You’ll notice something every weekday at around 6:45 p.m. when you walk past a Pret near Liverpool Street. Suit-clad individuals aren’t quite running to the Tube these days. They are staring at their phones as if they are preparing for something while standing outside with a half-finished flat white in hand. A delayed Slack message. A director who hasn’t logged off sent a “quick” email. The corpse is located in the city. The position hasn’t let go yet. Drama is not what this is. This is the new standard. Additionally, it appears in the capital’s therapists’ schedules. Practices in Marylebone,…
Author: Jack Ward
Usually, it appears at the wrong time. A hollow click, akin to a key turning in a lock that opens nothing, occurs somewhere in the middle of what should feel like relief as the quarter comes to an end, the kids finally move out, and the promotion lands. Different people have different ways of describing it. A founder who recently sold his business told a friend that the first weekend following the wire transfer was spent organizing a closet, sobbing in the closet, and placing an order for takeout that he didn’t want. It’s difficult to ignore how many high…
Most people are aware of this moment, but they hardly ever acknowledge it. The work email becomes silent. The deadline is lifted. The dishes are finished, the children are asleep, and the weekend is free of obligations. And something inside of you tightens rather than melting into the couch. You begin to scan. You look at your phone, then look at it once more. What did you forget, you wonder? Why does this feel wrong, you wonder? It’s difficult to ignore how frequently calm appears as a stranger. People learn to read the air the way sailors read the weather…
The way the internet determines, every few months, that a working actress in her early thirties owes the public an explanation for the shape of her body is a little ridiculous. The most recent name added to that machine is Lydia West, who starred as Jill in Russell T. Davies’ It’s a Sin and plays Eddie in Channel 4’s Big Mood. You can discover an odd little ecosystem of conjecture by searching for her name with the words “weight gain” attached. The majority of this ecosystem is based on a few photos and a year of comparatively quiet time. It…
In women’s online forums, a certain type of discourse frequently appears, and once you start noticing it, it’s difficult to ignore. A user posts on Mumsnet or in r/birthcontrol. Since her Mirena coil was implanted, she has gained ten, twenty, and occasionally thirty pounds. Nothing has changed in her diet. She’s working out. Her doctor informed her that the coil couldn’t be the cause because the hormones are local, the dosage is small, and there must be another reason. The comments then begin to come in. Thousands or even hundreds of women are saying the same thing. The Mirena coil…
Dorothy Byrne, the longtime Head of News and Current Affairs at Channel 4, is a prime example of the type of public figure who discusses their illness almost casually, as an aside between larger stories. She has talked candidly about a body that has experienced more than most of her coworkers will ever know in interviews, columns, and the odd incisive Daily Mail article. Rheumatica polymyalgia. Giant cell arteritis. Surgical mesh and heart failure are related. Throughout it all, she has half-wryly described the steroids as both identity thieves and lifesavers. Sometime in the late 2000s, Byrne received a diagnosis…
Simon Rogan has been the subject of a quiet discussion that has nothing to do with his cuisine. It’s evident to anyone who has followed the Cumbrian chef over the past few years, whether through magazine spreads, interviews, or his sporadic appearances on the kind of food shows where he tends to look thoughtful rather than performative. He has a different appearance. Sharper around the jawline and slimmer overall. Once filled out at the shoulders, the chef’s whites now hang in a different way. The phrase “Simon Rogan weight loss” has crept into search trends, suggesting that people are looking…
A recall that reappears is unsettling in some way. At first glance, the Ayco Farms cantaloupe story appeared to be one of those unnoticed food safety footnotes: a Florida distributor removed several thousand cartons of whole melons in late March, an action that typically goes unnoticed by most consumers. Then, on April 20, it was elevated to Class I, the most serious tier in the FDA’s three-tier ranking, and suddenly it was back in the news. Technically, a recall that most customers were unaware of was more dangerous than they had been led to believe. Class I is only used…