NOTTING HILL APRIL 2014 by ABSOLUTELY Magazines

ABSOLUTELY APRIL 2014 £3.95

NOTTING HILL

The new look P I C K A N D M I X S T Y L E S F O R S P R I N G

Paloma Faith TALKING SOUND AND VISION

Vince Power BACK IN W11

Adam Ant

THE RETURN OF PRINCE CHARMING

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facebook.com/struttandparker twitter.com/struttandparker

struttandparker.com

Caroline Place, W2

A wide, end of terrace, five bedroom house with front and rear gardens and a garage in this quiet cul-de-sac close to the Park.

ÂŁ4,500,000 Freehold

Notting Hill 020 7221 1111 Nottinghill@struttandparker.com JSA: Domus Nova 020 7221 7817

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Eldon Road, W8

An impressive six bedroom Victorian family house, situated in this most prestigious and sought after street, in the De Vere Conservation Area.

Price Upon Application Freehold

Kensington 020 7938 3666 Kensington@struttandparker.com JSA Knight Frank 020 7938 4311

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Local know-how. Better results. Our ofﬁces:

Barnes

Brook Green

Earls Court

Holland Park

Marylebone

Pimlico & Westminster

Askew Road

Battersea

Chelsea

Fulham

Kensington

North Kensington

South Kensington

Balham

Bishops Park

Clapham

Hammersmith

Little Venice

Notting Hill

Norland Square W11 £6,200,000 Enjoying wonderful light and a wealth of original features, this beautifully balanced home offers excellent family accommodation with an abundance of period charm, a mature, walled garden and access to Norland Square. The reception space is arranged over the lower three floors and includes a magnificent drawing room on the first floor with southerly views towards the garden square. The bedroom accommodation includes a master suite and five further bedrooms served by two bathrooms and shower room. Freehold.

PRIME SALES: 020 7368 4197 PrimeSales@marshandparsons.co.uk

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Join us on Facebook: facebook.com/marshandparsons

Visit our YouTube channel: youtube.com/user/marshandparsons

SALES

See all of our properties online: marshandparsons.co.uk

Lexham Gardens W8 ÂŁ3,950,000 This magnificent apartment comprises an grand drawing room with many original features including a fireplace. Adjoining the drawing room is a lounge perfect for those quieter moments and a modern well-equipped kitchen/breakfast room. The property offers a master bedroom with a wealth of storage space and en-suite bathroom, a second double bedroom with en suite bathroom and doors leading to patio garden, a third bedroom/study with direct garden access and a shower room. Leasehold. EPC=C. Sole Agents.

KENSINGTON: 020 7368 4450 sales.kns@marshandparsons.co.uk

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w w w. n u - l i n e . n e t

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N U -L I N E LIGHTING SHOWROOM

Lighting Showroom 311 Westbourne Park Rd, London W11 1EF 020 7727 7748 lighting @ nu-line.net

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ABSOLUTELY NOT TING HILL | KENSINGTON EDITOR Pendle Harte EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Catherine Hales EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Lindsay Baker, Pearl Boyd, Emma Harpin CONTRIBUTING BEAUTY EDITOR Arabella Preston SENIOR ADVERTISING ACCOUNT MANAGER Rochelle Streater ADVERTISING ACCOUNT MANAGER Joseph Houguez-Simmons PROPERTY DIRECTOR Anna Hutton-Potts CENTRAL PROPERTY MANAGER Leah Day PROPERTY EDITOR Hugo Hunter ART DIRECTOR Ray Searle SENIOR DESIGNER Pawel Kuba PRODUCTION MANAGER Stewart Hyde PRODUCTION DESIGNERS Gemma Isteed, Tahir Kapucu DESIGNERS Andrew Mavin, Ekrem Yilmaz JUNIOR DESIGNER Rebecca Noonan COPY CONTROLLER Christine Mann FINANCE DIRECTOR Alexandra Hvid DIRECTORS Greg Hughes, Alexandra Hunter MANAGING DIRECTOR Sherif Shaltout For editorial enquiries please email: pendle@zest-media.com For advertising enquiries please call 020 7704 0588 or email: advertising@zest-media.com Subscriptions are available simply by emailing clarissa@zest-media.com You can receive an online subscription for FREE or a postal subscriptions for 12 months, £30 respectively (to cover postage and packaging). Please email us with your preferred option and details.

Published by ZEST MEDIA PUBLICATIONS LTD, 213 WESTBOURNE STUDIOS, ACKLAM ROAD W10 5JJ WWW.ZEST-MEDIA.COM T: 020 7704 0588 F: 020 7900 3020 Zest Media Publications 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 Publications Ltd. take no responsibility for omissions or errors. We reserve the right to publish and edit any letters. All rights reserved.

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contents April 2014

EDITOR’S LETTER

ABSOLUTELY LOVES Absolutely’s top ten this month

PROFILE Paloma Faith, pop princess

CU LT U R E 17

WHAT’S ON April’s diary

ANT RAP The return of Adam Ant

ST Y LE 35

FASHION NOTES Sartorial snippets

MOODBOARD Melissa Del Bono of meli melo

FASHION SHOOT Skirts and sweaters

I N T ER IOR S 57

LIGHT AND SPACE Inside a Kensington terrace

40 YEARS IN W11 Looking back with Graham and Green

F OOD & T R AV EL 79

WHAT TO EAT NEXT Three recipes from Valentine Warner

EGGSTRA! EGGSTRA! All the best Easter treats

EATING OUT W10's Boom Burger

PROPERT Y 106

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

130

PRIME PURCHASE

142

PROPERTY NEWS

ON THE COVER

Notting Hill: Photographer: Sandro Hyams / Lickerish Make up: Celeste Fantinato Kensington: Photographer:Luis Barta/ Lickerish

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Open : Mon - Wed 9-8 Thur - Fri 9-8 Sat 9-6 / Sun 12-5 ď&#x20AC;Ł 02076254811 45 salusbury road Queens Park NW6 6NJ egohair.co.uk

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ABSOLUTELY | A PR IL 2014

Editor’s letter o there were actual piglets on stage at the Gate Theatre. And a group of monkeys went on a rampage in Latimer Road. These things really did happen, though almost a hundred years apart. Last month's niftily titled I'd Rather Goya Robbed Me of My Sleep Than Some Other Arsehole gained some notoriety for the Gate, featuring Steffan Rhodri (aka Dave Coaches in Gavin and Stacey) alone on the small stage with two small and unpredictable pigs – and igniting a campaign on Twitter demanding more pigs on more stages. More animal antics are highlighted this month by local artist Gill Bradley, who recently won the Serco Prize for Illustration for her poster Monkey Band at Large in Notting Hill, 1927, inspired by a bizarre true story which you can read about in these pages. Animals aside, our April issue is full of local names including Vince Power, Adam Ant and Paloma Faith, alongside lots of other faces, places and beautiful things. We hope you like it.

Pendle Harte Editor

EMAIL: PENDLE@ZEST-MEDIA.COM FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @ABSOLUTELY_MAGS FACEBOOK ‘ABSOLUTELY NOTTING HILL’

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T H I N G S W E A B S O L U T E LY

LINKED IN

EDG's London cufflink collection is super stylish with its eye-catching vibrant colours and great British design and craftsmanship. In exquisite Rhodium, the Kensington style is sophisticated yet cool. edgcufflinks.com

LIVING IN A BOX Fashsion designers including Vivienne Westwood, Katherine Hamnet, Giles Deacon, Zandra Rhodes and Jasper Conran were among those to design special birdboxes in aid of the RSPB. This one is by Patrick Grant. rspb.org.uk

JOINT CUSTODY This stylish Willow chair in oak by Sean Yoo at Joined and Jointed has all the makings of a modern classic. Beautifully crafted, robust and light, it's a joy to sit on. £325 joinedandjointed.com

HEAD HUNTER

THE LATEST ADDITION TO JIMMIE MARTIN'S ECLECTIC COLLECTION IS THE HANDPAINTED RHINO HEAD, INDIVIDUALLY DESIGNED ONE-OFF PIECES TO HANG ON YOUR WALL. AVAILABLE IN A WIDE RANGE OF COLOURS AND PATTERNS IN THE KENSINGTON CHURCH STREET STORE, WE LOVE THE BLACK IMPERFECTION MODEL, PICTURED ABOVE. £450, jimmiemartin.com

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VELVET REVOLUTION Prestat's new Red Velvet Truffles are based on the iconic American cake and combine an icing-filled milk chocolate truffle with a dusting of red raspberry powder to create a heavenly mouthful. Theatrically packaged in lavish red and gold, it's a proper treat. £11.50, prestat.co.uk

WATCH THE BIRDIE

Eric Bompard's beautiful cashmere collection includes stylish printed pieces such as this gorgeous scoop neck parrot t-shirt, £160, eric-bompard.com

IN THE SHADE Notting Hill-based Melodi Horne's beautiful handmade lampshades and handpainted lampstands come in vibrant colours and bright Ikat fabrics, and they're talk of the town in the interiors world. And there are matching cushions too. melodihorne.com

NO FILTER The porcelain pots from designer George Sowden feature fullsize micro-filters that take coffee drinking back to a simple art form. The model James comes in black with a choice of coloured lids. Just spoon in the coffee, add water and let the filter get to work. From £37.50, sowdencoffee.com

TOE

THE LINE PENELOPE CHILVERS' SPRING/ SUMMER COLLECTION INCLUDES THESE STYLISH SANDALS WITH LOVELY FRINGING DETAIL IN BLACK WITH METALLIC BLUE ACCENTS. THEY LOOK BEST WITH A TAN, OF COURSE. YOU'LL FIND THEM IN THE LEDBURY ROAD SHOP. £169 penelopechilvers.com

ST JUDE'S KENSAL RISING FABRIC FEATURES

weathervanes, chimneys and Kensal Rise-style Victoriana, either as finished cushion covers in various colourways (above) or as beautiful fabric by the metre. £32, stjudesfabrics.co.uk

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c B Cranbrook Basements

26-28 Hammersmith Grove London W6 7BA Swimming pool 6 Wine cellar 6 Family room 6 Gymnasium 6 Guest suite 6 Spa 6 Cinema 6 Kitchen

www.cranbrook.co.uk 0800 525 883 Free no obligation initial design survey, feasibility advice, quotation and 3D visualisation

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D IARY A P R I L

ELIZABETH TAYLOR WEARS BULGARI JEWELLERY AT THE MASKED BALL, HOTEL CA'REZZONICO, VENICE, 1967

THE GLAMOUR OF ITALIAN FASHION 1945 - 2014 5 April - 27 July V&A

From the tatters of the Second World War to the luxury of the Florentine catwalks in the 1950s and all the way up to present-day designers, this exhibition will showcase the incredible garments to come from Italy for the past 70 years. Over a hundred outfits and accessories by leading Italian fashion houses will be on display including Valentino, Gucci, Fendi and Prada.

Cromwell Road, SW7 vam.ac.uk

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DIA RY A P R I L

THE BELIEVERS 22 April - 3 May Tricycle Theatre

Odd things often happen when strangers are flung together, so when a storm forces two families into each other’s company and the liquor begins to flow, sparks also begin to fly. Known for their unique physical style, Frantic Assembly’s latest effort is sure to be worth seeing.

269 Kilburn High Road, NW6 tricycle.co.uk

FROM JAMAICA TO NOTTING HILL Leighton House Museum Throughout March udi Patterson, one of R England’s foremost black artists, hails originally from Jamaica, where he lived until his mid20s, when he moved to London. While occupying a series of west London council flats, Rudi began to paint. His works consisted mostly of Caribbean scenes: montane landscapes, plantation villages, tropical vegetation and sandy beaches, all woven into the urban jungle of the borough of Kensington and Chelsea. This exhibition will be the first major retrospective of the late, great artist whose prolific output of paintings was only one of his many talents. Originally an international model and actor, the self-taught artist did not restrict himself to one medium in his craft, often creating ceramic and mixed

KID YOU NOT

20 April Paradise by way of Kensal Green DJs Jack Guinness, Artful Dodger, Oliver Proudlock and DJ IQ will be joining forces to present a night of house, hip hop, disco and pop with an injection of infused R'n'B and swing from the 60s to the present day. Beer pong, giant Jenga, pulled pork and sick beats - this will be a night to remember and perhaps to forget.

19 Kilburn Lane, W10 theparadise.co.uk

media pieces as well as abstract and linear works. Rudi’s vivid use of colour and Caribbean imagery brought his west London home to life as he painted it and since his first show in 1970, his work has been exhibited throughout the world. A unique exhibition by a true Notting Hill character.

EATING SOUND

12 Holland Park Road, W14 rbkc.gov.uk

55 Shirland Road, W9 thetruscottarms.com

15 April The Truscott Arms

Chef Barry Snook will collaborate once again with composer Sam Bailey to bring spring to life with a melding of food and sound. The evening will consist of several mouthwatering delights accompanied by wonderful music and handcrafted masks made by the supremely talented Masketeers.

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SENSATIONAL BUTTERFLIES

From 3 April Natural History Museum he Natural History Museum is all of a flutter with its annual interactive exhibition that allows visitors to wander among hundreds of free-flying butterflies. Housed in a specially constructed tropical enclosure on the museum’s east lawn, moths and butterflies from around the globe can be seen amid riotously coloured tropical plants and flowers in every state from caterpillar to chrysalis to fully grown, adult creatures. Cromwell Road, SW7, nhm.ac.uk

CANNABIS CUISINE 2 - 5 & 9 - 12 April Maida Hill Place

LAURENT QUENIOUX OF LA’S BISTRO LQ AND PASADENA’S VERTICAL DINING IS COMING TO LONDON AND HE'S BRINGING HIS CANNABIS WITH HIM. THE CALIFORNIAN CHEF WILL BE SERVING UP SOME DELICIOUS DISHES FOR EIGHT DAYS IN APRIL - AND THE KEY INGREDIENT? HEMP. THE EVENT IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVED SO DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS UNIQUE CULINARY EXPERINCE.

CERAMIC ART LONDON

4 - 6 April Royal College of Art

his year marks the 10th anniversary of Ceramic Art London, the most successful and acclaimed event of its kind which showcases the cream of UK and international design talent. Not only a chance to exhibit but also to buy, gallery owners, collectors and those curious about ceramics will have the opportunity to chat to more than 80 of the world's leading ceramic artists. Kensington Gore, SW7 rca.ac.uk

4 Fernhead Road, W9 maidahillplace.co.uk

t don'

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MISS DYNAMITE

18 April Love & Liquor

he’s just Miss Dy-na-mi-tee and she’s back, making her debut at the Kilburn hotspot. Those who remember her garage beginnings and first album A Little Deeper (and who will now have either It Takes More or Dy-na-mi-tee stuck in their heads) will be excited to learn that after her lengthy break from the biz, Miss Dynamite will be back performing live. Old classics cut with brand new tracks will make up the undoubtedly feisty and girl power driven set guaranteed to spark off a whole new generation of fans. 34 Kilburn High Road, NW6; loveandliquor.co.uk

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NOTTING HILL’S BEST KEPT SECRET The Ballroom at Beach Blanket Babylon Hire our decadent Ballroom for private dining, cocktail and canapé receptions. Sit down dinners for up to 70 guests, standing receptions for up to 150. New banqueting menu is now available for a truly memorable celebration

BEACH BLANKET BABYLON NOTTING HILL bookings@beachblanket.co.uk ~ 020 7229 2907 ~ www.beachblanket.co.uk Beach Blanket Babylon 45 Ledbury Road, Notting Hill, W11 2AA

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A B S OLU T ELY

S O C I A L AMY ADAMS

SARAH MCDONALD AND NOEL GALLAGHER

STEVE MCQUEEN AND CHIWETEL EJIOFOR

screen stars GREY GOOSE'S BAFTA PARTIES

LILY ALLEN

BRAD PITT AND ANGELINA JOLIE

TINIE TEMPAH AND GREY GOOSE GLOBAL BRAND AMBASSADOR JOE MCCANTA

LEIGH LEZARK AND POPPY DELEVIGNE

JESSIE J

STEPHEN FRY

CATE BLANCHETT

glittering guest list including Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lupita Nyong'o, Steve McQueen, Terry Gilliam as well as Tinie Tempah, who performed at the awards ceremony, celebrated the achievements of those rare individuals who truly fly beyond and enjoyed specially created Grey Goose Awards Season cocktails: Martini De La Mer, inspired by 'Pioneering Spirit'; L'Amour Moderne, inspired by 'Unconditional Love'; Lower East Side, inspired by 'Return to Retro' and in addition, the ultimate celebratory cocktail, the sparkling Le Fizz. To accompany the cocktails, a selection of delicious canapĂŠs were served. Guests then danced the night away to a DJ set by internationally renowned Mark Ronson.

