VICINITEE MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2010

Longitude. Latitude. Attitude.

DE C EMBER 2010

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21.10.10 16:38

Engineered

L u x u ry

Porsche Design And boys’ toys

Twinkle

twinkle

Gorgeous jewels and Christmas gifts

In proud association with

finance gadgets motoring interiors property DECEMBER 2010 i s s u e 3 8

December

from the editor...

W

elcome to the Christmas edition of vicinitee magazine.

This month’s issue is packed with features and ideas to glide you through the festive season. If you haven’t finished your Christmas shopping, don’t despair: there’s plenty of time to be inspired with our ‘his and hers’ gift guide.

This issue also includes The Royal Exchange supplement, bursting with ideas to ensure there’s something to please everyone on your list.

Features this month include Vicente Castellano, managing director of Hackett, who takes us on a journey through the brand’s past, and Claire Adler speaks to Roland Heiler, the man charged with injecting the original Porsche spirit into a growing stable of boys’ toys: from complex state-of-the-art technology to classic accessories, the creative director discusses design excellence and the launch of their first motor catamaran.

It’s a brave businessman who can steer a course between the competitive worlds of designer fashion, sustainable farming and alternative fuel;

Beverley Byrne talks to entrepreneur Roger Saul, the ex-Mulberry magnate who launched the iconic fashion label and luxury goods chain. Thirty years on, having established Charlton House Hotel in Somerset and an eco-lifestyle centre, we hear why Roger is now involved in a quest to find a viable alternative to the combustion engine!

Finally, as we hear the news that snow is imminent, why not enjoy some winter fun at the Broadgate Ice Rink? Christine Tona, events manager at Broadgate, discusses why the Arena was conceived as a focal point and how it has now become the City’s premier outdoor ice rink.

Surrounded by an array of bars and restaurants, the ice rink provides the perfect location to soak up the festive atmosphere. Skate hire and private/group lessons are available. For more information please visit www.broadgateinfo.net All that remains is to wish you a very merry Christmas from all of us here at vicinitee.

Keep reading and we’ll bring you closer to the space around you.

Richard Fischer Marketing Director Vicinitee.com

Giles Ellwood Managing Director Runwild Media

contents

interview comment

stores across London and expanding globally. But it has remained true to its original concept, maintaining a focus on vintage design in the new stores and taking design inspiration from vintage styles. From the very start, Hackett was defined by its second-hand origins, and so “Hackett keeps this quirky element in the new collections. One of our biggest inspirations”, Vicente tells me, “is from vintage pieces. We take much more inspiration from the past.”

But the fashion industry is one that is obsessed by new, newer and newest, and so, with its strong sense of heritage and focus on the past, how does Hackett remain current? “It is not about following the latest trend”, Vicente explains, “but being consistent with what the brand is, and to keep evolving and reinterpreting. Britain has evolved quite a lot. It evolves every year and London is especially dynamic in that sense. The idea is to follow and understand these changes and adapt them to Hackett.” So it seems, an understanding of the different ages of “British-ness” is part of the life force that keeps Hackett current.

“We evolve slightly each season, we try to understand what the customer wants each season, but we don’t make big changes because the Hackett customer is not looking for this.

The Hackett customer is looking for detail, quality, craftsmanship, service; it is all about an experience. It is not about setting the trend each season.

That isn’t Hackett, and that is not our customer,” Vicente says.

So who is the Hackett customer?

Hackett’s branding exudes a strong sense of British-ness that veers between a suave, James Bond-like cool, and a playful English boarding school of bygone era. as Vicente points out, perhaps one becomes the other: after all “we don’t see James Bond at boarding school, because Ian Fleming didn’t write about it.” So, to some extent, we have the two ages of James Bond, and in a similar way, Vicente tells me, the Hackett customer is divided into two groups, the two ages of man, as such. On the one hand, there are professionals, like lawyers and bankers, who need a sharp suit during the week and

if the

feature 8 Engineered Luxury

Fits

Roland Heiler tells us about Porsche

From humble beginnings in Portobello market, menswear retailer Hackett has become one of Britain’s foremost brands. In the wake of a recent collaboration with Tag Heuer and the opening of the new Canary Wharf store, Hackett MD Vicente Castellano talks to Penelope M Walsh about the past, present and future of the brand

Design’s enduring appeal and worldwide recognition for excellence

F

Even before working at Hackett, Vicente Castellano was no stranger to its charms.

“When I was working in the stock market,” he tells me, “I used to wear a lot of Hackett and I really liked the brand”. It was while working as an analyst at Ibersecurities Inc. that first drew Vicente into the world of menswear. He specialised in the retail sector before moving to Pepe Jeans London as Licenses and International Director in 2000. Pepe Jeans London acquired Hackett from Richemont in 2005, and Vicente knew he was on to a winner. “From the beginning I understood that Hackett had big, big potential,” he recalls.

That potential had as much to do with Hackett’s past as its future, and it lay in the existing strength of the Hackett brand and its history.

“It is one of the few British brands still around and people appreciate the story behind Hackett,” Vicente explains. In fact, Hackett’s story is not simply one of several years in the trade, but of humble beginnings, unique like the brand itself.

Started by Jeremy Hackett and ashley Lloyd-Jennings in 1979, the

10 A new start Talking to Mulberry founder Roger Saul about fashion, farming and fuel

pair began hunting down secondhand pieces of traditional British gentleman’s apparel and selling on the cleaned and repaired items at a stall in Portobello market. The stall tapped into a niche but profitable market and soon became a thriving small business, with Jeremy and ashley opening their first shop in 1983.

“The history of the brand gives you a good DNa,” Vicente says. This value excited him early on: “We have something that you cannot buy. There are a lot of values in this brand that you cannot buy.” at the time of the acquisition, Hackett was beginning to lose sight of some of the elements that made it a distinct and special brand, especially the sense of “British-ness”. It was, I suggest, beginning to dilute its concept, perhaps spreading itself a little too thin. “You have to keep the vision and the backbone”, Vicente says, adding “we want to spread the word, as it were, but the goal is, as we grow, to keep the essence of the brand”. Vicente looked to re-distil Hackett’s sense of self, and as such one of his first aims was to bring Jeremy back. after all, who knows a brand better than its founder?

Moreover, Vicente felt that Hackett had “an incredible capacity to become luxury, but in a good sense, not something impossible to reach”. True, in terms of pricing, Hackett may not have the same luxury cache as a multithousand pound “IT” bag. But this is Vicente’s point. Hackett offers quality and style but is accessible, affordable, and as Vicente says, “real”. “When we arrived five years ago”, he adds, “the price was exactly the same as today, but the fabric, the craftsmanship and the design are all much better”. above all, Hackett offers something unique, something with a story and a heritage and, as such, a sense of aspiring to a certain lifestyle runs through the brand.

Since then, Hackett has gone from strength to strength, opening

something relaxed at the weekends. “and more and more”, Vicente says, “we are seeing a younger customer, who perhaps sees their parents buying Hackett, or perhaps their parents bought their first suit for them in Hackett, and from there they start to evolve into the brand.”

Hackett has just opened a new store in Canary Wharf, and for those sharpsuited bankers and lawyers, it is the perfect fit. Canary Wharf is “definitely the right place to be for us,” Vicente agrees. Hackett’s customers “work there, they shop there, so you have a good customer base from day one”.

But as Hackett knows, even the best fit needs to be tailored to the individual. as such, Hackett started with the collection, thinking about what side of Hackett would work best for the Canary Wharf customer, and focused the collection on formal wear and tailoring. “Once we had developed the collection”, Vicente says, “we designed the store to fit into the retail concept.”

“It is difficult for a brand like Hackett to translate their identity into a mall, but I think we did a good job”, Vicente comments, “the store is different enough to the rest, but still keeps our character.” Challenges included the expanse of glass and the ceilings, which were much lower than the other stores, but this issue was partly solved with mirrors to open up the space.

In collaboration with Tag Heuer, Hackett has also recently embarked on the first ever Hackett watch. “a lot of people were asking us about having a Hackett watch and from a man’s point of view, if there is one accessory that is the accessory, it is a watch”, Vicente explains. at the early stages of this project, Hackett realised that to offer their customers the best, it would be wise to team up with an already

recognised expert in this field. Vicente tells me that it was important, when looking for a brand to associate with, that “we shared something with them.” Tag Heuer was a natural fit.

“From day one it was obvious that we shared something with Tag, we saw a lot of common ground and shared vision.” Moreover, both brands had experienced a similar evolution and associations with similar sporting events. The project developed two distinct watches, a sleek smart watch for formal wear and a more casual watch for sporting occasions. available as a numbered, limited edition of 100 per design worldwide, the watches display the same sense of discreet, tasteful style characteristic of Hackett and Tag Heuer, with subtle, understated branding and Hackett’s signature blue. The watches show a strong sense of Hackett’s identity, but the fact that they do so discreetly is in itself part of the Hackett DNa. So what does the future hold for Hackett? British style, Vicente tells me, travels well, and there are plans afoot to further “spread the word”, building Hackett’s global empire at a slow and steady pace, without overexposing the brand. Plans include expansion into the US and the Middle East, with, Vicente says, deals being done, “as we speak”. “Definitely”, he says, “in the next two years we will be in a good number of countries where we are not present right now”. Watch this space. n www.hackett.com

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55 ‘Twas the night before

Christmas...

gift guide

Be inspired by The Royal Exchange’s festive Gift Guide

06

05

comment

01 04

28 If the suit fits An interview with Vicente Castellano about the past, present and future of Hackett

03

02

calibre

all that glitters Renowned as one of London’s most popular jewellery shopping destinations, especially in the run up to the festive season, the Royal Exchange boasts an incredible range of luxury boutiques including Boodles, Bulgari, Cartier, De Beers, Milleperle, Royal Exchange Jewellers, Searle & Co, Theo Fennell and Tiffany & Co. For every trinket and treasure, bauble and ornament imaginable, the Royal Exchange is the perfect place to shop for sparkling jewels and stylish costume jewellery – you’re sure to find the perfect stocking filler for your loved one here.

42 Blowing hot and cold Matthew Carter can’t make up his mind about the new Renault Wind

48 Million Pound Machinery Exclusive access to the FIA GT1 World Championship race weekend

concierge 70 Fashion Black nights: evening glamour

01

MARQUISE CLUSTER 35C DIAMOND NECKLACE

£75,000, Royal Exchange Jewellers, 0207 929 0100

02

MEN’S ‘MYSTERIEUX’ CUFFLINKS, £2,000, Bachet, 0203

03

DISCO SQUARE CUFFLINKS, £85, Tateossian, 0207

405 1437

283 3434

04

SILVER MEDIUM ‘HORNY’ ART PENDANT, £295,Theo Fennell, 0207 623 4380

05

18CT WHITE GOLD LOTUS EARRINGS, £2,400, De

06

Beers, 0207 929 2777

18CT WHITE GOLD BAROQUE SOUTH SEA PEARL RING

£3,800, Milleperle, 0207 621 1118

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61

calibre motoring

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his is the company going back to its roots. From 1909 to the early 1950s, Morgan made around 30,000 three-wheelers and many looked broadly similar to this roadster. But no Morgan trike was ever powered by anything as potent as the 100bhp 1800cc Harley Davidson V-twin cylinder engine hiding under that aluminium bonnet. The thumper drives the single back wheel via a Mazda five-speed manual gearbox.

But while it might look like a throwback to the 1930s, the new three-wheeler is a thoroughly modern machine, built using the latest techniques developed by Morgan.

The tubular frame is wrapped in what Morgan calls aluminium superformed bodywork… and the whole thing weighs just 500kg.

Hardly surprising, then, that the 0–60mph sprint will take less than 4.5 seconds, though that bluff nose and the exposed front wheels do their bit to ensure top speed is ‘only’ 115mph. Even so, you’ll need big balls to do that.

What you see is what you get. The interior is as basic as it gets, there’s no weather protection and there’s precious little in the way of safety protection – though there are a pair of rollover hoops above the seats.

The new Morgan Three-wheeler will be launched at the Geneva Motor Show in March with sales due to start in the summer at a price of around £30,000. Best of all, it’s homologated as a motorcycle, so it can used in the congestion charge zone with impunity. n

Back to the

future

This, believe it or not, is a brand new car and not an early April Fool. It’s a serious offering Matthew Carter has unearthed from the quirky British sports car maker Morgan, with sales due to start in the summer 78

82 Modern masculinity Mixing contemporary and antique office design with style

connoisseur 94 The Charm of Sharm Sun, sea and sand in Sharm el Sheikh

106 Love that wine Choosing the perfect complement for your christmas dinner

regulars 3 editor’s letter

81 interiors

30 personal finance

87 health & fitness

47 sport

93 travel

50 gadgets

105 food & drink

69 fashion

113 property

Engineered

luxury

Porsche Design has attracted more than 130 awards since it began in the 1970s.

Claire Adler speaks to Roland Heiler, the man charged with injecting the original Porsche spirit into a growing stable of boys’ toys

contributors...

RUNWILD M

E

D

I

A

G

R

O

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Editor-in-Chief Lesley Ellwood

Editorial Director Kate Harrison

Editor

Louisa Castle

1. Claire Adler is a London-based freelance journalist specialising in jewellery, watches and luxury brands. Her work has appeared in the Financial Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian and Harrods magazine.

2. Jamie Carter is a freelance journalist

specialising in gadgets and technology. Jamie has written for the likes of T3, Home Cinema Choice and The Guardian as well as a number of websites.

3. David Kuo is one of the UK’s leading commentators on money matters. He is a director at The Motley Fool as well as providing daily insight and financial news for BBC London’s Breakfast Show.

Deputy Editor Annabel Harrison

Editorial Assistants Oliver Balcazar Penelope M Walsh

Fashion Editor Lucie Dodds

Senior Designer Hiren Chandarana Laddawan Juhong

Design Assistant Ashley Lewis

4. Sim Smith is a freelance journalist and

stylist based in London. A frequent contributor to prestigious publications, Sim has worked with ELLE Decoration, The Telegraph and The Financial Times.

5. Matthew Carter is a London-based freelance journalist who’s been writing about cars for most of his working life. A former editor of Autocar magazine, he is a serial car owner.

6. Martin Bamford is one of the youngest and most successful financial planners in the UK. He runs his own firm of financial advisers – Informed Choice – and regularly contributes to various financial publications.

7. Chelsey Baker is a business advisor and life coach, she has been featured extensively in the national media as a leading entrepreneurand runs her own consultancy firm Success Media. Chelsey is a freelance journalist and motivational speaker.

8. Clare Murray is founder and managing partner of specialist law firm, CM Murray LLP. Clare and her colleagues advise a wide range of companies, professional firms and senior individuals on employment, partnership and business immigration law issues.

Production Fiona Fenwick Daniel Harris

Advertising Manager Ben Turpitt

Group Publishing Director Eren Ellwood

Project Manager Ella Kilgarriff

Managing Director Giles Ellwood

16 Heron Quay, Canary Wharf London E14 4JB T: 020 7987 4320 F: 020 7005 0045 www.runwildmedia.com

Runwild Media Ltd. cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited submissions, manuscripts and photographs. While every care is taken, prices and details are subject to change and Runwild Media Ltd. take no responsibility for omissions or errors. We reserve the right to publish and edit any letters. All rights reserved.

The REX winter supplement, p.53 Runwild Media Group Publishers of: Canary Wharf magazine The City magazine, Vicinitee VENUE – The official magazine of The O2

Subscriptions: A free online subscription service is available to vicinitee magazine, e-mail subscribe@runwildmedia.com for further details.

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16.11.10 17:16

interview

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he Porsche Design Studio was started by Ferdinand Alexander Porsche – the grandson of the founder of the Porsche sports car company Ferry Porsche – in 1972. When his family decided to keep family out of the company’s management, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche established his own industrial design company and the luxury brand, Porsche Design.

You could say Ferdinand Alexander Porsche’s career started modestly. After attending school in Stuttgart, Germany, he began studying industrial design in Ulm, but he was dismissed by an examination board that doubted his talents. In 1957, he started practical training at the body design department of his family’s car company.

It was the family tradition for every generation in the Porsche family to take part in creating a new car.

Ferdinand Alexander’s project, the original Porsche 911, was presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1963 and production began the following year.

Ferdinand Alexander channelled his gift for compelling and enduring design into the soon-to-be iconic Porsche 911 and the Porsche 904. In 1978 he teamed up with Swiss watchmaker IWC to develop a watch combining a non-magnetic automatic movement and a compass, the Kompassuhr. He retired in 2005, due to ill health, but it’s likely he is proud of what followed.

This summer Porsche Design announced record results in the USA. The current managing director and designer Roland Heiler typically leads 25 design projects at any one time, and his responsibilities include keeping alive the design philosophy of Ferdinand Alexander Porsche.

Watches have always been a mainstay of Porsche Design, though the range has spanned bathroom designs, a washing machine, furniture, knives, TVs, desk lamps (including one employing design aspects of a guillotine in its pull-out mechanism), tobacco pipes, pens made out of wire-cloth used in oil hoses for racing engines, and a grand piano.

“If you analyse the function of an object, its form often becomes obvious,” said Ferdinand Alexander Porsche.

To this day, his approach seems to be working. Of more than 130 awards Porsche Design has amassed in less than 30 years of existence, six were awarded in the last year.

A Porsche Design mobile phone and shoe collection received the iF Product Design award, while the flyback Chronograph Rattrapante limited edition scooped the Red Dot award for high quality in design.

feature

“The genius of Ferdinand Alexander Porsche is that the aesthetics always support the purpose of an instrument, rather than being a superficial styling statement,” says Heiler.

In 2008, Time magazine voted Bounce, Porsche Design’s running shoes, designed in the Porsche Design Studio in Zell am See, Austria, and sold worldwide, among the 50 best innovations of the year. In the past year in the American market, Porsche Design turnover has risen 35 per cent and since the shoes were introduced, the company has sold 15,000 pairs.

“Our customers are not only Porsche enthusiasts or Porsche drivers, but people who like our timeless, functional and purist design signature,” says Porsche Design Group CEO Juergen Gessler.

In 2011, Porsche Design plans to launch its first motor catamaran. “It looks like a spaceship on the water and exceeds all known benchmarks for a 41-metre yacht. It offers capacity for ten guests and ten crew members,” says Gessler, whose job it is to bring complex state-of-the-art technology to classic accessories. Also planned for early next year are luxury Porsche Design pens.

Still, the first product to emerge from the hands of Ferdinand Alexander Porsche was a watch. Watches have always proved to be central to the Porsche Design stable, right from the start. Why? “Having grown up in a family of engineers and automotive pioneers, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche understood well how to combine product aesthetics with perfect function and excellent craftsmanship,” says Heiler.

“A watch has a lot in common with a performance car – both feature a high level of technical complexity, both are boys’ toys. Porsche Design is about engineered luxury.”

The first watch was the all-black Chronograph I. “Inspired by the black felt of a racing car’s dashboard, the watch emphasised only the time, everything else was non-reflective – in other words, black,” says Heiler. “Rather than treating a watch as a piece of jewellery, he looked at it as an instrument of precision.”

In 1980 Porsche Design brought out the first-ever watch containing titanium – the Titan, a chronograph developed with IWC. In 2004 it introduced the first chronograph with a mechanically driven digital display, which took four years to develop.

For Porsche, watches are less pieces of jewellery and more instruments with a particular purpose, explains Heiler. “The aesthetics support the purpose rather than being a superficial styling statement. The original Porsche 911 was designed with the same approach,” says Heiler. “It’s a way of thinking.” n

9

A

new start

It’s a brave businessman who can steer a course between the competitive worlds of designer fashion, sustainable farming and alternative fuel, discovers Beverley Byrne – but entrepreneur Roger Saul has always been a fearless navigator

I

n 1971, at the age of 21, Roger Saul launched Mulberry, the iconic fashion label and luxury goods chain which defined ‘le style anglais’ and achieved success worldwide. Some 30 years later, having established the über-chic Charlton House Hotel in Somerset, he was ignominiously deposed from the company he’d created and nurtured.

Bruised but not broken, he then turned his enterprising spotlight on agriculture.

Having bought the 300-acre Sharpham Park Farm in 2004, he went on to develop a pioneering range of organic foodstuffs called Sharpham Park, and established an eco-lifestyle centre and shop at Kilver Court, formerly an old mill in Shepton Mallet. Currently, at the point at which most entrepreneurs are putting their feet up in Tuscany, this classic car enthusiast is also involved in a

quest to find a viable alternative to the combustion engine!

On the surface, Roger Saul’s commercial interests may appear oddly disparate but, as I discover when we meet at Kilver Court, they are linked by a chain of creative steel.

One of these links is hidden away behind the Mill. When Roger and his wife Monty, a former Dior fashion model, bought the premises in l996, they inherited a secret and neglected Victorian garden. For over a hundred years Kilver Court Gardens had been Somerset’s sleeping beauty, but since being rediscovered and renovated

by Roger, this grand dame of the gardening world is now open to the public and enjoying a new lease of life.

This is typical of Roger Saul’s modus operandi. Like a sculptor, his genius lies in seeing a vision of the future and, by sourcing, shaping and

enhancing the raw material, infusing it with vibrant new life. So where did it all start?

“At Clarks Shoe Factory in Somerset,” replies Roger in soft and mellifluous tones. “My father started as a trainee manager and worked his way up through the ranks. On Saturdays I always enjoyed going to work with him and roaming round this huge and very hi-tech factory. It wasn’t so much the smell of leather which impressed me so much as the hard work my father put in, his way with people and the company’s exciting new projects. When I started my business with £500, a 21st birthday present from my parents, my father was a terrific support and my mother, who had been a highpowered personal assistant, became my first partner.”

The inspiration for Mulberry

interview

started, as with all Roger’s enterprises, with a personal passion. “I loved fashion and during the late ‘60s I started collecting and wearing Victorian military uniforms, like those worn by the Beatles on the Sgt Pepper album. Soon everyone was prancing around in these jackets and I started buying and selling them in Portobello Road. I went on to work as an accessories buyer for John Michael, the ‘Fashion King of Carnaby Street’ and remember going to Bermondsey, where the London leather industry was based and all wholesale trade was conducted.

I soon realised how easy it would be to design my own accessories and start my own business.”

Roger’s talent for design subsequently reached the catwalks of Europe. “In the early ‘70s, I began designing and manufacturing accessories for top European designers.

I was in a unique position to work for them and at the same time see what inspired their colour palettes and designs. This was my apprenticeship in the fashion world and Mulberry grew from that experience.”

Surely, I suggest, losing Mulberry must have hurt? “During the l980s the brand was highly profitable, but growing fast, and we didn’t have the cash flow to support it. I was continually going to the bank, but it was the only way to grow within the market. To live this life of danger and opportunity you have to manage the fear and have balls of steel. It was the only way to get through it.”

When New Labour gave control of sterling to the Bank of England, the fixed high export rate affected Mulberry’s future. “We went from making a 10 per cent profit in our European shops to a 15 per cent loss within a year. We countered by moving 50 per cent of our manufacturing overseas and changed the structure of the business, which was debilitating. By 2000, despite being badly torpedoed, we were back in profit but we had lost millions of our capital. This meant we had to open the door to other investors and Christine Ong seemed a good bet.”

Sadly, the Singaporean billionaire proved to be Roger’s nemesis. In 2002 he was ousted after a two-year battle that culminated in his co-director failing to vote in his favour. “It was a

horrible time,” he confesses. “Monty’s father died the same weekend the coup was staged, and we found this very hard to forgive. We came out of that desperately trying to swim as they tried to take us out financially to prevent me creating another Mulberry.

I thought about it but took advice from a close friend who said, ‘Roger, you have done everything you could do with the company – don’t look back.’

When the farm came up for sale alongside the family home where Roger and Monty had brought up their three sons, it seemed a serendipitous moment. And typically, Roger took his farm in a completely alternative direction. “I knew agriculture was unviable at the time so we had to come up with another model. My sister, who’d been suffering from cancer, had discovered an alternative to wheat called spelt, which had beneficial properties. This ancient grain had a unique nutty flavour perfect for bread, biscuits and breakfast cereals and was ideal for those with wheat intolerance.

It became the cornerstone of our new organic enterprise. Now spelt is to Sharpham Park what handbags and belts were to Mulberry – the driving force behind the idea.”

Sharpham Park also produces rare breed sheep, red deer and cattle, and Roger has established a butchery, which completes the label’s ‘field to fork’ image. Roger is an evangelistic advocate of organic farming. “It’s the only discipline where the farmer self volunteers to follow a method which you as a consumer know doesn’t involve pesticides, antibiotics and

feature

nurtures the soil. It’s about a farming method that completely respects the cycle of life within the countryside.

I’m absolutely convinced that, unless we make radical change, we will have serious problems in our food supply in this country in times to come.”

This rallying cry is also being applied to Roger’s involvement in the first Start Eco Car Trials series. The creation of HRH The Prince of Wales, Start aims to help people across the UK lead more sustainable lives, demonstrate what a more energyefficient, clean and healthy world might look like and how each individual can make a start. Forgive the pun, but Roger is the driving force behind the Start Eco Car Spectacular and by the time you read this, Start’s ‘A Garden Party to Make a Difference’ will have taken place in London. The event has been designed to showcase innovative new inventions along The Mall, and the ultimate Eco Car Spectacular will have taken place on the Mall outside Buckingham Palace.

“We all know it’s essential to develop energy efficient power,” Roger concludes fervently, “and being personally involved in this quest is not only seriously exciting but crucially important. I don’t know exactly what part I’ll play in this, but I know I’m sitting at the forefront of sustainability from farming to transport and the view from here is fascinating. All my life I’ve been anticipating what people want, creating things out of nothing, bringing them to the market and trying to put a smile on their faces. Now, at last, it feels as if I’m in the right box.” n

11

HOT

At the end of October, as winter drew in and the clocks went back, the Circle Ice Rink opened for the season, immediately brightening up everything in and around Broadgate

For many years following its opening in 1985, it was the only outdoor ice rink in London. In fact, apart from a long-since closed rink in Scotland, it was difficult to find any outdoor rink operating in the UK before Broadgate opened. When it did open, Christine Tona, events and communications manager at Broadgate, recalls that various companies and organisations approached her as they sought to create similar facilities.

“I received many requests for information and assistance from organisations seeking to open outdoor rinks,” she explains. “I had to tell them that we had something unique that would be almost impossible for them to replicate,

because our rink was part of the original plan and design of the whole Broadgate development from the outset. The Circle and the rink were key factors in creating a pleasant and sociable working environment for the thousands of people working for the companies based here.”

