Belgravia Residents' Journal March 2015 by Runwild Media Group

BELGRAVIA Resident’s Journal M A R C H 201 5

I SSU E 0 34

ABU DH

Where will we find your perfect buyer or tenant? As the exclusive UK affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate network, we can reach quality buyers and tenants in 46 countries via 950 offices and a website visited 135,600 times a month. There’s no better way to open your door to the world. The Belgravia Residents’ Journal is published independently by Runwild Media Group with regular editorial contributions from The Belgravia Residents’ Association. To become a member of the BRA, visit www.belgraviaresidents.org.uk. We would highly value any feedback you wish to email us with: belgravia@residentsjournal.co.uk; or telephone us on 020 7987 4320.

w w w. R e s i d e n t s J o u r n a l . c o . u k (020) 7987 4320

66 Sloane Street London SW1X 9SH Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7235 9959 knightsbridge@struttandparker.com struttandparker.com/christies

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05/12/2014 11:11

Dear Resident

Achievement is undoubtedly something to be celebrated, and in this issue, the Belgravia Residents’ Journal visits three local eateries at the top of their game, dropping plenty of names of top chefs to boot. Whether it’s business, an informal dinner or a date night; find out more about their pull from page 19. On the subject of catering, every big day needs exquisite food. With this in mind, Annabel Harrison talks to top wedding expert Bruce Russell to find out more about his little white book of contacts, which includes Belgravian candle-maker Rachel Vosper, florist Philippa Craddock, Champagne house Laurent-Perrier and make-up artist Kate Hughes. Read more from page six. Meanwhile, if you’re looking for the perfect gift for your mum this Mother’s Day, the experts at Prettly have rounded up all the latest beauty products from around the area on page 26, as well as visiting the new Duck & Dry salon, which specialises in blow-dries and updos (p 27). Finally, find out what is going on in the heart of Belgravia on our Residents’ Culture page (14), while Henry HopwoodPhillips talks to the provisional chairman of the Belgravia Neighbourhood Forum about its purpose and future (p 12). Please do not hesitate to get in contact with all your news and updates by emailing belgravia@residentsjournal.co.uk.

Managing Editor Francesca Lee Main Editorial Contributor Henry Hopwood-Phillips Editorial Assistant Jennifer Mason Editorial Intern Tamir Davies Editor-in-Chief Lesley Ellwood

Managing Director Eren Ellwood Senior Designer Sophie Blain Production Hugo Wheatley Alex Powell Oscar Viney Alice Ford

Publishing Director Giles Ellwood General Manager Fiona Fenwick Executive Director Sophie Roberts Client Relationship Director Felicity Morgan-Harvey Business Development Manager Nicola Bloomfield

Above / Hermes, Astrologie-Dies et Hore, circa 1970 (poodlesandstrudels.co.uk), (poodlesandboodles.uk). Read our interview with Alexandra Bond Elliot on page 10.

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The Notebook

Who and what have been moving and shaking in Belgravia recently? We bring you up-to-date Photography: Jose lasheras

Stile Antico ©Marco Borggreve

Classical twist

For those craving something sweeter than a cream tea, dessert bars are hard to come by and often not round every corner in London. The William Curley Dessert Bar in Belgravia offers a dining experience with a twist. Available at weekends, pop down for a sensational five-course dessert menu, crafted by an in-house chef. Wherever you decide to sit there is a full view of your desserts made to perfection. Whatever you choose, whether it is from the classic menu or the indulgent menu, there are seasonal dishes to tantalise your taste buds, with an optional glass of bubbly.

Let the music begin

This spring, get into the musical spirit as Eaton Square Concerts hosts a wonderful selection of musicians. Award-winning students from the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts will perform, including pianist Rachel Cheung and The Gloucester String Quartet. Another act set to perform at St Peter’s Church is Stile Antico, an early-music vocal ensemble. An in-house favourite returning is Leslie Howard who will introduce the award-winning Wu Quartet who will play musical numbers from Beethoven’s middle and late periods, followed by Franck’s passionate Quintet for Piano and Strings in F Minor. £60 for five concerts, £40 concessions, or individual tickets available at £18 adults, £12 concessions, 12 March-16 April, St Peter’s Church, 119 Eaton Square, SW1W 9AL, 020 7288 6511

William Curley, 12 noon-6pm Saturday, 12 noon-5pm Sunday, 198 Ebury Street, SW1W 8UN, 020 8538 9650 (williamcurley.com)

Traditional London

Horse-drawn carriages are not just for the likes of Lord and Lady Grantham now – anyone can travel in style this month. Make your fairy-tale dreams come true by climbing aboard a horse-drawn carriage to travel round the old cobbled streets of Belgravia. Sponsored by Henry Image courtesy of Dowling Jones & James, specialists in residential property, this passenger carriage can hold up to six people for a free personal tour of the hidden gems of the area. Commuting in London has been made that little bit more traditional than before. (henryandjames.co.uk)

Travel perfect in

Salt, a contemporary designer readyto-wear store is opening in Belgravia this month. This is the latest venture of Stephanie Alameida, a resort-wear specialist who creates edgy and hardto-find fashion labels. The store will be housed on the ground floor of a Georgian townhouse and has pieces from Alexis Zimmermann and Cutler & Gross – perfect for your summer wardrobe and beach escape. 77 Elizabeth Street, SW1W 9PJ (saltresortwear.com)

Happy birthday

Damien Hirst Doxylamine, 2007

The Goring, a traditional hotel in the heart of Belgravia, has reopened its doors to the public after undergoing a complete refurbishment by artists, painters, interior designers and builders who descended on the luxurious building last month. The renovation involved four major English interior designers, adding new features such as an in-room evening cocktail service. The family-owned hotel has also celebrated its 105th birthday. Here’s to another 100 years!

Jonathan Yeo Lily Cole, 2014

Exhibition worthy

(thegoring.com)

Eleven, a gallery in Belgravia, exhibits some of the best international contemporary art by emerging and established artists. Running until the beginning of this month is an exhibition entitled Printed Matter¸ dedicated to showcasing limited-edition prints. Head down for a last-minute browse of work from the likes of Charles Avery, Peter Blake, Damien Hirst and Gary Hume. The exhibition was curated by gallery founder Charlie Phillips and manager Susannah Haworth. Free entry, 11am-6pm Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 11am-7pm Thursday, 11am4pm Saturday, until 7 March at Eleven Gallery, 11 Eccleston Street, SW1W 9LX, 020 7823 5540 (elevenfineart.com)

Belgraves

Time to reboot

If you’re staying at Belgraves this month, cross the road to the Grace Belgravia Spa as the two establishments have collaborated to offer women access to the prestigious Grace Intensive Cleanse experience. Guests will experience a combination of intensive cleansing, including Chinese medicine, acupuncture, spa treatments and nutrition advice, plus the mini bar temptations will be replaced with herbal teas. Belgraves, three-day package starts from £2,950, five-day package starts from £4,320 excluding breakfast, until 31 April 2015, 20 Chesham Place, SW1X 8HQ, 020 7858 0100 (thompsonhotels.com)

Statement wardrobe

Fashionistas love nothing more than digging out their favourite vintage statement pieces from the past. Susie Nelson of Vintage Modes has moved to Pimlico to set up Modes & More. Susie brings with her a fabulous knowledge of vintage clothing and accessories from the Art Deco era to the Swinging 60s. You will be sure to find luxurious linens, gorgeous gowns and exquisite jewellery. Susie will continue to offer her services to stylists, interior sets and film and theatre companies seeking to find the perfect vintage outfit.

Image courtesy of Iwona Antoniak

B E L G R AV I A R E S I D E N T S ’ J O U R N A L

International doctor

As the only American trained plastic surgeon to be licensed in America and the UK, Dr. Cap Lesesne opened a London plastic surgery practice at The Cadogan Clinic on Sloane Street, offering aesthetic procedures. With more than 20 years’ experience, the new practice will complement his New York Park Avenue surgery. Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, Dr. Cap Lesesne has been ranked Top Plastic Surgeon in the Castle-Connolly Guide 18 years in a row. Cadogan Clinic, 120 Sloane Street, SW1X 9BW, 020 7993 2759 (caplesesne.com) Dr. Cap Lesesne

Modes & More, 44 Moreton Street, SW1V 2PB, 020 7828 1325 (vintagemodes.co.uk) 005

Photography: Steve Poole

Photography: Jez Dickson

TheBest

Image courtesy of Amara

of Everything Annabel Harrison meets Bruce Russell: wedding planner extraordinaire, expert on all nuptial matters and the man with Londonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ultimate little white book of contacts

Photography: Jez Dickson

Mary Jane Vaughan, image: Lloyd Dobbie

Photography: Jez Dickson

Photography: John Nasari

WEDDINGS

‘I

used to think a wedding was a simple affair. Boy and girl meet, they fall in love, he buys a ring, she buys a dress; they say “I do”. I was wrong. That’s getting married. A wedding is an entirely different proposition.’ So said Steve Martin’s character despairingly in the definitive 90s wedding film Father Photography: Kate Neilen of the Bride, which most of you will know is funny, heart-warming, nostalgic and, actually, ridiculous at times because of scenes involving Franck, the flamboyant wedding planner with an accent of indeterminate origin. Thankfully, if you got engaged recently over the Christmas and New Year period (the most popular time of year for proposals), there is a rather less eccentric and much more confidence-inducing alternative to Franck, and this man goes by the name of Bruce Russell. After spending an hour in his company, I can confirm that Bruce is everything you’d hope a wedding planner would be; immaculately turned out, impeccably polite, extremely experienced in the wedding planning arena and, most importantly, he just gets ‘it’. I’m going to 10 weddings in 2015, the most significant of which is my own, so the delights, logistics and pitfalls of planning these wonderful events are firmly on my radar and I agree with George Banks that a wedding is many things but certainly not, in most cases, “a simple affair”. Bruce sums it up neatly: ‘There is no other day a bride will plan that will be as personal as her wedding day; there can be a lot of added pressure and anxiety and the process can be overwhelming when everyone has an opinion.’ Happily though, Bruce is a dab hand at steering a bride (and groom) through the process and the big day itself, even if there are last-minute changes to the guest list, kosher wine which isn’t really kosher or a drunk photographer; these are all instances that Bruce has dealt with, the happy pair none the wiser. ‘My aim is to satisfy couples with an unrelenting pursuit for perfection – from the moment of proposal to choosing the right couture and covetable gifts, from creating the perfect wedding day to planning the honeymoon of a lifetime.’ So how, I wonder, did a man from a small town in Canada end up in the UK planning the world’s most wonderful weddings? Bruce laughs. ‘I grew up in a place where everyone knew everyone, so whenever there was a wedding, we all got involved. I remember such a sense of occasion but the one memory that stands out vividly is making flowers out of tissues! These were used to decorate the bridal car and the cars of family members attending the wedding. Simple but it still makes me smile today.’ A sense of occasion, and making each event unique and personal, clearly matters a great deal to Bruce; he says that the best weddings are not always those with the biggest budgets but those when “the bride and groom are just so happy! One of the best weddings [I’ve ever done] was in 2013. We’d been planning every single detail for 18 months but, at the end of

