Latest news with #Tales
Daily Record
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Ayrshire restaurant reopens after huge makeover as part of £2.5m renovation
An affordable market menu has also been introduced with two courses on offer for £20. The Brig o' Doon in Alloway has officially reopened its restaurant after a five-month refurbishment and expansion. Now called Tales, the restaurant inhibits a purpose-built wraparound extension which also includes a lounge bar, private dining room and elevated public spaces with views of the River Doon. Purchased by the RAD Hotel Group from Costley & Costley in 2022, the Brig o' Doon has undergone a number of changes as the new owners invest in the hotel, restaurant and wedding venue. And the restaurant refurbishment marks the completion of the iconic venue's £2.5 million makeover. Ayrshire Live were invited to the soft launch of the restaurant which took place last week and over the weekend. The interiors have been curated by Lucid Interiors in collaboration with co-owner Vivien Kyle and relaxed, modern feel which is still in keeping with the hotel's past. An effort has been made to incorporate parts of Alloway's history and heritage with a hand-painted mural by artist Roderick McKenzie featuring a scene from Tam o' Shanter. The name and concept of the new restaurant is rooted in the poetic legacy of Robert Burns who famously penned many of his greatest works just steps from the hotel on the iconic Brig o' Doon bridge. Tales will operate seven days a week from noon until 10pm offering seasonal Scottish cuisine and sweeping views of the River Doon and gardens below. The menu features a range of cuisine to suit all tastes including traditional Scottish delights such as steak pie, Japanese-inspired BBQ pulled pork Bao Buns and The Immortal Smashed Burger for the burger aficionados. And it doesn't disappoint while the ample portion sizes leave enough room for a dessert such as the raspberry and white chocolate tiramisu. On Mondays to Thursdays before 6.30pm, Tales offers a more affordable two-course Market Menu for £20 which includes options from the full menu. RAD Hotel Group co-owner Vivien Kyle said: 'I wanted Tales to feel like stepping into a storybook. Something rooted in heritage but filled with imagination. 'Each space feels like its own chapter, from the cosy booths to the visual anchor of the riverside views. The palette, textures, and layout are all about creating little moments of magic.'
Boston Globe
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
W. Kamau Bell isn't backing down on keeping politics in his act
'I still think that professionally, everything I'm doing is built on the operating system of being a stand-up comedian,' said Bell, on the phone from his Oakland home ahead of a tour stop Friday at The Wilbur. 'Even if I'm directing or hosting, I'm a stand-up who also knows how to direct or write or produce: 'I know how to handle this difficult situation, because I've done standup comedy forever.'' Not quite forever, but for most of his adult life. Now 52, Bell lived in Mattapan for a time during his childhood with his single mother, the scholar and author Janet Cheatham Bell. As a young man, he performed comedy around the Bay Area for several years before Chris Rock helped him land his first TV show, 'Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell,' on FX in 2012. Advertisement Bell's first comedy special, bearing the evocative title 'Semi-Prominent Negro,' aired on Showtime in 2016. The following year he published his first book, with even more precision in the title: 'The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell: Tales of a 6'4, African American, Heterosexual, Cisgender, Left-Leaning, Asthmatic, Black and Proud Blerd, Mama's Boy, Dad, and Stand-Up Comedian.' Advertisement He's become known as a comedian who speaks bluntly about the forces that divide us as Americans, and the difficulties in overcoming them. Famously, he once 'I think because of the 21st century media landscape, comedians are a lot more like bands than we used to be,' Bell explained. 'Every crowd is different. If I'm playing Kill Tony's crowd' – that would be Tony Hinchcliffe, the insult comic who This type of Balkanization, Bell said, is 'great for comedy. It's not a monolithic audience anymore. It used to be whoever watched [David] Letterman, that's the audience.' In addition to his various creative projects, Bell has occasionally found himself at the center of the news cycle for unwanted reasons. In 2015, he was ejected from the patio of a Bay Area restaurant after stopping to say hello to his wife, Melissa (who is white), and her friends. The incident sparked Last February, Bell made news again when he became the Advertisement Bell was boarding a plane to D.C. when he learned the news, he recalled. Rather than cancel his appearance, he chose to follow through with it. 'Trump said, 'I had to take it over because it had gotten too woke,'' Bell said. To which the comedian had a visceral reaction: 'You thought it was woke-y before, well, I'm going to have a woke-fest.' He joked that the W in his name stands for 'Wokey.' (It's actually Walter.) 'To me, it was an opportunity,' Bell said. 'I'm going to show up and look this right in the face. Is the National Guard going to be there? Is Trump going to be there?' In the end, Bell's friend and longtime opening act, Dwayne Kennedy took the stage and said, 'This is the last time you're gonna see two Black guys in the Kennedy Center.' 'The crowd exploded,' Bell remembered. 'The crowd needed it, too.' 'Mr. Bell tore into the president!' the comedian recalled from the Times review. 'Mission accomplished. That was the best quote. I'd rather that than 'he was funny.'' Since February, Advertisement 'The great thing about being a comedian is you literally can speak truth to power,' Bell said. 'Whereas if you're a violinist, it's not the same. If you're doing 'Hamilton,' it's not the same.' At the Kennedy Center, he said, he did his best to stand 'in the giant footsteps' of comedians such as George Carlin, Lenny Bruce, Wanda Sykes, Margaret Cho, and Dick Gregory. 'This is what we do,' he said. Is it harder to ridicule Trump now than it was during his first term in office? 'You can still make fun of him,' Bell replied. 'I joke that my New Year's resolution was to be more petty.' The president is still surrounded by 'bumbling fools,' Bell said, 'but they are bumbling fools that could turn us into North Korea West. 'That's not a joke,' he continued. 'The reason you make fun of it is so that we don't give away all our power to them. The more we can look them in the eye, it gives you the juice to figure out a way to go out there and hopefully save the country.' As a Black man, Bell said, he understands that the fight against injustice is not new. Case in point: the Trump administration's threat to habeas corpus – the guarantee of unlawful detainment without due process. 'Black people have dealt with that since we got here,' Bell said. 'I don't want it to be thrown away, but let's not act like this country has never sunk to that level before.' Advertisement Laughing in the face of dire threats, he continued, 'is the tradition of my people. If we didn't turn this pain into art, we wouldn't still be here.' By now, Bell's audience fully expects him to address all of the elephants in the room. 'If I were to say 'I'm not gonna talk about political events or the state of world,' I might get booed offstage,' he said. If only he could be a benign, non-confrontational comedian, he said. 'I would love to be 'I'm just saying I feel compelled to do what I'm doing. And also, if you don't like what I'm doing, Brian Regan is right over there, at a bigger venue that's probably sold out.' W. KAMAU BELL: WHO'S WITH ME? 7:30 p.m. Friday at The Wilbur, 246 Tremont St., Boston. Tickets $35-59. James Sullivan can be reached at .
