@ft_weekend

class="content__text" When did everybody start looking like Chris Hemsworth? ⁠ ⁠ On her commute through central London last week, the FT's Jo Ellison noticed dozens of running, shirtless men sporting smooth, hairless, bionic chests.⁠ ⁠ Visit the link in bio to read what the Australian actor — who set a new precedent in male fitness aspiration in his role as Marvel's Thor — has to answer for.⁠ ⁠ Are we witnessing the Marvelification of man? Let us know in the comments below 👇⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ Image description: A quote from FT columnist Jo Ellison reads: "Men must now embody an outlandish standard of perfection that sits somewhere between Love Island contestant and cartoon demigod"

July 04, 2023

class="content__text" For Isabel Berwick, having her first bespoke suit made was an act of self-love - or at least, a form of fabric-based therapy. 'When I walked into Hall’s compact Clerkenwell shop in November 2022. I was a wreck. My marriage was in deep crisis and I was traumatised. In the midst of this mess, putting on fabric armour in order to face the world was an appealing prospect.'⁠ ⁠ For more on the emotional balm of personalised tailoring, see the link in our bio⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ 📸: ©Lily Bertrand-Webb #ft #financialtimes #ftweekend ⁠ ⁠ Media description: a seamstress measuring the parts of a suit

July 03, 2023

class="content__text" While allegations that Boris Johnson held lockdown-era gatherings at Chequers hit the news in recent weeks, the most intriguing detail surrounding the former UK prime minister’s use of his country retreat is that he considered installing a £150,000 treehouse in its garden.⁠ ⁠ Treehouses now can be luxury garden amenities, not just impromptu shacks. Companies specialising in bespoke designs come together at the annual World TreeHouse Conference in Oregon each autumn.⁠ ⁠ Visit the link in bio to read more about the fairytale magic of luxury treehouses 🌲 ⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ Image description: A Woodnest treehouse designed by architects Helen & Hard for Kjartan Aano in Norway.

July 03, 2023

class="content__text" ‘Enveloping’, ‘womblike’ and ‘warm’ are not terms typically associated with Brutalism’s key ingredient: concrete.⁠ Yet, pigmented concrete is slowly seeping into a slew of recent residential projects - including new-build beach houses, Victorian terraces, and adapted alpine chalets. ⁠ ⁠ The colour of choice? Undoubtedly, pink. ⁠ ⁠ For more on concrete’s cosy makeover, check out the link in bio ⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ photo credit: Lorenzo Zandri #ft #financialtimes #ftweekend #architecture⁠ ⁠ ⁠ Image Description: a pink concrete renovated house in the UK, seen from the backyard

July 03, 2023

class="content__text" Dubbed the Island of the Djinns by ancient mariners, the small island of Socotra has cropped up in mythical stories from the Epic of Gilgamesh to Arabian Nights. Peppered with dragon blood trees whose sap runs red, blinding white beaches, and ‘endemic’ plant species - as David Pilling is frequently reminded - Socotra is near impossible to get to. ⁠ ⁠ That is, unless you’re in the right Whatsapp group. ⁠ ⁠ For more on Pilling’s journey through the rocky black mountains, ‘wild and sublime’ coastline, and ‘heart-juddering’ gorges of this remote Yemeni island, click the link in bio👉️⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ 📸: Louis Waite #ft #ftweekend #financialtimes #travel #socotra⁠

July 02, 2023

class="content__text" From the moment he was born, the French novelist and playwright Alexandre Dumas (1802-70) made an impression, and his home was no less extraordinary. In 1844, Dumas decided to build two châteaux with contrasting purposes: to write and to entertain.⁠ The Château d’If and Château de Monte-Cristo — situated on a hill at Le Port-Marly, 15 miles west of Paris — are set amid sweeping lawns, mature trees, pathways, still pools and grottos.⁠ ⁠ Visit the link in bio to read about the spectacular architecture of Dumas' homes, including the Moorish Salon, installed by artisans Hadj Younis and his son Mohammed 🏰⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ Photo credit: Vincent Dierks Felloni ⁠ Image Description: The Moorish Salon, decorated by Hadj and Mohammed Younis, artisans Dumas had met in Tunisia.

