‘You Gave Me A Small Heart Attack’ ― Ian McKellen Just Gave The Internet The Jump Scare Of Its Life

Posted on 29/07/2024 by Boris Clair

We all know (and love) Sir Ian McKellen, right?

He’s known for iconic roles like Gandalf in the Lord of The Rings movies, Magneto in the X-Men films, the titular King Richard in Richard III ― I could go on.

Well, the star recently posted an image of him smiling in a pinstriped black top against a dark background on Instagram.

“On the day of the 101st and final performance of Player Kings – without me – I celebrated by removing Falstaff’s hair, which has been growing for 9 months. I will be in the audience for the matinee in Newcastle,” his caption reads.

He was referring to the play which he’s unfortunately had to drop out of “with the greatest reluctance” due to a fall.

But some people thought the post was an “in memory of” image (oh!).

Nooo!

Instagram users commented things like, “These posts always give me a fright. Looking good, sir ❤️😍. Oh, everyone in the comments feeling the same dread 😹🥹.”

Another (blunter) site user wrote, “Fuckin hell Ian don’t scare me like that.”

“Sir you gave me a small heart attack,” yet another comment reads.

More comments said, “I feel bad for older actors, they can’t even post a dapper picture without the entire internet thinking something awful happened. 😅. Glad you’re doing well, Ian!” and “Look at all the comments. Just goes to show what a truly international treasure Ian is 🙌.”

Thankfully, the star said on X (formerly Twitter) on the 2nd of July: “Just two weeks after my accident onstage I want to assure my many well-wishers that the injuries (to wrist and neck) are on the mend. My doctors promise a complete recovery ― but only if I avoid work over the next few weeks.”

He added, “Any actor will say that missing a performance feels somewhat shameful, even when he is not to blame. None of us ever wants to let down our audience. But Robert Icke’s masterful production remains intact. His mis en scene is compelling throughout and his actors, led by Toheeb Jimho and Richard Coyle as Prince Hal and his father, remain on top form. Go see for yourself!”

So, we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief (go to see the play if you’re keen on spotting the man IRL!).

<div class="js-react-hydrator" data-component-name="Twitter" data-component-id="1850" data-component-props="{"itemType":"rich","index":19,"contentIndexByType":2,"contentListType":"embed","code":"

Just two weeks after my accident onstage I want to assure my many well-wishers that the injuries (to wrist and neck) are on the mend. My doctors promise a complete recovery -but only if I avoid work over the next few weeks.

Meanwhile the show goes on and the Player Kings company…

— Ian McKellen (@IanMcKellen) July 2, 2024

","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Ian McKellen","author_url":"https://twitter.com/IanMcKellen","cache_age":86400,"description":"Just two weeks after my accident onstage I want to assure my many well-wishers that the injuries (to wrist and neck) are on the mend. My doctors promise a complete recovery -but only if I avoid work over the next few weeks.Meanwhile the show goes on and the Player Kings company…— Ian McKellen (@IanMcKellen) July 2, 2024\n\n\n","options":{"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Ian McKellen on Twitter / X","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/IanMcKellen/status/1808168770437108196","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"desktop","editionInfo":{"id":"uk","name":"U.K.","link":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk","locale":"en_GB"},"originalEdition":"uk","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"66a7a6b8e4b07ad170d005fc","entryPermalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/ian-mckellen-instagram-confusion_uk_66a7a6b8e4b07ad170d005fc","entryTagsList":"instagram,ian-mckellen","sectionSlug":"entertainment","deptSlug":null,"sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"uk.entertainment","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc140cf94592c45d7390c","disabledWithMapiEntries":false,"overrides":{"all":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4"},"whitelisted":["56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439","56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529","570278d2e4b070ff77b98217","57027b4be4b070ff77b98d5c","56fe95c4e4b0041c4242016b","570279cfe4b06d08e3629954","5ba9e8821c2e65639162ccf1","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e","5b35266b158f855373e28256","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2","60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","60d0de02b627221e9d819408"],"playlists":{"default":"57bc306888d2ff1a7f6b5579","news":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","politics":"56c6dbcee4b04edee8beb49c","entertainment":"56c6e7f2e4b0983aa64c60fc","tech":"56c6f70ae4b043c5bdcaebf9","parents":"56cc65c2e4b0239099455b42","lifestyle":"56cc66a9e4b01f81ef94e98c"},"playerUpdates":{"56c6056ee4b01f2b7e1b5f35":"60b8e525cdd90620331baaf4","56c5f12ee4b03a39c93c9439":"60d0d8e09340d7032ad0fb1a","59bfee7f9e451049f87f550b":"60d0d90f9340d7032ad0fbeb","5acccbaac269d609ef44c529":"60d0d9949340d7032ad0fed3","5bcd9904821576674bc55ced":"60d0d9f99340d7032ad10113","5d076ca127f25f504327c72e":"60d0daa69340d7032ad104cf","5ebac2e8abddfb04f877dff2":"60d0de02b627221e9d819408"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"8b034f64-513c-4987-b16f-42d6008f7feb","clickToPlayPlayer":"5a777b9b-81fe-41a6-8302-59e9953ee8a2","videoPagePlayer":"19654b65-409c-4b38-90db-80cbdea02cf4"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":11},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":0},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"66a7a6b8e4b07ad170d005fc","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"desktop","page_edition":"en-uk"},"tags":[{"name":"instagram","slug":"instagram","links":{"relativeLink":"news/instagram","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/instagram","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/instagram"},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/instagram/"},{"name":"Ian McKellen","slug":"ian-mckellen","links":{"relativeLink":"news/ian-mckellen","permalink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/ian-mckellen","mobileWebLink":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/ian-mckellen"},"url":"https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/news/ian-mckellen/"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-1\", \"entry_paragraph_1\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline\", \"entry_paragraph_2\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-2\", \"entry_paragraph_3\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n HPGam.cmd.push(function(){\r\n\t\treturn HPGam.render(\"inline-infinite\", \"repeating_dynamic_display\", false, false);\r\n });\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}”>

