Dame Rosalind Savill obituary

Director of the Wallace Collection museum in London from 1992 to 2011 and a specialist on 18th-century Sèvres porcelainWhen, in 1992, Rosalind Savill announced that she was going to apply for the directorship of the Wallace Collection museum in London, reactions divided roughly in two. One group would smile wistfully and say how much they loved the Wallace, because no one ever went there. The second group would point out that Savill, who has died aged 73 of cancer, was variously unqualified for the job. “You’ve been here too long, you’re a woman and you have an illegitimate child,” was the terse summing up of one senior colleague.This reflected the world of curating as it was 30 years ago

Young people in UK: tell us why you love knitting, sewing, embroidery or making your own clothes

The UK saw an arts and craft renaissance during Covid lockdowns, as people took up new hobbies such as knitting, sewing, embroidery and making their own garments.Around 1 million people became hooked on knitting after lockdown, according to a 2022 finding from the UK Hand Knitting Association.We want to hear from young people on how they have taken up – and sustained – the habit of knitting, sewing and making their own clothes.What do you love about the hobby? What items are you particularly proud of, or eager to try this year? How did you start, and what do you get from knitting and sewing as a young person?You can tell us about your experiences of making garments using this form.Please be specific and include as much detail as possible

‘We can be weirdos too’: the Black mermaids creating their own fantasy worlds

Dressed in a purple and turquoise seashell bra and an iridescent green tail, the professional mermaid Carrie Wata swam through a hula hoop that a group of children held underwater in a pool at a birthday party outside of Atlanta, Georgia. The birthday girl was astonished to see that Wata was a Black mermaid. “You look like me,” Wata recalled the girl saying. Her mother had previously told Wata that the child was insecure about her hair and brown skin tone.But throughout the party, Wata said that she saw the child become more self-assured as she mimicked Wata’s moves, swimming through the hula hoop and flipping her tail underwater as well

Devon council urged to halt demolition of historic mill buildings

The wooded banks of the River Lemon, which tumbles through the town of Newton Abbot from the heights of Dartmoor, has long been a hive of activity, the site of corn and wool mills and tanneries that have employed thousands of people over the centuries.But demolition crews are about to move in to clear a collection of mill buildings and make way for housing despite an outcry from local people and national conservation organisations which argue the historic structures should be saved and repurposed.The National Trust and Save Britain’s Heritage are among a host of bodies that say it would be better on cultural and environmental grounds to preserve and convert the buildings rather than raze them.Nature campaigners are also worried that the loss of Bradley Lane Mills will endanger creatures including bats that roost in five of the buildings, swifts that nest there and eels that live in the leat running through the plot.Teignbridge district council, which owns the site, has been accused of rushing through the demolition, which is scheduled to begin on 6 January, because it needs to use money allocated from the UK government’s future high streets fund quickly or lose it

Pouring champagne and ironing knickers: my day serving the matriarchy as a topless male waiter

“Mum”, a drag mistress sporting a severe blonde bob, dresses me in a black tuxedo jacket and tie, chest and belly exposed – then puts me to work ironing knickers. Later, I’m handed a feather duster with which to polish an array of white porcelain dicks – alternately girthy, proud, veiny and shrivelled – protruding from the rich green velvet drapes (Peter Lundberg’s 91 Penises).This is the price of entry to the Museum of Old and New Art’s Ladies Lounge – if you’re a man.The nipaluna/Hobart museum reopened the lounge last week for a one-month victory lap, after a sex discrimination complaint first won by New South Wales man Jason Lau was overturned in lutruwita/Tasmania’s supreme court. Operating since 2020 as a space for women to luxuriate in their own company, the lounge is now allowing men to enter on select days – provided they remove their shirts and serve the matriarchy inside

Janey Godley remembered by Nicola Sturgeon

20 January 1961 – 2 November 2024The former first minister hails the talents of the Scottish comedian and actor who made people laugh in the darkest of times, not least with with her parodies of the politician’s Covid briefingsVery early in the pandemic, somebody in my office said, “Have you seen these voiceover videos of your Covid briefings that Janey Godley is doing? They’re really, really funny.’” So I watched a couple of them and they really, really were.Obviously, Covid was such a hard and dark time for everybody, and for me as first minister, it was stressful, but after finding out about Janey’s voiceovers, I remember quite quickly getting into this kind of pattern: after I did the briefing every day, half an hour later I’d go to see if Janey had posted anything – she used to post her videos quickly – just to lift my spirits and cheer me up. They always made me laugh.Janey took the – excuse my language – piss out of me on many occasions, yes, but that’s par for the course