Games round-up: Observation and Heaven’s Vault reviews June 5, 2019 Observation Platform: PC, PS4 Observation is one hell of a proposition: a follow-up to the superlative indie horror game Stories Untold, set in a space station designed by alumni of Alien: Isolation, in which you control a rogue AI inspired by HAL from 2001. And for the most part, it lives up to that promise. [...]
Weekly Grill: Double Michelin starred chef Hélène Darroze talks about her new restaurant in Paris, the joy of boiled eggs and cooking for Jacques Chirac June 3, 2019 Who are you and what do you do? My name is Hélène Darroze, I am a cuisinière and mother. Most Londoners will know me from my eponymous restaurant, Hélène Darroze at the Connaught, which holds two Michelin stars. What’s new? I’m opening a new restaurant, Marsan in Paris. It’s in the same location as my [...]
Ferrari Dino ‘Evo’ review: This modified Italian stallion is a £300,000 delight June 3, 2019 Ferraris are works of automotive art, says conventional wisdom; modifying one is like daubing Dulux on the Sistine Chapel. Not that Kevin O’Rourke seems concerned. His Ferrari Dino ‘Evo’ will be among the star cars at London Concours tomorrow and Thursday, while another Dino built by his company, Mototechnique – the 400hp, F40-engined ‘Monza’ – [...]
HP Sauce changes iconic brown sauce label to show Big Ben covered in scaffolding May 31, 2019 HP Sauce has changed its label for the first time in 123 years to reflect the fact that Big Ben is currently draped in scaffolding. The brown sauce bottle's famous label featuring Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Bridge will now reflect the refurbishment works that have seen Big Ben go silent since August 2017. [...]
Gourmet Burger Kitchen sales begin to recover after £4.6bn loss May 29, 2019 Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) has posted a partial recovery in sales since it suffered a record £4.6bn loss last year, when it got the green light for a string of restaurant closures. Read more: Creditors give green light to Gourmet Burger Kitchen closures The restaurant chain’s like-for-like sales fell 9.7 per cent in the first six [...]
Rage 2 review: This post-apocalyptic zombie sequel falls flat despite some tight gunplay May 24, 2019 On the face of it, it’s strange that this game even exists, given that the original Rage, released in 2011, sold poorly and left little cultural impression. After playing this drab, repetitive sequel, I’m still unsure why they decided to bring it back for a second outing. I heard the faint ringing of alarm bells [...]
John Wick 3 review: Keanu Reeves shines in the action franchise’s brilliant third installment May 24, 2019 The John Wick films are so far ahead of other Hollywood action movies that this third installment is the best the genre has produced in recent years, without even being the best film in the franchise. We pick up immediately after the end of Chapter 2, with Wick having been declared ‘excommunicado’ from the High [...]
Aladdin review: Disney fails to justify remaking the classic animation May 24, 2019 The first thing you notice about this $180m live-action reboot of Disney’s beloved 1992 animation is the unexpected poverty of its visuals. The set design has an end-of-year school play vibe, all gaudy colours and plywood walls stuck together with adhesive. It feels more Disneyland than Disney. The widespread scepticism that greeted Guy Ritchie’s installment [...]
Gaps between tenancies can be a real money sink. Here’s how to avoid them May 24, 2019 Most experienced landlords will know that the biggest real losses come from long periods between tenancies, where they can end up haemorrhaging money if the presentation and marketing of their property isn’t well managed. The areas that are often the cause of these voids are: Difficulty in access for viewings Poor presentation Too high a [...]
Our Town review: Thornton Wilder’s classic play about everyday life comes to Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre May 24, 2019 Thornton Wilder’s 1938 play Our Town is a kind of time capsule, a snapshot of everyday life in a New Hampshire town during the first years of the 20th century. The fourth-wall breaking narrator says as much, promising to bury the play’s text in a box alongside the US constitution, a bible and a copy [...]