Taylor powers to Grand Slam win November 17, 2013 DARTS: World No1 Phil Taylor, known as The Power, stormed to his fifth Grand Slam title victory last night, brushing aside Robert Thornton 16-6 in Wolverhampton. Taylor’s earlier semi-final versus Adrian Lewis saw the most ever 180s in a PDC match – 32 in total.
The Butler is classy – but too eager to teach November 14, 2013 FILM THE BUTLER Cert 12a | Three stars THE Butler examines African-Americans’ struggle for civil rights in the 20th century through events in the life of White House butler Cecil Gaines, who served seven presidents, from Eisenhower to Reagan. It is essentially Forrest Gump, with moral didacticism instead of heart-warming whimsy. It is clear from [...]
A brilliantly acted revival at The Clare November 14, 2013 THEATRE THE ISLAND The Clare at the Young Vic | Four stars DUST swirls under bright lights as you enter The Clare Theatre at The Young Vic. Two men – The Island’s only characters – shovel piles of sand into wheelbarrows, only to walk to the other side of the stage and tip it all [...]
An ugly, nasty Brit-flick with no redeeming features at all November 14, 2013 FILM DOM HEMINGWAY Cert 15 | One star SAFECRACKER Dom Hemingway (Jude Law pictured) has spent 12 years in prison. On his release he teams up with his friend Dickie (Richard E Grant) to retrieve the money he’s owed for keeping schtum. Along the way he settles old scores, seeks new employment, and tries to [...]
Reich’s minimal masterpiece played to an adoring crowd November 14, 2013 MUSIC STEVE REICH Royal Albert Hall | Five stars THIS week saw the death of Sir John Tavener, a twentieth century British composer who spent his entire career lapsing in and out of the public consciousness. The spiritually attuned Tavener first entered the spotlight after becoming an obsession of New Age-fixated 60s popstars (he was [...]
Lancaster asks Farrell to be our Carter and stun All Blacks again November 14, 2013 ENGLAND head coach Stuart Lancaster has praised fly-half Owen Farrell’s knack of rising to the occasion and urged him to do so again when world champions New Zealand visit Twickenham tomorrow. Masterminding the All Blacks’ bid to complete 2013 unbeaten and make amends for their defeat on the same turf 12 months ago will be [...]
Stenson closes on Dubai glory November 14, 2013 SWEDEN’S Henrik Stenson boosted his Race to Dubai title hopes with a four-under-par 68 for a share of fourth place in the first round of golf’s season-ending DP World Championship in Dubai yesterday. Spaniard Alejandro Canizares set the pace on six under, with Thai Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Marcus Fraser of New Zealand one shot behind [...]
Schumacher rebuffs Lotus November 14, 2013 LOTUS have turned to Heikki Kovalainen to fill their vacant car for the final two races of the season after seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher rejected the chance to come out of retirement for a second time. Finland’s Kimi Raikkonen will miss this weekend’s United States Grand Prix and the final race of the season [...]
Wasps prop switches focus from bomb disposal to Dragon slaying November 14, 2013 LONDON Wasps prop Ricky Reeves is no stranger to the heat of battle but admits temperatures were through the roof on his home debut – and he loved every minute of it. Lance Corporal Reeves, who served in Afghanistan in a bomb disposal unit, made his bow off the bench in the 90-17 LV= Cup [...]
Hodgson happy to lose if fringe players prove World Cup class November 14, 2013 ENGLAND manager Roy Hodgson has declared his intention to make wholesale changes against Chile tonight in order to help assess the international credentials of his fringe players, even if that means sacrificing their current 10-match unbeaten run. Hodgson has confirmed he will select either Celtic’s Fraser Forster or Norwich’s John Ruddy in goal ahead of [...]