HANNAH BAGSHAWE AND EDDIE REDMAYNE LUPITO NYONG'O AND CHIWETEL EJIOFOR

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agenda THIS MONTH'S HIGHLIGHTS t don'

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LOVE NOTES

W11-based Allie Esirie has collected hundreds of poems, quotes and letters on the eternal subject of love in a beautiful new tome called simply The Love Book. Spanning pieces from Catullus to Carol Ann Duffy, the bible to Bob Dylan, plus Mozart’s love notes, Sappho’s lesbian odes and a letter from Napoleon, this is a life-affirming volume. Square Peg, £20

DUTCH COURAGE ortobello Road’s Unite and Type is hosting a letterpress workshop dedicated to the work of avant-garde Dutch artist and typographer HN Werkman. Visiting expert Anne de Haan from the Grafisch Museum in Groningen will be taking the course, focusing on Werkman’s printing methods and typographic style using lead type, rollers and stencils. Places cost £50 and the two-hour class runs on 6 and 7 April.

WHAT ARE WORDS WORTH?

The Idler Academy is inviting submissions for its annual Bad Grammar Award, to be judged by Jeremy Paxman, and Rowley Leigh. So keep a look out for examples of bad grammar from the worlds of politics, journalism, corporate marketing, websites, council signage and the Law. The X-Factor-style award ceremony will take place on the first of May. Just please don’t enter Absolutely. Idler.co.uk

B IS FOR BAUHAUS Deyan Sudjic, Director of the Design Museum (set to move to Kensington later this year, much to west London’s absolute excitement) has published a new book titled B is for Bauhaus. This alphabetical trawl through the zeitgeist takes in everything from Authenticity to the Zip via Design, Grand Theft Auto, Vienna and War. Each small essay is full of insightful thoughts such as ‘Google is costing us our memory muscles’. This dinky hardback is published by Penguin, £18.99

NEW SOUNDS

Out this month is a new CD from Judith Owen, Notting Hill-based collaborator and friend of Ruby Wax, and the wife of actor and humourist Harry Shearer. Ebb and Flow is a set of songs about love and loss in the spirit of the great troubadours of the 1970s. It’s a highly personal, bittersweet sound. Judithowen.net

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King of the

W I LD F RON TI ER FRON ADAM ANT IS BACK. HE LIVES IN KENSINGTON AND IS PERFORMING A SPECIAL ONE-OFF GIG IN HAMMERSMITH THIS MONTH. GEMMA BILLINGTON MEETS THE REAL PRINCE CHARMING

he best concert I ever saw was Frank Sinatra. I saw the very first Sex Pistols concert and it was better than that. It pissed on that. He was so good. People said he couldn’t sing – that’s crap. I saw him at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. I’ll tell you a story… Adam Ant - cigarette in hand - is pacing the room, animated, regaling us with an anecdote that is exhausting in its intensity. A youthful 59-year-old with piercing eyes and adorned in chunky silver jewellery, Ant is a candid interviewee who talks with pure fire in his belly. He’s blisteringly intelligent with an encyclopedic mind and an aversion to modern technology. ‘I don’t do tablets, I hate all that sh*t. I just read books – the back of the tour bus is like a library.’ He may at times in our conversation appear to have an axe to grind – taking swipes at the music industry, record labels, modern art – but his attitude is one of defiant punk rock spirit. Ant has reached a stage in his life where he’s not interested in pleasing anyone but himself, and it’s clearly liberating. ‘The thing is, Gemma, you’ve got to do it on your own terms.’ He says, with an intense gaze, after I

suggest that he’s in a good place in his career. ‘An important thing I’ve learned is to say no. In the past I thought I learned to say no, but you end up compromising. Also, I was signed to a contract that makes the old Hollywood contracts look like a f****g ballpark: one album, four singles, two world tours a year... Do that for four or five years – ’ he breaks off, ‘we didn’t have the kind of management that encouraged us to take time off... Nobody ever said to me, between 1980 and 1990; “Here, Adam, have a f*****g holiday.” You know why? Because if I’m not working, I’m not earning.’ Ant recently returned to the music scene with a tour and an album, released in January 2013. During

his 17 year hiatus he spent time in LA, where he dabbled in acting, and lived as a hillbilly (his words) in Tennessee – a period he describes as ‘a lovely existence’. The long-winded title of this surprise new album, Adam Ant is the Blueblack Hussar in Marrying the Gunner’s Daughter, is a convoluted, subtle dig at the record industry. To ‘marry the gunner’s daughter’ is an old naval term for a form of corporal punishment which involved being leant over a cannon and flogged. The Blueblack Hussar (also the name of Ant’s independent record label) is Adam Ant 30 years on. The iconic ‘dandy highwayman’ who was catapulted to fame in the early 80s has grown-up; he’s a man, and a survivor. Ant describes the record as ‘old school’ and ‘very autobiographical.’ ‘You have to make quality that people want to buy.’ He adds. ‘To me, an album, if it’s 12 songs, it’s literally 12 stories, 12 chapters on what’s interested me at the time. It could be about a prostitute in 1798, or about Nelson, or something contemporary... Every album I’ve made, some I like more than others, but I’m proud of them all.’ This month, Ant will be revisiting the very beginning of his career by

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performing the band’s debut album, Dirk Wears White Sox, at a oneoff gig at the Eventim Apollo. The album, he admits, was hammered by the critics upon its initial release, but it swiftly garnered a cult following. ‘It was important to me to show the public that there was an Adam and the Ants prior to the one on Top of the Pops.’ He adds. Dirk, released in 1979 with the original band line-up, precedes the onslaught of AntMania that exploded following the release of the decidedly pop-influenced Kings of the Wild Frontier in 1980, and Prince Charming in 1981. With its post-punk sound and irreverent lyrics, Dirk was largely overlooked by the media but, some 35 years later, it has stood the test of time and is today regarded by those same sceptical critics as a classic. The Apollo show, which Ant describes as a ‘theatrical two-hour presentation’ will be the first time that Dirk has been performed live in its entirety. ‘I’m promoting this gig, it’s my money,’ he tells me, frankly. Over the years Dirk has undergone many remasterings and re-releases, but Ant now owns all rights to it and is planning to release a special white vinyl edition, which he will

‘Over the years Dirk has undergone many remasterings and rereleases, but Ant now owns all rights to it and is planning to release a special white vinyl edition, which he will personally remaster’ personally remaster. ‘It’s a labour of love, it’s going to be beautiful.’ He says simply. Ant studied graphic design at Hornsey College of Art and his training proved to be invaluable in creating Adam and the Ants. Not only assuming the role of frontman and songwriter, Ant had a hand in the whole package: from creating storyboards for the Ants’ theatrical music videos to designing flyers, record covers and their flamboyant costumes. ‘It’s a visual thing,’ he explains, as he springs out of the room momentarily to fetch his sketchbook, which he freely takes me through. The pages are filled with flyers and magazine cuttings – some fastened, some loose – and thick pen scribbles and drawings that illustrate early ideas and development. ‘I get most enjoyment out of writing a song, next is visualising a song, interpreting it across the board: the costumes, the presentation, the graphics..’ he explains, ‘the last bit is the performance which is the hard graft.’ But how does it feel to perform again, I ask? ‘It’s a gift, it’s a pleasure,’

he replies, ‘I feel a great sense of serenity when I’ve finished a concert. I’ve done all my homework, I’ve done all the preparation, so the rest is just enjoyment.’ As much as our conversation revolves around Ant’s current projects and his new lease of life (musically speaking), it’s impossible not to talk about his heydey. After a new Ants line-up and upon releasing their second album, the band were launched into superstardom and Ant a bonafide teen heartthrob. Seemingly though, the singer couldn’t truly enjoy the experience whilst he was living it. ‘It’s wonderful but there’s a price to pay,’ he says of sudden fame, and there was also a constant battle with the demands of the record label: ‘Their deal was: if I didn’t give them an album by a certain date, they put another album on top of my deal.’ he explains, ‘it was like being in the trench with those guys [the band]. Over the years you think back to those times: all the sh*t we took, the fights we had, the f*****g laughs… you start to appreciate what we did.’ Such is our enduring love of the dandy highwayman ( just Google any 80s fancy dress hire and you’ll see hundreds of garish replicas of the famous costume) that the influence of Adam and the Ants is cemented in British music history. It’s almost difficult, I feel, for some fans to move on from the Prince Charming days, but it doesn’t matter. Ant’s success has given him the freedom to continue artistically without having to pander to anyone else. He readily admits to being offered ‘shedloads of money’ to put Adam and the Ants back together, ‘do the O2 – cha-ching – but then what the f**k do you do? I don’t want to do that.’ With this new chapter, Ant is in control and there’s no stopping him. He continues the Sinatra story: ‘Read about Frank, read about Johnny Cash if you think you’ve got problems. Those guys were tough – they kept working, they were singing till they dropped f*****g dead – and that’s what I want to do.’ Adam Ant will be playing at the Eventim Apollo on 19 April, see eventimapollo.com for details

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THE LEADING FAIR FOR CONTEMPORARY CERAMICS AT THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF ART, LONDON Friday 4 – Sunday 6 April 2014 Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Ceramic Art London is the international showcase of contemporary ceramics. A unique event of excellence in an expanding world market with opportunities to meet and buy from leading makers. The essential destination for collectors, enthusiasts, curators, teachers, and students.

Image: Angela Mellor

OPENING TIMES Friday 4 April, 10am-6pm Saturday 5 April, 10am-6pm Sunday 6 April, 10am-5pm ADMISSION Adult £12, Concession £9, Three-day pass £25 All tickets include a full colour catalogue and entry to events programme FURTHER DETAILS Online: www.ceramics.org.uk Email: organiser@ceramics.org.uk Tel: +44 (0)20 3137 0750

Presented by the Craft Potters Association at the Royal College of Art, London

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Where Queen Anne’s most glamorous occasions were held... Kensington Palace’s elegant style and charm has attracted royal residents such as Queen Anne, Queen Victoria and Diana, Princess of Wales. By holding your event here, you are becoming part of its illustrious history.

• • • • •

Beautiful gardens Magnificent State Apartments Drinks receptions - up to 2000 Dinner and dance - up to 800 Indoor and outdoor spaces

Book your elegant occasion at Kensington Palace hrp.org.uk/hireavenue | 0844 482 1466 Historic Royal Palaces private events: Tower of London • Hampton Court Palace • Banqueting House • Kensington Palace

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POWER T O

T H E

Vince Power is back in Notting Hill as the man behind the new KPH, formerly the Kensington Park Hotel. Pendle Harte meets him ince Power is looking out of the window from the bar at the KPH. ‘This area has changed a lot in the last 10 years,’ he says. ‘Remember the old days? You felt neglected if you didn’t get mugged.’ Not that he ever got mugged. He was too well-connected. This old pub on the corner of Lancaster Road and Ladbroke Grove was until recently the area’s last unchanged watering hole, pulling pints of Double Diamond behind frosted windows for W11’s old-timers. Now its time has come, but

P E O P L E not for the standard gastro conversion. Power is managing the place for the Irish family who has owned it since the 1960s – and he has spruced it up and created a music venue upstairs. The place is looking good, like a proper pub, unpretentious and comfortable. Only a well-stocked jukebox and a row of gig posters indicate Power’s presence, and when he sits down next to me, I’m surprised. I just wasn’t expecting him to be so charming. With a reputation as a hard player in the often murky world of pubs and clubs, I was expecting someone… tougher. But he’s smiley and soft, and when he says: ‘I’ve had a great time – I always seem to get away with it,’ it all makes sense. People must just like him. ‘I don’t have many bars now,’ he says. His Mean Fiddler empire started out in a former boxing club in Harlesden in 1982

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Hop Farm – ‘Nobody believed he was going to come and I’ve never seen so many people crying, they were so happy. I was happy too, to see the limo come onto the site after I’d paid my half million.’ And in the early days, The Sun ran a picture of Kris Kristofferson getting out of a cab in Harlesden, an unlikely location for an American household name. ‘It was a great venue,’ says Power, reminiscing. ‘I walked round recently, it’s quite sad. You could hear the memories. It used to be us, Dingwalls and the Marquee competing for bands – we were the only ones to have proper dressing rooms and showers, unheard of here but I’d seen it in America.’

Over the years he has recruited performers including Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Morrissey, Johnny Cash, the Pogues, Pixies and Prince

and expanded to found venues ranging from the Astoria to the Jazz Café via W10’s own Subterania, alongside the Reading Festival and others. He sold the business in 2005 (by then a public company) for an impressive £49 million (‘not a bad offer,’ he concedes) and with his winnings he ‘bought stuff, sold stuff’. He’s never been off the scene though, having owned the Benicassim festival in Spain until recently and the Hop Farm festival, among other interests. But KPH marks a return to his roots, a smallscale venue that he promises will book bands ‘bigger than the room’. Because that’s his thing – ‘I’m doing it because I like music,’ he says. ‘When I sold Mean Fiddler I was spending all my time talking, not being close to the music.’ Which was how it all started – the music. Pre-Mean Fiddler, Power was a furniture dealer on the Harrow Road, but after a music-motivated trip to Nashville, he 'wanted to bring the honky tonk, spit-and-sawdust feel to London, with cold beer, which was almost unheard of in those days.’ He discovered a talent for persuading people to perform, becoming ‘more persuasive once I got the hang of it’ – so over the years he has recruited performers including Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Morrissey, Johnny Cash, the Pogues, the Pixies and Prince. Still, ‘it’s always difficult dealing with artists,’ he says. Highlights of his career include Prince arriving to play at

Back to KPH. The place has a dim past, counting local murderer John Christie and Oswald Mosley among its former punters – and it has never even been a hotel, despite the name. Power’s had his eye on the place for a long time and his changes are ‘respectful to the infrastructure’, though ‘a few people are annoyed’. There’s no TV, and neither is there any overly artful shabbiness. It’s an honest look and he has ‘barred nobody.’ It is nothing at all like his old Ion Bar nearby, which closed down several years ago after it ‘got quite gang-oriented.’ KPH's new incarnation is set to change the local live music scene; and good luck to it. 139 Ladbroke Grove W10; thekph.com

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Monkey business Notting Hill illustrator Gill Bradley won the Serco Prize for Ilustration for her poster Monkey Band at Large in Notting Hill 1927. This is the true story behind the picture, as reported in the London Daily Chronicle on 23 November 1927

hirteen monkeys have played high jinks in Notting Hill W, since they embarked on their hours of glorious liberty. Thieves who broke into the premises of Mr T Murphy, of Latimer Road, made for a large hut which looked like a hen roost. Stealthily they forced the door open, and out rushed—not chickens, but the 13 monkeys, all members of a monkey jazz band, to perform at the World’s Christmas Fair at Islington. Since then the band has been playing a little game of its own—without music, but led by their bandmaster, Franko. They established themselves beneath the platforms of Latimer Road Metropolitan station, and, using this as a base, various members stole a porter’s food, raided a confectioner’s and corn chandler’s shop, pelted children from the station yard, entered a woman’s bedroom, slid down the chimney of a house, raided a horse’s nosebag and ate corn sitting on the horse’s back, converted the entire staff of the station into an amateur hunt. Seven of the musicians have since returned home voluntarily because of hunger, two were captured, and one more, Isaacs, said to be “a smart little trumpeter”, was seized, but there still remain at large Franko, the bandmaster, Bimbo, a drummer, Snookums, a cymbalist. Bimbo, Snookums, and Isaacs may, perhaps, be dispensed with, but Franko must be found at all costs. Otherwise the band may be conductorless. A reward of £25 has been offered for his capture. Jennie was seen on top of a wood pile in Mr Murphy’s yard. She rushed into a shed and was found and cornered there while sucking a tobacco pipe. According to the latest reports, Franko, who was undoubtedly the ringleader of most of the musicians’ escapades, jumped on the top of a train at Latimer Road, and journeyed to Paddington, since when he has not been seen. He is a black monkey,

MONKEYS LOOSE Wild Pranks in Notting Hill

about two feet in height, with a white neck and is valued by his owner at £100. Some of the adventures of the jazz desperadoes are best told by interviews with their victims: Mr Clare, corn chandler, Bramley Road:

Five of them got into my store, and ate 28lbs of biscuits. Eight of us, including two policemen, caught one after three hours. Then it escaped, and we spent three and a half hours recapturing it. A Confectioner: One monkey

tore down the curtains of my shop window, threw packets of chocolates at two customers, who fled, and broke a pane of glass. He was captured by an old army man, who had been in Singapore, and understood monkeys. Latimer Road indeed has an endless supply of jungle tales, and Mr Murphy has received evidence of some of them in the shape of claims for damages, including 8/for damaged crockery and 4/6 for stolen sweets. Bimbo, the drummer of the escaped Monkeys’ Jazz Band, was captured at Rugby. He had obviously taken a train at Latimer Road Station (which the fugitives made their headquarters), changed at Paddington, and entrained for Rugby. First news was received in a telegram from a Rugby hotelkeeper: ‘Monkey captured here this morning after doing considerable damage, for which I expect you to pay. Am sending him passenger to Euston.’ No one met Bimbo at Euston Station, so cold and crestfallen, but struggling vigorously, he was led on a chain to the Parcels Office ‘to be called for’. Later the wife of the owner of the animals, Mrs Murphy hurried to Euston and recognised Bimbo. The recognition was not mutual, however, for Bimbo did not seem to know his mistress. “Hello, Bimbo, my poor boy, where have you been?” said Mrs Murphy, attempting to take him from the arms of the porter. “Crrrrrrrer,” muttered Bimbo, fighting and screaming in a desperate effort to regain his liberty. Finally he became friendly and went off in a taxi. Only two monkeys remain to be captured: Sandy, who is still in the Latimer Road neighbourhood, and Franko, the leader of the troop, who may be anywhere. Research credit: Donna Harwood. The article was found republished in the January 5 1927 Western Star and Roma Advertiser Toowoomba Queensland in the Trove digitised newspapers archive. Gill Bradley is working on the animated video with the Rotten Hill Gang.

