Meet the founder of Happn – the dating app putting love on the map October 17, 2016 Nearly one in 10 Londoners use dating app Happn. A colleague who’s more in the know than I am tells me it’s “recently become enormous on Instagram” – users can upload pictures direct from one to the other, with 30 of your most recent appearing automatically on your Happn profile. And once you’ve liked someone, [...]
Adidas stand to profit as Manchester United’s Paul Pogba tops shirt bestseller list – but could Arsenal look for more from Puma? October 15, 2016 At first glance, Manchester United’s £75m-a-year kit deal with Adidas looked like a vast overpayment on the behalf of the German sportswear manufacturer. Back in 2014 when United’s commercial guru Ed Woodward secured the deal, United had just endured their worst season since the 1980s, the club had failed to attract some high profile transfer [...]
Shopping and Fucking review: An explosively sensory play whose simple message is marred by the grotesque October 13, 2016 Sex and love are reduced to transactional commodities in the colourfully named Shopping and Fucking. In Mark Ravenhill’s controversial 90s play, some young folk have wilfully inducted themselves into a kind of sexual servitude. Rent boys leap out of cardboard packaging, and the stage is made to resemble the set of a gaudy shopping channel, [...]
Inferno review: Tom Hanks and his frantic legs investigate every tomb in the world in Dan Brown’s latest October 13, 2016 The latest in Dan Brown’s “what if your dad was Jason Bourne” series (following The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons) sees Tom Hanks being chased into roughly four thousand museums and churches by shady government cabals, each time escaping through secret catacombs and ancient tunnels that only he knows about. The twist in [...]
Wake up, policy-makers: The fintech paradigm shift could change everything October 13, 2016 Nowhere within the financial firmament does enthusiasm abound more right now than in the arena of fintech. Just as it has disrupted and revolutionised our social interactions and shopping habits, the internet is breeding new ways to cut the cost of transacting and pair those with capital with those seeking it. Peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding [...]
English Wine Producers says homegrown industry is set for an “exceptional” harvest this year October 13, 2016 The UK's wine makers are gearing up for an "exceptional", high-quality vintage this year, according to an industry body. Harvests at some homegrown vineyards began in mid-September, though the main bulk of the grapes will be harvested now and over the next fortnight. English Wine Producers, the marketing body representing the English and Welsh wine [...]
The Mountaintop play at Young Vic review: a searing, sexy, devastating imagining of Martin Luther King Jr’s last night October 13, 2016 Martin Luther King Jr is one of the towering figures of the 20th century. A champion of African-American culture and people, a religious leader, a community organiser, a crusader for civil rights, an exemplar of non-violent resistance, a model of masculinity, a moral touchstone, an icon, a martyr, a secular saint. A play about his [...]
Jos Buttler savours having the last laugh as England seal victory and series win againts Bangladesh October 13, 2016 STAND-IN England skipper Jos Buttler savoured having the last laugh as his side claimed the spoils of a fractious series with a tense four-wicket victory over Bangladesh in Chittagong yesterday. Vice-captain Ben Stokes was involved in a flashpoint at the post-match handshakes at the now infamous fracas in Dhaka on Sunday, but led England home [...]
Jos Buttler, fracas and all, has done his future claims to lead no harm in Bangladesh October 12, 2016 Despite England inflicting defeat upon Bangladesh for the first time in their last seven home one-day series, I fully expect skipper Eoin Morgan and opener Alex Hales to return to the side for the 50-over tussles with India in January. Hales has scored four one-day centuries in the past year, while England have done extremely well [...]
Movie-length games: new titles you can play in under three hours, including That Dragon, Cancer and Virginia October 12, 2016 These movie-length games pack an emotional punch but won't lead to you getting a messy divorce because you neglected your family to farm credits to pay for a new colour of rocket launcher. That Dragon, Cancer Platform: iOS That Dragon, Cancer is less a game than an interactive art installation about a grieving family coming to [...]