How to create a coffee corner in your kitchen

Set the mood Paul Firmin and Niko Dafkos, founders of lifestyle brand Earl of East, are so fanatical about the brown stuff that their trio of London stores features coffee counters; on their website, a dedicated Cafe Core section is stocked with Scandi-cool mugs and containers. In their own home, they have recreated the café ambience with mood […]

How to get the body of a Roman gladiator

You should never underestimate the power of bread and circuses. Hundreds of gladiators have risen to the fight knowing they were mere pawns in a politician’s bid for higher office. The Republic was a bad time for that sort of thing. These days, we perform at the emperor’s command, and on as few as 10 […]

How to wear the ‘soft goth’ trend in midlife

Silk blouse, £620, Irish Twin; Velvet trousers, £160, Aspiga; Leather heeled mule, £150, Jigsaw; Gold plated earrings, £170, Polene It’s not just movie star style that is driving the soft goth trend, there’s also a broader pop cultural context at play. Sarra Manning – a former teenage goth, now novelist and Literary Editor of Red magazine – explains that soft […]

What is it and how to get rid of it?

You might not be aware of the medical term kyphosis, but chances are you will have heard of a ‘dowager’s hump’, or its modern day equivalent: tech neck. Used to describe any sort of rounding of the upper back, this outdated name stemmed from the fact that a pronounced hump in the spine at the […]

How to shop for ‘fine’ wines without breaking the bank

Lambson’s Connect the Dots Blended Syrah 2021, 13.5%, Lay & Wheeler, £21.81 But top of my list these days, when it comes to South Africa, is chenin blanc. I don’t buy it as an alternative to chenin blanc from the Loire, though. I love the glittering thrust and nervosity of acidity of Loire chenin blanc, […]

How to explore the ‘lost’ waterways of the Midlands

You should never be in a hurry on the canals. I had nowhere particular to be before nightfall, as long as it offered a pleasant rural view and relative peace. In the end I moored not far above the locks, the M1 a white noise in the background, with a view of fields and oak […]

How to buy an island – and truly work remotely

Krolow is talking about islands such as Motu Teta Rangiroa in French Polynesia, which is on the market for just over £1.5m. If you told a child to crayon a picture of a private island, this palm-tree studded paradise is what they’d draw. Thanks to Starlink, owners can live on coconuts while trading shares on […]

How to survive the cruise ship dinner table

Picture this scene: with newly sanitised hands and an appetite as big as the QE2, you have been seated at a restaurant table where you will dine for the duration of your cruise. You’re then handed a printed card by the couple next to you. It reads: “Please do not smile or greet us at […]

How to stack your fridge and make food last longer

How to organise your fridge Have a clear-out Pick a day when your fridge is looking sparse and start with a good clear out, checking use-by dates and looking under lids for signs of mould. Whether food is still safe to eat once mould has appeared depends on the food – for example, if a hard […]