When the Broadgate business and commercial area was built the Circle was conceived as a focal point, designed to add to the ‘feelgood’ factor of the Broadgate working environment. Surrounded by an array of bars and restaurants, the ice rink in winter provides an unusual and attractive social and sporting venue in what is otherwise

CITYpromotion

essentially a workplace. Then, in springtime, when the ice has been removed, the same area boasts a wide range of entertainment and exhibition events – all geared towards enhancing the Broadgate experience.

Many Broadgate occupiers skate every day and the rink can accommodate up to 100 skaters at a time; from a skater‘s point of view it has the advantage of being a “turn up and skate” rink with no need to pre-book. “In any case, unlike some other rinks, our charges are for the whole two-hour session,” stresses Lee Jones, deputy events manager at Broadgate, “not for just an hour.”

SKATING IS FOR ALL As well as being popular with skaters of all levels of ability, the rink has attracted a range of film and television productions seeking a skating location.

BBC TV’s Blue Peter came to shoot a feature on our Broomball competition and Dame Judi Dench was filmed here for The Last of the Blonde Bombshells. The list of well-known people who have been here ranges from Martin Clunes to the Cheeky Girls and from Alan Davies to Jayne Torvill.

“Former England rugby international Kyran Bracken practised his skating here”, recalls Christine Tona, “and he went on to win ITV’s Dancing on Ice. Earlier this year BBC TV News twice opted for the rink as the centrepiece for live coverage of successive Budget announcements.”

Unlike many leisure activities, skating is for males and females of any age and lifestyle, as well as helping general health and fitness and being great fun at the same time. “It really is for everyone,” says Christine. “Our regulars range from City men and women skating in their lunch break, to local school children who skate free of charge throughout the day.

On weekends we have very much a family atmosphere with birthday party groups, locals and visitors to London.”

KEEPING A WEATHER EYE OPEN Ensuring the ice forms perfectly on the marble travertine base of the Circle is no easy task. “Sometimes, particularly if the weather conditions are against us, it is extremely difficult to get the ice to form,” explains Lee Jones. “We lay four kilometres of pipes over insulation laid on top of the travertine surface. These pipes have 2,000 litres of a freezing chemical flowing through them and then a fine mist of water is sprayed on, allowing it to freeze, layer by layer, and then continually adding to it until the ice surface builds up.

Eventually we stop when the ice is about four inches thick.

“I think this season was the quickest we have laid the ice; starting from scratch, it took nine days from the ice rink barrier installed to the first skater on the ice.

“Running a busy outdoor rink, seven days a week, with the notorious British weather to contend with, is a massive task,” says Christine Tona. “It can only be achieved consistently and successfully because we have a superb staff of professionals. Everyone plays their part in ensuring we have a top quality, smooth operation.”

“This is a wonderful place to skate and especially to learn.

The rink is small but you don’t need to go at great speed to learn and enjoy.

Most important is the atmosphere we have here – it is intimate and everyone is so helpful and friendly.”

JACQUIE HARBORD, British and World Professional Skating Champion for two consecutive years and coach at Broadgate Ice Rink since 2000.

“I’ve skated at most of the world’s great venues and the ice here is as good as you can get at an outdoor rink. There’s something special about skating in the open air and when the sun shines, with the high buildings around, it is almost like being in the mountains.”

DAVID TAYLOR, former British Junior Pairs Champion who toured the world for 15 years with the famous Holiday on Ice Show and coach at Broadgate Ice Rink.

“I absolutely love skating and it is the main reason I have chosen to work here. My particular interest is Pairs Skating and I can have a lesson with David or just skate for fun whenever I have a few spare moments: it’s so convenient. I’ve got to meet most of my friends through skating, its great fun and very intimate here and sociable.”

FRANCESCA ARUMAINAYAGAM (28), manager asap Deli in Broadgate

DID YOU KNOW? If you work in Broadgate, you can skate for free on production of your staff identity card; the only price to pay is the £2 skate hire charge.

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current affairs

feature

Oh to be made in The death of British industry has long been mourned, even if that death has been somewhat exaggerated. Contrary to received wisdom, manufacturing accounts for as much of the British GDP as the service industries.

Josh Sims discusses why the great heartlands are not what they were

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till, in quiet corners of country towns, you can hear the whirring of well-oiled machinery a century old, producing, for example, some of the world’s most finely crafted clothing.

Look to the label. Not that of the brand – that, more often than not, is the product of spin. The other label: the country of manufacture. It reads ‘Made in England’ – a brand in its own right.

And one in demand.

Indeed, according to a recent Hewlett Packard study on consumer perceptions of quality, that a product is ‘Made in England’ (or one’s home country in many instances) is important to nearly 40 per cent of shoppers, up there with other long-held concerns such as value for money and functionality. The same number equated a home-grown product with one of quality. The patriotic purchase seems to have intensified with the impact of the recession as, in the past, it did during war. In hard times we revert to the familiar; in environmentally and ethically troubled times for consumerism, we may also want to know that the purchases we make have a minimal cost in terms of transport, have been made under fair wage policies and that our pennies are being fed back into our native economy.

It is this idea that was perhaps lost on the likes of Dyson, which, while being one of the UK’s most progressive companies in terms of Research & Development, faced a storm of criticism when it decided to move manufacturing out of the UK to Malaysia. It was, Dyson said, a hard business fact that it was getting too expensive to keep factories open here. More recently, the government was heavily criticised for failing to keep Cadbury’s in British hands and allowing the US foods giant Kraft to buy the brand (even if Cadbury’s majority owners had been American for some years).

Kraft promptly shut a factory and moved some production abroad.

It is, however, not an idea lost on the fashion business, keen to play on a history of invention (Goodyear welting, waterproofed cotton, fine gauge knitwear) and a long-held national reputation as a centre of manufacturing excellence in this sector, one which drives sales to Japan and Italy in particular. This was one reason why, when the Prada Group bought Church’s Shoes in 2006, it was wise not to move manufacturing to Italy, where the same skills base could be more closely monitored, but to leave it well alone in Northampton.

Earlier this year ASOS, the online fashion retailer, launched a ‘Best of British’ campaign, a collection of exclusive products made for ASOS

by British companies. “There’s a move towards British products generally, from fashion to food,” says its menswear buyer, Adam Jagger. “There’s a perceived value in them, something trustworthy, maybe even a degree of patriotism about buying them.” Wolsey, the hosiery company, re-launches this season with a clothing line called ‘Made in Great Britain Collection’. Newer brands such as Oliver Spencer and Albam have gone out of their way (and taken the costs on the chin) in order to have their menswear made in the UK. The Union Jack has become a fashionable design motif.

According to Dawne Stubbs, creative director of John Smedley, the knitwear brand and owner of the world’s oldest, continually running factory, the patriotic purchase is to some extent about playing on stereotypes. While consumers may, overall, be less concerned about where a product is made than they were a decade ago – a mix of globalisation and improved manufacturing standards has taught us that products made in Hong Kong, for example, are pretty good now – some countries can capitalise on our deeply-ingrained associations of geography with quality. Think of German cars, Swiss watches, French cheeses, Italian style, Japanese technology, and so on. Authenticity has value.

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feature current affairs

That is certainly something manufacturers across Europe are aware of. When the EU proposed a voluntary labelling scheme to encourage all member nations to switch to a general ‘Made in Europe’ tag five years ago, unsurprisingly ex-Eastern Block and ‘second world’ nations jumped at the chance, while the manufacturers of Western countries vociferously declined. More recent attempts to revive the idea have got no further.

There’s a move towards British products generally, from fashion to food But while the patriotic purchase may be in demand now, how long can brands continue to meet it? Certainly country of origin is a grey area in manufacturing at the best of times. Each EU state, for example, sets its own regulations on labelling: some require that a product’s ‘made in’ label should reflect where the substantive part of that product was made; others provide a sleight of hand that allows, for example, a product to be essentially made in the Far East but merely finished in another country and so state that country as its country of manufacture. That manufacturers go through the trouble to do so suggests it remains of value.

And then there are the simple facts of capacity and price. Factories are closing. Skilled precision work now often pays no more than supermarket shelf-stacking. Family businesses are finding heirs uninterested in taking the reins. The competition, especially from the Far East, is too intense. And manufacturing in the West means Western prices that consumers must be willing to pay. In a recession, paying extra for perceived quality may be reassuring, but what about when the good times return?

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Yet, while turning around the tankers that are high-street giants, with their huge volume orders, may be too much to ask for, each of them could manufacture more domestically than they do.

John Lewis is a prime example of a retailer that does, generating a strong sense of Britishness for its public image too. According to Oliver Spencer, designer and self-taught tailor, more brands could reap returns from the patriotic purchase by teaming up with struggling manufacturing businesses that in turn would benefit from a new lease of life. After years of making his shirts in Portugal, Oliver has finally found a factory in Sunderland to take over.

The factory’s historic speciality? School uniforms – mostly now made in China. n

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING ROYAL EXCHANGE

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WWW.THEROYALEXCHANGE.COM

christmas

feature

Christmas... ‘twasthe night before

gifts for

Her

Dear Diary...

Oh So OCCO

Timeless Beauty

Start the New Year on a fresh page with Debrett’s beautiful diary. The Lady’s Duck Egg Diary 2011 has a romantic, delicate blue leather cover with an ivoire moiré silk lining and fresh lemon ribbon. Designed to inspire, inform and entertain, the diary, also available in fuschia and gooseberry, is perfect for the girl about town, listing International and Charity Events in 2011.

There isn’t a loved one, friend or colleague who wouldn’t delight in receiving one of these boxes. OCCO awakens the senses and nurtures the skin during the winter months. Only the purest ingredients have been used: products in these gift boxes are 99 per cent natural, with 100 per cent natural fragrance.

Surprise your loved one with a beautiful yellow gold Patek Philippe watch, with a cream or grey dial and alligator strap. Patek Philippe patented the Annual Calendar mechanism in 1996, leading the way in technical innovation.

The classic design and the beautifully crafted mechanical movement makes this an exceptional timepiece, to be treasured and passed down through the family: as the company says, ‘you never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.’

Debrett’s Lady’s Diary 2011, £39.95 www.debretts.com

The OCCO Essential Gift Collection, £36 For further information, call 020 7468 6488 or visit www.occo-online.com.

The pop-up boutique at 18 Royal Exchange, EC3V 3LP, will remain open until Christmas Eve.

Annabel’’s Box Of Treats The Mount Street Deli has launched a special edition Annabel’s Christmas Hamper, which offers the ultimate in gourmet indulgence.

This one-of-a-kind hamper includes a selection of gourmet delights from London’s most prestigious and iconic members’ club, and provides customers with a fantastically festive opportunity to buy into the Annabel’s exclusivity.

The hamper includes chocolate truffles, Sicilian pistachio biscuits, Foie Gras de Canard and Panetonne. The Annabel’s book is also included, explaining some of the Club’s secrets.

Annabel’s Christmas Hamper, £200 + delivery, www.themountstreetdeli.co.uk

Christmas Philosophy Everywhere you look, the holiday season sparkles with festive spirit, inspiring feelings of childlike wonder and joy in the hearts of people of all ages. Find sweet-smelling treats for girls who are sugar and spice and all things nice from Philosophy’s Holiday 2010 range. The Holiday Greetings gift set includes the deliciously festive Coconut Macaroon body butter, Brown Butter Cookie bubble bath, and Pink Frosted Cookie lip shine to charm her prince this Christmas.

Philosophy Holiday Greetings Gift Set, £18 (exclusive to John Lewis) 0870 990 8452

Patek Philippe Annual Calendar 5146, £23,210 Available at David M Robinson, Jubilee Place, 45 Bank Street, Canary Wharf, E14 5NY 020 7519 6763

GIVING ONCE, GIVING TWICE… Have you ever wondered what makes it on to a celebrity’s Christmas list to Santa? At this year’s Macmillan Celebrity Stocking Auction on 7 December, a host of glamorous A-listers’ dream stockings are auctioned off to raise more than £200,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support. Presents range from high-end luxury goods, such as signed Christian Louboutin shoes, to money-can’t-buy experiences like a one-off set visit to the recording of Ricky Gervais’ new TV show.

To bag one of these brilliant stockings and give to a fantastic cause this Christmas, visit www. macmillan.org.uk/stockingauction to bid online between 1 and 6 December. Online bids are sealed: place your bid and maximum bid and these are placed for you on the night (you cannot bid live at the event).

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feature christmas

gifts for

Him Par For The Course This is a golf lover’s ideal gift, combining the world’s best golfers, the beauty of the south coast of England, gourmet food and the heritage of one of the world’s greatest courses.

Experience the excitement of the Open Championship as it returns to Royal St George’s in Sandwich, Kent.

With a variety of luxury packages to suit you and your guests, brought to you by Sodexo, it is a fantastic opportunity to spend all day with valued clients or friends. General admission tickets are on sale now at discounted rates: purchase an eight-day season ticket for just £195 (saving almost 20 per cent). Purchases must be made by 13 December to ensure that your tickets arrive in time for Christmas.

To book, or for more information, visit www.opengolfofficialhospitality.com

Exquisite Penmanship

Winter Warmer

From Italy’s premier writing instrument manufacturers since 1912, Montegrappa pens are for those who appreciate style and quality.

The materials, colours and finishes of the pens are exquisite, as is the craftsmanship. Limited Editions are their forte, commemorating Italian operas, cities and icons. For those who want to indulge in a little luxury, owning a Montegrappa is a ‘privilege of a lifetime.’

Albannach’s festive gift set includes a selection of their three own branded whiskies, available exclusively at Albannach, a specially engraved Albannach whisky tasting glass and a tasting booklet, all encased in a beautiful gift box lined with luxurious silk. This is perfect for family and friends, or as a company gift, with the option of adding corporate logos to the luxury box if required. This winter warmer, which can also be paired with a whisky master class voucher, is simply the perfect gift for him this Christmas.

Montegrappa Pen, £531.75 www.montegrappa.com, www.gbapen.co.uk

Albannach Whisky Set, £18 www.albannach.co.uk

A Musto Have

Treasure Trove

Going back to its roots, Musto’s A/W10 lifestyle collection celebrates 1964, the year in which founder Keith Musto won the Olympic Silver in the Flying Dutchman class at the Tokyo Olympics. All Musto ranges incorporate classic styling, exceptional quality and performance fabrics: driven by innovation and the cool style of the ocean, the A/W10 Collection illustrates individuality and a love of the outdoors.

This classic jacket comes in navy or brown.

Musto Jacket, £125 www.musto.com or buy at Musto, third floor of Austin Reed on Regent Street

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Designer cufflinks are the ideal accessory for the well-dressed man, and Tateossian’s hand-crafted, sterling silver cufflinks will turn heads for all the right reasons.

Black enamel detail gives the King Skull Cufflinks an aged, gothic effect, perfectly complemented by gold-plated crown and crystal cubic zirconia eyes. Tateossian has built an enviable reputation as one of the world’s leading jewellery brands, so you can be assured of top-quality materials, unique designs and attention to detail.

These cufflinks are available from Henry Tibbs, the home of unique designer gifts for men and luxury mens’ accessories. If you want to find a stylish, practical gift that will be used for months and years to come, look no further. Explore the site to find grooming products, cufflinks, leather goods, items for the home, kitchen, office and much more.

Tateossian King Skull Cufflinks, £195 www.henrytibbs.com

Top Website

www.applebyparva.com Aimed at busy professionals with little time for shopping, Appleby Parva is the onestop destination for luxurious, much-coveted Christmas gifts. This unique online emporium houses an extensive selection of extra-special gifts, which are all ‘Made in Britain’, and makes gift buying even easier by offering an exclusive three-hour delivery service right up until Christmas Eve, on selected items to Central London (Zone 1).

festive

Activities Every weekend from Saturday 4 – Sunday 19 December, 11am – 5pm

Visit Santa’s Grotto* FREE Art & Craft Workshops FREE Festive Face Painting Monday 20 – Friday 24 December, 10am – 4pm

Visit Santa’s Grotto* *Each visit to Santa costs £1, with all proceeds donated to charity.

Getting THere London Underground to Canary Wharf | Docklands Light Railway to Canary Wharf | London Buses

3 hours free parking at weekends and bank holidays when you spend £10 at any shop, café, bar or restaurant in Canary Wharf. Ask at point of purchase for a parking token. For information call 020 7418 2752

www.mycanarywharf.com Festive CityLifeAd v2.indd 1

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13 Nov 2010 – 20 Feb 2011 Canada Square Park CanarY WHarF www.ticketmaster.co.uk 0844 847 1556 For details and corporate bookings www.canarywharficerink.com

C H A M PA G N E

R E I M S - F R A N C E

CW Ice Rink 2010_Canary Wharf mag Ad.indd 1

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SHOPPING

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CELEBRATE LIFE’S UNFORGETTABLE MOMENTS

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Visit PANDORA’s new store in Cabot Place, Canary Wharf, to sparkle in your own individual way this Christmas Danish jewellery brand PANDORA celebrates our desire to be unique and the exquisite new Canary Wharf store certainly caters for this, housing a beautiful array of bespoke jewellery.

5 Looking for something extra special for your loved one this Christmas? Look no further than the luxurious LovePods collection from Danish jewellery company PANDORA. Every women loves to sparkle and PANDORA’s beautiful LovePods collection offers delicately handcrafted 18-carat white or yellow gold earrings, necklaces, rings, pendants and bracelets featuring brilliant hand cut diamonds and precious stones including purple amethyst, red topaz and smoky quartz.

A vision to offer affordable luxury and contemporary design techniques gave way to the beginning of PANDORA’s first ever exclusive premium jewellery range. LovePods symbolise the journey from a podded flower during its tight, encapsulated and protected form to the gradual transition into a confident, striking and blooming flower showcasing its full glory to the world.

Splash out on a set of the captivating stacking rings or simply get one stunning piece and then build her collection on future special occasions. Each ring contains one or more pods and these allow them to fit together giving the wearer endless combinations of looks from day through to evening LovePods is also now available in the luxuriously warm tones of Rose Gold.

Visit the Canary Wharf PANDORA store to sparkle in style this Christmas.

PANDORA Cabot Place 020 7987 9801

1 Moments Charm Bracelet 2 Single Weaved Leather Bracelet, £35 3 Silver ring – White Gold Pavé Ring 0.37CT, £1,795

4 Gold ring – 18K Gold Pavé Ring 0.37CT, £1,535 5 Crystal pod – 18K Gold Pavé Ring 0.07CT, £410 6 Black pod – 18K Gold 1 Pod Ring, Spinel, £251

feature

EASTERN Electric Canary Wharf this December offers an exciting range of festive activities and events that complement the vibrant and diverse Arts & Events programme that flourishes all year round. Annabel Harrison finds out more, just in time for Christmas

THE ART OF SUCCESS London’s iconic Canary Wharf has won an international award for its public, and thriving, art programme. The famous shopping and business destination recently won the prestigious Christie’s Award for the Best Corporate Art Collections and Programmes at the 2010 International Art & Work Awards, presented in Barcelona on 4 November.

Canary Wharf beat entries from all over the world, including Barclays Capital (UK), Deloitte (Australia), K11 Concepts (Hong Kong) and Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (Italy) to scoop the award, the winner of which is chosen based on achievements of the last three years. This recognises the impressive work of Canary Wharf Group plc (CWG), which owns and manages the 97-acre Canary Wharf Estate, and cements its status as a hub of cultural creativity; indeed, as part of the largest urban regeneration project in Europe, CWG has created a public art collection and programme that has thrived since the early 1990s. An illustrated Art Map, now in its third edition, is available for visitors.

According to judges, this approach to integrating art into the landscape and the buildings at Canary Wharf, which is home to 93,000 workers and some of the world’s leading businesses and retail brands, is increasingly sophisticated.

CWG has taken particular care in designing parks, plazas and walkways between buildings, which are enlivened by more than 60 permanent works of art. The temporary exhibition programme has also gone from strength to strength over the past decade.

George Iacobescu CBE, Chief Executive of CWG, is proud that their efforts to “bring character, culture and colour to a previously derelict part of London have been recognised as among the world’s best”. He adds, that Canary Wharf is much more than a place to work; “it has a vibrant community which attracts the best creative minds, as well as commercial ones.”

Centauro by Igor Mitoraj, Montgomery Square

Sasso Cosmico by Do Vassilikas-Konig, Westferry Circus Garden

Winter Waterfall An art installation is providing an unexpectedly beautiful torrent of words in Canary Wharf in the form of an illuminated waterfall.

For this year’s ‘Winter Lights’ public art programme, Canary Wharf is participating in DRIFT10, London’s biannual art exhibition on the Thames, presented by Illuminate Productions. bit.fall by German artist Julius Popp produces an ever-changing cascade of words sourced from a live newsfeed.

The words are seen falling in a wall of water beneath the DLR viaduct bridge into the Middle Dock, in the heart of Canary Wharf, producing a spectacular visual experience.

Although visible by day, bit.fall comes into its own after dusk, enlivening the dark winter afternoons and evenings – a truly remarkable sight.

Until 8 January, on daily 7–9am and 4–10pm For more information visit www.drift-london.co.uk

Canary Wharf Ice Rink - Get Your Skates On

Carols & Candles Service Embrace the festive and community spirit at the annual Canary Wharf Carols & Candles Service.

The event, on 14 December, has proved so popular that all places at the 5.30pm service have been booked however, Canary Wharf Arts & Events are delighted to announce ‘due to the overwhelming request for tickets’ a second Carols & Candles Service will take place at the East Wintergarden on Tuesday 14th December at 7.30pm.

All proceeds from this year’s event go to support international charity Mercy Ships and local charity Neighbours in Poplar.

To register for FREE tickets, maximum 4 per person, please email carolsandcandles@canarywharf.com

Canary Wharf Ice Rink, sponsored by Thomson Reuters, was recently declared officially open by celebrity guest Sharron Davies MBE. She enthused that “this is a dramatic setting beneath the iconic Canary Wharf skyline. Coupled with all the new bars, restaurants and shops here, it is one of the most exceptional places to skate. I encourage you all to get your skates on and get into the Canary Wharf festive spirit!”

Davies, one of Britain’s best ever Olympic swimmers, performed a stunning onice display, the first since her performance on this year’s Dancing on Ice. She was joined by the Imperial Ice Stars, one of the world’s leading theatrical ice performance groups, internationally renowned for their breathtaking on-ice acrobatics.

The 30 x 24m outdoor ice rink in Canada Square Park is one of the best in London, including brand new, high-quality skates for hire and Nordic-styled Alpine Café Bar, offering warming drinks and tasty snacks. Nestled beneath Canary Wharf’s famous towers, the winter wonderland is decked with Christmassy lighting and overlooked by new bars and restaurants in the Park Pavilion including Canteen, ROKA, the parlour and Wahaca. A newly built events facility, the Lodge, caters for private parties and events, offering a unique, purpose-built Christmas party venue.

Until 20 February 2011 Monday to Saturday 9.45am–11pm Sunday 9.45am–7.30pm Last Skate session begins one hour prior to closing time For more information visit www.canarywharficerink.com and for Christmas party bookings visit www.christmaspartiesuk.net/venue/canary-wharf-icerink For ticket prices, available sessions and family tickets, please visit www.ticketmaster.co.uk or call 0844 847 1556; for group tickets, call 0844 847 1546

For more information about all the public arts and events in Canary Wharf, visit www.mycanarywharf.com

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Think outside the office Your festive feast at Four Seasons

Quadrato's Festive Temptations Menu 1 -31 December

For group or individual reservations please contact

restaurant.quadrato@fourseasons.com www.fourseasons.com/canarywharf/dining tel: 020 7510 1857

interview personal finance global living

best of british retirement ........................................................................ex--pats

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US MID-TERM ELECTIONS

In 2008, Barack Obama was voted President of the United States in a historic and hard-fought election.

Two years on, the tide of public opinion in America has turned

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ast month’s US mid-term elections, which decide the balance of power in Congress until the next election, saw the biggest exchange of seats in the House since 1948; the Republicans won control of the House of Representatives, while the Democrats retained a slim majority in the Senate.

Although Obama’s name did not appear on any ballots, the mid-terms are widely perceived as an appraisal of his performance since being elected. It is a blow for the Democratic party which, prior to the mid-terms, had a majority in both Houses; it

will be more difficult for Obama to push through legislation and he will have to work much more closely with his opposition.

For the most part, former presidents have been able to develop a working relationship with leaders of an opposing party, but this is not always the case: the president’s spokesman Robert Gibbs has said, with considerable understatement, that the new balance of power will be a “test of whether we can work together”.

The world will be watching closely over the coming months to see whether Obama is able to take this hurdle in his stride. n

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if the

Fits From humble beginnings in Portobello market, menswear retailer Hackett has become one of Britain’s foremost brands. In the wake of a recent collaboration with Tag Heuer and the opening of the new Canary Wharf store, Hackett MD Vicente Castellano talks to Penelope M Walsh about the past, present and future of the brand

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Even before working at Hackett, Vicente Castellano was no stranger to its charms.

“When I was working in the stock market,” he tells me, “I used to wear a lot of Hackett and I really liked the brand”. It was while working as an analyst at Ibersecurities Inc. that first drew Vicente into the world of menswear. He specialised in the retail sector before moving to Pepe Jeans London as Licenses and International Director in 2000. Pepe Jeans London acquired Hackett from Richemont in 2005, and Vicente knew he was on to a winner. “From the beginning I understood that Hackett had big, big potential,” he recalls.

That potential had as much to do with Hackett’s past as its future, and it lay in the existing strength of the Hackett brand and its history.

“It is one of the few British brands still around and people appreciate the story behind Hackett,” Vicente explains. In fact, Hackett’s story is not simply one of several years in the trade, but of humble beginnings, unique like the brand itself.

Started by Jeremy Hackett and Ashley Lloyd-Jennings in 1979, the

pair began hunting down secondhand pieces of traditional British gentleman’s apparel and selling on the cleaned and repaired items at a stall in Portobello market. The stall tapped into a niche but profitable market and soon became a thriving small business, with Jeremy and Ashley opening their first shop in 1983.

“The history of the brand gives you a good DNA,” Vicente says. This value excited him early on: “We have something that you cannot buy. There are a lot of values in this brand that you cannot buy.”

At the time of the acquisition, Hackett was beginning to lose sight of some of the elements that made it a distinct and special brand, especially the sense of “British-ness”. It was, I suggest, beginning to dilute its concept, perhaps spreading itself a little too thin. “You have to keep the vision and the backbone”, Vicente says, adding “we want to spread the word, as it were, but the goal is, as we grow, to keep the essence of the brand”. Vicente looked to re-distil Hackett’s sense of self, and as such one of his first aims was to bring Jeremy back. After all, who knows a brand better than its founder?

