Nightbitch review: Amy Adams plays a dog in motherhood horror December 4, 2024 Motherhood has been portrayed in various ways on screen, but few films will go to the same extremes as new drama Nightbitch. Amy Adams stars as Mother, a woman who has left behind a life as a successful artist in order to become a stay-at-home mum to Baby, a toddler with no shortage of energy. [...]
The Importance of Being Earnest at National Theatre review December 4, 2024 Max Webster’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest opens with Ncuti Gatwa’s Algernon swathed in hot pink ballgown and draped over a piano. Start as you mean to go. The play is a luscious, saturated explosion that unfolds like a musical number of carefully choreographed wordplay. It is a celebration of appetite and queerness, [...]
Christmas food shop: The pros give their top tips December 4, 2024 With less than a month to go, it’s time to start thinking about your Christmas food shop… Or is it? I spoke to some top chefs and restaurateurs about how they approach the most important meal of the year and asked them for their pro tips on making it one to remember (for the right [...]
Libby’s Naked Diary December 4, 2024 Scrooges stay away, Grinches get ye gone! I had heard that nowhere does Christmas time like Buckinghamshire’s Cliveden House, but this surpassed expectation. As a parent, Christmas can be all about the children, but stepping through the entrance’s stone pillars, wrapped in wreaths and fairy lights, to the hall’s enormous glittering tree, I felt that [...]
The best gifts for toddlers 2024: From Paw Patrol to Barbie December 3, 2024 If you want to make sure your little one wakes up with a big smile on Christmas morning, check out our guide to the best gifts for toddlers 2024. Ravensburger Bluey Mini Memory Game Enhance your toddler’s cognitive skills with the Ravensburger Bluey Mini Memory Game, perfect for children aged 3 and up. This classic [...]
To find the soul of another country, head to the supermarket December 3, 2024 My favourite thing about travelling abroad isn’t the sun, the sand, nor the sea – it’s going to the local supermarket. Walking through the doors of a foreign grocery store is like passing through the looking glass into a place where everything is both familiar and alien, a fairground mirror that reflects a strange, distorted [...]
Best gifts for teenagers: From Star Wars to Warhammer December 3, 2024 Teenagers are notoriously hard to buy for but in our guide to the best gifts for teenagers you’re sure to be a winner on Christmas morning. 3-In-1 Crawling RC Car Looking for a versatile and exciting gift for your teenager? The 3-In-1 Crawling RC Car is an exceptional choice! This remote-controlled buggy features a robust [...]
Last Orders: An appreciation of the takeaway menu, a dying cultural artefact December 3, 2024 When I walked through my front door in Gateshead as a teenager, the doormat would be covered in a carpet of brightly coloured paper. A cherry-blossom pink menu from the local Chinese takeaway, the red and gold of an Indian place, and pictures of row upon row of bargain buckets from the local chicken shop. [...]
Pearl Mackie: The Doctor Who star on her dream last supper December 3, 2024 Pearl Mackie, star of Netflix thriller The Diplomat and the upcoming production of Noel Streatfeild’s Ballet Shoes at the National Theatre, tells us what she would eat for her last meal on earth My mum was vegetarian so I was veggie when I was growing up, until I was about 12. Back then it wasn’t great [...]
My Top Christmas Wines December 3, 2024 As much as I love the tradition of turkey and think pigs-in-blankets are delicious, unsurprisingly the wine is the star attraction at my house, and I put a whole lot of thought and care into what I serve my guests. Nothing kicks off a celebration better than a glass of something sparkling and I will [...]