TNT Magazine / Issue 1463

September 12-18 2011 Issue 1463 tntmagazine.com

WIN!

£1000 OF XM AS TRIPS WITH TR AVEL TAL K

STUNNING STAYCATIONS COOL CRAFTS How making stuff shed its dowdy image

STRESS & THE CITY

Our 16-page guide to top UK destinations

RIDE ’EM COWBOY! Go all City Slickers on a Canadian ranch

Laughter therapy and other odd ways to relax

R E V E T A H W , L L OH WE

D N I M R E NEV everything d e g n a h c t a na album th a v ir N e h t from 20 years on

ANGLO PACIFIC SHIPPING & TAX 30th Anniversary OVER 500,000 SATISFIED CUSTOMERS HAVE ALREADY TRUSTED THEIR POSSESSIONS TO ANGLO PACIFIC, LONDON’S LEADING SHIPPERS EXCESS BAGGAGE > Free supply of tea cartons and bubble > Free delivery/collection within M25 > By sea/air/road worldwide > Money Back Guarantee HOUSEHOLD REMOVALS > Free home survey, no obligation > Packed by skilled professionals > Shared or exclusive containers > Motor car/bike specialist shippers TAX REBATES > Average refund £963 secured last year > Online Tax Pack, only 10% commission MONEY TRANSFERS > Competitive exchange rates FINANCIAL PROTECTION > Bonded by the British Association of Removers > Bonded by the Association of Tax Agents > FIDI Accredited International Mover

www.anglopacific.co.uk SO BEFORE YOU CHECK OUT OF EUROPE CHECK OUT ANGLO PACIFIC

FREEPHONE 0800 085 0355 Anglo Pacific International Plc, 5/9 Willen Field Road, Park Royal, London, NW10 7BQ Email: baggage@anglopacific.co.uk Hours: Mon-Fri 8.30am - 6.00pm Sat 9am-1pm

CAROL DRIVER EDITOR carol.driver@tntmagazine.com

EDITOR’S LETTER It’s been 20 years since Nirvana released Nevermind. In honour of that, a new exhibition is opening in London.

On P22, we look at why the album was such a success.

Another exhibition on in London is the Power Of Making – fuelling a revival into making your own things. If you’ve always secretly been a bit of a craft geek, check out P8.

Looking for somewhere good to go in the UK? Flick to P79 for our 16-page guide to staycations. Enjoy!

THIS WEEK LONDONDIARY

4-5

LONDONNEWS

6

MY LONDON

12

DRINK & EATS

14-15

@TNT

16

SPOTTED

17

LISTINGS SOUND

18-19

LISTINGS CLUB & GIGS

20-21

CHATROOM ALEXIS HOUSTON LONDON SCENE

28-29

SPARE TIME

30

LIFESTYLE

31-41

SHOPPING

31

HEALTH & BEAUTY

32-33

CAREERS

34-35 39

MONEY

Cover Image: Steve Double. Photos: Getty

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LIVING

40-41

NEWS & SPORT

42-53

COMPETITION

54

TRAVEL

55

DIARY

56

NEWS

57

LATE DEALS

60

HOTSHOTS

61

TOP FIVE

62-63

TIPS & STUFF

64-65

SHORT BREAK… GREENLAND

70-71

48 HOURS IN... LYON CLASSIFIEDS

66

124-129

DESPERATELY SEEKING

130

46

FEATURES CRAFTY LONDON

8

Forget YouTube and Twitter: craft has found its place in the 21st century

REACHING NIRVANA

58

22

It’s been 20 years since Nevermind was released. We examine its influence

A DARK DAY

46

The world changed forever after 9/11. We remember some the less-known stories

NO TROUBLE AT ALL

58

Take a black cab tour around Northern Ireland’s capital city, Belfast

BROKEBANKER MOUNTAIN 72 Enjoy a life-changing pocket of peace among the Canadian Rockies

DESTINATIONS UK

76

Your 16-page guide to top places to visit when going on a staycation

8 TNTMAGAZINE.COM

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EDITORIAL Editor Carol Driver Sub editor Jahn Vannisselroy Content editors: Travel Janine Kelso Entertainment Alison Grinter News & sport Tom Sturrock Web Frankie Mullin Staff writer Clare Vooght Staff writer/editorial assistant Rebecca Kent

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Far out: get lost at Colourscape

DESIGN AND PRODUCTION Head of design and production Jon Cooke Graphic design manager Justine Mackay Picture researcher Laila Pacheco DIGITAL & IT Head of digital marketing and development Syed Ahmad Social Media Coordinator Dan Thorne IT manager Stephen Dann SALES Commercial director David Alstin Sales manager Jaqui Ward Classified Ad Manager Matt Syder Sales executives Tyler Harrison | Eddie Clinton | Donovan Smith | Michael Fair | Sandra Parr Sales administrator Abby Nightingale MARKETING & EVENTS Marketing and events assistant Phoebe Cherrill ACCOUNTS Finance director Nick Crampton Accounts Margaret Roberts

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TNT PUBLISHING CEO Kevin Ellis Chairman Ken Hurst

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PUBLISHER TNT Publishing Ltd DISTRIBUTION Emblem Direct Ltd PRINTED BY Wyndeham Peterborough Limited NEWS AAP SAPA NZPA PICTURES AAP AP Alamy Getty Images NZPA PA Photos Photolibrary.com Pictures Colour Library Reuters Rex Features Robert Harding SAPA TNT Images TNT Magazine , 10 Greycoat Place, London, SW1P 1SB tntmagazine.com General enquiries Phone 020 7960 6008 Fax 020 7960 6977 Email enquiries@tntmagazine.com SALES ENQUIRIES

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Lose yourself in this psychedelic world of colours and sounds. The festival takes place inside 100 chambers of a huge inflatable structure, which the organisers want us to wander and find out how we respond to the different hues. At the weekends, a range of concerts will be taking place inside the labyrinth. Check out Into The Mix with Sounds Positive Ensemble and Middle Eastern Dance on Sept 17, while Justice And Consortium5 perform new British music the following day. Cool, man. . £8

Sept 17-25. Weekdays 12pm-1pm. Weekends 1pm-6pm Windmill Drive, SW4 9DE eyemusic.org.uk Clapham South

HACKNEY WICK FESTIVAL

MORE LONDON

5X15 STORIES

Revel in all things community at this small-scale annual festival.

Get rid of your unwanted goods or find a gem at the Give Or Take event on Saturday. Then sit back, relax and enjoy the last of summer with dance and theatre performances, live music, art exhibitions and workshops. Full line-up yet to be announced.

Movie buffs and lovers of free stuff will be in heaven at these free film screenings.

Riverside amphitheatre The Scoop will be showcasing cult and contemporary flicks such as Alice In Wonderland, The King’s Speech, The Illusionist, The Social Network and Grease. Films start at 7.30pm – and did we mention they’re free?

Five creative, intellectual and outstanding individuals recount stories of passion, obsession and adventure with two rules: no scripts and only 15 minutes each.

Be entertained and impressed

by AS Byatt, Misha Glenny, Simon Baron Cohen, Lucy Worsley, Alexander Masters.

Much more interesting than another night in the pub.

Sept 16-17 Hackney, E9 5JH hackneywickfestival.org.uk Hackney Wick

Sept 14-30 Between London/Tower bridges morelondon.com Tower Hill

Monday, Sept 19 Tabernacle, 34-35 Powis Square, W11 2AY 5x15stories.com Westbourne Park

COVER PRICE: £1 where sold SEE tntmagazine.com/findtnt for pick-up points or tntmagazine.com/emag to read TNT online SUBSCRIPTIONS AND DISTRIBUTION Caroline Penn 01603 559004 All thieves of TNT bins will be prosecuted.

TNT Magazine is printed on paper from sustainable forests. There is no business connection between the proprietors of this magazine and TNT Ltd, the worldwide transportation group. Copyright here and abroad of all original materials is held by TNT Magazine.

Reproduction in whole or part is forbidden, except with permission of the publishers.

Registered as a newspaper at the Post Office.

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Explore: City Hall, South Bank

OPEN HOUSE LONDON Across the capital

If you’re a bit of a nosy parker, put your skills to good use at this annual event for which more than 700 buildings unlock their doors to the public. Check out architects’ homes, eco buildings, major regeneration projects, government buildings, 17th-century mansions and historic landmarks. For the first time, the Commonwealth Institute in Kensington will be open – it’s the last chance to witness its 1960s architecture before it undergoes a redesign.

FREE

Sept 17-18 Various locations

londonopenhouse.org

MUSEUM OF EVERYTHING

LONDON FASHION WEEK

View work of undiscovered artists from around the world in the fourth incarnation of The Museum Of Everything.

The event has taken over a Selfridges window (those are never given up lightly) and the store’s exhibition space. Book for screenings, talks and workshops. Visit The Shop Of Everything to buy random goodies.

There’s no escaping it, so you may as well immerse yourself in all things couture. As well as the trade catwalk shows, there are tonnes of special events taking place – shops showcase one-off designs and bars and clubs celebrate with themed cocktails. Entry might be free, but no doubt you’ll leave having spent a pretty penny.

Until Oct 25 Selfridges, 400 Oxford St, W1U 1AT musevery.com Marble Arch

Sept 16-21 Across London londonfashionweek.co.uk Various

Photos: TNT

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LONDONNEWS

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THEATRE NAME TO HONOUR PINTER A London theatre is to change its name next month to honour the playright Harold Pinter, who died in 2008. The Comedy Theatre will be renamed Harold Pinter Theatre, in “a fitting tribute to a man who made such a mark on British theatre”.

The venue has hosted seven of the director and actor’s productions druing the past 21 years, including The Homecoming, No Man’s Land and The Hothouse.

The first show to open at the newly named venue will be Death And The Maiden by Ariel Dorfman in October. A spokesman for the Ambassador Theatre Group called Pinter’s work “integral”.

I Googled his name and realised he had been appointed the new deputy prime minister of Somalia Richard Kolka researches why teacher Mohamed Ibrahim didn’t show up for school Newman Catholic College in Brent

£15M REFUNDS FOR OYSTER ERRORS Tube commuters charged for ‘honest mistakes’ will share a £15m annual fund. Passengers across London who forget to tap out will escape penalty fares in a huge change to Oyster technology.

Caroline Pidgeon, chair of the London Assembly transport committee, said: “At long last TfL are waking up to the fact that serious overcharging takes place with Oyster.”

ON THE TUBE

Marks... (r-l) Oscar Pistorius, April Holmes, Jerome Singleton and Heinrich Popow line up in London last week

Paralympic tix on sale now Organisers hoping for sell-out event for first time in 51 years The application process for tickets to the 2012 Paralympic Games is underway. There are two million passes available for the 20 sports and 312 sessions taking place between August 29 and September 9 next year.

Some 75 per cent of tickets are priced at £20 or less and 50 per cent are £10 or less – and the application process ends on September 26. Organisers are hoping the Games will be a sell-out for the first time in the event’s 51-year history.

Paralympians were joined by politicians and celebrities in Trafalgar Square last Thursday for International Paralympic Day, where they urged people to buy tickets.

London 2012 chairman Lord Coe said: “The Paralympic Games are coming home in 2012 and I’m confident that the whole

country will get behind them. Alongside the Games come a whole range of opportunities.

“People will have the chance to see sport like never before, with world-class athletes who challenge the notion of ‘disability’; it’s a huge opportunity for paralympic sport to become part of the nation’s consciousness and finally, it will be a moment of extraordinary pride.”

As with the Olympics, tickets are not decided on a first come, first served basis and any over-subscribed sessions will be allocated via a ballot.

Lord Coe, however, assured the public lessons had been learned from the problems with Olympic ticket sales.

“We needed to shorten the application period and we have done that,” he added.

THIS WEEK IN LONDON...

THIS WEEKEND’S CLOSURES/WORKS

CIRCLE: No service between Moorgate and Hammersmith all weekend.

DISTRICT: No service between Tower Hill and Dagenham East or between Parsons Green and Wimbledon all weekend.

HAMMERSMITH/CITY: No service between King’s Cross and Barking all weekend.

JUBILEE: No service between Stanmore and West Hampstead all weekend. Rail replacement buses operate.

Harrow-on-the-Hill and Aldgate on Sunday. Replacement buses operate.

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Photos: Getty

METROPOLITAN: No service between

Locker banks are set to be launched by Amazon to allow customers to collect items bought online. The company has an agreement with shopping centre owner Land Securities to install the lockers in its venues in London, including ONe New Change in the City.

It will be aimed at customers who are not at home to receive their goods during the day.

The scheme, which sends customers who select the delivery option a code to open the banks, has already been rolled out in the US and has been a success.

A similar system could operate at 24-hour petrol stations and retail outlets in the UK. Electrical chains, such as Comet, Currys and Best Buy, already offer a similar service.

7+( WK $6&27 5$&(&2856( %((5 )(67,9$/ -YPKH` [O :LW[LTILY HUK :H[\YKH` Z[ 6J[VILY • Admission starts from just £12 on Friday and £17 on Saturday.

Fine Dining Packages from £115pp (inc. admission). • Excellent programme of racing. • Over 200 real ales, ciders and perries from predominantly local craft brewers, all at £1.50 per half pint.

Free tasting notes provided. • Live music on both days - Ceilidh Allstars on Friday; Adrian Edmondson and the Bad Shepherds on Saturday. • Group and Advance Booking Discounts available.

;V IVVR JHSS VY ]PZP[ HZJV[ JV \R 8\V[L ;5; [V YLJLP]L VMM HK]HUJL [PJRL[Z

Crafty London Forget papier-mâché, instead think lingerie, YouTube and smartphones – craft has found its place in the 21st century

Sandra Backlund’s knitted dress

WORDS CLARE VOOGHT

Handmade lace thongs, glass hand grenades, a crocheted bear and a blond hairpiece shaped like a pair of lips – no longer are arts and crafts the preserve of nanas armed with knitting needles and the intent of bestowing unwanted Christmas jumpers on their relatives.

A new wave of artists are mixing craft with the contemporary and the bizarre.

The Power of Making, at the V&A, shows crafting’s place in the modern world. But it also gives us an opportunity to think about the making process – rather than just the result – with films shot at makers’ studios and factories while they work.

Curator Daniel Charny wanted to ensure this process covered engineering as well as art.

“There are a lot of pieces that have been made by people who don’t usually show their work, but also mixed with people who do,” he says.

“The exhibition is very much about how people make amazing things and how we all share the knowledge of these skills, because no one owns the knowledge of making.”

Charny adds: “Right now, I’m standing in front of medical embriodery 8

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which is used for implants around joints and next to it is an embroidered ring made with woven nylon. You can see it’s the same technique but it’s used in such different environments.

Both share the knowledge that came before.”

Of other functional pieces on display, there is a lace G-string designed by controversial Polish lacemakers Koniakow, who ventured into the world of lingerie after doily sales dropped. There is also a grenadeshaped perfume bottle, made by glassblower Layne Rowe, and a life-size “crochetdermy” brown bear by Shauna Richardson, which swaps formaldehyde with crocheting techniques.

You’ll also spot the blond lips hairpiece Lady Gaga wore in the video for Bad Romance, which was designed by wigmaker and milliner Charlie Le Mindu and made from human hair.

Alongside it is a piece by Michelle Wibowo, which scored 1.5 million YouTube hits – a detailed cake sculpture of a baby, which took 15 hours to carve, sculpt and paint.

And stepping back a few years is a piece from the Second World War,

by Major A T Casdagli, cross-stitched in 1941 in a German camp. Made with wool borrowed from other prisoners’ unraveled jumpers, it is bordered with Morse code, which translates to: “God save the king, fuck Hitler.”

With similar intent to convey a hidden message, Thorunn Arnadottir uses today’s technology in a dress she made for Icelandic popstar Kali.

Arnadottir has embroidered QR codes (matrix barcodes that can be read by smartphones), linking to the singer’s promotional material, using Swarovski beads. This, she says, mirrors beadwork used on masks in parts of Africa to convey the identity of the wearer.

“People today grow up with everything being mass manufactured,” Arnadottir says. “So we’re getting really detached from the craft. It’s very important we don’t look at craft as a nostalgic thing, or just representing a specific culture, but to find applications and value for it in our own.” ›› MORE CRAFT IN LONDON The Power of Making: until January 2, 2012 Cromwell Road, SW7 2RL vam.ac.uk South Kensington

A LIVE NATION PRESENTATION BY ARRANGEMENT WITH PRIMARY TALENT INTERNATIONAL

LONDON ROUNDHOUSE THURSDAY 27TH OCTOBER 0844 482 8008

BUY ONLINE AT LIVENATION.CO.UK

QR beads by Thorunn Arnadottir

WW2 cross-stitching by Major A T Casdagli

Ceramic eye patch by Damian O’Sullivan TNTMAGAZINE.COM

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BEAUTY PRODUCT MAKING SESSIONS CHISWICK

ENTANGLEMENT: THE AMBIVALENCE OF IDENTITY SHOREDITCH

Indulge yourself and dramatically enhance your bathtime with a beauty product making session. Learn how to make your own bergamot and rose petal bath soak as well as a geranium and orangeinfused body scrub using only pure essential oils and natural ingredients only. £45

October 8, November 19 3 Bond Street, W4 1QZ imadeitmyself.co.uk Turnham Green

For his installation in this exhibition on cultural identity, belonging and affiliation, Anthony Key etched the names and addresses of a different Chinese restaurant onto 8,000 chopsticks by hand.

FREE

WOOL MODERN AND ELIZABETH BRADLEY PALL MALL

September 14 – November 19 Rivington Place, EC2A 3BA iniva.org Old Street

The Wool Modern exhibition focuses on innovative and cutting-edge uses of wool in the creative industries, with work from the likes of Alexander McQueen, Paul Smith, Burberry and Sonia Rykiel. High-end tapestry kit supplier, Elizabeth Bradley will also be hosting demonstrations and talks on crafting wool tapestries upstairs on September 13.

FREE

September 8-29 Royal Opera Academy Gallery, Pall Mall, SW1Y 4UY campaignforwool.org Piccadilly

STITCH BALHAM BALHAM

CRAFTERNOON HACKNEY

A group of knitters, sewers and crocheters who meet weekly. They welcome all levels and it’s a great place to learn if you’re a beginner.

Hire out London Crafternoon for a three-hour monster making session with craft fanatic Gabby Shiner-Hill at a venue of your choice. All materials are supplied and prices are on request.

FREE

FABRICATIONS BROADWAY MARKET Apart from selling cushions, upcycled homeware, haberdashery and an array of questionablyironic Hackney souvenirs, Fabrications also runs a packed list of classes, workshops and events.

There are knitting sessions for all levels as well as patchwork quilting, embroidery, felt making.

They also run a nifty party service (you can book the girls to come and throw a craft party at your house), plus they run a craft club over cocktails at the nearby Off Broadway bar every Wednesday from 6pm.

Open Tuesday – Sunday 7 Broadway Market, E8 4PH fabrications1.co.uk London Fields

10

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Wednesdays, 7.30pm Balham Bowls Club, SW12 8QX facebook.com/stitchbalham Balham

Available all year round ldncrafternoon.com

CRAFTY FOX BRIXTON

CREATIVE BISCUIT WOODFORD

The Crafty Fox is a platform for designer-makers to showcase their work. They usually hold events at The Dogstar bar and cafe in Brixton selling their handmade treasures and vintage finds while punters enjoy a drink and a dance.

Design, create and paint onto ceramics while chowing down on cake and drinking tea. If it’s a special occasion sign a plate, write a message and leave it to Creative Biscuit’s team of artists to hand paint the gift.

They also take bookings for parties.

Various events 389 Coldharbour Ln, SW9 8LQ craftyfoxmarket.blogspot.com Brixton

Tuesday to Saturday 10am-5pm 61 George Lane, E18 1JJ creativebiscuit.co.uk South Woodford

FREE

SHOREDITCH SISTERS WOMEN’S INSTITUTE SHOREDITCH This has to be the coolest Women’s Institute group in the country. The sisters meet every month to get stuck into a making session or do some serious activism.

They do it all from sushi rolling, quilt making. life drawing and tie-dying to campaigning against domestic violence and rallying support for cancer charities. Founded in 2007 and set up mainly through word of mouth, most of the members are in their twenties – making them the youngest WI group in Britain. The joining fee is £30 a year, plus extra costs for some meetings. £30

Meetings every fourth Tuesday The Tea Building, 56 Shoreditch High Street, E1 6JJ shoreditchsisters.blogspot.com Shoreditch High Street

BEGINNERS’ ORIGAMI CLASS HOLBORN

CRAFTY PINT TOOTING From charm bracelet making to creating handmade book covers, Crafty Pint hold monthly workshops at the Tooting Tram and Social. October’s is ceramic painting and November’s will be upcycled jewellery. All materials (plus cake) are provided. £15

Perfect your cranemaking skills at this course in the Japanese art of paper folding. You’ll make beautiful shapes from a sheet of paper in no time. £15

Saturday February 11 2012 Keeley Street, WC2B 4BA citylit.ac.uk Holborn

First Saturday of every month 46-48 Mitcham Road, SW17 9NA handmadeintooting.wordpress. com Tooting Broadway

DRINK, SHOP & DO KING’S CROSS A design shop and cafe bar that holds crafty events – try your hand at crocheting a vintage hat, making an ice cream sundae or knitting a scarf. For real inspiration try the Play with Clay Dolly Parton Style, where you can make models out of clay to the singer’s legendary tunes. If you’re not in the mood for making they serve hand-made cakes and cocktails and sell quirky crafts and vintage homeware.

Open all week 9 Caledonian Road, N1 9DX drinkshopdo.com King’s Cross

SCREEN PRINTING WORKSHOP ISLINGTON Whether you plan on going for a geometric design or 70s floral pattern, create your own textile wonders at The Make Lounge’s beginnerss workshop on screen printing. Begin by drawing your own design (or bring your own picture of a pattern you’ve always loved), then transfer it to paper stencil before getting your ink screen ready to print onto a tea towel, tote bag or a T-shirt. The best bit is you’ll be learning techniques that you can use in a home studio. But if screen printing isn’t your thing, there are also make do and mend classes, plus jewellery making and bespoke lampshade classes.

HACKNEY CITY FARM ARTS AND CRAFTS MARKET HACKNEY

Photos: John Scarisbrick, Richard Davis, Chicks on Speed, Thorunn Arnadottir, Damian O’Sullivan, TNT

£57

Several sessions per month 41 Barnsbury Street, N1 1TP themakelounge.com Angel

For anything made by hand in Hackney, check out Hackney City Farm’s bi-monthly arts and crafts market. While you’re there visit the animals, chill out in the garden and get some grub from the cafe, which is stocked with produce from the farm, no less.

DULWICH CRAFT FAIR DULWICH With over 20 exhibitors, selling crafts such as homewares, furniture, clothes and accessories. £2.50

Saturday November 26, Saturday December 10 St Barnabas Church Hall, Dulwich Village, SE21 7BT dulwichcrafts.co.uk North Dulwich Rail

THE THIRD PAMFLET SALON: THE CRAFT STARRING JAZZ DOMINO HOLLY KING’S CROSS

Learn to cut and layer paper images with different textures.

Get your crafty mitts at the ready to enter a making competition with silly prizes like Dolly Parton records and a baked bean jigsaw. This night has been described as “Blue Peter meets Art Attack while Anne Robinson watches on”.

A craft-themed evening at Drink Shop Do with the doyenne of DIY and Shoreditch Sisters founder, Jazz Domino Holly.

She’ll be reading from her book, The Queen Of Crafts – which teaches how to make bunting, bake jam tarts, plant a herbal tea garden and make your own lip balm. She’ll also explain why making stuff means so much to her. You’ll be hosting tea parties before you know it. Tickets include cake and wine.

June 22 2012 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, EC2A 3BP soane.org Holborn

Thursday September 29, 8pm-2am 100-106 Leonard Street wearetbc.com Shoreditch High Street

Tuesday September 27, from 8pm 9 Caledonian Road, N1 9DX drinkshopdo.com King’s Cross

Sunday October 2, 11am-4pm 1a Goldsmiths Row, E2 8QA hackneycityfarm.co.uk Hoxton

COME GET FELT UP SHOREDITCH £2

PAPER CUTTING AND COLLAGE CLASS HOLBORN £40

£10

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11

FLIGHTS • TOURS • HOLIDAYS • ACCOMMODATION

MYLONDON

SUN • SNOW • ADVENTURE in association with

FREE Y ENgTisR tering

by re £2 entry online / oor d e th on

GERRY CALABRESE ENTREPRENEUR What baffles me about London is the Tube. I can’t stand it! I don’t understand how in 2011, in one of the most developed cities in the world, we are still forced to travel like cattle and pay a pretty penny for the privilege.

London’s best-kept secret is the fantastic Experimental Cocktail Club.

Hidden in the heart of Chinatown above a Chinese restaurant, it has a beaten-up wooden door and no sign to advertise its existence. The cocktails are excellent, the bartenders are experts in their craft and it’s the only place I know of that you can sit until 3am on a Monday night in central London without having to be a member or in a posh, expensive hotel.

When I want to chill out I relax at home or hang out in Victoria Park with my son, kicking a ball about.

My favourite place for a drink is China Tang (the bar) at the Dorchester. I’m always greeted warmly by Luca and his team; it’s super comfy and the drinks and service are second to none.

For when you’re hungover in London, Ballans in Soho does a great full English complete with wild boar sausages.

What gets me up in the morning? My alarm clock! I absolutely love what I do so it’s never a chore to get up. If you can wake up and command your own destiny everyday, it’s a great thing.

My perfect weekend would involve chilling in a pub on a Sunday, reading the papers, then stuffing my face with a roast. I’d then head home to watch a bit of Formula 1. In the evening, I’d hire a flick and kick back with a curry.

I only have one day off a week.

The last naughty thing I did was, well, more than one thing; it was spending two weeks doing naughty things in Ibiza. Whoops!

Five words that sum up London ... Melting pot for all that’s wrong and right in the world! Not five; so sue me – impossible to do!

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FAST PASS UPGRADE TICKET FOR £5 - SEE WEBSITE

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15

9.30am – 5pm London’s Best Sun and Snow Travel Show ËExclusive Travel Talks ËTravel Deals &

Ë Show Bar Ë A variety of

Discounts ËLucky Dip and other competitions

entertainment Ë Co-located Recruitment Fair

QE II Centre St James Park & Westminster

tnttravelshow.com

Photos: TNT

I can’t name the most interesting person I’ve met as I meet amazing people everyday. London is a microcosm of everything that’s great about the UK; its diversity in people and culture, fashion, music and art. There are too many to choose from!

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DEVIGNE HOTEL BAR THE SCENE Hotel bars can often be an afterthought in terms of design, but inside The Mandeville, deVigne is a refreshing change. Stylish and modern, the decor boasts contemporary art deco furnishings including amusing Elizabethan-era portraits, and there are brightly coloured tub chairs and a sleek bar lined with stools. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just around the corner from the bustle of the West End, offering a tranquil oasis away from the madness.

THE GRUB Try the mini-foods selection. We delve into the delicious mixed tapas thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brought to our table; cajon chicken skewers; vegetable spring rolls with sweet chilli dip; and mini fish and chips.

BEHIND THE BAR Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re here for the cocktails. They often have specials â&#x20AC;&#x201C; such as the gorgeous Caribbean-themed Nelsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s blood â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Chairmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s spiced rum with cranberry, pineapple, orange, lemon served long over ice and garnished with a cinnamon stick. On-menu, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the Design Lab list. Try the Tonquin Garden, made up with Tonka beans, zubrowka, rhubarb, bitter oil; the Dragonfly, a blend of Ketel1 Vodka, bourbon vanilla, lime, rose and cranberry. Yum. BILL PLEASE Tapas from ÂŁ3.50; cocktails from ÂŁ8.50.

VERDICT A friendly atmosphere and the type of bar you could spend hours in chatting with friends over pre-dinner drinks. CAROL DRIVER

Swanky: deVigne Bar Mandeville Place, W1U 2BE

mandeville.co.uk

3 OF THE BEST

FISH & GRILL PUTNEY

FISH! RESTAURANT BOROUGH MARKET

J SHEEKEY COVENT GARDEN

Malcolm Johnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fish & Grill sources sustainable fish from the south coast and its outdoor terrace is the perfect place to enjoy some fine wine and a perfectly cooked Cornish sea bass.

Here, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find a tasty swordfish club sandwich and the best sit-down fish and chips in town. At the centre of Borough Market, the glass walls also make it the perfect spot for people watching.

Classic and traditional fish and seafood are served up in this culinary institution, and the fish pie is almost as legendary as the restaurant itself. Everyone should go at least once.

fishandgrillputney.co.uk

fishkitchen.com/fish

%X\ JHW )5((

ith Served awnd chips yle Spur-st r a gs o onion ripnotato or baked salad. side

Offer not valid with any other promotion or special.

Bring in voucher to receive this special. Terms and conditions apply. Valid until 30 September 2011. The least expensive combo meal is free.

&KH\HQQH 6SXU 02 Dome, North Greenwich. Tel: 020 8858 0196 0RKDZN 6SXU Southside Shopping Centre, Wandsworth. Tel: 0208 874 0831 14

j-sheekey.co.uk

%X\ DQ\ &20%2 0($/ DQG JHW RQH )5(( HYHU\ 7XHVGD\ QLJKW

5588S

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FISH RESTAURANTS

Bond Street

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Patara: nod to Thailand

GUINNESS AND CHAMPERS In homage to Fashion Week, boundary-pushing west London gastropub, Paradise, has created a cocktail in the image of style icon Daphne Guinness, pictured, made from champagne, chambord and a generous measure of the black stuff. theparadise.co.uk

FASHION WEEK AT SKETCH If you see any supermodels packing a few extra pounds, they’ve probably been scoffing the Fashion Week macaroons at Sketch. Made in floral, gingham and tropical patterns, the sweet treats reflect SS12’s big trends.

Sketch has also teamed with mywardrobe.com to create a stylish fashion lunch, which will be available from Sept 16 to Oct 5. Guests get a gourmet three-course meal in the Michelin-starred Lecture Room for £60, and they’ll leave with a goody bag and a £50 gift card to spend on mywardrobe.com. Bonus! sketch.uk.com

Photos: TNT

BRITISH FOOD FORTNIGHT As part of British Food Fortnight, take a mushroom walk around Osterley Park & House in Isleworth on September 24, to find out which are the tasty ones and which ones would be lethal in a stir fry. Sample some local south east London nosh at Greenwich Food Festival on September 18 or hit Lola’s Cupcakes in Topshop for British-themed cupcakes all fortnight. Events all across London from Sept 17 to Oct 2. lovebritishfood.co.uk

PATARA THAI THE SCENE The scent of lemongrass as I walk into this Soho establishment is a wave of nostalgia – instantly inducing memories of time spent in Thailand. The decor has a huge nod to the country, with orchids and South Asian-inspired artwork, but it’s more up-market than most Thai establishments. I wait 20 minutes for my plus one, without being offered a drink (while a girl mops the floor in front of the entrance). When he arrives, we wait for a further 20 minutes despite the restaurant being fairly empty and staff walking past us, although the manager apologises profusely when he realises we haven’t yet been seated.

