10-Week fitness challenge the get-fit diary of an out of shape office worker April 7, 2014 Steve is undertaking a 10 week “total body transformation” programme with No.1 Fitness, which involves four sessions at the gym a week, a strictly controlled diet and absolutely no alcohol under any circumstances whatsoever (not even a little bit, just to take the edge off…). Here’s how it’s going: BEFORE I started I thought giving [...]
Prague: famed for its beauty, and its stag dos April 6, 2014 Can you escape the dawdling Americans and the lairy parties THE trouble with cities like Prague is twofold: one, their wholehearted embrace of tourism and two, Americans. Formerly ravaged by Soviet rule (a guide on a river tour noted the site of a statue of “that monster” Stalin), then opened up for the beer-swilling stags [...]
Scared of flying? Five top tips for staying in control while in the air April 6, 2014 GLOBAL travel is at the heart of both our working and personal lives, yet one in six of us suffers from pteromerhanophobia – the fear of flying. For many, the Malaysian Airlines tragedy brought this into sharp focus; we all know that the chance of disaster is minute, but once the nagging doubt creeps in [...]
48 hours in… Toronto April 6, 2014 WHERE TO STAY When it comes to luxury accommodation, there’s only one place to stay in Toronto: the Four Seasons. The chain started in Toronto, and the flagship duly embodies the Four Seasons’ signature mix of style and indulgence. WHERE TO EAT Complete with exposed brick-work and low-wattage lightbulbs, Buca has plenty of style, and [...]
Days of future caste April 3, 2014 FILM DIVERGENT CERT 12a Three Stars IN DIVERGENT a special young woman battles against a repressive society to achieve her true potential. Based on the first in a series of “Young Adult” novels by Veronica Roth, and with a sequel already confirmed, Divergent is unoriginal but sophisticated, engaging and surprisingly fun. I don’t wish to [...]
Richard Ayaode is a Double visionary April 3, 2014 FILM THE DOUBLE Cert 15 Four Stars RICHARD Ayoade’s first film, 2011’s Submarine, shuffled bashfully through the beaches and bedrooms of suburban seaside adolescence, stopping for cuddles, puppy love and the odd mumbled voice-over. For his second, loose Dostoevsky adaptation The Double, he dives arms flailing into the chaotic nightmare of adult anomie. It is [...]
Disappointing on a biblical scale April 3, 2014 FILM NOAH Cert 12a Two Stars You probably remember Noah’s Ark from school. It’s the one where the nice man with the beard builds the giant boat to save the furry animals from the massive flood. It’s a simple, morally unambiguous story, and as such it’s is one of the best-loved tales in the Bible. [...]
Making the cut April 2, 2014 Savile Row cutter David Ward on reclaiming 200 years of bespoke excellence THE cutter is instrumental to everything,” says David Ward, one of the most respected purveyors of an ancient sartorial art. Ward has risen to become one of the most respected men on Savile Row thanks to his prowess at cutting the cloth for [...]
Looks good Tumi April 2, 2014 Melissa York talks to Jerome Griffith, CEO of global travel brand Tumi, on how to cater for the modern, tech-obsessed, pet-carrying business traveller TRAVELLING is a lot more complicated than it used to be. There was a time when a dog-eared passport, a backpack and some sturdy walking boots would be enough to take you [...]
The Chapar: Personal shopping 2.0 April 2, 2014 THE phrase “personal shopper” makes me think of Trinny and Susannah dragging sartorially clueless men around the shops in the BBC’s What Not To Wear. These were men whose wives had threatened them with divorce unless they agreed to stop wearing cargo pants with running shoes, socks with sandals or short-sleeve shirts with anything at [...]