Mortgage woes grow for older house owners June 18, 2012 THE NUMBER of over-60s struggling to keep up with mortgage payments is on the rise, a leading counselling group said this morning, while separate figures show that people hoping to buy a home are being squeezed out of the property market. Among people who have a mortgage, an inability to keep up with payments is [...]
Can you dodge the reaper? June 18, 2012 In David Cronenberg’s latest film, Cosmopolis, Robert Pattinson’s billionaire asset manager undergoes a daily health check-up, including a rather grueling prostate exam, in an attempt to fend off any potential ailments. There are, however, more practical ways of staying abreast of your health. Medicine has reached a level where we can discern a baffling amount [...]
EPISODE 59 – A QUIET-ISH MOMENT June 18, 2012 If the Queen gets cross with someone, dad, can she just cut off their head?” “I don’t think the Queen’s ever actually cut off anyone’s head Noel.” “So does she have someone to do it for her? Like soldiers? And then she can watch. And laugh at them. And not get loads of blood all [...]
RUN FOR A REASON June 18, 2012 JAMES FATTAL, 25 MEDIA AND COMMS WORKER WHAT’S my max? The physiologist came through the door with news: “Your VO2 Max is 49”, he said, looking down at a clipboard. I studied his face for clues, something that would get me through the next few minutes, at which point I could go to the toilet [...]
Capital’s houses beat inflation while rest of the UK struggles June 17, 2012 Property prices in London and the south west have reached a fresh high, Rightmove data showed this morning. Average house prices across the UK rose by one per cent to £246,235 from May to June, while London’s prices rose 1.7 per cent to an average of £477,440. In comparison to August 2007, national prices are [...]
Hideaway in the Highlands June 17, 2012 For non-members, visiting Skibo Castle, home of the ultra-exclusive Carnegie Club, is bittersweet. Allowed just one stay pre-membership, those who are invited to sample the castle’s delights and the lifestyle offered by the Club, named after Skibo’s former owner Andrew Carnegie, are exposed to such a confluence of pleasures that the predominant feeling on departure [...]
TRAVEL NOTES June 17, 2012 Summer nights at Soho House Berlin This summer, SHB is unveiling 20 slick new apartments and, in August, non-members can get in on the coolest venue in town. Original Travel offers stays at Soho House Berlin during August including 20 per cent off any room or apartment. Discounted rates from £84. Visit www.originaltravel.co.uk or call [...]
Cosmopolis is flawed but compelling June 14, 2012 FILM COSMOPOLIS Cert 15 | By Steve Dinneen **** In the future, nobody will move their face. That is, at least, in David Cronenberg’s dystopian vision, adapted from Don DeLillo’s novel Cosmopolis. Through billionaire finance whiz-kid Eric Packer (Robert Pattinson), Cronenberg seems intent on building an American Psycho for the 21st century, with Pattinson essentially [...]
How to escape from the rain June 14, 2012 Seemingly in reaction to the recent weather, an abundance of new watering holes have cropped up in London. The Collection, one of Chelsea’s choicest ventures on Brompton Road, relaunched with Kitchen 264, which includes a swanky new lounge bar designed by maestro of interiors Tom Dixon. He utilises his signature hanging metallic lighting alongside scorched [...]
The RSC’s Comedy of Errors is no classic but it’s still an enjoyable slapstick romp June 14, 2012 THEATRE THE COMEDY OF ERRORS Camden Roundhouse | By Steve Dinneen *** THE Royal Shakespeare Company’s adaptation of The Comedy of Errors at Camden’s Roundhouse is nothing if not ambitious. The seedy markets of Shakespeare’s Ephesus become a rundown dockland reminiscent of the Baltimore Docks from the second season of The Wire. Antipholus and Dromio [...]