CITY & ANGEL APRIL 2014

ABSOLUTELY

APRIL 2014 £3.95

WHAT THE DICKENS? FELICITY JONES TAKES ON PATRIARCHY

CARVING A NICHE

MARK HIX SERVES FOOD WITH A SIDE OF ART IN THE EAST END

CULTURE CLASH TWO DAYS IN ISTANBUL

April Flowers

SKIRTS & SWEATERS TAKE SPRING

BY STORM

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Why not treat that special lady to a meal at Yum Yum’s this Mother’s day... ...and get a

FREE COCKTA I L

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WE ARE OPEN ON CHRISTMAS, BOXING AND NEW YEARS DAY Whether it’s a dinner for 2 or a party for 150, we’ve got the space for every Christmas celebration. From the impressive subterranean Orchid Lounge to the East Wing’s Grand Dining Room and the sunken seat mezzanine - you’ll find what you need.

2 COURSE THAI BANQUET - £25 3 COURSES & CHAMPAGNE COCKTAIL - £30 Available throughout December, excluding New Years Eve Call now to book a party or drop us an email and we’ll contact you

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View the full Christmas menu online at

yumyum.co.uk

Yum Yum Thai Restaurant - 187 Stoke Newington High Street, London N16 0LH

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ABSOLUTELY

CONTENTS MAGAZINES

APRIL 2014 05 EDITOR’S LETTER 07 WHAT’S ON

LOCAL 12 EASTERN PROMISE Felicity Jones talks mentors and living East

FASHION 20 DOLLY MIXTURE Skirts and sweaters, SS14’s style staples 29 POSH PYJAMAS Olivia von Halle’s pyjama game 31 WORKING WOMAN Designer Emmy Scarterfield shares her passion for footwear

FOOD 48 THE ART OF GOOD FOOD Chef turned mentor Mark Hix on art and food 53 FOOD REVIEWS Plum & Spilt Milk and Canvas

INTERIORS 57 INTERIOR INSPIRATIONS Our cracking round up of six of the best egg cups 59 HOME TRUTHS Getting to know the minds behind Graham and Green

Find us online @zest-media.com

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APRIL 2014

EDITOR’S letter his issue has an Easter theme, in so much as Generation Foodie seems to be embracing the celebration with inspired dishes of an Easter-ish bent.

Fashion too has gone gaga (as in crazy, not Lady - we’re not talking rashers of bacon) for pastel and sorbet-shaded confections of sugar-coated deliciousness.

Later in the issue, you’ll find perfect parcels of sweet treats for the kids or - for an alternative to Easter eggs - a child-friendly chocolatey recipe from Lisa Marley of the Cocoa Box. Easter aside, we caught up with Brit sensation Felicity Jones. A fully signed-up Hackneyite, the actor is fast establishing herself as one of the Brit Pack - and one of our finest exports to Hollywood alongside the likes of Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan. Fresh from her starring role in The Invisible Woman, Jones talked to us about the creative opportunities and openness of her adopted home.

Graham and Green is another local success story. The interiors experts have been plying their tasteful trade for 40 years, and in so doing have had a lasting effect on homes and lifestyles both locally and further afield. We talked to Jamie Graham about growing up in the family business and continuing its trendsetting success.

We hope you enjoy the issue - Happy Easter!

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ABSOLUTELY EDITOR EDITORIAL ASSISTANT EDITORIAL INTERN PROPERTY EDITOR TRAVEL EDITOR ART DIRECTOR PRODUCTION MANAGER EDITORIAL DESIGNER MID-WEIGHT DESIGNER PRODUCTION DESIGNER ARTWORKER JUNIOR DESIGNER PRODUCTION CONTROLLER NORTH & CENTRAL ADVERTISING MANAGER ADVERTISING ACCOUNT MANAGER GROUP PROPERTY DIRECTOR PROPERTY DIRECTOR PROPERTY MANAGER FINANCE MANAGER FINANCE DIRECTOR DIRECTOR MANAGING DIRECTOR

HELEN BARON CATHERINE HALES DEMI MILLARD HUGO HUNTER GEORGIE LANE-GODFREY RAY SEARLE STEWART HYDE ANDREW MAVIN GEMMA ISTEED TAHIR KAPUCU EKREM YILMAZ EDWARD TAYLOR REBECCA NOONAN CHRISTINE MANN KRISTIAN LIBETTA TOLGA SAYLAN ALEXANDRA HUNTER ANDY ELMER EMILY SAUNDERSON MARIANNE MCFADDEN ALEXANDRA HVID GREG HUGHES SHERIF SHALTOUT

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Please email us with your preferred option and details.

Helen Baron, Editor

ZEST MEDIA LONDON 213 Westbourne Studios, Acklam Road, London W10 5JJ, T: 020 7704 0588 F: 020 7900 3020 Zest Media London Ltd. cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited submissions, manuscripts and photographs. While every care is taken, prices and details are subject to change and Zest Media London Ltd. take no responsibility for omissions or errors. We reserve the right to publish and edit any letters. All rights reserved.

On the covers

TWEET ME @absolutelyedhel Email: helen.baron@zest-media.com Follow us on Twitter @Absolutely_Mags Facebook ‘Absolutely Magazines’

City & Angel, East, NXNW and Borough & Docklands: Olivia Von Halle; oliviavonhalle.com

www.zest-media.com

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timeless

Crouch End 128 Crouch Hill London N8 9DY Telephone 020 8341 2020

Islington 42 Cross Street London N1 2BA Telephone 020 7359 4041

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WHAT’S ON King Charles III 3 APRIL - 31 MAY: ALMEDIA THEATRE

April

Described as a ‘future history’ play, Mike Bartlett’s new work imagines a world in which the Queen has died and Prince Charles has ascended the throne.

After so long waiting in the wings, how will the prince rule? Will he prove a worthy successor to Elizabeth II or has a lifetime of unfulfilled expectation tainted his world view. Bartlett’s play examines the people behind the titles, the place they hold in our democracy and the responsibility of being a member of Britain’s most famous family. Long live King Charles III! Almeida Street, N1; almeida.co.uk

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The Tempest Replica 25 - 26 APRIL: SADLERS WELLS The youngest person to ever receive the Clifford E. Lee Choreographic Award in 1995, Crystal Pite and her company Kidd Pivot present their latest work The Tempest Replica. The piece finds its roots in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, staging ‘a game of revenge and forgiveness; reality and imagination, exploring these themes in two contexts.’ The first, a series of minimalist on-stage storyboards and the second as a series of portraits of the characters and their relationships to each other. Rosebery Avenue, EC1R; sadlerswells.com

London Stories

THROUGHOUT MARCH: LONDON TRANSPORT MUSEUM

London Transport Museum presents the Serco Prize for Illustration 2014, an exhibition that aims to explore a portion of the rich tapestry of our bustling capital.

Fifty of the best entries to the competition will be on display, their objective: ‘to create an illustration which visually captures a well-known or obscure London narrative’.

Ghost buses, Tin Pan Alley, Mary Poppins and Sweeney Todd all make an appearance in the panoply of familiar London characters and places.  Covent Garden Piazza, WC2E, 020 7379 6344; ltmuseum.co.uk

English National Ballet Lest We Forget 2ND - 12TH APRIL: BARBICAN Akram Khan, Russell Maliphant and Liam Scarlett have each been commissioned to create a work to commemorate the impact of the First World War. Maliphant’s piece will focus on the sacrifice of the men both on and off the field whilst Khan will stress the role played by women in the war and their subsequent empowerment. Scarlett will combine in the two in an exploration of the relationships between men and women and what was left behind. The programme is completed by George Williamson’s re-worked Firebird set to the commanding Stravinsky score.

 Silk Steet, EC2Y; barbican.org.uk

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The Heroic Apparition 3 APRIL - 10 MAY: SCREAM Liu Bolin, internationally acclaimed Chinese artist, is bringing his first UK solo exhibition to Scream gallery.

The show, which was initially conceived as a series of performances consists of photographs of Bolin’s ‘invisible man’ - this effect was achieved by Bolin standing in a public place while his team of assistants would paint his figure so it matched the background and allow the artist to completely blend into his surroundings. Although a sculptor, performer and photographer, Bolin’s trademark style has become his ‘camouflage’ images. See if you can spot him this April.

Belle’s Vintage Wedding Fair 26 APRIL: OLD SPITALFIELDS MARKET If you love all things vintage and retro and are planning a wedding, or even a party, you won’t want to miss Belle’s Vintage Wedding Fair at Old Spitalfields Market. Belle’s Events have hand-picked the very best vintage inspired wedding suppliers to create an event that oozes the style and grace of times gone by.

Matisse Cut Outs 15 APRIL - 11 MAY: TATE MODERN A unique opportunity to explore the works of a master of modern art, this exhibition brings together examples from the final part of Matisse’s career in which he began ‘carving into colour’ thus producing his famous cut-outs series. The once-in-a-lifetime exhibition will unite 120 works created between 1936 and 1954, which have until now been scattered throughout the globe; Tate’s The Snail 1953 is shown alongside its sister work Memory of Oceania 1953 and Large Composition with Masks 1953 at 10 metres long and is the first time they will have been together since they were made. The show moves on to New York in May, so make sure catch it while you can. Bankside, SE1; tate.org.uk

Expect to find over 30 suppliers including talented photographers, caterers, mobile bars, cakes, vintage dresses, stylists, accessories, stationers and entertainment all day long.

Entry is completely free and the event runs from 11am until 5pm. The market will also be open as usual on the day and tends to get really busy after lunchtime so get there as soon as you can, suppliers will be pencilling dates in their diaries and you don’t want to miss out on this lovely lot!

Eastcastle House, W1W; screamlondon.com

16 Horner Square, Spitalfields, E1; bellesevents.com

This is Now: Film and Video After Punk THROUGHOUT APRIL: BFI An exploration of the early 80s post-punk movement, this season at the BFI showcases the work of clubbers, art students, new romantics and members of the postpunk scene who used new and inexpensive technology such as Super8 and VHS to subvert traditional filmmaking. This new-found accessibility allowed those who were often sidelined in the industry to find a voice as female, black and gay filmmakers pushed themselves to the fore. This season will see Super8 and 16mm films that have been out of circulation for 30 years, screened often in the presence of the artists who made them. Belvedere Road, South Bank, SE1; bfi.org.uk

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review BOOK THE WALK HOME

by RACHEL SEIFFERT

et in Glasgow and London, this is a beautifully written novel from Man Booker Shortlist author Rachel Seiffert. It is a story about seeing people for what they are not and not making judgements as we follow Lindsey on her journey. Seiffert is an extraordinarily deft and humane writer who tells us the truth about love and about hope and she gently brings in the more dangerous characters, who are slowly developed and over time their sinister nature becomes evident. A pick of the year by the Guardian, it’s been a few years since Rachel’s last book, however, The Walk Home shows it is worth the wait..

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Virago; £14.99

A MAD AND WONDERFUL THING

by MARK MULHOLLAND

his is a passionate and heartwrenching debut novel set in Dundalk, the border town of the Republic of Ireland,. There is no doubting where the sympathies of the lead character lie, and one assume therefore that of the author, and this no doubt will cause outrage in certain parts of Northern Ireland and divide opinions. Johnny Donnelly is the lead character and his strong voice dominates the book in a brilliant way.

Mulholland uses Donnelly to carry out a conversation about the ‘Irish problem’ with a variety of people he meets along his journey, however, unlike some novels addressing this issue, there is a good deal of humour. Don’t be put off by the subject.

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IN CINEMAS 4 APRIL Acclaimed director Darren Aronofsky has covered a range of unlikely topics in his illustrious career, and his latest project is one of biblical proportions. Literally.

Based on one of The Book of Genesis’s most famous stories (second only to the one about the apple, which as you will recall didn’t end too well), the fable reflects a time in the Bible when God had a tendency to wipe out civilizations with nary a second thought. In a “boy who cried wolf” type situation, it turns out that the man building the giant boat designed to fit two of each animal and his own family (incidentally dangerously narrowing the gene pool for both) is actually the sane one. The story of Noah and the Ark is one that Aronofsky has

apparently wanted to explore right from the beginning, ever since his breakout indie film Pi in 1998. Already a source of controversy, Noah has a starstudded cast including Emma Watson, Anthony Hopkins and Ray Winstone, and will reunite on-screen husband and wife Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly. Will this movie sink or swim? We’re not making any prophecies just yet (sorry), so watch this space. Although, we are curious to see whether or not this will spark off a series of Hollywood adaptations of Bible stories seeing as The Wolf of Wall Street already has Sodom and Gomorrah covered.  DIRECTED BY Darren Aronofsky STARRING Russell Crowe & Emma Watson

Scribe Publications; £12.99

CONFRONTING THE CLASSICS

by MARY BEARD

ary Beard manages to be that rare thing: a brilliant academic who is also accessible. Beard has reached a wide audience through her books and television presenting and as such has become a household name in connection to classics. In her latest book, Beard presents a collection of essays exploring our rich classical heritage, including Greek drama and Roman jokes, a panoply of famous names and the often hidden world of slaves. The culmination of thirty years at the forefront of classical scholarship, Confronting the Classics is positively unmissable.

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£9.99, Profile Books

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CONCEPT

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KITCHENS CONCEPT KITCHENS | DESIGN & FUNCTION

Kitchen dreams are coming true...

40, Offord Road, Islington N1 1EB 020 7700 1555 www.conceptkitchensislington.co.uk

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Eastern

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ABSOLUTELY PROFILE

MISE

FROM ENGLISH ROSE TO THE INVISIBLE WOMAN, FELICITY JONES IS HOLLYWOOD'S NEW BRIT SQUEEZE

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or all the changes the area has undergone in the last decade, East London continues to prove irresistible for the country's top creatives, so it should come as no surprise to discover that fast-rising screen star Felicity Jones chose to relocate to Bethnal Green in 2007.

Jones' new film The Invisible Woman is the latest step in an acting career that has seen her appear in TV's Doctor Who, Ricky Gervais’ 2010 feature Cemetery Junction and Julie Taymor’s 2010 adaptation of The Tempest.

Working her way through such varied roles has required commitment and confidence of Jones, qualities she admits she’s had to work hard to master.

“I've had some good opportunities along the way and I still feel as if I'm just discovering the limits of what I can accomplish as an actor,” she says. “It's such a precarious profession and it's quite hard for me to admit to myself over the years that this is what I'm definitely going to be doing. It involves exposing yourself and

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ABSOLUTELY PROFILE © BBC FILMS

making yourself quite vulnerable, and there's so much rejection, so much competitiveness along the way.”

Indeed, Jones only recently embraced the very idea of her being an actor – “having the confidence to embrace that title and say ‘this is my life’ actually takes some doing.”