Moreover, Vicente felt that Hackett had “an incredible capacity to become luxury, but in a good sense, not something impossible to reach”. True, in terms of pricing, Hackett may not have the same luxury cache as a multithousand pound “IT” bag. But this is Vicente’s point. Hackett offers quality and style but is accessible, affordable, and as Vicente says, “real”. “When we arrived five years ago”, he adds, “the price was exactly the same as today, but the fabric, the craftsmanship and the design are all much better”. Above all, Hackett offers something unique, something with a story and a heritage and, as such, a sense of aspiring to a certain lifestyle runs through the brand.

Since then, Hackett has gone from strength to strength, opening

interview

stores across London and expanding globally. But it has remained true to its original concept, maintaining a focus on vintage design in the new stores and taking design inspiration from vintage styles. From the very start, Hackett was defined by its second-hand origins, and so “Hackett keeps this quirky element in the new collections. One of our biggest inspirations”, Vicente tells me, “is from vintage pieces. We take much more inspiration from the past.”

But the fashion industry is one that is obsessed by new, newer and newest, and so, with its strong sense of heritage and focus on the past, how does Hackett remain current? “It is not about following the latest trend”, Vicente explains, “but being consistent with what the brand is, and to keep evolving and reinterpreting. Britain has evolved quite a lot. It evolves every year and London is especially dynamic in that sense. The idea is to follow and understand these changes and adapt them to Hackett.” So it seems, an understanding of the different ages of “British-ness” is part of the life force that keeps Hackett current.

“We evolve slightly each season, we try to understand what the customer wants each season, but we don’t make big changes because the Hackett customer is not looking for this.

The Hackett customer is looking for detail, quality, craftsmanship, service; it is all about an experience. It is not about setting the trend each season.

That isn’t Hackett, and that is not our customer,” Vicente says.

So who is the Hackett customer?

Hackett’s branding exudes a strong sense of British-ness that veers between a suave, James Bond-like cool, and a playful English boarding school of bygone era. As Vicente points out, perhaps one becomes the other: after all “we don’t see James Bond at boarding school, because Ian Fleming didn’t write about it.” So, to some extent, we have the two ages of James Bond, and in a similar way, Vicente tells me, the Hackett customer is divided into two groups, the two ages of man, as such. On the one hand, there are professionals, like lawyers and bankers, who need a sharp suit during the week and

something relaxed at the weekends.

“And more and more”, Vicente says, “we are seeing a younger customer, who perhaps sees their parents buying Hackett, or perhaps their parents bought their first suit for them in Hackett, and from there they start to evolve into the brand.”

Hackett has just opened a new store in Canary Wharf, and for those sharpsuited bankers and lawyers, it is the perfect fit. Canary Wharf is “definitely the right place to be for us,” Vicente agrees. Hackett’s customers “work there, they shop there, so you have a good customer base from day one”.

But as Hackett knows, even the best fit needs to be tailored to the individual.

As such, Hackett started with the collection, thinking about what side of Hackett would work best for the Canary Wharf customer, and focused the collection on formal wear and tailoring. “Once we had developed the collection”, Vicente says, “we designed the store to fit into the retail concept.”

“It is difficult for a brand like Hackett to translate their identity into a mall, but I think we did a good job”, Vicente comments, “the store is different enough to the rest, but still keeps our character.” Challenges included the expanse of glass and the ceilings, which were much lower than the other stores, but this issue was partly solved with mirrors to open up the space.

In collaboration with Tag Heuer, Hackett has also recently embarked on the first ever Hackett watch. “A lot of people were asking us about having a Hackett watch and from a man’s point of view, if there is one accessory that is the accessory, it is a watch”, Vicente explains. At the early stages of this project, Hackett realised that to offer their customers the best, it would be wise to team up with an already

comment

recognised expert in this field. Vicente tells me that it was important, when looking for a brand to associate with, that “we shared something with them.” Tag Heuer was a natural fit.

“From day one it was obvious that we shared something with Tag, we saw a lot of common ground and shared vision.” Moreover, both brands had experienced a similar evolution and associations with similar sporting events. The project developed two distinct watches, a sleek smart watch for formal wear and a more casual watch for sporting occasions.

Available as a numbered, limited edition of 100 per design worldwide, the watches display the same sense of discreet, tasteful style characteristic of Hackett and Tag Heuer, with subtle, understated branding and Hackett’s signature blue. The watches show a strong sense of Hackett’s identity, but the fact that they do so discreetly is in itself part of the Hackett DNA. So what does the future hold for Hackett? British style, Vicente tells me, travels well, and there are plans afoot to further “spread the word”, building Hackett’s global empire at a slow and steady pace, without overexposing the brand. Plans include expansion into the US and the Middle East, with, Vicente says, deals being done, “as we speak”. “Definitely”, he says, “in the next two years we will be in a good number of countries where we are not present right now”. Watch this space. n www.hackett.com

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comment personal finance

Santa Rally Is Coming To Town Dr David Kuo, director at the popular financial website The Motley Fool, explores why the festive period is a wise time to buy shares Did you know that January has historically been the best month to buy shares? It didn’t quite work out that way last year when London shares fell 4 per cent in January. Mind you, an odd blip every now and again is only to be expected when you are dealing with reams of statistics – I believe it is called rogue data. Putting the rogue data to one side, it seems that, according to data going as far back as 1919, UK shares have risen in January in three out of every four years.

Nobody quite knows the reason behind the January phenomenon, though there have been many theories put forward to explain it, including the suggestion of a rebound in share prices following year-end tax selling. That would seem plausible if the end of the tax year coincides with the calendar year end. However, the January effect has also been seen in parts of the world that do not use 31 December as the end of their tax year. So much for that theory, then!

The so-called ‘January Effect’ is particularly fascinating because it shows no signs of fading, despite being quite well known and very well publicised. In theory, such an obvious anomaly should disappear as traders try to take advantage of it by buying shares in advance. After all, wouldn’t you fill your boots with shares in December if you knew that they were going to rise in January?

Some people do, which may in part explain the December effect. It seems that the last week of December has been the best week to buy shares: indeed, half of a year’s best ten days on the stock market tend to occur in December. In fact, the December rally is so well known that it is even has a special name – The Santa Rally.

It seems that since 1920, shares have risen 61 per cent of the time in December. In other words, shares have risen in six out of ten Decembers. Over the last 80 or so years, the average monthly gain in December is 1.2 per cent, making December the third-best performing month of the year. What’s more, there

is little indication that the so-called December effect is diminishing. If anything, share price gains in December are stronger than ever. Last year, London shares jumped 4 per cent in December. No wonder traders can’t wait for Santa to come a-calling.

Among the various explanations put forward for this somewhat bizarre occurrence in December, it has been suggested that stock market ‘bears’, who are generally quite pessimistic about shares, are either hibernating or on holiday! A more plausible explanation may be that fund managers are loading up with shares in readiness for the New Year, ridding their portfolios of embarrassing losers at the same time.

Researchers have reported other apparent irregularities in stock market returns by examining other calendar-related effects. For example, the ‘Monday Effect’ suggests that the first day of the trading week tends to be the worst day to be investing in shares. Apparently, Mondays are as popular with traders as they are with schoolchildren!

Meanwhile, another group of researchers claimed that shares tend to show higher returns on the last day and the first four days of each calendar month. This has been cutely called the ‘Turn of the Month Effect’. Other anomalies include the ‘Week of the Month Effect’, the ‘Holiday Effect’ and, of course, the ‘Sell In May And Go Away’ effect, which would have been a terrible mistake this year. London shares rallied some 14 per cent in the summer months.

If truth be told, there are supposedly dozens of such market timing effects and many more, if you are prepared to spend time looking for them. It just goes to show that statistics can prove almost anything you want. Truth is, it is almost impossible to profit from calendar effects after you have paid broker charges, stamp duty and taken account of buy and sell spreads. In my view, it is far better to look for good shares that you can hold for the long term. And once you’ve found them, any week can be a good week to buy shares.

Have a great Christmas! n

Dr David Kuo, director at the popular financial website The Motley Fool www.Fool.co.uk

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comment personal finance

Planning in the Age of Austerity Martin Bamford discusses the benefits of planning one’s retirement income during a time of financial frugality In this new age of austerity, the money available from the state to fund our lifestyles in later life is rapidly dwindling.

The message for several years now has been to take personal responsibility for our retirement incomes. If we choose to rely on the State, we must accept that we will have to work for longer and receive less.

Combined with a massive budget deficit to repair, the government is facing up to the challenges associated with longer life expectancy. The longer we all live, the more expensive it becomes to fund our retirements.

A series of recent announcements looks set to shake up the state pension system. We had already heard from the previous government that the state pension age would be increased from 65 to 68, in stages over the coming years through to 2044.

However, in the recent spending review, it was announced that the first transition, from age 65 to 66, will be accelerated and will happen more quickly than previously expected. Women will face an even faster transition than men. The state pension age for women was already on the increase, from 60 to 65, to match it with the pension age for men. As a result of the spending review, women will see their state pension age increased from 60 to 66 over the same timescale as previously being used.

The current set of changes, from age 65 to 66, will affect those who were born between 6 April 1953 and 5 April 1960. Those with birthdays in this seven-year window will need to accept an additional wait before they are entitled to their state pension. Whilst legislation still needs to be put in place to confirm this timetable, those born after April 1960 are probably looking at a state pension age of 67 or 68.

Having to wait longer to draw your state pension, whilst broadly still a generous system given improved life expectancy over the past few decades, is balanced to some extent by another big

state pension proposal. The coalition government has announced plans to radically overhaul the state pension system and provide a minimum state pension of £140 a week by 2015.

This overhaul will mean getting rid of things like pension credit, which underpins the current means-tested system. It is also likely that the system will become based on residency in the UK, rather than the current requirement for a complete National Insurance (NI) contribution record. Basing entitlement to a flat-rate state pension at a more generous level, based on residency rather than contributions, is likely to be fairer to women who often have incomplete NI records due to their responsibilities as parents or carers.

Having to wait longer before you get a state pension, even if at a more generous level, should prompt us all to consider our plans for income in retirement. With so many financial pressures in everyday life, planning for retirement income often gets pushed to the bottom of the list of priorities.

Now, in addition to funding for a reasonable level of income in retirement, we have to consider funding the ‘gap’ between the day on which we want to stop working and when state pension benefits become available. This adds an additional layer of complexity to an already complex type of financial planning. Creating retirement income with the necessary degree of flexibility to fund a gap of several years requires careful planning.

Of course, there will still be many who attempt to deny the need for retirement income planning, relying instead on the assumption that they will be able to continue to work in their old age, or perhaps fund their retirement through the sale of property. We have seen first hand how flawed these strategies can quickly become. Even if this is your ‘master plan’ for retirement, it makes sense to have retirement savings available as a secure plan B. n

Martin Bamford is a chartered financial planner at Informed Choice (www.icl-ifa.co.uk) and author of several best-selling personal finance books.

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personal finance

comment

Investing in Fine Wine The current volatility in the stock market and low interest rates has led, in recent times, to a dramatic increase in fine wine investment. Nick Mendoza, solicitor at Howard Kennedy, warns about relying on misleading advice from wine merchants promoting wine as an estate planning tool There is an important distinction to be drawn between the Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax treatment of investment quality wine. For Capital Gains Tax purposes, most fine wine will be considered wasting assets. A wasting asset, which is classed as an asset whose life does not exceed 50 years, is generally exempt from Capital Gains Tax, meaning that any gain accruing on a sale will be exempt from Capital Gains Tax. By contrast, where a person dies owning fine wine their executors are required to value all of the deceased’s assets on the basis of their ‘open market value’ at the date of death.

As part of this process, wine cellars and fine wine collections must be valued at their open market value and included as an asset of the estate. Any increase in the value of fine wine from the date of purchase to the date of death must therefore be accounted for. Inheritance Tax is then charged at a rate of 40 per cent in the UK on the value of assets in an estate that exceed £325,000 at the date of death.

This distinction has been overlooked by some wine merchants, who have incorrectly claimed in their sales literature that, for Inheritance Tax purposes, the value of a wine collection in an estate should be treated as its cost value. The result is that wine investors who are unaware of the correct tax position could be building up an unforeseen tax liability, which will only come to light at the time of their death.

There has recently been a general clampdown by HM Revenue & Customs on executors who fail to include realistic valuations for household goods, or exclude these items entirely from an estate. They highlighted in their most recent newsletter to estate practitioners that this includes wine, stating “…a wine cellar must be valued at its open market value for Inheritance Tax purposes at the time of the relevant occasion of charge”, which will be the date of death.

Executors should, where appropriate, obtain professional valuations for household items, particularly when they include specialist collections such as fine wine, art or antiques. If no professional valuation is produced, then HM Revenue & Customs may ask executors to explain the basis of their valuation.

If the basis of an executor’s valuation is incorrect, which could include declaring wine at its cost value, or if an executor has valued items based on their own knowledge rather than that of an expert, then HM Revenue & Customs may investigate further and seek to have their own valuation carried out. A subsequent finding by HM Revenue & Customs that the executors have failed to value these items properly will leave the executors in the firing line.

As well as paying the additional tax, and any interest that is due on the additional tax, HM Revenue & Customs may charge a penalty, calculated as a percentage of the additional tax. Penalties of up to 100 per cent can be charged in some cases, and in every case the executors will be personally accountable. n

Nick Mendoza is a solicitor at Howard Kennedy www.howardkennedy.com

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comment special event

GIVE THE GASTRONOMIC

SALUTE!

Taking place in the splendid surroundings of Guildhall in the heart of the City, the Square Mile Salute is set to be a key event on the New Year’s culinary calendar, offering an evening of the finest dining and raising money for charity in the process. Jemima Jameson finds out more about what you can expect on the night

H

osted by City favourite Chamberlain’s Events and restaurant (based in Leadenhall Market), the Square Mile Salute will be attended by several prominent dignitaries, including Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. So why not join them? This fantastic evening will feature a lavish banquet, prepared by an impressive line up of internationally acclaimed chefs. Each of the five courses (plus canapés and petit fours) will be prepared and presented by chefs who are masters in their chosen fields, including Albert Roux OBE, chef to the Royal Household Mark Flanagan and chocolatier William Curley, and served with expertly chosen wines.

Set to be a real gastronomic delight, the Square Mile Salute has a charitable as well as an epicurean cause, meaning that you can indulge with a clear conscience. The event will raise funds in order to build and run Personnel Recovery Centres for troops that have been wounded and are in need of support when returning from active duty. These funds will be distributed to The Royal British Legion, Help for Heroes and ABF, The Soldiers’ Charity, and to honour this great cause and the troops it will help, the military-inspired event will feature elements of pageantry throughout, including an actual salute, in keeping with the event’s name.

The idea for the Square Mile Salute came about when in 2009, Ray Steadman, owner of Chamberlain’s Events and Chamberlain and Thelwell seafood wholesalers, supported Paul Gaylor, Executive Chef of the Lanesborough hotel, with a Chefs for Heroes charity event. Paul’s son had been wounded in Afghanistan and, with a number of fellow chefs, Paul wanted to give something back to those who have given so much. In 2010 with Paul’s support, Ray joined with friends and industry colleagues - Philip Corrick, Executive Chef of the Royal Automobile Club, Gordon Hogg, owner of Finclass quality meat wholesaler and President of The Academy of Culinary Arts, Brian Turner – to put together this ambitious “signature” event, demonstrating what can be achieved by combining the cream of the hospitality industry with the support of the Square Mile’s finest.

To raise as much as possible, the event will also include an auction of amazing prizes that money just can’t buy.

Donated by Richard Branson and Virgin Limited Edition is a holiday to Necker Island, Branson’s private getaway in the Caribbean. There is also the chance to bid for a specially commissioned painting donated by the acclaimed Andrew Vicari, who has been dubbed “painter of kings and king of painters”. And if that wasn’t enough, the auction will also offer a three night stay at Fairmont Monte Carlo with the opportunity to watch the Grand Prix from a private viewing area.

The Square Mile Salute will take place at 6.15pm on 10 February at Guildhall. Tables of ten are priced at £3,500 plus VAT. n

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Ray Steadman and Matthew Marshall, Chamberlain’s Events

Guildhall

ON THE NIGHT: The Reception Attended by Mayor of London, Boris Johnson

Canapes and Sushi Martyn Nail, Claridges and Simon Young, Jumeirah Carlton Tower

The Banquet Hosted by Brian Turner OBE Starter - Albert Roux OBE & Glen Watson First Course - Mark Flanagan, The Royal Chef, the Royal Household & Christian Garcia, Chef to HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco Fish Course - Philip Corrick, Royal Automobile Club & Matthew Marshall, Chamberlain’s Meat Course - John Williams MBE, The Ritz & Jason Atherton Dessert - Benoit Blin MCA, Le Manoir Aux Quat Saisons Petit Fours - William Curley, Best British Chocolatier 2007-2009 For more information or to reserve a table, visit www.chamberlains.org/squaremilesalute, call 020 7987 3696 or contact Anne Donoghue at anne@chamberlainsoflondon.com

human resources

comment

Releasing your Creativity

Chelsey Baker, business advisor and life coach, looks at lateral thinking to unlock creativity

I

n a highly competitive environment it is always a challenge to make yourself, your department or your company stand out from the competition, particularly if you’re involved in a ‘mature business’ where all the obvious routes have already been tried. So how can you acquire unbounded creativity?

Our default way of thinking is to do so logically and rationally; however, this also means that we think in a structured, linear way, which is not at all conducive to original and innovative thought. Even in science and medicine, most breakthroughs are discovered by chance or by mistake; the simple fact is that the main purpose of the human brain is to be brilliantly uncreative. Worse, the more experienced we become, the more we’re locked into established concepts, patterns and organisations. Original thought is not easy.

Naturally creative people have a tendency to use humour, because both ways of thinking depend on the same unconscious ability to change pattern, suddenly and mid-stream. The good news is that beyond humour, accident and mistake there is another method with which we can deliberately derail linear thinking and provoke

Lateral thinking doesn’t come naturally; it’s a skill that has to be learned, but once gained, is the gift that keeps on giving creativity; the use of lateral thinking involves removing the obvious, leaving behind traditional thoughts, and throwing away preconceptions.

Lateral thinking doesn’t come naturally; it’s a skill that has to be learned, but once gained, is the gift that keeps on giving.

At its core is the need to become unorthodox in your thinking; it is the ability to change your perception readily and to keep changing your perception until you reach your goal.

There are three basic lateral thinking techniques for generating fresh ideas or uncovering an original approach: The Random Provocation, The Stepping Stone and The Escape.

Random Provocation allows us to open our minds to a random force in order to become stimulated by something unexpected. The easiest and most productive way is to use a dictionary – it is also the most fun! Simply pick a page number at random, then the position of a word on that page; say the first noun after the eighth line down. Then apply the meaning or associations of that word, whatever it happens to be, to your task in hand.

For example: whilst exploring concepts to reduce smoking, the randomly picked “Traffic Lights” produced the idea of a red band around a cigarette 1.5cm from the butt end to warn smokers they were entering the most dangerous zone. It works because it allows you to tap into a line of thought that would otherwise have remained hidden and it’s a technique regularly used by advertising agencies.

The Stepping Stone method considers an idea for its movement value only, and uses it as a mental jump irrespective of its own value or practicality. You can completely reverse your problem to make the Stepping Stone idea sound quite illogical and still generate a result.

For example: In considering river pollution, the Stepping Stone idea was the statement ‘Polluters should be downstream of themselves’. This led to the suggestion that factories should, by law, have their water inlets downstream of their own waste outputs so that they would be the first to suffer from unclean effluent.

The Escape method allows you to approach your problem by deliberately focusing on the thing about it that you take most for granted, then question whether it is the only or the best way to do something.

For example: the statement ‘The Police should recruit blind officers’ led to the idea that members of the public should act as the Police’s eyes and ears which, in turn, led to the highly successful establishment of the Neighbourhood Watch programme.

The whole point of lateral thinking is that it unlocks confined and restricted thinking; it changes attitudes and produces a willingness and enthusiasm to search for even better and more creative concepts. Try it for yourself and get into the lateral habit by searching for different ways of looking at things.

Open your mind and free yourself from rigid thinking.

Think outside the box and let your inspiration and imagination solve your problems by looking at them from an unexpected perspective. n

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comment human resources

Employers Beware: The extended Equality Act 2010 Clare Murray explores the issue of extended liability for harassment of staff by third parties Many years ago, a young male associate came to me to explain, somewhat embarrassed, that a client had propositioned him after a work-related dinner. It was unexpected and unwelcome; he didn’t want to damage the client relations, but he did not want a recurrence either. We had to think carefully as to how to handle this highly sensitive issue, from the point of view of both staff and client relations. The legal position at the time also required us to act and protect our employee from sexual harassment by the client.

This area of potential liability of employers, for harassment of their employees by third parties such as clients and suppliers, has been extended by the Equality Act 2010 (with effect from 1 October 2010). This potential liability now covers not only harassment on the grounds of sex (gender), but also age, disability, race, religion or belief, gender re-assignment and sexual orientation.

Harassment is when one person engages in unwanted conduct towards another person related to the latter’s age, sex, disability and so on, which violates their dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment. The tribunals take account of the perception of the person on the receiving end of the treatment, the other circumstances of the case, and whether it is reasonable for the conduct to have that effect.

Harassment also covers situations where the unwanted conduct is sexual in nature, such as sexually explicit comments or conduct with sexual overtones (as in the situation above). It need not be related to the victim’s sex but must be “of a sexual nature”.

The Equality Act imposes liability on employers for harassment of an employee by a third party. However, crucially, the employer is only liable where: • a third party subjects the employee to harassment in the course of their employment • the employer has failed to take such steps as would have been reasonably practical to prevent the third party from doing so, and • the employer knows that the employee has been subject to harassment in the course of her employment on at least two previous occasions by a third party.

Employers can minimise the risk of potential liability from the outset by, for example: • implementing policies dealing with anti-harassment, dignity at work, equal opportunities and disciplinary matters • providing staff training on those policies • introducing a process of dealing with any employee complaints about third party harassment and documenting any action taken, including as appropriate a formal complaint to a corporate client about their representative and, if necessary, a request that that person be removed from the relationship in view of their harassing conduct • leading from the top – senior management should been seen to endorse and enforce the policy at all times.

In our scenario, the matter was resolved quickly by having a quiet word with the individual client (who was even more embarrassed than the associate), and the relationship with the firm was unaffected. However, a far more formal and structured approach is normally necessary now. The unlimited and often eye-watering compensation claims that can be awarded against employers for discrimination and harassment claims by employees should be enough to ensure that employers take positive and proactive action to protect their staff. n

Clare Murray is managing partner at employment law firm, CM Murray LLP; email: clare.murray@cm-murray.com The contents of this column are for general purposes only. Specialist legal advice should be taken regarding specific circumstances.

36

the

RISE OF GLOBAL

MOBILITY

London During The Olympics Thinking of inviting visitors or colleagues to London to enjoy the Olympics between June and the end of August 2012?

The international relocation company Cartus has issued some helpful information on issues that need considering in a city where a major sporting event is scheduled, largely based on their experience with the World Cup in South Africa and the last Olympics in Beijing.

If your guests are non-EU citizens who require visas, then apply for these as early as possible. In 2012 the UK immigration authorities will be processing a much larger number of visas for tourists, and all those involved in the Olympics themselves, over and above their normal throughput and capacity.

Then there is the question of accommodation. The various options for temporary accommodation in London are already limited, and there is a predictable forecast of a shortage in mid-2012. London hotels are expecting fantastic occupancy rates and travel planners are advised both to book as early as possible and to check whether currently negotiated discount rates will still actually apply during the Olympics.

And then there is transport, the perennial challenge for all Londoners. Each Olympic spectator ticket that will be sold includes free travel on London transport. This is likely to make commuting journeys within London even more interesting than they are now.

The roads are also likely to be more congested, as around 55,000 people are expected to require daily transport during the Olympics, most of them by bus or coach.

You might to want to start planning now.

The Quality of Life HSBC International Bank commissions the annual Expat Explorer survey.

It is now in its second year and remains the largest independent global survey of expatriate families. The survey comes to the conclusion that whilst career prospects are invariably improved by undertaking an international assignment, there is no guarantee that an improvement in quality of life will necessarily follow. Respondents cited Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Russia as being key places in terms of career development and financial gain. Yet these countries scored low in a league table seeking to measure quality of life. Of the top 25, Saudi Arabia was 25th, Qatar 19th and Russia 24th.

In contrast, countries which score highly on the quality of life league table, such as South Africa, Spain and France, are not seen as ideal destinations to boost career or wealth prospects. Thailand headed the quality of life league table, knocking Canada off the top spot from the previous year. Bermuda, Australia, Malaysia and Switzerland all scored highly. Britain came 20th overall but scored very well for entertainment.

According to the survey, how one settles into a country is vital but challenging. European countries were the hardest in which to make new friends, with 64 per cent of the survey’s respondents finding this difficult in the Netherlands. The BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) were regarded as the most difficult countries to settle in, predominantly because of cultural challenges and local transport difficulties.

The Forum for Expatriate Management holds the annual Totally Expat show in London in May each year and the annual Global Mobility Summit in London in November. Both these event are also held annually in the US. For more information, please visit www.totallyexpat.com

global living

comment

For global living international executives keeping up to date with the latest news is important

Britain’s

Best Expatriates

Brian Friedman discusses the effects of globalisation in terms of the influence and importance of expatriates, both in sport and in business

W

e recently reported on a magazine in the Arabian Gulf that had devised a chart of the most influential expatriates. With such a large multinational workforce, it is not surprising that their importance is specifically recognised in the Emirates.

It would be interesting to speculate who would be on a list of the UK’s top expatriates, both inbound and outbound. By far the most noteworthy outbound is David Beckham who, along with his wife Victoria, has built a significant brand well beyond his football career. Recent press reports indicate that the Beckhams are likely to reside in the US long term, thus confirming his expatriate status.

Various sectors of the UK economy have a consistent record of attracting foreign talent.

Most recently it is sport, and football in particular, that has embraced internationalisation wholeheartedly.

I wrote in my first column for this magazine that, “Global companies will now frequently select the best candidates for a particular role without giving any consideration to physical location”.

Where football differs is that team selection for the Premier League ignores the nationality and domicile of both the manager and the player when bringing them to the UK. The cosmopolitan nature of the sport is striking. At the time of writing, three of the four clubs at the top of the English Premier League are managed by non-UK nationals and one by a Scot. The manager of the English football team is an Italian.

The top clubs draw on talent from many poorer parts of the world. Africa is well represented as, increasingly, is South America. Yet 30 years ago, English football would have been regarded as the most parochial of sports. Employing Scots and Irish players would have been the limits of ethnic diversity in many clubs.

It is a measure of football’s social and economic importance that in all the discussions about the limits of immigration to the UK, pretty much from the outset the sport was exempted from the government’s immigration quota proposals.

This has not gone unnoticed by the academic and business communities, in the process of arguing that what is

sauce for the football goose should be the same for their gander.