Daily Record
12-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Historic Ayrshire restaurant to reopen after 'elegant' renovation
The restaurant, which has doubled in capacity to 90 covers, is housed in a purpose-built wraparound extension with "unspoiled sweeping views" overlooking the River Doon. A historic Ayrshire restaurant is set to reopen later this month after undergoing an extension and renovation. The Brig o' Doon in Alloway will welcome guests to the new Tales restaurant from Friday, May 29. A brand new menu has been put together to accompany the new restaurant following a series of four taster sessions. In January, the restaurant closed at the hotel for a "complete makeover" but functions have continued to be held. Purchased by the RAD Group from Costley & Costley in 2022, the Brig o' Doon has undergone a number of changes as the new owners invest in the hotel, restaurant and wedding venue. RAD Group say the name for the new restaurant, Tales, was inspired by the rich storytelling heritage of Robert Burns. Taster sessions were led and hosted by group executive head chef Ian Ferguson and co-owner Vivien Kyle, giving guests a sneak peek at both the new Scottish menu and the newly extended dining space. The restaurant, which has doubled in capacity to 90 covers, is housed in a purpose-built wraparound extension with "unspoiled sweeping views" overlooking the River Doon. The "romantic" interiors have been personally curated by Vivien Kyle and will feature "earthy tones, soft textures, and rich furnishings, alongside a hand-painted mural, bespoke art, and sculptural lighting". The space also includes booths, an "elegant" private dining room and an outdoor terrace perfect for summer drinks and alfresco dining. Speaking about the taster sessions, Ian Ferguson said: 'Coming back to Brig o' Doon after 25 years feels incredibly special, and to launch a restaurant like Tales here is a real honour. 'These taste sessions were a brilliant way to connect with our guests and the local community, and their feedback has helped shape a menu that celebrates the best of Scottish produce while telling a story with every dish. 'We can't wait to welcome everyone through the doors and share what we've created.'
Otago Daily Times
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Obituary: Irv Gotti, music executive
Irv Gotti attends the 2022 MTV VMAs at Prudential Center on August 28, 2022 in Newark, New Jersey. Famed hip-hop music executive Irv Gotti launched the careers of rappers such as Jay-Z, DMX and Ja Rule in a career which took him from DJing to record company mogul. Born Irving Domingo Lorenzo jun in Queens, Gotti started out as a talent scout for the revered Def Jam label in the mid-1990s, before co-founding the Def Jam secondary label Murder, Inc with his brother Chris. That label helped launch the careers of Ja Rule and Ashanti, among others. Gotti and his brother stood trial in the early 2000s over their ties to a known drug kingpin, but they were both cleared of the charges. The case was closely watched by some of the music industry's biggest stars, and Ja Rule called it a "war against hip-hop". After the trial Gotti moved into broadcasting, first starring in a reality series based on his life, then creating successful hip-hop-inspired anthology series Tales. Diagnosed with diabetes, Gotti struggled to manage the condition and died on February 5 aged 54. — APL/agencies
BBC News
05-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Telling Tales podcast brings Tyne Derwent Way stories to life
Stories connected to historic sites along the River Tyne are being told in a new podcast Tales sees local people join forces with historians as they focus on the nine-mile (14km) Tyne Derwent Way, which starts in Gateshead and runs to the National Trust's Gibside estate in the Derwent spots along the route include St Mary's Heritage Centre, which has been hit by several fires and is the burial spot of a convicted Faraji, heritage engagement officer for Tyne Derwent Way, said the series "provides a bridge from the past to the present". Each of the six episodes details a different site with other notable landmarks including the Grade II-listed Dunston Staiths, a wooden pier-like runway that was used to tip millions of tons of coal into the cargo holds of huge of former workers' have been used to outline their typical working recent developments and events are also featured including the 1980s-built Metrocentre shopping mall and the Gateshead Garden Festival staged in 1990. 'So accessible' The series came about through community engagement workshops with more than 150 people taking part, Miss Faraji said."The main thought aim was preserving heritage and memories - providing a bridge from the past to the present - and we thought the best way to do that was through a podcast because they're so accessible."It's given an opportunity for people to share their memories and we've also got historians in each episode along with people like Sir John Hall, the developer of the Metrocentre."The series can also be used as an audio guide by anyone walking the Tyne Derwent Way." All 40-minute episodes are available following a launch event at the heritage one is narrated by a teenager chosen through a competition with The Drop In youth project which provides activities for youngsters in the Dunston and Teams areas of by Historic England, the series has also involved organisations such as the National Trust, Newcastle and Northumbria universities, Gateshead College and local schools. Follow BBC Newcastle on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
