Downton abbey

Quatermass is one of the most amazing chapters in Britain's cultural history. It began in the boffins' huts of early BBC TV, where a man called Nigel Kneale conceived a series of lurid yet intelligent science fiction stories in the early 50s, and passed through the fleapit studios of Hammer, which made three Quatermass movies among so many lesser screamers. Today it is revered by writers and film-makers around the world because it anticipated the fusion of science fiction and horror. Long before Ridley Scott's Alien, Quatermass was mixing a suspicion of technology with mutant space viruses, personality fusions and allusions to Satan - perfect sci-fi noir. John Carpenter used Quatermass-type stories in The Thing and Prince of Darkness (for the latter, he used the screenplay credit Martin Quatermass); Kneale himself was cajoled into writing Halloween III. Shadows of Quatermass have been detected as far afield as Stanley Kubrick's 2001 and Stephen King's The Tommyknockers. This weekend, … [Read more...] about My God, it’s horrible

Roland Rudd, a former City journalist, was £41m better off yesterday after selling his financial public relations firm Finsbury to Sir Martin Sorrell's WPP. Mr Rudd, 40, who set up the business just seven years ago, owned 75% of Finsbury, which numbers Lloyds TSB, Sainsbury and Centrica among its clients. WPP, which had been in discussions with Mr Rudd for 18 months, is paying about £55m for the business. Fellow founder Rupert Younger and another director, James Murgatroyd, will split the remainder. WPP aims to build the Finsbury brand internationally and will open offices in New York and Frankfurt in addition to existing bases in London and Brussels. An upfront payment of £15m-20m will be followed by the remainder under a five-year earnout arrangement, based on the agency hitting targets. WPP will be eager to keep the senior executives in place in an industry built on personal contacts. Mr Rudd is effectively ploughing half his cash back into a fund to bolster staff … [Read more...] about £41m Rudd sells to WPP

Last week, the London Evening Standard ran a single article in its editorial column, rather than its usual two, something it only does in matters of grave importance. It was about the end of plans to build a garden bridge over the Thames and blamed the mayor, Sadiq Khan, for killing off “a brilliant and imaginative plan” and for wasting public money. The nerve was breathtaking. If anyone wasted public money, it was the former chancellor George Osborne and the former mayor Boris Johnson, who promised £60m to a project whose viability was always in doubt. Osborne, of course, is now editor of the Evening Standard. What finally killed the bridge was cost, which went from a promised £60m in 2013, to £100m, to £185m, to £200m and possibly more, plus at least £3m per year in running costs. Had it been even close to the original estimates, there would have been enough public and private money to fund it. It might be thought that the bridge’s … [Read more...] about Thomas Heatherwick: Pied Piper who has the very rich under his spell

V&A Dundee One of the most significant new openings of the year will be Scotland’s first design museum – and also the first V&A anywhere outside of London – on 15 September. The museum building sits on the river Tay and boasts a bold, radical design by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma – its shape and form inspired by cliffs on Scotland’s east coast. It will celebrate Scottish design, objects in its collection ranging from a Cartier “Valkyrie” diamond tiara commissioned by the late Mary Crewe-Milnes, Duchess of Roxburghe, to original artworks of The Beano. • vandadundee.org Royal Academy of Arts, London To mark its 250th anniversary, the RA reopens on 19 May following a £50m renovation with a new gallery and expanded exhibition programme. These will include a “suite of three day-lit galleries”, which will host exhibitions with a focus on contemporary art and architecture. The grand facade of the Burlington Gardens … [Read more...] about 10 of the best new UK museums and galleries for 2018

A family are calling on Mirror readers to help their sick little girl get the treatment she desperately needs. Edie Jackson, six, was diagnosed with a rare and difficult-to-cure brain tumour at the end of last month. Her desperate parents are appealing for readers to support their cause to fund rare treatments in a bid to save her life. Dad Craig Jackson, 39, said: "If we don't raise the money, there's no question of her not getting the treatment. "We will sell the house, we will sell the clothes off our backs and everything we have. "We want to fight this. "Every pound donated is going towards Edie's life." A fundraising page set up by Edie's aunt and uncle has raised more than £110,000 since the start of December. Although the family can't believe the generosity, it's not enough to fund enough treatment. Edie, from Waltham Abbey, Essex, was diagnosed with DIPG, a tumour on the stem of her brain on November 27. She's undergone an intensive course of radiotherapy to try and … [Read more...] about Family call on Mirror readers to help their little girl “Super Edie”, 6, suffering from a rare brain tumour who needs urgent help