Two-sip martinis – and IV infusion drips: Soho House’s CEO on how wellness replaced hedonism

It used to be all boozy lunches and late-night carousing. Now it’s hyperbaric chambers and longevity chat. Andrew Carnie, CEO of the private club, explains how life and trends have changed since the Covid era

Friday night in the north of England. On the ninth floor of the old Granada Studios, a very chi-chi crowd is drinking tequila and eating crisps. Not Walkers out of the bag, mind, but canapes of individual crisps with creme fraiche and generous dollops of caviar. A young woman – leather shorts, chunky boots, neon lime nails, artfully messy bob – winks at me from the other side of the silver tray. “Ooh, caviar. Very posh for Manchester.”

Soho House’s 48th members’ club has caused quite the stir. Thirty years after Nick Jones opened the first club in Soho, London, the first north of England outpost of the empire is raising eyebrows. An exclusive club, in the city that AJP Taylor described as “the only place in England which escapes our characteristic vice of snobbery”. (The home, after all, of the Guardian.) An open-air rooftop pool, in the climate that fostered the textile industry because the rain created the perfect cool, damp conditions for spinning cotton. Will it work?

Published: November 25, 2025, 10:00 am

Small print on signs at a tram park and ride hid the fact I could get clamped

I followed the obvious signs but an enforcement officer had to point out a notice on the back of the entrance sign and it cost me £140

Our car was clamped while parked at the NET Forest Tram Park and Ride in Nottingham, and we had to pay £140 to have it freed.

The prominent signs displayed at the entrance state that those parking without using the tram will be clamped. We did use the tram to and from the city centre after walking in the adjacent park.

Published: November 25, 2025, 7:00 am

NHS directed pregnant women to controversial Free Birth Society via charity

Exclusive: NHS websites pointed women to factsheet featuring podcast by ‘dangerous’ influencers linked to baby deaths

• Full story: How the FBS is linked to baby deaths around the world

The NHS has been directing pregnant women to a website that connected them to the Free Birth Society, an organisation that has been linked to baby deaths around the world after promoting labour without medical support.

A number of NHS trusts are directing women who are contemplating a “free birth” to a charity website that until Monday referred to FBS podcasts as a source of “empowering stories” that can help British women “preparing for their own birth”.

Published: November 25, 2025, 6:00 am

AI could replace 3m low-skilled jobs in the UK by 2035, research finds

Trades, machine operations and administrative roles are most at-risk, says leading educational research charity

Up to 3m low-skilled jobs could disappear in the UK by 2035 because of automation and AI, according to a report by a leading educational research charity.

The jobs most at risk are those in occupations such as trades, machine operations and administrative roles, the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) said.

Published: November 25, 2025, 12:01 am

Europe loosens reins on AI – and US takes them off

EU and US unshackle regulations in quest for growth, and is the AI bubble about to burst? Not yet, says Nvidia

Hello, and welcome to TechScape. I’m your host, Blake Montgomery, writing to you from an American grocery store, where I’m planning my Thanksgiving pies.

In tech, the European Union is deregulating artificial intelligence; the United States is going even further. The AI bubble has not popped, thanks to Nvidia’s astronomical quarterly earnings, but fears persist. And Meta has avoided a breakup for a similar reason as Google.

The best early Black Friday deals in the UK on the products we love, from sunrise alarm clocks to heated airers

The 15 best tech gifts in the US, picked by a gadget reviewer who’s used hundreds

The 20+ best Black Friday and Cyber Monday tech deals in the US – so far

Meet the AI workers who tell their friends and family to stay away from AI

AI is changing the relationship between journalist and audience. There is much at stake | Margaret Simons

Snapchat to tell 440,000 Australians to prove they’re 16 or accounts will be locked in social media ban

Australia’s under-16s social media ban is weeks away. How will it work – and how can I appeal if I’m wrongly banned?

Published: November 25, 2025, 1:20 pm

Ofcom urges social media platforms to combat abuse and limit online ‘pile-ons’

New guidance from UK regulator aims to combat misogynist abuse and ‘revenge porn’

Social media platforms are being urged to limit internet “pile-ons” under new guidelines to protect women and girls online.

The guidance from Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, to combat misogynist abuse, coercive control and the sharing of intimate images without consent comes into force on Tuesday and includes recommendations to prevent women being harried online.

Published: November 25, 2025, 6:00 am

The seven best video doorbells tried and tested – and Ring isn’t top

Whether you want to bolster your home’s security or simply make sure you know who’s at the door, the latest generation of smart doorbells will help put your mind at ease

• The best robot vacuums to keep your home clean and dust free

Doorbells have evolved. Today, they watch us as we approach, let the people inside the home know we’re coming sooner than our finger can hit the button, and give them a good look at our faces before they open the door. They’re essentially security cameras with a chime function.

If you haven’t already installed one of these handy tools, there’s a huge array available. Choosing the best video doorbell can be a bewildering task, with various factors to consider, including how much of your doorstep you want to see or whether you’re prepared to pay for a subscription. To help make the decision a little bit easier, I tested eight popular video doorbells to find the best.

Best video doorbell overall:
Google Nest Doorbell (battery)

Best budget video doorbell:
Blink smart video doorbell with Sync Module 2

Published: November 25, 2025, 3:00 pm

The best Black Friday TV deals in the UK – and how to avoid a bad one

We’ve rounded up the best early Black Friday TV deals, from 50in OLEDs and small smart TVs to big-name brands like Samsung and LG

• Do you really need to buy a new TV?
• The best Black Friday laptop deals

When it comes to buying a new TV during Black Friday, careful prep and a canny eye for detail are everything. Sometimes that big-screen bargain isn’t quite the steal you might think, and even if the price is right, niggling problems could sour long-term satisfaction.

