Now trending: The simple tile is the unsung hero of 21st century interior design; here are some of the best to transform your home June 29, 2016 There is a story, probably apocryphal, that when architects were designing Apple’s new Cupertino headquarters, Steve Jobs spent a few minutes looking at the blueprints before telling the architects to go away and make the building half a foot longer. “Half a foot? How on earth will that make a difference?” they implored, knowing it [...]
My House: Make-up artist Laura Pye, whose portfolio includes working backstage at the BAFTAs, talks about her converted church in Stepney June 29, 2016 The flat is in a converted church, so it has loads of funny architectural quirks where the developers had to work around existing features. My favourite part is the beautiful stained glass windows, which let in loads of natural light. I’m a make-up artist so that’s really important; it means I can invite people round [...]
Our columnist Mark Hix on the importance of buying sustainable caviar and branching out into piranha June 28, 2016 I was introduced to Mottra caviar some eight years ago and have never looked back. Caviar always has – and always will be – one of those ingredients with luxury status. There have, however, been issues with its sustainability over the years: sturgeon stocks have depleted in many parts of the world because of the [...]
Working Lunch: Clockjack City review, EC3R – former Centre Parcs and Terra Firma bosses open a delivery-only rotisserie kitchen in the Square Mile June 28, 2016 Clockjack City 3a Botolph Alley, EC3R WHAT? A City-based kitchen devoted to serving organic, free-range rotisserie chicken, wraps and salads to the fine folk of the Square Mile. Everything’s made fresh on site – even the sauces – and there are even some bite-size baked goods from the Ripe Banana Co for dessert, which prides [...]
What it’s like to take on one of the world’s toughest race tracks in the 2017 Nissan GT-R June 27, 2016 Nearly 50 drivers and motorcyclists have died at Spa-Francorchamps since the first race there in 1922. Nestled in the lush green hills of the Belgian Ardennes, this tortuously twisty circuit is second only to the Nurburgring for morbid notoriety. So it’s with some trepidation that – having signed a lengthy disclaimer – I don my [...]
Independence Day: Resurgence is a bewildering montage of CGI disasters and giant alien spaceships June 27, 2016 Independence Day: Resurgence is pitched as an antidote to the gritty movies ushered in by the age of the super-hero blockbuster. Sometimes, however, the cure can be worse than the disease. The original Independence Day, now 20 years old, was a bona fide cinematic event, expanding the boundaries of what was possible with CGI; the [...]
Barbu review: A sexy, hairy and acrobatic exploration of the history of circus June 27, 2016 ★★★★★ | Spiegeltent, London Wonderground An acrobatic circus and dance act from the most hirsute recesses of Quebec, Barbu dismantles preconceived notions of masculinity and then rebuilds them into something new using hula hoops, see-saws, ribbons and swings. Several large, beautiful men cavort and spin about the stage, like lumberjacks trapped in a salad spinner, [...]
Painters’ Paintings at the National Gallery review: a thought-provoking exhibition featuring Freud, Matisse, Degas, Reynolds and Van Dyck June 27, 2016 ★★☆☆☆ | National Gallery Painters’ Paintings is a highly unusual exhibition in that it imposes a context onto its collection that many visitors may never have considered before; it is surprising to learn that the National Gallery possesses some 70 paintings that were owned by the other painters it displays. It takes as a starting [...]
Miss Revolutionary Idol Berserker at the Barbican review: An exotic explosion of cabaret that won’t be to everyone’s taste June 27, 2016 ★★★☆☆ | Barbican Fancy spending an evening in a sweltering sub-basement – where the room and all its furnishings are wrapped in plastic? How about if you are too? Kitted out in earplugs and a disposable plastic poncho, which acts as your own uncomfortably sticky sauna? And what if you’re screamed at, serenaded, spat upon, and [...]
New films out this week: reviews of Secret Life of Pets and Elvis Nixon June 27, 2016 Elvis Nixon | Dir. Liza Johnson | ★★★☆☆ A comedy about the real life meeting between Presley (Michael Shannon) and Nixon (Kevin Spacey) that resulted in the US National Archive's most requested photograph. The film makes no bones of the fact that this is a mostly fictional portrayal of how their meeting transpired, and so aims [...]