Will Gore

The acts of putting our watches back at the end of October and forward again in March are important – even pleasurable – markers in the calendar, argues Will Gore

COMMENT: By becoming a father and discussing his pansexuality in the same breath, the stand-up comedian who used to identify as bisexual has done a great service to progressive parents like me, says Will Gore

By becoming a father and discussing his pansexuality in the same breath, the stand-up comedian who used to identify as bisexual has done a great service to progressive parents like me, says Will Gore

Central heating is the final front in the family battleground - but should dads and husbands use the balmy weather to make a last stand? Will Gore discusses the right time to shift the dial

Have you been keeping an eye on the forecast? October was mostly mild, and the weather has continued in that vein in the first third of November. Perhaps you tricked-or-treated in shorts, or watched fireworks in a singlet, so balmy has it felt at times. There may, however, be a modest change on the way, with daytime temperatures struggling to get into double figures over the next couple of weeks for much of the UK. The big question is: will it be cold enough to justify putting the central heating on? The thermostat is one of life’s primary domestic battlegrounds; and the split between those who reach for a jumper, rather than turning on a radiator, can be almost Shakespearean in its bitterness. “To thine own self be true,” may be a decent motto, but telling a chilly person to follow your lead by putting on a second sweater doesn’t always go down well.

Beyond dabbling in DIY during lockdowns, many of us are lacking in that department. But are younger generations to blame for the downfall of Homebase? Will Gore writes that he’s not so convinced

About two decades ago, I decided that it was time to transform myself from a soft-handed, martini-quaffing, media-dwelling young thing into, well, a sort of grown-up. So, I did what any self-respecting individual in such a position would do: I went to Homebase and bought myself a toolbox. It was a fairly simple affair, but big enough to fit my entire collection of tools into it — which at that stage comprised a saw, a couple of screwdrivers, a pair of pliers, some sandpaper and a few other odds and ends. I felt pretty manly by the time I’d packed away my gear, and only then realised I had nowhere in our small flat to actually store the toolbox. “Never mind,” I told my wife-to-be cheerfully. “I’ll just make a box for it and keep it in the garden.” She laughed at me — a lot. I tried to make a box for my box. And failed.

You may stop by your local supermarket for some eggs or a pint of milk, writes Will Gore, but you end up leaving with a saw... or some garden furniture... or a hedge strimmer...

Limiting households to just four wheelie bins is a rare thing – a government green initiative that’s not rubbish, says Will Gore

Beyond the essentials – like when you’re back at work and who to contact in your absence – the out-of-office email needn’t be an epic, writes Will Gore. So let’s leave out the waffle and the humour, and keep things concise