For all the wonderful simplicity single menu demi-chains offer they are the anathema of fresh, seasonal and diverse cooking. In most instances you sense a replica version of the menu is likely stapled to the freezer to itemise the frozen boxes of readymade meals that line the shelves, and so it is that I have come to both be thankful for the straightforwardness but simultaneously cautious of the quality of any restaurant that champions such a system. Little Smoke is...

The problem with the term ‘Pan-Asian’ is the somewhat stereotypical model of a restaurant that often takes various dishes and techniques from the likes of Japan, China, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam and crams them all into the same shallow pigeonhole, often ending up with a result that’s less than authentic. Opened on the ground-floor at the back of Oxford Street’s huge Debenhams store, with an entrance directly opposite MEATliquor, Chi Kitchen is a ‘Pan-Asian’ restaurant with a menu that’s overseen...

Foreign secretary Boris Johnson was accidentally sent to Sunderland after Tory staff confused the town for a British overseas territory. Junior staff, one fresh out of Eton, were sent by the new Exiting the European Union select committee to explore the state of Sunderland Upon Wear after it was flagged that they had voted decisively for Brexit. But there was confusion when the Foreign Secretary was asked to pay it a visit on national business, rather than the man engineering Britain's exit...

By Linda Marric @linda_marric Sharing the title of D.W Griffith’s 1915 racist ode to The Ku Klux Klan and white supremacy, Nate Parker’s The Birth Of A Nation’s message couldn’t be more different. The film tells the little talked about story of a slave rebellion in 1831 lead by Nat Turner, a literate preacher who was born into slavery and singled out as a child by his master’s wife to learn to read and write. As well as writing and...

Ownership can be a really rewarding experience but no matter how much you love your horse or pony, taking care of him can put a real strain on your finances and your freedom. If that strain begins to dull your enjoyment of horse ownership, there are some simple steps you can take to help reduce the amount of time and money you need to spend on your horse without compromising on his welfare. Here’s a few tips: Share your Time...

It's estimated that we touch our face around 3000 times a day. With that staggering figure in mind, it's no wonder that the first thing we obsess about is any irregularity in our boat race: blemish, bags, dry skin and those dreaded wrinkles. While our dirty mitts could be the reason behind our blemishes, ageing and hydration play a major factor in blame for the rest. Of course there are a wealth of products on the market that will claim...

When possible tube strikes were once again announced this week, I rolled my eyes. The subject has become an all too familiar commuter gripe and is a topic that we can’t resist commenting on. Angry commuters take to Twitter and social media every day to relieve their frustration over delays, strikes and being close to smelly armpits. I myself was thrust into the pit of a gentleman just the other day while riding the tube and words cannot describe the...

Many environmentalists were worried about Donald Trump becoming US President after a number of comments seemingly dismissive of global warming and its dangers to the planet. In one tweet he wrote: "The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive." On Jan 29th 2014, Trump also Tweeted: "Snowing in Texas and Louisiana, record setting freezing temperatures throughout the country and beyond. Global warming is an expensive hoax!" And if that...

The vast cultural difference between the UK and Italy has been laid bare in a special Christmas research project looking at family dining habits. Despite 59 per cent of Brits believing that family time is the most important thing about Christmas, the research found that 30 per cent admit to not sharing their Christmas dinner with their family, compared to just one in ten Italians. A further 15 per cent of Brits said they didn’t get family together for any major holiday...