VICINITEE OCT 09

VICINITEE

C O L L E C T I O N

october 2009 ART • INTERIORS • FASHION • MOTORING • BEAUTY • SHOPPING • BUSINESS • GADGETS • FOOD & DRINK • UK & INTERNATIONAL PROPERTY

D U E T

october 2009

POKER FACE

Do women play a better game?

FIT TO TRAVEL?

The evolution of the travel suit

ISLAND ADVENTURE

Explore the tranquil beauty of Thailand

HITTING THE SLOPES Luxury ski chalets

HOT PROPERTIES

HAND MADE IN PLATINUM AND YELLOW GOLD

UK & International

VIEW THE DUET COLLECTION AT www.hirshlondon.com

FAMOUS FOR ENGAGMENT RINGS

56-57 BURLINGTON ARCADE PICCADILLY LONDON W1J 0QN TEL 020 7499 6814 - 9 HATTON GARDEN LONDON EC1N 8AH TEL 020 7831 3333

I S S U E 24

In association with

the city

contents COVER STORIES 10 POKER FACE

Do women play a

better game?

28 ISLAND ADVENTURE

Explore the tranquil beauty

of Thailand

20 HITTING THE SLOPES

Luxury ski chalets

37 FIT TO TRAVEL?

The evolution of the travel suit

20

28

F E AT U R E S 14 THE FEAR FACTOR

Is the nation running scared?

17 MADNESS IN THEIR METHOD

The green entrepreneurs 33 DISCOVERING PERU

Heather Ridley travels from Lima

to Machu Picchu 42 KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY

Claire Adler meets the premier family jewellers

50 FASHION

Happy Birthday Jaeger 63 GOING, GOING, GONE

Bonhams Profile

68 THE TREND

Sim Smith presents the latest in interiors news

84 AN EPIC JOURNEY

Richard Warren finds out more

about the Rallye Gazelles 88 FORMULA ONE NEWS

Lawrence Barretto checks out the Abu Dhabi course

91 THE MASTERS

The must-see tennis tournament

of 2009 98 SET IN STONE

Josephine O’Donoghue learns

more about the lost art

64 FOCUS ON GREENWICH

Meet the female entrepreneurs

REGULARS

50

6 EDITOR’S LETTER

105 LIFE COACHING

76 GADGETS

109 MOTLEY FOOL

80 MOTORING

115 CITYLIFE RECOMMENDS

97 CULTURE

117 WHAT’S ON

101 FOOD & DRINK

121 PROPERTY

True Character

True characters are a rare breed that stand out from the crowd. Just like the new Lotus Evora, they lead, not follow.

An exclusive proposition, the Evora uses unique and innovative aluminium chassis technology wrapped in iconic Lotus styling. Its character traits of sophistication, agility and dynamism are clearly portrayed, backed up by legendary Lotus ride and handling.

Inside, bold shapes and beautiful materials are linked in unison, offering a virtuous combination of simplicity, comfort and style using exquisite detailing and handbuilt craftmanship. A unique mid-engined 2+2 layout offers striking levels of everyday practicality without compromising the characteristics of a true sportscar.

www.lotusevora.com

RWM advert.indd 4

Fuel consumption in mpg (l/100km): Urban 22.8 (12.4), Extra Urban 43.5 (6.5), Combined 32.5 (8.7) CO2 emissions: 205g/km An extraordinary combination of performance and economy confirm the Evora as the 21st century sportscar, a true Lotus, worthy of the name.

Lotus Evora 2+0 £48,450 OTR, Lotus Evora 2+2 £50,825 OTR. Model shown: Evora 2+2 £54,299 OTR, including optional Premium Upgrade Pack (£2495) and Quartz Silver Lifestyle Paint (£979).

OTR costs include: VAT at 15%, delivery, PDI, first service, number plates, valet, 12 months’ road licence and a full tank of fuel.

24/9/09 09:02:06

editor’s letter Welcome to the October issue of Vicinitee Magazine. As the long evenings draw closer and the new season descends upon us so does a new range of rich winter fashions and great beauty products - check out our ‘Happy 125th Birthday’ Jaeger fashion shoot (p.50) and transitional style update (p.57) for seasonal ‘must-haves’. We also bring you some of the best in motoring, gadgets and interiors to keep you occupied this month.

To kick start the winter season Vicinitee will be holding an Après Ski Party on 20 November 2009. Following our successful Chamonix Ski Weekender earlier this year, the Vicinitee VIP team will be hosting the biggest Après Ski party outside the Alps, at The Roof Gardens, Kensington. We will be transforming this top London nightspot into a fabulous ski resort for one night with plenty going on! For further information please email vip@vicinitee.com Looking ahead to the winter months, from 14 November the ice rink will return to Broadgate Circle, transformed into the City’s premier outdoor ice rink; this will be the perfect location for a magical skate.

So why not enjoy some winter fun with a group of friends, ‘après skate’ with work colleagues, or practise your skating skills with an invigorating whizz around the rink. Skate hire and private or group lessons are available and for more information visit www.broadgateinfo.net Thank you for all your continued feedback, support and ideas which help contribute to future editions. Our aim is to provide you, the reader, with the best editorial features to inspire and interest you. So, if you have something you’d like to share with us, then please e-mail us at Vicinitee@runwildmedia.com.

Finally, don’t forget to check our October theme page on www.vicinitee. com which showcases many forthcoming events in and around Central London along with this month’s exciting competitions.

24431_DUET_squaremile:24431_DUET_squaremile

25/9/09

12:26

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october 2009 ART • INTERIORS • FASHION • MOTORING • BEAUTY • SHOPPING • BUSINESS • GADGETS • FOOD & DRINK • UK & INTERNATIONAL PROPERTY

Richard Fischer Marketing Director Vicinitee.com

Giles Ellwood Managing Director RunWild Media

D U E T

VICINITEE

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

C O L L E C T I O N

OcTOBER 2009

POKER FACE

Do women play a better game?

FIT TO TRAVEL?

the evolution of the travel suit

ISLAND ADVENTURE explore the tranquil beauty of thailanD

HITTING THE SLOPES luxury ski chalets

HOT PROPERTIES

HAND MADE IN PLATINUM AND YELLOW GOLD

uk & international

VIEW THE DUET COLLECTION AT www.hirshlondon.com

FAMOUS FOR ENGAGMENT RINGS

VICINITEE

56-57 BURLINGTON ARCADE PICCADILLY LONDON W1J 0QN TEL 020 7499 6814 - 9 HATTON GARDEN LONDON EC1N 8AH TEL 020 7831 3333

Sixth Heaven (Thailand feature, p.28)

I S S U E 24

In association with

the city

Lagunare Certified Chronometer 3000

Authorised Retailer: Jura Watches, 3 Burlington Gardens, Mayfair, W1S 3EP Tel: 0800 011 2704. Or buy online at www.jurawatches.co.uk

CITYLIFE MAGAZINES Editor Lesley Ellwood

Finance Executive Kätlin Maasik

Editorial Director Kate Harrison

Sales Director Eren Ellwood

Assistant to Editorial Director Ruth Sherrington

P.A. to Sales Director Ella Kilgarriff

Deputy Editor Josephine O’Donoghue

Senior Designer Hiren Chandarana Laddawan Juhong

Arts Editor Carol Cordrey Motoring Editor Matthew Carter

Production James Britton Dan Hyde

Beauty Editor Kate Hughes

PR & Marketing Manager Rebecca Walton

Fashion Editor Lucie Dodds

Managing Director Giles Ellwood

020 7987 4320 020 7005 0045 city@runwildmedia.com www.runwildmedia.com

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16 Heron Quay, Canary Wharf, London E14 4JB 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.

Subscriptions: A free subscription service is available to employees at City offices. E-mail city@runwildmedia.com for further details. For other readers, 6 & 12 month subscriptions are available at £15 & £25 respectively, to cover postage and packaging. For details of subscriptions and advertising, please contact us on 020 7987 4320.

CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE: Claire Adler is a London based freelance journalist, specialising in jewellery, watches and luxury. Her work has appeared in the Financial Times, the Daily Mail, the Sunday Times, The Guardian, The Times, Spectator Business, Wallpaper*, Intelligent Life and House & Garden. She also writes for fashion news service WGSN, hotel magazine IN London and magazines published by Bentley, Harrods and Watches of Switzerland, amongst others.

Jamie Carter is a freelance journalist based in Cardiff. 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. He writes on flatscreen TVs for What Video and What Plasma magazines and away from technology is also a regular contributor to BBC History and Real Travel magazines.

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. His personal finance book The Money Tree, published in 2006, is a best seller.

Kate Hughes has an established reputation as one of the UK's leading celebrity hair and make-up artists. A regular guest beauty presenter on television, she has worked with a wide selection of actors, presenters, musicians and models.

Kate's hair and make-up consultancy, 'It's All About You', transforms women for weddings, special occasions and red carpet events.

Dr. David Kuo is one of the UK’s leading commentators on money matters. He is a Director at the popular investing website The Motley Fool – Fool.co.uk. As well as providing daily insight and financial news for BBC London’s (97.4FM) Breakfast Show , he also presents Money Talk – the Fool’s weekly podcasts where guests from the world of money thrash out the financial issues of the day.

Carol Cordrey is a freelance writer and art editor, devoted to promoting fine art through writing and judging numerous art competitions, some of which have become the source of images for the popular Guildford Calendar. She is the founder of the London Ice Sculpting Festival and has been published in Artists & Illustrators, Financial Times, NADFAS Review and the National Trust.

Poker face Poker has long been a man’s world, filled with cigars, tuxedos and beer – but things are changing. Emma Mills reports on the women that are turning the red and black world of poker a nice shade of pink

P

oker is a game best played late into the night, with some cold beer, strong whisky and a lot of money.

It’s long been a great opportunity for male bonding, and a way to win over the guys you couldn’t outrun on the football field.

It’s the perfect occasion for a testosteronefuelled display of one-upmanship, and some ‘Men Only’ banter.

Oh yes, like anything remotely good fun, poker is a most definitely a man’s world.

Ask a man when he learnt to play poker and he can’t tell you; like being able to kick a football and throw a punch, it’s something men were sort of born knowing how to do. It’s part of their genetic makeup. Ask a woman where she learnt to play and she’ll know exactly the date, time and what she was wearing.

Poker player and writer Donna Blevins recalls her early experiences of poker.

“Poker was a guy’s game – their night out…they hastened to tell me there was a lot of drinking, cigar smoking, joke telling, swearing and releasing of various bodily gases. A female at the game would just wreck it. It’s a male bonding kind of thing, I was told.”

But what happens when you drop a woman into that mix? Aside from less gas emissions and filthy banter, what happens to the game? Ask a man and he’ll tell you that she probably won’t know what she’s doing, which makes the game kind of dull, and easy to win. And, actually, even if she does know what she’s doing, she’s still easy to beat.

Right?

Wrong. And this is exactly where men get tripped up, and where women have the unequivocal advantage. Male players

simply don’t see women at the poker table as players, or god forbid, dangerous opponents. We are table candy, banter fodder, beer waitresses and casualties of a war we apparently don’t understand. But most of all we are invisible. Men don’t see players, they see women. What threat could we possibly cause?

Quite a lot actually. Firstly, women have a natural intuition that they can use to their advantage – they see through the banter to what’s really happening. And this means they can work out the small signs (known as tells) that men give quicker than their male opponents. Their natural predilection for empathy means they can often pick up on when a man is worried, or annoyed, despite it not registering on their faces.

Mistresses in the art of persuasion and cunning they can also use this to their advantage, foxing men with little acts of uncertainty or confusion. In fact pretending a hand is bad, when it’s good and vice versa is a great way to ensure men have no absolutely idea how to play a woman.

Women also don’t have to deal with a loss of machismo when they lose their chips or money, which makes them fearless, and therefore dangerous, players. Recklessness, not usually a good quality when it comes to money, is great here. The less bothered you are about spending (and losing) your money on a hand, the more likely you are to look like someone who means business – and women are very good at spending money!

The undisputed godfather of poker, Doyle Brunson, is keen to point out that these particular qualities mean women are actually some of the best players around. “Look at Jennifer Harman. She’s a lovely girl. But on

12

lifestyle Five Ways to Beat the Boys (or Five things For the Boys to Look out For) 1) Dress to impress: I’m not suggesting dressing like a high class escort, but playing on your female attributes, helps distract male players. They can’t help it.

2) take your time: Don’t start like you know what you’re doing. Take your time to see how everyone else plays, and how they play you. Look for things such as when they raise, what hands they raise on, and what makes them fold. Most of all pay attention to how they treat you, and initially play into that, losing or folding the odd big hand (even when you shouldn’t). Then slowly improve the way you’re playing, and test the players with incremental raises.

3) Flirt:

the table she is just ruthless,” he told The Sunday Telegraph, for which he once wrote a poker column.

“I mean she’d drink your blood to win a pot. In saying that, I’d do the same to her. I mean I’d drill the gold fillings right out of her teeth if I could.” Brunson is clearly no fool, treating Harman with the kid gloves she deserves. And this is interesting, especially considering that Harman is reckoned to be one of the most beautiful players around, with killer blonde hair, a ‘good rack’ and a lazy Texan drawl. Harman uses her womanly wiles to lull men into a false sense of security, while following it up with a dynamite instinct for poker.

Daniel Negraneau, perhaps the world’s best poker player agrees: “Jennifer is already among the greatest players in the world – men or women. She’s a killer. A pit bull in a Chihuahua’s body.”

Being good-looking does seem to work well for female poker players; men tend to lose the plot entirely when faced with a pretty girl. And that’s a great thing, says Annie Duke, a world renowned player whose poker winnings exceed $3.6m. “When you put a woman at a poker table some men become unhinged,” she told Bluff Magazine.

“They forget they are playing a ruthless game in which emotion should be separated from strategy. They forget the gender of your opponent should make no difference to how you play the game. And that’s a good thing for girls.” n With thanks to www.pokerpages.com

Flirting with men on the poker table usually works well, admiring their decisions, being impressed when they win, telling them how clever they are, how big their (chip) stack is – all good ways to get their minds off poker and onto something else.

4) talk a lot: Good poker players are usually silent; many listen to music on headphones to keep their focus. Talking, especially aimless babbling, distracts them and reassures them that you’re not serious and don’t know what you’re doing.

5) Face it: A poker face is usually one that doesn’t give anything away, and women are pretty good at it.

However, the reverse of a poker face – oddly timed smiles, winces, frowns, raised eyebrows, head shakes – can lull men into a false sense of security, and could help convince them to bet high into your pocket aces.

lifestyle

15

FACTOR planned public spending and huge waste on largely fantastical risks. Out of context, such fear promotes hysteria – one useful to people in power to control people without it.

As Gardner notes, “…in Western Europe the death toll due to international terrorism between 1968 and April 2007 was 1,223.

That is six percent of the number of deaths caused every year in Europe by the naturally occurring radon gas that few people pay the slightest attention to.”

Radon, after all, is not much of a headline.

The media too must take some blame for our state of fear – media moguls will

hype a scare story because it sells, just as good news does not. According to one 1997 study, American magazines (and this is no less true of other national media) talk disproportionately of murder, car crashes, overdosing on illegal drugs and other traumatic injury – events at the very periphery of everyday experience – and barely mention heart disease, stroke or smoking, ailments and activities that kill vastly more people. Figures highlight some scary relative risk but rarely the absolute risk that takes account of a whole population.

Why? Because then invariably the risk is

vanishingly small – and the story with it.

Indeed, all sorts of people have motives to promote fear. While police forces might be thought of as wanting to show crime figures falling, it does them no harm to play on fears (or not to counter those propagated by a crime-obsessed and willfully-bleak media) given that their under-powered budgets are often linked to perceived need. Scientists too may ring alarm bells if it means the increase of a research grant or some notoriety. Even organisations typically regarded as forces for good are not above massaging the facts into a more striking, news-worthy and lucrative shape, among them charities, NGOs, environmentalists (who have saddled much man-made activity, be it the use of pesticides or nuclear energy, with connections to illness or levels of risk that do not reflect the facts) and the pharmaceutical industry. This often massages statistics to show symptoms (such as obesity) as diseases in their own right, rather than what they are: a condition that may or may not cause disease (such as a heart condition).

Given these influences, what is anyone to conclude other than that the world is a dangerous place but that we are all going to hell in a hard-cart anyway? It is no surprise that most people end up fearful – for themselves, their children, their health, their communities. It is a perfect feed-back loop, with a fearful populace seeking confirmation of its fears.

Unless, that is, it decides to break the loop. With what? A determined scepticism?

A devil-may-care attitude? A pair of media blinkers? A readiness to read between the lines? A brave acceptance that your reaction may be unconscious and consequently wrong or at least biased?

Perhaps the most basic lesson of whatever insight this catalogue of unfounded fears provides could even be misconstrued as an encouragement to stop reading right now and put this magazine down. Just maybe too much information is a bad thing. 

St James Senior Boys

Best Ever Results

GcSe: 100% Pass, A*ABC 94%, A*A 57% a level: 100% Pass, ABC 90%, AB 70%

St JameS Independent School for SenIor BoyS, twIckenham IS to move to aShford In 2010

St James Senior Boys School has been in Twickenham since 1996. It has occupied the delightful Pope’s Villa site on the banks of the River Thames and has become a wellrespected school in the local community.

Its distinctive philosophical approach to education, its deep care for all pupils, its concern for universal values and life-skills, the importance of teaching students the ability to be still and to cultivate reason, marks it out as a school which is trying to respond to the needs of a society that seems to have lost its way.

All this, plus the delivery of academic are interviewed by the Headmaster and and sporting excellence with a reputation selection takes into account character, for first-class drama and music! interest and enthusiasm. St James’ strength in the sciences will continue It is no surprise that the school has with the creation of new laboratories; experienced unprecedented demand for Classical Studies, through Greek, Latin this philosophically inspired education and Sanskrit, will provide the foundation and this has led to the need for more for sound language development; spacious premises, which have now been and mastery of speech will help boys found at Ashford in Middlesex – the site to become leaders in their respective of the former St David’s School. fields.

St James will move into the magnificent Sport features strongly in the curriculum.

Victorian building, set in 30 acres Yrs 7 to 9 have three Games afternoons of grounds, in September 2010. It is per week and an array of challenging only 8 minutes down the line from adventure pursuits is offered to the more Twickenham and the station is just a senior boys. couple of minutes from the school gates.

St James will be looking to bus boys in St James believes that the step from from local areas. boyhood to manhood requires the ability to reason, a large heart to care for others St James does not base its admissions and a willingness to be yourself. It is an solely on the entrance exam. All candidates education for life!

OPEN DAYS: thursday evening, 5th nov, 6pm - 9pm Saturday morning, 7th nov, 9.30am - 1pm entrance eXam: The 11+ Entrance Exam will be held at Twickenham on 21st and 22nd January, 2010

Open days and tours will take place at the Twickenham site in the first instance but there will be opportunities to see the Ashford site later this year (See our website www.stjamesboys.co.uk for information) Parents are also welcome to visit the school for a tour during a normal school day to connect with the ethos and meet boys and staff. Apply for an appointment to Colin Matten (Admissions Tutor) 020 8744 1441.

REGISTER YOUR SONS NOW FOR ENTRY IN SEPTEMBER 2010 (ASHFORD) St James Independent School for Senior Boys, Pope’s Villa, Cross Deep, Twickenham, TW1 4QG Tel. 020 8744 1441 admissions@stjamesboys.co.uk www.stjamesboys.co.uk

business

17

method IN THEIR MADNESS Cool and green – a paradox?

Josh Sims finds out

Eric Ryan & Adam Lowry

B

oth in their mid-30s and brainy, clean-cut all-American business types, it is perhaps no surprise that Adam Lowry and Eric Ryan might receive fan mail. That the card should be made of cut-up packaging is perhaps a little unusual; but that it should express deep love for their range of household cleaning products is plain off the wall.

And yet this is not unusual. Method, Lowry and Ryan’s eco-friendly brand of floor polishes, disinfectants, leather cloths and other friendly cleaners seems to attract fanatical adherents. Converts talk of having ‘a Method home’.

Indeed, in taking a stance in an industry that has done its best to ignore the need for a green alternative to the toxic chemicals we routinely douse our homes in, Lowry and Ryan have also made products more typically associated with chores decidedly hip and desirable. Their safe liquids, sprays and gels come in the kind of sculptural, minimalist packaging – some styled by New York design maestro Karim Rashid – that appeals to the design-conscious iPod generation.

And they are as new wave in their business practices – using solar energy, supporting workers rights and fair wages, and so forth – as their products.

They are, in fact, the Ben and Jerry’s of the toilet bowl – with a loo cleaner made not from toxic bleaches but from natural lactic acid, wipes made from inherently sustainable bamboo and packaged in the world’s first fully-recyclable film pouch and a mop for the floor made from the recyclable, corn-based plastic everyone told them it could not be made from. They have the same sense of fun as the ice cream duo too. ‘Does your home have a chemical dependency?’ asks one Method ad’s tag-line; ‘You may not know what your bathroom tiles taste like, but your kid does’, states another.

“A lot of customers buy our products because they look cool. But the reason why most of them stay loyal to them is because they’re green,” reckons Ryan, an ex-advertising executive who speaks of Method being “an organisation of fun”, whose

18

business

Method collection UK

employees gather for a “Monday huddle” to crack jokes and talk business. “People may not want to sacrifice it, but fashion is fleeting. So what grounds the customer is the awareness that ‘hey, this product is actually much better for me, my family and the planet’. We’re really trying to bring together both style and substance but there’s a real cause behind the brand.”

In many ways their products’ designer aesthetic is a cynical one, an admission that few people are likely to be converted to using green cleaning products on ecocredentials alone: stylish design is a Trojan Horse to get them into the homes of people more concerned that they smell nice or match the kitchen cupboards.

But it is working. Just five years ago Method recorded sales of $15m. This year, following its launch in the UK, they were around $100m.

“When you’re David against Goliath, the likes of giant companies like Unilever and Proctor & Gamble with endless dollars to spend, you’re never going to win playing their game,” says Lowry, an ex-chemical engineer and climate scientist who worked on the Kyoto Protocol and whose official business title is now Chief Greenskeeper (Ryan’s is Ripplemaker). “You have to redefine the game.”

That said, their beliefs have had to be strong to even get their brand this far. First

off, there have been factories to persuade.

“Normally they solicit a brand for business but with Method we had to make the sales pitch to them: I’d walk in, tell them we had no money to buy shelf space in stores, show them a rendering of a funky bottle that’s hard to make and tell them we wanted to fill it with a substance others were convinced could not be made. Oh, and that we didn’t expect to sell much,” says Lowry.

Resistance from manufacturers has been followed by doubt from retailers.

According to Lowry, with sales of household cleaning products in decline, the market offering nothing distinctive and the major manufacturers leveraging their might to minimize retailers’ profit, interest in anything new, green or not, have been at an all-time low. Finally, consumers have had to be lured into a new way of thinking too.

“There is still this widely-held misconception that ‘green isn’t clean’, that such products don’t work,” explains Ryan.

“A lot of that comes from the big companies who are constantly drumming on about ‘new and improved’, that they deliver superior cleaning power,” he adds. “There is the sense that buying a green cleaner must mean some kind of trade-off – that it doesn’t work as effectively. And we grew up with a lot of these old brands and so we don’t look at that as evil as they potentially are – there are chemicals in those products that really shouldn’t be there.”

It is only convention, the twosome argue, that has so far stopped the major players from seriously tackling the green market.

“There has been a lot of apathy too, a lot of saying ‘green cleaning products can’t be made’ or sitting on the sidelines asking ‘is this green thing really going away or is it going to stick around?’” says Lowry. “We don’t want to wait to see if green thinking becomes the norm – we want to create the change to make it happen. Now those giant companies are realising there is a market for green products, they’re going to try to outmethod Method.”

That, potentially, is good for the planet. It proves a big problem for Method. But the duo draw a parallel between their company and Apple, the hip computer brand that keeps being imitated but is always innovating to stay one step ahead. “From air fresheners to candles, stainless steel polishes to surface sprays, the products are all conversation pieces,” says Lowry. “They’re a way to bring a little bit of delight into a daily drudgery, and that alone is a powerful thing. And they’re green too, of course. But that really shouldn’t be the issue. At the end of the day, all cleaning products should be green.” n For more information, visit www.methodproducts.co.uk

Receive up to 20% off when quoting City 10

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5

OF THE BEST

WINTER SKI CHALETS For the most luxurious ski breaks over Christmas and early 2010, book now to secure the best chalets in Europe CHALET BLANC Owner run Chalet Blanc is the perfect luxury ski retreat with lavish en-suite accommodation, huge living areas with stylish interiors, hot tub and sauna. Based in the beautiful resort of Châtel and part of the largest interlinked ski area in the world, there’s over 650km of pistes to explore and enjoy through France and Switzerland. Five star service is at the heart of the Chalet Blanc offering, with chauffeur driven vehicles, ski guiding, award winning wines and gourmet cuisine served by the professional chef all included as standard.

For an extra indulgence try heli-skiing, Swedish massage or even a champagne reception served at the top of the mountain by your very own ski butler!

For more information, visit www.chalet-blanc. co.uk or call Jo on 0033 624 231 480

CHALET DE LA CLOCHE

In the heart of the world’s finest ski region of Val d’Isere and Tignes, Cloche offers a superb alpine experience, providing all the amenities and services of the most exclusive boutique hotels within a modern chalet. The luxurious and contemporary interior is the ultimate in comfort and style. The large bedrooms have plasma TVs, stylish en-suite bathrooms and balconies (offering awe-inspiring views across the snow-capped region), and there is a private spa with pool, steam room and hot tub.

Four professionally trained staff (including butler and chauffeur), can meet every requirement, whether it’s collecting ski-passes, booking helicopter rides or just going for a shopping trip in one of their luxury vehicles.

A private chef will create sumptuous menus to order, meeting the highest restaurant standards. An extensive wine cellar and open bar caters for all your liquid ‘après ski’ entertainment, and the huge HD screen with Bose AV sound system, Sky, DVD or CD will complete the perfect fun filled atmosphere.