B E L G R AV I A R E S I D E N T S ’ J O U R N A L

the day, what made it really special was the bride; she was the happiest bride I’d ever seen. This filtered down to the guests, who were so appreciative of everything the couple had planned. Even the venue’s staff commented that this was the best wedding they’d ever seen. When you get those comments on the day, you know it’s a good event!’ With five years of wedding planning experience under his belt, Bruce has now launched a luxury bridal website called The Bridal Room. His extensive network means he has access to exclusive products, services and suppliers, destinations and experiences and has curated a marketplace of these, meticulously sourced from the ‘best of the best’, whether from Great Britain or further away. Bruce only deals in superlatives, it seems, for every supplier; the prettiest, most beautiful, the best! Four Belgravia-based experts have been singled out so far to do masterclasses for Bruce; candlemaker Rachel Vosper, florist Phillipa Craddock, Champagne

We’d planned all the details but it was made really special by how happy the bride was house Laurent Perrier and make-up artist Kate Hughes. ‘In the coming months we’ll be branching into other aspects; the art of “tablescaping”, etiquette and how to craft the perfect groom’s speech. Watch this space…’ I point out that in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea there’s also a whole host of bridal delights; Jenny Packham, Caroline Castigliano and Philippa Lepley are creating the dresses that dreams are made of. Bruce singles out several more local “creative artisans who are truly talented and passionate”; namely, cake maker Peggy Porschen, dress designers Stewart Parvin and Sassi Holford, Neill Strain Floral Couture and bridal hairdresser Errol Douglas. As a bride-to-be, this kind of list makes me excited and apprehensive in equal measure, I tell Bruce, because it’s just the tip of the iceberg in terms of how many brilliant Photography: John Nassari

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WEDDINGS Image courtesy of Amara

suppliers there are for every element of a wedding and the possibilities seem endless. Bruce smiles in a reassuring fashion (he does this often; it works) and reminds me of the most important piece of advice. ‘Enjoy it! A wedding is one of the most important days that a bride and groom will ever plan for themselves; make sure the day reflects you, as a couple and give the day a real sense of your personalities. And be realistic; think carefully about the aspects of your wedding day that matter most to you. Prioritise these in terms of timings and budgets, and be creative. Being able to make decisions is also integral – an indecisive bride makes planning rather difficult!’ As I know full well, working out a budget, sticking to it and finding the best supplier within the specified price bracket is tricky at the best of times. If money is no object, Bruce advises couples to focus on individual elements, such as chauffeured transport for all guests, immaculately designed “tablescaping” and as many personal touches as possible; ‘your wedding day is very much about the

In terms of suppliers for The Bridal Room, Bruce only deals in superlatives; the prettiest, most beautiful, the best!

Image courtesy of John Nassari

a fabulously creative eye for detail and a great sense of humour, balancing the enjoyable and less so elements of a wedding with equal flair. ‘For me, the most fun part of planning a wedding is coming up with the creative brief and visual. The most difficult aspect can be managing suppliers and staff on the day, which is why it’s essential to work with reliable suppliers.’ Bruce is also, if your wedding is likely to attract column inches and paparazzi, brilliantly discreet; despite the fact that in this day and age, it’s possible for any wedding, no matter how low-key, to be splashed over social media within hours, thanks to snap-happy guests and the ease of Instagramming, I don’t think Bruce would ever divulge a wedding secret, celebrity couple or not. However, high-profile celebrities have no chance of keeping all details under wraps and there are several of these weddings that have impressed Bruce in recent years. He loved the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding – “a royal affair but they kept it real!” – and the fact that, despite the global media attention, George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin were able to make theirs “so personal”. As for Kim Kardashian West and Kanye, “sometimes ‘over the top’ is just fabulous!” On that note, whether you’re an “over the top, luxurious, extravagant” or “low-key, beautiful, elegant” kind of couple, if you want your dream wedding to take shape before your very eyes, without having to stress over details and planning yourself, Bruce is your man. bybrucerussell.com, thebridalroom.gift

“guest experience” and considering every “touchpoint” that they will have throughout the day. You want the day to be genuinely magical to all the senses. For those on a limited budget, pick the aspects of the day that are most important to you and focus on these, be it stunning flowers, a wonderfully lavish meal or a band that you’ve set your heart on.’ Bruce highlights that it’s worth keeping an eye on the costs of stationery, flowers and the evening bar; the first because ‘couples often don’t think of the impact that a fabulous invitation has. It’s the first impression and you know what they say… first impressions count!’; the second because ‘most people don’t understand the cost, time and effort that goes into stunning floral arrangements’ and the third? ‘You should know how much your guests can drink!’ Just this piece of advice sums up Bruce as a whole; he’s exceptionally organised and process-driven, with

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Photography: Jez Dickson

B E L G R AV I A R E S I D E N T S ’ J O U R N A L

ART

Hang ’em

The Belgravia Residents’ Journal talks to Alexandra Bond Elliott about why she’s on so many people’s walls

icky Ricardo is helping me to eat my beef sandwich or, more specifically, the English mustard. Little sneezes follow. He doesn’t feel the cold and thinks nothing of mounting the table. It’s okay, he had a bath yesterday. Fortunately, nobody considers Mr Ricardo rude because, ultimately, he’s a dog. He’s impressive in the flesh, but he cuts an even bolder profile as the other half of Alexandra Bond Elliott’s brilliant blog Poodles & Strudels. The blog, a melange of content about dogs and food, partners a website in development that should be running by the time this goes to print. Named Poodles & Boodles (as in the money), its aim is to focus on cushions, scarves and frames. It’s quite an eclectic bunch of goods to focus on, so I ask what the reasoning is behind it. ‘It started with a problem, albeit very much a “first-world one”,’ Alexandra laughs. It turned out she has very big walls at her place on Elizabeth Street and was without the funds that would furnish it with the huge oil paintings that they so deserve. ‘I was at my mother’s, sneaking through her stuff one day, wondering what I could get my hands on that might look good at mine, when I was caught rifling through her Hermès scarves,’ Alexandra starts, explaining that it was

Scarves can look great when framed on walls only after a good haggle that ‘I managed to wangle three off her!’. I already feel a bit lost though; I thought she had wanted to find something for her walls. ‘Yes, scarves can look great when framed on walls,’ she reproves. So Alexandra set about making a frame. Using skills honed by her time at the London College of Fashion and a spell at Tomasz Starzewski’s, she sourced a fabric to pin the scarf to and found the correct sort of glass to seal it off. ‘It took me about two days,’ she describes, which seems impressively swift. After successfully making various works for her walls, she decided to set up a business and employed a team of staff to help with the demand. ‘I wouldn’t be able to cope if I was still putting everything together myself,’ she tells me. A couture dressmaker has been employed, several private commissions have been completed and there’s even stock that’s ready to go. It’s not been easy though; Alexandra admits that she underestimated the logistics and sheer length of time involved in sourcing and synchronising the labour of all the different parts involved. ‘And the scarves aren’t just for frames,’ she reminds me. ‘If a person has damaged a scarf we can easily conceal the wear and tear by making it into a cushion (usually we hide the tear in the seams),’ she explains. She also has clients whose scarves hold sentimental value,

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which have often been handed down by relatives, that she upholsters into a cushion. Prices vary for the wall art, depending on the quality of the frame required, the fabric beneath and the scarf above it – not to mention the glass. ‘The glass can get very expensive because I use the museum glass, which is completely clear and protects silk from the UV light that damages it, but it costs five times more than normal glass,’ she says. Our conversation leads to chatting about her website: it’s simple and has a moodboard-like element to it, but we’re quickly interrupted by Ricky – he’s had enough so Alexandra has to go. The mustard’s gone to his head and he’s got more important things to be doing than promoting the latest business: canine competitors are walking all over his turf at Baker & Spice. £POA (poodlesandstrudels.uk), (poodlesandboodles.uk)

Below: Hermes, Astrologie-Dies et Hore, circa 1970

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Hyde Park Corner

Belgrave Square

Leonado Statue

In safe

hands

Mary Regnier-Leigh

Henry Hopwood-Phillips talks to the provisional chairman of a new local government body, the Belgravia Neighbourhood Forum, about its purpose and future

new face of local government, the Belgravia Neighbourhood Forum, perhaps best abbreviated to ‘The Forum’ due to its initials, is busy in the business of coming into being. Its brief is huge – few things, after all, fall outside its remit of ‘Planning including Environment and Public Realm’ – but looming large on the agenda will certainly be the Crossrail 2 proposals which affect South Belgravia, and Victoria’s Business Improvement District (BID) – where Beeston

