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Idris Elba says he is 'still feel OK ' after coronavirus diagnosis

Idris Elba says he and wife Sabrina ‘still feel OK with no changes’ ten days after testing positive for coronavirus but admits he can’t wait to get home to London

  • Idris tested positive for the coronavirus on March 16
  • He went into isolation with his wife, Sabrina Dhowre-Elba in New Mexico, where he had been shooting an upcoming Netflix film 
  • Sabrina revealed in an interview with Oprah earlier this week that she had tested positive, but said she had no regrets about remaining with her husband 
  • Idris appeared to confirm in a video message last week that he had contracted the virus from Canadian Prime Minister’s wife Justin Trudeau Sophie, 44
  • The two met shortly before they both tested positive for COVID-19 at an event in London on March 4
  • Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?

Idris Elba has given fans an update on his condition ten days after being diagnosed with coronavirus.

Posting on Twitter on Thursday, the British actor said he and his wife Sabrina, who has also tested positive are ‘still feeling OK’.  

The star admitted the couple can’t wait to return home to London though as they quarantine near to where Idris was filming upcoming Netflix film The Harder They Fall in Sante Fe, New Mexico.

Feeling good: Idris Elba has given fans an update and his condition ten days after being diagnosed with coronavirus

Sharing a selfie, Idris wrote: ‘Hoping everyone is coping with this [email protected]@!! Currently still quarantine.. Sab and I still feel ok so far with no changes. Dr told us that after quarantine we will be immune for a certain time since our antibodies fought this.’ 

‘At some point we’d like to go home to London. Bsafe.’

Idris also spent time replying to followers, telling one who asked if he had had any symptoms at all: ‘No not really… the day I got tested I had body aches and a headache.’

He told another fan that he thought he was on day 13 of the virus.   

Speaking to fans: Idris also spent time replying to followers, telling one who asked if he had had any symptoms at all: ‘No not really… the day I got tested I had body aches and a headache.’

Idris appeared to confirm in a video message last week that he had contracted the virus from Canadian Prime Minister’s wife Justin Trudeau Sophie, 44, after the two met shortly before they both tested positive for COVID-19.

The actor revealed that he was exposed to the deadly disease on 4 March, the same day he posed with Sophie at the We Day UK charity event, in Wembley.

Idris said: ‘It’s hard to say when I got the disease or when I contracted COVID-19, it’s hard to say when. I will say that I know I’ve been exposed to it from March 4.

Also positive: Posting on Twitter on Thursday, the British actor said he and his wife Sabrina, who has also tested positive are ‘still feeling OK’ 

‘That’s when the person that came up positive, that was the time I got in contact with that person.

‘So essentially, I could have been positive from March 4, but it’s hard to say when I contracted someone with corona, you can contract it at anytime but my known exposure was March 4.’

Idris met Trudeau’s wife Sophie, who has also been tested positive for COVID-19, on 4 March at a We Day UK charity event, in Wembley. 

Posing for photos together at the event, the pair were in close proximity to each other, as well as other celebrities such as Lewis Hamilton, and attendees.

Interaction: Idris appeared to confirm in a video message last week that he had contracted the virus from Canadian Prime Minister’s wife Justin Trudeau Sophie, 44, after the two met shortly before they both tested positive for COVID-19

Idris then addressed backlash as to why he was tested for COVID-19 after he had ‘no symptoms’ and ‘felt ok’. 

‘I am on location about to start filming. The news breaks that this person, who is also in the public eye, has tested positive.’ 

Idris previously explained he was on location and about to start filming when he got tested: ‘It was definitely something I had to do as I was about to start filming and be around a lot of people,’ he said.

‘My job made me test immediately, I had to test anyway, as it meant I was putting a lot of people at risk if I had been exposed. We were lucky to get a test very quickly because of the shortages of the test.

Message: Idris confirmed he had tested positive for coronavirus in a social media video posted on March 16, with his wife choosing to remain by his side

‘It was the best thing to do, I was going to be around a lot of people starting this film.’

Earlier this week it was revealed Idris’ wife Sabrina Dhowre-Elba had also tested positive after choosing to remain with her husband in self isolation when he was diagnosed.

