The Best Restaurant in the UK Is in One of London's Fanciest Hotels
The Ritz London, one of the world's more classically elegant dining rooms, where chandeliers cascade from the high ceilings and the mirrored walls and sweeping shades look like they were borrowed from Versailles, ranked No. 1 on the list, which was released on Monday night. It moved up a dozen places from No. 13 last year.
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Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
National Eisteddod 2025: The latest news on Saturday
The National Eisteddfod is underway as thousands flock to the annual festival, which this year is being held in Wrexham. In recent weeks Eisteddfod staff and contractors have transformed farmland at Is-y-Coed on the eastern outskirts of Wrexham, into a small town with a 1,500 seat pavilion, a range of performance spaces and stalls as well as a temporary Gorsedd circle. Here is a round-up of the news from the National Eisteddfod today (Saturday August 2), to enjoy: READ MORE: History of Shell Island tidal campsite and why (most) campers love it so much READ MORE: Diggers to pause work on North Wales beach for summer holidays Well-known Hollywood actor Rob McElhenney has welcomed people to the National Eisteddfod 2005 in Wrexham - in Welsh! Maxine Hughes, leader of Wales and the World this year, taught the American to record the welcome for a short video which has been published on social media websites. With Maxine's support, Rob, who has declared his full support for the Welsh language with his friend Ryan Reynolds, since the start of their ownership of Wrexham football club at the beginning of the decade, pronounces the welcome clearly. Maxine praised him for his efforts and especially so when he shortens the word Eisteddfod to 'Steddfod. "That's how we say Eisteddfod in North Wales where I come from," he told him. Maxine, who is from the Conwy area but now lives in Washington, the capital of the United States, will address the audience as the leader of Wales and the World during the Cymanfa Ganu (Singing Assembly) on Sunday night. She will also take part in leading other sessions on the Maes during the week. A well-known actor also paid a heartfelt tribute for the help and support he received from the residents of Rhosllannerchrugog when starting his career on stage and television. Mark Lewis Jones' face is well known even if the name is not as familiar. His credits read like a list of recent iconic TV shows - The Crown, Game of Thrones, Keeping Faith, Man Up and Baby Reindeer. His film career is equally impressive ranging from his memorable role as First Order Captain Moden Canady in Star Wars: The Last Jedi to his role in the recent film, Sweetland. This week he is President of the National Eisteddfod which is being held in Wrexham, only a few miles from his home village. He noted his sincere thanks to the grandfather for insisting that the Eisteddfod be "by everyone and for everyone". In his speech he said: "My grandfather, Jonathan Dafis, sang in the pavilion many times as a loyal member of the Rhos Male Voice Choir, as well as helping to organise the festival when he came to the area in 1945, but somehow when I was growing up I didn't feel that the Eisteddfod was relevant to me. "I was, and continue to be, a proud Welshman, brought up in a community that was Welsh even though we were so close to the border, but even so I didn't think the Eisteddfod was for a Welshman like me. And it took me a while to understand that I was wrong." He added his wife, Gwenno, runs a clothes shop in Cardiff, and would regularly hire a stall on the Maes. "One of my favorite memories of coming to the Eisteddfod (with Gwenno), was meeting and chatting with people who had travelled from afar to be part of the festival. "It became clear to me how essential the Eisteddfod is, supporting and promoting the arts in our country. I now have four sons, each one appreciating the importance of the festival, and Jacob, the youngest, is working on the Maes this week. "I have come to understand what Taid understood from the beginning - that the Eisteddfod is for everyone, for everyone. And if he was still with us I know he would be here, in the front row, with a proud smile on his face when he finally saw his grandson on stage." Mark Lewis Jones also outlined how he chose to become an actor. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox "I have been fortunate to be able to stand on several famous stages over the years - the Globe and the National in London, the Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford - but I have never been on the stage of the National Eisteddfod before," he said. He went to Ysgol Morgan Llwyd in Wrexham and he had no idea what to do with his life. "But at school there was a teacher called Gwawr Mason. And one day, for some reason, she asked me to be in the next school show? And for some reason I said - yes, ok," he said. He came from a home without any connection with the arts, and a home where English was the main language. "After taking part in that school show, my life changed completely. I wanted to act. My parents were unsure of course, but supportive nonetheless. After all, I had nothing to lose - I have two brothers who are carpenters, but I think my mother and father realised after seeing me handle a saw that there was no future for me in that field. "So I went on to work with Clwyd Youth Theatre. I went to the College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, then