If you haven’t yet encountered xinomavro, the black grape from northern Greece, it’s time to get acquainted

No wry anecdotes this week, no obscure references or jokes that only I find clever or funny. Today, I’m getting serious about xinomavro. If you haven’t heard of it, allow me to make its introduction, but if I’m already preaching to the choir, why are you still reading? Pour yourself a glass to have with lunch.

Derived from xino (meaning sour) and mavro (black), this is a grape with some serious gravitas. One of hundreds of grape varieties native to Greece, it has become the country’s flagship red, and is now most synonymous with the region of Naoussa in Macedonia, the first Greek wine region to be awarded a PDO (Protected Designation of Origin).

If you haven’t yet encountered xinomavro, the black grape from northern Greece, it’s time to get acquainted

No wry anecdotes this week, no obscure references or jokes that only I find clever or funny. Today, I’m getting serious about xinomavro. If you haven’t heard of it, allow me to make its introduction, but if I’m already preaching to the choir, why are you still reading? Pour yourself a glass to have with lunch.

Derived from xino (meaning sour) and mavro (black), this is a grape with some serious gravitas. One of hundreds of grape varieties native to Greece, it has become the country’s flagship red, and is now most synonymous with the region of Naoussa in Macedonia, the first Greek wine region to be awarded a PDO (Protected Designation of Origin).

From collaborating with Parton and Orville Peck to viral TikToks and, of course, the Tree of Wisdom: for their 63rd album (yes really), the Wiggles mean big business

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When the Wiggles first started touring the US, there was one question they were asked again and again.

“People were coming up and saying, ‘Oh, so you’re friends of Dorothy?’” veteran Wiggle Anthony Field says. “I didn’t even know the other meaning – I went, ‘Yeah, we are!’”

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From collaborating with Parton and Orville Peck to viral TikToks and, of course, the Tree of Wisdom: for their 63rd album (yes really), the Wiggles mean big business

• Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email

When the Wiggles first started touring the US, there was one question they were asked again and again.

“People were coming up and saying, ‘Oh, so you’re friends of Dorothy?’” veteran Wiggle Anthony Field says. “I didn’t even know the other meaning – I went, ‘Yeah, we are!’”

Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning

Facing a double whammy of availability and affordability issues, single parents in Australia are moving in together, with some finding surprising side benefits

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I was a single parent to an eight-year-old, balancing parenting and part-time work with completing a master’s degree in 2020. My son and I lived in a converted Queenslander, and despite its somewhat faded charm and convenient location, the flat had no living room, back yard, ceiling fans or air-conditioning.

We got by with limited space until lockdowns meant I spent almost all of my time at the kitchen table – working, completing uni assignments, trying to homeschool a very active child, writing, eating and socialising via Zoom. By the middle of the year I was dreaming of an alternative home with more space, even though I didn’t think I could afford it.

Facing a double whammy of availability and affordability issues, single parents in Australia are moving in together, with some finding surprising side benefits

• Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email

I was a single parent to an eight-year-old, balancing parenting and part-time work with completing a master’s degree in 2020. My son and I lived in a converted Queenslander, and despite its somewhat faded charm and convenient location, the flat had no living room, back yard, ceiling fans or air-conditioning.

We got by with limited space until lockdowns meant I spent almost all of my time at the kitchen table – working, completing uni assignments, trying to homeschool a very active child, writing, eating and socialising via Zoom. By the middle of the year I was dreaming of an alternative home with more space, even though I didn’t think I could afford it.