Grapes and wrath: Why wine critic Robert Parker is skipping the famous Bordeaux tasting April 2, 2015 It’s tasting time in Bordeaux, when the wine world flocks to the banks of the Garonne to discover what the latest vintage has to offer. For the next few weeks critics and merchants will sniff, snort, swill and spit their way through hundreds of tastings before passing judgement on the wines of 2014. This [...]
Counter culture: How Melbourne changed the way the entire world enjoys its morning cup of coffee April 2, 2015 There are few places in the world where coffee is taken as seriously as it is in Australia. The country’s unrivalled coffee capital, Melbourne, blazed the trail for the cold drips, aero-presses and cupping that have become de rigueur in hipster coffee houses across the world. Every day Melbourne handles 30 tonnes of coffee beans. [...]
In praise of solitude: What does time alone mean to you? April 2, 2015 Our phones never stop ringing. Emails flood our inboxes. Meetings are an integral part of our working lives (not to mention pre-meetings and de-briefings). Smartphones keep us connected with our friends and family during the day and our bosses when we’re at home at night. In 2015, most of us can quite honestly say they [...]
Beautiful things: Luxury laptop bags, vibrant pocket handkerchiefs and outlandish sunglasses April 2, 2015 Time was, the laptop bag was an uglier, floppier version of the briefcase. Not any more. Italian luxury bag maker Piquadro tasked its master-craftsmen with coming up with a rucksack befitting of the machine you rely upon for work, play and every other aspect of modern life. The company’s Sartoria made-to-order service makes it possible [...]
A new exhibition celebrates the work of era-defining illustrator Mac Conner April 2, 2015 In the 1940s and 50s, before advancements in print technology and the proliferation of photography, ad companies relied on illustrators to give their brands a visual identity. Adverts in popular magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Women’s Day and Colliers established a shorthand for aspirational, middle-class American living; fedoras, cigarette holders, swooning large-eyed women and men in [...]
Liquid Spaces: A new book explores the way our perception of space can be altered April 2, 2015 Korean artist Jee Young Lee’s installation pieces transform 3x6m boxes into fantastical, surreal dreamscapes. In some, scores of painted fans form psychedelic clouds, or a swirling ocean sucking the artist into its centre. Others, inspired by childhood memories, feature the artist in nostalgic or frightening environments, filled with giant insects, sinister tentacles, or startled crows [...]
Review: Fast & Furious 7 is still one hell of a ride April 1, 2015 Cert 12a | ★★★★☆ Fast & Furious 7 – or as the Japanese call it, Wild Speed: Sky Mission – is quite possibly the dumbest movie of the year so far. But it’s also an absolute blast. All the expected elements are here in furious abundance: cars, family, bromance, explosions, criminality, loyalty and [...]
What to do in London this Easter weekend April 1, 2015 The long Easter weekend is almost upon us and here’s what London has to offer. 500 Years of Hampton Court Palace Historic Royal Palaces is throwing a birthday bash for King Henry VIII’s former residence. Visitors during the day will be greeted by five royal carriages, specially created for the occasion, while William Shakespeare and [...]
Yarde sees mileage in World Cup ambition April 1, 2015 Harlequins winger struggled to watch Six Nations after England snub but is bent on winning back place RENDERED powerless to influence England’s ultimately forlorn Six Nations title challenge, Harlequins speedster Marland Yarde has resolved to avoid a repeat of that painful scenario during this autumn’s home World Cup. There remains work to do, though. Yarde [...]
Platini in thirdparty ban plea to Borgen boss April 1, 2015 FOOTBALL’S European governing body Uefa and players’ union FifPro have joined forces to lobby the European Commission to outlaw the controversial practice of third-party ownership (TPO). TPO – when a player’s transfer value is owned in full or part by a speculating investor – is already banned at all levels in England, having gained notoriety [...]