The confidence she required to take on her role in The Invisible Woman came from screen veteran Ralph Fiennes, who both directs and stars in the film. Based on Claire Tomalin’s best-selling novel, it tells the tale of Charles Dickens’ affair with the much younger Nelly Turnan. Fiennes portrays the author as a controlling patriarch, emotionally isolated by fame, who falls for Turnan’s natural charm and and theatrical background.

Jones' take on the mysterious and controversial figure of Ternan is inspired, depicting her as strong and independentspirited - and no man's property.

“I wanted to play her as a woman who carried herself with great pride and strength," Jones says. "She left her mark on me and even now when I find myself in a difficult situation I ask myself, ‘What would Nelly do?’”

Further encouragement and advice came from a host of other, similarly strong women in Jones' life. She admits that being in the acting world “opens you up to some excellent avenues for advice”, and lists Meryl Streep and Dame Helen Mirren as inspirational figures, each possessed not only of talent but of an unrelenting, unwavering desire to succeed.

“I’ve got to know Dame Helen very well [Mirren was Jones' co-star in The Tempest] and we've had some wonderful conversations.

I'VE HAD SOME GOOD OPPORTUNITIES ALONG THE WAY AND I STILL FEEL AS IF I'M JUST DISCOVERING THE LIMITS OF WHAT I CAN ACCOMPLISH AS AN ACTOR

She's become a mentor of mine and I have learned so much from her calm and straightforward approach to her work. She knows exactly what she wants and that applies to how she approaches life as well. She's a role model for me and it's been important for me to watch actors of her stature at work. I didn't go to drama school and everything I know about acting has come from working and observing and learning from very talented people.”

Fortunately for her and us, this latest English rose – after Knightley, Blunt, Mulligan and others – has the kind of individuality audiences love. Her pale, striking looks have her well positioned to achieve Stateside. But would that mean leaving East London behind? It doesn't seem likely. Jones is settled here with her long-term partner Ed Fornieles, who made his own artistic mark with the popular Wallis Gallery art project that ran for a year from 2007.

“I like the fact it’s not where everyone else has headed,” Jones says of the area. “East London has a style of its own. It’s not to everyone’s liking but there is a really young crowd and pretty much a blank canvas for creativity. There are so few perceptions and that really frees people up to create communities that are new and unique, and that excites me. And I’m much happier now as an actor and as a person. I've learned to be less harsh with myself and not overthink things too much. I still believe in pushing myself and reaching the highest level possible in a performance. But I've seen that you can still do that and enjoy everything, and have more fun in life.”

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ABSOLUTELY FASHION

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OFF FOR A WEEKEND IN THE COUNTRY? WE’VE ROUNDED-UP SOME STYLISH ESSENTIALS.

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J Panther Luggage

AVIATOR MESSENGER BAG £394; opumo.com

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LIMELIGHT WATCH

£215; houseoffraser.co.uk

1. Anonymous Ism Socks, £10; opumo.com 2. Baxter of California Shave Kit 1-2-3, £77; endclothing.co.uk 3. Calvin Klein Underwear, £17.25; debenhams.com

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4. Pringle of Scotland Jumper, £195; pringlescotland.com

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5. William and Son Leather Travel Case, £1,250; williamandson.com 6. Marks & Spencer Cord Trousers, £42; marksandspencer.com 7. Aigle Parcours Boot, £128; thebootbar.co.uk 8. Tristan Parka, £240; parkalondon.com

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ABSOLUTELY FASHION

Louche lovebirds grey watch, £55; joythestore.com

Flockton women’s bracelet, £19.95; joules.com

Burberry Prorsum lace shirt, £595; net-a-porter.com

Madeleine Thompson Redcliffe Cardigan, £317; net-a-porter.com

Missoni tri-colour geometric dress, £878; matchesfashion.com

r’s EditoICK P

Chloe Marcie medium satchel, £840; matchesfashion.com

RYAN LO SS14

Dolce & Gabbana single breasted wool coat, £1,595; matchesfashion.com

Hobbs Bella Coat, £649; hobbs.co.uk

ST MUAVE H

FONDANT

FA N C I ES T by Alexander Wang bi-colour sweater, £260; matchesfashion.com

EMBRACE EASTER’S SWEET TOOTH WITH CANDY COLOURS, PERFECT PASTELS & DUSKY, ICE-CREAM SHADES

Red Valentino cottonblend coat, £640; net-a-porter.com

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Dolly mixture SKIRTS AND SWEATERS: SS14’S STYLE STAPLES Photography: HELEN MCARDLE Styling: CHARLIE MOORE Location: BELAIR HOUSE

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Grey cotton jersey sweatshirt with appliqué resin flowers, £379, by MSGM at Fenwick Diamond tennis bracelet, £782, rings, £460 for set and studs, £141, all by Carat

APRIL SHOOT_v2.indd 43

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Pale blue cotton jersey sweatshirt with appliqué detail, £180, Carven at Net-a-porter.com Green and blue silk skirt, £365,

by Ostwald Helgason at my-wardrobe.com Diamanté drop earrings, £300,

by Atelier-Mayer.com Crystal necklace, £280, by Butler & Wilson Diamond ring, £460 for set, by Carat

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Cotton jersey sweater dress, £283,

by Emma Cook at Net-a-porter.com Crystal bolster necklace, £405,

by Atelier Swarovski by Christopher Kane Gunmetal ring, £85,

by Vita Fede at My-wardrobe.com Black fishnet tights, £6,

by Charnos at House of Fraser

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Pink cotton jersey sweatshirt with sequin 'kiss me' detail, £159, by Markus Lupfer at Fenwick Ivory silk night gown (worn as skirt), £276, by La Parla Diamanté drop earrings, £300,

by Atelier-Mayer.com

STOCKISTS Atelier Mayer; atelier-mayer.com Atelier Swarovski; atelierswarovski.com Butler & Wilson, 020 7409 2955) Carat, 020 7379 5320) Casadei; casadei.com Fenwick; fenwick.co.uk House of Fraser; houseoffraser.co.uk Jonathan Aston; jonathanaston.com Katya Katya Shehurina; shehurina.com La Parla, 020 7245 0527 My-wardrobe.com Net-a-porter.com

APRIL SHOOT_v2.indd 46

Photographer: Helen McArdle at ERA Management Stylist: Charlie Moore Model: Iris at Milk Management Make up artist: John Christopher at Lovely Management using M.A.C Hair stylist: Aaron Carlo at Frank Nail artist: Asher Coleman using Sally Hansen Shot on location at Belair House, 1 Gallery Road, Dulwich, SE21 7AB; belairhouse.co.uk Belair House is available for hire for weddings and private functions.

13/03/2014 09:51

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INTERIOR DESIGN

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SPACE PLANNING DECORATION AND FURNISHING

interiors@sarahrossdesign.com

DESIGN & BUILD LIGHTING

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10/02/2014 17:23

ABSOLUTELY FASHION

FASHION NOTES

PRINTS CHARMING

Is it ever okay to be dressed top to toe in print? If it’s Bimba y Lola and this hot, then yes. With floral jacquard detailing, this is transitional wear at its best, seeing you through Spring and Summer – if it gets chilly, just adapt with a thermal (as pictured).

We simply have to have it.

Blouse €62 and trousers €37; bimbaylola.com

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SOFT SELL

Good things often come quilted and these fetching white patent leather models from Zatchels are no exception; in fact, the texture lends a ladylike quality to the classic bag shapes. The range comes in black and white, but for our money, white is better for a Spring update (and a dash of va va voom).

Prices start at £50; zatchels.com

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DESERT DUDS

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For versatile, yearround footwear, desert boots are our number one choice. Unisex and light, they’re classic in a Gallic way and come in a mind-boggling array of colours. All you’ve got to do is spray them with suede protector to save them from April showers.

 BACKPACKER’S DELIGHT

Double denim’s been done; anyone tempted to try for triple? This slouchy New Look backpack is the perfect nineties throwback and will have you missing your Baby-G watch and Green Flash trainers, while the sewn-on patches will make up for never having had them at school. £24.99, 416-418 Holloway Road, N7; newlook.com

IS TROPICAL Victoria Murdoch of Silken Favour has launched a new ready-to-wear collection following the success of her cool, cult scarves. The ‘Jungle is Massive’ range of bright, bold silk tees, shorts and dresses (as well as the usual scarves and cushions) employs her hallmark pen and ink technique. We’d all be doing ourselves a favour by wearing one of these works of art. silkenfavours.com

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Come and see us instore or visit our NEW website harriselectricalltd.co.uk 13/03/2014 11:08

ABSOLUTELY FASHION

Posh

Pyjamas

NIGHTWEAR DESIGNER OLIVIA VON HALLE EXPLAINS WHY SILK IS HER NUMBER ONE CHOICE BETWEEN THE SHEETS...

Why did you decide to go into night wear; it’s quite niche.

I was working as a trend forecaster in Shanghai, China, and had the most incredible tailor.

He was every girl’s wildest dream and could replicate Lanvin dresses from pages torn out of Vogue. One day I started fantasising about how elegant it would be to have a beautiful pair of printed silk pyjamas to lounge around in when coming home from partying with friends. He made me a pair and I instantly became addicted to them and started wearing them all the time. Friends begged me to make them some and before I knew it I had an order list longer than my tailor could ever manage. So I decided to launch the Olivia von Halle brand.

What’s your fashion background and how has it helped?

I studied Textile and Fashion Management at the University of Leeds and then went on to work as a trend forecaster at The Future Laboratory in London. My degree was an excellent starting point but working at Future Lab was an education in itself – we were working with the world’s greatest brands and it gave me extremely high standards when I then set out to set up my own brand.

Have you ever been to Bedtime Stories at 40 Winks Hotel in Whitechapel?

Yes, it’s incredible! We sponsored a prize there last year – ‘The Olivia von Halle Award for the Most Dazzling Personality’. The winner won a pair of silk pyjamas. It was fabulous.

Do you always wear silk pyjamas?

Of course! But since we have started making new shapes I have become quite obsessed with a few of them. I have just been in Jamaica where I lived in our ‘Bella’ – a little silk camisole with matching French knickers. Perfect for warm Caribbean nights!

Did you always want to set up your own business? Was there a turning point where you knew you wanted to do something different?

My father is an entrepreneur so I guess it is in my blood!

What has been the most important influence on the business so far?

Becoming a Walpole Brand of Tomorrow has been hugely influential for us. Through that we have been mentored for the past year by Michael Ward, the Managing Director of Harrods, and this has enabled us to take the brand to the next level.

As the queen of nightwear, what’s an ideal night in for you?

A hot bath filled with Jo Malone bath oil, the latest Vogue, a cup of Earl Grey tea and a couple of hours to soak.

Olivia von Halle, Unit 7B Canonbury Business Centre, 190A New North Road, N1; oliviavonhalle.com

Who are your favourite designers right now? Alessandra Rich is my go-to designer – I am utterly obsessed with her brand and live in her beautiful dresses. I adore Moody and Farrell for hats, Aperlai for shoes, Jessica McCormack jewels and Prism eyewear.

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ABSOLUTELY FASHION

Woman At Work

Shoe designer EMMY SCARTERFIELD

I

launched my brand, Emmy, nearly ten years ago. At first it was very focused and incredibly niche: bespoke wedding shoes.

At a time in my life when friends were starting to get married, I identified a huge gap in the market for beautiful, feminine, sexy, delicate, inspiring and cool wedding shoes.

After a career in luxury fashion, I was ready to go it alone but was all too aware that it needed to stack up financially; the bespoke element and the wedding niche was a good fit. I absolutely love shoes and always have done. I love the smell of them, the feel of them and the magic of what a high heel can do for a woman. I'm at my happiest when I'm in our workshop surrounded by leather, tools, components and the tiny pattern pieces.

I feel very blessed that I am able to balance a successful business with my passion and have the opportunity to share it with others. I think my job has to be right up there on the job satisfaction scale, making women happy with shoes every day is pretty special and rewarding.

My brand has evolved since its creation, we now offer ready-to-wear shoes and accessories while staying true to our bespoke heritage.

Plus, we are gaining a stronger presence in the evening and event market, which is very exciting.

I have twin girls of five, so my day starts very early! Once the school run is done I head to our Islington studio. I like to start each day with a team meeting. Every day is always different and shaped by the clients we see. My day can involve seeing clients, reviewing new collections, creating new colour palettes, collaborating with dress designers and really pushing the brand to reach its full potential. Once home and with the girls in bed, my husband and I like to work together on the nuts and bolts of the business.

We share a real drive, ambition and passion for our business, which is fantastic for both home and work life. My life always feels super busy, but I wouldn't change any of it for a second.

65 Cross Street, N1; emmyshoes.co.uk

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DESIGN PROPOSALS

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TAG ARCH.2.indd 1 ADVERT PLACEMENTS.indd 2

BONAS.indd 1 21/03/2013 16:25

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ABSOLUTELY KIDS

ABSOLUTELY

KIDS HOW TO KEEP LITTLE ONES AMUSED

TWO WHEELS GOOD It’s all very well having your toddlers happily scooting away to keep up with the pace of your walk. But when they’re bigger and scooting takes them all the way up the road and around the corner out of sight, it’s less relaxing. Happily, the clever people at Micro Scooter have come up with a solution in the form of a grown up scooter, and a pretty one at that. The floral Micro White scooter is not only attractive looking in a flowery, feminine way, but it promises a smooth, unflustered glide along pavements at a pace to rival even the speediest tot.

Admittedly, I felt the tiniest bit silly to begin with, but soon got the hang of what really requires no skill at all. After all, 18-month olds pick it up easily. With big wheels and a large deck, the scooter feels entirely grown up, while my children are thrilled to have me join them like the fun mum they always wanted. £159.95,

micro-scooters.co.uk

SPRING FEVER

Children’s clothing brand Little Bird, brainchild of Jools Oliver, presents it’s brand new Spring collection, which Jools herself describes as being “all about celebrating the start of a new year, new green shoots in the garden [and] flowers starting to pop up.” Full of bright colours and retro British designs, some of which are throwbacks to items she and Jamie wore as children, the collection has everything from smocks to sweatshirts. mothercare.com

PARA NIÑOS Celia Muñoz’s Hampstead boutique specialises in classic Spanish-style children’s clothing with a contemporary twist.

Inspired to open her boutique by the response her own kid’s clothes received from other parents, the mother of five who comes from a large Spanish family decided to provide an outlet for Spanish children’s designers in London. If you’re looking for good quality, colourful clothes with a charming oldfashioned look La Coqueta is the place to go, especially with their Spring/Summer collection already on the shelves (and the internet equivalent of shelves).

