28 June - 4 July 2014
Saturday
Jolly good thrashing
The UK was treated to a big dose of classic cheesy metal as Metallica headlined Glastonbury Festival. As they plucked the opening chords of Nothing Else Matters, it was as if they had never been away.
Sunday
Television factory
BBC Television Centre, designed as a Hollywood of the small screen, opened on this day in 1960. It was hoped that the complex would counter the influx of “cheap American programmes”. So much for that.
Monday
Privilege trumps brains
Britain’s “brightest poorest” children are losing out on top university places to lesstalented kids from privileged backgrounds, research from the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission found.
Tuesday
Art that is simply divan
What am I bid for some dirty sheets, soiled underwear and fag packets? pound;1.2 million? That was the price Christie’s hoped to achieve with the auction of artist Tracey Emin’s 1998 work My Bed. Ew, grotty.
Wednesday
Constitutional right
It was 50 years to the day that US president Lyndon B Johnson signed the Civil Rights Bill, creating equal rights in voting and education, and stopping the exclusion of black people from restaurants and bars.
Thursday
Critical mass
Particle physicists gathered for the second day of the International Conference on High Energy Physics in Valencia, Spain. One for the diaries of science teachers. And committed fans of The Big Bang Theory.
Friday
And the winner is...
It’s the annual TES Schools Awards, this year hosted by Outnumbered star Hugh Dennis. School staff from across the land will gather in London to hear if they have scooped an educational gong.
5-11 July 2014
Saturday
Back in the saddle
Hard for some to get their heads around, but the Tour de France begins today in Yorkshire. The first stage will include a punishing 190km from Leeds to Harrogate. Plenty of spa water for the finishers.
Sunday
Bare essentials
Let’s hope it isn’t raining for Nudefest, a week-long mass naturism event in Newquay, Cornwall. Activities include body painting, scuba diving and a barn dance. No tittering please, it’s all perfectly natural.
Monday
Rise of the machines
Thinktank Policy Exchange will debate the skills that will be needed in the future economy at its Rise of the Robots event. As microchips take on so many tasks, what will be left for humans to do?
Tuesday
Dnde est Harry?
Pre-teen favourites One Direction - or, as you might say in Spanish, Una Direccin - are set to play the Estadi Olmpic Llus Companys in Barcelona. All together now, girls: Harry, Harry, Harry!
Wednesday
Come on and tuck in
Chomp, chomp, chomp! The annual Taste of Chicago food festival starts in the Windy City. The five-day extravaganza celebrates dishes from the city’s top restaurants. Make mine a hot dog with extra pickles.
Thursday
Day of action
Schools in England and Wales may close as the NUT calls a national day of strike action in protest against sweeping changes to pay and pensions. A host of other public sector unions will strike, too.
Friday
People power
It is, of course, People’s Revolution Day in Mongolia. The public holiday marks the country’s independence from China in 1921. The Naadam festival swiftly follows, with wrestling, archery and horse-racing.
