HOT MESS
We loved watching our
colleague squirm in a
chilli-eating competition at
London’s Blues Kitchen. The
soul food wasn’t bad either.
This month
we’re talking
about...
CHOC FULL
Saving us from bland
advent calender chocolate,
Venchi Biologico’s 70%
Cacao (venchi.com) is what
we’re currently munching.
COVER PHOTO
LIZ MCBURNEY
STYLING/SET BUILD
LINNEA APELQVIST
Those who think
Die Hard
is a Christmas
movie. And those who rightly understand
it’s an action film that just happens to take
place at Christmas time. It’s a simple
nuance that many people fail to appreciate.
At least there are some things we can
all agree on in the festive period: eating
delicious food, of course; imbibing too
much alcohol; and sharing in the annual
trauma that is known as present buying.
This is one of the reasons we’re going
big with 12 pages of gift ideas (p71),
ranging from tailor-made suggestions for
the traveller in your life to a low-down
on foods from around the network that
will liven up any Christmas feast.
Another much-loved festive tradition,
in Britain at least, are pantomimes. These
shows are as popular as ever, but this year
a different kind of performance is vying
with them for audiences in London.
December sees the arrival of an all-
singing, all-axe-waving version of the cult
novel,
American Psycho
. It’s the latest in a
line of edgy musicals that expressly set out
to shock and titillate. We’ve been
investigating the trend (p84).
Elsewhere, to mark the start of ski
season, we’re visiting France’s first heliski
lodge, which opened earlier this year. It
promises piste heads an action-packed
experience against a suitably wintery
backdrop – a bit like a
Die Hard
movie.
Enjoy the flight and see you next month.
Simon Kurs,
Editor
At this time of
year, you realise
there are two
types of people in
this world...
COMIC STRIPPING
The marmite of social
media, don’t expect
Bitstrips to disappear from
your newsfeed anytime
soon.
#
guiltypleasure
Enjoy virgin snow
at France’s first
heliski lodge (p62)
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E D I T O R ’ S
L E T T E R
