What To Book, Watch & Listen To This Month
THE BOOK:
Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan
Award-winning Irish writer Megan Nolan releases her second novel later this month, Ordinary Human Failings. It's 1990 in London and Tom Hargreaves has it all: a burgeoning career as a reporter, fierce ambition and a brisk disregard for the 'peasants' – ordinary people, his readers, easy tabloid fodder. His star looks set to rise when he stumbles across a scoop: a dead child on a London estate, grieving parents loved across the neighbourhood, and the finger of suspicion pointing at one reclusive family of Irish immigrants and 'bad apples' – the Greens. At their heart sits Carmel: beautiful, other-worldly, broken, and once destined for a future beyond her circumstances until life – and love – got in her way. Crushed by failure and surrounded by disappointment, there's nowhere for her to go and no chance of escape. Now, with the police closing in on a suspect and the tabloids hunting their monster, she must confront the secrets and silences that have trapped her family for so many generations.
Visit Amazon.co.uk
THE DANCE SHOW:
Flamenco Festival at Sadler’s Wells
The two-week Flamenco Festival returns to Sadler’s Wells this month with performances from leading female choreographers and acclaimed guitarists. Festival highlights include ‘Alma’, a traditional flamenco show by Olivier Award-winning dancer Sara Baras (5th-9th July); a concert by Grammy-winning flamenco guitarist Vicente Amigo (10th July); and the all-male production of ‘Gala Flamenca’ (14th-15th July). The festival will close with a DJ night on Saturday 15th July, when the audience will be invited to join in on the dancefloor. Tickets start from £15.
Visit SadlersWells.com
SANTANA DE YEPES
THE PODCAST:
Twice Upon a Time (with Janet Ellis)
Janet Ellis’ podcast has returned for a second series. In each episode she invites a celebrity guest to chat about their favourite childhood book and how it has shaped their life. The first new episode is with Janet’s daughter, singer-songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Recorded live from Hammersmith’s Lyric Theatre, Sophie talks about Just Awful by Alma Marshak Whitney, the book she loved because of its beautiful illustrations and heart-warming story. We also recommend revisiting series one to hear from the likes of Anthony Horrowitz, Elizabeth Day, Michael Morpurgo and Susie Dent.
Listen here
THE SUPPER:
British Pullman’s Dinner Series
British Pullman, A Belmond Train, has launched a series of moving dinners in collaboration with some of the country's best female chefs and Dom Pérignon. On Friday 14th July, head chef and owner of Chelsea’s Myrtle restaurant, Anna Haugh, will create a menu inspired by her Irish heritage. Guests can sit in art-deco carriages as the train winds its way out of London and around the English countryside to enjoy a tasting menu paired with Dom Pérignon champagnes. Other confirmed chefs in the series include Angela Hartnett (September) and Nieves Barragán Mohacho (October).
Visit Belmond.com
THE FILM:
Oppenheimer
Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer will hit the big screen later this month. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, Cillian Murphy plays the enigmatic Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist credited with creating the atomic bomb during World War Two. Working under immense pressure and under extreme conditions, he must create one of the deadliest weapons the world has ever seen. The all-star cast also includes Emily Blunt (as Oppenheimer’s wife, Kitty), Robert Downey Jr, Gary Oldman, Florence Pugh, Matt Damon, Rami Malek and Kenneth Branagh.
In cinemas from Friday 21st July.
Visit Picturehouses.com
THE NETFLIX DOC:
The King Who Never Was
Starting with the events that happened on the tragic night of 18th August 1978 at Cavallo Island, The King Who Never Was traces the story of Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia, the last heir to the throne of Italy. As much as the judicial affair of the murder of the young Dirk Hamer is central to the prince's life and consequently to the docuseries, episode after episode, his intimate tale emerges: his troubled relationship with his parents, his love story with Marina Doria, his years working in Iran, his scandals and much more.
Visit Netflix.com
THE EXHIBITION:
The Sculpture Garden at Ashridge House
Once a royal estate, Ashridge House in Hertfordshire is due to open its new sculpture garden at the end of the month. For the first time, its 190-acre gardens will host an outdoor exhibition, showcasing work by 15 renowned and emerging sculptors, including Diane Maclean, Giles Penny and Jenny Pickford. Celebrating contemporary and traditional art, some sculptures will blend into the beautiful surroundings, while others will be juxtaposed against the summer scenery. Look out for Penny Hardy’s ‘sculpture for change’ exhibit to raise funds for Unicef. Tickets cost £12.
Ashridge, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, HP4 1NS; 31st July-24th September
Visit AshridgeHouse.org.uk
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