5 Heath Street, Hampstead, NW3; lacoquetakids.com

SHELLING OUT

If you’re looking for something slightly more special than the standard Smarties offering from Tesco for Easter, try a personalised egg from The Biscuiteers. Each one hand-iced, these adorable eggs will have your kids believing in the Easter Bunny for one more year at least. A fact that you will appreciate more once the terrifying sugar high that Easter inevitably causes wears off. biscuiteers.com 33

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ABSOLUTELY EDUCATION

Free thinking

MANY OF LONDON’S FREE SCHOOLS ARE DARING TO BE DIFFERENT – AND PROSPECTIVE PARENTS ARE ALL FOR IT. AMANDA CONSTANCE LOOKS AT WHAT SOME HAVE TO OFFER hat was a mere twinkle in Michael Gove’s eye a few years ago has given birth to an education revolution. Since the Education Secretary gave the first free schools the green light in September 2011, their number has grown to 174 nationwide with many more approved to open in the next academic year. Many of these are already attracting more pupils than they have room for. In a recent survey by the Department of Education, some reported as many as ten applications for every place.

It’s a familiar story in London, where there is a critical lack of places at both primary and secondary stages, in both the independent and state sectors. Parents are queuing at the gates of the capital’s free schools, not simply because they don’t have other options. Free schools are just that, and the freedom for parents and educators to set their own curriculum has ushered in some innovative approaches that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.

Maria Evans is the vice-chair of governors at Gladstone Free School, a secondary free school in north-west London that will open its doors to students next September. Previously the director of education at the Royal

W

Shakespeare Company, Evans has more than 25 years experience in art and education and first looked into establishing a school at the behest of other local parents.

“We’re setting up something enormously ambitious,” Evans explains, adding that the teaching at GFS won’t deviate much from the national curriculum. GFS will be a small school, no more than 800 pupils, a luxury in inner London state education. It will have a mandatory extended day, with classes ending at 5.30 except on Fridays. ‘Enrichment’ or extracurricular activities will be hugely encouraged and progressive teaching practices, such as moving around the room, experiential learning and lessons outside the classroom, will all form part of the core ethos. And before you imagine this will be an enclave for every Milo and Tallulah in north-west London, think again. GFS will be non-selective and teach mixed ability classes, with pupils drawn from the immediate catchment area.

The team behind GFS took inspiration from Greenwich Free School, a secondary on the other side of London that has a ‘high expectation, no excuses, no shortcuts ethos,’ says its head, Lee Faith. The school runs an extended day from

7.45am to 5.30pm and enrichment activities in the afternoon include Latin and debating. It is already seven times oversubscribed.

The Judith Kerr Primary School, in Herne Hill, south London, offers something entirely different. It is the country’s first bilingual state school, with teaching in German and English. Another bilingual free school, The Marco Polo Academy, will be the first English-Chinese bilingual primary school in the UK when it opens in Barnet in September 2014.

‘The emergence of bilingual schools is a good example of how free schools are responding to the demands of local parents,’ says Natalie Evans, director of the New Schools Network, the charity set up to help people planning free schools.

And it isn’t just new schools that are taking up the free school baton. Established schools such as the much-admired Burlington Danes Academy and gold-standard Marylebone Girls are extending their franchise with free schools.

BDA will open a primary free school on its 10-acre site next September and Marylebone Boys will open to year seven boys at the same time. What marks out many of the free schools, however, is a return to tradition and academic rigour. When Fulham Boys held its first open day, 650 people attended.

Built on ‘Christian principles and values’, its website looks like that of a public school. Governors include Barrister Caroline Grieve, wife of Attorney General Dominic Grieve, and Elizabeth Phillips, headteacher at St Marylebone CofE School.

This ‘old ways are the best ways’ approach has done well for the West London Free School.

The headline-grabbing school is self-consciously traditional; Classics and Latin are compulsory, discipline is strict and competition is encouraged. Two years after opening, it remains hugely oversubscribed.

They are controversial and not without their troubles but, whatever your political stripes, no one can deny that free schools are having their moment.

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Lady killer An unorthodox production of Ibsen's Hedda Gabler comes to Leighton House this month. Creative director of Palimpsest theatre company Katherine Tozer gives Pendle Harte a taster

I

f Ibsen’s controversial heroine Hedda Gabler were on Twitter, she would probably be tweeting dark comments and pictures of scary dolls and guns. In fact, she is. For this new production of the famously cheerless 1890 play, actor and creative director Katherine Tozer confesses that she has become more than slightly obsessed with her character.

Because this isn’t just any old production – it’s an intensely clever site-specific one that condenses the original three and a half hour action into an intense hour and a quarter drama, ‘a seething hotbed of sexuality’ according to Tozer, in an

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ABSOLUTELY PROFILE

Audiences will be invited to what will feel like Hedda’s house, welcomed by maids in character and given drinks in antique glasses attempt to ‘understand Hedda’. It will be almost like a thriller, she says.

Hardly anything about this production will be traditional. For a start, it doesn’t happen in a theatre.

The show premiered last year at Burgh House in Hampstead and is now appearing at several other venues across London including Kenwood House, the Foundling Museum, Sutton House and Dr Johnson’s House. Palimpsest is a theatre group in the vein of Wilderness and Punchdrunk (with whom members have worked) with their labyrinthine, site-specific productions that invite the audience to experience things their own way. Palimpsest, however, is more interested in keeping the story linear, and sees Ibsen and Strindberg as their ‘home turf’.

Audiences will be invited to what will feel like Hedda’s house, welcomed by maids in character and given drinks in antique glasses. Some actors will interact with the audience; others won’t and each performance

will be slightly different. ‘We want to animate the space and make people feel voyeuristic,’ explains Tozer, ‘and to feel like they are in this house in 1891.’ The production also relies heavily on its brilliantly conceived website for backstory and audiences are encouraged to explore online before (or after) seeing the show, and to watch a small fi lm that offers insight into Hedda’s past, which will also be projected during the play.

Th is multi-media character makes it a very technical production and has attracted interest from hibrow.tv, which plans to fi lm it. ‘We want to make pieces of theatre that are amplified by fi lm,’ explains Tozer.

Though coupled with that is the low tech, acoustic nature of the action, with no digital sound.

‘A lot of site-specific theatre is cold and exhausting. We want this to be comfortable,’ she continues. And the surroundings will be referred to – the art and objects as part of Hedda’s husband’s collection – because ‘if it’s mentioned you notice it more’. All this will serve to drag audiences into ‘Hedda’s dark vortex’, which has intrigued theatregoers for over a century.

Palimpsest’s Hedda Gabler comes to Kenwood House on 31 March, the Foundling Museum on 5 April and Burgh House on 6, 7 and 8 April.

Tickets cost £25 at palimpsest.co Explore the production at hedda.co.uk

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WE LOVE BOHEMIAN LIKE YOU The phrase ‘Culture Clash’ may not immediately scream ‘new make-up range’ but it’s what Aveda has gone for with their new cosmetics collection.

Inspired by colours and textures from different cultures around the world, it ranges from earthy, rich tones to pretty pastels, all of which work with a variety of skin tones - hey, sometimes clashing works. aveda.co.uk

Beauty Notes

IN HEALTH: WELCOME HOME urated by Leonora Bamford, mother of two and founder of My Baba, Radiance Cleanse’s New Mummy Box is filled with nurturing organic juices to help new mums get the energy boost they need. And with soft, manageable ingredients that avoid overly strong tastes, they’re great for keeping mums-to-be looking radiant too. £90; radiancecleanse.com

C

VIVA GLAM This blue-tone red lipstick with a frost finish is bound to cause a stir – and with 100% of the proceeds donated to the MAC Aids Fund, that’s a good thing. No purchase could be more guilt-free, so treat yourself. £15, available at Fenwick, Brent Cross Shopping Centre, NW4; maccosmetics.co.uk

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TRIED& TESTED ELLEVEN DENTAL WHITENING oted one of the best dentists in London at last year’s Dentistry Awards, Elleven Dental Practice in Harley Street (where else?) is now offering home-whitening for those who can bear to spend an hour wearing their special moulds. And for those who can’t even envision doing that, there’s still the option to have the full-on, in-surgery treatment, which takes just under an hour and 45 minutes.

V

HERE COMES THE SUN We’ve loved the Balance Me products for a while. They use natural ingredients, are made in the UK and smell glorious.

And the sun is finally beginning to shine, we had to mention their new Natural Protection Moisturiser, which has a built-in SPF25. Balace Me Natural Protection Moisturiser, £26; balanceme.co.uk

I opt for the DIY option, and the lovely Dr Peta Leigh gives my teeth a once-over, taking clay moulds so that she can send on the plastic ones I’ll need to whiten my gnashers at home. I’m supplied with enough injectable bleach to last a year or so; Dr Leigh actually advises home bleaching for me, as my teeth aren’t stained and have been bleached before. Since 2012, new legislation means dentists have had to reduce the amount of hydrogen peroxide used in one treatment; this means I’ll achieve better results with repeated applications at home. It’s easy

RAIN, RAIN, COME OUR WAY Celebrating (of all things) our wonderful British weather, London Rain is a new range of scents from Jo Malone. Capturing the different moods of an urban downpour, the four fragrances channel the progression from soft, refreshing showers to the romantic intensity of thunderous rain. A brilliantly original reflection of the capital. £82 for 100ml; jomalone.com

to measure out the amount of bleach - approximately 1mm per tooth you plan to whiten. I need only concentrate on the front six, as the bleach won’t work on my crown further along the row. A touch more can be added wherever there is staining; perfect for anyone (myself included) who loves their coffee (us Brits seem resistant to the more vigilant American habit of drinking coffee through a straw) as well as those partial to the odd glass of red wine or occasional cigarette. This kind of treatment is far better for you than the unregulated (and largely American-origin) tooth-whitening products you can buy online. In fact, Dr Leigh specifically advises against whitening strips, which brighten teeth by stripping away precious enamel.

Used in conjunction with Elleven’s Prevdent dental products (which, I should add, taste great – the flavour of toothpaste and mouthwash being very important), the home whitening system will actually strengthen enamel and improve the condition of your teeth, which is infinitely preferable to damaging them with a cheaper option.

To maintain your smile, the practice also recommends two Air-Flow hygiene appointments a year – prevention, after all, is better than cure.

From £125 for a new patient consultation and from £395 for home whitening treatment, 11 Devonshire Place, W1; ellevendental.com

THE BIG

THREE FOR RADIANT SKIN 2

3

1

1 2

Fresh Peony Brightening Night Treatment Mask, £48; fresh.com

3

S5 Illuminate Serum, £44; S5skincare.com

Jurlique Purely Bright Mist, £29; jurlique.co.uk

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On Wednesday 16th and Thursday 17th April, visitors to The N1 Centre in Islington can greet a miscellany of farmyard animals at The N1 Centre’s Easter farm.

For two days only, from 11am – 3pm, families can visit the free farm in the central piazza and meet a donkey, pygmy goats, lambs, pigs and a selection of chickens and rabbits. Experienced animal handlers offer the opportunity to feed, touch and learn more about an assortment of farmyard favourites.

E AS TE R FARM FUN n1islington.com

n1shoppingcentreislington

n1centre

After enjoying the fun of the farmyard, take the family for a bite to eat at The N1 Centre’s selection of restaurants including wagamama and Gourmet Burger Kitchen. If the little ones have been particularly well behaved, make your final stop Vue Cinema, Islington. Catch up with the adventures of Blu, Jewel and the gang in Rio 2 in 3D. The exciting sequel is set for UK release from 4th April.

Lynne Glover, Centre Manager, says: “We’re looking forward to the Easter farm this year. Our animal events are always very popular, so come along and join the fun!”

With 21 retailers, restaurants and entertainment venues under one roof, catering for all ages and offering the latest retail trends, delicious, hassle-free dining and great entertainment, The N1 Centre is the perfect family destination this Easter.

For further information visit www.n1islington.com, follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ n1shoppingcentreislington or tweet with us @n1centre.

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NEW ARTIST FAIR Framed Exhibition Showcasing 50 Contemporary Artists

28 -30 March 2014

FREE ENTRY Candid Art Galleries 3-5 Torrens Street London EC1V 1NQ

Private View Friday 28 March 6pm-9pm Open All Weekend 12-6pm

www.newartistfair.com Newartistfair.indd 1

ADVERT PLACEMENTS.indd 1

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14/03/2014 10:53

ABSOLUTELY BEAUTY

Barry M Dazzle Dust in Gold Iridescent, £4.59; barrym.com

The Daily Double All-day Lid Shadow Colour & Liner Stick, £8.50; soapandglory.com

Nutrilips gloss in Jojo, £15; wildaboutbeauty.com

ST MUAVE H

Archery Brow Tint & Precision Pencil, £10; soapandglory.com

RETRO revival

Black & white mod clothing is bang on trend for 2014. Make sure your make-up bag follows suit with these ‘60s style beauty buys

Eye Definer in White, £8; thebodyshop.co.uk

Clarins Joli Rouge lipstick in 707 Petal Pink, £18; clarins.co.uk

Matte Outliner High Definition Eyeliner & Shadow, £25; alacartelondon.com

r’s EditoICK P

Larger than Life Volumizing mascara, £18.50; narscosmetics.co.uk

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ABSOLUTELY BEAUTY

the make up

INSIDER Arabella Preston selects the best natural products for spring

have been meaning to 'green' my make-up kit since forever. And with a host of new launches and technologies improving formulas all the time I am running out of excuses.

It used to be the case that highperformance products required a rash of 'nasty' ingredients, but with an increasingly paraben-savvy market, things are starting to change.

Margo Marrone, founder of The Organic Pharmacy, was one of the pioneers of natural make-up.

She laments the fact that regular skincare and make-up may contain any or all of the following: artificial colours, artificial preservatives, artificial fragrances, aluminum, lead and petrochemicals. If you're going to start by replacing just a couple of products, she suggests: 'Choose foundation as it covers the most area on the face, and lipstick, because you end up eating it. What we put on our skin should be free from toxins, just like what we put in our bodies.'

The Organic Glam range has been a labour of love for Margo. In an industry obsessed with colour and pigment, to be restricted to natural colour makes their repertoire small and means occasionally compromising on range and tone.

But there have been some triumphs, like their incredible mascara which took five years to develop and doesn't flake or clump at all.

The Cover FX range is another big hit with clients. Although not organic, the range is free from – as they put it – the 'inflammatory five' (gluten, mineral oil, talc, fragrance and parabens). It's ideal if you suffer

I

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5

NARSCOSMETICS.CO.UK

6

7

8

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from skin conditions such as eczema or rosacea, though frankly it is so high-performing I would recommend it to anyone. The antiaging primer is one of my secret weapons on shoots: it transforms tired, dry skin brilliantly.

