The Guardian - Life & Style • Jan. 18, 2026, 1:35 p.m.

Discover the joys of creamy soy bean curd in this spicy Sichuan dish that comes together in minutes Mapo tofu is a Chengdu favourite typical of the “spicy generosity” of Sichuan food, Fuchsia Dunlop explains, though it’s perhaps better not translated as “pock-marked old woman’s tofu”. It may even convert you to the joys of tofu itself, should you still be on the fence about the stuff, because its creamy softness is the perfect foil for the intensely savoury, tingly seasoning involved here.

It’s also ready in mere minutes. Prep 10 min Cook 7 min Serves 2 Continue reading...

The Guardian - Life & Style • Jan. 18, 2026, 1:35 p.m.

This week, we got crunching on a batch of widely available granolas, tasting for flavour, ingredient quality and provenance • The best supermarket runny honey Granola is similar to muesli, but baked with a sugar syrup (maple syrup, honey or golden syrup, say). It’s by definition sweet, and I find sugar addictive, so I enjoy it only rarely as a treat.

The best ones come in golden clusters; sweet, but not too sweet (under 10% is low, over 15% high), with a touch of salt and a range of whole grains, dried fruit, nuts and seeds. I also love ones that include toasted coconut, because it adds complexity and flavour at not too much extra cost.

The quality of this test group was pretty high across the board, with nutty bargains, luxuriously indulgent, sugar-packed treats and, to my surprise, some really healthy, low-sugar wholefood options. Continue reading...

The Guardian - Life & Style • Jan. 18, 2026, 1:35 p.m.

Our reviewer loved this wake-up light more than any other he’s tested – it’s even knocked his previous best sunrise alarm off the top spot • Read the full ranking in our sunrise alarm clock test Since I first tested sunrise alarm clocks last winter, I’ve come to suspect that there’s no such thing as getting up on the wrong side of bed. What we ought to be worried about is waking up on the wrong side of dawn.

During summer (and other times of the year, for late risers), the sunrise begins to rouse us before we wake up. The brain kicks into gear and sends signals to initiate all sorts of bodily processes, from metabolism to hormone release, which helps us to feel ready for the day.

It’s a fundament of our circadian rhythm – and we miss out on it whenever we wake before it gets light. Continue reading...

The Guardian - Life & Style • Jan. 18, 2026, 1:35 p.m.

From luxury Simba and Otty mattresses to brilliant budget buys, here’s what we recommend – and how to know if you’ve found a good deal • The best mattresses for back pain • The best mattress toppers, tested A good mattress improves your sleep, say mattress makers – and they would, wouldn’t they? But they’re right.

The older I get, the more I know it. When I was 20, I could sleep anywhere: a friend’s floor, a filthy sofa – even a phone box one night.

These days, I won’t get a single one of 40 winks if I’m not lying on a decent mattress. Comfy but firm, cosy but breathable, and with loads of cool spots for my feet.

The Guardian - Life & Style • Jan. 18, 2026, 1:35 p.m.

A Michelin-adjacent bistro with white tablecloths, red-trousered guests and a chunky wine list In a room packed with fancy types just off Sloane Square in London, I am eating a £52 plate of dover sole and chips while Status Quo’s Rockin’ All Over the World blasts cheerfully through the room. The chips are very nice, all crunchingly crisp and yieldingly fluffy in all the right places.

All 12 of them were perfect, in fact, stood aloft in their silver serving vessel. “A-giddy-up and giddy-up and get awaaaay,” sings Francis Rossi as I perch on a velvet, pale mustard banquette that’s clearly so very expensive that I shudder every time my greasy paws so much as skim close to touching it.

Clare Smyth , of three Michelin-starred Core fame, is letting her hair down with this new project, Corenucopia , where she’s cooking a less pricey, more comfort food-focused menu.

The Guardian - Life & Style • Jan. 18, 2026, 1:35 p.m.

Worth £6bn and with revenues recently rising by 10.9%, the niche interest game has become a global business You don’t need to spend your weekends organising a face-off between bloodthirsty orcs and elves to have heard of the game Warhammer. So popular is the fantasy game that its parent company Games Workshop is valued at a staggering £6bn and is almost ever-present on British high streets.

Continue reading...

The Guardian - Life & Style • Jan. 18, 2026, 1:35 p.m.

Kick back and dream of summer with our pick of seaside gems, including a stylish Andalucian bolthole and a villa with views of Stromboli Wild, windswept and wonderfully unspoilt, the Costa de la Luz is the Spanish coastline time forgot; a great swathe of Atlantic drama, fringed with sandy beaches and small seaside villages and resorts. Hotel Madreselva , surrounded by the pine forest, wetlands, dunes and sea cliffs of the Breña y Marismas de Barbate nature reserve, makes a suitably tranquil base, with a palm-shaded courtyard, flame-walled pool area and 18 stylish rooms, all with a private patio.

A minute’s walk from the beach at Los Caños de Meca, the hotel is perfect for watersports lovers, as well as exploring this unspoilt corner of Andalucia.

The Guardian - Life & Style • Jan. 18, 2026, 1:35 p.m.

Couples not sharing religious beliefs or going to each other’s places of worship isn’t unusual, but perhaps there’s something else going on here When I met my husband eight years ago , I knew he was churchy, but as a low-church Protestant, I thought this wouldn’t be a problem. Outside church, I am comfortable with our religious differences .

I sort of believe in God, and find immense spirituality in nature, but think Christ was simply a good man, whereas my husband believes it . He respects my beliefs and has never imposed his on me.

The problem I have is with the church we attend. I often feel a fraud as I don’t share the beliefs of the rest of the congregation.

The Guardian - Life & Style • Jan. 18, 2026, 1:35 p.m.

Beth’s liberated and open-minded attitude to sex has helped Alex reignite his passion after his former wife came out as a lesbian • How do you do it? Share the story of your sex life, anonymously We’re always letting our hands wander under restaurant tables, or on the escalator in the Tube Continue reading...

The Guardian - Life & Style • Jan. 18, 2026, 1:35 p.m.

Immersive lessons and flexible qualifications: the support, innovation and personalisation of online schooling is helping students who had negative experiences at bricks-and-mortar institutions Moving to any new school can be daunting, but joining an online school is a whole new experience. For James, starting at King’s InterHigh was a bit scary at first, but it soon became the best school he had ever been to.

“The first weeks are a bit different, but once you get used to it, I think it’s even better than a physical school,” he says. King’s InterHigh, an online school, uses advanced technology to create a flexible learning experience for students all around the world.

Once James enrolled at King’s InterHigh, which follows a British curriculum for students aged seven to 19, he says he was supported straight away. “It’s very welcoming,” he says.

Sidebar

Paste your ad here.