For more information, call 020 8853 0636, email info@ski-base.com or visit www.ski-base.com

citylifepromotion

CHALET AMAZON CREEK

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CHALET LA NORJEANNE

In the Les Bossons area of the Chamonix Valley, Chalet Amazon Creek sleeps up to ten guests in five individually designed bedrooms furnished with bespoke pieces, opulent fabrics and all with en-suite bathrooms (complete with L’Occitane products).The luxury travel company’s flagship chalet boasts spacious living areas, a cinema room and a fully equipped luxury spa with hamman steam room, sauna, sunken jacuzzi and outdoor hot tub. A champagne reception and warm welcome awaits you from the experienced chalet staff, there to take care of your every whim during your stay. Experience the chef’s culinary delights, served to you in the stunning dining area and allow Amazon Creek’s highly qualified ski instructors to organise all aspects of your winter sports requirements with the complimentary ‘winter sports programme’, designed to help you improve your skiing or snowboarding technique and get the very best from the mountain.

Relax in a steaming Jacuzzi with a glass of champagne as the sun sets behind the mountains and reflect on the day’s excitement on the slopes; curl up in an armchair by a roaring log fire with a slice of delicious home-made cake; have a sauna and a relaxing massage in the comfort of your own private chalet; or nip out for a bit of après-ski before enjoying pre-dinner drinks and canapés on the balcony, followed by a gourmet candle-lit dinner overlooking the beautiful snowcovered valley 1000m below. If this sounds like an appealing end to a hard day on the slopes, then the choice is yours at Chalet La Norjeanne; a chocolate-box style traditional chalet in the exclusive resort of Verbier, Switzerland.

With space for 14 guests, a cinema/playroom with DVD, surround-sound and Nintendo Wii, a spa with sauna, steam room, and an outdoor Jacuzzi, the chalet is perfect for corporate groups or families, providing enough space and facilities to keep everyone entertained. The staff members include a professional chef, two chalet hosts and a chalet manager who is available 24 hours a day.

Bookings made by 1 November will receive a 10% discount or free airport transfer.

For enquiries call 0208 144 1728, email ski@skiextra.co.uk or visit www.skiextra.co.uk

For more information call 01344 894 576, email enquiries@amazoncreek.co.uk, or visit www.amazoncreek.co.uk

MAISON VILLAGE

Mountain Retreats is a small, privately owned luxury ski chalet operator based in the exceptional resort of Chamonix MontBlanc; a vibrant cosmopolitan ski area that draws visitors from all over the world. The concept is simple: high quality service, gourmet food, fine wines and flexibility, which combined, create the perfect chalet atmosphere Originally a 19th century tower and barn, Maison Village has been carefully restored maintaining its shape and character whilst offering a chic and contemporary interior.

It unites modern design with traditional

alpine materials. It is a ski-in ski-out chalet, situated at the bottom of Les Grands Montets in Argentiere next to the Chosalets ski area. The chalet has five sumptious en suite bedrooms, Italian kithen, Philippe Starck bathrooms, as well as wifi, satellite TV, DVD player and music system. The master bedroom even has its own private deck with jacuzzi.

Ideal for groups of 10 guests, Mountain Retreats also include champagne and canapés, free bar, ski guiding, the services of a professional chef, concierge service, and a private chauffeur on call from 8am till midnight.

For more information, visit www.mountainretreats.co.uk or call Veronica on 01635 253 946

THE ULTIMATE GETAWAY

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hether you’re looking to relax in a stunning, beachfront villa in Sete, unwind on an idyllic yacht in Antigua, or push your limits with a thrilling skibreak in Chamonix, Amazon Creek have everything you need to enjoy a bespoke and unforgettable trip. Amazon Creek combine the first class service and creature comforts similar to that of a luxury hotel, with the comfort and privacy of staying in your own villa or chalet, to ensure you’ll experience wonderful holidays in style.

Chamonix has become recognised as one of Europe’s leading wintersports destinations thanks to its breathtaking scenery (the resort lies at the base of the majestic Mont Blanc) and numerous skiing opportunities. The winter sports programme at Amazon Creek offers complimentary ski-hosting designed to help guests improve their skiing or snowboarding technique. Ski-instructors provide instruction over the first four days of the week, focusing on lower intermediates at the start of week and more advanced intermediates and advanced skiers as the week progresses. This is the best way to get to know the mountain,

beat the queues for everything from boot fitting and equipment hire to the booking of ski lessons and the lifts. The Amazon Creek team is also on hand to arrange lessons (with the most experienced bi-lingual instructors in the valley) for children of all ages, beginners and those with more experience.

The combination of the surrounding culture and unique cosmopolitan atmosphere makes for an ideal location for Amazon Creek’s three beautiful chalets; Amazon Creek, Baby Bear and the latest addition, Baloo. Amazon Creek’s properties are all built by prestigious regional architects to reflect the beauty of their surroundings and the luxurious chalets are no exception.

Deluxe touches to the chalets include spas with saunas, hot tubs, swimming pools, massage treatment room and a surround sound cinema room.There is a full driver service within the resort and complimentary ski hosting is included in the holiday, so no nasty surprises! With a weekly guest count of up to 22 across the three chalets, this is the perfect place for anything from a romantic getaway to family trip or corporate/client entertaining.

However, if the idea of sitting back and relaxing with a glass of chilled white wine, looking out onto the glistening waters

Chamonix

Richard Warren considers the very best ways to get away from the City in style for a bespoke luxury break

of Corsica’s jade green coves or the Caribbean’s flawless islands appeals to you more, then Amazon Creek’s brand new, sleek 77ft sailing yacht may be of interest. This custom-built yacht, designed by a renowned naval architect, boasts four elegant cabins accommodating up to eight guests in comfort and luxury. Swallows and Amazons will be available for charter from Christmas 2009 and will sail the Caribbean during the winter and the Mediterranean during the summer months. The passionate, enthusiastic and experienced crew (including a highly skilled captain) are keen to share their knowledge of sailing and the local areas as you indulge in the fully catered journey. A variety of activities are organised, from snorkelling to wakeboarding, and even inflatables for kids!

When the day draws to an end the bright, contemporary interior offers the perfect environment to relax in and the fully integrated entertainment system provides everything needed to keep any member of the family content!

Living the London lifestyle can sometimes take its toll on your body, mind and soul, but Amazon Creek offers a great solution to this problem with their yoga and fitness retreats based in Chamonix and Amazon Creeks beachfront villas in Sete. The fitness retreat is tailored to your individual ability and is suitable for all ages. With the surrounding natural beauty of either the Alps or the golden stretch of sandy beach in Sete as a backdrop to your workout, you can increase your cardiovascular performance, tone your muscles and improve your flexibility through a varying schedule of exercises. Amazon

Creek’s yoga retreat focuses on improving your yoga technique alongside general fitness, including all the special features of the fitness retreat.

Amazon Creek are extending their portfolio of properties in summer 2010 when their five bedroom villa will be completed in the vibrant Mediterranean island of Corsica. Approximately 15 minutes from the cosmopolitan town of Porto Vecchio, the villa is set in private, tranquil surroundings. This truly exceptional villa will include a luxury swimming pool, cinema room and spa – the perfect setting to appreciate the outstanding sea views and beaches of Corsica. n For more information on all these retreats, visit www.amazoncreek.co.uk

Breakfast table in Villa Frankie, Sete Villa Frankie, Sete

Photo Nicholas Claris

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Swallows and Amazons, Corsica / Antigua Living areas in Amazon Creek

Chalet Amazon Creek at sunset

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ALPINE LUXURY

Ferme Du Ciel - Image Exterior Chalet

Introducing Ferme du Ciel; why would you go anywhere else?

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his winter, indulge in the opportunity to get away from the doom and gloom with a ski break to the Alps.Treat yourselves to a well-deserved break in the exclusive luxury of Ferme du Ciel (the designer boutique chalet), and you’ll never want to leave!

Ferme du Ciel offers superb service in a relaxed environment tucked away in the picturesque Samoëns region – only one hour from Geneva. Chalet owners Andy and Su will tailor their services and activities to meet any requirements, from short breaks to fully catered chalet hire for several weeks.

The luxuriously furnished ski accommodation boasts five large en-suite bedrooms alongside a family suite, and can comfortably accommodate up to 18 guests.

The interiors are stylish and extremely comfortable; a real home from home. En-suite bathrooms house walk-in rain showers and fluffy towels; vital for the end of a hard day’s skiing. In the evenings, guests can relax in the double height

beamed living room, beside the 360 degree open fire; enjoy a delicious meal prepared by a personal chef; or kick back in the sauna or Jacuzzi. For those having a day off skiing or staying in for the night, the chalet provides a full entertainment centre including a huge flat-screen TV, Xbox, DVD library, Sonos music system, PC and WiFi. A stunning architectdesigned renovation, Ferme du Ciel is a traditional Savoyard farmhouse positioned above the award winning heritage town of Samoëns. The farm enjoys sensational views of the picturesque Giffre valley, and is nestled in the stunning mountains of the Grand Massif.

Close to the Grand Massif Express gondola, the chalet is ideally located for skiers and walkers to enjoy all that the French Alps have to offer.

Locally guests can enjoy exceptional skiing on over 260km of powdery pistes (and plenty of off-piste skiing too), family activities, alpine walks and a wide range of adventurous

pursuits. Alternatively, visitors to the area can simply relax and appreciate the stunning scenery whilst enjoying fine wines and fantastic food.

Samoëns is a beautiful, authentic French alpine farming town that has maintained its traditional charm and character, whilst offering a selection of shops, bars, restaurants.

Close to Ferme du Ciel, guests can enjoy the local market, or visit the ancient chapel overlooking the chalet.

The Grand Massif is renowned for its snow-sure records where skiing is available from December to April throughout the excellent linked areas of Samoëns, Flaine, Morillon, Les Carroz and Sixte. n

Ferme du Ciel drawing room

For more information on Ferme du Ciel, to arrange transfers to Geneva Airport or the slopes, and for details on the 360 tour, visit www.fermeduciel.com, email info@fermeduciel.com, or call 07733 100 020 Contact us ASAP to book for Christmas, or to check availability

Ferme du Ciel luxury ensuite bathroom

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THE SKI SEASON STARTS HERE For those looking for picturesque alpine wintersport (without the Val d’ Isere price tag), head to Paradaski for some of the best skiing in Europe

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f you love The Three Valleys and Espace Killy but fancy a change, then try the Paradiski area.

Never heard of it? Well, it’s the ski area that separates The Three Valleys and Espace Killy. Formed four years ago, when the ski areas of Les Arcs and La Plagne were linked via the world largest cable car (the Vanoise Express) it has become incredibly popular with discerning skiers.

The newly combined area is huge; with 144 lifts and 425km piste it has the same excellent quality skiing as its (perhaps more famous), neighbours – but it’s style is different. There are a total of 19 resorts or villages all linked with both high altitude treeless bowls and extensive forest slopes with beautiful treelined pistes, leading to hidden mountain restaurants or small mini resorts or villages.

This is a ski area where you can not only blast the runs or take the big off-piste

challenges, but you can also mosey along the blue pistes and ski through the trees to a hidden restaurant, take some time out, relax in the sun and then ski on to another village for coffee or a beer before skiing home.

If you’re tempted, the next question is where to stay out of the numerous resorts and villages and we have found a real gem; a private, luxury, catered chalet owned and expertly run by Steve and Debbie.

Their chalet is magnificent; located right by the piste with absolutely stunning views on three sides across the Tarentaise valley, with Mont Blanc as the backdrop. It is newly renovated and has all you’d expect of a luxury Chalet; en-suite bathrooms, top quality cuisine and wines, hot-tub, and all those little extra luxuries you need for that perfect holiday. In addition, it has arguably the best location of any chalet in Paradiski, situated by the piste with ski in ski out access

in the small resort of Les Coches.

And why Les Coches? Well this quaint resort which is linked to the even quainter farming village of Montchavin (also skiable) was once a sleepy corner of La Plagne; however this is where the link to Les Arcs was built and these two resorts now find themselves at the very centre of Paradiski. All the new investment of express lifts, and snow cannons has happened here and yet the resort is still charmingly unaware of its new status.

This, among other things, has a practical advantage: the prices are still reasonable.

A 7-night stay at Pisteside (widely considered the best chalet in Les Coches), during the main season costs less than £695 per person. We recommend that you give it a try, before things change. n For more information, visit www.pisteside.com or call 01730 301973

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HOURS IN....

CALGARY Stephanie Baxter explores the Canadian city of Calgary

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robably most famous for the Calgary Stampede or the 1988 Winter Olympics, Calgary more than likely usually doesn’t feature on most people’s list of places to see in their lifetime. And let’s face it, the city on its own is not the most exciting place in the world; it’s certainly not as cultured as Rome, as cosmopolitan as New York, or as chic as Paris.Yet considering its location very near to some of the most amazing sights in North America, Calgary does seem to possess some charm. And if you’re willing to venture a bit further afield than you might normally do on a stopover, it’ll all be worth it.

8:00am: BREAKFAST IN THE CITY With a fairly early start to the day, it’s essential to get a good breakfast before an activity-packed day. Head over to Avenue Diner on 8th Avenue S.W. for what has been hailed as Calgary’s best breakfast. Both the Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon and the Classic Waffle will do just the trick in setting you up properly for the rest of the day.

9:00am: A DRIVE THROUGH BANFF NATIONAL PARK Heading out of the city, a drive through Banff National Park affords the first glimpses of that stunning scenery. This is Canada proper, in my view; complete with bears, moose and wolves. Although you’d be more than lucky to catch even the smallest sight of wildlife of that nature, just knowing they’re out there somewhere is an exhilarating feeling.

11:00am: CANOEING ON LAKE LOUISE Arriving at Lake Louise in the National Park, be sure to get your camera at the ready, because what you’re about to see is one of the most beautiful sights you will have ever seen, guaranteed. Walking from the car park, the lake appears as if from nowhere, and it is

more than enough to render you speechless.

I was literally transfixed for a good few minutes. The best thing you can do to take it all in is to rent a canoe, row to the middle of the lake and marvel at the beauty of this natural wonder. The colour of the water is simply breathtaking.

12:00pm: LUNCH AT THE FAIRMONT CHATEAU LAKE LOUISE This beautiful lakeside hotel, complete with resident dog, Sonny, is the perfect location to take in more of those idyllic views over a light lunch. The Lakeview Lounge is, as the name suggests, a lounge with the best views of the lake, and offers a tempting menu which includes many speciality teas, such as the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise Organic Signature Blend, as well as appetising dishes such as the Asparagus and Snow Pea BBQ Duck Salad or the Smoked Gouda Reuben.

7:00pm: DINNER AT JULIUS CAESAR’S STEAK HOUSE Steak is to this part of Canada as pasta is to Italy. If you can look past the gimmicky faux marble columns and other themed décor, you’ll find the best in the city at Julius Caesar’s Steak House. The wine list is rather impressive, too.

10pm: AFTER-DINNER COCKTAILS AT MING If you have any energy left after such a jampacked day, the Martinis at Ming on 17th Avenue S.W. are well worth staying awake for, and are the perfect nightcap for a welldeserved sleep.

1:00pm: MOUNTAIN-VIEW HORSE TREK Near to Lake Louise are Brewster’s century-old stables, where you can take a trek through the alpine forest on horseback. Taking between an hour and a half and two hours, this is the ideal way to see Mount Fairview and Mount Victoria, as well as taking in more views of the Lake.

4:00pm: COFFEE BREAK IN BANFF On the way back to the city through the National Park, Banff town is a must-see stop to experience a quintessential town of the Canadian Rockies, and you’re more than likely to see at least one Stetson-clad cowboy type.

There is an endless choice of coffee bars in which to recharge before the rest of the drive home; Mountain Mercato with its fabulous espressos, and Second Cup with its lovely little cakes will not disappoint.

Mountain Louis 1 from Cory Pass

Canoeing Lake Louise

Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise

Lake Louise, Banff, Rocky Mountain

Sixth

Heaven

Island of Koh Samet

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The word ‘Thailand’ for many of us probably conjures up memories of student backpacking adventures on-the-cheap. In the first of a threepart series, Kate Harrison reveals a more comfortable way to relive those days…

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n arrival at Paradee resort in Thailand, guests are invited to choose from a range of specially blended soaps to have in their rooms. Amongst the twelve on offer are tumeric honey, dark chocolate and orchid. It’s not everyday you get the opportunity to use dark chocolate soap, let alone chocolate soap for that matter.

You may not be so surprised to learn then, that ‘Paradee’ translates as ‘The Sixth Heaven’.

Nor is Paradee a particularly everyday experience in any respect. Located on the island of Koh Samet off the Eastern coast of Thailand, the resort is situated in a National Park region on a narrow isthmus between the east and west-facing beaches of the secluded Ao Kiew. Pure unspoilt beaches fringed by palms and flanked by expanses of coral reef and the sheen of aquamarine.

Not a road in sight on a denselyforested island for the most part inhabited by birds and small lizards; just a handful of private villas, sun, sea, and sand. Could there be a better place for a bit of romantic seclusion?

Not a detail has been overlooked or a penny’s expense spared at this resort.

Let’s begin with the rooms.

Each villa, at one hundred square metres, has separate living and ‘vanity’ rooms, as well as a bedroom. The latter is sumptuously furnished with cathedral-style ceilings and super king-size beds with duckfeather pillows, in addition to all the usual five-star luxuries of plasma-screen TVs and so

on. The bathrooms are spacious with large sunken baths and open-air rainfall showers, and the majority of the villas also have their own ‘infinity’ Jacuzzi pool. Finally, every villa has a private terrace with sun-loungers where you can relax and enjoy the sea vista, or arrange a candlelit dinner.

While all of the villas contain these not-so-basic features, for those guests of a more decadent persuasion, certain exclusive villas will provide everything they might need. Chief of these is the Paradee Suite villa - the ultimate in comfort and pleasure that the resort has to offer. In a secluded location at the north end of the east-facing beach, guests at this villa will enjoy full-time butler service to cater to their every whim. The Suite villa has its own sala for outdoor spa treatment or private dinner or else just for simple relaxation.

With a private cocktail bar and walk-in wardrobe area thrown in, as well as the breathtaking ocean views from the elevated beach-front Jacuzzi pool, even the consummate luxurist would be hard pressed to find anything wanting.

The gourmands are probably wondering about what food is available at the resort, and they too will not be disappointed. The resort has a restaurant serving only the highest quality cuisine all day, everything from fresh local seafood to the finest Wayagu beef. Guests may sample Thai and Asian Rim cooking specialties, as well as international dishes.

The setting itself combines the informal and the elegant, open as it is to the sea breezes.

GettinG there Jet Airways, India’s premier international airline, flies twice a day from London to Bangkok. A return flight starts from £384.

For information on schedules and fares visit www.jetairways.com or call 0808 101 1199.

Paradee villa interior Paradee Suite

However, for those guests who are disinclined to eating in such a setting, private meals can be arranged on an individual basis.

Such candlelit occasions may be held in guests’ private rooms, by the pool, or even on the beach to watch a glorious sunset, and menus can be tailored to the wishes of the diners.

However, no example of the comforts to be had at Paradee would be complete without a mention of what is perhaps its chief attraction: The elaborate but secluded resort spa, which contains four double treatment rooms themed around the four elements - earth, wind, fire and water.

Each features its own outdoor bathtub, outdoor rainfall shower and relaxation zone,

Paradee beach

outdoor sala for treatment, a manicure and pedicure salon, and a spa boutique. In addition to this, the wind and fire treatment rooms have their own private steam rooms. In the spa, guests can enjoy body wraps, herbal presses, steam baths and traditional Thai massage, amongst other services. As with catering services, guests may arrange with the spa for a sunrise or sunset massage on the beach if they so wish. All body treatment products used in the spa have been created exclusively for Paradee, and facial treatment products are from Margy’s of Switzerland and Pevonia.

For the less laid-back amongst you, the resort’s location provides plenty of opportunity for activity. Guests are provided with complimentary kayaking along the coast or snorkeling if they choose. There is also the

chance to go windsurfing or catamaran sailing, and the vast lengths of secluded white sand beaches give ample opportunity to go swimming. For those interested in marine life there is a PADI-certified diving centre for novices and old-hands, deepsea fishing trips, as well as a sheltered rocky beach which you can investigate at your leisure, and you can even charter a ship to make your own trip around the island.

To ensure that guests’ stay is as convenient as possible, the resort has all facilities you would expect. Every room has a work desk with free internet access, as well as free internet use in the stunning library. A ninety-five square metre function room close to the west-facing beach caters for any meeting requirements, and the adjacent terrace which can accommodate up to eighty

guests lends itself to banquets, conferences and cocktail parties.

As would be expected of a fivestar resort, you can enjoy twentyfour hour room service, as well as babysitting services and a fitnesssuite. At the Pool and Sunset bars you may sample a wide range of fine wines, cocktails and cigars.

The resort’s green credentials are also impressive; it is entirely environmentally-friendly, care having been taken when the resort was constructed not to damage any of the native plant life or landscape - several of the rooms are built around large trees or rocks. As such, Paradee remains a haven for wildlife.

This secluded haven is reached by an exhilirating twenty-minute speedboat ride (arranged by Paradee) from the coast close to Rayong. After the 2-3 hour drive from Bangkok to Rayong, this is a refreshing way to arrive at the stunning beach hotel and the most glamorous way to start any luxury break. n Prices at Paradee, Koh Samet, start from 17,800 Thai Baht (approx. £313) per room per night, based on two sharing a Garden Villa on a bed and breakfast basis in October 2009. Price includes tax and service charge. Book online at www.paradeeresort.com

Praefinium Partners Ltd. | 84 Brook Street | Mayfair | London W1K 5EH Tel: +44 2031 7842 55 | Fax: +44 2031 7842 56 | www.praefinium.com

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PERUVIAN

Cuzco Peru

Heather Ridley flies to Peru to experience the culture, cuisine, history and mystery of the Land of the Incas

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rumbling temples and lost cities ripe for the exploring, towering Andean mountaintops and traditional panpipe music floating on the breeze – is this what Peru brings to mind? If so, it certainly won’t disappoint, but today’s Peru offers even more.

Take your pick from a plethora of cultural, historical, culinary and adventurous delights; hiking in the breathtaking central highlands of Huaraz, soaking up some sun on the country’s northernmost beaches, sampling seafood delicacies in Lima’s fashionable suburbs or careering around the desert

in a dune buggy at the oasis playground Huacachina. The Land of the Incas is a treasure trove just waiting to be discovered and the only problem is finding enough time to fit it all in.

Whether you choose to take it easy and stay in one place, or tackle a whirlwind multi-destination tour, every Peruvian break will begin with a descent over the country’s vibrant and fascinating capital city, Lima.

From April to December the Pacific coastline is swathed in a bank of coastal fog, obscuring the city until it pops into breathtaking view just before landing.

Before hitting the city’s sights and sounds, I headed straight to the Miraflores Park Hotel (www.miraflorespark.com); the clear choice if you like your South American adventure to come with a side of luxury and comfort. It sits in an exclusive residential area of the fashionable Miraflores district – a hub of business, entertainment and culture – and is the epitome of Limeño style. It is sleek, modern and boasts breathtaking views of Lima and the Pacific Ocean from its rooftop pool.

There is no better way to shake off the effects of the long-haul flight than a swim, before indulging in Miraflores Park’s ‘Bath Butler’ service. My bathroom was transformed into a haven of candlelight, rose petals and scents of my choice whilst I sipped on a Pisco Sour and felt the stress of life back home slip very quickly away. Peru’s famous sour cocktail – made from Pisco, lime juice, egg whites, syrup and bitters – is a taste well worth acquiring and will become your favourite holiday tipple in no time.

Lima has a lot to offer; numerous museums showcasing treasures from the pre-hispanic world; imposing colonial plazas in which to soak up the capital’s rich history; and fantastic shopping centres. I took in the dilapidated colonial grandeur of the bohemian Barranco district over a feast of Ceviche and sweet potato (a delicious local delicacy of raw seafood salad with finely sliced onion and lime juice) and enjoyed an atmospheric visit to the Monastery of San Francisco – which houses an eerie collection of bones in its catacombs – before heading north in pursuit of the sun.

I had my sights set on Máncora, a small beach resort near the border with Ecuador which I had heard was a year-round sunshine paradise. The rumours were true and I spent two days on Máncora’s sweeping white beach enjoying sumptuous freshly caught fish and refreshing Peruvian Pilsener whilst the roaring Pacific waves crashing onto the shore. The resort isn’t yet equipped with any high-end accommodation, and was definitely the most

rustic destination on my itinerary, but I was charmed by its cosy beach bungalows and lazy hammocks and was definitely in the holiday mood by the time I left.

After a stop at the fascinating pre-Inca city of Chan Chan on my journey south, it was time to get back on the road and take a short internal flight to the jewel in Peru’s crown – Cusco. The journey is a popular tourist route, and it’s no wonder that this magnificent city attracts visitors in their millions. Cusco sits cradled in the Andes at over 3,000 metres above sea level and was capital of the Inca Empire until the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro arrived there in 1533. The city remained prosperous and politically significant throughout the Conquest and the combined remnants of both pre- and post-Columbian civilizations make it an unforgettable destination; many buildings in the old centre boast the characteristic Inca foundations of enormous perfectly tessellating grey stones but are topped with colonial arches, intricately carved balconies and tiled roofs.

The first port of call after checking into my hotel was a first floor cafe in the Plaza de Armas, Cusco’s beautiful central square, to sip on a Coca tea. Andean people traditionally use Coca leaves – in Mate (tea) and by chewing parcels of leaves – for energy and to cope with the extreme conditions in which they live.

Having encountered the unpleasant effects of Cusco’s high altitude on my last visit, I knew how important it was to take it easy for a day and allow my body to adjust to breathing the thin air. Delicious coca tea is great for helping with altitude so I wiled away an hour or so admiring the fantastic views before attempting to scale any of Cusco’s steep cobbled streets or stone staircases.

Next, a wander through Cusco’s shops; days could be spent here perusing lovely boutiques full of the highest quality Alpaca clothing and accessories. Though the weather is largely warm and sunny, temperatures can plummet at night so make sure you treat yourself to a super-soft Baby Alpaca sweater

Eduardo Saldarriaga

Genivs Loci

Miraflores Park Hotel swimming pool on 11th floor

Miraflores Park Hotel bath butler

and wrap up. A drive into the surrounding hills or a visit to the awe-inspiring Saqsaywaman Inca fortress will inevitably afford a sight of these iconic Alpacas and Llamas grazing.