THE GRUB We’re here to try the Six Senses dishes, which doesn’t have much for vegetarians, so I opt for the impressive meat-free menu. My husband orders the Goong Pow Grilled tiger prawns in kaffir lime dressing infused with green curry paste while my steamed dumplings arrive as crispy spring rolls. The waiter apologises, and 10 minutes later my original choice is brought to the table. Both are decent standard Thai fare. After the starters, Rich tries the Bouillabaise, a selection of fine seafood in a gorgeous aromatic coconut and Thai herbs broth.

Although his main – organic salmon with shiitake mushrooms – has a similar sauce, which becomes overpowering. My huge tofu steak (there’s only so much tofu one person can eat) is served in a shallow dish of gorgeous red curry sauce – but there isn’t enough of it, which is disappointing.

There’s a fantastic range of cocktails, a decent selection of wines – with some Thai choices – and beers, including the ubiquitous Tiger.

BILL PLEASE Starters from £6.75; mains from £13.25; three-course Six Senses menu £28; wine from £18.50; champage from £35.

VERDICT It’s a lovely setting and when it’s right, Patara’s food is spot on. But the whole experience needs to be pulled together to make it a must-visit. CAROL DRIVER BEHIND THE BAR

15 Greek Street, Soho, W1D 4DP

pataralondon.com

Leicester Square

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LETTER OF THE WEEK

Is community service a better option that jail?

81707*

To the idiot who tried to pull open tube doors when it was just about to pull away: your journey is not that important

Jobey Yay TNT. I loooove being drunk at the church.

Goooood timmes.

We got her fone My friend said that his addiction to Helium is always making him lose his temper. He keeps hitting the roof.

Selina B It has to be wayne rooney’s new hair that’s made all the difference.

Chico Torres An American woman set a new world record by eating 183 chicken wings.

No word on whether there will be a second date.

Hansel I’m a bit ‘green’ when it comes to love making.

I’m Bio-sexual.

Sarah When I was a kid My dad tried to force-feed me.

Mum yelled at him: “Steve, quit it, you’re not a fucken jedi, ok?”

Baldrick the Baker I’m supporting Samoa in this world cup. they play the most exciting rugby

Sole the chimps seeing light for the 1st time after being kept in a lab in Austria all their lives.

One man comes to mind...

Josef

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Community service, rather than jail, for crims could work. But it has to be proper work! So what if they have to do a month of Saturday mornings? Make the buggers work for free five days a week for a whole year. Obviously you’ll have to keep giving them benefits but it will still be cheaper than having them in the clink, as well as outside on benefits doing nothing. Maybe then they’ll learn the value of an honest day’s work.

Mike Kelly, via Facebook

CHEAP EATS Now that summer is over and I can’t sit in the park and eat my lunch, has anyone got any ideas about cheap/ free places to go around central London to get away from the office for an hour? I work near Hyde Park Corner, so Oxford St is nearby. At the moment I am resorting to coffee shops and department store cafes, but it is starting to get expensive.

Gerry McCafferty, via email

UP IN SMOKE RE TNT 1462: Patricia Wright’s turning up at the police station to collect her drugs and cannabis pipe makes her a clear candidate for the Darwin Awards of 2011!

Mark Taha, via email

LISTEN TO THAT! The best thing I’ve ever heard on public transport was a teenage girl bragging about how at her house party she thought someone

had bought fireworks, until she realised it was gunfire.

And then she bragged about her brother owning that gun. All class!

Lara Jones, via Facebook

DUMB MOVE RE Soulja Boy’s antimilitary rap Let’s Be Real: I say fuck you, Soulja Boy! These men and women risk their lives for us and they aren’t the ones who start the shit but they took an oath to defend our country and that is what they are attempting to do and then ignorant people like u feel the need to say stupid shit.

Please do me a favour and put a cork in it.

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LONDON LIFE John Cleese says London is no longer English. I agree … but it’s a good thing!!

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Mike wins a three-day tour of Ireland with Shamrocker shamrockeradventures.com

YOUR TWEETS Tweet us @tntmagazine @KFHproperty: Agrees that TNT’s new logo is very swish, good going @MaccyBees: Whisky coming your way at the TNT Sun and Snow Travel Show! @Steph_Ross1: Festival Tip: bring a mask or something to cover your nose in the toilets because people refuse to touch the flushhandle

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Topdeck Travel: Back To The Future shoes? They should have concentrated their attentions on the hover-board from BTTF2 Nat Sinner Sims: The weed diet? I used to smoke A LOT all day every day! And ate loads of junk food through having the munchies but was never fat so it is possible.

Gemma Harris: Worst airline food?

Vegas to Maui - vomit cake! US airlines especially fail on the in-flight anything :)

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MELA FESTIVAL Gunnersbury Park, London Sunday, September 4 Photos by: Laila Pacheco/ TNT Images

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ALISON GRINTER ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR What is it about musicians and airplanes? If they’re not dying in them – John Denver, Buddy Holly, Aaliyah – then they are falling foul of draconian flight attendants. The latest “victim” is Green Day’s pretty boy lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong who was kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight in the US because he ignored a flight attendant’s command to “pull up your pants” which were apparently sagging too low for the attendant’s liking. If that sounds over the top, bear in mind sometimes the flight crew have their work cut out. REM guitarist Peter Buck once ended up on assault charges against stewards after a midair meltdown. He was later cleared of any wrongdoing – his sleeping pills were to blame. Still, my fave muso/ airline story is the one where Kylie Minogue was rumoured to have joined the Mile High Club with INXS’s Michael Hutchence. Can you imagine anyone getting away with that now?

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BRIAN WILSON Royal Festival Hall SEP 16-18 | DOORS AT 7PM | £35-£55

He might be 23 years into his solo career but it’s the Beach Boys stuff that we really remember Brian Wilson for. For instance, who can recall the great man’s solo efforts Sweet Insanity or Orange Crate Art? Nope, didn’t think so.

Right off the bat Wilson struggled to live up to the Beach Boy’s legacy. In what must have been galling for the band’s undisputed genius, his eponymous 1988 solo debut was overshadowed by his former band’s godawful Kokomo single.

When he started touring in the Noughties, it was Wilson’s live performances of the legendary album Pet Sounds, recorded with the Beach Boys in 1966, which garnered all the critical praise. His solo album Gettin’ In Over My Head? Hmmm, not so much.

Still, Wilson’s ongoing relationship with London’s Royal Festival Hall has yielded some of his most interesting solo work so far. OK, so he was still trading on the Beach Boy’s name when he debuted a finished version of SMiLE, the “lost” album he and the Beach Boys had given up on in 1967, here in 2004. But three years later he was back to perform That Lucky Old Sun, a stunning concept album commissioned by the Southbank Centre, which paid tribute to the So-Cal sound.

Now, 69-year-old Wilson returns to Royal Festival Hall to perform his latest critically acclaimed album, Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin, a collection of covers of American composer George Gershwin in its entirety. There’ll also be some Beach Boy classics, natch.

Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX

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GARY NUMAN GIG SAT, SEP 17. 7PM £25

If you were to play the word association game using Gary Numan’s name, we’d wager the word that springs to mind for most people would be his mega-hit, Cars. But there’s so much more to the synth-pop god. His 20th LP, Dead Sun Rising, gets an airing this week.

Photos: TNT

Shepherd’s Bush Empire W12 8QE o2shepherdsbushempire.co.uk Shepherds Bush

WEARABLE ART: THE FUTURE NOW

XOYO 1ST BIRTHDAY

CLUB

CLUB

FRI, SEP 16. 10PM-6AM £10 after 11pm.

SEP 16-17. 10PM From £8

The flagship of a new era of creative, forwardthinking club nights, The Future Now launches at Egg, in conjunction with the venue’s bi-annual fashion event, Wearable Art. Expect a night of fashion fun as Thomas Schumacher, Erman Erim, Greenmoney and Princess Julia bring the tunes.

The innovative club celebrates its first birthday with two nights of edgy club action. Chicago house pioneer Mr Fingers gets his funk on with remixer du jour Jamie XX on the Friday, while Detroit Techno originator Juan Atkins performs the following night.

Egg 200 York Way, N7 9AX egglondon.net King’s Cross

XOYO 32-37 Cowper St, EC2A 4AP xoyo.co.uk Old Street

BLUETONES

MINISTRY OF SOUND 20TH BIRTHDAY

HOWLING BELLS

GIG

CLUB

GIG

FRI, SEP 16. 7PM £18

SAT, SEP 16-18. FROM 11PM From £8

THUR, SEP 15. 7PM £12

Arriving at the fag end of the Britpop explosion, the Bluetones’ debut, Expecting To Fly, rocketed to the top of the charts in 1996. They survived the genre’s comedown to release a clutch of psychedelic-flavoured indie rock albums but now, after 15 years, the band are bowing out with a farewell tour that arrives in London this week.

Founded by Justin Berkmann, a DJ determined to transplant the American house music scene of New York to London, Ministry Of Sound has since grown into a global brand. This week the club celebrates 20 years with three huge nights so get down there to see Frankie Knuckles and David Morales (above) team up for the last time.

Before Anna Calvi stole their thunder, Australian quartet the Howling Bells were the go-to band for critically adored, atmospheric doom-pop.

They’ve described their third, soon-to-be-released album, The Loudest Engine, as “real organic, real jammy, very melodic, but very raw,” which sounds suspiciously like a departure for the band.

Shepherd’s Bush Empire W12 8QE o2shepherdsbushempire.co.uk Shepherds Bush

Ministry of Sound 103 Gaunt Street, SE1 6DP ministryofsound Elephant & Castle

Electric Ballroom 184 Camden High St, NW1 8QP electricballroom.co.uk Camden Town

LANA DEL REY THE BUZZ SO FAR Describing herself as the “gangsta Nancy Sinatra”, Lana Del Rey’s self-styled “Hollywood Sadcore” combines her love of David Lynch, vintage Fifties movies, hiphop and heartbreak. The New York State native has been causing quite a commotion with her stunning DIY videos. Case in point is the elegant clip for her debut single, Video Games – YouTube it!

THE CRITICS SAY “Lana Del Rey is old-school Hollywood glamour meets splice-friendly YouTube culture with a fair share of coquettish attitude and smoke-parlour Stevie Nicks vocals thrown in”. Pitchfork THE PLUG Booking now for London live debut at Madam Jo Jo’s 8-10 Brewer Street, W1F OSE madamejojos.com Piccadilly Circus.

Wed, Oct 5. £10.

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CLUBLISTINGS MONDAY 12 Hard Core Salsa DJ Mario plays mambo and salsa, plus dance lessons. Salsa!, Charing Cross Rd, WC2H 0JG (020 7379 3277). 6pm-2am, last adm 1am. £4, free before 9pm.

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Iluvlive DJ Twin B spins hip-hop, grime, reggae and R‘n’B, plus Femfel, Sinead Harnett, Dirty Goods, Duke, Marger and Aaron Delahunty perform live, with host Ras Kwame. Hoxton Square Bar And Kitchen, Hoxton Sq, N1 6NU (020 7613 0709). 7pmmidnight. £10, guestlist £7, adv £5.

Popcorn Jonesey, Van Trip London, Jamie Hammond, Harvey Adam, Terry T Rex and David Hancock spin dance, electro, R‘n’B, pop and hip-hop. Heaven, Charing Cross Arches, Villiers St, WC2N 6NG. 11pm5.30am. £8, guestlist free.

RODA DE SAMBA Guanabara, September 21. £5 after 9pm Samba night at Brazilian club Guanabara welcomes special guest multiinstrumentalist and onetime Manu Chao collaborator Ulisses Bezerra.

WC2B 5PW

TUESDAY 13 Bootcamp Rob C and Scewpulous play techno and house. Eagle, Kennington Ln, SE11 5QY (020 7793 0903).

9pm-2am. £3, mems £2 before 10pm.

Forca Brasil DJ Fred spins salsa, samba and Latin tunes, plus live bands. Salsa!, Charing Cross Rd, WC2H 0JG (020 7379 3277). 6pm-2am, last adm 1am. £4, free before 9pm.

Latino Sound DJ Kirisis and CLI play R‘n’B, hip-hop and dance.

Sound, Leicester Sq, WC2H 7NA (0333 240 1010). 9pm-late. £5-£10.

OMFG! DJs Lady Lloyd, Joshyou Are and Niyi Maximus Crown play pop, disco and electro, with host Queen B Munroe Bergdorf. The Shadow Lounge, Brewer St, W1F 0RF (020 7287 7988).

10pm-3am. £5, free before 11pm.

White Heat DJs Matty, Olly and Marcus provide electro, techno and indie, plus Miracle Fortress and Brasstronaut perform live. Madame Jojo’s, Brewer St, W1F 0SE (020 7734 3040).

8pm-3am. £6, adv £4 & £5.

WEDNESDAY 14 Cheapskates Old school hip-hop, electro and disco courtesy of DJ Downfall.

Moonlighting, Greek St, W1D 4DR (020 7437 5782/cc 020 7287 3727).

9pm-3am. £6, NUS £5, w/flyer £4.

Dance Nights Princess Karina and DJ Gary Baldi spin dance hits. EC3 Live, Crosswall, EC3N 2JY (020 7488 1766). 11.30pm-3am. £10.

Diffrent Strokes Manny Norte, Phatcatz, Maintain, CJ I DJ, Lonyo and MOBO Award winner and Kiss FM DJ Manny Norte play neo soul, 1980s pop, US house and R‘n’B. Cherryjam, Porchester Rd, W2 6ET (020 7727 9950).

9pm-2am. £10, £5 before 11pm.

Guanabara Samba School Samba, Afrobeat, pop, house and nu disco, plus Capoeira masterclasses, break dancers, Brazilian street food and cocktail making. Guanabara, Parker St, WC2B 5PW (020 7242 8600).

5pm-late. £5, free before 9pm.

N*A*S*I*N SoniX, Brahim and Punk Gareth play punk, rock, metal and ska. The Borderline, Orange Yard, Manette St, W1D 4JB (0870 060 3777/ cc 0871 231 0842). 11pm-3am. £5, w/flyer £4, NUS £3, mems £2.

Push It Good DJ TBX spins old skool hip-hop, funk, soul and dancehall. The Silver Bullet, Station Place, N4 2DH. 10pm-3am. £3.

FRIDAY 16

SATURDAY 17

Bluetones Farewell Tour After Party Mark Morris plays a Britpop to modern day indie DJ set, plus live music from The Final Few, The Harlots and Honey Dog. Ginglik, Shepherd’s Bush Green, W12 8PH (020 8749 2310).

7pm-4am. £10, £5 before 7.30pm.

Absent Kelly Presents Carl Barat & Didz Hammond, Coi, Pointed Finger, The Theme, Fallen Breake and The Trade play indie and electro DJ sets, plus The Tunics perform live. Jamm, Brixton Rd, SW9 6LH (020 7346 8920/ cc 020 7274 5537). 7pm-3am. £10.

Cellardoor DJ Farouk spins Latin, funk and soul. Gigalum, Cavendish Parade, Clapham Common South Side, SW4 9DW (020 8772 0303). 7pm-late. Free.

Bootylicious R‘n’B, hip-hop, soca and dancehall from DJs Philly and Cartel Brown. Club Colosseum, Nine Elms Ln, SW8 5NQ (020 7720 3609).

11pm-5.30am. £13, £10 before 12midnight, mems £8 before 1am, NUS £7, mems/NUS £6 before 12midnight.

Euphoria Angel Kiss, Oliver MARSH, Intro, Marc Phill, MEF and DJ AD play electro, house, techno, pop, dance and R‘n’B. Euphoriom, High St, W3 6NG (0208 993 2915).

9pm-late. £10, ladies free before 11pm.

Diamond Noir Resident DJs spin R‘n’B, 1990s soul, hip-hop and club classics. Tamarai, Drury Ln, WC2B 5PG (020 7831 9399). 10pm-3am. £20, guestlist gents £15, gents £10 before midnight, guestlist ladies £10.

Balada House DJ Jose Luis plays house, funk and Latin beats, plus a live percussionist. Guanabara, Parker St, WC2B 5PW (020 7242 8600).

7pm-2.30am. £5, free before 9pm.

Fabriclive In room one Toddla T, Scratch Perverts & AD, MJ Cole and Foamo spin drum ‘n’ bass and dubstep, in room two Friction, Icicle, Doc Scott, Rockwell, Storm, Lynx and DRS play drum ‘n’ bass and jungle. Fabric, Charterhouse St, EC1M 6HJ (020 7336 8898).

10pm-6am. £16, adv £15, NUS £10, £7 after 3am, £20 inc CD.

C’est La Vie DJ Colin Francis plays house and commercial dance classics. Embassy, Old Burlington St, W1S 3AP (020 7851 0956). 10pm3am. £20, ladies free before 11.30pm.

Marketing Music Tim Paris and Prins Thomas play house and techno. East Village, Great Eastern St, EC2A 3HX (020 7739 5173).

10pm-3.30am. £10, adv £8.

Glitz & Glamour Dusty O and James Barr play house, R‘n’B and dance. The Shadow Lounge, Brewer St, W1F 0RF (020 7287 7988).

10pm-3am. £5, free before 11pm.

Official Beirut Afterparty Beirut (DJ Set) and Molotov Jukebox play indie, folk and electro. Jamm, Brixton Rd, SW9 6LH (020 7346 8920/ cc 020 7274 5537). 8pm-5am. £10.

Point Blank Resident DJs Marc, Masco and Lil Danny spin rock ‘n’ roll, garage, Northern Soul and ska. Charlie Wright’s International Bar, Pitfield St, N1 6EN. 9pm-4am. £5.

One Kiss DJs Krisis and Melody Kane spin house, dance anthems and commercial dance. One, Leicester Sq, WC2H 7NA (0207 0437 0453).

10pm-3am. £10, £5 before 11pm, ladies free before 11.30pm.

QueerlyOut DJ Robby D spins commercial dance, pop and R‘n’B. Escape Bar, Brewer St, W1F 0SU (020 7734 3040).

9pm-3am. £5, mems £3.

Phenomenal Fridays Stevie C plays commercial chart, party anthems and pop on the ground floor, while Rob Clarke provides funky house in the basement, plus DJs supply R‘n’B in VIP. Zoo Bar, Bear St, WC2H 7AQ (020 7839 4188). 4pm-3.30am. £10, guestlist free before 11pm.

guanabara.co.uk

Covent Garden

THURSDAY 15

Smile The resident DJs spin house anthems. Thirst, Greek St, W1D 3DR. 5pm-3am. £5, free before 10pm.

Roller Disco Funk and disco for a wheeled audience. Renaissance Rooms, opposite Arch 8, Arches, Miles St, SW8 1RZ (0844 736 5375).

8pm-midnight. £10, £7.50 skate hire.

XXL Mid Week House and pop courtesy of resident DJs Joe Egg and Alex Logan. Arcadia, Southwark St, SE1 1RU. 10pm-3am. £3, mems free.

Vibe DJs on rotation including Anas, Spider, Prezedent, Ice, Commander B, Pioneer and DJ L. Moonlighting, Greek St, W1D 4DR. 10pm-3am. £7, £5 before midnight, ladies £5.

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Silence Presents Soul Capsule, Maayan Nidam and Silent Collective supply house, soul and techno, with VJ Chris White.

The City Arts & Music Project, City Rd, EC1Y 2BJ (020 7253 2443).

10pm-7am. £11.25, concs £9.

Fabric Terry Francis, Pedro, Mumu, Clive Henry, Lee Rands and Tale Of Us spin tech-house, house and techno, plus live performances from Mathew Jonson and Shackleton. Fabric, Charterhouse St, EC1M 6HJ (020 7336 8898).

11pm-8am. £19, adv £18, NUS £10, £9 after 4am, £23 inc CD. Night Owl Tim Mason, Dale Hooks, Dave Lane, Muzz Khan, Filth Fanatics, Seeki G & Rom 1, Troy Thomson and George Smeddles play house. Pacha, Terminus Place, SW1V 1JR (0845 371 4489).

11pm-late. £20, adv £15.

We Are One DJs Krisis and DJ Flex spin house, mash-ups, electro, dance, R‘n’B, hip-hop and dance. One, Leicester Sq, WC2H 7NA (020 7437 0453). 10pm-3am. £10, £5 before 11pm, ladies free before 11.30pm.

SUNDAY 18 Can’t Stop Won’t Stop Mark Radford, Maxwell Van Morrison and Edwards Lee spin house and techno. Club Aquarium, Old St, EC1V 9DD (020 7251 6136). £15, £10 before 12midnight, ladies £10, ladies free before 12midnight.

Hula Boogie Miss Aloha and the Reverend Boogie provide hits from the 1930s to the 1950s. South London Pacific, Kennington Rd, SE11 4LD (020 7820 9189). 7pm-1am. £7.

In The Box DJs Enzo Gomes, Manjit, Clubholic, Kid K and Beppe Gallo play dance and electro.

Club 414, Coldharbour Ln, SW9 8LF (020 7924 9322). 7pm-1am. £10, £5 before 9pm, ladies free before 9pm.

Photos: Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

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MONDAY 12 B Dolan, Dan Le Sac, Buddy Peace Politicised hip-hop from the American rapper. The City Arts & Music Project, City Rd, EC1Y 2BJ (020 7253 2443). £10.

The Silver Seas, Charlene Soraia Folk-rock from the Nashville-based four-piece. O2 Academy Islington, Parkfield St, N1 0PS (020 7288 4400/ cc 0844 477 2000). £12.50.

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Tav Falco’s Panther Burns Garage rock ‘n’ roll with a psychedelic twist by the Memphis-based band. 100 Club, Oxford St, W1D 1LL (020 7636 0933). £12.50.

Duke Special A solo acoustic set from the pop-vaudevillian, with profits raised donated to Wilton’s Building Appeal. Wilton’s Music Hall, Graces Alley, off Ensign St, E1 8JB (020 7702 2789). £15.

London African Music Festival: Sona Jobarteh, Bumi Thomas World and Griot music by the African singer and Kora virtuoso. The Bloomsbury Theatre, Gordon St, WC1H 0AH (020 7388 8822). £15, concs £12.50.

Man Man, La Shark Alt blues and folk-rock from the Philadelphiabased outfit. Cargo, Rivington St, EC2A 3AY (020 7739 3440). £11.

Jamie Parker Popular showtunes from the stage performer.

The Pheasantry, Kings Rd, SW3 4UT (020 7351 5031). £25.

Martin Sexton Pop-rock by the Massachusetts-based singer-songwriter. The Borderline, Orange Yard, Manette St, W1D 4JB (0870 060 3777/ cc 0871 231 0842). £17.50.

TUESDAY 13 BettySoo, Doug Cox Americana and folk-rock by the Austinbased singer-songwriter.

The Green Note Cafe, Parkway, NW1 7AN (020 7485 9899). £8.

Otis Gibbs, KC McKanzie Americana and folk singersongwriter from Wanamaker, Indiana. The Slaughtered Lamb, Great Sutton St, EC1V 0DX (020 7253 1516). £12, adv £10.

Handsome Furs People The Montreal-based duo blends electronica and indie. Hoxton Square Bar And Kitchen, Hoxton Sq, N1 6NU (020 7613 0709). £11.

Gary Albert Hughes, Ben VivianJones Show tunes, film songs and easy listening by the vocalist.

Canal Cafe Theatre, Bridge House Pub, Delamere Terrace, W2 6ND (020 7289 6054). £12, concs £10.

The Jezabels The Sydney-based four-piece performs soaring indie-rock. XOYO, Cowper St, EC2A 4AP (020 7729 5959). £8.

Katzenjammer, The Great Malarkey, Emmanuella Grace Pop-folk by the Oslo-based group.

Monto Water Rats, Gray’s Inn Rd, WC1X 8BZ (020 7837 4412). £7.

Photos: TNT

Caroline Nin: Songs And Stories Of The Paris Lido The cabaret vocalist performs songs by Serge Gainsbourg, Ebb and Kander, Piazzolla, Grace Jones and Kurt Weill. With pianist Clifford Slapper. Soho Theatre, Dean St, W1D 3NE (020 7478 0100). £10.

Chris Thile & Michael Daves Bluegrass by the mandolin and guitar duo. The Borderline, Orange Yard, Manette St, W1D 4JB (0870 060 3777/ cc 0871 231 0842). £10.

FRIDAY 16 Big Joe Louis And His Blues Kings The blues veteran performs with his band. Boisdale’s Of Canary Wharf, Cabot Hall, E14 4QT (020 7715 5818). £5-£20.

GOTYE KCLSU, November 1. £12 Dubbed the Aussie Beck for his sampledelic concoctions, Wally De Backer returns to London to play cuts from his new album, Making Mirrors.

Surrey Street, WC2R 2NS

WEDNESDAY 14 The Animals And Friends With Steve Cropper Original members of the Newcastlebased band play blues-rock with the American R‘n’B guitarist.

Millfield Arts Centre, Silver St, N18 1PJ (020 8807 6680). £21.

Peter Bruntnell Rootsy rock from the Devon-based musician.

The Borderline, Orange Yard, Manette St, W1D 4JB (0870 060 3777/ cc 0871 231 0842). £10.

Crystal Fighters The Londonbased outfit blends Basque folk with alternative dance and indie. O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, Shepherd’s Bush Green, W12 8TT (020 8354 3300/ cc 0844 477 2000). £12.50.

The Hep Chaps, Ruby And The Vines Retro swing from the London-based four-piece.

Boisdale’s Of Canary Wharf, Cabot Hall, E14 4QT (020 7715 5818). £12.

Jefre Cantu Ledesma & Paul Clipson The San Francisco basedartist and musician unites with the film-maker for an ambient experimental audio-visual performance. Cafe Oto, Ashwin St, E8 3DL (020 7923 1231). £8, adv £7.

London African Music Festival: Grupo Lokito The ensemble fuses Congolese dance rhythms and Latin music. Stratford Circus, Theatre Sq, E15 1BX (0844 357 2625). £12.50, concs £10.

Kendra McMillan Showtunes and easy listening music by the singer.

Canal Cafe Theatre, Bridge House Pub, Delamere Terrace, W2 6ND (020 7289 6054). £12, concs £10.

Richie Milton & The Lowdown Upbeat swing and R‘n’B septet.

Dover St Restaurant And Bar, Dover St, W1S 4LQ (020 7629 9813). £8, free before 10pm.

Oysterband And June Tabor The veteran outfit and singer reunite to perform folk from their album Ragged Kingdom, a follow-up to their 1990 release Freedom And Rain. Southbank Centre, Belvedere Rd, SE1 8XX (020 7960 4200/ cc 0844 875 0073). £20, concs £10.

seetickets.com

Temple

Quimantu Chilean musician and composer Mauricio Venegas-Astorga leads his outfit in fusing traditional, folk, world and classical music.

Southbank Centre, Belvedere Rd, SE1 8XX (020 7960 4200/ cc 0844 875 0073). £15, concs £7.50.

THURSDAY 15 Constantine Andrews, Emma Sewell And Drew Millar The three performers sing popular showtunes.

Canal Cafe Theatre, Bridge House Pub, Delamere Terrace, W2 6ND (020 7289 6054). £12, concs £10.

G Love Rootsy blues and Americana from the Philadelphiabased singer-songwriter.

Union Chapel, Compton Terrace, N1 2UN (020 7226 1686). £17.

Gus Gus, Reptile And Retard The Iceland-based outfit plays techno and soul. 93 Feet East, Brick Ln, E1 6RU (020 7770 6006). £20, adv £15.

Howling Bells Commercial indiepop by the London-based group.

Electric Ballroom, Camden High St, NW1 8QP (020 7485 9006). £12.

Aynsley Lister Contemporary blues from the guitarist. Half Moon, Putney, Lower Richmond Rd, SW15 1EU (020 8780 9383). £12.

London African Music Festival: Naija Rhythms Orchestra, Bukky Leo, Ayinke Martins, Diya Ojo Naija dance music by the Nigerian group. Stratford Circus, Theatre Sq, E15 1BX (0844 357 2625). £12.50, concs £10.

The Magnets A capella and beatboxing from the six-piece. Leicester Square Theatre, Leicester Place, WC2H 7BX (0844 873 3433). £20.

James Morton Funk, soul, gospel and blues from the saxophonist.

The Troubadour, Old Brompton Rd, SW5 9JA (020 7370 1434). £30 & £45.

Mike Scott Contemporary folk by the singer-songwriter and Waterboys leader.

Southbank Centre, Belvedere Rd, SE1 8XX (020 7960 4200/ cc 0844 875 0073). £17.50.

SATURDAY 17 Dervish The band plays energetic Irish folk. Irish Cultural Centre, Blacks Rd, W6 9DT (020 8563 8232). £15, concs £12.

Emmy The Great Contemporary acoustic folk from the Londonbased singer-songwriter. Cecil Sharp House, Regents Park Rd, NW1 7AY (020 7485 2206). £15.

Empire State R‘n’B and soul outfit. Dover St Restaurant And Bar, Dover St, W1S 4LQ (020 7629 9813). £15, diners free before 10pm.

The Bluetones, Pugwash The Hounslow-based indie and Britpop group plays a career-spanning set for its final tour. O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, Shepherd’s Bush Green, W12 8TT (020 8354 3300/ cc 0844 477 2000). £18.

London African Music Festival: Funmi Olawumi The leader of the Yoruba Women Choir performs a funky blend of Afrobeat, Nigerian faaji music, juju and fuji rhythms with colleagues, in support of her album Funmi Ti De. Southbank Centre, Belvedere Rd, SE1 8XX (020 7960 4200/cc 0844 875 0073). £17.50, concs £13.75.

Rebecca Cole, Adam Bayjou And Benjamin James The three performers sing popular showtunes. Canal Cafe Theatre, Bridge House Pub, Delamere Terrace, W2 6ND (020 7289 6054). £12, concs £10.

London African Music Festival: The Vocal Ensemble Of Africa Harmony-based world music from a mixed group of Africans.

Southbank Centre, Belvedere Rd, SE1 8XX (020 7960 4200/ cc 0844 875 0073). £15, concs £7.50.

Funkification Funk, soul and disco eight-piece. Dover St Restaurant And Bar, Dover St, W1S 4LQ (020 7629 9813). £15, diners free before 10pm.

Gary Numan, Jayce Lewis Electronica from the veteran songsmith and producer. O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, Shepherd’s Bush Green, W12 8TT (020 8354 3300/ cc 0844 477 2000). £25.

London African Music Festival: Tiken Jah Fakoly The singersongwriter from the Ivory Coast plays a soulful, impassioned blend of reggae and West African music in support of his album African Revolution. Southbank Centre, Belvedere Rd, SE1 8XX (020 7960 4200/cc 0844 875 0073). £22.50, concs £11.25.

