Mini Clubman motoring review: Mini’s big dream has been realised with the Clubman November 30, 2015 The Mini hatch is a popular car for good reason. Not only does it look good, it feels suitably luxurious inside and it’s great to drive. Perhaps this is why it’s sold by the bucket-load – even edging into the top 10 best selling cars of 2015 so far. But the Mini has never excelled [...]
Bridge of Spies, Carol and The Good Dinosaur: This weekend’s new film releases reviewed November 27, 2015 Bridge of Spies (12A): Dir: Steven Spielberg ★★★★☆ Steven Spielberg directs Tom Hanks for the fourth time, in the true(ish) story of an insurance lawyer (Hanks) forced to defend a Russian spy (Mark Rylance) caught in New York at the height of the Cold War. His belief that every man deserves a fair trial makes [...]
Grand Designs’ Kevin McCloud talks Britain’s House of the Year 2015 November 27, 2015 It is a curious paradox that, while so many of us want to own our own homes, so few get to build one. Finances and the planning system seem to conspire, with the result that personalisation of where we live is frequently restricted to some amateur interior design. But there is a way to get [...]
The ENO’s Mikado is a glorious reinvention of a classic November 27, 2015 The ENO’s production of The Mikado, first directed by Jonathan Miller in 1986 and now in its 14th revival, is beloved of fans of light opera. And rightly so; it’s Gilbert and Sullivan at its ridiculous, ebullient best. Famously stripped of the visual trappings of late 19th century Japan, The Mikado looks like a Cole [...]
What makes a landmark? Inside world-renowned architectural firm Foster & Partners November 27, 2015 The Shard, the Cheesegrater, the Walkie-Talkie… London has an endearing habit of adopting its landmarks – not just into its psyche – but into its lexicon. Evidently, this shared language has emerged to soften the blow when an uncharacteristically titanic structure barges its way onto our skyline. The exception to this rule is The Gherkin, [...]
On safari in Zimbabwe and Botswana November 27, 2015 It took me a long time to feel like I was in Zimbabwe. I had braced myself for a very different experience than the one I was having. If I’m honest, I was expecting to have to deal with nasty officials, hawkers, and dodgy taxi drivers. But instead I was standing next to Victoria Falls [...]
In a city where property is in short supply, why do buildings still lie derelict? November 27, 2015 From the top floor the Royal Docks’ Millennium Mills there’s a stomach-churning, 10 storey hole in the floor. It used to house a Rube Goldberg-esque flour-processing helterskelter back in the building’s heyday in the first half of the last century. Now it’s little more than a skeleton, stripped back to brick and concrete. The 1933 [...]
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 movie review: Last instalment draws the film series to an entertaining conclusion November 20, 2015 Cert 12A | ★★★★☆ The Hunger Games is a rarity in Hollywood franchises; all three instalments have maintained a high standard. Action-packed, intelligent stories with solid performances, and in Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss a heroine the audiences can get behind. Can the finale, wedged between the loud juggernauts of Bond and Star Wars, deliver an end [...]
The Dressmaker, Steve McQueen, The Perfect Guy and Momentum: This weekend’s new films reviewed November 20, 2015 The Dressmaker | Cert 15 ★★★☆☆ A quirky comedy-drama that’s lifted out of the ordinary by Kate Winslet as glamorous seamstress Tilly. Her character returns to her home in Australia to care for her mother. But once she arrives, old rumours linking her to a murder in her childhood resurface, and she rekindles a romance with [...]
I Want My Hat Back review: National Theatre’s production of beloved children’s book sends kids wild November 20, 2015 National Theatre | ★★★★★ So there’s this bear, right, and he’s got an amazing hat. All red and pointy and with an elastic strap to keep it nice and secure on his big bear head. Where did the hat come from? It doesn’t matter. What matters is where it goes. Because shortly after the bear falls [...]