People from around the globe find their way to Cusco and never leave. This strong ex-pat community has turned the city into a culinary melting pot and fantastic local specialities are blended with European influences. A delicious Alpaca steak, accompanied potato gratin (Peru boasts over 400 varieties of potato), enjoyed on a leafy heated patio in San Blas, and was a real highlight of my stay. The adventurous will try Cuy, which in the indigenous Quechua language means Guinea Pig. I finally took the plunge and was pleasantly surprised by the meat’s delicate flavour. But I wouldn’t recommend this local delicacy if you’re squeamish, as the guinea pig comes roasted whole – complete with teeth!

Besides the city’s own numerous attractions, Cusco is the gateway to Peru’s most famous sites – the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. Named after the explorer who came across the famous lost city in 1911, the Hiram Bingham train (www.orient-

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Ancient Inca walls as foundations of modern Cusco, Peru, South America

Eduardo Saldarriaga

Peru Rail Andean Explorer and Urcos Bridge

express.com) is a truly magical way to reach the world-famous Inca citadel. This journey evokes all the romance of old fashioned rail travel and every opportunity for comfort and luxury has been attended to. After enjoying the delicious brunch, I made my way to the Observation Car and admired the soaring landscape as we sped past ancient terraces and through rocky passes. Many passengers tour Machu Picchu in the afternoon before taking the train back to Cusco the same evening, treated to a gourmet dinner and cocktails once back on the train. Instead, I opted for an overnight stay in the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Hotel (www.sanctuarylodgehotel.com).

My mountain-view room at the Sanctuary was equipped with a terrace overlooking the peak of Huanya Picchu (Young Mountain) so I spent a relaxed afternoon admiring the breathtaking mountain skyline and went early to bed, lulled to sleep by the sounds of jungle wildlife. This luxury hotel is the only accommodation adjacent to the ruins – the majority of visitors stay in the hectic and tourist-ridden town of Aguas Calientes below – and as such it offers the priceless opportunity to beat the crowds. The hotel offers a wide range of hikes, and on the first tour of the morning it is easy to imagine that you are with Hiram Bingham himself, emerging from the jungle and discovering the mysterious citadel for the first time.

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If you aren’t yet ready to head back to Cusco, a train to Ollantaytambo (a wonderfully preserved Inca village and site of a legendary battle with the Spanish) followed by a leisurely drive back down the Sacred Valley affords opportunity for stops at some of the area’s most beautiful and fascinating sites. Admire the brightly coloured traditional woven dress of the Quechua people as you stop at imposing salt pans and mysterious amphitheatre-like structures at Moray. These terraces are thought to be farming experiments used by the Incas to determine optimum cropgrowing conditions.

Though Lima and Cusco are must-see stops on any Peruvian itinerary, the country has so much more to offer if you have the time.

Arequipa, a colonial beauty, is the starting point for trips to two of the world’s deepest canyons and is prime wildlife-spotting country – Vicuñas, Condors and Alpacas can all be found in the surrounding area. Majestic Lake Titicaca spans the border with Bolivia and is a fairyland of sparkling azure water and magical floating islands. I chose to stop off for a private flight over the famous Nazca lines en route back to Lima and marvelled at the mysterious line-drawings in the desert, pointed out by the pilot, as we wheeled giddily through the sky.

A dream trip to suit anyone’s tastes can be crafted from Peru’s abundance of sights and activities. If you’re looking for a stylish, relaxing break with a heavy dash of mystery and culture, Peru is the place for you. A land of extremes, it has everything to offer, and I would thoroughly recommend a detour off the beaten track to add a touch of Indiana Jones adventure. I arrived back in London relaxed, revitalised and – after all that time at altitude – feeling fitter than when I left!

Who can argue with that? n For more information on travelling to Peru, visit www.peru.info

Plaza de armas in Lima, Peru

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120 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 3LS 509 Uxbridge Road, Hatch End, Pinner, Middlesex HA5 4JS Telephone: 020 7486 3080 http://www.halcyon-interiors.co.uk email: info.@halcyon-interiors.co.uk

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FIT TO

TRAVEL? T

Josh Sims examines the concept of the ‘travel suit’ and asks whether it’s possible to reconcile style and practicality for a first class journey?

he jet set had the glamour of flying down to a tee. Travelling with enough luggage for each to fill the hold, arriving spruced and smooth after cocktails in first class, they touched down as elegantly as their 747 took off. How things have changed; in the age of ‘squeezy jet’ and the one or two-day business trip to press the flesh and sign the deal, you are more likely to arrive looking like a bag of rags.

The answer, fashion brands once told us, was the so-called ‘travel suit’, designed with high-tech fabrics to carry you neatly from flight to meeting to dinner and back onto the plane home.The problem was that these pioneering suits looked as shiny as the aircraft. Not anymore. “Travel suits as a category has been around for a while but fabric performance has improved so much that today’s travel suit really is something different,” suggests the experts at Ted Baker, whose latest venture in the market, the Ultimate Travel Suit, incorporates a NASApatented inter-lining that allows the suit to be warmer in winter and cooler in the summer.

“But it’s still true that you get what you pay for – less expensive travel suits can still feel and look cheap. It’s all about being willing to invest in the technology.”

That technology is providing the four holy grails of travel suits, if not all in one item: stain-repelling fabric, climate control, crease resistance and toughness, the latter

Ermenegildo Zegna’s Micronsphere Traveller Suit

Ted Baker

two qualities being the most desirable. Wool blended with Tefon fibres may allow it to shrug off liquids more easily – ideal for those for whom imbibing copious amounts of wine are part of the job; varying blends of silk and cashmere can increase breathability, thus allowing your suit to stay fresher for longer; and other designs, such as those that from Marks and Spencer which won the Queens Award for Enterprise, or from Burton, are even machine washable, being made from a

yarn that can withstand the spin cycle, is fastdrying and ready to go with a light press.

George at Asda’s Ultimate Suit, launched last year, tries to do it all. It blends wool with polyester and Lycra to help it retain its shape after washing, has a Teflon coating, a lining with an anti-bacterial finish and ‘sweat patches’ to absorb underarm perspiration – grim, but functional, fit-for-purpose. Indeed, perhaps it is small wonder than Rohan, a company best known for its professional outerwear, has also launched its own travel suit, also complete with silver micronembedded fabric to fight off the whiff of 12 hours on a 747 or that particularly intense round of negotiations.

Travel-friendly qualities are not only a concern for just the mass-market. Suits of superfine fabrics may comprise yarns too fragile to undergo processes applied to some travel suits, but Paul Smith’s London line uses a wool spun to give rapid creaserecovery. Similarly, fabric mill and menswear label Ermenegildo Zegna has a Micronsphere Traveller suit, which uses fabric nanotechnology inspired by the way dirt floats on lotus leaves without impregnating the surface until it is washed away. “Men want innovative clothing that performs for them, especially in business when it’s often important to arrive looking immaculate,” states Zegna’s CEO Gildo Zegna.

But for most business travellers, the key issue is one of remaining crumple-free, either to arrive fresh after a long journey or in order to allow the packing of a suit in hand-luggage that will unfold as though fresh from a steam-clean.While some are put off the more all-performing travel suits by the amount of synthetic fibres that are used, those that seek to provide a no crumple zone can now do so by employing 100% natural fabrics; thus, in some eyes, the latest crease-resistant fabrics allows these suits to retain a high quality image.

That is the thinking behind the suits ideal for travel from Savile Row stalwarts Gieves & Hawkes. Certainly Savile Row tailors,

more used to working with heavier woollen and tweed clothes in the traditional English style, have had to adapt and even improve their techniques in order to use finer, lighter weight, specially developed fabrics. Ede & Ravenscroft, for example, uses a plain weave, two-fold warp and weft fabric that is naturally springy, to help maintain shape after extensive wear.

Indeed, the techniques used to develop some travel-friendly fabrics may be patented and closely guarded, but many are oldfashioned rather than futuristic. English mills, for instance, often ‘cross-breed’ the kinds of coarse yarns not usually used in top-end tailoring but more typically used to make carpets, spinning them very slowly so that the strength of the yarn is retained but the resultant cloth is lightweight. Such coarse fabrics retain a sharp appearance, combat wear and tear, and allow for faster recovery when creased.

For some, the temptation is to contrast these fabrics with the soft and fluid variety more often used for luxury products and find them wanting. But increasingly travel fabrics also undergo a high pressure process called paper pressing to retain the sheen more typical of pricier cloths. But that is not enough for all. Some gents will just never be convinced by the very idea of the travel suit, deeming the fabric too light, the touch too rough, the tech too gimmicky.

Their answer? Buy two pairs of trousers for your suit and travel with the second pair (because it is the trousers that tend to take the biggest hit through travel) or opt for a dark, half-lined blazer in wool and mohair, one that can easily be folded with minimum creasing and looks good with grey flannels. In a worst case scenario, and assuming you have time before your meeting, hang your crumpled suit in the bathroom with the hot shower on full – the steam can work magic on all but the deepest creases. Remember to take it off first though: it is one thing to arrive creased, quite another to do so dripping. n

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Jet Airways is an airline with whom air travel really is as pleasant as it looks on the advert…

WITH ME

‘I

ndia’s Best Domestic Airline’ Award, winner several times over; chosen as ‘World’s Second Best Airline’ by readers of Which Magazine and Condé Nast Traveler Magazine; and holder of several further awards in both national and international competitions. So what is it that’s so special about Jet Airways?

Jet Airways can be justly named as India’s premier airline, since it has the largest domestic network, flying to sixty-three destinations across India and beyond. Jet Airways connects to a destination on average every five minutes.

Alongside operating flights to a host of international locations in East Asia and the Gulf, the airline runs daily flights to India from London Heathrow, with two to Mumbai and one to Delhi, and from the latter onwards to forty-three domestic locations. In addition to this, through a code-share with Brussels Airlines, UK passengers are able to fly from Birmingham and Manchester too. With a combined fleet of 109 aircraft and a schedule of over 484 flights daily, this Indian airline’s fortunes are on the rise.

Travelling in a Jet Airways First Class cabin really is a kingly experience. When the airline calls it a ‘suite in the sky’, this is no exaggeration. The cabins are twenty-six square feet in area, privately enclosed by dual sliding doors, containing a twenty-three inch flat screen television, personal hanging wardrobe, dual credenza and ottoman. The seats themselves, designed by BE Aerospace, offer variable lumbar support and an eight-point massage system.

Laptop power and in-flight phones able to send email and SMS are also available in the cabins. In terms of entertainment passengers may choose from a range of two hundred hours of films, both Hollywood and Bollywood, television and short programming. Such space could even be used for a private dinner or business meeting during the flight.

Jet Airways lounge

However, passengers who do not require their own private cabin but still demand a certain level of extra luxury will find the Premiere (Business) class ideal. The seats have been designed ergonomically to facilitate personal comfort, and are able to convert electronically to a 180 degree angle, forming a 73 inch flat bed. Extra privileges for passengers in this class who wish to work whilst onboard include larger tables, laptop power, telephone facilities and email and live-text news. Premiere class also includes a bar area where passengers may help themselves to food and drink throughout the flight.

Many would say that the best thing about Jet Airways though, is the food and drink. Prepared to rigorous standards, Indian in-flight cuisine is designed and catered for by Kensington’s Bombay Brasserie (part of the luxury Taj Group). Michelinstarred chef Yves Mattagne has also been recently appointed to design a new menu to include more Western dishes. All food served during flights is fresh; well-presented; offers a choice of Indian, Western and vegetarian;well-balanced; creative; served when customers want them; and finally tastes delicious! However, it’s not just the food to get excited about though, for Jet Airways are passionate about wine too. Wine portfolios are updated twice per year, with only the premium quality wines selected by a panel of senior executives. Krug Grand Cuvee may be ordered in First Class and Dom Perignon in both First and Premiere classes. 

Jet Airways first class

Jet Airways first class cabin

OFFER To celebrate its recent addition of an extra flight from London to Bangkok via Mumbai, Jet Airways is offering Economy Class tickets on this route for only £384 return (for flights commencing on or before 15 October 2009).

For more information, visit www.jetairways.com

THE FAMILY

Jewels

Some of Bond Street’s biggest names are familyowned jewellers, with far more colourful stories to tell than their corporate-run counterparts, says Claire Adler

F

rom childhood prodigies, to raw ambition and an unerring sense of duty, London’s most successful family jewellers always seem to be brimming with stories.Whether they’re from modest or grand beginnings, all bear the hallmarks of an enduring commitment to be the best.

Alisa Moussaieff is one of the most mysterious and powerful bosses on Bond Street. One jewellery industry insider values her Mayfair shop window displays alone at “in

the region of £50m” – defying onlookers to only imagine the logistics and cost of her security operation. But this is all a far cry from the company’s lowtech beginnings in the 1850s, when Alisa’s grandfather rode his camel alongside a caravan of nomads across the deserts of Arabia, spending days and nights searching for ravishing pearls from the Persian Gulf. Today, Moussaieff’s stores attract an exclusive coterie of enthusiasts partial to diamond jewellery with price tags in the millions.

fashion

Left to Right, Franklin Adler, Carlo Adler, Allen Adler, Sharon Adler and Leyla Adler

A rare gift for horsewhispering in 19th century Turkey might seem an unlikely key to a glittering future in the fine jewellery world, yet it helps to explain how the house of Adler began. When Jacques Adler moved from Austro-Hungary to Turkey in the 1870s, word got out that the sultan’s horse was ill. Jacques secured the job of stable chief, later leveraging his royal connections to help his son Edouard establish himself as court jeweller.Years later, Edouard’s favourite grandson Franklin, aged 19, left Istanbul for Brighton to begin his higher education with a bright academic future. But when his grandfather died, his father summoned him back to Istanbul to help run the business and he duly complied.

Today Franklin Adler, based in Geneva, runs the company while his wife Leyla is the creative brains and their Harvardeducated son is CEO. “I remember my grandfather Edouard Adler was so domineering; he was like a Prussian general in our shop in Istanbul. No-one dared contradict him except for me.

Even when my father was 39, my grandfather didn’t allow him access to the safe,” remembers Franklin. Indeed, members of long-established family businesses

often talk as if their ancestors are still watching over them.

In a roomy office behind William & Son on Mount Street, the luxury emporium owned

by William Asprey (the 7th generation of the Asprey family in the business of luxury goods) this is quite literally the case. Huge paintings of William Asprey’s father, John, and grandfather, Eric, adorn the walls.

In the late 1990s Boodles, the British family jeweller founded in 1798, called in luxury branding specialists Walford Wilkie to transform its image from traditional country jeweller to Bond Street knockout. In the process, Boodle & Dunthorne became Boodles minus the crown logo.

“My father who died in 1992 would probably be turning in his grave if he knew I’d got rid of the Boodles & Dunthorne crown,” smiles marketing director Michael Wainwright, joint managing director with his brother Nicholas. “We regularly receive letters from private equity groups asking for stakes in our business, but my father would never have sold out. In 1976, my father almost acquired a site on Bond Street where the Hermès store is now. For us, finally being in this location is the fulfilment of

a life’s ambition. I’m confident my two nephews will continue in the business.”

In contrast to companies where the younger generation follows the path of their parents, it was the young Harry Winston who spearheaded the success of his father’s business. Aged 12, Harry Winston gazed into a pawn shop window and bought a green stone for $25. Two days later, his astonished father, a Manhattan jeweller, sold the stone for $800 – a dynastic moment if ever there was one.

Aged 13, Harry was advising his father on gem quality.

Family businesses often bring a sense of continuity. The company in itself is a precious heirloom to be treasured for the next generation.

“A family member knows in their heart that one day they will possess something very special,” says Laurence Graff, who began a life of poverty, only to become one of the richest men alive, opening diamond jewellery shops in over 25 coveted locations round the world and scooping up four Queen’s Awards. “The main problem with working with family is that there aren’t enough of them. Sometimes I wish I was an Indian with a huge family around me to join

43

the business. Trust is everything in our business.”

In the past year, “at least five” children of Tony Hirsh’s original clients have come to either his Hatton Garden or Burlington Arcade store for engagement rings. Four years ago, his son Jason came into the business, having trained at the Gemmological Institute of America and Asprey in New York.

Sometimes, the story of a family business comes full circle. In 1948, Robert Holt came to England as a refugee from Austria aged 16. He began working as a diamond polisher in a factory where the coronation diamonds were being prepared.

When the Queen paid a visit, his socialist tendencies got the better of him, he refused to wear his new overalls and he was fired. As fate would have it, the lease on a nearby shop was ending and the tenant offered Robert the premises. A day after opening the shop, a Brazilian man came in and offered him a pile of rocks. He sold all of them the following day. The site was to become the home of Holts, Hatton Garden’s first ever gem cutting facility and the precursor to today’s award winning Holts jewellery store.

In 2006, Robert’s son Jason Holt was honoured with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion for creating the Holts Academy of Jewellery.

“When we had tea with the Queen, my father reminded Her Majesty that they had met before and that he had polished her engagement ring. He also explained why he wasn’t wearing clean overalls when she came to visit,” smiles Jason. n

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beauty

THE EXPERT FACTOR Kate Hughes reveals her top winter skin secrets...

Y

our new winter skin routine this time of year is particularly stressful for your skin. Dry after summer sunbathing, and then irritated by colder weather, it’s time to give your skin some TLC. Here’s expert advice on how beautiful flawless skin can be yours with the latest non-invasive dermal procedures.

MEDICETICS

At Medicetics all clients have a detailed skin analysis and consultation using an advanced medical imagery device to see what state their skin is in. A tailored treatment plan is recommended based on ingredients rather than brands.

I talked to Dr Vicky Dondos and asked her what the three most common complaints are: •

•

•

Pigmentation of the skin (freckle like brown marks on the face) Cause: Too much sun exposure in your youth, the ageing process, contraceptive pill, pregnancy, hormone imbalances, or genetics.

Treatment: IPL laser pulsed light over three treatments, three weeks apart; there is no down time with the IPL treatment.

Wrinkles, fine line and sagging of the skin Cause: Collagen break down and loss via repeated sun abuse, dehydration, the ageing process, pollution or smoking.

Treatment: Botox and/or fillers (injected into the skin), and prescription creams. Botox injections are recommended every three months for the first year and twice a year thereafter. Tretenone prescription cream will improve your skins cellular turnover.

Dry, Dull skin Cause: This is almost always a result of a build up of the top layer of dead skin cells; this can be due to central heating, exposure to the sun, airconditioning, smoking, alcohol or general dehydration.

Treatment: Medical microdermabrasion, skin peels and/or miso therapy hyurolonic acid injections.

Microdermabrasion and various skin peels provide deep exfoliation. The miso therapy is totally painless as the needle penetrates only the top skin layer; these three treatments make the skin wonderfully soft with a fresh glow.

OBAGI-VITAMIN C SERUM

For all skin types and facial areas, the serum protects the skin from the sun’s damaging rays, prevents premature aging, and protects against future damage while firming the skin and evening out the tone resulting in skin that looks and feels healthier. £50 - £120 www.healthxchange.com

PRODUCTSAGERA

The Phyto Lightning Cream has been developed for long term lightning of facial and hand pigment, and is also a fantastic moisturiser.

£48.00 www.agerarx.co.uk

EPIONCE-LYTIC LOTION

This treatment is recommended for normal/combination to oily, acne prone skin. The product eliminates skin imperfections and uneven skin tone by removing dead skin cells and unclogging pores. It’s also an effective treatment for premature skin aging. £44.00 www.epionce.co.uk

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lifestyle

BOKKS Collections Classic

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IT’S ALL IN THE BOKKS If the gift is representative of the giver, BOKKS London represents the crème de la crème says Rebecca Walton

T BOKKS Cigar Collections

BOKKS Collections Luxury Travel for Him

BOKKS Jewellery Collections

his October will see the launch of the eagerly anticipated BOKKS London, one of the world’s most luxurious gifting companies, combining leading luxury brands, exclusive experiences and a truly innovative gifting service. With style input from Dustin Hoffman, Prada and Gucci designer Neil Barrett and supermodel Veronica Webb, it really is the best of the best.

For all those looking for a beautiful birthday gift, an unusual Christmas present or suitable client gift, BOKKS London can help. Probably the best luxury gift purveyor, BOKKS combine the world’s leading luxury brands, experiences and exclusive designs, with an individually tailored consultative service, innovative packaging, and a glamorous delivery experience.

“Masterminding the perfect gift for that special person is now a luxury you can enjoy” says Walter Bugno, Chief Executive of BOKKS. “All too often we are constrained by a lack of time, a lack of realisation about what is available, or simply, hesitation about selecting the perfect gift. Not any more”.

Clients can enjoy the greatest of ease when purchasing the perfect gift online, in-store or even in their own home or office with a BOKKS consultant. The vast collection of luxury products offers a fantastic range of ideas, even for the man or woman ‘who has everything’.

As any time-starved City worker knows, gift shopping (particularly at Christmas) is a task often neglected, and can result in sub-standard gifts or impersonal choices. BOKKS has therefore assembled a dedicated team of experienced and informed VPA’s (Very Personal Assistants) who operate out of the BOKKS Luxury Boutique. With access to all the major luxury brands from around the world, every customer is assured that the perfect gift can and will be delivered no matter the time frame or location. All gifts are hand-delivered by the BOKKS Bellhops; white gloves and all, this charming delivery will complete the experience in theatrical style.

And for the truly unique gift clients can select one-off exclusives and limited editions from BOKKS Privé, choose personally recommended gifts from the BOKKS Style Ambassadors from the BOKKS Curated range, or create oncein-a-lifetime experience packages with BOKKS Epic. n For more information, visit www.bokks.co.uk

KURT GEIGER STORE NOW OPEN

S

ince first opening its doors on Bond Street in 1963, Kurt Geiger has become Europe’s leading luxury footwear retailer. Playing host to the very best of Kurt Geiger’s women’s and men’s own label brands - Kurt Geiger, KG by Kurt Geiger and Carvela – the boutique has an offering to suit all tastes.

Kurt Geiger focuses on high-quality and inspirational designs, while its diffusion line, KG by Kurt Geiger, offers a more contemporary feel for the young, fashion-conscious customer. Carvela has developed a dedicated following injecting individual style and glamour into its collection season after season.

KURT GEIGER Promenade Level Cabot Place East Canary Wharf 020 7673 9869

KG by Kurt Geiger Hiraani £130

KG by Kurt Geiger lychee - £130

KG by Kurt Geiger hollis £130

KG by Kurt Geiger sLUMBER £150

Carvela andy £100

KG by Kurt Geiger DOLLY £100

Carvela Library - £75

Carvela sIZZLE £160

13th October – 14th November An exceptional collection of artwork created by world renowned british photographer, Terry O’Neill.

One Canada Square, Street Level, Canary Wharf, E14 +44 (0) 20 7719 1457 / www.gettyimagesgallery.com

GIG_TerryONeill_advert.indd 1

28/09/2009 14:19

Happy Birthday Jaeger

celebrating

125

years in fashion

Photography by: Anthony Edwin Fashion Editor: Lucie Dodds

Black shearling shrug £499, and black leather gloves £99

Silk shattered glass print dress £399, Velvet de Luxe 66 tights £18, Wolford www.wolford.com Black suede cuffed Belvedere ankle boot £665, Rupert Sanderson www.rupertsanderson.co.uk 020 7491 2220

Black leather jacket ÂŁ399, and black leather and patent belt ÂŁ99

Black peeked shoulder dress £250, black leather and patent belt £99, Black Velvet de Luxe 66 tights £18, Wolford, as before.

Brown leather cuffed Maya boots £895, Rupert Sanderson, as before.

All clothes and accessories Jaeger A/W2009 0845 051 0063 www.jaeger.co.uk Hair: John Birchall at Marcos + Trump, 146 Colombia Road E2, using Kevin Murphy Anti Gravity Make-up: Ruth Warrior @ One using Guerlain, L’Or Radiance Concentrate (Primer) Parure Gold Foundation, Precious Light concealer, Le 2 mascara, Rouge G lipstick, Russian Doll Radiant Blush Ombre Eclat 4 Shade Eyeshadow

Silk print blouse £199, and leather skirt £799 Velvet de Luxe 66 tights £18, Wolford, as before.

Black suede cuffed Belvedere ankle boot £665 Rupert Sanderson, as before.

“Where Business meets Beauty” Entrepreneur Chelsey Baker and Richard Farleigh of BBC TV's Dragons’ Den are looking for real women who have a flair for fashion and the potential to become a model business woman PRIZES The winner will receive: Personal mentoring from Richard Farleigh £5000 worth of essential office supplies to start your own business A photographic campaign in The City Magazine Participate in a catwalk show by top London designer Private Business coaching worth £10,000 An exclusive TV interview A designer evening dress from a celebrity designer Make up and beauty products worth £500 Competition open to females only age 18-30 You must be resident or work in London You must be able to attend the semi final and grand final in London T&C's apply see website for more details

If you have the drive, determination and innovation to become the UK's next success story then enter this unique competition dedicated to beauty and business acumen.

APPLY ONLINE NOW! www.citytopmodel.com

RUNWILD M

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fashion

AUTUMNAL HUES

DESIGNER CRUMPET

An easy way to spice up any outfit. This season is all about prints and Crumpet’s signature scarves are some of the best around; with tiedye, leopard, scottie dog and butterfly prints galore, you’ll be spoilt for choice!

Cashmere stoles by Crumpet, £197 www.crumpetengland.com

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British Brand Oscar London has bought out a new range of high quality, luxury tops perfect for the new season. Offering a range of autumnal hues that feature this season’s colour palette trend, the tops come in Noir Black, French Navy, Gunmetal Grey, Light Ivory & Mulberry Purple. The ultra luxurious, super soft tops are warm and yet thin enough to remain breathable indoors; perfect as transition pieces or under heavier garments during the winter season.

V-neck t-shirt by Oscar London, £39.50 www.iwearoscar.com

TRANSITION ON TREND Shift from autumn to winter with style this season with our favourite ontrend pieces

LOVE LEATHER

Leather is a key look this season. A good leather jacket can be worn over everything from grungy jeans to a cocktail dress and keep you warm. We particularly love this cropped style by Mike & Chris.

