Author: The Guardian

Everything changed with a voicemail. I was used to my cat getting into trouble. Bootsy always had a tough time respecting other people’s boundaries. When a concerned neighbour called the number on his collar I assumed the worst; that he had snuck in and eaten their roast dinner or some such.That wasn’t the case – it was a courtesy call. Bootsy was sleeping on a back veranda chair, the caller said, and was more than welcome to stay as long as he liked.I ventured to the caller’s house nearby. It was a fortress. The large steel sheets over the windows…

Novak Djokovic, like England, knows extra time and penalty shootouts. He’d spent much of the year on the line, without a title and increasingly vulnerable, but with an unwavering confidence that was enough to meet huge expectations; he was never short of either.Like England, he remains in the Championship, defying consensus – and a superb challenge from world number 47 Alexei Popyrin – after recent knee surgery. Three wins away from a tenth final, the bookmakers are twitching again.Roger Federer is gone. Andy Murray is (almost certainly) gone. Rafael Nadal is leaving. Djokovic is still there, still winning, still great,…

A long-running heatwave that has already broken records, sparked dozens of wildfires and left about 130 million people under a high-temperature threat is about to intensify enough that the National Weather Service has deemed it “potentially historic”.The NWS on Saturday reported some type of extreme heat or advisory for nearly 133 million people across the nation – mostly in western states where the triple-digit heat, with temperatures 15F to 30F higher than average, is expected to last into next week.Oppressive heat and humidity could team up to spike temperatures above 100F (about 38C) in parts of the Pacific north-west, the…

wattWhat is going on here? Ridiculously, England reached yet another semi-final, their third in four tournaments under Southgate. Feeling okay? kind of. A little bit. Maybe not. It depends on which part of this strange, grueling, unexpectedly joyous evening in Düsseldorf’s Green Edge you choose to focus on.We’ll have time, a lot of time, to delve into the pain and ambiguity and feeling of the team spending 120 minutes trying to put on a jumper, realizing it’s from back to front, then realizing it doesn’t have any arms, and then realizing It’s actually an ironing board cover. First the good…

Jon Landau, the Oscar-winning Titanic and Avatar producer who helped bring director James Cameron’s visions to life, has died at 63.Alan Bergman, co-chair of Disney Entertainment, announced Landau’s death in a statement on Saturday. No cause of death was given.“Jon was a visionary whose extraordinary talent and passion brought some of the most unforgettable stories to life on the big screen. His remarkable contributions to the film industry have left an indelible mark, and he will be profoundly missed. He was an iconic and successful producer yet an even better person and a true force of nature who inspired all…

Ronald Koeman feels “very special” at the prospect of facing England in the Euro 2024 semi-finals after the Netherlands sealed their place with a thrilling comeback victory over Turkey.Own goals from Stefan de Vrij and Mert Muldur overturned a half-time deficit as Europe’s two established teams meet in a major tournament for the first time since 1996 . Koeman’s men had some luck in the closing moments but were feeling the pressure and faced a high-octane game in Dortmund.”It’s something special for the whole country,” said Koeman, reflecting on the fact that the Netherlands have not reached the European Cup…

Concert pianists like me generally don’t work that well with others. We practise alone and most of the time perform alone. When you spend that much time in your own company you get quite sensitive to criticism. I am a very impatient person, obsess over tiny things and tend towards melancholia.All this made pairing up all the trickier. I didn’t just want to “be” with someone. I sought in a relationship what I sought in art: I wanted something that made me transcend my daily concerns. I wanted someone who made me better than I am.One day in 2015 I…

Bukayo Saka exorcised England’s Euro 2020 demons with a brilliant penalty shootout on a remarkable night in Dusseldorf and immediately insisted he was aiming to win Euro 2024 Cup and create history for the country.Saka had already delivered a man-of-the-match performance, scoring a stunning goal in the 80th minute to save England and send the quarter-finals into overtime, before his penalty saved England team, helping England advance to Wednesday night’s Euro 2024 semi-finals against the Netherlands in Borussia Dortmund.When he stepped up as third taker in the penalty shootout and saw Cole Palmer and Jude Bellingham coolly finishing, there was…

The Netherlands lie between England and a place in next Sunday’s final, although that does not tell half the story of a night that swirled in every conceivable direction. In the end they overcame a relentless Turkey and did so, in large part, by resorting to the kitchen sink.Or, as he is better known, Wout Weghorst. He watched from the bench as everything his teammates tried in the first half ran aground. After beginning brightly enough they buckled under the sheer will, aggression, energy and noise pulsating from their opponents and deserved to be a goal down at half-time. Ronald…

It’s the second half of overtime now, and the game has gone on for about 107 minutes. It could be two minutes, or it could be four months. It’s hard to say. Eberechi Eze, now England’s left wing-back, came out of the box under pressure and fired a long, hopeful, desperate shot down the left wing.Harry Kane was desperate for his 26th touch of the night, which he duly chased down. With the angle against him and no team-mates nearby, Manuel Akanji’s shoulder blades were breathing, but Kane managed to keep the ball under control. Crossing the touchline, he stood…