Persimmon to return £1.9bn to investors February 29, 2012 SHARES IN PERSIMMON soared to their highest in almost four years yesterday after the UK housebuilder unveiled plans to return £1.9bn in surplus cash to shareholders. Persimmon said it will pay investors a total of 620p per share through dividends over nine-and-a-half years starting in 2013, and will remain largely debt-free throughout the period. The [...]
Rev it up baby: Bentley’s super-hot V8 February 28, 2012 THE engine sound reminds me of a church organ,” I say as I press and lift my right foot on the accelerator in Bentley’s latest Continental GT V8. What an intensely lovely and rich sound it is too. The engine serves up sonorous notes rising from the deepest rumble at low speeds, before swelling upwards [...]
CAR TALK February 28, 2012 RANGE ROVER GOES TOPLESS A Range Rover convertible. Well, why not? Here’s the forthcoming Evoque Convertible concept that will be unveiled at the Geneva motor show. Officially Land Rover is just exploring whether such a car would prove popular amongst car buyers, but I’d be astonished if it doesn’t build what would be the world’s [...]
From Russia with fusion food February 27, 2012 Novikov 50a Berkeley Street, W1J 8HA T NW1 7JN , Tel: 020 7387 5277 FOOD *** SERVICE *** ATMOSPHERE **** Cost per person without wine: £50 It’s Russian, it’s huge, it’s in Mayfair and it has doormen inside and out, guarding its two restaurants and thumping bar. To me this sounded dubious, a blingy hangar [...]
Three dinners, six of the world’s best female chefs February 27, 2012 WHAT happens when you combine the very best women in the world of eating and drinking? Three epic dinners that offer a chance to celebrate female achievement in the male-dominated world of cheffing, alongside food and wine to blow your mind. Masterminded by ex-Ramsay star Angela Hartnett (pictured right) and food and wine writer Fiona [...]
Silvaner: a Bavarian gem February 27, 2012 Head Sommelier and Manager of Lutyens Restaurant German wine is in the middle of a golden age. But it’s easy to forget that despite the excellence and intensity of German Riesling, it’s not the only game in town. Today we’re taking a look at the Silvaner of Franken. It’s a grape variety you find in [...]
House prices flat as Britons stuck renting February 26, 2012 HALF of Britons do not expect to buy a house until they are in their forties, a survey showed today, while the housing market stayed flat again through February. Average rents rose to £890 per month at the end of 2011, but 61 per cent of renters cannot afford to buy, according to a survey [...]
Powder rules on the mountains of Japan February 26, 2012 SKIING in Japan has been on the radar of dedicated powder seekers for a number of years. The snow that falls upon Japan’s resorts has to be some of the best in the world; it is light, dry and very often chest deep. Now that word has leaked out about Japan’s fantastic skiing opportunities – [...]
TRAVEL NOTES February 26, 2012 New palatial property in Marrakesh The Oetker Collection – which includes Le Bristol in Paris and the du Cap Eden Roc on the Cote d’Azur – is to unveil a deeply seductive new property, Le Palais Namaskar. Set in 50,000 sq m of Balinese-inspired scented gardens and designed by Philippe Starck protégée Imaad Rahmouni, the [...]
REVIEW: Rampart February 24, 2012 Film RAMPART Cert: 15 **** by Steve Dinneen The LAPD doesn’t get the easiest of rides from its local film studios. Rarely is there a film espousing its values as the saviour of the American people. Rampart, though, takes this to a whole new level. Woody Harrelson’s David Douglas Brown is as corrupt as they [...]