“He punched me,” grunts a woozy young man outside a nightclub, in a green-branded Exeter sports club tie. Another, blood cascading from his nose, retorts: “He head-butted me first!”
We’ve heard plenty to suggest that Gen Zs drink less than their parents and are far too consumed by health, phones, financial concerns and the fear of cancellation to get blotto. In the NHS’s 2024 Health Survey for England, 35 per cent of 16-24-year-olds hadn’t had an alcoholic drink in the past year, compared to 27 per cent of 35-44-year-olds. However, a 2026 National Union of Students survey found that 20 per cent of students intentionally get drunk about once a week.
For me, like many other Britons, university was a time for copious drinking. Twenty years ago, I was a student at Exeter, and us millennials, the children of lad and ladette culture, who grew up watching frat parties in teen movies, saw drinking as our doorway into adulthood. Plus, pre-crash and pre-exorbitant student fees, many of us had the money for the literal buckets of booze the clubs were pouring.
How to be more grateful for daily life in five easy steps
The world feels like a difficult place at the moment, and it can feel very hard sometimes to find things to be thankful for; when we are overwhelmed, we have less capacity to notice and reflect on the good things. Yet, ironically, proactively cultivating gratitude is one of the things that can actually help us feel less stressed.
NHS GP dR RADHA
The science
Research has shown that feeling or expressing thanks can actually alter our brain.
- The balance of neurotransmitters change; more serotonin and dopamine (feel good chemicals) are produced.
- This can be long lasting if we make gratitude a regular habit.
- We also get a decrease in our cortisol (stress hormone) levels which helps lower anxiety.
- Being grateful can strengthen the nerve pathways which triggers positive emotion.
How can we build gratitude?
Change your words
Instead of seeing something as a problem, try to see the opportunities within it.
Our brains are very receptive and what we read or write can alter our emotional system.
Express it
This will not only make you feel good, but you will also get a positive response from others.
How can we build gratitude?
Notice more
Throughout your day, try to notice all the things that are going well; has someone opened a door for you, or smiled?
The basics
By being thankful for the small things every day, we are far more likely to be and stay healthy so that we can enjoy them.
What to do
Gratitude can lead to feelings of optimism, lower our blood pressure, and improve sleep quality.
- Write down what potential good aspects there are to the things you don’t feel like doing, or even what could be worse about it.
- Spend a few minutes writing down three things that you are looking forward to that day, or the good things that have happened to you that day.
- Say thank you to yourself for the things you have achieved, or managed to get through and changed that day.
Sales of battery
electric vehicles hit a record high last year.
Starts at £22,995 for the smaller battery
Available with either a 40kWh battery or a larger 52kWh pack, that offers almost 255 miles, the latest, retro-inspired Renault 5 is both a joy to behold and a hoot to drive.
The interior has been lavished with a level of detail that’s typically reserved for more expensive cars.
4 min read
A champion of EV efficiency
It offers a remarkable 491 mile range on a single charge from the 85kWh battery.
It is a technological masterclass inside with the ability to option screens that span the entire width of the dashboard, including an optional display for the front passenger.
Priced from £37,400
2 min read
It’s a lot of money to part with, but this is arguably all the car you will ever need.
The £89,000 Macan is a premium SUV that somehow manages to blend Porsche’s reputation for dynamics and sporty driving with everyday practicality.
The 95kWh batteries can go from 10 to 80 per cent in as little as 21 minutes from the fastest public charging outlets.
With the business class-style six seat configuration costing a staggering £76,995, it is by far the most expensive Kia ever made, but it backs up its financial demands with a suite of genuinely useful and impressive onboard technology.
It’s fast, goes a long way between stops and charges relatively quickly but the interior is bland, the onboard technology is infuriating and the experience is devoid of emotion.
All of its gadgetry can’t disguise the fact that performance is weak, even for a typically zippy EV, the ride is fussy at slower speeds and it’s not in the least bit enjoyable to drive on a country road.
- While good value (prices start at £17,935) for the 200-mile max range, there are more interesting options from Hyundai, Citroen and Renault for similar money.
- It attempts to wow with tech, much of which hinders, rather than helps.
- There’s no tangible benefit over mounting your phone to the dash.
- Simply an average driving experience, adequate range and slow charging speeds.
2 min read
The kitchen gadgets under £25
Victorinox paring knife
It’s comfortable to hold, with a point sharp enough for scoring pastry.
ProCook cast iron pan
For unbeatable searing and heat-retention, cast iron is the top choice.