Finally, Dr Hauschka, the granddame of the natural and organic skincare world has a fantastic line of makeup. But it's their skincare I reach for time and time again. Massage in their classic Rose Day Cream, followed by the Translucent Make-up for truly natural and glowing skin.

2

3

1. UNE Skin Glow Pencil, £6.99, lovelula.com 2. Cover FX Cream Concealer, £23, harveynichols.com 3. Cover FX Anti-Aging Primer, £28, harveynichols.com 4. Organic Glam Lipstick, £17.95, theorganicpharmacy.com 5. Organic Glam Pastel Eye Shimmer,

£18.95, theorganicpharmacy.com

6. Dr Hauschka Translucent Make Up, £10.83, dr.hauschka.com 7. Dr Hauschka Rose Day Cream, £15.17, dr.hauschka.com 8. Organic Glam Mascara,

£20.95, theorganicpharmacy.com

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ABSOLUTELY FOOD

GO

NUTS

Don’t fancy over-egging it this month? Put a nutty spin on your Easter treats by whipping up these delicious walnut cupcakes from chocolate addict and North London food blogger Lisa Marley. thecocoabox.co.uk

FOOD OPENER.indd 41

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FOOD NOTES My Local Larder

By TOM

ADAMS OF PITT & CUE

ast London has been my home for almost five years now, albeit with a few errant months here and there south of the river, and it’s hard to imagine anywhere offering nearly as much for a young chef to see and eat! As Hackney continues to breed restaurants and bars at an incredible rate, it is the tried and tested that still hold firm: the Turkish Ocakbasi at the top end of the Kingsland Road is ever reliable, both for grilled anything and everything and some famously abrasive service. Newington Green Fruit & Veg is as brilliant as ever, as is Leila’s Shop and Café hidden away off Arnold Circus - offering some of the most jaw-droppingly pristine and perfect produce you could hope to find in a general store. And Leila sells ridiculously large bars of chocolate, which are like paving slabs and worth the move East alone. What of the butchers and where do intrepid cooks find their meat? East London caters for all faiths and fancies, from the cow’s hooves and African delights of Ridley Road market to the lamb’s testicles and quails of the Turkish butchers nearby.

A walk around Dalston’s meat merchants is as exciting as it is eye-opening. As British butchers go, there is no questioning the achievements of The Ginger Pig in Victoria Park Village, and I hear good things of Meat N16 on Stoke Newington Church Street. However, it is the attention to detail and rigorous sourcing of Nathan Mills at The Butchery in Bermondsey that is rightly attracting all the attention right now. Nathan sources rare breed animals direct from farms all over the UK, oversees the entire dry-ageing process on site in his converted railway arch, cures and smokes his own bacon and seems to have the Midas touch with all things meat. Oh, and he’s a great guy.

Go on a Saturday morning to make the most of Maltby Street Market once you have fi lled your boots at The Butchery.

E

Pitt Cue Co. is now available for exclusive hire on Sunday evenings for up to 16 people.

Please email tom@pittcue.co.uk for more details; pittcue.co.uk

MUA TR S T Y

BARE GRILLS The foodie entrepreneur behind Islington’s much-loved Fish & Chip Shop has launched a new venture – Des McDonald’s much-anticipated Q Grill will set out its stall in Camden, serving up high-end barbecue and bespoke cocktails inspired by (and made using the traditional methods of) the American South. Expect rough

timber fittings, buzzing neon and some mouth-watering transatlantic delicacies – including Louisville tender-cut ribs and Scrumpyfried onion rings. All the savoury moreishness of Southern cuisine, right on your doorstep.

Q Grill, 29-33 Chalk Farm Road, NW1; q-bbq.co.uk

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ABSOLUTELY FOOD

CHOCOLATE EGGSPRESS

5

OF THE BEST EASTER EGGS Godiva floral beaded egg £55, St Pancras Station, N1C; godivachocolates.co.uk

MakHeIS T

RECIPE

CHOCOLATE AND WALNUT CUPCAKES INGREDIENTS 150g margarine 150g caster sugar 2 free range eggs – whisked in a bowl 125g self-raising flour 30g good quality cocoa powder 30g chopped walnuts pinch of salt 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract 2 tablespoons of milk - I fi nd that the cocoa powder really thickens the mixture so I like to add some whole milk Th is will make you 10 or 11 cupcakes.

INSTRUCTIONS 1 Preheat your oven 170/325/Gas 3.

2 Line a muffi n tray with muffi n cases.

3 Cream the margarine and sugar together for at least 8-10 minutes. Th is is

Marks & Spencer Golden Lattice Milk Chocolate Egg £15, 351 Mare Street, E8; marksandspencer.com

a long time, but when adding cocoa powder I fi nd it really helps to keep the mixture light and fluff y.

4 Combine and sieve the cocoa powder, salt and flour into a bowl.

Add a tablespoon of vanilla extract to the mixture.

5 Add the eggs in three stages, mixing slowly until combined.

6 Gently add the flour and cocoa powder and combine. If the mixture is quite thick at this point, add a tablespoon of room temperature milk until you achieve a freer consistency. Stir in half of the chopped walnuts.

7 Fill the cupcake or muffi n cases with the mixture to just over halfway. Sprinkle the remaining walnuts onto the mixture.

8 Bake in the centre of the oven for 18-21 minutes or until the tops spring back to the touch. Allow to cool on a cooling rack.

Rococo Gentleman Bunny £35; rococochocolates.com

Montezuma’s Luxury Giant Milk Egg £34.99, 51 Brushfield Street, E1; montezumas.co.uk

Hotel Chocolat The Splat Caramel Chocolate Easter Egg £35; rococochocolates.com

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THE art OF GOOD food MUCH-LOVED CHEF & RESTAURATEUR MARK HIX TALKS TO EDWINA LANGLEY ABOUT SUPPORTING YOUNG ARTISTS, A GOOD NEGRONI & WHAT HE FIRST TAUGHT TRACEY EMIN TO COOK

EDWINA LANGLEY You hold master classes at Hix Mayfair. What do you teach the guests?

MARK HIX I mainly teach people how to carve. I do simple things like a leg of lamb on the bone – that’s the trickiest one to get right – then chicken, then a rack of pork. I explain the best way to cook them and how long for. Then we have starters, during which I teach them how to carve smoked salmon.

me this massive chunk...

MH Actually, the way I do it is thicker, but at more of an angle. All our visitors agree they’re never going to buy pre-sliced smoked salmon from the supermarket again, which is rubbish!

Then each of the cuts come back cooked and they take turns to carve a few slices. It works really well. We’re introducing a fish class, but I’m not sure that will be as popular.

EL It’s quite difficult isn’t it? I had gravlax the other day and they carved it beside me, giving

EL I’ve read you weren’t sure about cooking when you started?

MH When I was at school I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do.

EL Were you always good at it?

MH No, not at all! The cooking thing came about when I was working in a pub, washing up. For the first time, the boys in fifth year at school were given a choice between metalwork and domestic science. For a laugh, three of us decided to do domestic science. At the end of the year, I won the school prize for it. But I wasn’t really bothered or interested.

When I left school, they suggested I went to

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ABSOLUTELY FOOD

catering college, which I did, in Weymouth.

Then I moved to London and...here I am now.

EL You grew up with your grandparents, is that right?

MH Yeah. When I was really young, about six, my parents divorced. My brother and I were separated. He went to live with one set of grandparents and I went to live with the other; half with my dad, half with my grandparents.

My gran used to cook homely things – lambs hearts and braised pork chops. Our diet was simple, not fancy or shi shi. She cooked the old-fashioned way. She would boil a ham once a week.

EL Such a lovely thing to do – we just don’t do things like that anymore. I hear you had to kill chickens and pluck them – at school?!

MH Yes, in rural science.

MH The next project is going to be in an old tin factory on the Southbank near the Tate Modern. That should open in the summer.

EL Speaking of the Tate, on to art. The first time you met Tracey Emin was in 1990 in a pub. Was your interest in art born then?

MH I worked with Chris Corbin and Jeremy King at The Caprice and The Ivy [Hix was formerly chief director of Caprice Holdings] and they were big collectors. Their philosophy was to exchange work with artists quite often.

I followed in their footsteps, really. The newer generation of artists have started doing a similar thing; I commission work from them in exchange for an eating tab. It’s very Parisian.

EL Do people buy art from restaurants?

MH I don’t sell it off the walls. But I do have a

EL Do you keep chickens now?

MH No, I don’t actually. I haven’t got the space. My place in Dorset is very small.

EL What is it about that area that you like?

MH I’ve always lived in the east.

I lived on Great Eastern Street for about ten years, I like the buildings, it’s an interesting area.

That’s where I’ve met a lot of artists. When I lived on Great Eastern Street, people began buying industrial buildings and turning them into lofts and flats.

Which is what I ended up doing.

EL So you’ve got lots of restaurants. Here (Hix Mayfair), then the one in Soho, Tramshed…

MH Selfridges…

EL Marks Bar… MH In Selfridges we’ve also got a very small cocktail bar in the men’s shoe shop department too.

EL So you just go there...

MH ...And have a martini…

EL ...And get pissed and buy lots of shoes – perfect! Where next?

EL How long do these pieces stay in your restaurants for?

MH They’re mainly permanent.

EL Do you suggest ideas of how the artists can fill the space?

MH In my Soho restaurant, there wasn’t much wall space, so I suggested mobiles.

Some of the artists had never made a mobile in their life! There are static sculptures stuck to the ceiling, and also proper mobiles that move on the wind – like the Damian Hirst one of coffins of fish.

EL Now onto boring ‘food’ questions. I heard your last supper would be lobster and chips, is that still the case?

MH Yeah, probably.

EL Other than Dorset, where do you live?

MH Shoreditch.

EL What was your kitchen like?

MH My kitchens in the past have always been very practical – simple surfaces. I don’t like cabinets much, I like to see things on shelves. If you’ve got interesting kitchen bits it’s nice to display them. If you’ve got lovely copper saucepans, why not?

EL Is it already done or is it there for you to cook when you get there?

MH It’s already done! But people like Tracey like the fact their work is displayed in restaurants. People pop in to see the works, people who wouldn’t normally go to a gallery. We do 200 covers a day, that’s 200 people who may not have seen that [points to a Tracey Emin installation].

EL Thin or fat chips?

MH Fat chips.

EL That is the correct answer!

MH I think coming from the seaside, I was brought up appreciating lobsters. I also fish for them as well.

EL Your cupboard staples are Parmesan and olive oil. True?

MH Yes, Parmesan, olive oil and botargo.

gallery underneath Tramshed – the Cock and Bull Gallery. That’s my outlet. I show younger, lesser-known artists and every year we give out an award. We have a judging panel – myself, the gallery owner, Tracey Emin and others – and the winner gets a show in the gallery.

EL Word on the street is you taught Tracey Emin to cook...

MH Well, she’s interested in cooking.

EL Do you remember what you first taught her?

MH I just suggested roasting a chicken.

Whenever I go to her place now, she’s always got a roast chicken in the fridge.

EL What’s that?

MH It’s dried mullet roe.

You can get it in a stick to grate over pasta. It’s a delicacy in India. I make pasta tossed in butter and olive oil, and then shaved botargo on top.

EL As one would use truffle, say?

MH Yes, it’s got that nice, very savoury, slightly fishy flavour. If I’m at home, I can knock it up in three minutes.

EL Do you eat in your restaurants?

MH I eat in one of my restaurants every day, sometimes twice a day.

EL Do you cook there also?

MH No, I don’t cook anymore. I run the businesses. You can’t see everything if you’re stuck in the kitchen. But I do cook at home, and I also do ‘Challenge Hix’ every Tuesday.

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ABSOLUTELY FOOD

RECIPE

FISH CEVICHE y knowledge of ceviche expanded considerably while on a fishing trip to Costa Rica. On a bit of a mission as far as this fashionable culinary oddity was concerned, I ordered it at three meals in a row. All three were miles apart in presentation and taste.

Costa Ricans treat mahi mahi, sea bass and snapper to this form of brief pickling, but too much onion, citrus and coriander can overpower the fish. The third version worked best as we were left to add as much or as little of these powerful ingredients as we wished. The lemon and lime were diluted with soda water for a less acidic taste and I’ve based my interpretation on this. In its native South America, fish for ceviche is usually sliced. In Costa Rica, it was always cubed.

M

SERVES 4 250-300g fillets of sea bass or similar firm white fish, skinned, any residual bones removed, and cut into 1cm cubes, juice of 2 lemons, juice of 2 limes, 1 tbsp soda or mineral water, salt and freshly ground white pepper FOR THE GARNISH Red pepper, deseeded and finely diced, red onion, finely diced, 1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander, a little extra-virgin olive oil (optional) TO SERVE Toasted slices of bread or tortillas

1

Rinse the fish in cold water, drain and pat dry with kitchen paper. Mix the lemon and lime juice with the soda water, season lightly and toss the fish in the mixture. Cover with cling film and chill for 2 hours.

2

Make the garnish: mix together the red pepper, onion and coriander, and add a little olive oil if you wish.

3

Arrange the fish with the juice in individual bowls and the garnish separately to be spooned over the fish. Serve with toast or tortillas.

At our weekly meeting our Head Chefs challenge me to 20 minutes of cooking. They get all seasonal ingredients out – game birds, wild mushrooms – and I randomly cook something.

EL Do you surprise yourself ever – ‘how the heck did I come up with that?’

MH Sometimes, although mostly it’s quite simple.

up. We use a lot of the sparkling wines. But it’s a cliché to advocate ‘seasonal’ and ‘regional’ for me, because I’ve been doing it for years. It’s important for us to educate our farmers and growers. If you look at a lot of the fruit and vegetables available now in farmers markets, a lot of those things are there purely down to chefs serving them in restaurants.

EL What’s your favourite cocktail?

MH It depends what mood I’m in. If I’m in the Groucho club, I’ll drink espresso martinis to keep me going. But Negroni is probably my cocktail of choice – it’s quite hard core.

EL Onto telly, you’ve resisted it for the most part haven’t you?

MH Yes. But I did Great British Menu.

EL I know. I told your PRs I was going to come dressed as your winning Main RUPERT NEWMAN Course dish, Stargazy Pie. MH You should have done!

But that’s the only time I’ve really done TV. It was just a bit of fun, a bit of a laugh. Some of the chefs took it way too seriously. So I’ve done that and BBC One’s Saturday Kitchen twice, but only to promote a book.

EL You’re quite an advocate of seasonal, local produce...

MH I don’t see why we should import food when we have equally, if not better, food on our doorstep.

EL So you source things locally as far as possible?

MH Yes that’s right, it’s always British – apart from wine [laughs].

EL But we’ve got quite good British wines, I've read.

