Latest news with #Grail
Scotsman
11-07-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
Why Keir Starmer's fate depends on cutting our energy bills
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... If the cost-of-living crisis feels like it's never really gone away, the reason is simple. According to a House of Commons Library briefing, typical household energy bills, despite some falls, are still 43 per cent above the level at the start of 2022, before Putin's invasion of Ukraine sent oil and gas prices soaring. That crisis was beyond the UK's control, but we were hit particularly hard with domestic electricity prices in the last six months of 2024 higher than those in all but three European Union countries. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Meanwhile, according to the International Energy Agency, UK industrial electricity prices in 2023 were 46 per cent higher than the average of its 32 members. Our firms paid an average of £258 per megawatt-hour, compared to £218 in Italy, £177 in Germany and just £65 in the US. Reducing energy bills must be a top priority for Keir Starmer and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband (Picture: Christopher Furlong) | Getty Images Holy Grail So reducing energy bills must be a top priority for government, given the dramatic effect this would have on people's quality of life and the economy. It might even be the Holy Grail the country needs to find to restore economic growth to good health after years of stagnation. One suggested way to do this was zonal pricing of electricity, which supporters claimed would make the National Grid more efficient and lead to lower prices – particularly in Scotland. However, amid concerns it might also push up bills for those in south-east England and discourage investors, the government has ruled this out, with Energy Secretary Ed Miliband concluding 'a reformed system of national pricing is the best way to deliver an electricity system that is fairer, more affordable, and more secure'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad At the heart of Labour's plan is a massive increase in the amount of renewable energy which, according to government and industry figures, is a cheaper source of electricity than the gas-fired power stations that almost always set the price.
Elle
08-07-2025
- Lifestyle
- Elle
The 19 Best Hair Products to Shop on Amazon for Prime Day
Every item on this page was chosen by an ELLE editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. True story: I once ordered a hair cream from Amazon, watched it on the live map to see how close it was to arriving all day, only to realize that I already had it in my beauty cabinet. The lesson here could be that I should be a little more detail-oriented before clicking 'purchase,' but I like to think that the true message is that Amazon is stocked with some of the best hair products available. And it's not just hair products, either. Amazon has incredible skincare, makeup, nail products, anti-aging products, and even body lotions. Since Amazon Prime Day is running until July 11…well, now might be the time to shop. Some of the world's most beloved products are available Same Day Delivery (also known as instant gratification), or will at least arrive before the end of the week. From low-cost buys to mega investments, you'll find a hair product on Amazon that will save your hair—and probably your sanity, too. Whether you're a curly girl who seeks the Holy Grail or bleach has transformed your hair, but not in a good way, there is a hair product for you…on Amazon. Below, find 25 of the best-loved, most effective, and life-changing hair products that you can order with Next Day Delivery. Forget in-depth styling, just a couple of sprays of this product will make your tresses hydrated, more manageable, and soft as can be. When I'm too lazy to break out my blow-dryer, this product gets me through Instead of chopping off damaged hair, douse it in this treatment for an hour, rinse it out, and find that your hair is actually salvageable. Spray this on wet hair before styling for a smooth, shiny finish that actually looks professionally done. For damaged and dry hair, this conditioner is not only insanely hydrating but also smells like a tropical vacation. Rub a couple of drops of this oil in your palms, and run it through your dead ends and flyaways to revive your hair. If a bleach sesh with your colorist has left you with straw-like hair, you probably need to pick up a hydrating shampoo that will make your hair feel hydrated and soft. For styling brittle and damaged hair (thanks, flat irons and chemicals), a small dose of this hair cream will smooth flyaways and give your hair some of that healthy shine back. For curls that need volume and definition, this mousse will do that without too much crunch, weird flakes, or that uncomfortable brittle feeling. This spray is my go-to for days when my oily scalp is ruining the vibe. For my brunettes out there, it doesn't leave that awful gray cast on your locks either. Let's just say it: Curling irons are confusing and hard to use. Get the same beachy look without burning yourself with this texturizing spray. Look, I get it. I can't break up with my flat iron either. Not only does this spray protect your hair from burns, but it also helps your style last longer, which means you have to use heat on it less. A win-win. You love face masks, so make a day out of it and give your hair a mask, too. This one has moisturizing argan oil in it to give your hair that hydration it's been craving. To keep your blonde hair icy rather than spray-tan-gone-bad orange, this purple shampoo gets rid of yucky brass tones for a look that says, 'I just left the salon ten minutes ago.' If you've invested in a high-quality hot tool, which I recommend, it is best to pair that with a high-end heat protection spray too. This one from ghd will make sure you don't fry off your hair in the pursuit of glam styles. Curly girls know that sometimes the only thing standing between you and a bad hair day is quality gel. This one is lightweight but still adds definition without flaking or otherwise being a pain to use. For me, detangling is a painful, awful process that takes forever. This detangling and leave-in conditioner spray makes it a breeze, while adding hydration and shine. This spray gives hold to your hair so your style doesn't fall out immediately, while offering volume and humidity resistance. This shampoo works hard to control dandruff and prevent further flakes. This shaping cream gives your hair the moisture that most curls lack, while offering volume and definition.
