THE
REVIEW
NANTUCKET STYLE 30 MILES OUT
‘LIFE. STYLE.’
WALLY TANGO REGATTA RIVALRY
THE NEW 20s LAKE ON BEAUTY
MORGAN +6 MALVERN MYTH
VINCENT
C SERIES RAPIDE
EQUINOX RITUALS
Tilda Swinton NEWLY DISPATCHED
SS20
THE REVIEW 2013 1
From the desk of
THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF LAITH AL-KAISY PETER J ROBINSON MAT HAMILTON GREEN
MIKE LEVY STEPHEN KATZ
KIMBERLEY SAWYER DAVID MAHONEY SUSAN RICE CLAIRE TINDRED
Editor-In-Chief Managing Editor Publishing and Technology Director Director of Marketing Digital Business Development Manager Director, Finance & Operations Business Manager Advertising and Marketing Coordinator Sales Director
I hate staring at a blank page. Especially now, when there’s so much happening in the world. Now’s not the time to get writer’s block. It’s also not the time to try and sound clever or witty, or talk about luxury and expense, haute and gaud, have and have not. At least not on this page – a blank page that just screams back in silence, smothering me with some sense of journalistic responsibility; a platform that right now shouldn’t be silent; one that can lend itself to more than material wants, monetary gains, or the general good life that keeps folk like me and you ticking.
its subsequent dumping in the Avon, made me swell with it (as well as happiness, righteousness and achievement). This is nothing to do with vandalism or conserving history – I mean, really, when did anyone learn anything from a bronze statue covered in bird shit. This is about change – and it naturally starts with the symbols of oppression.
Because click your fingers and we’re back in the room. Back to reality. Back in the real world. A world without first class or private jets, five stars or wine cellars, tailored suits or members clubs, stocks and shares or second homes in Tuscany.
This issue almost went unscathed by coronavirus. But we’re bringing you as much as we can, based on the jaunts our writers had before lockdown. We sat down with Tilda Swinton to discuss her nowdelayed next picture, The French Dispatch. She also explains her passion for Japanese filmmaker Ozu, as well as her dual role in the remake of the 1977 Dario Argento classic Suspiria.
We’re back fighting the world’s oldest viruses: flu and racism.
Get social..
I don’t pretend to know about racism or understand what it’s like to be subjugated, living every day looking over my shoulder, waiting for some active or passive form of prejudice to keep me at the bottom of the ladder, to penalise me, tokenise me, demonise me – or worse, emotionally or physically hurt me. This is coming from a half-Arab, half-Pole, whose only brush with racism has been jihadi jokes from friends and people I’ve worked with. All jovial, all inconsequential, all undamaging. But ultimately, all still wrong. So, like many of us, I’m taking steps. Not just to educate myself, but to rewire my brain, my way of thinking. Unlearning that racism isn’t just some incontrovertible truth that people have to live with; not just another unconscionable, unchangeable fact of life, or part and parcel of the world we live in. It’s not irreparable and it’s not congenital. It’s a choice. A choice to recognise that parts of our institutions are riddled with rot. And they’re rotting because many people, including myself, have had their heads in the sand of privilege and naivety for too long. And just like a blank page, silence is complicity. But I’m forever grateful to begin this journey in Bristol, where I live. It’s very rare I feel a surrogate pride in others’ actions, but the recent Black Lives Matter protest, which culminated in the tearing down of Edward Colston’s statue and
Laith Al-Kaisy Editor-in-Chief
So, this Editor’s Letter is dedicated to everyone, everywhere, who’s fighting the good fight. Heard. Seen. Peace. Love.
Our managing editor, Robinson, checks in to the Boston Harbour Hotel and proves that, no matter where on earth you go, an Englishman will always find his way to an Irish bar. He also samples some fine fare at London favourites Sexy Fish and Kaspar’s at the Savoy. Aaron Edgeworth takes the BMW M8 for a spin, while Greg Roscow buckles up in the new Jaguar F Type. He also talks Jetcraft with Jahid FazalKarim, who’s turned the company into a multibillion, world leader in business jet transactions. Oli Smith takes a break from motoring this issue, opting instead to kick back in Bath, staying at the Queensbury and Royal Crescent hotels. For your market insight, Invesco discusses how US equity markets advanced higher last month, encouraged by signs that States and businesses around the country are reopening – despite Covid-19 cases continuing to rise. But what does this spell for the months to come? We also meet up with Luca Bassani to talk about the work that went into creating Wally’s new superyacht, Tango. And finally, I begrudgingly take the lift up the Shard (again), only this time to stay at one of my favourite hoteliers, ShangriLa. Until next time, stay safe.
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the agenda
INTERVIEW
TILDA SWINTON
P-18
NAUTICAL
WALLY TANGO
P-28
BIKING
VINCENT
INTERVIEW
JAHID FAZAL-KARIM FINANCE PORTIA ANTONIA ALEXIS
P-46 P-140
P-52
P
I
P
PROPERTY
TRAVEL
P-60
P-68
IAIN BEAUMONT
NANTUCKET
FOCUS
COOKE LENSES
P-82
BEAUTY
THE NEW TWENTIES
P-90
DINING
SEXY FISH
P-98
MOTORING MORGAN
P-102
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FINANCE
TRAVEL
ROYAL CRESCENT
INTERVIEW
SIMON NEWTON
TRAVEL
DISCERNMENT
P-130 P-122 P-232 P-290 P-116 P-110 NAUTICAL BELLINI
ROUND UP
BOSTON
TECHNICAL
MOTORING BMW M8
FINANCE
CLASSIC MOTOR-
P-152 P-160
STYLE
CITY CHIC
P-166
TIME
MONTBLANC
P-178
INTERVIEW ZACHARY WECKSTEIN
FINE ART
THE CURATORS
P-190 P-302
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Contributors
AARON EDGEWORTH FEATURES WRITER
Gregarious, opinionated, a destroyer of cocktail menus and invariably late. Aaron joins the team providing automotive content stemming from years of passion and part time work. A keen eye for design and a horder of factoids combine with a love of architecture, good food and the occasional party. Mostly found avoiding public settings.
NAOMI LAKE BEAUTY WRITER
Lake is a Makeup Artist, Hair Stylist, Model and Creative Director. She comes to the table with over a decade of knowledge in the industry. When she’s not on set or in a meeting she’s in a yoga class, checking out a new restaurant or exploring the menu of a cocktail bar, in the pursuit of the perfect Negroni.
IGGY BRABON
OLIVER SMITH
PETER J ROBINSON
New to the writing team, Igraine (or Iggy for short) is making her name in the world of journalism, and we’re glad to have her on board with us. Iggy loves to travel the world in pursuit of the finest wine and the most Michelin of meals. The only thing she loves more is writing about it for our discerning readership.
By day, he is the lead man at Pointer Media looking after an array of prestige and heritage clients. By night... well... just don’t give him cigars and a magnum of champagne. The Hangover doesn’t come close. Pointer lover and Series 2 driver, all he needs is a Chesterfield, a decent side by side and a country pile and he could well retire.
Rebel without a cause. Robinson has spent the past seven years working in lifestyle and finance publishing. This we feel may have jaded him slightly. He also heads up film production with The Review’s partner film company and so you are more likely to find him on set than at an editorial meeting.
TRAVEL WRITER
MOTORING EDITOR
MANAGING EDITOR
PAUL TAYLOR
GREGORY ROSCOW FEATURES WRITER
GLOBAL TRAVEL EDITOR
SARAH MORGAN
IAIN BEAUMONT
ALEK JASKOWSKI
These days most often found tinkering in the shed, or out wasting petrol. Paul endured a fruitful career in the Travel Industry - working for Hotel and Shipping Companies and a variety of Tour Operators. Happiest when combining travel with motorcycling he has ridden, fallen off and broken down all over the World. Bored with writing travel brochures, he now concentrates on all things biking.
Self-identifying as a social chameleon, this sharply dressed reprobate can only be described in our eyes as somewhat of an enigma. Equally comfortable sipping fine wines in stately surroundings whilst discussing the merits of New vs Old World tobacco, as he is leading crude rugby chants following an afternoon of eggchasing; we’re not entirely sure what to do with him.
Sarah’s career spans three decades across travel, hospitality and leisure campaigning. When she’s not traveling in and out of the city to consult for the great and the good of the travel industry, she is working on launching a new travel series called Wanderlist. With a firm belief in holistic therapy and healthy living, (to a point), a yoga retreat in some exotic far flung reaches cannot be far away this year.
Iain Beaumont is the founder and Managing Director of Venues and Ventures. Since ditching the City, Iain has worked on some on England’s grandest country estates and leading luxury venues, refining his eye for spotting new opportunities and helping businesses realise their potential.
Aleksander is an Automotive and Travel eccentric and excessive in the extreme. The very idea of marrying both his adoration for Italian sports cars and engines alike and his pursuit of air miles keeps the entire editorial team on it’s toes. Aleksander likes nothing more than to put on his deck shoes and head out to St Peter Port.
BIKING WRITER
FEATURES WRITER
MOTORING WRITER
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Tilda Swinton Not even films have gone unscathed by coronavirus. One film that we at The Review have been particularly looking forward to, The French Dispatch, written and directed by Wes Anderson, has been delayed until 16 October. The ensemble cast includes Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Bill Murray, Lea Seydoux, Frances McDormand, and the inimitable Tilda Swinton. Words: John Sterling
I N T E RV I E W : T I L DA S W I N T O N
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S
winton was born in London in 1960, into Scottish nobility. Her father was a major general and formerly headed the queen’s Household Division. She started acting in student productions at the University of Cambridge, where she graduated in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in social and political sciences and English literature. She decided to perform with the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh and with the Royal Shakespeare Company, before making the move into films in 1985. Swinton then worked closely with artist and director Derek Jarman, who cast her in her first film, Caravaggio, in 1986. During this time, she often refuted the label of ‘actor’, due to her unstudied and improvisational approach to performance. She went on to star in seven more Jarman films, including The Last of England in 1988, which was a commentary on the UK under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, as well as an adaptation of Marlowe’s Edward II in 1991. She’s since gone on to become one of Hollywood’s hottest properties. And her choice of roles, distinct acting style and striking look have made her a favourite among critics and fans alike. We sat down with the London-born actor to discuss the directors she’s worked with, her favourite films, and even what scares her. We were disappointed to hear that The French Dispatch has been delayed. Wes Anderson is known for his offbeat storytelling. Can we expect more of the same? The story isn’t easy to explain. It’s about an
American journalist based in France who creates a magazine. It is more a portrait of this man, of this journalist who fights to write what he wants to write. It’s not a movie about freedom of the press, but when you talk about reporters, you also talk about what’s going on in the real world.
who talks about motivation. I would much rather know what the shape of the frame is and then fill it with a performance rather than do something as a performer that would fit this room and a stadium. I mean, I think you need to know what the frame is because I’m more interested in that than I am in performance.
This will be the fourth collaboration between you and Anderson, right? What do you look for when working with a director?
Suspiria springs to mind. It’s quite a departure from Argento’s 1977 original. You played dual roles in that film. Obviously, dance teacher and coven leader Madame Blanc. But notso-obviously, and under an incredible makeup job, the 82-year-old male psychoanalyst, Doctor Josef Klemperer. What was behind that decision?
Everything. Everybody’s different and everybody works differently. The thing that I’m very privileged to say is that I am very spoiled. I bounce from Wes Anderson to Bong Joon-Ho to Jim Jarmusch to Joanna Hogg to Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and all of them are masters and they all work completely differently but with a combination
“I bounce from Wes Anderson to Bong Joon-Ho to Jim Jarmusch to Joanna Hogg to Apichatpong Weerasethakul” of sureness and receptiveness. So, you just trust each other, and just figure it out together. One thing I think that all the filmmakers that I work with have in common, and I include myself, is that we’re all interested in the frame. I work with filmmakers in general who are interested in the frame and I’m not really an actor, as you know, I’m not really one of those actors
Undeniably, I would have to say, for the sheer sake of fun above all. As my grandmother would have it – a motto to live and die by – ‘Dull Not To’. But surely there’s subtext here? A psychoanalyst, or a psychiatrist with a sense of the unconscious, is someone who knows that in every delusion is an attempt to tell a truth. Klemperer is inhabited by the phantasm of his lost wife. He is, in this crucial respect, ‘played’ by a woman. She dictates the rhythm of his life in the everyday texture of his bereaved loneliness. Are you interested in that type of transformation? Yes, I’m really interested in transformation. Particularly what I call the precipice of transformation. And it can be just as foreign to play a bourgeoise housewife, like in ‘The Deep End’, who is looking after her family and suddenly finds herself being drawn to this gambling blackmailer. Or in ‘Julia’ playing a
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totally committed alcoholic who’s becoming a mother. What attracted you to Suspiria? I’d been discussing it with Luca Guadagnino for over 20 years. We both shared a dream to do a cover of Dario Argento’s film. We both had a bit of a thing for that film: Luca since his childhood, me since seeing it as a student. The process of digging into the same soil as a beloved tree and discovering new instincts emerging from that ground is very satisfying. Argento’s film is a hallucination. It’s bonkers in all the right ways and wildly innovative. That was the film that inspired Luca to become a director. And I’m pretty sure he’s not the only one. It’s good to see the horror genre finally getting the recognition it deserves. Speaking of which, is there anything that scares you? I don’t scare easily. I’m conscious of being bored. I’m not easily bored. I think risk taking is such a subjective thing. You know, one person’s risk is another’s comfort zone. So no, I don’t easily scare, if I’m honest. I think probably too lazy to get easily scared. With the whole fearlessness debate, as I say, what one person thinks would take a lot of guts and denial, another person thinks is an easy step. And all the other scenarios, like not doing it, are less interesting. I love not knowing what I’m going to do next. So, the future doesn’t scare you? Randomness is key, in all its glory. That’s my observation in life so far. I don’t doubt that people have been leaning on their scythes or menhirs for all time, prophesising about where humanity is going, as they will in teleportation
corridors and endless chatrooms way up ahead. You once expressed concern about actors becoming overexposed. What did you mean by that? That’s my personal preference as an audience member. I like the thrill of a real, fresh, human face in one story, not detached from it by the burden of ‘interpreting’, or God forbid, acting – or providing the distraction of being recognisable from some other film’s world. Of course, I have let myself down in this respect. Damn those friends who have tempted me to play. Now, as long as I accept these temptations, I am somehow committed to attempting the tricky task of working my way back to throwing shapes new to me, providing – at least – a semiconvincing part of each film’s furniture. It’s a trick of the light. Did things change for you in the United States after winning your Oscar? I’m not sure I have an answer to that question. Perhaps that’s because I’ve hardly been in America. And also, because much of everything I’ve done since I was going to do anyway. For instance, quite soon after the Oscar I went back to Europe and made an Italian film that I’d been working on for a few years with a friend. Also, I’ve been working on my film festival and my Foundation. So really, nothing changed, as far as I can tell. My agent might tell you differently. As for perceptions, I’m probably not the best person to tell you about perceptions of me. I quite rightly stay out of that game. Are you a collector of art? I’m not really rich enough to collect what I’d like to. But art is good for my soul, precisely because it reminds me we have souls in the first place.
What about films – can you share some of your favourites? Tokyo Story stick out. It’s possibly Ozu’s most famous work. Magisterial. The final journey of elderly parents to each of their grown children in turn. The heartbreak of generational disconnection and the inescapable tenderness of familial bonds, the comfort of human ritual and the inevitable turn of the Great Wheel. Profoundly moving. Agreed. Japanese film comes up time and again on people’s top ten lists. So you’re more an Ozu fan than, say, Kurosawa? Yes. Another favourite is his 1932 ‘I Was Born, But…’. It’s Ozu’s beautiful wee silent masterpiece about childhood, brotherhood and learning about how to negotiate fathers and learn the rules of the game. And what about literature – is there a novel that stands out? I read ‘Great Expectations’ about once every five years. Each time I read, it’s a different tale. It’s like a chemistry experiment: you drop adolescence on it and it’s about being young and approaching the great mysterious exciting wood of life with all fantasy and idealism intact. Somehow, the darkness doesn’t register. You read it growing up and as a young adult, and it becomes about learning to pick your battles and understanding that some things go wrong and stay wrong. It’s a book about mistakes. You read it being a parent, or losing a parent, or sensing your finite mortal capacities, and it changes again, like an octopus, like quicksilver – and becomes a book about death and redemption that opens in a graveyard, that ends with the afterlife. It’s a magical mirror of a book. I will read it until I can’t anymore. TR
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LA REVANCHA
DEL TANGO
Tango is the fourth Wallycento to return to the market. First launched in 2017, this Wally-designed 30.48m superyacht epitomises the ultimate cruiserracer. As part of a slowly expanding fleet, what sort of threat does Tango pose to her regatta rivals? Pictures: Gilles Martin-Raget Words: John Sterling
M A R I N E : WA L LY TA N G O
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T
ango has a burgeoning pedigree to live up to. Not to mention she was built for a repeat client.
“It’s got the most advanced technologies in construction, rig, systems and sail handling. I never sailed at 25 knots and always wanted to know what it would feel like,” Tango’s previous owner explained. As ever, Luca Bassani was the driving force behind the black carbon-hulled cento that’s designed to offer competitive racing while offering the comforts of performance cruising for her guests. “Since the first meetings, we shared the same vision of the innovations that can be applied to this type of yacht, like the cutting-edge deck layout that combines our flush deck with bulwarks aft, as introduced in 2006 with Esense, with the ramp deck of Alegre,” says Bassani. “But still it’s a Wally, which means it’s
“I never sailed at 25 knots and always wanted to know what it would feel like”. ”
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a cruiser-racer, not a racing machine. When you look at the boat from the outside you believe that it’s just a racing machine, but it’s not. It’s a boat that can give you good results and win races, but also good comfort for cruising, and this is a typical Mediterranean cruising boat. It’s the kind of boat Wally has developed for 20 years.” As one might expect, Tango’s exterior is both dashing and regatta-friendly. The fourth Wallycento was designed by Mark Mills of Mills Design, based in Co. Wicklow, Ireland. “Tango’s unusual reverse sheer line combines with our ramp deck geometry to allow a smooth unbroken line, running from bow to the stern,” explains naval architect Mills. So how did Mills Design connect to the project? “I got a call from Luca, who had a client interested in doing a Cento. The client had a number of major design offices on his shortlist and Luca wanted to throw a wildcard into the pot – he’d seen our 2014 world championship-winning 72-footer Alegre, which features a similar ramp deck design to Tango. It was really his intervention that got us on the table, and the client was willing to consider someone who didn’t have a track record in these boats yet but who looked like they were bringing something to the table. We had a lot of ideas that we thought were right, and the client was receptive to that.” These included an innovative mast raking system, a central engine room for weight distribution, and a deck borne from racing design, but which fits with the minimalist approach
“Luca wanted to throw a wildcard into the pot – he’d seen our 2014 world championshipwinning 72-footer”.
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typical of Wally. Mills Design joined forces with specialists KND Sailing Performance and New Zealand structural specialists PURE Design & Engineering. “KND really bring the computer horsepower to allow us to trial things. Tango is our largest project to date and also, we believe, the most innovative, the most stylish, and certainly one of the most satisfying to develop in collaboration with the client, Wally, Pininfarina, and Persico Marine”. As is to be expected, the choice of builder is key to making any project at this level work in harmony. Persico Marine based out of Bergamo is historically known for its racing pedigree and was formally founded on lightweight moulded component builds. From the Volvo 65s to the TP52s, Persico has worked on some of the most formidable yacht classes. “A large part of the carbon pieces for Tango were produced in Bergamo and moved to Savona by road,” says CEO Marcello Persico. “We are extremely pleased with our first cruising superyacht: Tango weighs only 47.5 tons thanks to the overall optimisations developed at the beginning of the project. Specifically, we worked hard to lighten the interiors as much as possible, not just using carbon fibre and Nomex sandwich in the joinery construction, but also developing different solutions to build, for example, the hinges and veneers.” The interior has a self-evident automotive calibre. Persico Marine has a long and fruitful relationship with Pininfarina through its sister company Persico Automotive. “Pininfarina was the ideal fit to develop sporty interiors matching the superyacht personality,” says Bassani. “Tango’s owner agreed right away to integrate the renowned Italian design brand in Tango’s team. From its inception, Wally has been open about involving new players in the development of projects.” Rather refreshingly, the team of Pininfarina’s nautical division were given a blank canvas with very few design constraints. With the exception of the Konstantin Grcic steering wheels, they were told they didn’t need to carry any other details from the Wallycento line forward. “The interior design of this Wallycento challenged our team to achieve the perfect balance of performance and comfort,” says Paolo Pininfarina, Pininfarina Group Chairman “Thanks to the selection of the materials and the innovative solutions of the interior decoration delivering both function and aesthetics, we generated a true
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thoroughbred of the sea, ultra-light and super performing, perfectly suitable for cruising as well as for racing. We are very proud of this accomplishment further confirming the excellence of our nautical division.”
be better,” says Luca Bassani. Wally, Mills Design, Persico Marine and MYT have come together to create something As the Rolex Giraglia 2018 real-time winner, remarkable. “You can see from the result that that Wallycento design ethos and continued the boat has been really thought through to bloodline is clear for all to see. TR
General Arrangement
Deck Layout
Profile
Specification LYING - SOUTH OF FRANCE YEAR - 2017 FLAG - CAYMAN ISLANDS LENGTH OVERALL - 30.45M BEAM - 7.20M DRAUGHT - 4.95 - 6.75M DISPLACEMENT - 47.5 TONS
ACCOMMODATION - 6 GUESTS AND 2/4 CREW CONSTRUCTION - ADVANCED COMPOSITES PRE-PREG DIFFERENT MODULUS CARBON SAIL AREA - 640 M2 (UPWIND) MAST - SOUTHERN SPARS, SUPER-HIGH MODULUS CARBON
BOOM - SOUTHERN SPARS, PARK AVENUE SUPER-HIGH MODULUS CARBON HYBRID POWER UNIT - DIESEL ENGINE VM MR706LX CUSTOMIZED 350HP + ELECTRIC MCLAREN ECU SPEED - 12 KNOTS (MOTOR) BUILDER - WALLY BY PERSICO MARINE
NAVAL ARCHITECTURE - MILLS DESIGN EXTERIOR DESIGN - WALLY/MILLS DESIGN INTERIOR DESIGN - PININFARINA CERTIFICATION - GERMANISCHER LLOYD
The trouble with it is, you have to keep st never enough in the tank. And in order to station, stop, take off your gloves, sungl the beautiful quick release, pretend fue underneath it – and squirt petrol into the the whole annoying process again in rever riding it. It’s unbeli
Words: Pa
Thruxton R and original Thruxton 500 Racer
BIKING:TRIUMPH THRUXTON R
topping. For petrol, for instance. There is o refill the tank, you have to find a petrol lasses, helmet and earplugs. Then open el cap – and the proper locking fuel cap e tank. Then queue, pay, and go through rse. And all this when you could simply be ievably frustrating.
aul Taylor
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T
he Triumph Thruxton R is the sort of motorbike that you just don’t want to get off – even to put petrol in, or eat, or sleep. It challenges you to ride it, and it loves when you ride it well. Some bikes get angry with you, blame you, and punish you when you get it wrong – The Thruxton R is much kinder than that; a more caring and forgiving lover. It’s always on your side, always happy for you. It nurtures you, caresses you and encourages you when you get it right. It’s the sort of bike that demands to share mile after mile of open road. The only reason you would want to ride it in town is to catch a reflection of yourself looking stylish in shop windows. Triumph Bonneville “Thruxtons” were born in 1965. They were originally a batch of 650cc T120 Bonnevilles pulled from the production line and modified for endurance racing – specifically
for the 500-mile race, organised by the Southampton and District Motorcycle Club, at the old RAF Thruxton circuit near Andover. The race was for production motorbikes, so Thruxtons had to be available to the public. At first, they were factory built. Later, some were built up by dealers using factory parts. They were successful – very successful – because they were hand-built, reliable and (for 1965) went like stink. Then it was the 1970s, and the demise of the British bike. Then Honda made the 750/4. Then the 80s and 90s came and went. Then suddenly it was 2000 and (hooray!) Bonnevilles happened all over again. But it
“I’m not a spiritual person, but I had a sort of Zen moment when I was riding it.”
BIKING:TRIUMPH THRUXTON R wasn’t until 2016 that the high-power 1200cc parallel twin engine that powers the Thruxton R came along. Previous Bonnies had impulse power – this one’s got warp drive. Don’t look too closely at the bhp figures. Bhp is a great measure of performance, but peak torque will often turn up at a lower rpm than peak power. So, for road riding, lots of torque counts for lots, and the Thruxton R’s got lots of torque. I went out with a mate on his KTM 1190 and, because he had 177 bhp compared to my 96, I expected to be left behind. I was left behind, but only because he is a better rider than
me. The Thruxton R easily held its own and didn’t get left behind at all, even for a moment. Its properly quick and overtakes in a heartbeat. If ever you ask yourself ‘have I got time to overtake here?’ the answer is yes – more than enough time. It’s a lovely thing to look at. It looks like a proper motorbike – just engine, wheels and something to sit on. It’s shiny in all the right places. It’s slim, pretty and dresses nicely. It’s got spectacularly good (Brembo) brakes and the sort of suspension (Ohlins at the back and Showa Big Piston front forks) that helps you carve reliably perfect curves through the corners. And it sounds nice. This doesn’t happen very often, and I’m not a spiritual person, but I had a sort of Zen moment when I was riding it. You know that moment in dreams when you fall down the stairs and, just for a fleeting
moment, you find you can fly (just before you wake up desperate for a pee)? I had a moment like that on the bike – just for that moment, the bike disappeared and it was just me; my disembodied self, flying through the corners. It was only when I looked down and saw that lovely polished top-yoke that I remembered I wasn’t Green Lantern. I’m not sure that there are many bikes or Superheroes that can do that. I’m not sure I’m supposed to say this, but I also like how easily I can get my leg over it. I’ve ridden lots of bikes that are great when you’re upright, but so stupidly tall that the only way to get on-board is to put them on the stand and hop sideways towards them like Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon. Even given my efficient and compact stature, I can pull the Thruxton R out of a parking place and throw my left leg over it without resorting to the side-stand – and instantly ride off into the sunset looking cool like David Beckham (other style icons are available). And that’s also handy at the traffic lights – I can get my foot down flat on the tarmac without too much planning. It’s not perfect, fiddly to clean, and really difficult
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to see the coolant level in the glass. It’s only got a range of about 160 miles and an annoying light that tells you that you need fuel about an hour before you really do. The clocks steam up. And it’s got lowish handlebars that are great when you are motoring because the wind on your chest takes the weight off your wrists, but in traffic there’s a lot of weight on your wrists. But I’m not sure that I would change anything at all.
In an alternative universe, where I had the skills to design a motorbike for myself, and if I had started in 1965, and if I was inspired and really, really lucky, I would have hoped to have ended up with something as extraordinarily competent as a Triumph Thruxton R. And if I had, I would have been chuffed to bits. TR
Specifications PRICE: £10,400 ENGINE: 1200 cc TOP SPEED: 135 WHEELBASE: 1415 mm WEIGHT: 203 kg POWER: 96 hp TORQUE: 82.6 lb-ft FUEL CAPACITY: 14.5 l
Pit stop in the mountains
We don’t know which view is better
Thruxton R detailed clocks
Brembo brakes
in profile Words: Gregory Roscow
I N T E RV I E W : J A H I D FA Z A L - K A R I M
There is a common theme I am beginning to recognise amongst successful business leaders I meet. Almost inexplicable; it’s just a feeling that radiates and explains instantly why said person has risen to the very top of their trade. Jahid Fazal-Karim is no different. Forging his way through the aviation industry and creating opportunity from the depths of the 2008 financial crash, Jahid has taken Jetcraft from a successful US-based organisation and blossomed the company into a multi-billion, world leader in business jet transactions.
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Tell me a little more about your upbringing and life before Jetcraft – has aviation always been your passion?
opportunity it could be.
Hailing from Madagascar, air travel was a necessity to reach the wider world, and so it may have been here that my inspiration was sparked. Following that, I headed to France to study aerospace engineering, and then to the UK, where a Masters in Air Transport Management was gained from the prestigious Cranfield. I then returned to France, joining Airbus in Toulouse ahead of time spent in the US with Bombardier. You could say, therefore, that global aviation is in my blood.
A real understanding of the market is required to appreciate the complexities. Essentially, we sit somewhere in between the manufacturers and the myriad of smaller brokers who operate around the globe. By understanding the market as we do, we can facilitate the movement of jets right from their construction, all the way through their serviceable life across multiple owners. If we match the right jet to the right
I think you’re being a little too modest, here. You must have been somewhat successful at both Airbus and Bombardier in order to take-up your position here at Jetcraft. What exactly did you achieve? At Airbus, I joined the marketing team and was able to work my way up to the position of Vice President of Business Development and Asset Management. Moving over to the more commercial side with Bombardier, I was fortunate enough to be able to head up a 100-strong sales team as Senior Vice President of worldwide sales. I suppose you could just look at their share price increase over this period if you wish to see a matrix of success.
Are you able to explain what this niche is?
“How valuable is your time? Top-level business people are the highest-paid members of their respective organisations, and therefore some of the most important.”
Okay, credentials established! So, what sparked the move to Jetcraft, given your successful track-record thus far. You mentioned 2008. Did the financial crisis of the time play any part in this decision?
buyer at the right time, business success is assured.
I would say it is fairer to put my decision down to opportunity. I come from a family of entrepreneurs, and I’d like to think that I have inherited the same instincts. At that period in my career, I was successful but wanted to create something on my own. What I saw in Jetcraft back then is what I still see today – a niche business opportunity that had not been explored by others. Yes, the 2008 crash may have influenced the market to create this opening, but it required years of experience to have the foresight to realise just how great of an
Often multiple times over its lifespan.
If I’m following this correctly, you sell the same jet more than once?
Tell me a little more about the overall appeal for owning private jets. We all appreciate luxury, but what are the real business benefits? Time and flexibility. How valuable is your time? Top-level business people are the highest-paid members of their respective organisations, and therefore some of the most important. Even if you consider the closest alternative option
of chartering a jet, what is the cost to the business if a potential client changes their plans last-minute and you have a flight scheduled? Owning a jet affords you the ability to be flexible and communicates a message of respect to your customers. I can’t think of a more fitting way to solidify a business relationship in the modern world. Is that the example you’d give to somebody weighing up the decision between charter and ownership? No, not at all. In fact, for those entering the market, we actively encourage the use of charter aircraft. We know their constraints and know that those limitations will ultimately sell the idea of ownership on our behalf. Again, that respect we show to our prospective clients will pay dividends in the future. I get the sense that there’s slightly more to it than that, though. I read somewhere that taking into account the hours of personal use against the hours available to charter elsewhere is an important consideration. Is that true? Yes, of course. It is no secret that owning a private jet is a significant financial commitment. But, as with all business assets, a balance can be struck to offset costs by chartering elsewhere whilst the aircraft is not required for use by the owner. There are many factors involved here with determining operational costs and potential income, however, so I wouldn’t believe anything you may read on this matter as the margin for error is just too great. So, from an investment viewpoint, is it possible to manage a private jet to the point where you can offset your costs and eventually turn a profit at the end of its lifespan? In theory, yes. But if you ever manage to succeed practically there’s a spot on my board for you. With so many variables and unforeseeable events, it is the complete wrong idea for anybody to think that they can simply just sell-on a jet at the end, having balanced all expenditure thus far. It’s much more complex
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than you’d think, and unfortunately just not a realistic scenario. Time. That point resonates with me. Has your use of private aircraft allowed you greater control of your time? In many ways, sure. However, when one is given more time, the instinct is to fill it. Unfortunately, I find it difficult to not fill that regained time with more work. It’s just who I am. I used to regularly play tennis, now I struggle to fit it in. One commitment I must work harder to achieve is family time. I cannot overstate how important it is to spend quality hours with those you love most. My family is the driving force behind all that I achieve. Moving back to Jetcraft itself, then. Can you give us an idea as to the success you’ve managed to bring to the company? You’ve explained your business strategy. Just what has come from this? When I bought 50% of the company back in
2008, there were 12 employees and Jetcraft was primarily a US-based organisation. Following my purchase of the remaining 50% in 2016, we now have over 60 employees and have just moved our global headquarters to London. I instilled the ethos in the team of “everything we do is about the client”, and it has truly paid off. It’s not been all my work, however. Bucky, our founder, had put in the place a sound foundation on which to build our pyramid upon. I will continue this sound foundation by ensuring the company culture remains welcoming – Our summer family retreats are just one example of this. It seems to me as if you owe your success to the human element of the company. Is that a fair assessment? Definitely. In a diverse business world, different cultures will always have their customs, and tailoring to those is the only way to put a customer at ease. People are the key to that trust and rapport. If you get the people right, the rest can essentially be learnt.
I can see your success, and I can feel the passion in which it comes from. But what about the future – what’s next? If you’ve learnt anything from me today, it’s that I’m always striving to improve and looking to the future. For the first time in history, Jetcraft has been able to forecast the market for the next 5 years regarding both new and pre-owned aircraft sales. The intricacies behind this document are immense, but it is only by analysing the past that we can gain a sense of the future. However, it is not all about the numbers. We take into account trends and the human feelings at play. For example, ten years ago, many buyers felt a stigma against buying a pre-owned jet. That has now passed. We predict that the preowned market will grow significantly quicker than the new market, with an estimation that transaction numbers of pre-owned will surpass those of new aircraft in 2023. This allows us to structure our business accordingly and ensure longevity of success.
For further details please visit: www.jetcraft.com
TR
@portiaeconomics
@portiaeconomics
F I NA N C I A L : P O RT I A A N T O N I A A L E X I S
in profile
Portia Antonia Alexis is a UN Change Maker nominee, has consulted for Mckinsey, Newton Investment Management, Bank Of America, and analyses the solutions of income inequality. She is an active member of the Department of Economics, and The London School of Economics and Political Science. Words: Gillian Montgomery
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What was the inspiration behind your research and business career? I admit that I didn’t know if my vocation as an economist was born from being exposed to interesting financial conflicts from a young age or if my interest in economics and finance was the sign of an emerging vocation. I decided to choose this speciality, rather than becoming a historian, I understood that it allows you to have a foothold in the world of research and another one in economic policy. My parents’ education gave me, a certain sense of responsibility that goes with the good fortune of being born inside a wealthy family in a rich country, I learned to see the world a little beyond the tip of my nose. All of this certainly influenced my desire to play a useful role in the world. I decided to go for economic research because it will allow me to play a vital role in the equation, I believe that with the help of my colleagues, we can build a better economic system, a system more oriented towards social issues. This financial system cares about collective interest more than the individual one. What’s the best lesson you’ve learned as an economist? I had the privilege to work on several projects from which I could draw several economic lessons. Still, the most remarkable, in my opinion, is to rethink the role of the state in the economy, this lesson came from my profound feeling that the current difficulties offer us a unique opportunity. At the end of World War II, the welfare state model dominated in most advanced countries. Then, in the 1980s, with Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, a wave of liberalism and deregulation swept over the developed world. Not everything was negative in this phase: in particular, the emphasis on competition and flexibility in the goods and labour market, which stimulate innovation and economic growth. But the crisis of the past two years has shown the limits of ultra-liberalism. Countries like France, Germany, and the Scandinavian
states, with excellent unemployment benefits or social security systems, have stood up better to the shock than the U.K. or the U.S., which did not have such automatic stabilizers. As we hear daily, ‘these are unprecedented times’. Do you have insight into whether we’re headed for a global recession, and what can markets do to rally? The pandemic has forced many countries to take drastic measures - the suspension
“To find the most promising industries, we must ask ourselves a question, what are the main problems that humanity must solve in the coming decades?” of airlines, the closure of malls, bars and restaurants, and the confinement of millions of people, putting a stop to world economic activity.
countries face significant challenges. Central banks around the world are taking out the vast arsenal; I am talking here about exceptional measures never seen before (reduction in the key rate, a massive injection of money, purchase of bonds, etc.) The markets should stabilize at a stage. Still, everything will depend on the evolution of the pandemic and if world markets will manage to find some sort of balance between supply and demand. Do you foresee any industry trends that could make a significant impact on society in 5 years? To find the most promising industries, we must ask ourselves a question, what are the main problems that humanity must solve in the coming decades? There is one that is very well known that of global warming. The key objective is to manage to decarbonize energy sources and, therefore, to live on solar and wind energy, or even tidal. And to do that, we need a precise technology, which does not yet exist. We would need very high-density batteries to be able to store energy. Another problem to be solved, especially in the western world, is the ageing of the population. There is a whole range of opportunities opened by genomics and predictive medicine, which will make it possible, in the years to come, to have a better life. There are a lot of companies starting up right now.