London African Music Festival: Iness Mezel The vocalist performs a soulful fusion of French and North African folk, funk and blues, in support of her album Beyond The Trance. Southbank Centre, Belvedere Rd, SE1 8XX (020 7960 4200/cc 0844 875 0073). £17.50, concs £8.75.

Manteca, Martha Acosta Latin and salsa from the Colombian-based singer and band. 606 Club, Lots Rd, SW10 0QD (020 7352 5953). £12.

Omar Soul from the veteran singer-songwriter. The Hideaway, Stanthorpe Rd, SW16 2ED (020 8835 7070). £15.

Stateless With The Balanescu Quartet, Laura J Martin The electronic alt rock combo from Leeds performs a semi acoustic set with the Romanian violinist and his avant-garde ensemble.

Union Chapel, Compton Terrace, N1 2UN (020 7226 1686). £13.50.

Brian Wilson The rock luminary performs compositions by George and Ira Gershwin as well as his own solo material and Beach Boys favourites. Southbank Centre, Belvedere Rd, SE1 8XX (020 7960 4200/ cc 0844 875 0073). £35-£55.

Charlie Wilson Soul and R‘n’B from the veteran singer and former member of 1980s group, The Gap Band. IndigO2, Peninsula Sq, SE10 0DX (0871 220 0260). £25-£50.

Kate Robbins Mainstream jazz and soul singer. The Pheasantry, Kings Rd, SW3 4UT (020 7351 5031). £15.

Sister Suicide Electro-rock from the London-based duo.

Fiddler’s Elbow, Malden Rd, NW5 3HS (020 7485 3269). £10.

Alka Yagnik Hindi pop from the Kolkata-born playback singer.

HMV Apollo, Queen Caroline St, W6 9QH (0844 844 4748). £25-£65.

Z’EV, Gnod Experimental music with world influences by the catacoustic percussionist.

The Windmill, Blenheim Gardens, SW2 5BZ (020 8671 0700). £12, adv £10.

SUNDAY 18 London African Music Festival: Orchestre National De Barbes The Paris-based Arabic outfit plays a fusion of rai, rock, Gnawa and world grooves in support of its album Rendez-Vous Barbes.

Southbank Centre, Belvedere Rd, SE1 8XX (020 7960 4200/cc 0844 875 0073). £22.50, concs £11.25.

Joe Longthorne The Hull-born, Blackpool-based vocalist performs pop, easy listening ballads and impersonations. Leicester Square Theatre, Leicester Place, WC2H 7BX (0844 873 3433). £30-£55.

Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy The three-piece performs its own compositions from Indian films. Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, SW7 2AP (0845 401 5045). £10-£60.

Freddie McGregor Reggae from the Jamaican singersongwriter. Hackney Empire, Mare St, E8 1EJ (020 8985 2424). £25-£29.

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In bloom: (l-r) Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl backstage before their headlining performance at The Astoria, London, on Nov 5, 1991

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Nevermind the success Twenty years after the release of Nirvana's hugely influential second album, a London exhibition pays homage to its influence WORDS JAHN VANNISSELROY

For an album that its main creator didn't really like, Nirvana's 1991 release, Nevermind, did pretty damn well.

For Kurt Cobain, probably too well. Ultimately selling more than 30 million copies worldwide, it unwittingly catapulted him and his two goofball bandmates – Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl – into a world of international celebrity they weren't sure they wanted, and provided Cobain enough money to feed the demons of his childhood and chronic stomach pain with heroin. Cobain, though, was highly critical of Nevermind; its blend of anguished yelping, grating guitars, melodic hooks and rock-solid drumming might have caught on with the masses and launched the media-driven 'grunge' phenomenon, but Cobain felt its slick production and somewhat commercial sound was at odds with the independent punk rock scene of which he was still very much a part.

For all his protests about its success – "I'm embarrassed by it now. It's closer to a Mötley Crüe record than it is a punk rock record" – to his issues with the macho fans the album attracted, Nevermind is still an album being listened to today. In fact, so strong is its legacy that, to celebrate this month's 20th anniversary of its release, a special exhibition, In Bloom: The Nirvana Nevermind Exhibition at The Loading Bay Gallery at Brick Lane, will be held to mark it.

Featuring rare and treasured artefacts, including rarely seen photographs, lyrics, tour posters, fan memorabilia and interactive displays, it will also showcase a replica stage, complete with instruments, from Nirvana's 1991 Halloween concert at Seattle's Paramount Theatre. It's hard to think what Cobain, who killed himself with a shotgun blast to the head in 1994 aged 27, would have made of it all. One thing's for sure though, when he wrote Nevermind, he never realised just how his life dramatically his life would change.

Filmmaker David Markey was on tour in Europe with Nirvana and Sonic Youth in 1991, filming what was to become The Year Punk Broke, in the months before Nevermind's explosion. He confirms no one on tour had an inkling of the success to follow, especially Nirvana themselves. "I mean, knocking Michael Jackson from the top of the charts – you would have been a bit crazy to predict that," Markey says. "But something was clearly in the air, and we all felt it. It was the first and last time something like this has happened on such a mass-cultural scale. The one

pop-culture Beatles moment for me, my friends and peers, and like-minded music fans. I have a theory about great records, and it has to do with the first three songs and the way they play together. NWA's Straight Out Of Compton had the same thing going for it. Those first three songs ... damn, they got me, hook, line, and sinker, and I was apparently not alone.

“

Something was in the air; we all felt it

”

"There have been many great records since, but none of which the whole world agreed on. At least not in the same way. That was the deal with Nevermind, anyone could get to it, and did."

London-based journalist and author Andrew Mueller, who was working for Melody Maker when Nevermind broke, agrees.

"With Nevermind, Nirvana was a band that a lot people ››

Nevermind lives on TNTMAGAZINE.COM

23

Punk in drublic: Kurt Cobain playing at The Astoria, 1991

were relieved to find out they liked," he says. "A lot of people who would have found listening to underground, alternative rock kind of difficult or unpalatable all of as sudden just thought, 'hey I actually like this. I’m one of the cool kids'."

Mueller, who often travelled to Seattle in the Nineties to report on its exploding alt-rock music scene, believes no album has come close to Nirvana's impact since. And, he says, that’s part of its enduring appeal. "This was one of the last major hits under the old model of the music business, under the old model of popular culture," Mueller says. "It’s very, very difficult for one band or artist to completely dominate the centre stage like Nirvana did – there’s too much going on. There’s too many other ways of covering it.

"Twenty years ago there was almost no music on TV,

24

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In Bloom: The Nirvana Nevermind Exhibition, Sept 13-25.

Loading Bay Gallery, Brick Lane, E1 6QL nirvanaexhibition.com Liverpool St. Also see wegotpowerfilms.com; arkrecordings.com

Photos: Tony Mottram / IconicPix; Getty

Nevermind: anyone could get it, and did

there were really only half a dozen music magazines between Britain and America with any influence or power to accomplish anything. If you got into the position where you dominated those, then you really really dominated. And, with Nevermind, Nirvana were absolutely huge in a way that is very difficult for a band to become today."

British reggae artist Little Roy has just released Battle For Seattle, an album of Nirvana songs covered in a reggae style.

That the album instantly shot to number one on both the iTunes and Amazon charts is testament to the band's lasting appeal. Roy admits he wasn't the biggest Nirvana fan before deconstructing the songs, slowing them and putting an offbeat behind them. However, during the process he realised just how good a songwriter Kurt Cobain was.

"The songs, they have great melodies. You hear them and your ear would perk to them. I'm a fan now. Going inside his music, knowing the lyrics: his songs are commanding," he says.

"They are great fun to play. Some songs the audience seem to get in a trance when they are singing them."

That's a sentiment that Charles R Cross, who wrote Cobain's biography, Heavier Than Heaven, echoes. He puts Nevermind's lasting impact down to the quality of the late singer's lyrics more than anything else. "Because Cobain's songs were so full of emotion, suddenly it became okay for a songwriter to tackle alienation, divorce, and addiction within the framework of metaphorical lyrics," he says.

And, he adds, Nevermind also seems to represent the end of an era. "After 1991, music fractured into so many different genres – there wasn't just hip hop, but drum and bass, deep bass, trance, and so on – that Nevermind has taken on an even more important place in music. It may be the last great rock record that gained mass appeal and critical acclaim. And Cobain, always charismatic, contradictory, and curmudgeonly, might be the last great rock star." ❚

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Alexis Houston As if stepping out of big sis Whitney’s shadow wasn’t hard enough, the singer has had to face vicious rumours too INTERVIEW ALISON GRINTER

You’re 26 years old and putting out your first album. Why have we not heard from you before?

I’ve just worked behind the scenes, writing and producing. I’ve done lots of stuff for television, like ads and jingles. Until three years ago, I really felt the best place for me was writing for other people. It was only on the insistence of the former chairman of Sony [Paul Russell] that I should put out an album and I said: “When I have something to say, I will.”

So what’s the album about?

It’s a musical autobiography. It basically talks about love in its various forms and how it has impacted on my life. Everything from romantic love, love gone wrong; loss of love; and coming to terms with loving oneself.

Does writing jingles give you a good grounding in music?

Oh yeah. First of all it keeps you on your toes.

You have to be quick, you have to be able to express a whole lot of emotion in a few seconds.

It teaches you to be quite disciplined. And it’s a lucrative profession. It’s one of those jobs where you can do very well and still remain anonymous.

For a long time that worked very well for me.

Why was remaining anonymous good?

I’m a very private person and getting up in front of people and having them assess what I do in a public realm didn’t come easily for me. But it’s testament to how much I love music and this business that I can look fear in the face and move forward.

Photos: TNT

I’m surprised you’re so shy about performing because your press release says you’ve been “delighting audiences since you were six” in church choirs.

But you don’t really think of that as performing.

You’re just doing what your heart and soul tells you to do. Even if you hit a bad note you’re surrounded by love in church.

You’re Whitney Houston’s half sister through your father. Did you have much to do with her growing up?

Not really – but then there’s a 20-year difference between the two of us. I guess, apart from paths

And no, she didn’t used to be a bloke... crossing for various family functions, we live very different lives.

There are all these rumours online that you had a sex change and that your real name is Wellington Houston. You don’t seem to have refuted it. So is it true?

[Laughs] No, it’s not. Those things that have been printed have been so hurtful, and I’m not gonna lie and say I’m impervious to these sorts of things. But I’ve come into this business and I’ve got a job to do. At least they’re talking about me on some level, but I guess I have my work cut out for me in terms of letting people know who I am.

You sued over false claims that you’d had an affair with US TV host Matt Lauer – is that right?

I had to make some sort of a statement about that because it was one of the first allegations that came out. I was trying to finish an album on my label and I get a call from my management who say: “Hey, have you seen this?” And within a matter of hours my home is surrounded by paparazzi. Anyone would think I was giving refuge to Britney Spears or something.

So why not sue over the Wellington Houston allegations?

What I learnt from the [Matt Lauer] situation was that you can make a statement and deny

things and some of them will go away but the fall out from that was that people said I was protesting too much so there must be some truth to it, or the reason I’m not admitting to this alleged affair is because I probably got paid off to keep my mouth shut. And they also said I was using the scandal to promote my music. It’s very hard. It goes beyond schoolyard bullying when the entire world is looking at you.

Why can’t Whitney just come out and say “all that stuff about Alexis being a man called Wellington is bogus”?

I think Whitney has got enough on her plate to deal with her own life and her own career. You know, I’m a big girl surrounded by family who love and support me. I wouldn’t be here doing this if I didn’t think I was capable. I don’t think God would ever put anything on my shoulders that I can’t handle.

How is Whitney these days – is she well?

I hear from people around who’ve seen her and work with her that she is doing her own thing day by day. But I’m really not in a position to comment on what’s happening with her cos I really don’t know her personally.

Alexis’s debut album Speak Love/Life Lessons is out now

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Lester was determined to win the stare-out competition

TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY FILM review by Alison Grinter STARRING: Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch | 15 | 127mins

I DON’T KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT FILM STARRING: Sarah Jessica Parker, Pierce Brosnan | 12A |90mins

Brilliant and funny as Carrie in the Sex In The City TV series, Sarah Jessica Parker is wasted on the big screen, which, more often than not sees her pitching up in woeful comedies – the SATC movies included. Might this flick be an exception? Based on Allison Pearsons’s novel, Parker plays Kate Reddy, a woman juggling kids, a highflying career and a hubby. A comedy for the “have-it-all” generation.

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Slow-burn TV in the shape of The Wire and Boardwalk Empire has provided a welcome antidote to Hollywood’s reluctance to create dense, complex dramas, so it’s heartening to see that the small-screen’s influence is finally seeping into cinema. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – about retired superspy George Smiley brought back into the “firm” to root out a Soviet agent – is a case in point.

Swedish director Tomas Alfredson brings a chilly detachment to the action in this absorbing drama that is punctuated by bouts of sadistic, ultra-real violence.

Gary Oldman plays top spook George Smiley with a preternatural stillness that is unnerving. But there’s a lot going on behind his dull, weary eyes as he grapples with the moral conundrums thrown up by the demands of his job to safeguard Britain’s security against the Russians. Tom Hardy and Benedict Cumberbatch put in equally riveting performances as agents chasing their tails.

The main problem with the film is that the labyrinthine narrative of John Le Carre’s source novel can barely be contained within its two hours of running time.

Despite the film’s snail pace, the plot points come thick and fast, barely allowing the viewer time to process them. But as a study of the dissembling and double dealing that characterises the murky underworld of intelligence gathering, TTSS is superlative. It may be set in the 1970s, during the Cold War, but the recent, shocking revelations that M16 agents allegedly shopped dissidents of Gaddafi’s brutal regime to the despot himself, makes this film feel all the more immediate.

GOOD FOR: Lovers of serious, slow-burn cinema that commands your full attention.

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LEE EVANS: ROADRUNNER

GIGGLE!

COMEDY

Lee Evans is unlike any other stand-up around today. His physicality allows him to inhabit sketches and jokes, elevating his observational humour into something far more theatrical than that of his peers. The Billericay chap’s latest London show is part of a 50-date tour.

Ha ha!

Wembley Arena Empire Way, HA9 ODH. Sep 14-19. £33. wembleyarena.co.uk Wembley Park

DEGAS AND THE BALLET

WITTENBERG

EXHIBITION

THEATRE

This blockbuster, devoted entirely to French Impressionist Edgar Degas’ vivid studies of ballet dancers, thankfully draws a line under summer’s silly season. The show is the first to explore the development of modern film and photography alongside Degas’ own preoccupation with movement, considered radical for the late 1800s.

David Davalos’s comedy takes us back to Germany in 1517 where student Hamlet comes under the conflicting influences of Sean Campion’s charismatic Dr Faustus, and his unlikely friend and ideological sparring partner, the theologian Martin Luther. Christopher Haydon’s lively direction keeps it afloat. LK

Royal Academy Burlington House, W1 OBD. Until Dec 11. £14 royalacademy.org.uk Piccadilly

Gate Notting Hill Gate, W11 3HQ. Until Oct 1. £10+ gatetheatre.co.uk com Sloane Sq

BARRY HILTON How do you deal with hecklers?

When I was working in a comedy club in Melbourne and announced I was from South Africa, three drunk locals said “so what” and I said: “Mate, you don’t scare me, I’m from Johannesburg, we go to Tripoli for a bit of peace and quiet.”

Photos: Stephen Cummiskey; Getty

Have you ever died on stage?

Yes. It was so scary. You are dying, you can see the (spot)light, but you are still alive. And the voices that you hear, are telling you to go away – but not in a polite way.

BIG FAT GYPSY GANGSTER

THE FAITH MACHINE

FILM

THEATRE

STARRING: Ricky Grover | 15 | 91mins

Alexi Kaye Campbell’s intelligent new play addresses too many heartfelt topics. American ad man Tom (Kyle Soller – one to watch) chooses career over conscience and reaps the financial rewards, while his idealistic English lover follows in the footsteps of her bishop father whose championing of gay rights costs him dear. LK

Counting Ray Winstone among his fans, it’s about time Ricky Grover’s alter-ego Bulla got his own feature-length vehicle. Newly released from prison, Bulla – played by Grover again – attempts to claw back his crime empire. With a stellar comedic cast including Omid DJalili and Peter Capaldi, this should be a laff-a-minute outing.

On General Release

Royal Court Theatre Sloane Sq, SW1W 8AS. Until Oct 1. £10-£28. royalcourttheatre.com Sloane Square

Who was your nemesis at school?

My English teacher who hated the fact that I was an immigrant from England. She thought I shouldn’t get bad marks in English. She would say: “You’re not funny, boy, and you will never make a living by trying to be funny – learn English so you can make a living.” When I’m in Cape Town I send her tickets to my shows … but she never comes.

Ever been attacked by an animal? When I was younger, a python tried to strangle me every morning; I think it’s hibernating now.

Clapham Grand, SW11 1TT, Sep 22, £20 Clapham Junction claphamgrand.com

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SPARETIME

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Monkey Island: Special Edition Collection

CD

X360

Live music from San Francisco performances after the release of Electric Ladyland. £27.47 tesco.com

The addictive puzzle game is back in high-definition. £16.99 base.com

Men Of War: Vietnam Laura Marling: A Creature I Don’t Know

PC-DVD

Join a team of elite and special ops soldiers to shoot up Nam from your sofa. £24.99 latestchoice.com

CD

The latest helping of beautiful melodies from the folkie songstress. £8.99 amazon.co.uk

iProgress iPhone

Reach your goals and give your life a boost – it’s motivation in an app. £1.99 itunes.apple.com

Elizabeth Carter: The Good Food Guide 2012 Book

A guide to the UK’s best restaurants, according to independent foodie gurus. £11.55 whsmith.co.uk

Bloody Bunnies iOS Universal

Hop on other bunnies’ heads – played by your friends – in cute or bloody mode.

Free itunes.apple.com

Adam MacQueen: Private Eye: The First 50 years Book

Waterproof iMusic Bag

The highs and lows of Private Eye so far, as the satrical institution turns 50. £17.49 waterstones.com

Mp3 players

Listen to your tunes while swimming, showering or snorkelling. £12.50 iwantoneofthose.com

Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

GorillaMobile Yogi

DVD

iPad 2

Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz in the latest installment of pirate fun and games. £12.00 amazon.co.uk

Insidious DVD

A family moves into a new home, then a classic poltergeist fright-fest ensues. £8.99 play.com

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App of the Week TGI Friday’s Cocktail Genius Facebook

Find your perfect cocktail, create recipes to match your friends’ personalities and get a voucher for a £2.99 cocktail at TGI Friday’s.

Free apps.facebook.com/tgifridaysshaker

Photos: TNT

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This iPad stand has legs you can bend around stuff – a brilliant travel accessory. £34.95 joby.com

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Beige mac Keep the rain off this autumn in true Mod style with this beige trenchcoat.

Sixties shift This boyish dress really cuts the mustard. Wear with brogues to be a real androgyne or with heels to keep it feminine.

Blazer, shirt and tie Sharp jackets are what Mods do best – teamed with a fully buttoned shirt and (optional) dapper tie.

asda.com

runwayroute.com

next.co.uk

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MALLWATCH WESTFIELD STRATFORD CITY

The biggest mega-mall in Europe finally hits London this week, with 1.9 million square feet of shops, eateries and entertainment. The £1.45bn Westfield Stratford City will also house three hotels, a casino, and a 17-screen cinema. We bet you could spend days in there, getting lost somewhere between Primark and Mexican restaurant Wahaca while you’re midway through a game at the mall’s very own branch of All Star Lanes bowling alley. But you really should focus on the shopping – there are 300 shops, including all the usual department stores such as M&S and John Lewis, as well as designer brands Hugo Boss and Folli Follie and high street favourites Topshop, Schuh, Foyles and L’Occitane. After that mammoth trek, reward yourself with a pit stop at Joe Delucci’s ice-cream bar or a well-earned cocktail at TGI Friday’s or Balans.

.99 £19

.00

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Pleated dress Create some curves and rock the dogtooth print with this mid-sleeve, pleated dress.

Target cufflinks The quintessential emblem of the Mod movement seals the trend without being too showy.

We are the Mods

simoncarter.net

pilotfashion. com

Arctic adventure parka Complete the look with a super-snug green jacket. matalan.co.uk

.99 £29

£40

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Mini T-shirt If you can’t afford the wheels, get the next best thing.

.00

£40

Photos: TNT

thenorthernboysclub.com

OPEN From September 13 uk.westfield.com Great Eastern Road, Newham, E15 1AZ Stratford

£74.

99

Lease shoes Strut your stuff in these beauties.

Patent handbag Stash your phone and your lippy in this glossy patent 1960s number. itsvintagedarling.com

baselondon.com

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LIFESTYLEHEALTH CLASS OF THE WEEK

BEYONCE MUSIC VIDEO

It usually takes a few tequilas to get even the best of us dancing, but tonight I’m stone cold sober, in my trainers and about to learn a dance routine to Baby Boy by Beyonce.

The principle of this class is to learn a new routine to a song from the pop icon’s arsenal of hits. You copy the instructor’s moves step-by-step until you have it. Sounds easy enough in theory.

We begin with some attitude-heavy pacing, hip gyrating and a lot of stomping, but clearly we’re not doing well. Our instructor yells: “I don’t want to see you walking to Tesco, I want to see attitude! Walk like you’re in killer bitch-heels and you’re holding a couple of guns.”

Despite us all whacking each other in the face a few times – the studio is very packed – everyone gets into it. The moves are a challenge, but they’re not impossible. Soon we’re shaking our hips and strutting our stuff. And, although I look more like a dad doing the robot than a slinky backing dancer, I’m having far too much fun to care.

It’s not non-stop cardio, but because you’re shaking it like Miss Knowles, it definitely feels like it’s bringing you one step closer to those hotpants. CLARE VOOGHT

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De-stress test The manic pace of London life is enough to drive you to drink, but there are better ways to cope WORDS ALISON GRINTER

Work hours are getting longer, the weekly supermarket shop is getting more expensive, and if that isn’t enough, you haven’t had a decent payrise in years. Little wonder we’re all stressed these days, and London’s fast-paced way of life doesn’t help. But high levels of anxiety can have a detrimental effect on your health, so it’s time to turn distress into de-stress.

Laughter network, free-£5 Laughter really is the best medicine. It can boost your immune system and release endorphins which reduce stress and anxiety.

Encouraging people to get the giggles to combat stress is the Laughter Network.

They run regular laughter clubs, laughter meditations and laughter yoga sessions in a variety of locations all over London. Their sessions usually last between 30 minutes to two hours. Whichever form of therapy you choose, you’re bound to come out smiling.

Mindfulness, masterclass £85 “Mindfulness” has become a health buzzword in recent years. It is a technique that allows you to become aware of emotions, how to observe them and make changes where necessary. Once learnt, it can be incorporated into everyday life to cope with stress, pain and anxiety. The College of Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy, in Baker Street, holds regular masterclasses.

Their next one-dayer is on October 22. ccbh.org.uk

Breathing meditation, from £25

laughternetwork.co.uk

Meditation doesn’t have to be about burning joss sticks and chanting “om”. It can be as simple as focusing on your breathing and allowing you to block out the manic world around you. Meditate London aims to help attendees concentrate on the sensation of breathing “to the exclusion of everything else” and it also runs half-day workshops.

Once you’ve mastered the technique you

Yoga is a powerful stress-buster

You can meditate anywhere, anytime

29 New Inn Yard, EC2A 3EY moveyourframe.com Shoreditch High Street

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WHAT’S NEW

CID i-Pout in Fuschia Lippy with built-in light and mirror £15.00 newcidcosmetics.com

Vani-T Mineral Stick Colour for your eyes, lips and cheeks £22.65 vani-t.com

Laughter is the best medicine

can take a chill pill – figuratively speaking – anytime, anyplace. meditateinlondon.org.uk

Power Vinyasa, £80 for private lesson Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga was made popular in the early Noughties by Shri K Pattabhi Jois who refined ancient techniques for modern day stressheads. Now Mark Anthony’s gym in Notting Hill offers a further twist on the discipline with its signature Power Vinyasa Yoga, which aims to invigorate and bring increased flexibility to your body. An hourlong class promises to improve wellbeing by nixing stress while elongating all those tight muscles and making you super flexible. markanthonysuk.com

Holistic management, £350 bespoke It’s all very well taking a few yoga classes to cope with a busy lifestyle but some anxiety addicts may need to look at overhauling their whole lives to bring down stress levels.

Chi Moves in London offer a four-part course designed to help people to focus on factors in their lives which are causing stress and to develop coping strategies.

Attendees are encouraged to look at physical fitness, diet, work NEXT WEEK life balance, energy Discover the world management and of weird sports self-development.

Moa the green balm Made from wonderous yarrow £9.99 thegreenbalm.com

chimoves.co.uk

Photos: TNT; Thinkstock

TOP TREATMENT: LUXURY FACIALS Fancy an A-lister-worthy facial that doesn’t come with a budget-busting price tag? Haute couture beauty brand Anne Semonin is offering luxurious made-to-measure hour-long facials for £50 during dedicated Beauty Weeks at upmarket department store Liberty, taking place from Sep 18-24; Nov 20-26 and Jan 8-14, 2012. Book by calling Liberty on 020 7734 1234.

Feed your face

Liberty Store, Regent Street, W1B 5AH annesemonin.com Oxford Circus

Avon SuperSHOCK mascara For seriously intense lashes £1.99 astore.amazon.com

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LIFESTYLECAREERS

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It could be you: but you need not apply

Become the hunted Sometimes, when you least expect it, the right job comes to you WORDS REBECCA KENT

William Knight-Hamilton is something of a Columbo of the recruitment world.

A headhunter for 20 years, he admits going to great lengths to lure skilled managers and niche workers to a new company. He’ll track them down, then wine, dine and dazzle them with attractive remuneration packages and appealing career prospects until they are convinced they should jump ship.

It is perceived as a dark art, but the world of headhunting is fair game – not to mention an ego boost for the hunter and the hunted.

“People should view being headhunted as a feather in their cap,” says Knight-Hamilton, who has two offices in east London (knighthamilton. com). “If you are not being headhunted you must be doing something wrong.”

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But, if you’re not being accosted by an agent outside your office, don’t beat yourself up over it. Essentially, if you have to be headhunted, it’s usually because you don’t want to be found.

The hunted are generally ‘businesscritical’ people, who are comfortable in their jobs, grafting on projects and not necessarily looking for another position.

“It is our job to make them realise that they could be happier elsewhere,” Knight-Hamilton says. “You question if they are being appreciated in their current company, if their success is being recognised, and if their boss is possibly taking credit for their ideas.”

But these people need to be tracked down first, and that’s where the trenchcoat and trilby comes in,

Knight-Hamilton admits. “There was an executive we once had our eye on, but he was very good at avoiding being contacted,” he says.

“We found out he was taking a plane to Gatwick one Friday night, so we went there and approached him at a bar. He was the head of a government institution and we managed to talk to him for a few minutes about why the role we were offering was such a great opportunity.

The salary was obviously higher and we could ensure that culturally he would fit in. In the end he took the job.”

It is a simple reality that the working world’s greatest minds are in demand and, by wealth or stealth, employers will do what it takes to have them.

Adam Nortman, 38, found that out

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LIFESTYLECAREERS ON THE JOB JOAN MURPHY CAREER Director, Move Your Frame fitness AGE 30 LIVES Shoreditch FROM Pukekohe, New Zealand How did you get into your line of work?

It was a career change after three years working in advertising in London. I racked my brain for a new profession, then I had a brainwave, and it took two years to get off the ground. Not a quick process by any means.

Photos: Thinkstock, TNT

Climb the ladder: it’s time

Sit tight: it could be the call you’re waiting for

himself. He worked as HOW TO REACT WHEN says. And you won’t get a travelling software YOU GET THE CALL her promising bundles consultant two years of cash, either.

While it is flattering to discover ago before he was “We want people someone out there has noticed seduced into a role who are motivated by you and your skills and experience, in risk management opportunity. If you just that alone shouldn’t be a reason at a hospital in Kent. go waving around high to accept a job. Rather than make The recruiter got him salaries you then get a snap decision, request some into their meeting people who are only time from the headhunter to think room under the ruse interested in a role for about it, then sleep on it. Discuss of carrying out some that reason.” the approach with your friends and contract work.

According to colleagues and then only accept it if “It was obvious they Davidson, you can help you believe that there is a genuine didn’t actually have any career opportunity for you. Take the yourself become the work for me to do. They chance to negotiate a good salary, hunted. “If you are basically asked me to interested in being too. Remember, they want you, so work for them and found, let colleagues you have the upper hand.

I was able to negotiate who you trust, know. a very attractive salary.

This means that when I wasn’t even looking we are in the process for a job at the time, but it ended up of gaining referrals, there are people being a great move,” Nortman says who will be willing to hand over your Not all headhunting firms behave name and contact details,” she says. in a cloak-and-dagger fashion, insists “Linkedin is also a really good way of Anna Davidson, head of learning and creating a business profile that can be development at Executive Headhunters identified by recruiters.” (executiveheadhunters.co.uk).

There’s also wider benefits to She claims to have a less brazen headhunting, she says. approach, saying that a polite-but“By boosting salaries in convincing phone call, then a chat over the marketplace, coffee, extolling the benefits of the you are boosting NEXT WEEK role, has proven successful. the economy “It’s not that glamorous, just a … and that can The weirdest jobs in London business transaction at the end of only be a the day,” Davidson, from Shoreditch, good thing.”

What do you do day-to-day?

I teach a class either first thing in the morning or last thing at night and use the time in between to do anything from trialling new teachers, doing the accounts, marketing, timetabling or looking for a new studio property.

The best part of your job It’s a cliche, but the variety.

What’s the most challenging?

Keeping on top of the timetable, teachers and staff. We have seven staff and 35 freelancers who run the studios around 14 hours a day.

It keeps me on my toes.

HOW TO... BLAG

A JOB PLACEMENT

• Use a gimmick. For example,

send a company 30cm ruler with your details attached and the note: ‘Now I have my foot in the door ...’

• Be breezy, confident and

delightful in an interview.

Shake hands, maintain eye contact, smile and comment about the weather.

• Search Linkedin for people in the company you like. Send a friendly email if you think they hold sway or can refer you to a colleague who does.

TNTMAGAZINE.COM

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tntjobs.co.uk SHERPA www.eventsherpa.co.uk

JOB OF THE WEEK: Events Crew Location: London Salary: £6.50 - £10 per hour

SHERPA is the leading supplier of intelligent, articulate and professional porters, drivers and crew to the UK event industry. We work at some of the UK’s biggest events; from F1 at Silverstone and new product launches, to bigbudget private and corporate events.

We are looking for reliable, hard working, well-presented team players with excellent spoken English who are not afraid of manual labour. SHERPA work is ideal for but not limited to Antipodeans in London on their working holiday visa as it is a great way to see London, meet new people and the hours are flexible.

GALLOWGLASS

JOB OF THE WEEK: Location: London Salary: £8 - £11 per hour + skills payments

T: 0845 300 2468 www.gallowglass.co.uk Gallowglass is UKs leading crewing company to the events industry, working for TV, theatre, film and outdoor production companies.

