Brummell February 2013

FEBRUARY 2013

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High-risk strategy

I

f travel broadens the mind, then adventure surely invigorates it. When your daily work life is about playing with risk and taking big decisions, allocating some downtime to face diferent kinds of challenges – both physical and mental – adds up to a healthier lifestyle.

The particular thrill sought out is a personal choice, but, whatever it is, it will help you to stop slowing down and make you walk that little bit taller. That, in turn, spills over into your working life, as our columnist David Charters wisely observes. He suggests taking time out of our careers to explore our limits. This issue, we go looking for adventure and find some exciting and inspirational stories. We meet the man who jumped from a plane at over 700m; another who cycled around the world; and a third who followed a threedecade career in the City by setting up a mountainguide company in Chamonix. We ofer suggestions for intrepid travel at high altitude and in rough water; and gather together the most stylish and fit-for-purpose kit to help you on your way.

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CONTENTS | BRUMMELL

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Cover illustration

by Borja Bonaque Show Media Brummell editorial 020 3222 0101 Editor Joanne Glasbey Art Director Dominic Bell Chief Copy Editor Chris Madigan Managing Editor Lucy Teasdale Deputy Chief Copy Editor Gill Wing Designer Jo Murray Picture Editor Juliette Hedoin Editorial Assistant Charlie Teasdale Copy Editor Tanya Jackson Style Director Tamara Fulton Creative Director Ian Pendleton Managing Director Peter Howarth

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Contents 14

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Advertising & Events Director Duncan McRae duncan@flyingcoloursmarketing.com 07816 218059 showmedia.net brummell@showmedia.net Visit Brummell’s website for more tailor-made content:

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Brummell is published by Show Media Ltd. All material © Show Media Ltd. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited. While every efort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, no responsibility can be accepted for any errors or omissions. The information contained in this publication is correct at the time of going to press. £5 (where sold). Reader ofers are the responsibility of the organisation making the ofer – Show Media accepts no liabillity regarding ofers.

Foreword More senior City figures should make time to go on an adventure, says David Charters – the benefits of testing your mettle are huge Money no object Aston Martin celebrates its centenary with limited editions of its most famous models, with special paint finishes and upholstery

Beaumonde 21

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brummellmagazine.net Colour reproduction by Fresh Media Group, groupfmg.com Printed by The Manson Group, manson-grp.co.uk

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News New luxury concierge services; a pair of boots inspired by Mount Everest; and the camping stove that can charge your phone Technology Cameras, communications and other rugged gadgets for the most arduous expeditions (including on Thameslink) Property With so much living space now available close to the financial heartlands, new developments are competing to ofer more After the City Will D’Arcy has completed a 30-year trek through the world of finance. Now he explores the Alps in his ski guiding business

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Adventure watches A selection of timepieces that are designed to face the toughest tests –from deep-sea diving to space travel Travel A silver mine, a salt lake and a bowler-hatted witchdoctor – welcome to the Bolivian Andes Round-the-world cycling Once Rob Penn had circled the globe, he simply set of again – this time looking for the components to build his perfect bike Charity ICAP’s annual Charity Day is a chance for fun between brokers and celebrities –and has raised millions for good causes Wild swimming For strokes a bit more inspiring than doing lanes at the lido, immerse yourself in the Dardanelles or San Francisco Bay Action accessories Tackle desert, mountains or sea in style

By George We meet stuntman, Queen impersonator and scourge of cardboard boxes Gary Connery at Bremont’s Adventurers Club

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foreword | BrUMMeLL

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Duty and the beast Facing danger and tests of character is not only a good source of the adrenaline we tend to require like one of our five a day, says David Charters, it can also improve our outlook and the way we work Illustration Brett Ryder How brave are you? In my case, the answer is not very, although I am stubborn, and the two can sometimes be confused. Most of us are never really tested, and probably a good thing too.

Where we take physical risks, it tends to be on terms of our own choosing, in circumstances where the danger is measured, assessed and appropriately mitigated by professionals who are paid to know what they are doing.

If you do a charity parachute or bungee jump, or go white-water rafting, the thrill is real but the risk should be minimal. Going further afield – climbing mountains say, or expeditionary travel to remote parts of the world – the risks become harder to predict and control, and the experience more testing.

It is important that we do face genuine challenges. It is all too easy to allow ourselves to slip into a privileged, insulated cocoon where the only bad things we face are the everyday dangers of middle-class life: lifestyle-related health problems, divorce, redundancy and boredom, broken only by the odd moment of road rage or returning from the country on a Sunday night to find the house has been burgled.

I was fascinated recently to hear a very senior, long-retired civil servant lamenting the calibre of today’s civil service. His generation were tested in war. They were diferent.

They had faced real danger and had a diferent outlook on the things that crossed their desks each day, and on the standards they imposed and the risks that they took.

My generation has never been truly proven. Our wars are delegated to relatively small numbers of professionals who sufer for their country, and most of us never experience the fear or the triumphs that they do. At its worst, we live our lives within

a narrower spectrum of experience and emotion than past generations.

And it shows in our daily and professional lives. Our willingness to stand up and be counted is diminished by our level of comfort.

We don’t get involved when there is an incident in the street. Too many of us walk on by, looking the other way, when someone collapses, or a bunch of rowdy drunks is occupying the pavement. Is it right? Does it make us feel good? Of course not. But we have important things to do and we are in a hurry.

Sean Fitzpatrick, the much-capped All Blacks captain, writes in his book Winning Matters of his own father driving the family through town at night, and stopping when he saw a man lying on the ground. He got out, checked him over, found he’d had a few drinks too many but was basically okay, came back to the car and drove on. It was a tiny incident but it stayed with the future rugby international and he has carried it with him all his life.

When I first heard about the LIBOR scandal and read the transcripts, I was bafed.

Anyone who has ever worked in a regulated market environment knows you never, ever conspire to create a false market. What did these people think they were doing? And boasting about it? That was when I wondered again where the people of principle were, individuals with integrity and values who

Maybe the City would be a better place if promotion only came if you could prove your mettle beyond the trading floor

would stand up and be counted, however unpopular it made them. Perhaps only a few people orchestrated what went on, but an awful lot knew about it. Are we all really so scared, so cowed, so worried about our jobs or the perceived stigma of being a whistleblower?

Easy for me to say. I had the luxury of starting my City career at SG Warburg, a firm grounded in principle and integrity. That is not to say it was an easy place to work, but there were any number of exceptional individuals who would bend to nobody in defence of their values and those of the firm.

Whatever happened to them? Most seem to have retired, many are dead, and the new City, with its gigantic, soulless finance factories seems to favour lesser souls.

When I see these scandals unfolding – and we seem to be nothing if not accident-prone these days – does it make me angry? You bet.

As a generation, we haven’t for the most part been blooded in the way our predecessors were. So maybe we need to do something else instead. Something genuinely hair-raising that takes us out of our comfort zones and gives perspective. Maybe the City would be a better place if no one could be promoted beyond a certain level without showing clearly that they have some mettle beyond the trading floor. Go and walk to the North Pole. Spend a month working with the homeless in Mumbai.

Take a career break and sail around the world.

Bankers might become more interesting people to meet, and their perspective on their business might be a little diferent. We might even be trusted again, eventually.

The Ego’s Nest, by David Charters, the fifth novel in the series about City anti-hero Dave Hart, is published by Elliott & Thompson, £6.99

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It was a century ago this year that Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford got together to found their own car company, renaming it ‘Aston Martin’ a year later after combining the former’s surname with the ‘Aston’ from Buckinghamshire’s Aston Clinton hill climb. The 10 decades since have been an adventure, to say the least – the company has had numerous owners and been on the verge of bankruptcy on several occasions – but it remains one of the best-loved car marques in the world, with clients as diverse as James Bond and the Prince of Wales. Now thriving as never before, Aston Martin enters its second century with an eight-car range (if you include the Cygnet ‘city car’) and is marking its centenary with a series of special editions of its Vanquish, V8 Vantage, DB9 and Rapide models. Just 100 examples of each will be made, all with a graduated paint finish and solid-silver Aston Martin badges. Inside, you’ll find black leather trim with silver stitching and embroidered head rests. Each owner also gets a pair of silver cufinks and matching pen – and a polishing cloth to keep the whole lot sparkling. astonmartin.com

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MONEY NO OBJECT The world’s favourite car brand celebrates its centenary by releasing 100 special editions of its most loved models Words Simon de Burton

NEWS | bEAumoNdE

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Camping gadgetry, explorer footwear and a luxurious new residence in the heart of London

In the shoes of the Sherpa ↑ Bally’s involvement with Hillary and Norgay’s ascent of Everest isn’t very well known, but without the shoemaker’s input, the two intrepid climbers may never have made it to the summit.