Defending their decision to isolate together following The Wire star’s diagnosis, she told Oprah Winfrey ‘I wanted to be with him’ and claimed she felt ‘the instinct of a wife’ to take care of him. 

In an interview on Winfrey’s new Apple TV+ series Oprah Talks, the couple opened up about being quarantined together in New Mexico, where Elba’s latest film was in production.

Updates: Idris has been reassuring fans in regular updates that he has been feeling well 

‘Actually, I found out this morning, Oprah, that I tested positive,’ Sabrina told the host on Facetime on Saturday.

Idris, 47, told Oprah, he ‘hasn’t witnessed any major symptoms’ and is ‘feeling okay.’

‘It’s interesting and worrying that people are possibly carrying this disease and are seemingly okay, but can spread it easily,’ he said of not being symptomatic.

Sabrina, who also feels healthy, said: ‘I don’t feel anything that would come to what people would now expect to be a symptom of coronavirus, which is really strange. It might change in the coming weeks, and we’ll keep everyone updated.’

To stay entertained in isolation, the pair are focusing on the ‘silver lining’ of spending quality time together and playing video games, chess and ‘staying creative.’ 

Keeping positive: The couple have been keeping themselves enterrtained with social media videos, chess and video games

 

 

 

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White House, Senate leaders strike deal on $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package

Senate leaders and the White House struck a deal early Wednesday morning on a $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package to aid an economy that’s been hampered by the rapidly worsening pandemic.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are done,” White House legislative affairs director Eric Ueland told reporters just before 1 a.m. “We have a deal.”

The agreement on the mammoth stimulus bill capped days of intense negotiations and came after Senate Democrats twice blocked a procedural vote on the measure.

“Much of the work on bill text has been completed. And I’m hopeful that over the next few hours we’ll finish what’s left and be able to circulate it early in the morning,” Ueland said early Wednesday.

A Senate vote appeared likely Wednesday, with a House vote to follow.

Central to the bill are a Republican-led plan to send direct checks to millions of Americans, up to $3,400 for a family of four, and loans to businesses.

The rescue package includes a $367 billion program for small businesses to keep making payroll while workers are forced to stay home.

The package’s central cash-injecting giveaway would cut checks of up to $1,200 to each taxpayer, with amounts tapered down to $600 for low-income workers and retirees and phased out for individuals who earned between $75,000 and $99,000 in 2018. For each child, there would be a $500 tax rebate.

With Post wires

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Mother reveals easy step by step guide to making bread

Mother reveals easy step-by-step guide to making bread using water, milk, butter and flour in her SLOW COOKER as supplies run low in supermarkets amid coronavirus pandemic

  • Dannielle Luttrell from Tasmania took to Facebook’s Slow Cooker Recipe & Tips 
  •  The crafty mum used water, milk, butter and flour as her main ingredients
  • Slow cooker recipe which made bread in two hours went viral with 100k likes 
  • Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?

A mother has shared her step-by-step guide to making your own bread using cupboard basics, as shoppers struggle to find basics including bread and pasta in store.

Dannielle Luttrell from Hobart, Tasmania, took to Facebook page Slow Cooker Recipe & Tips to post her guide to homemade bread, revealing it took just a couple of hours and a handful of ingredients to bake.

The crafty mum used water, milk, butter and flour as her main ingredients, before kneading a dough and placing it in the slow cooker – admitting it was a handy alternative as she couldn’t justify a bread machine due to a lack of counter space. 

Her method quickly went viral, racking up 100,000 likes shares and comments.

Dannielle Luttrell from Hobart, Tasmania, took to Facebook page Slow Cooker Recipe & Tips to post her guide to homemade bread, revealing it took just a couple of hours and a handful of ingredients to bake

The home chef used water, milk, butter and flour as her main ingredients, before kneading a dough and placing it in the

Taking to Facebook with a picture of her bread, she wrote: ‘Last night I made.. Bread!! I’ve wanted a bread machine for years but couldn’t justify the extra counter space and another appliance in the kitchen. 

