This week's edit - 30th May 2016

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Love and Friendship is a total delight from start to finish.  The director, Walt Stillman, made one of my all-time favourite films, The Last Days of Disco, and now he reunites the two stars of that film, Kate Beckinsale and Chloe Sevigny, in a Jane Austen adaptation.  I'll be honest, I knew I was going to love it even before I walked into the cinema.  It is perfect.  Full to the brim of brilliant performances, throwaway period detail and caustic venomous wit.  An utter joy.

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I'm still listening to nothing other than Prince, to be honest.  Mostly my favourites on a loop but occasionally his most recent album, HITnRUN Phase 2, which is fantastic.

See

Mona Hatoum is such an intelligent artist and her exhibition at Tate Modern is a must see for anyone interested in contemporary art.  Dealing with themes both personal and political, global and intimate, her work is fascinating and thought-provoking.

Read
I'm trying to narrow down my reading list for my holiday next month.  I read A LOT when I'm on holiday and the brilliance of the kindle is that I don't have to weigh down my suitcase but I do get a bit obsessive with ensuring I have a good balance of literary/popular/crime/comedy/etc/etc (although if I'm honest the books I enjoy most generally blur all of those categories).  My first pick is the book of Love and Friendship by Walt Stillman (see above) - perfect poolside reading.

This week's edit - 23rd May 2016

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I have loved all of Maggie O'Farrell's novels and her latest, This Must Be The Place, is proving to be her best yet.

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Florence Foster Jenkins is a total joy.  Based on the true story of "the world's worst singer", it is hilarious but also very poignant and moving.  

Listen

The Mystery Show podcast is a new discovery and I'm completely smitten.

See

Missoni Art Colour at the Fashion and Textile Museum is just gorgeous.

This week's edit 16th May 2016

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Everybody Wants Some!! is my favourite film of 2016 so far (with Hail, Caesar! a close second - clearly extraneous exclamation marks are doing it for me this year).  A hilarious look at a bunch of hormonal eighteen year old boys starting college in 1980, its nostalgia for the period is pitch perfect.  Beyond the surface though, is a thoughtful exploration of hidden vulnerabilities and how we find ourselves within a group of peers.

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First Bite by Bee Wilson is a fascinating insight into the way we learn to eat and how we can change and shape our eating habits.

See

George Shaw has been Associate Artist at the National Gallery for the past two years and his new exhibition My Back to Nature is full of beautiful, witty and thoughtful paintings based on his exploration of the collection.

Just around the corner at the National Portrait Gallery, Vogue 100: A Century of Style is an exhibition showing the history of Vogue covers and photography.  Iconic images are everywhere you look.

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Although I fundamentally disagree with them about Everybody Wants Some!! (see above), Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode's Film Review on BBC Radio 5 Live every Friday afternoon is a must-listen.