August’s Hot List
DRINKS: Unltd
Unltd is an alcohol-free beer that was dreamt up in the harrowing aftermath of a particularly lively wedding reception. In the end, founder – and new husband – Johnny Johnson took three weeks off the sauce and realised he was feeling a hell of a lot better for it. The only problem was: he missed beer. So he set about creating an alcohol-free option that lost none of beer’s inimitable flavour. The result of his endeavours is Unltd. Its lager is available now, and there’s an IPA to follow.
Visit Unltd.beer
PODCAST: Joe Wicks
During lockdown, Joe Wicks became the nation’s PE teacher, attracting more than a million viewers to his YouTube workouts for children. Now he’s moved into podcasting. In each episode of the BBC’s Joe Wicks Podcast, the enviably coiffured fitness coach asks a celebrity pal – Gordon Ramsay, Fearne Cotton and David Harewood so far – what one thing makes their life better. What ensues is gratifyingly upbeat chatter about the secrets to mental and physical happiness.
Visit BBC.co.uk
MENSWEAR: Jam Industries
Surfing culture is the inspiration for this family run clothing brand. Mark, Andrew and their mum Lynne operate four stores in the south west (Dartmouth, Padstow, Salcombe and St Ives, if you’re in the area) showcasing a timeless and relaxed menswear range that runs from shackets to swimmers. Versatility is key throughout – each item can take you from beach to bar, from shoreline to city.
Visit Jam-Industries.co.uk
BOOK: Bunker by Bradley Garrett
Bradley Garrett is an urban explorer and cultural geographer. He’s spent the last few years getting to know ‘preppers’ – survivalists who are constantly braced for some sort of apocalyptic catastrophe. Occupying eco-fortresses in east Asia to armoured spaces in mid-West America, they’re part of a growing movement. Eventually, looking around our more mainstream built environment – gated communities, for example – Garrett starts to wonder if we aren’t all adopting a bunker mentality in the face of burgeoning concerns about the stability of civilisation.
Visit Penguin.co.uk
GROOMING: Aesop Citrus Melange Body Cleanser
High-end Aussie skincare brand Aesop has been elevating morning routines since 1987. Displaying its customary commitment to both efficacy and sensory pleasure, the new Citrus Melange Cleanser is just the fourth shower gel to make it into the range. Low foaming and easy on the skin, it uses plant extracts to clean you up and send you on your way with an enlivening citrus aroma.
Visit Aesop.com
FILM: Tenet
Memento, The Dark Knight, The Prestige, Inception, Dunkirk – Christopher Nolan has made an indecent amount of the 21st-century’s best, most interesting blockbusters. He was supposed to add to that list last month with the release of Tenet. A certain global pandemic got in the way and Tenet’s release has now been put back three times. The latest date for its UK debut is 26th August. That might change again but, whenever it does arrive, this is the film that will take you back to the cinema with a bang. Just check out the trailer below.
Visit YouTube.com
FOOD DELIVERY: Cheese Geek
This month brings a rare opportunity to make the world a better place simply by eating cheese. If you want to help save the nation’s artisan cheesemakers – who have struggled to sell their wares as restaurants and deli counters alike have been closed – the Cheese Geek is here to help you do exactly that. He can sort you out with a one-off box: check out the Clint, with its comte, Sparkenhoe blue and perl wen cheeses paired to sparkling, white and red wines. If you’re in this for the long haul, the Geek can also tailor a subscription to meet your needs.
Visit TheCheeseGeek.com
FRAGRANCE: DS & Durga Car Scents
Husband-wife perfume pioneers DS & Durga have come up with something we didn’t know we needed until we tried it. Having built a cult following with brilliantly original eau de parfums like Burning Barbershop and Mississippi Medicine, they’re now ready to enhance your driving experience. Two new car fragrances will change your outlook on any upcoming road trip: Concrete After Lightning captures the freshness of a summer’s day after a downpour; ’85 Diesel is earthy, smoky and leathery – taking you back to youthful journeys in your dad’s brand-new Mercedes-Benz 300 Turbo Diesel, if you were privy to such things.
Visit LibertyLondon.com
EXHIBITION: Electronic: From Kraftwerk To The Chemical Brothers
This is the closest you’ll get to a club this summer – and a vital reminder of everything club culture has done for us. The Design Museum’s Electronic exhibition, which runs until February, is an immersive history of electronica, charting the music’s evolution from primitive bleeps more than a century ago into the central cultural phenomenon it is today. Along the way, you can dip into a vintage Chemical Brothers set, catch one of Kraftwerk’s historic 3D performances, and marvel at remarkable artefacts from global clubbing capitals including Detroit, Chicago and Berlin.
Visit DesignMuseum.org
TECH: Leica M10-R
Iconic is an overused word, but that’s exactly what Leica’s M series of cameras has become since the M3 first dropped in 1954. The M8 took the series digital in 2006; now the M10-R breaks new ground with a 40-megapixel full-frame sensor. The new model’s retro-minimalist shell means it’s still unmistakably a Leica. At £7,100, this is one for the serious snapper who will appreciate the company’s refusal to include an auto-focus – forcing users to take their time and compose shots properly.
Visit Leica-Camera.com
PODCAST: That Peter Crouch Podcast
Once best known as a leading exponent of the ‘robot dance’, former England footballer Peter Crouch has come a long way since he launched That Peter Crouch Podcast in September 2018. In fact, he’s made it all the way to Kensington Palace. For the latest episode of the show’s current season, Crouchy and his co-hosts sit down for a curry with Prince William – aka the president of the Football Association – to discuss their mutual love of the sport and what it means to them.
Visit BBC.co.uk
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