Uncategorized

After 14 months of subsisting in loungewear, with a social life largely provided by Netflix box sets and Deliveroo, many would gladly attend the opening of an envelope in order to get out of the house. Thanks to the vagaries of British weather, ‘dressing up’ has hitherto meant extra layers and grabbing the blanket off the end of the bed to go and sit outside the pub for a couple of hours. But from Monday 17 May we can drink and dine and dance indoors once more in fabulous destinations for which we’ll definitely need to slough off the jeans… The Candlelight Club We keep being told that the post-Covid world will

It used to drive me mad that, whenever my husband and I would go out for dinner, no matter how fancy or lowbrow the place, he would always ignore the puddings on offer in favour of a single scoop of ice cream. He can overlook crème brûlées, lemon meringue tarts, sticky toffee puddings – even eschew a cheese plate – if ice cream is a possibility. It just always seemed quite a boring choice to me – you can keep a tub of ice cream in your own freezer, or maybe get a cone on the beach. Why would you plump for something so simple (so boring!) when there were

The new James Bond, the much anticipated sequel to A Quiet Place and an adaptation of sci-fi epic Dune: the list of blockbuster films due to be released in 2021 is both star-studded and long overdue. As cinemas prepare to reopen from 17 May, we take a look at Britain’s most unique picture houses. TT Liquor, London Behind the vintage frontage of this liquor store in Shoreditch is a stylish underground cocktail bar hiding a secret. A concealed door leads to a boutique 52-seat screening room showing cinematic classics from Lost In Translation to The Godfather. For each screening, the bar’s expert mixologists craft a special cocktail inspired by the film. The bar

Much has been written in these pages about the modern tendency to start sentences with ‘so’.  It’s been called an ‘irritating adornment’ portentously announcing the arrival of a new thought but adding nothing to its expression. I often find myself opening sentences with ‘so’ and I feel entirely relaxed about it. ‘So’ has a long history. Shakespeare’s Duke of Gloucester may not have said: ‘So, now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of York’ but his Tarquin (in The Rape of Lucrece) had no such linguistic scruples: ‘“So, so”, quoth he, “these lets attend the time, Like little frosts that sometime threat the spring…”’. And while

If there is one good thing to come out of this godawful pandemic, please can it be an end to the practice of air kissing? You might have spent the past year longing to give your friends a bear hug, or hold your grand children, but how many of us have really missed one of the most bizarre formal greetings during social distancing? I certainly haven’t. In fact, I am desperate for building back better to involve dispensing with this stupid affectation.  The beauty of a handshake is there is only really one way of doing it, and therefore much less room for things to go wrong. It’s been around

After the miserable, heart-wrenching year that she’s had, it would be little wonder if The Queen sought solace in alcohol. That the alcohol most likely to bring a smile to the regal chops might be the monarch’s own brand is perhaps more of a surprise. The royal bean counters charged with refilling the post-Covid coffers must also be beaming for HM the Queen – whose favourite tipple is said to be Dubonnet and gin – has gone into the booze business big time and with huge success, with all proceeds going to the Royal Collection Trust, a registered charity which conserves Her Majesty’s art treasures and makes them accessible to

Emily Mortimer’s BBC1 adaptation of Nancy Mitford’s classic The Pursuit of Love is proving a hit with viewers, demonstrating that the antics of our social betters continue to fascinate many of us. Downton Abbey may have helped pave the way for this interest, but there is far more to the upper classes than Julian Fellowes’ occasionally jejune televisual guidebook to snobbery, etiquette, and unforgivable social faux pas. Without further ado, ten movies where we ‘Non-U’s’ are given a privileged insight into the lives of the ‘U’s’. The Scandalous Lady W (2015) Amazon Buy Only Natalie Dormer (GoT/The Tudors) plays the real-life aristocrat Seymour Fleming (1758-1818), who became Lady Worsley on

As we all discovered during lockdown, going for a walk is one of the best things you can do to keep your mind and body in good working order, and for me it’s even better if there’s some artistic or literary interest en route. Some of my favourite outings over these last few years have been spent following in the footsteps of artists and writers, and now Britain is opening up again it’s the ideal time to get back on the cultural trail. Here are a few of my favourite arty walks. I’d love to hear about some of yours. Simon Armitage, The Pennines Back in 2010, those clever, creative folk at Ilkley

The reopening of pubs is not only good for those of us that have been gasping for a pint. It’s also great news for Marmite. Supermarkets were running low on the sticky brown condiment last month because of yeast shortages while breweries lowered production during the pandemic. During the first national lockdown last year, Marmite had to suspend production altogether. My local supermarket shelf was still suspiciously empty in early May. Oddly, however, the shelf below was packed with a new Marmite upstart: Dynamite Chilli Marmite. No longer is Marmite only a slightly niche savoury spread your granny layered on toast. Or what Nigella puts on spaghetti. Oh no. Today you can buy

There’s no getting away from the fact that potatoes dauphinoises is a rich dish. It’s a celebration of richness, of creaminess, and of carbs. If you recoil from richness, or are the first person at the table to bring up calorie counts, potatoes dauphinoises is probably not the dish for you – and frankly, any attempts to lighten it, or slim it down are misguided. But if you can resist bronzed slabs of thin, tender, perfectly cooked potato, with a garlic-infused creamy sauce bubbling up around the edges, you’re made of sterner stuff than I am. Dauphinoises hails from the historical Dauphiné region in South-East France; the region dissolved in

Pity the poor panoramic restaurant. They might boast the best views of the capital, but the lack of outdoor space on the 42nd floor means they haven’t been able to take advantage of the easing of restrictions for the hospitality industry — until now. But from 17 May, they’ll be sashaying out of lockdown like the sequin-clad Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.  With gala dinners, champagne cocktails and complimentary magnums of Moet to tempt you back, here’s where to go. Searcy’s at The Gherkin London’s original sky-high dining room on levels 39 and 40 of The Gherkin (30 St Mary Axe, EC3) is welcoming guests back

The world’s richest man – who, beyond Tesla and Space X, is known for naming his first child X AEA-12 – generated more headlines this week, when he announced on the American television show Saturday Night Live that he has Asperger syndrome. ‘I know I sometimes say or post strange things, but that’s just how my brain works,’ he explained. Asperger syndrome, first described in 1944 by the Austrian paediatrician Hans Asperger, is a lifelong condition that is part of the autistic spectrum. As a child, Hans Asperger appears to have exhibited some features of the very condition named after him, such as remoteness and talent in language.  However, there has also been considerable discussion