Elden Ring is a wonderful, masochistic game from the Dark Souls team March 3, 2022 Few game developers run the gamut between the sublime and the ridiculous as gracefully as FromSoftware. One moment in Elden Ring I was scraping through an epic sword fight against a many-armed demi-god, each of us a sliver away from death as the fatal blow was finally delivered; the next I was battling the same [...]
Why your next ski break should be in Austria’s Ischgl & Kappl February 28, 2022 “Relax if you can” is Ischgl’s motto and for a high quality, luxury ski destination the place is hard to beat. Walking down Ischgl’s main drag opulence hits you like a diamond-encrusted knuckleduster. Four and five star hotels rule the strip. Our choice was Hotel Piz Buin – all the luxury I could wish for [...]
Skiing without the hassle at the Aman Melezin hotel in Courchevel February 28, 2022 The weekend: Take an early flight out of London and you can be skiing or snowboarding on the largest linked ski area in the world – with 600km of slopes across Les Trois Vallées – by the afternoon. For minimal time-wasting, the ski-in, ski-out Aman Melezin hotel is located on the Bellecôte Piste above Courchevel [...]
Forget crowds: Charter your own yacht in Corfu February 28, 2022 The situation is as follows. We’d been locked down for 18 months. We avoided the uncertainty of summer foreign holidays and were scouting round for an October half term option. That’s how we hit upon the idea of sailing… in Corfu… in October. On a low season sailing holiday you are taking a double risk. [...]
The Collaboration is another must-see production at the Young Vic February 26, 2022 There’s a buzz about the Young Vic these days, a sense that this is a theatre hitting its stride after a relatively slow start to Kwame Kwei-Armah’s stint as artistic director. Cush Jumbo’s excellent Hamlet was followed by the political razzledazzle of Best of Enemies, and now we have The Collaboration, which manages to top [...]
Surrealism Beyond Borders is a trove of 20th century masterpieces February 26, 2022 Dali’s lobster telephone. Magritte’s bowler-hatted men. Klee’s strange fish. When we think of surrealism, our minds tend to drift towards Europe. Zoom in further and you’ll probably end up in Paris, the spiritual home of surrealism in the way Florence is the home of the Renaissance, or Britain the home of the industrial revolution. This [...]
Take your workspace to the next level in Whitechapel February 25, 2022 As we tentatively return to something approaching ‘normal’ following the pandemic, many businesses find themselves in a tricky situation. Working from home full-time is gladly receding into the rear-view mirror but the old, static office model now seems a little antiquated. Modern workers require the flexibility of hybrid working, and office spaces need to be [...]
Dining Diary: Whitcomb’s at The Londoner February 25, 2022 Typically associated with gaudy tourist traps, Leicester Square is now home to the bone-achingly cool The Londoner, a hotel which is saved from being intimidatingly chic by the excellence of its warmly welcoming staff. Attention to detail is the name of the game here from the witty selection of art to the Italian Murano glass [...]
New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is in short supply – here’s what to do February 25, 2022 The New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is a stalwart of the London wine list. Even the most wine-wary have probably tried a glass with its distinctive notes of gooseberry and passionfruit. A globally popular choice there is world-wide demand, which is why the current shortage is causing a stir. “The 2021 harvest, while of exceptional quality, [...]
Why it’s time to bring back the house party February 24, 2022 There’s no question that the pandemic, and the lock- down restrictions which were introduced to help control it, have profoundly affected the way we interact so- cially. From wearing masks to the dreaded “rule of six”, we suddenly found our lives governed by regula- tions in a way no-one has experi- enced since (yes, I’m [...]