Just two weeks after my accident onstage I want to assure my many well-wishers that the injuries (to wrist and neck) are on the mend. My doctors promise a complete recovery -but only if I avoid work over the next few weeks.

Meanwhile the show goes on and the Player Kings company…

— Ian McKellen (@IanMcKellen) July 2, 2024

Here’s Why You Should Never Boil Chopped Broccoli

Posted on 11/12/2023 by Boris Clair

Can I do nothing fright? First, comes the news that I’m boiling my potatoes wrong for mashing; then, it turned out I’ve been using my colander wrong this entire time.

And recently, I spotted an Instagram reel that changed how I view boiling broccoli.

If you’re anything like me, you’re used to chopping your broccoli into florets and adding it either to a steamer or boiling water. But it turns out you don’t need to face those green crumbles all over your chopping board to begin with, and you might not even need to whip the board out at all.

Andrei Emelianov’s Instagram page andre_lifehack, which is filled with (you guessed it) life hacks, revealed in a video that a better way to boil broccoli is to impale the stem with a chopstick or skewer, turn the broccoli upside down so the head is submerged in your pot’s water, and then lay either side of the implement on the rim.

This keeps the veg in place as it cooks ― and when it’s done, you don’t need to drain it. Simply remove the entire head and chop off the florets you want, mess-free.

Huh!

Yep! Lots of commenters mentioned that it’s wasteful to discard the delicious (and fibre-rich) stem, but you don’t have to ― save it and chop it for a pasta bake or grate it for tasty fritters.

Of course, nutritionists say boiling broccoli means you lose a lot of nutrients in the water, so if you choose to steam it instead, simply trim the stem of the entire head so the whole veg can fit in your lidded steamer basked.
You can save the trimmed stem for later. And even if you’re not boiling or steaming your broccoli, you can use one of Andre’s other food tricks shown in the video; turn the broccoli head upside down and run the water through the florets that way when washing it, rather than using the less-effective floret-side-up approach.

Any other tips?

Yep! The reel is brimming with wisdom.

For instance, you’re better off chopping a large veg (like squash) by placing a knife along the side of the gourd and rolling the whole vegetables. It makes the cut much easier.

Also, you’re probably cracking pistachios open wrong ― rather than pulling two sides of the shell apart, try pushing them together until they snap for a simple release.

Loosen grapes from their stalk by placing the whole bunch in a tea towel and gently rubbing the top half of the terrycloth parcel ― they’ll gradually evict themselves from their woody homes.

And solidified, cakey spices that are stuck in a jar can be loosened by circling the base of another spice jar over the inverted bottom of the affected container.

Lastly, you can cleanly remove flour from the bag by spinning a balloon whisk in the bag and lifting the filled utensil from the bag ― it’s amazingly mess-free.

