Mercedes-Benz CLE review: Two become one in luxurious coupe July 25, 2024 Cast your mind back to the early 2000s, a time when Mercedes-Benz seemingly embarked upon a plan to cover every possible niche in the automotive market. The results included oddities such as the R-Class, along with a proliferation of coupes and ‘shooting brake’ estates. Time has moved on, however, and Mercedes is now attempting to [...]
Mnemonic review: Complicité smash is back after 25 years July 25, 2024 Mnemonic | National Theatre Mnemonic, a play about the strange, imaginative act of remembering, is given an extra extra-textual layer in this 25 year revival, as much a rumination on the original as it is a restaging. A production by legendary theatre company Complicité, it’s a thick tangle of overlapping stories, as densely packed as [...]
This new Richmond restaurant is perfect for lunch on the Thames July 24, 2024 A superb new Richmond restaurant makes the Bingham Riverhouse an essential waterside spot for summer, by Adam Bloodworth This grand old house spilling onto the banks of the Thames has always been a fabulous place to eat, but there are two fresh reasons to go. Firstly there’s a new restaurant by South African chef Vanessa [...]
Hello, Dolly! review: Palladium whoops for Imelda Staunton in role of a lifetime July 24, 2024 Imelda Staunton shines in Hello Dolly at the London Palladium
The Hot Wing King at the National Theatre is a spicy play July 23, 2024 Memphis-born Katori Hall is a cultural juggernaut. Audiences may be familiar with her previous work, such as the magnificent, Olivier-winning play The Mountaintop, which imagines the final night of Martin Luther King, her collaboration on the book for Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, or her foray into television with the enjoyably sleazy premium soap opera [...]
Paris hotels: Where to stay during the Olympic Games July 23, 2024 Paris’ Avenue des Champs-Élysées will shelve its reputation for designer shopping to prioritise sport these coming weeks, as the Paris Olympics sprint into action. The Victorian Grand Palais venue will house the taekwondo and fencing Olympic and Paralympics and swimmers will brave the Seine river – which runs close to the Champs-Élysées – for the [...]
DeLorean DMC-12 restomod: Fast forward to the future July 23, 2024 Cocaine trafficking. Blackmail. An FBI sting operation. Terrorism. Political promises. Boardroom bust-ups. A handsome hero. A supermodel wife. Oh, and a supporting cast of cool cars. The DeLorean DMC-12 is recognisable to almost everyone because of that movie. But the true story of the DeLorean Motor Company, its charismatic founder and its catastrophic downfall, seems almost [...]
Why now is the summer of sake: Where to drink this amazing wine July 23, 2024 This is the summer of sake in London – and about time too. I had been under the misguided impression that all sake was rough and intensely boozy, the type of drink one hocks back as a dare. However, despite a fairly high alcohol percentage, sake is relatively low in acidity and has a graceful [...]
The British Pullman is hosting cabaret nights on its 1920s train July 23, 2024 Why do we all go giddy for the British Pullman? On paper, it’s just an old train, serving posh nosh, rolling on the same steel that ashen bankers do their daily schlep. And yet when Belmond’s Pullman is uttered something funny happens: pupils flare, envy foams. Atavistic instincts signal to the listener that being aboard [...]
How to help save the rainforest in Peru while you travel July 22, 2024 The air is thick under the humid rainforest canopy in Peru’s Amazonian basin. Insects hum and the squawks of circling macaws echo through the trees. I’m silently crouching on the forest floor when the rainforest ambience is briefly interrupted by gasps as a large tarantula leaps out of a hole and darts toward me. It’s [...]