Clockwork Orange winds down

A housing estate is finally to lose its association with the 1971 film A Clockwork Orange. The last 230 homes on the Tavy Bridge estate in Thamesmead, southeast London, are being demolished for a regeneration project. The estate is infamous for being the backdrop to Stanley Kubrick’s film and some locals think that the film’s depiction of youth disorder tainted the area’s reputation. Ian Clement, the leader of Bexley council, declared it “a new fresh start for Thamesmead”.

Langham Hotel

The prestigious Langham Hotel, London opened in 1865 as England, and Europe’s first Grand Hotel. As a renowned London Hotel with a distinctive charm and character, it has hosted royalty, foreign dignitaries and celebrities in luxury for over 140 years. A Victorian landmark with an exceptionally rich heritage, the Langham Hotel, London was restored and expanded in the 1990's, with much of the original interior still intact. In 2004, this luxury hotel in London became the flagship property of Langham Hotels International, and a member of The Leading Hotels of the World.

A luxury London Hotel with 427 bedrooms, including the Infinity Suite – London’s finest two-bedroom hotel suite, Langham Hotel, London provides an oasis of tranquility, perfect for business travellers during the week, and leisure guests expecting more privacy in weekends.

For the best dining experience, visit our Memories Restaurant, one of London’s best restaurants featuring a stylish and eclectic menu combining the best of French and British cuisines in this five star luxury London Hotel.

Ben Turnbull @ LAZ.inc

U.S. vs THEM

Featuring Ben Turnbull

Exhibition Dates: Fri 19th of January - Wed 28th of February

U.S. vs THEM, is Ben Turnbull’s first exhibition at the Lazarides Gallery, and presents a group of 15 provocative, politically committed and striking new sculptures that reveal the dark side of U.S. society and its political system, in the year that the American Presidential election race heats-up.

The exhibition presents familiar symbols of religion, sacrifice, patriotism and propaganda and subverts and exposes their brainwashing effect by re-making them from accumulated flea-market toys, or re-packaging them as huge games, all branded in the iconic red, white and blue of the Stars and Stripes.

Brown's Hotel

Sophistication and classic English style are the hallmarks of the legendary Brown's Hotel, which joined the Rocco Forte Hotels' collection of luxury hotels on 3rd July 2003.

Brown's has been restored to its rightful position as one of the most intimate and charming hotels in London. The interiors are contemporary and have a real sense of style, while retaining much of their original, quintessentially English elegance.

Set in the heart of Mayfair on Albemarle Street, Brown's is one of the most historic hotels in London. Within a short walk from exclusive Bond Street shopping, West End theatres and St James's, Brown's Hotel was founded in 1837 to provide 'genteel' accommodation for discerning people. Brown's has always had an air of exclusivity and refinement, which it has retained following its extensive refurbishment overseen by Rocco Forte Hotels' Director of Design, Olga Polizzi.

Composed of 11 Georgian town houses, all 117 bedrooms (including 19 luxurious suites) have been individually designed with a sophistication that has become the trademark of Rocco Forte hotels, as has the warm and personal service.

Rapidly reasserting itself as one of London's finest dining venues, Brown's Hotel offers The Grill which under the craftmanship of award-winning Exective Chef, Laurence Glayzer, serves a delicate balance of traditional English fare with a contemporary, continental twist. A long-held British institution, afternoon tea at Brown's still continues in the hotel's English Tea Room serving the best afternoon tea in London.

The hotel's new and improved conference and banqueting facilities now comprise six meeting and function rooms for up to 120 people complete with the most up-to-date equipment and technology, while for post-meeting relaxation Brown's hotel now offers a fully equipped gym and three spa treatment rooms.

Bin there, done that: why Trash had to end

The pioneering London club that championed electroclash, bootlegs and made indie cool again is closing in January. Its founder explains why.

After 10 amazing years, I've decided it's time to close Trash.

My reason? Well, there are many. First, 10 years is a very, very long time in clubland. A day hasn't gone by since its first night where I haven't had to do something related to running the place. Keeping Trash fresh, relevant and most importantly fun, has been a lot of hard work.

Had someone told me on the first night that it would run for 10 years, I'm not too sure that I would have believed them. And due to the new commitments I have taken on, it would be unfair to try and keep the club going. Instead, I'm handing the reigns over to the Trash family who work alongside me to organise a new party called DURRR.

I'll still be involved - inviting bands and guests, and possibly doing the occasional DJ set - but I won't be a resident. I feel it's extremely important to still deliver the quality that Trash has offered, and do it at a price that doesn't stiff the kids out there - the same kids who are able to make a change. In its history, Trash has never cost more than £6 to get in; and that would have been to see bands such as Suicide, LCD Soundsystem and Klaxons. And hear DJ sets from Soulwax, Jacques Lu Cont, Felix Da Housecat and James Murphy. Six pounds! And at The End, a venue with one of the best sound systems around.

But in my eyes, there's been so much more to Trash than the music. It has created and served a community faithfully and with respect. It never sold out to the man, and gave its middle finger to the heartless, mindless end of alternative culture. I've met so many amazing and inspiring kids under that roof, some of whom are currently involved in music, film, literature, art or something else altogether peculiar.

But I do find it hard writing about this. I don't really know how to sum it all up in words, as my feelings have always been relayed through music, and I certainly don't think I'll ever be able to do the club any justice with an explanation like this. Summing up 10 intimate years is quite impossible. I suppose you'll only know what it was truly like is if you were there. Let me know, and merry Christmas.

Experts on stand-by for Black Tuesday

New Year hangovers have faded and the last of the Christmas turkey has been dispatched. But the true cost of this year's festive battle has yet to be counted. And the reckoning begins today — "Black Tuesday".