to Theatr Clwyd and London. "But I can definitely tell you that that would never have happened if Gwawr Mason had not offered a helping hand to a young, lost boy. Very sadly we lost Gwawr during lockdown and although I have thanked her many times for her support I don't feel I will ever, ever, ever be able to thank her enough," he said. And the sound of brass bands also filled the air as competition got underway. A steady stream of musicians carrying their tubas, cornets and trombones from the car parks towards the main pavilion were seen before 9am to register with officials. Five bands from Buckley, Menai Bridge, Deiniolen near Caernarfon and Markham near Caerphilly as well as Wrexham entered the Section 2 and 3 competition. Open to bands with up to 25 members they were set the task of presenting a varied programme that took no longer than 15 minutes to perform. After a spirited competition the adjudicator, Alan Bourne, awarded the first prize of £600 and the Ivor Jarvis Cup to the Royal Buckley Town Band. The Deiniolen Silver Band were second and Markham third. Veteran bandsman Meirion Jones from the Deiniolen band said Buckley deserved their win. "They have come so close on other occasions, sometimes there was just a point in it," he said. Later four more bands competed in the Section 4 competition. They too were set the task of performing at least three items within their alloted 15 minutes. The adjudicator placed the Llanrug Silver Band in first place and they took home the Ivor Jarvis Challenge Cup and the £600 cash prize. The Oakeley Silver Band from Blaenau Ffestiniog were second and Band Porthaethwy, Menai Bridge third. On Sunday three brass bands from Wrexham, Beaumaris and Merthyr Tydfil will battle it out for the Section 1 crown and the Flintshire Cup. Find out what's going on near you by signing up to our What's on Newsletter - sent every Friday
New York Times
37 minutes ago
- New York Times
David Rendall, Tenor Who Suffered 2 Operatic Mishaps, Dies at 76
David Rendall, a British tenor who gained starring roles in Mozart, Verdi and Donizetti on both sides of the Atlantic thanks to a light, clear voice, but who found life uncomfortably imitating art in a pair of career-altering stage mishaps, died on July 21 at his home in New Forest, England. He was 76. His death was announced on Facebook and Instagram by Glyndebourne, the British opera company Mr. Rendall joined in 1974. His son Huw Montague Rendall, an acclaimed baritone, said in an interview that he had died after a 'long complicated illness.' Mr. Rendall was a regular at the Metropolitan Opera throughout the 1980s, singing in 134 performances as Ernesto in 'Don Pasquale,' Tamino in 'The Magic Flute,' Alfredo in 'La Traviata,' Don Ottavio in 'Don Giovanni' and in other works, and earning mixed reviews. He performed some of the same roles at the Royal Opera House in London in that decade, though British critics were generally more enthusiastic. He also sang at La Scala in Milan, the Vienna State Opera and Opéra Bastille in Paris, among other venues. But it was in two stage accidents, the second of which, in 2005, curtailed his singing career, that Mr. Rendall gained notoriety and unwittingly illustrated the perils of operatic life. In April 2005, Mr. Rendall was singing Radamès in Verdi's 'Aida' at the Royal Danish Theater in Copenhagen when part of the stage collapsed, destroying the set. He was 'knocked down at least 15 feet and tried to crawl to safety to avoid being crushed,' he later told The Telegraph of London. 'I thought I was going to die,' a fate that awaits Radamès in the opera but is not normally faced by tenors singing the role. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Spider-Man 4 Set Video Shows The Punisher's Vehicle of Choice
A new set video is out, and shows off what The Punisher will be driving around in the upcoming MCU movie. What happens in the Spider-Man 4 set video? The new set video comes from an action scene that is set to be filmed this week, and according to insider Daniel Richtman, will see Spider-Man and The Punisher fighting over a DODC transport convoy. The DODC, in Marvel Comics, stands for the United States Department of Damage Control, a subsidiary of S.H.I.E.L.D. that deals with enhanced battles. In the video, a large militarized truck can be seen being rolled onto the street from a tow truck. The scene itself comes from footage taken by Scottish fans, as Spider-Man: Brand New Day is currently filming in Glasgow. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is being directed by Destin Daniel Cretton from a screenplay written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. The movie will once again be led by Tom Holland as he reprises his role as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. Emmy winner Zendaya and Jacob Batalo are also expected to return for the sequel. They will be joined by recently announced new cast members Sadie Sink (Stranger Things) and Liza Colón-Zayas (The Bear), with Jon Bernthal set to make his movie debut as Frank Castle/Punisher. The latter recently played the anti-hero again in Daredevil: Born Again Season 1. The movie is produced by Kevin Feige, Amy Pascal, Rachel O'Connor, and Avi Arad. Spider-Man 4 will be released in United States theaters on July 31, 2026 ahead of Avengers: Doomsday (December 18, 2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (December 17, 2027), following Doomsday's delay. Solve the daily Crossword
