| Good morning. Are you ready for the FT Weekend Festival? Our annual visit to the grounds of Kenwood House is fast approaching – Saturday 5 September – and we’d love to see you there. Christopher Kane, Nick Jones and Sarah Creal are just a few of the names joining us to discuss fashion, hospitality, wellness and more; watch out too for a special conversation we’re hosting between Sir Paul Smith and Peter Capaldi. There will also be exceptional food trucks. So do book your ticket, and come nourish yourself on every level. Six drinks with an end-of-summer flavour | | | | Meanwhile: to drink or not to drink. Recently, I’ve found myself having the same conversations over and over again as to what I should glug, and when, and how. I decreed I would only drink alcohol on Fridays; I told everybody about my cunning new mantra, “no wine after nine”. But I always came back to the same essential truth: a good drink, alcoholic or not, is one of life’s greatest pleasures. Happily, we’ve got just the articles for you, whether you want to be boozy or sober. First, we have a compendium of the best summer cocktails. Paloma, Sangria, Piña Colada – Alice Lascelles has investigated them all. I particularly love it when something a bit naff and old-fashioned comes back into fashion. Case in point: orange-juice cocktails. Last month I watched a friend sink a suite of Garibaldis in Harry’s Bar in Venice, and the sips I stole were delicious. (Ok, maybe being in Harry’s helped.) And Rosanna Dodds has examined another big drinks dilemma: what do you do if you’re tired of Coca-Cola? Yes, there’s water; but what if you still want a little kick in your life? Rosie has a stream of brilliant recommendations, including a light cherryade, homemade “shrub syrups” and, my favourite, the new pickle-flavoured water by Yew. Would you pay £100 for the perfect passport photo? | | | | 
© Happy Beginnings Studio Another trend is the rise of the super-chic passport photo. In New York, influencers are paying £100 a pop to get one done by Happy Beginnings Studio, founded by photographer Thomas Tran. My first instinct is to balk at shelling out so much for a picture; my second is to remember the grim visage that graces my passport, and admit I’d probably pay double. Tran tells Marion Willingham that the influencers find it particularly discombobulating as they usually get to choose and control their angles; with this portrait, you have no choice but to face it head on. “I love when someone looks more like how they came out of the womb,” he reasons. How to start an art collection | | | | 
© Elena Bazu. Courtesy of Elliot Pittam and Partnership Editions Finally, if you want some “proper” art, do check out Victoria Woodcock’s guide to starting collecting; she has great tips and addresses to share. Unfortunately, it really is true that you should just buy what you like, and not what you think will be a miraculous investment. Which doesn’t stop me from often looking at some random watercolour of an apple I bought during Covid, and thinking: is this what will buy me a three-bed in Hampstead? I think it’s fine. After all, isn’t art there to make you dream? |