When Tenzing Norgay reached the summit, he was wearing a pair of Bally-designed boots made of reindeer fur. Bally’s new Everest capsule collection features a series of vintage-styled boots that illustrate the company’s alpine heritage. Each boot is constructed with a lightweight, injection-moulded lug sole that combines comfort and performance with the re-engineered ‘360 Degree Non-Slip Bally Grip’, first patented in 1919; bally.com Fire it up ↑ Invented by Alexander Drummond and Jonathan Cedar, the Biolite Campstove is an innovation in clean, safe and energy-efcient cooking. By converting heat from the burning of twigs and other biodegradable fuels into useable electricity, the Campstove allows you to recharge your phone (or any other gadget) while cooking your dinner. Compact for travel, fast to light, quick to boil and easy to use, the Campstove is a camping essential, and it’s no bigger than a large water bottle. Aside from its obvious recreational capabilities, the Campstove is an incredible breakthrough in emergency aid during natural disasters. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Biolite engineers took to the streets of New York to set up improvised charging stations, allowing people to power-up their devices when the mains electricity went down. $130; biolitestove.com

At your service Luxury tour operator Abercrombie & Kent is launching its global Lifestyle Club, a bespoke concierge service that’s available 24/7, worldwide. Members will enjoy VIP treatment at every stage of their meticulously planned holiday, and will be assigned a dedicated lifestyle manager who acts as their local expert and fixer, whether at home or abroad. Instant access to logistical, security and medical advice around the clock provides Lifestyle Club members with peace of mind at all times. aklifestyleclub.com

Get your Sea Wings ↑ Built to withstand the rigours of deep sea diving, the Girard-Perregaux Sea Hawk is water-resistant to 1,000m, has a helium valve for use during decompression and features an anticlockwise-turning bezel for dive-time calculations. The Sea Hawk boasts a number of intelligent features, including the positioning of the crown at four o’clock for greater comfort.

From £6,905; girard-perregaux.com

22 beAumonde | neWS

Ring for service ↑ The new Vertu TI is a triumphant blend of masculine design and forward-thinking technology, and comes with exclusive services.

The TI has a titanium case, a 3.7in sapphire screen and is the first Vertu to use an Android operating system, combined with an impressive 1.7GHz processor. The TI also provides instant access to Vertu’s collection of bespoke services, including its Concierge; Certainty – keeping your information safe; and Vertu Life – a collection of lifestyle articles and benefits from around the world. From £6,700; vertu.com

Address to impress Described as the most significant development in W1 for more than 50 years, Fitzroy Place is causing quite a stir on the luxury property scene. Not only is it located in the heart of the West End but it’s built around the first new square in the illustrious London postcode for over 100 years. Residents will enjoy a 24-hour concierge service, membership of the Fitzroy Residents’ Club and close proximity to the exclusive stores and restaurants on the ground floor. The 230 private residences range from generously appointed suites to stylish duplexes, with proportions that emulate the area’s beautiful Edwardian mansions, but with contemporary interiors. What’s more, when it opens, you’ll be just a five-minute walk to the new Crossrail service that can whisk you from Oxford Street to Heathrow in just 30 minutes.

Apartments from £900,000; fitzroyplace.com

A feel for fashion ↑ The tailor Anderson & Sheppard has been creating sharp suits for royalty, rock stars and businessmen at its shop on Old Burlington Street since 1906. Now it has opened a second establishment, just around the corner in Mayfair, on Cliford Street, that it is calling its haberdashery. It ofers a selection of trousers, shirts and knitwear, ties, belts and just about every other sartorial accessory.

The 1,200sq ft space is a relaxed afair, with scarves and sweaters out on display, available to touch rather than being cooped up in glass cases, making the shopping experience altogether more tactile. anderson-sheppard.co.uk

Timepiece of the action ↑ Founded in 2002, Linde Werdelin combines mechanical and digital technologies, creating limited-edition timepieces that can have interchangeable sporting instruments attached to them. One of Linde Werdelin’s most recent releases is the SpidoLite II Titanium Blue.

Limited to only 75 pieces, it boasts a fullyskeletonised case and dial structure, making it super-strong and ultra-light. The movement is visible through the transparent sapphire case back and the dial consists of two skeletonised layers. It’s built for extremes, but it looks as good at a dinner party as it does on a mountain top.

However, if you are at altitude, you could attach the ‘Rock’ – the only skiing-dedicated instrument with an external air-temperature sensor that has been tested on Everest and in the South Pole. £7,300 (+VAT, watch only); lindewerdelin.com

TECHNOLOGY | bEAumONdE 25

Tool of hard knocks Whether heading into the wild or on to the Northern line, these days your kit needs to be more high-tech than just sturdy shoes and mint cake – and gadgets for the intrepid need to be tough and compact Words Henry Farrar-Hockley

Sony Walkman NWZ-W27 Although designed very much with the fitness-obsessed in mind, Sony’s latest wearable MP3-player is equally suited to more workaday pursuits: there are no trailing headphone cables to get caught up in the luggage of fellow commuters, and no need to keep retrieving an iPhone from one’s pocket to change tracks. With 4GB of memory built in to its slender silhouette, expect it to hold around 1,000 songs (which can, rather handily, be dragged and dropped direct from iTunes). A three-minute quick charge will provide an hour’s use, although at full capacity it will play non-stop for a lung-bursting eight-hour workout – or a week’s worth of Tube journeys. The most entertaining feature of this music player though is its water-resistant casing. Shower time will never be the same again. £59; sony.co.uk

Jawbone big Jambox At almost twice the size of the original Jambox (yet still surprisingly compact), this little brother that’s outgrown its elder sibling is not only the last word in portable speakers but also an excellent conference call hub to boot. Its stereo acoustic speakers and twin bass drivers pump out a desk-shudderingly generous volume, backed up by the excellent LiveAudio software – which adds a realistic sense of depth to music and speech. It also plugs – either literally or wirelessly –into pretty much anything, while the concealed speakerphone brings welcome clarity to hands-free Bluetooth calls. Thankfully, Jawbone’s vivid geometric patterns and colour schemes are still in evidence, as is the reassuringly robust – and tactile – steel and rubberised finish. £260; jawbone.com

26 beAumonde | technology

Sony Xperia Z Considered one of the star turns of the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in January, this phone’s stunning 5in glass display behaves like a miniature Bravia HD TV, with eye-popping resolution and admirable screen contrast. A quad-core Snapdragon processor, 13MP camera and invisible, waterrepelling ‘skin’ add to its glossy appeal, as does a neat application of the much-vaunted – but little employed – Near Field Communication (NFC) technology: simply ‘touch’ the phone against a compatible Sony TV, and you can instantly enjoy any of your handset’s photos, videos, music or games on an even larger canvas.

Price varies with contract; sonymobile.com

casio g-Shock gb-6900AA There is no shortage of reasons to avoid conspicuous overuse of mobile phones, from basic etiquette to presenting yourself as an easy target to the light-fingered. One way of avoiding screen dependency and its pitfalls is to invest in a Bluetooth watch like this G-Shock model from Casio. As well as discreetly informing the wearer of incoming calls, texts and emails to their phone, it automatically syncs its clock with your handset and even vibrates to let you know if you’ve left your mobile behind.

While only compatible with the iPhone 4S and 5 at launch, it will soon also work with Android-operated devices. £160; g-shock.co.uk

Kingston datatraveler hyperX Predator uSb drive Elevating the humble USB Flash drive to the level of desirable gadget is no mean feat. Some manufacturers opt for novelty to market these ubiquitous storage solutions (cue Star Wars figurines, plastic sushi, etc.) while others aim for sheer volume. Kingston’s curiously christened DataTraveler HyperX Predator family belongs firmly to this latter category; its remarkably capacious new 512GB stick is able to back up not just a few files, but the contents of an entire computer at impressive transfer speeds, and comes enclosed in a retractable metal casing to protect the fragile USB connector. An even greedier 1TB version is imminent.

From £725; www.kingston.com

lenovo thinkPad twist The design of the very first IBM ThinkPad, launched back in 1992, was inspired by a Japanese bento box, but it more than compensated for its ungainly appearance by being a tough, reliable workhorse. The new ThinkPad Twist is almost unrecognisable from its ancestor.

It is, unsurprisingly, far more streamlined and lightweight. Then there are its hybrid credentials: the 12.5-inch display can transform from an Intel-powered Ultrabook into a free-standing Windows 8 tablet in seconds. This technological sleight of hand has not come at the cost of the old ruggedness – the touchscreen is made from Gorilla Glass, while the chassis is a magnesium alloy.

From £800; lenovo.com

olympus Stylus tough tg-830 Last year, Olympus managed the improbable feat of manufacturing a hardwearing yet cuttingedge camera that was also easy on the eye: the Tough TG-1. For 2013, the brand’s Tough class sees three new additions to its ranks including this, the daintily dimensioned yet brutishly sturdy TG-830. Beneath its shock-, water- and freeze-resistant shell sit a highly accomplished 16MP processor and 5x optical zoom which, when paired with an optional FlashAir memory card, will wirelessly beam photos and full HD video direct to your smartphone – so avoiding the chore of backing up your precious memories when you get home. £250; www.olympus.co.uk

goPro hero 3 black edition Beloved of extreme-sports enthusiasts, GoPro has rightly established itself as the acme of life-proof camcorders, and its Hero 3 Black Edition further underlines these credentials.

It’s a remarkable thing that a gadget smaller than a cigarette packet can shoot video in the next big thing in screen resolution, 4K – four times the quality of the current full-HD standard. Add to this the fact it’s waterproof to 60m, and you have a video camera you can be assured will survive any earthly scenario, from scuba-diving to hyperactive children.