And it may be that you don’t need a new TV at all – don’t let the Black Friday FOMO fool you. Read our guide to making the most out of the TV you already have.

Published: November 25, 2025, 2:16 pm

How to avoid bad Black Friday laptop deals – and some of the best UK offers for 2025

Here’s how to spot a genuinely good laptop deal, plus the best discounts we’ve seen so far on everything from MacBooks to gaming laptops

• Do you really need to buy a new laptop?
• How to shop smart this Black Friday

Black Friday deals have started, and if you’ve been on the lookout for a good price on a new laptop, then this could be your lucky day. But with so many websites being shouty about their Black Friday offers, the best buys aren’t always easy to spot. So before you splash the cash, it might pay to do some research – and look closely at the specification.

I know this may not be welcome advice. After all, the thought of drawing up a spreadsheet of memory configurations and pricing history might put a slight dampener on the excitement that builds as Black Friday approaches. But buy the right laptop today and you can look forward to many years of joyful productivity. Pick a duff one, and every time you open the lid you’ll be cursing your past self’s impulsive nature. So don’t get caught out; be prepared with our useful tips – and a roundup of the Filter’s favourite laptop deals.

Published: November 25, 2025, 12:39 pm

16 brilliant Christmas gifts for gamers

From Minecraft chess and coding for kids to retro consoles and Doom on vinyl for grown-ups – hit select and start with these original non-digital presents

Gamers can be a difficult bunch to buy for. Most of them will get their new games digitally from Steam, Xbox, Nintendo or PlayStation’s online shops, so you can’t just wrap up the latest version of Call of Duty and be done with it. Fortunately, there are plenty of useful accessories and fun lifestyle gifts to look out for, and gamers tend to have a lot of other interests that intersect with games in different ways.

So if you have a player in your life, whether they’re young or old(er), here are some ideas chosen by the Guardian’s games writers. And naturally, we’re starting with Lego …

Published: November 25, 2025, 1:32 pm

Brain has five ‘eras’, scientists say – with adult mode not starting until early 30s

Study suggests human brain development has four pivotal ‘turning points’ at around the ages of nine, 32, 66 and 83

Scientists have identified five major “epochs” of human brain development in one of the most comprehensive studies to date of how neural wiring changes from infancy to old age.

The study, based on the brain scans of nearly 4,000 people aged under one to 90, mapped neural connections and how they evolve during our lives. This revealed five broad phases, split up by four pivotal “turning points” in which brain organisation moves on to a different trajectory, at around the ages of nine, 32, 66 and 83 years.

Published: November 25, 2025, 10:00 am

What is prostate cancer and how is it diagnosed in the UK?

As David Cameron receives treatment and backs calls for NHS screening, we look at the disease and its treatment

• More than 100 MPs urge Streeting to approve prostate cancer screening

David Cameron has become the latest high-profile figure to back growing calls for the NHS to start screening men, or at least those at highest risk, for prostate cancer after being treated for it himself.

He joined Olympic cycling champion Chris Hoy and prostate cancer charities in saying that recent advances in diagnosing the disease mean that testing can be introduced that is much safer than traditional methods, which can produce both false-positive and false-negative results.

Published: November 25, 2025, 7:00 am

Antibiotic resistance: how a pioneering trial is using old drugs to save babies from sepsis

The infection is responsible for 800,000 newborn deaths each year, but clinics in eight countries are working together to find new treatments

Just a few minutes from the turquoise waters of Kenya’s Kilifi Creek, a world away from the tourists enjoying their time on the estuary, a team of clinicians, technicians and microbiologists is helping to shape a new era of care for newborns.

NeoSep1 is a pioneering clinical trial that aims to identify effective and safe antibiotic combinations to treat sepsis in newborns. One of the centres leading the second phase of this study is the Kemri-Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP) in Kilifi.

Published: November 25, 2025, 11:00 am

The shameful attacks on the Covid inquiry prove it: the right is lost in anti-science delusion | Polly Toynbee

There is nothing wrong with questioning the mighty cost of the lockdowns, but we can’t let hardline libertarians rewrite Britain’s pandemic history

That number will stay fixed for ever in public memory: 23,000 people died because Boris Johnson resisted locking the country down in time. As Covid swept in, and with horrific images of Italian temporary morgues in tents, he went on holiday and took no calls. With the NHS bracing to be “overwhelmed” by the virus, he rode his new motorbike, walked his dog and hosted friends at Chevening.

Nothing is surprising about that: he was ejected from Downing Street and later stepped down as an MP largely for partying and lying to parliament about it. Everyone knew he was a self-aggrandising fantasist with a “toxic and chaotic culture” around him. But this is not just about one narcissistic politician. It’s about his entire rightwing coterie of libertarians and their lethally dominant creed in the UK media.

Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist

Published: November 25, 2025, 11:52 am

Study claims to provide first direct evidence of dark matter

Astrophysicist Prof Tomonori Totani says research could be crucial breakthrough in search for elusive substance

Nearly a century ago, scientists proposed that a mysterious invisible substance they named dark matter clumped around galaxies and formed a cosmic web across the universe.

What dark matter is made from, and whether it is even real, are still open questions, but according to a study, the first direct evidence of the substance may finally have been glimpsed.

Published: November 25, 2025, 11:00 pm