The Independent on Sunday (London, England) back issues from December 2007:
Yo ho ho and a bottle of blood
Dec 02, 2007 ... Felix Taylor (aged 15) rounds up thrilling books for boys, withthe help of his younger brothers Snakehead by Anthony Horowitz (Walker Books 12.99). Alex Rider,black belt in karate, fluent in three languages, teenage MI6 agent,has just fallen from space into the sea. The Australian ...
Music, boys and bombers
Dec 02, 2007; ... Fashionistas: Hadley HHHHI By Sarra Manning Hodder Pounds 5.99 Imagine living the high life of an LA child actress superstarbefore moving to London to re-launch your career as a teenager!Well, that's exactly what clever and beautiful Hadley Harlow isdoing. But when her dad ...
David Starkey
Dec 02, 2007 ... Historian and broadcaster, 62 Credo I believe ... I can see why religion operates as a comfort blanket, but a lotof the time when people say they believe in God, what they mean isthat they believe in forms of comforting ritual. Civilised behaviour and customs ...
The Forager
Dec 02, 2007; ... Petersham's food sourcer on where to go for chocolate with aconscience The "chocolate tree", Theobroma cacao, enjoys a fragile andsymbiotic relationship with the rainforests in which it grows. Likeso many crops that have become commodities, intensive cacaoproduction has led to ...
A life in pictures
Dec 02, 2007; ... Brian Selznick's new novel combines text with thrilling, flip-the-page sequences of illustration that are pure cinema. He explainshow Truffaut and Vigo inspired him The American author and illustrator Brian Selznick was working inEeyore's Books For Children, a shop in Manhattan, ...
The songs remain the same
Dec 02, 2007; ... They were the biggest band of the 1970s - then along came punk,the death of their drummer and Spinal Tap ... As the original 'rockdinosaurs' reform, Nick Coleman argues in 10 essential riffs why weshould dig Led Zep all over again Everyone loves Led Zeppelin. Always did. Yeah, even ...
Girls (and boys) aloud
Dec 02, 2007 ... Amanda Craig rounds up the best of recent audiobooks for all ages Neither book nor DVD, audiobooks tend to be despised as gifts.Yet they are much more than an effortless way out of reading aloudto the young or instructing the adolescent. They are ways of turningthe kind of long ...
How do you store a penguin?
Dec 02, 2007 ... Nicola Smith reviews the best of the season's picture books andsays a fond farewell to Harry Horse Children's picture books don't entertain unhappy endings. Life,sadly, doesn't follow suit: 2007 began on a very bad note for thoseof us who love to hang out, looking woefully ...
Essentials
Dec 02, 2007; ... I dress very differently when in London compared to when I'm inIndia. Right now I'm keeping warm with a full-length leather Diorjacket, (Christian Dior Boutique, 020 7235 1357) and woollen yogasocks (12, Sweaty Betty, www.sweatybetty. com) that I wear under myboots. For ...
The sheer Gaul of it
Dec 02, 2007; ... Alain Ducasse has brought his Michelin-starred genius to town -if only he'd left his presumptuous menu behind First of all, may I welcome Monsieur Ducasse to London. WithGordon going for Paris next year, it seems only fair that France'smost famous chef should choose to open a ...
How to be happy
Dec 02, 2007; ... There's no point worrying about your own death 'I live in fear of dying. It haunts me. What can I do?' F. Step 1There are three stages to dying: the process of dying, themoment when we pass into unconsciousness and finally, the time afterwe have died. While submitting to the ...
Mother's little helper
Dec 02, 2007; ... To grow up caring for a disabled parent can be a joy, says PeterStanford My aunt had said it many times before, so I'm not sure what mademe take it to heart this time. Rita was staying with us in thesummer, amid the domestic chaos caused by two small children, twocareers and one ...
Joseph Millson
Dec 02, 2007; ... Close-up Cinderella won't know what's hit her when this dashing princeturns up Being Prince Charming, it turns out, is not overly taxing. "I amso not exhausted. It's a hoot," laughs Joseph Millson, bounding outof rehearsals for the Old Vic's Cinderella, scripted by Stephen ...