Battery life is comparatively poor, however, so carrying spares is a must. £360; gopro.com

A short stroll from Bond Street and the vibrancy of Regent Street lies one of central London’s hidden gems. A village of boutiques, independent traders, beautiful squares and an eclectic mix of cafés and restaurants. Welcome to Fitzrovia.

Now something new is coming to Fitzrovia that’s as unique as the area itself. Fitzroy Place, a collection of prestigious homes gathered around a stunning landscaped square.

Apartments from: £900,000 to £15,000,000* For further information or to register your interest please contact: Fitzroy Place Marketing Suite 19/21 Mortimer Street London W1T 3JE T +44 (0)20 7323 1077 E enquiries@fitzroyplace.com fitzroyplace.com

A development by

Sales representation by

*Prices correct at time of going to press

property | beAumonde 29

Living for the City Not only handy for work, these new developments also come with Mayfair-style amenities Transformers may be a lucrative entertainment franchise, but it could just as easily be a description of some of the new and proposed residential developments within striking distance of London’s financial district. As well as towering sky-high and being full of gadgets and amenities, many of them claim they’ll transform lifestyles.

Take the Panoramic Collection in the luxury residential development The Heron at Moorgate.

This 13-strong ensemble of two- and threebedroom apartments located above the 30th floor ofers the usual heady mix of sumptuous living space and slick appliances, but goes a step further. Residents need scarcely leave home to enjoy club lounges, dining areas and rooftop gardens. And for all its state-of-the-art modernity, the building’s concierge, valet-parking and butler services also ensure they benefit from the kind of old-school pampering Jeeves lavished upon Bertie Wooster.

‘People want to go to work and come home to find their deliveries have arrived and their shirts have been dry-cleaned for them,’ says Lisa Ronson, commercial director at The Heron, nearly 90 per cent of which has sold of-plan, despite the fact the building doesn’t open until later this summer. Some one- and two-bedroom apartments still remain, with prices starting at £500,000. For the Panoramic Collection you’ll spend upwards of £3.25m (theheron.co.uk).

Before the Ballymore Group’s 2008 launch of its Pan Peninsula waterside development adjacent to Canary Wharf, much of the housing

soAring heron The upper reaches of The Heron development in Moorgate are reserved for serviced apartments with club lounges, dining and rooftop gardens

30 beAumonde | property

vistA Accepted Views from a bathroom in The Heron, top, and a penthouse at Baltimore Wharf on the Isle of Dogs

in the Docklands area was a shoe-boxy warren of vertical rabbit hutches produced by volume house-builders. But since the success of Pan Peninsula, with its opulent cinema, restaurant and penthouse-level cocktail lounge, the bar has been raised for what people, mostly working in the financial sector, have come to expect. Now, more luxuriously distinctive schemes perched

by East London’s old quays and waterways are coming on to the market fast and furious.

As well as New Providence Wharf, which includes the high-rise Ontario Tower, the Ballymore Group has launched sumptuous developments at Baltimore Wharf on the Isle of Dogs and at 21 Wapping Lane. There are also

Much of the property in the Docklands was vertical rabbit hutches – but the bar has been raised, along with expectations

pipeline plans for a 1,600-unit residential scheme as a part of a large-scale development on the Leamouth Peninsula. (ballymoregroup.com) Planning has also just been granted to luxury developers London Newcastle for Dollar Bay, a slender 31-storey crystalline tower at West India Docks’ waterfront. Uninterrupted views of the City and Canary Wharf can be enjoyed from the ‘sky gardens’ in all of its 121 high-specification apartments. (londonnewcastle.co.uk) Those looking to live closer to the old Square Mile, and whose taste leans more toward classic stone facades than sheer glass shards, might prefer one of five lavish new apartments in a Grade II-listed building previously remodelled

by Edwin Lutyens, overlooking Lincoln’s Inn Fields, the largest public square in London. Not only does each fully modernised, high-ceilinged space occupy its own floor, but it is also connected to Club Quarters, a new private hotel ofering 24-hour services and facilities. (savills.co.uk) Also within easy reach of the City is the Tapestry building on New Street, right opposite Liverpool Street Station, where just two loft-style apartments remain, priced at £2.7 million.

Constructed by the East India Company as a warehouse in 1771, the remaining two- and three-bedroom residences combine the understated panache of a Georgian exterior with spacious, bright interiors that absolutely epitomise urban cool. (savills.co.uk) Another landmark development site in the City of London is that of St Dunstan’s House on Fetter Lane, within the Square Mile. Previously occupied by Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service, the building was put up for sale and bought by Taylor Wimpey Central London, who fought of stif competition for their proposed development of 76 residential units plus private gym and secluded landscaped gardens. (taylorwimpey.co.uk) The scarcity of space within or close to the City means any contemporary development featuring a residential aspect garners a lot of media speculation and attention. Nowhere does that apply more than to the properties at the apex of The Shard at London Bridge, where the release of 10 luxury penthouses is hotly anticipated. As it stands, the Shard’s Qatari owners ‘have not decided whether to sell or lease the apartments’, according to a spokesman.

Whichever option is chosen, a penthouse in The Shard overlooking the whole city, not just City, is the stuf of aspiration – although not for vertigo suferers, perhaps.

Words Catherine Moye

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people usually have to trek for hours for this kind of sighting.

We were on our verandah.

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32 bRUMMELL | AFTER THE CITY

pEAk CondITIon Will D’Arcy in Chamonix

Living the high life After 30 years at the top in finance, Will D’Arcy is scaling new heights as a mountain guide ‘I haven’t been this fit since I came back from climbing in the Himalayas when I was 32,’ chuckles 55-year-old Will D’Arcy, referring to his new role as the principal of a mountainguiding business in Chamonix. D’Arcy left the City for the mountains in September 2012, and his new company, Elite Mountain Guides, is already gaining a reputation – his first client arrived at his door with a bunch of tulips and a hand-written note after a day skiing with D’Arcy and his business partner and guide, Phil Ashby. ‘I’ve never been given flowers for services rendered before,’ he admits. ‘But then I’m working with Phil, who’s the very best.’

Both Ashby and Mark Thomas, D’Arcy’s other partner, are IFMGA (International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations) guides. Ashby was awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal when a Royal Marine in Sierra Leone, has been a lecturer at the British Army Jungle Warfare Training School in Brunei and is on the motivational speaking circuit. ‘I’ve built Elite Mountain Guides around Phil – without him, it simply wouldn’t exist,’ says D’Arcy. ‘City people work in a team, superficially speaking, but many are out for themselves, so I’m enjoying being in a business run like the Army, in which you go into battle trusting the people alongside you.’

D’Arcy arrived in Chamonix after a long City career that began in 1980, when he joined Phillips & Drew to sell gilts. He worked as an investment banker in fixed income for the next

15 years. He recalls, ‘I was 38, with six big clients, climbing the greasy pole and in the ofce at 7.15 every morning. When the bond markets sufered a meltdown in 1994, five stopped doing business and I was down to one client.’

What followed was a rollercoaster ride as D’Arcy bounced from one venture to the next.

First, he tried his hand at media finance; then, after a brief stint in financial training, he turned to headhunting, setting up an investmentbanking subsidiary for Hanover Search before going independent a year later with D’Arcy & Co. ‘We were very successful for a couple of years, but then came the dot-com crash and 9/11. So I studied for a law degree. Then Lehman Brothers collapsed. Suddenly, there was a huge dislocation of capital markets. I saw an opportunity and set up a fixed-income department for WH Ireland.’

D’Arcy took redundancy in 2011. ‘I’d jumped, but had no lifeboat. I was 54, with responsibilities, and we were in the worst recession the world had ever seen. To cheer myself up, I went to Chamonix to ski and see my friend Phil,’ he recalls.

On asking Ashby how he found his clients, he realised he had hit on something he really wanted to do next. So, last summer, he used his City contacts and knowledge of the SEIS (Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme) to raise finance. By the autumn, he had settled in Chamonix and set up Elite Mountain Guides to provide a premium guiding service for skiiers, walkers and climbers.

‘The most valuable lesson I’ve learnt from the City is that getting business is hard and it takes longer for it to come through than you anticipate,’ says D’Arcy. ‘The competition’s tough, but our guides are superb. We charge a lot, but it’s more fun for senior corporate types to spend three days with people who can talk their language, and the range of life experiences that Phil and I have between us is second to none.’

D’Arcy is enjoying the challenge of a new kind of selling: ‘I’m used to business-to-business dealing, which is cyclical, whereas a businessto-retail company has a more dependable, if less steep, trajectory. People are always going to want fun, however dire the economic climate, but when businesses cut back, they cut to the bone. I was in recruitment and what’s the first thing they do when there’s a recession? Stop recruiting! But I’ll always have someone wanting an adventure.’

D’Arcy describes himself as ‘humble but passionate’ and says, ‘My ambitions are to scale the business and build it up without losing the personal touch. It’s difcult but achievable and I’m prepared to work my butt of to satisfy clients.

