Dear Evan Hansen, Review: A crushing failure October 22, 2021 Big West End and Broadway shows often take a while to get big screen adaptations, partly because producers are reluctant to offer a home alternative to what they hope you’ll pay a lot of money to see live. Also, because when it goes wrong, it goes really, really wrong. Before December 2019, Cats was a [...]
Not just NatWest: Compliance guru on why money laundering is rampant in the City October 21, 2021 Over the past few decades, money laundering has become an increasingly prevalent issue. Financial institutions are constantly looking for new ways to fight money launderers, and several anti-money laundering policies have been put in place to help this effort. However, the recent case against NatWest sent shockwaves through the City, with many financial institutions realising that the financial watchdog, [...]
Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Review October 18, 2021 Despite being a patchy mess, 2018’s Venom rose to surprise box office success thanks to a charming star in Tom Hardy, and an audience that was growing weary of sombre superheroes (Aquaman succeeded in the same year for similar reasons). A sequel was inevitable, but has it done enough to flesh out the cult anti-hero? [...]
Skiing in Uzbekistan, the cold heart of the Silk Road October 16, 2021 I remembered the loudness of a helicopter, its blades beating the air like an incensed dragon. What I hadn’t realised, though, is that when a helicopter lands on deep snow, the force creates a blast of ice and powder which rips through your clothing and stings any inch of exposed skin. It goes on and [...]
Hitting the wall: The latest wallpaper trends for this autumn October 15, 2021 The evolution of wallpaper is the story that keeps on giving. New colours, new techniques, new patterns, new technical innovations, new ways to render metallics… and now a return to more sustainable materials. if you haven’t got into wallpaper yet you are in for a treat. Firstly, it works absolutely everywhere. Bedrooms, especially, benefit from [...]
The whisky-maker putting the ‘fun’ in Non-Fungible October 13, 2021 Glenfiddich is putting the “fun” into non-fungible, with NFTs you can drink. The pioneering single malt whisky brand is partnering with BlockBar, a new platform for buying, collecting and trading non-fungible tokens (NFTs) related to luxury wines and spirits. The service will launch next week, with the sale of limited edition Glenfiddich NFTs: fifteen unique [...]
It’s time to break the social housing stalemate and build affordable homes October 12, 2021 When you’re losing in a game of chess, you try to end it with a stalemate: no one wins and no one loses. The game ends in a draw. The social housing system in the UK finds itself exactly in this position. The difference is that someone is losing: the scores of families stuck on [...]
Tory conference: Boris Johnson’s speech in full October 6, 2021 Prime Minister Boris Johnson delivered his second leader’s speech at Conservative conference today. Here is his speech in full. Isn’t it amazing to be here in person the first time we have met since you defied the sceptics by winning councils and communities that Conservatives have never won in before – such as Hartlepool in [...]
Consultancy ads for driverless Tube trains prompt unions to issue strike threat September 28, 2021 A range of adverts for a consultancy contract to explore the introduction of driverless trains on London Underground has prompted a leading rail workers union to raise the threat of industrial action. The Rail, Maritime and Transport union said the move was part of Government-driven spending cuts on the Tube. General secretary Mick Lynch said [...]
CVS reaps longer-term rewards of last year’s lockdown pet boom September 23, 2021 Veterinary services group CVS has reaped the rewards of the UK’s increasing number of pet owners, with its pet health care plan hitting 455,000 members over the past year. Revenue hit £510.1m in the year to 30 June, up by 19.2 per cent in comparison with 2020’s figure – signalling the longer-term impacts of last [...]