Fancy a change?
Dec 02, 2007; ... She loves your gold Lurex top, you've got your eye on her redflamenco dress - and once the klaxon sounds ... it's Swap-A-RamaRazzmatazz! Lose your clothes!" screams the invitation, "God knows whatyou'll be coming home in!" It's a chilly Wednesday night and I'mqueuing up for ...
Meltingly good
Dec 02, 2007; ... No one knows more about the art of sweet seduction than thebespoke chocolatier Melt - and Skye Gyngell has the recipes to proveit Collaborating with other people can sometimes be a trying andunrewarding experience. In spite of this, I recently agreed to workwith the bespoke ...
Beauty spot
Dec 02, 2007; ... How to wash away the night's excesses 1. For your eyes onlyMake-up remover, 22, by Natura Bisse, fromHarrods, www. harrods.com Gentle but effective 2. Face offMoisture-rich cleanser, 20, by Prescriptives, ...
Parties
Dec 02, 2007; ... All a-flutter at the Bluebird Some guests chose an icy perambulation down Chelsea's sparklingKing's Road to last Thursday's glamorous party at that beacon ofretail chic, The Shop at Bluebird. Others, including a smattering offashion's finest and party-hard It-girl Kimberly Stewart, ...
As Korean as apple pie
Dec 02, 2007; ... It wears the Chevrolet badge, but it's built in Asia and lookslike a Daewoo - meet the car with an identity crisis As a renowned revolutionary thinker, I do occasionally feelobliged to come up with an original idea. I had one around late-2005, but apparently that wasn't enough and ...
Why I love...
Dec 02, 2007 ... Name Jack Penate Occupation Musician Passion Dusty artefacts The British Museum is a little haven for me - the only place inLondon where I feel completely relaxed. Everything's so ancient thatyour social anxieties are eradicated. You stop worrying that yourNikes aren't the new ...
Bites
Dec 02, 2007; ... Will there be goose for Christmas? It's touch and go for conscientious gourmets hoping to get theirhands on some guilt-free foie gras for Christmas. Pateria de Sousa, the Spanish company behind the much-hyped,welfare-friendly goose-liver pate that was due to be ...
Marcus Brigstocke
Dec 02, 2007; ... Close-up Just back from a fact-finding trip to the Arctic, the comedianreveals his serious side Marcus Brigstocke is leading a double life. And it's driving himmad. The 34-year-old comedian is currently presenting his own weeklytopical satire, The Late Edition, on BBC4 - "I ...
Fashion
Dec 02, 2007; ... The reds are taking over Another day, another celebrity designer collection for a high-street chain ... so far, so yawn. Well, wakey wakey: the worn-outconcept is set to be shook up in spectacular style. If you were toput together a fashion-moment wish list, you couldn't conceive ...
Culture
Dec 02, 2007; ... Why British films are funnier than you think I recently had lunch with the writer of a British comedy that hadjust opened in cinemas. He had spent the past 24 hours poring overthe reviews, and the expression on his face was one of woundedbewilderment. "Why did they hate it so ...
Michael Foreman & Michael Morpurgo
Dec 02, 2007; ... How we met Michael Foreman 69 is an illustrator who has worked on more than 170 books, 20 ofwhich he wrote himself. He has two children and lives with his wifeLouise in London and Cornwall Michael and I encountered each other twice before we becamefriends. The first ...
For less
Dec 02, 2007 ... Because no one need ever know ... Chosen by the fashion stylistand 'Cheap Date' founder Kira Jolliffe 1 Rimmel liquid eyeliner, 4.29 A basic for girls and emo boys,and trashy glamour on the cheap for any woman you know with aleaning towards messy hair, red lipstick and a ...
Wealth check
Dec 02, 2007 ... Time out to raise a family - so the savings must go to work The patient Time off work to raise a family has left Emma Bagnall, 42,anxious about her finances. Emma, from Highbury, north London, is agraphic designer but has not worked since May last year. In place ofa salary, ...
Acceptance speeches at the ready!
