A man who spent thousands of pounds to look like a dog has revealed what his life is like. In July, the man who goes by Toco on YouTube, went viral after he posted a video of himself walking around Tokyo wearing a realistic Border Collie suit, which cost him £12,500 to have custom made. He explained in the video that his life-long dream was to become a dog and explained that he chose to become a Border Collie due to the breed's size. Now he has shared more about his life as an animal in a series of press interviews. “My desire to be an animal is like a desire to transform, a desire to be something that I am not,” he told the New York Post. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter He added that he wears the costume once a week, mostly at home and his family are accepting of him. “The family was surprised, but received it favourably,” he said. 【驚愕】人が犬に変身！　リアルな着ぐるみで外を散歩してみた！ www.youtube.com “I am very happy that they accepted it.” In a separate interview with the Mirror, he said: “I rarely tell my friends because I am afraid they will think I am weird. “My friends and family seemed very surprised to learn I became an animal. But he told the Daily Mail his colleagues are less accepting. “They think it’s weird that I want to be a dog. For the same reason why I can’t show my real face.” But that won't stop him living the life he loves. “I’m just sad that people can think that,” he said. “I love animals and enjoy play-acting like a collie.” He continued: “This is my hobby, so I will carry on. It makes me happy and other people happy, too.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

FlexiSpot, the leading provider of ergonomic office furniture, is celebrating its 7th anniversary with a

At Bloomberg Pursuits, we love to travel. And we always want to make sure we’re doing it right.

Nicaragua’s increasingly isolated and repressive government thought it had scored a rare public relations victory last week when Miss Nicaragua Sheynnis Palacios won the Miss Universe competition

It’s often said that quiche is old-fashioned, but there is nothing old-fashioned about this one,” says former Great British Bake Off contestant Hermine Dossou. “It’s a crumbly, super-short, melt-in-your-mouth pastry filled with buttery spinach and creamy custard. “Gruyère is the perfect cheese for quiche and a little goes a long way, but if it’s not available, you can substitute with Emmental, Comté, Jarlsberg or Beaufort.” Spinach and mushroom quiche Serves: 8 Ingredients: For the shortcrust pastry: 210g plain flour (gf plus 1 tsp xanthan gum), plus extra for dusting 130g cold butter 1 large egg (55g) 1 tbsp cold water ¼ tsp salt For the custard: 15g butterLeaves from 3 thyme sprigs 1 small yellow onion (about 50g), finely chopped 2 eggs 120g double cream 1 chicken or vegetable stock cube, crumbled 1 tsp Dijon mustard ¼ tsp salt Pinch of black pepper For the filling: 30g butter 250g mushrooms, sliced ½ tsp garlic powder A pinch of salt 250g baby spinach leaves 80g grated Gruyére cheese Method: 1. To make the shortcrust pastry, in a large bowl rub the flour and butter together with your fingertips until sandy in texture. (You can use a food processor to speed up this process.) Add the egg, water and salt and bring together into a dough without overworking it. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge – you always want to work with cold pastry as it’s much easier to handle. 2. When ready, lightly flour a work surface and roll out the dough to a circle about 30cm in diameter and 3mm thick. Use your rolling pin to lift it up and lay it over a 23cm tart tin, so there is an overhang of pastry at the top. Using a straight-sided glass, ease the pastry into the corners of the tin by rolling the glass around the edge in circular motion. Chill for 20 minutes. 3. Preheat your oven at 200C/180C fan/400F/Gas 6. Line your chilled pastry case with parchment paper, fill it with baking beans or cheap pulses, and blind bake for 15 minutes. Lift out the baking beans and parchment paper and continue baking for a further 10 minutes to dry out the base. 4. Meanwhile, make the custard. Put the butter, thyme and onion in a small frying pan over medium heat and cook until the onion is soft and transparent. Set aside to cool slightly. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, stock cube, mustard, salt and pepper, adding the cooked onions. Set aside. 5. Prepare the filling using the same pan you used to cook the onions. Heat the butter, add the mushrooms, garlic and salt, and cook over a high heat until the mushrooms are soft and most of the water has evaporated. Add the spinach and cook until it has wilted and the mixture is thick. 6. Tip the spinach mixture into the pre-baked tart case and spread it around evenly. Sprinkle over the grated cheese, then pour in the custard, making sure it’s distributed evenly. Bake at 200C/180C fan/400F/Gas 6 for 20–25 minutes, or until the middle of the quiche looks set and the top is slightly golden. Enjoy warm. ‘The Thrifty Baker’ by Hermine Dossou (White Lion, £18.99).