Tesco chopping board
Priced at just £22, I’ve yet to find another board that matches it for sheer value and quality.
The kitchen gadgets under £25
Pyrex jug
It is the perfect vessel for blending smooth sauces, melting butter, or warming stock. It won’t stain like plastic and the red measurements never fade.
Salter scales
“I’ve had my slim little set of Salter Disc Scales for over a decade, and I’m delighted to see they are still made to exactly the same reliable design today.”
Microplane grater
It uses photo-etched stainless steel teeth that stay razor-sharp for a decade, something the lookalike copycats simply can’t match.
Braun hand-held blender
It’s an essential for everything from making velvety soup to getting the lumps out of white sauce.
Bodum cafetiere
As well as delivering great results, cafetieres are easy to clean and there’s no ongoing filter paper costs or pod recycling to deal with.
5 min read
The kitchen gadgets under £25
Oxo peeler
What truly sets it apart is the chunky, rubberised handle that absorbs pressure and stays completely non-slip, even if your hands are wet. It is inexpensive and incredibly durable.
Falcon pie dish
Made by fusing porcelain onto heavy-gauge steel for smooth durability, it is dishwasher, freezer, hob, air-fryer and oven-safe.
The golden rules for a happy, secure relationship
Psychiatrist and neuroscientist Dr Amir Levine, author of bestselling book , explains why we behave the way we do in love.
Golden rules for happy relationships
Start with your own behaviours
The foundation of a secure, connected life is being what I call CARRP: that means being consistent, available, responsive, reliable and predictable. All of these qualities can be enacted in small gestures every day.
Express your needs
People need consistency and connection to feel safe. This is not, ‘You hurt my feelings by never replying to me’, it’s more ‘this is the kind of contact that helps me feel secure’.
Golden rules for happy relationships
The appendix ‘inflammation’ rule
If a relationship repeatedly inflames your nervous system, you need to disengage and deprioritise it.
Lean on community
You don’t need hundreds of friends. You need people and places that regularly remind you that you belong.
Stop blaming childhood
Humans are much more complicated than: ‘this happened to you, therefore you are doomed to be anxious’.
Reach for a
secure script
When something unsettles you in a relationship, your first reaction is not always the most accurate one.
If you’re anxious, your brain may jump very quickly to: ‘this is the beginning of the end’. If you’re avoidant, your brain may say: ‘this person wants too much from me, I need to get away’. So one very practical thing you can always do is pause and ask: ‘What would a secure person do here?’
Loneliness elsewhere
When people talk about loneliness, they often assume it means you don’t have enough people in your life. But you can be surrounded by people and still feel lonely if those relationships leave you feeling excluded, ignored or disconnected.
What to do
- Build a community that works for your temperament and gives you regular, reliable moments of connection.
- You can still be kind to people while not treating them as someone who belongs in your inner circle.
- Explain what you need. Sometimes people simply don’t realise how you are experiencing them.
- Check in with people: does this person actually feel that I’m reliable? Do they experience me as predictable? That’s the only way that you can start to become more secure.
Do some foods leave
you feeling hungry rather than satiated? Experts say there are…
Foods that leave you hungrier
A bowl of cereal and glass of orange juice
More refined cereals are digested quickly, and fruit juice, whilst one of your five-a-day, contains less fibre than whole fruit. This might mean you find yourself hungry again within 1-2 hours of eating this breakfast.
Swap the orange juice for a whole orange, the cereal for oats and milk or serve it with Greek yoghurt or a boiled egg. This would increase the fibre and protein content; two nutrients strongly linked with fullness.
Foods that leave you hungrier
These pastries are made primarily from refined flour and butter, and are relatively low in protein and fibre.
Toast and jam
Shop-bought packs can contain a lot of white rice, which is digested quickly, and the protein content is often modest.
Foods that leave you hungrier
Vegetable soup
On its own, it is often very low in protein and calories, so hunger can return quickly.
Unless it’s loaded with veggies, it’s probably pretty low in fibre.
Liquids are generally less filling as they require little chewing which may not trigger satiety signals.
Foods that leave you hungrier
Snack bars
They are ideal for a quick pick-me-up, but if reducing hunger is what you’re after, it’d be better to swap it out.
Low-fat yoghurt
A full-fat plain Greek yoghurt with berries and seeds tends to be much more filling due to the protein, fat and fibre.
On an empty stomach, it can actually increase your appetite.
What to eat instead
Instead of thinking about avoiding foods, think about what you can add to them.
- Add beans, lentils or shredded chicken to your vegetable soup and pasta.