Place, Victoria Square and Buckingham Palace meet. Mary Regnier-Leigh stands well-placed to head the group as the Forum’s provisional chairman, having served as a councillor for Lambeth for 12 years, worked at the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) for three (until its abolition in 1990), appointed to a quango (the non-departmental public body, NDPB) whose task it was to ensure an equitable distribution of GPs in England and Wales, which she chaired for six years, and the Local Government Commission for another three. Not to mention her job as a senior consultant for local solicitors Child & Child, the fact that she is a trustee and vice chairman of the National Osteoporosis Society, and finally a member of the Belgrave Square Garden Committee for five years. Fortunately Mary makes an appearance, to save me from writing a piece littered with barren acronyms and CV stats. The lists continue, however. First, the committee: lawyer Helene Oratore; interior designer and leading light of the Pimlico Road Association Joanna Wood;

LOCAL FOCUS

architect Randa Hanna; headmistress of Francis Holland School Lucy Elphinstone; Grosvenor’s estate surveyor Nigel Hughes; co-owner of Cubitt House Stefan Turnbull; hotelier James Wright; chairman of the Friends of Francis Holland Sandra Wagg, and finally Cllr Racheal Robatham. ‘This is a very experienced set of people – we all certainly know what we’re doing,’ Mary notes. Due to the experience that Mary and Helen Oratore have acquired as lawyers, especially in dealing with basements and party wall legislation, the Forum was able to ‘hit the ground running’ and deal with two urgent issues. The first is Crossrail 2. ‘There is a new consultation dealing with the revised route for Crossrail 2 across southern Belgravia. The closing date was 29 January. I had to prepare a response on behalf of the Forum.’ When I ask about its contents, Mary answers that much of it concerns the change of the safeguarding of the environment and buildings in the area. She also touches upon the issue of rough sleepers. Outlining two types, ‘There are those who are genuinely

This is a very experienced set of people – we all certainly know what we’re doing homeless and can be helped by referral to the local authority, St Mungo’s Broadway and other charities’, and then a second group comprising foreign nationals in the UK who are under the pretext of looking for work. Taking up the issue, Helen Oratore convened a meeting on 18 December which included Ravi Kumar – Westminster warden with Westminster City Council (WCC), Paul King – community protection officer with WCC Frances Blois of the Safer Neighbourhood Team, a well-known former councillor who has done so much for Belgravia and other local residents and business. WCC is now becoming involved (on the initiative of the Forum) and has convened a meeting in March which, of course, will include the Forum to take the matter forward. ‘I hope residents see that even though the Forum Plan has not yet been prepared,’ Mary smiles, ‘that its

George Basevi Architect

influence cannot be underestimated. We are already dealing with local issues.’ The Forum acknowledges the need for professionals in the process. ‘We’re asking Tibbalds, a planning and design company, to advise on what needs to be in the Neighbourhood Plan (due to the Localism Act 2011, which gave local communities the power to establish statutory planning policies), which will advise on the programme we will need to adopt.’ The outlines of this paperwork promise to have real teeth, too, because the Forum will have be able to direct use of public funding to improve the public realm. This means such things as pavements, local roads and other works. The public funding will come from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), a power the government awarded to councils. ‘The Forum will receive the spending of 15 per cent of this levy for neighbourhood priorities. Once the Neighbourhood Plan is approved that figure will rise to 25 per cent.’ The aim is to foster an improved public realm in Belgravia. ‘Cooperating with the Grosvenor Estate, much of what we hope to achieve is based around trying to conserve and improve what we already have.’ Mary hopes this will be popular and is keen to emphasise that membership of the Forum is free, only requires filling out one short form to be stocked in Mayhew Newsagents on 15 Motcomb Street and other outlets or delivered through letterboxes and it can be downloaded from its website. ‘This is a very exciting time. There are several contentious issues in the area,’ Mary reminds me, Christopher Columbus many ranging from the Lilliputian in scale to the Goliath, ‘and to tackle them the Forum is intent on getting a large democratic mandate.’ It’s an impressive conclusion to an accomplished performance, which is important as Belgravia must be in safe hands as it appears to enter this new chapter. (belgraviaforum.org)

Eaton Square

Garden gate in Belgrave Square

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Residents’ Culture Exploring the minutiae of residents’ concerns and encounters

Dear

Auntie

Issues ranging from etiquette to depression afflict every area of the world, but not all places has a person as sage as our agony aunt to solve them…

Dear Auntie, Like so many other people today, when going out for lunch and dinner I want to know whether it’s the norm to divide a bill by the number of people present? This can often turn out to be a less-than-fair way of dividing a share as some people will drink water, some wine, some have the lobster, some have the pasta, etc; but increasingly I am finding it difficult when someone decides that a division is not justified because of their choices. This often results in a certain amount of negativity. What do you consider a fair way of dealing with this issue?

Miss Robertson

Dear Miss Robertson, This is indeed a modern day dilemma and one that many of us face from time to time. I feel it’s a question of deciding whether the folk with whom you are dining with are serial bill frauds against genuine fussy or non-eaters. If they are of this category – and we all know them – (order the most expensive wine etc as it will be divided up) I would have no issue other than to demand that they pay extra on a bill where a nondrinker has sipped the tap water. I think it becomes difficult when guests start to deduct specifics such as the parma ham and melon versus the soup, and in this instance, I feel that insistence on an even division is required. My instinct is to inform those attending that the bill will be in the region of a certain price, and that to bring the cash along with them is advisable. If one knows a restaurant, it is not difficult to gauge a bill with average consumption. I know it is a responsibility, but it really does avoid misunderstandings.

Yours hopefully, Auntie

Dear Auntie, I was recently invited to a dinner to celebrate a friend’s birthday. My invitation was not from the host but rather a mutual acquaintance, and I was asked to bring a bottle of wine. This was a formal dinner – I was told in advance. So I duly turned up with a bottle of wine and another of Champagne. The dinner was fun and there was lobster, seafood and other delicious edibles. Some 10 days later, however, I received an email from the person who took me along, advising me that I owed the host £54. I feel outraged and am perplexed as to how a bill can be raised in this manner as no previous mention had been made of it. May I have your advice as to how to respond?

Ms Jones

Dear Ms Jones, Alas and alack, I fear that the modern world is fast overtaking good manners. Perhaps modern living and the sharing of lives has morphed into this onesize-fits-all policy. Firstly, I am perplexed that a host can ask for monies after an event, so perhaps ask the friend who took you along whether he or she was made aware in the beginning of the financial requirement. If this is the case, I feel it incumbent on your friend for him or her to explain to you why this was not made clear. Then, it may well be a matter between the two of you to sort out. If, however, your friend was unaware of a financial debt until it was sent to you, my instinct would be to write to the host and explain that as no agreement other than the supply of wine was required, that is the beginning and end of your indebtedness. Lastly, it does unfortunately set a precedent of behavioural patterns, so perhaps take it as a horrible warning that unless an invitation is a direct one, all details should be pre-agreed. I hope this helps.

Yours in sincerity, Auntie

The views expressed on this page are not held by the Residents’ Journal. The page offers a platform for the voices of our local residents to discuss topics they feel relevant and important.

Ron Ellis / Shutt erstock.c

The Residents’ Association’s

March roundup by head of social & communications Sue Liberman

t’s been a relatively slow start to 2015. So many people have been hit with the viral chest infection that’s doing the rounds in the area; I was completely floored by it and regretted not having the annual flu jab, however, recent reports I’ve read suggest that the latest flu jab is only five per cent effective, as opposed to previous ones being 55 per cent effective. I’m not sure why that is; perhaps it’s due to lack of research by the pharmaceutical companies. I’ll have to ask my lovely Doctor Parry at The Belgravia Surgery. Speaking of The Belgravia Surgery, I’d like to introduce Catherine Godbolt who practises alignment for health at the Belgravia Surgery on Monday and Thursdays. It’s the place to go if you are seeking a more balanced body. Correct alignment of your physical structure and posture is vital for your health and wellbeing. She has practised the healing arts since 2002, graduating in both human chiropractics and genetics and is now an advanced craniosacral therapist. Over the last decade she’s developed what she believes to be a truly sympathetic way of working with the body. Practising craniosacral therapy and classical manipulation, through these gentle techniques she applies the least force necessary to help people with pain, injury and dysfunction. Aiming the body to help heal itself, misalignments can occur through injury, poor posture, repetitive or strenuous work, pregnancy or stress. It goes hand-in-hand with nerve irritation, muscle tightening, leading to additional stress on joints and ligaments and a compromised nervous system. All of these can cause pain or loss of function at the region of the problem, or elsewhere in the body. When we’re not aligned we function below par and even if we don’t have pain we may feel tired, irritable and as though we are firing on fewer than all cylinders. Back pain, neck pain and shoulder pain sufferers, those with migraine and tension headaches, pain and stiffness in joints and muscles, sciatic problems, babies with colic-y symptoms and mothers with pubic symphysis problems are amongst those that can benefit from treatment. Catherine tailors her treatment to suit the individual and can be contacted on 020 7590 8000.

March Diary

• As spring arrives this month, the deck chairs become available in Hyde Park until October. • The Albert Memorial tours start again on the first Sunday of the month from March to December. Address: Kensington Gardens, W2 2UH •

National Trust properties reopen after their winter break. Thomas Carlyle’s House in Chelsea is open March to October. Address: Carlyle’s House, 24 Cheyne Row, Chelsea, SW3 5HL

•

Eaton Square Concerts begin their spring 2015 season… - Thursday 12 March, 7.30pm; Tickets £18/£12 An exciting opportunity to hear members from the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts. - Thursday 19 March, 7.30pm; Tickets £18/£12 They say that the Devil has all the best tunes, and it’s hard to disagree on hearing this enthralling programme from early music vocal ensemble Stile Antico. - Thursday 26 March, 7.30pm; Tickets £18/£12 A regular favourite to their series, pianist Leslie Howard introduces the award winning Wu Quartet.

For tickets and more details: 020 7288 6511 or www.eatonsquareconcerts.org.uk

More calendar updates to follow next month…

In other news….

Many residents and traders have asked me to pass on a big thank you to Andrew Coney (GM Belgraves Hotel) for his incredible February dining offer, so thank-you, Andrew. The offer was three lunch or dinner courses in the Pont Street Restaurant for £30, plus your guest ate with the hotel’s compliments. That incredible offer ended on 13th February, but do watch this space for details of Andrew’s future generosity!

