Beautiful things: Miyabi knives and science-inspired Adidas trainers March 5, 2015 Chefs are infamously disagreeable, but one area they do tend to agree on is the importance of decent knives. It is widely accepted that the Japanese craft the very best, and these ones made in Seki, central Japan, certainly seem to confirm this. Each handmade utensil is made up of 101 layers of ice-hardened steel. [...]
Against the Tide: A survey of the late, great Richard Diebenkorn March 5, 2015 Few painters capture the openness and light of California like Richard Diebenkorn. His bright and breezy paintings – some abstract, some figurative, some in-between – won him plenty of fans during the 20th century, even if the critics remained nonplussed. In the 50s, when New York was exerting a strong gravitational pull with its distinctive [...]
Tomb raider: Italian photographer Domingo Milella focuses his lens on civilisations past and present March 5, 2015 From the Italian village jutting precariously into the sea to gnarled Turkish rock-faces striped with ancient, indecipherable script; Italian photographer Domingo Milella documents the tussle between civilisation and landscape. For his latest project he embarked on a photographic journey from his home in Bari, Italy, all the way to Mexico City via Cairo, Ankara, Anatolia, [...]
Perfect world: Introducing the Montblanc Heritage Spirit Orbis Terrarum March 5, 2015 Montblanc’s “heritage” as a serious player in watches dates back about a decade, which might make the moniker it’s chosen for its new collection a little bit rum, were it not for the fact that the star piece is such an absolute humdinger. This world timer has the clean-cut look of a classic mid-20th century [...]
Anatomy of a wristwatch: A master watchmaker explains what goes on under the hood March 5, 2015 Mechanical timepieces have the complexity and allure of tiny, self-contained universes. We asked a master watchmaker to explain what goes on under the hood. It was Jaguar’s founding father, William Lyons, who famously said “the car is the closest thing we will ever create to something that is alive.” But the late, great virtuoso English [...]
Why Ferrari’s 458 Spider is a true Italian stallion March 5, 2015 I was in Paris the other week to attend the sale of France’s most talked-about barn find; the classic car collection of Roger Baillon, who made and lost a fortune building trucks. Discovered last year in appalling condition were about 100 of the rarest and most beautiful cars of the 20th century. For four-wheel aficionados, [...]
Alastair Campbell on winners: Are there any left in the Labour party? March 5, 2015 When the political satire In The Loop came out in 2009, the Culture Show did a segment in which the critic Mark Kermode watched the film with Alastair Campbell. Afterwards, a sourfaced Campbell delivered his verdict: “I didn’t find it terribly funny.” Kermode said he had sympathy with any representation of politics as venal and [...]
Cricket Comment: England need player like KP March 4, 2015 He’s a matchwinner and was unfairly let go but a comeback looks unlikely to me KEVIN Pietersen’s sacking last February was unfair and it was a shame for English cricket the way it happened but the timing of incoming ECB chairman Colin Graves seemingly handing him a lifeline has created an unwelcome distraction. England have [...]
Premier League: Gomis scare as Spurs maintain top four chase March 4, 2015 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 3 SWANSEA CITY 2 TOTTENHAM manager Mauricio Pochettino admitted a hangover from Sunday’s Capital One Cup final defeat to Chelsea had threatened to engulf the club before his side maintained their Champions League aspirations with victory over Swansea. There were concerns for Swansea striker Bafetimbi Gomis, a player with a history of fainting, [...]
Premier League: Mourinho reveals how Matic sustained a Wembley injury March 4, 2015 WEST HAM UNITED 0 CHELSEA 1 CHELSEA manager Jose Mourinho revealed midfielder Nemanja Matic twisted his ankle celebrating their Capital One Cup win after eking out three points at West Ham last night. Midfielder Eden Hazard’s goal kept the Blues five points clear at the top of the Premier League with a game in hand [...]