Jewish families from London and Manchester have been going on holiday in Aberystwyth for 20 years

University authorities have said the holidaymakers are no longer allowed to light candles on a Friday night to usher in Shabbat

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Why we deserve 500,000 candles

The further education sector has been celebrating its fifth year of independence. David Melville, chief executive of the FE funding council, explains what has put him in the party mood

Bentham celebrates the big 250

JUST because you're dead there's no reason not to have a birthday party, writes Kate Watson-Smythe. Jeremy Bentham, the utilitarian philosopher and founder of University College London, will be 250 years old today and the college is throwing a party.

Lyrics for 'Candle in the Wind' raise $400,000 for charity

THE original lyrics to "Candle in the Wind 1997", the highest- selling single in history, were sold for $400,000 at a charity auction in Los Angeles to a foundation created by Walt Disney's daughter.

Days out: What, when, where

The ceremony of Blessing the Throats takes place in the church of St Etheldreda in London. Etheldreda died of a neck boil in the seventh century, apparently as punishment for wearing flashy necklaces in her youth. Her life and death are celebrated on 3 February, which is also the feast day of St Blaise. He saved a young man from choking to death on a wishbone, and was given food and candles by the boy's mother in gratitude. During the ceremony, sore throat sufferers are blessed by a priest, while two lighted candles joined by a ribbon are placed on either side of the supplicant's neck.

Mexico mourns its dead

International outrage is growing over the massacre of 45 Mayan Indians in Mexico's troubled southern Chiapas province. Yet the state governor shows no sign of resigning.

Everyone has a funny turn when they try to draw a Christmas tree

Today we bring you the second half of this year's Melvyn Bragg Christmas Science Lecture, an annual institution which aims to bring scientific awareness to the public by bringing out the scientific principles on which Christmas is based. Professor Gene Jones is this year's speaker.

Equestrianism: Skelton makes right moves with Showtime

Nick Skelton had put the turmoil of moving house behind him yesterday, when he rode a whirlwind clear round on Virtual Village Showtime to win the Petplan Christmas Candle Stakes on the opening day of the Olympia Show Jumping Championships.

Gerry and the shoplifters: the scam that went horribly wrong

Starting today: a brand new business story, set in the remorseless world of retail shopping!

PLACES: THE STEELES

Less A pub, more a never-ending party experience. Just up the hill from Chalk Farm, but far enough away from Camden Market territory to be largely Goth-free, the Steeles attracts muzos, some of them quite famous (Noel and Meg are neighbours), assorted wild-child offspring of Hampstead bohos, and occasionally the ageing bohos themselves - all of whom seem to rub along passing well with the odd old Irish geezer who's been propping up the bar since before the Steeles was fashionable. Regulars are very regular indeed, hence the chummy atmosphere, and it's jam-packed by late evening, especially on Sundays, when the most unexpected people get down to foot-stomping jigs rendered by the best Irish session in town. Dress is uninhibited, and low lights, loads of candles and dusty shelves of old books feed the senses if you're feeling amorous. Reasons to go to the Steeles: to wear that microscopic leather thingy you haven't dared put on; to enjoy somewhere groovy but where lots of people are older than you; to remind yourself you could pull if you weren't so choosy.

Christmas Gifts: Shopping by post - how late can you leave it?

Each of the following will deliver in time for Christmas, if you order by the date shown. If you intend a present to be sent direct to the recipient, check whether it will be gift-wrapped and arrive with a card.

Christmas Gifts: Green house

Judy Green's Hampstead Garden Store aims to offer something for everyone, from serious gardeners who know their Floribunda from their Laxramblers to those who don't know a pansy from a peony. For pounds 35 upwards, the store will make up a hamper, which could contain a window box kit complete with gardening book and seeds, or a willow basket containing Crabtree & Evelyn's gardener's range. There is also a selection of antique gardening tools, discovered by Green on her buying trips all over Britain and Europe.

Another candle in the wind

THE POLITICS OF EMOTION

Classical Review: The eerie mix of candles and chorales

Oxford Festival of Contemporary Music Orchestra of St John's/ Schola Cantorum, Smith Square, London

'Candle' an instant sell-out

Britain's record stores sold out of Elton John's "Candle in the Wind" yesterday within hours of the tribute to Princess Diana going on sale, write Vanessa Thorpe and Graham Ball.
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Beards, brawn and body art

Beards, brawn and body art

Meet London’s new batch of male models
Scandi-geeks descend on Nordicana for fan-convention

Scandi-geeks descend on Nordicana for fan-convention

British love of shows such as The Bridge, Borgen and The Killing shows no sign of fading
Behind the rhetoric what is really being done to combat desertification?

The Great Green Wall of Africa,

Behind the rhetoric what is really being done to combat desertification?
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The bad science scandal: how fact-fabrication is damaging UK's global name for research

The bad science scandal

How fact-fabrication is damaging UK's global name for research
To the manor born: The female aristocrats battling to inherit the title

Female aristocrats battle to inherit the title

A passionate protest is gathering pace among the women of Britain's aristocracy, who believe that men should no longer automatically inherit the family pile and title.
Love struck: Photographs of JFK's visit to Berlin 50 years ago reveal a nation instantly smitten

In pictures: JFK's visit to Berlin in 1963

Photographer Ulrich Mack accompanied Kennedy on the entire trip. The results are an astonishing record of a watershed moment.
Eat shoots and leaves: Mark Hix gets creative with fresh peas, mangetouts and sugar snaps

Mark Hix gets creative with English peas

English peas and their offsprings, such as mangetouts and sugar snaps, are great tossed into a salad, says our chef.
Ceviche with a smile: Chef Martin Morales has turned South America's elegant cuisine into one of London's hottest food trends

Chef Martin Morales: Ceviche with a smile

Morales has turned South America's elegant cuisine into one of London's hottest food trends
Incredible edible: Guerrilla gardeners are planting veg for the masses in West Yorkshire

Incredible edible: Guerrilla gardeners

Holly Williams joins the volunteers who have turned a small town into a thriving community with a guerrilla gardening scheme that has provided a blueprint for sustainability.
Seasoned to taste: The restaurants that draw happy diners back year after year

Seasoned to taste: Food institutions

In an industry famed for short-lived success and pop-up pretenders, it takes something special to stick around.
Anatomy of a waiter: Service staff spill the secrets of their trade

Anatomy of a waiter: Staff spill their secrets

Next Sunday is the first ever National Waiters' Day. To celebrate, we share tales from the restaurant trenches by those in the front line.
Drink in the sun: The season's best wines

Drink in the sun: The season's best wines

From complex English sparkling wine to juicy Sicilian reds...
Iran election: Farewell Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, we’ll miss you – but not that much...

Robert Fisk

Farewell Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, we’ll miss you – but not that much...
India sends its final telegram -(Stop)-

After 163 years India sends its final telegram -(Stop)-

Mobile phones and the internet have superseded the once-essential service