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MenstruationPreviously a niche, expensive product, period knickers are now readily available on the UK high street. Women explain why they are turning their backs on single-use pads and tampons It was December 2020 and Janet (not her real name), a 53-year-old IT consultant from Edinburgh, was doing her weekly shop in the Sainsbury’s closest to her house. In went the toilet roll, meat and vegetables. She wheeled her trolley on to the feminine hygiene aisle and saw a pair of period knickers.

WomenWomen make up 11 million of the 13 million bereaved spouses in the US, forced to cope with major life decisions when they are at their most vulnerable. Meanwhile, it can be nearly impossible to find a truly understanding friend When my mother lay dying in 1999, she looked up at me and said, “I don’t care where you put my ashes. I really don’t. Just promise me you won’t let anyone take them to Ellenville.

TV tonightTelevision & radioTV tonight: enter the twisted world of the 1989 Miss Mexico pageant Expect much more than tiaras and tantrums in BBC Four drama, Señorita 89. Plus: it’s Blackpool week on Strictly. Here’s what to watch this evening Señorita 899pm, BBC Four“Ninety days in paradise in exchange for a throne sounded like a fairytale … but it turned out to be a prison for us all.” The world of beauty pageants is much darker than tiaras, tantrums and tears in this eight-part subtitled drama about the Miss Mexico pageant in 1989.

PoetryReviewAnne Carson's take on Antigone is impressively powerful"How is a Greek chorus like a lawyer?" ask the chorus in Anne Carson's latest work, a translation of Sophocles' Antigone. "They're both in the business of searching for a precedent … so as to be able to say / this terrible thing we're witnessing now is / not unique you know it happened before / or something much like it." Such light-handed scholarship is characteristic of Carson, a poet interested in those moments when precedents can't be found and normal translations fail: "

Royal Mail This article is more than 4 months oldFirst-class UK stamp to rise by 15p in October to £1.25This article is more than 4 months oldThird increase in 18 months delivers new blow to hard-pressed firms and consumers Royal Mail looks to end Saturday letter deliveries The price of a first-class UK stamp is scheduled to rise by 15p in October – the third increase in 18 months – in a fresh blow to consumers and businesses who rely on the postal service.

DatablogHealth & wellbeingGermany: the world's capital of penis enlargementOne in five surgeries takes place in Germany, according to data released by plastic surgeons. Find out what other aesthetic operations are popular worldwide UK cosmetic surgery statistics 2013: which are the most popular? It seems that spam emails inviting men to try increasing the size of their member would be best targeted to addresses ending in .de. According to the latest data release by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS), there were 2,786 operations estimated to have taken place in Europe’s biggest country - which is more than in any other nation.

OpinionRace This article is more than 6 months oldMy wife is Thai and I’m white. How can I stop people from making racist assumptions about our relationship?This article is more than 6 months oldSisonke MsimangYou are in an excellent position to push back on stereotypes, says Sisonke Msimang. Racism isn’t just offensive to people of colour, it’s offensive period Ms Understanding is an advice column for everyone on everyday issues around race Dear Ms Understanding,

Peaky Blinders: episode by episodePeaky BlindersThe pace of the show has been super-charged as the end looms for the gangster drama. But first: garotting and a smattering of treachery The series got its swagger back in the nick of time. Here’s your breakdown of the penultimate ever episode, The Road to Hell … Terminal Tom was man on a missionAfter last week’s shattering diagnosis of an inoperable brain tumour, Thomas Shelby OBE MP (Cillian Murphy) had nothing to lose.

Sam Shepard: a life in pictures Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Playwright and actor Sam Shepard has died aged 73. Best known for his play Buried Child, which won the Pulitzer prize in 1979, Shepard also enjoyed a lengthy film career, appearing in movies such as Days of Heaven, The Right Stuff and Steel Magnolias Sadie Gould and Gwilym Mumford