THE PHEASANT T: 017687 76234 www.the-pheasant.co.uk

Send a CV and recent photo to: john@eventsherpa.co.uk

Vacancies for friendly, enthusiastic and outgoing people to join our crew.

You will need to be physically fit, have excellent spoken English, be adaptable, happy to work anti-social hours and have a can-do attitude.

CV to hr@gallowglass.co.uk or fill in our on line form at www.gallowglass.co.uk

JOB OF THE WEEK: General Assistant and Commis Chef Couple Location: Lake District Salary: Salary £13000 each + free live in accommodation

The Pheasant is a charming old Coaching Inn situated close to Bassenthwaite Lake at the unspoilt, northern end of the Lake District.

It is one of the last remaining traditional Cumbrian hostelries.

Duties to include restaurant, front of house and bar - Commis chef to have experience of fine dining - Minimum 6-8 months Hotel experience required - English 1st Language Must be able to smile! These positions are available NOW - References essential

SKIWORLD

JOB OF THE WEEK: Temporary European Sales Consultant Location: Ravenscourt Park, London Salary: £16,000 PA

T: 020 8600 1647 www.skiworld.ltd.uk Skiworld is the largest independent ski operator in the UK. .

CV’s to Matthew Wylie - Director | wylie@the-pheasant.co.uk | 017687 76234

Your main responsibility will be to maximise sales (income and passenger numbers) for all divisions in line with business targets ensuring quick responses to telephone calls, high standards of customer care and accurate data entry.

Antonia Taylor | European Sales Team Leader 020 8600 1647 | antonia@Skiworld.ltd.uk

SNOW & ROCK T: 01483 445335 www.snowandrock.com

JOB OF THE WEEK: Temporary Sales Staff, London Ski and Snowboard Show Location: Earls Court, London Salary: Hourly rate

Specialist retailer of wintersports clothing and equipment

Show runs from 19-23 October. Must be available to work for the duration of the show including evenings and weekend. We have positions across the following departments: ski and snowboard equipment; ski and snowboard boot fitting, ski clothing and accessories. Ideally you should have some retail experience. skishow@snowandrock.com

VILLANDRY T: 020 7631 3131 www.villandry.com

JOB OF THE WEEK: Waiting Staff Location: Great Portland Street, London Salary: Competitive rate

Renowned Culinary Institution - Villandry - on Great Portland Street, London is looking for experienced waiters for an immediate start.

We are looking for people who are passionate and knowledgeable about food and customer service, enthusiastic team players with a minimum of 2 years experience.

You need to be fully flexible and willing to learn and develop.

Sarah Cavill | sarah.cavill@villandry.com

Looking for your next job?

NEW JOBS ONLINE EVERY DAY To advertise your job of the week contact Matt Syder | 020 7989 0491 | matt.syder@tntmagazine.com

JOBS

WA N T E D

************************************* ************************************* RESTAURANT SKIPPER AT GOURMET BURGER KITCHEN, BATTERSEA

*********

Started by three Kiwi boys back in 2001, GBK’s mission is to remind and introduce everyone to the magic of the burger.

Today we can now be found throughout the UK and after ten years of hard graft & some serious grilling, our baby restaurant in Northcote Road, Battersea where it all began is about to undergo some serious nip & tuck (refurbishment) at the end of September.

We are now looking to recruit a Skipper (manager) who can live and breathe the GBK & Antipodean way. Whilst previous management/ hospitality experience is essential, so is a seriously good fun personality by the way, it might also help if you know the answers to the questions below…

Should I wear jandals or thongs?

Remember the underarm incident?

Is Russell Crowe - Kiwi or Aussie?

Are Crowded House - Aussie or Kiwi?

Role: Skipper Position: Permanent Pay: Good salary & performance bonus Previous Experience: Essential but full training provided Character & personality: Yes please; bundles of it! Spirit: Work hard, play hard Please send in your CV with three reasons why you’ll be the best Skipper ever. The best/funkiest/funniest answers will get a reply. recruitment@gbk.co.uk Closing date 23rd September 2011

GOURMET BURGER KITCHEN | INSPIRED IN NEW ZEALAND CREATED IN LONDON | FOUNDED 2001

Worldwide Sales Consultant

Need to send money between UK and home?

Full time position – London and Surrey, £35k OTE lastminute.com is looking for an experienced sales consultant to join it’s offline sales team, primarily selling tailor-made long haul holidays, hotels and flights.

Putting the customer at the heart of everything we do, the ideal candidate will have proven sales and excellent customer service skills and a tenacity for delivering results in a fast paced in-house call centre We’re looking for someone who has: ● A minimum of 1 yrs travel industry experience ● Experience in selling long haul holidays ● Exceptional customer communication skills ● Strong multi tasking skills ● Worked towards and met set sales/service targets (GDS experience isn’t essential but certainly of benefit) We offer: ● A competitive commission scheme ● Learning & development opportunities ● Rewards, recognition and educational trips

asons Good re tforex: n t e s to u

tes Great ra fees en bank No hidd sactions an tr er s Fast e system use onlin nt Easy to complia lly fu d cure an rvice Safe, se se er om led cust Unrival

www.tntforex.com

r Cheapee

The easy way to move your money

0870-898 8996

than th banks*

Please send your CV along with a covering letter quoting ‘TNT Magazine’ to salesteammanagers@lastminute.com

*Source: 1st Contact survey of UK high street bank charges, April 2008.

RECRUITMENT FAIR 2011 CAREERS

FREE ENTRY By registering online or £2 entry on the door

EDUCATION TRAINING

Co-located with the annual TNT Sun and Snow Travel Show

TNT Recruitment Fair 2011 is a large scale event aimed at young professionals aged 18-35 from London and beyond all looking for new jobs or a change in career.

REGISTER NOW

EVENT SPONSOR

EVENT ASSOCIATE SPONSOR

Saturday October 15 | QEII Conference Centre

Westminster

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CASH-SAVING TIPS YOUNG? POOR? Xxxxxxxxx For a whole host of cheap places to eat and XXXXXXXXX hang out, check out Xxxxxxxxxxx youngandpoor.co.uk.

The website posts all XXXXXXXXX sorts of events that are Xxxxxxxxxxx free or affordable, plus you can sign up to its live XXXXXXXXX Twitter feed and benefit Xxxxxxxxxxx from deals on gigs and attractions for that day.

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DRIVE APPY If you’re a car owner, try to avoid being beaten by exorbitant fuel prices with the petrolprices.com app.

Enter the postcode of your location and it will bring up the cheapest service station in your vicinity to fill up.

HOW YOU SPEND IT! quirky homewares from this great little shop we’ve discovered called Tiger.

Their stuff is amazing value.

I also like to walk as much as possible, which saves me a lot on transport.

JOB PR officer FROM Ealing LIVES Wandsworth

each month for clothes (which I inevitably go over!), and put whatever I have left into a savings account.

How do you budget?

After rent, bills and food, I put a small amount aside

Any money-saving tips?

My housemates and I have kitted out our flat with

KATE TURNER, 25

HEADHUNTING /34 CANADA /72

Last big blow-out?

I love to travel and I try to take as many holidays as possible. My last trip was to Slovenia, which was really beautiful. Earlier this year I went to Mexico and Belize.

What non-essential items do you spend money on?

Handbags, shoes and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

HOW THEY SPEND IT! Diamond anniversary

SAVE ON TRAVEL Train travel is pricey, but there are deals to be found, such as those offered by rail companies to lure leisure travellers on to emptier trains.

These can be found at bestvaluefares.co.uk, which is owned by the train companies and features a Cheapest Fare Finder tool.

Photos: TNT

LIFESTYLEMONEY

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EastEnders star Jessie Wallace is trying to recoup the costs of the £20,000 worth of booze left over after her cancelled wedding. These events sure are pricey affairs ...

❚ Vanisha Mittal, the daughter of billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, reportedly had the most expensive wedding ever in 2004, worth £37m. It was a six-day celebration at the Palace of Versailles.

Have your cake ...

❚ Got a spare £7m? Why not go all out down the aisle in a diamond-encrusted wedding gown from designers Renee Strausse and Martin Katz.

❚ We don’t understand the point of a cake you can’t eat, but one creator had a masterstroke with a £12m wedding cake decorated with exclusive jewels. ❚ There’s no reason a dog shouldn’t get married, right?

That’s why Louise Harris spent £20,000 on a white wedding for her terrier Lola, after running an online competition for a partner.

Need to send money between UK and home? r Cheapee than th banks*

*Source: 1st Contact survey of UK high street bank charges, April 2008.

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39

LIFESTYLELIVING

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HOME

STYLE 9

1 £9.

Black + Blum Bookend This guy’s name is James

Bored of your pad?

mylivingspace.co.uk

.9 £29

Meet four Londoners who live outside the box

5

WORDS FRANKIE MULLIN

Menu Dropp! bowl For a splash frozen in time mooch.co.uk

Soaring rents don’t do much to deter us from wanting to live in the capital. But some people are getting creative and finding ways to live they way they want, on the cheap.

We meet a squatter, a property guardian, a houseboat owner and someone who lives in a converted warehouse.

Keith Robin, squatter .50 £19

Banksy on canvas Own a bit of street art padwebstore.co.uk

99 £9.

Retro TV photo frame Put yourself on the box ripeshop.co.uk

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When he decided to become a full-time activist, Keith Robin realised his lifestyle wouldn’t be possible while he still had to pay rent. He became part of Transition Heathrow (transitionheathrow.com), a collective of anti-airport expansion campaigners who, since March 2010, have squatted a plot of land in Sipson, west London.

There are now 200 people involved in the project and what was previously a rubbish-filled site has been transformed into a market garden replete with chickens, greenhouses, bees, solar panels and workshops. A number of living structures, includes cabins and yurts, have been erected.

“I live in a big tent,” Robin, 55, says. “It’s warm even in winter, as long as I’ve got a hot-water bottle or a nice partner!”

According to Robin, crime in the area has dropped by 50 per cent since the collective moved in and, although the land does not legally belong to Transition Heathrow, the locals are happy to have them there.

“When the police turn up, a gang of old ladies come and surround them, saying ‘leave our activists alone’,” Robin says.

Transition Heathrow grows its own food in giant greenhouses “We’re having a party next week and all the locals will be there.”

Contrary to recent reports, Robin denies that squatters are inclined to take over houses which are being used, calling these stories: “Lies made up by right wing tabloid newspapers.” That buildings sit empty, he believes, is the real crime.

Rebecca, work/ live studio space Fashion designer Rebecca, 39, lives in a 320 square-foot converted warehouse in north London. The building was once a hat

Combine work and home in a studio space manufacturer and has been converted into large-windowed, wooden-floored studios, populated mainly by artists, some of whom also live in their workspace.

Rebecca says moving in has helped keep down the costs of running a small business.

“If I have a work meeting here, I just fold

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LIFESTYLELIVING

Is a houseboat your heaven? up my bed,” she says. “And when friends come round they tend to find it charming that there are clothes rails everywhere.”

Officially, the studios are rented for business only, but many people also turn them into living quarters, sometimes creating a mezzanine or partition. The attraction is the affordable rent – about £150pw – and roomy buildings. But be warned, if your landlord discovers, you could be kicked out.

“I’ll live here until my business outgrows the space,” Rebecca says.

Photos: Getty, Thinkstock, TNT

Valerie Baltus, property guardian Property guardians are employed by the owners of buildings to move in and prevent squatters. The deal is that someone must be at home around the clock, but, in return, they live in houses they could never normally afford.

Home furnishings designer Valerie Baltus, 36, was a property guardian for four years. “Our first place was a seven-storey Georgian in Bloomsbury,” she says. “We had a floor each. It was like being in Alice In Wonderland! The last place was an old architects’ office on Shoreditch High Street. I had eight rooms!”

Baltus paid £50 per week, with no added council tax or bills.

The only disadvantage was having to move out with little notice. “We got sick of it in the end,” she says.

See propertyguardians.org

Dave Howard, houseboat owner The romantic appeal of houseboats first attracted carpenter Dave Howard, 32, to move his life onto one of London’s waterways. “It suited my eccentric sensibilities,” he says. “And I couldn’t afford bricks and mortar in any of the areas I wanted to live.”

You can buy a houseboat for as little as £20,000, but moorings can be expensive, taking the cost up to nearer £60,000. Howard’s boat is moored in a permanent spot, otherwise, he says, he’d be forced to move every two or three weeks.

“The best bit is being able to see the river out of my window,” he says.

“And it’s a friendly community. We’re all in the same boat!”

What changes, when you give up your house on dry land, is awareness of personal consumption.

“My electricity comes from 12 volt batteries, so I don’t leave the lights on. And I love reading, but I can’t keep too many books as there’s nowhere to keep them.”

Howard says he’ll continue to live on the water. “I just might get a bigger boat.”

“ Every SEARCH Begins With...”

www.snspropertyzone.com SNS property zone is one of the upcoming leading property websites in the UK and has become an essential resource for buyers, sellers, owners and agents alike.

Our property portal provide details of homes listed for sale/to rent by agents and a resource providing information about current homes values, sold house prices, local statistics and more...

The information and services we offer are completely FREE to the general public.

So don’t wait, grab this opportunity and FIND YOUR DREAM HOUSE/ APARTMENT. t. 020 8963 9876 & 020 8963 1329 e. info@snspropertyzone.com London Head Office: Unit 34 & 39, Unimix House, Business Centre, Abbey Rd, London NW10 7TR

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WORLDVIEW

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Risky: another prankster

PAIR OF PLANKERS AUSTRALIA Two workers who planked while on the job have been fined in the world’s first prosecution of its kind.

Stewart Kift, 49, and Cameron Denbesten, 28, photographed themselves balancing on a forklift and on a shed roof, posting the photos on Facebook.

But Workspace inspectors saw the images and took Kift, of Bayswater in Melbourne, and Denbesten, of nearby Seville, to court. They were each fined $1500 (£1000) for breaches of their workplace safety, and had previously lost their jobs over the pranks.

TWEETS OF THE WEEK @Vivienneclore Female deer have a real thirst for starbucks @OhLookBirdies My wife is a sex object.

Whenever I ask for sex, she objects. @rodgernash Apparently you can make paper from root vegetables.

That’s a turnip for the books. *sorry*

FERRARI COP CAR COLOMBIA A drug cartel’s luxury Ferrari is being used as a police patrol vehicle in Colombia as a message to crooks that their goods will end up in public hands.

The $250,000 (£160,000) supercar was the favourite vehicle of criminal Hernando Gomez, known as Rasguno.

The car was once black, but has been painted green and white in line with other police patrol cars.

Rasguno, a former boss of a drug dealer who was extradited to the US in 2007, bought the Ferrari in 1991, but it has 42

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Now this is how to protest: as part of a national march in defence of public education, a man lies on the floor and gestures to police in Medellin, Antioquia. Beats rioting

done less than 2000km. The car has been in the hands of Colombia’s anti-narcotics authorities for four years.

Several failed attempts have been made to auction the vehicle – meaning, for now, the police get to keep it.

DRUNK MOOSE LOOSE SWEDEN Five fire crews were called to rescue an inebriated elk after it got stuck in an apple tree.

The moose had eaten so much fermented fruit it had the same effect as drinking too much alcohol does on a human.

In search of ‘one for the road’, the elk got stuck while trying to reach the higher apples on a tree in woods near Gothenburg, Sweden.

After being called out by stunned local residents, rescue workers managed to free the beast, which then lay down on the grass to sleep it off.

How *cough* amooseing.

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THIS WEEK

IN NUMBERS 23

Miles drunk Deborah Hunt drove the wrong way in the fast lane of the M5. She was jailed for nine months.

Billions of tweets sent worldwide spreading spam and viruses. And, no, they’re not all from Lord Alan Sugar.

3.5

Eden Project: someone open a window

LIVING IN A BOX UNITED KINGDOM A scientist is planning to lock himself into an airtight container for two days with 160 plants to keep him alive.

Professor Iain Stewart believes he can survive on oxygen generated by miscanthus grass, zea mays maize and banana trees known to produce large quantities. He will spend 48 hours in the box measuring 2m by 6m at the Eden Project in Cornwall.

Prof Stewart told The Times: “Plants produce the oxygen we need to breathe.

They are just there in the background, but most people don’t give them a second thought. We don’t know exactly how it is going to work out because it is an experiment that hasn’t been done before.”

The experiment has been successfully carried out before ... with a mouse.

A CUT TOO FAR?

Photos: Getty; TNT

NEW ZEALAND A woman is suing police for allegedly cutting off her genital body piercings with bolt cutters.

She claims her belly button and tongue rings were also lopped off with “proper heavy” cutters. A judge has retired to consider his decision after a civil court case in Christchurch.

Tony Greig, solicitor for the alleged victim, who is in her 30s and cannot be named, said the practice was widespread at the police station in the city.

A policewoman, who has since left the force, has been accused of unlawful

sexual connection, assault, breach of the Bill of Rights and abuse of her position. She denies the charges. A decision is expected by the end of the month.

700

Weight, in pounds, of Pauline Potter, from the US, who is the Guinness World Record holder for being the fattest woman.

Days American mum Catherine Keske was jailed for after failing to set up an email address for her 10-year-old-son.

90

QUOTE OF THE WEEK TAT’S A PROPOSAL AUSTRALIA A husband-to-be is overjoyed his girlfriend said yes – after he had the proposal tattooed on his arms.

Glen Robinson, from Brisbane, said he wanted to surprise Michelle Bate, admitting it was an “extreme” gesture.

He decided on the ‘Will You Marry Me’ tattoo (pictured above), with two words spreading over each wrist, and popped the question to Bate that evening while she was lying on the sofa.

The couple, both 34, had previously decided to get married, but Robinson had never officially asked. After getting down on one knee, he showed Bates his arms.

However, after saying yes, she asked: “Where’s the question mark?” Robinson replied: “It wasn’t a question.”

And who says romance is dead?

I don’t know if it’ll be a Take That situation where we get back together and record new material.

Singer Claire Richards has visions of grandeur when asked if Steps are planning a reunion

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TNT puts the world to rights

OURVIEW

COMMENT: FRANKIE MULLIN frankie.mullin@tntmagazine.com

That sickening feeling when you’ve made a complete tit of yourself

Osbourne’s ‘wanker’ joke is an insight into his psyche

Photos: Getty

The Eton set just don’t get it. Here’s why that matters

George, George. You got it so wrong didn’t you? Now everyone thinks you’re a tosser. And that’s the economy aside. For those who missed it, last week the chancellor made such a stomach-churningly misguided attempt at being funny, it’s hard not to feel a shred of pity for the man.

As he picked up an award for Politician Of The Year at the uber-stylish GQ bash, the squishy-faced ex-Etonian (why do they all look like that?) hideously misjudged his audience, and the readership of upmarket men’s mag GQ, quipping: “I’m not sure who actually reads the politics pages of GQ magazine though. I suspect they are the only pages of the magazine that a teenage boy hasn’t stuck together in reading the magazine. Some might say that’s because the wankers are on the page rather than reading them.”

Cue horrified silence. Although I like to think at least part of that was due to his winning the award in the first place. Osbourne himself soon skidaddled.

So what exactly was that all about? To me it rings of a self-conscious public schoolboy desperately trying to prove he’s hip. There’s no intrinsic reason why ‘posh’ and ‘cool’ should be mutually exclusive, but what is required to be part of any crowd is a basic awareness of how people communicate, including picking up on the fact that most of us stopped sniggering just because someone said “wanker” in our early teens.

It’s alarming, but not surprising, to think that Osbourne inhabits a world in which his brushes with anyone other than his squidgy toff cronies are that rare.

Sense of humour is a crucial window into people’s psyche. Last week, David Cameron induced sniggers in parliament when he suggested Tory MP Nadine Dorries was “frustrated”. His inherent chauvinism was similarly displayed in April when he told shadow chief secretary Angela Eagle, “Calm down dear”.

So take note, because from these unscripted jokes we learn more about Osbourne and Cameron that any amount of their party-line spiel. » Agree or disagree? Was Osbourne’s joke funny? letters@tntmagazine.com

WORLD ENDING? MORE BANK HOLS! Two pieces of bank holiday-related news: one, that the economy dipped, then flatlined after the extra bank holidays in April; two, that MP Eleanor Laing has called for an extra holiday in 2015 to mark the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta. I know which I’m bothered about.

That half the population will be hazy as to the meaning of the Magna Carta (it was drawn up in 1215 and lays down the idea of the rule of law, if you must ask) makes no difference: roll out more bank holidays!

I know there’s a recession on; yes, the state of the economy is depressing, but

“

To be melodramatic, we’re in an abyss

”

that seems to me all the more reason to fill our lives with things other than work.

To be melodramatic, if the country is slipping into an abyss of unemployment and riots; the world raging with civil war and the ice caps melting, I’d rather be with my mates than staring at a computer.

Magna Carta bank hol? Yes please!

TNTMAGAZINE.COM

45

Tales of 9/11 It’s been 10 years since terrorists attacked the World Trade Center.

Here, we reveal some lesserknown truths about the atrocities WORDS CAROL DRIVER

It was a defining moment; we can all recall exactly where we were when two passenger planes hit the Twin Towers in New York. Yesterday marked the 10th anniversary of the atrocities in which 2,996 people were killed – including 19 al-Qaeda hijackers. The events of September 11, 2001, are still fresh in our minds, but some of the finer details of what took place after it, and the effect the attacks had, aren’t as well-publicised. Here, we reveal 10 of them.

hours later, Buzzelli awoke on top of a hill of rubble. He had been knocked unconscious, but he had survived; suffering only a broken foot as well as cuts and bruises. A fireman, shocked to see him, called to his colleagues: “Holy shit guys, we have a civilian up there.”

Coded message, 9/11 conspirators

In the seven days after the attacks, alcohol consumption in Manhattan increased by 25 per cent compared to the year before. Ten per cent smoked more cigarettes, while marijuana use rose by 3.2 per cent – with 2.5 per cent of those asked by researchers trying it for the first time.

On the flipside of that, the number of people attending church or synagogues increased by 20 per cent.

Weeks before the attacks, one of the 9/11 plotters, Abu Abdul Rahman, reportedly sent a coded post on an internet chatroom to his “German girlfriend”, who turned out to be fellow conspirator Ramzi Binalshibh. The message allegedly read: “The first semester commences in three weeks. Two high schools [Twin Towers] and two universities [Washington DC targets] ... This summer will surely be hot ...19 [the eventual number of hijackers] certificates for private education and four exams [the number of planes used].

Regards to the professor. Goodbye.”

Canine hero, Roselle the guide dog

Lost workforce, Cantor Fitzgerald

One of the unsung heroes of 9/11 was Roselle. The guide dog led her owner, Michael Hingson, who worked on the 78th floor of Tower One, and a team of workers to safety after the building was hit by America Airlines flight 11. The golden labrador navigated the group along a dark stairwell, managing to escape only moments before the tower collapsed. Roselle, who inspired a new book called Thunder Dog, died in June.

All 658 Cantor Fitzgerald employees in the office at the time were killed in the attacks. The investment bank, which occupied the 101st-105th floors of Tower One, lost more of its workers than any other firm in the World Trade Center.

It accounted for one in four of those who died on 9/11. Its CEO, Howard Lutnick, cried on TV, explaining to the families of victims he could no longer afford to pay their salaries.

Miracle survivor, Pasquale Buzzelli

Around 14 per cent of people quizzed this year for the BBC’s The Conspiracy Files admitted they did not believe al-Qaeda was responsible for the attacks and instead thought the US government was somehow involved in 9/11. Conspiracy theories are plentiful, including that the Twin Towers had been destroyed by controlled demolitions, and that The Pentagon was struck by a US missile.

Emotional fallout, Manhattan

Pasquale Buzzelli was working on the 64th floor of the North Tower when it was hit. He and about 12 of his workmates attempted to escape down Stairwell B, which was narrow and packed with people. When they reached the 22nd floor, the building started to shake, the walls began to crack and buckle, and then the structure collapsed around him. Two 46

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Conspiracy theories, still believed

Clockwise: Hingson and Roselle meet search and rescue’s Hal Wilson and Tsunami; emergency workers look for bodies; George Bush is told the news

Movies axed, publishing thrives

Metal sculpture: Battersea

There were 45 movies which had to be re-edited or postponed after 9/11. Nosebleed, starring Jackie Chan, was cancelled. The action-comedy film would have seen Chan playing a window washer for the World Trade Center as New York came under threat from terrorists. There were also 672 English language books on 9/11 published by 2002.

Lost art, $100m destroyed The estimated value of art destroyed on 9/11 is $100m.

Among the famous pieces lost when the Twin Towers collapsed were works by Picasso and David Hockney.

There was also Alexander Calder’s sculpture WTC Stabile, Joan Miro’s World Trade Center Tapestry and a painting

by Roy Lichtenstein.

Under the rubble, belongings found Among the 1.5 million tonnes of debris removed from the site, searchers found 65,000 items, including 437 watches, 144 wedding rings, 4000 photographs, gold from a bank vault and a faceless ragdoll. Searchers also pulled out 289 ‘intact’ bodies. Most families only ever received body parts or death certificates.

Photos: Getty

George Bush, 9/11 blunders There are too many “Bushisms” to list from around this time, but, notably, the then US president spent seven minutes sitting in front of a school class after being told New York was under attack. There were also these quotes. “The same folks that are bombing innocent people in Iraq were the ones who attacked us in America on September the 11th,” which Bush said in Washington in 2007. As well as this: “You know, one of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror,” which he said during an interview with CBS News’ Katie Couric in 2006.

STEEL AROUND 185,101 TONNES RECYCLED The 185,101 tonnes of steel left at Ground Zero after the towers collapsed were recycled by US authorities.

So far, hundreds of memorials, flagpoles, crucifixes and artworks have been made from the material.

According to the 9/11 Research website, the bulk of it was shopped to China and India.

To mark the 10th anniversary since the attacks, a fourtonne piece of the World Trade Center has been unveiled in London’s Battersea Park.

Peter Rosengard, a life insurance salesman, bought the steel, which was turned into a sculpture by New York artist Miya Ando. Britain is the only country in Europe to receive a piece of the WTC. Rosengard said: “It is one of the most important things I have ever done. This is not a memorial, it’s a public work of art.” In October, the display will move to the Imperial War Museum North in Manchester.

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47

SPORTNEWS

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Richie McCaw

ALL BLACKS START OK RUGBY UNION New Zealand produced a mixed performance as they beat minnows Tonga 41-10 in Auckland on Friday night in the opening match of the Rugby World Cup. The All Blacks dominated the opening half at Eden Park to lead 29-3 at the break but, instead of kicking away in the second spell, had to endure some sticky moments.

They scored six tries, with fullback Israel Dagg and winger Richard Kahui each grabbing a brace, while prop Sona Taumalolo’s second-half touchdown was Tonga’s big moment.

New Zealand handled the infamous Tongan physicality and managed to imposed their own power game up front.

Jerome Kaino was outstanding in his defence and also indirect approach with the ball in hand.

And back-up No 8 Victor Vito didn’t take a backward step which will have pleased the coaching staff given the strain on NZ’s current back row resources.

The All Blacks now face Japan at 9am (UK time) on Friday.

CARNEY TO CONTINUE? RUGBY LEAGUE The Sydney Roosters said they had no issue with wayward star Todd Carney, who committed several alcohol-related indiscretions, playing in the NRL next year. However, NRL boss David Gallop, said he still needed to be convinced the troubled star would not re-offend.

Gallop will seek a meeting with Carney should he decide he wants to play in the competition again – and importantly find a club ready to back him – after he left the Roosters last week in a decision described as a ‘’mutual agreement’’.

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A Maori performer plays a pukea during the opening ceremony of the Rugby World Cup at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand, to signal the start of the sixweek long tournament.

Twenty teams from around the world will compete for the right to lift the William Webb Ellis trophy on Oct 23

WARNE’S SWEET DEAL CRICKET Shane Warne will pick and choose which matches he will play in the T20 Big Bash – if he plays at all.

His manager, James Erskine, said it was possible Warne would sign a contract similar to that of Harry Kewell, whose salary with the A-League’s Melbourne Victory is tied to increases in attendances, memberships and merchandise sales.

“He’s fully aware of what he brings to the party,’’ Erskine said. “He brings the crowds, the sponsorship, so he’s fully aware of his commercial clout; I certainly am. To be brutally honest, everybody has said we’ll fit in with Shane [and] what he wants to do ... He’ll go to the one with the best deal.”

BIG WEEK FOR ...

After a horror start to the season, which included an 8-2 drubbing at the hands of Man United and the departure of stars Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger now has his sights set on getting the season underway properly.

He’s got Blackburn and Bolton coming up before the London derby against Spurs on October 22.

Wenger will be hoping his new players – South Korea captain Park Chu-Young, Mikel Arteta from Everton and German international Per Mertesacker – will be hitting their straps by then.

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QUOTES OF THE WEEK It looked as if it would take an elephant gun to stop her. Sally has only one gear, though: flat out Sebastian Coe on Australian athlete Sally Pearson’s spectacular 100m hurdles performance at Daegu

Quade Coop is vital to the Wallabies’ hopes

PREVIEW The Rugby World Cup continues AUSTRALIA V IRELAND SATURDAY 9.30AM, ITV1

SAMOA V WALES

SUNDAY 4.30AM, ITV1 The Wallabies face their first big test of the World Cup when they meet Ireland in Auckland on Saturday.

It’s crucial the Australians front up and show that their recent 25-20 win against the All Blacks was no one-off, and that they are real title contenders.

However, Ireland, despite their poor lead-up form, will be determined not to let the confident Wallabies have it all their

own way. After underperforming in 2007, the Irish have a determined glint in their eyes this time around. Australia will need their ever-improving forward pack, led by new captain James Horwill, to step up in order to provide a platform for their crop of exciting young backs to launch off.

Wales will have a nervous game against Samoa. Should they lose in the ‘pool of death’, it’s likely they’ll be on the plane home. Samoa have done it to the Welsh before – remember 1991 and 1999 – and will have huge support from the Hamilton crowd.

THE CHAT | Beckham to Tottenham - again?

I think that’s an insult to me and I think this interview is over Blade-runner Oscar Pistorius after being asked if he was an “inconvenient embarrassment” to athletics officials

Who gives a fuck?

I love this city, but if it wasn’t for my sponsor I wouldn’t be at this dumb contest US surfer Bobby Martinez shortly before he was disqualified from the Quiksilver Pro New York for this outburst

TV HIGHLIGHTS FOOTBALL

Photos: Getty

Uefa Champions League that talk was all over in February?

Q IIsthought it likely to become a reality? former Man United star is in the final year of his A The contract with LA Galaxy. And although EPL new boys QPR looked to be in pole position to sign the 36-year-old after the club’s owner Tony Fernandes made his interest known via Twitter, Spurs manager Harry Redknapp, keeping his cards to his chest as always, appears to have scuppered the Shepherd’s Bush club’s chance by saying he would welcome Becks (pictured right) back with “open arms”. As Beckham did train with Spurs earlier this year, it’s likely Redknapp would have inside running.