One only has to think of some of the most prominent names in UK business to realise that football is not alone in seeking to attract top talent from anywhere in the world, and to pay for it very handsomely.

One third of the Chief Executives of the FTSE 100 companies are not UK nationals. This is perhaps less surprising when one remembers that two thirds of revenue generated by the FTSE 100 comes from outside the UK. Names to conjure with include Bob Diamond at Barcap, Marjorie Scardino at Pearson and Bart Becht at Reckitt Benckiser (whose remuneration package would cause some of the top-rated footballers to go green with envy). Africa is now prominently represented by Tidjane Thiam at Prudential.

Not everyone agrees that this is good for UK plc: however, even an FT columnist recently expressed the concern that top executive pay “is good for the success of a cosmopolitan managerial élite in capturing an unseemly share of the proceeds of globalisation”.

But football shows that once started on the road to globalisation, it may be impossible to turn back. n

Brian Friedman is the Contributing Editor of Global Life and founder of the Forum for Expatriate Management.

Founded in 2008, the Forum has over 4,000 members who collectively manage over one million expatriate moves.

Members come from the leading bluechip employers of international assignees both in the UK and globally.

39

motoring sports gadgets

like the wind fia gt1 world ............................ latest & greatest ...............................................

Picture credit: ‘Art Directors Realise Creative Photographer Thomas Butler’.

. .........................................................

PART OF THE TEAM

Red Bull partners with Racing Gold to launch a unique collection of limited edition, functional art, made exclusively from Red Bull Formula 1 car parts

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very piece of the Red Bull ‘Part of the Team’ collection, manufactured

by Racing Gold, is hand-crafted from components that have run and raced on Formula 1 cars. Like every car that competes, each item is unique and numbered, with its own life history, which details when and where it was raced with the team.

Launched in November, the collection includes a floor-standing lamp made from a polished exhaust system, and stylish wall mirrors, which take their DNA from the brake discs that scrubbed the speed off the car’s wheels. The LED

desk lamps created from suspension pushrods and desk games inspired by brake disc detail would complement any modern office or living space.

“At the very heart of Formula 1 is the art of creating the perfect racing car,” commented Christian Horner, who is the Red Bull Racing Team Principal. “This collection reveals elements of the car which are vital, often unseen, but stunning.

These pieces are highly desirable and would be a fascinating talking point in any room.” n For further information, visit www.redbullracing.com/art

41

blowing

HOT & COLD O Matthew Carter can’t make up his mind about the new Renault Wind.

It’s certainly different… but does that mean it’s any good?

K, let’s get the jokes out of the way at the beginning. Renault’s latest is called Wind, as in a strong breeze. So what happens if you’re overtaken while behind the wheel? Is the other car passing Wind? Is the name for real or is it a wind-up? Boom, boom.

Actually you could ask the same question about the car.

Is Renault, maker of mundane hatchbacks, serious about producing a mini-sports car, a two-seat roadster with a clever retractable hardtop that flips out of the way when you fancy a little, er, wind in the hair? The answer is, yes.

Renault is serious.

The French carmaker is clearly keen to cash in on its motor racing heritage by developing a sporting name for itself. A Renault engine sat in the back of the Red Bull that powered Sebastian Vettel to the 2010 F1 world title. And the latest generation of Renaultsport ‘Cup’ cars – strippedout, high-powered versions of the Clio and Megane – are the weapon of choice for many track day regulars.

So a two-seat roadster wearing the Renault diamond makes a great deal of sense. Trouble is, I’m not sure the Wind is that car.

Let’s take the good points to begin with. The roof is a spectacular success. Unlike retractable hardtops in

motoring

(four-seat) rivals like the Peugeot 207CC, the Wind’s roof doesn’t steal luggage space when lowered.

It’s fabricated as a one-piece panel, so it’s lighter and far less complex than the two or three sections affairs of others, and it simply flips back to sit under the rear deck when not wanted. From coupé to roadster takes just 12 seconds and luggage space is totally unaffected. Best of all, only one other manufacturer has adopted this clever, simple, yet wonderfully effective roof system: Ferrari for the 575M Superamerica. Good company to keep.

The downside is that the roof dictates the shape and layout of the car. The way it folds means there’s only room for two seats while, because it’s a single piece, the rear deck is unusually long. Indeed, the overall shape suggests Wind might be mid-engined, but underneath that lid is a simply huge boot rather than any oily bits.

In fact, the engine is mounted conventionally at the front. There are two Winds on offer, a 1.2 turbo and a naturally aspirated 1.6 from the Twingo Renaultsport, both petrol.

Renault claims a 125mph top speed for the biggerengined version, with 0–62mph taking 9.2 seconds, figures that aren’t going to set the pulses racing. Curiously, although the turbo version produces just 100bhp as opposed to the bigger unit’s 133bhp, it feels lighter and

calibre

livelier. In truth, however, neither unit is particularly quick: Wind is more tourer than sports car as a result.

And that’s a shame, as the chassis can clearly handle a great deal more power. There’s precious little body roll and the car is eager to change direction: it just feels a little sluggish.

The worst element is the ride. Because taking the roof off a car, any car, reduces its structural rigidity, Renault has added bracing struts in the boot, reinforced the sills and added a glazed bulkhead behind the seats. Not enough, quite frankly.

The ride remains choppy at all times and the constant vibrations felt through the steering wheel remind you that Wind is missing a roof. The steering, too, is disappointing, being rubbery and lifeless. As a driver’s car, Wind misses the boat.

Inside, the cockpit is either claustrophobic or intimate depending on your viewpoint, but at least it does feel sporting and the wraparound sports seats are superb. The high sides and thick B-pillars make visibility tricky, while the instrument panel reflects badly in the sharply raked windscreen. And it’s a shame the plastics look so cheap.

In contrast with that vast boot – thankfully the bracing struts don’t really steal load space – there’s precious little oddment space in the cabin, which will be irritating when using the car every day.

Then there are the looks. I really can’t make up my mind about this one. Sometimes I see a slab-sided oddball with curious proportions; sometimes I see an interestingly quirky alternative to the norm. Style over substance perhaps, but there’s no denying it’s different.

Whether that’s enough to lift it above the rest is another matter. First you’ve got the lack of rear seats. That might not be a problem, but if you’re going for a two-seater why not go for a serious sports car alternative like the Mazda MX-5, which in basic 1.8i SE form costs an almost identical £17,500?

If you want a more involving drive, then you need a Mini Cooper Convertible. And that’s got the benefit of two rear seats, too. But if you’re looking for real performance in a small package, then there’s no alternative to the Abarth 500 which, at just over £14,000, is a comparative steal.

If, on the other hand, you’re desperate for something rare, something that makes a real statement about you, then maybe the Renault Wind is that car. I’ve got a feeling you’re never going to see many of our roads, so standing out from the crowd will be a breeze. n

IN BRIEF Car: Renault Wind 1.6 VVT Dynamique Price: £17,300 Engine: 1,598 four-cylinder petrol Power: 133 hp Drive: Front-wheel drive

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calibre motoring

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his is the company going back to its roots. From 1909 to the early 1950s, Morgan made around 30,000 three-wheelers and many looked broadly similar to this roadster. But no Morgan trike was ever powered by anything as potent as the 100bhp 1800cc Harley Davidson V-twin cylinder engine hiding under that aluminium bonnet. The thumper drives the single back wheel via a Mazda five-speed manual gearbox.

But while it might look like a throwback to the 1930s, the new three-wheeler is a thoroughly modern machine, built using the latest techniques developed by Morgan.

The tubular frame is wrapped in what Morgan calls aluminium superformed bodywork… and the whole thing weighs just 500kg.

Hardly surprising, then, that the 0–60mph sprint will take less than 4.5 seconds, though that bluff nose and the exposed front wheels do their bit to ensure top speed is ‘only’ 115mph. Even so, you’ll need big balls to do that.

What you see is what you get. The interior is as basic as it gets, there’s no weather protection and there’s precious little in the way of safety protection – though there are a pair of rollover hoops above the seats.

The new Morgan Three-wheeler will be launched at the Geneva Motor Show in March with sales due to start in the summer at a price of around £30,000. Best of all, it’s homologated as a motorcycle, so it can used in the congestion charge zone with impunity. n

Back to the

future

This, believe it or not, is a brand new car and not an early April Fool. It’s a serious offering Matthew Carter has unearthed from the quirky British sports car maker Morgan, with sales due to start in the summer 44

a new loewe Connect 32 LED television worth up to £2,095 When looking for a new home entertainment solution, premium German brand Loewe has a stunning range of televisions that is sure to impress.

With three core principles - minimalist design, exclusive individuality and meaning innovation Loewe televisions are the perfect complement to any modern home.

A visit to Loewe Galerie Kensington will allow you to discover perfect sound and picture quality first hand, for the ultimate home entertainment experience.

Whether you’re after a dedicated television or a bespoke, custom-designed multiroom system, a consultation and demonstration with one of the Galerie’s experts will identify the perfect audio-visual solution for your needs.

The new Loewe Connect LED TV, one of the newest models in the range, is the ideal television for multimedia fans. Packed with networking features that allow the streaming of music and video content from your home PC, the Loewe Connect can also access the internet via the innovative in-built MediaNet feature – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The DR+ function means you can pause, rewind and record live TV at the touch of a button, as well as stop and start viewing room-to-room with the new “Follow Me” function. The Connect LED is available in a number of colour finishes – high-gloss white, chrome silver and high-gloss black – in 32” and 40” screen sizes.

As well as offering the latest in LCD screens, Loewe also produces a range of audiovisual solutions, including Blu-ray players and audio systems.

For more information on Loewe’s range of firstclass LCD televisions and peripherals, or to arrange your personal appointment at Loewe Galerie Kensington, call 020 7937 7007 or visit www.loewe-uk.com

how to win For your chance to win a Loewe Connect 32” LED in a colour of your choice, simply answer the following question: The Loewe Connect LED range of televisions is available in which screen sizes? a) 32” and 55” b) 32” and 40” c) 55” and 70” To be in with a chance of winning a Loewe Connect 32” LED in the colour of your choice, email your name, telephone number and answer to competitions@runwildgroup.co.uk with LOEWE in the subject bar.

The closing date for entries is 31 December, 2010.

Terms and Conditions: Competition is open to UK residents aged 18 or over. Competition closes at 23:59 on 31 December 2010; entries received thereafter will be discarded. One entry per household. Loewe UK Ltd reserves the right to select an alternative winner, should the original winner not confirm delivery details within 7 days of notification. The prize consists of a Loewe Connect 32” LED in your choice of three colours. Prize is non-transferrable and there is no cash alternative. The promoter reserves the right to withdraw or amend this promotion. Promoter: Loewe UK Ltd, Century Court, Riverside Way, Riverside Business Park, Irvine, KA11 5DJ. By entering this competition you agree to your details being used by Runwild Media Group for marketing purpose. Please see www.runwildmediagroup.com/subscriptions for full terms and conditions.

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0844 856 0202

www.theo2polo.com

A World Class Polo Spectacle - England v Argentina and Scotland v South Africa Luxurious Gaucho Hospitality, Celebrity Pro-Am Match, Players After-Party A night to remember - Get your tickets now!

sport

calibre

Private Practice

sports

news

Winter Warriors After a dubious few months when organiser St. Moritz Polo AG had considered cancellation, the St. Moritz Polo World Cup on snow was given the go-ahead after all parties agreed a mutual solution and the local authority pledged its support.

Held on the frozen Lake St. Moritz from 27 to 30 January 2011, the World Cup is the world’s highest level polo tournament on snow.

Unlike previous years, patrons in 2011 will represent their countries of origin as they compete for the coveted trophy. www.polostmoritz.com/en

The ultimate indulgence for winter sports enthusiasts, hone your technique all year round with your very own private ski slope. The Skiplex “endless ski slope” is a large white treadmill about the size of a squash court, allowing up to four people to ski or snowboard at one time. The large, moving track is operated by a hand-held remote controlled device, which can speed up or slow down the track and increase or reduce the elevation. www.skiplex.co.uk

Say what?

I have decided it is best for me to retire from international cricket since my family and I are constantly getting threats.

Pakistan wicket keeper Zulqarnain Haider makes a swift exit from international cricket.

Riding High The London International Horse Show, from 14 to 20 December at Olympia, boasts a packed programme of equestrian competition, majestic displays and non-stop Christmas entertainment. This year the Ukrainian Cossacks will be wowing the crowds with their incredible stunt riding and the Household Cavalry will celebrate its 350th year, performing their outstanding Musical Ride.

Pedal to the Metal Located less than ten minutes from the City of London, TeamSport Tower Bridge is London’s new multimillion pound go-kart track.

A must for adrenaline junkies, it has two tracks both running over two floors, which can be joined to create one enormous circuit. The track also has its very own “Stig” in the form of mysterious “Bruce”, who sets lap times for wannabe F1 drivers to smash.

www.olympiahorseshow.com

www.team-sport.co.uk/towerbridge

Runway to Rugby Proving the worlds of rugby and fashion can go hand in hand, Moschino has become the first international fashion brand to dress a rugby team, designing Aironi Rugby’s new official suits. Whether perfectly tailored suits made from the finest traditional British fabrics will help in the Italian team’s pursuit of the Heineken Cup is doubtful, they certainly give Aironi the aesthetic edge. www.aironirugby.eu

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million pound

machinery Lee Brooks is given exclusive access at an FIA GT1 World Championship race weekend and finds a closely fought series that could give Formula 1 a run for its money…

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t’s March 2010 and the Place de la Concorde in Paris is packed full of people jostling for position and feverishly snapping their camera phones in excitement. For one day only, a collection of majestic, head-turning cars line the street, glistening in the morning sunshine. But this wasn’t the car park of the rich and famous, rather a grand display of the machinery that would contest the brand new FIA GT1 World Championship.

Some of the world’s most iconic marques including Aston Martin, Corvette, Ford, Lamborghini, Maserati and Nissan signed up to the ten-round championship and this month, after nine action-packed races, 48 drivers in 24 cars will compete in the final round of the series in the idyllic surroundings of San Luis in Argentina.

The Potrero de los Funes circuit circles a volcano, providing a breathing backdrop to some of the world’s most spectacular supercars.

So far, the championship has visited a mix of legendary and iconic circuits including Silverstone, Interlagos and Spa-Francorchamps and state-of-the-art venues such as the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi, which is built on a specially constructed island, but the Argentinean venue is by far the most visually striking site, making it perfect for the season finale.

The dawn of a new era With Formula 1 dominating the motorsport headlines across the world, every other racing series is forced to battle on in the sport’s overbearing shadow, hoping to find a way to break its stranglehold. After just nine races, it looks like GT1 has found the solution: switch the focus onto the fans and the show – two elements that are crucial to the success of a championship, but have been overlooked by Formula 1 in favour of big business and political wrangling.

motoring

calibre

The American-based series Nascar and Australian V8 supercar series have already successfully heaped the focus on the fans by creating a set of rules that encourages close racing while allowing the public to get up close and personal with the drivers, the machinery, and the men and women who work tirelessly to meticulously build and re-build the cars. The challenge for GT1 was to repeat that model on a global scale.

Level playing field All the cars in the GT1 World Championship have had their performance equalised to keep the whole field close but allow each manufacturer to showcase their own devices and technical know-how. This prevents one team from running away with the title, while allowing for pure driver talent and technical understanding to shine through.

Success ballast is added to the four finishers of each race to try and level the playing field in the following event.

There are two races per weekend, which are limited to an hour to keep the fans’ attention while extra focus is put on the pitstops. Each team must use just two mechanics to scurry round and change all four tyres, while at the same time drivers complete a Le Mans-style switch halfway through the race to spice it up and prevent the races turning into a procession.

The drivers are a mix of former GT champions such as current championship leaders Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini, ex-F1 drivers like Karl Wendlinger and Mika Salo, and sportscar racers like Britain’s leading hope Darren Turner. The championship offers them a chance to showcase their talents, which were otherwise stunted by poor machinery, lack of opportunity or difficult circumstances and a glance around the motorhomes and paddock show that they’re relaxed and enjoying racing more than ever.

Another positive thing about this championship is that fans are able to get access to the paddock where they can mingle with the drivers, check out the team’s impressive motorhomes and team trucks, and get within touching distance of the beautiful machines that will take to the track later that day.

The future‘’’#s bright You just have to look at’ the now defunct A1GP World Cup of Motorsport series, which demanded each team use an identical chassis and races under a country banner rather than as individual drivers, to see that they don’t always work and while this season has been a good banker for GT1, there’s still a long way to go. But if the championship can continue to attract iconic racing brands, employ talented drivers from the likes of Formula 1 and World Touring Cars and continue to deliver bumper-to-bumper racing week in, week out, there’s no reason why it can’t succeed. Still not convinced? Check out the season finale in Argentina on 5 December to see what you’re missing. n For more information visit www.fiagt1world.com

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gadgets

Jamie Carter presents the month’s hottest gadgets

handmade hi-fi From its roots as a ‘look at me’ product a few years ago, the simple iPod dock is increasingly a ‘look away now’ piece of nasty black plastic selling for £50.

British brand Meridian Audio is looking to change all of that with this distinctive, powerful and thoroughly expensive iPod-ready hi-fi system.

With a leather ellipse (available in black, chestnut or ivory) around a clever half-moon design, hand-stitched by the artisans of IM Kelly, Northampton, the M80 is the antidote to those mass-made iPod docks, but it’s what’s underneath that really sets this apart.

Inside is a digital DAB tuner, as well as AM/FM bands, alongside a CD slot and two speakers capable of pumping out a remarkable 80-watts. There’s even a subwoofer strapped to its rear, above a plethora of ins and outs. The most important two let you attach

new gadgets

headphones and a wired iPod dock (included in the package), though there’s also some video outputs.

It’s a giveaway that the M80’s CD drive, it seems, can also play DVDs so you could use the M80 with a TV as a do-itall home entertainment centre.

Facets that ought to keep the M80 in one place are its lack of battery power and rather heavyweight design (no surprise, given that it also hides a subwoofer). It’s best used in an openplan apartment or large kitchen; the low frequency brilliance and high detail makes it overkill for a bedside table.

Although excellent with digital radio, the M80 is best with music. Undistorted high volumes are possible and there’s plenty of power and precision in the mid-range, though it’s the pin-sharp sense of stereo that impresses most of all. Able to drag out some previously

Panasonic TX-P50VT20 50inch 3D plasma TV, £2,000 www.play.com

One for All Essence 4 universal remote control, £20 www.maplin.co.uk

unheard detail from our CD collection, the M80 is a mighty impressive piece of kit that also benefits from an excellent user interface.

The buttons used to control the menus are completely unlabelled – the everchanging function for each button is displayed in yellow-on-black graphics on the OLED screen above the speaker. A ‘home’ button takes everything back to basics, but there’s a small – and lightly magnetic – remote that is arguably easier to use.

Add the i80 iPod dock, which charges your Apple device while it plays, and Meridian Audio has created an excellent all-in-one device that delivers some true quality from beneath a luscious design.

Meridian Audio M80 2.1 stereo system, £1,500 www.meridian-audio.com

gadgets

calibre

SOUND IDEA

STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS

The flat screen TV has quickly become the norm in living rooms around these isles, but it’s come at a high cost; those super-slim bezels simply don’t have room for speakers. In a ‘why didn’t anyone think of this before?’ flash of inspiration, Alphason has integrated not only two meaty speakers, but also a subwoofer, into its latest TV support.

Sporting a retro look, the Arena Soundstand is a cinch to hook up to any TV (using just one cable), and comes with a dedicated remote control.

That extra remote won’t be welcome in most living rooms, but it’s worth it for the sound; impressive bass and mid-range sounds are joined by delicate treble highs – a massive improvement on any flat TV’s weedy efforts, especially for movies.

Hand-built in the UK, the Arena Soundstand is available in white, black and black/ walnut and can support TVs up to 47 inches in size.

Brilliantly designed and carefully weighted, this slab of DAB – and more – is as functional as it is eye-catching. The AirStream 10 can act as a simple alarm clock for a bedside table, but it would be a shame to waste its online abilities; after connecting it to a home Wi-Fi network, this solidly made radio can stream any one of 15,000 online radio stations from across the globe, or, if you like your tunes just a little closer to home, the AirStream 10 can simply find MP3 files stored on your computer.

Monitor Audio AirStream 10 DAB and internet radio, £225 www.sightandsounduk.com

Alphason Arena Soundstand ARN1000 with built-in 2.1 speakers, £599 www.alphasondesigns.com

OYSTER CATCHER

In a market saturated in faux leather and plastic commodity cases, it’s tricky finding something to wrap around a beloved iPhone, but the Folio – the result of a partnership between US designer Prophetik and Griffin – melds both form and function. Look hard and you’ll see the Prophetik emblem impressed upon the front of the soft Tennessee leather body, which both grips an iPhone and provides space for an Oyster card, a couple of credit cards and some cash; what more do you need for a night out? Also available in black.

Griffin + Prophetik Brown Leather Designer Folio for iPhone, £50 www.griffintechnology.com

Arcam rCube iPod speaker system, £500 www.hifigear.co.uk

COOL AS ICE Now on sale in the UK, this collaboration between laptop maker ASUS and the much-lauded designers at Danish style brand Bang & Olufsen is one-of-a-kind. Built around an 18.3-inch screen and sporting two huge speakers, the NX90 is all about aesthetics – and power. On sale at Harrods and Selfridges, the NX90’s mirror-like polished aluminium casing is book-ended by two speakers that are more than three times the size of regular laptop speakers. The NX90’s unique look is the work of designer David Lewis, whose design studio is the main force behind the Bang & Olufsen look.

ASUS NX90 notebook designed

by Bang & Olufsen, £2,500 www.asuslaptop.co.uk

Tivoli Model 10 table DAB/ DAB+/FM radio, £220 www.petertyson.co.uk

Denon AH-NC800 noisecancelling headphones, £250 www.advancedmp3players.co.uk

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calibre watches

RACING

spirit

Exploring the BRM website is like driving at top speed in a Formula 1 car through the opening credits of a Bond film: exhilarated but composed, you swerve along race tracks and around hairpin bends like a video game Daniel Craig

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his makes complete sense; after all, pace, power and precision apply as much to the art of watch making as they do to fast cars, and one look at a BRM watch should be enough to convince anyone that luxury watches and motorsports have a great deal in common.

The attributes of movement, control and precision are the essence of Bernard Richards Manufacture, a French company that specialises in the production of classic, beautiful timepieces. Named after its founder, BRM has the distinction of being the only French watch manufacturer and an exclusive, highly collectible one at that: to maintain the requisite hallmark of excellence, only 2,000 are produced each year.

Experts agree that the French timepieces have injected a new lease of life into a market otherwise dominated

by Swiss competitors, because BRM models have always paid a very clear tribute to the world of motorsports; the R50-T Reserve de Marche, for example, displays a masterpiece of craftsmanship shaped like a motorcycle engine behind the exposed movement. It is not surprising that this was made by a team of engineers with a serious weakness for motorsports, and that in 2008 BRM was asked to craft ten unique timepieces to accompany the rare and coveted EcosseHeretic street bike.

The company’s genuine personal ties to the racing community are evident: many professional drivers have already been seen, in action, wearing one of BRM’s newest models. Bare essentials are the key to high performance: necessary are high-tech materials, outstanding engineering, superior skills and absolute dedication.

The individual parts of a BRM watch work together so that it embodies the brand ethos of ‘racing spirit’, combining those essential qualities of movement, control and precision. Filled with the latest tools, machinery and highly skilled technicians, the BRM workshop is a cutting-edge atelier that allows Richards to control every aspect of production. Every watch begins as a solid bar of metal, which is then cut expertly to exacting specifications.

Despite its French history, in the summer of 2010, the company launched a new watch model in two sizes, with a Union Jack design on the face and colours inspired by our flag, as a tribute to the United Kingdom.

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Not only can British buyers show patriotism through their wrist jewellery, but there are also faces displaying the American and Italian flags, catering for our European and transatlantic cousins.

Using the exceptionally user-friendly online Configurator, prospective owners are able to create their own virtual, bespoke BRM from 12,000 possibilities, choosing everything from the case and dial to the hands, crown, strap and even tachometer. It is an intriguing process, to be able to watch your watch, so to speak, assemble itself before your very eyes, and one that allows for much experimentation before settling on your bespoke combination.

The wearer of a BRM watch shares the brand values of an endless quest for excellence and perfection, imbued with a strong racing spirit. n For further information, visit www.brm-manufacture.com

LIKE CLOCKWORK

Timeless timepieces to treasure forever FINISHING TOUCHES Luxurious leather and winter accessories THE BARE ESSENTIALS Jewels and gems are all a girl needs

news

Latest News The Royal Exchange is not only a luxury shopping destination located in the heart of the Square Mile; for hundreds of years, international businessmen, merchants and tradesmen have met within the columned courtyard, and this historical venue has been at the centre of the capital’s cultural and financial landscape since it was first erected in the sixteenth century.

Throughout the summer and autumn months, The Royal Exchange has revived its connection to London’s cultural pulse through affiliation with exclusive events, charity occasions, luxury brands and the arts community.

SUMMER EVENTS

AUTUMN & WINTER CELEBRATIONS

May 2010 saw the arrival of 260 model elephants to iconic landmarks throughout the capital as part of The London Elephant Parade. Each miniature replica glittered with the decorative genius of the country’s leading artistic talent and was auctioned at the end of the event to raise funds for the conservation of Asian elephants. For one month, The Royal Exchange played host to four such creatures, designed by Cartier, Sir Paul Smith, Tarun Tahiliani and Benjamin Shine.

In June, the whimsical storytellers of 40 Winks ventured outside of their East London hideaway to delight and bewitch guests with Tales of Wonder and Amazement. Two months later, American artist Todd White launched his WOMAN Collection at Artisan Fine Art Gallery. Artworks included a mischievous cocktail party of White’s favoured ‘femmes fatales’ from Hollywood’s Martini nightlife and a portrait of Princess Diana.

On 14 October, the building was taken over by the Samsung Pink Ribbon Celebration, raising awareness of breast cancer in Europe. Celebrity guests joined some remarkable people whose lives have been touched by the disease to enjoy a memorable evening and performance by Alexandra Burke.

2010 will draw to a close with the annual Christmas party on 23 November where the entire venue will come alive with festive spirit, music and entertainment.

FUTURE PLANS

EXCITING NEW ARRIVALS New arrivals include Bachet, the French fine jewellers, bringing classic pieces, created with white and black diamonds, to the heart of the City. We are delighted that David Bacher, the brand’s founder and renowned gemmologist chose to launch his first British boutique at the Royal Exchange. We have also welcomed Kiehl’s, the apothecary brand offering unique formulations created with natural ingredients. Both have proved exceptional additions to our unrivalled selection of luxury brands, cafés and restaurants. Opening soon we are delighted to welcome skincare and home spa experts Occo.