- Thicken your smoothies with Greek yoghurt, chia seeds and oats.
- Apple slices with peanut butter, yogurt with berries and hummus with oat biscuits are better snack options than a pre-made snack bar.
- Have alcohol alongside a balanced meal containing protein and fibre.
How to age well
without pain
Will Harlow, a physiotherapist
for the over-50s and author of Independence for Life, shares
the key signs you’re ageing
badly – and what to do about it.
How to know
Ageing well is maintaining the ability to do what you want you want for as long as you want without needing help. Everyone is talking about longevity but what’s the point in living longer if the last decade is painful and you’re [totally] reliant on people?”
The signs to look out for
- The most obvious early warning sign of bad ageing is pain says Harlow.
- Another is losing confidence in doing daily tasks, which can quickly lead to a lack of independence.
- One call Harlow often receives is people calling after having a fall and struggling to get up.
4 min read
How to age without pain
Not just stopping
When people retire, they often put their feet up and stop. Your body really is use it or lose it.
Throughout our entire lives, Harlow says we need between seven and nine hours of sleep.
Social isolation
The lack of connection can increase the risk of premature death by
as much as 29 per cent.
Strength training
It really is the proxy for
overall independence.
The more muscle mass you have, the less chance of heart disease, diabetes, falls and even anxiety, depression and dementia.
The brain can be linked to muscle mass too, Harlow says. It’s not just about being able to lift things. It gives you more energy, better sleep and you’ll look and feel better.
How to age without pain
Daily habits
Do short bursts of exercise, between 30 and 60 seconds, in otherwise dead time during the day.
Stretch in bed
Take joints through a full range of motion for five minutes to loosen it before getting up.
Don’t crash diet
How to age without pain
Harlow advises 1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight to stop muscle loss alongside resistance training.
Don’t wait
Harlow finds that many patients put off making a change to their lifestyle until their lives are consumed by pain.
For most people, it’s about reducing the number of times per week you’re exercising, not reducing intensity.
The three ageing tests to do
- Lie completely flat on the floor and get back up to a standing position using any technique. This should take less than 10 seconds.
See how many times you can sit on the chair and stand back up again in 30 seconds. Men should be aiming for more than 14 times and women 12.
The single-leg stand, which involves standing on one leg and balancing for 10 seconds. Everyone should be able to do that and for those under 65, Harlow asks them to do it with their eyes closed.
Despite the job market hiring fewer entry-level roles, employers are still looking for grads…
But you should be prepared to keep an open mind.
We’ve compiled the sectors hiring graduate roles, what degree is required, and what they pay.
The degrees to choose for a career
Hiring in the UK could
finally be on the up
47%
of employers offered entry-level
positions from July.
That is up nearly 15 per cent from the same period last year.
700,000
But graduate unemployment rose to six per cent in 2025 and 700,000 jobless graduates were claiming benefits.
Finance and insurance
- Around 42 per cent of UK finance and insurance employers say they will be open to graduate roles this summer.
- Business loan company Portman Finance Group has taken on 50 graduates over the past four years.
Portman graduates start on £36,000 for the two-year programme and the education you need to apply is a minimum “ABB” of A-levels, and a 2:1 or above university degree. But not in a specific subject.
Trade and logistics
What makes it particularly rewarding is that there’s always something to learn.
Nearly half (47 per cent) of trade and logistics companies will be giving graduates a go this year.
Salaries start at £30,000 with an uncapped bonus, rising to £50,000 plus a company car as a senior account partner.
Technology and IT
More than half (52 per cent) of UK tech and IT firms are actively looking for graduates.
Successful entry-level candidates can earn a basic salary of up to £35,000, with the opportunity to triple that within their first three years of working.
4 min read
Public sector, health
and social services
46 per cent of public sector, health and social services organisations are also ready to take graduates, according to a survey by Manpower.
- For example, Police Now runs a graduate programme into policing. They recruit graduates from any degree field, as long as they achieve a 2:2 or above. Starting salaries range from £31,164 to £42,210 depending on location and rising each year.
Can we treat guests without blowing our budget?
According to Waitrose, a dinner party revival is underway led by younger people trying to reduce the cost of getting together.
Always have bread
People will feast on the
ELLA RISBRIDGER, AUTHOR OF THE KITCHEN BOOK – GOOD FOOD FOR EVERY DAY
bread, and then need less fish/steak/expensive whatever. All small plates restaurants know this: this is why the first thing on the menu is always artisan bread and butter.