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fashion NOTES F o r t h e s a r t o r i a l ly m i n d e d

IN THE FOLD Ally Capellino's beautiful Evie purse comes in three stylish colourways, each with contasting interior details. In navy/brown, orange/yellow and purple/beige, it's a beautifully crafted piece with a handy zip compartment inside. £120, allycapellino.co.uk, allycapellino.co.uk 312 Portobello Road W10

TOP GIRLS

FSL's t-shirts and jumpers featuring London-themed graphics fly the flag for UK fashion. As a special west London service, they will visit you at home with a selection of pieces to try. This Go Big tee has appeared on Britain's Next Top Model. fslclothing.com

SCARVES BY OTTOLINE ew to Portobello Green is the Hayley Menzies and Ottoline store, with its beautiful range of fur-trimmed shawls and printed silk scarves in fabulous colours. The ingenius silk scarves are trimmed with gold chain to add weight and prevent the flyaway problem.

5 Portobello Green, Arcade W10 hayleymenzies.com

up with the LARK Just opened in Chamberlayne Road – on the site that used to be the lovely Howie and Belle – is Lark, a new boutique dedicated to all things cool and creative for sexy, modern women. Behind it are ex-model Phoebe Pring and style journalist Lucy Oliver, who have sourced stylish pieces from brands including Hide, Nanushka, Ash, Genetic Denim, Finders Keepers, Beau Coops Shoes and Someday Somewhere Glasses. 52 Chamberlayne Road NW10; larklondon.com

MICROTREND Heavy metal Mica Nail Lacquer, £6; crabtree-evelyn.co.uk

Eddie Borgo gold hinged plate ring £253; stylebop.com

Ursula Mascao Elaine slingback with perspex heel, £279; ursulamascaro.com

Oxygen Watch, from £85; oxygen-watch.com

Untold Metallic Pink Box Clutch, £55; houseoffraser.co.uk

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SPRING INTO SWANKY’S 20% off treatments exclusively for Absolutely readers! (excluding packages)

Spring is here and it’s time to flutter your eyelashes, point your toes and head to Swanky’s for a bit of seasonal maintenance. Thread your eyebrows, extend your lashes and wax any excess hair before attending to your fingers and toes with a lavish manicure and pedicure. Emerge shiny and new, with candy-coloured nails and a new spring in your step.

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©RYAN-LO-SS14

FONDANT FANCIES

Embrace Easter’s sweet tooth with candy colours, perfect pastels and dusky, ice-cream shades

1. Honor Pen silk cady blouse, £695; matchesfashion.com 2. Louche lovebirds grey watch, £55; joythestore.com 3. T by Alexander Wang bi-colour sweater, £260; matchesfashion.com 4. Chloe Marcie medium satchel, £840; matchesfashion.com 5. Dolce & Gabbana single breasted wool coat, £1,595; matchesfashion.com 6. Michael Kors Wool-Blend Crepe Sheath Dress, £900; net-a-porter.com 7. Missoni tri-colour geometric dress, £878; matchesfashion.com 8. Palace skirt, £179; hobbs.co.uk 9. RED Valentino cotton-blend coat, £640; net-a-porter.com

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My Moodboard Melissa Del Bono of meli melo, W10

MY STYLE ICON absolutely has

to be Diane Kruger. She has both elegance and cool, always looking effortless, stylish and unique. I think she’s fab.

MY FAVOURITE ACCESSORY EVER

has to be the Thela Bag. This design is now our signature style – it’s the bag that I wear every day and the bag that I see people wearing. It has a great following (fans include Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Olivia Palermo), which is wonderfully flattering, and has a dedicated wall in the Portobello Store, so it’s the first bag people are drawn to when they walk in.

MY FAVOURITE ARTIST is Jackson

MY MOST INSPIRING EXPERIENCE

Pollock. I love the free, abstract nature of his work, it’s unlike any other artist. Unformed Figure is my favourite piece; I would love that in my hallway.

was a trip to Tokyo last October with my husband. The Tokyo look is so quirky – I could have stayed in Shibuya all day just watching the amazing street style.

MY FAVOURITE DESIGNER

MY FAVOURITE HOLIDAY DESTINATION is the Aeolian

Islands just off the Sicilian Coast, where I grew up. It’s my home from London so I feel totally relaxed when I’m there; it’s utterly idyllic with so much buzz and beauty. It’s a real feel-good place.

is Valentino. For me it’s Italian at its best. He is modern and on trend but always has a classic elegance and timelessness to his designs.

MY FAVOURITE PIECE OF MELI MELO'S CURRENT STOCK is the rubber

snake Thela. It’s so fresh and luxurious and the colouring is perfect with most tones, so it goes with everything while still looking unique. The subtle flamingo piping around the edges of the bag is what makes it really pop for me.

melimelo.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

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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

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Spotty cotton and cashmere blend sweatshirt, £395, by Mulberry at Net-a-porter.com Ivory tulle and lace dress (worn underneath), £830, by Katya Katya Shehurina Crystal flower ring, £68, by Butler & Wilson Black fishnet tights, £5.65 by Jonathan Aston Black leather strappy sandals, £670, by Casadei

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.

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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

19/03/2014 10:09

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23/09/2013 12:59

Tuesday 15th April 7:30pm

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S i n g l e V I S I ON Notting Hill-based entrepreneur Rohan Dihir is setting out to topple the global giants through spectacles. Pendle Harte meets him

ohan Dihir doesn’t wear glasses. That’s the first surprising thing about the man behind Archibald Optics, a company that has devised a new model for selling spectacles. I was expecting him to be as myopic as I am. Who else would dedicate such passion to the world of eyesight correction? But no. His scope is wider, more ideological, less about the actual specs than about the model. Not that the glasses aren’t the point – it’s just that this is a global product philosophy that could be applied to everything from shoes to furniture to who knows what else? Rohan has the easy confidence that comes with total conviction. Citing Steve Jobs as his hero and method acting as his inspiration (along with a wise old stranger he encountered in Shanghai and Robin Hood) he may be unorthodox but he’s certainly convincing. In the past year he has sold 10,000 pairs of glasses, all through wordof-mouth generated from his home office in Notting Hill. Tinie Tempah even wore a pair to the BRIT awards last month. Dihir’s conversation is littered with soundbites such as: ‘Luxury is not about

In the past year he has sold 10,000 pairs of glasses, all through word-of-mouth a price. It’s about feeling an inch taller’ and ‘Everyone told Natalie Massanet it was impossible.’ Archibald Optics is really about trying to change an industry. ‘Did you know that one company holds the monopoly on the whole eyewear market?’ he asks. No I didn’t. A 60 Minutes documentary recently lifted the lid on the truth behind glasses, revealing, says Dihir, that single Italian company, Luxottica, makes the vast majority of the world’s branded glasses frames and sells them at staggering, 3000% mark-ups, their products only loosely describable as ‘made in Italy.’ And so, thought Dihir, there must be a better way to buy glasses than to fill Luxottica’s coffers. Warby Parker, for instance, is an American online

glasses retailer that manufactures its own frames and sells them, including prescription lenses, online for $95. Dihir liked their idea, but not their quality, and thought he would start a similar thing in Europe, but with luxury products at no frills prices, though he couldn’t do that for $95. It was an encounter with the wise stranger in Shanghai that led him to Japan, and there he found his solution: quality frames and lenses from Japanese factories with minimal mark-ups. And that’s Archibald: choose online and they’ll send you some beautifully packaged frames to try on. Choose one, return the samples with your prescription and a week later you’ll get a special package from Japan. For just £175. ‘Luxury is not about a price. It’s about feeling an inch taller,’ says Dihir. So today it's new glasses – what will tomorrow bring? archibaldoptics.com

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AC T

FA I T H Paloma Faith is as known for her personal style as for her music. Mike Angle meets the NW10-based pop princess

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ew modern pop stars carry themselves with such a sense of distinct panache as does Paloma Faith. For the 31-year-old Londoner, presentation is just a part of her make-up - the soul-tinged songs she delivers immaculately crafting the style empress into one of the most recognisable pop stars on the scene. Paloma’s approach to fashion and the effect it has on her public persona arguably supersedes her musical output, such is the way it makes her instantly identifiable. 'Clothes and the way I look have been important to me since I was a child – the whole thing has always really excited me,' she offers, as an opening gambit. In truth, we’re sitting down with Paloma to discuss her new material, but fashion seems to lead the way, and why not? Naming Marilyn Monroe, Grace Jones and Bjork as her style inspirations creates a complex vision of influences and inspirations. 'I guess I would say the people I look to have been

those who have had their own way of looking, those who didn’t compromise and didn’t just copy off others.' Faith’s mixture of charity shop elegance and classic Hollywood chic has made her a modern-day style icon, not to mention a favourite for the tabloid press, although the red tops’ fascination has at times proved a frustration for the artist – she had to move out of one house because the paparazzi were always there. 'I don’t have my style dictated to me. I think my record label know and trust that I can take care of my own image and that’s really important to me, because it’s a package with the music. And I think fashion is something that is so personal to the individual. We all hate to leave the house when we don’t feel we’re looking our best. I think to be closely styled, as is the case with a number of pop stars coming through the ranks, can be quite awkward.'

Faith’s mixture of charity shop elegance and classic Hollywood chic has made her a modern-day style icon

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For somebody who takes presentation as such an important facet of who she is, Paloma is gratifyingly earthy and, as conversationalists go, is one of the easiest people you could wish to chat to. There is a quirkiness to the tone of her answers and she has an endearing, if world-wary, manner: all thanks, she says, to her London upbringing. Hackney-born and raised by her school teacher mother, Paloma has since emigrated to west London, but considers growing up in the capital to have been vital in shaping who she is today. 'Oh, there is no question about that,' she answers firmly. 'I have grown up in London and lived here all of my life and I am definitely a product of that. I think if you take in everything that is here you become open-minded about different cultures and ways of doing things, and I think I have varied tastes because of that. I am like a chameleon, I take in lots of influences. There is so much going on here – really, you have to just be like a sponge and let yourself absorb it all. 'And fashion trends in the capital are now up there with any other major city, and that’s thanks to the diversity of culture in London. We really do have influences from all over the world, and clothes are the most immediate expression of that – it’s thrilling.' Even so, in creating new album A Perfect Contradiction, which features the brilliant Pharrell Williamsproduced lead single Can’t Rely on You, Paloma spread her wings further, venturing to America for a change of scenery. She felt she needed to remove herself entirely from the attentions of the press and doting fans. 'I just wanted to clear my mind completely, go back to being anonymous, and see from there what came out in my songwriting. I think that for as a long as you’re being recognised in the street you are still attached to what it is you do, and that affects what you produce. I wanted to go completely the other way and start again without any interruptions.' The result is something special. A Perfect Contradiction is an uplifting course of musical craft, with weaving lyrics, sumptuous soundscapes and a positivity previously lacking in some of the artist’s previous work. The album has been met with rich critical acclaim, and a subsequent UK

‘The people I look to are those who have their own way of looking, who don’t compromise and don’t just copy off others’

Paloma's style icons

Marilyn Monroe

Grace Jones

Bjork

tour is expected to further Paloma’s reputation as one of the true leading, original and inspiring forces in the industry today. 'I am happy where I am at the moment – happy in my life and in myself. And being in London is so special. Notting Hill has a spirit and an atmosphere that bubbles away under the surface and that’s what I love about it. I know people may say that about wherever they live, but I really feel it here. And there is so much going on. Right now I feel it’s the perfect place for where I am in my life – a great mix of inspiration, influence and expression, be that in quirky shops, Portobello Road market, the cinema, even spending time on the tube.” So a permanent move Stateside isn’t on the cards? 'No, definitely not now. If you can live in London, you have to, don’t you?'

Paloma Faith’s new album A Perfect Contradiction is out on RCA Records.

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This

Woman’s Work

AnnaCofone Hair stylist, W11 Interview by Lindsay Baker Portrait by Emma Harpin

hen hairdresser Anna Cofone was asked to style the hair of an unsigned singer in 2011 for a shoot in Shepherd’s Bush, she had no idea what it would lead to. The singer was the then-unknown Lana Del Rey. ‘There was something about her,’ recalls Anna. ‘An otherworldly energy - she was 26 years old and she had been singing since the age of 17 but she was very sure that it was going to happen for her.’ Del Rey has since gone on to become an international star – and has near-iconic status. Anna, now 34, having helped in the early days to create the singer’s distinctive, retro look, has since gone on to style hair for all of Del Rey’s videos, album covers and editorial photo-shoots, along with the H&M A/W 2012 campaign. Along the way she has worked with some of the world’s best-known fashion photographers, among them Tim Walker and Ash Reynolds. The Lana look – the old-Hollywood glamour, the flower crowns made by stylist Johnny Blue Eyes, the tousled up-dos – is not only a creative feat but a technical one too, and is something that Cofone specializes in. Coloured sprays, slicked-back looks, dishevelled, backcombed beehives – you name it, she’s tackled it. She loves working in the ‘creative underground’ she says and particularly for ‘leftfield publications’ like Dazed and ID. So what is it like working with Del Rey? Hair stylist and singer – who always had a strong vision of what she wanted – collaborated, Anna says, working together from a moodboard featuring pictures of iconic beauties such as the young Liz Taylor, Grace Kelly, Lauren Bacall, early Priscilla Presley and Angelina Jolie (for her shoot with Brad Pitt for W Magazine). Sixties hair but with a modern, tousled edge is a recurring style. And the looks of Jackie Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe were directly channeled in the video for National Anthem, shot in the Hamptons with a contemporary twist on a Camelot-style setting. Anna came to hair ‘late in life’, having trained in the performing arts, and then singing for some years

in a Latin Jazz band. Hair and make-up had been a feature of her Performing Arts course, and after a while with the band she realised that it was in hair that her real interest lay. She was fast-tracked at Harringtons salon group and qualified in 2000, then won a l’Oreal talent competition for best stylist under 25. In 2008 she went to work at Primrose Hill beauty boutique Lost in Beauty – beloved by Sam Taylor Wood and the Primrose Hill set – and from there went to assist two of the most inventive names in the business, Sam McKnight and Eugene Souleiman. Shoots and catwalk shows soon followed, and she has since worked with the likes of Russian supermodel and philanthropist Natalia Vodianova, Elizabeth Hurley, and Sheherazade Goldsmith, environmentalist (and partner of Gravity director Alfonso Cuaron), for the recent Baftas among other red-carpet events. Last year, Anna joined the Atelier in Notting Hill, described by its fans as the ‘anti-salon’ - and it’s easy to see why. Tucked away discreetly in a quiet mews in Holland Park, it looks more like a chi-chi residence from the outside. Inside it’s a creative, always-evolving space, with art installations and a lush living-wall feature, there is a concierge service and freshly-made smoothies and snacks. Founded by uber colourist Josh Wood, it is a firm favourite with a starry, affluent crowd – among the clients are models (including Laura Bailey), singers, and numerous beauty and fashion editors. ‘It fits in with who I am,’ says Anna, who dislikes the ‘stuffiness’ of some central London salons. ‘Whoever the client, I’m very down to earth.’ When she was on tour with del Rey, she used to love going out into the crowd and meeting the fans, many of whom were inspired by the singer’s unique style. ‘There were a lot of young girls who did their hair like Lana’s and made their own floral headpieces like hers. Her music and her look made them feel better about themselves. There’s a real power in that. I love to make people feel amazing.’ joshwoodcolour.com/ateliers

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LET THE SUNSHINE IN Bring the house into the garden and the garden into the house, as illustrated by this Kensington house, recently reconfigured by Crawford and Gray rawford and Gray Architects have been active in the Royal Borough for more than 20 years and they are finding that an increasing portion of their work now involves improving lower ground floors and creating extensions. This is obviously due to everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s need for more space, but at the same time gives an excellent opportunity to let light into often cramped basements and create a stronger link between the house and its garden. In most old townhouses, the original back gardens were viewed as service areas, rather than the recreational spaces we see today. A successful

layout can be attained if well-organised spaces with bright and wellproportioned rooms offer an orderly and logical transition from inside to outside. An interior space with an attractive sequence allows a kitchen to lead through to an eating area, which in turn can connect with a family-friendly area leading through to a garden. The brief for this terraced Kensington townhouse was to improve the gloomy and cramped lower ground floor while extending the house at the ground floor and garden levels. Integrating the garden with activities inside the house fulfilled the concept of treating the house and the garden as one. The first step was to get planning permission to demolish the existing three storey rear extension and to rebuild it incorporating a steel frame, allowing for a new, wider and deeper lower ground floor. The new extension would extend further into the garden and allow access via a stone staircase from the ground floor drawing room. This new, wider and deeper extension has a small patio as

A SUCCESSFUL LAYOUT CAN BE ATTAINED IF WELLORGANISED SPACES WITH BRIGHT AND WELLPROPORTIONED ROOMS OFFER AN ORDERLY AND LOGICAL TRANSITION FROM INSIDE TO OUTSIDE

you approach the garden and the extension itself is enclosed by full height doors. A portion of the flat roof of this enclosure has a fixed skylight with load-bearing glass and steel frame and this forms the floor of a small terrace connecting the drawing room via the stone stairs to the garden. The skylight brings much needed light and airiness to the kitchen below. The remainder of the flat roof was planted so that from the drawing room your eye is drawn through to the green retreat. The green roof, albeit small, helps improve the energy performance of the building in terms of insulation and lowering its carbon emissions. Projects like this depend on the relationship of the extension to the original building. Either the extension looks exactly like the original and you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t tell the difference, or it looks intentionally different. Both approaches are used here. The rebuilt upper extension ties in perfectly with its neighbour while the garden level is remodelled with a more modern approach. Materials are kept simple: the original bricks of the Victorian house and the same stone were used for all of the copings, paving and the garden steps. The floor in the kitchen is at the same level as the patio floor outside (there is a concealed drain) to make moving from one space to another as easy as possible and the skylight uses opaque glass alongside the stone staircase to create a more private and secure route as you walk up to the raised terrace and drawing room above. crawfordandgray.co.uk

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HOME TRUTHS As Graham and Green celebrates 40 years in Elgin Crescent this month, Absolutely catches up with Jamie and Louise Graham

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ABSOLUTELY | INTER IOR S

as it's part of the G&G DNA. I also fondly remember the bustling and infectious energy of Portobello Road market. As a child I used to buy small items at one end of the market and sell them at the other to double my pocket money. Can you highlight the differences between G&G in 1974 and G&G today?

