12 fun games to play while you're inside all winter





© Renaud Philippe for The New York Times

© Samar Abu Elouf for The New York Times

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As the publisher celebrates an important milestone, we chart its journey from an ‘expensive hobby’ to an international household name
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Hello and welcome to the Long Wave. This week, I had the huge pleasure of an audience with Peepal Tree Press, which has been home to authors such as Bernardine Evaristo and Roger Robinson. Peepal Tree publishes books from the Caribbean and its diaspora, and has just celebrated its 40th anniversary. I spoke to its founder, Jeremy Poynting, and fiction editor Jacob Ross, and what ensued was a masterclass not only in publishing, but in diasporic art.
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© Illustration: Peepal/Getty/Joe Plimmer/The Guardian

© Illustration: Peepal/Getty/Joe Plimmer/The Guardian

© Illustration: Peepal/Getty/Joe Plimmer/The Guardian
Vincent Chan, 45, pleads guilty to 26 offences from 2022 to 2024 including attacks on four young girls
Warning: this article contains descriptions of offences readers may find distressing
A man passed vetting to get a job at a London nursery where he sexually assaulted toddlers, some during their nap time, while they were in his care.
Vincent Chan, 45, who worked at a north London branch of the Bright Horizons nursery group, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to 26 offences from 2022 to 2024, including attacks on four young girls whom he sexually assaulted and offences relating to more than 25,000 indecent images of children.
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© Photograph: Metropolitan police/PA

© Photograph: Metropolitan police/PA

© Photograph: Metropolitan police/PA
Gerry McGovern reportedly removed from role of chief creative officer after 20 years with business
The Jaguar Land Rover design boss behind the Range Rover and the polarising Jaguar relaunch has abruptly departed the business just four months after its new chief executive took charge.
Gerry McGovern left the role of chief creative officer on Monday after 20 years at the business in which he oversaw the design of some of the company’s most successful cars as well as the launch of a new-look, pink electric Jaguar that drew the ire of Donald Trump.
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© Photograph: no credit

© Photograph: no credit

© Photograph: no credit



The streamer’s annual charts are just another version of the tech that’s alienating us from our inner lives. Hold on to your musical memories and reclaim ownership of your taste
I like year-end list season. I like an opportunity to remember and reflect on the records that stuck with me over the course of a year – especially when there is a chance to recommend something that others may have overlooked. I like looking through friends’ favourites for albums that I missed completely, and making a big listening queue. I like following along as critics attempt to determine the year’s “best”, even when I end up yelling into a group chat about how wrong they all are. I like it because it all requires looking back, racking your brain and processing your year in listening. It requires thinking.
This year, as Spotify Wrapped takes over social media feeds again, I am struck by how the whole concept seems to discourage that critical practice for something more passive. It nudges listeners away from deep consideration and towards accepting a corporate-branded scorecard reflecting a very specific perspective on musical value. It encourages music fans to believe that the records they streamed the most must be the ones they liked the most, which is surely not always the case.
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© Photograph: Spotify

© Photograph: Spotify

© Photograph: Spotify