‘This works perfect and tastes so good – one less thing to buy on my weekly shop!’

Calling it ‘the best adapted bread recipe ever’, she shared her method, with followers praising the results. 

One wrote: ‘Omg much better then a bread maker, you don’t have the hole in the bottom from the blade. Thanks for sharing the recipe, must try it’. 

Admitting that she had never thought of making bread this way, another wrote: ‘Wow looks yummy. I’ve owed slow cooker for years but didn’t know ya could make bread!’.

Elsewhere another said: ‘I am like you I want a bread maker but can’t just justify the cost or space but will try this idea’. 

The crafty mum used a slow cooker – admitting it was a handy alternative as she couldn’t justify a bread machine due to a lack of counter space

Taking to Facebook with a picture of her bread, she wrote: ‘Last night I made.. Bread!! I’ve wanted a bread machine for years but couldn’t justify the extra counter space and another appliance in the kitchen

Danielle’s guide to making bread

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 2 cups of warm milk
  • 2 Tbsp melted unsalted butter
  • 1-3 tablespoons of sugar (add more if you like sweeter bread)
  • 3 tablespoons of active dry yeast (conservative side)
  • 6 cups of whole wheat flour (or 3 cups whole wheat & 3 cups all-purpose flour)
  • 2 teaspoons of salt 1 teaspoon of baking powder 

Method 

‘Grab a big bowl, and stir the 1/2 cup of warm water, 1 (or more) tablespoons of sugar, 3 tablespoons of yeast. Wait for 5 minutes (no longer – mine went all over the place the first time!) – it should be frothy on the top. While your waiting warm 2 cups of milk and 2 Tbsp of butter in microwave.

‘Next, add milk and butter to yeast mixture. Using a standing mixer slowly add the 6 cups of flour, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 1 teaspoon of baking powder. Mix and knead the dough. (I used dough hook once I had incorporated most of the flour for about 5 minutes then kneaded by hand for another 5-7 minutes.)

‘Line your slow cooker with cooking (baking) paper and place in your round ball of dough. I will rise in the slow cooker as it heats through. Cook on High power for 2- 2.5 hours. 

‘Start checking at every 7-10 minutes until top is sponge-y but springs back and no moisture on the top. The bottom should be a nice brown colour as well as sides. I put mine (just the loaf) in the oven on broil/grill for less than 5 minutes to get a nice crusty top too!’ 

‘Make sure it is completely cooked through – my loaf took 2 1/2 hours! Slice and enjoy as whole grain toast or sandwich bread!’

Sharing the final result, she wrote: ‘Make sure it is completely cooked through – my loaf took 2 1/2 hours! Slice and enjoy as whole grain toast or sandwich bread!’

Her method quickly went viral, racking up 100,000 likes shares and comments

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Kevin Hart Reveals His Natural Gray Hair While Social Distancing, Says He's a 'Frequent Dyer'

Kevin Hart is going au-naturel while social distancing.

On Tuesday, the actor, 40, started an Instagram series called “Confessions from the Hart,” where he shares never-before-heard stories about his life and career to keep himself (and his fans) entertained as millions are forced to stay inside during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Through this quarantine I decided to open up and give you guys some stories that I’ve never told to the world. I’ll do like two or three a week,” Hart says.

He then proceeds to tell a story about the time he got food poisoning from a raw piece of chicken in Scandinavia but refused to cancel his comedy show the next day: “I got stories for days 🤷🏾‍♂️😂,” he captioned the four-minute clip.

“P.S I have always had a s— load of grey hair…I was just a frequent dyer 😂😂😂😂…I’m not working right now so I said F— IT 😂😂😂” Hart, whose salt and pepper hair and beard were on full-display, added.

“Gray hair don’t care❤️” one Instagram user wrote in the comment section. While another person said, “Just get some of that @revlon hair color spray lol 🤷🏽‍♀️.”

And Hart isn’t the only one embracing a new look while social distancing — on Sunday, Queer Eye star Jonathan Van Ness ditched his signature full beard for a chin patch.

