Posts for May 2013

How does a synchrotron work? What is love? Why do men have nipples? What would an alien look like? These are the sor…

How did our universe begin? People have been trying to answer this since they’ve been able to ask questions. Tom Why…

Like much of the animal kingdom, we inherit half of our chromosomes from our mother and half from our father. But some…

Exhibiting at an event like Cheltenham Science Festival brings its own unique brand of challenge for a group like ours…

Few scientists find fame, and even fewer find it in their twenties. Yet in a Cambridge pub 60 years ago, a 25-year old…

Well, if I could bottle it I would make a fortune! First of all I think you have to ask how much sleep you actually ne…

Simon Hill, tea buyer from Taylors of Harrogate, gives his top tips for the perfect brew. Tea leaves or tea bags? …

Acclaimed film critic Mark Kermode joins us on the opening night of the 2013 Cheltenham Music Festival for a night at …

Litmus, the first of two Science Festival newspapers, arrives at Cheltenham Festivals HQ tomorrow! It’s full of …

In the final blog from The Times Cheltenham Science Festival Guest Director Dara O Briain, he answers some of our ques…

What area of development are you most excited about right now? I’m passionate about the study of the Web, which is…

New Scientist’s Linda Geddes tackles the thorny issue of drinking while breastfeeding. A woman sits down in a pub …

British Geological Survey scientist, Professor David Tappin, asks what the latest scientific developments mean for our…

This year at the Cheltenham Science Festival, you will be able to experience how a new surgical tool could revolutioni…

There are no two ways about it. Make a radio programme about Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories for Radio 4 and you�…

In the third of four blogs from The Times Cheltenham Science Festival Guest Director Dara O Briain, he talks about the…

Happy Birthday MRC! Celebrating a century of changing lives… A fantastic line-up of eminent scientists and b…

A picture of a 30ft tapeworm laced around the fingers of my lecturer, David Jenkins, is not an image I will ever forge…

Music and pictures come together for an evening of pure entertainment at this year’s Music Festival. Orchestr…

The important thing is not to stop questioning Albert Einstein Is there life out there in the universe? Will w…

In the second of four blogs from The Times Cheltenham Science Festival Guest Director Dara O Briain, he tells us about…

For one night only during the Jazz Festival, Cowley Manor hosted a truly unique event. Internationally respected artis…

I’m a climate modeller. Why would I invite a climate sceptic to the Cheltenham Science Festival to have a public dis…

Welcome to Festivals’ Book Club, in association with Vintage Books. Each month, we’ll be reading a different titl…

A plum pudding of a book… some very sweet, juicy bits but if you have too much at once it will give you terrible …

After Trio Damba (and lunch), I went to Gabby Young and Other Animals in the Big Top. The band was large – an 8…

In the first of four blogs from The Times Cheltenham Science Festival Guest Director Dara O Briain, the comedian, pres…

Something happens to scientists, and I suspect this probably happens more to chemists and physicists than other flavou…

My Cheltenham Jazz Festival experience concluded with Van Morrison in the Big Top on Monday night. His music was pl…

My penultimate show was the Roller Trio/Polar Bear double bill at the Jazz arena on Monday evening. Roller Trio are…

Obviously, my festival experience incorporates more than reviewing concerts. I am writing this in the air-conditioned …

On Monday morning (after a very late night due to my participation in the Hotel du Vin jam session), I went to Trio Da…

Front-woman and BRIT School graduate Shingai Shoniwa really knows how to make an entrance. Amidst atmospheric sounds a…

Sunday night saw me at the Parabola Arts Centre for vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz and his trio Sun Rooms, with Devon H…

Gregory Porter has recently taken a turn towards soul, pop, and the classic RnB sound, which he displayed in his groov…

Later, it was Mike Stern (guitar, vocals) and Bill Evans (keyboard, tenor and soprano saxes, vocals). This show was…

Alex Wilson – Piano | Frank Tontoh – Drums | Davide Mantovani – Double Bass | Paul Booth – Ten…

Hi everyone. First up, Josephine in the big top on Sunday afternoon. A singer/songwriter who I admit I was unfamiliar…

Featuring: Band 1: Tom Syson – Trumpet (UK) | Andy Yeo – Guitar (Norway) | Stuart Barker – Double …

This will be my first time at Cheltenham and I’m really looking forward to it – I have heard nothing but p…

Featuring: Georgie Fame | Alan Price | Madeline Bell | Zoot Money | The Guy Barker Big Band | BBC Concert Orchestra …

Featuring: Rich O’Brien – Electric Bass | Miguel Andrews – Drums | Will Edmunds – Guitar | Jonny H…

Walking past the BBC Concert Orchestra’s gigantic touring bus and hearing the sounds of the Guy Barker Orchestra sou…

For me, Cheltenham Jazz Festival is that time of year when jazz musicians and jazz lovers from all over the world come…