A journey to the promised land of New World wine October 16, 2011 It was a few years ago, on an evening near Christmas in a neon-lit office boardroom, that I set my heart on South African wine. Until that night, I’d floundered when faced with supermarket wine sections and restaurant lists. Nothing tasted worth the money. And yet wine played an almost daily role in my life. [...]
World still recovering from BlackBerry blackout October 16, 2011 When BlackBerry crumbled, nobody got any emails for three days. This made people angry; angrier than if you had approached them on the street, apropos nothing, and slapped them firmly across the face (I should know, I tried: they didn’t even react. They were too busy staring at their lifeless phones). The episode – crisis: [...]
CLAPHAM, SW4 October 13, 2011 CALDERVALE ROAD Price: £950, 000 On a tree-lined street just a few minutes walk from Clapham Common, this four bedroom family home stretches over 1,800 square feet and has room for extension. The property retains many of its original features. Contact: Douglas & Gordon on 020 8675 4400 or go to www.douglasandgordon.com CLAPHAM COMMON Price: £2.45m [...]
SELL October 13, 2011 CREATIVE DIRECTOR AT DESIGN CONSULTANCY APD INTERIORS Q. Instead of moving home I am thinking about converting my loft. What do I need to consider? A. Given the high costs associated with moving and the current state of the property market it can be easier to look at your existing home and consider how it [...]
THE LONDON BAROMETER October 13, 2011 DIRECTOR OF DOUGLAS & GORDON FAR fewer people are opting to move house since the cost of moving has become prohibitive for many homeowners. With current economic uncertainty we were expecting lower applicant numbers in September, but we were surprised by how they held up. We could be at a pivotal point in the market [...]
Next hotspots for price growth October 13, 2011 EVERYONE has read the headlines about the soaring prices of core prime central London properties – that’s homes in Chelsea, Mayfair and Belgravia. Foreign investment in the market has brought a price boom that the average well-to-do Brit just can’t keep pace with. Understandable, when the “square footage” – the price per square foot – [...]
A Bajan palace with Bali twist October 13, 2011 A BAJAN dream house – complete with home cinema, gym and several pavilions – would really be something to show your friends. Well – providing you have the dough ($27m) – your showstopper has arrived, in the form of Alang Alang Bay on the beachfront of St James (45 minutes from the airport), for sale [...]
The ethereal Sleeping Beauty will haunt you when you sleep at night October 13, 2011 Film SLEEPING BEAUTY Cert: 18 SLEEPING Beauty is far from the fairytale the title hints at. With an airy darkness at its core that moves in and out of focus, this strange Australian film by novelist-turned-director Rachel Leigh perverts any notion of princesses, chastity and happy endings. Set in an anonymous Australian city, the film [...]
ARTS ROUNDUP October 13, 2011 UGLY BETTY TAKES MAIN ROLE IN CHICAGO Ugly Betty’s America Ferrera will inherit the mantle worn by Renee Zellweger, Denise Van Outen and Ashlee Simpson when she plays Chicago’s Roxie Hart. Garrick Theatre, from 7 November POWER OF MAKING, V&A If you’ve not made it over to the exhibition, a collaboration between the V&A and [...]
The crema de la crema of coffee making machines October 12, 2011 BEING particular about how your coffee is made is no bad thing. Discernment is a means to an end – and when you want to make yourself a coffee on a glorious Sunday afternoon, just because you can, you want to have one that’s rightly made. It’s a confusing world of coffee machines out there, [...]