Nicki Minaj has opened up about her feelings of anxiety after becoming a new mother. The rapper, 40, is the latest Vogue cover star for the magazine’s December 2023 issue. Speaking to the publication, Minaj shared many details about her ongoing motherhood journey, after she and husband Kenneth Petty welcomed their son in 2020. Minaj and Petty, who were married in 2019, were formerly high school sweethearts and grew up together in the same neighbourhood in Queens, New York. The “Superbass” singer explained how Petty was unfazed by her level of fame, and noted that he even calls her by her real name - Onika Tanya Maraj. “Because I’ve known my husband for so long, there’s an ease we have with each other,” she told Vogue. “We make each other laugh. We’re silly. And we’re always reminiscing about some old story. If it was a guy that I met as Nicki Minaj, I think I’d feel like they liked me because I’m Nicki Minaj, and what if I don’t look like Nicki Minaj every day? And that, combined with pregnancy, would probably have made me crazy.” The pair welcomed their son, who Minaj has nicknamed “Papa Bear” on social media in order to keep his privacy, on 30 September 2020. The “Barbie World” rapper admitted that she and Petty struggled with their relationship after becoming a family of three, much like many couples do when they become new parents. “I’m not going to lie, things got testy between us. Because of our history, I think we knew we’d get past it. But there’s no such thing as confidence in parenthood,” she explained, before recalling the amount of anxiety she felt after becoming a mother. “I kind of wish that someone had told me - although I’m sure I wouldn’t have been able to understand it - that there’s a level of anxiety, and you think it’s going to go away, but in fact it gets scarier,” Minaj added. “So often you think: I don’t know how to do this!” Minaj’s highly-anticipated fifth studio album, Pink Friday 2, is due for release on 8 December. The “Starships” singer previously told her millions of fans on X, formerly known as Twitter, that she had “decided to retire and have my family” just one month before she and Petty were married. However, the Grammy nominee soon realised that the studio was still calling her name - even if that meant needing to balance her family life with her professional career. “I think that deep down inside, I believed that once I had a family, I would just lose the desire to make music,” Minaj told Vogue. “I would always tell people: ‘Watch, when I have a child I’m going to cook every meal for him and bake cookies every day.’ Maybe subconsciously I hoped my focus would just be on being a mother, and I looked forward to that idea. It felt like a relief. But what happens is that you find out you have to work.” This isn’t the first time Minaj has opened up about feeling anxiety as a new mother. In an interview with E! News published in October 2022, the rapper revealed that she often feels like her “heart is being ripped out” when she is away from her now-three-year-old son. “I hate that I have more anxiety now because you’re like: ‘What if the one time I leave my child, I get that phone call?’” she said at the time. “I think moms feel like they have to be perfect.” Minaj then recalled when she was in the United Kingdom and started “bawling” over being away from her son. “And when I try to FaceTime him, I get more sad,” she said. “So, I try to hold out on FaceTiming him because to then put the phone down is so difficult.” The “Super Freaky Girl” rapper shared that she and Petty have never hired a nanny to take care of their baby. “I’m a Trinidadian woman,” she said. “Culturally, we’re not really used to nannies and strangers taking care of the babies. “It’s not a bad thing when moms do it. It’s just that I have to get conditioned. I have to get it out of my mind that it’s a weird thing, because there are tons of celebrities that are doing it and they’re raising amazing children.” Back in September 2020, Minaj announced the birth of her son by posting several photographs of handwritten notes from her celebrity friends congratulating her on the baby news. One of the pictures in the post featured a note from Beyoncé, which read: “Onika, welcome to motherhood. God bless you and your family. B.” “Thank you to Queen B, Kim & Ye, Riccardo Tisci, Winnie, Karol and everyone who sent well wishes during this time. It meant the world to me,” Minaj captioned her post. “I am so grateful and in love with my son. Madly in love. My favorite liddo boy in the whole wide world.” Read More How much water should we be drinking in a day? Irina Shayk reveals how she and Bradley Cooper make co-parenting daughter Lea ‘work’ What is silent reflux? How much water should we be drinking in a day? Irina Shayk reveals how she and Bradley Cooper make co-parenting daughter Lea ‘work’ What is silent reflux?

