TRAVEL NOTES February 5, 2012 Literary London V-Day dinner at Brown’s This romantic package is perfect for those who find exquisite poetry and great food. A tour of the beautiful, private London library is followed by a three course dinner and fizz at the hotel’s Albemarle restaurant by Mark Hix. £160, 14 Feb. To book, call 0207 518 4060 Cupid’s [...]
FOCUS ON: TUNBRIDGE WELLS February 2, 2012 DOWN HOUSE Price: £1.1m A five bedroom Georgian house, situated in the edge of a village setting, with off-road parking, garden and extensive grounds. Contact Knight Frank on 020 7629 8171 or knightfrank.co.uk FERNCLYFFE Price: £3.6m Gigantic home featuring entrance hall, four reception rooms, conservatory, kitchen, games room, utility room, eight bedrooms, dressing room, and [...]
Oh I do long to be beside the (British) seaside February 2, 2012 IT’S not the South of France or the Amalfi Coast. But Britain’s seaside has plenty of charm of its own – and not just of the quaint and slightly run-down variety, but of a beautiful, unique and in some cases, highly exclusive type. For instance, Knight Frank recently sold a mansion in south Cornwall to [...]
PROPERTY NEWS February 2, 2012 NEW DEVELOPMENT TO LAUNCH IN LEWISHAM Contributing to the major regeneration of Lewisham, housing provider, Family Mosaic is delighted to announce the launch of its impressive new development, Central Park, this April. The high specification one, two and three bedroom apartments are in close proximity to neighbouring Blackheath and Greenwich and perfectly placed in one [...]
BUY February 2, 2012 DIRECTOR, DOUGLAS & GORDON Q.I am about to put my flat on the market and have about £5,000 to spend getting it looking it’s best. How should I spend it? A.The trick in selling a property is to realise that most people buy within the first 30 seconds of walking in, so first impressions are [...]
Great Portland’s NAV jumps February 2, 2012 GREAT PORTLAND Estates, the London property developer, has seen its net asset value jump in the quarter after landing two major pre-lets with media firm UBM and property agency Savills. The group said the value of its portfolio rose 2.6 per cent in the three months to 31 December and gained 10.6 per cent to [...]
Nasty, bitchy and…brilliant February 2, 2012 Film YOUNG ADULT Cert: 15 ***** YOUNG Adult takes a premise from the Hollywood Rom Com Storyline Generator™ and subverts it deliciously. Charlize Theron plays ageing prom queen Mavis Gary, who returns to her “hick” hometown to try to rekindle her high school romance with Buddy Slade, who is now married with a baby. She [...]
She Stoops stands up very, very high indeed February 2, 2012 Theatre SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER Olivier Theatre at The National **** OLIVER Goldsmith’s famous play is a good old-fashioned romp. Cases of mistaken identity abound, incriminating snippets of conversation are overheard, priceless jewels are misplaced. Summarising the labyrinthine plot, which twists and writhes for two and a half hours, would take pages. Suffice it to [...]
Tate bites off more than it can chew February 2, 2012 Art MIGRATIONS Tate Britain *** MIGRATIONS is not a user-friendly exhibit – abstract and vague from the get-go (what is the plural of migration when applied to art, exactly?), I walked in feeling out of my depth. But once inside, Migrations comes into its own – or at least, it tries to. London has always [...]
Polanski’s superbly tense social hell February 2, 2012 Film CARNAGE Cert: 15 **** When Roman Polanski directs a discussion between two tense couples about a playground dispute, you know it’s not going to turn out well. Bleak and biting, Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly and Christopher Waltz are unable to stop the discussion escalating to intense proportions. As the façade of [...]