It is crystal clear and without a single shadow of a doubt that the coronavirus pandemic will cause a global economic recession, which could be more reliable than that observed during the financial crisis of 2008-2009. Still, global economic activity should rebound in 2021.
In the factory of the future, two other promising sectors answer a societal problem. 3D printing, and on the other hand, it’s robotization. These two technologies mean will make it possible to repatriate employment and factories in several countries. Except that if we bring back production, we must produce printers, we must also create robots; we must provide technologies and software in these areas.
Many countries have already taken extraordinary budgetary measures to strengthen health systems and protect the workers and businesses concerned. Big economies are in a better position to respond to the crisis, while many emerging markets and low-income
Another sector that is unanimous about its growth potential is artificial intelligence. In 5 to 10 years, it will allow us to create other experiences, other ways to behave, different ways to buy, other ways to communicate, other ideas to have fun. It is thrilling!
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What’s your approach when looking at possible business opportunities or investment? There are a variety of investment opportunities on the market that offer attractive returns. It certainly does not make my job of finding profitable and safe investment easier, especially since the financial crises of these years have exposed the fragility of certain types of financing. Making a profitable investment means that the gains obtained are not only attractive but that I expose myself to too high risks of loss. Therefore, before choosing my investment opportunity, I need to consider the pros and cons carefully. Thus, I must consider the rate of return, the duration of the investment, and especially the level of risk of the financial investment. A criterion like the level of risk is essential insofar as specific very profitable opportunities can lead to the loss of all the capital invested. To judge the profitability of an investment, I only focus on the rate of return. I make tax options adapted to the type of savings chosen. Indeed, the tax rate can significantly influence the net gains that investment makes. We will have to be well-informed before getting started. Several investors seek the help of an advisor, which I highly recommend for those who struggle to find the necessary information on their own. What habits helped make you successful? Before, I used to let myself be carried away by events, to give up quickly, and to be satisfied with what I had. I thought it was challenging to be able to reach anything in personal/ professional life, but I managed to get this out of my head and put the odds in my favour by applying five rules. First, I set goals and a strategy to achieve them; objectives are challenges to be met daily. To reach them, the implementation of an action plan, imposing according to the purpose, is necessary to achieve its goal. In short, I act, move forward. Dynamic sets in, as soon as one thing materializes, I get down to something else. I do not want to be on the spot, so I move forward, I always find something else to accomplish.
I do not give up at the first obstacle; everything does not work on the first attempt. Sometimes I must start over several times, find other paths before I get there. It is essential not to throw in the towel at the first obstacle. I never stop believing; I do not listen to parasites. I have heard many times, “It will not work,” “no one will want your product,” “it is useless,” it regularly came to the mouth of those to whom I spoke of my ideas. They are parasites. If I gave them too much importance, they would pollute my mind, whereas you had to believe in me to succeed in what I undertake. I don’t make excuses for what didn’t work or what I didn’t do. I realize that I am the only responsible for my failures, my abandonments. Looking for excuses is like giving myself a good reason to do nothing, and that’s the worst poison for someone who wants to be a leader. What role do start-ups play in a ‘complex economy’? Experts agree that a bad economy is an excellent financial climate for a start-up. Indeed, considering the start-up boom, this may seem to be true. This trend is continuously growing. However, the start-up economy is emerging, now having its market force and spurring a chain of positive effects on the economy. One of the results of the economic recession has been an increase in the size of the contingent. Large companies employ fewer people to remain flexible and operate the proportion of large numbers of full-time staff on foot. It means that now, more than ever, finding a job in a large company is extremely difficult, especially for young university graduates. During this oppressed economy, start-ups provide an opening onto a highly competitive and mostly incomprehensible job market. Thousands of small businesses, which employ thousands of self-employed and skilled graduates, reduce the unemployment rate significantly. Small businesses hire about 30% of the workforce in the United States, for example.
How does competitiveness relate to economic development? Competitiveness is a broad concept used in multiple ways and multiple contexts. When it comes to countries, competitiveness often refers to the ability to trade and integrate into world markets. It, therefore, assumes that a given country has a enough tools and industrial sectors capable of completing it. Improving the competitiveness of the economy is essential to boost growth and economic development, create jobs, and enable citizens and businesses to reach their full potential. Human capital appears as a first factor allowing gaining competitiveness; the second factor is innovation. The more competitive a market, the more companies are led to produce better products, to innovate and to outdo themselves. In this way, we revive the economy; we create jobs; the households’ income increases in parallel with consumption. We inject money into the economy and all stakeholders benefit (state, business, bank, employees, etc.) What do you want your legacy to be as an economist? In my dreams, I would like people to remember me as one of the women who reopened the debate on the need to find a new economic model that is more focused on the social side than financial gains. And maybe with a little luck and the right people to support the decision, I could even be part of those who created this model. The growth model based on globalization and financialization will have to be corrected, and the trend towards a more sustainable economy will accelerate. The confrontation for hegemony between the United States and China had already opened a debate which has just rekindled the disruption of supply chains which have been victims in this crisis of many industrial sectors, such as pharmacy and automotive, who will have to learn to produce differently. We will have to reinvent globalization. It will not disappear, but it will undoubtedly be more nuanced with more regionalization, redesigned production chains, and less tense inventory management, which will have substantial impacts on the management of companies. TR
F I NA N C I A L : P O RT I A A N T O N I A A L E X I S
“The more competitive a market, the more companies are led to produce better products, to innovate and to outdo themselves.�
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Hiding Out Iain Beaumont is the founder and Managing Director of Venues and Ventures. Since ditching the City, Iain has worked on some on England’s grandest country estates and leading luxury venues, refining his eye for spotting new opportunities and helping businesses realise their potential. Words: Iain Beaumont
I
venuesandventures.co.uk t’s possible there’s never been a more appropriate time to write about the virtues of solitude. After all, most of us have experienced solitude (to a greater or lesser extent) over the last month, while separated from our family, friends and colleagues.
The thing that I – and maybe some of you – have come to realise is that enforced isolation can get boring pretty quickly. In fact, I’ll be one of the first to throw myself back into a state of social hedonism as soon as we’re allowed
T R AV E L : H I D I N G O U T
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to go beyond the garden gate. However, I suspect it won’t be all that long before I’m looking to escape somewhere that I can pause to take stock, far away from the general hullabaloo of everyday life. And herein lies the joy of ‘hiding out’. My formative years in the British Army ensured I spent a significant amount of time ‘hiding out’. The surroundings were usually far from salubrious, however, and the Ministry of Defence had an uncanny knack of selecting locations that were either exceptionally wet or excessively hot. A swimming pool did not come as standard (unless you count the river crossings) and concierge service typically involved
arguments with a rotund RAF movement controller who was too close to the end of their tour to really give a damn. And who can blame them. ‘Hiding out’ therefore became an analogy for boil-in-the bag dinners and dressing up to look like a tree. Thankfully there’s a much more delightful approach to hiding out and it’s the polar opposite of digging a trench in the woods and waiting for it to fill with water. The relatively recent development of super-exclusive estates that can be hired out by individuals has transformed the way we can spend time with friends and family. Now you get to enjoy yourself away from home,
without fear of breaking the rules of a hotel or upsetting other guests. While the idea of taking over a whole hotel or large manor is not new, the recent rise in service standards and the overall experience has made exclusive-use the new go-to for discerning clients – those who expect the same exacting qualities of a 5-star hotel in Mayfair but in a country house setting. In 2018, the Oetker Collection diversified their business by establishing a new arm dedicated to offering clients a new range of destinations. Destinations where clients were able to ‘disappear’ and, with the help of Oetker’s team, find a bespoke experience individually crafted around the needs of their families. With an existing portfolio
T R AV E L : H I D I N G O U T including Le Bristol, Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, and The Lanesborough, Masterpiece Estates (the recent addition to The Oetker Collection) seeks to offer the finest country residences in the land. Guests can disappear for a while, but be assured of the same standards of service as you would expect at any one of their hotels. And most importantly, discretion. Cowdray House in West Sussex is one such property – and it’s easy to see why. Set in the heart of a 16,500-acre estate in West Sussex, Cowdray House has strived to raise the bar on getting exclusive-use right. Until very recently, it was the family home of Lord and Lady Cowdray. Now it attracts families from across the world who are looking for a piece of rural Britain they can call their own – albeit
“Set in the heart of a 16,500-acre estate in West Sussex, Cowdray House has strived to raise the bar on getting exclusive-use right.”
for a short period of time. With 22 en-suite bedrooms, two swimming pools, a bowling alley, tennis court, helipad and 110 acres of private grounds, it’s easy to see the attraction. The wider estate also boasts agriculture, forestry, a championship golf course, and an award-winning farm shop and café. Until earlier this year, I was in the enviable position of managing the house and the team looking after the guests. I’ve now set up my own consultancy advising landed estates on how they can diversify and attract new audiences, so I wanted to share my unique insight into why hiring a quintessentially English manor house is so appealing. When I first set eyes on Cowdray House, one
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“Spread throughout the grounds are bronze castings of The Meditator, a design of Lady Cowdray’s which represents a force for goodness, and reminds us of our greatest potential.” of the most striking aspects was that, despite being only a stone’s throw from the town of Midhurst, it manages to offer a 360-degree vista stretching out to the South Downs without a single other house in view. When the estate says it offers privacy, it really means it. And that’s what really stands out. When you head through the ornate wrought iron gates leading onto the estate, the house is invisible. It’s only after you pass the private polo grounds beyond the cricket pitch – Cowdray is after all the home of British polo and host of the annual Gold Cup – that the house comes into view. Swinging past two griffin sentries standing at the head of the bridge that spans the Ha-Ha (a form of sunken barrier that stops ponies nibbling your lawns, while allowing uninterrupted views of the countryside), the gravel drive draws you to the front door. There you are warmly greeted by a team who have worked hard to perfect the art of relaxed yet precise hospitality. One of many reasons there’s such appeal to having a place to yourself is that you want it to feel like a second residence. It’s a place where you can relax and entertain yourself as you would at home. Having a team of people at your disposal may seem counterintuitive when you want privacy. But the staff at Cowdray have a knack of appearing just when you need them – and disappearing when you don’t. In a world where service can vary wildly between the absent and the overly-eager, it’s refreshing to find a team who strike the right balance. I found that it typically takes no more than 30 minutes for guests at Cowdray to fully immerse themselves into the spirit of the
house. Once the house begins to reveal its secrets, the shoes come off, the mood becomes familiar and the warmth of the rooms embraces you with a friendly hug. Without realising it, you are drawn into very heart of what it means to be at Cowdray. When Lord and Lady Cowdray moved out of the house they set out to ensure it remains a home for whoever happens to be staying there. Each room has been
designed and furnished by Lady Cowdray, with a detectable note of mindfulness and wellbeing at the core of each space. Spread throughout the grounds are bronze castings of The Meditator, a design of Lady Cowdray’s which represents a force for goodness, reminding us of our greatest potential.
environment at your own pace. Partnering with the French company Le Chameau, we always ensured that there were plenty of wellies for guests to borrow – there should be no limits when it comes to exploring. As evening arrives you get to see your new home in a different light – everything from the catering to the entertainment is taken care of. Cowdray is one of many exclusive-use properties that collaborate with the same renowned caterers who grace London’s finest venues, making sure you can experience some of the best British and continental cuisine throughout your stay. If good food isn’t enough, we were also fortunate enough to be able to call upon an expert who specialises in the delights of Remy Martin Louis XIII to deliver a bespoke tasting after dinner. While I’d like to think my own knowledge of digestifs is pretty comprehensive, it’s all too rare that I’m able to sample the delights of a cognac that typically retails at over £2,500 a bottle.
With miles of pathways set within the private garden, it’s easy to think you could be anywhere in the country. With an impressively wide avenue of Sequoiadendron giganteum (or Wellingtonia as we British stubbornly refer to it), through to a valley garden fed by two large lakes, it can feel like you’re in Scotland one moment and Cornwall the next. Understandably, children are enchanted by it.
One of the most fundamental aspects of running a house such as Cowdray is the attention to detail. Like many top hotels across the world, you’re only as good at the service and amenities you offer, regardless of the location. Our team were meticulous when it came to housekeeping and having made several beds in my time when lastminute amendments came in, you get to see for yourself why the bill for new linen was so eye-wateringly high. Perhaps it had something to do with the magical extra dose of softness the team managed to add to every bed.
The joy of having all this wide-open space is that you get to embrace the natural
When you’re staying in a country house, you also want to know whether there’s hot water
Cowdray House is available for exclusive hire from Ј7,200 (without bedrooms) or Ј13,500 (with bedrooms).
www.cowdray.co.uk
T R AV E L : H I D I N G O U T on tap – the time it was fashionable to brag about freezing cold baths is, thankfully, a thing of the past. At Cowdray, a team of over 30 maintenance staff located on the estate were always on hand to ensure that there was an endless supply of piping hot water, without even a hint of squeaky pipes. Cowdray aren’t shy when it comes to pulling out the stops to create amazing experiences, either. With Goodwood on the other side of the South Downs, the high-octane attraction of the Festival of Speed, Goodwood Revival and Glorious Goodwood are only a short distance away – even quicker if you ask for
the Estate to open the private road. For those looking to gain an appreciation of English sparkling wine, an ever-increasing proportion of the West Sussex countryside is now ‘under vine’ and there is an enticing range to choose from. A particular favourite is Nyetimber, based just outside Pulborough, some 15 miles away. The team at the house will be able to arrange a private tasting and even a tour for those wishing to sample fizz that is now knocking some of the most wellknown French producers off the top spot. Having seen first-hand the way that guests
interact with a space, I’m sold on the value of being able to relax in a way the means you’re not bothering anyone else. The flexibility to eat when you want, entertain in a way that feels right for you, and experience everything from yoga next to a roaring log fire to fireball hockey on the cricket pitch at midnight, is what makes places like Cowdray so special. So, when lockdown is lifted and we’re free to roam once again, I suspect that, like me, most of you will don your exploring hats and look for place like this, tucked away, just out of sight. TR
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tales from
Nantucket ‘Nantucket: Classic American Style 30 Miles Out to Sea’ by authors Liza Gershman and Carrie Nieman Culpepper features natural photographic portraits and environmental stills so captivating, you can almost hear the waves crashing off the North Shore. From delicious lobster rolls to timeless interior design, island customs and activities, this new book also invites you to meet the locals who call Nantucket home. Words: Liza Gershman and Carrie Nieman Culpepper Photography: Liza Gershman
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antucket means “faraway island” in the language of the Wampanoag tribe who first inhabited the land. Throughout its last 400 years, the boomerang-shaped island has always required a healthy dose of determination, perseverance, and means, either financial or cunning, to step onto its shores. Even today it’s undeniably an effort to arrive, requiring boat or plane, and often a long-haul journey in the car before that. To come to Nantucket is a purposeful choice. Arriving feels earned, worth celebrating. The fastest ferry is still an hour from mainland Massachusetts, and flights from Hyannis (when they aren’t grounded by fog) are a bumpy twenty-minute ride. But it is worth the effort to get here and settle into the scene: plentiful beaches, hundreds of species of birds, the sunsets of paintings, and a community of smart, charismatic, creative people all contribute to the magic. And that aura of intention and love for the island shows. This tight-knit community of achievers, dreamers, and rebels has created an enviable lifestyle and aesthetic
that’s an amalgamation of the people, historic grey-shingle homes, and the 14-mile-long island itself; its wind, sea, and wild landscape. Nantucket has shaped its people and they’ve developed a unique life 30 miles out to sea. The look, feel, and culture that define what’s classic about American style in many ways began here, and Nantucket continues to push cultural boundaries because of influences drawn from around the world, innovative thinking, hard work, and a shared love for the beautiful lifestyle one can have here. As Nantucket has always been a notoriously difficult place to get to. This has helped it develop and maintain a character all its own. Now more than 11,000 year-round residents inhabit the island, and summer families, no matter where they arrive from—Boston, Chicago, Washington D.C., Greenwich, or San Francisco—all subscribe to its unwritten rules. Many residents slip on colourful sundresses, break out their boat shoes, sun-bleached L.L.Bean bags, and proudly add another beach permit to their vintage Land Rover
C U LT U R E : NA N T U C K E T
Sailing is a favorite Nantucket pastime. The island’s many yacht clubs and community sailing organizations are well loved by summer residents and year-rounders alike
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“awayI always say about Nantucket that after a day you can throw your watch and after a week your calendar. It’s murderous trying to get here, but once you arrive you never want to leave. ” Walter Beinecke, Jr. told Life magazine in 1968
Classic Nantucket: weathered- gray shingles on Nantucket harbor
each season. This is not a self-conscious style capital, absorbed in labels and trends. Quite the opposite. Instead, style here is shaped by wind, cobblestones, cliffs, beaches, sailboats, surfboards and, for a long time, the blueblood idea that showiness is less tasteful than something practical that’s tattered and aged by the sun. The island’s inaccessibility has preserved the look, which is equal parts blue blazer, decade-old Sperry Top-Siders, and salty Mount Gay cap earned at a regatta. In just the last few years, the barrier to get to Nantucket has lifted some. Flights into ACK (the famed airport code) have brought more visitors from New York and other East Coast cities, and many more people live year-round than ever before. Yet the island’s steadfast ethos and aesthetics prevail.
Owen Milazzo enjoying a summer drive in his family’s van, one of the island’s many vintage vehicles
Islanders, washashores, and summer residents For many, the island gripped them from their first visit, like New Yorker Betsy Hussey, fashion director at Calvin Klein, who spent the summers of her youth on Cape Cod, but fell in love with Nantucket’s island aesthetic as an adult and rented for many years before buying a small cottage. “It’s been a dream,” she says, from her minimalist office in Manhattan’s garment district. “It’s very stabilising having that cottage. You feel totally different there, you feel... far away.”
Individualism still reigns For its first 200 years of European settlement, Nantucket sea captains went out exploring the world. For the last 200, the world has come to Nantucket, and this sentiment is echoed at the Nantucket Historical Association’s Whaling Museum. From Nantucket’s start as a settlement of liberal entrepreneurs who escaped their Plymouth Colony brethren’s narrow mindedness, later embracing Quaker egalitarianism, Nantucket’s individualism and self-reliance can still be seen today in its year-round artists and makers carving a life on the windy, foggy faraway island. For a tiny place, Nantucket holds a powerful role in shaping American culture and style.
Diony’s story is not uncommon. Many come to Nantucket for the summer and stay for a lifetime. “The island is so quiet, I feel safe here,” he says, describing leaving the house unlocked and keys in the car. “I never had that experience anywhere else.” Diony, like many, loves the tranquility, and the community. “Everyone knows each other here and it’s like a big family,” he smiles. Of course, the people make the place.
“cobblestones, Style here is shaped by wind, cliffs, beaches,
One of the United States’ most significant ports during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Nantucket’s sea captains journeyed to the Orient, Africa, Europe, and the far corners of the world to trade whale oil. They returned with wealth, stories, and souvenirs. Today, Nantucket is often only thought of as an idyllic natural playground for the American elite, but its inhabitants are varied and the island is home to many international residents, including those from the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Russia, and elsewhere. “The first person from my hometown to come to Nantucket was a woman named Victoria,” says Diony Gil, a successful builder. “Because of her, more than 200 people from Cabrera, Dominican Republic, are here now raising families and living year-round. A friend who was building the post office told me to come help for the summer and one summer turned into thirteen years.”
sailboats, surfboards, and for a long time, the blue-blood idea that showiness is less tasteful than something practical that’s tattered and aged by the sun.
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Marcus Foley grew up in Jamaica and came to Nantucket one college summer with friends and felt an immediate connection because of the island lifestyle and, at the time, the Jamaican population of summer help. Now an artist, Marcus lives on-island with his wife and two boys, carving whales and other creations out of driftwood and selling them at the Farmers Market and via Instagram.
Sara Rossi found opportunity on Nantucket, a place she summered all her life. She and Taylor Ivey opened the Skinny Dip on Old South Wharf as a collective of independent brands rooted in the preppy aesthetic. The store took off and in just three years the duo has opened Skinny Dip locations in Charleston and Palm Beach: a testament to the Nantucket aesthetic beyond its shores (not to mention the island’s power as a retail incubator). Thomas L. Macy has spent his whole life summering on Orange Street, and now lives there half the year. His direct relative, many generations ago, Thomas H. Macy, was one of Nantucket’s first European settlers arriving in 1659. Tom is a fifth-generation Macy to live on Nantucket and he spends his time reading, boating, and at the Nantucket Yacht Club and Wharf Rats club swapping sailing stories with the island’s old-timers.
FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR TO PURCHASE, SELECT THE BOOK SLEEVE ABOVE.
Both summer residents and islanders speak of the magic of Nantucket. Not just the beauty and charm but the embracing community and the plentiful support for the arts. These people, and others we’ll meet, are of disparate
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A group of friends out for a drive along Nantucket’s beach dunes. The island is called the “gray lady” because fog often rolls in at moment’s notice
“There’s a
something rather than running to something,” he says. More than one ambition. Those lucky enough to hear legend resident mentioned parents or grandparents who staked a claim for the of its opportunities or peek at its possibilities family on anonymous summers on Nantucket after losing money.
stillof need healthy dose of rebel to pull off life, Prior to the 1980s tourism boom, and the advent the fasta ferry and work, on this 30-mile-out spit. It’s one of in 1995, which cut the trip from Cape Cod to Nantucket to an hour, an arduous journey was required to arrive. the throughlines of Nantucket history. From “It took them a week, I think, to get there,” islander Sanford theEdward whalers of the eighteenth century to the says recounting the journey his grandfather and family would take to and foreign-born workforce entrepreneurs
freedom in Nantucket’s isolation that’s pretty glorious.
arrive from Knoxville in the 1920s. “They would drive to New York, take of today. Who washes up on Nantucket is a an overnight steamer [for] eight hours to New Bedford, Massachusetts, fascinating group; a true mixture of those then take another ferry four hours from New Bedford to Nantucket. epitomize And, of course, they’d be bringing their whole house who staff; their nannies, capitalism and those who are bohemian the cooks. They would only use their White Lily flour that was madeenough to live out of the
mainstream. The in Knoxville, Tennessee, so they would bring their 50-pound bags. I’m sure it was quite the caravan.” And naturally, theyambitious would stay for the willing whole summer. work for it. Lifelong summer resident Lissy Bryan remembers when a new ferry was introduced in the ’60s that couldn’t steer properly at a slow speed.
”
island offers possibility for the to take the risk, and willing to
John “So S. when Johnson, arts patron Once you get to talking with washashores, you the fog rolled in it would be anchored out off the jetties waiting a common theme. It may be desire for and resident for thesummer fog to move. There were lots of stories of notice people waiting six,
independence, as it was for the Quakers, or to seven, eight hours out on the boat for the fog to move.” startofadetachment business, or embark on an adventure. Yet the journey is part of the draw, adding to the feeling from real life. “They don’t call it the faraway island for nothing,” saysreason the island represents Whatever the backgrounds who shape the distinct American
Bryan. “Youisland. almost These feel likepeople you’ve achieved something when you opportunity to separate from the mainland, style on Nantucket are the island,get itshere.” champions, caretakers, investors, make money and live with less convention, Patricia Anathan remembers when The Inquirer and Mirror without a rat race, strip malls, pollution, crime, creators, craftspeople. They include business newspaper would announce when families’ arrived on-island for the or stop owners and CEOs, chefs and servers, builders summer. A time of barefoot bike rides, whiling away the hours lights. as a childWith nature, history, community and possibility. and gardeners, designers and makers, sailors, in the 1950s and ’60s, wandering the island, sailing, sneaking off for Surfers can run a school and to Costa Rica for the winter. Artisans and even rebels. And more often than cigarettes, or going to the beach. Andnot, though much take more off is happening on the too. islandWelcome today, for to a great many there can can still sell be, blissfully, their work to tourists from all over the they’re friends, Nantucket. very little. world and hole up in their studios with the quiet and headspace to create in the off-season. 146 Restaurateurs can pack them in over the summer then shutter in the winter and seek inspiration in far-flung lands. Creatives and entrepreneurs use the off-season to energize The island has always been a talisman for
Rebellious stock: whalers, Quakers, artisans, entrepreneurs
and refuel off-island with Nantucket’s seasonal lifestyle. And the island’s many influential summer visitors offer ideal exposure for brands and businesses looking for a launchpad. Madaket beach is a local favorite and this quintessential island home is as close to the water’s edge as one can be
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147
Rafael and Gale Osana are Nantucket’s beloved antique auctioneers. Their collection of New England and 18th-Century paintings and artifacts are sold throughout the globe
A gallery-hung wall in the Osana home.
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Blue, white and boating decor beautifully displayed in the home of Darcy Creech Marelli, founder of the island’s Peter Beaton Hat Studio
“There’s a pride and a sense of respect that we’re just passing through here and to take care of it
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D.W. Coffin, thirteenth-generation descendant of founding Nantucket settler
Descendants of the original Nantucket families, Inez and her son D.W. Coffin playing a competitive game of backgammon in their home
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1970s.
While the rest of the country is taking summer Fridays and barbecuing with family and friends, most Nantucket islanders are working nonstop in what is their condensed ninety-day ial, serene, idyllic, fun. earning period. Nantucketers with island-based businesses do not get a break during the gers; for the guys—anything from Patagonia! summer, not even weekends off—and have to be savvy enough to manage seasonal businesses with drastic differences of crushing summers —exercise, boating, biking, beaching, andfishing, dormant winters. Budgeting, staffing, ded. housing, planning, and managing expectations k on a sunny afternoon. of the elite resident and traveller are not for the eing able to share this special place and owner. build casual business But hard work can yield an idyllic life on this island incubator. So much thatlike—the someisland talkhas of their children’s hesitance e or as peacefulso as you’d to leave. Who could blame them when they are surrounded by such beauty, nature, and the fun of seasonal and enjoying big family dinners after a busy, friends enjoying their carefree vacations each summer, along with the influence and potential the summer folks bring to island ideas and institutions.
The Nantucket Cottage hospital foundation was able to raise $120 million in three seasons (from left): Cavel Mattison, Sherry and Nelson thanks to the generosity of islanders and 3: Simona and Agne Lucas, Liza Gershman, Megan n, Floyd Kellog; many Second row: Monika andsummer Aaron affluent residents. Between the Guiness, Ugne Aleknaite and Brandon Jellison and Nantucket Golf Club and Nantucket Yacht lizabeth Georganta; Page 104: John She; Page 105: sa, Dean Dellas, Gwen “Bunny” Hyde, Christine Club they reward five Nantucket High School om; Page 123: Inez Hutton and D.W. Coffi; Page Page 139: Nori and Jean Wan;full, Page 142: Lila seniors four-year tuition to the college of d, Alexis Kinne; Page 148: Sandbar at Jetties Beac; their dreams. The Sr., Robert Frisbie, Jr., (front row): Katie FrisbieNantucket Boys and Girls : Cindy, Owen, Samuel and Lee Milazz; Page 156: Club is operating in a brand new, multimillionorgia Grac; Page 169: Westmore Club tennis player; nd Sarah Felch Lindval; Ross; Row 2: Jean dollarSara facility thanks to island generosity. The rite and J.J. Culpeppe; Page 180; Row 1 (from left): ll Felc; Row 3: Bonnie Roseman, Hutton Lindvall, possibilities and perks are there for those e 187: Dan Pronk, Samantha Angel; Page 192: New willing to hear the island’s siren call.
here and ht or nine f peace and FindingInspiration: seemsactors, like artists, a authors and creatives. st a raucous The isolation of island life and the wild beauty that surrounds nquility. I you on Nantucket are natural magnets for the many actors, artists, authors, and other creatives. And the added bonus of lmmaker: being able to find backing or gain exposure to inhabitants can make Nantucket life woodinfluential backlot fruitful for creatives. en’t called the Nantucket has a long history of attracting creatives. Around the turn of the last century, n suddenly when theatres would close down for the ctionsummer, anda group of the Broadway community would descend upon Nantucket’s Siasconset ’Sconset) neighbourhood to live in beach fe in (or the cottages and stage productions by the sea.
The “Actors Colony” as they became known, eventually built the ’Sconset Casino for and recreation. The tradition fifty-yearperformances resident continues across Nantucket’s theater groups, such as Theatre Workshop of Nantucket, Dreamland Stage Company, and White Heron Theatre Company. In some cases, idle summering teenagers can work on productions with professionals—an opportunity they wouldn’t likely have at home. Nantucket’s small
The Frisbie family, who own the island’s Harborview Hotel, welcome a new generation Nantucketer in their island home. The dramatic pathway to Steps Beach.
Island artist Meredith Hanson hoists the sail aboard The Endeavor, whose captain tours visitors around the island throughout the season.
size begets access. Thanks to arts patrons, several incubators ensure artists continue discovering and being inspired by the island. Philanthropist and arts advocate, John S. Johnson, founder of BuzzFeed, son of sculptor Seward Johnson (and great-grandson of Robert Wood Johnson, co-founder of Johnson & Johnson) founded an artists’ colony and screenwriters’ colony operating out of a family compound with a 100-year-old barn. Johnson brings in artists from around the world for his colonies, which are run by local creatives, where colonists attend events and interact over dinners with Nantucket’s many creative practitioners. “The island is still chock- full of interesting people,” he says. It’s easy to find inspiration on Nantucket, says printmaker Eric Holch. “Go to Newport, Rhode Island, and drive the backroads and you’ll go past Jiffy Lubes and gas stations. Here it’s still unspoiled.” Holch, who left New Canaan, Connecticut, and a successful advertising career to pursue his side project making art, pulls direct inspiration from island life: its sailboat races, beaches, gardens, and lighthouses. Landscape painter Illya Kagan, the son of famed furniture designer Vladimir Kagan and needlework artist Erica Wilson, also sees the island as muse. In Kagan’s case, it’s the unique topography, which includes poetic natural elements such as acres of moors, rolling plains patched with wild grasses, long stretches of open beach, and a particular, rounded cobblestone that gives Nantucket Town an unmistakable aura of the past.
182 Yachts line the harbor in high-season.
Beyond the direct visual inspiration, many island artists thrive off the natural surroundings, and report that the solitude of winter provides ideal time in the studio, or for creative development, while island summers bring influential backers and patrons. “For friends of mine living on the island, anyone with any kind of creative practice, I think there’s a freedom in Nantucket’s isolation that’s pretty glorious,” says Johnson. “Then what is so cool is you have that freedom combined with the stimulation of connection in the summer when there’s this great influx of people and you’re going to a dinner party meeting somebody interesting, or seeing somebody downtown that’s a friend of a friend. There aren’t a ton of places where you can have both of those things.” The world still comes to Nantucket, or at least its powerful creatives and captains of industry. Summer visitors last year have included many Fortune 100 CEOs, politicians like Joe
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Biden, and even the Hollywood set, Gwyneth Paltrow and Drew Barrymore. Its summer residents include Ambassador Elizabeth Bagley, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, philanthropist Wendy Schmidt, the late Jack Welch (former GE CEO) and journalist/philanthropist Suzy Welch, architect Graham Gund, Chanel ViceChairman Arie Kopelman, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, actor Jerry Stiller, and many others. The year-round population has some of its own creative fame: New York Times best-selling author Elin Hilderbrand has penned her twenty-six romance novels (most set on Nantucket) from beaches and poolsides. Nathaniel Philbrick writes historical nonfiction rooted on Nantucket’s history, his National Book Award-winning ‘In the Heart of the Sea’ was recently turned into a movie directed by Ron Howard.
Special Sauce, and others. Being a big fish in a small pond does have its advantages, especially when New York is now just a Jetblue flight away.
college student, later returning as a Yale School of Drama graduate and young hippie, and for the last decade living year-round with his artist-wife Melissa MacLeod and their two children. Shea enjoys appearing in island productions—notably Orson Welles’s Moby Dick—Rehearsed, which he performs annually under a 50-foot sperm whale skeleton suspended from the rafters at the Nantucket Whaling Museum—but also regularly travels off-island for work and inspiration.
“Mother Nature has a filtration
system. For some people, it’s way too difficult to get here and they’ll never return. It doesn’t matter how large your jet, your ego, or anything else, if there’s fog, sometimes there’s just no getting here. It’s an exercise in humility and patience and grace.
Even when the island doesn’t foster wider fame it can bring exposure. For Nantucket musician and music producer Floyd Kellogg, when big-name artists come to record or play at the island’s iconic club, The Chicken Box, but don’t want to incur the expense of bringing their whole band, Floyd often stands in. He’s had the opportunity to play with members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Florence and the Machine, G. Love &
”
Angela Raynor, proprietor of Boarding House and The Pearl restaurants Actor-director John Shea, known for his many roles in television and movies, including Gossip Girl and Lois & Clark, and award- winning work on Broadway, has maintained a fifty-year love affair with the island. Shea originally came as a
“In mid-winter we retreat, Nantucket people love to travel,” says Shea. “Friends of mine will say, ‘I was skiing in the Swiss alps, I was just in Sri Lanka, or I was scuba diving in Turks and Caicos, or I was riding horseback in Patagonia.’ They’re doing crazy things like this all over the world all the time. And if you’re a restaurateur, you’re bringing menus and recipes and spices that you found in a souk in Morocco and you’re adding it to your ingredients. And if you’re a painter or a photographer you’re bringing back images from around the world. If you are a writer, you’re inspired by what you just experienced when you were on a pilgrimage in India. That kind of thing also makes the island really rich culturally.” TR
Nantucket’s lifeguard staff in their iconic red swimsuits photographed on the beach last summer.
THE
LOOK
If you want a genuine visual representation of a child’s reaction to Christmas morning, courier a case of Anamorphic/i Cooke Lenses to a crew who are in full build mode. They’ll drool like toddlers presented with this year’s must-have Lego, and they’ll crawl over glass to get them. Such is their pedigree, Cooke have been producing the highest level of glass since 1894. You could drape a curtain over a Cooke Anamorphic /i lens, have it point at a baby and you’ve got yourself a renaissance painting. Words: Peter J Robinson
FILM : THE COOKE LOOK
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o highly regarded are Cooke that, in 2013, they were presented with a special Academy Award for their pioneering hand-made lenses. About time, when you consider they’d been waiting over 100 years. Almost as long as Leonardo DiCaprio. The Academy commented that Cooke Optics would be receiving an Award of Merit because the company has “helped to define the look of motion pictures over the past century.” That is a tough logline to beat by anyone’s standards. To be considered to have helped ‘define’ the look of motion pictures, not just over a decade, but the past century. Speak to any DOP and they will righteously inform you that Cooke lenses are renowned in the industry for creating the so-called ‘Cooke Look’, which gives a warm, natural feel to images on the screen. So, let’s briefly cover off a few films you’ve seen that have been lensed by Cooke. The Wizard of Oz (1939) was shot on Cooke Telecentric lenses for Technicolor. Casablanca (1942) used Cooke Speed Panchros Series I. In 1960, Director of Photography Russell Metty, used Cooke lenses with a Delrama anamorphic adapter to film Spartacus in Technirama. The 35mm negative was converted via Panavision printer lenses to a 70mm print. I would be also be heavily remised if I didn’t list Apocalypse Now and the Sound of Music amongst that hallowed group. So, when I arrived on set to shoot our homage to the Rolls Royce Phantom Gentleman’s Tourer
with a set of Cooke Anamorphic /i lenses, I could do no wrong in the eyes of the crew. Arguably a crew in prep are a quiet bunch – if everything is going to plan. Arrive with a set of Cooke lenses and you can watch the crew peering into the case like Jules in Pulp Fiction staring into the infamous briefcase.