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We all have a pair of earrings we wouldn't mind wearing every single day. For many, it's gold hoops. Whether worn close to the earlobes, as big as can be, or doubled up, this particular type of lobe decor makes a statement, no matter the size or quantity. Their classic style with diverse nuances is what's made them survive centuries of jewelry trends while still feeling fresh, never antiquated. That's why, in our books, they're such a staple piece.

My first visit to Dubai in 2016, while fantastic, left me thinking that perhaps the six-hour flight was a little excessive for a spot of sunshine (what with mainland Europe on our doorstep). But then, excess is sort of the whole point of Dubai. I’d always had my eye on the food scene; a country that affluent can afford to bring over big name chefs to open their new restaurants in the emirate, as well as franchising already popular eateries. But while we all know that Sushi Samba, Zuma and LPM have prime real estate in Dubai (and for good reason), I was keen to explore restaurants that my hometown of London didn’t already offer. Onto another six-hour flight I hopped with a plan to dine at spots I’d missed the first time around, but that have been quietly making their mark on the Dubai food scene. From a walking tour of some seriously tasty snacks in the famous souk to the restaurant that secured first place in the 50 Best Restaurants in the Middle East and North Africa list this year, I discovered a culinary world just off the beaten track of all the glitz and glamour. I’m not saying shy away from sushi with a panoramic view of the Palm – when in Rome, after all – but should you be keen to delve a little deeper into Dubai’s gastronomy scene, here are several spots that should definitely be on your foodie hit list. BOCA Located in Dubai’s DIFC (Dubai International Financial Centre), BOCA was just awarded a green star in this year’s Michelin ceremony for its work towards sustainable dining. Serving dishes such as kingfish ceviche with sweet potato hummus, tomato and strawberry gazpacho and chicken with roasted spiced potatoes and padron peppers, it’s clear that taste, the environment and presentation are all key elements of a meal at this contemporary restaurant. Running on 100 per cent renewable energy, BOCA aims to have as little waste as possible and put locally sourced ingredients to good use – one dish comprises of aged beetroot and khansoor (a desert plant that is, in this case, grown onsite). A home-grown concept, this restaurant consistently shows how much the UAE has to offer, noting the Hajar mountains in the north as biologically rich habitats and acknowledging the organic and traditional farms that are situated in the central region. As well as every mouthful being a delight and the decor of the restaurant emulating its green fingers, the leadership team at BOCA is entirely made up of women, with executive chef Patricia Roig heading up the team in the kitchen. We could certainly use more restaurants with this kind of ethos here in the UK. BOCA, Gate Village 6, DIFC, Dubai Frying Pan Adventures’ Snack Tour When it comes to travelling, a tour from the locals is a great way to avoid tourist traps and discover the true nature of a place. Well, thanks to Frying Pan Adventures, you can do just that. Proving that Dubai’s food scene isn’t limited to fine dining and rooftop views, founding sisters Arva and Farida Ahmed have you sorted when it comes to embarking on a culinary discovery of Dubai. Hosting a number of different food tours across the emirate, we headed to the spice souk to discover the best street food the city has to offer. Awash with unassuming cafes and holes in the wall, hiding tandoor ovens of dreams, you’ll soon be feasting upon dishes such as paratha filled with omelette, cream cheese, chilli-flavoured crisps (known as chips Oman) – all slathered with hot sauce and washed down with a fragrant cup of chai. After watching the masters at work cooking bread, tear apart freshly-baked flatbread, filled with cream cheese and zaatar (a match made in heaven) and if you’re craving something sweet, there’s a trip to cool down with some Persian faloodeh – vermicelli noodles in granita with rose syrup and fresh lime juice. Frying Pan Adventures, Al Ras, Dubai Al Ustad Special Kebab One of the city’s most popular spots happens to be this delicious yet affordable Persian kebab