Vive la revolution May 28, 2012 Anyone can be a wine expert these days. For a few quid you can book yourself on a tasting course where you’ll learn to tell your claret from your beaujolais. Fine beer, though, tends to be associated with the Campaign for Real Ale brigade, which conjures images of a tweed jacketted James May – the [...]
THREE CRAFT BEERS YOU REALLY NEED TO TRY May 28, 2012 Brooklyn Sorachi Ace One of the best beers on the market, this dry, unfiltered Belgian-style Saison beer is made using a rare Japanese-developed hop that is grown on just one farm in Oregon in the US. It will set you back £7.50 a pint. Dark Star Six Hop Ale This potent ale – at 6.5 [...]
Tokyo is vast, fast and very interesting May 27, 2012 IT was about 7AM and the sun from my windows was beginning to wake me up. With my room on the 35th floor of a tower in the business district of Tokyo, the view of the endless city was so intense that drawing my curtains – even while I slept – seemed a waste. I [...]
JUBILEE WEEKEND ESCAPES May 27, 2012 Go far from the madding crowd for the Jubilee Celebrate her Maj’s Diamond Jubilee far from the madding crowd at the Chewton Glen hotel in Hampshire. The country house hotel is offering a package including accommodation, afternoon tea, cycle hire to explore the local area, a full body scrub, a pre-dinner drink on the terrace [...]
CRASH PADS May 24, 2012 For the City’s movers and shakers, it’s the million pound question: do you live in the town centre and save yourself hours of tedious, stressful commuting, safe in the knowledge that you own property in one of the world’s cultural hubs? Or, do you move to the commuter belt, get yourself a bigger house with [...]
Two Grade-II dream homes: one with world-class equine facilities May 24, 2012 Burnham Westgate Hall, Norkfolk It’s not every day you describe a potential home as “important” – well, this building is just that: a Grade II* listed Georgian country house by the famous Sir John Soane, set in over 30 acres of beautiful Norkfolk parkland, on the edge of Burnham Market town. Architectural features include a [...]
Get your home in a royal mood May 24, 2012 Jonah armchair designed by James Harrison, £499, made.com Winner of an Elle Decoration Young Designer of the Year Award, Harrison’s patriotic chair has good support and a velvety soft woven jacquard fabric for a luxury feel. Graham and Greene vintage union jack bunting, £26, grahamandgreen.co.uk The ideal accompaniment to any Jubilee-themed garden party, but understated enough [...]
LONDON BAROMETER May 24, 2012 DIRECTOR OF DOUGLAS & GORDON “The London property market continues to be hindered by the lack of finance available to buyers, which has increased the period it takes for a property to exchange to at least nine weeks. “Supply appears perhaps lower than it is because many good properties are put under offer immediately but [...]
The beautiful Balearic bubble May 24, 2012 WITH Spain poised to need a bailout, is this a foolish time to think about buying a dream home in Mallorca, Ibiza or Menorca? Not necessarily. Michael Cunnington, of MJC Associates, the Savills Agents in Mallorca, says: “The honest answer is that we still have traffic and people inquiring in the top end but buyers [...]
FOCUS ON: ESHER, SURREY May 24, 2012 CLARE COTTAGE Price: 3.85m This imposing six bedroom house sits on a hill with views across the countryside. The exclusive Clare Hill estate is one of the only private gated residences in the area, with cherry blossom trees and lawned verges on the road. The cottage, which is more than 100 years old, has a [...]