Dec 02, 2007 ... COMING SOON - FILM The cinemas are overflowing with good films. It must be Oscarseason, says Nicholas Barber It's Oscar season again, that brief interval when Hollywoodexecutives release every single film that has a chance of nabbing anAcademy Award, thereby making them feel ...
Guatemala & Belize - the director's cut
Dec 02, 2007 ... PEOPLE AND PLACE He's one of the biggest names in Hollywood but making moviesisn't Francis Ford Coppola's only skill. He also runs successfulhotels. Julie Eagleton finds out about his three resorts in CentralAmerica Apocalypse Now was filmed in the jungle on Luzon in ...
Something old, something new, something borrowed...
Dec 02, 2007 ... THE WORD ON THE WEB Yeasayer are causing a bit of a stir on both sides of theAtlantic. The Brooklyn foursome freely borrow musical genres fromacross the decades as well as continents. The result is a heady mixof psychedelic soul, prog rock and a stab at world music, withsomething ...
DVD
Dec 02, 2007 ... Blade Runner: The Final Cut Retail & Rental Warner Home Video More of a nip and tuck than a final cut, thisis Ridley Scott's latest edit of his 25-year-old neo-noir thriller,but if you haven't seen 1992's so-called Director's Cut recently,you won't spot the various digital ...
JAZZ
Dec 02, 2007 ... CDS Ran Blake Third Stream Re-Compositions OwlA dedicatedly different pianist who recorded with singerJeanne Lee in the Sixties, then ran the Third Stream department atNew England Conservatory for 30 years (where he taught Don Byron),Blake is an enigmatic jazz figure ...
POP
Dec 02, 2007 ... CDS James Taylor One Man Band Starbucks Hear MusicThe Starbucksification of music continueswith another release from the label that has already sold us Paul"macchiato" McCartney and Joni "biscotti" Mitchell. This time, it'ssinger-songwriter James "Tazo tea" Taylor's ...
CLASSICAL
Dec 02, 2007 ... CDS Dvork Cello Concerto/Dumky Trio - Queyras/Behlolvek Harmonia MundiUnder Jiri Behlolvek, the Prague Philharmonia haveproved excellent accompanists to Harmonia Mundi's fine in-housesoloists. This warm, subtle performance of Dvork's Cello Concerto isno exception. In ...
JAZZ
Dec 02, 2007 ... CDS Enders Dome IntuitionThe German saxophonist Johannes Enders recorded Dome ina church, no doubt for the vibe. Well, maybe. "Concrete and mysticalspaces interpenetrate one another," it says in the notes. "Mentallandscapes are absorbed in the niches and vaults of ...
WORLD
Dec 02, 2007 ... CDS Ensemble Nipponia Japan: Kabuki and Other Traditional Music Nonesuch Where Noh theatre is minimalist and moves at a glacialpace, kabuki delivers its lurid tales in a boisterous riot ofcolour. And that's how the music comes across in this superb disc,re-released ...
ELECTRONIC
Dec 02, 2007 ... CDS Dan Deacon Spiderman of the Rings CarparkIf I tell you that it opens with a track called "WoodyWoodpecker", in which a music-box melody, a synth tone and samplesof that annoying cartoon laugh build towards an almighty crescendo,you'll have an idea of the tone of ...
Hua Hin: the Thai seaside resort that rolls out the red carpet
Dec 02, 2007 ... FAMILY BREAKS The world's longest-reigning monarch turns 80 this week. He'sbound to celebrate at this royal playground, says Andrew Spooner On Wednesday, Thailand's revered king, Bhumibol Adulyadej,(inset, right) the world's longest-reigning monarch, turns 80. Tosay that the ...
POP
Dec 02, 2007 ... CDS Various artists Now That's What We Call Music Vol 1 Fantastic PlasticFantastic Plastic is, or rather was, an indielabel born in Ireland and transplanted to London (parent companySanctuary was snapped up by Universal in the summer). As such, itsbest-of compilation ...
POP
Dec 02, 2007 ... CDS Sufjan Stevens Songs For Christmas Rough TradeSufjan Stevens, the prolific Michigan folktronica manwhose promise is to release an album about every state in the USA,is ahead of the curve: he's released a Christmas album every yearsince 2001 (except 2004), and this ...