However, the biggest challenge may be convincing Posh to give up her LA lifestyle for a return to the cold of the UK.

Manchester City v Napoli Wednesday, 7.30pm, Sky Sports 2

FOOTBALL Uefa Europa League PAOK v Tottenham Hotspur Thursday, 6pm, ESPN

CRICKET Sri Lanka v Australia, third Test All the action from day one Friday, 5.25am, British Eurosport

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49

SPORTVIEW

TNT puts the world to rights

COMMENT: JAHN VANNISSELROY jahn.vannisselroy@tntmagazine.com

Birmingham City’s Chris Hughton is one of only two black managers in the English game

Football should tread carefully with Rooney Rule

A coaching drive at all levels may help address perceived inequalities

» Agree or disagree? Should the Rooney Rule be introduced here? letters@tntmagazine.com 50

TNTMAGAZINE.COM

A couple of years ago, Wallabies firstfive Quade Cooper was charged with burglary after allegedly taking a couple of laptops from a Surfer’s Paradise apartment. The charge were dropped after a mediation process.

However, no amount of mediation with the NZ public will allow the talented playmaker to escape a verbal punishment during the World Cup after his recent off-the-ball incidents – a push in the face in Hong Kong last year, a knee to the head last month in Brisbane – against All Blacks captain Richie McCaw. Cooper, last week, was voted NZ’s Public Enemy number 1 in

“

Cooper is now NZ Public Enemy No 1

”

a newspaper poll, beating the pesky possum and the two Frenchmen who blew up protest ship Rainbow Warrior in 1984.

Given that Kiwis are a tolerant lot, and that Cooper is actually NZ-born, he’s really done some damage. Let’s just hope he doesn’t have the World Cup in his swag bag when he goes home on October 24.

Photos: Getty

The Professional Football Association’s call to force clubs to shortlist black candidates for vacant manager jobs is admirable, but does bring up some heavy issues. In its proposal, the PFA seems to suggest Britain’s 92 English league clubs have a latent racism issue; that the only way a black man can even get even an interview is if the club has a figurative gun pointed at its head. But perhaps that is the case: with only two black coaches out of 92, and 20 per cent of England’s professional footballers black, it’s obviously something which should be considered.

Such a rule already exists in the US’s NFL. It’s called the ‘Rooney Rule’ – after Pittsburgh Steelers white owner Dan Rooney, who was the driving force behind getting more black coaches involved at a professional level. Before 2003, when Rooney chaired a committee to investigate the issue, 70 per cent of the NFL’s players were black, yet only six per cent of the head coaches were African-Americans. That has now risen to 25 per cent.

However, if the Rooney Rule is implemented here, clubs must not feel they “have” to hire a black manager. A quota system in the South African international rugby, although equally admirable in its desire for racial equality, caused immense stress, both in the team and among fans. A manager, or player, should always be selected on the basis of their skill and readiness for the position.

Perhaps an alternative, or a companion move, would be to heavily promote becoming a coach to all minority groups, regardless if they are British-born black, Pakistani, African, Fijian or Romany. Football markets itself as the one true global game and if the PFA is worried about everyone being represented within the sport, they should also make moves to ensure that that the best people – whether black, white or pink with yellow polka dots – are given the greatest opportunities possible to get involved with fostering teams.

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51

The best of British Touring car driver Rob Huff has a better chance than Lewis Hamilton WORDS TOM STURROCK

The circuit at Valencia is bathed in sunshine and the sound of the Chevrolet touring car zipping past can be heard from the other side of the expansive concrete grandstand that wraps itself all the way around. The blue car eventually pulls into the pit lane and crew members open the passenger door. Having already strapped on my one-piece fireproof racing suit, I lower myself into the seat.

Rob Huff, the British touring car driver, is behind the wheel, in a T-shirt and shorts. “You’re looking very relaxed,” I point out. “Yeah, absolutely,” he says. “All I need is a Fosters and I’ll be set.”

It’s a hair-raising spin around the track – there’s been a bit of rain, so the wheels routinely slide out behind the car, in the beginning of a fishtail, before Huff expertly corrects his line. The proper racing at Valencia, the latest installment in the World Touring Cars Championship, was not quite as enjoyable for Huff. Coming in as leader of the drivers’ championship, by the end of the weekend, Huff had been overtaken by his Chevrolet teammate, Frenchman Yvan Muller.

In an echo of the Formula One rivalry between Red Bull teammates Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, Huff and Muller have been forced to strike the delicate balance between being rivals on the track but members of the same dominant Chevrolet stable off it.

“It’s difficult, especially when myself and Yvan are so close,” Huff admits. “It’s a lot easier if you’re fighting with someone outside your team. When you’ve got a car that’s as competitive as ours, there’s going to be problems on track.

You’re running millimetres apart from each other.

“It can be very difficult to come back afterwards. But after the first few times it happened, we decided that, instead of kicking off and getting all fiery about it, we’d sit down and talk to each other about it without involving anyone else. “We’ve got a lot of respect for each other – you don’t 52

TNTMAGAZINE.COM

have to like each other but it works out that we do like each other. We get on very well, we’re very similar personalities.”

Indeed, if there are any cracks in the Entente cordiale, Huff, 31, gives little indication of it, comfortable enough in the relationship to take a few digs at his teammate – there is an obvious contrast between Muller, the suave silver fox, and the gregarious Englishman.

“He’s a miserable old Frenchman,” Huff laughs, before remembering his manners. “He’s a really cool guy, very laidback, very chilled-out. He just takes it in his stride.”

Huff and Muller have three races remaining to fight for the drivers’ championship – in Japan next month, in China in November and then Macau in December. Despite surrendering his lead after a dominant start to the season, Huff can see the silver lining.

“It’s good for the championship – it’s not so good for me,” he says phlegmatically. “It’s exactly what the championship needs – a fight all the way to the finish. At the end of the day, no one wants to see one person disappear halfway through.

“Just to be at the front, in with a chance of winning it, is something I’ve been fighting a long while for.”

And Huff insists Chevrolet will let them go at it. There will be no instructions from the pencil-pushers.

“We have no team orders,” Huff says flatly. “Last year was a different scenario. Yvan had a cracking start to the season and about halfway through, the team bosses asked us to support Yvan. This year, it was pretty clear-cut, even from the early testing, that we were going to be fairly dominant, because we were so well-prepared. We´ve come in dominating since day one.”

For Huff, Muller and Alain Menu, Chevrolet’s third driver, having a superior car creates an extra layer of pressure. They are expected to win, expected to fight it out among themselves for the spot on top of the podium.

Clockwise from top right: Yvan Muller; Huff’s Chevrolet; Rob Huff

“We’ve got the best car on the grid, so we’re expected to perform every single round,” Huff says. “Everyone is talking about the race after the blue cars, because we’ve been so dominant this year.

“Beating Yvan – it’s difficult. It’s all swings and roundabouts with motorsport. We might turn up at the next race, in Japan, and have reversed roles.”

If Huff is to re-take the lead from Muller over the course of the three remaining races – he trails by 16 points, which

“

Photos: Dominic Alder; Getty

Macau is carnage.

It’s absolutely mental

”

is by no means insurmountable – he is going to need to rediscover the form of the early season, when he won four of the first six races.

“By the time you’ve thought, it’s too late,” Huff says of driving touring cars. “It’s like breathing – you don’t really think about it. When you’re doing a lap, you’re just feeling it, you’re kind of like autopilot. In the race you have to think about it a bit more, because of the tactics.”

This instinctive approach is perfectly suited to the year’s final race in Macau. “It’s a street circuit – 8km, through a city. Carnage. Absolutely mental,” Huff says. “We hit about 170mph and there are no gravel traps or run-off areas. It’s a very fast street circuit.”

Given Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button are struggling in Vettel´s wake in Formula One, Huff represents Britain´s best, last and only hope of winning a drivers’ championship this year.

“There’s only one of us,” Huff says. “I’m doing my damnedest. Watch this space.”

Fast cars attract the fans

WHAT GOES ON TOUR …

FANS ENJOY THE FAMILIARITY Touring cars live in the shadow of Formula One in the UK but are a big deal in other parts of the world.

Indeed, Australian touring car racing is an institution, with races at Bathurst and Phillip Island considered major events on the sporting calendar.

Elsewhere, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world´s oldest race and the pinnacle of endurance racings, with drivers required to maintain concentration for 24 hours and travel distances regularly exceeding 5000km.

In the US, Nascar racing has plenty in common with touring cars, although the US sport has recently become more high-tech, relying increasingly on custom designs.

Touring cars are essentially ‘product cars’ you would see driving on the streets. Of course, they’re tweaked to the nines and kitted out for high-octane racing, but the familiarity of the car, and the fact fans could essentially buy a less advanced version, is part of the appeal.

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nine-day Essential Turkey tour or an seven-day Spain Discovered tour, among others.

Travel Talk will provide you with quality accommodation, safe transportation and professional, licensed guides for your amazing adventure. The clock is ticking … where will you be New Year’s eve?

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TOUR OF IRELAND

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GUIDEBOOK

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61

PHOTOGRAPHY COURSE

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CASH AND GUIDEBOOKS

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BATH/STONEHENGE TRIP

65 Photos: Travel Talk

PREVIOUS WINNER TNT 1456: TRAVEL TALK MOROCCO TOUR: Gemma Bowe

WIN

TRAVEL LATE DEALS | HOTSHOTS | HOLIDAY SNAPS | TOP FIVE | TOURS | BIG TRIP IMAGE OF THE WEEK

TEDDY BEAR KITE A giant teddy bear kite flies at the 25th annual Bristol International Kite Festival. Following two attempts, plans were abandoned to fly the world’s largest kite due to strong turbulence and damage caused the day before.

Photos: Getty, Martin Rasmussen, Sarah Tucker, TNT

INSIDE

TICKET TO RIDE /58

ARCTIC ODDITY /66

COWBOY COUNTRY /72

Hail a black cab and embark on a political journey through Northern Ireland’s streets and its darkest days.

Greenland is an oasis of oddities. From sunshine at midnight to a lack of roads, this is an island destination like no other.

Canada’s Calgary is a life-changing pocket of peace among the Rockies. Which might explain all the ex-London bankers.

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TRAVELDIARY Janine Kelso

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Sod the Pyramid Stage: Lake of Stars

NOTE FROM TRAVEL EDITOR

TRAVELLERS HIT

BY HOLIDAY ENVY Forget green holidays, it’s all about ‘green with envy holidays’ apparently as jealousy is motivating travellers to trump their mates with their choice of destination.

Almost 80 per cent of people brag about their holiday to friends and workmates on their return, according to a poll by sunshine.co.uk.

On hearing that a buddy had a great trip abroad, 12 per cent of people admitted to feeling jealous and six per cent were annoyed.

Moreover, 26 per cent of people reckon their friends go on amazing trips just to “get one up on them”.

Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter have made it even easier for people to show off about their exotic travels, with many uploading photos and comments while on the trip itself.

But healthy rivalry has existed in the backpacker world for a long time, with travellers constantly comparing where they’ve been (“You didn’t go there?

You missed out!”), how little money they’re managing to survive on, how much interaction they’ve had with the locals (the more the better) and the extent to which they’ve avoided being ripped off.

Don’t be out-done. It’s all part of the fun of travelling. Happy travels!

LAKE OF STARS Mangochi, Malawi Set amid palm trees on the shores of Lake Malawi, the location alone sells this festival. Add to that a line-up featuring international bands 30-2 such as Foals and Freshly Ground as well as Malawian talent – including theatre, spoken word and dance – and you’ve got a winning mix.

Plus, there’s a sandy beach to recover on and the sun is guaranteed to shine.

SEPT/ OCT

WHERE: Sunbird Nkopola Lodge, Mangochi.

Camp, stay in a beach hut or hotel.

WHY: Aiming to promote Malawian tourism, so far the festival has exposed more than 200 million people to the country. In 2010, it generated nearly £700,000 of local spend.

DO IT BECAUSE: DJ Goldirocks sold it thus:

BRIDGE DAY

Fayetteville, West Virginia, US Nutters unite for the world’s largest BASE jumping event.

15 More than 450 people will leap from the 876-foot-tall New River Gorge bridge above the white water rapids as hundreds of rappellers descend on fixed ropes. 200,000 spectators are expected.

OCT

officialbridgeday.com

FIGHT OF QUEENS Valais, Switzerland

foireduvalais.ch

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lakeofstars.org

ICELAND AIRWAVES

Reykjavík, Iceland OCT

12-16

Watch music throughout the city. Then head to the Blue Lagoon to chill.

icelandairwaves.is

MATCHMAKING FESTIVAL Lisdoonvarna, Ireland SEPT/OCT

2-2

Go if you’re single, and get ready to mingle. matchmakerireland.com

PAUL BUNYAN SHOW

Old Washington, Ohio, US OCT

7-9

An extravaganza of lumberjack skills. Expect log rolling and axe throwing.

lumberjackent.com

Photos: Getty; Thinkstock

Since the 1920s, tens of thousands of spectators 30-9 have congregated to watch Erdinger cows lock horns and fight to establish dominance in the herd. The best bit is, no animals are killed.

SEPT/ OCT

“Lake of Stars was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. An inspirational example of the power of the human spirit and the universal accessibility of art, music and community.”

HOW MUCH: K14,000 (£46)

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RUGBY CASH WOES Visitors to this month’s Rugby World Cup in Auckland may be shocked by the rate at which the British pounds are flying from their pockets.

According to money exchange giant Travelex, the New Zealand dollar has soared in relation to sterling recently. As a result, sport fans looking to celebrate a win are likely to shell out the equivalent of £5 a pint. In the days leading up to the tournament, one dollar was worth 52p – it was 46p one year ago and just 34p in 2006.

Still, London prices should mean most travellers are well accustomed to balking at the bar bill.

Photos: Getty

SPANISH NOT SEXY The Latin temperament might not be quite so sizzling as cliché would have it, if new research into the packing habits of European holidaymakers is to be believed. According to a survey of more than 4500 people by travel portal Easyvoyage, a whopping 82 per cent of Spanish travellers consider herbal teabags an essential item they cannot travel without. Conversely, the famously ‘stuffy’ Brits are raring to get racy on holiday, as 18 per cent admitted to always packing sexy underwear, and the nation is among the most likely to pack ‘sexual items’.

VIRGIN SPACEPORT A holiday to the moon might not be far off for adventurous travellers, as the world’s first commercial spaceport is now 90 per cent complete. The site in New Mexico is the base for Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, which is expected to commence spaceflights as early as 2013. The runway is almost two miles long.

Though tourists will only be taken to the edge of space, no doubt Virgin Holidays will be quick to get in on the intergalactic action (though this is mere speculation). For now, would-be passengers ought to start saving for the £200,000 ticket.

NO TO NAKED SCANS Heathrow Airport is trialling new ‘privacyfriendly’ technology to use in place of scanners that show a naked image of passengers to airport security staff. The fullbody scanners, introduced by the Transport Security Administration in US airports, have been criticised for being invasive.

BAA, which owns Heathrow, said its new scanners would provide a better passenger experience. In place of X-ray beams, millimetrewave scanners bounce off a passenger’s body to generate a cartoon-like figure.

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Peace lines: Belfast’s ‘Berlin Wall’ is daubed with political art

EAT, DRINK, SLEEP

Belfast NORTHERN IRELAND

SCOTLAND NORTHERN IRELAND BELFAST

Divided: the wall is a stark reminder of the Troubles

GETTING THERE Fly return from Stansted to Belfast from £62 with easyJet (easyjet.co.uk)

You’ll find a host of hungry students wolfing down huge Ulster fries at lunchtime at Maggie May’s, a classic little cafe with murals of old Belfast. (maggiemaysbelfast.co.uk) Vegetarians flock to Cayenne by the minute because of its extensive non-meat menu. Plus, it’s just got a very funky vibe. (cayenne-restaurant.co.uk) No trip to Belfast is complete without a pint at the illustrious Crown Bar. It keeps the character of a Victorian gin palace, with gas-lit lamps and booths with buzzers for service. (crownbar.com) When the pubs shut up shop, kick on at Laverys, which has been keeping punters cheery for years with live music and DJ sets in its network of bars. (laverysbelfast.com) Paddy’s Palace is a budget hostel in downtown Belfast’s university district. It’s a new place to lay your head in the city. A dorm bed goes from £9ppprn. (paddyspalace.com)

Larger than life: Bobby Sands 58

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Raw: a Republican memorial

After a hard day’s sightseeing, retire to the Days Hotel, a comfortable, three-star establishment with double rooms from £49pn. (dayshotelbelfast.m.netaffinity.com)

UKTRIP

Ticket to ride Hail a black cab for a political journey through Northern Ireland’s darkest days

Photos: TNT

WORDS REBECCA KENT

Bruce whips off his cap branded with the tri-colour Irish national flag and his eyes widen with the gravity of what he’s just learned. The hat he bought innocently as a memento of his time in Ireland, brandished a symbol that could make a Loyalist froth at the mouth – especially when worn on their side of the ‘peace line’, where Bruce had just been. Put simply, he could have been pummelled. “Have you been wearing that the whole time?” asks Big Eamon, our tour leader. Bruce gives a reluctant nod. “You are lucky no one pounced – it’s like a red rag to a bull over the other side.”

The peace process may be under way, but the Northern Ireland capital has long been the violent hotbed of a divided land and the residual hostility in the air is palpable.

We have come to believe so far in our travels through Northern Ireland that the war between the Irish (Catholic/ Nationalist) and British (Protestant/Loyalist) communities is over. Our tour leader in Derry even proclaimed: “I can finally stand before you as a free man in the most exciting period Northern Ireland has ever seen.”

But in Belfast, we get an unglossed version of the way things are as Eamon, a black-cab driver who also chauffeurs tourists around the city, gives his own account of the Troubles.

We pull up at an imposing concrete wall that stretches as far as the eye can see and we learn that it continues to separate the warring factions – the Loyalists in Shankill Road in the north, and the Republicans along Falls Road further south. Erected in 1975 and scrawled with messages of peace from visitors, this ‘Berlin Wall’ of Belfast is a stark illustration of the murderous feud that inflicts the city.

“There is a presumption that because we are undergoing a peace process, it should come down, but if this wall comes down now, it will set the clock back 20 years,” Eamon says.

Among a three-car convoy of rattling cabs, we journey to the lower Shankill Road and Eamon’s colleague, Bobby, takes the floor. We draw in close to decipher his Northern Irish accent as he explains a series of broad, bold murals daubed on the walls of estate houses.

Pointing to a larger-than-life portrait of a strong, goateed man wearing a cap backwards, he says: “This is the Loyalist paramilitary Stevie ‘Topgun’ McKeag. He was from Shankill Road and accused of killing 13 Catholics, but never once got convicted”. McKeag was a ‘top operator’ among the UDA’s

assassination squads in the Greater Belfast and, indeed, hailed as something of a hero by some. But Bobby makes a point of not overdramatising.

We push on through the huge steel gates of the wall into Catholic territory. At Bombay Street, houses are clad in cages and the Perspex windows are fixed with metal grills to protect the homes from projectiles launched over the wall. Now Belfast is beginning to feel more like a warzone.

Standing at the Clonard Martyrs Memorial Garden, there’s a discernable fire in Eamon’s belly as he begins his address.

“You’ve heard the Protestant side of the story, now I’ll tell

“

Now Belfast feels more like a warzone

”

you the truth,” he half jests. “During the Troubles, a majority of the homes burnt down were Catholic. It was a Loyalist aim to ‘burn all Catholics from their homes’.” The names of Catholic freedom fighters killed are etched into a marble slab and their portraits surround the site. Eamon points out they were killed by the “British death squads”.

His sensibility is echoed by fellow Republican and driver, Paddy, as we take in a striking strip of murals along Falls Road. There is a beaming Bobby Sands, the Republican revolutionary; and Picasso’s Guernica, which reflects the Spanish Civil War – a reminder that Northern Ireland’s Troubles chime with those across the world.

“We used to get stopped constantly. We were IDed, searched and our cars checked for bombs,”Paddy says. “Those days are over, but as long as this part of Ireland is under British rule, NEXT WEEK there will always be a risk of violence.”

And he is right. The day after we leave Surfing the Severn Bore Belfast, riots break out once again.

Bruce had never moved so fast.

Travel to Belfast with Shamrocker Adventures, which run three to seven-day trips from £89-£249pp shamrockeradventures.com Big E taxi tours offer a 1.5-hour tour for £25 big-E-taxitours.com

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LATEDEALS

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Grin and bear it in Alaska on a six-stop round-theworld flight for £599 with Round The World Experts

DEAL OF THE WEEK CROATIA SAILING

£149

An eight-day Croatia sailing tour is £149 with Travel Talk (020 8099 8852; traveltalktours.com). Visit Split, Brac, Hvar, Korcula and Dubrovnik. Excludes flights.

Departs Sep 17 & 24.

< £250

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TURKEY A seven-day Aegean Explorer tour is £399 (save 20 per cent) with On The Go (020 7371 1113; onthegotours.com). Includes Istanbul, Pamukkale and the Aegean.

Departs Oct 1.

OKTOBERFEST A five-day tour is £496 (was £619) with Gap Adventures (0844 272 2040; gapadventures.com). Includes accommodation, local transport, a tour of a brewery and of Munich.

Departs Sep 18.

ITALY Four nights in Venice is £295 with lowcostholidays.com (0800 1116271). Includes flights and B&B accommodation. Departs Oct 31.

EGYPT A 15-day Pyramids & Beaches tour is £320 (save £50) with Gobus (020 7471 6400; thegobus.com). Includes the Pyramids, the Valley of the Kings, Nile felucca cruising and Red Sea resort, Dahab. Departs Oct 2.

> £500 EUROPE A 12-day Eastern Road tour of Europe is £1075 (save £860) with Contiki (0845 0750990; contiki.com/eastern-road).

Includes Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland.

Departs Sep 24. Book by Sep 19.

CANADA Four nights in Vancouver is £669 (save £230) with Flight Centre (0844 800 8628; flightcentre.co.uk). Includes flights and accommodation. Quote: YVRLONPAC19. Valid for travel from Oct 24-Nov 17. Book by Sep 15.

ROUND THE WORLD A six-stop Alaskan Adventure round-the-world flight is £599 with Round The World Experts (0800 707 6010; roundtheworldexperts.co.uk).

Includes stops in Boston, Chicago, Anchorage, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Quote: AMERICASMULT12.

Valid for travel from Oct 24-Dec 16.

Book by Sep 20.

DAILY TRAVEL DEALS GO TO tntmagazine.com/travel/latedeals where new travel deals are updated daily.

There are more than 30 deals live at any time. Also sign up for TNT’s weekly travel newsletter, which will be emailed to you every Wednesday with the most up-to-date deals and guides to over 170 destinations.

Sign up at tntmagazine.com/travelemail.

MONEY TRANSFERS Need to send money between Australia, New Zealand and the UK? You don’t need a bank to do it. We also do money transfers to South Africa.

TRANSFER FEES FROM £1 For live transfer rates, visit tntforex.com or call 0870 898 8996

EXCHANGE RATES* Australian dollar 1.51 New Zealand dollar 1.93 South African rand 11.43 Polish złoty 4.81 Euro 1.14 US dollar 1.59 Canadian dollar 1.58 Hong Kong dollar 12.43 Swedish krona 10.21 Swiss franc 1.37 Singapore dollar 1.93 WHY USE TNTFOREX?

n Great rates n No hidden bank fees n Faster transactions n Easy-to-use online systems n Safe, secure and fully compliant

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EGYPT A nine-day Felucca Odyssey tour is £154 (save 50 per cent) with Travel Talk (020 8099 8852; traveltalktours.com). Includes B&B accommodation, transfers, two lunches, two dinners and more. Visit Cairo, Aswan, temples and more. Departs Sep 17 and 24. Excludes flights and local payment. Book by Sep 30.

HOLLAND & BELGIUM A twonight tour of Amsterdam and Bruges is £209 with Anderson Tours (020 7436 9304; andersontours. co.uk). Includes coach travel, crosschannel ferry crossings, two nights’ B&B accommodation and two evening meals. Departs Sep 16.

TURKEY A five-day Anzac day tour is £228 (save 15 per cent) with Travel Talk (020 8099 8852; traveltalktours.com). Includes accommodation and most breakfasts.

Visit Istanbul and Gallipoli. Excludes flights. Departs Apr 22. Book by Sep 30.

FRANCE A three-day Paris tour is £229 with Anderson Tours (020 7436 9304; andersontours.co. uk). Includes Eurostar travel, two nights’ B&B accommodation, transfers and a city tour. Departs Sep 16.

IBIZA Seven nights in San Antonio is £213 with Directline Holidays (0800 408 6324; directlineholidays.co.uk). Includes flights and self-catering accommodation. Departs Sep 16.

£250 – £500

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HOTSHOTS

LAILA PACHECO

Talks travel photography

WINNER

HOT TIPS: Back up Shooting from behind can sometimes be a bit of a flop.

It doesn’t always work and you should choose your subject carefully when doing so. Ask yourself: what am I trying to achieve? What story do I want to tell? To me, this style of photography is about what’s in the distance and the surrounding area,

as the back of someone’s head is hardly inspiring. Location is key; whether the subjects are walking into the sunset or travelling to the unknown. Make your image a story.

Never crop tightly, but you can do something a little abstract. There is also something romantic about this type of shot and it is used in wedding photography a lot.

WINNER LIZARD IN THE GALAPAGOS Sean Brophy, South Africa

WHY IT WORKS As the adage says, never work with animal or children!

Well, this image tells us differently. Not an easy shot to capture, as animals are not the most co-operative of models and often move just when you don’t want them to. I would suggest firing off a few frames just in case.

Having only the lizard’s head in focus has provided the effect of it jumping out of the shot. The cool pastel tones create a calmness about the scene.

RUNNER-UP MASAI MARA, EASTERN AFRICA Olivia Collings, New Zealand

RUNNER-UP

WHY IT WORKS Taking a wider approach has created a very interesting scene. With the mountains in the horizon and the trees sparsely scattered, there is no mistaking you’re in Africa. The cheekiness of the young boy, stopping and giving a wave as he heads home to one of the many small houses across the frame, has given it a fun side.

A THREE-DAY TOUR OF SCOTLAND AND A PHOTOGRAPHY COURSE Upload your images to tntmagazine.com/hotshots First prize is a three-day tour of Scotland for two worth £218 from Haggis Adventures (haggisadventures.com).

Must be taken within three months of receiving prize letter. The runner-up wins a £60 photography course voucher from Nigel Wilson Photography (photographycourses.org.uk).

WIN

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TOP FIVE

1

SKY-HIGH RESTAURANTS

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DUBAI

Where else would you find the world’s highest restaurant but Dubai? The decadent desert city is so fixated on collecting the world’s superlatives that, to date, it boasts the world’s biggest fountain, the world’s biggest candy store, the world’s tallest building, and even once claimed to have built the world’s biggest cardboard box pyramid (no, really).

Situated on the 122nd floor of the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, At.mosphere serves dinner with a view from 1,350 feet. Sprawling below is the futuristic Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai’s main motorway lined with space-age skyscrapers that twinkle by night. You might even catch a glimpse of the world’s biggest fountain, a spectacular display of dancing water jets set to music that sits at the foot of the 2,716ft tall tower.

Diners reach the restaurant via a one-minute-long ride in a lift, guaranteed to make your ears pop. In typically surreal Dubai fashion (this is the place where you can go skiing in -4˚C temperatures in a mall in a desert, 62 00

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after all), guests step out on the 123rd floor and then descend a staircase to the world’s highest restaurant on the floor below.

The fine-dining fare – dishes include scallops with ricotta dumplings and wagyu carpaccio – is offered alongside a range of steak and seafood grilled to perfection in a Spanish charcoal oven called a Josper. Meat freaks should order the Rangers Valley tenderloin, which is said to be the tenderest cut of meat in Dubai.

Inevitably, the setting is not the only sky-high element of this restaurant – if you weren’t already feeling queasy after a heavy meal at this height, you might well end the night choking when you see the bill. Starters cost around £25 and that sensational steak weighs in at £50. Add drinks and you’re looking at a minimum £100 per head.

Still, the assault on the wallet and plain-wrong punctuation aside, At.mosphere is a once-in-a-lifetime experience you’ll never forget. atmosphereburjkhalifa.com

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TOP FIVE CHECKING IN

2

HONG KONG

In a move that no doubt ticked off Dubai, Hong Kong opened the world’s tallest hotel in January. At 1,600ft high, the Ritz-Carlton has not one, but three restaurants on its 102nd floor.

The best is Tin Lung Heen, which serves up traditional dim sum and premium Chinese teas while your jaw drops at the view from its floor-toceiling windows. The uninterrupted sight of Victoria Harbour and Hong Kong Island is well worth the vertigo. ritzcarlton.com

Photos: TNT; Getty

4

BANGKOK

Not to be outdone by mountains, hotels and gigantic towers, Bangkok is home to the world’s highest al-fresco restaurant, Sirocco.

Perched on the 63rd floor of the Dome at Lebua, an exclusive spot at the five-star Lebua hotel, this terraceset eatery offers a breathtaking vista of Bangkok and the Chao Phraya river while you chow down under the stars.

Mediterranean food, low lighting and a live jazz band make this one of the most romantic spots to dine on high. lebua.com

3

BRITISH COLUMBIA

Our fave hostel

Eagle’s Eye restaurant does exactly what it says on the tin: it takes a 12-minute gondola ride to reach this eatery on the very top of British Columbia’s Dogtooth Range in the Purcell Mountains, offering an eagle’s eye view of its stunning snow-capped peaks.

Part of the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, you can feast on the likes of bison short rib, then work off the calories with a hike along the ridge.

The view takes in five national parks. kickinghorseresort.com

5

SHANGHAI

Towering over Shanghai’s ultra-modern Pudong district, Italian restaurant Cucina serves hand-made pizza and pasta alongside a panorama that includes the Oriental Pearl Tower – perhaps the city’s most iconic structure – and the magnificent mixed architecture that makes up The Bund.

A cosy mock-Tuscan affair on the 56th floor of the Grand Hyatt (once-upon-atime the world’s tallest hotel), make sure you also pop up 31 floors to Cloud Nine bar for a post-dinner tipple.

BEIJING DOWNTOWN BACKPACKERS OVERVIEW This brilliant hostel sits on one of Beijing’s most charming hutongs, Nan Luo Gu Xiang. A cobbled lane flanked by weeping willows, trendy clothes shops and indie bars, it’s one of the coolest hang-outs around town.

WOW FACTOR Staff are friendly, fun and fluent in English.

They even pass out readymade cards with popular attractions written on them in Mandarin to hand over to taxi drivers. Guests love the place so much, they have graffitied their thanks all over the walls.

ROOMS All rooms are superclean and modern, kept bright by a fresh cream colour scheme. Dorms have big bathrooms attached. Double rooms are a steal – they come with a private bathroom and boast uber-soft beds with crisp white sheets.