Kuwait Times
05-07-2025
- Science
- Kuwait Times
Eggs en Provence: France's unique dinosaur egg trove
At the foot of Sainte Victoire, the mountain in Provence immortalized by Impressionist painter Paul Cezanne, a palaeontologist brushes meticulously through a mound of red clay looking for fossils. These are not any old fossils, but 75-million-year-old dinosaur eggs. Little luck or skill is needed to find them: scientists believe that there are more dinosaur eggs here than at any other place on Earth. The area, closed to the public, is nicknamed 'Eggs en Provence', due to its proximity to the southeastern city of Aix en Provence. 'There's no other place like it,' explained Thierry Tortosa, a palaeontologist and conservationist at the Sainte Victoire Nature Reserve. 'You only need to look down to find fragments. We're literally walking on eggshells here.' Around 1,000 eggs, some of them as big as 30 centimeters (12 inches) in diameter, have been found here in recent years in an area measuring less than a hectare - a mere dot on a reserve that will span 280 hectares once it is doubled in size by 2026 to prevent pillaging. 'We reckon we've got about one egg per square meter (11 square feet). So there are thousands, possibly millions, here,' Tortosa told AFP. 'Eggs' is not in the business of competing with other archaeological sites - even though Tortosa finds the 'world record' of 17,000 dinosaur eggs discovered in Heyuan, China, in 1996 vaguely amusing. 'We're not looking to dig them up because we're in a nature reserve and we can't just alter the landscape. We wait until they're uncovered by erosion,' he said. 'Besides, we don't have enough space to store them all. We just take those that are of interest from a palaeontology point of view.' Thierry Tortosa shows dinosaur eggs found at the Mount Sainte-Victoire site. Children search for dinosaur eggs at the Mount Sainte-Victoire site. An adult and a child search for dinosaur eggs at the Mount Sainte-Victoire site. A person searches for dinosaur eggs at the Mount Sainte-Victoire site. Holy Grail Despite the plethora of eggs on site, the scientists still have mysteries to solve. Those fossils found so far have all been empty, either because they were not fertilized or because the chick hatched and waddled off. 'Until we find embryos inside - that's the Holy Grail - we won't know what kind of dinosaur laid them. All we know is that they were herbivores because they're round,' said Tortosa. Fossilized dinosaur embryos are rarer than hen's teeth. Palaeontologists discovered a tiny fossilized Oviraptorosaur that was at least 66 million years old in Ganzhou, China, around the year 2000. But Tortosa remains optimistic that 'Eggs' holds its own Baby Yingliang. 'Never say never. In the nine years that I've been here, we've discovered a load of stuff we never thought we'd find.' Which is why experts come once a year to search a new part of the reserve. The location is always kept secret to deter pillagers. When AFP visited, six scientists were crouched under camouflage netting in a valley lost in the Provencal scrub, scraping over a few square meters of clay-limestone earth, first with chisels, then with pointy-tipped scribers. 'There's always something magical - like being a child again - when you find an egg or a fossilized bone,' specialist Severine Berton told AFP. Unique Their 'best' finds - among the thousands they have dug up - include a small femur and a 30-centimetre-long tibia-fibula. They are thought to come from a Rhabdodon or a Titanosaur - huge herbivores who roamed the region. In the Cretaceous period (89-66 million years BCE), the Provencal countryside's then-flooded plains and silty-clayey soils offered ideal conditions for dinosaurs to graze and nest, and perfect conditions to conserve the eggs for millennia. The region, which stretched from what is now Spain to the Massif Central mountains of central France formed an island that was home to several dinosaur species found nowhere else in the world. Alongside the endemic herbivores were carnivores such as the Arcovenator and the Variraptor, a relative of the Velociraptor of Jurassic Park fame. In 1846, French palaeontologist Philippe