Jenny Stevens

Alexis Petridis selects 10 lesser-known Dolly Parton songs, highlighting her narrative songwriting, emotional range and sharp engagement with women’s experiences and sexist double standards. The selections span tragic country narratives such as “Down from Dover,” “Daddy Come and Get Me” and “The Bridge”; humorous and socially pointed songs including “PMS Blues” and “The Bargain Store”; and hopeful or autobiographical works such as “Wildflowers,” “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” and “Here I Am.” The piece presents Parton’s deep cuts as evidence of a peerless career and enduring artistic and emotional relevance, following news of her death in Nashville at age 80.

A Guardian video examines why Dolly Parton became one of the world’s most beloved country music artists following her death at 80. The discussion highlights her groundbreaking career as a singer, songwriter and actor, along with her philanthropy, literacy advocacy and support for LGBTQ+ rights. Tributes from Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Oprah Winfrey and Paul McCartney underscore her broad cultural influence and enduring public affection.

Tributes have followed the death of Dolly Parton at age 80, celebrating her pioneering career as a country singer, songwriter and actor. Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Oprah Winfrey and Paul McCartney are among those honoring her music, philanthropy, literacy advocacy and support for LGBTQ+ rights. Lucy Hough discusses Parton's enduring appeal with Guardian deputy features editor Jenny Stevens.

Melissa Auf der Maur discusses her memoir about the turmoil of 1990s rock, including her years in Hole and the Smashing Pumpkins, her relationship with Courtney Love, and her romance with Dave Grohl. She reflects on Love’s addiction, grief, public vilification and survival, arguing that the music industry failed to support artists facing profound trauma. The memoir also reveals how Auf der Maur helped her father die after his terminal cancer diagnosis, a secret she kept for decades, and traces her later life as an artist, mother and co-founder of Basilica Hudson.

Guardian writers recommend the television programmes they find most comforting and rewatchable. The selections range from sitcoms such as Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Frasier, Friends, Arrested Development and The Good Place to dramas and soaps including Virgin River and Lovesick, alongside University Challenge, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, Pingu and cookery programmes featuring Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson. The contributors emphasise familiarity, laughter, emotional warmth, escapism, reassuring formats and the sense of companionship these shows provide during difficult or isolating moments.

Jenny Stevens and Gina Tonic discuss the renewed cultural fixation on thinness, the rise of #SkinnyTok and the popularity of weight-loss drugs. Stevens argues that TikTok’s profit-driven algorithm may be pushing extreme weight-loss content toward young users and warns of risks to people vulnerable to eating disorders. Tonic explains that the body positivity movement has become less visible amid a post-pandemic emphasis on health, with fatness often wrongly equated with being unhealthy and thinness restored as the social ideal.

Guardian writers and readers offer 101 activities that can improve mood, health or wellbeing in five minutes or less. Suggestions range from brief exercises, stretching, breathing and walking to meditation, creative activities, social connection, acts of kindness, tidying, time outdoors, pet care and small dietary or self-care changes. The feature combines personal anecdotes with references to research on stress, mood, cognition, physical mobility and social wellbeing, while emphasizing accessible, low-cost actions and the value of brief pauses and restorative moments.

Renters can create attractive, wildlife-friendly gardens without making permanent alterations by using large containers, movable shelving, pallets and other temporary structures. Gardening experts recommend asking landlords for permission, choosing perennials and fast-growing plants, growing food in pots, repeating plant varieties for cohesion, using suitable compost, and maintaining containers through feeding, watering, mulching, dividing and repotting. Working with shade, valuing foliage and seasonal interest, and accepting that some plants may not survive a move can help renters build portable gardens that provide stability and enjoyment despite insecure housing.

A Guardian photo gallery showcases 32 distinctive outfits worn by attendees at Glastonbury 2024. Festivalgoers describe humorous themed clothing, practical footwear, designer and high-street purchases, reused garments, coordinated group looks and creative accessories. The feature also highlights a couple who married on site and clothing made in The Gambia to support local tailors and economic independence.

Guardian writers recommend songs ranging from Little Richard and Metallica to classical, jazz, rap and experimental pop as inspiring material for primary school education. Their selections emphasize musical history, creativity, emotional expression, imagination, migration, poverty, local communities and the value of arts in schools. The piece is framed by Keir Starmer’s interest in promoting music to children and includes criticism of Conservative-era arts funding and Labour’s positions on human rights.

Jenny Stevens recounts suffering severe scalding burns to her buttocks after a cup of mint tea spilled in her father’s van on Christmas Eve 2013. The blisters required emergency hospital treatment, syringing and repeated dressing changes by her mother, leaving Stevens unable to sit comfortably over Christmas. The experience led her to avoid takeaway tea permanently, while an apology voucher from the coffee shop remained unused.

Seven writers describe discovering or reclaiming childhood pleasures in adulthood, including swimming, skipping, funfairs, dancing, football, martial arts and blowing bubbles. Their experiences show how late access, financial constraints, cultural expectations, body-image concerns, illness and mental-health struggles can prevent people from enjoying seemingly ordinary activities. Learning these skills later brings confidence, physical and emotional wellbeing, community, family connection and a renewed sense of wonder.