Does the Mazda MX-5 still deserve to be called a sports car? August 28, 2015 The Mazda MX-5 is the world’s bestselling sports car, but it’s never been the quickest. When it launched in the UK in 1990, it offered an enjoyable driving experience combined with top-down convertible thrills for the relatively inexpensive price of £14,500. But the MX-5 failed to move with the times. It cared more about being [...]
Film review: Straight Outta Compton August 27, 2015 Cert 15 | ★★★★☆ Ice Cube spitting F**k Tha Police in front of a jumping Detroit crowd, and the subsequent stage invasion by armed cops, is one of the most exhilarating moments in film this year. That it never actually happened – the band were calmly arrested at their hotel later that night – is largely [...]
Hamlet review: Benedict Cumberbatch shines in this flawed production at the Barbican August 27, 2015 The Barbican | ★★★☆☆ “We are all Hamlet” booms the programme of The Barbican’s – nay, the world’s – fastest-selling play of all time. It means that Hamlet’s such a broad part, he can be played as a lunatic, a depressive, a Machiavellian and even, heaven forbid, a woman. But while we can all be [...]
Hotel Chantelle needs to earn its place on the culinary map August 26, 2015 Hotel Chantelle 23 Orchard St, W1H Tel: 020 7299 2522 FOOD ★★☆☆☆ VALUE ★★☆☆☆ ATMOSPHERE ★★☆☆☆ Hotel Chantelle is terribly exclusive. It has a bouncer, who is in charge of fastening and unfastening a red velvet rope, like you remember from nightclubs in the 1990s. It has a lady in a pencil skirt who stands next to [...]
Will the new Evora 400 revive Lotus? August 24, 2015 Would you spend £72,000 on a Lotus? It’s a key question for the British car company and the answer may determine its future in the luxury motoring market. One man praying that the answer is yes is new head honcho Jean-Marc Gales, who has serious industry history, including a stint as president of Peugeot-Citroen. Over [...]
Restaurant review: Fall down the culinary rabbit hole at Céleste at the Lanesborough hotel August 18, 2015 Céleste at the Lanesborough 9 Hyde Park Corner, SW1X 7TA Tel: 020 7259 5599 These are halcyon days for the London restaurant scene, a time when seemingly everybody is a foodie and every borough in London has at least half a dozen restaurants worth visiting. You can start to take it all for granted, [...]
Demystifying the Italian stallion of the wine world August 18, 2015 Have you ever felt as though the world of wine was an elite club, made up of snobs intent on throwing around words such as “mouthfeel”, “cuvée” and “vinification”? You are not alone. Learning about wine can seem daunting, and plenty of people will try to convince you that their palate is more sophisticated than [...]
Mix it up: The best brunch spots in London August 18, 2015 Brunch, as we all know, is the most important meal of the week. So if you haven’t already, lay down that greasy spoon and brunch like the British invented it (which, in fact, we did in the 1800s). For those chasing the hair of the dog that bit off as much as it could chew, [...]
Jaguar’s XF is a practical beast August 17, 2015 When Jaguar launched the XE, it brought London to a standstill. It was helicoptered over the Thames, chased by a flotilla of speedboats, then escorted through the city by classic Mark II Jaguar police cars. Arriving at a celeb-packed Earls Court, it was serenaded by pop princess Emeli Sande, who performed a new song written [...]
Sardinia: an ancient, strangely empty idyll August 17, 2015 Elle McPherson was being photographed wearing a tiny white string bikini as she waterskied off the coast of Sardinia when I arrived. There was also breaking news that Silvio Berlusconi, currently hosting Vladimir Putin, had just sold his 68 room Bunga-Bunga palace – where he once entertained Tony Blair – to the Saudi Royal Family [...]