It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas: London switches on world’s largest lights November 13, 2021 More than one million LED lights will deck London’s most well-known Christmas hotspots, including Leicester Square, Mayfair and Piccadilly Circus. A total of 20 streets across the city’s West End all had their lights switched on at the same time by the Lord Mayor of Westminster to mark the beginning of the festive season. Shoppers [...]
Focus On: Get yourself into a Pickle in booming Bermondsey November 12, 2021 Located in the south-easterly London Borough of Southwark, Bermondsey has a fascinating past. Back in the 1800s it was known for its industrial plants for processing animal hides (hence some road names such as Tanner Street and Leathermarket), as well as slums for local workers and the notorious docks that inspired scenes in Dickensian novels [...]
Arsene Wenger: Invincible review – a portrait of a thoughtful legend November 11, 2021 In October 1996, Arsene Wenger officially became the manager of Arsenal FC. What he would over the next two decades would redefine both the club and English football, introducing new methods and ideas that are now commonplace across the country. A quarter of a century on from that appointment, having stepped down from the role [...]
Becoming Cousteau review – a deep dive into the life of a pioneer November 11, 2021 To a generation, Jacques Cousteau was the man who first uncovered the world beneath the waves. An inspiration to anyone who has dreamed of exploring the depths, he has surprisingly few major films about him, although Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is a self-confessed homage. Liz Garbus, director of the excellent What [...]
Cry Macho film review: A passable Clint Eastwood cowboy yarn November 10, 2021 If you think Dune took a while to get a remake, spare a thought for Cry Macho. N. Richard Nash’s novel was published in the 1970s, having been rejected as a screenplay, only to be optioned again as a movie due to the book’s success. Multiple attempts have been made to make an adaptation over [...]
The magic of Cinema: Why there’s no better place to be this winter November 10, 2021 One of my great joys is the cinema. I don’t mean that I rush to see every new release; what I mean is that I love the experience of watching a film as it was intended to be seen. A hushed, darkened room, a ripple of anticipation, the trailers for features to come, the escape [...]
COP26: The wine industry joins the Race To Zero November 10, 2021 COP26 is well underway in Glasgow, bringing 197 countries together to present their updated plans to act against carbon emissions, and the wine industry has its own, albeit relatively small, part to play. Wine itself creates relatively low carbon emissions but even so the International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA) exists. It was founded three [...]
Give it up for the world’s most extreme winemakers November 10, 2021 Every wine merchant has their hero or heroine – not necessarily their best sellers but the wines and winemakers they most admire. These are often viticulture’s unsung heroes – small producers who work with new techniques or revive old ones, sometimes toiling in the harshest terrain, where machines aren’t viable and human power is the [...]
A mouthful of cashmere: The joy of Lalande-de-Pomerol wines November 10, 2021 Traditionally wines from Bordeaux have garnered a certain high level of respect, esteem, fame and the price tag that goes along with that. In broad strokes, the Bordeaux Blend, historically referred to as Claret in the UK, is made up of a combination of the star players Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot alongside, at the winemaker’s [...]
Baker & Spice in Belgravia, has a tried and tested day service – but what about its new dinner menu? November 9, 2021 Nestled in a quiet backstreet in Belgravia, Baker & Spice is a gourmet Mediterranean café and bakery that branched out to dinner service this September. It has a generous outdoor dining space equipped with heaters and blankets to ward off the autumnal chill and a small indoor dining room with cosy booths and tables for [...]