Latest news with #BelsizePark
Times
23-06-2025
- Business
- Times
Sorry, Belsize Park, it's just those awful bike lanes…
O n Saturday, in an otherwise glowing review of a new restaurant called Von Crumb, I wrote that it was 'squished between a charity shop and some sort of mouldy printing outfit opposite a big Budgens on a wide-pavemented dog of a main drag in Belsize Park, which is the saggy arse of Hampstead', and copped a fair amount of flak from local readers. Some below the line, such as Philip Bergman, diagnosed 'envy from someone who lives in Kentish Town', while another, Victoria Coren Mitchell, who had somehow gained access to my personal email, wrote: 'Lovely review of Belsize Park… we must have you round more often'. Replying (immediately) to Mrs Mitchell and (with a smidge less urgency) to all the others, I was at pains to point out that I love Belsize Park in principle, but was merely talking about what had happened of late to that particular section of high street, due to chainification of the shops and the madness of Commie Camden Council's people-hating (not car-hating; people-hating) traffic scheme — specifically, the hideously ugly double cycle lane that nobody ever uses because the hill is too steep, which means there is no parking at all, so nobody can access the shops and local commerce is being strangled to death. Mrs Mitchell accepted my clarification but added, 'Bit harsh on Harry at the print shop though, he's one of the last independent shops left from the old days — he's lovely! He printed the orders of service for Daddy's memorial at a 15 per cent discount!!!' And that was a bit of a shocker for me because Mrs Mitchell's daddy was also my daddy. I read at that very service. And there I was describing the printer who had printed the programme for it as 'mouldy', without ever having been inside. 'If you ever return to the subject,' wrote Mrs Mitchell, 'do throw in a nice mention for that print shop. But he'll probably be gone. Nobody can survive that parking thing. What about the framers? That's the other one that's still surviving from the old days, but how can it? Because how can you collect a big, framed item on a bicycle?' Research from the City University of Hong Kong suggests that asking someone for help can lead to romance. 'The reason why asking for help can be very useful to initiate romantic interests,' explained the study's co-author Professor Xijing Wang, is that 'when we ask someone for help by having them solve a problem for us, we signal that we trust and want to rely on them.' So, ladies, now do you understand why your husband doesn't want to go over and ask that big hairy farmer for directions to the lake, and would rather just carry on fussing over the map? Paired with the above story in yesterday's Times was one about research from the University of Queensland, which shows that engaging in benign masochism with others can bring people closer together. Examples of activities that can help people to love each other more include 'wild swimming in a chilly river', 'running into a freezing sea' and 'skinny dipping in the cold waters of a lake'. The research does not, however, go into the flipside of all the love these activities generate between participants, which is how their whanging on about it all the time makes everybody else hate them. A redesign for the government website which, after a long consultation with M&C Saatchi, has done little more than move the dot in ' very slightly upwards, is reported by critics to have cost ministers £532,000. So now all they need to do is hire someone to move the comma. Food-shaped candles are 'the latest middle-class homeware trend', with candles in the shape of fried chicken, sausages and even layer cakes costing anything from £17 to £95. Seems a bit extravagant, but I suppose it was inevitable, what with the Ozempic boom meaning that nobody wants food you can actually eat any more.
