2014 Christmas gift ideas: Must-have gadgets from Bose speakers to Dyson fans and the iPhone 6 Plus December 2, 2014 Our pick of the must-have gadgets this festive season. Bose SoundTouch 20 Excellent sound quality and an easy-to-navigate app makes this wireless speaker system – now with Spotify connectivity – one of the best on the market. £349.95 currys.co.uk iPhone 6 Plus Love your iPhone but wish it were a few sizes bigger? [...]
The best take-away Christmas lunch: From Benugo’s hot roast turkey sandwich to Itsu’s “aggressively disgusting” pot of chicken December 1, 2014 December is upon us and it’s now perfectly acceptable to buy a take-away Christmas lunch – our sandwich committee checked out some of the most popular. Fred’s at Tesco Thanksgiving Sandwich Turkey, vegetable crisps, tomato, lettuce, cucumber, brie ★★★☆☆ Full marks for presentation but zero for practicality; trying to fit this [...]
Car review: The Audi S6 may have Porsche performance but lacks drama December 1, 2014 I’m in the outside lane of the motorway, well into three-figure speeds, chasing a sales rep in a Vauxhall Insignia. I’m wishing the aggressive LED headlights on the new Audi S6 would encourage him to move over and let me make some real progress. Eventually he does; I squeeze the S6’s throttle and [...]
Not convinced? December 1, 2014 CHECK OUT THESE ALTERNATIVES… BMW 550I M SPORT PRICE: £57,910 0-62MPH: 4.6 secs TOP SPEED: 155mph CO2 G/KM: 206g/km MPG COMBINED: 32.8mpg THE VERDICT: DESIGN Four Stars PERFORMANCE Four Stars PRACTICALITY Five Stars VALUE FOR MONEY Three Stars MASERATI GHIBLI V6 S PRICE: £63,760 0-62MPH: 5.0 secs TOP SPEED: 177mph CO2 G/KM: 242g/km MPG COMBINED: 27.2mpg THE VERDICT: DESIGN [...]
The best snow gear for the 2014-15 winter ski season: From Canada Goose parkas to Garmin watches November 30, 2014 Keith Perry checks out the best mountainwear for the 2014-15 season, from alpine watches to arctic parkas, light-sensitive snow goggles and transceivers. Canada Goose parka No-one knows more about surviving sub zero temperatures than the Canadians. This mid-thigh length coat comes with storm flaps, heavy duty cuffs and Coyote fur ruff (faux fur [...]
Film review: Concerning Violence November 28, 2014 Cert 15 | ★★★★☆ The first revelation in Concerning Violence is that Lauryn Hill’s been doing more with her days than massacring her back catalogue and signing up to tax evasion schemes. She provides the soulful voiceover for this documentary about the end of colonial rule in Africa, drawing on text from pioneering anti-colonial [...]
Photography review: Guy Bourdin: Image-Maker November 28, 2014 Somerset House | ★★★★☆ Guy Bourdin: Image-Maker at Somerset House begins with a largely unpublished series of surreal fashion images charting a road trip from London to Brighton with a car-load of Charles Jourdan shoes and a pair of mannequin legs. The legs strut across the frames, both a presence and an absence, suggesting [...]
Photography review: Conflict, the Photography November 28, 2014 Tate Modern | ★★★★★ In Tate Modern’s sprawling new exhibition marking a hundred years since the beginning of the First World War, conflict, time and photography add up to a moving meditation on the nature of remembrance. Curator Simon Barker smartly decides to arrange exhibits according to proximity to the conflict, rather than chronologically. [...]
Art review: Post-Pop: East Meets West November 28, 2014 Saatchi Gallery | ★★★★☆ “Have you sold your soul, have you sold your soul, have you sold your soul?” It’s hard to imagine the current crop of Turner Prize nominees making a statement as baldly political as this. While the art of the moment seeks refuge in the obscure, the artists in the Saatchi [...]
Film review: Paddington is sweet as marmalade November 27, 2014 Cert PG | ★★★★☆ Paddington Bear is back and he’s looking… scary. With mangey, greying fur and little sharp teeth, it’s easier to imagine him ripping the throats out of livestock in Alaska than nibbling marmalade sandwiches in west London. Appearances, though, can be deceiving. In spirit, Paddington Bear is cuddlier than [...]