“This is officer Van Ness 🏳️‍🌈 Don’t try new lewks during quarantine 💗 (I’m shaving this chin thing off now just was aghast at how I look),” the reality star captioned an Instagram selfie, before debuting his clean-shaven face on his Instagram Story on Tuesday morning.

“I love it babyface!!!!!” one social media user commented. Another person added, “Omg!! Who is this person.”

While a third simply wrote, “Whoah.”

Earlier this week, actor and rapper Riz Ahmed also showed off a new “haircut that got outta hand” on Instagram.

“Anyone else do a #Stayhome haircut that got outta hand? Least now it feels like there’s someone else here when I look in mirror 😅” the star wrote alongside two photos of his fresh buzz-cut.

As several states around the world shut down non-essential business to contain the virus, some hair salons are closing their doors for the indefinite future, leaving many wondering how they should be maintaining their hair health amid the pandemic.

Speaking to Vogue, Brooklyn-based hairstylist Mischa G shared some helpful tips. “Reach out to your hairstylist as they will be able to provide the best for tips and tricks on how to maintain your hair health during this time with products you have at home,” he recommended. “In the current climate particularly, having the technology to be able to do this is a wonderful thing, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’d never recommend my clients cutting their own hair at home though!”

“Having a professional fix the damage done will be more time-consuming and more expensive than waiting patiently and having it done correctly once it’s safe to visit a professional in the salon in the future,” he added, urging clients to take this time to nurture their hair with a “healthy diet, and plenty of hydration,” as well some treatments like leave-in conditioner and hydrating oils.

PEOPLE recently spoke to several hair professionals and compiled a list of ways you can maintain your salon hair color at home amid the outbreak.

As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes ,PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments and visit our coronavirus hub.

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Real Housewives of Cheshire star Leilani Dowding, 40, reveals she’s engaged to The Cult rocker Billy Duffy, 58 – The Sun

REAL Housewives of Cheshire star Leilani Dowding has revealed she is engaged to The Cult rocker Billy Duffy, 58, after three years together.

The former Miss Great Britain and Page 3 girl announced her happy news on Instagram.

Leilani shared a sweet picture of her palm with the words "I said yes" written on it, with an arrow pointing to her stunning engagement ring.

The reality TV queen wrote alongside the caption on Instagram: "This virus has made me realise what an arse I’ve been taking so many small things for granted. Life can change SO fast in days.

"I’ve never felt such relief and gratitude that Billy could make it home before the travel ban kicked in. This surreal time has made me reflect on what matters most. It’s actually the BEST timing it could ever be!!

"I don’t care that there was no party, or a romantic foreign destination. The only thing that matters, is being together. I’m so lucky and so grateful that he can be home."


Billie posted the same shot on his Instagram page and said: "She did indeed say yes!"

This will be Leilani's second marriage.

The brunette is divorced from ex hubby restaurateur Richard Palmer, who was once married to Raquel Welch.

She met him when she was living in the States for 15 years.


The ex-glamour model, who first appeared on Page 3 in 1999, moved back to the UK after her spell living in Los Angeles.

She agreed to be part of the ITVbe series Real Housewives alongside her rock star partner Billy Duffy of The Cult.

The 58-year-old music legend regularly tours the world with his band but is now based back in his home town of Manchester.

It meant Leilani could sign up to join the popular reality TV series.

Leilani also runs her own high-end clothing line called the Leiluna Collection.

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Stacey Solomon admits she’s stockpiling because she’s so ‘worried’ about coronavirus – The Sun

STACEY Solomon has admitted she's stockpiling because she's so "worried" about coronavirus.

The Loose Woman hit the shops to get some essentials in before 'lockdown.'

Read our coronavirus live blog for all the latest news and updates on Covid-19

Stacey Solomon has admitted she's started stockpiling saying she "worried" about the escalating coronavirus crisis.

The left baby Rex with her mum while he napped and told followers she was hitting the shops "before we all have to go into self-isolation mode."

She said: "I'm actually really nervous about this virus – is anyone else?"

Instead of stockpiling toilet roll like the rest of the nation, the super tidy star opted for glitter tea lights and huge wicker baskets..


