New Builds: On the market this week from a Roman site in the City to a £400m piazza in Islington November 21, 2016 Landmark Place, City of London From £810,000 A rare chance to live in the City of London has arisen with the opening of a new show apartment. The three bedroom duplex was unveiled by Barratt London on the 23rd floor of its Aldgate Place development last week. The new homes will be on Water Lane, [...]
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them review: a full-on Christmas blockbuster that’s bursting with imagination November 17, 2016 No more, JK Rowling vowed as the Harry Potter series – her magnum opus that took 17 years to write – finally came to an end. And she’s largely kept her word, apart from the studio tour, the theme park and the play that’s currently in the West End. Oh, and a website she runs [...]
Focus On Lewisham: Historically undervalued, Lewisham is undergoing a major upgrade November 17, 2016 It may surprise you to learn that Lewisham, that underloved pocket of South East London, is one of the fastest growing boroughs in the capital. Since the arrival of its DLR station and the rise of Canary Wharf – a wealthy neighbour where employment has quadrupled in the last 10 years – it’s become an increasingly [...]
New architecture tour of the National Theatre celebrates 40 years of Brutalism on the banks of the Thames November 17, 2016 “This is a public building, so you’re welcome to come up whenever you’re passing,” is the repeated refrain of our tour guide for the evening at the National Theatre. And it’s worth repeating as it’s a fact we often forget about many of London’s most famous landmarks. We’re uncommonly lucky to live in a city [...]
Working Lunch: Climb to the top of Harrods for a view from Chai Wu, its contemporary Chinese restaurant November 15, 2016 Chai Wu Harrods, Knightsbridge WHAT? A surprisingly intimate Chinese restaurant in Harrods, with a crowd-pleasing, wide-ranging menu. WHERE? On the fifth floor, next to the menswear department. And if the thought of eating quite literally next to a room full of suits in one of the world’s busiest department stores puts you off, give it [...]
New Builds: Help to Buy homes in Stanmore and Canning Town and luxury in west London November 14, 2016 Stanmore Place, Stanmore From £495,000 A new show apartment has opened in north west London to showcase the most luxe homes to go on sale at the Stanmore Place development yet. Despite this, there are still 21 of the new one to three bedroom apartments in the Royal Crescent collection that are available to purchase [...]
Focus On Rotherhithe: A £34m investment has brought a new town square, library and cultural centre to the Docks November 11, 2016 Rotherhithe, a conservation area in the Docklands in south east London, is one of the prettiest and most rapidly gentrifying places in the capital. With a long and proud history as a major trade port, it was a working dock right up until the 1970s. It was also home to the first under-river tunnel in [...]
Cymbeline at the Barbican review: Epic, thrilling and bold to the core November 10, 2016 Shakespeare is the still the master of blending the personal and the political. And nowhere is this showcased more effectively than this production of Cymbeline by the RSC, set in “a dystopian Britain not too far in the future” (the programme’s words, not mine). In a symbolic act of self-sabotage, our green and pleasant land [...]
American Pastoral review: The American Dream dissolves into a bleak nightmare in this all too relevant film November 10, 2016 A film exploring the frailties of the American Dream couldn’t be more relevant, yet there’s little that rings true in this adaptation of Philip Roth’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about the generational shifts in post-war American politics. The novel occupies a profound place in the US literary canon, so it seems an odd vehicle for Ewan [...]
Eight of the best winter gins: Remember, gin isn’t just for summer, it’s for Christmas, too November 10, 2016 At this time of year, we mistakenly relegate gin to the back of the drinks cabinet. The ubiquitous gin and tonic is a summertime staple, but what can you do to turn it evergreen? Gin, like that other popular translucent tipple vodka, is traditionally distilled in cold countries, after all, and can be made from [...]
