By Michael McNulty This week we’re travelling through space, into the dark, starry beyond of the far reaches of the universe and joining the small crew aboard John Carpenter’s planet destroying space ship.  Dark Star began life as a U.S.C film project with Carpenter and Dan O’Bannon’s at its helm.  The 45 minute short was picked up by producer Jack H Harris, given a cash injection, raising its micro budget to $60,000 and a limited theatrical release in 1975.  It’s...

Bereaved children are effectively invisible to the Government, a Freedom of Information request has revealed. Just seven months after the government cut the benefits available to bereaved UK families, the Life Matters task force has revealed that there is no central record of the number of children affected by the bereavement of a parent. The alarming revelation comes as a result of an FOI request asking for the number of children bereaved of a parent in the UK, to which...

Miles Reucroft is undertaking a different way of playing the ever popular Fantasy Football this season. To understand his methodology, read part one here. The Week 1 review is here, Week 2 transfers & preview here, Week 3 preview here, Week 4 preview here, Week 5 preview here, Week 6 preview here, Week 7 preview here, Week 8 preview here, Week 9 preview here, Week 10 preview here, Week 11 preview here. Thank God the international break is over. Thank him (or her?) for the tedium is at an end. Two trips to Wembley...

Chris Mates is talking openly about his experiences of child loss over a three part series. Read part one here, and part two here.  The last time I wrote about my experiences of child loss it was with apprehension, anticipation and, in a way, guilt. My wife, Jen was nearing the end of her second pregnancy and I didn’t really know how the next stage of our lives would pan out. We wanted a baby so much but always had...

To celebrate their first Christmas since opening, award-winning restaurant Hammer & Tongs, in Farringdon, has announced plans to launch a special South African Braai menu – an African style of cooking that uses an open fire, generally fuelled by wood. Slow-cooked entirely over Sicklewood and Blackthorne, on an open fire, the menu will offer guests the chance to enjoy two courses for £20, or three courses for £25. With the possibility of accommodating groups from two to 80, the restaurant’s...

People living in polluted urban areas are far less likely to be admitted to hospital with asthma when there are lots of trees in their neighbourhood, a study by the University of Exeter’s medical school has found. The study into the impact of urban greenery on asthma suggests that respiratory health can be improved by the expansion of tree cover in very polluted urban neighbourhoods. Published in the journal Environment International, the study looked at more than 650,000 serious asthma attacks over a 15 year period....

Parliament today heard the full horror of the Tories’ flagship policy that has left many families looking at the prospect of going hungry for weeks as Christmas approaches. The roll out of Ian Duncan Smith’s brainchild - the Universal Credit welfare overhaul has been criticised by MP’s from all quarters, as well as charities and housing associations whose tenants have been left unable to pay their rent for weeks. Opposition MP’s today called for the six week wait their constituents...

When Hoppers opened in 2015, the tiny Sri Lankan restaurant became an instant success. In the heart of Soho, the excitement behind the launch can be attributed to a number of factors; notably the welcome introduction to a South Asian cuisine previously quite unexplored in London. JKS Restaurants’ rich portfolio also helped, I’m sure, also including Gymkhana and Trishna. Then there’s the whole ‘no-reservation’ policy, allowing the restaurant to turn tables quickly and keep costs down, alas removing certainty of...

Since 2013 London’s Exhibition Collective has been nurturing East London’s artistic community with regular workshops and annual themed shows yet 2017 is set to be its most accomplished year yet. Established by a small group of creative friends living in Stoke Newington, the EXC has since grown into a fourteen strong group of emerging artists working in a variety of forms including collage, pen and ink, photography, paint, pottery and needlework. The group will open their four-day exhibit on the...