Matheron found the world's first fossilized dinosaur egg in Rognac, around 30 kilometers from Eggs. Since then, museums from across the world have dispatched people to Provence on egg hunts. Everyone, it seems, wants a bit of the omelette. Despite efforts to stop pillaging, problems persist, such as when a wildfire uncovered a lot of fossils in 1989 and 'everyone came egg collecting', Tortosa said. Five years later the site was designated a national geological nature reserve, closed to the public - the highest level of protection available. The regional authorities are now mulling over ways to develop 'palaeontology tourism', a move Tortosa applauds. 'France is the only country in the world that doesn't know how to promote its dinosaurs,' Tortosa said. 'Any other place would set up an entire museum just to show off a single tooth.' — AFP
Observer
03-07-2025
- Science
- Observer
Eggs en Provence: France's unique dinosaur egg trove
At the foot of Sainte Victoire, the mountain in Provence immortalised by Impressionist painter Paul Cezanne, a palaeontologist brushes meticulously through a mound of red clay looking for fossils. These are not any old fossils, but 75-million-year-old dinosaur eggs. Little luck or skill is needed to find them: scientists believe that there are more dinosaur eggs here than at any other place on Earth. The area, closed to the public, is nicknamed 'Eggs en Provence', due to its proximity to the southeastern city of Aix en Provence. 'There's no other place like it,' explained Thierry Tortosa, a palaeontologist and conservationist at the Sainte Victoire Nature Reserve. 'You only need to look down to find fragments. We're literally walking on eggshells here.' Around 1,000 eggs, some of them as big as 30 centimetres (12 inches) in diameter, have been found here in recent years in an area measuring less than a hectare — a mere dot on a reserve that will span 280 hectares once it is doubled in size by 2026 to prevent pillaging. 'We reckon we've got about one egg per square metre (11 square feet). So there are thousands, possibly millions, here,' Tortosa said. 'Eggs' is not in the business of competing with other archaeological sites — even though Tortosa finds the 'world record' of 17,000 dinosaur eggs discovered in Heyuan, China, in 1996 vaguely amusing. 'We're not looking to dig them up because we're in a nature reserve and we can't just alter the landscape. We wait until they're uncovered by erosion,' he said. 'Besides, we don't have enough space to store them all. We just take those that are of interest from a palaeontology point of view.' Holy Grail Despite the plethora of eggs on site, the scientists still have mysteries to solve. Those fossils found so far have all been empty, either because they were not fertilised or because the chick hatched and waddled off. 'Until we find embryos inside — that's the Holy Grail — we won't know what kind of dinosaur laid them. All we know is that they were herbivores because they're round,' said Tortosa. Fossilised dinosaur embryos are rarer than hen's teeth. Palaeontologists discovered a tiny fossilised Oviraptorosaur that was at least 66 million years old in Ganzhou, China, around the year 2000. But Tortosa remains optimistic that 'Eggs' holds its own Baby Yingliang. 'Never say never. In the nine years that I've been here, we've discovered a load of stuff we never thought we'd find.' Which is why experts come once a year to search a new part of the reserve. The location is always kept secret to deter pillagers. When AFP visited, six scientists were crouched under camouflage netting in a valley lost in the Provencal scrub, scraping over a few square metres of clay-limestone earth, first with chisels, then with pointy-tipped scribers. 