POP
Dec 02, 2007 ... CDS The Whitest Boy Alive Dreams modularYou can get at least three tracks into Dreams before youeven realise you're listening to it. Normally this would be adamning indictment, but The Whitest Boy Alive have a way of sneakingup on you. Formed by Erlend Oye, the Dennis ...
CDS CLASSICAL
Dec 02, 2007 ... Elegance and beauty is one thing ... But where's the grit? Bach/Handel Magnificat/Dixit Dominus - Le Concert d'Astree/Ham Virgin Classics There is little to link Bach's Magnificat and Handel's DixitDominus beyond the fact that both composers were writing outside ...
JAZZ/CLASSICAL
Dec 02, 2007 ... CDS Jan Lundgren Magnum Mysterium ACT It's true that we've passed this way before, most notablywith Garbarek and the Hilliards. But pianist Lundgren's arrangementsof Renaissance choral texts (Monteverdi, Lasso, Byrd etc) for theGustaf Sjokvist Chamber Choir is ...
27.9%: is this the shape of cards to come?
Dec 02, 2007 ... BORROWING_As the Halifax offers expensive plastic for people withno credit history, Julian Knight asks if more of us will end uppaying a high rate A clear sign has emerged that card borrowers - and particularlythose who do not have a top-notch credit record - face having to ...
This week's hot tips for travellers >>
Dec 02, 2007 ... The restaurant Just open, The Landau (020-7965 0165; thelandau.com) at TheLangham hotel is London's hottest new destination ...
A historical facade, a modern interior
Dec 02, 2007 ... HOTEL OF THE WEEK Vienna's latest five-star hotel, the Ring, stands opposite itsopulent elder sister, the Grand, on the famous Ringstrasse. Setwithin a former bank, the building dates back to the 1800s. Thehistorical faade has been sensitively renovated, while, inside,original ...
Speciality of the house? Keep them coming back for more
Dec 02, 2007 ... FOOD OF THE WEEK modern restaurant-goers seem only interested in frequenting thenewest places. Yet, there are plenty of establishments around theworld that have stood the test of time. Opened in 1725, the long menu at Botin, Calle de Cuchilleros 17,Madrid (00 34 91 366 4217; ...
This week's hot tips for travellers >>
Dec 02, 2007 ... The deal Go Christmas shopping in style. From tomorrow, flights on thebusiness-class airline Silverjet (08448 550111; ...
This week's hot tips for travellers >>
Dec 02, 2007 ... The journey Tickets went on sale this weekend for the new Danube Express.(01462 441400; danube-express.com). Howard Trinder, ...
Don't expect Hain to clean up Brown's pensions mess
Dec 02, 2007; ... The Government should publish its Pensions Bill this week,shaking up workplace schemes with the advent of personal accounts. However, the Bill is unlikely to do anything to address two majorpension problems. First, by saving into personal accounts, somepeople will bar themselves ...
Underground loans foil Beijing's attempt to hold back runaway growth
Dec 02, 2007 ... They can raise rates as much as they like. There's too much cashin China and too many alternative lenders. Dexter Roberts and Chi-Chu Tschang report Beijing Organic Farm Development is booming. The fruit andvegetable producer expects its sales to double this year to $7m(3.5m), ...
Let the City pour forth with its bar-room philosophy. Adnams just wants to talk ale
Dec 02, 2007 ... Shareholders can put consolidation on the table but the head ofthe brewer tells Rupert Steiner that everything is geared to theperfect pint It's 3am at the freshly revamped Adnams Brewery in deepest,darkest Suffolk, and just like a scene out of Wallace & Gromit, themachinery ...
My business week
Dec 02, 2007 ... Mark Makepeace, chief executive of FTSE Group, on why businessmust join the fight against Aids World Aids Day was an important time for reflection on theenormous toll that the epidemic is taking. For businesses, one ofthe most serious concerns is the devastating impact on the ...
