Features - Page 185

According to André Leon Talley, he has never finished a lunch with Anna Wintour. Indeed, he has never even managed to eat a first course, with Wintour suggesting “Let’s go back to the office” before the appetizers even arrive.

The BBC has felt the impact of Covid-19 as much as the next television conglomerate. A £125 million gap in their finances – a combined result of being unable to actively pursue licence fee dodgers, and a BBC Studios being unable to make up the difference – has left the station asking questions about the future of their channels.

Since countrywide lockdown, sales of Albert Camus’ The Plague have increased dramatically. Weighty tomes by Tolstoy and Proust have also seen dramatic increase in sales, however, the true best seller of the pandemic is Bregman’s Humankind, a book that argues people are, for the most part, good.

Online shopping has become something of a sport of late. It is now possible to purchase socks, dishwasher tablets and the latest Pulitzer prize winner in one fell swoop. For the past week, it was also possible to drop $2 million on the latest it-piece of Modern Art.

Oliver Rudland might be the greatest opera writer you have never heard of. At least, this is the view of Simon Heffer, political commentator for The Daily Telegraph. In his view, Rudland, is “one of our most gifted young composers” who has an “uncanny ability to write music that invited an intelligent audience in, rather than sought to exclude them in favour of appealing to a small club of insiders”.

Covid-19 has proven a need for national treasures more than ever. From Captain Tom Moore, to Gilbert and George, individuals are stepping up to the plate, providing inspiration and solace when we need it most. David Hockney is no exception.

Paul Douglas is the vice-president of Rigid Haulers and managing director of Terex Trucks, based in Motherwell, Scotland. After prime minister Boris Johnson unveiled his exit strategy from the UK Covid-19 pandemic on May 10, Douglas approached The Leaders Council of Great Britain & Northern Ireland to offer his views, with the divergence in approach between Westminster and Holyrood a concern.

The 104th class of Pulitzer Prize winners have done things a little differently from their predecessors. Indeed, doing things differently is part of their life blood – setting themselves apart from their peers to be Pulitzer worthy requires difference more than most. However, a global pandemic is bound to change the playing field, even for trailblazers such as these.

Speaking to The Leaders Council of Great Britain & Northern Ireland, Adtentus Ltd director Lisa Davies discusses where the government's Covid-19 lockdown exit strategy falls short and details the additional issues that she feels the government should acknowledge.

Following the unveiling of prime minister Boris Johnson’s exit strategy from the Covid-19 UK lockdown on May 10, Jeanette Phillips, founder of Flexicare UK, approached The Leaders Council of Great Britain & Northern Ireland to offer her thoughts on the plan, and indeed the pandemic thus far.

Since the countrywide lockdown, the Royal Opera House have seen a 60 per cent reduction in their income. As one of the most heavily subsidised performing arts companies in the country, the impact of Covid-19 has by no means passed them by.

You won’t find any copies of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” nor “Charlotte’s Web” in Maurizio Cattelan’s bookshelf. No well-loved tomes of Roald Dahl or Judith Kerr feature in his collection. Indeed, Cattelan’s success has come in part from his ability to subvert expectations, redefining terms and bringing the great and the good of the cultural world with him.

Side effects of quarantine may include baking your own bread, watching everything on Netflix and struggling to concentrate. The last of which, has become a particular issue within the art world, according to Turner prize winner, Dame Rachel Whiteread.

Of all the places to hear the views of Lin-Manuel Miranda, the social media platform, Tumblr, may not be the first place one would turn. Yet in 2015, with the newly successful Hamilton taking over Broadway, Miranda threw his hat into the ring on one of theatre’s most disputed models.