Who match-made Madonna, got Kate Moss on stage with Pink Floyd and filled the capital with multicoloured elephants? Olivia Cole meets the London alchemists who make the impossible possible... more
Even paedophiles have rights. The Supreme Court has ruled that it is a breach of offenders' human rights to be on the Sex Offenders Register for life with no chance of a review... more
In Waterstone’s I found 10 love poems in a pristine white envelope. Though mostly contemporary, they seem almost sweetly Victorian in the context of the modern "F**k off, he's mine" Valentine’s card... more
Ah the joy and pain of email. Dominic Morris, former bag-carrier to ex-broadcasting minister Lord Carter, has sent exciting emails out to announce he has become the new director of public policy at Lloyds Banking Group... more
Thanks a bunch, thunderpants. Umar Abdulmutallab's botched attempt at roasting his Christmas Day chestnuts will now constipate our airports yet further with body scanners, sniffer dogs and Perspex bins filled with confiscated boxer shorts... more
Nicky Haslam has been to more parties than anyone and knows how to make an evening fizz: start planning three months ahead; decorate the ceiling; invite Paris Hilton; and never, ever engage the host in conversation... more
If you are lucky enough to be invited to the GQ Men of the Year Awards - I was - then a word of advice. Make sure your arrival on the red carpet doesn't coincide with that of the beautiful people... more
At the Electric Cinema, where Matthew Freud and Elisabeth Murdoch had invited le tout Notting Hill to watch Barack Obama's inauguration on the big screen, everyone started chattering when the poet came on... more
Celebrity sells at an astonishing rate, yet at its heart the UK still loves a book for itself and London is a great champion of literature. These are the people who keep us reading.
... more
Lady Antonia Fraser complains that the British Library Reading Room has become overrun by undergraduates who are hogging all the desks. Her fellow historian Tristram Hunt bemoans the fact it is now a "groovy place" to meet for a frappuccino. Many feared that when the old Reading Room closed, the British Library would lose its charm. Far from it. It has become more fashionable than ever as a social venue... more
Prominent authors have complained that two the British Library's Reading Room has been overtaken by frappuccino drinking students giggling with their friends, playing on laptops and texting their mates.... more
This week's top releases include Oscar winner Andrea Arnold's first feature, a French and Saunders series, and a bonkers Japanese exploitation flick.... more
The explosion of interest in Harold Pinter plays has reached a new level with the Donmar Warehouse announcing a revival of adultery drama Betrayal.... more
Marie Antoinette is based partly upon Antonia Fraser's biography but mostly on director Sofia Coppola's imagination. And, just when things are getting really interesting, the film fades to black. ... more
Exclusive: After high-profile allegations this season, Charlton's manager is pleased the issue is now being addressed but says the authorities still have plenty of work to do
Morning:
8°c