“The Wizard of
Oz (1939) was shot on Cooke Telecentric lenses for Technicolor. Casablanca (1942) used Cooke Speed Panchros Series I.”
Award-winning UK DOP Liam Healey has a particular passion for the Cooke Look: “When it comes to choosing a set of lenses for a project, there’s a fine balance between choosing something that has enough character that they add to the mise-en-scène and those that end up adding a layer of separation, an emotional barrier, between you, the audience, and the subject. In the confines of a lens test, it’s very easy to be beguiled by the beautiful characteristics of funkier vintage lenses; the aberrations, the distortion, the breathing. But taken out into the real world, they can very quickly become a limitation. That lack of
edge to edge sharpness that beautifully drew your eye to your model in your lens test, is now limiting your ability to use the entire frame. This is where Cooke comes in. There’s an inherent warmth to the Cooke look, flattering for most skin tones, perfect for portraiture. They add roundness giving a sense of depth to a two-dimensional medium, bringing faces to life. They’re sharp and contrasty, but they’re certainly not clinical. It’s this beautiful balance which is consistent between each lens, that gives you the range to visually tell your story, without limiting your vocabulary.” But Cooke’s history extends far further back in time than I suspect anyone realises. Ernest Shackleton sent the following letter to Taylor, Taylor & Hobson: “Dear Sirs, Now that the affairs of my late expedition to the Antarctic have all been settled... it was largely through the excellent quality of lenses you supplied, and the care and interest taken by your firm that Capt. Hurley was able to achieve the first- class photographic records we obtained.” William and Thomas Smithies Taylor were mechanical and optical engineers of the highest order. In 1885, they set up a business on Slate Street in Leicester as ‘Manufacturers of Optical Instruments’. They were joined by William Hobson in 1887 as a sales manager. The firm was named Taylor, Taylor & Hobson and they built the first Cooke lens in 1894. T. Cooke & Sons of York (makers of telescopes) decided to offer Taylor, Taylor & Hobson the manufacturing rights to a Triplett photographic lens that solved the problem of edge softness. William Taylor invented, among other things, the standardised screw thread for photographic lenses (1892), and many devices for making
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lenses at tolerances that can still compete with contemporary equipment. Moving into the 20s. Captain John Noel, the Everest expedition’s photographer, used a Newman Sinclair camera. It was designed to hold 400 feet of 35mm film and a specially made 20inch (508 mm) Cooke Series VIII f5.6 Telephoto lens to document the Mt. Everest expeditions in 1922 and 1924. The aim was to take pictures of the climbers from a distance of two miles away. Captain Noel graciously donated his Newman Sinclair camera to the Science Museum in London, where it was on display without lens. When asked what happened to the missing Cooke lens, Captain Noel’s daughter replied, “He donated the camera, but he wanted to keep the lens.” And rightly so. In 1935, Cooke introduce their Seed Panchros. The Head of Metro-Goldwyn Mayer’s camera department wrote, “All of our productions are made with the Taylor-Hobson Cooke Lenses and at least 50% of our productions are made with Speed Panchros. This Studio is practically 100% Cooke equipped.” The accolades kept coming, of course. As the years passed, in 1953 Gordon Cook worked on “anamorphotic optical systems” to squeeze the image horizontally during photography and to
expand it in projection. His work on anamorphotic systems gained him the Fellowship of the British Kinematograph Society and a silver metal in Rome. A silver medal. In 1998, Les Zellan entered the Bank of Scotland’s main branch at Trafalgar Square, opened a carrying bag, placed two Cooke lenses on the desk of a bank officer, and announced he intended to buy the company. The planned 30-minute meeting lasted for more than two hours. “We were surprised that an American, or anyone overseas, had so much knowledge of Cooke,” Mr Wighton, the banker involved, said. “He had a clear knowledge of the market and a clear vision of the company.” In February 2005, Cooke developed /i Technology and began incorporating this digital protocol into every Cooke S4 Prime lens made from then on. Cooke’s /i “Intelligent” Technology enables both film and digital cameras to automatically record important lens and camera data (focus, iris, serial number) for every film or video frame. The data can be viewed live on set, saved as meta- data with the picture, and used in post-production to streamline editing, effects work, saving time and money. If you want the full unadulterated history of Cooke, along with their current market offering, I suggest you visit your nearest hire company (we use VMI) and arrange a test day. Suffice to say though, the Cooke Anamorphic lens range is
rather fabled in my circle. All of the anamorphic lens characteristics demanded by my DOPs are indeed available with the Cooke Look and oval bokeh. The Anamorphic /i lens correct aberrations exceptionally well over the entire image area – astigmatism, lateral and longitudinal colour – that will render shape and form to your images. While the “look” is crucial, precision engineering and seamless integration with other equipment is equally important. The Anamorphic /i, prime lenses in ten focal lengths are colour matched to the S4/i, 5/i and miniS4/i lenses. Their Anamorphic/i SF lenses that are specially manufactured with a coating that allows for even more creative options. The “SF” stands for Special Flair because they allow you to kick the flares, bokeh and other aberrations into new visual territory. Complementary to the Anamorphic/i lens series, they are offered in 25mm, 32mm, 40mm, 50mm, 75mm, 100mm, 135mm, 180mm, and 300mm focal lengths. The Anamorphic /i lenses offer superb optical and mechanical performance. Distortion, veiling glare, flares, and all aberrations are controlled at all apertures over the whole field of view. The cam focus mechanism allows for smooth focus adjustments. Modular construction increases ease of maintenance and serviceability. And if that wasn’t enough, the Anamorphic /i lenses are designed and made in Leicester, England. TR
If you want to see how we put our set of Cooke Anamorphics to work, you can watch the short Rolls Royce film below.
For all sales and rentals, please contact Carey Duffy, Sales Director Europe by selecting here.
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T h e
n e w
Twenties Words: Naomi Lake
It’s been a decade since I started out in the industry, working across film, TV and campaign advertising. It was a humble start, and I focused on direct brand campaigns. One thing that I get asked about more than you would ever know is personal skincare. We all know that instantly recognisable line from social media: “My makeup routine, which has of course been heavily requested”. But in this case, it’s the talent on set, the producers in the back office; everyone wants to know what they should be doing to keep their skin looking its best, whilst hiding any signs of misadventure. As you would imagine, in the film industry, there is many a party to preen for.
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Friends and partners over the years have joked that I am an unofficial agony aunt to all those I consult with. I will gladly spare my time when I’m asked to help with woes, worries and wants. I laugh in fascination that I regularly get asked ‘who does your botox’ or ‘who does your facials’, and for ID to purchase my choice of social lubricant. (Nobody: they are infrequent at the moment. And I’m 30 in less than 6 months.) So, I’ve decided it’s time to put some of this knowledge to good use. After all, beauty isn’t just my job; it’s a not-so-secret-obsession. So, here I am to share the deepest details of my knowledge, trialled products and tailored programmes. Let’s talk about the biggest player in the integumentary system: skin. Think of it this way: your skin forms the basis to every makeup look you chose to wear. It is the essence of your being, the lesser-known yet largest organ of your body. Your business card, your first impression, an unspoken means by how you are perceived in the world around you. On a good day, you might not even wear makeup, if you don’t feel like it. Personally, I’m not scared to leave my house with only mascara on. Though this could be attributed more to a delicate mix of practice at the process and a perpetual lack of time, rather than confidence alone. This got me thinking about what we really need from our skincare system. At a basic level, a routine consists of the following elements. Cleanse: the part we
are taught first as children (soap, water, stingy tears). Tone - as we entered early adolescence, we most likely used some kind of clearing astringent (Boots, Skin Clear). Hydrate: as we got towards our mid-teens and our skin changed again (Garnier, Skin Active with vitamin C). You may be able to gauge my age simply by the products I remember using. Maybe you had them in a medicine cabinet too. But my point here is how these products shaped me; how they were important to the ebb and flow of the day, even then. They were lifelong routines in the making. Over the years things have, of course, changed. My skin’s needs developed with age. Budgets widen, changes to my job even (thank you Estee Lauder for having me for so many years. Without your employment, my skincare would have been dreary based on budgets past). But what factors affect your routines without you really knowing? And what are your go-to products now because of it? Our vanity cupboard with the homely tube of Elizabeth Arden 8-hour cream. The bathroom shelf with its resident jar of La Mer or Kiehls For Men. Maybe even your makeup bag with a handy to-go eye product to top-up during the day (I really recommend QMS Medicosmetics Epigen Depuff Pollution Shield Eye Serum). As we welcome the new decade, with so much change around us already, surely one thing we can rely on, any least for
steadfastness, is our beauty routine. We have been perfecting it for years. Only we have charge over the rigour of the system then, surely. But what if this isn’t true? What if our beauty regime shouldn’t be strict and regimented. Maybe the new decade presents a perfect opportunity to shake things up.
QMS Epigen Depuff Pollution Shield Eye Serum
The 1970s saw a rise in botanical ingredients marketed somewhat anecdotally. Not exactly the highest levels of research, in comparison to the strict testing and guidelines for claims made by products today. The buzz word ‘natural’ was printed on everything hot on the shelves. Moving into the 80s, we saw the introduction of collagen into the skincare world as the first scientifically and trial proved anti-ageing products were released into the market. The 90s brought us AHA (Alpha Hydroxy Acid) and further research on Vitamins A, B, C and E. The 00s and beyond: Hyaluronic Acid and antioxidants, organic, vegan-friendly, paraben-free, gluten free and cruelty-free (and not a moment too soon).
named, scientifically-tailored components. Look at ‘the Ordinary’ and its buffet of serums, the demand is there for home use of specialised ingredients that before now would have been reserved for use during a facial or treatment. We will call this camp ‘the Technicals’. Next, let’s take a look at the products touting stripped-back, simple ingredients. I’m sure we have all had a pot of pure coconut oil for beauty emergencies – remove makeup, cleanse, hydrate, soothe, gloss hair – I mean, what can’t that stuff provide a quick fix for? This camp over here with a ‘raw’ ingredient lead basis, we will call ‘the Naturals’, but we are here for luxury and sometimes that old jar of coconut oil won’t cut it.
After all these years, we have a plethora of knowledge on the ingredients going into our favourite products and brands are making sure to utilise it to mass appeal. The manufacturers know the consumer is knowledgeable. She researches and recognises ingredient names and their function. He has reviews at his fingertips
Let us start at the beginning. As I always say ‘the day starts and ends with cleansing’. A simple mantra to live by. As a brand, Shiro focuses on stripped-back ingredients lists, leading the way for the Naturals. Taking prime source botanicals, then maximising their power, the Sesame Cleansing Oil (£42) has just two ingredients: white sesame oil and glyceryl triisostearate (an emollient). It will gently remove all makeup and the rest of the day whilst intensely hydrating. Probably one of the most simple yet beautiful products I’ve tried in a long time, with a universally appealing scent and beautiful texture. I’m a huge fan of cleansing oil and, let’s be honest, smushing off all your makeup in one wild sweep is a very cathartic end to the day. If Sesame is a problem for you, try the beautiful Rhubarb and Rugosa Rose Cleansing Water instead.
“After all these years, we have a plethora of knowledge on the ingredients going into our favourite products and brands are making sure to utilise it to mass appeal.” and isn’t afraid to discuss recommendations with peers. In the last few years, ingredients lists have become more transparent, more researched and more considered. But where does that leave our options now? To me, in the new 20s, trends it feels like there has been a subtle shift in focus again, but this time with distinct and divided polarity in direction. We could probably all name a product we are using right now because of the ingredients. The pull being statistics on the results a formula will give, or simply due to our own research on one of its
Stepping into the ring holding the gloves for the Technicals is a new favourite brand in my routine, QMS Medicosmetics. It was founded on the drive to improve skin texture post-surgery, specifically following trauma. It’s a gentle but transformative, effective and powerful range of products. Recently revealed as a little helper for Renee Zellweger and a favourite of Liam Payne, it’s making waves, and I’m here to ride them too. The hero range is the Collagen System (£199), a three-step routine combining soluble collagen and hyaluronic acid, by way of their Neotec A15(R) Matrixyl 3000 complex, for transformative effects on all skin types. Formulated to directly deliver hydration
SELECT ANY ITEM FOR MORE DETAILS
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and with a skin-identical collagen, to a perfectly-prepped base. The Day Collagen hydrates and protects from environmental damage, the exfoliant gently removes dead skin cells and stimulates cell production. This is finished with the Night Collagen hydrating further still and supporting cell regeneration. Clinically proven to improve elasticity by 28% in 12 weeks, it is pure science applied with perfection. Personally, I take the Active Exfoliant Sensitive, at a gentle 7% AHAs rather than 11%. It comes personally recommended following a divine personalised facial from Rowan, head trainer for the brand. She’s incredible. If you’re lucky enough to catch her in the country, I implore you to see her. I love to champion vegan brands where I can, and will write more extensively about this passion in future. I also love to know about UK brand developments too. When I discovered Evolve Beauty, I also saw how the word ‘artisanal’ was being applied to skincare to create a new genre of products. Their Radiant Glow Mask (£24) boasts an all-natural, eco-friendly formula that’s vegan friendly, cruelty-free and hand-made with no toxic chemicals. Reading the ingredients list is akin to reading the menu for a breakfast smoothie: cacao, vanilla extract, orange water, sweet almond, all from organic sources. The end product is one of the lightest kaolin masks I’ve ever used, a beautifully hydrating yet deeply cleansing mask, with gently exfoliating beads from blueberry seed – a waste product of the juicing industry. The only ingredients you might see and not instantly recognise are an antioxidant, an emulsifier, an emollient and
QMS Collagen System
a monosaccharide providing hydration. The only issue is trying not to dig into it with a spoon, because it honestly looks and smells like a dessert. Even with the Technicals, you will still see the maximisation of botanical ingredients, and Temple Spa is no different. The difference here? Pure decadence. Their Truffle Noir 24-Hour Anti Ageing Moisturiser (£90) is my nighttime go to. Black truffle is chosen for its brightening and restorative properties,
SHIRO Sesame Cleansing Oil
rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory. Platinum is the epitome of exclusive ingredients, here to protect skin against free radicals – agents causing ageing within the skin. Precious metals have been used more regularly over the last 10 years in skincare, but only in the most luxurious products. The colour of the product is akin to volcanic spa mud, don’t let that put you off. The texture is light and melts into the skin, but with a level of richness that makes you feel like it’s really going to do something. The proof
SHIRO Rahubarb and Rugosa Rose Cleansing Water
TEMPLESPA Truff le Noir
comes at breakfast; by morning you’ll wake up with super soft skin – and who can say no to that. A very kind friend once gifted me the best oil-serum I’ve ever used and instantly apologised. She said it was way out of my budget and profusely apologised again (she worked for the brand at the time; I was a broke artist breaking through in my
career). Needless to say, I fell in love. The descendant of this gorgeous oil (the original bottle I had, has since been discontinued) is Revive Rescue Elixir Anti-Ageing Oil (£220). I’m very wary of saying a product has actively changed my skin with one use but this is a product which is now a firm institution in my regime. I always keep it to hand. It takes six weeks for the skin to renew, nothing more than plumping through topical hydration
or smoothing by dermal fillers can be achieved instantly. That being said, this oil really does trick you into thinking you just skipped weeks into the future. You’ll feel like you took your makeup off completely every single night despite that extra Negroni you threw back those couple of times. You’ll believe you spared the time every Sunday for an at-home mask and had a facial at the start of that six weeks, from which you are fully
EVOLVE Radiant Glow Mask
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feeling the glow. Use it at night before your moisturiser when your skin needs an extra boost. Enjoy the benefits of murumuru, olive, coconut, meadowfoam seed, safflower, shea and sunflower oils to ‘retrain’ your skin to self hydrate, plus ‘double-layered biorenewal’ peptides to smooth and resurface. For one final flourish, I want to try and bridge the gap between skincare and makeup with Beauty Bio’s The Perfector. If there is anything to take away from this, it’s that skincare really does have to work hard these days. So much so that the lines between makeup and skincare are blurred
like the best balayage. Last summer across multiple away jobs in much more sunny climes than I reside in, this product really had my back. Oh, and this was tried and tested on myself and the models alike. This high-tech formula really does it all. Used alone or over moisturiser for drier skin types, it provides extra hydration whilst priming skin, smoothing pores and fine lines with a super silky feel. An auto-adjusting formula creates a filter finish with a sheer coverage. The Perfector is truly the perfect way to finish your skincare before you face the day – with SPF 30.
In all, it’s an exciting if undulating and expansive time for skincare. Do the Technicals or the Naturals win? I don’t know. But I feel as though even where there is championing of natural ingredients, synthesis and research is leading to the squeezing of every last bit of greatness from each raw ingredient. And why stop that progress? I can say, for sure, I enjoy dipping into different areas depending on my mood and the daily needs of my skin. Variety is the spice of life and I’m glad to be able to switch up my routine to fit each whim, whilst brands are able to provide the options to satisfy my wandering eye. TR
BEAUTYBIO The Perfector RÉVIVE Rescue Elixir
Sexy Fish - W1J Words: Peter J Robinson
“Is the astronaut’s helmet going to stay on?” I asked Jasper, the director. “Yes, it’s been bolstered with bubble wrap,” he replied.
headed back in with the renewed zeal that only comes from nicotine. The crew were adamant they were packing down by 4pm. I didn’t see it happening. I had dinner reservations, so even if I was right, I was leaving the set at 5pm bound for Mayfair.
would be moving shop to Sexy Fish to eventually become head sommelier. A great wine list alone wouldn’t be enough to make me cross the country; the man himself might be. As I was in London anyway, it was a moot point.
Sexy Fish. Yes, there’s the name. It opened in 2015 to appropriate pomp and ceremony. Enough’s been said about its ownership, its cost to build, and its patrons. It rapidly became a Mayfair institution, that much we know.
The first hurdle when travelling to the city for supper is parking. It’s cataclysmically difficult. It has been for decades, but Berkeley Square specifically is a nightmare of EuroPark proportions. You can, of course, arrive on foot, or have your driver circle Mayfair then fold you back into the Phantom at the end of the evening. By the grace of God, Greg spotted an ample space by the green. Naturally, we were incredibly suspicious. A parking space, in Mayfair, on a
“Okay. Let’s go for a take then”. It didn’t. It rattled around the aerialist’s neck during the more dramatic scenes, in a way that would make a national space agency ashamed. Hackney, we have a problem. My only moment of respite was lunch, which was the hastiest of affairs from a fast food outlet that shall remain nameless. Spicy chicken – draw your own conclusions. I took fifteen minutes to stand out in the frigid winter cold, enjoyed a Marlboro and
I heard about the latest addition to Caprice Holdings through old friend, Julain Sahut, formerly assistant head sommelier at the Dorchester’s China Tang restaurant. Sahut
DINING OUT : SEXY FISH
Friday night. Neither of us initially had the hubris to go for it. I assumed it was some form of new TFL ponzi parking scheme. Naturally, we caved, knowing that another lap of the square could be a 20-minute exercise.
Deco light fixtures, coral-coloured leather banquettes and a sizeable ceiling mural that covers the 190-seat restaurant. It’s bold and I, for one, rather like it. After all, dinner is not what you do in the evening before something else. Dinner is the evening.
Considering how prime its position on the square is, the exterior is rather understated. Though the interior decor is about as dramatic as anything I have ever seen. The floors are made of rare esmeralda onyx marble imported from Iran. There’s a large shoal of Frank Gehry fish lamps above the red stone bar that are guarded by some rather buxom bronze mermaids from Damien Hirst. Interior designer Martin Brudnizki has curated the interiors with Art
Having spent most of my afternoon being both negotiator and eye-roller in chief, I required a libation, ideally served by the yard. Instead, I opted for a slightly offpiste ‘Clog Nine’. Applewood infused gin, Absolut Elyx vodka, jasmine and coriander seed cordial supasawa and Mount Fuji bitters topped with soda water. “What’s it like?” boomed Greg over the music. “Order one and find out,” I replied. I have what could be deemed as a passing fancy for fine
liquor, but I just don’t have the certainty to be able to produce something that complex with thine own hands. Rather than try one of the 400 bottles that make up the world’s largest Japanese whisky collection, I stayed with the Clog Nine all ‘aperitif’. That’s as good a seal of approval as I can give anything when the alternatives are that hallowed. With two cocktails under our belts, it was time to peruse ‘the list’. The champagne section is heavy on prestige cuvées like Salon’s Le Mesnil 2002 and Bruno Paillard’s Nec Plus Ultra 1996. There is also a methuselah of DP 1995 if you’ve just initiated a coup d’état and conquered a small country. Not to mention 10 fine wines served by Coravin like the Château-Grillet
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2007 and a list of first growths culminating in a 1982 Latour. We opted for a bottle of Egon Muller’s Chateau Bela Riesling to formally start proceedings. Full disclosure, this was entirely the sommelier’s choice. I was running low on leadership prowess, so opted to let the professionals flex their indubitable knowledge. Some might find that a little difficult to come to terms with. So, to add insult to your perceived injury, we did exactly the same with our supper order. Of course, the trouble with letting your waiter choose your dishes is that 5 or 6 days later, you’re hungry again. With a menu that could be defined as fervently Asian, cross-continental influences range from Thai to Japanese, with some Chinese and Korean flavours applied for good measure. Dining out is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all. I intended to see exactly which foot the team at Sexy Fish elected to put forward. The first dishes to arrive were duck watermelon salad, a sashimi platter, salt and pepper squid, and sliced turbot. I smiled at the waiter as I phoned ahead for my gastric band fitting. I sensed this was only the beginning, but welcomed it with open arms the way a basset hound would, should it find the larder left open. You’re unlikely to find a better sashimi selection at any other London restaurant. With our initial dishes dispensed with predictable speed, we moved onto the next
culinary crusade. Beef gyoza, an incredible truffled carpaccio, Isle of Mull scallops with jalapeno sauce, miso glazed Chilean sea bass and wagyu beef with black truffle. I was staring up at Everest thinking ‘I am not sure I have the right shoes for this Tenzing’. Arguably my calorific intake for the day had been subpar, but this was like performing
miso-glazed seabass (not wanting to offend the wagyu cattle) was inspired. Delicate and delicious. The carpaccio was so light, like it was cleft by the gods themselves, then enthusiastically truffled into submission. The meal was akin to the last days of Rome; a war with only a knife and fork for defence.
“As we reflected on
As we sat back for a moment of respite, I decided this was the perfect moment to introduce to Greg what is claimed to be the world’s largest coral reef tank in the restaurant’s private dining room. It holds 15,000 litres of water and, at some point, I will find an opportunity to put it on film. That’s going to be a fun day for the key grip.
life moments before we decided to recreate the last supper in the middle of a Mayfair restaurant, Greg laid out a decisive plan. Red?
”
open-heart surgery with a cricket bat. As we reflected on life moments before we decided to recreate the last supper in the middle of a Mayfair restaurant, Greg laid out a decisive plan. “Red?”. “Yes, red indeed”. Cue a bottle of the Il Fauno di Arcanum Merlot. In the briefest of moments, the sommelier had secured our next oblation and I had managed to summon the strength of character to consider my next dish. The
When we returned, the DJ had decided it time to up the BPM and was headed into a full Bâoli-grade house set. What laid in wait for us at our table was a large vanilla cheesecake with strawberry and golden lime sorbet. All set atop a solid silver plinth. By this point, we were starting to garner attention from the restaurant’s other patrons. With a three-hour car ride on the horizon, I grasped my fork. It seemed like the right thing to do – and it was. Their pastry chef is every bit as gifted when it comes to matters of butter and cream as the rest of the kitchen team. Whether attending for a post-work glass of fizz or a banquet (for two in our case), I am a huge, drum-banging fan of Sexy Fish. Given that it’s been open since 2015, and is a Mayfair institution, evidently so are you. So, I invite you to ‘moor up’. TR
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AU T O M O T I V E : M O R G A N P L U S S I X
+6
Words and Pictures: Alexander Jaskowski
“We arrived at the Morgan factory to find the hallowed grounds shrouded in thick autumnal fog. The modest structures that form the iconic Malvern Wells site appearing from the misty abyss like anchored galleons; conditions that served to amplify the profound sense of mystique that envelopes what is one of the oldest and arguably most illustrious automotive complexes on the planet. Truly a day of Great British weather to experience one of Britain’s greatest automotive institutions.”
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O
ne hears about Morgan’s factory. The vivid preconceived mental image often formulated is one of moustachioed, pipe-toking ex-airmen in begrimed period coveralls, labouring over original jigs within traditional workshops steeped in history and alive to the beat of sawing and metal working. However, nothing quite prepares you for the immensity of the experience in witnessing the grandeur of it all first-hand. It’s a beguiling labyrinth of wonderment; a stark yet seamless
from the marque’s history. Cracking the door, the powerfully evocative aroma of age hits you instantly. A tapestry of photographs and plaques adorn the walls, and papers lay nonchalantly scattered on a leather top mahogany desk, as though the great man has simply popped out for lunch. It’s an almost overwhelmingly poignant experience, and one that I wholeheartedly recommend to car One of the resounding highlights of the enthusiasts and history aficionados alike. factory tour was Peter Morgan’s office. Perfectly preserved and frozen in time, it’s Morgan’s Malvern Wells factory, much like a Tutankhamun’s tomb of historical relics Hethel or Lode Lane, holds legendary status. It amalgamation of time-honoured processes and cutting-edge modern technology. The sense of being somewhere truly special is ever present and palpable. Cars in various stages of completion lay dormant as if in a state of suspended animation, waiting to have life bestowed unto them by Malvern’s crack team of master craftsmen and women.
is a place of unparalleled provenance. However, we were here on this particular occasion to experience something decidedly contemporary – introducing the Plus Six: the marques first all-new model in 19 years. ‘Really?’ I hear you derisively exclaim. Yes, really. Whilst this may look like every other four-wheeled model from the brand’s 110-year history, it is in fact, by anyone’s standards, a thoroughly modern sports car. Underpinned by Morgan’s new stateof-the-art, bonded aluminum ‘CX’ chassis, and powered by BMW’s latest B58 turbocharged inline-six, the Plus 6 heralds a revolutionary new
era for the Morgan Motor Company, and this versatility. right here, beneath my mortal bum cheeks, is Totally unphased by this particularly miserable genesis: chassis no. 001. bout of inclemency, the Plus Six tackled the Sadly, contrary to my overly-romanticised idea rutted, potholed tracks that somehow pass as of the day would pan out, the weather transpired public roads here in rural Gloucestershire, to be characteristically uncooperative. Ever with the comfort and composure of a wellthe optimist, and determined not to let the appointed GT car. The cabin space in the drab conditions deter me, I embarked upon Plus Six, unlike some Morgan’s of old, is the process of tentatively acquainting myself copious enough to accommodate even the with the Plus Six; the incessant rain and mud- most generously proportioned motorist, and caked roads creating the ideal environment the two-seater configuration allows for ample in which to explore the extent of its everyday storage space in the rear, enough for all the
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luggage one would ever need to sustain a long the risk of fouling my trousers, or the handweekend in the Cotswolds – just remember to upholstered leather seats. By removing the top, the sense of occasion is heightened pack wellies. tenfold; the evocate bark of the straight-six The interior aesthetic is a slightly surreal all-consuming in it’s amplification. amalgamation of classic Morgan and modern BMW switchgear, which strangely works. A 335hp may not sound earth shattering digital driver information screen has been by today’s standards, but the nature of its sympathetically incorporated into the centre of delivery, combined with the lack of mass, the instrument cluster, and for the more radical makes for a truly potent combination; a technophiles amongst us, there’s even an AUX potency that manifested itself one evening, cable situated in the glove compartment, which to the detriment of a rather unsuspecting is sure to have some die-hard traditionalists Porsche Cayman driver, who was shocked and bemused in equal measure by the Plus Six’s choking on their stout. sudden and perceivably uncharacteristic turn I believe the Plus Six’s stated power output figure of pace up as I accelerated past him on Fish of 335hp has been somewhat conservatively Hill. calculated. As has been previously proven with the B58, in both its Supra and Z4 guise, There’s something wonderfully contradictory I suspect (having personally driven all three) about the Plus 6. On the one hand, it’s that the actual figure is, in fact, notably higher. the embodiment of British sophistication: Integrated into a platform that weighs little more than a 1000kg (almost half a ton lighter than it’s B58-engined peers), and with the omission of complicated electronic driver aids, the Plus 6 offers a uniquely exhilarating and unadulterated driving experience that belies its classic appearance. The lack of immediacy that often plagues forced induction drivetrains is a complete non-issue in this instance, due in part to the B58’s innovative twin-scroll turbocharger. dignified, cultured and eternally stylish. There will undoubtedly be those who mourn However, at the drop of a tweed cap, it’s the loss of the sonorous, baritone V8, but the transformed into a raucous, froth-mouthed six-cylinder has a beguiling character all of lunatic, shouting and spitting like an antiit’s own. Furthermore, 35MPG is capable with social youth. It’s a noisy, two-fingered salute little to no effort, a genuinely impressive feat to conformity; a bit like turning up to the queen’s garden party wearing nothing but considering the performance on offer. winkle-pickers and a g-string. The art of successfully modernising a piece of iconic, classical design is one that has Slipping the 8-speed ZF transmission from evaded many manufacturers in recent years. auto to manual and engaging Sport+, the The Plus Six is a beautiful and harmonious visceral cacophony of exhaust and induction amalgamation of classic and contemporary, noise envelopes you as you power up through a master class in tasteful modernisation. The the ratios, urging you to bury your right foot unmistakable Morgan silhouette has been increasingly deeper into the carpet. Pulling subtly yet effectively altered. The Plus Six is on the steering wheel-mounted paddles, a wider and lower: the period-style grill has slight lateral twitch as the Morgan’s bespoke been extensively redesigned, and the large Avons fight to overcome to Plus Six’s colossal chrome bumpers have gone in favour of a more torque on the grimy autumnal country roads contemporary-looking sculpted lower valance. serves to emphasise the sense of exposure It’s difficult to comprehensively pinpoint the and potential danger surrounding the task exact elements of its architecture that give it it’s in-hand, as you engage in another mad dash decidedly contemporary presence. However, to the redline. one thing is for sure: the cumulative result of these numerous revisions is a truly worthy Forget about variable drift control and the raft of other contemporary electronic modern evocation of a historic icon. driver assists, this is a driver’s car in its most A brief intermission in the rain presented an uncorrupted form. The Plus Six wasn’t opportunity to get the roof down, which purists developed to flatter the egos of pot-bellied will be pleased to know is a quintessentially, bankers. It requires a concerted effort to digit damaging, Morgan-esque experience. drive it on, or near, the limit, however, and The ever-so-slightly dryer conditions were at great rewards await those proficient enough least conducive to me properly exercising the to harness its true capability. There’s an acute Plus Six’s performance capabilities, without sense of connectivity one feels behind the
“The Plus Six is a beautiful and harmonious amalgamation of classic and contemporary.”
wheel of the Plus Six, a level of engagement that is all-too-often absent in today’s high-tech performance cars. A lighter, stronger, more torsional rigid chassis, with a fully-independent, bespoke suspension set-up, and a more optimum weight distribution – due in large part to the lighter six-cylinder engine – ultimately bestows the Plus Six with a far greater degree of composure and dynamic proficiency over the outgoing Plus 8. The initial turn in feels precise and controlled, and the veritable tsunami of torque that serves to propel you out the other side is endlessly grin-inducing. The power steering, whilst electric, is perfectly calibrated, and offers an extremely good level of feedback through the steering wheel. In the dry, the Plus Six handles corners with an accuracy and sure-footed competency to rival any of the current raft of high-performance sports cars – although I would advise exercising a certain degree of caution in the wet. Within the space of a few short days, I’d become completely besotted with the Plus Six. Even with a modern, turbocharged drivetrain and a multitude of other modern elements, that unquantifiable and unique sense of engagement that only seems to be prevalent with classic cars is still very much present. As you eventually come to rest after a spirited drive, the heat haze swelling from the louvered bonnet vents, the blood settling in your veins and your heart rate slowly normalising, you can’t help but feel overcome with an overwhelming profound sense that, although this new Morgan is as contemporary as Netflix or selfie-ing, it’s still very much an event. The Plus Six commands attention in a way no garish supercar ever could. It’s highly revered, by young and old alike. It heralds a dramatic, revolutionary new era for the Morgan Motor Company. However the human element is still very much at the core of everything they do, and the Plus Six is certainly no exception. It is, unequivocally, the perfect antidote to the banality of modern motoring. TR
Specifications PRICE: £81,995.00 ENGINE: TwinPower Turbo inline six-cylinder 0-60: 4.2 seconds TOP SPEED: 166 LENGTH/WIDTH/HEIGHT: 3,890 mm L x 1,756 mm W x 1,220 mm H WEIGHT: 1,075kg unladen. ECONOMY: 34 mpg
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passione est 1960 Words: Gillian Montgomery Photography: Maurizio Raffaele
There are some self-evident truths when it comes to style icons. The E-Type Jaguar, the Rolex Daytona, the Chanel 2.55 and the Riva Aquarama. Each sets the standard in its respective field and can confidently hold court with some of the world’s most celebrated designs.
I
n 1842, on Lago d’Iseo, Pietro Riva established The Riva boatyard. There had been a great storm that year which had lashed the lake and damaged the boats of the local fisherman. The men persuaded a young shipbuilder, who had just moved to the lake from Laglio to repair their boats over the coming months to allow them to return to their trade. Pietro obliged and, in doing so, established the trust of the locals which would form the cornerstone of his fledgling boatbuilding business. As time marches on and modernity begins to penetrate even the most established of old-world brands, Bellini Nautica remains as a stalwart emissary for restoring, servicing and maintaining these most stylish of vessels. Bellini Nautica is where vintage Rivas are reborn.
The image of cruising across the Italian lakes in a Riva, the sound of that engine in the background, the bright sunshine reflecting off the high gloss varnished woodwork. But if you want to be a part of that ideal, you’ll need to move quickly and with some deft. The world of classic sailing vessels is getting smaller and with market forces increasing demand, you’ll need a broker and a restorer. The ability to restore mahogany Rivas is a skill only held by a few worldwide. Bellini Nautica are one of the few who can also rebuild a boats entire electrical system from scratch. Established in 1960, Bellini Nautica is one of only three companies on Lake Iseo that charters classic Rivas. Known as “the Ferrari of the Seas”, we sense this is more a case of using sprat to catch a mackerel. Chances are, once you’ve experienced its gleaming mahogany hull and
period details, you’ll be setting your purchase affairs in order.
