An intelligent mix of culture, style, travel, food and property, as well as where to go and what to see.
A friend told me recently that the only time she and her husband get passionate these days is when they are yelling abuse at each other across the cup-holders of their Renault Hybrid. He complains that she drives like an anxious old lady while she’s convinced he’s an entitled prat behind the wheel. During every
Netflix’s adaptation of Robert Harris’ political thriller Munich – The Edge of War attempts in part to rehabilitate the reputation of former Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (played by Jeremy Irons), popularly believed to be the architect of appeasement in relation to Hitler’s Germany. Nick Cohen, in the pages of The Spectator attempted with some success
‘An aristocracy in a republic is like a chicken whose head has been cut off; it may run about in a lively way, but in fact it is dead’. So said Nancy Mitford as far back as 1955 in her Enquiry into the Identifiable Characteristics of the English Aristocracy. More than half a century later,
Billionaires (especially of the tech variety) are constantly in the news. From the ‘space’ exploration antics of Messrs Bezos, Musk and Branson to the guilty verdicts recently handed out to Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and of course, the possibility of criminal charges against former POTUS Donald Trump (who still claims billionaire status, despite wife Melania’s
‘Johnson apologises for lockdown garden party’ announced the Times on Wednesday. But did he? It’s quite a skill, the non-apology, and our Prime Minister is a non-apologiser par excellence, the Nureyev of not really meaning it. Academics working in conflict resolution have analysed what makes a good apology and come up with six elements: expressing
It’s become a bit trite to talk about the ills of social media. Hypocritical too, as such debates are often conducted within the very same arena of social media, which reminds me of the early eighties and adults telling me to steer well clear of smoking whilst lighting another superking off the one just going
If you’re the type of person who pays attention to these things, you might have noticed Keir Starmer’s new attack line. ‘The joke isn’t funny anymore, prime minister,’ the Labour leader now tells Boris Johnson on a semi-regular basis – attempting to turn his opponent’s clownish entertainer shtick from electoral strength to weakness. Leaving aside
Will the news that energy bills could double usher in a little common sense when it comes to our obsession with central heating? One of Britain’s biggest energy firms has been forced to apologise after suggesting that thrifty customers might want to put on a pair of socks before whacking on the thermostat. But we’ve only been namby-pamby
I’ll admit this doesn’t seem like a brilliant moment to start investing. Inflation is becoming a problem due to labour shortages and the energy crisis. Central banks have already responded by raising interest rates and stopping the money printers. Firms could face higher costs whilst also posting lower profits and returns as people rein in their largesse.
The 79th Golden Globe Awards take place on Sunday 9th January at The Beverly Hilton, Beverly Hills, California. The awards this year are not without controversy. The Golden Globes usual U.S. broadcaster NBC, together with various media outlets, actors, and other creative types say that they will shun the ceremony over the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s
The beginning of January is a blank slate. A time where we feel a sense of excitement as to what the year will bring. As each year rolls into a new one, my hopes for the future have included the usual – more exercise, more travel, more greens… Typically, I fail to keep to my promises.
