Issue 1244

16 Jul 2018
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About this issue: Overview

Lives in limbo
In 2015 the refugee crisis dominated the headlines. Three years on and people are still risking their lives to get to Europe but the political climate is, if anything, harsher on them. Jo Eckersely travels to Calais to meet those whose futures hang in the balance while Clare Speak reports from Italy, where the new government has pledged to take an even more hardline stance.

Tragedy of lost promise
When Trevor Hughes’s son threw himself from the Humber Bridge he was determined he wouldn’t become just another statistic. His collection of poems serves to honour his son, who suffered with schizophrenia, and shed light on the impact of suicide on those left behind. Steve Walsh writes.

Beauty school dropout
Debbie Horsfield is of a school of northern writers who were told to get proper jobs yet went on to dominate prime-time television. She tells Francine White about her strict writing schedule, which doesn’t even break when she’s on the treadmill.

Plus
News, arts and entertainment, columnist Roger Ratcliffe on the two halves of the Brexit game, former cricket commentator Henry Blofeld’s letter to his younger self, crossword, Sudoku and more.