Regarding an ongoing issue....

The begging situation in our area is still unacceptably excessive. Something needs to be done and I’ve emailed Inspector Bruce Middlemiss (Belgravia Police) to request more police presence in the area to tackle this ongoing issue. People are being accosted in the streets by these beggars, which naturally is making them feel very unsafe. Traders and residents report that it’s the worst it’s ever been in our area. As a resident of 21 years, I totally agree with them. In addition, if there’s anything you would like to let us know about, I can be contacted on 07957 420 911 or sue@belgraviaresidents.org.uk

Until next month... belgraviaresidents.org.uk

If you would like to help protect and/or shape the future of Belgravia, please join us by becoming a member. Simply go online and click on the appropriate membership box. In addition, if there’s anything you would like to let us know about, I can be contacted on sue@belgraviaresidents.org.uk

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The

Belgravian UP ALL HOURS

Henry Hopwood-Phillips talks to one of Belgraviaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top hoteliers about horrible golfers, alcoholic hosts and a silent revolution at Belgraves Thompson...

PROFILE

‘O

h, I think he’s given you a really attractive, muscular jawline,’ I tease, delighted that The Belgravian’s illustration had been emailed to me mid-interview. ‘Are you saying that I haven’t got one?!’ Andrew Coney replies, in a state of melodramatic revulsion. Known as ‘Mr A. Coney’ to those who send him bills, he is Thompson’s latest weapon to renew the Belgraves offering at Chesham Place. He certainly looks the part; in fact, he resembles a politico with his top button undone à la David Cameron; something that would come as no surprise to politicians, since he was their man for years. Andrew’s leap has not been a large one; in fact, he’s barely changed postcodes, having come from the Westminster InterContinental; a place where the maligned class chomped their way through American grub at the hotel’s Blue Boar restaurant. Each name one of us drops the other picks up with ease. Andrew’s move has clearly brought some political gravitas. Not only was local MP (and past Belgravian) Mark Field in the Belgraves at the weekend, but ‘this morning we had broadcaster Andrew Neil too.’ The building has been paparazzied a few times. ‘At first I thought it was all just artificial buzz frothed up by over-eager PRs but it turned out the paps had been tipped off.’ Indeed, the celebrity tally since Andrew started in September last year has been high. Before Christmas, Jade Jagger was here with her father, ‘on another day I met both a rapper and royalty!’ Andrew tells me. He’s not exaggerating either; when the historian Andrew Roberts agreed to be interviewed and I offered him a choice of location, the Belgraves was his choice without hesitation. ‘That’s not to say we’re just all about the glam,’ Andrew corrects the vision he’s building in my mind’s eye. ‘We can have elderly ladies with small dogs on some tables, with guys working on the latest art project opposite them.’ I note that the reviews of the Pont Street restaurant have perked up since his introduction. He nods modestly. ‘There are many elements of Belgraves that defy what we could call “hotelier’s conventions”, the upstairs bar is popular for meetings in the area despite it being above the ground floor, unexposed to the public, and also not very obviously a public space.’ He jokes about getting the doormen some swish new outfits so that people entering stop worrying that the guys hanging around the exits are snaffling phones, before I ask whether he knew one of his London neighbours, Derek

Picot, formerly of Jumeirah hotel group. ‘Ah, the tales in the trade that surround Derek! One of the favourite tips he gave me was that if you want to leave a social without upsetting a host, leave your jacket on the back of your chair, and either ditch it or collect it another time.’ It’s a business Andrew learnt from the best, namely from a dear lady near Fowey in Cornwall. ‘Don’t know what I learned from her,’ he says, sipping his vino. After breakfast the lady would give the table a spread of alcohol and, at the age of 16, Andrew was expected to participate. ‘Oh, you should have seen the tricks she pulled!’ The catalogue of ruses is long. Highlights include telling those leaving for dinner that she couldn’t guarantee that the door would be unlocked upon their return and also informing guests that she liked one set and not the other. I tell Andrew that it sounds like she was an expert in exploiting her apparent vulnerability in order to emotionally manipulate people. ‘Yes, that’s pretty much spot-on,’ he agrees, laughing. Though not something his employers would have taught him, back when he was training. ‘No, they used to repeat to us that it cost as much to train a fighter pilot as it did a fully-fledged hotelier.’ His tour round the hotelier block (including Winchester and Portugal) resulted in a prolonged spell in Northumbria (where his family still live today). ‘Yes, that hotel did make me feel a little like I was Jack Nicholson in The Shining – all those sheep in the snow, and no guests.’ The hotel isn’t a trade that he feels has left him enamoured of the golfing world. ‘Quite the opposite,’ he notes. ‘What sort of sport blames the lie of the land when the game doesn’t go so well?’ Though he shouldn’t protest too much – his reputation as one of the great hoteliers was made in golfing resorts in Portugal where he raised occupancy rates from 40 to 80 per cent. When I probe him about his success rate, he is keen to stress it is the service that makes all the difference. ‘You would be surprised at how variable it can be, especially in London, that’s not what the hotel industry is about.’ Andrew’s clearly at the top of his game. Personable, he has been parachuted in to provide the sort of face Belgraves needs to immerse itself in the community. And, due to the ream of names he’s able to reel off, it shows that many of us have already taken him to our hearts.

The celebrity tally since Andrew started in September last year has been high

Belgraves – A Thompson Hotel, 20 Chesham Place, SW1X 8HQ, 020 7858 0100 (thompsonhotels.com)

Illustration / Russ Tudor

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“THE FITNESS GURU VIEWED BY THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY AS THE 4TH EMERGENCY SERVICE”

B O D Y D O C T O R h e a l t h

f i t n e s s

b e s po k e p e rs o n a l t ra i n i n g • p i l at e s • n u t r i t i o n c l i n i c • h o l i s t i c t h era pi es ww w. bo dy d o c to r . c o m / 0 2 0 7 2 3 5 2 2 1 1 / e ato n s q ua r e , b e l g r avi a s w 1

DRINKING & DINING

Neighbourhood

watch

From a dearth of culinary brilliance to a glut, the Belgravia Residentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Journal discriminates against the rest to bring you the best...

B E L G R AV I A R E S I D E N T S â&#x20AC;&#x2122; J O U R N A L

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BEST FOR: AN INFORMAL DINNER

BarBoulud

et in the perfect space for an air-raid shelter, Bar Boulud – less the belly than the feet of the Mandarin Oriental – commands a prospect of both the A4 and Sloane Street from its basement perch in Edwardian stone. Or it would perhaps, if the ceilings were not quite so low. Inside, however, you can see why its designer, Adam Tihany, dropped the roof. The cosy factor is multiplied, the fractions of space – articulated in burgundy leather banquettes, oak floors and wainscoting – arrest the correct cadences of intimacy and distance. Near, and yet here so far, from the affluent and madding Knightsbridge crowd, this is an unapologetic big-city brasserie. It’s also dripping New York. Of course it is. It’s Daniel Boulud’s gaff. A titan among chefs here and across the pond, he sits beneath our compatriot Heston Blumenthal only in terms of storeys, not status, at the hotel. With three Michelin stars and a CV that includes spells under Roger Vergé, Georges Blanc and Michel Guérard, Boulud will not have entrusted Dean Yasharian to run this popular outpost, with its nimbus of Atlantic cool, without good reason. I’m here to try the brunch menu, a three-course menu of simple pleasures, starting with an aperitif of fruit or vegetable juice, or, if you prefer to add a little fizz to your Sabbath, an alcoholic option. Bubbles and lubrication aside, my eye is on the first course: I’m surrounded by tables laden with charcuterie. This is such a porcine feast I’d have to swallow a butcher’s dictionary and a beginner’s guide to French just to understand what’s between my chops – just some of the things I scoff are rosette de Lyon, Bayonne ham, jambon de Paris, pork paté with foie gras, chicken liver and rabbit terrine, not to mention various saucissons and boudins.

Roughly 80 per cent of Bar Boulud customers are regulars. Many of these return on the strength of the burger offering, so it would be rude not to try the latest ‘brunch burger’ creation. This is a Gallic amalgam of a fantastically Anglo set of ingredients: beef, bacon, Cheddar cheese and a fried egg, delivered by waiting staff that neither hover nor avoid the eye. Pouncing on the table only at the most opportune moments, they emerge from the margins where wine splodges like gunshots frame Daniel Boulud’s favourite vintages. The fireworks continue with desserts which, although perhaps a little safe, contain no hiccups. Choosing between a brownie, trifle and a freshly made waffle is hard, so the gaggle of girls I’m with annihilate the problem by ordering all three. As they bury all their new year resolutions in one sitting, I drown mine in buckets of fizz, and the whole affair draws to a jubilant close, bolstered by the fact that the bill for each of us ducks below the £40 mark. Bar Boulud, 66 Knightsbridge, London SW1X 7LA, 020 7201 3899 (barboulud.com)

DRINKING & DINING

Arnaud Stevens

BEST FOR: BUSINESS

Restaurant Sixty One T

here are rave reviews of Sixty One online. They must have eaten only the bread – a trendy wooden box of sourdough, baguettes from Boulangerie de Paris and homemade Marmite sourdough – it transports one to a carbohydrate-based rapture, a warm, yeasty heaven: if heaven were a bakery lock-in. The canary taxi carries pale, unpasteurised, gloriously fatty butter that thaws on the crusty floor.