MH Yeah, there are some good ones creeping

EL I had it for the first time recently. I quite like it – vibrant, colourful thing.

MH You should try out Mark’s Bar in Hixter. It’s a similar layout to Soho, same cocktail list, but it’s got a 2:30am licence.

EL Thanks, I will do.

Though I’m so old these days I’m basically in bed by midnight. I'd never make it till 2:30am.

MH [laughs] The Fish n’ Hix Masterclasses at Hix Mayfair, £185 per person; roccofortehotels.com

RECIPE FROM FISH ETC BY MARK HIX, PUBLISHED BY QUADRILLE BOOKS

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ABSOLUTELY FOOD

FOOD

REVIEWS CANVAS:

Alexandra Jones samples the fare at Michael Riemenschneider’s recently opened restaurant esperate to be saved from yet another Americaninspired diner-cum-restaurant/cafe-bar claiming the best burger and gherkin cocktail combo in town, I took a friend for a catch-up dinner at Michael Riemenschneider’s new place in Marylebone: Canvas. The premise had us both quietly confident that we were to be treated to a night of finesse and fine wine. Selecting from a longer a la carte list, you create your own tasting menu of between three and ten courses, each of which is paired with a wine by the expert sommelier. Arriving, you can’t help but notice that the restaurant is small (it has room for just twenty covers) though it doesn’t feel cramped. This is thanks, in part, to the pared back décor – the colour pallet is neutral, the canvases on the wall depicting artfully sparse dishes from the menu – though at times it lacks a little in atmosphere. Having said this, the sommelier, Alis’, quiet joviality and encyclopaedic wine knowledge does much to distract you from any Wednesday night lull. His pairings were well thought out and on point, he would be a treasure to any restaurant.

The food was made dexterously: carefully plated and coiffed, with some balanced flavours. An opener of creamy, almost translucent, scallops (the first of five courses) for example, was laid so prettily with crisps of cauliflower that looked like reef, that it reminded us of Chanel’s sea-inspired SS12 show. The flavours were delicate and light, which allowed the play with texture to take centre stage and was paired with a delicious Riesling that really brought out the earthier tones in the dish. Equally, the langoustine came looking regal, a king crustacean perched atop a raviolo with a single grain of salt on it, a nod to the sea, which you could taste in every mouthful. The venison main was cooked well, rich and gamey, and was a welcome change after two seafood dishes. The desert - a pineapple, chocolate and coconut ‘7’ - was rich and decadent, but also playful. A perfect sign off.

In Canvas, Riemenschneider offers a perfect antidote to too many sloppy, straight off the tray dinners. Pretty, bespoke dishes that play to our sense of occasion, even if it is just a Wednesday night supper.

69 Marylebone Lane, W1U, 020 7935 0858; canvasmr.com

D

PLUM & SPILT MILK:

Pendle Harte dines in style in King’s Cross t may be bang in the middle of Kings Cross station, but still it’s not easy to find Plum and Spilt Milk. The Great Northern Hotel, yes, and the hotel bar – but for the small, discreet restaurant you need to ask at the desk and go upstairs like a hotel guest. We booked for an early midweek dinner and it was lucky we did, because even at 6.30pm, people without reservations were being turned away. Inside, it’s channeling the grand old days of train travel, when stylish people would lounge in beautifully finished carriages while journeying at leisure. Everything is shiny and curvaceous, in luxurious sepia tones and dim lighting. Sitting in a stylish corner booth, we order Bellinis straight away and set to the expansive, brasserie-style menu. There are lots of fish options – including Exmoor caviar, potted shrimps, whole lobster and chips – as well as appealing-sounding

I

vegetarian choices (bubble and squeak!) and of course a long meat list (headed ‘butcher’).

For me, it’s a prawn cocktail to start, from the Plum and Spilt milk specials list, and for my friend creamed smoked haddock with a poached hen’s egg.

Both dishes are served stylishly in cute (slightly girly) dishes and both taste high class. My main course of grilled squid with chilli, garlic and almonds is delicious, with flawless squid and a generous helping of crunchy nuts, while my friend’s baked Pollock with mussels and leeks is excellent. For pudding, we share the signature plum and spilt milk, which is a toasted brioche topped with baked plums and ice cream, combining to make a delicious, almondy, cakey concoction that suits the name brilliantly.

Great Northern Hotel, Kings Cross St Pancras Station, Pancras Road, N1 020 3388 0818; plumandspiltmilk.com

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ABSOLUTELY INTERIORS

HOME TRUTHS

What is G&G doing to celebrate its 40th birthday?

40 is a big milestone for us, we’re very proud to be able to celebrate this anniversary. To commemorate the occasion, we are designing a very special limited edition 40th anniversary collection. The pieces we're creating reference key items from Graham and Green that really encapsulate the vibe and the aesthetic of the brand. Classic pieces are being re-imagined and redesigned from our archive, and being brought bang up to date with modern twists through pattern, colour and design. This range will be launching in the summer, and we can’t wait to showcase it to our customers, who are so important to us as part of the G&G family; we wouldn’t be celebrating our 40th without them. We’re also working closely with small artisan suppliers, whom we’ve had relationships with for years, to create bespoke products for G&G in celebration of the birthday.

What are the highlights of the current stock?

Spring is such a great time to refresh and invigorate the home through interiors, and much more fun than spring cleaning! It’s a season we really enjoy working on. One of our favourite pieces in the new catalogue are the rustic French farmhouse extendable dining table and the Florentine Provencal style ceramics to match. It is a sublimely fresh look and perfect for re-invigorating your dining space after a long, dark winter.

As Graham & Green celebrates 40 years this month, Absolutely catches up with Jamie and Louise Graham

Jamie, having grown up with the business - what's your earliest memory of it?

I remember being fascinated by the exotic thoroughfare that arrived at my mother’s house after her world travels with her brother, my uncle, Joss. Things I’d never seen before, in fact things that most shoppers in the UK hadn’t seen before, from far reaches around the world became part of everyday life. I fondly remember the beautiful antique textiles and kilim's and interesting ornaments found in markets across the world, it was like being in Aladdin's cave. I hold this dear when buying and designing for the company now as it's part of the G&G DNA. Can you briefly highlight the differences between G&G in 1974 and G&G today?

The landscape in which the brand exists has changed vastly over the years, with the evolution of the high street, which didn’t exist in its modern incarnation in the 70’s, through to our first catalogues and now online shopping.

Our customer is also the savviest they’ve ever

59 62

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ABSOLUTELY INTERIORS

there are key traits that have always been part of the G&G heritage. Travel and exploration is a huge influence, from when Antonia would travel the globe in the infancy of the company to our buying and research trips now. It’s a passion we share and we feel this really comes through as part of the G&G look and feel.

We’ve always had a unique product offering and Jamie’s exclusive furniture designs further cement G&G as a real destination for customers who are looking for inspiration, and for unique and exotic pieces for their home.

been, not just in terms of value and quality, but also in inspiration and interior design ideas. It’s so fantastic to see such passion in interiors and is something that has enabled us to go from strength to strength. It’s so important for us to remain flexible as a retailer, whilst looking for new ways to excite and inspire our clients; but we always stay true to the uniquely identifiable foundations that G&G was built on.

What about the next 40 years?

That’s a big question! We have some exciting plans in the pipeline for this year which we’ll be announcing in due course; who knows in 40 years’ time our son Max, aged 6, could be running the show – he’s already showing sparks of passion for interiors and is very creative, he’s started collecting old tools that he picks up at antique shops and has been known to turn our kitchen into a carpentry workshop from time to time – thankfully the kitchen counters and cupboards are still in one piece.

Tell us about your own house. Is it very Graham and Green?

It’s a real mix – we like to pick up one piece for the home on every buying trip we go on, so we’re building up quite a collection.

When we moved in, we were able to start from scratch as it was a real project, but

Defining our style is a challenge as it’s fluid, it's always evolving and changing

What are your best-selling pieces?

We have a vast collection of bestselling pieces, too many to name but some of our real classics are our bone-inlay pieces which are always wildly popular as they are signature G&G pieces, and make a classic investment for the home. The linen deconstructed armchairs and our UK made velvet sofas feature in our top 10 best selling products regularly.

164 Regent's Park Road, NW1; grahamandgreen.co.uk there are some charming features that made us fall in love with the house that we have kept to this day. We really wanted to put our own stamp on the place and make it a liveable space for the family that’s both a visual pleasure to be in but also functions in a practical way for everyday life. We have a mix of G&G pieces in the home, new and from seasons past; these sit comfortably beside one-off market finds and pieces we have inherited from our families. I have a beautiful collection of my granny's paintings that are hanging in our kitchen and very treasured to us all and Lou has an heir-loom French sofa in the sitting room, that’s lovingly worn among other things.

What is it that characterises the G&G style?

Defining our style is a challenge as it’s fluid, it's always evolving and changing, however

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ABSOLUTELY TRAVEL

Cross road Of the

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HELEN BARON ON THE MANY FACES OF TURKEY’S MOST EXCITING CITY

T

he travel writers of old generally came to Istanbul (or Constantinople, as it was then known) by sea, and began their accounts with rapturous descriptions of the view of the city from the water. Alas, the modern traveller is much more likely to arrive by air, and though the Sabiha Gokcen International Airport is by no means the worst in the world, the subsequent journey into town is a dispiriting one: miles of concrete sidings and choked motorway await. If you arrive as my partner and I did, under an evening sky as heavy and dark as smoke, the effect can be forbidding.

The key is not to allow yourself to feel too underwhelmed too quickly, for while Istanbul may not always prove easy (aesthetically or otherwise), it nonetheless turns out to be a singular city, a place of incredible scale and unexpected collisions that leaves a lasting impression few other destinations can match.

To stay here even for a few days is to have expectations bulldozed and fascinating new insights installed in their place.

The first clue that Istanbul isn’t all cement and dreary shop signs comes as our car (a luxurious, chauffeur-driven Merc provided by our hotel) crawls off the crowded highway

and into the northern fringe of Beyoğlu.

This section of the city lies on Istanbul’s European shore, divided from its Asian counterpart by the dark waters of the Bosphorus. General opinion holds that Beyoğlu is the forward-thinking, cosmopolitan heart of the ‘modern’ city, and it’s here we’re staying, at the Marti Hotel, a dazzling high-rise set moments away from the famous Taksim Square. Hotels of such size can sometimes lack charm, but the Marti’s dimensions serve an important purpose: it’s only from our corner suite on the ninth floor that my companion and I get a real measure of the scale of the city outside. The arid motorway is forgotten as we look out over a sprawl of glittering lights and jumbled buildings, the chaotic skyline parting here and there to reveal a moonlit minaret. The itch to explore sets in, but it’s late, so we decide to test the room service menu before venturing into

the metropolis tomorrow. It’s a wise move: the food is fantastic, combining classic hotel comfort grub with fresh, flavoursome Turkish ingredients, and the vast bed and hammam shower are just what’s needed to refresh our travel-depleted complexions.

Several hours of blissful beauty sleep later, and after a hearty buffet breakfast in the hotel’s elegant restaurant, we’re crossing the flagstones of Taksim Square en route to Beyoğlu’s southern quarter, Galata.

The city is bright and alive around us, and I’m struck with the notion that this is how London must seem to many foreign visitors – a huge, working city that welcomes tourists but is (refreshingly) too busy to pander to them. On every corner and in every backstreet, sitting at cafe tables, congregating at flower stalls, haggling over the price of electronics and groceries and sports shoes and spices, are the people of Istanbul, an indescribably various

THERE IS AN ENERGY AND INDUSTRY HERE THAT SEEMS TO OUTSTRIP ANYTHING WITNESSED FURTHER WEST

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and vital bunch. We weave a path through and among them unnoticed, if not unseen.

To be clear: it’s not that this is an unfriendly city – the service is routinely charming and attentive at every coffee house, cocktail bar, shop and restaurant we visit (as well as at our five-star base camp, of course). But this is a cultural, economic and geographical hub that is still, after thousands of years, in the process of building and rebuilding itself, constantly revising itself upwards and outwards. There is an energy and industry here that seems to outstrip anything witnessed further west – and while tourism plays an important part in this process, this is no Paris or Rome, where every aspect of life in the city centre seems to cater to travellers and their wallets.

Istanbul offers something more real and raw and unvarnished: a kind of unsentimental honesty, perhaps, that is seriously refreshing.

Exploring on foot is the way to go. Many of the modern guidebooks suggest that the best way to see the city is by taxi, thanks to cheap fares and the sometimes punishing steepness of the hills on which the streets have long been laid. But alongside and perhaps even above the famous tourist landmarks, the best of Istanbul seems to crop up on forgotten side-streets

and around unassuming corners. Our several rambles down through Beyoğlu to Galata revealed warrens of streets where antiquated workshops and modern, independent boutiques sit side by side, and where ancient, ivy-clad towers stand crumbling above graffiti murals. By night, Galata is a buzzing hub for the city’s young and interesting, with bars and hotels like Litera (Yeniçarşi Caddesi - an avenue of foodie winners) and Büyük Londra (Mesrutiyet Caddesi) providing good food, great cocktails and a lively atmosphere.

There are enticing restaurants in abundance on the side-streets surrounding the main shopping thoroughfare, İstiklâl Caddesi, which even on a Tuesday evening was filled with friendly revellers.

Further south lies the Golden Horn, another marine inlet, this one separating Galata from Sultanahmet, Istanbul’s famous Old Town. Cross the utilitarian immensity of the Galata Bridge, passing the hundreds of anglers lining its rails, and you find yourself in the shadow of the New Mosque. It’s one of the grandest of the nearly 3,000 that pepper the city, but it’s not the best of the bunch.

Venture further into the winding streets of Sultanahmet, through the world-famous

Spice Market with its array of colourful wares; through the Grand Bazaar, home of Turkish products of every description, from art and jewellery to linens and carpets (not all of them impressive by any means), and eventually you’ll emerge at the city’s southernmost tip, where sit the Hagia Sophia (a former Greek Orthodox church and Muslim mosque, now a museum) and the Blue Mosque (a working 17th century mosque) like two stately granddames. The splendour of their assembled towers and gardens is difficult to describe – and the queues to enter can be off-putting – but even just wandering around the grounds reminds you of the impact such sights must have had on the travellers of yesteryear, unable to have preconceived them beyond the odd painting or illustration in a book.

It’s in Sultanahmet that the majesty of Istanbul’s long and colourful history is most keenly felt, not least in the Basilica Cistern, a vast underground chamber built by the Emperor Justinian in the 6th century and still standing today. A walk around its echoing, watery vaults is a must; it’s just a shame they’ve put a cafe at one end of it.