BILL PLEASE Double rooms start from £15 a night for two people, dorm beds start at £7 a night. Breakfast is included.

You can also book a day’s hike to the Great Wall with the hostel, including transport and entry fee, for around £27.

85 Nan Luo Gu Xiang, Dongcheng backpackingchina.com

hyatt.com

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TRAVELTIPS

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There’s no perfect formula for seeing the Northern Lights

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READERS’ TIPS WASH AND GO TIP Recently, I bought some OF THE dry shampoo spray for WEEK my weekend away at T In The Park. Whoever came up with this concept is a legend and a half. If you don’t want to have to carry around shampoo and conditioner all the time while travelling, invest in this spray and your hair feels like it has just been washed. Plus it gives you that sexy, “I’ve been travelling around Europe” look.

Hannah, via email

YOU ASKED FOR IT...

LAURA LINDSAY FROM LONELY PLANET

am looking at doing the TransQ ISiberian Railway next year. What are the must-see destinations to stop at along the way, and what’s the approximate cost of the trip? Also, is it best to book through a travel agent, and are there any agencies in London that specialise in this trip?

Jenny, via email are a number of ways of doing the A There Trans-Siberian railway. Booking the journey

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Northern Lights! I want to travel to Norway either this year or early next year, but want to know the best time to have a chance at seeing the display. But I also want enough daylight to do some trekking in the Fjords.

Can you recommend the best months to go?

Nadia, via email is no perfect formula for spotting the A There Northern Lights, but there are a couple of ways in which you can strengthen your chances.

Firstly, the further north the better; secondly, avoid full moon dates; and, thirdly, travel in early autumn or spring.

As you are keen to trek, and so need plenty of daylight hours, I would recommend you plump for March. At this time of year, there is a good chance of seeing the lights and enough daylight to enjoy the stunning landscape.

Tromsø in northern Norway is ideally located to view the Northern Lights and is a buzzing city to boot. A recommended excursion is to the Lyngen Alps where, away from light pollution, you will improve your Northern Lightspotting chances and there’s also great hiking opportunities for during the day.

There are some great resources to help you plan your trip, including northern-lights.no, which details plenty of information about viewing the lights and excursions for during the day. It also recommends you set aside a whole evening for chasing the lights. Good luck!

WIN Send us your words of wisdom.

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Tweet your tip to @tntmagazine.com Email traveltips@tntmagazine.com Text TNT and your message to 81707* *Messages cost 25p each + standard network rate. 18+ billpayers only. Send STOP to end. Number may show on bill.

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A LONELY PLANET GUIDE

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Lonely Planet’s Laura Lindsay will give you the benefit of her infinite wisdom if you email a question to traveltips@tntmagazine.com.

If your question is answered, you’ll win a Lonely Planet guide of your choice.

This is a reader forum — TNT and Lonely Planet accepts no responsibility for any loss, injury or inconvenience sustained by anyone using the information provided.

Photos: Thinkstock

independently gives you the flexibility to decide the cost and time taken, depending on how many stops you want to make. This is because with independently booked trips, each time you break the journey you have to purchase a new onward ticket. There is a great website that lets you calculate the cost of your ticket once you input each of your desired journey legs (realrussia.co.uk). Book your tickets well in advance to ensure it all goes to plan.

An alternative is to go with one of the many agents offering organised tours; they vary depending on whether you choose to go for a luxury carrier. Railbookers offer packages which include hotels (railbookers.com). Man in seat 61 (seat61.com) offer a comprehensive guide to booking the journey.

Highlights include Lake Baikal, where you can hop on a railway that circumnavigates this stunning body of water. Moscow certainly deserves a few days exploration. Also try to fit in an excursion to Tomsk, Siberia’s prettiest city, which has quaint wooden architecture.

have travelled to Alaska, Finland Q Iand Iceland and am still yet to see the

TAXING TIMES Two years ago, I went to Istanbul for New Year. I would highly recommend it. What I would not recommend, however, is arriving in the middle of the night. We flew into Sabiha Gocken airport, which is about 20 miles outside of Istanbul, at around 2am.

The last airport shuttle bus is at about 9.30pm, so we hopped in a taxi, not fully appreciating the length of the ride. Also, we didn’t know that taxis cost double at night. We ended up shelling out £90 before our holiday had even started. We could have cried, but drowned our sorrows in raki instead.

Caroline, via email

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WHERE IN THE WORLD?

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A TRIP FOR TWO TO BATH & STONEHENGE

Been somewhere good lately?

Send us a horizontal photo of yourself with a copy of TNT from anywhere around the world and, if we print it, you’ll win a trip for two to Bath and Stonehenge with Anderson Tours, valued at £104! » Email your pictures to ontheroad@ tntmagazine.com along with your name, where you’re from and where the photo was taken, or see tntmagazine.com/world.

Files must be at least 500Kb.

LA TOMATINA, BUNOL, SPAIN Tanya McDermott from New Zealand

BEST / WORST TRIP DAISY CARRINGTON, 31

NIVIN MKAABARI, 26

New York, US

Syria

BEST One of my favourite-ever trips was to Thailand.

I’ve been twice, but the first time I went was also the first time I’d travelled by myself. There’s something so relaxed about the country. I kept my schedule loose and based my itinerary on recommendations of people staying at my hostel. Getting around from one place to another was a dream and I never felt so independent.

WORST I studied in Moscow for three months while I was at university. I was there in the winter and it was cold and miserable. The whole city seemed very seedy to me. » Tell us your best/worst trips Email janine.kelso@tntmagazine.com

Favourite place you’ve been?

I love Damascus in Syria. It’s the oldest city in the world and the architecture is beautiful.

I’d love to go to France but I need a visa.

Best place in the UK? Manchester for shopping – the malls are great for clothes and makeup. It’s not as hectic as London and the people are friendly.

What do you always take on holiday?

My PSP to play Super Mario.

Best party you’ve been to?

The royal wedding in London.

SPLASHING OUT

Photos: TNT; Thinkstock

THE TRAVELLER

CHILL OUT IN THE POLAR REGION Get close-up to huge icebergs and glaciers, while keeping your eyes peeled for roaming polar bears and grazing reindeer on a polar cruise in the Arctic.

An eight-day Realm of the Polar Bear tour is £2626 (save 15 per cent) with Explore (0844 499 0901; explore.co.uk). Includes boat accommodation on a B&B basis and 13 meals. Excludes flights.

THE INSIDER

MARK HUGHES, travel consultant Travelbag

My most challenging travel experience was skydiving over Lake Taupo, in New Zealand, followed by a bungee jump 30 minutes later.

My favourite place in the world is the Canadian Rockies as the scenery is stunning and the driving distances are small, so you can fit in a lot of hiking and adventure activities in a short space of time.

The next trip on my travel wishlist is Argentina. I’d like to fly to Buenos Aires then down to Ushuaia to see the Tierra Del Fuego National Park, El Calafate and Bariloche.

I always pack a penknife. It’s amazing what can be fixed with it when something breaks or needs adjustment.

My guilty travel pleasure is that it can be beer o’clock anytime of day!

My top travel tip is go prepared to experience something new every day.

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Brr: icebergs surround Greenland

Greenland

Colourful: traditional houses

GREENLAND

SISIMIUT

GETTING THERE Air Greenland flies direct to Sisimiut from Copenhagen, starting at about £332pp oneway (airgreenland.com). Local coastal ferries by Arctic Umiaq Line cost anything from £39 to £460, depending on where you are sailing (aul.gl).

Splash: go whale-spotting 66

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An Arctic oddity Greenland is an oasis of oddities. From sunshine at midnight to a complete lack of roads, this is an island destination like no other WORDS ROBIN MCKELVIE

It may lay claim to being the world’s biggest island, but Greenland is still one of the least-known corners of the planet. I have flown across that big, icy place – ice covers much of the country and can be 3km thick – countless times en route to North America from London, but it is not somewhere that many travellers venture. Yet this weird and wonderful oddball oasis of sled dogs, musk ox, glaciers and shimmering icebergs is one of the globe’s most compelling corners, as I discover when I head above the Arctic Circle.

It is hard not to like Greenland; it’s one of those endearingly quirky destinations that is quite unlike anywhere else. During my first night, I learn it forms a whopping 98 per cent of the Kingdom of Denmark. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, it has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for about 1000 years.

This is an early sign of its tendency not to conform to the norm, and indeed Greenland’s very name is a misnomer, considering the country has only small sections of greenery.

Indeed, Greenland was not allowed to join FIFA, not because it is officially part of Denmark, but because it doesn’t have any grass football pitches. If that’s not enough, then what about the fact that it’s a country where none of the towns and cities is joined by road, and the main way of getting around in winter is being hauled by sled dog?

Greenland takes surreal to new extremes. Everything is supersized and surprising. After arriving in the old US military base of Kangerlussuaq I cruise along the Sondre Fjord, a tiny line on the map, but in reality a sweeping 150km aquatic canyon surrounded by colossal mountain peaks with not a soul in sight.

As it is summer, I have plenty of time to soak up the experience – it doesn’t get dark at all this time of year.

Known as the Land of the Midnight Sun, Greenland’s neverending rays mean you can walk out into the late night and see the fire in the sky hanging low on the horizon.

The scenery in Greenland is year-round spectacular: in summer its coast is sprinkled with icebergs – accompanied by some teasing green patches – while in winter everything is enveloped in snow and ice. The one common factor is the climate: average temperatures do not exceed 10˚C, even in the warmest summer months.

Pushing north, I come to Sisimiut, the second city of Greenland. I say city, but I’m speaking relatively, as Sisimiut only has 6000 inhabitants. Mickey, a renowned local artist I meet, points out that the whole country has a population of fewer than 60,000, giving native Innuit people like him – the

“

Greenland takes surreal to extremes

”

term Eskimos these days is a definite no-no – a unique view on the world: “We don’t look at time the same way as you.

We live in the present and are at one with the land and all the animals in it.” ›› As well as living with the animals, I soon discover

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the Greenlandic people hunt them too. They hunt whales (on an agreed quota system) as well as musk ox (wacky massive goats that look more like seriously hairy bison), and even seals. When I arrive at Itilleq, a tiny island sprinkled with the charming, brightly painted wooden houses you get all over Greenland, a freshly killed seal lays in a boat at the pier. It’s not an unusual sight in a country where a man’s first seal kill is something to celebrate. Hunting in Greenland is not something done for sport, but rather for food. It is also deeply ingrained in the culture. Everywhere I go, my own views on hunting are challenged – something I have in common with every traveller I meet in Greenland.

Getting around Greenland is all part of the fun. I travel using the local coastal ferries, but you can fly by plane and helicopter with Air Greenland. I also spend a week on an expedition cruise with Hurtigruten (hurtigruten.com). These are not cheap, but their Polarcirkel excursion boats get you into all sorts of secret places and hidden corners. Between trips ashore I stare out of my cabin gripped by passing humpback whales and pods of dolphins.

All very Greenland. ❚

Musk ox: a Greenlandic goat

NEXT WEEK In Bruges on a budget, sadly minus Colin Farrell

MIDRANGE

LUXURY

The regular summer-only lunch buffets at Sisimiut Community Centre are a great way to sample genuine Greenlandic fare. The strong-of-stomach can try the likes of reindeer, seal and whales. The musk ox dishes are delicious. Greenland doesn’t always do addresses, but Sisimiut is small enough to guarantee that you’ll find it.

Nasaasaaq, Hotel Sisimiut is a hotel restaurant worth heading to even if you’re not staying. The stylish dining space offers Greenlandic specialties and some well-executed international dishes too. The buffets on the first Sunday of the month are legendary. (hotelsisimiut.gl)

You’re in good hands at Restaurant Ulo, Hotel Arctic, as one of Greenland’s most celebrated chefs, Jeppe Ejvind Nielson, is at the helm.

A fine dining treat ideal for that once-a-trip blowout. (hotelarctic.com)

DRINK

As rough and ready as most bars in Greenland, Pub Raaja in Sisimiut might even be slightly rougher and readier than usual, but it’s welcoming to travellers popping in for a beer or two. (Find it at Nikkorsuit 4, tel. +299 865526)

Murphys in Ilulissat is a great bar that stages regular live music. And it’s not just local acts taking to the mic – Scottish crooner KT Tunstall was recently here. They usually stock some decent local beers, as well as the ubiquitous Danish brews. (Find it at Fredericiap Aqqutaa 5, 3952; +299 942242)

By day a café/restaurant, by night Naleraq Café Ilulissat hosts live music and club nights. Ibiza this is not, but for an unpretentious party it can be good fun. (Find it at Kussangajaannguaq 23, tel. +299 944360)

SLEEP

The old workers’ accommodation at Ilulissat Youth Hostel boasts 44 rooms, each with two beds. A great place to meet other travellers and plan your Greenland adventures, the communal kitchen also helps keep costs down in this expensive country. (ilulissathostel.com)

Ice Camp Eqi is a remote camp with six cabins 80km north of Ilulissat, and overlooks a spectacular glacier.

A great base for hiking, if it’s remote you’re after, then this is the place. (go2greenland.com)

It may be geared towards the business community, but the modern Hotel Sisimiut is fun too, often hosting summer parties and wine tasting. They have gigantic Sunday buffets guaranteed to fill you up for a week. (hotelsisimiut.gl)

EAT

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Photos: I Love Greenland; Hemera Technologies

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TRAVELWEEKENDER

Pride of France This is Lyon in 48 hours WORDS LAURA CHUBB

DAY 1: 09:00 Enjoy croissants and pastries over a chat with Hotel du Simplon’s (hoteldusimplon.com) charming hostess Madame Alix Reverchon. This elegantly old-fashioned B&B is well-located in the peninsula between Lyon’s Rhône and Sâone rivers. Rooms start around £48pppn.

10:00 Visit what is arguably Lyon’s most spectacular feature: its 50km of traboules. This network of underground passages dates back to the fourth century, and was used by workmen and craftsmen to transport their wares around the city. Most traboules are located in Lyon’s Renaissance District, a Unesco World Heritage Site. Make your way across the Rhône to the Lyon Tourist Office (en.lyon-france.com) on Place Bellecour, where you can grab a free map marked with all the traboules, or take a guided tour for around £6.

13:00 Head to Les Halles de Lyon, the city’s famed indoor food market. Lyon is known as the capital of gastronomy in France, so all appetites will be satisfied by more than 60 stalls selling local produce.

14:00 Lyon is a hub for art museums. Try the nearby Musée de Beaux Arts (mba-lyon.fr), featuring the likes of Rembrandt, Monet and Picasso, or the ultra-hip La BF15 (labf15.org), showcasing cutting-edge art installations on the banks of the Rhône.

16:00 You’ve earned a rest after all that artsy meandering, so stop by the Jardin Rosa Mir, in the centre of the La CroixRousse Quarter, for a breather. A walled garden decorated by thousands of sea shells, it was created by Spanish artisan Jules Senis to celebrate his surviving cancer. Find it via the narrow path next to 87 Grande Rue de la Croix-Rousse.

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17:00 End the day at Place des Terraux, a short walk from the garden. This central square is most famous for its grand 19th century fountain, sculpted by Statue of Liberty creator Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi.

18:00 Lyon is host to a galaxy of Michelin stars, so if you’re going to splash out on a fancy dinner, this is the place to do it. Mère Brazier (lamerebrazier.fr), formerly the first restaurant to earn Lyon a trio of Michelin stars in 1933, has been reinvented by chef Mathieu Vianney for today’s discerning diner. Vianney may only have a paltry two Michelin stars, but it should be a decent feed all the same.

If you’re looking for something a little less demanding on the wallet, head to Le Petit Léon (leondelyon.com), the affordable sibling of nearby big brother Léon de Lyon.

21:00 To round off, hark back to your arty afternoon in basement bar Furib’Arts (furib-arts.com), where microbrews complement local artworks and live bands.

DAY 2: 10:00 Kick off the day in style by breakfasting or brunching with the fashionable set at Cafe Cousu (cafe-cousu.com), a cute hole-in-the-wall that also does a decent line in home-made cakes. Brunch starts at 11am.

11:00 You’ve seen the city from below-ground, so now it’s time to see Lyon’s stunning Gothic and Renaissance architecture from above. Aside from the ubiquitous opentop bus tour (Le Grand Tour, pariscityrama.com/fr/ visiter_lyon), a more eco-friendly option is to ride around in an electronic-trike-cum-rickshaw, known as a Cyclopolitain (cyclopolitain.com). Tours cost around £30 for an hour for two people, and most station around Place

Photos: Jacques Léone, Tristan Deschamps

Fashionable: brunch with the style set at Cafe Cousu

Bellecour and Place des Terreaux. Also see if you can catch the Crafts Market (quai de Bondy) by the Sâone before it closes at noon, where artists sell paintings, sculptures, photographs and more.

13:00 Head up to the fusion-tastic Oxalis (lessardinesfilantes.fr, 23 rue de l’Arbre Sec) for lunch, where Mediterranean, Asian and African cuisine meet to make a memorable meal. Cooking lessons are available.

14:00 ‘The birthplace of cinema’ is yet another claim to fame for Lyon, as the Lumière brothers – among the earliest filmmakers in history – were based here. Check out the Musée des Miniatures et Décors du Cinéma (mimlyon.com) for a quirky insight into the use of miniatures in movie sets and special effects.

16:00 After all this culture, you might like to let off some steam at I-WAY (uk-i-way-world.com), where a high-tech F1 simulator is guaranteed to get your heart racing. You can race other simulator pilots for around £80.

18:00 To continue the afternoon’s cinema theme, try Le Cinoche (7 rue Dumenge) for dinner, where decor including old projectors and posters accompany film-themed dishes – make sure you try the delicious fresh crepes. End the day at Hangar du Premier Film (institutlumiere.org), an old factory-cum-cinema.

Fly from London to Lyon direct with easyJet from £115 return (1h45mins). easyjet.com Catch the Eurostar from London to Lille, then take a train with TGV from Lille to Lyon from £109 return (4h40mins). eurostar.com; tgv-europe.com

Gourmet: Lyon is known for its indoor food market

Hôtel du Parc 3*** Hôtel du Parc, a charming 22 room hotel, is ideally located in Lyon.

You are only a few meters from the city centre with its shops and museums.

It is with pleasure that the team will welcome you and offer suites, deluxe or standard rooms from €80 to €150.

Weekend Special: €60 to €100 16, Bd des Brotteaux - 69006 LYON Tél. +33 4 72 83 12 20 acceuil@hotelduparc-lyon.com

www.hotelduparc-lyon.com TNTMAGAZINE.COM

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Calgary CANADA

CANADA

Calgary OTTAWA

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GETTING THERE Fly direct from London to Calgary with Air Canada from £580 return (www.aircanda.com).

Indirect flights with British Airways start from £367 (britishairways. com). Indirect flights with American Airlines start at £323 (americanairlines.co.uk).

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BIGTRIP

Brokebanker Mountain Canada’s cowboy country is a life-changing pocket of peace among the Rockies. Which might explain all the ex-London bankers ...

WORDS SARAH TUCKER

WHEN TO GO: Frost can arrive as early as mid-September, but We get lots of real stressed-out types here,” have something to do, have someone to love snow doesn’t set in until November. and have something to look forward to,” he says Mac McKenny, a silver-haired John The sun shines all year round, so Wayne type – same walk, same handsome says. And he’s keen to share the knowledge: bring eyewear whatever the season. a plaque on the stable door is engraved with chiselled looks, with a charismatic glint to match – who has been running the sublime this piece of wisdom.

CURRENCY: Canadian dollar.

Homeplace Ranch for more than 40 years.

It’s not just the guests who have found 1 GBP = 1.6 CAD. “Real city slickers. They turn up burnt out, peace in Mac’s slice of paradise. Jane, a ACCOMMODATION: Three uptight and unsmiling. But, by the end of the nights at Homeplace Ranch ranch staff member who cleans rooms and first day, they’re grinning from ear to ear, at helps with meals, was an accountant in (homeplaceranch.com) will set peace with the world, a bit saddle-sore, but London as recently as last year. “I got fed you back £544 per person. Six much happier with life and themselves. It’s up of London,” she tells me. “I would have nights costs £946. Get a free good to watch.” £100 in my pocket on Saturday morning and day’s stay if your birthday or It might be 6am, but here at Homeplace, by midday it had gone, and I didn’t know anniversary falls during your time a working horse and guest ranch in Alberta, what I’d spent it on. Here, money has little at Homeplace. Cabins at Red Deer Canada’s high cattle country – 31 miles meaning. It’s all about the quality of life, and (reddeerriverranches.com) start at southwest of Calgary – the early hour doesn’t I had none at home.” £188pp for two nights. seem so bad. After all, the area was called Ed and Mike, the wranglers who care for SEE: visitcalgary.com ‘Paradise’ by the native Indians, before the horses, are both ex-London bankers. ›› wagons brought new settlers to the untamed land in the “I wouldn’t go back there for all the money in the mid-1800s. Here in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, at an elevation of 4900 feet, the air is that bit fresher, the colours somehow sharper – Brokeback Mountain was filmed in Alberta, so imagine the movie’s sweeping vistas and you’re almost there.

Looking out of my cabin window, I watch the horses, perhaps 20 of them, slowly walking out through the forest trees and into the fields, the Rockies an unparalleled dramatic backdrop. Each animal walks in silence, as though drawn by invisible threads to the ranch house where the wranglers have started preparing the saddles for the day.

Once zipped into my fleece – one made in Canada, because they understand cold in this country – I take a walk around the ranch with Mac. After starting out as a successful advertising executive, Mac turned his back on the rat race and bought the ranch. He continues to ride and lead groups even though he is now in his seventies.

“I prefer the company of horses to people sometimes,” he says as we groom a horse called Dave. “At least you know why they bite you.”

The simple life in his own private idyll has given Mac plenty of time to philosophise. “The secret to happiness is to TNTMAGAZINE.COM

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Stunning: the native Indians called the Foothills of the Rockies “paradise” world,” says Mike, who used to work at Deutsche Bank.

Together with being the perfect escape from the frenetic pace of big-city life, Homeplace is also a great place to start for those who have always fancied riding through rolling hills, but have little experience with horses.

I meet up with a group of five others, all ages, all abilities, who tuck into the homemade fry-up of eggs, bacon and beans before the day’s ride. We’ve all been tested for our abilities on a horse in advance – there’s a wooden horse in the yard that Mac nicknames Woody, and he and his wranglers watch how each one of us gets on and off. “We can tell what you can do by how you sit,” he explains.

Mac also has a list of dos and don’ts to make sure the horses are handled with care. “Don’t shout round the horses, they will kick and bite. Don’t go straight up to a horse and pat it on the nose, approach it gently from the side and talk softly. Always be aware in what order your horse should go in on the trail. They know where they should go, but do you?

If you don’t and try to lead when you shouldn’t, chaos will break loose. Horses know their place.”

Anything else? “Don’t pull the reins too tight. In Europe you pull the reins too tight. The horse knows where you want it to go. You don’t need to shout; just whisper to it.”

Mac tells me that he has three priorities on his ranch: the safety of the guests, the safety of the horses, and that the guests enjoy themselves. In the 30 years since he opened his ranch to the public, he seems to have got his priorities right – more than 80 per cent of guests are returners.

He chooses a horse called Favour for me. She’s a strong beast, but will do as she’s told, if she is told in a strong voice.

Favour also has no stirrups, so the only thing that keeps the saddle on is my gripping like crazy with my thighs.

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Things go well to start. Favour does me a favour by not being nervous, jittery or aggressive, and I’m completely overwhelmed by the beauty of the surroundings, spotting wild deer, hawks and falcons hovering overhead. It goes some way towards taking the edge off the ever-present threat of grizzly bears that wander the forests around the ranch, and have been known to get into the kitchen and raid the larder.

Of course, I forget to grip and gradually, ever so slowly,

Ride ‘em cowboy: on the open range

I slide down the side of Favour – as if I will just keep going and do the complete circle, coming up the other side. The horse stops, and could have kicked and killed me, but as Mac says: “She’s a good horse. She realises she’s more clever than you are.” Thanks, Mac. Evening suppers around a campfire are legendary on ranches, and those at another ranch, Red Deer, are said to be the best. Just an hour and a half’s drive from Calgary airport, the enigmatic Jason Bradley manages the working cattle there, and guests can get involved with the ranch or just enjoy the scenery – although most want to muck in.

The ranch advocates slow cooking: the art of putting time into a meal and savouring each mouthful, which means cooking Red Deer ranch-reared beef in the ground for hours on end. When you dig it up – as I did – tear off the newspaper and foil and open the parcel, the smell is heavenly. The meat slides off the bone and melts in the mouth. I would almost defy a vegetarian to say no – I had never eaten beef until that moment. Without a doubt, it is the best meal I have ever had in all my travels, in all my life.

An evening around the fire brings out all kinds of conversation: Bradley tells us why calves need to be branded

“

Lots of stressed-out city types stay here

”

and castrated – he allows visitors to take part in it if they so wish – we sing songs and stare into the flames, and listen to stories about the bears that got away.

As for the real cowboy and Indian legends, you will no doubt hear many campfire tales of brave cowboys, brave Indians and even braver horses. While the Canadians are extremely proud of the fact that they didn’t treat their First Nations – the Aboriginals of Canada – as badly as their American neighbours, in my opinion, it’s a close-run thing.

Tribes were turned out of their homes, moved to reservations where they could not hunt or fish, and into wooden homes where they burnt the floorboards for firewood because they ›› didn’t see what the floorboards were ‘for’.

Grizzly: Bears are known to roam the region

The Insider's guide Mac McKenny bought Homeplace Ranch when he was 37, after quitting a high-flying career in advertising. Now in his seventies, he still enjoys heading up the day-to-day running of the ranch. Just less than an hour’s drive from Calgary airport – he picks you up in his 4x4 – en route to Homeplace he tells all about Calgary’s hidden gems – ie, the sights you won’t find on the tourist office website.

Where’s the best place to eat?

Check out the Longview Steakhouse at High River, 102 Morrison Rd, Longview, for a four-course dinner. It’s across from Longview Hotel and Bar. Here, you’ll hang out with real cowboys – you’ll even see ranchers riding their horses into the bar.

Where do you go to chill?

Rent a car and drive the back roads to Indian Graves Ridge in Longview. Take an afternoon to relax and watch horse herds graze in the meadow.

Where’s good for an adventure?

Drive to the Tsuu T’ina Indian Rodeo and dances. And take a camera. The sounds are as hypnotic as the sights. Less well-known than the Calgary Stampede – the area’s most popular annual rodeo show – it’s authentic.

And for romantics?

Walk down to the creek west of Homeplace Ranch, and sit on the bench at the top of the hill with a pretty lady or a handsome cowboy. And mind the bears.

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Sarah Tucker stayed at Homeplace Ranch homeplaceranch.com and Red Deer Ranch reddeerriverranches.com

BEST RANCH HOLIDAYS MORE GETAWAYS WITH LASSOS INCLUDED ESTANCIA HUECHAHUE, ARGENTINA WHAT: A working cattle ranch in Argentine Patagonia.

WHY: Horse-riding is just one option at this ranch set among the rugged beauty of Patagonia. There’s also rafting on the River Alumine, fishing, hunting and expeditions to Indian burial caves. You can even do a three-day trip through the southern Andes on horseback, checking out snow-capped volcanoes, crystal-clear lakes and forests along the way. Plus there’s a hot tub and the opportunity to eat your own weight in Argentine beef.

SEE: huechahue.com

BONANZA CREEK, MONTANA, US WHAT: A working ranch spread over 25,000 acres of land and set against Montana’s mountains.

WHY: This ranch is all about relaxation. There are acres of space to explore and plenty of ranch-hand work to do if you want to join in – the ranch runs about 1500 head of cattle. With just eight to 12 guests hosted per week, you’re guaranteed personal attention, and there are hammocks and massages on hand for time spent out of the saddle.

SEE: bonanzacreekcountry.com MAJESTIC DUDE RANCH, COLORADO, US WHAT: A different kind of ranch located in the Colorado Mountains.

WHY: The Dude Ranch provides you with a mountain bike as well as a horse, so you can explore the country on wheels when you tire of hooves. There are also nice touches including night-time traditional American snacks such as smores – chocolate digestive biscuits melted with marshmallows – and outdoor film screenings with popcorn.

SEE: majesticduderanch.com BURNT WELL GUEST RANCH, NEW MEXICO, US WHAT: A small family-run ranch in conspiracy-theorycentral, Roswell.

WHY: The hospitality at Burnt Well is unrivalled and you can even take part in a week-long cattle drive where you camp as you go. There’s probably no better place to feel like a real cowboy – after all, the area was home to Billy the Kid. You can even fit in a trip to the infamous Roswell UFO Museum and crash site.

SEE: burntwellguestranch.com

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Saddle up: the writer and ranch owner Mac

Photos: Sarah Tucker, Isaias Miciu Nicolaevici, Thinkstock

Look into the stories of how they were treated, their culture all but obliterated by the English who thought their way of life was superior to that of people who had lived here for generations, and it will make you weep. It’s ironic how the natives’ philosophy – that the land is not anyone’s to own, and the need for living close to nature and appreciating its importance and natural medicine – has finally come home to us. It seems the First Nations knew the best way to live all along.

Need convincing? Take a break from your own rat race and find out for yourself. You won’t regret it. ❚

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Not many people choose to swim in the sea on New Year’s Day in Scotland (it’s a wee bit chilly) but for those mad enough to take the plunge, the appropriately named ‘Loony Dook’ is your thing.

HAGGIS HOGMANAY

HAGGiS are proud sponsors of this official Edinburgh Hogmanay event and you’ll even get your very own swim cap to prove your insanity. And, it’s the fastest cure to your New Year’s Day hangover.

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£335 EDINBURGH 29 DECEMBER - 5 DAY INCLUSIONS:

£335 DEPARTS LONDON 30 DECEMBER - 4 DAY Return coach travel from London / All accommodation / Hogmanay Street Party Pass / The legendary HAGGiS Ceilidh Night / Edinburgh walking tour / HAGGiS sponsored Loony Dook / Free Lonely Planet Guide

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CITIES Top weekend getaways

TNT selects the UK’s hottest destinations

BATH

10 ACE CITIES

There is no more entrancing UK city than Bath – a triumph of elegance more than 2000 years in the making. The Romans established the city to take advantage of its therapeutic spring, but it was the architects and wealthy patrons of the Georgian era who fashioned a city – using the distinctive cream-coloured local stone – that became a byword for splendour, and, later, Unesco world heritagelisted. A compact city, it is a joy to wander around and soak up the history and atmosphere. And afterwards you can soak up the famous waters by having a dip in the magnificent rooftop pool at the Thermae Bath Spa.

EDINBURGH A road trip around this fair isle is incomplete without a visit to the Scottish capital. The city itself is divided into the Old Town – a spectacular Edinburgh Castle network of winding cobbled streets spiralling downhill in the shadows of the majestic Edinburgh castle – and the New Town, a more cosmopolitan network of shopping, nightlife and entertainment.

