Cross the arid Namibian desert on a self-driven safari April 22, 2016 It’s hard to imagine a landscape more dramatic than that of the largely uninhabited southern African desert nation Namibia. Dot its picturesque lands with a hefty assortment of big game and wildlife and you’ve got the right conditions for an epic holiday setting. A network of well-maintained (though often unpaved) roads means a visit to the [...]
Property of the Week: This novel loft conversion doubled the living space at 28 Nottingham Place in Marylebone April 22, 2016 You’ve heard of wealthy homeowners digging down into their basements, but have you ever seen them build up? The owners of the fourth floor apartment at 28 Nottingham Place, a period building in the heart of Marylebone, have decided to do just that and increase their living space from 680sqft to 1,219sqft at the drop [...]
Spend it like Beckham at this weekend’s Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair in Battersea Park April 22, 2016 When the Beckhams go shopping these days it’s with an air of refinement, an eye for detail and a nose to sniff out some decorative objets to fill their many, many rooms. David was spotted at the Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair in Battersea Park in January, and on Tuesday, for the spring fair, it [...]
Secret Cinema Presents: 28 Days Later is as accomplished as anything the company has tried before April 21, 2016 You know the drill by now: turn up at a secret location, wear a certain outfit – a haz-mat suit or hospital scrubs in this case – and experience an immersive theatrical experience based on a popular movie. This time it’s 28 Days Later, and the frenetic opening minutes more than live up to the clear potential [...]
Jane Got A Gun review: Natalie Portman struggles to save a messy film April 21, 2016 The Western, that great American genre, hasn’t treated the fairer sex very… well, fairly. Their role is usually confined to prostitutes or prizes to be won in a shoot out. Jane Got a Gun wants to be something more. It started life with Lynne Ramsay, the Scottish director behind outstanding adaptations of We Need to [...]
Funny Girl review: Sheridan Smith is show-stoppingly hilarious in this hit comedy musical April 21, 2016 If there were any lingering concerns about Sheridan Smith’s ability to fill the Streisand-sized boots of Fanny Brice in Funny Girl, they’re almost immediately dashed the moment she takes to the stage. They’re dashed and then dashed again, and then any remaining shreds of undashed concern are swept up in a little basket and hurled [...]
The Flick play comes to London’s Dorfman Theatre and it’s brilliant April 21, 2016 A man stands under harsh fluorescent strip-lights, slowly – painfully slowly – mopping the floor. We watch for what seems like hours as he squeezes out his mop, slides it dully across the ground and repeats, interminably. There's no wink towards the audience, no suggestion that some comic reward is about to follow. It never does. The Flick, [...]
Vico review: The fast-food Cambridge Circus trattoria is reborn as a grown up, sit down, complete dining experience April 19, 2016 Dominating an entire corner of Cambridge Circus, Vico was once a grand yet informal arancini outpost serving superfast Italian street food to exiting theatre audiences. But since relaunching in December the pace has mellowed, a giant indoor fountain has appeared, comfortable tables and chairs invite you to stick around and the expanded menu has evolved [...]
Mark Hix re-assesses Venice on a 48-hour whistle-stop tour of its local foodie gems April 19, 2016 The last and only time I visited Venice was some years ago for the Bianale when Tracy Emin was representing the UK. It was a brief trip; I was probably only there for 36 hours and didn't see an awful lot except for a load of the London art crowd, which made it something of [...]
The Woodford review: Fine dining hits TOWIE country April 19, 2016 Food | ★★★★☆ Value | ★★★☆☆ Atmosphere | ★★★★★ 159 High Rd, London E18 2PA Tel: 020 8504 5952 I’m going to open a restaurant. It’s going to be just outside the North Circular – not technically in Essex, but close enough that people from central London will sneer – in a former nightclub that was shut down [...]