Then again, perhaps Istanbul is better for such incongruities. While the city certainly contains a great many wonders (many on a breathtaking scale), the demanding business of everyday survival seems to prevent their dominating the life of the city overmuch. They are instead part of a much larger and more various living picture – one it’s essential you see for yourself.

Three nights at the Marti Istanbul Hotel costs €425 per night for two people in a Turkish Suite with hammam bath; martiistanbulhotel.com

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THE SPA Adding additional wow-factor is the estate’s spa, nestled amid a vast walled garden. Sleek and minimal, its marble, wood and glass interior provides a striking but fitting contrast to the manor house. A huge swimming pool, outdoor saltwater plunge pool and a hydrotherapy pool along with thermal cabins and nine treatment rooms are the star turns here. Don’t miss the newly opened Well-being House, dedicated to nurturing mind body and spirit via a host of tailormade programmes, including a sublime Dry Floatation treatment.

THE HOTEL Approached by a magnificent mile-long avenue of four hundred lime and beech trees planted in 1827, Lucknam Park Hotel and Spa is a quintessentially British grande dame, discreetly nestled just six miles from Bath. A classic Palladian country house surrounded by 500 acres of parkland, replete with stables, spa, cookery school and a newly created Well-being House, the estate alone is worthy of a weekend’s exploration. Fine dining comes courtesy of Hywel Jones’ Michelin-starred restaurant, while a grand drawing room and woodpanelled library are a cosseting nod to the hotel’s history as a private residence. Hunker down by the fire with afternoon tea, or sip an aperitif on the terrace in fine weather.

Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa WILTSHIRE

THE COOKERY SCHOOL Drawing on classic cooking techniques and plundering the exceptionally wellstocked kitchen gardens, the cookery school offers a wealth of informative and creative one-day courses, from Michelin Star Cooking at Home, to Speedy Family Suppers. Located in a professionally equipped Cotswold stone house on the estate, students can enhance their skills under the expert eye of Hrishikesh Desai, Roux Scholar and former National Chef of the Year, before enjoying the fruits of their labour in the form of a relaxed, communal meal.

THE ROOMS Situated in the main house and adjoining courtyard and cottages, rooms and suites feature sumptuous linens and marble bathrooms stocked with products from chic French brand Anne Sémonin. Classic décor is order of the day here – expect elegant printed fabrics and antique pieces expertly blended with contemporary additions including DVD players and complimentary Wifi. For a decadent escape, plump for one of the Grand Suites, complete with opulent four-poster bed and an open fire.

£

THE DAMAGE From £360 per room, including use of spa facilities. Cookery classes from £175 per person; Spa treatments from £30 per person. Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa, Bath, Colerne, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN14 8AZ, 01225 742777, lucknampark.co.uk.

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T

BAKU to the future

Edwina Langley HEADS EAST FOR ARCHITECTURE, ART & Azerbaijani COW’S TONGUE IN A VERY MODERN MUSLIM CITY

his is the conversation I had with pretty much everyone prior to my visit to the Eastern capital. I’d vary my response depending on who I was talking to. To my friends it was: ‘bang next to Georgia, overlooking the Caspian.’ To my mother: ‘on the cusp of Europe, Mumsie. Just bordering Iran!’ Either way it sounded exciting and exotic, exactly the sort of place for an intrepid traveller.

When I arrived in Baku it was 4am, so as I drove through nigh on deserted streets to the Fairmont ‘Flame Towers’ hotel, my first impressions of the city were limited. One thing, however, did stand out. The place was spotless.

Pavements were impeccably clean and almost gleamed under the glow of lights from passing cars. It was eerie. When I woke up to daylight, however, it all made sense. For the view over the city from Baku Turkish Martys’ Memorial said it all: it’s just too beautiful to be dirty.

Aesthetics are foremost in Baku and its architecture is some of the most interesting I’ve seen. A lot of it is new-build, but it doesn’t look ‘neuvo’. Much was built in the early 20th century, instigated by Azerbaijan’s ruling power, Russia, taking inspiration heavily from Europe. The Azerbaijani State Philharmonic Hall (1912) for instance, was built in the style of the Italian Renaissance, whist the Baku Puppet Theatre (1910) owes its design to that of the French. Fountains are abundant and wide streets look a lot like Parisian boulevards. Not for nothing is Baku known as the ‘Paris of the East’. Having said that, there is a very strong Soviet influence too. Part of the Soviet Union from 1920 until its collapse in 1991, Baku’s cityscape nods to that era of monumental and structural domination.

However, there are also new and modern structures, like architect Zaha Hadid’s new project, the Heydar Aliyev Centre (2012), and these add yet another dimension to the skyline.

The Heydar Aliyev Centre in particular is a difficult building to describe for it looks rather alien in its current location – by the busy main road that leads out of the city. It’s a conceptual, spaceship-esque structure, which to me, looked like something from the future: ‘in the year 2100, buildings will look like this…’.

The curves and fluidness of design make it a shapely madam. Extraordinary. Magnificent.

Named after Heydar Aliyev (leader of Soviet Azerbaijan from 1969-82), the centre was built for culture and contains a conference hall, a gallery hall and a museum. It was only fitting therefore, that I got to see some of Azerbaijani’s culture in play whilst I was there, in the form of a gala concert. This musical spectacle took place in the auditorium and incorporated energetic folk dance (men ‘en pointe’ – shockingly without pointe shoes), a desperately fiddly instrument plucked dextrously and a duo of haunting solos.

Turkish dancers meet leaping Cossacks, if you need a visual. In addition to its musical heritage, from carpets to history, Baku houses many museums and galleries. I’m not usually a fan of modern art, but I highly rated ‘Zavod’, presented by contemporary arts space organisation, YARAT. Zavod is a new project designed to exploit unconventional art spaces. The Baku Air Conditioning Plant was where I visited – a factory that, one day, was closed and left untouched for over a decade.

This was until YARAT ‘re-discovered’ it and

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that enamoured with Azerbaijani cuisine.

Thankfully, though, it varies a bit. The cow tongue I tried one night was disgusting. The Beluga caviar however, was not. A typical ‘starter’ is a spread consisting of all sorts of cheeses, salamis, olives, nuts and breads – with an aubergine dip that made its way everywhere. One lunch I was presented with ‘Bolva’, a traditional type of soup. It was tepid, and came in a tall glass, which allowed me to dubiously eye its off-white colour and some green bits floating around

‘Where is Baku?’

‘AZERBAIJAN.’

‘Where’s that?’

invited 29 young artists to find inspiration there for a new exhibition they had planned. The idea is to be able to walk around the plant and come across installations that seem part of the factory’s DNA. I am not an art buff, but Zavod blew me away. One installation, for example, was simply a line of clocks, which had been collected from around the factory and had long-since ceased to tick. What was happening when they stopped, the installation asked, and why? Another exhibit was a video of a beach, with an ebbing and flowing tide, projected onto a factory wall. It depicted the sort of conditions the air-cooling plant was designed to create.

To write it down makes it sound rather basic; you’d have to visit to appreciate its full genius. All of this modernity sits alongside Baku’s captivating Islamic architecture; Shia Islam is, after all, Azerbaijan’s majority religion.

Walking through the cobbled streets of the ancient Old City, past the 12th century Maiden Tower, you could be in Marrakech. Stray cats creep cautiously across slim alleyways, whilst washing hangs on lines from balconies above. Mosques stand discreetly near dusty carpets for sale and Aladdin surely lurks in the shadows. This is the magical walled city that was made a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2003 – fitting protection for this ‘undiscovered’ architectural jewellery box. I was increasingly coming to believe that Baku was indeed, as it has been celebrated, an ‘Islamic Culture Capital’, but its nightlife had yet to be tested. Rated eighth in Lonely Planet’s top 10 party cities of the world, I can tell you now, Baku deserves its accolade. Pacifico, for example, is one of the most popular nightclubs and lies on Seaside Boulevard. With a ‘Boujis-esque’ feel it has a terrace outside which is ideal for late night tête-à-têtes if the club itself gets a bit steamy – or smoky; Baku appears to be the last place on earth where smoking is allowed indoors. The dancing’s wild and the drinks flow freely, most unusual for an Islamic country. So, when you wake to the inevitable (and deserved) hangover, what do you eat? If I am to be truly honest, I wasn’t all

‘HEYDAR ALIYEV CENTRE IS A CONCEPTUAL, SPACESHIPESQUE STRUCTURE, WHICH LOOKED LIKE SOMETHING FROM THE FUTURE’

inside. A massive gulp later and it almost came back up again – apparently along with dill and hard-boiled eggs, one of its main components is sour milk. After the starter, slivers of smoked salmon appear and then some sort of meat – like mutton or lamb, barbecued or stewed. For pudding, its fruit and baklava. Nothing you can buy in this country compares.

I am still reeling from my visit to Baku and I can’t quite get my head around it.

What I can get my head around though, is how safe I felt. It wasn’t that I expected to feel ‘unsafe’, but with unfamiliar lands it is something I think about. The genuine warmth of the Azerbaijani people undoubtedly made the trip. For whilst many do not speak English, with a right amount of hand gesturing and enthusiasm, you get there in end. And so I’m glad I made it to Baku. Wherever it is.

HEYDAR ALIYEV CENTER

Designed by Zaha Hadid, it first opened in May 2012 and celebrated its gala opening in November 2013.

The centre will host art exhibitions, symposia, expositions and other events to promote Azerbaijani art and culture.

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Smart picks from over a million properties.

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07/03/2014 09:34 11:17 08/01/2014

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Pear Tree Court, EC1 A superb apartment set over the top floor of a converted Victorian warehouse. The property offers a spacious dual aspect reception room with south-west facing terrace, a beautifully refurbished open-plan kitchen, and double bedroom opening onto a second terrace. Pear Tree Court is located moments from Farringdon and Angel underground stations.

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HOMES TO VIEW CALABRIA ROAD LONDON N5 A stunning five bedroom Victorian family home on this highly sought after street moments from Highbury Fields.

Calabria Road runs from Corsica Street to Baalbec Road, moments from the open spaces of Highbury Fields. The nearest Underground station is Highbury & Islington (Victoria, Overground & Mainline services).

Islington’s Upper Street, with its eclectic mix of shops, bars and restaurants is a short distance away. To the north, the shops of Highbury Barn offer an alternative to the hustle and bustle of Upper Street. ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡ ¡

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CALABRIA ROAD N5 - FREEHOLD £1,650,000 - 5 bedrooms EPC rating F | Ref: ISL140003

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ISLINGTON

020 7354 6666 islington@cluttons.com

Buying or selling your home is a big deal.

WE MAKE IT EASY. PACKINGTON STREET N1 - LEASEHOLD £499,950 - 1 bedroom EPC rating C | Ref: ISL140027

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HOMES TO VIEW BARNSBURY STREET N1 £875 pw - 3 bedrooms EPC rating D | Ref: 76855

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ISLINGTON

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HIGHBURY HILL N5 £525 pw - 2 bedrooms EPC rating D | Ref: 76397

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£495 pw - 1 bedroom EPC rating C | Ref: 77514

£420 pw - 2 bedrooms EPC rating C | Ref: 76881

HIGHBURY HILL N5 £575 pw - 2 bedrooms EPC rating F | Ref: 58187

CLUTTONS_APR.indd 5

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KnightFrank.co.uk

Pine Street, Clerkenwell EC1

A two bedroom duplex for sale in Clerkenwell A charming two bedroom duplex with a private courtyard garden and car parking, in this quiet Clerkenwell street. 2 bedrooms, bathroom, reception, kitchen, guest WC, garden, balcony. EPC rating C. Approximately 81 sq m (872 sq ft)

KnightFrank.co.uk/islington islington@knightfrank.com 020 3551 4459

Leasehold Guide Price: £815,000 (ISL130414)

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Absolutely April14 - Pine S t - 11 M arch 2014 - 48 724

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KnightFrank.co.uk Gibson Square, Islington N1

Newly refurbished house A beautiful house located in the heart of Angel which has been refurbished to an extraordinary standard and has been meticulously furnished. 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, double reception room, modern fitted kitchen, utility room and large dining room with access to a decked garden Approximately 179 sq m ﴾1928 sq ft﴿. EPC rating C. Available furnished.

Guide price: £1,495 per week

Islington Lettings KnightFrank.co.uk/islington islingtonlettings@knightfrank.com 020 3641 6138 (192593)

Peerless Street, Islington EC1V Superb location

A smart apartment to rent within close proximity to transport links and Old Street Station. 1 bedroom, bathroom, large reception room, modern fitted kitchen and wooden flooring. Approximately 47 sq m (500 sq ft).

Available part furnished Guide price: £450 per week

Islington Lettings KnightFrank.co.uk/islington islingtonlettings@knightfrank.com 020 3641 6138 (192820)

All potential tenants should be advised that, as well as rent, an administration fee of £276 will apply when renting a property.

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Absolutely City & Angel RHP half page advert lettings April 2014

13/03/2014 09:46

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Completely at home in North London.

Our services Sales and Lettings Property Management Block Management Property Solicitors Chartered Surveyors Financial Services Visit kfh.co.uk

With over 35 years’ experience and 50 branches across the Capital, our local knowledge and London network will ensure we achieve the right result for you.

Our dedicated North London branches include • Belsize Park • Highgate • Islington

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Belsize Grove, Belsize Park, NW3 ÂŁ2,400,000 Fully modernised four bedroom duplex apartment with a private roof terrace, forming the penthouse level of a stunning white stucco period residence with lift and off street parking. Shared freehold. EPC rating D. Belsize Park 020 7483 4302 Email sbz@kfh.co.uk

Elwood Street, Highbury, N5 Guide price ÂŁ1,100,000 A beautiful three bedroom house situated on a highly desirable road in Highbury.

The property benefits from a large kitchen/ breakfast room and private rear garden.

Freehold. EPC rating E. Islington 020 7226 2487 Email sis@kfh.co.uk

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10:56 12/03/2014 09:44

04.1

Haverstock Hill, Belsize Park, NW3 £3,012 pcm Furnished

An impressive two double bedroom, raised ground floor apartment situated in an elegant Victorian conversion with high ceilings and a private garden.

• • • • • •

Two bedrooms Two bathrooms High ceilings Private garden Parking space EPC rating D

Belsize Park 020 7586 9006 Email lbz@kfh.co.uk £210 tenancy agreement fee per property. Other fees apply, visit kfh.co.uk/lettingsfees

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BOUTIQUE LIVING IN THE HEART OF W6 ASHLAR COURT Ravenscourt Gardens, London, W6 0TU

2 Bedroom apartments from £750,000

• A collection of 2 & 3 bedroom luxury apartments • Beautiful Grade II listed building • Many original features being retained • Secure underground parking • Lovingly restored communal gardens • Excellent transport links

For more information

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Prices and details correct at time of going to press.