“We feel it’s important to preserve the history of this legendary brand and have some of the rarest models that even Riva doesn’t have in its own collection”
M A R I N E : B E L L I N I NA U T I C A
period details, you’ll be setting your purchase affairs in order. Passed down through the family for generations, we sat down with Battista Bellini, the grandson of the workshop’s founder, to learn a little more about what goes into the restoration process. When did you know you were taking the reins? I would say the day I was born. Although I only really began to work in the company five years ago. I have a passion for wooden boats, but also a passion for humanity – and meeting people. I just love to meet people to share my passion with them. My grandfather started about 50 years ago, building Bellini wooden boats. Wooden boats were fashionable at the time. Everyone wanted to look like Brigitte
Bardot in her own Riva in St Tropez. It was a golden era. The boats were handcrafted and therefore expensive, so were only for wealthy customers. But as the years went by, plastic and resin boats became more prevalent and wooden boats became just old boats. My grandfather died when my father was 17, but before he died, he told him, “Don’t build boats, it’s too difficult to survive doing that now.” And so, my father decided to focus on the servicing, storage, buying, selling and restoration of these old wooden boats. Can you tell us about the company’s private collection? Yes, we have 17 Rivas in our collection. We have almost every model and every evolution of each model. We feel it’s important to preserve the history of this legendary brand and have some
of the rarest models that even Riva doesn’t have in its own collection. In addition, we have boats such as the Sebino, the second built of a series of 13 boats, and the Lancetta, one of the very first models built by Riva and the only example remaining in the world. For sure, there are some boats missing from our collection, such as the Scoiattolo – Italian for squirrel – from the very early years. There are only two or three remaining in the world. Are these purely show pieces then, or do they ever touch water? Certainly, as much as we can! For example, at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, some of the Rivas used as shuttles for the VIPs are from our collection. That’s another way to share our passion.
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Market Roundup
Stocks have recovered globally to levels last seen in early March on fresh stimulus measures and hopes that economies are on the mend as lockdowns ease.
T
Words: Invesco Asset Management
he reopening of economies has been a common theme across the markets in recent weeks, as they largely shrugged off concerns over renewed tensions between the US and China after the US said that it no longer considers Hong Kong autonomous from China. However, there is still bleak economic data coming in, including the recent US jobless claims rising by another 2.1 million. The recovery in equity prices experienced in recent weeks can in large part be attributed to the expected impact of a dramatic easing of fiscal and monetary policies in all the major economies. But has this market rally come too far, too fast?
US
US stocks attractive has risen to the highest level in nearly five years, according to a recent Bank of America Global Fund Manager Survey. The bank said its May survey found a net 24% of respondents were overweight US stocks versus their global weighting, the most since July 2015. Last month’s equity rally was initially led by technology stocks although market leadership thereafter shifted to sectors that have been laggards in recent times, for example value stocks like financials, which typically trade at low multiples of their book values. Industrials also benefited on hopes of a broader recovery for the US economy as more than 130,000 workers at the major car manufacturers returned to work. Overall, however, the US labour markets remain weak with the unemployment rate in April rising to 14.7%, a figure not seen since the 1930s. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that the rate could peak in May or June at 20% to 25%.
US equity markets advanced higher during May, encouraged by signs of states and businesses around the country reopening. Positive sentiment was also enhanced by the potential development of a coronavirus vaccine although the number of Covid-19 cases continued to rise.
US consumers cut spending by the most on record for the second straight month while boosting savings to an all-time high. Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of US economic activity, fell 13.6% last month.
While news on the economy remains grim - the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits in the two months since the coronavirus took hold in the US has swelled to nearly 39 million - stocks have displayed resilience with the S&P500 index recording its best two- month performance since 2009.
Spending was depressed by lower health care expenditure on items such as elective surgeries. Hotels and restaurants also reported lower takings despite personal incomes surging 10.5% in May as the government’s historic fiscal package, worth nearly US$3 trillion, handed out one-time US$1,200 cheques to millions of people.
However, with company earnings under pressure due to the lockdown, US stock valuations - as measured by the S&P500 index 12-month forward price earnings ratio - are currently at their highest level in two decades.
In other developments tension between the US and China rose in light of Beijing’s intent to insert new legal provisions into Hong Kong’s constitution, including measures aimed at curbing secession, foreign interference and sedition. Closer to home,
The percentage of fund managers who deem
F I NA N C E : M A R K E T R O U N D U P
Government Bonds
Yield to maturity1 (%) 31.05.20
30.04.20
29.02.20
30.11.19
US Treasuries 2 year
0.16
0.20
0.91
1.61
31.05.19 1.92
US Treasuries 10 year
0.65
0.64
1.15
1.78
2.12
US Treasuries 30 year
1.41
1.28
1.68
2.21
2.57
UK Gilts 2 year
-0.04
0.02
0.31
0.54
0.60
UK Gilts 10 year
0.18
0.23
0.44
0.70
0.89
UK Gilts 30 year
0.58
0.57
0.94
1.21
1.47
German Bund 2 year
-0.66
-0.76
-0.77
-0.63
-0.66
German Bund 10 year
-0.45
-0.59
-0.61
-0.36
-0.20
German Bund 30 year
0.00
-0.18
-0.15
0.15
0.43
Source: Bloomberg LP, Merrill Lynch data. Data as at 31 May 2020. The yield is not guaranteed and may go down as well as up.
Corporate Bonds
Yield to maturity1 (%)/Spread2 (bps) 31.05.20
30.04.20
29.02.20
30.11.19
31.05.19
£ AAA
1.23
86
1.30
93
1.32
64
1.52
63
1.84
74
£ AA
1.29
112
1.54
129
1.29
76
1.46
70
1.72
80
£A
1.87
161
2.09
177
1.81
124
2.02
121
2.43
141
£ BBB
2.70
243
2.82
250
2.33
173
2.58
174
2.99
201
€ AAA
0.27
70
0.28
82
0.09
66
0.18
55
0.40
67
€ AA
0.34
92
0.42
111
-0.01
71
0.09
62
0.23
74
€A
0.87
138
0.91
155
0.33
99
0.41
86
0.60
105
€ BBB
1.57
206
1.61
222
0.79
137
0.89
127
1.22
162
European High Yield (inc € + £)
5.43
583
6.10
660
3.92
422
3.82
364
4.45
446
Source: Bloomberg LP, Merrill Lynch data. Data as at 31 May 2020. The yield is not guaranteed and may go down as well as up. 1 Yield to maturity – is the total return anticipated on a bond if the bond is held until it matures. 2 Credit spread – difference in yields offered by corporate bonds over government bonds, that have similar maturity but different credit quality.
Global currency movements – figures to 31 May 2020 Current value
Change over: 1 month 3 months 6 months (%) (%) (%)
YTD (%)
2019 (%)
2018 (%)
2017 (%)
2016 (%)
2015 (%)
2014 (%)
2013 (%)
2012 (%)
Euro/US Dollar
1.11
1.3
0.7
0.7
-1.0
-1.0
-4.4
14.1
-3.2
-10.2
-12.0
4.2
1.9
Euro/GB Sterling
0.90
3.3
4.5
5.5
6.4
6.4
1.3
4.2
15.7
-5.1
-6.4
2.1
-2.4
Euro/Swiss Franc
1.07
0.9
0.2
-3.2
-1.7
-1.7
-3.7
9.2
-1.6
-9.5
-2.0
1.6
-0.5
Euro/Swedish Krona
10.46
-2.2
-1.2
-0.8
-0.4
-0.4
3.2
2.7
4.4
-2.7
6.6
3.2
-3.9
Euro/Norwegian Krone
10.79
-3.9
4.1
6.2
9.6
9.6
0.6
8.4
-5.4
6.2
8.4
13.7
-5.4
Euro/Danish Krone
7.45
-0.2
-0.3
-0.3
-0.3
-0.3
0.3
0.2
-0.5
0.2
-0.2
0.0
0.4
Euro/Polish Zloty
4.45
-2.3
2.7
3.0
4.5
4.5
2.7
-5.1
3.3
-0.6
3.2
1.8
-8.6
Euro/Hungarian Forint
346.60
-1.8
2.5
3.5
4.7
4.7
3.3
0.5
-2.0
-0.3
6.5
2.1
-7.6
US Dollar/Yen
107.79
0.6
-0.3
-1.6
-0.8
-0.8
-2.8
-3.6
-2.8
0.5
13.7
21.4
12.7 -2.7
US Dollar/Canadian Dollar US Dollar/South African Rand US Dollar/Brazilian Real US Dollar/South Korean Won
1.38
-1.2
2.8
3.7
6.0
6.0
8.4
-6.4
-2.9
19.1
9.4
7.1
17.55
-5.3
12.0
19.8
25.4
25.4
16.1
-9.9
-11.2
33.8
10.2
24.1
4.5
5.34
-2.7
19.3
26.0
32.8
32.8
17.2
1.8
-17.8
49.0
12.5
15.3
9.9
1231.59
1.5
2.6
4.2
6.6
6.6
4.4
-11.6
2.7
7.5
4.1
-0.7
-8.2
US Dollar/Taiwan Dollar
29.96
0.6
-0.6
-1.9
0.2
0.2
3.1
-8.6
-1.2
3.8
6.1
2.7
-4.1
US Dollar/Thai Baht
31.82
-2.0
1.0
5.4
6.9
6.9
-0.7
-9.2
-0.5
9.5
0.6
6.9
-3.1
US Dollar/Singapore Dollar
1.41
0.0
1.3
3.2
5.0
5.0
1.9
-7.7
2.2
6.9
4.9
3.4
-5.8
US Dollar/GB Sterling
0.81
2.0
3.3
4.6
7.2
7.2
6.2
-8.7
19.3
5.8
-5.9
1.9
4.6
21.66
-7.2
7.8
14.3
16.6
16.6
9.6
-1.4
-25.7
26.6
3.7
26.6
9.2
Australian Dollar/US Dollar
0.67
2.4
2.4
-1.4
-5.1
-5.1
-9.6
8.1
-0.9
-10.9
-8.4
-14.2
1.6
New Zealand Dollar/US Dollar
0.62
1.3
-0.8
-3.4
-7.9
-7.9
-5.2
2.0
1.7
-12.4
-5.0
-0.9
6.4
GB Sterling/South African Rand
Source: Thomson Reuters Datastream, all figures subject to rounding.
THE REVIEW 2020 117
civil unrest broke out across major US cities towards the end of May.
EUROPE
European equity markets rallied strongly for a consecutive month as countries across the region began easing lockdown measures. Markets were also buoyed by further central bank easing (not just in Europe, but across the globe), as well as positive developments at the European level with regards to how the economic recovery would be funded. Against this backdrop, all sectors in the broad market returned positively. Utilities, Industrials, Information Technology and Consumer Discretionary were the best performing and all comfortably beat the broad market average. In political news, Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron put forward
quarter GDP, company earnings, etc.).
consent from national parliaments – but developments are looking positive with the European Commission already having ratified the original proposal, as well as increasing the size of the fund by 50% to €750bn.
UK
In anticipation of a resumption of economic growth, and a corresponding recovery in corporate earnings, the UK equity market ended the month higher amid the continued loosening of pandemic-related restrictions. News of a possible Covid-19 vaccine also boosted returns, though volatility remained high.
The euro area composite PMI (Purchasing
“The banking sector
shed 80,000 employees in 2019 alone, and Bloomberg predicts another 200,000 positions would be made obsolete in the next decade.
”
While equity market prices fell sharply in the first quarter of 2020, they continued to recover steadily over the past two months and overall UK equity prices increased by around a fifth from the low point on 23 March to the 29 May, however they remain below pre-Covid levels.
a proposal for a joint €500bn ‘Recovery Fund’. Based on the initial proposal, the European Commission would borrow money on behalf of the whole EU and offer grants to European Manager’s Index) recovered to 30.5 (13.5 in April), beating consensus estimates, supported Union regions and sectors hit hardest by the both by manufacturing and services. The lockdown. German ifo Business Climate Index, a leading indicator for economic activity in Germany, These grants would be “based on a clear also rose to 79.5 (74.2 in April), modestly commitment from Member States to follow beating consensus forecasts. sound economic policies and an ambitious reform agenda”, with the money to be spent As lockdown measures continue to ease, on a more “green” and digital economy. we would expect activity levels to continue to recover. However, it is worth noting that This facility would be temporary and must although soft data (e.g. surveys, sentiment, be paid back within a clearly specified time etc.) may have bottomed out, we have yet horizon. It will still need the buy-in of all governments – and in many cases will require to see the worst hit hard data (e.g. second
The recovery in equity prices experienced in recent weeks can in large part be attributed to the expected impact of a dramatic easing of fiscal and monetary policies in all the major economies. Taken together, the measures put in place to help support household and corporate cash flows during lockdown are generally expected to encourage the stabilisation of economic activity in the UK in the second half of 2020 and the resumption of economic growth in 2021. Travel and leisure stocks rallied in May and the share prices of retailers rose as non-essential retailers looked set to re-open. Meanwhile, the materials sector was the strongest performing area of the market over
Government Bonds
Yield to maturity1 (%) 31.05.20
30.04.20
29.02.20
30.11.19
US Treasuries 2 year
0.16
0.20
0.91
1.61
31.05.19 1.92
US Treasuries 10 year
0.65
0.64
1.15
1.78
2.12
US Treasuries 30 year
1.41
1.28
1.68
2.21
2.57
UK Gilts 2 year
-0.04
0.02
0.31
0.54
0.60
UK Gilts 10 year
0.18
0.23
0.44
0.70
0.89
UK Gilts 30 year
0.58
0.57
0.94
1.21
1.47
German Bund 2 year
-0.66
-0.76
-0.77
-0.63
-0.66
German Bund 10 year
-0.45
-0.59
-0.61
-0.36
-0.20
German Bund 30 year
0.00
-0.18
-0.15
0.15
0.43
Source: Bloomberg LP, Merrill Lynch data. Data as at 31 May 2020. The yield is not guaranteed and may go down as well as up.
Corporate Bonds
Yield to maturity1 (%)/Spread2 (bps) 31.05.20
30.04.20
29.02.20
30.11.19
31.05.19
£ AAA
1.23
86
1.30
93
1.32
64
1.52
63
1.84
74
£ AA
1.29
112
1.54
129
1.29
76
1.46
70
1.72
80
£A
1.87
161
2.09
177
1.81
124
2.02
121
2.43
141
£ BBB
2.70
243
2.82
250
2.33
173
2.58
174
2.99
201
German Bund 30 year
0.00
-0.18
-0.15
0.15
0.43
Source: Bloomberg LP, Merrill Lynch data. Data as at 31 May 2020. The yield is not guaranteed and may go down as well as up.
Corporate Bonds
Yield to maturity1 (%)/Spread2 (bps) 31.05.20
30.04.20
29.02.20
30.11.19
31.05.19
£ AAA
1.23
86
1.30
93
1.32
64
1.52
63
1.84
74
£ AA
1.29
112
1.54
129
1.29
76
1.46
70
1.72
80
£A
1.87
161
2.09
177
1.81
124
2.02
121
2.43
141
£ BBB
2.70
243
2.82
250
2.33
173
2.58
174
2.99
201
€ AAA
0.27
70
0.28
82
0.09
66
0.18
55
0.40
67
€ AA
0.34
92
0.42
111
-0.01
71
0.09
62
0.23
74
€A
0.87
138
0.91
155
0.33
99
0.41
86
0.60
105
€ BBB
1.57
206
1.61
222
0.79
137
0.89
127
1.22
162
European High Yield (inc € + £)
5.43
583
6.10
660
3.92
422
3.82
364
4.45
446
Source: Bloomberg LP, Merrill Lynch data. Data as at 31 May 2020. The yield is not guaranteed and may go down as well as up. 1 Yield to maturity – is the total return anticipated on a bond if the bond is held until it matures. 2 Credit spread – difference in yields offered by corporate bonds over government bonds, that have similar maturity but different credit quality.
Global currency movements – figures to 31 May 2020 Change over: Current 1 month 3 months 6 months valuemining(%) (%) the Federal as gold group (%)
the month. Miners such Euro/US DollarMining were particularly 1.11 1.3 Hochschild strong. Euro/GB Sterling
0.90
Euro/Swiss Franc Hochschild was
by1.07 the
3.3 0.9 outlook
supported Euro/Swedish 10.46 -2.2 for the priceKrona of gold becoming more positive Euro/Norwegian Krone of its operations 10.79 and the resumption at-3.9 its Euro/Danish Krone Oil stocks were 7.45the biggest -0.2 Peruvian mines. Euro/Polish Zloty a month since 4.45 -2.3 laggard in May, US oil prices Euro/Hungarian Forint briefly plunged below zero,346.60 amplifying-1.8 US Dollar/Yen 107.79 0.6 the already big economic shocks from the US Dollar/Canadian Dollar 1.38 -1.2 coronavirus and the price war between oil US Dollar/South African Rand 17.55 -5.3 producers Russia and Saudi Arabia.
YTD
2019
2018
9.6
9.6
0.6
(%)fund from (%) investing (%) in pension 0.7 0.7 equity -1.0 -4.4 the Chinese market -1.0 and the Senate 4.5 5.5legislation 6.4 to increase 6.4 1.3 has passed scrutiny 0.2 -3.2ADRs (American -1.7 -1.7 -3.7 of Chinese Depositary -1.2 -0.8 -0.4 -0.4 3.2 Receipts). 4.1
6.2
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
(%) (%)market(%) contrast, the(%) Taiwanese was weak(%) 14.1 partly -3.2 -10.2 -12.0issuing 4.2 thanks to Apple not guidance1.9 4.2 for the 15.7 -6.4 second -5.1 quarter (2020) and2.1 the US -2.4 9.2 restrictions -1.6 on Huawei. -9.5 -2.0 -0.5a Finally, oil1.6 prices saw 2.7 strong4.4 -2.7renewed 6.6demand 3.2 -3.9 month on as US and 8.4 other -5.4 6.2 8.4 major economies began to 13.7 come out-5.4 of 0.2 lockdown. -0.5 0.2 -0.2 0.0 0.4
-0.3also a tightening -0.3 -0.3 0.3 was of restrictions 2.7 3.0of US technology 4.5 4.5and software 2.7 -5.1 3.3 -0.6 3.2 1.8 -8.6 on the sale 2.5 3.5and a US 4.7announcement 4.7 3.3 0.5 Japan’s -2.0 -0.3 6.5 the month 2.1 -7.6 equity market ended to Huawei that -0.3 -1.6 -0.8 -0.8 -3.6 0.5 13.7 higher-2.8 as investor sentiment was 21.4 supported12.7 the process of stripping Hong Kong-2.8 of 2.8 3.7 6.0 6.0 8.4 -6.4 -2.9 19.1 9.4 7.1 -2.7 by expectations for a resumption of economic its ‘special status’ would start following 12.0 19.8 25.4 25.4 16.1 -9.9 -11.2 33.8 10.2 24.1 4.5 activity in Japan and overseas. These China’s introduction of the National US Dollar/Brazilian Real 5.34 -2.7 19.3 26.0 32.8 32.8 17.2 1.8 -17.8 49.0 12.5 15.3 9.9 expectations were fuelled in part by the Security Law. The US has long afforded the US Dollar/South Korean Won 1231.59 1.5 2.6 4.2 6.6 6.6 4.4 -11.6 2.7 7.5 4.1 -0.7 -8.2 decision of the Japanese authorities to lift the semiautonomous territory a special status In terms of corporate news, amid a focus on US Dollar/Taiwan Dollar 29.96 0.6 -0.6 -1.9 0.2 0.2 3.1 -8.6 -1.2 3.8 6.1 2.7 -4.1 state of emergency. dividends and company cash flows, Vodafone which has helped Hong Kong to become US Dollar/Thai Baht 31.82 -2.0 1.0 5.4 6.9 6.9 -0.7 -9.2 -0.5 9.5 0.6 6.9 -3.1 a global financial hub and act as a gateway maintained its dividend but warned that US Dollar/Singapore Dollar 1.41 0.0 1.3 3.2 5.0 5.0 1.9 -7.7 2.2 6.9 4.9 3.4 -5.8 During May, there was a stream of earnings between China and the US. This threat to the pandemic had cast uncertainty over its US Dollar/GB Sterling 0.81 2.0 3.3 4.6 7.2 7.2 6.2 -8.7 19.3 5.8 -5.9 1.9 4.6 reports by March fiscal year-end companies its special status ensured that the Hong full-year outlook. EasyJet announced plans to 7.8 GB Sterling/South African Rand 21.66 -7.2 14.3 16.6 16.6 9.6 -1.4 -25.7 26.6 3.7 26.6 9.2 among-0.9 which -10.9 there were-8.4 more negative Kong equity market was among the weakest cut staff numbers by 30% as it seeks to reduce Australian Dollar/US Dollar 0.67 2.4 2.4 -1.4 -5.1 -5.1 -9.6 8.1 -14.2 1.6 surprises than positive surprises and, as a 6.4 performers over the month. costs to prepare for a prolonged period of New Zealand Dollar/US Dollar 0.62 1.3 -0.8 -3.4 -7.9 -7.9 -5.2 2.0 1.7 -12.4 -5.0 -0.9 result, market expectations for corporate weaker demand due to the fallout of the Source: Thomson Reuters Datastream, all figures subject to rounding. earnings going forward have moved down In China, the monthly economic data pandemic. Cruise operator Carnival had a considerably. Share buybacks have also fallen indicated that the domestic recovery was class action lawsuit filed against it, accusing but most companies have either increased or beginning to get back on track with the it of making false and misleading statements maintained dividends. production side of the economy returning about passengers infected with Covid-19 on to pre-COVID-19 levels while, at the same two Carnival cruise ships. time, the annual National People’s Congress meeting announced a higher- than-expected fiscal support package. Asian equity market performance was Elsewhere, the South Korean equity market mixed over the month as US-China tensions Emerging equity markets took comfort from rose as interest rates were cut by 25 basis re-escalated. While investor sentiment was the reopening of virus-hit economies around points and the economy showed signs of helped by a stabilization in the COVID-19 the world despite the rate of infections investment cannot be made into an in index directly. datato shown recoveryAn with several indicators, such as retail global infection rate, an easing of lockdown Brazil, RussiaThe andperformance India continuing to exports, a past period. Past performance not a guide future efforts returns. sales andrelates customs coming in ahead measures and central banks’ stimulus plans, rise.isSupported byto stimulus from of expectations. The ASEAN markets (except governments and central banks, as well as US-China confrontations expanded from trade to technology, financial and geopolitical Singapore) also performed well as investors optimism that a coronavirus vaccine will Page 08 of 10 moved to safe assets that were not at the core eventually be developed, the asset class issues. of the escalating US-China tensions. generated positive, albeit modest, returns last month. Over the past month, the US has prevented
ASIA
-0.3 There
2017 (%) In
EMERGING MARKETS
THE REVIEW 2020 119
was in line with expectations, reflecting lockdowns that had started in late March. Political tensions continued to simmer in Brazil following the resignation of the health minister, although the government’s To soften the impact of Covid-19, interest rates economics team – key to implementing much were cut in several countries, including Brazil, needed reform in Brazil – remains intact. Mexico, South Korea, India and South Africa. With the exception of Egypt and UAE, all Commodity prices bounced back somewhat, other countries in the EMEA (Europe, Middle led by energy prices, with metals such as East and Africa) region registered equity gold and silver also recording price gains. Commodity- sensitive currencies strengthened gains. Economies with close links to Europe did particularly well as the easing of lockdowns in value against the US dollar with the Mexican peso and Russian rouble appreciating fuelled optimism that life was getting back to normal. Sentiment towards Russia was the most. aided by a sharp rise in oil prices. Poland’s Weakness in Hong Kong-listed stocks dragged presidential election was delayed due to the pandemic. down the performance of Asian equity markets as the proposal of a new national security law for the ex-British colony put its special status into jeopardy. Furthermore, Sino-US relations took a turn for the worse with the potential imposition of compensatory tariffs on China by the US for Covid-19 related The rally in risk assets that began in late losses. March continued. As the market became more optimistic, performance was skewed towards Fears that the financial conflict between the high yield, which had until now lagged the two countries could worsen was heightened recovery seen in investment grade markets. by the US Senate passing a bill that may force Two factors contributed to the ongoing rally: Chinese companies listed in the US, including strong central bank support, and a continued ADRs (American Depositary Receipts), to slowing of Covid-19, which has led many delist three years after being enacted. countries to start exiting lockdown. Overall gains, however, were held back by mild weakness in Asia. Health care was the best performing sector with real estate and financials being the laggards.
FIXED INTEREST
The positive performance of Latin American equity markets was led by Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. It was a strong month for local currencies too. Aside from real estate, all other sectors rose with technology and consumer discretionary coming out top. Interest rates were cut in Brazil from 3.75% to 3.0% with Banxico (Mexico’s central bank) taking a more gradualist approach by trimming theirs to 5.5% from 6.0%.
This overall positive tone was, however, challenged earlier in the month. The knock to sentiment followed a ruling by the German Constitutional Court that the ECB’S Public Sector Purchase Programme (PSPP) constituted economic policy. Italian government bonds and corporate bonds in the wider eurozone sold off in the immediate aftermath as investors weighed up the implication of the ruling.
On the macroeconomic front, the data
However, sentiment turned again later in the
month following a joint announcement that France and Germany had agreed a €500bn recovery fund for the Eurozone. The proposal was given further impetus by a subsequent announcement by the European Commission of a €750bn recovery fund composed of €500bn worth of grants and €250bn of loans. While the package needs the agreement of all members, the fact that Germany and France are on board has helped buoy sentiment. Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey left the door open for the UK to follow other central banks and adopt negative interest rates. His comments helped UK government yields to fall further. By the end of the month, yields had fallen below zero on UK government bonds maturing between 2 and 6-years’ time. Indeed, during the month, the UK was able to issue a negative yielding bond for the first time. £3.75bn was raised in a 3-year bond at an interest rate of -0.003%. As countries began to emerge from lockdown, oil prices continued to strengthen. By the end of the month, the price of West Texas Intermediate Crude was up 88% from US$18.84 a barrel at the start of the month. Despite this, default rates in the US, which has a high concentration of energy companies, have continued to rise with a number of energy companies filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Rating agency Fitch stated that the US default rate is on course to hit a 10-year high in May. By the end of the month, Sterling investment grade credit spreads (the premium companies need to pay to borrow over government bonds) had narrowed by 10bps to 197bps. European high yield spreads had tightened 77bps to 583bps and US high yield had tightened 108bps to 654bps.
Global equity and commodity index performance – figures to 31 May 2020 1 month 3 months 6 months
YTD
2019
(%) 2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012 16.5
Global US & Canada MSCI World (US$)
4.9
1.1
-5.2
-8.0
28.4
-8.2
23.1
8.2
-0.3
5.5
24.7
MSCI World Value (US$)
2.9
-6.7
-15.5
-18.0
22.7
-10.1
18.0
13.2
-4.1
4.4
27.5
16.4
MSCI World Growth (US$)
6.5
8.2
5.0
2.0
34.1
-6.4
28.5
3.2
3.5
6.6
27.2
16.6
MSCI World Small Cap (US$)
7.1
-3.6
-11.9
-14.9
26.8
-13.5
23.2
13.3
0.1
2.3
32.9
18.1
MSCI Emerging Markets (US$)
0.8
-6.9
-9.6
-15.9
18.9
-14.2
37.8
11.6
-14.6
-1.8
-2.3
18.6
FTSE World (US$)
4.8
0.5
-5.7
-8.8
27.7
-8.8
24.1
8.7
-1.4
4.8
24.7
17.0
Dow Jones Industrials
4.7
0.6
-8.4
-10.1
25.3
-3.5
28.1
16.5
0.2
10.0
29.7
10.2
S&P 500
4.8
3.6
-2.1
-5.0
31.5
-4.4
21.8
12.0
1.4
13.7
32.4
16.0
NASDAQ
6.9
11.1
10.1
6.2
36.7
-2.8
29.6
8.9
7.0
14.8
40.1
17.5
Russell 2000
6.5
-5.2
-13.5
-15.9
25.5
-11.0
14.6
21.3
-4.4
4.9
38.8
16.4
S&P/ TSX Composite
3.0
-5.7
-9.3
-9.7
22.9
-8.9
9.1
21.1
-8.3
10.6
13.0
7.2
FTSE World Europe ex-UK €
4.5
-4.1
-10.5
-12.0
27.6
-10.5
13.0
3.4
10.9
0.2
25.2
17.8
MSCI Europe
3.1
-6.1
-13.4
-15.1
26.9
-10.0
10.9
3.2
8.8
7.4
20.5
18.1
CAC 40
3.4
-10.7
-19.5
-20.6
30.5
-8.0
12.7
8.9
11.9
2.7
22.2
20.4
DAX
6.7
-2.6
-12.5
-12.6
25.5
-18.3
12.5
6.9
9.6
2.7
25.5
29.1
Ibex 35
3.0
-17.5
-22.3
-24.1
16.8
-11.4
11.4
-4.8
-3.8
8.0
30.0
1.8
FTSEMIB
3.8
-16.4
-20.7
-21.5
33.8
-13.2
17.3
-6.5
15.8
3.0
20.5
12.2
Swiss Market Index (capital returns)
2.1
0.0
-6.3
-7.4
26.0
-10.2
14.1
-6.8
-1.8
9.5
20.2
14.9
Amsterdam Exchanges
4.1
-0.3
-9.7
-10.8
28.5
-7.4
16.5
13.6
7.4
8.7
20.7
14.1
HSBC European Smaller Cos ex-UK
6.3
-3.9
-9.3
-12.0
27.8
-13.6
18.6
6.4
23.5
5.2
34.0
20.4
MSCI Russia (US$)
8.7
-7.0
-16.3
-22.8
52.7
0.2
6.1
55.9
5.0
-45.9
1.4
14.4
MSCI EM Europe, Middle East and Africa (US$)
4.7
-7.1
-15.8
-20.5
20.0
-7.5
16.5
22.8
-14.7
-28.4
-3.9
25.1
FTSE/JSE Africa All-Share (SA)
0.3
0.5
-7.2
-10.1
12.1
-8.5
21.0
2.6
5.1
10.9
21.4
26.7
FTSE All-Share
3.4
-7.8
-16.1
-18.8
19.2
-9.5
13.1
16.8
1.0
1.2
20.8
12.3
FTSE 100
3.3
-7.0
-16.0
-18.2
17.3
-8.7
12.0
19.1
-1.3
0.7
18.7
10.0
FTSE 250
3.7
-11.4
-17.4
-21.6
28.9
-13.3
17.8
6.7
11.2
3.7
32.3
26.1
FTSE Small Cap ex Investment Trusts
3.4
-16.0
-17.5
-23.5
17.7
-13.8
15.6
12.5
13.0
-2.7
43.9
36.3
FTSE TechMARK 100
3.2
-5.3
-9.7
-12.4
39.3
-4.9
9.8
10.0
16.6
12.3
31.7
23.0
Hong Kong Hang Seng
-6.3
-11.8
-12.2
-18.0
13.0
-10.5
41.3
4.3
-3.9
5.5
6.6
27.5
China SE Shanghai Composite (capital returns)
-0.3
-1.0
-0.7
-6.5
22.3
-24.6
6.6
-12.3
9.4
52.9
-6.7
3.2
Singapore Times
-3.3
-15.4
-19.9
-20.8
9.4
-6.5
22.1
3.8
-11.2
9.6
3.0
23.4
Taiwan Weighted (capital returns)
-0.5
-3.1
-4.8
-8.8
23.3
-8.6
15.0
11.0
-10.4
8.1
11.9
8.9
Korean Composite (capital returns)
4.2
2.1
-2.8
-7.7
7.7
-17.3
21.8
3.3
2.4
-4.8
0.7
9.4
Jakarta Composite (capital returns)
0.0
-13.5
-21.6
-25.1
1.7
-2.5
20.0
15.3
-12.1
22.3
-1.0
12.9
Philippines Composite (capital returns)
2.4
-14.0
-24.6
-25.3
4.7
-12.8
25.1
-1.6
-3.9
22.8
1.3
33.0
Thai Stock Exchange
3.4
2.2
-13.4
-12.9
4.3
-8.1
17.3
23.9
-11.2
19.1
-3.6
41.3
Mumbai Sensex 30
-3.7
-15.0
-20.0
-21.0
15.9
7.5
29.8
3.7
-3.5
32.4
10.9
27.8
Hang Seng China Enterprises index
-4.2
-6.6
-6.6
-13.8
14.5
-9.9
29.6
1.5
-16.9
15.6
-1.5
19.8
ASX 200
4.4
-9.9
-14.6
-12.7
23.4
-2.8
11.8
11.8
2.6
5.6
20.2
20.3
Topix
6.8
4.8
-6.7
-8.0
18.1
-16.0
22.2
0.3
12.1
10.3
54.4
20.9
Nikkei 225 (capital returns)
8.3
3.5
-6.1
-7.5
18.2
-12.1
19.1
0.4
9.1
7.1
56.7
22.9
MSCI Asia Pac ex Japan (US$)
-0.3
-5.9
-8.1
-13.2
19.5
-13.7
37.3
7.1
-9.1
3.1
3.7
22.6
Europe & Africa
UK
Asia Pacific & Japan
Latin America MSCI EM Latin America (US$)
6.5
-25.8
-31.9
-38.4
17.9
-6.2
24.2
31.5
-30.8
-12.0
-13.2
8.9
MSCI Mexico (US$)
6.5
-21.4
-24.8
-28.3
11.8
-15.3
16.3
-9.0
-14.2
-9.2
0.2
29.1
MSCI Brazil (US$)
8.5
-29.3
-35.9
-43.0
26.7
-0.2
24.5
66.7
-41.2
-13.7
-15.8
0.3
MSCI Argentina (US$)
19.9
-9.5
-8.5
-19.2
-20.7
-50.7
73.6
5.1
-0.4
19.2
66.2
-37.1
MSCI Chile (US$)
-5.4
-9.6
-18.8
-26.7
-16.0
-18.9
43.6
16.8
-16.8
-12.2
-21.4
8.3
Oil - Brent Crude Spot (US$/BBL)
88.6
-33.6
-47.1
-49.6
34.0
-24.2
20.9
51.6
-33.5
-49.4
0.2
3.2
Oil - West Texas Intermediate (US$/BBL)
78.9
-28.4
-38.9
-44.8
35.1
-25.3
12.5
44.8
-30.5
-45.8
6.9
-7.1
Reuters CRB index
12.9
-17.0
-24.8
-28.6
11.8
-10.7
1.7
9.7
-23.4
-17.9
-5.0
-3.3
1.6
9.1
18.5
13.9
18.7
-1.7
12.6
9.0
-10.5
-1.8
-27.3
5.6
-20.6
-5.8
-67.0
-53.8
-14.2
-7.0
42.1
101.0
-38.9
-65.7
225.8
-59.8
Commodities
Gold Bullion LBM (US$/Troy Ounce) Baltic Dry index
Source: Thomson Reuters Datastream, total returns in local currency unless otherwise stated.
NB: INVESTMENT RISKS. THE VALUE OF INVESTMENTS AND ANY INCOME WILL FLUCTUATE (THIS MAY PARTLY BE THE RESULT OF EXCHANGE RATE FLUCTUATIONS) AND INVESTORS MAY NOT GET BACK THE FULL AMOUNT investment cannot be made into an EUROPE index directly. performance data shown INVESTED. THIS MATERIAL IS FOR CONSUMER USE IN THE UK, PROFESSIONALAn CLIENTS AND FINANCIAL ADVISERS IN CONTINENTAL AS DEFINED The BELOW, QUALIFIED INVESTORS IN SWITZERLAND AND PROFESSIONAL past period. performance is not a guide to future CLIENTS IN CYPRUS, DUBAI, IRELAND, ISLE OF MAN, JERSEY, GUERNSEY ANDrelates MALTA. ITto IS aNOT INTENDED FORPast AND SHOULD NOT BE DISTRIBUTED TO, OR RELIED UPON,returns. BY THE PUBLIC ANYWHERE OTHER THAN THE UK. BY ACCEPTING THIS DOCUMENT, YOU CONSENT TO COMMUNICATE WITH US IN ENGLISH, UNLESS YOU INFORM US OTHERWISE. Page 09 of 10 WHERE INDIVIDUALS OR THE BUSINESS HAVE EXPRESSED OPINIONS, THEY ARE BASED ON CURRENT MARKET CONDITIONS, THEY MAY DIFFER FROM THOSE OF OTHER INVESTMENT PROFESSIONALS, THEY ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE AND ARE NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS INVESTMENT ADVICE. THIS DOCUMENT IS MARKETING MATERIAL AND IS NOT INTENDED AS A RECOMMENDATION TO INVEST IN ANY PARTICULAR ASSET CLASS, SECURITY OR STRATEGY. REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS THAT REQUIRE IMPARTIALITY OF INVESTMENT/INVESTMENT STRATEGY RECOMMENDATIONS ARE THEREFORE NOT APPLICABLE NOR ARE ANY PROHIBITIONS TO TRADE BEFORE PUBLICATION. THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IS FOR ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES ONLY, IT SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS RECOMMENDATIONS TO BUY OR SELL SECURITIES.
