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HTSI: Your guide to getting the best out of life

Executive Editor, HTSI

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July 24 2026

Whatever became of the convertible car? Back in the 1970s and 1980s they were everywhere and not just the preserve of luxury brands such as Ferrari, Maserati, Aston Martin and Porsche – there were convertible Peugeots, Fords, VWs, Renaults and Vauxhalls. No car was too ordinary to have its roof down. The rise of the SUV and the ubiquity of air-con have put paid to all that though, and sales of open tops are in decline across Europe and America.

It is a sad state of affairs and one that needs putting right. What, writes Alex Bilmes, would Dustin Hoffman have been without his Alfa Romeo Spider roadster in The Graduate? Or Cary Grant and Grace Kelly without their Sunbeam Alpine Mk 1 convertible in To Catch a Thief? “The Platonic ideal of drop-top motoring – at least my Platonic ideal of it,” he writes, “is Richard Gere, soundtracked by Blondie, dressed by Giorgio Armani, driving a black Mercedes 450 SL along the Pacific Coast Highway in the opening credit sequence to American Gigolo.” He sets out to make the case that there’s still nothing sexier than an open-top adventure.

The cult shoes of summer 2026

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Elsewhere, the HTSI team has put together their guide to the cult shoes of summer 2026, from the all-weather office flat to the lawn-proof party shoe and the seaside sandal. We’ve also gone in search of the most stylish beach towels (Phoebe Philo’s says “Hi” in electric green; Burberry serves up a motif of fish and chips) always bearing in mind, as Inès Cross so sagely writes, that “the testament of a really good beach towel is one that has a life beyond the beach”.

Is horse archery the queen of martial arts?

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Photographer and writer Carl van der Linde transports us to the tip of South Africa’s Western Cape where Daniel Griffin, sometime potter, has set up a school to teach the ancient art of horse archery, first mastered over 2,500 years ago by the nomadic Scythians on the Eurasian steppe. The trick, according to Carl, is “to achieve speed and accuracy through flow and balance, not brute force” – easier said than done, but such is Griffin’s reputation that he has received interest from the mounted police of Jordan and the Saudi Arabian national horseback archery team to train under his guidance. Carl’s report is a fascinating insight into the little-known world of what Griffin calls “the queen of martial arts”.

British cuisine – an odyssey from stodge to scrumptious

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If asked which cuisine from around the world I would eat if only allowed one, I’d choose Italian (or Chinese). But why not British? Tomé Morrissy-Swan has written about the ever-evolving journey of the British menu, from traditional fare such as meat, veg and gravy to more adventurous hybrids such as jerk chicken kofte. However you categorise the food, the British menu is informing some of the most exciting dining spots, from Manchester to Manhattan. I like the category-defying take of American Ben Mervis, author of The British Cookbook: “[the British] are not dogmatic. It would actually be quite odd if you went to a British restaurant and every single thing on the menu was British in a dyed-in-the-wool kind of way. It would feel like a performance.”

Wherever you are – and whatever cuisine you love – have a great weekend!

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FOUR MORE STORIES TO READ THIS WEEK

A jockey’s guide to Castle Cary

Harry Cobden loves the lunch spots and local characters of his southern Somerset enclave

Are sunbeds ever safe?

Use of tanning beds is surging. Experts are not impressed