You can see the tricks for yourself here:

Salma Hayek Shrugs Off Wardrobe Malfunction While Celebrating Massive Milestone

Posted on 18/05/2023 by Boris Clair

Salma Hayek knows how to cut loose, and the Living it Up actor did just that to celebrate an impressive new milestone on Instagram.

On Tuesday, the star shared a video of herself joyfully dancing in a robe with her glam team to commemorate reaching 24 million followers on the platform.

After her robe slipped down, revealing some NSFW lady bits — tastefully blurred in the video — an unfazed Hayek continued showcasing her moves as her friends reveled in the background.

“24 million followers, 24 million reasons to smile. Thank you all for joining me on this wild ride!” she wrote in the caption of the merry clip.

“I cannot contain my excitement & gratitude,” the Magic Mike’s Last Dance star added, alongside a dancing emoji.

Hayek, who has been married to husband François-Henri Pinault since 2009, hasn’t been shy about showing off her physique with stunning snaps on social media.

Last month, the actor wowed fans in a neon green bikini, stylishly flipping her hair back as she emerged from the ocean.

Hayek confessed to People in 2020 that her figure doesn’t come from spending long hours in the gym. She said she doesn’t “have time to exercise” with work days of 16 hours or more.

“I work with a woman in London who taught me how to hold my body in a way where the muscles are activated all day long,” she explained, revealing how she manages to stay so fit. “So even when you brush your teeth, you’re working the muscles.”

Hayek added: “She taught me to tone [my muscles] without clenching them. You relax them and focus on the parts that need to be used, but never with tension. If you’re aware of your body, you’d be surprised by the effect it can have.”

Black Women Are Getting Tired Of Wearing Wigs. Here’s Why

Posted on 02/06/2022 by Boris Clair

“Taking pictures, make sure you can’t see no lace, that wig secure like the money in a safe.” So goes the Chloe x Halle song, Do It. And those lyrics signify just how normalised wig-wearing is for Black women. Growing up it was normal to see your mum, aunts and even grandmas wearing one.

But the state of wigs have evolved a lot since they started wearing them.

I was 17 when I first ventured into the world of wigs and these were the days of closures. A closure is your bog-standard wig that usually features clips or an elastic band to ensure it stays in place all day. In fact, they’re perfect for everyday use, because they’re so easy to put on and take off.

Now we also have the frontal wig, which has really taken off in the past couple of years. When Chloe and Halle sing, “Make sure you can’t see no lace”, they are referring to the lace on a frontal wig. A frontal differs from a closure wig as it’s typically glued down to your hairline so it looks more like your own hair.

As Martha O explains on the Natural Girl Wigs blog: “One way to identify frontals is that they are used to recreate the hairline from ear to ear, while closures are used to recreate the natural parting of the hairline.”

Frontal wigs have grown in popularity, especially online. But head to TikTok and you’ll see more and more Black women who are tiring of their wigs, too.

This sentiment isn’t part of the natural hair movement per se – many Black women still enjoy wearing fake hair – but we want to explore different options. Options such as tape-ins, pony-tails and natural hair extensions. The kind of options that have been available to white women for much longer.

This is something that Tendai Moyo and Ugo Agbai, co-founders of Ruka Hair, have also observed. Ruka is a Black-owned hair business that aims to provide Black women with hair extensions in different textures and formats. As well as selling online, it now has a physical shop in Westfield Stratford City and also works with a network of “co-creators” (in its lingo) who test out products.

“What we’ve noticed is Black women having less attachment to a particular style. We’ve seen more people experimenting with their own hair in various formats like ponytails and clip-ins,” Moyo tells HuffPost UK.

She continues: “One of the things a co-creator said in our community interview last year is that, historically, white women can go to a salon and say, ‘I want longer hair that looks exactly like mine.’ But, historically speaking, Black women haven’t been able to do that.”

That more Black women are downing their wigs is due to two Cs, she says: compromise (or not wanting to) and choice (the availability of alternatives). “Three years ago, white women were using things like micro-links. This option wasn’t a thought for Black women then, because it didn’t exist in our texture.”

Agbai also sees the trend for wig-wearing waning. “I think with wigs, especially with frontals, it was something that you only saw in the theatre, or only saw celebrity stylists doing. Then it became extremely accessible and prominent. Now I feel like people are experimenting with other styles,” she tells me.