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Perhaps they invested their hopes in the chef’s history. Arnaud Stevens has certainly worked with ‘the greats’ – Pierre Koffmann, Marco Pierre White and Richard Corrigan, to name a few. Searcy’s certainly wouldn’t back just any old horse. And who doesn’t love the firm’s Royal Opera House offering or the Gherkin’s private dining room? Backing him up is Artan Mesekrani, previously Gordon Ramsay at Claridges, and a host of names that scream foodie establishment. So the show has all the right people – what could go wrong? Well, the location for a start. It may market itself as ‘south Marylebone’, and Marylebone as any halfwit will tell you, is really ‘up and coming’ – code for a future that involves juggling both mediocrity and exorbitance. The reality is that it’s just round the corner from that most depressing of underground stations, Marble Arch, on a street remarkable only for its lack of landmarks. The imagination of the site has clearly rubbed off on the name (its door number on Upper Berkeley Street), not to mention the interior, where Tonik Designs has created a place that might charitably be described as ‘simple’ and ‘modern’; think brass, cream, oak and light. More honestly, think of All Bar One on steroids. It may have been carved from an oversized bronze medal. It’s... it’s as if the noughties never happened. It’s the perfect environment for a businessman – it’s not crazy or expensive; instead, it’s safe and comfortably pricey – and it’s attached to the backend of a hotel, hence the ubiquity of the tieless wonders. Of course, they are legion – even the culinary tagline ‘British cuisine with French touches’ screams living on the edge (of a butter knife atop a sofa). Annoyingly, this safe attitude is often absent from the food. A quenelle of white chocolate ganache finds itself rounded upon by pork, mussels and a rich polaine-based soup, appearing to follow a logic similar to that of drowning a sausage in custard, because caramelised onions often taste great with meat. The beef cheek served with black pudding and pancetta is too rich. The Swiss chard gratin’s attempt to get some elbow-room on the palate is as effective as attempting to club a bull with a stick of celery. The result reminds me of Churchill’s quip about Stafford Cripps: ‘He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire’. It’s an anaemic offering – a desperately thin, ghost-like approximation of what it was obviously aiming for. This pitches it perfectly at men of business, however, men who don’t want the real thing, the men who thrive in the simulacrum. 61 Upper Berkeley Street, London W1H 7PP, 020 7958 3222 (sixtyonerestaurant.co.uk)

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DRINKING & DINING

BEST FOR: A FIRST DATE

Chai Wu F

ollowing on from simulacra, hidden on the fifth floor of Harrods in an urban sportswear room is a Chinese restaurant called Chai Wu. This may sound like a reverse-Narnia manoeuvre, a move in which locals leave a fantastical Belgravia for the tawdry charms of commercialism. However, the thought’s not only a dismal one but incorrect up here. A large wooden façade hides a cosy room that packs 90 covers; it is a schmaltzy riff on a Shanghai den. Think lustrous marble and bright lights puncturing a dark and oaky room. Immersed in its cavity, few clues give it away that you’re in the heart of what is ultimately a shopping centre. Inside it’s groovy but in a manner that is quite the opposite of Austin Powers. It’s all about the microsalads and tuna-belly rolls; it even has a menu that is based on the ‘five elements of Chinese philosophy’ (as opposed to, say, the pre-Socratic five elements) and waiters offer pearls of Confucian, sometimes Taoist, wisdom to those who care to ask. Actually I made that bit up. The new year has just fallen; it’s the Year of the Sheep. I pity anybody born in such a year (a time that apparently makes them shy,

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indecisive and weak-willed) who tries to tackle this menu. That said, the food does blow your socks off, or at the very least forms a delightful breeze around the elastic. Snooty types may scorn the wanton use of caviar, goldleaf and truffle on the dim sum; they may sneer at the dryice smoke that enrobes the sashimi platter; and they will certainly scoff at the melting globe of chocolate that had cocooned a block of vanilla ice cream. These people have no soul. Or at least were never four years old. That it all does work comes as no surprise when you hear that it’s part of Eddie Lim’s restaurant group (which owns our local Mango Tree) and is overseen by Ian Pengelley, the man who brought the delights of E&O to Notting Hill before I’d even left school. That’s not to say the place doesn’t have its own idiosyncratic set of follies. First, the menu often strays into silly-money territory (£400 for two with wine is a lot). Second, it runs risks conflating luxury ingredients with peerless cooking. Finally, a closing time of 8pm will surely cut the restaurant off from a large portion of potential custom. That said, however, if money is an abstract notion to you, and the filly on your arm wants a surprise, take her to this Willy-Wonkerish house of panAsian wonders – just remember to eat quickly. 87-135 Brompton Road, 020 3819 8888 (chaiwu.co.uk)

B E L G R AV I A R E S I D E N T S ’ J O U R N A L

DRINKING & DINING

RECIPE

Pro

Shay Cooper, head chef at The Goring, teaches Belgravia’s kitchen wannabes how to cook like the professionals

Sea bream tartar Serves 4 Ingredients: Lemon oil: 45g lemon zest, microplaned 100ml olive oil Cure: 100g Maldon salt 200g sugar Zest of 1 lime

Tartar mix: 500g cured sea bream 150g pickled fennel 18ml lemon oil Zest of 2 limes 4g salt 10 twists of black pepper 1tsp crème fraîche

Pickled vegetables: 100ml water 100g sugar 100ml Chardonnay vinegar 1 bulb of fennel 1 cucumber

The Journal’s top five culinary tips: 1. Don’t crowd your tray when roasting vegetables; the fewer in there, the greater the roast. 2. If you want to cook rabbit at home, be sure not to overcook it – it’s very lean. Braise the meat and balance the leanness with a fatty sauce. 3. You can use oats like you would any other grain in cooking. They’re not just for breakfast. 4. Ginger is best peeled with a spoon. 5. Slice avocados in their skins.

• To make the lemon oil, mix the lemon zest with the olive oil and warm gently in a pan. Leave to cool and infuse for 1-2 hours, then pass through a fine sieve to remove the zest. • Fillet the sea bream, remove the pin-bones and skin the fillet. • Make the cure mix by combining the salt, sugar and lime zest together and rub the mixture over the fillets and leave for 1½ hours. • Next, bring the water, sugar and vinegar to the boil for the pickling liquor. • Dice the fennel and pour the hot liquor over and allow to cool. Dice the cucumber and add to the cold pickle liquor. • Wash the sea bream, pat dry and dice. Then combine the fish with 150g of the pickled fennel, the cucumber, 18ml lemon oil, the zest of 2 limes and salt and pepper and add a little crème fraîche to taste. • To serve, spoon into a ring and garnish with croutons. At The Goring we serve this dish with a lemon purée made by cooking lemon skins until tender and blending them.

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HEALTH AND WELLBEING

On the

couch

Henry Hopwood-Phillips admits he has a problem and visits a shrink...

am being sandwiched by a famous Stealers Wheel lyric. I have ‘clowns to the left of me, jokers to my right, here I am stuck in the middle’, well with myself actually. No, I have not finally lost my marbles. In fact, I’m training with them at the behest of Raechel Horowitz, who was certainly a model in another life. She is moving me about the room, telling Raechel Horowitz me to ‘move between my selves.’ I sniff for a trace of whatever she’s smoking but the air’s clean. If I move to my right, I am encouraged to become my ‘protector self’, embodying my desire to, in my own words ‘mediate, get between Henry and the raw experience. It’s what keeps Henry professional.’ I feel the need to justify its existence against the opposite I know she’ll make me play in a few minutes. ‘Henry needs this distance because it imparts stability, and a personality needs coherence,’ I remind Raechel. Back from being a delusional Caesar, referring to myself in the third person, I silently reflect on the great act of schizophrenia that Raechel has fomented. ‘Don’t forget what you’ve just done. Too many people indulge in their sides only to ignore them again. Store it in your consciousness,’ she urges. Back on my ‘being’ side, the opposite of Mr Protector, I’m similar to Raechel herself – a stoicism-lite emerges. ‘We’re focusing on your defensive side and its opposite today,’ she explains. But there are many poles of the self to explore. I put my dubious face on and ask what her medical expertise is – what right does this American have to peddle holistic hocus pocus? ‘Well, I’m not American,’ she answers with a smile. Honestly, she sounds American.

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She’s actually Danish and South African. ‘I just lived in the States for a decade of schooling.’ Quite apart from her origins, Raechel is a whizz-kid in all things psychological. Her first degree was in criminology and psychology, a stint at the Home Office followed. A postgraduate diploma in psychology ended with an even more helpful spell at a maximum security hospital in South Africa. ‘There I ran risk assessments, co-facilitated therapy sessions and gave classes on drugs. It was phenomenal; I soaked up every minute,’ she enthuses. Raechel didn’t stop there, however. After working with juvenile sex offenders, victims of sexual assault and domestic violence in New York, she moved back to London to do a Masters in psychology. But illness hit. A heart condition left her depressed and on medication. ‘I felt I was losing my way. I had gathered encyclopaedic amounts of knowledge but had lost my cause,’ she recollects.

