Hyper Japan festival is returning to London's Tobacco Dock again this summer for a unique celebration of Japanese culture, cuisine and 'cool'. The festival, which promises a sensory overload of music, smells, sights and tastes, will run between 14th-16th July. With well-known performers, fashion shows, exhibitors, a food festival, and creative workshops to experience, it is the ultimate event for those eager to discover new, exciting trends and certified Japanophiles alike! Fancy something futuristic with a nod to nostalgia? Taking to the...

Earlier this year Starbucks made a pledge to hire 10,000 refugees globally over the next five years in a publicity-fuelled stunt that hit all the right notes following Donald Trump's inauguration and amidst all the dark clouds hanging over the toxic geopolitical environment. The warm gesture provided a much-needed PR boost for the often beleaguered coffee house chain, but sentiment has little to do with it, the truth is that it makes good business sense. Over the next decade Starbucks is planning to have another 12,000 new stores...

Much to my ignominy, until last Christmas I’d never visited Scotland. Fleeing London for a long weekend in Edinburgh, I’d hoped to receive an insight into nation’s famous food and drink heritage, if not complete immersion. After swanning around the hilly, cobbled streets of Edinburgh, I couldn’t escape an overwhelming thirst. “Where’s the best place to drink whisky, nearby?” I enquired - in a specialist whisky shop, of all places. “There’s a wee pub around the corner, but avoid opening...

City breaks are all about discovering the hidden and undiscovered parts of a place. While there are a huge number of attractions available, we often find that the best things in an unfamiliar city cost nothing (and help you avoid a lot of the tourist traps) – which is why we’ve teamed up with the travel experts at HolidayGems.co.uk to find out the best things to do in Paris for free. 1. Check out the waterfalls at Parc des Buttes...

Street food pop-up sensation 2 Fingers – ‘London's original fish finger bad boys’ - will be making an appearance at the Spit & Sawdust Beer Festival in Elephant & Castle on the 27th and 28th May. The South London boozer will be hosting the two day festival in its sun soaked beer garden with 2 Fingers cooking up its much-esteemed fish finger sandwiches along with more recent additions to its extended retro-menu including the Soft Shell Crab Burger with napa-slaw, Bánh Mì 2 and the B.A. Baracus...

1.Book Fight with Tom McAllister and Mike Ingram Writers Tom and Mike have come to feel like friends, we drink beer together, I listen to them ramble, sometimes about books and literary movements, but other times about Philadelphia, poptarts, the state of America, racoons and a baby detective who wears a denim diaper (in-joke). An irreverent mix of pop culture, politics, literary gossip and serious book reviewing. 2. The Moth The top pick, as voted by judges from within the...

By Tom Moore Winnie Mandela has today come out in support of Donald Trump and says that she too is struggling to think of another politician who’s been treated as badly or unfairly as him. Yesterday, in an address to the cast of the new Baywatch movie, Trump valiantly and courageously hit back at the unfair and biased media who clearly have a hidden agenda, because he is not part of the political establishment. Despite his best efforts to stick...

Theresa May leading us down garden path again, says union. The GMB has described the Conservative Manifesto as a ‘great swindle’. The election pledge, unveiled today, offers a bleak vision for Britain’s future according to the union. Tim Roache, GMB General Secretary said: "It's all well and good talking up a great meritocracy, but in reality the Conservatives are proposing a great swindle. "Many families already feeling the pinch face shouldering the burden for the social care they desperately need. "I fail...

A 12ft crocodile which wandered into a religious temple was ejected by villagers - who wrestled it out with their bare hands. The croc walked into the Hanuman temple in search of food after drought caused the nearby Krishna River in southern India to dry up. So locals in the village of Sonna teamed up to evict the unwanted tenant - using ropes and pieces of wood to tie up the beast. Luckily the reptile was exhausted by a lack...