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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Seeds: what's new for next year
MAT COWARD looks at some of the more interesting options for gardeners available for order now for planting in the new year
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
SINCE the Liberal Democrats privatised the Royal Mail a decade ago, ordering plants by post has become a slightly risky affair.
Now that many streets only get two or three deliveries a week, it’s not unusual for live plants to spend so long in transit as to be well past their best, or even dead, on arrival. The same can apply to bulbs, corms and similar.
But with very few exceptions, seeds are not a problem — they are capable of surviving anything the private sector can subject them to. So here are a few of the new offerings from the 2024 seed catalogues.
Beaches Mix from Thompson and Morgan (www.thompson-morgan.com; tel 0844 573-1818) is a sunflower claimed to be “ideal for coastal gardens and other challenging locations.” A bushy, fast-growing annual, it uses runners to spread, which anchor it, and its flexible stems are less likely to snap in the wind.
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