restaurant. Al Ustad is known as a bit of a hidden gem, found just past the textile souk. Attracting both locals and tourists, you can spot the chefs grilling the various kebabs from the outside of the restaurant, leaving your mouth watering as you enter. This canteen-style eatery is full of character – with the walls adorned with countless photos of diners across its four decades of opening. Serving up koobideh (minced lamb), joojeh (saffron-marinated chicken) and barg (lamb fillet), the pièce de résistance at this restaurant is the kebab khas, with juicy chunks of grilled lamb or chicken marinated in yoghurt before being grilled. Al Ustad, Metro Station, Al Mussallah Rd, Al Hamriya, Dubai Orfali Bros Bistro Restaurant Never has a restaurant been easier to write about. Brothers (in case you couldn’t guess) Mohammad, Wassim and Omar, have curated this delectable menu which pays homage to their roots and experiences in food, travel, art and culture. The neighbourhood eatery that everyone wishes was closer to home, Orfali was just voted the best restaurant in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) 2023, acknowledging its unique dining experience where every dish tells its own story. The three immigrant chef brothers from Syria all work together, whether its across the menu, on the pastry dishes (for which stomach space should certainly be left) or overseeing the running of the restaurant itself. With Mohammed a veteran TV cook and restaurant chef in the Middle East and Wassim and Omar classic pâtissiers, your mouth should already be watering because everything is just so divine at Orfali. From a burnt leek and truffle pide of dreams, drizzled with brown miso butter and sprinkled with hazelnuts, stracciatella and chives to tuna salsa roja with fermented tomato, seaweed, aji recoto, garlic and onions, everything that came out of this kitchen was phenomenal. Proving the folks voting at MENA know their stuff, every bite was one of happiness, with other notable dishes including the pomelo salad with calamansi nam jim, wagyu gyoza with garlic yoghurt and sujuk oil and the Orfali bayildi: aubergine with makdous muhammara, tarator, walnut, verjuice and nasturtium. Even the bitesize corn bomb, with 36 month-aged parmesan, and the umami eclair (so aptly named), consisting of porcini emulsion, mushroom marmite, cacao nibs, fermented quince glaze and beef prosciutto, were enough to seal the meal as a special one – before the rest of the larger dishes were even ordered. If you dine at Orfali and your dinner disappoints you, I’ll fly to Dubai myself and finish your meal as no morsel deserves to go uneaten. Not only going down as one my favourite restaurants in Dubai, but I wish the terrific trio would open up shop in London. I’d definitely be a regular. Orfali Bros Bistro, D92, Jumeirah 1, Dubai Time Out Market Even discerning gourmet travellers have cravings. While certainly not short of a visitor or two (both tourists and locals), the Time Out Market located downtown is the perfect place to satisfy them. While Dubai is celebrated as a city that champions worldwide cuisine (potentially even more than it’s own, with emirati food taking inspiration from its neighbouring countries), there’s definitely a street food stall or two to explore inside. Boasting a glow-up to most markets we visit, there’s 17 food concepts to feast upon inside this grand food court. Obviously not all the dishes could be sampled – no matter how much my grumbling stomach and salivating mouth wished this was possible – but a strong recommendation of mine would be the soft shell crab bao, combined with the delicious (if a little odd in pairing) side of crispy brussels sprouts from BB Social, as well as however many scoops of liquid nitrogen-frozen ice cream from Scoopi your stomach can manage. Drama is the theme here – with gold leaf garnishes and activated charcoal just some of the theatrics this place has on show. Time Out Market, Level 3, Souk Al Bahar, Downtown, Dubai Al Khayma Heritage Restaurant Whenever I participate in a cooking class, that line from Hitch (which, in the grand scheme of the plot is not an all-important line to remember, but here we are) where Eva Mendes’s boss exclaims that it’s an interesting concept, cooking one’s own food in a restaurant, comes to mind. His wife firmly tells him to be quiet and after cooking my own impressive chicken machboos (okay, I had a lot of guidance), I quite agree. First