July 02, 2023

class="content__text" Tomaž Rotar knows a thing or two about life and death in extreme environments. In February 2021, the Slovenian surgeon was sitting in a cramped tent 7,300m up K2, the world’s second highest mountain. More than 20 climbers had gathered in worsening winds and temperatures below -30C. That night, after attempting to cross an unexpected crevasse, three climbers failed to return.⁠ ⁠ As Rotar followed updates about the Titan submersible last week, he reflected on the calculations wealthy adventurers make when they face that vital decision: do we stay, or do we go?⁠ ⁠ In the latest FT Weekend essay, Tom Robbins, Simon Usborne and Oliver Barnes explore the extreme end of the travel industry. From the oceans and the mountains, to polar ice sheets and active volcanoes — and now the vast expanse of space — people are increasingly prepared to pay small fortunes in pursuit of big, sometimes dangerous dreams.⁠ ⁠ Visit the link in bio to read the full piece.⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ photo credit: @martinrhartley /Eyevine, Blue Origin/Zuma Press/Avalon⁠ ⁠ Image Description: A climber on top of a mountain looks out over the Patriot Hills, Antarctica.

July 01, 2023

class="content__text" ‘Honey, I’m home! Oh, I forgot. I’m not married.”⁠ ⁠ So returns Selina Kyle - the overworked, underpaid secretary played by Michelle Pfeiffer in Tim Burton’s cult classic film Batman Returns - to her little Gotham City flat after yet another long day at the office.⁠ She’s single, under-appreciated by the amoral bankers she works with, and bereft of a social life, but boy is her bubble-gum hued pad aspirational.⁠ ⁠ For more of Róisín Lanigan’s musings on the joys of coming back to a 'right marshmallow dream, where you could lose yourself to unadulterated female rage without the caveat of having to apologise to a landlord the next day', click on the link in bio.⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ Photo credit: Warner Bros #ft #fthouseandhome #financialtimes #catwoman⁠ ⁠ Image Description: a bright pink living room furnished with pink furniture and homeware

July 01, 2023

class="content__text" Out tomorrow, a brand new issue of FT Weekend Magazine.⁠ ⁠ Two North Korean defectors: a tale of secrets, lies and love. After she fled to South Korea, Kim Joo Kyung couldn’t stop thinking about her first love. She decided to try to find him. ⁠ ⁠ Plus Andrew Dickinson explores Francesca Woodman's legacy through her newly published notebooks, Simon Kuper analyses the impact of climate change on holidays, Gillian Tett considers how social media is changing how we watch revolutions unfold, Andrew Hunter Murray details how billionaires are trying to save the world - and more⁠.⁠ ⁠ Grab a print copy at a newsstand near you this weekend. Or head to the link in bio to read the cover story now 👉⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ Image Description: The magazine cover shows the word love in large type against a peach pink background

June 30, 2023

class="content__text" Veiholmen is a Norwegian village spread across a long squiggle of land, a frilly prong extending into the North Sea. The Smøla archipelago — consisting of more than 5,800 islands — is reachable by a 10km-long, otherworldly causeway that crosses a series of rollercoaster bridges that hop from islet to islet like a skipping stone.⁠ ⁠ Thought to be the island referred to as Thule in antiquity, the land is a metaphor for remoteness. It also has one of the world’s highest concentrations of white-tailed sea eagles.⁠ ⁠ Go to the link in bio to find out why a planned new hotel could make this end-of-the-world place even more extraordinary 🚣🦅⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ Image Description: Three houses painted red in Veiholmen, a fishing village on the Norwegian archipelago of Smøla.

June 30, 2023

class="content__text" What's it actually like to run a vineyard? 🍇⁠ ⁠ You may have had this fantasy: quit your job in the big city, move to Napa or Greece, buy a straw hat and make wine. Sales of wine-estate properties have, in fact, been rising across southern Europe for years. But the reality is, owning a vineyard is stressful, volatile and financially precarious, and the FT's Marianna Giusti (@mauipippi ) warns us to avoid it at all costs. Mari's family runs a vineyard in Tuscany, Italy. As the oldest child, she is first in line to inherit it. But she doesn’t want it! ⁠ ⁠ This week, she joins @Lilahrap on FT Weekend podcast to discuss the highs and lows of vineyard life, and explain how hard it is to make really good wine. Link in bio to listen 🎧⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ Photo credit: Maria Clotilde Orlandini; Roby Battistelli⁠ ⁠ Image Description: the vineyard on a sunny day; the author as a teenager with a friend on the vineyard⁠

June 30, 2023

class="content__text" This week @fuchsiadunlop shares a recipe that cheered her up in lockdown: Sichuanese picnic rolls. ⁠ ⁠ 'The stuffing is a version of bang bang chicken paired with a sprightly salad of shredded vegetables. The chicken is seasoned with a beguiling combination of spicy, nutty, salty, sweet, sour and tingling tastes.'⁠ ⁠ Head to the link in our bio for the recipe 👉⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ .⁠ Photo credipt: Yuki Sugiura @yukisugiura.photo ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ ⁠Image Description: Soft, Sichuanese picnic rolls on bright red plates laid on a teal table cloth with thin white stripes. The roll contains bang bang chick and vegetables. Some sauce is on the wrapping.

June 29, 2023