OUT OF OFFICE August 10, 2011 AN EVENING WITH SOUTH PACIFIC The City gets a spot of good old fashioned American amusement as a New York Lincoln Center production of South Pacific lands at the Barbican. Set during World War II, South Pacific is the sweeping romantic story of two couples, threatened by the realities of war. The score includes Some [...]
Smartphones for making a big statement August 10, 2011 SOME walks of life call for subtlety, restraint, understatement. Some, however, call for brash, brazen, over-the-top statement-making. People for whom bling is still in and status symbols a requirement of doing business, have a bit of a problem when it comes to phones. It’s difficult to separate yourself from the crowd when the crowd – [...]
Watches for the discerning gadget geek August 10, 2011 ROMAIN Jerome and Christophe Claret are both watch-making names associated with boundary-breaking. Claret is famous for creating incredibly complex mechanisms; Romain Jerome has made watches incorporating moon dust, bits of the Titanic and volcano ash. This year both have made waves with new creations that have fun with geeky male obsessions. Romain Jerome’s Space Invaders [...]
Apps that help you get money back on delays August 10, 2011 HERE’S a useful app for anyone who feels that they don’t necessarily get value for money from their Underground travel – which, let’s face it, is pretty much everyone. TubeTap is an ingenious creation that helps commuters win refunds from London Underground when the service takes too long to get there. As it happens, you [...]
Mortgage lending rises in June August 10, 2011 Mortgage lending jumped in June according to figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). The total number of new home loans to house buyers jumped by 22 per cent from May, to 46,700. Loans to first-time buyers reached a 10-month high, up 24 per cent from May to 18,100. Although the level of lending [...]
DTZ shares nose-dive as two top executives quit August 9, 2011 SHARES in property consultancy DTZ tanked 4.4 per cent despite the broader market bounce yesterday, after its chief executive and finance director abruptly left the firm and there was a frustrating lack of progress in its takeover talks with “a number of “ suitors. Paul Idzik, who has served as chief executive since 2008, and [...]
Evoquative: the ultimate all-rounder August 9, 2011 ITS heart may be in the country, but Range Rover – for so long the preferred transport of the country set and most naturally at home on rural lanes – has a new sibling, and despite being created for city living, the new Evoque is the greenest Range Rover yet. Available as a three-door coupé [...]
CAR TALK August 9, 2011 NEW MAZDA CROSSOVER This is Mazda’s brand new CX-5 compact crossover SUV. It’s the first production car to feature Mazda’s new Kodo styling and it is built around a new efficient range of chassis, body, engine and transmission technologies called Skyactive. The Skyactive 2.2 diesel-engined model should emit less than 120g/km of CO2 when it [...]
House prices slip further to mark a year of decline August 8, 2011 UK house prices slipped further in July – with only London bucking the trend with increased sales figures. According to today’s Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ UK housing market survey, 22 per cent more chartered surveyors reported a fall in prices than a rise in July, an improvement on June’s net balance of -26. Figures [...]
Health on a summery plate August 8, 2011 Francois O’Neill, Brompton Bar & Grill Bressola, Nectarine and Mozzarella Salad with Lemon & Mint Serves 2 Salad • 6 slices of Bressola • 1 nectarine – halved and sliced into 8-10 pieces • 1 ball of mozzarella – torn into pieces • 1 large handful of lambs lettuce • 4 mint leaves – finely [...]