11 things to know about Val d’Isere January 12, 2014 It’s the ski destination to the great and good. Slopes veteran Cally Squires gives the lowdown on how to get the most out of this stunning downhill paradise 1. Ski with the crème de la crèmeThe resort hosted the Alpine Skiing World Cup last year, which saw golfer Tiger Woods turn out to support girlfriend [...]
Brutal slavery epic is destined for awards January 9, 2014 FILM 12 YEARS A SLAVE Cert 15 | By Simon Thomson Five Stars STEVE McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave is a brilliant film, but its brutality makes for difficult viewing. That might be the point. Based on a memoir of the same name, the book’s subtitle offers a succinct, albeit bloodless, summary of the film: [...]
Review: Ballaro, Haverstock Hill January 7, 2014 RESTAURANT WHERE 154 Haverstock Hill, NW3 2AY Tel: 0207 586 1107 FOOD One Star VALUE One Star ATMOSPHERE Two Stars Cost for two with wine: £130 THERE’S a theory that the range of choices available in our modern, Western lives, while producing a wonderful aggregate effect of driving standards up and prices down, can be [...]
Mix it up: The perfect way to break those healthy New Year resolutions January 7, 2014 JUST as November has become Movember – the ritual month in which every male is expected to don a moustache in order to prove they are inferior to Burt Reynolds – January is fast becoming “Dry January” or Dryathlon: 31 days of repenting the sin of having enjoyed ourselves a little too much in December. [...]
The affordable unaffordable car January 6, 2014 Can any car be good value when it costs £300,000? When it’s as smart as the Ferrari F12, the answer is yes The paint on this Ferrari costs £16,000 extra. It’s still red, like most Ferraris sold in the UK, but this one is a special red: Rosso Berlinetta. The colour is available only on [...]
Not convinced? January 6, 2014 CHECK OUT THESE ALTERNATIVES… ROLLS-ROYCE WRAITH PRICE: £225,000 0-62MPH: 4.6 secs TOP SPEED: 155mph CO2 G/KM: 327g/km MPG COMBINED: 20.2mpg THE VERDICT: DESIGN Five Stars PERFORMANCE Four Stars PRACTICALITY Three Stars VALUE FOR MONEY Two Stars ASTON MARTIN VANQUISH PRICE: £191,080 0-62MPH: 4.1 secs TOP SPEED: 183mph CO2 G/KM: 335g/km MPG COMBINED: 19.6mpg THE VERDICT: DESIGN Three Stars PERFORMANCE [...]
Head to the glittering lights of Glasgow for culture and cuisine January 5, 2014 Helen Ochyra gets acquainted with the food, and cattle, of the city set to host the Commonwealth Games in 2014 IF YOU had asked me last month which UK city has the best shopping district (apart from London), I’d have gone for Brighton, with its bohemian boutiques, or Newcastle for its vast Metro Centre. I’d [...]
Arts and lifestyle highlights for the next twelve months January 5, 2014 From Glastonbury to Shakespeare to Matisse, you won’t be short of things to do in 2014 MUSICArcade Fire confirmed as headliners for Glastonbury 2014The Glastonbury 2014 lineup is being kept under-wraps until summer, but that hasn’t stopped rumours surfacing thanks to loose-tongued artists and hints dropped by organiser Emily Eavis. Arcade Fire instigated a flurry [...]
What will December’s house price rise mean for this year? January 3, 2014 The end of 2013 saw UK house prices up 1.4 per cent month-on-month, and increasing 8.4 per cent year-on-year. And things aren’t expected to slow down this year. IHS Global Insight predicts price increases of eight per cent in 2014, with gains across the whole of Britain. Moreover, says chief European and UK economist Howard [...]
Two Doctors play very distinct villains December 19, 2013 THEATREAMERICAN PSYCHOAlmeida Theatre | By Steve DinneenFive Stars MATT Smith looks nothing like how I imagine Patrick Bateman, the axe-wielding investment banker at the heart of Bret Easton Ellis’ novel American Psycho. In fact, he doesn’t really look like any other human being apart, perhaps, from the guy who posed for the Easter Island statues. [...]