Weiner review: US politician Anthony Weiner stars in the first truly Shakespearean documentary about dick pics July 8, 2016 If you’ve heard of Anthony Weiner, chances are it’s because you know him as the US politician with a penchant for sending pictures of his junk to ladies over the internet. This exceptional documentary follows him from the start of his ill-fated campaign to become Mayor of New York City, shortly after the first scandal [...]
Maggie’s Plan shoots for playful rom-com but gets snarled up in “total sociopath” territory July 8, 2016 In off-beat romantic comedy Maggie’s Plan, a half-adorable, half-infuriating woman (Greta Gerwig) who wants a baby put in her post-haste forgoes both the sweaty method and the tricky paperwork. Instead she takes receipt of a sample of gunk from a helpful old school friend turned artisan pickle salesman, before falling in love with a married [...]
Property of the Week: Agent Lurot Brand is listing this house in Boyne Terrace Mews in Holland Park under two prices – with their services or without July 8, 2016 Boyne Terrace Mews, Holland Park, £3.75m/£5.75m A rare opportunity has come onto the market in Holland Park to custom build an ideal five bedroom house with the help of an agent who’s already done all the tricky paperwork. Getting planning permission to turn this mews house in a cul-de-sac in Landsdowne Road would have been tricky [...]
Opinion: Buying agent Property Vision on the immediate winners and losers of Brexit in the London property market July 8, 2016 Following the referendum results, buyers are trying to work out what Brexit will mean for them – but I'm not sure anyone has a definitive answer to that yet. I have watched with interest the commentary from the selling agents and developers, promising a wall of dollar and euro-based cash heading for the London market. [...]
Daydreaming with Stanley Kubrick: A new Somerset House exhibition is dedicated to works inspired by the lauded film-maker July 7, 2016 The final scene in A Clockwork Orange, known as the “Ascot fantasy” sees a young woman writhe in ecstasy on top of Malcolm McDowell. Prior to the filming of the scene, director Stanley Kubrick was introduced to the girl in her trailer. “Could you, erm, drop your robe,” he asked. She did. Kubrick walked out. [...]
Eight of the best bottles of bourbon, from Hudson’s whiskey to Old Forester July 7, 2016 Bourbon is the American spirit. This is the sort of line that might be used in an advert, but it’s true – bourbon is only bourbon if it’s brewed in the USA. And for some purists, only Kentucky will do. The most well known American whiskey is Jack Daniels, which uses the same method of [...]
Georgia O’Keeffe at the Tate Modern: flowers and skulls abound, but don’t mention vaginas July 7, 2016 A teacher in America was recently fired for saying the word “vagina” in front of her class during a discussion about Georgia O’Keeffe’s series of flower paintings. O’Keeffe would be mad about this for two reasons: firstly, the sheer ludicrousness of her puritanical home country, where women can’t so much as mention their genitals without [...]
The newly crowned king of pastry Pierre Hermé talks about getting a sweet deal July 7, 2016 This time, it was personal. Experts across the world had voted on the world’s best pastry chef for two years running, and neither time did the accolade go to a Frenchman. For this proud nation of dessert-makers, this is tantamount to a national disgrace. This year Pierre Hermé, the man variously called the Picasso of [...]
The infinite bookshop: How Chinese architects created a reflective space using mirrors July 7, 2016 With Amazon, ebooks and high street supermarkets pushing bookshops to the brink of extinction, the few independent sellers remaining have sought to reinvent themselves as shrines to literacy, intimate meeting places for authors and their readers, and serene reading grounds amidst the urban noise. One such spot is Zhongshuge-hangzhou, a newly- opened bookshop in Hong [...]
Luxury hotels are engaged in a race to the top to treat their wealthy customers to ever more extravagant perks, from designer wardrobes to private jets July 7, 2016 Back in the late 1800s, the Savoy famously became the first hotel in London to run on electricity, a sign of true luxury at the time. It also had lifts, “speaking tubes” so that guests could call for a maid and, later, en suite bathrooms with showers. Over the decades, it has continuously evolved to [...]