Raechel is a whizz-kid in all things psychological ‘It was voice dialogue therapy that saved me from falling any further. Immediately I started to respect what is considered “holistic” in “tick-list circles”.’ Raechel doesn’t deny the need for tick-lists; they are important to clinicians, ‘but we mustn’t omit all the ways people operate because of them,’ she protests. Now, having been trained by a mentor with 30 years’ experience, and having embarked on several trips to worldacknowledged experts on voice dialogue therapy, Raechel hopes to flip her mini-tragedy into a happy ending for anybody who is brave enough to try it. Not that it requires much bravery; she’s neither a patronising shrink nor a bullish blue stocking – in fact, she’s one of the few people I’d disclose ‘my selves’ to. raechelhorowitz.co.uk

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TRAVEL

Great British Escape

A Surrey

Retreat Henry Hopwood-Phillips escapes to the country for a foodie stay to remember

t’s a cold and rainy day. I’m 34 miles from Charing Cross. Not even zone six stretches out here. And the distance feels further, because the buildings are marooned in 123 acres of parkland. It’s necessary to flag the plural (‘buildings’). This is an assortment. Having passed the England rugby union training camp that stands in the grounds; an unapologetic (and unfortunately unforgettable) cuboid, my companion and I play a game of guessing in which era parts of the hotel were built. The core is a 19th-century manor house. This is no cliquey boutique; in fact, it’s the nearest thing I’ve encountered in Britain to a resort. With eight swimming pools split between the 45,000sq ft spa and outdoor area, not to mention a nine-hole golf course beyond, this is a set-up that’s more familiar on the continent than land this side of la Manche. It all feels slightly surreal and it’s not easy to pin down why. Perhaps it’s the rugby team’s presence. Maybe it’s the ubiquitous smart-casual men who seem existentially pitched mid-way between a business trip and a jolly. It might be the décor that drunkenly veers between Tudor resplendence, chic voluptuousness and nondescript corporate. Whatever the issue, it certainly hasn’t stopped the hotel gaining a celebrity following, including Russell Crowe and several James Bonds. The suite is in one of the modern wings. Its red brick walls contrast awkwardly with the would-be-grand oils

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that show a muddle of creepy paintings. Inside, the curtains are drawn for a reason – the view is a glum mix of walls and tiles. The shades of colour seem to have been inspired by a motelmeets-boudoir theme that leaves one feeling cheap Michael Wignall and sleazy. On a lighter note, the bathroom with its walkin shower, stand-alone bath and millions of mod-cons looks the part. And the spa, in spite of failing to sell me swimwear for 40 minutes because staff could not access the safe, deserves its accolades. Although I’m not sure I was a fan of the underwater music which was, at some points, indistinguishable from nattering dolphins. It’s the Latymer that really redeems the place. Run by ‘the best chef you’ve never heard of’ according to Olive magazine, Michael Wignall is that unusual creature: a toprank chef with very little media presence. He was almost a BMX rider in another life, before he decided to train under the legendary northern chef Paul Heathcote MBE (who was himself a protégé of Raymond Blanc OBE) at Broughton Park. His arrival at Pennyhill Park in 2007 resulted in five AA rosettes half a decade later and a second Michelin star in 2013. The meal is one of the best of my life. Tasting menus can be hit and miss, techniques can trump ideas, limp foams can ruin good food, spherification can homogenise an otherwise superb dish, but Michael cannot abide such faffing. ‘It’s important not to go over the top with modernity. I would never compromise combinations of taste and texture.’ Backed by Ali Rasouli Nia, a top notch GermanIranian sommelier, on the floor, who pairs our dishes with a peerless Riesling auslese – sweet when young, and when aged often retaining the same flavours but in a dry manner. Pennyhill Park Hotel, London Road, Bagshot, Surrey, GU19 5EU, 01276 486 156 (pennyhillpark.co.uk)

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Beauty &Grooming Beauty on your doorstep from Rhea Papanicolaou-Frangista & Farrah Hamid, the experts at Prettly

Davines: Oi Milk and Oi Candle

This Italian haircare range combines modern hair technology in beautiful shampoo and conditioner packaging. The offer in March is for a complimentary candle when you buy two Davines products at Duck & Dry. £14.50 for Oi Milk, available at Duck & Dry (duckanddry.com)

Nails Inc: VVB by Victoria Beckham Finally available in stores, Victoria Beckham’s chic nail duo in Bamboo White and Judo Red is perfect for an understated-yet-stylish mother. £45 for duo, available at Harvey Nichols and Nails Inc (nailsinc.com), (harveynichols.com)

Prettly: Gift Cards Treat your mum to a luxurious manicure and pedicure in the comfort of her own home with these useful gift cards from Prettly. Manicure from £25, gift cards from £10 (prettly.com)

Beauty gifts for

Mum

Mothering Sunday is on 15 March so we’ve rounded up our favourite finds – all easily accessible in Belgravia

Aurelia Skincare: Firm & Revitalise Dry Body Oil This super nourishing body oil has a blend of neroli, lavender, rose and mandarin, combined with antioxidant-rich bio-organic botanicals. £48 for 100ml, available at Aurelia and SpaceNK. (aureliaskincare.com), (uk.spacenk.com)

New ducks on Rhea and Farrah visit Duck & Dry hair salon to find out more about the blow-dry phenomenon

ondon is no stranger to blow-dry bars – in fact, the capital has established itself as a hair Mecca since the trend took off with our neighbours across the pond in New York and Los Angeles. The latest to settle in the area is Duck & Dry, founded by Yulia Rorstrom. The new King’s Road salon is quickly gaining a loyal customer base among Belgravians and across London as a whole. Celebrities from Amanda Wakeley to Millie Mackintosh have already popped in for the salon’s signature blow-dry and updo treatments. Yulia Rorstrom, who dreamt up everything from the chic brand to the beautiful interior design of the salon, sits down with us to provide her take on hair trends, running a new business in London and what’s popular for women of all ages. What inspired you to open Duck & Dry? I used to work in finance and management consulting, but always wanted to create something of my own. However, I needed to find the right idea and establish it at the right time. Whilst I was travelling a lot in the US, I observed that the blow-dry bar industry was very developed and that though we did have blow-dry bars in London, no one was properly leading the market. I wanted something that would appeal to all ages and, more importantly, stand out from the crowd. What makes Duck & Dry special? Duck & Dry is not just about great hair styles, but the experience. It’s a fun, social, buzzy place to relax and to just enjoy yourself. You can have good coffee, a glass of Prosecco and bring a group of friends with you to get ready before a night out. Plus, we’re not just a blow-dry bar – we’re an updo bar too. I really love putting my hair

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the block

up, and wanted to make this more accessible to people of all ages, whether it’s for a special occasion, or just a pick-me-up. We didn’t want updos to be a two-hour affair – at Duck & Dry you can spend 30-35 minutes and get something quick, affordable and beautiful. What are your top tips for skincare and haircare? Sleep! Even running a business and having just had a baby I try my best to make sure I get at least seven hours of sleep per night as I find it’s essential. For skincare, I don’t use many anti-wrinkle products, instead I focus on the hydration aspect. Haircare-wise, it’s important to have regular treatments above and beyond the shampoos and conditioners. We could all use a hydrating and nourishing mask every now and then – even a really quick one can make a big difference. What are some of the most popular hair styles at the salon? Right now, it’s all about braids. People love our Brazen Braids halo looks as well as the Grecian chic looks. Our creative director Snowden Hill is constantly reminding me that braids are bang on trend for SS15. With spring slowly but surely approaching, he firmly believes that there’s no better way to get long hair off your back. Do you have any plans for Mother’s Day? We’re hosting a fun pop-up that entire weekend [14 and 15 March] with Aurelia Skincare who will be providing mini-facials and make-up sessions, along with our blow-dries of course. Pre-booking is advisable but all are welcome to drop in. Duck & Dry at 335 - 337 King’s Road, SW3 5ES, 020 3489 9370 (duckanddry.com)

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The Belgravia

Directory

A compendium of the area’s key establishments

Estate Agents Ayrton Wylie 16 Lower Belgrave Street 020 7730 4628

Douglas Lyons & Lyons 33 Kinnerton Street 020 7235 7933

Knight Frank Lettings 82-83 Chester Square 020 7881 7730

Savills 139 Sloane Street 020 7730 0822

Best Gapp & Cassells 81 Elizabeth Street 020 7730 9253

Harrods Estates 82 Brompton Road 020 7225 6506

Knight Frank Sales 47 Lower Belgrave Street 020 7881 7722

Strutt & Parker 66 Sloane Street 020 7235 9959

Chesterton Belgravia 31 Lowndes Street 020 7235 3530

Henry & James 1 Motcomb Street 020 7235 8861

Marler & Marler 6 Sloane Street 020 7235 9641

W A Ellis 174 Brompton Road 020 7306 1600

Cluttons 84 Bourne Street 020 7730 0303

John D Wood 48 Elizabeth Street 020 7824 7900

Rokstone 5 Dorset Street 020 7580 2030

Wellbelove Quested 160 Ebury Street 020 7881 0880

Food & Drink BARS

CAFÉS

Amaya Halkin Arcade, Motcomb Street 020 7823 1166

Tomtom Coffee House 114 Ebury Street 020 7730 1771

The Garden Room (cigar) The Lanesborough Hyde Park Corner 020 7259 5599

PUBLIC HOUSES/ DINING ROOMS

The Library Bar (wine) The Lanesborough Hyde Park Corner 020 7259 5599

RESTAURANTS The Pantechnicon 10 Motcomb Street 020 7730 6074 thepantechnicon.com

Motcombs 26 Motcomb Street 020 7235 6382 motcombs.co.uk

The Orange 37 Pimlico Road 020 7881 9844 theorange.co.uk

The Thomas Cubitt 44 Elizabeth Street 020 7730 6060 thethomascubitt.co.uk

Uni 18a Ebury Street 020 7730 9267 restaurantuni.com

DENTIST

DOCTOR

HAIR SALONS

SPA

The Beresford Clinic 2 Lower Grosvenor Place 020 7821 9411

The Belgrave Medical Centre 13 Pimlico Road 020 7730 5171

The Daniel Galvin Jr. Salon 4a West Halkin Street 020 7245 1050

ARCHITECTS/ DESIGN

CLEANING

GALLERIES

Kudu Services

88 Gallery 86-88 Pimlico Road 020 7730 2728

Health & Beauty

Grace Belgravia 11c West Halkin Street 020 7235 8900 gracebelgravia.com

Home ANTIQUES Bennison 16 Holbein Place 020 7730 8076 Patrick Jefferson 69 Pimlico Road 020 7730 6161

Weldon Walshe 20 Grosvenor Place 020 7235 4100

Discreet, confidential cleaning services for offices and homes of distinction

27 Mortimer Street 020 8704 5988 kuduservices.co.uk

Gallery 25 26 Pimlico Road 020 7730 7516

Fashion BOUTIQUES Philip Treacy 69 Elizabeth Street 020 7730 3992

Herve Leger 29 Lowndes Street 020 7201 2590

Christian Louboutin 23 Motcomb Street 020 7245 6510

EXCLUSIVE

IT SUPPORT

Nevena Couture (clients by appointment only)

Lowndes Street 020 3539 8738 nevena.co.uk

Services BANKS Duncan Lawrie Private Banking 1 Hobart Place 020 7245 1234 duncanlawrie.com

