Latest news with #escapism
The Independent
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Enjoy audiobooks all summer long with 3 months free Audible this Prime Day
A good book can offer escapism like nothing else. Be it a fantasy adventure, a cosy romance or a gripping thriller, there's stories out there that can stay with you for a lifetime. But sometimes, life can get in the way and finding the time to read can be easier said than done. This is where an audiobook can be the booklovers saviour. Audiobooks can be enjoyed handsfree, wherever you are, whatever you're doing. As well as keeping your Goodreads backlog in check, an audiobook can bring a book to life, immersing you in the story in ways that just reading the pages can't match. You can power through your forty-two household chores as you listen to Douglas Adam's Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy or ponder whodunnit on the drive to work with Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club. If you're looking to get stuck into the world of audiobooks, we have a Prime Day deal you won't want to miss. Audible is offering three months free of their premium plus membership for Amazon Prime customers throughout July. Meaning you can listen to your favourite books (or discover your next) all summer long. Get 3 months free Audible now What is Audible Audible is one of the leading audiobook platforms, with a massive library spanning every genre you can think of as well as whole host of podcasts and original content. Whether you're reliving your childhood listening to Stephen Fry narrate the Harry Potter series while you do the laundry or engrossing yourself in the bestselling Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros while walking the dog, Audible has an audiobook for everyone. It's all accessed via their app which is packed with features made to make enjoying your favourite audiobook as effortless as turning a page, including playback speed controls, timers for when you're multitasking or getting ready to sleep and car mode which enlarges icons to make controlling your audiobook while driving easier. An Audible subscription gives you full access to a library of thousands of free to listen to audiobooks, podcasts and original content from instantly recognisable voices including, Alan Partridge, Mel Giedroyc, Jamie Dornan and more. You can also claim one free audiobook a month from their bestseller or new release lists. This is perfect for when a new book comes out that all your friends are talking about. Even better, your monthly audiobook pick is free to keep forever. Joining Audible couldn't be easier. All you need is an active Amazon Prime subscription and to be a new member to Audible. Your first three months are free, after which you can either cancel at no cost, or carry on for £8.99 a month, renewing automatically. But hurry, this deal is only available until 31 July.
Condé Nast Traveler
04-07-2025
- Condé Nast Traveler
The Best Lake Garda Hotels, From Restored Monasteries to Glossy Villas
The waterscapes in Italy are something of a marvel, and Lake Garda is steeped in history, as well as being serenely beautiful and home to some of the best hotels in Italy. Once upon a time, only European royalty, Ancient Roman writers, and top-tier artists retreated here for a holiday, and as such, its landscape is dotted with the kind of architecture you might see on a postcard. There are hotels—like the Pavillion Suite, for example—that stay true to their grandiose Italian roots, and other, more modern alternatives like Hotel Galvani that bring gloss and glamor to the area. This is the ultimate destination for escapism, whether you're here to bathe in nature, indulge in a locally grown feast, take to the waters by boat, or join fellow windsurfers. From lavish Renaissance palazzos to chic eco-friendly retreats, here's our pick of the best hotels in Lake Garda. Alternatively, browse our edit of the best hotels in Lake Como to plan the perfect trip to the Italian lakes.
Telegraph
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
‘I'm not going back': What it was like to be Jewish at Glastonbury
'A friend had seen Kneecap play at Coachella [the music festival held in California in April] and told me not to go to Glastonbury,' says Suzi Sendama. 'He said he thought it would be more difficult for me than I thought it would be. I didn't grasp what he meant at the time.' After spending the weekend at the festival in Somerset, she now understands what her friend meant. A lawyer by day, Sendama, 42, has been going to Glastonbury for over 20 years. This was the first time she felt uncomfortable. 'What I've always loved about festivals is the ability to leave your life at the gate and enter a complete world of escapism, where it's just silly and fun and full of love and everybody supports each other, and you don't have to think about the horrific outside world,' she says. 'There's always awful things going on in the outside world to escape from. At the start of Ezra Collective's performance they said 'we want everyone to make friends'. Festivals are about those moments of love and unity. The rest of the weekend was not like that. 'I know that I'm part of an ethnic minority but you don't feel the hate every day. This weekend was pretty tough. It felt like a massive wake-up call as to the number of people who really do want to dismantle the state of Israel and that scares me. On Sunday, I had to take myself out of the event because I was so upset. People say 'you shouldn't feel threatened, it's not anti-Semitic,' but they would never dare tell a black person what is or isn't an anti-black racist statement.'' Sendama is not alone. Other Jewish attendees have been writing about the discomfort they felt over the weekend. In The Jewish Chronicle, Elisa Bray wrote that the 'stardust' of Glastonbury 'was lost this weekend.' When Jamie Peston, 44, who works in education, went to the festival for the first time last year, he 'fell in love with the chaos and the joy.' But after his experience this year, he wrote in a Facebook post entitled 'The Last Sunrise at Glastonbury: How a Festival of Freedom Turned Its Back on Jews Like Me' that he will not be returning. 