‘It’s absolutely open to abuse’: web awash with weight-loss drug offers

After Andy King was told he was not eligible to receive weight-loss jabs on the NHS, he turned to the internet to order them privately. But before long, he was inundated with promotions.“Every other advert on my social media feed is an offer to have a Black Friday deal on the drugs,” he said.In a video call with the Guardian, King, a 59-year-old leisure management consultant and coach, demonstrated what happens when he looks for such medications.Opening a search engine, he typed three words: “Weight loss drugs

Bouncing back: UK soft play centres recover after Covid closures

“It will go all the way up there, with four floors, and a net maze,” says Jonathan Laznik, the owner of Gambado, pointing to the 10-metre-high ceiling in Forest Hill’s Capitol theatre, which is the venue for the company’s newest soft play venture.Built as a silent cinema in 1929, the Grade II-listed art deco building, which once sat 1,600 cinemagoers, has also served as a bingo hall and, until last year, a Wetherspoon’s pub.Novelty Guinness hats emblazoned with “Happy St Patrick’s Day!” still hang behind the bar, which Laznik says will be demolished to make way for children’s party rooms next year, if he secures planning permission.With three other sites in Brent Cross, Chelsea and Finchley, Laznik is one of a growing number of entrepreneurs who have entered the soft play market in recent years.After 10% of operators went out of business during the coronavirus pandemic, there are signs of recovery, with some providers including Laznik buying multiple sites

There’s no reason for older people to fear smartphones | Letters

In wishing to ban smartphones, Tim Watson (nearly 94) throws the baby out with the bathwater (Letters, 20 December). Being of a certain age myself, I remember when nobody in my close family even had a landline.Smartphone use can become misuse but, used intelligently, the smartphone is one of the greatest modern inventions. With mine, I can call people on the other side of the world cheaply or even at no cost; I can use it as a satnav; I do not have to speak to everyone because I can simply send them a text; I can store important information and use any number of apps.I agree with banning smartphone use during school hours – and appropriate use and misuse should be part of education today because, of course, there are dangers

Older music has been getting a second life on TikTok, data shows

This was the year that gen Z had their “Brat summer”, or so we were led to believe.Inspired by the hit album by pop sensation Charli xcx, the trend was seen to embody all the messiness of modern youth: trashy, chaotic and bright green.But on the teenager’s social media platform of choice, TikTok, a more sepia music trend has been taking root.Despite having an endless amount of music to pair with their short, scrollable videos, TikTok users have been raiding the back catalogues of artists from yesteryear including Bronski Beat and Sade to soundtrack their posts.This year set a new high for use of old tracks on British TikTok posts, with tunes more than five years old accounting for 19 out of its 50 top tracks this year

King George VI Chase meeting: horse racing updates from Kempton Park – live

Here’s Constitution Hill arriving at Kempton …CONSTITUTION HILL HAS ARRIVED 🤩Can he make it a third consecutive win in the Christmas Hurdle❓#ITVRacing | #Kempton pic.twitter.com/9PolFhESVYWeather update … racing delayed at Aintree owing to fog.There will now be a ten- to 15-minute delay to racing at Aintree with the television cameras being redeployed due to fogHello and welcome to this Boxing Day bonanza. It’s rare indeed that the King George VI Chase, one of the great jumps races on the calendar, threatens to be overshadowed but that’s the case at Kempton today with Constitution Hill making his comeback in the Christmas Hurdle against current Champion Hurdle favourite Lossiemouth

The men’s Test cricket team of the year: from Atkinson to Jaiswal

Our special board of selectors announce the picks for the best men’s Test XI of the past 12 monthsGo fetch a cup of tea and your best arguments, it’s time for the Guardian’s 10th annual men’s Test XI of the Year. This year’s selection panel included Vic Marks, Ali Martin, Emma John, Rob Smyth, Jonathan Liew, Adam Collins, Geoff Lemon, Daniel Gallan, Tim de Lisle, Taha Hashim, Tanya Aldred, Jim Wallace, and myself, Andy Bull. It’s been an intriguing 12 months, in which every team was able to beat someone but no team was able to beat everyone, and at the end of it, everyone picked their own XI and, when we added up the votes, this is how it all came out (and yes, we were surprised so many Englishmen ended up in it, too) …14 matches, 1,312 runs at 52. Votes: 13 out of 13Over the course of England’s tour of India Jaiswal established himself as one of the brightest batters of the next generation of Test cricketers, a point he proved when he ended the year by taking 161 off Australia in Perth. It wasn’t just the number of runs he scored, although they came by the hundred-weight, with back-to-back double centuries in Vizag and Rajkot, it was the irresistible ferocity of his batting