Stacey was not the only celeb to do some emergency stockpilling today.

Gemma Collins yelled “I’m ready for the Coronavirus lockdown” after stockpiling 28 toilet rolls and M&S grub today.

The Towie star said she’d “totally crumbled” as she joined the throng of Brits rushing to buy loo roll amid fear supplies would eventually run out.

Gemma, 39, enlisted five members of staff at her local Marks and Spencer to help manage trolleys brimming with toilet roll, Yorkshire puddings, mini pancakes, tins of food, fruit, wine and chicken.




Filming her supermarket escapades this morning, the Diva revealed it was a case of “Operation COVID 19.”

She said: “I’m actually getting a bit worried myself. I didn’t want to get caught up in it all. But we are off to get some food shopping. Operation COVID 19.”

“We’re taking no risks. The message I’m trying to get out here, is to do what the government is saying. But we are off to the supermarket to stock up.”

Meanwhile UK Coronavirus cases have soared to 798 as Wales confirms 13 new cases.

Chief Science officer, Sir Patrick Vallance, claims that Britons will develop “herd immunity” if 60 percent of the population is infected.

The news comes as Boris Johnson confirms that UK schools will stay open in spite of COVID-19.

The Prime Minister made this announcement after his emergency meeting with COBRA.

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Williamson’s classic satire still bites, but not very deep

THEATRE

Emerald City ★★★

Melbourne Theatre Company, Until April 18

Australia’s most successful playwright by a long stretch, David Williamson, has written 55 plays over the last 50 years. He’s had a career of unprecedented prominence and longevity, and his enduring power to attract a mainstage audience rests on his acumen as a popular chronicler and satirist of middle-class Australian life; his ability to hold a mirror to his own ‘tribe’.

The MTC celebrates Williamson’s stage jubilee with a production of Emerald City. This play must have felt daring when it premiered at the STC back in 1987, when it would have reflected back to the glitterati of Sydney’s entertainment industry just how venal, grasping, narcissistic and compromised they all were (while reassuring them, shrewdly, that they weren’t bad people deep down).

Melbourne Theatre Company Emerald City 2020Credit:Jeff Busby

What does it look like in 2020? Well, instant classics tend to date quickly, so it’s curious to see which perspectives feel antique, and which remain surprisingly current.

One thing that hasn’t changed much is the lot of the Australian artist.

High-flying screenwriter Colin (Jason Klarwein) and his publisher wife Kate (Nadine Garner) move from Melbourne to Sydney lured by bright lights and ambition, and for Colin, the anxiety lurking behind his drive is a deep horror of the humiliation and the poverty that attend artistic pursuit.

The idea that even a talented artist might end up, as Henry Lawson did, broke on the streets of Sydney, with only a few “yellowing crits” to show for their trouble, appals him. Selling his soul for commercial success seems preferable – until, that is, he abandons his veteran producer Elaine (Marg Downey) to make a Faustian pact with the chauvinistic shyster Mike (Rhys Muldoon).

Artistic integrity and commercial imperatives clash as Colin and Kate’s careers assume conflicting trajectories, and their marriage is tested by Colin’s attraction to Mike’s younger girlfriend Helen (Megan Hind).

Sam Strong’s production is designed to suggest the vacuous glamour of Sydney, with monumental glitz framing performances that are nimbly inhabited at a more human scale.

The casting is excellent. The rapport between Garner and Klarwein wrings as much nuance and brio as it can from the script. Muldoon’s blokey charlatan is played with maximum charm and awfulness; Downey memorably stencils a blue-blooded operator; Hind brings complexity to what could easily have been a superficial role.

Williamson’s exploration of the struggle between art and money, between ideals and pragmatism is a well-constructed entertainment from an intelligent playwright who knows his audience, even if it doesn’t really dig deep enough for the satire to bite.

