Doctor Strange review: The tightest, funniest, most refreshing super-hero movie in years October 27, 2016 While all around super-hero franchises are collapsing under their own grotesque weight – Batman v Superman, X-Men Apocalypse, Suicide Squad – Marvel stands alone in its uncanny ability to churn out hit after hit. With Doctor Strange, it’s just showing off. Its lead character is a beloved but relatively fringe inhabitant of the Marvel Universe, [...]
A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer review: Cancer cells dance around inflatable tumours in this musical about disease October 27, 2016 A musical in which colourful cancer cells fart about on stage like rejected Saturday morning cartoon characters, A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer is an unexpectedly jazzy and frenetic show. It dissects and digests the bleak world of terminal illness with a song and a dance, as tumours slowly emerge from the stage [...]
Land of Beds: Running a family business isn’t always bed-lam October 27, 2016 With any family business, when fresh blood comes along, they need to make their mark,” says Mike Murray, managing director of Land of Beds. In 2008, that’s exactly what he did when he joined the family business, embarking on the process of taking the reins from his father, Michael Murray (Senior) – who 30 years [...]
The Big Bang 30 years on: How the City went from bowler hats and liquid lunches to smartphones and tossed salads October 26, 2016 There’s now a whole generation of City workers – and City A.M. readers – who weren’t even born when the markets were deregulated back in 1986. Standing in Leadenhall Market on a week-day afternoon, they could be forgiven for thinking the City hadn’t changed all that much over the last 30 years. Hundreds of besuited [...]
Our resident chef Mark Hix on what to do with all those extra prawns you’ve got lying around October 26, 2016 As a kid I used to fish for prawns in the autumn and winter months off the end of the pier in West Bay with drop nets. Occasionally it would be quite productive, but more often than not I would barely get enough for a prawn cocktail. Commercial prawn fishermen are hard to find down [...]
The economics of iceberg homes: Are mega-basements just a sunk cost? October 26, 2016 Even if you’re rich, London’s above-ground space limitations and conservation rules can put the kibosh on building your dream home. If you have a vision of putting a swimming pool, cinema or bowling alley in your Georgian terrace, you’ll probably have to think vertically to realise it. Over the last decade, iceberg basements have become [...]
Mercedes-Benz has unveiled its X-Class pickup truck and it’s an absolute monster October 26, 2016 Ever wondered what luxury car enthusiasts do when they have to, say, haul a cow carcass across many acres of rough farmland? Well, wonder no more – for Mercedes-Benz has unveiled its X-Class pickup truck, and it is a total monster. Mercedes said its first "premium truck" comes in two catchily-named versions. First, the "powerful adventurer", featuring all the strengths of [...]
Start with a blank canvas: How to invest in the art market October 26, 2016 For years the idea of purchasing art as an investment was frowned upon by purists in the art world – the two should be separate, like church and state. Art as investment is certainly not for everyone: the market is quite illiquid, prices can be volatile, and storage costs can outweigh profits. But as investors [...]
Time is money: Are luxury watches a good investment? October 26, 2016 The current wave of smartwatches, like any new technology, will be outdated by the time you’ve finished reading this article. But certain classic watches not only tell the time, they increase in value with it. While the poorest performing of all the other asset classes (barring furniture), the watch sub-category of the Knight Frank Luxury [...]
Tesco chairman John Allan admits prices WILL go up due to weak sterling and higher inflation October 25, 2016 John Allan, the chairman of Tesco, has admitted that prices will increase at supermarkets if the pound stays at its current level. The chain temporarily pulled some of its products, including Marmite and PG Tips, from its online stores earlier this month after its supplier, Unilever, demanded a 10 per cent increase in prices due to [...]