3+ day, 2+ hour ago (345+ words) Welcome to our gifting issue. Read on and all of your most challenging Christmas gifting dilemmas will disappear in a puff of smoke. Our editors have chosen the cleverest presents for everyone in your life " plus the chicest taste makers, from Zac Posen to Mert Alas, have picked all the gifts they'd like to receive themselves. It's quite the bonanza. In this issue we also publish the shortlist for the 2025 Standard Theatre Awards. Founded in 1955, they are the oldest drama awards in the UK and have celebrated the finest actors, directors and writers across eight decades. Turn to page 20 to see who truly lit up the London stage this year, from Tom Hiddleston in Much Ado at Drury Lane to Cate Blanchett in The Seagull at the Barbican. Elsewhere, don't miss Ed West, one of my favourite writers, on page…...

3+ week, 2+ day ago (60+ words) Photography from fashion and wildlife to art and the environment, the Snap! The London Standard pictures of the day show the biggest stories and must-see photographs from London and around the world. See the best images of the day from around the world The pictures of the day are selected by The London Standard's Head of Pictures Elliot Wagland....

1+ week, 4+ day ago (773+ words) Thousands of fans who paid over the odds for sold out gigs last year are likely to be keeping an eye on the news that some of the resale companies are now under investigation. Britain's competition regulator has announced that it has opened investigations into eight companies, including leading ticket resellers StubHub and Viagogo , over hard sell online pricing practices. The companies being probed by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) are StubHub, Viagogo, AA Driving School, BSM Driving School, Gold's Gym, Wayfair, Appliances Direct and Marks Electrical. It is the first time the CMA has used new consumer protection powers to launch an investigation into anti-competitive behaviour in the hopes of protecting consumers. The latest crackdown comes after it was revealed reselling tickets for profit is to be outlawed under plans due to be announced by the Government tomorrow…...

2+ week, 4+ day ago (449+ words) Peppa Pig, Wicked dolls and Formula 1 Lego and Hot Wheels racing cars are among the predicted top-selling toys this Christmas, according to industry experts. Pre-school favourites Peppa Pig Oinks & Snuggles Evie Doll, the Jurassic World Primal Hatch T.Rex and the Wicked For Good Singing Dolls are among the 15 toys to have made the 2025 DreamToys list. Formula 1s 75th anniversary year sees it represented on the list by both Lego and Mattels Hot Wheels Racing F1 Grand Prix Circuit, alongside the Monster Jam Smash & Bash Grave Digger RC. The list, selected by a panel of experts and toy retailers ranging from small independents to national chains, also includes collectables in the form of Dress to Impress Mystery Model Dolls, Mini Brands " Fill the Fridge Playset, as well as Pokemon. Building sets were the fastest-growing category for the second year running and Lego has two…...

2+ week, 3+ day ago (956+ words) Some of the biggest names in music including Coldplay, Dua Lipa and Radiohead have urged the Government to honour a pledge to cap ticket resale prices. They have joined artists including The Cure's Robert Smith, New Order, Mark Knopfler, Iron Maiden, PJ Harvey and this year's Mercury Prize winner Sam Fender to sign a statement calling for a cap to "restore faith in the ticketing system" and "help democratise public access to the arts". In the statement, the coalition says new protections are needed to "help fix elements of the extortionate and pernicious secondary ticketing market that serve the interests of touts, whose exploitative practices are preventing genuine fans from accessing the music, theatre and sports they love". It adds: "For too long, certain resale platforms have allowed touts to bulk buy and then resell tickets at inflated prices, forcing…...

2+ week, 2+ day ago (448+ words) The Prince of Wales has congratulated BBC Radio 2 presenter Sara Cox for her Children In Need challenge to cover 135 miles in five days, which has raised more than "4 million. Cox, who presents Radio 2s Teatime Show on weekdays, will end her Great Northern Marathon Challenge on Friday, covering the equivalent of five marathons in five days. Calling the amount "incredible, Cox said: "Everybody just giving a fiver or a tenner did it, that is amazing. Thank you so much. Thanks to everybody who has donated, youre absolutely awesome. Carrying a Pudsey Bear backpack, Cox will complete her journey in Pudsey, Leeds, having started in Kielder Forest and travelled through Northumberland, Durham, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire. William recorded a video message, which was played by Scott Mills on his Radio 2 breakfast show. He said: "Sara, massive congratulations for what youre doing....

1+ week, 5+ day ago (556+ words) Reselling tickets for live events for profit is set to be banned by the Government. Ministers are expected to announce the plan to tackle touts and resale sites which offer tickets at several times" their face value. The Labour manifesto promised stronger protections to stop consumers being scammed or priced out of events by touts, who frequently use bots to buy tickets in bulk the moment they go on sale, which they can then sell on for huge mark-ups on secondary ticketing websites. A consultation on the changes had canvassed views on capping costs at up to 30% above the face value of a ticket. But reports in the Guardian and Financial Times revealed ministers were expected to set the limit at the face value, although fees could still be charged on top of that price. The Government declined to comment…...

2+ week, 4+ day ago (476+ words) One of London's most beloved restaurants, FKABAM, is to "pause" for an indefinite period as the team marks ten years since its launch. Founded by Lee and Kate Tiernan as Black Axe Mangal in 2015 " following a pop-up in the beer garden of Bakken nightclub in Copenhagen " the restaurant went on to earn rave reviews from critics and found a loyal following. This paper's longtime restaurant critic, Fay Maschler, wrote that there was "nothing quite like it in London" after her early visit. "Black Axe Mangal is a phenomenon " but emphatically not an outcome of someone noticing that za'atar is now sold in Waitrose," Maschler observed. A decade on and the Tiernans said they will enter a hiatus while celebrating "10 phenomenal years" of their heavy metal-soundtracked restaurant, acknowledging some difficult times alongside the good. "Being original, creative and keeping it fun…...

2+ day, 21+ hour ago (431+ words) Strictly Come Dancing star La Voix is to play Miss Hannigan in the UK and Ireland tour of Annie the musical. It comes after the drag performer, real name Christopher Dennis, pulled out of the BBC One dancing competition following an injury. The 45-year-old, who was a runner-up on RuPaul's Drag Race UK in 2024 and a semi-finalist on Britain's Got Talent 2014, can be seen wearing a grey and red wig and a necklace full of keys in a poster for the musical. The tour will open at New Wimbledon Theatre on May 23 next year with La Voix to star in productions in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Plymouth and Canterbury. The casting for the role of Miss Hannigan from Cardiff onwards will be announced soon " and there will be further shows in cities and towns including Milton Keynes, Blackpool, Newcastle, Dublin, Bristol,…...

5+ day, 22+ hour ago (551+ words) A new documentary will feature celebrities including Alison Hammond and Jonathan Ross as they are given exclusive after-hours access to the toy shop Hamleys with their children. The programme, to be aired on Channel 4 over Christmas, will see the special guests relive the excitement of playing with toys from their childhoods, and will also feature toy buyers and experts explore the stories behind some of the biggest toy crazes of the last 200 years. Chat show host Ross will be joined by his daughter Honey, while presenter Hammond and her son Aiden will appear along with comedian Lou Sanders and her best friend, Harriet Kemsley. The programme, which has the working title Top Toys Of All Time, will explore children's favourites from past and present, from Cabbage Patch Kids to Operation, to Kerplunk and Lego. The documentary is loosely based on…...