'Before I went last year I was apprehensive and a lot of people thought I shouldn't be going, but I had a great time,' he tells The Telegraph. 'There were loads of Palestinian flags and keffiyehs, but that's not what Glastonbury is about, it's just what is portrayed [in the media]. I loved and enjoyed it this year, as well, but the context and detail and gravity of the anger, and the much more blatant anti-Semitism, had a huge impact on my experience. I'm not going back.' Apart from the general atmosphere around the festival, one incident in particular changed his mind. On Saturday afternoon, before a performance by the Australian punk band Amyl and the Sniffers, 'I realised I was in the middle of all the people who were holding Palestinian flags and wearing keffiyahs,' says Peston, who usually wears a kippah but didn't at Glastonbury. 'I got talking to a woman next to me. She asked if I'd seen Kneecap and I said no, then we had a chat, then suddenly in the middle of the conversation she said ' Oy vey ' at the end of a sentence. I jolted. I said 'What did you just say?' and she said 'it's Yiddish'. I said 'I know, are you Jewish?' and she said 'no.' I remembered in the back of my mind reading about people in these kinds of groups learning Yiddish phrases so they could work out who was Jewish and who was not. I realised then that I didn't want to be there any more.' Peston says his experience at Glastonbury was part of a trend of rising anti-Semitism. 'What we're seeing is a massive shift in what the mainstream thinks is acceptable and OK. It's making me feel significantly concerned and destabilised. While I champion free speech, I think there is a very clear line, which was crossed a long time ago. Part of the problem is the normalisation of extreme language.' Police have launched criminal investigations into the Glastonbury performances by Kneecap, an Irish rap group, and Bob Vylan, a punk duo from London. In May, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, a member of Kneecap who performs as Mo Chara, was charged with a terror offence for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag at a gig in London last November. Kneecap have been outspoken critics of Israel's war in Gaza. During Bob Vylan's performance on Saturday, singer Bobby Vylan led thousands of fans in chants of 'death, death to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces],' and spoke about working for a 'f------ Zionist.' The BBC, which screened the performance, issued a statement saying the 'anti-Semitic sentiments were utterly unacceptable.' In a separate statement, Glastonbury organisers said they were 'appalled' by the comments, which 'very much crossed a line.' Sir Keir Starmer condemned the 'appalling hate speech.' The chief rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, posted on social media that the 'airing of vile Jew-hatred at Glastonbury' and the botched response amounted to a ' time of national shame.' Bob Vylan have had their US visas rescinded ahead of a planned tour and have reportedly been dropped by their management. 'I'm not scared, and that's the irony of this whole situation,' says Peston. 'Zionism is simply the belief that Jews have the right to self-determination in our ancestral homeland. The existence of Israel means that, if things ever got truly dangerous, I could pack my bags and go somewhere safe – something Jews haven't always had the luxury of doing, often with disastrous consequences. So when I hear 'death to the IDF' it lands as something much deeper. It doesn't mean I support every action of the Israeli government or military. It means that the very idea of Jewish safety and continuity is being rejected, and that's profoundly unsettling.' For at least one Jewish attendee, Glastonbury was an opportunity to openly celebrate his faith. 'I have always worn a massive Star of David necklace,' says Matthew Waxman, 34. 'It's a big part of my identity. For a long time wearing it has been a mixed experience. On the one hand it stops people from making casual anti-Semitic remarks around me, but on the other hand it generates filthy looks from time to time. People who have a problem with it rarely say anything. Glastonbury was in line with that experience. 'The other reason I wear it is because it's not a pleasant time to be a Jew and I know a lot of people who hide their identity in public. I've had many experiences where people come up to me and say seeing someone being proudly visibly Jewish made them feel a bit safer or not alone. Again that was the case at Glastonbury. You can't let the b------- grind you down. There were pockets of genuine anti-Semitism at Glastonbury like there are everywhere, but I don't let anyone intimidate me.' Glastonbury will have a fallow year next year to allow the fields to recover. While war rages in Gaza, organisers of festivals and broadcasters – particularly the BBC – will continue to face the difficult question of where artistic freedom ends. For the Jewish festival-goers put off by their experience this time, that may not be enough. 'I'm sad that this place of unity and love from people from all walks of life felt like it's not for everybody any more,' says Suzi Sendama. 'I'm glad there's a break next year because it gives more of an opportunity for it to be rectified.'