We’re already seeing results by exceeding their expectations and that’s a good feeling. There are plenty of mountain-guiding businesses making money, so we know the model works. It’s a matter of persisting and, after the City, no one can say I don’t have the necessary perseverance.’ elitemountainguides.com Words Charlotte Metcalf

i ng m o c n soo

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Rock faces Adventurous pursuits require hardy watches designed for the task –whether you’re facing high altitude, extreme depth or a likely battering words Simon de Burton Photography Bruce Anderson

watches | BRUMMeLL 35

36 BRUMMELL | WaTCHES

Bell & Ross WW1 Monopoussoir It was when things began to get a little too exciting in the Great War trenches that someone decided it might be a good idea to move watches from pocket to wrist in order to keep both hands free for more pressing matters. Many of those early wristwatches were simply converted pocket watches, with the crowns moved from 12 o’clock to three o’clock. Now Bell & Ross has taken inspiration from their large-dialled, highly legible appearance to create this understated, aviatorstyle chronograph. The ‘monopoussoir’ in the name refers to the fact that the chronograph can be started and stopped using a single button set in to the winding crown. £4,900; bellross.com

Ralph Lauren RL67 Safari chronograph The Ralph Lauren watch collection has been getting steadily better since its slightly uncertain launch in 2009. This version of the Sporting chronograph allegedly came about after Ralph himself wore a prototype while on safari, during which the case became worn through in places.

Most designers would demand an improvement in the coating material, but not Lauren. He suggested such ready-made patina should be supplied on every watch, much like a pair of pre-washed jeans (with which the Safari looks rather good).

Potential buyers can rest assured that the Jaeger-LeCoultre chronograph movement lying within is, of course, in immaculate order. £6,850; ralphlaurenwatches.com

Hublot King Power Oceanographic 4000 ‘How low can you go?’ is a pertinent question when it comes to Hublot’s decidedly serious dive watch, a monster of the deep that is guaranteed waterproof to a lung-crushing 4,000m – more than 200m deeper than the final resting place of the Titanic. Available in a variety of case materials ranging from titanium to Hublot’s very own ‘King Gold’, the watch has a mammoth 48mm-diameter case and a heavily engineered crown guard to ensure the inner timing bezel can’t be accidentally moved mid-dive. It also has two screw-down crowns and a helium escape valve and is supplied with ‘town’ and ‘diver’ strap options. £17,000 to £32,400; hublot.com

Omega Spacemaster Z-33 Omega has a long-standing association with space travel through its Speedmaster chronograph, which became the first watch to be worn on the surface of the moon – on the arm of Buzz Aldrin during the historic Apollo XI mission of July, 1969. Were the adventure to be re-enacted today, there’s a good chance the crew might be issued with Omega’s Spacemaster Z-33 which has a titanium case and a multi-function quartz movement, providing alarms, a perpetual calendar, flying log book, multiple time zones and more.

The digi-analogue display is controlled by no fewer than five push pieces. £3,720; omegawatches.com

IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Top Gun Miramar IWC made its first Top Gun pilot’s watch in honour of the legendary US Naval Fighter Weapons School in 2007 – but, last year, the line-up was extended to include the ‘Miramar’ range, named after the school’s former base outside San Diego. One of the best variations is the imposing 48mm Big Pilot, which features a tough ceramic case with a titanium back complemented by a classic military dial with buf-coloured hands and markings. Inside, you’ll find IWC’s lovely in-house 5111 Calibre self-winding movement with seven days of power reserve. An olive-green textile strap completes the rugged ‘aviator’ look. £13,900; iwc.com

Louis Vuitton Tambour Regatta Several watch brands will be demonstrating their seagoing credentials as backers of boats taking part in this year’s America’s Cup challenge races – but only Louis Vuitton can claim to be the ofcial timekeeper. LV has been a serious player in high-end regattas since the celebrated French yachtsman Bruno Trouble asked the brand to step in as a backer for the 1983 America’s Cup when the event looked set to sink without trace due to lack of funding. The association is now the longest-running in the history of sport, and Vuitton continues to celebrate it with an ever-expanding range of Tambour Regatta watches designed specifically for sailors. £6,550; louisvuitton.com

INTRA - MATIC AUTOMATIC SWISS MADE . WWW.HAMILTONWATCH.COM

royal exchange promotion | BrUmmell 39

Precious time OMEGA recognises that it is as much defined by its ethical business practices as by its social and environmental conduct, and takes its social responsibilities seriously. From sustainable energy projects to healthcare initiatives, OMEGA uses its international reputation and global reach to raise public awareness of some remarkable organisations and the extraordinary work they are doing around the world to make the planet a healthier, cleaner place Words Robert Ryan

40 BRUMMELL | RoyaL ExchangE pRoMotion

Solar SyStem If the environmental movement has an equivalent of the Oscars, it is the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Champions of the Earth Laureate Award, which recognises outstanding contributions to saving the planet. In 2012, it was awarded to pilot Bertrand Piccard for ‘raising global awareness of the possibilities of renewable energy-driven transport’. What had he done? Created a plane that can fly without fuel and has zero emissions.

It sounds like a science-fiction fantasy (especially with that surname), but the gossamer-light 64m-wingspan, carbon-fibrebodied Solar Impulse HB-SIA, with its 12,000 solar cells, is designed to fly at a stately 50km/h without polluting the atmosphere, taking all its

energy from the sun and storing it in lithium polymer batteries.

Piccard, who made the world’s first non-stop round-the-world balloon flight, co-founded the Solar Impulse project wth André Borschberg in 2003. Support has come from 80 partners, among them OMEGA. Always interested in cutting-edge technologies – as ofcial NASA timepiece supplier, OMEGA put a watch on the moon – it contributes the instrument used to indicate the flight path and alert the pilots if the angle of the wing exceeds limits. The plane is going to need such gizmos – the team’s ultimate goal is for the SI HB-SIB, currently under construction, to circumnavigate the globe. Watch the skies – just don’t look for vapour trails.

© SOLAr IMPLULSE/FrEd MErz

The Solar Impulse project aims to circumnavigate the globe in an airplane powered only by the sun

oMEga SpEEdMaStER hB-Sia co-axiaL Nothing exemplifies Omega’s spirit of adventure like the watch that was selected by NASA as its ofcial timepiece in 1965.

It orbited the earth in Gemini and Apollo missions and was taken onto the moon’s surface by Buzz Aldrin. Fitting then that it should be the basis for the numbered-edition chronometer inspired by the development of the HB-SIA plane, which has the addition of a 24-hour indicator, in readiness for that solarpowered circumnavigation

42 BRUMMELL | RoyaL ExchangE pRoMotion

SKY CALL Daniel Craig and OMEGA support ORBIS International and its Flying Eye Hospital The Flying Eye might be the oldest DC-10 still flying, but it is as hi-tech as any James Bond villain’s plane. It contains a laser-treatment area, operating theatre, intensive-care unit and state-of-the-art communications systems, a 45-seat classroom and more than 300kgs of teddy bears. This last gives away its true purpose – the full title of the plane is the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital. ORBIS is a not-for-profit organisation founded in 1992 with the aim of curing preventable blindness across the globe.

Its airborne hospital flies to remote parts of the world to treat children (hence the teddies) and adults and, just as importantly, teach local doctors and nurses the procedures. And, on one memorable trip to Mongolia recently, it had 007 himself on board.

Nicolas Hayek, CEO of Swatch Group, explains: ‘There is a long tradition in the company, especially in Omega, of charitable work. I had seen a documentary about ORBIS on TV and I said to Daniel: “What do you think about this?” And he fell in love with the project immediately.’

Craig, who is an Omega ambassador, joined the DC-10 in Mongolia and observed several operations. ‘It’s absolutely fascinating, because you see the skill of the surgeon up close – and it’s incredible.’

As he points out, of the 40 million people who are blind in the world, 80 per cent could be treated and have their condition cured or, at least, alleviated. ORBIS, he says, ‘is like a miracle – literally coming in and giving people back their sight.’

Miracles sometimes need a helping hand and OMEGA has two watch models, the OMEGA De Ville Hour Vision Blue and the new OMEGA Constellation Star ladies’ model, sales of which help support ORBIS and its global mission which, for once in Daniel Craig’s life, is not all about stopping a madman bent on world domination.

ORBIS is like a miracle – literally coming in and giving people back their sight

oMEga DE ViLLE hoUR ViSion BLUE A stunning and distinctive timepiece, with a dial that some might describe as blue as Daniel Craig’s eyes. It has a transparent case back to show of its self-winding movement.

Sales of the watch support ORBIS’s sight-saving work worldwide.

44 BRUMMELL | RoyaL ExchangE pRoMotion

blue magic Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s lifelong interest in the natural world has made him a world-leading environmental advocate

When photographer and filmmaker Yann Arthus-Bertrand wanted a partner to help him make a movie about the world’s oceans, it was perhaps inevitable that he should turn to OMEGA. The ocean has long been an integral part of Omega’s work and world.

In 1932, it introduced the art deco-styled Marine, the world’s first commercial divers’ watch and then, in 1948, its iconic Seamaster range, still hugely popular today, especially the innovative Planet Ocean models. It has supported major sea-going figures such as free-diver Jacques Mayol – immortalised in the film The Big Blue – the late Jules Verne Trophy-winning yachtsman Sir Peter Blake, the legendary Jacques Cousteau and the solo circumnavigation sailor Dame Ellen MacArthur.

oMEga SEaMaStER pLanEt ocEan The Seamaster was first introduced in 1948 to celebrate the company’s 100th anniversary and quickly became a firm favourite of divers and sailors (and spies – Pierce Brosnan’s and Daniel Craig’s Bond both sported Seamasters).

