Simon Usborne

2 months ago | nzherald.co.nz | Simon Usborne

Home / EntertainmentBy Simon UsborneThe Times·2 Apr, 2025 09:00 PM18 mins to readSubscribe to listenAccess to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen. Already a subscriber?  Sign in hereListening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech. ‌SaveShare this articleReminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

2 months ago | irishtimes.com | Simon Usborne

Of all the teenage anxieties that can take root, beard growth – or the lack of it – was the one that really got to Vikram Arora. His facial hair was patchier than a drought-hit lawn and by the time he went to college he was self-conscious. “You’d have older guys coming in with a bit of stubble and it was almost this guilty secret where I’d be thinking: ‘I wish I could have that,‘” he says. It was the 1990s and George Michael’s sculpted goatee was everywhere.

2 months ago | theguardian.com | Simon Usborne

Of all the teenage anxieties that can take root, beard growth – or the lack of it – was the one that really got to Vikram Arora. His facial hair was patchier than a drought-hit lawn and by the time he went to college he was very self-conscious. “You’d have older guys coming in with a bit of stubble and it was almost this guilty secret where I’d be thinking: ‘I wish I could have that,’” he says. It was the 90s and George Michael’s sculpted goatee was everywhere.

2 months ago | thetimes.com | Simon Usborne

Mar 1, 2025 | theguardian.com | Simon Usborne

There are enough cancer memoirs to fill a small bookshop, with bookcases for all the affected body parts. It can feel churlish to apply critical faculties to this of all subjects, but if there is a high bar for the genre, then it’s one Mark Steel clears like Dick Fosbury on a good day. Sporting metaphors are a feature of The Leopard in My House, a new entry in the “throat” section by the comedian, broadcaster and campaigner.