When Paula Rego was asked to paint a mural for the dining room of the National Gallery’s Sainsbury Wing in 1990, it “seemed a thoughtless insult”, said Laura Cumming in The Observer. The artist, who died last year aged 87, was renowned for focusing on the kinds of people normallyContinue Reading
Michael Parkinson, veteran British journalist and host of his own long-running TV chat show, has died aged 88. The national treasure affectionately nicknamed “Parky” passed away peacefully at home on Wednesday night following a brief illness, his agent said. He became one of British TV’s most recognisable faces with “Parkinson”,Continue Reading
When it came to the West End in 2007, “The Lord of the Rings” was a “notorious flop”, said Dominic Cavendish in The Daily Telegraph. A spectacular mega-musical, incorporating folk, Bollywood influences and pop, it had cost a record-breaking £12.5m to stage, at the 2,000- seat Theatre Royal Drury Lane,Continue Reading
Once upon a time, said Sean O’Grady in The Independent, TV announcers “would introduce a series such as ‘Wolf’ with a sombre warning that it wasn’t suitable ‘for viewers of a nervous disposition’”. That sounds a bit antique now, but I really do think the BBC should find a wayContinue Reading
California welcomed four-legged surfers to a San Francisco beach this weekend as part of the annual World Dog Surfing Championships. Thousands of spectators gathered at Linda Mar Beach in Pacifica, close to San Francisco, to watch the canine contestants compete in the annual event which has taken place since 2016. Continue Reading
When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a commission 1 Audio-Technica AT-LP5X It has a plastic base, but this 7.3kg turntable is well built and has remarkable sound quality for the price. It has USB connectivity to transfer your vinyl to digital and its direct-drive 3-speedContinue Reading
Founded in 2007, Henley Literary Festival has “firmly established itself” as one of the UK’s most popular literary festivals, said VisitThames.co.uk. Featuring talks, performances and conversations for adults and children, 2023’s speakers include Theresa May, Ben Okri, Sophy Henn, Robert Peston, Jacqueline Wilson, Gary Younge and Judy Murray. There willContinue Reading
Grayson Perry is arguably the most famous artist working in Britain today, said BBC Scotland. Since the 1980s, he has gone “from taking pottery evening classes to winning the Turner Prize”, and presenting programmes on Channel 4. He is now held in high esteem by both the art establishment andContinue Reading
“Dreaming Whilst Black”, a new BBC comedy “about a man who quits his corporate career to try to cut it as a filmmaker”, is itself the product of creator and star Adjani Salmon’s decision to leave a steady job to pursue his dream, said Dan Einav in the Financial Times.Continue Reading
If you clung on to your childhood collection of Beanie Babies in the vague hope that, some day, they might be worth a fortune, then your story is about to hit the big screen. The details of the 1990s stuffed-toy phenomenon were so “mind-boggling”, said the Los Angeles Times, thatContinue Reading
