Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons: Behind the culinary icon July 2, 2025 During my first visit to Le Manoir I could neither speak nor talk. This is not hyperbole about dumbfounded luxury – I was just a baby. But my parents still tell the story of how Raymond Blanc, in full chef’s whites, came to ask them if I had enjoyed the fresh pasta and butter the [...]
The ringers keeping the bells swinging in the Square Mile March 18, 2025 As bell ringing faces an uncertain future, Carys Sharkey goes to meet the people keeping the tradition alive in the City One late Thursday afternoon I made my way down from Cheapside, passing the thronging pubs spilling out onto Watling Street amid the chatter and clatter of post-work drinks. I turned onto Garlick Hill to the [...]
A sandwich revolution and the City of London February 26, 2025 The humble sandwich is having a revolution in London, but Carys Sharkey takes a tour of the City to see if bigger is always better In the City, queues spill out of sandwich shop doors as the rigmarole of work is punctured by bread and spread. But the sandwich is no longer a humble thing. [...]
The Importance of Being Earnest at National Theatre review December 4, 2024 Max Webster’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest opens with Ncuti Gatwa’s Algernon swathed in hot pink ballgown and draped over a piano. Start as you mean to go. The play is a luscious, saturated explosion that unfolds like a musical number of carefully choreographed wordplay. It is a celebration of appetite and queerness, [...]
Recalibrating time at the Iconic Jamaica Inn November 25, 2024 On my way to Jamaica, I had two hours to kill at Miami Airport. I parked myself at one of the Cuban cafes for a cubano, a perfect sandwich of roast pork, ham and pickles welded together by a semi-fluid puck of Swiss cheese. Then in that very American, somewhat disorientating way, especially after a [...]
Carv 2: The digital coach reshaping how you ski November 25, 2024 Can a digital coach really transform the way you ski? City AM hit the slopes to find out Every ski run in the mountains comes at a cost. Each one represents a small part of the total and significant outlay covering travel, accommodation, ski passes, kit hire, food and drink. Most skiers therefore want to [...]
BSL Antony and Cleopatra at the Globe is radical but frustrating August 15, 2024 Blanche McIntrye’s bilingual staging of Antony and Cleopatra at The Globe is as frustrating as it is powerful. Antony’s Romans use English, Cleopatra’s Egyptians use British Sign Language (BSL), and the entire play is subtitled on a huge screen that centres the staging. The use of BSL allows for a new and radical reading of [...]
AXA hits ‘milestone’ in super green skyscraper project June 24, 2024 The property received planning permission last year but this appointment has been hailed as a ''significant milestone'' in the road map of a one-of-a-kind project.
Who’s afraid of drinking vermouth? June 3, 2024 There are dozens of UK producers making an often hyperlocal and varied spectrum of vermouth – it's time to join the cult, says Carys Sharkey
Transforming London into one of the best cycling cities around May 15, 2024 While other European cities have become well-known for cycling friendliness and well-maintained infrastructure, London still has some way to go.
