Road to Cheltenham February 5, 2015 THIS year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup is extremely open with a nice ante-post shape. Dual-King George winner Silviniaco Conti is a class horse, but Paul Nicholls’ inmate has had two cracks at the blue riband event and has failed to even finish in the top three. In fairness to him, there’s nothing to suggest he doesn’t [...]
Experienced Wales can edge past new-look England in Cardiff February 5, 2015 HARRY MADLEY PREVIEWS THE SIX NATIONS CURTAIN-RAISER AND BEN CLEMINSON WITH HIS BEST BETS FOR THE NORTH LONDON DERBY THE ANTICIPATION surrounding the opening fixture of the Six Nations will reach its climax at 8.05pm this evening as Wales host England at the Millennium Stadium, a venue which has seen the Red Rose win just [...]
Improving north London pair set to share spoils at the Lane February 5, 2015 AFTER a poor start to the campaign, Arsene Wenger has turned the negativity around Arsenal into optimism. Performances have improved and the club are favourites on Sporting Index’s FA Cup Index to retain that trophy. The Gunners were never going to win the Premier League this year but victory tomorrow at Tottenham will put them [...]
Maximum excitement on the six nations with sporting index February 5, 2015 THE SIX Nations is a really competitive affair and makes for a great betting heat. Scotland and Italy’s wait for a first title in the new format looks certain to go on, so we are down to four teams who could take glory. Sporting Index traders can’t split England and Ireland on their Outright 60 [...]
Audio visual: Iranian-American artist Ali Banisadr comes to the UK February 5, 2015 East meets west in Iranian-American painter and synaesthete Ali Banisadr’s first ever UK show Celestial and earthly, east and west, figurative and abstract – worlds collide in the work of Ali Banisadr. The Iranian painter specialises in a kind of ornate chaos where the ruffs and plumes of material finery tumble and swirl into spectral, [...]
Rights and wrongs: Examining the humanitarian legacy of photojournalism February 5, 2015 A new exhibition considers the humanitarian legacy of photojournalism in the post-war era. The effect of photojournalism in furthering humanitarian objectives can be explained by the simple fact that it’s harder to ignore wrong-doing when you can see it in plain view. A new exhibition at the Photographers’ Gallery examines the political legacy of photojournalistic [...]
Wood carving February 5, 2015 This winter, treat yourself to Bogner’s achingly cool, lightning quick luxury bamboo ski set Plastic, fibreglass, kevlar, carbon fibre – none of the fancy materials used to make modern skis can match bamboo for flexibility, durability and tensile strength. The qualities of this naturally occurring material make it ideal for carving, gliding and slaloming down [...]
Seeing red February 5, 2015 Salvatore Ferragamo tears up the rulebook and enters the world of casualwear When it comes to fashion, some rules are made to be broken. For 100 years, the craftsmen at made-to-measure connoisseurs Salvatore Ferragamo used only the finest Italian leather to make smart, red carpet-worthy shoes for its Hollywood patrons. Now, in the year of [...]
A weekend of gourmet indulgence with Heston Blumenthal on the Mont Blanc slopes February 5, 2015 You know a Heston Blumenthal meal is going to be something special. The same, it turns out, goes for a Heston Blumenthal holiday. The concept is a foodie’s wet dream: four days of crisp slopes, fine Italian wine and haute cuisine cooked by some of the world’s top chefs. Here’s how it came about: “Heston [...]
Hong Kong nom nom: Getting to grips with the burgeoning foodie scene February 5, 2015 Hong Kong at night falls somewhere between Manhattan and Magaluf, combining the grandeur of the former with the trashy hedonism of the latter. I was there in September when the humidity was in the 90s and the streets were heaving with twenty-somethings moving from bar to club. It’s also home to one of the most [...]