Leather jacket by Mike & Chris, £670, available at www.net-a-porter.com

EXPRESS YOURSELF

Experiment with fashion hoisery which is set to be huge this season. Team with shorts or a dress for a multitude of fun looks.

Selection of tights by Topshop, starting from £8 www.topshop.com

CASHMERE COZY The DKNY cozy is the most versatile item for this season.

Wear it as a scarf, jacket or jumper - with 12 different ways to wear it, you’ll never look the same! Perfect to take you from day to evening and inject a shot of colour into your winter wardrobe, the perfect investment piece.

Long sleeve cozy by DKNY, £160, 020 7499 6238, www.dkny.com

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fashion Black and white check hat, £39, New York Hat Company Available at www.my-wardrobe.com

Red black tartan waistcoat, £608, Moncler Available at www.matchesfashion.com Charcoal check front knit bomber, £185, Oliver Spencer Available at www.my-wardrobe.com

Black grey check scarf, £320, Bottega Veneta Available at www.matchesfashion.com

Gant A/W 09

CHECKS, TARTANS & PLAIDS Choose checked fabrics and rich colours for an on-trend autumn look, says Raina Linden

Navy plaid, £150, Burberry Prorsum Available at www.matchesfashion.com

Navy Icon check cashmere scarf, £185,Burberry Available at www.my-wardrobe.com

Charcoal Brit check colwell messenger, £450, Burberry Available at www.my-wardrobe.com

Charcoal Brit check oblong cufflinks, £85,Burberry Available at www.my-wardrobe.com Leather trainers, £50,Nike Available at www.asos.com

HEAVEN SCENT

SATIN STYLE This season, taking a futuristic theme, Agent Provocateur has designed a collection of spectacular lingerie for AP Superwomen worldwide, to enhance their natural genetic assets.

Camikazi is an elegant satin cami and short-style brief with exquisite French lace trim, available for AW09 in gorgeous green or fierce purple.

The Camikazi Twins feature in the campaign ‘The New World Order’, a four part epic illustrated novel charting the adventures of APEX (Agent Provocateur Elite Xemplar), a super race of women from a planet called Voluptura.

Camikazi camisole, £95 Camikazi brief, £60 Agent Provocateur 5 Royal Exchange 020 7623 0229 www.agentprovocateur.com

For this autumn, an unusual scent was required; a fragrance for the contemporary woman, shocking and compulsively sensual.

Penhaligon’s turned to master perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour and ‘Amaranthine’ is the exquisite result. The fragrance opens with a dramatic flourish of spices, and this unsettling lick of drama is beautifully ambushed by an unctuous accord of jasmine and ylang-ylang (a heady bloom renowned for its aphrodisiac properties), and clove swathed in spices, tea, musk and the rounded beauty of tonka bean absolute.

Amaranthine Eau de Parfum (50ml), £60 (100ml), £85 Penhaligon’s 4 Royal Exchange 020 7623 3131 www.penhaligons.com

TURNING Colours

SOTIRIO BULGARI

On the 125th anniversary of its foundation, Bulgari has dedicated a watch to its founder, Sotiro Bulgari, a multicultural trailblazer, businessman and aesthete; a watch as extraordinary as him.

The new ‘Sotiro Bulgari’ features a classic style reinterpreted in a contemporary way. A perfect synthesis of innovative design and manufacturing ‘savoir-faire’; it is distinguished by its sophisticated workmanship and great attention to every detail. The new collection is Bulgari’s new version of a formal watch, featuring manufacture movement, dials finished with exclusive treatments and a unique design for the case, whose bezel is distinguished by the absence of the Bulgari logo.

As the weather turns and London transforms with vibrant colour, the Royal Exchange presents the very best of this seasons autumn styles

INDIAN TRANSFORMATION A glamorous and distinctive gift for women, ‘Indian transformation’ is filled with the intoxicating scent of davana blossom. This gift set is the ultimate indulgence for the autumn season; infused with an intoxicating blend of Indian davana blossom, grapeseed, raspberry, blackseed and starflower oils, the range leaves skin cocooned in silky softness. The set boasts sumptuous davana blossom EDP, shower satine and body crème.

Sotirio Bulgari Watch, £10,500

Indian Transformation Gift Set, £95

Bulgari 15 The Courtyard 020 7283 4580 www.bulgari.com

Molton Brown 27 Royal Exchange 020 7621 0021 www.moltonbrown.co.uk

ADVENTURES WITH CHOCOLATE Famed for exquisite flavours and unique combinations, Paul A. Young has rightfully earned his reputation as one of the UK’s finest artisan chocolatiers. Now, for the first time he shares his chocolatemaking secrets in Adventures with Chocolate; the most exciting and indulgent cookbook for chocolate lovers everywhere. Tantalise your taste buds with a delectable tour of cakes, puddings, drinks, cocktails and savoury dishes.

A GLASS ACT One of the hottest contemporary British artists to appear on the UK art scene is bringing his talent to Artisan Fine Art, Royal Exchange. Award winning artist Richard Rowan will be exclusively appearing for the first time in the Artisan Fine Art Gallery on Thursday 15 October from 5-8pm.

For the last three years he has devoted his time and passion to his preferred medium of painting – directly onto glass. Richard creates beautiful landscapes which are full of colour and atmosphere.The glass gives his paintings a unique contrast to the more traditional canvas on board.

Published 8 October 2009, £17.99 Paul A. Young Fine Chocolates 20 Royal Exchange 020 7929 7007 www.paulayoung.co.uk

‘Shadows of the Sun’ (limited edition print on glass), £895 Artisan Fine Art 35 Royal Court 020 7929 5656 www.artisangalleries.com rex@artisangallery.co.uk

COLOURS OF NATURE The Portent Collection is the eagerly anticipated new collection from Theo Fennell; in subtle shades of yellow, white and black gold with a spectrum of colour from Turquoise to Green Amethyst, Mandarin Garnet to Pearl, the pendants and earrings make an original statement. The individual designs serve as symbols of the natural world, providing a personal harmony and giving us pause for thought.

CRYSTAL ELEMENTS The quintessential British jeweller Tateossian has created an exclusive range of designer jewellery using CRYSTALLIZED™ Swarovski Elements. The collection comprises four contemporary designs, inspired by all things sparkling; to headline the collection is a pair of rotating disc cufflinks available in blue and silver crystal both rhodium plated. And for the ladies a striking mesh and crystal drop necklace available in gold plate or sterling silver. All pieces feature disc and oval shape CRYSTALLIZED™ Swarovski Elements, and just 50 pairs of each design will be produced worldwide.

Earrings, £5,240 Gold Mesh necklace, £800 Theo Fennell 4, The Courtyard Royal Exchange 020 7623 4380 www.theofennell.com

Tateossian 1/2 Royal Exchange 020 7283 3434 www.tateossian.com

AGENT PROVOCATUER || 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

culture

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GOING, GOING...

GONE! Where else would you be able to bid on a real dinosaur skeleton, the world’s rarest classic cars or relics from epic historic explorations? For some of the most unusual, unique and valuable purchases, head to the auction house, says Kelly Green

T

he success of online auction giant eBay has foregrounded auction selling as a fun and profitable business over recent years; but using auctions as a method for buying and selling goods is certainly not a new phenomenon. Records of auctions date back to 500 B.C, when, according to Herodotus, auctions of women for marriage were held annually in Babylon. Thankfully the days of auctioning potential wives are behind us, and today human beings are one of only a very few products that you will not be able to find at auction!

The oldest auction house in the world, the Stockholm Auction House, was established in Sweden in 1674; with Sotheby’s holding its first auction in 1744, Christie’s, established around 1766 and Bonhams in 1793. British auction house Bonhams was expanded during the 1850s to handle all categories of antiques including jewellery, porcelain, furniture, arms & armour, and fine wines; and today, Bonhams is active in over 70 categories.

Holding over 700 sales a year (more than any of its rivals worldwide) Bonhams is the first choice for collectors and highbrow buyers in the City.

However, alongside all the stunning antique treasures and hundred-year-old porcelains, Bonhams also specialises in one-off auctions for some of the most unusual, rare and even unique pieces from around the world. Setting itself well above its rivals this year, Bonhams

is due to auction one of only three Tyrannosaurus Rex specimens ever discovered, on 3 October. The company’s first Natural History auction, the magnificent dinosaur will be sold at The Venetian in Las Vegas and is expected to sell for millions of dollars.

The exceptionally rare 66-million year old Tyrannosaurus skeleton was excavated near Buffalo, South Dakota over 15 years ago, has been prepared by scientists and technicians at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, and contains approximately 170 bones.

This particular specimen is roughly equal in size to another Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton which sold for $8.3 million in 1997. “Bonhams & Butterfields’ fall auction celebrates the art of natural wonders and the continued excitement associated with a possible new discovery,” said Thomas Lindgren, co-director of Natural History at Bonhams & Butterfields.

In amongst thousands of other treasures, Bonhams sold a fully restored 1940 Hawker Hurricane MkIIA last month, a former WWII fighter plane, as part of its Military and Aviation Collectables auction. Also last month, the auction house sold a 2008 replica of a customised Mini Cooper S given to George Harrison by legendary manager Brian Epstein in 1966 as part of the Bonhams annual sale at Goodwood Revival.

The world’s fastest growing auction house, Bonhams is a name recognised across the globe not only for the finest arts and antiques, but for some of history’s most precious artefacts and treasures. n For more information, visit www.bonhams.com Bonhams, New Bond Street 101 New Bond Street London W1S 1SR 020 7447 7447 Bonhams, Knightsbridge Montpelier Street London SW7 1HH 020 7393 3900

BUSINESS IS

BOOMING Sara Uzel meets some of Greenwich’s leading female entrepreneurs

BABANYA is a clothes shop in the heart of Greenwich that has a fresh perspective on clothing, by providing “individual and personal fashion that allows you to be yourself ”. Caroline Auckland was inspired to create the company from her enjoyment of clothes and fashion along with the realisation that “there was no shop in Greenwich providing relaxed yet contemporary fashion”.

To ensure that each customer receives a unique shopping experience Auckland buys only six items of each style.

Auckland carefully sources her collections “ensuring that each brand brings something slightly different to Babanya”.

The shop stocks many high-end brands such as Marc

O’Polo, White Stuff, Hobbs, Oui Set, Part Two and In Wear. “We are keen to ensure that whether looking for a casual t-shirt or a dress for that special occasion we can provide it. My target clientèle is women who want to be able to buy exciting fashion that can give them a versatile wardrobe. Our aim is to provide a personal and friendly service whether people want to buy one item or a complete outfit”.

Auckland describes how having a good business plan is crucial to turning initial ideas into a tangible business, “It was down to having a clear focus of what I wanted to achieve and having the drive to implement it.” Auckland hopes to expand the shop in the future, enabling them to offer a wider selection of fashion and accessories. Her advice to other entrepreneurs wishing to open their own shop is to “have a good business plan and don’t give up when times are tough”.

Visit www.babanyatheshop.com or call 020 8293 1600

SO ORGANIC was founded

by Samantha Burlton along with her husband Stuart. The store provides everything needed to live a completely organic lifestyle, from organic make-up to washable nappies. So Organic believe that “organic living is much more than just a food choice; it’s a truly complete lifestyle decision that affects everything you buy. Our aim is to make organic alternatives as accessible as mainstream products so that it is quick and easy for customers to go organic from top to toe.”

Burlton ensures that So Organic does not sell anything they would not recommend to a friend by rigorously testing each product before they go on sale. Burlton explains the reason for their impartiality when making recommendations: “We are not tied to any one brand so customers can be sure that we are suggesting the best product for them.”

Burlton’s enthusiasm and inspiration for the business originate from the difficulties that she encountered when shopping for organic products herself. “When I started to shop for organic alternatives to my everyday toiletries and cleaning products I found the experience time consuming and difficult. I wanted the same convenience and quality shopping experience when buying alternatives as I did when purchasing mainstream brands”.

One of the brands stocked

is Ecover, who design their product bottles to be reused. So Organic operate the only refill centre in the Greenwich area, where customers are able to bring back their empty bottles to be refilled. Burlton says “refills are cheaper than buying a new bottle so people are able to save money and help save the planet by diverting all those bottles from landfill”.

By the end of October So Organic will include organic beauty rooms which will offer a full range of beauty and body treatments from facials to hair removal all using organic products.

Visit www.soorganic.com or call 0800 169 2579

business

BEAUTY AND THE BIB specialises in unique designer bibs for babies which are sold online and in store in Greenwich, along with a range of other baby accessories. The company is run by Lara Boyle and her husband Kieran, who used their personal experiences of bringing up four children as inspiration for the business.

The company’s most iconic design pivots around the basic shape of a strawberry, which they now sell in 17 different colours. Boyle explains the inspiration behind the initial idea: “It stemmed primarily from my frustration, when my children were dribbly babies, at the lack of creativity, design and originality in baby bibs in general. A strawberry is such a plump, lush, mouth-watering fruit and its shape lends itself perfectly to a baby’s bib. It’s sweet, attractive and colourful by nature... just like all babies!”

Boyle grasped this initial idea by setting up a small stall every weekend in the “deep entrepreneurial incubator that is Greenwich market”.

Boyle now thinks globally not locally: “I am taking more of a managerial role, getting back to design and not unpacking all the boxes”. The Boyles now supply some very successful high street stores, including Harrods and Harvey Nichols, and plan to open a second shop soon. Lara explains, “We want to build on and consolidate our brand, protecting our designs, pushing the boundaries of bib design and moving forward with an eye on the pack behind us”. Boyle advises other entrepreneurs to: “Be brave, expect things to go wrong because they will. Keep your cool. Don’t ever attempt to sell anything unless you believe in it. You need a passion for your product or service. Be prepared for criticism and even some resentment. Take advice, be nice to your accountant, your bank manager and your lawyer! Take pride in your achievements and celebrate your success”.

Visit www.beautyandthebib.co.uk or call 020 8469 0065

BELLE is a clothes shop with a difference; it stocks unique and vibrant clothes from all over the world. Its founder Karin Tearle strives to ensure the boutique’s individuality by sourcing her brands from all over, thus bringing an eclectic mix to Greenwich’s doorstep.

Tearle describes her method for sourcing: “I am always on the lookout for unusual new designs and we’ve recently found a wonderful leather goods brand called Cheet from Battersea.

Sourcing from all over the country means we are able to provide variety.” Tearle looks back at the initial concept behind the business, where she realised a gap in the market for “a much-

65

needed, high-end boutique in Greenwich town centre, giving local customers the opportunity to purchase distinctive clothing in a homely and welcoming environment”. Tearle created this perfect environment by acquiring the lease of a threestorey Georgian house in the heart of Greenwich.

Tearle views the prospect of being responsible for all decisions as an exciting one due to her plans for the future of the company: “Despite the downturn in the economy I would like to think I can buck the trend in a small way. I want to continue to source new brands whilst retaining our popular mainstays and filtering out those that have had their day.

I want to keep my customers motivated and pass on my enthusiasm. I am making plans to introduce a loyalty scheme and I also want to expand our mailing list so as to keep customers aware of previews and promotional events”.

What advice would she give to other entrepreneurs? “A good business plan is vital. It is also very important to be on the shop floor. Know your customer”.  Visit www.bellefashion.co.uk or call 020 8465 5777

THE DIARY

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Sim Smith searches out the latest store openings, interior design services and exhibitions this month...

The Hepworth, Wakefield, UK photographed by Alessandro Milani

This month the Design Museum will celebrate the work of one of the most important architects working today in Form Matters. This major exhibition will for the first time showcase David Chipperfield’s work in the UK, spanning his entire catalogue of projects to date. His renowned designs including the Museum of Modern Literature in Marbach, Germany, winner of the RIBA Stirling Prize for Architecture 2007 and The Hepworth Wakefield gallery, which will be examined through the use of new and archive models, sketches, drawings, photographs and film. Tickets cost £8.50.

21 October 2009 – 31 January 2010 Design Museum Shad Thames London, SE1 2YD 020 7940 8790 www.designmuseum.org

The Affordable Art Fair is back this autumn for its 10th anniversary.With over 120 galleries in attendance and a ceiling price of £3000, the fair exhibits work from established and up-andcoming artists as well as recent graduates.The huge variety ensures there really is something for everyone and there are plenty of workshops and demonstrations on offer too.

Tickets cost £12 on the door.

22-25 October Battersea Park London 020 8246 4848 www.affordableartfair.co.uk

Award winning interior designer Charlotte Crosland has launched a new online interior design consultancy.

Working alongside her main business, this service enables clients to work on a room-by-room basis. Infamous for her stylish mix of traditional and modern interiors, Charlotte’s design advice and creative ideas will turn a client’s initial brief round in just four weeks, including a custom made room design, floor plan and colour scheme.

Peony scent diffuser, £22.00, The White Company

Charlotte Crosland

,

The first KENZO store to carry the KENZO MAISON line has opened in Mayfair! The space, designed by Creative Director Antonio Marras and architects Beltrame & Gelmetti will feature antique items, found objects and bespoke pieces alongside seasonal collections. The store launch will see the first UK appearance of ‘Beea and the travelling flock’, a reinterpretation of KENZO MAISON’s pagodon pouf. This design is based on a flock of 100 nomadic ewes, 99 white and the hundredth infamous black sheep.

enquiries@charlottecroslandonline.com www.charlottecroslandonline.com

Why not pop into The White Company, do a spot of shopping and show your support for Breast Cancer this month. The company have created two exclusive pink products to support Breakthrough Breast Cancer, one of the UK’s leading charities committed to fighting this form of the disease through research, campaigning and education. Choose from luxurious pink cashmere socks and delicate peony fragrances with a percentage of all sales going directly to the cause.

0845 678 8150 www.thewhitecompany.com www.breakthrough.co.uk

This autumn, perfumer Lyn Harris will launch a selection of fragrant teas to be sold in Miller Harris stores alongside her exquisite collection of fragrances.

Thé Bigarade, Thé Violette and Thé Sauvage will be added to the current range of fragrant teas launched last year. Black and Oolong teas sourced from the finest tea gardens in the East have been blended with essences of bergamot, rose and cardamom resulting in a delicate yet flavoursome collection perfect for those autumnal months. For the full teatime experience why not visit the Miller Harris tea room to sample the new collection of aromatic teas and delightful miniature cakes.

Miller Harris 21 Bruton Street London, W1J 6QD 020 7629 7750 www.millerharris.com

Adaman tine IV by Be £2,600, Pieroni Co lla Pieroni, mixed media, 66 ntempora ry Art x 47 cm

Sheepskin Beea and the travelling flock pouf, KENZO

Kenzo Maison 31 Bruton Street Mayfair London, W1J 6HH

Thé Bigarade, Thé Violette and Thé Sauvage, £16.00 each, Miller Harris

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interiors

THE TREND

Sim Smith looks at the return of quintessential British Luxury...

F

allen russet leaves now adorn our paths, crunching under foot. Days are getting shorter and the nights are drawing in and there is a distinct sense of seasonal change in the air. It is no surprise, therefore, that our minds focus inwards, to our homes, families and friends. Autumn is a time for hibernation, for preparing for the cold winter months ahead, a time to fill our homes with comfort, richness and luxury.

Take inspiration from grand stately homes and old hunting lodges, from rugged Highland landscapes and bracing winds to roaring fires and flickering candle light. Look back to traditional British heritage, to a time of refinement and discernment where the highest standards of quality, style and craftsmanship were of the essence.

With a history rich in the practice of mastercraftsman, from silver smiths to cabinet makers, saddle makers and blacksmiths, quintessential British brands are still working with trades which one would hardly expect to exist in the 21st century.

Furniture takes on worldly forms in heavy, intricately carved mahogany, natural rose wood and pale oak. Hand dyed calf skins enrobe buttoned sofas and comfortable chairs in deep saturated tones of mulberry, auburn and tan. Upholstery is strong in Shetland plaid and ancient tartan fabrics and drapery delicate, in beautiful floral linens coloured with muted tones of sage, rose and amber.

Rosewood and brass hinged boot jack, £145, Purdey (020 8499 1801; www.purdey.com)

Walnut wood walking stick, from £350, Purdey (020 8499 1801; www.purdey.com)

Antique bouquet, from £35, The Real Flower Company (01730 818300; www.realflowers.co.uk)

Plain chocolate assortment box, £32 for 520g, Charbonnel et Walker (020 7491 0939; www.charbonnel.co.uk)

100% Linen Secret Folly fabric from the Secret Garden Collection, £98 per metre, Mulberry Home (01202 266800; www.mulberryhome.com)

Stainless steel and chequer leather Hip Flask, £105, Purdey (020 8499 1801; www.purdey.com)

Sterling Silver Marmite Lid, £65, Hamilton & Inches (020 7589 3215; www.hamiltonandinches.com)

100% Wool Shetland Plaid fabric, £79 per metre, Mulberry Home (01202 266800; www.mulberryhome.com)

100% Wool Ancient Tartan fabric, £89 per metre, Mulberry Home (01202 266800; www.mulberryhome.com)

The Bond Street hamper, £150, Fortnum & Mason (0845 300 1707; www.fortnumandmason.com)

Solid mahogany Brodsworth bed, from £7,350, And So To Bed (0808 144 4343; www.andsototbed.co.uk)

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interiors

Heavy brass lanterns hang from vaulted ceilings with elegant reading lights dimmed below. Ambient evening lighting is made even more intimate by candlelight filling the room with creamy notes of myrrh, neroli and musk. Sit for an evening and enjoy a game of backgammon with friends, indulge in handmade dark chocolates newly opened from a box tied with satin ribbon and drink out of heavily cut crystal tumblers.

Wake up to Darjeeling tea and ginger biscuits or Grand Cru Champagne and smoked salmon. Fill the house with beautifully scented bouquets overflowing with the finest scented roses, fragrant garden herbs and foliage that seem to have been picked from the field’s only moments before. And when out in the fields, because after all it is the hunting season, don’t forget to slip your hip flask into your pocket, grab hold of your walking stick and embrace all of the beauty that this season has to offer. 

Great Ormond Street (c.1890) wallpaper in Cappuccino, London Wallpaper Collection, £53 per roll, The Little Greene Paint Company (0845 880 5855; www.thelittlegreene.com)

Polished alligator Havana backgammon set in brown, £9,000, Asprey (020 7493 6767; www.asprey.com)

Polymer gravure etching ‘Kate’ by Tracey Emin 2006, £2,500 The Fine Art Partnership (07970 105508; www.thefineartpartnership.co.uk ) Rare enamel, Limited Edition Halcyon Days box, £1,800, Holland & Holland (020 7499 4411; www.hollandandholland.com)

Natural rosewood and polished calf leather Quiver Klismos chair, £7,900 Soane (020 7730 6400; www.soane.co.uk)

Crystal Square Spirit Set, £70, Royal Doulton (www.royaldoulton.com)

Sterling Silver napkin ring, £585 each, Holland & Holland (020 7499 4411; www.hollandandholland.com)

Champaca fragranced candle, £38, Ormonde Jane (020 7499 1100; www.ormondejayne.com)

Dark mahogany and hand-dyed goatskin leather Bear Sofa, £14,200, Soane (020 7730 6400; www.soane.co.uk)

Brass Smarti Major swing arm floor lamp, £850.65, Besselink & Jones (020 7351 4669; www.besselink.com)

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28/09/2009 16:52:53

U R B A NI NT ER I OR.C O.UK

020 7739 4644

27- 33 B ET HNA L G RE E N ROA D L O N D O N E 1 6 L A

LUXURIOUS B AT H ROOMS | K ITCHEN S | IN TE RIORS

Urban_0001_CanWharA4June_F2.indd 1

14/5/09 16:26:51

interiors

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The ADDReSS BOOK Sim Smith wanders down the interiors trail on Cheshire Street, E2...

1 Ella Doran Ella Doran is a signature stop off on the Cheshire Street route and just to make sure you don’t miss it, it’s the shop with the bright yellow bench outside. Famed for her textiles and photographic prints, this shop plays homage to the world around us, transforming the mundane into works of art.

From printed meadow melamine tableware to record sleeve wallpaper, Ella views everything as a blank canvas just waiting to be brought to life. Choose from a range of tablemats, coasters and roller blinds which can be customised with a print of your choice. If you have children of your own or need to find something for a little one, Ella’s children’s books and giftware are given their very own special section in the store making it easy to find the perfect gift.

2 HanDmaDE The door to this shop was closed but there was a friendly message in the window asking to ring the bell.

Curious as ever, I had to go in so pressed the bell and waited. Inside were smooth ceramics in pale cerulean tones and soft woven Turkish textiles piled high on thick wooden shelves. On speaking to Piyush Suri, the founder of the brand, I learn that the shop was more of an organisation aiming to promote both talented UK designers and those from further afield, predominantly from Turkey and India. An avid supporter of fair trade, handmade pieces and traditional craft, Piyush aims to showcase an eclectic mix of traditional and ethnic works with a contemporary twist.

The result is unique, affordable and stylish.

3 JoHnston arcHitEcturE & DEsign A smart exterior leads into this small white showroom. To my left is an inbuilt book case jam-packed with research books on designers, architects and spaces; and to my right, on the spiral staircase, I’m greeted by one of the studio architects. Johnston architecture and design offer custom

built design work to both residential and mixed-use buildings in London, working with everything from small extensions to large scale refurbishments. The company prides itself in balancing modern design and historical context proving sympathetic to previous foundations and surroundings of sites and buildings. This approach enables a true marriage of old and new and promotes traditional practices which are so unusual in contemporary design. The staff are friendly and extremely knowledgeable and offer a bespoke design service to all clients.

4 labour & Wait Step back in time, to the long gone days of housewifery and scrubbing bushes, of tool sheds and handymen.

This simple little store with its kitchen larder style set up endorses traditional design and craftsmanship that has been lost by so many of the modern high street shops. These timeless products, including enamel frying pans, hand-knitted tea cosies and porcelain measuring spoons, are not the throw away items we have become accustomed to but investment pieces that will only get better with age. Form is not compromised over function but instead fused to make truly charming yet practical pieces of design.

Even the staff seem like they have been pulled out of 1950s suburbia with their dark brown aprons and eccentric thick rimmed glasses. A cult store for real home bodies and cleaning geeks, this is one of my favourite recommendations.

5 mar mar co A great space adorned with fuchsia pink and pale grey wall stickers and exclusive furniture, Mar Mar Co proves a clear extension of its graphic designer founders Mark Bedford and Marianne Lumholdt.

