriti is a Reality TV writer for the pop culture division of Sportskeeda. A graduation in Political Science initially sparked her interest in journalism; however, over time, she found herself drawn to combining her passion for writing with her fascination for pop culture. With a diverse background spanning 4 years, she likes to maintain dignity and accuracy in her work, ensuring that sensitive matters are reported with integrity and using credible sources.
Sukriti appreciates how reality television offers unique insights into the lives of celebrities and influential personalities, showcasing both their triumphs and vulnerabilities. She is a big fan of Ariana Madix from Vanderpump Rules, for her ability to navigate challenging situations gracefully.
She has had the privilege of interviewing prominent cast members from popular shows like Squid Game: The Challenge such as Charles ‘Chaz’ Roquemore, Jinwoo Oak, Radhika, Mutty B. Mark Gilloffo, along with the cast members from Love at First Lie – Monica Bulnes and Josh Riquelme.
Outside of work, Sukriti finds joy in traveling to offbeat destinations, particularly in the hills, and spending quality time with her cats. She also remains engaged with current affairs, seeking to educate herself on social and political developments worldwide.
Some video game players recently criticised the cover art on a new video game for being generated with artificial intelligence (AI). Yet the cover art for Little Droid, which also featured in the game’s launch trailer on YouTube, was not concocted by AI. It was, the developers claim, carefully designed by a human artist.
Surprised by the attacks on “AI slop”, the studio Stamina Zero posted a video showing earlier versions of the artist’s handiwork. But while some accepted this evidence, others remained sceptical.
In addition, several players felt that even if the Little Droid cover art was human made, it nonetheless resembled AI-generated work.
However, some art is deliberately designed to have the futuristic glossy appearance associated with image generators like Midjourney, DALL-E, and Stable Diffusion.
Stamina Zero published a video showing the steps the artist took to create the cover art.
It’s becoming increasingly easy for images, videos or audio made with AI to be deceptively passed off as authentic or human made. The twist in cases like Little Droid is that what is human or “real” may be incorrectly perceived as machine generated – resulting in misplaced backlash.
Such cases highlight the increasing problem of the balance of trust and distrust in the generative AI era. In this new world, both cynicism and gullibility about what we encounter online are potential problems – and can lead to harm.
Wrongful accusations
This issue extends well beyond gaming. There are growing criticisms of AI being used to generate and publish music on platforms like Spotify.
Yet as a result, some indie music artists have been wrongfully accused of generating AI music, resulting in damage to their burgeoning careers as musicians.
In 2023, an Australian photographer was wrongly disqualified from a photo contest due to the erroneous judgement her entry was produced by artificial intelligence.
Writers, including students submitting essays, can also be falsely accused of sneakily using AI. Currently available AI detection tools are far from foolproof – and some argue they may never be entirely reliable.
Recent discussions have drawn attention to common characteristics of AI writing, including the em dash – which, as authors, we often employ ourselves.
Given that text from systems like ChatGPT has characteristic features, writers face a difficult decision: should they continue writing in their own style and risk being accused of using AI, or should they try to write differently?
Read more:
Google’s SynthID is the latest tool for catching AI-made content. What is AI ‘watermarking’ and does it work?
The delicate balance of trust and distrust
Graphic designers, voice actors and many others are rightly worried about AI replacing them. They are also understandably concerned about tech companies using their labour to train AI models without consent, credit or compensation.
There are further ethical concerns that AI-generated images threaten Indigenous inclusion by erasing cultural nuances and challenging Indigenous cultural and intellectual property rights.
At the same time, the cases above illustrate the risks of rejecting authentic human effort and creativity due to a false belief it is AI. This too can be unfair. People wrongly accused of using AI can suffer emotional, financial and reputational harm.
On the one hand, being fooled that AI content is authentic is a problem. Consider deepfakes, bogus videos and false images of politicians or celebrities. AI content purporting to be real can be linked to scams and dangerous misinformation.
On the other hand, mistakenly distrusting authentic content is also a problem. For example, rejecting the authenticity of a video of war crimes or hate speech by politicians – based on the mistaken or deliberate belief that the content was AI generated – can lead to great harm and injustice.