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25/02/2014 10:14 12:25 11/03/2014

PROPERTY

ROUND UP RTY PROPTEHE OF

MONTH

Left to right: Tom Kimberley (Lettings, Highbury), Laura O’Mahoney (Sales, Islington) and Jamie Forgan (Lettings, Highbury)

HOT BLACK BICYCLES! The fact that the streets of London, and particularly Islington, have been transformed in the last few years with more and more bicycles on the roads has been incredible, and we have certainly been part of that change. The years of all our negotiators having a car are long gone

- we now have as many bikes as we do cars.

People are always very surprised when we arrive on bikes, and even more surprised when we go on to show them another property that we get there before them in their car. When cycling, you certainly see so much more of the area, and you get a much better ‘feel’ for what is happening around you and what the neighbourhood is like. When Mango approached us about having

branded bikes, we didn’t hesitate and ordered five immediately. We enjoy using them so much that we thought it would be a good idea to offer them out as an inducement to use Hotblack Desiato as your estate agent, as we feel the bikes say a lot about our attitude to selling property as well as our attitude to life.

020 7226 0160; hotblackdesiato.co.uk

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ABSOLUTELY Property

LIVERPOOL ROAD, N1 £650 Per Week This two bedroom, two bathroom property on Liverpool Road is in a great location, with the amenities of Upper Street are just a few minutes’ walk away. The property has a strong architectural design and an abundance of sky lights that flood it with light. One of the bedrooms is in a separate annexe which is reached through the back garden, perfect for a couple looking for photography, studio or recording space. It also has another large separate roof terrace.

Currell, Islington 020 7288 9109; currell.com

5

minutes with...

Chris Morris Lettings manager of Cluttons, Islington

� 020 7354 6666 • cluttons.com

WALFORD ROAD, STOKE NEWINGTON, N16 £925,000 Freehold A fabulous four double bedroom mid terrace Victorian house on a quiet residential road. Within walking distance of Stoke Newington Church Street and Dalston station, this property is presented in exceptional condition and retains a wealth of period features, including marble fi re places, wood floors, ceiling cornicing and large sash windows, and also offers a large reception room, a stylish kitchen/diner and a cellar.

KFH, Islington 020 7226 2487; kfh.co.uk

What makes Cluttons the go-toagent in the area?

We are a dynamic and motivated team focused on providing both excellent service and outstanding results for our clients.

How long have you been in the area?

Our office opened in Autumn 2010 so we’ve been trading for about 3.5 years. I lived in Islington for 5 years before this.

What is your company ethos?

We provide a high quality service with a personal touch and enhance the value of clients assets by delivering advice and ideas that add value. Our intention is also to help simplify challenges and ensure clients have peace of mind. In short, we make it easy.

What can we expect for the market in the Spring/Summer?

We expect a buoyant lettings market by summer as new job creation is predicted and also an increase in disposable income - both factors helping to drive the market. With sales prices continuing to rise faster than income growth this also bodes well for the long term health of lettings as many “reluctant renters” will remain priced out of the market.

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CHRISTOPHER COURT, LEMAN STREET, LONDON, E1 £425 PER WEEK A one bedroom apartment with private patio and outlook over gated communal gardens. New Berkeley Homes development integrating modern and period features convenient for Tower Hill.

One bedroom | modern | patio

DIGBY CRESCENT, LONDON, N4 £1,400,000 FREEHOLD This incredible five bedroom house has been carefully renovated by the current owners creating a bright and character filled home with many of the original period features. five bedrooms | garden | roof terrace

winkworth.co.uk/islington | 020 7354 2480 islington@winkworth.co.uk winkworth.co.uk/highbury | 020 7989 7000 highbury@winkworth.co.uk winkworth.co.uk/shoreditch | 020 7749 7650 shoreditch@winkworth.co.uk

Scan this code to download the Winkworth iPhone app

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13/03/2014 15:53

BLACKTHORN AVENUE, LONDON, N7 - ÂŁ650 PER WEEK Set on the second floor of this secure award winning development is this contemporary two bed apartment. Offering stylish fixtures and fittings, well proportioned rooms and a large reception room leading out to a balcony. two bedrooms | two bathrooms | off street parking

TOTTENHAM ROAD, ISLINGTON, N1 - ÂŁ675,000 LEASEHOLD Set on a beautifully quiet road in De Beauvoir is this charming two bedroom apartment. The property has been tastefully decorated throughout and offers a wonderfully generous lounge bathed in light. two bedrooms | two bathrooms | off street parking

winkworth.co.uk/islington | 020 7354 2480 islington@winkworth.co.uk winkworth.co.uk/highbury | 020 7989 7000 highbury@winkworth.co.uk winkworth.co.uk/shoreditch | 020 7749 7650 shoreditch@winkworth.co.uk

Scan this code to download the Winkworth iPhone app

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13/03/2014 15:54

SOUTH STAND, HIGHBURY STADIUM SQUARE, HIGHBURY, N5 ÂŁ410 PER WEEK A superb one bedroom apartment set in Highbury Stadium Square which is the original home of Arsenal Football Club and retains the historic art deco facade. It benefits from a 24 hour concierge service, 7 days a week. one bedroom | balcony | furnished

SPITAL SQUARE, SPITALFIELDS, E1 - ÂŁ765,000 A fantastic two bedroom apartment in Spitalfields. Well situated for access to the city with Liverpool Street and Bank short strolls away and of course the world famous Spitalfields Market with its vast choice of boutiques, bars and eateries. two bedrooms | two bathrooms | communal gardens

winkworth.co.uk/islington | 020 7354 2480 islington@winkworth.co.uk winkworth.co.uk/highbury | 020 7989 7000 highbury@winkworth.co.uk winkworth.co.uk/shoreditch | 020 7749 7650 shoreditch@winkworth.co.uk

Scan this code to download the Winkworth iPhone app

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ROCOCCO HOUSE, PRINCELET STREET, E1 - £795 PER WEEK

Luxury warehouse apartment with exposed brickwork, two double bedrooms, two bathrooms, convenient for Aldgate East and Spitalfields. Impressive space and high quality finish. two bedrooms | two bathrooms | great location

WILMOT STREET, BETHNAL GREEN, E2 - £280,000 LEASEHOLD

A fantastic one bedroom flat set within a stunning Victorian mansion block in an ideal location just moments from Bethnal Green and Shoreditch. one bedroom | roof terrace | great location

winkworth.co.uk/islington | 020 7354 2480 islington@winkworth.co.uk winkworth.co.uk/highbury | 020 7989 7000 highbury@winkworth.co.uk winkworth.co.uk/shoreditch | 020 7749 7650 shoreditch@winkworth.co.uk

Scan this code to download the Winkworth iPhone app

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See things differently.

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Golden Lane EC1Y – Freehold - £1,999,950 A spectacular and award-winning fully integrated modern house Hamptons City & West End Sales: 020 7717 5435

West Tenter Street E1 – Leasehold - £825,000 A newly refurbished and beautifully presented 3 bedroom penthouse Hamptons City & West End Sales: 020 7717 5435

Christina Street EC2, £450 per week (charges apply)* One bedroom apartment in a fantastic warehouse conversion. EPC: C Hamptons City Lettings 020 7717 5437

Old Street EC1, £695 per week (charges apply)* Spacious two bedroom apartment offering stylish City living. EPC: B Hamptons City Lettings 020 7717 5437

Willow Bridge Road, N1 - £575 per week – Long Let (charges apply)* A charming two bedroom lateral conversion in Canonbury. EPC:D Islington Lettings: 020 7717 5455

Blackthorn Avenue, N7 - £695 per week – Long Let (charges apply)* A contemporary top floor and spacious two bedroom apartment. EPC:D Islington Lettings 020 7717 5455

Beyond your expectations www.hamptons.co.uk

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*Tenant Charges: Tenants should note that as well as rent, an administration charge of £216 (Inc. VAT) per property and a referencing charge of £54 (Inc. VAT) per person will apply when renting a property. Please ask us for more information about other fees that may apply or visit www.hamptons.co.uk/rent/tenant-charges

13/03/2014 09:30

ACTUAL PHOTOGRAPH WITH INDICATIVE LANDSCAPING

INTRODUCING HIGHBURY’S FINEST ADDRESS EXCLUSIVE SHOWHOUSE LAUNCH PRICES FROM £2,600,000 AN EXCLUSIVE COLLECTION OF 5 BEDROOM TOWNHOUSES WITH SECURE UNDERGROUND PARKING LOCATED IN A PRIVATE GATED DEVELOPMENT OPPOSITE HIGHBURY FIELDS. COMPUTER GENERATED IMAGE

PLEASE CALL HAMPTONS INTERNATIONAL TO BOOK AN APPOINTMENT.

020 3667 5576 • WEDNESDAY 26TH MARCH 4:00PM-7:00PM • SATURDAY 29TH MARCH 10:00AM-2:00PM MULBERRY MEWS, ABERDEEN LANE, N5 2EE

MULBERRYMEWSISLINGTON.COM The information contained in this advertisement is believed to be correct but its accuracy cannot be guaranteed and no such information forms as part of any contract. Neither the vendors or their agents or any person in their employ has any authority to make or give warranty or guarantee (whether written or oral) in respect of, or in relation to, the development of any part thereof. All images are for illustration purposes only.

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ABSOLUTELY Property

IN THEIR OWN

WORDS EDWARD ROBINSON

Area Director for Camden & Islington: Faron Sutaria Photography: Rebecca Noonan

K

nowing a lot of estate agents, it seems that few people dreamed of the profession as a child.

I must confess, it was the inevitability of a wet towel, once again, whilst living in a tent in a small island near Vancouver that created the desire to look in to different options.

Whilst at university in Sheffield studying economics and business the future looked bright and led to three years of travels. Three months in Italy led to six months in Japan, closely followed by chasing a dream and skiing everyday in Switzerland. The snow proved irresistible, and took me to New Zealand to follow the cold, and culminated in living in a beautiful remote island called Salt Spring.

London was one of the few places I was nervous about living; I knew the challenging atmosphere and scale of competition was going to require me to be at the top of my game if I wished to succeed.

It was a sofa near Brick Lane in Shoreditch (before it was trendy) that I would call home before moving to Dalston, Bethnal Green, Camden and now Primrose Hill. Each area has offered so many surprises and taught me that individuality within people, cultures and lifestyles can flourish and create wonderful places to socialise, live and work.

Now a settled Londoner, outside of work I am usually on a bike, in a pool or stomping around Regents Park. I am doing my first Olympic distance triathlon in Windsor in June and am enjoying the challenge. Some people find it difficult to imagine that the 10 miles from Camden to Canary Wharf along the Regents Canal can be entertaining on a Monday night but I assure you the sights and experience are not to be missed.

During my time in the capital I have been extremely fortunate to experience the opening of offices in Shoreditch, Canary Wharf and Camden. The differences in markets, style of property and of course client expectations have created innumerable challenges and some great successes.

We are a client focussed team with very high standards and equally high aspirations which fits perfectly in these markets. There is no better feeling than exceeding a previous record price or securing multiple bids to allow clients absolute confidence in their decision and the privilege of being able to choose who to pass their home on to.

As there are fewer properties in the market, they are beginning to be seen as more than just a home. The comparison with antiques and fine wine is making more sense. We are seeing that “value” is an individual’s perception and can be dramatically different depending on their view of the market and the representation of the property within it. The agent’s role becomes more important than ever. Understanding the product and being open minded about the potential for future appreciation can be the deciding factor in achieving the best deal for clients.

The future for Islington and Camden has unlimited potential. We are perfectly located to capitalise on buoyant city news whilst seeing record numbers of buyers registering.

The appetite for central London property seems insatiable, with everybody wanting a part of the most exciting city in the world.

020 7267 7074; faronsutaria.co.uk

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SALES & LETTINGS

PENTON STREET, N1 A very stylish, period property located close to Angel. Having been recently refurbished to a high standard with beautiful wood flooring, good quality appliances and good storage, with ample natural light. Energy Rating: C. 2 bedrooms, bathroom, reception room, patio. £600,000 Freehold Share 020 7293 0648 islington@faronsutaria.co.uk

SALES • LETTINGS • AUCTIONS • PROPERTY FINANCE • SURVEYS • CONVEYANCING

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Abso

faronsutaria.co.uk

SALES & LETTINGS

DRAYTON PARK, N5 A beautifully presented 3 storey, semi-detached house with planning permission to convert the basement into a 1 bedroom flat with conservatory leading to the patio garden. Energy Rating: F. 4 bedrooms, bathroom, 3 reception rooms, garden. £1,295,000 Freehold 020 7293 0648 islington@faronsutaria.co.uk

SALES • LETTINGS • AUCTIONS • PROPERTY FINANCE • SURVEYS • CONVEYANCING

10:51

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OUR SERVICE WILL MOVE YOU 11/03/2014 11/03/2014 11:30 10:51

all on 020 7354 3000 for a FREE quote Commercial & Residential Property Corporate & Commercial Disputes Employment Insolvency Wills & Probate

HELP WITH THE LEGAL DETAIL WHEN YOU WANT TO EXTEND YOUR LEASE OR BUY YOUR FREEHOLD

Hema

Partner, Enfranchisement and Commercial Property

"Efficient, thorough, and always a pleasure to tal to. Hema was particularly good at providing reassurance and clarity."

"I always felt that with Hema we were in really safe hands."

PROPERTY LAW SERVICE

Buying or Selling Commercial Property Enfranchisement Landlord & Tenant Lease Extensions Property Disputes

pper treet, Islington, ondon 020 7354 3000 property@colmancoyle.com

www.colmancoyle.com

forward thin ing straight tal ing COLEMAN COYLE.indd 2

1984 - 2014

anniversary

Celebrating 30 YEARS in business | 1984 - 2014

10/03/2014 11:44

Furniture

Organising Access Electrical Testing

Furnishing

Water leak

Inventory Dilapidations

Emergency

Eviction

Contractor

STUNNING NEW HOMES : SPN1, SHOREDITCH PARK

Site visit

Guarantee

Tenant

Statements

Notify Utilities

Arrears

Statements

Notify Utilities Warranties Tenancy Electrical Testing Expenditure Key holding

Section 21Emergency Deposit Negotiation

Electrical Testing Rental collection Inventory Dilapidations ARLA Organising Access

Neighbours Deposit Negotiation RepairsWater

leak

FurnishingEfficiency Legal Compliance Insurance Notify Utilities Notify Utilities Repairs Invoices

Inventory Dilapidations

Guarantee

Invoices

Insurance

RICS Expenditure

Gas safety certificate

Tenancy

Notify Utilities

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Arrears

Neighbours

ProblemsDeposit

Rental collection Deposit Negotiation

EPC

ARLA

Warranties

Completion date: 2015 Prices upon application spn1.co.uk

Statements Support

Damage Maintenance

WINKWORTH, ISLINGTON SALES / NEW HOMES DEPARTMENT 020 7354 2480 / 020 7989 4101; WINKWORTH.CO.UK

Repairs Expenditure

Emergency

A unique collection of just four Townhouses set directly on Shoreditch Park, ideally located between Old Street and Islington, SPN1 is a superb example of contemporary design.

