A Lord of the Rings pilgrimage to The Ribble Valley October 24, 2022 THE WEEKEND: I’m a lifelong fan of the great JRR Tolkien, and so to mark the release of the new Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power series dropping on Amazon, I’m visiting the village of Hurst in Lancashire’s rural Ribble Valley, which has a circular 9 km trail in honour of the Lord of [...]
Portland Oregon is the best of the West Coast – and a new direct flight makes visiting easy October 24, 2022 Portland Oregon is your new West Coast city visit, thanks to a new direct British Airways flight route
New Rolls-Royce Spectre is the world’s most opulent electric car October 24, 2022 The Rolls-Royce Spectre is the British marque's first EV: an imposing four-seat coupe that promises to raise the bar for refinement.
Red Roses ranked third in Rugby World Cup last eight October 24, 2022 England’s rugby union women have, unsurprisingly, reached the last eight of the Rugby World Cup. They were, and remain, overwhelming favourites for the tournament – yet they’re only ranked third out of the eight quarter-finalists. Ahead of them are New Zealand and Canada, who topped their respective pools, with the rankings handing Simon Middleton’s Red [...]
Premiership rugby: Drop goals, Sharks harpooned and Bath rejoice October 24, 2022 With the current financial woes facing the English domestic game, there were only four matches in play in this week’s Premiership. We saw a stunning drop goal and a last-minute win, but here are our four takeaways from round seven. Quins make Sale jokers Marcus Smith scored 24 points yesterday as Harlequins ended Sale Sharks’ [...]
Premier League: Newcastle in top four, Arsenal draw and Villa impress October 23, 2022 Was it the day Tottenham saw their, admittedly unlikely, title challenge come to an end or was it the day Newcastle United knocked on the door of the Big Six’s office and asked for a seat around the undoubtedly extravagant table? A 2-1 win for the Toon in north London moved United into the top [...]
Black Adam review: A slick but forgettable superhero romp October 23, 2022 The latest DC spectacular is a film conjured by the internet, with Dwayne Johnson linked to the role by eager fans since at least the mid-2000s. The former wrestler’s armour has been slightly dented by the failures of Jungle Cruise and Red Notice last year, can Black Adam put him back on top? Set in [...]
The Banshees Of Inisherin is the sad, funny, devastating film of the year October 23, 2022 Hype is building ahead of awards season and here is a film that will surely be a contender. With The Banshees Of Inisherin, director Martin McDonagh returns five years on from his Oscar-winning Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri, with one of the best films of the year. It’s set in the 1920s on a [...]
La Bohème at The Royal Opera House review October 23, 2022 Richard Jones’s La Bohème, now in its fourth revival at The Royal Opera House, is filled with glittering snow, bright lights, bold colours, and the (all too familiar) invisible hand of death and disease. Apologies for the doom and gloom, but no amount of 19th century Christmas jollity can make up for this Puccini classic [...]
Things to do in London this weekend, from ice skating to cocktails October 22, 2022 From ice skating to cocktail-sipping to balls of frenzied bees, this weekend is full of things to do in the capital. SOHO PLACE THEATRE It’s not every week you can visit a new West End theatre – in fact this is the first to open in more than 70 years. Located a stone’s throw from [...]