As Britain returns to work after a fortnight of excess and enforced intimacy, armies of bank managers, divorce lawyers, debt counsellors, addiction experts, life coaches and car mechanics are braced to deal with the fall-out.

Citizens' Advice Bureaux are likely to receive more than 5,300 calls today about unmanageable debts and they will receive the first of at least 1.4 million inquiries this year from people now facing an "unmanageable" debt burden.

Divorce lawyers are predicting a flurry of inquiries today as couples who struggled over Christmas finally resolve to take legal advice about separation.

Serious requests for help from the charity Alcoholics Anonymous UK will also start to grow, doubling in London to more than 20 a day by the end of the week.

WeightWatchers' New Year subscriptions will start to flood in as some of last year's slimmers depart to make way for a million new and returning hopefuls. The RAC and AA are braced for their busiest day of the year as commuters get back in their cars.

Gladeana McMahon, the vice-president of the Association for Coaching, one of many life-coaching organisations, said: "Over Christmas people put away their problems, even blank them out. So when Jan 2 comes around and we start back at work, they just can't be ignored any longer and can seem much worse."

Bloody New Year of chaos

BRITAIN suffered one its bloodiest New Years ever as midnight ushered in a murder and a spate of stabbings, shootings and beatings.

Ambulance crews dealt with the highest number of casualties since the Millennium celebration.
In LONDON the ambulance service was four times busier than usual — answering 1,562 emergency calls between midnight and 4am.

A total of 148 people were treated for minor injuries and another 45 taken to hospital. Four people were fighting for their lives last night. Two men suffered life-threatening stab wounds just after midnight at the New Connaught Rooms club in Covent Garden, Central London.

Meanwhile a gunman opened fire inside the Elbow Rooms club in Islington, North London, leaving a 21-year-old in critical condition. A woman, 23, and a man of 22 were also shot.

Cops had to evacuate 1,500 clubbers from The Shepherd’s Bush Pavilion in West London as firemen tackled a blaze inside. Another partygoer was stabbed at 5.30am in Barking, East London. Special “booze buses” took people with minor injuries to hospital.

By 3am, police had made nearly 100 arrests in Central London.

London Ambulance Service boss Ian Todd said: “At the busiest point of the evening our staff were taking over 450 calls an hour.”

Eva Longoria visits Harrods in London to open the winter sale

RESTAURANTS > Zuma

SQUAREMEAL.CO.UK: Once acquired, a Zuma habit is hard to break, so it’s no surprise that this glamorous restaurant remains the epitome of contemporary metropolitan dining. The stylish maple, granite & stone interior with its huge open robata grill & fabulous cocktail bar retains its wow-factor allure with an atmosphere that’s ‘buzzy & trendy without being too cool to care’. The odd disgruntled diner complains they’ve ‘had better service in Pizza Express’ but most ‘just love’ everything about this place & the food is always ‘superb’. A visit to this restaurant is never going to be easy on the pocket but if the new £96 tasting menu sounds expensive, rest assured that there are plenty of treats on the (slightly cheaper) à la carte too. Almost every starter pleases, from the homemade tofu & exceptional soft-shell crab with wasabi mayo to a refined sea bass with yuzu, truffle oil & salmon roe, though sashimi servings are meagre & sushi tastes surprisingly ordinary. Baked sea bream in sea salt with seaweed, garlic & ginger stands out among mains, though the truly decadent should splurge on lobster with spicy ponzu sauce or wagyu beef with soy & wasabi. The chocolate fondant is among the best in town but those with little room left for dessert may prefer to opt for an exotic sorbet – just like the overall experience here, they’re ‘always a treat’.

Chef: Rainer Becker

Not satisfied with the success of his groundbreaking Japanese restaurant Zuma, which he launched in 2002, German-born Rainer Becker went on to introduce the similarly inspired Roka in Charlotte Street in 2004. Both restaurants serve beautiful food in stunning surrounds backed by flawless service. In his formative years, Becker worked in hotels & restaurants in Germany before moving to Australia to the Park Hyatt hotel in Sydney & then the Park Hyatt in Tokyo. There for six years, he embraced Japanese cuisine, before moving to London to launch the Rib Room & Oyster bar at the Hyatt Carlton Tower. Keen to settle in London, he set about launching Zuma, then Roka, for which London diners are heartily grateful.

The Criterion

The Criterion Brasserie, in the heart of Piccadilly Circus, is owned by the celebrated chef, Marco Pierre White, the youngest chef and the first Englishman ever to be awarded 3 "Michelin Stars". The menu is predominantly French with Mediterranean influences and allows exceptional food to be enjoyed in captivating surroundings. The Criterion Restaurant and Theatre were constructed within the one building in 1873, to the designs of Thomas Verity, for the well-known wine merchants and railway caterers Spiers and Pond. The Criterion Brassiere was re-opened by Marco Pierre White in 1995 breathing new life into London’s only neo-Byzantine restaurant. The restaurant itself features ornate marble walls with a glittering gold mosaic arched ceiling designed to evoke images of Arabian nights.

Sketch

The word ‘restaurant’ doesn’t do justice to this surreal fantasia of restaurants, bars, tea room & video art gallery, dreamt up by Mourad Mazouz (also behind Momo). Sketch is an amazing setting for events & is bound to make a lasting impression on your guests. In the lobby, chairs morph out of the wall, while in the first-floor Lecture Room, the theme is leather & gold leaf. The marvels to be found beyond include a vast, blindingly white & highly technical exhibition space, the funky new forest-themed lunch restaurant & evening events space, Glade, & the famous cluster of individual egg-shaped toilet capsules. Cooking is conceived by the three-Michelin-star French master chef, Pierre Gagnaire.