THE REVIEW 2020 121
The R
T R AV E L : T H E R OYA L C R E S C E N T B AT H
Royal Crescent Words: Oliver Smith
Oliver Smith considers what it is to be British and somewhat quietly proud in the 21st Century on a weekend sojourn to one of the country’s finest Georgian towns.
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I
n a time of great confusion, where it’s hard to know what you’re allowed to say, let alone think, we British find ourselves doubly befuddled. You see, as we now live in a time where ordering the opposite to brown toast will see you branded as a Nazi/fascist/ racist/supremacist/nationalist (delete as appropriate), we are also taught
to be troubled by the fact that we brought travel to a time when Britannia ruled, and civilisation* to many corners of the globe we didn’t have to go through day-to-day life looking at the ground and apologising. throughout history. So, you would think that anyone who enjoys something quintessentially British, or seeks to experience it, would be a homophobe/bigot/ chauvinist/colonialist (delete as appropriate). Well, unless you are talking to someone with common sense, you would be right. However, for now, let’s hang the consequences and
Before we were marauding the globe, introducing things like trade, sanitation and crumpets, the Romans did it first. In 117AD, at the height of the Roman Empire, our cheeky olive-eating chums had a flag in 5,000,000km-squared of land. And whilst they didn’t achieve this through experimental
dance and hand-holding workshops, let us UNESCO world heritage site due to its links with the Roman Empire, Bath is a majestic city not digress. and has a very cool identity of its own. Due The most northerly point of this Empire was to its protected nature, it’s managed to avoid England. And within it resides a town called the homogenisation of many towns in the UK Bath. As famous now for its high-waisted, top- and, as a result, so have its people. Achingly hatted Regency splendour as it is for being a middleclass (but in a good, less-likely-to-get-
stabbed way), the opportunity to soak up culture is abundant. If, like me, you already know everything, then you can go shopping instead. You can buy every type of homeware, cushion and blanket in Bath, in all of the most tasteful shades of en vogue grey.
“This place sounds right up my street,” I hear you cry, “but where on earth is one to stay?!” The hotel’s evolution dates from 1950, when a distinguished guesthouse was opened at 16 Well, I think I may have just the place. One of Royal Crescent. In 1971, No. 15 was added, the most famous landmarks in Bath is the Royal and The Royal Crescent Hotel was born. It Crescent. 500-feet of parabola consisting of 30 was not until 1978, however, that the hotel’s terraced houses built between 1767 and 1774. original interiors were restored to their Grand does not do it justice. House Nos. 15 former glory under the vigorous ownership and 16 are different, in that they’re actually a of hotelier John Tham, who stripped out hotel. The aptly-named Royal Crescent Hotel, every last partition, false ceiling and other unwelcome modernisation. In subsequent to be precise.
years, several adjacent rear gardens were acquired, and dramatic improvements made to the adjoining coach houses, stables and mews properties as the historic hotel established a unique reputation for luxury and service.
only very cursory nods to being a hotel (the generic phone system, safe in the cupboard, etc) the room had a very personal feel. It felt like my bolt-hole in Bath; the apartment that I keep there for when I return on business or pleasure. If it were for business though, it would have to be well paid work, because the
decor quietly whispers quality and expensive taste, under even the closest scrutiny.
Linley. Upon entry, I was struck by an odd feeling that took me a little while to figure out. Many smart hotels go to the enth-degree to make you feel at home and remove the starched carbon-copy feel of their rooms, but the jolly clever boys and girls at Royal Crescent have taken this a step further. With
My stay was in the Lord Nelson suite. Named after one of Bath’s many famous residents over the years, which also include Thomas Gainsborough, Jane Austen and Elizabeth
After losing myself for a while, the clock struck 3pm, and I toddled off to the spa for a full body massage. When in Rome. I was guided to a softly lit room and treated to an
THE REVIEW 2020 125
hour of warm oils and deep-muscle massage; “Good evening, sir, I am Jean-Marc, the a highly relaxing experience that sets you up sommelier here”. Feeling a little devilish after my dining companion had opted for the beautifully for your stay. mussels, I went for red meat with a view to After another hour spent betwixt steam room, giving Jean-Marc a workout on wine selection. sauna and pool I sloped back up to Lord He simply smiled and strode off to the cellar, Nelson for a shower and a well-earned lie full of Gallic confidence. down before dinner. After we had been shown to our table, JeanI like to formulate a brief plan before Marc returned brandishing a bottle of 2018 attending dinner, as no undertaking that Primitivo. His confidence had not been serious should be entered into with a cavalier misplaced. attitude. One of my golden rules is always ask the sommelier for a recommendation. As I Dinner was superb and the service was attentive sipped my pre-dinner cocktail in the bar, you but not suffocating, which is a harder balance can imagine my delight at being preempted to achieve than you may think. Finishing off with the poshest (and most delicious) rice by a very cool-looking and affable man. pudding that I have ever had, and a glass of
‘78 armagnac was the perfect end to a lovely evening. Breakfast the next day was a relaxing and bountiful affair, which gave me time to contemplate my stay and lament its brevity. Nothing could be more British than staying in Bath, in the middle of the Royal Crescent, in a suite named after Lord Horatio Nelson and decorated with pictures and ephemera from his life. All of these things, individually, are part of what makes Britain great. And if you combine them, you have a heady cocktail indeed. People travel from around the world to see this corner of England, and I can assure you that, if you do, you won’t be disappointed. *Source: Not the BBC
TR
I N T E RV I E W : S I M O N N E W T O N
CPP
The global market for private security services, which include private guarding, surveillance and armed transport, is now worth an estimated £260bn. Security has, is and always will be a fact of life in an uncivilised world. Having spent the last 20 plus years putting his body in harm’s way, bodyguard and former military operator Simon Newton is definitively battle-hardened. So what does it take to be a close personal protection officer for the great and good? Words: Gillian Montgomery
THE REVIEW 2020 131
How long did you serve in the British Army and what elements of day-to-day military operations helped with the eventual move into close personal protection (CPP)? I didn’t serve that long with the British military, just a little over four years. In 2003, I was on operations in Iraq, and that is where I realised working in the private security industry was something I wanted to do. After leaving the military at the end of 2003, I went straight back to work as a private security contractor. After several tours, you began working with the Foreign Commonwealth Office in the Middle East. Can you explain how one is chosen for that sort of position? I had already worked in Iraq for almost 3 years by then, as a private security contractor. I worked on two different contracts. My first two years, I provided protection to a group of US oil officials, working to restore the oil pumping stations across Iraq. My third year in the country was different. Instead of protecting life, I was a member of a convoy team bringing in generator substations to provide power to the communities in Baghdad. This was a Japanese contract with all the substations donated by Japan. It was always a tough job working on the convoy teams, and many of the guys lost their lives. The company I worked for in Iraq also had the contract for the protection of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). I applied for the job and was successful. Shortly after I left Iraq, I found myself in Afghanistan, working as a close protection officer to British’s HMRC officers, where we were responsible for mentoring the Counter Narcotics Police of Afghanistan on their operations across the country. What made you want to move from foreign soil government operations to protecting those in the entertainment industry – and was it a culture shock? I always knew I was going to come back to London at some stage to carry on working
as a bodyguard. When I decided to leave Afghanistan, my first job working back in London was part of the security team for the Dubai Royal Family. In my time working in the UK, I have been asked to look after all different types of people from politicians to high-networth individuals, and of course a number of A-list celebrities. What does an average location check entail for a hotel, villa or foreign soil property?
“To find the most promising industries, we must ask ourselves a question, what are the main problems that humanity must solve in the coming decades?” It really just depends on what country you are working and the threat on the person you might be looking after. Often in the UK, you work on your own. But overseas, you are more likely to be part of a team. There are many things we look at: number of entry and exits, the quality of the hotel security, the use of the loading bay, who else may be staying at the hotel, whether the hotel full or not, what the fire evacuation plan is, and so on. The list can be endless to be honest. It just depends where you are and the level of protection the person requires. When you’re moving your client from a secure location to a vehicle, what are you looking for in the crowd, threat-wise? It’s important to always have a look at what
you are walking into before you leave a secure location. When dealing with celebrities, I will tell the driver to get the car as close to the exit as possible. Once again, there are lots of things I would look at before moving someone to a vehicle and each situation is different. Is it night time, is it day time, is the car on a busy road, is there anything at all suspicious occurring in the street. When leaving a building to move to a vehicle, the general rule is keep the distance small and move quick. Can you tell us, whilst of course removing names and locations, a time when a seemingly secure situation called for a full-scale evacuation or removal of a clear and present danger to a client? In the UK, very little has happened that has endangered life. Overseas can be a lot different, and in some countries we carry firearms. In the Middle East, there was a number of situations you wouldn’t want to find yourself in – but unfortunately did. Standard weapons package when geographical location allows? Low risk fit out versus high risk fit out? For low risk, such as working in the UK, any type of weapon is not permitted to be carried or used in accordance with UK laws. When working overseas, it can really depend on the contract you are working on, the origin of the person you may be protecting, the country you’re operating in, and what that country’s laws allow you to carry. For example, in Afghanistan, we were protecting UK officials. So the weapons were provided by the FCO for the protection of British Embassy personnel. For that task, everyone on the team carried a fully automatic Heckler and Koch G36 (HKG36) with a Glock 17 Pistol. Each team would also carry an FN Minimi belt fed machine gun. Extra to firearms, we would also have MK13 Flash Bangs to help with crowd disbursement and the MK4 smoke grenade to provide a smoke-screen to cover an extraction or marking your position to air assets if needed.
THE REVIEW 2020 133
What is your preferred vehicle of choice when transporting a high-risk client? Do you prefer a column of Range Rover Sentinels with blast-resistant glass? Or will you ever be able to beat an escort of armoured snatch Land Rover 110s? There are very few armoured cars in the world and, more often than not, a vehicle is chosen to be up armoured. This would mean the vehicle has not been factory built as an armoured car. Although up armed vehicles do the job, you often lose some functions you would have in a normal vehicle – being able to open your window fully, for example. Toyota Land Cruiser do a B6 armoured vehicle that has proven its worth on many occasions in Afghanistan. For in and around London with a low threat, a standard Range Rover Vogue or a Mercedes V Class if you have a number of pax.
UK is elevated, we may swap the driver for an advanced driver, often ex-serving Met police. In the Middle East, as we work in teams, we take it in turns to drive. Driving an armoured vehicle is a whole different ballgame due to the weight distribution. All the guys working overseas undergo extensive armoured vehicle driver training programs. How do you choose when to apply overwhelming force over de-escalation? De-escalation wins every time. If you are having to react with force, then you could argue you haven’t done your job properly. Obviously on occasions this can happen, but for any bodyguard, prevention is way better than cure.
How much training goes into defensive and evasive driving tactics? Will you likely be working with a team that includes a dedicated driver?
As we know, working in your industry requires incredible levels of fitness and stamina. Do you vary your fitness and health regime season to season, or is there a standard approach you have taken for years?
In the UK, we have a driver; a normal A-standard chauffer driver that comes with the vehicle booked for the job. If the threat in the
I kept a very high-level of fitness throughout my career as a bodyguard; 17 years in total. Currently, my fitness is all based around
magazine shoots or what film I may be casting for in the coming months. Most of the training I do now is more for appearance than performance. How do you find being in the public eye while protecting people? I have been in the public light for a while now, with articles in a number of fitness, lifestyle and fashion magazines, and also with the film work I have been involved in over the last 10 years. I finished working as a bodyguard two years ago. This has given me more time to concentrate on my acting career, and I currently have two films to do this year – one in London, the other in LA. Finally, how do you unwind after work? Single malt, fast cars, good book? Most of my unwinding is done in the gym. If I’m not at work I’m in the gym, if I’m not in the gym I’m asleep. Often by the time I have done a full day’s work and trained twice a day falling asleep when I finally get to bed is never a problem. On the odd occasion before I sleep, I may have a look on Instagram for half an hour, normally at cars and watches. TR
Words: Equinox Hotels
We’ve long understood the power of self-care and, in an overtly homogenized world, its correlation to staying healthy. Work, family, goals – there’s countless stream of demands on our time that we prioritised over our own personal health. The incorporation of self-care and mindfulness into our daily lives can strengthen our focus and capacity without taking away from everything else. Rituals are the way forward – when carried out with purpose and awareness. We perform rituals because they have a fundamentally deep meaning to us. We sat down with the team at Equinox Hotels, the high-performance fitness leader, to garner some advice on how to bring balance, focus and positivity into daily life.
H E A LT H : E Q U I N OX R I T UA L S
THE REVIEW 2020 137
E
quinox Hotels saw a need to redefine the way travellers consumed experience in their rooms. No one was serving up a regenerative or in-room sleep program that tapped into the full 24-hour body clock known as ‘circadian rhythm’. They wanted to create something personal, something uniquely new and restorative that would cater to the needs of the jet-lagged, the restless, the social, and those just wanting to feel
better while traveling. The team were looking for a regenerative experience that catered not only to the physical, but also mental capacity to achieve clarity, focus and high performance while on the road. Over a year was spent researching movement, breath work, nutrition, sleep, and behavioural habit focused on the average human circadian rhythm – all with Equinox Hotels specialists and doctoral experts in their respective fields.
The takeaway was to extract the average of their findings around the body clock to what was most likely adaptable and apply that to an in-room experience that would help travellers feel more energised in the morning and more relaxed in the evening. After months of back and forth around scientific data and how the creation of this would come to life for the first time at the company’s flagship property, Equinox Hotels designed the TV app around am and pm –
AM
H E A LT H : E Q U I N OX R I T UA L S
simple compartments of time where rituals could easily integrate into the 24-hour day. While there was an apparent need for meditation and film, the team realised that a simple children’s book format was also essential to easy learning and adapting behavioural habits around circadian rhythm tips. For example, am and pm. In early waking hours (am), research looked at natural indicators from the sun’s orbit that helped suppress the pituitary gland’s melatonin
secretion, as well as other tips around the ROOMBAR offerings specific to enhanced energy and breathing exercises that activate the pre-frontal cortex – typically resulting in heightened clarity and focus. In the evening (pm) research looked at stressors that typically surface after work: restlessness, the inability to unwind or easily fall asleep. As a result, the pm rituals revolve around breathing techniques that increase oxygen flow to the brain, thus eliminating toxic build up, as well as
release poses to reduce inflammation, muscle tension and anxiety that commonly inflate throughout the day. The Headstrong meditations support both am and pm needs – offering listens specific to: Rise, Focus, Unwind and Sleep. The goal of the Rituals series is to minimise the adverse effects that travel and other high-stress environments that negatively impact human physiology. TR
PM
THE REVIEW 2020 139
Vincent ..... why My partner is a bit older than me. Not enough for it to be a problem. We are both from the same decade and share lots of common history – but we’ve been together for a while and we’re getting to know each other pretty well.
She is a 1952 “C” Series Vincent Rapide. In her day, she was racy as hell and just about the fastest thing on two (or four) wheels. She is still a decent performer, and she is absolutely beautiful – so beautiful that sometimes I go out into the garage just to stare at her. Words: Paul Taylor Pictures: Screaming Eagle Productions
BIKING : C SERIES VINCENT RAPIDE
y not
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T
ell any grown-up motorcyclist that you ride a Vincent and there will be a short period of silence – time to think ‘what the hell is a Vincent?’ or ‘lucky git’, depending on life experience. I wanted a Vincent very badly. Reaching biking maturity in the 1970s, my first bikes were British, cheap and pretty ropey. As was normal in those olden days, I went through the full gambit of ancient (even then), totally gutless 197cc Villiers, powered Fanny Bs and James’, and then moved up to 250cc BSAs and a half-decent Royal Enfield before taking my test, which allowed access
to “proper” Triumphs and BSAs. In the days when a “500” was considered a “big bike”, Vincent’s mighty 998cc twin was King of the Road – and would only feature in our wildest schoolboy fantasies. Even then, Vincent’s were rare. There was a lad who strutted about town with “Vincent” painted artistically on the back of his leathers (I’m certain he never owned one) and that was about as close as I got. Gradually, my teenage dream of Vincent ownership (which lasted well into my thirties) was lost in contemplation of life’s (and wife’s) new goals. But always, at the back of my mind, was a guilty residual Vincent lust. The occasional close encounter – almost entirely in museum collections – left me drooling. I
knew that I would never be able to afford one – and I now know that I still can’t – but I succumbed to temptation bought one anyway. There is the clever way to buy a Vincent: speak to specialist dealers and scan auction catalogues, join the owners’ club, speak to existing owners and beg advice, choose your model carefully, check provenance, history and engine numbers and, if you find a machine that you think might suit, get someone who really knows what they are doing to carefully inspect it for you. Or you could do what I did. Someone I had never met called me out of the blue and sent me a picture of a Vincent Twin that someone he knew had stored at the back of their garage. It had been his
BIKING : C SERIES VINCENT RAPIDE
father’s bike and hadn’t seen the light of day for 18 years. I offered him a reassuringly large amount of money and the deal was done. And later, when I knew enough to be worried about what I had bought, I found I didn’t have to worry. I was very lucky. It wasn’t stolen. It wasn’t a bitsa bolted together from random parts, and it wasn’t seized, bent or buckled. It was a pucker, matching-numbers, one-previous-owner, 1952 Vincent Rapide. It was depressingly tired and looked very sad – and it didn’t work. Unless you really know what you are doing, you probably don’t rebuild a Vincent twin-engine yourself. Many years of motorbike mechanics have taught me how little I know, so I sent the bike off to one of the very few acknowledged experts for an engine strip and rebuild. They told me it would only take a year and, if they were careful, cost only as much as a new Triumph.
The Norton clutch that was a “racing” modification in the 60s has been rebuilt twice, had new plates and springs fitted and then the whole thing thrown in the bin because, although it never slipped, it never So, I got it home. Complete, rebuilt and released properly either (it’s been replaced running. Except for a few non-essential by a multi-plate clutch from the wonderful parts (such as carburettors, clutch and Vincent Owners Club Spares Company). a seat) and with a fuel tank that had a marvellous period patina (and leaked pints She’s not easy to live with. Boy, does she need constant fettling – constant care of petrol all over my crotch). and attention, an oil change every 1,000 Gradually, I’m starting to get it sorted. miles, checking, adjusting, and regular The tank has been to the strippers (paint maintaining – to keep her at her very best. strippers, not the other sort), to the man And of course, you’ll need a whole new set that brazes the cracks and silver-solders, of tools – unless you own predominantly the man who reseals it, so that It can take Whitworth spanners and have boxes of modern petrol, then to the man who paints BSF-threaded nuts and bolts on your workshop shelf. She can be difficult to it, and eventually to the man get going. Jump on, tickle the carbs, who does the gold-lining lift the decompressor lever and ease and transfers. Fortunately, the rebuild took just over two years, which gave me nearly enough time to save up the amount that it went overbudget by.
Specifications PRICE: ‘If you can find one’. ENGINE: 998 cc TOP SPEED: 115 WHEELBASE: 1500 mm WEIGHT: 200 kg POWER: 55 bhp FUEL CAPACITY: 17.0 l
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her over onto the “long rock” (i.e. just past compression on the rearmost cylinder) kick like billy-o and hope she doesn’t break your ankle. There’s no ignition key or steering lock – but you couldn’t steal it unless you knew what you were doing. And for anyone who has mostly ridden bikes built in the last 40 years, she’ll keep Philip Conrad Vincent at the Vincent Motorcycle Factory at Stevenage
“wrongfooting” you; her gear lever is on the right and configures one up, three down rather than the usual left-footed one down, five up. And that means that the brake pedal is on the left – which is fine until, in a moment of panic you stab down with your right foot and, instead of slowing down, you change up a gear.
But she’s really worth it – really, really worth it. Because riding a 1952 Vincent is the purest full-proof essence of wind in the hair, unfettered, rumbustious, forget where you should be and just go where you want to, motorbiking. It’s like catching the perfect wave, galloping into battle on a huge white stallion and racing around Brooklands in a vintage Bentley all on the same afternoon.
It’s devil-may-care, hooligan motorcycling that is as respectable as afternoon tea at the vicarage. I love it.
Triumphs. But these are indeed mistresses – and that’s a completely different sort of relationship.
Of course, I’ve been unfaithful. I’ve dallied with Ducatis, relied on BMWs, even enthused about a Suzuki (once, until I knew better). And my current, captivating mistress is a one of a long line of splendid
The most rewarding partnerships take the most work: patience, understanding, care and attention, time and sometimes expense. But then there is the return: the pride of ownership, the joyful appreciation
of performance and the envy of one’s peers. Richard Thompson wrote a song about a ’52 Vincent. As far as I know, it’s the only motorbike song written about a specific model. There is a line that goes “Nortons and Ariels and Beezers won’t do, they don’t have the soul of a Vincent ’52”. Very astute Richard. You summed it up beautifully. TR
A prototype on the line
Tyre testing on the production line
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Kaspar’s - WC2 Words: Peter J Robinson
F
or the longest time, The Savoy has eluded me. I’ve passed its decorated facade on many occasions, but for some reason, its heavily recessed entrance has never drawn me in. In its defence, I am incredibly hard to market to; a wolf in wolf’s clothing. Built in 1889 by impresario Richard D’Oyly Carte and acquired by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Adbulaziz al-Saud in 2005, the two proprietors couldn’t be further apart on the cultural spectrum. D’Oyly commissioning Gilbert and Sullivan to pen HMS. Pinafore for the Savoy Theatre, and the Prince being a devout lover of comic opera – especially The Mikado, I am sure.
“Full tux,” she quipped. I was in attendance that brisk November morning to meet with the producer of a new automotive YouTube channel. The Savoy is not typically a location where I would consider hosting a working lunch though – but then again, my judgement of what constitutes a ‘working’ lunch arguably differs from most. “Do I have to dress smartly, as in smarter than normal work clothes”? she asked. “I’ll wear something smart-casual, but I don’t think the dress code is particularly militant. What would you usually wear to a work meeting?”
“Do it, you know the drill. There will be people there who are so loaded they will look like they’ve covered themselves in glue and run through Oxfam. Then there will be people who are out for a day trip dressed like faux royalty, dripping in enough luxury goods to keep a sea of child workers busy for a year”. Pulling punches is not something in my cultural lexicon. The clientele of central London’s elite hotel properties is a rapidly shifting dichotomy after all. I was greeted on arrival at 1130 by a Lego takeover of the iconic Savoy sign. The
D I N I N G O U T : K A S PA R S
Savoy is part of Lego Group’s biggest-ever global brand campaign, Rebuild the World, inspiring the Gen P to champion the importance of creativity as a key 21st-century skill. I shan’t argue. I was an ardent Lego architect right up until I discovered the opposite sex. The lobby of the hotel was adorned with large scale Lego displays in homage to the Twelve Days of Christmas. I happily wandered the corridors, restaurants and meeting areas looking for more Lego installations, whilst taking in the impressive works of Henry Ward and Stuart McAlpine Miller. The Savoy is uniquely cavernous. It took me most of the morning to get my bearings,
having come straight from the American bar, uncharacteristically drinking Earl Grey. With the the more weighty subjects out of the way (like filming budgets and locations), we sauntered down to the hotel’s seafood restaurant, Kaspars. You’ll find it down the main staircase, through the Thames Foyer, beyond the glass-domed atrium. Perhaps leave a trail of blinis. The name Kaspars takes a little explaining: to the modern diner, the fear of having 13 guests might well fall on deaf ears. In 1898, South African mining magnate Woolf Joel hosted a dinner at the hotel for 13 guests. He formally rebuked the superstitious idea that the first guest to leave the table would endure any bad luck, and to prove his point,
left first. Upon arriving in Johannesburg, he was promptly shot dead. Presumably by Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead brandishing a Webley Mark VI. Such was the superstition at The Savoy that they vowed never to allow a table of 13 diners to sit ever again. They even went to the trouble of seating a waiter at any table unlucky enough to have the magic number. This proved to be more than a little problematic, for both the hotel and dining party, and made clandestine conversations rather tricky. Though, in all fairness, better safe than dead. The solution to this rather obscure problem came in the form of British Architect
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Basil Ionides, who was incidentally the grandson of the Greek ambassador, and more importantly a fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects. Having been commissioned to redecorate the hotel’s private dining rooms in 1927, he crafted an ornate 2ft high black cat from a London plane tree. ‘Kaspar’ was to become the fourteenth guest at all future private dinners, where the great and the good could only muster thirteen. But, for a moment, let’s consider the fact that for almost thirty years the hotel had a member of the restaurant team join any dinner party with 13 guests. Presumably, this was an option that could be politely refused. The joys that Pascal, the front of house manager, must have had sitting down to eat vichyssoise with a grieving family or roast lamb attached to a group of politicians.
It’s not entirely impossible. Churchill was known to frequent The Savoy. Well, anywhere with a bar and a humidor, really. Kaspar even made it out on a couple of evening manoeuvres. Once with 609 Squadron who, having spent the evening talking of daring-do, were totally blitzed and took him a prize. Well, crimes of passion and war are forgivable, surely. Kaspar took up honorary membership during world war two and made lodgings at their Lincolnshire barracks for some time, until he was returned to his posting by an air commodore. So, if you have the luck to know 12 people you can stomach for five courses, you can have Kaspar join you, napkin forever hanging around his mendicant neck. Why Kaspar? Why a black cat? Why the gypsy suspicion to dining in groups of 13? I do not know.
Despite my itinerant ramblings, I was slowly making my way to the restaurant, I assure you. 1889 and all that. I should point out: the restaurant is open seven days a week from 0700 to 2300. I have my own take on all-encompassing serving hours, but I think we’ll move onto the starter.
Cornish crab and avruga caviar It is a seafood restaurant after all, so start as you mean to go on. Joost Bijster, the head chef, has been heading up the table since July 2019 and he and his team “showcase contemporary seasonal dishes from land and sea that capture the vibrancy of the natural landscape”. When the dish arrived, I couldn’t help but notice the scarcity of crab. My carnivorous aquatic fear was short-lived. Under a light and rich layer of what I can only assume is more sustainable avruga
D I N I N G O U T : K A S PA R S
caviar was a plump layer of Cornish crab. Having prepared the dish myself, in one way or another over the years, I salute any kitchen team with the patience. The three droplets of a lemon reduction atop the avruga in the open tin gave the dish a nice lift of acidity with a charred lemon edge. It was a miniature triumph, of course. The Louis Roederer premier was also adding a lot to the proceedings. You can gorge on champagne during almost any meal, but it always seems rather fitting with seafood.
Lobster bisque I shouldn’t really name a challenger here, but my current favourite crustacean based broth comes from Wilks Restaurant in Redland, Bristol. The standard, if we can call it that, was set in 2012 shortly before the head chef was awarded his first star. So, we’ll say the bar was high. Be prepared to embrace
a little pomp and ceremony. The east-meetswest tom yum-infused bisque arrived as if being released from a giant glass terrarium. Wafts of comanche-grade smoke filled the booth with a pleasing aroma that served as a culinary prologue. This is the Savoy after all; what’s life without a little theatre. This is certainly a well-conceived dish that balances the weighty west with the equally well-spiced east. It’s what New York Matinee would call “a playful but mysterious little dish”. The accompaniment for the ensemble cast was a Sonoma County chardonnay that went down all too well as the second act to a bottle of Ruinart blanc de blancs. By this stage, I was starting to feel rather salubrious, and my dining partner and I agreed to share a pudding rather than dive headfirst into a cheese course which was certainly vigorously debated.
Peanut and salted caramel gianduja Not only was it plated in a way that confirms my suspicions that there might well be a god, but it tasted as if prepared by the divine. Paired with a dessert wine, the name of which escapes me, but chosen by the sommelier, as well as a double espresso, I was content. All that was left was to lament those dishes that had gone untried. The beluga, the Irish oysters, the Aberdeen Angus tataki, the Dover sole. Gone, but not forgotten. So, whether you’re visiting as a city type or seasoned tourist, find your way to The Savoy, preferably by black cab. Then immediately convene a group of your nearest and dearest 12 friends and sit down to dine in Pinafore. The Other Club has been meeting there since their first dinner in 1911. If you know, you know. TR
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Words: Aaron Edgeworth
AU T O M O T I V E : B M W M 8
I can’t quite remember when the phrase ‘things used to be better’ became a fixture in my thinking. I’m 38 but feel more and more like an octogenarian when faced by the world we live in today. Technology innovations, slang, TV programming, and don’t get me started on chart music. I know none of it. When I was a boy, a BMW 325i was a 3-series BMW housing a 2.5 litre engine. One knew, by virtue of the fact, that a 323i housed a 2.3, a 316i, a 1.6 litre engine. A code so simple most could follow.
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n 2019, due to economies of scale, and increasingly stringent restrictions for car manufacturers to work within, means we see the same architecture rolled out across multiple states of tune. The number system we so easily used to denote the potency of our favourite Bavarian charge has fallen by the wayside and we rely more on a keen eye than a badge. What hasn’t changed is what the famous
M designation means for a BMW product. And that is something true whatever number follows it. A car market catalysed by ÂŁ23 billion in PCP debt has helped manufacturers appeal to ever-widening buying demographics. We have seen the rise of the so-called M-lite models of the current and previous iterations of both the one and two series models. The recently released M340i; as well as diesel M lite cars in the form of the M50d in various SUV clothes across the line-up and the similarly powered M550d. Whilst providing another range point for the buying public, has it in fact dampened the appeal of the full-fat models
out of Germany since their first foray with the M1 in 1978? The M1 is actually a good point to start, and a useful reference point to how far the car market has progressed in the 40 years, since Giugaro cast his eye and pen over the design. Lamborghini was pencilled in to partner, but financial constraints put paid to that. What came was a Dallara-derived chassis (another name rearing its head again recently) mated to a mid-engine 6-cylinder unit. In coupe form, it was capable of over 165mph and delivering 277bhp from an engine taken straight from their famous flier, the 3.0 CSL.
AU T O M O T I V E : B M W M 8
Fast forward 40 years and the BMW’s rangetopper again derives itself from a racing heritage, namely the M8 GTE seen in the World Endurance Championship. What our 2019 eyes now behold is a long, purposeful coupe that retains a menacing presence through carefully selected and keenly directed styling cues. The ‘double-bubble’ carbon roof echoes racers of the past. The carbon side gills, engine cover, mirrors, front intakes, rear spoiler and diffuser are part of the ‘ultimate package’. £20,000 worth of the finest extras BMW can offer. This includes a formidable Bowers and
Wilkins stereo, quite staggeringly effective carbon-ceramic brakes, an M drivers package (more on that later) and laser lights. This doubles the already powerful LED effective distance from a not short 300m, to a quite long 600m. Other options include two styles of alloy wheels, plus the possibility for BMW individual exterior colours. For a car measuring some five metres in length, interior space is, let’s say, restricted. The rear can only really be described as an effective 2 by 2 arrangement. Given the car’s overall size, that does mean luggage room is immense. So, for a couple off on
a weekend, bags can remain securely in the boot with no intrusions into the cabin space. The driver cockpit area is wonderfully appointed in BMW’s finest merino leather. This is complemented by tactile swathes of alcantara, the two-tone style exclusive to the M8. The new switchgear and infotainment systems, now in their seventh generation, prove intuitive, and not just to those familiar with the BMW set up. The touchpoints do feel like those of a car at this price point, which is no mean feat given the cars actual price point. £123,000 list; £145,500 as tested. So, what does nigh on £150,000 in the
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Specifications PRICE: £123,470 ENGINE: 4.4 litre V8 / 625hp 0-60: 3.2 seconds TOP SPEED: 155 LENGTH/WIDTH/HEIGHT: 4,867 x 2,137 x 1,362 WEIGHT: 1,885kg unladen POWER: 625hp market today give you from the minds and metal of BMW? Well, for a start there is the powertrain. The S63 code engine in this form is a 4.4 V8 with two twin-scroll turbos, featuring race-derived cooling and a highpressure injection system. In competition trim that equates to 625PS and over 700nM torque powering all four wheels, in two different modes. Or like the F90 M5 that preceded it, 2wd sending power and torque to the rear wheels only through the eight speed ZF box. 0-62 is seen in 3.2 seconds, the convertible model following a tenth later in 3.3. 3.2 seconds. Rolling through the Andalusian mountains, straights between the bends are seen off with such disdain as to be laughable. Even when the 1885kg mass gets rolling, those prodigious brakes as seen on the example tested, coupled with a rear-wheel
steer function, makes the twisty parts strangely satisfying. A car this big and heavy shouldn’t perform this well through such unpredictable and, in places, extremely tight roadways. As you look to trim speed that you barely thought possible, the carbon ceramics clamp hard. And when it looks as though you may scrub into understeer, the rear wheel steer kicks in to pivot the car. That can, at first, feel like a kick of oversteer, but you learn quite quickly what is happening under the body and also quite how capable the car is. This replicates across the full gamut of road types. Twisty mountain roads: check. Motorways: check. Urban surface road: check. The mass is hidden well, but you aren’t lured into thinking you’re driving a much smaller car. It almost demands that you are aware of its mass and size in
order to get the most out of it. An active M differential, variable damper control, a new front stiffening plate and enhanced engine mounts add up to a grand tourer that rides stiffer and more focused than most of this segment. Like a 911, you can read the road in part through the connection of posterior to seat, and whilst electronic steering can feel numb, the surprisingly taut chassis still provides enough feedback to keep one on road. A new range of driver set up is possible through the 12.3-inch main screen. Allowing new levels of individualisation: changes to the power delivery, steering feel and also brake sensitivity levels. An ‘M’ mode button is also introduced that in ‘track’ setting, allows for a full ‘off’ state for all the driver aids prevalent in today’s cars. So, those aids designed for traffic and pedestrians, impact warnings,
AU T O M O T I V E : B M W M 8
lane assist et al, are fully disengaged to allow one’s attempts at heroism to go unchecked. This centre screen is partnered by a 10.25-inch digital instrument binnacle that again can deliver a range of information to the driver, ditto the HUD. The centre screen also allows for up to 10 pages of personalised home screens, each allowing up to four ‘widgets’, meaning one can trim the information presented to their own desires. The technology extends further to the ‘drive recorder’: essentially an inbuilt dashcam that autosaves up to 40 seconds of video in the event of a crash. Manufacturers being restricted by the new set of emissions regulations has meant a degree of sanitisation of cars, especially aurally at this end of the market. Across the way, in Affaltabach, those developers at AMG are scratching their heads similarly. However,
the engine note is purposeful, if not guttural; it peaks with a bark, not a shriek, and it certainly has a tone that singles itself firmly out as an M car. It is, of course, still very much a BMW; just one that sits high atop of an ever-increasing product line up. Is it a car that demands the price tag? Does it do enough to tempt buyers away from another manufacturer’s metal? Can a car this size and weight really sit as a full-fat sports car? High in the mountains of Malaga, with the sun beating down, the noise of the engine echoes through the sky, the grip of the leather and Alcantara seats holding firm. It certainly feels like a £150,000 car. As the expected arrival time on the GPS starts dropping minutes in increments of 10, one cannot escape that it’s not only sportscar-
quick, but would certainly worry some supercars. I mean, the new Aston Martin DBS Superleggera will reach 0-62 in less than 3.6 seconds. Nearly 0.5 seconds behind the M8 – and that costs a leg-crossing £225,000 at base. The question of tempting purchasers is, however, more difficult given the profile of £150,000 car buyers is so different now to what it was 20, even 10 years ago. It’ll certainly attract some. The build quality and reliability, the ease of the dealer network, and the slightly more reasonable running costs than other more exotic rivals will certainly prove attractive. As will the contributions that could be seen on new orders, I’m sure. Others will retain a degree of snobbery concerning badge desirability at this end of the market, but for those, I’d probably just give a knowing smirk and then embarrass them to 62. TR
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A PASSION FOR PATINA For many motoring enthusiasts, owning a classic car is a lifelong ambition. Whether it’s an Aston Martin DB5 Convertible or a 1933 Alfa Romeo, classic cars have a distinctive look, feel and history to them. Driving one is sure to get the blood pumping and adrenaline racing. With a large purchase cost along with ongoing maintenance and running fees, buying a classic car outright can be a big decision. Therefore, it’s important to understand the options available for purchasing your dream car. Words: Cambridge & Counties Bank Financing can be an alternative way to acquire your dream car, as opposed to using your savings to pay for it outright. Opting for a tailored finance approach with a structure of affordable repayments will allow you to buy the car you’ve always wanted. Finding a suitable finance option for your dream classic car can be a complex process, especially if you’re not supported with the right expertise and knowledge. When choosing a lender for your car finance, it’s important to look for someone with both expertise in the financial industry and the knowledge and enthusiasm for the car industry. As vehicles differ, so do the lenders and lending options, so
F I NA N C E : C L A S S I C C A R S
“aForcar automotive enthusiasts, is not just a mode of transport but a way of life. Although buyers will be conscious of their money, we predict the classic car will weather the storm.
