Issue 1453

Lean and keen
From a local drama group in Bradford to playing James Bond – actually, young actor Samuel Bottomley hasn’t quite got his licence to kill yet but Gary Ryan says he’s killing it in new series Somewhere Boy, and he’s well on his way.

All the world’s a stage
It’s going to take thousands of people to get a baton and an urgent message about climate change from Glasgow to world leaders at COP27 in Egypt. Sara Royle caught some hardy runners – and some less experienced – at a Peak District stage of the relay.

Going for a pint
As research for books goes, travelling the length and breadth of the country on a pub crawl to find the finest examples was welcome leg work to writer Stuart Husband and photographer Horst A Friedrichs. The pair eventually whittled down their list to 33 of the country’s most distinctive inns, some with a history of 500 years. They feature in a new book, Great Pubs of England, and the North, of course, isn’t without its gems.

Plus
News of recent Enough is Enough protests, arts and entertainment, columnist Roger Ratcliffe on the Tories falling out in Birmingham, Pixies frontman Black Francis writes a letter to his younger self – and much more.