Use vegetables as centrepieces
Add pantry items
Graham’s recipes include a braised cabbage with a preserved lemon sauce, a roast cauliflower with saffron, and harrisa roast carrots with mango labneh.
How to host on a budget
Improve the everyday
Guests will always appreciate a stellar interpretation of the ordinary. Think lasagna or curry.
Cooking dinner for your guests is spoiling them – you’re being generous with your time, your effort, and your home. So don’t feel the need to go overboard elsewhere.
Ask for help
Ask friends to bring a contribution, be it a nibble or a pudding.
Big platter energy
[Presentation] can be the key to elevating something . Spaghetti and tomato sauce suddenly looks like a feast when tumbled on a lovely big plate, dressed with olive oil and parmesan and placed in the middle of the table.
Food writer and editor Eleanor Steafel
How to host on a budget
Taco party
Have one expensive filling, like shredded chicken, and two cheaper options, like refried beans, says Ella Risbridger.
Shop-bought ice cream is so easily zhuzhed up with the help of handy toppings, says Eleanor Steafel.
Shortly into my time at Exeter, a tragic event prompted the university to clamp down on drinking, but I’m afraid to say that I, and plenty of others around me, still drank to excess.
To find out if anything’s changed, I returned to the tiny Devonshire city, where 30,000 students comprise a quarter of the population, for its biggest party of the year – freshers’ week.
I’m keen to find out if sports societies still hold the same notorious “socials” – weekly events where, in my day, strict drinking diktats ruled. If you didn’t tap your empty glass on your flank before placing it down, you’d have to “bolt” another drink, while everyone chanted “D-I-O” for “down in one”. Once, for a centurion-themed social, we donned white togas (bedsheets), and sank a shot of snakebite, every minute, on the minute, for 100 minutes.
I often drank to the point of vomiting, blacking out, and God knows what else. I was in a new city, lacking in confidence, and figured drinking would impress my elders. I needed no encouragement, but in a roomful of roaring women, I got it.
At the end of my first semester, an 18-year-old student, Gavin Britton, was found dead after a golf club initiation. At a later inquest, the coroner recorded death by alcohol poisoning, describing it as “a sad tale of a wasted life”. A university official told us the news at dinner in our halls. It was shocking, but I remember immediately thinking of reasons why it would never happen to me, convincing myself that my drinking was fine.
The university introduced an immediate clampdown on sports societies’ drinking culture, which then-Shadow Education Secretary Boris Johnson called a “panic ban”, saying “I think the Athletic Union should get a grip”. I’m afraid I – shamefully – agreed, believing that one awful experience shouldn’t ruin all our fun.
In practice, the only difference was that a member of my sports club’s committee would preface each social with “no one has to drink”. We still drank too much, too fast, too often, before stumbling to Timepiece, a club that is still going in Exeter.
Thankfully, my return visit suggests things have improved and today’s young people do have a healthier attitude to drinking. The vice captain of a women’s sport club tells me some new rules: “There always has to be a sober option for drinking games, like a shot of lemon juice or a pint of water. You’re not allowed any sort of initiation behaviour, or differentiating between year groups.”
She adds: “[Sports societies] are also not allowed to have house parties. I was surprised by how much you’re allowed to do.”
As tempted as I am to return to the nightclub where my own initiation – forced to wear household goods, drink from saucepans and eat disgusting food – reached its nadir, tonight’s event is strictly students only. It’s another improvement on back then, when middle-aged men would turn up at 1am to leer at clumsily teetering girls.
However, other students tell me that drinking can be hard to avoid. Along the leafy Hoopern Valley path, where I spent many a night stumbling, I meet Amber, 21, who says: “In my first year it was very much like, ‘If you’re joining pres, you have to do that shot, otherwise you’re not participating,’ and if you pull back you’re called antisocial.”
Her friend Alex, a 19-year-old first year student, doesn’t drink, and says when he went to a social for a club he’d joined he was encouraged to “chug this!” He refused to, and is unsure about returning.
On some sports societies’ social media profiles, committee members seem unafraid to reference alcohol, such as pre-game rituals involving a “VK in the fridge for after” or quipping “advice to freshers – don’t spend all your budget on venoms!” Venoms are a cocktail of vodka, whiskey, alcopop and mixer.
By 4pm, I’m chatting to a group of eight lads from my old halls who are heading to a pub to embark on pre-drinks. So far, this week has been “non-stop drinking every single day”, one boy laughs.
