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The Herald Scotland
22-07-2025
- General
- The Herald Scotland
Must your life be ruined just because you had an affair?
Love knocks the rough edges from you, it smooths you out. If you claim to be in love, but have refused to change for the person you love, then that is not love. No two people can live as one until the day they die and not alter some aspect of their personality or behaviour. So love is hard, and love makes you different. That should be celebrated. For if love is indeed the most blessed aspect of life, then those costs are cheap. If loves makes you a better person, I welcome the admission price. The world, when considered rationally, is frightening and lonely. Love makes life bearable. Love makes life joyous amid the dark. Love is a candle burning in a distant window on a dark night as you walk alone; it lets you know there's someone out there for you, and you just need to make straight for that flickering flame. In its perfect form, love is a transcendental dance, a mystical ritual almost. It takes you out of yourself, your ego ebbs, part of you dissolves into another's soul. It's two earthly creatures made of flesh melding the sublime part of themselves. But we make love so bloody hard. Look at the stories we tell ourselves: Adam and Eve, Paris and Helen of Troy, Romeo and Juliet. Read more by Neil Mackay Each couple would have been happy, would have died smiling in the arms of their adored, if other fools had not trampled all over their love. God wouldn't leave our biblical lovers in peace. Helen and Paris couldn't find a hiding place secret enough to protect them. Romeo and Juliet were cursed by tyrannical, hateful parents. Today, just look at how we hem in love. Desire and courtship are now mostly found in some hellish digital marketplace, on apps where you decide the possibilities of love and sex with a finger swipe. That's damnable. Dating apps are, in effect, limitless Lonely Hearts pages. As so many now seek love through an app, then so many of us must be desperately, painfully lonely. I find that very saddening, but it doesn't surprise me. The avenues of modern love have been bulldozed. Not so long ago, we fell in love at school, university, at work, or in pubs and clubs. These were the places were love was sought and found. Only a minority ever really find their partner for life at school or university. First love, even second or third love, is mostly experimental, a testing of the form as we seek to understand our heart and the hearts of others. Early romance trains us for the real thing. So few people go to pubs and clubs any more that love through the ancient chat-up line – through the lost art of socialising with strangers – seems nearly extinct. GenZ so often mourns its inability to connect with the unknown other beyond the limit of the screen. That leaves work. But workplace romance is now all but banned. I'm not in the business of feeling sorry for rich CEOs, but I found the story of "the kiss-cam" couple both extremely modern and therefore extremely anti-human in its treatment of love. In short, married Andy Byron, chief executive of a digital company called Astronomer, was filmed with his arms around the firm's HR head Kristin Cabot on what's known as the "Jumbotron" camera at a Coldplay concert in Massachusetts. I don't know what is worse. Getting caught cheating or getting caught at a Coldplay — Eric Matheny 🎙️ (@ericmmatheny) July 17, 2025 They ducked, and hid their faces, to escape the lens, and the internet exploded in gales of laughter at the pair seemingly caught in an affair before the world. Astronomer issued a vinegar-faced statement saying 'our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability'. The story was splattered across every newspaper and TV channel on Earth. Both were placed on leave; Byron later resigned. Perhaps I'm some moral bankrupt, but I find it very cruel and absurdly puritanical to condemn anyone for being either in love or in lust. I would say: let he or she who is without sin cast the first stone. We should, of course, pay mind to any wounded parties and betrayed spouses. Yet the sad truth is that there are millions of affairs happening in every corner of the planet right now. Affairs may be cruel and dishonest, but they're simply about love at the end of the day, and love cannot be constrained. It won't be constrained. To constrain love is to kill a part of yourself. Evidently, there are problems with workplace romances if any power imbalance is exploited, but to try to outlaw love is like trying to ban the breeze. Try catching either and putting the handcuffs on. I see nothing that instructs or amuses about this story. People were betrayed. There's nothing funny in that. People were in love and they hid it. There's nothing funny in that. People's careers have been ruined for the simple reason that they loved each other. There is certainly nothing funny in that. A world which cannot be soft and forgiving when it comes to love is by definition dark. If love brings light into the world, then trying to extinguish that light is profoundly anti-human. Love is our greatest asset. No other creature feels as we do. It's our emotions which raise us up, far beyond the mere animal, towards an existence as a creature bearing what some call a soul. Love is the best, and most perfect, of those emotions. Mock love and we mock ourselves. Deny love and we deny ourselves. Neil Mackay is The Herald's Writer-at-Large. He's a multi-award-winning investigative journalist, author of both fiction and non-fiction, and a filmmaker and broadcaster. He specialises in intelligence, security, crime, social affairs, cultural commentary, and foreign and domestic politics.
Metro
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Iconic DJ marks 100th Glastonbury set by performing with his son
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video A Glastonbury veteran performed their 100th set at the festival this weekend – and he brought along a very special guest. This year's Worthy Farm event saw headline performances from The 1975, Neil Young, and Olivia Rodrigo, with Rod Stewart taking the coveted Legend's Slot. Plenty of acts gave us something to talk about this weekend, with Kneecap and Bob Vylan sparking controversy with their sets. Several secret sets took place, including Britpop icons Pulp, Lorde, Haim, and Lewis Capaldi. Gary Numan was among the stars who played their first ever Glastonbury this year, while one DJ hit three figures when it comes to the number of sets they've performed. Fatboy Slim, real name Norman Cook, performed a whopping six sets at this year's festival, which took him past the big 100. To mark the occasion, he played a Lonely Hearts set Friday, a Block 9 Genosys and a Shrangi-La set Saturday, and a surprise set on Sunday. For the secret set, Slim, 61, was joined onstage by his son Woody Cook for a B2B performance in front of an elated crowd. Woody, 24, who the DJ shares with ex-wife Zoe Ball, danced around the stage while his dad hit the decks. Fans took to social media to congratulate 'the best duo' on the milestone, with Nickwill123 writing on Instagram: 'What an amazing thing for father and son to do!!🔥❤️❤️.' Connorhickss added: 'This was just amazing to be a part of. And I can't wait to see more from Woody He is truly amazing with unmatched energy ❤️🙌.' 'Amazing what an honour. Dad and son. Enjoy xxx,' Terribaker7980 wrote. Ahead of his Glastonbury appearance, Woody walked 192 miles from Dover to Pilton to raise money for various environmental charities. At the time of writing, Woody and his music collective, Truth Tribe, have raised more than £14,000 with the incredible feat. It was a whole family affair at Glastonbury after Zoe, 54, who was married to Slim from 1999 until 2016, was spotted at the event with a mystery man. More Trending A source told The Sun: 'Zoe is down at Glastonbury as a punter and has brought her new boyfriend along for the ride. 'They seemed blissfully happy and were strolling along holding hands. 'She was really smiling at him as they walked along and he was very protective of Zoe and put his hand across her back. 'People were doing double-takes at her bloke though because he looks a lot like Fatboy. It's so great to see Zoe smiling again.' Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: 'Powerful' Glastonbury star heading for number 1 single after emotional set MORE: Who are Bob Vylan, the English punk duo behind Glastonbury IDF controversy? MORE: Sir Rod Stewart's biggest controversies after backing Reform ahead of headlining Glastonbury