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it’s important to do thorough research around which type of finance is right for you before you decide. The types of car finance will vary depending on the car value, the lender and the model you’re wanting to finance. It’s therefore important to familiarise yourself with the different options available before deciding on the finance choice for you. The Classic Car Finance Team at Cambridge & Counties Bank are financial experts with a true passion for cars; sharing your desire and excitement for purchasing your dream classic car. Here they share some of their knowledge as global markets shift. We sat down with Head of Classic, Vintage and Sports Cars, Neil Fender, to discuss one of the options, equity
For those wanting to obtain a car from a private vendor or dealer; ‘Purchase Finance’ can be a brilliant option as it consists of tailored loans that can be structured in accordance with the deal. In regard to classic cars, purchase finance is always agreed prior to the purchase of the car. The finance provider should be able to offer an efficient turnaround as this can allow for the purchase of time sensitive vehicles. ‘Equity Release’ is a favourable finance option if you’re looking to reap benefits of previous investments. For those lucky enough to have a collection of cars and are wanting to add another to this, equity release is a good option to do just that. As classic cars can increase in value over time, this option allows you to release funds from a current vehicle to put
release, and what the future holds for the classic and mature thing, and whatever the state of car industry. the market, rare classic cars will always be desirable. “Following the COVID-19 outbreak, we are not “For automotive enthusiasts, a car is not just a expecting to be overrun with new customers mode of transport but a way of life. Although purchasing their first classic car, instead we buyers will be conscious of their money, we expect to be providing refinance options to predict the classic car will weather the storm. allow people to release cash that they may not As we come out the other end of what will be a have been able to release from things like shares peculiar summer, I envisage every classic, race or property, as expected. and sportscar enthusiast will be desperate to jump in their dream car, making the UK roads “It is likely the pandemic may change the very busy. Let’s hope this is sooner rather than way people look at travel and life in general later.” for years to come, and with this we predict a shift in financial focus away from classic cars for a while. With the inevitable strain on the economy, some owners may have to sell or Much like the various makes and models of finance their existing cars to make ends meet. cars, there is also a plethora of different finance Despite this, the classic car market is a resilient options to choose from.
How to finance it
towards your next car, or simply release them without having to sell up. Alternatively, ‘Auction Finance’ is another great option for financing a classic car. For many motoring enthusiasts, auctions can be the ideal place to find the dream car, with various older and classic models for sale. However, bidding at a car auction can be stressful, so it’s important to secure your finance first, allowing you to comfortably and confidently bid on your next classic car without that worry. While UK roads are currently deserted and the economy is uncertain, one thing for sure is classic car enthusiasts will look forward to the moment they can go for their next spin. Those with a classic car collection or an interest in the industry are unlikely to lose
this enthusiasm and will keep the industry thriving. In addition to this, as a new, younger generation of buyers enter the world of classic cars, we may see an increase in demand for ‘modern classics’ alongside old favourites. With the current economic climate, classic car finance may make for a favourable option TR
For further details on classic car finance, please visit: www.classiccarbank.co.uk
Modern classic
Classic car
Modern classics tend to be aged between 10-25 years old. Having a tailored finance plan for purchasing a modern classic is still as essential as when purchasing a classic car.
Often classed as cars of more than 20 years old and bought as collectibles, classic cars cover a broad spectrum of makes and models. The definition of a classic car may differ depending on who you ask as there are so many different factors which contribute. You should seek a personal and bespoke finance agreement, fitting to the model you’re looking to purchase.
Types of Classic Car There are several things that define a classic car, but in order to get the most suitable finance deal tailored to you, cars can be categorised into one of the following subgroups.
Vintage car
Racing car
Sometimes confused with classic cars, a vintage car is actually an entirely different thing. Vintage cars are those typically dated from 1919 to 1930 and enthusiasts with extensive knowledge of these models are hard to come by, so finding an expert in financing for these cars can be difficult. It is therefore crucial to work with a finance expert who has a passion and understanding for a range of classic and vintage vehicles.
Financing a racing car can often be hard due to the vehicles being deemed a high-risk asset, which is especially true for classic and vintage racing cars. In order to ensure your transaction is dealt with efficiently, opt for a lender who offers race car finance.
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CITY CHIC Where are you spending your summer this year? Chances are you’ve spent so many months contemplating your next escape, you probably haven’t given thought to the actual logistics of it. Flying commercial, private, driving, sailing – no matter where you’re headed this season, it’s likely the journey is going to take that little bit more of a toll. All the more reason to pack for a few weeks rather than a weekend. Whether you are confined to quarters for the foreseeable or already making arrangements to matriculate to the warmer climates of San Remo or Cinque Terre, the team at Drake’s have just the accoutrement to go with that summer wardrobe.
FA S H I O N : C I T Y C H I C
FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR TO PURCHASE, SELECT THE IMAGE.
Orange Knitted Linen Crew Neck Jumper Off-White Linen Double-Breasted Blazer Navy Spot Print Silk Seersucker Tie Blue and White Regular Fit Stripe Poplin with Spread Collar Off-White Linen Trousers
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Ecru and Magenta Seaside Print Cotton Bandana Tobacco Linen Double-Breasted Blazer, Tobacco Linen Trousers Red and White Stripe Canvas Espadrilles
“Quello che potremmo fare io e te Senza dar retta a nessuno.”
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Multi-Stripe Linen Spread Collar Shirt
“Sai io ho pensato sempre Quasi continuamente.�
Green Stripe Cotton Poplin Long Point Collar Shirt, Navy and Orange Narrow Stripe Silk-Cotton Mogador Tie
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Dark Green Japanese Linen Spread Collar Shirt Lobster Red Needlecord Shorts Yellow Knitted Linen Crew Neck Jumper
“Che non sei mai stata mia Me lo ricordo sempre.” Ecru Linen-Merino Summer Guernsey Jumper
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Yellow Knitted Linen Crew Neck Jumper, Teal Palm Tree Print Swimming Shorts
“A crescere bambini Avere dei vicini Io e te Come favole.�
Navy Tencel-Cotton Five-Pocket Chore Jacket, Ecru Selvedge Denim Five-Pocket Jeans
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The Minerva Movement
Words: Ellis Axton
Inspired by Minerva timepieces from the 1950s, Montblanc discovers a hidden box of original Minerva MB M62.00 calibres from 2003. Only 38 movements were discovered in the archives of the Manufacture in Villeret (Jura mountains, Switzerland) and they now equip the new Montblanc Heritage Small Second Limited Edition 38.
T I M E : T H E M I N E RVA M O V E M E N T
Montblanc Heritage Small Second Limited Edition 38
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ontblanc Villeret’s watchmaking tradition began in 1858 when Charles-Yvan Robert founded the Minerva Manufacture in the Saint-Imier valley.
of repeating this effort, so this is a true heritage timepiece for collectors and watch aficionados.
The Montblanc Heritage Small Second Limited Edition 38 pays tribute to Minerva’s history, with the unveiling of the historical Minerva The Manufacture progressively gained international movement, the manually wound calibre MB M62.00. It is combined with a 39mm stainless recognition for its timepieces, becoming a leading steel case, a distinctive lacquered two-tone salmon specialist in the fabrication of professional watches dial, featuring a Minerva secret signature, and a and stopwatches. matching grey Sfumato alligator strap. These timepieces feature all the codes of fine The historical calibre MB M62.00 was inspired watchmaking with a timeless design. For the first by the Pythagore calibre from 1948 with its very time, this rare limited edition timepiece bears recognizable geometric shape. It was reinterpreted the name of Minerva on the dial, in the form of in 2003 with more classical shapes and high-end a secret signature. Montblanc have no intention
finishings. The MB M62.00 indicates the hours, minutes and small seconds at 6 o’clock. The movement features a large balance wheel beating at a low traditional frequency of 18,000 A/h (2.5 hertz), allowing an ample moment of inertia. The regulating organ is equipped with a double adjustment system. Firstly, it includes a hairspring positioning system with a stud that allows the watchmaker to centre the hairspring by moving the entire balance system to the balance cock. Secondly, a hairspring active length regulator index system (raquette), with a swan’s neck spring bearing the Minerva arrow is positioned on the end. The iconic Minerva arrow
Specification IDENT - 124781 MOVEMENT - CALIBRE MB M62.00 DIAMETER - 23,6 MM HEIGHT - 3.90 MM WATERTIGHTNESS - 5 BAR (50 M) CRYSTAL - SCRATCH-RESISTANT, DOMED BOXSHAPED SAPPHIRE CRYSTAL WITH ANTIREFLECTIVE COATING BACK - STAINLESS STEEL WITH INSET PANE OF SAPPHIRE CRYSTAL AND SPECIAL “HISTORICAL MINERVA MOVEMENT” ENGRAVING
CROWN - STAINLESS STEEL WITH MONTBLANC EMBLEM IN RELIEF FREQUENCY - 18,000 A/H (2.5 HZ) HAIRSPRING - FLAT AND SWAN’S NECK FOR FINE ADJUSTMENTS PLATE - RHODIUM-COATED GERMAN SILVER WITH CIRCULAR GRAINING ON BOTH SIDES, HAND-CHAMFERED EDGES WRISTBAND - GREY SFUMATO ALLIGATORSKIN STRAP COMING FROM THE RICHEMONT PELLETTERIA IN FLORENCE, ITALY WITH STAINLESS
BRIDGES - RHODIUM-COATED GERMAN SILVER WITH “CÔTES DE GENÈVE”, CIRCULAR GRAINING ON BOTH SIDES, HANDCHAMFERED EDGES CASE - STAINLESS STEEL, POLISHED CASE POWER RESERVE - 50 HOURS NO. OF COMPONENTS - 162 JEWELS - 20 GOING-TRAIN - GOLD-COATED, CIRCULAR GRAINED, CHAMFERED, DIAMOND HUBS ON BOTH SIDES
can also be found as an engraving on the main plate. The view of this hand-wound mechanical movement shows a high level of finishing; a testament to the skill and dexterity of the watchmakers. The components, visible or not, are hand-decorated with bevelling, chamfered edges, circular graining on both sides, and grained and polished surfaces. Notice the rhodium-coated, German silver main plate that features circular graining and hand-chamfered edges; on the bridges which are decorated on all sides. These are bevelled by hand and manually-embellished with Geneva stripes (Côtes de Genève), and also on the wheels which are plated with gold and have faceted arms.
Particular attention has been paid to the dial. Following the codes of the Heritage product line, the timepiece is composed of a refined, two-toned, salmon-coloured dial that has been lacquered for a distinctive aesthetic and domed. To pay tribute to the history of the manufacture, a Minerva secret signature has been added between four and five o’clock. A small second counter with “azuré” (circular guilloché) finishing is set slightly lower than the main dial to provide greater contrast. Other details include curved Dauphine-shaped hands that follow the domed shape of the dial; black rhodium-coated applied indexes; and Arabic numerals and dots which have all been coated with white Super-LumiNova, a first in the Heritage
collection. A precise railway track (minuterie) in blue completes the overall design and provides better readability. The Montblanc Heritage Small Second Limited Edition 38 comes with a fully-polished, stainlesssteel case with curved horns and is adorned with a domed box-shaped sapphire crystal glass with antireflective coating and an open sapphire crystal case back, enhancing a special “Historical Minerva movement” engraving. This edition is limited and numbered. Each timepiece is entirely crafted and assembled from A to Z by the same master watchmaker at the Montblanc Manufacture in Villeret, making each timepiece truly unique.
Watch box essential, do not use your Leica binoculars for occasional support
“The historical calibre MB M62.00 was inspired by the Pythagore calibre from 1948 with its very recognizable geometric shape.” THE REVIEW 2020 181
F I NA N C E : M I R I S
Arctic Circle Sustainable, responsible and impact investing (SRI) is an investment discipline that considers environmental, social and corporate governance criteria to generate long-term competitive financial returns and positive societal impact. Yes, I know, you hear the words fiscal responsibility and you’re already headed for Nantucket. But really, you should be telling the pilot to plot a course for the Svartisen glacier in Oslo.
B
Words: John Sterling
y now, your broker, IFA, portfolio manager or family office will have discussed sustainable investments with you, along with the motivations behind them. You might have considered community development loan funds or clean tech portfolios. Not only do they fulfil fiduciary duties, they are likely to provide important environmental benefits. Traditionally, sustainable investors have focused on one or both of two strategies. The first is ESG incorporation; the second is more specific to those with shares in publicly traded companies and boils down to filing shareholder resolutions.
According to Savills World Research, the total global real estate industry in 2017 was valued at $281 trillion, and since increasing, constituting the largest asset class in the world. At the same time, according to the 2019 Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), the buildings and construction sector accounted for 36% of final energy consumption, and 39% of direct and indirect CO2 emissions in 2018. Now, is any of this affecting your net worth? I suspect you would have to call your broker first – but hear us out.
Global challenges, such as climate change, meltdowns, rising sea levels and general pollution, coupled with population growth The US SIF Foundation’s Report on US Sustainable, Responsible and Impact Investing and urbanisation have pushed new demands on the real estate industry. Authorities Trends identified $12 trillion in total assets around the world have, therefore, agreed to under management at the end of 2017 using impose a 40% carbon reduction requirement one or more sustainable investing strategies. (by law) for all public, commercial and office The current market is worth $23 trillion with buildings. Properties that do not have this half of all assets managed in Europe.
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reduction implemented by 2030 will be heavily taxed. The change is coming, and it’s as assured as deaths and taxes. If you’re reading this and you’re still on the fence about global warming, you can stay there; we need you to believe in an equitable rate of return (though shame on you). In October 2019, US Capital Global provided MIRIS AS with a €10 million bridge loan. This was enough to put the project on our CSR radar. MIRAS is a technology-driven real estate development company that enables sustainable solutions. The company had five large scale construction projects planned, including the world’s first energy-positive hotel. This was only the beginning though as a €100 million growth equity program was well into development. Jan Gunnar Mathisen, CEO and founder of MIRIS, said: “We are very pleased with the excellent advisory services and timely financing provided by US Capital Global. This bridge financing is designed to support our continued growth, as we continue to transform MIRIS from a real estate developer to a smart city developer with equity.” Over the last forty years, Mathisen has led the likes of Arctic Telecom AS, African Telecom Group AS and Co Founded the Norway Bahrain
Business Council. His executive team includes Julie Tretteteig, who was brought in at the end of 2019 and Elin Hauge who arrived in early 2020. MIRIS is looking to finance its energy-positive hotel, located close to the Svartisen glacier,
“We look at Svart as
having four major pillars; environment, nature, sustainability and technology innovation. Wellness and mindfulness are also a big part of it.
”
north of the Arctic Circle, with the MIRIS Green Bond. The World Bank issued its first green bond in 2009. Since then more and more people are investing their money in
this way. Rating agency Moody’s estimated that $250 billion worth of green bonds were issued around the world in 2019. And that number will surely continue to grow in the coming years, thanks to people who realise that they can make their money work in truly uplifting ways without too much effort on their part. The Green Bond is registered on Norway’s Central Securities Depository (Verdipapirsentralen). Ivaylo Lefterov is the Hotel Development Director who is leading the development at the foot of the Svartisen glacier. “We look at Svart as having four major pillars; environment, nature, sustainability and technology innovation. Wellness and mindfulness are also a big part of it. For us, it’s very important to run all of these elements together in tandem, because they have direct impact on the design itself. From my experience, at least, a lot of the mistakes that come from hotel developments are that many projects don’t consider all elements at the same time. It’s often as an afterthought, and then they have to adjust or adopt elements to make it work. In a way this compromises the end result and doesn’t allow it to reach its full potential as something unique. So, we’ve taken a longer time to plan, and to put things
THE REVIEW 2020 187
together – we wanted to make sure we looked at all the relevant parts of the operation from the perspective of the end user and mitigated any risks. The vision for Svart is so much bigger than the project itself; we are trying to use it as a showcase of what can be achieved in terms of sustainability and energy solutions. It’s demonstrating to the user what we can do, and the extent of what can be done, to really get people thinking about it. I’ve been a vocal critic of the hospitality industry and hotels in general because not enough has been done in
these areas”. The hotel, which is designed by the Norwegian architect firm Snøhetta, will have about 100 rooms, an onsite education and design lab, and a sustainable farm producing ingredients for the hotel’s four restaurants. The architecture is inspired by local coastal building traditions and stands on wooden piles dissolving the boundary between land and fjord. The shape of the hotel provides a panoramic view of the fjord and an experience of living in proximity to nature.
Svart is the first building to be designed and built according to the highest energy efficiency standards in the northern hemisphere. The hotel will save 85% of its annual energy consumption and it will harvest enough solar energy to cover both the hotel operations, including its boat shuttle operation, and the energy needed to construct the building. So, whether you are considering visiting as a guest or instructing the money men to make a move for you, we certainly look forward to seeing the finished article.
THE HOST Words: John Sterling
Directed by Andy Newbery with Cinematography by Oona Menges, The Host is the first internationally-distributed, English-speaking, Dutch feature film. It’s a tense thriller, with a veritable cavalcade of talent, including Emmy Award winning actress Maryam Hassouni, Mike Beckingham, Dougie Poynter, Togo Igawa, and veteran actor Derek Jacobi. The Review sat down with Zachary Weckstein, founder and producer at Pearl Pictures Productions to talk about his first feature film.
Where is home at the moment, Zach? I’ve lived in several countries growing up; the US, Australia, the UK, and the Netherlands. I did an internship in Malaga, Spain, and ended up living and working there for a little over a year before finishing my studies in international business. But at the moment, The Hague is home and where I chose to build my company. After graduating with my Masters in Filmmaking at the London Film School, I decided to go back to LA and visit my family. Obviously, Hollywood is still headquarters for the industry, unless you’re going to go into the Chinese or Bollywood market. But if you are going global, Hollywood is the place to be. So, while in Los Angeles, I visited with several production companies. It was an interesting time for sure. How does living and working in the Netherlands compare to growing up in California? The most obvious is the weather. From growing up on the beach in San Diego, where it was common to surf, go sailing and spend most of the time outdoors, and then coming to the Netherlands where you have a definite four seasons and a full winter wardrobe. Because I lived in London before moving to the Netherlands, I had already become accustomed to life on this side of the pond. Now, when I go back and visit my hometown, it has really changed for me, because I look at it with different eyes from when I was young. I saw that there was more value in coming back to Europe to make films and not having to be a small fish in a big sea.
“I was in discussions with several directors and wanted someone who could take the Vera character and do her justice.”
C U LT U R E : Z AC H A RY W E C K S T E I N
the host Directed by Andy Newbery with Cinematography by Oona Menges, The Host is the first internationally-distributed, Englishspeaking, Dutch feature film. It’s a tense thriller, with a veritable cavalcade of talent, including Emmy Award winning actress Maryam Hassouni, Mike Beckingham, Dougie Poynter, Togo Igawa, and veteran actor Derek Jacobi. The Review sat down with Zachary Weckstein, founder and producer at Pearl Pictures Productions to talk about his first feature film. Words: Peter James Robinson
ROBERT ATKINSON PLAYED BY MIKE BECKINGHAM
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How are you finding the European film industry? I know you studied in London, of course. And you’ve lived, well, everywhere. But how do the two media markets merge? I thought I would bring different attributes being from the US and growing up in the American marketing culture. I enjoy the marketing element that Hollywood brings, along with the beauty in European storytelling and culture. I like to mix both worlds. I found it helpful to incorporate both views into my filmmaking, and I think it’s allowed me to understand a broader audience. Hollywood produces massive productions, but smaller European films have such heart and soul and amazing stories. In order to get an international audience interest, the look of a film is affected by elements such as lighting, costuming, locations. Good films bring both worlds together. That’s what Hitchcock and these other great filmmakers and actors were able to do when they came over to America, and that’s some of the value they brought which made them great storytellers. What made you land on being a producer over above all the other roles and departments? I started acting in musical theatre at a young age. And given my curiosity, I was exposed to various roles in theatre productions. I continued in the arts throughout my youth and growing up. My interest in producing all started actually during my internship in Spain. I worked for a producer in Malaga, and at the same time for a director in New York. The Spanish producer recommended that I take a look at a documentary ‘The Kid Stays in the Picture’, the story of Robert Evans life. The moment I watched it, it changed my entire world and led me to understand what I truly wanted to do – produce films. From the very beginning, I was passionate about the creative side of filmmaking, as well as giving something back to society. When I saw that documentary, I really identified with the role of the producer. Robert Evans began as an actor. He had a creative side to him, but a business side as well. Evans was notorious for his role as a creative producer. There have been plenty of producers who had the finance or at least understood how to finance film and who wanted to get into the creative side, but weren’t really talented in that way. Robert had an eye for talent in front as well as behind the camera, as well as a vision and understanding of what made a good story. I felt a lot of similarities with Evans in the start of his career, and I wanted to make my mark in the industry. You honed your skills at the London Film School, didn’t you?
What was so great about the London Film School – and what sets them apart from other great filmmaking universities – is that it’s mandatory for their students to experience every single role on set. In my two-year Master’s in filmmaking, I was trained as a director, a cinematographer, a camera op, an editor, basically all the main roles. It’s a practical Master’s programme, and the facilities and equipment that the University has allows students to experience and strengthen their talents on filming. We were able to work with many different cameras and lenses, using film as well as digital, filming in studios and building sets, and filming on location. I was able to create various film types and genres within the LFS mandatory 13 films. It was a tremendous education, and I totally submerged myself into each and every role. This really gave me not only hands-on experience, but a broader understanding of filmmaking. So, The Host – who approached who, how did the project get started? Laurence Lamers, a local filmmaker, approached me in mid-2017 with a story and a partial script. We spoke, and the idea needed a bit of work. I took the project on, developed the story and brought on two scriptwriters. Then I started looking for a film crew and finance. I was fortunate in both areas, bringing on a hardworking crew, as well as receiving full funding in a very short period of time. What was your timeline from preproduction to post? Funding came in at the very end of 2017, and I started immediately with the writers. Then pre-production began at the beginning of 2018 and we started securing some big-name actors. The film had loads of potential for a low budget because we were able to get actors such as Emmy Award winning Dutch actress Maryam Hassouni, Mike Beckingham, Dougie Poynter, veteran actors Derek Jacobi, Jeroen Krabbé and others. It’s so great that sometimes talent comes to you. We started principle photography in March 2018 and into April, with a pick-up week in September. Post-production and the international distribution contract were completed by August 2019. It’s clear the casting went incredibly well, so let’s talk about the department heads. Who came on first? I was in discussions with several directors and wanted someone who could take the Vera character and do her justice. With the film’s female lead character, who suffers an abusive
parent, I was looking for a director who could be sympathetic to her role. I brought on Oona Menges, the cinematographer, in the meantime, as she is a good match with my philosophy of film production. As it’s so important for the director and cinematographer to have good collaboration and communication, I spoke with Oona about directors who she’d worked with in the past. I decided, after a few meetings, on Andy Newbery. All the other department heads flew in quickly, with a wide array of experience and talents, all hard-working department heads. Location-wise, you’ve split principal photography between the UK and Netherlands. How do they compare? Both Amsterdam and London have their own unique beauty. Holland is really welcoming to filmmakers. They’re two different countries, so there is, of course, a difference in each country’s architecture, skies, but the main difference for filming is that, in London, we had to pay for film permits on certain locations, unlike in Holland. There is so much beauty in the Netherlands and London. I wanted to make sure that all our locations were ones that an international audience would not only appreciate, but see in a new light. So, how was the budget put together for this project? I was looking for investors and sponsorships that matched the project and could bring it to the highest production value. It was straight-up independent finance, and I was able to raise all funds in about 4 months. What’s still on the slate for 2020? Well, at the moment I have a pile of scripts, so I am just seeing what’s going to be the best fit for the coming years. I am evaluating these at the moment, as well as concentrating on the marketing of The Host and the rest of its worldwide release.
THE HOST is out now on iTunes, Amazon Prime, Google Play, Sky Store, Apple TV, Microsoft Movies and TV and Fandango Now.
C U LT U R E : Z AC H A RY W E C K S T E I N
STEVE ATKINSON PLAYED BY DOUGIE POYNTER
VERA TRIBBE PLAYED BY MARYAM HASSOUNI
LAU HOI HO PLAYED BY TOGO IGAWA
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AU T O M O T I V E : J AG UA R F - T Y P E S V R
Svr Words: Greg Roscow
Images: Alexander Jaskowski
The pinnacle of success that many manufacturers strive for is that very elusive label of duality. In a market saturated with an abundant choice of supercars and luxury automobiles, can such a gap be truly bridged in a manner that ensures no disservice to either end of the scale? The Jaguar F-Type SVR comes perilously close.
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Winter. Hardly the most fitting of seasons for unleashing 567bhp onto British roads, perennially underprepared for the arrival of freezing conditions. However, power and handling were not the first order of business. A 200-mile journey beginning amongst rush-hour traffic, surrounded at times by treacherous fog was the initial hurdle. Visibility was low, headlight glare was high, and I found myself in an unfamiliar cockpit with the ability to reach 200mph. Yet not once did I feel uncomfortable or struggle with such intuitive controls at the helm.
Truth be told, the urge to feel the addictive roar from a 5.0-litre, supercharged V8 was always present. Somehow, I resisted, safe in the knowledge that tomorrow would shed light on a new opportunity for automotive mayhem. For now, the ‘Rain/Ice/Snow’ setting remained firmly in place as I meandered my way onto the M5 and settled down with the gentle hum of a resting giant purring away, tempered by cruise control and electronic assistance for the inclement conditions.
The following two hours of comfort allowed me to reflect on first impressions, away from the frustration of Joe Public and his generally poor ability to cope in adverse weather. The numbers speak for themselves. Jaguar’s Special Vehicle Operations team has taken an accomplished sports coupé and added that extra oomph to create a monster. The positive kind. Back there in the darkened hustle of a 6 pm Cheltenham, I was just like any other F-Type on the road. Only those with an eye for detail, or lovers of a rear wing, would notice the sheer performance capabilities within. I quite
liked that sense of anonymity, aided by the Bosphorous Grey paintwork, as it certainly wasn’t the case whenever daylight cast its glance. Truly admiring the quality of automotive interior design only becomes a conscious sentiment following an extended period spent with a vehicle. In this case, 150 motorway miles left my mind pondering each design cue on show. I was a particular fan of the sweeping centre console, with air-conditioning vents rising into action only when required. The quilted leather
performance seats added a touch of softness to the otherwise, threatening appearance yielded by the exterior. From the comfort of the cockpit, it is quite possible to not entirely realise exactly just what you are driving. As the miles wore on, I explored my way through various shades of interior lighting before settling upon a soft rouge, partly inspired by the serendipitous sounds of ‘Roxanne’ filling the air from 10 surrounding speakers. With the time of day approaching midnight, the first leg of the journey concluded. But not without a reintroduction to urban roads. The
reverberation of that V8 crackle excited me for the next adventure. In the morning sun the following day, frost aplenty, the SVR’s styling additions were emphasised. Still, you’d need to know what you were looking for. The obvious eye-catcher is the carbon-fibre rear wing, but more subtle enhancements such as wider tyres allow for a road presence unmatched across the remainder of its class. Elsewhere, the redesigned engine bay vents appeared to repel any accumulation of ice, whilst the yellow brake callipers yearned
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for more attention than a generation of Instagram-obsessed teenagers. Almost every aspect from the already proven F-Type R has been tweaked to bring the SVR to that next incremental level. If you know, you know. This is a supercar in disguise. Eventually, improving conditions afforded the confidence to move away from the quest for comfort that had reigned thus far. Those credentials were already bona fide. Hunting out roads that I had not driven for the best part of a decade, nostalgia was for once overcome with the joy of surpassing experiences of yesteryear. Yet there was more to be offered as the tyres warmed, and confidence in the carbon-ceramic brakes increased. I span back around, flicked into ‘race mode’, and decided it was about time to test out the launch control. 0 to 60 arrived in just 3.5 seconds. With each
“In my humble opinion, the F-Type SVR straddles the fence between comfort and performance like no other.” sweeping bend and clipped apex, new limits appeared to be set. Working in harmony as one, the 20-inch wheels combined with dynamic suspension and all-wheel drive created an affinity between rubber and road that would require serious intention to disrupt. Lesser setups would have me nestled in numerous hedgerows by now. Fortunately for adrenaline junkies such as myself, it wasn’t all just sterile fun. The SVO team’s decision to send slightly more torque to the rear axle still ensured a level of perceived danger, enough to prevent a pedal-to-metal calamity should one not keep their lead foot in check. As the winter solstice approached, hours of meaningful daylight dwindled to a minimum and concluded rather prematurely the afternoon’s adrenaline seeking. Not to waste an opportunity for sightseeing at sunset, coastal roads begged to be navigated. It’s more than fair to say the arrival of this big cat ensured that the Blackpool Tower was not the only attraction for wandering tourists upon the historic promenade. Throughout the following days, the sense
of living with said beast came to fruition. Without reservation, it has all the tools required to satisfy the most entitled of drivers whilst simultaneously reserving the right to rearrange the contents of one’s stomach should that be desired. That word once more comes to mind. Duality. Alas, the time did arrive to conduct the return leg of the initial motorway slog, albeit now in more favourable circumstances. Familiar and at one with the machine, my attention finally turned to that all-important test of acoustics. As a traditional brass musician, I have a select shortlist of orchestral works in which I subject any audio system that requires verification of capabilities. I can safely proclaim that the finale of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture was delivered in supreme clarity by the Meridian surround sound system. I think I can still hear those cannons firing as I write. Once the clatter of 19th-century artillery had made way for the more contemplative tones of Elgar, I began to thoughtfully consider the reasons for choosing the SVR over the other options within the F-Type range, particularly the R model. From a purely aesthetic perspective, admiring the adjustable wing in the rear-view mirror and watching its angle shift at the touch of a button, does the job. I don’t think I could ever tire of that spectacle. Others might want more justification, however. Increased power, torque and an improved exhaust system, combined with a lighter chassis and aggressive body styling may all seem like iterative improvements. In reality, they all add up to far more than the sum of their parts. In my humble opinion, the F-Type SVR straddles the fence between comfort and performance like no other. This model totals up at a shade under £135,000 with the options included (trust me, you’ll need the extra braking power). An absolute bargain for such versatility. TR
Specifications PRICE: £135,000 ENGINE: V8 / 575 hp 0-60: 3.5 seconds TOP SPEED: 200 LENGTH/WIDTH/HEIGHT: 4,475 x 1,923 x 1,3708 WEIGHT: 1720kg unladen ECONOMY: 39.2mpg THE REVIEW 2020 199
Springinto Self-Care You can cut all the flowers. But you can’t stop Spring from coming.
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PHA’s provide a shallow exfoliation to gently brighten skin, perfect for pre-makeup. Lemon, sugar cane, licorice root and chamomile condition the skin to leave it glowing even more. Massage on, leave for 15 minutes and remove with a damp washcloth. Embark on your look for the day.
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B E AU T Y : S P R I N G T I M E
THE REVIEW 2020 203
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Maximise with a bountiful 18 different fruit, flower and seed oils and extracts with Bybi - Supercharge serum. Apply after, or instead of, moisturiser. Leave your skin hydrated whilst it brightens and works to overcome hyperpigmentation and scarring. Do the groundwork now for ‘no-makeup’ makeup during the summer to come.
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Sweep a little liquid highlighter under your foundation for a lit-from-within glow. Aim across the eyelids for a soft glow to the eye and over-the-cheekbones highlights for a healthy flush.
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Kevyn Aucoin Emphasize Eye Design Palette As Seen In “ Travel light with a palette that does it all. From barelythere day to look-at-me night ,and every shade of fierce in between. Kevyn Aucoin - Emphasize Eye Design Palette - As Seen In.
Ballet, blush and a smudge of sangria creates a soft-day look. Pair with a gentle swipe of mascara and a fluffy brow, keeping your day low-key. Want to amp it up? Ménage rose, amethyst and sangria. Focus on Amethyst for your main colour pop. Gently bronze with your choice of Kevyn Aucoin - The Neo-Bronzer to balance your eye.
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Swap your shadows to Blush and Sangria. Gloss lips with Lipstick Queen - Reign & Shine Lip Gloss, in Princess of Peony for a suits-all nude. Play with textures and grab the cream foil shadow from your emphasize palette. Pat on the inner corner of the eye for a richer colour and texture. If you’re feeling extra adventurous, pat the remnants across the brow.
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TIME : SUPERMAN FRENCH AIR FORCE
SURHOMME Words: Ellis Axton
Photography: Anthony-Jeuland
The select world of military timepieces is a sacred posting. Historically engineered and developed under rather lengthy, if not largely unenforceable, contracts with nations armed services brass, military spec watches are designed to last under, let’s say, rather hostile conditions.
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T
his year, French watchmaker YEMA will be releasing their Superman French Air Force timepieces to the public, in a redesigned collector’s edition. When a timepiece was issued to service personnel, their role required it. They were produced in low numbers and weren’t largely available commercially. Think back to Christopher Walken as Captain Koons
in Pulp Fiction. “The way your dad looked at it, this watch was your birthright.” And for the men and women of the French Air Force (Armée de l’Air), no doubt the tradition will continue. The new collection has been entirely redesigned in partnership with the French Air Force to meet the requirements of their divers and fighter pilots. The pieces will be available in both black PVD and steel case. This means you’ll have to carefully decide which camo stick to use when prepping for your mission and which casing colour is less likely to get you caught.
