Who out there ever dreamed of being Lara Croft? You? Then we’ve got great news – you too can live the life of the legendary, globe-trotting raider of tombs… and you don’t have to travel any further than Camden Market. Labtech has announced a Tomb Raider immersive and interactive experience to be launched next year, which it puns is sure to exhi-lara-te (we’re not taking the blame for that one). Visitors to Camden Market’s famous Stables will be able to work through environmental puzzles, exploring jungles and scenic worlds, as live actors and characters from the video game and movie franchise come to life. Sounds great. So, have your tank tops, shorts and boots at the ready, and get ready to release your inner Lara.
Next-level Nandy
Congratulations, we think, to Lisa Nandy, Labour’s new shadow levelling up secretary. Some may seek to brand this as a demotion from her previous brief as shadow foreign secretary, but any chance to go head-to-head with Michael Gove must surely be a cause for celebration. Nandy, at any rate, was phlegmatic about Keir Starmer’s reshuffle, pointing out – quite rightly – “the gaffer picks the team”. At the end of the day, you have to take each job as it comes, she didn’t add. Nandy got in quick with the jibe that her new role is saddled with “a very long title that Michael Gove has concocted for himself”, and there’s sure to be plenty more sparring ahead, with levelling up set to be a major political battleground. Perhaps there will be a clash over Gove’s support for a controversial proposal to let neighbourhood referendums make local planning decisions. Surely an open goal for Nandy, to return to the idioms of the beautiful game? Then again, Labour’s record on referendums is a little spotty, so maybe not.
Present perfect
December is here, so readers’ thoughts must be turning to what to get for the real estate fanatics in their lives this Christmas. Here to provide a service, as always, Diary spotted a couple of appealing options this week that property afficionados would surely welcome in their stockings. Who, after all, would not like to sip their cocoa from a colourfully designed Number One Poultry mug, part of the range on offer in artist Adam Nathaniel Furman’s online store (www.adamnathanielfurman.com). The postmodern building is joined by other landmarks on architecturally-inspired drinkware, including the MI6 building and the Isle of Dogs Pumping Station – something for everyone. But if your budget runs somewhat higher (and those stockings rather larger), why not make a gift of the London skyline… in chess form. Perfect for anyone who binged The Queen’s Gambit during the pandemic, the sets at www.skylinechess.com are available in acrylic, stainless steel and luxury bronze (the latter a snip at just shy of £3,000), as well as in a brutalist version of the capital. Other global cities are available, and there’s even an option to pit London against New York. The Big Smoke or the Big Apple, which is better? There’s only one way to find out… chess!
Sting operation
Is there nothing the artist formerly known as Gordon Sumner won’t do to get on the Diary page? In July 2020, Sting crashed Battersea Power Station Community Choir’s Zoom call for a sing-song (meaning we’ve already used the “An Englishman in Battersea” headline), while in October the same year, his former home went up for sale, forcing us to trot out all our best Police puns. All of which has rather painted us into a corner when it comes to covering his visit – as part of the launch of his new album, The Bridge – to Battersea Power Station’s fully-restored Control Room B, set to open as a unique all-day bar experience next year. Other than sharing the pic, what is a semi-humorous magazine page that has exhausted its best material to do-do-do, de-da-da-da?
