Weekly 7 August

Ellie Smith & Parm Bhamra
August 07, 2026

Dear Reader,

I wonder how many of our readers were around at the birth of punk rock (I wasn't), strutting their stuff past (or maybe inside) Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren's SEX shop on King's Road, nose rings glinting. This year marks Punk's 50th anniversary and those rebels who shocked the establishment are now firmly part of the fabric of what it is to be British. Are we missing that irreverence nowadays, splintered as we are into so many algorithmic tribes that finding coalescence is hard? Well fear not, because we're bringing punk back to the streets this September at the Chelsea Arts Festival, where it all started. So dust off your leathers, insert your studs and join us on the streets for what promises to be a wild night on 18 September at the Saatchi Gallery.

Lucy Cleland
Editorial Director

Staying In

TRY: Wildsmith Skin’s New Summer Ritual

The last thing you want in summer is an eight-step skincare routine full of heavy creams. Instead, streamline your regimen with Wildsmith Skin. The brand’s Return of Radiance Summer Skin Ritual – made up of the Energising B5 Gel Cleanser, Radiance Light Serum and Hydrating Light Cream – is a game changer. ‘Truly, this has been the only skincare I’ve wanted to use during our rolling heatwave weather. Anything else has seemed too rich or heavy,’ says beauty writer Juliet Herd. ‘Although lightweight, it left my skin feeling squeaky clean and fresh and was gentle enough to use twice daily: in the morning to awaken and energise skin and in the evening as a second cleanse to remove impurities and restore hydration.’ Read her full review here.

BAKE: Sunflower Frangipane Tart with Apricots

A summer dessert recipe from the team behind Merlin Labron-Johnson’s The Pharmacy (recently relaunched from its former name The Old Pharmacy)

Makes: 1 × 23 cm tart

Ingredients:

Sweet pastry

250g plain flour
100g cold unsalted butter, diced
100g light brown sugar
1 large egg
2g fine sea salt

Filling

120g unsalted butter, softened
120g icing sugar
2 large eggs
60g ground almonds
60g ground sunflower seeds
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
8–10 apricots, halved
1–2 tbsp muscovado sugar

Method:

To make the pastry, rub the butter into the flour and salt until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Whisk together the egg and brown sugar, then mix into the flour until the dough just comes together. Shape into a disc, wrap and chill for at least 12 hours.
Roll the pastry to 3–4 mm thick and use to line a 23 cm tart tin. Trim the edges and chill for 20–30 minutes.
Poke the dough with a fork, and blind bake (with baking beans arranged on a piece of parchment paper covering the dough) at 180°C fan for 15–18 minutes. Remove the paper and beans, then bake for a further 8–12 minutes until lightly golden. Brush the hot pastry lightly with beaten egg white and return it to the oven for 1–2 minutes to seal the surface before filling. Let it cool down.
To make the filling, cream the butter and icing sugar until light. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then fold in the lemon zest, ground almonds and sunflower seeds.
Spread the frangipane evenly into the baked tart shell. Bake at 180°C fan for about 40 minutes. Halfway through baking, toss the apricot halves in the muscovado sugar, arrange over the tart, press in gently, and continue baking until the frangipane is golden and set.
Cool in the tin for 15–20 minutes before serving. Delicious served warm or at room temperature with a generous dollop of cold crème fraîche.

PLANT: Drought-Resistant Flowers

Is your garden looking brown and shrivelled? With most of the UK officially in drought, we’ll have to rethink what we’re growing in our gardens. Rosebie Morton, founder of The Real Flower Company, says the real winners of this year’s drought are Salvias, which love the hot, dry weather. ‘They are incredibly undemanding, flowering continuously all summer long and well into October,’ she says. ‘Plus they are very easy to propagate, brilliant pollinators, and come in a multitude of different colours.’ Similarly, Hylotelephium (previously called Sedums) are designed to thrive in the heat. ‘They have thick fleshy leaves which store water,’ says Rosebie, ‘and as a result they can withstand long periods of drought.’ Read our complete hot weather gardening guide here.

Going Out

DRINK: Cocktails At Casual by Tayer

A recent fire means beloved London bar Tayēr + Elementary is currently closed, but you can still enjoy its signature cocktails this summer thanks to a six-week residency at Covent Garden’s Cato. Named Casual by Tayēr, this marks the first in a new concept series from founders Monica Berg and Alex Kratena dubbed ‘What If?’, and will offer fans the chance to choose from a menu of cult classics like the One Sip Martini. Pair with plates from head chef Steven Diaz which draw on Latin and Asian influences: think green plantain crisps with rayu, watermelon and shiso gilda and yellowtail tiradito. Until 22 August, catobar.co.uk

VISIT: London’s Newest Museum

We love a country house with history, but few have kept theirs hidden for 70 years. Enfield's Trent Park has just opened Trent Park House of Secrets, a museum built around the double life of former owner, Sir Philip Sassoon. One of England's wealthiest men, in the 1920s, weekends drew the future King Edward VIII, Winston Churchill and Charlie Chaplin to his estate. By WWII, however, the government had requisitioned the house, wiring skirting boards, light fittings and even the billiard table with hidden microphones to eavesdrop on captured German generals (while secret listeners, many German-speaking Jewish refugees, worked in a concealed basement below). The museum now reunites both chapters, restoring Sassoon's state rooms and reopening the listening stations for new visitors. trentparkhouse.org.uk

ATTEND: Edinburgh Fringe

Every August, the world flocks to Edinburgh to watch, perform and wander the dreamy streets of the Scottish capital. There’s an incredible volume and variety of shows to discover at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which returns today and runs through to 31 August. With more than 3,500 shows taking over 250 venues across the Scottish capital, Fringe goers can discover all of the Gothic city’s nooks and crannies. If you are wondering which tickets to snap up, you can find our top ten picks for 2026 here. Looking for a last minute base? For a unique experience, board Fingal, a floating hotel with beautifully styled cabins and decks, moored in Edinburgh’s historic Port of Leith. Alternatively, the sumptuous 17th-century mansion Prestonfield House boasts cocooning, characterful interiors, nestled in the shadow of Arthur’s Seat, just minutes from the city’s historic Old Town.

Staying in Forever…

Property Of The Week

Bath has long-been a pilgrimage site for Jane Austen fans – and now’s your chance to live in the very same home where the famous author stayed. Located at 13 Queen Square, the then budding writer visited this five-bedroom townhouse with her mother and elder brother, who rented it out for six weeks. Inspired by her time in the city, she wrote about the home in her letters and started working on Northanger Abbey during the stay.

On the market for £2,250,000, knightfrank.co.uk

Competition Time

Win a £700 voucher to spend across the BY HAÓ collection
Win a stylish two-night stay for two adults at Kensington Hideaway
Win a HydraGlass facial treatment, 4D AI Skin Analysis and skincare voucher from The Waldor Clinic

Psssst…

Mayfair members’ club Annabel’s – famous for drawing in everyone from Princess Diana to Frank Sinatra and Rihanna – is opening a branch in New York. The club’s first international location, it will take over the historic Little Flatiron building at 675 Hudson Street; an opening date is yet to be confirmed.