There Superman French Air Force is equipped with YEMA’s in-house calibre MBP1000 and features a matt black dial printed with “French Air Force” logo and the coloured national insignia at 6 o’clock. Hopefully the next incarnation can chime La Marseillaise. One of the more uplifting and patriotic of National Anthems, if I do say. The origins of this collaboration go back to 1970, when YEMA was equipping special operations teams of elite divers with Superman models. If you would like to know more about the specifics of the missions and their goals, please enjoy wadding through redacted reports. If you really want to go
Specification DIAMETER - 39 MM | 41 MM THICKNESS - 13 MM | 13 MM DIAMETER - 45MM THICKNESS - 15.85MM LUG : 19 MM | 20 MM CASE - BRUSHED 316L STAINLESS STEEL, BLACK PVD COATED CROWN - SCREW-DOWN CROWN, BLACK PVD COATED
BEZEL - STEEL BEZEL WITH BLACK ALUMINIUM INSERT UNIDIRECTIONAL GRADUATED 0-60 CRYSTAL - DOMED SAPPHIRE CRYSTAL 2.60 MM THICKNESS WATER RESISTANCE - 30 BAR / 990 FEET / 300 M CALIBER - MBP1000 FRENCH IN-HOUSE MOVEMENT
POWER RESERVE - 45 HOURS JEWELS - 31 RUBIES DIAL - MATT BLACK WITH STAMPED FRENCH AIR FORCE LOGO DARK RED LOGO MARKERS - SUPER-LUMINOVA C1 HANDS - ICONIC “ARROW” HOURS AND “SHOVEL” SECONDS STEEL HANDS, BLACK PVD COATED
down the rabbit hole, YEMA state that they’ve “designed watches in partnership with renowned scientific and military bodies since 1948”. We do know this includes the country’s space agency, but that’s all they are willing to say on record. Whomever these watches were made for and utilised by, they were certainly heavy operators. Military watches are, after all, required to withstand the rigours of full blown military incursions. Cases need to be impact-proof and resistant to corrosion under what could only be described as brutal weather conditions. It must also be reliable, be able to perform in the bitterest cold, and under the scorching sun.
Note we’ve referenced the heat of the nearest star and not any kind of explosives there. You can choose to test your personal watch under whatever conditions you prefer, of course. So, not only must the timepiece be hardened to the highest level imaginable, it must also be easily serviceable and easy to use. Parts will break on a well-used military timepiece, enemy fire, fast roping in, halo drops, extreme G forces and unchartered depths are all faced in the service of a country. YEMA’s in-house self-winding mechanical movement is entirely designed, developed and assembled at their rather beautiful Morteau workshops in France. It beats at 28,800
vibrations an hour and has a power reserve of 45 hours. The hands and markers are treated with Swiss Super-LumiNova, so offer perfect readability in low light conditions. Each piece in is engraved with a unique number from 0001 to 1948, and you can reserve your preferred number online (subject to availability). Given such a limited number of watches are being made for to the public – and priority given to Air Force staff – you’ll need to pre-order STAT. YEMA will also be by donating up to 12.5% of sales to the official French Veterans Foundation (FOSA).
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Words: Peter Robinson
Deck the halls: it was 1978 and gravel-voiced, slide-guitar-wielder Chris Rea was driving home for Christmas. Except he wasn’t. Rea had lost his license for hitting the sauce in perfectly rock-star fashion. Having finished his recording contract, he couldn’t even get the label to stump up the train ticket home to Middlesbrough from London. He had £220 in his back-burner and, as things were tight, his wife Joan offered to make the long haul down to Abbey Road in her Austin Mini. As the snowstorm raged on and the traffic got worse, Rea kept seeing miserable drivers alongside the Mini. He leant over to his wife and sarcastically crooned “Driving home for Christmas”. They arrived home at 3am the next morning and, having scribbled the lyrics to the aforementioned hit by motorway street lamp, Rea popped the piece of paper into his unfinished tin.
AU T O M O T I V E : V O LV O S 6 0
S60 “I was bound for a chocolate-box town that had managed to maintain its architecture, cobbled streets and personality, all without erecting a 200-foot spruce in the town square. Modesty, of course, is the highest elegance.� THE REVIEW 2020 219
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t’s 2019: the end of the decade. And I, too, am driving home for Christmas. Except I’m not. I’m driving to the Netherlands to my partner’s home for Christmas. But that doesn’t have the same Rea ring to it. I spent most of December tying up loose ends and trying to avoid any sort of hellish retail environment. The light on the horizon was 2020, and a winter break that would draw a firm line in the sand of what has been an annus horribilis. Even the Queen acknowledged what a thoroughly fucking
terrible year it’s been. ‘Bumpy’ puts it mildly ma’am, but I’m glad we’re both staring out of a large window, plotting the demise of so many this decade.
rather than your political affiliation. On the road, you’re effectively nameless. You’re judged on your driving technique and badge alone. If your tint is dark enough and you avoid festooning your car with lights, signs or anything other than racing decals you personally won, you will be judged on your car and use of the road alone. It all sounds rather clinical. Well, yes – penicillin seems to work for everyone.
Rather than flying to Schiphol from whichever budget airline airport we would naturally default to, I wondered if driving would be the more serene bet. For many traversing Europe’s arteries with a UK number plate, given the current political climate, might sound like a bad game of geopolitical chess. The first stint would take us east along the M4 For me, it’s a matter of what car you choose, and then North on the M25 with a quick stop
to see grandmother for a fleeting cup of tea. Kids, go and see your ailing grandparents, they used to run the world and their advice, whilst a little Game of Thrones, is still very sage. It’s like having a wartime consigliere, who will kill anyone you point at and ask, “Do you need me to do it again?”. I set off in Volvo’s S60 T5 FWD R-Design Plus on a wet Saturday night in December. I was bound for a chocolate-box town that had managed to maintain its architecture, cobbled streets and personality, all without erecting a
200-foot spruce in the town square. Modesty, bull. of course, is the highest elegance. It’s also said to be arrogance by stealth, which I rather The first thing that struck me about the S60 is how impressive a figure it cuts. The svelte quite like. Swede is sporty, foreboding and, ultimately, Volvo’s S60 T5 250hp saloon uses the same very striking. It looks sleek in Bursting Blue Scalable Product Architecture as the XC90 too. How very European. The Swedish and the V90 and has T5 petrol and T8 Twin heritage is now only referenced via a waferEngine plug-in hybrid powertrain options. It thin flag that protrudes from the seat side. also has a 405bhp version from Polestar –but There will be no patriotism here. Too loud, this wasn’t that kind of trip. More power for too complicated, and frankly not needed by me tends to mean my ‘modesty’ extends a saloon whose only job is to envelop you in a outward towards other drivers like a raging self-satisfying road-based bubble.
PUSH PLAY TO WATCH THE FILM
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I would like, at this point, to tell tales of a wellhoned exterior and interior design. Instead, I am still on the M25 bound for Harwich in the rain. Christmas brings out those of us who drive for transport, never break 70mph, and only use the second lane. They’re the sort of people whose public execution you would gleefully turn up to watch, and probably throw rotten veg at. But in the Volvo, with its driver-assist and near enough silent cabin, I could actually have forgotten about the lack of education on Britain’s roads. The function isn’t designed to steer for you, but it interacts with your driving to keep the car in an optimum position in the lane. And of course, at the correct speed. I cannot tell you how much this has impressed my cardiologist.
The seats, be it in city or crunching motorway miles, are some of the most comfortable in class. The multi adjusting driving position, rear seat space and practical 442-litre boot all add to the S60’s so-far-shining report card. Not to mention the folding, flat rear seats, which are a must for anyone who works for a living in any capacity. It should be the standard. We drove onto the ferry at about 19:30 with zero fuss, no cavity searches or engine swabs. Perhaps it was on account of how sensible we looked in our Volvo. But I doubt it. That athletic front end, gaping air intakes and Thor’s hammer headlights leave Border Control in no doubt that you are trafficking organs alongside the kilo of Fortnum & Mason stilton. The S60 is handsome. Really handsome. Drop-your-pint handsome. We’re all after something different to the crop of Germanic saloons, and you cannot drive something with 500bhp every day without killing yourself or inviting the hate-filled members of Highways England into your life bearing a bicycle license.
With my blood pressure below 120 over 80, and the S60 handling its fair share of the driving, I was left to admire the interior cabin. Overall, it’s as sleek and uncomplicated as one might expect. This isn’t mission control. There isn’t a cacophony of buttons and dials cluttering up the cabin. The portrait infotainment system takes care of most of the detail-oriented jobs, keeping the eyeline clear. In the minimalist stakes, the S60 is atop the podium. It’s used to Calm. Think of the cardiologist. it by now I would expect. We left the S60 parked and headed to our
cabin aboard Stena Line’s Harwich to the Hook of Holland ferry. This isn’t the first time I have taken a night ferry, but it was the first one I had taken from England. When you stack up the pros and cons, it’s pretty straightforward. Carry as much liquid as you can, take all the legroom you can reach for, perhaps queue to get onto the boat in your car, then never queue again. It goes down as the most tranquil trip I have ever taken to mainland Europe. I didn’t get into a heated argument with one airport or airline employee, and I didn’t have to endure the airport check-in and boarding process that’s become about as choreographed as a dog getting fucked on roller skates. I enjoy flying, but I don’t need it in my life for a closequarters European hop. Yes, the Volvo was bringing my blood pressure down in leaps and bounds. With a good night’s sleep and an early morning departure, we set off in the S60 headed for the Hague. I was expecting some form of blockade, locals with pitch forks and all manner of anti-British license-plate angst. The reality is that no one had much chance to complain as the S60 sauntered past. The S60 will get you to 60 in 6.3 seconds. That 250hp engine isn’t going to become the next
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cup car, but it will still provide you with those moments of joy as you unleash it. If you need that extra horsepower for the shopping run or to get to the airfield on time, the T8 has a 394hp engine. And did I mention several times how handsome it is? God it’s handsome. I think it could make the deaf hear, the blind see and the sceptics understand fact from fiction. With no one around on a cold Sunday morning in the Hague, we parked the S60 and made our way through the tourist-free streets. I stopped for a moment to look back at the Volvo, with its striking coat of paint and menacing 19-inch five triple-spoke alloys and thought ‘it’s a wolf in wolfs clothing’. I decide to go full David Bailey a la iPhone,
much to the groups’ chagrin. Avail yourself of the truth: the S60 makes you feel like you could climb Everest if it was the car in front laying down the rope. They’ve moved the front tyres further away from the windscreen which creates a long bonnet and gives the exterior profile a sort of muscularity and strength. It’s incredibly distinctive whilst being understated in a way that some cars in the same class just aren’t. Ultimately, I can always base my final opinion of a marque on how much respect I have for it and how much respect it bestows upon me. The S60 left a weighty impression that’s still lingering. The interior and exterior are thoroughly well-thought out. It’s certainly aesthetically pleasing enough to fend off
a bar fight from the 3-Series and C Class. It sits in the premium saloon space with its muscular haunches held high. TR
Specifications PRICE: £38,285 ENGINE: T5 / 250 hp 0-60: 6.3 seconds TOP SPEED: 145 LENGTH/WIDTH/HEIGHT: 4,761 x 1,850 x 1,437 WEIGHT: 1606kg unladen. ECONOMY: 35.3-39.8mpg
Stena Line offers twice-daily, seven hour return crossings between Harwich and the Hook of Holland. Return fares start from £148 for two adults and a car. Cabins start from £17.50 per person each way. www.stenaline.co.uk/ferry-to-holland.
ALL BLACK Words: Ellis Axton
Fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto is known for his avant-garde aesthetic. His tailoring style is engrained in Japanese design and his choice of tonal focus – black – makes this latest collaboration, under the Art of Fusion tagline, a coup for Hublot.
TIME : BIG BANG GMT ALL BLACK
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W
hen Yamamoto debuted at Paris Fashion week in 1981, the designer presented an antithesis to traditional western dressmaking and has continued to expresses his own philosophy by constantly violating taboos and creating new and steadfast values for dressmaking. He told GQ in 2016 that young people “tend to wear impeccable clothes, but the different colours can look dirty,
and the combination of clothes is all messy.” The Yamamoto All-Black Big Bang Watch is anything but messy. Launched to celebrate the opening of the Swiss watchmaker’s flagship boutique on Chuo-dori Street in Ginza, Tokyo, the Big Bang GMT All Black Yohji Yamamoto is limited to only 50 pieces. As the piece will only be available at the new Hublot boutique in
Ginza, Tokyo, we foresee a steady stream of private buyers flying in to secure one. Provided the local watch aficionados don’t get there first. Hublot launched the All Black collection in 2006, with the concept of “invisible visibility”. The piece had a black case made of microblasted black ceramic, black dial, black hands and smoke sapphire crystals. The new incarnation also has a micro-blasted
Black Sapphire dial Satin-finished black PVD plated appliques with black
Specification REFERENCE - 471.CI.1114.RX.YOY20 CASE - MICRO-BLASTED AND POLISHED BLACK CERAMIC DIAMETER - 45MM THICKNESS - 15.85MM WATER RESISTANCE - 10 ATM (100M) CASE-BACK - MICRO-BLASTED BLACK CERAMIC ENGRAVED “SPECIAL EDITION”
BEZEL - MICRO-BLASTED AND POLISHED BLACK CERAMIC DIAL - BLACK SAPPHIRE DIAL SATIN-FINISHED BLACK PVD PLATED APPLIQUES WITH BLACK LUMINESCENT MOVEMENT - HUB1251 UNICO MANUFACTURE SELF-WINDING GMT FREQUENCY - 4HZ (28’800 A/H)
POWER RESERVE - 72 HOURS NO. OF COMPONENTS - 328 JEWELS - 41 STRAP & BUCKLE - BLACK RUBBER STRAP BLACK PLATED TITANIUM DEPLOYANT BUCKLE CLASP
and polished black ceramic, a 45mm diameter and 15.85mm thickness. The black sapphire dial is, of course, adorned with satin-finished, black PVD-plated appliques with black luminescent. The piece features a GMT setting so that the owner can toggle between Tokyo and Paris timezones at the push of a button. “This watch can easily display the time zones of the two cities where I’m based, Tokyo and
Paris,” said Yamamoto. “Moreover, the hours are invisible. As a person who isn’t always forthcoming, I find that highly amusing. I’m pleased to have taken part in the creation of this model to celebrate the opening of Hublot Boutique in Ginza, a unique, famous and iconic neighbourhood of Japan.” The watch is completely shrouded in a deep ink black, true to the All Black concept. When the watch strikes six o’clock, the signature of
Yohji Yamamoto can be seen. The timepiece has a 72-hour power reserve, and is finished off with a black rubber strap and a black plated titanium deployant buckle clasp. “The All Black limited edition we created together expresses a simple beauty through the fusion of Yohji Yamamoto’s black design signature and the complicated GMT manufacture movement,” says Richard Guadalupe, Hublot CEO.
Yohji Yamamoto (Dunhill models own)
“Colour disturbes people. I am confident in black, not in light. This dark side of life is attractive to me forever and from the beginning.” Yohji Yamamoto
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T R AV E L : T H E B O S T O N H A R B O U R H O T E L
The Hub Words: Peter J Robinson
The last time I was in Boston, the Patriots had just won the Super Bowl. Doesn’t exactly narrow it down, does it? The crowds lining the brisk New England streets had swelled to 1.5 million by the time we got into the city. We stowed our luggage at an Airbnb in the North End and headed South into the crowd. The long drive back from Vermont was a decent schlep, so our immediate concern was finding a pint of Guinness. Within about five minutes of arriving in any bar in Boston, your accent will be picked up. It’s your choice if you tell them you’re Australian, South African or English. The night progressed to dinner with our new group of celebratory Patriots fans and, as you might expect, the rest is a red, white and blue blur. We left Boston at 6am the following morning, headed for Vancouver with heavy heads and full hearts, vowing to return.
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t’s a year later and when I arrive it’s a brisk minus-6 degrees. The remnants of recent snowfall still show across the city as my Uber travels silently up Atlantic Avenue. At this point, I am still trying to get my bearings in ‘The Hub’.
I was headed for check-in at the Boston Harbour Hotel, a recipient of both the Forbes Five-Star and AAA Five-Diamond awards. The hotel sits on Rowes Wharf, formerly a neighbourhood called South Battery. Created by early settlers during the seventeenth century, one of the city’s most prolific businessmen, John Rowe, purchased the land in 1764 and put up the
original Rowes Wharf which was extended into meeting hardwood and ornate rugs unfurled throughout. I was particularly taken by a series Boston Harbour. of illustrations of maps from New England Having left London at 6pm GMT, I was from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. desperately trying to wrestle my need to explore the city into submission. I hoped With check-in having taken only a few beyond hope that once I had checked in, moments, I made my way into the lift, fell unpacked and taken a bath, I would be in a into the brightly illuminated buttons and more relaxed frame of mind. With my mind headed upward. I was hanging on by a thread. on autopilot, I glided through the unassuming I opened the door to the suite and before me exterior entrance, Rimowa following closely stood a 2017 California Cabernet Sauvignon by behind. The interiors are befitting of a Robert Mondavi, and a mezze platter handed harbourside property and are both colonial down from the gods. The rooms and suites and classic. After a long-haul flight, more than are, of course, influenced by the history of the a little luxury is needed. You’ll find historic harbourside with handcrafted teak furniture etchings, coffered ceilings, polished marble and historical ocean maps. I perched myself in
The exterior archway rising 60ft
the front room’s armchair, poured a bulbous glass of wine and looked out across the water. There is no denying the great location, not to mention the beautiful views from the property. As the night went on, it was alas time to do some adulting. I put on one of the two smart TVs, set up my laptop at the desk, unpacked my bags and toiletries, took a shower in the
that used to travelling solo. Usually, I’m either travelling with a film crew, friends, family or to meet one of the aforementioned. It had been a long time since I had been truly solo whilst travelling for some time. Keen to fully embrace A little after 9:30pm, with my brain awash with my total lack of formal guidance, parental or the urge to formally ‘wake up’, I decided that I otherwise, I made my way out into the night. would need to find medicinal relief. I am not all solid marble bathroom and climbed onto the king-size bed. This is an American king, which is presumably is bigger than anywhere else on Earth.
my way onto the High Street and into Finn McCool’s. For an Englishman abroad there is no escaping the familiar Irish bar, especially in Boston. It’s haunting. I sat myself at the altar, ordered something I faintly heard the barman recommend and peered upwards at a game of basketball. I honestly cannot recall being in a sports bar since the fall of Australian export ‘walkabout’. Finns was exactly what I needed at that moment though. I was the peaky looking guy at the bar whose overactive imagination wanted to trip the light fantastic with Boston’s great and good, but was clearly about to crash. Luckily for me, the hotel was Huge banners were hanging from the top of As I was unable to muster the strength to 100 metres across the avenue, so within ten the arch signalling the start of Boston Wine go back into the hotel to change, I made minutes, I was sprawled across a king-size bed, I headed towards the Harbour, keen to see what gems might be hiding in plain sight. After a brief realisation that the temperature was dropping and even a Barbour jacket wasn’t going to cut it, I turned tail and went west. Now, if you’ve been to Boston before, you will be aware of some of its landmarks. You’ll already know that the Boston Harbour Hotel has a grandiose exterior archway rising 60-feet. I was not. My head had arrived at the hotel and missed entirely the beautiful exterior architecture of the building, which is a seamless part of Boston’s downtown landscape.
Week. The nation’s longest-running food and wine festival curate a series of intimate winemaker-hosted dinners, seminars and receptions at the Boston Harbour Hotel. Sadly, I was not aware of this, so hadn’t dressed or booked accordingly. Luckily though, if you find yourself in the city January through March, you can visit the Rowes Wharf Bar in the hotel for an after-hours glass of fine wine. The postdinner festival attendees meet at 10pm after each hosted dinner. Go along for a chance to meet vineyard owners and winemakers from across the world.
The sea grille during the summer season
mezze selection in full effect. The following morning I rather respectfully woke, washed and was in the hotel’s rather well-appointed Rowes Wharf health club and spa by 7:30am. Hotel fitness centres have a bit of a reputation for being clinical and coldly corporate, but between those working
to the Marina at Rowes Wharf to cool down. If you’re inclined to snake your way around the harbour until you come to four angled steel sculptures that wouldn’t be entirely out of place at a skate park. Though these sculptures are untitled the installation is a recognised work of art by David von Schlegell. The four As the sun was shining, I decided to head out leaning steel structures face upward like off the tannins from the wine festival and the ‘regulars’, I felt right at home. The fitness centre is 24-hour, with three-lane 60-foot swimming pool and eucalyptus-infused steam rooms in case you plan on spending your entire trip working out.
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mirrors beaming into space when the light hits As one of the oldest cities in the US, Boston developed former wetlands to fuel its growth at the right angle. from 1631 to 1890. It constructed the first With two excursions in the diary rapidly public park, Boston Common in 1634, the approaching, I sadly had to secure a takeaway first subway system in 1897 and the first public breakfast from the hotel’s pretty incredible school, Boston Latin in 1635. The city is looking breakfast menu. This wasn’t without steeped in history. Preserved by the citizens of its fair share of pomp and ceremony. Boxes Boston in 1951, the Freedom Trail is a unique of politely curated meats and pastries were collection of museums, churches, meeting placed in a tower of a hotel boutique bag for houses, burying grounds, parks, a ship, and my departure. It was only a 20-minute walk historic markers that tell the story of the from the hotel to Boston Common and so American Revolution and beyond. often we opt for road transport to get around major cities. But there is simply no better way Having made decent time crossing the financial to get into the beating heart of a place than district whilst eating breakfast, I arrived a little out of breath. Thankfully the tour was paced on foot. well with ample breath-catching time despite If you know nothing about Boston other than the bitter cold. I don’t want to head straight to their need to occasionally destroy 46 tons of the macabre, but the Granary Burial ground has some particular highlights. You’ll find Paul tea, I urge you to take The Freedom Trail. Revere, Benjamin Franklin’s parents, James
The Samuel Adams statue in front of Faneuil Hall
Otis, Samuel Adams and John Hancock buried in the grounds. It was at this point I learnt the origins of the term ‘sign your John Hancock’. Hancock was president of Congress when the Declaration of Independence was adopted, so is primarily remembered by Americans for his flamboyant signature on the Declaration. According to legend, Hancock signed his name largely and clearly so that King George could read it without his spectacles. Not content with the one historical fix, I said goodbye to my incredible guide at the Old State House and made my way down State Street towards Boston Harbour Cruises, (BHC). Fearing I might be late, I had powered my way through the 500 metres and was now in dire need of refreshment. The boats sunset cruise was a few minutes from departure. As there appeared to be a full bar on the lower deck, I purchased a pint and made my way to
Fine wine being poured in the the Rowes Wharf Bar
the top deck to bask in the sun. The narrated 90-minute tour takes you through Boston past and present, and includes the SS Constitution’s traditional ritual as she fires her cannon and lowers her flag to signal the day’s end. We went by historic islands, landmarks and incredible lighthouses. Your guide will also point out a minimum-security prison located in Boston Harbour that was the inspiration for the film Shutter Island. That’s a hard pass in terms of a site visit for sure. Having strolled around a chilly Boston for a couple of hours, sitting
in the sun, cold beer in hand, watching the islands go by was certainly a strong way to end the day. With the sun going down, I strolled back to my suite at the Boston Harbour Hotel content with a culturally enriching day. The hotel’s location really couldn’t be better and acts as a prime jump to anywhere in the city. All that was left was to visit the Rowes Wharf Bar for a glass of Lagavulin in front of the fire and to toast this fine city. TR
To make a reservation at the hotel, please visit: www.bhh.com
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Carbon beach Perched high on the hillside where land meets sea, above the highly sought-after and selfaggrandisingly titled ‘Billionaire’s Beach’ sits a fully-furnished, brand new architectural masterpiece by Doug Burdge (AIA) that’s incredibly sleek. Considered the signature architect of Malibu, Burdge and his firm have designed more than 300 projects. These include 50 custom residences from Mediterranean-style estates to modernist homes in the Malibu region alone. Boasting a private drive off of PCH, this secluded estate delivers a dual-gated entry that leads to a tropical oasis with over 17 acres of native landscaping. The dramatically-lit driveway ushers you to the front door, which welcomes you with breathtaking 180-degree sunrise-to-sunset ocean views for quintessential Malibu living. The ‘smart home’ also offers a full wellness center (personal gym, massage room and adjacent steam and sauna, indoor jacuzzi with overhead skylights), chef’s kitchen, office, standalone guest house, infinity pool and bar, and an entertainment centre. The property has coveted deeded access to the La Costa Beach and Tennis Club. Photography: Douglas Elliman
P R O P E RT Y : C A R B O N B E A C H M A L I B U
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P R O P E RT Y : C A R B O N B E A C H M A L I B U
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FOR FURTHER DETAILS AND ADVICE REGARDING CARBON BEACH OR ANY OF KNIGHT FRANK’S WEST COAST PROPERTIES, PLEASE CONTACT JASON MANSFIELD: T: +44 20 7861 1199 M: +44 7710 881 214 E: jason.mansfield@knightfrank.com
SKY LANE
This 17,000-square foot modern residential oasis is an architectural masterpiece. Situated in Brentwood, the property offers sweeping 180-degree jetliner views spanning from downtown to the Pacific Ocean. These unmatched vistas are available from virtually every room in the house. Southern California-based architectural firm de Loren and Associates purposefully designed the luxury yacht-inspired building. Each room of the house has been designed to meet the Delos Well Building Certification standards. These emphasise key performance requirements in 7 main areas related to indoor health, including air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort, and mind.
P R O P E RT Y : S K Y L A N E B R E N T W O O D
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As the ultimate blend of technology, engineering and design, the property provides the best in privacy, comfort, and luxury. Step inside this modern estate and you will find a 7 bedroom and 11 bath spread, rich with amenities and open space suitable for entertainment as well as relaxation. Amenities include a wine cellar, theatre, gym, sauna, two elevators, and the Delos Darwin wellness system integrated with Crestron. Other touches include an Italian marble driveway, a 20-car auto-gallery, and a large flat backyard set with a dramatic glass-bottom infinity pool.
P R O P E RT Y : S K Y L A N E B R E N T W O O D
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FOR FURTHER DETAILS AND ADVICE REGARDING SKY LANE OR ANY OF KNIGHT FRANK’S WEST COAST PROPERTIES, PLEASE CONTACT JASON MANSFIELD: T: +44 20 7861 1199 M: +44 7710 881 214 E: jason.mansfield@knightfrank.com
THE QUEENSBERRY HOTEL Words: Oliver Smith
Fancy a smack in the mouth?! No? Thought not. However, if you’ve ever been involved in a spot of pugilism, you may have inadvertently stumbled across Queensberry Rules. The dicatat that was drafted in 1865 by the Marquess of Queensberry, which went on to become the underpinning for the modern rules of a pastime some people refer to as the ‘sport’ of boxing.
T R AV E L : T H E Q U E E N S B E R RY
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f, like me, however, you’re a fast runner and think that fighting is for plebs, then you may be none the wiser. Though you can still indulge in a slightly more civilised spot of Queensberry Rules at the Queensberry Hotel in Bath.
To give you a little background: before becoming preoccupied with punch ups, back in 1771,
the 8th Marquess of Queensberry moved into his newly built house in the centre of Bath. That house is today (you’ve guessed it) the Queensberry Hotel. And like its namesake, they have a set of rules to ensure a jolly civilised stay. Probably my favorite is No.2 which states: no indoor horse-riding, audible obscenities or shouting into mobile phones at any time. This, I feel, sets a lovely precedent for
your stay. A nod to louche behaviour of times past and also a wry swipe at the more laborious habits of modern-day man. The Queensberry immediately strikes you as a place built on the ethos of epicureanism; a place for doing things well, carefully and indulgently, but never excessively or in a gratuitous fashion. Nice. The architecture within is typically Regency. High ceiling and ornate plasterwork add to the decadence of your stay, juxtaposed
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beautifully with the tight and contemporary furniture. The owners Laurence and Helen Beere have created something which is a little bit different. It feels cool, in the not-really-trying sense. There is an air of independence about the place, where your requests are welcomed with a wry, inviting smile, underpinned with a sense of pride. The Queensberry has all of the modcons you could want from a ghastly chain hotel, but without any of the drawbacks in the entire place. Anywhere. At all. So, when you have such a fab hotel, you bugger off to somewhere sub-equatorial that serves cocktails and live out your days on the profits, yes? Well, no actually: you build a restaurant in the basement. And not any old restaurant. A bloody Michelin-starred one. The Olive Tree understandably has a reputation all of its own – and quite the reputation it is. Amazingly, it’s the only Michelin-starred restaurant in Bath, a
place so middleclass that its Waitrose has the temerity to label the artichokes as ‘essential’. The man behind the magic at the Olive Tree is chef Chris Cleghorn. Chris combines classical flavours with modern techniques, showcasing the best of seasonal ingredients and British produce. A big tick in the box is
that he works closely with local suppliers to source high-quality local fruit, vegetables, cheeses and meat. Not wishing to get all Greta Thumbface about it, but Google ‘Food Miles’ and you’ll see why that’s a big deal.
Of equal importance is the fact that the Olive Tree have been awarded the Good Food Guide’s UK Best Wine List award, and the AA Notable Wine List award for 2018-19. I was treated to the five-course tasting menu with pairing. As the clock struck 8pm and the Martini glass sat empty on the bar, I was shown down one of the many flights of stairs into a slick and contemporary (but not coldly) furnished restaurant. Greeted by Owen, the affable maître d, I was shown to my table. Even on a Tuesday evening, there were a pockets of diners enjoying themselves with a light resonance of chitchat filling the room,m over the chink of glasses and tableware. Taking my seat, things got underway in an expeditious and unrushed manner. My hostess arrived and took my order. With a succinct ‘very good sir’ and a deferent retreat, I was soon in possession of my first glass of wine (presented with a brief and expertly honed description) and waiting in
T R AV E L : T H E Q U E E N S B E R RY anticipation for the first course. I’m always wary of restaurants where pomp and hot air seem to fill the room. Places to be seen are generally not the best places to eat, and I’m pleased to say that the Olive Tree has a smart feel about it that bridges the gap betwixt stuffy and casual. It feels a little like having lunch with your partner’s parents. You’re on best behaviour, but always feel welcome. My musings came to an end as the hostess and chef de pass presented themselves proudly at the head of my table brandishing the first course. The pride that is taken in the presentation as well as selection of ingredients and the preparation make it no wonder that the bibendum man smiled kindly upon them. I I’ll spare you a blow by blow account of every mouthful, as I would like you to go there and see, taste and smell it for yourself. But it was absolutely superb, and the wine pairing was truly exceptional.
“Dining at this level is a creative art and, in that creativity, you should see all of the things that you would expect from a masterful performance.”
Dining at this level is a creative art and, in that creativity, you should see all of the things that you would expect from a masterful performance. All the players must know their part back to front, inside out, the story must be honed with an enrapturing beginning, middle and end, and the scene must be set appropriately. The star of this particular evening was a combination of all of these factors and, as a result, I strongly urge you to put the Olive Tree on your restaurant bucket list I would heartily recommend that you go to Bath for the weekend, take in its stunning Regency architecture, Roman history and fabulous independent shops. While you’re there (and this should be the main reason for going) stay at the Queensberry. And with the money that you save staying in one of the very underpriced rooms, pop downstairs and see Mr Cleghorn for a spot of smart dinner. It will be an experience to remember. And if you want a souvenir to take away, grab yourself a tin of those artichokes. TR
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DINING : THE HOLLOW BOTTOM
The Hollow Bottom - GL54 The Morgan raced on down the lane as the late October rain pelted the demure metal figure of British engineering. The storm had been battering my small enclave of the British Isles for some time. So much water had risen, I was beginning to forget a time before the flood Words: Peter J Robinson
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he weekend had been considerably less torrential. A preemptive group escape in an equally well-revered corner of the country, Clov... actually, I think I will confiscate that one. A scene so acutely pure and picturesque, yet so formidable to get to. We had braced and swam in the green marbled sea and crashing waves. We sought shelter under a cliffside waterfall to open a bottle or two to improve blood flow. From the calm of the coastal landscape to whipping through an autumnal tempest in the Cotswolds, the year had been tumultuous to say the least. But with a destination on the horizon and a Morgan Plus 6 at my fingertips, life seemed like it
could be bent to my will once more. As we crisscrossed the Cotswolds, we made sure to take the more scenic route. Though very little isn’t appointed a plaque, rosette or award in one shape or another here. The last time I had been to Guiting Power was Christmas 2016. I was staying at Barton Farm and was keen to see what the local watering-holes had to offer. The nearest pub on the boundary within walking distance was the Hollow Bottom. I remember a sizeable pizza menu, substantial horse-racing ephemera, and a few patrons under five foot. Perhaps it wasn’t the first pub I had visited that night. What I did know of the Hollow Bottom was
that it was arguably fabled and had a clear and present racing pedigree. Its proximity to trainers Nigel Twiston-Davies and Fergal O’Brien’s operation meant that a Gold Cup or Grand National knees up was a forgone conclusion each year. But that alone didn’t particularly entice me to drive across the county for a pint there. What pushed me was the pub’s sudden closure in July 2019. After some 18 years of operation (which in the current climate is to be bloody well commended), the landlord had decided it was time to move on. I imagine locals from acres around lamented the news of the closure. But it was short-lived, as bad news usually is. As a Cotswold dweller for some years, I had the virtues of the Lucky Onion instilled in me soon after I moved to the area. Anything they touch will arguably turn to
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hospitality stock options via savvy marketing or sheer force of will. So, I was on the road to discern what the newly-refurbished and reimagined Hollow Bottom Pub in the village of Guiting Power had become. I did, of course, try to glean some sort of advanced report or at least general consensus from the commentariat before arriving. No such luck. I turned first to the Telegraph, who have made quite a habit of producing adequate, albeit rather banal and nepotistic travel editorial, in a sort of paint-by-numbers way. I got what I expected: a love letter to booking.com. Not satisfied, I went onto the Cotswold Life page to see their summation. A press release milled into article format and posted in place of, well, journalism. The in-house counsel tells me I am on solid ground there. I was, therefore, racing along to the rarest
“It was at that moment, the waitress bought forth the Ham Egg and Chips equivalent of a suckling pig.�
of occasions: the opportunity to dine somewhere with zero expectation or previous acquaintance. I pulled up outside, taking care to ensure enough distance from the pub to alight the now muddy Morgan without appearing to be a quadruple amputee. As my mac caught the wind, I knew it wasn’t to be. I would have to clamber out with all the glory of someone with an iconic car but rickets. The pubs seventeenth-century stone face sits well amongst its neighbours, weathering gently. I am not sure how much adrenaline was still flushing through my system as I arrived, but I recall there being a bar (though smaller than I remember). Full disclosure: I was a little sauced from an Epernay breakfast. So yes, I will need to go and prop myself up at the bar and try not to case the locals, at some point soon. In
DINING : THE HOLLOW BOTTOM my defence, when the offer was made to be seated or have a drink at the bar at 1230, I was more in need of some fine country fare than a pint of Guinness. This is racing country, though, where you certainly wouldn’t be judged for getting biblically stuck in. The dining room was certainly true to the group’s curated-design ethos. Exposed beams, open fires, stone floors, a darkened hunter-green and burgundy colour palette, all partnered with a few tons of Cotswold Stone. Elegant ornate silver candlestick holders might adorn each table and eclectic artwork might hang on the walls, but you still won’t miss the flat-screen TV showing the jumps racing season getting into full swing. The Showcase is the first meeting at Cheltenham that signifies to many that the National Hunt season is really up and running. For those of you aghast at the very
idea of a TV in any dining setting, get off your high horse and drink your local ale. This is racing country. The menu for the afternoon was a foregone conclusion for me, despite its strong choice of stock, font and foil. Once a publisher, always a publisher. David Minns of tailors Brown in Town turned me onto devilled lamb’s kidneys some time ago. It’s been a long time since I saw David’s somewhat linear face, and about the same amount of time has passed since I ordered the dish, so that was a given.
enough and fitting of what one might expect. Three forkfuls in and I was ready to take to the stage and declare this, arguably the greatest ham, egg and chips I had ever tried. Despite an intense discussion surrounding puddings, we decided to forgo the treacle tart, sticky toffee and spotted dick. There simply wasn’t enough room. My choice of dishes was regal gluttony taken to its grotesque extreme. What the hell was I thinking: crumpets, kidneys and a ham hock?
