Passport, money, pills for 'holiday tum'... Giles Wood doesn't have the skill set to deal with the nightmare of going abroad

They have private jets, better teeth and easier lives. But, says Mary Killen, the wealthy have few friends – and fewer laughs – on their summer trips

A new report says Oxbridge is failing to attract poorer students. Wilfred De'Ath – who went to Oxford and lives in Cambridge – compares the merits of the two university cities

As students at Manchester University scrub out Kipling's If and replace it with a Maya Angelou poem, David Horspool considers the divisive effect of public art

Guillemot expert Tim Birkhead has just written a book on Britain's earliest birder, 'The Wonderful Mr Willughby: the First True Ornithologist'. John McEwen describes the guillemot, one of our loveliest summer visitors

Puffins are in decline across Europe, except on the tiny island of Skomer, off the Pembrokeshire coast, where they're thriving. John McEwen sings the praises of the charming bird with the carnival mask

As parts of the country face a hosepipe ban, Travis Elborough praises Britain's green lungs, a refuge from the boiling heat

Last night, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again had its premiere. Michael Simkins appeared in the original stage version of Mamma Mia! and is in the new film, released on Friday. He explains the transporting power of Sweden's greatest export – Abba songs

A new investigation into a Mississippi lynching echoes the words of a 65-year-old protest song, says Nigel Summerley

The US President came in for a lot of criticism over the past few days, but there was an upside to his visit, says Nigel Summerley