This is the Planet Ocean Chrono version, waterproof to 60m (2,000ft).

46 BRUMMELL | RoyaL ExchangE PRoMoTIon

In professional sports, leisure activities and exploration, OMEGA has been on and under the world’s seas for more than a century.

Parisian Arthus-Bertrand is a fascinating character: a former actor turned wildlife specialist and photographer in Africa and now ecological campaigner through his GoodPlanet Foundation, he has a string of awards for his environmental work (there are even schools in France named after him). With the 90-minute movie Planet Ocean, he wanted, he said, ‘to change the way people look at the oceans and to encourage them to imagine conservation and stewardship as responsibilities shared by everyone on Earth.’

It might have a message, but Planet Ocean looks wonderful too – it won the 2012 Award for Best Cinematography at the Blue Ocean Film Festival in Monterey, USA. It isn’t difcult to see why – from the opening textures of the

Planet Ocean captures the beauty of the world’s oceans as well as highlighting the threats they face sea breaking on the shoreline, via the sweeping aerial shots of tidal currents, to the teaming life of the underwater world, Arthus-Bertrand and his fellow director Michael Pitiot have captured the diversity and beauty of the world’s oceans, as well as highlighting the threats they face from mankind’s activities.

The two directors had the help of leading aerial and underwater cinematographers, oceanographers and biologists. This included the practical support of Tara Expeditions, a

French not-for-profit organisation that has been conducting research on its schooner for nine years. One of its main aims is to increase environmental awareness among the general public, and particularly young people, and the Planet Ocean film is one of its tools in this: it is available free to schools and other institutions.

At a showing of the film in London last year, Arthus-Bertrand said: ‘I am very grateful to OMEGA for allowing me the opportunity to make a film I have been dreaming about for a long time. This movie was made not for politicians – they don’t want change. It was made for me and for you and everybody, to try to change consciousness about how precious, fragile and mysterious the oceans are.’ And it does.

OMEGA, Unit 8 The Courtyard, The Royal Exchange; 020 7929 7706

© YAnn-ArThUS BErTrAnD

aLL aT SEa Previous page, this picture and below: Dramatic stills from Planet Ocean

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48 BrUMMell | Travel

High notes Dinosaurs, dynamite and the devil – Bolivia’s unearthly landscape reflects its astonishing natural history words Ian Belcher

TOP Of The wOrld Potosí, with Cerro Rico in the background

Chinese proverbs aren’t always correct. Some thousand-mile journeys may begin with a single small step, but not this one. It starts with over 5,000 – the largest concentration of dinosaur footprints on earth. And they’re huge. Massive.

Many belong to 100-tonne titanosaurs.

Cal Orck’o’s eye-popping splatter of tracks, imprinted into Bolivia’s highlands 65 million years ago, are the green light for one of the world’s most glorious road trips. They’re suitably monumental for a route that lacks the diners and Americana of Route 66 but delivers widescreen scenic drama, extraordinary historic landmarks and a level of wacky surreality that California can only dream about.

From Parque Cretácio’s fragile slab of prehistoric geology, tucked into a quarry in the Andean foothills, our four-wheel drive – don’t think about any other vehicle – will grind up onto Bolivia’s Altiplano above 3,750m. We’ll then push south-west towards the Salar de Uyuni – the largest salt lake on earth – via the mining town of Potosí, before curving north to La Paz, the spectacular administrative capital cowering beneath snow-tipped Mt Illimani.

But there’s a civilised aperitif to our wilderness main course. Sucre, home to the dinosaur tracks, is Bolivia’s most beautiful city: a white-walled honeypot of monasteries, churches and Spanish architecture. There are elegant courtyards, walls drizzled with Mestizo baroque art – ‘The Last Supper’ depicts the disciples eating roast guinea pig – and benches beneath shady palms occupied by gnarled pensioners and teenage sweethearts. It’s mellow, serene and absolutely hopeless preparation for the road ahead.

We depart in the late afternoon and receive an instant reality check. The road swoops through plunging valleys and sun-blasted hills, crossing bridges over slow, thirsty rivers. At dusk, we climb up the eastern wall of the Andes, onto the Altiplano. We rise and the temperature plummets, until, after 50 miles, Potosí’s iconic mountain, Cerro Rico, looms out of the night.

It’s an extraordinary sight: an enormous, perfectly symmetrical triangle picked out in emerald spotlights. In the inky darkness, it gives the unnerving impression we’re descending towards an airport runway.

In the daylight it resembles a super-sized chunk of red and ochre Toblerone – a façade concealing a dark, dangerous heart. Around eight million men – mainly indigenous miners – have died in or around Cerro Rico, digging the silver that underpinned Spain’s threecentury domination of world trade. It’s said you could link Madrid and Potosí with two bridges: one of silver, one of bones.

Conditions are better now. Grim but better.

Around 18,000 miners still work here. I can’t resist a visit. I’m taken to an innocuous terraced house on the lower slopes where a knock on the shutters summons a toothless old lady to serve me through her front window. Eight dollars buys a gift to be traded for a tour:

50 BRUMMELL | tRavEL

a basket with two sticks of dynamite, a litre of 97-per-cent-proof alcoholic spirit and gaspingly strong cigarettes. They sit on a bed of coca leaves, alongside fuses, detonators and a pouch of white balls. ‘Ammonium nitrate,’ explains the elderly shopkeeper. ‘For a bigger bang.’

An hour later, I’ve donned protective garb and entered mine Monja 2 through a hall caked with the blood of sacrificed llamas. I shufe along tunnels, squeeze through holes and drop into a dusty cave where a man-sized efgy of Tío, protective deity and horned doppelgänger for Satan, displays a large erect penis.

An hour later, the miner arrives. Gregorio Condori, who has spent 39 years toiling inside Cerro Rico, accepts my gift. We chat, chew coca leaves, sip eye-watering spirit and ofer random toasts to Tío, pouring booze over his engorged manhood. By midday, I’m wasted.

We crawl along a tiny claustrophobic tunnel to a Catholic shrine, where I crack my head and slice my finger open. Gregorio then plunges a fuse into a stick of dynamite and casually remarks, ‘This can be quite dangerous you know’. It’s time to leave.

Thank heavens someone else is driving.

We’ve got 200 spectacular miles to cover, passing flat-topped buttes, plunging gullies and red earth littered with abstract sculptures of chocolate-coloured rock and lines of willows glowing neon green in the setting sun. Around Pulacayo, where Butch Cassidy carried out a daring robbery on the silver mine, tarmac

Alamy; Ian Belcher

FEATURE TiTlE | BRUMMEll 00

surrenders to rutted track, and we endure 50 bone-shaking kilometres to the Salar de Uyuni under a star-drenched night sky.

We have to wait for dawn light to appreciate the astounding landscape. The world is now bright, light and white, a pure canvas stretching across the horizon under pale blue sky. We’re in the tropics, but it resembles the Arctic.

Salt is god around here. The Salar has 10 billion tonnes of the stuf. It’s the main ingredient of hotel walls, souvenirs and endless perspective-altering photographs. And it’s a blast to drive upon. A total blast. We put pedal to floor, powering across salt crust towards distant mountains and islands that turn out to be the tips of dormant volcanoes, their slopes dotted with immense phallic cacti.

In the January to April wet season, the 12,106sq km of crystallised lake lie beneath a film of surface water, creating a vast natural mirror. It reflects the sky and swallows the horizon. ‘Driving is like flying through clouds,’ says our guide, Elias. ‘Every sense is distorted.

Speed, time, space, even hearing.’

It’s like a landscape designed by Salvador Dalí, and it deserves more time. But the last leg of the trip is calling: 300 miles past herds of llama, the glistening saline waters of Lake Poopó and the urban sprawl of El Alto. When we reach La Paz, we head downtown for a final meeting with a bowler-hatted witch doctor.

He studies coca leaves, mutters incantations and burns a llama foetus to purge envy from

HIGHS aND LOWS Opposite, from top: Alpaca in the Bolivian National Park; market day in Chuquisaca This page, from top: Following dinosaur tracks at Cal Orck’o; a silver-mine sign at Sucre

my relationship: a service that is presently unavailable from Relate. I nod, smile and silently dedicate the sacrifice to Tío, my underground guardian, and St Christopher, the patron saint of travellers. They’ve both earned it.

Abercrombie & Kent (0845 485 1140; abercrombiekent.co.uk) ofers 14 days in Bolivia from £3,785pp, which includes bed and breakfast accommodation, excursions, vehicles, guiding, flights and transfers

00 BRUMMEll | FEaTURE TiTlE

If you’re running a marathon, start training six months in advance. Swimming the Channel?

Smear yourself in goose fat a year before you do it. Climbing Everest? You should have wielded your first icepick aged five. Essentially, if you’re going big, you need to prepare accordingly.

At 27, Rob Penn was enjoying a career as a City solicitor and about to buy a house and settle down to start a family. But somehow it didn’t feel right, so he decided to give it all up and cycle 40,000km around the world.

Today, even in the face of scandal and tumbling icons, cycling is having something of a renaissance. However, in Penn’s day, it was still considered a novel way to commute. ‘There were so few of us, I knew the Christian names of every cyclist that went through Hyde Park’.