From gilded spoons in the shape of woven twines to simplistic enamel pendant lights

and quirky porcelain teapots, there is an emphasis on design, timelessness and a sense of the unique. Although, technically it is a homeware store, there is something special in the assorted mix of treasures that one can find dotted on table tops and window sills. These products are pieces that make up the fabric of day to day living, miniature art works for everyday consumption. Pick out something really individual here and you know you’ll have it for life.

6 russEll robErts If you’re after some retro classics, head down to Russell Roberts. Specialists in mid century modern design, there is a wide variety of pieces on show from artwork to lighting, tables, seating and accessories. The majority of pieces hail from Europe, highlighting classic design from Denmark, Italy, Germany and Spain.

For all design aficionado’s, there are some great pieces to snap up including aluminium chairs by Charles Eames and beech and elm tables by Hans Wegner and Ercol. The store boasts original art works including hand signed lithographs and vintage enamel signs and for that all important touch of quirk there’s a mounted deer head on offer too!

7 sHElf Behind this tangerine tinted exterior lives a retro lifestyle store with a difference.

White letter press ceramics decorate every surface in an array of different sizes and typesets.

Vintage style books in bright patterned covers sit alongside embossed notebooks and wooden ornaments. Framed prints are boldly hung, emphasising brilliant colour combinations and sharp black outlines against white painted walls. Although there are other lifestyle pieces on show there is a clear preoccupation with all printed matter, stamping, typescript and lettering. A definite must see if you have a similar penchant or just fancy a nose around.

Master Of A

s providers of

KLC offers new vocational training courses, in both opportunities to those Interior Design and looking for a change Garden Design, KLC School of of career into interior Design take pride in delivering design and decoration professional, stimulating

and supportive tuition. The mounting success of their graduates holds the KLC emphasis, that preparation and support is of paramount importance. The extensive careers advice and client network base of potential employees is a fantastic resource as a platform to launch talented individuals into the design industry.

KLC School of Design are based in the KLC Studios in Chelsea Harbour next to the prestigious Design Centre and their Garden Design courses take place at Hampton Court Palace.

With such superb locations to study you will be incredibly inspired.

Julia Palmer joined KLC in September 2008 on the fulltime, ten week Certificate Course in Interior Decoration after taking a sabbatical from her previous job at a commercial property investment company.

“After careful consideration and comparison of other established Interior Design Schools in Central London, I felt the energy and professionalism that KLC offered a potential student was second to none. The interview process and programme worked in parallel with that of the “real world”, which is invaluable whether you are just fresh from school or changing career.”

The Undertaking of a Certificate in Interior Decoration course can be studied in two ways, either as full-time for ten weeks or as a part-time course over one academic year, where you attend the school two days per week. This intensive course is designed to prepare students

for a professional career in interior decoration and enabled Julia to learn about style, arrangement and decoration of surfaces, furniture layout, colour scheme, soft furnishings, window treatments, accents and accessories.

“When I decided to take that plunge to change my career, the Certificate in Interior Decoration Course was perfect, the dates and timescale worked and all I had to do was pass the interview,” explains Julia. “Once I was accepted, the fun, and a lot of hard work, began. Not for the faint hearted, this course will certainly get your brain into gear and full throttle ahead for ten weeks to a final achievement I am extremely proud of. Be prepared to have your creativity and personal management skills tested. It’s a great course to identify your strengths and weaknesses as a designer, as well as an individual,” adds Julia.

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All images: Julia Palmer Interior Design and Photography David Palmer

interiors

Julia graduated from KLC School of Design in November 2008, and has had a very successful year to date! Since graduating she has completed her first live project on a villa in Mallorca, and is currently working on two other projects in South London. The beginning of August 2009 has also seen the launch of her new website, www. jdpinteriors com.

“I was so excited when I was commissioned by my client to reinvent their villa in Mallorca,” she says. “I have never worked so hard in my life and at the end of the project I had blisters on blisters and aches where I did not know they were possible!”

The stunning images shown here allow you to view the exceptional JP style which makes her designs so refreshing. Using linens, weaves and cotton textures with layered lighting creating a softer elegant backdrop for artwork and pieces of furniture,

mixed with the use of convex mirrors to catch the sunlight and reflect the beautiful array of blue from the sea and sky of the surrounding environment.

Julia explains more: “The client brief centred around a focus on a ‘spa feeling’ in the property, and a desire for strong, happy colours. Interpreting this I decided to enhance the existing interior by using a contemporary neutral scheme with accents of colours reflecting the artwork and furniture, as well as the colours of the Mediterranean to create a calm, elegant and tranquil environment.”

The challenge was to ground the space and reflect the top heavy light flooding into the property back out.The floors, walls and roof all blended into one with no definition to the space.

“I started by selecting a terracotta floor finish that immediately grounded the space, and created a link with

the terracotta roof tiles. Using these as a basis I was able to build the scheme from the ground up. For paint I chose a specific shade of white which had the yellow removed (as a south facing property it was important to cool the space for summer, yet keep it cosy for the severer winters); and dressed the property with Scottish cashmere and wool herringbone throws in light turquoise to create that mood.”

Each room was done in this way – cooled down with the white and warmed up with coloured details. A couple of darker bedrooms were lifted with accents of rich reds to balance the lack of light and create a warm space.

The mezzanine lounge has full width windows with no window treatments to give depth to the space; at night when the windows are dark, well positioned sculpture and art pieces ensure the view is still interesting and

brings the space in towards the curved sofa which reflects the wall curvature and winged span of the beams.

“Seeing the design I had visualised become a reality was amazing, and walking into the property with the client for the first time was wonderful.

“The knowledge and confidence that I gained during my study at KLC, as well as the real belief that I can create such a lovely home has been invaluable, and I could not have achieved such success in Mallorca without it.”

To find out more about this course please view the KLC website at www.klc.co.uk or contact us at info@klc.co.uk JPD Interiors www.jpdinteriors.com Email: julia@jpdinteriors.com +44 (0) 7958 528 408

G DGETS GADGETS JAMIE CARTER CHECKS OUT THE HOTTEST NEW TECHNOLOGY

FORTUNE TELLING

Whichever company comes up with a product that creates home cinema sound without the wires – or a huge subwoofer – is going to make a fortune. Could this Blu-ray system from Sony be that product? Perhaps. It’s a 2.1 system, so there is a subwoofer to cater for, but its two speakers can deliver ‘virtual’ surround S-Force Pro sound. It could be worth an audition. Comes with iPod cradle, AM/FM tuner and Blu-ray player.

Sony BDV-Z7 Blu-ray Home Theatre System, £600 www.sony.co.uk

THREE’S A CROWD

It wasn’t going to be long until all the fuss about 3D movies spilled over into digital photography. The first of its kind, Fujifilm’s Real 3D W1 digital 3D camera is also the complete package; it prints, as well as takes, 3D images. Its two lenses shoot ever so slightly different images, which are spliced together to create the illusion of depth. No spectacles or 3D-TV needed – the Real 3D W1 has a massive 203mm display on which to view your futuristic snaps.

SPHERE OF INFLUENCE

A true slice of French fancy this month comes in the unusual shape of these opulent speakers from Cabasse. Standing 1.4m tall and the result of many years of research, La Sphère was developed by Cabasse and French designer and architect, Sylvain Dubuisson. The speaker enclosure is made from materials developed for the European space programme, and comes in any colour you want – just two of the many reasons why La Sphère costs a whopping sum.

Cabasse La Sphère loudspeaker, £108,000 www.cabasse.com

Fujifilm Finepix Real 3D W1 digital 3D camera, £999 www.fujifilm.co.uk

BLACK AND BLU

After its dalliance with the now obsolete HD-DVD format, Toshiba has swallowed its pride to embrace the Blu-ray on its latest laptops.

And a good job too, because it allows the 18.4-inch Satellite P500 to double as a powerful home entertainment machine. Using an Intel Core 2 Duo chipset and equipped with Harmon Kardon speakers and a widescreen Full HD screen for travelling, the P500 can be linked to a HD Ready TV. If you have a Toshiba TV, it can even controlled by the same remote.

Toshiba Satellite P500 multimedia laptop, £TBC www.toshiba.co.uk

BORDER CONTROL

Despite their suave slimness, LCD TVs have always had one major problem: light. Effectively one huge light that’s always on behind the picture, these flat tellies haven’t been able to produce realistic black. Step forward LED tech, used here by LG to help produce more dynamic images by the switching of a series of lights when needed to show true black.

Just 2.9cm in depth, LG’s SL9000 ‘Borderless’ TV lives up to its name; both the 42-inch and 47-inch have virtually no frame, making them look like one continuous slab of glass.

LG SL9000 Borderless LED TVs, £1400-£1600 www.lge.co.uk

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LOTUS

Blossoms

We’ve been looking forward to the arrival of a Lotus that promises to be as good at the everyday stuff as it is in the fun department. Shane O’Donoghue was one of the first to get behind the wheel of the new Evora...

T

he lithe Lotus Elise is a common sight in London. Despite its makers devoting long hours to developing a car that excels on the race track, it’s actually rather good around the City too, with instant acceleration and a compact size allowing you get the most out of any gaps that open up in traffic. Just ask Eren Ellwood, our esteemed Group Publishing Director, who has the hard-topped Exige at his disposal.

However, as much as we love that car – and boy do we love it – there’s no denying that it’s more than a little compromised in the

pursuit of driving enjoyment.

You’d have to be pretty determined to drive an Exige on the motorway for long periods, and you wouldn’t dare ask the in-laws to get in for a spin.

Still, this little car is more than a bit responsible for the buoyant mood (and bank balance) at Lotus and there’s finally time to go ahead and develop something more mainstream; a car that might tempt the odd Porsche Cayman or 911 buyer. That car is the new Evora and it’s finally here.

Firstly, get yourself into a Lotus dealer if you want to

know how good the Evora actually looks, as pictures don’t do its complex curves and vents any justice. Suffice to say it gives the impression that it’s way more expensive than it is and turns heads accordingly – as any self-respecting sports car should. It also makes the right noise. That’s thanks to the 3.5-litre V6 sitting behind the cabin. Take it from me: this Toyota-sourced engine has never sounded so good. At idle it’s quiet, though that changes to a satisfying rumble once you’re on the move and then to a spine tingling wail when

motoring

you really want to see what it can do.

The six-speed manual gearbox changes gear as quick and slickly as you would want and the pedals are perfectly spaced and beautifully weighted. The brakes are outstanding; not only do they allow fade-free stop after stop on a challenging road or track, but you can instinctively feel how hard you can push the middle pedal before summoning the help of the anti-lock brakes.

Just as impressive is the Evora’s incredible stability under braking. It seems unfazed by road camber, potholes or

even streaming wet tarmac.

Saying all that, it doesn’t detach the driver from the conditions and road surface like many modern cars do; rather, it involves you intently, but it’s good to know that you have a few electronic safety nets to rely on if you misjudge a sharp corner or need to make an emergency manoeuvre.

So it’s as good to drive as any past Lotus then, which is nice when you have an open road or track at your disposal, but what about the rest of the time? Let’s be honest, even the keenest drivers spend most of

their time on regular roads at normal speeds so this is where the Evora needs to excel. And it does. This is the first Lotus in a long time that can be described with such words as ‘refined’ and ‘comfortable’. Seriously, there’s no imminent disclaimer. When you’re ambling along, the engine is relatively quiet, wind and road noise are kept commendably low and the suspension does a fine job of soaking up bumps and road undulations.

In terms of luxury, the Evora’s interior is a significant step up from its predecessors’.

Leather and aluminium abound, but in a very Lotus-like minimalist manner. And that’s not just a nice way of saying

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bare; it’s quite well-equipped.

The option that requires the most thought is perhaps rear seating. However small the space is back there, it’s a unique option for a mid-engined car and if nothing else, gives you more space for your luggage.

One of the biggest questions the Evora has to answer is: how does it compare to the Porsche alternatives? Lotus says that it doesn’t care, as Porsche makes tens of thousands of cars every year and the Evora will always be much more exclusive. We say that the new coupé is just as good to drive as its German adversaries and our guess is that you’ll be seeing plenty of Evoras on London’s roads soon. n

SENSORY OVERLOAD

I It’s big, extremely comfortable and blindingly fast. The fact that it can carry four adults is a bonus. Matthew Carter tries the first four-door saloon from Porsche

’m stationary in the middle of the straight before Bridge Corner on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit and I’ve just been instructed to snick the gear lever into Drive and jam my left foot on the brake.

Next, I’m told to bury the throttle into the carpet and, once the revs settle at 5,000 rpm, to move my foot off the brake sharpish while keeping the other one hard in.

What happens next literally takes my breath away. This 500hp, two tonne bolide picks itself up and throws itself down the track with such ferocity

that I feel as if I’ve been rabbit punched to the kidneys. But before I can utter any expletive, Bridge Corner itself starts looming large in the windscreen.

The bend might be flat in an F1 car, but in a road car I’m not so sure; especially when my skills behind the wheel are factored into the equation.

So I step on the brakes… but such is the stopping power of this machine that I wind up braking woefully early. Launch control and ceramic brakes mean it’s time to re-programme my brain as the limits have just got much higher.

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Factor 500 rampant horses and a Porsche badge into the mix and you’d be forgiven for thinking I’m driving the latest iteration of the venerable 911.

But you’d wrong. Despite the huge power output, the Grand Prix starts and the awesome anchors, I’m driving a sober four-door, four seat businessman’s express. It’s the new Panamera Turbo, the first production Porsche saloon since… well, ever.

First things first, this is a proper four seater. While it’s not as roomy as a long wheelbase BMW 7-Series or Mercedes S-Class, it’s not bad. The head and leg room in the rear is such that a top executive could happily sit there reading his FT or sorting out his portfolio while his driver gets on with the A to B stuff.

By why would he? This is a driver’s car par excellence and while you might question the need for launch control on something that’s unlikely to spend much of its time hurtling round Brands Hatch on a track day, the combination of Porsche’s traditional driving dynamics and prodigious power makes the Panamera a quite different proposition to the traditional executive saloon.

And the fact that it has a pair of useable rear seats and a boot big enough for more than a weekend

away means this is the epitome of the Grand Touring car, perfect for crossing mainland Europe in a hurry. It is, in a nutshell, one of the most exciting performance cars on the road.

On the open road it is indecently fast while the handling is exemplary with virtually no body roll to upset proceedings. The limit, especially in the four-wheel drive versions is unfeasibly high; before venturing out onto the roads around Northamptonshire, I drove the car over the Porsche Driving Experience. It’s housed within the grounds of Silverstone and it is open to all Porsche owners who want to find out what their car will do.

It’s a tight little track so you don’t get higher than third gear, but it’s quick enough to know that the Panamera will hang on regardless. In fact, it took a special low grip area of the centre before the back end would step out of line. And when it did, it was totally controllable.

The only caveat is that this is a large car – long, low and wide – and threading it down some of the UK’s back roads demands a great deal of precision.

From a performance point of view, then, the Panamera certainly lives up to the badge on the bonnet. What’s perhaps more remarkable is the comfort it offers. The seats and interior

are worthy of anything you’ll find in a luxury limousine, but this is matched by the velvety ride, especially when air suspension is specified.

There are three versions of the Panamera available. The range starts with the two-wheel drive Panamera S, powered by a naturally aspirated 4.8-litre V8 developing 400hp. The same engine powers the Panamera 4S which, as its name might imply, adds four-wheel drive into the equation. Prices start at £72,266 for the S and £77,269 for the 4S. On paper – and indeed on road – 400hp ought to be sufficient. And that’s was the way it felt… until I sampled the £95,298 Turbo. That substantial price hike pays for more than just a turbocharger and a hundred extra horsepower though. The top model also gets that air suspension system as standard, a superb Bose sound system, the safety of the Porsche Stability Management system and various other goodies. Ceramic brakes are an extra, though.

The Turbo and 4S also have Porsche’s double clutch manual/ automatic gearbox as standard – Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe or (thankfully) PDK for short.

You can shift gears manually is you really want, but it’s not bad left to its own devices: overtaking downshifts are especially impressive. The

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only question mark over the system is when pulling away from a standstill when there’s a disconcerting pause before its gets itself together.

The official figures show the Turbo will top 188mph and launch itself to 60mph in around 4 seconds. Combined fuel consumption is 23.2mpg though the CO2 figure of 286 g/ km won’t gain you membership of Friends of the Earth (though they are many cars far worse than that).

So far so good. What we haven’t yet mentioned the elephant in the room: its styling.

In fostering a family resemblance with the 911, Porsche designers have effectively had to style the car with one hand tied behind their backs.

While it is clearly a Porsche, from some angles it is plain ungainly. If you want to know how to infuse sports car DNA into a four-door saloon successfully, no look no further than the forthcoming four-door Aston Martin Rapide.

That said, the Panamera does look far better in the flesh than in photos and once you’re behind the wheel who cares what it looks like anyway? Just remember, though, to check the road ahead is empty if you plan to use the launch control from the traffic lights. 

HERE COME THE

Girls

“T

Off-road rallies in the Moroccan desert on quads and trucks; nothing to guide you but a compass and co-ordinates; a week-long test of endurance, with nobody to rely on but one of your mates; sound like fun lads? Well, sorry to disappoint, writes Richard Warren, this challenge is for ladies only

Team 206 - Prize gala

he Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles has a magic formula.

Like a rare perfume, the ingredients are secret and impossible to imitate”. This is how Dominique Serra, founder of the Rallye Aïcha, describes her creation, and you can certainly understand why she’d describe taking part as so special.

Picture this: seven days offroad in a truck; racing through remote parts of Morocco; and with no question of GPS. Just good old-fashioned navigation, yours to find your way through a landscape of breathtaking beauty, and all the time knowing your rivals are out there racing towards the very same goal as yourself.

Yet somehow it’s clear that one of those secret ingredients still hasn’t been mentioned.

For the twenty years this rally has been running it has remained open only to female participants. In this respect it is certainly unique, with such events traditionally being markedly all-male. The Rally of the Gazelles is another matter, as its founder makes quite clear:

“It makes women more beautiful and brings their true potential to light”. The race is about the development of certain values; commitment, audacity, determination, courage, generosity and solidarity.

It would certainly be hard to deny that this rally has not struck a chord with many women.

During the two decades it has been running the rally has drawn women, from as young as eighteen to sixty-five, from thirty-three countries from around the world. Nor are participants from just one walk of life.Teachers, photographers, journalists, managers, financial planners, pilots, actresses and students; their occupations are as varied as the countries they come from.

The rally is in the spirit of its founder. “Every year, every participant, every actor with any degree of involvement, needs to be proud of having taken part in this event”, says Ms Serra, who continues to direct the annual contest.

Assiduous and passionate about what she does, Ms Serra,

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Live from the rally - On the beach

who is director of Maienga (an international event management agency), has strong roots in Africa. With her mother hailing from Algeria and her father from Morocco, she spent much of her early years in the open plains which border the SubSaharan desert.

Before we nod in hearty agreement to such admirable ideals though, it might pay for any would-be Gazelle to hear the challenge of the Rallye Aïcha in full. The rally takes place over seven days through the Moroccan desert, and each team of two has to reach a set of defined check-points along the way. This year the route starts at El- Hazbane under the High Atlas mountain range, and then goes northeast to Nejjakh, before turning southwest and running adjacent to the Sahara toward Mhamid. Beginning at 6am every morning, participants draw lots to determine which check-points they must reach that day. With only the help of a 1:100,000 scale map, a compass and a ‘RoadBook’ containing the geographic

co-ordinates of check-points and finish lines, the women must plan their own routes. Average driving time is between 10-13 hours per day. And one more thing; whoever clocks up the least mileage wins, not the fastest.

Participants are also expected to respect the local environment and population, in keeping with the spirit in which the rally is undertaken, for this is also an important part of what the event is all about. For the past three years Rallye Aïcha has been producing an ecological report for each contest, detailing total carbon dioxide emissions, water and energy consumption, and production of waste substances.

All emissions are offset through participation in Arthus Bertrand’s ‘Action Carbone’ Association (www.actioncarbone.org), helping to finance the ‘Green Coal’ project in the Saint Louis region of Senegal.

In addition to this, the rally event has become closely involved with charity projects in Morocco, something which has increased as the rally’s profile

has over the years. In 2001 the association ‘Heart of Gazelles’ was officially created to oversee charitable works connected with Rallye Aïcha. It has worked closely with the Moroccan government on improving healthcare and educational opportunities in Morocco during recent years.

One of the major successes of the event has been the medical caravan established at annual rallies since 2001. In a country where free healthcare is not available to a large part of the rural population, this has proved to be of great aid.

Those dwelling on the course circuit are fifteen days from the nearest hospital and to pay for a medical consultation and treatment can cost half a month’s salary.With fifteen doctors and six logistics operatives available on the rally circuit, in 2009 this itinerant service was able to provide 4,582 people with medical care.The caravan will be in operation again this coming year.

Another example of someone whom the Gazelles have helped is Ghita, a young girl from

Skoura in the Ouarzazate region of Morocco. Despite having passed her exams to go on to school she found herself, like many children in rural Morocco, unable to attend since she lived 7km from the school and had no means of transportation. As part of the Gazelles’ ‘Picala’ project (Berber for ‘bike’), one hundred bikes were purchased for Ghita and her fellow schoolchildren, meaning that they could attend school after all. The purchase of a bike would otherwise have cost her family a month’s salary.

If you’re looking for an adventure which offers something more, and think you have the ingenuity and endurance to compete, and perhaps even win, as well as the will to aid and respect others, then why not go ahead and become a Gazelle this March? A rare and inimitable experience awaits you. Unless that is, like many others before you, once does not prove to be enough. n For more information, visit www.rallyeaichadesgazelles.com

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motoring

THE SHOW MUST GO

G

iven the doom and gloom surrounding the motor industry of late, you’d be forgiven for thinking that September’s Frankfurt Motor Show might have a maudlin air about it. But you’d be wrong.

The show has traditionally been a place for the German motor industry to flex its mighty muscles and, recession or not, this year has been no different. Stars included reassuringly expensive cars like the convertible Audi R19 Spyder, the Rolls-Royce Ghost, Bentley Mulsanne, Lamborghini Reventon Roadster and the retro-look Mercedes SLS AMG. But behind the mega-money motors and the sky-high power outputs, Frankfurt did show a more sensible approach to the future of mainstream motoring.

Four of the most interesting ideas – all concepts at this stage,

but said to be close to reality – are the Volkswagen E-Up (by gum!), the Renault Fluence ZE (for Zero Emissions), the Audi e-tron and the extraordinary BB1 from Peugeot.

The link between all four is electricity. All use lightweight lithium-ion batteries which deliver similar power outputs to conventional cars and provide a range of between 75 to 100 miles before needing recharging. Might not be the ideal tool to drive down to the South of France, but any one of them would be perfect for the centre of London.

The Renault, one of four EVs displayed by French manufacturer, is a full fiveseater and is said to be close to a production version due in 2011.

The lightweight VW has a top speed of 84 mph and is due in 2013 while Audi reckons it’ll have a pure electric car in its line-up within three years.

In the meantime it’s showing the racy two-seater e-tron. Looking like a cross between the TT and R8, it has no fewer than four electric motors, one mounted within each wheel, and has a power output equivalent to 313 hp.Top speed is 125 mph and it’ll sprint to 60mph in well under 5 seconds.

The Peugeot is a city car, pure and simple. It’s just 2.5 metres long yet still has space inside for four – to provide as much space inside as possible, the BB1 mounts its two electric motors inside the rear wheels.

Unlike the others, Peugeot makes no claims as to when we might see this battery-powered Pug on the roads… but it won’t be long before the perfect garage has something electric for the city and something big and mean for those longer trips. Me? I quite fancy the Audi for racing around town and the Bentley for wafting down to Cannes. n

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THE RACING ISLAND Abu Dhabi welcomes Formula 1 to its shore for the first time next month, so Lawrence Barretto speaks to racing star Bruno Senna to get the inside line on the circuit

E

ver since Bahrain hosted the first Formula 1 race in the Middle East with an impressive facility, Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, has been itching to throw its name in the hat and show the world that it can do even better.

Now, five years later, the cosmopolitan metropolis gets its chance at the seventeenth and final round of the Formula 1 World Championship – and boy has it delivered the goods.

Not to be outdone by its desert counterpart, Abu Dhabi wasn’t interested in building just another race circuit. Oh no; it wanted to build an entire world. So it did. Next month, on 1 November, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will take place on Yas Island; a 25km² purpose built mini-city.

Located between the coast and city of Abu Dhabi and Dubai,Yas Island houses a range of world-class hotels, theme parks, golf courses, mega malls, apartments and villas, the world’s first Ferrari theme park (Ferrari World, featuring the world’s fastest roller coaster) and, of course, the Yas Marina race circuit.

The track clearly benefits from the expertise of worldrenowned track designer Hermann Tilke who seamlessly combines the twisty Singaporestyle street circuit with a Monaco-style marina. Bruno

Senna, nephew of the late, great Ayrton, is hoping to follow in his uncle’s footsteps and compete in Formula 1 next year, and a few weeks ago was lucky enough to drive the circuit before giving us his inside line on the circuit.

“I’m really impressed with all the work that they’ve done there,” said Senna who has been racing in the Le Mans Series this year to hone his racing skills.

“The circuit is super impressive and its undulating nature is sure to create a real spectacle when Formula 1 arrives in the city for the first time.

“The teams will have a real challenge trying to set the cars up as there’s a mix between fast, wide parts of the circuit combined with a tight marina section where the guard rails are quite close, so it’s very much like a street circuit. There’s also the unique feature of the pit lane which is a tunnel that actually goes under the track and is quite tight. I’m pretty sure there’ll be mayhem in there.”

Senna continues: “I think we’ll be in for some decent racing and overtaking too as there are two occasions where long straights, one of which is the longest straight in Formula 1 at 1.2km, are sandwiched between slow corners giving drivers the opportunity to overtake.”

Determined to deliver the best ever Formula 1 race, Abu Dhabi has agreed to host the sport’s first twilight race. With

Yas Marina Circuit

a start time of 5pm, the race will start in the daylight and end under floodlights at night.

“The drivers are unlikely to have experienced anything like it before,” said Senna. “So they will be unsure how their body will react, how tough it will be to make big decisions as conditions change and simple things like what visors should they use during the race”.