Harpers Bazaar Arabia
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Harpers Bazaar Arabia
Chanel's Cruise 25/26 Collection Will Whisk You To The Riviera Courtesy of Sofia Coppola
A Chanel muse herself, Sofia Coppola lenses a short film capturing the spirit of the house's Cruise 2025/26 show For Sofia Coppola, 'You can be a fantasy version of yourself, or live a life you don't usually have time for.' And that's why she's chosen to craft a cinematic reverie that doubles up as meditation on artful escapism – on the allure of crafting a new glamorous identity for oneself while on holiday. Through her directorial eye, this imagined persona echoes the image of the Chanel woman – clad in the Maison's Cruise 2025/26 collection – as it exists in the collective imagination: poised, a bit mysterious, and just out of reach. But although this film has fashion at its heart, it isn't just about fashion. Unveiled at the Villa d'Este on Lake Como – once owned by Renaissance elites who considered themselves as worldly aesthetes, it now serves as a stage for Chanel's modern-day muses. The director pays homage to its historic location with her short film – titled Quintessentially Sofia – following model Ida Heiner as she glides through the storied corridors of the villa with a kind of effortless elegance. She wears pieces from the new capsule, designed by the Chanel Creation Studio ahead of Mathieu Blazy's much-anticipated debut this October, with house codes being reinterpreted with a vacation-ready twist: featherweight tweeds, diaphanous knits, and wicker flap bags. The concept of a holiday wardrobe is intrinsically linked to Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel herself. She was one of the first to create a Cruise collection, presenting her first one in 1919 outside the traditional fashion calendar. And here, you see the very essence of what it represents: a seamless blend of elegance and ease. From Hong Kong to Dubai and Monaco, Chanel has long presented its Cruise shows as cultural dialogues. Beyond its cinematic allure, Lake Como holds particular significance for the Maison as a result of its enduring collaborations with the artisans that hail from the region. It also nods to Coco Chanel's own travels – she visited the lake in the '30s with her close friend and legendary filmmaker Luchino Visconti. Sofia herself was clearly inspired by the effortlessly chic style of Luchino's on-screen characters – particularly in his 1962 film Il Lavoro. 'I love the whole attitude,' Sofia shares. 'How he shows something really refined in a casual way.' That dichotomy – of polish and casualness – informs Sofia's vision of who the Chanel woman is. She's someone who moves through her world with tasteful nonchalance. Distinct in Sofia's direction is her signature female gaze – vicarious rather than voyeuristic. 'I put myself in the point of view of the woman discovering the place,' she explains. 'I try to make the Chanel woman someone you can relate to (even if she's a fantasy version) so you can be her, not just look at her.' Ultimately, the film brings home the message that for Chanel, luxury is a state of mind – an invitation into a dreamscape of your own making.
Telegraph
13-06-2025
- Telegraph
A wine-lover's guide to the magical (and affordable) white wines of the southern Rhône
Only one type of wine has ever been described to me as something that is loved by more people the cheaper it gets. Could this be a blessing? A curse? A Holy Grail? Of course, it is more like a half-truth. I'm talking about Rhône whites and the catch is that the wines vary tremendously in style and scope. You've got Condrieu, the heady, all-viognier appellation that I would argue stands outside this aphorism. Then there are the whites made from roussanne and marsanne in (mostly) the northern Rhône. These are majestic beasts: muscular and intense, with oak that smells expensive and prices that race into triple figures. Such wines are loved by collectors and Burgundy -heads – in my experience, though, they're an acquired taste. Then you've got the whites from the southern Rhône: approachable blends that give you, for a fraction of the price, a quality I love to find in a glass of wine: escapism. We're talking evocative, airy whites that smell of summer evenings in southern France. This isn't only my imagination. I'd just finished writing that when I opened an email from the wine writer (and Rhône guru) Matt Walls, who I had messaged to ask how he would persuade people who didn't know them to try these wines. He described the sensation in an uncannily similar way: 'Whites from the southern Rhône are all about generosity. They're rich in body and flavour, satin-textured, fresh but not acidic. They're Provençal in spirit, conjuring warm air and pine sap. You can almost hear the cicadas trilling when you open a bottle.' What is creating this magic? That can vary enormously, not just from sub-region to sub-region but also from producer to producer. We're talking blends. These might include a portion of those stately grapes found in the northern Rhône: marzipan-scented marsanne and powerful roussanne – and the more of these in the mix, the more weighty the wine is likely to taste. Other grapes bring freshness and subtlety: think viognier, with its haunting floral perfume; white grenache; and rolle (aka vermentino), which smells like dried meadow grass. In the mix, there might also be clairette, with its waxy white flower perfume, or bourboulenc, which has a gentle spice. Wines with a large portion of white grenache can feel both rounded and weightless, like the delicious Vacqueyras Blanc (sadly not available in the UK) I tasted from the Bungener family's Clos de Caveau. Others, like the partially barrel-fermented Château de Saint Cosme Les Deux Albion 2023, France (13%, Cambridge Wine, £21.50), are more sleek and weighty. The best way to find your way around southern Rhône whites is by trial and error. Start with Côtes du Rhône and Costières de Nîmes; look to Ventoux for freshness and value; to Gigondas Blanc, a new white appellation authorised since 2023, for wines that are based on clairette (at least 70 per cent of the blend). Matt Walls adds, 'For powerful, opulent whites, try Châteauneuf-du-Pape. For lighter, zestier styles go to Luberon, Lirac or Laudun. Between the two, Vacqueyras and Cairanne combine richness with drinkability.' You can also look to Rhône-style blends beyond the Rhône: there are brilliant budget options from elsewhere in southern France – such as the white version of the famous Vieille Ferme (widely available, around £8.50) – and finer wines from further afield in Australia, the US and South Africa.