Wider choice is certainly a factor, but let’s not understate that the maintenance of frontals can be tedious. Wearing a frontal regularly requires a lot of time and effort. You have to glue the wig (which can take ages), then straighten it, apply a lace tint to make the wig look natural. Sure, you get used to it, but it’s not fun.

As the Ruka website highlights, Black women spend six times as much as their white counterparts on haircare products and service. But this could be beginning to change.

“I’ve seen Black women accept the fact that their hair doesn’t have to take a ridiculously long time,” Moyo says. “Especially since frontals are usually done by professionals, if you do it by yourself you’re not always doing it correctly, which causes more damage and time needed. I’ve seen more Black women finding styles that are less time consuming.”

Agbai agrees and suggests that it’s liberating many of us from some long-held habits, in some cases inherited. “All of the language we’ve been socialised to use around our hair has influenced this,” she says. “We think our hair should take a long time, that it can laborious to do our hair. I’m excited to see that shift and see Black women really look for quicker solutions.”

“I felt like I was forcing it… when I put a frontal on myself, I didn’t look like those other girls.”

– Akua Ntiamoah, 26, Essex

The phrase “where’s the lace?” is used all too often in reference to frontal wigs. There’s an obsession with making frontals look exactly like the hair on your head when a lot of the time, they just don’t. This pressure for wig perfection has made some Black women consider other options.

This is the case for Akua Ntiamoah, 26, a civil servant from Essex, who says she didn’t enjoy wearing wigs as her hair never looked like what she saw online.

“I felt like i was forcing it. Maybe it’s because I saw girls on Instagram wearing them, but when I put a frontal on myself I didn’t look like those other girls,” she says. “Black girls always say, ‘the lace is invisible’, but I can see it in real life.”

She stopped wearings wigs two years ago. “I was tired of my wigs not looking natural, so I cut my hair. I wore wigs from time to time, but I still didn’t look right so now I just wear my hair out in a pony.” She says she also enjoys braids.

Moyo and Agbai have received positive feedback about Roka’s ponytails that putting them on doesn’t require much work for the wearer. As they tell me: “We’d get women saying: ‘We don’t have to put much gel in our, we can just attach the ponytail and go.’ That is the best thing!”

While wigs are often seen as a great protective style, wearing them too often can also damage your hair. For Joy Olugboyega, 25, a photographer and director from London, wearing wigs ruined her hairline – so she doesn’t.

“I stopped wearing wigs in 2019. Haven’t worn a wig since,” she says. “My relationship with wigs was pretty much on and off. I hated what it was doing to my hairline but at the same time appreciated the convenience.”

And now she’s made the break, Olugboyega is reclaiming more than her hair. “I realised I looked way better with my natural hair and Afrocentric hairstyles like fulani braids, faux locs, feed-ins. Not only do I look better, but I feel better too, like a queen,” she says.

“I just feel more like I’m more myself when it comes to how I present. It’s the truest representation of me and where I come from.

Drake Hits Back At Troll By Following His Wife And DMing Her On Instagram

Posted on 06/05/2022 by Boris Clair

The Certified Lover Boy Drake just pulled the ultimate move on an online critic.

The drama-filled interaction started on Tuesday when an Instagram user poked fun at Drake’s son, Adonis, after the rapper commented about fathers who are “elated and competitive and over supportive” of their children’s pursuits. In response, the Instagram user wrote, “Ya son prolly play with ghost writers.”

The snarky comment was in reference to past controversies where the Canadian rapper was accused of relying on ghostwriters and not drafting his own verses.

Drake , who goes by @champagnepapi on the platform, decided to respond in the most Drake way: He swiftly tracked down the commenter’s wife and followed her on Instagram.

“I just followed your girl cause she’s prob miserable and needs some excitement in her life,” he teased.

The woman Drake followed, who goes by Toni Bowden on the social platform, shared the tea on her Instagram Story.

“Oh hey @champagnepapi,” she captioned in a screenshot of her followers, with the God’s Plan rapper listed as one of them.

“My husband @ceddybo_ybagnm decides to be a troll and now @champagnepapi thinking I need excitement in my life,” she wrote, alongside laughing and eyes emojis.

But the debacle didn’t end there.

Drake, who has cautioned his fans in his lyrics over the years about stealing girls away from their boyfriends and husbands, annihilated the original commenter with one final blow by sending Bowden a direct message after seeing her posts.

“I’m here for u ma,” he wrote to her.

