After years hidden away, Oldham’s memorial to six local volunteers who died fighting fascism in the Spanish civil war has been restored to public view, marking both a victory for campaigners and a renewed tribute to the town’s proud International Brigade heritage, says ROB HARGREAVES
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Asparagus: a prized perennial
From seed to sumptuous spears, MAT COWARD offers advice to gardeners with less-than-ideal conditions
Simon Hibbs (left) and Paul McGuffie at New Farm Produce Ltd in Lichfield, Staffordshire
While pretending to seek peace, Europe is heading toward a collision course with Russia – using security guarantees, troop deployments, expropriation and censorship as tools, writes SEVIM DAGDELEN
Alba party leader KENNY MacASKILL makes some suggestions on how to save our pubs and reduce irresponsible drinking
The catastrophe unfolding in Gaza – where Palestinians are freezing to death in tents – is not a natural disaster but a calculated outcome of Israel’s ongoing blockade, aid restrictions and continued violence, argues CLAUDIA WEBBE
Opinion polls point to electoral collapse, parliamentary rebellion and a looming leadership challenge as Starmer’s Labour haemorrhages working-class support and the far right exploits the vacuum left by a hollowed-out party, says NICK WRIGHT
The long-term effects of chemical weapons such as Agent Orange mean that the impact of war lasts well beyond a ceasefire
THE best time to plant an asparagus bed is three years ago, the old saying has it, because the wait is about that long before you get a full crop. The good news is that once it starts cropping it should keep going at full strength for at least a decade, and can still be productive 20 years on.
In Britain it is traditional to stop cutting asparagus around June 21, giving the plants the rest of the year to recover their strength ready for next season. You get around six to eight weeks of harvest annually, starting in April, at a time when the garden isn’t producing much else except puddles. I think it’s that, as much as the supermarket price, which makes asparagus seem so luxurious, more so perhaps than anything else on the vegetable patch.
I’ve planted a few asparagus beds over the years, and some have been great successes while others have been equally impressive failures. Unfortunately, the rules don’t always help.
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