Film review: Life – a snapshot of Hollywood legend James Dean September 24, 2015 Cert 15 | ★★★★☆ If you paid to see a biopic, you used to get your money’s worth. But it seems three-hour cradle-to-grave-athons are fast becoming a thing of the past. These days, one defining moment is plucked from a life and examined from all angles to determine what maketh the man. It must have [...]
Theatre review: Hangmen at the Royal Court September 24, 2015 Hangmen Royal Court Rating: ★★★★★ True feelings are throttled and big questions left hanging in Martin McDonagh’s blacker-than-night comedy. The setting is an Oldham pub owned by Harry Wade, the country’s second-best hangman; the date is 1965, the day after the abolition of hanging. At once proud of his work and jealous of his rival Pierrepoint’s [...]
The future’s bright, the future’s lighting: How new technology is brightening up our cities September 24, 2015 New lighting technologies are transforming the way our cities look at night. Alex Dymoke considers what’s in store. II was astonished,” wrote the German diarist Karl Philipp Moritz in 1782, “at the admirable manner in which the streets are lighted up, compared to which our streets in Berlin make a most miserable show.” His [...]
Lessons in wine: A leisurely stroll through the sublime Medoc region September 22, 2015 Those who love Bordeaux will know that the Left Bank is Cabernet Sauvignon territory while the Right Bank is dominated by Merlot. My apologies to readers who are loyal to the wines of the Right, but today I want to delve further into the wines of the Left. The likes of Petrus and Cheval Blanc [...]
Chutney Mary restaurant review September 22, 2015 Chutney Mary 73 St James’s St, SW1A 1PH FOOD ★★★★☆ VALUE ★★☆☆☆ ATMOSPHERE ★★★★☆ Cost for two with wine: £210 All over the country, people are eating. They’re putting food in their mouths and grinding it into a paste for their digestive tracts to deal with at a later date. In lots of cases, they’re not even preparing [...]
Behold: the City finally has a mixologists’ bar September 22, 2015 I hate to be the one to break it to you, but the Square Mile isn’t a great place for cocktails. Sure, you can now get them in most bars (and even some pubs), but most aren’t worth the lemon they’re garnished with. I think it’s a supply and demand thing. Perhaps understandably, the City [...]
Working Lunch: Le Restaurant de Paul at Tower 42 September 22, 2015 WHAT? The name might bring take-out paninis to mind, but Le Restaurant de Paul is actually the celebrated boulangerie’s second expansion into breakfast, lunch and evening dining. A roomy wine and cocktail bar separates the café from the dining room, the final clue that you’re in no ordinary Paul. WHERE? Paul takes pride of place [...]
Changing Chanel: How the design house has adapted to modern times September 21, 2015 Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only,” said Coco Chanel. “Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.” For Chanel (that’s “Mademoiselle” to you and I) fashion was always more about the inherent predictability of the moment. When [...]
The only way to shoot big game, with wildlife photographer Paul Goldstein September 21, 2015 One June morning I found myself in the back of a mud-splattered four-by-four, the savannah sun beating down upon my head, a torrent of profanities drumming my ears, and a full-grown cheetah eyeing me down the barrel of my Canon lens. As she prowled the long oat grass I struggled to keep her in focus. [...]
Interview: The life of Limmy September 21, 2015 Brian Limmond, AKA Limmy, is the type of comedian you’d have a hard time explaining to your gran. The former web-designer rose to fame with a caustic blog, which was followed up by a sketch-based podcast. He hosts regular webcam sessions and often invites fans to play Counter Strike with him. These days he spends [...]