Spanish wine is enjoying an unprecedented period of quality and affordability – take advantage now March 2, 2016 It struck me as I was deciding where to invest my modest 2016 wine budget, that Spanish wine is an absolute bargain, at every level. We would all be mad not to take advantage of this phenomenon while it lasts. My brainwave was hardly original; none other than the great wine seer Robert Parker has [...]
Off The Beaten Track: Explore the secret(ish) Mayan ruins of Tulum, Mexico’s hidden gem February 29, 2016 Where? Cancun is as close to tourist hell as I can imagine – like if Portugal’s Algarve had sex with Las Vegas and put a sombrero on the child – but if you drive two hours south, you will find the pristine beaches, jungles and hidden Mayan ruins of Tulum – and not a spring [...]
All aboard the Royal Scotsman: An epic four day train journey through the Scottish Highlands February 29, 2016 An oil baron from Tulsa, Oklahoma, where typical party wear is a stetson and cowboy boots, stands on the platform at Dundee dressed like Bonnie Prince Charlie. “I can feel my inner Braveheart surfacing,” he says, adjusting his sporran and sliding a kirk into his tartan socks. He hasn’t an ounce of Scottish blood in [...]
Grimsby review, plus the rest of this week’s biggest cinema releases February 26, 2016 Grimsby (15) Dir. Louis Leterrier ★☆☆☆☆ Ten years after shocking the world with Borat, Sacha Baron Cohen returns as Nobby, a slow-witted Grimsbarian who discovers he’s the long lost brother of a secret agent (Mark Strong), and as such must help save the world from a sinister plot. Occasional sparks of humour and some impressive [...]
MWC 2016 roundup: the biggest new phones announced at this year’s Mobile World Congress February 24, 2016 LG G5 LG’s new flagship handset is one of the first modular designs to market, allowing you to remove part of the phone to snap on new accessories to upgrade or add functionality. So far LG has shown the G5 customised with a camera grip – which adds additional battery capacity as well as shutter [...]
How a new wave of developers are using virtual reality and videogames to market their property February 24, 2016 When the iconic red-bricked turbine halls of south London’s Battersea Power Station first fell into dereliction more than 30 years ago, videogames were in their infancy. The primordial graphics technology of the 1980s could only produce a handful of colours and basic, blocky images, reproducing scenes no more visually complex than a single asteroid tumbling [...]
The Art of Slow: cocktails find their perfect food pairings at the Typing Room’s new supper club February 24, 2016 There are right and wrong times to drink certain cocktails. A negroni with breakfast, an espresso martini before dinner and a mojito after supper might suggest you’ve got a drinking problem. A bloody mary in the morning, a martini before dinner and an old fashioned after dessert on the other hand? Well that’s just common [...]
Little Social review: Pollen Street’s classy and cosy Parisian-themed bistro February 24, 2016 WHAT? The pocket-sized little sister of Jason Atherton’s flagship Pollen Street restaurant, Little Social is a Parisian-themed bistro bedecked in dark wood and red leather banquettes, with homely wallpaper that’s barely visible behind a collection of Gallic tchotchkes and period French tourism posters. It’s all faux and make believe of course: the place opened in [...]
Channel your inner Attenborough with a trip Australia’s Great Barrier Reef February 22, 2016 “Look, over there – a bull shark.” My guide, Mark, points out the sleek, contoured shape with its distinctive dorsal fin and bluntly-shaped head – one of the most dangerous of its kind in the world – lazing idly in a sun-dappled patch of translucent, turquoise water. My heartbeat accelerates slightly, but thankfully there’s no [...]
How To Be Single review – plus the rest of this week’s biggest new film releases February 18, 2016 Bone Tomahawk (18) | ★★★★☆ Dir: S. Craig Zahler The western has been given more than a few new coats of paint lately, but none will be as surprising as Bone Tomahawk, which mixes traditional Old West with horror. Kurt Russell keeps his Hateful Eight beard as a sheriff who rides out to confront a [...]
