Critics' Choice

David Sexton

quote For a chain, Gaucho is startlingly expensive, the final bill ending up pretty close to one from much more stylish, individual restaurants quote

Gaucho Film

Charlotte O'Sullivan

quote Action heroes are often small; Wanted, at least, acknowledges the missing inches - and does so with a smile quote

Wanted Theatre

Nick Curtis

quote This lightweight tennis comedy scores few points quote

Grand Slam

Reader reviews

Film

Jake, London

quote I challenge anyone not to walk out feeling on cloud nine and humming Mamma Mia! quote

Mamma Mia! Restaurants

Simon, London

quote Service is appalling. Last time I went here they had run out of pizza dough at 8pm quote

Pucci Pizza Theatre

Andy, London

quote I found it to be funny, insightful and interesting as a new work quote

On The Rocks

Prime Minister Gordon Brown during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, London. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Wednesday July 2, 2008. Photo credit should read: PA Wire

MPs keep snouts in the trough: Storm over vote to carry on claiming lavish expenses

Cabinet ministers were among MPs who last night defied public anger and voted to carry on squandering taxpayers' cash on furniture and home improvements. They rejected moves to tighten the rules. .. more | Add your view

French students tortured and stabbed 250 times in Tarantino-style raid on London home

Murdered: Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez

They were two brilliant young men, already marked out as among the most gifted of their generation. But just eight weeks after arriving in this country from their native France they were murdered in a frenzy of barbaric violence... more | Add your view

It tastes good and it does you good: Dark chocolate sales double in two years thanks to its healthy image

For years we have largely managed to resist its smooth, bitter-sweet charms. But now it seems the tastebuds of more and more Britons are being tantalised by dark chocolate. .. more | Add your view

Lite poll: National Service

Do you back National Service? Vote

Standard poll: M&S warning

Following yesterday's profits warning, has M&S CEO Sir Stuart Rose lost his golden touch? Vote

7/7 victim payout

Boris Johnson tells Government to speed up compensation for victims of the 7 July bombings

'Bring back National Service'

Sister of murdered teenager Ben Kinsella calls for the reintroduction of national service

Surf to work

A surfer ditches crowded Tubes and buses and started commuting to work by board

Security scanners for kids

Children pass through an airport-style security scanner in a clampdown on knife crime

Bullock trapped on cliff ledge for THREE DAYS as officials argue over £7,500 bill to rescue it

This was no place for a little white bull, not even on a seaside holiday. Trapped on a ledge more than 150ft below the clifftop, the waves were crashing all around and the only blades of grass remained tantalisingly out of reach... more | Add your view

Sharia law SHOULD be used in Britain, says UK's top judge

The most senior judge in England yesterday gave his blessing to the use of sharia law to resolve disputes among Muslims... more | Add your view

'We Muslims are the new Jews' says MP who has been victim of a hit-and-run and a firebomb attack

Measured Muslim leader and Dewsbury MP Shahid Malik feels Muslims are an easy target for Islamophobia

Muslims have become the target of prejudice in the way Jews were once persecuted, a minister has declared. Shahid Malik, an international development minister, said he did not intend any comparison with the Nazi Holocaust... more | Add your view

Kylie OBE breaks protocol by shaking hands with Prince Charles (and he was royally tickled)

Clasping his outstretched hand with her tiny little white ones, she breached the stiff formality that is normally the order of the day at investitures but the prince looked positively delighted... more | Add your view

Pregnant 'man' gives birth to daughter in natural delivery

A woman who had a sex change operation and lived as a man has given birth to a girl, it was claimed yesterday. American Thomas Beatie is believed to have had the baby delivered naturally... more | Add your view

More than a quarter of MPs put relatives on the payroll - at the taxpayers' expense

More than a quarter of MPs employ family members at the taxpayer's expense, it was revealed yesterday. At least 177 MPs, including three Cabinet ministers and six ministers, admitted paying relatives... more | Add your view

British grandmother murdered on holiday in Tunisia

A British grandmother has been murdered while on holiday in Tunisia. Pauline Richardson's body was found in the resort of Port El Kantaoui after she was reported missing by her travel companions... more | Add your view

Half-price dining

Book a table through This is London and get 50% off your bill at top restaurants

Online DVD rental

Get 30 days FREE unlimited DVD rental with free postage and no late fees - sign up here