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Next year, we plan to expand upon our programme of culture-led events, collaborating with the worlds of music, fashion, performing and visual arts, presenting the Royal Exchange in an entirely new light.

In addition, the Royal Exchange will take its place alongside luxury car brand Jaguar, as one of the lead sponsors for London Jewellery Week 2011; the ideal platform for both established and emerging designers. the Royal Exchange will host the January launch and subsequent events in June. In the spring we will partner with Sunday Times Style to host ‘Work & The City’ for London’s women in business – this will be a two day event held exclusively for Style’s most dynamic female readers, featuring fashion workshops, seminars and networking opportunities.

xxxxxxx 18ct Yellow and White Gold Green Tourmaline,Yellow Beryl, Black Diamond and Diamond Bee Drop Earrings

£19,500.00 Theo Fennell 0207 623 4380

18ct Yellow Gold Peridot and Diamond Wing Ring

£11,500 Theo Fennell 0207 623 4380

essentials

THE BARE

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xxxxxxx

Photographer: Peter Zownir Photographer's assistant: Harry Dutton Models: Cecile Sinclair & Julia Oleynik @ Union Fashion Director: Lucie Dodds Large Ruby Ring

Raindance Six Strand Diamond Bracelet

£195,000 Boodles 0207 283 7284

£90,000 Boodles 0207 283 7284

Stylist: Natalie Dale Make-up: Sharon Ive using YSL Hair: Keiichiro @ DWM using Terapi

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gift guide

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like clockwork The ultimate gift for a loved one this Christmas and a keepsake that can be treasured forever, make time stand still with the Royal Exchange’s selection of classic watches for him and elegant timepieces for her. According to Baselworld (the world’s most prestigious watch show), trends for this season include ‘sober and slim’ designs for men’s watches. Investment pieces are back in fashion, and the big names are pushing a classic, understated and timeless form that will remain in favour for decades to come. In contrast, female fashionistas all over the City are favouring monochrome designs with materials such as ceramic, graphite and silicone alongside the customary precious metals.

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01

Gents rose gold nautilus complication

02

Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional Chronograph

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£25,580, Patek Philippe @ Watches of Switzerland, 0207 626 7321 £2,310, Omega, 0207 929 7706

Ladies white gold twenty-4

£26,970 Patek Philippe @ Watches of Switzerland, 0207 626 7321

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Ladies Rose Gold Nautilus

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Gents Perpetual Calendar with Hobnail Bezel in White Gold

£17,930, Patek Philippe @ Boodles, 0207 283 7284 £49,900, Patek Philippe @ Boodles, 0207 283 7284

Boo165-50 SP:Layout 1 29/09/2010 14:42 Page 1

T: +44 (0)20 7437 5050 | www.boodles.com

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all that glitters Renowned as one of London’s most popular jewellery shopping destinations, especially in the run up to the festive season, the Royal Exchange boasts an incredible range of luxury boutiques including Boodles, Bulgari, Cartier, De Beers, Milleperle, Royal Exchange Jewellers, Searle & Co, Theo Fennell and Tiffany & Co. For every trinket and treasure, bauble and ornament imaginable, the Royal Exchange is the perfect place to shop for sparkling jewels and stylish costume jewellery – you’re sure to find the perfect stocking filler for your loved one here.

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gift guide

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04

03

01

Marquise Cluster 35c Diamond Necklace

02

Men’s ‘Mysterieux’ Cufflinks, £2,000, Bachet, 0203

03

Disco Square Cufflinks, £85, Tateossian, 0207

£75,000, Royal Exchange Jewellers, 0207 929 0100

405 1437

283 3434

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Silver Medium ‘Horny’ Art Pendant, £295,Theo Fennell, 0207 623 4380

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18Ct White Gold Lotus Earrings, £2,400, De

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18ct White Gold Baroque South Sea Pearl Ring

Beers, 0207 929 2777

£3,800, Milleperle, 0207 621 1118

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gift guide

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the finishing touch No outfit is complete without the perfect accessories, and the Royal Exchange is a treasure trove of hats, handbags, gloves, umbrellas, and a whole host of winter extras. In style this season, choose rich shades of purple whether it’s a stunning silk scarf or a fabulous croc leather handbag; rich contrasting textures (combine silk and tweed for a fabulous British ‘heritage’ look); or a stylish brolly to keep the raindrops and snowflakes at bay. For foolproof men’s gifts, don’t forget to look out for luxurious leather wallets, chunky knitted scarves and silk ties in festive shades of Christmas crimson and majestic purple.

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01

‘Suzy’ Handbag, £395, Lulu

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‘Damson’ Slim Travel Wallet, £315, Smythson, 0207

03

Soft Leather Wallet, £395, Mont

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‘Cravate-Foulard’ Vintage Silk In Cement Black

£155, Hermès, 0207 499 8856

Guiness, 0207 626 5391 621 1037

Blanc, www.montblanc.com

gift guide Photographer: Andrew Woods, www.awoods.com Photographer’s Assistant: Rich Bowyer Stylist: Natalie Dale

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pamper & preen The Christmas party season is fast approaching and for all those dressing to impress, the beauty regime is step one to looking good. The Royal Exchange is packed full of gorgeous beauty products and heavenly scents to help you pamper your way through the festive season (maybe even securing a kiss under the mistletoe in the process!) Check out what’s on offer from Jo Malone, Kiehl’s, L’Occitane, Molton Brown and Penhaligon’s for both Christmas gifts and pre-party treats.

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01

Men’s Thekku Hairwash, £17, Molton

02

Blenheim Bouquet Aftershave Splash

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‘Marvelous Mauve’ Lipgloss, £13, Kiehls, 0207

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Midnight Recovery Concentrate, £35, Kiehls, 0207

05

Lavender Foaming Bath,

Brown, 0207 621 0021

£55, Penhaligons, 0207 623 3131

283 6661 283 6661

£18, L’Occitane, 0207 929 7722

win win win win winwin win

win

win

BANISH THOSE JANUARY BLUES

competition

win win

win

win

As enjoyable as the festive season is, there’s always that period of the blues that follows in the long, chilly month of January – back to work, dark nights, and tough resolutions. That’s why the Royal Exchange is offering one lucky reader the chance to win a selection of gorgeous treats for her, making the transition into 2011 that little bit easier.

Our fantastic grand prize includes: • • • • •

L’Occitane Fleur Cherie makeup gift set Kiehl’s Crème de Corps skincare gift set One hour style & shopping consultation from Abigail Michael Occo home spa set A signed copy of Paul A. Young’s latest chocolate recipe book plus a luxury chocolate hamper • Penhaligon’s Christmas miniature ladies fragrance set • A two-course meal for two at top restaurant Sauterelle, including a bottle of wine • A Pretty Travel Pack from Pretty Ballerinas To be in with a chance of winning, simply log on to the Royal Exchange website (www.theroyalexchange.com) and enter your email addresses to sign up for the newsletter, which will automatically register you as a competition entrant.

The competition is open from 7 November and the final closing date is 28 January.

Good luck!

www.theroyalexchange.com

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fashion interiors health & beauty

BLACK NIGHTS OFFICE SPACE . .................................................... go nuts

. ..........................................................

. ........................................................

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER

Swiss watchmaker Rado, a pioneer in the use of premium materials, unveils a beautiful new collection – elegant, refined and deceptively tough

R

ado presented their first timepiece collection in 1957; more than 50 years later, the watchmaking company is synonymous with timepieces demonstrating masterful technological and aesthetic performance.

With the timeless Original, Rado introduced the first scratchproof watch to the market in 1962, a revolutionary move, and since has become known worldwide for its exemplary use of special high-tech ceramics. Their invention of the Rado high-tech diamond, with a hardness of 10,000 Vickers, resulted in Rado being the

manufacturers of the hardest watch in the world.

The classic Centrix collection features three different styles, with highly flexible, tapered bracelets for an exquisite, streamlined appearance.

The sleek, silver automatic comes in a jubilĂŠ version with eight single diamonds, and other versions make use of mother-of-pearl and inlaid sapphire crystals. Rado takes great care to ensure that the materials used are not only durable and beautiful, but also skin-friendly to ensure that elegance and comfort can exist side by side. n For further information, visit www.rado.com

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Uniquely London New bags and travel accessories in retro transport moquette fabric for people on the move Covent Garden Piazza, London WC2E 7BB Shop opens daily or buy online

ltmuseum.co.uk

Welcome to Kohinoor Diamonds

– the home of beautiful, bespoke diamond jewellery.

We are diamond specialists and our incredible, made-toorder jewellery is renowned the world over for its stunning design and enduring quality.

D

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A

Phone: Mob: Email: Web:

M

O

N

D

S

0208 422 9971 07545 119 045 info@kohinoordiamonds.com www.kohinoordiamonds.com

Contact us for an immediate consultation

fashion

concierge

Divine Decadence

fashion

news GOLD MINE

Now in its 30th year, don’t miss out on Dazzle, an exhibition of contemporary jewellery unrivalled for its impressive and far-reaching range of beautiful, modern pieces. Taking place in the foyer of the Royal National Theatre, entry is free and the exhibition continues until 8 January.

On offer is a great choice of modern jewellery design, with prices ranging from £15 to £5,000, covering every conceivable style and material, from precious metals and gems to plastics and reclaimed industrial materials. There are

displays from the hottest new designers from around the world, from Denmark to Vietnam.

With so much on offer, Dazzle is the perfect place to hunt out special Christmas presents.

There is even a section for men’s jewellery, for those tricky presents for the men in your life.

Or treat yourself to something that will give festive fashion staples an unexpected twist, and that you will treasure forever.

After closing its doors in 1975, seemingly forever and breaking all the fashionistas’ hearts, Biba, the übericon of 60s and 70s fashion, recently relaunched, with its first collection in 35 years.

Although updated, the collection remains true to Biba’s original spirit of bohemian luxury and 1920s influence.

Crammed with silks, velvets, sparkling embellishment and glittery costume jewellery, Biba’s new collection breathes decadence and dark sensuality, with feather stoles and floor-length leopard print coats, while remaining ladylike.

So make Sally Bowles your muse this Christmas and add divine Art Deco allure to your wardrobe.

Available exclusively from House of Fraser www.mybiba.com

www.dazzle-exhibitions.co.uk www.lovedazzle.com

Quote of the month:

Fashions fade, style is eternal Website:

TREND:

The Charlie Clutch

British style icon Vivienne Westwood has just launched a brand new website. In addition to learning about the brand’s history, viewing the catwalk collections and finding out about exciting developments in the world of the Dame, for the first time, the website will also offer an online shopping facility, with clothing and accessories from Red Label, Anglomania and MAN available.

The “Things I love” section is particularly inspired, where you can drag and drop anything that takes your fancy as you browse, to ponder guiltily over at your leisure.

MILITARY

Two truths of evening wear that ought to be universally acknowledged: accessories maketh the outfit, and regardless of how much you manage to pile in there, when it comes to bags, less is indisputably more. Wilbur and Gussie are well known for offering every permutation of the clutch imaginable, making it the perfect place to start when searching for a bag to finish off your Christmas outfit. The Charlie clutch is Wilbur and Gussie’s ‘signature’ style. This cute little silk envelope comes in various patterns and rich jewel-like colours, finished off with a sparkling, costume-esque clasp. www.wilburandgussie.com

www.viviennewestwood.com

MUST-HAVE ITEM:

The Military trend has become deeply encamped in the A/W collections, fortifying its fashion credentials for the last big push before Christmas. Jokes aside, this style stalemate makes military pieces a genuine fashion investment, standing its ground year on year. The Riley coat from Alice Temperley’s much-anticipated diffusion range adds a glamorous edge to an often utilitarian trend, embellished with the label’s signature silver braid and stud design. www.alicebytemperley.com

Alice by Temperley Riley Coat £440

Yves Saint Laurent

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E14 Photography:

Diana Pai

Fashion Editor:

Lucie Dodds

Black shearling coat, £2,500, black buckle belt, £99,

Jaeger 0845 051 0063. Black ‘Satin de Luxe’ hold-ups, £30, Wolford 020 7529 3000. Black suede boots, £160, Carvela at Kurt Geiger, 020 7673 9869. Black leather clutch bag, £325, Aspinal of London, 020 7719 0727, www.aspinaloflondon.com

Black lace dress, Massimo Dutti. Silver ‘Flutter & Wow’ cuff 395 silver ring 120 and silver and topaz ring 390 all Links of London 0845 120 2922 www.linksoflondon.com

Leopard print chiffon bow shirt, £125, L.K.Bennett, 0844 581 5881 Prince of Wales check waistcoat, £64.99 and trousers £64.99 Massimo Dutti. Gold ‘Cara’ clutch, £495, Jimmy Choo.

Thanks to Leanne and Robert at Canary Wharf Make-up: Yvette Redmond at Tiger Creative using Bare Escentuals Prime Time foundation primer, Eye Primer eyelid primer, bareMinerals original SPF 15 Foundation, Mineral Veil, bareMinerals Yellow Eyecolour in Soul (Texture: Velvet), Flawless Definition Mascara in Black & Lip Colour in Red Velvet Cake

Hair: Yvette Redmond at Tiger Creative using Kiehl’s Olive Fruit Oil Deeply Repairative Hair Pak, Creme with Silk Groom & Strong-Hold Styling Gel

Fan-tastic November 2010 saw the launch of the new Lulu Guinness fan bags. Lulu, who designed her first fan bag in 1995, has revised the original construction of the fan to create a modern, oversized shape. The limited edition range of fan bags, featuring three stunning designs, are named after Paloma Faith, Sophie Dahl and Rob Ryan, with each bag depicting their individual personalities. While the Paloma is encrusted with large Swarovski Crystals, creating a bold and bright statement, the Sophie fan bag is beautifully embroidered by hand with metallic thread, with Swarovski crystals delicately woven into the pattern.

Limited Edition Paloma Fan Bag, £795 Lulu Guinness 23 Royal Exchange 020 7626 5391 www.luluguinness.com

Stocking Fillers! must-have

Head to the Royal Exchange for all those last-minute luxury Christmas treats

Red delight at night

Hat trick

Sarah Shotton, Creative Director at Agent Provocateur, has introduced her must-haves for a fabulously festive holiday season. Top of Sarah’’s list is lingerie, resplendent in red – a guaranteed way to get hearts racing this December. ‘‘For me, red sums up the spirit of Christmas,.’’ says Sarah, ‘‘I love the Birthday Suit babydoll and lingerie set, as they transform you into the present, all wrapped up with ribbon and bows. What better way to treat your partner on Christmas morning!

Iconic British perfume house, Penhaligon’s, is delighted to introduce their 2010 Christmas Collection. Featuring an array of eccentric animals, their Christmas Collection boxes feature unique prints and rich colours that transform the traditional hat box into a modern and luxurious gift. Each gift is topped with a decadent over-sized velvet bow which doubles as a carrying handle. The hand-finished boxes contain a selection of Penhaligon’s products, from fine fragrance to complete grooming kits; there’s something for him, for her and for the home.

Birthday Suit Bra, £80 Birthday Suit Suspender, £75 Birthday Suit Brief, £70

Penhaligon’s 4 Royal Exchange 020 7623 3131 www.penhaligons.com

Agent Provocateur 5 Royal Exchange 020 7623 0229 www.agentprovocateur.com

Mini Ladies Fragrance Set, £32

Amazing amber

Get into the swing

For Christmas 2010, Smythson’s stunning Amber collection sees the introduction of printed snakeskin leather. The rich, burnt orange hue is complemented with by deep orange enamel- filled slides and clasps.

The collection takes inspiration from the jewel tones of Fabergé boxes. The collection includes beauty, travel, jewellery and business accessories.

Bachet’s stunning new Charleston jewellery collection was inspired by the rhythm and movements of the 1920’s Charleston dance form.

The interweaving rings echo the movements of chic flappers at the Folies Bergère in Paris. The striking Charleston collection first came to light in 2006 and is inspired by Josephine Baker’s movie, which influenced David Bachet’s vision.

Amber Beauty Pouch, £360

Bachet Ltd. 12 The Courtyard Royal Exchange 020 3405 1437 www.bachet-joaillier.com

Smythson 7 Royal Exchange 020 7621 1037 www.smythson.com

Charleston Rings, from £4,000

Unique beauty

Stars in your eyes

Tateossian presents Rare Stones, a collection of 18-carat gold cufflinks, featuring unusual precious and semi-precious stones.

The brainchild of Robert Tateossian, the Rare Stones Collection is a limited edition range that captures the spirit of his adventurous travelling, searching for unusual materials and craftsmanship excellence to shape them. The cufflinks settings have been worked around the stones to keep them as close as possible to their natural state. The gold in the frames, carved in ribbed filaments, varies in shades to marry beautifully with the stones they carry.

Celebrate this holiday season in style with the Tiffany & Co. Star black jade and diamond bracelet. The stunning white diamonds are carved into luxurious black jade, and then set into a bed of platinum. A resplendent and lookdefining statement, the inclusion of 18-carat white gold adds to the allure of the already desirable Tiffany & Co. Star bracelet. The must- have accessory this winter.

18-carat Gold Black Drussy Cufflinks, £5,125

Tiffany & Co 9 The Courtyard Royal Exchange 020 7409 2790 www.tiffany.co.uk

Tateossian 1/4 Royal Exchange 020 7283 3434 www.tateossian.com

Tiffany Black Jade Bracelet, £76,000

AGENT PROVOCATEUR || ARTISAN | BOODLES || BULGARI || CARTIER || CHURCH’S || CROCKETT & JONES || DE BEERS || GRAND CAFÉ AND BAR || GUCCI || HERMÈS || IMPERIAL CITY || JO MALONE || L’OCCITANE || LORO PIANA || LULU GUINNESS || MILLEPERLE || MOLTON BROWN || MONT BLANC || NAPKET || OMEGA || PAUL A. YOUNG FINE CHOCOLATES || PAUL SMITH || PAVAROTTI’S || PENHALIGON’S || PRETTY BALLERINAS || ROYAL EXCHANGE JEWELLERS || SAUTERELLE || SEARLE & CO || SMOKER’S PARADISE || SMYTHSON || TATEOSSIAN || THEO FENNELL || TIFFFANY & CO || Vilebrequin || WATCHES OF SWITZERLAND || WINT & KIDD

Royal Exchange, Bank, City of London, EC3V 3LR

www.theroyalexchange.co.uk

concierge jewellery

Objects of

Desire T

Fine jewellery combined with a family name that is deeply entrenched in the jewellery trade, Soley Fine Jewellery has a heritage that stretches back to 1901. Under the guidance of Mark Soley, today the brand is making a name for itself as it launches its own exclusive collection

he story of Soley takes us to St Petersburg, Russia, where great-grandfather Soley was a successful tobacconist-turned-diamond dealer and jewellery manufacturer. Suspecting an imminent uprising, the grandparents moved to the UK before the revolution to continue their profession, and by the 1930s great-grandfather Soley and his two sons were well and truly ensconced in the British jewellerymaking business.

When it came time for grandfather Soley to take over the business, he had grand plans for the name and diversification strategies to take them through the war, from importing watch mechanisms to manufacturing military badges and bicycle engines.

It was at this time that father Soley, David, learned his trade dealing in objets d’art, visiting the highest end retailers and establishments. To make his trips more worthwhile, he began to act as agent for other manufacturing jewellers. This in turn, by the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, led to Soley creating bespoke and limited edition jewellery for the leading houses around Bond Street.

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With jewellery well and truly in the Soley blood, Mark joined the business in the late 1980s and it was his turn to evolve the business further. Now in the hands of the fourth generation, Soley Fine Jewellery has the reputation and heritage that only over a century of skill and expertise can bring. But in order to survive in a market that was, at the time, in a state of flux, it was necessary to realise the potential of such heritage with the company’s own exclusive Soley brand.

As Mark shows me the scrapbook that holds all of the designs, for collections that cannot be named for integrity, there are creations of stunning ceremonial swords, jewelencrusted centrepieces and extravagant suites of jewels immaculately represented on every page.

“Our reputation within the industry is for design flair and in creating unique original pieces using only the highest quality, above average stones,” explains Mark. “But now is the time to take that reputation and realise it within the direct market.”

Currently, the brand is carried in 50 stores across the UK and with new premises between Clerkenwell and Bloomsbury, the workshops provide the perfect backdrop for some new beginnings.

Alongside these, the heritage has not been forgotten: the craftsmen and women are using traditional skills and new technologies to create individual pieces that will truly dazzle at any event.

Mark is a little coy when asked what further plans he has up his sleeve, but leaves us with some advice for investing in jewellery: “Diamonds are always a safe investment, but watch out for the return on investment potential of sapphires and emeralds.”

For further information, call 020 7242 1333 or visit www.soleyfinejewellery.com

5 CWpromotion

of the best As the gift-giving season descends upon us, turn to our pick of the best British brands for inspiration, top quality and guaranteed excellence

The latest collection from GTO London has evolved out of a passion for the ultimate boy’s toy: the classic, iconic Ferrari.

Launched at the glittering RM Auction, where the hammer fell for the James Bond DB5 Aston Martin, as driven in Goldfinger, the range owes its distinguishing features to the elegant interiors, engine parts and components that make up these worldfamous sports cars.

pieces include beautifully handcrafted cufflinks, tie pins, key fobs and money clips. Hand-stitched wallets and bespoke pieces are also available to order, making the perfect, unique present for the man who has it all. www.gtolondon.com

For 30 years, GTO Engineering has been dedicated to refurbishing, restoring and reconstructing antique collectible Ferraris. As such, all pieces are precision-made in the shape of Classic Ferrari engine parts, in gold, silver, rhodium and real Ferrari metal;

British

BRANDS

BOYS’ TOYS

SHOE BUSINESS It is said that you can judge a man by his shoes, so ensure yours are in tip top condition with a visit to James Shoe Care. This friendly, family run business, established in 1979, has an excellent reputation built on the high quality of service as well as personal attention to detail. Although specialists in shoe repairs, the company also offers a wide range of services, including engraving, key cutting, shoe shine, watch and jewellery repairs, logo embroidery, signage and exhibition support (mobile shoe shine).

There are three James Shoe Care units conveniently located in Canary Wharf (Cabot Place, Jubilee Place, Churchill Place), in the Docklands area and at Westfield London shopping centre so there is no excuse. www.jamesshoecare.co.uk

CITYpromotion

FOR A TRUE GENTLEMAN When Alfred Dunhill took over the family saddlery business in 1893, he dedicated himself to creating the very finest men’s apparel and accessories. Today dunhill combines this rich British heritage with style, innovation and functionality to create luxury menswear, leather goods, pens and men’s accessories, remaining ever faithful to dunhill’s business mantra: “It is not enough to expect a man to pay for the best; you must also give him what he has paid for.”

Today, from the ultimate luxury of bespoke or custom made suits and shirts to luggage which can be created to your exact specifications, dunhill continues to provide exceptional and surprising products for the discerning gentleman. In the 21st century this innovation has resulted in the Revolette pen which, inspired by the spinning barrel of a revolver, combines three writing instruments in one, as well as the use of carved mammoth tusk or crushed meteorite upon the brand’s hard products.

This Christmas, give the gift of adventure with the world-class, carbon fibre Explorer Snowboard, the gift of innovation with the Biometric Wallet (alarmed and linked to your mobile phone) or the gift of gaming with the sleek travel games compendium. www.dunhill.com

A VERY BRITISH AFFAIR Renowned for intrinsic British style since 1774, Mappin & Webb has earned a well-deserved reputation as a leading jewellery, silverware and glassware retailer and, thanks to the exceptionally high standard of craftsmanship and expertise, the company was granted the Royal Warrants in 1897 to become the silversmith to Her Royal Majesty the Queen and to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales.

With such historic credentials, Mappin & Webb’s latest collection of gifts and jewellery, A Very British Affair, invokes an age of elegance and simplicity. Jewellery items include the Sterling silver Jewellery Collection, the classic 18ct White gold diamond Timeless Collection and the eternity ring Encapture Collection. Gift items range from silver and crystal whisky tumblers to pyramid style decanters, hammered silver apprentice bowls and a range of photo frames and scented candles. The Mappin & Webb handcrafted and engraving service makes an occasion or that gift a touch more special or allows an existing family heirloom to be re-designed for contemporary fashion. www.mappinandwebb.com

THE FINER THINGS IN LIFE This year, British emporium William & Son celebrates a decade in their flagship store in the heart of Mayfair. William Asprey, Chairman of William & Son and a seventh generation member of the Asprey family, founded his eponymous luxury goods store at the start of the millennium, specialising in the eclectic, surprising and sometimes extravagant and offering customers a taste of the finer things in life.

The distinctive William & Son ethos of beauty, quality, innovation, tradition and value is evident in every product and in none more so than the William & Son tenth anniversary commemorative watch. Limited to only ten numbered pieces, each watch embodies the brand’s love of traditional craftsmanship with a modern twist. In the fluid motion of its automatic movement, coupled with its sleek, round, rose-gold face, it is clear to see that quality and detail are of the highest standard and, in addition to the watch’s aesthetic, a ruby cabochon has been inserted to the winding crown, as well as a power reserve to the dial, highlighting the technical refinement. www.williamandson.com

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28 Oct 2010 LiveCheshire FPG Artesio_DPS and FPG Master 28/10/2010 18:31 Page 1

ARTESIO

®

www.poggenpohl.com

www.poggenpohl.com

U ­ K,­IRELAND­&­GIBRALTAR­EXCLUSIVE­POGGENPOHL­KITCHEN­DESIGN­CENTRES: Aberdeen l Ascot – Berkshire l Barnet – London, Herts l Birmingham l Bournemouth l Carlisle l Colchester l Dublin 2 l EdinburghExmouth l Gibraltar l Glasgow l Guernsey Guildford l Kilmarnock l Kingston – Surrey l Leeds l London – Finchley Road NW3 l London – Harrods l London – Knightsbridge SW3 l London – Pimlico SW1 l London – Clapham SW11 l London – Waterloo SE1 l London – Wigmore St W1 l Manchester l Oxford l Salisbury l St. Albans l Wilmslow – Cheshire l Worthing – Sussex For a brochure or details of your nearest studio please call 08000 683 606 or visit our website www.poggenpohl.com

interiors

concierge

interiors

news

The Woven Beauty Bio Fires Come home to the comfort of a roaring fire this season, courtesy of furniture specialists Indian Ocean.

Essentially contemporary in design, these gorgeous fires feel perfectly at home in period properties too. As stunning on the inside as they are on the outside, the fires are fuelled using cleanburning Bio Ethanol, which means – you’ve guessed it – no emissions, ensuring an effortlessly luxurious yet ecofriendly way to keep warm over the winter months.