Lovingly crafted by pH+, one of London’s leading young architectural practices, each of the homes showcases their unwavering attention-to-detail and belief in modern elegance.

Open plan and bathed in natural light across all levels, from the top floor to the lower ground, through the innovative integration of light wells, these are homes that embody the perfect marriage of form and function.

Out of hours

21

Section

Expenditure

Efficiency

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PROPERTY

Paying Contractors

ABSOLUTELY Property

Support

Section 21 Paying Contractors Contractor

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Out of hours

Managing your property can be chaotic...

Let us make it simple Currell Management

020 7354 8080 m.paul@currell.com

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ABSOLUTELY Property

Property Development FOLIO LONDON, N1 Folio London is a new residential development comprising a six-storey apartment building in Islington N1. Located off City Road, between Shoreditch and Islington, Folio is just a few minutes’ walk from Old Street underground station.

The building provides an onsite gym and an exclusive concierge service. All of the apartments have been finished to a superb standard, with generous proportions and high specification kitchens and bathrooms, as well as private balconies.

Knight Frank are pleased to offer a selection of one and two bedroom apartments available to rent. Prices starting from £425 per week for a 1 bed and £585 per week for a 2 bed.

Knight Frank, Islington 020 3657 7360; knightfrank.co.uk

MULBERRY MEWS TOWNHOUSE DEVELOPMENT, N5 Taylor Wimpey Central London has launched a selection of high specification, five bedroom townhouses at Mulberry Mews.

The new townhouses are located opposite Highbury fields, set around a tree lined square and benefitting from private gardens, large open plan kitchen and living spaces, floating staircases and large utility rooms.

The exclusive collection of elegant townhouses are set over four floors and offer a wealth of superbly appointed living spaces designed to meet the demands of modern family life. The secure gated community, large reception spaces and separate master suites mean that there is ample space for those looking for extra square footage but don’t want to compromise on style or luxury. The show house is open now.

Guide Price: from £2,600,000 Hamptons International, Islington 020 7717 5303; hamptons.co.uk

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Photography for illustrative purposes only.

DISCOVER | EXPLORE|CONNECT

CELEBRATING A RICH PAST CREATING A NEW FUTURE COMING SOON. Located moments from Tower Bridge, The Tower of London, St Katharine Docks and the City, in an area rich with history, London Dock is the capital’s most vibrant new place to live. Stylish apartments and penthouses, hotel-style residents’ facilities, beautifully landscaped squares, water gardens and boulevards lined with shops, bars and restaurants. Discover London Dock – a hidden treasure at the heart of the capital.

DISCOVER MORE | LONDONDOCK.CO.UK | 020 7971 7880 LONDON DOCK INFORMATION CENTRE, VAUGHAN WAY, LONDON E1W 1YY

www.stgeorgeplc.com Proud to be a member of the Berkeley Group of companies

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SALES

Whittington House, Archway, N19 | Prices start from ÂŁ270,000 Whittington House is a brand new development, boasting a series of 39 stunning apartments in the heart of Archway, Islington. This contemporary, urban build comprises a mix of studio, 1 and 2 bed homes, each architecturally considered with maximum light and space in mind.

New development | Stylish apartments | Excellent transport links | Contemporary | Designer fittings | EPC rating: Band TBC

Caledonian Road, Holloway N7 | ÂŁ550,000 Leasehold A light and airy 2 bed apartment on the 1st floor of a large converted building on Caledonian Road. Presented in good decorative order and bathed in natural light from large windows throughout. This versatile property makes a wonderful home, secure pied a terre or attractive investment.

Period conversion | 2 bedrooms | Semi open plan kitchen | Private terrace | Close to shops and transport | EPC rating: Band D

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LETTINGS

Pindoria House, Mintern Street, N1 | ÂŁ520.00 Per week Drivers & Norris offer a new development situated within close proximity of Old Street, featuring luxury accommodation including private balconies, open plan living and lovely communal roof garden. This 2 double bedroom newly refurbished apartment boasts brand new fitted kitchen and modern bathroom.

New development | 2 bedrooms | Open plan living | Fitted kitchen | Close transportation links | EPC Rating: Band B

Margery Fry Court, Tufnell Park, N7 | ÂŁ400.00 Per week Drivers and Norris are proud to present this lovely 2/3 double bedroom property situated on Tufnell Park Road. Internally the property is offered in good decorative order with features including double bedrooms, large lounge area, fitted kitchen and bathroom.

2/3 Double bedroom | Fitted kitchen and bathroom | Close transport links and shopping facilities | EPC rating: Band D

407-409 Holloway Road London N7 6HP t: 020 7607 5001 drivers.co.uk Drivers and Norris_C&A_APR.indd 3

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ABSOLUTELY Property

Ask the Experts Our panel of professionals give you the edge in the property market

HEMA ANAND � 020 7354 3000 / colmancoyle.com

From Colman Coyle gives her expert advice on all your legal property questions

Q. I was under the impression that if a lease drops below 70 years, this may become a problem when coming to sell or remortgage. Is this correct?

Nicola Williams

Lettings Manager at Knight Frank, Islington � 020 3657 7360; knightfrank.co.uk

WHO IS RENTING IN ISLINGTON? Corporate families have become more of a trend in Islington.

While being relocated from Europe and America, for usually a 3 year term, they have been introduced to the delights that Islington has to offer as well as easy access to the City. With budgets over £1,000 a week, areas like Barnsbury and Canonbury offer a sophisticated life in beautiful and spacious properties.

Consistently over the last few years the area attracts young professionals, due to the vibrancy of Upper Street with its trendy restaurants and bars, as well as the easy commute to other parts of London.

Kate Bentley

Lettings Manager at Keatons, Shoreditch

A. There are a couple of issues to consider. To begin with, the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 sets out that where a lease falls below 80 years, the premium payable to the landlord to extend the lease will increase. This is because an element referred to as “the marriage value” becomes payable to the landlord. The marriage value is essentially the increase in the value of your property following a lease term extension.

Secondly, you have referred to mortgageability and marketability.

These are different factors that have different considerations. For example, a short leasehold property located in prime central London may still be marketable and mortgageable compared to a short leasehold property located elsewhere.

Estate agents local to the area of the property can often comment on the marketability of a property subject to a short lease. In terms of mortgageability, that is the ability to get a mortgage for a property with a short lease, this will vary according to the individual lender’s requirements. For example, certain lenders have a requirement that the unexpired lease term should be 25 years plus the term of the mortgage.

� 020 7650 5160; keatons.com

WHO IS RENTING IN SHOREDITCH?

ASK THE EXPERTS

Shoreditch attracts a diverse range of tenants. A recent trend has

seen the number of skilled professionals from international areas increase dramatically, either looking to relocate or move back home to the UK. This group is between 28- 35 years old and earns in excess of 75k pa. A large proportion of these also have the backing of large corporate employers providing guarantees to landlords or 6 months of rent up front. These individuals spend large periods at work but outside of the UK, and they value the ease with which they can get to the City hub of Liverpool Street and Silicon roundabout.

Contact property partner Hema Anand with no obligation on (0)20 7354 3000 or email hema.anand@colmancoyle.com  www.colmancoyle.com 80 Upper Street, Islington, N1 0NU

SPOTLIGHT ON: N16 Average asking price - £469,430 | Average asking rents - £1,667 pcm | Average property value - £498,436 Data provided by property website 106

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SPOTLIGHT ON CLERKENWELL THROUGH THE KEYHOLE...

PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE

NICK MOORE

Senior Negotiator, Knight Frank

NICOLA WILLIAMS

Lettings Manager, Knight Frank � 020 3657 7340; knightfrank.com

Garrett Street, EC1Y

Prices start from £760,000 for sales and £475 Per Week for rentals

A

stunning collection of apartments, townhouses and live/work units, set within a secure courtyard in the heart of fashionable Clerkenwell and on the doorstep of the City. Now complete, these superb contemporary properties will be finished to an extremely high standard with lacquered white oak floors, Paula Rosa kitchens with AEG appliances, Hansgrohe bathroom fittings and terraces to some units.

BEST SCHOOL

Dallington School is an independent, family run primary school with a nursery in the heart of Clerkenwell.

RAINY DAY

The Barbican Centre is on the doorstep of Garrett Street and offers a diverse range of art, music, theatre, dance, film and creative learning events.

7

KITCHEN

All the apartments feature high quality kitchens and bathrooms with appliances from the likes of AEG and bathroom fittings by Hansgrohe.

FUN FOR FREE

7

EXTERIOR

7

COURTYARD

The Museum of London with free admission is one of the world’s largest urban history museums and cares for over 2 million objects in its collection.

The development is on the doorstep of the City which provides the backdrop for many of the units.

Garrett Street is arranged around a paved internal courtyard away from the hustle and bustle of urban life.

SPORTS & REC

Golden Lane Sport and Fitness has a state of the art gym, studio, swimming pool and tennis courts, all in the heart of the City of London.

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Offices throughout London

Judd Street, WC1H

£599,950

Mecklenburgh Street, WC1N

£475,000

A refurbished and spacious lower ground floor apartment just metres from the Brunswick centre and moments from Kings Cross and Russell Square stations, one double bedroom, patio area, bespoke kitchen and modern bathroom. Leasehold. EPC = D

Studio apartment situated in a period conversion, moments from the amenities of Bloomsbury & a short walk from Kings Cross station, the property provides a spacious studio room, kitchen and bathroom with security entry. Leasehold. EPC = D

Bloomsbury Office 020 7291 0655Bloomsbury@edmundcude.com

Bloomsbury Office 020 7291 0655Bloomsbury@edmundcude.com

Gray’s Inn Road, WC1X

Guilford Street, WC1H

£500,000

£599,999

Refurbished fourth floor apartment located in popular art-deco block moments from Kings Cross St Pancras station. Benefits include a private balcony, wood flooring throughout with one double bedroom, modern kitchen and bathroom. Leasehold. EPC = E

Modern one bedroom apartment in the heart of Bloomsbury close to Russell Square and the Brunswick Centre. Situated on the first floor the property benefits from open plan living space, modern kitchen area, re-fitted bathroom. Leasehold. EPC = D

Bloomsbury Office 020 7291 0655Bloomsbury@edmundcude.com

Bloomsbury Office 020 7291 0655Bloomsbury@edmundcude.com

Acton  Balham  Bloomsbury  Battersea  Camden  Clapham  Dulwich  Fulham  Hammersmith  Islington  West Hampstead

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Bridge Wharf, N1

£899,950

A stunning two/three double bedroom, two bathroom duplex apartment located in a stylish modern development with access to a shared terrace overlooking Regents Canal. Moments away from all the amenities of Kings Cross St Pancras, this property also benefits from a private balcony and allocated parking. Share of Freehold, EPC = C

Bloomsbury Office 020 7291 0655Bloomsbury@edmundcude.com

Acton  Balham  Bloomsbury  Battersea  Camden  Clapham  Dulwich  Fulham  Hammersmith  Islington  West Hampstead

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www.currell.com

£850 per week Witherington Road, N5 • Beautiful house • Garden • Excellent location • Three double bedrooms

£425 per week Ardleigh Road, N1 • Refurbished factory conversion • Wooden flooring • Ideal location • A modern finish

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Currell

£875,000 SoF Union Wharf, N1 • Two bedroom • Water views • Balcony • EPC - C

£2,795,000 Freehold Canonbury Park South, N1 • Grade II listed semi-detached • Four bedrooms • Garage with own drive • South East facing garden *tenancy fees will apply. For more details on our fees please visit our website www.currell.com/knowledge-base/our-letting-fees

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Stirling Ackroyd All around the City EC1R

E8 £900,000

£799,950

SHOREDITCH SALES - QUEBEC WHARF Stunning live/work warehouse conversion set within this award winning gated canal-side development off Kingsland Road. EPC - D

CLERKENWELL SALES – PEAR TREE COURT A superb apartment set over the top floor of a converted Victorian warehouse, located moments from Exmouth Market. EPC - D

SE1

WC1X

£1,000,000

£1,499,950

BANKSIDE SALES – BOWLING GREEN PLACE An impressive lateral penthouse measuring 1,000 sq ft with a substantial west facing terrace offering views of The Shard & the London Eye. EPC - E

WEST END SALES - KINGS CROSS ROAD A 4 bedroom, 5 storey Victorian house with 3 reception rooms, courtyard garden & roof terrace. Close proximity to Kings Cross station. EPC - E

SHOREDITCH 020 7749 3838

CLERKENWELL 020 7549 0606

HACKNEY 020 7749 3807

WEST END 020 7256 3244

IBIZA 0034 971 326 788

ISTANBUL +90 (0)444 4493

BANKSIDE 020 7940 3888

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E1

EC1

£795 pw

£700 pw

SHOREDITCH LETTINGS - PRINCELET STREET A modern loft apartment situated in the heart of Brick Lane/ Spitalfields offering over 1,000 sqft of contemporary living space. EPC pending

CLERKENWELL LETTINGS – ZIGGURAT BUILDING An outstanding 1 bedroom loft apartment with approximately 1,300 sq ft of living space in one of Clerkenwell’s most iconic developments. EPC - E

SE1

N1

£625 pw

BANKSIDE LETTINGS - GREEN WALK An extremely rare to the market & very lovely 2 bedroom period terraced house on a quiet residential street just off Tower Bridge Road. EPC - D

£610 pw

WEST END LETTINGS – ALBION YARD Set in the heart of Kings Cross is this newly refurbished 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment in a converted Victorian warehouse. EPC - C

LETTINGS PRICES EXCLUDE ADDITIONAL FEES. PLEASE SEE WEBSITE FOR DETAILS.

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From Angel to Highbury

KNIGHT FRANK KNOWS Islington Islington addresses are as renowned Nicola Williams, head of our Islington Lettings department and her team are renowned for their years of experience and their property expertise.

They specialise in renting a range of properties from new builds and Period conversions, to large Georgian houses and loft style apartments.

Their in depth knowledge of the local market, combined with an extensive network of ofďŹ ces in the UK and around the world, mean that it is possible to match property to the best possible buyer or tenant.

To ďŹ nd out more about how Knight Frank can help with your property requirements, call Knight Frank Islington on

020 3641 6138 KnightFrank.co.uk/islington

As the local Knight Frank Team

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