Born on the Isle of Man, he had always wanted to explore the world and was drawn to the idea of undertaking some epic odyssey.

‘People who grow up on small islands have a feeling of wanderlust built into them. And I’d cycled all my life, so I knew I wanted to go on some kind of great adventure on a bike.’ He felt the opportunity to take a trip like this was fast fading: at 27, his body might just about take it, but if he left it much longer it could be too late.

He had had a taste of adventure on a trip to Asia during his last year of law school and it was that which gave him the belief to go all the way. ‘I’d ridden a mountain bike in rough terrain in western China and northern Pakistan, so I’d proved to myself not only that I could do it, but that the possibilities were endless’.

The original plan had been for Penn’s girlfriend to accompany him on the trip. However, the first leg was across the US and, by the time they hit LA, she’d had enough. ‘She decided she didn’t really like bicycles and wanted to go home. But that in itself was a message: this type of journey is meant to be done on one’s own.

When you’re alone, you become more sensitised to the chance encounters and it’s that which makes up the true fabric of travelling.’

Penn’s epic two-wheeled expedition took him through North America, Australia, South East and Central Asia, the Middle East and then Europe, and, of course, a trip like that will never be without its obstacles. ‘I remember being held at gunpoint by police in Uzbekistan – I was amazed it was them who were trying to rob me.

Life cycle Rob Penn’s love afair with the bicycle led him to give up his legal career and pedal 40,000km round the world – twice Words Charlie Teasdale

cycling | BRUMMEll 53

saddlE Up Rob Penn on the road to Borroloola, Northern Territory, Australia

54 brummell | CYClING

lONe rANGer Camping out in the Kaghan Valley in north-eastern Pakistan

Because of the rhythm and routine of each day, I felt immune to problems, but it was at points like that when I realised the great adventure could rear up at any time, and I may have bitten of more than I could chew.’

The danger of thieves, the treacherous terrain and the impenetrable bureaucracy aside, the fact Penn was alone meant every little detail of day-to-day riding had to be considered. ‘If one small thing goes wrong, it can lead to other little problems and then suddenly snowball.’ Riding solo throughout vast wildernesses means you’re relying on your own grit and determination – if you don’t make it to the next planned stopover on time, you can find yourself exposed to the elements. ‘During my journey across Australia, I went along the north coast and through the Daintree Rainforest via the Gulf of Carpentaria.

It was all dirt roads with huge distances between habitations. I was completely self-reliant and it was then I realised I had to get the details right.’

Without hardship, however, trips such as Penn’s wouldn’t be worth doing. The longest stretch through one country took him from Kanyakumari on India’s southern peninsula to Amritsar on the Pakistani border. ‘It was the one bit where I thought, “Sod it, I’m going to jack this in.” I was there just before monsoon season, so the temperatures were unbearable and I was very, very weak. I’d got heat stroke and cycled myself into a complete mess, but I laid in bed for a couple of days, puked into a bucket and just got back on the bike.’

After three years on the road, Penn returned home and came to the conclusion he was ‘unemployable’. After a journey like that, there was no way he could leave the bicycle behind – it was part of him. So he began writing and, over the years, carved out a career as a columnist, author and public speaker, documenting his trips, commenting on the world of cycling and generally championing the machine that was at the heart of his existence.

In 2010, his book It’s All About the Bike: The Pursuit of Happiness on Two Wheels, a revisionist interpretation of the history and importance of the bicycle, was published. ‘I was in the middle of a lifelong love afair with the bike and I’d always been slightly aggrieved that it had been under-written or even omitted from transport histories – it needed the gloss putting back on it.’ If you ask Penn why the bicycle is such an icon of the modern world, it’s hard to get him to stop talking. ‘It’s the most efcient form of human-powered transportation we’ve invented and it syncs well with the human DNA. People say “rhythm is happiness” and riding a bike is certainly conducive to joy.’

Half the book (and an accompanying 2011 documentary for BBC4) is dedicated to the realisation of a dream had by many a cyclist around the world. Of all the bikes Penn has ever owned, none of them has ever truly expressed his interest in ‘the law and beauty of bicycles’, so he decided to travel the world (again) collating the best and longest-lasting parts he could find

in order to build his perfect bike. ‘We live in a dystopian age where everything we own seems to deteriorate the moment it comes out the box.

Some parts of it I’ll change, but I’m going to ride this bike for the rest of my life.’

Needless to say, the final product is visually stunning and technically awesome. Penn visited Campagnolo and Cinelli in Italy for the groupset and bars, California for the Gravy wheels and came back to the UK for the Brooks saddle and bespoke frame, handmade by Rourke in Stoke-on-Trent. It won’t win the Tour de France, but it’s a thing of beauty, and he will ride it every day until his legs give out. Along the way, he met the pioneers of ‘downhilling’ on the west coast of the US, aesthetically conscious peloton men in Italy and artisan blacksmiths in the north of England. His first round-the-world trip may have been one of self-discovery and endurance, but his second was a pilgrimage, honouring one of the design icons of the modern world.

He now lives with his family in the Black Mountains of Wales, where much of his time is taken up with the stewardship of Strawberry Cottage Wood – an area of abandoned woodland at the entrance to the Llanthony Valley. Riding from his home to the village pub may not generate the same exhilaration as traversing a clifside road in Iran, but he still rides every day to keep fit and stay sane. J F Kennedy claimed ‘nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride’. Thanks to Penn’s zeal, others might just be persuaded to prove that for themselves.

Rob Penn

Cycling’s the most efcient form of human-powered transportation we’ve invented and it syncs well with the human DNA

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Each villa is uniquely designed by the internationally acclaimed architect Cheong Yew Kuan to harmonise with the dramatic granite landscape and panoramic ocean views.

Owners can take advantage of the Concierge Service and the extensive facilities at the renowned Four Seasons Resort Seychelles set in the middle of the 70 hectare estate.

Prices from US$7,250,000 LONDON: +44 20 8166 8122 sales@petiteansedevelopments.com www.petiteansedevelopments.com Four Seasons Private Residences Seychelles are not owned, developed or sold by Four Seasons Hotels Limited or its affiliates (Four Seasons). The developer, Petite Anse Developments Ltd., uses the Four Seasons trademarks and tradenames under a license from Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Asia Pacific Pte Ltd. The marks “FOUR SEASONS”, “FOUR SEASONS HOTELS AND RESORTS,” any combination thereof and the Tree Design are registered trademarks of Four Seasons Hotels Limited in Canada and U.S.A. and of Four Seasons Hotels (Barbados) Ltd. elsewhere.

56 brummell | city charity

One fine day For 20 years, through high times and low, ICAP’s Charity Day has been the highlight of the year for the brokerage’s staf, and has raised more than £100m for good causes

Picture the scene: it’s 1993 and banking firms around the world are enjoying incredible success. The time of vilification, ‘banker-bashing’ and austerity is almost two decades away and there is no great pressure on financial institutions to ‘give something back’. Nonetheless, many of the major banks donate portions of their profits to charity. And then one firm goes a step further, deciding that more than just some – in fact, rather a lot – of its proceeds should be put to good use and that, once a year, they’ll donate all of their commissions and revenue from a day’s trading to charity. Fast-forward two decades and the ICAP Charity Day is still going strong – it celebrated its 20th birthday on 5 December last year.

For as long as the company has existed, ICAP has donated money to charity. Even in its early days, when the staf were few and money was tight, chief executive Michael Spencer and his colleagues wanted to give some of the money

they made to the less fortunate. ‘This is about core values. You have a responsibility to the wider society beyond the taxes you pay and the people you employ.’ Since those humble beginnings, the annual charity donations have grown with the company and, as of the end of 2012, ICAP had raised more than £100m.

‘Banker-bashing has been rather excessive of late,’ Spencer continues. ‘And it’s in danger of being counterproductive and damaging.’

However, the likes of ICAP placing renewed importance on ‘giving something back’ will go some way to improve public perception and redress the balance.

The day has become the stuf of legend.

Each year, a selection of celebrities and famous faces are invited into the ICAP ofces to help man the phones and boost trading volumes for the day. In 2012, the list of illustrious names was as stellar as usual and included Samantha Cameron, President Tan of Singapore, Boris Johnson, Goldie Hawn, Darcey Bussell, Terry Wogan, swimmer Michael Phelps, NBA star Yao Ming and Mo Farah.

In selecting the beneficiaries, ICAP has a clear set of criteria: the charities need to be efcient; the causes varied; and only exceptionally can they receive donations more than once. This means the money raised has more impact and helps the greatest number.

Some of those benefiting from the 2012 Charity Day were Right To Play, The Art Room, RADA, The Stroke Association and Hope For Tomorrow.

The Charity Day operates on a ‘100 per cent’ basis – that means all of the day’s revenue and commissions are given to charity, the entire running costs are covered by ICAP and there is total commitment from everyone involved. Some may question whether the traders are genuinely happy to donate a day’s wages and commission to charity but, according to Spencer, they would never consider doing otherwise. Over the past 20 years, only one ICAP employee has refused to take part.

He is no longer with the company. The staf, many of whom don fancy dress, view the event as an annual party and a chance to have fun in an industry that normally demands stringent discipline. What’s more, Spencer is adamant it lifts morale and boosts loyalty. ‘If I suggested we cancel Charity Day, there would be shock and horror around the firm – they’d think I’d simply lost the plot.’