020 8675 4808 www.indian-ocean.co.uk

Solo Block Fire, £2,295

The latest designer offering from online interiors specialist, Arredo, is the ultra trendy, über chic ‘Ami Ami’ chair.

Manufactured in Italy by world famous interiors house, Kartell, ‘Ami Ami’ is sure to win favour among design savvy consumers.

Combining artisan craftsmanship with the latest technology and materials, any number of these chairs can be used to add depth and personality to modern design schemes.

Ideal for use as part of a dining set or for occasional seating, ‘Ami Ami’ comes in four en-vogue colour options; black, red, white and transparent. Crafted from super-strong Polycarbonate, the chair could be used in any number of applications, including a bathroom or pool room due to its versatile nature and splash-proof properties. www.arredo.co.uk

Real Flower Company Deck your door with beautiful fresh garden roses this Christmas. In a slightly more romantic twist on traditional decoration, this charming wreath is perfect for welcoming guests into the warmth. The wreaths are available in varying sizes and combinations and are all hand selected and tied by the people who grow them. Filled with natural scented flowers and herbs, you’ll have carol singers flocking to your doorstep from miles around.

01730 818300 www.realflowers.co.uk

Belgravia Christmas Sunday On Sunday 5 December, the shops of Motcomb Street, Elizabeth Street and Pimlico Road will be celebrating the festive season in style, treating shoppers and passers-by to a great range of special offers and lavish gift ideas.

Beautifully decorated Christmas stalls will line some of London’s most stylish streets, selling everything from festive food and drink

to children’s presents, interior accessories and crafts. Father Christmas will be there too, along with his reindeer and carol singers, so why not take the kids along and turn it into one big festive family outing?

020 7630 1411, www.grosvenorlondon.com Belgravia Christmas Sunday, 5 December 2010 11am–4pm

Door wreaths, from £60

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the trend Sim Smith looks at facets and folds for the contemporary office in a new take on modern masculinity

Wooden Split boxes modular wall bookcase by Peter Marigold, £164 (for a set of three), Skitsch 020 7589 1154; www.skitsch.com

Cardboard Speakers, £19.95, Muji 020 7323 2208; www.muji.co.uk

Crystal Luna limited edition sculpture in black by Lena Bergstrom for Orrefors, £1,375, Vessel Gallery 020 7727 8001; www.vesselgallery.com

Plane card, £3.50, Muji 020 7323 2208; www.muji.co.uk

Smooth batch-dyed polypropylene Masters chair in black by Philippe Starck with Eugeni Quitllet for Kartell, £120 per pair, Conran 0844 848 4000; www.conranshop.co.uk

Oak Papermaster magazine rack by Swedese £405, The Lollipop Shoppe 020 7655 4540; www.thelollipopshoppe.co.uk

interiors

concierge

Vacuum formed plastic One Light Only (OLO) pendant light in polished gold finish, from £295, Lee Broom 020 7820 0742; www.leebroom.com Platinum, gold plate and black lacquer Meisterstück Solitaire piston fountain pen with 18K gold nib, £990, Montblanc 020 7730 7681; www.montblanc.com

Powder coated steel Ribbon table lamp in black, from £39, Habitat 0844 499 1111; www.habitat.co.uk

Powder coated steel Ribbon coat stand in black, £620, Decode 020 7254 9026; www.decodelondon.com

Wooden PILE ON game by Mamoru Fukui/Daimon Kanno/Yuta Fuki, £34, U+ Collection www.umbra.com

Metal and glass Atlas rectangular table in bronze finish, £1,549, Tom Faulkner 020 7351 7272; www.tomfaulkner.co.uk

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concierge interiors

the address book

Sim Smith indulges in a shopping experience like no other on London’s New Bond Street

Armani Casa Next door to the fashion boutique that houses Armani’s latest couture collections is his home offering, Armani Casa. Perfectly situated for those who love the characteristic Italian style of his designs, it’s quite easy to spend an afternoon choosing between cashmere coats and silk-lined cushions. Step in through the unassuming exterior to what seems like a chic new hotel: subdued lighting, smooth music and a distinct air of cool.

Corrugated steel-coloured panels line the walls and act as room dividers, expertly luring clients into what seem like private rooms. In an extension of his classic colour palette, Armani has devised a collection in muted taupe, washed-out grey and glossy black, seamlessly marrying both his fashion and furniture lines whilst creating perfect interiors for the contemporary home. The attention really is in the detail here; from juxtaposing textures of silk and steel to luxury accessories, nobody does elegant masculine style quite like Armani.

Downstairs, larger room settings are on show: bedrooms, bathrooms and even an Armani kitchen.

Walking round it, I can’t help but feel I’m in a plush Mayfair bachelor pad, all glossy, functional and sleek and, as I pass a concealed bar area, I secretly hope I might be invited back for cocktails!

113 New Bond Street, 020 7079 1930, www.armanicasa.com

Ralph Lauren Home Ralph Lauren Home is quite simply one of the most sought-after interiors collections around. Whether you’re decking out your city pad or country abode, this store really does have it all. Similar to his catwalk collections, Ralph Lauren’s Home line produces both a quintessentially masculine and feminine collection each season, so whether you’re looking for inspiration for a boys-only smoking room or a Park Lane princess boudoir, you will not be disappointed.

With room settings that I would quite happily move into, the New Bond Street store effortlessly showcases Ralph Lauren’s all-American dream home from start to finish. Walk through super yacht-style bedrooms complete with leather buttoned beds and backgammon sets to Parisian-inspired living rooms filled with pale pink tulle-covered cushions and delicately beaded photo frames. There are always immense flower displays in the store with lovely scented candles flickering as you pass through into various rooms. The store also houses a fabulous home accessory and antique collection, which is perfect for extravagant gift buying or for adding a little touch of Ralph Lauren style to your home.

No.1 New Bond Street, www.ralphlauren.com

Smythson Smythson on New Bond Street is marked by the distinctive Nile blue flag that hangs outside its doors. The period building seems very fitting for this archetypal British brand, housing one of the most coveted ranges of luxury leather goods. Established in 1887, Smythson is the proud holder of three Royal Warrants and is the only Britishrun luxury goods company on Bond Street. The store’s interior is as impressive as its facade, with beautiful cornices and broad-columned archways steering your path past the very striking green marble fireplace at the front of the store. Dark wooden cabinets and display cases show off a parade of coloured leather goods, accessories and musthave handbags to their very best, convincing passers-by to take a closer look. With inspiration drawn from archive pieces, new trends and a catalogue of products that span fashion, travel and business accessories, it’s no wonder that Smythson has such a dedicated following. The company also offers personalised stationery printing in store, perfect for those who are after something that little bit different.

40 New Bond Street, 020 7629 8558, www.smythson.com

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Five out of five for the King of Kempton Park

Close up detail of the fine art print

If you are considering backing against Kauto Star to win his fifth consecutive King George VI Chase at Kempton Park on Boxing Day, good luck! But the odds will be against any other result.

Kauto Star has won 17 of his 25 chases, including this major event for the past 4 years, and picking up two Cheltenham Gold Cup victories en route (and a second in between the two wins). Although second does not count for much, when you have only ever finished 1st or 2nd, you earn respect! Especially at this level.

Kauto Star “In a Class of his Own” This is the ultimate limited edition art print of the best steeple chaser of his generation and arguably the most successful of all time. It’s available now. The study shows Kauto Star jumping the second last fence in his record breaking fourth King George VI Chase victory in 2009.

The amazing winning margin of 36 lengths was emphatic; unbelievably subsequent Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, Imperial Commander finished some 63 lengths behind Kauto Star, in fifth place.

The artist. Caroline Cook, renowned, respected and loved for her works of horses has created this beautiful study of Kauto Star’s finest hour. Art Prints are available exclusively from Identity Images.

Live racing commentary recorded Kauto jumped this fence perfectly.

Raceform summed up his overall performance as magnificent:

Jockey Ruby Walsh celebrates with connections as Kauto Star wins his second Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2009

“Jumped superbly, settled midfield, steady progress 9th, went 2nd 12th and soon clear of rest, led on long run to 3 out, swept clear, magnificent.”

And for those who were fortunate to witness this race last December, it is impossible to think of any other result. He skipped his way around Kempton Park so fluently, jumping superbly in the greatest performance the race has ever seen.

Imperial Commander from the popular Twiston-Davies stable will have plenty of support, especially given his victory in the Cheltenham Gold Cup this March, in which Kauto Star was not his usual fluent self, and he fell four out.

The going was officially ‘Good’ but the course was watered that morning and there was rain in the afternoon. However ‘Good’ the ground in fact was, it was sticky, tacky on the surface, and may not have suited Kauto Star’s usual fluent action. Both the winner and runner-up Deman are better suited by soft conditions.

There had been a dramatic head to head with Imperial Commander at Haydock on the soft the previous November, when Kauto Star got the verdict by ‘a nose’ in a very tight photo finish. But in between these two races, of course, was last December’s King George in which Kauto Star was a class apart with a record breaking performance, 36 lengths ahead of his nearest rival, and having Imperial Commander over 63 lengths behind in 5th!

Kauto Star will be 11 years old in January and last December was without doubt the peak of a magnificent career. But it’s not over yet and Kauto Star will start favourite to make it 5 out of 5 in the South-East’s premiere steeplechase.

The King George VI Chase is on Sunday 26th December Kempton Park, Sunbury-on-Thames, KT16 5AQ Telephone 01932 782292

A Superb Fine Art Limited Edition of 500 prints £97.50 On 310gsm Hahnemuhle Etching Paper - velvety smooth and simply the best art paper in the world - paper size designed for 24”x20” frame, image area 19.25”x15”. Each signed and numbered by the artist.

Order Online at www.identityimages.com or by telephone 01303 267635 Money back guarantee on any returns Payments via Streamline & RBS WorldPay - Debit or Credit Card Normal delivery 7 days add £4.85 - 48 hours @ £10.50 Price for prints only - ready for framing

TWO TICKETS TO WATCH TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR PLAY MANCHESTER UNITED ON 16 JANUARY 2011 Join Spurs Legends in the Danny Blanchflower Suite for an unforgettable match day experience, courtesy of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.

The premium package includes: • Three-course carvery meal with wine and liqueurs • Complimentary Bar (three hours prior to the match and one hour post match) • Post-Match Buffet • Seats in the Upper West Stand Block 8 • Souvenir Gift • Match Day Programme • Meet the Spurs Legends Dress code: smart casual. No trainers, shorts or football shirts. Smart jeans are permitted.

For more information, visit www.tottenhamhotspur.com/hospitality

THE PRIZE Premium match day package as described, including two tickets, to watch Tottenham Hotspur play Manchester United at White Hart Lane on 16 January 2011 Kick off at 4.10pm

how to win To be in with a chance of winning this fantastic match day package, email your name and telephone number to competitions@ runwildgroup.co.uk with TOTTENHAM in the subject bar. The closing date for entries is 31 December, 2010.

Terms and Conditions: Competition is open to UK residents aged 18 or over. Competition closes at 23:59 on 31 December 2010; entries received thereafter will be discarded. One entry per household. Tottenham Hotspur reserves the right to select an alternative winner, should the original winner not confirm delivery details within 7 days of notification. The prize consists of a match day hospitality package, including two tickets, for the Tottenham Hotspur – Manchester United match on 16 January 2011 at White Hart Lane: please note that the package content is subject to change if the date or kick-off time is changed by the FA Premier League. Prize is non-transferrable and there is no cash alternative. The promoter reserves the right to withdraw or amend this promotion. By entering this competition you agree to your details being used by Runwild Media Group and Tottenham Hotspur Football Club for marketing purposes.

Please see www.runwildmediagroup.com/subscriptions for full terms and conditions.

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health & fitness

concierge

health & fitness

news

TAKE THE PLUNGE In a BBC survey of 50 Things To Do Before You Die, scuba-diving took no fewer than four slots in the top ten for activities such as swimming with sharks and dolphins. The experts at City Divers have trained hundreds since launching in 1994 as one of London’s best PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) centres. They pride themselves on small instructor–student ratios and the only prerequisites for their Open Water course are that you are over ten, in reasonably good health and can swim a few lengths in the pool. www.citydivers.co.uk

WINTER WARMER

THE GYM KING Stave off the mince pies and second helpings of turkey this Christmas and join one of Europe’s most élite private members sports clubs.

Occupying 100,000 square feet, the equivalent of three football pitches across three floors, the Reebok Club boasts the UK’s largest spin studio, a bespoke Pilates studio, a 13-metre climbing

FULL ANALYSIS Strap the Ki Fit monitor to the tricep of your left arm for 24 hours and it reads your body like a book, telling you how many calories you’ve burned in any given period, how much you’ve exerted yourself, and even how deeply you’ve slept. Its sensors pick up on elements like motion, skin temperature and heat flux (heat produced by muscles working) to the tune of 9,000 data readings a minute. Plug it into your computer and connect to an interactive website, which breaks down your body’s activity hour by hour. There’s also a detailed meal-logging system to measure your daily calorie intake, producing a ‘calorie balance’ – what you’re burning relative to what you consume. See how the Ki Fit can transform your weight loss programme and try it for 12 months, for just £299.99 (instead of £318.56) by putting CITY into the voucher code box when purchasing. www.kiperformance.co.uk

wall, a 23-metre swimming pool, indoor golf and more than 150 fitness classes a week. So much more than a place to work out, this truly sets the standard for luxury sports clubs worldwide. With no subscription fee until 2011, get an early start on your New Year’s resolution. www.reebokclub.co.uk

Winter’s low humidity can be lethal for your skin, stripping it of moisture and causing dryness and cracks on the surface. Jack Black Double Duty Face Moisturiser provides lasting hydration without an oily texture.

The emollient formula locks in moisture and forms a protective barrier to protect skin from the brutal elements. www.getjackblack.com

ABS S.O.S The winter months have a tendency to send your abs into hibernation, but don’t neglect the mid-section for too long, or you’ll regret it when the beach weather arrives. This Ab Rescue Body Sculpting Gel helps tighten and tone the appearance of abs, with energy-enhanced thermogenic formula to prime your abs for the summertime. www.labseriesformen.co.uk

Brought to you in association with The Wellington Hospital, one of the world’s leading private hospitals. www.thewellingtonhospital.com

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THE SILENT KILLER High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is often considered a silent killer. If left untreated, people suffering from this condition can develop serious complications. The experts at The Wellington Hospital take a closer look at the dangers

Your blood pressure levels will vary during the day, that’s only natural as the stresses and strains of life take their toll. That said, anyone can develop high blood pressure and it doesn’t have an obvious cause.

Hence it has been labelled the silent killer and deserves more attention than it typically receives.

A common condition, high blood pressure is said to affect one in three adults in England. What is more alarming is that an estimated 18 per cent of adult men and 13 per cent of adult women have high blood pressure but are not getting treatment for it.

According to NHS statistics, in 90 to 95 per cent of cases, there is no single identifiable reason for a rise in blood pressure, however all available evidence shows that lifestyle plays a significant role in regulating your blood pressure; age, poor diet, lack of exercise, being overweight and excessive alcohol.

How can I tell if I have high blood pressure?

You may feel perfectly well, as high blood pressure usually causes no symptoms and generally will go undiscovered until a doctor happens to take your blood pressure. If you have very high blood pressure you may experience dizziness, headaches, blurred vision and possible breathlessness.

The only way you can tell for sure if you have high blood pressure is to have it measured by your doctor.

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Intrinsically linked to these lifestyle factors and high blood pressure is high blood cholesterol, and the UK population has one of the highest average cholesterol concentrations in the world.

“From the evidence available to us today, it is apparent that heart diseases are not caused by a single factor, but rather a combination of them,” says Dr Al-Obaidi, consultant cardiologist at The Wellington Hospital.

“Whilst there are factors that at the moment we cannot influence, for example familial tendencies, there are many treatable disorders and lifestyle changes that could make a substantial impact on the development of heart disease.

Lifestyle changes are at the forefront of any measure to reduce heart illness, including healthy diet, regular exercise and sensible drinking. There are also conditions where medicines could be required. The commonest of these are high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels.

“My advice to people who have heart problems is that there is a whole variety of options and treatments which can restore your lifestyle to normal, and my advice to people without a heart illness is don’t wait for it to happen, act now and we can help you avoid it.”

What are the dangers of having high blood pressure?

High blood pressure in itself is not a disease, but it can cause serious health problems such as, heart disease and strokes. You are also more likely to suffer from kidney damage or failure.

One of the most common and life-

threatening complications of high blood pressure is the damage caused to the brain. High blood pressure can affect the normal flow of blood to the brain, which in turn can lead to various complications. This includes transient ischemic attack (TIA) or ministroke, which can be an indicator of a more severe stroke in the future.

Other problems are strokes, dementia and cognitive impairment.

High blood pressure is also one of the main risk factors, as far as heart attacks and heart failure is concerned. The consistent strain on the heart muscles, due to high blood pressure, may weaken them causing arrhythmias and may also cause heart failure over the course of time.

Dangers of high blood pressure are not mild symptoms, but are very severe conditions, which can sometimes have serious or fatal results.

High blood pressure is on the increase; don’t get caught out.

For more information call The Wellington Hospital Enquiry Line on 020 7483 5148 or visit www.thewellingtonhospital.com

Dr Al-Obaidi is a Consultant Cardiologist at The Wellington Hospital. His postgraduate research was undertaken at the National Heart and Lung Institute and his specialist training at the Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals.

His practice encompasses patients with a variety of heart disorders, including coronary artery disease, heart failure and patients requiring pacemaker implantation.

HELPING YOU MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE Our service is designed with you in mind We have an outstanding reputation of excellence in the field of cosmetic surgery.

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supported by the very latest diagnostic, imaging and treao The Wellington Hospital is one

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At The Wellington Hospital you have the assurance of quality care with state-of-the-art equipment and first class surroundings.

We offer a range of procedures including:

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hospitals withfacilities an international reputation for the conditions. State-of-the-art include:

hospital group.

It provides a wid of its medical care.

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hospital group. It provides a wide range of acute • 6 4 slice CT scanners able to provide images of the heart and its assoc enabling fast and ac supported by the technology, very latest diagnostic, imaging blood vessels with higher definition than before

conditions. facil technology, enabling fast andState-of-the-art accurate diagnosis

• Abdominoplasty

• t he latest MRI scanners; the full range of x-ray and ultrasound, angiog conditions. State-of-the-art facilities include: • 64 slice CT scanners able to provide fluoroscopy plus a cardiac research centre

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blood vessels with higher definition t • 6 4 slice CT scanners able to provide images of the heart an blood vessels with higher definition than before endoscopic ultrasound facilities enabling gastroenterologists to empl • the latest MRI scanners; the full range latest diagnostic & treatment techniques, including capsule endoscop fluoroscopy plus a cardiac research c • the latest MRI scanners; the full range of x-ray and ultrasou fluoroscopy plus a cardiac research centre • endoscopic ultrasound facilities enab a range of minimally invasive surgical procedures that are performed latest diagnostic & treatment techniq • endoscopic ultrasound facilities enabling gastroenterologis one incision in the belly button, which is virtually scarless surgery latest diagnostic & treatment techniques, including capsule • a range of minimally invasive surgica a 45-bedroom Acute Neuro Rehabilitation Unit, which is the best equ one incision in the belly button, whic • a range of minimally invasive surgical procedures that are p and most extensive in the UK one incision in the belly button, which is virtually scarless su • a 45-bedroom Acute Neuro Rehabilit and most extensive in the UK the largest Critical Care facility in the private sector • a 45-bedroom Acute Neuro Rehabilitation Unit, which is the and most extensive in the UK • the largest Critical Care facility in the

Take the first step to a new you The hospital has a dedicated GP Liaison service giving GPs and pa • the largest Critical Care facility in the private sector The hospital has a dedicated GP Liai easy, fast access to the hospital’s extensive services & facilities. F by calling our team today easy, fast access to the hospital’s ex

further information please contact the Helpline: The hospital has a dedicated GP Liaison service giving G

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further information please contact t easy, fast access to the hospital’s extensive services & fa 020 7483 5148 Tel: 020 7483 5148 further information please contact the Helpline:

Fax:

020 7483 5618 Fax: Tel: 020 7483 5148

020 7483 5618

Email: wellington.enquiryhelpline@h Fax: 020 7483 5618 Email: wellington.enquiryhelpline@hcahealthcare.co.uk

www.thewellingtonhosp Email: wellington.enquiryhelpline@hcahealthcare.co.uk

www.thewellingtonhospital.com

www.thewellingtonhospital.com Wellington Place, St Johns Wood

Wellington Place, St Johns Wood, London NW8 9LE

Wellington Place, St Johns Wood, London NW8 9L

Not just another day at the office WELCOME TO TOWN HALL HOTEL & APARTMENTS

Not just another day at the office WELCOME TO TOWN HALL HOTEL & APARTMENTS

T O W N H A L L H O T E L & A PA R T M E N T S

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www.townhallhotel.com

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Patriot Square, London, e2 9nf

15/1/10 09:49:00

travel destination food & drink

explore egypt ANTWERP ........................ goldfish bowl

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A CELEBRATION OF LOVE

T The season is upon us and purveyors of luxury, Caviar House & Prunier, offer their most sought-after tin of caviar – YSL Love!

aking food pairing to the next extreme, luxury food and couture fashion collaborate in the latest venture between Caviar House & Prunier and Yves Saint Laurent; YSL Love Caviar.

A celebration of the fashion icon’s love for caviar, previously unreleased drawings (from a selection of personal note cards) have been transposed onto the lids of limited edition tins full of the coveted black pearls.

Containing his favourite Saint James variety from the sustainable Prunier caviar range, these

collector item additions are a must-have for any art, fashion or food lover and make the perfect treat on a chilly winter’s day. Caviar House & Prunier also have a new online gift selection, which offers luxurious hampers and accessories.

The YSL Love Caviar starts from £345 for 125g. Bespoke, extra special YSL Love Caviar Hampers are also available – perfect for sharing with friends and family this Christmas. Available from Caviar House & Prunier nationwide. n For further information, visit www.caviarhouse-prunier.com

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travel

travel

news

connoisseur

SWEDISH DESIGN MEETS ITALIAN INDULGENCE On 1 December 2010, Design Hotels’™ newest member in Stockholm, the Nobis Hotel, opens.

It has been designed by the renowned Scandinavian architecture and interior design firm, Claesson Koivisto Rune, and is located on Norrmalmstorg square in the heart of Stockholm’s business and shopping district. The 201-room hotel will have a very personal approach to service, and spaces include the Italian restaurant Caina, 24/7 Bistro, The Gold Bar and The Lounge. “The designers have drawn on their personal experiences as global travellers and created a contemporary luxury hotel, which is thought through in every detail from a guest’s perspective,” says Design Hotels™ founder and CEO, Claus Sendlinger. www.designhotels.com/nobis_hotel

LIFE IN THE MEDINA Be one of the first to explore the new Riad Dar Zaouia hotel in Morocco, the latest addition to the Angsana Riads collection. Officially opening on 1 January 2011, its name means ‘a place of retreat’ in Arabic and is designed for those seeking intimate, romantic surroundings in a quiet place of refined, relaxed elegance Tucked away behind the mystical walls of the medina and just a stroll from the famous

Djemaa el Fna square, the Riad has six unique deluxe bedrooms and one special suite, all with authentic Moroccan antiques and textiles. The hotel provides a host who acts as a personal assistant and creates tailor-made itineraries, from booking spa appointments to arranging specialist souk shopping and sightseeing excursions to the desert dunes or Atlas Mountains. www.angsana.com

Travel Fact Londoners have voted France the number one short haul destination for a happy holiday, according to the results of a new survey by the organisers of The France Show 2011. www.thefranceshow.com

Hold an unforgettable office party this year.

Turkey and sausages are replaced by international cuisine and a concert by the BRIT Awardnominated British pop rock band The Feeling and Daisy B, featuring live acoustic music.

The venue is The Hotel Saint Louis in Courchevel 1850 in France, situated opposite the Bellecôte piste with doorstep skiing, ensuite rooms and facilities for meetings, events and conferences as well as private dining and evening entertainment.

The special four-day weekend price for 10–13 December 2010, including flights, transfers, half board with pre-dinner drinks and canapés, two-day Three Valleys lift pass and concert, costs £590 per person (twin room) and £690 (single room).

Website of the month: www.samsonite.co.uk

FLEXISKI

Samsonite has reported a boom in sales of its business laptop backpacks, up a staggering 350 per cent year on year, signifying a move towards the ‘modern briefcase’ and a huge turn towards the use of work cycle schemes, championed in London by Boris Johnson. Try out Samsonite’s Pro-DLX3 range, a sleek and sophisticated business case collection, constructed out of tough Armoured Nylon. This year the company celebrates its 100th anniversary as the world’s leading luggage brand.

For more information and to book, call 020 8939 0864 or visit www.flexiski.com

Brought to you in association with Small Luxury Hotels of the World, an unsurpassable collection of over 500 hotels spanning 70 countries, which offer an infinite variety of experiences.

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Sharm THE CHARM OF

Offering guaranteed sunshine, a wide range of hotels and one of the world’s premier scuba diving spots, Sharm el Sheikh has become a popular destination with Britons in search of sun, sea and sand. Emma Fitzmaurice discovers the resort and tests three of the finest hotels

T

he site of Sharm el Sheikh shows up as early as 1762 on a Spanish map but, until about 1968, it was nothing more than a quiet fishing community. However, in recent years, Sharm el Sheikh has become one of Egypt’s best-known and most visited beach resorts. In fact, in recent years, the Egyptian government has worked hard to spread around the holidaymakers by developing or encouraging the development of many other beach resorts – but Sharm remains the leading tourist spot in the Sinai and there are a number of reasons for this.

First of all, it is a year-round resort, hot in the summer, but pleasant and warm in the winter, and it has an international airport that attracts both private and international charter flights – flight time from the UK is only four and a half hours, with minimal transfer time once you land.

Next, the area on the tip of the Southern Sinai features some of the world’s most amazing underwater scenery.

Here, one finds crystal clear water, rare and beautiful reefs, and an incredible variety of exotic fish amongst the colourful coral. Much of this can be seen simply by snorkelling off the coast, but of course it is well known worldwide for scuba diving, with easy access to some of the Red Sea’s most prominent and interesting dive sites.

Just to the south of Sharm, on the very tip of the Sinai, is also one of Egypt’s oldest and most beautiful, mostly underwater protectorates, Ras Mohamed.

To accommodate divers, Sharm has every possible amenity, including first-rate dive shops, centres and boats.

Many of these are operated by Europeans, and they also provide excellent diving training. A few of the oldest include the Camel Dive Centre and South Sinai Divers.