Away from the on-circuit action, the drivers can enjoy the luxury of the Marina Hotel which overlooks the circuit or stay on their private yacht which can be moored at the iconic Yas Marina which is adjacent to the circuit.

Abu Dhabi is intent on putting on the ultimate show

and after a season which has seen six different winners from four different teams, a Force India hauling itself off the back row of the grid to qualify on pole position and challenge for victory at the Belgian Grand Prix,the departure of the BMW F1 team, and the Renault ‘crashgate’ scandal (involving Nelson Piquet being instructed to crash his car deliberately at last year’s Singapore Grand Prix); finishing with the most impressive circuit in the world hosting an equally impressive race will be the perfect tonic to an exhilarating year. n For latest news from Bruno check out www.twitter.com/BSenna

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Brazilian racing driver Bruno Senna at circuit SpaFrancorchamps May 8, 2009 in Spa, Belgium

Yas Marina Hotel

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25/9/09 12:26:22

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ROYAL TENNIS As the tennis season draws to a close, Lawrence Barretto looks ahead to the feast of tennis on offer at the Royal Albert Hall in December

Masters Court

F

rom the days of John McEnroe bellowing “You cannot be serious!” at an umpire over a dubious line call to Marat Safin smashing the hundredth racket of his career, to even nice guy Roger Federer using a choice word of his own during his US Open final defeat last month – tennis has always been a passionate and highly competitive sport with little room for good humour and entertainment. But as the old saying goes, ‘one mellows with age’ and that’s definitely the case on the ATP Champions Tennis tour which culminates later this year with its showpiece event – The Masters at the Royal Albert Hall.

Bringing together the game’s biggest and most famous personalities for a roundrobin tournament in December, the world’s best retired tennis players travel the world entertaining the masses while showing that they’ve still got the talent by entertaining crowds with some high-quality tennis and on-court banter.

In recent years the likes of McEnroe, Stefan Edberg, Pat Cash, Paul Haarhuis and last year’s champion Cedric Pioline have been joined by newer faces such as Goran Ivanisevic, Pete Sampras, Marcelo Rios, Greg Rusedski and this year on debut, two-time US Open champion Pat Rafter for a feast of tennis at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall.

Now if you’re thinking this will be a bunch of OAPs hobbling around a tennis court gently tapping the ball back and forwards, you’re very much mistaken.

The players still take great pride in their fitness, reputation and ability to perform, generating a high standard of competitive tennis – so much so that many have suggested McEnroe could still be a force on the pro-tour despite turning 50 in February of this year.

To ensure a high quality affair, players must have been ranked number one in the world, reached a Grand Slam final or won

a Davis Cup as a singles player as well as having retired from the professional circuit.

The event runs over six days with two groups of four competing in a round-robin format with the top two contesting the final on the Sunday. In between the singles, a mix of competitive and exhibition doubles matches take place where the players can relax and take it a little less seriously.

Heralded as “tennis’s greatest entertainer” Mansour Bahrami is the real draw with a range of unusual and breathtaking exhibition shots ranging from a power shot through his legs to the drop shot which bounces back over the net due to excessive backspin. The crowd are never sure what he’ll do next, be it serve with six balls, a cheeky underarm serve or deliberately missing a smash, so you’ll be in for a royal treat. n The event runs from 1-6 December; to purchase tickets, visit www.themasterstennis.com

Once upon Kelly Green indulges in an afternoon of fairytale escapism

L

ike millions of others, I have grown up surrounded by a genre of stories that combine mystical creatures, dashing heroes and evil villains; otherwise known as fairytales. As a child, these were my favourite bedtime stories, and the Disney classics Cinderella and Aladdin, my favourite films. I would draw pictures of pretty princesses, enchanted forests and fairytale castles, and every story that I wrote would open with ‘Once upon a time’ and conclude with the line, ‘And they lived happily ever after’.

Some variant of fairytale or folktale exists in all cultures, uniting people from different backgrounds through the shared experience of reading variations of the same stories. The best known are from the famous collections: Arabian nights, Aesop’s Fables, and the Brothers Grimm; but fairytales have appeared in literature since the time of the Ancient Egyptians.

And even before ancient literature, the oral tradition of telling tales through re-

enactments or spoken verse was passed on from generation to generation. Although oral story-telling is difficult to trace, the fact that they take place ‘Once upon a time’ rather than in actual times, means that they never become outdated and remain popular.

Often, fairytales are used to divert, instruct and caution – communicating important messages and morals. The story of The Three Little Pigs, for example, shows the importance of reason and logic, teaching that you should build your defences wisely. Little Red Riding Hood warns children to be obedient, and Hansel & Gretel teaches never to talk to strangers.

Although the genre has become increasingly associated with children, fairytales are captivating to both children and adults alike. When the older fairytales were written they were intended for an audience of all ages, but when the Grimm brothers titled their collection of folk tales Children’s and Household Tales the link with children was established. This link has

continued to grow ever since, helped by Disney’s release of SnowWhite and the Seven Dwarves in 1937, which brought fairytales and fantasy to the forefront of children’s entertainment.

But despite the strong association with children, storytelling provides a means of escapism for adults too, taking us to a place that we cannot go to in ordinary life. Young girls (and adult women!) dream of meeting their very own Prince Charming and being whisked away on a horse-drawn carriage, and tales like Aladdin and Cinderella allow readers to keep dreaming the impossible, and believing that these dreams can become reality.

The V&A is currently hosting two exhibitions that have been shaped by the tradition of fairytales and storytelling. They highlight the fascination that the world has with these stories, showing how tales of magic and enchantment provide compelling subjects for the decorative

Robber Baron table, 2006 Studio Job Photo: R. Kot, Brussels © Studio Job

Sculpt wardrobe, 2007 Maarten Baas Photograph Maarten van Houten © Maarten Baas. Courtesy of Carpenters Workshop Gallery.

arts. The V&A’s small display All the better to see you with my dear: Fairy Tales & Enchantments features a selection of objects from around the world and from several centuries, that have all been influenced by fairytales. The majority of the objects on show have not been displayed before.

One such object is a large button netsuke from Japan, (c. 18501900) which has been decorated with a design of the story of Shiranui Montogar. The netsuke, a toggle used to hang a pouch or container from the kimono sash, is made from ivory, with a design showing the fictional figure of Princess Wakana, riding a giant spider from which she derived magical powers, carved into the surface. Other items of decorative art in the display, include Sleeping Beauty wallpaper (England, 1879), a chess-piece in the form of a pixie on donkey (England 1800-1900), and a statuette of a winged dragon (Italy 1500-1600).

The V&A’s main exhibition, Telling Tales, features work by a new generation of internationally regarded designers. The exhibition showcases furniture, lighting and ceramics designed in the spirit of storytelling, by designers who explore the narrative potential of objects.

The exhibition flows through three dramatic sections, the first of which is The Forest Glade. On display is design that evokes the innocence of fairy-stories, notably the work of Tord Boontje. The items are displayed against a background of printed gauze screens, and lit with dappled green and white lighting and shadows, while

a time...

White Carrara Marble Cinderella Table, 2008 Demakersvan/Jeroen Verhoeven

© Demakersvan/Jeroen Verhoeven. Courtesy of Carpenters Workshop Gallery

The Fall of the Damned Chandelier model: Damned.MGX Luc Merx

© the artist, courtesy .MGX by Materialise

the sounds of birds chirping and tweeting echo through the room. You feel as though you are walking through an enchanted forest straight from the pages of Hansel & Gretel.

Jurgen Bey’s Linen-CupboardHouse (Linnenkasthuis, 2002), is like the gingerbread house in the classic fairy story. The designers in this section seem to disengage from ordinary life, reconnecting us to a state of innocence and wonder.

The next section, The Enchanted Castle, is furnished with fantastical objects and is inspired by the eighteenth century, which saw the rise of print and a new way of telling tales – the novel.

Elaborate wallpaper with an oversized print design provides the backdrop for oversized mirrors, the huge Diamonds are a girl’s best friend lantern (Matali Crassetm, 2008), which hangs from the ceiling like a huge diamond, and Jeroen Verhoeven’s Cinderella table (2005), which has been cut from solid marble.

These awkward alterations of scale, along with seemingly inappropriate uses of materials, parody and subvert conventional displays of high status. On the opposite side of the room, the works contained in The Enchanted Castle recall design from the eighteenth century, in a distorted room reminiscent of the beloved nineteenth century fantasy novel, Alice inWonderland.

The final section is Heaven and Hell, displaying work that has been informed by the advent of psychoanalysis and reflects anxieties about our mortality.

Designers in this section include Dunne & Raby, and Miriam van

der Lubbe. Many children first learn about death through fairytales, thanks to poisoned apples, deadly spinning wheels, and hungry wolves; an increasing concern for parents as it prompts a multitude of questions from young audiences. This section of Telling Tales presents work that evokes the universal conflict of life and death, heaven and hell, judgement and salvation.

Tales of persecuted heroines, charming princes, evil stepmothers and, of course, wicked witches somehow have a hold over the world’s imagination, providing inspiration for art and design and influencing fantasy literature and films. However, in an increasingly PC nation with a tendency to wrap children in cotton wool, it’s uncertain how much longer will parents read the classic fairytales to their children. Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel & Gretel are believed to

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Napoléon à Trotinette chair, 2005 Vincent Dubourg

© Vincent Dubourg. Courtesy of Carpenters Workshop Gallery

be “too scary” for children; the reference to dwarves in Snow White is not PC; and the fact that Cinderella is treated like a slave is not thought to send out the right messages.

But let’s not give up on the fairytale just yet. The combination of archetypal characters, conventional narratives, and important morals has meant that fairytales and fantasy stories have formed an integral part of childhood throughout history, as well as an important part of our culture. As Walter Benjamin said, “The fairytale, which to this day is the first tutor of children because it was once the first tutor of mankind, secretly lives on in the story. The first true storyteller is, and will continue to be, the teller of fairy tales.” n

London Marathon, The Twenty-Fourth Mile

Twelve to One, 11/7/09, Trafalgar Square from the Fourth Plinth

Fortnum and Masons, the Ice Cream Parlour

Polo, Changing Ponies

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STILL REFLECTIONS Carol Cordrey examines the rich appeal of Nick Botting’s art

H

aving lived in London most of his life, Nick Botting has an intimate knowledge of how its people work and play within and around the city.

His informal, softly defined interpretations of daily life gently invite us into his scenes so that we feel like warmly welcomed guests. As we settle down to contemplate each view, we find little formal detail and architecture but plenty of fascinating atmosphere and activity - the beating heart of a place - to absorb our thoughts.

Nick is a consummate observer of people and it is their informal, off-guard moments that he particularly likes to capture. Indeed, he frequently goes to extreme lengths to secure unusual viewpoints of his chosen scenes, the London Marathon being a perfect case in point.

The typical, cramped image of thousands of runners snaking their way along London’s streets was not for him. Instead, he scrambled up to a high balcony early in the morning to gain a bird’s eye view of the first flock of runners, the gathering supporters and the policemen casually chatting as the race unfolded. Simple outlines of viewers moving into position and runners battling with exhaustion make this picture pulsate with anticipation, and that mass of zingy, lime green foliage gives it an appropriate degree of excitement. Features such as Cleopatra’s Needle and Big Ben are delicately portrayed so that we have just enough information to identify this scene as The Twenty-Fourth Mile

along Victoria Embankment.

A similarly precarious position was occupied for Twelve to One,11/7/09, Trafalgar Square from the Fourth Plinth. Nick had successfully applied to be one of sculptor, Antony Gormley’s, volunteer living monuments on the empty plinth in Trafalgar Square. Each of the 2,400 such monuments of this One & Other project was raised in turn onto the plinth clutching whatever they wished to accompany them for their one hour experience; the volunteers could be motionless or do anything they wanted to, provided it was legal! The statues are normally the focus of the public’s attention but Nick – loving to be different - reversed those roles and produced a scene from a statue’s perspective.

Having squeezed himself onto the plinth with his folding stool, portable easel and paint materials, Nick was fully aware that, “it would take just one gust of wind to lose the lot!”. Fortunately, he didn’t, and to the cheers of the crowd as he applied the first rapid strokes of paint, Nick created this fleeting, historic record of a moment in Trafalgar Square when all the plinths were adorned with figures of distinguished men.

Another famous London location is the department store, Fortnum & Mason, renowned for its grandeur both within and without.

Nick’s depiction of its Parlour Restaurant gives us a fly-onthe-wall opportunity to see customers relaxing and enjoying its popular ice creams, cakes and drinks. The distinctive, mosaic, zig-zag design of the counter illuminated by those retro lights gives the

composition an instant sense of place whilst the dominant, foreground figure picked out in vibrant green arrests our gaze and adds a contemporary twist to this otherwise most traditional of venues.

People at play on the outskirts of London is the subject of several paintings in this exhibition. Polo is generally identified with glamorous people, charging horses and frantic mallet waving but Nick cleverly balances those elements with the relaxed, pensive ones that allow us to ease ourselves into these pictures and soak up the atmosphere as well as the action. In Polo, Changing Ponies we sense the tension in the groom’s rigid stance as a player springs onto a fresh pony, the inquisitiveness of the little white dog and the analysis of play by the other observers. In The Polo Match, Figures in Red and Blue, the background of competitive, heart-pounding play contrasts dramatically with the relaxed poses of the mounted, waiting grooms, the nonchalant seated figures and the standing female dressed entirely in blue. Nestled against the distant trees we have the reference point of the Prince Consort’s Statue, painted in Nick’s subtle signature style, which reminds us that we are not at just any polo club; we are enjoying the combined excitement and tranquility of the lush surroundings of Smith’s Lawn, Windsor Great Park on a warm, summer’s day. n Still Reflections by Nick Botting 15 October-6 November Portland Gallery 8 Bennet Street London SW1A 1RP

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THERE IS NOTHING SHARPER...OR FASTER IntroducIng Henry Herbert

H

enry Herbert is the new ‘fabulously British’ bespoke suit tailoring service that speedily scooters to you anywhere in London, around the clock, on a Vespa (or by plane, train or automobile for everywhere else)!

Henry Herbert tailors use their fleet of Vespas to visit and measure up customers throughout London; any place, any time.

Carrying tape measures, chalk and the finest selection of wools, linens and silks (from the UK’s most traditional and longestablished mills), Henry Herbert tailors will come to you whenever you need and wherever you are, to measure and make up perfectly fitting bespoke suits.

This is a new service that has quickly established itself with a reputable client base, from government ministers and city chairmen, to musicians and comedians. Founded by Charlie Collingwood, who was frustrated with the inconvenience, expense and inaccessibility of Saville Row tailoring, Henry Herbert was created to save you time and money.

The tailors can be at your doorstop in no time at all to ensure a more personal and professional styling experience.

Using traditional tailoring and the most experienced pattern cutters and seamstresses, every bespoke Henry Herbert suit is handmade in England, with prices starting from just £495. n

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Email your answer to: Competitions@runwildgroup.co.uk with Henry Herbert in the subject line.

Please include your name, address and contact number Closing deadline is October 31st 2009 and the Editor’s decision is final Terms and Conditions: By entering this competition you are agreeing that your details can be used by both Runwild Media Group and Henry Herbert for marketing purposes. Your details will not be disclosed to third parties.

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On

Screen Set in the present day, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus is a fantastical tale of morality.

Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) is blessed with extraordinary gift of guiding the imaginations of others, but he is cursed with a dark secret. A thousand years ago the Doctor made a bet with the devil, known as Mr. Nick (Tom Waits) and won immortality. Many years later Doctor Parnassus stuck another deal with the devil.

He traded his immortality for youth, on the condition that when his daughter Valentina (Lilly Cole) reached her 16th birthday she’d become property of the devil. Forever the gambler the Doctor renegotiated with Mr. Nick and now, to save Valentina, Doctor Parnassus must seduce five souls before the devil. With the help of Tony (played in turn

by Heath Ledger, Jonny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell) Dr Parnassus must fight to

London FiLm FestivaL The Times BFI London Film Festival is UK’s top festival for film, and in its 53rd year it has once again picked the best films from around the world. This year’s line up includes TheWhite Ribbon, which won Palm d’Or at Cannes; prison drama The Prophet; Bunny and the Bull directed by Mighty Boosh’s Paul King; and Mugabe and theWhite African, a documentary shot undercover in Zimbabwe. A special mention should also go to Eccentricities of a Blonde-Haired Girl directed by 100-year old Manoel de Olivera from Portugal.

No doubt the stars will be out in force to promote their latest films and support the festival, but one star will be busier than others. George Clooney is showcasing no less than three films. He is the voice of Mr Fox in Fantastic Mr Fox, Wes Anderson’s stopmotion animated film of Rolad Dahl’s classic

save his daughter in a never-ending surreal Narnia-like landscape which is accessed through a mirror.

Sadly, of course, this picture is better known as the late Heath Ledger’s last film.

He accidently overdosed on prescription drugs and tragically died last year, whilst the film was still being shot. This left Gilliam and his crew scrabbling to save the film, but the cavalry came to the rescue in the form of Depp, Law and Farrell, all of whom play alternative-dimension aspects of Ledger’s character Tony, in the surreal world within the mirror. And it’s thanks to Gilliam’s determination and the men who replaced Ledger that this talented actor’s last performance has been preserved. ouT 16 ocToBer

children’s story. From a fox Clooney turns into a US special forces operative trained in paranormal techniques in the satire The MenWho Stare At Goats and finally he takes up the role of a management consultant in Up in the Air. Stars set to join Clooney on the red carpet include Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Ray Winstone, Dominic Cooper, Clive Owen and Julianne Moore.

The festival will show 15 world premieres and 23 European premieres from 191 features. There will also be 26 documentaries and 113 shorts from 46 countries. But the best thing about the London Film Festival is how it mixes first timers and respected film makers showing the best work of their careers so far. This year’s festival is not to be missed!

The Times BFi 53rd London FiLm FesTivaL runs From 14-29 ocToBer

©2008 Twentieth century Fox Film corporation

the imaginarium oF dr.

Parnassus

Cat Hughes previews the latest releases

Also out this month Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island stars Leonardo DiCaprio as US Marshall Teddy Daniels. Daniels is hunting for a murderer who has escaped from the Shutter Island hospital for the criminally insane, but his job is made harder by an approaching hurricane (9 October). Jennifer Aniston and Martin Sheen star in Brand New Day, a film that sees a man who writes a self help book on bereavement, while coping with the recent loss of his wife. This turns him into a self-help guru and at one of his lectures he meets a woman and falls for her. This in turn helps him deal with the fact he never got over his wife’s death (9 October). Up is Pixar’s latest film; this animated adventure sees a 78-year-old man who abandons his quiet life and embarks on a series of adventures with an eight year-old wilderness explorer (16 October). TakingWoodstock is an account of the birth of the famed Woodstock festival based on a memoir by Elliot Tiber (30 October).

Michael Jackson’s This Is It is a rare behind the scenes look at the performer as he developed, created and rehearsed his sold-out concerts that would have taken place in the London’s O2 arena (30 October).

Christ Church College, Oxford

SET IN Josephine O’Donoghue meets stonemason and sculptor Nick Simonin to find out more about an ancient art in modern times

N

ick Simonin is a stonemason; an artist bringing ancient skills to the modern day, in order to conserve the past and create new masterpieces for the future.

Something of a dying art form, the trade of a stonemason requires intense passion, dedication and discipline; and without these skilled professionals, some of the greatest architectural creations would fall into ruin and disrepair. I caught up with Nick to learn more about his work, and the value of this ancient art form.

Josephine: Why did you decide to become a stonemason/sculpture?

Nick: I had come to a crossroads in my life, and the chance to engage with an ancient and complex craft, offering both creativity and discipline, was just what I needed.

Josephine: What kind of stonemason are you?

Nick: I was trained as a stonemason/carver and a

conservator. This encompasses a working knowledge of geology through production of architectural stonework, to the present problems of appropriately and sensitively looking after our built heritage.

Josephine: Where did you train?

Nick: I trained at Weymouth College in Dorset. The course offered the qualifications package I was looking for and there were also numerous firms in the area to work for alongside the training.

Josephine: What did the course/apprenticeship involve?

Nick:The course involved going back to the very beginning of the stonemason’s craft, and learning how to square a rough block by hand, using traditional tools and techniques to achieve a perfect six-sides worked block.

This is the same technique a Norman mason would have used 800 years ago, using pretty similar tools.The technique of ‘boning in a block’ for example, stretches back as far as ancient Egypt (where

craftsmen would flatten the stone with boning-rods).The course progressed through architectural skills including stone-work, free-carving, letter-cutting, Architectural history, practical and conservation theory, geometry, geology and project management.

Josephine: What does your job entail?

Nick: I am employed at the moment by the artist Anish Kapoor, as a stone carver and art technician. This involves working closely with him through the ongoing process of creating a sculpture made, from quarried block to a gallery-ready piece.

At times it can involve working from models and drawings, and as an unfolding dialogue with the artist. This is the time-honoured tradition of the artisan and the studio system, which stretches back through history; Rodin, Bernini, Michelangelo all had incredible visions and teams of skilled craftspeople would create the works of art under the close scrutiny of the artist.

Josephine: Do you think that it is a dying art form?

Nick: I think in many respects this is the case, but there are so many factors at work that it is a complex problem; one which our increasingly media and technology saturated society just does not have the time for.

These skills are widely used today, but spiralling costs of extraction and production mean that without intense mechanisation of all elements of the process, large jobs cannot be viable, cost-effective and profitable. The grandiose projects of the past only exist due to very different sensibilities being embraced.

The concept of a building taking 50-100 years to complete is so alien to us today that it is incompatible with current development practise.

Josephine: Do you also work on historical building restoration?

Nick:Yes, I have worked on buildings, from small village churches, to palaces and other buildings of national historic importance. The tasks have ranged from pointing, to replacement carving and masonry. I once made two double and triple stack ornate chimneys for a Grade I Cotswold mansion; I have worked on Corfe Castle (on various conservation projects); I have carried out a large amount of replacement stonework for Berkley Castle; worked on spire restoration at Christ Church College, Oxford; and taken part in the Bath Spa restoration. The most famous building I have worked on is probably St Paul’s Cathedral.

Josephine: What are you working on at the moment?

Nick: I am currently working on a large project in pink marble for Anish Kapoor.The stone comes

culture

from Portugal and when it was delivered to London it weighed 22 tonnes.We have removed 12 tonnes and still haven’t finished.

We are also working on Alabaster carving projects. Securing this job with Anish Kapoor, who is unquestionably at the top of his game, has been one of my greatest achievements. It has created an unrivalled opportunity for me to develop and gain valuable experience. In the future, I would like to concentrate on my own work, deepening my understanding of form and explore what it really means to be an artist.

Josephine: What is your greatest career ambition?

Nick: To develop enough skill, sensitivity and vision so as to profoundly affect people through the medium of sculpture.

Josephine: What examples of stonemasonry and sculpture inspire you?

Nick: The dedication, skills and visions of the medieval masons and architects are truly phenomenal, and they will always have my deep respect.

Also, as young boy, I vividly remember being moved by works of Henry Moore. I had not known things like that existed! I definitely told myself that I wanted to make things myself one day. I am

also inspired by the work of Constantine Brancusi, Jean Arp, Sergio Camargo, Joseph Beuys, Matthew Barney and my boss, Anish Kapoor.

Josephine: Do you take private commissions?

Nick:Yes I do. Commissions range from repairing old buildings, to realising other people’s sculptural dreams in stone for them, to the production of my own sculptures. I am currently putting together a body of work to exhibit.

Josephine: Why is it important for Britain to maintain traditional skills such as stonemasonry?

Nick: I feel it is extremely important. The potential in following through a measured process of learning and self discovery are more vital now than they ever have been.

Perhaps a sound practical education could stem the flow of apathy, ignorance, and instant gratification which are the cornerstones of the disturbing ‘entitlement culture’ destroying the minds and futures of our young people. We all 2009 project for Anish Kapoor

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are responsible for the health of future generations, and our obsession with instant results is suffocating the training and aspirations of our young people.

Many things do not benefit from speed and take time to develop and perfect; sculpture, art, literature and music are but a few examples of those things which need to slowly grow through skill, experience, and patience. The arts require a diligent application of thought and effort in a lengthy process and a lifetime’s work. Traditional skills are under siege and the world will be a lesser place when they are all gone.

Josephine: Why do you think sculpture has recently become more popular in the corporate environment than copies of paintings?

Nick: Often art in a corporate space is chosen solely based on company budgets, or to soften what are harsh, professional environments. I would say this position denies a world of possibilities for companies to express their often unique products and ethos with a similarly unique piece of well conceived sculpture. Individually commissioned sculpture offers so much more than printed art for the sake of filling a space.

Josephine: So why do you think sculpture is better suited to high-end corporate environments?

Nick: I strongly feel that the effects of sculpture on the viewer are often more visceral, immediate and accessible. The potential to transform and hold a space, coupled with the geological uniqueness of a piece stone, conveys a sense of awe and grandeur which lends itself to the high-end corporate environment. n For more information, or to commission a sculpture, contact Nick Simonin on 07504 525 827 or via email morwenna13@btinternet.com

Authentic dishes from the jewels of the Caribbean 2 Yabsley Street, E14 9RG Reservations: 020 7515 8177 www.chefcollinbrown.com

CHEF COLLIN BROWN RESTAURANT AUTHENTIC DISHES FROM THE JEWELS OF THE CARIBBEAN An electric mix from traditional to modern to inspire your taste buds Brought to you by award winning chef Collin Brown Fine dining in a laid-back lounge ambience VIP area available for Group bookings FREE Parking for all guests

Fine dining home delivery service available

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SPICE OF LIFE Rebecca Mann visits Lovage and experiences the best Indian cuisine London has to offer

A

stone’s throw from London Bridge, this Indian restaurant offers a stunning combination of exquisite food and sumptuous surroundings. The striking bar and spacious seating area provides the perfect setting for pre dinner drinks. We took advantage of Lovage’s extensive cocktail list, and I opt for a Lemongrass Debonnaire; a refreshing creation that provides an ideal start to the evening.

Following our drinks we are shown upstairs to the main dining area. Unlike the modern bar area the dining area reflects a more traditional combination of plush decadence and comfortable elegance; the perfect setting for our meal.

To begin we opt for a selection of starters.