Beneath the castle,

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Unwind in a bath in Bath

in the heart of town, are the Princes St Gardens. Take a picnic and soak up the essence of this truly atmospheric city. As for whiskey, check out The Bow Bar, around the corner from the castle, on West Bow. It’s a place you’ll come back to.

YORK Dominated by the epic Minster – the largest gothic cathedral in Northern Europe – York has a long and colourful past. Invaded by Vikings and ravaged by the Great Plague, York’s history dates back to 71AD when it was founded by the Romans. Every trip here must include a visit to the Jorvik Viking Centre, alive with the sights, sounds and wretch-inducing smells of Viking times. Then discover a deluge of cutesy tea rooms and trinket shops in The Shambles, a cobbled street which snakes its way

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The Angel of the North, Newcastle

through the centre of town. Branded the most haunted city in Europe, York’s shadowy snickleways; narrow, winding alleyways; and historic buildings are thought to be awash with things that go bump in the night, all of which you can hear about on one of the city’s numerous ghost tours.

NEWCASTLE Recently hailed the UK’s friendliest city, Newcastle has pristine pavements, shiny buildings, pricey drinks and European funding, which has led to its latest rash of superimposed ‘culture’. Whether it’s the Angel of the North or Sir Norman Foster’s Sage Music Centre, Newcastle has developed an identity beyond football and short-skirted ladies.

The newly developed quayside is at the heart of modern Belfast: hip and friendly Newcastle. There are echoes of Sydney Harbour in the Tyne Bridge, but the most impressive feature of the quayside is the 19th century High Level Bridge. No trip to Newcastle is complete without downing a pint of the north east’s most famous export, Newcastle Brown Ale. Otorious Bigg Market is one place to stop for a drink, while the more sophisticated Central Station area, pricier Quayside and gay Pink Triangle are also good for supping.

York has historic buildings aplenty

Cardiff is a beautiful city

BELFAST Belfast has shaken off its violent past to emerge a hip and friendly city that boasts atmospheric bars, cool clubs and a burgeoning shopping scene. Whereas Dublin has become ridiculously expensive and swamped with tourists, Belfast has still retained its unique character. Discover the political murals of the Shankill and Falls districts by taking one of the city’s famous Black Taxi tours, which also makes a stop at the Peace Wall that divides the loyalist and republican communities. The Cathedral Quarter is the city’s clubbing capital, while you can find traditional music in the pubs of the Gaeltacht Quarter in West Belfast.

CARDIFF Cardiff is a beautiful city built around a ruined castle with plenty of greenery right into the centre. The main shopping areas of Queen Street and the St David’s Centre are bustling, and the relatively new Cardiff Bay development gives it a truly cosmopolitan feel. Cardiff is Wales’ nightlife hub, with plenty of clubs and bars in the main city centre and also a good few waterside watering holes in Cardiff Bay. Creation is the largest and best known of the clubs, Remember the Beatles in Liverpool

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but the smaller venues can go off too. For live music, there’s the scruffy-but-affable Barfly.

LIVERPOOL The legacy left by The Beatles is still a major draw for most visitors to this music-loving city.

Check out the Cavern Club, on Matthew street or the Casbah Coffee Club in Merseyside – both places where the Fab Four performed. The Beatles story at Albert Docks recounts the history of the band and the daily Magical Mystery Tour of Liverpool takes you to Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane, as well as other sites of Beatles mythology. The European Capital of Culture 2008 has always been a key player in the British art scene, with its Tate and the ‘National Gallery of the North, the Walker Art Gallery. The live music scene is very much alive and kicking in Liverpool where it’s possible to see a gig every night of the week.

GLASGOW Let’s face it, Glasgow is never going to win any “most beautiful city ” contests – especially given its proximity to prettier neighbour Edinburgh. But recent regenerative programs have seen Glasgow shed its rough and down-atheel reputation to emerge as a destination city in its own right. From the Charles Rennie Mackintosh-designed Glasgow School of Art to the eclectic Burrell Collection, Glasgow packs plenty of cultural clout. It also boasts a vibrant café and restaurant scene – its curry houses are particularly good – and a live music scene that has spawned many a global star.

mean there’s a real buzz to the place. And it just seems to be getting better – with thousands more media types preparing to call the place home from 2011 when the BBC relocates to its purpose built superheadquarters in Salford.

For music lovers, just remember that the Madchester days of the 80s and 90s are long gone. The good news is you’re still guaranteed a cracking night out at any one of this city’s excellent club nights. Or if a civilised meal is more your ticket, then head to the Northern Quarter for an organic feast or out to West Didsbury for a superb suburban meal – strange but true!

BRISTOL Arguably cooler and definitely less upitself than London, Bristol has carved a niche for itself as a Westcountry haven of alternative arts and music.

You may or may not know that Bristol is home to graffiti artist Banksy and musicians like Tricky and Massive Attack, but you’ll definitely pick up on the city’s creative, slightly anarchistic spirit as you wander the streets. Take in the stunning Clifton Suspension Bridge, chill in the Botanical Garden then seek out some music – Bristol is chocca with clubs and live music venues. St Paul’s Carnival is a good time to experience the city’s Afro Caribbean influence.

Energetic and edgy, Manchester is quite simply England’s coolest northern town. Its vibrant mix of students, young professionals, artists and fascinating industrial history

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MANCHESTER

PR Image, visit manchester, Andrew Hazard, Getty, Thinkstock, TNT

Manchester is a vibrant UK city

Bristol has an edgy, creative vibe

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ACTION STATIONS

From cycling to surfing, we show you how to get physical in the UK WORDS JANINE SURFING IN NEWQUAY Newquay boasts some of the best surfing beaches in Europe so grab a board and a wetsuit, and start riding those gnarly tubes and bitchin’ breaks. Busy with surfers in the summer with crowded swells, the beaches are much quieter in the chilly winter months – just make sure you wear a wetsuit, booties and hat before you dive into the icy water.

If you’re a beginner, hire a foamie – a soft and easy-to- ride board – and if you want to have fun on small waves, grab a longboard.

Once you’re done with the waves for the day, Newquay has plenty of wild nightlife to boot.

SAILING ON THE SOLENT Even if you’re simply pottering along on a calm day, the feeling of being on a yacht powered only by the wind and your own sailing know-

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how is exhilarating. And whether you’re an old hand at changing tack or can’t tell port from starboard, the Solent – the long stretch of water between the south coast and Isle of Wight – is a paradise for anyone with an interest in sailing. There are dozens of yacht clubs and sailing schools that operate on or near the Solent, which has novice-friendly waters yet easy access to more challenging routes – such as the famous loop around the Isle of Wight.

Fresh air: wander Dartmoor National Park

GETTING ACTIVE IN THE NEW FOREST Only 90 minutes by train outside of London, The New Forest is the perfect place to combine the great outdoors with getting fit. Boasting miles and miles of traffic-free cycling tracks leading deep into its lush interior, The New Forest is a magnet for cyclists. You can easily

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Hit the waves in Newquay

Essex is the place to cycle

hills this ain’t and the shock of this ruggedlooking landscape can knock the wind out of you quicker than the freshest breeze. If you’re keen to explore some of the 730 miles of public footpaths and bridleways then your first stop should be one of the information centres. And you don’t need to be Bear Grylls, there are a variety of

“ The feeling of sailing on a yacht can be exhilarating ” KELSO

Paddle power: hit the water in the New Forest

hire or bring your own bike. And it’s ideal for beginners or those who like a leisurely pace, as the topography is fairly flat. But that doesn’t mean it’s boring. The beautiful landscape makes it ideal for walkers with both circular and linear routes wending their way through the trees, with picnic spots and the odd country pub along the way. The New Forest is also a great place to learn bushcraft, archery and horse riding but if you want to get wet there are also plenty of opportunities for canoeing, kayaking and rafting on the Beaulieu and Lymington Rivers.

HIKING IN DARTMOOR NATIONAL PARK Stop for a breather at the top of a rocky moor in Devon’s Dartmoor National Park and you’ll no doubt be struck by the almost prehistoric atmosphere of this ancient land. Rolling green

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easygoing walks that suit all abilities. Of course, you can go the whole hog too and try out a spot of wild camping. Just make sure you take plenty of warm and wet weather gear for when the mists descend and the weather gets all moody. Lovely!

CYCLING IN ESSEX Forget the snooty cliches about Essex being full of chavs and crap towns, it’s also home to some of England’s most beautiful countryside and makes for a brilliant destination for road cyclists. From Audley End station, an hour’s journey from Liverpool Street, you can pick up a cycling route which meanders through rolling hills and historic towns such as Thaxted, famed for its pretty almshouses and 19th century windmill, and the stunning medieval hamlet of Saffron Walden. If you need to refuel, you could do worse than stop off at The Cricketers in Clavering. As you’d expect from a restaurant owned by Jamie Oliver’s parents, the food is fantastic.

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WILD AT HEART

NEED TO KNOW

Scotland: Loch it in

Discover knockout scenery & exciting cities in Scotland WORDS TNT WRITERS rom wild nights out in funky Edinburgh and Glasgow to the savage remoteness of the Shetland Islands and Ben Nevis, the UK’s highest peak, Scotland has loads to offer the independent traveller. It’s only a stone’s throw from London by plane or train too, so weekend missions are as easy as pie. We’ve picked five of Scotland’s best attractions.

F

LOCH NESS You can’t visit Scotland without checking out the haunting Loch Ness, a giant and insanely deep lake wedged between towering mountains and the supposed home of the mythical beast, the Loch Ness Monster, affectionately known as Nessie. Head up to the ruins of Castle Urquhart, which affords fabulous views of the loch – and a chance to spot Nessie.

impossible to do justice to is the beguiling atmosphere of the Highlands. As you gaze across the mountains, valleys and lakes – the landscapes somehow take on an ever more entrancing feel. Maybe it’s the romance of being amid a genuinely wild and unspoilt environment, or maybe it’s the unrelenting nature of the vistas – at almost every twist and turn a spectacular new scene unfolds. The Highlands are, without doubt, one of the UK’s, and Europe’s, most rewarding destinations.

CLIMB BEN NEVIS Ben Nevis means “venomous hill” in Gaelic: an ominous name if ever there was one. The UK’s highest peak is a tough slog through snow and ice using crampons, rope and ice axes in winter, while in summer the snow disappears to make it a scenic and challenging hike.

WHEN TO GO Any time. Scotland’s climate is cool and wet. January and February are the coldest months.

GETTING THERE Direct trains run from London to Edinburgh (4hrs30mins) and Glasgow. (5hrs).

Buses run direct from London to Scotland’s major cities. Hire a car at easycar.com/ tntmagazine.com for a 5 per cent discount.

Budget airlines fly from London to Edinburgh and Glasgow.

GETTING AROUND Scotland has an efficient bus and train network.

GOING OUT A pint of beer costs about £2.80.

ACCOMMOD ATION Dorm beds start from £9 and private rooms from £18.

SEE visitscotland.com

SCOTLAND Loch Ness

SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS The beauty of the Scottish Highlands has been the stuff of legends for poets, writers and artists alike for centuries. But what’s

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Ben Nevis

EDINBURGH Plenty of castles to explore

Glasglow

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Explore cultural Edinburgh

SCOTTISH CASTLES With its brooding skies, towering mountains and glassy lakes, Scotland provides an enchanting setting for its clutch of modern and ruined castles. Overlooking the Highlands and Lowlands, Stirling Castle has a turbulent history that features many of Scotland’s most colourful historical characters, from William Wallace to Mary Queen of Scots. Meanwhile, Edinburgh Castle dominates the capital’s skyline, perched atop an extinct volcano. Make like a royal and spend the night in Kinloch

“ Make like a royal and spend a night in a castle ” Castle, sited in the Isle of Rum in Scotland.

Built in 1897, visitors can sleep in a hostel dorm situated at the back of a castle, in what used to be the servants’ quarters. If you’ve got cash to splash, stay in an Oak room, complete with four-poster beds. Also worth exploration are ruined fortress Dunnotar Castle and Eilean Donan, which sits in the middle of three lochs.

Climb Ben Nevis

Enjoy the nightlife

chock-full of friendly Scots boozing in bars, pubs serving steaming plates of haggis and great sights to check out like Arthur’s Seat and Edinburgh Castle, rising from the cliffs and looming over the city. Often overlooked, edgy Glasgow is just as worthy of a visit, especially for its dearth of tourists, thriving music scene and pub culture.

CHOW DOWN ON HAGGIS No trip to Scotland would be truly complete without at least trying haggis: a sheep’s intestine combined with onion, oatmeal, spices and salt. It is traditionally boiled in the sheep’s stomach but today many other casings are used. While it sounds horrible, it tastes incredible when served with “neeps and tatties”, which is usually yellow turnips and potatoes. It has become so popular that a vegetarian option is often available, but seeing how the haggis is very much a meat dish, it’s hard to believe the vegetarian option is anything like the real thing. Wash down your meal with a nip of Scotch whisky. The Scots are famous for brewing this drop. In fact, there’s even an act of parliament – the Scotch Whisky Act – that governs the quality of the product for it to carry the name Scotch whisky.

CITY LIFE

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Getty, Thinkstock, TNT

Edinburgh and Glasgow are vastly different cities, but both have much to offer.

Funky Edinburgh is the first port of call for most travellers to Scotland. The capital is

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IRISH CHARM Soak up the Emerald Isle’s mighty craic

Stand tall: The Giant’s Causeway

WORDS JANINE KELSO

reland and Northern Ireland offers historic buildings, ancient ruins, mystical legends, a complicated history and a fascinating landscape, but the thing that makes it special is its spirit. The music will get under your skin and send shivers down your spine, and the stories you hear in a dusty local pub will bring a smile to your face.

I

NEED TO KNOW

THE GIANT’S CAUSEWAY According to legend, the Giant’s Causeway was built by giant Finn McCool as stepping stones across the sea to help him meet his Scottish enemy. But scientists say that the honeycomblike formation of six-sided basalt columns were formed by volcanic eruptions more than 60 million years ago. Whatever you choose to believe, the Causeway is a must-see natural wonder. Those with a head for heights can

Swing by: Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge

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The Temple Bar, Dublin

cross the nearby Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, which swings over an 80ft chasm.

DUBLIN Brimming with history and character, Dublin is positively cosmopolitan, its streets thronging with immigrants and tourists, leading many to think that the Republic’s capital is the country’s least Irish city. But dig a little deeper and get off the tourist map, and you’ll find the city still has much to offer. Dublin is the best place in the world to sup a pint of its most famous export, Guinness. Learn how to pull a perfect pint of the gloopy black stuff, topped off with a creamy head, at the Guinness Storehouse, then enjoy a drink in its dazzling 360° bar which affords striking city views.

History boffins should pay a visit to the free National Museum of Ireland, home to two 2000-year-old people, who were preserved in bogs until they were discovered in 2003.

WHEN TO GO Any time. Winter is mild, summer is sunny.

GETTING THERE Aer Lingus and RyanAir fly to Dublin and Belfast. EasyJet flies to Belfast.

GETTING AROUND To hire a car, see easycar.com/ tntmagazine.com for a 5 per cent discount.

Dublin and Derry can be easily explored on foot.

GOING OUT A beer costs from £2.80 to £3.50.

ACCOMMODATION Dorm rooms cost from £11 a night.

SEE discoverireland.ie

Giant’s Causeway Derry

BELFAST

N. IRELAND DUBLIN

IRELAND 11

A troubled past

Historians believe the bodies were sacrificed to the gods of fertility to guarantee a good harvest. While tourist-trap Temple Bar is loaded with after-dark haunts, you’ll find a more genuine Irish experience – as well as friendly Irish folk – at boozers such as Hogans on George Street and Whelans, on Wexford Street, famed for its music and late bar.

www.britainonview.com, Getty, TNT

DERRY-LONDONDERRY The walled city of Derry/Londonderry has a turbulent and fascinating history, as well as a burgeoning cultural scene. In fact, the vibrant and forward-thinking city was recently named the UK’s first Capital of Culture for 2013. The city with two names – Derry, if you’re a Catholic nationalist, or Londonderry, if you’re a Protestant loyalist, might have a bright future, but this belies a troubled past.

Harrowing murals in the city’s Bogside provide a chilling reminder of Derry’s bloody past. Painted on end of row terraces, scenes depict everything from a boy clutching a Molotov cocktail and wearing a gasmask, to a 14-year-old girl who was killed in crossfire in 1971. Spend an evening in characterful pub Peadar O’Donnell’s, in Waterloo Street – its ceiling and walls covered in knick-knacks, flags, Guinness posters and stuffed animals.

Fancy a pint?

Janine Kelso travelled with Shamrocker Adventures (08450 267 507; shamrockeradventures.com) on FILM LOCATIONS the Northern Rocker tour, which travels to Derry, Ireland’s beguiling landscape has captured the imagination of countless Belfast and the Giant’s Causeway. It recently won filmmakers, who have shot top movies, such as The Commitments and Michael ‘Best Visitor Experience’ at the Northern Ireland Collins. Although Mel Gibson’s swashbuckler Braveheart was set in Scotland, Tourism Awards. Shamrocker also runs three, five most of the battle scenes were filmed in Ireland. The D-Day scenes in Saving and seven day trips throughout Ireland, departing Private Ryan were also shot in Ireland, in County Wexford. from Dublin.

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of the e n o t in a Check- oolest digs UK’s c NINE KELSO

T O H S L E T S O H JA WORDS

1. THE CASTLE CARBISDALE CASTLE SYHA HOSTEL, SUTHERLAND, SCOTLAND What? Make like a King or Queen and spend a right royal night in an enchanting castle. Built for the Dowager Duchess of Sutherland in 1906, this building has seen many rich and esteemed folk step through its doors. Set in woodlands an hour’s drive north of Inverness, this castle hostel is great for groups, families and weddings. Walls are adorned with art and Italian marble statues stand on display in the main gallery. Easily spooked types should note that the castle even has its own ghost. Nearby attractions include distilleries, nature walks and mountain biking routes.

How much? £20.50 per night, per bed.

See: hihostels.com

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2. GENERATOR HOSTEL DUBLIN, IRELAND What? Smack bang in Smithfield Square in the heart of the city, these new digs are situated next to the Jameson distillery and just around the corner from the famous Temple Bar area. If you fancy a bit of pampering, visitors are given the options of ensuite or a VIP suite with a hot tub and Guinness bar.

How much? From £13.20 per night, per bed.

See: generatorhostels.com

underground Clashbar, the former base of the old Clerkenwell Magistrates Court where Charles Dickens worked while he wrote and immortalised the adventures of Oliver Twist. More recent residents include rock legends The Clash, who were held in the cells in 1978 for shooting at pigeons.

How much? From £19 per night, per bed.

See: clinkhostels.com

5. CASTLE ROCK HOSTEL, EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND Housed under the Castle ramparts, this laid-back hostel is within striking distance of the historic Royal Mile and the pubs and clubs of the Grassmarket. Top-notch facilities include a sun-patio, a traditional coal fire for those chilly wintry nights and an ice machine. There’s also a free walking tour of the city every morning.

How much? From £15 per night, per bed.

See: castlerockedinburgh.com

3. CENTRAL BACKPACKERS OXFORD

Hostelling International,Thinkstock

This award-winning hostel can be found in one of Oxford’s liveliest streets, Park End, lined with restaurants, pubs, bars and clubs. As well as a cosy TV lounge with movies showing all day, there’s a roof-top terrace with a BBQ. How much? From £19 per night, per bed.

See: centralbackpackers.co.uk

4. CLINK 78, LONDON This revamped 200-year-old courthouse-turned-hostel is a classified English Heritage building thanks to its original prison cells and courtrooms. Spend evenings making friends, playing games and dancing in the hostel’s

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SKIFEST NYE COACH TOUR ■ Risoul 30 DEC-7 JAN All-inclusive £529 ✔ 6 Nights Risoul ✔ Coach transfers

SKIFEST NYE FLIGHT TOUR ■ Risoul 30 DEC-6 JAN All-inclusive £729

✔ 7 Nights Risoul ✔ Flights & airport transfers

FOOTBALL ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE ■ Fulham FC vs Manchester City SUN 18 SEP 3pm £52 ■ Fulham FC vs Queens Park Rangers SUN 2 OCT 3pm £53 ■ Fulham FC vs Everton SUN 23 OCT 1:30pm £38

BOOK ONLINE NOW! www.thefanatics.com or call 0207 240 3223 COVENT GARDEN OFFICE 1st

Floor, 15 New Row, Covent Garden, WC2N 4LD Mon - Fri 9am - 6pm TNTMAGAZINE.COM

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BUY ONE SAFARI! GET ONE FREE! Book by 30 September Applies to selected trips Call for further details

Tour, Trek and Surf XMAS & New Years!

TOURS, TREKS, SURFRING, XMAS & NY!

r Our gu e Mat ma

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Gorillas in the Mist 6 days Gorilla & Game Trek 15 days Wildlife Express 22 days Big Five Explorer 36 days Kenya to Cape 43 days

£430 £720 £729 £1385 £1419

www.onthegotours.com

020 7371 1113 Prices reflect local payment, see website for full details. Phone lines are open Monday to Friday 9am to 9pm. On the Go Tours, 68 North End Road, West Kensington, London W14 9EP. 䘠 100% On the Go Assurance.

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Mount Toubkal Trek 4 days Surfing in Taghazoute 4 days Marrakech & Beyond 8 days Marrakech Sahara & Surf 11 days Camels, Souks & Kasbahs 15 days Christmas in Morocco 8 days Rock the Kasbah - New Years! 10 days

£219 £219 £549 £749 £799 £579 £649

Why travel with ON THE GO t "#5" "*50 "50- o öOBODJBM protection t 8FMM MPDBUFE MPDBM IPUFMT BOE SJBET t &YDFMMFOU FOUIVTJBTUJD MPDBM guides t /P DPNQVMTPSZ ATJOHMF TVQQMFNFOU t /P AMPDBM QBZNFOU t 0òFSJOH a fantastic selection of year-round guaranteed departures t 5BLJOH ZPV Pò UIF CFBUFO USBDL t $IFDL PVU PVS $ISJTUNBT /FX :FBS UPVST PO TBMF OPX

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EGYPT AND THE RED SEA Pharaohs adventure 6 days King Tutankhamen 9 days Egypt Unplugged 10 days King Ramses 13 days 5-star Jewel of the Nile 10 days

OFF THE BEATEN TRACK £299 £349 £399 £449 £779

Siwa to Alexandria 7 days Sandblaster 13 days Dunes & Tombs 17 days Beyond the Pyramids 12 days Nile Valley to Siwa Oasis 15 days

£599 £549 £649 £749 £779

Why travel with ON THE GO t -FHFOEBSZ &HZQUPMPHJTU MPDBM HVJEFT t "MM PVS IPUFMT IBWF CFFO DIPTFO CZ VT BOE SBUFE PS TUBST t "JSQPSU USBOTGFST BMXBZT JODMVEFE t /P DPNQVMTPSZ ATJOHMF TVQQMFNFOU o XF DBO NBUDI ZPV VQ XJUI B USBWFM NBUF t /P MPDBM QBZNFOU t 8F WF FYQFSJFODFE UIF UPVST öSTU IBOE TP XF LOPX XIBU XF SF UBMLJOH BCPVU

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On the Go Tours, 68 North End Road, West Kensington, London W14 9EP. 䘠 100% On the Go Assurance

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EXPLORE TURKEY & THE MED! Cruise the Med 8 days Aegean Explorer 7 days Turkey Unplugged 10 days Greek Island Getaway 8 days Remembrance Day 9 days Turkey Discovered 14 days

£299 £399 £499 £479 £599 £849

a & Nep

Taj Express 8 days Taj & Tigers 9 days Nepal Encompassed 9 days Everest Base Camp 20 days

£549 £679 £679 £979

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GOODBYE USSR !

Mark the 20th anniversary since of the fall of the mighty USSR. 9-day tour departs 3 Decemember

XMAS & NY TOURS, TRANS-SIBERIAN JOURNEYS Simply St. Peteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 4 days Moscow NY Madness 4 days Vodka Shot 6 days Back in the USSR 7 days Russian Revolution 9 days

£249 £299 £429 £629 £699

The Big Chill 9 days Red Express 10 days Genghis Khan 13 days Highway to China 15 days Big Ticket 19 days

£599 £799 £999 £1349 £1799

Why travel with ON THE GO t "#5" "*50 "50- o öOBODJBM protection t TUBS IPUFMT DIPTFO CZ VT t &YDFMMFOU FOUIVTJBTUJD MPDBM guides t /P DPNQVMTPSZ ATJOHMF TVQQMFNFOU t /P AMPDBM QBZNFOU t -PUT PG :FBS SPVOE HVBSBOUFFE EFQBSUVSFT UP DIPPTF GSPN t 5BLJOH ZPV Pò UIF CFBUFO USBDL t 9NBT JO 3VTTJB BOE /FX :FBS JO 3FE 4RVBSF PO TBMF OPX

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On the Go Tours, 68 North End Road, West Kensington, London W14 9EP. ä&#x2DC; 100% On the Go Assurance.

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XMAS & New Y r!

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TNT EXCLUSIVE READER OFFER!

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THE BEST XMAS & NEW YEAR TOURS EVER! We’re Triple-A bonded (ABTA, ATOL, AITO) and have over 10 years of experience in running top quality festive tours

EGYPT AND JORDAN Party with the Pharaoh’s 6 days Festive King Tutankhamen 9 days Festive King Ramses 13 days New Year Wadi Rum 8 days Xmas in Petra 8 days

THE BEST GUIDES

TOP HOTELS

RUSSIA, MOROCCO, TURKEY £369 £429 £579 £799 £849

The Snow Ball 6 days The Big Ruskie 9 days New Years Red Square 9 days Christmas in Morocco 8 days Christmas Turkey 12 days

NO LOCAL PAYMENTS

AIRPORT TRANSFERS

£399 £649 £599 £549 £679

CHOICE OF DATES

www.onthegotours.com 020 7371 1113 Seasonal supplements may apply, see website for full details. Phone lines are open Monday to Friday 9am to 9pm.

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we

europe

Hop-on Hop-off, Adventures & Festivals

> 33 DESTINATIONS, 9 COUNTRIES 1 ESSENTIAL TRAVEL PASS & MANY NEW TRAVEL-FRIENDS > 14 GREAT TRAVEL OPTIONS FOR EVERY BUDGET ONE WAY AND LOOP TRIPS OR MAKE IT UP AS YOU GO ON THE FLEXITRIP > FULLY FLEXIBLE YOU’RE FREE TO GO WHERE YOU WANT, WHEN YOU WANT. START AND FINISH ANYWHERE > BUDGET BACKPACKING GET BACK TO BASICS – THE CHANGE IS IN YOUR POCKET! YOU CHOOSE WHERE TO EAT, SLEEP, DRINK, AND PARTY

*

2 FOR 1 ON ALL PASSES SAVE UP TO £779

WATCH OUR VLOGGERS

www.youtube.com/BusaboutTV FIND OUT MORE NEWS & VIEWS

www.facebook.com/BUSABOUTeurope

* Book by 18 Sept. Enter promocode ‘late’. Valid on 2011 depts only

10% OFF * 4 DAY Hostel 17, 20 & 23 SEPT £249 7 DAY Camping London Coach* 21 SEPT WAS £359 NOW £323 4 DAY Hostel London Fly* 23 SEPT WAS £469 NOW £422

PARIS CHRISTMAS 4 DAYS £339 DEPARTS LONDON 24 DECEMBER

FESTIVE PARTY TREK 11 DAYS £659 (STUDENTS £629) DEPARTS 22 DECEMBER POLAND, SLOVAKIA, HUNGARY, AUSTRIA & CZECH REPUBLIC

INCLUSIONS: Busabout Guide / Return Coach and ferry from London to Paris / 3 nights accommodation OPTION 1: Prague to Krakow (22 Dec) and 3 breakfasts / Christmas Dinner / Welcome OPTION 2: Krakow to Prague (22 Dec) dinner and drink / Bike tour and river cruise / Trip to Palace of Versailles with picnic lunch / Paris night tour INCLUSIONS: All transport with Guide / 10 nights accommodation and breakfasts / Tour of Auschwitz by coach / FREE Lonely Planet guidebook and Birkenau / Walking tour of Krakow / Christmas dinner / Christmas Eve dinner / A bottle of Champagne each / Vienna Schnapps museum / Busabout t-shirt / FREE Lonely Planet guidebook

All trips include: All accommodation, day trip to Neuschwanstien Castle, Busabout Oktoberfest T-shirt, Busabout Festival Team & Orientation walk of Munich * Book by 18 Sept. Enter promocode ‘late’. Valid on 7 day Camping Lon Coach and 4 Day Hostel Lon Fly

SPAIN & ITALY 15% OFF**GREECE, Book by 18 September. Enter promocode ‘late’ 4 ISLAND FLEXI HOPPER 9 DAYS TO 5 MONTHS FROM £229-£269 MAY-SEPTEMBER SAVE UP TO £40

Mykonos, Paros, Santorini & Ios IBERIAN ADVENTURE 7 DAYS JUNE – SEPTEMBER FROM £429-£479

NEW YEAR AMSTERDAM 4 DAYS £359

SAVE UP TO £72

Seville, Jerez, Tarifa, Granada, Toledo & Lagos (Incl: accommodation)

DEPARTS LONDON 30 DECEMBER INCLUSIONS: Busabout Guide / Return coach and ferry from London to Amsterdam / 3 nights accommodation, 3 breakfasts and 1 dinner / Amsterdam info pack / Orientation tour Amsterdam / Town and country bike tour / Canal cruise around Amsterdam / FREE Lonely Planet guidebook

ture Italian Adven SAVE UP TO £30

SPAIN & PORTUGAL PLUS 15% OFF* ITALY, AND GREECE

* Book by 18 Sept. Enter promocode ‘late’. Valid on 2011 depts only

08450 267 514

ITALIAN ADVENTURE 3 DAYS MAY-SEPTEMBER FROM £169-£199

Pompeii, Capri, Sorrento & Amalfi (Incl: accommodation) ONE-WAY EGYPT 10% OFF SEPTEMBER-NOVEMBER FROM £484

SAVE UP TO £48

www.busabout.com

Cairo, Pyramids of Giza, Valley of the Kings & Dahab

info@busabout.com

Scotland, Wales, Cornwall & Ireland

ALL SCOTLAND TRIPS SAVE UP TO £40

CORNWALL & WALES SAVE UP TO £38

* Book by 18 Sept. Enter promocode ‘late’. Valid on 2011 depts only

COMPASS BUSTER guides s nate local e * passtioland, england & wal o sc l ce * ver ever can * ne% recommendation ide * 99 ee lonely planet gu * fr

10 DAYS

£399 now £359 (Students £379

NOW £341) Orkney, Western Isles, Isle of Skye & Loch Ness

* Book by 18 Sept. Enter promocode ‘late’. Valid on 2011 depts only

CORNWALL CRUSADER

£189 now £151 (Students £179

5 DAY

NOW £143)

Stonehenge, Newquay, Bath & Land’s End

FREE Surfing Lesson on Newquay Beach worth £30

ISLAND EXPLORER

7 DAYS

£279 now £251 (Students £259

NOW £233)

The Western Isles, Isle of Skye & Loch Ness

ORKNEY RAIDER plus ENGLAND & WALES

TRAVEL

10% OFF * 20% OFF *

5 DAYS

£179 now £161 (Students £164

WELSH EXPLORER

5 DAY

£189 now £151 (Students £179

NOW £143)

Cardiff, Snowdonia, Brecon Beacons & Conwy Castle

Entry to the Big Pit Coal Mine & entry into Conwy Castle

FREE

NOW £148)

Orkney Islands, Loch Ness & Highlands

HIGHLAND FLING

5 DAYS

£179 now £161 (Students £164

NOW £148)

Loch Ness, Isle of Skye & North West Highlands

SKYE HIGH

£109

3 DAYS

£98

now (Students £99 NOW £89) Isle of Skye, Loch Ness & Glencoe

FESTIVE HIGHLAND CHRISTMAS & HOGMANAY

Our Legendary Festive trips! Experience a Scottish Christmas in a Royal Highland Hotel.