There is more to Sharm, however, than the beaches, sea and landscape. It is a well-developed area that almost seems more like a European resort than Egyptian, with

refined facilities and amenities including, these days, some more budget-oriented accommodations as well as five star hotels equal to most elsewhere in the world. And, while one is capable of spending any budget at their disposal here, for most Europeans, it remains a relatively inexpensive alternative to more costly beach resort alternatives elsewhere.

Add to this the fact that, because of the number of tourists who continually pour into Sharm, there is just about every activity a holidaymaker could hope to find; name a water sport and it can be found here. There is also every other activity from off-roading to championship golf.

The resort consists of three main areas: the old town, Sharm el Maya (Moya), and its bay; a number of other bays, where most of the tourist facilities are located, though in fact some very fine resorts are located elsewhere; and El Hadaba, where there are vacations villas, apartments, condominiums and a few hotels.

Out of all the bays, probably Na’ama Bay, which means “pleasant” in Hebrew, is best known, and this is also where the most hotels are located. Up the coast just a bit, near the airport, one finds some of the newer, very exclusive hotels, including the Four Seasons, the Hyatt, the Intercontinental, another Hilton, the Sheraton, and the Movenpick Golf Hotel, which was host to Egypt’s first professional golf tournament. A number of other hotels are scattered about, including the Ritz Carlton and the Hilton Waterfalls to the south of Na’ama Bay nearer to downtown.

Sharm el Sheikh is really, in the end, an extravaganza of entertainment in a beach setting backed by the natural wonders and historic enclaves of the Sinai. Let there be no doubt that Sharm is a tourist town with little other purpose, but the community has taken pride in making it more than a holiday destination.

For further information, visit www.sharmelsheikh.com

travel

connoisseur

FOR INDULGENT FAMILY HOLIDAYS: THE RITZ CARLTON An immense blue horizon greets Emma Fitzmaurice as she walks into the huge reception area of the Ritz Carlton Sharm el Sheikh as glass replaces walls and makes the most of the hotel’s spectacular setting on the edge of the Red Sea The startling inky blue of the water is complemented by the deep green of the constantly watered lawns. Amazingly, after the arid, rocky terrain I’d crossed to get here, the extensive gardens are ablaze with blossom and flowers.

Here you feel you are in your own oasis and the myriad other hotels don’t impose. The beach is private and boasts a multi-award-winning dive centre with a free trial session in any of the seven pools if you’re feeling adventurous.

Two sides of my ground-floor deluxe corner room are floor-to-ceiling glass with stunning sea views and doors which open onto a spacious tiled patio leading to hammock swinging enticingly from two tree trunks, manicured lawn and coral beach. I can literally walk out of my ‘front’ door and head into the inviting sea to discover the multitude of colours that await beneath. Generously proportioned, the room has a full-size bath and separate shower, two deep armchairs and a decadently comfortable king-size bed. A wide-screen satellite television, minibar and kettle complete the home comforts.

The pools, beach and gardens were never crowded and it was always possible to find a pleasant and secluded spot, within the

orbit of obliging, unobtrusive staff. Even though there are 321 rooms they are spread out over 100,000 square metres. This, and the fact that the beach area is a series of small coves rather than a single swathe of sand, adds to the feeling of peace and exclusivity. Beach umbrellas are permanent aesthetic features, woven from wicker and installed on palm trunks and the wooden loungers have thick mattresses.

I found lunch at the relaxed, open-air, beach restaurant The Waves was a delightful experience with light, refreshing options in the setting of the Red Sea and the gentle breeze.

Alternatively swim up to The Pyramid Bar & Grill for the signature grilled steak sandwich, fortunately there’s the lazy river back. Italian, Japanese and Arabian restaurants are the other dining options; Fayrouz is a great experience with authentic and modern Lebanese flavours and the El Kahn terrace with colourful rugs, brass lamps, Arabesque lamps and traditional cushion seating. And for the romantically inclined, candlelit dinners can be arranged in individual pagodas along the shore.

There’s nightly entertainment in the Lobby Bar and lowkey activities during the day, as well as a children’s club. Kids will love the lazy river and water park. This is not hi-de-hi, though. The focus is on relaxing, fine dining and diving.

Although we didn’t get the time to enjoy it, the Spa with its ten treatment rooms is very popular. It includes two couple’s rooms, a Thai massage room, Arabian massage tent overlooking the Red Sea and a full-service beauty salon.

If you do want to focus on the Spa then the Red Sea Spa package comes highly recommended; this includes bed and breakfast, choice of spa treatment, one hour tennis session and airport transfers.

For me the exclusive setting, tropical gardens and amazing techni coloured sea life on my doorstep made this stay memorable.

For further information call 0020 693661919 or visit www.ritzcarlton.com

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FOR ULTIMATE LUXURY: THE FOUR SEASONS

Luxury, luxury, luxury is what we have come to expect from the Four Seasons Hotels, but this one is a little different, perhaps a little more inspired says Hermione Murray Currently, the Four Seasons is not only considered to be the finest hotel in Sharm, but it has also been ranked by the Egyptian Hotel Association as the finest resort in Egypt from the moment it was built.

An ultimate luxury abode may not be for everyone, but then again, this isn’t the typical offering and everyone we have spoken to who has stayed at the hotel loves it. There are no stuffy staff here. They are both professional and super helpful and the resort is very well known for being quiet and relaxing. What’s more, even at full capacity there always seems to be space.

Entering the hotel requires going through a few security measures, which might very well be expected since the hotel caters to some very special celebrity and political guests.

Once through security however, guests are met at the reception area with lovely cold, lemon fragranced face towels and strawberry and banana fruit drinks, which are a welcome treat. After a painless and efficient check-in, travelling to your room is done à la golf cart.

The resort’s rooms are clustered in villas that climb up a gentle hillside with the main resort building at the top along with all the family suites. The accommodation options include 136 private guest rooms, 27 of which are suites. All of them have a balcony or terrace, and most have stunning Red Sea views.

Standard rooms and suites are spacious but if you need more room with your view then the Royal suite is the ultimate decadent experience, with stylish accommodation over 490 square metres that also includes several terraces,

a private garden, an outdoor pool and its own private beach.

Of course, there are the typical amenities one expects of a good hotel, such as a pool and a number of fine restaurants, though none of these facilities could be described as typical.

The hotel features five restaurants and grills. Our favourite was The Arabesque - an open concept restaurant that offers indoor and al fresco dining in the main building. Its Ablaq design is exquisite. It offers Mediterranean, Moroccan and Lebanese cuisine, and specialises in Middle Eastern mezzah and fresh seafood. More upscale, the Il Frantoio serves authentic Italian regional (northern Italy) cuisine in an intimate atmosphere.

The heated, free-form main pool features a landscaped pool deck, island bar, private canvas cabanas, and even underwater music (yes, underwater music) and views of the Red Sea. There is no need to rise early, towel in hand, in order to find a suitable space.

Of course, here in Sharm, the Four Seasons is indeed a beach resort, and therefore offers considerably expanded facilities. The private beach belonging to the Four Seasons stretches 100 metres and has imported, smooth white sand.

Otherwise, the hotel has all the facilities one might expect from the best of the best; a tennis club, complete fitness centre and health and beauty spa and of course, dive centre.

To conclude it is worth noting that The Four Seasons, Sharm is considered to not only the finest hotel in Egypt, but one of only a handful of the finest in the world.

Rates start from £310 per room per night on a bed and breakfast basis (including tax).

For further information call 00800 6488 6488 or visit www.fourseasons.com/sharmelsheikh

travel

connoisseur

FOR TOTAL RELAXATION: THE ROYAL SAVOY Michael Cronin experiences the all-inclusive Royal Savoy.

Leaving his wallet in the room has never felt so good The reason being we were booked on the S Class Ultra all-inclusive package which is highly recommended; where all meals, a wide choice of soft and alcoholic drinks, sports and leisure facilities are included.

Our extremely spacious and cool bedroom had a huge veranda overlooking the series of layered swimming pools, sun loungers and, in the distance, the Red Sea. Overall the modern design of the Resort is a blend of Arabic, Moorish and European architecture. The bedroom is contemporary with a four-poster bed and lounge area. In suite hospitality and entertainment include flowers, fruit basket, daily cakes and chocolates, soft drink minibar, tea and coffee, DVD library and wi-fi. Free laundry (seven items pp) is also part of this super package.

Royal Savoy guests have the use of two private swimming pools with private bar and enjoy complimentary use of the Health Club facilities with sauna, jacuzzi, steam bath and gym. The White Knight private beach with a fine view of Tiran Island, has a bar, sports facilities and Sheikh Coast Diving Centre with its own reef and shipwreck for snorkelling and swimming.

Begin the day with a leisurely breakfast in the Royal Lounge - the extensive buffet is fantastic with pastries, fresh fruits, hot and cold dishes. Outside on the terrace, however, is the ever-smiling egg chef, the man with the pan, who will cook your eggs and omelette any which way.

Beyond the swimming pools, the landscaped gardens feature lush tropical foliage and waterfalls where you'll find several themed bars, bistros and restaurants. The Cave bar features oriental music where you can try a shisha water pipe. As you explore the resort, sip a chilled cocktail or two before deciding where to have lunch. Seafood Island located

above the beach offers sea views and a fishy feast. First come platters of salads, hummus, olives and flat bread, before main courses of grilled juicy prawns, squid or seabass cooked on a charcoal grill, served with skewered vegetables and rice.

A siesta will be required after all this so find a lounger beside the private Royal Savoy swimming pools with their own bar. In the afternoon the Royal lounge is the place for tea and cake, then later on return here for an aperitif and canapés.

For dinner, the only problem is choosing where to eat.

For a romantic setting reserve a table at Caligula, lavishly decorated in an Ancient Roman decor, where from the moment you arrive service is formal, friendly and gracious.

Dining here is a fun "do it yourself" affair, where you grill your choice of sizzling steak, lamb, beef ribs, salmon or tuna on a slab of hot volcanic rock. The restaurant is also a ballroom with classical Latino and salsa music playing, so after dinner, tango the night away.

Alternatively, there’s Soho Square. This deluxe retail and nightlife concept has been created beside the Savoy Resort to offer guests a virtual mini "city centre" of boutiques, bars, restaurants, ice-rink, bowling, live music events and a London pub. This is a smart, sophisticated drinking, dining and entertainment venue where, ultimately you can dine around the world.

In 2009 the Savoy Resort won "Egypt's Leading Resort Hotel" for the fourth year in succession and Soho Square won "World's Leading Family Entertainment Centre" at the World Travel Awards.

Paying for an all-inclusive stay here is worth every penny and creates a much more relaxing ambience. You are welcomed like a VIP from arrival to departure, treated like royalty in the sun. n For further information call 0069 3602 500 or visit www.savoy-sharm.com

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connoisseur travel

Destination...

Antwerp

Brimming with hidden gems around every corner, the medieval city of Antwerp combines a culturally rich past with a vibrant and stylish present What to see::

Hands up!

Antwerp is awash with stunning historic buildings, showcasing distinct, intricate and beautiful Flemish architecture dating back to the Renaissance and Medieval periods. Take a stroll around the Grote Markt, the heart of Antwerp’s old town, where the old guildhalls and town hall sit. Here you will find the Brabo statue, whose story is intrinsically linked with the story of Antwerp itself. The statue depicts the Roman soldier Brabo brandishing the hand of a giant, who it was said cut off the hands of sailors who refused to pay him a toll to cross the Scheldt river. The hand has subsequently become the symbol of Antwerp, appearing in the town flag and also in the form of sweets on sale in the city.

Also worth a visit is the Cathedral of Our Lady. This impressive 400ft tall medieval cathedral houses a collection of some of Ruben’s most famous paintings.

CityJet offers five direct flights from Monday to Friday with up to two daily on the weekend to Antwerp from London City Airport.

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For more information, schedules and to book your flight visit www.cityjet.com or www.londoncityairport.com

Where to eat:

In the stars

For a city its size, Antwerp has an impressive number of Michelin-starred restaurants. The elegant Dôme restaurant serves fine French cuisine in beautiful Art Nouveau surroundings. ‘T Fornuis is set in a sixteenth century house, and although quite pricy, serves some of the best cooking in Belgium.

And don’t forget, Belgium is also the home of the humble chip. There are hundreds of frituurs (chip shops) in Antwerp, the oldest of which is the Friedkot Max on Groenplats, dating back to 1842. Adding to the atmosphere, the walls are adorned with chip inspired art work, including a whimsical adaptation of Rueben’s masterpiece Adam & Eve. www.domeweb.de ‘T Fornuis Reyndersstraat 24, 00 32 3 233 6270

Where to play::

Cheers!

The Belgians are well known for their beers, so if you count yourself a connoisseur, head to Kulminator, a beer café offering over 500 varieties. And for an unusual personal touch, if you fill in the visitor’s book, Kulminator will send you a birthday card every year!

Also worth a visit is De Vagabt.

This bar serves over 200 types of Jenever, a Belgian national drink, from which the English are thought to have got the idea for gin.

De Vagant Reyndersstraat 25, 00 32 3 234 2137 www.devagant.be Kulminator Vleminckveld 32, 00 32 3 232 4538

Where to stay:

Size matters

Antwerp boasts several boutique hotels, each with an individual charm. The Matelote Hotel has been stylishly converted from a sixteenth century building, with ten unique rooms designed in a contemporary and minimalist style. Guests can also enjoy breakfast in the Michelin starred Gin-Fish restaurant.

The Big Sleep B&B offers only one room, but one of gargantuan size, occupying the entire ground floor of a converted warehouse, including a decked terrace. www.hotel-matelote.be www.intro04.be/thebigsleep

Don’’t miss:

A girl’s best friend

In the sixteenth century, Antwerp was considered one of the world’s key financial centres with traders coming from Europe and Asia to buy and sell their goods. Antwerp is still a hotbed of trade and is considered to be the centre of the world’s diamond trade. Head to the Diamond District to visit the Antwerp Diamond Exchange, as well as numerous jewellery shops. If you are looking to buy diamonds in Antwerp it is possible to do so at a fraction of the cost of buying in the UK, but it is worth doing thorough research beforehand.

THE

GREENHOUSE

EFFECT

Being green is the latest box that has to be ticked in all walks of our lives, but there’s a huge difference between saying it and believing in it through and through. Louisa Castle visits one hotel that claims to be the greenest in England

travel

connoisseur

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pened earlier this year, The Green House is a beautiful eco-friendly boutique hotel which, according to the marketing literature, ‘lives, eats and breathes sustainability’. My mission was not only to see if this claim is to be upheld, but also to see if sustainability and style could make a happy marriage.

Situated on the clifftops, just a two-minute walk from the white sandy beaches of Bournemouth and Boscombe, this Grade II Victorian villa has been extensively renovated with an investment in excess of £5m. On the surface, it mirrors what many other designer boutique-style properties offer, with contemporary décor, tactile fabrics and quality natural materials including wood, metal and glass, complementing the light, airy period rooms and gothic architecture.

Dig deeper though, and you will discover the extensive thought and research which has gone into every aspect to ensure that this designer hotel minimises its impact on the environment at every turn, without compromising on style.

Interior highlights include 100 per cent UK wool fabrics, woven on the isle of Bute; British designed and made wallpaper from Farrow & Ball just down the road - Forest Stewardship Council certified, printed with vegetable ink; sumptuous organic goose down duvets; and solid hardwood furniture, either reclaimed and recycled, or handcrafted in the UK from fallen trees damaged through storms or disease.

Solar thermal energy, complemented by electricity generated on site, ensures that public resource is only used where absolutely necessary; showers pump out far fewer litres of water than is usual; and lighting has an array of low-energy features – even the flat screen TVs are backlit with LEDs, using less than a quarter of the energy normally required. Even the company car runs on recycled vegetable oil and the hotel staff members are encouraged to cycle to work, assisted by bicycle loans if required.

In keeping with the hotel’s principles, the food served in the 60-cover restaurant by Head Chef, Gordon Jones, is sourced within a 30-mile radius of the hotel, and is organic or ‘home–grown’, wherever viable. Scotsman Gordon is passionate about quality, fresh, seasonal fare as well as animal welfare and, from speaking with him, he is thoroughly enjoying the challenge of his new role, finding many artisan producers in the nearby New Forest to fuel creativity for his menus.

We were lucky enough to be treated to the hotel’s signature Nine Course Tasting Menu, which attracts locals as well as welcomed guests. Commencing with a delightful spiced pumpkin soup, our taste buds were taken on a journey to the sea and to the land with scallops and sea bream as well as Jacob’s Ladder and widgeon, rounded off with a deliciously light banana soufflé.

Delicate flavours were balanced with subtle accompaniments and the stronger, earthy dishes emphasised with clearly thought-out rival tastes and aromas. This was luxury dining, and no argument from this self-proclaimed foodie.

Complementary wines are sourced from Vintage Roots, a company that specialises in organic and biodynamic wines; each bottle is graded according to carbon footprint for consumer choice. If this makes you a little wary, as it did me, to be perfectly honest, then please do not worry. With

New and Old World grapes on the menu, the selection may be boutique like the hotel, but will not disappoint.

You don’t have to be green through and through to enjoy the Green House, but you do feel a teeny bit virtuous.

Just staying here is supporting the ethos of sustainability without compromising on luxury, style and enjoyment.

Double Rooms start at £115 per room per night including breakfast. n For further information, visit www.thegreenhousehotel.com

MUST VISIT:

Boscombe Beach & Pier For cool surf types, the first Artificial Surf Reef has successfully transformed Boscombe seafront (5 minutes’ walk from the hotel) into a vibrant, water sports mecca, attracting a wide variety of people who enjoy chilling out with friends, family or the family pet. In fact, there are up to 25 water sports available on this stretch of coastline from Bournemouth to Poole, from kite surfing to boogie boarding. www.thesurfreef.co.uk www.coastwiththemost.com

All stylish beach lovers will adore the Hemingway-designed beach pods at the award-winning redevelopment, The Overstrand. The complex also houses the Sorted Surf School and the Urban Reef Cafe and glass-fronted restaurant, which are also committed to sustainability and ethical sourcing. www.boscombeoverstrand.co.uk

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new year’s eve 2010 at the roof gardens Escape the crowds in central London and make New Year’s Eve 2010 one to remember. Experience the truly unique setting of 1.5 acres of themed gardens 6 floors above Kensington High Street, with some of London’s hottest DJs, featuring four bars, a heated marquee chill out area and a private fireworks display at midnight.

your ticket includeS: • Entry to The Club from 8pm • A mini bottle of Moët Champagne • A selection of complimentary cocktails, drinks from the bar and welcome canapés until 9pm

• Live music in the Marquee • Complimentary snack from the BBQ • Three of London’s top DJs in the Clubhouse • Spectacular firework display at midnight

• Breakfast nibbles between 3am and 4am!

We’ve also set up a themed photo set for you and your friends to capture the magic of the evening.

TicKETS ArE £125 (£115 for MEMbErS) And ArE AvAiLAbLE onLinE. www.roofgardens.virgin.com/cluboffers

Start the party early in BaBylon reStaurant Make your New Year’s Eve even more memorable this year by treating yourself to four sizzling courses in Babylon Restaurant before heading to The Club.

In addition to all the goodies included on the Club ticket, we’ll be serving

unlimited beer and wine during your meal.

Limited tables are available and places are £195 per person.

Contact Babylon Restaurant on 0207 368 3993 babylon@roofgardens.virgin.com

The Roof Gardens 99 Kensington High Street, London W8 5SA www.roofgardens.virgin.com/cluboffers • E: victoria.l@roofgardens.virgin.com • T: 0207 368 3960

COME & CELEBRATE

CHRISTMAS AT PLANET HOLLYWOOD LONDON Quality festive menus from £24.95 • Centrally-located for getting in and out of London • Tailor made packages available upon request •FREE SMALL GLASS OF WINE PP when quoting CITY MAGAZINE*

PLEASE CALL: 020 7287 1000 OR EMAIL: salesuk@planethollywoodintl.com

57-60 HAYMARKET SW1Y 4QX *For bookings of 10 or more, Sunday through Thursday between Noon & 15:00pm Terms and Conditions: Christmas Menu’s are available from the 25.11.10 – 24.12.10.

Please note that our a la carte menu is also available during this time. All menus are subject to change and availability.

NEW YEAR’S EVE PARTY

NOW TAKING BOOKINGS FOR OUR EXCLUSIVE TICKET ONLY PARTY

Join us for our Tickled Pink evening, a carefully created 4 course dinner with a glass of welcome fizz, live music, dancing and much more!

TICKETS FROM £50pp

food & drink

connoisseur

WINTER SUN

food & drink

news

THE MIGHTY OAK On 1 December, master whisky distiller The Macallan launches a unique collaboration with photographer Albert Watson, who has created more than 240 covers for Vogue and Rolling Stone, featuring icons such as Alfred Hitchcock, Mick Jagger and Kate Moss. The project is a photographic series, depicting the story and journey of the Macallan’s oak casks, which took Watson on a 12-day odyssey from the forests of Northern Spain to the Macallan distillery in Scotland.

The Macalllan 20-year-old Sherry Oak will be available in a limited edition of 1,000, each with a set of ten portfolio prints unique to this edition, and a specially commissioned label by Watson, priced £700. The Macallan 1946 will be available in a limited edition of 36, with a signed one-off platinum print for a reserve price of £10,000.

Forget the diet; confectionary and Christmas belong together like star-crossed, gluttonous lovers. But if mince pie overload has set in, usher in a little Parisian charm with Ladurée’s new collection. Inspired by the sun, the Christmas collection symbolises New Year renewal and a hint of exotic warmth. The exquisite “Sun King” cream dessert and the “Sun” Yule log make great alternatives to Christmas cakes and puddings, filled with exotic coconut, mango, orange and passion fruit flavours, and the beautiful “Behind the Moon, the Sun” macaroon gift box alludes to the delicious promise of the New Year sun. And for fashionistas with a sweet tooth, there is also the recently launched John Galliano macaroon gift set. www.laduree.com

Raise your glass The masters of champagne at Ruinart have redesigned the classic champagne flute to create the perfect instrument for tasting.

Available in a luxury gift set, accompanied by a bottle of R de Ruinart champagne, the glasses have a rounded base, a curve and a wider opening, allowing more air into the wine and giving the nose and palate a fuller sense of the champagne’s finesse and aromatic complexity.

www.themacallan.com

www.ruinart.com

Geronimo Inns has just launched its latest venture, The White Horse, on the former site of the Broadgate Exchange.

Located in the heart of the City, The White Horse offers innovative variations of classic British pub food and a good selection of drinks, including real ales, in homely, yet chic, surroundings. www.geronimo-inns.co.uk

Food lingo:

Quote: Ozoni

An important part of New Year’s celebrations in Japan, ozoni is a soup made from mochi (sweet rice balls) and is traditionally the first food to be eaten after the sake toast on New Year’s morning. The custom started in the 15th century, when mochi offered to the ‘year god’ were simmered in fresh water over a new flame, with food from the mountains and the sea. Although today ingredients vary wildly depending on region, it is not ozoni without mochi.

Website:

E at, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we may diet.

Harry Kurnitz American playwright and novelist

www.designmynight.com

NEWS:

Designmynight.com is a new online concierge service, which can help you plan the perfect night out in London, by finding the newest and best bars and clubs around. Perfect for planning parties, the website offers a price comparison service and a free concierge service for corporate companies, making it an easy way to plan company dinners and corporate events as well.

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connoisseur food &drink

LOVE THAT WINE With Christmas rapidly approaching, now is the time to start thinking about those all-important Christmas food and wine matches. Pieter Rosenthal of Love That Wine provides us with some of his best suggestions

M

any of us get rather nervous thinking about Christmas dinners, so at least the wine choice should be made a bit easier for you. Food and wine matching is sometimes regarded as somewhat of a dark art and potential minefield, but that is nonsense.

If you happen to pair your favourite food with your favourite wine, the match may not be entirely made in heaven as far as the purists are concerned, but in most cases it will be perfectly adequate.

In reality there are very few matches that are an absolute disaster, in the same way that very few matches are absolutely spot on. Only this week I paired the same juicy Italian red wine from Tuscany with cheese-topped, baked cod one day and steak with Béarnaise sauce the next. Both matches were deemed to be gorgeous, showing you that it need not be that difficult or complicated.

Creating a suitable match is about finding common ground between dishes and the accompanying wine. The sauce is often more important in coming up with a great match. Richer sauces, as well as richer flavours demand a fuller bodied, altogether richer wine. Lighter dishes with lighter, less complex sauces will do fine with a less complex wine, regardless of the colour. If you follow this very general rule, you will ensure that neither the wine nor the food will overpower the other.

The Christmas turkey is the most obvious dish to find a good match for and it’s the side of cranberry sauce that can make this a tad difficult: its sweetness and acidity can make some red wine seem more tannic and dry. So personally I go for a wine that is relatively young so it still has lots of fresh fruit to help the process along, particularly if the turkey has some of that spicy stuffing. This month’s red is a good example of that and should be an easy match.

Here are three wines that should help make Christmas day extra special. Merry Christmas! n

For further information, visit www.lovethatwine.co.uk

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Millione, Vino Frizzante Rosé, Chardonnay delle Venezie, Italy Stephen Fry said: “Mmm, oh yes, oh god, oh hell yes…”.

And when Stephen Fry is lost for words, I don’t argue.

There’s no better way to start Christmas morning with some ‘giving’: £1 of each bottle of Millione sold will go to Action Aid to help build community primary schools in Sierra Leone.

This lightly sparkling rosé, made from mostly Chardonnay from the area around Venice, should get you in the perfect Christmas mood. It is light and fresh, soft and fruity, and gently fizzy. Have it with your smoked salmon and scrambled eggs and then open your presents.

Radcliffe’s Chablis 2008, France The Radcliffe’s range encompasses wines from many of the well-known wine areas. It aims to give you a typical example of each wine while providing genuine value for money. This Chablis, made from Chardonnay as all Chablis is, provides for a clean and refreshing wine, with steely acidity providing the structure. Zesty lemon and apple fruit to start, softened by riper melon giving quite a generous mouth feel. It feels youthful and elegant rather than complex. This will add a touch of class to your Christmas table.

Wolf Blass, Silver Label Shiraz/Cabernet 2008, South Australia I was quite taken by this wine when I tasted it for the first time. Yes, it’s concentrated and big, as the South Australian wines so often are, but this has a balanced freshness to it as well. The cassis nose has a sweet and spicy vanilla character, cinnamon and a bit of eucalyptus giving it a nice lift. Black fruits, spiciness from the oak, coffee and chocolate and silky smooth tannins make this a perfect match to a mature cheddar or perhaps even chocolate. The juicy fruit will also work well if you’re serving stuffed turkey.

food & drink

connoisseur

ANOTHER kettle of fish Penelope M Walsh heads to Goldfish City, a modern Chinese restaurant, for a dinner that is full of surprises

T

ucked away behind an unassuming façade, Goldfish City comprises a restaurant and karaoke bar, spread over three floors. Shying away from the heavy colour palette and glitzy kitsch of many Chinese restaurants in London, the interior, while distinctly Chinese, is a light and modern space, with a sparing use of colour dotted amongst traditional fretwork on the walls.