When the plate arrived, the aroma from the mound of well-spiced kidneys was all too familiar. They were rich and gamey in each bountiful bite. Furthermore, biblically filling. Especially on top of the chorizo and goats cheese crumpets I had used to line the stomach that morning. I finished the dish in fifteen minutes and started to wonder whether ordering the ham, egg and chips had been a colossal mistake. Guests were beginning to arrive in small groups and conversation was breaking out as each race commenced.
As my head hit the hard, stone floor from a final pork-based body blow, my trainer threw in the towel. She knew I didn’t have it in me. She was already sizing me up for a gastric band. Alas, the ham hock would go unfinished today. There are very few circumstances in which the restaurant team are likely to use your leftovers in any way shape or form. If you are too meek or selfconscious to have the remains of your dish arranged into a discrete container, more fool you. There is something immensely satisfying about sitting at the dining table in the privacy of your own home with a flagon of wine in one hand and a ham hock in the other.
“Are you heading down today?” I was asked by a rather staunchly dressed lady. “We’re not, no. We’re headed to the galleries in Stow on the Wold,” I replied. “You are certainly dressed for the races,” she quipped, raising a glass of champagne. I, of course, followed suit with a glass of Nyetimber Rose. It was at that moment, the waitress bought forth the ham, egg and chips, with the ham easily the size of my fist, if not more generous. I looked up across the table at my dining partner with a raised eyebrow. A sizeable glazed ham hock sat staring at me, slow-cooked, well-seasoned; my Everest. The eggs and chips were modest
So, the Hollow Bottom, after some 20 plus years, lives on. Another team, another kitchen crew, but still retaining its original Cotswold charm and engaged horse-racing clientele. No doubt over the coming seasons its patronage will swell. Winter nights will give way to summer evenings, the terrace will pack, and the Hollow Bottom bus will gladly go back into operation, ferrying the inebriated home. If I lived closer to the village, Ii would certainly be a favoured weekly watering-hole. But as I don’t, I will have to make do with the occasional visit on horseback. TR
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Lustrous, double-breasted jacket Slim-fit trousers in velvet Velvet shirt with flower appliqué and tortoiseshell buttons
FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR TO PURCHASE, CLICK THE IMAGE.
FA S H I O N : S T R I C T LY B U S I N E S S
STRICTLY BUSINESS Over the course of some forty years, in an industry all too ready to change and evolve, designer Giorgio Armani has continued to march to the unwavering beat of his own drum. The man often describes the essence of what he’s done for decades as a search for “linear and ostentatious elegance. I’ve always maintained the idea that fashion belongs to the people and not to press, sorry to say, or to the designer…It’s most of all intended for an audience buying, going around, living life”. The Review looks at the SS/2020 collection which is clearly business as usual.
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Double-breasted shirt in a striped fabric
Two-buttoned jacket with chevron motif Wide-legged trousers with chevron motif Mary Janes in leather with intertwining laces
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Double-breasted jacket in tortoiseshell fabric Darted jodhpurs in tortoiseshell fabric La Prima clutch with a tortoiseshell print
Sock boots in stretch fabric Pendant earrings in plexiglass with a tortoiseshell print
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Tortoiseshell-style, semi-circle earrings Asymmetrical dress in washed shantung
Long Dress
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shoefits...
if the
buy it in every colour Words: The Review Team
From timeless Chucks to strutting Manolos, there are some essentials that everyone should stock in their walk-in. We count down our top sneakers, boots and slip-ons this season with the team at Liquiproof LABS.
FA S H I O N : E S S E N T I A L S
Above or below the rim.... Leather Nourisher The non-toxic formula contains beeswax to provide a durable water resistant and protective coat, which prevents cracking. It also deeply conditions the leather, restoring its natural look and leaving it smooth and soft.
Chucks Converse is without a doubt one of the most iconic and recognisable brands in the game. Giving us some of the most beloved and best-selling silhouettes ever made, you need a pair in your armoury. Dress them up or down, but keep them box fresh. A firm favourite of our editor-in-chief for life.
Air Jordans A firm favourite amongst sneaker heads worldwide, the Jordan brand earned its first $1 billion dollar quarter in 2019. The Jordan 1 High OG Game Royal is the latest rendition of the classic Air Jordan 1 silhouette that has become one of the greatest Nike silhouettes of all time. The pair was first introduced in 1985 as Michael Jordan’s first ever signature sneaker alongside the respective low and mid-top versions.
Astrarun The Adidas Astrarun is a capable running sneaker distinguished by its combined cushioning. Launched in October 2019, this edition presents the Three-Stripes in Solar Red on a breathable mesh upper, a contrast Fitcounter heel for a secured fit and varied eyestays.
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“these boots were made...”
FA S H I O N : E S S E N T I A L S
One boot to rule them all The Protector The unique proofing spray creates an easy clean protective coating which prevents damage from everyday spills and stains. Each individual fibre of the material is treated utilising advanced nanotechnology The barrier effectively repels liquid, mud, dirt and prevents alcohol and water stains.
The Chelsea This timeless, iconic boot is one not to be dismissed: a pair of women’s Chelsea boots will carry you through the seasons in style. Designed by Daisy for DUKES in the UK, all boots are handmade by traditional Artisans in the mountains of Spain using all natural materials.
True Knee-High Dune London’s True knee-high boot is a sleek and elegant daytime style. Designed in a structured silhouette with a double strap detail. It’s perched on a low-block heel and finished with a side zip fastening.
Timberlands The Timberland Company was founded by Nathan Swartz in 1918. Swartz wanted to make the best shoes for blue collar workers at the time. It wasn’t until 1952 when Timberland bought the Abington Shoe Company, which used a special fabric, that the brand was really cemented. Whether you’re a construction worker, barely working or a rapper sitting courtside Timbs are a staple.
Keren When established brands with a certain niche head out into the tall grass in search of a new market, it doesn’t always pay off. In this case, the team at Barbour have created a line as impressive as their wax staples. Created in leather with a contrast heel counter in soft suede, these Chelsea boots are set on a mock-crepe block heel that delivers wearable lift.
“slip on in”
FA S H I O N : E S S E N T I A L S
Time to take a loaf off The Eco-cleaner The Liquiproof LABS Footwear & Fashion Eco-Cleaner conditions and cleans, removing stains and soiling from all types of fabric and textiles.
Velvet These Arthur Sleep velvet slippers come with a sumptuous quilted satin lining. Handcrafted in their workshop in the heart of England from the finest materials, each pair is individually prepared. With these black velvet slippers, you will never overstep the mark.
Ventnor Cut from the supplest suede, the Ventnor is an unlined style perfect for a casual sockless summer. At Edward Green. only the finest Italian suedes and unsplit skins ensure the suede retains its shape and structure. Mink is a rich, deep brown‚ a wardrobe staple that works across formal and casual looks.
Navy These luxurious Canali navy loafers make for a rather sartorial shoe. Its calfskin leather gives it a sleek silhouette while the suede tongue serves as a supple detail. A neutral navy colourway combined with a tassel detail brings out personality and makes it the ideal companion for any summer ensemble.
Larch Crafted from premium suede for comfortable wear, the Larch tasselled loafers in tan are a luxurious footwear must-have. Team with tailored trousers and a roll neck jumper for a refined off-duty look.
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Is it the d
How is the UK real estate ma
Real estate may be in uncertain waters lockdown in recent weeks, things are star buyer and seller activit
But is the sector still a sound op
Words: John
P R O P E RT Y: S T E P H E N M O S S
divid'end?
arket holding up for investors?
s, but with the market being eased out of rting to look up, with a rejuvenated level of ty coming thick and fast.
ption when it comes to investing?
n Sterling
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P
eer to peer lending platform, Sourced Capital thinks so, and their latest research found that there are no less than two UK real estate companies leading the charge where UK Dividend Aristocrats, and the highest dividends yields are concerned. Sourced Capital analysed the top 40 UK companies that have consistently provided an increase or stable dividends for at least seven consecutive years, and are therefore classed as Dividends Aristocrats by the S&P. Sourced Capital then looked at the dividends yield for shareholders of these companies over the course of the year based on share price and declared dividends, to see which is proving the best currently based on the cost of investing and their return. The figures showed that the financial sector is the strongest performing, accounting for 24% of the top 40 UK Dividend Aristocrats. Consumer discretionary also ranked high with 21% of companies operating within this sector, with the industrial sector (12%), consumer staples (12%) and communication services (9%) also performing well at present. At 5%, the real estate sector accounted for one of the lowest percentages of UK based Dividend Aristocrats. But when it comes to the companies themselves, it’s a different story. Hammerson plc tops the table of all 40 UK Dividend Aristocrats with an impressive dividend yield of 20.7% over the last 12 months, proving that property can still be a sound investment regardless of the wider landscape. Investec plc flies the flag for the financial sector in second place, with a yield of 15.4% in the last year, followed by Imperial Brands plc (consumer staples) at 12.7% and Marks and Spencers (consumer discretionary) at 11.3%.
Stephen Moss, founder and MD of Sourced Capital
“At 5%, the real estate sector accounted for one of the lowest percentages of UK based Dividend Aristocrats.”
Other companies to make the list within the financial sector include Legal and General Group plc (8.6%), Jupiter Fund Management plc (7.6%) and 3i Group (4.9%). SSE plc (7.5%) is the only company within the top 10 operating within the utilities sector, while British American Tobacco plc is the second from the consumer staples sector, and British Land Company plc (6.1%) completes the list as the second real estate company in the list. But what about the sector as a whole? Another set of numbers crunched by Sourced Capital has looked at the health of the UK service sector, arguably the hardest hit by the current pandemic. The latest index of services from the Office for National Statistics makes for stark reading, with nine of the UK’s 15 service
P R O P E RT Y: S T E P H E N M O S S
sectors recording the weakest month for growth on record in March, and a further five seeing a decline in growth. However, Sourced Capital has found that while the service sector has been hit hard by COVID-19 and the ensuing lockdown, some sectors are still keeping their head above water with Real Estate at the forefront. Sourced Capital looked at the average monthly growth since COVID-19 started to take hold in December and found, on average, the service sector has seen a decline -1.48% on average each month. Sourced Capital also looked at the total point to point change from November prior to the outbreak and now (March 2020) and found there has been a -5.8% decline overall. However, there are three UK service sectors that have managed to weather the storm and record positive average monthly
growth, two of which have also seen positive total growth.
Stephen Moss, founder and MD of Sourced Capital, commented:
While there has been much talk of a property market decline, the Real Estate Activities sector has seen an average monthly growth rate of 0.15%.
“Investment in any shape or form will always come with associated risks and with a thick fog of uncertainty still looming due to the current pandemic. There will no doubt be further names added to an already lengthy list of COVID-19 casualties.
Other sectors to weather the storm so far include Financial and Insurance Activities and Public Administration and Defence; Compulsory Social Security, with average monthly increases of 0.03% and a total point to point increase of 0.5% and 0.1% respectively. However, not every service sector has fared as well. Sourced Capital’s research shows that the Accommodation and Food Service Activities sector has seen the largest average monthly decline of all sectors; down -7.58% per month. The sector has also seen the largest point to point decline with a total drop of -32.1%.
However, it would seem that the UK property market won’t be one of them and, while industry data remains limited, it seems as though the storm has been largely weathered where any negative impact is concerned. Whether you’re choosing to invest in bricks and mortar in the more traditional buy-to-let sense, via a peer to peer lending platform such as Sourced Capital, or in shares of a company like Hamerson, property remains one of the safest, longterm investments you can make.”
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T R AV E L : S H A N G R I - L A AT T H E S H A R D
Shangri-La at The Shard - SE1 Words: Laith Al-Kaisy
I
’m bored of the Shard. I expect you’re bored of it too. I doubly expect that you’re bored of me boring on about how bored I am of it. Yet here we are, back on these well-thumbed pages, trying to reconcile the first architectural abomination of the twenty-first century; the final phallic frontier before the circle completes, the world implodes, and we go back to living in huts, eating mud, and slinging shit at each other. I wasn’t planning on staying in the Shangri-La Suite. The Review had booked me in to do a write up of a middle-of-the-road room – if Shangri-La has such a thing – and I was even thinking of bailing at the last minute. See, until now, my trips to the Shard had mostly been flops. Aqua, for example: a restaurant of such mediocrity, it’d be closed by now, were it not for its gawping bird’s-eye of London.
The first Shangri-La I stayed at was in China, where the hotel looms on the upper floors of Beijing’s World Trade Centre complex. Not exactly subtle. The one in Paris – my favourite – is set in a Napoleonic family mansion, where you can wake up to an eyeful of the Eiffel. You see, there’s nothing understated about this brand. It typifies conspicuity and,
“It typifies conspicuity and, let’s face it, there’s really no place it could park itself in London other than the Shard. ”
A marketable view, like an attractive waitress, is a smoke-and-mirrors distraction from the food on your plate. Like most of what makes let’s face it, there’s really no place it could up the Shard, Aqua is serviceable and (you guessed it) boring; a destination restaurant in park itself in London other than the Shard. the sky, where the only way is down. Back to the eponymous suite – and forgive Meanwhile, three floors up, Shangri-La tells a my crassness, but let’s talk money. This is a bum-clenching 14-grand-a-night of room, very different story.
yet still costs less than The Lanesborough over on Hyde Park Corner, which retains the epithet of ‘London’s most expensive hotel’ – a head-scratcher of a fact, especially when stepping into the Shangri-La Suite for the first time. Sure, The Lanesborough gluts the appetite for a bygone sense of prestige and grandiosity, but as much as I love it, I’d rather something cooler, more modern and more minimal. Something like this. All 188 square metres, to which you arrive by private lift, was designed by Francesca Muzio and Maria Silvia Orlandini with forensic detail. It would have to be, given the tapered ascent of the building. These two run FM, the Italian atelier, whose main gig is designing superyachts – so making the most of unusual space is what they do best. Moreover, the same maritime aesthetic permeates this suite: the whites, the creams, the beiges, the browns; the cabin-feel furniture; the telescope that takes centre-stage at the 180-degree window. It’s just all so unimposing; a hard feat when, essentially, this is overblown luxury. But this suite is undoubtedly the sum of its parts. Take the marble-clad bathroom, complete with television-cum-mirror screens, walk-in rain
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shower, hot whirlpool bath, heated floors, and his-and-whoever’s sinks. It screams the decadence that’s so understated in the living area. The walk-in dressing room could host a small party, while the dining area is smart, seating around 10 guests, with a kitchenette for a private chef too. The well-equipped office comes with personalised stationary – an almost unnecessary level of detail, but yet another example of the lengths some hotels will go to make someone’s stay feel like
they’re an A-lister for a day. All of this is held together by a 24-hour butler service, which I didn’t use – but might’ve, had I needed to order some hookers and blow. And speaking of service, as with any Shangri-La, it’s warm and solicitous, but never obsequious. The people here are unwaveringly professional, most having worked in the industry for years before landing this gig. And you can tell they’re happy about it; everyone proudly wears a transnational smile.
But like it not, as with everything at the Shard, this stuff is all incidental to the views. Here, you get an unfettered look over half of London: a grey, rambling cacophony. Stood in the Shangri-La Suite, in the tallest building in Europe, watching the city below, feeling its rhythm, seeing its mechanics, all with a whiskey in hand, the feeling is palpable. Life – at least in the material sense – doesn’t get much higher than this. TR
DISCERNING TASTES Now, we aren’t going to tell you how to live your life. That’s certainly not our part to play. But if you absolutely must turn your liquidity into fixed assets, let’s see if we can direct you towards some of the finer things that will potentially hold their value.
MARLOE HASKELL BLUE As watches start to pack more power than a Sega Mega Drive, and lives become more complicated, Marloe is embracing the slow-living culture; going back to the simple things; celebrating tradition. So, as the technology brands fight it out in their own billion-dollar battle royal over who makes the smartest watch, Marloe is proudly going against the grain to create the most traditional of all watches.
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THE TESLA CYBERTRUCK You either love it or you hate it – that much is true. But eventually you will embrace it, either voluntarily or through sheer force of will. Tesla has that effect on the masses. We’ve not seen it in the flesh yet, so we’ll leave the assessment review for later in the year.
LOGITECH CIRCLE VIEW If you are considering your first foray into security for your home, office or simply to enjoy a G&T whilst ensuring the kids aren’t beating each other to death, then the Circle View HomeKit is the way to go. The next time your estate security team visits, playfully suggest you would like to see one in action.
NINEBOT GOKART The Segway Ninebot Go Kart Conversion Kit is a unique accessory – a conversion kit which transforms the Segway Ninebot S Hoverboard into a fully-functional go kart. Once assembled, in addition to a footbrake it also features a mechanical handbrake, which not only allows you to stop the kart abruptly, but even drift with it. Enjoy the ride with the fastest initial acceleration from 0 to 12mph (20km/h) within seconds.
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LENOVO THINKPAD X1 YOGA Putting it plainly, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga OLED is stacked. It’s thinner, it’s lighter and that 360-degree hinge will accommodate any setup you need. At 17% smaller than its predecessor, the X1 Yoga Gen 4 features a lightweight aluminium chassis. This 2-in-1 weighs only 1.35kg. With a battery life of up to 18 hours, you can run that 8th Gen Intel® Core™ processor all day. The 4K display with Dolby Vision™ and Dolby Atmos™ Speaker System has to be witnessed.
REGA PLANAR 3 RECORD PLAYER Every single aspect of the Planar 1 has been meticulously designed to improve performance. For the first time the Planar 1 is now running a 24v, low noise, synchronous motor to reduce vibration transfer combined with a brand new RB110 tonearm fitted with Rega’s bespoke ultra-low friction play bearings. Only sharing the drive belt, sub platter and dust cover from the outgoing RP1, this is truly a new turntable from the ground up.
HERMAN MILLER SAYL OFFICE CHAIR Designer Yves Béhar, who calls San Francisco home, began by looking at designs that deliver the most with the least. And then he took a look at his city’s best-known landmark: the Golden Gate Bridge. Béhar wondered, could the engineering principles of a suspension bridge be applied to a chair? The notion of using a suspension tower to support an unframed suspension back meant that the flexible elastomer suspension material could be stretched in a way that provided the greatest tension at points where support is needed and the least in areas that would allow for the most expansive range of motion.
D I S C E R N I N G TA S T E S
OCULUS GO Oculus Go is our all-in-one VR headset that’s portable and easy to use. Experience entertainment on the go with no PC, wires or hassle. Surrounded by sound. Spatial audio drivers are built right into the headset, providing dramatic, immersive sound without the need for headphones. Oculus Go also features a 3.5 mm audio jack, so how you listen is up to you. The way it should be.
LG LASER DLP PROJECTOR The LG HF80JA is a portable DLP projector with a laser light engine capable of 2,000 lumens output and rated for 20,000 hours of maintenance-free service. It features LG’s SmartOS streaming interface and built-in Wi-Fi for TV anywhere.
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O P E D : T H E B R I T I S H C O U N T RY S I D E
OP ED Words: Philip Moss
Philip Moss is the author of Flogging the Field and a keen contributor to the gun and travel press. As a regular commentator on rural affairs, Moss talks about the plight of the British countryside as he see’s it.
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T
he British countryside is under threat as never before. Covid 19 is just the latest in a series of blows.
A growing urban majority has lost touch with its rural roots. Diet fads have started to undermine traditional food production systems. Sentimentalist, unpragmatic and judgmental views about the natural world are in the ascendant. Misinformation is proudly spread by virtue signallers on an unverified web. People who have spent their lives in suburbia propagate re-wilding schemes and other bizarre notions. Hunting has already had a battering.
Shooting and fishing are being lined up for similar treatment. The ‘Ban Everything’ brigade can smell blood or, in the case of vegans, the industrially produced BBQ sauce they seem to smear over everything. The rest are happy to live in a state of denial, providing their local M&S and Waitrose stay open. It’s true that a large urban minority do stay in touch with the countryside via their sporting, eating or exercising preferences. But for a growing number of people, the British countryside is like deep space; everyone knows where it is but no one wants to go there. So, what would the British countryside look
like if shooting were suddenly banned? A little melodramatic, some would say, but the ease with which Wild Justice managed to get the control of pest species banned, in 2019, shows how easily this can happen. Shooting is just one component in a patchwork of interdependent activities that keep the countryside looking like ‘the countryside’. If one goes, it weakens the rest. What would be under threat if shooting were banned. According to YouGov, an estimated 3.9 million workdays are undertaken each year by shoots in the UK: game wardening, pest control, woodland planting and maintenance. Conserving headlands, grass
O P E D : T H E B R I T I S H C O U N T RY S I D E strips around fields, hedgerows, establishing and maintaining ‘covert’ (crops that shelters game), retaining overwinter stubbles, and planting cover crops, to name but a few. Shooting is involved in the management of two-thirds of the rural land area of the UK. That’s two million hectares, or an area about the size of Wales. There are grants and public subsidies but, not to put too fine a point on it, most of the money committed to conservation and protecting the British countryside is provided by shooters. Shooting’s opponents are remarkably coy when it comes to how this voluntary effort
would be replaced. Inevitably, their favourite fallback position is state intervention, with the poor old taxpayer picking up the tab.
changing the primary purpose from food production to tourism? More tax, please.
Well, that’s always worked in the past, hasn’t it? What about the social effects of a ban on the countryside? The sport itself provides a means of accessing the countryside for shooters who live in urban areas. For these people, possibly hundreds of thousands of individuals, shooting offers the chance to escape from the urban environment and reconnect with the natural world. Whether you go to the countryside for recreation or simply view it from the window of a car or train, the landscape that you enjoy owes much to the care of people who shoot. Step out of your car and the abundant wildlife of areas managed for shooting enriches the experience of all who visit the countryside. £10 million of private funds per year are invested in roads and tracks to make the experience all the more accessible. I suppose, if you want to stop shooting, all this just gets added to the tax bill. Then there are the specialist activities, such as maintaining beetle banks, banks of streams and rivers and the general upkeep of woodland (coppicing, thinning), preservation of wetlands by wildfowlers, maintenance of release pens, planting native trees, glade and ride maintenance and the general management of heather moorland including bracken control. Finally, the creation and running of ponds, scrapes and flight ponds in addition to general pest control to protect ground-breeding birds. More tax, please. As much as any farmer cares for his animals, farming is a business. Farmers cannot afford to keep livestock and their environment purely for decorative purposes. Many are already struggling. Remove the income, no matter how little, that they receive from shooting and it’s another nail in the coffin. If traditional farming collapses, the effects could be radical. If you are not growing cereals or raising livestock, why do you need hedgerows and dry stonewalls? Are we to see a return to the sixties and seventies when the hedgerows of East Anglia were torn up to make ‘combining’ easier, despite the damage it did to wildlife? Or will farmers be paid to maintain a sort of theme-park countryside,
By extension – jerry-built, in this case – those who wish to ban shooting believe that quarry species would also thrive without human intervention. They seem not to understand that, after centuries of management, a deer population, if left to its own devices, can rapidly degrade. ‘With Roe deer’, says wildlife author and photographer Linda Mellor, ‘if management stopped, numbers would rise considerably, road accidents would increase, and human fatalities would up into double figures or higher. Roe numbers would expand;
“Shooting is involved in the management of two-thirds of the rural land area of the UK” countryside territory would be overcrowded, so we would start seeing higher populations of malnourished deer in towns and cities. Deer behaviour would change as they adapt to a new city life – possible scavenging for food, aggression, disease and depletion in good genetics for antler growth and strong bodies. Red deer would probably go the same way, although, as a species, they don’t seem to be as adaptable as roe. Roe have adapted to the change in land use over the centuries. Red deer would really suffer from over-crowding. There’d be an increase in land and tree damage as a result of more deer tramping around, over-grazing and, in most years, starvation due to lack of nutritious natural food. In Scotland, stag quality would drop, and the sporting tourist industry would fall flat. It’s worth big bucks – excuse the pun – in Scotland. We’d start to see a wider spread of other species and a depletion of natural resources as they fight for food. A change in the balance of flora, perhaps over -razing may be responsible for
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making some plants and smaller animal species extinct.’ It is evident that, without deer control (muntjac), there would be no bluebells in the wood. There are some species that would thrive without human intervention, but these compete with humans and other species for food resources in the real world. Lovely as they are, wood pigeons eat £75 million of oil seed rape each and every year. When it comes to cereals, some farmers I know in East Anglia say that, sometimes, it’s just not worth sowing wheat as it appears to be an activity purely ‘for the birds’. It is for these reasons that the wood pigeon is seen as a pest, and that shooting down the years has become a popular sport and a necessary control. It reduces losses to the economy, provides remarkably fine organic meat for the table and ensures that, just for one day, your labrador can concentrate on something other than eating. So, what about the economic effects of a ban? Shooters spend £2.5 billion each year on goods and services. The sport is worth around £2 billion to the UK economy. People pay a lot of money to shoot and hunt,
which feeds billions into the UK’s rural economy and around £250 million directly into conservation.
The resulting government rescue package would rapidly devolve into an impenetrable forest of red tape.
Getting rid of shooting would also destroy not just income and investment but around 74,000 jobs. This further impoverishes the countryside, as income is no longer being spent on local goods and services. Rural businesses will suffer.
Still. There is hope. A ‘Campaign for National Parks’ survey last year found shooting listed as the third favourite countryside activity – despite not being given as an option on the multiple choices. The support for shooting shows its importance for national parks and the countryside. Shooting brings in visitors, jobs, investment, and conservation, all within a beautiful landscape. Well managed shooting increases wildlife populations thereby supporting the popular activities like ‘walking’ and ‘observing wildlife’ that came first and second in the survey, respectively.
How much tax? Wow! Hasn’t that figure grown? Combine this with the predations of infrastructure. HS2 involves concreting over huge areas of agricultural and woodland. Developers seem intent on crazy paving the raddled remains of the Greenbelt. There seems to be little room in their minds for traditional country living and activities. Getting rid of shooting and other countryside activities seems like a fool-proof way of kick-starting a cycle of rural decline.
The survey also asked what should be banned from national parks. Shooting came in at twelfth out of fourteen. People, whether shooters or not, are aware of the benefits and have very little interest in banning it. A triumph of common sense? It’s hopeful that the people who actually use the countryside appreciate the delicate balance that characterises the British countryside. Radical and politically motivated change doesn’t seem to be on their agenda.
The Curator
Artist: Mark Seliger Title: President Barack Obama, Washington, DC, 2010 Medium: Photography Gallery: Christie’s
FOR MORE DETAILS ON EACH LOT OR TO CONTACT THE DEPARTMENT FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, JUST SELECT THE IMAGE YOU WANT TO VIEW THE FULL CATALOGUE.
Artist: Mitch Griffiths Title: Resonance Medium: Oil on Canvas Gallery: Halcyon
C U LT U R E : A R T “There is a connection – hard to explain logically, but easy to feel – between achievement in public life and progress in the arts. The age of Pericles was also the age of Phidias. The age of Lorenzo de Medici was also the age of Leonardo da Vinci. The age of Elizabeth was also the age of Shakespeare. And the New Frontier, for which I campaign in public life, can also be a New Frontier for American art.” We agree that John F. Kennedy said it best. And so we invite you to consider a selection of international works available shortly at auction.
Artist: Aaron Siskind Title: Selected images from Pleasures and Terrors of Levitation Medium: Photography Gallery: Sotheby’s
Artist: George Hughes Title: Sunday Visitors Medium: Oil on board Gallery: Christie’s
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“ Carl Vilhelm Holsøe, a talented Danish interior painter, was born in western Denmark and began his formal training in Copenhagen in 1882. It
was during this time that he became acquainted with Vilhelm Hammershøi, a contemporary fellow artist and countryman.
”
Artist: Ilya Repin Title: Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan Medium: Oil on panel Gallery: Tretyakov
FOR MORE DETAILS ON EACH LOT OR TO CONTACT THE DEPARTMENT FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, JUST SELECT THE IMAGE YOU WANT TO VIEW THE FULL CATALOGUE.
Artist: Georg Flegel Title: Dishes of fruit and nuts with glasses of wine on a table-top Medium: Oil on panel Gallery: Bonhams
C U LT U R E : A R T
“worked William Russell Flint was a Scottish illustrator and artist. Although he in all manners of media, he remains best known for his watercolors
and his many depictions of the female body in muted, ochre hues, infusing his images with a studied sense of realism and a subdued hint of eroticism.
”
Artist: Sir William Russell Flint Title: A Florentine Masquerade Medium: Print Gallery: Bonhams
Artist: Carl Vilhelm Holsøe Title: A lady seated before a mirror in an interior Medium: Oil on panel Gallery: Bonhams
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HAWKER HUNTER Words: William Anderson
On 5 April 1968, a loan Hawker Hunter jet fighter had broken formation on a flight from Tangmere RAF base in Sussex and was headed towards central London at low altitude. Flt Lt Alan Pollock had throttled back his Rolls-Royce Avon Engine on approach to the city to minimise air pollution. He had dropped audio comms with command. But by tapping out Morse Code using the transmitter button on his radio, he signalled to the other pilots that he had lost visual contact and that he was having issues maintaining comms. This was absolutely the stuff of derring-do.
AV I AT I O N : H AW K E R H U N T E R
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n 5 April 1968, a loan Hawker Hunter jet fighter had broken formation on a flight from Tangmere RAF base in Sussex and was headed towards central London at low altitude. Flt Lt Alan Pollock had throttled back his Rolls-Royce Avon Engine on approach to the city to minimise air pollution. He had dropped audio comms with command. But by tapping out Morse Code using the transmitter button on his radio, he signalled to the other pilots that he had lost visual contact and that he was having issues maintaining comms. This was absolutely the stuff of derring-do. 1968 is widely regarded as an historical
TO HEAR FLT LT ALAN POLLOCK’s FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE OF THE FLIGHT, PRESS HERE TO LISTEN
moment of change. On 17 March 1968, 25,000 people took part in a protest against the war in Vietnam outside the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square. As was usually the case, the dissent was met by 800 police officers who were more than prepared to do what needed to be done. The following morning, the home secretary, James Callaghan, stated that 246 protesters had been arrested and charged, 117 policemen had been injured and 48 demonstrators had received medical attention. The televised demonstration had ended in running pitch battles between protestors and police. There was a sense of growing paranoia amongst the moral guardians within parliament that political radicalism was encroaching into the British sensibility.
As the tides began to turn against military might in the 60s, the RAF was planning for its fiftieth anniversary. The RAF was still much revered and adored by the British people, given their gallant campaigns during the Battle of Britain. However, Parliament was keen to show deference given the increased pressure on military incursions, not to mention cutting military spending. The initial plans by the MOD for the fiftieth anniversary were cut in half, which put paid to flybys and displays by RAF pilots. Already on edge about their limited flight hours and the growing obsolescence of equipment, the anxious pilots were continually on alert for any budget cuts that might reduce their standing.
Britain had begun to invest in new missile technology that was arguably cheaper than pilots and planes, and so both hardware and pilots were being retired with no replacements in sight. When the squadrons learnt that there were to be no flybys over central London, many of course voiced their disdain and then as is the case in the military, bucked up and carried on. All except Flt Lt Alan Pollock, who simply could not and would not accept what be believed to be a terrible snub to the men and women of the Royal Air Force. Flt Lt Alan Pollock was 32 and, at the time, the flight commander of No.1 Squadron, the RAF’s oldest. He was a much-respected combat pilot that had joined the RAF in 1953 and cut his teeth in aircraft like the de Havilland’s Vampire
The Black Arrows
“Flt Lt Alan Pollock was 32 and at the time was the flight commander of No.1 Squadron, the RAF’s oldest”
jet fighter and the Venom. He had gone on to serve in the Middle East as an aide-de-camp to Air Marshal Sir Humphrey Edwardes-Jones whilst he was Nato Air Commander. When Pollock learned that there would be no airborne flybys over the capital, he believed it was his responsibility as commander of No.1 Squadron to take the lead in ensuring the date was celebrated appropriately. ‘One thing that was in the Air Force’s blood was that you celebrated in the air, not on the ground’. On 4 April, Pollock joined three other Hawker Hunter pilots from West Raynham to the soon to be closed RAF Tangmere in Sussex, the former home to No.1 Squadron.
Fg Off Tony ‘Bugs’ Bendell (Left) Fg Off Alan Pollock (Right)
Hawker Hunter, during the Aden Emergency in 1967
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Pollock was suffering from a considerable cold which developed into pneumonia. His solution was two strong painkillers and a few glasses of champagne. The following morning, 5 April, the pilots took off from Tangmere to return to West Raynham, the route taking them over central London. Shortly after take-off, Pollock broke formation, cited radio communication issues via Morse Code to command and dropped to low level. For reference, he was carrying an AA map he had hastily borrowed and sketched out a rough route across London on. His first port of call, Dunsfold aerodrome where the fabled hunters were made. Having beat up the airfield, Pollock headed for Heathrow at low level to avoid commercial air traffic.
Hawker Hunter FGA.9 (XG154) air to air
Hawker Hunter testing at Dunsfold airfield
Once there, he turned right and made for Richmond Park followed by the Thames. Pollock decided that flying over the river would be the safest route through the capital. ‘I went over the Thames because I didn’t want to cause any trouble’. It needn’t have mattered: Pollock was flying his Hunter so low that those looking out of the sixthfloor windows at the Ministry of Defence had to look down (not up) to catch a glimpse of it. ‘The plan was really to fly over the houses of Parliament, make some noise, get court martially and then just express what was not right’. As Pollock crossed over Vauxhall Bridge, he could see Westminster appearing in the distance. Until this point, wanting to keep
a low profile, he had been keeping the Hunter’s Rolls Royce engine in check, but decided to open the Hunter’s throttle and began three circuits of Parliament. ‘I put the power on. I thought: “Stuff it, let them hear some noise!’ Unbeknownst to Pollock, the legislative body was debating noise abatement. Pollock then turned his attention to Downing Street: ‘I wanted to make a noise over No. 10 as well. I didn’t have a target map so I couldn’t see where it was.’ As he passed over the RAF Memorial by Whitehall, he dipped his wings and headed towards Hungerford Bridge. Waterloo, Blackfriars, Southwark and London Bridge all got the same treatment as Pollock
The Hawker Hunter incident of 1968, painted by aviation artist Michael Rondot
screamed overhead in his Hunter Hawker. That is until he was faced with Tower Bridge, “Until this very instant I’d had absolutely no idea that, of course, Tower Bridge would be there. It was easy enough to fly over it, but the idea of flying through the spans suddenly struck me. I had just ten seconds to grapple with the seductive proposition which few ground-attack pilots of any nationality could have resisted. My brain started racing to reach a decision. Years of fast low-level strike flying made the decision simple.” Aware that he would be stripped of his flying status, Pollock decided to go for it. ’Right at the last minute, as my cockpit canopy was just below the bridge and the girders were all around me, in that microsecond I remembered I’d got a tail fin behind and I
thought: “I’m going to lose the fin!” George Tapper, the Tower Bridge watchman, was standing nearby. “There was the most thunderous roar. I looked up and, whoomph, a big silver jet roared by.” On his way back to West Raynham, he proceeded to beat up Wattisham, Lakenheath and Marham airfields in inverted flight, at an altitude of 200 feet. When Pollock landed, the first thing he did was immediately burn his AA map. If, indeed, he was to be court-martialled, he certainly didn’t want such an embarrassing piece of evidence being made public. No surprise the RAF brass weren’t particularly overjoyed by Pollock’s unofficial London flypast. But at the same time, given how
unprecedented the situation was, they weren’t exactly sure what to do next. Alan’s suggestion was that they probably ought to arrest him and so within the hour, he was formally arrested by Flying Officer Roger Gilpin. He spent the next two days in close arrest whilst a psychiatrist assessed him and decided he was cogent enough to face a court martial. In addition to letters of congratulations from the public and members of the RAF, a barrel of beer arrived from the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) airline, the predecessor of British Airways. An all-party motion of support was even tabled in the House of Commons and signed by six MPs (four of whom had been in the RAF). TR
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