The Take Your Girl artist reunited with Future last month for several features on the March Madness rapper’s ninth studio album, I Never Liked You.

This week, Drake was confirmed to appear on Jack Harlow’s new album Come Home the Kids Miss You, which is released today (Fri 6 May).

People Are Muting Their Favourite Influencers. They Tell Us Why

Posted on 27/04/2022 by Boris Clair

Instagram and influencers – it’s difficult to imagine one without the other. I’ve happily followed fashion influencers on Instagram since I first downloaded the app in 2014. And there’s no doubt the limited representation of Black women in mainstream media made me feel connected to Black influencers specifically.

These were the people I ran to for makeup recommendations, to ogle their clothing choices and tap up their lifestyle content, from food to travel. I’ve kept up with everything my favourite influencers are wearing and buying for years.

That is, until the pandemic.

It was during lockdown when I started feeling less inclined to scroll influencer content. This was partly because my own life, like many others at the time, wasn’t where I wanted it to be. I was job-hunting, while freelancing through a pandemic. It was difficult and I wanted social media to be a form of escapism.

But the content I’d once found aspirational began to feel out of touch. Seeing people the same age as me buying things I couldn’t afford didn’t want to make me want to work harder – it made me feel like I was doing something wrong.

I knew the influencers weren’t really the problem, but I had to control how they were leaving me feeling. As someone who spends a lot of time on social media, it was up to me to decide which content I wanted to consume.

So I started to unfollow or mute some of their accounts.

Like me, Toju, a 21-year old student from Glasgow, also noticed a shift during the Covid lockdowns in how she felt about the influencers she followed.

These were the weeks and months when it was easy to think other people had more space, more time, were being more productive or having more fun than you, despite the challenges we were all facing. Remember when it seemed like every past Love Island contestant ever was in Dubai over Christmas 2021?

“During that time, a lot of influencers were travelling or just living very different lives to me,” she says. “I’ve also recently felt a shift again this year as more influencers have moved towards luxury or designer items in their content.”

More influencers that ever seem to be publishing elevated content, from showcasing their designer clothes and bags to eating out at expensive restaurants and generally living a life of luxury.

Of course, this content can be seen variously as aspirational or a form of escapism. It can also make you feel wholly inadequate in the here and now.

The cost of living crisis is playing out in real time. It’s hardly surprising Toju and many other social media users no longer feel inspired by influencer accounts.

“I can’t even be ‘influenced’ because these items are simply entirely out of my reach and budget, so I gain nothing but feelings of inadequacy from them,” she says.

“I’m seeing more things that would like to have but can’t afford on a daily basis, something I probably wouldn’t see if I wasn’t on social media.”

But the answer isn’t necessarily coming off social media entirely. It could just be changing who you do follow or which platforms you use and for what.

Data analyst, Hena J. Bryan, 25, a content creator herself, says that she’s put many of the influencers she used to follow on mute for over a year now.

“They just don’t align with a lot of the things I find important,” she says. “I think relatability, for me anyways, goes beyond finances, especially as I can afford the things they’re advertising. I want to discover more influencers who offer more than pretty pictures, and I’ve found a few who speak to my interests.”

Bryan creates content about the books she is reading and enjoys engaging with others doing the same. She adds: “I think people should curate their feed. You literally have to be militant and protect your digital footprint/experience.”

If you want to follow influencers, seek out those who genuinely speak to your interests.

It’s also worth being aware that how you engage with social media shifts over time. Akachi Priscilla Mbakwe, 32, a marketer from south London has lived online since her early teens. “I’ve been following influencers since I was on Tumblr,” she tells HuffPost UK. “People like Justine Skye who at the time were influencers, but the term wasn’t invented yet.”

When she was younger, Mbakwe says she followed people “for aspirational reasons”, and for their fashion and make-up content.

“I started to feel different in the pandemic especially during the resurgence of Black Lives Matter. I saw influencers uploading pictures of themselves whist the caption was about George Floyd – they just looked silly to me.”

There’s self-preservation at play here, too. “I started to unfollow influencers because I realised subconsciously that I was constantly comparing myself to them,” says Mbakwe. “Now I have such a better relationship with myself and how I look and I don’t want to compromise.

“I still look at them from time to time but not like I used to. Also, now I feel that most influencers make the same content. They’re all following the same formula. If you follow one it feels like you follow all of them.”

So, where does ultimate responsibility lie: with the followed or their followers?