The favourites of the table include the Tokri Papri Chat (a mixture of chickpeas, onions, potatoes and spices served in a crispy pastry basket) and the Lovage Signature Platter (a selection of lamb seekh, chicken tikka, king prawn and salmon dill Bahar). We are also offered a taste of a dish which Lovage will be

adding to their menu soon – Shecom Puri (tender beef marinated in spices, stuffed with cheese and served with yoghurt based sauce). This is an unusual dish but absolutely delicious and reiterates how varied and exciting Indian food can be.

Main courses include a selection of perfectly executed favourites, but the real appeal of the menu lies in the delectably unusual avant-garde offerings. The Chicken Khumbi Bahar (stuffed with mushrooms and topped with an onion and pepper sauce), King Prawn Pardanashi (king prawns in a spicy coconut sauce presented in a coconut) and Scallops seasoned in garlic and served with a coconut and cashew gravy were exceptional. The scallops deserve special mention; plump, succulent and served with a divine gravy that was both spicy and nutty.

To accompany our mains we chose a variety of sides; lightly steamed rice and flavoursome naan breads. We chose the house white to accompany our meal and were pleasantly surprised by the crisp and elegant Sauvignon

Blanc presented, chilled to perfection.

For dessert we decided to sample the freshly prepared Gulab Jamun – a traditional Indian dessert which is made with milk and golden syrup. We also tried the Nougat which combined deliciously creamy ice cream and a crunchy nut topping. This was a light and refreshing alternative to the sweet richness of the Gulab Jamun.

Service throughout the entire meal was wonderful; waiters were knowledgeable about all dishes and were able to offer suggestions where necessary. Lovage Restaurant describes itself as ‘SE1’s best kept secret’ and I would be inclined to agree. Tucked away in a quiet street in Shad Thames this is one restaurant which I would recommend you take the effort to discover – you will not be disappointed. n 13-15 The Circle Queen Elizabeth Street London SE1 2JE 020 7403 8886 www.lovagerestaurant.com

Restaurant

Cocktail Bar

Tucked out of sight in Lancashire Court, Josephine O’Donoghue discovers a new haunt for the young City crowd

L

THE CITY’S HIDDEN

Gem

ocated in a quaint cobbled courtyard just off Bond Street, Mews of Mayfair is a chic cocktail bar and restaurant slotted into two converted buildings, previously left derelict. Beautifully finished, the bar exudes an air of exclusivity and style.

We arrive at about 7pm and groups of young city professionals are already spilling out of the already full bar, into the late summer evening, filling the courtyard and chatting with cocktails.

Proprietor James Robson (of the Salt Whisky Bar) is one of London’s most successful restaurateurs with a career in the industry that spans nearly fifteen years; Mews of Mayfair was certainly his biggest challenge yet and the project started back in October 2005.With a small group of private investors (and funding of over £3 million), Mews of Mayfair has gone from strength to strength ever since, and today can even boast a strong celebrity following, counting Elton John, Kylie Minogue and Simon Cowell amongst its diners.

Mews of Mayfair offers fine dining on the first floor, which is where we took a table; the decor is light and bright – elegant, but welcoming – almost as if we were dining in a private home. The concept is modern, boutique fine-dining on the first floor, with a beautiful private dining room on the second floor, cocktail bar on the ground floor and late night lounge in the basement.

We started with Hand-Dived Orkney Scallops, Cauliflower and Cumin (£8.50) and a Crab and Avocado Salad, Cherry Tomato Water (£8.00). The scallops were exquisite; tender and tasty – and the cauliflower was a delicate compliment to the flavour and texture of the scallops.

The salad was a perfect choice for a late summer evening; a light starter with perfect, soft avocado and tender white crab meat. Offering a recommended new world Sauvignon Blanc, the staff were chatty and knowledgeable but didn’t linger for too long, allowing us a much needed catch-up and a relaxed after-work environment.

Our main courses followed; my friend ordered one of her favourites: Grilled Calf’s Liver, Crushed Jersey Royal and Crispy Bacon (£15.00). She assured me it was one of the best versions of this dish she has sampled in the City and it

The Lounge Bar

certainly seemed to go down well. I would also recommend the delicate Lemon Sole Fillets, Salsa Verde and Tomato Fondue (£16.00) – another great light summer main course; and for those looking for something more substantial, the 28 Days Matured Rump of Aberdeenshire Beef, Béarnaise Sauce (£17.50).

The atmosphere at Mews is spot on for an after-work social session, dinner with friends or client cocktails. Lively and buzzing in an effortlessly stylish setting (without the stuck up attitude) you really can’t find better in Mayfair. n

Mews of Mayfair 10-11 Lancashire Court New Bond Street Mayfair London, W1S 1EY 020 7518 9388 www.mewsofmayfair.com

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Restaurant listings

American

Italian

DOLLAR GRILLS AND MARTINIS 2 Exmouth Market Farringdon, EC1R 4PX 020 7278 0077

REFETTORIO 19 New Bridge Street, EC4V 6BD 020 7438 8052

HAWKSMOOR 157 Commercial Street, E1 6BJ 020 7247 7392

British CANTEEN 2 Crispin Place, E1 6DW 08456 861 122 BEACH BLANKET BABYLON 19-23 Bethnal Green Road, E1 6LA 020 7749 3540

French COQ D’ARGENT No.1 Poultry, EC2R 8EJ 020 7395 5000

LENA 66 Great Eastern Street, EC2A 3JT 020 7739 5714 VOLUPTÉ 9 Norwich Street, EC4A 1EJ 020 7831 1622 or 020 7831 1677

Japanese

listings

BALLS BROTHERS 5-6 Carey Lane, EC2V 8AE 020 7600 2720 THE BIG CHILL BAR Dray Walk, off Brick Lane, E1 6QL 020 7392 9180 BONDS 5 Threadneedle Street, EC2R 8AY 020 7657 8088 CELLAR GASCON 59 West Smithfield, EC1A 9DS 020 7796 0600

SAKI 4 West Smithfield, EC1A 9JX 020 7489 7033

CICADA 132-136 St John Street, EC1V 4JT 020 7608 1550

Mexican

FISHMARKET CHAMPAGNE BAR Great Eastern Hotel Liverpool Street, EC2M 7QN 020 7618 7215

GREEN & RED 51 Bethnal Green Road, E1 6LA 020 7749 9670

Middle Eastern

LES TROIS GARCONS 1 Club Row, E1 6JX 020 7613 1924

KENZA 10 Devonshire Square, EC2M 4YP 020 7929 5533

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lifestyle

105

Raj Persaud Consultant Psychiatrist

DECISIONS DECISIONS

I

play social tennis – a curious term which usually refers to a game after which you spend the car journey home bitching about how terrible your doubles partner was. (If you are reading this Laura, this doesn’t apply to you).

Being competitive I sign up for all the coaching I can get. Perhaps the most curious bit of advice one truly outstanding trainer bestowed has also done more to improve my game than any other coaching tip.

Admittedly the improvement has come more off the court, than on it.

The instructor remarked after one gruelling game with her, where I was comprehensively trounced yet again, that the key difference between my game and that of a professional (I suspect there are many more differences than just this one but, hey, she was being kind) is that people who are really good at tennis simply make better decisions than I do. Like whether to approach the net or not, or if one should adjust the foot work for a deviating ball. ‘Winners basically make better decisions on the court than you do,’ she remarked dryly.

I wonder now whether the very decision to take up tennis was a bad one…

This comment from the coach resonated because I recalled a similar phrase from the celebrated film ‘Touching theVoid’ about an astonishing heroic mountaineer self rescue from a remote and dangerous Peruvian mountain. This true story follows how a remarkably tenacious climber crawled on their hands and knees out of a perilous crevasse and back down to safety, despite severe injuries, over several days.

The mountaineer recounted afterwards that the key to their remarkable survival against all the odds was that they always stuck to making decisions, even when the temptation was to give up and let events take their course. Staying alive appeared to boil down to the basic all encompassing directive of merely constantly making decisions, no matter what. It didn’t even matter so much if they were bad decisions, the mountaineer ventured.

I am not sure he would be alive today to make this remark if that many of his decisions on that fateful climb were dire, but since his endurance is beyond question, I will let that slide for the moment. I think what he was getting at here was of a state of mind of being conscious of making decisions, rather than merely letting your environment dictate your future. In other words: ‘I decide to rest now briefly, after which I will keep going,’ rather than: ‘this mountain is too tough, I am going to stop’.

For example, whilst in the gym you may say to yourself: ‘It’s time to stop running on this treadmill as I’m too exhausted to carry on’, whereas a more conscious decisionmaking act is: ‘I am making a judgment to stop’. Being more aware that you are making a choice allows you to take more control, and for example decide the other way – to push on.You can get a sense of this by consciously asking yourself – what is my decision?

The essence I want to focus on is the idea that in order to attain any difficult goal – be it losing weight, winning at sport, or surviving a fall down the side of a crevasse – the key secret ingredient appears to be the ability to make the right decisions. In particular, a sequence of good decisions. The longer the stretch of great choices continues, the more likely you are to be moving closer to your goal.

So how can we learn to make better decisions?

Peter Muris and colleagues based at the Institute of Psychology at Erasmus University in The Netherlands have recently published a fascinating paper on this subject entitled ‘Impulsivity is associated with behavioural decision-making deficits’ in the journal Psychiatric Research which probes this issue.

One of the essential problems with making decisions, the authors of this study point out, is that we tend to make judgments based on emotion rather than reason.

The difficulty then is that, even if we are trying to lose weight for example, we resolve what to eat based on feeling hungry, tired, angry or low, and we forget all those good resolutions we made when we were more

rational, and not so emotional, ie hungry, angry, tired or low.

Another key conclusion the authors of this study focus on is that it’s not just our emotional state that seems to have the most impact on our decision-making but our anticipation of how we are going to feel in the future once we have made a choice.

Developing a more accurate view of our future emotional states is therefore key to better decisions.

The reason we do the regretful thing is that we are poor predictors of how a present act is going to generate suffering in the future. Improving predicting our future emotional states lies at the heart of superior decisions.

One possible way of achieving this is to review past bad judgements, and ask why we made that choice. Was it not because at the precise time we made it we believed it would make us feel good? And although it improved our mood at the time, in the end, over the longer term, it made us feel worse? What we should have done is consider more how we were going to feel in the future as opposed to how we were experiencing at that precise moment.

The essence of a bad decision is that it seemed a good idea at the time, but with hindsight it turns out to being not such a great plan. In order to have a better today, imagine it’s tomorrow and you are now looking back on this decision, what are you going to feel about it then? n

Dr raj PersauD is a consultant Psychiatrist working in Private Practice anD the nhs anD is author of several bestselling books incluDing ‘the MotivateD MinD’, PublisheD by bantaM Press

overseas transfers xxxxxxxxxx

Dear Clare I work in HR in the London branch of an international company; we need to bring over some IT specialists from our Canadian office to work in the UK for a year or so. Can we do this?

Thanks, Helen

Dear Helen,

The rules have recently changed in this area, so our Head of Immigration, Edward Wanambwa, has kindly helped with the answer to your query.

Unless the IT specialists are EEA or Swiss nationals, the most likely way into employment in your UK branch is the Intra Company Transfer (ICT) route; this is a sub-category of Tier 2 of the points-based immigration system. The ICT route will avoid the requirement to advertise the IT jobs to resident workers within the UK and EEA before offering them to your colleagues, provided they will not be replacing “settled workers”.

Martin’$ Money Matter$

Losing in With Profits Martin Bamford, Chartered Financial Planner, Informed Choice

i

’m not a particularly big fan of ‘With Profits’ as an investment concept.

In theory it’s not too bad; a diversified portfolio of investments with actuarial ’smoothing’ applied to deliver less volatility to the investor. In practice it can be a nightmare.

Even as world stock markets continue their recovery, With Profits funds are likely to remain behind the curve (again). Up to five million people are invested in With Profits policies that are “doomed to fail”. There are three main ways to lose when you invest in With Profits.

1. low or nil annual bonuses

Part of the reward for investing in With Profits should be an annual bonus, which is applied by the insurance company once a year, depending on how the fund performed and how generous their actuary is feeling. Once added, these bonuses can’t be removed.

Unfortunately, the insurance company is under no obligation to actually pay an annual bonus each year; and when times get tough and investment markets fall in value, the annual bonus is usually one of the first victims.

2. reDuCeD final bonuses

Whilst annual bonuses are

If the UK branch has not already registered as a sponsor with the UK Border Agency (UKBA), it will need to do so and then issue your colleagues with Certificates of Sponsorship before trying to employ them in the UK. The UKBA may investigate (including a visit to your offices) to satisfy itself that the UK branch is operating legally in the UK, is “dependable and reliable” and is capable of carrying out its sponsorship duties. If satisfied, it will licence the UK branch to issue Certificates of Sponsorship.

Even if the UK branch is licensed, the IT specialists must, themselves, meet certain criteria before a Certificate of Sponsorship can be issued. They must have worked for your organisation overseas for at least the last six months and they must be skilled. When calculating whether they have enough points to issue a Certificate of Sponsorship, the UK branch must consider matters such as their level of qualifications, prospective earnings, and maintenance funds.

The last step, assuming your colleagues have sufficient points and the UK branch has issued a Certificate of Sponsorship, will be for your colleagues to obtain entry clearance in a local UK Embassy in Canada to allow them to travel to and live in the UK to take up work.

If the UK branch does not wish to become a sponsor, other routes may still be available, for instance if your colleagues would qualify as highly skilled workers, under Tier 1 of the immigration system.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

Best wishes, Clare

Clare Murray is managing partner at specialist employment law firm, CM Murray LLP. To submit a query, 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

guaranteed not to be taken away in the future, the final (or terminal) bonus can be removed or reduced without warning. These final bonuses can make up a large share of the total return you might get from investing in With Profits. Recently we saw some of the funds managed by Phoenix remove the final bonus altogether; while Standard Life cut the final bonus payments by around 9% for pensions and 18% for endowment policies.

Hanging in there for the prospect of a juicy final bonus is a factor that encourages some investors to overlook miserable annual bonus rates. It is important to understand that your terminal bonus can go up in smoke on the whim of the insurance company.

elsewhere. Designed to ensure that you do not leave the fund with more than your fair share of the assets, MVRs can be a strong disincentive to leave at all. The recent global financial crisis meant that in some cases MVRs of up to 30% have been applied to With Profits policies, and investors faced with the prospect of penalties of this magnitude have had a really tough choice to make Not every With Profits fund is that bad. A few have actually managed to do what they originally set out to achieve; provide low volatility returns combined with exposure to the sorts of investment performance you might expect from the stock market. n

3. Market value reDuCtions (Mvrs)

Martin Bamford is site editor of BrilliantWithMoney and a Chartered Financial Planner at Informed Choice.

These are the bane of your life when you want to leave the insurance company and start

108

business

Happy Days are Here again?

“H

appy days are here again, the skies above are clear again, so let’s sing a song of cheer again, happy days are here again” By J Yellen and M Ager (1929) Whilst most of us were not around in 1929, the song is fairly familiar, though many may not realise that it was first released in October 1929 just before the stock market crash which started the great depression. It was used in 1932 by Franklin D. Roosevelt and became a theme song for the Democratic Party to symbolise better times ahead.

Whilst the recent global stockmarket bounce since March is impressive I don’t buy into the “happy days are here again” theory, mainly because it’s just happened too quickly and true bottoms don’t form in a few months – they take years, if not decades, to form.

Now before I sound like a perma bear, I am not. I see plenty of trading opportunities both on buying and selling, as financial traders I honestly think we are blessed to live in these interesting times. Let’s put this into perspective, it took investors over three years to make 30% in Bank of America between 2004 and 2007. It took traders four months to make 210% on the same stock between March and July 2009. Now is the time to start getting out of higher risk stocks and taking less risk, do you really think that Bank of America will go up another 200% in the next five months?

Recent moves up in the stock market are nothing more than manufactured short term

gains, with much of the summer trading volume coming from zombie penny stocks, such as Fannie Mae (FNM), Freddie Mac (FRE), CIT Group (CIT) and Sirius XM Radio (SIRI) being flipped like coins. These are not the type of companies that lead a new bull market and these are certainly not being bought by long term investors.

So as we go into the darker winter nights my basic theme is to get out of anything that has gone up 100%+ in five months, and switch to dividend paying stocks with solid earnings and demand. One such stock being Altria (NYSE: MO) which I have owned since 2003.

Altria is the US side of the former Philip Morris with the International higher growth side being spun out into Philip Morris International (NYSE:PMI). Whilst I also still hold PMI and Kraft I topped up on Altria as it’s currently paying a 7.48% dividend and continues to be a steady earner. As well as Tobacco Altria also own a 28% stake in beer company SAB Miller (LSE: SAB) which is also doing well and is not far off an all time high. Altria also recently took over UST the world’s leading smokeless tobacco manufacturer. At $18 it’s the type of stock you want to hold in the coming months.

In the commodities market I don’t like the look of Crude Oil and have built up a short position from $73 a barrel. A premium has been built in for higher demand and for possible hurricanes, so far I see neither and I am looking for $55 to $60 before the end of November.You can back the fall in oil prices using a Covered Warrant, Spread Bet

Vince Stanzione has produced a home study course to teach private investors how to benefit from trading financial Spread Bets and Fixed Odds. To find out more and download your free copy of Top Ten Tips from a Trading Veteran go to www.fintrader.info

or Inverse ETF. Longer term I see higher oil prices but certainly for the next few months I see a glut of oil which will bring the near term prices down. I am also looking for a fall in Unleaded Gasoline (Petrol) and you can look to back this by buying the inverse Exchange Traded Fund (LSE: SGAS); or you can spread bet RBOB gasoline, but it is volatile so the ETF is easier. From the current $1.75 a gallon level we could see a fall back to $1.30 with a lower demand for driving and too much refinery capacity.

Pharmacy stocks One of the few bright spots in the retail sector is pharmacy stocks. The following companies are based in the US. The first is Walgreens (NYSE WAG) which operates 6,996 drugstores (chemists) throughout the US. They also operate care clinics and wellness centers inside large companies. The stock is currently trading at $33 on a P/E 16.

The second stock is CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) which also has around 6900 drugstores in the US with over four million customers each day. 500 stores have retailbased health clinics for quick check ups and offer vaccinations. CVS are currently trading at around $37 with a P/E of 15 with a market cap of 57 billion against Walgreens 33 billion. Whatever happens with the Obama health care bill, this area is safe and both stocks offer good predictable earnings pattern and will benefit from what could be a very busy season ahead for flues and other viruses. n

Dr David Kuo, Director at the popular financial website The Motley Fool – Fool.co.uk

WhaT Brokers really Mean

H

ave you ever watched stock markets reports on television?

Not those easy-to-understand ones on the BBC, but the ones shown on specialist business channels such as Bloomberg and CNBC that are dedicated to hard-core investors.

Often, market experts and brokers will offer insights into shares, sectors and markets.

But it’s almost as though they are speaking in a foreign tongue. Or as Spock of Star Trek might say: “It’s English, but not as we understand it!”

And even though I have been involved in shares for many years, I still find their language baffling.

As a simple person, I can comfortably grasp the concept of “buy” and “sell” recommendations. A “buy” means the shares probably look cheap, so it’s time to wade in. The opposite of a “buy” is a “sell”.

This usually means the shares may look overvalued, so it may be sensible to pile out and take some profit.

At a push I can even understand a “hold” recommendation. It means hang on to the shares if you already own some. Mind you, if you don’t already own any shares then it may be a good idea to sit on your hands. It probably means something may happen to the shares but it is not entirely clear whether it will be good or bad.

However, other broker-inspired babble can sometimes cause eyes to glaze over.

Thing is, brokers have a tendency to speak in mysterious tongues. For instance, what does it mean when a broker recommends a “firm hold”? It sounds more serious than a “weak hold”. But isn’t a hold just a hold? And how does a “hold” differ from “neutral”, which is another popular broker recommendation?

Another fashionable reference by brokers is “equal weight”, which I assume is related by marriage to a “hold” or “neutral”. That said, it does feel less forceful than a “firm hold” but carries more conviction than a

“weak hold”. That is unless you don’t have any shares at all, in which case you may need to buy some to bulk up your holdings. But heaven forbid if you “overweight” or indeed “underweight” in the shares!

“Accumulate” and “add” are two other recommendations that need further qualification. Do they mean you need to buy more if you already have a few shares, but don’t buy any if you don’t already own any?

In which case, should you “avoid”, which is another common broker recommendation.

“Underperform” and “outperform” are two more curious recommendations. In the case of underperforming, does it suggest the shares will underperform the sector or the entire market? But if a share is expected to underperform, then shouldn’t a sell recommendation be more appropriate? After all, why would you own a share that is going to fare worse than other stocks?

Truth is, brokers are often reluctant to issue sell recommendations for fear of upsetting corporate clients by issuing unfavourable reports. Consequently, there are more buy recommendations than advice by brokers to sell shares. That may also help explain why recommendations not to buy shares are dressed up in fancy euphemisms that to all intents and purposes mean a sell.

Another thing to bear in mind is that a lot of the recommendations that we read in newspapers and magazines or hear on telly are already quite old. So by the time you and I hear about them, their tips already have whiskers on.

As I see it, broker recommendations are meaningless unless you spending time reading the accompanying notes that detail the analysts’ research. To simply act on a oneword recommendation is dangerous. It may be a short cut, but a short cut to losing money.

Participating in online forums such as discussion boards and blogs are a good alternative if you want to learn more about investing in specific companies. They are

usually populated with both fans and foes of a company whose collective knowledge is staggering. It’s also a good way to get a balanced view from which you can draw your own conclusions as to whether to buy or sell a share. n For guidance on specific shares or sectors, visit The Motley Fool discussion boards at Fool.co.uk

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marketcomment

111

Alpesh B Patel, Fund Manager and Principal, Praefinium Partners

Market coMMent alpesh Patel shares his insights on 2009 investment

T

he world needs yet another selfproclaimed ‘expert’ on investing like it needed another accountant post Enron; fund manager post Maddoff; genocidal dictator post Hussein (Saddam not Barack).

After all, where were all the experts when it came to forecasting ‘Lehmans’ or ‘Bear Stearns’? Where were all the market forecasts in January 2008, which said the Dow would end the year down 34%?

Well, let’s be clear – I don’t proclaim to be an expert – I do proclaim to be accurate.

Well, modesty was never a trait befitting financial services and whilst I could be accused of blowing my own trumpet (God knows it needs a good blow) the evidence I put before you, before I delve into where to put your money, is this: My credential: 2 January 2009, live on CNBC I told them the Dow will drop 20% this year, before closing the year up around 15%. We’ve done that already. Having written 13 investment books (it takes a while to get it right) and had over 200 investment columns published in the Financial Times it clearly proves you can fool even the best for years – I also had my own show on Bloomberg TV for 3 years to rub it into those who only were traders that I could string a not only a written, but also a verbal sentence together.

Somewhere in between I became an Oxford don (yes, the university not the poly) and won market forecasting competitions in the Financial Times, Channel 4 and on Bloomberg (this happened because of a Faustian pact with the Devil – but that does not concern you).

Not having George Soros’ bank balance I am prone to bouts of humility however, don’t let the cocksure writing style completely hide that. So to the subject at hand; where are you going to make the most of your money in the next twelve months? Don’t leave it lying around in a bank – you saw what can happen there; besides your spouse may discover it.

No, the biggest investment question of the moment – “is it too late to put the money in India?” The largest democracy in the world and fastest growing capitalist economy’s stock market is up 75% this year – so is it too late? And how do you get the dosh from here to there anyway?

Economy: The Asian Development Bank expects the Indian economy is set to grow by 6% in 2009. We see the country outstripping China in growth terms next year.

Stock market: The Indian stock investor has become richer by $200 billion since the fall of Lehman Brothers, whereas their US counterparts are down in stock market wealth by 10 times as much: $2 trillion.

Indian stock market capitalization of all Indian quoted companies in the country is at $1.1trillion – in the US its $13 trillion.

The BSE is up 75% year to date, with a priceearnings ratio of 20. The Dow is up

10% with a price earnings multiple of 14. A multiple on the Sensex of 23, which it has reached previously would take it to 19,000 from its current 16,600 without earnings increasing. We see Indian corporate earnings continue to grow thanks to domestic demand and boosted by global demand in any event for Indian exports. n Next month: Getting into venture capital, without being a millionaire.

Alpesh B Patel a.patel@praefinium.com Praefinium runs an India Fund.

Super Futures for Kids

Spa!

Annual Poker Night

Futures for Kids held their annual poker night at the prestigious London Capital Club on 17 September and raised an enormous £18,000 for their chosen charities; EveryChild, Hope HIV and Demelza The London Capital Club played host to this years FFK’s Poker Night which was a huge success. The whole evening was enormous fun for all that attended and, more importantly, helped raise over £18,000 for their chosen charities, EveryChild, Hope HIV and Demelza. The champagne was flowing and you could feel the competitive vibe in the air.

FFK was set up as a fundraising charity by a number of people in the Futures and Options Industry. FFK has a desire to get as many people as possible involved from the industry and

collectively raise significant amounts of money to benefit their chosen charities.They have chosen to support children’s charities which are taking a longer term view of improving the lives of children around the world - truly providing better Futures for Kids.

Thanks go out to the event sponsor Interxion for ensuring the event was as successful as possible as well as the other sponsors whose support was invaluable. n For more information please visit: www.futuresforkids.org.uk

Bob Ray and Anthony Belchambers

The Winners : Toby Benzie, ITG, who wins entry to the European Poker Tournament plus a set of poker chips from PokerStars Kevin Watkins, who wins a weekend for two at The Grange St Paul’s Hotel, plus a set of poker chips Ben Few-Brown, MF Global, who wins a television, plus a set of poker chips Adrian Spires, from Tower Trading, who wins a set of poker chips.

