The Times - UK (2021-12-18)

short last year due to stockpiling,

have normalised at a higher level.

Last year’s surge in drinking at

home has continued, with spirits,

wine and lager all growing in sales

and only cider showing a fall.

The fastest growing grocery cate-

gory overall, up £393.9 million, was

spirits. Top among the spirits brands

was Smirnoff vodka, where sales rose

by £65.1 million.

White said: “Consumers are con-

tinuing to spend time working and

socialising at home, but they are also

Clara away on her

Christmas Eve journey.

Her destination?

Certainly not the

traditional Kingdom of

Sweets but instead a giant

puppet theatre where

dancers come alive to

perform the Spanish,

Arabian, Chinese and

Russian divertissements.

From there we segue into

a romantic garden for the

opulent Waltz of the

Flowers.

The main problem is

Clara’s escort on this

fantastical journey. Is he

the Nutcracker, who

valiantly battles the

wicked Mouse King? Or

is he Drosselmeyer’s

nephew, whom young

Clara (played delightfully

by a student, Annalise

Wainwright-Jones, on

opening night) has a

crush on? You may well

ask.

It’s confusing having

two men (and two

dancers) in Clara’s life,

especially when they

appear to keep swapping

places in her imagination.

It’s the nephew (the one

without the helmet) who

takes on the role of the

prince for the glorious

pas de deux in which the

grown-up Clara becomes

the Sugar Plum Fairy. So

I guess he’s the one who

counts.

What made this

performance special was

ENB’s star ballerina,

Erina Takahashi, who is

marking her 25th

anniversary of

outstanding service to the

company. As the adult

Clara, Takahashi gave us

dancing of soft beauty

and swooning romance,

and she was wonderfully

poised in the Grand Pas

de Deux despite

Francesco Gabriele

Frola’s bad partnering

skills as the Nephew. The

part of Drosselmeyer,

who supposedly

orchestrates the whole

story, is so underwritten

that there was nothing

Fabian Reimair could do

to make us notice him.

Happily, the dancing

Snowflakes were a

highlight — the

production badly needs

their twinkle — and we

had the eternal joy of

Tchaikovsky’s score,

played by the ENB

Philharmonic and

conducted by Alexander

Ingram, to sustain us.

To Jan 8, ballet.org.uk

the times | Saturday December 18 2021 27

ALASTAIR MUIR/SHUTTERSTOCK

News

restaurants’ return

An Oxford archaeology professor

says that the BBC’s Antiques Road-

show should tackle the legacy of colo-

nialism through objects it features.

Professor Dan Hicks made his

comments after a Mughal ring, which

was found in a charity shop, was fea-

tured on the show, and viewers were

told that it had “somehow” found its

way from India. Hicks, a curator of

Pitt Rivers Museum and author of

The Brutish Museums, posted a

screenshot of a Twitter exchange

between a presenter and the owner of

the ring, with the caption: “Decolo-

nise the Antiques Roadshow”. It was

viewed more than a million times.

Although he said that his comment

had been a joke, there was some truth

in it. “Antiques Roadshow has a great

platform to show and remind us

about the history of empire with all its

complexities, whether objects were

from architectural explorations,

violent raids or brought back by

missionaries,” he said.

Antiques show

told to dig into

colonial past

Nicola Woolcock Education Editor

Ups and downs at the checkout

FA ST E ST GROWING

Spirits

Table wine

“Free-from” products

Sports & energy drinks

Lager

Carbonates

Chocolate

Sparkling wine

Fish

Bagged snacks

looking for more indulgences. This is

evident in the supercharged growth

of snacking products and confection-

ery. Despite the uncertainty, shopper

trends are still evolving.”

Adam Leyland, editor-in-chief at

The Grocer, said: “It’s been a year of

disruption, distraction and delay. Yet,

by and large, the grocery sector has

kept delivering the goods. While sales

have been lost due to driver shortages

and other supply issues, particularly

during the pingdemic in mid-

summer, the industry responded.”

FA ST E ST FALLING

Cold & flu remedies

Cider & perry

Cereal

Rice

Sweet biscuits

Wrapped loaves

Cosmetics

Surface care

Canned fish

Deodorant Source: NielsenIQScantrack