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Stephen King Left ‘Very Uneasy’ by Woody Allen’s Memoir Getting Scrapped

After protests from Woody Allen’s estranged children, Ronan and Dylan Farrow, as well as an exodus of the publishing house’s staff members during a Thursday demonstration in New York, Hachette Book Group scrapped plans on Friday to release the filmmaker’s forthcoming memoir. Titled “Apropos of Nothing,” the book was slated for an April publication from Hachette’s Grand Central Publishing, but the outcry was immediate. As members of the film, publishing, and literary communities react online, author Stephen King tweeted on Friday about his “uneasy” feelings over the canceled book.

“The Hachette decision to drop the Woody Allen book makes me very uneasy. It’s not him; I don’t give a damn about Mr. Allen. It’s who gets muzzled next that worries me,” King tweeted. The gist of his argument is that regardless of where you stand on Allen and the accusations of child molestation and other controversies that have followed him throughout his career, censorship is an issue that runs deeper than this memoir. The book was intended to be a deep dive into a life and career from the man himself, including reveals about his professional and personal relationships.

Hachette’s statement read: “The decision to cancel Mr. Allen’s book was a difficult one. At HBG we take our relationships with authors very seriously, and do not cancel books lightly. We have published and will continue to publish many challenging books. As publishers, we make sure every day in our work that different voices and conflicting points of views can be heard. Also, as a company, we are committed to offering a stimulating, supportive and open work environment for all our staff. Over the past few days, HBG leadership had extensive conversations with our staff and others. After listening, we came to the conclusion that moving forward with publication would not be feasible for HBG.”

Throughout the week, the fallout of Hachette’s plans to publish the memoir was swift. Dozens of company employees walked out of the publishing house’s New York City offices on March 5. Dylan Farrow took to social media to slam Hachette’s decision to publish a book she called “deeply unsettling” and an “utter betrayal.” Ronan Farrow, meanwhile, cut ties with the publishing house, which owns Little, Brown and Company, the imprint behind his #MeToo investigative book “Catch and Kill.”

Following Hachette’s decision to drop the memoir, Dylan Farrow shared her thoughts on social media late Friday: “To each and every individual who, at great professional risk to themselves, stood in solidarity with my brother, myself, and all victims of sexual abuse yesterday: words will never describe the debt of gratitude I owe to you.”

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Music reviews: Real Estate, Stephen Malkmus, US Girls and more

US Girls delivers strange, subversive and novelesque songs.Credit:Jeff Bierk.

ALTERNATIVE

US Girls

HEAVY LIGHT (4AD/Remote Control)

★★★★½

Early on in Heavy Light, on spoken-word collage Advice to Teenage Self, a voice says: “Everyone says life is short, life is long, there’s lots of room to be many different ways.” It's good advice, but it’s also a pretty good encapsulation of Meghan Remy’s US Girls, an ever-evolving project that has seen the Toronto-based musician reassemble the history of American music to craft her own strange, subversive and novelesque songs. Heavy Light is the follow-up to her ambitious breakthrough album In a Poem Unlimited, which melded bright jukebox pop with seething stories of male power, submission and revenge. Heavy Light finds Remy’s political commentary more radical than ever, but this time looking inward, offering a sobering and sometimes dark-humoured portrayal of survival and work. While dipping into disco and soul, the album largely contains stomping, twisted piano numbers that place Remy’s compelling vocals (which toggle between Kylie Minogue sweetness and PJ Harvey theatrics) at their centre. Working with 20 session musicians, including E Street Band saxophonist Jake Clemons, the album also contains plenty of orchestral moments and swelling choruses that both uplift and haunt. ISABELLA TRIMBOLI

FRENCH

Various Artists

PARIS CAFE (Putumayo/Planet)

★★★½

A bottle of French bubbles is dirt cheap compared with an airfare to Paris, so buy two, plus the best baguette and camembert you can find, and then play this. Voila! Paris! Despite spanning many decades and variants of Parisian music, this album never breaks its own spell. The great Charles Trenet eulogises about Douce France in a voice like satin, and Lucienne Delyle drizzles her dulcet come-to-bed timbre over C'est Magnifique. Francis Lemarque's warm, grainy singing brings to life his own Un Gamin de Paris, and Raphael Bas offers an instrumental waltz in the manouche style, his keening harmonica sharing the lighter-than-air soloing with clarinet and his own guitar. Singer/accordionist Norbert Slama sustains the waltz feel on Sous Les Ponts de Paris, and of course La Mer is here, played by Gypsy Jazz Caravan. Duo Gadjo, featuring the sweet-voiced Isabelle Fontaine, floats across La Complainte de la Butte, and a highlight is accordionist Odile Lavault leading Baguette Quartette on the rippling melody of Flambee Montalbanaise. Finally Francesca Blanchard and Giorgis offer modern twists, without imperilling that spell. The only frustrations are the album's brevity, and that recording dates aren't provided. JOHN SHAND

