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As I write, we’re at the dawn of

Welcome to August

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This month’s CONTRIBUTORS

Elisabeth Hoff Cover An award-winning photographer, Elisabeth works

Raise the bar

SHOPPING LIST

Jenni Murray

With unisex toilets becoming increasingly popular, our columnist explains why she believes these WCs are anything but convenient – especially for women

IN MY EXPERIENCE…

Dame Zandra Rhodes

This month we talk… gardening

Each month our insight team conducts an in-depth poll of Saga customers to find out what you’re thinking. This month: in the garden

Game changer

As the Olympics begin, presenter Gabby Logan, 51, talks to us about coping with the menopause and her husband Kenny’s cancer battle

A SPORTING CHANCE

Millions will be cheering on the 4,400 Paralympic athletes in Paris this month. It’s hard to believe it all started with 16 archers in an Aylesbury field

Wise guy

After years of catastrophic decline barn owls are back, soaring silently above our hedges and ditches. We meet the man who has dedicated his life to the survival of this bewitching bird

Power struggles

Love them or hate them, solar panels are the future of green electricity generation, say some – and projects are springing up all over the UK in a ‘sunrush’. But would you want a 15-mile long solar farm on your doorstep?

BBC CEEFAX

10 things you never knew about...

A place to call home

The majority of foster carers in the UK are over 50. Here four of them tell us why they have found it so life-enhancing

Size matters

It’s a world in which giant tomatoes are tenderly cradled in old bras and pampered pumpkins are wrapped in duvets at night. The UK’s top giant vegetable growers reveal what it takes to cultivate colossal crops

‘A black man was about to enter a White House built by slaves’

With the US presidential race in full swing, our new columnist looks back on being there for Barack Obama’s history-making victory

Ask Annie

Our straight-talking, no-nonsense agony aunt tackles the problems troubling you

Paradise Found

INTERIORS / RECIPES / GARDENS / TECH / BEAUTY / WINE

VEG OUT

Want to get more creative with veg? Try these delicious summery recipes by Italian chef

Tried & tasted

With silky custard and a sugar top, crème brûlée is the ultimate dessert. But do any of these bring some ooh là là?

Riesling stars

If you’re looking for an excellent, purse-friendly wine, Germany has plenty to choose from. Our expert picks the best

Growing together

As Britain in Bloom celebrates 60 years of uniting communities, we discover how green-fingered therapy is transforming neighbourhoods across the country

Fresh from the plot

It’s a month of easy pickings, bounteous flowers and sun-warmed fruit. There’s plenty to do, though, to keep the show on the road...

Screen time

Want to update your tablet? From top-of-the-range iPads to more affordable Androids and a bargain from Amazon, our expert reveals the best on the market

Bronze age

Looking for the perfect faux glow? These five easy-to-use gradual tanners are a little ray of sunshine, says our columnist

Generation games

As a fan of great oratory and public speaking, our columnist considers the folly of allowing AI to write wedding speeches

health & wellbeing

YOUR QUESTIONS / SUGAR ALTERNATIVES /60-PLUS FITNESS

Hit the sweet spot

We all know too much sugar is bad for our health, but which are the best alternatives? We investigate the options

‘I’m in the best shape of my life at 61’

It’s never too late to overhaul your fitness, as former Jaeger MD Fiona Lambert discovered when she entered her seventh decade

Old age, young love

On the last day of their Caribbean holiday, Miranda surprises our columnist with a romantic trip to the middle of nowhere

Paul Lewis

INHERITANCE TAX / MONEY NEWS

Money news

August 2024

ON A HIGH

BHUTAN / WELSH RETREAT / LETTER FROM AMERICA

Living the dream

We visit Charlotte Church’s retreat in Wales, The Dreaming, and enjoy dancing at sunrise, forest bathing and cold-water swimming

Letter from America

‘There is no unseeing it,’ observed my (American)

Rebel with a cause

EVENTS / THEATRE / MUSIC / FILM / RADIO / PODCAST / TV

out and about

EVENT Defender Burghley Horse Trials book now Horses

DECADE BUSTERS

TURNING 50 Amy Adams actor, below centre Brian

staying in

PODCAST To Catch a Scorpion Barzan Majeed –

All’s well that ends well

This month brings a debut novel from our resident word wizard, an 18th-century romp, escape from the sickroom, and the vindication of a teacher maligned

COMING NEXT MONTH...

On sale 22 August

letters

THANKS FOR WRITING TO US, WE LOVE HEARING WHAT YOU THINK

PUZZLES

SET SQUARE Place each of the digits 1-9

The pub Quiz

Shakespeare, sitcoms and South Africa’s Table Mountain all feature in this month’s teasers

Solutions

The world according to… Mishal Husain

The BBC Radio 4 Today presenter, 51, on her early-morning routine, hitting the headlines and going back to her roots

Word to the wise

This month the Countdown lexicographer explores the etymology of some of our most popular plants and flowers