MEGA HIGHLAND CHRISTMAS £415 DEPARTS EDINBURGH 24 DECEMBER - 5 DAY

All accommodation and breakfasts / Packed lunches on 25 and 26 December / Mulled wine on arrival to the Royal Highland Hotel / Christmas Eve party / Christmas dinner and wine / A traditional Scottish Ceilidh

INCLUSIONS:

Award Winning 3,5,7 & 10 Day Adventures Mini-Group Discounts 4bN_N[aRRQ 1R]N_ab_R` Preferred by STA Travel, Flight Centre & Travel CUTS

TOUR IRELAND

SLEEP WITH US FOR FREE

WE’ll PAY FOR YOUR ACCOMMODATION ON YOUR 3 DAY TRIP

ROYAL HIGHLAND CHRISTMAS £415 DEPART LONDON 23 DECEMBER - 5 DAY

As per 5 Day Mega Highland Christmas but with return coach travel from London plus 2 nights in Edinburgh

INCLUSIONS:

ROYAL HIGHLAND CHRISTMAS £299 DEPART EDINBURGH 24 DECEMBER - 3 DAY INCLUSIONS:

As per 5 Day Mega Highland Christmas

Visit shamrockeradventures.com/free-beds for details and enter promocode freebeds

ALL IRELAND ROCKER 7 DAYS GIANT’S ROCKER 5 DAYS £299 (STUDENTS £279)

£199 (STUDENTS £184)

GALWAY, INIS MOR & BELFAST

GALWAY, DERRY & BELFAST

FREE STUFF: Blarney Castle / Cliffs of Moher / Giant’s Causeway / Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge

FREE STUFF: Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge / Giant’s

CELTIC ROCKER 5 DAYS

SOUTHERN ROCKER 3 DAYS

£199 (STUDENTS £184)

KILLARNEY, INIS MOR/CONNEMARA FREE STUFF: Blarney Castle / Cliffs of Moher

FREE LONELY PLANET GUIDE

GALWAY & DINGLE FREE STUFF: Blarney Castle / Cliffs of Moher

£385 DEPARTS EDINBURGH 7 DAY OPTION 1 – 27 DECEMBER Highlands then Hogmanay OPTION 2 – 29 DECEMBER Hogmanay then Highlands

2 nights hostel shared dorm on tour and 4 nights hostel shared dorm Edinburgh / 3 day Skye High adventure / Hogmanay Street Party Pass / Torchlight Procession / The legendary HAGGiS Ceilidh Night INCLUSIONS:

Causeway / Clonmacnoise early Christian monastic site

£119 (STUDENTS £109)

HOGMANAY & HIGHLANDS

EDINBURGH HOGMANAY £335 EDINBURGH 29 DECEMBER - 5 DAY

4 nights hostel shared dorm / Hogmanay Street Party Pass / Torchlight Procession / The legendary HAGGiS Ceilidh Night / Edinburgh walking tour / Highland Day trip / HAGGiS sponsored Loony Dook

INCLUSIONS:

MORE STOPS MORE STUFF MORE VALUE

GROUPS OF 4 SAVE 5% GROUPS OF 10 SAVE 10%

HAGGIS HOGMANAY £335 DEPARTS LONDON 30 DECEMBER - 4 DAY

Return coach travel from London / All accommodation / Hogmanay Street Party Pass / The legendary HAGGiS Ceilidh Night / Edinburgh walking tour / HAGGiS sponsored Loony Dook

INCLUSIONS:

TNTMAGAZINE.COM Save 10% when you buy two or more qualifying trips

109

www.topdeck.travel/ oktoberfest

www.topdeck.travel/deals

20% OFF! *

8 DAYS

RAMSES ADVENTURE Dep. 18 Oct 2011

6 DAYS

SELECTED DEPARTURES

STEINMEISTER CAMPING

Return coach from London!

£239

NOW

£215

7 DAYS

e www.topdeck.travel/prereleas

GROSSMEISTER CAMPING Dep. 23 & 28 Sep 2011

Return coach from London!

WAS

INCLUDES US$180 LOCAL PAYMENT

T HURRY LAS PLACES! S DON’T MIS !

T OU

Dep. 15, 22 & 28 Sep 2011

WAS

£450

£370

NOW

10% OFF

WAS

£269

NOW

£242

EUROPE 2012 Early Bird Discount SAVE UP TO

15%

*

SEE ONLINE FOR DETAILS..

trips for 18 to 30 somethings

L8291 / Y2992

www.topdeck.travel/deals Flights not included. Egypt trip price includes local payment based on $1 = £0.625, which must be paid locally in USD. Exchange rates correct at time of printing, and subject to currency fluctuations, depending when payment is made. Discount taken from the trip place and doesn’t include local payments. Oktoberfest discount cannot be combined with any other offer & is subject to availability.

www.topdeck.travel/deals

50% OFF

OFF

EUROHOTEL: Outstanding locations with bags of character

DEMOCRACY ROAD Dep. 22 Oct 2011

Includes Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Budapest, plus more!

WAS

£425

NOW

EUROHOTEL: Outstanding locations with bags of character

12 DAYS ROAD TO PRAGUE

50% OFF

Dep. 16 Oct 2011

EUROHOTEL: Outstanding locations with bags of character

16 DAYS GONDOLAS GO NORTH Dep. 16 Oct 2011

Includes Venice, Croatia, Slovenia, Budapest, Prague, plus more!

Includes Venice, Croatia, Budapest, Prague, Vienna, Berlin, plus more!

WAS

WAS

£925

NOW

£462

£1350

£675

NOW

50% OFF

£850

FOR MORE DEALS CHECK OU T OUR WEBSITE

CALL US 0845 257 5210 Prices quoted & discounts are for specific departures only. All trips subject to availability. Discounts are off trip prices only, and do not include food funds, sailing funds and local payments. Flights not included. * Europe 2012 Pre-Release discount valid until 30/9/11. 15% discount consists of 10% Early Bird discount (book & pay in full 6 months in advance) combined with 5% past passneger discount or 5% multi-trip discount. Disounts don’t apply to Food Funds, Sailing Funds or Local Payments.See website for full terms and conidtions

facebook.com/TopdeckTravel TNTMAGAZINE.COM 111 twitter.com/TopdeckTravel

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ON SALE! 5 0 % 10 DAYS

TRAVEL

egypt

9 DAYS from

£229

Egyptian Express

Ancient Egypt at its best all in nine intoxicating days!

Pyramids & Beaches The best value two week holiday in Egypt possible!

CROATIA

Sailing Split

15 DAYS from

£279

8 DAYS from

£339

A week of sun, sea and sand visiting Dubrovnik, Korcula and glamorous Hvar

SAVE up to 15% off!

Last few spaces available

No Local Payments or Hidden Extras!

TURKEY

MOROCCO 15 DAYS fr

£799

11 DAYS fr

£359

hogmanay

XMAS and NY tours BOOKING NOW

OKTOBERFEST from

Celebrate New Years £199 Eve in Edinburgh!

4-day coach or Accommodation Packages

16th Sep to 3rd Oct Hotel, Hostel or Camping Options.

Weekend Packages

from

£229

No silly local payments Top quality, well located hotels Guaranteed departures Perfect mix of sightseeing & free time ABTA, ATOL, AITO bonding No single supplements and realistic prices Great value Xmas & New Year tours

Ph: 020 7471 6400 www.thegobus.com

112 TNTMAGAZINE.COM

TM

HORSE RIDING IN WALES RELAX AND RECHARGE YOUR BATTERIES AT THE WEEKEND

We pickup from Ealing every Friday evening at 6:30pm.

Our trips are great for groups of mates, singles or couples HORSE RIDING Ride all day over the Brecon Beacons national park, suitable for first timers or experienced. We ride over mountains and ancient Roman bridleways, it’s probably the best ride in the UK, with great scenery. The sore ass is on us and guaranteed, but we’ll put muscle soak in the hot tub for you. £195 HILL WALKING On the Brecon beacons national park £135.

Or you can just chill FLY FISHING All tackle supplied, you just fish all day .£165 ACCOMODATION has 2 double rooms, dorms & open log fire. It also has a large covered hot tub next to a river with music. At night you can party all you like, with big late breakfast on Sunday. Our food is home made and cooked by a pro.

Phone 01874 636170 open till 10pm.

Weekday trips also can be arranged, Sunday to Friday, good for teachers

Included in all prices are return transport, 2 nights accommodation, all food and activity. There are absolutely NO hidden extras.

Email: info@bushwakkers.co.uk website: www.bushwakkers.co.uk

We are fully qualified and all legalities are in place, so no wukking furries

HOSTELSEARCH

A NEW CITY IS MORE FUN WHEN BOOKED IN ADVANCE tntmagazine.com/hostels

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AfricaWith Grace Kenya and Tanzania Safari $2900 US Kenya Safari $2100 US Family Safari Kenya $1150 US per Adult $950 US per Child Phone: +61 404 238 209 Email: africawithgrace@live.com Web: africawithgrace.com

TO ADVERTISE CONTACT TYLER 020 7989 0493 114 TNTMAGAZINE.COM

Contiki

SAVE UP TO 25%

Oktoberfest 5 Days / Camping Contiki Tent Village, daily hot breakfasts, regular shuttles to and from the grounds.

27-Sep-11 Now £203 Save £36 contiki.com/oktoberfest PP27OCT15

European Discovery 12 Days / Time Out Hotel Belgium, Netherlands,. Germany, Austria, Italy, Vatican City, Switzerland, France

01-Oct-11 Now £1,055 Save £264 contiki.com/discovery PPCLMD918

European Magic 9 Days / Time Out Hotel Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France

02-Oct-11 Now £812 Save £143 contiki.com/magic PPCLMD920

Snowboard & Ski Austria Book your Contiki Winter adventure now Why Ski Contiki Style? sLoads of exclusive inclusions sFlexible 1 & 2 week options sGreat rates for ski lessons & gear hire sHot breakfast included daily sStay in Contiki’s own Gasthof guesthouse at Hopfgarten village sSki the Austrian Welt Region recently voted Top Resort* Ski Plus Ski Only (coach from London)

(meet us there)

8 & 15 nights From £365pp

7 & 14 nights From £325pp

Only Contiki includes:

sPersonal Ski Guide sThe Contiki Grand Slam – downhill ski race with your buddies! sSalzburg day trip *survey of 70 resorts in 8 countries

Ireland 8 Days / Time Out Hotel Dublin, Londonderry, Galway, Cork & Kilkenny

08-Oct-11 Now £612 Save £153 contiki.com/ireland PPCLMD930

DEALS OF

THE

WEEK

Greek Island Hopping 13 Days / Time Out Hotel includes: Mykonos, Santorini, Ios

26-Sep-11 Now £625 Save £625 Quote/enter: PPCLMD916

European Encounter 16 Days / Time Out Hotel includes: Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Italy, Vatican City, France, Monaco

23-Sep-11 Now £835 Save £835 Quote/enter: PPCLMD911

WINTER 2011/12 BROCHURE Choose from 24 winter tours from 4 to 24 days Check out contiki.com/winter or call Contiki for our latest brochure

Visit contiki.com/ski to book your ski adventure now

MORE DEALS

ONLINE

contiki.com/lates

TNTMAGAZINE.COM 115

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Late Deals

TRAVEL

Next Stop?

CHEAPEST VACCINATIONS ONLINE VACCINATION SEARCH NO CONSULTATION FEE! Swapping the concrete jungle for the real thing?

1st Contact Travel Clinic can take care of all your travel health needs â&#x20AC;&#x201C; with free advice plus vaccinations, tablets and accessories. Low prices, online vaccination search, same day appointments & free consultation.

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info@pptravel.com 020 7930 9999

NOW LESS THAN EUROPE’S BIGGEST PARTY IS

pptravel.com

s largest operator to the It is not too late to join the UK’ Oct) ire MASSIVE FEST (17 Sept - 3 BEERFEST - we cover the ent

A MONTH AWAY!

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✔ Coach tours from £2 from £99 ✔ Accom only camping £209 m fro es ag ck pa ✔ Hotel

2012 ST PATRICK’S DAY ANZAC DAY 2012

Join the

PERTS at Munich’s BEERFEST EX ion ch tours and last accommodat coa –

famousThalkirchen camp AT THE OKTOBERFEST NOW TO SECURE YOUR PLACE places filling fast. CONTACT AS

HOGMANaY 2011/2012 EDIN

“THIS IS THE PARTY EVENTNON-STOP

OF THE YEAR.”

BURGH - EUROPE’S BIGGEST NEW YEARS EVE PARTY

IT’S PARTY TIME IN AMSTERDAM

WOW - LOOK WHAT’S INCLUDED

✔ Our Famous Aussie/Kiwi New Year Party ✔ Superb top class city centre accommodation ✔ Choice of room configurations

✔ Street Party Pass ✔ Braveheart excursion to Stirling ✔ New Years Day party ✔ Train, Coach or Accomm Only options

Hostel Accommodation Only FROM £219 Hotel Accommodation Only FROM £249 Coach Tours FROM £269 Hi Speed Trains Tours FROM £319

TOUR DATES: 30TH DEC 2ND JAN

WEEKEND BREAKS AND DAY TOURS SHORT BREAKS

OVERNIGHT WEEKEND TOURS HORSE RIDING IN WALES OVERNIGHT

PARIS BY EUROSTAR From

Sat 17 - Sun 18 Sept. Only

£209

Departures on Fri 16 Sept & Fri 23 Sept. Two nights B&B hotel, city sightseeing tour and plenty of free time to explore Paris.

OVERNIGHT HILTON NORTHERN ENGLAND: Peak District and York Sat 1 - Sun 2 Oct. From £116pp

HOLLAND AND BELGIUM From

DIKSMUIDE - BELGIUM’S BEER FESTIVAL Overnight tour with departures on the 8th, 15th and 22nd October.

£189

Friday 16 - Sunday 18 September. Return coach travel, sightseeing tours of Amsterdam and Brugge, 2 nights dinner bed & breakfast hotel acom, and a FREE BAR in the evenings..

From

¸ Sat 17 Sept: Cambridge. From

£45 £46 Only £55

¸ Sun 18 Sept: Leeds Castle and Rochester. From ¸ Sat 24 Sept: Oxford and Stratford. From

LUXURY MINI COACH TOURS

¸ Sat 24 Sept: Cycling in the New Forest.

£55

¸ EVERYDAY - Oxford, Stratford & Cotswolds ¸ EVERYDAY - Stonehenge, Glastonbury, Avebury & Chalice Well ¸ EVERY SAT & SUN - Leeds Castle, Canterbury & White Cliffs of Dover

BOOK ONLINE AT:

£45 £36

¸ Sat 17 Sept: York by Rail. From

£179

Friday 23 - Sunday 25 September. Return coach travel, sightseeing tours of Amsterdam and Brugge, 2 nights bed and breakfast accommodation in Amsterdam.

No more than 15 people with customer specified pick ups in zone 1 From

£90pp

DAY TRIPS

AMSTERDAM AND BRUGGE From

£149pp

¸ Sun 25 Sept: Brighton. From

£36

PLUS Stonehenge & Bath EVERYDAY. From £45 with entrances to Stonehenge & the Roman Baths included!

Windsor, Eton & Oxford TUES, THURS, SAT & SUN From £45 with entrances to Windsor Castle and Christ Church College included!

www.andersontours.co.uk or call 0207 436 9304 Anderson Tours Travel Shop, 81 Charlotte Street, London W1T 4PP

FIND US ON FACEBOOK & TWITTER

Anderson Tours is fully bonded

by Client Trust Account

TNTMAGAZINE.COM 117

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OKTOBERFEST 2011

FREIGHT

DOUBLE

DISCOUNT DEAL

Trusted Shipping and Removals

SHIP YOUR GOODS HOME AND CLAIM YOUR TAX REFUND WITH US FOR A DOUBLE DISCOUNT*

Moving home? More stuff than you imagined? Fast, safe and affordable, 1st Contact’s shipping team offers a full international removal service, whether it’s one bag or an entire household. > FREE cartons and packing materials

> Excess Baggage Shipping to Aus/NZ/SA

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0808 141 5520 42958

shipping@1stcontact.com www.1stcontact.com/shipping *

Conditions apply. An ATN of Anglo Pacific International PLC.

118 TNTMAGAZINE.COM 42958_Tax_Shipping_TNT FP.indd 1

19/01/2011 08:32

30th Anniversary OVER 500,000 SATISFIED CUSTOMERS HAVE ALREADY TRUSTED THEIR POSSESSIONS TO ANGLO PACIFIC, LONDON’S LEADING SHIPPERS EXCESS BAGGAGE > Free supply of tea cartons and bubble > Free delivery/collection within M25 > By sea/air/road worldwide > Money Back Guarantee HOUSEHOLD REMOVALS > Free home survey, no obligation > Packed by skilled professionals > Shared or exclusive containers > Motor car/bike specialist shippers TAX REBATES > Average refund £963 secured last year > Online Tax Pack, only 10% commission MONEY TRANSFERS > Competitive exchange rates FINANCIAL PROTECTION > Bonded by the British Association of Removers > Bonded by the Association of Tax Agents > FIDI Accredited International Mover

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TNTMAGAZINE.COM 119

FREIGHT

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EXCESS BAGGAGE

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0800 988 3688 PSS is FAIM ACCREDITED – the only QUALITY STANDARD recognised internationally for Overseas Moving

Web: www.pssremovals.com 120 TNTMAGAZINE.COM

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CLASSIFIEDS To advertise call 020 7989 0567 or sales@tntmagazine.com

NANNIES | CARE | CHEFS/BAR/CATERING | TRADES | GENERAL JOBS | TAX | VISAS

LIVE-IN AND DAILY CARERS URGENTLY NEEDED NOW

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Need to send money tntforex.com 124 TNTMAGAZINE.COM

CARE WORK

NURSING

CALLING ALL SOUTH AFRICAN, AUSTRALIAN & NEW ZEALAND NURSES & CARERS!!!!

Peach Nursing are offering very good rates of pay for Nurses and Carers to work in the London area. We Specialise in Domiciliary Care for the discerning client who wishes to be cared for within their own home.

All Clients Assessed prior to assignment Some selected Live-in Posts Training Given Regular Income guaranteed Travel arrangements accommodated Call us today or e-mail us with all your details.

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NANNIES

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LIVE-IN JOBS Call Dee Cooper for immediate Bar/waiting live - in jobs across England & Scotland. Jobs in everyday for couples and singles plus great chef jobs too!

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GENERAL EMPLOYMENT

IMMEDIATE work for able and available NURSES AND CARERS CONTACT US NOW ON:

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www.colvin-nursing.co.uk We are an equal opportunities company.

COUPLE WANTED FOR 6 MONTHS STARTING MID OCTOBER, to live and work at farm near Salisbury, Wilts.

Cooking, housekeeping, garden and some farm work.

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Salary approx £400 a week. Ring 01722 718555 or 07881654845.

References Please. Initial meeting can be in London.

SOCIABLE PEOPLE NEEDED FOR FUN TIMES!!

We are looking for confident, outgoing people to start ASAP for evening and weekend work. High earning potential for the right candidates.

Contact us NOW on: 0203 137 2840 or www.client-connections.co.uk TNTMAGAZINE.COM 125

CLASSIFIEDS

PEACH

CARE WORK

CLASSIFIEDS

GENERAL EMPLOYMENT

The LEGO Company Ltd, is currently recruiting for:

German, Dutch, Danish and French Speaking Consumer Services Advisors with fluent English - a third language will be an advantage – Seasonal Employment If you think you’ll fit in to our multi-lingual, multi-coloured department then you could be exactly who we’re looking for.

LOCATION: Slough, Berkshire UK (just 20 mins. from London Paddington by train) JOB TYPE: Seasonal starting ASAP HOURS: Full-Time – 37.5 hours per week SHIFT HOURS: 7.5 hours per day, 5 days per week. Some weeks will include a weekend day (those weeks you can choose to take a day off the following week or receive additional pay).

Your shift will be scheduled sometime between the hours of 7am – 8pm GMT. SALARY: £18 000 p. annum, paid monthly BENEFITS: Staff discount, free on-site gym, free shuttle to bus station, pension scheme (5% company contribution), social events calendar, subsidised staff restaurant, and more.

START DATE: 4th October and 10th October POSITION PURPOSE: The purpose of the Customer Service Advisor role is to provide a premium experience to LEGO consumers who contact us by phone and email. We are very different to many consumer service contact centres – we are a premium brand toy company, where fun and creativity play a part in our everyday working lives. Our teams are enthusiastic, friendly, natural rapport builders.

CRITICAL TASKS: The LEGO Consumer Service Advisors are the first point of contact for consumers right the way across Europe. We are an inbound call centre, which means we only speak to our consumers when they contact us. Consumers mainly contact us in two ways – by phone (50%) or by email/letter (50%). They will contact us for various reasons but we can mainly split this into two different categories – Consumer Services (for example: ‘can you replace pieces from my LEGO set’) and Sales (for example: placing orders, increase sales by engaging the consumer, and offering product advice where appropriate.) In addition, they proactively seek to build lasting consumer relations in order to promote the LEGO Brand and values. The contacts you receive and respond to will be in both German and English, as well as in your third language if you do have one. We have also recently launched a loyalty programme as well as an online game which will drive traffic.

A two-week intensive training class is included with ongoing support.

HOW TO APPLY?

Please send your CV with a cover letter: Go to: www.jobs.lego.com 126 TNTMAGAZINE.COM

TRADES & LABOUR

DANCERS & MODELS

CLASSIFIEDS

Joiners/hardwood fixers required for prestigious fit out projects in central London for ongoing work. Suitable experiences of working on relevant fit-out projects is required. ¢ CSCS cards needed ¢ References/qualifications Required To register interest email: ral.london@rullion.co.uk Or Call 020 7397 6557 Or arrange to come and see us at: Rullion Alltrades Ltd, 10-13 Lovat Lane, London, EC3R 8DN (nr Monument tube)

WANTED

FULLY QUALIFIED QUANTITY SURVEYORS REQUIRED MUST HAVE AT LEAST 5 YEARS EXPERIENCE IN COMMERCIAL AND SHOP FIT OUT. Please send your C.V including a covering letter to: recruitment@fitoutuk.com or Fax 0208 963 6901

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HIGHLY SKILLED & EXPERIENCED SITE MANAGERS, CARPENTERS, PAINTERS, LABOURERS & DRYLINERS. Please send your C.V. including copies of CIS card, CSCS card and any Trade Certificates to: recruitment@fitoutuk.com or Fax 0208 963 6901

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ARE YOU JOB HUNTING? Over 7,000 new jobs JOBS.CO.UK

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Solving your recruitment problems!

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HEALTH & WELLBEING

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TAX, VISAS & IMMIGRATION

SALE/HIRE Cheapest car rentals in London. From £66 per week. www.thegaragecarrental.co.uk Phone 020 8681 2885

ACCOUNTANCY

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We are the UK’s most successful tax rebate company with over 20 years experience 128 TNTMAGAZINE.COM

ACCOMMODATION To advertise call now 020 7989 0567

RENTING | SHARING | SHORT LETS | HOSTELS | HOTELS..

VERY LOW COST ACCOMMODATION £50.00 P.W Willing to help an older or disabled person then this can be for you.

Huge savings, Quiet, comfortable environment, swap 10 hrs per week Helping older person. Keep own job/studies.

We have several placements around London.

Call us for more information Phone Cathy on 020 7485 7416 or email cathy@crossroadscarecnl.org www.crossroadscarecnl.org

CheapRoomsLondon.co.uk

Why Hostels in London? Private Houses Cheaper than Hostels!

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Renting? Want £25 in amazon vouchers?

Landlord dragging his feet on repairs or is your place in desperate need of updating, Monk Mundi are in your area and ready to help.

Just text us the landlords name and number to 07740 285 235 and we will do the rest.

Any confirmed appointments and we will send you a voucher for £25 - simple as that.

Please include your full name and address for us to send your voucher.

www.monkmundi.com GOT A ROOM OR FLAT TO RENT? POST IT FOR FREE tntmagazine.com/ accommodation TNTMAGAZINE.COM 129

like us on

facebook/tntmagazine

DESPERATELYSEEKING

Photos: TNT

Post your message at tntmagazine.com/seeking or email seeking@tntmagazine.com. Text TNT and your message to 81707* Dearest Dee Dee: It began last year with bonding over numerous fruit beers in a ‘community hall’ in the middle of bloody nowhere in Belgium (at an odd, yet highly amusing, beer festival of sorts).

Since then we’ve kept up a healthy routine of drinking and dancing sessions, excursions and becoming sistas. It’s ending (temporarily) when you piss off for an amazing American adventure before heading home. I’ll hopefully see you for one last European interlude before then, if not, we’ll be seeing each other in the New Year, biatch (Sydney/ Melbourne/Wherever!). I’m gunna to miss you, poo – loads. Lotsa Love, Nanna Pearl.

Desperately seeking the William Web Ellis trophy: Last time I saw him he was sitting proudly in a Springbok trophy cabinet. If any one knows of his whereabouts, please contact 0800-NZCHOKE or go to ozzienohope.com. Please, we are sure that he is missing his family at SARU. Regards, Bokke.

Pisces girls: Looking for you, Sandra Erasmus, Tharien and Louda, and my cheeky home boy!

It’s me, Sandy Jones. Find me at tigersan224@live.com or Facebook under Sandra Jones, or call me on my Australian mobile. Via tntmagazine.com/forums.

Petey bro: I’m sorry about your sister. She was the one who came on to me. I was drunk and the next thing you know the kitchen table’s broken and there you are looking at us naked in a heap on the floor.

This sort of thing happens all the

time. C’mon man, let’s catch up for a beer. Bros before ... ummm. Yeah.

Nige.

Big Cat from the barn: Bring that awesome beard to Thailand won’t you?? Miss you and all my crazy London peeps!! The Barn – the craziest place I ever stayed in London! Keep living the dream barnies and watch out for a guy named Donnerz – he will break things!! C-Bass xo.

L and A: I can’t believe you’re

dad was originally from Leeds.

Didn’t get his surname so I’m vey stuck and wouldn’t normally write something like this but I feel compelled to. Dan, I had a great time with you on Saturday night and gutted we didn’t get to swap numbers before we lost each other.

Please get in touch via TNT if you fancy meeting up. It would be brilliant to meet you again. Vick Cork, via tntmagazine.com/forums.

Aussie James: James was last

THINGS THE QUEEN SHOULD DO BEFORE SHE DIES

#444 Join Tea Party campaigners in the US. Not that kind of tea party, Queenie

both up the duff, too – you hid it so well from us! There must be something in the water in this office, eh? Looking forward to seeing you both chub out soon. JK. Kiwi guy with dreads called Dan from Swiss Cottage who I met in Watford Saturday, September 3: I’m looking for the most loveliest guy I met in Watford on Saturday.

We lost each other before swapping numbers! Dan is about 30 years old and works as a foreman for a construction company. He’s been in the UK for five years and his

seen in Turkey sharing a shisha (bad decision on the ‘mango’) and hunting down beer and a night life in Pamukkale! Little success was found. You know who I am. See Rory for more details :D Making friends: I packed up my bags and headed to London a week ago after Sydney got a bit dull. I’m new here, living near West Kensington and I’d love to meet new people. Be it for coffee, lunch, theatre, to watch comedy shows or for drinks, I’m down. I’m an easygoing 25-year-old guy, who’s fun, outgoing and enjoys having a good

time. If you want to hang out let me know. I welcome guys and girls of all nationalities. Email shrugs. h@gmail.com. Cheers, Dre. Via tntmagazine.com/forums.

Carnival liaison: To the tall blond guy I met at the Regent bar in Kensal Rise during the Notting Hill Carnival weekend. You said you were from Yorkshire (I think) but lived in London and worked in sales. I was gutted I didn’t get your number. There was a ‘situation’, if you remember. I was the tall blonde girl. This is not something I would ever do, but I thought you were super cute, so please contact TNT if you read this. Tuppis Fribban, via tntmagazine.com/forums Slushy: I can’t believe the time has come for you to leave! I have had so many awesome adventures with you and London is definitely not going to be the same without you, my girl. From owning the dancefloor at the Redback to getting left behind on trains and your 1-2-3 squats, there has never been a dull moment! Enjoy your next adventure and remember to live, laugh and love. Surprise xox Two Perth girls on the bus at La Tomatina: I was trying to find my way back to Hotel Aqua and you girls were staying at the holiday Inn. I met up with you again at the pub and we got some pics together.

You used to live in Bristol but are moving to Manchester. It would be cool to keep in contact. I had shit people on my tour and you guys were one of the cool few I met. Cheers, Tanya with the blonde fringe living in Fulham.

*Messages cost 25p each + standard network rate. 18+ bill payers only. Send STOP to end. Number may show on bill. A2B 08700460138

GRAB YOURSELF A BARGAIN register at tnttravelshow.com

Saturday, October 15 | 9.30am – 5pm TNTMAGAZINE.COM 130

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Financial, Migration and Tax Experts

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Reliable and Affordable Shipping Bring it home with

1st

Contact Shipping

Moving home? More stuff than you imagined? Fast, safe and affordable, 1st Contactâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shipping team offers a full international removal service, whether one bag or an entire household. > FREE cartons and packing materials

> Excess baggage shipping to Aus/NZ/SA

> FREE collection and delivery in the London area

> International removals

> FREE household quote with no obligation

> Storage & mini-moves

> Air and sea freight

> Nationwide collection & delivery

Call Today for your free quote

0808 141 5520

42338

shipping@1stcontact.com www.1stcontact-shipping.com *

Terms and Conditions apply. An ATN of Anglo Pacific International PLC.

DOUBLE

DISCOUNT DEAL SHIP YOUR GOODS HOME AND CLAIM YOUR TAX REFUND WITH US FOR A DOUBLE DISCOUNT*