The Rose and the Ring at The Charterhouse: How to enjoy country opera within the Square Mile May 19, 2016 The Rose and The Ringw | The Charterhouse | ★★★★★ Country-house opera is a peculiar experience. You dress up, park your car on a rich Englishman’s estate, drink champagne and have a picnic, all the while being immersed in the operatic experience. The Charterhouse hosted a City-based version last week with a riotous production of [...]
Jeff Koons: Now at Damien Hirst’s Newport Street gallery features Three Ball 50/50 Tank, Balloon Monkey (Blue) and Bowl With Eggs (Pink) among other star attractions May 19, 2016 Jeff Koons: Now | Newport Street gallery | ★★★★★ Whatever your opinion of Damien Hirst’s own artwork, it’s hard to fault his activity as a collector and proprietor of the fantastic Newport Street gallery. A strong start with his debut exhibition of John Hoyland paintings continues in this blockbuster survey of Jeff Koons: Now. Hirst’s [...]
David Baddiel’s My Family: Not the Sitcom at The Menier Chocolate Factory is deeply personal, cathartic and very, very funny May 19, 2016 David Baddiel – My Family: Not the Sitcom | The Menier Chocolate Factory | ★★★★☆ A couple of years ago, after a long hiatus, David Baddiel returned to stand-up. Fame: Not the Musical was a wide-ranging investigation of what it means to be famous; it wove together personal anecdotes and dick jokes to produce a show [...]
Huge blue diamond breaks new auction record with £39.6 million sale May 19, 2016 The “Oppenheimer Blue” diamond has become the most expensive diamond ever sold at auction, fetching SFr 56.9m (or £39.6m) during a Christie’s sale in Geneva. It is believed to be the largest Vivid Blue diamond to ever go under the hammer, weighing a massive 14.62 carats. The diamond was bought by a mysterious unnamed buyer, who paid [...]
Doom 2016 review: Bethesda’s demon-blasting Martian hellscape is the best shooter of the year so far May 18, 2016 The Battlefield franchise sparked a fevered debate this week over its decision to stage its upcoming first-person shooter in the trenches of the first World War. Should a conflict synonymous with futile loss of human life be used as the setting for casual entertainment? Should any war, for that matter? The makers of Doom face [...]
Punk 1976-1978 at the British Library review: from the Sex Pistols to Vivienne Westwood, this new exhibition charts anarchy in the UK May 18, 2016 British punk, with its DIY attitude and rejection of establishment values, seems like an unlikely subject for an exhibition at the British Library. In fact, the musical and cultural phenomenon, which crashed into the public consciousness in 1976, was a wake-up call for authors and academics, who had previously given the British music scene far [...]
Mark Hix on how to forage for wild ramsons, Britain’s most underrated herb May 17, 2016 Wild garlic, or ramsons as the common variety is known, is one of the most abundant and tasty herbs growing in the British countryside. It’s a shame more people don’t forage for it and use it in their cooking. There are two main varieties that grow in the UK: three-cornered and hedgerow garlic. The latter [...]
Roka review: A Japanese robatayaki restaurant serving up grilled meat and seafood, sashimi and sushi May 17, 2016 Roka is a Japanese robatayaki restaurant – basically BBQ, but with a lighter touch – serving up grilled meat and seafood, sashimi and sushi. WHERE? 4 Park Pavilion, E14 5FW. On the first and second floors of Park Pavilion, that shiny enclave off the South Colonnade. Floor One is the main restaurant and wine/sake tasting area while [...]
Morgan gives its 65-year-old car a racing makeover. Introducing the Morgan AR Plus 4 May 16, 2016 There is an office deep within Morgan’s ‘frozen in time’ Malvern HQ, where there hangs a picture of Sir John Harvey-Jones. He was the star of Troubleshooter, the 1990 BBC TV series that made Morgan famous again. “Modernise or die” was Sir John’s advice for the firm. It didn’t. But neither did it die, and [...]
Long Weekend: Healthouse Las Dunas in Marbella, the five star detox hotel with a menu created by a two-Michelin-starred chef May 16, 2016 The weekend: Smoke too much? Drink too much? Check into Healthouse Las Dunas, where they don’t let you do very much at all. Its detox programmes – lasting between two and 21 nights – use a blend of healthy fine-dining, medical consultations, cooking lessons and spa treatments to relax and re-educate its guests. Or just [...]