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Attaboy! •

A virtual reality called FIFA, it’s in the game

Read about one man's total immersion into a football simulation game, thanks to an unlikely endorsement from the World Health Organisation.

As the U.K. initiated lockdown due to the Coronavirus outbreak, the World Health Organisation (W.H.O.) backed an initiative entitled #PlayApartTogether. This was in late March, and the scheme urged people to stay indoors and play video games.

Ironically, the W.H.O. classified ‘gaming disorder’ or video game addiction as a disease just over a year ago.

As
Attaboy! •

Brexit and other daddy issues

United by lockdown but divided by Brexit, this first person feature explores the relationship between a son and his father in strange circumstances.

Families invariably fall out, but when politics is the cause of that rift things go up a notch. To disagree with your loved ones on how the world should be ordered conjures up all sorts of emotions, as many have discovered since lockdown.

After the Brexit referendum result, I couldn’t bear to look at my father. As a family, we epitomised the UK’s
The Drinks Business •

Medieval Wine Tour of London: a Bacchic binge through time

London: a city of soaring ambition, blue-eyed boys in finance, and – in the 14th century – a place where one could be legally force-fed soured wine as a punishment for tampering with the nation’s most sacred import. 
Dr Matthew Green’s Medieval Wine Tour of London is an intoxicating romp through the city’s oenological past, a masterful blend of history, theatre and just the right amount of alcohol to make medieval hygiene standards seem tolerable.
While modern Londoners associate alcohol with mi...
The Drinks Business •

‘The role of Ozempic isn’t just about reduced consumption, it’s about a shift in values’

Weight loss medications are quietly reshaping how and why people drink, pushing alcohol towards a more selective and health-aware future. James Bayley asks whether health can be pursued without losing autonomy.

The rise of GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic is no longer a background murmur for the drinks trade. It is becoming a decisive force in how consumers approach alcohol, according to Tom Bell, founder of low-calorie alcohol retailer DrinkWell.
“We’re beginning to see signs that Ozempic and...
Attaboy! •

Dear England review: The perils of a political football

James Graham’s Dear England, which opened at The National Theatre in June 2023, follows the trials and tribulations of the England men’s football team between 2016 and 2022, amidst a backdrop of Brexit, Covid and identity politics.

It’s a promising premise for a play, presenting the state of a nation through the lens of the beautiful game. Despite this, I have always found football’s inability to translate to stage or screen, aside from one or two notable exceptions (The Damned United, Bend It
The Drinks Business •

How Gen Z turned BuzzBallz into the UK’s pre-drink essential

The cult American cocktail ball has become a British Gen Z staple, especially among students seeking bar-strength pre-drinks with Instagram appeal. Now it’s the fastest-growing RTD brand in the UK, fuelled by TikTok virality and bold branding.

BuzzBallz may have launched in Texas back in 2009, but the UK wasn’t properly introduced to the technicolour cocktail spheres until 2022. Their distribution and influence gained momentum rapidly following Sazerac’s takeover in early 2024. Since then, the...
MyLondon •

'I wasn’t showering or eating properly' - Gaming addict played 12 hours a day

A former video games addict who would "fall asleep on his keyboard" during daily 12 hour sessions is now helping young people who are struggling, as stats show an NHS clinic for gaming disorders is seeing more patients than ever before.

It comes after the (W.H.O.) endorsed an initiative entitled #PlayApartTogether, to encourage people to stay indoors and play video games during lockdown.

Since then, the number of teenagers playing video games around the country has soared.

The NHS clinic for
Attaboy! •

Ten classical pieces to listen to before you’re 30

The latest instalment of our 'before you're 30' series concerns classical music. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but a browse of our list below could inspire a new lifelong passion, or elevate your pub quiz game.

For a lot of newcomers to classical music, film scores have been a useful gateway. Spotify is awash with “workout” playlists featuring the music of Hans Zimmer, a composer so mainstream, he is now a regular on the music festival circuit.

