Buena Vista's musical club brought Cuba to the world

Until the album Buena Vista Social Club, Omara Portuondo was languishing like her fellow stars in relative obscurity. Here she tells Miguel Cullen how it changed her life OMARA Portuondo s voice sounds sweeter than through any vocal booth harmoniser as i... » MORE

Everyone is going nuts for this Crouch End steakhouse

BY VICTORIA PREVER North-west London has nurtured several restaurant-owning dynasties. The Kaye family brought us Golden Egg and Garfunkels and the next generation, the first ASK restaurant – in Belsize Park in 1993. That site was was previously a Cafe Fl... » MORE

Restaurant review archive

Olympian effort to record the nation's oil paintings

By Charlotte Newton A GROUP of north London art historians is executing one of the most ambitious projects ever launched in the art world – to record every publicly owned oil painting in England. The Public Catalogue Foundation is a registered charity wh... » MORE

TWELFTH NIGHT: Open Air Theatre Regent s Park

fOUR STAR RATING By Simon Jackson Director Edward Dick s new production of Shakespeare s comedy, Twelfth Night, proves to be an easily accessible escapist romp. Dick, directing his first production at the venue, rewards viewers with a de... » MORE

Thom Yorke is a fan - so things look good for Cajun kids

Cajun Dance Party – who formed while they were still at school – modestly tell Tan Parsons what it s like to be rated by top singers like Radiohead s Thom Yorke THEY might have been signed by Radiohead s label on the advice of Thom Yorke but this youn... » MORE

REVIEW: HIGHGATE CHORAL SOCIETY: All Hallows Church, Gospel Oak

Four star rating To find one outstanding piano soloist slipped into the line-up for a north London choral concert would be remarkable enough. Two verges on extravagance. But two there were in Highgate Choral... » MORE

Star-studded Abba musical is well worth taking a chance on

MAMMA MIA! (PG) Director Phyllida Lloyd. Starring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgard, Colin Firth, Julie Walters, Amanda Seyfried. 97 mins Three star rating If the gangs of ladies that smuggled in bottles of wine in, cried three times and... » MORE

Charting China's meteoric rise was rich and rewarding

Although Islington author John Farndon has written many books on contemporary issues, being asked by his publishers to write about China was something special. Here, just a few weeks before the opening of the Beijing Olympics, he explains why his new book... » MORE