SOLICITORS Child & Child 14 Grosvenor Crescent 020 7235 8000 childandchild.co.uk

The Caledonian Club 9 Halkin Street 020 7235 5162 caledonianclub.com

FLORISTS Catherine Muller 53 Elizabeth Street 020 7259 0196 catherinemuller.com

Dashwood Solutions Contact Jonny Hyam for all your IT needs 07787 507 407

POST OFFICE Post Office 6 Eccleston Street 0845 722 3344

Psychotherapy Suzanne Thomas DHC MRes, Hypnotherapist / Psychotherapist 07770 378791 suzannethomas@ suzannethomas.co.uk suzannethomas.co.uk

TRAVEL Passepartout Homes Ltd 020 7513 2876 passepartout-homes.com info@passepartout-homes.com

Speciality Shops CIGAR SPECIALIST Tomtom Cigars 63 Elizabeth Street 020 7730 1790

BOOKS Belgravia Books 59 Ebury Street 020 7259 9336 belgraviabooks.com

CONFECTIONERS Peggy Porschen 116 Ebury Street 020 7730 1316 Pierre Hermé Paris 13 Lowndes Street 020 7245 0317 Rococo Chocolates 5 Motcomb Street 020 7245 0993

B E L G R AV I A R E S I D E N T S ’ J O U R N A L

DELI La Bottega 25 Eccleston Street 020 7730 2730

JEWELLERS De Vroomen 59 Elizabeth Street 020 7730 1901 VICKISARGE 38 Elizabeth Street 020 7259 0202

Elizabeth Gage 5 West Halkin Street 020 7823 0100 eg@elizabeth-gage.com elizabeth-gage.com

NEWSAGENT

Mayhew Newsagents 15 Motcomb Street 020 7235 5770 Mayhew Newsagents is a local Belgravian institution. As well as supplying the area with national and international newspapers and magazines, it provides an extensive range of stationery, computer supplies and postal services. Opening times: Monday to Friday 7am-6pm, Saturday 8am-2pm, Sunday 8am-1pm

Local delivery service available

PERFUMERIES Floris 147 Ebury Street 020 7730 0304 florislondon.com

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With 600 offices globally, we put your property within the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reach.

Savills Sloane Street 139 Sloane Street SW1X 9AY 020 7730 0822 sloanestreet@savills.com

Savills Knightsbridge 188 Brompton Road SW3 1HQ 020 7581 5234 knightsbridge@savills.com

savills.co.uk

SA81012 Belgravia Residents Journal Global Reach WPB.indd 1

16/02/2015 11:56

savills.co.uk

1 STUNNING FAMILY RESIDENCE LOCATED IN THE HEART OF BELGRAVIA off belgrave square, sw1 Double entrance hall ø 2 drawing rooms ø dining room ø cinema ø study ø kitchen and breakfast room ø 6 bedrooms suites ø wine cellar ø gym ø swimming pool ø roof garden ø garaging ø 910 sq m (9,803 sq ft) ø EPC=C Guide £42.5 million Leasehold, approximately 120 years remaining

11:56

Savills Sloane Street Noel De Keyzer ndekeyzer@savills.com

020 7730 0822

savills.co.uk

NEWLY REFURBISHED LATERAL FLAT IN THIS PRESTIGIOUS GARDEN SQUARE chester square, sw1 Entrance hall ø reception room ø dining room ø kitchen ø master bedroom suite ø 2 further bedroom suites ø guest cloakroom ø secure parking ø lift ø porter ø 150 sq m (1,618 sq ft) ø EPC=B

Guide £4.95 million Leasehold

Savills Sloane Street Christian Warman cgwarman@savills.com

020 7730 0822

A BRIGHT AND CHARMING APARTMENT WITH BEAUTIFUL VIEWS OVER EATON SQUARE GARDENS eaton square, sw1 Entrance hall ø reception room ø kitchen/breakfast room ø 2 bedroom suites ø guest cloakroom ø lift ø porter ø 156 sq m (1,682 sq ft) ø Grade II listed

Guide £3.95 million Leasehold

Savills Sloane Street Tom Wilson twilson@savills.com

020 7730 0822

savills.co.uk

LETTINGS LAYOUT ONLY

STYLISH SECOND FLOOR APARTMENT CLOSE TO SLOANE SQUARE cadogan gardens, sw3 3 bedrooms ø reception room ø dining room ø kitchen ø 2 bathrooms ø balcony ø lift ø 163 sq m (1,758 sq ft) ø Council Tax=H ø EPC=D

Savills Sloane Street Verity Comber vcomber@savills.com

020 7824 9005 Furnished £2,750 per week + £276 inc VAT one-off admin fee and other charges may apply* *£36 inc VAT for each additional tenant/occupant/guarantor reference where required. Inventory check out fee – charged at the end of or early termination of the tenancy and the amount is dependent on the property size and whether furnished/unfurnished. For more details, visit www.savills.co.uk/fees.

KnightFrank.co.uk

Ebury Square, Belgravia SW1

Luxury apartment in exclusive new development Spacious two bedroom apartment with 24 hour concierge and underground parking. Master bedroom with en suite bathroom and dressing room, further double bedroom with en suite shower room, reception room, kitchen, utility room, guest cloakroom, 2 balconies. EPC rating B. Approximately 164.6 sq m ﴾1772 sq ft﴿ Available furnished

Belgravia Lettings KnightFrank.co.uk/lettings belgravialettings@knightfrank.com 020 3641 6006

Guide price £3500 per week ﴾BEQ213444﴿ All potential tenants should be advised that, as well as rent, an administration fee of £276 will apply when renting a property. Please ask us for more information about other fees that may apply or visit KnightFrank.co.uk/tenantcharges

5, 1 Ebury Square - Belgravia Residents Journal - Feb

17/02/2015 14:57:17

KnightFrank.co.uk

Eaton Terrace, Belgravia SW1

Six bedroom townhouse with double garage This stucco fronted Grade II listed corner house is at the favoured Northern end of Eaton Terrace, conveniently located close to Sloane Square. 3 bedrooms suites, 3 further bedrooms, 2 further bathrooms, kitchen, dining room, entrance hallway, utility room, roof terrace, double garage, storage vaults. Approximately 395 sq m ﴾4,254 sq ft﴿ Freehold

KnightFrank.co.uk/belgravia belgravia@knightfrank.com 020 3641 5910

Guide price: £8,750,000 ﴾BGV100034﴿

BRJ March 2015 - 15 Eaton Terrace -crops

09/02/2015 13:53:00

BURTON MEWS, BELGRAVIA SW1W BURTON MEWS, BELGRAVIA SW1W BURTON MEWS, BELGRAVIA SW1W

£6,750,000 FREEHOLD £6,750,000 FREEHOLD £6,750,000 FREEHOLD

• TWO RECEPTION ROOMS • KITCHEN • SEPARATE DINING AREA • THREE DOUBLE BEDROOMS • • TWO RECEPTION ROOMS • KITCHEN • SEPARATE DINING AREA • THREE DOUBLE BEDROOMS • • PRIVATE PATIO• •KITCHEN GARAGE •AND PRIVATE MEWSAREA PARKING SPACE • EPC DBEDROOMS • • TWO RECEPTION ROOMS SEPARATE DINING • THREE DOUBLE • • PRIVATE PATIO • GARAGE AND PRIVATE MEWS PARKING SPACE • EPC D • • PRIVATE PATIO • GARAGE AND PRIVATE MEWS PARKING SPACE • EPC D •

BELGRAVIA OFFICE BELGRAVIA OFFICE BELGRAVIA OFFICE 1 Motcomb Street, London SW1X 8JX

1 Motcomb Street, London SW1X 8JX +44 (0)20 7235 8861 Street, belgraviaoffice@henryandjames.co.uk 1 Motcomb London SW1X 8JX +44 (0)20 7235 8861 belgraviaoffice@henryandjames.co.uk +44 (0)20 7235 8861 belgraviaoffice@henryandjames.co.uk

henryandjames.co.uk henryandjames.co.uk henryandjames.co.uk

BURTON MEWS, BELGRAVIA SW1W WILLIAM BURTON STREE, MEWS, KNIGHTSBRIDGE BELGRAVIA SW1W SW1X BURTON MEWS, BELGRAVIA SW1W

£6,750,000 FREEHOLD £6,750,000 £2,100 PER WEEK £6,750,000 FREEHOLD FREEHOLD

• TWO RECEPTION ROOMS • KITCHEN • SEPARATE DINING AREA • THREE DOUBLE BEDROOMS • • TWO • LATERAL RECEPTION FLAT •ROOMS 2,129 SQ • KITCHEN FT • THIRD • SEPARATE FLOOR WITH DINING LIFTAREA • THREE • THREE DOUBLE DOUBLE BEDROOMS BEDROOMS • • • PRIVATE PATIO• •KITCHEN GARAGE •AND PRIVATE MEWSAREA PARKING SPACE • EPC DBEDROOMS • • TWO RECEPTION ROOMS SEPARATE DINING • THREE DOUBLE • • TWO •RECEPTION PRIVATE PATIO ROOMS • GARAGE • KITCHEN/BREAKFAST AND PRIVATE MEWS ROOM PARKING • WOODSPACE FLOORS • EPC • EPC D• F• • PRIVATE PATIO • GARAGE AND PRIVATE MEWS PARKING SPACE • EPC D •

PLUS £240 ADMINISTRATION FEE AND £60 REFERENCING FEE PER PERSON BELGRAVIA OFFICE BELGRAVIA OFFICE BELGRAVIA OFFICE BELGRAVIA OFFICE 1 Motcomb Street, London SW1X 8JX

1 Motcomb Street, London SW1X 8JX 1 Motcomb Street, London SW1X 8JX +44 (0)20 7235 8861 Street, belgraviaoffice@henryandjames.co.uk 1 Motcomb London SW1X 8JX +44 (0)20 7235 8861 +44 (0)20 7235 8861 belgraviaoffice@henryandjames.co.uk belgraviaoffice@henryandjames.co.uk +44 (0)20 7235 8861 belgraviaoffice@henryandjames.co.uk

henryandjames.co.uk henryandjames.co.uk henryandjames.co.uk henryandjames.co.uk

Ebury Square, Belgravia, SW1W A stunning brand newly refurbished and interior designed apartment in this exclusive new development featuring a private resident’s gym, secure underground parking and a 24 hour Harrods concierge service. The accommodation of approximately 1743 sq. ft. comprises two double bedroom suites with ensuite bathrooms, reception room with balcony overlooking the square’s gardens, and eat in kitchen. Available immediately for long term lets on a furnished basis. EPC rating B.