Unfortunately, the growth of dubious content allows unscrupulous individuals to claim that video, audio or images exposing real wrongdoing are fake.
As distrust increases, democracy and social cohesion may begin to fray. Given the potential consequences, we must be wary of excessive scepticism about the origin or provenance of online content.
A path forward
AI is a cultural and social technology. It mediates and shapes our relationships with one another, and has potentially transformational effects on how we learn and share information.
The fact that AI is challenging our trust relationships with companies, content and each other is not surprising. And people are not always to blame when they are fooled by AI-manufactured material. Such outputs are increasingly realistic.
Furthermore, the responsibility to avoid deception should not fall entirely on internet users and the public. Digital platforms, AI developers, tech companies and producers of AI material should be held accountable through regulation and transparency requirements around AI use.
Even so, internet users will still need to adapt. The need to exercise a balanced and fair sense of scepticism toward online material is becoming more urgent.
This means adopting the right level of trust and distrust in digital environments.
The philosopher Aristotle spoke of practical wisdom. Through experience, education and practice, a practically wise person develops skills to judge well in life. Because they tend to avoid poor judgement, including excessive scepticism and naivete, the practically wise person is better able to flourish and do well by others.
We need to hold tech companies and platforms to account for harm and deception caused by AI. We also need to educate ourselves, our communities, and the next generation to judge well and develop some practical wisdom in a world awash with AI content.
WASHINGTON, July 2 — Around two dozen YouTube channels are pumping out AI-generated videos with false claims about music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs’s sex trafficking trial, racking up millions of views and profiting from misinformation, researchers say.
The flood of false content threatens to distort public perception of the musician’s seven-week New York trial, where jurors were deliberating yesterday to ascertain whether he acted as the ringleader of a criminal organisation that facilitated coercive sex marathons with escorts.
The sensational AI-driven channels have amassed nearly 70 million views from roughly 900 videos about Combs over the past year, according to data compiled by Indicator, a US publication investigating digital deception.
The videos typically feature AI-generated thumbnails showing celebrities on the witness stand alongside images of Combs, often paired with fabricated quotes.
One channel called Pak Gov Update uploaded a nearly 30-minute-long video titled Jay-Z Breaks His Silence on Diddy Controversy, which features a thumbnail of the American rapper.
The thumbnail shows Jay-Z breaking down in tears and holding up a CD above a fabricated quote: “I WILL BE DEAD SOON.”
Pak Gov Update has uploaded similar videos with fake testimonies attributed to other celebrities such as the American comedian Kevin Hart and singer-songwriter Usher.
It began posting content about the closely watched trial in recent weeks. The channel previously posted Urdu content about Pakistan.
“Pak Gov Update is one of 26 YouTube channels identified by Indicator that have used a mix of false claims and AI slop to cash in on the Diddy trial,” said Craig Silverman, co-founder of Indicator.
YouTube has “terminated several channels” among those highlighted by Indicator for “violating our terms of service and policies covering spam,” the site’s spokesman Jack Malon told AFP in a statement.
AI slop refers to often low-quality visual content — generated using cheap and widely available artificial intelligence tools — that increasingly appears to be flooding social media sites, blurring the lines between reality and fiction.
Influencers wait on the day the jury reaches the verdict on several counts in the Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial at US federal court in Manhattan, New York City July 1, 2025. — Reuters pic
Many content creators on YouTube and TikTok offer paid courses on how to monetise viral AI slop on tech platforms, many of which have reduced their reliance on human fact-checkers and scaled back content moderation.
Combs, 55, faces life in prison if convicted on five federal charges that include racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation for purposes of prostitution.
Conspiracy theories and falsehoods surrounding his trial have flooded social media sites in recent weeks, threatening to shroud the facts and undermine real witnesses, experts say.
A song titled I Lost Myself at a Diddy Party and falsely attributed to Justin Bieber recently garnered millions of views across social media platforms, sparking a wave of conspiracy theories about the relationship between the two celebrities.
An audio clip of the song, which features lyrics about Bieber losing his innocence after attending a Combs party, was likely created using an AI tool, according to the disinformation watchdog NewsGuard.
Also gaining traction online was a manipulated image of Combs and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein sitting next to US President Donald Trump on a couch with young women. — AFP