Though the life of an influencer looks perfect, influencers themselves will tell you that sometimes it’s far from that. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes and many posters rely on rented or gifted products to project the image they do, some earning little more than the followers who aspire to their lifestyle.

Thing is, even some of those influencers can’t. There are so many companies that let people rent out designer bags etc or they get sent these products. But the power of social media will make you think they’re up up. Some might be but majority is for show

— Kim (@Kimberleyakello) April 24, 2022

“I don’t feel like influencers should change their content to suit us,” weighs in Mbakwe. “I think we (the consumers) should curate and have better boundaries with our feed if the content you’re viewing is making you feel bad.”

Bryan echoes this: “I believe we should all have social responsibility, but we shouldn’t have to force influencers to do/say things they don’t want to. You’re responsible for what you consume and I think TikTok has created a wave of new influencers who don’t lend themselves to perfectionism and are more relatable.”

With living costs only set to increase, it might be time for be more conscious about the content we choose to see. Arguably Influencers aren’t the ones to blame, just a byproduct of a capitalist society that rewards people for flaunting their wealth.

You have the power to choose who and what you engage with, so be honest about how your Instagram feed leaves you feeling – and make the changes you need.

Boris Johnson To Host Downing Street Press Conference At 5pm Today

Posted on 14/11/2021 by Boris Clair

Boris Johnson will host a Downing Street press conference at 5pm today, it has been announced.

The briefing will be on the Cop26 climate change conference and the prime minister will appear alongside the summit’s president Alok Sharma.

It comes after a pact was finally agreed in Glasgow last night which saw a dramatic last-minute intervention from China and India to water down the deal to end the use of coal power.

Sharma today said the two states would have to “justify themselves” to climate vulnerable countries.

He made the comments after fighting back tears on the world stage as the deal was finally completed.

The agreement had been due to include a pledge to accelerate the “phase-out” of coal power but it was switched to “phase-down”.

The word change reduces the urgency with which countries are required to reduce the use of coal – the worst fossil fuel for greenhouse gases.

This morning, Sharma told Sky News: “On the issue of coal, China and India of course are going to have to justify to some of the most climate vulnerable countries what happened. You heard that disappointment on the floor.”

A tearful Sharma told delegates last night: “I apologise for the way this process has unfolded. I am deeply sorry.”

However, the Glasgow Climate Pact is the first ever climate deal to explicitly plan to reduce coal.

The overall deal saw nearly 200 countries agree to keep the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels “alive” or within reach.

6 Stunning Flower Fields To Visit On Your Summer Staycation

Posted on 14/08/2021 by Boris Clair

You are reading Anywhere But Here, our summer-long series on travel at home and abroad, serving up the information and inspiration you need.

When we see a beautiful field of flowers, it makes us want to do one of two things: pick them or post a pic of them.

Well, we’re in luck, as it’s the Flower Farmers’ Big Weekend from August 13-15 – an invitation for flower lovers to meet growers from across the UK, explore their fields, pick an arm (or posy) full, where allowed – and generally learn what goes on behind the scenes to produce these incredible blooms.

In fact, the PYO (pick-your-own) flower scene is only growing in popularity in this country, so much so that the team at holidaycottages.co.uk have rounded up some of the prettiest flower fields to visit over the summer months.

Try not snapping this lot to the gram – we know you won’t be able to resist.

1. Dahlia Beach, Millets Farm, Oxfordshire

Millets Farm claims to be the UK’s largest pick-your-own spot for dahlias – very much the flower of the moment. As well as PYO, the farm runs workshops, such as a guide to growing borders, which takes place on the pink double decker Dahlia Beach bus.

2. Strawberry Fields, Lifton, Devon

Lifton Farm marks the changing of the seasons with an evolving range of pick-your-own experiences from strawberries to maize to sunflowers to pumpkins. August is very much sunflower time – and the farm shop is also worth a visit.

Strawberry Fields, Lifton, Devon, PL16 0DE

3. Flower Fields at Wyke Manor Estate, Worcestershire

As well as more sunflowers, the main attraction at Wyke Manor Estate is the Confetti Field, which is harvested to create petal confetti every summer. Check out the virtual field online first to plot your day.

Wick, Pershore, Worcestershire WR10 3NZ

4. Vine House Farm, Lincolnshire

Vine House Farm’s main business is bird food, but their sunflower fields are also spectacular and best seen in August. Don’t miss the shop and cafe too.