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, referencing key items that really encapsulate the vibe and the aesthetic of the brand. Classic pieces from our archive are being re-imagined, redesigned and 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.

I remember being fascinated by the exotic textiles and interesting ornaments that arrived at my mother’s house from her world travels

The landscape in which the brand exists has changed vastly over the years, with the evolution of the high street through to our first catalogues and now online shopping. Our customer is also the savviest they’ve ever been, not just in terms of value and quality, but also in inspiration and interior design ideas. It’s important for us to remain flexible as a retailer, but we always stay true to our foundations. What about the next 40 years?

That’s a big question! We have some exciting plans in the pipeline. And who knows, in 40 years’ time our son Max, aged 6, could be

What are the highlights of the current stock?

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 (pictured, right). It is a sublimely fresh look and perfect for reinvigorating your dining space after a long, dark winter. 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 around the world, became part of everyday life. I remember the beautiful antique textiles and kilims and interesting ornaments found in markets across the world. I hold this dear when buying and designing for the company now

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running the show – he’s already showing sparks of passion for interiors and has started collecting old tools that he picks up at antique shops and has been known to turn our kitchen into a carpentry workshop.

We have a mix of G&G pieces in our home, new and from seasons past, which sit comfortably beside one-off market finds

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

It’s a real mix – we like to pick up one piece 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 there are some charming feature. We really wanted to put our own stamp on the place and make it a liveable space for the family that’s a visual pleasure to be in and also functions in a practical way for everyday life. We have a mix of G&G pieces, new and from seasons past, which sit comfortably beside one-off market finds and pieces inherited from our families. I have a beautiful and treasured collection of my granny's paintings in our kitchen and Lou has an heirloom French sofa in the sitting room.

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. What are your best-selling pieces?

There are 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. Linen deconstructed armchairs and our UK-made velvet sofas feature in our top 10 best selling products regularly. grahamandgreen.co.uk

NEW OUTDDOR INSPIRATION RANGE, LAUNCHING MAY 2014

What is it that characterises the G&G style?

Defining our style is a challenge as it’s fluid, always evolving and changing. However, there are key traits that have always been part of the G&G heritage. Travel and

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BOUTIQUE DESIGN Absolutely catches up with Sebastian Mann of design agency Minale + Mann

In a nutshell, how would you describe Minale & Mann?

We are an award-winning boutique design agency, housing a unique blend of architects, interior designers, product and furniture designers, and bespoke construction teams. Positioned alongside our London design studio we have a workshop, where we fabricate handmade furniture and design products. Born out of a desire to create beautiful architecture and interiors in a streamlined fashion, we turned our back on traditional design methods and rewrote the rules, becoming the first architecture and construction company in London. Our forte is creating unique high-end residential and boutique commercial spaces in London, Stockholm and New York, for a discerning clientele. Minale & Mann provide quite a variety of services, would you say it is quite niche? What makes you different to your competitors?

Yes. We are the first and only company doing what we do in London. We are able to offer a unique set of services all under one roof, taking a project from inception to completion, delivering a premier design product, be it architecture, interior design or a design.

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What would you say is your design ethos?

Out style is an eclectic mix of rough and smooth, a 'refined industrial' look with a handmade feel, set within an urban backdrop.When it comes to design, we are anti-trends and feel more comfortable going against the grain. Did you always want to set up your own business?

Yes. When you run your own company, there is no ceiling to what you can achieve.

we turned our back on traditional design methods and rewrote the rules

What kind of clients do you work with? Would you say it is quite an equal mix of residential and commercial?

Our clients are from all over the globe: from high-flying movie producers to young families, to boutique businesses, clubs and bars.

I would say that we are more well known for our residential work in London, as it is easier to get a name for yourself within that market. Outside of London, we have an equal mix of commercial, hospitality and residential projects. Which London-based businesses/ suppliers do you use regularly?

Many. To name a few: Buster + Punch, Nelly Duff, James Ltd, Davey Lighting, Inspired Dwellings, Miles & Wilde, Little Green. London has a wealth of famous architecture. Do you have a personal favourite building?

Definitely Battersea Power Station. What are the current trends in the architecture/design industry?

There are always trends, and of course we refer to them, but we rather fashion ourselves than follow any particular fad, or trend. What projects are you working on at the moment?

There are a few, but I will mention our most recent: we have been appointed to deliver a fabulous and exclusive residential project in St John's Wood, where we will be fusing bronze and dark aesthetics, carving clean lines and running a 'light touch' industrial vibe throughout. There will be a range of bespoke architectural and interior design features, feature lighting, and we will be creating a large basement with light wells that spring out of the ground into an elegant landscaped pavilion garden. minaleandmann.com

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Absolutely How to keep them amused SIGN ON

Local author and illustrator Yuval Zommer will be reading and signing copies of his delightful debut picture book The Big Blue Thing on the Hill at The Idler bookshop, Westbourne Park Road, on Saturday 5 April between 2 and 4pm. Zommer lives and works in an old house in Notting Hill overlooking a small garden which is often visited by urban foxes, squirrels, birds and many insects, some of which later find their way into his stories. Drop by to find out more about him.

BELLA AND BEAU edbury Road’s Bella and Beau is a L hair salon designed exclusively for children. Targeting tots who need some persuading, the idea is to make haircuts fun. So there are iPads to keep them amused while they sit in vintage carousel aeroplanes, or at the pink piano, or simply in front of a proper princess gilded mirror. Hairwashing is fun with watermelon shampoo and tangles are teased away by gentle, experienced hands. Absolutely’s child volunteers were entirely sold on the service, loving the vast fishtank and the brilliant vintage motorbike so much that they barely noticed the small matter of having their locks depleted. Bella & Beau, 56 Ledbury Road W11, 020 7727 6636 bellaandbeau.com

WHO TOLD YOU?

AN UNUSUAL PRINCESS Queens Park-based children’s writer Lou Kuenzler, of Shrinking Violet fame, is back with a new character. Princess Disgrace is the clumsy princess who saves the day in the first episode of her adventures, First Term at Tall Towers, published this month by Scholastic, £5.99.

Jools Oliver’s Little Bird is a line of beautiful retroinspired clothes for Mothercare. The new season’s collection channels 1970s sportswear with terrytoweling collared tops, ring tees and lots of stars and stripes, plus some delightful florals and cute peter pan collar dresses. We love the unisex red vintage tracksuit jacket (pictured, £14). It’s all available at Mothercare’s stylish new Westfield store. mothercare.com

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ABSOLUTELY | EDUCATION

NEW MODEL COOL An innovative secondary in London is fast becoming one of the leading lights of the free school movement, reports Amanda Constance

t’s “one of the country’s most impressive and forward-thinking free schools”, according to Rachel Wolf, Director of the New Schools Network; Lord Adonis, the former schools minister says: “The teachers and staff are passionate about the importance of education, and they combine their passion with great professionalism and skill.” The Evening Standard has cited it as one of London’s top five ‘new model’ schools with its “relentless focus on standards”. On Ofsted’s Parent View website 100% of responding parents saying they would recommend the school to others. And schools across London cite it as an inspiration. So what is so great about Greenwich Free School? “The teachers here are all massive geeks,” says Sarah Jones, current acting head of the school and one of its co-founders. “They are fantastically hard working, they love their subject and they pass on that excitement about learning.” Jones also says that because GFS is a free school “we can go above and

Learning for the joy of learning seems to be fundamental to the ethos

beyond the national curriculum”. This means educational school trips every fortnight and a teaching syllabus that can stray into areas left untouched by other schools. “We’re doing Philosophy at the moment, discussing Utilitarianism!” Jones declares with unqualified glee. Since opening its doors in September 2012, GFS has been different. Firstly it is much smaller than the average inner-city secondary school. When it reaches full capacity by 2018 there will be 700 pupils (including 200 in the

sixth from). With only 25 pupils in a class and only 100 pupils per year, teachers can really get to know the pupils and vice versa. There is also a tough ‘high expectations, no excuses, no shortcuts’ ethos that applies to children and staff. Pupils are banned from bringing their mobile phones into school, uniform is smart and behaviour strictly policed. School starts at 8am and finishes at 5.30pm. The last hour of the day is spent on ‘enrichment’ activities such as debating, Latin or sport; the school claims its pupils will spend a third more time learning than most children. Academically, the school follows a rigorous ‘depth before breadth’ curriculum giving pupils more time to master the fundamentals of Maths, English and Science. And as well as classic ‘academic’ subjects such as Latin, pupils from Year 7 have lessons in PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) and ICT is replaced by ‘Computer Science and Enterprise’, teaching pupils to master commercially valuable technical skills. It couldn’t be more up Michael Gove’s street. Which isn’t surprising as GFS was the brainchild of the right-leaning think tank Policy Exchange, which itself was co-founded by Gove to do this very sort of thing. Jonathan Simons, current head of Education at Policy Exchange was one of the schools co-founders. Sarah Jones said the idea for the school came to her after going through the Teach First programme (a Labour government initiative which saw top graduates recruited to teach in challenging schools) and teaching for all of her career. 'I had become frustrated by aspects of the education system – like not being able to take children out on a field trip and not having enough time in the day on any given subject for pupils who were struggling.” Learning for the joy of learning seems to be fundamental to the GFS ethos. As Jones says: “We care about more than just exams. Every lesson should be exciting, challenging and different.” The school is already very oversubscribed, and not just by pupils. “We have been very lucky with recruitment,” says Jones. “Teachers want to work here because it is different and because our kids are so great.” But how do you get great kids? “By having great teaching,” she laughs.

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Our ophthalmic surgeons are the most experienced and highly qualified in their field. All new patients are allocated a UK-trained consultant chosen to match their specific needs – backed up at all times by our specialist nursing team. Whether you are attending for your first consultation, or day-case surgery and follow-up appointments, the London Eye Hospital offers easy access by rail, road and air – plus the chance to combine your visit with all that London has to offer.

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19/02/2014 16:33

ABSOLUTELY | HEA LTH & BEAUT Y

Beauty NOTES lo o k i n g a n d f e e l i n g y o u r b es t

LOCO FOR COCO Portobello Road’s Coco Nail Bar has been awarded with Nail Salon of the Year at the 17th Annual Professional Beauty Awards. Held at the Guildhall, the night was hosted by Alexander Armstrong (best known as one half of comedy double act Armstrong and Miller) and Coco Nails was one of only 12 other beauty businesses to be honoured for true excellence in their field. You go, Coco. 267 Portobello Road, W11 020 7243 1113; coconailbar.com

SWAP SHOP This month, Crabtree & Evelyn are staging a hand cream amnesty – bring in any old hand cream to the store and you can swap it for a free tube of the brand’s award-winning Hand Therapy worth £5. Can’t say fairer than that… 6 Kensington Church Street, W8 crabtree-evelyn.co.uk

STRIKING A BALANCE Created by aromatherapist and beauty therapist Ada Ooi, this new skincare range from 001 is designed to 'return skin to a state of natural equilibrium' by fusing modern biochemistry and traditional apothecary practices. The range covers all the essentials, including an Exfoliating and Conditioning Cleanser and Pure Lavender Hydrolate Toner. doublezeroone.com

SPRING F L I N G eauty brand AERIN are B bringing in spring with their brand new Essentials Collection. Sticking to their trademark rose theme, the range includes a Rose Balm for the lips and Rose Hand & Body Cream as well a several new make-up products and even a set of beautifully packaged brushes, which come in their own pink patterned case. aerin.com

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

Yardley London Jade Eau de Toilette, £19.99 yardleylondon.co.uk

Matte Outliner High Definition Eyeliner & Shadow, £25 alacartelondon.com Nutrilips gloss in Jojo, £15; wildaboutbeauty.com

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

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

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

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

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

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17/03/2014 15:57

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ABSOLUTELY | HEA LTH & BEAUT Y

The make-up

INSIDER

Don’t fear orange, says Arabella Preston MAC COSMETICS

ops of bright orange were all over the Spring Summer 14 catwalks. Although it appears dangerously bold, it is in fact one of the most versatile and flattering shades. Easier to wear than pink, or even certain reds, orange balances greyness (which is why you might find your under-eye concealer has a slight apricot hue). There’s no reason not to apply this theory to the rest of the face, banishing tired and dry skin with bright flashes of orange. The aim is skin that looks fresh, dewy and strokably youthful. Start by massaging Decleor’s Mandarine Serum into your face, focusing on highlight areas such as the tops of cheekbones, temples and the bridge of your nose. For light coverage, YSL’s BB cream is my go-to ‘natural glow’ product. Use the tips of your fingers to blend quickly into your skin. The Prabal Gurung show (pictured) gave a wonderful demonstration of the uplifting power of an orange lip. Makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury lined the lips in MAC’s lip pencil What a Blast! then filled in with the zingy Morange. As MAC Senior Artist Cher Web says: 'the advantage of wearing a bright lip is that you can keep your other make-up minimal. Pair it up with lashings of mascara for a perfectly balanced combo.' If you need to lift your complexion a little, then an orange or coral blusher is the way to go. Pink will confuse the look. The Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge in Hibiscus is a blendable and buildable cream blush that can also be used on the lips for a more toned-down orange pout.

For more make-up tips from Arabella follow her on Instagram @arabellabeauty

1. YSL Le Orange Lipstick, £25, yslbeauty.co.uk

2. MAC Lip Pencil in What a Blast!, £14.50,

maccosmetics.co.uk

3. Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge in Hibiscus, £19, bobbibrown.co.uk 4. Clarins HydraQuench Lip Balm, £19, clarins.com

5. Topshop Lip Cream in Pout,

£7, topshop.com

6. Bobbi Brown Nail Polish in Nectar, £11, bobbibrown.co.uk 7. YSL All-In-One BB Cream,

£38, yslbeauty.co.uk

8. MAC Lipstick in Morange, £15, maccosmetics.co.uk 7

9. Decleor Aromessence Mandarine Smoothing Serum, £49.50, decleor.co.ukw

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ABSOLUTELY | PROMOTION

PARK LIFE

of abilities, from beginners to very experienced swimmers. These classes are all about improving your technique and stroke efficiency in the pool, and becoming the best swimmer you can be. Perhaps an area that has grown the most over the last few years has been swim combination events. For juniors aged four and up, Julian has created a series of Aquathlons (swim and run events) with over 100 attendees per event. As a Level 3 British Triathlon Federation Coach, Julian also runs a mini sprint triathlon series at the club. From these simple fun based events, our members have moved on to extraordinary levels of success, with many completing ironman / woman events and some even GB representation.

