From January mocktails to a real Bloody Mary February 5, 2013 City PM’s cocktail expert Alcohol’s value goes beyond its simple price-tag. Over the Christmas period it was no doubt used by plenty to ease family tensions, as well as to smooth the passage from 2012 into 2013. Alcohol is so ingrained within our social experiences that human guinea pigs exhibit the effects of drunkenness, even [...]
Peugeot aims to top its iconic 205 February 4, 2013 IF YOU are of a certain age you’ll know how revered the Peugeot 205 was. The little motor transformed the supermini segment when it was introduced back in 1983 and went on to become something of an icon. Peugeot is hoping its new 208 model can recapture its success. Unlike its 206 and 207 predecessors [...]
And if that doesn’t take your fancy… February 4, 2013 Ford Fiesta Titanium 1.0T EcoBoost, £16,045 It’s Britain’s best selling car for a reason. The Ford Fiesta is a great all-rounder and considered to be one of the most fun superminis to drive. It’s also sharp-looking and offers a good combination of attributes. The latest model is available with a three-cylinder 123bhp 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine, [...]
It’s Davos, but not as you know it February 3, 2013 DESPITE being a 30-something supposed grown-up, I must confess to still suffering from the occasional nightmare. While on duty as a night editor of this newspaper, for example, my sleep can be disturbed by a recurring dream in which I’m culpable for printing over 130,000 front page headlines of “UK ECOMONY DIPS AGAIN” (yes, reread [...]
Denzel saves turbulent drama January 31, 2013 FILM FLIGHT Cert 15 *** Flight probably isn’t the film you’re expecting. For the first 15 minutes, Cast Away director Robert Zemeckis flexes his live-action, big-effects muscles but following the knuckle-whitening opener, it becomes less a dramatic thriller than a slow-paced portrait of alcohol addiction. We meet Denzel Washington’s Captain Whip Whitaker as he wakes [...]
Murray’s FDR breathes life into flabby period drama January 31, 2013 FILM HYDE PARK ON HUDSON Cert 15 *** Bill Murray sits at the centre of this flabby period drama like a grotesque but lovable toad in a dangerously shallow pond. Hyde Park on Hudson follows the budding sexual relationship between President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Murray) and his distant cousin Margaret “Daisy” Suckley during the visit [...]
Arts round-up: Manet, Picasso and Jurgen Teller exhibitions January 31, 2013 MANET: PORTRAYING LIFE Royal Academy of Arts Manet: Portraying Life is the first major UK exhibition dedicated to the portraiture of the great French painter Édouard Manet. The exhibition brings together works from America, Europe and Asia, including the famed The Railing he created in 1873. Don’t expect to see his most famous pieces though [...]
Overcome the January lull at these drink dens January 31, 2013 London always experiences a bit of a lull in January, but there are still some notable new arrivals you may have missed around town. The first of such is The Luggage Room, nestled neatly into the north-eastern corner of Grosvenor Square, just next to Maze and Maze Grill. It takes its name from its previous [...]
UK house prices tick up in January January 31, 2013 UK house prices edged up in January, boosted by the Funding for Lending scheme, mortgage lender Nationwide said this morning. According to the lender, house values ticked up 0.5 per cent in January, although values were flat year on year, avoiding a decline for the first time since February. The typical UK home is now [...]
The sporty but sensible Mazda 6 January 29, 2013 With the price of fuel about to go up again, it’s no surprise so many of us now consider fuel economy one of the most important considerations when buying a new car. It’s the latest front to open up in the battle to attract car buyers and Mazda has made a massive effort to ensure [...]