Want the Viagra effect without taking a pill? Try eating a watermelon

Eating fresh watermelon could help men pep up their love lives, scientists said yesterday. .. more | Add your view

Parent outrage as staff instruct pupil to replace absent teacher

A school has sparked outrage among parents by letting one of its own pupils teach classes to help ease a staff shortage... more | Add your view

Now 'nanny' Balls is trying to turn our teachers into parents

Schools are to be judged on how they improve children's 'wellbeing' by tackling obesity, drug abuse and teenage pregnancy. Teachers will be expected to monitor and record up to 31 detailed aspects. .. more | Add your view

Families are £140 a month worse off than five years ago

Financial woes: Living costs have rocketed in five years

Families are at least 15 per cent worse off than five years ago because of soaring living costs. The amount being spent on essentials has risen by �137 a month more than the amount coming in. .. more | Add your view

Mobile listings

Access all of our 5,000 entertainment listings on your mobile phone

Free travel guides

Top European and worldwide summer destinations: with essential facts, maps & travel tips

GPs are making 'gentlemen's agreements' not to poach each others' patients

Some family doctors are denying choice by making ' gentlemen's agreements' not to take on each other's patients, a health minister said yesterday. .. more | Add your view

Government backs down over plans to close Britain's 'eye in the sky' Jodrell Bank observatory

The historic Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank in Macclesfield has been saved from the scrapheap after public outcry

The world famous Jodrell Bank observatory has been thrown a lifeline with the promise of Government cash 'to keep its future secure'... more | Add your view

Faceless 'aliens' spotted in crowd at Wimbledon

With the blankest of blank expressions on their faces, these mysterious figures have been popping up in the most unlikely of places - including Wimbledon... more | Add your view

Aide who wrote Cameron's hug-a-hoodie speech is attacked... by a HOODIE

He wrote the speech in which David Cameron famously urged the nation to 'hug a hoodie'. .. more | Add your view

Woman took out false loans to pay for grandmother's Alzheimer's drugs the NHS denied her

A woman who took out loans of more than �6,000 under false names to pay for Alzheimer's drugs her grandmother needed was spared jail yesterday. .. more | Add your view

Tickets deals & Offers

Outrage as clampers demand £125 to release your car - then £100 if you swear about it

A clamping firm has caused outrage by imposing a �100 fine for people who swear at staff. Bulldog Services charges �125 to release a clamp, but adds the �100 if 'customers' are abusive... more | Add your view

Council splashes out £12,000 on designer taps after wasting thousands on bottled water

A council criticised for spending thousands of pounds on bottled water has bought six designer taps costing �2,000 each... more | Add your view

Husband who slowly poisoned his wife to death with Gatorade laced with anti-freeze

Facing life behind bars: Convicted murderer James Keown enters court for his sentencing

A former radio reporter was convicted yesterday of killing his wife by poisoning her Gatorade soft drink laced with antifreeze and sentenced to life in prison without parole... more | Add your view

Arms dump explosions rock Bulgarian capital ... then the city is struck by an earthquake

Blast: An explosion of gunpowder and munitions at an arms dump in Bulgaria

A series of powerful explosions rocked an arms disposal depot storing 1,500 tonnes of obsolete munitions outside Sofia on Thursday... more | Add your view

France celebrates as freed hostage Betancourt is re-united with her children

Family joy: French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt with her children Melanie and Lorenzo upon their arrival at Catam military airport in Bogota

The children of Ingrid Betancourt embraced their mother for the first time in six years on Thursday in a tear-drenched airport welcome... more | Add your view

Addict stole tiny puppy then blew marijuana smoke in its face until it passed out

Cute: Two little pomeranians like the one stolen and tortured

A drug addict stole a Pomeranian puppy and blowing marijuana smoke into its face until it passed out... more | Add your view

Oil prices hit new record high of $146 a barrel as the Europe's Central Bank raises interest rates

Tough times: Traders work on the floor of the New York Mercantile Exchange yesterday as oil prices rose to a new high

Oil soared to a record above $145 a barrel Thursday in Asia, fueled by concerns over a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. stockpiles and the threat of conflict with Iran... more | Add your view