So, who was 2012’s star celebrity trader?

The Duke of Cambridge, according to Spencer: ‘Whenever he wants to change his day job…’

Words Charlie Teasdale

Some quotes first appeared in The Daily Telegraph

mobot caller From top: Olympic hero Mo Farah joins traders for ICAP’s Charity Day; the Mayor of London redoubles his eforts on the phones

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Turn of the tide Seeking a swim with more to ofer than your local pool?

Join thousands of outdoor enthusiasts and take to the open water Words Amy Raphael

Open-water swimming is nothing new: the Japanese held races back in 36BC and the Romans drew huge crowds when they held competitions in the river Tiber. Yet only in the past decade has its popularity grown to any degree here in Britain.

The sport’s recent popularity owes much to its debut as an Olympic sport in Beijing in 2008, when Team GB took three of the six available medals. And then there’s the evergrowing trend for charity fundraising sports events. You don’t have to be an Olympian to sign up for the Great Swim, the UK’s biggest outdoor-swimming series. It’s a supervised event held in lakes and docks around the country and you can opt for a gentle half mile or challenge yourself with a 5km swim.

Most outdoor swimmers are drawn to the open water because they have tired of the indoor pool and want to challenge themselves.

And meeeting that demand are the companies set up to organise group trips. Simon Murie, an experienced swimmer who has swum the Channel, saw a gap in the market a decade ago. ‘I wanted to do the classic swim across the Dardanelles, from the Black Sea to the Aegean.

That stretch of water separates Europe from Asia and has huge historical significance: in Greek mythology, Leander used to swim across it every night to visit his priestess lover Hero and, in 1810, Lord Byron swam it and recorded the feat in his poem “Don Juan”.

It took me a week to plan and just over an hour to swim. I thought there must be others wanting to go on similar adventures, but without the hassle. So I set up SwimTrek.’

SwimTrek now takes around 2,000 people open-swimming all over Europe, as well as on a 3km swim out to Alcatraz. A third are the aforementioned pool swimmers in search of

a change, a third are experienced open-water swimmers and a third are triathletes. Murie attributes the growing popularity of the sport not only to Beijing, but also to cleaner water.

‘As a kid, I used to swim in the Thames at Kingston. It was a dead river back then – you certainly wouldn’t expect to see thriving fish in it. Now there are salmon and trout. And if the water is cleaner in our rivers, lakes and seas, people are more likely to swim in it.’

And then, of course, there’s the odd celebrity limbering up and smearing themselves in fat before heading up the Thames or across to France. ‘David Walliams’ two high-profile charity swims have done wonders for open-water swimming,’ says Murie. ‘Now other people think they can have a go, too, even it’s only for a mile or two. As we have ever more sedentary jobs, we’re increasingly looking for physical challenges in our spare time.’

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IN aT THE DEEP END Opposite and this page: SwimTrek participants take a tour of Alcatraz

As with any physical challenge, training is clearly required. Peter Rice advises executive boards on corporate governance, UK financial regulation and operational matters. He is also a dedicated open-water swimmer, with a passion for the sport that dates back to his childhood. ‘I grew up in New Zealand, so it was normal to, say, chuck a tyre into the river and mess around with your mates. And we spent all our holidays near and on the ocean, in boats and scuba diving.’

Rice has been going on SwimTrek holidays for the past six years. He finds it the perfect antidote to ofce life and says you need to swim at least twice a week to be fit enough to open-water swim. ‘Even when I’m at my worst – in other words, working ludicrous hours – I still find time to swim.

I live in Battersea, so my local pool is in Chelsea, but I prefer the Olympic-sized lido in London Fields, which was built in the Thirties. It’s heated, too, so you can swim all year round without freezing to death.’

There is, of course, a huge diference between swimming in an outdoor pool and swimming in open water. And that’s where the attraction lies: the latter can be something of an extreme sport, especially on a stormy day.

‘Some of the really strong swimmers on a SwimTrek trip will relish a rough sea,’ says Rice. ‘They’ll try to circumnavigate a little island through enormous waves. You can’t spot them so well when you’re in the sea, so there’s definitely the adrenaline rush of fighting the elements, ducking through the surge, trying to keep a pace going, timing the swim right. Having said that, most of our swims are held in the Mediterranean, where the water is usually pretty benign. Personally, I hardly ever wear a wetsuit because I like to feel connected to nature.’

Murie talks with similar excitement of the allure of the open water. ‘I live in Brighton and swim in the sea most days in a similar spot. It’s never the same experience – the wind, the tide, the temperature, the sun, the wildlife all change from one day to another.’

To celebrate its 10-year anniversary, SwimTrek is introducing new swims among the Aeolian islands of the Sicilian coast and the Sporades in Greece, and – something of a nostalgia trip for Murie – up the Thames.

He is also mindful that many of us don’t have the time to exercise even twice a week and is introducing shorter swims. ‘Some of our trips can be intimidating for beginners, so this year we’re ofering short swims in Turkey that take only an hour. You pretty much just need to turn up and swim. You won’t regret it.’ swimtrek.com

You can’t spot waves that well when you’re in the sea, so there’s the adrenaline rush of fighting the elements

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On the road Whatever the destination, the adventurous wayfarer requires just a few key items to be feel confident in any climate Photography Andy Barter styling David Hawkins

ALL ABOARD Clockwise from top left: ‘Quantum’ trainers, £660, Hermès. Cologne, £72 for 150ml, acqua di Parma at John Lewis, Harrods and Selfridges. Mid-year ‘Soho’ diary, £180, and travel journal, £165, both smythson. Passport holder, £159, Pickett.

Fedora, £186, John Varvatos at Matches.

Perforated leather holdall with attached purse, £865, Z Zegna. ‘Tibetole’ shawl, £1,160, Hermès. ‘Amico’ suede loafers, £590, Hermès. ‘Bulldog’ shorts, £130, orlebar Brown.

‘Tubogas’ sunglasses, £199, Bulgari. Plaited leather belt, £396, and zip-up jacket, £99, both Moncler. Perforated leather holdall, price on application, Z Zegna

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WiLD THiNG Opposite, clockwise from top left: Trainers, £485, Kris Van assche. Weekend bag, £1,030, JM Weston. ‘Octo’ document holder, £730, Bulgari. Hip flask, £59,

Pickett. Binoculars, £180, Nikon. ‘Python’ cigar holder, £375, roberto cavalli.

Leather agenda, £275, Mulberry. Tom Ford Noir cologne, £60 for 50ml,

Tom Ford. ‘Python’ iPad case, £445, roberto cavalli. ‘Statesman’ glasses, £375, Dita at Dover street Market. ‘Equator’ candle holder, £195, Hermès

oFF PisTe This page, clockwise from top left: ‘Spectra’ suitcase, £295, Victorinox. Trainers, £392, Kris Van assche.

‘Octo’ wallet, £355, Bulgari.

Belt, £375, Louis Vuitton.

‘Chassis’ holdall, £500, alfred Dunhill. Jumper, £244, Joseph abboud.

‘Raygun’ sunglasses, £375, Dita at Dover street Market. Himalaya cologne,

£143 for 75ml, creed Fragrances. Wallet, £360, Louis Vuitton.

‘Airbrake’ goggles, £200, oakley. ‘Imprimeur Fou’ scarf, £780, Hermès

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PEaK FiTNEss This page, clockwise from top left: Travel case, £230, Victorinox. Denim hat, £112, Kris Van assche.

Boots, £288, Just cavalli at Harrods. Flask, £79,

Pickett. ‘Avorities’ rucksack, £445, Dunhill. Document holder, £195, Pickett.

‘Swiss Tool 1’ pen knife, £96, Victorinox. Bottled Night cologne, £26/30ml, Boss.

Pouch bag, £104, Kris Van assche for Eastpak.

Sunglasses, £77, calvin Klein. Pigskin cufink box, £85, Pickett. iPad case, £200, canali

sHELTERiNg sKy Opposite page, clockwise from top left: ‘Myrrhe’ scented candle, £40, Diptyque. Bag, £1,650, Bally. Wash bag, £95, Pickett. Linen scarf,

£120, Richard James.

Hat, stylist’s own. Sandals, price on application, Ermenegildo Zegna.

‘Acores’ belt, £355, Hermès. Leather travel

journal cover, £15, Pickett. Wash bag, £616, Louis Vuitton. ‘TB-013’ sunglasses, £450, Thom Browne at Dover street Market

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FALL GUY Stuntman Gary Connery leaps from an aircraft over Buckinghamshire, wearing a wing-suit

The sky’s the limit Derring-do for those who don’t – the Adventurers Club that ofers up armchair inspiration

‘Many people say their fear of public speaking is worse than their fear of death. Well, I’d rather stand up and speak.’ Coming from stuntman Gary Connery – a man who has white-water rafted, skied and base-jumped for movies such as The Beach, Batman and the last Indiana Jones – that’s saying something. Not that the ex-para takes chances – or so he reckons. Last year, he entered stunt folklore by being the first man to jump from an aircraft in a wing-suit without the aid of a parachute and with only a very large pile of cardboard boxes to break his fall.