What about initiations? Another young man tells me that his friend “was put in a room with 50 guys and they were force-fed alcohol until they chundered. If they didn’t yak, they had to keep drinking”. This doesn’t seem to deter any of these boys’ plans to trial for any sports societies.
Later that evening, I’m on the high street as students trail towards thumping bars and clubs. Some swig from tinnies or larger bottles of beer and wine. Policemen on patrol remind them that public drinking is now banned on the city centre’s streets, and Police Inspector Nathan Johnson explains to me: “Tonight is all about engaging… we’re saying, ‘Don’t rush your drink, slow it down’ to stop last-minute necking a drink before going into a club.”
He says young people “are a lot more confident now” to say no. His level of consideration would’ve been nice in my day.
At 9pm, I meet three women’s rugby club members, who had just one drink each at their social. “No one forces you to drink,” one says, and another one says: “It’s easy to avoid drinking if you want to.” Round the corner, three other women’s sports club members, tipsily recording TikToks in outlandish fancy dress, offer to smuggle me into Timepiece, and deny a prolific, revolting rumour I’ve been hearing about their club’s initiation. “I’m far too shy and introverted, I wouldn’t go to socials if they were like !”
Around 10pm, I’m on a packed street of two clubs. There’s Core, which is offering £1.50 Jagerbombs all night, and Fever, where venoms are two for £12. Before joining the queue, a circle of young men gulp down beers, while face-painted women chant until a fresher’s finished her WKD.
Up the road, I approach the heaving queue – five people deep and 100 feet long – outside Vaults, which used to be a desolate gay bar. One boy says, “I’m too drunk to speak to you,” and his friend earnestly wonders, “What if I run for Prime Minister one day?” They might be under the influence, but they’re thinking ahead.
Others are more eager to chat. One fresher approaches to ask my pronouns. She/her, with a raspy lost voice, tells me: “We’ve seen some people gone, like having to call an ambulance type of s**t, and we’ve seen some people who don’t drink at all.”
But she’s not felt any pressure to drink. “I feel like the environment is so good, if someone says ‘no’, it’s like ‘that’s cool!’”
In the entire night, I’ve only seen one girl vomit and (less cheerfully) literally no-one kissing. It seems Gen Z students really are better behaved these days.
However, at 2am, as Timepiece’s closure looms, the clock seems to have spun back two decades. The route there is zebra-striped with urine, young men in what look like green Exeter sports club ties relieving themselves while barely noticing the young women trying to dodge their flow.
Outside the club, more men clatter down the cobbles and chant in public school guttural, nipping at each other’s bums and hugging it out. One young man’s shirt is half ripped off. The young people are piggybacking and whooping and careering around. Save for the haircuts and the girls’ outfits (baggy shirts and mini skirts have been replaced by tiny tops and baggy jeans), it is just like my own uni days.
This is when some horseplay goes badly wrong, and blood is drawn. The estate patrol, who attend to students where necessary off campus, are challenging a young man who appears to have inadvertently headbutted his friend. Devon and Cornwall Police are called, and later tell me: “Police were called to Musgrave Row, Exeter, on Monday 18th September at around 2.20am following an altercation between two men. One of the men sustained minor injuries. The man did not wish to pursue a complaint at this time.”
I don’t blame students for wanting to drink; alcohol was and is still sold to all adults as the ultimate way to connect. I made lifelong friends while drunk in Exeter. But back then, drinking in moderation was as absurd a prospect as non-alcoholic beer, or complaining about drinking culture. I’d like to think that, if I were starting uni right now, I’d have chosen better, because those choices are available now.
On Thursday morning, tired with no hangover, I head to the train station to make my way back home. A sticker on a pole reads, “I experienced the joy of human connection while off my tits”. I’m sure I did, but, thankfully, that was long ago.
A University of Exeter spokesperson told The i Paper: “We take the health and wellbeing of our students very seriously and have a number of established initiatives to challenge the perception that alcohol is integral to having a good time at University. All AU and Guild Society Committee mandatory training addresses alcohol awareness, and promotes non-alcohol-related social activities for student clubs and societies. We work with venues and agencies on responsible drinking and licensing campaigns across the city.
“The University operates strict codes of conduct that clearly prohibit initiation type activities and/or peer pressure to drink excessively at events, and neither condone nor tolerate this type of behaviour. All clubs and societies have signed a code of conduct in which they have agreed to behave responsibly in this regard; if the heads of clubs/societies are found to be in breach of the code, disciplinary proceedings will be instituted.
“We would encourage any students who have experienced or witnessed any such behaviour to use our ‘Support and Report’ tool to report this to the University.”