Jamaicans pray for guidance as they debate translating the Holy Bible into their patois dialect

Controversial: A woman holds her Bible during services at a Revivalist church in downtown Kingston, Sunday

Plans to translate the Bible into patois - Jamaica's unofficial language - have ignited a fiery debate that stretches beyond the shores of this island nation... more | Add your view

Hundreds forced to flee as thousands of wildfires sweep across northern California

Residents in the picturesque town of Big Sur have been ordered to leave their homes as a gisnt wildfire threatens the resort... more | Add your view

China's blooming algae problem that's swamping the Olympics

Volunteers clear algae along the coastline of Qingdao, Shandong province, July 3, 2008 - more than 10,000 people and 1,200 vessels are involved in the clean-up

There must be something in the water. From a distance it looks like a magnificent golfing fairway. But get a little closer and it becomes clear that this rolling green carpet is not your average sporting venue... more | Add your view

McCain denies roughing up Nicaraguan chief as he seeks to boost foreign policy credentials

Candidate visit: Comandante Roberto Garcia Marques gives a briefing to Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain as his wife Cindy McCain looks on in Cartagena, Colombia

John McCain, who has fended off criticism that he is too hot-tempered to be an effective president, denied claims he had roughed up an associate of Nicaragua's leftist president 20 years ago... more | Add your view

London mayor Boris Johnson faces sleaze row over deputy's past as a priest

Boris Johnson was battling sleaze allegations last night after it was claimed that his deputy was suspended as a priest for sexual and financial misconduct... more | Add your view

Alistair Darling faces new backbencher challenge over 10p tax compensation

Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling are facing another damaging clash with Labour MPs over the 10p tax rate... more | Add your view

Cabinet minister leads revolt over 2p fuel tax rise as lorry drivers plan biggest protest yet

A senior Cabinet minister is leading ministers in a revolt against the planned autumn rise in fuel tax... more | Add your view

MPs seek to relax rules on abortion for early terminations

Abortion laws could be relaxed for the earliest terminations but tightened up for women seeking to end their pregnancy later. MPs on both sides of the debate are preparing to back the compromise... more | Add your view

Are you a wrinkly yet? Try the wry quizzes which test if you've reached one of life's most painful milestones

You know you're getting on when your back goes out more than youdo. But don't despair. A new book takes a wry look at growing old and offers wit and wisdom about wrinkliedom. .. more | Add your view

Can our love affair with M&S food survive?

The credit crunch is no longer something we're reading about; we are actually living it and M&S has been hit first because it is at the top-end of the supermarkets... more | Add your view

It's fiction, honest! GMTV's Penny Smith insists the character in her new novel is NOT based on Eamonn Holmes

It may include a ditsy blonde and a puffed up male Penny Smith insists the characters in her first novel are strictly fiction and not based on her GMTV co-stars... more | Add your view

If mum can get away with it: Richard & Judy's daughter strips off for racy lingerie shoot

It's the kind of image that would have Richard and Judy's viewers ringing in with righteous indignation. .. more | Add your view

Leave parenting to the parents, Mr Balls

The megalomaniacally meddlesome Mr Balls - who, of course, had a fabulous private school education - should leave teachers to educate children... more | Add your view

Grandmother aged 70 gives birth to twins and sets new world record as oldest mother

Omraki Panwar, 70, gave birth to twins - a boy and girl - by emergency Caesarean section in hospital in Muzaffarnagar, seven hours drive north of the Indian capital New Delhi. .. more | Add your view

Company director dies of brain haemorrhage after heading a football

A businessman died from a brain haemorrhage as a result of heading the ball during a veterans' soccer match. David Belk, 50, complained of a stiff neck and a headache soon after the Sunday game. .. more | Add your view

Plague of the bin pests: Rise in rats, mice, wasps and squirrels as rubbish collections go fortnightly

If you live in the city, they say you are never more than a few feet from a rat. Now it seems mice, squirrels and foxes are creeping a little too close for comfort as well. .. more | Add your view

French court to try U.S. airline over Concorde crash that killed 113 people eight years ago

A French judge has ordered a U.S. airline and five individuals to stand trial over the Concorde crash that claimed 113 victims in 2000. Continental Airlines and the other defendants would be charged with involuntary manslaughter... more | Add your view