‘Gimme Shelter’ is quite an apt song for a homeless hound from the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, who is the spitting image of Rolling Stones rocker Ronnie Wood. With his jet black mullet and shaggy appearance, staff at Dogs Trust Shoreham were quick to spot the uncanny resemblance of Saluki cross, Domino or ‘Ronnie Woof’ as he has been nicknamed, to the Rolling Stones guitarist. Found as a stray, Domino didn’t have the best start in life; however staff...

Not so long ago I was making a trip down to Cornwall when I overhead a conversation between two mums about what they feed their children. One said their child had developed quite a taste for quinoa before the poor beggar burst into tears.  "Pass the humus" -  she yelled, as if posh nosh acts as a pacifier to the modern gentrified kid. The whole experience left me quite horrified, but given that I was going for a long weekend in...

“We’re there for the children” …. Nikki Scott talks about how losing her husband in Afghanistan motivated her to set up a charity to help bereaved Armed Forces children smile again Founding Scotty’s Little Soldiers is unquestionably my greatest life achievement. When I lost Lee, my husband and Brooke and Kai’s Dad, in Afghanistan in 2009, our world was turned upside down. I’ll never forget the day I found out - seeing two cars drive up to the house with...

By Linda Marric One minute into the credits of Kong: Skull Island and you can’t help but smile, because you know this isn’t going to be one of “those” monster films with unending battle scenes and little else. So if you were expecting a testosterone drenched blockbuster a la Michael Bay, rest assured that this is nothing of the sort. Produced by the same team who brought us Godzilla (Gareth Edwards, 2014), Kong: Skull Island not so much borrows but...

By Stephen Mayne @finalreel A montage near the end jumps through a diverse collection of fans explaining what heavy metal band X Japan means to them. Aside from adoration in their homeland, others from around the world express admiration, ranging from people who used their music to deal with dark emotions to an elderly woman attending her first concert since Elvis. It’s a hint of what could have been in a shallow and otherwise amiable documentary that skates through the...

New research shows that schools and colleges are the most common route into social action activities such as volunteering, campaigning, and fundraising. Teachers were identified as having a particularly strong influence on young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, as results also showed that support from teachers, parents and friends to get involved is vital. Almost all young people who take part in regular social action receive some form of encouragement to do so, compared to less than half of those who...

After rising like a phoenix from the flames of the fire that devastated the beautiful former council building, the cool South London cultural hub of the Battersea Arts Centre continues to dazzle, bringing London's unique untold stories to the stage. And Conrad Murray is certainly unique - nimbly looping and live mixing beatbox, guitar and rapping about his own extraordinary childhood, while sampling lines from Hamlet, Murray's autobiographical one man show is as courageous as they come. For a one man show it...

We caught up with fantastic comedian Lucy Porter as her new show "consequences" takes the the road What can people expect from your show?   It’s a mixture of candid storytelling, political musings and giving booze to audience members. What’s the inspiration behind ‘Consequences? A women’s magazine asked me to write a ‘Letter to my 16-year-old-self.’ I sat down and thought about the advice I’d give to a younger me. I realised that in my teens I wouldn’t have taken any...

By Maggie Majstrova, @Foodstrova Despite British food historically having a stereotypically negative image (think overcooked vegetables and a repertoire of bland dishes), the last few years have seen a complete revival, with so many traditional dishes being re-worked into something more contemporary and, ultimately, flavoursome. Still, when a restaurant is described as ‘Modern British’, it’s impossible to be 100 per-cent sure of what to expect. Just consider, Despite British food historically having a stereotypically negative image. On the other hand,...