No downstairs cloakroom is complete without a wooden loo seat. Jane Wheatley investigates why burr walnut is always preferable to plastic when it comes to sitting pretty.
We’ve all heard the hype about English gin and sparkling wine, but those with an eye on the future should look to whisky, says Rupert Ponsonby.
This week on Utterly Inessential we bring you a selection of products to browse while you consider what happens when people need neither a house nor alcohol they can actually, reasonably drink, and thus decide to sink enough money to buy the house which owns the estate on which my dream house sits on into a breakable bottle of whisky.
Fifty years ago, Concorde first took flight and became a British icon. It was ahead of its time then – and still would be today, reflects James Fisher.
Another week has gone by in which producers and purveyors of goods have asked themselves not 'what does the world need?' but a far greater question: 'What does the world absolutely not need, but still whimsically wish for?'
Learning how to drive on snow and ice could save your life. It's also bloody good fun, as Adam Hay-Nicholls discovered driving Jaguars in sub-zero conditions through the Swedish wilderness.
London's most famous bridge is 125 years old in 2019, but for all the marvellous facts there's only really one story anybody wants to hear. Is it true that a double decker bus once cleared the gap as the bridge was opening?
Over the past decade and a half the Bentley Continental GT has become the most-successful model in the company's history. As the Crewe-based firm hit their centenary, Toby Keel takes a look at the latest iteration of their flagship model.
He's one of the most famous human beings ever to walk the planet, but the final resting place of the Genoese explorer Christopher Columbus remains shrouded in mystery. Martin Fone, author of 50 Curious Questions, investigates.
In a world infested with 'must-have', 'don't miss' and 'buy now', one list stands alone as the voice of reason: this list, where everything is both entirely marvellous and completely unnecessary. Welcome, dear friends, to Utterly Inessential.
In a world plagued by 'must-have's and 'buy now's, one list and one list alone strives to bring you the 'must-never-have's and 'please lord never buy this's. Welcome, dear friends, to Utterly Inessential.
At this time of year more than any other, rampant consumerism is an inescapable fact of life. So don't fight it: plunge in headfirst and enjoy our latest utterly inessential but entirely marvellous shopping list.
Statesman, lawyer, fearless leader – and part-time inventor. Martin Fone looks at one of Abraham Lincoln's lesser-known talents.
Forget about the big things. You can keep the necessities. Don't tell us about the must-haves. Alexandra Fraser takes a look at a few little luxuries which, in a world too full of strife and woe, will help ease your way through life with a smile on your face.
Back in 2015, we decreed that a gentleman should ‘know when to use an emoji’, but when exactly is that? And how? James Fisher presents his gentleman’s guide.
If money were no object, we all have a dream car, a boat and very probably a plane in mind. Simon de Burton shares his.
Range Rover’s Velar feels classy and timeless, with pools of polished, seamless black glass that rival even Steve Job's creations. Charles Rangeley-Wilson tried it out.
If you're new to skiing – or you're about to go skiing someone who's a novice – Rosie Paterson and Kate Green provide a guide that will save much pain for the newbies and provoke chuckles of recognition from the veterans.
Forget about the big things. You can keep the necessities. Don't tell us about the must-haves. Alexandra Fraser takes a look at a few little luxuries which, in a world too full of strife and woe, will help ease your way through life with a smile on your face.