The Park Club is west London’s premier family health club. Set in 27 acres of land, it offers an abundance of facilities including indoor and outdoor swimming pools heated all year round

wimming is a fundamental part of sport, relaxation and fun for members at The Park Club. For juniors there’s a team of highly qualified instructors, providing a wide range of fun, coordinated water-based activities. It is one of the Club’s central aims to ensure that every child member here at the club is able to swim. All Park Club swim instructors are qualified to a minimum of ASA level 2 and able to teach potential swimmers from the age of 4 months. Children’s classes are available either individually or in groups from Monday to Sunday. They are offered throughout

the year, broadly divided into two categories: term-time structured lessons and holiday camps during school holidays. Children follow the ASA swimming progression guide and move through levels 1-10 until they are fully competent, confident swimmers. Adults can book private lessons with coaches and can also attend a Friday morning adult swim where you can learn to perfect your stroke. Swim smooth coach, Julian Nagi, also gives private swimming lessons and provides group Swim Squad classes five times a week. In these classes he works with a wide range

There’s also been some incredibly inspiring swimbased events over the years for both children and adults. The club has received visits from Olympians including Rebecca Adlington, Mark Foster, Duncan Goodhew and virtually the whole GB swim team immediately after the 2012 Olympics. The Park Club pools have also played host to some spectacular charity events. The Underwater Dinner Party was extraordinary, as was the tea party in a Zorb Ball. If you would like to find out more about any aspect of The Park Club please contact Marcus Philips on 020 8740 4599 or email enquiries@theparkclub.co.uk

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AN ABSOLUTE

TR E ASUR E Visit these local businesses and you will treasure them forever

EGO HAIR It is dedication to style and first class hair expertise that keeps the Ego Hair Queens Park following coming back for more. To book an appointment, call the salon reception.

45 Salusbury Road, NW6 6NJ 020 7625 4811

SOPHIE HARLEY LONDON UK Jewellery Designer of the Year 2013, Sophie Harley creates beautiful bespoke precious jewels, working closely with her clients to a specific brief to produce something totally individual and unique. Sophie also specialises in remodelling clients' existing pieces of jewellery, often handed down from previous generations which can be re-designed into modern investment pieces and treasured heirlooms for the future. Sophieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s collections are available online at sophieharley.com

info@sophieharley.com or call on 020 7430 2070 to book appointments at her west London studio, sophieharley.com

JIVITA

egohair.co.uk

Famous for skillful service, Jivita Ayurveda offers organic body and beauty treatments to satisfy the needs of the health-conscious community. You can also find a selection of organic foods and beauty products to fulfill every aspect of your organic lifestyle. They now offer the prestigious Lycon waxing to get those legs silky smooth for the coming summer months.

89 Chamberlayne Road, NW10 3ND 020 8964 4993 info@jivitaayurveda.com, jivitaayurveda.com

BAKER & GRAY Baker & Gray manufacture a bespoke and unique collection of fabrics and decorative accessories for homes and interiors. There is a stunning limited-edition range of cushions and lampshades, that complement the fabrics. There is a carefully selected, everchanging range of English and French decorative furniture, with a selection of both contemporary and period lighting.

57 Chepstow Road, W2 5BP 020 7243 2558 bakergray.com

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ABSOLUTELY | PROMOTION

GENCO The very best men's haircuts by men’s hairdressers, alongside luxurious traditional shaves, waxing and deep-tissue massages, plus other treatments, make Genco one of the area’s very best treasures. With decent tunes, intelligent chat and free-flowing complimentary drinks, you’re sure to leave looking and feeling great.

280 Portobello Road W10 020 3689 6365, genco-uk.com

ORIT Fine and fashion jewellery encompassing a breathtaking spectrum of materials and styles complement each other in this tranquil corner of Notting Hill. Orit is one of the few independent jewellery boutiques in London and since opening in 2009, it continues to showcase an exclusive range of contemporary jewellery designers both classic and whimsical from around the world. A carefully selected ever-changing range of accessories including watches, sunglasses and scarves appeals to both men and women at this destination address.

95 Westbourne Park Villas, W2 5ED, 020 7727 8895 oritlondon.com

SWANKY

LEV ANTIQUES

Swanky’s Portobello Road and Chamberlayne Road sites are treasured by locals for their fun, friendly vibe and fantastic treatments. Whether you’re popping in for your eyebrows or spending the afternoon pampering yourself from head to toe, you’ll emerge sprinkled with some Swanky stardust.

Lev Antiques is a family run business, established in 1882, the oldest shop on Kensington Church Street, famous for its many and varied antique shops. Offering an exciting collection of antique jewellery, collectables, pictures, pocket watches, engagement rings and all manner of curios. The shop is full of character and has some truly wonderful hidden gems, just waiting to be discovered.

26 Chamberlayne Road, NW10 020 8964 2569; 335 Portobello Road, W10, 020 8969 7580

97a Kensington Church Street, W8 7LN, 020 7727 9248 alyson@richardlawrence.co.uk richardlawrence.co.uk

VINTAGE VICTORY A charming boutique of quality English, bespoke, secondhand clothing is tucked away on the first floor of Whiteleys, like that hidden corner of your wardrobe where all your favourite, forgotten clothes are. Along the less explored contours of Notting Hill is a gem for the gentleman that knows the fashionable are ten-a-penny but the stylish are one in a million.

Unit 108, Whiteleys, 151 Queensway, W2 4YN

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Ukai (oo-kaaee), our name, is inspired by the traditional method of river fishing practiced for some 1,300 years using Cormorant birds to catch sweetfish. Due to interest, many of its various Japanese inspired products including flower teas (which blossoms in front

UKAI SUSHI_APRIL.indd 1

of you eyes), and a variety of stylish tableware are now available to be purchased. Ultimately, Ukai’s passion is sushi. With the simplest recipe; the freshest sustainable ﬁsh, the highest quality of ingredients and a trained and loving chef.

18/03/2014 09:58

ABSOLUTELY | FOOD & TR AV EL

Food for

T HOUG H T Valentine Warner's obsession with hearty, unpretentious food is the basis for the Notting Hill-based chef â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new book What to Eat Next. Here he shares a couple of easy, delicious recipes

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MACKEREL WITH PASSION FRUIT SALSA y friend Joe came across this after filming in Brazil. He told me the story of a man in a battered hat behind his stall on a coastal road, leaning over a tiny barbecue as he knocked up this salsa in seconds to then pour it over a charred and sizzling piece of fish. I went home and cooked it immediately, knowing it would be delicious – and it was! I can imagine that the sauce would also work well with thin slices of raw fish, marinated like a ceviche. If you cook the fish over charcoal, make sure it is wiped totally dry first and heavily scattered with some good, flaked sea salt, as this should prevent it sticking. Ideally a barbecue would be better than a grill, as charcoal smoke is a magic ingredient.

SERVES 4: • 2 medium mackerel, gutted and wiped as dry as possible • Flaked sea salt (approx. ½ teaspoon for each fish) • Lime wedges, to serve • For the passion fruit salsa • 1/2 hot green chilli, such as jalapeño or serrano, seeds scooped out, very finely diced • 3 fat and full passion fruit, flesh and seeds scooped out • 1 tablespoon olive oil • juice of 1/2 small juicy lime • 2 tablespoons very finely chopped fresh coriander, stalks and all • 2 tablespoons very finely diced red onion • flaked sea salt 1 2

Preheat the grill to high. Slash the mackerel three times

down each side, and season well with a good amount of sea salt,

probably more than you would normally be inclined to use. 3 Lay the fish on the grill and place them not too far from the element. Cook for approximately 4 minutes on each side, or until the skin is blistered and browned, taking care not to rip the delicious skin when turning them over. The mackerel should be cooked, but ever so reluctant to pull from the bone without a bit of prompting. If the flesh is just cooked but with a red blood line running along the spine, you have done it perfectly. 4 While the fish blisters, make the passion fruit salsa. Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and season well with sea salt, tasting a few times. 5 Remove the fish to 2 plates and spoon over the salsa. 6 Serve with lime wedges and eat accompanied by cold beer drunk from the bottle, not a glass.

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| FOOD | XXXXXXX ABSOLUTELY ABSOLUTELY & TR AV EL

OPEN BURGER ON SOURDOUGH WITH ONION GRAVY AND FRIED EGG lthough I love a burger in its most classic sense, I don’t eat all my burgers this way. Here’s another hot favourite that’s also good when made with venison mince. I first cooked this one gruelling rainy night after a harrowing drive to my sister’s house from London, the last half hour a particularly distressing ordeal in trying not to squash a seemingly endless herd of frogs crossing the road. Below are the ingredients I found in my sister’s fridge on arrival.

SERVES 2 • 300g good fatty beef or venison mince • 1 teaspoon flaked sea salt, plus extra for seasoning • A hearty splash of Worcestershire sauce • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, plus extra for the toast • 1 ½ tablespoons sunflower oil • 2 large free-range eggs • 2 thick slices of sourdough bread, grilled or toasted • Softened unsalted butter, for spreading • Ground black pepper • A handful of chopped chives, to garnish

FOR THE GRAVY • 1 medium onion, halved and finely sliced • 30g unsalted butter • ½ teaspoon demerara sugar • ½ teaspoon tomato purée • 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar • 200ml canned beef consommé (freeze what’s left) • 100ml red wine 1 Squidge the mince, sea salt, Worcestershire sauce and mustard together in a bowl and form into 2 firm, flat, deep burger shapes 2 Now start to make the gravy. In a pan, fry the onion in the butter until very soft and turning golden brown. Add the sugar and caramelize even more before stirring in the tomato purée. Stir, but allow this to catch a bit on the pan before adding the red wine vinegar and cooking for a further minute or so. 3 Pour in the consommé and wine and simmer rapidly until the appearance of the gravy is only just syrupy rather than wet (this will take about 10 minutes), then season to taste and turn off the heat. 4 In a medium non stick frying pan, heat the sunflower oil enough that the burgers sizzle on entry and cook them to your desired doneness (about 4 minutes or so on each side over a medium-high heat). 5 Rest the burgers, briefly, while you fry the eggs in the same pan and toast the bread. This would be a good time to reheat the sauce if need be. 6 Butter the toast, scrape over a little more mustard and place the burgers on their platforms. Spoon over the onion gravy, crown with the eggs, sprinkle over the chives and season with a scratch of sea salt and black pepper.

Recipes taken from What to Eat Next by Valentine Warner, published on 7 April by Mitchell Beazley, £20

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Our aim is to give you the most authentic, modern mexican food experience in London

BOOKINGS

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16/12/2013 13/12/2013 10:40 15:33

ABSOLUTELY | FOOD & TR AV EL

CHOCOLATE EGGSTRAVAGANZA Absolutely the best Easter goodies

HARVEY NICHOLS CHOCOLATE EGG FILLED WITH TRUFFLES,

£24.95; harveynichols.com

Godiva floral beaded egg

£55; godiva.com BISCUITEERS FAMILY EASTER TIN £38.50,

biscuiteers.com

PAUL CHOCOLATE MINI OEFS,

£6, paul-uk.com

1. Gails gingerbread, from £1, gailsbread.co.uk 2. Charbonnel et Walker 7.7kg Big Bertha egg, £350; charbonnel.co.uk 3. Rococo Gentleman Bunny, £35; rococochocolates.com 4. Prestat London Gin Truffle Easter Egg, £15; johnlewis.com 5. Hotel Chocolat The Splat Caramel Chocolate Easter Egg, £12.50; hotelchocolat.com 6. Fortnum and Mason Jewellery Easter Egg, £200; fortnumandmason.com

FOOD NOTES March NH.indd 83

19/03/2014 10:22

NoorJ

ahan

Finest

Indian Cusine

The last 49 years Noor Jahan are serving traditional style north Indian food prepared using only fresh ingredients and ground spices, no artifical colourings or preservatives are added to the original Indian flavours. Set on two floors with a terrace, also with a private party room. It is the perfect location for business lunches or romantic dinners. 26 Sussex Place, Hyde Park Estate, Paddington, London W2 2TH www.noorjahan2.com  020 7402 2332 / 020 7402 5885

maida hill place

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arts, food and fun...

Want to run a supper club? Or hire your own restaurant?

Come and check out London’s only permanent production kitchen and front of house space available to hire on an hourly basis for food preparation; as a pop-up restaurant, art gallery, music venue or meeting place; and ideal for private parties. London hire kitchen d o fo d n a tion produc s facilitie

Enquiries and booking

020 8964 2549 info@maidahillplace.co.uk

www.maidahillplace.co.uk Maida Hill Place, 2–4 Fernhead Road, London W9 3ET

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18/03/2014 16:55

19/03/2014 15:33

EATING OUT

ABSOLUTELY | FOOD & TR AV EL

BOOM BURGER 272 Portobello Road W10

andwiched between Portobello Wholefoods and Falafel King, and laughing in the face of their vegetarian worthiness, is Boom Burger. This is the Caribbean answer to the burger movement, combining the basic meat in a bun idea with Jamaican spice, a reggae vibe and lashings of rum punch. This is the former pop-up’s first proper home: an awkward corner site with what at first seems to be a large area at the back but which turns out to be a big mirror reflecting the front seating area. Everything, predictably, is black with red, yellow and green accents and on the walls are framed album covers – Peter Tosh, Bob Marley and other reggae greats. Steamy and fast-paced, with a queue forming outside, this is set to be a winning Portobello spot. The fare is honest, in an unreconstructed way, and not for the faint-hearted. To start, saltfish fritters are tasty while chicken wings are plentiful. The classic Boom Burger comes with bacon jam and is served in a plastic basket with a generous helping of fries (regular or plantain). It’s meaty, sweet and oozy, spilling out of its sweet bun and entirely satisfying for someone with a burger craving. The jerk chicken burger is filled with sauce and slices of sweet plantain along with the chicken – it’s filling and tricky to navigate. There’s more plantain in the successful vegeburger too, and to drink there’s a focus on rum-based cocktails, including a punchy rum punch. With lots of seating outside, the place will come into its own on summer evenings and market days – and it’s set to really boom at carnival. Burger lovers rejoice.

boomburger.co.uk

FOOD REVIEWS Boom burger.indd 85

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3 sessions at £139 Notting Hill: 12 Notting Hill Gate, London W11 3JE 020 7243 6932 Knightsbridge: 19 – 21 Pavilion Rd, London SW1X 0HD 020 7245 6677 Mayfair: 136 Wigmore St, London W1U 3SF 020 7935 7075

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London Tanning & Beauty

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email: foldingslidingdoors@btinternet.com

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Architecture and Interior Design Planning and Project Management Design and Build

24/10/2012 17:24

Crawford and Gray Architects Ltd

7 Marylebone Lane, London W1U 1DF www.crawfordandgray.co.uk

Specialists in residential projects and interventions in period buildings with twenty years of experience and a portfolio of over 300 building projects successfully completed in Central London. extensions / lateral conversions / new built / refurbishments / basements CRAWFORD + GREY.indd 1

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13/03/2014 09:32

19/03/2014 15:34

ABSOLUTELY | TR AV EL

Macdonald Bath Spa B AT H

Molton Brown products. The technology is so sophisticated that we had trouble turning the radio off and the lights on.

THE RESTAURANT

The double AA rosette awardwinning Vellore restaurant in the impressive original ballroom is high class and dinner was made up of small portions of delicious dishes and an impressive chocolate fondant dessert. For breakfast there are kippers as well as all the usual options.

THE SPA

Famed for its busy spa, the hotel is offering a wide range of packages for April, which is Stress Awareness Month. Reflexology is one of the strss-busting treatments available, while the menu of Decleor therapies spans facials, body treatments,

THE LOCATION

Beautiful Georgian Bath is one of the most stylish spots in the UK. That’s why it gets so busy at weekends – but one of the advantages of The Macdonald Bath Spa hotel is its brilliant location only a ten-minute walk from the centre of town, so it’s the perfect place to stay when exploring the city. There’s plenty of parking on site too.

THE HOTEL

Originally a Georgian manor house, the site went through various incarnations before becoming a hotel. Now there are 129 rooms in the sprawling building set atop a sweeping lawn, perfectly landscaped with mature cedars extending their vast canopies in perfect harmony with their surroundings. Inside it’s spacious, calm and discreet, with lots of staff and a relaxed feel.

THE ROOM

Our suite is large and lavish, with a four-poster bed and large wardrobe, plus a comfortable sitting room with lots of curtains and oil paintings. There are two vast televisions, a well-stocked minibar, a nespresso machine and an enormous bathroom with an abundance of towels and

detoxes and alternative therapies alongside manicures, waxing and pregnancy options. There’s a wellequipped technogym and a pool with several saunas and steam rooms, whirlpool and a heated outdoor hydrotherapy pool.

