The Monday Catch-Up - 21/11/2016

 

In what was a typically grey November weekend across the country, the arrival of JK Rowling's latest magical adventure - Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them - was all the inspiration we needed to get out of the comfort of a central-heated home. The tale of a magizoologist landing with a suitcase of magical creatures in New York took £67.4 million at the box office. Making her Harry Potter debut, costume designer Colleen Atwood's creations are equally awe-inspiring (be ready to fall in love with Queenie's plush jacket specifically). If you've not seen the film yet, be sure to meet the leading ladies here first.

 Of course, other tales (although an awful lot less magical) of the United States were also much discussed. On Friday night, vice president-elect Mike Pence took a seat in the audience of Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton. At the end of the show the cast read out a statement addressing the Republican politician directly: "Vice president-elect Pence, I see you’re walking out, but I hope you will hear just a few more minutes. We are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our friends, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights. But we truly hope that this show has inspired you to uphold our American values and to work on behalf of all of us."
 of all of us."

In other White House news, Donald Trump confirmed that he will be moving into the presidential home alone, revealing that his wife Melania and their 10-year-old son Barron will remain in Trump Tower until he completes the school year.

  Meet Melania Trump

At the American Music Awards, host and Vogue cover girl, Gigi Hadid seized her opportunity to put a comedic spin on American's most recent political fate. In her opening monologue, she riffed on the similarities between a Michelle Obama speech and one later given by the future first lady. "I love my husband, president Barack Obama and our children Sasha and Malia," Hadid quipped in a faux accent and a pouty expression. The internet reacted quickly with many unamused by Hadid's imitation.
Back in Blighty, the weekend opened with the first BBC Children in Need broadcast without Terry Wogan, following his death at the start of the year. Impressively and just like the beacon of hope many of us were looking for, the night raised a record-breaking £47 million (£10 million more than 2015) and saw stars such as Eddie Redmayne and Ricky Gervais get involved, plus plenty of Bake Off-move gaffs and puns.

In sporting news, Andy Murray has added to his Wimbledon and Olympic wins by taking the title at the ATP World Tour Finals in London. The Scot beat Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-4 to confirm his title and end the year as world number one.
As ever, Monday morning has brought fresh news stories - including the Duke of Cambridge getting candid about life at home with his two young children - to read. Discover them here.