things first, my stomach was nicely lined before I embarked on my task, as I ate (a healthy amount) of regag bread – trying all the toppings (it’s only fair). From a delicious cream cheese that bubbled as it cooked in front of us to chips Oman, egg and fish sauce (separately or all together), regag is a popular Emirati snack, with it being commonly made and eaten among local households and snack shops. Moving onto the main event: the machboos, we were in safe hands with Al Khayma’s chef guiding us through the process in its rooftop kitchen. Although bearing similarities to (and therefore thought to originate or take large inspiration from) kabsa – a Saudi Arabian chicken and rice dish – machboos is now widely considered to be the national dish of the UAE. However it is a dish that has long been cooked across various Arab cultures, with Kuawaitis back in the 1950s learning to cook with Indian spices when trading pearls with India. Made up of chicken, rice and spices including turmeric, cardamom, cloves, cinammon and star anise, plus a dried cooking lime. We then topped our aromatic masterpiece with golden, lightly fried raisins, crispy onions and fresh parsley – before promptly tucking into what was most certainly a treat. Al Khayma, Historical Neighbourhood, 79 Al Mussallah Rd, Al Fahidi, Dubai Avatara Another well-timed reservation was the one at Avatara. Having just obtained its first Michelin star in the 2023 ceremony, we dined at Dubai’s first and only all-vegetarian fine dining restaurant. The experience, with chef Rahul Rana at the helm, consists of a 16-course – yes, you read that correctly – tasting menu which, trust me, won’t have you missing meat. Start off with naivedhya (a holy offering) of makan malai, popping mishri and panchamrita. This sweet snack is the food offered to a deity as worship during prayer rituals. I won’t go through the entire 16 courses with you but everything from the cucumber granita and beetroot sorbet in buttermilk to the horse gram curry with ragi bhatura (a North Indian deep fried bread) and jakhiya aloo (pahadi spiced potatoes) were truly excellent. Guests are encouraged to keep their menus with them, as beside each dish is not only a short description but also the story behind each one or a notable fact about the ingredients used. While some may already know that tomatoes are a potent antioxidant and how rich they are in vitamins A, C and E, I personally would never have guessed that horse gram has proven effective as a natural kidney stone treatment. An educative meal, as well as a delicious one. Avatara, Second Floor, Voco Hotel, Sheikh Zayed Rd, Dubai Enjoy exploring gastronomic capitals one bite at a time? Here’s why Emilia-Romagna is the culinary core of Italy Read More Mother tried to cure son of disease by putting him in a hole as a child Michel Roux Jr to close restaurant Le Gavroche to have ‘better work/life balance’ The best outdoor restaurants, terraces and rooftop bars in London to book now Michel Roux Jr to close restaurant Le Gavroche to have ‘better work/life balance’ The best outdoor restaurants, terraces and rooftop bars in London to book now What to know about eating raw oysters safely

Along a polluted riverside, smoking charred oil drums in Mathare are cooking up chang'aa, a potent liquor that's both a...

At the start of the pandemic, when the world was thrown into a state of turmoil and uncertainty, Keadian Russ — like so many others — had to put her life and livelihood on pause. Her cleaning business had come to a shuddering halt, and there was no idea of when lockdown restrictions would ease. So, she pivoted. The Jamaican native, New York-based entrepreneur prided herself in formulating effective, all-natural cleaning products that her clients absolutely loved — and she decided to turn that into a new business: K-SOL.

Three weeks before the three-year anniversary of George Floyd’s brutal murder, Jordan Neely was executed in the same way; a chokehold delivered by a white man who viewed him as a threat instead of a human being. For three weeks, we’ve had to watch our timelines debate whether Jordan Neely was worthy of compassion, of care, and of his life. And for three years, we’ve seen George Floyd go from a man to a martyr for racial reckoning. But Floyd didn’t sacrifice his life for the greater good. He wasn’t an activist or a symbol upon which to project supposed progress. He was a person. A son. A brother. A father.