Macdonald Bath Spa Hotel Sydney Road, Bath, BA2 6NS 01225 444 424 macdonaldhotels.co.uk

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Quality beds handmade in West London

Big Table

56 Great Western Road, London W9 3BT 020 7221 5058 www.bigtable.co.uk

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STONE AND CERAMIC WAREHOUSE 51/55 STIRLING ROAD, CHISWICK W3 8DJ EXTENSIVE FREE PARKING

18/03/2014 13:40 02/10/2013STONE 14:34 CERAMICS.indd 1

020 8993 5545

CALL FOR A COPY OF OUR NEW BROCHURE www.sacw.co.uk OPEN 7 DAYS

15/10/2012 10:42

19/03/2014 15:37

ABSOLUTELY | TR AV EL

FUNDU LAGOON

H E AV E N SPENT THINKING OF A SAFARI HOLIDAY FOR 2014? HENRY MORLEY OF BETTER LATE LUXURY ROUNDS UP HIS FAVOURITE AFRICAN LODGES FOR DISCERNING TRAVELLERS WANTING LUXURY FOR LESS

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Fundu Lagoon PEMBA ISLAND s remote as it is beautiful, Pemba Island forms part of the Zanzibar archipelago, lying to the north of its larger, better known sister island, Unguja. Fundu Lagoon itself sits on one of Pemba’s stunning, unspoilt beaches and is only accessible via boat. It’s all ridiculously romantic, providing barefoot luxury in the truest sense – this is a place where you most definitely do not need shoes. Each of the 18 rooms here – canvas tents set under makuti (thatch) roofs on wooden decks – offers panoramic views of the Indian

PEMBA ISLAND

Ocean, meaning that you fall asleep and wake up to the sounds of the waves caressing the beach. Follow the wooden walkways and jungle pathways through indigenous forest to the main hotel and you’ll find the stunning infinity hillside swimming pool overlooking the lagoon, a hidden oasis among the groves. The marine wildlife here is not to be missed, and you can both dive and snorkel to get a closer look at the reef fish found around the small barrier islands. Sound like too much hard work? Try a sunset cruises aboard a traditional wooden dhow, watching the dazzling sunset with a sundowner cocktail in your hand – the closest you can get to paradise on earth. Stay seven nights and pay for five, saving between £1078 and £1858 per room. Valid until April 2015 (excluding 21 December – 5 January)

Henry Morley is the Managing Director of Better Late Luxury, an exclusive travel platform offering luxurious holidays at discounts of up to 55%. To book any of the deals described in this feature call 020 3137 1247, email enquiries@betterlateluxury.com or visit betterlateluxury.com

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ABSOLUTELY | TR AV EL

Mahali Mzuri MAASAI MARA, KENYA his is no ordinary luxury safari camp. This is Sir Richard Branson’s safari camp and trust us, it doesn’t disappoint. Sat in the most pristine part of the African bush, Mahali Mzuri’s 12 tents perch on a ridge overlooking the awe-inspiring landscape of Kenya’s Motorogi Conservancy. It also happens to be in the path of the world-famous annual Great Migration, meaning that there really is no where better for a quintessential ‘Big Five’ safari. We recommend a trip hot air ballooning over the plains for an all-encompassing bird’s eye view of the Maasai Mara during the day, followed by a spot of stargazing at night using the camps telescope. Make sure you bring all the family too as Mahali Mzuri is super

WE ALSO LOVE...

GREYSTOKE

Greystoke Mahale TANZANIA ne of the few African lodges that offers a truly unique experience, Greystoke Mahale is an extraordinary camp in remote western Tanzania where the main aim is to get up close and personal with the local stars – the chimps. Here you’ll find not only a storybook tropical forest full of chimpanzees, but also the second deepest lake in the world – Lake Tanganyika – all yours to explore by boat or kayak from the sustainable beachside camp. Completely isolated from human civilisation, the camp offers daily treks into the misty mountains to discover the waterfalls, wildlife and wondrous birds and butterflies hidden under the treetops. A great one for children, the trek tracks the chimps so that you get to watch them in their natural habitat, interacting with each other in their uncannily human way. Keep your eyes peeled as you might just spot the odd leopard along the way, too. In the evenings, it’s time to relish the sense of seclusion Greystoke Mahale provides and curl up with a good book and a glass of wine whilst the sun sets across the lake.

LEOBO OBSERVATORY SOUTH AFRICA

✈ One of only a handful of

sole-use private reserves in South Africa, Leobo Private Reserve is a 12,000 acre estate encompassing rugged rocks, bushveld savannah, natural streams and an abundance of wildlife. 35,000 ZAR (£2199) per night or 175,000 ZAR (£10995) for the week.

Secret Season Special. Stay at Greystoke between 1 and 30 June 2014 and pay £267 per person per night, 54% less than the high season nightly rate of £663 per person per night.

LUWI BUSH CAMP ZAMBIA

✈ Nestled in the shade of

huge mahogany trees, Luwi Bush Camp’s remote location by a permanent hippo and crocodile filled lagoon makes it perfect for walking safaris.

child-friendly – the camp is full of children’s books, games, and kites, plus a TV, DVD player and games console for extra entertainment. Friendly staff are also able to organise tailored activities to further educate younger guests on their African surroundings and the local wildlife (so top marks back in the biology classroom, then). Meanwhile, older guests will love the spa rooms where treatments use the Africology range of products which are wonderfully natural and eco-friendly, and the 12-metre infinity pool – perfect for early morning swims and refreshing dips after game drives. Stay for four nights, pay for three. This offer is available for new bookings staying before 30 June 2014, saving 25% per person. Normal nightly rates in mid-season start at £549 per person per night.

Price for the week from: $2,990 per person (£1844) as part of their ‘Week on the Wildside’ package, saving you 22% overall. Valid May – October 2014.

VAMIZI ISLAND LODGE MOZAMBIQUE

✈ Defining castaway chic,

Vamizi Island Lodge is made up of romantic timber villas dotted along a beautiful beaches on it’s own exclusive island. From $1085 per person per night (£669). Stay 7 nights and only pay for 5. Valid 6-24 January, 1 March – 20 April, 21 June-14t July, 13-20 December.

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Smart picks from over a million properties. Garage New build >VVK Ă&#x2026;VVYZ

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26/02/2014 09:34 10:23 08/01/2014

APRIL 2014

ABSOLUTELY

PROPERTY

OAKWOOD COURT, HOLLAND PARK W14 A spacious one bedroom flat located on the first floor of this popular portered block in Holland Park. The flat has recently been refurbished throughout and is south-facing so has excellent light.

Guide Price: ÂŁ1,050,000 Leasehold Holland Park & Notting Hill I 020 7371 1111 l hollandpark@carterjonas.co.uk

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18/03/2014 14:41

The Negotiator Awards 2013 (for the 2nd year running!)

Sunday Times Estate Agency of the Year 2013 - Gold (for the 2nd year running!)

Community Champion of the Year

Best London Estate Agency

The Negotiator Awards 2013 - Silver

Sunday Times Estate Agency of the Year 2013 (Medium) - Gold (for the 4th year running!)

Holland Park Road W14 ÂŁ3,600,000 This substantial family house is located on the sought after Holland Park Road. Attractive and well presented throughout, the house is arranged over three ďŹ&#x201A;oors comprising a large reception room with a balcony, a separate kitchen and a dining room leading out to a garden. The bedroom accommodation includes a master with en suite bathroom, three further bedrooms and a bathroom. ene ts include a beautiful walled garden, off-street parking and a private garage. Freehold. P .

HOLLAND PARK: 020 605 6890 sales.hol@marshandparsons.co.uk

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Join us on Facebook: facebook.com/marshandparsons

Visit our YouTube channel: youtube.com/user/marshandparsons

SALES

See all of our properties online: marshandparsons.co.uk

Palace Court W2 £2,850,000 A truly spectacular three-bedroom top ﬂoor duplex apartment located on a stunning street moments from Hyde Park. Presented in excellent decorative order, the property is ﬂooded with natural light throughout. The accommodation comprises an open plan reception/dining room with a contemporary kitchen leading out to a private roof terrace. The property also offers an indulgent master bedroom suite with a large walk-in wardrobe and two further double bedrooms (one en suite). Freehold. Sole Agents.

NOTTING HILL: 020 7313 2890 sales.not@marshandparsons.co.uk

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Local know-how. Better results. Our ofďŹ ces:

Barnes

Brook Green

Earls Court

Holland Park

Marylebone

Pimlico & Westminster

Askew Road

Battersea

Chelsea

Fulham

Kensington

North Kensington

South Kensington

Balham

Bishops Park

Clapham

Hammersmith

Little Venice

Notting Hill

Westbourne Terrace W2 ÂŁ2,150,000 Located moments from yde Par on a onderful stucco fronted ictorian errace, this su erb a artment bene ts from a beautiful ra around balcony. he accommodation includes a fabulous rece tion dinin room ith lo ely oor to ceilin indo s leadin out to the balcony, a se arate eat in itchen, a lar e master bedroom ith e cellent stora e s ace and a smartly nished bathroom. n the mezzanine level there is an additional double bedroom, a second bathroom and a study. Leasehold. EPC=C. Joint Sole Agent.

NOTTING HILL: 020 7313 2890 sales.not@marshandparsons.co.uk

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Join us on Facebook: facebook.com/marshandparsons

Visit our YouTube channel: youtube.com/user/marshandparsons

SALES

See all of our properties online: marshandparsons.co.uk

Gregory Place W8 ÂŁ1,595,000 This stunning spit-level apartment offers excellent entertaining space, including a bright and airy reception room with access to a private patio, an open plan kitchen/dining room with a large storage room, a large master bedroom with an en suite bathroom, a further double bedroom and a bathroom. Leasehold. EPC=F. Sole Agents KENSINGTON: 020 7368 4450 sales.kns@marshandparsons.co.uk

Holland Park Gardens W14 ÂŁ1,350,000 Positioned in a wonderfully quiet Holland Park location and benefiting from direct access to a large communal garden, this charming 1,100 sqft apartment offers generous living accommodation comprising a large reception room, a modern kitchen, master bedroom suite, a second double bedroom and family bathroom. Share of Freehold. EPC=C. Sole Agents HOLLAND PARK: 020 605 6890 sales.hol@marshandparsons.co.uk

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The Negotiator Awards 2013 (for the 2nd year running!)

Sunday Times Estate Agency of the Year 2013 - Gold (for the 2nd year running!)

Community Champion of the Year

Best London Estate Agency

The Negotiator Awards 2013 - Silver

Sunday Times Estate Agency of the Year 2013 (Medium) - Gold (for the 4th year running!)

Holland Park Avenue W11 ÂŁ1,200 per week This spacious and beautifully presented garden ďŹ&#x201A;at in an e cellent location between otting ill and olland ark. aving been totally refurbished throughout the modern and neutral accommodation comprises a large reception room leading out to a private garden and a modern galley style kitchen. The bedroom accommodation includes a master suite with excellent built in storage and a stylish bathroom, a second double bedroom, a shower room and third single bedroom. EPC=C.

NOTTING HILL: 020 7313 6910 lets.not@marshandparsons.co.uk

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Join us on Facebook: facebook.com/marshandparsons

Visit our YouTube channel: youtube.com/user/marshandparsons

SALES

See all of our properties online: marshandparsons.co.uk

Aldridge Road Villas W11 £750 per week This impressive raised ground floor flat boasts a lovely bright reception room with a large bay window, a separate fullyfitted kitchen, two double bedrooms which overlook pretty gardens to the rear of the house and a modern bathroom. Aldridge Road Villas is an attractive and quiet residential street located within easy reach of the exceptional variety of shops, restaurants and bars of Westbourne Grove, Portobello Road and Kensington Park Road.

NORTH KENSINGTON: 020 7313 8350 lets.nkn@marshandparsons.co.uk Tenant fees apply, see www.marshandparsons.co.uk/services/lettings/tenant-fees for more information.

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Offices throughout the UK

CARTERJONAS.CO.UK To view The Collection 2013/14, simply visit cjview.me/thecollection

HOLLAND PARK HOLLAND PARK AVENUE W11 A spacious flat extending to approximately 1,260 sq ft and located in a smart, period building on a private road just off Holland Park Avenue. Reception room n Kitchen n Study n 2 bedrooms, 1 en suite Bathroom n Private parking n South-facing patio garden Energy efficiency: Band E

GUIDE PRICE £1,300,000

THIS PROPERTY AT YOUR FINGERTIPS ON MOBILE OR DESKTOP SIMPLY VISIT URL:

cjview.me/ahp21

Holland Park & Notting Hill 020 7371 1111 gareth.jones@carterjonas.co.uk

HOLLAND PARK OAKWOOD COURT W14 A spacious flat located on the first floor of this popular portered block in Holland Park. The flat has recently been refurbished throughout and is south-facing so has excellent light. Reception room n Kitchen n Bedroom with en suite Access to communal gardens n Energy efficiency: Band D

GUIDE PRICE £1,050,000

THIS PROPERTY AT YOUR FINGERTIPS ON MOBILE OR DESKTOP SIMPLY VISIT URL:

cjview.me/ahp22

Holland Park & Notting Hill 020 7371 1111 gareth.jones@carterjonas.co.uk

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Bullet pointHOLLAND

PARK

HOLLAND PARK W11 A superb apartment spanning the entire first floor of this handsome Grade II listed villa. Reception room n Kitchen n Study n Master bedroom with en suite 2 further bedrooms, 1 en suite n Bathroom n South-facing roof terrace

GUIDE PRICE ÂŁ4,500,000 THIS PROPERTY AT YOUR FINGERTIPS ON MOBILE OR DESKTOP SIMPLY VISIT

Holland Park & Notting Hill 020 7371 1111 gareth.jones@carterjonas.co.uk

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URL:

cjview.me/ahp23

17/03/2014 16:45

facebook.com/struttandparker twitter.com/struttandparker

struttandparker.com

Westbourne Park Road, W2

A very attractive and unusually wide five bedroom house, with the advantage of a charming south-facing garden.

ÂŁ4,250,000 Freehold

Notting Hill 020 7221 1111 nottinghill@struttandparker.com

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Pembroke Villas, W8

A wonderful five bedroom family house with a stunning westfacing garden as well as having off-street parking.

Price on Application Freehold

Kensington 020 7938 3666 kensington@struttandparker.com

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facebook.com/struttandparker twitter.com/struttandparker

struttandparker.com

Pembridge Crescent, W11

A rarely available large one bedroom apartment, with a landscaped private garden. This apartment features excellent reception space with amazing 12ft ceilings, an abundance of natural light and wooden flooring.

£795 per week *Furnished

Notting Hill Lettings 020 7221 1111 nottinghill.lettings@struttandparker.com

*The following Tennant charges may apply prior to tenancy commencement: Tenancy Agreement £210 (inc VAT) Credit References per application £54 (inc VAT). All advertised prices are excluded and other associated services.

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Kelso Place, W8

A wonderful five bedroom family home, quietly situated within the prestigious De Vere Conservation Area. The property boasts fantastic open living space with wood flooring in the drawing room.

£2,500 per week *Unfurnished

Kensington Lettings 020 7938 3866 kensington.lettings@struttandparker.com

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ABSOLUTELY Property

IN THEIR OWN

WORDS Photography: Rebecca Noonan

GARETH KELLY

DAVID PITTMAN

MATT BIGGADIKE

Associate Director, Notting Hill 020 7313 2890

Associate Director, Holland Park 020 7605 6890

Associate Director, North Kensington 020 7313 8351

have always had an interest in property and from an early age I pretty much always knew my skills were in sales, having worked in the high-end retail business both part time and full time. Although selling and buying a property is a far more significant commitment than buying clothes, the concept is the same. Another reason I was attracted to becoming an estate agent was because one of my sisters was in the business and convinced me that I would be great at it! Notting Hill has long been established as a highly desirable place to live, however, over the last few years the High Street at Notting Hill Gate has really seen some great improvements. My favourite bars in the local area include Beach Blanket Babylon on Ledbury Road as I love the location, décor and the calibre of music is always excellent. Montgomery Place on Kensington Park Road is another favourite and provides a cosy atmosphere with an excellent choice of cocktails. There are many restaurants, but my favourite is Rossopomodoro on Kensington Park Road where the food is excellent and the service is outstanding.

ollowing 18 happy and hectic years working in the music industry I wanted to find a new career path that left more hours for me to spend with my two young daughters. While working for Virgin Records and living in Notting Hill I’d often notice the sales people outside Marsh & Parsons offices and ponder to myself, “That’s something I could possibly go on to do…”. The transferable skills were there – the job of a PR/Publicist is essentially that of a sales person – so, it was goodbye to long lunches, foreign press junkets and concerts three nights a week – hello to £’s per square foot and five valuations a day. As it turned out joining in the frantic market of 20062007 didn’t particularly allow too many extra hours with the family, but it did turn out to be an exceptionally good fit for me professionally. It’s very easy to see why Holland Park is one of London’s most sought-after locations to live. It has leafy charm, period architecture, un-rivalled transport links, and the park. One of my favourite spots is Julie’s wine bar – a venue I was well used to attending in my former life and a spot which I still love to take my now, older teenage daughters for dinner at the drop of a hat.

wanted to go into Estate Agency as every day is different, every client is different, every property is a bit different and you never know exactly what your day will throw at you! It’s still a buzz every time a sales goes through. I love North Kensington as it’s an exciting and diverse area demographically and architecturally, which makes it a great place to live and work. Moreover, the huge variety of restaurants, bars and eateries around Portobello Road and Kensington Park Road are enough to satisfy most people’s tastes and more! My personal favourites in the area are Coffee Plant for the - you guessed it - coffee, Montgomery Place for their cocktails, Pizza East for the buzz and The Cow for a pint. Outside of estate agency I like to ride my racing bike up and down a few hills, and enjoy a good dinner out afterwards. With two little boys at home there is always plenty to do. I most enjoy my role when I see a happy client after we have handled a tricky sale through to a successful conclusion; it’s always a challenge to keep both buyer and seller happy throughout what can sometimes be a nerve wracking process, but ultimately, it’s always worth it.

marshandparsons.co.uk

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You may know us from walking your dog, local charity events or simply recognise a familiar face. Because many of our agents live where they work, they really understand what matters to buyers and sellers there. And because people know us, time and again we are able to sell and let properties more quickly and at a better price than anyone else.

