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β€˜A key artist in her own right’: wallpaper and fabrics designer emerges from William Morris’s shadow

18 October 2026 at 01:00

Creativity and influence of Morris & Co designer Kate Faulkner to be detailed in Cambridge exhibition

For more than a century, she has been little more than a footnote in William Morris’s story, her work mistaken for his, her contribution to British decorative art largely overlooked.

Yet, in her lifetime, Kate Faulkner was a pioneer: the first person after Morris to design wallpapers and fabrics for Morris & Co, and one of only four designers he ever trusted to do so. Several of the patterns she designed under her name for the company in the 1870s and 1880s are still sold today.

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Β© Photograph: Bridgeman Images

Β© Photograph: Bridgeman Images

Β© Photograph: Bridgeman Images

Mystery of 1950s wedding photo album found dumped in Wakefield solved

12 October 2026 at 02:20

Online appeal and detective work by local historian help to return keepsake to couple’s son after it had been stolen

When Andrew Bedford discovered an old wedding album dumped outside his city centre cafe in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, he considered chucking it into a nearby wheelie bin.

But when he opened the album, the vintage photographs of the happy couple on their wedding day in 1957 seemed too precious to throw away.

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Β© Photograph: Andrew Bedford

Β© Photograph: Andrew Bedford

Β© Photograph: Andrew Bedford

β€˜She was swaying, zoning out’: UK pets poisoned in record numbers by illicit drugs

11 October 2026 at 05:30

Toxicology helplines report 42% increase in calls involving animals poisoned by drugs and nicotine

A record number of pets are ingesting recreational drugs and requiring veterinary care in the UK, figures shared with the Guardian reveal.

Last year, the UK’s only emergency poison centre for animals received its highest ever number of calls involving animals poisoned by cannabis, cocaine, magic mushrooms and nicotine, and it is on course to do so again this year.

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Β© Photograph: Christina Bluhme/AP

Β© Photograph: Christina Bluhme/AP

Β© Photograph: Christina Bluhme/AP

Tents, night-vision goggles, bear tracking kits – and even books: America’s first nature library opens

As well as books, the new facility in Colorado offers hundreds of kits to connect people with the natural world. We asked five of the first visitors what they thought of it

Mark Fink knows exactly why he opened the first public nature library in the US. β€œThere are a lot of barriers for people to access nature here. We want people to learn about the birds and the plants in their own back yard and to appreciate that you don’t need a three-day camping trip in the mountains to experience nature.”

The library offers people in Colorado’s Adams county the opportunity to borrow books and equipment to help them to engage with the natural world – for free.

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Β© Composite: Kevin Mohatt

Β© Composite: Kevin Mohatt

Β© Composite: Kevin Mohatt

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