Ford is killing off the Ford Focus – but why? April 29, 2025 Thirty years ago, one in five new cars sold in Britain wore a Ford badge. The Escort was the nation’s favourite – as it had been for decades – followed by the Fiesta in second place and the Mondeo in third. Today, Ford has slipped to fifth place in the UK market, behind Volkswagen, BMW, [...]
The Return review: Uberto Pasolini’s take on The Odyssey April 29, 2025 Uberto Pasolini’s new drama comes to cinemas with the curious fate of being compared to a filmthat isn’t even out yet. Christopher Nolan is currently filming his next project The Odyssey, based on Homer’s epic poem. The Return is an adaptation of the final parts of that same poem, meaning scrutiny will be paid to [...]
Holy Cow: A delightfully uplifting , scrappy comedy April 29, 2025 The pursuit of prize-winning cheese is the unlikely goal for an orphaned boy in this unusual but fulfilling comedy-drama. Holy Cow stars Clément Faveau as Totone, an 18-year-old boy living in rural France whose life of drinking and partying comes to a halt when his father dies in a drink-driving accident. Alone and left to [...]
One To One: John & Yoko: John Lennon’s life after the Beatles April 29, 2025 Do we need another film about The Beatles? Hollywood certainly thinks so. Last week the castwas revealed for a four-film series of biopics on the band, directed by Sam Mendes andexpected in 2028. As speculation builds towards those dramatic endeavours, director Kevin MacDonald (The Last King Of Scotland) shines a light on the later years [...]
The Brightening Air: Unbearably tense and brilliantly acted April 29, 2025 After seeing The Brightening Air at the Old Vic, I left the theatre with the overwhelming urge to seize control of my own destiny. It follows an extended family as they prepare to meet after a long time apart. The occasion: the birthday of the blind ex-clergyman Father Pierre. It is a play in which [...]
Paradise ploughed: Laferm Coco is a pastoral oasis in Mauritius April 29, 2025 Wandering through Laferm Coco, you pass through neat little fields packed with guava and papaya and bananas and coconuts and turmeric, all hemmed in by jagged volcanic mountains, the splashes of colour from the produce impossibly saturated beneath a clear blue sky. Elsewhere farmyard animals flap and graze and squabble. There’s a duck pond that [...]
Kioku by Endo at the Old War Office: OWO might be troubled but this sushi restaurant is the real deal April 29, 2025 The Old War Office, or ‘The OWO’ to insufferable industry types, is the most perplexing London hotel opening in decades. After spending over a billion quid turning Churchill’s wartime Cabinet Office into a hotel, industry bigwigs speak in hushed tones of low occupancy. One exec told me the breakfast room had eleven guests one morning [...]
Maradiva: Mauritius in five-star style April 29, 2025 It is rare that I feel an urge to return to a hotel – part of the joy of travel is to experience a place for the first time, after all. But I’ll make an exception for Maradiva, the five star resort in Mauritius where your dreams of borderline-pornographic beachfront perfection are dragged, startled and [...]
Here’s what to look for when buying Provence Rosé April 28, 2025 We all know what those first glimpses of warm sunshine mean for us Brits. Suddenly the green spaces of London are filled with pasty, sun-craving bodies jostling elbow-to-elbow for a hit of vitamin D. Pubs and cafes fortunate enough to reside on the sunny side of the street overflow come lunchtime. Rosé season is upon [...]
Hospitality Like Never Before: Premium Packages for 50 Cent, Davido & Mary J.Blige at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium April 28, 2025 Hospitality Like Never Before: Premium Packages for 50 Cent, Davido & Mary J. Blige at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium On Thursday 3 July, legendary hip-hop and R&B artists 50 Cent and Mary J. Blige will perform alongside Afrobeats star Davido at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. For those seeking a night of entertainment with a sophisticated edge, our [...]