Jersey: the UK island an hour’s flight from London that feels totally foreign August 14, 2023 Jersey, an hour’s flight away, feels like a true escape, finds Libby Brodie THE WEEKEND: Famed for its blue waters and creamy fudge, Jersey is the charming British island only an hour’s flight from London. It’s popular with families, foodies and anyone craving sun and sea on their staycation. Only being 14 miles away, [...]
Forget Jack Daniel’s: discovering the real whiskey history in Nashville Tennessee August 14, 2023 Forget Jack Daniel’s, the real whiskey pioneer is the African-American who taught him. Josh Barrie raised a dram to a Nashville legend He’s in a cowboy hat and has a gun at his hip and he’s giving out swigs of moonshine liquor. This is Dan Call Farm, Shelbyville, the birthplace of Tennessee whiskey. At least [...]
Leica Q3 review: The best travel camera ever made August 12, 2023 How I agonised as I ummed and ahhed over how to say this. Worrying whether to pull my punches, or give it to you straight? But enough of this torture. Let’s just cut to the chase. This camera is a masterpiece. Come on, a Leica with autofocus! You’ve got to get breathless. Believe me, there [...]
Fantasy Premier League: No Haaland and a 4-5-1 – can ChatGPT beat humans at FPL? August 11, 2023 Today marks the start of the 2023/24 Premier League season, and by extension the 2023/24 Fantasy Premier League (FPL). And while everybody else was busy transferring out Harry Kane and worrying about Ramsdale’s starting spot at Arsenal given the arrival of Raya, we were wondering if this is the year ChatGPT might be able to [...]
Haunted Mansion review: Second time lucky for movie based on Disneyland ride? August 11, 2023 Like Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion is a big screen version of a popular Disneyland ride. The similarities don’t end there: both had a film adaptation released in 2003, with the original Haunted Mansion, starring Eddie Murphy, bombing at the box office while Johnny Depp’s Captain Sparrow shambled all the way to the bank. [...]
Gran Turismo film review: Racing game screeches to the big screen August 11, 2023 Films about video games used to be box office poison, but times are changing. Super Mario Bros is the most successful film of 2023 so far, while Sonic The Hedgehog and Mortal Kombat have grown into formidable movie franchises. Hoping to succeed where Need For Speed failed is Gran Turismo, a movie based on the [...]
La Cage Aux Folles, Regent’s Park, review: Blisteringly smart, this is the show of the summer August 10, 2023 La Cage aux Folles review and star rating: ★★★★★ Blimey. I want this all over again, and then again some more! The Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre’s new production of La Cage aux Folles is a blistering hit, two-and-a-half hours of raucous cabaret that conveys the punkish energy of the artform while also feeling utterly [...]
L’immensita film review: A startling portrait of gender dysphoria August 10, 2023 Many directors put something of themselves into a story, but Emanuele Crialese went a step further with his latest, drama L’immensita (The Immensity). The Italian filmmaker, who burst onto the scene with 2002’s Respira, used the film’s premiere in Venice to publicly come out as a Transgender Man, explaining the autobiographical nature of his story. [...]
Red White and Royal Blue director Matthew Lopez on filming ‘tender’ gay sex scenes August 10, 2023 You’re no doubt sick of reading about Barbie and Oppenheimer by now, so we’ve got good news: a new duo of releases are here for you to get excited about. TV series Heartstopper has just dropped its second season on Netflix and so has new Amazon film Red, White & Royal Blue. Unlike Barbenheimer, what [...]
Estate agents hate these questions: You should ask them anyway August 10, 2023 Buying and selling your home is always high on the list of the most stressful times in a person’s life, up there with taking exams, getting divorced, and passing (or failing) a driving test. Estate agents are there to make this job easier, although only the good ones actually do. We asked two of the [...]