Eat, drink, sleep, repeat: The best restaurants in Florence March 20, 2025 Last week began with a wonderfully long lunch in Bluebird Chelsea with Mirabeau founder Stephen Cronk and his chief exec Richard Larkin. Everyone in the drinks business loves these guys, but I take credit for introducing the Batman and Robin of Provencal rose to each other back in 2017. In Bluebird, the restaurant atmosphere was [...]
Dear England review: This reboot takes England into extra time March 19, 2025 Here we go again, again. If making us relive the England men’s team repeatedly snatching defeat from the jaws of victory seemed cruel 18 months ago, that cruelty has only been compounded by the addition of yet of another tournament in which Gareth Southgate’s young team came tantalisingly close to lifting a first trophy in [...]
David Shrigley designs Non-League Day ticket for Whitehawk FC March 19, 2025 Cult artist David Shrigley has designed football tickets for Whitehawk FC as part of their efforts to attract new fans for Non-League Day this weekend. Shrigley, whose work has been nominated for the Turner Prize and fetched six-figure sums at auction, has created the screen-printed tickets as a souvenir for those attending Whitehawk’s fixture with [...]
Libby’s Naked Wines diary: why South African wine still wins March 19, 2025 This week our Naked Wines columnist Libby Brodie touches down for a wine adventure in South Africa Even as someone who tours wine estates around the world for my job, rarely have I visited one on the same jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring, gob-smacking scale as South Africa’s Vergelegen Wine Estate. The Western Cape of South Africa already [...]
This new LGBTQ film playing at BFI Flare 2025 ‘redefines’ the kiss March 19, 2025 A Night Like This is one of dozens of new films premiering at BFI Flare festival on the Southbank this month It’s a difficult truth that the same writers, directors and actors tend to get work funded. It’s a safer option for investors to go with people who have public profiles and are believed to [...]
Land Rover Defender Octa review: driving the all-terrain action hero March 18, 2025 Ever since 1948, Land Rovers have been clambering over rocks, wading across rivers and squelching through muddy ruts. The new Defender Octa is different. This steroidal SUV wasn’t born for ambling along green lanes; it leaps and bounds across rough ground like a rally-raid car. In 77 years, there has never been a Land Rover [...]
This underrated European country is amazing for a fly fishing holiday March 18, 2025 Where in Europe would you expect to find incredible fishing, Alpine scenery and mosques? The answer is Bosnia, which is rapidly emerging as one of the world’s top destinations for fly fishing. But the country has way more than that: it is also a brilliant destination for food, and a wonderful place to be amongst [...]
Hannes Myburgh’s Meerlust Estate is wine tasting paradise March 18, 2025 Meerlust Rubicon was the first wine I bought en primeur. This is the process of buying wine while it is still aging, ahead of it coming to market. It means securing sought-after bottles at potentially lower prices while the winemakers receive an early cash flow. I felt very grown up and sophisticated and rather lucky [...]
Porsche 911 Carrera T Cabriolet review: A strange kind of sense March 17, 2025 This is the slowest Porsche 911 on sale. Pull up at the lights next to Gary in his new Golf R and you’ll be outsprinted to 62mph, albeit only by 0.1 seconds. Does that matter? To some people it will. But then any number of electric SUVs can deliver the one-dimensional rush of rapid acceleration. [...]
St Patrick’s Day 2025: where to find go, including bottomless Guinness at one pub March 17, 2025 Happy St Patrick’s Day, London! It’s time to fill your face with that deliciously savoury and increasingly trendy black booze otherwise known as Guinness. Whether you like your stout mixed into cakes, in burgers or (rather old fashioned but) in a glass, here are five of the best ways to incorporate Guinness into your daily [...]