Skip to main contentSkip to navigation
Print subscriptions
Sign in
Search jobs
Search
The Guardian - Back to homeThe Guardian

Well, actually

Living a good life in a complex world

Well Actually

  • Two images side by side: one of a selfie of a woman wearing a blue button-down shirt, and the other of a man and woman sitting by the water at night

    At 46, I had no partner, no children. So I spent a month pursuing pleasure in Paris

  • Two women jog down stairs by a modernist building.

    The debate: is working out with other people beneficial?

    Lauren Mechling and Madeleine Aggeler debate whether getting fit with friends is fun – or absolutely dreadful
  • woman in surgical mask leans over woman with eyes closed. they hold hands

    ‘You can’t manifest the birth you want’: the reality behind the ‘natural birth’ obsession

    Self-help books and wellness culture celebrate the individual overcoming adversity. It sounds empowering – but you can’t think your way out of a broken system
  • A graphic illustration in sepia tones of a light-skinned woman with long, dark hair, kneeling in a sexually suggestive manner wearing a bathing suit.

    Ask Ugly: the state of the bush – how should I be styling my pubic hair?

  • A sunscreen’s SPF, or sun protection factor, indicates how much protection a product offers.

    What is SPF and how much sunscreen do you really need? Experts answer

  • A composite of two side-by-side images. On the left is a middle-aged white woman with blond hair and bangs, with sepia aviator glasses and bright red lips, resting her chin on two fingers as she looks at the camera; background is pink and overlay is a few green dots. On the right is a book cover, with a simple design of a green background and the title Ambition Monster and the name Jennifer Romolini in pink, with a abstract shape that looks like a blur in the middle.

    ‘Getting fired broke something in me’: how overachiever Jennifer Romolini gave up on ambition

  • A wedding cake is dropped on the floor as two hands covered in frosting try to clean it up.

    Missing rings and an uninvited dog: four readers share their wedding disasters

Loads more stories and moves focus to first new story.

Reclaim your brain

The toolkit

  • a person smokes cannabis

    California sober
    What does it mean and is it good for you?

  • Colourful flat lay view of different types of sliced fruits and vegetables on a pink background.

    The 30-plant challenge
    Experts say we need to eat 30 plants a week. This is how I fared

  • Black cup of coffee on the black and brown table among spilled roasted coffee beans.

    Coffee
    How much coffee is OK for me to drink in a day? I asked the experts

  • Fragrant plants are beautiful and smell good.

    Good scents
    Five eco-friendly ways to make your home smell great

Loads more stories and moves focus to first new story.

Columns

  • Graphic illustration of naked woman with one pant leg on, in shades of red, peach, light blue and olive.

    Halfway there: a column about midlife
    No sex drive and a ‘tanking libido’: how I redefined intimacy in midlife

  • illustration of a woman holding a tablet with posts in the air around her saying things like 'ur cancelled'

    Why am I like this?
    Everyone’s so intolerant online. Am I right to stay silent?

  • ‘Take a fraction of what you’d spend on Le Labo Rose 31 and buy yourself a bouquet; meditate on your own impermanence as it wilts.’

    Ask Ugly
    Signature scents are deeply appealing – but how else can I express ‘the self’?

  • An illustration of a female stretched across in her living room holding an iPad-like device watching a show

    Halfway there: a column about midlife
    How brilliant female British TV detectives helped me understand myself

Loads more stories and moves focus to first new story.

Health & wellbeing

  • Portrait of Hannah Fletcher.

    Is there asbestos in your makeup? Why women with cancer are suing big beauty brands

  • Marjolein Robertson standing in front of a wall hanging with colourful circular pattern.

    The period that almost killed me: ‘My mam was told, if you take her home, she won’t last the night’

    • Three young people smiling

      ‘You can do anything here!’ Why Lithuania is the best place in the world to be young

    • Zoe Williams

      Getting fit is great – but it could turn you into a rightwing jerk

      Zoe Williams
    • Woman in an office being beset by demands from her fellow workers.

      Stress bragging: why workload boasts are bad for you – and your colleagues

Loads more stories and moves focus to first new story.

Relationships

  • Illustration of two pairs of male legs in bed

    I used to be a top, but it no longer works for me. How do I tell my partner I’ve become a side?

  • Bibi Lynch – journalist, writer and broadcaster –wearing a leopard print coat and sunglasses smiling leaning over a railing with pretty houses behind her

    A moment that changed me: I’m 58 and single since 1997. A Sex and the City meme transformed my life

  • 'Sexy Book' cover illustration for pass notes

    The sexiest books of all time: Goodreads has ranked them – and Mister Orgasm is on top

  • Posed by model Rear View Of Man Working From Home On Computer In Home Office Stretching At Desk

    Why do I keep falling in love with totally unavailable people?

Loads more stories and moves focus to first new story.

Food

  • Chelsea Goodwin’s recipe for simple tuna spaghetti with lemon and garlic.

    Tuna spaghetti, pad see ew and butter bean stew: Chelsea Goodwin’s quick and easy recipes

  • Felicity Cloake's pasta puttanesca

    How to make pasta puttanesca – recipe

  • Dress up your noodles in minutes with a tasty sauce, like Thomasina Miers’ root veg noodles and crispy eggs.

    Five-minute sauces to whip up while your noodles cook

  • A round white plate with colourful bulgar wheat and a piece of grilled chicken on top

    Nigel Slater’s grilled chicken, mango bulgur recipe

Loads more stories and moves focus to first new story.

Puzzles

  • Trading game Pit

    Crossword blog
    Crossword roundup: what word can mean ‘game’, ‘set’ and ‘match’?

  • Cryptic crosswords
    Cryptic crossword No 29,407

    • Quick crosswords
      Quick crossword No 16,880

    • Sudoku
      Sudoku 6,512 medium

    • Prize crosswords
      Prize crossword No 29,404

    • Killer sudoku
      Observer killer sudoku

    • Thomas Eaton
      What links the cuckoo, swift and osprey? The Saturday quiz

    • Alex Bellos's Monday puzzle
      Did you solve it? Do you think like an engineer?

Most viewed