KE ITH RI GBY D I R EC TO R

Keith has been a Director at our Ladbroke Grove office for over 16 years, and lived here almost as long. He’s also something of a trailblazer for gender equality – becoming the first ever male class rep at his children’s prep school. Many of our clients know him first as a fellow parent and neighbour, meaning he’s as likely to sell a house at the school gates as he is from his desk.

C H E L S E A 0 2 0 7 5 8 9 6 67 7 — K E N S I N G T O N 0 2 0 7 7 9 5 42 8 8 N O T T I N G H I L L 0 2 0 7 2 2 1 4 8 0 5 — L A D B R O K E G R O V E 0 2 0 7 2 2 1 0 3 3 0 — B R O O K G R E E N 0 2 0 76 0 3 51 8 1 L A N D & N E W H O M E S 0 2 0 7 3 1 3 7 7 1 1 — D E V E L O P M E N T & I N V E S T M E N T 0 2 0 7 3 1 3 7 7 1 1 — C O M M E R C I A L 0 2 0 7 9 8 5 07 1 5 W W W. B EC TIVE .CO.U K FIND US ON

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P H OTO G R A P H S BY T I M CO L E W W W.TI M - CO LE .CO M

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Contemporary Design TA L B OT R OA D N OT T I N G H I L L W 2

A beautifully presented freehold house which has been sympathetically refurbished allowing traditional features to combine effortlessly with contemporary feel and design. The ground floor has under floor heating throughout and includes a spacious dining area and well appointed kitchen which leads into a charming patio. 3 B E D R O O M S , E N S U I T E S H OW E R R O O M , B AT H R O O M , D R AW I N G R O O M , D I N I N G R O O M , K ITC H E N , S T U DY, C L O A K R O O M , PAT I O .

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FREEHOLD ÂŁ2,400,000 BOB CROWLEY BC@BECTIVE.CO.UK NOTTING HILL OFFICE 020 7221 4805

13 6 SQ M / 1 , 4 6 3 SQ FT APPROX E N E R GY R AT I N G F

17/03/2014 11:05 17/03/2014 09:39

CHELSEA

COMMERCIAL

0 20 75 89 6 67 7

020 7985 0715

KENSINGTON

LAND & NEW HOMES

020 7795 4288

020 7313 7711

NOTTING HILL

DEVELOPMENT & INVESTMENT

020 7221 4805

020 7313 7711

LADBROKE GROVE 020 7221 0330 BROOK GREEN

FIND US ON

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Lateral Living WESTBOURNE GROVE NOTTING HILL W2

A stunning lateral apartment offering spectacular volume in the heart of Westbourne Grove. This bright first floor apartment has a dual south westerly aspect ensuring an abundance of natural light, a magnificent drawing room and a grand eat in kitchen. The bedrooms are generously sized with en suite bathrooms and walk in wardrobes. 2 B E D R O O M S , 2 E N S U I T E B AT H R O O M S , C LOA K R O O M , D R AW I N G R O O M , K I TC H E N / D I N I N G R O O M , TERR ACE .

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FREEHOLD ÂŁ2,850,000 BOB CROWLEY BC@BECTIVE.CO.UK NOTTING HILL OFFICE 020 7221 4805

13 6 SQ M / 1 , 4 6 3 SQ FT APPROX E N E R GY R AT I N G E

17/03/2014 11:05 17/03/2014 09:40

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Park Views H A R V I S T R OA D Q U E E N ’ S PA R K N W 6

An exceptional three storey Victorian town house that has recently undergone a comprehensive refurbishment to exacting standards. The property is beautifully appointed including a high specification contemporary kitchen with Siemens appliances, luxurious bathrooms throughout, elegant cornices, under floor heating and double glazed sash windows. 5 B E D R O O M S , 5 B AT H R O O M S ( 3 E N S U I T E ) , R E C E P T I O N R O O M , K I TC H E N / D I N I N G R O O M , U TI LIT Y RO O M , C LOA K RO O M , GA R D E N , E AV E S S TO R AG E .

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FREEHOLD £3,200,000 M AT T H E W M A R C H A N T MM@BECTIVE.CO.UK LADBROKE GROVE OFFICE 020 7221 0330

3 0 4 SQ M /3 , 272 SQ FT APPROX E N E R GY R AT I N G C

17/03/2014 11:05 17/03/2014 09:47

CHELSEA

COMMERCIAL

0 20 75 89 6 67 7

020 7985 0715

KENSINGTON

LAND & NEW HOMES

020 7795 4288

020 7313 7711

NOTTING HILL

DEVELOPMENT & INVESTMENT

020 7221 4805

020 7313 7711

LADBROKE GROVE 020 7221 0330 BROOK GREEN

FIND US ON

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Ideal for Entertaining OXFO RD GARD ENS N O RTH KENSI N GTO N W1 0

An outstanding house (499 sq m/ 5,375 sq ft approx.) arranged over four floors and offers an incredible wealth of features including, high ceilings, an abundance of natural light, wonderful volumes and impressive width. Oxford Gardens is an elegant tree lined street in North Kensington with beautiful period properties, within walking distance of Ladbroke Grove Underground Station. M A S T E R B E D R O O M W I T H E N S U I T E B AT H R O O M A N D WA L K I N WA R D R O B E , 6 FU R T H E R B E D R O O M S , 5 B AT H R O O M S ( 3 E N S U I T E ) , G U E S T C LOA K R O O M , 3 R E C E P T I O N R O O M S , K I TC H E N , D I N I N G R O O M , F A M I LY R O O M , K I T C H E N E T T E , T E R R A C E , G A R D E N .

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FREEHOLD POA M AT T H E W M A R C H A N T MM@BECTIVE.CO.UK LADBROKE GROVE OFFICE 020 7221 0330

49 9 SQ M / 5, 375 SQ FT APPROX E N E R GY R AT I N G E

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Luxurious Living L ANCASTER ROAD NOTTING HILL W11

UNFURNISHED £4,250 PER WEEK

A stunning family house, refurbished throughout to an exacting standard. The property boasts an extensive kitchen/family room leading onto an immaculate garden and a further double reception room with high ceilings. 6 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms (1 en suite), 2 en suite shower rooms, double reception room, kitchen/family room, pantry, utility room, cloakroom, wine cellar, balcony, garden. EPC Rating C.

K A T E F LY N N KF@BECTIVE.CO.UK NOTTING HILL OFFICE 020 7221 5388

Urban Design CO R N WA LL C R E S C E N T N OT T I N G H I LL W 1 1

UNFURNISHED £1 ,750 PER WEEK

A stunning penthouse apartment on the upper floors of this well-maintained building. The property benefits from wood flooring throughout, a stylish decor, dual aspect windows letting in lots of natural light and a feature fireplace in the reception room. 3 bedrooms, shower room, 2 en suite bathrooms, reception room, kitchen. EPC Rating C.

K A T E F LY N N

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KF@BECTIVE.CO.UK NOTTING HILL OFFICE 020 7221 5388

17/03/2014 11:05 17/03/2014 09:54

CHELSEA

COMMERCIAL

0 20 75 89 6 67 7

020 7985 0715

KENSINGTON

LAND & NEW HOMES

020 7795 4288

020 7313 7711

NOTTING HILL

DEVELOPMENT & INVESTMENT

020 7221 4805

020 7313 7711

L ADBROKE GROVE 020 7221 0330 BROOK GREEN

FIND US ON

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Communal Bliss C L E V E L A N D S Q U A R E B AY S W A T E R W 2

FURNISHED £1,500 PER WEEK

A stunning lateral apartment with double height ceilings and period features on the first floor of this imposing period conversion. The flat boasts a large open plan living space with stunning views over the communal gardens and a decadent master en suite. 2 bedrooms, bathroom, en suite shower room, reception room, kitchen, balcony, access to Cleveland Square communal gardens. EPC Rating D.

K A T E F LY N N KF@BECTIVE.CO.UK NOTTING HILL OFFICE 020 7221 5388

St. Quintin Conservation OXFO RD GARDENS N O RTH KENSI N GTO N W1 0

UNFURNISHED £1,295 PER WEEK

A stunning family house finished to an exacting standard, the property offers a large contemporary eat-in kitchen which leads to a charming reception room with feature fireplace. The bedrooms are well proportioned throughout, offering good space for family living. 4 bedrooms, bathroom, 2 en suite shower rooms, reception room, kitchen/dining room, utility room, garden. EPC Rating D.

K A T E F LY N N

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KF@BECTIVE.CO.UK NOTTING HILL OFFICE 020 7221 5388

17/03/2014 11:06 17/03/2014 09:55

If you suddenly get the urge to move, why not speak to the people who know the Royal Borough best? After all, we’ve been here over 14 years…

020 7937 9777 21 Earls Court Road, Kensington, London, W8 6EB Tel: 020 7937 9777 • 020 7938 3425 Email: info@rickmanproperties.com

www.rickmanproperties.com

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ABSOLUTELY Property

Living the Dream

The most luxuriously appointed properties on the market.

Holland Park, W11 A sensational lateral garden apartment spanning the lower and raised ground floors of this imposing grade II listed italianate villa. There is a beautifully designed cinema, spa area and gym located beneath the large private garden.

P.O.A.

Share of Freehold Carter Jonas, Holland Park 020 7371 1111; carterjonas.co.uk

Knight Frank, Kensington 020 7938 4311; knightfrank.co.uk

Sterndale Road, W14

Bravington Road, W9

Oakwood Court, W14

Situated on a tree lined residential street close to the amenities and transport links, this fabulous five bedroom, two bathroom family home benefits from both formal and informal living space. Added benefits include an elegant living room, family room, study, a spacious media room to the front of the house and south facing garden. This house has a wonderful feel, oozes style and offers flexible living space.

This stunning house has accommodation spread over four floors to include six bedrooms, three bathrooms, two receptions and a superb ‘L’ shaped kitchen diner that has been extended. No expense has been spared with this property and all finishings are of the highest level, including English oak flooring throughout, Spanish marble kitchen floor and Victorian cast irons radiators.

An outstanding sixth floor flat in an excellent position within this sought after mansion block. The flat provides approximately 2,800 square feet of spacious, well laid out accommodation with good light and high ceilings throughout. Of particular note are the fantastic far reaching westerly views over London and the benefit of balconies off both the drawing room and master bedroom.

P.O.A. Freehold

£1,850,000 Freehold £4,750,000 Leasehold

Finlay Brewer, Brook Green

Winkworth, North Kensington

Mountgrange Heritage, Notting Hill

020 7792 5000 • winkworth.co.uk

020 7221 2277; mountgrangeheritage.co.uk

020 7371 4171; finlaybrewer.com

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ABSOLUTELY Property

Astwood Mews, SW7

Brondesbury Park, NW6

A stylish, contemporary Mews house in this popular location a few minutes’ walk from Gloucester Road Tube station. The property offers over 2,300 sq ft of accommodation, comprising of three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a beautiful open plan reception room/kitchen, a second reception area, and terrace.

Situated within the highly sought after vibrant area of Brondesbury Park is this truly outstanding six bedroom detached family residence laid out over 4700 sq ft. The house has been lovingly restored and extended with an exquisite eye to detail and is one of the finest houses to grace our registers. Perfectly positioned close to the green open spaces of Queens Park.

£1,800 Per Week

£3,800,000 Freehold

Rickman Properties

Camerons Stiff & Co

020 7937 9777; rickmanproperties.com

020 8459 1133; cameronsstiff.co.uk

Harvist Road, NW6 An exceptional three storey Victorian town house, with approximately 3,272 sq ft of space, that has recently undergone a comprehensive refurbishment to exacting standards. The property is beautifully appointed including a high specification contemporary kitchen with Siemens appliances, luxurious bathrooms throughout, elegant cornices, under floor heating and double glazed sash windows. Located in an enviable position with uninterrupted views across the green expanse of Queen’s Park the house also enjoys a charming and private south facing garden. Harvist Road borders Queen’s Park and runs east off Chamberlayne Road and west of the Salisbury Road. Local shops and the underground station are literally on your doorstep, as are all the facilities of the park.

£3,200,000 Ashtons Property 020 7586 0049; ashtonsproperty.com

Spotlight on W10 Average asking price - £1,071,095Average asking rents - £2,356 pcmAverage property value - £698,638

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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

0844 644 1576 lindenhomes.co.uk/ashlarcourt

Prices and details correct at time of going to press.

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25/02/2014 17/03/2014 12:25 11:09

Completely at home in West 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 West London branches include • Bayswater • Holland Park

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13/03/2014 17:27 14:45 13/02/2014

Draycott Place, Chelsea, SW3 £10,500,000 Freehold Holland Park 020 3542 2111 Email shp@kfh.co.uk

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An impressive freehold period building in Chelsea currently arranged as three high quality apartments with beautifully proportioned rooms, lift access and a roof terrace. Draycott Place is a fashionable Chelsea address moments from the shops, restaurants and transport facilities of Sloane Square and the Kings Road.

• • • • • • • •

Freehold Three apartments Ten double bedrooms Ten bathrooms Lift access Roof terrace Close to Kings Road EPC rating D

13/03/2014 13:48 14:45 10/03/2014

Westbourne Terrace, Bayswater, W2 £849,950 Shared freehold Bayswater 020 7724 1222 Email sbw@kfh.co.uk

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A spacious and well planned two bedroom flat presented in excellent condition and benefiting from direct access to private gardens. Located a short walk to Hyde Park and Lancaster Gate underground station.

• • • • • • • •

Period conversion Two double bedrooms Spacious reception room Well equipped kitchen Useful study area Access to private gardens Independent entrance Near Paddington station

13/03/2014 13:48 14:45 10/03/2014

Airlie Gardens, Kensington, W8 £825 pw Furnished or Unfurnished Holland Park 020 3542 2120 Email lhp@kfh.co.uk

A bright, spacious and recently refurbished two double bedroom apartment offering a balcony and access to communal gardens. Ideally located for both the Central and District lines.

• • • • • • • •

Two double bedrooms One family bathroom One en suite bathroom Open plan kitchen/reception Recently refurbished Lift Built in storage EPC rating D

£210 tenancy agreement fee per property. Other fees apply, visit kfh.co.uk/lettingsfees

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ABSOLUTELY Property

Ask the Sales Experts

Our panel of professionals give you the edge on the property market

Should I redecorate pre-sale?

freshly decorated property creates the impression that you care about your home and it makes it a lot easier for the potential buyers to visualize where they would put their furniture when they finally own the property. You want the prospective buyer to fall in love with your home quickly, so fill in any cracks in the walls and see to any patches of damp there may be to prevent that buyer from having second thoughts or suspicions that there might just be something wrong with your property.

Why hasn't my property sold?

How do Open House viewings work?

hilst Open House viewings often prove to be a valuable tool in our country offices – we don’t find that they are required in London. All of our properties are very accessible so we find that interested buyers are keen to do viewings at short notice, throughout the day and during the evenings. The London market is moving at such a fast pace at the moment, we don’t find that Open House days are as effective as they might be in quieter markets or more remote, rural locations. Our buyers tend to prefer to view properties as soon as they come to the market, at a time that fits in with their hectic schedule. Viewing properties individually also ensures the buyer’s privacy and security at all times – which is very important for properties in a high price bracket.

here could be a number of reasons why a property has not sold, so it is important to listen to the feedback coming from the viewers and look for a common thread to take on board. Quite often it will be the price that is the issue as most properties are saleable at a price and the target market for your particular property might not be being reached. It is also a good idea to look at your marketing material and discuss with your agent whether there is anything that can be done to increase its attraction. Sometimes a change in the order of the photographs on the aggregator sights can have an impact on the enquiries that come in.

What common mistakes do sellers make?

ore often than not, it is finding the correct information on the length of the current lease or Share of Freehold information and current service charges. This is vital prior to marketing the property for very obvious reasons, and it still surprises me today of how many people don’t know! We have a duty of care to every potential buyer to provide the correct information when questioned. I am sure you (as a purchaser) would not want to visit a property on Friday evening, in the pouring rain, getting excited about the prospect of success, only to be told at a later stage that the property only has a 16 year lease, when you thought it had a Share of Freehold!

A freshly decorated property creates the impression that you care about your home.

Where should I invest?

am no financial advisor, but I can see that over time Bricks and Mortar has outperformed other forms of investment. Not only is your money safe, it can work hard for you, providing a good rental return and benefit from capital appreciation.