INDIE

Real Estate

THE MAIN THING (Domino)

★★★½

For the past decade, the New Jersey band Real Estate has delivered a dreamy blend of bright guitars soaked in reverb, overlaid with wistful contemplations of modern life. The Main Thing treads the same ground, but gently introduces a few new concepts. The lead single Paper Cup is Real Estate’s first foray into collaboration: Sylvan Esso’s Amelia Meath lends a welcome edge to the synth-drenched, disco-inspired tune, while the instrumental sections of the spacey opener Friday wouldn’t sound entirely out of place on an Air record. The addition of a string quartet lends a rustic quality to the sound, and wordless tracks, like the closer Brother, build a self-contained universe in just minutes. All the signature elements of a classic Real Estate album are here: lush, heaped vocals, steady, addictive bass-lines, and Martin Courtney’s plainly honest, storytelling voice. As has often been the case across the band’s catalogue, the tracks often bleed into each other and sound like one long song – and while this is perhaps repetitive on the surface, for the careful listener it offers a reliability with secrets to reveal, as long as one pays close enough attention. GISELLE AU-NHIEN NGUYEN

ALT-FOLK

Stephen Malkmus

TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES (Matador/Remote Control)

★★½

Turns out that you can unplug the former leader of Pavement and he still won’t play it straight. Stephen Malkmus became the patron saint of smart slacker rock in the ’90s with wiry, frazzled songs that were stylistically oblique, while casting enigmatic shapes and long shadows. With his post-Pavement band the Jicks and as a solo artist, he’s followed his many muses – jam bands, prog-rock, electronics – and as the title suggests, Traditional Techniques finds him going acoustic. It’s more genre exercise than soulful excursion, opening with twangy strings and fluttering flute playing a trippy eastern-tinged drone. And then he sings: “Thunderbolts, the great known, knights of kindle crow, shower me in gold dust in the myrtle dissolve.” The jumpy-voiced Malkmus was never about linear narrative, and he certainly isn’t starting now. With six-string maverick Matt Sweeney (Chavez, Zwan) in tow, he mashes up The Byrds and the Velvet Underground on Xian Man and namechecks Reddit, TED talks and “cracked emojis” on Shadowbanned. The syncopated but stately Flowin’ Robes and the off-kilter lament Amberjack are more cogent, heartfelt moments, and they’re better for it, proving that dropping the smirk can actually work. BARRY DIVOLA

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6 Best St Patrick's Day Hats 2020 | The Sun UK

IT'S FUNNY TO think that St Patrick's Day was once a religious holiday celebrated only in Ireland, instead of the party and booze-heavy holiday it is nowadays – and green wasn't even the original St Paddy's colour (it was blue).

No St Patrick's Day celebration is complete without a fabulous St Patrick's Day hat – and there's a style available for you, depending on how out there, or subtle, you want to be come March 17.

One of the reasons to don a hat this St Patrick's Day isn't just for a fun uniform for whatever parade or party you're attending.

Wearing something green can bring a bit of luck – and we could all use some of that, whether we're planning a St Patrick's Day blowout or want to look festive in the office. Plus, legend has it that leprechauns can't see you if you're in green.

A good St Patrick's Day hat is somewhat of a tradition: it's something you can pull out and wear year after year.

If you want to be the centre of attention on the day, there are plenty of novelty hats like plush velour designs with leprechauns and beards.

Or, you can opt for a green check trilby, which will give you extra mileage as it can be worn for other parties and occasions. It also works for ladies, who have plenty of other options, including headbands and fascinators.

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