Searching for Shelley at Elcot Park in Berkshire June 13, 2022 THE WEEKEND: On the fringes of the market town of Hungerford in rural Berkshire, The Retreat at Elcot Park is set on elevating the country-house hotel stay. The second hotel from The Signet Collection (the first property is the awardwinning The Mitre in Hampton Court), guests can expect more of the brand’s alluring combination of [...]
Liverpool agree club record £85m transfer fee for Benfica striker Darwin Nunez June 13, 2022 Liverpool have agreed a £85m deal to make Benfica striker Darwin Nunez their record signing, the Portuguese club have confirmed. The Premier League team will pay a guaranteed £64m, plus additional performance-related fees up to a maximum of £21m. Uruguay international Nunez, who scored 34 goals in 41 games last season, is due to undergo [...]
Murray offers Brits chance at dreaming about what Wimbledon could hold June 13, 2022 “It’s an honour to play against him in this kind of court.” The words of Italian world No10 Matteo Berrettini after he beat 36-year-old Andy Murray in three sets at the final of the Stuttgart Open yesterday. For three-time Grand Slam winner Murray, who has spent much of his recent career dogged by injury, the [...]
Leicester and Saracens final offers far more than first versus second storyline June 12, 2022 For the sixth time in the last seven seasons, the Premiership final will be contested between the sides who finished in the top two places in the table. In Leicester Tigers and Saracens, English rugby is set to witness a clash between historic giants of the league and the newer dynasty from the capital. Saracens [...]
LIV Golf has won opening skirmish in tussle with PGA Tour to shape the future of the sport June 12, 2022 Charl Schwartzel lifted the trophy, posed for the photographs and collected the £3.85m pay cheque but he wasn’t the only winner at the first LIV Golf Invitational, which concluded just outside London on Saturday. Also celebrating will have been Greg Norman, frontman for the new circuit hoping to lure the world’s best players, and Saudi [...]
Leave No Traces review: A laboured Polish language Oscar hopeful June 11, 2022 True crime has enjoyed a wave of popularity in the streaming age, inviting viewers to piece together what happened as the clues come in. While Leave No Traces doesn’t have quite the same mystery, it does show how impactful cinema can be derived from real events. Set in 1983, Poland’s submission for this year’s Best [...]
Swan Song review: A finely coiffed LGBTQ+ comedy June 11, 2022 There has been a rise in the number of LGBTQ+ stories being told in movies and TV, but generally they have been about younger characters coming of age in the modern world. New comedy-drama Swan Song puts the spotlight on a different age bracket, crafting a small tale with a lot of heart. Udo Kier [...]
Hustle review: Adam Sandler finds his acting hat again in sports drama June 11, 2022 Every now and again, Adam Sandler remembers he can act. Before it became a social media punchline, 2019’s Uncut Gems contained the best performance of the comedy giant’s career, almost making you forget all about the hideous Netflix comedies that have made him millions. Happily, this week sees the arrival of more serious Sandler in [...]
Bec to the future: We blow the horn for fabulous Tooting Bec June 11, 2022 The London housing market tends to flow outwards from the prime central postcodes in a series of expanding circles, like the splash of a pebble thrown into a lake. Areas that would once have been undesirable ride the wave into fashion, while those in the centre see new ripples begin to form. So it is [...]
English wine is fine: British producers booming despite merciless pandemic hit to hospitality June 11, 2022 The top producers of English wine have seen their turnover increase by another 4.5 per cent last year. Proceeds from British wines went from £24.3m in 2019/20 to £25.4m in 2020/21, despite sales to the hospitality sector being heavily impacted by Covid. Sales to hospitality venues and events organisers such as conferences, awards and weddings [...]