Inside the ‘Venice of the Cotswolds’, a short distance from London August 8, 2025 Taylor Swift retreated here after her Wembley shows, and Ellen Degeneres is the latest A-Lister to flee Trump by moving to the Cotswolds, already home to the Beckhams, Kate Moss, Damien Hirst and Jeremy Clarkson. In short, the Cotswolds is popping off, and has been for a number of years, thanks to its easy commute [...]
Freakier Friday review: Lindsay Lohan sequel offers innocent fun August 8, 2025 Last year’s musical remake of Mean Girls sparked a re-evaluation of Lindsay Lohan, the Disney star whose personal life made her tabloid fodder in the noughties. Now she has reunited with Jamie Lee Curtis to make a sequel to one of her biggest hits. Freaky Friday was a famous example of the body swap comedy, [...]
Wilderness festival review: silliness and beauty combine to offer five-star escapism August 7, 2025 Around a quarter of the people who attended Wilderness festival this year glamped, swerving the surely horrifying idea of pitching their own tent, and they quaffed champagne at banquet feasts and from lakeside hot tubs. There is no getting around it: Wilderness attracts what the festival likes to call a “bouji” crowd (bosses don’t like [...]
This Grease immersive show isn’t the one that I want August 7, 2025 Grease: immersive musical review: ★★ A Titanic experience where you’re aboard the ship as it sinks, the heavily-mocked Elvis show (that I actually loved), a new Traitors experience and similar ones for Squid Game and Friends. Whatever you want to call them, experiences or immersive theatre (categorising these experiences has instigated a fierce debate raging [...]
Goodnight, Oscar review: Will & Grace star Sean Hayes is magnetic August 7, 2025 Goodnight, Oscar review and star rating: ★★★★ It’s fairly obvious why writers turn to televisual ratings to source their intrigue: every scribe knows the pain of having their stories or subjects exploited to reach bigger audiences. File Goodnight, Oscar next to a litany of West End hits on the subject, including Network at the National [...]
Whisky Business: A new era for Scapa August 7, 2025 Whisky Business: City AM’s monthly look at the world of whisky. The Orkney Islands have a special place in the world of whisky. The cool, damp, and often windy climate is considered ideal for a slow and steady maturation process, while pristine water sources permeate the rocky landscapes. Orkney also has an abundance of unique heather-rich [...]
Lotus Evija review: The fastest, most powerful car we’ve driven August 6, 2025 On 11 May 1994, Autocar & Motor magazine published its landmark road test of the McLaren F1. As a wide-eyed and car-obsessed 15-year-old, I spent £1.35 of my pocket money on a copy and devoured every word. ‘What you are about to read is not simply the fastest road test in history,’ trumpeted the opening [...]
Lunchtime tourism: All Hallows by the Tower in the City of London August 6, 2025 To get you in the mood for out Toast the City Awards celebrating everything that makes the Square Mile great, we asked a professional tour guide to recommend his favourite City spots. All Hallows By The Tower looks lonely. A dual carriageway cuts her off from the City, and behind her, the Tower of London [...]
Win a Luxury Retreat at Pennyhill Park or The Manor House August 6, 2025 THIS PRIZE DRAW IS NOW CLOSED City Winners has partnered with Exclusive Collection to offer the chance to win one of two luxury retreat prizes. The first prize is a stunning retreat for two at Pennyhill Park in Surrey, and the second prize is a stay at The Manor House in The Cotswolds. Both prizes [...]
Here’s why the Simmons bar was never going to last August 6, 2025 It should have worked. On every level. Millennial pink neon art, reliably late opening hours, chugging cheap cocktails to disco playlists. Who doesn’t like disco playlists? And yet, after taking the “tough decision” to close four bars, Simmons has gone into administration, owing millions to the bank and tax collectors. When Simmons launched in 2013, [...]