BU21 play review: London terror drama justifies transfer to Trafalgar Studios January 12, 2017 A plane explodes over West London. It’s been shot, we are told, by a handheld missile launched somewhere in Vauxhall. The wreckage kills hundreds, injures hundreds more, and reduces most of Fulham to rubble. Part of the force of Stuart Slade’s courageous, bitterly funny play comes from its plausibility – there is a sense, morbid [...]
Manchester by the Sea starring Casey Affleck deserves its Oscar buzz January 12, 2017 Regular Scorsese collaborator Kenneth Lonergan’s first film in five years has become an Oscar front runner, with rapturous receptions on the film festival circuit and a win at last weekend’s Golden Globes. Set in the titular Massachusetts town, a restrained, quiet handy man (Casey Affleck) returns to his former home in the aftermath of his [...]
Fashion industry blues: Sector falters as it loses £750m and sales suffer deepest decline since 2009 January 12, 2017 Britain's fashion market struck a feeble pose last year, when it suffered its deepest sales decline since August 2009, according to figures from Kantar Worldpanel. Sales fell by two per cent in the 52 weeks to 18 December compared to the year before, Kantar found, knocking nearly £750m off its total value. In October, Kantar had already [...]
Ember, on the street where the Great Fire of London started, wants to light a fire in City workers’ bellies January 10, 2017 Opened in October of last year, Ember is a smart, subterranean drinking and dining spot on Pudding Lane with a focus on pan-Asian cuisine, original cocktails and small sharing plates. Expect contemporary presentation with carefully considered flavours and curated drinks pairings, rather than the Chinese curry from your local. In the evenings the place takes [...]
Our chef columnist Mark Hix on his enduring love for black pudding and the dish that made him fall in love with it January 10, 2017 I’ve been hooked on black pudding ever since it first passed my lips as a kid. There was just something about it I loved, even though the blood pudding I grew up with probably contained way too much rusk or filler and not enough actual meat, which was cheap and low quality. Maybe it was [...]
McLaren 675LT Spider review: We take the fastest car around the Top Gear test track on the roads of Sussex and Surrey January 9, 2017 Hard to believe it’s just seven months since Chris Evans burst onto our screens as the new host of Top Gear. Yet five tumultuous weeks later, he’d quit, ego and reputation irrevocably dented. Evans did gain something positive from his double-act with Matt LeBlanc, though: a McLaren 675LT. Driven by the Stig, the fluoro-green supercar [...]
In pictures: VW has given its classic camper van a futuristic, driverless revamp with the ID Buzz January 9, 2017 Volkswagen's classic camper van has been a symbol of hippie-dom for decades now – but flower power types may find it hard to love its sleek new update. Forget snazzy new supercars – VW presented its ID Buzz concept at the Detroit Auto Show, which began yesterday, dubbing it a "multi-functional vehicle of a new era". The [...]
Laurence King, founder of the eponymous publisher, talks adult colouring books, soviets, Ezra Pound and anti-digital January 9, 2017 "We caused a shortage of felt pens in Brazil,” says Laurence King, founder of Laurence King Publishing, the creator of the original adult colouring book that sparked the recent craze. In 2013, the firm published the Secret Garden, illustrated by Johanna Basford. In the first two years, it sold 250,000 copies. “It was then we became [...]
Focus On Bayswater: Why Notting Hill’s overlooked neighbour is the next big central London investment opportunity January 6, 2017 Around any piece of prime central London, you’ll find a forlorn district on the outskirts whose fortune has improved immeasurably in recent years. Priced out of premium areas, buyers are increasingly moving to these formerly unpopular areas in search of space and affordability – and changing these areas in the process. Bayswater is a prime [...]
Long Weekend review: We brush up on our swing at this luxury golf and tennis resort in Marbella January 6, 2017 The Weekend: You’ll have to make some pretty tough choices at Puente Romano. It’s more than likely to be sunny, so you could build up a sweat on the tennis court, or on a lounger. Choose which pool to swim in, or go to the beach. Have a massage or a facial. And then you [...]