The deep-fried soft shell crab with garlic and five spice salt was a great example of a classic dish. The texture was perfectly crispy and the dish was subtly spiced with the occasional, gentle chilli tang. The chicken rice with assorted vegetables and pine nuts in yuzu dressing, served on lettuce wraps, was not quite as exciting: it was perhaps a little heavy on the yuzu citrus flavour, but nonetheless a light and fresh dish.

The wasabi prawns came highly recommended, and quite frankly I can see why; they were beautiful. I am (only slightly) embarrassed to admit that normally I would have found myself a little riled by the tossing in of a Japanese ingredient in a supposedly Chinese menu. But in this case, it was irrelevant: fusion doesn’t rile me when it not only works, but also adds something new and exciting. As I bit in, I expected a heavy kick of wasabi up my nose, followed by a distinct nothingness. Instead the thick sauce coating the prawns was combined with avocado to create a sweet, creamy blend with a delicious nuttiness.

The crispy “marmite prawn” sounded so peculiar, I was sorely tempted, but (un)fortunately there was a classic ‘love it or hate it’ situation. However, dishes like this make Goldfish’s menu stand out for being ambitious, unusual and a little witty. I did get my way on one of the few other oddities of the menu, namely the award-winning mocha ribs.

The manager suggested we share the dish as a standalone course before our mains, a great idea because the rich ribs would have easily drowned out some of the delicate flavours of the main courses we chose. I was not only impressed by this accommodating gesture, but also the extensive understanding of the menu that it sprang from. With thick, sticky mocha sauce, the dish really did work, with the sweetness and earthy bitterness of the chocolate and coffee working like a toned-down version of sweet and sour.

I was surprised to find the XO scallops a little underwhelming, especially since the two key ingredients (scallops and XO sauce) are things that I particularly like, but somehow the dish wasn’t that special. The scallops were a little overcooked and the seasoning was too spicy for my personal taste. The main issue of contention was that the broccoli was bog standard European, rather than the Chinese broccoli I had assumed would arrive, but the manger did explain that Chinese broccoli was too expensive.

The steamed fillet of Chilean sea bass was another dish that came highly recommended. This beautiful piece of pure, icy white fish was beautifully presented like a

glistening slab of marble, sitting on top of well-cooked mushrooms and cabbage (Chinese this time). The fish was flavoured by a light, clear soya broth and the texture was deliciously smooth.

The green fried rice with eggs and yuzu juice was an unusual and creative addition to the rice and noodle menu.

The dish was light and not greasy or heavy (as fried rice can often be), and the delicate and interesting flavours gave it a rather sophisticated touch.

Goldfish is not an exceptionally authentic Chinese restaurant, but, let’s be fair, it doesn’t bill itself as such.

Rather, it is a modern Chinese restaurant, and that is exactly what it offers; a modern and creative twist on traditional Chinese dishes, using typical Chinese ingredients (most of the time), as well as the odd fairly unusual Western touch. And if that is not enough to convince you, I overheard one diner say, “I am going to lick my plate.”

What more of a recommendation could you want? n Goldfish City 46 Gresham St EC2V 7AY 020 7726 0308

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restaurants American

Dollar Grills and Martinis

2 Exmouth Market, Farringdon, EC1R 020 7278 0077

bars Italian Lena

66 Great Eastern Street, EC2A 020 7739 5714 Refettorio

Hawksmoor

19 New Bridge Street, EC4V 020 7438 8052

British

9 Norwich Street, EC4A 020 7831 1622 or 020 7831 1677

157 Commercial Street, E1 020 7247 7392 Canteen

2 Crispin Place, E1 08456 861 122

Volupté

Oriental

Royal China Club

Beach Blanket Babylon

19-23 Bethnal Green Road, E1 020 7749 3540 GREENS

14 Cornhill, EC3V 020 7220 6300

French Bonds

5 Threadneedle Street, EC2R 020 7657 8088 Coq D’Argent

59 West Smithfield, EC1A 020 7796 0600

4 West Smithfield, EC1A 020 7489 7033

Mexican

Duke of Cambridge

30 St Peter’s Street, N1 020 7359 3066 The Peasant

Middle Eastern

Andaz Hotel, Liverpool Street, EC2M 020 7618 7215

Kenza

One Lombard Street

1 Lombard Street, EC3V 020 7929 6611 Rhodes Twenty Four

CATCH & Champagne Bar

The Gherkin Bar & Restaurant

Levels 39 & 40, 30 St Mary Axe, EC3A 020 7071 5009 Grand Café & Bar

The Courtyard, Royal Exchange, EC3V 020 7618 2480 Harry’s Bar

Tower 42 Old Broad Street, EC2N 020 7877 7703

5 Abchurch Yard, EC4N 020 7623 2355

Smiths of Smithfield

233 Shoreditch High Street, E1 020 7247 8989

67-77 Charterhouse Street, EC1M 020 7251 7950

Spanish

Greek

3 Varnishers Yard, N1 9FD 020 7841 7331

Mezedopolio

Cicada

Green & Red

51 Bethnal Green Road, E1 020 7749 9670

240 St. John Street, EC1V 020 7336 7726

14 Hoxton Market, N1 020 7739 8212

Cellar Gascon

132-136 St John Street, EC1V 020 7608 1550

Modern European

Gastropub

Bonds

Saki

Les Trois Garcons

Sauterelle

The Big Chill Bar

Dray Walk, E1 020 7392 9180

5 Threadneedle Street, EC2R 020 7657 8088

10 Devonshire Square, EC2M 020 7929 5533

Royal Exchange, EC3V 020 7618 2483

Bar Pepito

Varnishers Yard Regents Quarter, N1 9FD 020 7841 7331

40-42 Baker Street, W1U 020 7486 3898

No.1 Poultry, EC2R 020 7395 5000 1 Club Row, E1 020 7613 1924

Balls Brothers

5-6 Carey Lane, EC2V 020 7600 2720

Camino

Moro

34-36 Exmouth Street, EC1R 020 7833 8336

Light Bar

Match EC1

45-47 Clerkenwell Road, EC1M 020 7250 4002 Ortega

27 Leadenhall Market, EC3V 020 7623 1818 Vertigo 42

Tower 42, 25 Old Broad St, EC2N 020 7877 7842 The Worship

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Triton Court, 14 Finsbury Square, EC2A 020 7330 0920

&

out & about

out about

connoisseur

Enchanted Nights It wouldn’t be Christmas without hearing carols by candlelight, so experience the spectacular, magical Christmas celebration of Carols

by Candlelight at the Royal Albert Hall. The Mozart Festival Orchestra will be wearing wigs and full 18th century costume to match the evocative decorations and soft candlelight. This majestic tradition features music and song from Handel, Bach, Vivaldi and Corelli.

18, 21, 22, 23 & 24 December Carols by Candlelight Royal Albert Hall www.royalalberthall.com

Christmas Magic It’s true that Christmas favourite The Nutcracker has been a staple at the Coliseum for the last few years, but this brand new adaptation, created for English National Ballet’s 60th birthday

by Artistic Director Wayne Eagling will look very different to Gerald Scarfe’s colourful modernist vision.

The sets and costume for this grand production are in Edwardian style but it’s essentially the same muchloved tale. Tchaikovsky’s twinkling score follows Clara’s adventures as she battles with the Mouse King, travels to the Land of Snow, comes to face-to-face with the Sugar Plum Fairy and falls in love with the Prince.

The Nutcracker, 10–30 December The Coliseum www.eno.org

Festive Frolics Classical impresario Raymond Gubbay returns to The O2 with his second Christmas Spectacular, with Anthony Inglis conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

This popular festive extravaganza also features Rhydian Roberts, Ruthie Henshall and the Royal Choral Society. Expect breathtaking production with light displays, special effects and a dazzling indoor firework finale to start your Christmas with a bang.

Christmas Spectacular, 23 December The O2 www.theo2.co.uk

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connoisseur out & about

Break The Ice The third London Ice Sculpting Festival will be held in the centre of Canary Wharf, next to the ice rink in Canada Square Park. Look out for the timed competition between international teams of ice sculptors, who will be carving from two-metre blocks, taking inspiration from the theme of the Olympics. You can even give the art of sculpting a try and design a small block of ice in a free master class.

London Ice Sculpting Festival 13–15 January, Canada Square Park, Canary Wharf www.londonicesculptingfestival.co.uk

Not Just For Christmas

Peter Clark’s endearing and humorous paintings are made from a variety of printed papers found in streets and flea markets across the world, from Hampton Court to Tokyo.

Coloured, patterned or textured by their worn surfaces, Clark uses the paper to create collages exuding wit and tenderness, and this collection of doe-eyed dogs is no exception.

Peter Clark: Dogs are For Christmas Not Just For Life, 26 November–19 December, Rebecca Hossart Art Gallery, W1T 6BA www.r-h-g.co.uk

Brilliantly British This December, Val d’Isère hosts the Critérium de la Première Neige, the traditional Alpine skiing World Cup and the resort has decided to take on a different theme each year, corresponding to a competing nation. Britain is the first chosen nation, so expect the ultimate ode to Blighty with activities such as cream teas in the snow, darts competitions and British Wine tasting sessions. British Ski Champions such as Chemmy Alcott, Douglas Crawford and Alan Baxter will also be joining in the fun and games.

Critérium de la Première Neige, 11–19 December Val d’Isère, France www.skitotal.com

110

Diamonds In The Sky Welcome in the new year at the London Sky Bar in Westminster’s iconic Millbank Tower, boasting breathtaking views of the city from its 360 degree expanse of windows.

The New Year’s Eve “Diamonds In The Sky” party is your chance to enjoy the spectacular, uninterrupted panoramic views of London with a sparkling drinks reception and midnight fireworks making this an unforgettable new year’s celebration.

To book call 0845 500 2929 or email reservations@altitudelondon.com.

Diamonds In The Sky New Year’s Eve Party, 31 December London Sky Bar, Millbank www.altitudelondon.com

out & about

connoisseur

3D TV without the glasses

S

trange crunching noises echoed around Broadgate when Balfour International launched the WOW Lounge and its exhibition of “no glasses” 3D technology on wide screen TV monitors last month The intention behind the noise was to shatter the myth that you always need special glasses to see 3D Pictures.

To make the point, Balfour recreated an iconic photo call opportunity, organised many years ago by customs officials, to highlight attempts to import illegal copies of goods. Then they steamrollered hundreds of fake Rolex

and Cartier watches. This time a heavy roller was used to crush hundreds of 3D glasses, which were no longer needed to view the WOW Lounge screens.

The “no glasses” 3D technology on the WOW Lounge’s wide screen TV monitors already features TV commercials for major organisations, including SAS, Vistajet and Threadneedle, which have been specially adapted into 3D by Balfour.

The WOW Lounge continues in Broadgate until Christmas. n For further information, visit www.broadgateinfo.net

Pictured waving goodbye to the 3D glasses is Balfour International’s Simon Vyse (26) displaying his roller driving skills.

Call us now for the Best rates

+44 207 513 1925 • London’s Unbeatable Bureau De Change • The Best Euro and Dollar in London - NO COMMISSION • Over 100 currencies available to Buy and Sell • Next Day Postal Service • International Money Transfers

Canary Wharf, Canada Place Unit 8B (next to Waitrose) E14 5EQ

Can ar Wha y rf Bran ch N Ope ow n

www.ace-fx.com 111

LONDON Homes&

PROPERTY Showcasing the finest homes in your area

C o v e r i n g CANARY WHARF, D OC K L AN D S , WA P P ING & T h e C i t y

Courtesy of Juliette’s Interiors www.juliettesinteriors.co.uk.

KnightFrank

Discovery Dock West, E14

A stunning eighth floor dock facing apartment A stylishly presented two double bedroom apartment in the extremely popular Discovery Dock West. The apartment has views to Canary Wharf, the dock and the River Thames from a wonderful balcony.

Accommodation includes 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, balcony, spacious reception room, 24 hour porterage and an underground parking space.

Leasehold, ÂŁ650,000

Canary Wharf Sales KnightFrank.co.uk cwharf@knightfrank.com 020 7512 9966

Gaskin Street, N1

3 bedroom Penthouse in Islington A unique 3 bedroom loft style apartment entered via private lift into a huge living area with soaring ceilings and large windows offering tremendous light and views and access to a Japanese garden/roof terrace.

Further benefits include 2 reception rooms, 3 bathrooms and private parking. The master bathroom is fitted with an integrated champagne fridge aswell as a flat screen television.

Share of Freehold, ÂŁ2,600,000

Canary Wharf Sales KnightFrank.co.uk cwharf@knightfrank.com 020 7512 9966

KnightFrank

Hallmark Court, London E14

Belgrave Court, London E14

This furnished 2 bedroom duplex apartment comes complete with open plan reception and modern fully fitted kitchen. Off the reception is a large terrace. South facing views of Canary Wharf. Available Now.

A one bedroom fully furnished apartment. En-suite bathroom with separate shower. Balcony with river views and separate cloakroom. This property benefits from 24 hour security and parking. Available in January.

£370 per week

£400 per week

Canary Wharf Sales KnightFrank.co.uk 020 7512 9966 cwharf@knightfrank.com

Canary Wharf Sales KnightFrank.co.uk 020 7512 9966 cwharf@knightfrank.com

Port East Apartments, London E14 A two bedroom furnished apartment set within this Grade I Listed building. This apartment is full of character including, exposed brick, wood beams and solid oak wood flooring. £595 per week Canary Wharf Sales KnightFrank.co.uk 020 7512 9966 cwharf@knightfrank.com

Jamestown Way, Docklands, London E14 A furnished four bedroom townhouse. First floor offers a large reception/dining room with river views, a fully fitted kitchen with garden. On the top floor there are two large bedrooms, with en-suite bathrooms. Two further bedrooms are on the ground floor with garage and off street parking space £495 per week Canary Wharf Sales KnightFrank.co.uk 020 7512 9966 cwharf@knightfrank.com

Pan Peninsula, London E14

Ingot Tower, London E14

A stunning three bedroom apartment located on the 24th floor. This apartment has been furnished to the highest of standards. This development also includes a fully equipped gym, swimming pool, cinema room and a 24 concierge.

This smart apartment comes complete with two double bedrooms and one bathroom, open plan reception and modern fully fitted kitchen. The development also offers concierge, communal roof terrace and parking.

£1450 per week

£310 per week

Canary Wharf Sales KnightFrank.co.uk 020 7512 9966 cwharf@knightfrank.com

Canary Wharf Sales KnightFrank.co.uk 020 7512 9966 cwharf@knightfrank.com

Western Beach, London E16 A 1100sq ft two double bedroom unfurnished duplex apartment The accommodation compromises large open plan kitchen with dining area, spacious reception leading onto a balcony offering views of Canary Wharf and The Royal Docks. Available now with parking. £475 per week Canary Wharf Sales KnightFrank.co.uk 020 7512 9966 cwharf@knightfrank.com

Duke Shore Wharf, London E14 Very well presented two bedroom apartment in Limehouse.

Master bedroom with en suite bathroom and further bathroom suite. Situated close to Limehouse DLR and Canary Wharf. Garage parking also included. £385 per week Canary Wharf Sales KnightFrank.co.uk 020 7512 9966 cwharf@knightfrank.com

KnightFrank Basin Approach, Limehouse E14 Stunning penthouse with a wealth of outside space.

A unique penthouse which is the result of two apartments being made one and refurbished to a superb specification and arranged over two floors . Reception room, 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, concierge, private parking. 153 sq m (1671 sq ft) Leasehold 188 years ÂŁ1,150,000m

Wapping Sales knightfrank.co.uk/Wapping 020 7480 6848 sales@knightfrank.com (CNW100140)

Cinnabar Wharf, Wapping E1W Two bedroom flat with outstanding views of the river and to Tower Bridge Facing south west, the flat is full of natural light with floor to ceiling glazing and all the principal rooms face onto the river. Reception room, kitchen, two en suite bathrooms, shower room, full width balcony, lift, parking. 107 sq m (1159 sq ft) Leasehold 988 years ÂŁ1,050,000m

Wapping Sales knightfrank.co.uk/Wapping 020 7480 6848 sales@knightfrank.com (WAP100190)

“The most exciting waterfront in the world” The Daily Telegraph

Apartments available to let from December 2010

Knight Frank are delighted to offer a stunning collection of luxury high specification apartments to let in NEO Bankside.

This striking development, designed by the international, award-winning architects Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, offers world-class luxury accommodation with contemporary interiors and spectacular winter gardens.

Situated on the South Bank, adjacent to Tate Modern and a short walk from The City, NEO Bankside offers an opportunity to live at the very heart of London’s most vibrant cultural quarter.

Please Contact

Knight Frank 020 7480 6848 riversidelettings@knightfrank.com

www.knightfrank.com/neobankside

KnightFrank

Capital Wharf, E1W Attractive 928 sq ft two double bedroom two bathroom apartment located in this smart 24 hour portered development in west Wapping. This furnished flat has a dual aspect reception room leading on to a private patio garden, underground parking and a communal gym. £450 per week Wapping Lettings knightfrank.co.uk/lettings 020 7480 6848 wapping@knightfrank.com

Shearwater Court, E1W Unfurnished two double bedroom two bathroom apartment located in this outstanding 24 hour portered development. This bright apartment has a reception with double doors leading on to a private terrace. £695 per week Wapping Lettings knightfrank.co.uk/lettings 020 7480 6848 wapping@knightfrank.com

New Crane Wharf, E1W Great one bedroom apartment to rent in th is popular 24 hour portered development. This lovely flat has a good size open plan kitchen reception room over looking the river, underground parking and smart new furnishings. £485 per week Wapping Lettings knightfrank.co.uk/lettings 020 7480 6848 wapping@knightfrank.com

Cinnabar Wharf, E1W Beautifully presented three double bedroom penthouse in a luxury portered development. This spacious flat has three bedrooms, three bathrooms, two ensuite, large reception room with views of Tower Bridge. Boasting wooden floors, air conditioning, underground parking and stylish furnishings. £895 per week Wapping Lettings knightfrank.co.uk/lettings 020 7480 6848 wapping@knightfrank.com

Tower Bridge Wharf, E1W

Shearwater Court, E1W

Stylish and beautifully presented two double bedroom, two bathroom apartment set in this popular 24 hour portered warehouse conversion moments from St Katharine’s Dock and Tower Hill. Boasting a large terrace with lovely river views and underground parking.

Beautifully presented one bedroom third floor apartment based in this great 24 hour portered development. This lovely apartment has a separate fitted kitchen, good size double bedroom and a large private balcony with sunny south facing St Katharine’s Dock views.

£775 per week

£595 per week

Wapping Lettings knightfrank.co.uk/lettings 020 7480 6848 wapping@knightfrank.com

Wapping Lettings knightfrank.co.uk/lettings 020 7480 6848 wapping@knightfrank.com

The Strata, SE1 This fantastic one bedroom unit is located on the 37th floor and enjoys spectacular views. Strata is the new 408-apartment residential development for central London, just moments from the South Bank in the Elephant & Castle regeneration area.

St Pancras Chambers, NW1 Smart 629 sq foot one bedroom apartment set on the 2nd floor of this magnificent Grade 1 Listed development. This lovely apartment has been furnished to a high standard boasting high ceilings, large windows, modern fitted kitchen, bathroom with shower and wooden floors.

£405 per week

£550 per week

Wapping Lettings knightfrank.co.uk/lettings 020 7480 6848 wapping@knightfrank.com

CITY LETTINGS knightfrank.com/lettings 020 7606 1560 gary.hall@knightfrank.com

Luxuriously finished, this penthouse apartment enjoys superb views of the city.

Perfect for high fliers.

Beyond your expectations Season’s greetings to all our customers. From new riverside developments to warehouse conversions, we have city apartments that are sure to fill you with festive cheer. With the panoramic views many of our properties enjoy, come night-time it’s like the Christmas lights have been turned on just for you.

Hamptons Tower Bridge

41 Shad Thames, London SE1 2NJ Sales. 020 7407 3173 towerbridge@hamptons-int.com Lettings. 020 7407 3172 towerbridgelettings@hamptons-int.com www.hamptons.co.uk

HOT PROPERTY:

KENT retreat

in sundridge park

This is a magnificent example of an Arts and Crafts detached property, built in 1906 and occupying one of the largest plots in this location in Kent. The beautiful six bedroom family home showcases many appealing features of this exciting architectural period. The entrance hall is exceptionally welcoming, with an open fireplace, and the beautifully crafted, extended kitchen and breakfast room is at the heart of the home. The first floor, with four bedrooms and three bathrooms/en-suites, is reached by a

breathtaking split oak staircase and galleried landing.

The second floor has endless versatility, with three more rooms, currently used as a gym, study and store, and an extensive garden: set on a plot of two thirds of an acre with an outdoor pool, terrace and pool house, there is further potential for a tennis court and outbuildings. This charming period property in excess of 5,500 square feet on a large plot is nonetheless conveniently located for the practicalities of family life.

homes & property

ÂŁ1,950,000 Unique www.uniquepropertiesuk.com

020 8378 1222 125

London's Finest Properties

LETTINGS

SALES

Baquba Building, Lewisham, SE13

Alaska Building, Deals Gateway, SE13

New Providence Wharf, Fairmont Avenue, E14

Ontario Tower, Fairmont Avenue, E14

£210 per week

£210 per week

£375,000

£475,000

Westgate Apartments, Excel, E16

Caspian Wharf, Bow, E3

The Watergardens, Canada Water, SE16

Gainsborough House, Canary Central, E14

£275 Per week

£385 per week

£390,000

£275,000

Ontario Tower, Canary Wharf, E14

The Landmark, West Tower, E14

Strata Tower, SE1

Westgate Apartments, Excel E16

£495 per week

£550 per week

• One bedroom apartment • Available furnished • Ground floor • Patio garden • Close to Lewisham Amenities • Nr.. Elverson Road DLR

• One bedroom apartment • Fully furnished • Balcony • On- site facilities • 24Hr concierge • Nr. Deptford Bridge DLR

• One bedroom apartment • Fully furnished • Balcony • 10Th floor • Resident gymnasium • Concierge service

• Two bedroom apartment • Available furnished • A large private terrace • 4Th floor • Allocated secure parking • Nr. Landon Park DLR

• One bedroom apartment • Fully furnished • Exclusive use of the Hotel Radisson amenties • 10Th floor • Resident gymnasium • Concierge service

• Two bedroom apartment • Fully furnished • Balcony • 27th floor • 24hr concierge service • Short walk to Canary Wharf

• 10th floor apartment • One bedroom • Balcony with amazing river views • On-site leisure facilities and 24hr concierge

• Excellent condition • 9th floor apartment • Two bedroom • Underground parking

• Two bed/16th floor £420,000 • Two bed/18th floor £430,000 • Studio/24th floor £279,000 • One bed/26th floor £340,000 • Two bed/33rd floor £487,000 • One bed/38th floor £375,000

• Stunning 4th floor apartment • Two bedroom • River views • Moments from Canary Wharf/tube DLR

• Large ground floor apartment • One bedroom/one bathroom • High ceilings and floor-ceiling glass windows • Great condition • Leisure facilities and 24hr porterage

• One bed/5th floor £265,000 • One bed/11th floor £275,000 • One bed/11th floor £265,000 • Two bed/9th floor £359,000 • Two bed/11th floor £330,000

Sales | Lettings | Corporate Services | Property Management www.liferesidential.co.uk

Central London 020 7582 7989

West London 020 8896 9990

Finchley 020 8446 9524

Docklands 020 7476 0125

Deptford & Greenwich 020 8692 2244

UNIQUE HOMES, UNIQUE SERVICE, UNIQUE PEOPLE P e r s o n a l P r o p e r t y C o n s u l t a n c y f o r B u ye r s a n d S e l l e r s o f D i s t i n c t i ve H o m e s

TREE TOPS SHIRLEy HILLS, SURREy An exceptionally private and spacious 6 bedroom home with heated pool which enjoys a naturally elevated position on an exclusive private road.

£2,450,000 F/H

LULwORTH FARNBOROUgH PARK, LOCKSBOTTOM KENT An original thatched home built c.1920 and reconstructed in 2007 to provide a magnificent home of over 9000 square feet with some truly luxurious features including marbled indoor pool, spa and sauna.

£4,950,000 F/H

London Office 116-118 Bermondsey Street, London Bridge, London SE1 3TX Tel 020 7089 6500 Email enquiries@uniquepropertiesuk.com

Kent Office

Incorporating

First Floor, 13 High Street, Chislehurst, Kent BR7 5AB Tel 020 8378 1222 Email enquiries@uniquepropertiesuk.com

www.uniqueproper tiesuk.com

Sensitive conversions. Sound investments.

City & Country Group offer a selection of unique conversion homes that not only make a statement but also offer a sound long term investment. the Galleries Brentwood duplex and 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments in a Victorian Grade ii listed building set in tranquil courtyard gardens. from £190,000 to £510,000. call 01277 202122

Balls Park Hertfordshire a landmark development of luxurious 1, 2 and 3 bedroom conversion apartments, set within 63 acres of picturesque parkland. from £237,500 to £420,000. call 01992 551777

Show homeS open daily from 10am to 5pm www.cityandcountry.co.uk

old Saint Michaels Braintree 1 & 2 bedroom apartments and houses converted from a collection of Grade ii listed Victorian buildings set in landscaped courtyards. from £152,500 to £325,000. call 01376 335800

merchant square paddington

A collection of beautifully designed apartments to let To register interest please call Knight Frank on 020 7861 5522 or email erin.vantuil@knightfrank.com www.knightfrank.com

Knight Frank are delighted to offer a selection of brand new, high specification apartments to let at the newly developed Merchant Square. Located in an outstanding and striking waterside location in the heart of Central London with the West End’s world-class shopping, theatres and restaurants are on its doorstep.

1, 2, 3 & 4 bedroom apartments Furnished or unfurnished High specification finish Excellent transport links via Paddington Mainline & underground • 20 minutes to Heathrow via Heathrow Express • • • •

Longitude. Latitude. Attitude.

DE C EMBER 2010

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The world’s finest timepieces are exclusively available from selected watch specialists.

For an illustrated catalogue or list of nationwide concessionaires please contact IWC UK. Tel. 0845 337 1868.

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2001775_P0J_210x297_p_img_ZS_4c_en.indd 1

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21.10.10 16:38

Engineered

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finance gadgets motoring interiors property DECEMBER 2010 i s s u e 3 8