1. Simon Corringham

2. Enna-Mae Assiter

Sales Manager at KFH, Holland Park

Associate at Chesterton Humberts

020 3542 2111 • kfh.co.uk

020 3040 8585 • chestertonhumberts.com

4. Alistair Heather

3. Rollo Miles

Sales Manager at JDW & Co., Ladbroke Grove 020 3151 5832 • johndwood.co.uk

5. Kieran Ryan

Associate at Strutt & Parker, Notting Hill

Managing Director of Rickman Properties

020 7221 1111 • struttandparker.com

020 7937 9777 • rickmanproperties.com

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‘Fresh and dynamic approach’

Harvist Road, Queens Park, London, NW6

£3,200,000

An exceptional three storey Victorian town house (304sq m/3,272 sq ft approx.) that has recently undergone a comprehensive refurbishment to exacting standards. The property is beautifully appointed including a high specification contemporary kitchen with Siemens appliances, luxurious bathrooms throughout, elegant cornices, under floor heating and double glazed sash windows. Located in an enviable position with uninterrupted views across the green expanse of Queen’s Park the house also enjoys a charming and private south facing garden. Harvist Road borders Queen’s Park and runs east off Chamberlayne Road and west of the Salisbury Road. Local shops and underground station are literally on your doorstep as too are all the facilities of the park. 6 Bedrooms | 5 Bathrooms | Double volume sitting room | Fabulous Kitchen/ dining | Landscape gardens | Park facing

140 Gloucester Avenue, Primrose Hill, London, NW1 8JA Tel: 020 7586 0049 | Fax: 020 7483 3352 www.ashtonsproperty.com | info@ashtonsproperty.com

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17/03/2014 17:10

KELSO PLACE, W8 A delightful Victorian family house benefiting from a wonderful drawing room, perfect for entertaining. Situated in a secluded cul-de-sac lying south of Kensington High Street. Approx 1,946 sq ft. Energy Rating: E. 5 bedrooms, bathroom, shower room, drawing room, dining room, utility room, front garden. Freehold Guide Price £3,550,000

ALLEN MANSIONS, W8 A fabulous 1st floor flat. Well proportioned double reception room with six sash windows providing ample natural light. Close to Kensington High Street Underground station. Approx. 1,432 sq ft. Energy Rating: D. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms (1 en suite), double reception room, communal terrace. Freehold Share Guide Price £2,000,000 Garage and Store room £150,000

johndwood.co.uk

KENSINGTON 020 3151 6269 kensington@johndwood.co.uk SOLD

Jameson Street, W8

SOLD

Guide £1,950,000 Phillimore Gardens, W8

SOLD

Guide £15,000,000 Bark Place, W2

7 offices in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea:

JDW.indd 2

SOLD

Guide £2,990,000 Victoria Grove Mews, W2

Guide £2,475,000

Chelsea (2), Holland Park, Kensington (2), Ladbroke Grove, South Kensington.

17/03/2014 10:59

BEDFORD GARDENS, W8 A lovely family corner house arranged over 4 floors in the heart of Kensington, situated just to the west of Kensington Church Street and close to Holland Park. Approx 2,962 sq ft. Energy Rating: F. 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, library, dining area, drawing room, dining room, study, cellar, garden, terrace. Freehold Guide Price £5,200,000

MELBURY COURT, W8 A beautifully proportioned, 5th floor lateral apartment, adjacent to Holland Park, and close to the various transport, shopping and local amenities of Kensington High Street. Approx 2,829 sq ft. Energy Rating: D. 6 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen/breakfast room, drawing room, family room, dining room, study, parking. Lease to 2060 Guide Price £4,850,000

johndwood.co.uk

KENSINGTON 020 3151 6269 kensington@johndwood.co.uk SOLD

Queens Gardens, W2

SOLD

Guide £900,000 Kensington Church St, W8

SOLD

Guide £2,475,000 Chatsworth Court, W8

7 offices in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea:

JDW.indd 3

SOLD

Guide £999,000 Kelvin Court, W11

Guide £1,150,000

Chelsea (2), Holland Park, Kensington (2), Ladbroke Grove, South Kensington.

17/03/2014 10:59

HOLLAND PARK, W11 A penthouse flat in a beautiful double-fronted Italianate villa, with lift to the 2nd floor. With easy access to the gated pretty communal garden and to Holland Park Underground station. Approx. 1,415 sq ft. Energy Rating: E. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, reception room, study, communal garden. Freehold Share Guide Price £2,250,000

WELLER COURT, W11 An immaculately presented flat on the 1st floor of a most attractive period conversion (with lift), set back from the road with off-street parking and a delightful communal garden. Approx. 687 sq ft. Energy Rating: C. Bedroom, bathroom, reception room, communal garden, private parking. Freehold Share Guide Price £1,350,000

johndwood.co.uk

HOLLAND PARK 020 3151 6255 hollandpark@johndwood.co.uk SOLD

Princedale Road, W11

SOLD

Guide £2,950,000 Holland Park, W11

SOLD

Guide £2,800,000 Woodsford Square, W14

7 offices in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea:

JDW.indd 4

SOLD

Guide £4,250,000 Pottery Lane, W11

Guide £1,350,000

Chelsea (2), Holland Park, Kensington (2), Ladbroke Grove, South Kensington.

17/03/2014 11:50

LANCASTER ROAD, W11 An impressive end of terrace Victorian house. With well planned accommodation and contemporary finishes. The house also boasts a separate, self-contained flat on the lower ground floor. Approx 3,100 sq ft. Energy Rating: F. 7 Bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, 3 receptions, garden, roof terrace, summer house. Freehold Guide Price £4,350,000

CHEPSTOW ROAD, W2 An expansive mixed use building in a prime spot in Westminster, with over 1,000 sq ft of commercial space on the ground and lower ground floors, requires modernisation. Approx. 2,515 sq ft. Energy Rating: E. 2 bedrooms, bathroom, 1/2 reception rooms, commercial space. Freehold Guide Price £2,000,000

johndwood.co.uk

LADBROKE GROVE 020 3151 6269 ladbrokegrove@johndwood.co.uk SOLD

Latimer Road, W10

SOLD

Guide £1,710,000 Norburn Street, W10

SOLD

Guide £2,100,000 St. Marks Road, W10

7 offices in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea:

JDW.indd 5

SOLD

Guide £2,999,950 Lancaster Road, W10

Guide £4,500,000

Chelsea (2), Holland Park, Kensington (2), Ladbroke Grove, South Kensington.

17/03/2014 10:59

ABSOLUTELY Property

Prime Purchase Vendor Advice

� A wonderful five bedroom family house, occupying approximately 3,260 sq ft, with a lovely 40 ft private garden, and fabulous views overlooking the beautifully maintained St James’s Gardens communal garden.

he house has excellent entertaining space, including an impressive, full width first floor family room and a more formal ground floor drawing room. The lower ground floor is currently arranged as a separate, self-contained flat with its own patio garden, but could easily be incorporated

Details

St James’s Gardens, W11 £5,250,000 Freehold

back into the main house if desired. St James’s Gardens is situated just north of Addison Avenue and is therefore extremely well located for all the shopping and transport facilities of Holland Park Avenue. In addition to the private communal garden, the green spaces of Holland Park are very nearby.

Contact

Strutt & Parker, Notting Hill 020 7221 1111; struttandparker.com JSA Knight Frank 020 7229 0229; knightfrank.com

nyone who owns a property in London is a property investor. Our lives and plans often depend on the performance of what is likely to be the largest asset we own. So perhaps it will be helpful to take more of an investor’s view of the market. It has become a truism that London is “different” from the rest of the UK property market and house price indices show that the capital value of an average UK house has risen by 16% (Nationwide) or 9% (Halifax) over the last four and three-quarter years. But inflation over the same period has been 20%. That means the value has actually fallen in real terms. Since April 2009, when London property prices bottomed out (after peaking in Q4 2007), houses have significantly outperformed flats. This has been a trend throughout prime London property. Equity rich investors, many from overseas, have been deploying cash into these ‘real assets’, which are seen as more productive than bank deposit interest and less volatile than equity markets. This type of capital deployment tends to be in the larger lot size (£3m and above). During 2013 however, some policy risk in this section of the market arose as the prospect emerged of increased taxation on residential property above £2m. Investors demanded some risk premium for this and hence capital values for the larger houses slowed down. Units below £2m saw corresponding increased interest from buyers. We expect this to continue during 2014 and into mid-2015. When renting out a property, an investor will look at current rental yield. However, they also need to take a view on whether rental income will grow; after all, it is rental growth that maintains real income and yield over time. A word of caution for potential landlords: Notting Hill has seen an influx of new landlords prepared to invest money in rental stock, raising the benchmark significantly. Poorly presented properties can expect to endure void periods.

Maddie Lewington

Manager & Associate of Douglas & Gordon, Notting Hill 020 7727 7777; douglasandgordon.com

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THE QUADRANT, W10 - £475 PER WEEK

CHESTERTON ROAD, W10 - £475 PER WEEK

This immaculate two double bedroom, two bathroom penthouse BRAVINGTON ROAD, W9 £1,850,000 FREEHOLD This beautifully presented two bedroom apartment on the raised apartment offers fantastic outside space. Each room has a ground ﬂoor would make a perfect home for a professional A truly fabulous property, of alarge kind, just to the south of Queens Park on Bravington Road. This stunning, end of terrace house, has accommodation balcony combined with one a very private roof terrace. couple or sharers. spread over four floors to include six bedrooms, three bathrooms, two receptions and a superb ‘L’ shaped kitchen diner that has been further extended at the rear . No expense has been spared with this property and finished to the highest level including English Oak flooring on two of the levels and Spanish marble in the all bathrooms and kitchen.

OARE, WILTSHIRE £2,750,000 FREEHOLD An extraordinary and individual modern country house in a stunning location. Built originally in 1962 for the artist John Merton, Pound House

ST. HELENS W10 - £500 WEEK ST CHARLES W10£475inPER is broadly Palladian GARDENS, in style and is a wide, single storeyPER building with large windows over looking SQUARE, the gardens. It was extended 1978WEEK to include a garden room and a large studio complex including a workshop and dark room . The property currently has very high ceilings and Having been newly refurbished, this ﬂat is in superb condition. An This beautifully refurbished two double bedroom apartment is brick parapets surrounding the roof which has good storage space. CAMBRIDGE GARDENS, W10 £450 PER WEEK open plan kitchen and living room is a sociable environment ideal ﬁnished to a high standard including designer furnishings. Set on This two bedroom flat is situated on the first floor of a beautiful Victorian building on Cambridge Gardens andSquare is full garaging ofinlovely features. Bathed for entertaining. ever popular St Charles North Kensington. Four bedrooms | four bathrooms | garden room | hall | drawing room | studio complexthe | dining room | wine cellar | integrated |period small lake arboretum | in natural light,of the flat offers two bedrooms, a beautiful bright reception room, large kitchen with breakfast bar and a bathroom with shower over bath. over six acres land The property is ideally located around the corner from the world famous Portobello Road.

THE WHOLE WINKWORTH NETWORK, NOW IN YOUR POCKET Scan this code to download the Winkworth iPhone app

020 7792 5000 | northkensington@winkworth.co.uk

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winkworth.co.uk/north-kensington 18/03/2014 11:42 18/02/2013 15:11

BRONDESBURY PARK, NW2

£2,800,000 FREEHOLD

With seven bedrooms, monstrous living space and a private garden, this home would make even the largest family wonder where one another were hiding. You are greeted by an entrance hall with parquet flooring and large rooms. There are three reception rooms and a large kitchen. The garden is accessed via both the kitchen and a reception room, leading to a patio running the width of the house with steps down on to a large lawn. Each bedroom is large and has an en suite bath/shower room. Further benefits from a large driveway and no onward chain.

RIFFEL ROAD, NW2

£550,00 S.O.F.

ST PAULS AVENUE, NW2

£575,000 S.O.F.

Offering generous room sizes and the ingoing purchaser not to lift a

This beautiful home is arranged over the ground floor of an attrac-

finger when they move in, this stunning home is presented in excellent

tive, broad Edwardian house. With high ceilings, large rooms and some

condition throughout. Recently been the subject of a full refurbishment

original features including ornate ceilings, flats do not come much better

this bright flat comprises of; a reception room with double glazed wooden

than this. Being sold with a share of the freehold, this home has inherited

sash windows, two double bedrooms, a hallway with a storage cupboard,

two parking spaces at the front and also has direct access on to the rear

a bathroom and a smart gloss white kitchen which has access to the

garden via the reception room making this an ideal place to entertain.

private garden. The garden is west facing and features a large decked

The property comprises of two double bedrooms, a large hallway with

area and also a nice green lawn.

storage space, a bathroom, a very large reception room and a smart kitchen located a couple of steps down from the reception.

Scan this code to download the Winkworth iPhone app

winkworth.co.uk/willesden-green

See things differently.

020 8451 1000 willesden@winkworth.co.uk

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OARE, WILTSHIRE £2,750,000 FREEHOLDFREEHOLD LEIGH GARDENS, NW10 £1,175,000 Located in the Wiltshire countryside built in the 1960’s a large,ft.modern country withconverted. far-reaching and extremely This superb family home offers spaciousand accommodation of overas2000sq even without thehouse loft being On views the first floor, benefitsflexible include accommodation with potential extend further. family Located in the Wiltshire countryside built in the 1960’s as a large house. four bedrooms, (one with en-suite),toand an extended bathroom. Downstairs there is aand lovely double aspect reception room leading to the kitchen diner, with flexible accommodation of a granny currently as aroom office. Leigh Gardens is ideally situated for the amenities of Four bedrooms | fourfurther bathrooms | garden room | hall | drawing roomannex | studio complexused | dining | wine cellar | integrated garagingr either Chamberlayne Road or College Road.

OARE, WILTSHIRE £2,750,000 FREEHOLD HOLLAND ROAD, NW10 £550,000 FREEHOLD Located in the Wiltshire countryside and built in the 1960’s as a large, modern country house with far-reaching views and extremely flexible Aaccommodation superb three bedroom garden flat a south facing aspect.in This fantastic property offers spacious over house. 900sq ft. and has three with potential to with extend further. Located the Wiltshire countryside and built inaccommodation the 1960’s as aoflarge bedrooms, two receptions including a large eat in kitchen and one of the best gardens you could find attached to a leasehold flat. Holland Road offers Four bedrooms | four bathrooms | garden room | hall | drawing room | studio complex | dining room | wine cellar | integrated garagingr

larger than average properties and is fast becoming a go to street in terms of value for money. Although it is a short walk the amenities of College Road, including L’Angolo delicatessen and the Island Pub and Restaurant are with in range and there is great transport links.

Scan this code to download the Winkworth iPhone app

winkworth.co.uk/kensal-queens-park

See things differently.

020 8960 4947 kensalrise@winkworth.co.uk

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18/03/2014 11:41

ABSOLUTELY Property

Development Round-up

Montford Place: visit one of surrey’s hidden riverside gems

idden in a pretty spot just a short stroll from the River Thames in Lower Sunbury, Surrey, lays Montford Place, a collection of homes rousing an interest much bigger than its intimate scale. It’s a quiet, gated community from award-wining Linden Homes made up of traditional three, four and five-bedroom Georgian-style houses, plus twobedroom apartments. Montford Place’s village setting is a big draw for those looking for a unique setting on the outskirts of London. The neighbourhood is surrounded by the friendly atmosphere of Lower Sunbury: a riverside community clustered with green spaces and parks, shops and eateries. The development itself rests within a conservation area near a long sweeping bend of the River Thames. Handily close to bustling Walton-on-Thames, it’s in the borough of Spelthorne In common with all Linden Homes’ developments, each Montford Place property comes with integrated kitchen appliances as standard plus a 10-year NHBC warranty for peace of mind, as well as a two-year customer care warranty.

Space to grow in W12 this spring

omebuyers can enjoy outdoor space from the comfort of their own home this spring following the recent launch of new apartments at Hammersmith & Fulham development, The Bloom. Notting Hill London is providing 48 brand new private sale apartments, with exceptional outdoor space to enjoy over the forthcoming summer months. Available as one, two or three beds, the new private sale apartments provide a great deal of outside space for residents – a rarity in new-build properties. Not only does every home have balcony space, selected apartments also overlook Wormholt Park – a long established recreation area covering

five acres, with easy access to a wide range of outdoor leisure activities. Residents also benefit from a brand new state-of-the-art collaborative health care centre on site, with up to twelve GP rooms, three dental surgeries, two chiropody suites, a day surgery, and district nurse and health visitor rooms.

Prices start from £710,000 for a three-bed townhouse in The Hudson style.

0844 417 5318; lindenhomes.co.uk.

Prices start from £320,000 for a onebedroom apartment.

the-bloom.co.uk Private Sales - Barnard Marcus, West Kensington: 020 7603 1384 Shared Ownership - Notting Hill Home Ownership: 020 8357 4444

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LAUNCHING 24TH APRIL 2014