Daily Mail
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Olivia Wilde enjoys drinks with producer friend Saul Germaine on night out in ex-boyfriend Harry Styles' London neighbourhood
Olivia Wilde appeared to be in good spirits as she enjoyed drinks with her producer friend Saul Germaine near Harry Styles ' London neighbourhood on Friday. The actress, 41, cut a casual figure a loosely fitted shirt, which she paired with beige trousers, black loafers and sunglasses. She carried her essentials in a tote bag as she enjoyed a glass of wine outside the Washington pub in Belsize Park amid the scorching London heatwave. Olivia, who was speculated to be the inspiration behind ex-boyfriend Harry's hit single As It Was, was joined by her friend Saul for the outing. He cut a laidback figure in a black shirt and trousers, which he teamed with a casual pair of flip-flops. Olivia visited a pub nearby her ex-boyfriend Harry's London neighbourhood as he is reportedly building a £30million super-mansion in neighbouring area Hampstead. Harry is said to be restoring a Grade II-listed former 18th century mansion back to its former glory after it was divided up into two semi-detached homes in the 1950s. Set over four acres in leafy Hampstead, north London, Harry purchased the larger property for £8.8 million in April 2019 and the smaller adjoining house for £4.175million seven months later. Last summer, MailOnline exclusively revealed he had submitted a detailed planning application for his extensive renovation project and was reportedly given the green light earlier this year. Director Olivia was romantically linked to Harry from January 2021 until November 2022 after meeting him on the set of her film Don't Worry Darling. She had previously been engaged and shares two children with her ex-fiancé, Jason Sudeikis, 49 - Otis Alexander, 11, and Daisy Josephine, eight - who she split from in early 2020. Olivia and Harry were reported to have experienced an instant attraction on the Don't Worry Darling set, despite their 10-year age gap. A source told PEOPLE at the time: 'Everyone saw it coming. During breaks, he hasn't been able to stay away and visited her trailer.' By February 2021, the couple were said to be 'very serious' about each other, with a source claiming that Harry was 'very happy' with Olivia. Director Olivia was romantically linked to Harry from January 2021 until November 2022 after meeting on the set of her film Don't Worry Darling (pictured at the premiere with Gemma Chan and Sydney Chandler The relationship even progressed to the point where Olivia had introduced the former X Factor star to her children. A year later, Olivia told Vogue: 'I'm happier than I've ever been. And I'm healthier than I've ever been, and it's just wonderful to feel that.' Harry echoed this sentiment in April of 2022, describing himself as 'really happy'. He also said the relationship had a positive effect on his music and told SiriusXM's The Morning Mash Up that the process of making Harry's House had been the most 'joyous' experience of his career so far. The star is believed to have referenced Olivia in the lyrics of As It Was, namely: 'I don't wanna talk about the way that it was, leave America, two kids follow her, I don't wanna talk about who's doin' it first.' However, their intense work schedules and conflicting priorities were reported to be the cause of their eventual split, which was initially reported to be a 'break'. A source told PEOPLE at the time: 'They have had some issues, but Olivia thought they were gonna work through it all. She is disappointed. It's just a tricky situation, though.' In February 2023, it emerged that their relationship was over for good, with a source claiming that the pair remain good friends.
The Sun
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Nepo-baby daughter of A-list actress and Hollywood director wows at exhibition – can you guess her famous parents?
THIS nepo-baby looked incredible as she appeared at an exhibition in London last night. And it's no surprise, as the actress has grown up with very famous Hollywood parents. 5 5 5 The 17-year-old was snapped in London at the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition Party. And she looked absolutely stunning as she posed in a sweet pink dress beside her famous mother. But can you guess who she is? Or who her famous parents are? The young lady in question is Nell Burton, the daughter of Hollywood director Tim Burton and A-list star Helena Bonham Carter. Nell made her first movie appearance as a toddler, as a Baby at Dock in the movie 'Alice in Wonderland', directed by her father Tim. Her mother, Helena, played the Red Queen, starring opposite Johnny Depp as a Mad Hatter and Mia Wasikowska as Alice. Nell was then seen as a Little Girl at the Train Station in the 2012 fantasy comedy 'Dark Shadows'. She also made an appearance as Girl at Park in the biographical drama 'Big Eyes', about the life of the painter Margaret Keane. And she appeared as Unnamed classmate in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Tim and Helena met for the first time when he cast her to play in his 2001 movie 'Planet of the Apes', during which the two began their relationship. The Crown star Helena Bonham Carter says 'it's our duty' to tell viewers it's fiction Sweeney Todd actress Helena, 59, and Tim, 66, went on to have an unconventional marriage. The couple famously lived together in adjoining houses in Belsize Park, North London, before knocking them together. They had two children Billy, 22, and Nell, 17, but split in 2014. They remained friends after the split with Helena branding the director 'very generous'. She said at the time: 'You go through massive grief — it is a death of a relationship, so it's utterly bewildering. 'Your identity, everything, changes. 'Luckily I've kept both houses. He was very generous.' Helena is now with writer and academic Rye Dag Holmboe, who at 37 is 22 years her junior. And Tim is with Bond girl and model Monica Bellucci, 66, who presented him with a lifetime achievement award at the Lumière Film Festival in Lyon in 2022. Nell's older brother has also made appearances in several of their father's movies. 5 5
