The Friday Five

The Five Summer Homes of the Jet Set Playboys

Five legendary summer retreats where the twentieth century’s jet set escaped, entertained and defined the golden age of Riviera glamour.

Five Pieces of Advice for Prince George Before he heads to Eton

As Prince George prepares for Eton, anonymous Old Etonians share the lessons, traditions and advice they wish they’d known on day one.

Five Alternative Ways to Stay Cool in a Heatwave

Paris may be hotter than London, but there’s no need to brave the Seine. Here are five better ways to beat the heat in style.

Five New(ish) Italian Restaurants That Are Very Good

Fresh from a Tuscan honeymoon and already suffering serious pasta withdrawal, I’ve turned to London’s flourishing crop of new Italian restaurants. From elegant osterias to bustling trattorias, these are five of the capital’s most exciting openings.

The five most colourful yacht names on the high seas

From billionaires and playboys to family dynasties and self-made entrepreneurs, a yacht’s name often reveals more about its owner than any guest list ever could.

The Five Most Outrageous Ponzi Schemes in History

Setting up a Ponzi scheme is easy. You promise handsome returns and foolhardy investors give you their money accordingly — and then you pay these investors out based on the deposits of further foolhardy investors, and the wheel turns. The problem, of course, is getting out. In this week's edition of the Friday Five, we meet the most notable fraudsters who didn’t.

The Five Most ‘Cannes’ Moments in Cannes History

With paparazzi revolts, fake dead pigeons, canine Palme d’Ors and Lars von Trier melting down on cue, no film festival does spectacle quite like Cannes — where glamour, chaos and absurdity have always shared the same red carpet.

The Five greatest pub gardens in London

London’s pub gardens are under threat, so here are five glorious places to smoke, squint at a QR code, and inhale the absolute peak of Western civilisation.

The Five Unexpected Summer Destinations of our Best-Travelled Friends

A summer guide for those who’d rather avoid the algorithmic parade of beach clubs, bottle service and barefoot saxophonists in Saint-Tropez. We asked five famously well-travelled friends for the destinations they’d quietly return to tomorrow

Five best jokes from the Royal Family

With King Charles taking a curious turn on the transatlantic comedy circuit, we revisit the Royal Family’s long and uneven relationship with humour, from Prince Philip’s barbs to the Queen’s deadpan, and the many questionable punchlines in between.

Five Things We’ve Learned from the AI ‘Guinness Index’

A new AI-driven Guinness index offers a quietly revealing snapshot of modern pub culture.

The Five Most Memorable Depictions of Tech Founders

With yet another Zuckerberg film on the horizon, the tech world’s favourite disruptors are once again under the spotlight, here are the five portrayals that captured their brilliance, delusion and everything in between.

Five New Members Clubs That Will Actually Be Good

In London, they used to say you were no more than five feet away from a rat. Nowadays they say you're no more than five feet away from a members club. I hope the rats have blazers.

Five new phrases we might want to ban

French etiquette expert Hélène Meillard may be banning “bon appétit,” but English has its own linguistic offenders. From “generational” to “you got this,” here are five phrases we could all do without this year.

Five job ideas for Meghan, Duchess of Sussex

Meghan Markle’s jam empire stalls as Netflix pulls the plug, prompting five alternative career moves for the Duchess.

Five Particularly Colourful Chef Stories

The Five Superyachts of the Tech Bros

In celebration of the galaxy-brained tech billionaires and their trailblazing allocation of capital, here are the five most notable superyachts of the tech bros.

The Five Greatest Long Lunches of All Time

From Nigel Farage’s six-pint Brexit lunch to Keith Floyd’s final oysters, a look back at some of the most legendary long lunches ever recorded.

Five All Time Great John F. Kennedy Jr Accessories

From titanium cameras and delinquent wallet chains to ankle casts and unguarded mountain bikes, John F. Kennedy Jr.’s real signature wasn’t tailoring — it was the accessories that made Camelot look casually undone.

The Five best public school accents on screen …by non-english actors

From Jacob Elordi’s Marlborough drawl to Lithgow’s Churchill growl, the best public school accents in film often come from actors who never set foot near a tuck shop.

Five Job Ideas for Brooklyn Beckham

In this week's edition of The Friday Five, editor Joseph Bullmore imagines five new careers for Brooklyn Beckham — from US Ambassador to AI billionaire.

The Five best club sandwiches in the world

As the club sandwich goes mainstream, this guide tracks down the finest examples around the world, from alpine hotels to the Riviera, celebrating those that balance indulgence with structural integrity.

The Five Actually Poshest Pubs in London

With little consultation and even less self awareness, The Times attempted to define London’s poshest pubs. This is a corrective list, affectionate, sceptical, and better informed.