Lockdown is the perfect time to become more acq
Harpers •

The Comfort of Another Round

The Comfort of Another Round

Thomas Vinterberg’s tale of midlife crisis, Another Round, begins with a booze-fuelled lakeside run that features beautiful teenagers sprinting and drinking in total abandonment.

Like it or not, alcohol brings people together – it is a facilitator for love and friendship. According to Norwegian psychiatrist Finn Skårderud, it also unlocks man’s potential. He suggests that humans are born with a blood alcohol level that is 0.05% too low (the equivalent of 1-2 glasse
Attaboy! •

The experiences of men in female-dominated roles

Attaboy spoke to three men who are soon to embark on a career in a female-dominated industry, to find out why so few men have followed in their path.

Women have made significant progress entering male-dominated jobs such as finance, law and medicine over the last few decades. Men, on the other hand, have made far less progress entering female-dominated jobs like those of primary school teachers, nurses, and social workers. To address this imbalance, society needs to motivate more men to pursue
The Drinks Business •

Old enough to vote but not to drink? A question of age and responsibility

James Bayley asks whether the UK’s decision to lower the voting age to 16 exposes an inconsistency in how society defines adulthood, particularly when it comes to alcohol. If 16-year-olds are trusted to help shape the nation’s future, should they also be trusted to order a pint?

The government’s decision to lower the voting age to 16 has been described as a “seismic” change to modernise democracy, according to the BBC. It brings Westminster in line with Scotland and Wales, where 16- and 17-year...
Attaboy! •

Diego Maradona Review

During the lockdown, many of us have had to adapt to life without football. Thankfully, we are in the midst of a golden age for sports documentaries, and Diego Maradona by Asif Kapadia is as good as it gets.

Kapadia has produced the most significant portrait of a footballer ever committed to screen. Using a treasure trove of archive footage we meet Diego, a shy mummy’s boy confined to a shantytown on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. He has nothing to offer but his capacity for resilience and burg
EastLondonLines •

Count Binface - 'There should be another referendum on whether there should be another referendum'

Before Boris Johnson becomes Prime Minister, he must first conquer prospective parliamentary candidate and Intergalactic Space Warrior, Count Binface.

The Count, formerly Lord Buckethead and AKA Lewisham based comedian Jon Harvey, is standing for election in the constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip against Mr Johnson.

Speaking about his rival, the Count told Eastlondonlines “Compared to Mr Johnson, I would say I have the upper hand when it comes to veracity, costed policies, dignity and

Gorgona prison project celebrates 12th vintage milestone - Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

During a visit to the island in the Tuscan Archipelago, Harpers toured the 2.3ha vineyard and tasted the latest vintage of the Gorgona Bianco, a wine from Vermentino and Ansonica grapes, yielding approximately 9,000 bottles.
40km off the coast of Livorno, Gorgona is a small, serene island, with pastel-coloured houses and an eerie silence. If it wasn’t for the sight of Jeeps labelled ‘Polizia Penitenziaria’, one could easily mistake the island for a tropical oasis.
Gorgona is Italy’s last remai...
My London •

Big Issue seller 'has been depressed' as he faces challenges of lockdown

As a result of the third national lockdown, 1,386 Big Issue vendors cannot sell the magazine.

Big Issue sellers are self-employed, buying magazines for £1.50 before selling them on for £3.

This means they aren't eligible for furlough and they cannot work from home.

Martin Mckenzie, 40, is a familiar face to those on his Finsbury Park patch, but over the last year, he has only been able to sell the magazine for a total of six weeks.

He told My London : "Credit where it's due, The Big Issue ha
My London •

London couple met during lockdown and got married 4 months later

Since the emergence of coronavirus, there has been a significant surge in dating app usage across London.

A spokeswoman from the popular dating app Bumble told My London: "During the lockdown in March and April we saw a big increase in video calls with Brits looking to meet digitally in the absence of physical dates.”


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In these troubling times, more people have been looking for meaningful connections, a