'There's always something magical — like being a child again — when you find an egg or a fossilised bone,' specialist Severine Berton said. Unique Their 'best' finds — among the thousands they have dug up — include a small femur and a 30-centimetre-long tibia-fibula. They are thought to come from a Rhabdodon or a Titanosaur — huge herbivores who roamed the region. In the Cretaceous period (89-66 million years BCE), the Provencal countryside's then-flooded plains and silty-clayey soils offered ideal conditions for dinosaurs to graze and nest, and perfect conditions to conserve the eggs for millennia. The region, which stretched from what is now Spain to the Massif Central mountains of central France, formed an island that was home to several dinosaur species found nowhere else in the world. Alongside the endemic herbivores were carnivores such as the Arcovenator and the Variraptor, a relative of the Velociraptor of Jurassic Park fame. In 1846, French palaeontologist Philippe Matheron found the world's first fossilised dinosaur egg in Rognac, around 30 kilometres from Eggs. Since then, museums from across the world have dispatched people to Provence on egg hunts. Everyone, it seems, wants a bit of the omelette. Despite efforts to stop pillaging, problems persist, such as when a wildfire uncovered a lot of fossils in 1989 and 'everyone came egg collecting', Tortosa said. Five years later, the site was designated a national geological nature reserve, closed to the public -- the highest level of protection available. The regional authorities are now mulling over ways to develop 'palaeontology tourism', a move Tortosa applauds. 'France is the only country in the world that doesn't know how to promote its dinosaurs,' Tortosa said. 'Any other place would set up an entire museum just to show off a single tooth.' — AFP
Daily Mirror
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Future of beloved BBC series with perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes score explained
Toby Jones has delivered a bit of a blow to fans of his beloved BBC comedy series, Detectorists. The show, penned and fronted by Mackenzie Crook with Toby Jones starring as one of the 'detectorists', was first broadcast in 2014 and enjoyed three successful series. Centered around the fictional Essex setting of Danebury, it charted the adventures and comical endeavours of two mates, Andy and Lance, part of the local metal detecting club, as they sought out historical treasures beneath the earth. The pair swapped the drudgery of their day-to-day jobs for the thrill of unearthing ancient artefacts, immersing viewers in their whimsical world of hobbyist discovery. Gaining a substantial cult following, Detectorists won new fans all over again when it appeared on Netflix, despite this acclaim and sparkling 100% ratings on Rotten Tomatoes for each of its series, there's no intention to unearth more episodes, reports Devon Live. In recent remarks to Deadline, Toby pondered the show's continuation, suggesting: "Once you've maybe found the Holy Grail there's very little place to go." Reflecting on the closure derived from the 2022 Christmas special finale, he added: "The idea of coming back after that would be very hard and also... it's very British and not very American – but there is a certain virtue to leaving people wanting more." These sentiments resonate with creator Mackenzie Crook's own stance from his 2024 interview with The Guardian, where he affirmed: "I won't be making any more Detectorists, but nobody should be sad. We made just the right amount." He then quipped: "Having said that, I know Toby is keen to do a live stadium tour.." Despite the clamour of devoted viewers, exemplified by one's review declaring the show "Brilliant, by every measure. TV gold." A viewer implored: "Wish there was a season 4 too! ! Awesome series!!" while another expressed admiration, saying: "A beautifully pleasant tv series......I loved it." Praise continued with one calling the series "outstanding," and an enthusiastic fan commenting: "I would give this 10 stars! ! The best TV show I have seen for sure. The script, the cast and the music. Everything. I absolutely love it! It gets more entertaining the more you watch it...I love every season. MacKenzie Crook can do wrong." Another devoted admirer shared: "This show is an absolute gem, I have watched all series 3 times and expect I will watch it again. It is perfectly cast, the humour is perfectly placed and the story is marvellous. Mackenzie Crook has hit a home run with this, the ending is brilliant but I would love if they do another series or even a special episode in the future."
