Good morning, I’m back. Christmas is coming, it’s been a big week of news, and there’s just one more World Cup match left (Messi v Mbappé, very early Monday). But for now, the weekend stretches luxuriously ahead.
Here are some of our best recent reads: bookmark them (or print out this email, if you like hard copies/hate trees) for the next time you catch yourself with a spare few minutes, staring into space over your toast …
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1. (Still) more about Harry and Meghan
There was a documentary this week: you might have read about it, or heard about it, or seen one of the six parts on Netflix, or wished you lived in a place very far from all further mentions of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. But Marina Hyde’s take is great – I went back for another read after a colleague quoted this: “I can’t help feeling the Sussexes increasingly come across as a pair of ancient mariners with a TV contract, condemned to tell their tale to everyone they meet.”
Further reading: Billy Bragg on the politics of the British monarchy in 2022.
How long will it take to read? Two minutes.
2. Planes, trains and … actually, just stick with trains
If you’ve tried to book an interstate flight recently, sorry that happened to you – prices have been wild. So what to do? Elias Visontay tried the Sydney to Melbourne train and discovered extra legroom, a pretty decent turkey roast, and a strong desire to punch his snoring neighbour in the face. For the rail-curious, I’d highly recommend a read. Come for the charming travelogue, stay for the 343 passionate comments.
Further reading: the expert who told the Guardian later this week that with upgrades, rail travel time between the two cities could be slashed to six hours, so “faster than the car trip”. We also published a helpful explainer comparing the financial and environmental costs of different modes of travel.
How long will it take to read? Less than three minutes (plus the comments – savour at your leisure).
3. If White Lotus came to Australia
Consider the scenario in which Mike White brings his cult series to Australia for a third season. Alyx Gorman has done the hard yards and scouted five possible locations – including resorts – rigorously dissecting the suitability of each. She offers up a meticulous ranking system, as well as a few plotlines (Crocodiles! Extraction capitalism! Laneways!). Call her, Mike White.
Guess where: “It’s dark, it’s cruel, its history is haunting – it is obviously a gothic horror, with Sweeney as our frightened final girl.”
How long will it take to read? A little over two minutes.
4. Dabble with a detox
Last weekend, conversation at the pub turned to new year resolutions and everyone at my table agreed they wanted to spend less time on their screens – specifically, on social media. Friends had various strategies: turning off notifications; deleting apps so they could only access platforms via slightly-more-fiddly web browsers; even, in one very dedicated case, resurfacing an old Nokia. But more and more people are finding the best way to reset is to quit altogether – whether just for a week or permanently.
What’s keeping us hooked? Clinical psychologist Dr Roberta Babb points out that one of the biggest issues with social media is Fomo. “People worry they’re going to miss out on something so they keep looking,” she says.
How long will it take to read? About five minutes.
5. The story behind Rome’s must-have ‘hot priest calendar’
Next year marks the 20th anniversary of the “calendario Romano”, AKA the hot priest calendar (not its official name, our writer points out). Despite the calendar’s pin-up connotations, 60-year-old Venetian photographer Piero Pazzi says it is pure in spirit. “[It’s a] clean and honest product that simply advertises Rome and its most eloquent symbol: the Catholic clergy,” he says. Hard to argue.
The big confession: “They are not all priests, and they are not all from Italy,” Pazzi reveals. He admits to selecting his subjects at random, which is how a Spanish estate agent ended up as 2008’s “Father March”. (Call me, Father March.)
How long will it take to read: Less than two minutes.
Thoughts? Feelings? Spare calendars? Drop us a line at australia.newsletters@theguardian.com.
And catch you next week, when Kris Swales will see out the year with our Christmas Eve edition.
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