Main Road, Deeping St Nicholas, Spalding PE11 3DG

5. Blooming Green, Kent

Blooming Green’s pick-your-own haven is open every Saturday between June and October, and is particularly popular with those doing a DIY wedding. Flowers don’t get much fresher and the tea and cake is also rated very highly.

Loddington Farm, Linton, Maidstone ME17 4AG

6. Cairnie Fruit Farm, Fife

Cairnie Fruit Farm spans 120 acres of Scottish countryside and is open between June and September to visitors. It’s hard to pick what to pick: succulent berries and cherries or sunflowers and other blooms from the beautiful fields of Fife.

Cairnie, Cupar KY15 4QD

Travel is the story of our summer. The rules (and traffic lights) are always changing, but one thing’s clear, we dream of being Anywhere But Here. This seasonal series offers you clear-headed travel advice, ideas-packed staycation guides, clever swaps and hacks, and a healthy dose of wanderlust.

No, Curry Isn’t Cancelled. But Indian Food Is So Much More

Posted on 12/08/2021 by Boris Clair

Judging by the papers this week you’d think “the woke left” were trying to ban curry altogether.

That’s after two food bloggers questioned why many South Asian dishes are often categorised under the umbrella term “curry”.

Chaheti Bansal, a chef by hobby based in California, posted an Instagram video pointing out the colonial origins of the word.

The 29-year-old asked why foreigners label any South Asian food as curry, even though there is huge variety among food items.

“There’s a saying that the food in India changes every 100km and yet we’re still using this umbrella term popularised by white people who couldn’t be bothered to learn the actual names of our dishes,” said the blogger.

“But we can still unlearn.”

After Bansal’s video was shared on BuzzFeed Tasty’s Instagram channel, and viewed more than 3.6 million times, many criticised her sentiments, saying it stoked a “woke” colonialism row.

So how did the word curry come to be? According to historians, British officials misheard the Tamil word Kari (referring to side dishes), which then – due to power imbalances – became the norm among locals. Homogenising such varied dishes as sabzi, chawals and sambars simply as ‘curry’ is “rooted in white, Christian supremacy”, one historian told NBC news.

The message was echoed by another food influencer, Nisha Vedi Pawar, who said the diversity of South Asian items shouldn’t be lumped together.

Pawar, 36, from New Jersey spoke to HuffPost to explain the issue she and Bannsal are trying to raise awareness for, has been blown out of proportion.

Nisha Vedi Pawar aims to preserve Indian culture through her cooking

“Every time we try and defend anything people say we’re being ‘too woke’ or ‘too sensitive’, she says.

“Curry is often assumed to be heavy, cream laden dishes. Contrary to popular belief, Indians do not eat curry every day, neither will you find curry powder stocked in Indian homes or grocery stores. Curry is a concept that Europeans imposed on India’s food culture. By labelling all Indian food curry we are giving a very broad, watered down version of our beautiful cuisine.“

Instead, Bansal and Pawar suggest learning the different names of all your favourite Indian dishes.

“It starts with all of us making the effort to learn and label the dishes as what they are. Methi murgh, raasedar paneer, dahi wale aloo. Let’s start using the actual names of our dishes,” says Pawar, who adds that when calls like this to decolonise food get taken out of their context, it only contributes to culture wars.

“Sensationalised headlines make it very difficult for creators of colour to share their thoughts with the world without getting judged or railroaded. When the media takes a few blurbs from someone’s opinion and spins it to their liking, it create more harm than good,” she tells HuffPost UK.

“My goal is to create my page and educate people that Indian food is more than curries. I want to see more people taking the time to learn the origins of our dishes.”

And the waiters will be suitably impressed if you order a shorshe murgi instead of a chicken curry.

Madonna’s Daughter Lourdes’ First Instagram Posts Are Quite Something: ‘Your Mother Sucks D***’

Posted on 23/01/2021 by Boris Clair

HuffPost is part of Verizon Media. We and our partners will store and/or access information on your device through the use of cookies and similar technologies, to display personalised ads and content, for ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development.

Your personal data that may be used

Information about your device and internet connection, including your IP address
Browsing and search activity while using Verizon Media websites and apps
Precise location

Find out more about how we use your information in our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

To enable Verizon Media and our partners to process your personal data select ‘I agree‘, or select ‘Manage settings‘ for more information and to manage your choices. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Your Privacy Controls.

WellnessMaster

Get The Latest News on Holistic Wellness

Tag Archives: instagram