Go-between websites offer to ease the season's burden
Dec 02, 2007 ... RETAIL_Internet loyalty schemes offer greater protection toshoppers seeking cash rewards for buying from household name sites.Kate Hughes reports With consumers set to spend an estimated 5bn online thisChristmas, retailers offering to pay a bonus for shopping with themcould be a ...
The City Diary
Dec 02, 2007 ... Character references flood in for 'the caring, kind, generous'Black What do elton john, US talk-show host Rush Limbaugh and ex-Canadian PM Brian Mulroney have in common? The answer is Lord Blackof Crossharbour. The three are among dozens of Conrad Black's palswho have written ...
The spectator
Dec 02, 2007 ... Tired and emotional - but he'd have insulted White anyway The men in tights slipped into mufti last week to mark thedeparture of Major-General Peter Grant Peterkin, Sergeant-at-Arms.But the occasion was marred by an ungentlemanly exchange. WhenMichael White of 'The Guardian' aired ...
Villainous speculators are cashing in ... Oh no, they're not
Dec 02, 2007; ... At the start of the autumn, I pointed out that another GeorgeSoros was on the way. At the time, I thought the markets and themedia needed a new love-to-hate figure - an iconic investor who wewould find had made millions out of the credit crunch. We would allboo and hiss this pantomime ...
Chase the MP and savage the carcass
Dec 02, 2007 ... The sketch writer must amuse or die, so sometimes it's thepoliticians who suffer death by a thousand cuts, as Edward Pearceexplains They are odd people, the political sketch writers. They arespectators who run on to the pitch and get paid for it - theparliamentary amphibians ...
HOUSE PRICES_Biggest monthly decline for 12 years
Dec 02, 2007 ... More evidence has emerged that the property market is turningsour. The Nationwide has reported that house prices slumped 0.8 percent in November - the highest monthly fall seen by the buildingsociety since 1995. Fionnuala Earley, chief economist at Nationwide, said: ...
From buy-to-let to saved from neglect: a lifeline for landlords
Dec 02, 2007 ... PROPERTY_As the rental market stagnates, another door opens, withnew tax incentives for investors to renovate derelict homes. LauraHoward reports Dinner party conversations about bumper buy-to-let returns havegiven way in recent months to grumbles from landlords that ...
MORTGAGES_Arrangement fees soar as lenders dangle cheap rates
Dec 02, 2007 ... The charges for setting up a mortgage have nearly doubled in thepast two years, said comparison site Moneyfacts.co.uk. On average,upfront arrangement fees have risen from 441 in 2005 to 827 today. Over the past two years, said Moneyfacts, mortgage firms haveincreasingly subsidised ...
BANKING_Within six days, your cheque will have cleared once and for all
Dec 02, 2007 ... From now on, the banking industry has said, all cheques paid intoUK bank accounts will be cleared within a maximum of six workingdays. Previously, banks could recoup money from a customer's account ifthey found the original cheque payment was bogus. In theory, therewas no time ...
You got your divorce award. Will you have to give it back?
Dec 02, 2007 ... FINANCE AND THE LAW_In a landmark case, divorcees could find thatcreditors try to claim their assets if their ex-partner goesbankrupt. By Paula Hawkins If you think divorce signals the end of your financialrelationship with your spouse, think again. Depending on the outcomeof a ...
ALSO SHOWING
Dec 02, 2007 ... The Nines (99 mins, 15) 'The Nines' is a trippy, tripartite indie movie which stars RyanReynolds three times over. In the first section he's a TV actor underhouse arrest after a crack binge. In the second, he's a screenwriterwho's preparing the pilot for a new series. And in ...
This flute is more of a penny whistle
Dec 02, 2007; ... Film 2 The Magic Flute Kenneth Branagh 130 mins, PG Fred Calus David Dobkin 116 mins, 15 In all of the promotional blurb that accompanies The Magic Flute,its stated aim is to introduce Mozart's opera to a new audience, soit would seem to have a dream team in Kenneth ...
Are We There Yet?
Dec 02, 2007; ... charitY BEGINS AT HOME? Well not these days. For 2008, you canalso help while on holiday with the launch of a number of familyfund-raising trips. These offer children (and parents) the chance todo their bit for a worthy cause while learning something aboutforeign aid ...