It was Connery, too, who leapt out of a helicopter dressed as the Queen for last year’s Olympics opening ceremony. ‘I don’t think of stunts like that as dangerous. Things are only dangerous if they actually hurt you. I sliced my finger open on a drinks can clearing up after the jump. Picking up litter is more hazardous.’

With lines like that, it’s easy to see how a gathering of 80 or so men – who typically crash into cardboard boxes only when they trip in the stationery cupboard – might well be enthralled.

And that’s the idea behind the Adventurers Club – a series of monthly talks by individuals with an achievement of note, hosted by British watch brand Bremont at its new Mayfair flagship store. To date, in the main, speakers have been outdoorsmen: Steve Noujaim, for example, who broke the world record for flying solo from London to Cape Town and back again in a single-engine propeller-driven plane, or Charley Boorman, who motorbiked around the world with pal Ewan McGregor. Ocean rower Charlie Pitcher, meanwhile, is partway through a record-breaking attempt to cross the Atlantic and he’ll be back to tell the Bremont crowd all about it.

‘A lot of guys in the audience are approaching those mid-life-crisis years and thinking about the things they’ve always wanted to do but haven’t.

They find the talks really inspiring – like a motivational speaker without the pitching,’ says Nick English, co-founder of Bremont, which has just celebrated its 10th anniversary.

It’s worked for English – an avid aviator, this year he plans to fly a vintage aircraft across the US. ‘I’m in my early forties now and it’s one of those things I’ve always wanted to do,’ he says.

‘You start thinking about your bucket list.’

Might the same appeal of Boys’ Own tales also explain the draw of watches built for extreme environments their wearers will, in most cases, never experience? Take, for example, Bremont’s work with Martin-Baker, maker of ejection seats, resulting in timepieces tested at 30,500m and at -50°C. Or the new Supermarine 2000 diving watch, built using the brand’s signature three-piece case construction and able to withstand depths of 2,000m.

‘Our watches undergo all the ofcial tests, but there’s nothing like putting it in a real-life scenario – wearing it while riding a motorbike over rough ground for four months, for example, because the vibrations are extreme,’ says English, referring to the unofcial trials undertaken by Bremont’s adventuring ambassadors. ‘Men like a watch that gives them the confidence it can handle any situation. They like the tool-like quality of an over-engineered object, even if that means it has capabilities beyond anything they’re ever likely to need.’ Indeed. Leave that to the pros. bremont.com Words Josh Sims

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A DASH FOR tHe DOtS Fifty years after ‘Whaam!’ was painted, Roy Lichtenstein is as popular as ever – but a new exhibition, supported by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, reveals a diferent side to the pop artist, says Amy Raphael

When he died in September 1997, a month before he was to turn 74, Roy Lichtenstein left behind him a series of artworks that at least match, and may even outstrip, his Pop Art contemporaries for their accessibility. 'Whaam!’

(1963) is as recognisable, as iconic as Andy Warhol’s ‘Marilyn’. Both paintings (or series of screenprints in the second case) come from the same Pop Art conceit of combining high and low art, of presenting ordinary images in extraordinary ways. Best of all, a child can enjoy Lichtenstein just as much as an art-history graduate.

Lichtenstein was most famous for his comic strip art, but it was a period that lasted only three years. The Tate Modern is set to challenge

in association with

people's perception of the depth and breadth of the artist with Lichtenstein: A Retrospective, sponsored by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

The exhibition will feature not only ‘Whaam!’ (which has been in the Tate’s permanent collection since the late-Sixties), but also the equally popular ‘Drowning Girl’ (1963), sculptures, landscapes and ceramics. Of the 125 works, at least 30 have never been seen before in this country.

Despite the ubiquity of some of these images, Iria Candela, co-curator of the Tate Modern’s retrospective, argues that it is precisely because Lichtenstein’s work has been so widely reproduced on posters and postcards that it’s important to see his work in the flesh. ‘The

scale is amazing. It’s breathtaking. You can have fun looking at Lichtenstein’s work or you can take it seriously. If you view his work with attention, then no doubt you’ll get into a neverending debate about how he parodies himself and other art. His art always referenced existing pictures, whether it be comics or Picassos or Matisses. He was fascinated by what he inherited from someone else’s work, by the history of that painting and illustration.’

Equally comfortable in the home, where those reproductions have been pinned to bedroom walls by generation after generation, as in the galleries of capital cities around the world, it’s hard to put a value on Lichtenstein.

The world record for a piece of his work was

1

2

set in New York last May when ‘Sleeping Girl’ (1964) sold for £27.5m at Sotheby’s. Yet his back catalogue is not just about measuring financial worth. It’s more important than that.

In the spring 2013 issue of the Tate's magazine, Tate etc., British pop artist Allen Jones recalls seeing a Lichtenstein – ‘Step-on Can with Leg’ (1961), a diptych painting of a woman’s leg opening a pedal bin - for the first time and being overwhelmed: ‘I had never seen anything like it. It was a real culture shock, and liberating.

One’s creative imagination was set free.’

Although he wasn’t a self-promoter in the style of Warhol, Lichtenstein was a man on an artistic mission. Born and raised in a wealthy Jewish family in New York, he enrolled in the

in association with

Previous page Roy Lichtenstein’s ‘Sunrise’ (1965) This page, 1 ‘Whaam!’

(1963), the artist’s most famous work, took a panel from a 1962 DC comic, All-American Men Of War, and turned it into a diptych.

2 The 1961 work ‘Look Mickey’. 3 Just as ‘Look Mickey’ appears in another painting, ‘Artist’s Studio– Look Mickey’, so ‘Still Life With Goldfish Bowl’ (1972) includes his 1962 painting ‘Golf Ball’ in the background 4 Poster for the new retrospective at the Tate Modern, supported by Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Arts Students League when barely out of high school. After a three-year stint in the Army during World War II, he studied art at Ohio State University and moved back to New York City in the early Sixties. He produced ‘Look Mickey’ (1961) using a dog-grooming brush dipped in oil paint to make the dots; he soon switched to the Ben-Day dots printing process, in which he hand-stencilled dots in the style of 1950s and 1960s pulp comic books.

Dr Jack Cowart, Executive Director of the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation, knew the artist for some 20 years before his death and is still trying to figure him out. ‘He continues to fascinate. He was terribly Zen-like about work.

He was pleasant enough to allow anyone to

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express their opinion and to enjoy his art any which way they wanted to take it. He had no interest in saying, “This is my schtick and you have to buy into it.”’

According to Cowart, Lichtenstein had a strong work ethic and didn’t surround himself with acolytes. ‘Roy was singular, solitary. Which isn’t to say that he didn’t have an ego. He wasn’t completely naive! He knew that he had made a contribution, but was humble enough to say: “I’ve had a good life.” One of his operating instructions for the Foundation was this: “When the last person cares, turn out the light. Go home.”’

The Lichtenstein legacy is visible everywhere you look: his influence on the graphic art and advertising of today is undeniable. More

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Current and upcoming arts and culture initiatives, supported by Bank of America Merrill Lynch 21 February – 27 May 2013

Roy Lichtenstein: A Retrospective The first major retrospective of the artist in over 20 years, bringing together 125 of his most definitive paintings and sculptures and reassessing his legacy.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch will also deliver a large scale public art and education project inspired by the exhibition. Tate Modern, London 20 February 2013

Royal Opera House Cinema Season: Eugene Onegin Live screening of the Tchaikovsky opera in cinemas across the UK, Europe and beyond 8 March -25 May 2013

The Winslow Boy Lindsay Posner directs Terence Rattigan’s compelling play Old Vic Theatre, London 28 March 2013

Royal Opera House Cinema Season: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Live screening of British choreographer Christopher Wheeldon’s 2011 ballet, with music by Joby Talbot 4 April – 8 September 2013

Warhol's Stardust: Fine Prints from the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Collection The exhibition of iconic portfolios from America’s master of Pop Art travels from London to Milan Museo del Novecento, Milan 29 April 2013

Royal Opera House Cinema Season: Nabucco Live screening of Verdi’s genre-defining

masterwork starring Plácido Domingo 27 May 2013

importantly, perhaps, his work feels as fresh, energetic and exciting now as it did 30 or 40 years ago. As Cowart says, ‘The work of Lichtenstein is a visual whack in the face, but with very good manners. He didn’t want to do paintings that blow out your retina.

They still had to function as works of art for him. That was always the discipline: (a) it had to interest him and (b) it had to make sense.

His art has a timeless character and that is why, in my opinion, it appeals to each new generation.’ There is certainly no need to turn the light out for a good while yet.

Roy Lichtenstein: A Retrospective runs at the Tate Modern from 21 February to 27 May.

Royal Opera House Cinema Season La Donna Del Lago Live screening in cinemas

He used a dog-grooming brush dipped in oil paint before he switched to the Ben-Day dots found in comic books

across the UK, Europe and beyond 1 June – 31 August 2013 Sweet Bird of Youth Kim Cattrall stars in Tennessee Williams' poetic play as a fading Hollywood legend ravaged by the bitterness of failure and despair Old Vic Theatre, London 3 July – 3 November 2013

Roy Lichtenstein: A Retrospective The Centre Pompidou, Paris

For more information, go to: http://museums.bankofamerica.com/arts/