Coronavirus: Clubs facing ‘an avalanche’ of claims from players over forced pay cuts March 30, 2020 Everyone has had to make sacrifices since the coronavirus pandemic took over daily life, and sportspeople are no exception. With all sport in the UK currently postponed, players have set about a new existence, training as best as they can at home until a resumption is possible. But with no end to the lockdown in [...]
Culture in quarantine: Which UK venues have gone virtual during the coronavirus crisis? March 29, 2020 Since Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week ramped up social distancing measures to tackle the coronavirus outbreak, thousands of cultural institutions across the UK have been forced to close their doors. However, as millions of Brits hunker down at home, a range of arts and culture venues have launched new digital initiatives to ensure exhibitions [...]
How sports teams are using technology to recreate group training sessions with players in isolation March 29, 2020 They may be miles apart and isolated in their homes, but footballers, rugby players and cricketers across the country are finding new ways to continue training together. Sportspeople left in limbo while their seasons are delayed indefinitely by the coronavirus pandemic are still staying in shape, as they have readily documented on social media. The [...]
Hunters series review: Al Pacino hunting Nazis makes for gripping lockdown fodder March 27, 2020 If you’re looking for a nice, cuddly box set that you can watch half-comatose under your anxiety blanket as the world unravels around you, Amazon Prime’s latest big-budget series Hunters probably isn’t for you. It’s about Nazis, for one thing, and someone gets shot in the head approximately once every three minutes. Set predominantly in [...]
Animal Crossing: New Horizons review: Sedate island escapism never felt so necessary March 27, 2020 Having had the enviable job of writing about video games for most of my adult life, there’s still one question I struggle to articulate a satisfying answer to: what do you actually do in Animal Crossing? Nintendo’s sedate island life simulator doesn’t have a real objective. You have a mortgage to pay down but your [...]
Dogs Don’t Wear Pants film review: Sex dungeon therapy in kinky indie flick March 27, 2020 Dogs Don’t Wear Pants is an excellent way of forgetting about the woes of self isolation, presenting you with a man whose life flies so spectacularly off the rails that a global pandemic and the meltdown of the world economy seem relatively manageable by comparison. It’s the story of a suicidal widower who falls down [...]
My Dark Vanessa book review: Lolita for the #MeToo generation is a brave debut March 27, 2020 Kate Elizabeth Russell’s much-hyped debut novel, hailed as Lolita for the #MeToo generation, is narrated entirely by the titular Vanessa and captivatingly crafted in two parallel timelines. In 2000, Vanessa is a 15-year-old student at a Maine boarding school, when she begins a relationship with her English literature teacher, Jacob Strane, thirty years her senior. [...]
UK athletes facing financial uncertainty after postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games March 26, 2020 When the announcement finally came it provoked a mixture of reactions. Thousands of athletes around the world had been waiting for the news that the Tokyo Olympic Games would be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. After weeks of doubt, speculation and mounting pressure, the International Olympic Committee made the call on Tuesday to postpone [...]
Coronavirus: The County Championship might have to be sacrificed this summer for good of the game, says Angus Fraser March 26, 2020 The County Championship might have to be sacrificed this summer so that domestic cricket can come out of the coronavirus pandemic in the strongest possible position, according to Middlesex’s managing director of cricket Angus Fraser. The start of the cricket season has been pushed back from 12 April to 28 May at the earliest by [...]
Forget finishing the current seasons; this is a time for sport to ponder far bigger questions March 25, 2020 The now globally iconic slogan “Keep Calm and Carry On” was originally used on a 1939 British motivational poster, during the country’s preparations for World War II. With Covid-19’s outbreak and spread across Eurasia, much of British sport has appeared intent on summoning the spirit of this old poster. From the Cheltenham Festival to Champions [...]