Price per week: £3,500 Property Fees: £180 Admin & £180 Checkout. References: £42 per person *http://www.harrodsestates.com/tenants

020 7225 6602 Karen.boland@harrodsestates.com

KNIGHTSBRIDGE OFFICE: 82 BROMPTON ROAD LONDON SW3 1ER T: +44 020 7225 6506 MAYFAIR OFFICE: 61 PARK LANE LONDON W1K 1QF T: +44 020 7409 9001 CHELSEA OFFICE: 58 FULHAM ROAD LONDON SW3 6HH T: +44 (0) 20 7225 6700 HARRODSESTATES.COM

EBURY STREET, BELGRAVIA, SW1W A stunning three bedroom apartment on the raised ground floor of this portered building in Belgravia. The property has been refurbished to a very high standards and offers approximately 1636 sq. ft. of elegant accommodation with wooden flooring throughout. There is a spacious reception room / dining area, kitchen, master bedroom with ensuite and dressing room, further two bedrooms and bathroom. Ebury Street is located within walking distance of all amenities of Hyde Park Corner and Victoria. Available now for long term let on furnished basis. EPC rating C. Price per week: £1,650 Property Fees: £180 Admin & £210 Checkout. References: £42 per person *http://www.harrodsestates.com/tenants

020 7225 6602 Karen.boland@harrodsestates.com

Parkside

Knightsbridge SW1X

A stunning, 4th floor apartment in this well run period building in the heart of Knightsbridge. The property was totally refurbished & has been extremely well maintained by the present owners & has glorious uninterrupted views of Hyde Park, 24 hour porterage, air conditioning & a balcony. Parkside is well located for Harrods, Hyde Park & the internationally renowned boutiques of Sloane Street. Comprising 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, large double reception room, kitchen, utility room & guest cloakroom. EPC rating D

chestertons.com

ÂŁ8,500,000 share of freehold

Knightsbridge & Belgravia

020 7235 8090 sales.knightsbridge@chestertons.com

Eaton Mews North

Belgravia SW1X

An exceptionally charming 3 bedroom house situated on the north side of this very popular & well maintained private cobbled mews in Belgravia. Eaton Mews North is arguably the most popular mews in Belgravia, the location being situated between the two historic addresses of Eaton Place & Eaton Square. The house benefits from private mews parking & air conditioning. Comprising 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2 reception rooms, kitchen/breakfast room, guest cloakroom & private mews parking. EPC rating E

price on application freehold

Knightsbridge & Belgravia

020 7235 8090 sales.knightsbridge@chestertons.com

estate agents, surveyors and property consultants 81 Elizabeth Street, Eaton Square, London SW1W 9PG tel: 020 7730 9253 Fax: 020 7730 8212 email: reception@bestgapp.co.uk

www.bestgapp.co.uk Over 100 years experience in Belgravia

EATON PLACE,south, SW1 eaton mews sw1e

**Entrance HallHall Reception **Drawing Room Reception Room with Balcony Rebuilt to exacting standards three ago, views this isover an exceptional south facing A well presented ground floor flat withyears fabulous private gardens to the rearmews **Kitchen Kitchen/Breakfast Room Bedrooms housethe arranged from drawing over room.four floors, with spacious and well laid out accommodation, roof **2Master Bedroom Suite **Shower RoomBedroom Suites terrace garage and off street parking. Two Further **Porter Integral Garage * Roof Terrace

Freehold approximately 31 Years Leasehold

ÂŁ5,950,000 ÂŁ1,750,000

BASiL STREET SW3 S loa npresented e S tthree re e t flatSinW An immaculately bedroom this 1 beautifully maintained mansion building in the heart of Knightsbridge. The building isrefurbished ideally located Harrods andon the shops and The restaurants of from the area, and moments from Knightsbridge A meticulously flat in afor popular building Sloane Street. flat benefits 24 hour porterage, easy access to Harrods underground station. and all the amenities of Knightsbridge. ThreeDouble Bedrooms • Three Bedrooms Two En Bathrooms Suite Bathrooms

■

■ • Three ■ ■

Reception Room Kitchen/Breakfast Room

• Guest Cloakroom • Reception Room

Entrance• Kitchen Hall/Dining Area Loft Storage • Lift Area ■ Porter ■ Lift ■ ■

£4,750,000 Subject to Contract Leasehold (987 years remaining) £3,300,000 Subject to Contract

• 24 hour Porter • EE Rating C

■ ■

1397 sq ft • 1,543 sq ft EE rating E

Share of Freehold

The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings

Drawing of St Dunstan-in-the-West by SPAB Scholar Ptolomy Dean

Founded by William Morris, the SPAB protects the historic environment from decay, damage and demolition. It responds to threats to old buildings, trains building professionals, craftspeople, homeowners and volunteers and gives advice about maintenance and repairs. Since 1877 countless buildings have been saved for future generations.

Information about maintaining your home is available through events, courses, lectures, publications and telephone advice. To support our work why not join the SPAB? Members receive a quarterly magazine, our list of historic properties for sale and access to our regional activities.

www.spab.org.uk 020 7377 1644 A charitable company limited by guarantee registered in England & Wales. Company no: 5743962 Charity no: 1113753 37 Spital Square, London E1 6DY

cadogan square, KNIGHTSBRIDGE SW1X This is a rare opportunity to acquire a very special and beautifully presented 3 bedroom, lateral penthouse apartment with a lift, in Cadogan Square. The reception has been designed with family living in mind. Its spacious open-plan layout is perfectly complemented by the contemporary / eclectic design style and creates a versatile and informal space. The property comprises of 3 stunning bedrooms, two of which benefit from en suite bath/shower rooms, a further study or bedroom, guest cloakroom, bathroom, dining room, reception and separate kitchen. Located on the top floor, this fantastic apartment benefits from far-reaching views, a resident porter, lift access, communal areas which have recently been renovated to a very high standard and a long leasehold tenure.

PRICE ON APPLICATION »»3 Bedrooms (2 en suite) »»Bespoke kitchen with Miele appliances »»The latest Lutron QS professional lighting »»Comfort heating to all principle rooms »»Intruder detection system »»Spacious open-plan layout »»Leasehold 126 years remaining »»2,084 sq ft

33 Kinnerton Street, London, SW1X 8ED

Queens Gate

£2,495,000

Freehold

A well-proportioned and excellently presented raised ground floor flat in one of Central London’s most popular streets, conveniently located very close to Gloucester road and South Kensington tube stations, and a short walk to Hyde Park. This recently refurbished and spacious property, with high ceilings throughout, also has the benefit of its own private Westfacing terrace. 2 Double bedrooms - Bathroom - Shower room - Reception room - High ceilings throughout - Hallway - Kitchen West-facing private terrace

William Mews

£1,500 per week Furnished / unfurnished*

Long let

A beautifully presented 3 bedroom mews house with private patio and garage. Located in a quiet mews just off Lowndes Square, 2 minutes walking distance to Knightsbridge Tube and Hyde Park, and a little further to Harrods and all the shops and amenities of the Brompton Road and Sloane Street. 3 Bedrooms - 2 Bathrooms - Reception Room - Kitchen - Patio - Garage

*We will make an initial one-off tenancy agreement charge of £250 inc Vat per tenancy plus £35 inc Vat reference charger per tenant. Inventory check out fee charged dependant on size of the property.

Tel 020 7235 7933 Email enquiries@dll.uk.com Web www.dll.uk.com

www.ayrtonwylie.com +44 (0) 20 7730 4628 (Sales)

EATON SQUARE, SW1

A charming one bedroom flat located at the rear of this prestigious stucco fronted building on the fourth floor (with lift) in Eaton Square. The property is spacious and bright and benefits from a south-west facing terrace. 828 sq ft / 76.92 sq m

ACCOMMODATION AND AMENITIES

Reception Room • Kitchen • Study Area • Double Bedroom with En Suite Bathroom • Terrace • Lift • Porter • Use of Square Gardens and Tennis Court

LEASE 125 YEARS £2,250,000 16 Lower Belgrave Street, Belgravia, London SW1W 0LN

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sales@ayrtonwylie.com

16/02/2015 12:26

facebook.com/struttandparker twitter.com/struttandparker

struttandparker.com

Belgrave Place, SW1X

A magnificent first floor lateral apartment converted across two period buildings in prime Belgravia.

ÂŁ9,450,000 Leasehold

Knightsbridge 020 7235 9959 james.forbes@struttandparker.com

West Eaton Place, SW1X

An impressive first and second floor maisonette with high ceilings in this handsome white stucco fronted building.

ÂŁ4,500,000 Share of Freehold

Knightsbridge 020 7235 9959 Bertie.hare@struttandparker.com

facebook.com/struttandparker twitter.com/struttandparker

struttandparker.com

South Eaton Place, SW1W

A handsome stucco fronted six bedroom family house with an integral garage and large roof terrace in one of the best streets in Belgravia.

Knightsbridge 020 7235 9959 james.forbes@struttandparker.com

ÂŁ16,000,000 Freehold

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w w w. R e s i d e n t s J o u r n a l . c o . u k (020) 7987 4320

66 Sloane Street London SW1X 9SH Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7235 9959 knightsbridge@struttandparker.com struttandparker.com/christies

T???_SP_Abu Dhabi Door Ad_Belgravia RJ.indd 1

05/12/2014 11:11

BELGRAVIA Resident’s Journal w w w. R e s i d e n t s J o u r n a l . c o . u k 020 7987 4320

march 2015 • Issue 34