All photography by Mike Drummond

Nicola Moore and Laura Clark from Every Child

James Hunt and Natalie Tegg from Demelza

Roderick Wurfbain and Anthony Huysser

Trevor Stock and Kirit Teli Ben Few Brown and a fellow player

Paul Whetston and Brad Hart Patrick Thornton-Smith and Clive Furness Ben Davies, Adrian Teece, Adrian Rubin and Neil Singleton

Laura Mould, Martyn Hodges and Rutger ter Hoeven

114

health&beauty

TEETHING PROBLEMS SOLVED Going to the dentist, one of life’s biggest dreads, is losing much of its fear factor thanks to ground-breaking new treatments introduced by a leading cosmetic dentist; Sarah Hamilton finds out more

T

he process of teeth whitening is a routine procedure compared to the latest offerings from Harley Street cosmetic surgeon Dr. Tariq Idris. His innovations include a treatment called the ‘contact-less smile’ which involves applying a new surface to the front of the teeth with a material as thin as a contact lens; this can give the perfect smile without having to drill away the teeth.

Tariq explains, “Traditionally a considerable amount of filing needs to be carried out, but now we can utilize the latest skills and technology to do away with most of the drilling”. He adds, “I love seeing the expression on a patient’s face when they first look in the mirror; we often have tears of joy.”

Tariq’s other ground breaking tooth replacement technique ‘Instant Implants’ uses innovative titanium implants which are fixed in just minutes; this procedure can now set millions in the UK free from the inconvenience and embarrassment of wearing dentures.

“Dental implants have been around for some time but the new short procedure takes only minutes and is virtually painless, with the new teeth able to be used in just hours.” The

conventional operation for implants involves more surgery and is therefore associated with pain and bruising – it can also be many months before the teeth can be used and they are also considerably more expensive.

Tariq has treated a number of high profile celebrities such as former England rugby star and presenter Matt Dawson, singer Charlotte Church and a number of footballers including, Steven Gerrard. Berkshire born Dr. Tariq Idris operates in dental practices in Harley Street as well as in Leeds and Manchester, and is leading the drive for a greater awareness of the latest techniques.

Dr. Idris is passionate about his work; “So much fear, trauma and stress is experienced by people visiting a dentist that some people will avoid us like the plague. I have been involved in developing ground breaking techniques for the past fifteen years to make visits less traumatic and easier. There are so many better options available now thanks to extensive research into materials and a greater awareness within the profession.” n For further information, call 0800 0850027 or visit www.instantimplants.co.uk and www.harleydentalsuite.co.uk

FACT FILE TiTanium implanTs 13 million people in the UK wear some form of denture and many suffer acute embarrassment and discomfort. Implants were conceived in Sweden over 40 years ago, made of titanium alloy they actually bond with the bone, but the procedure can take up to 18 months to complete and involves a considerable amount of surgery.

With the innovative design of the new implants and the minimally invasive surgery needed, these new ‘Instant Implants’ can be put into immediate biting function and it’s sometimes possible to provide the complete service in a single visit.

Dr. Idris says: “I am determined to help promote these new techniques and am really excited by the results that they achieve. There really is no need for people to suffer anymore.

These new techniques will solve people’s problems with far less trauma and much quicker.”

These pioneering titanium implants are individually tailored to fit patients and provide immediate relief and a whole new lifestyle.

Veneers Porcelain or ceramic veneers have been used for over 20 years to give that perfect ‘Hollywood’ smile.

Traditionally the surface of the tooth was filed away (this was known to cause sensitivity and a worrying risk to the nerve of the tooth) and the veneers were 1-2mm thick.

This new technique requires little or no drilling at all. The material is less than half a millimeter thick, but still strong enough to withstand forced biting thanks to the latest high strength bonding agents.

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citylife

recommends

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THE WELLINGTON CLINIC The Wellington Clinic is the best kept secret in Chelsea.

Hidden behind a black door is the most exclusive luxury dental clinic in London; receive the finest dentistry with the latest techniques available today, from a routine check-up or clean, to a complete smile makeover.

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AN A-Z OF POSSIBLE WORLDS An A-Z of Possible Worlds is a luxury box set of 26 individually bound stories. Each is a separate literary work, one for every letter of the alphabet, set in a myriad of imagined worlds.

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PISTESIDE This delightful privately run catered chalet is considered the best in Les Coches. It has all luxuries including en-suite bathrooms, quality cuisine/wines and hot-tub, and is located by the piste at the centre of the Paradiski area. This ski area is huge (La Plagne & Les Arcs) offering 144 lifts, and 425km of piste. Snow is guaranteed due to the height of the runs, 2 glaciers and 470 snow cannons!

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115

116

food&drink

WIN

BOHO GRANDEUR HITS SHOREDITCH

T

he Shoreditch sister to the cult Notting Hill branch of Beach Blanket Babylon, houses a restaurant, bar, cocktail lounge and dancefloor on two elegant floors, each with their own allure. Occupying a converted Victorian warehouse on the Bethnal Green Road a stroll from Liverpool or Old street stations, it is designed in sympathy with its warehouse roots, crossing them with a Boho 70s chic and Grand Chateau style.

High ceilings, a large central marble bar, and banquette seating on various raised levels give Beach Blanket Babylon Shoreditch its trademark feel, and offers the perfect place to catch up with friends over their legendary cocktails or delicious menu. 

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WIN! We’re giving one lucky reader the chance to win a meal for four at Beach Blanket Babylon Shoreditch, with all drinks and cocktails included (total value up to £300).

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events

Our guide to this month’s top events

From 10 September

Until 10 October

EVENT

ART & EXHIBITIONS

TLSEE

SHAKESPEARE’S GLOBE EXHIBITION

This is afternoon tea with a difference. TLSee is destined to be a stylish occasion where timehonoured traditions are married with world-class service levels. Enjoy the effortlessly stylish backdrop of Swissôtel, Temple – where fine china and crisp drapery are the order of the day – and the only decision to make is which Twinings tea you will have to accompany your TLSee.

117

This exhibition is an engaging introduction to the life of the world famous bard. Exploring the history of the globe’s unique theatrical space, costumes, music and special effects.

The exhibition also regularly organises public dressing demonstrations during afternoon matinees.

Shakespeare’s Globe 21 New Globe Walk, SE1 9DT 020 7401 9919 www.shakespeares-globe.org

www.tlsee.co.uk

1-31 October

13-17 October

ART & EXHIBITIONS

DANCE

SUBODH GUPTA

IN THE SPIRIT OF DIAGHILEV

Describing himself as “the idol thief”, Subodh Gupta is one of the most exciting and audacious contemporary artists to have emerged in recent years.

Formed in 1909 by Sergei Diaghilev, Les Ballets Russes revolutionised the art of dance. One hundred years later, four ground-breaking choreographers pay a thrilling tribute to this unique artistic venture.

Diego Franssens

© Hauser & Wirth

196A Piccadilly & 15 Old Bond Street London 020 7287 2300 www.hauserwirth.com

Sadler’s Wells Theatre Roseberry Avenue London, EC1R 4TN 0844 412 4300 www.sadlerswells.com

8-17 October

14 October – 10 January

ART & EXHIBITIONS

ART & EXHIBITIONS

DORION SCOTT

ED RUSCHA

Dorion Scott is a Canadian artist whose poetic paintings evoke the unexpected mysteries of everyday life which are so often overlooked.

The Hayward Gallery presents a major retrospective of Ed Ruscha’s paintings, in celebration of his 50year career. Ruscha is regarded as one of the world’s most influential artists at work today and this exhibition traces the development of his paintings across five decades.

Fairfax Gallery 5 Park Walk London, SW10 0AJ 020 7751 4477 www.fairfaxgallery.com

Southbank Centre www.haywardgallery.org.uk

9-11 October

15 October – 4 November

EVENT

ART & EXHIBITIONS

CYCLE SHOW 2009

VANESSA GARDINER

With a comprehensive range of the world’s best brands exhibiting, BMXaerial displays, commuter and mountain bike test tracks, and appearances from some of cycling’s best known names.

Gardiner’s exhibition brings together work inspired by coastlines of County Mayo, Argolis in Greece and stretches in Cornwall.

Earls Court www.cycleshow.co.uk

113 Upper Street London, N1 1QN 020 7704 1131 www.hartgallery.co.uk

events

119

Until 29 November

ART & EXHIBITIONS

ART & EXHIBITIONS

URBAN SPIRITUALITY: CONTEMPORARY HONG KONG ART

AFTER DARWIN: CONTEMPORARY EXPRESSIONS

Gallery Rossi & Rossi welcome to London Grotto Fine Art; the only gallery in Hong Kong specialising in contemporary Hong Kong art.

Visitors will be able to view the works of five Hong Kong artists.

In After Darwin: Contemporary Expressions, major artists and writers exhibit newly-commissioned and existing work, inspired by Charles Darwin’s book, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals.

Rossi & Rossi 16 Clifford Street London, W1 020 7734 6487 www.rossirossi.com

Natural History Museum

Until 23 October

Natural History Museum Cromwell Road, SW7 5BD 020 7942 5000 www.nhm.ac.uk

24 October - 24 January

Until 20 December

ART & EXHIBITIONS

ART & EXHIBITIONS

WILD THING: EPSTEIN, GAUDIER-BRZESKA, GILL

TERRA INCOGNITA: CERAMIC REVIVAL

Over a period of 10 years (19051915), three outstanding young sculptors emerged; Jacob Epstein, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska and Eric Gill.

This is the first time that the three artists have been shown together in this revolutionary context and many of the works have not been exhibited in London before.

This is the first time that the Hockemeyer Collection has been exhibited in the UK and promises to be a revelation to modern art and ceramic enthusiasts alike.

Etsorick Collection 39a Canonbury Square London, N1

Royal Opera House, Piccadilly London, W1 www.royalacademy.org.uk

Until January 2010

ART & EXHIBITIONS

ART & EXHIBITIONS

DAN DARE & THE BIRTH OF HITECH BRITAIN

FUTURE FASHION NOW: NEW DESIGN FROM THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF ART

This temporary exhibition explores the role played by technology in creating post-war Britain. It also looks into the pre-globalisation age – a time when rockets and radios sprang from local roots.

Science Museum Exhibition Road London, SW7 2DD 0870 870 4868 www.sciencemuseum.org.uk

© Royal College of Art/Dominic Tschudin

Until October 25

This show features highlights from the RCA Fashion MA graduates final collections. This exhibition will show the designs from concept to the final product.

V&A Museum Cromwell Road, SW7 2RL 020 7942 2000 www.vam.ac.uk Ensemble, Adrian Sommerauer

Until spring 2010

ART & EXHIBITIONS

ART & EXHIBITIONS

MARISCAL DRAWING LIFE

FLASHBACK

The first UK exhibition of Spanish designer and artist Javier Mariscal (regarded as one of the world’s most innovative and original designers of our time). Mariscal’s work spans kooky cartoon characters to stunning interiors.

Using objects from Museum of London’s collections, photographic artist Tom Hunter has created a series of unique and surprising portraits; juxtaposing modern London icons like the Vespa with a 1770s ‘panier’ dress.

Design Museum 28 Shad Thames, SE1 2YD 0870 833 9955 www.designmuseum.org

Museum of London 150 London Wall London, EC2Y 5HN 020 7001 9844 www.museumoflondon.org.uk

© Tom Hunter

Until November

www.runwildmedia.com

CITYLIFE DIRECTORY

020 7537 6560

CONVEYANCING LAW 15 Years experience of stress free sales & on residential & commercial SOLICITORS purchases property in docklands Contact: Rebecca, Neeru or Jason Telephone or e-mail for initial advice and costs quote for any type of property transaction

Gawor & Co

Solicitors

New Crane Wharf, New Crane Place, Wapping, London E1W 3TS T: (+44) 020 7481 8888 F: (+44) 020 7481 4444 www.gawor.com

City Office 020 7236 8398 city@hamptons-int.com

www.hamptons.co.uk

BrushfieldInn, Street, Cliffords EC4E1

Aldersgate Street, Mitre Street, EC3 EC1

Strype Street, E1 Featherstone Street, EC1

Mansell Street, E1 Garden Walk, EC2

£760,000 £595,000Leasehold Leasehold stunning and spacious three bedroom maisonette A superb 2 bedroom apartment in this popular blockarranged on the over three floors with private andaspect well proportioned western edge of the City, withentrance a southerly and beautiful living over spaceStinDunstan’s the heartChurch. of fashionable Spitalfields. views

£350,000Leasehold Leasehold £395,000 A fabulous oneapartment bedroom flwithin at in this An impressive thispopular popularwarehouse development conversion, with high ceilings,accommodation original woodenon floors offering stylish contemporary one and floor abundance natural light, all inprivate the shadow of the City. with its ownofstreet entrance and car parking.

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£480,000Leasehold Leasehold £399,950 A stylish two bedroom apartment with a balcony and carof parking stunning two bedroom apartment with an abundance natural within modern development to the Barbican. light onthis thesmart third floor of this convertedadjacent tea warehouse, away from busy traffic and adjacent to the Gherkin.

£330,000 £390,000 Leasehold Leasehold A smart one bedroom flapartment at in this popular blockofwith contemporary locatedmodern in the heart a westerly aspect towards the City.

The development Shoreditch.

Finished to a high standard the property also enjoys access provides a daytime concierge and a communal roof terrace. to a private balcony and a communal roof terrace.

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£1,899,000 Freehold £325,000 Leasehold A Grade II listed Georgian house with an enviable corner position don House Department 01403 262828 With easterly river views towards Southwark Bridge and Office London House Department 01403 262828 giving double-aspect daylightthis to many rooms and westerly views additional basement storage, 5th floor apartment would shamcountryhouse@hamptons-int.com Email horshamcountryhouse@hamptons-int.com towards City. City base or rental investment. make thethe ultimate Left Hand Page Footer

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Times Square, Barbican, EC2 E1 Price on application

£370,000Leasehold Leasehold £565,000 A sleek and contemporary one a decked Pricea on application This duplex offers lovely viewbedroom over the apartment garden andwith the lake.

The Freehold balcony overlooking water garden within the stylish Quarter interior remains truethe to the Grade II listed heritage, withCity a smart Freehold development. modern kitchen and 60’s bathroom suite.

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Tower Bridge Office 020 7407 3173 towerbridge@hamptons-int.com

www.hamptons.co.uk www.hamptons.co.uk www.hamptons.co.uk

Unity Wharf,Square, SE1 Providence SE1

Tanners Yard, SE1 Axis Court, SE16

The FlagCourt, Store,SE1 SE1 Cayenne

Victor Wharf, SE1Wharf, SE1 Butlers & Colonial

£975,000 Share of Freehold £585,000 Share of Freehold A superbly refurbished 2 bedroom character warehouse apartment, A waterfront two bedroom apartment within the popular with views of St. Saviours Dock. Includes ceiling speakers, exposed Providence Square development, having a terrace directly beams & brickwork and leather flooring. overlooking the Japanese style water garden.

£725,000 Leasehold £585,000 Leasehold A beautifully presented and recently refurbished warehouse A two bedroom 1st floor apartment within the popular Cayenne apartment in central Shad Thames, with fantastic character. This Court development, having a Westerly courtyard facing balcony 1154 sq ft loft style apartment has no chain. from the reception. Leisure complex and parking.

£725,000 Share of Freehold £695,000 Leasehold A 1692 sq ft split level warehouse conversion which currently offers A beautifully presented 951 sq ft two bedroom penthouse apartment 2 beds, 2 bath & 2 reception rooms. Benefits inc private parking & built in 2005 by Berkeley Homes with balcony, spacious terrace and being within 0.5 miles of London Bridge Station. underground parking.

£645,000 Leasehold £389,000 Leasehold An 858 sq ft, second floor, 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment A stylish one bedroom apartment on the 1st floor of a gated & located in the heart of Borough Market. Stunning views of Clink St portered development, with re-fitted kitchen and bathroom, located are offered directly from the living area. in the heart of Shad Thames.

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Butlers Wharf, SE1SE16 Windsor Court,

£580,000 Leasehold £395,000 Leasehold A superb one bedroom warehouse apartment in the landmark An upgraded, 4th floor, 880 sq ft, dual aspect, two bedroom Butlers Wharf building, overlooking the historic cobbled street of apartment in a gated, portered development, with river views from Shad Thames, with study area & underground parking. the balcony and parking.

Leeside Court, SE16SE1 Bridgewalk Heights,

£450,000 Leasehold £465,000 Leasehold This exceptionally bright and spacious two bedroom apartment is A top (3rd) floor two double bedroom duplex apartment, with situated on the top floor of a modern development on Rotherhithe en-suite to master and two receptions, within 200m of London Street.

Bridge station.

A network offices - local,- national and international.

An expanding network of over 70 offices local, national and international

City Office 020 7236 8399 citylettings@hamptons-int.com

www.hamptons.co.uk www.hamptons.co.uk

Upper Thames Street, EC4 Tabernacle Street, EC2A

£330 per week £450 per week A refurbished one bedroom apartment in this City development on A one bedroom apartment with plenty of character, contemporary the North Bank of the Thames, benefits from daytime concierge and kitchen and private terrace located in a former warehouse. communal roof terrace with river views.

Portsoken Street, E1 London Wall, EC2M

£350 per week £430 per week A recently furnished duplex apartment in this small residential A two bedroom apartment in the heart of the City only moments building just moments from Tower Hill benefitting from wood to Liverpool Street and Bank stations. The apartment benefits floors, air conditioning and a bright outlook. from air conditioning and contemporary decor.

St Andrews Hill, EC4 £415 per week Thomas More Street, E1W £420 per week St Marks Street, E1 £585 per week Trinity Square, EC3N £590 per week A two double bedroom apartment in this period conversion, A spacious two bedroom apartment just moments from the A three double bedroom apartment arranged over two situated in the west of thepenthouse City, just minutes to the Thames and St levels Cathedral. providing a bright living area with two balconies. Parking is Pauls available by separate negotiation.

A stunning bedroom two bathroom with Thames andtwo St Katharine’s Docks, benefiduplex ts fromapartment parking, daytime panoramic views over the Tower of London and the River Thames. concierge and balcony.

Property address Property Property address address

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£690 per week Little Britain, EC1A £430 per week An impeccably presented duplex apartment in this former Priceting on application Printworks, from its quiet courtyard just off A super split benefi level two bedroom apartment in thelocation historical Price on Freehold Price on application application Fleet Streetarea, and fi nished to an excellent standard.

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Tower Bridge Office 020 7407 3173 towerbridge@hamptons-int.com

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Unity Wharf,Square, SE1 Providence SE1

Tanners Yard, SE1 Axis Court, SE16

The FlagCourt, Store,SE1 SE1 Cayenne

Victor Wharf, SE1Wharf, SE1 Butlers & Colonial

£975,000 Share of Freehold £585,000 Share of Freehold A superbly refurbished 2 bedroom character warehouse apartment, A waterfront two bedroom apartment within the popular with views of St. Saviours Dock. Includes ceiling speakers, exposed Providence Square development, having a terrace directly beams & brickwork and leather flooring. overlooking the Japanese style water garden.

£725,000 Leasehold £585,000 Leasehold A beautifully presented and recently refurbished warehouse A two bedroom 1st floor apartment within the popular Cayenne apartment in central Shad Thames, with fantastic character. This Court development, having a Westerly courtyard facing balcony 1154 sq ft loft style apartment has no chain. from the reception. Leisure complex and parking.

£725,000 Share of Freehold £695,000 Leasehold A 1692 sq ft split level warehouse conversion which currently offers A beautifully presented 951 sq ft two bedroom penthouse apartment 2 beds, 2 bath & 2 reception rooms. Benefits inc private parking & built in 2005 by Berkeley Homes with balcony, spacious terrace and being within 0.5 miles of London Bridge Station. underground parking.

£645,000 Leasehold £389,000 Leasehold An 858 sq ft, second floor, 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment A stylish one bedroom apartment on the 1st floor of a gated & located in the heart of Borough Market. Stunning views of Clink St portered development, with re-fitted kitchen and bathroom, located are offered directly from the living area. in the heart of Shad Thames.

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Butlers Wharf, SE1SE16 Windsor Court,

£580,000 Leasehold £395,000 Leasehold A superb one bedroom warehouse apartment in the landmark An upgraded, 4th floor, 880 sq ft, dual aspect, two bedroom Butlers Wharf building, overlooking the historic cobbled street of apartment in a gated, portered development, with river views from Shad Thames, with study area & underground parking. the balcony and parking.

Leeside Court, SE16SE1 Bridgewalk Heights,

£450,000 Leasehold £465,000 Leasehold This exceptionally bright and spacious two bedroom apartment is A top (3rd) floor two double bedroom duplex apartment, with situated on the top floor of a modern development on Rotherhithe en-suite to master and two receptions, within 200m of London Street.

Bridge station.

A network offices - local,- national and international.

An expanding network of over 70 offices local, national and international

KnightFrank.co.uk/Lettings

John Street, Bloomsbury WC1

Stunning 7000 sq ft family home with a private swimming pool A stunning family home set within the heart of London and located moments from Holborn and the British Museum. The main house offers a spacious reception room, library, kitchen dining room leading onto a private garden, master bedroom suite and three further bedrooms and a family bathroom. The lower ground floor offers a private swimming pool with sauna and steam room. A separate flat is attached at this level and offers, two double bedrooms, two bathrooms a further reception room also benefiting from its own private entrance. The property has been refurbished in the classic style and is available furnished or unfurnished for a long let. The property also has a double Garage and a Garden. ÂŁ5,500 per week

Knight Frank City gary.hall@knightfrank.com 020 7606 1560

KnightFrank.co.uk/Lettings

Cinnabar Wharf, Wapping High Street E1W

The Sanctuary, Wapping High Street E1W

Split level three bedroom three bathroom penthouse apartment set on the top two floors of this modern 24 hour portered purpose built development. Offering a large reception room with a smart open plan fully fitted kitchen, high ceilings and wood floors. The apartment has a large amount of outside space directly on to the river and also to the back of the building. Also boasting secure underground parking.

Smart and spacious one bedroom apartment with River views available furnished. Accommodating double bedroom, bathroom with shower, sitting/dining area with open plan kitchen. This apartment boasts wooden floors an underground parking space and is located in the heart of Wapping.

£1000 per week Knight Frank Wapping Lettings 020 7480 6848 wapping@knightfrank.com

Fashion Street, E1 Stylish one bedroom 2nd floor apartment set in this fantastic location in Spitalfields, moments from The City.

This modern apartment has a lovely fitted open plan kitchen, smart shower room, beautiful wooden floors, great storage and offered furnished. £350 per week Knight Frank City Lettings 020 7606 1560 gary.hall@knightfrank.com

£350 per week Knight Frank Wapping Lettings 020 7480 6848 wapping@knightfrank.com

Roding Mews, Wapping E1W Spacious 4 bedroom (2 double 2 singles) house set in this quiet location in west Wapping. This furnished house offers a large reception room, kitchen diner, 3 bathrooms, garage and a garden with nice canal views. £525 per week Knight Frank Wapping Lettings 020 7480 6848 wapping@knightfrank.com

KnightFrank.co.uk

38 Capital Wharf, Wapping High Street, E1W

Gullivers Wharf, Wapping, E1W

A two bedroom flat on the third floor of a popular development at the westerly end of Wapping High Street.

An attractive flat in good order with a sunny southerly aspect and views to Tower Bridge from the balcony.

Garage parking and 24 hour concierge. 959 sq ft (89sq m)

Situated in the heart of Wapping, the flat extends to approx 179 sq m(1925 sq ft) and was carefully planned by the current owners for optimum use of space. Splendid reception room, kitchen, three en suite bathrooms, parking space. 1925 sq ft (178 sq m)

Leasehold: 986 years

Share of Freehold

Guide price: £725,000

Guide price: £825,000

Knight Frank Wapping 020 7480 6848 sales@knightfrank.com

Knight Frank Wapping 020 7480 6848 sales@knightfrank.com

Newell Street, Limehouse, E14 Situated in the St Anne’s Limehouse conservation area, a charming Grade II listed Georgian house with a 61’ garden backing onto the churchyard. Meticulously restored to highest standards the house combines modern technology with period features. 3 bedrooms, 3 receptions, 2 bathrooms. 1982sq ft Freehold Guide price: £825,000 Knight Frank Wapping 020 7480 6848 sales@knightfrank.com

4 Keepier Wharf, Narrow Street, E14 On the first floor of a converted building with outstanding river views, a large two bedroom flat in excellent order having been recently refurbished. Stunning reception room, kitchen, bath and shower room, parking, resident porter.

2200 sq ft, (204 sq m) Share of Freehold Guide price: £1,100,000 Knight Frank Wapping 020 7480 6848 sales@knightfrank.com

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Riverside West, Smugglers Way, SW18

• Great two bedroom/two bathroom (one en-suite) apartment • 4th floor • Balcony and river views • Tranquil landscaped gardens • Good local amenities • Parking available

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• Two Bedroom/Two Bathroom 9th Floor Apartment • Fully Furnished • River Views • Secure Underground Parking • Nr. East India DLR

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41 Millharbour, Canary Wharf, E14

• One Bedroom/Two Bathroom (one en-suite) Apartment • 2nd floor • Spacious layout • Excellent order throughout • Balcony with views over tranquil gardens • 24hr concierge

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Cinnabar Wharf, Wapping High Street, E1

• Two bedroom/Three bathroom (two en-suite) 4th floor apartment • Stunning river and City views • Very spacious and excellent order throughout • Allocated parking and 24 hr concierge • Moments from tube and the City

£619,950

Marina Heights, Limehouse Basin, E14

• 3 bed/3 bath (one en-suite) • 6th/7th floor duplex apartment • Unparalleled marina/ Canary Wharf views • Two entrances • Large wrap around terrace and balcony • Enviable location

£699,950

Sales | Lettings | Corporate Services | Property Management www.liferesidential.co.uk

Central London 020 7582 7989

West London 020 8896 9990

Docklands 020 7476 0125

Deptford & Greenwich 020 8692 2244

THE CITY MAGAZINE

C O L L E C T I O N

HAND MADE IN PLATINUM AND YELLOW GOLD

october 2009 ART • INTERIORS • FASHION • MOTORING • BEAUTY • SHOPPING • BUSINESS • GADGETS • FOOD & DRINK • UK & INTERNATIONAL PROPERTY

D U E T

OCTOBER 2009 issue 24

POKER FACE

Do women play a better game?

FIT TO TRAVEL?

The evolution of the travel suit

ISLAND ADVENTURE

Explore the tranquil beauty of Thailand

HITTING THE SLOPES Luxury ski chalets

HOT PROPERTIES

UK & International

VIEW THE DUET COLLECTION AT www.hirshlondon.com

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I S S U E 24

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