Samsung's fortunes have fluctuated in recent times, with their quest to challenge and ultimately supersede market rivals Apple achieving mixed results.  By 2014, for example, Samsung's profits were in decline, while the brand had been undermined by continued suggestions that they had cynically replicated the popular iPhone design. This all changed with the release of the Galaxy Alpha, however, which saw the introduction of solid metal frames and the type of elegant finishing that has now become a Samsung trademark....

Villagers have been left baffled by a £50,000 Maserati which has been parked in the same place for more than a week. The luxury white sports car first appeared in a village hall car park last weekend - but still hasn't been moved eight days on. The two-door Maserati Ghibli was perfectly parked by the driver who reversed the vehicle into a bay before abandoning it. But the car has a private registration plate which residents in East Hanningfield, Essex,...

This review contains spoilers Obsession is a work about frustrated sexual expectations and celluloid dreams. It is self-reflexive and caught in the repetitive loop of Luchino Visconti’s 1942 film Ossessione yet feels like a radical comment on our age. Ivo van Hove directs and Simon Stephens gives us an English version translation. This collaboration makes sense: previous work from the two, such as Songs from Far Away, brought multiple layers of meaning and theatrical transcendence to  an experimental level. And...

A beach that washed away over thirty years ago during large storms has reappeared due to a freak tide. The beach close to the Irish village of Dooagh on Achill Island vanished in 1984 after huge waves swept away all the sand, leaving just rock pools behind. Good for catching crabs, not so great for sunbathing. The rock pools left behind caused trade to plummet with almost all the village’s hotels, guesthouses and cafes shutting down. One freak tide ruined...

TLE readers are in with a chance to win a Bickerton fold up bike worth £1,049.99 to celebrate this year's Spin Cycling Festival taking place at London Olympia this weekend. Folding bikes are all about key areas; ease of fold, weight and stiffness resulting in a solid, comfortable ride. Bickerton have completely redesigned the Argent platform from the ground up and this has resulted in a bike that is at the forefront of folding technology today. With the latest in hinge technology (not available...

I don't know about you, but as for me if I never hear or read the word meta again it'll be too soon, unless of course it's someone singing 'I Met a Girl' from that fine old musical Bells Are Ringing. It is not that I have any prejudice whatsoever against self-referential elements within a specific piece of media (at the most basic level we would lose the Christmas Panto for one thing) rather it is the over-use of the...

London is often overlooked as a hub of automotive industry in this country. Besides the historic nature of our capital, our first-thought, perhaps understandably, is to the midlands and the north of England. If you look more closely however, you’ll find that London played a crucial role in elevating some primitive manufacturers into the biggest and most recognisable brands in the world. Chrysler Despite being one of America’s Big Three car manufacturers, Chrysler was reliant on London for its early...

By Andy Irwin One hundred days ago, I stopped drinking alcohol. I stopped because, for ten years, my dependence on booze meant that I lost a lot of time. I made bad choices and lost touch with a bunch of people I cared about, and who cared about me. I frequently made a scene or woke up far away from where I was supposed to be. ‘Alcohol-dependent’ is a strong phrase; ‘alcoholic’ is a strong word. ‘Problematic drinking’ is the phrase...

UK Parents are losing control as their children flock to social media and immerse themselves in digital, new research has revealed. The survey found children as young as six have social media accounts with the vast majority of parents admitting to having no monitoring software or system on their children’s digital devices, apps and social media networks. Parents across the UK agree tech and social media are taking over their lives and being plugged in constantly is damaging their children as...