Gloucestershire’s phlebotomists have brought their historic strike to a close after almost a year of action, leaving a legacy of determination – and a clear lesson about the power of solidarity in the face of anti-union laws and austerity, says FBU general secretary STEVE WRIGHT
I SPENT the roasting August bank holiday weekend in Suffolk visiting my cousin Laurie and his wife Donna who live just outside of the beautiful ancient wool town of Bury St Edmunds.
Bury is rich both with magnificent ancient religious buildings and more modern cathedrals of food and drink.
As you turn off the A14, your arrival is dominated by the huge and often sickly-sweet steaming British Sugar beet processing works. It turns East Anglia’s beet harvest into all kinds of sugars.
MAT COWARD takes a look at some of the options for keen gardeners as we enter 2026
‘Chance encounters are what keep us going,’ says novelist Haruki Murakami. In Amy, a chance encounter gives fresh perspective to memories of angst, hedonism and a charismatic teenage rebel.