As we count down the remaining days and hours to 2022, a cinematic tour through ten motion pictures when midnight has special meaning. Since Midnight Mass is celebrated on the evening when Christmas Eve gives way to Christmas Day, it makes sense that the hour is not associated with evil or supernatural goings on –
We’re closing the year by republishing our ten most popular articles in 2021. Here’s number four: Zoe Strimpel writing in February about how popular portrayals of the past are being changed to fit the present. The first thing you notice about Bridgerton, Netflix’s big winter blockbuster set in Regency England, is how bad it is:
The White Lotus Every now and then, you see a new series — Succession, say, or Chernobyl or To the Lake — which reminds you why you watch TV. The latest such joy is The White Lotus (Sky Atlantic), a darkly comic satirical drama created, written and directed by Mike White. It starts with an enticing
The Harper Lee quote ‘You can choose your friends, but not your family’ never appears more apt than during the Christmas season. Movies about family dysfunction often follow a familiar pattern, with grievances aired, secrets revealed, lessons learned and (eventually) fences mended: The Family Stone (2005) Disney+, Amazon Rent/Buy The Family Stone has snuck up on
It’s Christmas in Paris and Les Champs-Elysees is appropriately adorned. We are, after all, in the so-called Elysian Fields, paradise, heaven on earth. Red illuminated trees line both side of France’s most famous avenue, stars fill the sky and the red carpet is laid out in front of the prestigious Gaumont cinema. The welcome is
The Power of the Dog: Cumberbatch is spectacular Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog could also be called The Power of Benedict Cumberbatch, as he’s so spectacular. He plays a ruggedly masculine cowboy with an inner life that isn’t written, but that we somehow still see. It is also clearly Campion’s best film since The Piano.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the F-word is vanishing. It’s been insidious, but where once perhaps 20 or 30 years ago it was ubiquitous at this time of year, now – well – you can hardly find it. In fact, look carefully, and you’ll see that Father Christmas is disappearing quicker than an ice cap.
On a gauzy wintery day I am half way up Scafell Pike in the Lake District in an effort to climb the tallest peaks of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland and discover what so many seek up there. I am not alone. Over a million people climbed one of the peaks this year, with 700,000
After more than a decade on comedy’s A-list, Russell Howard has a decent claim to being our best known ‘arena’ comic. Yet last July, in the midst of an already strange year, the rockstar comedian – used to selling out venues across Britain – found himself having to reconsider his definition of a stadium gig:
According to Collins English Dictionary, a ‘Feel-Good’ movie is one ‘which presents people and life in a way which makes those who watch it feel happy and optimistic’ Of course, one person’s feel-good picture could be another’s syrupy turn off. I have yet to see The Sound of Music (dubbed by star Christopher Plummer as ‘The
Dear God, Please help me to keep it together this Christmas. For it is a testing time as well as a joyful one. Help me to make sense of this season, in which the wonderful story of the birth of your Son jostles with all sorts of ghastliness. Give me the calm fortitude to bear
Sometimes you have to feel sorry for the BBC. Upon publishing its 2021 Christmas schedule, the corporation was quickly attacked by some of its more trenchant critics who pointed out that – shock horror – its Xmas day line-up was completely identical to last year’s. What kind of fools do they take us for, they
For a working musician like me – I compose and conduct – the run-up to Christmas is one of the busiest times of the year. I generally find myself writing some last-minute carols, then come the garage-sandwich weeks: endless travel to far-flung rehearsals in freezing churches and halls in preparation for the annual round of
Is there anything more dispiriting at this time of year than the dreaded ‘celebrity’ memoir – the publishing industry’s annual two-fingered salute to all us starving mid-list authors? Last week I managed to weave my way through a heaving Waterstones, eventually arriving at one of those vast tables groaning with needy ‘personalities’; there they all were, present
‘Timing is everything’, as the saying goes. The death of West Side Story composer Stephen Sondheim must have seemed especially poignant to Steven Spielberg coming as it did a week before the premiere of the new film version of his acclaimed musical. The composer surely would have delighted in the critical acclaim being accorded to Steven Spielberg’s remake. ‘He
The book Small Pleasures will warm even the stoniest heart. It defines joy as simple, brief instances in everyday life which people can access with little or no cost. My favourite chapters include: the joy of an evening sky, letting a child win at a game, a hot bath. We tend to let these things pass by
Not even a pillowy panettone or the most lethal of brandy butters can beat the thud of a round robin letter on the doormat. It’s that perfect concoction of mundane detail (how the electric car is faring) and low-level bragging (news of a child’s Oxbridge acceptance letter) that make them so tantalising, the ultimate yuletide
The 90s are back. From House of Gucci, Impeachment and the BBC’s unmissable New Labour documentary, it’s clear that this particular period is enjoying its turn in the cinematic limelight. For fans of the scandalous and surreal, this can only be good news. Hollywood has fixated on the 70s and 80s for years now which – while a boon to
